CHAPTER 23: And The Point of Salvation
"Repeat! Repeat! A special state of emergency has been declared for the City of Mitakihara!" The voice on the Public Address system echoed throughout the Observation Tower, where two young ladies were surveying the nearly-abandoned city.
"It would seem that your intuition was indeed correct." A twin-tailed, bun-haired teen in a blue Chinese dress with frills at the waist and detached, frilled sleeves stepped out of the lift. A blue oval-shaped gem with a gold anchor attached sat just beneath her neck. "Witches appear to be congregating all throughout this city. Akira has reported finding the labyrinths of seven, Kako has sensed at least two, and I myself have located four." She reached into one of her frilly sleeves and from it removed a Grief Seed. "Including this one with which I have just dispensed."
The girl she was speaking to was clad in a magenta-colored traditional Japanese dress, with flower petal patternings along her sleeves, and a flowered hair ornament with a pink oval at the center adorning the left side of her shoulder-length hair. "Were any of the detected targets the witch responsible for banding our group together?" She was vigilantly holding onto a katana while surveying the city skyline through a magically-enhanced tower viewer.
"No." Her blue friend replied. "But it is much too soon to dismiss it as absent."
"Agreed." She noted the prize in her companion's grasp. "I assume you had no choice but to engage that one, Meiyui?"
"It was seconds away from killing a family of three." She held the seed close to her chest. A swirling, particulate mass rose out from the gem on her body and settled inside the Grief Seed. "Nanaka, If I may ask, why are our orders only to observe and track? Not to fight unless lives are threatened?"
"Surely you have been privy to the stories of how overwhelmingly powerful the protector of this city is, yes?"
"That she could destroy an enemy with but a single blow," The blue girl answered. "Defeat more foes in a single day than a whole team could in a week, that she possesses both the resplendent beauty and dignified grace of a holy maiden from ages long past?"
Her magenta comrade chuckled. "So you have heard!"
"Rumors, gossip and third hand accounts. What bearing do they have on our operational objectives?"
"Because if even a fraction of those stories are true," The girl explained, "It means that she is someone who is not to be trifled with, and whose territory we must respect. In showing that we prioritize lives over treasures, we signal to this girl that our intentions are transparent and honest, that we have no interest in neither encroaching on her territory nor poaching Grief Seeds."
"I see." Her blue friend replied. "But do you believe she would be able to read between the lines of such a strategy?"
"I do." She adjusted the lens on her modified viewer, and focused it towards the coastline. "I notice Nanami's surviving apprentices have chosen to investigate this town as well."
"Yet not Nanami herself? That's curious."
"She's out of the country. Participating in an international fashion event of high repute." She scanned the coastline, looking for any sign of an endangered life. "At least, that's what her talent agency's website says. If she could be here, I am confident she already would be."
"They're not alone," The blue magical girl stepped to her friend's side and pressed her fist to her hand. "I can also confirm, the 'Rescue Heroes' have also made their company."
"'Rescue Heroes'?" The magenta magical girl thought for a moment. "Ah, yes. Asuka Tatsuki and Sasara Minagi. I thought you guys would have come up with a better name for them by now."
"'La Chevalier Championnes' was Kako's suggestion. Akira and I thought it to be a bit of a stretch. And pretentiously French."
"Still, I'd say it suits them little better than 'Rescue Heroes'. Suits Minagi at least." The girl known as Nanaka genially smiled. "Of course those two would be drawn to a place where lives were threatened en masse. That's just how they are."
"And while I can't confirm their presence for certain," Her blue compatriot said. "I have reason to suspect that the Azalea Sisters are here too. Shall I take measures to drive them out?"
"No," Nanaka shook her head. "I imagine the only thing a powerful magical girl would appreciate less than a raw territorial grab, would be a grudge match between unwelcome outsiders." She adjusted her viewer again. "Take whatever extra precautions necessary to ensure they don't know we're here."
"As you wish, Nanaka." The blue magical girl with the twin-tailed buns respectfully bowed.
"Repeat! Repeat! A special state of emergency has been declared for the City of Mitakihara!"
"Earth to Tsuruno! Earth to Tsuruno! You listenin'?"
"Huh?" The light brown-haired girl in the crop-topped orange Chinese fan dancer's outfit whipped her head around and drew a deep breath. "Oh, sorry Momoko! I was just watching the sea! What were you talking about?"
"I said," The blonde haired girl with the long ponytail assessed the damage along the boardwalk. "Take a look at the damage around this place. A dusty ol' warehouse, a closed Chinese restaurant, a run-down gambling parlour, a condemned condominium complex, a fisherman's wharf that's about to be rebuilt? What's the connection?" Dressed as though she stepped straight out of a role playing game, she wielded a long machete almost the entire length of her body on her back.
"They're old and disused?" Tsuruno's attention slowly drifted back to the uncalm ocean, and the booming skies above it.
"But beyond that." They turned around and ducked behind a tarp to avoid a patrolling police car. "The targets all seem so random. It's almost like the terrorists aren't trying to make a point, but rather…" She noticed she had lost her companion's ear again. "Tsuruno!"
"Sorry! Sorry!" The girl in orange apologized as she jerked her skirt up by it's jewel-decorated belt.
"It's getting pretty blustery, I know." Momoko shielded her face from a quick squall of rain and wind. "We really shoulda brought rain gear and umbrellas."
"It's not that," Tsuruno's focus was now entirely on the worsening weather. "It's the clouds."
"The clouds?" Momoko looked up and shrugged. "Storm clouds. Getting closer. What about 'em?"
"They're scaring me!" A nearby striking bolt of lightning illuminated the entire boardwalk. "I don't like how they look at all!"
