Realistic or Modern PROJECT: MAGICAL WARRIORS (IC)

[ERode]

In what world did the words 'bring up a map' inspire L'Dauphin to instead fly away? And after the incident with Windy, where everything had gone wrong specifically because they left her alone, did Grizzly think that the best way of continuing on was to have everyone split up to pursue targets individually...when they all knew there were more targets than there were allies? Once again, the flaws of the Dark Site revealed itself, and once again, Swallowtail remained behind as others shot off, pressing a thumb against the bridge of her nose as she slowly massaged it. What could you expect, after all, when the boss was a blatant sadist, all the executives were corrupt, the lab techies were perverts, and the soldiers were psychos?

What did that make her, who put up with all this regardless, just for a fraction of freedom and a wage?

In the wake of Grizzly and L'Dauphin's ascent, the beast-shrouded maiden tapped upon the back of the bear that had been assigned to the self-sacrificing healer and followed after, diving between the shadows that remained within the canopies. It didn't take long, in truth. When one lacked magic orientated towards violence, it came to one's physique to employ such brutish methods in their stead. Vanguard optimized towards durability and strength, Rose towards the swordsman's ideal, and Swallowtail towards the swiftness of her namesake.

No sound gave away her pursuit, no sound gave away her arrival.

In the darkness of the grove, a girl with a bestial shadow stepped before Scarlet, their environment already gradating into an unsettling silence. The Magical Bear that Grizzly had given her became inert, floating in place, while the telepathic bond between Artificial Partner and Magical Girl had similarly be severed. Grizzly was off chasing Cinderella, L'Dauphin with Negev. So long as Swallowtail herself didn't draw the short straw of coming across the one magical girl who didn't escape as a loner, she had some time.

Crimson eyes settled upon crimson eyes, but what was raised was not a weapon but rather, a notepad.

Let's speak.

 

[withinasapphire]

She had been running for what felt like a while now. Scarlet was certain that she was growing closer to Beecham District, with steady progress being made the farther she went. She wasn’t going to stop, she didn’t plan on it. It didn’t matter if she got tired, she would just have to power through. There wasn’t any time left for anything else, she just had to–

What..?!

Looking up, Scarlet froze in horror as she stared at the girl with the bestial shadow that had suddenly stepped before her. She tried to take a few steps back, but only succeeded in falling back onto her torso. Still, she scrambled back, determined to put a bit of distance between them.

The silence that fell upon them was too loud. Scarlet tightened her grip on her dagger, feeling a shiver run through her as a sense of discomfort crawled through. Attempting to shake it off, she tore her gaze away, gritting her teeth a little as she quickly brought her dagger to her arm. Resting the weapon against her arm, the tip of the blade pressed against her skin. It didn’t matter where she cut, as long as she drew blood.

Her blood was a curious thing. It didn’t only have healing abilities, even if that had been its main use. She could construct – create – whatever she needed from the blood that flowed within her. Just as long as she could imagine it just right and didn’t pass out.

She needed to do this. It was the only way to defend herself. Just a dagger wouldn't be enough, would it?

Scarlet was in charge now, not them. The blade rested in her hands, no one else’s. She just..needed to..

Her eyes momentarily flicked back towards what was probably her enemy. She paused upon noticing that there was no weapon to be seen, but rather a notepad. She frowned, seeing what it said.

Let’s speak.

“Why..?” She questioned, the dagger not moving away from her arm, but not piercing it either. There was no blood. Not yet. “Nothing I say will matter to you..so what will speaking accomplish..?”

Her hand holding her dagger trembled as she stared into those crimson eyes with her own, trying to keep herself calm. She could handle this. She’s been through worse than this.

ERode

 

[ERode]

withinasapphire​

So there was something she could accomplish by letting her blood, something that wasn't only in the realm of magical medicine.

The silence continued for a few moments longer, before gradually, Swallowtail's magic faded away. The rustling of leaves and critters, the crackling of branches and birds, and, in the distance, the faint roar of explosions. Grizzly, once more. Swallowtail's gaze flickered briefly in the direction of that noise, before turning her attention once more on Scarlet.

"If you believed that nothing you said would've mattered, then you should've chosen to run or to fight without reserve."

But she hadn't, and now time was ticking away.

"The Dark Site is evil. Sometimes hilariously so, sometimes incompetently so, but on the grand scale, not more so than any other multinational organization. They're simply more overt with their perverse tendencies. That poses a problem for all of us." The shadow writhed around her, but it did so soundlessly. Silence, localized. Her magic too, was an extension of the small bit of freedom she had. Freedom she now leveraged. "I have three questions, and depending on the answer, I may be able to offer assistance." Her fingers raised, one by one. "One: do you have any friends or loved ones that the Dark Site can target to draw you out? Two: do you have any plans beyond escaping, or was it simply a chance you took when you saw it?"

A pause. Windy was a pain, but curiousity remained. If she had put on an act all along, Swallowtail would have to re-evaluate everything she knew about everyone else.

"Three: what happened to the girl who was there to watch over you? Recall everything, please."

 

[Lord Moldoma]

When an enemy makes their appearance on the battlefield it is best they make it not immediately apparent where their location is. Sending out drones is always the equivalent of painting a big red target on your own back.

For a war is not won by hundreds of fools dying for their countries, but by carefully placed knives in the backs of kings.

Analytically speaking, the nature of this battle was clear,

If an artillery emplacement is manned from a long-range to bombard an opponent, when that opponent is being watched by the localized equivalent to perfect global positioning of any target, combat with said opponent immediately becomes trivial. GG abused a long range advantage, and clearly held a strong belief that she was untouchable from her location. But any stance that leaves one physically defenseless is inherently one that has severe flaws.

GG had immense destructive power in the form of sheer overwhelming number, but individually her bears were fairly easy to dispatch for the average magical girl. Each only possessed the ability to fly, and superhuman strength, which in the world of magical girls made them hardly odd birds. The fact of the matter is that when you get down to it, it mainly just relied on specialization. Most magical girls weren't designed to deal with multiple enemies, much less waves upon waves of them. So while a competent magical girl would be able to take down at least one bear, most couldn't deal with the high amount that she could control.

The problem was. Her bears had to originate from within her own vicinity, so if you saw where they were coming from, you'd know exactly where she was, or at least close enough to there to recognize where her general position would have to be.

Not to mention, an info network is no good if it has no advanced ways to detect something that uses the environment as its method of transportation, nor if it knows not what its looking for. A combination of deductive reasoning, educated guessing, and tunneling via the conversion of their body into a corkscrew-like drill, allowed a certain magical girl to utilize unorthodox stealth-methods to make her approach towards GG underground. Nearly undetectable.

Immediately as said magical girl had finished making her way to GG, a small crack erupted from the ground nearby GG, right behind her in fact. A tendril made of a rubbery and elastic substance emerged from the crack and quickly formed into a hand, which shot at GG from behind expanding to palm onto, and grasp the back of her cranium with great speed.

Mentioned: Lily_G

 

[Faynorae]

♡ "TADA ~ The angel of love has appeared!" ♡​

Interactions ~ Girlish Grizzly Lily_G | Swallowtail ERode

[/justify]Adonis wouldn't be able to make out much when up so high. "Hmm~ If I were possessed by villainous evil, wherefore would I create a base of operations to plan out my nefarious plots...☆" Adonis talked to himself as he searched the radius around him. He could only really see so far, but what he did make out was what seemed to be a ruined building. "Ahah!" He exclaimed, "That seems quite treacherous, clearly they must be there!"

