For the final time that day, the bell rung, and Jessica headed out of Pristine High together with her friends. The time was three in the afternoon. She considered brushing off her friends to stand by the hoops for an hour or so, but… man, Cassie was just too cute when she pleaded with her eyes like that. She had time for a coffee down at the local café, after all. She sort of felt like she was forgetting something important, or maybe someone, but… Nah.

About an hour or so into their chit-chattering down at Anything Goes Café, Holly joined them, apparently having heard about the meeting from Sabrina, who was currently scarfing down a fancy tart Cassandra had bought her with about as much restraint as she could possibly muster. No matter how hard she tried to come off as a fancy little lady, perfectly fit for Pristine High, her true nature always shone through somehow.

“Yo, take a seat, what took you so long?” Cassandra asked, casually gesturing to the end of the table. Holly quickly grabbed a loose chair and brought it to the end and sat down.

“Couldn’t be fucked to leave my room until a quarter ago. Frankly, it’s a miracle I even left my house. You know my mum, she practically shackled me to the wall,” Holly explained in her usual, somewhat condescending, two-tongued way. Jessica glanced over and stopped talking to Cassie about maybe joining the band someday. They had been needing a few new banjos for a while, but… wait a moment. Jessica glanced around the café, her eyes desperately searching for a clock.

“Um, Holly, what’s the time?” she asked, briefly forgetting that she had a phone in the midst of her suddenly rising wave of panic. Holly squished her eyebrows together before glancing down at her glittering rose-gold watch.

“It’s 16 ‘o clock sharp, why do you ask?” she said, peering up at Jessica, who had grown pale as a lily.

“I, uh, I have to go!” she said, quickly standing up and running out before Cassie could say anything further to entice her to the dark side.

After about ten or so minutes of running like the wind caught in the body of a delinquent teen, she arrived at the meeting place, namely, the hoops. The very normal nothing-odd-about-her girl was leaning against one of the hoops, scrolling through her phone. The shy, mousey girl was sitting a fair ways off, reading some untitled book with focused, hungry eyes.

Jessica approached the pair, coughing loudly to draw their attention. The mousey girl jerked to and glanced up, only to immediately look back down at her book once she noticed it was that delinquent girl from earlier. However, she seemed unable to focus back on her book, as she kept throwing fleeting glances at Jessica. Jessica herself didn’t know quite what to make of this mousey girl. Was she scared or something? Sure, some may say Jessica was part of a scary delinquent gang, and she had gotten into quite a fair bit of fights, but… that didn’t warrant this kind of reaction, however you looked at it.

After finishing reading some post or another, the extraordinarily regular girl put her phone away and focused her attention on Jessica.

“You’re Jessica, right? I thought I’d be meeting Cassandra since she’s the leader of your clique, but… what’s this all about?” she asked, glancing about the schoolyard for any sign of the girl-gang.

“Oh, uh, no, it’s just me. I was going to explain this once we could meet, but, um… that threat was a joke, I just wanted to meet you,” Jessica explained, feeling a bit awkward about the whole situation.

The girl instantly turned as red as a tomato, but it quickly smoothed out into a mild blush.

“You wanted to-, oh, um… sorry, I’m sure you’re very nice, but I don’t swing, well, ‘that way’,” the girl said, looking down at the asphalted courtyard with no little embarrassment.

“I-, what… no! No, that’s not why!!” Jessica denied, her hand waving frantically about like a politician denying weirdly specific accusations.

It was at this time that the mousey girl decided to intervene.

“Um, hi,” she mumbled as she appeared at Jessica’s side without so much as a footstep to betray her arrival.

“Whoa! Hey, you-, don’t do that!” Jessica warned as she flinched away from the silent little assassin-in-the-makings.

“Hiiri, isn’t it?” the normal girl exclaimed at the sight of the little girl, who looked surprised at being recognized. Jessica was also a bit surprised, but at least now she knew the girl’s name. Weird name.

“Hiiri? What kind of fuckin’ name is that?” Jessica asked bashfully, cocking an eyebrow at the quiet girl. Hiiri, in turn, shivered under her burning gaze.

“I-, um, I was born early, so mother and father thought it’d fit…” Hiiri explained, looking down at the ground, unable to meet Jessica’s probing eyes.

“That doesn’t tell me anything, but whatever. I, uh,” Jessica quickly surveyed the empty playground, “I called the two of you for a reason. Hii… Mousey here might know what I’m talking about.” Hiiri blushed before glancing over at the yet-to-be-named girl, who did not meet her gaze.

Jessica turned to the normal girl.

