Ploc! Ploc! PLOOOOCCK!

I hear.

You hear! You hear, heaaaiiiiiiiiiiii!

I can not stop hearing, my nails tear the mattress.

PLOOaaacKKPloPloaack!

Haha! When your daddy finds out! It's thirty-three thirtyyyyytrÊÊÊEÊ PENIS

Where is your mom? Where will she be?

My thoughts... Who are these people? The ceiling is so close, I am sweating, I am breathing through my mouth.

BLUACLKLEJJDKAJADPLOOAACKMWWAAAAA! PLOc. Cold, thirty-three degrees.

Raped you, didn't I tell you?

Pussy is wet, is it baby? You'll have a bABBBYYYYYY!

PLoc Ploach PlockkiPloac.

[Are you having a crisis?]

I am in my bed. It is that voice again, I recognize it. I look at that strange white rabbit with rings in its long ears. Its eyes are like blood.

[The medicine is no longer working, but it is still possible to put an end to it if you become a magical girl.]

He wants to rape you, hahaha! Thirty-three pLOAck thirty.

My mouth is open. I screamed? I can not stop hearing. I get up, I smell gas.

Gonna die. Gonna die! GONNA DIE!

I punch my own head. It hurts, I hope he is feeling it too. "GET OUT! GET OUT!"

[I know that in your condition it is difficult to believe, but I am real and I offer something that can help you.]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZPLOORAAAAAXKCK!

The door opens. It is my bedroom door. A man passes by, he is wearing a skin mask.

Thirty.

It's your mother's!

Thirty. Thirty. Thirty-three buttons, thirty-three hearts, thirty-three priests. Thirty. Thirty-three God.

"Merri?"

I hear him speak. I recognize that man's mask. It is my dad's face.

Daddy cameeee~~ You know what he wants.

Plo! Plo! Plo!

"Ya're shakin'." He comes over, he has a glass of clear liquid and pills. "Quick! Swallow it!"

It's poison!

You know what happens when you go to sleep, don't you?

PLOONHNUEHUHAEOAJKKKLLLLLLLLHHIHIIIIHHIHIHIIII!

You are no longer a child, now you are better than your mom. That's why she's not here anymore.

"Open your mouth!"

He holds my jaw tightly. It hurts. I punch him, I think I hit his rib. He is too strong. The pill comes in first, then comes the water, straight to my throat. I drown.

Just die now.

TTRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

He covers my mouth with his hand. I am crying. Some water escapes, but I still can not breathe. He releases my mouth and hugs me tightly.

You're feeling his coc-

"MERRI! MERRI! Remembah the mountain!"

Mountain?

I hear my voice, I am on top of a mountain, the landscape is made up of empty shapes and without details. It is just me and the world, as my dad taught, I think I hear voices, but it is just the wind playing a trick on me. I feel like my head is as light as clouds, my brain tingles.

I remember that I was not alone, but that being was no longer on the floor of my room.

"Did ya see that strange rabbit again?"

I do not answer. I hug him, I want to cry on my daddy's chest and let go. "Why... Why isn't mommy heah?"

Nobody can put a hand on my head like him. I feel like he wants to cry, but he is strong. "She got tired, but she'll be back, my lil'princess. S-She'll be back when you get bettah."

I sink my fingertips into his body. "But it's gettin' worse. The doctor said-"

"Ya don't need ta be hospitalized. It should be possible ta increase the dosage of the medicine or exchange for anothah one. We'll see that."

I feel his chest puff out more and for longer. We were silent, but the silence no longer gives me any relief, because I know that at any moment I will not be able to stop hearing. "Dad, maybe I bettah go..."

He pulls away and looks me straight in the eye. His expression is one of pain, of someone who understands what I really meant, perhaps better than me.

My dad's face changes, he moves his gaze upwards, as if he is glimpsing something distant. He looks back at me, smiling. "Some climber friends told me that. Do ya know what happens to the mountain aftah we conquer it?"

