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Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 1: Temptation

I was enthralled as I looked up at the sky.

Dozens of meters in the air above the park, the beautiful and valiant figures of the Tres Magia and their partners were fighting and pushing further up a giant mechanical wasp with its face covered by a white mask.

Everyone was scared when that Digital Monster from Enormeeta appeared. Still, as always, the Tres Magia arrived before anyone got seriously hurt, and swiftly pushed it away, letting everyone enjoy the spectacle.

The giant wasp shot a laser from its mechanical sting, but it was parried and destroyed by Magia Magenta’s spear, leaving it open for her partner, Nefertimon, to swing its great wings and shoot her own hot laser back from the snake in her mask.

The monster, continuing to show that what it lacks in power, it makes up for in agility, reacted at the last second to get out of the way. But that led it into the ring of fireballs sent by the purple nine-tailed fox, Youkomon, running through the skies. Completely surrounded, it fell into a moment of confusion.

A moment that was all that was needed for her partner, Magia Azul, to get at it from above, accompanied by Magia Sulfur. Ice sword high, she swung sideways, but the wasp managed to redirect its stinger just fast enough to shoot at Azul at the last possible second.

Not like it mattered, as Sulfur created a shield right in front of the stinger, absorbing the impact entirely. And in the following second, Azul’s sword cut through its side.

The cut was shallow, in recognition of its sturdy metallic body, but that didn’t stop her magic from freezing its side, including the base of its left wing.

Unable to fly properly with a single wing, it started to plummet to the ground, the fireballs around its body moving to assault its stinger, melting it. And for its even greater misfortune, what it found on its fall was not solid and hard ground, but something much worse.

Standing over one of Sulfur’s shields, right below the monster, was her partner, the enormous mass of beastly muscles of Leomon. Her punch met the plummeting wasp right on the torso, the impact pretty much making it explode into pieces.

The rest of the body started to disintegrate, never reaching the ground. In its place, an egg started to generate by gathering all the Data from the fragments of its body.

Once Magia Magenta grabbed the egg, the battle was over.  The Digital Monster they fought was fast, but couldn’t even get a hit on them, overwhelmed by their teamwork.

Everyone around the park cheered, having enjoyed watching the fight and thanking the Tres Magia for protecting us all. Including me.

They are so cute, so cool, fighting side by side with their Digimon companions... Normal girls who have been chosen to transform into Magical Girls, and choose to fight for the good of others... Protecting the peace with smiles on their faces...

They are all awe-inspiring!

“...Ahhh, I love them so much. I wish I could be like them...”

...But... It felt as if something was missing.

They did fantastically, so it felt... Like it was too easy.

They didn’t struggle, nor did they get hurt. They didn’t even need to persevere to beat the villain; they overwhelmed it.

I’m happy they got out of that fight safe, but... 

...I wonder why I feel like this.

Taking my mind out of that question, with the fight done and saved on my phone, I put it back in my bag and moved to the vending machine I was going to in the first place.

“Grape juice... Grape juice... There.” After introducing the money, I pressed the button for my drink.

And the electronic display screen of the machine turned completely black.

“...Eh?” ...Did... Did it break...?

‘Bip’ ‘Bip’ ‘Bip’

With tiny sounds, letters started to appear on the screen. White, pixelated letters, quickly forming words.

‘Do you desire to transform into your ideal self?’

I stood shocked for a moment, as the words finished appearing, with two ‘Buttons’ below, one light blue and green saying ‘Yes’, and one red and orange saying ‘No’.

“What... is this...?” I’m... Very sure this is not something common with vending machines. Was it hacked? “Is this some sort of prank...?”

Something very weird is going on, and it’s raising alarms in my brain. It was telling me to ignore this and get away. Hacking in public spaces tends to involve Evil Organizations. There are too many horror stories around the world that started with things like this.

...And still, one word on the screen couldn’t leave my mind.

“...Transform...?” Transform. Transformation. Same as the Magical Girls.

Who... Wouldn’t want to?

I want to say ‘Yes’, but the strangeness of the situation stopped my hand. This looked dangerous...

...But... Thinking about it... “It should be fine... Right?”

There is no way an Evil Organization would pull off something right below where the Tres Magia had been fighting moments ago; they could come back and deal with the situation in seconds.

And Enormeeta isn’t the type to do things like this.

“Yes... That’s right.” The Tres Magia are here, I don’t have to worry.

And there are also a few stories of Digimon lost in our world doing weird things, and eventually meeting a Human they end up partnering with, turning her into a...

Which means... That there is no danger if I press ‘Yes’. 

I raised my hand and looked at the button in front of me.

“And... If I do...” Maybe... Just maybe... I would be able to...

I pressed the ‘Yes’ button, ignoring the alarms in my brain shouting that this was a bad idea. And then...

...Nothing happened.

The screen of the vending machine returned to normal, and with a ‘Thunk’ sound, the can of grape juice I ordered fell.

“Sigh... Just a prank...” I sighed and reached down to pick up the can, but before I could open it, something caught my attention.

‘Brrrrr’ ‘Brrrrr’

My phone inside my schoolbag started to ring. I hurried to pick it up in case it was a call from Mom, but what the screen showed just left me confused.

On the screen of my phone was a new, unnamed application opening. And inside it, the image of a black and purple, twitching, pixelated egg.

I watched, confused and scared of the idea that my phone had been hacked, as the egg started to crack open.

___________________________________________________

As the weekend arrived, I started the day opening my phone as it started to vibrate, calling for my attention, and checking on the new, unknown application. The one that refuses to get uninstalled, no matter how much I try.

Inside, there was a small and pixelated slime-like creature with a yellow body, a wide mouth, and red eyes. It looked sideways nervously, but the small ‘Hunger’ bar on the side made it clear what it wanted.

Pressing a button, a piece of meat larger than the creature dropped from over the screen. The small creature... The small Digimon slowly crawled to it... And hid behind it, occasionally poking its 'head’ out to look at me, before it started eating.

“Fufu.” I let a small laugh out. It was cute.

Looking at the name at the top of the screen, I wondered once again why this application was installed on my phone. But that thought left my mind the moment I decided I didn’t want to think of all the possible bad scenarios of it.

And... Of the possibility that existed if I continued caring for this little one.

“Eat well, Zurumon... Uh?” I affectionately looked at the screen, before getting confused as the screen turned black, everything disappearing with the sole exception of the tiny Digimon.

Its tiny body started to shine, the glow steadily growing brighter and brighter, until it was just a white blob. And in a moment, it changed.

The screen returned to normal, but the name on the top had changed, and the small, slime-like creature had changed into a slightly bigger purple ball with similarly nervous red eyes, but with a smaller mouth and ‘Wings’ on top.

It made a quick jump of happiness, before looking away again, embarrassed, and hiding behind the half-eaten meat. 

“...Eat well... Pagumon?”

___________________________________________________

As I walked back from school, I wondered when the next time I would get to see the Tres Magia would be.

It hasn’t even been a week since the last of Enormeeta’s attacks, so they probably will not appear until a small crime happens and they are close enough to notice in time, or until the fan meeting of the next weekend... For which I failed to get a ticket.

‘Sigh’

“I wanted to go...” Unfortunately for me, they came in a raffle. But at least I got the consolation prize of a Tres Magia clock. Free merch is free merch.

‘Brrrrr’ ‘Brrrrr’

“Uh? Time to eat?” I looked down at my bag and my little electronic companion inside.

Lately, this has made me remember the stories Mom told me about the Tamagotchis and other virtual pets she and her friends had as kids. Makes me wonder if this app is just one created and distributed by someone with too much free time, and not wanting to do things the normal way.

I stopped for a moment and walked to the side of a grocery store before pulling out my phone. Turning it on and entering the app to feed my little friend, I stop for a moment, confused.

The name on top had changed once again, and the small Digimon on the screen... Was not there. The screen had just the normal background of the app.

...Before closing on its own, the app uninstalling itself.

“Wha- What just happened?!” Where is-!

‘Utena...’

My breathing stops as I hear an unknown voice calling out my name. It was small and low, sounding slightly like a scared girl.

Looking at the source of the voice, my eyes fell on an alleyway a few steps away. After a quick look at it, I wanted to ignore the voice, act as if I didn’t hear it, or that it was my imagination.

‘Utena... Over here...’

Unfortunately, the voice called out again. I couldn’t act as if I didn’t hear it anymore. And...

I took my first step into the dark alleyway.

...I still can’t discard the possibility I saw days ago... Nor what just happened to my little ‘pet’.

Taking my second step, I started walking deeper into the alleyway. Looking nervously to either side, as if something or someone were about to jump at me at any moment.

“This... This was a bad idea...” I want to go home. This is stupid and dangerous. Why am I even doing it?

But still, I continued forward, step after step, consuming the little courage I had. Until I was almost ready to turn back and run home.

‘Kreeeeeeq’

That is, until a door on the side slowly, noisily, opened on its own. Which was the point at which I planted my feet and started to turn to make a run back home.

‘Over there... Utena... Inside...’

The voice came from right behind me. Whoever she was, she had somehow gotten behind me.

At this point, I was too scared to run away, my legs trembling as I forced them to step forward.

Why did I follow a mysterious voice into a dark alleyway?! Am I stupid?! ...Well, yes, I am, but this is too much even for me!

I tried to gulp down my nerves and not develop into full-blown panic as the door closed behind me.

I was in a warehouse, rows of shelves full of boxes covered the entire place. They stacked so high that I could barely distinguish what was on the top. Large windows on top, letting natural light in. It was on the large side for one in the middle of the city.

‘Utena... Turn around... It’s me...’

The voice came from the closed door. I slowly turned around, fearing who or what I would find. But what I found... Was nothing.

There was nobody in front of the door... Or at least, nobody when I first looked.

From thin air, something started to appear. A blue, phantasmagoric presence phased into existence. 

A ghostly figure with no lower body and two large, thick arms. Its head was covered by a large, pointy hat that appeared to be part of its body, and its neck was surrounded by dark purple fur. A large, sewn-shut mouth rested below 2 empty sockets.

I froze, my body trembling under its gaze, under the small lights coming from the depths of those empty sockets. The blue ghostly flames coming out of its body crackling intimidatingly. 

And most of all, it looked...

...Nervous...?

The ghost was fidgeting, looking nervously to the side... It looked a bit scared...

The ghost was... Ghost... Ghost...?

“Pagu... Ghostmon?” The last name that appeared in the app before it uninstalled itself came to mind.

“Y-Yes, it-it’s me...” The ghost answered with the same voice as before, starting to swing her arms wildly in a clear state of panic. “What-What do I do?! I-I was suddenly thrown out of the phone and told to bring you to a quiet place!”

“...Eh? H-How should I know?!” She was kicked out of my phone?! “Wouldn’t you normally be the one to know what is happening and explain it to me?!”

This isn’t how it’s supposed to go, isn’t it?!

“W-What do you mean normally?!” She grabbed me by the shoulders in panic. “I-I was born less than a week ago! I have no idea what is going on!”

“I-I don’t know either!” I held her shoulders back before I realized I was trying to hold a ghost made of blue fire. It was somehow no problem. “C-Calm down! We can figure it out!”

“Looks like you two are already getting along.” 

We both twisted our necks so fast we almost broke them at the voice that suddenly reverberated through the warehouse.

Floating in front of us was a strange little creature floating in mid-air. It had a black body that appeared to be made of cloth, with a small smiling face with yellow eyes and mouth, and big pointy animal(?) ears. Its hands ended in oversized sleeves that dangled freely in front of it, and its tail was a 4-pointed yellow star.

This... This is...!

“One of the Magical Girl Mascots! A Satellite!” It’s the real thing!!! I have never seen one in person before!!!

“So you know about us. That makes things faster.” It said with its strangely both enthusiastic and empty voice, a small smile on its face. “Do you want to try transforming then?”

If a Mascot is here, that means that...!!!

Is-Is this really happening?!

“Wa-Wait a minute! This is too sudden! Why-?!” I could barely let out as my whole body trembled, releasing Ghostmon and swinging my hands wildly. “We-We have barely just met!”

“E-Eh?! Who’s this thing?!” Ghostmon panicked on my side. “Is it good?! Is it bad?!”

“My name’s Venalita. It’s a pleasure.” It said with its unchanging smile.

“Eh?! Doctor Venalita?!” The head researcher?!

Is this real?!

Is this really happening?!

Me, of all people?!

“Hiiragi Utena!” It took a yellow metal star from its pocket, which started floating towards me. “You have been chosen... For the power that dwells within you!”

“Huuuuh?!” The star came closer and closer, starting to shine and sending strange waves of energy through my body.

Once the star touched my chest, the world was surrounded in light, and I felt my body become light and free, released from the weight of gravity and the clothes around it. It felt as if both me and Ghostmon were floating in space.

“No way...” I could feel as if gloves slipped... No, were created as they pulled up my arm. A surprising and strange sensation like nothing I have ever felt before. And they were followed by some puffy sleep on my shoulders and something wrapping around my waist.

“W-What is-!” Besides me, Ghostmon’s body started to glow, covered in a purple light.

“No way...” I could feel as if gloves slipped... No, were created as they pulled up my arm. A surprising and strange sensation like nothing I have ever felt before. And they were followed by some puffy sleep on my shoulders and something wrapping around my waist.

“-Happening?!” Her body started to grow taller and take on a more humanoid shape.

“I never thought...” The feeling came back again, as I felt pants appearing around my legs, made of some strong and flexible material, alongside a pair of heeled shoes.

“It feels...!” Legs suddenly burst from the bottom of her body, creating a perfect human silhouette.

“That I would get to transform...!” I felt a long and floaty skirt be created around my hips, its material so soft that it felt like being embraced by a cloud.

“Good!” Her body expanded and shrank in all the right places, as her hat became even bigger.

“Into a Magical... Uh?” A slight pull as something grew on the back of my waist, which I assume is a ribbon. And then, I remembered something. Something that I would have preferred not to have remembered at all.

“Ghostmon Evolves to...!” A large staff grew out of her hand, and the figure of a long dress started to wrap and spiral around her body.

“That... That was a yellow star...” Something grew from the yellow star, now clipped above my chest, and the weight of some type of big hair accessory made itself known in my head. 

A... A yellow star... Isn’t a yellow star a...?

“BlackWitchmon!” With a swing of her staff, the light covering her body started to dissipate, revealing her now beautiful face, accentuated by dark makeup with bright golden lines sprouting from her left eye. Her dark purple dress spiraled around her body, with a layered cape covering her left side and held in place by a golden star. A ‘Click’ sound reached my ears as her new heeled boots touched the ground, and the rattling of golden chains growing from her hat and staff resounded in the room.

My mind was a blur of the emotion from being chosen, and of growing panic as I realized something important. The lights around us expanded and covered the entire warehouse before disappearing.

All around us, every part of the floor, the walls, the roofs, every surface of every shelf, had been covered by what I can only describe as ‘glitch-like’ digital patterns in various tones of purple.

“W-What is this?!” I looked around, disconcerted. “Why is everything so...?!”

“U-Utena, I got a bad feeling about this!” BlackWitchmon started to freak out, looking everywhere. “I-I’m not sure why, but I can feel that the world should NOT be like this!”

“Is-Is it that bad?!” What does she mean by ‘World’?! What did just happen?!

“This is a Digital Shift. Leaving aside unnecessary details, this is your ‘Domain’. It’s pretty handy, you know?” Venalita said with its constant upbeat voice and unchanging smile.

“A- A ‘Digital Shift’?! ‘Domain’?! What are-?!” I took a step back, looking down at the digital patches below my feet, and I could finally take a look at my new Magical Girl outfit.

“...Huh?” The image right in front of me was nothing like I hoped.

“I-I think it’s right...!” BlackWitchmon talked as she looked around, but what had caught my attention didn’t let me pay attention to her. “I can feel this place empowering us...!”

A cold breeze touches my skin as I look down and see my breasts almost completely exposed, my nipples barely covered by star-shaped pasties. A corset sat just below them, one so short that it ended above my navel, followed by leather pants that hung barely high enough to hide my most private part.

“W-Wah-?!” I quickly tried to cover myself, my hands not doing much to hide anything in this very exposed outfit. My flailing only managed to let me see my now purple nails, and a pair of bat wings growing out of my waist. On the corner of my vision, the tips of the horns coming out of my head made themselves evident.

“U-Uhm... Wh-What’s this outfit?” My voice was trembling. The sensation of exposure was too much. If someone saw me like this...!

“Good. It suits you nicely.” The Mascot... Venalita, said with a sincere and appreciative tone.

“A-Agreed!” BlackWitchmon, now dressed in a large layered back dress that didn’t cover her right arm... And half of her right breast, said. She sounded both happy and confused, and was trying to calm me down. “It-It exposes quite a bit, but it looks good!”

It looking good is the last of my problems right now!

I didn’t notice before because of my panic from the situation, but... Venalita brought out a Yellow Star. Not a Transformation Heart, but a Transformation Star. I have a YELLOW STAR attached to my neck!

That... That is...!

“Okay, but... Uh... I don’t really look like a Magical Girl...” Please... Please don’t be what I think it is...!

“Of course you don’t!” It started floating closer to my face. “Why would you?”

He was getting uncomfortably close, and alarms started to sound in my brain. They were shouting at me to run. To get help before it’s too late.

“Your destiny is to use your powers...” Its face was right against mine, looking down at me. “As a Witch of the Evil Organization Enormeeta.”

“...What?” I froze, faced with such a horrible and life-destroying statement from this supposedly agent of good. With my thoughts a mess and falling into full-blown panic, my instincts that wanted me to get out of here were the ones that moved my mouth. “Oh... Ohhhh... I see... Then, uh... Sorry, I quit...”

“Really? What a shame.” It didn’t sound even a bit let down or worried.

“Uh, sorry...” My legs drove me to walk again, as my brain started to catch up on what was happening. “Anyways, I’ll get going now.”

“Ah... Me too.” BlackWitchmon said beside me, before floating after me. “I... Don’t like the sound of an ‘Evil’ Organization, so... I don’t wanna get involved...”

She quickly caught up to me. Somehow, I could feel how she was getting increasingly scared of Venalita and wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

We have to get out of here before something really bad happens. No matter how I look at this, I have stumbled into a really dangerous situation!

“Then I guess this video of you transforming...” I took a glance back at those words, and saw it take a phone out of its sleeve. “...Is going straight into social media, for all of our 200.000 followers.”

The screen showed a video of me transforming and Ghostmon evolving, inside a post on Twitter under the quote ‘I saw a Witch from an Evil Organization transform. Please share and RT.’. It was just one click away from being posted.

“Stop! Stopstopstopstopstop stoooooop!” If this gets out, my life is over! “That’s so messed up! Aren’t you supposed to be one of the good guys?!”

“W-Wait, don’t those Magical Girls hunt Digimon from Evil Organizations?!” BlackWitchmon panicked beside me, firmly grabbing my shoulder. “I’ll get killed! Monster!”

“Duh, I deserted, I’m with the bad guys now.” My body was shaking more and more the further this was pushed. “Feel like joining us now?”

“Do I have to?!” This... This can’t be happening!!! 

“I-I don’t wanna! Why do I have to go through this just days after being born?!” She hugged me in panic, her legs spread on the ground as she was way taller than me. She had tears in her eyes.

Is this how evil organizations recruit members?!

You either refuse and the world will think you are one of them, or actually join them so the world doesn’t know?!

Wh-What am I gonna do?!

I held BlackWitchmon’s trembling hands with my own to try to calm down. But it felt like our mutual panic was making us panic even more.

“Hold it right there, Enormeeta Villains!” A very familiar voice came from above. One that I would never mistake for any other. “I knew I felt your negative magic close!”

Magia Magenta was floating by the roof of the warehouse, her spear pointed at us. Behind her, the rest of Tres Magia were quickly entering through an open window, standing beside her.

“Dammit, already turned this place to their Domain!” Magia Sulfur looked around, annoyed. “Dat means ‘ere is a...!”

“Wait, that is...!” Youkomon exclaimed from the back, surprise clear in her voice. “Doctor Venalita!”

““The Traitor?!”” Magia Azul and Leomon exclaimed at the same time, the latter continuing with her deep and gruff voice. “Well, that’s perfect! I’ll beat it up and drag it back with Cosmos!”

“And that’s a Witch with a partner!” Nefertimon landed on top of one of the shelves, digging her claws into it, as the cold, empty eyes of the steel mask it wore dug into me, sending shivers down my spine, regardless of how beautiful the mask was. “Everyone, be careful! She could do anything!”

“Wa-wahwahwahwah!” I started to look and swing around wildly in a full-blown panic, and felt a panicked pair of hands hug tightly my waist.

T-This is bad! They think I’m a Witch!!! My life will be ruined!!!

“P-Please, help me!” I reached out in the middle of a full-blown panic. “I was forced to Transform! I’m not a Witch!”

“S-Same with me! I’m a witch, but not a ‘Witch’ witch!” She released me and started to wildly flail her arms, clearly scared. “I-I don’t even know what is going on!”

Save us, Tres Magia!!!

The floating mascot turned to me, its never-changing eyes clearly saying ‘I’ll post it, and your life will be ruined’.

“Wait, really?!” Magenta looked down at us, surprised, clearly listening to our words. That sent hope into my and BlackWitchmon’s hearts.

“Oh, please, yah gonna fall for dat?” Sulfur said to Magenta reproachfully, clearly making her doubt. Those words felt like a kick in the gut.

“We should never believe the words of a Witch.” Youkomon commented on the side, adopting a defensive posture as her tails started to create fireballs.

“I agree with Youkomon, it must be a trick.” Azul added and met Magenta’s eyes. It was clear that she was going to trust her friends.

“O-oh, I see...” Magenta responded as she looked at her friends of Tres Magia, and then back down at us, determination in her eyes.

“They- They don’t believe us!” My legs started to tremble as I brought my hands to my chest, as if that could slow down my racing heart. I could feel the tears starting to form in my eyes.

“I-I don’t wanna die!” BlackWitchmon was already crying. I could somehow feel in my heart the fear she was under now, sure that she was about to die.

“Oof, sucks to be you.” Venalita said with its carefree voice and face, a part of me felt that it was laughing at me.

“Hum! You can’t fool us with your fake tears!” Leomon roared, and then pounced at us as a beastly missile, arm back ready to swing. “Keep still and it won’t hurt too much!”

“Wahwahwah...!” “Wahwahwah...!” Me and BlackWitchmon hugged each other as she roared, and the attack came at us. I was about to push us aside, but I was frozen in place as I saw the staff be raised, pointing at Leomon. “Nefarious Binding!”

Chains quickly exploded from the back of her staff, rushing against a Leomon that, in the middle of a pounce, couldn’t even try to avoid them. She tried to punch and kick them away, but was overwhelmed and trapped, forcefully clashing against the ground at BlackWitchmon’s feet... As a sphere of black and purple energy created on the other end of the staff descended towards her.

“Agony Shock!” BlackWitchmon shouted as she smashed the magic against Leomon’s back, starting the swing even before the target clashed.

The exchange started and ended so fast that Sulfur barely managed to raise her arm, too late to create a shield to protect her partner.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Leomon’s cries of pain reverberated through the warehouse. 

One could FEEL the amount of pain she must be going through just by listening to her scream. It made my skin crawl, and my body grow hot. And somehow, the pain must have been much worse.

As the scream ended, Leomon’s hands fell to the ground, twitching in shock. A sepulchral silence fell over everyone, probably for a different motive for everyone. 

In my panic, I couldn’t stop myself from breaking the silence.

“W-Why did you do that?! Now they have a reason to attack us!” I grabbed her hand and ran away. I could swear it almost felt like I was flying as I escaped. “Run!!!”

“I-I’m sorry!” She took flight on her own, catching up to me... And dragging Leomon with us. “I panicked!”

“...Ah’ll turn yer teeth upside down!!!” Sulfur roared even louder than Leomon, shouting a terrifying threat that I would have never expected of her.

“They are trying to kidnap Leomon! Catch them!” Magenta shouted, and everyone got into pursuit.

“Kidna- Why are you bringing Leomon?!” Just throw her back! This will only make them more furious! And it’ll slow us down!

“I-I tied her too tightly and haphazardly!” She shouted with tears running down her face. “I’m trying to undo the knot, but I can’t!”

Is Leomon a bunch of Christmas lights?!

“Stop right there, Enormeeta!” “You can’t escape! Homuradama” Following Azul’s and Youkomon’s shout, the temperature of the room quickly dropped and rose at the same time.

Oh god, I know what’s coming!

“Jump!” I jumped as high as possible, dragging BlackWitchmon with me. And to my surprise, I didn’t simply jump higher than expected... I was actually flying, the demonic wings on my back extending several times.

And as expected, right where we were just a moment ago, two ice swords stabbed into the ground, freezing solid the entire area around.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t feel happy about it, as I had no idea how to evade the next one.

Nine balls of fire rushed towards us, changing direction in the air to pursue us like tracking missiles. Youkomon’s attacks aren’t strong, but they always hit their target!

“Raaah!” That is, until BlackWitchmon roared as she swung her staff, destroying the fireballs using Leomon’s body, causing grunts of pain to come from the fortunately alive lion.

“Heh...!” “Heh...!” We both let out a small laugh and smiled at that. I guess the fireballs DID hit a target.

The swinging Leomon didn’t stop there, though, crashing against the shelves on the side and tearing through towards the next. The impact made all the shelves around and their contents fall over the Tres Magia, slowing them down and causing them to release grunts of pain.

“Those fuckers! When ah get mah hand on ‘em!!!” I decided that Sulfur’s ire was our signal to get away, and started flying towards the windows on the other extreme of the warehouse with a giddy feeling in my chest.

As we did, Venalita appeared beside us. It was holding a small... Rod? With a yellow star at the end, and offering it to me.

“Here, this is your weapon, the Frustrino Dominanza.” It talked with the same tone and smile as before, as if this situation meant nothing to it.

“A weapon...?!” Any doubt in my mind was overwritten by the sheer panic I was feeling, so I hurriedly grabbed it. It was light and stretchy. It didn’t feel like a weapon at all.

If you were going to cause all of this, at least give me the weapon earlier.

“Just hit an object with it. Maybe some tubes or cables?” To my unpleasant surprise, Venalita quickly disappeared into a black portal, leaving us to our luck.

“I-In front!” And our misfortune did not end there. “The windows are...!”

As we almost reached the windows, I saw that they were now covered in bright, yellow translucent panels. Sulfur Shields.

“Wahwah-!” Unable to stop in time, I clashed face-first against the shield, my almost non-existent concentration over my flight cut short.

“G-Got you!” I plummeted towards the ground, but thankfully, BlackWitchmon, who saw the shields earlier, caught me before I crashed against the ground.

But by the time I recovered my equilibrium and looked back, we were already surrounded by the Tres Magia.

“Uh...! This is not good!” We are between the sword and the wall...!

“Yah don’t know even dah half of it...!” Sulfur sounded and looked REALLY pissed off, cracking her knuckles. “Ah’ll turn yah inside out for what yah did tah Leomon!”

“If you surrender, it won’t have to go that far!” Magenta spoke, getting a look of annoyance from Sulfur. “De-Transform and De-Evolve, surrender your Transformation Star, and we’ll just hand you over to the police and Cosmos!”

That would get me a criminal record for terrorism! There’s no way I’ll let that happen!

A quick look at BlackWitchmon showed that, although she didn’t get exactly what this would mean, she also had no intention of surrendering.

In that case...!

I strengthened the grip on the ‘weapon’ in my hand, a riding crop, remembering Venalita’s words, and tried to find anything useful in the surroundings. And fortunately, right behind us, was the fuse box of the warehouse.

“This- This better do something!” I swung my riding crop at the fuse box, feeling as if something left my body as I hit it.

‘Brrrr!’

A dark purple light emerged from it, and the warehouse started to shake, startling everyone.

“Be on guard! She just did something bi-!” Nefertimon shouted, but she didn’t get to finish her words before it happened.

The ground and wall broke apart as oversized cables tore through, rushing towards the Tres Magia in waves.

The attack was so sudden that none of them had a chance to react in time, getting captured and wrapped by dozens of twisting copper cables. Though the Digimon, which were a bit further behind over the shelves, managed to barely jump back in time.

The cables continued coming out and folding on themselves, forming into an enormous and monstrous figure. It let out a loud roar as it finished forming itself.

“Ugh!” “Ah~!” “Dammit...!” Magenta, Azul, and Sulfur were wrapped in the cables, trying to fight back but completely immobilized and strangled. But that didn’t stop the cables from visibly straining, and the ones surrounding Azul from starting to freeze.

“Ah’ll tore this dam- RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” There was a bright light, as the Tres Magia shone from a powerful electrical current running through them, making them release screams of pain.

But it lasted for just a moment. Once it finished, their bodies went limp, twitching painfully. Their eyes still showed the determination to fight, but their bodies wouldn’t respond. Even Azul stopped releasing freezing magic.

“RELEASE THEM!” “Get your hands off them!” Youkomon and Nefertimon roared, before stepping forward as their tails and mask started to light up... But they stopped at hearing Leomon’s grunt of pain.

“You two won’t move!” BlackWitchmon’s words kept the two at bay, as her heel dug and twisted into Leomon’s back, causing grunts of pain to be released one after another. Her staff was pointing down, another sphere of dark energy just centimeters away from Leomon’s head. “If you do, she’ll be the one to pay for it~.”

“Ugh...! Damn Witches!” “How... Did it end like this?!” Youkomon and Nefertimon cursed. But stepped back, the power disappearing from their tails and mask.

“We-We did it!” A sense of satisfaction and accomplishment filled my body at the sight in front of me. We managed to-!

...Uh? W-Wait a sec...

Why... Am I happy?

I’m hurting the Magical Girls I love... She’s using Leomon as a hostage...

S-Something is wrong with me...!

I cover my mouth with my hand, trying to hide the smile that inexplicably grew on my face as it grew hotter and hotter, and lowered the other between my legs, trying to calm the strange and funny feeling I was getting.

Besides me, BlackWitchmon’s face was smiling from ear to ear, her face growing red, and I could feel confused joy irradiating from her. I could feel her growing stronger.

Why... Do I feel like this...?!

“Utena?” Venalita’s voice sounded beside me as barely a whisper. A quick look to my side showed the mascot floating beside me, its smile never changing.

“Ah-! T-This is good enough, right?!” Fortunately, being taken out of my thoughts of this strange feeling, I pretty much begged Venalita. “Can I stop now?!”

“What’re you talking about?” It spoke as if I had something very dumb, its face getting closer and closer to mine, making me flinch. “It’s time for you to get there yourself, don’tcha think?”

“...Huh?” Wh-What does it mean by getting there? It sounds bad... “Um... Sorry, I don’t... Think I can do that...”

