Chapter Twenty-Two

[Hey O. Hey James. 10 min phone timer. Discharged yesterday. So bored!]

[Hey, James here. Figured out your pain problem]

[Oh? Whats happening to me?]

I lay on the bottom bunk in the tiny bedroom I shared with Claire. The phone in my hand had my complete attention - it had to so I could tune out the mess around me. Dirty clothes covered the floor. A packet of dry ramen, half-eaten and forgotten, sat at the foot of the bunk bed. The bedroom was filthy - Claire took after Dad, and I wasn’t clean either. But it was home.

[...]

The hospital had discharged me a day ago, even though it still hurt. The doctors had determined that the pain was in my head - not tied to a real injury or problem - and they needed the beds. Injuries were still coming in from the big Emergence event. Besides, it was manageable now. Fading, even.

Dad followed through immediately with my grounding. “30 minutes to talk to your friends, that’s it. No games, no videos, no leaving the apartment, and definitely no more goddamned lying. Don’t bitch at me, either. You did this yourself with your shitty choices.” I didn’t dare complain - I’d been screamed at way worse for far less.

So all I could do was sit and watch the minutes roll by as James typed.

[Short version. Every MGs mana organ needs pathways to cast spells. Like, mini roads for nanites to travel on and nodes to store special nanites in. Normal MGs have this happen over a week or two from leveling to 5. Your pathways were built in a few hours along your ulnar and radial nerves. Super painful. Not dangerous though. Should fix itself soon]

[I remember that. I was tingly for a few days. Sucks for you! Tough it out kid!]

[Thanks James. At least Im not dying haha]

[...]

I grinned at the screen.

[Your getting a visit this afternoon. Autumn Ashes. I think. Be polite. Shes good people]

[Thanks for the warning. Gotta warn Dad too. Otherwise not a good scene. Talk to you tomorrow]

[Bye Alice]

[Cya kid]

There was one more person I had to text.

[Hey Sora. Feeling better? Miss you]

[hi magical alice feel better already ;P]

[stupid doctor sunny wont let me get up yet :( ]

I snorted. It really was amazing how fast she was getting better. The only explanation I could think of was that Pinks really were magical.

[Keep your chin up Sora. Looking forward to seeing you soon]

[me too come visit when ur dad stops being a butt!!!!]

[Will do. Times up for the day. Talk to you tomorrow]

I powered off the phone and rolled out of bed. As I stood up, my ears were assaulted by the sounds of my little sister’s phone. Digital Magical Girls grunted and screamed as they swung their weapons and cast their spells, and Macks roared and clanked around as they fell apart. Cheesy music blared behind the sounds of battle.

I zoned out thinking about the fighting I’d been in. It was nothing like Star Princess. The machines were silent, with no battle cries or roars. The Girls’ injuries were real.

“Alish, whatcha doin’? Earf to Alish!” My sister crunched the crackers in her mouth as she talked. She stared at me from the top bunk with full cheeks and a questioning look in her eyes.

I pulled myself together. “Have you seen Dad? I need to talk to him.”

Claire swallowed her food and grinned an evil grin. “Better you than me. He’s watching some suit talk on TV.” She mimed drinking from a bottle and shook her head. Greasy, mousey hair flipped everywhere.

“Alright. Thanks. By the way, the Assymetria-Red build works better if you stack Will. You’re playing it too melee.”

“Go away, Alice!”

Sure enough, Dad sat on the couch, watching TV. He looked at me as I approached and held out his hand. “You’re done for the day.”

I put my phone in his hand. The suit on TV was talking. I recognized him as Jack Ambrose, Haven’s mayor.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“...and in response to the unprecedented scope of the most recent Emergence, changes are coming to both SHOCKS and Haven Security Forces. Haven Security is increasing recruitment - though rumors of enlistment are, at present, unfounded. If you or someone you know wants to learn more about security service, please contact the number below.” A number popped up below the mayor as he went on.

“I have been in touch with the AI aboard the A.O.S. Sanctuary. It apologizes for not seeing a shift in the machines’ strategy and adjusting its own to compensate. It is especially concerned about the number of emergency enrollments who had to either share Operators or take one from a wounded Magical Girl. Enrollment of both Magical Girls and, especially, Operators will be increased to reduce pressure on the brave young adults who shoulder so much of our defense burden.

“For tonight’s remembrance, we reflect on the brave Girls who gave their all at Nanaimo. Training Team B-52-S ‘The Bomb’ was on a public patrol when the sudden Emergence caught them off-guard. Still, they held off several Type Eighteens and a Type Twenty-One until the nearby elementary school could lock down. To the two surviving Girls, we wish you a full recovery.

“To the families of the other trainees and their mentor, we thank you for your sacrifice. Your daughters helped keep hundreds of others safe, and for that, Haven is truly grateful.”

