“I didn’t do anything, it was Liara who killed the Yabanchi,” Talia was telling the other girls about their encounter with the Mylock for what felt like the hundredth time. She was trying to not get exasperated from repeating herself since she saw the looks of hope that hearing the story engendered. Really though, she knew that she would be hopeful too if the class cripple and quiet girl could defeat a Yabanchi on their own. There was no other way for her to put it, for most of her life she had been cognizant of her limitations compared to other people, just in this case, people were looking up to her instead of down for once.
"I imagine I could do the same," Belle Noblesse said, stretching with an exaggerated yawn. "Just let me get close with an electric jab and those Yabanchi will die quicker than you can say 'Nice to meet you'."
Talia did not think that it was the right time and place to put Belle down a peg since the blonde bully had not only helped bring her to the shelter earlier, but her confidence was also inspiring their classmates too. When the others saw Talia and Belle working together of all people, then it must have made a powerful statement about cooperating during this time of emergency.
If only Liara were here.
Belle must have had a similar thought since she opened her mouth to remark, "I wonder if Gee Gee is still alive?”
Talia’s ears burned and she would have stood up to get in Belle’s face if she could. As it was, she could only do what she normally did and shift in her wheelchair, turning it to face toward Belle. She was about to give a blistering reply, but Belle looked like Talia felt, lost. The question took on new meaning, as Talia realized that Belle was probably grasping for the old life they had only an hour past, for the time when Liara had been Gee Gee and packs of mean girls stalked the halls instead of monsters.
“Liara is still alive. I know she is.” Talia emphasized her friend’s name and Belle had the good grace to blush. “She and Dr. Holzer are probably already at the administration building and leaving a trail of Yabanchi bodies behind them on top of that.”
The small smile she earned from Belle was quickly demolished by an inhuman scream that sent most of the students cowering. It had a static tinge to it and sounded like a car crash looped into one long noise. Talia would have lost it too, if not for the fact that she realized the electronic scream was coming from outside the building rather than its interior.
That noise made Talia briefly acknowledge the secret that she kept locked in her heart, Liara might very well be dead and they would die soon too. Belle may have just been less adept at keeping her mask on than Talia, but they were thinking the same thing. Of all the people for a golem to materialize to and choose, why did it have to be Liara?
Liara was not the strongest, she was not the quickest, and she was certainly not the smartest, but of them all, she was supposed to be the hero that saved the day? Talia knew that this thought was unproductive and she tried to take it captive and back under lock and key, but a woman’s stern voice cut through her preoccupations and beckoned her.
“Ms. Donnally, if I may have a word.” Ms. Stark was walking from Dr. Holzer’s office and approaching the barricade. Ever since Liara and Dr. Holzer left, she had kept herself locked in there and not left, so it was strange that the sound of that horrendous screeching would be what finally made her come out and join the others.
She must want something, Talia thought, but as she was adept at doing, she did not let that suspicion leak onto her expression. Most of the other girls were huddled in their groups, whispering to one another about classmates they hoped were okay and about the noises from outside. Only Belle Noblesse appeared to pay any mind to Ms. Stark’s arrival, but then she was doing her best to appear like she was still intent on watching the area outside the barricade, though Talia knew the girl would probably eavesdrop on every word they said.
"How may I help you, Ms. Stark?" Talia did not ask anyone to help her get down from the barricade and to Ms. Stark's level. Being the taller person in a conversation was nice for a change. Besides, Talia did not like Ms. Stark. She was pretty sure that she knew Ms. Stark’s type from the various admin workers and executives that worked at her family’s company. Cordial, but all business, to the point that they would not hesitate to plant a knife in your back as long as it was according to procedure.
“Ah, well, I am typing out an after-action report in the office and I needed you to clarify more details about Liara and the event that led to her becoming a Magical Girl.”
“You’re writing a report here? Now?" Belle dropped her pretense of pretending to not be eavesdropping and stared at Ms. Stark. The incredulity in her gaze made the iron-haired woman cough into her hand to break eye contact.