Rather than answering, it simply took out the phone from its pocket, showing the post with the video about to be sent.

“G-Gaaaah! Stop!” Is this the devil?!

“G-Guuuuh! I-I can’t move a muscle!” Sulfur groaned, frustration deep in her voice, as the cables started to explore the intimate places in her body. “W-Whoa, time out! Get outta there!”

“Giiiih... It’s... Too Tight...” Magenta could barely speak, as the cables were wrapping tightly around her neck, threatening to asphyxiate her.

“Let us go, you...!”  The cables started assaulting Azul’s generous breasts, cutting her words short. “Ahh~! You damn Witch~!”

I looked at the trapped Tres Magia, and then back at Venalita’s clear threat. And gulping down, I took a step forward, my body trembling at what I was about to do.

“Hey, uh...” I held the riding crop tightly with both hands, looking down at the ground. I can’t look them in the eyes with what I’m doing to them, nor what I’m about to do.

“Wh-Why are you... Doing this...?!” Magenta twisted to look down at me. Fear was clear in her voice and face. “Pl... Please... Let us go!”

“If you ask for help again, I’m gonna post this.” Venalita threatened me from my side, with his always upbeat and empty voice. As if the threat wasn’t clear enough already, and it needed to drive another stake into my heart.

Small tears fell down my face, but I bit the inside of my mouth to get a hold of myself. I looked up and forced words to come out.

“S-So... Uhmm...” I took a long breath before I could let out my next words as I raised my riding crop. “Could you... Stick out your butts, please?”

“...Huh?” “What?” “Eh?” The three of them let out a confused grunt before being forcefully dragged in front of me, their backsides raised high against their will.

“No!” “What are you plotting?!” “Stop, yah freak!” Their panicked voices reached my ears, but I couldn’t stop. As I got closer, I raised the crop high.

‘Smack!’

“Giiiiiiiii!” A sharp and loud sound reverberated through the warehouse, as the crop went over all three of their backs. They barely failed to contain their screams of pain, their long and sharp screeches reaching my ears.

I could feel a small smile inexplicably grow on my face, and I saw as small dark spheres came out of their bodies, guided by BlackWitchmon’s hand, and lightly directed towards Youkomon and Nefertimon.

“D-Don’t avoid them, understood?” They growled back as she brought another scream of pain from Leomon by guiding one of the three small spheres towards her. Her chained body spasming from the pain. “Be good girls, and she won’t take the big one from behind~.”
 
“Grrrrrrr!” They shook as the spheres impacted against their bodies.

I raised the riding crop again, a strange feeling spreading through my body.

“What is wrong with you?!” Azul shouted back at me. ‘Smack!’ That, for some reason, brought me to unjustifiably bring the crop specifically at her. “Ah~!”

The funny feeling inside me grew again, and my mind became cloudy as another small sphere came out of her body, directed towards Youkomon.

“St-Stop it!” Magenta begged me, her fear starting to be replaced by something that felt a lot better to me. ‘Smack!’ “Ahhhh!”

“Let me go, dammit!” Sulfur had tears in her eyes as she screamed at me, of frustration, rage, and something else. ‘Smack!’ I want to see more... “Giiiiiiiii!”

“This... This damn Witch...!” “This is... A nightmare...!” Youkomon and Nefertimon growled in pain, unable to do anything but watch and receive their own.

BlackWitchmon on my side was starting to breathe heavily, an excited and frenzied look growing on her face.

‘Smack!’ ‘Smack!’ ‘Smack!’ ‘Smack!’ ‘Smack!’ 

I continued smacking them with my riding crop, bringing more and more clear screams of pain as their buts grew redder and redder.

Ah... I’m hurting the Magical Girls with my own two hands.

“Let us go!” ‘Smack!’ “Ahhhh!”

How did this even happen? 

‘Smack!’ More screams of pain, followed by beastly growls.

Is this real, or just a bad dream? 

‘Smack!’ “Ahhhh~” Azul screamed, and I could see BlackWitchmon twitching in excitement.

Yeah, that’s it. This must be a dream.

‘Smack!’ “Gahhhhh!” Sulfur’s adorable scream makes my face grow hotter and hotter. I especially liked hers.

And if this is just a dream...

‘Smack!’ They all screamed at the same time. It felt like listening to a beautiful and exciting melody.

I might as well enjoy myself!

‘Smack!’ The music continued, and I started to pant heavily.

“Ahhhh... Ahhhh...” I stopped a moment to recover my breath, slowly and rhythmically smacking the crop against my palm, as I admired my work. The tearful faces of the Magical Girls.

Magenta was begging with her eyes for this to stop. Azul’s eyes are going cloudy. Sulfur is full of frustration and impotency. Nefertimon and Youkomon wish to tear me apart. Leomon was trying to get up but stepped harshly on by BlackWitchmon.

The funny feeling inside me grew even more, and the sensation of growing strength from BlackWitchmon became more prominent.

And, satisfied with my work, I raised the Frustino Dominanza once again.

‘Smack!’

___________________________________________________

“Ah!” I suddenly opened my eyes, as if waking up from a nightmare.

I was in my bed, and in front of my eyes was just my ceiling. There was nothing abnormal, and I was feeling perfectly fine.

“A dream?” I got up, my mind in disarray from what I had just gone through. A truly terrifying dream, like I have never had before... “Ahhh, thank goodness... What a crazy dream that was.”

I stopped for a moment, clutching at my blanket and looking at the window. A funny feeling emerged in my chest, and a smile grew on my face.

Still... I did kinda enjoy it, though...

And looking at the window, I could catch on the edge of my vision something strange. Something that shouldn’t be there.

Slowly lowering my eyes, I saw something lying on my bed beside me. A small, sleeping ghostly figure.

“...Eh?” The Digimon from my dream was right there, back to its Child form.

“Morning, Utena. Looks like you slept well.” My blood froze, and my smile vanished, as I heard a familiar voice. 

I slowly turned my neck to the side, to the origin of the voice. And there, seated among the plushies over my drawer, as if it were one of them... Was the figure of Venalita.

“Too bad about yesterday.” The fake plushie spoke with its upbeat and empty tone. “Never would have guessed they would turn that around so fast. That Leomon was pretty gutsy to smash herself against the Agony Shock so the other two wouldn’t have more reasons to hold back. And that enraged the Magical Girls enough that they finally broke out, even while being electrified!”

I looked at the fake plushie talk. The image in front of me and its words bring back to memory the details of everything that happened yesterday.

“Anywho, don’t worry about it.” It continued speaking, but its words were starting to go over me. “That was pretty dang good for your first battle. I didn’t think you would do so well.”

None of that was a dream.

“But get up and at ‘em! The fight's not over yet!” It enthusiastically raised an arm, pointing at the sky. “The world won’t dominate itself!”

I looked at the evil mascot in front of me. My just-awoken brain was finally catching up to everything, and words burst out of my throat.

“Save me, Magical Girls!!!”

Saga 1: Birth of the Defiant

Arc 1: The Domination Witch, Magia Baiser

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 1: Temptation - Intermission

Dah moment ah arrived home, dah first thing ah did was throw mahself face-down in bed.

“Ughhh...! It hurts, dammit...!” Ah made dah mistake tah try tah rub my ass tah calm dah pain, but just touchin’ it with mah hands felt like swinging a hammer at it.

It feels as if mah ass is about tah fall off at any moment.

“That damn Witch...!” Ah punched down at mah bed, time after time, tah try tah get some of dah frustration out. “What dah hell was dat freak doing?! Why go after our asses like dat?!”

Dat was so damn humiliatin’...!

“I’m sorry... It was all my fault...” Ah twisted mah neck tah get mah face outta mah pillow, and look at Angoramon. “It all happened because I rushed forward and got captured...”

...Damn, she looks really guilty ‘bout dat.

‘Sigh’

“...It’s not yar fault, yah know? It’s hard tah avoid dah first attack when yah don’t know what dah enemy can do, so don’t worry ‘bout dat.” Damn, we ended caught off-guard an’ captured too at dah end... “More importantly, are yah alright? Yah ended out cold at dah end of dah fight.”

“Yes... Strangely, I’m. Just some soreness where she stepped on me.” She said as she tried tah look at her back. “That ‘Agony Shock’ of... BlackWitchmon, was it? It... Was very, VERY painful, but... It didn’t HURT, it only FELT like it did. Enough to drive me unconscious.”

“So... Some type of Pain Magic?” That’s kind of messed up... “...Now dat ah think ‘bout it, dah hits of her... Ridin’ crop, were more painful dan ah expected... Was she usin’ magic tah make it worse?”

“That’s probably the case.” She looked deep in thought, tryin’ tah remember dah details of dah fight. “It’s hard to tell if it was the work of BlackWitchmon or the Witch... Maybe it was an effect of their Domain. How are you feeling right now?”

“Mah butt’s in shambles, an’ on dah verge of fallin’ off.” Ah said with dah plainest voice possible. “An mah body’s still stiff from dah electricity.”

“Yeah, I get what you mean...” She started tah rub her own butt. Dat caught mah attention, since she wasn’t hit there. “Those things she was throwing into us were somehow making me feel a part of your pain... If that was just a part, I can’t imagine what you went through...”

“...Dah hell is wrong with dat magic?” What kind of sick person would have magic like THIS?! “Dah hell is wrong with those two?!”

Of all the Evil Organizations in the world, we end with the ONE that targets SPECIFICALLY Magical Girls, and now it results that they have a specialist in torture?!

Wasn’t it enough for them to be terrorists and murderers?!

“At least we are lucky to have survived.” Her words felt like a bucket of cold water on my anger.

“...Yeah. Yeah, yah are right.” With dah amount of Magical Girls dat Enormeeta has killed, we should be grateful to have gotten outta dat. “Next time dat Enormeeta Witch appears, they won’t take me by surprise like dat. I’ll drag ‘em back, dead or alive.”

“Are we sure they are from Enormeeta?” Dat question made me raise an eyebrow. Isn’t it obvious? “They don’t match the profile of any of their known members. They usually don’t show themselves much unless they are in the middle of a ‘hunt’, with one exception. So one appearing alone like that...”

“...Yeah, we can be sure of dat.” After all... “...Venalita was with ‘em. Unless dat fucker is working double time, she’s a Witch from Enormeeta.”

“Doctor Venalita...” Angoramon whispered, a frustrated expression on her fur-covered eyes.

“...This is huge news. Dah bigshots at dah government will probably fall into a panic an’ scream at each other for weeks.” Like dah useless morons they are, gettin’ in dah way of we gettin’ reinforcements. Good thing we work with Cosmos rather than ‘em. “We confirmed a fifth Enormeeta Witch, alongside her partner.”

They are startin’ tah get a bit too big for a single team tah deal with ‘em... But we can’t exactly gang up on ‘em given their modus operandi. 

Fuck Enormeeta.

“What do you think we should do about this?” She crossed her arms, troubled by dah current situation.

“...We’ll simply do what we do best.” Ah forced mahself tah get up. Ah should at least take a shower, dat may calm dah pain a little. “We’ll punch dah problems in dah face as they come.”

It’ll be a pain tah deal with her, an’ unfortunately, it’s more literal dan ever before. But if we get used tah dah heightened pain, and properly understand what she did with those cables, she may be dah easiest Witch tah beat up.

Dah element of surprise only works dah first time.

“...He, I like that.”

I watched silently from my throne at the floating screen as it finished reproducing today’s fight. Lightly playing with the broken Transformation Heart on my right hand to keep it occupied, and holding my head with the back of the palm of the other, I analyzed every event of the fight with keen interest.

Venalita was on the side, waiting for my judgment.

“...That was pathetic.” I gave my honest opinion.

“Whoa, quite hard on the new girl, don’t cha think?” The impertinent mascot didn’t look or sound the least bit surprised by my words. It never does.

“No, I’m just giving the correct assessment. This new girl is pathetic and weak.” Is this really the girl it went behind my back to test and recruit? “She pulled off an embarrassing act of weakness, trying to pass as a victim while not even hiding her powers. Even if it worked, those types of tactics only work once at best. To conquer the world, what one needs is overwhelming strength; fake tears won’t take you further than the starting line.”

If she wants to be an actor, then send her to the drama club at her school. At least, calling tears on command will get her a good role.

“...But I guess I can give her a pass for it being her first fight, and a 1v3 at that.” It is quite surprising that she got as far as she did for her first time. “And I’ll recognize that her act of weakness managed to make the opponents overconfident, allowing her to take one of them hostage. And later on, another 3 with a trap...” 

‘Sigh’ I let out a sigh of frustration, remembering what happened afterwards.

“...But that’s where my magnanimousness ends.” What came after was the most embarrassing mistake of them all. “She quickly grew overconfident, with nothing to back it up, and started to play with her prey rather than finishing them off. In the end, they inevitably overwhelmed her through raw force, forcing her to escape.” 

“Well, I think that’s a common newbie mistake. It was her first time after all.” There is no place for ‘Newbie Mistakes’ here. A single defeat can be the end. “And I believe her magic will be very useful to us.”

“...Her Monster Creation magic does look very flexible.” Even with her lack of strength, it is a very useful ability. “She would do well as a general support on the battlefield. Once our plans reach the next stage, she’ll be a very useful asset.”

“Man, that’s good to hear. I was worried you wouldn’t want her.” Its fake upbeat and lies got on my nerves. It couldn’t care less about this girl.

“When are you bringing her to Natch Base?” As her Supreme Leader, I should at least welcome her to Enormeeta.

“I want to run a test, and let her run wild on her own for a little while. Same as a couple others.” The mascot reached into its pockets, taking out two new Transformation Stars. “Let them develop directionless for a little while. I think that may help them in developing their Magic.”

“Mmm, develop their magic, eh? ...So be it. Give them a month to play around and get used to their new powers.” I won’t question the methods of the expert. The last thing I want is to ruin the potential of the recruits. “I’ll be awaiting our meeting. I may be especially interested in this girl you chose...”

“Oh? Why’s that?” The fake surprise in its voice was almost satisfactory.

“...As pathetic as her first attempt at fighting was, I can’t deny I feel a certain... Affinity, with this girl. It’s not every day that you find someone who finds enjoyment in properly practicing torture.” It was sloppy, but she probably didn’t know any better. She’s still young after all; she may have just been following her instincts.

But I can teach her better. She may not just be someone to command... But someone to teach. Someone to guide.

“I’m sure I can turn her into an outstanding Witch... Once I teach her how to use her Digimon.” My gaze moved to the still figure standing beside my throne. Its head was low, and it kept shut unless its opinion was requested, as it should be. “Don’t you think so too? Voltobautamon.”

“...Yes, Master.”

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 2: Witch - Part 1

We... Well, I, as the one with legs, walked towards school, more and more other students appearing the closer we got. I squirmed a little bit, nervous.

I felt as if someone would suddenly point at me accusingly of being part of Enormeeta, and I couldn’t fault them... I... Fought Tres Magia yesterday under Venalita’s orders...

But... But it’s not like I wanted to! Venalita is forcing me!

I-I don’t want to hurt my beloved Magical Girls... Whatever I felt yesterday must have been caused by that weird magic changing how I feel...

“Utena, are you alright?” Ghostmon’s voice asked from beside me, worry clear in her voice. 

“A-Ah, yeah, don’t worry...” I took a glance at my side and spoke barely above a whisper, hoping not to be too obvious. Besides me was the transparent figure of Ghostmon. “I’m just... Waiting for someone to appear and point at us for what happened yesterday... Are you sure they can’t see you?”

“I honestly don’t know.” She shrank in her shoulders, looking around with a bit of paranoia. “Nobody has reacted to me yet, so... I guess?”

“I see...” I glanced down at my bag... Where I kept the Transformation Star. Venalita made it very clear that I had to keep it with me at all times. “...How does it feel... Inside there?”

“It’s... Not as nice as your phone.” Ghostmon pouted. It was slightly cute. “But I can’t get inside it anymore, and here I can project myself out like this, so... It’s not too bad.”

“That’s... Good, I think.” As long as Venalita was honest and only people with Transformation Stars can see Ghostmon in this form, I can relax... At least a little bit.

I looked away from Ghostmon and closed my mouth. Who knows who could be watching me right now, and notice I’m doing something strange... If I’m found out, it’s over for me.

...

My mood improved as the water fell over the first patch of flowers.

Here, behind the school, has always been my place. A tiny private garden just for me, to enjoy in silence without worrying about other people’s gazes or thoughts.

People may come during recess and lunch, but before classes start, this is my small sanctuary, which I have built myself since my first year...

“The flowers are so pretty...” Ghostmon was floating around, enjoying various patches of flowers. “So many different types... I wish I could touch them...” She tries to touch them, but her transparent hand just passes through.

It’s not so private anymore, but... I like Ghostmon; it’s not like it’s her fault that we are in this situation. Or at the very least, her words made me feel proud of my work.

And, we can speak freely here. Nobody is watching.

“T-Thanks, I have been growing them for about a year now...” Nobody else on the Beautification Committee wanted to work here after they heard that we needed to touch earth and compost for the most exigent plants... “...If-If you want, you can come out the Digivice to touch them...”

“E-Eh?! Wo-Wouldn’t that be... A bit too risky?” She panics a little, but I notice her smile at the idea.

It’s not like I don’t understand her nerves. If someone sees her....

There are only 3 types of Digimon normally seen in the Material World: The Partners of Magical Girls, Minion Digimon controlled by Evil Organizations... And Digimon working for or straight up commanding Evil Organizations, which may or may not be paired with a Witch...

If someone sees Ghostmon with me and rumors start... I-I’ll have a Satellite checking the registers to see if I’m or not a Magical Girl... And when they find out I’m not, it’ll be clear that I’m... I-I was made a...

We-We are in the third type.

If that is found out, I’ll be arrested, and Ghostmon will have luck if she isn’t killed...

“...It-It should be alright...” ...Still, I want her to be able to touch and smell the fruits of my work. “J-Just make yourself invisible, alright?”

I could see her face brighten up, and the image projected in front of me disappeared as I felt a small tug inside me. Then, I saw how the bag on the side started to open on its own from the inside.

I couldn’t see her, but I knew she was now out.

“Ahhhh~. They smell great...” Her voice sounded pleased and relaxed, and I smiled as I saw movement in a few flowers on a few patches in front of me that I hadn’t watered yet. “They feel so soft... Fr-Fragile, but as if they wanted to be cared for...”

I felt giddy, as Ghostmon expressed how I tend to feel with them.

“Ehehehe... Don’t they? There are so many different kinds, all with their own peculiarities, expressing and provoking different emotions, and each one needs a different kind of care to bloom in the most beautiful way they can...” There is an unique pleasure to helping a flower bloom bright and healthy, or fruits juicy and tasty... “...They-They are kinda like Magical Girls, in a way~. Maybe that’s why I love them...”

“Like Magical Girls... Wh-Which one?” Ghostmon asked as I watered the next patch. “Which one did you like first...?”

“Magical Girls, of course~.” That’s an easy question! “Though I also love flowers, just not as much. I-In fact... During the days I dream of becoming a Magical Girl, I imagine myself using flowers as my magic... Grow giant roses to shoot their spines, or trap the villains in great roots...”

...Of course, that impossible dream is not even a possibility anymore... Not now that I’m a... I’m a...

“...U-Utena, can you tell me more about Magical Girls...?” That question started something in my brain. “We-We fought them yesterday, but I don’t know much about them...”

“Of course! I’d love to!” I moved to the next patch, a smile quickly growing into my face. I could feel that I wouldn’t be able to stop now. “Magical Girls are heroines of justice! They work under the guidance of Cosmos, the Goddess of your-your world, who came to ours to spread love, fairness, and understanding. They started dealing with normal crime and accidents, each working together with a Digimon partner to strengthen the ties between our world, but... With the coming of Evil Organizations, their main job has become to fight and keep people safe from Evil Organizations, with evil Digimon and Witches like... Like...” ...Like...

“Morning, Utena-chan!” “Gyaaaaa!” A voice suddenly spoke behind me, and I let out an unintentional scream out of surprise.

A burst of panic explodes in my chest, and a second wave washes over me right afterwards. It took me a moment to notice that was Ghostmon’s own panic.

Slowly turning around, I’m greeted by a warm smile under a set of pink twin-tail drills wearing our white and green sailor uniform. A face I see almost every day, but one that I don’t think I have interacted with before.

“Hanabishi... Hakura-chan?!” How long was she listening for?! What did she hear?!

“Sorry! Did I scare you?” She rubbed the back of her head nervously and started looking away.

She was in my class. I never spoke with her more than a few words, but her outgoing personality and relatively loud voice made her easy to remember. And I definitely, 100% didn’t want her to come greet me today of all days!

She looks around curiously, as if searching for something.

‘Bump’ ‘Bump’ ‘Bump’

My heart rate accelerates, becoming clearly audible to me. I want more than anything else in the world to shout at Ghostmon to go back to the Digivice. She told me that she can only remain invisible for a couple of minutes at most, as long as she doesn’t move much.

But I can’t. I must not. If I do, it would be like declaring myself guilty of terrorism.

Fortunately, moments after, I feel another tug in my chest, and see the transparent and mostly intangible form of Ghostmon coming out of my bag, showing that she had come back to the Digivice.

And as she did, Hanabishi-san stopped looking around.

Does she have a kind of sixth sense or something?!

My heart keeps pounding, as I see my bad in the corner of my vision. It was left open, and anyone who peeked inside... Would see the Transformation Star.

Ugh... Control yourself! Ac-Act normal!

“Yo-You... Know my name?” That- That must be a reasonable question, right?! All words we exchanged must have been when passing a paper to each other, so I don’t think I even gave her my name...

...Wa-Wait, then why does she know it?! Is-Is she investigating me?!

“Of course, you’re in my class!” Does she remember the name of everyone in class...?!

...I-I’m worrying too much about this, and jumping at shadows... It-It’s not strange to know the names of your classmates, I’m the weird one who has problems with that.

And... Being remembered put a slight smile on my face.

St-Still, I have to keep her away from my bag!

Having finished this row of flowers, I break the normal order I water them in, and move to the ones on the side of the school building. The ones furthest away from my bag.

“I always see you here early, taking care of the flowers!” She walked towards me and crouched down to look at the flowers more closely. “You are singlehandedly keeping the school’s garden!”

“Y-Yeah... The other members are busy, so I have been taking care of it the past...” ...Eh? Wait, something is not right. “...Di-Did you say always...? But... This is in the back of the school...”

This was just my little private garden... Right?

“Yes! It’s relaxing to look at, and it feels like it makes the school day a lot more vibrant, so I always come to take a look before classes start!” She said enthusiastically, as she quickly turned my safe place into just another site where people could find me. “I always see you putting a lot of work into maintaining the garden, and I didn’t want to interrupt the work, so I never said anything. But doesn’t it get tough to do it alone? I’m sure the beautification committee has more members, right?”

“Y-Yeah... The other members are busy, so I have been taking care of it the past year...” I would like some help with the heaviest part of the work, but... I can manage. 

Still, being told that my work improves her day so much... 

...I...Can’t feel bad about this not being my little own spot after that. I would like to have it all to myself, but if she has always enjoyed it while also letting me have my peace...

...Well, I can share it.

“Having a flower garden at school makes everyone happier, thank you!” I was a bit taken aback by that, and couldn’t stop the blush from growing on my face. “I’m sure the flowers would thank you too, if they could!”

And I also feel more pride in my work after hearing that... It’s a very nice feeling.

“Ehehe... You think so?” I scratched my face nervously, embarrassed. The idea of my work making everyone happy, including the flowers themselves... That felt funny and nice in a way I haven’t felt before.

If my Magic as a... Instead of creating monsters, let me control and speak to the flowers, that would be nice...

...Though, maybe...

If it works on any inanimate object, then...

I look down at the flowers, deep in thought.

...Wha-What am I thinking?!

I crouch down, holding my head in my hands, as if that somehow would get those thoughts out of my head.

I shouldn’t be thinking about using those powers! That Magic is bad, and would only hurt the flower, and make it hurt others!

I should avoid using those powers in plants at all costs!!!

“Utena-chan, are you alr- Ugh!” Hanabishi-san tried to crouch down to help me, but she suddenly made an expression of pain, holding her back, and got up.

“Ha-Hanabishi-san, are you okay?!” I get up, reaching for her.

Did-Did she strain a muscle?!

“I-I’m alright, don’t worry!” She put on a strained smile, clearly in pain. “I-I remembered that I had to get to the class a bit early to check on something with Sayo-chan! Se-See you in class, Utena-chan!”

She pretty much ran away. Her attempt at hiding her pain was one of the poorest I have seen.

...She was so friendly, kind, and praised my work so much...

...I... I have to make sure that, if things end badly, if I am forced by Venalita to hurt people... I can keep her out of it. She and her friends.

But for now...

“...Ghostmon, sorry, but I don’t think you can come out inside this garden...” Nor anywhere outside home... As long as she keeps away from Mom.

As much as I enjoy the idea of Hanabishi-san enjoying the garden... Now, I don’t feel as safe on it as I did before.

“...Yeah, I guessed.” Her voice was small and sad, but she quickly cheered up. “But... Can we talk more about the Magical Girls? They sound cool...”

That managed to put a smile back on my face.

...

Class passes quickly. My mind is too trapped in the events of yesterday to pay any attention. Ghostmon is looking around, but can’t get too far, limited to a 10-meter range from the Digivice.

When they end, I listlessly pack my things, burying the accursed Digivice under all the weight of my books and notebooks, and take out my phone, in case mom sent a message.

My breath freezes, as the screen quickly turned completely black, and white, pixelated letters appeared one by one.

‘Come after school. Don’t take any detours.’

This time, no choice was given.

After that message, the screen turned back to normal, but the map app was open, pointing at a specific address, and showing how to get there.

...This... This is going to end very badly...

I had never felt so grateful for classes ending. 

As the three of us started packing our things, we didn’t waste any time standing up from our seats. I let a small sigh of relief as my tender backside could separate from the hard chair.

A quick look at the others, and I could see they felt the same. Meanwhile, the other three had not been anywhere as affected by yesterday’s battle.

Angoramon was taking a nap against a wall, and Plotmon was taking one on top of her. Renamon, as always, was standing at the back of the class, having paid more attention than any of the students, and taking a few minutes after it to process what she learned.

To be honest, I wish I could imitate Plotmon and take a nap on Angoramon right now. Her body is like an overly fluffy, light yellow humanoid rabbit, larger than all of us. Rather than the hard surface of this chair, I would rather submerge my body in her fur.

And having the small, dog-like Plotmon resting over me would have made it even better.

“Ahhhh, finally we can stretch our legs a bit ~.” Kaoruko started stretching her back, finally being able to relax. “After yesterday, last thing ah want is be seated all day~.”

“I agree~. I still- Whoa!” Haruka was suddenly interrupted as Hiiragi-san, the girl sitting by the window, pretty much ran out of the classroom, almost crashing into her. She was soon followed by other classmates simply walking out.

That was... Weird. I don’t think I have ever seen her in such a rush.

“Did she have an urgent business or something?” I hope she’s not arriving late.

“Oh, I talked with Utena-chan this morning, in the garden. She looked to be having a headache, but she looked alright during class...” Haruka looked worried as she gazed at the door.

“Oh, dat’s weird. Yah never interrupted her while she worked, didn’t yah?”

“Yes, it’s just... Me and Plotmon got a strange feeling from there, and got closer to check. But it was nothing in the end.” She looked embarrassed to the side, scratching her cheek. “I may be getting too paranoid since she managed to escape yesterday... My bottoms are making me remember constantly...”

“Yeah, ah get yar pain.” Kaoruko looked at Haruka with understanding as she rubbed her back. “Literally.”

“Yes, the Witch from yesterday... Certainly left an impression.” To be honest, that’s putting it mildly. “What even was she attempting?!”

We severely underestimated her; that acting she put on made me drop my guard, regardless of how obvious a trap it was, and thinking we had the numerical advantage turned everything against us. She captured one of us and proceeded to use her as a hostage, a shield, and a weapon. And when we thought we had her trapped, she caught us with a surprise attack from the ground and walls, getting incapacitated with electric shocks...

We eventually got out, but she took that as her signal to escape through a portal... And before that, she proceeded to torture and humiliate us as much as possible.

The memory of yesterday made me clench my fists, and my face grow hot. 

Ugh, just remembering that...!

“Uuugh! I don’t wanna remember that!” Haruka was throwing a small fit, waking up Angoramon and Plotmon. “Let’s go to the Karaoke! I don’t want to think about yesterday!”

That would be nice. But... “I’m sorry. My cousin has to run some errands today, so I have to take care of the Shrine.”

“Ehhhh... What about you, Kaoruko-chan?”

“Eh?! Just us-?!” Kaoruko was taken aback for a moment, embarrassed. I wonder why she’s always nervous around Haruka. “...Uh, ah’m sorry, but ah can’t... Ah have an appointment with mah mom, an’ ah can’t miss it.”

“I see...” She looked down, but quickly came back to her upbeat attitude. “Oh well, we can go next time!”

“See you two tomorrow then.” “Same.” “See you later!”

...

We were almost at the shrine. As always, Renamon was walking beside me, her posture as straight and confident as mine.

Her tall, yellow and white fox-like body moved with grace, arms lightly swinging back and forth and tail side to side. Purple gloves, the same color as her eyes and adorned with yin-yang symbols, were the only clothes she wore. 

“...Renamon, what do you think of yesterday’s battle?” Her eyes moved to mine, the purple patterns below them having made her intimidating in the past, though not anymore.

I couldn’t take my mind off the battle, nor in how I... Felt, during it.

What that evil Witch did... I... I don’t know if to consider us lucky or unlucky that she did that, or that she just did that.

But what I’m sure of... Is that it shouldn’t have come to it in the first place.

“...This Witch is...” She took a moment to think of her answer, playing with the long fur of her neck. “...Opponents that play with and change how people feel are tricky. Manipulating pain is, as weird as it may sound, far from the worst scenario, but...”

“...But that is, if they don’t have other abilities that can make use of it, right?” Something that can make use of the tiny moments where the body flinches from the pain... “...Like creating monsters.”

“...That is not all.” Uh? There is more? “I’m not entirely sure if I felt it right, and it may be something else, but... I felt that Digimon grow stronger, each time one of us got hit.”

...What? But, that would mean...

“...She grows stronger by causing pain.” That... That’s a BIG problem. “...The more she hits us, the stronger she becomes... Making her hit even harder.”

It’s a nightmare loop...

“...Fortunately, abilities like that tend to only give one a temporal boost, and the size of it is proportional to the strength of the people or items they take power from, so we don’t need to worry about her becoming unstoppable in a couple of days or weeks, but...” She closed her eyes, frustrated. “...It’s still a problem.”

