Chapter 1: Destiny begins
Late night, Akihabara Japan, Planet Earth.
In the skies of Akihabara a creature in an old fashioned pilot suit looks upon the streets below. Next to him three skeleton motifed mooks show up looking more like costumes for mooks in Power rangers than skeletons with gray bones in the helmet, chest, arms, and legs and purple suit alongside a purple officer's cap with a yellow diamond shaped eye with black thorns crossing the pupil.
One of the skeleton mooks reported. "Commander Gremlin, the target seems to have eluded us. What now?"
The creature or Gremlin responded with a smile. His exposed fangs gleamed from his orange scaly skin and his golden reptilian eyes with long pointy ears and a bald head with a single white ahoge responded. "Spread out. That fool from the hunter faction would never risk leaving this planet while we are here. After all with so many innocents walking around all we need to do is carry out one or two slaughters and they will come scurrying out. That's their weakness, their dedication to protecting these inferior beings." The minions spread out and Gremlin looks at a black colored egg shaped gem which he summons to his hand.
At that time a shadowed figure carries a sparkling rainbow crystal with him thru the dark alleyways.
…...
Mafuba apartment complex, next morning.
That morning we see a human girl prepare breakfast for herself in a small one room apartment. A slender frame and pale skin with long black hair tied into low hanging twin tails that reach to her legs with pink ribbons, spiky hair that split into a four pointed star in front and striking red rounded eyes. Preparing a mountain of fried eggs with toast and caramel milk her room is full of random memorabilia from anime and manga of eras long past. Figurines of Precure and gunpla, DVD's of anime like Yuuki Yuuna, Symphogear, and Milky Holmes, tankobons of Jojo's bizarre adventure, Dragon ball and Dragon ball Z are just a few of the many things that clutter the tiny, cheap, apartment where the girl lives. After eating she puts on a red sleeveless one piece with a belt orange work gloves and orange thigh high leather boots and a red backpack then she exits the apartment.
There she is stopped by an elderly anthropomorphized tortoise woman neighbor with an apron and white hair in a large bun. "Oh Kaname-san good morning."
The girl smiled and responded. "How's it going grandma Chell? Is your husband still telling stories to the birds?"
"I'm afraid so Kaname-san. The homeland just isn't what it was before the war a thousand years ago. Akihabara used to be vibrant and full of life, now anyone with money or powers leaves and never comes back."
"Don't worry grandma! I'm not going anywhere even if I have magic!" The girl threw some punches in the air and then said. "I'll protect this town. After all, you took me in when I didn't remember anything three years ago. Anyways I better get to work."
"Indeed, good luck dearie." Said the elderly tortoise as the girl left then muttering to herself. "You can't fool me Honoka. You may not realize it but someday you will leave this town as well."
The young girl, Honoka Kaname is an oddity in the land of Akihabara and in current Japan in general. Found at the edge of town three years ago with no memories except her name she settled in the Mafuba apartment complex thanks to the Chell family and began taking odd jobs to pay for living expenses at her insistence. Unlike most people she has no desire to leave Japan which has seen better days due to mana poisoning and constant witch attacks centuries ago. In fact most modern Japanese nationals are the descendants of people too poor or stubborn to leave when the war started a thousand years ago that left the nation in ruins that never recovered.
As Honoka left she saw grandpa Chell another elderly anthro tortoise feeding some birds in the middle of a story. "You see a thousand years ago the evil alien race known as the incubators summoned the demon lord Homun right here in Japan to take over the universe. But Homun's power was so great that it enslaved the incubators and began to wage a campaign of destruction on the universe. Fortunately the goddess of magic Gretchen descended from the heavens and gave us mortals the gift of magic in order to fight the invaders alongside the five heroes. Together they drove Homun's forces off Earth and to the Incubators homeworld where Gretchen sacrificed her life to kill Homun saving the universe. But Japan was badly damaged from the fighting, its lands poisoned by darkness many were forced to leave to space since the other nations of earth refused to give refuge to millions of displaced people even to this day."
"Hey grandpa Chell!" Honoka yells out while waving her arms.
"Oh hello Honoka. How are you doing this morning!"
"Quite well actually. Don't you get tired of telling the same stuff to the birds?"
"No way! I used to be a teacher you know, traveled all over Japan with grandma and all. Even saw the ruined and cursed city of Mikitihara myself when I was younger."
