"You know, you look kinda cute like that," 'Nightcw' ughed. "It's like a live-a game of dress-up!"

  "Yeah yeah," Albert replied sullenly, slung over Eris's shoulder once more and looking miserable.

  My illusion was only visual, but apparently Eris had put ira mile to actually douse him in her perfume.

  And that didn't go without some grumbling.

  I hurried along behind them, struggling to keep pace as I maintaihe illusion on Albert and Ichigo at once.

  The amount of mana that I had was siderable, and I wasn't really hurting for any more, but maintaining two different illusions while they were in motion while keeping myself invisible was mentally straining. The drain was retively minor at first but slowly ramped up, especially since we he illusions to make Albert and Bck Star's pns work.

  "Did you seriously have to throw me off a goddamned building, though?!" Albert pined, a grumpy expression on his face.

  I felt pretty terrible about that part myself — he was the only ohout superpowers or a transformation, after all. At least the three of us had our enhanced auras to cushion our falls, but Stel had straight up dropped him off a rooftop.

  The way he looked up at me when Ichigo caught him had felt like it had left my heart in a vice grip. I could see through my own illusions, so the image of Albert's face was all the more pitiful.

  "Oh shut up already! I did warn ya. And besides, we've only got this ce. We've gotta improvise," Eris ughed in response.

  "Pscht," Albert grumbled with a frown. "Fine..."

  'Nightcw' giggled mischievously as she kept jogging along. "You know, you're kinda adorable when you're embarrassed."

  Albert went silent, and I couldn't help but blush in embarrassment on his behalf.

  "What's , Bck Star?" I asked, ging the subject. "Do you have any more tricks up your sleeves?"

  "Not much else, unfortunately," Bck Star sighed, his voice slightly muffled from within the hood of his cloak. "We've just gotta move forward as pnned. We're already on a striough time limit, so no more detours. Hopefully we get out of here before they properly regroup."

  "Uood. We'll be ready."

  The group was quiet as we breaked for a sed, taking a moment to get our bearings. After a few moments, Albert broke the silence.

  "You know, I feel bad about all this." He shifted unfortably, and I could see a hint of disfort in his eyes.

  "Don't," I replied quickly.

  "No, really," He shook his head. "I mean, I get it's necessary, but it still feels wrong. Even if they're cutthroats and supervilins, I'm sure they have families or people they love too."

  I bit my lip, thinking about that for a sed. It was true that these people weren't all bad guys. Red Masque was known to hire people who wao be able to provide for their families or who just didn't have any other choice.

  A lot of them were probably forced to bee criminals because of circumstances beyond their trol. In that sense, we weren't so different.

  Although he was a crime lord, Red Masque was a big believer iing his men well and paying them well. He had a reputation for running a territory with the least amount of civilian casualties iire try. For that reason, the Knights rgely left him alone unless he was actively w with other Team Busters. He was very much the noble demon archetype, as rumors went.

  Even when he was trying to kill me, there were very clear limits he didn't want to cross.

  But I couldn't afford to sympathize too much. These people were our enemies, and they would kill and/or kidnap us if given half the ce.

  "It's not like that," Ichigo chimed in, shaking her head. "You came up with a strategy that would let us take down someone we couldn't take head on in a straight fight, aook him out without killing him or ating hurt. That's not something to be ashamed of."

  Albert nodded, but his frown deepened. "I just hope we make it out of here without anyone dying today."

  "Me too," I replied, nodding. "That's why it's important to stay focused. We 't let them catch up with us. Ohey realize what's happening, they'll probably start hunting us down in ear."

  "Right." Albert took a deep breath before tinuing, "Let's just get this over with then."

  "Where are we goi?" I asked.

  "We try to stick to the alleyways and side streets for now, but it's gonna slow us down," Ichigo replied, gng around as her ears twitched. "If we get spotted again, it'll take us loo lose them, and we might not be able to do so again."

  Bck Star sighed, "The fact we've gotten this far is a miracle. We should t our blessings that we didn't run into El Mago. If he catches us, we're fucked. Literally fucked if he's in the wrong mood. He do weird things that even mess with high level knights."

  I shivered. That was not a pleasant thought. "What you tell me about him, then?"

  "Well, he's a guy. Rail thin, has white hair, a creepy smile, a really weird at, and an outfit that looks like a reject from the circus. Etric dude. And for the love of god, don't let him get close to you."

  "Great." I sighed. "So, basically, stay far, far away from him."

  "Red Masque kept him on a leash, but since he... disappeared, El Mago's beey much running wild," Bck Star added, shaking his head. "Someone who goes out of the way to learn occult arts is by definition a Pioneer, but El Mago's a mage among modern mages. Guy dug into some Mayan ritual magid it's the worst kind of blood magic. It's why he's also called 'The Sanguine Sorcerer'."

  I gulped, feeling a chill run down my spine. I'd heard of the Sanguine Sorcerer and his exploits. The stories of his cruelty and sadism had spread far and wide, even reag the ears of the average civilian. "Well, that's terrifying..." I muttered.

