MAGICAL GIRL LYRICAL CINDERELLA
CHARTER 03

// day two //

TSAB complex were packed with visitors. Most of whom were Mid-Childan citizens, but there were also Terran and Belkan people among the people. All of them were equally excited at the prospect of participating in the bureau's open day, and their excitement was further fuelled by the stage play organized by Lost Property Riot Force 6. It was as if the bureau was organizing a festival rather than official "meet-the-customer day", as the celebration aura was vividly present everywhere.

Lutecia was lost. She did not understand what she was doing in the complex, disguising as a civilian in the process. She also did not understand the purpose of the "infiltration mission" as the antagonist Jail Scaglietti told her during the briefing.

"Your mission is to infiltrate the TSAB complex and gather as much information about Lost Property Riot Force 6 as you can. I expect you to succeed in this mission."

Completing the mission in disguise was one thing, she thought as she carefully navigated through the ocean of human, but gathering information about Riot Force 6? The very same people who had chased after her and Scaglietti weeks before? What did Scaglietti want from them?

And on top of that…

"Hey, look!"

She turned around. Lutecia found herself surrounded by cameramen and costume-players. "Someone's cosplaying as Rider!" one of the cameramen exclaimed and began taking her picture. "And she's a little girl, too!"

"RORI RAIDA? USO DA!" one of the costume-players cried out in excitement.

"She's so cute!" another costume-player uttered.

"Hey! Where's the adult Rider cosplayer we come across just now?" a cameraman asked. "Find her! We must get both of them photographed!"

That's right, Lutecia thought as she let the people gather around. Why did he ask me to cosplay as Rider? And who is this Rider in the first place? I can't seem to know.

"And here I thought Officer Hayate is the only person who's into cosplay so much," one of the cameramen spoke as he continually took Lutecia's pictures.

Hayate, Lutecia pondered. Yes, I know that person. Scaglietti told me a lot about her. He seems to be interested in her… weird hobby.

"Oh, come on, man!" the cameraman's buddy uttered. "Everybody likes cosplaying. Right, Missy?"

Lutecia blinked. The person was asking her for opinion. Not knowing what she should say, the purple-haired girl simply nodded.

"Hey! The stage play's going to start!" a costume-player shouted. "Come on, everyone! We can't miss it!"

Lutecia was intrigued. "Stage play?"

x-x-x-x-x

Shamal: "In the previous instalment of "Magical Girl Lyrical Cinderella…"

The HD widescreen panel displayed flashback scenes of Cinderella physically and mentally bullied by her step family. While fan girls squealed in protest at the step family, male audience cheered for the Aces and their perfectly executed "sweet revenge."

"We have seen how our Cinderella was continually forced to do home labours, like she was a slave or something."

"But he's not!" fan girls objected. "How could they treat our dear Chrosuke like that? He's innocent!"

"Let them torture Chrono!" male audience replied. "We know the Aces are right! Show them who the real boss is!"

"No! We can't allow them to punish Chrosuke!" fan girls shouted.

Shamal sighed. "At this rate, we'll never properly carry out this programme," she spoke.

"Meow."

"Yes, Shamisen, I know," Shamal replied and scratched Shamisen's head. "We must do something about these people." The cat purred in victory, enthralled by the playful scratches on its earlobes.

"Anyway," the doctor continued, "today we're going to reveal some of the secrets behind Cinderella's harsh life. What might those be? Let's find out."

At the cue music of "One-Winged Angel"--

"Ah! Wrong music!" Shari shouted from behind the curtain and frantically changed the music. It took her minutes before she finally found the right tune. "Just in time!"

At the cue music of "To Zanarkand", Chrono stepped out. The moment he did so he was immediately booed and tossed with vegetables. It was as if everybody had already expected him to come, and therefore prepared to greet him with everything their hand could get hold on.

"Damn it, all of you," Chrono spoke while evading the varieties of projectiles that included pillows and empty plastic bottles. "Why you must hate me with passion? What's the matter with all of you?"

"Because we can!" male audience answered and continued tossing projectiles at him before fan girls stopped them on track.

