Realistic or Modern PROJECT: MAGICAL WARRIORS (IC)

[Heartstorm78]

Julia "Jules" Heinrich
Codename: Frostbite​

It's already been several days since she escaped with her newfound allies. Julia never really intended to become a magical girl but she learned not to bother herself about that now. It was very early in the morning and no one had actually inhabited this place until now, at least it was the home of the magical girl escapees that were located in the forest with functioning water and electricity. Since it was early in the morning and the sun hadn't risen yet and she just decided to prepare breakfast, the first things she came across in the fridge were some eggs, bacon, some toast, and a box of waffle mix. The blond sighed as she rummaged through the cabinets for the cooking utensils, humming to herself as she found herself skillet.

" What are you doing?"

A familiar small panda in overalls gazed at Julia with a sweet but inquisitive smile. "Breakfast. What else Genesis?" she sarcastically replies in German. Tilting his head slightly adorably, he was obviously delighted."Well, lemme help!" He telepathically proclaimed. She shot a glare at her partner as she heard his voice a little too loudly in her mind. " Quiet, but you could help," she snapped. Genesis merely smiled a slightly bigger smile, unsettling Julia a bit, and giggled softly. " Sorry," he replied in a calm voice. Then, Julia pointed to the cabinet on the left of her, Genesis looked up. "Just grab a bowl for the pancakes," He nodded as he shuffled off of the table and, with Julia's help, managed to climb onto the cabinet. Once he opened the cabinet, the artificial partner proceeded to rummage inside the cabinet. As she attempted to break an egg on the frying pan, several pots tumbled with a loud crash. "I said be quiet!" snapped Julia. This was a bad start to the others' morning, but she merely hoped she had not disturbed them. So Julia quickly scrambled to pick up the pots and tries to place them back in the cabinets."We're going to talk about this later."She said looking at Genesis who merely just sighed.

 

[Nellancholy]

The sound of boots treading over grass barely disturbed the night air as the team of three slipped through the shadows, approaching their target. Yet another precious new candidate with the magical potential to join Dark Site’s ranks, and bring their vision of order and might to the world.

“Wolf Team, report in.” A clipped voice with a distinct mechanical filter crackled into Vanguard’s earpiece. “What’s the timeline for the candidate’s retrieval?”

“Wolf-Six, this is Vanguard.” Vanguard’s finger alighted on the call button. “Moving to establish visual on the candidate. We’ll be in and out in ten minutes.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Try not to make too much of a mess.” With that, the dispatcher fell silent for the moment.

“No promises.” Vanguard muttered. Glancing over her shoulder, she regarded the team chosen for her on this mission. The green-skinned magical girl, Suzuran, for whom it was a miracle to ever get dressed in uniform and out of her containment chamber. And the stoic one, Tenshi, whose sword would be of questionable use during this operation. Still, better they were under her watch than someone who couldn’t handle them.

“Come on, stay close.” Hunching over, the three made their way to the backdoor of the house, stacking up next to it. It was a landed property, mostly still made out of wood. Far enough out of the way that any help that would come was sure to be delayed, but not so isolated that they could afford commotion.

Vanguard took in a breath and closed her eyes, doing her best to feel out what awaited them within.

Behind the door was the kitchen. Beyond that, a corridor. The candidate had her own bedroom, the closer one to their point of ingress. Two adults in the room beyond that. Walls were thin, they should probably avoid a struggle. No time to waste.

“Tenshi, get the door.”

“I hear and obey.” God, she was pompous. Pressing her palm against the doorknob, she glowed for a moment. With a click, the metal swelled and warped, releasing the lock before melting out of shape.

Careful to avoid creaking on the floorboards, the three slipped into the kitchen, the faint glow of Tenshi’s form illuminating their path. “Go, secure the candidate.” Vanguard tilted her head. “I’ll cover you.”

“At once.” Tenshi muttered, reaching out to breach the door to their target’s room as well. Everything was going according to plan. All they needed was for Suzuran to sedate her and then they could extract-

Wait, where was Suzuran?

An amber glow answered that question, as Suzuran sifted through the refrigerator, coming up with a bar of chocolate in one hand and a brick of cheese in the other.

“Suzuran, drop it.” Vanguard hissed. “We need to secure the target ASAP.”

“Uh-uh.” The plantlike girl shook her head, smiling back. “I’m not coming all the way out here without eating something better than the shit they give me back there. Like, literally, they give me fertilizer to get me moving.”

“I said, drop it-” Before Vanguard could move to drag Suzuran over, the sound of a door opening next to her and Tenshi interrupted them.

“Hey, what’s going on-” There she was, their candidate. A slim, dark-haired girl, about fourteen or fifteen, glared at the intruders in her house. Her eyes widened. “Who the hell are-”

Vanguard’s hand pressed over her mouth, her other hand grabbing her shoulder and turning her towards the refrigerator. “Suzuran, subdue the candidate.”

“Hmph, fine...” Suzuran rolled her eyes as she finished the last of the chocolate. With a clench of her hand, a flower bud emerged from her palm, swelling...and bursting. A cloud of pollen blew into the candidate’s face, the toxic substance soon rendering her unconscious. When she woke up, she’d lose much of her long-term memory for a few days. It wouldn’t be permanent, but it’d put her in the right state to be properly...instructed into compliance and properly screened for duty under Dark Site.

“Good. Now let’s finish up...” Carefully, Vanguard handed the candidate off to Tenshi, who wordlessly pulled her into a fireman’s carry.

Mostly satisfied, Suzuran turned to slam the refrigerator shut, and-

“HEY! What do you think you’re doing with Kelly?!” A red-faced, middle-aged man ran up from the corridor, his eyes darting across the intruders. “Put her down, I’m calling the police!”

“No.” In the space of a second, one half of Telos formed in Vanguard’s hand, and she leveled its barrel at his face. “We’re leaving with the candidate.” Great. As long as Suzuran erased his memories as well...

“Ah-” The man’s hands shot up, but his expression didn’t change. “You’re not even burglars.” He snarled. “Where do you think you’re going to carry her off to? I’ll find you, I swear-” His gaze turned as a woman about the same age gasped, stepping back from the corridor. “Honey, get outta here! Get the cops-”

She turned to run.

A sword flashed across the room, and she fell.

“Threat neutralized.” Tenshi’s voice was dry.

The next moment would have seemed like a blur to anyone who was a moment slower. Seeing his wife fallen, blood pooling from a wound in her back. His daughter, unconscious and about to be carried away to a terrible fate. He screamed and grabbed for the gun.



click-BLAM



Vanguard had already turned away before he hit the ground.


“Tenshi, hand me the candidate.” With Kelly on her shoulders, Vanguard stepped out of the house, pressing on her earpiece again. “Wolf-Six, this is Vanguard. We have the candidate ready for extraction.”

“You got it, Vanguard. T-minus three minutes to extraction.”


Sighing, Vanguard crouched down, laying the candidate on the grass. Unclipping a grenade from her belt, she tossed it over to Suzuran’s expectant hand. “No need to hide the bodies. Just make it look like a robbery.”

---

Sibylla’s eyes slid open as the beams of sunlight crept through the dusty windows of the abandoned house in the forest.



She didn’t wake up with her heart pounding, or sweating, or screaming. She just did. Even with her dreams as vivid as the days she created them. Almost as if she had simply walked through a doorway and come out here, in a place where she had a conscience and will.



Carefully, she pulled off the thin blanket that failed to cover her feet and rolled off the bare mattress, adjusting her T-shirt instinctively.



Telos peered down at her in its avian form, its beak snapping open. “Elevated delta wave levels detected in REM. Do you require assistance?”



“...sorry Telos, I don’t think that’s your job.”



Telos’ beak snapped shut wordlessly.



Not bothering to clean up or get more dressed at the moment, Sibylla walked past the shelf on which a few miscellaneous weapons sat, towards the sound of clanging and sizzling in the kitchen.



Leaning on the doorway, she waited for a few seconds before trying to get Julia’s attention. “Um, M-miss Julia. Need any help?”

