Duplicator: The magical girl uses magic particles to form an exact copy of something. This something changes based on the limitations of the ability. Some are able to duplicate bodies, generally themselves, others can duplicate weapons. The copy is just that, a copy, perfect in every way. It retains all the same functions as the original. Duplicated bodies will think in the same way as the one who created them, but lack duplication abilities of their own, and will decompose after a period of time related to how powerful the original duplicator is.
Don't do anything to her yet. Let her run about a bit more, see where she's going with this. This girl doesn't seem like the type to do things at random. While only she may see it, there is a method to her madness. I don't want to start some incident now, just let this lie until she does something that is directly a breach of a rule.
-Message from Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel to the Hadiens PDG.
Estelle did indeed start this 'it' that Justinia was referring to. She and Adrianne were attempting to have a polite and ordered conversation. Adrianne had chosen to get her talking about the state of the wider inquisition, knowing that their opinions strongly opposed each other when it came to that topic. She had certainly goaded Estelle on intentionally. After all, the whole idea was that she would distract the girl enough so that she'd not be able to properly respond when word did reach her.
Such a discussion would distract Estelle from the more important issue of what was actually going on here, which would be that the whole thing was meant to be a large distraction. However, a rather intense argument had started, and Adrianne could tell that it was going to go nowhere, and end up causing more problems than actually helping the whole plan.
So Adrianne had turned her back on Estelle as soon as the inquisitor had started a particularly long monologue that was clear to go on for an unnecessarily long time. This simple gesture from Adrianne angered Estelle more than anything else that Adrianne had done in the past twenty minutes.
She was just going into the particularly long part of a rant about exactly what Adrianne needed to be worrying about, her daggers appearing in between her fingers as she prepared for what this would bring.
Sure enough, Estelle shouted, "Listen to me!" as a halberd brushed past Adrianne's face as she turned to face the thrower of the strike. Adrianne stepped back with her left floor, brining herself into position to be barely scraped by the edge of the weapon as it passed by her.
"The girl that was there! The shapeshifter!" Estelle screamed, desperately trying to get the girl to calm down. Adrianne smiled, and her left hand flicked out, sending three daggers flying at Estelle, who immediately leapt over the projectiles. Adrianne's right hand came in towards her body, before flicking upwards, sending her projectiles upwards now. She then leapt up after them, summoning more of her weapons. "She was a duplicate! There was no remnant of her soul gem there! She was just a fake created by a duplicator!"
Estelle saw the daggers coming up and struck out towards them as she brought her halberd up and around. As it circled back into a resting position in her hands, she changed the motion to strike down at the dagger closest to herself. She threw out a magical charge which resulted in her being pushed back by the force she applied to the dagger.
Adrianne felt a tickling at the edge of her mind, and she knew that it was Estelle picking at her, hunting for any weaknesses. She had fought Adrianne before, but Adrianne had changed the layout of her exterior mind, not wanting to be caught by the same weakness twice.
"Shut up!" Adrianne replied, "That girl shapeshifted. There's no way a duplicator could have latent shapeshifting potential of that level, or the other way around! And the duplicate showed all the signs of being a full girl!"
She was already in the air, so she threw all six of her daggers at Estelle, but added chains dragging behind them this time. Estelle tried to knock them all away, but the strange curves that Adrianne used her magic to guide them at meant that two wrapped around the halberd haft and pulled it back towards Adrianne.
"Then explain how she could do both, as there was no remnant of her. We know that when a soul gem breaks, it always leave some kind of trace, even if it is infinitesimally small. The body broke down as well!" Estelle continued, "It was a duplicate! And it shapeshifted! Somebody made it!"
Estelle applied her magic to push herself downwards towards Adrianne, her leg outstretched, turning what should have been a minor win for Adrianne into a success for Estelle. However, Adrianne just barely managed to bend backwards enough to dodge the kick as it passed over her head.
"So what?!" she demanded.
This put her in the perfect position to strike back. As Estelle passed over her head, she let go of the daggers, before turning around in midair, dragging her leg out in front of herself. She spun around, and the side of her foot hit the side of Estelle's head as she spun. Estelle was knocked to the right, falling towards the ground with her back facing down.
Now looking up at Adrianne, Estelle looked as if she would cast her halberd upwards. But what she did instead was accelerate her descent towards the ground, before flipping in midair and falling down face first. She struck down with her halberd, giving herself extra height as she pushed herself off the ground.
"It means we're dealing with somebody who can create a duplicate that can use other powers!" Estelle said, "That requires a lot of skill and magic, something that most girls don't just have."
Adrianne had fallen downwards, having accelerated her fall to avoid the halberd that she thought would have been thrown at her. But instead she found Estelle coming at her from above, swinging her halberd down in a large overhead arc.
The strike was quick and powerful and Adrianne barely blocked it by crossing her six daggers over her head. Yet Estelle wasted no time, and bounced off Adrianne's guard to gain some distance before snapping out a kick that sent Adrianne flying backwards.
"It doesn't matter! I've already accepted Ishna's strength! I saw her fight back then. But it doesn't matter, I'll still beat her!" Adrianne swore.
Adrianne threw her daggers as she fell back onto her rear. The chains that trailed behind the blades should have encircle the open Estelle, but that was the time when Estelle choose to fire off her first mental attack. A lance of mental force, constructed from Estelle's will, slammed into Adrianne's mind, driving past the outer layer of defense.
Adrianne winced as she was hit, but it also caused all of her daggers to either be easily deflected or miss. Adrianne was still reeling, but she had learned to deal with such pain from dealing with telepaths like Estelle before. It felt as if someone had driven a sword into her mind. It did hurt greatly, but a host of negative emotions came along with the pain. Adrianne gritted her teeth and did her best to ignore the discomfort as the fight continued.
"Stop this!" Estelle screamed as she leapt forwards with a lunging stab that should have pierced Adrianne's head with ease. But the inquisitor rolled to the side and dragged her leg out as she did. Estelle was tripped by the move, and Adrianne stood up with a spin and, flinging the daggers she had summoned during the roll. "You're going to destroy yourself!" Estelle screamed again, louder this time.
Estelle, being partially in Adrianne's mind at this point, could see this attack coming, and the daggers were easy for her to deflect as she rolled up and flourished her halberd. Adrianne was leaping back in as this happened, and six more dagger were flung, landing all around Estelle.
However, the daggers did not miss. They reached their intended locations with no delay. The chains they held behind them were right, and they occupied six points around Estelle. Adrianne leapt in the air, summoning daggers on the opposite end of each chain. She then threw these daggers, causing the chains to be pulled tight around Estelle, as the daggers in the air went in circular paths. "I don't care!" Adrianne shouted, "Just stop getting in my way!"