I shake my head. I had climbed one mountain with my dad, only once, and I am not even sure if it was a mountain, because it did not compare with the ones he had climbed. All of this has become past because of me.

"It doesn't move," he says, "it's still there, imposing, and we respect it as much as we do befawre we climb it and the othahs who'll come will also respect it, as it'll remain what it is when we turn away."

I can still hear the wind, the majestic force above the clouds. It is still there, while we are just passing by.

"Merri, my daughter, this disease isn't part of you. These voices come and go, but ya'll remain you. Ya'll not give them anythin', nothin', and they won't be able ta do anythin' ta ya, but turn their backs and leave."

I feel more dizzy and sleepy. The mountain carries me in its arms and I float in the soft sky, the wind, so powerful previously, caresses my face, taking away my held tears.

Thanks daddy.

The power of friendship

In the dormitory, the novices received the latest instructions from Madre and Revenant.

"... and be vigilant," the red-haired sister said, "if you notice that someone has a very corrupted gem, don't hesitate to inform me. Stay calm, as we still have some seeds in case of emergency."

"YA LIED TA US!"

Everyone ended up looking at a blonde novice.

Especially Maya, who had seen her friend furious so many times since they were there. "Alice..."

Madre noticed that the novice was looking only at her. "Did... Did I lie?"

"We only agreed ta come heah 'cause ya said ya had seeds, that ya would take care of us." Alice's eyes were watery and she heaved. "Now there'll be no more seed for us. I KNEW IT! YA FAHCKIN' BITCH!"

"HEY!" Revenant gritted her teeth and opened her eyes wide. "Close yah mouth."

"Stay calm, please." Madre gestured to the other sister and replied, "It's reasonable that you're feelin' this way, but it's as I explained: someone took our seeds without authorization, but we're sure that they're still in our base. Right now, the other sisters are sparin' no effort in finding them."

Alice winced, lowering her head.

Maya approached. "It's okay..." However, before Maya could touch her, she ran away.

Surprising everyone, including Revenant. "Where are ya goin'?"

Alice entered the tunnel and disappeared.

"It's ta stay in the dormitory!" The black woman was about to run after her.

"Leave her."

Revenant stopped and looked at Madre.

"She has nowhere to go," Madre's statement sounded as cold as the truth, "she bettah be alone to think. If we try to talk to her now, we'll just make her angrier."

Revenant looked again at the tunnel and then back at the other sister, nodding.

Madre returned her attention to the other novices. "We're takin' care of the situation. You bettah stay on that floor. Don't use magic, rest and find somethin' to distract yourselves. If we need your help in the search, we'll let you know."

With the sisters leaving the dormitory, whispers between the novices soon began.

Most were about the seeds, but Maya could hear some about Alice.

She needed to find her friend.

Making sure that no one else was paying attention to her, Maya discreetly left the dormitory and walked through the tunnel.

Used to being always accompanied, the curved walls now had an oppressive silence.

[Alice. Alice. Alice!]

There was no answer and Maya moved on. The tunnel reached a fork, luckily, she had already memorized the path.

The goal was the refectory, it was the most likely place that Alice could be and also the safest without attracting the attention of a sister on the way. She looked at the red stripe painted on the wall, just to be sure.

The tunnel curved and Maya saw a person's shadow on the wall. Someone was coming in the opposite direction, it could be Alice or someone who could have seen her.

However, the person who appeared was someone she least expected.

The girl with purple hair, with red nuances, stopped as soon as she saw her. She was surprised, but it did not take long for her pale face to show only apathy.

Maya tried to remember, but she had not paid attention to whether Evie was in the dormitory when sisters came to make the announcement.

"Hi," Evie spoke.

"Hi..." Maya replied, hesitating, "you... ahm... the sistahs came ta the dorm ta say theah'll be rationin' of seeds."

"I know."

The dark-skinned girl's face froze. "Huh?"