Heartstorm78

 

[Heartstorm78]

Julia "Jules" Heinrich
Codname: Frostbite​

Julia was muttering something angrily in german until she turned around at a voice that asked if she need any help and looked up to see Sibylla and the girl seemed embarrassed."Uh, Well-" She sighed as she can't think of a lie."I need help."She admitted. She noticed that Genesis was not to be seen anymore."I will find you..."She grumbled. Julia pointed to the silverware that was somehow about to fall again."Care to help me with tidying up and with cooking?"She asked.

Normally, Julia wouldn't ask for help, but since it was a different situation at the moment and she smelt a burning smell of eggs."Oh no my eggs!"She exclaimed. She quickly rushed to the pan and grabbed it and placed it into the sink and let the water run, as she sighed."My eggs...."She said doing the typical anime sad eyes. She suddenly sighed."Guess, I gotta use more eggs for Breakfast."Julia said with a nervous chuckle. She went to the fridge to grab the rest of the eggs in the fridge and got to work cooking the eggs.

---

Inessa Markov
Codename: Dynamite​

Meanwhile... Not very far from the house, Inessa stood there watching through a pair of binoculars quietly."Are you sure this is the location?" The red-haired asked putting down her binoculars. Inessa wasn't really doubting this mission, but she was doubting that this was the location at all. But Inessa really hated being out in the forest surrounded by bugs and other creepy crawlies."So what's the mission? Kill or capture?"She asked.

Julia: Nellancholy
Inessa: N/A

 

[GrieveWriter]

Alice - Gutter Queen
Interaction/Mention: Heartstorm78

The comfy embrace of the cool forest floor tempted Alice.

She'd been lying back in the mix of dirt and grass for long enough for the casual ambience of leaves swaying to lull her eyelids shut over and over. She kept popping them open, of course, she couldn't risk the other girls with her getting into trouble without her. Besides, she'd get a few hours to nap once the mission was over and they were debriefed. It was one of the few times she could bank on not being dragged out of bed for training or tests.

The comments of the girl a few feet away made Alice tilt her head up. It didn't look like Inessa was able to enjoy the fresh air as much as her, she was on edge. It was understandable, of course, they all knew what failure meant when they went back to Dark Site. If the targets weren't in the house nearby, then they had limited time to pick up the trail again. But Alice wasn't worried about that just yet.

"They're there." she stated with certainty before shrugging "Some of them, at least. The tracks lead here one way or another."

Alice rolled over onto her belly, dragging her bandage-wrapped form along the ground towards Inessa. She paused when one of her wrapped hands disturbed a beetle which scurried into the roots of a nearby tree. Alice pushed herself up onto her knees, rubbing at the dirt she'd gotten on the raggedy sheet she called clothes.

"Go for capture, kill if ya can't." Alice repeated their orders while rubbing dirt between those wrapped hands "Guess it should be short and sweet, but I'd prefer hanging out with the dorm mates again. Corpses don't chat well, Nessie."

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

• A dream, or a memory?
• Kill or Capture

• 
  An explosion went off in one sector of the training facility, as a girl with medium length blond hair, wearing a knightly outfit, stepped out of the hole made in the wall. She carried a pole which had a large silver flag fly about against the wind, as she looked back to the girls she had managed to sneak out this far, as the alarms blared throughout the complex.
  "Go on ahead! I'll keep guard until you get far enough away!"
  
  The girls she was with would be protestant, but she shook her head.
  "I'll be fine! I won't fall that easily!"
  The girl turned around, staff at ready as armed guards approached, carrying electro staffs and Tranquilizer guns, with orders to detain, but not kill, their test subjects.
  The knightly girl spun her staff around with one hand behind her, before grabbing it with her other hand and swinging it, sending a gust of wind to blow back the guards.
  She took a look back behind her and the girls she was rescuing were almost out of site.
  
  Just a few more seconds, then-
  Her train of thought was cut off, as a beam of red energy shot towards her. She blocked the shot with her staff and deflected it to the ground beside her. She looked to the sender of the attack, and her eyes widened, as she was now in melee combat with someone.
  "Rose! What are you doing?! It's me!"
  
  "My mission is to kill you. Sister or not, orders are orders."
  The girl with silver hair, clad in black, had pushed the other girl's weapon back as she spun around to elbow her. The girl brought a hand up to catch the attack.
  "Rose, we don't have to fight! I can take you out of here and-"
  
  "I have to do it! I have no choice!"
  Rose was in tears, as the wind picked up and lifted the other girl into the air, slamming her into a wall. She dropped her staff, as she fell to the ground. She slowly got up, wincing.
  "Why.... Why are you trying to hurt me? Aren't we...."
  
  She didn't get to finish her sentence. Rose had impaled the other girl in the chest, blood spilling out and staining the flag Crimson, as Rose was huffing.
  She was trying to hold herself together, but the other girl would bring a hand up to stroke the back of Rose's head.
  As her life faded, Rose caught the girl in her arms and was kneeling on the ground, screaming in terror from the murder she committed.
• 
  Rose opened her eyes, as she was leaning against a tree, and looked towards Alice.
  "Even if we do capture them, there's a chance they'll be fighting to kill."
  Rose then looked to Inessa. Rose didn't show it, but she harbored immense hatred towards her. Rose had no reason to fight her however. Not when Rose's life is litterally in her hands. If Rose ever tried to oppose her or the Dark site....
  
  Rose picked up her sword she had impaled in the ground beside her, and started walking towards the cabin.
  "I'll go knock and see who answers."
  Rose then paused for a moment before turning her head around to make eye contact with Inessa.
  "If I must capture them, I'm allowed to hurt them badly at least, right?"
  The wind picked up around her, which was strange since there wasn't any wind blowing through the area at the moment. The wind made Rose's scarf fly around behind her as she waited for an answer.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aoi / Heartbeat
Location: Forest

*snap* *snap* *snap*

With three consecutive strikes, the girl just crushed the body of her three victims into two different parts. Each of them were struggling to hold onto their last life as their squirming in pain. Meanwhile their murderer towered above them, her hand holding a random twig that she picked up and on her face was a wide smirk as she enjoyed the critters' agony.

What are you, seven years old? The large caterpillar on the girl's shoulder took a glance at the poor crushed bugs on the ground and threw a short telephatic quip at the perpetrator.

"I'm bored. Too much investigating, not enough blasting." The girl answered while pouting.

I prefer that. The caterpillar replied. Though this was the first time Aoi was deployed on mission that need some searching so he somewhat understand her. He noticed Rose moing from the corner of his vision. Seems like we're going to start the raid.

"FOR REAL?!" Dropping the stick on her hand, Aoi jumped in excitement before running towards the direction of the house.

"The last one to arrive is a rotten egg!!" She said as she ran past the other girls. The caterpillar let out a brief yelp when Aoi grabbed him by the neck and started squishing him like a clay until he was transformed into a katana.

Gundam Watcher 27 GrieveWriter Heartstorm78

 

[Nellancholy]

"Y-yeah. You got it, Ms. Julia." The last few days still had Sibylla on edge, leaving her mind clouded and anxious as she tried to figure out their next move. Would they have to keep running? Or at some point, would they have to strike back, even if they died trying? She was one of the oldest survivors, and almost the first...at some point her decision would take precedence. Pushing those thoughts out of her mind for the moment, she busied herself crawling on the floor, picking up the scattered (but thankfully intact) plates and cutlery that Julia had dropped. A brief moment of respite with a simple task, enough to steady the nerves a bit.

Standing up, she placed the collected plates back in the cabinet before turning to Julia. "Just eggs? That's not a breakfast. Hm, let me get some toast started..."

And just as she reached over to the stale, slightly dusty bag of bread that rested on the counter, a chill ran down her spine.

Something was coming.

No, something was already here.

Just outside the house, or already inside it?

Cold sweat formed on her brow.

"Julia, stop." Reaching over, Sibylla turned off the stove.

"Telos..." She whispered. Without any further instruction, her magical partner swooped up into the eaves of the house, waiting directly above the front door to ambush whoever came in if their intent proved ill. Putting her arm up to shield Julia, Sibylla inched cautiously back in the direction of her room, where the rest of her collected weapons lay. Having Telos deployed had its tactical benefits, but it always meant she'd have to make do with mundane weapons when the need arose.