"Aw, that's so unlike the self-proclaimed 'Mightiest Magical Girl' to be scared of a little thunder, rain and lightning!" Momoko teased. Another lightning bolt cracked to the ground nearby. They scrambled into a wooden beachside restaurant. "Whoa! That was a close one!"
"I'm not scared of the storm!" Tsuruno clarified. "I'm scared of the clouds! They look all wrong!"
"Wrong?" Momoko briefly peeked out from their shelter. "How?"
"They're all bubbly and rippling and boiling!" The two cautiously left their momentary shelter. "They look like something's about to bust out from behind them!" A very scary thought suddenly popped into Tsuruno's brain. "Hey, Momoko… D- Did Master Yachiyo ever tell you about that witch that supposedly only ever attacks the world like once or twice every hundred years or so? The one so huge it doesn't need to stay in a labyrinth? When's the last time you think one came along?"
"You mean a Walpurgisnacht?" Momoko paused. "Yeah, of course she told me about it. You think that's what's goin' on? Well I think ya' might be jumpin' the gun on that kind of conclusion!"
"Actually," An authoritative voice telepathically called out over the rumbling of the storm. "Your friend there is quite on the ball!" A blonde-haired girl jumped down from the top of a warehouse and onto the boardwalk. She was accompanied by a redhead in a long red robe.
"Who are you?" Momoko asked.
"I'm Mami Tomoe." The storm crackled loudly above their heads, loud enough to get a momentary glance from the entire gathered group. "But more important than that, we need your help."
"Power's been diverted, all defensive systems up! Exterior surveillance restored." Sayaka read the report on the console screen. "An energy bubble's been deployed that extends a meter in all directions, with a back-up encasing the main hull. It's safe as we can make it. Definitely the safest place in town." She checked on another status report. "The Tactical Hologram's got more than enough juice to appear, but she's not scheduled for another hour or so." She flicked a couple switches. "Guess we'll have to start the show without her."
"Promise me, Madoka," Homura urgently gripped her hands to Madoka's shoulders. "No matter what happens, no matter what sort of danger we face, no matter how much it pains you to stand by, you must not leave this vessel!"
"I-" Madoka looked at the equally concerned expression on her Time Lady friend's face. "I promise."
"The life I've lived. The worlds I travelled. The memories I've experienced and lost. It was all for you. For so long the only words I had to guide me were 'Save Madoka'!" Homura pulled Madoka in closer and then gave her a full-on hug. "They were words so strong that they became the only words I could remember. The only words I thought I needed. The only words keeping me sane." Homura's eyes welled as her heartfelt embrace of Madoka persisted. "I didn't think I needed to care about anyone or anything else but you, but now I realize that a world without Sayaka's friendship could never be a world you would be happy with. A world without Mami's tea parties and dinner dates is a world that's unacceptable. A world without Kyoko's easy going attitude is a world not befitting of us all." Her embrace finally let up a little bit. "Miss Jones worked hard and sacrificed her own life to make that world a possibility. And now, we all fight together to make sure that world becomes reality."
"I think what she's trying to say is that you need to have faith." Sayaka sympathetically put her hand to Homura's shoulder. "Have faith in us, and we'll make it through all right." She handed Madoka a phone. "That phone's routed through the ship's communication system. So call us if the AI's got any new info that'll help." The two girls made their way towards the door.
"Okay." Madoka nodded. "I'll stay. I- I have faith in you all! Please, do your best!"
"Nagisa Momoe," Homura commanded just outside the door. "The job we are about to entrust to you is highly important. Perhaps the most important role any of us have."
"What is it?" Nagisa eagerly asked.
"Your mission is to protect the TARDIS. And within it, Madoka." Homura knelt down and met the young lady at eye level. "You are the last line of defense between Walpurgisnact, and that which is most precious to us." She placed a spare Grief Seed in Nagisa's hand. "Stay here, and remain vigilant. If you see any familiars invading this vicinity," She took Nagisa trumpet and placed it against Nagisa's chest. "Blow. Blow hard. Blow until they're scattered to the wind and keep blowing until all of them are defeated. You can do that. I'm confident you can."
"Nagisa can do it, yeah!" She saluted and stood straight. "Don't worry!"
"Nice speech." Sayaka whispered as she and Homura left the mall. "Making her feel like she's helping while keeping her far outta the worst danger. I'd say your heart's grown at least three sizes since we've started."
"It hasn't grown. I'm simply opening my heart again after keeping it locked away so long. That's all." The two quickly noticed the worsening conditions and greatly hastened their pace. "It'll emerge soon. We need to get to the rendezvous point as soon as possible."
"We bring you this update to the current emergency situation ongoing in Mitakihara," The newscaster pressed his finger to his earpiece. "Doppler radar has indicated a sudden supercell has formed off the coast and is coming ashore. Local police have confirmed the skies are looking pretty nasty out there, if you have not either evacuated or taken shelter in a secure area, we strongly implore you to do so immediately!"
"Terrorists? Nah, I don't buy that for a second! I'll tell ya' who really did it…" One man grumbled to the man sitting next to him. Nearby, A young boy was playing on his handheld video game system. A girl beside him was gently combing the hair of her doll.
"You know who else's place I heard got bombed? You remember our old classmate..." A pair of young mothers were gossiping while breastfeeding their babies. A teenage boy sitting on the sleeping bag situated next rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Haven't seen this many people cooped up together since the end of the war! Lemme tell ya' somethin' that was…" Two elderly men were sitting at a table playing Shogi. Everywhere Sayaka looked around, people were frivolously distracting themselves, telling stories, spreading rumors, gossip and misinformation, blissfully unaware of the true danger Mitakihara City faced.
As Sayaka expected, her own mother was coping by burying herself in a book. Unfortunately, thanks to all the ambient noise around them, she wasn't noticing any sign of drowsiness from her yet.
"And where are you going?" Her Mother caught her trying to sneak away.
