March 2021 Microfic!

Hello y'all!

Okay, so, here we go, on time for once! A lil magical girl story, actually a lil bit longer than usual! I was going for a 'the season one finale for an anime you've never seen before' kinda vibe. Hope y'all enjoy!  

~Benn {Doomgender} Ends

Theme: (Mid 20's) Magical Girls

Prompt: A magical girl's alter ego is part of her plural system, and they talk, supporting and protecting each other, day or night.

Suggestion by: Quinn Le (Thanks so much!)

~3222 words

CW:

• Magical girl/boy/they/plural system
• Combat, blood, references to broken bones
• Tiny bit of will breaking for a bit there
• Feelings

~~~

The city at twilight. Tall, pale buildings against the gray sky. Not a person in sight. Eerily quiet, especially for this time of day. It’s like you could hear a pin drop from miles away.

CRASH.

Protector of the city, Magical Girl Hailstorm Sky hits the rooftop, a flickering stuttering star. Lost in a cloud of dust and smoke. As the debris clears, there she is, struggling up to her knees. Her white and blue costume is tattered, her skirt torn, her amulet hanging loose around her neck.

Her body feels heavy, and her staff heavier. It’s smooth, metallic surface scratched, it’s focus glowing dull. She’s taken too many hits already.

With a huff of breath, she channels more mana to the artifact on her back, spinning up the ornate disk that allows her to defy gravity and soar through the air. The weightless effect will compensate for the weakness in her legs. Another heavy breath, as she makes it to her feet, holding the long slender staff by her side.

And she looks up, up at the massive beast of the Reverse World that hovers over the city like a bad dream. Just in time to see one of it’s massive pseudomechanical limbs crash down towards her.

[HAIL! LOOK OUT!]

~

Hailstorm jumps back from the curb, moments before a car rolls through the crosswalk at a moderate pace. She blinks twice, looking up at the glowing ‘DON’T WALK’ sign.

“Oh. Oops.”

A brash voice sounds in her head.

[I love you Hail but please don’t get our body absolutely wrecked while you’re not even fighting with it]

“Why don’t you take over then, if you think I can’t handle a simple stroll down the street, Snow?”

Snow snickers in the back of their shared head.

[You need more practice fronting in everyday circumstances.. Since we share a brain I figured there’s no way you’d be *more* clumsy than me, but here we are]

“Shush you. I don’t complain about how you cook, so you shouldn’t about how I fight monsters.”

[Maybe you should have used a different example Hail,] chimes in Star with a cool murmur. [Snow can’t cook to save his life.]

Snow pouts. [Don’t you two gang up on me now, I’m just trying to help]

The light finally turns. Hail crosses the street, this time looking both ways.

[There ya go. Being a normal person is is harder than you thought huh]

Hailstorm frowns. “I’d still say fighting monsters is harder.”

[Bet I could do it just fine]

“Please leave the fighting to the professionals Snow. I don’t want you to get jam all over my staff.”

[ONE TIME! Cut me some slack, we were out of spoons and Star told me not to eat off the knife]

[That was in no way my fault.]

Hailstorm adjusts her skirt, before taking out her phone. She activates Mirror’s March, the AR app she uses to scan for nearby Reverse World entities. No such luck. 

~

The monster’s limb crashes down on the spot Hailstorm was standing a single moment ago. The building crumples under the pressure of it’s assault. Concrete and steel might as well be paper against something from the other world. Hailstorm skids to a stop on a nearby rooftop, picking herself up and brandishing her staff.

[Geez, it’s good that Spin and Charm managed to push this fight into an extradimensional copy of the city, or we’d be causing so much property damage right now]

That’s all well and good, Hailstorm thinks to herself. But I could really use the backup right about now…

The monster turns it’s eye towards her, slow drops of smoke dripping like tears and drifting for the ground.

[Keep moving, Hail.]

~

“Huh? What was that Star?”

[I said keep moving. It’s going to get cold, and *somebody* forgot our jacket at home.]

[Hey don’t at me with that, all of us worked together to forget our coat]

They harrumph. 

[You had the hands.]

Snow giggles. [I did have the hands, that’s true]

The sun is heavy in the sky, drifting in a brilliant haze of fire. Hailstorm smiles. She’s still new, so to speak. She coalesced  into a distinct alter the first time they transformed, though the echoes of her were already there when the system found out they had been chosen to be a magical girl, a few months ago.

