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Rune_Alchemist Member

Absolute Depravity

STATUS: I just can't. This is too much. Berserk was so influential on so many things that I love. Goodbye, Miura. You'll be missed by many. 5 yrs ago
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Recent Statuses

5 yrs ago
Current I just can't. This is too much. Berserk was so influential on so many things that I love. Goodbye, Miura. You'll be missed by many.
13 likes
6 yrs ago
Migraines ew
7 yrs ago
Welp apparently discord servers are having some pretty bad Latency issues.
1 like
7 yrs ago
Well I just got my mitts on the Links Awakening remake. Excus eme while I disappear for a weak while I relive my childhood
2 likes
7 yrs ago
Migraine killed me today. Posts tomorrow.
2 likes

Bio



Hello! Welcome to my little bio.

Not much to say, really. Just a horror game protag that likes writing and playing vidya games when I'm not being chased by the cosmic forces of darkness. (I'm a security guard that works night shifts usually).

Have some dancing medjed.

Most Recent Posts

In Fate/Eternum — Reboot → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


In Fate/Eternum — Reboot → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

&


Thankfully her own residence wasn’t too far, though it was up a few floors.

“Man, I want to take a shower after that.” Rina said with a sigh, opening the door to her apartment. It wasn’t the nicest place, but it had all the essentials. She pulled off her jacket, pulling the recorder from it and lazily tossing her jacket to the side causing it to land on a nearby sofa. Walking over to the nearby kitchen table, Rina placed the recorder on it. “Want a drink or something? Got some pizza and some leftovers in the fridge.” Might as well relax a moment before getting to business after that whole fight thing.

Arriving at the apartment, Alicia glanced around as she stepped inside. ”I feel that,” she agreed with a nod, running a hand through her hair to try and shake a bit more of the smoke and dust out.

Already transformed back to normal, she took a seat at the table. ”A drink would be great.” After all that heat it was a bit of a no-brainer. Another look was given to the room as she relaxed. ”So, do you live by yourself?”

“Mostly. I don't really...do other people that well.” She replied with a shrug. “Been staying at the Golden Trove recently, though.” For multiple reasons, really, mostly involving Mika and making sure the Ascendancy didn't try anything funny.

“Heads up.” Rina tossed Alicia a soda from the fridge and setting what remained of her pizza from earlier on the counter. “How's uh, the whole beacon thing going? Bet coming back to all...this wasn't exactly easy.”

Alicia hummed as Katarina explained where she’d been staying for the past few days. It had been mentioned before, but she’d never swung around or felt it worth looking into. No doubt someone had their eye on the place already. A snap filled the air as she opened the soda can, , taking a sip of the cool drink.

Enjoying the satisfaction of it, she turned to the matter of herself. ”No kidding,” she confirmed with a laugh. ”Came back, got hauled in and put on trial for heresy and various related crimes against Beacon, then I end up getting acquitted and made the leader of the local branch of Penrose. So now I’m balancing keeping the city safe from monsters with keeping the Ascendancy from doing anything too crazy. Oh, and one of my close friends tore her soul in half because of a split personality. So yeah, things have been a bit rough.”

“Uh...wow.” Rina blinked. Sounds like Alicia had a tough time of it. She was suddenly glad she didn't have to deal with some organization like Beacon usually. “Well, glad that worked out? Jeez, makes me a feel a little bad since I'm probably about to make your week even worse.” Rina gave Alicia a mildly apologetic expression as she reached for the laptop, idly eating a slice of pizza as she opened it.

“Before you ask later, I have no idea who sent me this stuff right now.” The magical girl slid the recorder across the table over to Alicia as she plugged in the USB. “Give it a listen.”

Nodding, Alicia held back any comment as she turned to the recorder. An eyebrow rose at how old fashioned it seemed, but that was probably all deceptive anyway. For now she needed to keep looking to the main objective.

As the clip came to an end, Alicia wore a frown from what she heard. ”So if this is legitimate, someone is conspiring with the Mint for an item that will let them use a spell, and a big one.” Holding in a sigh, she sank back into the chair with arms crossed over her chest. ”Well, we’d suspected that the rave was a trap. I guess this just proves it.”

Admittedly they could be talking about something else, but with that kind of deadline it wasn’t like much else would be happening that they would need it for. So it was a pretty safe bet.

“Mhm.” Rina replied with a quiet nod. “I've given it a bit of thought. Someone wants a large amount of magical energy for the party.” She took a quick drink of her own soda before continuing. “I can only think of a few uses for a massive amount of magical energy – and most are of the extremely destructive kind.” Rina frowned. She had been thinking about it, and more and more she had started to piece together a theory of a plausible version of events. “...hear me out for a second - and this is entirely speculation - they're likely using the Rave as a distraction for Beacon while they do something else. I don't know what, but, what if their target isn't the Rave? Killing a few beacon girls would be easy, but it wouldn't cripple Beacon in its entirety. It seems like they want to use some sort of energy for it and after, likely to make sure they can clean up whatever happens after.” She fixed Alicia with a serious expression as she said a final word.

“Which is why I'll be going.”

Alicia took another sip from her drink as Katarina elaborated on her own suspicions. ”With how the announcement went I’d assumed they were trying to provoke a fight to make us look bad. But with this, it’s a lot worse.” There was a big difference between picking a fight to rally everyone against them, and whatever this was intended to be.

Stil, Katarina raised a good point. ”That’s also possible. I’m not sure what they’d use it for though. We’ve already had our HQ blown up once before. What could they do that would make Beacon go away for good, shift the entire place into the Overcity?” Now that was an idea, she thought to herself with a scoff.

She met Katarina’s look with a curious one of her own. ”Do you know where it’s going to take place?”

“Mhm” Rina replied with a nod of her head. “I don't know if you know her, but uh, a girl by the name of Mika asked me to go with her, so I am. I wasn't planning on it, but I need to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid and it'd be good to scope out the place since I'm not affiliated with beacon.” It was in all honesty a pretty dangerous idea. Similar to some undercover jobs she took as a cop. Posing as a drug buyer/dealer, or other such things. Jobs like that always were risky. “I don't mind telling you, since I trust you won't do something stupid. Just don't call in the cavalry or something unless you don't hear back from me in a few hours or something.”

Alicia’s frown deepened at the mention of Mika, but it was only for a moment before returning to normal. Instead she kept her attention on what Katarina was offering to do for her. ”I’ll advise them to hold back, but I don’t actually control the Ascendancy here. I can’t tell them to do anything. So if they get impatient, well….” That was why she had intended to come along herself. If she was there personally, hopefully it would limit the chance of something tragic happening.

“Best I can ask for.” Rina said, quickly texting Alicia the address. “Now uh, one more thing...it's about Beacon and I might be asking for a lot here, but...there was something else that was sent along with that tape.” Rina opened the file, motioning for Alicia to come watch as well, making sure to note the name of the file to her before playing the clip.

“I don't think the tape and this are related, but whoever sent it obviously thinks I need to investigate.” Rina continued, a serious expression leveled towards Alicia as the clip played. Getting on Beacon's bad side was not ideal, and poking around affairs that they didn't want people digging around in was a good way to do that, but she couldn't in good conscience not investigate a little. “I've done a bit of digging on both the delivery service as well as some events potentially surrounding this...and maybe I'm letting my curiosity get the best of me, but I want information, Alicia, and I think beacon has some.”

Alicia’s phone buzzed, receiving the text that Katarina had sent. This would make their problem easier, and save them a lot of time as well. An unexpected bonus for the trouble they went through earlier.

Then Katarina showed her the clip. Her gaze narrowed on the file name before watching what transpired with widening eyes. ”I..I wish I could tell you but I’ve never seen anything like that before. No one has told me about us having the capability to just wipe out a city.” While she hadn’t been in charge for that long, she felt like that was the sort of thing that Sylvia would have mentioned pretty early on. Katarina might want information, but she just wasn’t in a position to provide any.

“Mhm, I thought so.” That'd have been too easy. “Took place in Ethiopia. Fairly certain it's the city of Dilla. Around the same time this event took place the city was quarantined, and a travel ban still is in place to this day. Pretty odd for some gas leak to make the city inhospitable for that long.” Rina said with a sigh. “I don't want to say Beacon's at fault here for anything. That person that was seen may not even be part of Beacon, but they likely do know something.” Rina hesitated only slightly at her next request.

“I want a meeting with some beacon higher ups.” She shouldn't treat this any differently than any other investigation she had done in the past - which meant Beacon should be just as responsible for any crimes as any other.

With the video over Alicia leaned back in her seat. A hand rose to rub her chin while she thought about it. ”Something like that, if it was Beacon then they wouldn’t have done it unless they felt they had no other choice. After all, Penrose is here so they’re not that trigger happy with it.”

With that said, she couldn’t blame Katarina for wanting to talk with someone, to see if she could get some answers. Alicia would admit that she was just as curious, even if it didn’t mean much in the end. ”I’ll see if I can set something up,” she agreed without debate. ”Looks like there’s a lot for the both of us to think about.”

“Thanks. I realize that's probably putting you in an awkward position.” Rina said, closing the laptop and unplugging the USB. “That's one of the reasons I don't think it was Beacon. I know Beacon can be a little zealous, but unless there was no other way they wouldn't have done something that drastic.” Sighing, Rina flopped onto the couch next to Alicia, pizza box in hand.

“I'd offer to let ya stay over, but I don't really have any I dunno...sleep over stuff? I don't usually have guests.”

Taking another swig of her drink, Alicia shrugged as Katarina joined her on the couch. ”Not much more awkward than it was already. Don’t worry about it,” she replied. She was just passing the responsibility up the chain, really.

Although she did glance around, she wasn’t too bothered by this as they turned from business to relaxation again. ”It’s fine. After being gone for months my parents would be worried sick if I was gone for too long so soon. Besides, you did say you were mostly staying at that hotel. So I can’t blame you for not being ready to entertain guests here.”

Thinking on topics, she found one that would be a bit easier. ”So, have you heard from our shakespearean swordstress yet? I’ve been a bit busy, so catching up with people has taken a bit longer than I’d like.”

“Amaryllis? Not really.” Rina replied with a frown. “Been a bit busy doing the usual work and helping out with the monsters and Beacon occasionally where I can. Aside from apparently now dating Mika I've not had a lot of downtime. With all this,” She offered a slice of pizza to Alicia. “I think I'm gonna have even less.”

Taking the slice of pizza when offered, Alicia let herself enjoy the meal as she alternated between it and her drink. So, she hadn’t? Seemed she wasn’t the only one who had been busy with things. ”Well, I’m sure she’s fine. Still, I feel that. This rave thing isn’t the only pressing issue on my hands right now. But Beacon thinks I can handle it, so I have to do my best.” It was slow going sometimes, but she was getting the hang of things.

“I don't envy you.” Rina said, idly placing the pizza box on the couch between them. “I was a police officer before I was a magical girl. Can't tell you how many times I wanted to smack my higher ups for giving me the work of ten people. Guess it just means we're good at what we do, eh?” She chuckled lightly. “We should take a vacation together sometime. Preferably not getting kidnapped by a dolphin I want to murder.”

”I don’t know. Considering what happened during the last, I have this feeling that if I try to go on vacation the city will be on fire by the time I get back,” Alicia chuckled as well after finishing the slice of pizza she was working on. Considering everything that happened in this city, it wasn’t an entirely unfounded worry.

Taking a small break before she went for another piece, another thought presented itself. ”Actually, how would you like to come and teach a lesson or two at Beacon some time? You know, when this all blows over. Considering all the monster hunting you do, it’d be nice for the new members to see an outside perspective.”

“Eh?” Rina blinked. “Me? A teacher?” A bout of laughter followed as she considered the idea, nearly spilling her drink in the process. It wasn't that bad of one, if she were to be honest. The only problem would be not knowing where to even begin. “Ahaha, last time I trained someone in the force was...” She paused, a somewhat wistful smile crossing her lips as she leaned lightly in Alicia's direction. “Heh, well, whatever. If Beacon's offering, I could use some extra cash. Just uh, don't expect me to go easy on 'em.”

Allowing Katarina to work out her surprise and amusement, Alicia nodded to confirm what she had said. ”I wouldn’t expect you to. Besides, you’ll probably need to beat some sense into one of two of them to get them to accept you as a teacher anyway,” she observed with a smirk.

This time she did move for another slice of pizza. ”Still, you’re good with monsters, you know the city. Plus as a former cop you’ve probably got a bunch of skills for tracking and detective work that a normal girl doesn’t have. That could be pretty useful, especially since we’re trying to turn a new leaf over here rather than just blasting everyone who looks remotely suspicious on sight.” A bite of pizza followed, a hum escaping as the taste soothed and comforted. She’d have to talk with some people, but arranging payment shouldn’t be that hard if the Beckoners were fine with the idea.

“Hey, beating some sense into upstart little shits is something I've always been good at.” She laughed again. “If they're willing to drop their attitude and actually try learning, I can definitely try.” Hm, that said...Mika might not like that idea too much. Well, it was probably fine. Mika was more or less harmless. “You're doin' me a lot of favors for someone that might be pokin' their nose into Beacon's business a lot in the near future. Thanks, really.”

”Well, nothing’s set in stone just yet,” Alicia pointed out calmly. There was always the chance they wouldn’t go through with it when Katarina was done poking.

Leaning forward, her hands came to rest clasped together in her lap. ”But the Ascendancy isn’t going to be here forever. When they do, I don’t want Beacon to be isolated like it was before, especially when I’m trying to change things for the better. Sometimes you have to take risks.” Turning, she flashed a warm smile to her friend.

“Fair, fair.” Rina chuckled. “Hopefully that works out. Changing an organization as big and as rigid as beacon isn't easy.” She continued, tossing the empty soda can across the room, perfectly landing it in a garbage can. “Just be careful, alright? And if ya need any help just give me a call.” Rina got up off the couch, nabbing her jacket from the other end before turning to Alicia again.

