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Josie’s gonna have to take care of herself for now. She seems to have the upper hand, for now at least. You aren’t sure how long she can hold her own against Dracula for, but she’s going to have to do her best. You’ve got an insane zombie clinging to your leg that you have to deal with. You can feel the frigid clamminess of her hands through the leg of your uniform. You try moving away from the ledge of the shaft, it’s pretty hard with Mercy holding so tightly onto you. She tugs on your leg hard, almost sending you sprawling to the sandy floor below you. She pulls herself up from the shaft, the sunlight reveals her full form to you. Hands are stitched to arms, which are stitched to her shoulders. Another pair extends from her sides, emerging from the stark white lab coat she’s wearing. There’s a hole in the coat, revealing the spot where you thought you thought you fatally wounded her. Dried blood crusts around the wound. She smiles at you, teeth much sharper than anything that should be in a human mouth. Mercy flexes her secondary arms at you. The display’s freaking you out more than anything

“What do you think, Victory? I decided to do some self improvement since we last met! I couldn’t stop thinking about the next time we’ll fight, so I designed my enhancements all around you!” She giggles happily. That doesn’t sound good. You do your best to hide your disgust with the undead girl.

“You won’t last a second longer than last time, even with all that junk.” You don’t give her a chance to reply. You recall that she’s got some sort of regeneration, and you’d rather finish this quickly and decisively, like last time. You don’t want to give her a chance to turn tail and run. You heft your hammer, and leap at her, hoping to slam it it into her head, or some other vital organ. Could she survive without a head? You certainly hope not. Your thoughts are cut short by a hand wrapping around your foot again. Huh?

You’re sent speeding through the air at breakneck speeds. Your head impacts hard against a wall, making your vision swim. You slowly rise to your feet, massaging the swelling that’s developing. Mercy walks towards you, covering her mouth the a palm as she yawns.

“Were you not listening, Victory? I said that I designed myself to fight you! Isn’t that lovely? Have you ever met someone who cared so much about their enemy?” She clasps her lower hands together as she sighs happily.

Creep.

[x] If close range attacks won’t work, try keeping your distance.
[x] Use your magic to trip her up, and then close in for the kill
[x] Target her extra hands, things will be much easier if she doesn’t have a second pair to defend herself with
[x] Write in
>>
>>478317
>[x] Target her extra hands, things will be much easier if she doesn’t have a second pair to defend herself with
>>
>>478317
>[x] Target her extra hands, things will be much easier if she doesn’t have a second pair to defend herself with
>>
>>478317
Aren't Erika and lance lady with you? What are they just watching? Use your magic to hold mercy in place while Erika takes a shot and have the other girl try seal Dracula
>>
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Ugh. You’re no fan of getting thrown around like a sack of potatoes. Who knew Mercy had that kind of arm on her. It’s probably not her arm anyways. How the hell did she even manage to catch you up there, anyways? Can she extend her arms? You lean your weight against your hammer as you regain your bearings. The undead girl slowly comes back into your vision, that crazed smile still on her face. You’re really getting sick of her.

“Did that hurt, Victory? It’s just a taste of what’s to come after I capture you.” Yeah, as if that’ll ever happen. You circle her, carefully regarding her every move. Those second arms should be your target. They’re doing a good job of protecting her from you. Her smile somehow grows wider as she reaches into her coat’s pockets, coming out with a pair of dangerously sharp looking bonesaws. Her lower arms are poised, ready to respond to an attack. You thrust your hammer at her her left side and predictably, her lower left hand reaches out to grab it a second later. Only to find nothing but empty air.

“I can see that you haven’t improved your banter since we last met.” You respond nonchalantly. You hope this’ll get her mad enough to make a mistake. Overextend or something. She giggles again, and swipes at your face with a bonesaw. A few locks of your hair flutter down as her saw severs it. That was close. She doesn’t miss a beat, and swings at you with her second saw, and you respond by blocking it with the haft of your weapon. Her assault’s relentless, and her saws clang against your hammer.

“Remind me to sew that pretty mouth of yours shut.” Her lower hands join in on the fun, drawing a handful of scalpels from her coat. Perfect. The flurry of stabs is hard to dodge, but you’ll have to manage for now. She’s devoted herself to attacking you. It’s hard to keep up with her lightning fast stabs and slashes. Her saws scratch against your face, blood trickling from the wounds. Her scalpels in her right hand find their way into your gut, and you gasp. These are some nasty cuts. It gets harder and harder to find your breath by the second. She cackles happily as she brings her saw into your neck for a deathblow.
>>
>>478579
“This is the end, Victory!” She stops her insane laughing instantly when the saw finds itself lodged in a large stone. Now’s your chance. You summon all your strength, even as your body screams at you to lie down and rest. Your hammer finds it’s way into Mercy’s chest once again, her eyes widen in shock as she realizes that she’s lost once again. You follow through with your strike, sending Mercy careening off the edge of the tower, screaming all the way down. You collapse onto the sand, chest heaving as it struggles to draw breath. You glance over at Josie’s fight. It doesn’t look like she’s doing too well either. Cuts and bruises cover Josie’s face, but she still refuses to just give up. Dracula on the other hand, doesn’t look like she’s broken a sweat. She wields a parasol with a sharpened tip, blood soaks it’s fabric and drips from it’s point. Josie screams as she lunges towards Dracula, fists glowing bright than ever.

“I’ll end you right here, traitor!”

She doesn’t seems to care all that much about Josie’s threat. Things slow down again. The blood flowing from your wounds seems to crawl to a trickle, before it finally stops. Dracula positions her parasol at Josie’s chest. And then, everything snaps back to action. You try to scream a warning at Josie, but it’s too late. She charges headlong into the parasol, and her bones crunch under it.

“Give my regards to Holly, please.”

You turn to the girl and Erika’s hiding place. Erika’s emotionless, judging when she should escape It looks like she’s regained some of the color in her skin. She even looks normal now. Her spear glows a light green, and you swear that she’s getting better and better as time goes on. Could the spear be healing her?

[x] Motion for her to come closer, try having her heal you
[x] Motion at Josie, have Erika protect her from Dracula
[x] Write in
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>>478583
>[x] Motion at Josie, have Erika protect her from Dracula
>>
>>478583
>[x] Motion at Josie, have Erika protect her from Dracula
>>
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The gashes through your stomach sting really badly, you wince as you you irritate them by trying to to sit up. The girl holding the lance stares at you desperate, like a lost puppy. You motion at Josie, who’s lying as still as a corpse. She seems to understand, and creeps out from her hiding place slowly. Erika follows closely behind Dracula steps on her as she yanks her parasol free of Josie, she wipes the blood costing it on the fallen magical girl. She turns her attention to you, you can feel the blood in your veins freeze as her gaze feels on you.

“You know, I wasn’t lying about what I said earlier, Athena. You don’t have to die here.” You roll your eyes as best you can. If she’s still dead set on recruiting you for her dumb organization, then she shouldn’t be trying to kill your friends. It’s not doing her any favors in the persuasion department.