Evie sighed and lowered her head slightly, closing her eyes and scratching her brow. "I heard the sistahs talkin' about it while they're goin' ta the dorm."

"Ah... yeah..." With an awkward silence settling in, Maya decided to ask, "D-Did ya happen ta see my friend?"

Evie looked at her again, raising her eyebrows. "Friend?"

Maya looked away. "Alice, ya must know who it is."

"Of course." Evie's voice was less listless. "So she's fahr."

Maya furrowed her brows. "I dunno, didn't ya see her in the refectory?"

"Nah, I didn't see her."

She smiled politely at the pale girl. "Thanks, but I think I'll check it out anyway." And went on her way.

However, Evie blocked it with her own body.

"Wha-"

She continued to use her body to push Maya and press her against the tunnel wall, while aggressively intertwining the fingers of her right hand with those of the other girl's left hand.

"Wha-" Suddenly, Maya felt a tingling inside her chest, followed by a burning pain, and it was spreading.

"Don't scream, just pray that no one comes ta help ya," Evie said, "I sweah I'll kill ya if that happens."

That girl was smiling. It was more difficult to breathe and her legs were weak, Maya gathered strength to say, "What... What are ya doin'?!"

"Ya know a lot about this, Maya." Evie squeezed the other girl's hand tighter. "There are several types of poisons. Some afflict the body, othahs afflict the mind and theah are also those which afflict the soul."

The tunnel lights bothered her eyes as Maya tried to face her tormentor. "What... d'ya mean?"

"I inoculated a spell in yah gem." Evie was more serious than before. "Within a few minutes, ya'll lose consciousness and yah gem will quickly degrade. Even if they use seeds, it'll not remain pure for long. I give ya less than an hour ta become a witch."

Maya frowned.

Evie was silent, just looking at her, waiting.

But then, Maya shook her head, narrowing her eyes and saying, "Ya're not gonna do this."

The pale girl smiled. "Oh... won't I?"

"There are security cameras..." Her lips were quivering, but Maya returned the smile. "They'll... know what really happened. They are lookin'... for a traitor 'nd you... ah... ya don't look like a suicider."

"Are ya droppin' the mask already?" Evie's smile became a smug.

"What...?" Maya shook her head again, but now in confusion.

"I'll tell ya what 'happened'." Evie raised her eyebrows. "I was just comin' back from the refectory when I came across a desperate novice. She hadn't received the news about seed rationin' well and her friend was gone. I noticed that her gem was too dark 'nd asked her ta see a sistah, but she refused. Since I didn't wanna risk her becomin' a witch among othah novices, I subdued her and tried ta convince her ta change her mind, but in the end she passed out. Everyone knows that I'm kinda rough with people, just as everyone knows that Maya, unfortunately, is a poor thin', always dependent on othahs. She just couldn't take the pressure."

Maya's jaw dropped.

"They don't know that my magic is capable of that, or d'ya think I'm an idiot ta reveal all my secrets ta the sistahs? I'm sure ya're not, so I'm usin' yah little game against ya."

Lowering her head, Maya asked in a tired voice, "Why... d'ya cahre about that...?"

Evie's smiling face became a reflection of anger in an instant. "Cuz I do, and ya still have a chance ta live if ya obey me."

Maya wondered if it was not better to die to end the pain, but the imperative of survival ended up prevailing. "What d'ya want from me?"

"I wanna ya tell me what yah wish was."

She looked back at her aggressor.

Evie's anger was more contained, but her voice carried disgust, "I already have an idea of what it is, I'm just givin' ya the chance ta be a good girl. Feel free to try to deceive me, not that this has worked so fahr."

Maya felt the urge to ask why that girl cared about this, but she just said, "I wished I had a friend."

Evie turned her face away and sighed, then gulped.

Maya did not know what that meant. Would she die? She said, "It's tru-"

The pale girl grabbed the dark-skinned girl's face with her other hand.

Maya's eyes widened before those gritted teeth.