“I should get back to the Trove. Promised Su I'd help around there a bit.” Surprisingly, Alicia could tell that was somewhat of a lie.

”Change has to start somewhere,” Alicia observed as she finished her second slice of pizza. ”Even if I don’t succeed, hopefully I’ll inspire others to feel the same way.”

Alicia rose from her seat as well, not intending to stick around in the apartment while Katarina wasn’t here. Though she could pick up the lie, she did not inquire about it. She’d come this far with honesty, there didn’t seem like there was a reason to pry. ”I will. You can do the same, or just ring up if you hear of any monster hideouts that need to be dealt with.” For now, she had a meeting to arrange, among other things.

“Yep, I'll see ya around. I shouldn't be much busier than normal until the Rave unless I'm fluffing Mik-ahem-helping Su around the hotel. Help around the hotel, yep.” Rina held the door open for Alicia as they left.

In Fate/Eternum — Reboot (Interest Check) → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Interest Checks
Well, I said I'd think about it so here's my thinking about it interest
In Dungeon Clearer! The Wonderful World of an Adventurer → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

@ghastlyInc@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze


It hadn't taken her long to find something of note in the forest. The first thing she saw was the tents, but it had soon become apparent something was very, very wrong. The broken remains soon led her gaze around the rest of the camp. Cooking utensils...half eaten food, discarded and broken weapons...

This was...

"Mera..."

The Nem felt her shoulders slump. This was upsetting, but there was nothing she could do. Was it the orcs? Maybe if they had just been a bit faster they could have prevented whatever this was. It looked recent, recent enough that-Neffy took a quick look around her surroundings. Recent enough that whoever did it might still be around. She needed to make sure she didn't get ambushed, and she needed to tell the others what she had found.

Neffy quickly returned to the others, not wasting more time than she needed too.

"Ah found a camp. Not far in...It's...not good." She said to her companions, forgoing Nehir's little act and leading the others to the site. She couldn't explain what happened well, it'd be best for them to see it for themselves.
In Visions of Elysium—A Non-Isekai VRMMO RP (Now Open!) → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Raza - Grasspeak Marketplace - 'Ifrit's Hammer'

@PKMNB0Y@RolePlayerRoxas@Raineh Daze@Pyromania99


"Ah, Manticore parts!" Raza clapped. "Yes, I can make useful things out of those. I'll give you a deal, too." It was then, another presence graced her humble store. Shir. Raza looked over to the demon, eyes lighting up with malicious profiteering intent. "Ah yes, I have some out on the shelves! I got some Elder Toad mucus in the back, too! Great for paralysis!" She shouted over the others, just as Ryusei made his offer.

Huh.

Well, she had been intending to go anyways.

"Hey, I'd be willing to lend a hand. I don't have anything new to test at the moment, but I should probably not spend all day scamm-ahem-making Elysium's economy go around."
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay



BZZZZT

On a lazy afternoon, the doorbell of Rina’s penthouse sounded, followed by the speaker sounding out. “Uh, hello, this is Nile Deliveries,” a male voice, rather high-pitched, sounded. “I’ve got a package for a...Katarina Nekrasova? Do I have the right address?”

Nile...deliveries?

Rina frowned. She hadn't been expecting any packages or deliveries or anything of the sort. In fact, she was staying at the Golden Trove with Mika since they had gotten back from the beach. She had only stopped by to grab a few things during her patrol. Weird. Maybe someone had the wrong person? Given Penrose state, she couldn't help but to think this wasn't a coincidence.

Putting a slice of Hawaiian Pizza onto a plate, she made her way over to the intercom to give a reply. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Ah, uh, ok. Could you open the door down here and I’ll bring it up? Or would you rather head down here yourself? Gotta get this thing signed, so I can’t exactly just leave it here…”

“Eh, I'll be down there in a second.” Rina said, before shutting off the intercom. She had to sign for it? Must be something important, but she hadn't ordered anything. As she left the apartment, this only seemed more and more suspicious. A minute or two later the delivery person would have the door to the place rather hurriedly opened.

“Yo,” Rina would greet them casually. “Nile deliveries?”

The person waiting at the doorstep was a young, pimply-faced man with a shock of unruly brown hair and a uniform that looked to be one size too large for him. ‘Nile Deliveries’ was branded on the cap that he wore, and when Rina opened the door, he bobbed his head. “Ah, you’re...Mrs Nekrasova’s daughter?”

A small box, perhaps the size of an encyclopaedia, was balanced on one hand, while he offered a tablet with a pen to Rina with his other. “Just sign here down below. Basically shows that you received the product and all.”

“Uh yeah, daughter.” Rina replied. Right, that was still odd sometimes being mistaken for a kid. She eyed the package curiously. A book? Maybe a computer tablet? Some sort of paper? Rina couldn't even begin to guess. Exhaling in mild annoyance, the magical girl took the tablet and pen, quickly signing her name. “Anything else?”

“No, thank you,” he said, taking the tablet back and handing over the package. “Have a nice day!”

With that, he moved to leave, heading back to his van.

Rina watched the delivery man leave, holding the package in her hands, shaking it lightly. Part of her just wanted to junk it and forget it existed. Whatever it was might be more trouble than it was worth, but...hm. Rina walked back inside, heading back up to her residence with the package in hand.
Soon she was back in her apartment, she moved the pizza box to a nearby counter and set the package on the table. Hesitantly, she picked up a nearby knife and opened the box.

There were two items inside, folded in corrugated paper. One was a tape recorder, the other a USB. Neither of them appeared to be magical in nature.

Rina picked up the USB drive cautiously. This setup felt like she was currently in some cheesy detective drama. They didn't seem magical, so she was fairly certain she was safe from anything of that nature, at least, but that didn't make the items any less concerning. Placing the USB back on the table, she picked up the tape recorder, turning it over in her hands a few times before hitting the play button to see if something had recorded.

After a couple seconds of static, two voices sounded, one male, one female, accompanied by the creaking of rusty metal.

“As of the past two months, I’ve come into a large collection of magical energy,” sounded the female voice. “I need a receptacle that can safely accept it, and convert it into a spell of the users choosing, and I need it within the next week. You think that’s possible?”

The male voice followed. “Secrets tend ta be easier spread than sealed, yeah. And the Mint’s settling back here now, so don’t worry yer pretty little head over whether or not you’re supporting local businesses, darlin’. As for this little receptacle o’ yours...suppose this is fer the rave?”

“And after. Collecting large quantities of Magical Energy isn’t much good if I can’t use it. There’ll probably be quite a bit of fighting in the near future, and a lot of energy to collect. An easy way to use it all’d be nice. How much of my soul’s that gonna cost me, eh?”


From there, the audio cut off, returning to static.

What...was this?

Rina listened to the brief exchange between what was apparently a Mint agent and a second party. Upon the tape finishing, Rina ran into the other room, snatching up a small laptop she rarely used these days. Magical energy? Receptacle and a spell? Were these the people behind the Rave? Hm...maybe, but they were probably just using it as a cover for whatever else they were planning.

Back at the table, Rina quickly booted up the laptop and plugged in the USB. She needed to see the rest of this before making any theories.

Inside the USB, there was one mp4 file, titled ‘Beacon_Ethiopia_August_4_2007’. Her antivirus didn’t pick anything up, and upon clicking it, the video was that of a static shot of a city in the distance, as if it were a CCTV recording. Dark green shrubbery dotted the arid dirt, and the sky was a brilliant cerulean, white clouds so perfect that it looked as if painted.

A minute passed in silence, before, strangely enough, the camera began to shake. Slowly to begin with, but the intensity raked up with each second. The sky brightened impossibly, the clouds turned to indiscernible vapor, and with a roar that recording devices could not capture properly, a massive pillar of light descended from the heavens, striking down into that Middle Eastern city.

A flash, an eruption, and the recording cut off..

For a moment, there was nothing but a black screen.

Then, something new popped up. An aerial shot, from a drone or a helicopter, sweeping over the blackened landscape. Only shadows of buildings remained; everything else was flattened completely. No, not everything.

There was a single person down below. Though the camera’s quality wasn’t enough to make out details, the quality reducing that individual into mere pixels, it could be seen, at least, that they had strawberry blonde hair and the lower half of their face was black. They turned, tilting their head in the direction of the camera, and soon, that recording too was cut off.

The video ended there.

She...had no idea what to make of this.

The file name was really all she had to go on. Something relating to Beacon? As far back as 2007. Was the tape and this video related in some manner? They were sent at the same time, by the same person so it was likely they were supposed to be...but one seemed to be relating to the Mint and the other Beacon. Tapping her fingers idly against the table and fishing for a slice of pizza, she quickly went to an internet user's best friend.

“Eithiopia...2007...” She muttered to herself as she hit the search button. What she found only caused her to ask more questions. There were several eyewitness accounts, along with dashcam footage of the event uploaded to some sites, but nothing solid. It had been labeled a hoax after some time, but in the magical world such hoaxes could easily be more than that.

She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“City disasters in Ethiopia...” Rina quickly did a new google search, that was a little more fruitful. A dangerous gas leak in a city by the name of Dilla. The city had been completely rendered inhospitable by it. A travel ban to the area still persisted to this day. Any gas leak should have been cleaned up by now.

Rina tapped the table again.

What to do, what to do.

Guess the first thing she'd need to do is talk to Beacon. Talk to Alicia and see if she could maybe talk to some higher ups. Still, the most pressing question she had was who in the hell had sent this to her in the first place? She didn't want to go poking around Beacon and get on their bad side, but with everything going on, she didn't have much of a choice.

Rina closed the laptop, grabbed her jacket and pocketed the recorder and the USB.
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

@AtomicNut

It wasn't long after her meeting with Veronica did Chloe run into another problem – a message from the Mint made its way to her. The Raven perched itself on a nearby building. She had first brushed it off as a simple animal, but it had quickly become apparent it was following her. She knew what it was the moment she saw it was carrying a letter.

Taking it, she quickly read the attached document.
"Greetings Chloe. The Mint hopes you are making progress on all of your endeavors, but wishes to remind you of your obligations to the Mint. You have been given an assignment that is sure to affirm their trust in you. You are to eliminate the Cardinal of Beacon as soon as you are able. This should be a simple matter for one with as many connections as yourself. As you likely know, they seldom give people second chances. I hope you put your all into this assignment. Al still has the ace of diamonds.
~The Vermin Killer

Chloe internally grimaced. Eliminate the Cardinal of beacon? How in the hell did they expect her to do that?! Was she supposed to just waltz in there and-no, no, she couldn’t let herself get worked up. Hm. She’d have to...hm, perhaps…’
She grabbed a pencil and wrote on the back of the note.
“That's quite the tall order, though understandable given my recent...seeming MIA. Wouldn't believe me if I said I was kidnapped by a dolphin and forced to wear a swimsuit would you? Regardless, I will see if I can pull off a miracle. I don't suppose you have any information about this Cardinal or a tentative plan? As well...I'm quite certain you'd be interested in knowing I am on decently good terms with a certain Veronica, and perhaps, I might be able to give you some information on her.”
Chloe

"Write a report on Veronica before the day of the party. The Raven will come every day at midnight to the Covington tower's highest point.”
minty fresh

She’d...need some help with this. Chloe grimaced again. She could have help from one of her girls. She already had some idea of how she was going to set this up. She just needed some extra manpower. Well, she hadn’t exactly worked with him in while, but perhaps this could be fruitful.

Grabbing one of her spirits, she’d write a message of her own.

”Well well, it seems I’m writing to you again, you worthless piece of meat. I’m unfortunately, in need of help from someone as pathetic as you. Consider yourself lucky after I’ve refrained from doing so all this time. Meet me at the usual place. And in case your tiny lizard brain forgot, I’ll put directions that a sloth could follow on the back. Make it in time, and I might feel generous.
Chloe


There, that should be enough to get his attention, so she’d wait for him to show up.

It had not been a good last month for William. He had flunked some of his high school exams, mostly because trying to kick ass in the name of the Allfather was entirely incompatible with pursuits of other kind. And there had not been many exciting things lately. The Allfather was restless… and the Mint doubly so. When he realized a Raven had appeared in front of him, his first thought was to think of a divine commandment, but it was something else.

Chloe. He was reminded of her. A striking, colorful personality and daring fashion choices. He was particularly reminded of those shapely legs and dainty figure stepping on top of him… but he was getting ahead of himself. He did not need to show any outward sign of this. People liked the calm and collected play of the brooding dark knight.

So, he made it with haste, and after making contact with the source of said message, dropped to one knee in a bit of flair. "Your wish is my command, Reaver awaits eagerly. Whose enemy does my lady seek to destroy? Point your hand, and I shall make a beautiful painting worthy of your beauty with the blood of enemies"

Nailed it. He thought to himself inwardly.

Chloe had been waiting at the location, a small out of the way part of the city at an old construction site that had been more or less abandoned since the Ascendancy had moved into Penrose. She was both looking forward to meeting Reaver and not. An annoyance, and a fool of a man. The worst sort, really, but he was good for the occasional stress relief...and help.
“You're late.” Chloe said with a cool gaze towards the kneeling man as she stood over him. Not having to play the good girl act around Penny for once was refreshing. “Really, making a girl like me wait. How shameless. I'd give you a little physical encouragement, but you'd like that wouldn't you?” Her mouth twisted into a smirk. “On your hands and knees. My feet hurt after waiting on you.”

Reaver stood for a moment, processing what Chloe had said, while partaking of the sight of a couple of shapely feet talking to him. If only they caressed his face. Physical encouragement was good… what was she talking about ? Oh yes, punishment!

He dropped on all fours, her intention fully understood as he fashioned the best human chair she could aspire him to be. At least he did not have his armor equipped. The spikes would hurt, indeed. “I hear and obey, my lady.”