“Why, yes, of course. Just because everything else has fallen apart does not mean that we have to lose our heads with everyone else. Prior proper procedure prevents poor performance after all.” No, Talia was sure of it now, Ms. Stark was the queen of HR busybodies. Yet just because monsters from the void were pouring all over their city did not mean that she had a reason to be rude to the woman.
“I just told the story to the other girls again, but if you would like me to repeat myself, I would not mind,” Talia replied.
“No, I already know about what you’ve told the others, but what I want to know is how you really survived and made it here.”
Talia was taken aback, in part because it took her a moment to process the implication that Ms. Stark was hinting at. Her face flushed Talia had to force herself not to scowl. In a final attempt to let the whole thing go, Talia said, “I’m afraid I don't understand what you're getting at.” Though she full well knew what the crone was saying.
Ms. Stark leaned toward her and spoke in an annoying half-whisper that made it sound like she was trying to be discreet, but in reality, anyone could hear. “I mean, what parts have you made up? Left out?”
It had crossed the line and Talia could not pretend to be ignorant of Ms. Stark essentially calling her a liar. “Excuse me?”
“It’s alright dear, I understand that everything happened so quickly, but every detail is important for us to write down. It is not unheard of for friends to make 'embellishments' for one another. Of all the students to be selected to be Magical Girls, it is a bit unexpected for one of our lowest-ranked students to be chosen. She was probably one of the last that we would have bet on." Ms. Stark's eyes were doing that thing where they looked everywhere except at the person she was talking to, yet when she said the last sentence, she glanced at Talia and hurriedly went back to looking away.
Being a wheelchair-bound person in a society that valued appearance and strength in its young women above all else, Talia was used to slights from other people, intentional or not. Whether it was speaking around her in conversations like she was not there or treating her like she was some helpless damsel, she had learned to stop taking it so personally when she met Liara three years ago.
Though Liara was tall and white-haired, whereas was Talia short with dark hair, the two had hit it off immediately. Most of the things they talked about were not that deep, mostly about video games and books, but when they were together, everything felt calm and alright. Getting Liara to speak about herself or her past was like trying to wring water from a stone, so Talia did most of the talking when they hung out. Talia could tell the white-haired girl all about the million different daily frustrations she experienced, something she would never do with anyone else since they would inevitably want to help in some way that would not make a difference, but it would make them feel better for offering. Liara though, she usually just listened and at the end of one of Talia's rants, commiserated with either a shrug or a "that sucks”, but the most important thing was that she genuinely seemed present and not just another person pretending to care in their own busy lives.
Ms. Stark was not just looking down at Talia, she was looking down at Liara too.
Talia was about to repeat the same thing that almost got Liara expelled last year when a strong hand clamped on her shoulder. Belle Noblesse was not watching the barricade anymore but instead glared at Ms. Stark. A tightening of her hand was a silent message between the two of them that Talia understood without words, ‘don’t do it’. She relaxed and slumped a little back into her chair, waiting for the fireworks.
“I would have thought that Gee Gee’s, excuse me, Liara’s golem would have told you all about what happened Ms. Stark, but maybe that’s not good enough for you.”
“Now, that’s not what I’m saying,” Ms. Stark began, but Belle cut her off.
“Maybe Talia can take us to the spot where it all happened. Maybe seeing the Mylock they killed instead of hiding in that office will convince you that they’re not making things up.”
Ms. Stark bristled and she pointed at Belle’s face, “See here, that is no way to be speaking to an academy faculty member!”
“Shove it, Ms. Stark. You and this ghetto academy will be lucky if I don’t take half the other girls with me when I transfer out of here.” That statement elicited an uncomfortable silence punctuated by only a smattering of hushed whispers from everyone in the shelter. The academy administrative assistant cast a few glances around, but she was surrounded by students and no one seemed like they wanted to get involved anyway.
“This will be recorded in your official record Ms. Noblesse.” Stark heeled around and stalked back to Holzer’s office. She shut the door so hard that the girls next to it jumped in surprise, but just like that, the witch was gone and Talia felt like she could release the breath she was holding. Belle sighed too and she lightly punched Talia’s shoulder, “Whew, I was afraid that banchi would be nagging us all day.”
