Chapter 32
"Well, this fucking sucks. I knew I shouldn't have gone out of my way to help anyone but me."
The words came from Kyoko. She and Reathma had been thrown into a cell together after everyone was captured, and despite their best efforts, there seemed to be no method of escape. Eventually, they had taken to sitting against the cell door.
Reathma turned to face Kyoko. "What do you mean?"
"I mean this is what happens when you look after anyone but yourself." Kyoko's eyes hardened as she spoke. "Being selfless only leads to pain. Better to let everyone else rot."
Reathma frowned. The words seemed too harsh coming from Kyoko. Sure, Reathma hadn't known the girl long, and most of their time together had been spent in the Wings of the Magius, but still. Kyoko had gone out of her way to talk to Reathma and Felicia. She had been spying to help her friends. If she really believed what she was saying, wouldn't she have at least voiced some doubts before they had begun their raid?
"You're lying," Reathma found herself saying.
Oh, maybe she shouldn't have said that. The way Kyoko was glaring at her was enough to make her wilt. "What the hell do you know? I've seen for myself where being selfless gets you. You don't know that pain."
Hearing those words stung, mostly because they were true. Reathma looked down, locking her hands together.
"You're right," she said. "I don't know where being selfless gets you. I've been selfish for so long now."
She couldn't stop herself. The words came rushing out of her, as she told Kyoko what had happened to her family. The gang that had invaded, killing her parents. Then, her sister had made a wish to save her, only to have her soul gem shattered.
"I wished to see them again, in any way possible," Reathma said. "Then, I woke up 200 years in the future, and ran into the Wings of the Magius. I thought that they were the key. It was never about liberation. Not for me. All I want is to see them again. Mom, Dad, Senny . . ."
She was crying. Tears ran down her cheeks as she spoke. "So I don't know what being selfless is like. But being selfish . . . I hate it! I know my family would be disappointed if they saw me now. I joined a damn cult! Then, when I finally defected, I couldn't do anything to help. I can't be selfless, because I'm still looking out for myself."
Reathma's fists were so tight that her knuckles turned white. "Why can't I be more like Flick? She helps anyone, no matter who they are or what they've done. If it weren't for her, I probably would never have gained the courage to leave the Wings of the Magius. But what have I done in return for her? Nothing. I just got captured with everyone else."
A sniffle escaped her, and she squeezed her eyes shut as though to ward off the self-loathing. Because of that, she had no warning before an arm wrapped around her, making her yelp.
"Ah, shit," Kyoko said, pulling her a bit closer. "Look, I don't know what to say, but you can't blame yourself. You think I wouldn't have wished for my family back if I could? That's a wish I would make in a heartbeat. But we don't get second chances. That's why I look after myself only, so I don't . . . goddammit. I don't know at this point."
"You want to stop hurting," Reathma whispered. "Right?" Her question was met with silence, which was more than enough of an answer.
We're similar, aren't we? Selfishness and selflessness are just two sides of the same coin.
A thought came to her then. "Can you help me?"
"Excuse me?" Kyoko asked. Her eyes widened as Reathma took her hands.
"I want to find my family. But to do that, I need to get out of here. Can you help me?"
Kyoko sighed, looking away. "Look, even if I said yes, we already tried to escape. There's nothing we can do."
"Why?" It wasn't Reathma who asked the question. They both jolted, turning around to see a Black Feather standing by the cell entrance. She lowered the hood of her cloak, revealing her blonde hair.
"Felicia!" Reathma gasped.
"I don't understand," the young girl said. "Why do you two keep fighting? We're all going to turn into Witches!"
Felicia wanted to smash something. She had joined the Wings of the Magius on the promise that they would destroy all Witches. But now, there was so much more than that driving her. A Witch had killed her parents. But that Witch had once been a Magical Girl, who had been tricked, then fallen into despair. Felicia hated Witches. She wanted to kill every last one of them. Yet if she messed up, she would become one!
Reathma and Kyoko knew that truth. They had been part of the Wings once. So why were they able to stand against the Magius anyway?!
"Felicia . . ." Reathma stood and faced her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left without you."
Felicia shook her head. "Why would I leave? Once the Magius succeeds, there won't be Witches anymore!"
"Yeah sure," Kyoko said. "Because there won't be anything anymore! Has Touka said nothing of her plans yet?
She had. Felicia flinched at the memory. They were growing a giant Witch, and once it hatched, it would spread the Doppel system across the globe. A Witch. They would use a Witch to stop more from being created.
