Alice takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. This is it. Her first battle. The sky overhead is the color of a raw, bleeding bruise, and the violin screeching of the Sin echoes between the buildings. It’s huge. How is it so big? Couldn’t she start with something smaller?
She takes another breath. Ready or not, she’s going to do this. No—she is ready. She’s got to be. There’s no one else.
When you wake up, you spend a long while just staring into the mirror.
You feel like there’s someone standing right behind your reflection, but you can’t see anything. You’re always in the way.
She comes in and finds you staring again. She grabs your shoulder, steps in front of you, tells you to brush your teeth and come eat breakfast. So you do.
She’s made waffles. She’s trying. She knows you like them. But if you ever tell her why you like them, she’ll probably never make them again.
“Okay, the Hot Wheels Maneuver still needs more workshopping, but we’ll get it perfect next time.” Green stepped into the hideout through a warp in space, Red in tow. She brushed at a soot stain on the smoldering remains of her uniform, frowning as it refused to wipe off. “I think if you wait another half-second for my ring to stabilize before you launch the fireball into it, we oughta be able to – oh, hey Yellow. How’s it going?”
“Hi Green, hi Red!” Yellow put her book down on the coffee table. “It’s been good, just taking a break from practicing in the training room. I think my aim’s getting better!”
Red grinned. “Nice! Sounds like we should do another target shooting contest soon. Can’t wait to – hang on, where’s Blue?” Red scanned the room nervously.
“Oh – right! We heard about some trouble downtown, probably the Demon Emperor again. Blue went out to handle it, she said she had it covered and I should stay here to hold the fort.”
“And you let her go?!” Green shouted, horrified. “No, sorry, sorry, you’re new, our bad for not explaining. Magical Guardians rule number 7: Never let Blue go out without backup.”
“We should really actually write those all down one of these days, instead of Green just making up numbers.” Red walked over to the fridge, quickly looking over the notes stuck to the door. “Shit. Yup, Black left us hints on how we’ll have fixed this. She’s gonna have-been pissed, causality paradoxes always give her massive headaches.”
Yumika I Lumen Defender looked did stood to face as ruin despair floating a tear. It was couldn’t be even as Unraveling the Herald when we they stop do of the world be with protect from.
I didn’t Yumika even never supposed to tried wanted guardian couldn’t just admired this as shining to go want to do be look like. Then now it wasn’t hadn’t be get ready enough too late in stronger than without for real. My everything collapse fault to decohere by as with worthless.
As “There where hear you Lumen?!” a crying called their knew like shouted voice “With to answering hear!”
“Leave as to Mai did I couldn’t useless!”
“Lumen Yumika!” she jumped across down void Ignis with whirling between to wreckage “To be thank as safe! Were didn’t hurt with when get as?”
“To say wasn’t why not leave point over!”
“Isn’t to don’t still with fix!”
“Drag to burden down without just won’t good you to leave!”
“Never won’t with you they as be about with leave care friends always!” with distance to come while go Yuki Tokiko “We they are can to with do as right together!”
She I as cry Lumen while with hug say right. Viridis with come to do support join Tokiko Umbra tch with make to hold grumble care.
Sparkle shine to gem with glow become see diadem. “Do to thing let make win when with back!” Ignis as hope say determination to fist.
“DEFENDER TO WITH SHINING AS AWAKEN!” hold with call voice we together. Go fly do light magic out to transform face with Unraveling save right.
“No, she shouldn’t! Don’t listen to her, Tomoe.”
“C’mon Tomoe, you gotta shoot your shot!”
“You really think I should, Touka?”
“Touka no! What would Tomoe even say to her? ‘Hi, I’m the magical girl who held you hostage the other day, wanna get coffee?’”
“I’m just saying, she looked like she was kinda into it!”
“WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK, pyon?!”
“Damn, I didn’t know mascots could swear.”
“Shut the fuck up, pyon! You tell me you’re not convening this weekend, Maki leaves me at home to ‘run some errands’, and the next thing I know, every channel is playing live footage of you all BLOWING UP A FUCKING OFFICE TOWER, pyon?! The Miracle Bunny Pretty Defenders are supposed to protect the world in the name of love and justice, not destroy it, pyon!”
“Sorabank have spent half a century using their hoarded wealth to exploit workers and pollute the planet, I’d say blowing up their HQ is absolutely in line with our mission.”
“Plus we used the massive magical power spike to one-shot The Night Unending on our way home, you should be over the moon!”
“Also, we’re the Miracle Bunny Liberation Front now. It’s like you didn’t even watch the video we released, sheesh.”
“What the fuck does that even mean, pyon?! If you’re going to use your Miracle Crystals to murder people, then I need to take them back for the good of the world, pyon!”
“We all know you’re bullshitting, Pyonpii. Remember when Tomoe was in tears, begging you to let her quit? And you helpfully explained how our Miracle Crystals are permanently bound to our spirits, and can never be given up or taken away? Which, by the way, was conveniently absent from your whole pitch when you were handing these out in the first place…”
“Anyway, we’re keeping civilian casualties to a minimum! We went through firing warning shots to get everyone out of the building before we set off the thermite!”
“Look, I’m sorry, but the skimpy outfits are absolutely vital, pyon! Magical power is fundamentally derived from the attention and strong emotions of other people, right? When you’re up against small-fry demons, you can get by with just a group of friends who care and believe in you, but we’re in the big leagues here, pyon! If you girls want to stand a chance against The Night Unending, widespread parasocial attachment rooted in sex appeal is your only option, pyon!”
“What about Sparkling Duet Revolution Hearts? They take down powerful demons all the time, without a single panty flash!”
“Those two are top idols, pyon! I’ve heard you singing karaoke, none of you should be quitting your day jobs, pyon.”
“… So basically, we need as many people as possible to be thinking about us and having strong feelings about us, right?”
“That’s right, pyon!”
“Cool. Hey girls, who wants to start a terrorist group?”
Now sing, o Muse, of golden-braided Yumika, bold vanquisher of Yomi’s vast and ravening hordes, defender of this world with scepter and with bow, whose swift-flown shafts of sacred light rebuke the dark. Though long beset by countless trials of love and war, fair Yumika, with friendship as her guiding star, returned to gird again for battle with her foes.
“I think there’s something wrong with my narration, Mai”, the warrior of light confided in her friend. “It didn’t used to be in meter, did it?”
“No,” responded Mai, of crimson flaming scimitar. “I’m hearing it as well. It’s weirdly catchy, too.”
“Remember that strange omen we received last week?” asked emerald-skirted Yuki, quick of word and wit. “We were all warned that Eris would arrive quite soon, and try to throw the mortal world in disarray. So maybe she’s to blame.”
“I fucking hate this shit,” moaned sullen-tempered Tokiko of raven garb. “Why can’t we ever fight a normal villain, huh?”