With that discovery, Adonis would glide down toward his allies, intending to relay the information that he had gathered. As soon as his feet touched the floor, he would realise that there was not much need for bringing up the seemingly ruined perfect for becoming a supervillain evil looking base abandoned house that he could barely make out.

Adonis's eyes glittered with anticipation, "You had found three of them already? How swiftly! Verily incredible Miss Girlish Grizzly!" Adonis praised ever so wholeheartedly, he nodded at GG's comment. "Yes! Once we find three of our friends, together with them we will be able to locate the others with much less difficulty as well!" Adonis added with a bubbly smile.

Adonis smiled, he was so excited. "'Right! I shall seek out and enrapture Negev and guide them back here!" The boy brightly stated with a smile. "Let us be off, Little Bear! Together we shall save and purify the vile corruption which has plagued them!" Adonis set off enthusiastically, spreading his wings as he took with the wind and flew away along with the guiding bear

... Failing to mention the ruins of a house that he spied from in the air high above. Whatever! It should be fine right?[/justify]

---

Interactions ~ Negev Kikimura

Adonis was flying through the forest following the bear for quite a bit. The wind carried his wings. Fluttering and fresh. A heart filled to the brim with excitement and anticipation. He noticed that the bear was beginning to slow down, and with that, Adonis fluttered to the ground, it probably meant it was okay to start moving at a brisk walking pace now.

Adonis navigated through the forest, taking in the scenery. The leaves of the tree, the fragrance of an earthy environment. He hadn't been outside for quite a while, it was nice. He missed it. "Hmhm~♫ Little Bear, do you get to go outside often? Is it not so lovely out here?☆" Adonis tried talking to the bear, unsure whether or not it would respond.

Thinking about it, he had sent so many letters to his family over his time in the "Dark Site" yet he had never gotten a reply back. Perchance they did not want him to spend all his time writing letters back? Adonis really enjoyed writing them, however. The writing was probably the only pass time he had when he wasn't preoccupied with training or tasks. The bear stopped and then pointed.

There they were! Adonis had successfully located Negev, good! With that, Adonis spread his wings and took flight 3 metres off of the ground to gain an airborne advantage. "Cease thy movement, Dear Villain!" He shouted with exultance, and with a loud, demanding tone. He pointed his lance accusingly at Negev.

"For what must thou flee? Why dost thee not allow thyself to be cleansed of thine innate corruption, dearest friend?" Adonis asked gently, "Whatever the not! 'Tis I, Shining, Fervent and Beautiful♡;" He spun his lance in the air, adding a flair to his words despite how unnecessary they may be, "Clad in âme and lueur, behold☆ The snow-white sanctuary who brings peace and love to the world, L'Dauphin!" Adonis proclaimed boldly, spinning his lance before once more pointing it at Negev, the tip shimmering in the light.

"By the name of those who cannot protect themselves, down shall I bring upon thou the divine punishment of Love♡" Adonis warned, an earnest smile on his face, "A las! If thou surrenders at this very moment, I shall return thee to where we art to be." Adonis informed, his voice quite honest while also accompanied by an innate bubbly tone. The reason he was suddenly speaking with archaic pronouns was of course because they sounded way more choice than normal. Clearly, it would not confuse anyone at all, and would definitely make them feel much more threatened.

 

[withinasapphire]

Her heartbeat sounded loud. She could feel it beating rapidly in her chest. This was just another Dark Site puppet, right? Would she kill her? Was Scarlet capable of doing the same to her? She took in a breath, feeling the silence.

..But the sound returned, she realized. An array of sounds reached her ears once more and Scarlet blinked in surprise, staring at the girl for a moment longer before – after about a minute – she slowly, albeit hesitantly, moved her dagger away from her arm.

“Well…maybe I’ve never really done either of those before.”

She was different than Scarlet had expected, to say the least.

Scarlet tensed at her next words, a certain look flashing across her face. “I know..very well about their tendencies. It’s why I had to get away. I deserved better than..what those animals did to me.” She dug her nails a little into the handle of her dagger. Even now, she could feel the ghosts of their hands. Perhaps it would take an eternity for that to go away. “..and so do you.”

Her eyes widened at the mention of assistance. Really, Scarlet couldn’t make out what this was supposed to be. Was this a trap? She couldn’t tell. There were many unknowns to this girl, or there were from Scarlet’s perspective. She seemed more put together, at least, more so than the average Dark Site magical.

Her first question quickly gained a look of pain. Images of her sisters passed through Scarlet’s head, their faces recalled with difficulty. “..No. Not anymore. There were two others with me in Dark Site once, but that’s it. ..I think they were..taken out years ago. ..They must have been.”

“And, um..no.” The only other idea she had entertained besides escape was one of revenge, but there hadn’t been anything concrete there. It was just fantasy. She wasn’t going to bring it up, it didn’t seem necessary. “I just – I want to live. I need to.”

The last question confused her for a second.

“A girl?” She had to think for a moment. “I was..very panicked before. I don’t know if there’s much that I can recall as a result..I remember the bird, though..I think it was her partner?”

ERode

 

[ERode]

withinasapphire​

None of the answers were good, and none of them were bad. To not have allies in the outside world meant that there was nothing the Dark Site could use against them, but also no one who would assist them afterwards. To have escaped without a plan meant they knew nothing of their present situation, but also that they could face the unknown despite it. And to have seen Gale, but not Windy...

Windy had left them. Gale had returned. How could that be the case?

It must have been Gale then, who ordered the bears away, but why would he? The mysteries surrounding the Artificial Partners remained an oddity, but still, if Windy had joined the Rogues, there would have been no reason for her to choose to escape separately from them, especially if she had so blatantly announced her involvement through a letter. Was it Gale who was ordered to free them? How did Partners become free from their own programmed loyalty towards the Dark Site? Swallowtail pursed her lips slightly, before letting out a breath. She had her own loyalties to attend to, and thus...

"Give me your hand, please."

What had to be said next had to be taken calmly and rationally.

If Scarlet did take the offered hand, Swallowtail would weave her own magic. A silence would seep into the Rogue's mind, one that flattened her emotions utterly until nothing remained but her thoughts alone, echoing within a silent theater.

"Of those who have escaped the Dark Site, the one of greatest note is Vanguard, a close combat specialist with surveillance abilities and training in group combat. That means, in turn, that she is paradoxically the best and the worst individual you would like to align yourself with, as the Dark Site will be most interested in repossessing her. At the same time, you lack connections to make it into the broader world. You've no identification and no passport, and likely do not know which country you are currently in. Luckily, however, you have a particular power, and thus, I have two recommendations."

She squeezed once, as if physically creating a line break.

"Criminal organizations exist outside of the Dark Site, and talented doctors and surgeons are in low supply in the back alleys. Offer your talents, keep underground, and amass wealth and friends. So long as you can hide your method of treatment, you have options. If you wish to be moral under such circumstances, forgo money and treat only the destitute. It'll be thankless work but it'll be a degree removed from your work in this organization. So long as your profile is low enough, so long as you remain on the move, your odds of living freely are good. Your odds of regaining what you've lost? Nil."

She squeezed again. The second recommendation.

"Betray other Rogues and use it to cement yourself a position of trust in the Dark Site as my spy. It doesn't need to be anything along the lines of actively outing the locations of others. Simply surrender information to me, and I'll transfer it over to my boss while making vague references towards having a source. When you do get caught by the Dark Site, mention my name and your 'purpose' and I'll back you up on it. From there, you can use your freedom and your trust to confirm your beliefs of those whom you cared about. And from there, you can expand your knowledge of the outside world, making proper preparations for a proper escape. So long as you're able to stomach the horrors of sacrificing present freedom for future benefits, this is a more...secure path."