Adrianne then kicked downwards, driving herself down with her magic. She would have slammed the heel of her boot right into Estelle's head were it not for the second mental lance fired by the inquisitor.
Adrianne lost all her momentum as she lost consciousness for a brief second I her fall. She was powerful, but Estelle was hitting her weaknesses. Telepaths could do two things when attacking another magical girl. They could launch direct attacks targeting the mind, and using magic to directly hit the brain and the mind to disrupt the girl's actions.
Or she could break down the girl's defenses, read her mind, and discover how to induce negative emotions inside her mind. Estelle choose the latter method, and her initial penetration confirmed her suspicion that Adrianne was worried the most about Erwine. It was easy to hit a girl with her worst nightmares, shoving them right in front of her face, making her experience a massive amount of grief. For multiple seconds, the worst case scenario was real for Adrianne.
This would result in a small to massive amount of trauma, all based on how far the images and signals could reach. Estelle could see that she needed to hit Adrianne with these signals right now, so she did not try to get any deeper into the girl's mind, striking as things were. This meant that while Adrianne was hit hard, she was not hit hard enough to cause any serious damage.
And that was what happened to Adrianne, as some of the worst scenarios she could imagine played out in her head for a brief few seconds. She instead fell down right next to Estelle, but was conscious the next second as Estelle stood over, holding her halberd down at her rival inquisitor.
"Don't do this…" Estelle begged. She was at the limits of her patience. "Just stop this, we can work together. I'm merely trying to warn you."
Adrianne looked up at Estelle, adjusting to lie on her back as the two made eye contact. "That was low," Adrianne said, hatred in her voice. It was not simple annoyance or anger, either. It was raw hatred. "Is it not clear that you shouldn't mess with Erwine?" she growled. Adrianne was shaking now, trying to contain the surging anger she felt for the girl now.
Things were different now. Before…she'd just been distracting Estelle, all part of the plan. Now…Estelle had just strayed into an area that was sacred to Adrianne. Estelle was going to pay.
Estelle shrugged, "Desperate times call for-"
"Shut up!" Adrianne said, kicking upwards. She knocked the halberd upwards, and darted up from where she lay. Her hand slammed into Estelle's stomach, driving a trio of daggers into and out the back of the girl's body. She took Estelle all the way down to the ground, even driving the weapons through the metal of the roof.
Blood spurted out, and Estelle gasped as Adrianne stared down at her. "That was not desperate. I will never directly hurt Erwine. No matter how much we disagree, no matter how much she hates me, I will never hurt her like that, and you know that full well!"
Estelle's eyes widened suddenly. Adrianne frowned, before Estelle slid the haft of her halberd under Adrianne's body. Using the leverage she had, Estelle flipped the halberd straight up and down, moving Adrianne off of her. The daggers were still mostly in Estelle, but they were easy to remove as Estelle leapt up and backed away.
She glared at Adrianne, her eyes harsh as they looked at the girl. Adrianne was ready for the battle to continue, "Clever girl…" Estelle muttered just loud enough for Adrianne to hear.
Adrianne smiled, "So you've heard?" she asked, then tilted her head to the side, "Or have you figured it out yourself?" she shook her head then, "No, not smart enough for that." A cunning grin came across her face as she turned around once again, ignoring the anger that was rising on Estelle's face as she walked away.
"Laelia has just killed Celestine, and just got done torturing Sechylia!" Estelle shouted, "Would you like to explain that?!"
Adrianne shrugged, turning around as she did so. Six daggers flew out towards Estelle as the inquisitor turned, dragging their chains behind them. "I guess I wouldn't," Adrianne admitted, in a shameful voice. "I have better things to do, like distracting you from doing anything to assist,"
The daggers flew out towards Estelle, who leapt back, deflecting them as they converged on. "You've made a huge mistake!" Estelle shouted, "You have crossed a line that should not have been crossed at all! I have never done anything like that to you!"
"You just tried to say it yourself, desperate times call for desperate measures," Adrianne explained, "I'm too close to Ishna to lose her now!"
"I am fairly certain that you are about to walk into a trap!" Estelle shouted, as Adrianne walked even closer to her. "The trap of someone who's more powerful than you are, easily more powerful!"
"I already know how powerful Ishna is!" Adrianne replied, "Determination means something as well, you know. Besides, you're only trying to slow me down!"
"How many times have I said something like that to hurt you?!" Estelle demanded, saying, "I only want to help you!" Her tone was of somebody who was in pain.
"And I can't believe that anymore!" Adrianne shouted, tears glistening in her eyes, "You say that I can't do this and that, they're all too dangerous for me! You don't want to protect me from my own anger, you want to win this for yourself, and finally get me locked up!"
Estelle tried to open her mouth, but Adrianne silenced her. She shouted, "I don't even know how I trusted you in the first place so long ago!" She gritted her teeth, shaking her head as barely restrained herself from continuing to fight right there. "You betrayed me back then! Ever since then, you've just told me off, telling me that I'm a maniac who believes in lies!"
Tears poured down her cheeks as she screamed, "I saw Ishna kill them in front of me! She knew I was there watching! Those screams that I heard couldn't have been a damned illusion!"
"By the Goddess, I'm not denying that people died!" Estelle shouted, "But I'm saying that as things are, your 'determination' is going to get yourself killed!"
"So what?!" her daggers fell to the ground, "Erwine can finish job if she must! I believe in her! I made her specifically for this task!"
Estelle shook her head, "You can't win this, not alone. Please, listen to me, Adrianne."
"I am done with your lies!" the girl in red declared, "No matter what you say, I will go ahead and win this! I don't care if I have to kill you!" Tears came out of her eyes as she thought to herself, daggers appearing in her hands as she leapt forwards again.
Nadine, everybody…I promise, I won't ever forget you. Maybe I'll even see you all soon.
Laelia stared at Sechylia, the girl still laying crippled on the floor. "So what are you going to do?" she asked the girl, who lay in a pool of her own blood, the expansion of which was only now stopping as the wounds in the girl's knees healed from the wounds dealt to them.
Sechylia shrugged. "You said you wanted to fight me," said Laelia as she chuckled, realizing her menacing aura had been unneeded. "But you can't really move, so what are you going to do?"
Laelia extender her arm towards Sechylia. All it would take was a single pull of the trigger, and the girl's body would be dead, and Laelia could just break out and be on her way.