“...What an evil power...” Growing more powerful through the pain and suffering of others... What one would expect of a Witch.

She just nods, not having anything to say to add to or against that statement.

“Ahhh, I truly wish we don’t meet her again for a long time.” At least until my butt finishes healing...

After saying that, a small wave of magic hit us, coming from somewhere close. It was corrupt, dark, and full of negative emotions.

“...I guess it was too much to ask for.” “Unfortunately, justice isn’t allowed vacations.”

We swiftly moved to a side street with no people around. We took a few looks around to make sure nobody was looking, and I took out my Heart from my bag.

“Trans Magia!” “Renamon Evolves to...!”

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 2: Witch - Part 2

I nervously looked to the sides, worrying that someone may be watching me, and entered the construction site that the map pointed at. To my surprise, there was nobody inside, but that did little to calm my heart.

I shouldn’t be here... I shouldn’t be intruding...!

Looking around for a little while, I find Venalita floating near one of the corners of the site. It was looking into a floating screen, but as I approached, the screen disappeared and it looked at me.

“Hey, Utena, right on time.” It made no comment about what it had been looking into, and I knew better than to ask.

“Why... Is this place empty?” They should still be working at this hour, right...?

“I killed them all and dropped the bodies in the river.” “Eh?!” I talked with a completely serious and unreadable face. “Just joking. The workers went on strike, so I’m using the place for today.”

“Pl-Please, don’t make that kind of jokes!” It didn’t look like you were joking!!!

“Anyways, I wanted to give you a bit more time to get used to your powers, but there is a bit of an Enormeeta job I need you to do. You up to it?” Somehow, that didn’t sound like a question.

“I... I don’t... Want to...” The words came slowly from my mouth, as if each one got a knife dangerously close to my heart. “I... I don’t want to be a Villain... Nor hurt people...”

“Sa-Same with me...” Ghostmon on my side... Hiding behind me, agreed with me. “I... I don’t want to do bad things...”

“I see, that’s a shame...” It slowly said, as it took a phone out of one of it’s long sleeves. It was reproducing a... Video montage of me Transforming and of Ghostmon Evolving, and the of us torturing the Tres Magia. “I guess this video will go straight to your mom, and then the authorities.”

“I would rather die!” “I will be killed!” We screamed in sync, at the threat hanging over our heads.

When did it make that video compilation, and why did it make one?! ANd why does it look so well made?!

“Ugh...” “...Alright...” I could only tremble in frustration and fear, and Ghostmon was the same, but at least she could say what I had to but didn’t want to.

“Great, now, let’s start.” It put the phone back on its pocket, and we let a sigh of relief. “We need a distraction for a different job that will be performed by a different member. Just remain here, and Transform when you receive the signal. She’ll move once at least one of the Magical Girls is engaged with you, just keep one of them engaged for a couple minutes. I’ll pick you up once you are done.”

A different member...

Enormeeta’s members... Are a bit of a mystery. The only publicly known one is Loco Musica, though the Magical Girl may know more...

...I... Would rather not meet them...

“...How long... do I have to wait?” Ghostmon kept hiding behind me. Not like I could protect her if Venalita tried anything...

“Well, that depends on how a few other things go. Could be 5 minutes, could be an hour, you’ll have to be patient.” Ugh... So I can’t even hope to be done with this quickly... “Meanwhile, why not check some S&M stuff on your phone to pass the time? Considering your powers, you may like it, and it may give you ideas on how to fight.”

“Uh? S&...M? What th-?” It didn’t even wait for me to finish, disappearing inside a black swirling vortex.

“...” “...”

‘Sigh’

We both sighed, resigned to our situation.

“How did we get stuck on this...?” “I wish I knew...” We looked at each other, and let out a small smile. It was good to at least have company in this.

Fortunately, there is a chair nearby, so I can sit down as I take out my phone and start searching images of the Tres Magia on the Internet. At least I’ll enjoy my time as I wait.

“Oh, those are the Magical Girls we fought yesterday, right?” Ghostmon looked over my shoulder at the screen.

“Ye-Yes. They are the Magical Girls in charge of this city and the surrounding areas...” Ghostmon listened interested, which prompted me to continue. “They have been active as Tres Magia for about 8 months, which was when Sulfur joined the group. Before that, they were Due Magia for 5 months, when Azul joined Magenta, who had been working alone for a couple of years.”

“They... They have been at it for a while.” She sounded slightly impressed, but even more than that, nervous. “Then... How did we do to fight them yesterday?”

“...Ahahah... We-We got very lucky...” I’m still asking that myself. “I guess that was the element of surprise...? This city was relatively pacific until Enormeeta came about a year ago, and since they cause problems across the country, we weren’t particularly targeted... They have fought plenty of Minion Digimon, but I don’t think they have fought a... A...”

I stopped a moment, not being able to bring myself to say the word. 

“...So, we probably took them by surprise. There’s no way we could beat them in a straight fight.” There is no way... Right? “...Oh, since we are at it, want to know what each of them can do?”

She suddenly looked enthusiastic, getting a bit closer. “Y-Yes! Please!”

I smiled, and searched for images of Magia Magenta and Nefertimon.

I’ll make sure to educate Ghostmon in the greatness of Magical Girls!

...

“Th-They are so cool!” Ghostmon looked with sparkling eyes at the Tres Magia pictures and fanart on the phone screen.

“Aren’t they?!” She gets it! “They are so cool, cute, brave... They are everything good and more!”

Ahhh, what is this feeling of satisfaction... I never got someone interested in Magical Girls before...

“...But, how are we going to fight them?” She asked the question that I didn’t want to think about, my satisfaction freezing and crumbling. “We are a... Distraction, right? I acted in a panic last time, and somehow it worked, but... Doesn’t look like we stand a chance...”

“We-Well... Venalita wouldn’t simply throw us at her without a plan... Right?” It must have a plan... There is no way there isn’t one...

“...W-What about that thing it mentioned?” A thing? “That S&M thing... I think it said that would help us fight?”

...Ah, I had forgotten about it.

“L-Let’s check it out.” We-We need all the help we can get! We can’t fight the Tres Magia without some sort of advantage!

But, what even is S&M? Some sort of martial art...?

I opened Rooble and started to type ‘S & M’ in the search bar. Then, I jumped into the first of the results.

And I’m greeted to the site with the image of a voluptuous woman in very skimpy leather clothes.

“...Eh?” “...What?” We were both taken aback by it, confused on what we stumbled upon. Though, Ghostmon looked confused rather than embarrassed, unlike me.

Wh-What is this? 

This... This can’t be what Venalita was talking about...

...This is porn.

“Uoh?!” “Uooooh?!” As I passed to the next image, we were shown a scene of a beautiful woman in a full-body leather outfit with a whip, smacking the back of a gagged, almost naked one, which had her arms and legs tied up.

Ghostmon looked way more interested in this one.

“I-I can’t be looking at this!!!” I looked away from the phone, holding it away.

Wh-What am I doing searching this type of thing?!

I-I shouldn’t ever search again anything that Venalita recommends...

I slowly opened my eyes, looking back at the screen to move to the button to close the site...

...But, some curiosity in me moved my finger one last time before that.

One more wouldn’t hurt... Right?

The image of a naked woman, stuck to a weird shiny wall, immobile as another touched her body, appeared in the screen.

Ghostmon looked closer to the screen.

My head dived forward, going through her immaterial body to look at the screen. Our eyes overlapped on each other as they fixated on the same thing, and my body started to grow hot.

...

So... So many tools...

So many activities...

So many things... That I could do...

One of them... That I had already done... To the Tres Magia...

My body felt hotter than I have ever felt before, no matter how bad of an illness it was. But I was not sick.

I didn’t know why it was, but as I looked at more images, as I explored more of this site, as I checked more sites, a warmth started to spread in my stomach, eventually becoming a searing flame.

Ghostmon’s feelings were different, but at the same time, the same as mine.

I don’t even know when she replaced her projected body for her real... And I also didn’t notice, when my body started to leak some strange purple energy.

“...Eh?” The moment I noticed it, it was already too late.

The energy... The magic coming out of my body exploded outwards and high into the sky, blinding me.

“Wh-What is happening?!” “U-Utena, what’s this...?!” I screamed, as I covered my eyes, and I heard Ghostmon crying on my side.

But it wasn’t Ghostmon’s voice anymore. It was more mature, slower, and sharper.

When the light calmed down, I looked down... And saw I had Transformed, my body partially covered in leather, and two horns poking on the sides of my vision.

“Ah?! Why...?!” “I Evolved?!” I looked to the side. Ghostmon had changed again, back to her tall and beautiful figure in her layered and revealing dress and big hat. She had Evolved once again to BlackWitchmon.

Why did we Transform?! I didn’t even use the Star yet! Venalita even gave us instructions on how to use it!

“Wa-Wait, will we get in trouble for this?!” BlackWitchmon turned to look at me, panic clear in her face. “We Transformed before we received the signal! Did we ruin the plan?!”

“...Ah!” She’s right! “We-Well, Venalita will probably understand, right?! I mean, we don’t know why it happened!”

“R-Right! I-It’s not really our fault, so it can’t get angry!” She looked relieved, even if she didn’t appear to believe it entirely.

“Y-Yeah! For now, lets turn back to normal!” I raise my hand to the Star at my neck, and take a deep breath. “I only need to say the same words as when Transforming into this, rig-?”

“Stop right there, Villain!” A loud voice resonated high up,

We turned up, our eyes meeting with those of Magia Azul and Youkomon, floating above the construction site.

“Magia Azul!” “Youkomon!” We took a step back, still overwhelmed by the situation.

Magia Azul looked down at us with her sharp, burgundy eyes. Her deep teal hair swayed with the wind, alongside the big light blue ribbon on its side. She was wearing her Tres Magia uniform, a swhite blouse with puffy shoulders and a stiff a-line blue skirt with white borders that reached down to the middle of her thighs and was secured all the way up to right below her breasts, with a big light blue bow on the back. Long blue gloves covered her arms until they folder below her shoulders, and blue heeled boots went above her knees, with a big light blue bow at top her feet. A puffy light blue bow was tied around her collar, with a blue heart set in the middle.

Around her stood Youkomon, her regal figure looking down at us with an accusatory glance. She had a majestic body covered in purple and white fur, with a long white mane around her neck. Two white lines went below her eyes, while yin-yang symbols sat in her forehead and the side of her legs, while flames covered her four legs and the end of each of her nine tails. A large and wide shimenawa in a white and green pattern tied around her neck, ending in two big bells.

Their beautiful, cool, and majestic figures inspired awe in my heart. How much I would have loved to see them from this close before.

Now, I feel nothing but fear. 

I’m not looking them as a fan, but as an enemy. 

“Prepare yourself, agent of evil.” Azul held her wand up, a small rod that ended in a big blue heart, with a big blue star on top and a smaller one as the pommel. The wand was quickly covered in ice, turning into a long, freezing sword.

“I’ll be performing your last rites!” Youkomon spread her tails, as they started to grow their flames.

“Eh-Wait-Ah!” “Awawawa-!” Neither me nor BlackWitchmon could let out a coherent word, recoiling, hands and weapons on our chest.

“Say your prayers!” “Say your prayers!” Azul rushed forwards, sword held high, as Youkomon released 9 balls of fire from the back.

“Homuradama!” Azul slashed at me with her sword, and the 9 fireballs rotated around each other as they approached us.

“G-Gyah!” “Ne-Nefarious Binding!” I barely managed to jump away from the sword slash, the freezing air around it sending shivers through my body, as BlackWitchmon floated away, releasing chains towards the approaching fireballs.

Unfortunately, the fireballs, albeit comparatively slow, moved in the air to avoid the chains and continue forward.

“W-Wait! It’s not what you think, I s-swear!” “W-We can talk things out!” The fireballs followed Azul’s slash, flying around the chains no matter how much BlackWitchmon tried to swat them.

Unable to think how to avoid them, and without a big and convenient Leomon lying around to get them, I grabbed her by the arm and flew away.

“Get back here!” “Your tricks won’t work, Witch!” They quickly started pursuit, the fireballs tracking behind us as they took each side.

“W-What do we do?!” “I-I don’t know! H-Hit something!” But what?!

A cold sensation on my side warned me, and I made a quick split-second decision, grabbing BlackWitchmon firmly and pushing her back.

We barely avoided a set of freezing swords that stabbed right where we were going to be, freezing the ground. But that left us vulnerable to the approaching fireballs.

In a desperate move, I looked at the closest object I could see. I smacked it with my Frustino Dominanza, as BlackWitchmon tried to swipe at the now way too close fireballs with all of her chains.

Fortunately, she managed to hit a few of them. Unfortunately...

‘Brooom!’

“Gahhhhh!” “Gahhhhh!” The hit fireballs exploded, making all of them explode in range of us.

The force of the explosion sent us flying past where the freezing swords stabbed the ground, their searing heat feeling as if my skin was boiling, and tearing and burning part of our clothes off. We crashed painfully against the ground, my vision going blank for a moment.

“Guuuuh...!” It hurts...! It hurts!!!

I could feel BlackWitchmon suffering the same. This was the most pain I had ever been in, though that was a low bar to surpass. 

“It’s over.” “Stay down, and we’ll make it quick.” Azul and Youkomon’s voices sounded over us.

Ughhh...! It hurts...! But... If we don’t move...!

I forced myself to stand up, and BlackWitchmon besides me did the same. Looking down at my wounds, my skin looked very red, but appears to not have been really damaged. It was the same for her. Looking up, Azul and Youkomon were glaring at us, contempt filling their eyes.

“So be it.” “This will be divine punishment.” Azul pointed her sword at us, smaller swords appearing around her, and Youkomon’s tails flared up as she prepared to release more fireballs.

And so, we smiled.

We smiled, as we were all quickly covered in shadows. 

Magia Azul and Youkomon quickly turned, alarmed, but it was too late. 

“What is-?!” “A monster?!” They shouted in alarm before trying to fly away from the monstrous and strangely feminine mass of liquid cement.

Youkomon barely to get out of the way, but Azul, slower than her partner, was caught and consumed in a deluge of cement.

She wasn’t even able to scream.

“AZUL!!!” Youkomon screamed, and her tails started to burn bright, flames exuding and gathering above her. “Jaenryū!!!”

The flames quickly gathered, expanded, and condensed into the shape of a furious dragon, flying towards the head of the monster.

Don’t even think about it!

I point at the monster with my Dominanza, and swipe it upwards, hopping that it would understand the instruction. Fortunately, it appeared to know what I wanted to me even if I did nothing.

‘Gasp!’

Right before the dragon impacted, Azul was forcefully brought to the surface... In middle of the attack and the monster.

It was just for a moment, a single instant where time appeared to stop for everyone to fully take in what was about to happen. A moment when I could see the face of Azul fill with pure terror.

‘BROOOOOOOOOM!!!’

A large smokeless explosion that melted and blew apart the top half of the monster engulfed Azul. It so quick that, after a flash of light, all that remained was her smoking body, ashened all over and uniform turned into burned tatters, which proceeded to fall into the bottom half of the still living monster.

“AZ-!!!” “Agony Shock!” “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Youkomon cried to Azul as she noticed what she just did, but BlackWitchmon took it as her chance to make her cry even higher. And as she was still crying in pain, she grabbed her with her chains and swung her into the cement monster.

Both Magia Azul and Youkomon were submerged and lost inside the monster, which was starting to reshape itself with just half of its original mass.

...Are... Are they alright...?

Did... Did I...?!

...No! There’s no way that happened...!

I... I have to run!!!

I grabbed BlackWitchmon’s hand as she came back to the ground. When she looked back at me, she hard a terrified look on her face. She must have been thinking the same as me.

I made the monster bring out Azul’s and Youkomon’s heads so they could breath, and ran away.

“Th-This is our ch-chance to escape!” “...Y-Yeah, you are right!” Her voice was trembling, and sounded insecure. Probably as much as me.

They-They’ll be alright, I know it!

We just need to get away, and...!

“...Guh...!” I stopped in my tracks, right as we were about leave the site. “Where... Do you think... You are going...?!”

It was Azul’s voice. In clear pain, and barely able to speak.

“You won’t... Grr... Get away...!” Youkomon’s angry voice continued, as the sound of struggling could be heard from here. “Damn Witches...!!!”

Both me and BlackWitchmon froze in place, and slowly turned our heads.

Both Magia Azul and Youkomon were struggling against the liquid cement, it visibly freezing and becoming brittle around Azul, and it growing red and melting to the point of falling off around Youkomon.

The liquid cement was running down Azul’s face, her breasts poking out of the mass of slowly hardening cement, and her knee trying to escape from its prison.

My body and mind started to grow hot, and what I was about to do vanished from my mind.

“This won’t stop us... Witch...!” “You’ll pay for ll your crimes, Witch!” They both shouted at us, determination burning in their eyes.

...Ahhh...

...Ahhhhhhhhh!

This... This is so beautiful...!

A Magical Girl... Receiving such an attack... Getting so injured...

...And still, her will to fight is only stronger!

Her will to protect people!!!

Her determination to stop me!!!

I... I want...

I want to...!

I turned around. BlackWitchmon turned around at the same time. And together, we walked back, smiles growing on our faces.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 2: Witch - Part 3

My consciousness was hazy, having lost for a few moments. But managing to force it back through the emotions growing inside me.

The sheer anger and humiliation forcing me awake.

I can’t believe I was trapped like this...!

My whole body hurt, Youkomon’s attack had barely not charred my flesh on that direct impact. I probably will never be as glad as I am now that neither me nor her have particularly great strength.

If her attacks were as strong as any of the others, rather than weaker but hard to avoid, I may not have woken up.

But still, I can feel her emotions through our connection. Shame, regret, anger... It’s not her fault! She shouldn’t feel guilty about this!

It’s the Witch’s fault!!!

And now, that same Witch is trying to escape right in front of me!!!

“...Guh...!” I tried to shout at her, but throat hurt, and words refused to come out without fighting back first. “Where... Do you think... You are going...?!”

“You won’t... Grr... Get away...!” Youkomon growled besides me. I could barely see her on the corner of my vision, stuck on the side of the cement monster. “Damn Witches...!!!”

And, for some reason, they did stop.

They stopped their escape, and slowly turned their heads to look at us, a look of slight surprise on their faces.

Maybe they assumed I was already dead, so they were exiting the scene of the crime...?

If that’s the case, then now they’ll come finish the job...

...Let them come then...!

I struggled to freeze myself from the monster. Its hold felt absolute, but that doesn’t matter, I MUST free myself!

If we let this Witch escape...! If she escapes, there is no telling what she’ll do to someone else!

I accepted the weight of upholding what’s right...! Of protecting people from evil!

There’s no way I’ll let this villain get away!!!

I did my best to gather the magic and expand it through my body. It was hard and painful, magic refusing to pass through my slightly cooked skin and flesh, but once forced through it dulled the pain.

The magic exited my body as freezing air, slowly solidifying the monster around me, limiting even more my movement. But once solid enough, it’ll become easy to break with physical strength.

Besides me, I could feel the heat growing, and see on the corner of my vision as the side of the liquid cement monster starts to glow red and lose shape, the flames of Youkomon burning inside it.

“This won’t stop us... Witch...!” “You’ll pay for ll your crimes, Witch!” We both shout at the Witches, cracking a solidified trickle of cement that had been falling down my face.

And at that, the Witches descended back to the ground, turning back and walking towards us. I could barely see them, my face stuck looking upwards on the hard cement, but I managed to see twisted, cruel smiles growing on their faces.

Good...! Now, we just need to free ourselves before-!

‘Smack!’

As they disappeared below where my stuck view could see them, a loud sound reached my ears. And following it, a wave of liquid cement grew in front of my eyes, falling towards us.

“A-A second one?!” “She can create multiple of them?!” Our shock was short-lived, the wave of cement splashing over us.

For a few seconds, I couldn’t breathe. Everything was dark, and I could feel the liquid around us shuffling around. Until half of my body was exposed back to the light.

“Hahhh!” I take a deep breath, before opening my eyes.

I was stuck at the front of the monster’s left breast, thighs and knees, breasts, and the front of my head free to receive the luxury of fresh air, while my hands were tightly kept behind my back.

Youkomon was stuck on the left breast, only her head popping out, but the cement around her already starting to grow hot. And looking up, the monster now had two heads and two pair of arms.

“H-Hello, Magia Azul...” The Witch floated in front of me, a nervous and manic grin on her face. “I hope you aren’t too uncomfortable...”

“When I get out of this, I’ll...!” I quickly started to struggle and release my magic again, hardening and weakening the cement holding me in place. That is, until I completely unexpected feeling assaulted my body. “Gya! No- What are you doing?!”

Shivers ran through my body, as the hand of the Witch attached to my left breast through my tattered clothes, which was conveniently sticking out of the monster... And started massaging it.

“What do you I’m doing~?” Her other hand went lower, her long purple nails starting to delicately travel through my thigh. The unwelcome and pleasurable sensations clashing against the pain of my burns, to which I was now trying to focus on. “Poor Azul... Getting such terrible bu-“

“Get your hands off her!” Youkomon interrupted the Witch, shouting as she glared at her. “If you touch her any more, I will eat you alive!”

“Ohhh, how scary~.” The Witch let out playfully, making a point of pushing on my breasts even more forcefully than before, making me bit my cheek to endure the sensation. “But, I think you have a different problem to worry about than what I do to Azul~.”

“Hello~. I’m BlackWitchmon, I’m your problem~.” The evil Digimon, BlackWitchmon, appeared from the side of the monster, pushing her arms inside the monster as her staff floated besides her. There was a small squint of pain as she did, but moments later, her arms came out, holding a pair of Youkomon’s tails.
 
Youkomon glared and growled at her. “Fool! Now I’ll- Ah! What do you think you are doing?! Stop that!” BlackWitchmon started... Tying her tails into a knot. 

“Grrr! Stop right n-!” “Agony Shock.” “Ahhhhhhh!!!” As the fire in her tails started to rose up, they were hit with one of BlackWitchmon’s balls of pain, prompting a scream and the fire in her tails dying out.

My heart ached at the scene. I could feel her embarrassment, and then pain, through our connection.

“...Grrrr!!! That won’t sto-!” “Agony Shock.” “GRRRRRRRR!!!” She clenched her teeth, doing her best not to scream, visibly shaking as another ball of pain hit her tails as they tried to fire up again. She tried to endure, but the fire went out again... And her tails lowered.

“Huhuhu! Let’s go for a few more, then~.” BlackWitchmon let out a satisfied giggle, before thrusting her arms again into the monster.

“Now... Shall we continue~?” My focus was forcefully turned away from my suffering partner as the voice of the Witch sounded in my ear, and she grabbed my chin with her fingers, forcing me to look at her in the eyes. “We are just getting started~.”

“You aren’t going to get away with- Ah~!” I quickly shut my mouth in embarrassment, as my body let not scream of pain nor a retort in anger... But a moan of pleasure. “You... You won’t- Ahhh~!”

My body, for some reason, reacted with a burst of pleasure as she pinched my nipples in-between massage motions, just like when I was whipped by her yesterday. Just that this time, she hadn’t released her Domain, and I felt nothing in her hands trying to alter my senses.

Just the pleasure and pain brought by her hands, and my burnt body begging for some type of relief.

“D-does this make you happy~?” Her thumbs started to slowly caress my nipples, and she came closer to whisper in my ear. “Don’t you want to lose control..?”

No! I must not listen to the words of a Witch! I must not deign her with an answer!

I bit my tongue, trying to stop the tears from growing on my eyes and distract myself from the feelings in my chest, and looked towards Youkomon for some form of escape.

I didn’t need a connection with her to understand the clear embarrassment and pain on her face.

Her nine tails were now all out of the monster... They were all haphazardly tied into knots, tails into knots and knots into utter chaos, with not a hint of flame coming out of any of them. The entire length of each tail used to create a pitiful ball of fur that appeared to give BlackWitchmon a very real sense of satisfaction, judging by the pleased smile on her face.

And my heart sunk as I saw her floating down to Youkomon’s face, a cruel smile growing on her face, as she created a new, very small ball of pain, one that I could barely see from this distance.

“You have been too silent... Let’s change that~.” The malice in BlackWitchmon’s voice sent a shiver down both our spines.

“D-Don’t-! Stop that!” Youkomon’s face of panic was nothing compared to her raw feelings, as the ball of agony was creeping closer to her eye.

Ugh...!!! I need to help her! But this damn monster...!

The cement all over me was now completely solid concrete, any more trying to come from above was solidified before it reached me. Flexing my arms couldn’t break I yet, but I could feel small cracks starting to form around them.

If we can endure this for just a minute more, I’ll- “Ahhh~!”

My thoughts were shut down as my nipples were painfully pinched, and my gaze brought back to the Witch’s eyes as she held my chin again, forcefully moving my face and tearing the concrete that tried to protest. Forcing me to ignore the deafening scream coming from the side.

“Now now~. I didn’t say you could look away, did I~?” Rather than going back down, her hand started to gently caress my face, as her other hand got more and more active at assaulting my breasts. My freezing body starting to grow hot. 

I couldn’t stop the tears from starting to run my face, as screams of pain come from the side, alongside the terrible feelings through my connection with Youkomon. 

No... No... Stoooop!

Why am I...?!

“Ahhhhh~!” My mind starts going blank, as another pinching in my nipple sends a wave of pleasure through my body.

“Ahhh... More... More... Show me more~...” The Witch’s face was manic. She was revealing her true colors, showing a terrifying mix of malice, lust, pleasure, and love. I finally took a good look at her amber eyes, and saw her star-shaped pupils. “Of your cute faces~!” 

My mind starting going completely blank, overwhelmed by fear and pleasure, as I saw her pupils start to glow golden, expanding beyond her irises.

I couldn’t bring out the strength necessary to fight back as her fingers invaded my mouth, nor to continue trying to break the concrete holding me in place.

I could only moan, moan, and moan at the hands assaulting my body, not even registering what happened in front of me, not how much time was happening.

I could only surrender to the pleasure.

...

After what must have been a few minutes, I heard a new voice interrupting the assault on my body.

“Time to go. Let’s fall back.” The voice said, somehow interrupting the Witch that had been mercilessly attacking my body.

With the little consciousness I had left, I saw The Traitor behind the Witch. “Okay.” The Witch just answered to it, a pleased and satisfied look on her face, before she leaned against me one last time.

“Let’s have even more fun next time~.” Her words alone sent shivers down my body.

I could only watch, as the three of them disappeared into a black, swirling vortex.

Leaving me behind, nor worth even finishing off.

I flew as fast as I could towards the source of Enormeeta’s signal. I was already going too late.

Ugh...! Why did it just have to happen after I called Natsuna, Akiho, and Mifuyu to buy them some ice cream before going home?!

I couldn’t just leave them as they were choosing at the store!

I took a last bite out of the strawberry cone, and threw the remaining half at Neferti, who caught it in her mouth by quickly moving her mask away.

‘Gulp’ “Thanks, I can see them!” As she finished eating it, I looked where she was motioning.

There was a giant two-headed monster on the middle of a construction site. I could barely see them at this distance, but the monster appeared to have captured Azul and Youko into its body, and the Witch from yesterday and her partner were doing something to them.

“We need to hurry!” I’m not going to lose Azul just for some ice cream!!!

“I’ll separate them!” She put her mask back on, and light started to grow from behind her mask, ready to shot once she got in range.

But we couldn’t approach much more before Venalita appeared from a black vortex, pointing as both it and the Witch looked in our direction. She promptly said something on Azul’s ears, and disappeared into the vortex before we could get in range, leaving the monster behind.

“Ugh...! Doesn’t matter, we still have to save them!” We can get Enormeeta some other day!

“Go ahead, I’ll catch up quickly!” The light in he back grew into pillar that raised towards the sky. “Rosetta Stone!”

As the pillar appeared, I flew over Neferti, at just the right height, and counted to three in my mind once she said the ‘R’ of the attack.

One... Two... Three!

I extended my hand down right on time to grab the front of a great slab of stone covered in strange writings that came out of the light at high speeds. It forcefully pushed me forwards, as if trying to tear off my hand, but I grabbed with all my strength and climbed on top.

Surfing over the Rosetta Stone, way faster than both of us can fly, I reached the construction site in just a few moments.

I turned my wand into a spear right on time to jump out of the stone, watching it enter one side of the creature and coming out of the other, obliterating its insides before crashing like a meteor on the ground.

“Magenta Spear!” Using the momentum I got, I went down on the monster from above, spinning my spear as a drill as pushed through the middle of the monster.

In an instant, I shredded its body from top to bottom, sending its remains flying everywhere, and leaving Azul and Youko intact.

They floated in the air a moment, before gravity caught up to them and they started to fall.

I caught Azul as she was falling in my left arm, and used the right to catch Youko on the flat side of the end of my spear, keeping it just tight enough so it would slow the impact rather than stop it completely and hurt her.

“Fiu... Got to them in time.” I slowly lowered them to the ground, as close to each other as I could bring them without throwing them on top of each other.

“Are they safe?!” Neferti arrived right after, worry clear on her voice as she landed.

“I’m... I’m not sure!” Youko looked uninjured, but her tails had all been tied into knots. I wouldn’t even know where to begin untangling that. Azul on the other side was burnt all over and covered in ashes, with her clothes mostly destroyed.  The burns didn’t look too serious, they would heal by tomorrow, but they must hurt. “Azul, Youko, are you alright?!”

Youko was whimpering, tears running down her face. Azul’s eyes were glassy, as she simply stared to the sky, her face even redder than her burns.

“What... What happened here?” Neferti said the question we both had in our minds.

Whatever happened here, if it could make Youko cry, must have been horrible.

“I... I don’t know. But...” ...They are alive. They can heal from whatever was done to them.

And as long as things can get better, that’s all that matters.

As we come out of the vortex, we landed in my room, so I quickly let all the pressure built into my body go, releasing my transformation.

And then proceeded to fall face first on my bed, feeling as if I just ran a marathon. Ghostmon following suit, her ghostly face buried in my sheets.

“Guuuuh...” “Guuuuh...” We both groaned out of exhaustion.

Why are we so tired...?

“I can’t believe I did that again...” What was I thinking...? I felt some powerful impulse to do it growing on my chest, and I just... Did.

“Me neither...” Ghostmon groaned besides me, turning around just to cover her face with her hands. “I really... REALLY should apologize to Youkomon... What was I thinking?!”

Probably the same as me. Nothing at all, beyond how fun it looked and how much I wanted to do it.

There is no way around it, is there...?

I could have ran away, and Venalita would have not complained, I would have done my job. What happened afterwards...

...That...

...That was entirely on me. I did that. I did that to a Magical Girl.

Now... I’m the enemy of Magical Girls.

I’m the enemy of the Tres Magia.

...I’m a Witch.