It was strange having Belle Noblesse of all people lean on her wheelchair like they were best pals. Not only did Talia find it annoying when people did that, but Belle and her had been icy acquaintances at best only an hour ago. Sure, the other girl had helped Liara in carrying Talia up the stairs, but she had also spent the last three years making life miserable for Liara and spreading rumors about Talia. Yet here they were on the barricade, Belle having driven off Ms. Stark for her sake, and seemingly acting like a nice person. Could she have read a person so totally wrong, despite having had years to get to know them?
"What's your game, Belle?"
Belle Noblesse flicked one of her golden locks away from her eye and shrugged, “Game? I’m afraid that I have no idea what you’re talking about Talia.”
“Why are you acting so nice? You started today with a mana blast in Liara’s arm and now you’re manning the barricade and fighting monsters on both sides of it. People don’t just change that quickly.” Belle stopped smirking and stared so intently at Talia that she wondered if the other girl was even going to reply, but when she did, there was none of the unusual sarcasm in her tone.
“I am Belle Noblesse. Noblesse. Do you know what that means Donnally?" Talia did, but she kept her peace and waited for Belle to continue. "My mother is a Magical Girl and her father was a paladin. His mother was a Magical Girl and her mother was too and so on, as far back as the history of the Conglomerate there has always been a Noblesse in Magical Girl service."
“That doesn’t explain it though. If your mother is one of the highest-ranked Magical Girls, then why would you pick on people weaker than you are? Why mess with Liara all these years?"
“I do not pick on the weak, Donnally, I am merely filtering out the unworthy.”
"Oh." Talia suddenly had a sneaking suspicion about where Belle was going, but she did not want to be the one who said it first.
"Honestly, look at yourselves. Liara is an outer world gutter rat, picked up off the streets by the Central Authority, and then there is you," she paused and looked Talia up and down. "The fast food mogul’s daughter.”
Talia’s father was the owner of one of the largest fast-food chains in Apophyllion and beyond. His greasy meat wraps were so popular that they even opened several locations on Windsora with the Queen’s blessing. This of course made the Donnally family incredibly wealthy, so much so that when Talia had applied to Apophyllion Magical Girl Academy, her father had also made a generous donation to their building fund.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“I take it that you’re not a fan of my dad’s Whammy Wraps.” Talia tried defusing Belle with a little humor and it worked a little with the other girl rolling her eyes and leaning against the barricade.
“Whammy Wraps clog your arteries and make you fat, which is exactly my point. Even with my mother’s connections, if I was not as fit as I could be, smart as I could be, and cute as I could be, then I would never have made it into any Magical Girl Academy.”
“Well congratulations, we all made it.”
“No, we didn’t. I have a sister, she’s one year older than me, and she's just as smart, just as cute, and just as athletic, but do you know what she doesn't have?" Talia did not answer except for a shake of the head. "She doesn't have perfect eyesight."
“Why would that be a big deal?”
“Because for most of us here, we have to be perfect to even get a shot at becoming Magical Girls, but you just waved daddy's money around and got a free ticket in, and as for Liara, well, I know for a fact that there is a quota requirement to recruit girls from the outer colonies. So, of course, she slid in; why else would they let her attend here?"
Talia should have felt heated at the shade Belle was casting on her and her best friend, but where Ms. Stark was genuinely looking down at her earlier, Belle was somewhere else. For all her smack talk about Talia and Liara’s backgrounds, there was a deeper meaning to her bitterness, and all these words were but a mean façade hiding the true Belle that only occasionally surfaced.
“It's not like mana users grow on trees you know, and Liara was chosen despite her circumstances, not because of them. She’s a Magical Girl and you're not." Talia said this as much to herself as to Belle and the other girl's face spasmed with the bitter kind of rage that only surfaces when someone strikes too close to the truth. Before Belle could retort, Talia mumbled, “I’m jealous too.”