"To the bathroom." Sayaka grumbled and did a performative potty dance.
"You already went twenty minutes ago."
"There was a long line." Sayaka lied. "I couldn't go." It was in fact the last time she checked on the ruse of the Madoka doll. Fortunately in that case, Madoka's parents were so preoccupied with Madoka's hyperactive little brother Tatsuya that they were paying Madoka's suspiciously quiet stand-in little mind.
"Fiiiiiiine." Her mother sighed. "But you're on the clock. Be back in twenty five."
"But there might be a line again!"
"Check in with me anyway." Her mother had gone fully disciplinarian since learning of Sayaka's fight. "Now go on. Tick-tok tick-tok."
"Alright! Alright already, geez!" Sayaka flippantly waved a bye.
"No, no, it wasn't anyone from the Middle East," She overheard someone saying. "What I heard was that some Korean Nationalists…" The rumors and gossip were growing more and more outlandish by the second.
"What are they saying about this in Tokyo?" Idle chatter.
"Storm's looking pretty nasty out there." More chatter. "Hope my house makes it through okay."
"You know, they found her among a bunch of people down by the old train station?" That one caught Sayaka's ear. It was the voice of a classmate.
"They said it was another mass hallucination, but the same thing happening to the same girl twice? Give me a break!" Who was she talking about? Sayaka bumped and pushed her way closer through the crowd.
"Top-honors student, high-power family, prepping all the time for Finals," Another classmate standing next to her listed. "Hear about these sorts more and more. Poor Shizuki must have snapped!" Wait a minute, Sayaka thought, they were talking about Hitomi? Uh-oh. Did she get caught up in her own witch's labyrinth? Crap!
"You said it, big time!" The other responded. "Not to mention, the whole situation with Kamijo. Usually in those stories they lock themselves away in their rooms and never come out again. But you want to know what I think? I think she must've joined a death cult, and now she's looking for a way to-"
"You guys don't know what you're talking about!" Sayaka interrupted. "So don't spout nonsense when none of you know the whole story!" She repeated her sentiment, this time louder so that more people around them could hear, "Goes for all of you! If you don't know what you're talking about, shut up!"
"Tch! Whatever!" One of the girls dismissed.
"Sore loser, much?" Her friend audibly whispered as they walked away.
Sayaka's phone unexpectedly buzzed. She hadn't even realized she'd kept it on. 'Getting defensive is only going to fuel their speculation.' It read. Sayaka then noticed the sender: It was from Hitomi. Her head promptly turned and searched every single face in the room for a match with the sender. A few seconds was all it took to find her, sitting in a seat alone in the far corner, face to her screen, huddled in a self-protecting position, trying very hard not to be noticed.
'Don't come closer. That'll fuel them more.' An immediate follow-up text warned. Sayaka was only coming over to apologize for belting her nose, which fortunately looked no worse for the wear from this distance.
'Sorry abt Kyosuke. Sorry I punched U.' Sayaka hastily texted back. Short and to the point, yet still felt to her terribly inadequate. 'Forgive me PLZ?'
'I think it's best for us both if you and I do not associate for a while.' Hitomi texted back. Clear and concise as could be. No text speak. Ouch. That means she meant it. Every base instinct told Sayaka to ignore Hitomi's request and settle things face-to-face. Yet Sayaka relented. Deeper within, she recognized that if her friendship with Hitomi were to ever be restored, then the first thing she had to do was respect Hitomi's wishes. However awkward that might be for them both.
'OK.' She simply texted back. 'Wish u well.' She noted the time on her phone. Only fourteen minutes left to check on the Madoka doll. Make sure the ruse was keeping, then touch base with her mother.
"Asuka, come on!" A dark-haired girl in a red and white outfit with a regal Medieval appearance shouted. "You're out of time! Grab the cat and jump!" She was attempting to douse a building on fire by slicing the top off a fire hydrant and deftly directing the water flow with repeated slashings of her rapier blade.
"Hey, look at that!" Sayaka noticed a nearby building on fire, one that had not been a target of the bombings. "You see those two over there?" She'd also noticed the girls trying to contain it. "They look like they need a little help!"
"Here kitty! Heeeeere Kitty!" The girl in Samurai armor tiptoed carefully along the edge of the ledge. "Meow! Meeeeeeoooow!" She tried calling out to a small black cat trapped by the fire.
"Hurry!" Her companion called out.
"What sort of assistance do you require?" Homura and Sayaka suddenly appeared before the Medieval-dressed girl's eyes.
"Huh?" Their out-of-nowhere offer had momentarily taken her aback. "L- Lightning started this building on fire." But she noticed their unusual attire immediately as she explained the situation. "No one's left inside, thank goodness, but Asuka saw a cat trapped up there on that ledge." The girl above had successfully grabbed the cat, but they were now trapped on the ledge in a spot that was directly above the most violently roaring flames. "Crap!"
"Waaaahhhh!" The girl leapt back as she barely dodged a burst of flames from the window beneath.
"If she jumps now the cat's gonna get burned for sure!" Sayaka ran over to another hydrant, pried it open and directed the gush of water with her own blade.
"Leave it to me." Homura disappeared on the spot.
"Woah." The dark-haired Medieval knight-dressed girl was clearly quite impressed.
"Take my hand!" Homura suddenly appeared on the ledge above her. "I'll swing you up and over onto the roof!" The Samurai girl, coddling the cat in one arm, grabbed her hand with the other and in one single, flawless motion Homura tossed her to the rooftop above. Homura promptly took a heavy step, lunged upwards and backflipped onto the rooftop ledge above. "There's a tall tree on the opposite side of this building." Homura helped the girl onto the ledge as she pointed to the tree. "Next we're going to jump into the tree and climb our way down." The two girls ran along the roof's ledge and leapt into the tree, where the cat promptly freed itself from the girl's arms and panickedly dashed its way down the tree's trunk.