Not missing a step, Chloe made good on her intentions. Sitting down, she placed her butt right one the upper part of Reavers back.

“Hmph, it's almost pathetic how easy you do this.” Chloe chided, crossing her legs. “Well, not that I can judge one's...fetishes, fufu.” She leaned back slightly, running a hand across the boys back towards his neck. “Unfortunately, I'm here for business, not your perverse pleasure. The Mint has given me a job that I could use your help with.”

Reaver stood very still, urging the sensation to shift and move under the soft touch of the magical girl’s through his back. It would be unbecoming if a chair suddenly went limp. He smirked somewhat. “Business is always a pleasure with you, my lady. Who is overdue to depart this world? Has someone made comments about your weight? Or overall figure? Or just want to see how it feels to reveal some girl’s worst fears?” Reaver added. “Or is it kidnapping?”

“Heheh,” Chloe chuckled lightly. “If only my Penny was as earnest as you.” Her hand found a rest on the back of his head. “But who do you think it is? Use that brain of yours and think for a second.” Rather abruptly, Chloe leaned to the side, putting most of her weight onto his shoulders as she continued speaking, he could feel her warm breath on his ear. “Beacon, is on the menu. One of their Cardinals has been marked for execution, and that's what you’ve been granted the honor of helping me doing.”

A cardinal? Isn’t that a bigshot? There will be a ton of fighting then. Reaver stood still for a second, before flashing a predatory grin unbecoming of a man of his poise. The cravings were getting a bit too hard to bear upon learning of more battles… and more prey. He shifted somewhat slightly, not because the increased weight on his shoulders but on anticipation.

Plus if there’s such a daunting task, i might impress Chloe enough that I might get a nice reward. Like massaging her feet or something “Blood and war are like a good drink and music to my ears. Let this humble Reaver show these pompous fools know how things are done downtown.” He added nonchalantly.

“Don't get overly eager, pet.” Chloe grabbed the back of Reavers hair, pulling back his head hard. “I've set things up, it shall be an assassination not a riot.” Reaver would feel a bit of relief as Chloe got up from her seat. Slowly, she walked in a circle around him as she continued. “On the night of Vi-Chan's party, the Cardinal will be alone. I've come into possession of a former beacon girl by the name of Divina and have set up a ransom meeting. Foolishly, she thinks she can solve this with words in hope of some form of redemption.” She ended up in front of Reaver now.

“She knows she's walking into a trap, and we'll likely have a fight in for us, but if you do well-” Chloe lifted her leg, before bringing her heel sharply down on the back of his head. “I might be inclined to put up with your presence a bit longer.”

Reaver grunted slightly, eyeing the source of his somewhat titillating torment in the eyes, before she got up from his back, treating himself to a full view of Chloe’s backside for the briefest moment and the way she deliciously walked around like if she was the queen of the whole world. Those juicy legs… but she’d be mad if he tried to… partake in the feast all too soon. It was then when a sharp blow indicated one of his favorite parts.

Foot on head time. She really knew how to say convincing. “I shall compose a symphony with her wails and a perfume with her tears for you, my lady. Maybe use the face as purse. No, on second thought that one’s gross. Pardon this fool, his mind is not exempt of… temptation.”

“Hmph.” Chloe pressed her heel harder against the back of his head. Obedience like his was something she didn't get to see often, even if he was pain to deal with. “Do well enough, and I'll let you do whatever with her body before I send it back to beacon.” After a final shove downwards on his skull, Chloe dropped a piece of paper with the location and other details of the plan that he should have been aware of on the ground. “Don't screw it up”

Reaver said nothing more, before reaching out to the paper, and bring it close to his face, perhaps a little too close, tucked it in one of his pockets, and did not make eye with Chloe again, waiting the magical girl to leave his presence before rising once more, and scratching his head.

“Hmm, subtlety. Not something I’m particularly fond of… still if lady Chloe wants it, it shall be done.”

There was much work to do. Many preparations.




If there was one thing that Vi loved doing, it was a bit of pampering. Makeovers? Yes! Latest fashion trends? You know it! She might have been a bit of a shut in, but she absolutely loved keeping up with the latest trends or otherwise looking as what one might say as a high school girl as possible. It was a rare chance she got to just do...normal girly things without jumping at her own shadow or worrying about Beacon or the Mint.
She walked out of a building, run by a particularly fashionable magical girl that she had sworn to secrecy about her coming here. Still, out in public like this, she couldn't exactly announce her presence to the world. Aside from the fact her nails would get messed up in a fight, she really, really, wasn't looking for one.

Pausing for a moment to check Glimmr, Vi glanced to the sides. Didn’t seem like anyone was following her. Not that there were many people in penrose these days.
A few more minutes of walking, she arrived at the park just as night was falling over the city. Used to she'd love to play in places like this. Music had always been what she loved doing...the sheer emotion someone could make with a song was something that could speak to everyone.
…
Thinking about what she was going to be doing the night of the...party...made her skin crawl. She really didn't want too, but...what else could she do? She couldn't go to beacon, she'd be killed. Mint? If she went crawling back, she'd end up dead. Maybe if she could have met this Veronica person and their cradle, but she was former mint. No telling what sort of shady stuff she was into-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustling in the trees.

“...GWEH?!” A rather uncute scream as an owl flew from the ground, nearly pelting her in the face before flying off. “Geh…! Damn it nature…!”

Off in the distance, atop a different tree Aurelio was currently pondering what he should do. He was nearly done with his patrol for the night, only a few more blocks to go and he’d be able to turn in. Possibly meet up with Sally for a few hands of cards, her luck was slightly negated by his skill in reading emotions after all.

Thing is he could feel a surprising amount of Worry and Fear in the Park. it wasn’t the kind one would feel from an attack it felt too well worn to be that, and because of that he wasn’t sure if he should bother poking his nose into things or not. In the end he shrugged to himself, his Vow answered the question for him really.

Without another moment Aurelio would drop out of the tree and simply stroll in the direction of all the emotion. Whistling a happy little tune as he went. A simple snap later and his outfit would fade into a more normal ensemble and another moment passed and another snap would have a Clone popping into existence before it leapt back up into the tree Aurelio had just vacated. They were in dangerous times after all, nothing like having another pair of eyes keeping an eye out for trouble.

Thus by the time Aurelio came into line of sight of the bench that Vi was sitting on he looked like just a simple teen out for a stroll in the park. The small smile on his face would grow at seeing Vi and he would detour towards the bench “Seems I’m not the only one around here that still enjoys the peaceful atmosphere of the park” He would say in lieu of greetings “And here I thought most people had stopped visiting at this time, glad to see that’s not the case.”

Vi's head whipped around from the sound of Aurelio's voice. Immediately upon his approach, he'd sense a new surge of worry, anxiety, and a tinge of fear. Someone would easily assume the person those emotions were coming from would have noped out of whatever situation they were in. Instead, though, Vi simply looked at the other with a raised eyebrow, her face not betraying her underlying emotions at all.

“Oh greaaaat.” Vi replied with a huff. “Came here to be alone and looks like someone else is here.” A light smirk formed on her face. “Not that I can blame ya. Hard to find a high school girl as cute as me in Penrose these days. So what, saw me and had to ask me on a date? Sorry, I'm waaaay outta your league so just get lost, 'kaaaay?~”

Was this guy with Beacon? The Mint? Or was he just some random magical boy passing through? They couldn't be a normal human. Not out at this hour when most had been evacuated from the city. She wanted to run, but that might be a bad idea. Too suspicious.

“You wound me” He would say dramatically, rocking with the imagined blow, smiling all the while, though it would have dimmed “I just wanted to talk, I’m a people person and I’ve been out of the city for a while so most of my friends have gone to ground” He would explain calmly with a light shrug. He resisted the temptation to sit down and instead made sure that his hands were easily visible and kept the bench at least partly in between the two of them.

“Used to come here all the time, lots of people liked to wander through here, and you could meet people from all walks” Aurelio would go on to say his stance open and relaxed. “Still do on occasion since I got back. Not so many people anymore” he would finish with a melancholic sigh as he turned his gaze out towards the open field nearby.

“So you’re the meddling type, huh?” Vi replied with a mildly teasing tone. He didn't seem to be hiding anything, which was incredibly odd. Then why was he doing this? And who was he? She allowed herself to relax, just slightly despite the unknowns. That ever present fear and worry directed towards him didn't leave, but he could tell it had diminished, at least a little. “Well, whatevs. You wanna talk, then talk. You don't look like a Chad at least so I guess you're alright.” Vi leaned back, gazing up towards the sky and letting her arms rest on the back of the bench.

“Yup” Aurelio would reply with a smile as he popped the ‘P’ “Stage name is Aurelio” he would say with a slight bow “Never been much of a Chad, never wanted to be either, more of a theater nerd if you ask me and proud to be such” He would say giving an over the top heroic pose that he knew made him look ridiculous.

“How about you?” He’d ask, dropping his pose as he quirked an eyebrow at Vi “You don’t strike me as a Stacy, so who be your peeps?”

“Who 'be your peeps'” She laughed lightly. “Wow, trying a little too hard there drama king.” She waved a dismissive hand as she made a point to keep her gaze on the darkening sky above. “I was the band nerd myself. Y'know, except actually cool unlike you probably were.” She flashed a teasing grin. “Seriously, what kinda nerd goes around callin' themselves 'Aurelio'.” Same sort of nerd that went around the internet calling themselves 'Vi-chan' she mused idly to herself.
“Elivra if ya need a name.” She let out a long, drawn out sigh. “Just your resident cute highschool girl and musician...” she might have said some of that sentence with conviction earlier, but her words were now tinged with a slight sense of uncertainty. Depression, perhaps.

“Hey, it got a laugh so not all was in vain” He’d quip in response looking at the sky for a bit trying to see if there was anything to see, or if it was Elvira was simply looking out so as not to look in. “And while I was a total dweeb, not too hard to stay aloft in the cool crowd when you can do card tricks” He would counter returning his attention to Elvira.

His smile faltered a bit at the continued outpouring of negative emotions that came from his new acquaintance. “Nice to meet you Elivra, names Kyle. Think it’s kinda obvious why I go by Aurelio when I can help it” He would introduce himself with a shrug.

Aurelio would let the silence linger for a moment before speaking up again “We’ve already established that I’m the meddling sort, so let me know if I’m overstepping here, but is there anything I can do to help?” He would ask earnestly as he allowed his concern to surface.

“Weh?” Vi straightened her posture, sitting up and turning her head towards Aurelio. For a moment, he could feel a new surge of fear, anxiety, uncertainty – all being directed at him. Her eyes darted from him towards the opposite end of the park, and she very well looked like she might run, at least until a smug, toothy grin returned.

“Ahaaha, what are you talking about.” Her outward demeanor was definitely bright, but that's all it was. “The only problems a girl like me has, are too many boys tryin' to get in my number, and worryin' if I'll run into a total creepo stalker fan.” The facade would be kept up only for a few seconds longer as silence stretched for a few moments until she spoke up again. “...hey, what sorta music you like? Techno, rock, and a touch of orchestral pieces myself.”

Aurelio just had a unimpressed look on his face as Elivra tried to deflect his question away but he didn’t move. If she wanted to run he wasn’t going to chase after her at the moment. He had pushed, he knew when to cak off as well. Still to see her so easily plaster on a fake smile and seem like all was well hurt. It meant that she had been dealing with her troubles by herself for too long.

The bit about having fans also stuck out to him but he wasn’t going to pry.

“I’m a fan of symphonies, and any music that tells a story really. Also got a soft spot for old blues, if I’m being honest” He would answer “All in all it has less to do with the sounds and more to do with how it makes people feel”

“Right?!” Elvira jumped off the bench, an eager grin plastered on her face, however fake it'd be to Aurelio. “You totes get it! Like that's entirely why I took up playing! Making everyone feel something a piece was always great.” Vi would then go on to rant for a few minutes about music in general, her love of it...until eventually, all that fear was completely washed away. Eventually she'd pause, glance around, and give Aurelio an excited grin.

“Hey, you're like really easy to talk to y'know that? It's kinda weird.” She'd say before asking a question. “Mind if I play something for you? I'd need to get changed but I can totes do it if you want. I don't get to play for many live people these days.”

Aurelio would be more than happy to join in on rant, even if it was little more than just the odd comment here and there. As he could feel the tension drifting out of the other girl, and he would be damned if he tried to stop it.

By the time she offered to play something for him he had found himself sitting on the handrail of the bench grinning widely. “I’m a people person, what can I say?” He’d reply with a shrug “And if you want to play something by all means. I’d love to hear you play”

“Right- uh, just- don't freak out and don't go anywhere for a second, kay?” Why was she doing this? This had terrible idea. She didn't know this guy, and the more she thought about it the more weird he was. Who just went up and randomly talked to strangers like that? Well, whatever, he was probably a magical boy, and at the moment, for once, she didn't care who he was. He didn't seem hostile.

Just as she was about to, however, her phone rang.
“Bweh?!” A new surge of worry and panic as she quickly reached for the phone. “Geh...horrible timing as ever. Uh, gimme a sec I need to take this.”
“Hey, it's ya best girl here.” She said, putting on her usual winning grin. “What'cha need? You...need me to do...what? You can't be serious!?” Vi's eyes widened as she tried to process what she was being asked for. “Wait wait you-you said I wouldn't...I need, geh...fine...I get it...fine...I'll be there.” For a few seconds she just stood there, before turning around and grinning at Aurelio.
“Sorry, guess I'ma have to cancel that. Work calls. Uhm, maybe I'll see you around?”