Heartstorm78 Spoiled Bread Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Heartstorm78]

Inessa Markov
Codename: Dynamite​

Inessa eyed Alice quietly as she sighed, She knew all, and well if they failed the consequences will be dire."Well, let's see then."She answered. Inessa watched Alice as she rolled on her belly and then get up because she disturbed a beetle, that scurried away; The red-haired wondered why did even Alice even wear bandages and rags. At Alice repeating them orders, she smirked."Well, I rather would kill them, but capturing is alright."Inessa answered with a grin.

But she didn't like to be called Nessie as she picked up her binoculars to look to see who was at the window, just to see Julia standing right there, looking nervous as it looked like she talking. Putting down her binoculars again, at Rose's comment about capturing and the rouges probably fighting to kill, The older silver-haired magical did have a fair point."True."She answered. Inessa quietly watched Rose leave as she only sees Rose as only a mere associate for her work. Ever since the day, she was ordered to put a bomb in Rose's neck, she just didn't care about what Rose did, only except if she betray her or dark site, She'll be killed. At Rose turning around with the scarf flying around in this mysterious wind and asking to hurt them badly, Inessa smiled darkly."You're allowed to, Make sure that they'll feel the wrath of Dark Site."She said chuckling.

Seeing that Aoi had taken off with Inessa looking surprised."Hey! Aoi! ROSE WAS SUPPOSED TO GO!"She shouted after her, hoping for the blue-haired to hear her. But she then changed her mind, this could catch the magical girls off guard. She sighed."Bert..." The bush nearby rustled as a black cat walked out and looked at Inessa with it's piercing yellow eyes."Yes, Inessa?"He asked. "Weapon form, Machine gun now."She commanded. "Yes, Ma'am" Without further Ado, He lept into the air and glowed as The Russian stood up and in a burst of flames she transformed into her magical girl form, as she caught her partner in her hand. "Change of plans, Full on raid but we're still capturing them."She said.

---

Julia "Jules" Heinrich
Codename: Frostbite​

Ever since the past days, things were a bit on edge as things were a little tense in the air since she had a feeling that some magical girls in this cabin had been a little traumatized from being in Dark Site. For Julia herself, She was a little Traumatized by being a former magical girl for dark site and was forced under them inhumane experimentations, and tests, But she's still learning to get past that even thou she was afraid that Dark site will find her and her friends, as Julia didn't how long this place would keep them safe, but she hoped that this will keep them safe for now.

At the words "Ms.Julia" She only giggled."Please stop calling me that, Call me Jules please."She asked. Ms. Julia made the blonde feel like an adult even thou she is one of the oldest magical girls around, except that she's younger than Sibillya by a couple of years. At that comment about the eggs she merely sighed."I was making with bacon and the pancakes as well until Genesis messed that up."She said slightly annoyed. Julia Cracked the egg as the egg was sizzling cooking. Julia looked up at the tone Sibillya spoke in as she saw the blondie turn off the stove."What's wrong?"She asked concerned. The German noticed how tense her Swedish friend was as if she had a feeling they were about to be attacked.

Julia followed Sibillya quietly still a bit concerned as she sighed. Genesis was following behind quietly, as she clutched onto her MagiDrive just in case she had to transform into her magical girl form.

Mentions/ Interactions: GrieveWriter Gundam Watcher 27 Spoiled Bread

 

[Severia]

"So they are finally here. Took them long enough."
"Remember, don't kill any single one of them under any circumstances, even if your friends over there tell you to."

Confirmed that there was no one else in this empty hallway, Wingy and her partner discussed about the hostile girls outside the cabin.

"What are you talking about? I'm just a cute magical girl who is bad at fighting and can only support others right?"

Given that she kept telling fellow rogue magical girls she doesn't want to hurt her friends, it was a perfectly reasonable assessment for her combat ability and strategical role. But...

"Like hell you are!"

Sirius, or rather the man behind it, blurted out. If this girl was considered bat at fighting, then hell would be the coldest place he knew.

"Uwah, that's mean! Don't worry. I still find keeping this role far more enjoyable than fighting a bunch of girls I can easily defeat, so I will keep that in mind."
"Even if Rose is here?"
"Well, I'm not interested in the title of the strongest, but that doesn't mean I can't win."
"I'm not asking you to win..."
"Ahaha. Ah, we are here. You better turn back into my cute Siri now."
"... Can't you do something about that nickname? At least drop the "hey" before saying it."
"Never."
"Fuc—"

Before he could finish that, the door was flung open.

“Morning!!"
"Good morning, everyone."

Wingy who entered the area lead to the kitchen enthusiastically shouted in her usual carefree and cheerful voice, ignoring whatever existing atmosphere. The floating star accompanied her also moved up and down a bit while calmly delivering his own greeting.

"Ahhh. Jules is cooking something! If it's you it's gonna be tasty! Let me help let me help!!"

She went on like that for a while, until the two other girls left the kitchen with a pretty scary look on their faces.

"Hey you two. What's wrong?"

Wingy followed them and asked obliviously.

Heartstorm78 Nellancholy

Mention: Gundam Watcher 27

 

[GrieveWriter]

Alice - Gutter Queen
Interaction/Mention: Heartstorm78 Gundam Watcher 27 Spoiled Bread

Inessa seemed to prefer the 'no loose' ends approach if her response was anything to go by, a sentiment mirrored by Rose. She'd spoken up from her spot near another tree, mentioning the vicious resistance the rouges were likely to put up to avoid capture. It wasn't something Alice overlooked, with how assured some of those girls were during the escape. It'd be dumb to think they wouldn't give it their all to keep from going back into Dark Site's clutches, but Alice knew what Dark Site would prefer, what HE would prefer.

Replacing their toys would be far more labor-intensive than simply fixing the ones they already had.

When Rose questioned the degree of violence she could show, Alice stayed silent. Inessa assured her that she could go wild as long as they survived, and Alice actually found herself nodding in agreement with her. If Rose hurt the Rogues badly, there was a chance Dark Site would be forced to punish them less severely to keep them from dying in captivity.

But before Rose could put her powers on display, a blue blur raced by declaring it to be a race. Alice sat straight up as Aoi darted past all three of them right towards the house the targets were in, already forming her weapon as she ran. Knowing that they'd be found out sooner than later, Alice gave a low hum as Inessa called for a full raid instead. Luckily, the objectives were the same, so Alice just lifted a hand up as a finely crafted black-gold scepter floated silently from a nearby bush.

Rory didn't speak or hesitate, simply moved by command of Alice's humming. The scepter circled over her as a large black hat appeared over her head. It grew in size, casting a deep black shadow over Alice until she was barely even visible under it. Only when the last of her features faded from view did pair of golden eyes appear in their place.

The Gutter Queen stood, with rags and worn bandages having been replaced by a dress of unspoiled gold and black. The dirt and grass seemed to refuse to even touch her, falling from the dress and maintaining its perfect sheen as a head full of pitch black curls fell from a head wrapped in shadows.

Rory finally descended into her outstretched hand, where a silken black glove clutched onto it tightly.

"Of course," the Gutter Queen gave Inessa and Rose a nod before melting into the tree's shadow, her voice growing silent as she slithered away "I'll provide you girls overwatch where I can."

She emerged from another shadow, stepping out onto the thick branch of a tree a slight distance from where she started. Her dress leaked over the sides of the branch as she sat down, dangling one leg as her scepter shifted in her grasp. Soon she was holding a fine assembly of black and gold that resumbled a hunting rifle. And as she took aim, numerous shadows around her shimmered.

In the bushes and trees around her, about a dozen shadowy replicas of her also stood tall, levelling their own dark rifles at the window Inessa had been staring at as the Gutter Queen looked out for movement from the house itself.

 

[Nellancholy]

Frankly, since she woke up that morning, Sibylla had not thought about Wingy (as she insisted on being called) for a single moment. She hadn't had the chance to get acquainted with her when the two of them were still...imprisoned, but she got the impression that Wingy was never much of a presence in battle, and didn't get too much chance to be in the strike teams that Vanguard had led back in the day.

"Shh! Wingy, stay close." Waving her hand slightly, Sibylla tried to coax her back into the corridor so she would remain out of sight of any intruders. "There's someone sneaking around. Might be them."

