"What... what the hell?" I whispered.

I stared at the Nexus Device in my hand, stunned at the notification.

My hands were shaking.

"Uh... Sienna? What's up?" Albert asked.

BOUNTY CONFIRMED The Scrapper Scuttler CONTRACT TARGET DEFEATED TARGET STATUS

ALIVE

PARTICIPANTS

Elysia Veritas, Braveheart Gryphon, Braveheart Kitsune, Claw Currant, Claw Strawberry, Harmonia Lux

BOUNTY CREDIT

$257,218

TOTAL BOUNTY AWARDED

$1,324,547

A quarter of a million dollars.

"I... um, uh," I mumbled. I couldn't think straight. My head was spinning, and my palms were sweaty. My phone nearly fell out of my hand.

"Whoa, hey, don't drop it!" Albert said, reaching out and steadying my hand. He looked at the Nexus device in my hand and whistled.

"Holy... wow," he breathed.

I could only nod, too shocked to form coherent thoughts.

"I don't think my mom made this much money in the entire time she took to raise me," I whispered, shaking.

I'd never even seen ten thousand dollars before, let alone a quarter of a million.

I took a deep, shaky breath. I was feeling dizzy and lightheaded. I had no idea how to react.

"I feel like I didn't do anything," I muttered.

"Hey, no way! The others were wearing him down but your final rush with Kitsune, Elysia, and Strawberry was what sealed the deal," Albert replied, giving me a reassuring pat on the back.

"Yeah but still... I mean..."

I trailed off. I wasn't sure how to explain it. It just felt like I didn't earn any of this. Sure, my mother's technique was the move that knocked him out. But the rest of the group, they'd fought tooth and nail for their victory. I hadn't even taken a scuff inn the real fight, although I ate a knife wound in the immediate aftermath.

And I got to profit off their hard work. It was a weird, almost alien feeling that made my stomach twist in knots.

I didn't deserve this. I didn't earn it.

I shook my head. "I'm just a bit overwhelmed, you know? It feels surreal."

I wasn't sure what to make of the situation. I didn't know what I would do with so much money. It was more than enough for me to pay for any living expenses here. It could easily pay for me to get a car whenever I could find time to get a license. It was more than enough for a few years worth of living expenses. Maybe I'd have enough to help pay off college tuition if it came to that.

I wasn't used to this.

I'd been a nobody. I'd been a street kid from a rough part of town. I'd had struggle just to survive and have enough to eat.

But now, I was...

"Magical. Girl. Harmooooooonia Lux!" an airy voice sang. I blinked as I looked up from the phone.

I looked up to see Stella sprawled across Albert's bed. She was kicking her feet up and down as she flipped through a manga she had borrowed. Her eyes flicked over to me, and she smiled.

She looked so much younger like this.

Not that she was old or anything, but it was weird to see her being so childish and silly when she wasn't keeping her prim and proper mask. Or acting out her evil cartoon villain persona. It was so unlike the version of her that everyone else knew.

"You're zoning out there," she said.

I looked away. I'd been staring at her without realizing it.

"You get a cut of the bounty too?" I asked.

"Yup! A bit of pocket change to add to the savings account. It'll be a good addition to the funds I've been using while on my leave."

"Uh... pocket change?" I asked. The words seemed foreign to me, and my brain was refusing to process them.

She blinked, looking over at me with an expression of surprise. "Um... it's about a hundred and eighty grand? Not bad for the amount of work we put into it. I'm honestly more surprised that he's been on the bounty board for as long as he has."

"Six figs is pocket change to you?" Albert asked incredulously.

Stella paused, flushing red as her eyes widened in realization. "Uh..."

"Oh shit," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. I let out a chuckle.

She'd really said that.

"I... okay, yeah. That came out really bad," she said, sheepishly. "That was dumb."

"Ya think?" Albert snickered.

Stella flushed again, burying her face in her hands.

"I didn't mean it like that. Ugh, this is awkward," she said.

"I'm teasing, Stella, relax," I replied.

Albert snickered. "Yeah, zero hard feelings here. You grew up with a bunch of money. You don't have to act all weird and apologetic about it. It's just kind of a funny moment."

She just nodded. I could tell she was feeling embarrassed about the whole situation. It was a pretty cringe moment for sure. I had no doubt she was probably regretting saying something like that. Even if she had the money, she was noticeably mindful of how she came across to others. Which was why she was always so polite, and a bit shy, around others.

It was cute, honestly.

"I did hear High Command cracked down heavily on new bounty listings lately," she said, shifting the conversation back to the bounty. "They're really trying to keep a tighter reign on the bounties they put up."

"Any idea why?" Albert asked.

Stella shrugged. "The rumor mill says they're conserving the villains in case the apocalypse gets really bad."

I frowned at that.