“I can’t say that you’re totally wrong, Belle. I’ve thought about all the other girls who could be here, how I’m just a waste of space, stealing a spot from others who actually do have a chance of making it, but I also can't say you're totally right. After all, Liara proves that anyone can be chosen."
“Doesn’t it make you mad though?” Belle pointed at Talia and then herself. “That no matter how much you study or I work out, that some outer colony girl can just get chosen out of the blue and made a Magical Girl? Like, where’s the fairness in that?”
Talia laughed and when she saw the annoyed look on Belle’s face, she laughed a little longer than necessary. “That’s why it’s so great. Instead of the Belles of the world running everything, there's a chance that the little guys underneath can get a leg up too.”
“So what, just let chance decide who gets what? Roll a die every time I want to make a decision for the most equitable outcome? That’s stupid.”
“And that’s not what I’m saying. It’s not chance, it's, call it what you want, fate or providence, it's the small window of opportunity that lets a fly take down an elephant. Where even the weakest, smallest thing has a chance for glory."
In the years that Talia had run-ins with Belle, the popular girl always had a look of hidden contempt veiled behind her eyes, yet when Talia had mentioned glory, the once hidden contempt was fully realized.
“Glory? Show me the glory of a Yabanchi killing innocent children. Show me the glory when you stand amidst the bodies of a thousand dead Imps. Show me the glory when they present you your grandmother’s ashes at her funeral.”
Talia wished she could take back her words, though she did not understand why Belle was getting so heated. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I mean, this whole talk was just my way of getting around to thanking you for helping me so much today.”
“Honor dictated it, Donnalley, nothing else. Don’t think that I like you or think that you deserve to become a Magical Girl any more than anyone else just because you have more money to flaunt or excuses for your weakness.”
Belle's acerbic final words put a period at the end of their conversation. Talia bit back the bile of anger and resentment boiling in her chest. Nothing she said would convince the other girl that she was worthy, because deep down, Talia did not think she was worthy either. Whether people looked down on her for what she was, as Ms. Stark did, or if they despised her for what she was not, like Belle, the final perspective that she could not escape was her own.
Weak. Useless. Unwanted.
When Talia was a child, these thoughts had never been so intrusive, her parents and siblings saw to that. Her mother had made a fine household of warmth and thanksgiving, so much so that every child raised there felt accepted and loved. She had been poured into and given a love of reading by a father who took time every night he came home, to sit down with his kids and read them a story. It was on these quiet nights that she first dreamed, where the only noise in the living room was her father’s soft voice as it weaved tales of Magical Girls overcoming the odds and defeating the monsters within and without with the power of hope and love.
There was one particular story that she could have listened to her father tell again and again, of Yula the Brave, the maiden who faced the dark. Yula was a special Magical Girl, in that, like Talia, she was not born perfect. The tale said that she was born with clouded eyes that saw nothing, so she was born from the dark and lived in the dark too. One day, when Yula's village was facing a severe famine, all the parents of the village took their youngest children to the wilderness and left them to die. Though she was the oldest child, Yula was brought too, her blindness a hindrance to her family. The children tried staying in place, waiting for their parents to come back, but when night first fell on all the children who had been left behind, they panicked, all except one.
Yula, being the oldest, comforted the other children and told them of her Little Light. Having been thrust into a world that seemed only black, Yula was familiar with the fear of stepping forward, lest she bump or trip into any and everything. Yet one day, when she needed to cross an unfamiliar part of the village, she was too scared to take a step, but then she saw it, her Little Light. It was a butterfly, dancing like a star on the canvas of her vision's night, and it led her through that unfamiliar path so that she only stumbled twice. Comforted so, Yula led the children through the wilderness for a fortnight. When they were thirsty, her ear caught the sound of babbling brooks and when they hungered, her nose showed her the difference between good berries and bad. Yet on one particularly cold night, where the wind and rain would have finished the children off, it was the Little Light that showed Yula where to find a cave to sleep.
For the others, the pitch-black cave was a sanctuary and they slept immediately, but for Yula, she stayed awake all night. The scrape of something crawling itched her ears, and the scent of something rotting burned her nose. Death was coming, inch by inch, and she would have run from that cave, bolted and gone, had her Little Light not been hovering nearby.