“My answers still the same.” She stares at you like you’ve just told her that you’re the Queen of England. She shakes her head in disapproval.

“Why are you Americans so stubborn? Accept defeat. I’m not unnecessarily cruel.” Yeah, and you’re the President. You spot the green form of the spear fly through the air, sparkling and shimmering as it does so. It finds it’s mark in Josie, piercing through her body. The muscles in her body seize and tense as the spears rips through them. The hole in her chest seals itself up, bones finding their broken companions. Josie’s eyes shoot open. Her body shoots up with a jolt of energy, and she yanks the spear out of her body with ease. A smug smile crosses her face

“Did what you told, Fran. Holly ain’t happy.” Dracula growls in frustration, her gaze focuses on Erika and her companion. Josie tosses the spear back to the girl, who clumsily catches it. The silver haired girl audibly gulps as Dracula brandishes her parasol and shrieks, charging at the pair

[x] Don’t let Dracula close with Erika, she’s toast if Dracula gets into melee with her
[x] It’s a 3 on 1 close quarters brawl, there’s no way Dracula’s getting out of this one.
[x] Write in
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>>478794
>[x] Don’t let Dracula close with Erika, she’s toast if Dracula gets into melee with her
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>>478794
>[x] Don’t let Dracula close with Erika, she’s toast if Dracula gets into melee with her
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>>478794
>[x] Don’t let Dracula close with Erika, she’s if Dracula gets into melee with her
And new she is charging off in a rage surrounded by enemies is the perfect time to have the ground reach up and trip her
>>
Letting Dracula get too close to Erika would be a practical death sentence for her. You don’t intend on letting that happen. Josie seems to have the same idea, and she quickly puts herself between the crazed vampire and the hapless pair. The sight of Josie only enrages Dracula further, and she quickens her pace. You’re quick to help Josie, and do your best to urge the stone below Dracula’s feet to unbalance her. You cough and hack as you do, the injuries Mercy left in you burn in protest of your exertions. Sweat beads on your forehead as you intensify your efforts, and are rewarded when the ground creaks and groans. Dracula looks at her feet, just in time for her to go stumbling on the minefield of uneven ground you’ve created for her. You sigh as watch Dracula get sent to the ground. Josie’s quick to capitalize on Dracula’s vulnerability, delivering an uppercut to the chin.

“Y’know. I hate people like you.” Josie says as Dracula reels from the impact of Josie’s fist against her head. Josie flexes her fist in preparation for another strike.

“Someone who’s willing to abandon a friend. Even kill one. Because of their own desires.” Another punch, this time a hook to the cheek. The crack of bone and tendon rings through the air as Josie punctuates her sentences with the punch.

“Is less than the dirt below my feet.” Dracula opens her mouth, as if to say something, she’s cut off by Josie socking her in the face once more. She’s sent flying back. Her face wrinkles in strain as she tries to focus her own power. Is she going to try to bite someone in the stopped time? That would be a stupid idea. It’s leave her wide open to more attacks. You don’t have to guess as time once again, stops in it’s tracks. Dracula staggers to the edge of the tower, a glares back at you.

“Goodbye, Athena.” She flings herself off, and then time resumes. You shake your head to clear the cobwebs of having time stopped for you. You rush over to the edge where she threw herself off. Hexengrenadiers rush to investigate the commotion. Dracula grabs him by the head and forces him to bare his neck. You can’t watch as she bites him. Josie collapses on the ground in exhaustion.
“We...we did it.” You nod at her. You haven’t seen Josie this angry, or serious, well, ever. But your job here isn’t done.

[x] Have the girl unlock that room
[x] Bury the room, and anything in it
[x] Write in
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>>478938
>[x] Have the girl unlock that room
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>>478938
Tough question, if we can grab the spear and get out of there with it we would have denied then off something they have put a lot of effort into getting but then again it seems to be safely locked up in there anyway.

Actually if the spear is the main reason they are here we should grab it then get everyone to evac and hopefully they will abandon this position with their toys gone.
> unlock the room - open boss chest

Also why is the spear in Babylonian ruins, doesn't Babylon predate Christ?
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>>478994
Maybe Longinus just so happened to have the spear, and stabbing Jesus with it gave him the healing he needed to come back after 3 days
>>
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You approach the door the Hexenkraft magical girls were so interested in earlier, and you take a closer look at it. It’s an unassuming block of stone, you wouldn’t have guessed that it was a door if not for the seams. You touch it, nothing. The spiritstone around your neck seems to be glowing slightly in response to being so close to it, but aside from that. Nothing. Josie gets up, and eyes the door suspiciously. Once it’s passed whatever mental test she’s put it through, she tries punching it with a magically enhanced fist. She shakes her hand in pain as she glares at the block. You recall Dracula or Mercy saying something about a more Babylonian touch. You look over to the girl, who’s still hugging her spear like a pointy teddy bear. You gesture for her to touch it, and she does so eagerly. With a single finger, she coaxes the door to open, and the insides of of the room reveal themselves to you. Josie cross her arms and huffs

“Well, I loosened it for her.” It’s good to see Josie return to her old self. You don’t know how much of ‘super serious’ Josie you could stomach. The hallway inside doesn’t extend for long, and inside, you find your prize.

The so called Spear of Destiny. The Lance of Longinus. Or the other one, at least. Sitting pretty on a pedestal, just waiting for you to grab it. The girl shrinks away from the sight of the blood red spear. You snatch it quickly, and test it’s heft. Perfect.

“Well, now that we’ve got this thing in our possession, and knocked out two Hexenkraft officers, AND rescued a whole bunch of prisoners, I think we can tell the Major General that the mission was a success.” Josie nods in agreement.

“We’ll be heroes! I hope you’re ready for the limelight, Vicky!” Erika’s not taking part in the celebrations, instead, she’s outside, looking up. A hand blocks the glare from the sun.

“What’s up? Something going on up there?” She points up, you don’t have to follow her finger for long to see what’s happening. Dogfights. Planes spitting lead at each other as they weave their deadly dances.
>>
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>>479044
“It looks like Patton has decided to proceed with the invasion without us.” That’s impulsive of him, but then again, you aren’t too familiar with the general. Have they forgotten about you? The beating of rotors fills the air, and you spot some contraption bearing the hammer and the sickle of the Soviets speed through the air. Another symbol is emblazoned on it, a fist surrounded by a star. The helicopter slows to a stop above the Tower, and a familiar face greets you. Major Adamska.
“Quickly, I have Katyusha batteries waiting to fire, and their operators are all impatient idiots.” You tilt your head, the Major was upset with you, last time you checked. But for what, you’re not exactly sure why he decided to personally extract you. You aren’t one to question a good things, however, and you and the rest of the team climb aboard. You glance down at the desert below you, Captain Frost looks up, a forlorn expression on his face.

“Get another one for them.” The Major looks down, and nods.

Do you tell the Major about the spear?
[x] Tell the Major about the spear
[x] Keep quiet about it

What do you say to the Major?
[x] “Soooo, what did I do to deserve this?”
[x] Don’t agitate him
[x] Write in
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>>479047
[x] Tell the Major about the spear
[x] “Soooo, what did I do to deserve this?”