I knew the world was in danger of an impending cataclysmic event. But hearing that they were actively preparing for it was unsettling.

It made it feel more real, and I wasn't sure I liked the idea of it being real after the harrowing days we'd all just had.

"Nobody's been able to take him in since Arcadia Vox and Nightingale Eclipse, and they haven't exactly been around for over a decade now. But the fact that we were the ones that finally brought him down says a lot, right?" she said. "Plus, with everything going on lately... they want the manpower for when shit really hits the fan. You know, with the knowledge that the Guardians have started intervening directly. The conspiracy boards have been having a real field day lately."

I looked down at the phone again.

The numbers on the screen didn't look like they were about to change.

I took a deep breath and closed the app.

"I... yeah, that's fair," I replied.

Stella nodded, sitting up. She leaned against the backboard of Albert's bed, her long hair spilling over her shoulders.

"Bad actors like the Scuttler have been taking advantage of the chaos since the first Cataclysm happened. It makes sense that they'd be more aggressive in offering incentives to try to keep things in check. Not that I think the authorities have the situation anywhere near control."

Albert hummed thoughtfully, scratching at his cheek.

"Makes sense. You want the whole world united against this threat but some guys just can't stop being dicks long enough to care," Albert said, shrugging.

Officially, most of the large supervillain organizations and the Heroes' Guild had a mutual non-interference agreement in the event of a worldwide disaster. But of course, some groups just couldn't help themselves and tried to capitalize on the situation, even if it meant endangering the world in the long run. It was a moronic, shortsighted approach that made my head ache. But it also wasn't the first time this sort of thing had happened, so the Heroes' Guild had no choice but to keep dealing with the issue.

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The Heroes' Guild, of course, is an internationally recognized organization dedicated to unifying the various factions that oppose misuse of superpowers, and to promote a universal code of ethics among its members.

They're essentially the United Nations of the superhero community. Factions included the Magical Knight commands of various regions such as North America, China, Oceania, Western Europe and so on. Other factions underneath its banner included the Genius Consortium, the Templars, and various other independent organizations. It was a loose collection of various factions and organizations, all with their own goals, agendas, and methods.

I was pretty new to this scene, so I had no idea how much power the Guild had over individual factions or its own members, but they were a big deal. Supervillains that were notorious enough to draw attention tended to end up on the Heroes' Guild bounty board, where private citizens across the world could contribute to a public fund to be paid out for a bounty on that individual's capture and confinement or execution.

But, well, that also meant that sometimes a bounty wouldn't pay off for years and years. Sometimes decades. Class 8 threats like Scrapper Scuttler had bounties that took decades to accumulate, but were worth a small fortune when a team managed to actually take them down.

"Most of the bounties were refunded and pardoned after the Cataclysm when supervillains stepped up and helped with defense and relief efforts," Albert explained. "I mean, the bounties are crowd-funded so the money just goes back to whoever put the cash up in the first place. But Scuttler? Man, the guy's been out here all month as a glorified hitman, and it looks like the world wasn't in a forgiving mood. So the whole fund went up."

I nodded. I was still trying to process the windfall. It felt unreal.

"So... uh..." I began.

"My advice?" Stella interrupted. "Just live life like it isn't there. We can work together to build a budget and stick to it, and I'll show you a couple tricks to save and grow your wealth that my parents taught me. Just... try to stay away from it, okay?"

"Right. I'm not sure how I'd use it, anyway," I admitted. "But I'd like to pay you back for all those suspiciously new clothes I found in my closet yesterday."

Stella blushed, averting her eyes. "It's just some casual clothes and a few sets of pajamas and comfy underwear," she muttered.

"And makeup, and new hair ties and shampoo and body lotion and a whole bunch of stuff," I said, crossing my arms. "I don't even wear makeup, so that was suspiciously obvious."

She pouted.

"It's just a couple things! They weren't expensive and I wanted to dote on you," she said.

"Still," I replied. "It feels wrong to accept so much."

She rolled her eyes.

"Just accept that your sister is going to dote on you, you dweeb. You can repay me when we go shopping by trying on stuff for me, or modeling a new dress for me," Stella insisted.

I looked down at my flat chest and skinny figure.

"You want me to model clothes? I'd just make the stuff look bad."

"You will not!" Stella snapped. "Besides. You'll fill out with some regular exercise and a healthy diet. We can go shopping together and have some fun with that. Maybe we can get some cute dresses that match each other's themes, and you can help me with some outfits of my own."

"Stella, no."

"Stella yes. I need some new stuff too. And Albert can help."

Albert looked at Stella like she had lost her mind. "Uh...?" he asked. "How the hell could I help with input on that?"

"You can hold our stuff while we try stuff on, and you can carry the bags."

"Oh fuck that, you two can carry your own stuff."