Fast, a lot of movement but barely any sound. Did the intruders have powers that could mask their movement? Then this entire house was already in danger.

Sibylla had hesitated to use her own ability until now, given its limited duration of effect, but there was no use saving it for now.

In a familiar gesture, she closed her eyes, clutching her MagiDrive close. A silent wave spread out of her rapidly, giving her the lay of the land. One intruder was charging enthusiastically towards the front door. Telos would be able to stall them for a bit. ( Spoiled Bread ) Another was following closely behind but stopped, waiting for further instruction. ( Gundam Watcher 27 ) And behind them was a massed formation, waiting in the wings. They were pretty far away, lying in wait. But instead of spreading out, they seemed to be holding formation like some kind of archaic firing line. The distance made it impossible to discern their form or any weapons, on top of the layer of magical obfuscation. ( GrieveWriter ) All in all, it seemed like they were going to mount a frontal assault, which meant escaping from the rear of the house might be possible.

"Stay close." Sibylla stepped back into her room, lifting the shutter on one of the walls to reveal a tool rack that had been repurposed to hold a tiny selection of "mundane" weapons. Sibylla hefted a sledgehammer, along which sat a few other items like a combat knife, an metal baseball bat, as well as a handgun with a single spare magazine and a double-barreled shotgun with a few extra shells, the firearms having been stolen from a hunting lodge during the escape that eventually led to them finding this house.

"I know you guys tend to prefer fighting with your partner weapons in hand, but...can't hurt, right?" Sibylla shrugged a little, inviting them to avail themselves of what was at hand. The intruders would break in at any moment...

Heartstorm78 Severia

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Rose saw Aoi speed ahead of her. Rose didn't really care if Aoi went in first, but she did care about one thing that prompted her to stop in her tracks and raise her sword, pointing at the door. Red energy swirled around the blade, before it shot out at the door, shattering it. Wether or not there may have been another magical girl behind the said door, she didn't care. She only did what she did out of a Tactical necessity. The path was open for Aoi, enabling her to go in first.

Rose then thought about the last time she was on a mission like this. Not a recovery mission, but it definitely was similar to the assignment of storming a base that had people inside who were on the run from the government. She remembered killing armed guards, Fathers, Mothers, even children. Her orders were to kill everyone in that area, and Rose didn't argue. However, she remembered why she got the bomb in her neck in the first place.

There were 2 siblings, an older sister and a Younger sister. They were in a corner, the older sister glaring at Rose with intense hatred, while she hugged her sister to protect her. Her sister was crying because she didn't want to die. Rose paused mid strike. Seeing them reminded her of.... Rose lowered her sword, away from the siblings and spoke.
"Run. Get away from here, and don't let me see you again."
She then walked away to report that her job was "done", but a certain someone had been sneaky enough to observe Rose betraying her orders, and sent the report to Mr. Zero.
Rose didn't know what would be in store for her. All she knew was that her own sister was somewhere, having escaped with a few Magical Girls following her. She said she'd be back some day, but when?

Mentions: Spoiled Bread Nellancholy Heartstorm78​

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aoi / Heartbeat
Location: Forest

"Ehh, none of them come out. Are they don't know I'm coming?" Aoi said to her partner during her way towards the house.

They can sense you just as you can sense them. They probably choose to put traps for you.

"That's boring! I want to fight!" Just as she said that, a red energy bolt hit the house's door, destroying it completely and exposing anything behind it.

"Oh, I understand. Thanks, Rosey!!" She waved at the team leader and then pulled a locket out of her pocket, her magidrive. Aoi's magidrive was shaped like a coccoon with several sharp spikes potruding out of it. It's painfully colorful scheme made it looks like a candy to anyone who was unfamiliar with it.

"Rose is right, Chouji! If we want to fight them, then we must destroy their hideout first!"

I don't think she ever said that

"Magidrive...! Henshin!!!" Aoi grasped her magidrive, letting the spikes pierced her skin to trigger her transformation. Bright light engulfed Aoi's body as she transform. It only took her a brief second before Heartbeat appeared on the battlefield, her chaotic dress flutters in the wind as she took a great leap several stories above the ground.

"BUNKER BUSTER!!!" Heartbeat screamed the name of her move before diving feet first into the house's wall.

From the outside it might seems that she just kicked the house without any purpose, but it was an entirely different story from the inside. Cracks would rapidly appear on the walls, anything that wasn't nailed down would rattle loudly and windows would suddenly shatters into hundreds of pieces. An ability that even made Dark Site very cautious, Heartbeat's bunker buster sends ultra high-frequency vibration to grind solid material against each other, corroding structure's integrity within mere seconds. The house would only last 5 seconds before it collapse and bury anyone within.

Gundam Watcher 27 Nellancholy Severia Heartstorm78

 

[Heartstorm78]

Julia "Jules" Heinrich
Codename: Frostbite​

At Wingy's Good morning, She waved quietly, at the question she sighed."I don't know, but Sibylla's acting like this means someone might've found us."She answered. The blonde was worried, as she didn't want to go through fighting again, There were always too many casualties when that happened. Jules watched Sibylla use her powers she was thinking of a plan quickly if they managed to infiltrate the house she needed to use her Cryokinesis if they attack them, she could subdue them.

At the older magical girl telling them to stay close she nodded, Following Sibylla into her room as she watched Sibylla lifting the shutter on one of the walls to reveal a tool rack that holds a small number of weapons used for combat, At Sibylla invited them to avail themselves of the weapons at hand, She sighed. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt."Julia said. Jules chose the handgun with a single spare magazine, and Loaded and cocked the gun, as she was ready."I still have a bad feeling about this." The blonde answered uncertainly.

She heard the door being busted open, The blonde looked at Sibylla still quite uncertain of what to do, But a few seconds later she heard someone scream: "Bunker Buster!!!" She saw the cracks rapidly appear on the walls, and she noticed the vases on the hallway shelf were vibrating loudly. She realized this was a magical girl's ability and she had to do something quickly as she saw the house was about to collapse." We need to get the heck out here!" She screamed.

Mentions/ Interactions: Severia Nellancholy Spoiled Bread

 

[Nellancholy]

"BUNKER BUSTER!!!"

Oh gods, so that was their plan. Or perhaps whoever had launched that attack was as unruly as Suzuran was, and had made the decision to demolish the house on their own instead of sweeping it room by room to recapture them. That would have been dangerous enough, but they were going scorched earth on the rogues instead. Still, the information Vanguard's ability gave her had never been wrong before, and she had no reason to doubt it even at this climactic moment.

Clenching the MagiDrive in her hand tight, she let it call to her. A signal like a finely forged key, the only thing that could unlock the full potential that had been imbued into her. The indelible red highlights in her hair lit up, glowing brighter than the red of blood. Her already impressive strength swelled as the strange nun's garment formed on her, and without even a millisecond to lose, she got to work breaking out her comrades.

The damage that had been done in a fraction of a second to the house only made the job easier as Vanguard swung the sledgehammer, blowing out the rear wall of the bedroom she had been sleeping in. Grabbing Frostbite with one hand and wrapping the arm holding the hammer around Wingy, she did her best to haul them out from under the building as it narrowly missed them.

On the other end of the building, Telos had thankfully remained unnoticed for now, narrowly avoiding the blast that demolished the door. Immediately after Heartbeat struck the fatal blow to the building, Telos would swoop down and out, blowing a gust of chilling wind straight into her face. It wouldn't do any sizable damage, but if it happened to hit, it would blur her vision and make it hard to breathe for some time, preventing her from taking any strenuous action until she could clear her lungs.

Then it would pitch upwards and fly in a sharp loop towards the back of the house, in such a way that the distance between Telos and Vanguard's group ensured that anyone wanting to launch ranged attacks at it couldn't focus fire on the fleeing rogues instead.

Indeed, the Dark Site's frontal assault meant that the rogues still had an advantage, no matter how slim: the house collapsing into a pile of rubble allowed it to serve as momentary cover as they fled from the rear. It gave them a moment's protection from any ranged attacks, potentially allowing them to run out of the clearing and into the forest so they could split up and vanish.