“Good work, you two. That was a splendid fight.” Venalita said from behind us. Closing the vortex. “You two were really enjoying yourselves.”

“T-That’s absolutely not true!” “R-Right, there’s no way I would enjoy that!” We quickly sat up, shouting at Venalita to try to preserve even just a bit of our dignity.

Ughhh... Now I have to deal with this...

“Ummm, about what happened today... Sorry...” We transformed before receiving the signal... 

Ghostmon just hid behind me, scared of Venalita.

“Mmm? What are you apologizing about?” Venalita sounded confused, tilting its head to the side. “You transformed exactly as I sent the signal, and not only you kept Azul occupied, you defeated her. That’s a fantastic job if I ever saw one!”

“...Uh?” “...What?” e were dumbfounded for a moment.

...Wait, did we receive the signal? Did it happen as we Transformed...?

...I guess I just didn’t notice it.

“...Ahahaha, right, I just got confused for a moment.” “Y-eah, everything went well and as planned!” So we just faked it, and hoped Venalita would buy it.

“It did indeed. The mission was a complete success.” It then opened a smaller vortex, one that only it could go through. “Sorry for throwing that on you on your second day, but this job was a bit sudden, and we didn’t have time to restore our reserves of Minion Digimon yet.”

“N-No, It’s alright...” I instinctively told Venalita not to worry when it apologized. Even though, when thinking about it... It should apologize for a lot more than only that.

Ghostmon appeared to be thinking the same, as she glared at me.

“I’ll get going then. You are free to use your powers however you like, so have fun. Just don’t get caught by the Tres Magia.” It then floated to the portal, but before crossing it, it turned back to us. “Oh, right. Want a video of how Magenta destroyed your monster after we got away?”

“Yes please!” “Yes!!!” We both quickly straightened, forgetting our worries and nerves for a moment.

Realizing this, we just looked at each other for a moment...

And giggled.

...It had been kinda fun, after all.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 2: Witch - Intermission

As we finally arrived home, carried by Nefertimon, I tried to flop onto my bed, but Renamon did it first. Her body falling face-first on my sheets.

Right now, I couldn’t even worry about mom finding her, so I calmly sat down at my desk, and let my face fall on top of it. 

‘Groooaaaaa...’

We both groaned, frustrated and unable to face each other out of embarrassment. We couldn’t even direct a word at each other, falling into an awkward silence.

I could feel the minutes pass, the constant ‘tic’ ‘tic’ of the clock mounted at the wall drilling into my skull like water slowly changing the shape of stone.

This silence felt like torture.

I... I have to talk about what happened...

“I... I’m sorry...” I managed to let out, holding my head between my arms. “I was captured, and showed you a deplorable sight...”

“Why... Why are you apologizing...?” Renamon’s voice sounded frustrated. More frustrated than I haver ever heard her before. “I’m the one that should be embarrassed of herself...! I even let the Witches make me cry...! I showed them my tears!”

“What type of Comet am I?!” She started to punch my bed, growling in pure frustration. “First I let them capture my partner, and then I let them make me cry like a baby! She played with my tails as if I was a toy!”

“That is...” That’s not her fault...! I was too slow to react! “...How could you not?  What they did to you... When I saw that ball of pure pain getting close to your eye...!”

I straightened in my chair, and started to rub my eyes. Just the memory of seeing it happen made my eyes ache.

“...I’m the one that should be ashamed.” I tried to look at Renamon in the eyes, but ended looking down at the ground. I couldn’t face her. “I... I don’t understand why I felt... Why that...! That was wrong in so many levels, and still I...!”

Whatever came over me then, my feelings then had been bare to Renamon through our connection! She saw all of that, which I don’t even begin to understand myself!

“...You have nothing to be embarrassed about Sayo.” Renamon tried to get up and look at me, but she also failed at it. “I’m the failure here.”

“How could I not be embarrassed about it?!” Just thinking about it is...! Talking about it is...! “The way I felt then...! And I made you see it...! That-That was so wrong...! I’m sorry, Renamon!”

I somehow managed to raise my face to her, tears starting to form at the corners of my eyes.

“...Sayo, we Humans and Digimon are very similar, but there are entire sets of emotions and feelings that we don’t share.” She raised her face to mine. “I... I don’t understand what I saw from you today. I don’t know if that was good or bad, ugly or beautiful... I just didn’t understand what I was seeing. It was an emotion or feeling we don’t have.”

She... She doesn’t even know what I showed her...? ...Well, I don’t completely understand it myself...

“What I understand is...” She clutched at my sheets, piercing them with her claws. “...Is that I hurt you. In my carelessness, I ended hitting you in the same way I hit Leomon yesterday, as if I had learned nothing! And I did it with my strongest attack!!!”

She covered her eyes with her hands, but it didn’t hide the tears falling down her face. “I was so scared...! I thought that I had... That you were...”

I pounced out of my chair and hugged Renamon, letting her head rest on my shoulder, as I rested mine in hers.

“...We won’t let any of this happen again.” I tightened the hug. “Next time, we’ll get that Witch and her Witchmon, and non of us will have to go through that again. We’ll be stronger.”

“...Yes...!” She hugged me back, a bit too strong for my non-transformed form, but bearable.

We won’t let them play with us like that again, not even seeing us as enough of a threat to finish us off.

We’ll make sure they regret letting us go.

Today was a great success.

Utena checked on S&M like I suggested, and managed to Transform on her own, without manually activating the Star. That was the best case scenario, and I got it first try.

And to add to my luck, Magia Magenta took longer to come than expected, giving Utena more than enough time to test her powers on Magia Azul... Who she managed to beat.

“Everything is proceeding as the best case scenario.” I picked up the black pawn, and moved it further into the three-dimensional board.

There were dozens of boards set all around the room, many disappearing into the darkness that blocks the walls and ceiling from view, that not even the dozens of lamps falling from the ceiling can illuminate. Hundreds of pieces were carefully positioned both inside and outside each board.

“But she’s under too much risk, don’t you think?” She pulled the white pawn that had been threatening this one back, and moved a knight and a bishop between them. “You almost got her killed twice.”

“It’ll be alright~.” I move the tower behind the pawn, and set up two more pawns at the start of the board. “Even if we react too slowly, she’ll be safe, and soon she’ll get extra support.”

“The problem is...” I tap the black, cracked queen, her color changing to red for a moment, before flashing back to black. “Finding a good timing.”

“Leave that part to me. You focus on adapting the strategy to the unexpectedly quick advance.” She picked up a white rook on a nearby board, and crushed it between her fingers. “Without this one threatening this board, you should have free movement.”

“Damn, isn’t it great when everything goes better than expected?” I floated a bit back, to appreciate the situation on every board. “It almost compensates having lost the big one.”

I send a single look to the 6 floors board thrown towards a corner, most of its parts broken into various fragments, but most its pieces still unable to invade the others.

“Just be quick about it, we don’t have many turns left.” She picked a two-headed white horse from a nearby table, and moved it to a different board on the opposite side, facing a black castle. Still, she angled it backwards, so one of the heads was pointing at me. “And we don’t know how many turns there are.”

“It’ll be fine, she’ll get to the other side of the board quick enough. That should buy us more turns.” Things were progressing better than expected, we are already ahead of schedule.

I create a screen on my side, looking interested at the contents. “I wonder what she’s doing right now.”

“So pretty...” Ghostmon held up the box of a figure of Radiant Ruby, a Magical Girl from Germany, that I went through great pains to get. Especially since it was the very limited run of her team with ballroom dresses. “...But why are they all in their boxes?”

“...Glass cases to keep all my figures safe from dust and the weather are... Expensive...” I fiddled with my fingers, a bit embarrassed about it. “...And when I try to save my allowances to buy a big one, I see new figures come out and... There go my savings...”

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 3: Slippery Slope - Part 1

About a week had passed since I was dragged by Venalita to do work for Enormeeta. And now, I could finally value the peace and freedom I had all my life.

I quietly studied on my bed, trying to commit to memory history from hundreds of years ago, for just long enough to write them on the next text, and forget all that information right after.

Ghostmon was on my computer at my desk, wearing the headphones sideways since she can’t exactly take out her hat. She was enjoying some videos of Magical Girl history, though she occasionally opened less... Wholesome, videos, involving chains, belts, locks, and all kinds of scary-looking tools.

...I made a mental note to ask her for what she found out later. For pure... Academical, purposes.

Initially, I had my worries of how we would make it work, with Ghostmon being pretty much locked to be near me and having to keep her existence a secret from Mom, but... Turns out, that having food, a roof over your head, a bed where to sleep, and a computer to entertain and educate yourself with an almost endless amount of entertainment and knowledge freely available for anyone that wants it, is enough for one to live comfortably.

...Thinking about it, it was just inevitable that it would work out if I had thought about it, isn’t it? At least in the short term.

It had been a very peaceful week, enjoying company and friendship for the first time. I wished this could continue forever.

So... Why?

Why is Venalita sitting on my table while checking out books?!

When did it even arrive?! Since when has it spread those books!

I did my best to ignore its presence, to not react to its sudden appearance. And I could see in Ghostmon’s nervous face that she was doing the same.

And Venalita said nothing, letting things continue just like that.

After just five minutes of that unbearable silence, my nerves were pretty much screaming at me. Yelling at me to do something, and it became worse the more I waited.

“V-Venalita-san...” I let out, breaking the thick layer of almost solid nervousness lingering in the air. “Did you... Need something?”

“I think it’s time you came up with a name.” It raised its head to answer immediately, as if it had been attentively waiting all along for me to speak up.

“Why now, so suddenly...?” It has been a week... Does that mean it’ll put us to work soon...?

“You could have told us to think about it over the week...” I agree with Ghostmon. There was plenty of time.

“You don’t need a week to think of a name.” It just disregarded Ghostmon’s complaint, and picked up a few books from my table. “Still, every Witch needs a good name, and it’ll make things easier for us.”

“So, what name do you want?” It held up 5 different books, each one them appeared to be a dictionary of japanese to another language. “Kids today are all about weird names in German and Latin, right? Personally, I like Esperanto, even if it’s a failure.”

“Actually, I don’t even care...” It’s not like I wanted to be a Witch in the first place. What others call me doesn’t really matter.

“Just pick anything for us, you brought the dictionaries.” Ghostmon said what I had in mind.

“Fine then, I’ll give you a name.” The playfulness on its unchanging upbeat tone felt strangely more dangerous than normal. “Phantom Domme.”

“Never mind! I’ll pick one myself!” Is this some kind of punishment?!

“...F-Fortunately I don’t need another name...” Traitor!

“Well, take your time to think about it, you may need it in a couple of day.” As it said that, it created a tiny portal, floating towards it. “Do you two need something before I go?”

“...To be let free of Enormeeta.” “To not have to continue risking my life.” 

“I appreciate an healthy sense of humor. See you.” And just like that, it crossed the portal.

We could only watch it get away, exchanging irritated looks with each other.

“...” “...What is wrong with that thing...” I wish I knew...

“...How did one of the Mascots ended like that? For what we know, none of the Mascots has ever turned traitor before...” At least, for what we know.

“Those Satellites are created by Cosmos, right?” Ghostmon asked as she got off the computer to pick up and start organizing the books left behind by Venalita. “...Did she make a mistake?”

“I want to believe that even a Goddess can make mistakes in the end. Otherwise... I don’t even want to think of the implications of something like Venalita being intended...” I rub my forehead, the more thought of what that would entail giving me a headache. “Why did we have to end under it’s thumb...? Why us...?”

I shouldn’t have pressed ‘Yes’ on that stupid question... I even knew that those kinds end badly, I should have resisted the temptation!

“I guess we are simply that unlucky... Of all things I have to do to live, why a Villain?!” Ghostmon pulled her hat down, hiding her face. “I don’t want to do bad things. It’s dangerous, and doesn’t make anybody happy.”

“Same... I’m not too interested in being a Heroine, but being able to fly freely through the skies, use magic to do wonderful and beautiful things, work together with my idols...” The dreams I had growing up. “...Why couldn’t I become a Magical Girl instead?”

“That would have been nice... Though, we kind of do those things already, don’t we?” She organized the books on a pile. “...It... Was kind of fun.”

Fun...

“...Yeah... Yeah, it was...” The glazed look on Azul as I assaulted her body came to mind. That delightful expression as her mind was overwhelmed by the sensations, and couldn’t even think straight nor fight back anymore... “We... Did make something beautiful, didn’t we?”

In a way, I’m accomplishing my dreams as a Witch... Right?

“The humiliation and pain in Youkomon’s face... That was...” Ghostmon appeared to be falling into her own thoughts. “It was wrong, but... I... When I heard her grunts of pain and frustration... I wanted to push forward to badly...”

I could completely understand where she was coming from. The need to do it... To do it when Azul was just right there, ready on a silver platter...

It was as if a starving person was presented with a full-course meal, sat at the table, and told that they couldn’t eat it, that they had to patiently sit there and watch as the food rotted.

I wanted to do it... I needed to do it so badly...

How could anyone resist?

...But...

...It’s still wrong.

“We... Have to stop.” This is wrong. We can’t start thinking about how fun it was. “Before we do something we can’t come back from.”

Before we fall for the temptation. Before we fall through that slippery slop.

“...Yeah. If we simply follow Venalita, who knows what we’ll do next...” I could feel her agreement even before she opened her mouth, but she still sounded and felt worried and unsure. “...But, how do we get out of this? Is there someone we can ask for help? The Tres Magia would attack us on-sight, they won’t listen... Maybe your Mom?”

That... Is not possible.

“...We... Can’t let Mom know.” Even if I wish I could tell her everything. “Venalita made it very clear to not let anyone know. If Mom learns about this, who knows what it’ll do to her...”

Mom getting hurt, or worse, because of me... I have to avoid that at all costs!

“But we are already having problems hiding me from her. The unusual amount of snacks and fruit must already be alerting her that something is wrong.” She... Makes a good point.

“...Ugh... My allowance is disappearing quicker than usual, since I can’t exactly have Mom cook for you too...” I probably can it last the entire month with snacks, and have a bit leftover for merchandise, but... “...Money is becoming a problem.”

Ghostmon doesn’t appear to eat much, and she eats almost anything, but this is quickly draining my monthly allowance...

“...Maybe I could get a part-time job.” She asked entirely seriously.

“...I kinda doubt someone would hire a random Digimon. At least, not without calling the Magical Girls first.” Though I bet lots of people would go to a restaurant with a Digimon as a waitress. “And I won’t be able to legally get a part-time job until my birthday in about half a year...”

“Ugh... Why everything costs money?! I want free food and figurines!” Me too... “If Venalita will force us to work for it, then at least pay us!”

“...The Magical Girls are paid for their job. And pretty generously depending on how well their merchandise sells.” I probably contributed a considerable amount to their salaries. “But we are Witches made to work under blackmail... I don’t think Venalita will pay us...”

“That... That’s unfair...” The frustration was clear in her voice. “I wish we could have been Magical Girls instead...”

Me too...

“We need money...” I’m not sure for how long I’ll be able to pay for Ghostmon.

“How can we make money...” Ghostmon muttered to herself, trying to think of something.

I wish I knew how my friend.

I wish I knew how.

“...Ahhhhh... Let’s... Forget about it for now.” I try to change the subject, not wanting to continue this depressing thought process. “Let’s think about my Witch name. I don’t want to end becoming ‘Phantom Domme’ just because we didn’t think of anything...”

‘Sigh’

I couldn’t concentrate on the lecture in front of me. The words of the teacher were drowned by my thoughts, and since I didn’t want to have those thoughts, I drowned them by drawing on my notebook a picture of the Tres Magia.

“It’s like the images on the Internet...” Ghostmon had become entranced looking at me doodle. “So that’s how they are done...”

It wasn’t that good, but being compared to artists and not being laughed at improved my mood a little.

Before I noticed the time pass, lunch had already arrived.

I closed the notebook and slowly took my lunch out of my bag, taking a moment to think where to have lunch.

The garden in the back will be full of couples, and the roof will have the usual delinquents. The only quiet places would be the bathroom and the stairs to the roof. I wish the beautification committee used it’s room as much as they did their job, I would have a room all for myself.

‘Sigh’ 

If I continue sighing like that, one day my soul will leave my body.

I decide on the stairs to the roof, and get up from my seat, making a straight line there.

“Hey, Utena-chan!” I flinch from the surprise as Hanabishi-san gets in the way, as her friends move their desks to put them together. “Want to have lunch with us?”

“Eh?!” I’m quickly taken aback. I’m not used to people asking to spend time with me, I haven’t had lunch with a classmate in years. “L-Lunch?”

“Yes! I noticed you always have lunch alone, right?” The talked in the cheery tone, and it felt sincere, with no ill intentions. “Come have lunch with us!”

Hanabishi Haruka, I had never interacted much with her before, though the same could be said of everyone else. With today and last week at the garden, this is probably the most I have interacted with a classmate this year.

Without a need to interact with them, I had never paid much attention to them either. So, for the first time, I started to commit to memory her appearance.

Her long, pink hair was styled in a pair of drill twintails, giving an innocent impression that was strengthened by her enthusiastic and friendly expression, and energetic movement. Her face and overall body looked slim but round, with a modest chest but generous hips.

She was taller than me, probably for almost 10cm, but everything else about her stopped her from feeling intimidating.

For what little I have observed of the class, she appeared to be the most friendly person in class, being friends with everyone.

Having someone like her approach me activated my Fight or Flight instinct.

“Ah- I- I couldn’t bother you all with that.” Flight instantly won. “H-Have fun, you thre-” ‘Chunk’

My words were interrupted as my desk was picked up by a large veil of blond hair, and dropped with the others, forming a square.

“Yah worry too much, it’s just lunch.” The culprit, Tenkawa Kaoruko, said, a small cat-like smile on her face. “Come on, sit down.”

She then carried my chair too, setting it up in the square. It quite surprised, she didn’t look exactly... Strong, so I never imagined her acting so tough.

She was quite a standout person, so I kind of remembered her better than the others. She had long and wavy blond hair that reached her hips, with a strong and full bangs and two strands of hair falling by the sides to her barely-there chest, and a big yellow ribbon behind her head.

She had a relaxed but straight, one could even call it elegant, posture, and the same could be said of her face. She always smiled calmly, eyes only half-ways open, giving a permanently kind presence. She was incredibly pretty in the same way a little princess would... And looked as frail as one.

I’m aware that I’m a bit short, but she was outright small, and her body was slim, with not much muscle to it. If she wasn’t my classmate, I would think she was a few years younger than me.

“Come on, let’s eat.” She then just sat down, taking out her own lunch from her bag.

“Ah, Al-Alright!” I sat down on my seat, now besides Hanabishi-san’s, setting my lunch-box down.

“She-She’s quite...Convincing, isn’t she?” I could do nothing besides nodding in agreement at Ghostmon’s words.

“Fufufu, sorry for my friends, they can be a bit of a pair of free spirits sometimes.” Minakami-san was seated in front of me, talking as Hanabishi-san sat besides me. “I’m Minakami Sayo. It’s a pleasure, Hiiragi-san”

“Ah- Yes, I’m Hiiragi Utena. It’s a pleasure... Minakami-san.” As soon as I finished speaking, I felt embarrassed.

Ugh... It’s been so long since I talked to classmates like this... I don’t know what to say...

“What did you bring, Utena-chan?” Hanabishi-san almost threw herself over me, her shoulder rubbing against mine, as she looked down at my lunch-box.

She... She’s way too close! She also continues calling me by my name, even though we have barely spoken...

Is- Is this how friendly and social people are...?

“I- I made something quick with the leftovers from yesterday and what we had in the fridge...” I opened the lunch-box, showing one side full of rice mixed with  sliced boiled eggs and spices, and the other had omelette rolls filled with cheese and sausages.

“Ohhhh, that looks nice! Did you make them yourself?” She finally gave me some space, taking a moment to admire my lunch.

“Y-Yeah. Mom has to work long hours, so she doesn’t have much time in the morning.” I take out my chopsticks. “So, I tried to learn to make something simple as soon as I could.”

“Ehhhh~? Dat’s pretty nice of yah, Utena-han?” Han? “Mah Mom worries too much an’ doesn’t let me cook. Says she wants tah make sure ah eat well.”

She then took out of her bag a plastic bag, with a box yakisoba. “But ah can get away with eatin’ some tasty trash like this once per week~.” She sounded way too proud about it.

“Calling it trash is a bit much, don’t you think?” Minakami-san didn’t really sound reproachful when saying it, more endearing than anything. “And it’s good to see how thoughtful of your mother you are. I’m sure she appreciates your efforts.”

“T-That’s a bit much...” She’s taking it way too seriously.

“And it’s good to see someone else making their own lunch that isn’t... Well...” She opened her lunchbox, as she looked a away nervously. “...W-Well, I don’t know how to cook, so my mom prepares mine!”

Her lunch looked pretty normal, a side of plain white rice and another with an healthy assortment of meat and vegetables.

...Uh, why is she saying it like that? Am I missing someth-

“Now, let’s eat!” Hanabishi-san boldly spoke out, and my thoughts froze as I saw her open her lunch-box.

Mushrooms.

Mushrooms, mushroom, mushrooms and mushrooms.

The box was filled with an assortment of at least half a dozen different kinds of mushrooms, prepared in their own unique ways. Sliced, steamed, grilled...

“Now, Utena-chan, want to try some?!” Hanabishi-san asked enthusiastically, not waiting for my answer before picking a mushroom with her chopsticks and raising it towards me.

“Eh-?! Wha- Uh?!” H-Hold on, I still don’t recover from the impact of that box opening!

Fortunately for me, the incoming mushroom is stopped as another pair of chopsticks caught hers, and pushed them down.

“Come on, Haruka, don’t push it so suddenly. Let her ask to try whenever she feels like it.” Minakami-san brougth back her chopsticks once it looked like Hanabishi-san gave up, quickly apologizing with a laugh. “Sorry about that, Hiiragi-san. She’ll take any opportunity she can get to make us eat them.”

“They are very good! Even Kaoruko’s mom approves of them, and she’s very picky with food!” She quickly jumped to defend herself, and promote the food she made. “I’m sure you’ll like them if you try!”

“They may be good, but if anybod’ had dah same single thing for lunch for months like yah do, they’ll end goin’ insane.” Tenkawa-san said, before starting to dig into her yakisoba.

“Huhuhu~! But they aren’t the same thing, you know~?” She sounded smug and confident as she started to swing the tiny mushroom slice in her chopsticks. “I alternate between 20 different kinds of mushrooms, and through different preparation methods each time! They are a varied and balanced diet, full of different kinds of flavors and textures!”

And just like that, the conversation somehow grew into a discussion about mushrooms, and then devolved into the history of chopsticks. And somehow, I participated in all of it, as they continued bringing me in, asking me questions and my opinion, until I started giving them without being asked.

It was weird, sudden, they were overly familiar and friendly, and the topic of discussion was a strange one at best... But it was fun.

I couldn’t understand Hanabishi-san’s passion for mushrooms, but I could understand the passion itself. So talking with her about them, was the most fun I have ever had with a classmate.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 3: Slippery Slope - Part 2

Classes came to an end, and I wasted no time in start packing up my things. I wanted to pass by the mall before going home. A quick look to my side showed that Ghostmon was also looking forward to it.

I would get my next allowance tomorrow, so it’s time to blow out whatever remains in merchandise!

Getting up, my eyes meet with those of Hanabishi-san, as they started talked before packing up.

“See you on Monday, Utena-chan!” She waved with a radiant smile. Her energy feels a bit overbearing, but somehow her near constant joy feels contagious.

“U-Until Monday, Hanabishi-san.” I take a moment, feeling a bit strange at the uncommon event of waving a classmate goodbye, before remembering I should do the same for the others too. “Until Monday, Minakami-san, Tenkawa-san.”

“Yes, let’s have lunch together again next Monday, Hiiragi-san.” Minakami-san lightly nodded her head. The swiftly and lightly made promise to have lunch again somehow felt like the most important event to happen at school since the year started.

“Mmm~.” Tenkawa-san looked up at me with eyes that I couldn’t really tell what they were thinking. But she seemed somehow satisfied. “Yah do look better with a smile on yar face~.”

“Eh?” S-saying something so embarrassing so suddenly...! “Wh-Where did that come from?”

“Well, yah never smile at school, yah know? Don’t think ah have ever seen it ‘fore.” She was resting her head against her knuckles, her eyes steady on mine. 

“Lately you have been looking troubled, Hiiragi-san. And today you were looking especially so.” Minakami-san sounded a worried, but also understanding and calm, keeping a smile on her face. “Did something happen?”

I’m looking troubled...?

Gah, I think I know exactly why... But it’s not like I can talk about it...

“It- It’s nothing really.” I tried to force back a smile, as the thought made the previous one fall. “I’m just... Making a big deal out of something dumb! I’ll get it fixed soon.”

It wasn’t something dumb, and it’s probably an even bigger deal than what I’m already feeling it is. But I need to avoid it showing on my face.

They were silent for a moment, which quickly made me nervous, but fortunately, the silence didn’t last long.

“Well, it’s good to hear that it’ll be alright!” Hanabishi-san shared her positivism, accepting my answer.

Th-Thanks god... They won’t press the subject.

“Then hopefully it’ll get solved soon.” Minakami-san looked satisfied with my answer. “But if something’s bothering you, I’m always happy to lend you an ear. I do it all the time at my part-time job.”

“O-Oh, I’m okay, really! But...Uhm... Thanks...” I know she can’t do nothing about it, and I can’t talk about it either, but the offering alone feels good... Uh? Wait, part-time job? “...Uh, I thought our school didn’t allow for part-time jobs...”

“Oops. Forget what I just said.” She looked embarrassed, avoiding everyone’s eyes, as the other two looked at her mischievously. “It’s not technically a part-time job, I just help at the family’s temple, so... It’s not really against the rules.”

“Pft!” Tenkawa-san couldn’t completely contain her laugh. “Ahhh, leavin’ aside dah fool over ‘here, if yah ‘ave a problem dat can be solved with a good ol’ beatin’, call me. Ah’ll break all yar problems.”

She clashed her fists together, a very cute and clashing image given her appearance and frail-looking body. Imagining her beating up Venalita brought a smile to my face.

“Guhguhguh...! I’ll will, Tenkawa-san.” I don’t think it’ll happen, but I would really like to see that. “I should get going now. S-See you later!”

They all waved at me as I walked out.

Today was... Weird. I had never had spoken so much with a classmate before. It was fun, and somehow managed to improve a mood that couldn’t be any lower.

Did they approach me because they noticed I was agonizing about the problem of Enormeeta...?

“They are all so nice...” Ghostmon said besides me, looking back at the classroom.

“...Yeah, they are.” Probably the nicest girls I have met.

Being so willing to check on a troubled classmate, and wanting to know what she’s going through, offering to listen and maybe even help to an extent...

...I wonder....

...What would they think... If they knew I was a Witch...?

...They... Would hate me... And be scared of me.

Ah watch Utena-han leave da classroom, in a far better mood dan she entered it with.

This must ‘ave been da most ah have seen dat girl talk in all of this an’ last year, an’ maybe the first time smiling.  She’s normally like a scared kitten, too nervous tah approach others, hidden in her own little corner by dah window an’ wherever she goes durin’ lunch, an’ without ‘nything particularly noteworthy tah make others approach her.

A smile really fits her better, especially with those little fangs of her peeking out. Dat was unexpected, an’ pretty cute.

“What do you two think is going on with Hiiragi-san?” Sayo asked the question dat has been goin’ on on all our heads. “I think it’s pretty clear she was downplaying it.”

“So not only I noticed!” Haruka exclaimed from my side, catching dah attention of a few of our classmates dat were already gettin’ out, but fortuantely she noticed and lowered her tone a lil’. “Do you think she’s alright? She has been looking depressed for a week now, and it was especially bad today.”

She indeed looks worse for dah wear dan normal. But...

“...How should ah know?” It’s not like ah can read her mind, nor dat this is our problem. “If she has tah deal with stuff, then let her do it on her own.”

“Come on, Kaoruko-chan! What if she has some problem she can’t fix on her own?!” Haruka looked at me like a begging puppy. “We should help if we can!”

The cuteness of dah face she was making was throwin’ mah heart for a run.

Ugh... Don’t look at me like dat! Dat’s cheatin’!!!

“J-Just let her deal with it!” Ah looked away, trying tah not fall for her pleading eyes. “She knows how tah deal with her problems better dan anyone else. An’ if she doesn’t, she’ll ask people dat knows.”

We’ll only be a bother at best if we push her tah talk ‘bout her problems, an’ an insult at her pride at worst. If she wants tah talk about it, she’ll do, if she doesn’t, she won’t.

“We should just offer an ear tah listen if she wants it, an’ help if she even needs it.” Haruka appeared to calm down a bit after listenin’ to mah points. “Just trust dat dah girl knows what she’s doin’.”

Ah quickly got up from mah seat after dat, makin’ clear dat ah saw mah part on it, an’ wouldn’t change mah mind on it.

“...Ughhhh... Alright...” Haruka didn’t seem happy at dat, but it appeared like she understood after thinkin’ it a little. “But if she asks for help, I’ll do my best to help out! She looks like a very nice girl after all!”

Yeah, dah mere fact dat she listened yah yappin’ ‘bout mushrooms so long an’ didn’t seem dah least bit annoyed shows dat dah girl is a saint.

Well, ah would listen too, though for different reasons.

“And you say that, but you were quick at offering to through fists for her.” Plotmon jumped in, obviously trying tah tease me.

“That’s right, you tell me not to do anything, but you were the first one to offer to help her.” Haruka was cutely pouting.

“Hmph, dat’s different.” Ah won’t let some mere teasin’ and cute pout sway me. “Ah was not pressuring her inta tellin’ us what’s goin’ on. An’ simply knowin’ dat she’s not alone an’ there are people willin’ tah listen an’ help can be enough tah push one tah fix their own problems, even if outta spite.”

“Yes, I can understand that.” Renamon interjected, nodding satisfied. “I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for spite at those kindly worrying I wouldn’t manage on my own.”

See? Renamon gets it.

“Well, if even you think we should leave it at that...” Sayo muttered as she looked at Renamon, swayed by her Partner’s opinion.

I returned a happy nod at her, taking a mental note tah invite her tah some fish burgers later.

‘Yaaaaaawnnnn...’ “...Uh, are classes already over?” Angoramon woke up, letting out a huge yawn, before lookin’ ‘round surprised at dah almost empty classroom.

“Heh, good mornin’ tah big oaf.” Ah grabbed mah bag, an’ waited for Angoramon tah slowly sway away dah drowsiness. “Yah all can go ahead of me, ah’ll catch up later. Ah gotta pass by dah pharmacy first.” 

