Even after we learned so much about magic, there are still mysteries left to us. We unravelled the inner workings and appliances of the power, understood its meaning... but I doubt we will ever learn what brought humankind to evolve that way, or whether we have really reached the end of our research. Thus, we have to carry on; there is always another surprise waiting, another revelation to find.

-Nishizawa Yuichi

"I don't remember much about them anymore", a calm voice echoed through the room while bright light engulfed it; the speaker was distinctively female, if very young. Then a girl appeared on screen, no older than six and clad in a cute green children's coat. She was walking next to two larger figures who held her hands as they went; her parents. Faces hidden above where the screen ended, their boots crunched through the snow and a few strands of brown hair fell out of the girl's hood.

"But it was a terrible sight." The voice spoke up again, only for the scene to change on the last syllable; the very same girl sat on the ground, wide eyed, staring directly at the camera. The snow in front of her feet slowly turned crimson and an Ancient Dragon howled beyond the screen.

. .

. .

"That was a terrible movie."

The little girl saying this looked awfully like the child they had shown on-screen over the past two hours; she held tightly onto a large, yellowish ball as well as she could. Flanked by her friends, the child walked out of the movie theatre. "I mean, the writers had dozens of interviews with me and still messed up on a scale that I'm thinking about suing them."

The two women with her made the whole group appear decidely distinct. The blunette wore a white coat with black lines criss-crossing over it and a navy blue shirt-skirt combo beneath; she was busy rolling her eyes at the commentary and smoothed out her coat. Meanwhile, the other one kept quiet over it in a more solemn way; her curvy form was packed into a red sweater and blue jeans, orange hair bound into a tight bun for the day.

This group of three moved toward the coat check without any haste; it was their day off, so they had enough time at hand. On top of that, experience showed that people tended to jump out of the way and let them go ahead if they hurried. And they tended to panic because they thought something happened.

"How awfully cold of you, Broccoli," the blunette finally noted with a glance at the little girl, "I doubt anyone else could be like that after watching a movie about themselves. I'm even more surprised you weren't triggered; some of that looked pretty traumatic."

The little brunette only tilted her head before smiling up at her friend. "Silly MAGES., I'm not traumatised. Besides, even if I was, the movie was just so bad I doubt it would trigger anyone. Just a great many scenic shots, no action visible on screen, layered with quotes from me... and they even took none of the good ones. They really wanted that R12-rating."

A few people still let them pass with respectful nods and bows during their conversation. Broccoli rolled her eyes, but did not say anything about it; she just accepted that they reached their destination faster than they usually would. Once there, they had the attendant give them their coats; the man saw them off with a friendly smile and a bow.

While brunette and blunette were busy putting on their outside clothing however, the last member of their group sighed and wiped her slightly reddened face with a handkerchief again. "Even if you say all that, it was still very touching."

"Well, at least one of us has a decent amount of empathy." MAGES. offered a good-natured smirk with her comment, but Broccoli only rolled her eyes and snapped the last clasp of her green coat shut.

Then she mounted the ball. A moment passed before its yellowish surface contorted, an eye bubbling up from the inside; another one followed the first, both forming a pair. Another hole below them opened with a smacking sound, revealing two rows of even teeth. The newformed mouth smiled at its surroundings.

Broccoli bounced up and down on her friend a few times, Gema's smile never ceasing as she did. "Nah. They left out a lot I mentioned in passing." Riding it was a fun thing for her to do, especially because it was soft and warm.

Meanwhile, people were regarding them with reverence as usual. Children pointed and squealed in delight when she had Gema smile their way despite of how creepy it looked. She did this mostly to pass the time, though; her friends took a little longer to get ready. No one spoke as the adults finished buttoning up their coats, not wanting to have that kind of discussion within a crowd.

Attendants bowed to them as they walked out into Lowee's cold air. It was a pleasant afternoon, all things considered; the temperature had not fallen far below the freezing point and only few people were around. Gema did not mind flopping in the freshly fallen snow with every bounce, having always been uncaring for such slight changes in temperature.

With their breath forming clouds in front of their faces, Broccoli enjoyed herself by inhaling deeply and covering her busty companion in mist for a moment.