"That was awesome!" The dark-haired Medieval-dressed girl exclaimed.
"Yeah," Sayaka trotted over in agreement. "I thought you said you were going to save your time powers for Walpurgisnacht?"
"My powers," The cat cautiously approached Homura, before rubbing affectionately against her leg. "My discretion." She leaned over and stroked it from head to tail.
"I'm Sasara." The dark-haired Medieval-dressed girl eagerly shook Homura's hand. "Sasara Minagi." She extended the same courtesy towards Sayaka.
"I dig the outfit." Sayaka complimented.
"Thank you." Sasara eyeballed Sayaka's magical costume. "Your armor is impressive, and I do quite envy the cape." She slightly cocked her head to the side. "Even if such a free-flowing accessory could prove to be hazardous under certain circumstances."
"Forgive me for my most grievous blunder," Her companion graciously bowed. Had I acted with much more conviction, the situation would have never required the involvement of the both of you." She then apologetically bowed to her friend. "For so greatly dishonoring us both, I must atone."
"You can atone later," Her friend patted her on the back. "Right now proper etiquette dictates you give a formal introduction to our new friends."
"Oh, yeah!" Her friend whipped around and bowed again and again. "I am Asuka Tatsuki. She and I both hail from Kamihama City."
"We came here to investigate the cause of these terrorist incidents, we presumed a witch's curse." Sasara explained. "We're here to assist anybody who might have been adversely affected." An ominous cracking of thunder rumbled in the skies above.
"Then come along," Homura tossed her hair and resumed walking. "We've much to explain, and very little time to explain it."
"Kako? Kako!" A short-haired girl with a star-shaped hairpin and white boxing attire called out against the sounds of the rolling thunder. "Kaaaaakoooo!" Squalls of wind and rain thrashed her body as she searched the city streets. She fled for shelter in a small space between two buildings, flipped out her phone and checked on its status. Service Unavailable. "Darn! How could I lose her at a time like this?" She squeezed her way between the buildings then peeked out at her surroundings. There was a bakery. "Where could she be?" Then a streetside cafe. "Where would she go?" An antiques store. "Where?" Then a bookstore. "Oh!" The girl had an unexpected epiphany. "She told us there was a store in this town that donated a lot of their unsold books to her store. But what was its name?" She impatiently tapped her foot.
"Hazuki, I honestly don't see the point of remaining here any longer," A long-haired girl with an ornately frilly dress and a large blue azalea on her head said to her friend as they crossed an empty street. "Especially now, with the weather growing so foul. You'd think that if such an immensely powerful magical girl in this town really existed, she'd have made her presence known to us by now."
"We've only been searching for a few hours, Konoha," Her yellow-haired, yellow-frilled friend with an equally-giant yellow azalea retorted. "It's far too early to give up now." They reached a four-way intersection. One police car oncoming, from which they effortlessly avoided in an alleyway. "Besides, even if we wanted to leave now I highly doubt there's any transportation available to take us back to Takarazaki City."
"Very well, we'll stay," Konoha sighed. "But I think it's prudent that you and I decide upon a destination." She suddenly got a very strange chill down her spine and turned her head around. But there was nothing behind her. "I'd rather we not wander aimlessly all day through a storm." Seconds later, her subtle chill grew into a full-on spasm. Konoha stopped, whipped her body around and materialized her weapon, a double-bladed staff with blue butterflies adorning each end.
"Is something wrong?" Her companion turned and looked around. She too reflexively drew her blades, a pair of staffs with axe-like blades on each end.
"I can't explain how or why," Konoha squinted her eyes as she scanned the horizon. "But I feel as if we are being watched right now."
"Konoha, look out!" Hazuki tackled her into the middle of the street. A split-second later, a giant billboard that was once fastened to the skyscraper above had come crashing to the spot they had been standing on the street below.
"Ungh, thanks, Hazuki." They both picked one another back up. "The storm's getting worse. Perhaps it's more prudent that we seek shelter."
"I don't think the storm was responsible," Hazuki's eyes were transfixed on the skyscraper above. Konoha's glare soon followed suit.
"A familiar? Without a labyrinth?" They watched what appeared to them to be a dancing, twinkling shadow of a magical girl, zipping from spot to spot creating a downdraft that strewed all sorts of random trash and debris. "Is such a thing even possible?"
"The fact that we are seeing such a thing before us right now, would most certainly confirm the answer as a 'yes'." Konoha's friend remarked. "The question I have is where it came from? And how did we not sense it until it was almost on top of us?"
"Elimination now, speculation later." Konoha leapt into action, shooting straight towards the twirling familiar, but her attack was unfruitful, as it simply disappeared there and reappeared atop a water tower across the street.
"Damn, it's fast!" Hazuki gave chase, but it vanished before she could attack. "What do we do?"
"Damn," Konoha barely dodged its counterattack a split-second later. "We have to switch tactics."
"Any ideas?" Hazuki regrouped with Konoha. "I'm game for whatever you plan!"
"Just a hunch," It reappeared before Konoha again, vanishing only to attack Hazuki a moment later. "Stake our ground, and make it come to us. Then I'll flood this entire area with a fog so thick it'll have no choice but to either flee for its own safety, or to attack us directly here at the center of it all."
"Perfect!" Hazuki positioned herself back-to-back with her colleague. "Now let's finish it off!" Konoha planted her staff on the pavement making all the rain and moisture around them instantaneously vaporized, creating a fog as thick as soup.
"It's taken the bait, I sense it approaching quickly." Konoha pulled up her weapon and planted herself for a strike. "When I give the signal, Hazuki swing your blades." A scant second later, the familiar appeared before Konoha, she immediately thrust her blade at it and it vanished. "Hazuki, now!"