"BAAKA! CHROSUKE BELONGS TO US!" fan girls shouted and bashed them with weapon of their own: harisen. "Only we can treat Chrosuke like that! You get out of our way!"

"But he's cross-dressing as a girl!" male audience replied. "We don't want that!"

"Then you can go and die!" fan girls shouted back.

Ignoring the heated argument, Admiral Letti stared at the cross-dressing Chrono. Her eyeglasses became opaque. "I wonder if Nanoha, Fate and Hayate really have some sort of grudges against Admiral Haraoun," she spoke in low voice.

Chrono ignored the chaos between fan girls and male audience, as he headed to a makeshift bedroom and sat on the bench next to the makeshift window. "Why it has to be like this? Mother forces me to do things I don't even know whatever they are--"

The HD widescreen panel displayed one scene of Chrono in maid uniform running hill road, as an angry Fate chased him with Bardiche Assault deployed. "Cinderella! I've told you it's toadstool, not shitake mushroom!" Fate shouted, in which Chrono replied "but what are we supposed to cook from toadstool? That thing's dynamite!"

Backstage, Fate laughed helplessly at Chrono. "I didn't even say anything about cooking with that stuff! I just want to play around with Oniichan," she spoke.

"--Sister Nanoha always criticizes me even after I've exerted my best," Chrono continued.

Again, the HD widescreen showed one scene of Nanoha demanding Chrono to rewash the laundries. "I've washed the clothes just like what you asked! Why am I doing this again?" Chrono protested and gulped when Nanoha replied by pointing Raising Heart Excelion at his face. "Hey, you aren't supposed to do that to your superior officer," he reminded.

"Like I want to take attention of that," Nanoha replied. "Raising Heart."

--"Alright. Limiter Restrict overridden."--

Along with Fate, Nanoha laughed as well. "Chrono-kun easily gets scared by the taunt, isn't he?" she asked.

"Well, at least mother and Sister Nanoha are pale compared with her," Chrono sighed before he shivered. "Sister Hayate is the scariest of those threes! Can anyone imagine the horror and angst I have to endure everyday just to fulfil her passion toward cosplay?"

Again, the HD widescreen showed one scene of Hayate in her glory as Tohsaka Rin of FATE/Stay Night, laughing deviously as she ordered the terrorized Chrono in his cosplay suit to pose for the camera. As expected, fan girls squealed in excitement at the prospect of Chrono being a Goth Lolita and melted on the spot. Male audience, on the other hand, burned their eyes and screamed blasphemy before banged their head on the chair.

Finally, Hayate cackled as her moe smile became visible on her face. "I just love making fun of him."

"Actually, I don't really mind about her hobby," Chrono continued. "But why it has to be Goth Lolita? Why must it be female cosplay dress? What the hell are those for? What am I in her eyes?"

Shamal: "despite the hardships, Cinderella never complained because she knew she must deal with every obstacle with open heart and mind. It was a trait taught to her by her mother, long died of illness."

Audience cackled. "I bet Admiral Lindy must have taught Chrono everything about… woman?" one of them suggested.

Chrono paused. His mind began flying out, thinking of things his mother had taught him before he became an Admiral. He suddenly nosebled at the oncoming fantasy and proceeded to shake his head. "But that would lead to forbidden mother-son love! Ah! I can't do it!" he whimpered.

"We didn't say anything about that," audience replied.

"First, it's his sister. Then, his mother," another audience spoke. "What's next?"

"I bet he just wants the Mask for himself, isn't he?" his friend asked.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, idiots," Chrono retorted.

Shamal shook her head. "Saying those explicit things in front of the audience. Please spare the children, Chrono…"

Chrono glared at Shamal. Then at the audience. He grumbled at their response and threw himself onto the bed. "Whatever. I'm too tired to argue. I need to sleep."

"We understand that, Cinderella. We know the hardships you have to endure everyday."

"Poor Cinderella. What are we going to do with her?"

"Let us play the role of counsellor. Maybe that will help her getting through her days."

"Who's that?" Chrono immediately woke up, looking around the props in curiosity. Even the audience did the same, observing the hall for the source of the voice.