“You see, uh, you remember that thing that happened yesterday? With the big monster? And the… the girl who fought it?” Jessica tried to explain, her face gradually heating up at the impending confession. “Um, that girl was me. Yeah and so, like, earlier today? When I touched Mousey here,” Hiiri flinched at the use of her new “nickname”, “we kind of, I dunno, connected? And I could feel that she, also, had that, I dunno… special something? And-, and then when I saw you, I knew you had it as well?... God this has to sound insane, but… please believe me or I’ll beat you up so you don’t remember this, okay?”

Hiiri didn’t seem too convinced, but she was having trouble deciding whether to run away, stay, or stay and fangirl about actually getting to meet the famed magical girl. In the end, she went with number two. She couldn’t believe anything, she couldn’t hope. If she did, she might show these people who she really was, and she absolutely could not do that. No way in heck!

“I-, I believe you,” Hiiri lied, smiling slightly. She always did smile when she was nervous, but in this situation, it seemed to relieve Jessica of her guard, so… it was actually useful! Hiiri cheered internally. The other girl didn’t seem too convinced.

“Um, if you’re done with your manic delusions, can I just go? I have to get ahead on the English assignment,” she said with a straight face. Daisy really didn’t have time for any of this stupid crap. If Rose found out she hadn’t finished the assignment for next week by the end of the day, she might unfriend her and something, and well… that would be bad. Jessica, the well-known second-in-command of the girl gang in the back of the class, seemed to find what Daisy said absolutely repulsive. But, unable to say anything about it, she locked eyes with the hesitant little Hiiri, and without much warning, she grabbed her hand.

Hiiri, who didn’t seem to have foreseen this, was unable to react, and the second their hands locked together, her shoulders hunched together, and her eyes seemed vacant and distant. Jessica seemed just about to do the same as Hiiri had, but was able to power through with her will alone. If it wasn’t such a strange situation, her resolve might have brought Daisy some semblance of admiration, but now, she didn’t really find it too interesting. She had better places to be, after all.

However, deep in thought as she was, she was unable to notice the trembling, powerful hand that reached out and grabbed onto her hand like a vice. Daisy was only barely able to notice herself holding the hands of the two other girls when she adopted their pose and demeanour: vacant and gone.

Inside…

Fernigus Platos had no clue where he was. Absolutely none. It was an endless, dark space that spooked him a little. Sure, he should be used to the dark by now, especially considering his role as Cult Leader and Superior Cultist of the Cult of Antenora, but… He never had been much good with darkness. Not as a child, not as a teen, and especially not now, when it was all he could see. Above him, below him, on all his sides… darkness, void, emptiness.

He had tried to use his element to light up, but, somehow, it was as if the darkness had simply swallowed his Magick up. Thankfully, as a human, he could simply recover his lost Magick, but it was disheartening nonetheless. So, in the end, he was left just sulking around, listening to that feminine voice that would pop up sometimes speaking a language he couldn’t recognize, trying out his most powerful spells only to watch them fade into nothingness. After a while of that, he actually found it sort of funny. He could cast spells of the highest order, such as Judgement or Needles in the Thousand without much care. It was all just disappearing anyways, and with his near-bottomless pools of Magick, it really didn’t hurt.

“By the Gods above, powerful and true, I ask of thee, grant me thyne power to lend judgement upon those who stand before me! Spears of Behelt!” Fernigus shouted in Demonic, his hands moving at inhuman speeds with impossible dexterity to form floating complex structures of light. Fernigus believed in being prepared for everything, so being able to use both chanting and spell circles was a requirement, especially for a Sorcerer of the High Court such as him. Of course, he would be no match for his deplorable deity of choice, Evil God Antenora, who, according to legend, could cast a hundred different spells all at once. Then again, he was hardly human, so comparing him to mere mortals was nothing less than heresy.

White, brilliantly shining spears materialized from the black nothingness, and despite having received neither a verbal command nor any enemy to shoot at, the “Spears of Behelit” simply shot out into the darkness, travelling at speeds beyond human perception. Fernigus caught up in his musings, failed to notice the darkness ripple and expand. The only thing that made him realize he was no longer alone was the surprised yelp Ramona exclaimed after one of Fernigus’ spears has swooshed past her face, almost taking her life with it.

“H-, hey! Watch the Magick!” she shouted at the man standing in the middle of the darkness with a dumb expression on his face. The man, Fernigus, didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about his quiet time being interrupted, but in the end, he settled on an in-between.

“Greetings fair warrioress, may I ask who you are and how you found yourself in this strange space alongside me?” he asked in an overly formal fashion. Always better to be polite than friendly with people you don’t know.

