…
The Golden Girl arrived to her destination via rooftops. Dashing through, she made a path that led her right into the intersection, getting a good view of the action from above. Large crowds were still gathered, people who were still in the middle of the morning rush, trying to get on with their day, and packing right into already tight space. The cars were no better, getting stuck against a long stretch after the last available turn. 
Not too long after did she reach the place, feeling unease as she got a good sight of below. The store, where the monsters were likely hiding, had too many people close to it. It was like the row of people at the front were being actively pushed by the ones at the back, stretching all the way from the beginning. Even the policemen, who were trying to keep the numbers at minimum, were struggling. There was just not enough of them to push back.
<I guess we can make a demand for them to go backwards,> pondered Taja, <but I think they might just become more interested in coming to you, instead. Mayhap, then, create a wall to slowly push them back. Or even create a small explosion to scare them off!>
We are not exploding anything, Taja, Sam responded firmly. 
That said, she did concede to the point that they would probably swarm towards her instead. There was also a worry about the possible general being in the area, although so far, Taja sensed no one. 
Regardless, they should start quickly, before the monster thinks of getting out of there. Besides, she was on a tight schedule. She needed to be there to hear what Charlie decided. And so, she took action, and dropped from above, and using her whip. She gently lowered herself, right in the middle of the road, few feet away from the intersection, right next to a car with four.
“Hey Mom, look!” a muffled shout came from the backseat, the little girl pointing aggressively at Sam. 
This seems to be going well, Sam thought. And just like that, she garnered and attention from the crowd, and away from the intersection. This was just one section, but that could potentially ease the load on the police covering the spot. Once they have backed off, she could go and ask the rest of the crowd to disperse. They should listen to her, especially if she tells them exactly what was going on. In the end, all she had to do, was really just talk things out.
Taja gave a short boo.
“I will not create a quicksand, Taja.”
<You spoil the fun out of my undead life! What else am I supposed to do?>
It didn’t take a minute before people were out asking to take a picture with her. Few already did without permission, but it always much better to get with themselves in the shot. Sam, in her usual politeness, turned them down, and instead, tried to focus on telling them to leave the area, as there was a possibility of a monster. And she did so loudly and clearly.
The reaction was a resounding compliance. Although a few might have chosen to not listen, for the most of them, her word alone was convincing enough to leave and head backwards. She smiled watching them go, and was about to leave, when she heard someone say, 
“Finally, now she can meet her friends!”
“Excuse me?” She checked around, not exactly sure who said it. 
“Hey! Golden Girl!” someone else spoke. Sam turned her head to the man waving from the opposite side of the road. “Your allies are finally here from their space mission!”
She furrowed and opened her mouth. Then, scratched her forehead, pondering. 
What were they talking about? What allies? And what did they mean, from space? Are there aliens now? There are aliens Taja?
<What do you mean? What is an alien?>
“It’s your long lost sisters!” a young woman screamed excitedly. “They are here! You can be with them again!”
“What!?” Sam tried to yell it back, but the woman disappeared into the crowd. The section was now actively moving back. How timely.
“Golden Girl!” another voice shouted, this time from the original side of the road again. “They are here! Your parents have finally come to take their revenge on you!”
Sam did not even care to ask any more questions. She just shook her head and gave up, then headed straight to the intersection. If there was anyone from whom she could learn, it would be an officer. And he was standing right next to the store, luckily enough.
“Excuse me!” Sam called out to him, making the man’s eyes go big.
“Oh my! So that’s what it was! Good to see you here, Golden Girl!” He laughed and then politely nodded with his hat.
“My pleasure.” Sam was glad she was dealing with a nicer one. “Did someone else arrive here before me?”
“Oh, you mean your sisters?” He then furrowed his brows, noticing the grimace Sam made. “Or…uh, were they your aunts? Enemies? Well, whatever it is, they are already inside.”
Sam looked into the store. It was unemphatic, with windows covered completely, making it hard to see anything. Who exactly were these sisters? Did someone come over here? Was it really, them? 
<It IS them!> Taja exclaimed in mind. An image of her friends once again popped in Sam’s mind, one which she came to be very familiar.
Are you sure? How do you know?
<It has to be them!>
Sam rested her hand on hips and cocked her head. This was definitely way faster than she expected. At the very least, they got the chance to see them. But, who were they though? Who did the spirits got connected with? Could they actually be from that small town? Could they really be her friends at all? Could they be those two weird girls?
Anything but that.
Maybe they were far more professional and coordinated, Sam hoped. Perhaps, she found someone with whom she could share her burden, and not worry about dealing with monstrous threats alone anymore. Where, while she goes around and helps the civilians evacuate, they can deal with Torques in the meantime. Finally, she found someone she to call teammates.
And then a roar emanated from inside the store. That roar felt mechanical, almost vibrating its tone, before finally going up in the end. Sam found it disturbing. Then, something crashed inside, and before Sam could tell the officer orders, an object burst from the front doors. Collective gasp traveled through the other three section of the intersection. As the object tumbled down the pavement, it revealed to be two figures, one in green color and the other in pink.