"Haaaaaahhhhh!" Hazuki lunged forward and swung fiercely, splitting the familiar in half the moment it appeared before her. Their target destroyed, Konoha's fog quickly dissipated while rancor of the still-oncoming storm around them intensified.
"As I figured," Konoha let out a relieved sigh. "It feinted coming at me. It was really trying to strike you instead!"
"What a great hunch! And a strong argument that these things really do act with intent." Hazuki postulated. "All observations aside," She confidently turned to her friend and smiled. "Overall I'd say you and I fared pretty well for a pair of relative novices!"
"All the more reason I believe we should go home!" Konoha reiterated. "We need not curry favor with nor seek protection from a reputedly more powerful magical girl! You and Ayame are all I need to survive this life!"
"I know that's how your heart truly feels," Hazuki watched a tree crash right through a window in a nearby office building, while another shadow-like familiar gleefully danced above. "But I'd much rather make friends." They both caught sight of a different shadow familiar tearing the roof clean off a house, while two more danced around in the sky much higher above. "They're a pretty priceless commodity when you're outnumbered!"
"What's new, Meiyui?" Nanaka's eyes remained fixed to her modified viewer.
"I've engaged several, highly unusual familiars in the streets below." Meiyui answered.
"Puppets," Nanaka slowly scanned the horizon with her machine. "So where hides the puppetmaster?"
'Nanaka! Can you hear me?' A faint voice familiar to them both telepathically reached out to their minds.
'Only barely, Akira! What have you to report?' Nanaka telepathically replied.
'Familiars all of a sudden wreakin' all kinds of hell down here! I don't like this at all!'
'Agreed.' Nanaka reached for her blade, a katana. 'Do you require our assistance?'
'Naaaah, what you guys really gotta find is the witch!' The girl they were communicating with also sounded as though she were a bit winded. ' But I do have a question… What was the name of that bookstore in this town Kako said gave away their extra books? The one owned by the foreigner?''
"Huh?" Meiyui shrugged. She clearly had no idea.
'Reading Rainboom.' Nanaka chuckled under her breath. 'Memorable for its uniqueness, to me at least.' She zeroed in on her compatriot in her viewer, immediately grasping the relevance of Akira's question. 'I presume you think you'll find her there?'
"Kako ventured off on her own?" Meiyui cocked her head. "That's very out of character."
"On the contrary," Nanaka turned to her friend. "Whenever it concerns books, for her it's very much in character."
'Thanks, Nanaka.' Akira expressed. 'Now do you happen to know where it is?'
'The mall,' Nanaka replied. 'Downtown. From your location, head six blocks south, then for blocks east. Now stay safe out there. There's no shame in making a tactical withdrawal. '
'Will do!'
"One, two, three, four." Nagisa paced. "One, two, three, four." Like a guard at the gate, she turned and paced the other way. She turned to her right. "One, two, three, four. Turned around. "One, two, three, four." Her trumpet gripped firmly in hand, she turned again. "One, two, three, four." And again. "One, two, three, four." A look of stalwart determination displayed on her young face.
"One, two…" Nagisa noticed something over her shoulder. "Three!" She aimed her trumpet at it. But it was just a swinging pendulum from a clock inside a dark novelty goods shop. She lowered her weapon and let out a scant breath of relief. "One, two…" She turned and marched. "Three…" Then spotted something to her left. "Four!" She snap-turned around. But it was only the flashing screen of an arcade cabinet. A rolling sound of thunder boomed from the skylight above her, its windows audibly rattling with the reverberations.
She was not only both tense and anxious, but also bored too. Too reminiscent of those long hours spent in the hospital waiting room, quietly keeping to herself, no one to talk to. She stared longingly at the TARDIS's door, knowing there was no one to stop her from taking a brief respite and talking to the subject of her protection, yet she resisted the urge. She'd already heard too many stories from fairytales and folklore, where all it took for disaster to happen was a moment of negligence from somebody charged with preventing it.
"One, two," She took a deep, nervous breath and continued pacing. "Three, four." Her gut intensely growled. The magical group had eaten a bountiful breakfast together that morning but the always-passive Nagisa opted for only a cold ham and cheese sandwich. With the lunch hour approaching, her stomach was complaining about it loudly. "One, two," She tried concentrating on her job. "Three," To little avail as the distracting groan of her tummy rivaled the booming of the thunder. "Four."
She noticed a snack machine sitting between a shoe store and a toy store, not far away. By now her hunger was too much of a distraction to ignore, she checked all sides of the TARDIS, then swiftly trotted over to it. She instinctively reached for any change on her body, only to finally realize that her magical outfit completely lacked pockets. Not that she'd had any money on her, anyway.
Nagisa searched around for any loose change. On the opposite side where the TARDIS sat was a sprinkling water fountain. Sometimes while shopping with her parents in her happier days, she remembered seeing both teens and adults stepping onto the fountain and flipping coins into the rippling waters below. She often wondered why people would ever do such a random thing. But whatever their reasons, their loss was to be her gain, if there were still some money in it. She ran back over to the TARDIS, gave a brief second check of all sides, then dashed over to the fountain.
A lucky break! She immediately found a whole clump of coins shimmering in the water beneath, just barely within her grasp. She set her trumpet aside and eagerly leaned over the ledge with her knee, opened her hand and reached for those precious coins.
"Waaaaaahhh!" Nagisa slipped and fell into the fountain. She caught sight of a strange cloaked figure rushing past the corner of her eye. She immediately shot out of the water, grabbed her weapon and went after it.
"Stuh- ah!" Still sopping wet she breathlessly called out. "Stuh-" The black creature flew down the escalator steps. Whatever this thing was, it sure was fast. Moving much too fast to be any normal person. Perhaps a familiar? Nagisa recklessly slid down the escalator's railing, came to an intersection, stopped and caught her breath. Four directions, four choices, little time to make up her mind. She cupped her ear and listened for any clue. From her left echoed the distinct sound of hurried footsteps. Did familiars exist that had feet? No time to wonder, Nagisa took off in that direction.