When Felicia gave no response, Kyoko kept speaking. "No way can the Magius control that thing they're raising. I bet the moment it's mobile, it'll swallow them up. The smartest thing to do would be to get the hell away from here."
"Shut up!" Felicia yelled. "If there's a big Witch, I'll just smash it up!"
"Then help us!" That was Reathma, hands by her chest as she pleaded. "We're going to destroy Eve. Flick knows a spell to fix our souls, so we don't need the Doppel system! Help us escape, and we can stop the Magius together!"
Felicia's eyes widened. "You mean . . . there's another way to not turn into Witches?"
Reathma nodded. "I'll have Flick show you as soon as I can. Please, trust me."
She ran away. Why should you trust her? a voice whispered in the back of Felicia's mind. She ignored it. Without second thought, she summoned her hammer to her hands, smashing it into the cell entrance so hard the girls inside had to dive out of the way.
"Fine," she said. "I'll lead you to your soul gems and your friends. After that, you help me find this Eve thing so I can see it for myself."
It didn't take long for the trio to save everyone else. The soul gems were all in one place, so it was a matter of grabbing them and busting open the other cells, handing each girl her soul gem. Oh, and taking out any Black or White Feathers that tried to stop them along the way.
The final cell was the one with Flick and Yachiyo inside. Kyoko smirked in satisfaction as she knocked out the last Feather guarding it with the blunt end of her spear. Against Felicia's hammer, the door didn't stand a chance, and the two girls were soon free.
"Everyone," Flick said. "You're all okay."
"Mere captivity isn't enough to bring down the Mightiest Magical Girl!" Tsuruno exclaimed. Then, she deflated a bit. "But Mifuyu . . ."
"We'll save her." Yachiyo transformed after saying those words. "We were caught off guard before, but this time we'll be ready. Plus, we're already deep inside their base. This is an opportunity."
"There's that optimism I remember." Momoko smiled and stepped forward, putting a hand on Yachiyo's shoulder. "Where has it been all this time?"
Yachiyo's face twisted for a moment. "Buried away. Momoko, I—"
She was cut off as Momoko pulled her into a hug. Her eyes were wide, but she eventually wrapped her own arms around the blonde.
"Glad to have you back," Momoko murmured, just loud enough for Kyoko to hear. "Let's save our friends, okay?"
Right, Momoko's friend had been brainwashed too. Curious, Kyoko looked over to the blue haired girl watching them. Rena, that was her name. She was tapping her foot on the ground, and looked seconds away from demanding they hurry up.
Honestly, Kyoko was having trouble keeping track of the connections between all of them. Seriously, it was nice to have so much force to kick ass with, but there were so many of them. Who knew how much of a mess you would get if you put the problems each individual in this group had together?
Then again, it was nice to see Yachiyo and Momoko reconcile. Kyoko glanced at another blonde girl, who was having a whispered conversation with her pupils, Blueberry included.
Another time, Kyoko thought. After this Magius problem is dealt with.
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be so easy. The sound of running footsteps made them all spin around, only to come face to face with two White Feathers, already transformed and holding flutes.
Wait, Kyoko recognized these two. They had been the ones who told Alina about Mifuyu's betrayal, after being threatened. Kyoko had been spying on them when that had happened. Not that anyone had noticed, of course.
"Y-You!" one of them yelped.
"You escaped!" the other said.
"Tsukuyo, Tsukasa." Of all people, it was Reathma who stepped forward. Damn, girl was really stepping up today. "You know the truth, right? You know Mifuyu was trying to do the right thing!"
One of the twins swallowed. "That's . . ."
"She wanted to help everyone," Reathma said. "I promise. We can still save Magical Girl. We don't have to rely on the Magius!"
"You can't be happy with how they treated Mifuyu." That was Flick, stepping beside Reathma. "She wouldn't have switched sides without a reason. But she wasn't given a chance to explain. And now we have to save her. Won't you help us?"
In response, one of the twins raised her flute to her lips. However, before she could attack, the other put a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes were on the other white haired girl with them. Kanagi Izumi.
"Tsukasa?!" the twin who had nearly attacked turned toward her sister. In response, the other one squeezed her shoulder.
"Kanagi," she said. "Are you sure about this?"
Kanagi nodded. "The Magius have to be stopped. I will not let anyone get in our way, not even you."
Tsukasa met her sister's eyes. "Tsukuyo . . ."