"Yep Maya! That's yah wish." Evie used all the sarcasm. "Congratulations, Alice is yah personal slave."

Maya struggled to try to shake her head. "S-She's not my slave!"

Evie came even closer, spitting in the other girl's face with every word. "Ya're about ta die 'n are ya still kiddin' me?! She's a fuckin' extension of ya! She speaks what ya think and acts as ya would like to act, while ya play the damsel in distress. Alice shouldn't even be yah first 'friend', when she finally gets screwed, anothah victim adopts ya."

Her last exclamation seemed to have taken all of her strength, Maya was running out of breath quickly. "If... that was true... why did she run away... why isn't she with me?"

Evie let go of Maya's face and saw that she could no longer hold her head up. "Cause ya don't trust the Sistahhood anymore."

Maya breathed as fast as she could in her body's desperate search to ease the agony.

"Ya're afraid, as ya must be. Yah kind don't last long heah. I'm only sorry that Alice will pay the same price."

With her heart pounding in her ears, Maya stammered, "A... Alice is... my real friend... my best friend... I... I revealed my wish... to her... she accepted."

"Of course, she'll accept it!" Evie's expression was unrecognizable, full of emotions. "She said everythin' ya wanted ta hear."

"A ... A ..." The tongue was numb as well as the eyelids, Maya no longer knew if she was breathing or if her heart was beating. Given in to gravity, her face was buried in the other girl's body, while she felt as if she were being sucked into a nexus of pain, fated to explode.

Okay, you won, you're right, just kill me, I deserve it, just kill me, just kill me, kill me...

Suddenly, the pain was gone, followed by another, much more tolerable pain of the buttocks hitting the hard floor. Maya took a breath and felt her hand was free.

Evie had retreated. "I see no malice, only a coward convinced of her own illusion. I ain't in the mood ta kill ya anymore."

Drooling, Maya no longer cared to understand that girl, but she wanted to be understood. "Not... Ah ... illusion..."

"What didya say?"

Maya lifted her head and looked for the pair of purple eyes. "I know what my wish did... but Alice is my friend, I... I want this friendship to be true."

Evie crossed her arms. "If Alice is yah friend, do the followin': become a witch."

Maya frowned.

"The situation is getting' worse 'nd I think it's just the beginnin'. There'll be sacrifices for the Sistahhood, but ya have a choice to do for her sake. Perhaps that will put an end ta the curse that ya imposed on her."

"Curse..." Maya's gaze went lost.

The pale girl turned away. "Do somethin' worthy at least once in yah miserable existence." And left.

The tunnel went silent to the point that the fallen girl could hear her stuffy nose, but not the tears that flowed smoothly down her cheeks, meeting under her tense chin before the final fall. Maya got up with difficulty and looked at her gem, it was stained, but there were still sparkling spots.

Our memories. Alice, to each other, we really are best friends.

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

Madre and Revenant arrived in a large space with shelves containing boxes and more boxes. Inquisitor, Generalíssima and the other sisters were opening each one and checking the contents, just like Matryoshka.

As soon as the man saw them, he asked, "Have you notified the novices? How did they react?"

"Quite well," Revenant said, "at least fawr most of them."

Madre added, "They're bein' cautious, they still don't know how this rationing will impact them and, honestly, neither do we."

Revenant looked at the other sisters working on the search, "Anythin'?"

"No... and we're almost done here." Inquisitor looked at the open box next to him and took a bag of pasta out of it. "Each box was checked more than once by a different person, to ensure that no one would pretend not to find it. It's almost certain that this isn't where the seeds are."

"I found!"

Surprised, the three turned their attention when they heard Lucky.

The bunny girl took a smaller brown box out of the box. "Chocolate gummies!" She opened it immediately and started to distribute, throwing the sweets. "Take Nano! I know ya like it."

The child let the candies hit her chest while making a 'basket' with her hands to catch them in the fall. Her eyes literally lit up in the form of a light blue cross as she smiled. "Ohhh! Thanks!"