I imagine a blood-red spear is gonna be hard to keep secret.
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>>479049
You could always lie about the nature of the spear
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>>479047
> don't mention the spear right now, maybe put it in the report
> write in
Why was the timetable advanced? And are you shelling this world wonder?
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>>479047
>[x] Keep quiet about it
>[x] Don’t agitate him
Big, red, and pointy-for-her-pleasure can wait until the debrief.
>>
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The Major speaks in rapid Russian through a radio set in the helicopter, shouting to be heard over the engine of the craft. He sets it down and looks at the spears that you can the girl are carrying. You’re pretty sure he can tell that something’s fishy about them. You don’t get to be a ranking officer in an intelligence group without being able to pick up on cues. Especially one as obvious as the spears.

“I’ve requested another transport for you. Won’t be able to get here for a little bit though.” He keeps staring at the spears, and you wait for the moment that he asks the question. You end up telling him, just to get this weight off your chest.

“Prototype Hexenkraft weapons, very strange.” You do your best to keep your poker face, and he raises an eyebrow at you.

“Interesting. Surely, you haven’t forgotten your conversation with Blizzard regarding sharing information, yes?” You chuckle nervously. You were hoping that he wouldn’t bring that up. Especially since Blizzard’s in critical condition, or worse.

“Of course, of course. You’ll get your information after we do!” He seems to be satisfied with the answer, at least, satisfied to stop asking. You shuffle your feet against the floor of the helicopter as time and boredom wears on you.

“Soooo, what did I do to warrant a personal extraction from a Spetsnaz officer?” Adamska shrugs, as if his being here was.

“It was a matter of convenience. Your General was especially eager to start fighting when Soviet reinforcements arrived, and we had the capability to extract you faster that any ground transport. These transports should still be on schedule for the rest of the operation though.” You sense that there’s something more going on below the surface of his mind, though.

“Ah, speaking of which, why did Patton decide to start Sargon before we left the Tower? And why are you planning on shelling it?”

“The reinforcements we brought consisted of many tanks and walkers, and our famed Katyusha rocket batteries. General Patton was confident that he could, and I quote, ‘kick the Afrika Korps’ collective asses back to Berlin’, with our help. And we don’t mean to destroy the tower, Katyushas aren’t very accurate, and usually cause collateral damage” Huh, you’re starting to like this Patton guy more and more. The Egypt base comes into view, and you land in the Soviet side of it. Home sweet home.

You had better bring the spear somewhere safe. It’d be a shame if all your hard work amounted to nothing thanks to your carelessness. You hand it off a supply officer, explaining that the spear was to be kept under the tightest watch possible. He gives you an incredulous look, but nods none the less, calling his fellows over to help him store the weapon.You turn, and notice the girl still following you. You reach for her spear, and she pulls it away from you.

[1/2]
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>>479082
“Hey, you need to give that to us. We’ll keep it safe” She doesn’t seem swayed by your words, probably because she can’t understand them. You sigh, you could always say she was a magical girl if people start asking questions. But you’re not sure how long that’s gonna work for. You skip over to Patton’s command tent, for once in your life, you’re eager to get debriefed. Patton’s surrounded by officers of all kinds, each consumed by their work. He looks at you, and smiles, an odd look for his usually grim face.

“I take it that you succeeded.” You nod quickly.

“Even better, we rescue about a platoon’s worth of Brits, and took another version of the spear for ourselves. And, I put a Hexenkraft magical girl out of commision. Though, Dracula managed to escape us.” Patton’s smile grows wider. Well, you aren’t too sure about putting Mercy out of commission, but he doesn’t need to hear that right now.

“It’s too bad that the Bureau is so adamant about secrecy. I’d have you and your teams’ names put in every textbook in print.” You give Patton a salute that he quickly returns.

“I’ve arranged for leave for you. I think you deserve it after all you’ve done.” You feel your knees turn into jelly. Did you hear him right? Leave? L-E-A-V-E leave? Time where Jerry and his crazy magical girls aren’t trying to kill you?

“Thank you very much sir I appreciate this greatly!”You salute him again before you bolt out of the tent. You run all the way back to your bunk, and slam the door open, to find Josie face down in her bed, and Erika reading a copy of ‘Achtung Panzer’, whatever that means.

“We’re taking a leave.” Josie’s instantly roused from her sleep at the sound of the words, while Erika only tilts her head quizzically at you.
“Finally! It’s nice to be appreciated! Maybe we can go to Cuba! Or maybe even New York!” You pause. New York. Home. God knows how long it’s been since you’ve been there.

What will you do on the base?
[x] Check in on the prisoners, and Diane
[x] See how that girl’s doing
[x] File your reports and sleep.

Where will you spend your leave?
[x] Cuba, or somewhere tropical
[x] New York. You should pay your family a visit.


[x] Write in
>>
Gonna call it for tonight, hope you all enjoyed
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>>479084
>D. All of the above
And go see if that professor guy we took the tablet can communicate with the Babylonian girl

> family I guess, will be distracting at least, whereas idling away in the beach we might just end up thinking the horrors we've seen and get all angsty
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>>479084
>[x] File your reports and sleep.
>[x] New York. You should pay your family a visit.
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>>479084
>[x] All of the above

>[x} New York
>>
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You can’t relax just yet, there are still affairs you have to handle on the base. You leave without another word, excitement still runs through your body, you hop excitedly past the Babylonian girl on the way to visit Diane and the other prisoners. You wonder how she’s doing. Diane wasn’t very happy with being critically wounded last time, hopefully her disposition has improved since then. Nothing a few choice words from her lovely and charismatic team leader won’t be able to fix right up. The girl is still following you, she hasn’t left your side since Josie sat next to you in the helicopter. She runs to keep pace with you, and you abruptly stop. She almost slams into your back as she tries to stop as quickly as you do. You rub your chin as you stare at her in thought. A lightbulb goes off in your head, and you wonder why you didn't think about this earlier. You have a specialist in Babylonian studies on the base right now. You’re sure he’d be ecstatic to hear that you’be got a live Babylonian following you around like a litle sister.

“C’mon, let’s go!” You grab her by the wrist, and drag her off. That’s probably not necessary, but you kind of want to see how she’d react to something like this. You swear you hear her gasp as you lead her along to Professor Avdol’s tent, and barge into it. A bandage is wrapped around his head, bloody around his eye. He looks up from the tablet on his study desk.

“Magical Girl Victory was it? And you brought a friend.” The magical shrinks behind you, trying her best to keep herself out of sight from Avdol.

“Not just any friend, a Babylonian magician.” Avdol stares at you like you’ve suddenly morphed into King Kong. You step behind her, you gesture towards him, and give her a tender smile.

“Let’s see her prove it then.” He hands one of the hieroglyphic filled tablet over at her. You recognize them, it’s the tablet about Savior that you recovered from the Mausoleum. Or the Major did. The girl takes it in her hands gingerly, as if the tablet was about to burn her hands. She seems to understand. Her mouth hangs open as she looks up at the Professor, and she finally speaks. It’s a strange, hoarse language that comes out of her mouth. Not very nice to listen to. The professor responds, seemingly a bit clumsily. You can see tears form in her eyes as he speaks.

