Witches by their nature were abominations. Creatures that could make grown men cry and run for their mothers. They seemed to defy the very nature of reality around them, no matter what they did. As if bended and shifted.

That wasn't even getting into their origins…

Witches were the main reason why being a Magical Girl was so tough, having too fight those things on a regular basis.

Lately though it seemed to be rather rough, even rougher than normal. Due to the Magius no longer pulling witches in, they were no longer super strong which made fighting them as a team easy. However, this also had the side effect of making them rather scarce. Really scarce.

So Rika and Ren had jumped at the chance of finding a witch when they were heading to the mall to buy some new clothes. They ran into the labyrinth, and fought off some familiars. Or they would have, if the familiars did anything beyond rotating in one spot. They looked like maniquents, and honestly Rika kind of felt like the universe was laughing at them.

The labyrinth itself seemed to somewhat resemble a city, but different in many aspects. Everything felt off in a way neither of the girls could quite describe.

After a lot of running, they made their way to the deepest part of the nest. Here, the Witch resides. This witch was a dog-like creature that looked like it was made of marble. But it's face looked like some sort of childish drawing, like someone did something they didn't like, and covered it in liquified candy.

Rika tried not to think about who she was. She tried not to think of who she might have been, to end up looking dog-like. An animal lover? Someone who wished to be with their furry friend forever?

Well it didn't really matter. She fired up her mirror, while Ren fired up her staff and they got ready. The Witch looked at them, and then like a rabid animal lunged at them. Ren fired off, but the animal dodged them and lunged, claws and all.

Ren used her scythe to bat it away from her as Rika swiftly charged up her mirror. It looked like it was made of metal, so hopefully a swift shot should end it. But the witch, sensing the heat abruptly turned its head up, and then lunged for her.

Rika felt her heart leapt out of her chest, and she promptly fired off a bright red beam of searing light. A flash happened, she heard Ren shout her name, and when it was over, the witch was back to attacking Ren. Meanwhile she had a large gash against her side, this one searing.

Ah, she had forgotten the other side effect of eliminating the Magius. The few witches that were left were still uber strong and could catch you off guard. And from the searing pain that was quickly fading into oblivion, she had gotten hit, and hard.

Thankfully, being a magical girl ment it wouldn't be fatal, and that she wasn't even feeling the full effects of being slashed in the side. The bad news was that the Witch looked no worse than before. It was rushing back to attack her, having been driven off by Ren again. Despite having been hit by both souls and a scythe, it looked no worse than it had when they first entered it.

By quick instinct, she raised up her mirror and fired off quick short bursts of energy. While it didn't do much damage, it was disortanting, even for a Witch that (seemingly) had no eyes.

She then turned her head, and spotted Ren healing from a rather nasty looking wound. A large gash alongside her torsel, and one that was rapidly shrinking. Firing one last bolt at the dog, she ran over to Ren.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and Ren nodded. She nodded at Rika, and the Witch growled as Rika gave her shoulder a squeeze. Wait, is she jealous of us? Hmm…we can't actually hit her, none of our attacks do any damage. But what if… "Ren, stay back."

"Rika…what are you doing?" Ren asked.

"Trust me on this." she said, giving Ren a look, before turning back to the Witch, who was barreling towards them. Her first instinct was to roll out of the way, or better yet shoot it. But instead, she leaned down like she would towards a young child and said: "Come here!" the witch kept running, closer, closer, and-

The Witch had stopped in front of the Magical Girl. Her face was nothing but a giant mash of pink cream, but she was clearly looking at them. "There, there." Rika carefully moved forward, inch by inch, and petted the dog, and felt its metallic fur. The dog was quivering, shaking, its tail wagging. Rika almost felt bad, as she slowly powered up her mirror in her other hand. Make it quick then. Just like how a vet has to put down a dog. You're the vet, make it as painless as possible. If you don't, you'll probably die. "It's going to be okay." Off to the side, she could see Ren's staff was slowly lighting up to a bright blue color. She held up a hand, if the Witch saw what was going on, she would try to stop them. "It's going to be okay."

10 The Witch barked, but it was a strangely happy, if echoey sound. It sounded like someone was barking, like a human had made that sound.

9 The Witch's tail was still going as fast as ever, while Ren was cautiously watching, her staff starting to charge up again, a bright blue energy.

8 as secretly as she could, Rika signaled to Ren not to try anything. Even if she had her best intentions, not even Rika was entirely sure what was going on.

7

6

5 Rika closed her eyes.

4 The dog was absorbing her body heat, and began to feel warm. Not quite in a living way, but in a warm, loving way.

3

2 the dog licked her hand,

1 and then leaned into it heavily, nearly catching her off guard.