"But Albie-"

"Don't 'but Albie' me!" Albert complained.

I snorted, shaking my head as the two began bickering like an old married couple.

"Alright you two, that's enough. Stella, you can dote on me and I won't fight you on that, but you aren't turning Albert into a shopping pack mule."

"Boo. You're no fun."

"Yeah. No fun," Albert agreed, nodding his head in my direction. "Stella just wants to drag me out on errands."

I snickered. "You two have known each other for all of like, a week and you already sound more like siblings than Stella and I do."

Albert and Stella paused and exchanged glances before looking away. Stella let out an annoyed sigh.

"I'm older," she muttered, crossing her arms and turning away with her nose in the air. Albert rolled his eyes and leaned over, lightly punching her shoulder.

"Oh come on. Don't get all grumpy on me," Albert said, shaking his head.

I chuckled. It was kind of fun seeing these two interact. It seemed like a stroke of fate Stella found him before she found me in her civilian form. They were already acting like they were best friends. I was almost a little jealous of how comfortable she already seemed around Albert.

Almost.

"So uh, you knew this whole time that the two of us were sisters?" Stella awkwardly asked, and Albert shook his head.

"He pieced it together after your little delinquent attack on the campus," I explained, shooting her a look. "Seriously? Barbecue sauce? Really?"

Albert snorted. "It was kind of hilarious. Dark Princess Eris rolling in with an oversized sauce cannon, blasting you in the face while screaming 'Nyehehhehhehhe!'"

Stella blushed, glaring at him.

"You better not tell anyone else that was me, or I'm gonna-"

"I won't! I'm not gonna tell anyone about your little identity crisis. I promise. I just think it's funny that you're so different when you're in costume."

Stella huffed.

I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'm glad the two of you get along."

"Me too," Stella said. She smiled softly. "It's been... nice. Being able to hang out and just be a person again, instead of constantly being the perfect little magical girl and burdened with stiffy formal events.

She stretched out, letting her long hair flow down the back of Albert's bed. "And it's nice not having to worry about everything. I'm not having to watch every word, every gesture, every single thing I do because it might get criticized by someone, or it might get me into trouble, or whatever."

Stella sighed and closed her eyes.

"You two make it easier for me to relax."

Albert chuckled, scratching at his cheek.

"It's weird," he said. "It's weird seeing the real you. Not that I don't like the real you. But it's weird, seeing someone that I saw in public on TV all the time, acting so normal. Eris is considered a public nuisance, but the whole rest of your life is the opposite of Eris. You know?"

"I told you, that's a secret. Don't tell anyone, Albert, or I might just have to kill you," Stella said with a wink.

Albert snorted. "Okay. I guess that's a good threat coming from you, at least."

Stella rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Nyehehehe?" he answered wryly.

"Shush you," she muttered.

She glanced at her phone and sighed.

"You're both coming with me to the gym with Ichigo, right?" she asked, looking at us with a pleading expression.

I grimaced, and Albert let out a nervous chuckle.

"Definitely," Albert murmured. "I just her but she seems pretty intense."

Stella giggled, before letting out a mirthful sigh.

"I've never really had any close friends. I was always the 'little sister' of a bunch of guys and girls who are older and more accomplished than me, or I was just a rival or competitor. Ichigo might be an awkward bean, but she's genuine and cares, so that's worth something in my book. I'd like to see her succeed."

"Yeah, no, it's fine," I said, sitting down next to Stella. "We're definitely all going, and I think it'd be good to make a few more friends anyway. Plus, I need to learn to not suck."

Stella smiled warmly.

"Sounds good to me," she said cheerfully. She stretched, yawning as I stared at her for a long moment.

Watching Stella run through half our classmates alone had shown me how many levels there were above me. How much stronger and faster she was than me.

And then Scrapper Scuttler had made her and two of the Bravehearts look like children.

And he wasn't even considered one of the biggest fish out there. He wasn't a legendary, unstoppable warlord or an arch-demon lord of hell, or anything. Just a really dangerous and skilled mercenary with an impressive track record.

I was barely even starting my career as a Magical Girl. If I wanted to be able to protect my new family, and the friends I was starting to make, I had a lot of work to do.

And speaking of family...

...

I had to pause and really take it all in.

I have an older sister now, and she's...

"Hehehe..." Stella giggled.

Well, she's patting me on the head.

I have an older sister, and she's a badass and pretty, and cool and popular and smart and has my back.

Something I half-dreamed about as a kid.

I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

Stella just smiled warmly at me and gave my arm a reassuring squeeze. I let out a sigh and returned her smile.

She was so affectionate.

It was weird, considering she was a complete stranger a month ago.

Heck, she'd even accidentally caught me with a stray bolt once when she was tussling with Callisto Pink back home. She'd been there, just lurking outside of our mutual awareness for years. Searching for me.