Invader tried to catch the gummies coming towards her, but her extra long sleeves made it a challenge. "Oh no..."

Matryoshka handled the flying treats by opening her coat pockets wide.

Generalíssima did not move, letting the candies fall to the floor, with a disapproving look. "This was purchased for a special occasion."

"Well..." Lucky grimaced, looking away, and shrugged. "We're on a special occasion, it just isn't necessarily good."

"Hmmm..." Generalíssima looked at the gummies scattered on the floor. "You're right."

Lucky frowned. "I... I am?!"

With a frustrated countenance, but still watching that scene, Inquisitor commented to Madre and Revenant, "The next place we'll look for is in the data center, it's on the same floor."

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

The door opened and the group was greeted by the cold air in the room. The black box towers had a constant fan sound and the flashing lights showed that the servers were operational.

Since the space was small, the sisters remained close to each other, but that did not help much Lucky, who was rubbing both arms vigorously. "Hey Nano, can't ya make a heatah for us?"

"No magic," Inquisitor said promptly.

"Ah..." Chattering her teeth, Lucky lowered her head.

Generalíssima said, "There's not much to look for here."

"I disagree." Inquisitor looked at Nano and Invader. "Can you open the server's chassis without having to shut them down?"

Invader nodded. "They're designed for that. You can even remove memory cards and data storage components."

"Let's do this!" Nano, followed by Invader, went to the machines. The chassis were just seated, making it easy to remove.

This was done on each computer, followed by a thorough check by Inquisitor, but there was nothing there but wires and circuits.

Looking at the corners of the ceiling, Revenant asked, "Can someone explain ta me again why we don't have a camera right heah?"

"Yes, I don't understand much of these things," Madre said, "I would also like to know."

Generalíssima replied, "It's the protocol."

Inquisitor was more generous in his words. "These servers contain sensitive information from the entire Sisterhood, including the sisters' profiles. They periodically synchronize with the other data centers in the world, but that's no longer true since Washington asked us to disconnect to avoid attempts to find our location."

"Right..." Revenant furrowed her brows. "And what does this hafta do with the cameras?"

"The password is very precious," Generalíssima stated, "and the cameras would open up opportunities for someone who's not authorized to know about it without us noticing it."

"Like a magical girl with magic similar to Invader's." Inquisitor looked at the Asian girl. "I apologize for using you as an example."

She shook her head. "It's not necessary, I'm aware of the reasons for these restrictions."

"Huh?" Lucky closed one eye and scratched her head, struggling to think. "She can literally enter computers."

"I can obtain the data," Invader explained, "but it would be unreadable, because everything is encrypted. I have no idea what's here, but certainly if it falls into the wrong hands, it would be a threat to the Sisterhood."

A thud. The sisters looked at the source of that sound.

Matryoshka was jumping around. "Interesting, it's hollow."

Generalíssima widened her eyes. "WHO LET HER ENTER HERE?!"

"Чё? Are you talking about me?" Matryoshka showed that her hands were in her pockets. "I only followed you. I don't see a problem with all of you here, I didn't even get close to the computers."

"Revenant," Gerenalíssima said.

"Yeah." The black woman hurried to push the masked magical girl toward the door. "Move."

Matryoshka protested, "Why all this violence? Just ask!"

Without saying anything, Revenant opened the sliding door.

Before leaving the room by force, however, Matryoshka still had something to announce, "The floor is hollow!"

The door closed seconds after Revenant left as well.

Accompanied by the sound of the fans, Inquisitor was quick to ask, "What's below us?"

"This is where the power cables and the cables from the local network are," Nano said, "it's a very tight space."

He nodded. "Show me."

"Erm..." Nano gestured to the other sisters. "Guys, move away." She knelt on the floor, made up of large polystyrene tiles. The cracks between the tiles were wide enough to put the fingers on and the child used this to be able to lift one of them.