“She asked me where her people went.”

“And?” He looks away

“I gave her the truth.” The truth that her people were long dead and that she was likely the last of her kind in a strange and unfamiliar world. No wonder why she stuck with you for so long, you must be the only familiar face that she’s seen in thousands of years.
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>>482515
“She said she was, well, a knight, I think. Not dissimilar to you and the rest of the magical girls.” Silvery tears flow down the unblinking girl’s face. If only she spoke English, or you spoke Babylon, then things would be much simpler. You don’t know what to do with her. Even if you did speak her language, how would you even going about trying to calm or comfort her? ‘Yeah, everyone you know is long dead, and there’s a group full of crazies hellbent on conquering the world, but things aren’t so bad once you get used to it’?

What to do, what to do.

[x] Leave her with the professor, he’s the only one who’s gonna be able to help her
[x] Take her with you, she feels most comfortable around you
[x] Drop her off at the Bureau headquarters when you get to New York
[x] Write in
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>>482517
> take her home with you
Well ask her first if she would rather stay with the professor, seeing as she won't be able to speak with anyone in NYC
Give her a hug too
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>>482517
This: >>482544
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>>482517
>[x] Drop her off at the Bureau headquarters when you get to New York
Leave her to the people with the resources to help her
>>
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As much as you’d rather keep her with you, you’re not going to be much help if you don’t understand what she’s saying, or if you can’t translate for her. You might not be able to, but there are people at headquarters who might be able to. Besides, they’re probably more knowledgeable in how to handle distressed magical girls than you are. She stands as still as a statue, it doesn’t even look like she’s breathing. You stand in front of her, and try your best to comfort her with a smile. It doesn’t seem like it does much, but it was worth a shot. It’s not like words are going to be of any help here. She looks up at you as you take her hands in your own, clasping it between your hands. You make sure that she sees this. You aren’t exactly sure what you mean by the gesture, and you aren’t sure she understands either,but it seems to have stopped her tears at least. Well, if that didn’t work you could always hug her. You tug her by the hand into your embrace, and wrap your arms around her tightly. Her arms hang limply at her side, she doesn’t reciprocate the hug. She’s warm, obviously healthier than when you first met her in that cage. She almost looks like a normal girl now. You finally let go of her, but you keep your hands on her shoulders, and doesn’t resist as you lead her outside the tent.

You still have to visit Diane and the prisoners. Diane would probably chew you out like there was no tomorrow if you forgot about her. You find your way to the infirmary, most of the beds are filled with the prisoners, ones who were wounded during the fight, or during their imprisonment. They cough and hack and moan in protest of their wounds, nurses flit around, administering painkillers and changing their IV bags as necessary. Captain Frost watches you pass by, and he loudly hacks a cough, enough to startle the other prisoners.

“Bloody ‘ell, first you leave my lads high and dry, and then you ignore me? Where do you Yanks get off being so rude?” You try stammering a response, only for him to flash you a smile.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I was just screwin’ around. Think Dracula woulda had us all for dinner if you hadn’t showed up.” Medical gauze is wrapped around his cheek, and other bandages are tied around his chest.

“Only wish I could give those Afrika Korps gits a piece of my mind. But I suppose I’ll have to let you lot do that for me.”

“I’m sure that they’re regretting ever setting foot in the Middle East.” He nods with approval

“Good.” You continue on to Diane’s bed. Much of her bruising has healed, and the other cuts around her face are in the process. She glances up at you, before resuming her vigil of the bed below her.

“Still mad that you got beat?” She shakes her head, silver locks of hair fly around her head as she does so.
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>>482624
“A little, yes. But it’s just how war is, and like you said, I have a team to help me when I fail. Because rushing in there alone was kind of, er, stupid.” You nod. Very stupid.

[x] Ask her about why she got so mad while she fought in the tower. Ask if Josie and Dracula have any history between them.
[x] These are probably too personal for her to answer right now.
[x] Write in
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>>482627
>[x] Ask her about why she got so mad while she fought in the tower. Ask if Josie and Dracula have any history between them.
Aside from Gears making a donation to the National Bank of Fraulein.
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>>482627
>[x] Ask her about why she got so mad while she fought in the tower. Ask if Josie and Dracula have any history between them.
>>
>>482627
> ask how Josie knows Dracula (for some reason I thought Josie was a boxer who just recently got recruited)
Also ask what she is doing for leave since she hasn't got a home to go to.
>>
You sit on the end of the end of her bed, Diane shifts to the other side to accommodate you. You must have really gotten through to her earlier. She hasn’t been this nice to you since you met her. You have to wonder what changed in her mind so quickly. The bed’s hard and feels more like a sandbag than mattress, it’s a wonder that Diane hasn’t complained about it yet. She looks at you, a slight smile on her face.

“Y’know, charging after a bunch of Hexengrenadiers without support is a really dumb idea. Why’d you do it?” You wait for her response, or a verbal tirade of biblical proportions to come. Oddly enough, she gives you a calm and clear response.

“I don’t know how much you know about your abilities. Some say that they’re a reflection of your soul, or you as a person. I suppose my powers reflect my anger when I fight.” She sighs as she goes back to staring at her feet.

“Nothing else matters to me when I’ve transformed. Nothing but fighting and winning as quickly as possible, no matter what it takes. I suppose...I lose myself in heat of the moment. It’s never happened to me until recently.” Hmmm. That’s concerning, Diane going into berserk rampages might not be helpful during stealth missions.

“As long as you stay where we can help, I see nothing wrong with that.” Her smile falters slightly, it doesn’t escape your notice.

“Right...as long as my friends can help.” She seems to be reminding herself more than telling you.

“So, uhm. This might come off as a weird question, but does Josie have any history with Dracula.” She giggles at the question, covering her face with a hand as she does.

“You’d be better off asking her. But from what I know, yes, they do. It’s a rather touchy topic for her” You figured as much, considering how viciously she beat Dracula’s face during their fight on the tower.

“And?”

“Well, this might be hard to digest, but Dracula was one of the first magical girls to be recruited by the Bureau.” You shoot out of your seat, eyes wide, staring into her. You mouth makes spluttering noises as you try speaking.

“Get outta town. You’re kidding me.” She shakes her head somberly.

“I wish I was. Josie said that their first team included her, Holly, and Franziska. She was orphaned during the First World War. Holly’s parents couldn’t resist adopting the poor girl. They roamed Britain, and the US, looking for others like them. They found Josie, under some bizarre circumstances, and convinced her to join them.” Your mind races with questions.
>>
>>482745
“But- I- how- Why” Diane giggles again at your half words.

“Like I said, you’d be better off asking Josie about this, but I don’t know how she’ll respond, ami.” Huh. Your gut tells you to leave it be, but your curiosity begs you to ask. You have one last question for Diane before you have to go.

“We’re going on break. Uhm, do you have anywhere to go, considering that France is, uhm.” Her smile finally drops.