That did nothing to dismiss her thoughtful expression, though; she spoke up while they slowly left the larger building's shadow, returning to the capital's wider main streets: "You said they left things out from the interviews... what exactly were those?"

The little brunette had already opened her mouth, but MAGES. motioned for her to wait. The older mage had this slightly amused smile plastered on her face again. "Considering that you, in difference to us, are a good person, Marvy... I believe this ought to stay unmentioned."

While MarvelousAQL began to pout playfully over the rebuke, Broccoli shook her head with a smile. Her fellow mage was probably right; their friend might not take well to hearing about the bullying she went through. Neither would the audience of this movie, which was probably why the directors left it out. Furthermore, this kind of topic would have led to a lot of controversy, especially with how carefully the government tried to discourage bullying.

"I guess you're right. Marvy is a nice girl."

Still...

.

. .

In her hands rested a silvery orb of metal, clear and yet dull. A family heirloom she inherited two years earlier, after... it happened.

Her childish face might be reflected by it, were it not so small; small enough to be hidden completely if she formed a fist around it. Not that her grandmother would mind her having it; there was no need to hide it, unlike the bruises. At least what she could not heal with her magic, that was.

The old woman went to the convenience store a little earlier, so Akari had the place for herself right now; all that was left at home was an eight-year-old and the voices she could still hear, endlessly repeating those words.

"Go away, Minegishi!"

"You're creepy!"

"We don't want to play with you!"

It just did not stop, no matter how hard she tried to tune them out. Not that she told her grandmother; the old lady had already been kind enough to take her in. Bothering her with this as well did not sit right with Akari.

Still, her thoughts on the matter did not change.

Is... Is it really wrong to want friends?

She had been thinking about this for a while; no one wanted to play with her, even when she had done nothing to them. No one liked her, either. But why should it be wrong to want to be liked? She wanted to have friends, was that so bad?

She refused to believe it was wrong to want friends. If no one wanted to be her friend, she just had to make her own. At eight years of age, Akari had already gone through a lot of her magical training. She was always at the top of her class, too.

In the end, there was only one thing she could do. One thing she could try.

Deep within this small body, power began to surge and gently wash through her being, guided by a mind already used to this practice. Magic flowed through her fingertips and into the orb; she found it react to her magic before and her mother always said it was a good-luck charm. So if she just wished for it...

I want a friend. I want someone to stay with me no matter what!

It did not take long for the orb to begin shining in bright, silvery light. It took in all the magic she poured out and even began to buzz gently. The sound soothed her bitter heart.

But then Akari felt something weird, as if the metal latched onto her fingers. And her magic started moving faster! She knew she kept it under control, it should not do that. But the drain became ever faster; power cascaded out from her, filling the endless void that she realised she was holding. It sucked out more and more... and more... just what had she done?

The girl wanted to screech and throw the thing away, but her hands refused to move. Her mouth refused to open, so hard was she biting down on her own teeth. It hurt, it hurt so much.

It hurt so very much!

A pained whimper was all Akari could let out while her body grew ever more numb, feeling as if it was on fire at the same time. Every fiber of her being burned and ohgodithurt!

When she finally managed to open her mouth and scream out her agony, the orb in her hands shone brighter than it did before. But even now, she did not faint; something did not let her.

Like this, Akari could only watch as the metal in her hands changed colour from silver to a brownish orange. The sphere quickly grew bigger and pushed her hands aside, its bubbling mass growing and growing even after it fell from her numb fingers. Whatever it was, it met the ground with a wet noise. The burning slowly subsided.

Akari sat there with tears rolling down her cheeks. She felt empty... and her everything hurt, stinging as if she was pierced with needles everywhere. Before her was the ball-sized thing that had grown from the metal, completely still.

Then a pair of wide eyes began to form on its surface, directed at Akari; it was followed by a wide, toothless mouth smiling happily. The two of them stared at each other for a long, disbelieving moment.

Then the creature expressed a wide tongue and ran it over Akari's whole face, wiping away the tears and sweat but covering her skin in saliva instead.

With the exhaustion catching up at last, she fainted on the spot.