And like that, Swallowtail released her hand, if there was ever a hand to grasp to begin with.

"It would be good if you could come up with a decision on the spot, but regardless of whether you choose the first, the second, or the third, understand that I'll still have to fight you in order to justify your escape, Scarlet. Do you have any questions?"

 

[Lily_G]

GG smiled viciously as she saw Cinderella survived that point blank bomb, just as she expected. "You scared me..." Kuma said in an exhausted tone. "If you actually killed her then no matter how well you have done, a punishment is sure to come." To that scary remark, GG simply widened her smile. "Now that you know I can hold back, can you shut up already? You're ruining my fun here." There was no answer, but GG paid her partner no mind and focus her thought back to more than dozen of bears surrounding a helpless girl.

"Capturing you would only be a release? You said something interesting." Even after seeing that girl cut her wrist, GG didn't panic. Based on what that girl said so far, she would never kill herself. 2 bears moved closer to Mitsuba before firmly grabbing both her wrists, holding her in place. The bear that was restraining the bleeding wrist also apply direct pressure over the wound. Even if it was an arterial cut, with the bear's strength no blood would continue to flow out of the wound.

"Now then, transform back to your civilian form and I won't hurt you more, is what I should be saying." GG grinned. "But do you think you would be that lucky? After those gibberish shit you have blabbered!?" Another bear stopped right in front of Mitsuba, punching her in the gut. "Since what we have undergoing so far are nothing but mock battles and missions against weaklings, I've never seen the limit of where a magical girl can keep up her transformed state under extreme stress and conditions. I will have to learn that directly from you, Mitsuba Aiko!!" Countless kicks and punches mercilessly landed on the defenseless magical girl. The partner with a syringe may want to do something to help her bonded partner, but with another bear tightly hugging it from behind, she couldn't do much.

Kuma wanted to say something, but chose to stay silent. Knowing GG's mindset, she wouldn't dare killing off someone against the Dark Site's order just because of her own sadistic tendency. Perhaps she may have already ordered one of the bears to equip the Magic Binding as soon as Mitsuba de-transforms and then the attack would end immediately. Even then, what would she do if Cinderella could keep her transformation up until she is about to die? The bear-shaped wand thought worriedly and could no longer continue watching that cruel scene. He withdrew his sensory perception from the bear near Cinderella and back to around himself, just in time to see a rubbery tendril emerging from the ground.

"AZUSA!!!"

While GG is transformed, she dons not just a new appearance but also a fresh personality greatly differing from the kind and friendly girl known as Azusa Fuyuki. Her partner who knew this too well never called her with a civilian name while she is transformed. Occasionally, her full codename would be used, but most of the time it's just a simplistic 'you'. So when he used that name, GG immediately knew she got a situation.

Keep restraining and beating up that girl. If she reverts then stop attacking and put on Magic Binding and a handcuff and then come back here. Was the last set of commands GG was able to issue to her Magical Bears around Mitsuba before she abruptly opened her eyes. The rubbery palm grabbed GG's head from the back, or rather, grabbed a Magical Bear that suddenly appeared there. GG jumped back a bit and then the grabbed bear let out a bright light before blasting itself and that hand to pieces.

"Heh, that's pretty dangerous. If I had noticed it even a second later then my brain would have already been crushed..." For someone who barely escaped such fate, GG's voice was way too calm and enthusiastic. Around her, 40... 50... 60... a large number of Magical Bears appeared out of nowhere. When it comes to controlling the bears in her vicinity where she doesn't have to cut off her sense, GG could naturally do better than earlier. "Don't you think you are greeting your close friend a bit too harsh, Gigapuddin? No... ZOE!!!"

Throughout that short single month they spent together before an escape occurred, Azusa had never called that girl by her civilian name. She knew how much Zoe treasured her magical girl form and always regarded her with that cute name, regardless of situations. As such, an act of calling her like that served as a clear warning for her opponent.

That this is not Azusa Fuyuki she knows!

Right after that malicious scream, ten Magical Bears flew straight at the feline magical girl. Against an opponent whom physical attacks would be less effective, all the bears had already emitted a bright, dangerous glow as they were approaching.

SimplyNene Lord Moldoma

 

[Lord Moldoma]

GG smiled viciously as she saw Cinderella survived that point blank bomb, just as she expected. "You scared me..." Kuma said in an exhausted tone. "If you actually killed her then no matter how well you have done, a punishment is sure to come." To that scary remark, GG simply widened her smile. "Now that you know I can hold back, can you shut up already? You're ruining my fun here." There was no answer, but GG paid her partner no mind and focus her thought back to more than dozen of bears surrounding a helpless girl.

"Capturing you would only be a release? You said something interesting." Even after seeing that girl cut her wrist, GG didn't panic. Based on what that girl said so far, she would never kill herself. 2 bears moved closer to Mitsuba before firmly grabbing both her wrists, holding her in place. The bear that was restraining the bleeding wrist also apply direct pressure over the wound. Even if it was an arterial cut, with the bear's strength no blood would continue to flow out of the wound.

"Now then, transform back to your civilian form and I won't hurt you more, is what I should be saying." GG grinned. "But do you think you would be that lucky? After those gibberish shit you have blabbered!?" Another bear stopped right in front of Mitsuba, punching her in the gut. "Since what we have undergoing so far are nothing but mock battles and missions against weaklings, I've never seen the limit of where a magical girl can keep up her transformed state under extreme stress and conditions. I will have to learn that directly from you, Mitsuba Aiko!!" Countless kicks and punches mercilessly landed on the defenseless magical girl. The partner with a syringe may want to do something to help her bonded partner, but with another bear tightly hugging it from behind, she couldn't do much.

Kuma wanted to say something, but chose to stay silent. Knowing GG's mindset, she wouldn't dare killing off someone against the Dark Site's order just because of her own sadistic tendency. Perhaps she may have already ordered one of the bears to equip the Magic Binding as soon as Mitsuba de-transforms and then the attack would end immediately. Even then, what would she do if Cinderella could keep her transformation up until she is about to die? The bear-shaped wand thought worriedly and could no longer continue watching that cruel scene. He withdrew his sensory perception from the bear near Cinderella and back to around himself, just in time to see a rubbery tendril emerging from the ground.

"AZUSA!!!"

While GG is transformed, she dons not just a new appearance but also a fresh personality greatly differing from the kind and friendly girl known as Azusa Fuyuki. Her partner who knew this too well never called her with a civilian name while she is transformed. Occasionally, her full codename would be used, but most of the time it's just a simplistic 'you'. So when he used that name, GG immediately knew she got a situation.

Keep restraining and beating up that girl. If she reverts then stop attacking and put on Magic Binding and a handcuff and then come back here. Was the last set of commands GG was able to issue to her Magical Bears around Mitsuba before she abruptly opened her eyes. The rubbery palm grabbed GG's head from the back, or rather, grabbed a Magical Bear that suddenly appeared there. GG jumped back a bit and then the grabbed bear let out a bright light before blasting itself and that hand to pieces.

"Heh, that's pretty dangerous. If I had noticed it even a second later then my brain would have already been crushed..." For someone who barely escaped such fate, GG's voice was way too calm and enthusiastic. Around her, 40... 50... 60... a large number of Magical Bears appeared out of nowhere. When it comes to controlling the bears in her vicinity where she doesn't have to cut off her sense, GG could naturally do better than earlier. "Don't you think you are greeting your close friend a bit too harsh, Gigapuddin? No... ZOE!!!"

