[Ok now I don't have to worry about that, first, I need real information, not just my made-up assumptions about the current situation, also I could get moving]
I start running towards the water dome, my speed has substantially increased so I feel a lot of wind resistance against my face, my eyes are drying out and it's becoming hard to breathe properly, I slow down to a more comfortable speed, Sauriel is following me by flying, it looks like even it can't quite match my speed.
"Sauriel what it's creating that dome and how do I stop it?" I slow down even more so that Sauriel can jump on my shoulder, Sauriel reads my intentions and does jump onto my left shoulder.
"It's coming from Aquamarine's weapon, it can't be stopped but it shouldn't hurt you because is only concealing the kid".
[So the dome only exists as camouflage and has no offensive capabilities, well that makes the plan is simple, enter the dome, retrieve the weapon and the kid, and flee, doesn't sound too complex].
With that in mind, I continue running, I'm growing accustomed to the speed so I just keep accelerating until I reach the objective.
The water dome is larger than expected, the flowing water is a deep blue so you can barely see the kid's silhouette, the water is splashing down on the grass but it sinks into the ground below at an abnormal rate, so there are no puddles around it.
[it look like those self-sustaining fountains at hotels]
I extend my arms and touch the water to test if what Sauriel said was true.
[It's cold, Awfully cold] My arm trembles a bit.
The water feels extremely cold as it falls on my forearm, but apart from that fact, it is just regular water.
I gather a little courage and pass through the water wall, it showers my entire body and its cold sensation makes me shiver.
[ I like morning cold bath, but this isn't a bath nor is it morning, sigh... can't believe that I also got my new clothes wet in mere minutes].
Once inside the dome, I see that the water functions as a one-way window, since I can see through the crystal clear water, I see that fight between the devils and Aquamarine has reached a stalemate because the two sides excel at dodging each other's attacks, I see the kid, he's quivering from fear while sitting on the ground, but he's looking at me with a dumbfounded face.
[Can't blame him though, I just look like a regular girl, no, who I'm kidding, I'm straight up out of place in these clothes I'm neither normal nor Magical girl, just plain weird].
I crouch down to see the kid closely, even then I'm still a little than him so I'm looking down at him, he's wearing a white shirt with some sort of logo and has a blue overall on him with pockets at its sides, I start thinking of how could we get out of here, but I realized something extremely important.
[I never interact with kids, I don't have any clue of what to say or how to even approach him, do I just lift him and take him with me?, or do I tell him what's happening? he's like 5 years old so he can probably understand right?, well at least I could at that age... wait hold on, people called me a 'prodigy' when I was 4 so my standards are probably skewed, why do I need to talk to people to be a magical girl??? this is the worst].
I get the idea that I probably need to plan more about what I'm gonna say to people while saving them than how I'm gonna save them since I know which one I suck more at.
"Umm... hi" My voice is quavers mid-sentence, but it's a solid start.
The kid is starting to calm down, I start thinking about what combinations of words to use next so I don't scare him.
[Maybe the warm feeling isn't worth it if I have to do this all the time, too much social interaction can't be good for my heart].
"You don't need to worry, I'm here to save you".
[Good, extremely clear but absolutely no character in it, c'mon think brain, how do I get my words out of my mind and into my mouth without sounding plain and suspicious?].
My respect for the people that talk in group projects increases by the second.
"Wh- who are you?" the kid is calm but I'm somewhat intimidating in my current getup, he understands that I'm not a threat, but he is still wary of me.
[Nice he said something, ok do I say my name?, no wait my name is supposed to be a secret so that I can still live my normal life, goddammit I hate myself, I get the idea that I just can't be social, but this is ridiculous, I need a way to talk properly NOW!!!]
[...]
[I know!!! I just need to pretend to be another person, I'm pretty good at roleplay so it should work, yes!! if I can just borrow someone's confidence and wordplay there shouldn't be a problem right??? ok so first, I need to choose who or what I'm pretending to be]
I ponder for a bit, I feel that this is gonna be helpful so I need it to be the perfect type of person and impression.