Everyone saw that just below was the concrete floor and the cables grouped together, well organized with straps, forming thick colored tubes.

Nano smiled. "As you can see..."

Inquisitor knelt. "Give me a flashlight."

"Oh... sure ..." Nano held out her gauntlet and a small gray metallic cloud coalesced. It soon solidified, generating the desired tool.

Lucky pouted. "Is magic allowed now?"

Generalíssima stared at her.

The bunny one raised her arms. "Okay, okay, I know, I know... I ain't stupid."

With the flashlight in hand, Inquisitor inclined his head and torso into the opening and started looking in every corner, pulling the cables.

"Watch out!" Generalíssima warned, "You'll end up shutting down the servers."

Inquisitor did not reply, still focused on the search.

After a certain wait, Generalíssima commented, "It'll be necessary to remove the entire floor."

"It won't be." Inquisitor stood up. "Everything is very clean and empty, the cables run along the wall and do not obstruct the view."

Nano nodded proudly. "A good job has been done here."

"Are you sure?" Generalíssima's eyes narrowed.

He offered the flashlight. "Do you want to see?"

She accepted without hesitation and did what Inquisitor had done.

The sisters watched Generalíssima crawling through the opening and there was a certain weight in the air. Madre sighed and ended up noticing Invader looking at her for a moment, with her icy eyes, and then Lucky too, her hands close to her holsters.

Generalíssima rose, her countenance already said everything.

Madre broke the silence, "So are we done with the search here?"

Inquisitor nodded slightly. "Any suggestions for the next location?"

Generalíssima looked at him, her voice with a tone of suspicion, "I think it's a good idea to pay a visit to Matryoshka's second 'home'."

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

The room was well lit. A panel occupied an entire wall, with buttons, levers and many Russian labels glued to it. A large screen featured a schematic of a capsule and some pipes connected to it, with monitoring information being updated constantly.

"Come in! Come in!" Matryoshka stood in front of that panel, with open arms. "Take the opportunity for those who haven't to contemplate one of the fruits of our great partnership. With my expertise, and your resources and work, we have a fully operational molten salt nuclear reactor! It's capable of generating up to fifteen megawatts per hour of clean and safe energy."

Inquisitor went straight to the panel, more specifically to a hatch. He opened it and found a control cabinet.

"Of course." Matryoshka put her hands in her pockets. "We can look for the seeds too..."

However, there were not many places in the room where it was possible to hide what they were looking for.

"We need to check the reactor room," Generalíssima said.

"No problem." Matryoshka walked to the exit. "I open the door for you."

They had all returned to the main corridor on the bottom floor of the base, in front of the huge metal door with warnings of danger.

"Hmmm..." Madre raised her left hand with the ring, ready to use. "Isn't protection needed?"

"These warnings are for idiots," Matryoshka replied, as she inserted the access code on the panel, "we're a greater threat to the reactor than it is to us."

As soon as the door started to open, a continuous, loud machine noise came from the room.

"WHAAAT THHHEE HEEECK?!" Lucky covered her ears.

Matryoshka's voice sounded in the sisters' minds. [People, because of the turbine, we'll have to use telepathy.]

The room was very spacious, it was necessary for the machinery to fit. A seven-meter-tall capsule hung above a dry pool. Some pipes were connected with the capsule and went to other compartments close to the turbine, and many aligned rods were on top of the capsule.

Inquisitor could feel the intense heat emanating from the capsule, it did not seem prudent to get any closer. [What's inside those pipes?]

The masked magical girl put her hands in her pockets. [Despite the sophistication of this reactor, the mother of modernity still is the steam. When it isn't water, it's a complex fluid composed of salts.]

He pointed to the capsule. [Is it possible to hide something inside that?]

Matryoshka turned to him, saying nothing.

The others in the room also did not dare say anything, feeling that they had already seen that scene.

Inquisitor was annoyed. [What?]