"The ruined city of Mikitihara huh?" Mikitihara is famous for being a cursed ruin walled off by the government for generations. The nearby town of Kazimono was turned into a military fortress to make sure no one would poke around the place. Rumors abound that something big lies hidden in Mikitihara protected by the masterless familiars of Homun itself. "Anyways I gotta go now so see ya!"
Honoka leaves and as she runs at considerable speeds a good twenty miles per hour we see Akihabara. The otaku capital being in ruins, many buildings have been abandoned for decades if not flat out torn down. There is still a lot of its former culture left proof that both the humans and the non humans that remained in Japan refuse to let tradition die.
Homun didn't just cause a rampage on Earth. It caused chaos on many worlds and forced aliens to make contact with humanity. The United States and the Men in black tried to maintain the masquerade but they were powerless against the demon king the US military was devastated by the witches and the rest of the world fared worse. Even some idiots like the North Koreans tried to cut deals with Homun. Nowadays North Korea is a giant smoking cursed crater where warp entities randomly spawn to eat anyone who dares enter. And if you're curious Israel and Palestine are still at war with each other a thousand years into the future. Nowadays the Earth is a shell of its former glory. The polar ice caps rely on massive solar powered regulators that span their entire landmasses to prevent their meltdown. And the nations are kept in check by the IFS or Internal fleet systems and it's legions.
Pussy destroyer netcafe.
Reaching and entering the netcafe Honoka is met by another human this one an old man with a big hooked nose, long beard, cap and thick glasses. The netcafe itself is a medium sized affair with a lot of cat imagery shelves full of numerous manga titles ready to read and tables with chairs next to the windows for costumers to sit and hang out.
"So you're finally here Honoka?" Said the old man. "Hurry up and get dressed. We're opening the netcafe soon."
"Sure thing boss." The girl answered as she went to the back to change. Putting on a orange shirt with yellow apron, blue long slacks and orange hat and went to man the counter as a typical quiet work day in a netcafe. Quiet which would be broken soon as a mysterious humanoid child appeared. Male in gender and seemingly younger than the 14 year old Honoka, with green spiky hair and wearing a green armor or bodysuit of sorts with balloon boots covered by a massive brown trenchcoat and equally long lime green scarf that nearly reached the ground. He also wore some strange visor device with triangular lenses that looked like a cross between a scouter and a pair of shades and oddly enough some metallic pieces in his cheeks.
The boy went to the counter and said. "A room please." And pulled out a sizable wad of cash shocking Honoka.
"Cash?!"
"Is there a problem?"
"No, it's just that cash is rare these days. We accept it, but nowadays most people use plastic or their cell phone payment apps."
"Sorry."
"Nevermind." Honoka commented as she gave the kid a key and told him. "Room 4 down the hall and to the left."
The boy grabs the key and stares at Honoka's face for a few brief moments. "Out of curiosity what is your name?"
"Honoka Kaname, why do you ask?"
Surprised the boy steps back before regaining his composure. "What a coincidence." He mutters to himself. "Must be a distant relative or something of her. There doesn't seem to be a Puella magi signature on her either." He leaves toward room 4 weirding out Honoka all the way.
As the day passed Honoka kept at her job minding her business a few more people came. It was a Monday so obviously it was going to be quiet at the morning hours. She is then met by a group of ten strange black hooded figures with white fox masks with round ruby red eyes and eerie smiles. They approach Honoka with one asking. "Have you seen a boy in a trench coat and scarf around here?"
Honoka looked with suspicion but asked. "Are you friends?"
The hooded figure responded. "You could say that. We really need to find him as soon as possible."
Another hooded figure stepped forward with a strange gem. It looked like a black and gray Faberge egg with a button on top the previous figure stepped back as he said. "Could you hold this for a minute?"
Honoka grabs the weird egg as an evil smile pops up from the entire hooded group and a flash of dark energy surrounds her which is promptly shattered by a bright light that destroys the gem utterly. The hooded figures freak out with one yelling out. "Crap what now?"
Oddly enough the one who gave the gem is completely calm merely saying. "As I expected the dark soul gem had no effect."
"What the hell are you doing Steve?" The other hooded figure asked. "This isn't part of the plan.
Steve replies with. "This girl has unusual magical powers. If she cannot be brought into the fold, she must die!" Steve takes out another egg and pushes the button. "Magirise, INFECTION!" And a black mist pours out of the egg covering Steve. Causing lightning to manifest inside the cloud and bursting transforming him into one of the skeleton mooks from yesterday with an electronic voice yelling out. "Infection, Skull raiser!" The other hooded mooks except the one who asked Steve nod and pull out identical gems, activating them and turning into the Skull raiser monsters generating hand held purple sickles with a flat circular top containing a slot for something, scaring off the clientele, and drawing the boss attention.