. .

.

"They really messed up with Gema, though." That was what she noted while they watched a carriage stop in front of them; the polar bears pulling it sat down once they were no longer made to walk, comfortably looking around. In fact, the left animal turned its head to look at the three of them curiously.

Those bears were domesticated; Lowee did not waste any natural resources, not even the local wildlife. Bears were rather common in the frozen lands, having lived alongside humans since ages long past. Those two species were the apex predators out in the cold north, not counting CPUs and Monsters.

Broccoli slid down from Gema and climbed into the carriage after her friends; she used the chance to poke MAGES. calf, giggling over the startled eep from her friend. Then the blunette huffed and did not respond to further teasing. MarvelousAQL just smiled leniently; looking like a kid had its perks without doubt.

"You, uh, you did not find him in the wilderness, then? I never really thought to ask, now that I think about it. And you probably won't tell me anyway, right?"

Broccoli did not respond at once; first the girl caught her friend when he bounced upward and into the carriage, then she sat down on the cushioned seat opposite to her fellow Makers, Gema right next to her.

The coachman walked around to close the door with a friendly smile and they gave them their respective destinations, then Broccoli continued: "Something something secret, sorry. I can't tell anyone without the appropriate clearance. Besides, I actually just meant that the movie portrayed it particularly bad."

Their transport started to move with a sudden start while they all took off their coats; these carriages had good air conditioning, so they could relax for a while. This trip would take some time, considering that they lived a few kilometres away and carriages were not made for speed.

"I concur with you, Broccoli." MAGES. had by now crossed her legs and turned her gaze out of the window. "It was a bad choice, especially because it made the reason for your suspended aging become ludicrous. Even I could have produced a better excuse than that; as if Lowee's top scientists would mess up the safety protocols on magical research like that."

Then however, the blunette smiled mischievously with a glance at their nicer friend. "Although no one would have believed the true reason to begin with; I am aware and still have trouble believing it, all things considered. Born from a piece of Sharicite, and a family heirloom on top of that."

MAGES. chuckled over the other woman's surprised look while Broccoli just rolled her eyes; it was probably fine to disregard their confidentiality with another Maker, but her friend could at least have left the revelation to her. "Did you really expect me not to hold permission to participate in such research, Marvy? Not that we can do much, but I have been at work on this for a while now."

The other Maker quickly shook her head. "No, I, I guess it makes sense. Soooo... made from Sharicite? I mean-"

Broccoli interrupted her at once, not willing to have this discussion again: "No, I don't know why this happened. I just know that it did." She smiled to take the sting out of her words, but this was about everything she was willing to do. Her hand came to rest on top of Gema and she gently patted him.

She had the friends she longed for, that she was sure of; MAGES. and MarvelousAQL were good matches for her. Nonetheless, Gema would always be special. A being born by her own wishes and magic, imbued into the divine metal. He was also a testament of her power as a mage. White Heart herself told her that any lesser than her would have died from the drain while creating Gema.

Marvelous just sighed and took a closer look at the blob, carefully holding onto the coat she draped over her legs. "I still can't believe that you're so cold about your own past, Broccoli. I mean, I definitely can't compare my own..." The woman looked a little down from that, her gaze lingering on the target of her curiousity. "I'm just your average girl with a lot of talent, after all."

"The world isn't fair, Marvy. Even if the CPUs try to make it so," the brunette responded with a dismissive wave. She did not really bother with the past, much preferring to live in the present; her friend had no reason to blame herself for not being struck with tragedy in her youth. Even though most Makers tended to come from unusual backgrounds, some were simply normal.

MAGES. quickly used the lull in their conversation to add something of her own: "Gema is crying."

This prompted the little girl to turn her head immediately; just as she was told, fat, round tears rolled down from his eyes even though he continued to smile happily. Broccoli was quick to lean over and pet his topside, purring soothingly and feeling for her handkerchief with the other hand. "Shh, it's fine, Gema. I know the movie was bad, but everything else is still alright."

That happened on occasion, though Broccoli never really found out what triggered a bout of sadness from him like this; she just comforted Gema in these cases until it went away, just like Gema comforted her when she felt down. Not that it happened often.

