Thanks to zerowing21 for beta reading.
Alice awoke with a jolt, causing Courage to fall off her bed. She looked like utter death and her hair was all matted and tangled. She had another one of those strange dreams. This time, her cousin Roxie had transformed into a Magical Girl and saved her from Fusions. It was a weird dream indeed. Alice just wanted to go back to bed and forget about it, but she had to get ready for school.
She also had a visitor. Kyubey, the cat like creature she had saved the day before was sitting in her room on the floor. Courage couldn't see him, but Alice could.
"Good morning, Alice!" the animal cried out in a shrill voice, not even moving a muscle. Alice grinned a little and waved at the creature.
It was really strange. Muriel and Eustace never noticed the pure white creature that sat on the dinner table when they ate breakfast. Fionna and Ace couldn't see the animal hopping between Alice's shoulder and Fear's head. Kyubey also allowed for Alice and Fear to communicate through their thoughts. Kyubey's very presence allowed them to do so. Fear could see the creature, as could Roxie, who invited her cousin and her friend back to her place after school. Alice, Fear, and Kyubey made their way to Pokey Oaks after school, reaching the Leeblossom household after a short amount of time. They were greeted outside by Roxie's mother, Kotomi.
"Hey, you two!" she called as she walked to her minivan in the driveway. She couldn't see Kyubey either.
"Hi, Kotomi," Alice said warmly, "Roxie invited us over. Is she inside?"
"Sure is!" the woman beamed at the girls. "She's in the living room taking care of the dog. You two can go on in; I need to make a trip to the mall."
"Thank you, Miss Leeblossom!" Fear said as the two began to walk into the house.
"Oh please, call me Kotomi." Kotomi said to ginger girl, then winked. Roxie stuck her head out of the door with an annoyed look on her face.
"Jeez, Mom, you're so embarrassing," the blond alien hybrid scoffed, "Alice knows she could just walk in!"
"Roxie, its fine-" Alice began to say to her cousin before she was cut off.
"I was just making sure!" Kotomi yelled. "No need to get your panties in a twist, missy."
Roxie stuck her tongue out at her mother as Alice, Fear, and Kyubey walked inside. Roxie followed them and shut the door behind her. Kyubey jumped off Alice's shoulder once they were inside to sit on Roxie's coffee table. Alice and Fear went to sit on one couch while Roxie went straight to the kitchen. Oakley, Roxie's corgi-breed dog, stared at the two as they sat. He couldn't see Kyubey either.
"Here." Roxie said as she walked into the living room. She placed two cans of cola on the coffee table for the girls, and then placed a bowl of water next to them for Kyubey. She walked over and let Oakley into the backyard before she went to sit on the couch across from them. "So, since you two have been chosen by Kyubey, I decided we needed to go over a couple things."
"What kind of things?" Fear asked. Roxie placed her fancy egg shaped object on the table. Upon closer examination, one could see it had a yellow tint to it.
"Normal things," Roxie said, "Like this. This is a Soul Gem. Whenever Kyubey makes a contract with a girl, a Soul Gem is created. It's nothing too special, just the source of our magic and it proves that we're magical girls."
"Can you explain the whole contract situation?" Alice asked her cousin.
"I can grant you any one wish you want!" Kyubey cried out in response. "I can make the impossible possible!"
"You're kidding, right?" Fear gigged.
"I don't joke around, Felicia." Kyubey replied.
"So, we could wish for money?" Fear asked. "Or treasure? Or the brand new Sumo Slammer video game with all the DLC for free!?"
"Maybe you shouldn't wish for that last one..." Alice said quietly.
"Anything," Kyubey said, "In exchange for that wish, your Soul Gem is created. If you hold a Soul Gem, than it is your sworn duty to battle the Fusions."
"Why would we have to battle the Fusions?" Alice asked. "Shouldn't that be left to the army and kids who want to participate in the war?"
"If magical girls are born from wishes, then Fusions can be said to be born from curses." Kyubey mused. "Fusions spread despair throughout the world, and magical girls spread hope. The Fusions we're after aren't visible to the normal human. They are the strongest of Fusions. The ones that are going to be humanity downfall."