"What is going on?!" The boss yells out.
Steve answers. "It's simple we're going to kill you and wreck this place."
The boss snorts and snickers. "Oh really? Do you really think I hire a fourteen year old full time just because I like to violate child labor laws? Honoka, evict these bums!"
Steve laughs and points at the boss. "Really? We are the Cycles cult, fool. A mere girl from a bombed out ruin of a planet wont do a thing to us." Only to get punched in the face so hard by Honoka so hard that he flew into the air, spun around three times, landed into the ground with an audible thud, and his transformation broke off leaving all in silence.
"What just happened?" One of the Skull raisers asks while another one merely yells. "Kill her!" And then the goons go after Honoka brandishing their sickles with the exception of the untransformed one who just slinks off to the corner and tries to escape when he is caught by someone and dragged inside a door which closes.
The Raisers meanwhile try to strike Honoka down but to no avail. She simply dodges, blocks, or deflects all their strikes making fools of the deadly minions of an evil organization that terrorizes the stars.
"What the hell is going on?" One of the raisers ask in frustration.
"Glasses guy explain!" Another one demands of the boss.
The boss meanwhile laughs. "Fine, I'll tell you this is my bouncer Honoka Kaname! You see three years ago these old tortoises found her with no memories except her name in the outskirts of town. For some reason Honoka is super strong like a saiyan and knows some magic. And so we put her to use dealing with thugs and miscreants. BWAHAHAHAHAHAA!"
The Raisers split up five on five to take Honoka and the boss getting serious in their attacks and actually doing better. The Raisers attacking Honoka strike her with their scythes forcing her back with one flash stepping behind her and kicking her in the back and another uppercutting her in the gut. Meanwhile the boss is being assaulted by superior numbers he is fighting back using magic to strengthen his body enough to make sure the Raisers scythes don't rip him to pieces.
"How do you like that loser?" One of the assaulters yelled as he struck the boss who only smiled back as his arms glowed and told him.
"Fool..." And launched a shockwave that threw off the five mooks into the air surprising the others. Honoka took advantage to disarm one of them by striking its sickle holding arm and grabbing it and using it to strike down the enemy with several ferocious swipes. The Raiser behind her also moved in for the kill but Honoka countered with a high spin kick which disarmed her foe and staggered him and a brutal tackle to the floor. The final three drop their scythes and try to summon something else but are taken down swiftly as well while the five mooks fighting the boss land on the floor.
"Well that's over and done with." Boss comments.
"Indeed." The boy in the trenchcoat comments with a sly smile while carrying a dead hooded figure, tossing him into the ground nonchalantly into the ground. Both Honoka and the boss freak out at the sight while the trenchcoat boy remains indifferent. "Well I don't see why you're so freaked out. Once these guys regain consciousnesses they are gonna call for help and you two are pretty much screwed. You really have no idea who you're dealing with do you?"
The boss angrily yelled out. "They're just a bunch of toku cosplayers aren't they?"
"Nope, these people are Skull raisers, minions of the Cycles cult. An organization that seeks to conquer the universe thru the use of forbidden magic." The boy commented as he went closer to Honoka who went on the defensive throwing a rapid punch faster than the eye could see which he effortlessly caught creating a shockwave that spread thru the store. "You managed to defeat those Raisers because they were weak. Dark soul gems do empower their users, but its only proportional to their talents. Most of the time the best they can do is create what you see. A mere superpowered thug that a trained fighter or someone with incredible potential like you Honoka can tear apart with little problem. But there are those who rise above their station and become commanders, gaining unique forms and powers. Some don't even need to transform to use their powers. By the way Honoka, throwing at a stranger? You may have your mother's face but you definitively lack her temper."
After a brief moment of pause Honoka and Boss scream in shock together at the revelation.
"Mother?! Honoka has a mother?! Since when?!" The boss yells out in utter disbelief.
"Trust me i'm as shocked as you are. I didn't think she swung that way. Maybe she used invitro or something..."
Unbeknownst to them one of the Raisers had recovered and was already plotting his next move. Readying a dark soul gem and eyeing Honoka's boss with evil intent.
"Anyways who are you? And what are you talking about?" Boss asked.
"Who am I? Fu, fu, fu..." The trenchcoat boy chuckles as he covers his face his his right hand.