That was when Sechylia smiled, "I never said that directly," she said, "And I know I can't win." Her hand stretched up, a shotgun formed in her hand, being the kind of weapon she was able to summon. Then she aimed down at Laelia as the sound of shifting metal echoed through the room, "I only want to stop you,"
A dozen small holes in the wall opened up. Out of them flew small objects, hovering in the air from the power of the small rotors on their frame. Machine guns and small rocket pods were mounted on their fronts. Laelia recognized them as small attack drones, most likely controlled by Sechylia.
The girl smiled as the drones attacked, their guns firing. The crack of lasbolts filled the room as two dozen weapons fired. But even this fearsome barrage that would have served to cut down a platoon of humans could not touch Laelia. Her shield prevented all of the gunfire.
Sechylia rolled to the side, moving behind one of the couches as Laelia opened fire. She summoned another ten guns around her, and her return fire should have demolished the drones easily, but they were moving too fast and too erratically for her.
Explosions touched off as the rockets were fired en masse. Several of them were flashbangs, not designed to harm her at all. Many others were smoke rounds. When the barrage ended, Laelia had no idea where the drones were. But she had the feeling that the drones knew where she was.
She focused her vision, looking around the area. She noticed several faint beams of light as she moved her vision into the area usually invisible to humans. The sign of tracking lasers that recorded and transmitted every bit of her motion to Sechylia. Laelia noticed the ground was rigged with sensors as well, and a few monitors were embedded in the ceiling and floor. The smoke could not penetrate her shield. So they had a perfect view of where she was.
Laelia set to work destroying all that, but she was still taking fire, and she knew that Sechylia had to have gotten off a message. Someone had to be on the way back right now. She had to get out soon. Laelia started to wildly spray the room with gunfire, as she summoned an extra dozen guns. She knew that Sechylia would be on the floor, so she only aimed her shots at the upper areas of the room.
She shut her eyes, crossed her arms, and circled the two dozen machine guns around herself, firing as fast as they could. Several times, Laelia heard the sound of a drone being hit and it falling to the ground. The smoke slowly cleared, and when it did, only a single drone barely remained aloft.
The walls of the room were pitted with hundreds and hundreds of craters, and the ceiling was just as damaged. The shutters that had been dropped in front of Laelia had suffered much damage as well. She dropped her shield, only to extend with massive speed and focus behind her. The wall screeched as it buckled.
The two dozen guns then cut open a hole large enough for a human. Laelia was still watching the room, her arms crossed, as the guns dissipated. Her shield was back to fully protecting her now, but she knew that she needed to conserve magic. She had not brought any cubes, and she had already used a great deal of magic.
She knew that Sechylia was just lying behind a couch. Laelia started to walk towards the couch, confident in the abilities of her shield. Sechylia was not there. She was nowhere in the room. Laelia spun around, looking back towards the shutters. They had not moved, but Sechylia was gone. Laelia looked all around the ceiling, not knowing where the girl was.
Then Laelia saw it, a section of the wall. This section had fewer craters than the rest of the wall. The section was right next to the couch Sechylia had first rolled behind. Laelia brought her guns up as the hidden compartment in the wall popped open.
There was the loud bark of a shotgun blast as Sechylia fired her weapon, a much larger and enhanced version of her normal summon, into Laelia's face. The shield burst with a loud pop, but Laelia retaliated. Her bullets tore Sechylia's arms and legs off, before Laelia stepped forwards and kicked the girl back into the compartment.
She shook her head, "Close but no cigar," Laelia said, before dissipating her shield and weapons, and walking back towards the stairs. That was when her hand brushed the shutters as she stepped through. With a loud bang and a flash of sparks, she was flung back as a massive electrical charge passed through her body, killing her in an instant.
Her soul gem survived, and she would barely have enough magic to heal, and Sechylia had no way to capitalize on this success. Except for the grin that spread across her face.
Erwine really had no idea what the layout of an upper area of a hive city looked like, nor how she would get around. In fact, she truly knew absolutely nothing about the whole place, no matter what planet she was on.
However, Wei seemed to know more than she did, so she was content following the older girl around the place. They now walked down the sidewalk of a street that wound its way through the upper hive, talking over the din of the cars that drove by and the ships that filled the air.
Other people were around them, but magical girls were a known sight in the Imperium. Every single human they encountered made sure to give the two plenty of room. Erwine found it strange, but she knew the reason why.
It had been only five minutes since they left the restaurant, and the two had been mostly silent. Erwine was thinking that Wei would speak first, but the girl seemed afraid to speak. "Why are you afraid?" Erwine asked, her voice showing her concern.
"Of what?" Wei asked, clearly attempting to put off answering the question for as long as possible.
"Of talking to me?" Erwine asked, "You're the older girl here,"
"I am," Wei agreed, then explained, slowly, "I am…afraid, because frankly, I know that I am not much compared to you,"
"Wei," Erwine said, "You know what I told you, you don't want to go through what I went through."
"You said that it was worth it,"
"I know, but that's only because of what I want to do for Adrianne."
"That's the only reason you have?"
"Not entirely," Erwine shook her head, "Adrianne made me into something I find worthwhile. Barley ten days ago…I couldn't make a decision to save my life. Now I am capable of killing people and not breaking down into a mess."
"But were it not for those things, you'd want to take it back."
Erwine nodded at this. "Otherwise I'd want to take all that back. I am saying that if you do not have a strong desire to do something now, then it is best waiting. We still don't know what aftereffects might occur because of what was done," Erwine was sad, sad that she was having to make an older girl feel better. It was not that she felt pity for Wei. In fact, she wished that Wei would understand that what Erwine had been through was not pleasant in the slightest.
Wei shook her head, "Estelle recruited me six months ago, because…because I begged her for it. I…I wanted to be in the Inquisition. I didn't want local patrol, I didn't want the mage knights." That statement surprised Erwine. She didn't think a girl would turn down the mage knights.
"But I'm…not exactly good at this job. I thought it would be different. Local matters bored me…and the mage knights scared me. I couldn't possibly fathom an eternity of war. The Inquisition sounded like the best. I heard the rumors but I did not believe them," Wei was solemn, looking off to the side at the passing vehicles as the two girls followed the street that was just beginning to slope upwards towards a higher level.
"I thought I was going to be something like the Arbites, but a magical girl. The idea of fighting the enemy within…attracted me, somehow. I thought that…that I would be no good on a true battlefield."
Erwine said nothing as Wei continued. She had nothing to say. She knew that the Inquisition was worse than a battlefield. She knew the pain of killing another one of her own kind, whose crimes may or may not have deserved that punishment.
"Estelle took one look at me, and she told me the truth. She said that I would not be able to do much here, but she would take me if I insisted…" Wei's voice died out softly, as Erwine figured out the rest of the story.
"You found out that you can't do much?" she guessed.