I fidgeted with my hair as he droned on and on until a commercial break. “Um…Dad…”

“No, you can’t go see Sora. Same answer for getting more time on the phone or skipping out on your jobs.”

“It’s not that. I, uh, I’m going to have a guest over. She’s -”

“No.”

“I don’t think…” I gulped and continued. “It’s about my, um, new job.”

“Hell No.”

“I can send a message, but I don’t think she’ll get it. She’s supposed to be here this afternoon.” I reached for the phone, but Dad moved his hand away from mine.

“You’re a real pain in the ass, Alice.” He sighed, turned off the TV, and set his bottle down. “Claire! Get your butt in here!”

When my sister navigated the ladder and came in, he looked at her. “Clean yourself up and see if your friend, Gracelyn or Kaylynn or whatever her name is, can have you over for a few hours.”

“Oh, she can. Her mom said I could come over literally any time.”

Dad nodded. “Good. Be back here by four.”

I stood silently, not moving, as my sister ran off to make sure she was at least a little presentable. The minutes dragged by. I started fidgeting with my hair again.

Finally, she was gone.

“Get your ass back in your room. Read a book, stare out the window, whatever. And answer the door when your guest shows up.”

“Can I have my pho -”

“No. Go away.”

I fled back to the bedroom. As I shut the door, the tension lifted.

I’d won. I hadn’t gotten my phone, but at least I’d warned Dad a guest was coming. And he’d gotten Claire out of our hair for the meeting. She didn’t know about my alias - no one had told her since she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. So getting rid of her was surprisingly considerate.

And Autumn Ashes would be here any minute!

I stared out the grimy window and watched the light rain.

Any minute.

I grabbed my 20th Century Poems book.

Aaaany minute now…

I started as the speaker buzzed. I’d drifted off!

I saw that Dad had drifted off, too, as I dashed to the door. I pressed the button to open the door. Then I waited.

There was a polite knock at the door. I opened it quickly.

A tall, copper-skinned woman in her early twenties stood in the doorway, one hand on her hip. The other twirled a bit of wavy black hair around one finger. “Hello. I’m Autumn Ashes. Alice, I presume?” She asked, her voice as bright as her marigold blazer and skirt.

“Yes. Come in, please.” I remembered James’s warning to be polite. “Let me wake up my dad.”

“Actually, I’d prefer to talk privately first. If that’s him,” Autumn pointed to my dad, who snored loudly from the couch, “I think we have some time. Do you have another room we could use?”

“My bedroom, but I share it with my sister, and neither of us has cleaned it in a while.”

“That’s fine. Lead the way!”

Face burning, I tried kicking some of my sister’s underwear under the bed as we sat on the mattress. I could see her nose wrinkle, but I ignored it as best I could.

“Okay, Alice. First, allow me to apologize for everything that’s happened to you in the last four days. SHOCKS was unprepared for an Emergence event on this scale, and you and your classmates are amongst those who paid for that.

“Second, you were emergency enrolled, which has some ramifications a normally enrolled Magical Girl wouldn’t have to deal with. The way you were enrolled forced you into the very worst of the job with no training or coping skills. You also had no choice but to become one of us, and though you rose to the task, we want to extend you that option.”

She pulled out two sheets of paper and set them on the bed between us. “This first form is a discharge form. If you fill it out, your time as a Magical Girl will be over. You’ll be required not to talk about what you know, as most of our activities are confidential. Your mana organs will go offline, which won’t cause any health problems as long as you take care of yourself.

“The second form,” Autumn pointed, “is the official SHOCKS enrollment form. If you sign it, you’ll agree to fight for humanity, inspire hope, and save as many lives as possible whenever possible. Operator N341 James already asked you about those, I believe?”

“Yeah, he asked me,” I mumbled, my mind racing.

Was this really what I wanted? I’d felt more pain in the last five days than in my whole life. Sora had almost died. I’d almost died! And I’d been terrified the entire time!

But…

The truth was that I needed to do it. I’d decided I had to when I’d fought the Type Four and rescued the people in the locker room. And when I’d watched Overclock save Sora’s life. I could do it, so I had to. That was all there was to it.

“Give me the enrollment papers. I’m in.”

“Wonderful!” Reaching into her jacket pocket, Autumn Ashes produced a pen. She picked up both forms, handed one to me, and folded the other into a small square, which she put in her pocket.

I signed in the places she pointed. Then I handed her pen back. She took the signed enrollment form and smiled at me.

“It may be premature, but I’d like to formally welcome you to the Sanctuary/Haven Operative Control and Knowledge School! A car will be by tomorrow afternoon to pick you up. Now!” She stood, clapped her hands, and smoothed her skirt. “Let’s go tell your father! We’ll have a lot to discuss with him.”