“All right, let’s meet up at the mall then.” “Be careful, things are quite dangerous nowadays.” Sayo an’ Renamon politely waved me off, dah later worryin’ too much.

“See you, Kaoruko-chan!” “Don’t take too long, don’t want to make Haruka wait, don’t you~?” Haruka waved me off enthusiastically as always, while Plotmon sas being an annoyin’ little shit with way too good a nose.

“See ya later girls.” Ah waved them off as Angoramon stretched her back, an’ walked off.

As we exited the store, I looked down at bag in my hand. There were two boxes inside, one containing a figure of Magia Blanc, from the ‘Divine Bells’, one of the few Magical Girl teams in the same prefecture as Tres Magia. The other was one of Youkomon. One for me, and one for Ghostmon.

She said she wanted to apologize in some way, so buying her merchandise would be a good way to start.

It was a very solid argument, especially since Youkomon is known for liking seafood and spending a lot on it. It made me want to buy a figure of Magia Azul too.

But... That thought made me remember why I feel depressed right now.

This was the last of my money. Only two figures, from the cheap ones. Normally, the last splurge of the month would get me way more stuff, including at least one of the expensive figures. But now...

“...My allowance has always been good, so... This feels sad...” I guess I should feel grateful that I get enough that I could feed Ghostmon and still have enough to buy anything...

“I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have asked for my own figure...” Ghostmon sounded very apologetic. I could even feel her regret in our bond.

“N-No! I-It’s alright, I’m happy to-!” But something interrupts me. Words that I can’t simply ignore.

‘Those Magical Girls are all useless!’ Words that my brain couldn’t comprehend at being used in the same sentence, and therefore, responded with anger and irritation. And apparently, also enough to make Ghostmon make the first angry face I have seen in her.

Looking at the source of the voice, I see a group of highschool girls sitting on a bench while eating fries. The one in the middle, a tall girl with dark green curls and way too much makeup, was speaking loud and haughtily.

“What good do Magical Girls do? Nothing! They just eat at our parent’s taxes!” The girl boldly claimed, as the two around her happily agreed adding their own so called ‘Complaints’. “Did you hear the rumor? Apparently, one of them was beaten in a 1v1 and tortured in a construction site! Why do we have them if they can’t even win?!”

...This bastard...! She has no idea what she’s talking about!!!

The Magical Girls protect us all from the Witches! Each Team has to somehow look over multiple cities on their own, risking their lives from a young age!

Who are you to call them useless?!

If I could, I would give those ignorant fools a lesson they wouldn’t forget...!

“Maybe I should put her dirty hair on fire...” Ghostmon muttered on my side, anger shared through our bond. “If I do it fast, my invisibility should last enough to not be seen...”

...Put her hair on fire...

...Right...

...It’s not an ‘If I could’ anymore, it’s ‘I can’...

...I have the power to do it, and the anonymity to get away with it.

It’s not Hiiragi Utena who would be attacking a bastard talking badly about Magical Girls on the street, it would be the evil Witch, which everyone expects to do bad things, attacking a random civilian.

No matter what I do... There’ll be no consequences, as long as I get away before the Tres Magia come. Nobody else could even try to stop me.

If I just Transform... Then I can do whatever I want...

...Wh-What am I thinking?!

Am-Am I seriously considering attacking a random person?!

I-I-I need to get away from here! Before I do something I’ll regret!

I walk away, looking for the closest bathroom to hide in. Ghostmon appeared to notice my dismay, as she let go of her anger and looked at me with worry.

It just took a few moments to find the closest bathroom, and I wasted no time to splash my face with cold water.

I-I need to calm down. I can’t fall for a temptation like that, just like I did with Magia Azul!

“U-Utena, are you alright?” Ghostmon sounded worried, knowing I was going through something, just not knowing what.

“Y-Yeah... Just... Let’s try to think how to solve our money problem.” Fortunately for me, since we met over a week ago, Ghostmon has always been willing to change subject when I wanted to avoid one. “There must be a way to feed us both. Next month’ll be tougher, my allowance won’t last to the end.”

“Then why don’t you steal it?” My body tensed and blood froze at those sudden words, and Ghostmon’s flames appeared to stop for a moment as she looked over my shoulder.

Slowly turning around, I saw Venalita carelessly floating behind me.

“Waaaaah!” “Kyaaaaaah!” We both flinched and screamed at the same time. Somehow, even though she saw it before me.

“That would solve your problems very quickly, wouldn’t it?” It showed no reaction at all at our scare.

“Don’t appear out of nowhere like that!” You’ll give me a heart attack! “And what are you talking about?! I can’t do that!”

“U-Utena’s right, that’s not good!” Ghostmon was bravely standing up to Venalita while hiding behind me. “I’m not stealing!”

“Mmm? Why?” It tilted its head, looking confused.

How are you getting confused about this?!

“Stealing is bad!” “Yes, you can’t take other people’s stuff!” Why do we have to explain why it’s not good to steal?! Ghostmon was born like a week or two ago, and she already knows it!

“...Utena, you are a Witch, and Ghostmon, you are her Partner. Both of you are members of an Evil Organization, known Terrorists.” It explained slowly and patiently. “How is stealing some money worse than attacking, capturing, and torturing a Magical Girl and her Partner like you two did with Azul?”

“...” “...” We couldn’t answer.

How could we even answer? That was nothing but the truth. We have already done something far worse than stealing. And we had no possible excuse for what we did, we did it just because we wanted to. 

This... What do I say...?!

“B-But...!” I try to open my mouth, but I can’t think of a valid answer to that. At least, one that didn’t sound like I had any right to say it.

‘Tap’ ‘Tap’ ‘Tap’

“...!” I hear steps coming closer, people coming to the bathroom.

I-I can’t be seen with Venalita!

In a panic, I grab Venalita by the arm, and drag it towards one of the stalls, closing the door right as the steps start resounding inside the bathroom, alongside the sound of conversation. With voices I unfortunately recognized.

‘And aren’t their costumes dumb?’ ‘Yeah, if they had Magic and all that, they may as well make something more interesting!’ ‘I bet I can design better costumes than what they wear!’

“Tch!” “Tch!” Both I and Ghostmon click our tongues, as we hear the annoying high-schoolers from before. They were still badmouthing the Magical Girls.

Why did they have to follow me all the way here?! I know they don’t even know I exist, but still...!

“Nobody would think it strange if a Witch randomly attacked a group of civilians...” I tensed as the voice of Venalita sounded right besides my ear.

“You wouldn’t face any repercussions...” Its voice then sounded a bit higher, directed at Ghostmon, who was floating besides me.

My heart started to beat faster. I knew what it was doing it. It was obvious what it was.

And the continued conversation of the girls as they retouched their makeup, their session of badmouthing the Magical Girls continued, the ire in me did too. And I could feel it was happening to Ghostmon too.

It would be so easy to fall for the temptation right now, but... If I do, there’ll be no turning back. If I fall for this temptation now, then who could tell what’s the next I would do?

The next thing I would want to do, and I would be completely capable of doing it, without consequences?

“N-No...!” I bit my tongue, and spouted in a low voice out a refusal before the temptation grew. “T-That’s not right...! We can’t attack random people just because they say things we don’t like!”

“...Ah! R-Right, we can’t!” Ghostmon appeared to have suddenly woken up, panicking at realizing how close she was to following up with that temptation. “I-I don’t like them, but that’s no reason to hurt them! T-That’s too much!”

I feel an incredible relief as Ghostmon backs me up here. I don’t know what I would do if she fell for Venalita’s temptation.

Even if now I’m a Witch, I won’t Transform to attack innoc-!

‘Anyone that defends having Magical Girls is an idiot, they are just a bunch of kids flying around and doing Magic carelessly! That’s just asking for trouble. Honestly, if you want to see why all Magical Girls are stupid, useless children, just look at what happened with Magia Yellow-’

“Trans Magia.”

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 3: Slippery Slope - Part 3

“Mmm...” As my eyes passed over the dozens of different phone cases decorating the walls, they fell over a specific one. A design of white snowflakes over a blue background.

I’m tempted to buy it just because of how it fits my theme... But wouldn’t it be too cliche? Buy the designs of ice and snow because I’m Magia Azul...?

“How about this one?” Renamon on my side pointed with her transparent finger at a different case, one with a white ferret happily holding a onigiri. It was quite adorable. “Makes me remember of an old friend.”

“That one looks does look nice.” And I won’t feel like I’m choosing one of snow because I use ice.

“Sayo, help meeeee... I can’t choose...” The pleading voice of Haruka took my attention away, and I was met with a girl on the brink of tears. One hand was holding a case with various pink and red hearts over a white background, with a small polar bear on the corner, while the other was a simplified forest with various types of mushrooms growing around. “Which do I choose...”

“Oh, come on!” Plotmon was rolling her eyes, comfortably resting over her head. “I know you want the mushrooms one!”

“But the bear is so cuuuute...” Haruka sounded like she was making the toughest choice in her life.

“...Huhu!” I let out a small laugh at the scene and thought about it for a moment, before pointing at the hearts one. “I think that one would fit you the best.”

But at the same time I did, Renamon pointed at the other one. “I think you should indulge in what you like.”

We froze for a moment, exchanging a glance and a sour smile, as we knew what was about to happen. Plotmon sent us a helpless accusatory look.

“Uuuughhhhh...! You are no help!” Haruka threw a small fit, turning her back to us and staring holes into the cases.

Ahahahaha... I should probably change the subject. She’ll be able to decide after a quick break from it.

I take a quick look around, to verify that there aren’t other clients nearby that could hear us. And by the way the clerk was holding her phone I guessed she was probably playing something, and by her almost scream of ‘Please please please, just draw the out!’, it was probably some sort of card game.

“...Haruka, what’re your thoughts on the new Witch?” The effects of those words were instantaneous. She stopped agonizing over them, and slowly put them back on their place as she spoke.

We have talked plenty about her before, but a week has passed since her last appearance. More than enough time to think things more throughly.

“Well... It’s not like I and Plotmon have fought too many Witches. Normally just rogue ones that left their organizations and thought they would be alright coming to peaceful, peaceful Japan. But....” She took a moment to answer, a conflicted look on her face as her face slowly became redder. Probably remembering my first encounter with her. “This one’s... Weird.”

“And you only met her once...” Renamon said frustrated, rubbing her eyes. “We had the displeasure the meet her again the next day...”

“Yeah, how dare they do that to you two!” Plotmon threw a fit over Haruka’s head, looking personally offended. “When I get them, I’ll make them apologize!”

“Yes, if after a single encounter she already was like that, I can’t imagine how bad it was for you two...” Haruka looked worried at us for a moment, before looking thoughtful. “But yes, she was very weird. Rogue witches tend to be more free-spirited, so they can do weird stuff rather than fight seriously... But even for them, what she pulled out was... W-Well, the point is, it’s especially weird since she’s not a Rogue Witch, she’s working with Enormeeta.”

“Yes, that’s especially weird.” That doesn’t fit Enormeeta’s modus operandi at all. “And she was completely alone too, rather than attacking in group like normal.”

“Normally, Witch attacks from Enormeeta would be from Loco Musica and that unnamed shadow Witch. They are never seen separately.” Renamon added, before crossing her arms annoyed. “And to make it worse, we don’t even know the name of any of them beyond Loco Musica, who didn’t even try to hide it, shouting it out proudly.”

“Don’t forget that nun and their apparent leader.” Plotmon added. “The nun is always seen with either those two, or the leader, but the leader sometimes acts alone.”

“Well, it’s normal for the leader to act alone, especially since she was confirmed to have at leasts 4 Stars, and her partner is...” There is a reason why there are orders to escape as fast as possible if we ever see her. “...She doesn’t need teamwork. But this new Witch is just a 2 Stars... What do you think of her? You have fought 3 and even 4 Stars in the past, right?”

“...She’s weak, I can tell you that. The moment we got our bearings, breaking through her monster was easy, and she didn’t show any hesitation at running away. But...” She grimaced as she remembered what happened. “She and her Digimon are... Problematic. How can one see coming that the electrical cable all around you will suddenly become alive, turning into a giant monster, and attack you? Or a bag of cement? And...”

She got even redder than before, as she stopped a moment to remember.

“...I’m not used to having to fight... Embarrassment, more than actually harmful attacks.” She practically murmured that rather than saying it outright.

“Ahhhh, I know what you mean...” I looked away, turning red myself. “Simply getting hurt fighting would be less distracting...”

I learned to not panic when attacked, and instead fight back without flinching. The adrenaline generated by the situation can even boost Magic temporarily to fight harder the more dangerous it gets... But how am I supposed to not panic, when instead of stabbing my chest she grabs my breast?!

Why does she even do that?!

“And don’t forget her Partner!” Plotmon stood up over Haruka’s head. “One big of those Agony Shocks even took down Leomon in a single hit!”

I could clearly see a shiver run through Renamon’s body at the mention of those attacks.

“Are they that bad?” Her name was... BlackWitchmon, right? “I could feel how much Youkomon was suffering, but I was never hit with one of those myself.”

I think only the Digimon have had to deal with them for now.

“It’s bad... Very bad...” Renamon’s voice was slightly shaking. “I can see why Leomon fell when taken by surprise by a big one. Those things are pain itself, there is no toughing it out or lowering your pain receptors, nor does it matter where they hit...”

“It’s not TOO bad if you see them coming. Grit your teeth and gulp down the pain, it doesn’t last long.” Plot laid down again, sounding deflated while relating her experience. “We now know to expect it coming, so I don’t think we’ll have another Leomon situation in the future. But getting hit WILL stop anyone in their tracks, even if just for a moment.”

"Ugh, I’m not looking forward to getting hit with one of those myself...” Haruka looked as deflated as Plotmon. “Seriously, what’s wrong with those two, to develop powers like that?”

“ ‘Sigh’ I wish I knew. Hopefully we’ll be able to deal with this Witch soo-” My words are interrupted as a wave of magical energy passes through us. An oppressive, aggressive wave, a presence that felt as if it was trying to devour everything on its way.

The presence of a Witch. And it felt as if it was right on this same mall.

“Haruka!” “Sayo!” We called each other at the same time. 

‘Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!’ 

A scream, and then another, and then way too many screams came from outside the store. We sent a look at each other, and then nodded, running out.

And as we ran out, we were almost ran over by the waves of people running past us.

‘It’s a Witch!!!’

The Witch hadn’t wasted even a moment making her presence known. This level of panic was on a completely different level to that of a mere Minion Digimon.

Deafening screams reverberated through the mall, as masses of people ran, and the ones that didn’t, didn’t take long until they understood the situation and joined the rest of the stampede.

“We need to find a private place to come out!” Plotmon called out, as we did out best to get out of the way of the human stampede going around.

A private place to Transform... Where?!

The closest bathroom from here was... From the direction people is running away! We can’t go there in our civilian forms!

Should we wait until all the people finish running away...?!

No, there is always someone crazy enough to remain behind and film the entire thing!

Then, where-?!

My thoughts are interrupted as Haruka grabs me by the face, and moves it right on time so I see the owner of the store we were just in run away. She then grabbed my hand, and dragged me inside.

Right, there is no need to find a place, if the clerk herself will escape!

After doing a quick look around to verify that nobody is watching, we took out our Transformation Hearts, and materialized Plotmon and Renamon out of them.

“Trans Magia!” “Trans Magia!” “Plotmon Evolves to... Nefertimon!” “Renamon Evolves to... Youkomon!”

In waves of light, we Transformed into our Magical Girl forms, and they Evolved from their Child to their Adult stages. 

Nefertimon quickly slapped the store’s camera with her wing, hacking it to erase our presence from the records and protect our identities, and without losing any more time, we flew out of the store.

Most of the people had already ran away, but as expected, curious onlookers remained. Some more brave and trying to get closer to take a loot, others smarter and keeping more distance. All of them with no self-preservation instincts.

‘GYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!’ ‘HELP!!!’ “PLEASE STOP!!!’

We flew past them and turned the corner, following the screams into the second floor. And there, we stopped a moment as we saw them at the end of the corridor.

“Well well well, you three talked a lot, but now you are calling for help? Begging me to stop~?” “Who do you think are the ones that’ll save you~?” The Witch and her Partner, BlackWitchmon, were tormenting a group of civilians.

‘Clank!’ 

“Who is going to save you?!” “Tell me!!!” With a swing of her riding crop, the Witch hit one of the cages that were encasing each of the girls. Cages that acted as the hands of a giant monster made of pipes, faucets, and a big tank.

‘GYAAAAAAAA!!!’

The girl inside the cage flinched, and then they all screamed together, as the top of the cages released strong torrents of water on them, and BlackWitchmon sent very small balls of pain into the cages.

‘S-SAVE US, MAGICAL GIRLS!!!’

My cold blood boiled at the image in front of me.

This Witch is torturing civilians!

“Stop right there, Enormeeta!!!” Haruka was the first to shout at this scene, and we rushed towards the Witch.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 3: Slippery Slope - Part 4

The Witch and BlackWitchmon turned to us, displeased looks on their faces.

“I’ll kindly ask you three to not interrupt today.” “Those girls need to be taught a lesson.” Their voices were cold as they raised their crop and staff.

“Release the civilians!” Magenta shouted as she took out her spear, while I create my ice sword. 

We flew side by side, approaching neither too fast nor too slow to be aware of our surroundings. We won’t commit the same mistakes twice. 

Nefertimon and Youkomon on the other side were flying a safe distance away from us on both sides. They specialized in combat at a distance, so they would keep each an eye on each other and our backs, while the former paid extra attention to the space over us and the latter to the ground.

This was the formation we thought on how to deal with this Witch, to avoid being taken off-guard by monsters suddenly sprouting from any direction. It was incomplete without Sulfur monitoring and protecting everyone from the middle, and Leomon alongside her paying attention to our backs and jumping in any direction as needed, but it would suffice.

“Curse of Queen!” “Homuradama!” Nefertimon shoots an incandescent laser from her mask at the Witch, while Youkomon releases the 9 fireballs from her tails.

The laser, unexpectedly, was parried by the Witch’s crop, a surprising feat of agility and reflexes from a 2 Stars. But her strength could barely make it, the strain clear in her trembling arm after the laser disappeared.

Raising her crop again, she directed the monster, that abomination of intertwined pipelines and porcelain, all connected to a huge water tank on its back, which followed by twisting its faucet head and releasing a high-pressure stream of water. It flew past us, making its target clear as an explosion of steam happened behind us.

A quick look behind showed how the fireballs had been extinguished, and Youkomon was pushed into the ground by the unstopping stream.

“Nefarious Binding!” The BlackWitchmon pointed her staff at us, and a dozen chains emerged from its back, rushing towards us.

“Gyaaaa!” “Haaaaa!” Covering each other’s side, Magenta cut and broke through the chains coming from the right, while I froze and cut the ones in the left. 

We continued undeterred towards the Witch. If we take her down, the monster will disappear, and BlackWitchmon may revert to her Child form.

“Tch! Schiavo!” The Witch clicked her tongue in frustration, and swing her crop to direct the monster again.

The monster, which was still releasing its torrent towards Youkomon, her feeling of frustration and cold at being unable to get out the torrent gnawing at the back of my mind, this time moved its arm towards us... The jail containing one of the girls.

“Guh!” I falter for a moment, as the Witch uses one of the hostages as a shield. The grip on my sword softening as I stop the swing I was preparing.

Magenta did not falter. She quickly shifted her swing, and with a single swing, cut and broke through the porcelain jails entrapping the girl. The fragments accurately shot away from her.

“Azul!” Magenta quickly motioned to the jail as the cut more approaching chains, and another laser flew past by, barely missing the Witch who managed to get out of the way, but hitting the monster in the leg, piercing through and harmlessly dissipating in the ground.

Without taking even a moment to think about it, I jump into the jail, and extend my hand to grab the girl. 

A clear mistake on my part.

‘Fwoooosh!’

The tube on top of us suddenly activated, a torrent of high pressure water falling on us, pushing me to my knee. It was strong enough to make me kneel, but not strong enough to hurt me, the feeling even pleasurable in a weird way, and its cold couldn’t even dream of getting to me...

But how bad would it be for the girl? Even worse, considering my presence must be making the water even colder.

I try to reach for the girl, but I can’t see in front of me. So instead, I raise my sword and freeze the tube. 

The torrent stops instantly, its source frozen solid, and I take the chance to grab the girl and pull her out, finally out of that porcelain prison. I flew back, carefully releasing her far enough from the fighting so she could run away.

That’s when I could finally take a good look of the girl. She looked like at around her 16s or 17s... And was terribly pale. Her body was extremely cold, trembling violently, and her completely soaked clothes wouldn’t help.

This is horrible... How could she do this to an innocent person?!

Those damn Witches...!

I stopped for a moment, thinking on what to do. My first thought was asking Youkomon to cover her in her fur and warm her by lighting up the fire in her tails, but a quick look to the side showed that wouldn’t be possible. Youkomon jumped out of the water stream, just for it to follow her. It wasn’t strong enough to hurt her, but she couldn’t fire up like that, and eventually the cold will get to her.

I bit my tongue for a moment, and looked down at the girl looking up at me with pleading eyes. “Run to a safe and warm place! I’ll rescue the others!” I then flew back into the battle, not looking back.

I couldn’t do more for her right now. And I hated it.

I fly past Nefertimon as the light of a shot laser dissipates from her mask, and light grows in her back. Indicating that the monster had its seconds counted.

I set my eyes back in the battle, as I see Magenta’s spear clash its handle against the Witch’s riding crop. The difference in strength was evident as the Witch was being pushed back.

With the Witch not a problem anymore, I set my eyes on the monster and on... Wait...

...Where is BlackWitchmon?!

“Rosetta St-!” “Agony Shock!!!” At crazed voice suddenly coming from behind, I quickly look back.

Right on time to see Nefertimon finish creating the tower of light in her back that would release the Rosetta Stone... And a BlackWitchmon coming from below, the end of her staff holding the biggest manifestation of pain I have seen until now, almost as big as its target.

“Nef-!!!” “GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” I could barely make a small movement before the attack with Nefertimon, releasing an ear-shattering cry of pain.

“Neferti?! Gyaaa-!” It was followed by Magenta’s own, albeit smaller, scream, as she flew past me. Turning back showed the figure of the Witch, retrieving her crop from a swing.

“Please, don’t look away during our dance~.” She had a crazed and hungry smile on her face. When her eyes moved to me, shivers ran through my spine, in a strange combination of fear and anticipation.

I tighten the grip on my sword, but as I started creating ice projectiles around me...

“GRRRRRR... STONE!!!” ‘Fwooosh!’

The air was violently tore apart as a huge stone tablet parted its way besides me, almost too fast to see it move. The Witch couldn’t react either, but the stone missed her, passing by her side... Right through the monster behind her.

‘Crkcrkcrkcrk!’

The monster let out what may have been a cry of pain, as the stone pushed through from side to side, tearing apart half its body and bouncing harmlessly against the ground, before starting to disappear. The water tank attached to its body, now partially torn apart, started to quickly spill its contents, and the torrent of water coming from its ‘mouth’ stopped completely.

“Grrr! Homuradama!” I look back to see Youkomon finally able to create her fireballs, now completely soaked but free of the torrent of water. She stood protectively in front of a downed Nefertimon, whose paws and wings were violently twitching.

BlackWitchmon was near them, generating more smaller Agony Shocks, as her chains held Magenta tightly... Or so they did, before she broke through them once she recovered from the previous hit.

The situation with the Digimon under control with Magenta I set my eyes back on the Witch. Her smile was faltering as she looked at the situation, apparently thoughtful for a moment... Before she rushed towards the cell of one of the hostages.

“Stop right there!” I finish the ice projectiles I was in the middle of creating, and threw them at the Witch, before rushing in myself.

The ice blades cut through the air as they approached her. But with a surprising show of agility, she evaded them in the air... Most of them. One blade found its target, grazing her leg.

It was a minimal injury, one that one could easily ignore. But the wound, and the area around it, quickly froze over, encasing half her leg. Her poor resistance to the freezing a show of her lack of power.

Still, the Witch continued her short path to the hostage, and before I could get any closer, the monster slammed the jail with the last hostage against me.

That took my breath out of me, and the Witch reached the cell, pushing her arm inside and grabbing the girl by the neck.

“Stop!” I jumped over the cell, cutting the arm of the monster as I flew by it, freezing it entirely up to the ‘shoulder’, forcing it to remain in place. And I continued my flight, slashing at the Witch at the end of it.

And whatever she tried to do, I appeared to have reached it in time, as she retrieved her hand and jumped back to avoid my attack. A quick look at the hostage showed that she was indeed safe, so I returned my focus to the Witch.

And a shiver ran down my spine as I saw her smile again, holding up a chocker between her fingers.

She’s going to do something! I have to stop her now!

I use the porcelain jail as a foothold to impulse me forward, but as I do she lightly taps the chocker with her crop, covering it in a sick, purple and almost liquid light.

The next thing I noticed, was the ray of light shot towards me, too fast to react on time, and the painful sensation of being strangled. I saw the Witch get smaller and smaller as I was violently pushed back, and slammed against Magenta, as she was swinging her spear against BlackWitchmon.

“Wha- Azul, what is-?!” Her words were cut as she tried to pull away, only to drag me with her, and notice the situation we were in.

We were pushed against each other, our breasts rubbing together and our faces almost glued cheek to cheek. Our necks were bound together by what felt like a pair of oversized ‘chokers’, and slowly being strangled by those.

“The chains will release if you two passionately kiss~.” The teasing words of the Witch reached us, stunning us for a moment as we looked into each other’s eye in embarrassment.

A moment that was not wasted. From our position, I could see BlackWitchmon using the just-created opening to escape the encircling of fireballs of Youkomon, and send the barrage of small balls of pain towards us.

“Get away!” I shouted as a warning to the Magenta that couldn’t see them coming, and flew away...

...Unfortunately, we flew away in opposite directions, leaving us locked in place, as the Agony Shock rained upon us.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaa!!!” “Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!” Magenta’s scream reverberated in my ear, as she scremaed right besides it. And I screamed into hers.

The words from Plotmon and Renamon didn’t make justice to this feeling. Or maybe they did, and I just underestimated it.

Wherever one of those spheres touched my body, my pain receptors desperately cried for help. An average one felt like breaking a bone. A smaller one felt like cutting your finger with paper. A bigger one felt like like holding hot metal against my skin.

The pain was overwhelming, feeling as if my brain was working over-time just to process it all. It was an unbelievable terrible sensation.

...So why...

...Why... Does it feel good...?!

I could feel my face heat up as the attack stopped, leaving us panting in pain alongside each other. And immobile as I saw dozens of chains, at least double than before, surge in our direction.

“Nefarious Binding!” BlackWitchmon shouted as she retreated towards her Partner, her chains covering a surprisingly long distance.

‘Broooooom!’

But they couldn’t reach us, as Youkomon jumped in front of us, and her fireballs impacted all around the chains, scorching and tearing them apart.

“Focus on breaking the collars!” Youkomon ordered us as she stood protectively in front of us, Nefertimon resting on her back as she created more fireballs.

We tried to send her a quick nod, but we couldn’t even move our necks. So I instead just raised my sword toward my neck, and pocked the collar with it, slowly freezing it. Slower than I expected, its resistance higher than the huge monster from before.

‘Crck... Crckcrck!’

Magenta on the other side, just dropped her spear and grabbed the choker with her fingers, pulling with all her strength. And it appeared to not offer too much of a challenge to her, as I could her it starting to break under her fingers.

Only a matter of time until we get them off, I look back towards the battle, and see Nefertimon get off from Youkomon’s back, still slightly trembling, and the Witch murmur something to BlackWitchmon, who just nodded back.

A moment later, the somehow still alive monster swung it’s still good arm at us, the girl still trapped inside.

‘Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!’

“S-Stop it!” I shout at Youkomon. We needed to stop that arm before the girl inside gets seriously hurt!

But at her lack of response, I could just receive her panic through our. A single thought made clear through it.

‘How?!’

Without any other options, Youkomon just jumped backwards at the cage, trying to catch it with her tails. Unfortunately for her, she’s not exactly the most physically strong of Tres Magia.

Fortunately for her, Nefertimon jumped right behind her, catching the cage and helping at carefully stopping it, avoiding the girl from getting injured. “Curse of Queen!” And with a quick laser, she pierced through the monster’s ‘Head’, and a dozen minus one fireballs detonated all around its ‘Chest’.

Moments later, the monster finally stopped moving, and started to break apart, slowly returning to its original inanimate form. Meanwhile, Magenta managed to break apart her chocker, and I froze mine enough to shatter it by pulling it.

We held our weapons again and looked back at the enemy... But they were gone.

I grip my sword and bite my tongue in frustration. Once again, the Witch escaped under our noses.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 3: Slippery Slope - Part 5

We flew, taking corners and changing floors, as my heart beat like a jet engine on the border of exploding. It felt as if my blood was boiling, regardless of my frozen leg.

They were beautiful!!!

They fought so well!!!

They had me completely against the ropes!!!

I exchanged blows directly with Magia Magenta, so close that our heads may have clashed as she easily pushed me back!

A quick look to the side clearly showed what I was feeling through our bond. BlackWitchmon’s face showed the same kind of excitement I was feeling.

Ahhh... I want to come back there... See if they ended kissing to free themselves, or more likely, just killed the Schiavo...

...But we’ll probably die if we remain there longer.

It’s strange, I feel like the first time I fought them it was easier. Like I was stronger than I am now. Or maybe I imagined it in the confusion of the moment.

Anyways, where is Venalita to take us away with a portal?!

Instinctively searching for a place to hide, I went inside the cinema, followed closely behind by BlackWitchmon. The lights were lightly illuminating the place, and the screen was off. Probably arrived in-between movies.

I breathe heavily as I let my feet finally touch the ground, while she lightly floated around me, her eyes fixated with a smile on the chains of her staff.

“So easily... She broke my chains so easily...” She was muttering to herself, joy spread through her face and voice. “I even had her completely captured, and she just tore through them in seconds...! It was fantastic!!!”

“I know, right?!” Magenta was incredible! “Such strength...! Such beauty...! Ahhh... I want to meet her again... I want to see how much I can push her..! I want to make her cry...!”

I want to go back right now...!

...But we really should get away before we die! My leg I still half-frozen, if they find us, we are done for!

“Venalita! Open a portal!” How do I even contact it, anyways?! Is it watching?!

“Y-Yeah, we finished here, take us back!” BlackWitchmon couldn’t contain her smile, but it did feel like she was already coming back to her senses.

I don’t wanna admit, it, but this was so much f-!

“Ah don’t think dat’s gonna happen~” My body froze at those words, from a voice I knew far too well. A voice I have listened to hundreds, or maybe thousands of times when watching interviews multiple times.