Wei smiled at how simple the guess was, but also at how correct it was, "Yes," she confirmed, "There is not much a scared little girl like I can do, in this Inquisition,"
"That is a lie," Erwine said softly, "I was a coward once, but now you say I am more than you are,"
"We all start off cowards," Wei said, "Everyone starts off as a coward, afraid of things that they cannot comprehend, but what is different is that some adapt more quickly than others."
"Why does Estelle not like you?" Erwine asked.
"I'm honestly…just some baggage at this point," Wei confessed, "She's been so completely focused on chasing down Adrianne, that she spends no time actually making sure I am alright, which is supposedly contradictory to what Adrianne die with you, according to Celestine, who heard that from Laelia,"
Erwine was surprised, "What has Estelle told you about Adrianne?"
"She is a heretic, whose actions have only barely been legal for a long time now, and that she must be stopped before some long plan of hers comes to fruition."
"That's a lie as well," Erwine said, looking around the city. She detached her eyes from Wei, and gazed around as the street leveled out once again. People still dodged around her and her companion.
"Is it?" Wei asked.
"It is," Erwine confirmed, "Adrianne is trying to avenge some friends of hers. Her situation…is not good because of some details of that story,"
"Like what?"
"She was rescued by the Eldar, and no one else survived the incident. So it looks like she just appeared on a planet light years away from her previous location, with little knowledge of how she got there. Ii is the perfect set-up for her to be painted as a heretic,"
Wei asked, softly, in a voice that simply questioned, and did not take offence to anything being said, "You blame Estelle for all this?"
"I keep hearing that Estelle wants to help Adrianne, and Adrianne does not seem to deny that whenever I have asked her about it, but I do not know her true motives,"
"Yet you say you know Adrianne's motives?" Wei asked, "What if Estelle is correct?"
"I don't want this argument, not now," Erwine said, shaking her head and looking back at Wei.
"I'm not arguing," Wei said, quick to turn her head away from Erwine, feeling hurt by the annoyed gaze she received.
"You really are scared, aren't you?" Erwine asked, "I had no idea that…that even causing someone to be…" she paused, as she realized that this used to be her. It used to be her before a possibly insane women came in and completely changed her life in less that twenty-four hours.
Wei's not an exception, Erwine realized, she's the rule. This is how you're supposed to bring up a magical girl. Not even the mage knights know about this kind of stuff for months after they contract and begin training.
"You should not compare yourself to me…" Erwine realized, her voice becoming solemn and distant as she looked down at her feet, tears coming to her eyes. A memory flashed back to her. It had to be from at least a year before. It was Nada, saying goodbye with teary eyes.
The sight was so distant in Erwine's mind, yet in reality, it occurred not long ago. Not long for anyone, even a normal human. Compared to the massive gulf of time that Erwine's mind placed there, barely ten days was nothing.
"I have come so incredibly far in such a short amount of time," Erwine said, finally realizing what was so strange about the city, "I don't even remember what it was like to be a poor little girl in the lower city,"
Wei looked at Erwine. At first, anger flared in the dark-haired girl, as it seemed that Erwine was directing the conversation away from Wei's problems and to her own issues, but then she realized that Erwine was saying all this to help her.
"I may be special," she said, "I may be better than you, in some way I can't figure out. But that betterness, for lack of a better word, has only happened because…of what Adrianne has done to me. I don't blame her, I can't blame her, after what she has gone through, but I also can't deny that her terrible actions have led me to this state."
The two were silent, until Erwine paused suddenly. She turned her head, and stepped over to the edge of the sidewalk, and because of the way the street was designed, she was walking to the edge of the long bridge the street was on. Beneath her was the city.
She looked down, past all the hustle and bustle of the higher parts, trying to catch a glimpse of the lower areas. With all the smog, the darkness from the night, and the height she was at, Erwine was hard-pressed to even figure out if she could see it.
Wei came up beside her. "I can't say I understand. I was a girl on an agri-world, lived out in a rural area. Never really knew what all this was like. I never felt jealous of anyone higher than me, because for me, life on a huge farm was better than anything a city could offer. The PDG picked me up when I contracted, and were ready to assign me to a local patrol group when Estelle happened to stop by."
Wei sighed, "Do you think I should have begged her?"
Erwine shook her head. "No, I don't think I should have accepted Adrianne's request when she gave it. But I did, and you begged Estelle. We trapped ourselves into this life, because of the false view we had of it, perpetuated by those who live it."
"Do you blame the ones who create the public image?" Wei asked.
Erwine shook her head, "No one would join the Inquisition or the Mage Knights if they really knew what it was like, and one cannot force a being powered by their hope to do anything they don't want to do, and then do that thing well."
Wei had no argument with what was said. She was leaning her back against the railing that Erwine looked out over. "Thank you," she said softly, "For making me feel better,"
"…You're welcome," Erwine said, her tears slipping off her cheeks to fall down towards the city below.
"Do you miss home that much?" Wei asked.
"I told my friend that I would be a hero one day," Erwine said softly, "But now, I realize that heroes are not made in the Inquisition,"
"Don't blame yourself, you had no idea," Wei said.
Erwine started to cry a bit harder. "She won't understand, I can't possibly tell her the truth. She may spread it around, if I even get to see her again."
"Do you want to see her again?" Wei asked, turning her head to look at Erwine. Her dark-hair shifting as her eyebrows raised, then fell immediately, as she realized the motion was a bit too interrogative for the current situation.
"Of course I do," Erwine replied, "But…I doubt I ever will see her again,"
"Why?"
"She'll die much sooner than I will," Erwine said, "And with the life of an inquisitor being as busy as it is, how will I ever find my way back in time?"
Wei said nothing. Instead, she moved. She took a step forwards, then a step to the left, turning her whole body that way. A short gust of wind ruffled the clothes and hair of the two. Erwine was surprised when Wei did not leave. Instead, she felt a gloved hand grip tightly on her shoulder.
"Don't feel that way," the dark-haired girl advised, "Such thoughts lead to dark places,"
Erwine smiled a little. It was a humorous smile, devoid of any real happiness. "I've already been to dark places, I seem to be fine."
"And here I am happy as ever," Wei said, "Yet relying on a girl who is five months younger than me, who do you think is the better magical girl?"
The two were silent as they stood there. Erwine figured that they would start to feel uncomfortable at some point, but as it was, she was content.
"What did you wish for?" Erwine asked suddenly, blurting out the words then instantly regretting them as soon as she heard Wei stir from behind her.