Then five people came out from the right flank of the stage. It was Subaru, Teana, Vita, full-sized Reinforce Zwei and Erio. The five of them immediately caught the audience's attention by their mock cat-ears and tails; almost 80 percent of them laughed, although they were not making fun of their appearance.

Shamal: "everyone, meet Cinderella's little friends. Subaru, Teana, Vita, Reinforce Zwei and Erio."

The said people waved to audience and bowed, with the exception of Vita who proceeded to yell at Hayate; the latter could not contain her feeling and fell onto the floor, rolling and laughing all the way.

"Gomen, Vita-chan, gomen! But at least you aren't referred in the scripts as Little Mousey," she replied.

"Mou! I still don't like wearing this, Hayate-nyo!" Then Vita snapped. "OHNOES! I did it again!" she screamed.

"What's this? They're cosplaying as Dejiko? All of them?" an audience questioned.

"Hush," his girlfriend reminded. "There's nothing wrong in cosplaying as a cat."

Chrono stared at them. "Oh, it's you."

Subaru laughed and wiggled her cat-ears. "What's up, Cinderella? You look messed up today," she asked.

Chrono stooped his head. "The usual…" Then he screamed his broken heart and shuffled his head through the wig. "If this continues, I won't be able to survive their atrocity!"

Subaru chuckled. She approached Chrono, gave him an assuring pat on his shoulder and winked. "Hey, you've still got us," she said and turned to the rest of the group. "Right, everyone?"

"Don't ask me," Teana shrugged.

"You still have us desu! You don't have to worry about your family desu!" Reinforce Zwei answered.

"What am I supposed to say here?" Erio asked in confusion and scratched his head.

Vita glared at Chrono. "Chrono, you suck." In an instant the hall ruptured in amusement as people laughed at Vita's uncanny joke. Chrono cringed at the comment and held his seizure-struck heart. "You're a man. Then why are you whining like a little girl? You silly sod." (Again, Chrono twitched at the comment and retreated into a corner, while Subaru helplessly convinced him to fight back.) Again, people laughed and began to applaud Vita. Realizing what she just did, Vita bashfully laughed and bowed to the audience, scratching the back of her head along the way. "Thank you, thank you," she cackled.

(Hayate threw a thumb's up. "Good job, Vita," she praised with a smug.)

Chrono sobbed. "You're maybe right," he mumbled. "I am a man, and I am the admiral. But…" Once again he cried out in absolute angst. "But how am I supposed to deal with three Aces who constantly set up pranks and jokes onto me without even giving me the slightest chance of mercy?"

"And there's one more thing that bothers me!" an audience suddenly shouted. "Why didn't Ginga become the Little Friend? We could see her posing with her cat-ears and tail!"

Shamal: "what are those supposed to mean?"

The audience lifted a billboard-sized poster of Ginga. "GINGA-NEESAN! I LOVE YOU!" he shouted aloud.

(Ginga blushed at the love confession and cupped her burning cheeks. "Iyaa… someone's being a fan of me…" childishly she said.)

His friend gave him a hard-hitting karate chop on the head, knocking him out cold. "Sorry! He's just drunk! Don't mind him!" the person replied and dragged the unconscious audience out of the hall. The door was shut, and there was a series of punches and kicks as the person gave his friend a cold, harsh reminder.

Subaru blinked. "I didn't know Oneechan is that popular," she uttered.

Teana patted Subaru on the shoulder. "You just don't have any idea on how many stalkers out there," she reminded with a surrender smile.

Erio, on the other hand, was still looking for a piece of idea to speak. Then he spotted an anomaly among the props. He approached the anomaly and discovered a mask. "Hey, whose mask is this?" he asked.

Chrono saw what the red-haired officer was trying to do. "Don't wear it!"

Erio stopped, as the mask was about an inch over his face. "What? What's wrong with this mask?"

Chrono became panicked. What must he say about the dreaded Mask? What must he say in front of the people? "You see…" Then he stood up and pointed to the mask. "That mask is the source of evil! It is worshipped because it has the power to change one's destiny! It has the power to unleash a person's hidden desire!"

Erio became more confused. "But I don't see anything wrong on this mask," he answered.