Throughout that short single month they spent together before an escape occurred, Azusa had never called that girl by her civilian name. She knew how much Zoe treasured her magical girl form and always regarded her with that cute name, regardless of situations. As such, an act of calling her like that served as a clear warning for her opponent.

That this is not Azusa Fuyuki she knows!

Right after that malicious scream, ten Magical Bears flew straight at the feline magical girl. Against an opponent whom physical attacks would be less effective, all the bears had already emitted a bright, dangerous glow as they were approaching.

SimplyNene Lord Moldoma

The bears would crash straight into the surrounding ground as Zoe hadn’t left it and only a portion of her had been blasted. Partially burnt closer to the epicenter but mainly splattered around the surroundings, as she had been quick enough to severely deduct the viscosity from her tendril. They seemed to go inert after being spread.

“Mew Mew! Do you want to know what a 80% sync ratio can do? You may have overwhelming numbers but it won’t be enough. Because a naughty widdle baby like you doesn’t have the right heart.” Her voice echoed out from seemingly all around GG. What she had said… That was distinctly different than what GG had been told before. In fact, darksite had explicitly said that no human magical girl could reach past an 80% sync ratio even in times of crisis. And that, for this mission GG and the others had only been informed that Zoe’s base sync ratio, while high, was not at the maximum, would likely be falling apart… then again, the fact that her body already was made out of what was essentially non living superslime would be more than enough to raise some worry. Either way, it was clear that if GG was unlucky, she might have no idea what she was dealing with.

‘Good grief, at least she didn’t deadname me.’ Internally, Zoe was relieved to not have to hear her former name again. Zoe was the name she chose for herself, she was going to go with Alice, but one of the other girls in the program happened to be named Alice, so she restrained herself from it. Luna was also on the menu. But no, Zoe just fit more.

Regardless. Zoe had it all planned out, she created a myriad of small one inch diameter tendrils that moved up just to below the surface of the area, before interlocking at random intervals and expanding small tendril roots, saturating everything for more than a dozen meters below the battle-field with super sticky mochi.

Lily_G

 

[withinasapphire]

Ah. So this was what she meant by assistance.

The moment her hand was released, Scarlet pulled her hand back as if she had been burned. She looked at Swallowtail with another look of horror, as well as just a bit of disgust.

“I’m not– what makes you think I would do any of those things?!” She raised her voice a little, tears forming in her eyes against her will. She couldn’t help it. “I don’t want to do any of those! I don’t belong to you, to Dark Site, or anyone else! I am my own person who makes my own decisions!”

She backed up, looking from her dagger to Swallowtail. She really didn’t want to use it. She knew that she should and that she might have to, but..she didn’t really want to have to fight anyone. Weren’t they all caught in the same trap, forced into a life they never asked for? She only wished she could get that across to the other magical girl -- that she was just as capable of attaining freedom from this organization as any other rogue wishes to.

“Ugh, you don’t..you don’t have to justify anything. You don’t have to do any of this, don’t you understand that?” Scarlet rubbed at her eyes quickly, looking at her surroundings. Would it be possible to just run away? It was an option, right? But could she lose her..?

“..Maybe I was right before..nothing I say will matter to you, Yu-Ri. You’re just lost on a path someone else created for you..”

With that said, Scarlet ran past Swallowtail, her legs moving as fast as they possibly could go. She didn’t exactly have a plan, but she would..figure it out. For now, all she focused on was moving forward and moving at a fast pace.

As long as she was moving, she was alive. She didn't plan on falling back into a nightmare if she could help it.

ERode

 

[Lily_G]

80%... Sync ratio..? GG made a puzzled face. "That's why you should pay more attention!" Kuma scolded. "Sync ratio is—" "Hold it." GG interrupted. The way her opponent was talking seemed to indicate an incoming attack, but after being hit by her explosions, Zoe didn't do anything. It was as if... she was preparing to do something.

GG might be childish and driven by a highly destructive desire, but she was by no mean a stupid or incapable magical girl. If she had a power like that and wanted to land a surprise attack, then what would she do? Was the question she carefully sought an answer amidst the battle. Suddenly, GG smirked and looked at the ground below her. One bear has landed on the ground and exploded, revealing that unnatural sight underground.

"Nice move." GG said without any concern. She raised her right arm, which was promptly grabbed by another bear of her. Then, the Magical Bear soared up high, taking its master to the sky.

"But if that's the best you can do, then I suggest you to surrender at once, and there will be no more harm done to you." A voice came from one of the many bears still lingering at low altitude. A blatant lie, considering what she had done to someone who had surrendered like Cinderella. "Of course, Zoe, even if you want to do it right away and even if we're friends, I can't stop this attack. Sorry for that, tee-hee!"

The total number of Magical Bears in the area, excluding the one she had dispatched around the forest earlier, was around 70. While it wasn't even half of her maximum limit, that number was enough for GG to perform a certain special move. "Just checking, but..." Kuma suddenly spoke up, which GG only responded with a reassuring smile that could also be interpreted as 'shut up. I know what I'm doing.' Of course, Dark Site's order stood above all else, but against Zoe who had that unique physiologic, GG knew that 'this' wouldn't be enough to end her life.

"Take this!! my ultimate attack..."

The moment GG started announcing that, all those bears near the ground simultaneously emit bright light. When you join together a number of bears for a single attack, their outputs would be combined, resulting in a more powerful explosion. And when that number exceeds 50, it qualifies as a named attack easily overpowering other known disastrous moves like Wingy's Starlight Punisher. Even if she failed to locate an opponent who could do something like splitting herself into small parts to hide from plain sight, in face of this attack it didn't matter at all. Floating high like a goddess who looked down on lowly insects, GG grinned and raised her voice.

"G-G-E-Z!!!"

It wasn't exaggerating to say that a nuke was dropped. Theoretically, GG even heard that if she had used more than 100 bears, then a mushroom cloud and some scientific phenomena like... few and fiss... whatever they are could be observed. But since she only used around 70 bears, no such thing could be seen. After that name was declared, a devastating blast exploded, producing an intense heat and pressure as well as light bright enough to be seen throughout the forest and even from distant area like Beecham district. With this much explosive energy, it wouldn't be surprised if Gigapuddin was killed on spot, but GG knew better. She gradually descended to the burnt area and talked to the heated air around herself.

"If you want to surrender, this is your last chance. Come out, Zoe, before I..." Her voice was bright and joyful, yet filled with malice. If the current state of the forest was not enough "... have to do it again!!" Then the appearance of about a hundred new bears would surely give birth to some despair.

Lord Moldoma @ everyone

 

[ERode]

withinasapphire​

Swallowtail looked at her, a crimson gaze that reflected nothing. The third option then.

"Think about the first question. Think it over slowly."

But perhaps there was no time to even think about it. Not when the palpable weight of Dark Site's most unreasonably destructive weapon was levied upon them all. Not when a flash of light turned the world into one of black and white, shadow and light. With the power set that Grizzly had available, with the sheer versatility that she had on hand, there ought to be no opponent, not even the Fucking Unkillable Machine, that could force her to play that card. That crazy bitch was just showing off!

Showing off, to the detriment of everyone else in the forest.

Light faded, but the aftereffects continued. Sound roared out, and Swallowtail lunged forth, catching Scarlet around the waist and dragging them both down in the ground. In that instant, rather than the roar of a catastrophic bomb, it was a cocoon of silence and stillness that reigned, blotting out the brain-scattering echo of that wastefully powerful strike. And then, the shockwave struck proper, a wall of force slamming into Swallowtail and ripping her away from Scarlet. She was flung through the air as if the object of a giant's tantrum, tumbling horizontally before she smashed into the trunk of an ancient tree, its leaves stripped bare in that same shockwave.