  "Sanguine Sorcerer, huh? He's the only guy I'd be scared of in that fa." Albert nodded. "And not just because of his creepy-ass magic. Dude's got a real sadistic streak to him by reputation. I'm sure Bck Star knows the real story behind the tabloids and rumor-mill though, eh?"

  Bck Star sighed, "Well, to be blunt, the tabloids didn't do his sadism justice. He was a serial killer, pin and simple. But Ric- Red Masque earned his loyalty by making a deal with him. One, he gave El Mago a steady supply of victims to get information out of. Two, he had his best chemists create a super-drug that helped him with his, um, dition."

  "dition?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Bck Star sighed and rubbed his temples, as if he were dealing with a particurly annoying migraine. "His biggest weakness is that he o use his own blood. It's what allows his magic to work. Our best engineers were able to e up with a protocol to deal with the iemia he induced in himself. Red Masque got El Mago to swear an oath, but with the man gone..."

  "Let's hope we don't run into him then," Albert grumbled.

  I nodded. "Let's just focus oing out of here alive, shall we? Stel, do you sense ah your sixth sehingie?"

  Stel cocked her head to the side and closed her eyes in focus. "I don't sense anything nearby, but I think we should move now before someone does track us down. We're close to a main street, though. We should be able to blend in through the crowd."

  "Ready for your makeain, Al?" I asked, grinning mischievously as I looked at Albert.

  "Fuck off, Lux," Albert muttered, a blush f on his cheeks.

  "Aw, e on. You make a pretty cute body double, holy," Ichigo teased, a slight smile appearing on her lips.

  "Criminy..." Albert sighed as he shook his head in resignation.

  I couldn't help but snicker as I began casting my illusion over Albert once more. It was o see him ag like his usual self again. After everything he'd been through, I was worried that he might have bee a bit traumatized.

  The image of Stel Matsudaira shimmered into view around Albert's form, and the three of us shared a quice before turning to Bck Star.

  "Hey, how 'bout I carry you this time then?" Ichigo offered, a pyful grin on her face as she looked at Albert. "I bet it would be more fortable."

  "Man, where did all that ay and shyness go...?" Albert grumbled under his breath, but I saw his face turn a bit red. "I mean... You're like five foot four and a buck ten soaki. Besides, we're going to be carrying a duffle bag full of all the stuff we bought too. I think it'd be more manageable for Eris."

  "Hey now," Ichigo pouted, her ears and tail twitg in annoyance. "I'm strong enough, you know! Magical girls are a lot beefier than they look." She flexed an arm for emphasis. "I could totally bench press a couple of dudes, even if they're big and heavy, easy peasy!"

  Bck Star snickered. "You're the one who came up with the pn and volunteered to py decoy, buddy."

  "Fine, fine," Albert relented, shaking his head in annoyance. He looked up at the night sky and muttered something inaudible but Ichigo's ears twitched in response.

  "What?" she asked ily, as she approached him. "Something about being a damsel again?"

  "I'm a damsel, and you're the handsome princess who rescues me from the tower, then?" Albert snorted in amusement. "That sounds like it'd make for an iing fairy tale."

  Ichigo just rolled her eyes as she scooped him up in a bridal carry, a mischievous grin on her face.

  "Let's get moving, big boy," Ichigo chuckled, and Albert let out a yelp of surprise at the ued tact. "We don't have all day."

  "R-Right," Albert stammered, blushing furiously as she threw him over her shoulder.

  "And you!" Ichigo suddenly poi Dark Princess Eris, who tilted her head in faux innoce. "Don't get any ideas! We o be able to escape without drawing too much attention!"

  "A," Stel pouted, a devious twinkle in her red eyes. "But I want to py with my prioo!"

  "Ugh, you twoing to drive me up a wall..." Albert muttered, his face flushed with embarrassment.

  "You've kicked my ass twice, Eris, so I'm pretty sure you handle carrying the bags," Ichigo scolded the ical girl, her ears flig bad forth in annoyance.

  "Fine, fine," Dark Princess Eris replied, rolling her eyes as she picked up the duffle bags. "Spoilsport."

  I smiled at the exge. Despite everything that had happened, I was gd to have friends like these to keep things light.

  Ichigo had taken Stel's dual identity as both Elysia and Eris surprisingly well, given their first enter involved Eris embarrassing both Ichigo and her brother in an absolute thrashing. It seemed to be water uhe bridge now.

  I shook my head in disbelief. The girl was a saint, to be ho. She was a tough cookie, but her pink aura was a dead giveaway for the kind of person she really was. She had a good heart, and I could see it in her as.

  And if she was willing to look past the things that Stel did in the name of getting the heat and attention off us, then I owed her a huge favor.

  "Okay, enough chit-chat," I cut in, bringing everyone's attention back to our mission. "We o keep moving." Everyone else nodded, and I felt a sense ency wash over me.

  "Luminary Mirage," I whispered. Light swirled around us, enveloping us in a field of invisibility.

  "e on, we have to hurry," Bck Star said, gesturing for us to follow. "Invisibility alone won't be able to hide us from all the shit Arsenal aeam has to find people."

  "Got it," I nodded, following Bck Star's lead as we began moving through the alleyways once more.

  The others followed suit, keeping pace as we moved through the shadows and back alleys of downtown Kaleidoscope.