Prompting Honoka to remark. "Oh crap, chuuni alert."
Suddenly the screen turns black and a fingersnap is heard as a spotlight is shone at a brick wall showing a wanted poster with his face and the symbols of the Cycles cult the purple diamond shaped eye and a bounty of 5.7 million moolah, the current galactic currency which is basically 5.7 million dollars which quickly pans to the boy who is posing, showing his back, with his scarf flowing in the wind and his arms in an armfold yet showing of his left hand to reveal a Fleming's razor pose and giving off a smug grin while giving off his name. "Shall we begin the experiment? Green Hack!" And the scene switches to a background of outer space which drops to the inside of a space colony and a cityscape where Green hack jumps into a clock tower on the right and presses himself into a wall in an armfold with his scarf flowing in the wind yelling. "Irregular hunter guild!"
Everything returned to normal just as suddenly as the props appeared leaving a confused Honoka to comment. "How did you do that?!" At that time the Raiser sprung into action ramming a Dark soul gem into Boss' back causing an explosion of energy.
"Dammit!" Green hack yells out causing him to fire two energy blasts one at the Raiser which swiftly kills him and one at Boss which is deflected by the aura.
"What are you doing?!" Honoka asks, upset at the fact that Green would kill her boss. Getting in between the two when Boss transforms into a Skull raiser and attacks Honoka with a sickle. Green yanks her off and paralyzes Boss with levitation and punches him in the gut causing him to fly off and crash into a wall then he grabs Honoka by the right arm and leaves the store much to the shock of nearby civilians charging a large energy blast firing it into the store blowing it up shocking the civilians and causing them to flee in a panic. Green jumps into the sky with Honoka and lands on the rooftops making their getaway along them until diving into the back alleys.
…...
The back alleys of Akihabara
The back alleys of Akihabara. A dark, dreary dumping ground full of disheveled and abandoned buildings and mounds of old garbage everywhere. Honoka and Green finally stop in the middle of this creepy dark place complete with random homeless bums.
"What did you do?!" Honoka snaps at Green hack pissed at the fact that the trenchcoat boy murdered her boss and blew up her place of employment without a care in the world.
"You really need to chill Honoka. That wasn't your boss anymore. Once you're infected with a Dark soul gem you become one of her minions forever." Green hack replied with utter nonchalance. "Besides I'm sure he's still alive. Basic Skull raisers can survive a simple building exploding in their face no problem."
"There's more of them?" Honoka remarks in shock.
"Yeah, Raisers are just your basic grunts which anyone who is a halfway decent fighter can take on. There's the elite Skull masters who are a challenge, then there's the specialized units who can curbstomp mere mortals with ease, the commanders who have their own monster forms and are one man armies, and finally the four riders who are in charge of the Cycles cult whose powers can rearrange the landscape and whose leader has blown up planets."
Honoka just looks on in utter horror at what she has heard.
"But don't worry i'm gonna go beat them up! Or I could but I kinda have a problem." Green blurts out as he shows a green smart phone like device with a vertical flowing lime green stripe in its middle and three buttons in its lower area one circle button in the center and two arrow ones next to it. Pierced by a strange black spike not unlike a piece of an elephant's tusk. Although seemingly normal at first glance to Honoka and Green Hack who both have powerful magical abilities whether natural or trained respectively could tell there is something utterly wrong with it.
"As cliched as this sounds. That thing reeks of the dark side of the force." The girl points at the device. "There's no way that's a driver."
"Yep, this is a driver. Long, long ago the incubators used to create magical girls or as we call them now Puella Magi to harvest their energy to prolong the heat death of the universe or so they claim. They basically removed their souls from their bodies and placed them into soul gems artificially awakening their magical potential. The problem is that such a method corrupted the soul since it transmuted it from metaphysical space into the material realm creating an imperfect lich that would inevitably mutate into a monster. Drivers are reibai made methods to replicate and improve upon the system used by the incubators and mass produce it. In fact drivers are now standard issue military hardware across the galaxy."
"This is a driver?" Honoka looks on in disbelief.
"Sadly now it's been cursed and it doesn't work. Cursed by Aviator Gremlin one of the Cycles cult's commanders. His cursed tacks have the power to disable all technology including magical ones which means I can't transform or call for help and the ship I use has been disabled as well."
At that time another group of Raisers in hoods are scouring the area and have just showed up in the street in front of them. Before the Raisers realize it Green Hack preemptively shoots them dead causing a large magical explosion that consumes the back street.