There was pain. Then FURY, IMMEASURABLE AND VICIOUS, DESIRING DISEMBOWELMENT!

Finally, repose.

Swallowtail picked herself up, one hand pressed against her side, her bestial cowl hiding what injuries may have remained.

And the words she said were as calm and measured as always.

"It would've been good if you had resolved yourself to stab a former comrade, but this too, serves as justification."

 

[Lord Moldoma]

GG might be childish and driven by a highly destructive desire, but she was by no mean a stupid or incapable magical girl. If she had a power like that and wanted to land a surprise attack, then what would she do? Was the question she carefully sought an answer amidst the battle. Suddenly, GG smirked and looked at the ground below her. One bear has landed on the ground and exploded, revealing that unnatural sight underground

"Nice move." GG said without any concern. She raised her right arm, which was promptly grabbed by another bear of her. Then, the Magical Bear soared up high, taking its master to the sky.

"But if that's the best you can do, then I suggest you to surrender at once, and there will be no more harm done to you." A voice came from one of the many bears still lingering at low altitude. A blatant lie, considering what she had done to someone who had surrendered like Cinderella. "Of course, Zoe, even if you want to do it right away and even if we're friends, I can't stop this attack. Sorry for that, tee-hee!"

The mixture of dirt and super-sticky mochi paste, which had already become rooted withstood the attempt to reveal itself, being held together by a combination of shock-absorption and the natural insulation of silicate particles. As soon as GG left the ground in fact, a massive mound, at least 38 meters-high, of said silicate/mochi mixture erupted after her in the form of two giant arms that used the surroundings as if they were an auxiliary body. This uprooted trees and rocks which were soon absorbed into the mass as the mochi spread. Within a few moments, GG was facing not just an opponent who was using the terrain to their advantage, but an opponent who was weaponizing the terrain itself.

'Full manipulation and autonomy. By using the mechanics of the mochi's physical properties, I can combine with my surroundings to form a coagulated mass that I can freely manipulate.' Zoe internally monologue, as the large hands extended up further along with the expansion of her Mochi-substance. Until a full upper body form, and then lower body of a humanoid, composed of a city-blocks worth of material formed from the hybrid shock resistance substance. 'By combining it with silicate and stone, I eliminate the immediate vulnerabilities I have to high temperatures due to the insulatory nonflammable nature.'

"TAKE THIS! MOCHI PULLBACK TITAN INTERCEPTION!" She called out, as the massive construct moved its hands to clasp them up onto GG in an attempt to crush her.

The moment GG started announcing that, all those bears near the ground simultaneously emit bright light. When you join together a number of bears for a single attack, their outputs would be combined, resulting in a more powerful explosion. And when that number exceeds 50, it qualifies as a named attack easily overpowering other known disastrous moves like Wingy's Starlight Punisher. Even if she failed to locate an opponent who could do something like splitting herself into small parts to hide from plain sight, in face of this attack it didn't matter at all. Floating high like a goddess who looked down on lowly insects, GG grinned and raised her voice.

"G-G-E-Z!!!"

It wasn't exaggerating to say that a nuke was dropped. Theoretically, GG even heard that if she had used more than 100 bears, then a mushroom cloud and some scientific phenomena like... few and fiss... whatever they are could be observed. But since she only used around 70 bears, no such thing could be seen. After that name was declared, a devastating blast exploded, producing an intense heat and pressure as well as light bright enough to be seen throughout the forest and even from distant area like Beecham district. With this much explosive energy, it wouldn't be surprised if Gigapuddin was killed on spot, but GG knew better. She gradually descended to the burnt area and talked to the heated air around herself.

"If you want to surrender, this is your last chance. Come out, Zoe, before I..." Her voice was bright and joyful, yet filled with malice. If the current state of the forest was not enough "... have to do it again!!" Then the appearance of about a hundred new bears would surely give birth to some despair.

Lord Moldoma @ everyone

Due to the proximity of the blast and the size of the target, the only reasonable placement of GG's attack would blow a hole into the mass of Mochi. Only for it to continue raising back up extending a swirling mass of tendrils upwards, and regenerating from the blow, having quickly solidifed its outer layers to chip them off once they were burnt and then replacing them with more mochi.

The tendrils would zigzag-around in the air, each one was roughly the diameter of a sewer hole cover with a tapered end. Each branched off like hydra.

The tendrils moved to encompass GG from multiple angles, the humanoid form still reforming it's chest, under it a massive crater of which nearly a city-block's worth of material had been uprooted and converted into a mixture with the highly mobile mochi.

'She's focusing on trying to overpower me with raw strength and number. I'll show her raw-strength and number!'

Creativity was key here. Zoe couldn't beat her opponent without being creative, she needed to abuse her surroundings as best as she could, and that meant creating a titanic construct out of them by bound together by a mobile superadhesive.

 

[Lily_G]

This bitch... GG stared at the mochi titan, smile faded from her face. Even after receiving her GGEZ [70], it still continued attacking her. The bear that was carrying GG flew at exceptional speed and agility, allowing her to dodge all assault from the gigantic opponent. But if this continued, then she could never beat that thing and force Zoe to submit. Should she try GGEZ [100] or beyond that? The magical girl was strictly forbidden from using such technique by the Dark Site staffs, since the damage would be too much for them to cover up, but if it allowed her to take down that stupid giant, then so be it!!

The hundred of bears recently summoned started to gather around the titan. "STOP!!" It's her partner again. "Shut up, Kuma." GG retorted. "No. Doing that will surely kill Gigapuddin. Heck, you are going to blow this entire forest up! The rest of the Rogues, Windy Wonder, Swallowtail and L' Dauphin, even other squads that have nothing to do with this. You sure you can face the wrath of Dark Site... the wrath of Mr. Zero if you recklessly kill them all!!?"

"Ugh!" That name sure had an immediate effect, even against GG and her distorted personality. "Then, what can I do?" Unlike her usual demeanor, GG asked her Artificial Partner in a rather soft and calm voice. This is why she isn't considered the strongest magical girl. GG may have outstanding power and competency in combat, but when it comes to mental readiness and decision making in a hard situation, she still falls behind the like of Rose and Vanguard. "For starter, try to figure out an opponent's weaknesses and all your possible actions. You never have to do so because of your raw power and versatility, but that's not always going to work." Weaknesses... right. Zoe has a rather unique body constitution... mochi...

"Fire! No... she didn't suffer any damage from the intense heat earlier... then... Water!" GG shouted before looking around. Unfortunately for her, there was no lake or river in the area, even from her high altitude view. "You came in the right direction. If you can keep doing that then you might surpass Rose soon." "Then Kuma-sensei, what would you do if you were me?" GG snarked in annoyance, an action that resulted in Kuma reverting back to his bear form. "Even though an option is always available, you keep relying too much on your own power and overlooking it." Kuma said solemnly, before pointing his paw to a certain direction. "... You are quite an evil bear you know." GG giggled as she saw the option Kuma presented to her. "I don't want to hear that from YOU!"

GG kept dodging her opponent's attacks boasting superior creativity. Suddenly, she flew away from her opponent and lowered her altitude in order to land at a certain spot. If Zoe were to give chase, then she would find GG standing next to another magical girl; The Pretty But Plastic Cinderella. Regardless of whether that girl had lost consciousness or not, she would never have enough strength to free herself from a number of Magical Bears restraining her limbs anyway. GG would then snap her fingers casually, signaling a free Magical Bear nearby to go hug Mitsuba's neck, acting as an explosive collar.