FIRE! In a burst of bright light, she unleashed all the energy she had on her.

—-

She looked down at her soul gem, in her final attack she had used every last trace of magic she had, and was still using any last traces left trying to heal the burns she had from using so much magic. Especially her hand, the same one that had been petting the dog. Ren was desperately shoving the Grief Seed in front of her, but Rika felt her eyes close as a strange sensation started festering in her heart.

Rika kept her eyes closed for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on. She wasn't going to turn into a witch, right? Would something come out of her like the thing that came out of Ren? A sort of tamed witch…

Well, no sense in delaying the inevitable. Even if it was ugly unforgettable mark of truth, like a blemish that makeup couldn't hide.

Rika opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a strange white, or was it black? It was…somewhere. In front of her was someone who looked exactly like her, down to her red eyes and pigtails. "Who are you?" Rika asked, tilting her head.

"I'm you, of course!" the other her did a wink, a very familiar gesture. "And I got to say, we're really disappointing."

"What?!" Rika exclaimed, "I think I'm doing pretty well for myself. I have friends, I'm no longer fighting to vent my rage and-"

"I mean, I'm the part of you that made the wish." Rika froze at that, and the other version of her sneered. "Do I have your attention? Remember her?"

Yuri. "Of course I do." Rika replied. "I still see her at school all the time. And you never forget your first girlfriend."

"You sold your soul so you could be with her. Why did you ruin it?" other her asked, giving a grin, but a cruel grin. The same type that some of the bullies Rika had seen would do. "And even now, why are you hesitating? Part of you still loves her."

"You're me. You know the answer." Rika replied, looking around her into the endless void around her. There had to be a way to escape whoever and whatever this was. "It wasn't right."

"Oh please. We fight monstrosities that would drive some people mad. Don't we deserve a reward?" Other her asked, "I mean, sure we used them as our personal punching bag but now we don't. Why are you still not even trying? You barely even look at her now!" That was true, but- "And I want to know why. Did you lose your affection?" the girl donned a smirk. "Or is it because the target of your affections has shifted?"

Rika froze. No. That was impossible. Yes, her feelings for her ex girlfriend were mostly dulled-your first love never truly went away in your heart unless they did something truly horrific-but they certainly did not shift. The other girl, sensing a bulls eye, smiled. "You're wrong!"

"Am I? You're so careful and considerate with Lotus." the other girl sneered. "And you show none of that with your other friends." Rika froze up at that use of a nickname, what the heck?! "Her name is Ren!"

"I know." Other her winked at her, a smile on her face, a serious one now. "But the fact you're so protective of her, and considerate says a lot, you know?"

"Yeah, she's my best friend!"

"So is Emiri." the other girl said, a strange and knowing smile on her face. "And Sora. Or is she your best friend? You're so careful with her, more so than with Emiri, your 'best friend' .``The other girl did air quotes to cement that statement.

Rika thought about it for a long moment, the way her chest beat, the way she thought about Ren at random times of the day. The way spending time around her was always precious, and some moments she just wished she could bundle up and keep on her forever. Her eyes widened in realization, at the familiarity. "Oh my…I do like her!" the way she felt her heart burn when she witnessed Ren's classmates just brush her off like she wasn't worth her time. The feeling of warmth she always had around Ren, and how she always wanted to be near her. Like she had a magnetic pull. "How did it take me so long to realize?"

"Not important. What's important is what you have been doing about it." the other her frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing!" the other girl snarled. "You've done absolutely nothing to win her heart! Yes, you say your best friends! That is true, but what else? Sure your tactful, but she probably just thinks you're being careful because of how you two met!"

—-—-

"Why is fake love such a big deal?" The other version of her taunted, a cruel smirk upon her face. "It's still love. You gave fake love to that Witch, and yet I'm willing to bet that was the happiest moment in its life." Rika winced at the mention, remembering the way the dog had happily licked her, like any dog would. At the end of the day, that poor girl or dog just wanted to be loved.

"Because it's not real. That dog gave up all her guard just because she thought I was giving her love." Rika explained. "And what did that get her? She's dead."

"Well you see her as a lotus right? A pretty flower. Why should it matter if it's fake, you're still getting her attention."

"Well, I do see her as a lotus, I mean it in the purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth kind of way. 'Not in the pretty thing to look at kind of way!'"

"What about her? You did the same with your ex. What flower was it? Oh yeah, Violet I think."

"And that was the biggest mistake of my entire life." Rika replied, narrowing her eyes. "So of course I'm not so keen on repeating my biggest mistake."

"You know. Everything was perfect before you ruined it. You had the love of your life, you got to fight witches to vent stress. You even had new friends! Why do you care so much about the why part?"

"Because it's not real!" Rika shouted, glaring at the other girl with all her strength.