She smiles. The fighting has been hard, and painful, but she’s had fun, despite it all. Snow cheering her on, Star calmly praising her when she does good. Even quiet Bright, who usually just listens. The first monster, a shadowy marionette that chased them through the docks. It was terrifying, even for her, a person born to be a magical girl. But the others helped her get through it.

How could anybody go through something like this alone? She shudders at the thought.

[Aw you’re such a sap Hail]

“Can’t a girl get any privacy in her own-”

Da Da Da!!

The phone buzzes.

~

“Hailstorm! You getting this? I think I’ve managed to patch the communicator so we won’t get cut off again.”

Relief floods through Hailstorm.

“Charm! Thank fuck. This… thing. Is worse that we thought.”

“I know, I know. You gotta stop it, as soon as possible.”

Hailstorm spins in the air, narrowly dodging another massive limb. She swings her staff, but it’s so fast, it’s hard to get close enough to actually hit.

“What do you mean Charm? You sound freaked out.”

The voice though the communicator sounds strained.

“Yeah I kinda am! It’s some kind of Reverse World portal brought to life. We’re doing our best to keep it and you in that pocket dimension, but if it hits the ground it’s all over. It’ll crack the simulated city, and rise up out of the ground on our end. It’s huge, it’s gonna pull half the city if you don’t kill it!”

[Oh geez,] Snow interjects.

“R-right. I’ve got it. Thanks for the intel. When’s Spin coming through to help?”

There’s a long moment of silence over the line.

“-Charm?”

“That’s the bad news Hailstorm. Spin’s plugged into my artifact. It’s taking all the mana she can work up just to keep the city simulation running. And I’ve got my hands full keeping that monster from counterhacking it’s way out. You’re on your own over there.”

“Wait, no-”

Her concentration wavers for a second, just a second, just long enough to miss the arm of the beast coming at her blind spot. Like swatting a fly. The communicator makes a panicked noise, as her body crashes towards the streets below.

~

The phone beeps again.

“Wait, I think I’ve got something.”

[You’re gonna have to admit how much you love us someday you dork]

Hailstorm frowns, holding the screen up to her face, looking through it to pierce the veil of denial that keeps monsters from being seen by most people. The readout isn’t picking anything up.

“Weird.”

[What’s wrong Hail?]

She turns a few times, checking every direction.

“This has been happening for a few days. False positives? I think.”

[Ya think Charm would be able to help? Ve’s our tech support after all]

“Maybe..”

Hail moves to turn the app off, but it pings again.

“It’s almost like. It’s too far away to get a full reading on.”

[Is that a possibility?]

“I mean maybe. But if I’m getting any signal at all across really long distances, it would have to be something much, much stronger than anything I’ve fought so far…”

As she says that, Hailstorm tilts her head up, pointing the phone at the sky.

Eye contact.

~

The tendril of the monster ends in hundreds of human-scale mechanical arms, long jointed things that lock together into a single mass, or come apart and stretch out for delicate manipulation.

Delicate manipulation, like lifting up a magical girl who’s recently had her wings clipped.

Hailstorm keeps her right eye closed, so the blood on her face doesn’t get in it. Her other eye is locked in gaze with the eye of the monster, coming ever closer, consuming the sky with a sheer, dark mass. The machine hands wrap around her waist like a lovers, holding her arms, her shoulders, her face. She can hardly wiggle in it’s grasp, and even if she could get away, what then? It took the last ounce of her mana to keep their body in one piece when she hit the ground.

h

Far away she hears some voices. She wonders what they’re saying. A delicate metal hand wraps it’s slender fingers around her amulet.

Some distant part of her wants to yell or struggle.

hey

To scream and panic maybe, since whoever holds her amulet hold her life in their palm.

But what would the point even be? She’s already lost. She’s breathing in the thick black smoke, and it makes her chest feel warm and heavy.

Her eyelids are half lidded. Her mouth slightly open. Through the haze she wonders if it was really that easy to break her spirit. 

Hey

Another slow, deep breath in.

Hey!

…

HEY!!

~

[Hey, snap out of it]

Hailstorm breathes out for the first time in what feels like minutes. Dull fear fading in her chest. It was only a flash, but she saw something alien, and terrifying. Like looking at the threads of her fate being plucked. The app goes quiet.