"There you have it. Earlier I was only doing this because the staffs recommended me based on what happened to Rose. But now you have pissed me off enough to do this on my own. Now then, Zoe. Why don't you get rid of that ugly giant first?" GG smiled wickedly. Next to her and Cinderella, another bear randomly emitted a light and then exploded, serving as a fresh reminder of what was going to happen if Zoe refuse to comply.

Lord Moldoma SimplyNene

 

[Heartstorm78]

• Jules
• Inessa
• Doc

• 
  
  Julia "Jules" Heinrich
  Codename: Frostbite​
  Seeing that she scored a hit at Rose, internally she still hoping to buy time as she went to wingy only to be blown away by the shockwave, she literally hated today right now. As she recovered from that she looked at the sword-wielding magical girl pulling the ice spike out of her shoulder making her bleeding worse, She was worried about Rose's health because of that and now regrets using that attack. The star-shaped plates appeared in front of her quite surprised. Frostbite really didn't want to hurt, Rose and Aoi as they were just innocent girls that were taken from Dark Site, and Dark site's control were a bit scary and quite unsettling to her at the moment.
  
  She watched Sib fight Rose and was tempted to assist but didn't want to, But suddenly had an idea as she kneels to the ground and places a hand onto the ground hoping for this to work as frostbite whispered something in german before speaking."Frozen binding." The ground directly in front of her immediately froze and for any Dark Site Magical Girls that were in her area would be stuck to the ground for a few seconds due to the ice before it melts immediately.
  
  As if on cue, The Ice magical girl watched in full-on shock at Wingy pulling an attack like that, She really didn't think that Wingy could pull off an attack like that, But she knew that it'll probably knock the wind out of her. Wingy urging her to go she nodded."Wingy's right we need to go- Wingy!!!" Watching wingy collapsing onto the ground, Frostbite immediately rushed towards her and as Sirus checked Wingy's health, he told her that she was only unconscious and sighed in relief."Wingy might need to stop pushing herself."She advised. She was suddenly surprised by Sibylla picking up wingy and taking off."Hey! Wait for me!"She called out chasing after them.
  
• 
  
  Inessa Markov
  Codename: Dynamite​
  Watching this from afar with her binoculars as she didn't want to get into this mess until it was the right time to strike. Dynamite watched the battle going down, The red-haired watched quite interested in the battle as she saw both the strongest and the former strongest magical girls fight against each other. But she noticed the Explosives going and had to think, about how and why did they have explosives around their home. This was something that she'll have to get answers from them later. But it was quite pathetic and yet surprising for Rose to pull out an ice spike from Frostbite and literally Vanguard used this as a bit of an advantage to attack Rose. But it was time for Dynamite to intervene, As she lept up into the air and reached into her pocket as she smirked as Bert shifted from Gun form to Missle Launcher form. She Fired a missile at Rouge's magical girls only for them to be blocked yet again by those damned Magical stars from Wingy.
  
  She watched as Rose was enduring these attacks until she aimed her gun at Telos and pressed the trigger, firing a shot at Telos. She didn't want Rose to be killed off so easily. And she was basically concerned for Rose's Safety at the moment but she shook off those emotions before rushing to Rose but she was surprised to see that wingy was pulling off a move like that.
  
  But "Dammit."She cursed under her breath. She landed on the ground a few feet from the attack after it was fired by Gutter Queen who managed to probably bring Heartbeat out of the way and she went as fast as she could to where rose had crashed and went to her, seeing her a little more than banged up and sighed."Your injured are looking bad, You need a place to rest in at the moment."She answered. Without any further Ado, She picks up her ally/ enemy, piggyback style."Hand on tight Rose."She said. She suddenly had an idea, on how to fish out the rouges."Rose can you conjure a wind gust?"She asked
  
• 
  Doc (Real name Unknown)
  Doc, on the other hand, was quite surprised by the battle, as she knew that the girls that she had taken in were magical girls and, boy she didn't believe them at first until later on, when she doesn't want to talk about and how she met them was another story for another time. Doc was amazed yet scared for the magical girl's safety, as she was aware of Dark Site and knew some stuff about them. But her jaw dropped at Wingy's attack which startled her and also made her surprised. She didn't know what to do as it was risky to even get near the magical girls and decided to take cover as she went and search for a place to hide quickly.
  

Mentions: Nellancholy Severia Gundam Watcher 27 GrieveWriter Spoiled Bread
Notes: I am sorry that took me so long.

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

"I can try, just don't fall over."
Rose replied as she summoned a tailwind that would enable Inessa to run faster than normal. Rose really can't object, but the fact Inessa didn't let her die meant that she probably didn't want to lose her yet. Rose didn't show it, but she was conflicted emotionally at this time. She hated Inessa, but the fact she saved her meant she was in her debt. Truly she was facing a cruel irony here.

Heartstorm78​

 

[Lord Moldoma]

“Think about your position, Grizzly.” A voice echoed out of the titan. “I can see it in your face that even you realize you’re running out of options. You may have a hostage, but if you kill that hostage, you lose any and all leverage, and there’s no guarantee you can take me down even if you kill her.”

This was uncharacteristic, Zoe was normally overwhelmingly happy and joyful, but in those few moments, she was serious. More serious than ever before.

“Can you understand what it feels like to be denied happiness your entire life, and only given a chance via a Faustian deal? Do you really think that I’m in my right mind? Causing all of this damage? Do you know how far I’m willing to go to keep this form?”

“You don’t.” She answers herself. “You don’t even know the full extent of my abilities. Is this my limit? Could I survive your ultimate attack again? Could I power through and use your brief period of grace to land a finishing blow? How can you say you know?”

“Do you have the power to give me an offer I can’t refuse?”

“Even if you kill that poor innocent girl. You can’t win. So be a good sport and admit defeat. Lay your magidrive on the ground and retract your legion.”

In truth, it was all about playing up how little she seemed to care about the hostage. Whether she did or not was a judge of her character, but the image of a giant creature that had been created on the spot out of the very earth itself was menacing enough to justify a second thought.

 

[withinasapphire]

Scarlet hadn’t gotten as far as she would have liked before a flash of light made her stop. Instinctively, she brought her hands up to her eyes in the hopes of covering them. What was happening? Where had this come from all of a sudden?

The beginning of incoming sounds that soon followed made Scarlet tense up. She couldn’t even bring herself to think, every part of her just felt frozen – until she found herself suddenly being pushed to the ground, silence engulfing her soon after. She immediately looked back at Swallowtail, her eyes wide, words starting and dying on her lips at that moment.

Then the shockwave arrived and similarly Scarlet felt herself hurtling towards one of the many trees, her back slamming against a trunk. Pain exploded through her instantly, a hurt cry escaping her at the impact. Shit, that really hurt. Did she break something? She wasn’t certain.

Her eyes darted around, soon finding that her dagger had luckily landed at a reachable distance. She leaned forward to grab it, wincing as she did so, and brought it quickly to her arm once she had succeeded in grabbing it. She then cut into her arm, producing blood. She struggled to identify where the pain began and ended…so Scarlet simply brought the now trickling blood to her lips and swallowed what was there.

..That was better. She sighed in relief, the pain lessening in an instant. It was like taking an effective pill for a bad headache.

Scarlet stood, watching as Swallowtail got up as well. She immediately took note of the hand that pressed against the girl’s side. On reflex, she felt herself take a step forward, her dagger ready to make another cut. She hated how her thoughts began to circle around how much blood might be necessary, depending on how hurt the other was – how much blood could she afford to lose. To give.