“You are only getting out of here in handcuffs and with broken bones!” I turned back as I heard the deep, rough voice accompanying hers.

Blocking the entrance, there stood Magia Sulfur and Leomon.

Half my brain screamed that we had to get away, that we were in danger and I was already injured. The other half of my brain, made the smile on my face grow to a painful extent in excitement.

The second overpowered the first. 

“Ohhhh, Sulfur~, Leomon~! Where were you?! You missed the fun!” I happily let out, as I slowly and rhythmically smacked the crop against my palm. “But if you two come alone, I bet we can have even more fun!”

“Leomon~! It’s good to see you again!” BlackWitchmon was getting as excited as me. “I’m not sure how much you remember of last time, so let’s make today memorable~!”

We were alone, in a dark place, with Sulfur and Leomon separated from the rest of Tres Magia. The mere idea of the situation was enough to make me feel funny. Experiencing it for real...!

Sulfur is a great team-player, fighting the rest of Tres Magia while she’s constantly protecting them would be hell. But she doesn’t have any offensive Magic. And while Leomon is like an unstoppable force of nature... It doesn’t look like she has a great pain resistance.

If it’s just those two, even with my leg frozen...!

“Don’tcha think it’ll be as easy as last time~.” Sulfur said with her usual amicable voice and smile. Though, suddenly, it took on a more serious tone. “Yah’ll get hurt.”

“I won’t make the same mistakes as last time.” Leomon sounded resentful for last time. “I’ll you back for that, and for what you did to Sulfur and the others!”

They were a lot more serious than last time. So this is how it feels to be teased with a good time?

“Ohhh~? Then, please...” I raised the Frustrino Dominanza, and hit the row of seats besides me. “SHOW ME!!!”

The row of seats was covered in a waving purple light, before twisting and bumping together, its pieces separating and rearranging into a huge multi-armed bear of metal and cushions, a single chair with metal restraints set on its chest, awaiting to the one to sit on it.

I felt as if a hole in my chest, one that I barely noticed before, was growing, nearing its edges. A slightly painful, but pleasant and satisfying sensation.

The Schiavo, as I decided to call this monsters, pounced towards them, but didn’t do so alone.

“Nefarious Binding!” BlackWitchmon released a wave of chains around the Schiavo, surging forwards in a clear hunger to capture our opponents.

Dozens of shiny golden chains grew from BlackWitchmon’s staff. There were a lot more chains than before, and I wasn’t sure why, but I wasn’t going to complain.

The Schiavo and chains rushed at them... But they did no effort to get away not counterattack. They just raised their hands and joined their fists together, before their silhouettes were completely covered by the Schiavo and chains.

‘BRRRRRRRR!!!’

What followed it, was an intense light growing from the gaps between, and a thunderous sound, like lightning cracking right besides you.

The figure of the Schiavo was quickly distorted, as it’s body was torn apart and sent flying, and the chains cracked and broke into pieces.

“...Eh?” “What?” My brain, and probably BlackWitchmon’s too, froze for a moment, as we tried to understand what was happening in front of us.

The Schiavo and the chains were no more as the light receded, showing the figures of Sulfur and Leomon once again. But very different figures than before.

“Magia Sulfur...” “Leomon...” Their voices resounded through the cinema, stronger and sharper than before. ““Assault Mode!””

W-What...?!

They had changed. Changed in a way that send chills through my body at the amount of sheer power emanating from them, something I didn’t even know I could FEEL.

Sulfur, the small, elegant, and delicate looking princess of Tres Magia had grown at least 10 centimeters and at least one cup, catching up to me, and her skin took a more healthy color. 

And more immediately urgent, her arms were wrapped in so much and so dense magic that they looked like giant gauntlets, each half as tall as her but twice as wide. They were surrounded in large, thick black belts, and the knuckles and back of the ‘Hands’ were covered in huge metal studs.

Leomon on her side now were thick spiked metal gauntlets and boots, completely encasing her lower arm and fingers in a layer of shiny steel, but leaving her toes and soles exposed, thick claws pocking out.

A large cloak of pure, golden magic floated from her shoulders, swaying with a non-present wind, and the sheath of the sword in her back had become longer and thicker.

They stood firmly in place, having taken not even one step. Their magic shone brightly, a beacon of light inside this dark place, as their shining eyes looked down on us.

“What... Is that?” BlackWitchmon let out the question that was flooding my mind, looking at me in confusion, expecting me to know.

I didn’t know.

I don’t know what is that I’m seeing.

In the year that Magia Sulfur has been a Magical Girl, she has never shown this before. This has never been seen before!

“Yah know? Ah never use this in front of others. Dah little girls looking up tah us would get scared if ah showed it tah ‘em. Ah don’t even show it tah Magenta.” “And we couldn’t get into it last time, since we got separated from the beginning.” Sulfur and Leomon calmly talked as they slowly lowered their posture.

“So keep it a secret, ‘kay~?” “Not like you’ll get the chance, though.” She was right in front of me. They were right in front of us, their fists raised and ready to swing down at us.

They moved so fast that we could barely react by the time they were straight-up over us. No, the only reason we could react, was because they slowed down at the end just to speak to our faces, just to make a point.

I raised my riding crop at the last moment, too late to try and avoid it, same as how BlackWitchmon created a swirling shield with her chains.

‘Thump!!!’

The hits were fast and felt like they had the weight of an off-rails train. I could barely hold on the crop for half a second as the fist impacted on it before my bones started to scream.

She...! She’s even stronger than Magenta?!

By pure survival instinct, I angled the crop and flapped my little wings with all my strength, sending the fist clashing harmlessly against the wall as I darted away, pushed even faster by the shockwave of the impact hitting me and tearing both my clothes and the ice covering my leg. It felt like something bad happened to my skin, but any sign of pain was quickly disappearing under the adrenaline.

As I was sent flying away, I grabbed BlackWithmon by the collar, as her shield was being quickly penetrated by Leomon’s fist and received a painful blow in the gut, with a second one coming at her head. I dragged her with me and stopped right before clashing against a wall, just in time to avoid having her skull caved in.

My hands were trembling as I held my crop and BlackWitchmon, who was still reeling from the punch.

This was not like any of the previous times. We weren’t simply being overpowered, don’t even mention catching them or winning. This was seeing a truck breaking the speed limit and driving straight towards you, and you only noticing with enough time to think that you are fucked.

We are going to die.

Is this... Sulfur’s and Leomon’s true strength?!

...And still...

...And still...!

We try to fly away by the wall to the exit, but Sulfur and Leomon easily fly past us, getting in the middle of the way. Their could smiles looking down on us.

“Ah see~. All yah can do is run away an’ let those monsters deal with everythin’~.” Sulfur said lightly and in good humor, and Leomon just let out a chuckle.

...I can’t get enough of this!!!

BlackWitchmon grabbed me by the shoulder, recomposing herself and leaning forward, getting a good look of those two. She had a wide, ear-to-ear smile, and was lowly cackling to herself. Her eyes dilated and star pupils growing past her irises.

I could not share her smile.

What is this?!

Sulfur and Leomon Transformed into a more powerful form?!

Could they always do it?!

Why didn’t I know?!

Such overwhelming and beautiful power!!!

And it’s only for us to see!!!

Ahhhh...!!!

I want to...!

I want to...!!!

“I WANT TO BREAK HER!!!” “I WANT TO BREAK HER!!!” We shouted together, our feelings completely in sync.

I felt something blazing inside of me, burning through the borders of the hole I felt in my chest, until it sprouted outwards, expanding out of my body as a wave of dark, purple light.

Everywhere the light passed through was covered in digital patterns, as if they stopped being material objects, and their very existence began to glitch. The entire room around us took on various shades of purple as the lights dissipated.

I held my crop tight with a trembling hand. I felt spent, I felt like fainting, I felt better than I have ever felt in my life. BlackWitchmon held her staff tightly as her eyes started to shine.

“Mmm~? Looks like this Witch is gettin’ more dangerous~.” “I can see. We should beat them up until their lights go out now.” They spoke in a worryingly calm tone, but their sweet voices sounded like music to my ears.

BlackWitchmon raised her staff, and created a single Agony Shock. One bigger than me. One bigger than her. One bigger than the both of us, than the four of us together. Her face was either on the brink of collapse from pushing it too far, or on the brink of fainting from the excitement of throwing that thing.

I raised my crop, and without doubting it a moment, without even stopping to consider if it could be done, just pushed by the sheer desire of making it happen... I struck the Agony Shock with all my strength, sending all the power burning inside me into it.

The sphere shook, twisted, and grew even larger as it was covered and empowered by my Magic turning it into a Schiavo. Purple smoke released from its top, descending as waves around it, and it’s spherical shape changed, becoming sharper, gaining more distinctive features... And eventually tearing itself open, letting out a deafening scream from its teared lips, before flying at Sulfur and Leomon.

“Agony Elemental!!!” “Agony Elemental!!!” We screamed at the same time, as if we had planned any of this.

“If ya think’s that’ll be enough~... I’ll kick yar ass. Leomon.” Taking a steady step forward, as the enormous incarnation of pain and suffering fell upon them, Leomon crouched down and unsheathed her sword. Bright light flooded out of the sheath as the wide sword came out.

“Shishiou-maru.” Her steady voice resonated even stronger than the screams of the elemental, as she held her sword with both hands and it shone as bright as the sun. “Shishi Jūhazan!”

A simple, fast, and heavy swing of her sword.

‘SLASH!!!’

The Agony Elemental was cut in half by the bright wave created by her swing, which passed right over and tore through the walls, cutting the room in half.

“Hum. Too soft.” Leomon closed her eyes, satisfied.

And as both halfs of it twitched, trying to join together and somehow repair the damage, Sulfur jumped forward, the magic of her fist cracking wildly as she swing it back. “Thunder Crush!” 

‘BRRRRRRRRRR!!!’

A cracking thunder erupted as her fist clashed against both halfs of the elemental. The intensity of the impact tearing apart the creature as its parts were sent flying and disintegrated, leaving nothing behind.

And without losing any time between swings, she flew down at us, swinging back her other fist.

“Thunder Crush!” Her words felt like being given the death sentence.

We raised our crop and staff to protect ourselves, a golden shield of chains covering us and shooting forwards trying to catch Sulfur and stop her.

‘BRRRRRRRRRR!!!’

The shield, the crop, and the staff shattered, and an impact like nothing I have ever imagined before hit our bodies.

‘CRASH!!!’

We were sent flying so fast I didn’t even realize the moment we crashed and were buried into the wall. Fortunately, at that point I couldn’t even feel pain anymore, and it looked like BlackWitchmon didn’t feel it either.

...Ah, no, she was unconscious.

The room fell into silence, interrupted only by the cracking of their magic, as we slowly slided down the wall and into the ground, and they walked down the room, looking at us.

“...Beautiful.” Blood sprouted from my mouth, making it hard to speak.

They are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Swinging their fist and sword back, they pounced at us, and were up in our faces before I could snap from my awe.

“Well then, good bye!” “Don’t wake up.”

...Ah, so this is how we die.

The fist and sword descended at us, their overwhelming power and speed falling upon us. And then... They stopped, just centimeters away from our faces.

“...Grrr?!” “...What is...?!” Their voices sounded strained, as they looked down at us in surprise and worry.

“...Why...?” I was just as confused as them, as my eyes fell upon their bodies. As I saw what I thought was a trick of the light.

Their bodies were partially covered by swirling stripes of shadows, twitching as if fighting against something. And from those shadows, eyes opened. Eyes looking down at us.

‘Shrllllr...’

Shadows gathered below us, and started ascending like swirling, liquid, and bubbling waves. And slowly, we started to descend into them, as if sinking into a swamp.

“...Grrrr!!! Hey!” Sulfur let out an irritated growl, but quickly composed herself, returning to her usual smile. “Before yah go, please tell me~. What’s yar name?”

As the swamp devoured us, I looked up at the beauty of an unstoppable and victorious Magical Girl, that had proudly accepted the escape of her enemy after showing her strength.

An image I wish I’ll never forget.

And this Magical Girl, this Magical Girl that I have admired for so long... Wanted to know who I was.

The person that I’m now... The person that she has fought... The person I want to be for her...

I’m...

“...Baiser. Magia Baiser.” The swamp consumed us entirely, Sulfur disappearing from my sight. “I’ll be your worst enemy.”

I came out of the portal, right as Utena... As Magia Baiser and BlackWitchmon were spouted out from the other side of the shadow portal, their Transformation and Evolution undoing.

“Ahhh... Ahhh...”

They were a mess, but Utena managed to get up, using a wall to steady herself. She took a quick look at Ghostmon on the ground, and took our her Digivice, absorbing her into it.

“Ahhh... Ahhh...”

She was breathing heavily, clearly exhausted and in pain, looking down at her Digivice. But judging by the fact she can stand up at all, that means their last defense softened the blow enough to get out of it with maybe just a few small fractures and internal bleeding.

Nothing that can’t be healed in a few days

“Utena, are you okay?” I approached the heavily panting girl, floating behind her. As her very own personal devil in her shoulder.

This was an excellent result. No, beyond excellent. That fight with Sulfur went above and beyond my expectations. The experience she got from it may be even better than what I aimed for in the first place.

“Ahhh... Ahhh...”

She didn’t answer, just kept trying to breathe.

“Who would’ve thought Sulfur would be so powerful, right?” Even I didn’t know that. That must have been at least 3 Stars. “We need to think carefully about our next step.”

A few of my future plans could be ruined and end in a worst case scenario if I proceed with them without taking into consideration this increase on the value of Sulfur’s piece. I’ll have to update her from a knight to a switching dual piece of knight and rook.

“Ahhh... Ahhh...”

There was no answer. She just continued trying to breathe.

...This... Doesn’t look good.

“...Utena?” ...Did I push her too much too soon?

If... She truly was traumatized by this encounter, no amount of blackmail will get her to cooperate. Trauma is too much of an irrational and problematic result of expecting too much of Humans and Digimon.

In case she can’t bring herself to fight anymore... She’ll leave me with no other option but...

“Fu... Fu fu...!” 

“...” As a small cackle ran out of her lips, I slowly floated around her, and took a proper look at her face.

A small, nervous, but uncontrollable smile was plastered on her face, even as a line of blood descended from her mouth. And even after her Transformation was undone... Her pupils had turned into stars.

And so, she laughed.

...Destiny truly favors the bold.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 3: Slippery Slope - Intermission

I put aside the floating screen in front of me, careful of the sharp cross-shaped corners. Though that was unnecessary, as it disappeared on its own a bit after the battle ended, and that girl, Baiser, crossed the portal.

Stupid screen, if you’ll disappear on your own, do it before I try to move you away!

Well, anyways, I bring my eyes down and relax as I look down, lightly swinging my crossed legs from the edge of the building. Down in the alleyway, the girl came out of the portal, exactly where that Venalita gal said she would. 

Not sure why she wanted me to check this out though. What a waste of time.

She Untransformed, breathing heavily as she leaned against a wall. If she was just tired and injured I would get it, buuuuuut...

“Damn~. What a freak~.” My ugly and adorable little partner gleefully murmured besides me.

“True~.” I ‘grabbed’ her horn, and she humored me by swinging her head wildly as I tried to swing around something I couldn’t even touch. “Just look at her smile~.”

I relaxed and twisted backwards, my hands firmly planted on the roof so I wouldn’t fall and hit my head. “What do you think, Korisu~?”

The little girl sat behind me, completely ignoring my words and the girl we were told to check out before we properly met. She and her Partner were starting to fall asleep.

Oh well, not like she’ll answer me if she was awake.

Anyways, Magia Baiser, eh...?

Can’t wait to meet her~.

As I got back to the base, I threw away my ‘Trophy’ from the last hunt, and walked towards my throne. Venalita had been besides it when I arrived, so it must have been waiting for me.

Or knew exactly when I was coming back. An idea I despise, and that may bring me problems later if true.

In any case, if it has been waiting for me, then it must have something to talk about or to show me. Getting some rest can wait until then. Sister will bring the ‘Trophy’ to its place later anyways.

I slowly walk towards my throne, my Tool walking behind me, making it clear to the rogue satellite that is becoming more and more of an annoyance and dead weight as time passes, that Enormeeta will move at MY rhythm, not its.

As I sat down in my throne, I crossed my legs, and Voltboutamon stood in silence besides me. Taking a moment just to get the stress of today’s fight out, I looked down at Venalita.

“What is it?” If it was urgent, it would have sent me a message. If it’s unimportant, lets get it done already.

“Hey, enjoyed your hunt? The new girl took a big step today, so I thought you would want to see.” It said with it’s annoyingly fake cheer.

A big step? What exactly happened?

“...Show me.” Obeying my order, Venalita created a large screen in front of me, showing an edited version of today’s fight, using one of its invisible cameras.

I don’t know how much it must be hiding from the parts edited out, but I’ll let it slide.

...

Pathetic. That is something I thought, but I couldn’t say out loud.

While the way she was overpowered and beaten two consecutive times was indeed a failure worthy of punishment, something unexpected happened.

The fight started with her capturing and tormenting civilians. I’m not particularly a fan of random assault, but if that makes her happy, so be it. Maybe she had a grudge against them or just wanted to test her powers, her reasons are up to her.

What happened after was the Magical Girls appearing, and beating her relatively easy. Her monster... Her ‘Schiavo’ this time couldn’t do any damage to the Magical Girls, probably because of not being made of a directly dangerous object like the electrical wires of last time, or maybe just a bad match-up. And she was easily overpowered by Magia Magenta when it came to a direct confrontation.

Still, it was not entirely a bad presentation. Her monster kept Youkomon pretty much useless the entire fight, while still having its arms free to fight the rest. This solidifies my idea that she’ll be a great support asset during our conquest. Even if she can’t win on her own, she can make our victory easier to achieve.

And, if I have to be fair, I can’t fault her for losing in a direct confrontation with Magia Magenta. Given her history, it’s only a matter of time until I have to fight her myself, I doubt the others would be able to overpower her in a direct fight.

If she didn’t have her to bail her out when things turn bad, I would have intervened myself. Letting the newby fight alone with the Tres Magia is too reckless.

But what was interesting, was the next part.

After trying to escape, and Venalita not opening a portal for her not teaching her how to open one, she was cornered by Magia Sulfur, who revealed a quite powerful Transformation she was keeping hidden, and used it to demolish the new girl.

Eventually, she manifested her Domain, way too late if you ask me. But considering she didn’t know how to open her own portals, not even a standard one, it wouldn’t surprise me if Venalita never taught her how, and just assisted her with the first one.

I don’t understand how it expects this girl to grow powerful by letting her on her own like that, without even instruction on the basics...

...But it is working.

In the middle of the fight, as she manifested her Domain... Under her right eye, another Star started to appear. Together with the previous Stars under each eye, that would have made her a 3 Stars...

...That is, if the Star had lasted, rather than phase in and out, until it eventually disappeared after she was beaten down.

Still, that means she’s on the brink of properly developing her third Star. This is something that took the other two months... And it has taken her weeks.

...Magia Baiser, eh...? A corrupt Magical Girl...

Huh, is that a poor name for a Witch, or a really good one? I like it.

“...Keep up whatever you are doing with that girl.” I don’t understand why, but it’s working. And in the end, that’s pretty much the rule with dealing with Magic.

“That’s good to hear! I’ll go ahead with our previously agreed schedule then.” It sounded pleased, which I still wasn’t sure if it was real pleasure or not.

What I was sure of, was that this girl will be more useful than I expected. If I take the time to teach her once the accorded month ends, how far can she go?

And Venalita said it’s recruiting a couple more.

Will they progress as fast as this girl... As Magia Baiser is doing?

...Looks like now I have something to look forwards to.

Ugh... My body hurts....

“Utena... Stop feeling pain... It’s pinging in my head like an alarm, and giving me a headache...” Ghostmon complained, as she was sprawled face-down on my bed.

“...Same... Your pain hurts... Can’t you turn it off...?” It’s not like I can feel her pain as it is... But I feel the pain she feels in a painless way... 

Can’t we turn off the Digivice for a while? This function is completely unnecessary!

“...Ugh, at least she didn’t hit me in the face... I couldn’t hide a black eye...” If Mom saw the bruises and worrying color of my skin under my clothes... I don’t wanna imagine her reaction...

“Venalita said you’ll heal on your own in a couple of day, right...? Does that also apply to me?” She put a hand over her chest. Her lower body had changed from dark blue flames, to pale light blue ones. I guess that was her equivalent of bruises.

“...Probably? How are we supposed to recharge Magic, anyways?” Venalita said I had completely spent all I have, so my healing will take a while to start... “...Do we just eat and sleep? Venalita said something about that...”

“...Do we have enough food for that? I feel like I’m starving...” Her stomach grumbled following those words, and mine quickly followed.

“Mom is making dinner. After she goes to sleep, we can slip out and go to the store for more.” ...Though, I’m not sure I’m in a condition to walk all the way there. “...Ughhh... Will our money even last if we have to eat more than usual to recover?”

“...Ah, right.” Ghostmon slowly seated up, and... Took of her hat.

“...Eh?! Wait, I thought your hat was part of your body?!” She can take it off?!

“Yes? It is, why?” She ignored my confusion, and reached a hand inside the hat.

Moments later, it came out... Holding a bag with a pair of boxes inside.

“Ah... So that’s where they went...” I had forgotten about the figurines...

She left them over the bed, and put her hand back inside. It didn’t take long until she took it out... Alongside a few wallets.

“...Eh? Wait, are those...?” She... Didn’t do what I think... Did she?

“I took them from those girls...” She held the wallets as she put her hat back on. “I was angry, and thought they didn’t deserve to have it...”

She... She stole them?! 

“W-Wait! T-That’s not good!” We can’t start stealing from people! “I know we did something arguably worse to them, but-!”

My words die in my throat as she opens the first of the wallets, taking out at least 20.000 yen.

20.000, from just one of the wallets.

I wanted to protest. I wanted to say something. This was wrong, it was wrong in so many levels... But it’s not like I lack greed.

If we start stealing from people, we’ll be crim-!

‘...Utena, you are a Witch, and Ghostmon, you are her Partner. Both of you are members of an Evil Organization, known Terrorists.’ Venalita’s words came back to mind, interrupting my thoughts. ‘How is stealing some money worse than attacking, capturing, and torturing a Magical Girl and her Partner like you two did with Azul?’

...B-But... W-We can’t...

E-even if they deserved it...

...If they deserved it...

...Deserved it enough that we openly tortured those girls...

“Utena!” Mom’s voice shook me out of my thoughts. I panicked a moment, before noticing she was calling from the lower floor, rather than entering the room and finding out Ghostmon. “Dinner’s ready!”

“...I... Guess it’s okay... If they deserve it...”

“Sulfur, Leomon?! Where’s the Witch?!” We flew into the mall’s cinema once the location of the Witch became obvious, the expansion of her Domain covering the entire interior of the Mall.

It was a terrible Domain, worse than any Witch’s I have met until now. Though Magenta may have seen worse ones.

The entire area was covered in dark purple digital rectangles and glitch-like patterns, in shades that felt almost poisonous. It was like most Domains in that regard, but the effects it had were clear, in a way that felt uniquely malicious.

Once we were enveloped by the Domain, as the Material and Digital mixed into one, my body started to feel... Sensitive. Sensitive to a disturbing extent.

The blouse of my outfit normally caused no problems. Whatever digital material it was made of, it felt as if a cloud covered my body, soft to an unbelievable extent, but also so firm that it kept everything in place with minimal rubbing, even without a bra.

But now... The minuscule rubbing it had with my nipples was sending slight, distracting bolts through my spine... And that was the most benevolent of places.

I was now painfully aware of the slight tug at my hair as it was swept behind us as we flew, of the resistance in my teeth as I clenched my mouth shut... Every external and internal sensation was amplified.

Fortunately, today didn’t end like our first fight with her. I don’t wish anybody else to go through that again. And as a double fortune, this time the Domain didn’t last long before it started to banish around us.

“Hey, yah four, yah’re late~.” Sulfur quickly undid her gauntlets as she heard us, turning to us with a smile. Unfortunately, Sulfur’s irritation didn’t escape my attention, and Magenta’s wincing didn’t either.

“I apologize, we let them escape...” Leomon on the other side sounded more sour, disappointed with herself, as she ‘De-Evolved’ from that pseudo-Evolution of theirs. “Both them, and their ‘Shy’ friend.”

Shy friend? Is she talking of Venalita?

“Don’t worry about that, are you two okay?!” Magenta stepped forward, worry clear in her voice. “This place looks terrible!”

It was a bit of an exaggeration to say it was terrible, but I get what she meant. An entire row of chairs had somehow been pulled from their firm place in the floor and torn to pieces, a wall had a huge, almost human-shaped crater on it that by some miracle didn’t become a hole, and the walls of half the cinema, and the giant screen, had been pretty much cut in half, and appeared to be wanting to crumble.

It would normally be a terrible state, but it could have been a lot worse. We can’t do much to protect our surroundings once a Witch turns it into her Domain, and considering that Sulfur and Leomon entered their Assault Mode...

...It’s a miracle this place is still standing.

“Ah should ask for yah two instead, Youkomon look’s ready tah finish tearin’ this place down~.” I followed her sight, and landed on my Partner.

Half her body had already dried, but the other one was still visibly soaked, with 9 fireballs floating around it to dry it off. Her fur was pitifully pulled down, clumping together, and partially covering her eyes. The anger and embarrassment at her state was seeping through the Heart sitting on my chest.

“...My condolences.” “Thanks for taking one for the team.” Leomon offered a small prayer at seeing her, while Nefertimon just was thankful that she wasn’t hit by the water.

“...From all the Witches we have fought until now... I hate those two the most.” The seething annoyance was clear in her voice. “Almost as much as you, Nefertimon.”

“Me?! You are so cruel~.” She hid her face behind her wings... Which wasn’t really needed, as she already had it covered by an Egyptian pharaoh-like mask. “And I thought we loved each other~.”

“Grrr...” Youkomon outright growled in annoyance before turning back to Sulfur. “...What happened? Who was the ‘Shy Friend’ Leomon mentioned?”

“Eh, looks like our little thorn in our side had a little friend watchin’ over her.” Sulfur just lightly swung an arm, both to not give it too much importance and to calm her frustration. “When ah was goin’ tah give her dah finishin’ blow, we were ‘omehow paralyzed or restrained by someone. It felt like dah Magic of ‘nother Witch.”

“This mysterious Witch took her away in a weird, black swamp-like portal, and then disappeared.” Leomon looked at the ground, frustrated. “We couldn’t even see her. Even after we broke out of it, we couldn’t find her.”

“So the Witch had a bodyguard... That complicates things.” And to do it without even being noticed... “...Still, this is useful information. We don’t know much about Enormeeta’s Witches, so simply finding out one of them has Restraining and Stealth Magic is a big help.”

“Yes, it certainly is.” A new, familiar voice sounded near us. “Since the Magic came into direct contact with Sulfur, we can check into the logs of her Digivice and find more about it.”

We all followed the source of the voice, falling into open air... Distorted open air, as if space itself was breaking.

Slowly, the twisting space started to take shape, and a solid figure appeared. It had a white cover made out of cloth, with a small smiling face with pink eyes and mouth, and triangular ears like that of an animal on top of its head. Its hands were covered by long sleeves that went far beyond its (Of dubious existence) hands. Each ear and its chest were decorated with big pink hearts, and its tail was yet another heart.

“Vatz!” We called out, surprising to see the Satellite. The little mascot has been very busy lately.

“Hello girls, good to see you are all well.” She said as she pretty much collapsed over Nefertimon’s head, somehow getting comfortable around the decorations of her mask/helmet. “Sorry Nefertimon, this is my fifth warp today... I’m exhausted...”

“Don’t worry, make yourself comfortable Vatz-chan~.” Nefertimon talked enthusiastically. She was used to being Vatz’s resting spot. “Something going on? I thought you would be stuck dealing with the UN for another week.”

“Yes... I’m still at it, I just used this attack as an excuse to get out of there.” Vatz looked as if someone had extracted the soul out of her body. “They refuse to understand the danger of Enormeeta, even after they agreed to give them a ‘Kill on Sight’ label. They still see them as a local problem, and refuse to send reinforcements that they want to focus on dealing with Blood Community and Trinity... They only care about the international threats...”

“So no reinforcements...” Magenta sounded let down, but as if she saw it coming. “Not even now that one of their Witches is re-appearing multiple times in the same place?”

Vatz shook her head, a sad expression on her face. “They don’t get the danger. Even if the veracity of the photo is put into question, the mere possibility of Enormeeta having an Ultimate makes them a global threat... But since they haven’t done anything too big, they assume the photo is fake, or that we exaggerate about the power one of them has...”

“Tch, so dhose politicians don’t listen tah dah experts, an’ just worry ‘bout dah ones actively threatenin’ their countries...” Sulfur looked extremely irritated, discretely cracking the fingers on her right hand, wishing to punch someone. “Can’t our Big Boss do somethin’ ‘bout it? Yah know, order dhose guys tah shut up an’ send reinforcements, or approve creatin’ more Magical Girls.”

“ ‘Sigh’ I wish she did. Cosmos wants to respect the Human’s authority and responsibility over the Material World.” Vatz sounded as if her soul was leaving her body out of the exhaustion. “So we can’t do anything, unless the UN approves of it. All we can do is give warnings and offer our help.”

The same problem as always, then. It feels like we have been going in circles since I joined...

“...Are there any good news, Vatz?” There must be something, right? She’s always working hard to bring one, even if just small.

“...Yes, there is one!” Vatz perked up at that. “The information department at Universe’s Center is dedicating an entire section to analyzing all the information we get of Enormeeta and help find ways to fight back! This is big, normally a single section is used to oversee a thousand planets! Look at this!”

Vatz pulled out a small device from her sleeve, and with the press of a button, two very realistic holograms appeared above it. Holograms of the Witch and her Partner, alongside all type of information about them.

This may be the first time I have enough time and... Clarity, of mind, to properly look at them.

The Witch had a lean body, with slightly pronounced curves and a B-Cup. Her hair was a dark, ashen violet, falling in waving locks just above her shoulders, curving outwards. Her eyes were downcast, with golden irises that contained star-shaped pupils. Her fangs were quite long, but not large enough to indicate any sort of Magic related to them. And surprisingly, she was just 149cm tall but looking taller from 5cm heels, with the information indicating she must be between 13 and 15 years old.

Her clothes, or what tried to pass off as clothes, consisted only the top half of a white blouse with puffy shoulders and gloves that reached past the elbow before bending back. They were similar to ours, but the gloves attached to her middle finger rather than cover her entire hands, and her blouse... If it can be called that, ended at her collarbone, leaving her breasts exposed and only covered by pasties in the shape of 4-point stars.