Heartstorm78 Severia Spoiled Bread

 

[LostHaven]

• Prologue
• Your Shadow Looks Back

• The Repairer
  Repairer's 'Workshop' | "This is the most I can do for you. Still a mercy, I imagine."​
  
  In a dimly lit room reeking of the stench of blood and rust, is situated a single, old iron chair bolted firmly into the ground. A magical girl is restrained to it, face covered by the cliched bag-over-the-head. They remain, perfectly still until they are roused by the loud sound of iron bolts being loosened from the other side of the cell door. With a ear-piercing creak, the door swings open followed by three distinct set of footsteps - two are perfectly in tune, symmetric, whilst the third set is disjointed, uneven, and occasionally interrupted by the clicking of a cane against the cold concrete floor.
  
  The entrant with the cane approaches the magical girl, and with one motion tugs the bag off her head. Her eyes take a moment to adjust to the dim light, but she soon makes out her captor; a man dressed head to toe in formal wear, wielding an intricate oak cane and face shrouded by a featureless black mask. She had never seen the man in person before, but any magical girl of the Dark Site would recognize the description - she was now prisoner to the dreaded 'Repairer'. Behind him, standing guard at the door were two other magical girls - or, what was left of them. The more she observed them, the more off-putting their presence was: blank expressions that reflected no emotion, empty eyes with not even the slightest spark of a soul left within. A fate possibly worse than death - and one she would soon suffer now that she had fallen into the Repairer's hands.
  
  "Looks like your friends have all abandoned you," the Repairer breaks the silence.
  
  "They did not abandon me," she hisses in response.
  
  "Yes, right, you made a 'noble sacrifice' and let yourself be captured to buy time," he quips back. "All for naught, I'm afraid. We all know Zero well enough, he'd never stand for his toys just running off like that."
  
  "I'd rather die than to submit my fate to a madman, unlike you," she spits at the repairer's feet. Her reaction seems to bring great amusement to the Repairer.
  
  "Well, I don't think you have a choice here anymore - you won't be able to make a choice of your own accord ever again, for that matter," he taunts back as he unfolds a letter from his coat and begins to read it aloud. "It says here that, -ahem- I am to reprogram you to use as a potential sleeper agent, yada yada, use you as I best deem fit should the retrieval operation end in failure, and Jesus Christ the sick fuck, I'll spare you the burden of knowing the rest of your fate, it grosses even me out."
  
  "Do it then, just remember that there will always be those who will stand against your atrocities."
  
  "Pfft- don't be so stuck-up, I'm actually here to lend a hand. Won't you at least hear me out before literally begging me to mess you up?"
  
  "... I have nothing to say to you-"
  
  "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Anyhoo - I was saying, it's actually more beneficial to me that your buds don't get caught. You see - I'm not very fond of all this either. Believe it or not, I too was but an innocent boy enjoying my youth before you know, all this. I'll strike you a deal. Tell me anything of note you and your friends know - plans, outside contacts, and whatnot, and I'll spare you from what the Site's got in store for you."
  
  "I... don't trust you."
  
  "Look, I can extract what I need from that little head of yours either way. I'll give you a chance to stay as yourself until the very end."
  
  The Repairer brings up a decent point. The magical girl finally pauses to think. Sensing that he was close, the Repairer moves to close in on his objective. Without warning, he reaches for his face, and pulls off the featureless mask. The sudden action surprises the captured magical girl in more ways than one; though the young man was smiling behind the mask, one would also notice the tears trickling down his face. "Please, help me end this," Hildred pleas, a tinge of deep sorrow in his voice. In that moment, she realizes; the Repairer was much like everyone else in this accursed Dark Site - forced into obedience and made to commit atrocities by vile means. He had been suffering as much as anyone else, hiding that deep well of sorrow behind the pitch-black mask.
  
  In that moment, for better or worse, though she could no longer distinguish if her thoughts were even her own, she believed him.
  
  – – – – –
  
  "The captive, in a burst of desperation suddenly gained a surge of power and after a vicious battle, I was forced to terminate them," Hildred scribbles down a half-hearted letter, before retrieving a revolver with a full chamber from one of his 'guards'. The magical girl seems to understand - and nods. Her hands trembled in their restraints. She was scared. Anyone would be - after all, there was no eventuality as inevitable and as terrifying as death. However, she too acknowledges that it would still be far better than what her captor originally had planned.
  
  "I am not so crude as to deny a girl their last request," he tells his 'prisoner'. "So, I'll hear out your last words."
  
  Facing down the barrel of Hildred's gun, a sudden and inexplicable wave of calm washes over her - as if she has finally come to complete terms with fate. "Please, the others. Save them."
  
  And, with that, Hildred pulls the trigger. A thundering gunshot, and brains splatter. He then produces a second handgun, of different make and more importantly, different caliber from his coat and aims it at his own abdomen. He grits his teeth and braces himself before he fires it into himself. He groans in pain as the bullet fires right through. "Fuck, that's not good," he mutters as he proceeds to place the handgun into the hand of the corpse.
  
  As he turns to leave, he wipes crocodile tears off his face and utters one last final order to his two puppets at the door. "Kill each other."
  
  Two more corpses drop to the floor, and with his setup complete, Hildred straightens himself despite the burning pain in his abdomen. "Castaigne," he calls, and his companion responds by moving onto his face before hardening into his signature black mask.
  
  "How cruel," the mask muses.
  
  "Better to die with dignity than to live in complete humiliation, I suppose."
  
  "There was no sympathy in your actions there, Hildred. This I know well."
  
  "Then you do not know me well enough, Castaigne."
  
  "You are aware that he won't buy this, yes?" Castaigne reminds his contractor.
  
  "Yes, but he has no choice but to accept this outcome."
  
  "Which is more than enough to suit our purposes."
  
  "Indeed. I've gleamed all the information I need; The stage is set, and our little 'protagonists' will need as much support as they can possibly muster."
  
  "I've had enough of somebody else's melodrama as is. There is still much work to be done."
  
  "Let's go help our little protagonists out of their little pinch they're sure to find themselves in, shall we?"
  
  "Stop calling them that."
• Castaigne
  Forest | "Not that you have a better plan than to just trust me."
  ​
  From the moment Sibylla had suspected surveillance, and probably far before that, an entity had been watching from the shadows. Innumerable, leering eyes peering at the ragtag group of defectors, remaining just out of sight that even should one suspect that they'd been followed, they could never find definitive evidence.
  
  That was well and good, of course, until a couple of house-crashes escalated the situation beyond just mere spying. Now, with the subjects of their spying in dire straits, the entity was spurred to action.
  
  "Girl, listen to me," as she fled, Vanguard would be alerted to a voice calling to her from somewhere beneath. "Since the situation calls for it, I'll be your ally for a while. At the very least, you can be assured that I am no friend of Zero." If she were to follow the source of this familiar voice, Vanguard would find that her shadow was now sporting several, large red eyes glaring at her with a malevolent gaze. It spoke to her in her own voice.
  
  "My contractor is willing to assist in your escape. So, if you would just kindly share some magical power, I can be of assistance for the time being."
  
  Heartstorm78 Severia Spoiled Bread
  

 

[Severia]

"Shh! Wingy, stay close. There's someone sneaking around. Might be them."

Wingy widened her eyes and covered her mouth with both hands. Before she could weep or cry, Sib invited her and Jules into her room and showed them the rack.

"I don't know..."

Wingy picked up a knife. Her voice was shaking as she turned her back to the knife’s owner and started speaking.

"I will take this, but is it really okay to use something like this against our dormmates... our friends? Hey Siri, what do you think?"

At that moment, Wingy quickly slap a star-shaped sticker on the knife before inserting it into her pocket. Her sleight of hand, the direction she was facing and Sirius's name being mentioned, which should draw some attention. All these factors should have prevented the other two from seeing that little action she was performing. And well, even if she got caught, what's the big deal with a sticker anyway?

Before the Artificial Partner could give a reply, there was a loud noise from the direction of the door. Upon seeing the appearance of the red energy that destroyed the door, Sirius immediately knew who it was.

So it really is Rose's team. You should also expect Dynamite, Gutter Queen and Heartbeat there.