“No, I suppose I will accompany you wherever you go.”

“Great! Have you ever been to New York?”

“No, but I wish I had. I heard it’s even more beautiful than Paris is.”

Great.

[x] Just file those reports and go to sleep
[x] Ask Josie about her old friends. If she’s been around longer, shouldn’t she outrank you? Ask why she isn’t the leader instead.
[x] Write in
>>
>>482747
File the reports and ask Josie about her history if she is still awake. I bet she isn't in charge because of too many bows to the head
>>
>>482747
>[x] Ask Josie about her old friends. If she’s been around longer, shouldn’t she outrank you? Ask why she isn’t the leader instead.
>>
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You figure that asking Josie about all this business now would be better for you. Having something like this be out in the open would be better for everyone involved. Josie’s a nice girl, and very easy going, she doesn’t seem to have a short temper, or much of a temper at all. Might as well get this done before you wash up and go to sleep. That is, after you’ve filled out the mountain of paperwork they’ve got coming your way. You push the door to the bunk open slowly, to find that Erika and Josie have switched places. Josie’s flipping through a newspaper, while Erika’s fast asleep. You take a seat in your bed under hers. You poke your head out from under her.

“Hey, Josie, can I ask you something...personal?” Josie keeps reading through the paper, before she crumples it up into a ball and throws it into the air, catching it as it comes back down. She repeats the process as she speaks

“How personal are we talkin’? ‘Am I a virgin’ personal, or ‘what’s your take on magical girls’ personal.” You have no idea how to respond to that. What a weird way to answer the question.

“Somewhere in the middle, I guess. I heard you were friends with Dracula.” The paper ball falls to the floor. Josie glares down at you from her perch on her bed.

“Was, being the keyword. Was. And that’s true. A long time ago, before she lost her marbles and went back to Germany. Holly was the glue that held us all together, I thought I would have gone crazy if she wasn’t here. We swore that we’d be the best friends around, that nothing could hurt us as long as we were friends.” She sighs heavily, as a flood of memories come rushing back to her.

“And? What happened after that?” Josie picks the ball back up from the floor to continue playing with it.

“She was saying that magical girls were better than normal people. A lot like that schlock Hitler shoves down his people’s throats. Holly disagreed, obviously. She thought the complete opposite. They fought and screamed at each other. A lot. And then one night, Fran vanished into the night.”

“Is there any more of my life story you wanna hear? Maybe I should write a book for you.” You take that as your cue to stop.

“Why aren’t you leading the team? You’re one of the first magical girls to ever be in the Bureau, shouldn’t you be our CO?” Josie shrugs

“Don’t wanna. Don’t like leading anyways. You’re the one people blame if things go south. Don’t think I can deal with that now. ‘Sides, you’re doing a fine job of it as is.” Huh. Interesting. You figured that might be the reason. You decide to finally get to work. You scribble onto a dozen forms until the small hours of the night. You almost fall asleep in the showers.
>>
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>>482817

You’re quickly herded onto an airplane, filled with other soldiers on their way back home, be it because they’re done with their tours, or maybe they’re like you. You pay them no mind, and fall asleep on the several hour long flight back to the States. You’re finally awoken by the sound of the airplane landing in the city. You leave, pushing and shoving through the throngs of people in the airport.

“Christ, how can you fit so many people in one city?” Erika murmurs to herself.

“Easy, tenements!” Josie’s way to happy to talk about the slums of the city.

“Hey, sis, over here.” A tall, black haired girl shouts, waving you over frantically. The sounds of the other people almost drown her out.

“Hey, who’s that, Vicky?”

[x] “No one, let’s go” Leave, you know this city well enough
[x] “Sis! How’ve you been?” Follow her
[x] Write in
>>
>>482830
>[x] “Sis! How’ve you been?” Follow her
>>
>>482830
>[x] “Sis! How’ve you been?” Follow her
We do know her, right?
>>
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Right, that’s your sister. Joan Dawkins. You don’t know why your parents were so determined to give their children such weird names. You’d rather have Joan’s name rather than your own, anyways. The girl’s much paler than you, and stands using a cane. You sigh and respond to Josie.

“Team, older sister Joan. Joan, team.” The group greets her in a chorus of hellos, aside from the Babylonian girl, of course. Joan seems to have noticed that, but doesn’t seem to care, or mind all that much. She smiles, and pulls you into a headlock. She always did like roughhousing with you. You don’t understand how she can overpower you so easily, despite being a sickly, lanky doofus. That’s right, you recall that she had some disease of the blood. That’s why she was so pale, despite her best efforts.

“This is your punishment for not writing back for months! What, did you not want to hear from your loving older sister? What if you never heard from me again, huh? ” Josie laughs out loud as she ruffles your hair very aggressively. It takes her several seconds to finally be satisfied with embarrassing you, and she lets you go. You adjust your hair carefully, setting it back into it’s proper place. She motions for you to get into the car. Josie tries her best to stifle her giggles, but doesn’t seem to be doing a very good job of it.

“I...I wish I had an older sister like yours, Vicky. I’d never be bored, that’s for sure.”

“They don’t have anything like this in Germany...” Erika’s busy staring out a window, enraptured by the sight of the massive metropolis in front of her. You bet they don’t, few countries in the world have the manufacturing capacity to make such a huge city.

“So where to?”

[x] BSRA Offices, and step on it
[x] There’s no reason you can’ take the Babylonian around the city, show her the joys of the modern world
[x] Commercial district, you are on break, after all.
[x] Write in
>>
>>482870
>[x] BSRA Offices, and step on it
Get Babylonian checked in with the Bureau
>>
>>482870
>[x] Commercial district, you are on break, after all.
Fun for everyone. Bonus: putting sausages in Erika's mouth.
>>
>>482870
>[x] Commercial district, you are on break, after all.
>>
Ah, what the hell, you are on vacation, after all. People are supposed to have fun on vacation. Having the Babylonian around isn’t gonna cause catastrophic damage to happen to the city. At least you don’t think so. How much damage could one girl cause anyways? You grin at Joan, and she seems to understand your intentions.

“Get us to the commercial district, I intend to make full use of my leave.” She nods, and her car speeds off, blatantly disregarding traffic laws as she zooms through the streets of the city, weaving in between cars, and their angry drivers. She pays their curses and infuriated honking no mind. You glance out the window, you haven’t seen buildings this tall in a very long time, it’s rather jarring. Marseilles was only a fraction of the size of the city, Cairo hardly even compares to New York.

The lights and commercial blimps of Manhattan’s famed Upper East Side fill the sky of the city, grey clouds accompany them. Erika’s mouth is visibly agape, like the Babylonian’s. Josie and Diane seem less than impressed though. Joan’s crazed driving finally stops, and she miraculously finds parking with ease.

