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The End of the Circus: A Tale of the Yizibajohei
Girls of the Crystal: Aqua-Knight and Velikanska
by Regina Magia
C&C by Fred Herriot and Rose Ash
A side story to The End of the Circle: A Tale of the Yizibajohei, by Fred Herriot
Including characters and situations from Azumanga Daiō, created by Azuma Kiyohiko; Harry Potter, created by Joanna K. Rowling; The West Wing, created by Aaron Sorkin; Urusei Yatsura, created by Takahashi Rumiko; Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magika, created by Urobuchi Gen, Shaft and Aniplex; and normalman, created by Jim Valentino.
Mitakihara, a Sunday morning in late summer...
"Die Rosen schenken wir unserer Königin."
"Und die schlechten Blumen steigen auf die Guillotine!"
Miki Sayaka frightfully backed away from the bizarre creatures now surrounding her. Resembling living dandelions with moustaches and arms in lieu of leaves plus also possessing butterfly wings for feet, they chanted loudly as they surrounded her, the background shifting wildly into a weird collage. Just as she felt a wall press against her back, she heard familiar voice cry out, "Sayaka-chan!"
Like an angel clad in pinks and whites, Kaname Madoka suddenly swooped down to snare Sayaka up in her arms. As that happened, some of the scissors held by the dandelion men rose out of their hands. Sayaka clutched Madoka's shoulders, her eyes wide with amazement as she watched them get literally shredded, each severed part then exploding and morphing into a butterfly. Floating nearby, Akemi Homura gestured. "I can sense the witch, Madoka-san! This way!"
"What about Sayaka-chan?!" Madoka demanded. "I can't fight and keep her safe at the same time!"
"I'll put a field around her!"
Minutes later...
"When did you get Gifted, Madoka?"
Safely encased in a telekinetic force field as they tried to press on the fight scene against the latest witch who was trying to ruin people's lives in Mitakihara, Sayaka was gazing wide-eyed at Madoka and Homura as they flew through the barrier. The two Terrans-turned-Yizibajohei metahumans had been pleased to answer those questions...though they were constantly currently interrupted by minions flinging themselves at them in hopes of getting their hands on the normal girl under their protection. "A little before Homura-chan came to our school," the pink-haired super-strong warrior replied. "Mami-san — I'll introduce you to her later — well, when she told me about the Yizibajohei, then helped me become the Good Samaritan. Later on, we rescued Homura and helped her become Vormund."
The bubble drifted to a halt before a door inscribed with strange runes. Carefully opening it — one never knew if there was some sort of trap secured to the door to hurt them — the three girls found themselves overlooking a vast room filled with grass, roses and minions. Seated on a red velvet throne was a large creature reminiscent of the cosmic demon Cthulhu from H. P. Lovecraft's works, though possessing a head resembling a melted bush with red roses, a lower body like a slug and butterfly wings emerging from its back. "That's an Eldritch Witch," Homura whispered. "A monster created from the soul of a girl who made a very big mistake." Her eyes narrowed. "Just like Madoka almost did."
With that, she and Madoka flew at the massed enemy forces, leaving Sayaka to watch the fight scene from the safety of Homura's force field. The witch screeched as she hurled a pair of scissors at Madoka; naturally, the blades shattered on her depleted uranium-hard skin. Simultaneously, Homura hefted minions into the air with her powers, ramming them into each other or throwing them towards the witch while Madoka flew around her as a distraction. As the current incarnation of the Noble Neighbour swatted away those minions who tried to lunge at her like annoying gnats, the current incarnation of the Mind Custodian smirked. These idiots have to learn how to shield their minds better! This is like taking candy away from babies! she mused to herself before barking out, "NOW!"
Madoka literally screeched to a halt in mid-flight, sending the two minions who had grabbed her from behind flying into nearby walls. Ki instantly misted around her hands as she grasped them together, then she lowered the boom. "TEHUO- — BA!"