Aurelio’s disappointment was easy to see but he nodded in understanding nonetheless “Work always calls at the worst time, I swear” He’d say shaking his head as he stood up. “I tend to swing through here at least once a week at this time” he would go on to say gesturing to the park at large “So we can definitely meet up again.” Smiling he would reach into his pockets and pull out a marker and a playing card. “Also” He would jot down his phone number on to the card before offering it up “In case you want to talk some other time, or need help, or just want to meet up sooner”

“...heh.” Vi gave Aurelio a toothy grin. “Smooth, Kyle, smooth.” She took his card with two fingers and glanced at it. “Got me talkin' and gave me your number. Whatevs though, you're not half bad so yeah, sure might hit ya up for a IRL party date later.” She stuffed the card in her bag, pausing a moment and laughing.

“Oh, and duh, need something to post to Glimmr. Stand still for a sec.” Before Aurelio could say anything, he'd find Vi standing right next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as she pulled out her phone. A camera flash later and she had taken a rather forceful selfie of the two of them on her phone. “Heheh, be glad you got to be in a selfie with me. I know some fans that'd kill for that privilege. Welp, gotta go though!”

She shoved the phone back into her pockets, and started to run off.

“Ah, and ya know, if you want,” She turned, shouting back at Aurelio. “Call me Vi next time!”

“Catch ya round!” Aurelio would call out as Vi raced off into the darkness. A smile in place until he was sure she was gone.

“Damn” he muttered to himself, running a hand across his face as he let the illusion on his outfit fade. He was pretty damn sure that that was the eponymous ‘Vi-Chan’ who was responsible for setting up the Rave.

Yet he doubted that she was doing it of her own volition at this point. He wasn’t a Light user, so he couldn’t tell if he was being lied to, but her Emotions told their own tale and one that had him feeling that she was being pressured into things. After all most girls aren't kicking out that much Worry and Panic over a work related phone call.

He clicked his tongue as he turned back to his patrol route. He needed to talk to Alicia about this, and Sally. They might need to rescue someone from the dark soon.



Elvira quickly made her way back to her current hideout. Many different ideas running through her head, namely about simply skipping town and just starting over. She had money. She could live fine elsewhere, but...for how long? How long could she keep running from everything. It seemed every time she thought she was safe, something else happened.

Soon she had walked back in, and she was greeted with a rather unpleasant sight. Chloe.

"Heyyy, Chloe heard you had a business call for me...uh, I did...hear you right, I think?" Chloe returned the question with a smirk.“You want me to do what!?” Vi’s face contorted, a mix of fear, anger, and anxiety. Crossing her face as she stared at Chloe. “I-I you-you said I wouldn’t have to-I’m, but-”

“Quit your stuttering.” Chloe replied coldly. “You’re already a public enemy for Beacon. Just add it to the list of things they’ll charge against you. Wouldn’t be the first time you’ve killed one of theirs, would it?”

“But, I-you...ugh, damn it…!”

“Don’t worry, just do this little thing for me and I’ll make sure you’re fine...or would you rather I get you before the Mint does?”

“...tch...not like I have much of a choice...” Vi slumped in her chair, an exasperated sigh. “Fine. FINE.”

“That’s a good girl. Get on with it then.”

“Ugh, threatening a Cardinal...that’s a new one, even for me...” Vi turned towards her computer, starting to type away at the keyboard.



Not long after a certain message would show up on the Cardinal’s Glimmr account. Something only she could see, and something that no one else would be able to track easily. Even if they could, it wasn’t like it’d solve anything. It was a simple message, branding with a usual logo VI used for most of her online activities.

“Heya, Cardinal. It’s ya girl Vi-chan here! Wow, bet you weren’t expecting me to message you personally, were ya? You should feel special, heh! Before you do anything silly, lets just say someone’s life might hinge on you following through with this. Remember Divina? I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t. You probably don’t even remember any of your subordinates' names, heh.”
Vi-Chan


About two hours later, Vi’s message got a private reply.

“Thank you for messaging me. I know it can be difficult for the corrupted to reach out to members of the Beacon, so I am grateful. Please release Divina from her imprisonment. Her friends and family miss her dearly. Is there something you would want in exchange for her freedom?”

The reply would come almost immediately.

“Y’know being called 'Corrupted' is really annoying. I'm just a totally cute high school girl who brings people happiness with her music. Why’s Beacon always gotta be hatin'?” “Lol, but unlike you I don't hold grudges and am willing to be nice to people who don't like me. You want Divina? Then I want you. Alone, Cardinal. A personal meeting.

I know this sounds like a trap, because it totes is, but heeey, at least you'll get a shot at Divina, right? Or is Beacon's Cardinal all show? Should I tell her that her 'family' doesn't care about her? Pretty lame of beacon to do that.”
Vi-Chan


The next reply came much faster, about five minutes later.

"I'm sorry if I offended you. I was unaware the term is interpreted as hate speech, which was not my intention. I also apologize on behalf of Beacon for any hatred you may have suffered from their ranks.
We all care for Divina, and wish to see her back with us safely. For that, I am willing to meet with you on my own."

“Ahahaah, wow. You're apologizing now? After your little do gooders have tried murdering me countless times when I just wanted to be left alone to make music for people? Even after I begged for help after escaping the mint?! That's rich. I'd laugh if it didn't piss me-

Tch, whatever. Gettin' so worked up is gonna ruin my makeup.

Listen up, Boomer Mc. Boomy pants. The night of the party, There'll be an empty park. You want Divina? Meet me there. And I will know if you're not alone or have someone watching your back.”
Vi-Chan


A second window would show up on the Cardinals glimmr account. A map of Penrose marked with a map and a time.
The final reply came a couple of minutes later.

“I understand. I hope that we shall reach a mutual understanding.”

“Heh, we'll see. See you, Cardinal.”

And with that, the connection was cut, leaving the Cardinal to do with the information what she wanted.



“You really think that's gonna work?” Vi looked at the computer screen, hands balled into fists as she resisted the urge to shiver.

“Probably not.” Chloe replied with a huff. “Either she'll come, or she'll send some beacon girls. Either way, I get what I want for now.” Though if she didn't, she'd need to find a new way to handle the Cardinal. At least this, though, could likely buy her a bit of time.

“Nothing...nothing else for the mint, right?”

“...heh, we'll see.” Chloe smirked. “You just keep doing what I tell you, and you don't have to worry about a little thing.” Giving the other girl an overly friendly pat on her cheek, Chloe made her way towards the exit. Vi grimaced at the touch, inhaling sharply and glaring at Chloe as she left.

Damn it, if that moth wasn't always watching her...she'd have already taken care of this herself.

"Calm down Vi," She said, tapping her fingers against the keyboard. "Just be a clever little girl and handle this..." Chloe probably thought she was entirely pacified, but she couldn't stand being used like this, and she wasn't going to take it if she could help it...but what?
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

@BrokenPromise
Rina & Mika - a date?!


The Golden Trove’s lobby was not a very busy place these days. The only exception was during breakfast time. A complimentary breakfast was one of those traditions that Su was too stubborn to let go of. Even if Penrose’s current state made getting ingredients difficult, she was happy to keep the tradition alive.

Anyone who entered the lobby early enough would be able to catch a whiff of breakfast. The coffee maker was brewing, the tap had just been filled with orange juice. Scrambled eggs, ham, and cheese slices decorated the plates of traditional breakfast eaters. There were also bagels available, but you had to be patient if you wanted to use the toaster. There were also pancakes and a Belgian waffle press that had girls lined up in front of it. There were no shortage of condiments, from butter to ketchup to every jam you could think of.

Su replaced an empty plate with one filled with tiny blueberry muffins. “She didn’t come down again?” The hotel manager surveyed her surroundings.

“Man that bed was nice.” Rina headed down the stairs, hand over her mouth stifling a yawn as she made her way down the lobby. She had elected to stay at the Golden Trove with Mika for the foreseeable future. As long as the Ascendancy was running beacon, she didn't wasn't going to be helping them in the slightest. Not like she minded anyways.

Walking into the breakfast room, Rina grabbed a few pancakes and stacked them on her plate along with some eggs.

“Mornin' Su.”

“Good morning Rita!” Su said a bit happier than was warranted. Afterwards, her eyelids flew open. “Rina! Sorry, I was just thinking of something.” Su finished arranging the foodstuffs when she froze. “Rina?” She turned to face the former police officer. “I’m sorry, are you the same Rina who took Mika on a tour around Penrose?”

“Still wakin' up, huh?” She replied, reaching for a cup of coffee. “Yeah, that's me. Thanks for lettin' me stay here by the way.”

“We’re always happy to have guests. They keep the doors open.” Su took an empty plate and started to fill it with food. “As for my level of alertness, that has less to do with me waking up and more to do with Mika.” Su poured some syrup over the waffle topped pancakes. “Did you know Lupa? She left Penrose and Mika hasn’t quite been herself. She spends a lot of time in her room, and only leaves when she doesn’t think Helga or I are around to notice.” Su loaded up a serving cart before presenting it to Rina. “I hate to impose on you, but I think she needs a friend right now. Would you mind taking this up to her room?”

“Eeeh? Who'd abandon a cute cat like-ahem.” Rina frowned at the idea. Mika...hadn't been herself? That was a difficult idea to grasp. Since when was the energetic cat girl not anything other than a ball of confusing cat shaped energy? Must have been pretty close friends if she was that beat up over it. Rina really would have preferred just a nice relaxing cup of coffee and breakfast, but she couldn't let Mika just mope around.

“Aaaah, alright I'll do it.” She said after a bit of consideration and taking the plate of food. “Where's her room at again?” She would ask as she made a move to leave.

“Thank you. Right this way..” Su bowed before leading Rina to her destination.



If the staff sleeping quarters could be described in one word, it would be “unfinished.” It was clear that Su was still in the process of renovating the old hotel staff rooms into something that matched the rest of the hotel. They were still using the old furniture, and the new wallpaper only covered half of the walls. In Penrose’s current state it would be difficult to finish renovating the place.

“Pardon the mess.” Su pointed at a doorway. It had yet to receive new wallpaper, but the room’s inhabitant had used markers to draw animals all over the walls. They were all stick figures, and not even good ones. “That’s her room..” Su sighed. “I’ll be hanging back here if you need anything. Thanks again for doing this.”

“Eh, don't mention it. Dunno what help I'll be but I'll try.” Rina shrugged. Seemed like Mika was trying to be a bit of an artist. It'd have been slightly cute if the cat in question wasn't apparently upset. Rina walked over to the doorway that Su had directed her too, stopping briefly before entering.

“Hey, Mika.” Rina began cautiously. She should probably be somewhat tactful about this. “Uh, thought we could get breakfast together since y'know, you let me stay here or whatever. Got some pancakes.”

There was no answer, but there was a response. Rina was able to hear a pair of feet shuffling on the other side of the door. With a click, it started to swing open. There was a creaking sound that persisted until the door swung all the way open, and then Rina saw it.

The room wasn’t laid out much differently than Rina’s own, but what Mika chose to keep in her room and how she organized it were far different. That is to say her room was a mess, and that was putting it lightly. Her bed wasn’t made, papers were thrown about her desk, and her garbage can was overflowing and tipped over. But stranger still was the amount of stuff Mika had crammed into such a tiny room. There were a few punching bags, some ruined and leaking. One entire corner of the room had been dedicated to holding plastic swords, and there were all manner of things from Nerf guns to pool noodles to a freakin’ trampoline. It would be impossible to list every item in the room. It likely couldn’t be cleaned up because there was no place to put half of this stuff.

In the center of Mika’s room was a shimmering portal. One that lead to a giant mound of pillows. A world of Pillows, where the mountains, sea, and clouds were all pillows. And Mika was rummaging around inside. When Rina looked back to see if Su was still there, she appeared to have gone.

Rina's first thought: 'Hol up'

“....I have so many questions, and I'm not going to ask.” Rina stepped into the room, carefully placing the plate with her food on it on a nearby, hopefully relatively clean surface. Jeez, she was going to have to clean this room at some point! How the hell was she living like this?

“Hey Mika!” She approached the portal, deciding whether or not she should try jumping in or not.

“Hello!”Before long, Mika came running out of the portal. She was holding a body pillow over her shoulder, which she promptly threw on her bed. If her bed wasn’t covered in marbles and jewelry that is. Instead, it landed on top of the heap and rolled down the side.

“I need to organize this stuff better.” She looked at the mess on the bed, but her eyes moved over to her breakfast. “Did she send you up with this?” Mika walked over to it and inspected the plate. “Blueberry muffins? Of course she was too lazy to add the crumbly.” She sat down on the marbles bed and began shoveling food into her mouth. After eating in relative silence for the better part of a minute, Mika looked up at Rina. “Is something wrong?”

Well, this was going about as she expected so far.

For the first minute, Rina grabbed her own plate and ate in silence alongside Mika. Things seemed fairly normal, but...if Su had said that then she couldn't help but to feel like there was some truth to it. What should she do though, was the question. She wasn't some sorta shrink.

“Well this room for one.” Rina said with a frown and a sigh. “If I wasn't busy with other things, I'd make you thoroughly clean it.” She did her best to take a seat next to Mika on the bed. How on earth did Mika do whatever this was?

Mika smiled. ”It’ll look a lot better once I’m done. I didn’t exactly live like a rich kid before I started arranging stuff.”

“Su said Lupa left.” Rina said once she settled down.

Mika froze, the smile on her face vanished in an instant. The food in her hands fell back onto the plate, which she set off to the side. ”I’m over it.” Mika placed her hands on her knees. ”It wouldn’t have been so bad if she just left.” She was staring at a spot on the floor. ”But instead she left a clone behind to tell me I didn’t love her. I pushed her around in a wheelchair for weeks, but I guess that doesn’t count for anything. She’s just upset with what Beacon did to the place.”

“She did what...?” Talk about heartless. She didn't know who this Lupa person was really, but if she ever saw her in person, she was going to get smacked.