Tsukuyo winced, but nodded. "Yeah," she said. "We have to help Mifuyu."
Flick smiled. "Thank you, both of you. Your magic lets you control sound waves, right?"
"That's . . . about right," Tsukasa said.
"Then, if I were to speak, would you be able to amplify my voice for everyone to hear? I have something I need to say to the rest of the Feathers."
They looked at each other, as though seeking confirmation. Whatever they saw in each other's eyes, they seemed far more confident when they looked back to Flick.
"We can," Tsukuyo said. "We're ready as soon as you are."
"Perfect," Flick said. "Let's do this, then."
"Right!" the twins chorused.
Mifuyu couldn't remember the last time she had felt so at peace. All her doubts about what she was doing, her fears over her and Yachan's futures, they had all been washed away by the Uwasa. All that remained was her loyalty for the Magius.
"Liberation is coming," a voice whispered to her. "You must make sure it succeeds."
I will, Mifuyu thought. I shall ensure the Magius' plan comes to fruition.
She walked down the hallway, Black and White Feathers bowing to her as she passed. Everything was in place. At this point, Mifuyu didn't expect anyone was capable of stopping them.
That was why she was shocked when a voice echoed throughout the entire hotel.
"Right, this should be working." Flick. It was Flick. What was she doing? "Hi. My name is Felicity Chambers. I know most of you don't know me, but I hope you'll listen to my words regardless. You are all being lied to.
"I don't blame a single one of you for joining the Wings of the Magius. The fate of a Magical Girl is cruel and unfair. No one deserves to suffer the horrors of turning into a Witch. Once, I might have seen their offer of escape tempting as well. But the liberation promised by the Magius is not what you think it is.
"The Witch that the Magius are raising, Eve, will destroy Kamihama. It won't care about your families, about the normal humans living their lives. Once it hatches, it will be a threat on the scale of Walpurgisnacht. Thousands will die in a single night.
"That's not all, though. The Doppel system is nothing more than a stalling tactic. Many of you must have felt the whispers of your Doppel. Those are the feelings of your Witch. And should you use your Doppel enough, those feelings will become yours as well. You'll be no different from a Witch.
"It's scary. Terrifying, even. Feeling like there's no other way out, that an imperfect, destructive solution is your sole option. But this isn't the only way! There's another method of saving your souls! We've already tested it and proven it works!"
The Feathers around Mifuyu perked up, and even she found herself yearning for the solution Flick had shown her. Then the Uwasa inside her reminded her of her purpose, and that desire vanished.
"We're going to destroy Eve. If we let it destroy innocent people, we'll be no better than Kyubey. We don't have to be like him. We can survive without relying on the sacrifices of others. If you desire proof, we have a girl named Kuroe here who can show you her soul gem, and the changes made which protect her.
"Each of us had a wish. A wish made on hope. Why should we accept that those wishes are doomed to bring about despair? Hope is not so ugly as to always end in ruin. I've seen firsthand how Magical Girls can hold onto their hope, living happy lives.
"That said, I'm asking something major from all of you. So I will point to one final piece of evidence that the Magius are wrong. Mifuyu Azusa."
Mifuyu felt all eyes turn her way.
"Mifuyu is one of the most honest people I know. She had brought many of you into the Wings because she cared for you, wanted to protect you. Then she learned the truth. She saw the horrors behind the Magius' actions. That was why she tried to join us, so she could save you another way.
"You saw where that got her. Do you really think Mifuyu just . . . changed her mind after being captured and merged with an Uwasa? Surely you see what was done to her! She was close to you all, don't you see she's not herself now? She needs our help. Your help. She worked to save you, so now it's our turn to save her.
"Join us. Fight with us against the Magius. We're Magical Girls, and we won't let our actions be driven by despair!"
The hallway fell so quiet after that, Mifuyu could hear the light breathing of some of the Feathers. All of them were staring at her with wide eyes.
"Stop them," the voice whispered, and Mifuyu moved. At blinding speeds, she all but flew across the hallway, then down the nearby staircase. Her path was taking her straight to the cells Alina had constructed.
As soon as she turned the corner, she saw them. The entire group that had come to fight the Magius. Their weapons were out, pointed at her as soon as she came into view. They had been waiting for her.
Mifuyu's gaze fell on one girl in particular. Their eyes locked, and understanding passed between them. At this moment, they were enemies. Neither would hold back.
It's time, Mifuyu thought.
Let's finish this once and for all, Yachan.