"Many of the explainable suicides and murders that have been happening lately are usually caused by these Fusions," Roxie added, "A Fusion's Curse, we call it."
"If these Fusions are so dangerous, then why don't you guys tell the army or something?" Fear asked a little annoyed with the situation.
"These Fusions trap themselves in strange labyrinths like you saw when you saved me," Kyubey said to the girls, "Those are Fusion Lairs. These lairs cannot be seen by the normal human."
"They're really dangerous," Roxie sighed, "Most people who wander into them on accident are usually never seen again."
"And you willingly fight these things, Roxie?" Alice questioned. Her cousin nodded.
"Sometimes at the risk of my own life," she said as she continued to nod a bit. "That's why I want you two to think very carefully before being magical girls. I don't want to put you in danger, Alice, but Kyubey has chosen you. I can't do much now."
"This is going to be tough..." Fear muttered to herself.
"Why don't you two come along with me on a few Fusion hunts?" Roxie said with a soft smile. "Maybe seeing more of the action will help you make up your minds."
"I don't see why not," Fear said with a smirk, "After school tomorrow, meet us at the mall. Does that sound good, Alice?"
"I guess," Alice shrugged, "Um, can I ask another question? What about that transfer student? Vashti. Is she a magical girl too?"
"There's no doubt about it," Roxie sighed, "She's really powerful too."
"Then shouldn't she be fighting Fusions?" Fear asked the blond girl. "And not trying to kill Kyubey?"
"It seemed like she was trying to prevent me from creating contracts." Kyubey said before leaning down to take a sip out of the bowl Roxie set out for it.
"But, wouldn't it be better for there to be more of us if we're fighting the same enemy?" Alice asked.
"Um, not exactly," Roxie chimed in, "It's actually quite common for magical girls to fight each other. There's territorial problems, and magical girls are also after what the Fusions drop when you defeat them. But don't worry about that. It's fine. I can explain more when we meet up tomorrow. It's getting late, so you two should probably go."
"Alright," Alice sighed, "T-Thanks for explaining so much today though."
"It's no problem!" Roxie grinned. "Just think long and hard about this. Maybe there is something out there that would be worth risking your life."
Alice and Fear went up to the roof for lunch the next day at school. Kyubey had followed them to school once again, and had joined them for lunch. The two ate and stared up at the blue sky. Planet Fusion loomed over them up in space.
"Hey, Alice?" Fear said, breaking the status. "Have you decided on a wish yet?"
"Nope." Alice replied calmly. "Have you?"
"Not at all..." Fear answered. "Seriously, I've thought about so much! There are tons of things I want or things I want to do... I guess it's the whole risking my life part that gets me."
"Most of the girls I offer to make contracts with accept right away." Kyubey said.
"I guess we're just a couple fools then." Fear smiled.
"Yeah... Fools." Alice giggled.
"A couple of ignorant fools." Fear broke off and stared at Planet Fusion. "It seems kind of unfair. There are so many people out there who would jump at this chance, and instead we get it. And we don't even know if we want to go through with it or not."
"Be alert." Roxie's voice called to the two through their minds. Alice looked over to see Roxie standing on a building across the street. She could also communicate with them telepathically via Kyubey. "You have a guest." Alice turned back to see Vashti walking up to the two. Fear quickly moved in front of her friend and gave off a menacing look.
"If you're planning on picking up where you left off yesterday then beat it!" she cried.
"I have no intentions on killing you or Alice," Vashti said calmly, "I had hoped to kill that before it made contact with Alice Spacebyte." She gestured to Kyubey. "But it's too late for that now. So, what is your plan? Do you plan to become magical girls?"
"We don't have to answer to you!" Fear growled. Vashti looked to Alice.
"Do you remember what I said the other day?" she asked. "About changing your life?"
"I do." Alice replied timidly.
"Good," Vashti said, and then turned around, "Then I'll just hope that my warning won't be ignored." After those words, she began to walk off.
"V-Vashti!" Alice cried out. "W-What did you wish for in order to become a magical girl?"
Vashti stopped and looked back, but then continued to walk away.
"Now then!" Roxie cried out as Alice, Fear, and Kyubey walked with her in the city. "It's time to begin the first class of Magical Girl 101!"