“Well, I suppose I’ll have some fun while I’m here too. Just holler if you need me, got it?” You nod, and Joan takes a hug as payment for being your chauffeur. She soon disappears into a bar. Isn’t a bit too early to be drinking? Maybe not for her, you’ve seen Joan have a beer with her breakfast. You briefly consider following her into the establishment and having a few, but you aren’t sure if they’re going to believe ‘I’m over 18, I swear! I just look really young!’ excuse. You’re not sure if identification would help either. You sigh, and look over at Josie, who’s occupied herself with some cheap fried food at what looks like a carnival. Journalists are snapping pictures of the scene with their massive bulky cameras. Diane’s more interested in the stores and gaudily decorated restaurants opposite side of the carnival. You have to wonder why they set up a carnival of all things such a snooty part of town. The place looks more at home on Coney Island than the Upper East Side.

[x] Introduce Erika and the Babylonian to the wonders of the carnival, get Josie in on the fun too.
[x] You should probably take them somewhere more reputable than a shoddy looking carnival
[x] Try to get Diane to go with you to the carnival
[x] Write in
>>
>>482924
>[x] Introduce Erika and the Babylonian to the wonders of the carnival, get Josie in on the fun too.
>>
Actually, will call it here for the night. See you tomorrow
>>
>>482924
>[x] Introduce Erika and the Babylonian to the wonders of the carnival, get Josie in on the fun too.

>>482955
Alright, see you then QM
>>
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>>482955
>>
>>482924
>[x] Introduce Erika and the Babylonian to the wonders of the carnival, get Josie in on the fun too.

I love this quest !

Maybe we can try to teach basic english to the babylonian magical girl ? Or that we learn the basics of babylonian, like me, her, hungry, good, bad, food, friend ?
>>
The venue might be weird, but it is a carnival, and they’re fun. You wonder how this one will stack up to the amusement park at Coney Island. There are disappointingly few rides, but there’s plenty of food vendor carts, selling pretzels and hotdogs. And booths that are almost guaranteed to be rigged against you. The hallmarks of a good carnival. You rush past the hordes of curious socialites and officer workers. You pull the Babylonian and Erika along with you, they’re gonna have fun whether they like it or not. Many of them are trying their luck at a variety of games, and predictably, most of them fail. You keep both girls close by, this place might not be a shady part of town, but something seems off about this place. Nothing serious, but serious enough to keep you from shaking the feeling of wrongness easily. You look for Josie, and find her in a matter of seconds. The only girl who’s tried to cram a whole pretzel in her mouth so her hands can be used to play at a ring toss booth. The steaming pretzel muffles her curses as she misses once again.

“Ooooh, sorry about that. Looks like today just ain’t your day. Maybe your luck will change after another set?” Josie groans as she shoves a hand into her pocket, fishing around for money. She finds a few bills, and shoves it into the operator’s hand.

“Good luck!” He gives her a toothy smile, it’s almost painful how disingenuous it looks. Josie mutters something under her breath as she rips into the pretzel, and does her best to throw the ring around the peg.

“It doesn’t look difficult. Maybe you shouldn’t be eating and playing.” Erika says, arms crossed. Josie stops, and gives her a glare

“Oh yeah? Maybe you should give it a try.” She shoves the ring into Erika’s hand, who stares dumbly at it. The girl looks up at you, looking for guidance.

“Just throw it around the moving metal peg. You’re pretty accurate with your 88, this should be child’s play.” She nods, and the metal hoop like a ball. Maybe you should have given her a demonstration too. The ring sways frantically. You hold your breathe as it nears the peg, it’s around it, less than an inch down the peg.

And then it moves, the hoop falls away, hitting the wood below it with a defeated thump.

“See? Not so easy, now is it.”

That’s not fair. It was on the peg, you saw it with your own two eyes. You know it’s rigged, but Erika doesn’t. Maybe you should do something about this.

[x] “Hey what gives?! The ring was on there! This game’s busted!”
[x] “Let’s try something else.”
[x] Write in
>>
>>485060
>[x] “Hey what gives?! The ring was on there! This game’s busted!”
>>
>>485060
>[x] “Let’s try something else.”
Preferably something that's harder to rig.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d2)

Rolling for tiebreaker
1: >>485095
2: >>485098
>>
>>485060
Can we call the Babylonian girl Babs ...
>>
There’s no point in making a scene now. It’s not like anyone’s gonna believe you if you did. These people make a living off this kind of stuff. They wouldn’t be able to if they had some way of weaseling their way out of a situation like this. Erika looks as defeated as Josie, but the operator has a smug look on his face. He almost looks like a cat who just got away with knocking a vase to the floor. You really want to beat that dumb look off of him.

“Aw, that’s too bad. Maybe it isn’t as easy as it looks, dear?” What a jerk. You stick your tongue out at him as you wrap your arm around Erika’s shoulders and leave the booth for the next group of suckers to come walking by

“All these games are rigged, it’s not your fault. Don’t think too much of it.” Erika tilts her head at you quizzically.

“Why play if you’re going to lose?”

“The thought of maybe being able to win, I suppose. And I guess you can try to out cheat the cheats, if that makes any sense.” Josie grumbles around the remains of her pretzel, She’s already bought a hotdog to go along with it.

“How can you still be hungry? That damn pretzel was bigger than my head.” Josie shrugs as she responds around a mouthful of food.

“Hey, I’m a growin’ girl. I need my nutrition and all that jazz.” She digs into the hot dog. Erika and Babs watch in a mixture of disgust and awe. You search for some other game to play, preferably one that wouldn’t be so easy to mess around with. It’s a tall order, considering how even you can think of ways to rig some of these. You finally decide on a target shooting game. Both you and Erika have plenty of experience in that department. The couple occupying the booth gorna in disappointment as they spend their last bean bag on a miss. The teenaged girl occupying the booth gives them her false condolences. She’s wearing a strange outfit. Almost like a magical girl uniform. Wait. Teenager? That’s not something you see very often at a carnival. Well, they’re not supposed to be working the booths at least. You step up, and hand her the cash you have on hand. She smiles at you, her stare lingers on Josie for an almost uncomfortable amount of time. She’s too busy eating to notice.

“Welcome! Here to see how good of a shot you are?” You nods slowly. The booth’s decorated like a stereotypical Western town. Complete with cartoon cowboys and Indians shooting at each other. The target's spring up, and you don’t sense anything wrong with them. The ones in the back row are moving, quickly.

“Try to get as many as you can, and be careful. Some are tricky~.”

[x] Let Erika have a go, she’s the best shot out of all of you
[x] You’ll try, your aim isn’t horrible.


Do you say anything to the girl?
[x] “What’s the story behind your outfit? I haven’t seen anything like it before. It’s cute.”
[x] Say nothing

[x] Write in
>>
>>485187
>[x] You’ll try, your aim isn’t horrible.
>[x] “What’s the story behind your outfit? I haven’t seen anything like it before. It’s cute.”
>>
>>485187
>[x] Let Erika have a go, she’s the best shot out of all of you
>[x] “What’s the story behind your outfit? I haven’t seen anything like it before. It’s cute.”
>>
>>485187
>[x] Let Erika have a go, she’s the best shot out of all of you
>[x] “What’s the story behind your outfit? I haven’t seen anything like it before. It’s cute.”
>>
You give the girl a smug smile as you step out of the way, and let Erika take over here. Bet she didn’t expect a bonafide soldier to play. If she’s in any way aware of what Erika’s true identity is, she doesn’t show it, smile ever present on her face. Erika frowns as she examines the beanbag launcher. The thing lacks any form of sights, or a stock, or anything that would help you shoot better.