"I-I-I don't know what to-"
"Don't answer," Erwine quickly said, "It was…uncalled for…"
Wei nodded, but the words stuck in her head. She kept repeating them over and over as Erwine's eyes became moist once again. Slowly, she opened her mouth. "You want to know?"
Erwine nodded. "I can't tell you," Wei admitted, "That is far too close to my heart, and we shall surely be driven apart soon, due to our allegiances,"
"Do you want to know what I wished for?" Erwine asked.
"No, because I would not be able to return the gesture," Wei said, her voice stern, "Do not speak a word of your wish, for I am unable to speak a word of mine,"
"There is a reason I would be better off in an organization where one girl easily trusts another," Wei said, "I'll say this much," before turning to look at Erwine, "I am, and I do not kid you, a natural spell programmer,"
Erwine's eyes widened. "A natural…" she said, interested. Spell programming, a use for magic that involved the manipulation of magic to create complex networks of actions and reactions that resulted in a single conclusion. It was basically like programming a cogitator, but a thousand times more complex, and on the spot, as opposed to spending hours and hours hunched over a desk.
It was something many, many magical girls did naturally, in a way. Creating several chains of functions in a single command to one's own magic was simple. But it was different from true spell programming, which only naturals could do. A natural was born without any other ability, even the ability to create weapons.
They would have to do everything by manipulating basic magic particles. All girls would generally learn some kind of spell-programming as they aged. Not all inquisitors learned it, given how busy they would usually be, but all mage knights would have at least a basic ability by the time they finished training.
Spell programming could be used for a myriad of purposes. Everything from simply creating a barrier to opening a portal through the warp. They could do many things, and even do them well. The issue was that it took a lot of time to create a program, so fighting in fast-moving battles with no support was effectively impossible.
Spell programming was feared by some, given that it was able to open portals to the warp, and was the main thing used by traitors to summon daemons. So programmers were always closely monitored, but opinion had never been entirely against them. The benefits were far too great, and the risks didn't come close to outweighing the good.
Erwine now understood why Estelle had told Wei to stay out of the Inquisition, but she also respected the girl for being able to quench her fears about her own magic.
Erwine nodded, but felt a bit of sadness swell inside her, as if she had felt that Wei would want to say her wish. I was foolish, Erwine realized, I should have stayed quiet.
The two girls stood in silence for a few minutes more, until both heard what had to be the wail of Arbites craft in the sky. A short glance out across the city showed multiple craft going towards a skyscraper. The one where the girls had been meeting.
At the same time, both girls received messages. From Adrianne to Erwine were sent the words, Estelle knows, heading to retrieve Laelia, keep Wei distracted.
From Estelle to Wei were sent the words, Adrianne has tricked us, heading to assist Celestine and Sechylia, keep Erwine distracted. Capture if possible, do not kill.
Wei knew that she was in the perfect position to do her job. Erwine knew that as well. She figured that Wei had received some kind of message similar to the one she had gotten. Erwine sighed, "Do it already," she ordered, "Whatever it is that Estelle wants with me. You're older than me, and I have no idea how to fight."
"I-I-I can't fight you," Wei said, stepping back from Erwine. Her voice showed her fear, fear that Erwine would be able to fight her.
Erwine turned around as Wei backed up, and smiled. "Don't worry," she said, "I know that I may be more courageous than you, but all I have to do is keep you distracted, so talking to you is perfectly acceptable,"
Wei shook her head, "It is suggested that I capture you, so I guess if you could just come with me quietly, then that would solve all our problems,"
Erwine shrugged, "I'm sorry, but I don't feel like being turned into a bargaining chip for Estelle. I would much rather prefer to stay where I am."
"Then I am going to be breaking my orders," Wei said, but then shook her head, "I suppose we should stay out of this silly fight between the two,"
"We should," Erwine agreed, "There is no reason to mess around fighting each other when there are larger threats in the world,"
Wei gestured for Erwine to follow her, "Come along," she said, "Let's get out of here,"
"Where are going?" Erwine ran for a moment to catch up with Wei as she walked along the sidewalk.
"I was thinking of going back to where we parked out shuttle, and taking off with it," Wei said, "I don't want to be stuck here all night long, and Estelle had us bring two craft just in case we came under attack,"
"Sounds like a plan," Erwine said, "We should hurry."
"We need to return," Wei said, looking back at the building where they'd come from. "Quickly, ideally."
"It'll take only a few minutes by jumping," Wei said. Erwine nodded. They were leaping away a moment later, sailing through the air as they covered dozens of meters at a time.
The two girls leapt from the top of a nearby building to the roof of the one where they had originated from.
Sure enough, the signs of a fight were all over the balcony, but the sounds were elsewhere. Wei led Erwine towards the edge of the roof, and the two dropped off onto one of the landing pads extending from the building. It was about twenty meters below them, but the drop was easily nullified by their magic.
Across from them, all around them, even, a battle was raging between the various girls on both sides. They didn't seem to notice Erwine and Wei's approach till the last moment.
What are you doing?! Adrianne screamed at Erwine, watching the girl run to the entrance of the shuttle with Wei.
Just hold on! I'm trying to solve this! Erwine sent back, worried by the incredibly angry tone Adrianne had.
Wei hit the switch to open the shuttle, "Autopilot can fly this. We can head them off at the mansion, try to make sure things are peaceful there before they arrive. Let's resolve this before neither of us have a master."
Erwine nodded, getting into the shuttle ahead of Wei, "Let's," she agreed.
Yet as the two girls took off from the landing pad, there was battle occurring on the one right next to it. Rockets detonated all around Adrianne's shuttle, only stopped by well-placed arrows from Airi. Sanae wielded a katana and a wakizashi with great skill, and dueled Ayelen in a magnificent dance as the two leapt back and forth from the two landing pads.
Sanae was able to fend off the flung spears from Ayelen, and was sure to never come into contact with the girl, knowing what her power was. Ayelen knew that her opponent was simply a melee specialist. Specialists, who were better at using their summoned weapons that any other but had no other magic, were usually recruited into the Mage Knights, but were also useful in the Inquisition.
They also had a natural talent for whatever kind of thing they did. This meant that Sanae was a better fighter than Ayelen, and only the latter's magic was keeping Sanae from easily crushing her opponent.
Meanwhile, Airi was preventing Justinia from destroying the shuttle craft. The two were rapidly firing their weapons at the other, not truly attempting to come up with any tricks. They just wanted to distract the other until their leader could arrive.
However, the Arbites were already on their way, so Adrianne and Estelle were doing their best to make it back quickly without leaving an opening to their opponent. They ran across the roof of the building, swinging weapons at each other as they ran side by side.