Honoka annoyed at the situation replies "Okay Vegeta do you really have to murder every guy with a hood in Akihabara?"
"That was basically the idea before I met you." Hack bluntly answers.
"Why couldn't you be a pretty girl with long dark hair? At least it would be easier on the eyes." Honoka complains as she face palms.
"Now I know you're her kid."
"Hey what's that noise about?" Another voice rang out.
"I don't know but it came from where Matt's unit was investigating. We better check it out."
Hack smiled as he prepared another blast. "Oh good, more baby seals." When he is pulled away by Honoka and dragged away at top speed.
…...
Honoka Kaname's apartment
The unlikely duo is inside Honoka apartment as Honoka is dressing down Green Hack and his killing spree.
"Look I don't know where you came from but around here killing people and destroying property is illegal and immoral. You could go to jail because of your actions."
Hack meanwhile shows little concern and basically tells her compatriot. "Those "people" are Raisers. A bunch of criminals in goofy costumes. It's perfectly alright to murder them in increasingly gruesome and creative ways for the amusement of the public."
Honoka freaks out grabs Green, lifts him up from his chair and starts shaking him so roughly that he drops both his busted driver and a strange large crystal from his coat's pockets. Large enough to fit in one persons palm and with an odd pinkish rainbow hue. Drawn to it Honoka casually tosses Green across the room with him landing in a pile of old magazines. Grabbing the crystal and then the driver a massive power surge rockets across the room flooding the apartment and could be seen from outside. Gaining the attention of the Raisers and their commander a smiling orange skinned gremlin. Inside the apartment the crystal and driver are both transforming. The driver is having its tack disintegrated and restored with its colors changed to red and orange and gaining a logo in its back of a red card with an orange tear shaped gem with a v-fin and the crystal transformed into a card.
"What is this? Hey Vegeta get up!"
Green Hack gets up looking at one of the magazines realizing the contents. "Whoa, dark haired beauties unleashed. You really have the same tastes as your mother."
"Could you stop staring at my stash and come over here! Something happened to your driver."
Annoyed Green Hack got up and went back to the table where Honoka was "You know, you should do a better job at hiding your porn stash. Now what happened?" Looking at the transformed items he asks. "Whoa what happened?"
"That's what I like to know I touched them and they transformed."
Grabbing the driver and giving it a look see he mentions. "At least its working again." As the device boots up and shows its main screen showing several apps including it's transformation, cell phone, camera, and internet apps among others. Green hack touches the transformation app only for a message saying access denied to show up.
"Hey why isn't it working?" Honoka asked with concern.
"It seems the driver was reformatted. The transformation function of a driver only work with the person who first activates it as a security precaution. The driver and the user are then linked for life. You somehow managed to restore my driver and in the process resetted the security protocols so it would work for you."
"This is impossible."
"Quite so, magic of this magnitude is of a reality warping scale. Something that hasn't been seen in this universe in one thousand years." Green looks at the cards and is even more surprised noticing the design and figures shown in the card. "And a gold transformation card featuring Madoka Kaname."
"Kaname, that girl kinda looks like me. And has the last name as me."
Green sighs in exasperation and with some moments of reluctance explains to Honoka. "That pink haired girl. Madoka Kaname. Is your mother when she was alive."
Honoka was hit hard by the revelation. She never once gave much thought about her past. Yet now she is being told that her mother was a magician and that she died. All she could do is ask. "Did you know her?"
"No, but I do know her mentor Mami Tomoe and some of her comrades from the war who told me the stories about her."
"What was she like?"
"Mami-san said she was the greatest magician the universe had ever seen. And a kind and noble friend who sacrificed herself to help many people." Green became more somber for this next part "But she was betrayed. A fellow magician, a friend, a teammate, betrayed Madoka and murdered her. Her name was Homun."
Honoka was shocked at the revelation. "Homun?! The demon lord Homun?! I never heard of such a thing!"
"Of course the truth was censored after the war to protect humanity. If word got out that the demon lord Homun was human it would have disastrous for Earth and its attempts to enter the Galactic alliance. So we survivors of the war swore to take the truth to the grave giving a falsified account to the people to remember. Mami-san, Sayaka, Kyoko, Nagisa, and my onee-chan Kagami became known as the five heroes alongside the Goddess Gretchen who saved and later united the universe."
"By the way, Who's Homura?"