"Hey, Roxie?" Fear asked from behind her. "I brought this along, is that ok?" The ginger haired girl held up a baseball bat and grinned. "I figured it'd be better to have this so we could protect ourselves if it came to it. Did you bring anything, Alice?"
"I have my notebook," the blue haired girl said, "I was doodling costume ideas in class today."
"Well, I'm glad both of you have the right mindset!" Roxie giggled. She had her Soul Gem in hands and was watching it glow. "I'm using the energy we got from that Fusion the other day to track more. Once it picks up the hint of Fusion Matter, it'll lead us to the Fusion."
"This is a lot less exciting than I though." Fear muttered.
The girls and Kyubey followed Roxie around for about two hours, with no luck. Roxie explained to the two that it had been a full night since the Fusion escaped, so there were fewer footprints to track. Fear continued to exclaim how boring this business actually was. Roxie then explained that Fusion Matter readings usually pop up around car accidents, hospital, and out of the way places where one might try to commit suicide. As soon as she had finished explaining, her Soul Gem went crazy, leading them to an abandoned parking garage.
"This is it." Roxie said as they neared the entrance. Alice looked up and screamed.
"Roxie, look!" she cried, pointing up. A man was standing on top of the building, and then proceeded to jump. Roxie quickly jumped back and transformed into her yellow frilly dress, and string like ribbons shot from her, grabbing the man and lowering him safely to the ground. His neck was covered in green markings.
"A Fusion's Kiss..." Roxie muttered. "It's inside."
"But, Ro-" Alice cried out before she was cut off.
"He's unconscious, he'll be fine." Roxie said. "But we have to go!"
The three ran inside the building where Roxie grabbed Fear's baseball bat. The bat transformed into a bigger, white bat as a strange green portal appeared before them.
"It's not much, but now that will keep you safe from any immediate danger," Roxie said to the two, "Once we're inside, stay close."
The girls nodded and ran inside the portal with Roxie and Kyubey. Once inside, Roxie summoned guns and shot at the Fusions around them. Fear swung her bat around, which created a brief force field once it made contact with the Fusions. Alice simply carried Kyubey around, following Roxie.
"Scared yet?" Roxie teased as they ran through the lair.
"As if!" Fear cried. "This is child's play!"
"Just keep up then!" Roxie cheered. "We're almost to the deepest part!"
And close they were. After they turned a corner, they made it to the final room of the lair. Fusion Matter and miscellaneous object sat around in piles as Fusion Blossom floated among them.
"That, my friends, is a Fusion." Roxie said.
"Gross..." Alice muttered at the sight. Roxie waved her arms and a force field appeared around Fear and Alice.
"Stay back!" she yelled as she lunged towards the Fusion. The girl summoned guns which she used to shoot at the Fusion. Fusion Blossom let out a high pitched scream before tentacles shot out of its mouth and grabbing Roxie. The Fusion began to swing the girl around and made her smack into a wall. She dangled from the tentacles before looking over to her friends and winking. A ribbon on her corset flew off and cut the tentacle, setting Roxie free. She jumped on the air as the ribbon transformed into a giant gun, which she took a hold of. "Trio Finale!" she yelled as she pulled the trigger on the gun, unloading on the Fusion. The area around them slowly transformed back into the parking lot and Roxie transformed into her normal clothes.
"Wow, Roxie!" Fear cheered. "That was so cool!"
"This is a Grief Seed," Roxie said with a smile, holding out a green object that looked like an egg, "It's a Fusion's egg. But they're perfectly safe in this form. Watch what they can do." Roxie held out her Soul Gem and pressed the Grief Seed against it. The Soul Gem's color became very clear, and it began to glow. "They can cleanse the Soul Gems. They get a little mucky if they aren't cleansed every so often." The girl threw the Grief Seed into a dark corner, where it was caught. "It should be good for one more use." Roxie said to the shadows. Vashti emerged from them.
"It was your kill," Vashti said, "You deserve the reward for it." She tossed the Grief Seed back to Roxie before walking away.
"Grr, she really pisses me off!" Fear barked. "Showing up here like some kind of stalker!"
"We could have been friends." Alice muttered.
"That only works out if both sides feel mutual, honey." Roxie giggled. "Well then. Our business is done here. Let's head home."