The girl fell quiet for a bit, and Rika thought she finally shut her up before she said: "Do you know who I am?"

"Part of me." Rika responded, narrowing her eyes. "But also a lie. The part of me that hates myself."

"Right, wrong, wrong~" the other her said in a sing-song voice. "I am part of you. But I'm not a lie, nor am I the part that hates us. I simply hate you. I'm the part of us that made our wish. The part of us that was willing to do what it takes to reach our happiness. The part that willingly gave up our soul. Do you want to see?"

Suddenly, Rika was hit with a vision. A large thing, in the shape of a large jug filled with a strange pink liquid at the top, and her at the bottom. The surface was extremely reflective, almost like a mirror. Rika thought absently. The bottle wasn't alone though, it was attached to large angel-like wings, along with a mouse tail, a literal mouse tail, a wire ending in a computer mouse, with a…book…in its hands.

"Do you see now?" the other asked, tilting her head, almost like a curious puppy. "I'm the part of us that does what it takes to grab those who we take a fancy to. I'm the part of us that says 'no' to any barriers that stand in the way. Just give me control, and we can have it all. Who says we should limit ourselves to one girl? Society? Society, the same people who tell you loving girls are wrong. Just give me control, and I shall correct what you have failed to do."

"No."

"No?"

"No." Rika replied. "I'm not going to do that ever again, no matter how many times you come to me. I won't ever do it again. Not to Ren, not to Yuri, not to anyone else."

The other girl was silent for a long time. Then said, "I can feel your conviction. Very well, I won't do anything. But I have to ask, what exactly do you plan on doing about it? These feelings don't just vanish, and if they do it's a long painful process. Do you really want to suffer it?"

"Yes." Rika replied without skipping a beat. "And besides, I think…" she thought of all the times she and Ren had spent together, the way it made her heart jump. The way Ren blushed whenever Rika complemented her, the way she jumped whenever they hugged one another. "I think she likes me…but I'll wait."

"Wait?"

"Wait for her to come to me. I don't want to dump my feelings on someone else again." Rika said, looking around her, but only seeing emptiness.

"Fine. I can already see that I won't change your mind. But I will be watching, sooner or later, I expect you'll come around." and with that, she vanished into nothingness, but Rika didn't have time to celebrate. Everything around her was similarly turning into nothingness, all around her.

—-—-

Rika opened her eyes and found herself at the Coordinators. "Rikki!" Emiri shouted, running over to her. "Are you okay? No problems with your other self?"

"Other self?" Rika asked, tilting her head. That weird shadow thing that appeared to her?

"You know, that shadowed version of yourself?" Emiri asked, looking up at the celling. "The one that shows you what your doppel looks like?"

"Yeah?" Emiri smiled and pointed that connected to her chest was a single cord that looked suspiciously like a vein, and it connected to a love potion-oh. Right. So that wasn't just a dream.

She turned to Ren, who looked at her with big deep blue eyes. "I-I was worried…that you wouldn't wake up…or worse…that thing….would be the only thing to come out…to wake up…" A perfectly valid fear if you asked Rika, so she beckoned Ren to her.

"Well now we're even." she said, forcing a smile onto her face as she patted Ren's back. "You gave me one heck of a scare when Renata first came out." Despite herself she frowned. "I thought you were dead."

"I was…in a way…"

"And you're here now." Rika said, pulling Ren off of her so she could look at her eyes. "We're here. And I'm not going anywhere, and I know you don't plan on going anywhere. So we can just take it one day at a time."


*Magica Record: Does not Advance RikaRen's Plotlines.*

*Me: Fine. I'll do it myself.*

Aphrodite. The Doppel of False Love, it takes on the form of a Love Potion, its nature is Yearning. The Master of this doppel wanted to be loved, and now this doppel is determined to fulfill it. Spilling the love potion on anyone unfortunate to be close to it, especially those it takes a liking to. The master of this doppel hates its very existence, but has resolved to move past it.

The love potion part is obvious. The Angel Wings,

I debated giving Rika's old GF a name. On one hand she exists outside of Rika. On the other hand, names do have power and naming her might distract from Rika and Ren.

Soooooo, I danced around the issue by giving her the name Yuri, after Yuri from Doki Doki. I didn't have to put much thought into it, and the meaning is obvious. Plus, she reminds me of Yuri in appearance and personality.

Also, Sora is one of her friends. She's a lot like Emiri and Rika, a sunny, extroverted personality.

The Lotus thing was I saw someone somewhere use it, and it stuck with me.

Also, Uhrmann, Witch who wants to be loved and can be defeated by faking love vs Rika whose whole wish caused fake love. Yeah, match made in Godoka's Heaven.