Matryoshka shook her head. [This reminded me of a time when two new collaborators in the Union decided to escape from work by hiding in a deposit containing radioactive waste from one of our reactors. They realized their mistake in a matter of minutes, when they started to throw up. Hours later, their skin and hair began to fall out, like the rind of a rotten fruit. For three weeks, they were very useful living specimens for studies of muscle anatomy.]

[I see...] Inquisitor looked at Madre. [But nothing that a healing spell cannot solve.]

[It looks like you were very stubborn about not bringing your brain today.] Matryoshka looked back at the capsule. [The fluid inside is at a high temperature and is extremely corrosive. Unless you also believe that our thief wanted to get rid of the seeds, instead of owning them.]

[Enough!] Generalíssima started walking around the area. [We will search where we can.]

Splitting into two groups, they searched around each pipe, behind each machinery and in every corner inside the pool under the capsule, as Matryoshka made it clear that it was safe.

And nothing was found.

Back in the main hall, everyone waited for the door to close.

Invader massaged her ears. "I'm deaf..."

"Oh yes," Madre agreed as she did the same, "this reactor is so powerful, I'm afraid if it evah explodes."

"Никогда! Никогда!" Matryoshka raised her finger and brandished it aggressively. "This reactor was designed not to have the shortcomings of a conventional nuclear reactor. It's the future! It's not like these suicider's jokes known as hydrogen and plasma, let alone these deplorable renewable energy based on nonrenewable resources, which would put any civilization a hundred years behind if they were adopted beyond-"

Inquisitor took her arm and forced it down. "Okay, we understood."

"All this energy talk made me hungry." Lucky ran a hand over her belly.

Revenant nodded. "We should take a break."

"Not before we take a look at the silo," Inquisitor affirmed.

Making Nano's eyes widen. "Are you going to look there too?"

"Nano and I were there when the theft occurred," Invader said, "I don't think the thief would risk hiding the seeds there."

"I said that we'll search every corner of this base!" Inquisitor was harsh with his words. "If this thief managed to trick the cameras, they may well have done the same to our senses."

Nano lowered her gaze. "The search will take days..."

"So we better start early," the man concluded.

Being corroborated by Generalíssima. "Yes, we aren't going to waste time."

And by Matryoshka. "Yes, yes, I would like to make this visit."

Generalíssima looked at the Russian magical girl.

"Or do you have any objections?"

"None..." Generalíssima slightly closed her eyes. "As long as Revenant keeps an eye on you."

"Ah... I already love her company!" Matryoshka nodded. "The faces she makes amuses me."

"What?!" The black woman faced her.

"Let's go!" Inquisitor raised his voice, making it clear that he would not wait for anyone.

The sisters and Matryoshka followed him in a hurry, leaving Revenant behind.

Except Lucky. "Ya shouldn't be taken in by her words so easily. It's her personality."

Revenant tensed her muscles. "She should stick her personality in her arsehole, if she still has one..."

It was a long way to the silo and the footsteps dictated the tension between the members. Invader looked at Nano, the child did not take her eyes off the man who led the group.

[Invader.]

It was Generalíssima's voice, but she noticed that her leader had not looked in her direction and no one else seemed to have heard it. [What can I do for you?]

[After that, I want to have a private talk with you.]

The Asian girl held her breath. [Understood.]

The heavy double metal door opened slowly and Madre expressed her amazement. "Wow... How big it is."

"You haven't been here in a long time," Invader told her.

"Yes." The redhead nodded. "You're still preparin' this area. I nevah imagined that in one day in my life I would be facing somethin' that can reach space."

Generalíssima looked at Matryoshka, the masked girl kept silent.

Inquisitor entered the silo, followed by the others, and looked at the stopped machines. "So you're indeed not spending magic, Nano."

"As I was asked," the child replied in a tone of disappointment.

"As soon as we find the seeds, you can resume what you're doing." The man did not look at Nano, his attention occupied with assessing the area. "We have a lot of work ahead."

The double door was almost closing when Lucky and Revenant rushed in. The bunny girl checked if she still had her fluffy tail. "Phew..."