This had been her job, her purpose, for a very long time. Heal everyone else who got wounded so they could immediately return to combat. They never really had to ask. Scarlet would just move in the background, staring with her eyes devoid of anything. Taking notice of any obvious injuries, watch out for those that were hidden. Press her wrist to their mouth, or pull up someone’s bleeding sleeve, watching as her blood dripped into the wound and sealed it up.

It had all been routine. One that she didn’t have to follow anymore.

So she stopped herself, even if it didn’t feel right. It was a first for her, but they were on opposite sides now. This could be used to her advantage and she needed that.

“I..don’t want to hurt you.” She said quietly. “If anything, I would rather..resolve myself to save you.”

Her eyes glanced back to Swallowtail, to the hand pressed to her side. Scarlet bit her lip, having to internally fight herself to not do anything she could later regret. This shouldn’t be hard. Just leave already, while you still can…!

“I’m so sorry..please, don’t push yourself too hard. Just, um, move slowly..if you can. Please be safe..”

She immediately ran off once more, continuing in the direction of Beecham District, before she could say or do anything more stupid. Scarlet felt like a terrible person, she shouldn’t but she did. Still, she put everything she had into running, deciding to allow her mind to focus on that.

She was almost to her destination. She couldn’t falter now.

ERode

 

[SimplyNene]

Mitsuba looks unamused still coughing rolling her eyes and attempting to hold onto her pocket knife
"I know i wouldn't win in a fight like this i mean whats the use of even trying...heh i'm not even fighting back anymore like just take me away already with your..err......high tech freak-o teddy bears i surrender i rather die another way then die at the hands of weird ass teddy bears but i will not de-transform..i will stay in this transformation hit me....punch me...its what i want pain is what i live for..seeing others in pain for their own stupidity is what amuses me its obvious how this is gonna end so take me away i don't want you hurting my sister menhera i can take many blows i've done it my whole life but not her....i'll stay transformed no matter what...i'll be staying like until you promise not to hurt menhera that said, i probably wont even trust you weird ass teddy bears and that i dunno loli who's controlling you guys"
She rolls her eyes more while coughing up blood she looks at menhera and starts whispering something "動かないで 私は大丈夫 私のことは心配しないで" Mitsuba starts using one of her arms weakly to write really sloppy japanese kanji on the ground she looks at menhera and de transforms finally.
Menhera starts trying to find her medicine bombs mitsuba signals her not to still trying to write sloppy kanji on the ground. Menhera pulls out her pills bombs mitsuba sighs more and rolls her eyes
"well you caught me there.."
Mitsuba seemed unamused at menhera and she looked over at zoe she sighed looking like she was waiting to die "this is stupid...i am just gonna stay transformed this transformation dress is so pretty~ if i didn't hide behind that stupid tree i would have not been in this predicament i can see why winnie the pooh was banned in china if i were gonna make freak-o teddy bears i wouldn't give them heavy clunky suits i mean look at them...i'd rather die now than look at this disaster besides no use killing me I WANT TO DIE...just not by those freak-o robots" she smirked at her snarky remarks and she coughed up blood and didn't even care as she looked up at zoe "oh goody...charming has arrived" Mitsuba looks at menhera who is still trying to drop her pill bomb she sighs yet again "this gives me more reasons on why humanity is stupid and i want to die people say i have a twisted outlook on life but who cares all you beings are terrible people terrible terrible terrible..." mitsuba starts wiping tears from her eyes "in the end people choose hurting physically so they can seem bad and dominant but they can't take it when it hurts on the inside" she starts attempting to draw more sloppy kanji on the ground to communicate with menhera even though they can speak through their minds but she prefers writing it which her kanji translates too "i'm craving gummy bears not these metal bitches." she didn't mean to write that but she shrugs it off "so here we have neko girl swooping in....then we have a sadistic loli who controls freak-o teddy bears" this attack is gonna make me a masochist she thinks in her mind as she starts bleeding from her wrist
"that pocket knife would have come in handy if these fatass teddy bears and whatever that loli looking girl is supposed to be weren't all surrounded"

Lily_G Lord Moldoma

 

[Kikimura]

Negev

Negev stopped in her tracks, her hand resting on her blades handle as she looked towards the mysterious boy who stopped her.
She let him rant, on and on; feeling as if she were stuck in an unwanted bible lesson with that one teacher who teaches nothing yet gives all the homework.
Her fluffy tail swung about like an annoyed cat, her ears twitching lightly at the horrid monologue.

"You done with your biblical crap?"

She drew her blade, looking towards the guy with squinted eyes, ears standing at attention.

"Let's get this over with."

She said, her words unhinged, like someone ready to kill for a meal.

Faynorae

 

[Nellancholy]

Her situation of relative safety offered her no comfort. Unless the Dark Site soldiers combed the entire forest (or had some sufficiently precise scanning ability), they probably wouldn't be able to easily acquire Wingy and Frostbite again. After all, they wouldn't have ended up in a conspicuous house again...probably. But the fact remained that they weren't here. Anything could have befallen them along the way. Even if not magical, the mundane dangers of the forest, or being detained by people in the city who would be entirely right to be suspicious...

The explosions that began to emit from the forest, sending out tremors that could be felt even here in the city, didn't make things any easier. If those were caused by magic, few could generate such power repeatedly and consistently...except one. If she was here, that would mean...

Should Sibylla double back into the forest? And have to fight Grizzly head on? If no one else could, then she would have to...

Or should she stay here, and properly gather the escapees that arrived so that they could organize a defense?

Indecision gripped her for a moment.

Fine. She would go. But...

Just to be sure, she paused for a moment, and then leaned out of the first floor window, sweeping her and Telos' gaze over the vicinity.

There!

Someone was approaching the building. Someone magical. Someone desperate, frightened.

There was no time to lose.

Sibylla slid the glass window open, securing a length of thin nylon rope to the windowsill and tossing the end down to the floor.

"Hey! Over here!" Few would notice, as deserted as the area was at this hour. "Grab onto this tight, wind it around your hand if you have to! I'll pull you up!"

Whether Scarlet followed her exact instructions or not, the rope would bite into her skin as Sibylla hauled her up with all her strength, bypassing the booby trapped stairwell. But that was probably far from the worst pain she suffered today.

"You...are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? You're safe now..." The words tumbled out of Sibylla's mouth as she tremblingly examined the new arrival, relief and panic blending inside her. Just to be safe...Sibylla closed her eyes for a moment, and used her ability. If Scarlet was going to pull that knife on her, or do anything else within the next few seconds at least, Sibylla would know.

"Were you with others? Can you tell me their names? Names, abilities, anything helps..."

withinasapphire

 

[withinasapphire]

It felt like it had been some time since Scarlet had been outside properly. Dark Site had let her out from time to time, when she had their approval, but it was never for sightseeing or anything. Nothing for her own enjoyment. She didn’t get to truly run like this.

If she got anything from this whole experience, at least it was that.

Once she started to see fewer trees and the scenery around her gradually changed to something more city-like – something Scarlet was completely unfamiliar with – she slowed her pace into a brisk walk. She brought one hand up to her chest, looking around her nervously.

Gale had pointed to a direction, saying to come here if she and the others wanted protection..but where was she supposed to go now that she was here?

Getting here had been as far as she had thought things out..there hadn’t much else beyond that.

Scarlet wandered for a brief moment, her eyes looking for anything noteworthy or out of place that might help her. Before she really realized, her feet had led her to some building, as if drawn to it. She examined the building as she stood in front of it, surprise soon flickering across her face when she noticed a rope suddenly drop down from above.