Sirius telepathically told Wingy an information a mere partner shouldn't know. Since he was not exactly a genuine Artificial Partner, there was no telepathic bond between him and Wingy and a one-way channel was the best he could afford in such short timespan before her escape. And even then it was not exactly telepathic, considering the real person behind the floating star need to speak into the mic to send any message.

Judging by what they can do, if you really want to get away from them you might have to get serious. But please do. If that little group of you get captured back this fast, I will gain nothing and will even have to go to great lengths to protect you from any punishment come your way. Hey! Do you even hear that!?

Wingy didn't answer. She simply glanced at Sirius with a confident look before turning back to the two other girls.

"BUNKER BUSTER!!!"

Aoi-chan, huh. Looking at how fast those cracks developed on the wall around them, Wingy was able to roughly tell how long it took before the building would collapse.

Five.

"We need to get the heck out here!"

Jules's frightened scream could be heard. Yeah, that sounded about right.

Four.

Sib transformed. Looked like Wingy can let that girl handle— Wait, wasn't there someone else inside this house? That doctor who wasn't even a magical girl. If Sib was going to do what she thought...

Three.

Vanguard quickly took her two friends out of the house, exactly as the short girl had imagined. Wingy could have saved that doctor from this distance, but if there was a record and they found out later that she did something like that without transforming, it would spell a bit of trouble. Or she could have just abandon... No, the snack she received yesterday was certainly tasty, and she should return the favor.

"Siri!!"

Wingy cried. Sirius who knew his job started to float around the girl before emitting a bright flash of pink light. Aside from visual effect, that light had no function whatsoever. Wingy was already so good at controlling her MagiDrive that she didn't need to waste any time or verbal command and can just switch forms through mental command alone, in less than a second and without any light or flashy effect...

Two.

...but if she didn’t want to stand out, then that flashy effect was needed. When the light faded, the girl Sib was carrying turned into a full fleshed magical girl with frilly dress and Lovely Star ready in her hand.

“I will help!”

One.

Wingy raised her wand. Pointing at the direction where Telos was facing the Dark Site magical girls.

"Protecting Star!!"

At that exact moment the house was collapsing, the doctor who remained in the house would be protected in all directions by multiple star-shaped walls. This move created a small safety field which could nullify even an explosion right beside it, so a mere collapsing building would never breach its defense and harm any individual inside. In addition, there was a few walls of star-shaped energy forming in front of Telos as well as in front of Wingy herself. She had also weakened their strength appropriately and her shields would break after receiving a single hit of Rose’s attack or a couple hits from the other girls’ ranged attacks.

“Yay, this is the first time I manage to create a shield from this distance! Look! Sib, Jules. Now I’m more useful to you guys right? Right!?”

With this, she had a perfect cover for the shields that saved the doctor’s life. After all, you couldn’t tell what will happen at all when you try something for the first time and it’s related to magic. Even something like “accidentally produced more than expected” could even occur. Now all that left is to—

“Girl, listen to me”

Wingy quickly turned to the source of the voice, which was Sib’s shadow. Wingy’s eyebrow frowned, not because of how bizarre it looked but because of another voice.

“Who the hell are you? What do you want from us!?”

Sirius asked in an anxious and hostile tone after that thing resided in Sib’s shadow finished talking to them. Knowing him for so long, Wingy knew that it wasn’t an act. That man really didn’t know the identity of the one who talked in Sib’s voice.

What’s the meaning of this? Dark Site executives like Sirius should have known all the currently existing magical girls and artificial partners. And no, even if he did forget one or two names, all that man needed to do was leaving Sirius’s control device for a while and go look up the information from another console in his room. And since that thing could do power-based search, there should be no one he didn’t know. If there happened to be one, then it’s either someone or something from outside the Dark Site, or perhaps those directly related to Mr. Zero himself...

Whatever, even if that shadow thing was something like that, what mattered right now was the fact that she or it offered to help them as well as another important thing. Anyone with enough reasoning and logic would never trust someone this fishy, perhaps Sirius included. But to Wingy...

“Hey Siri. That’s rude you know.”
“Huh!?“
“Based on what you said, you are an Artificial Partner right? I don’t know who you are, but I always welcome a new friend! I’m Wingy. It’s nice to meet you! Uh... what’s your name again?”

Wingy scolded her own partner while enthusiastically said all that to Sib’s shadow. She then extracted a pretty large amount of her own magical energy and offered it to that thing, all without asking Sib or Jules. If anything, befriending anyone whenever she could was Wingy’s well known trait so it shouldn’t surprise those two that much. Actually, the one that was surprised was someone who knew her true color.

What the hell do you think you are doing!? That artificial partner doesn’t exist anyway in our Dark Site database! You can’t easily trust it like that!!

Yeah she figured it out long before he needed to say that. Wingy paid no mind to Sirius’s telepathic protest as she waited for an answer from the shadow entity.

You... don’t tell me you think it will be... fun!?

Took you long enough. Wingy wish she could telepathically say that back...

Heartstorm78 Nellancholy LostHaven

Gundam Watcher 27 Spoiled Bread GrieveWriter Heartstorm78 (if any of you wish to harm Telos or our little group you will have to pass my shield first!)

 

[Heartstorm78]

Inessa Markov
Codename: Dynamite​

Dynamite watched quietly as Gutter Queen a nod before melting into the tree's shadow, She was quite glad for a squadron like this but she didn't like this distract her. Not even a few seconds as she watched through the binoculars as Heartbeat managed to take down the house in five seconds, but watched as Vanguard managed to escape the house with the other two rouges, That smirk faded from her face as she had to get to business, as she cocked her machine gun as a dark gleam shown in her eyes."This time, Try not to overdo it when you shoot." Bert Advised knowing what his partner was going to do. "I know that Bert, Alright locked n loaded." She spoke as she took off the safety on this machine gun. She looked at Gutter queen and Rose."Rose, could you help Aoi in the fight that's about to begin, I'll assist from the range." the red-haired magical girl put the magical machine gun towards the direction she was standing at as she then aimed as she waited for Rose to try and break down the barrier.

---

Julia "Jules" Heinrich
Looking at Wingy's uncertainness at the knife before putting a star-shaped sticker as if she accepted it now that quickly How odd? She then sighed as she looked still worried for a whole bunch of reasons. She looked at Sibylla as she transformed as she silently watched the nun magical girl use the sledgehammer as Vanguard quickly took her two friends out of the house, Before it collapsed, The blonde saw Wingy shout Sirius's name and her partner emitted a bright flash of pink light as she covered her eyes until the light died down and saw Wingy transformed and use protecting star in front of her. "Thanks Vanguard and Wingy."Julia thanked. At this moment the blonde knew that dark site sent out their strongest."So, Dark site wasn't playing around and decided to send the best of the best."She muttered quite surprised. jules then looked afraid as she remembered the doctor."Wait? Where's Doc?"She asked.

"Over Here!"

If anyone else besides Julia heard that They would see a woman with dark hair and green eyes, wearing a long-sleeved striped shirt and khaki pants as she seemed a bit glad at seeing the magical girls safe as she chuckled for a 42 year old doctor she always seems to be soo full of energy and young."I'm alright! Thanks Wingy for saving me by the way!" Doc said. Julia could feel a bit better as she looked at Wingy."Hey Wingy how long does the star barrier last?"She asked curiously. At the same time she asked, She clasped her MagiDrive, Breathing in slowly to calm herself to feel at one with her power with her eyes closed, as the air around her grew colder slowly as ice formed around her outfit and certain parts of her hair, as her hair grew longer and turned stark white before it shattered as it revealed her magical girl outfit and her new hairdo, as she opened her eyes.

"Codename: Magical Girl Frostbite."

At what she said, She mentally cursed at herself for this stupid habit, as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly."Sorry, It's a habit."She said. But at a mysterious voice, She looked at Sib's shadow to see that her shadow looked a little changed."Uhh, then where's your partner then?"Frostbite asked. She wasn't really trusting this being but was wondering what an artificial partner doing here, it could mean that he was nearby around here somewhere.