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The girl, Ramona, didn't seem to share this reasoning.

“You don’t gotta be so formal. What are you, a noble?” she spat out as if the word noble was somehow poisonous. Fernigus was no nobleman by any means, he had never been, but many perceived the status as High Sorcerer to be on the same level as a noble, so he couldn’t exactly deny it.

“He’s a High Sorcerer,” a warrior stated rightfully as he stepped out from the shadows.

“Indeed, I am. And you are?” Fernigus affirmed, turning to look at Kratos.

“I am Kratos Kingshammer, sir, and this is my comrade, Ramona Fairly,” Kratos answered, bowing deeply to the man of higher rank above him. Fernigus nodded, content at the level of respect he was receiving.

“And I am High Sorcerer Fernigus Platos, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Kingshammer,” Fernigus replied, bowing as well. At least, here, there was no annoying little squire to shout at him not to respond in kind to whatever he encountered.

“Sir, you may feel free to call me Kratos, as well as my comrade Ramona,” Kratos said, standing back up. Fernigus nodded once more.

“...Very well. In that case, please, call me Fernigus. In this strange place, I believe there is no need for honorifics,” Fernigus explained, smiling happily. Sure, he liked being a big important sorcery man, but having to be sucked up to/suck up to everyone he met really got old very quickly. And at his age, he really should have been allowed to have a bit more fun.

“I-, uh-, hey! Kratos! You can’t just-, ugh, okay, yeah, I’m Ramona. Nice to meet you?” Ramona weakly objected, walking up closer to Fernigus. Fernigus was a rather old man, with greyish hair and bright, unordinary blue eyes. However, what truly betrayed his position was what he was wearing. A long, extremely well-detailed sorcerer’s robe, made of white silk with details of gold. He carried two spellbooks by his side, and on his hands were a pair of Dejourdices, and despite most of it being covered by a white-and-gold collar, he wore an Enhancing Collar around his throat, which was made of gold with small blue gemstones here and there. On his head, he wore a matching white-and-gold hat, but altogether, he was clearly wearing only the most extraordinary of items.

Kratos followed Ramona suit, and soon the three mismatched characters were standing quite close to each other.

“Am I to assume the two of you have any idea as to where we are?” Fernigus asked in a rather roundabout manner.

“According to Kratos, we’re inside, um, people. Kratos is inside a young teenage girl, and I’m pretty sure I am as well. No idea where you are, but if we follow the pattern, you should be in a teenage girl as well,” Ramona explained, waving to the darkness.

“Oh, I see, that would certainly explain that voice I hear every now and then. Curious… and you know this, how?” Fernigus asked, turning to Kratos.

Kratos explained his experience with fighting the Evil God Antenora in the body of a young girl but failed to notice the fire lighting up in Fernigus’ eyes at the mention of his personal deity of choice.

“So, in short, Evil God Antenora is in this world, as are the three of us? Why?” Fernigus asked. Both Kratos and Ramona shrugged.

“We were in pursuit of him when all of this happened, so that might be why we were brought along,” Ramona theorized.

“You… were in pursuit of him?...” Fernigus asked, trying his very best not to let his contempt and disbelief sneak into his voice. Thankfully, the contempt was able to stay out of it, but his disbelief was clearly present.

“I know it may seem a bit weird, but us and our party, the Randomized Bunch, if you’ve heard of us, witnessed him defeating two other evil gods, not sure which, and in his moment of victory, we attacked. He faltered, so we pursued him into the mountain, where he touched some weird crystal, and that’s when all this happened,” Ramona explained plainly, fully oblivious to the anger rising in Fernigus’ bowels. He couldn’t get mad, that might show his true colours, but… how dare these mere mortals to make an attempt on his master’s life in his moment of weakness! It was an unforgivable sin and had Antenora been a regular God, it wouldn’t have been uncommon for their entire party to receive divine punishment and be erased from the map! But, as it was, Antenora was an Evil God, and although they were recognized for their evil and all that, no nation would bend to the will of his followers to judge those who dare defy him.

Sure, if Fernigus wanted, he could probably end the lives of these unforgivable sinners right here and nobody would be the wiser, but, as it was, they were his only connection to the outside world. And, if what they said was true, ending them might alert those whom they reside in to be wary of him, at the very least. At the most, they might end her the second they figure it out. So, he had no choice but to play along.

But, more than that, these people were still keeping secrets from him. Why had they attacked Evil God Antenora instead of escaping while they could? Why had they been at Nihil Est to begin with? Perhaps, they might know something about where Antenora had been these past couple of months? Fernigus, along with the other High Cultists had been searching feverishly for any trace of him. They had even asked for assistance from the other cults of the Five Evil Gods, and they had received help, but… nothing. That Great Evil God had simply vanished.