[What the hell was that]

Still catching her breath. “An eye, it looked like.”

[We saw that much. However, it felt like you made some kind of connection beyond what we could sense.]

“Maybe. I think. I don’t really know what it was. But I felt. Really lonely.”

[Oh geez are we crying]

Hailstorm touches her cheek, pulling her fingers away wet.

“Oh. Yeah we are. I guess I haven’t shaken the feeling yet.”

She can feel the two fretting, unsure of what to say. And then, a soft spoken voice.

[…but you’re not alone, hailstorm. none of us are…]

Hailstorm takes in a sharp breath.

“B-Bright.. You’re just gonna make me cry more.”

But she laughs through the tears.

Bright’s voice is barely a whisper.

[…it’s true though. you don’t have to take it all on yourself. whatever it is…]

Star chimes in calmly.

[Bright is correct. You have a habit of acting like our duty as protector of the humans living in this city is your responsibility alone. But remember Hail. *We* were chosen for this. Together.]

Snow interrupts.

[Yeah, don’t you go thinking you can get rid of us or lose us or whatever! We’re with you, one hundred percent, through and through]

“All of you.”

[So don’t forget it]

~

[You’re not alone!!]

Hailstorm’s eyes open wide, and she’s finally seeing what’s happening again. The monster’s pupil like a maw, it’s hands ready to push her through, to trap her on the other side of the mirror.

“No. NO!”

She struggles against the monster’s hands, but it doesn’t let go. She’s still weak, she’s still drained. And she can already feel the dark fog of it’s influence on the edges of her mind, stronger even as she draws closer to the gate.

“There has to be something I can do. I’m not gonna let us die like this!”

[I mean it’s probably not gonna kill us. You know what happens to magical girls who get captured in movies and shit]

Hailstorm’s face lights up in an indignant blush.

“Shut up and help me figure out a way out of this Snow!”

[Oh now you wanna hear my ideas]

“That or shut it!!”

The monster blinks curiously, the whole of the horizon filled with it’s motion.

[Alright, back off the controls and trust me]

“W-what??”

[Let me front, come on. You’ve got a death grip on our body how am I supposed to do anything]

“How is that-”

[Got any better ideas?]

“I-”

On the edge of this world and the next. The hands press her body up to the solid, glass-like surface of the eye, the gate. It’s cold, somehow at once solid and permeable. People who go through don’t come back.

But in the moment before they all are lost forever.

A flash of light.

A blade of white and cold.

You can *feel* the monster scream more than hear it. For the first time it’s advance slows, even reverses as it recoils. A glowing scar on the surface of the eye. Bits of it’s pseudomechanical limbs falling like metal rain. And a shape falls, falls hundreds of feet, crashing into the ground again.

But this time he lands on their feet.

“Here. We. Go!”

Snow’s outfit is close to Hailstorm’s, but pure white, and with a hastily fastened half-cape. Even the amulet has transmuted from a sapphire to a diamond. Holding his arm straight out, the staff, no, the longsword pointing straight at the monster that thrashes across the whole of the sky. Snow holds out his left hand, and the artifact Hailstorm uses to fly slides across his arm, now a shield of marble. Their body is still battered, but he has mana to spare.

Hailstorm can’t see all of this as it happens, but she feels the changes. She had no idea that they each had their own store of mana. It makes sense though. Snow and Star trade off everyday stuff when one of them gets emotionally tired out, and mana is more emotional than physical. In their shared mind, Hailstorm gives a tired smile.

[You get em Snow. Or I guess, Snowstorm Sky?]

Snow grins wildly.

“I like it.”

They’re watching the monster as it recovers, and resumes it’s approach. 

“One problem.”

Hailstorm sighs.

[What now?]

Snow looks sheepish.

“I don’t think I have any ranged attacks.”

[Uggghhhhhhh]

“Look I didn’t exactly pick my powers here, I’m winging it. Not literally though, cuz I don’t think I can fly either.”

[Snowwwwww]

[Alright you two. You’ve had your fun.]

“How is it that everything you say sounds like you’re adjusting your glasses and doing a cool pose.”

[Experience. Now, let me take a turn.]

“Alright, but if we get in ‘stabbin range I’m having another go.”

[Fine. Do dodge that first though.]

“Wha- Ahhh!”