As she rounded a corner, those footsteps abruptly ceased. Nagisa halted in her tracks and searched around. She reflexively clutched her weapon tighter, placing its mouthpiece just below her chin, tentatively ready to blow if something threatened her. Her eyes searched high and scanned low, still uncertain of what exactly she was chasing.
Nagisa suddenly stopped and whipped her body around. With no further leads on where to run next, her only option was to fall back to the TARDIS. But In her haste to chase the trespasser, she'd just realized that she'd strayed much too far and had gotten herself lost in this gigantic mall. It actually wasn't the first time this had happened to her. But last time her solution was to cry, and find an adult who would then take her to security, who would then call her parents. But with no one around, she was completely on her own in here.
A bright flash of lightning struck outside, the roar of thunder was loud enough to be ear-splitting. A split-second later, the lights went out as the red-tinted emergency lights kicked on. Yet this time, Nagisa did not cry out nor curl up in fear. In her mind, if she was to truly one day become independent, then finding her own way back in this suddenly sinister situation would need to be her first step.
Another bright flash of lightning through the skylights illuminated the escalator behind her. Nagisa gripped her trumpet tightly, swallowed the lump in her throat, and in an instant after the next big flash from outside, went into a full dead run at those steps.
"Oof!" Nagisa tripped and skidded across the floor, for she had unexpectedly collided with something in her way. Reflexively she put her weapon to her lips and blew at it. A smattering of tiny bubbles from her trumpet exploded like firecrackers in the night.
"Aaaahhhh!" The thing she'd bumped into wailed. It lunged backwards and fired a volley of green projectiles in Nagisa's direction.
"Augh!" Nagisa dodged behind a potted plant. The pot shattered to pieces. Nagisa immediately counterattacked with a big, breathy toot of her trumpet. The resulting explosion knocked them both three meters back and both flat onto the floor.
"Ooooowww!" Nagisa cried.
"Ooooowww!" Her target also cried. It was that sound that made Nagisa realize that the thing she was chasing wasn't a witch's familiar at all, but rather another girl. Her pained eyes sprung open, Nagisa disregarded all her own current woes and went to help the poor girl.
"Sorry! Are you okay?" Nagisa asked the wounded young girl. The power came back and with it the lights returned.
"Huh?" The girl underneath a big black hood and coat slowly opened her eyes. "I-" She sat up. "I think so." Beyond the overcoat, the girl was quite unusually dressed. Ornately dressed, with what appeared to be a green-shining open book pinned to a white ribbon around her neck, and a long staff with a green-glowing tip at her side, Nagisa intuited that this person had to be another magical girl. She grabbed her staff, planted it and used it to prop herself back on her feet. "Who are you?"
"Kako!" A concerned voice echoed throughout the mall's empty spaces. "There you are! Been lookin' all over this town for you!"
"Sorry, Akira!" The girl apologized. "But I had to know if all the books were safe!"
"It's fine, as long as you're staying safe." Akira finally noticed the diminutive magical girl standing close by. "Uh, who's your friend?"
Before Nagisa could answer them, the lights flickered, then cut out completely again. "Crap!" Akira sensed danger. "They're here!" A blitzing pair of familiars crashed through the skylight and pounced.
"Yaaaaahhhhh!" Kako fired green bursts with her staff weapon at one.
"Hiiiiiiiiiyaaahh!" Akira dashed towards the other and landed a series of rapid-fire punches to its head.
Nagisa glanced toward the escalator. Her instinct still told her to fall back to the TARDIS, but she had also been told by Sayaka and the others to keep the machine's existence a secret. If she was going to become independent, then she knew she'd have to make a snap decision right now and face whatever consequences that might follow. She took a deep breath and blew a big stanza that rocked both familiars and allowed Akira and Kako to deliver the finishing blows.
"Hey, that attack was pretty sweet!" Akira chuckled. Four more familiars plowed through the entrance doors. "Kako, we gotta get outta here before they corner us!" She glanced briefly again at Nagisa. "Trust me," She put her hand reassuringly on Nagisa's shoulder. "if you stick with us, you're gonna be fine! I promise!"
"Go down in flaaaaames!" Tsuruno spun a twister of fire that handily disposed of a dozen familiars. Then the resulting fire tornado swirled and engulfed a convenience store nearby.
"Tsuruno!" Momoko chided. "We're supposed to be savin' this city! Not wreckin' it!"
"Soooooooorrry!" Tsuruno apologized. "I forget how mighty I am sometimes!"
"Then save yer mightiest for Walpurgisnacht!" Kyoko split several others into bits with a single slashing of her spear. "These freaks are just the warm up act!"
"Then when's it gonna get here?" Momoko asked. "'Cause at the rate we're goin' we're gonna be too tuckered to take it on!"
"Just watch yer own ass and keep it up 'til Mami comes back with the others!" Kyoko commanded. "Then once we're together we'll rally!"
"Gotcha!" Momoko slashed two in half with a fierce slash of her blade.
"Hazuki!" Konoha called out. The assault of familiars had resulted in her becoming separated from her good friend. "Hazukiiiii!" She chopped a familiar to pieces with a rapidly-twirling toss of her weapon. "Damnit!" By this point they were now rushing her way at a faster and more numerous rate. "I knew this town was going to bring us trouble!"
"Konoha?" Hazuki slashed and defeated one familiar in the open, only to immediately be ganged up on by three from the shadows. "Konoha? Where are you?" Konoha had entrusted Hazuki with a Grief Seed obtained from a witch they had killed shortly before their pilgrimage to this city, and while she was quickly reaching a point where she was going to be needing to use it soon, Hazuki was hesitant. After all, her friend had been battling these creatures just as long and was every bit as likely in a similar pinch, she felt it was imperative that she meet back up with Konoha before they used their sole lifeline.