The minions screeched in mortal agony as the Hope Wave ripped through them like a flamethrower on steroids, disintegrating them in a flash to only leave fragments behind...which soon morphed into butterflies. Sayaka felt her heart swell with delight and anticipation as the witch was blasted apart by Madoka's attack, a defiant scream escaping her before she also became a swarm of pretty insects. With the Eldritch Witch now no more, the surrounding scene transformed back into normal, a grief seed then falling towards the ground. Madoka snared it as Homura lowered Sayaka to the ground
A wave of bright pink light shot from her hands, washing over everything. Inside the barrier, Sayaka felt a surge of hope deep within her soul. The witch let out a cry as the wave of positive energy hit her, causing her to burst into a swarm of butterflies. As the world returned to normal, Madoka caught the Grief Seed just before touching down on the street nearby. Releasing Sayaka from the safety barrier, Homura drew out a PAA, then opened a portal back to Yiziba, gesturing for the other two to follow her...
Somewhere in Habitation Four on Yiziba, a day later...
"I'm glad I got to eat cheesecake with her one more time..."
Mami gave the white-haired girl the same age as Mihama Chiyo a gentle smile, putting a comforting arm around her. "It might not be the last time, Nagisa-chan," she then advised the younger girl. "I spoke to a friend about helping her become an Avalonian. It shouldn't be long before they arrive."
"Do you think Mama could be Gifted?" Momoe Nagisa inquired. "Avalonians can do that, can't they?"
"Maybe. It's her choice." Mami then stood up. "Come on! Let's go to the Cave..."
Outside Habitation Four, an hour later...
Nesu...ROE DELE!
Sayaka grinned as she emerged from the Crystal, now clad in a blue and white jumpsuit with a white cape. In addition to having enhanced strength and speed, the current incarnation of the Guardian of the Oceans, Roe Dele ("Aqua Knight"), could manipulate water and ice telekinetically. Many of the people who had gathered at the entrance of the Cave of the Future knew that Sayaka's past-selves traditionally used their cryokinetic abilities to form swords they could use with deadly effect. "Awesome!" the tomboyish dark-haired middle school senior screamed out as she summoned the misty air around her to form a cutlass. "My name is Inigo Montoya," she then declared in a passable Spanish accent as she made a threatening gesture with her blade. "You killed my father. Prepare to die."
As some of the onlookers blinked in confusion, others laughed on recognizing the film reference; thanks to the increasing number of Terrans-turned-Yizibajohei now interacting with natives of the World of the Forge, the vast library of Terran films were becoming quite popular among the natives of Yiziba...
Nesu...TYULEM!
The wall of mesonium that marked the edge of the Great Crystal of Power in this particular part of the planet glowed again, this time allowing an impishly beaming Nagisa to step out. She was now clad in a pale orange jumpsuit with belt and boots a creamy yellow-white. Grinning, she raced over to nearly crush Tomoe Mami, the woman who had prevented her from becoming an eldritch witch, with a hug. "Arigatō gozaimashita, Mami-sama!" the silver-haired pre-teen squealed out.
"Nagisa-san?"
Everyone perked as they gazed on the current incarnation of the Bright Genius of the Young Guns, who had her laptop in hand. "Velikanska!" Nagisa called out, using the Slovenian translation of the Yizibajohei "Tyulem" to mark her as the current incarnation of the Cold Giant of the South Mountains...
Standing off to one side of the crowd, Izabel Monvoisin — she didn't use "Catharine" as her normal name — nodded in delight on seeing yet another witch saved from the madness of the Incubators. "It is good," the brown-haired current incarnation of the Mad Painter of the West mused.
"Indeed, Izabel, it is quite splendid," the dark-haired woman of about the same physical age, possessing grey eyes behind reading glasses, mused. Formerly the Eldritch Witch known as "Patricia", she now called herself "Airi Gardner". That was in tribute to Patricia Gardner, an English wicca practitioner from the late Nineteenth Century who dabbled into things that she shouldn't have and was consumed by magic before agents of the British Ministry of Magic could save her. She now pretended to be a middle school senior as a member of Madoka's class when she didn't don her dark blue-and-grey jumpsuit of the Mistress of Webs, Rim Keko'o; much to the adopted Parisian seer's delight, the adopted wiccan from Dover in County Kent who could create spider-like webs out of her fingertips powered with ki energy had adopted the French term "Filetage" as her Terran battle-name.
"So what do you think we should call her now?" Izabel then wondered as the Great Crystal pulsed. "Assuming she doesn't care to make use of the name 'Gertrud'..."