“No sights?”

“Erika, it’s not a real gun.”

“Fine. I will make do.” She squints, and stares down one of the closer targets. The beanbag flies from the launcher, and impacts a target with a resounding ping. It’s rather satisfying to hear it go off. She repeats the performance again and again, massacring the hapless metal targets with speed and precision. All that’s left are the mobile ones, that are almost ten feet away from her. They dart from side to side, you aren’t too confident in Erika now. She takes a deep breath, and holds it in her lungs. After a few seconds of leading the target, she finally fires. You watch carefully, and do your best to spot any tricks. The bean bag nears the target, and then it glows. You gasp as it jumps to the left. That couldn’t have been a mechanical failure. It was like it had teleported away from the beanbag. You glance over at the girl, still wary of any potential foul play going on. She frowns at Erika, but retrieves a stuffed tiger from the bin behind her, and shoves it into Erika’s hands. She stares at it like it was a live grenade.

“Aw, tough luck. But at least you won something that’s the first prize I got to give away today!”

You cross your arms. You’re almost a hundred percent certain that she’s a magical girl. Or at least Half-gifted. You’re leaning more towards the magical girls side of things, what kind of person wears such a weird outfit. Well, it is a carnival, but her clothing looks almost too classy to be here.

“What’s the story behind your outfit? I haven’t seen anything like it before. It’s cute.” She gives you a startled look, like a pigeon in a bus’ headlights.

“What, these old rags? Haha, th-they’re nothing, nothing at all! But thanks for the compliment!” You aren’t exactly convinced, and press the topic further.

“Oh yeah? Hm, because I have a set that looks pretty close to that. Let me change into it.” You walk behind the booth, and make sure that you’re out of sight of the crowd. Wouldn’t want to be causing too much of a ruckus. The girl peeks behind the booth, getting an eyeful of your transformation into your own magical girl uniform, and step out back into the light..

“Here it is.” She splutters and mutters in an attempt to collect her thoughts.

“We-well that explains why you’re with Jo-” She catches herself before she manages to say her name. Josie raises an eyebrow inquisitively

[1/2]
>>
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>>485283
“What was that?”

“No-nothing! Hey I’m working here, and if you wanna talk more about this, we can go to Saint Lawrence’s later.” You’re too busy talking to the girl to notice the pair of trenchcoated men approaching you. Trenchcoats in this weather? That’s begging for heatstroke. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what kinds of people they are.

“These girls giving you any trouble, boss?”

“None, none at all.” They stand and glare at you from beneath their hats.

[x] “You heard the lady, we’re not causing any trouble, now scram.”
[x] “What if I am, tough guy?”

Do you accept her offer to go to Saint Lawrence’s?
[x] You’ve got plans for tonight.
[x] Sure, you don’t see why not

[x] Write in
>>
>>485285
>[x] “You heard the lady, we’re not causing any trouble, now scram.”
>[x] Sure, you don’t see why not
>>
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Forgot my picture of the meguca you're talking to
>>
>>485285
>[x] “You heard the lady, we’re not causing any trouble, now scram.”
>[x] Sure, you don’t see why not
>>
>>485285
>[x] “You heard the lady, we’re not causing any trouble, now scram.”
[x] Sure, you don’t see why not
Oh good, something to get us away from the family.
>>
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>>485309
>Elegant Lady is working as a carny
>>
>>485317
You stand your ground in front of these thugs. They’re taller than you, and much larger than you too. You glare up at them, hoping that your short stature doesn’t detract from your efforts of intimidation. They respond with pensive stares, one of them even looks like he’s trying to keep from laughing out loud.

“You heard the lady, we’re not causing any trouble, now scram.” You keep up your glare until they get the picture. The carny giggles behind a hand as the thugs disappear somewhere, you wonder how they manage that. It shouldn’t be hard to lose track of a couple of goons wearing trenchcoats in a crowd like this.

“They can get a bit eager, but they mean well.” This carnival hires mafia esque thugs as security? That doesn’t seem like a good sign. You should probably get out of here as soon as possible.

“I’ll see you at Saint Lawrence’s tonight then. Where is it?” She shakes her head, as if she knows something you don’t.

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll take you there. Their steak is the best on this side of the country!” You wonder what that means. Can she teleport things as large as people? No, that’s absurd. But then again, she IS a magical girl. Nothing’s completely out of the ballpark when it comes to your kind. You leave with the crowd as the afternoon slowly becomes the evening. Well, that was a day well spent. You didn’t even get a chance to by some junk food. You’ll have to keep that in mind for next time. Joan’s in her car, smoking a cigarette before she notices you. Is it okay for her to be driving after she went drinking?

“Where are we going? Home?” You nod. Diane joins you, bags of clothing and who knows what fills her arms. The combination of Erika’s tiger and Diane’s bounty makes it really cramped inside, if you sit any closer to Josie you’d be in her lap. Joan’s maniacal driving does nothing to improve the situation. Erika rests her head on the pillow, and you eventually succumb to your fatigue, and rest yours against Josie’s shoulder. She doesn’t seem to mind. The car ride back to the apartment you and Joan share is one of the most peaceful trips in your life. No flak exploding around the car, no naval mines to dodge. Just the hustle and bustle of New York’s unending traffic. If only all of your travel was like this. If only you didn’t have to worry about a war. You bask in the blissful peace until Joan stops in the parking lot of your complex. The Babylonian is as lost as ever, and almost clings to you like a child. You grab her hand, clutching it tightly in your own, and lead her to the elevator with the others.

Joan unlocks the door to your modest abode. It’s not the biggest, but you’d rather be living here than in a tenement. Joan throws her keys somewhere, and stretches out her arms. You follow the keys onto a table. Are those pill bottles? What’s Joan doing with those around? You don’t have time to read the labels before she notices where your gaze is, and quickly blocks your vision.

[1/2]
>>
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>>485368
“Home sweet home! Make yourselves comfortable, I’ll fix...something for dinner.” Josie lounges on a couch, flipping through your radio at her leisure, while Diane appraises her clothing. It’s going to be hard dislodging the Babylonian from you.

What do you do?

[x] Talk to Joan in private, ask her about those bottles.
[x] It’s probably nothing, spend time with your team
[x] Write in
>>
>>485369
>[x] Talk to Joan in private, ask her about those bottles.
>>
>>485369
>[x] Talk to Joan in private, ask her about those bottles.
Give the Babylonian a cup of tea or something to distract her. Tell Joan you wont be eating much because you have a date with a carny later.
>>
>>485369
>[x] Talk to Joan in private, ask her about those bottles.
>>
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Joan’s disappeared into the kitchen, leaving you and the rest of the team to their own devices. Josie’s busy rifling through the clothing that Diane bought, apparently divvying up the clothing that she bought. Josie laughs like a madwoman as she takes her pick of what Diane bought for herself.