Leaps and rolls brought them closer while allowing them to continue their attack, so their battle looked more like an elegant ballet rather than a fierce battle. Multiple Arbites craft were already coming over the top of the building, but immediately slowed down as they saw that the fighters were magical girls. They trusted that one side was in the right, and waited for that side to make itself clear, rather than try and get in between two people of mass destruction.
Adrianne flung one final volley at Estelle before twisting and leaping down to her own shuttle. Estelle deflected the daggers as she too fell down to her own craft. The two shared one last glare at each other before they dodged into their respective craft. Airi and Justinia fell back, before Ayelen and Sanae clashed weapons one last time, before the force of the clash pushed them back to their destinations.
The shuttles were activated quickly, and then the voxes of both were quickly turned off, as neither inquisitor wanted to hear the endless stream of messages from various authorities that they would have to answer to at some point.
The two shuttles were away quickly, heading back to the mountains, where Erwine and Wei were already close to reaching the mansion. Had the telepathic messages from the sect council that demanded the matter be peacefully resolved not reached the two inquisitors, then a dogfight would have occurred. Instead, the two shuttles flew calmly beside one another, the occupants of both waiting for the landing to occur, at which point there would be a reckoning of some kind.
Wei and Erwine did end up making it to the mansion before anyone else, and they left the shuttle quickly and ran for the door to the inside. Wei had the necessary keys, and she opened the door quickly before shutting it all the way.
"Where's Sechylia?" Erwine said quickly, not angrily, but urgently.
"Downstairs, your girl would be there if she has yet to leave!" Wei replied, showing her relative inexperience through her panic and fear.
But she did lead the way as the two ran to find the stairs. Erwine pushed Wei aside and went down first, her sword in her hands as she saw the opening in the shutters that had dropped down to block the stairs.
Erwine looked through the hole, obviously torn by multiple great forces, and saw Laelia lying on the ground dead. Sechylia was clinging to life in the secret compartment in the wall, and Erwine saw her next. Wei pushed past Erwine to get to her companion, while Erwine set to work ensuring Laelia's wellbeing.
Erwine remembered that Celestine was supposed to be present. "Where's Celestine?!" she shouted, realizing that girl might only make things worse.
"She should be upstairs!" Wei called, "That's what Estelle told me when she gave me a bit more of what Sechylia told her,"
Eriwne propped Laelia's back against the shutters, before she turned and ran up the stairs, her feet pounding on the wood as she burst through the door at the top and glancing around wildly for Celestine.
She started to move around the mansion, searching every corner she could, then came into the dining room, and found traces of blood. She followed them to where Celestine's body was. Or where she was. She was struggling to get a gag out of her mouth, as she leaned against a leg of the table, her limbs cut off.
Erwine knelt down and looked at the girl, who had a cloth tied over her eyes, which had not regenerated as of yet. "Hello," Erwine said, reaching out to the girl.
"Erwine?" Celestine asked as the gag was taken from her mouth. Erwine realized that the two had never met before this day, only having heard about the other from other people. So Erwine was surprised that Celestine remembered her voice from the few words that Erwine said earlier.
"Yes," Erwine replied, "Wei and I are here ahead of the others, we'd prefer that this end peacefully, rather than in multiple deaths,"
"A fight broke out?" Celestine asked.
"Yes," Erwine said, as she undid the bandages around Celestine's arms, "It did a lot of damage, so the two are already in trouble from many people and for many reasons. The last thing they need is charges of murder slapped on as well."
Erwine paused for a second, "You aren't going to join in, are you?" she asked.
Celestine shook her eyeless head, "No, Justinia and Sanae are following orders, and they would not kill Airi, Ayelen, or even Adrianne, and the same goes for Airi and Ayelen. It's the leaders we have to worry about. So don't worry about me."
Erwine nodded, before she started to heal Celestine's body a little. She heard noise behind her as Laelia came up from the basement, completely healed. She also heard the noise of Wei carrying Sechylia up the stairs.
Laelia looked down at Celestine, before kneeling and hugging the limbless girl, "Sorry," she said softly.
Celestine knew that she had the right to be very angry in this situation, but she also knew that she would have done the same thing to Laelia if she had been asked. "Don't apologize," she insisted, "I'm no better than you are,"
Laelia chuckled, before Sechylia called out, "They're close, by the way. Both are pushing their ships to the max, but Airi will teleport in first, Erwine, get ready to do something."
Erwine frowned as she looked questioningly at Sechylia, "What do you think I can do to her?"
"I don't know," Sechylia admitted, "That is up to you to figure out. But we all know that you are very close to her. If she is likely to listen to anyone in this room, it will be you,"
"Are you certain?" Erwine asked, a bit worried about doing this.
"Yes," Sechylia said, "What do you have to lose?"
Only all trust she has in me by getting up and defying her…but I can make it work, Erwine kept her thoughts to herself, not wanting to express her true feelings to Sechylia, understanding that they would not make the situation any better.
So Erwine nodded, "I'll do my best." She looked at Laelia, "Any ideas?"
Laelia shrugged, "Make her think this is somehow all hurting you on some deep level. She caves in when you do that to her. If you sell it right, then she should calm down easily."
Erwine nodded, but still felt a bit worried, understanding that Adrianne could be just as easily angered more as calmed down at the moment. I'll have to say something important to her, or do something like that. What am I going to say?
As if on cue, the latter inquisitor popped into the room, surrounded by Ayelen and Airi. The three brandished their weapons, before they saw the other five girls standing about semi-casually, and lowered them.
Adrianne stormed over to Erwine, "What were you doing?!" she shouted, "You just ran off from the fight to go and-what?!"
Erwine had jumped forwards to embrace Adrianne tightly, wrapping her arms around the inquisitor. Her sword had been dissipated, and now Erwine just buried her head into Adrianne's shoulder. Erwine had been thinking of making up some reason to be sad, then she realized that something about all of this truly angered her.
"Adrianne," she said softly, "Please don't do this. Estelle doesn't want to hurt you, so don't fight her. We're so closer, closer than ever. We have what we needed from her, we can just leave."
Adrianne paused entirely as she heard the emotion in Erwine's voice. It was genuine, not foolish acting. The inquisitor blinked several times, and looked around, as if she had woken from a dream.
She glanced at Wei and Celestine, "Go on," Celestine said, one eye having been healed back by Laelia, "We would prefer that you get out of here rather than start anything with Estelle, or finish anything, rather."
"But I…" Adrianne did not understand, "Why the kindness…?"
Celestine grinned a little, "From what I have heard, all Estelle wants to do is help you, so I'm going to follow her ideals by helping you. Get out of here, I'll deal with Estelle."