But it was the voice that followed which startled her more. It was then she noticed the girl by a window, giving her instructions. Perhaps she was the protection that Scarlet had been seeking?

In any case, she was good at following directions. She gave a small nod to the girl, taking hold of the rope and wrapping it around her hand slightly. The rope dug into her skin, but it wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling for Scarlet. As such, she didn’t have too much of a reaction to it.

She was taken aback by the girl’s words when she processed what she said, just a bit. Maybe a lot. It was a really small thing, to care for her well-being enough to ask about it, but it was equally as rare in Scarlet’s experience. She stared up at the other girl with something of a starstruck expression before remembering to respond.

“Yes..! I’m..I’m fine..” It was technically true, for once.

…Safe…could that be true..? Am I safe..? Finally?

She ran her thumb over the handle of her dagger as that thought entered her mind, feeling it in her hand, but she had zero intention of making use of it right now.

“Others?” She recalled the cabin that she and some other rogues had been tied up in. “I was with some others in a cabin before..we’d been captured, and..they weren’t transformed. There was this bracelet and – and..well..”

Scarlet realized there wasn’t much information she knew about those particular magical girls. “I’m sorry..I don’t know them very well..”

Nellancholy

 

[Lily_G]

So even a hostage didn’t work? Much like her battle with Mitsuba earlier, it was a matter of terrible match up, except this time it was GG who was on an unfortunate side. If GG could unleash her destructive powers at Zoe without any reserve then it would be another story, but with a shackle known as loyalty to the Dark Site, she had truly reached her wit’s end.

Suddenly, a loud noise could be heard from inside GG’s pocket. Picking up her phone, GG glanced at the number and swiped. “What’s the matter? I’m not ready to hear your blabbering.” She bluntly said while still staring at Zoe who showed no signs of following her order. “Is that really the way to talk to an Executive? You sure are an immature brat.” The deep and cold woman voice could be heard from the phone. Since GG had such amazing combat prowess, it was not strange for her to establish some connection with someone in a high position before the mission even started. “I’m in the middle of a fight okay!? Make it short!!” “Then turn on the speaker.” Making a puzzled face, GG followed that order without delay.

“Access Code: EXE008.”

The call immediately ended, and then Kuma spoke up. “Vocal characteristic confirmed. Access enabled… Now we can talk without using the phone, GG.” GG widened her eyes. Kuma would never call her that. This is not her Artificial Partner! “I’ve seen what you have done after McGregor contacted you. Good job apprehending The Pretty But Plastic Cinderella.” It’s that woman... despite the male voice of Kuma, it was clear who was speaking based on that tone. “However, you seem to have some trouble right now. Want some help?” “No.” GG immediately retorted “I’m not asking.” Was the reply she got before another bear floating in a distant location suddenly spoke up to a magical girl near it.

“Can you hear me, Swallowtail? We need help. Please come back immediately.” It was Kuma’s voice. GG who also saw and heard that immediately complained “Hey!! What do you think you are doing!? I’m not losin—“ “This is ‘an order’, Girlish Grizzly.” GG immediately frozen in place and stopped protesting, like a puppet with its strings cut. The Executive who seemed to know what she was doing continued indifferently. “Equip Cinderella with Magic Binding, then take her and escape from Gigapuddin at once. You can continue your little fight after regrouping with Swallowtail.” Being told to escape or even just accept a help from her squad member is a great insult to GG who holds high pride and confidence in her ability, but in spite of that, she simply clenched her teeth and obediently said “Roger.” in a cold voice suppressing emotions. Upon hearing that, the Executive stopped using her special authority. Kuma who just came to his sense immediately looked around and asked “Huh? What am I doing?” But GG didn’t answer.

With Mitsuba being immobilized by the bears and was already in her civilian form, GG had no problem putting the bracelet on her and cuffed both Mitsuba's arms behind her back again. That girl may wanted to struggle to avoid this, but she would never get away from the Magical Bears' enhanced strength. Moreover, if she chose to struggle, then the bears near her would immediately punish her with their punches and kicks. GG then looked at Zoe with a bitter look, before letting a Magical Bear grabbed her raised arm and took her to the sky again. The direction she was heading to was the one Swallowtail was giving chase to Scarlet earlier. That's right. No matter how much she despise what she was doing, an order from the Dark Site's Executive is absolute. Following right behind GG was a bear holding Mitsuba over its small shoulder, as well as a number of flying bears ready to take action.

Lord Moldoma SimplyNene ERode

 

[ERode]

withinasapphire Lily_G​

Swallowtail gave her a look, but remained silent as Scarlet continued to run away.

Too kind for her own good. Too naive too. An injury like this was inconsequential for a magical girl who took their field work seriously, who was expected to become a combat asset despite the lack of combative magic. And even if something had gone wrong and Swallowtail had broken a leg or two, there was still another option.

The Bear that Grizzly had left her.

She took a breath. Waiting a beat longer.

"Continue pursuit. Maintain a distance of 50 meters from the target at all times, prioritizing stealth. If detected, mark location and retreat immediately to the original Extraction Point. Do not engage, do not explode. Go."

And with orders relayed, she blessed the living, thinking magical missile with the gift of Silence, shielding it from magical detection and suppressing all the sound it would make during its journey. Time would tell whether it would provide any results, but for now...

"Can you hear me, Swallowtail? We need help. Please come back immediately."

...there was work still to be done.

Swallowtail brushed off the leaves in her hair, worked out the kinks in her neck, lamented over the loss of her independent action, briefly entertained the idea of just ignoring the call, before running off once more. Three steps to accelerate, three more to become airborne. And then another thirty seconds before Grizzly was in view, her gang of bears carrying Cinderella in tow. With one bounding leap, the beast-cowled magical girl snagged onto one of the flying bears, stepping onto it to get to the same elevation as her 'squad leader'.

"You caught me in the blast radius of your attack, Grizzly. So I lost Scarlet."

The explanation first.

"Explain the situation, please."

 

[Lord Moldoma]

'Grizzly's at a disadvantage, Zoe! You should smash her while you have the chance!' Pyururinyan-tan spoke to Zoe, who carefully examined the situation.

As GG moved away, Zoe examined the nature of her formation. She clearly had enough bears to take on a direct attack unless it used overwhelming force, but Zoe knew that she wouldn't activate any attacks strong enough to destroy her titan form in full now that it had fully had time to recuperate in between posts. And when it comes to overwhelming force, an improvised titan humanoid is pretty hard to top.

"Good point... This'll probably be the only time someone like her's ever at a point like this. I don't know if she'll fall for the same tricks again. And I know she can't face me the way she is right now... Pyuri... Hold on, this'll be a bit bumpy.." Zoe began, focusing to control the humanoid.

'IMPROVISED SPECIAL MOVE: SPEED OF SOUND ROLLOUT!' Zoe shouted... Mentally, as to not choreograph the titanic body suddenly slamming onto all fours and lunging forwards, mid air, towards GG, before transitioning it's spear lunge into summersaulting over and over and over-again while quickly changing its form into that of a massive rolling ball.

The ball was half the height of the titan but twice the depth and significantly greater in concentration of mass, it's center of weight made it like a massive impenetrable boulder which crashed through any resistance. picking up more debris and fragments of the surrounding area.

The rate at which it was moving was almost tremorous, and the nature of how the ball both replenished itself and densified made similar to being chased down and tackled by a linebacker, or charged at by a raging bull.

Zoe was never the fastest, nor the strongest, but her creativity allowed her technique to flourish as a combination of both high-speed and destructive power. That, and the sheer size of the AOE meant that travelling out of the way of the rolling ball would be hard, taking its speed into account.