Now she was hugging me and being affectionate with me, and I had to keep reminding myself this wasn't a dream or a fantasy or anything like that.

She was real.

And we were family. And we were going to figure out where our parents had gone. We were going to find out what happened to our mother and father. What really happened to Arcadia Vox, the greatest magical girl who had ever lived, and to her companions. To the great heroes who had fought beside her. We were going to figure out the truth behind the Cataclysms, behind the Guardians and their motives, and behind our father's disappearance.

No matter what it took. We were going to find out the truth. We were going to get answers. We were going to find our parents and we were going to be together.

"Hey, you have workout clothes, right Al? I got Sienna a few sets when I went shopping but I don't know if you have any," Stella suddenly asked, giving Albert a concerned look.

"Of course. Why?" Albert asked, looking confused. "I'm good to go whenever Ichigo's ready. You can drop by my place after we all shower. You and Ichigo are on the same floor, so I assume Sienna knows where you are?"

"She does, yeah."

"Great," Albert replied, smiling cheerfully.

I smiled softly at Stella.

"So uh... about what you said before. You were serious, right? You really want to buy dresses with me?"

"Fuck yes I do!" Stella said, her eyes sparkling. She grinned brightly and I couldn't help but smile back.

"We're gonna be twinsies!" Stella exclaimed happily. "It'll be great. We can match outfits and have matching purses. We can even have matching shoes and rings and nails and, and, and..."

"Okay, calm down," I chuckled, amused at her excitement. "We don't have to go that hard."

"It'll be great. I can't wait. This is gonna be fun. We can get some cute accessories and take cute selfies together and stuff like that," she rambled on.

Albert snorted and shook his head. "You two are going to drive each other crazy, I can already tell. I can't tell if it's gonna be cute or annoying."

"You shut up!" Stella shouted, throwing a pillow at him.

He just laughed and dodged out of the way.

Stella grumbled and crossed her arms. I smiled and gave her a small squeeze. She was so happy and enthusiastic about bonding that I couldn't take it away from her.

She was so cute. So happy.

"Okay, let's not keep Ichigo waiting at the gym," I said, shaking my head and getting to my feet.

"Wait!" Albert shouted. "One last thing before we go."

"What's up?" I asked. Stella cocked her head to the side, curious.

He reached behind him and opened a drawer, before tossing a bag at Stella.

"Made these before you guys came over."

"Oh?" Stella asked, looking curious.

She opened the bag and I peered over. There were a half dozen homemade protein bars inside, and a couple small sandwiches.

"Oh. Oh! Thanks Albert. These are perfect," Stella exclaimed happily. She grinned widely at him as he shrugged.

"I'll go get my gym bag packed. You can wait for me outside."

Stella and I nodded and walked towards the door.

"Hey," Albert called, causing us both to stop.

We looked back at him.

"Thanks for coming over today, you two... It means a lot," he said.

For just a moment I saw the truth in his eyes. The worry, the fear, the relief.

The fact that I'd wound up in the infirmary two days back to back had obviously scared him, and Stella's situation was also bizarre to say the least. All of us had our fair share of recent close calls, and he was just happy that we'd all come through alive and in one piece.

Albert was as close to family to me as my actual family was, and he obviously cared about us all a lot.

"Don't worry, Al," Stella replied, smiling softly. "This may be the first, but it won't be the last. I'll be over all the time, and we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

He smiled, his expression soft and gentle.

"I look forward to it," he replied.

We left the apartment and waited for him in the hallway, smiling as he closed the door behind us.

"Think he's gonna be okay?" Stella asked quietly, once he was out of earshot.

"Yeah. He's a bit silly like that. He was the one who almost got skewered by a throwing knife but he's still the one fussing over us."

"That's sweet of him. But he's not the one that was wounded. Twice," she pointed out. "I think it'd be fair of me to fuss a bit over my adorable little sis."

I grumbled and looked away, embarrassed. Stella just chuckled, her smile widening before she put on a serious face.

"Seriously. Seeing your neck gushing blood like that scared the crap out of me. You were bleeding so bad I was sure you were dead. And then the fight with the creepy white-haired guy..."

Stella trailed off, shivering at the thought. "Please stop almost dying," she said. "I don't think I could handle it if you kept it up. Especially with your love of gambits and baits."

I sighed.

"I don't know if I can promise that," I said. "But... I can try to keep it to a minimum."

"Please."

She hugged me and I returned the gesture.

"I promise. And if I ever get really hurt like that again, I'll be counting on you to save me, alright?"

"Alright," she agreed, giving me a tight squeeze. "And if I ever need you, I know you'll have my back too."

I smiled at her.

"So. In lighter news... think he's going to get along with Strawberry and Currant?" I asked Stella, and she smiled.

"Oh, I know he will," she replied with a grin.