However, the sound of a shuttle landing outside distracted the girls from the conversation. Adrianne realized that a bit too much time had been spent by her pausing, and ruminating on what Erwine was doing.
In the space of a single second, her entire demeanor changed. It was sudden, seemingly triggered by Estelle's arrival, but a careful, focused observer would have seen that she was starting to change even before the other inquisitor arrived.
Adrianne shut her eyes, gritted her teeth, and pushed Erwine back. The young girl's eyes opened wide with shock as Airi caught her before she could fall. Ayelen and Laelia ran over, just as shocked. It opened and Estelle stormed in. Adrianne dropped her weapons as she saw her rival enter, but Estelle did not. She pointed her weapon at Adrianne, seemingly ready to spear the girl.
Adrianne shook her head, "Estelle, just let me go, there's no point in fighting me,"
"Yes there is,"
"No there is not, give me one good reason,"
"Tell me where you are going," Estelle demanded, before looking at Sechylia, "Tell me where she is going!" Estelle sounded desperate, like this was a matter of life or death.
Sechylia sent the location to Estelle quickly, but Adrianne shook her head. As Estelle was turning back to look at her, Adrianne's hand knocked the halberd aside, and she kicked Estelle down onto her back. Justinia and Sanae were running into the room, and Justinia took three daggers to the face as she ran, but Sanae rolled to the side as Adrianne gestured for her followers to gather.
Adrianne spun around, flinging daggers that killed Wei, still burdened by Sechylia, and Celestine. Estelle was leaping back up as Laelia brought up her shield, and Airi waited for Adrianne's signal to teleport.
"You don't know what you are doing!" Estelle shouted, "This is a trap! Ever since we entered the sector, the enemy has plotted and anticipated our every move! Whether Ishna is real or not, someone is expecting you to run right in like this!"
Adrianne shook her head, "Stop trying to stop me!" she shouted, "I am far too close to let your stupidity, your blindness, your lack of compassion for another person stop me now!" She nodded to Airi, and the five were gone, back in the craft that Adrianne had set down on a ridge a few kilometers away, as their initial teleportation was guided by an image Laelia sent when asked by Adrianne.
Adrianne was already storming forwards when she appeared, to the cockpit, where she activated the engines and lifted the shuttle off the ground. Erwine hastily followed her inside, when Adrianne pulled her in, sat her down, and shut the door quickly and forcefully.
Erwine felt fear as Adrianne glared at her, sitting down in her own chair and taking the controls of the craft fully as it lifted up. "What are you doing?" Erwine asked, her voice filled with fear.
"I'm finishing this," Adrianne said, "And I'm making sure you don't get in my way,"
Erwine started to shake as Adrianne glared at her, setting the ship on auto-pilot. "You are wavering in your convictions, Erwine," Adrianne almost spat the last word at her, "First you run off with the enemy, and then you run off with he again, only to assist them!"
Erwine opened her mouth to complain, but Adrianne slapped her across the cheeks. "Shut up and listen to me!" she shouted, Erwine froze in shock, but only for a few seconds. Then she shot a glare back at Adrianne. I'm scared…Erwine thought, I don't know what's wrong, but I'm not going to back down now.
"You don't scare me anymore," Erwine said, trying to stare her down. "I won't back down just because you're angry." The girl's entire body was quaking. Her eyes kept glancing over to the door.
Adrianne stiffened up, glaring back. The two girls stared at each other for a few seconds, before Adrianne started the shuttle. "You wanted me to be strong, you wanted me to be able to think for myself, right?!" Erwine spat.
"I didn't want you to betray me. I didn't want you to choose some foolish friendship over me." Adrianne explained, lifting the craft into the air.
"Is it that pointless to seek companionship?" Erwine asked.
"Your betrayal is what we're discussing." Adrianne said, locking the craft into autopilot. She stood up, grabbing Erwine by the collar. The girl was lifted up, and slammed against the door. Their faces were inches apart. "I created you to be a weapon, nothing more." Adrianne growled, "You don't need friends. You need to follow my orders. Or have you decided to choose others over your wish?"
"A weapon?" Erwine asked. "So…so you don't really care about me?" Adrianne stared at Erwine. She took a long, deep breath.
"No, that's not true. I care about you. I care about your well-being. All those things I did to you were to ensure that you were the best you could possibly be." Adrianne said. "But you don't need anything more than that."
"Do you hate me?" Erwine asked.
"No, why would I?" Adrianne growled, "What are you playing at?"
"Why won't you let me reach out to anyone else?" Erwine asked, "Are you scared I'll run away from you? Do you think I'll betray you?"
"Everyone else in this world has lost their minds!" Adrianne cried. Erwine was shocked to find tears on the girl's face. "They all think I'm crazy. They think Ishna isn't real. They see me as a psychopathic murderer who tortures people for fun!" Adrianne screamed, "Isn't there something wrong with people who think that?!"
Erwine froze. The expression of defiance disappeared from her face. She looked Adrianne in the eyes still, but she wasn't so sure about what was going on. "You mean…they don't believe anything that happened to you?"
Erwine fell to the floor as Adrianne backed away. "Damn it…" The inquisitor swore. Careless, she thought, letting things like that out. "Don't pay attention to it."
"No, what do you mean, they don't believe you? I know the Eldar thing is suspicious. But…they don't believe the rest?" Erwine asked. "You say they're all insane, too? Wei wasn't crazy." The truth hit Erwine then. Wei…she's the first person I've ever really talked to, outside of Adrianne's group. By the Goddess, have I been lied to this whole time?
Adrianne thought for a long few seconds. With that time, Erwine was already opening the door and running out. Adrianne burst through, eyes glaring down the girl as Erwine stood at the opposite end of the rear compartment. Erwine looked around frantically, raising her arms as if to fight. "You're all lying to me, aren't you?!" She cried, "None of this is true?!"
She'd never even met Estelle. She knew not what really went on when they spoke. Is Adrianne a traitor herself? Has she been lying to me this entire time? Adrianne looked Erwine in the eyes. "Sit down," She spat.
"No,"
"Sit down," Adrianne ordered again, pointing to the seats. "Or I will make you."
"I don't know what's going on, Adrianne," Erwine said. "Please, just explain things to me, and I'll stop this." Adrianne moved forwards. Laelia sat still, a disappointed look cast at Erwine. Ayelen was paralyzed. Airi was the one who moved.
"Adrianne," She said calmly, standing in the girl's way. "Please. Calm down. Erwine is correct, she just doesn't understand."
"Are you going to the same level they are?" Adrianne asked. She stepped back, almost astonished. "I thought…I thought you were more…" Then the girl was angry. Airi gasped as fingers wrapped about her throat. She was cast aside. "Get out of my way," Adrianne said, Airi bouncing off the wall and onto a seat.