Mika grit her teeth. ”I’m over it though, I’m over it.” She pushed herself off the bed and walked towards the portal. When she looked back at Rina, she was smiling. ”Wanna take a walk with me?”

“Jeez, hey, hey, come here a second.” Before replying, Rina hopped up from where she was sitting and moved next to Mika. “You are not over anything, don't act tough.” She reached out, patting Mika’s head and giving her ears a few rubs.

”Hmmm.” Mika folded her arms.

“Alright?” Rina eyed the portal suspiciously. “But yeah, a walk sounds fun. What is that portal anyways?”

”You know the beach dimension?” Mika took Rina’s hand and stepped inside. ”Well, let’s just say it’s a lot bigger than I originally thought. There are all kinds of other planets, like a food planet, a toy planet, and this one is a pillow planet.” Rina could feel her feet sink into the ground as they walked along. It felt like walking on top of a memory foam mattress. ”The world’s aren’t all safe, and it seems like most of the stuff is pretty normal. So no going to a ‘magical weapon’ planet. But if you want a pillow buddy, this is a great place to go.” Mika ran over to a mountain of body pillows and pulled one of them out. ”Is Noel your waifu?” she wiggled the pillow side to side.

“She's not.” Rina said with a light chuckle. Well, that place was bigger than she had thought. At least she wasn't being forced into a swimsuit this time. “Is this what you've been doing? Exploring this place like some sorta space cat explorer?” She walked over to the pillow pile and pulled out a pillow of her own.

”More or less. It’s a lot nicer here than Penrose.” The feline magical girl raised Noel over her head. ”Until Noel hears she’s not your waifu!” She swung Noel at Rina as hard as she could.

“Weh?!” Rina could only shout as she took a Noel body pillow to the face. She stumbled back a few steps as she recovered, still having her own body pillow in hand. Well fine! If she wanted to play that game!

“Alright, I see how it is.” Rina grinned, readying her own pillow for a fight. Well, might as well have a bit of fun with this. “So you have chosen a fluffy pillow death!” Running forwards, she swung her own at Mika.

Mika blinked. ”Kakegurui!?” But that was as far as she got before the gambling obsessed school girl was slammed against Mika’s noggin. ”She’s so far below Noel, it’s not even funny!”

The two continued to play fight, though it was probably more accurate to say they were taking turns smacking each other with pillows. It wasn’t long before the pillows broke and started dumping feathers in the air. Visibility lowered, but the swinging didn’t stop until they were holding nothing but the pillow case covers.

Mika turned around and ran directly into a pillow mound. She kicked her legs until she eventually squirmed inside.

Rina tossed her useless pillowcase on the ground. She honestly had no idea who any of these people were, but that was besides the point. She ran over to the mound, watching Mika try and wiggle her way inside until she had been completely assimilated by the pillow mound. Rina picked up another pillow from the pile at random, fluffing it with hostile intent.

“Mika! Don't run from your fluffy defeat!” Not deigning to give the other girl a chance to escape though, Rina kept up the chase and decided to dive in after her.

The deeper Rina went inside the pillow mound, the darker it got. It was possible to see Mika’s legs at first, but eventually things got so dark that it became impossible to see anything. It also got harder to dig as Rina went deeper into the mound. The weapon smith hadn’t noticed it at first, but it was much warmer inside the pillow mound than it was out in the cool air. But in reaching around, Rina would eventually find what she was looking for.

”My tail!”

“Ahaha, found you!” Rina grabbed Mika's tail with one hand. Making sure the other girl couldn't escape so easily, Rina would eventually attempt to find a leg with her other hand as she attempted to wiggle up next to Mika.

”Mmmmmm!” As soon as Rina got a hold of Mika’s leg, she did a barrel roll. It only lasted a few seconds until the two emerged from the side of the pillow pile, at which point Mika rolled to a stop. Dizzy, confused, and probably a sense of regret. She tried to prop herself up. ”You… Got me…” Mika fell onto her back and closed her eyes for dramatic effect.

Rina was shoved from the pillow fort alongside Mika. She hit the ground, landing next to the cat girl. Sitting up, she did a silly victory pose and grinned. “Ahaha, and the victor of the great pillow war goes to me!” Wow, this entire thing was silly. Rina felt some color come to her cheeks, glad that no one else had seen that.

“Ahem...eeeh, that was oddly tiring.” Rina took a seat next to Mika and gave her head another rub. “Having fun, Mika?”

”Oh yea.” Mika sat up. ”I always have fun when I’m here, but it gets a little lonely with just Dan sometimes.” Mika examined Rina’s profile. ”Also, there was something I wanted to give you.” Mika wrapped her arms around Rina’s shoulders and planted her lips over hers. She was half giving the white haired girl a bear hug, with her other hand pressing Rina’s head into hers. Mika was leaning into Rina so much that she started to lean backwards. Their upper bodies were practically locked together. The feline magical girl showed no signs of letting go. Rina could also feel Mika’s tongue trying to make its way inside her mouth.

“B-bweh? Mika?!” Rina had not been expecting that. She'd have protested more but her protests were silenced by Mika locking lips with her. Not that she minded in the end. Did Su know Mika was going to be doing this? After a few bad initial attempts at escaping, slowly, Rina allowed her initial surprise to fade and accepted the kiss with little hesitance. This wasn’t exactly bad, right?

The kiss had an unusual duration, but it did eventually end. When Mika pulled away, she placed a finger on Rina’;s collar bone. ”I’m going to go to the dark magical party, but I could use a date.” She traced her finger along the top of Rina’s ribcage, from shoulder to shoulder. ”Would you like to come with me?”

“...Ahh, well, I wasn't planning on it.” Rina said with a sigh. That was...not something she expected to hear. She hadn't had any plans to go herself, but...well, she supposed someone needed to keep an eye on things, and if it made Mika happy she found it hard to say no. “But someone needs to make sure you behave yourself I guess.”

Mika straightened out her outfit and stood up. ”Thanks. Su won’t shut up about getting me to go, so it’ll be nice to have you around.” She helped Rina to her feet. After a quick glance around, her ears went back. ”Was my room really that bad? I could offload everything into a cottage at the beach if you think I need to.”

“How about instead I help you clean it.” Rina said with a soft smile, ruffling Mika's hair. “But for now how about we finish breakfast, and I need to do some rounds in the city anyways.” She gave Mika another hug. “So let's get outta here, alright?” She narrowed her eyes for a second. “And if you tell anyone I ran around waving a pillow of Kakegurui at anyone, I will deny it.”

”It’ll be our secret.”Mika said with a grin.



After Rina finished breakfast, she parted ways with Mika at her room. She didn’t get halfway down the hall when Su appeared before her. “How did it go?”

“Well I have a date.” Rina replied with a shrug, but it caused Su to smile. “And I guess that means we're dating now? Jeez, I haven't dated anyone since my academy days...now I feel old.” Rina sipped on the last of her drink before continuing. “I think she'll be fine though. Not really looking forward to that party. I'd have avoided it normally, but...well, I'll keep an eye on her.”

“That’s excellent!” Su clapped her hands together. “Though if I’m going to be honest, I understand where you’re coming from. Beacon could attack the party, or just things could devolve because that’s what happens when corrupted magic is what keeps you up.” Her smile widened. “But I’ll be there, and so will Helga. Even Mika will be there. I even think a few of the other guests are coming with us. So you won’t be alone.” She sighed, but kept her smile up. “If we all stay inside and let Beacon tell everyone what to do, we’ve already resigned ourselves to being slaves.”

“Yeah,” Rina nodded. She wasn't quite sure she shared all of Su's sentiments. She wasn't a dark magical girl herself, nor did she entirely disagree with how most of beacon was normally run. But the Ascendancy? There should always be some form of due process, but they take things way too far. “Well, if you need anything you have my number. I'm gonna take a quick patrol around the city.”

“Thanks again, Rina. I’ll call you if something comes up, but I should have things under control here.” With a bow, Su excused herself.



Veronica and Chloe



There was an entire week of time to kill. An entire week until Vi’s party kicked off. Those who were attending the party Needed to wait 7 days.That was 168 hours, made up of 10,080 minutes, which would break down into 604,800 seconds that needed to be occupied before the party could start. Someone had to be awfully bored with the wait.

“Hmmm...” Veronica stood in front of the place where the party was supposed to start. An old warehouse, just like her sources specified. In that sense, it fit right in with all the ruined buildings and destruction. “Either there’s an illusion protecting it, or the people of Penrose have forgotten how to party.”

Seemed like everything was going well, then. She had gotten a call from Vi about the PI wanting to meet, and Chloe was hesitant to involve them. Security wasn't exactly something she cared for at the event in the first place. If Beacon came, then Beacon would come. Still, inspecting the place and making sure it was in working order was something she had said she'd do.

Oh...was that Veronica?

“Eeeeh? What's she doing here?...” Still, perhaps this was a good thing. After that whole deal with Penny, she was feeling particularly agitated and could use some entertainment. She had some things she wanted to discuss with her anyways, namely see how much she appreciated what Alicia had asked her to do.

Chloe quickly observed the area around Veronica, smirking lightly.

Well if she wanted to always sneak up on people...she summoned one of her spirits, sending it slithering along the ground before latching a hand onto Veronica's ankles and lifting her by her feet into the air. Chloe landed a few seconds later in front of her.

Veronica seemed perfectly content to hang upside down, swinging side to side like a pendulum. Or at the very least she was not quick to struggle against the assailing spirit. “I’m reminded why I’ve gone into hiding.” Veronica’s sword popped out of her sleeve and she swung it towards the ghost, causing it to dissipate into a cloud of dust. The red magical girl timed her strike so that she’d be at the end of her swing, and have enough time to get her feet under herself. “Too many disruptions.”

“What, didn't like it?” Chloe smiled, cozying up next to Veronica. “And here I thought you'd like being surprised for once, or would you have preferred this?” She quickly placed a kiss on Veronica's cheek, giggling in her usual impish manner and wearing her usual smirk as she positioned herself in front of the other girl. This elicited a groan from Chloe’s victim.

“Not that I can blame you for wanting more of me, heh. I seem to be in demand everywhere. The Mint, Beacon, Cindy...aaaah, I even had some goddess or something coming after me. They wanted Penny, but still...”

She seethed her sword and locked eyes with Chloe. “Maybe it’s fortunate that we can meet again. I don’t suppose you’re involved with this party somehow, are you?”

Chloe sighed in a tired manner. “Perhaps someone as tired as me organizing a party like this isn't entirely out of the question, fufu. Certainly would be a nice chance to relax instead of having to watch wherever I go. So what brings you here?”

Veronica traced a finger across her cheek, almost as if she was flicking something off. “The party feels poorly timed. I wanted to see if there was more to it.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Afraid it’s not as interesting as whatever you’re doing. If you’re telling the truth, you’re in bed with all the big players in Penrose. Rather irresponsible, unless absolute carnage is your end goal with all this.”

“Not my fault beacon considers me a menace.” Chloe said with a sigh. “I'd much rather not have to deal with them, but one girl in particular seems to have it out for me. I think she's jealous that I have Penny, heh.” She moved towards one of the warehouse's side doors. “Cindy's useful, but well, you should know how I feel about taking orders from anyone. Want me to show you around? Vi built this place herself. Most of the party venue is hidden behind a few illusions. I'm rather impressed, if it wasn't for the fact she's a complete and utter shut in. I actually have a few things I wanna talk about with you.”

Veronica nodded. “We are allies, you may speak to me.” Veronica paced herself so that she was walking beside Chloe. “So long as there aren’t anymore spirits lying in wait, or you plan on having me construct a throne out of martini glasses.” Even if that sounded like a joke, Veronica delivered it in the most deadpan way possible.

“Tsk, no fun. And here I thought you enjoyed yourself.” Chloe harrumphed. “But no, no, I'm here purely for business. Today, shame.” Chloe led Veronica into the warehouse. It seemed entirely normal, but anyone who had the right skills would easily be able to tell a very elaborate illusion had been placed over almost everything. Coupled with the high tech security cameras watching them, anyone with a little bit of foresight would easily think there was more to this place than meets the eye.

Soon, Chloe had brought Veronica to a hidden stairwell that led into the ground.

“After you~” Chloe let the other girl in first, and the sight would likely at least cause one to pause for a moment had they not known what they were getting into. The underground complex definitely fit the 'party club' aesthetic. Neon lights, though currently unlit lined the walls. A large stage was situated against the back wall, rows upon rows of screens attached to the wall, with numerous cables and speakers with it. The dance floor would at least be able to hold dozens of people comfortably. Several side hallways led off, likely to some other rooms or perhaps, other venues.

“Vi's put a lot of work into her personal little playpen, hasn't she? I've been to one or two before, but the aesthetic isn't always my style.” Chloe chuckled, leading Veronica over to a bar that seemed already stocked with a number of alcoholic beverages.

“It isn’t hidden under magic. Interesting.” Veronica’s eyes wandered over the joint. “I have to admit I wasn’t expecting this, given how the outside looks.”

Chloe propped herself up on a stool, “As for what I wanted to talk about...it involves Beacon.”

Veronica turned to Chloe and tipped her head. “I thought talking business killed the mood.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“What can I say? I'm in a somewhat sour mood after something happened to my little Penny, so fun and games will have to wait until later.” Chloe said with a dismissive sigh.

“You have my attention. What have you learned?”

“It's less what I've learned though, and more that I was asked to spy on you. So much for a cease fire, hm?” Chloe turned around on the chair so she was facing Veronica.

Veronica blinked, but otherwise remained motionless. Then the corners of her lips curled into a smile. “This is too much.” She lifted a hand to cover her mouth, but it was still evident she was grinning. “I can understand why the Mint would want you to spy on me. I’ve been under the assumption that they have at least asked you to. but Beacon too?” She lowered her hands and folded them behind her back. “We are a transparent organization. Short of ongoing operations the public should know where all of my agents are. And it’s me everyone is interested in.” She sighed, if only to stifle a laugh. “I suppose they are wise to fear me as much though. What did they want you to collect? I’m fine supplying you with information. Well, certain types of information. Having them trust one of my allies could be useful to me.”