Nevertheless, only one thing brought comfort to Fernigus at this time. Wherever this was, Antenora was here. Sure, Farnigus had never been too keen on the whole “give exactly all your Magick and die for the Great God Antenora”, but he had still been a believer. And to be the only one of his followers to follow him to this brave new world… it was an honour, to say the least. It must have been his somewhat close relation to the Evil God that allowed him to come along.

“I see…” Fernigus mumbled, his eyes scanning the surroundings. A clearly feminine voice rung out, and although he didn’t recognize the language it spoke or even the owner of it, he knew it wasn’t the same one he usually heard. And, following this, another voice spoke out, also female, followed by a final third one. The last one was the one he usually heard, but the rest he could not recognize.

“Y’all heard that, right?” Jessica asked into the void.

“Y-, yeah…” Hiiri answered.

“I suppose I misjudged you,” Daisy confessed.

“Those voices we’ve been hearing are talking, and so are we, but… I’m pretty sure I’m not actually talking, right?” Jessica asked the two other.

“Yes, I believe we’re talking telepathically,” Daisy replied, not really believing her own words.

“Who are these people? And how come you both have g-guys?...” Hiiri asked shyly. Daisy didn’t really know how to respond. Sure, she’d been hearing that man’s voice in her head for a while, and it was true that she’d hear him shout something at times and she’d be stuck with a doozy of a headache, but… she’d always just assumed it was just her inner voice goofing around. Somehow…

But, apparently, it was a person. In her head.

“So, if I can ask… Jessica, you said you knew this before. Who are these people?” Daisy asked.

“Well, I’m not really sure myself, but yesterday when I, y’know… did that thing… me and that warrior-sounding-man kind of, I dunno, merged?” Jessica replied, still feeling quite embarrassed about yesterday.

“So, if that’s the case, I should be able to ‘merge’ with the man in my head, and Hiiri should be able to merge with that woman?” Daisy asked rhetorically.

“...I guess?” Jessica said.

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod, you- you’re telling me I can also do a Magical Girl transformation!?!” Hiiri squealed in excitement, taking the two other girls by surprise.

“Whoa! I-, uh, I guess so, Mousey?” Jessica stammered, a bit taken aback by how enthusiastic the quiet girl had suddenly become.

“Oh, I, sorry for that, I-, um… how did you do it?” Hiiri continued.

“I-, what?” Jessica said.

“You know… how did you transform?” Hiiri asked once more.

“Well, that’s a pretty hard question, but… I just kinda touched it, y’know? Him? Like, I reached out, and I think he reached out to me, and then it just… happened? Like, his feelings overwhelmed mine, and before I knew it, I was right in front of its - that thing in the sky’s - face, and in the next moment, I was back on the ground,” Jessica explained. Hiiri nodded enthusiastically, not really minding the whole “my feelings were taken over” part.

“But, considering that we’re right outside the school, I don’t think you should-,” Jessica began, but she simply couldn’t stop Hiiri, who had lustfully reached out towards the cold coolness within her, despite it being together with the warm hotness of whoever Jessica had and the prickly brightness of whoever Daisy had. Jessica, in turn, tried to reach out as well to stop Hiiri, and Daisy, confused and uncertain, did the same, just because everybody else was doing it.

“Is… is this what you were feeling before, Kratos?” Ramona asked, turning to the darkness. She could definitely feel something reaching for her, asking her to join it, calling out for her assistance.

“I-, it is,” Kratos replied, also turning to the darkness. He knew she was feeling it since he was also feeling it. That very same feeling. Fernigus didn’t really know what they were talking about, but… he was pretty sure he could feel it as well. A large, grasping presence. It felt like the weekly ritual, but it was different, much too different.

None of the three said anything, and yet, they all reached out towards the presences. And they grasped and were grasped, they were one, and then they were two, and then they were one again. The darkness recoiled, the light flooded in. The three girls released their hands, staggered, felt their consciousness splitting and merging at once, and then, there they stood.

The only one familiar with her situation was Jessica, and even she felt strange. That frilly red, somewhat armoured dress stuck to her, with the white frills sticking out here and there. She wasn’t carrying any sword, but she was assured that if she reached for it, she would grasp it. The sun was about to set, and upon seeing that familiar light fading, something within her, that other man inside of her, felt a great sense of satisfaction upon seeing this light. This… something. That unbound, fleshless, burning anger that had accompanied her transformation the last time was absent, but it was not because it was gone. It was still there, just not… as pronounced.