The inquisitor stormed forwards towards Erwine. The little girl backed herself up against the back wall, body quaking. "Are you a traitor?!" Adrianne screamed, inches from her face. "Are you going to side with the rest of this world, who can't comprehend that what I'm doing is correct?!"
Erwine shook her head. "I can't side with anyone until you give me answers." She said. The two stared each other down for what felt like an eternity.
"Ishna Kleimar died a long time ago, before Adrianne was even born. She was a traitor, but she didn't have the power Adrianne describes. Furthermore, there was no trace of what Adrianne described on Khyllis." Airi said from behind Adrianne. The girl was standing. "There is no evidence to indicate that any of Adrianne's story is correct. For all people like Estelle know, Adrianne's every word is a lie."
Adrianne stiffened. She glared behind her. Airi didn't flinch. Later, the inquisitor promised her. Then she went back to Erwine. "Airi's right. But I'm not lying. They think I am. They also believe that my methods are excessively harsh."
"They're not normal," Erwine stated, for confirmation. Adrianne nodded. "So you really did do all that just to make me into a weapon?" Another nod.
"There's more," Both girls were about to act, but Airi stopped them. "Erwine, there was someone named Lilith Mariade. A girl who joined Adrianne, just like you did." Adrianne looked more astonished than anything else. "Thanks to what Adrianne did, she died."
There was absolute silence. Adrianne fists were clenched tightly. Right as she looked over her shoulder, she heard Erwine speak.
"And yet you call them insane?" Erwine stopped breathing. She couldn't with Adrianne crushing her throat in, pinning her against the wall. Erwine squirmed, but the grip was too tight.
"You're just like them. Turning against me…" Adrianne had tears in her eyes, "I just want people to listen to me. To understand that all I want is revenge. Revenge against a person who deserves it. They say she doesn't exist."
"It's like going to the most faithful person in the universe and telling them the Goddess isn't real." Adrianne just couldn't understand why. "Ishna is real. I've seen her with my own eyes. And people just won't believe me."
She shook her head, releasing Erwine. She was crying now. "I just want to…I just want to get my revenge, and try to put my life back together." She stumbled in the opposite direction, heading back towards the cockpit. "No, I never had a life as a magical girl before Ishna. It was barely a month after I contract. All I knew is that girl robbed me of everyone I loved."
Airi took Adrianne's hand, helping her along. "Erwine, you can stay, or I can kill you." Adrianne said, "I wanted you to be strong. You're not there yet, but you're still so much more than you were a week ago. Look inside yourself, you know I'm not lying to you."
"Just go and die. I can spend my time on somebody else." Adrianne said, heading off towards the cockpit. She and Airi went in, leaving Erwine sitting against the back wall, eyes wide. "What?" Erwine asked, begging for an answer.
Adrianne sat down, Airi standing beside her. "Airi…" the inquisitor whispered, "What do I do? This…I feel like this is going to be something important, but I don't know if I can trust Erwine."
"You can trust her," Airi said, "I promise you."
"How do you know?" Adrianne wondered.
"I don't. But Erwine is dedicated. She's stuck with you this far. I don't think she'll give up now, even though she knows the truth." Airi explained.
Adrianne nodded. "Should I go out there and talk to her?"
The raven-haired girl asked, "Do you want to, will you be able to help her?" The blonde nodded. "Then please do."
Adrianne stood up. She faced Airi, a hand going to the girl's shoulder. She held on tightly. "Why did you oppose me?"
"Because I know you aren't really insane," Airi smiled, "I'd do anything for you."
"Thank you," Adrianne whispered. She pulled the girl up to her, laying her lips over Airi's. The black-haired girl squirmed a little, then relaxed. She was left standing there in near shock, watching Adrianne walk out.
"Erwine," Adrianne said, looking at the girl. She was sitting beside Laelia, who was aloof as usual. The inquisitor had just entered. "I see you've made your choice."
"I don't know what to think anymore…." Erwine admitted. She stood up, turning to face Adrianne entirely. "However…" She took a deep breath. "I believe that Ishna is real."
"Why's that?"
"Somebody has told me that a lot of lives depend on me staying with you. I can only assume that Ishna has something planned."
"'Somebody'?" Adrianne repeated.
"Some girl in my dreams. She bears an inquisitorial seal, and has not lied to me so far." Erwine explained, "I'll tell you more later, but that's all I can recall at the moment.
"A girl…" Adrianne repeated softly. "Well, if she's made you stay so far, then I won't disagree with her. However…do not betray me like that again. Or else there will be consequences."
"I understand," Erwine said.
"Good," Adrianne said.
"And Lilith?" Erwine asked, "About her?"
"You don't need to know anything more than what you already do." Adrianne growled, tightening her fists. "I don't need you deciding that I'm insane."
Erwine nodded. She still felt fear, but she wouldn't run just because of that. She couldn't quite assess what she was feeling, but it wasn't just mistrust, or fear. It was something far worse than any of that. It was a terrible, terrible feeling. Hatred is what stirred in her heart, real hatred for Adrianne.
She remembered the words of that girl, though. "Fine, but don't expect to withhold answers forever, alright?" It was more of a request than a threat. She could hide anything she wanted from me.
"Fine," Adrianne walked over, sitting down beside Erwine. "We'll be there in only a few minutes." She laid a hand on Erwine's shoulder. "You won't die, not on my watch. Lilith wasn't as strong as you are."
"Thank you…" Erwine wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not.
All magical girls are given some sort of ability when they contract. Only melee and ranged specialists receive one, and that ability is the summoning of their weapon. All others will generally receive two. Their weapon, and then something else. However, some girls, those with high natural talent or who are somehow tied into fate, may receive more than just their one special ability.
It is also possible for girls to have latent potential, and receive another ability later in their life. The question then comes down to, can abilities be artificially added to a magical girl? If such a thing was possible, then it would be easy to tailor elite cadres of fights, each with a dozen different powers.
However, it is not easy. There must be some latent potential within the girl, and the ability has to fall on the list of potential candidates for the one they might originally receive. Finding that list out requires a large amount of testing, which takes a long time.
Finally, the magic of the ability must be directly transferred into the receiver's gem. This basically means the giver's gem must be sacrificed in the process. The process could also easily result in a destabilization, creating a twisted fusion of the two girls.
Finally, the one actually inserting the ability has to be incredibly skilled. If the magic energy runs wild, once again, a destabilization of both gems could occur. Overall, the process is far too dangerous to truly consider as a common use.
-Investigation report from the Grimoire Ingenium Committee.