[Someone who's confident, saves other people, and uses magic, preferably a woman so I don't say something weird, mmm, there are not that many options in the market with those characteristics, the only one that comes to mind].
[...]
[A magical girl...] I sigh because I'm disappointed that the A+ student who is the best of her class without even trying was incapable of seeing the obvious.
[Ok whatever, the kid was hidden by Aquamarine, so if I say her name he will understand right?? at least I hope so].
"I'm a Magical girl and Aquamarine's partner, I'm here to lead you to a safer place".
[Ok, my words are stiff but I did get them out, so that's progress, but I presented myself at Aquamarine partner, which can be easily misinterpreted because I'm not any type of partner in the first place, well I at least didn't reveal my name to him].
"O-ok, please take care of me" the kid extends his arms towards me, I pick him up, he's light but I have the notion that is because I have more strength than before, I start holding him mostly with my right arm.
[I wouldn't have said it like that kid, actually, I probably wouldn't even have said anything in his place, ugh].
I feel down once again, this time is because I lost an imaginary argument against a 5-year-old.
"I'm gonna take a quick look before leaving, is that ok?".
"y-yes" he put himself in a comfortable position.
[Ok that was smooth, I think, kinda reminds me of how my mom used to talk to me when I was little, gotta write it down somewhere so I don't forget to imitate my mom, wait.. isn't weird to roleplay your mom??? god... I managed to become a true weirdo in less than 5 minutes].
I clear my mind since I had betters things to do, I start looking for Aquamarine's weapon since that was my secondary objective, I follow the path of the flowing water since It would lead me to the source, my eyes begin at the water splashing in the ground, then the go up the wall, all the way to the ceiling and towards the center of the dome, there's a pillar of water that goes down back into the floor, and then I see it.
[A sprinkler huh? you know when those mutated ninjas from that one Tv show said 'anything is a weapon' I didn't take it seriously, but I guess I was wrong, well Sauriel takes things too literally so maybe it is it's doing]
The sprinkler in question is a dark blue with bronze colors at the top, it doesn't have a connected hose so it just running without water, which means that the 'water' is something else or is being supplied from afar, kind of how the 'wireless hose' scam from a few years ago was supposed to work, the sprinkler is also pretty big when compared with it's a normal hosed counterpart, it also has 8 golden drawings of the 8 pointed star on its sides.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
"Sauriel can I just take the sprinkler with me?".
" Yes you can take it, whoever once you do the devils will probably notice you and target you"
"They will notice me even if I don't take it with me".
I said that since I'm confident of that statement.
[I know the reason the weapon is running is to hide the kid, so he is their target for whatever reason, leaving the water will make him noticeable somehow, so whatever choice I take will not change the fact that we will be targetted].
"You're pretty perceptive about this stuff" Sauriel looks at me, for the first time, I think its voice sounds happy and proud.
"I call it natural talent" an involuntarily smile forming on my face as I proudly declare that.
[That didn't sound too bad, an imitation of a classic Magical girl line said by Miko herself].
I walk towards the sprinkler and position myself, I try to make it so that I can start running while lightly crouched, the idea is to get a running start and at the same time grab the sprinkler.
[Ok, now it's the time for the truth, my plan is pretty simple but that's fine, fewer parts fewer problems].
"Hold on tight Kid!".
"Ok" he closes his eyes and his muscles tensed, I tighten my grip with my right arm so I don't accidentally drop him.
I start running while lightly crouched, I extend my spare arm and grab the sprinkler from the ground in a quick swipe, it takes a bit of strength since it was embedded in the dirt, once I lift it in the air, the water stops flowing completely, the mechanism of the sprinkler still running so is making the classic repeated 'tsk' sound, I raise my torso so that I can start increasing my speed without the fear of falling face-first into the ground and begin to accelerate.