Green annoyed merely muttered. "Some nobody who died submitting at the hands of the demon lord. Probably enjoyed it too. Some zombies get sexually satisfied while they are being cleaved in the head with a rusty ax while they are on their knees swearing their loyalty to an avatar of Slaneesh." Finishing under his breath where no one could here. "Little bitch should have gotten the Akio treatment too before she died. Would have been glorious."
"Still that Homura's hair looks like mine. Did she have relatives or something?"
"Homura was an orphan and her remaining distant relatives were all hunted down and killed in retaliation by the Japanese populace after the war similar to how the Israeli government hunted down Nazi remnants after World war II. Homura's body was destroyed so I doubt they could find a DNA sample of her to clone. I'm going to be honest with you, I have no idea who your father is. Or how it's even possible since Madoka was GAY and apparently had a girlfriend before Homun killed them. And Madoka Kaname is a lot of things but unfaithful to her spouse is not one of them."
An explosion rocks the room and screeching noises could be heard from outside. That's when Grandma Chell opened the apartment door. Honoka goes to greet her parental figure who is terrified. "Honoka be careful! They have returned!" And then another set of explosions rocks the entire building.
"Who?" Honoka asks.
"The Cycles cult. Just like three years ago."
"Three years ago?"
Grandma Chell lowers her head in sadness as she tells her tale. "It was late at night three years ago. Me and darling were walking together in the outskirts of town when we noticed a group of people in hoods and white masks dumping a bag in a ditch and running away. We went to look at the bag and saw a symbol, a purple diamond shaped eye. The symbol of the Cycles cult. And inside that bag was you, with no memories of your past.
Grandma Chell hugs Honoka when she is shot in the back by someone. The force powerful enough to shatter Grandma Chell's shell and fry her innards. Grandma Chell looks at Honoka one last time and smiles before dying in her arms. She then goes on to see the shooter. Boss himself, still alive, surrounded by Raisers and carrying a hand mounted quad barreled blaster cannon, and looking completely different from before with purple veins on his forehead and an evil looking expression. One of the Raisers was carrying another corpse, another elderly tortoise this one brutally maimed.
"G... Grandpa!" Honoka looks on in horror as the Raiser drops the body of Grandpa Chell on the floor. "Why Boss? Why?" To which the boss would only look on with a blank stare.
Suddenly grabbed by Green Hack who merely says the word "Kuuenbu" causing him to briefly tense up and rocket outside in a burst of green energy running of the walls before jumping off the ledges and into the ground and being followed by Boss and the others who would follow suit. Boss turning into a Raiser for good measure. And to top it off two starfighters appear atop the Mafuba apartments with purple eye emblems. Gray and purple in coloring and fairly small and nimble with a long body and massive cone shaped wings with eight shaped pods with twin guns each. The pods open and fire energy bombs which level the entire building.
Honoka looked on in horror at the destruction and panic while Green could only curse in frustration. "Shit! Gremlin managed to get Pie bombers here! What the hell is the Japanese IFS doing?! At this rate the city will be destroyed!"
"The IFS wont be coming in time Vegeta." Honoka mentions in despair.
Incredulous Green shakes Honoka. "What do you mean the IFS wont come?! Even if the drivers rescue beacon is activated it will take time for the guild to form a rescue party."
"The Japanese government and the IFS legion headquarters in Kazimono have been at odds lately. They wouldn't send troops outside their borders for a small scale invasion." Oddly enough a group of blaster cannons have started to fire back at the Pies which are being successfully chased off and a number of heavily armed black vans with a slice of pizza for a logo are seen scrambling on the streets. "(Phew!) It's the Hut's. Looks like they started to defend their turf."
"They wont have a chance against Gremlin. We have to find him and kill him."
"You've gotta be kidding me. You're still going on with that crap? Why should I get involved in this mess?"
Green is shocked at this turn of events screaming out. "Because you're the daughter of Madoka Kaname! It's your duty to stop this! You owe this town, this planet, the human race that much! What about those turtle anim who died? What about that Boss guy? You can transform into a magical girl with that driver and stop Gremlin now that I can't! You were born to make history!"
Honoka backed away and upset remarked. "Really, you must have gotten beaten up at school a lot haven't you?"
Green angrily replied. "Shut up! Now I have power!"
"Not anymore asshole!" Honoka happily mentioned to which Green simply left running. Alone in the chaos Honoka simply thinks to herself. "Well at least i'm finally rid of him." Looks around her seeing the destruction and asks. "But now what?"
Meanwhile some distance away Green is still running while crying. "Waaah! She called me an asshole!"
…...