“I think this is cute, would let me stay nimble when I fight too.” She holds up a fancy looking short sleeved dress. It’s very plain looking, almost to the point of blandness. Diane rubs her temples and it's obvious that her temper’s wearing out, you don’t want to be around to see what happens after she does. Erika rests on a couch, flipping through the book she’s been reading since you left the base. Achtung Panzer. You might check it out yourself.

You leave for the kitchen, and you find Joan chopping away at some vegetables, while pasta boils in a pot. You look over your shoulder, and Babs is still hanging around you. You should find something for her to do, she might not understand what you’re saying, but things still wouldn’t feel very private with her hovering around behind you. You boil another pot of water, and search for tea leaves in your cupboard. The only sounds in the kitchen are the periodic chopping of the knife against the cutting board, and the gurgling of the pots. You finally our it out into a cup, and set it in front of Babs. You take a sip from it, and smile after it. There isn’t a whole lot of room for interpretation. She takes the cup in her hands, and sips from the cup, she doesn’t seem to mind the fact that it’s steaming hot. Now to deal with the real issue at hand.

“Hey Joan, that medicine wasn’t on the table when I left. What’re they doing here now?” The cutting of the knife speeds up to a frantic pace.

“What medicine, sis?” You frown at her

“I’m not stupid, or blind.” Joan sets the knife down onto the board. She looks you straight in the eye. Her face is as white as s sheet, and she almost looks like she’s seen a ghost, hell, she looks like a ghost right now.

“Uhm, well. Some of it’s for my hemophilia. The rest is for my leukemia.” She says quietly. You’ve known about her hemophilia since you were kids. She was never outside playing with you, because she was too scared of bleeding to death from a cut. This is the first time you’ve heard of her leukemia, though. That’s a cancer. One with very low survival rates. It’s your turn to blanche. Did she mention this in the letter that you never read? Your knees feel like they’re about to give out, and you stabilize yourself on the counter.

She stares at the chopped up vegetables, eyes unmoving. The hand clutching her cane is trembling. She’s one mental step ahead of you as she answers.

“I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t want to worry you. You already had enough to worry about, there’s no reason to add to your problems with my own.” She turns away from you. There’s no way that your older sister’s going to die. Because she’s your older sister.
>>
>>485445
“You’re taking medicine, so everything’s okay, right?” You shudder as you ask. She scoffs as she stares out into the city below her.

“It’s for the pain. Doesn’t really help though.” She rummages through the cupboard, and takes out an unopened glass bottle, filled with an amber liquid. She sets too glasses on the cupboard, and pours the alcohol into a cup.

“This does, though. Want some? Or are you still too much of a goody two shoes for it.”

[x] Drink with her, you might not get another chance.
[x] You’re dying and all you can think of is to destroy your body even more? You’re nuts.
[x] Write in
>>
>>485448
>[x] Drink with her, you might not get another chance.
>>
>>485448
>[x] Drink with her, you might not get another chance.
>>
>>485448
>[x] Drink with her, you might not get another chance.
Lame, not even Chemo in the 40s. Did Babs bring her magic healing lance?
>>
>>485491
No, you gave both it and the spear of destiny to the Bureau back in Egypt
>>
You’ve never drank before. You guess now wouldn’t be a bad time to start, considering that you’re sister’s dying. That’s a sentence you don’t want to ever hear again. You can see the contents of the cup shaking thanks to the cup in your hands. Your reflection stares you back in the face as you contemplate the news you received. You don’t even realize that you’re crying until you see the tears mingle with the drink below you. Joan throws all of her drink down her throat in one fell swoop. She keeps staring outside as she pours herself another glass of whiskey.

“I know people in the Bureau, o-other magical girls. They can help you.” She waves your suggestion away.

“You think they haven’t tried? Grumman doesn’t wanna lose one of their engineers to cancer.”

“Y’know, I was always jealous of you. I think I still am” She jolts you from your thoughts as she speaks. The pot of pasta is burning, acrid smoke fills the kitchen. You don’t have the strength of will to care about that right now.

“I think most people would be. To be a magical girl.” She laughs as she drinks, slower this time.

“Yeah, that was a part of it. I don’t go on adventures as often as you do on the job. That’s for sure.” She sips from her drink again. You wouldn’t exactly call your missions adventures. Getting shot up by Hexengrenadiers isn’t very fun.

“But that wasn’t it. I hated not being normal. Hated how I could die from a nasty nosebleed while you were out being a girl. After you manifest your powers, I was even more upset. I thought that God hated me, and gave you all your gifts to make fun of me. Did you know that I used to cry myself to sleep pretty often when I was a little girl? Pretty silly thing to do, now that I think of it.” She continues pouring out her feelings to you, and all you can do is stand here like an idiot and listen.

She turns to you and gives you a smile, a very warm one. A sisterly one. “But that was when I was a kid, a dumb kid. When I grew up, I realised something. Can you guess what that something is?” You shake your head, and she finishes her drink as you do.

“No, I-I don’t know....”

“That you were the one people would remember. When someone asks about the Dawkins, they’re gonna be looking for you. No one cares about the sickly aeronautics engineer, they want Athena Dawkins. Magical Girl Victory. So then, I promised to myself that you’d be the best you could be, no matter what the cost to myself. If I had to die right now so you could get some crazy magical powers to save the world, then I’d take the deal in a heartbeat. No questions asked.” She stands up, and clasps her hand on your shoulder. She takes the glass from your hand, and turns the stove off.

“So make sure that you’re going to be the best you you can be, yeah?” Joan ruffles your hair, her hand massages your scalp. You dread the moment that her hand leaves. Your hands reach up, and you grab her hands in your own, fingers intertwining between each other.
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>>485507
“I’ll do my best. I promise you.” She chuckles lightly.

“You better, or I’ll nag you as a ghost.” You can’t help but laugh as she makes such a morbid comment. The doorbell rings. That must be the carny from earlier. The magical girl one. Both of you look back at it.

“Friend of your’s?”

“Sort of. I met her at the carnival, and I guess she invited me out?” She giggles again.
“I won’t ask too many questions. Go and have fun, I’ll, uh, take care of things back home. Don’t worry about me.” You answer the door, and find the carny from earlier. You raise an eyebrow at her.

“How did you find me?”

“I have ways, don’t worry about it. Are you ready to go?” You look back at Joan, who’s still trying to make the burned pasta.

[x] Yeah, let’s go
[x] Actually, do you mind if I bring guests?
[x] Write in
>>
>>485509
>[x] Yeah, let’s go
Let's not introduce family. If she's mob then we don't want to put our sister in the firing line.
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>>485509
>[x] Yeah, let’s go
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>>485509
>[x] Yeah, let’s go
>>
>>485509
>[x] Yeah, let’s go
I guess we should trust her? We could bring Josie but I figure if the try anything we can tell them General Patton would be pissed!
>>
Gonna call it a night, might be back tomorrow for a short session in this thread
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>>485517
Thanks for running!
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>>485517
Thanks for running QM
>>
New thread here:
>>496353



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