Steele Maxima – Maxine Steele groans as she wakes up, rolls over in her luxurious bed. Nightmares. Not even once. Vague recollections still flash through her eyes.

Screaming, smoke. Fire, twisted metal. Asphalt scraping against her skin as she tries to crawl to safety. Pain, so much pain. Where's mom? Where's dad? Everything hurts. Head hurts. Arms hurt... Why can't Max move her arms?

Why's her leg over there, in that puddle of blood…

"Miss Steele, are you having another nervous breakdown?" Max's trusty Virtual Assistant chimes over her speakers.

"No, I'm not SILEA. Just another nightmare," Max blinks the sleep out of her eyes, reaches for the nightstand. Pills, water…

Max stares down at the other bottle that's on the stand. Single-malt whiskey, straight from Scotland. A few years ago, Max would've thought nothing of downing her medication with the stuff. Even now, she can feel herself licking her lips. Just one sip. Something to take the edge off…

… Max breathes in, exhales slowly, then calmly gets out of bed, picks up the bottle, and heads over to the bathroom.

Liquid gurgles as Max pours the bottle's contents down the drain of her sink. She watches dispassionately, waiting for it to drain. Relief fills her mind. Then a flash of panicked guilt.

"SILEA, that was just colored water again, right?"

"Yes, like it always is."

"Okay. Just… Making sure. I might've sworn off the sauce, but damn it'd be a waste of credits to pour perfectly good alcohol down the drain," Max says as she takes a glance at herself in the mirror. She affects a pose, flexes her abs. For a moment, she can almost see herself as the girl who posed for swimsuit magazines. The fun-loving party girl who spent entire nights getting shitfaced and going on drunken benders in school.

Max's eyes go down to her cybernetics, and she sighs. She looks down at her artificial fingers, flexing them experimentally. Servos whine and whir, mechanisms click and chatter as Max runs a quick diagnostic on all four of her limbs.

Most of the consequences of Max's ill-spent youth were easy to cover up. Being the heiress to one of the largest companies in the world has its perks after all. Full access to experimental medical treatments, and not actually having to worry about medical billing are a few of those perks. A few implants to bolster her liver's health, some augmentations on her kidneys to help her filter toxins better. New dermal regeneration treatments helped get rid of most of the scarring from her car accident.

Of course, four things couldn't very well be replaced. Max continues to look at herself in the mirror.

"SILEA, when the hell did I turn into the responsible one?" Max asks rhetorically, grabbing a towel and soaking it in water to try and rub some more of the sleep from her eyes.

"Would you like me to repeat your answer from last time?"

"Mmh," Max wipes her face, then throws the towel to the side. "… Yeah, repeat my answer from last time."

"It was after you met the other two Magical Girls who were protecting this city and realized that you were actually the most functional adult in your peer group despite your shortcomings."

"How the heck am I the most functional adult in this entire group," Max groans. "God, my idea of having fun was getting black-out drunk and waking up in some love motel with three groupies hanging over me. I'm the fuckup who got turned into a nugget because I decided to get shitfaced behind the wheel like the fucking moron I am..."

"Will you be complaining for five minutes again like you typically do?" SILEA asks.

"Yeah, because if I don't get this out now, I'll end up bottling it up like I always do," Max grumbles, running a hand over her eyes. "… Actually… Nah. Just... get me my coffee, okay?"

"Of course, ma'am."

A panel in the wall hisses open. A robotic arm extends, depositing a steaming mug into Max's waiting hand. Along with Max's phone.

"Thank you…" Max's voice trails off as she begins to scroll through her schedule. Ugh. Shareholder's meeting. MGA meeting, board meeting, board meeting, Corporate Council meeting, Heavenly Testament's still on sick leave for the next two weeks, one particularly angry email from Ambrosia Merlia about…

"God, why do the damn Brits keep wanting to poach Infinity Princess?" Max groans, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Because of her fame and raw power, ma'am?"