“Sweet Heavens above us,” uttered the officer. 
“Tell every to leave, now!”
“On it!” 
The officer picked up radio from his belt and gave out instructions. Few other officers who were watching from afar began to take action. As Sam watched them, she felt an unusually dark energy spill right next to. The monster was much bigger than usual. With the way everyone was moving, she should focus on going after it immediately, maybe even keep it inside.
As Sam was getting in front of where the whole was made, the evacuation was slowly taking underway.  And fast too, thanks to the scene that happened earlier. Most people, when they heard something loud and unearthly accompanying the crash, would very likely want to not stick around. So they did, en masse, some faster and aggravated than the others. Few even chose to go by whim, such as right by the roaring store building. The cars followed soon after, though they were far less elegant about it. In fact, a small tube of them seemed to have gotten stuck trying to maneuver, due to one driver deciding to leave their vehicle. To say the police had their hands full would be charitable.
Sam saw it all spiral into chaos, but her focus was already on something else. And it came from a medium sized hole that originally used to be the front door and a window. As expected, an apparition of otherworldliness and terror, the Torque. Its head was cylindrical, with a smooth, indented top. The signature mannequin face peeked from inside that strange form it had, right above a jaw of razor teeth right below it. Its body was long and gangly, with long claws that dangle and scratch the ground while it moved due to its arching back. The monster moved sluggishly and felt like it was having keeping its back straight, akin to some delinquents that Sam used to know.
Sam had her weapon out and began preparations of making a wall from the ground. There were still people here, and without much knowledge of what the monster could do, she needed to keep it away for now. While she charged her magic for a sturdier construction, she heard two voices speak near her. These once were very close, and in fact, seem to be coming closer. 
“This guy was literally going to shoot you! Couldn’t you noticed that?” said one of them, who happened to be the pink colored figure from earlier.
“Sorry…Zamarad said he was a weak and cowardly man and that he didn’t look like he could hurt me! So I thought, you know, I could be friendlier!” answered the green one, carrying a large weapon in her hand. “Hey look! It was a monster! And it’s coming out!”
A crackling noise fluttered near Sam’s ear, and when she turned to look at it, she actually felt a bit scared from it. It was a tip of a long, and a very large spear. When she decided to turn her head more, the more she saw how longer the whole thing was. And furthermore, it belonged to an unreasonably large green lady.
“Whoa, wait Ba…Emerald!” the pink one exclaimed. She quickly moved to the other side of Sam, making her head turn again, though peculiarly, not lower it. It was then she realized how actually tall Taja’s friends were. “It seems that we found our ally, the Golden Girl! Say, Emerald, you are going to help her, right? By throwing your spear into the Torque?” The pink stared at the green one expectantly.
“….Well…”
“…Well, what?”
“Remember that thunder thingie I did? I kinda used magic on that.”
“…Are you serious?”
Sam heard the green mumble something guiltily. She knew from the sound alone that this towering woman just know realized she did something wrong. She actually felt empathetic to her, but also worried. Then the monster roared again, reminding Sam and the other two that it was still terrorising here.
“Not today, villain!” shouted Emerald, who then lunged. At least, that was what Sam though she did, since she didn’t even register what happened. All she felt was someone just drove a car at a full one hundred next to her, knocking her balance off in the process. 
<That’s Zamarad for you!> Taja squealed in pride. 
Sam recollected herself, feeling impressed once again. These two were definitely going to be of more help if this was the firepower they were bringing into the fight. She actually felt like smiling a bit. But then she turned confused again, when she looked at the scene again, and found no trace of green anywhere near the monster.
“EMERALD!” the pink-haired one screamed before Sam could ask what happened. 
Sam checked on her and then led her eyes to the sky, and found a small dot of green rising higher and higher. A clear picture got painted in her mind.  
“Well, this is not good,” the latter spoke reproachfully.
Sam kept her eye on the green dot, though it seemed to have stopped moving. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the angle, or if she was in the middle of flying in the air.
<Zamarad cannot fly, although Rose surely can,> Taja explained.
Can she, um, land safely though?
<Surely can. But do expect a town sized crate to be accompanied by her arrival.>
“Might have to catch her on the way down.” Sam turned to the pink “sister”, who was in the middle of biting her lip, checking on the dot at few angles herself. The sky being glittering and gray did not help at all. 
It was there that Sam noticed her arm.
“Are you injured?” she asked. 
The latter looked down and then said, “Oh, not, it’s a…nothing. Probably just worsened my shooting arm for a bit, heh.”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, thankfully, that heals,” she said.” And fast too. Anyways, I think I can deal with the monster for now, if you want to.”
“Huh?” the latter looked at her incredulously. “Wait a sec you can’t-“
Something in Sam told her that to be the case. Taja couldn’t exactly deny that to be the case.
“How many monsters are there?”
The rosen haired warrior mumbled something, shaking her head only to finally say, “Two or three.”
These two, inside whom inhabited these spirits, weren’t probably that old.