Hiiri, for her part, was alternating between disappointment and excitement. She was a magical girl!! But she was hardly wearing a dress at all. It was more like a thick, darkish robe. Her arms were covered by large, loose sleeves, and her head was covered by a dark hood. A black, leather belt was strapped tight around her waist, and underneath it, the robe opened up in frilly folds, showing her fishnet-covered legs and a pair of black boots. If she hadn’t been prepared for something like this, she might have been more embarrassed. But she knew plenty of mangas where the magical girls were barely even dressed at all, so she should at least be happy her upper body was fully covered.

However, when she compared her dress to what Jessica and that other girl were wearing, it was hardly magical girl-esque.

Daisy had never heard of anything like this. Jessica was wearing this weird combination of dress and armour that couldn’t possibly be useful for any sort of actual combat, and Hiiri was wearing some sort of robe that revealed her legs like some sort of stripping-act. And, as for Daisy herself… She was wearing a long robe as well, however, this one actually possessed buttons, which were golden in colour. The robe easily went past her feet, and from within the robe, a cloud-like bundle of golden frills poked out. But, somehow, despite these frills being squished against the dirty ground rather unceremoniously, there remained that dazzling, golden colour. The upper part of this robe was like that of a double-breasted general’s jacket, with the collar being like that of a priest, with the otherwise white band inside of it instead of being that very same golden yellow.

But what truly stood out to her was her mental state. Not only was she remarkably calm despite the situation, but she also felt about forty or so IQ points richer. Her mind was clear, focused and, more noticeable of all, curious. She wanted to know how Jessica felt, how Hiiri felt, why this was all happening, how this worked… she was overcome by a deep, insatiable lust for knowledge, as well as a strange, profound longing for something, no… someone? Someone beyond common knowledge, beyond human, no, mortal being…

She revered something.

She didn’t know what, but there was something out there she desperately, feverishly wanted to behold, to pray to, to give her all to. But she didn’t know what, who.

“Hey, um, you alright?” Hiiri asked, stumbling up to her in her familiar-yet-unfamiliar body. She felt ready to run a marathon, or crawl through an obstacle course, or… anything really. The exceedingly normal girl, on the other hand, was acting very strangely. Staring off into space, not moving a muscle, barely even breathing… Dangerous.

“Huh? Oh, certainly. I’m perfectly lucid, however… how do you feel?” Daisy asked, turning the question right around.

“Huh? Me? Well, um, I feel kind of… strong, I guess? But not like, physically strong, more like I’ve been doing cardio for five years in preparation of the tour de France or something, but… more so, I feel a bit more, what’s the term… slack-jawed, I guess?” Hiiri explained. Jessica, in turn, walked up to the two.

“I feel the same, apart from the slack-jawed part,” Jessica stated. Daisy nodded.

“Oh, right, I believe I may have forgotten to mention my name. I am Daisy Rightheart, and I hope you will forgive my acting distant earlier today, I was unsure of the truth in your words,” Daisy explained. Jessica furrowed her brows.

“Indeed, we are all acting quite different than before. This must be because of our merging with…” Jessica theorized, but quickly found herself stuck on what to call the voices in their heads. Hiiri mulled the unasked question for a moment.

“...I know! Alters!” she proposed in excitement, her face lighting up in a smile.

“...This shift in personality must be because of merging with our… ‘Alters’,” she finished, a bit hesitant about using the word “Alters”.

“This is all very interesting, I must agree, but talking about this here may be less than optimal,” Daisy said rationally, “how about we schedule a meeting tomorrow evening? As I stated earlier, I do have a business to attend to.”

Jessica glanced around, and although it was hardly prime time, there were still people about on the street, and if any one of them were to simply look their way...

“Alright. Tomorrow, we’ll meet at my house by 20, and we will decide on a place to experiment,” Jessica answered. Hiiri nodded.

“So, uh, how do we turn back?” Hiiri asked, touching the course material clinging to her. Jessica furrowed her brows and closed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought, before, suddenly… Poof! In a cloud of red, she was suddenly herself again, the dress, armour and muscle shedded like yesterday’s socks.

“Huh! Okay, uh, just like, release your hold on your… ‘Alter’, and, well, this happens,” Jessica explained, smiling sheepishly. Hiiri seemed a bit reluctant to lose her magical powers but did it nonetheless. Daisy did the same, and soon, the three girls stood alone in the darkness of the courtyard, dazed and somewhat confused.

After a few moments of silence, they created a group chat together, and then, they went their own ways. The time was 18, and Jessica suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to meet up with Adam after school.

She was sure he had gotten home on time anyways, but he hadn’t.