o/~ I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world. o/~
The raspy voice of a man long dead crooned over the network.
It was a foreign singer from the west. His song was in english, but where language might prove a barrier, magic allowed you to understand his words. More, it allowed you to understand the feeling behind it.
And they were enough to bring tears to your eyes. He sang of the world that was, before everything moved on.
Of a world where things made sense, where the skies were and the clouds white.
As the song wound to an end, you wipe the tears from your eyes.
It might be sentimental of you, but that song... it was enough to help you remember the world that had been. The world as it could be, as it should be.
Where you didn't have to hide in a safe house constructed of your magic, where you could walk in the open beneath a blue sky and enjoying the light of a clean sun.
That wonderful ordinary normal world.
It was a wonderful world that you had taken for granted. Even with the magic that Kyuubey had given you.
But that was before,..
Before the shattering of your heart by grief.
Before the world inverted around you, as you were drawn into the Witches' World. That insane realm where the Witches born of Despair came from.
Instinct kept you alive as your soul shone brighter than it ever had and formed a sanctuary for your to hide in.
It was luck that had you listening in telepathically and hear the siren call of H N Elly as she called herself. She was a magical girl who specialized in communication magic. At least, more so than others did.
It was Elly who was broadcasting the music and news. It was she, amongst others, who helped new magical girls who fell to grief and ended up... here.
After all, the notion of creating constructs of magic, probes as it were, to explore the world around you, that wouldn't have occurred to you. It was one of the tricks that was shared by the network. And those probes were far more than just exploration devices. They brought back material that your magic can purify into edible food. They helped protect your sanctuary against... them.
You were trapped in a world gone mad, a world where the Witches came from.
If Witches were insane parodies of magical girls who've ventured into the real world, then... there must also be those who've stayed behind in their world.
And there were so many of [THEM].
All of [THEM] so very wrong.
Twisted.
Perverse.
It hurt your senses to look at them for too long.
And yet, [THEY] wandered the world. Looking for prey. Looking for magical girls who had fallen into their world. Looking for you.
There were those girls who fell into this world, whose instincts were not quick enough. There those girls whose sanctuary and magical defenses were insufficient.
And [THEY] got to them
Every now and then, H N Elly's news covered the sad results of those encounters.
As you wipe your tears from your eyes, you kept a sharp ear to Elly's transmissions; it was time for the news.
"Good evening, girls... H N Elly here with your daily dose of news and such. Now I'm sure you've noticed more connections by new girls lately and they've been alive and active. This is in part to the actions of the Walpurgis Nacht group, those girls are truly the bravest of the brave as they wander the wasteland," The happiness and joy in Elly's voice was something that didn't need to be faked.
"In any event, I've got a bit of good news. Those girls in Walpurgis Nacht have successfully converted one of [THEIR] cities. It's the local analog of Kyoto, and they've managed to recover a fair bit of non-perishables and perishables from the conversion. They'll be swinging by the girls around Kyoto to divvy up the goods."
"Now, on to other news, I would like to welcome a new girl from Mitakihara City, whose here in my humble little studio. Her name is Charlotte, and she's the magical girl of... desserts. That's right, girls... we've got someone whose magic is all about making desserts..."
At the sound of the applause and polite greetings from across the network, you can hear the new girl respond with an embarrassed auuu. You have to smile at that, it would be nice to be able to have a cake instead of the dry and dreary food you've been making with your magic.
You'll need to get something to give to this Charlotte to trade. As such, you pay attention to H N Elly's interview that she does with Charlotte.
The information isn't much... but you'll just have to get your hand on some cheese... some how.
As the interview ends, another old song is broadcast...
o/~Here is a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy... o/~
It isn't much, all you have to keep you sane are old songs played by Elly... but, you just need to keep an eye on your defenses, and hope that someone, somewhere, will work out a way to return to the real world. Or that Walpurgis Nacht can somehow transform the entire world...
And with those thoughts, you slip into sleep and set your constructs [familiars] on patrol.
Owari?