When it finally came, with a silent snap and spring, Yula was ready and jumped too. A bright light shattered the darkness and blinded the Yabanchi Lurker that had been slinking toward the children. Neither stunned by the sudden light nor terrified by the Yabanchi’s sight, Yula clambered on the creature’s neck and clung on, refusing to let go. The Lurker ripped off her ears and chewed on her nose, but Yula held firm, so hard and for so long, that the fiend finally fell to the ground asphyxiated and struggling no more.
The other children had fled from the cave when the light and sight of the Yabanchi woke them up, but with it still raining, they huddled under the trees nearby. When a figure finally emerged from the cave, they were terrified for they did not recognize Yula under the bloody strips of clothing that she had wrapped around her face.
They would have run, had a light not appeared to all of them and spoke. “Be not afraid.” A blue butterfly, shining like a fallen star, appeared on Yula’s shoulder and the girl unwrapped the strips of cloth covering her face. The children recognized her, for her face had been made whole, but they were still shocked since her eyes had changed and new golden irises measured them with serene calm.
“I was blind, but now I see. I’ve been made new and I will protect you. Do not run into the dark, but follow me.”
The story ended soon after that child’s rhyme. Yula led the children back to their home village and they lived happily ever after, but Talia was always more fascinated by Yula’s transformation than the journey. Though she had been young when she first heard her father tell that story, Talia caught the butterfly metaphor right away. From a useless blind girl to a woman with eyes of gold, and all because of the Magical Girl transformation. Talia wanted to be that butterfly, to be remade from old to new. So, she told her father this dream and he laughed as parents do when their children tell fanciful ideas, but as the years went by and when Talia manifested the gift of mana usage, he no longer laughed.
Her parents and siblings bought into her dream too and they encouraged her studies every day, up until she received her academy acceptance letter in the mail. To her family, the dream had been realized, because even if Talia was never chosen to be a Magical Girl, she would at least become a sanctioned Mana user for the Conglomerate or Allied Navy. Yet if she only went that far, then she would never catch the hope that the story of Yula instilled in her all those years ago, the hope a caterpillar has when it attempts metamorphosis and gains its wings. She did not expect Belle, or anyone else who could walk, to understand, they were born with wings, but Talia would show them. For all the other girls out there, who felt as she did, she would show them that anyone could fly.
“Hey, do you see that?” Putting aside their annoyance at one another, Belle nudged Talia and took her out of her reverie. Another girl, a student by the looks of her uniform, was stumbling down the hall towards them. By her red hair and pale features, Talia recognized Cynthia Stoltham right away. When they alerted the other girls behind the barricade, the students dropped a rough, makeshift rope ladder they had made, and several of them worked together to pull the ginger girl up and over.
Talia eyed Cynthia as she was swarmed by the other girls. The white parts of the newcomer’s uniform were almost as red as her hair, the rest also being stained dark by blood. It was so much blood that Talia was shocked that the girl was not missing an arm or a leg. Yet there she stood, mute and staring at nothing as others fluttered around her and asked how she was. Talia felt sorry for the girl; she was probably traumatized. The way Cynthia’s brown eyes just kept darting around, blank and unseeing spoke of some sort of inner turmoil.
Someone must have walked over Talia's grave since a chill licked her neck and made the hairs stand up. Cynthia Stoltham had green eyes, the most beautiful you had ever seen, not brown.
“Get away from her!” But it was too late.
Cynthia's jaw unhinged and she grabbed one of the girls closest to her, a first-year that Talia did not know. Though she was a first year, this would be her last, as Cynthia bit into the middle of the other girl's neck and ripped a chunk of her windpipe out.
Talia waited no more and released the air mana that she was holding. It sprang like a tunnel of wind and knocked several of the other girls over, but more importantly, it drove Cynthia back and against the barricade, holding her there. The seemingly insane girl’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and she spat the piece of meat out. She loosed an inhuman scream that sent even Belle Noblesse backing away, unnerved, but worse so than that, another scream answered.