[Ok I have the Kid and the 'Weapon', the next thing would be to leave this kid in a safer place, and if possible pass along the weapon to Aquamarine, well gotta do things step by step so will not get my hopes up].
I sense something that makes my hair spike up, my body is screaming to stop moving, so I involuntarily dig the heels of my boots into the ground to slow down, I start embracing the kid so he doesn't go flying away, It takes a few meters before I stop sliding along the dirt, I starting turning my head right since the only thing on my left is a brick wall, while half-turned I see an object flying towards me moving so fast that it's can only register in my eyes as a grey blur, I try to back off but I'm too slow, so it hits the wall before I can move a muscle.
*THUD
The sound of the impact is deafening, I get splattered with an assortment of random liquids, I close my eyes and try to shield the kid to the best of my abilities, I turn to see where the projectile landed, there's dust cloud that formed because of the sheer force of the impact, the wall is splattered with the same dust, dirt, random liquids and has burnt plastic glued to it, the projectile had enough force to leave the brick wall cracked, some of the bricks got loose and are out of place.
[If that hit me I would die, just what is this projectile??] I decide to not waste time thinking about it too much and start running again, I pass the impact zone and see the nearby ground, it is polluted with broken glass shards and remnants of food, I pass over it since I have construction boots while running I take a peek towards the right, to see what threw that thing, my answer came into my view.
I see many big purple flowers pulsating in a wave pattern, many of them are pointing at me and following my movements, the flowers attached through stems they connect to the same giant bush that is moving along the ground.
[The bush devil]
I assume that the previous 'projectile' was one of the remaining trash devils since it did that move before against Aquamarine, I look at the kid since I forgot to check if he was okay, he's shaking in fear and sobbing while holding onto me with all the strength he has.
"Don't worry, Ias I'm here to protect you with all my might!!" I say trying to sound reassuring.
The kid nods while rubbing his eyes to wipe away his tears, I'm still in shock, I realized that he would be targetted by the devils, but I didn't fathom that the first attack would have killed been a kill shot.
[I guess that explains why he couldn't just run away, still, even with my increased speed It barely missed, and it was only because I trusted my gut feeling, why does this kid need to die in the first place?] it doesn't take much thinking to remember the reason.
"Sauriel why are the devils targeting the kid?" I still ask for confirmation, If my assumption is incorrect then Sauriel will give me a useless answer like he normally does, so it's better to confirm before assuming.
"The kid has a Catalyzer, and the devils want it bad enough to go for the kill".
[Ok, simple enough but extremely concerning, don't care about what this catalyzer does or why would they want that badly, but if that is their target, then I could take it with me and act as bait] I'm getting close to the exit of the park, the bush devil seems to send the last remaining trashbag devil to chase me but is pretty slow compared to me so I ignore it.
"Where's the 'catalyzer'?" I start preparing myself since I know that I will start being chased after Sauriel answers.
"The Kid's Overall, the left pocket" I reach my hands in the kid's pocket and start searching.
I feel something small with many edges, I grab it and pull it to see what it is, I put it in front of me, the object seems to be an Insignia the size of a large coin, it has an 8 pointed star shape and its outline is raised and colored gold, it has engravings of random character on the outlines, the engravings are changing shape into other characters with no particular pattern, so the 'words' are unreadable.
[Umm, it's kinda mesmerizing to see those changing characters of the aether signature on here, but it does look extremely cool since the letters are physical engravings but are still changing shape].
Once I reach the park's exit, I put the kid down onto the floor, I help him get his footing since his legs are still quivering, Once I made sure he could at least stand up I smile at him and say.
"You should be safe from now on, I'm gonna stay here to help Aqua, ok?".
"Okay" I pat the kid's head since he's making an effort to look strong but his eyes give away his fear, I stand up and as I start turning, he pulls one of my loose clothes, so I look at him.