With reflex and speed boosted by an outpouring of magical energy, Snow barely dodges a building sized tendril as it crashes down. The monster is angry now, thrashing it’s hundred of limbs, smashing buildings like balsa wood models.

[It’s.. Getting close.]

[I’ll make sure it comes no closer.]

Another fountain of light, this time a bright flashy red. Before the glow even fades, a great arrow of solid fire flies through the air, leaving afterthoughts of heat in it’s wake. The massive eye slams shut, and the arrow slams into the protective shutter.

Star lowers their bow. A white and red version of the uniform, but with sharp leggings instead of a skirt. Ruby red amulet. They thoughtfully touch an arrow in their quiver, which was Snow’s shield and Hailstorm’s wings.

“A shame. It’s smart enough to protect itself.”

[Looks like it’s on the defensive. Gonna be a tough nut to crack, even for the great Starstorm Sky]

They brush the hair away from their eyes in a flourish.

“It has to open up to consume the city. In the meantime, I’ll amuse myself by cutting off it’s impudent fingers.”

Arrows soar through the air, a meteor shower played backwards, dotting the monster in explosions. It’s clearly in pain, but it knows it just needs to go a little further. Buildings are crumpling now under the weight of it’s body, not just fury of it’s blows.

A snaking tendril takes a cheap shot from behind a building. Yet, in a flash Snow takes over, his blade glowering, severing the arm in a single swing. The monster screams, and falls faster, suddenly one hundred, no seventy, no fifty feet above their head. It’s eye opens, all patience lost.

The end is nigh.

Star takes over again, and fires a dozen arrows. The eye cracks, but it doesn’t break.

“I’m. Worried I may not be able to stop it’s momentum.”

But Hailstorm knows exactly what to do.

[I’ve recovered a little. I’ll finish this.]

[Eh, you’re pretty fucked up Hail, I can-]

[You’ve done enough. Both of you.]

The beast is here.

There is no more time.

Hailstorm Sky slams her staff against the ground. A magical circle a hundred meters across pours out from her heels, bathing the darkened city with a blue glow.

“And so the very earth will be my weapon! One Thousand Spears Pierce Heaven!”

Spires of rock and concrete and wire and pipe burst from the ground around her, reaching for the sky with force and fury. It’s too late for the monster to sweep them aside.

And it is run through.

Hailstorm looks up, staring the creature in the eye, as thick drops of black smoke tears drip down around her.

It breaks.

The mass of the monster implodes, the pieces of the glass eye pulled into it’s own portal, followed by the rest of the creature. What’s left, ruined metal and abandoned limb, turn to smoke and begin to drift away.

It’s over.

~

They sit on top of a building, overlooking the destroyed city. A few other buildings still stand, their surfaces shining in the light of the pale artificial sun. You can really tell it’s an imitation of a real place if you look at them; the glass windows don’t reflect how much of the city was destroyed, just a blurry texture imitating what it all looked like before the fight.

Hail is still fronting, having flown them up here. With a simple glimmer, she’s wearing casual clothes again. Her amulet is a plain locket, her staff a wristband, her artifact a charm hanging off her shoulder bag. It was Snow’s turn to pick the outfit today, so it’s a little slutty for Hail’s taste, but even she has to admit it looks good. She kicks her legs off the edge of the skyscraper.

“You think we’re gonna run into more things like that?”

[Nah, I bet we scared them off]

[Certainly we will. The Reverse World is building up to something. I’m sure our fights will only become more challenging from here.]

The scene in front of them flickers. The ruined dollhouse of a cityscape begins to fade out, as the simulation shuts down. The sky grows dark, and the moon is huge overhead. Life thrums below, people and trains and cars and birds and dogs. Millions of lives, so many who will never have the slightest idea of what happened in the skies above them today.

Hail smiles as she takes it all in.

“That’s okay. I think we’ve gotten stronger too.”

[That’s the spirit! We’ll kick wholesale ass, no matter what they throw at us]

Hail laughs.

“You’re right. We’re in this together, after all.]

[…good job… everyone…]

“Thank you Bright. I hope we made you smile.”

[…mhmm… smiled…]

Hail flops back, looking up at the stars.

“You think Charm and Spin will carry us home? I think we’ve got like. Three broken bones?”

[Four. I counted.]

[They better carry us, and treat us to dinner at that]

With a content breath, Hail closes her eyes, satisfied.

~~~