Their roar heralded their arrival as a Screamer burst through the flimsy barricade and onto the scene. In the ensuing chaos, Talia was knocked to the ground and she lost her hold on the thing wearing Cynthia.
Belle was the first to move, electricity danced on her body and in her eyes, as she ignited her speed current mana art. With that ability paired with a metal chair leg she found on the ground, Belle danced around the Screamer, jabbing it with the broken end of the metal. Wherever the end of the chair leg met flesh, a sizzle and jolt of light signaled that painful electricity was being pulsed into the Yabanchi. The Screamer would thrash at its painful persecutor, massive paws swiping at the air, but only that. Belle was too fast for it and narrowly dodged each swing of its massive arms.
Meanwhile, the Cynthia Thing was back up and lurching towards the other girls. Blank, hungering eyes sized each of them up, but they finally rested on Talia, lying on the floor and seemingly helpless. Not wanting to end up a meal, Talia started to bark out orders to the other girls. “Yolanda, ice the floor under its feet! Jasmine, I need a boulder, start materializing one, now!”
Hearing their names snapped them out of their fright and the senior girls, Yolanda and Jasmine, stepped forward to carry out Talia's commands. With a cold wind tailing it, ice rolled out on the floor like a crawling flood. Cynthia took one step on it and stopped, but a not-too-gentle breeze sent the former human to the floor, sprawled out and gasping for the one crucial second. For it was one second that Jasmine needed to form a boulder larger than her head in the air above them and there it stood, hanging in suspension for that tense moment.
When the boulder dropped, it landed with a sickening crunch. Cynthia spasmed once and went limp while black fluid flowed from under the rock and onto the ice. Yet there was still one Yabanchi left.
Belle was slowing down, either her mana or stamina was not keeping up, but the Screamer seemed like it could keep going forever. Red, painful welts were all over its body from where Belle had shocked it, but nothing was fatal. It must have finally had enough of her since the Screamer stopped trying to attack Belle and leaped toward the group of other girls. The patch of ice on the floor did not impede it and the beast grabbed Yolanda by the arm. Talia heard a crack and Yolanda screamed in an awful mixture of pain and fear as the Screamer dragged the helpless girl toward its gaping maw.
Talia stretched out her hand and caught the Screamer's arm in an air shackle, preventing it from dragging Yolanda closer. It had a moment to stare at its food in confusion until Belle jumped at it once more and jammed her makeshift weapon in its open mouth. If there was a jolt before where the weapon touched its skin, there was a flash now as Belle's electric mana surged and burned out the Screamer's eyes with a final pulse of energy.
Belle fell away from the tumbling Yabanchi and took a knee, trying to catch her breath, but Yolanda fell with the beast, limp and unmoving. Talia crawled over to her classmate and checked her pulse, but nothing was there, the surge of electric mana had passed from the Screamer and into her, causing a cardiac dysrhythmia.
Putting her hands over the pulseless body's chest, Talia sent a small amount of electricity to Yolanda's heart. The senior girl's body twitched every time that Talia tried to jumpstart her heart, but otherwise, there was no sign of life.
“Come on. Come on.” Talia tried again and again, refusing to accept the reality of the situation. When she felt like she was about to pass out with the last surge of mana, Yolanda’s eyes shot open and she took a breath. After checking to make sure that Yolanda would not pass back out again, Talia turned to Belle with a scowl.
"You almost killed her with that stunt," Talia started to begin to berate Belle, but she stopped mid-rant.
Belle’s eyes were wide open, her mouth hung slack jaw. The blonde girl went limp, the same as Yolanda had done, but when Talia went to check her pulse, it was not only present, but it was strong. Talia shook Belle, saying her name, and after a moment Belle woke up. She smiled, but not at Talia.
“Finally, you showed up.” Talia looked behind her shoulder to see who Belle was speaking to and gasped. A snow-white cat was hanging mid-air, curled like she was sleeping, but by the electric glow of the one eye that it had cracked open to stare at them, it was unmistakable as to what it was. A golem. And if Belle had a golem then that meant one thing.
Belle Noblesse had become a Magical Girl.