"Anyway," Chrono continued and forcibly seized the mask. "This mask belongs to Stepmother! She entrusts me to take a cautious care on it!" Then he turned around and made a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness…"

"Liar…" He suddenly heard Signum's voice over the PA system. "Chrono is liar… he just wants to have the mask for himself… liar, liar, your pant's on fire…"

"I see what you did there, Chrono," Zafira added.

Back at backstage, Nanoha was asking Fate whether Chrono really meant what he said. "I don't have any idea on what Oniichan is talking of," Fate answered. "But he's just asking for it."

"Ah-hah! I know desu!" Reinforce Zwei exclaimed. "Cinderella is upset because she doesn't have any beautiful cloth desu! Look at her desu!" Everybody in the hall looked at Chrono as Reinforce Zwei suggested, and could not help pitying his poor condition. "Those dresses are under standard! No wonder why her family bullies her desu! Let me help you, Cinderella! I can look for some suitable clothes desu!"

"No, thanks, Reinforce," Chrono declined. "I'd rather wear this."

"Aw, I thought I could help you desu," Reinforce Zwei mumbled in disappointment.

"Cinderella…"

Suddenly Fate stormed in. With an angry face, she tramped towards Chrono, ignored the Little Friends and snatched him on the collar. "For your information, dear Cinderella," she spoke in threatening manner, "that mask is not mine."

"But I thought you wanted me to look after it!" Chrono replied.

"I did, because I was going to sell it at the market!" Fate uttered. "Now, Cinderella, remember what mother taught about not using anything without my permission?"

Chrono gulped. "Y… yes, I think so."

"If that's the case," Fate continued and dragged Chrono across the stage. "Then help me cleaning up the warehouse."

"In the middle of the night? But mother--"

"No buts!" She enforced the statement by activating Bardiche Assault and prodded its blunt edge against Chrono's neck.

x-x-x-x-x

"We have heard Cinderella's melancholic complains of her life as an outcast. We have also known the hardships she had to endure on daily basis. I wonder if we can do anything about it."

"I don't need your help, Shamal!" Chrono shouted from backstage. He was later shouting "FATE! I can explain!" before Fate chased him around with Bardiche Assault.

"So what's next?" Teana asked, as the five little friends remained on the stage.

"Let me think…" Subaru assumed a thinking pose and went deeply in thoughts. Then she cheered. "I've got an idea! Music!"

"Alright!"

At Shari's cue, the five Little Friends immediately danced to the rhythmic, cheerful, and upbeat music of Lucky Star. While Ginga was heard asking "who taught them those dance?" everybody else cheered at them and danced with them as well.

"This is silly," Vita grumbled while following Subaru's lead.

"But it's also fun desu!" Reinforce Zwei reminded.

"Let us dance, dance, dance, and step, step, step!" Erio whispered and imitated Subaru's footsteps.

Admiral Letti simply stared at Subaru and Teana. Without any visible expression, she nodded in approval and corrected her eyeglasses. "Their steps are unpolished, but they're talented. I should consider sending them to special training course."

"So this means part two of our stage play ends, right? Until then, don't forget to mark tomorrow on your calendar, because we still have more to show on--"

MAGICAL GIRL LYRICAL CINDERELLA

A Lost Property Riot Force 6 presentation and it's mean to be a parody. Don't blame us; we just do whatever we're told.

x-x-x-x-x

// outside… //

Lutecia was done with her eavesdropping. "So that's why I was sent to this mission," she pondered and summoned her familiars to return. "Scaglietti wants to know everything about their stage play. Now this makes sense."

"Anou…"

The purple-haired girl turned around, and was greeted by camera flashes as cameramen photographed her. "Perfect!" one of them announced. "Loli Rider in her unready state. This is going to be fun! Come on, everyone! Let's Rider-hunting!"

Lutecia was perplexed. "What are they doing?" she asked, and became confused as the cameramen left her without any answer. She gave them a chance when she stepped upon a picture. It was dropped from the group, and she picked it up. There was a look of surprise upon her face when she looked at the picture.

Then she smiled. "I didn't know I'd look this cute…"