Below her chest, a short corset covered just enough of her waist to leave her navel exposed, and from it came out two layers of a long white skirt that floated around her and left her front exposed. Below, riding just high enough to barely cover her private parts, tight pants that bended down in a similar way to the gloves covered her legs, covering her entire legs as they also acted as shoes, with golden heels at the bottom. The gloves, corset, and pants were made of some sort of dark rouge leather.

Golden 4-point Stars sat at her neck, front of her feet, and top of her riding crop, while small demonic wings came out the back of her corset and behind the Star at her neck. From her head, two large and flat golden horns grew downwards, with tiny stars painted near the tips. And her nails were long and almost claw-like, painted a dark and deep shade of purple.

And probably the most important part. Under each eye, she had small, purple Stars. But the information indicated she was on the verge of growing her third Star.

Her Partner, BlackWitchmon, was noticeably bigger, in all aspects. Her body had a slightly more curvaceous shape than her Human partner, as if exactly one step above her in all of them, but noticeable taller at 161cm. Her skin was a shade or two darker, and hair was a more vibrant shade of violet, and was more wavy, curving inwards. The eyes had the same irises and pupils, but the scleras were completely black, and her left eye was painted with golden lines that grew longer as they reached out.

Her clothes started at a big witch hat with a Star firm on its sash, a pair of long golden chains with flat shapes coming from behind it and hanging off the hat’s rim. A 3-layers cape hung down covering her left arm but not going over the right side of her body, small star designs at the corners, and tied to a golden Star at her right shoulder, leading to a high collar that reached her chin. On her left shoulder, there were two oversized links of golden chains, forming an x-pattern.

Below the cape, she had a dress that looked like layers of long strips of velvet. It tied over and around her right breast, waist, and spiraled down her body on two long strips. The hat, cape, and dress were a vibrant but dark shade of violet, while the hat’s sash and inner side of the clothes was black, covered in golden net-like patterns.

Her right hand was covered by a thick violet glove, and her legs had similar but height-mismatched heeled boots. Her right leg had a small boot with a black sash tied at the ankle, a golden Star attached to the side, and beyond it raised a golden fishnet that stopped at a garter around her thigh. Her other leg, had a boot that raised all the way past her knee, right below two black Stars painted on the side of her thigh. Both boots had x-shaped golden chains rather than laces.

She held a long, wood crooked black staff that ended in a long circle with a violet orb at the middle, held in place by a cross design. On the other end, two long sets of golden chains hanged freely, dragging through the ground as she floated around rather than walking.

The Witch and her BlackWitchmon were shown in enough definition to see every single detail, at least every single detail that had been caught on camera or accurately predicted by the AI. And there was all kinds of information that ranged from useful to completely irrelevant. But below it all, appeared a name, one that I hadn’t heard before.

“Now that the information department is putting so much into researching Enormeeta, we’ll get all the data we need to prepare to face them in the future!” Vatz was pumped up, happy that in the Digital World they were taking this treat seriously. “And now that we have a name for her, she has been assigned an official title.”

I read it out loud, the name of the enemy we have come across multiple times now... And that I felt, we would be meeting a lot more of in the future.

“The Domination Witch, Magia Baiser.”

Arc 1: The Domination Witch, Magia Baiser
 
END

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 4: Friends Made through Violence - Part 1

My eyes were almost glued to the screen of the phone as I sat on my bed, resting after another day at school, and the only reason why they weren’t, was because I had to share it with Ghostmon.

On the screen, there was the video of last week’s fight with Tres Magia that Venalita had filmed, edited, and sent to us. Of Azul, Youkomon, Magenta, and Nefertimn heroically saving the girls I had captured. Of our perfectly executed villain escape sacrificing my Schiavo. Of Sulfur and Leomon catching up to us and beating us halfways to death.

“They are so perfect...” Ahhh... It was such a great day...

“They are...~.” She gets it! “A shame I couldn’t get to play with Youkomon this time~.” 

“Yeah...” We were completely beaten. There was no opportunity to have the other kind of ‘Fun’ with the Magical Girls... Not like I want to do that. “Fighting two pairs together was a bit much, and then Sulfur...”

“I want to think we would have a chance against her and Leomon in a 1v1 now that we know they have that... But I’m still too in awe to think rationally about that.” I totally get it!

“Right?! Come on, a cape made of Lightning?! Isn’t that too cool?!” Leomon is cheating! How can I not get excited at seeing something like that?!

“And Sulfur’s gauntlets! Why hasn’t she shown them before?! This giant things make such a sweet contrast with her normally small, frail, and defensive image!” That’s right! That nobody but us knows about it is unfair to the rest of the world! Everyone should be able to see it!

“I totally get it! And not only that, but she also grew taller when she took them out, and even bulked up a bit! It like was a change from ‘Cute and Frail’ to ‘Cool and Tough’!” Being able to change between forms like that HAS to be cheating! How am I supposed to remain cool and collected as a villain like that?!

“They are so beautiful...” “They are so cool...” We let out our thoughts, as we watched the ‘Battle’ scene with Sulfur for the ninth time.

My body started to warm up as we continued to watch.

Ahhh, Sulfur... 

Seeing this other facet of her...

Remembering how she easily beat us up...

Thinking about how beautiful she looked doing it...

Ahhh...

...I want to bed her over my knee... 

Until she breaks...

I feel myself warming up at the though, and my eyes caught the Star over my light table... Starting to release some of my magic.

“Ooops!” I shoved the phone into Ghostmon’s hands and jumped at the Star, holding it as it pretty much vibrated and warmed up in response to my own feelings, and tried to focus on calming down my thoughts.

It comes as an expected surprise that trying to not think about something is a great way to end thinking about that. Still, with a few moments of deep breaths and remaining still, I could feel my body and mind cool down.

Ugh, I’ll have to be careful with this... It wouldn’t be fun if I accidentally Transform at school...

That would be the worst case scenario... And even worse now than it was before... Before, I wouldn’t have really cared what my classmates thought. It would have ruined my life, but maybe... I could have... Threatened... Everyone there into silence?

It’s not something I want to do, but maybe I could have. Desperate circumstances require desperate measures.

But now... I... Don’t want those three to hate me...

Since that day, we have been having lunch together every day, and talked every day. We have even exchanged numbers, though I don’t speak too much with them outside school. They appear to be pretty busy, even if they apparently spend so much time together on their free time.

I... Want to get along with them... I don’t want them to find out that I’m Magia Bai-

My thoughts are interrupted as I see something outside my window. A bit far away, just a few dozen streets away... I could see Magia Azul and Youkomon, doing one of their patrols.

Ghostmon noticed it, and looked out the window, just to fall into thought just like me.

...She’s right there, completely alone... As if tempting me.

The rational part of my brain knows that she’s just doing her rounds, checking out for criminal activity and making people feel safe. The other part of my brain though...

Maybe... I could go have some ‘Fun’...?

It has been a week since last time, and I’m completely healed by now. Mom and the girls were worried when I looked surprisingly sore and a bit slow, but since I recovered in a few days, they didn’t think much about it.

Wouldn’t it be about time... For Magia Baiser to appear again...?

It-It’s not like I want to, but...! It’s like physical therapy after recovering from an injury or surgery!

I should go out and exercise a bit, right?!

“Then why don’t you simply go?” Venalita’s voice suddenly cut the silence, making me and Ghostmon flinch in surprise. My poor little heart stopped for a moment.

“Wha-! Are you spying on us or something?!” How did it know to appear just now?! “And are you reading my mind?!”

“An-And we weren’t thinking of going!” Ghostmon looked a bit flustered, a bit of guilt clear on her face and our bond. “We were just admiring the view!”

“Nah, I can’t read minds or anything. You two simply show your feelings way too clearly on your faces.” The little mascot said something outrageously false. I’m not that easy to read! “Also, I came for something, but that can wait until after you two have your fun.”

“Ugh... It’s not like we were going to go...” Even though I said that, I did raise my Star, and Ghostmon flew a bit upwards, ready to Evolve.

“I’ll recommend to not Transform now, unless you want your identity exposed.” I suddenly froze at Venalita’s words. 

That’s something too heavy to throw in a relaxed tone!

“The Transformation process sends a big enough wave of magic that Azul will detect where it came from. If you’ll Transform, and want to do so stealthily, do it inside a Portal, it’ll work as a silencer.”

“You should have said so earlier...” I agree with Ghostmon. I could have Transformed at a bad place and ruined everything before!

“Alright... Can you open a portal, please?” Lets get this done with before we lose Azul.

“Oh, this is a good chance for it, so I’ll teach you how to open Portals yourself, and how to approach someone without having your Magic detected...”

The city was peaceful, there were no crimes I came across, and most important of all, no Witch attacks. Still, I was alert and worried.

That Witch, Magia Baiser, has already appeared 3 times in this city, in just a short span of time. That’s unlike Enormeeta’s usual modus operandi. And to go even more against it, her attacks are not timed to happen alongside Minion Digimon attacking other cities...

...And neither her objective for those attacks align with Enormeeta. If she has any objective at all.

I still can’t make sense of her actions. Last week, she just attacked and abused of a group of civilians, and before that...

‘Let’s have even more fun next time~’

Her words from our previous encounter resounded in my mind, and I felt how my face grew hot with what I hope is just embarrassment.

Wh-What did she even mean by that?!

What is she planning to do to me?!

“Azul, are you alright?” “I’m perfectly fine!” Youkomon asked with clear worry, and a slight bit of confusion. I unconsciously said that nothing was wrong, but the almost panicked response only made her worry more.

“Maybe we should take a small rest, or finish for today. Maybe eat something before going home. You got homework to do, right?” She was clearly worried that I have been pushing myself too much lately, and attempting to get me to rest.

And... I can’t fault her. Since the attack of last week, I have been patrolling every day. Maybe... I should take a rest.

“...Yes, that sounds like a good idea.” I gave her a smile that managed to calm her down a bit. “Let’s have a snack before going back.”

She returned my smile with one of her own and a nod, and looked down to search for a restaurant or food stall that looked good enough. I did so too, and didn’t take until I noticed a taiyaki stall.

After pointing at it, we flew down, and I thanked internally as the last client walked away just as we arrived.

“Whoa, the Tres Magia?!” The cook let out a surprised yell, catching the attention of everyone around.

I smiled nervously, hoping this wouldn’t become a big autograph session or something like that. 

“4 Taijaki, please.” Youkomon was undeterred by the attention as she ordered for us, and dig into the fur of her chest with a tail, taking out her wallet. “I’ll pay today.”

“Alright.” It should be my turn to pay... She’s worrying too much, isn’t she? Though, I would rather not reject someone’s good will.

“Got it! Two pairs of my best coming up!” The cook got pumped up, and went to her craft with extreme focus.

It was a bit of a wait until it was done, which gave me time to notice all the people around looking at us. Some were taking photos or filming us. Others were gossiping to their friends. There was a little girl waving at us from behind her mother.

I returned back my own wave and smile, and the face of the girl light up so much that it was almost shinning. It was very endearing.

Still, I couldn’t get used to being the focus of attention like this. Haruka and Kaoruko take it almost as naturally, but I can’t stop feeling nervous...

Still, just seeing everyone admiring us meant that we were doing our job right, which brought some peace of mind... But I can only wonder how long that will last, if we can’t defeat that Witch next time she appears.

“Here you have! 4 Taiyakis as fresh and warm as they can be!” The cook announced proudly, taking me off my thoughts.

“Thank y-” “It looks del-“ We reached for the food... But a small wave of magic suddenly crawled over my skin, making me suddenly stop.

“Youkomon, did you-?!” “Yes, I felt it too!” The wave of magic had come from unbelievably close, and we shouted at each other as we turned around.

‘Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!’ ‘It’s Enormeeta!!!’ ‘Run!’

We turned right on time to see as a traffic sign finished growing into an enormous snake-like monster, the pole growing and twisting around itself to create the body, and the sign splitting in the middle to create its mouth, large metal fangs protruding from it. Its tail unraveled into half a dozen metal ‘tentacles’.

And besides the creature, patting it on the side, was Magia Baiser.

“Ma- KYAAAAAAAAA!!!” “GRAAAAAAAAA!!!” We both screamed as we felt something impact us from above.

It felt as if my skull was crushed and my eyeballs were on fire, and whatever Youkomon must be feeling, it had to be equally bad. It didn’t last long, but it gave us enough time to look up, and see BlackWitchmon floating, a smirk on her face.

But looking away was a mistake.

A moment later, we were surrounded by the metallic serpentine body of the monster, constricting around us and crushing our bodies just enough to not break any bone.

“Kah-!” “Grrrr...! Damn Witches!” I let out a smaller scream as the air in my lungs was forced out, while Youkomon just growled and cursed them.

I could only take a swallow breath, but fortunately, I wasn’t being constricted strongly enough to stop me from breathing, so I could spare attention to what was happening in front of us.

Everyone around was either running away or had already ran away. The BlackWitchmon was slowly descending in front of us, while Magia Baiser joined them, both looking at us satisfied.

The pain from the Agony Shocks was gone, as if it was never real in the first place, and was replaced by the pain of being tightly constructed by a steel snake. But compared to the previous one, it was almost... Pleasant.

The words she said to me last time come back to mind again, making me more conscious of the feeling of the steel coiling around me, immobilizing my body, and applying pressure all around.

“Kuh...!” Trying to get those thoughts out of my mind, I start to release freezing magic to freeze the snake around us, just moments after Youkomon did the same to melt it. “What do you want, Magia Baiser?! BlackWitchmon?!”

She looked strangely pleased when I called her name, her smile growing wider and the grip on her weapon growing tighter.

“Trying to converse with us as you are trying to escape~?” BlackWitchmon’s smile grew too, but I could see it was for different reasons, and she created two more, smaller, spheres of pain. “Those are bad manners, you know~? It’s as if you aren’t interested in our answer!”

The threat was obvious, if we didn’t stop, they would be directed at us. I continued freezing the monster around us, though Youkomon flinched a moment before continuing.

“Ufufufu...! Those determined faces are so beautiful...!” Baiser sounded exhilarated, before using her riding crop to raise my face. “As for what we want... Well, let’s just say that after recovering from last week, I REALLY wanted to meet you girls again... So when I saw you alone...”

“So, you come for revenge?!” I try to quicken up my magic, freeze the monster faster. And with me and Youkomon working at the same time, it won’t take even 30 more seconds to free ourselves.

The Witch just continued to smile, her crop leaving my face and...

‘Snap!’ One of the buttons of my blouse was torn off, as the Star in her crop got inside, cutting through it.

“Wha- What are you-?!” ‘Snap!’ ‘Snap!’ Another button followed shortly after, and then another.

A slight, different kind of panic starts growing on my chest, as it becomes increasingly clear that her ‘Revenge’ isn’t what I thought it was going to be. And alongside it, a different kind of feeling that I could only describe as... Anticipation, started to grow.

Magia Baiser took back her riding crop, and slowly moved her hand towards me, while BlackWitchmon on the side raised her staff, the opposite end aiming at Youkomon, and the golden chains on it started to raise up and multiply.

“What are you doing, Enormeeta?!” Magenta’s voice loudly resonated from behind me, but I couldn’t look back to see from this position.

“Tch...” Baiser frowned as she looked behind me, before returning to smiling at me. “Looks like we’ll have to cut it short today, I would rather have a more... Private, time.”

She raised her hand back, and a swirling black portal appeared behind them. They calmly floated inside, disappearing into the vortex of darkness, before it closed, leaving nothing behind.

Moments later, a huge slab of stone impacted the ground in front of us, bouncing harmlessly off it as the monster constricting us violently shook, it’s body quickly torn to pieces as Magenta’s spear passed around us.

“Azul, Youko, are you alright?!” We didn’t even have time to fall to the ground as Magenta picked up both of us, and slowly and carefully lowered us to the ground.

“Ah... Yes, thanks you.” “You arrived right on time... I can’t express my gratitude enough.” I was still a bit out of it, but Youkomon’s relief was more than clear.

Not strange, considering what she went through last time...

“Dammit, dat coward escaped?!” Sulfur, Leomon, and Nefertimon arrived moments later.

“I guess she didn’t want a repeat of last time.” Leomon sounded both proud and annoyed.

“Ugh... I hate those kinds of Witches... They do whatever they want, and run when it looks like we’ll arrive...” Nefertimon was simply annoyed, but calmed down as she spoke to us kindly. “Are you two really alright? Did they get to do anything bad?”

“No... No, nothing happened.” I felt a slight struggle on my chest when saying that. “They attacked us by surprise and captured us, but you all arrived right on time, before they started to... Do whatever they were aiming to.”

Youkomon eyed me worried, but said nothing.

“Guh... They attack you out of nowhere, and then run away?! What are they even planning?!” Magenta crossed her arms, and her cheeks became balloons as she pouted.

Planning... I’m not sure if there is any plan at all. It feels... As if she’s going after us in specific.

And I couldn’t stop her.

...Frustrating...

...This whole situation is so frustrating...!

Frustrating...!

As we exited the portal, back to our original forms, we fell face first on the bed.

“...Ugh... So frustrating...!” Azul was right there, she looked so cute all wrapped up and trying to escape... And I had to leave here there!

“Why did the others arrive so quickly?!” Ghostmon complained on my side, and I shared that thought.

For so long, I have admired how quickly they came whenever there was problem. When a Rogue Witch attacked, or when some Evil Organization sent a Minion, Magical Girls would quickly come to fight them. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower, probably depending on how far they are, but they would never take long...

It’s one of the things I love about them!

So why...

Why is it so frustrating now?!

I just wanted some alone time with Azul!

There is no way I can beat the Tres Magia all by myself!

“Looks like it didn’t go well. How unfortunate.” Venalita’s voice didn’t show any kind of regret nor sympathy.

“Venalita, isn’t this too much?!” Ghostmon took her face out of the sheets, and complained to Venalita. That was a bit surprising. “We can’t deal with all of them on our own! Isn’t this an Evil Organization?! Can’t we get some of those Minion Digimon or another Witch to help?!”

“Y-Yeah! That’s right!” I got my face out of my sheets myself, and glared at Venalita. “Why are we even fighting alone?! You have been throwing us to the deep end on our on, when we are supposedly a group!”

Are we being discriminated?!

...Well, neither of us wanted to be part of it in the first place, and would leave given the chance... But still!

“Mmm... I think I can help with that.” Venalita took out a phone out of one of its sleeves, and started to do something on it. “In fact, this is related to why I came in the first place. Are you free this Saturday?” 

Saga 1: Birth of the Defiant

Arc 2: The Firearms and Toys Witches, Leopard and Nero Alice

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 4: Friends Made through Violence - Part 2

The flowers appeared to pleasantly shine as I showered them, file after file of them. Ghostmon was looking on the side, slightly jealous.

She had asked to help water the plants, but before I could answer, she remembered that we may be being watched, and took back her offer.

I truly feel bad for Ghostmon... It feels like she’s a prisoner, always attached to me, and having to hide her presence from the world. The Partners of the Magical Girls can be seen on their own relatively often, buying stuff they want, eating at restaurants, just doing stuff in both their Child and Adult forms.

Leomon, or more commonly as Angoramon, tends to go to martial arts shows as part of the audience, and the others do their own stuff too. Apparently they don’t stray too far from their Partner for too long, since one never knows when some villain will appear, but...

...Ghostmon can’t even do that. She doesn’t have any Magical Girl to back her up, and it would be even worse if she said she’s BlackWitchmon... The Tres Magia would be alerted in seconds, quickly capture her, and then, once they learn who she is...

...Though, maybe...

“...Ghostmon...” I start talking before forming the words in my head. It takes me a moment of she looking at me as I’m not sure how to continue it. “...Do you... Want to go to the Digital World?”

“Eh? The Digital World...?” It took her a moment to think about it, before remembering it. “Ah, right, that’s where I come from, right?”

That’s quite a way to say it... Though, she WAS born here, so she may not think much of it.

“Yeah... I... Don’t think I can get out of Enormeeta, even if I want to, but...” I stopped watering the flowers in front of me, and looked at her. “...If you want to get out, I think you could. If you go to the Tres Magia as Ghostmon and explain your situation... They may open you a way to the Digital World, and Venalita couldn’t do anything about that...”

...An uncomfortable silence fell upon us. Ghostmon slowly looked down at the flowers, deep in thought, with a sour expression on her face. I could feel her worry, and fear, through our bond.

“...If- If you do, you wouldn’t be risking your life anymore! I heard the Digital World is pretty nice and pacific, at least in the widely populated areas!” From us both, she’s the only one actually risking her life.

If we are beaten, there are high chances that I’ll have my Star taken away and sent to a juvenile prison for a year or two, I don’t think they can charge me for more than that. That’s what happens to many Witches that have done worse than me. Though there is the chance that I may die in combat... But I want to believe I know when to give up, right?

It felt like Sulfur and Leomon almost killed me last time, but they were going to stop before going too far, right? Enormeeta has attacked very often, but they just release their Minion Digimon to cause trouble. They have been injuries, but I haven’t heard of any death, even if just because the Magical Girls can deal with those easily. They have no reason to kill me.

Ghostmon on the other side... They are not going to capture her, they WILL kill her. She may reincarnate a little later, and the DigiEgg will be transported to the Digital World to start a new, lawful life...

...But that won’t be her. She won’t have her memories. She may not have many in the first place, having just been born weeks ago, but... That’s still death.

I... Don’t want her to die.

“I...” She spoke softly, looking down. She was clearly anxious. “I don’t want to go...”

“Are... Are you sure? This... This is way too dangerous...” I look away for a moment. I don’t want her to die, so I want her to go. But I don’t want her to go. But still, she should go. “You... May not have the option in the future...”

“...I... I know, but... I don’t... Know anything about the Digital World... And...” She looked at me nervously, playing with her hands. “I... Don’t want to go... If you can’t go too...”

I smiled wryly at her. Humans can’t go to the Digital World. If she went there... We wouldn’t see each other again.

“Wouldn’t you... Reconsider it? I’m happy to have you here, but... I don’t want you to end up dead because of that...” We may have only known each other a couple of weeks, but I think that’s enough reason to not want her to die.

Though maybe I feel a bit more attached to her because I...

...Oh.

...Ohhhhhhhh...

...That’s why Venalita had Ghostmon enter my phone as a DigiEgg, and had me care for her until she reached the Child stage...

...Damnit Venalita, even if I know, it’s not like I can do anything about that!

“...Y-Yeah... I don’t want to go! J-Just think about it!” She started to swing her hands around in a mild panic, trying to make a point. “I-I have just been born, so I shouldn’t get too far from home, right?! A-And you took good care of my Egg and of me after I hatched, so you are like my Mom, right?! I shouldn’t walk away so soon!”

...An even more uncomfortable silence befell us, as her words dig in. She slowly started to blush at realizing what she just said in her panic.

Once her words fell in, and my confused mind could process how to react to it, my stomach started to turn.

“M-Mom?! D-Don’t say that, that feels so wrong!” I’m just 14! I don’t want to be called a ‘Mom’! It’s wrong in so many levels! “C-Call me anything but that!”

She pulled at the borders her hat, hiding her face as she raise it to the sky, and groaned.

“Gaaaaaaaaah... I can’t believe I said that! That doesn’t feel right at all!” Her flames were turning an almost black shade of blue. What I had learned to identify as embarrassment. “That doesn’t fit at all! I should have said ‘Best Friend’ or ‘Sister’ or something else! This feels worse than being beaten up by Sulfur and Leomon...!”

“Think how I feel about it...!” I’m the one that was called ‘Mom’ here, I’m the victim!

We ended groaning and complaining until I finished watering all the plants, and the alarm told us to go back to class.

The only conclusion we got, was that Ghostmon wouldn’t leave for the Digital World. I was worried, but I would be lying if I said that it didn’t make me happy that someone valued spending time with me more than their own safety.

When I entered the class, almost everyone was already there. The only ones missing was a classmate that entered right after me, and the teacher. As every Friday, the math teacher was going to arrive late, and come with a different excuse as to why.

“Hey, Utena-chan!” “Hello, Hiiragi-san.” “Yoh.” I’m greeted by three people as soon as I sit down in my desk.

“H-Hello, Hanabishi-san, Minakami-san, Tenkawa-san.” Seeing them improved my mood a little. I needed it after all that embarrassment.

“Are you alright, Hiiragi-san? You look a bit flustered.” And having that pointed out doesn’t help.

“Ahahaha... It’s nothing...” I try to look away, hoping that my embarrassment doesn’t show in my face. And will ignore the looks that indicate that it didn’t. “A-Anyways, how are you three going?”

“Oh, I was telling Sayo-chan and Kaoruko-chan about how my sisters got into racing games lately, so they drag me to play at every opportunity they have!” She sounded quite happy at that. Each time she mentions her little sisters, her smile somehow grows wider and brighter than it always is.

“We are pretty much trying tah talk of somethin’ else, dat isn’t dah same dat’s been plaguin’ dah new since yesterday.” She sounded slightly irritated at that. I guess she’s tired of everyone talking about the same thing.

Focusing a bit to listen to the nearby conversations, the subject of every conversation became clear. 

‘It’s the same Witch that attacked the mall last week.’ ‘She tortured a group of high-schoolers...’ ‘Tres Magia couldn’t capture her.’ ‘She defeated Azul!’ ‘The screams of pain were recorded! It’s horrible!’ ‘Apparently Sulfur and Leomon beat her, but she was saved by another member of Enormeeta.”

I guess it’s to be expected... I have been trying to avoid looking at the news, but there is a dangerous Witch in the city that the Magical Girls have failed to capture, one that has attacked civilians. It was expected that people would talk about it...

I would normally be happy and dive into those discussions on the Internet, absorbing every piece of information I could get about it, hyped about the future battles. Like that month of Magia Magenta fighting almost every day with that Sword Witch, Corte Escarlata.

...But this time, I’m the Witch. And as much fun as it can be sometimes, like looking up close to a transformation that no other fan knew Sulfur and Leomon have... As a fan, I’m well aware that eventually, I’ll be defeated. The Magical Girls win, and the Villains lose. That’s how it always ends... And when it doesn’t... Being defeated and getting locked up a few years is the better outcome.

“I-I see... What games are those three playing?” I changed the subject, same as I did yesterday. Same as I always do.

Tenkawa-san looked at me with suspicion, but Hanabishi-san quickly started gushing about her sisters. Which didn’t last long, as the teacher finally arrived moments later.

...

After what felt like an eternity of boring lectures, lunch finally arrived. I searched my bag for my lunch-box, and took a look to the side. The three were already putting their desks together, leaving an open space for one more.

I set my lunch-box over my desk, and carefully lifted it up to set it up alongside the others, as we have been doing for a little while now. Something that still surprises me when I think about it.

‘What you think Baiser is planning?’ ‘If Sulfur and Leomon could beat her alone, why is she still free?’ ‘Is it safe to go out...? Maybe I should go straight home.’

I had plenty of time to listen to the starting nearby conversations as I set my desk in place and sat down. Fortunately, the subject of the Magical Girls doesn’t come up very often in this little group.

“Lunch just starts and everyone is already talking about the Magical Girls, don’t they~?” Hanabishi-san quickly threw my hopes of avoiding the subject out the window.

“W-Well, they must simply be worried. A-Anyways, Minakami-san, how are things going at the shrine?” I did my best to redirect the conversation.

As the Witch everyone is talking about, I feel that I’ll slip up if I start talking about the subject... And I’m also a bit worried that if I start talking non-stop about the Magical Girls I’ll scare them off.

“Oh, things have been pretty peaceful lately. Though there was this weird girl that came on Monday, that asked if the gods could help her friend at singing at a level that didn’t make her ears bleed. She ended leaving 2.000 yens in the donation box.” She looked pretty thoughtful when remembering that. “She must have really valued that friend of hers...”

Just how bad is her friend’s singing?

“...Hey, Utena-han. Do yah dislike dah Magical Girls or somethin’?” I froze as an unexpected and outrageous question was thrown my way. “Yah always try tah change dah subject when dah Magical Girls come up.”

...Ahahah... I guess I wasn’t very subtle about it...

“N-No! I don’t dislike them! It’s just that... Well...” W-What do I even say about this?! ‘I love them so much that when I became a Witch I started tormenting them to feel closer to them’... As if I could say that!

“Hiiragi is a fan of the Magical Girls, though?” “I’m sure she’s a big fan, indeed.” Our eyes snap to the side, as a set of two identical voices appear out of nowhere.

On our side, stood a pair of identical girls looking at us with puppy-like expressions. They were pretty short, barely taller than Tenkawa-san, but much more ‘developed’. They had long black braids, each one falling on opposite sides, and they crossed their arms behind their backs. They were the Ryuunamine twins.

Wha- H- How do they know?! I have kept to myself since I got to this school!

“Uh, she is?” Minakami-san let out, her voice clearly surprised.

“She was very big into Magical Girls in the first two years of elementary, right?” “She was before we transferred to another school, indeed.” The first twin asked the second, who crossed her arms in front as she nodded, satisfied with her own answer.

“H-How do you remember that?!” I don’t even remember having you two as classmates!

“You also draw the Magical Girls during classes sometimes, right?” “She’s also pretty good at it, indeed!” 

“How do you even know that?!” I haven’t shown it to anyone expect Ghostmon! And I only do it during class! They shouldn’t have a chance to see it unless they looked at my corner in the middle of lessons!

“Tch tch tch, it’s simple! What Mayui doesn’t see, Rui does, right!?” “And whatever that Rui doesn’t see, Mayui does, you know!” They held each other’s hands, and fell to the sides, keeping each other from falling. “That means that we see everything!”

They then just walked out of the classroom, satisfied expressions on their faces.

“...Ehhhhhh...?” ...What even happened?

“So, yah like dah Magical Girls?” My attention is forcefully dragged back to our table, only to be met with the curious and slightly relieved expression of Minakami-san and Tenkawa-san. Though Hanabishi-san looked slightly smug, as if she already knew. “Why did yah keep it a secret?”

“W-Well... It’s just...” I guess... I may as well tell half the truth... “...When I start talking about Magical Girls, I end gushing out the same way Hanabishi-san does about mushrooms... And after third of elementary, everyone suddenly appeared to decide that admiring the Magical Girls was ‘childish’, and they started to not care about them or talk bad of them...” 

I nervously looked down and played with my fingers, as I let out something I had been biting down for years. I noticed Ghostmon put a hand on my shoulder, but didn’t look at her to not look strange.

“So... I ended ostracized, and a bit bullied.” Without even understanding why. “I decided to avoid talking about Magical Girls when I started first year here, to avoid that happening again...”

A small silence fell once I finished. Probably because they were waiting in case I wasn’t finished, but I still couldn’t stop myself from fearing the worst. 