“Two or three? You can’t be…what does that mean?”
“Exactly that, two or three!”
They are probably children.
Before Sam could ask for more, the monster dug its arm against the pavement. Sam, giving up on that line of thought, turned her focus again on her initial target again. She already was too late on making the wall, so her next step was to react. The area has been mostly cleared, so she shouldn’t worry about civilians. It was all about retaliating to an incoming attack.
And the attack came in a form of a wave. That wave they both were able to jump over, as it passed by right under their feet. When Sam looked over, following the wave moving non-stop. It was making its way to that tube of cars. Someone, after all this time, they still could not leave the area. And from the screams that emanated from them when the wave hit them, they were apparently still full. The metallic contraption were flung into the air, several feet above their heads. Then in the next moment, were descending back down, roofs first. 
“Move back!” Sam shouted at the pink-haired.
She had to act fast. She dug her staff and quickly chanted an incantation. A glow of yellow color moved from her hand and into the staff, which spread into the ground.
Flora watched it all happen with curiosity. A second later, the solid pavement under her feet felt softer. Like sand, soft, but also very viscous, almost nothing like she found in her entire life. The cars landed with a muffled thud, digging into the material. Some seemed to have been bent under their own weight, but those were minimal. Soon after, the pavement returned to its original sturdiness, and not long after, the people inside them were beginning to try and crawl their way out. 
Flora only noticed later how her jaw was hanging loose the entire time.
<That spell…she used it when she saved me from that fall…> Rose stated. 
“Oh my gosh, that was amazing!” Flora uttered to the Golden Girl. 
“We can’t let normal people get caught in the crossfire,” the latter replied, finally letting the air out of her own lungs and releasing her staff. 
Flora couldn’t help but feel a bit at awe. This girl really knew how to make snap decisions and make it seem so easy. No wonder she became a hero to this city. And suddenly, the young warrior felt inadequate.
<It is fine, Flora. You can learn more in your future.>
“Uh, not right now!” Flora clasped her mouth as she looked at the Golden Girl with her big eyes.
“So she also speak to you in your head?” the Golden Girl ask. Flora nodded.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” she nervously chuckled. She then noticed Golden Girl’s knees shake, while she was trying to stand up. “What the, are you okay?”
“I am…fine, but I think I overexerted there…” She looked straight at the monster, who was in the middle of lazily trying to get its claw out of the ground. At least they were dealing with a lazy one. Then Flora saw tilt her head up, which she repeated. The green dot had now began to slowly fall from the sky again. “You still need to get your friend…”
Flora’s eyes darted between this and Sam again, completely floored. She was clearly exhausted from that spell, at least that was how she looked like. And yet, she was thinking about something else. What kind of a kid was she?
<I have an inkling that she might not be someone you might think.>
You think so? You are right, she is probably an adult. I bet she is way more kept together than I am. No wonder people look up to her so much! And to think, I was jealous of her!
And then, the Golden Girl feel down on her knee again. Flora looked at her in shock. This did not look right.
<I am not surprised,> Rose posited, <Taja’s potential as a magician is enormous, far more than most master sorcerers of our kingdom. But little did she know how to use it, nor cared to learn. This spell she chose, had very likely sapped her strength for the moment.>
“So, wait, are you saying you are out of commission?” Flora asked, worriedly. The Golden Girl heaved and pulled her heavy body up with her staff.
“Look, I’ll deal with the monsters! Go and get your friend already!”
“What about you? You barely stand up!”
The monster, with another heave, finally freed its claw from the pavement. It looked at it intently, before letting out a low rumble.
“Your friend needs help! I can hold mys-“ she fell to her knees again. “Oh, come on! I didn’t even use that much…This is bad.”
Flora watched her tumble down. Despite the façade, the Golden Girl clearly was having trouble getting up herself. Flora looked up again, only to realize how quickly Barbie was descending down. Even if she could use spells again, she might hurt herself, or even others, by accident. She could go after her first, but they barely knew what sort of things this monster was doing. And it wasn’t alone either. So many things were becoming a problem now.
The monster left out another unearthly roar. It was looking at both of them, it soulless eyes hidden behind the mask showing demonic rage. Its claws were longer than the necks’ widths for both girls.
Flora bit her lip. This is bad. Should she really abandon her here and go after Barbie? She’ll get destroyed! And then people will be next! Who can protect them after that!? But Barbie is about to plummet, and she can’t know for sure if she can help herself. Everyone, everywhere, were about to get hurt.
“Maybe if I can…” Flora readied her bow, only to feel pain shoot through her arm. “Aw, crap…”
What am I going to do, first? What should a leader do!? What can I do!? What is the right choice?!! What is the wrong choice!?
<FLORA!>
“What!?” Flora yelled out. The Golden Girl looked up at her in surprise.
<It is coming out!>
“Who-? Oh, you GOTTA be kidding me!”
Flora’s eyes drew straight to the store. A lumbering figure pushed the hole open, making it wider with its large, violent hands.
There was not much time.
…