"Thank you miss magical girl" He says with a small smile, he proceeds to bow and leaves the exit running away, I can't help but smile, happiness floods my head.
[Where kids always this cute? I always see them as annoying but I was wrong, Well I still have another thing to do]
I hold the sprinkler in my hand, I'm still unsure why this is considered a weapon but it's not my problem anyway, so I turn and start walking towards the park.
"Sauriel now what do I do about this catalyzer thing?" I held the catalyzer up and to my left shoulder so Sauriel can see it, he probably knows what it is but I still do it anyway,
[I want to help as soon as possible but I don't know what even the catalyzer does, it could be a situation where we need to destroy the remaining devils or another where we need to 'purify' or 'sealed' the catalyzer with magic].
"The catalyzer is a form of storage of aether".
[That could explain the shapeshifting engravings on it, so it's the star a symbol of aether? I mean I see it in a lot of places].
"Devils gain their sentience and powers from the insignia, so they try to gain more by consuming or in rare occasions, summon more of their kind".
[That explains the 'catalyzer' name since it makes normal objects sentient, but why does it do that? More importantly, why can it be controlled? too many questions, I'm gonna have to interrogate Sauriel later].
"So is there's a way to dispose or neutralize the insignia?" I look at Sauriel since the bush devil is still staring at me, it is moving towards my direction but Aquamarine is slowing it down by binding it with 'water ropes' and then freezing the water to hold it in place, it only works momentarily because the bush devil just struggles for a few seconds before breaking the ice ropes, it also tries to shoot thorns at me but they fall to the ground before reaching me.
"There are 2 ways in total, You can give it to the corresponding authorities, or you could consume it yourself".
[Comsume it? what do you mean?, do I have to eat it? it's a metal insignia!!! the other option is not any better, giving it to the authorities could mean the police, the military, or whoever is Sauriel's boss is, my guess is god since he's an angel? Ahhh I don't even have the time to worry about that].
I start weighing my options, since both suck, is a matter of which of the two suck less, after some serious thinking, I decide to 'consume it' because it sounds the less tedious of the 2.
[The 'giving to the authorities' will probably require paperwork like before and I just want this to end quickly without bureaucracy getting in the way again, either magical or otherwise].
"How do I consume the insignia?" Sauriel raises his ears, it seems that my decision surprised him enough to look shocked, but you can't blame me, I'm only thinking about the fastest way to get rid of the insignia.
"It works like a glow stick, you need to bend it at least 30 degrees and you will consume its aether via absorption" Sauriel explains in a serious tone, it seems that the insignia is important enough to give me the details.
[A glowstick?, well it is quite the description but I get the idea, so how do I bend it? it too small so I can only fit 2 of my fingers at most, mmm a way to bend tiny stuff, oh I know!!!].
I remember reading somewhere that medal-winner athletes bite their medals to test if the gold in them is real, the idea is that teeth are made of a stronger material than gold so it leaves bite marks, but it doesn't work on modern medals because they are only coated in gold.
I put the insignia up to my mouth and bite into it, then I use all my finger strength with the index and thumb to pull it down, the insignia starts bending slowly.
*POP.
After a bit of effort, it makes a pop sound and it starts glowing and slowly gets warmer.
[It really is like a glowing stick, so Sauriel knew what he was talking about, well it's not like I doubted him].
I say as I stop doubting him.
The medal glows for a few seconds before disintegrating into dust, the dust is colored brown and resembles iron rust, it is quickly blown away with a small breeze, spreading into the ground, I start feeling a bit more energetic, and the warm feeling from earlier grows bigger, I now put 2 and 2 together and believe that the 'warm' is how aether feels like.
[Well ok at least I now have a name for that] Now that I have consumed it, the devils look at me, they seem to be angry at me.
[No wonder since I basically ate their food, or like their source of intelligence, well I need to do the final thing to end that dumb stalemate]
"I still need to make a delivery".
[Ouch my dignity].