The streets of Akihabara
Green Hack stopped running in the midst of the chaos when he sees the fighting between the Hut clan and the Cycles cult. The Hut clan is basically a galaxy wide mob why is it in Akihibara is beyond him but I guess that they are the reason why Honoka is a bouncer. After all they are able to use their connections to build bootleg drivers as powerful as the real deal. Although couldn't mass produce them like the guild or IFS. At that time he is met by the space suit wearing commander who is facing seven muscled mobsters in suits with high powered cannons who started firing at him. Gremlin generated a foot long tack in each hand and swung them around deflecting all the shots while the tacks broke and the shards flew off skewered the cannons and blew them up. And with a smile outstretched his arms and launched tacks skewering their heads.
He looked at grin with a smile on his face and then a massive group of Raisers surrounded the duo. "Well, well, well, how is the curse I put on your driver and ship dealing with you?"
Green Hack looked pissed but soon recovered. "Fine Gremlin, was it worth sacrificing Rhino as a distraction?"
"Raketen Rhino failed one too many times already. Dark Messiah felt it was time for the next generation to take command. I was born and raised on this world you know. Good old mother Russia. For centuries my people toiled under the Soviet regime. We starved while the premier fought over a dying rock with the Americans but then Raketen came along. He tried to start a revolution but he didn't realize that Russians are too stupid to fend for themselves." Gremlin chuckled.
Pietr Romanov, also known as Aviator Gremlin. A rising star in the Cycles cult at 18 years of age. He spent his childhood on the streets of Stalingrad. Even thought America and Russia have long fallen into irrelevancy with the advent of space travel. Putin and his successors never did give up their dreams of reviving the Soviet Union, creating a new communist global empire, and destroying the United states. Even while being well aware that there are little girls that could easily crush their ambitions on a whim or the fleets of world glassing space craft above their heads. And the people lived in squalor. Pietr himself dreamed of going into space and leaving Earth eventually falling into a proxy rebellion led by Raketen Rhino one of Cycles cult's commanders. Pietr was damn good at his good, sadly Rhino wasn't. And that's being nice. The Neo KGB eventually caught on and destroyed the rebellion and would have done the same to Pietr if he didn't discover his power. The ability to disable and destroy technology with his cursed tacks. With this he managed to escape and using Rhino as a distraction/meat shield he stole his spaceship and left Earth. Impressed with his actions and power the four riders granted him the position of commander becoming Aviator Gremlin.
"Boy I was given the order to kill you. Dark Messiah feels that you have been a thorn in her side for far too long."
"I don't get it why doesn't she target the five heroes?"
"The five heroes never stood a chance against Homun on their own." Gremlin pulled out a dark soul gem this one with golden accents and pressed the button on the top. "They only won because of this. Magirise!" Then a gray egg shaped crystal just like a soul gem covers Gremlin which is flooded with a black mist and lightning with a dark rock musical accompaniment.
The gem cracks leaking the dark mist which then explodes revealing Aviator Gremlin's monster form. A red and white mechanical man with a propeller plane motif. Having long slim arms and legs, his arms in particular touching the ground and being huge, similar to wings with massive round hands and large claws for fingers. His shoulders are missile pods and his torso is the nose of a plane with a propeller. The purple eye of the Cycles cult was in the stomach and oddly enough a round white helmet similar to an astronaut with two antenna. He carried missiles in his arms and his skinny legs looked like the rear and tail of a plane. The back was a giant thruster which lit up as he flew up into the sky while spreading out his arms outward like a plane.
Scourge of the modern industrial economic complex
Cycles cult commander
Category 4 mahou driver
Aviator Gremlin
"Now, DIE!" And with that order Gremlin's Raiser minions swoop in on Green Hack who prepares to fight.
…...
At that time Honoka went back to the ruins of the Pussy destroyer netcafe and just stood there staring at the destruction while the sound of explosions and starfighter engines could be heard in the distance leveling Akihabara. Looking defeated Honoka merely stood there thinking about the events of the day and how she is basically alone in the world now. She took out the card featuring Madoka Kaname and wondered what her mother was like. And if she could have stopped all of this madness.
And then the driver she kept began ringing. Honoka picked it up and saw that the screen said anonymous. Honoka was about to reject the call when the driver activated and began floating in midair freaking out Honoka.
"You must be Kaname-san." The voice of a young woman came from the driver. "It feels strange saying that name after all this years. I may be sounding disrespectful but can I call you Kaname-chan? To tell you apart from your mother."
"You knew my mother?! And no I don't really mind. Look you don't have to use honorifics its so old fashioned."