The black woman looked at the rocket. "This place will be a hell ta do this search."

"I thought you had orders to keep an eye on me," Matryoshka finally, and calmly, spoke.

"Ya bet I'll do it," Revenant said, without hiding her grudge.

Lucky pointed up. "Hey, wouldn't it be possible for the thief ta escape ovah theah?"

Everyone looked up, where the silo's closed lid was.

Invader was the first to say, "If anyone had managed to open that, they would have received millions of gallons of water from the lake. Even if that person had avoided being crushed, that floor would be flooded."

Followed by Nano. "Yeah, that's why this silo has an elevator to leave it at the surface, but I didn't build it to be subtle. If someone had activated it, the entire base would have vibrated with the noise."

Inquisitor nodded and exchanged looks with Generalíssima. "Well, let's get started."

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

Back at the intersection of corridors, with the ramp leading to the exit, the Sisterhood and Matryoshka argued about what they had found.

"Nothin'." Lucky was crestfallen, her hand on her stomach. "We didn't find anythin' 'n I'm still hungry."

Inquisitor said, "As Nano said, this is going to take days."

Revenant folded her arms. "But we already searched the bloody whole area."

"A superficial search," Inquisitor retorted, "there are still the tanks and, perhaps, we'll have to dismantle the rocket to see inside each piece."

Generalíssima stared at him, her eyes wide and threatening. "You can't be serious..."

"The tanks contain the rocket fuel at very high pressure!" Nano was flabbergasted. "T-This is impossible!"

Matryoshka nodded. "I think you're rushing with this drastic attitude. Aren't there other places to look?"

"Hmmm..." Inquisitor scratched his beard. "We can look in each sister's room."

"Haha! The thief wouldn't be so dumb," Lucky said," if we find the seeds, we'll already know who the culprit is."

"Not true," Invader spoke, "the thief may have hidden the seeds in someone else's room with the intention of incriminating them and avoiding suspicions."

"Oh yeah..." Lucky looked down and pulled one of her long ears. "I hadn't thought of that."

"It's 'cause ya don't think," Revenant said.

"We'll only do this aftah we have eaten," Madre recommended, "we're tired. So it's difficult to focus on the search."

"Let's do this." Inquisitor went to the staircase that led to the upper floor. "So we can take the opportunity to look in the refectory and the kitchen."

Madre shook her head and sighed in dismay. She and the others started to climb up the stairs.

However, when Invader looked at Generalíssima, she saw that she had not moved, so she did the same.

Already climbing the staircase, Nano stopped and looked back.

Invader smiled slightly.

Nano exchanged glances with her and Generalíssima, frowned a little, but returned to climb.

With no one else in sight, the dark-pink-haired woman started walking down the corridor.

Invader took the hint and followed her.

Soon Generalíssima stopped and turned around, giving the signal to the other girl to face her.

Invader hesitated, because she felt a sense of danger. Even so, she obeyed, as it was not prudent to go against her leader for something she did not know what it was.

Generalíssima put her hand in her pants pocket and then handed the object to the blue ballerina.

Invader felt the cold touch of the metallic details of a grief seed.

"Deliver this to Nano as soon as possible, be discreet," Generalíssima said, "see what she can do with it."

The seed was heavy, it was one of the three that was left. Invader chose the words carefully, "But... this is for us and the novic-"

"Novices are not a priority."

She gaped, but those dark pink eyes made it clear that it was not open for discussion.

"If they don't know, it won't be a problem."

Invader closed the palm of the hand that held the seed and brought it close to her chest. "It will be done."

"This isn't an easy decision." Generalíssima looked away. "But few understand the importance of this project and Nano needs the seeds to complete it as soon as possible."

Nearby, where the corridor made a curve, a blonde girl had her back against the wall. She held her breath, while her entire body shook.

Tears and teeth stamped her sadness and fury.

Next chapter: Fata Morgana