"Why do they have to keep coming to me about this?! They know that I can't control Infinity Princess, right? Nobody can! If they could, we'd have way bigger problems!" Max facepalms.

"Because you're the responsible one."

"… Yeah. I guess I am," Max replies glumly, then sighs. She looks back in the mirror… And smiles. It comes out more like a grimace, not one of Max's famously winning smiles. Max will have to work on that. More than any other Magical Girl in Terminus City, she's got an image to maintain. "… Eh. Time to get to work."

No rest for the wicked. Not in Terminus City. Not unless you're dead.

At least the dead don't have dreams as shit as Max has been having.

--

A bit of coffee in Max's system gets her to feel like an actual human being again. Or maybe that's just the sight of Infinity Princess.

Terminus City's most infamous Magical Girl is certainly a sight for sore eyes. Infinity Princess remains as angelic as ever in form and bearing. A cool, perfect, ethereal beauty.

"Hey, IP!" Max waves toward her bestie. At least, that's how Max views Infinity Princess.

Infinity Princess looks up from her phone, gives a shy wave back. Her perfect lips twitch into an expression that almost approximates a smile. "Steele. Good morning."

Even that acknowledgment makes Max's heart sing. God, Infinity Princess is just so cute. Just too cool. Max is aware that she's probably crushing on her friend a bit too much, but it can't be helped in this case.

There's a lot Max hates about Terminus City. Having to deal with the Corporate Council. The MGA constantly refusing to send Max reinforcements. Gang shenanigans, the constant wheeling and dealing. The Steele family should have never settled here. This city is a place that eats everyone alive, no matter their status.

There is one thing Max could never bear to hate, though. And that's Infinity Princess. Because for all that Max keeps waking up in the mornings, heart pounding, head full of nightmares… She wouldn't be able to do that if it weren't for Infinity Princess.

And that's something she'll have to take solace in.

Max takes a sip of her coffee, quickening her pace so she can walk side by side with Infinity Princess. She side-eyes her friend, eyes roving across the blonde girl's perfect features. "Weird to see you in the tower this early. I thought you'd be on patrol by now, out near the sea. There's a Kaiju attack scheduled for this week, isn't there?"

"… I have free wifi in this tower. I needed to run some searches before heading to patrol," Infinity Princess says, as she goes back to looking at her phone.

"Searches for what?" Max asks, genuinely intrigued now.

"… I am currently looking for the most optimal 'date' locations in Terminus City," Infinity Princess – Kaina Shikinami – reveals. "I have already picked out one spot, but I believe I need at least three more locations in order to fill out an itinerary for the evening properly."

What.

"… What," Max gapes, coming to a halt. Her coffee mug shatters as it hits the ground, dropped from nerveless fingers. Black liquid steams as it stains the tiles. Kaina continues talking, not even noticing the way Max's jaw dropped.

"I believe I also require a wardrobe change, and I wanted to talk to you about scheduling next week… Steele?" Kaina frowns, glancing at Max. Worry flashes in her gorgeous green eyes. "Steele, are you well?"

"You're… Going on a date?" Max says slowly, feeling like the Terminus Express just ran her over… And then backed up to run her over again.

For a second, she hopes Kaina says no. Prays with all of her heart.

"Yes, that is correct."

That hope is swiftly and brutally dashed.

Max takes a deep, calming breath, then exhales again. It does nothing to quell the sudden headache she's feeling.

"IP, Kaina… Who are you going on a date with?"

"… My new partner, Alice?" Kaina frowns. "I was texting her last week. I have been texting her all this week. We have maintained constant correspondence ever since we met. It has been… Soothing."

Max does her best to try and avoid looking shocked. Objectively, this is a massive step for Kaina. This is the first sign that there is an actual human being beneath the perfect monster-slaying crime-busting machine that is Infinity Princess, the insane anti-social workaholic who literally does nothing but go on patrol every single hour of the day. Max has been trying to get Kaina to do something besides work for literal years at this point.