“Nothing specific.” Chloe replied. “The one I met with didn't exactly specify, and I don’t think they’re looking for anything soon, but they probably want to know things you don't want others to. And you know, if you intend to betray them. Funny, since they’re doing that first, heh.” She giggled. “I wouldn't say they trust me, though. Shame, she was a cutie too, oh well.”

“I do not make a habit of betraying others. And in the case with Mint, I feel they betrayed me long before I did anything to them.” Veronica’s face became stern and serious again. “What do you plan on doing? I’m just a third party in all this. I assume they did something to ensure your cooperation?”

“Hm. It involves Penny. I had to make a...deal with one of her Beacon friends, to make sure things went smoothly with her.” Chloe replied, not commenting on the Mint. She held no love of the Mint or its agents herself, but she was still on their payroll. “And well, for now at least one of them won't be attacking me on sight. I could simply renege on the deal, but this is a good opportunity to maybe have a little fun with them.”

“I see.” The former coin broker held her chin for a moment. “Hmmm, quite the conundrum. At present I do not have an idea what to do with this information. You can do what you like, but it doesn’t sound like they’re giving you a very long leash. You might gain some insight into their plans if you help them, but they could just as easily turn on you.” She lowered her hand. “I’ll need some time to think about that one. But you’ll do what you want anyway.” Veronica was about to leave when she stopped, with one of her feet on the stair. “Chloe, why did you share this with me? There was far more value and less risk involved if you stayed quiet.”

“Hmm? That's a silly question. I don't like beacon. If this gives me a chance to undermine their efforts, even a little, then I'll take it.” Chloe smiled. “I could have stayed silent, but I like to think we have similar goals, at least for now. And you didn't strike me as the sort to try and turn away a potential useful tool – that being me.”

Chloe hopped up from her seat.

“And well, I am hopefully looking forward to continued cooperation in case well...” Chloe glanced off to the side. “...I need help with the Mint. It's fine for now, but the way things are going, I may need to cheat the house. Not that I want out though, I'd rather become the new dealer myself.”

Veronica considered Chloe’s words, and nodded before stepping down from the staircase. “Before I go, I have something to share with you too.” She took a few steps closer to Chloe. “I will not be in Penrose much longer. My agents will still be here, but I will be managing them from afar.”

“...that is quite unfortunate.” Chloe replied, a small frown forming on her lips, though it was quickly replaced with a smile. “Penrose getting too hot for you?” Though, perhaps having a major player like Veronica leave would be a good thing in the end. At least she could tell that to Alicia next time she saw her and then she wouldn't have to deal with her any more, unless it was the 'beat her within an inch of her life, heal her, and do it again' sort of meeting.

“Staying for the party at least?”

“Considering it. But with Beacon and Mint gunning for me, it probably wouldn’t be wise for me to show up. Better to stay away than to jeopardize the party, right? My agents will likely be there anyway.” She rested her hands on Chloe’s shoulders. “Of course, if you’d like to stay in touch with me, you are always welcome to join my cradle agents.” She leaned in closer. Chloe could feel Veronica’s breath on her face. “You wouldn’t be the ‘new dealer,’ but you’d enjoy a great deal of freedom. You’d be in touch with me, Silhouette, or any of my other agents.” Veronica’s eyes partially closed. “I’ve got to be more fun than a half dead dragon, right?”

“Now that's a tempting offer.” Chloe smiled. “but...that dragon won't be a problem much longer. I've found something far more delightful.” She elected not to elaborate on that, quickly moving on. “Besides, we both know I don't take orders well in the long run, hm? Or perhaps you'd find it fun if one of your agents constantly wanted to take your position?” Chloe leaned into Veronica. “That'd be amusing, at least~”

With a light giggle, Chloe pulled away.

“But unfortunately, I have far more ambitious goals than wasting time with your Cradle.”

“I would have been surprised if you accepted.” Veronica stood back up. “You just sounded like you’d miss me for a moment. How could I resist seeing how far you were willing to go?” She turned around to leave. “Perhaps I will come to the party. If you need to keep in touch, just notify an agent. Trixy spends enough time following Ai-chan on Glimmr, she shouldn’t be hard to get a hold of.” Veronica walked back towards the staircase to leave.

Well, at least that solved one of her problems. The dark magical girl watched Veronica leave, taking a seat on a stool once again. Hm...if things went bad, she could at least, perhaps get help from Sil or one of Veronica's other agents then. She lingered for a bit longer, waiting until she was certain Veronica would have left and getting herself a drink.

Time to pay Vi a visit she supposed.
In Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed] → 6 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay




Penny was once again out and about in Downtown Penrose. She had finished up her meeting with Eden and had gone her separate way from Valerie and now found herself sitting on the edge of her favored perch overlooking the city. The destitute nature of the city mixed with winter lended itself to a magnificent view of the stars above with the few still twinkling lights of the city below acting as a partial mirror.

It was just a shame that Penny didn’t really see it.

She was once again trapped inside her own mind. Her history was once again on display within her mind as each action was dissected leaving all the logic and emotions painstakingly clear for Penny to see. And what she was seeing wasn’t good.

01000100 01101111 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100111 01100101 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01111001 01100101 01110100 00101100 00100000 01101111 01110010 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100111 01101111 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101011 01100101 01100101 01110000 00100000 01110010 01100101 01101010 01100101 01100011 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101001 01110100

In this detached state Penny was mostly unaware of what she was doing. This was good seeing as she wasn’t in any real danger, but bad for what it was she had been doing.

Every minute for the past while she had sent out a pair of texts unconsciously. One to Chloe and one to Alicia





But otherwise she was unmoving trying to not fall apart.

Upon receiving the text, Chloe didn't waste any time. Penny was not fine. She knew her little Penny, and that was not what she was. What had happened? Ugh, she shouldn't have let her things out of her sight for even a second! Not missing a single second, Chloe replied swiftly with a text, running out of her own apartment without even a word to Viva.

“Stay where you are. I'm coming, Penny. I love you.”
Chloe


Taking to the skies, Chloe observed the surrounding area, her third eye quickly scanning the skyline for traces of Penny and recalling a few of her spirits to her. Having sentries placed around the city in cases like this proved to be fruitful. Damn it. She grit her teeth. She wasn't sure why her chest was hurting, but she ignored it as she set off for where Penny was.

The next text that Alicia received from Penny earned a rapid response. She had been on edge ever since her failure to locate her friend last time, and getting it again merely affirmed it. There was no thought, only action. She would not rest while her friend needed her.

Moving through Beacon HQ, she repeated what she had done the last time. But this time she was better prepared, hooking her Scrying artifact up to the teleporter to provide as exact a location as possible. ”Take me to Penny,” she said aloud before activating the device.

In a blaze of light she vanished, shifted across town. Even if she didn’t arrive exactly where Penny was, she would end up close enough that finding her would be easy to manage. ”I’m coming Penny.”

Chloe would get a response almost instantly, yet it was filled with nothing but distorted ones and zero’s.

Regardless of who found Penny first the scene would be the same. She would be leaning back on her hands seemingly just enjoying the view of the city. Physically there would be nothing wrong, no obvious injuries or deformations it even looked like she was smiling lightly. Her eyes would tell a different story however as they seemed to be off, burnt black lens blind to the world.

Every now and again a hiss of static eminent as a small pulse of electricity would roll off of her lending a charged atmosphere to the otherwise peaceful location, as magically Penny seemed wound as tightly as one could possibly be. Had she more potent magical ability this area would have been hazardous to be at.

Thankfully, it didn't take her long to find Penny. It was easy enough to track the magical discharge. Just what in the world had happened? The unpleasant feeling in her chest was suppressed further as she finally laid eyes on her 'girlfriend'. A momentary bit of relief seeing her in one piece. She lowered herself to where Penny was, relief quickly turning to both worry and confusion as she realized that something was very, very, very wrong.

“Penny!” Without even waiting for a response, Chloe landed next to her, kneeling on the ground and gently laying a hand on her shoulder. “Penny...what the hell happened to you? What's wrong, love? Can you hear me?” She scanned the other magical girl with her third eye, hoping to try and pinpoint some sort of magical wrongness that she could fix with this, going so far as to even observe Penny's soul itself. She was wary of the charged atmosphere, but she didn't care. She wasn't about to let something of hers be in this state.

Slowly Penny would turn to face Chloe and light would once again spark within the cyborg’s eyes. “͟Ch҉l͏o͞e?”̡ She would ask softly fear slowly starting to seep through the passive mask she wore. “̕I͞ me̷s͝se͜d ̛up ̡I-” Lightning would suddenly flare from under Chloe's hand and Penny would flinch as if struck.

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Nothing was wrong with Penny at a magical level, at least not inherently, but for some reason it looked like her magic was attacking itself. On a soul level things would be worse. The recent corruption of her soul would be painfully apparent in it’s newness, but that’s not what would catch Chloe’s attention. It would be that Penny’s soul was splintered and battered, looking like it had suffered from these wounds quite some time ago as most of the damage was old. To make things even more bizarre was the fact that her soul wasn’t truly whole it was nearly fractured in half and half of Penny’s soul seemed to switch between trying to wrench itself free or force the other half into submission.

Penny would be muttering quietly to herself “I’m̸ ͜fìn͘ę,̸ ̢I’̷m͞ ͝fin̸e̢” even as she started shaking.

“...oh.” Chloe could only mildly grimace at what she saw, recoiling slightly from the shock. She had to momentarily shut off her third eye, thinking she had finally went completely off the deep end. That was not what it should look like! She knew her souls. She played with them regularly, after all. She could twist, bend, break, meld, fuse...but this? What even was this?! “...what in the seven hells happened to you, Penny?” Chloe ground her teeth together glaring intently at the other magical girl, merely staring at Penny, going through things in her own head.

Damn it! Penny was of no use to her like this! What was a tool if it was broken beyond repair?! It seemed like every time she tried to plan something, someone else fucked it up! Standard fare, really, but she had never expected Penny herself to be the source of this.

Useless! That's what Penny was right now, right when she was about to have need of her!

Anger began boiling under her skin. Should she leave her here? She was broken, possibly beyond repair. If she did try she might have to delay her own plans even more. And after she had just staged the perfect little party, too! Urgh! Yet, Penny was still hers. A broken tool was something that still had use, and well, personal favoritism played a part too, of course.

For once, Chloe wasn't sure what she should do. Had it been anyone else but Penny? She'd have probably just snatched their soul and experimented with it, and made sure things went smoothly. But Penny? Well, she was probably the only one of two people that'd make her question herself like this. Ugh damn it. She reactivated her third eye, making certain to carefully observe Penny again for any changes.

“Penny. Listen to me, if you can. You are most certainly not fine and I'm not going to sugar coat it.” She glanced to the ground, a small hint of uncertainty evident in her voice. “...and to be honest, I don't know if I can help.”
Or wanted too, but there was no need to say that.

“I̶ ҉w̕as at͘ta̶cked” Penny’s answer was automatic and her voice was just a bit flat making it seem like Penny herself wasn’t aware she was answering. “͏I ̴ĺeft ͜t͜h͞e͟ ҉wa̕reh̴ou̢s̕e ͟t͢o͝ ͠t̸ry ͢an͢d̡ heļp ͢with́ ̧the ̢m͟o͢n̷stȩr a͜t͡t͝a̡c͡ks, but̵ ͢r̡an͡ ̷i͠nto a̷ ͟pa̸ck ̡on mons̵t̨e͡rs,͘ we̵a̶kl̕i̵ngs̷ ҉n̢o͢ ̡hard classif̢i̸ca̸tio͘ns.͝ I w̨as ̧fine̢-̴f̧ine-f͠in͝e-́f̡i̵” she would flich again as the color of her eyes would shift to a crystal blue and her shaking would stop.

“Sh̨e҉ w͜a̶s ̛g̷óing͞ ͠t̴o save͝ ͠it̨s͠ heárt ͝fo̧r̸ y̡o̷u! Li͞ke̶ s̛o͞m̢e ̴ki͜n͏d ǫf ̷t̡w̢i̶śted t̕rop̕hy!͜” She would bark out suddenly as the violent half of her soul seemed to smother the calm half almost as if Penny had undergone a metamorphosis “Do yo͞u ̡s̛ee̛ ͟w̡h̀at I me̛a̴n͝ ̧nów!? ̴This ̵is̶ wh͡a͢t͡ s̕he’s ̴don̴é ͡t͜o u̕s!̷ She̷’s҉ ͞a-̸” Another flinch as her soul returned to trying to tear itself apart as her eyes return to their dull red.

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“I k̀i͟llȩd͝ ̨her̀, the͞ ͞ǫne H͡e use҉d̸ ̸to repla͢će̕ ḿe҉ an̷d a͠ssi͟m̕il̀at͘ed h͠er̡ re͏m͡a̵in̸s͠” Penny would once again be speaking softly as she shook. The seemingly calm part of her soul once again in control “S̸o͠ḿet̵ḩi̵ng̀ w͏ȩn͞t w͘rong a͞n͝d ͢I d͏on’t k͘now̧ ̕why͏ b̨u͘t ͠įt̴ w̸o̧n̛’t̨ go͏ ͘b̨àc̕k ̸to sl̛e̵e͘p a͠n̛d͡ ̛i͜t w̸o̧ņt͞ S̶̴̢͖̟̪̲̹̠̹͓̲͉̘̭̭̗̼͟͞H̷̛͉̞̹̳̯̹̩̰̞̕͘U̧̨͚̺̻̳͟T̨̢̡̝̙͓̪͡ ̸̨̢͎͕͔̭͔͖̝̜͓̰̣͔̕͢Ų̶̵̺͚̺̰̟̣̤͇͓̳͓̗̜̩̀͘P҉͜҉̘̺͍̤̟͚̱!̨̰̟͕̲”

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Penny would suddenly be up and pacing “Lies.͢ Lie̛s͘! ̧I’m fi͝ne, ́I͢’m͘ ͝f͟in҉e”͝ the fear was evident in her voice as she repeated those lines like a mantra.