"You think so too Kaname-chan. Sorry, I just can't. I just can't."
"You just like being polite?"
"Sure, let's go with that... Anyways I did know your mother. I was somewhat of her mentor of sorts at being a magician. I still remember when we first met. I was fighting a witch all alone and I would have been killed if she didn't save me. The two of us joined forces to fight Walpurgisnacht a super witch of long ago. Those times feel like they were another lifetime now though. Why didn't you transform I wonder? Your mother would have done so without hesitation."
"Why should I? This whole thing is crazy! Grandpa, grandma, boss. They're all dead. That Green Hack guy is an evil sociopath. And you expect me to believe i'm the daughter of this master magician who can warp reality on a whim?"
"The proof is in the pudding wouldn't you agree?" Honoka looks at the driver and the cards and remembers that they were very different previously pouting in annoyance. "Frankly i'm glad you're more restrained than Kaname-san. Your mother would recklessly throw herself at a situation without thinking things thru. And she would sacrifice herself for people who in the end didn't deserve it." A beeping noise is heard from the driver. "It seems that enemies are reaching your position." Honoka prepares to flee when the driver gets on her face. "Wait! There's one last thing I have to say. Your mother had the power to change the fabric of reality. She made it possible once for Puella Magi to use their magic without becoming witches."
Hearing that shocked Honoka as she grabbed the driver. "That can't be! You would need to rewrite reality itself to do so. Magical power akin to a god, like Gret... My mother... Was the goddess Gretchen?"
"Yes Kaname-chan and it's clear you have inherited her divine powers somehow. You could even reverse the effect of the dark soul gems. Even thought I don't know how."
Right then and there a group of Raisers appeared ready to fight. Honoka looked at then and asked. "So, how do you fight them?" When five of the six cards turned into balls of light and flew into the driver and the Madoka Kaname card stayed hovering atop the driver. The driver then poured a blast of energy into the card causing it to glow red and the sound of drums began to ring.
Honoka grabs the card and says. "This really sounds like a deal with the devil, miss voice."
The voice merely remarks. "True, but you can either run, die, or fight. Right now you lost everything and if the universe finds out the truth you are dead. The inquisition and the Cycles cult will hunt you down no matter where you go. This IS a deal with the devil Kaname-chan. You will spend a lifetime fighting monsters. You will forsake anything resembling happiness and normalcy. You will risk dying like an animal at any given moment. And it's the best damn deal you're going to get."
Grabbing the card with her left hand Honoka's body except her head is enveloped with binary code. Countless zeroes, ones, and occasionally some twos and tosses it. "Into the drive!" The card explodes into numerous beams of light which bombard Honoka transforming her into an armored warrior. Red and orange armored in coloration and in many ways a mechanical non frilly version of Madoka Kaname's magical girl costume with several changes. Being more of a bodysuit and armor than a costume with a red helmet with its hair sculpted into long twintails like her civilian form, an orange visor, and two large orange hair clips taking the place of the ribbons. Her armor is all red with an orange tear shaped crystal in the center and round shoulder pads with the left one having a yellow circular emblem with a white Y inside and a pair of stylized wings with the right pad having an orange gem. The gloves undersides are orange with the upper armor being red with an orange tear shaped crystal on the hands. And the same with the boots. The driver itself vanishes and another burst of energy erupts from Honoka.
Something inside the armor suddenly shouted. "Red card! The card changing hero!" And a techno beat rang out from the armor.
"What just happened?" Honoka blurted out in a deadpan tone.
It is the year 1000 PCE. For more than a hundred centuries The Immortals have sat in the golden thrones of Center. They are the masters of mankind and countless other races by the will of the gods, and masters of a million worlds by the might of their inexhaustible armies. Living carcasses cursed by powers from the dark age of magic from countless lives have been lost to end. In a war so monstrous and far reaching that entire populations are silenced out of fear of a resurgence of such events.
Yet even in this age war is a constant. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon infested miasma of the warp. Vast armies give battle in uncounted worlds. Greatest among these soldiers are the legionnaire space marines, super warriors enhanced by the incubators former technology. Their comrades in arms are legion: The Internal fleet systems armed forces and countless planetary defense forces, the ever vigilant inquisition, and the tech masters of the mechanocracy to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants, and worse.
To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget hope and miracles, for they have been spurned in the pursuit of selfish desire. Forget the promise of forgiveness and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace among the stars, No happy ending for magical girls, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.
To be continued...