The age-locked girl did not notice MarvelousAQL and MAGES. exchanging glances over this. They had no need to speak about it, but both of them could guess the actual reason Gema cried; it was no secret that Broccoli supplied her partner with her own magic to sustain it; assuming there was more than just magic being transferred was not too far-fetched.

However, the more athletic woman just shrugged with a lenient smile while the mage rolled her eyes and nodded. They would not tell their friend what they suspected was going on; she seemed content as it was, so why try to change things?

Broccoli was the first to hop out of the carriage a few minutes later; Gema calmed down by now and happily flopped after her. "Just give me a call when you're home, I give you the money tomorrow."

"Sure, sure. Have a nice day, companion."

"See you, Broccoli!"

The others waved her goodbye and she stepped back to let the carriage pass off, nodding at the coachman as he went past. They established that whoever was last to leave a carriage paid for the ride, then they split the price in three later. It worked out well enough.

Once the vehicle was out of sight, the bears tirelessly crunching through snow and tapping over stone, Broccoli turned around. She was dropped off right in front of her home, a snuggly bungalow on the hills south of Lowee Castle. The large structure overshadowed everything in the north, especially because it was built on the main hill overlooking the whole area; this part of the city was a little less populated, mostly because the terrain did not allow to build as close together as usual.

A few of the precious loweean flowers bloomed in her yard, stubbornly sticking out of the freshly fallen snow that threatened to cover them. The brunette smiled over the sight, a fitting metaphor for the steadfastness of Lowee's people, before starting to walk. This was her place, complete with everything inside and the ground it was built on.

She was twenty-five now and had been a Maker for two years already; being appointed at twenty-three was quite below the average, which lay at her current age. Not that anyone would think she was that old; people still saw her as a little girl, the appearance far too convincing.

Serving in the most prestigious group known to Gamindustri aside from its deities had its perks too, such as a very high income overall. It took less than two years to accumulate enough money to buy a patch of land in the capital of all places, including the building on it. Without bankrupting herself, that was.

On the other hand, she was also recompensed quite nicely for allowing experiments on herself and Gema; everyone was curious about what went on in that regard, so she accepted participating in what White Heart allowed the scientists to do. In fact, even the Tome came from Planeptune for those experiments.

Broccoli smiled over these memories while opening the door and letting herself in; she had been excited to meet the chronicler of Gamindustri and was still very fond of Histoire. They got along quite well.

A moment of fiddling with the buttons later, the girl slipped out of her coat and hung it onto the rack in the hallway, then she skipped deeper inside. Gema rolled along, following her into the kitchen where she filled a kettle with water and put it on the stove; some green tea was just the right thing to spend her day off with, she just had to get herself some sweets to make everything perfect.

Especially after this awful movie.

She really ought not to think about it anymore.

With the water heating up, the brunette had her magic extend from an index finger, forming a rope-like appendage that pulled open another cupboard under her will; she then sent the large package of bear food airborne with a few additional shifts. Doing things with magic was fun, especially if one had enough self-control to feel through it as if it was an extension of the limb it came from. A little bit like Awakening, even though that was far more tiring and blunt, much less refined.

The package hovered around the room and then tilted, directed by Broccoli's magic. A sizable portion rolled out into the bowl she put on the ground, filling it up to the brim; Gema already sat there, waiting patiently until she was done before he started licking up the food and gulping it down. His body bubbled and contorted a bit, but that was normal; she petted Gema once more, then went to get herself some sweets.

When Broccoli returned, the bowl was empty and clean and Gema smiled up at her; he looked as goofy as always. On a whim, the girl threw out a chocolate chip cookie to her friend; Gema contracted toward the ground and jumped up, half a metre into the air, to catch the dessert. Then he flopped back to the ground with a wet noise, completely unharmed just as usual.

"Let's go and watch some anime," she told her friend while taking the steaming kettle from the stove. Tea leaves were dropped inside and it was put on a tray alongside her sweets, then Broccoli got going with Gema in tow. "There is a rerun of Digital Creatures coming up; the first season."

All in all, this might still become a good day for her.