"Dang!" Hazuki exclaimed. Their attacks were getting more and more aggressive with every wave. She and Konoha had already agreed upon a prearranged meeting place in the event they became separated. "Not today!" She parried an attack. Now that she found herself in a spot where she was ducking and dodging more than charging and striking, retreating to that point appeared to be the only decent option remaining. Unfortunately, that meant navigating her own way through this urban obstacle course of fearsome familiars and flying debris.
"Oh, no!" Hazuki gasped. The only path forward was through a line of familiars, and she could already feel the potency of her magic wearing down. Her Soul Gem's yellow glow was noticeably dimmer. She knew that unless she used their Grief Seed now she wouldn't be able to break through. "Konoha, I'm sorry. I have to." She winced as she clutched it, remorsefully creeping it closer to the five point azalea Soul Gem attached just below her breast.
"Get down!" A forceful voice warned her from behind. "Now!" Hazuki collapsed to her belly onto the pavement.
"Woah!" Hazuki wondrously watched a rain of gold-glowing cutlasses and rapiers rain havoc on the unsuspecting familiars blocking her way.
"Are you okay?" A short-haired girl in a long white cape offered her the firm grip of an armor-covered hand. She was flanked by a vaguely similarly-dressed girl in white, with longer hair in lieu of a cape.
"I-" She checked on the Grief Seed. She had not used it completely. "I'll manage."
"You were right." The other girl commented. "Our attacks synchronized together beautifully!"
"I'm Sayaka," She helped Hazuki to her feet. "And we're saving this city," She smiled. "So if you don't mind sticking with us, we could sure use your help!"
"Damnit!" Konoha's situation, meanwhile, was deteriorating by the second. She threw her weapon into a charging trio of familiars, cutting them first at the hip then boomeranging right back around and beheading them. Yet mere moments after her victory she was besieged by six more. "Hazukiiiiiii!" She tried calling out to her friend again, but her desperate voice was drowned out by the mocking cackle of the familiar hordes quickly surrounding her. "Guuuuyyyaaaaa!" Konoha planted her weapon to the ground, she still had one more trick up her sleeve. A swirling mass of water formed around her, and blasted outward. "Haaaaaahhh!" With that storm, her attackers were effectively neutralized.
"Yeeeessss!" She exasperatedly shouted. "Haaazuuuukiiiiii!" She staggered over to the center of a four way intersection, seeking any sign of her friend nearby. "Haazuukiiiiiiii!" She called out between exhausted breaths.
"Haaazuuukiiiiiiiii!" Konoha checked on her Soul Gem, a blue azalea on her hand. It was dim and blackening, a surefire sign that she was in trouble. "Hazuki, where-" She fell to her knee in pain. "Shit!" The familiars were back again, at least two dozen surrounding her in the street.
Konoha closed her eyes and planted her weapon one more time. If this moment was to be her swan song, then she was determined to make it count. She drew one final deep, determined breath. "Guuuuuaa-"
"Tiro Volley!" Konoha instantly opened her eyes to the sight of hundreds of rounds of ammunition penetrating and vanquishing every single foe surrounding her. "I don't mean to criticize, but suicide attacks are the last act of the hopeless." A drill curl-locked girl with a regal bearing approached her moments after. "And you certainly don't seem hopeless to me." She offered Konoha a Grief Seed, the universal magical girl's code for friendship. "I sensed a magical presence in danger nearby and came to help. Are you alright?"
"Damn, they're everywhere now!" Akira's eyes glowed blue with her intensifying frustration. "Kako, three o'clock to your right!"
"Yaaaaah!" Kako's green staff blasts took out another four.
"Other girl-" Akira hastily corrected herself. "Er- I mean, Nagisa! Behind you!" Nagisa blew away another with a loud and boisterous toot. "Sorry," Akira apologized. "I can't quite keep your name in my head yet!"
"That's okay." Nagisa wanly smiled.
'Akira,' Nanaka's telepathic voice was barely audible amidst all the chaos. 'Have you found Kako yet? '
'Yes I have,' Akira confirmed. 'And we kinda stumbled into someone who looks like a local magical girl, too!' In a series of jumps Kako made her way up to the top of the mall's roof. Akira followed suit with Nagisa riding on her back. 'But she's real young. I don't think she's got a clue what's really goin' down around here!' She reached the top and carefully let Nagisa dismount. "At least up here we're gonna have the high ground!"
'I see you.' Nanaka said. 'Under normal circumstances, I'd tell you all to make way towards our position. But- '
'The path's crawlin' with familiars, right?'
'That's an affirmative.'
'Then never mind us,' Akira replied. 'We got enough extra Grief Seeds to hold out for a while. Any luck finding whatever's responsible for this mess?'
'Negative.' Meiyui appeared behind Nanaka again. "Have you got anything new to report?"
"No. Unfortunately, I had to retreat back here. The familiars were too overwhelming." She discrouagedly joined Nanaka by her side. "What are we to do, Nanaka?"
"Only one thing to do. As Akira said," Nanaka scanned as quickly and thoroughly as she could manage with her viewer. "Find the entity responsible, and deal with it directly." Suddenly, a gigantic explosion that blasted dozens of familiars high into the air garnered their attention.
"What was that?" Meiyui wondered.
Nanaka excitedly focused her gaze on that spot. "I think that was the one we've been searching for."
"Tiro… Finale!" Mami unleashed a devastating blast that annihilated the familiars blocking their way.
"Oh, wow!" Konoha was awestruck by the pure might of her savior. Mami tapped a Grief Seed to the Azalea on her hand.