Airi hummed. She was personally grateful to the Goddess Who Walks Among Men for helping her master Japanese in a way that made her a true native despite her Western family name. "Well, there's Midori; that means 'green'," she proposed. "Hana, which is 'flower'..."
Nesu...KUOKUO!
Cheers filled the crowd as a teenage woman with long green hair emerged, dressed in a matching jumpsuit with red belt and boots, a beautiful butterfly emblem on her chest. "Veel dank, Juffrouw Kaname," the woman stated, using her new chlorokinetic powers to create a beautiful rose.
Madoka turned as red as a cherry at that show of power by the current incarnation of the Pretty Flower-Bird of the West, Kuokuo ("Papillon"). "Um...j-just trying t-to h-help, G-g-Gertrud-s-s-san," she sputtered, giving the other woman a weak smile...before the voices of her past-selves suppressed her normal shyness towards being given such a present, then she took the rose and slipped it into Gertrud Skomagers' hair. "Um, if you'll excuse us, Nagisa-chan and Sayaka-chan have to deal with Post-Gifting Shock. I know just where to do it! Izabel-san will be around to help you out, okay?!"
People snickered and laughed as the current incarnation of the Noble Neighbour retreated in comical disorder from the Cave of the Future. Mami, Nagisa, Sayaka and Homura were quick to follow her, leaving behind three smirking reborn witches. "Oi! The Crystal's capable of healing energies when someone takes a dive," Sayaka eagerly asked. "Do you think Kyōsuke-san might want to get Gifted...?"
Even more laughter soon filled the skies over Habitation Four...
Meanwhile, back on Earth...
This is odd...
Incubator 9B — "Kyūbē" to those who knew him here on Earth — glanced around the mall food court in downtown Mitakihara, using a notice-me-not field to not attract any attention. There had been a witch here; he sensed her barrier move...only for it to be destroyed not long after.
Still, there hadn't been any mahō shōjo in the area...
Who could have destroyed it...?
The alien creature — it resembling a mix of a cat and rabbit, possessing golden earrings, ghostly white fur and a neutral expression frozen on its face — then recalled that a large number of mahō shōjo had turned into Eldritch witches over the last few months. Many of them had been operating in places close to or within Tōkyō itself, such as Tomobiki and Nerima, not to mention other known chaos hot spots across Japan. As he then recalled, a few were acquainted with both Moroboshi Ataru and Saotome Ranma, whose misadventures helped to keep attention away from his compatriots' operations...
He then perked as a nearby television posted on the wall of the small coffee shop he had come to so he could make his observations. On the screen, the image of the press room at the White House in Washington a day before played out, displaying the image of the current president of the United States giving his statement. The marquee underneath the image and the noise from the crowd soon made the incubator pale considerably as the obvious true nature of what was happening finally sank in.
The incredible levels of mesonium-charged mana and ki that had been sensed by Kyūbē and his compatriots in the local environment could only have come from ONE source.
That's it! he hissed to himself. That's the reason the Lichasseri hired my kind! There was that a prophecy predicting their race's extinction; a prophecy that specifically mentions the Children of the Forge! As a wry smile crossed his face, he turned to finish his coffee, using his long ears to pick up the cup. It appears their efforts may have been futile, which will make the Sidines quite happy. Seeing as how the Lichasseri will feel great despair if the prophecy cannot be defeated...
It was a pity that his communication equipment was offline thanks to a recent earthquake that struck the area. He needed to get it fixed as quickly as possible and report this in.
Until then, all he could do was keep going...
The End...For Now!
WRITER'S NOTES
This particular story takes place about three months before the start of the main story.
Quick translation list: Die Rosen schenken wir unserer Königin — We give the roses to our queen; Und die schlechten Blumen steigen auf die Guillotine — And the bad flowers rise to the guillotine; Veel dank — Thank you very much; Juffrouw — The Dutch honorific for an unmarried woman.
Gertrud Skomagers was an alleged witch who lived in the Sixteenth Century who was condemned as a witch and burned at the stake without having admitted any guilt towards such even under torture; this ended up changing Dutch laws concerning witchcraft trials sometime later. Patricia Gardner is named in partial tribute to one of the founders of modern-day wiccan worship, Patricia Crowther, who was blessed as a high priestess by the founder of Wicca, Gerald Gardner.
As to what was revealed at the White House as seen by Kyūbē, that will appear in a future side story.