Chloe's gaze shifted from mild uncertainty and concern, to a cool glare as Penny...no, that thing responded.

“...oh, I see.” Chloe replied coolly. This was starting to make more sense. “I see, that makes sense now. Penny, my favorite little lost puppy, you should really not eat things you find on the ground, even if you were going to bring me a present.” Whatever happened had caused Penny's already fractured soul to crack like an egg. Somehow it seemed to have caused a split in her psyche, or perhaps it was already there, and this event simply allowed it to take over. The two halves were now trying to tear themselves apart in a bid for control, and one of them didn't seem very fond of her.

A curious endeavor she'd have loved to watch to its inevitable destruction, had it been on anyone else.

“I don't know who you are, but you seem to be telling some rather nasty lies to my Penny. I don't care. My Penny wouldn't fall for such things.” She wasn't talking to Penny now, rather than whatever else this was inside of her. “I'd ask to let's resolve this with as little stress to my Penny as possible, but you don't seem too fond of me even if I could offer a solution to this problem we seem to have.” It might not be a long term one, but she needed to buy some time to figure out what exactly was wrong in the first place, and who knows, maybe it would work.

The frantic pacing came to a dead stop as Penny turned to look at Chloe. The look on her face rapidly shifting through emotions as the two souls seemed to be conversing. After a moment the cool blue drifted back into Penny’s eyes as the other started speaking It’s gaze wasn’t quite hostile but obvious untrusting “Y̴ou'll̸ ͏f̢o͏rgiv͢ȩ m͘e͢ fo͘r ͠t̵he ͞fa̛c͘t that́ ̧Į do͢n'̕t̶ be̡lieve̛ tha͡t̕ ͏y̴o̴u ha͏v̧è ḿy ͏be̡s͘t in͟tere͠st͘s̴ ͠at͠ hea̷rt͢. ͟That͟ ̢said ̸yo͢u ar̴ę curr̡ent͘ly th͞e͏ only ̕S͞pir͢it͜ ͠ma̡g̷e ͘in̛ ̛t̛ḩe̕ ́c͢i̸t҉y̛ I ̸kn̕ow ͢of̀ s҉o͏ ͜I̡'m͞ ̢w͜i̸l̀l҉ing ͞t̡o̶ lis̶t̡en̕ ̧t̡o̢ w͜h҉a̛t ̕yo͝ų h̵av̶é to͡ ̴óff̵er.͟” As it spoke the magic within Penny surged for a moment before calming down rather notably.

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“That's a good girl.” The spirit mage replied with a small frown. Good, this thing was at least willing to listen to reason and talk. Ugh, why couldn't this have been something she could have just beat to death? She didn't like feeling this...uncertain and out of control. “...however, before I say anything, I need to know what exactly it is you want.” Chloe said with a light huff. “I'm not a miracle worker. I'm not going to waste time if what you want is completely absurd. Nor am I going to do anything that would hurt Penny. Understand?”
She definitely felt like she understood the situation, but...a subtle pang of uncertainty was still present in her chest. How far was this going to set her back? Would Penny still be able to do what she wanted?

”̧A̸t ̶least̴ ̴y̕ou̧ ҉ar̨e͝ w͟ill͠ìng̀ to ̴pret́e͘n̴d to̧ ça͘re ͠fo͠r ̕t̢hat wh͜ic̀h̸ yo̧u͏ ҉cl͞aim͞” it would exclaim shaking its head.

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They would make a motion as if they were brushing away something before continuing on “͝W̨h͞a̵t̵ ̡I͢ w̵ant̀ is͡ f͘or he͘r ̀t̶o l͞is͟t̸e̕n ̴tǫ ̸r̸ea̸s̨ơn,̨ but ͢th͡a͝t͜’s not g̴o͏įng̀ ̷to͜ happen͝,҉ ̸e҉sp͡e͝c̸iall̢y̧ ͟sińc͞e ̕yòu ͘sho̴w͘eḑ ̛u͝p fi̢rst.”͠ They turned to scan the surrounding sky for a moment as they continued to speak “I ẁo͢ul̢d a̷cqu̸ie̡s̸ce to͢ b͘e̷i̢ng̶ g̕i̷ve̵n҉ t̷im͝e ͠tò pr̢o̕ve my p̡oiņt b̕ut ͘I ͠k͞n͜o̕w ýou ̡wo̶u̧ĺdn’t҉ ̵aļĺo͠w̵ t̕h̵at҉ ̡Chl͜oe͞ so͠ ̛I͞ g͞uęs͡s ͞w͏ha̵t͏ ͏I̷ ͏wa͜nt is ͜oưt͡.”̕

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It was at that moment that Alicia arrived. She burst out from below, wings carrying her upwards in her haste. There had been some difficulties with the teleporter, and she had not realized how high up Penny was until just now.

”I’m here Penny,” she called as she landed in a crouch. ”I came as soon as I got your message. What is-”

Then she saw Chloe. Her face darkened, the makings of a scowl present as she walked towards the duo. Bad enough what had happened during the vacation. But for her to be here, now? This was starting to look less like chance and more like conspiracy. ”You. What did you do.” She glared at Chloe. If something was wrong, it was likely her fault after all.

”Aļicia͠, gla̷ḑ y͞ou͡ ̨c͡ơúld͏ ̢ma̷ke̛ ͟it” The other would speak visibly relaxing for the first time. Before flinching “-o͏t ̵her ̶fa͏u̵l͜t! ̕I̡t wa̕s ̧m̢i͠n̨e! ̴Sh̴e͝’s t̢r̷yi̴n͘g to ͡h̶el͏p!”̛

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“N͏O! ̨Th̡àt̡ is̡ n̵ot͞ ̷tr̷u͟e͏!” Penny would scream, once again in control, though obviously not in a good state. She was shaking badly and held her head in both hands “Y͡o̴u. Yoư'͡re̵ ͜t̶ry͠íng̡ to̵ g̵e͏t r̕i͞d̕ ͠of ̕he͢r!̧” and the calm within Penny passed with both halves once again started fighting viciously for control.

“Tch, and I had them calm...!” Things had been going so well, too well, of course. Another annoyance showed up. Chloe shifted her attention to the beacon girl, visibly irritated herself.

“I was wondering if you'd be joining us here. Of course, you’d blame me for this.I’m a naughty girl, but not everything is my fault.” Chloe replied glaring at Alicia with nothing but contempt. This was the floozy that was trying to take her Penny away from her. As far as she was concerned, this whole thing was just the culmination of Beacons meddling...but pointing fingers for now, would solve nothing.

“...which further cements my thoughts on the matter.” Chloe sighed, glancing back over to Penny with a frown. “But before we both go pointing fingers to who is at fault for Penny's condition, know that I had nothing to do with it, and have no desire whatsoever to see her in this state.”

It took all the effort that Alicia had to not roll her eyes. It seemed she wasn’t lying about not being the cause, but that didn’t mean anything. She could have pushed it to happen indirectly, and there was no doubt that Chloe would try to take advantage of it regardless. She would have to keep on her guard.

”Yeah, I’m sure,” she grumbled before turning to face Penny. Eyes widened at the back and forth conversation. She could only understand half of it, but what she heard was not making her feel any better. What had happened, how had things gotten this bad? It had only been a day since they had seen each other, where had it gone wrong?

After a moment she offered a hand to her friend. ”Come on, let’s go back to HQ. Me and Sylvia worked things out with the Ascendancy. We can work through this together. That’s what Beacon is about, never having to be alone. Right?”

Penny was broken out of her episode by Alicia stepping forward, but the look on her face was one the light user had never seen before, one of fear and of being hopelessly lost. The dim red glow within the girls eyes was frantic and confused.

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”Ch͜lo̕e!.͜.̴.̵ ̷Ch̷l͡o͘e ͜yóu͞ ͢s͞a̧i҉d̨ yo̴ư ha͢d a͡n ҉id̨e҉a ŕi̧g̀ht̨? Ơn how̢ t҉o f͝i̵x͏ ͢t̢h͡įs? W͢h̷at..͠.͏ ̢W͝h̀at w͟as̴ ̶it?̶” Penny would ask her gaze flickering back and forth between the two girls in front of her, looking torn between staying and running.

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“I know you like meddling in peoples love affairs, but try not to agitate her will you.” Chloe replied with a sigh to Alicia. “She's not in a good state and her soul is currently trying to destroy itself. Any agitation is only going to make it worse.” The dark magical girl shifted her gaze from Alicia to Penny, still wearing a somewhat troubled frown. “Like I said when I first got here...I don't know if I actually can, but I'm certainly going to try, so if miss beacon butt over here will let me explain for a second so we're all on the same page. Her being here may be able to help, as loathe as I am to admit.”

Chloe allowed herself to relax slightly as she spoke.

“Penny's soul seems to currently be trying to kill itself.” She began simply. “I'm not going to point fingers here, but it's likely because of the repeated corruption and cleansing of her soul. Her soul seems to have already been quite...stressed.” She cast a glance over to the mechanical girl with a frown. “There are quite a few old scars on it that I can only guess came from that old patron of hers.” The spirit mage slowly shifted her gaze back over to Alicia, a cool glare forming on her features, but said nothing. It was easy to tell who she'd blame for this, if she had the luxury.

“It seems similar to what happens when someone first becomes a magical girl and then their soul gets split. The only difference is that they both get a body, and are both either corrupted or 'pure'” Chloe summoned her orb, sighing lightly as it slowly hovered behind her. “In Penny's case, neither seems to be true. I'm completely guessing here...but one half of the soul is what beacon would call corrupt, the other half likely has that wretched spark of yours – the two can't seem to reconcile something, so they are fighting each other.” Chloe's expression didn't change once as she spoke, the orb simply floating behind her and rotating slowly. “Which is why going to beacon is not a good idea. They'd likely simply exacerbate the problem by flooding her with that 'purity' of yours to remove whatever the corruption is. Trying to forcibly get rid of one or the other might be short sighted and harm things in the long run. I think, if you can get your pretty face out of your cute ass for a second and believe that I'm not out to get anyone at the moment, the optimal solution here would be to give both their own separate bodies, but the only problem is well...where to find an empty vessel suitable. Alternatively, find a way for the two halves to reconcile, but I wouldn’t know where to begin with that since the one with the spark seems to hate me.” There were...a few other problems that might present itself if she were to do a certain thing, but she could explain that in a moment.

Holding her tongue for a moment, Alicia still wore a scowl as her fingers tapped a drumbeat on her upper forearm. She might not like Chloe, but when it came down to it she was not the one who had resorted to personal insults first. That was at least a small point in her favor. ’Right, how dare I assume that a Dark Magical Girl has an agenda. It’s not like you haven’t already run off with other Beacon members as your back and call,” she snapped back. It might have been months in the real world, but she had not forgotten about Divina and her association with Chloe.

But she returned to Penny again, arms still folded over her chest as she tried to draw her friend’s attention back to her. “Okay, even if she’s right about the cause, Beacon is a global organization. With the resources that we have, I’m sure we can find a way to help you without making the situation worse. Just like all the upgrades, or getting away from Laat. You just have to give us the opportunity to help, Penny.

“̨Tḩat̨’͟s̢-” “Wha͟t͞ I wàş ҉tr͠y͢įng ͝t̀o̧ do͏.̛ I͢t̢’s͟ why̷ I ̴se̡nt yo̡u͜ tha͜t͞ te͘xt ̕ear͞lie͞r.” The transition between the two halves was much smoother for the moment, the core issue was far from being solved but Chloe had offered them at least a rallying point to work together for the time being. They both despised Laat, and if this was his fault then, they were willing to work together simply to spite him.

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“̴I͢ ͟w͏ant̛ ҉to go to B̀e̷a͠c͏on̵ ̢f̀ór ̀the r̛ȩc̷o̶rd. ̨A̴l͢i̡cįa yo͢u͞ ̸h͡a͟ve̕ mo͢r̨e҉ ̸t҉ha̡n ͞d͏one̸ ̨en͞ou͡gh͜ ̸t͠o̵ ea͘rn o̢u͏r t̴r̛us̢t ͠an͞d̕ ̕l҉ǫya͞ļty.”̷ The blue eyed and visibly agitated half would say firmly “̨B͡u̕t͢ I͢ ͢w̴a̴nt ͝to g͏o̴ w̡i̕th͘ ͠Ch͏l͜o̸e̸,҉ Y̶o̴u’ve͟ ́al͘w͜ay̛ś be͜ęn̶ t͢h͞e͢ŕe ̛f̢or m̡e e̢v͏e͘n ͝a̢t ͢my̢ da҉r̡kest ̷mo͡m͝e̷nts, I ̢k̵now ̵yo̸u͘’̕ll̕ ̴d̢o ͢w̧h́a͡t͠ y̶ou ̨c̛an̛ tǫ ḩe̕lp ̢once̕ ̨m̢or͘e” The red eyed one would say affectionately even as it still trembled.

“Àn͜d” “tha̸t̀” “see͠m̧s” “tơ” “b̶e͟” “t̵he” “corȩ” “dis̸agr͞e͡em̶e̶nt͠” they would say together with varying levels of annoyance.