Mentions/ Interactions: GrieveWriter Gundam Watcher 27 Spoiled Bread LostHaven GrieveWriter

 

[GrieveWriter]

Alice - Gutter Queen
Interaction/Mention: Heartstorm78 Nellancholy Spoiled Bread Gundam Watcher 27 Severia

Everyone had adjusted to Aoi's sudden charge swimmingly, bringing a faint smile to the Gutter Queen's lips. Not that they were visible, hidden under that shadowy veil that obscured every except the glowing eyes which locked onto the house. Rose had cleared the doorway for Aoi's assault, with every one of the Gutter Queen's Doppelgangers looking for targets to fire upon.

Aoi chose a much different approach, instead transforming into Heartbeat before initiating her Bunker Buster. The Gutter Queen tilted her head at such a maneuver before fading back into the shadows, as her firing line of Doppelgangers began spreading out through the surrounding woods. If even one Rouge in there new of how the attack worked, they would flee through any nearest exit.

She was playing catch up now, swerving through the shadows around the house as her Doppelgangers tried to form a wider net of area denial in the surrounding woodlands. Things were going to get messy quick, so the Gutter Queen took a moment to enjoy the peaceful cold of the darkness.

The sensation of swimming through shadows was akin to floating in black water. While horrifying to some, the Gutter Queen had spent many a nights in its embrace. It was the only vacation she had while under lock and key. As such, she emerged from the shadows in the branches of a different tree with a refreshed sense of relief. The house had just started collapsing, with the first thing she spotted being a magical star-like barrier that was protecting an individual within.

The Gutter Queen took aim, only for another gunshot to sound out instead. She glanced to the side, finding that one of her Doppelgangers was firing its rifle at something behind the collapsed structure. It was another barrier, identical to the closer one. The Gutter Queen tilted her head, as there was only one reason another would be there. Either one of them could be a distraction, but she luckily had the tools for just such an equation.

The spread out firing line broke, with four of the Doppelgangers rushing out of the treeline. They split up, with two hurrying to aid Aoi by attacking the Barrier in the structure, while the other two rushed to join the attack on the barrier in the back. But Alice couldn't risk leaving the potential situation back there up to herself and a single Doppelganger. She needed to keep the others informed as well.

As the two Doppelgangers in front moved ran towards the ruined building, one paused and began to vocalize in a distorted version of Alice's voice.

"Targets... in back..." the Doppelganger practically croaked the words out in a sickly tone "Diversion? Escape? Investigating."

 

[Nellancholy]

Thankfully, Vanguard managed to remember to let go of the others before continuing the charge to the treeline. Despite the chaos that was unfolding behind them, Wingy had shown surprising initiative in shielding not only the doctor that had been looking out for them, but also providing cover to their own group as well. Surprising, but welcome, considering how Vanguard had never seen a successful use of Wingy's abilities before. As she ran, she raised her hand and clenched her fist, signalling Telos to dip down and close the distance to them, allowing for a bit of additional protection and access to her personal weapons if necessary.

Just as she had anticipated, their attackers weren't immediately able to strike at them, thanks to a combination of their poor positioning, Wingy's barrier, and the collapse of the building. Even so, a few shots rang out, cracking and straining the barriers. They had to hurry, get to safety no matter the cost.

Amidst all that was happening, it took a few seconds for Vanguard to even register the fact that an eerie, strangely glowing...thing was sitting on her shadow, or perhaps in it. Her face got even paler.

"W-waaaah!" The young woman stumbled, falling with her back against a tree as panic momentarily overtook her. Instinctively she stomped and scraped her feet, as if that could extract the strange entity from beneath her. "H-how do you know us?! A-about Mr. Zero? W-who are you?!"

Before she could press the being further for an answer (or it could volunteer those answers itself), Wingy donated a portion of her energy to the being. Right now, at this time? When she needed energy to keep the barriers up?

"Wingy?!" Vanguard exhaled, steadying herself and catching her breath. The way things were unfolding, they had just placed all their chances in the hands of this unsettling, anonymous shadow. She had to do her part as a leader of sorts, too. "...A-alright then. You, shadow. Is that enough? How are you going to help us now?" Vanguard's gaze darted between the shadow, her companions, and the collapsed house. Telos hovered close, ready to transform. Either way, it was unlikely that they would have more than a few seconds before the attackers could establish line of sight, and the battle would begin in earnest...

Severia LostHaven

 

[LostHaven]

Castaigne

Forest | "This will momentarily hurt. Do not be alarmed."​

"I am-" Castaigne would have answered each and every last query posed to him, albeit in as cryptic a manner as possible, had Vanguard not viciously stomped and scraped at him in surprise. It wasn't an unexpected reaction, but it seemed to mildly upset the entity anyway. "This is... a little too much magical power, but I will make use of it. I'll begin now, please don't be alarmed at what happens." Taking the magical energy, Castaigne channels it all unto himself to forcefully release their weapon form without their partner present.

Without warning, the eyes from Vanguard's shadows vanish, and from it emerges a smooth featureless mask, colored pitch black as the void. It darts toward Vanguard, and in an instant, claps firmly unto her face. Its appearance gave more than just a subtle clue to the magical girls to the identity of their mysterious 'sponsor'; though more a boogeyman to them of sorts than a real character, many a magical girl had been coaxed into obedience at least once in their life by threats of being sent away for 'repair'. However, for Sirius, the sole outlier among the group of magical girls and their 'companions', the dreadful mask was a dead giveaway. They were receiving help from none other than the 'Repairer' himself.

Surprisingly, Vanguard was not engulfed in utter darkness once the mask clasps onto her face. Quite the opposite, in fact - she could see far clearer in them, her surroundings highlighted in perfect night-vision, though her vision was dyed in a yellow hue. In the corner of her vision, she would make out what seemed to be system messages:

H'aaztre system online
Granting temporary user permissions to [Vanguard]

Accessing files for [OPERATION: SCARLET SKY]
Downloading.

Following the 'Downloading' message, Vanguard would feel a sudden and sharp pain in her head, as if thousands of needles had stabbed directly into her brain. It was for but a moment, and in the next instant, the pain had completely subsided. It would probably take her a moment to readjust her senses, but she would soon find that an extensive database of information that she had no connection to had planted itself right in her head. Inexplicably, she would realize that she knew almost perfectly the layout of the forest, several escape routes, and other tidbits of seemingly hyper-specific knowledge on the forest's layout, as if she had scouted every last square centimeter of the entire forest several times over . Next, she would realize that she also knew an extensive list of... the precise locations of deadly booby traps laid all over the place. This 'mysterious ally' of theirs had seemingly painstakingly laid countless traps covering the highlighted escape routes and other select spots: C4, landmines, incendiary explosives and so forth as if they had known precisely where these magical girls had planned to escape to, and that they would find themselves in their current predicament.

"This is the extent to which we can assist, given the short amount of time we were allowed." Castaigne's voice floods into Vanguard's mind, this time taking on the deep tone of a middle-aged man. "Explosives can be remotely armed, disarmed, or detonated with just a thought. Use them as you see fit. I have also taken the liberty of applying a 'cognition block' on you and your companions - that is to say that it is far easier for the mind to discard your presences as irrelevant information and largely ignore you. I doubt it will prove much effective though, considering their specific target is you. I'll continue to provide support by bringing up relevant information onto the interface. Any further unanswered questions will be addressed once you escape your current predicament and meet my 'partner'."

Severia Heartstorm78 Nellancholy

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Aoi ran off ahead after she had herself blew open the entrance to the building. Aoi apparently didn't understand Rose's intent, but it was too late as Aoi blew the building up with an attack, except when the dust settled, a star shaped barrier had been where the house was. Aoi got blinded by something a short bit after. Rose stood at ready, sword down at her side while her free hand was open. Wind swirled around her open palm as it condensed and swirled at speeds uncalculatable from a distance. Rose however knew the wind speed was at the same strength as a level 6 Hurricane, one of the most dangerous types of wind storms around.

Rose heard Inessa and Alice speak while she concentrated. Inessa told Rose to assist Aoi.
"She's fine by herself."
Rose replied as Alice mentioned targets. Rose saw Alice, no two Alices? Rose remembered that Alice had the ability to make doppelgangers of herself. This was in the files she read earlier before being deployed.
Rose didn't tell anyone to back away before she threw the ball of wind at the barrier. The Barrier shattered, while sending gusts of wind at Aoi and the doppelgangers. This would not do much damage outside of blowing them back.

