Loose Change

Eli and Kara playing Hop Dance Mania at Loose Change.

**Loose Change** is a location in *Magical Girl Policy*. It is an arcade in Kessia City where Eli works, and the owner is a donor to Schuyler Adamson University. Robert and friends' encounter with Polygal and the Spirit Guard here serves as the opening chapter of the story.

## Description

Loose Change has yellow stucco exterior and, due to recent renovations, significantly contrasts with the older brick buildings near SAU campus. Its interior is carpeted, and artwork shows the building is brightly lit. The arcade cabinets are largely arranged in rows throughout the place.

## History

### Background

Kara became a regular visitor to Loose Change in order to play on its *Hop Dance Mania* machine.

Per his father's demands, Eli is made to get a job during his time at college. Two weeks before he was to begin his freshman year at Schuyler Adamson University, he got a part-time position at Loose Change. Starting from his first day, he'd see Kara playing *HDM* and would admire her from a distance, referring to her as "HDM Girl".

### Week 1

Loose Change receives an arcade cabinet for *Zombie Mansion*. It appears to be a standard zombie-themed light gun shooter, but behind the booth's curtain, those who play the game have their Investiture drained by the game's Polygal character. A group of middle schoolers are among her victims, becoming sickly and sluggish but generally staying near the game, with some even playing it more than once. Their strange behavior scares off other customers, so Eli inspects the booth, but doesn't find anything unususal about the game or any signs of drug use. Kara senses the hidden monster's activities and leaves the arcade so she may alert her fellow Spirit Guards.

Robert and Cory visit the arcade to see Eli. Robert feels a strange heaviness in the air and an icy sensation in his bones that seem to point toward the *Zombie Mansion* machine. Curious about the shambling children that seem to be obsessed with the game, Rob and Cory decide to play it themselves and find out what's so special about it. Polygal grabs the two friends and drains Cory, but her attempts to obtain Robert's complex Investiture are foiled by him instinctively weaponizing his icy sensation to repel her. This causes a violent reaction where Polygal releases the two and loses the energy she had drained, returning it to its victims and weakening her. With the monster's presence known and the victims reenergized, everyone but Robert, Cory, and Eli flee the arcade. Polygal bursts out of the machine and reveals her true form. She demands Robert tell her how he resisted her, but he is clueless about the entire situation. She comments on Rob's sudden glow, which apparently marks him as "special" some sort of ally of "theirs", so she wants to bring him to Platicore so he can be empowered into a new servant. She ensnares Robert and holds Cory and Eli at gunpoint. She is distracted by the appearance of a symbol on Rob's forehead, believing it means something impossible, and is forced to release the boys when Spirit Guard Charity fires an arrow at her, as the Spirit Guard have arrived to save the day. Robert, Cory, and Eli hide behind a counter while Charity defends them, Valor and Tenacity attack Polygal head-on, and a late Felicity opens Polygal to a finishing blow. After the battle, Rob demands the heroes explain what his glow means, as he heard both Polygal and the Spirit Guard recognize it. His friends convince him that the Spirit Guard are trustworthy, so he gives his phone number so he may be contacted once research into his glow has been conducted.

After the Spirit Guard leave, the police arrive to assess the scene. They interview Robert, Cory, and Eli about the attack, though the boys decide to not mention Rob's glowing. Shortly after returning to their dorm, the trio is visited by Mallory and Vivian. Mallory uses the excuse of being worried for her brother's safety since he was attacked at work, but she and Vivian take this chance to find out what Robert did before the Spirit Guard showed up. They are impressed to learn how he stood up to Polygal despite being unaware of the Spirit Guard's existence.

Trace covertly enters Loose Change to retrieve Polygal's empathic capacitor and the Investiture it contains, but is confused when she finds nothing at all. This is because Robert's resistance when Polygal attempted to drain him caused her to lose her entire supply of stolen Investiture.

Loose Change closes for repairs, putting its employees out of a job for several weeks. The next day, Eli is given a bonus due to his handling of the attack, though he finds it's not much when it has to last for six weeks. After receiving his paycheck, he visits Mallory at her apartment to retrieve a graphing calculator she had borrowed, and meets several of her friends in the process. When Eli and Kara are introduced, they recognize each other as a Loose Change employee and frequent customer, respectively.

SAU campus counselor Ms. Kuna calls Robert about his experiences at the Polygal attack. She claims to have learned of Rob and co.'s involvement after hearing that new SAU students were present and asking the arcade owner, though since the Spirit Guard had already reported this information to her, it is unclear if her conversation with the owner actually occurred. She is surprised to learn that Rob is unfazed by the attack and doesn't want her counseling services. She insists they meet in her office later, but Rob ends up not going. Ms. Kuna also says she plans to call Cory and Eli about the attack as well, but these calls are not shown.

### Weeks 2-4

Mallory reveals to her parents that she's a Spirit Guard. She exaggerates Eli's heroics during the Polygal attack by claiming he went out of his way to guide the children out of the building, convincing her father that Eli has fully learned discipline and no longer needs a job while at college. After hearing this news, Eli decides to stop working at Loose Change.

Within the next few weeks, the damage Loose Change suffered from the Polygal attack is repaired, and the aracde reopens. It is also during this time that Eli and Kara begin dating, and their first date involves playing *Hop Dance Mania* at the arcade.