“I̷ wo͏uld͏n̶’t ̴min̶d gettiņg śome ̀t̴im̶e ͠awa̶y ̨fr̷om̕ them҉” Red would say crossing her arms over her chest with a pout “An̸d́ too͝ ͡that̀ ̵en̷d a ͘n̶ew ̵ves͡s҉el̛ f̴o͠r̷ ḿę w̧ou͜ldn’̸t ̧be͏ ás͏ compl̨i͝c̡ated͞ as͞ ̷y͝ou ҉th̢in͟k͠” Blue would reply with a sigh as she glanced around the rooftop obviously looking for something.
The fact that at least, she could get both of the Penny's to listen to her on some level instead of this beacon bitch was a relief.
“See? That's a good girl, listening to-” Chloe coughed, placing a hand over her mouth. “Right, right. So...you, whoever you are. If you're willing to cooperate in that regard, then I suppose I can too...but I'm not going to be letting you out of my sight until I'm certain this is sufficiently dealt with.”
“What about you, then?” Chloe placed her hands on her hips, frowning at Alicia. She almost wanted her to disagree and try and start something just so she could have an excuse to relieve some stress.

Watching Penny and doing her best to parse between the two individuals inside of her, Alicia quickly picked up on what her intended solution was as Penny looked around the rooftop. ”Well, I guess there isn’t much choice if that’s the only way you can see to solve your current issue,” she conceded. ”It should be pretty easy for them.”

Personally she hoped that the wish could be used to simply fix this issue, but that seemed unlikely at this point. Oh well.

As if she needed to be reminded, Chloe spoke up again. And while Alicia was willing to accept Penny in this division plan, or whatever, there was no way in hell she was trusting Chloe as far as she could throw her. ”There is no way I’m letting you walk away from this like nothing happened. Even if you’re not responsible, you’ve still done a lot that you need to be held accountable for,” she shot back as her fists clenched. ”Give me one good reason why I should let her go with you rather than putting you down now and probably saving a lot more people by doing it.”

“Because doing so would upset Penny more, and neither of us wants that?” Chloe said with a harrumph. “It's almost like you want to distress her more than she already is.” The dark magical girl giggled with a dismissive, nonchalant shrug. “But I suppose such selfishness fits you. Such a shame it's wasted on a beacon cutie like you.” With a glance towards Penny, Chloe frowned again.

She hoped this was going to be worth the headache.

“...but if you need a reason, perhaps I can make a deal. There's a certain...party going on soon, and I may know where it’s being held at. You let me go I can tell you where it is.”

While Alicia and Chloe… discussed the situation Penny wandered off to a different part of the roof for a moment. When she came back, she was carrying one of the roof mounted AC units. Which she quickly started to strip down into base components. Her eyes and mannerisms kept flickering back and forth between the two different ones and every now and the occasional growl could be heard coming from the girl as she worked.

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Alicia would get a text shortly after Penny started on her work.


Holding back an annoyed huff of her own as Chloe countered her words, Alicia did not back down. ”She’d also be more distressed if you started murdering innocent people. And your body count isn’t exactly small up to this point.” To say that she was skeptical of Chloe’s ability to change was a monumental understatement. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of remorse there.

For a moment she was distracted as Penny returned with an AC unit and began to disassemble it. Was she...making a second body? How was that even going to work? Well, who was she to argue with the tech magic.

Though the text was received, Alicia merely glanced at it. She had other things vying for her attention right now. And to be honest, it just made no sense in the first place.

Instead, she returned to Chloe and the offer that had been made. ”I know you don’t care enough to see a difference, but I’m not the Ascendancy. One piece of short term information for something that….however long this is going to end up being a thing, it’s not good enough. Now if you happened to know, say, where Vi-chan was hiding out, or where Cindy’s been keeping herself hidden, that I’d be more open to.”

“Unlike you, Penny understands my situation. My patron isn't exactly nice, and if left to their own devices, Penrose would have burned by now.” Chloe replied with a huff, running over the counter offer in her head. “But fine. I might know where both of them are, but why would I tell you? What would you do with them if I told you?” Chloe asked. “I may not like Cindy a whole lot, and Vi-Chan is a fun distraction every now and then, but I'd rather not have potentially useful people die on me. If it wasn’t for Vi-Chan girls like me wouldn’t have the slightest bit of...shall we say, hope, since the Ascendancy moved in. If you can assure me you’re not going to kill or imprison them, I may feel inclined to tell you where Vi is.”

“Th̛e ̵ḑra҉gon s҉oug̡ht ͜o̸u͘t Laat͝” Penny would say as, true to Alicia’s assumption, she started to fashion the AC unit into a rough approximation of a body “That is is if you want to take the bastards word for it” She said her disdain for her Ex-patron dripping off every word and her voice crystal clear. They both hated Laat. “S̀t̨il̴l̴ ͘He ̵ćl͘aim̡ed ͘th҉ey̢ we̕r҉e ͟w̷orķing͢ ̴to͘w͢ards̵ ͠a̡ co͏m͟mon go͡al,enơu͜gh͢ ͢r̷e͏ason̵ ̕to͡ be wa͜ry ͞of͝ ̴h͏im”

Neither halves wanted to bring up that they knew where Cindy was, for distinctly opposite reasons, so they chose to remain silent on that topic.

A glance flickered over to Penny as she mentioned that Cindy had sought out Laat, before returning to Chloe. She was obstinate, but that was good. It meant that Alicia was on the right track to at least disrupting some scheme or other. That would be a worthwhile trade, if she was to go along with this.

”You’d tell me so it doesn’t end up being you in a few minutes,” she answered, doing her best to keep a straight face. ”Unlike the Ascendancy I don’t care that much about the party, so just offering that doesn’t mean much. But if you’re so determined, I’m willing to be flexible. Say, if you knew anything useful about Mariette.”

“Who now?” Chloe replied to Alicia's next question. “Just because I'm a dark magical girl, doesn't mean I am automatically involved with all of beacons troubles or enemies.” She replied with a huff. This was getting them nowhere, and she was tired of it. There was at least one more thing she could offer.

“But maybe I can do you one better. Veronica, know of her? I happen to be somewhat close with her, heh.” She said with a light giggle, remembering their particularly close encounter at the beach. “I don't know what Beacon thinks of her, but I doubt you two will get along forever. I might be able to give you info on her.”

Chloe’s confusion earned a shrug. ”Never hurts to ask,” Alicia conceded. Oh well, she would just have to focus on something else. But information on Mariette would have been useful.

As it stood, it seemed that Chloe did have something after all. She had heard the name mentioned back in the vacation dimension. Something about splitting off from the Mint and a non-hostility pact. Ostensibly they were at levels of ‘not getting in each others way’, but that was before they came back to the Ascendancy. Who knew if it would hold.

”I’m interested,” she conceded after a few moments. In lieu of the other things, it would be good enough.

“Oh good.” Chloe replied with a sigh. “Looks like you can be reasonable.” Small victories, but this did present a new problem. She wasn't quite sure how difficult Veronica was going to be to get info on. Well, no need to think about it too much. She'd deal with it in the future.

“...I'm surprised you’re willing to trust me, considering how much you seem to hate me.” Chloe mused, a small smirk forming on her lips. “I'll chalk it up to my cuteness finally getting to you, fufufu. I'll bring you something eventually. The Mint at least, taught me to see my work through to the end if nothing else.”

This time Alicia did allow herself the luxury of smirking as Chloe made a comment about her method in relation to this madness. ”Oh, I don’t. But I have a few reasons that I think you’re being sincere,” she confirmed with a shrug.

A finger rose. ”One, considering Penny is currently making a small version of herself right now I think she plans on splitting herself, or something. Carving your soul in half probably isn’t a convenient thing, so if she ever wants to put herself back together you’ll have to come find her and me.” And in that case, Chloe would have to come in punching range if she lied.

A second finger rose. ”Even if you don’t, the Penny who doesn’t like you would probably be more than willing to help us track you down if we have to.”

And finally, a third. ”And if it comes down to it I can always tell Veronica that you were willing to sell her out. I wouldn’t be lying, and as a former Mint Broker I’m sure she has plenty of painful ways to get even with those who get on her bad side.”

After a moment she extended that same hand. ”Shake on it?”

“A͟l͏i͟c͠ia͝” Penny would call out “Wh̀e͢n ̴you h͢a͟v̨e͝ a̕ m̧òm͘ent ͏I̧ ̴ńee͞d you͘ ͢t͠o ̕pu̴rif̵y̸ t͠h̢i̧s” She would say tapping on the basic robot skeleton she had constructed. The following step was going to be painful enough as is, hopefully a quick purification would make the transition smoother.

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“Fuuu, quite the shrewd one, aren't you?” Aaaah, she really wanted to just gut this beacon girl here and feed her to Lucy, but patience, patience. Chloe reached forward with a hand, swiftly grabbing Alicia's and giving it a firm, hard, shake. “Then we have a deal. Hopefully It doesn't come back to bite you, fufufu. Or maybe I will anyways, just for fun.”

”I have my moments,” Alicia replied. Without answering the following comment, she stepped forward and met Chloe’s handshake with her own firm grip. She was an Archer after all, so her hands did not lack for muscle strength. That, in turn, may have caused the contact to linger a bit longer than it needed to as they felt each other out.

Turning, she walked over to the new body. ”Alright,” she said after examining the object. Extending a hand and touching the cool metal, she began to channel her light magic. ”This may take a couple minutes.”

“Take ýo͢uŗ tim͞e, I a͘m ͏t͏r͟yįn͘g t̵o͡ ̧le͢ss̨e̶n ̢the͢ like̴li͞h̢ood ̨o҉f th̢e Spar̀k͡ r̶eje̕c̶ting ̀it͘ ̡whén̢ ͘I ̷get m̕ǫv̡e̸d̨ ̴over̕” She would say before moving off to the side to let Alicia focus on her work.

This move would have her sitting near move to sit near Chloe and for a moment she was content to let the silence between them but “Y͘o͟u̷ s͜ùre that̀ ̵y͢ou ̡can ͜pul͝l u̕s͞ ̧a̸p̡ar̶t̨?” She would ask plainly, blue eyes still watching the shell that would house her for sometime “Ánd͘ is th̢er͘e͟ ̕an̡yth̀i͞n͟g we can̢ ̴dǫ t͢o̡ ͠help̢?͝” she was absently picking at the roof as she sat, it was easy to tell she was nervous now if one looked for it.

“Of course I can.” Chloe replied with a huff. She wasn't still sure how to feel. Penny was a valuable asset, and she'd need to see exactly how she'd change after this split. “Though, ideally I'd just delete you so you wouldn't bother us again, but I'm willing to make compromises if it means less harm to Penny.” Chloe glanced over towards Alicia as she went about purifying that makeshift body. She almost wanted to do something to it.

“The only thing you need to do is make it easy on me. I can rip and tear easily, but this is going to require a more surgical precision to make sure I don't leave half of you in one body and half in the other. So I need as little fighting as possible, got it? If anything goes wrong, I will be saving Penny, and Penny only, so don't do anything stupid.”

Operating on a still living and breathing human would be...probably the most difficult thing she had done, but perhaps this would be good practice for future endeavors.

Blue would scoff quietly, but nod in understanding regardless. They would sit there quietly as they waited for Alicia to finish her work, yet they weren't simply doing nothing as there would be the occasional pulse of magic coming from them.

Coins were being spent to empower them. In the hope that the magic inherent in the Coins would increase the malleability of their soul while also reinforcing it so limit the chance of things going wrong.

After several minutes Alicia stepped back, gesturing to the newly constructed form as a glow faded away. ”Alright.. It’s as pure as it’s going to be on short notice. Do whatever it is you plan to do.” She still wasn’t entirely content, but if it was what Penny wanted then so be it.

“This is going to hurt. A lot, probably.” Chloe stated. “Lay next to the other body. The shorter distance I have to work the better. And I don't want any distractions, Alicia.” As soon as everyone was in position, Chloe began her work. Activating her third eye, she reached for Penny's soul. Such a fragile, beautiful thing. Suppressing a desire to play with it, Chloe pulled it gently towards her, reaching towards it and gently wrapping her hands around it.

A small 'cut' here another there. Cutting apart the weakest spots at first was easy. Considering Penny's already weakened state, this was an easy task. What she was trying to avoid, was any further potential scarring to it. Smooth out some of them, heal it over. This would continue for a few minutes.

Finally, with one final snip the two halve split apart. Chloe quickly took the 'spark' and shove it in the mechanical body. With a few quick hand motions, she tied the newly fractured soul to its new home. A final check to make sure Penny was safe, and it was done.

With a final flare of light it would be done. Where before Penny had been one, now she stood as two. On the surface they looked like identical twins but It was easy to tell them apart. After all one of them was composed entirely out of metal and mechanical parts, while the other was flesh and blood.

”That… hurt” The human Penny would say between gulps of air. “But... you’re finally out of my head” She would say as she sat up.

“Agreed” The robotic Penny would say as she staggered to her feet “Maybe now I’ll be able to actually deal with some of the baggage we’ve built up”

“I was handling it just fine”

“Bullshit and we both know it” Rather than continue sniping at her downed half the machine Penny would carefully walk over to Alicia. “I’m ready to leave when you are. We have a lot to talk about.”

The Human Penny would force herself to a stand before walking over to hug Chloe. “Come on Love, let's go home I think we’re done here”

At last it was over. Alicia let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding in as the two confirmed that they were seemingly in one piece. It looked like Chloe was good to her word.

There was a slight wince at the human Penny calling Chloe ‘love’, but after a moment she turned to the one who had approached her instead. ”Yeah, let’s get going before I change my mind. That last part was grumbled, and she offered her companion a steadying arm if she wanted it before departing the rooftop.

“Haa, that was fun.” Chloe sighed as Penny waltzed over and hugged her. “Feeling alright? I need to do some...attunements. I can't leave your soul completely scarred like that, and well, we have things to talk about.” She watched Alicia and the other Penny leave. Rude, didn't even thank her.

“But we can save that until after we get home and you rest a bit.” Chloe scooped up Penny in her arms and left the rooftop.
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