But this revelation is literally world-shattering in Max's mind. It's mind-boggling. It defies common sense. It's like learning 2 2 doesn't actually equal 4. It's like learning the world is flat instead of round.

It's…

It's just a lot to process, basically.

And it's been dropped on Max all too suddenly. Which is… Honestly in character for Infinity Princess, who's renowned for her efficient, brutal takedowns. God, is this what it feels like to be on the other end of Kaina's sword?

No wonder most bad guys piss their pants when they catch sight of Infinity Princess.

"… Your new partner? Alice?" Max says slowly as she attempts to regain her bearings.

Kaina nods.

"The same Alice who's been sending you pictures of herself?" Max continues.

"That is correct."

"Wow. Okay, uh, when did you… Meet?" Max asks.

"At Nova Space Burgers. During the break you imposed upon me." Kaina replies easily. "We have been on another date since then. I… enjoyed the experience."

Huh. Okay…

"… Can you, uh, give me a minute to process this?" Max asks numbly.

Kaina nods, waits expectantly for Max to answer.

Except Max isn't really sure what to answer. A part of her wants to demand for Kaina to get out her phone, this instant, and start scooping for juicy 'deets. The nosy part of Max, the paranoid part of Max is… Honestly worried for Kaina.

… But then, Max remembers the day of her car accident. Helpless, asphalt digging into her skin. Two limbs crushed, one limb severed, one burnt beyond saving. Lying belly-down in the ground, bleeding out into the dirt like a dog. But that's not the only thing Max remembers about that day. When Max closes her eyes and remembers that horrific day, there's one thing that stands out in her mind. The absolute last thing she saw before she blacked out from the pain of it all.

An angel appeared in front of Max. An ethereal blonde beauty clad in white armor pulled Max out of the wreckage with her strong hands. Gave Max her life back, miserable as it might have been.

Without Infinity Princess, Max would've died in that car accident.

Infinity Princess is the girl who saved Max's miserable life.

… So Max'll do anything for that girl. Anything at all. And if that means ignoring some of her instincts in order to be a helpful, supportive friend to the girl who saved Max's life? In order to be as supportive as possible to a girl who honestly deserves as much support as she can get?

Then so be it.

By God, Max will be the most supportive friend she can possibly be to Kaina Shikinami.

Maxine Steele the drunk fuck-up has to be put away.

Mama Steele's in the house now. And that is a nickname Max takes seriously.

"Alright," Max says suddenly. "If you're looking for date locations in Terminus City, I can help you out. Are you looking for a quiet night out, or an exciting night out?"

"… I am unsure," Kaina says, tilting her head confusedly. "Is there a significant difference between the two?"

"Well. Yeah. What kind of dates have you been on with this girl?" Max asks.

"… We went to the park last time. I… Slept in her lap. It was… Nice."

"It sounds like you prefer quieter dates then," Max slings an arm around Kaina's shoulders as she escorts her down the hall. "You ever thought about… The beach, maybe? I know a place down near Suncrest Isle."

"The beach…?"

"Great view, nice waves, clean sand… And it's a private beach too, so you won't have to worry about any looky-loos," Max chatters, trying to take the edge off of her nerves. This really isn't what she was expecting to do today. "If you don't like the beach, I know this great restaurant down near 6[sup]th/sup] avenue. They have this amazing porkchop with bacon glaze…"

Yeah. That'll have to be enough for Max. Maxine Steele is not the kind of girl who's responsible in the slightest. Her life has been nothing but a miserable cavalcade of drunk fuckups.

But.

She'd like to be responsible for her new friends. So she stops feeling like shit in the morning. So Infinity Princess can smile instead of looking so damn sad all the time. Anything for her new friends. For the girl who saved Max's life. Anything at all.

And if that means Max has to put on her big girl panties and hand out sage dating advice to her socially awkward workaholic bestie?

Then so be it.

Max can't call herself mama Steele if she doesn't act the part, after all.

--

Week 6 Planning Vote: Current Essence (92/160, 50 Regen)