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  Stray Cat Strut (A cyberpunk system apocalypse!) - OngoingFluff (A superheroic LitRPG about cute girls doing cute things!) - OngoingLove Crafted (Interactive story about an eldritch abomination tentacle-ing things!) - Completed!Dreamer's Ten-Tea-Cle Café (An insane Crossover about cute people and tentacles) - HiatusCinnamon Bun (A wholesome LitRPG!) - OngoingThe Agartha Loop (A Magical-Girl drama!) - Volume Two Complete!Lever Action (A fantasy western with mecha!) - Volume One Complete!Heart of Dorkness (A wholesome progression fantasy) - Completed!Dead Tired (A comedy about a Lich in a Wuxia world doing Science!) - OngoingSporemageddon (A fantasy story about a mushroom lover exploding the industrial revolution!) - OngoingPast the Redline (A girl goes too fast, then she does it again) - Completed!Magical Girl Crystal Genocide (Magical Girls accidentally the pnet, and then try to fix it) - Completed!Magical Girl Rending Nightmare (A sequel to Crystal Genocide! Cute girls in a soviet dystopia having a picnic on the roadside) - Volume Two Completed!Noblebright (A shipcore AI works to avenge humanity) - Completed!The Complicated Love Life of Ivil Antagonist (The Empress of Mars finds love) - Completed!Pokebun (Broccoli Bunch in the world of Pokemon) - HiatusQueen Violence (An Assassin Reborn as a Kitten) - Completed!No Strings Attached (An Elden Ring/Bloodborne inspired progression fantasy) - OngoingSave Scumming (A time-looping system apocalypse) - Ongoing

  Chapter Forty-Five - Bothered

  Aurora sat on a couch and tried not to appear too bored, or too worried. Not that she was all that worried. The thing was... how could she put this?

  She wasn't doing anything, and that bothered her.

  Big Sister Emily had gotten them into an apartment across the street, and now they were spying on the building where that suspicious woman had hidden herself. That was fine. It made sense to her, and to her sisters.

  Sure, they were all more girls of action, but every vilin worth her salt understood the value of waiting for the opportune time to strike. That was like, the basic of basics for good viliny. Just running in willy-nilly was a good way to let another, better-prepared vilin, or worse, a hero, get the upper hand.

  That didn't make it particurly pleasant to have to wait and plot and pn, but that was just the way it was.

  She tried not to let it get to her. The inaction was fine. What wasn't fine was her own inaction. Athena was providing valuable guidance, and once they caught some vilins or heroes, she'd be able to break into their minds with ease. Teddy was the muscle, and always ready to charge in. Trinity was doing the work of three girls, and had really outdone herself tely, sneaking around and single (mostly) handedly getting the orbject. And Maple had been providing them with a constant stream of good gear

  And Aurora? What had she been doing?

  Mostly babysitting, and the utility of that was questionable at best. Her sisters didn't need a full-time bigger sister watch, they were capable little vilins.

  She was proud of her actions the night they stole the orbject. Smacking that HRF van out of the way had been cool

  But so far, that was kind of all she'd contributed to the whole situation. It felt like it wasn't anywhere near enough.

  She didn't think that the Boss would judge her too harshly for not being the best, but she couldn't help but judge herself a little.

  Which is why, when Emily sighed and leaned back onto her heels, she perked up. "We need to find out more," she said.

  "We could break in," she replied quickly. "I'm pretty sure I can make it to one of the second floor windows."

  Emily's brows met together in a frown. "And then what? That would just put you in a space where you might be caught."

  Aurora pressed her lips together. "Maybe. But... Maple, can you help?"

  "Hm?" Maple said, she looked up from where she was... well, doing something to the VCR they'd found in the corner of the apartment they were now in. Actually, it was more of an ex-VCR now. "Help?"

  "Yeah," Aurora said. "If I can sneak into the enemy base, or break a hole in their wall, can you... I don't know, give me something to listen in on whatever they're doing?"

  "Oh," Maple said. She clearly thought about it for a while, then nodded. "Yes? I'll need string, and a speaker, and a few cups, or some tin cans?"

  "I saw cans in the pantry!" Trinity excimed, and then she was running across the apartment. "Beans!"

  Emily chewed on her lip, then looked across the street. The warehouse-like building was dark and quiet. No one had gone in, and nothing had come out. If the probably-a-vilin didn't have some sneaky way through the building. Maybe a basement tunnel, or a super-secret invisible helicopter... that was also silent?