As this happened, Rose ran ahead to fight whoever would be at the other side of said barrier.
​

 

[Nellancholy]

"Nnnngah!" As the strange mask attached- no, burrowed itself onto her face, pain engulfed her for a moment. Pain like a flashbang going off right in her face, pain like a grater scouring across her face. But no blood was drawn, and in one moment the pain subsided entirely. And what replaced it was...clarity. It felt like she had used her own ability, but it had taken effect over a far longer range, and with far more detail than it was used to. This was the kind of information that might disorient another person for more than a moment, but she was used to concentrating, taking in every bit of what was being transmitted, dividing it into segments, focusing on it one by one. Is that why this mysterious savior had chosen her specifically? Did that mean her capabilities were known to them?

There was no time to dwell on this, as Wingy's barrier and some of the rubble heap that was once a house was blasted aside by a vicious gust of galeforce wind, the kind that could mangle a mortal body with no additional force. ( Gundam Watcher 27 ) Vanguard ducked down for a moment to dodge the flying debris, pulling Wingy and Frostbite into a crouch as well. They weren't quite exposed yet, but someone with the acuity to launch precise ranged attacks could likely graze them, or inflict flesh wounds...( GrieveWriter )

"Damn it!" Lightly tapping her arms against Wingy and Frostbite, she signaled them to start running into the forest.

"H'aaztre, right?" That was probably the thing's name. "Thanks for this. Time to see if it pays off."

Telos hopped off Vanguard's shoulder, fully committing to battle as it split apart in a flash of light, forming into the familiar pair of lethal shotguns that landed in Vanguard's hands. Despite her earlier anxiety, her breath was steady as she leveled her aim at the hole in the rubble. Both triggers pulled in unison, a blast of razor-sharp flechettes shattered through several hunks of wood, potentially forcing the charging attackers to slow their advance or take cover.

She didn't want to hurt them, anything other than the lightest of wounds. If she caused them pain or threatened their lives, how could they come to trust her and free their minds from Dark Site's grip?

No sooner had she fired than she began to run backwards into the forest as well, her heightened senses scanning for the most opportune mechanism to activate.

"There."

A cloud of dust and smoke kicked into the air as she detonated a mine pre-emptively, creating a smokescreen to cover their retreat.

One of their attackers might have the ability to blow the smoke away, but a few more precious seconds, a few more meters ahead might be what they need.

Severia Heartstorm78

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aoi / Heartbeat
Location: Forest

After crumbling the building Heartbeat was blown around by several wind attacks coming from Telos and Rose. Rose's attack was particularly strong enough to shove her quite some distances, ending with her lying on the ground before etting pelted by Vanguard's rubble blast. Though instead of being angry she instead had a wide grin on her face.

Stop enjoying being hit!!

"b-but this is the first time I got attacked by another magical girl, I'm so moved!" Heartbeat started doing and exaggerated cry before coming back to her feet.

"Finally I can fight somethin that fights back. Are you ready, Chouji?"

Not really, but that wouldn't change anything right?

"That's the spirit! Hearbeat detector!" Once again yelling her moves, a faints shockwave could be seen pulsating outward from Heartbeat. Using this shockwave she could detect all heartbeats for quite some distances. Usually she hates using this move as it makes her uncomfortably aware of her own heartbeat for the rest of the day, but she didn't seems to mind using it now. Regardless of all the obstacles and smokescreen she's able to pin point exactly where their hearts were.

"Why are they keep hiding and running?? We only want to bring them home." She pouted as she realized the rogues were trying to get away from them.

I don't know, just ask them.

"Good idea! I will ask them to return, and if they refuse we can start beating them peacefully" Heartbeat nodded enthusiastly at her partner's suggestion and ran straight towards the rogues.

You literally almost kill them with the building you know?

"Hello, everyone! Mr Zero is missing you all. Come on, let's come back and play like usual!" Heartbeat called over the rogues, she quickly approached the group while easily jumping over the obstacles and ignored the smokescreen as if it wasn't even there.

Nellancholy Heartstorm78 Severia

 

[Severia]

“Hey Wingy how long does the star barrier last?”

Good question. Wingy glanced at Sirius the moment Jules asked her that.

Found it. You kept a barrier up for about 20 minutes around 4 months ago. But back then you never deployed more than 3 of them at the same time. Excluding the one you are using to defend yourself and Telos, you probably made about a dozen just to save that doctor.

Which meant that her past record was utterly useless as a reference.

“Hmmmmm... I was told that it’s entirely up to my willpower... the strength of my feeling to fight and protect someone. That must be why I was able to do more than I ever could and I feel like I can keep them longer than usual!”

Wingy proudly smiled as she said this. Considering there were several known cases of empathic empowered abilities, this explanation didn't sound that far-fetched.

Pretty well thought out and reasonable description. Seems like you didn't come up with it just now.

Except she did. Despite having a great opportunity to tease him, Wingy totally ignored Sirius's remark. Her attention was drawn by another voice.

"This is... a little too much magical power, but I will make use of it. I'll begin now, please don't be alarmed at what happens."

Whoops. Seemed like she lost focus a bit and forgot to hold back. The portion of energy she gave to that shadow was enough to fire a single shot of her Starlight Punisher, and based on her record she could only use that attack one time before getting exhausted. Looked like she would have to be more careful next time. The girl hid her thought well as she observed the mask that suddenly appeared.

... Repairer.

Huh? Wingy glanced at Sirius who telepathically spoke that single word, but there was no further explanation from him. Perhaps it was genuinely him slipping out and forgetting to turn off the mic? Repairer... Wingy felt like she had heard it... That's right, it was used as a threat by someone back at the facility and since it didn't match any data she had about the Dark Site members or top ranking magical girls, the girl thought of it as an empty threat based on a baseless rumor and so paid it no mind. However, from her partner's reaction and what was unfolding in front of her eyes, that seemed to not be the case.

After Sib donned the mask, she performed... significantly better. No, seriously, the older girl didn't do anything more than using her regular attacks and detonating a mine. But Wingy could tell from the way Sib moved and acted. As the group was running deeper into the forest, Wingy deliberately held back and... well, from the beginning her running on foot was in and of itself an act of holding back, considering she had a flying broom at her disposal. By deliberately running at a slightly slower pace, she fell behind the group a bit and gained some distance where she could whisper to Sirius without anyone hearing.

"So care to enlighten me about this Repairer freak? I know nothing here."
...

It was quite rare for Wingy to have a clear annoyance in her voice, and yet even rarer for its recipient to completely ignore her like that. Perhaps he was looking up information regarding Repairer, or maybe he was just wandering deep into his own thought. Nevertheless, it didn’t seem like the girl will get her desired information any time soon.

"Hello, everyone! Mr Zero is missing you all. Come on, let's come back and play like usual!"

That girl never chang... wait. Maybe she could use this.

*Thud*

After hearing what Aoi said, Wingy fell on her knee. Tears dropped from her eyes.

"This isn’t... This isn’t right..."

If that was not enough to draw her fellow rogues’ attention, then the sudden sound of glass shattering coming from all the remaining star-shaped barriers dissipating into particles of energy definitely would.

“Wingy!?” What the hell are you doing!!? If you stop running like that Rose and her team will catch up to you soon!! I already told you that you absolutely need to get away from this!

Glad to know you are still alive. Wingy mentally snarked without even glancing at her partner. She was fully committed to her act.

“Why... Why do we have to fight our friends like this. I can’t... I can’t take this anymore!!”

After screaming that, she remained sitting with her face in her hands. Faint sobs could be heard regularly, but what’s more important was the fact that the girl stopped running while being chased. Even if Sib or Jules acted right away and dragged her along with them, that few seconds wasted was more than enough for the Dark Site agents who were desperately chasing them down. If anything, they could catch up any moment and when that happen a fight between their supposed strongest members, Sib and Rose would ensue. Wingy had plenty of information on those two and could somewhat imagine how the fight would go, but what she wanted to observe was how would Sib’s newfound power obtained from this mysterious Repairer affect that.

Nellancholy Heartstorm78

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