"Fortunately for you," Mami assertively took the lead. "The meetup place you mentioned actually not far off from my own group's rendezvous point." She looked back at Konoha and smiled. "And it's not far at all from where we stand now!"
"Tha- Th- Tell me!" Konoha struggled to verbalize her gratitude. "A- Are you the magical girl guardian of this city?" She asked instead. "I've heard quite a few rumors about you!"
"Rumors?" Mami effortlessly blasted a pouncing pair of familiars with her muskets. "I'm afraid I can't speak to any kinds of rumors. But yes, I am a magical girl of Mitakihara. And I'm very desperate for any assistance in this crisis unfolding before us now."
The pair raced their way through a slew of city blocks in a matter of seconds and with relative ease, Mami making short work of any familiar that dared challenge them. "And what exactly is the crisis we're experiencing together?" Konoha finally had a little time to recuperate.
"A Walpurgisnacht's attack is imminent," Mami explained. From the puzzled reaction on Konoha's face she could tell that she needed some elaboration. "It's a… Super Witch of sorts. One that attacks every century or so. It's said to be so huge that it doesn't need to hide in a labyrinth like the others. And so powerful that it can leave a whole city devastated in its wake."
"And what source's word makes you so confident that such a witch exists and that an attack is approaching?" Konoha inquired. "I'm curious to know."
"Kyubey told me it was coming weeks ago." Again Mami could tell by the girl's face what she was thinking. "But rest assured, I don't trust his word blindly. I have it on good authority from other magical girls as well."
"Kyubey vanished from our city, not very long after granting our wishes. Finding him again was one of the reasons my companion and I left our own territory and trekked to this one." Konoha frustratedly sighed. "Though from the rigorous haste with which he sought to make me a magical girl, I sensed that his intentions for us were not exactly benevolent."
"Yet you still made a contract?" They came to an intersection. The sounds of battle nearby guided their direction.
"My sisters and I found ourselves under circumstances where we were no longer in a position to decline his offer."
"I see," Mami and Konoha leapt to the top of a small building, taking a huge shortcut via the rooftops. "Typical, Kyubey." They caught sight of a fiery twister being stirred into a furious twirl by a brown-haired magical girl in orange. "Then in the interest of facilitating trust, I must confess that my associates and I were the ones most directly responsible for his abrupt departure. Kyubey is gone. Hopefully from this world forever."
Konoha gasped. "You were?"
"Mami lookout!" With a single slice of her multi-jointed spear Kyoko handily defeated a marauding band of familiars that were sneaking up from their blind side. "Ya' gotta watch yer ass!" She noticed Konoha trailing close behind. "Really? One girl was causin' all that ruckus back there?"
"She says she had someone with her, from whom she got separated." Mami then mowed down a group that was stalking Kyoko. "Likewise to you, Kyoko."
"Is that all we have?" Momoko chopped a familiar in half before joining them on a rooftop. "Four people?"
"Don't sweat it!" Tsuruno blew away another group with another firestorm. "Mighty Tsuruno is enough to count for four more!"
"Sheesh!" Kyoko muttered to herself. "The gung ho girls are always the most annoying ones!" Then she chuckled. "But for once this one's got the moves to back that the mouth!"
"Hazuki!" Konoha sensed a familiar presence nearby and rushed to greet it. "Thank goodness! I thought I'd lost you!" So preoccupied with the reunion they didn't notice the familiars suddenly vanish in retreat.
"For a moment, it was close." Hazuki confided. "But with the help of some new allies, I've found my way back to you!" Hazuki gratefully glanced at the lockstep marching Asuka, Sasara and Sayaka. The group was finally all together at last.
"Thank you all so much." Konoha respectfully nodded at them.
"Uh, what's goin' on now?" But Momoko did notice the sudden withdrawal of the familiar horde. "They're gone! That mean we won?"
"Hardly." Homura appeared practically from thin air right next to Momoko. "It's only the beginning."
A deluge of new and even stranger familiars, appearing as mascots riding on pink poodles emerged from the ether, parading throughout the streets of town.
"Now what the hell are those things?" Kyoko proceeded to take position to strike.
"Don't bother." Homura stopped her with a forceful tug of Kyoko's arm. "These are the heralds. Far fiercer than the attackers from earlier. But fortunately, they don't fight unless directly provoked."
"Does that mean…?" Mami anxiously peered towards the sky.
"Yes." Homura nervously answered. "It's time."
"The familiars!" Meiyui witnessed from atop the observation tower. "They've vanished!"
"That can't possibly be the end of it!" Nanaka scanned and scanned with her viewer, desperate to find the answers. "It can't be! I don't like this feeling in my gut at all!"
"Nanaka!" Meiyui pointed. "Up there! The sky!"
Nanaka's eyes widened with shock and fear as she witnessed a massive creature emerge from the parting clouds. "Oh… My…!"
"Hahaahaahahaahaaaaaa! Hahaahaahaahaaahaaaaa!"
"Laughing?" Akira Shinobu's attention suddenly shifted from the familiar she was engaging to the sky above. "What the heck is laughing?"
"Hahaahaahahaahaaaaaa! Hahaahaahaahaaahaaaaa!"
Nagisa and Kako ran from the rancorous laughter back to shelter inside the mall.
DOOOONNNNNNGGGGG! DOOOOOOOONNNNNGGG! DOOOOOOOOONNNGGG! The Cloister Bell in the TARDIS rang three times, a warning that tolled only during the most serious crises.
"TARDIS Security and Tactical System Online." A familiar voice alerted as the main console systems powered up. The hologram of Junko Kaname appeared directly before Madoka Kaname on the futon. "Transdimensional Cross-Rip phenomenon detected. Threat level assessment: High. Classification Code: Akuma Alpha."
DOOOONNNNNNGGGGG! DOOOOOOOONNNNNGGG! DOOOOOOOOONNNGGG!