  No, she couldn't gamble on them having their own Maple, that was too much.

  "Okay," Emily said. "We'll send Trinity to--"

  "I want to go," Aurora said. "I can help Trinity reach higher up, and I can fight if something goes wrong. And... I'm feeling a little cooped up?"

  Emily's expression looked a bit pinched, but she nodded. "Okay, fine," she said. "Maple, do you think you can make anything quickly? If it's too much, we can always go back home."

  "Hm? No, I can make it now if we have everything," Maple said.

  It really didn't take her long. Trinity returned with a cut on her tongue and two empty cans of beans (licked clean) and Athena found some string in an office nearby. Then they helped Maple take apart a TV via some... enthusiastic help from Teddy. That got Maple a few speakers.

  "The only problem," Maple said as she put her listening device together. "Is going to be the rey string. It'll have to cross the road. A car might cut it."

  "If it sts for just a little while, then that'll be enough," Emily assured her.

  The device looked like... a Maple device. She'd used the casing from the VCR to hold things together, along with some cardboard and tape. It was several speakers and switches, all connected to a long, long spool of string split in three at the end with two cans and a cup.

  "These listen," Maple said, touching the cans.

  She flicked a switch, then moved the can up to Teddy's face. "Huh?" Teddy said.

  "Huh?" the speakers crackled a half second ter.

  "It's one-way," Maple said. "Because it would be bad if it wasn't."

  "That's brilliant work," Emily said. She reached over and gave Maple pats.

  Aurora was a smidge envious, but she could readily acknowledge that Maple deserved all the pats she was getting.

  "Alright. Aurora, Trinity, try to pce these around the warehouse. It looks like a few of the windows might be reachable, but don't break them if you can avoid it. We don't want to alert anyone within," Emily said.

  "Got it!" Trinity said.

  "I understand," Aurora replied. "We'll go over and be quiet about it."

  Emily hesitated, then nodded. "Go. Trinity, you'll keep me informed, right?"

  "Uh-huh!"

  One of Trinity was going to stay here with the others, which meant that it was only really Aurora that was in any sort of real risk. That was fine. In fact, it was kind of exactly what she was asking for.

  Aurora carried the string and cans out. They tested them just outside, after carefully closing the door on the string. She was a little worried that it might get cut off, but it seemed to pass the test. Actually, using string was probably pretty clever, on account of it being so flexible. She wouldn't have been surprised if a car could drive over it without breaking the connection, which was good, because they crossed the street at a quick jog and stepped up to the side of the warehouse to hide.

  On moving to the first window, Aurora put a foot against the wall, then hopped up as high as she could go, freezing her horns at the apex of her leap to freeze herself in pce. It was just enough that she was able to touch the window and use her Simple Unlock ability on it.

  "Okay," she murmured as she out her back against the wall and cupped her hands. "I'll get you up. Slip the window open, slowly, then lower the first can in."

  "Got it," Trinity whispered.

  It wasn't long before Trinity did just that, shifting the window open slowly and carefully, moving with more patience than Aurora might have expected from her before she squeezed in the can then lowly fed it more and more string until it was taut. Then she closed the window.

  "Done!" she said.

  Aurora uncupped her hands, then caught Trinity at the waist before setting her down. She wiped her hands on his pant legs. "Good work! Did you hear anything?"

  Trinity shook her head. "Nothing. Maybe that generator?"

  "Yeah," Aurora agreed. "That's probably all it is. Let's pce the other two."

  They edged along the wall, careful not to snag the string. Aurora boosted Trinity up to the next window, this one closer to the middle of the warehouse. The gss slid open just enough for the second can to slip inside.

  "Two," Trinity whispered after gently lowering the line until it hit the bottom.

  Aurora nodded and guided her toward the st reachable window, nearer to a side door. It was lower than the others, which made it easier. She reached up, then grunted as she managed to get her nails into the crack of the window to jam it open.

  Aurora held the pane while Trinity slid the cup through the gap. The string whispered as it paid out. "Three," Trinity said.

  A tch clicked somewhere inside, followed by slow footsteps.

  Aurora's stomach dropped. Trinity froze, hand still, and Aurora eased the window sideways until it rested against the frame without pinching the line. She moved slowly, not to be noticed. A shadow crossed the gss, paused, then drifted away. They waited, unmoving, until the steps faded.

  "Close," Aurora said. "But tell the Boss that it's done."

  She'd earn those headpats.

  ***

  A note from RavensDagger:3