“...Hiiragi-san, I promise you, you don’t need to worry about that with us.” I raised my eyes, to be met with Minakami-san’s serious face, while Hanabishi-san and Tenkawa-san looked a strange combination of worried and relieved. “We wouldn’t bully you for something like that.”

“Yeah, dose idiots bullied yah just ‘cause yah rant too much? We got Haruka, an’ she’s no problem.” She lightly pointed at Hanabishi-san. “We can deal with a secon’ Haruka, no prob.”

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, and almost tearing up.

I knew I was being dumb for worrying too much about this, that it would be fine if it as them. But hearing it from them feels like a great burden lifted from my shoulders.

“It’s great that everything went fine.” I couldn’t agree more with Ghostmon’s words.

If I can look forwards to spending more time with them, then I can go tomorrow to wherever Venalita wants to take me without worries. Whatever happens, I’ll have a small place to relax afterwards.

“Yes, you don’t have to worry about anything! So, can you show us your drawings?!” ...Eh? “Since it was mentioned, it has to be shown! That’s the rule!”

“T-There is no rule like that!” At least I hope there isn’t! “R-Right! We were going to go somewhere on Sunday, right?! W-We should check again our plans! Oh, and the time is running, we won’t be able to finish our lunch if we don’t start eating!”

“Give up, Utena-han. Yah can’t stop Haruka now.” A quick look at Hanabishi-san’s face, at her almost shiny and curious eye, was all the proof those words needed.

“I...It’s embarrassing!”

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 4: Friends Made through Violence - Part 3

As I wake up, I sit up in my bed and stretch a bit. As I’m hit by the cold, I feel the temptation to go back to bed, not having to worry about school. And I almost follow on that temptation, until I remembered that I had something important to do which was imposed on me.

‘Sigh’ I slowly get up, turning off my phone’s alarm that had been set as the opening song of Mahou Shoujo Crystal, and open my drawer to check on the Transformation Star inside, to confirm it was still there. I could feel Ghostmon still sleeping inside.

Leaving her be, I pick a change of clothes and go take a shower. The bathroom was slightly damp, so Mom must have already taken her shower. That means I can take my time.

I let the hot water just run down for a little while, just enough to forget the cold, before properly start washing my hair. 

“Ack!” A bit of shampoo got on my eye.

...

As I get out of the shower, I dry myself out before wrapping a pair of towels over my chest and hair, and moving to the mirror, being looked back by my slightly protruding down-turned eyes. I apply just a bit of cream to take care of my skin after the shower... But stop a moment after that to look at my reflection.

...It’s... A bit strange?

It feels... A little less full? Or is it my imagination?

I raise my hand to my face, and poke at the sides and below the jaw. There is a bit of push, since even if I eat healthy and don’t make an habit of eating snacks, I don’t do exercise, and even at PE I end tired and stopping before others. But there is... A bit less push than normal?

I dry and style my hair like normal, and step on the weight to the side, which I normally ignore. The number that appears on it surprising me a little bit.

“41kg...?” I had lost 4kg since I checked a month ago.

That’s... Weird. I don’t I have done anything special to lose weight. All I have done is...

The memories of last month come to mind. Of something VERY special I have been doing, even if not too often.

That... Can’t be it, right?

I lightly, carefully, poke at my ribs. Specifically, at one I remember being fragmented on three pieces a week ago, causing quite a lot of pain. Enough that Mom noticed I was trying to tough it out, but fortunately I managed to make her believe I had pulled a muscle at PE.

There was no pain, as there hasn’t been for days. It was a perfectly healthy rib, above a perfectly healthy body... That now that I was checking, looked slightly slimmer than before.

My thoughts stopped for a moment, simply trying to absorb what I have noticed. 

This isn’t a sudden change, I’m sure I look pretty much the same as yesterday... It must have changed enough for me to finally notice. Changing over the course of a month... Over the course of me being a Witch...

...Is the Magic... Changing my body?

I take a step back from the weight, and reach for my clothes. The idea of the Magic I use changing my body was... Slightly disturbing, if I’m being honest. Even if I don’t dislike the idea of losing those few kilograms.

If my Magic can really change my body then... I... Turn things into monsters. Will my body also...?

My though stops alongside my hands, as I put on my bra. It fits tightly against my chest. Maybe a little bit TOO tightly... Did it always fit like this?

...I have to ask Venalita about this.

I finish changing quickly, putting on a thick blouse with a buttonless coat on top and an ankle-length skirt, everything in whites and browns.

I walk back to my room to pick up the Digivice from the drawer, barely fitting inside my coat’s pocket, before walking out the room. I could feel Ghostmon slowly starting to wake up inside it.

As I walked down the stairs, I could hear movement on the kitchen, and noticed the smell of breakfast. I could smell fish and veggies, but wasn’t sure of the rest, so I simply walked into the dinning room to check for myself.

“Good morning...” I sat down at my usual place in the small table, as I saw Ghostmon slowly come out of the Digivice in her incorporeal form, covering a yawn with her hand.

“Good morning, Utena.” Mom answered from the kitchen, turning around to send back a soft smile. “You took quite a bit with your shower.”

“It’s cold...” I left out the part where I found out I may be turning into a monster myself. It’s probably just me worrying over nothing, since I have never heard of a Magical Girl being turned into a monster or something like that by their Magic...

...But I’m not a Magical Girl. I’m a Witch.

...I probably should research more into Witches...

“Breakfast is almost... No, well, it’s ready. You came out right on time.” Mom said as she turned and started picking up stuff to bring to the table.

I got up from my chair and went to help her bring up everything. She sent me a thankful nod, and we didn’t take long to set the table. But it gave me some time to look at Mom.

I looked like a smaller version of her, with the same facial features and even eye color. But she was a bit slimmer, my face ending a bit rounder, and her hair was a lighter and more reddish shade of purple. 

I wonder if I look more like her after slimming down a bit...

She was already dressed up to go work, wearing a light blue office shirt and orange office pants, and her hair straightened and tied in a small ponytail. It was unfortunate she had to work on Saturdays, but at least it’s only half a shift.

I sat down at my seat, plates of grilled fish, tamagoyaki filled with cheese, nori, and seasoned rice laying in front of us. Once Mom made herself comfortable, she raised an empty hand towards the TV, as if she was holding the remote, and pressed the air as if it was a button.

The TV turned on, and I could see Mom’s eyes slightly turn towards me. I refused to give any sort of reaction, since that would be too gratuitous, and started eating as she changed channels.

If she wanted me to react, she should have left the remote on sight so-

‘Cough! Cough cough!’ I chocked on a bit of tamagoyaki, as you arrived at the news.

“Are you alright, Utena?” She sent a slightly curious look in my direction, raising the hand she had below the table to put the controller aside, and pick up her chopsticks.

“Y-Yeah... It’s nothing...” In the news, I could see my own face, but with a pair of horns protruding from my head, and a pair of stars under my eyes.

‘As of last week, the presence of the new Witch from Enormeeta has been confirmed. It came up as an incident where the Witch, known as “Magia Baiser” and given the title of “The Domination Witch” by the Satellites on the Digital World, and with a Partner Digimon called BlackWitchmon, attacked and captured a small group of civilians, torturing them with freezing water and partial drowning.’ The reporter talked, as a video from a security camera showed what happened last week.

‘R-Release us, you Witc- AHHHHHHH!’ The most annoying of the three teenagers shouted from inside her cell, before screaming as she was suddenly assaulted by a torrent of cold water.

‘Ufufufu! You think you are in a position to make demands~?’ ‘You three spoke as if you didn’t need the Magical Girls, so why don’t you escape on your own~?’ The torrent of water stopped after Magia Baiser... As I and Witchmon finished mocking them, giving the girls a moment to breathe. But as it looked like one of them was about to say something, I struck the cell with my Frustrino Dominanza, prompting another torrent of cold water.

‘It’s still under investigation of the actions and capabilities of this Witch match with any of Enormeeta’s previous operations, but it’s believed that her position in the Evil Organization is that of a torturer and interrogator. With this, now we have two confirmed and named Enormeeta Witches. Investigators at the police say that this incident will help at tracking down...’ The reporter continued talking, but my brain was not listening anymore. My mind was solely focused on the video happening on the back, now silenced to let the woman speak.

...Waaaahhhh... I’m really looking and acting like a villain... Aren’t I?

“...Are we... The bad guys?” Ghostmon spoke as she floated besides me. I couldn’t give her an answer. I didn’t feel confident giving an honest answer, anything I would like to say would have been a lie.

“That’s horrible...” My attention was brought back to the table, as Mom looked worriedly at the TV. “I hope they capture that Witch soon...” 

“...Yeah... That would be... Great.” That would be terrible...

“How does a girl so young end like that...? She looks just around your age.” Shivers run through my spine at those words. The possibility of her figuring out that that’s me looming over my head, as if waiting for the moment to fall. “At least I don’t have to worry about you ending like that. With how much you love the Magical Girls, you are more likely to end as one.”

“Ahahaha... W-Wouldn’t that be amazing...?” I’m sorry, Mom! The one on the TV is me! You have very real reasons to worry!

“Utena, this kinda feels bad... Hiding stuff from her feels way different than from anyone else...” You think I don’t know?!

“Make sure to be careful when you go out, alright Utena? Things are pretty dangerous nowadays.” Mom looked away from the screen, picking up her rice bowl. “If a Witch attacks you, use some passerby as a distraction to run.”

“Sacrifice a random person?!” Is that what you should be teaching your daughter?!

...

After a filling breakfast, Mom rested a few minutes before going to her room to finish styling her hair and do her makeup, before taking her purse and walking to the entrance.

“I’m going Utena. Do you need me to pick up something on the way back?” Mom asked as she put on her heels.

“No, it’s alright. Have a nice day.” I waved at her, as she nodded and turned towards the door.

“Oh, right, before I forget.” She turned back, and walked quickly towards.

“Uh?” She reached a hand towards my face, stopping for a moment before reaching further into my hair. It shuffled around a bit, before coming out holding a few papers. “Wha-?! That’s-!”

“Ufufufu~. You said you are going out with friends tomorrow, right?” She pushed them into my hands, without giving me a chance to answer, a clear satisfaction on her face at my reaction. They were 4000 yens. “I may forget tomorrow, so have a little extra to your normal allowance. Don’t forget to close the door if you go out.”

“Ah- Thanks!” She didn’t wait for my answer before going through the door. 

With a slight ‘Click’ from the door closing, we were left alone in the house.

“...That feels better than stealing money...” Ghostmon murmured on my side, looking at the door.

“...Yes. It does.” I couldn’t do anything except agreeing. Both may have just been money, but unlike the cold, dirty money I got from those high-school girls, this one feels warm and kind.

I’ll make sure to not use stolen money when going out with Hanabishi-san, Minakami-san, and Tenkawa-san. 

“Looks like you are ready.” We quickly turned back towards the voice suddenly appearing behind us, the form of Venalita having appeared without any previous sound. “Well then, let’s get going.”

Without waiting for an answer, it opened a dark, spiraling portal behind itself, and motioned for us to enter.

We looked at each other for a moment, Ghostmon’s worries very clear. We were being taken to some unknown location, without being told for what reason, by this little spawn of Satan. Ghostmon probably felt even more worry coming from me.

Still, we knew there was no avoiding it, so we nodded to each other, stood straight, and walked into the portal.

Delicious!

I bit into the cheese, ham, and egg pizza in my hands, as I admired the view in front of me. There were few better places to eat than on top of the tallest building around. The only thing clearly better is doing it up in the clouds, but that’s a bit too exhausting.

Neferti had De-Evolved into Sala just so her portions would be bigger, and I could feel her joy combining with mine.

Enjoying a rest with good food at a good place with good company. What else could one ask for?

Sitting around various pizza boxes, Azul, Rena, Sulfur, and Angora were enjoying themselves as we took a small rest from our patrol, eating and chatting. According to the investigators at Cosmos’s castle, Magia Baiser is probably around our age, so she’s most likely to make big moves on a Saturday.

It’s not really guaranteed, though. All her attacks until now have been on the week, at max an hour after school. But they also said that according to the minuscule changes on body-shape since her first appearance, she probably has been a Witch for 2 months at most. And it’s not uncommon for young Witches to take a couple months to accommodate their schedule of crimes to the weekend... As long as they manage to avoid capture that long, of course.

It’s not very reliable, but with how little she has appeared until now, it’s amazing the information and plans of action they are sending us. Baiser’s estimated amount of Mana and possible rate of growth, details on how her unique Spell works and its apparent limits, calculations on her average physical capabilities, possible area of residence, a draft of her initial psychological profile...

And apparently, they are pulling their hairs in frustration because of how little they have to work with for now. I’ll say they have helped plenty already, I’m used to working with not even a fraction of this.

“...Hey Azul, yah alright?” A specific question caught my attention.

“Mmm?” Azul took a moment to finish gulping down, visibly confused at the question. “Yes, why do you ask?”

“Well, yah ‘ave been attacked ‘lone twice already. Feels like Baiser got somethin’ ‘gainst yah or somethin’.” Sulfur words took a moment to sink in, leading to a slight bit of dread.

It feels like a coincidence, but if it’s something more...

“That’s surely a coincidence.” Azul said what I thought about it, and Rena continued from there. “The first time we were the aggressors, and there was no way she could have expected us to come alone. And the second time must have been because we were patrolling on our own.”

“Mmm... Well, dat makes sense. Maybe ah’m just thinkin’ too much.” She left it there and returned to her lunch.

Still he question remained in my mind. The psychological profile we got of Baiser, and Enormeeta in general, talks about some sort of dangerous obsession with Magical Girls. That’s no surprise considering their actions, but what if each of their members has a personal obsession with specific ones?

Azul may be in danger...

“Greetings girls!” The sudden voice took me out of my thoughts, as we all turned to look at Vatz, who was finishing its teleportation. “Having lunch? Or is it breakfast? Sorry, had a long meeting, so I’m not sure what time it is.”

“Hey, Vatz-chan! Here, have some too!” I picked up a box and pulled it at Vatz. She must be starving!

“Eat up, eat up! It’s still warm!” Sala offered alongside me, somehow speaking perfectly with her mouth full.

“Sorry, I don’t have much time. I have to go back to work now.” She reached into her pocket, and took out an old... Parchment? It looked of good quality and carefully tied in a white and red ribbons. “I’m just here to bring a message.”

She held it towards Rena. She looked surprised, but took it, taking a moment to look at it carefully.

“Alright, I have to go back. Have a nice lunch!” And with those words, she teleported away again. I feel kinda bad at how hard she has to work.

“What’s that?” Angora looked over Rena’s shoulder, at the rolled up parchment in her hands.

“...It’s from home.” She slowly said, as she started to unwrap it. “That’s strange. This type of parchment and ribbons is only used... To deliver prophesies.”

“Uh? Prophecies?” Wait, like PROPHECIES prophecies?! “There are actual prophecies in the Digital World?!”

That’s the first time I hear about it! Why wasn’t I told sooner?!

“Of course there are!” Angora exclaimed, enthusiasm clear on her voice. “The predictions of Renamon’s sanctuary are famous across the Digital World! People say that they can look straight into the future, and have been a great part on reducing casualties during all the Cataclysms!”

“Well, our ideas of a prophecy may be a bit misaligned, but... Yes.” She finished unwrapping it, as everyone looked curiously at it. “It is a bit different than what most people think of, though... They come from the Oracle, who reads the gravitational influences that everyone puts on the alignments of destiny, to predict how the pull will...”

...What are all those words? What are they doing together? Gravity, alignments?

Rena stopped and looked at my face. With a small sigh, she looked back down at the parchment.

“Yes, it’s a prophesy. Just... Don’t expect too much details... Or accuracy, especially if it involves the Material World.” She took a moment to read it... And a grimace grew on her face. “...Al... Alright, this is what it says...”

‘A dark star of unmeasurable weight is pulling on the flow of fate. 

Its gravity is attracting other stars, and contaminating them with its vicious light. 

Any small planets caught on its pull will be consumed and rebuilt into a perversion of their previous beauty. 

Don’t let its shine corrupt your own light. 

The conflict will only turn harsher, but you and your Partner must persevere. 

No matter how many supernovas orbit your system.’

The movement through the portal was long. It took way longer than my previous times, we floated into the vortex of darkness for what felt like minutes. But eventually we stepped out.

And we were greeted by the night sky.

Stars, too many to count, adorned a colorful night sky, as I looked over a small cliff that overlooked a world of stone. Rectangular mountains shot high into the sky, surrounded by smaller, uneven stones and craters.

There was nothing but stone as far as the eye can see.

And high in the sky, as if the mountains were a frame to show off its beauty... Was a green and orange planet, releasing a soft glow that reflected on the moons surrounding it.

Ghostmon gawked besides me, a hard to describe feeling swelling in her chest. One that I feel she herself doesn’t understand.

“Enjoying the view?” We turned towards Venalita’s voice. And as we watched the vortex behind it disappear, a structure reveled itself behind.

A castle of stone, with walls so flat that it looked as if it was carved from a single piece. Rectangular portions of it protruded or retracted around it, and window-shaped holes were haphazardly thrown around its surface. And entire sections of it were floating in the air, unconnected from the rest but acting as a part of the whole.

“Welcome, Hiiragi Utena and Ghostmon, to Enormeeta’s base of operations... Nacht Base.” Venalita stretched its arms, as if trying to encompass the magnitude of what we were seeing.

“Welcome... To the Digital World.”

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 4: Friends Made through Violence - Part 4

“...Ah?” “...The Digital World?” I could barely let a sound out at those words, while Ghostmon could say significantly more than me.

This is... The Digital World?

“Waitwaitwaitwait! That’s impossible!” There is no way that’s happening! “Humans can’t go into the Digital World!”

“R-Right! The Internet said that it can’t happen!” Ghostmon followed. “If this was the Digital World, Utena couldn’t be here!”

“And yet, you are here. Can’t you believe what you see with your own eyes?” Venalita said with its usual upbeat tone, but I could clearly feel the mockery behind those words.

“How can I be here, then?! I have researched all the information I could about this! Only Satellites and Digimon of the Child Level can cross the portal!” Many Magical Girls have tried to cross to the other side, but they can’t even enter the portal!

“Isn’t it obvious? We have better portal technology than them, it’s as simple as that.” It answered the same way as before. Irritating.

That’s an outlandish amount of confidence for such an outrageous statement. Enough to leave me silent, don’t knowing how to answer to that.

“But... How?” Unlike me, Ghostmon didn’t wasn’t stunned. “The portal technology is being developed at Universe’s Center, right? They are working directly under the Goddess. How can you have better technology...?”

“You two... Have you forgotten who am I?” Its upbeat tone changed just slightly, becoming strangely cold. It sent a shiver down my spine. “It was thanks to me that they could open the portals at will in the first place, so misleading their research on the Digital Shifts so they get stuck at this point for a few decades was simple.”

I silently gulp, as Ghostmon nervously looks down. I had come to see Venalita just as my blackmailer and the one behind Enormeeta... And forgotten why it is called ‘Doctor’ Venalita.

“Now, let’s go.” Its tone returned to its normal upbeat one. “It’s about time I show you our base of operations.”

We could only nod nervously as it turned its back to us, and floated to the entrance of the castle. We followed silently from behind, not wanting to do or say anything that could make it angry.

Still, I couldn’t stop myself from looking up, at the planet above us, and the many moons surrounding it, some so close that I couldn’t understand how they weren’t pushed towards the planet by its gravity.

It was as if they weren’t orbiting the planet because of its gravity, rather ignoring it entirely, and just kept in place because that’s where they belonged.

It was a very strange sight... And also, a beautiful one.

“...The Digital World...” I couldn’t stop murmuring to myself.

I doubt I’m the first to have dreamed of coming here. There are all kinds of stories about the Digital World that have been shared by the Satellites and Digimon, and even showed photos and video of it, but no Human had been able to truly come here and witness it in person.

No Human has seen this before. No Magical Girl has stepped here before.

Ironically... It took becoming a Witch to do it.

...Not worth it.

As we reached the entrance, the large gates of the castle stood before us, raising at least a dozen meters above, looking too heavy to move. They were easily pushed open by a light push from Venalita, and we walked inside.

‘Thump!’

My heart stopped for a moment as the large doors closed behind us, and Ghost hid behind me. I didn’t voice my complaint, since I would hide behind her if I could.

The inside of the castle was... Like a weird work of art.

Most of it was a flat stone floor... Except for the various cubes of stone that protruded from the ground, the ones that floated above ground, the various stone stairs set by the walls and ceiling, leading through paths and hallways of various sizes that appeared to defy gravity.

And all around, there were electrical cables hanging as they illuminated the place with rows of light bulbs.

“This is the main hall and also the throne room. There should be a direct route to anywhere in Nacht Base from here, though I don’t expect you to remember where’s everything anytime soon.” Venalita didn’t stop moving as it talked, but I did.

“Throne Room...?” I stopped to look around. There were no signs of any kind of throne in this large room, nowhere in its dozen of meters large and wide.

“Utena, over there.” Ghostmon pointed somewhere, and I followed her finger to one of the floating stone cubes in the center of the room.

On top of that lost cube... Was visible what may have been the top of a tall and narrow slab of stone.

“That is the throne of the Supreme Leader of Enormeeta. She insisted on having it there.” It stopped for a moment as it motioned at the ‘throne’ with its face, before turning back to continue its path. “Now, let’s go, I have a lot to show you today.”

“Ah, wait!” Ghostmon slightly shouted when trying to catch up, and I went just behind her. But my eyes were still focused on the ‘Throne’.

A stone throne in the main hall of the castle, looking at the entry... High up in a floating stone, so it’s hard to notice it at first... Calling herself ‘Supreme’ Leader rather than just Leader, or Grand Witch or Chief like I heard they also tend to call themselves in other Evil Organizations...

...I get the feeling that I won’t like her.

...

We followed Venalita through one of the larger hallways, probably big enough for a pair of elephants to go through while keeping a comfortable distance with each other. There were lots of empty rooms, that Venalita said I could do whatever I wanted with.

“Here’s the kitchen.” We stopped a moment as it pulled us through a large set of doors. “The pantry connected to it is kept full by Sister, so feel free to eat for free as much as you want.” 

The kitchen in front of us was big. Way too big. As if it was expected to house a hundred cooks. And it was very well equipped, with many modern appliances, others that looked from a century or two ago, and and even a few large stone ovens. There was another large set of doors on the opposite side, and yet another on the left wall, one of them housing the pantry.

It was quite an impressive sight...

“...Why didn’t you bring me sooner?!” “This is a month too late!” Why did we have to suffer so much trying to figure out how to keep Ghostmon fed?!

Is it enjoying toying with us?!

“Though the ingredients are from this world, so your choice if you want to try metal mushrooms and bulb oranges.”

“...” “...” Metal... Mushrooms?

“I’ll... Rather have something less... Crunchy.” Ghostmon looked away, her face growing visibly paler as the idea. And I get it entirely. I’m not up to eating a light bulb.

“Ahaha... I’ll pass... I don’t wanna grow fat...” Though I’m sure Hanabishi-san would love to try those mushrooms...

“You aren’t growing fatter anymore, though.” Venalita said shortly and carelessly something outrageous.

Something that made me remember this morning, and that I wanted to ask it.

“Any... more? What do you mean?” Is that related as to why I have lost weight...?

“Uh? Don’t Humans change their body constantly?” Ghostmon asked, worry clear in her voice. “Is Utena alright? Is something stopping her from Evolving?”

No, gaining weight has nothing to do with Evolution. How did you even mix those in your head?

“Right, I suppose that information isn’t as readily available to the public as I thought. One would assume that by this point it would have come out of the mouth of one or two Magical Girls during an interview...” Venalita looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe it’s an unnecessary measure to help at keeping their identities secret?”

That didn’t last long, before it went back to normal. “Well, nothing important. To put it simply, frequently flowing data... Magic through your body to strengthen yourself has good effects on your health, even if just once a week. You won’t suddenly become an athlete, but any health problems will slowly disappear, including visible aspects like skin condition and fat excess.”

“...Eh? Really?” Is it being serious? That’s... Way too good to be true. “I don’t have to worry about my health anymore?”

“Well, that’s as long as you don’t catch some illness from this world. Our viruses evolved while going against this, of course.” That’s something I don’t even want to think about... “Besides health, it’ll also help you develop your body into your ideal self.”

“Ideal self?” “So Utena is going to Evolve?” Is she throwing any body changes into the same bag as Evolution?

Venalita took a moment to open a few... Screens? In the air, showing images of various Digimon and... I guess their Evolutions? And also some with Magical Girls and normal Humans in them.

“For Digital beings, one’s form will inevitably be guided to the form they want to take, for whatever reason that may be, be that through Evolution or other means. They all arrive to a Truth that defines what they’ll become. The same applies to Magical Girls and Witches.” Venalita explained pointing at various screens, as the images in them changed either slowly, or so dramatically fast that they didn’t look even remotely the same afterwards. “The change isn’t so dramatic in Humans, especially in their untransformed forms, but it’s still happening as we speak. Still, it’s a very slow process, so you can think of it as if you’ll grow up into an adult exactly as you would like to grow up.”

“That’s... Great?” I don’t think I fully understand it, but... Isn’t this like putting an end to all worries about my health and appearance? Will I end like a taller version of Mom?

“So... Utena’s alright? She can Evolve without problems?” Ghostmon sounded relieved. That was good, but... Should I explain that this has nothing to do with Evolution?

...Wait, does it have nothing to do with it? Maybe it’s a direct equivalent for the Digimon, so she goes with it instinctively...

“Yes, there is no reason to worry.” With a movement of its hand, all the screens disappeared into thin air. “Now, let’s continue our tour.”

Venalita turned back through the door from which we entered the kitchen, and we followed it in silence. I was still trying to process what I had just heard.

Do all... Magical Girls go through this?

...Wait, does that mean that all Magical Girls are as pretty untransformed as they are transformed?!

...

We passed through a dinning room big enough for hundreds of people, with various tables of varying sizes and materials, one so big that I couldn’t see over it.

Venalita pointed at the entrance of a tower housing a dungeon to keep prisoners, but made it very clear to never bring a Magical Girl into Nacht Base, no matter the circumstances.

And we entered a large hallways with many doors on each side. This ones of a normal Human size, unlike most in the rest of the castle, and the doors were made of some light blue... Metal? Plastic? ...Wood? I wasn’t sure what that material was.

“This are the living quarters. Come on.” It guided us through the hall, to a door not too far away. “This is your room.”

“My... Room?” But... I don’t need a room... Ah! “Wait, are you saying I have to live here now?!”

“What?! No way, this place is creepy!” Ghostmon panicked on my side, looking around at the castle surrounding us.

Isn’t it already bad enough that I have to be a Witch?! Now I have to run away from home?!

What else does this thing want from me?!

“No no, you misunderstand.” Venalita made a casual wave, as if that would calm me down. “You could move here if you wanted, but it’s alright to continue living as you have until now.”

Is it really...?

“Then why give Utena a room?” Ghostmon made the question I had in mind.

Why?

“It’s in case you two have things you want to hide, and keeping them in your room would be too dangerous. Like Utena’s porn mags in her second drawer.”

“WAIT, HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!?!?!” You can’t simply drop that out of nowhere!!! How did you find out?!?!?!

“O-Oi! That’s for Utena’s ‘Alone Time’, you shouldn’t bring them up!” “Ghostmon, don’t bury me even deeper!!!” Ghostmon tried to help, but she only dug the knife deeper.

“I sometimes spy on you, of course.” Venalita kept its usual upbeat tone as it said the worst thing imaginable. “When I’m not busy, of course.”

“JUST KILL ME ALREADY!!!” I feel on my knees, face covered by my hands. “Uahhhhhh...! Now I can’t get married...!”

“That was already an impossibility, why did you even consider it before?” Venalita was relentless, each word digging deeper into my heart. “Anyways, this room has the basic necessities for two people, so you two can use it however you want, or forget it exists if you want.”

Venalita turned back, and motioned us to follow.

“Ughhh... I quit! I don’t wanna be a Witch anymore!” I yelled out in frustration as tears poured down my face.

“Come on, Utena.” It looked back at us, it’s tone and face the same as always. “You should already know you can’t quit.”

“Ughhh...!” I fell in place, incapable of talking back. I already knew I couldn’t quit, but being told so again always hurts.

Ghostmon silently cleaned my tears, and I took a moment before forcing myself to stand up. Venalita was unexpectedly patient, before continuing the tour once I calmed down.

“This are the rooms of the other members. That’s Leberblume’s, besides it is Loco Musica’s. Those two are for new members that haven’t decided their names yet.” It pointed at two doors on the opposite side first, before pointing at the two surrounding mine. It appeared like there were other new members besides me. “And that one at the end is the Supreme Leader’s.”

It pointed at a door at the end of the hallways. It was bigger than the others, with fancy designs covering it, and quite a distance from the rest, as if trying to separate herself from the others.

“The others are a bit busy lately, so it’ll take a while until you get to meet them.” It said before starting to float away, returning to leading the tour. “Don’t go into their rooms without their permission. They’ll kill you.”

I’m not looking forward to meeting any of them.

...

As we took a few more corners, passing by a pair of bathrooms, my eyes fixated in the scenery in front of us.

Past a line of stone pillars, surrounded by walls on all sides, was a wild and large garden.

All kinds of flowers I had never seen before were growing out of tall and and wild rainbow grass. Some were even encroaching upon the stone pillars, wrapping around them, breaking them, and growing in the fissures.

They almost appeared to shine under the light of the planet above us, enjoying the fresh air from the roofless area, and released an uniquely sweet and pleasant smell.

“Beautiful...” Ghostmon let out the words I was too stunned to do myself.

“This is the yard. It has the last remaining life of this moon. The rest perished during the last Cataclysm.” Venalita approached me as I stepped towards it, and held me by the shoulder. “Don’t get too close. It bites.”

“...It what?” ‘Brrrrbrrbrbr’ The rustling of grass reached my ears, as I saw it twitch in what almost felt like frustration.

“Let’s go. You can admire the flowers later.” Venalita released my shoulder and floated away.

I followed, but my and Ghostmon’s eyes were focused on the garden behind us. It felt like a predator waiting for its prey, attracting it with its pretty colors and sweet scent.

It was even more beautiful than before.

...

“This is the Minion Creation Facility.” Venalita stood in front of a large set of doors. The only one in the middle of a long hallways, indicating that the interior must be enormous. “Here’s where we create the Digimon we deploy to attack cities and fight the Magical Girls.”

It suddenly presented the most important room of them all.

“S-So... This is where Enormeeta gets them...” I have seen way too many of them on the Internet, and even in person, the last year.

“All Evil Organizations have them, right?” Ghostmon looked at the door with a strange expression. Makes sense, I guess. Minions are Digimon without a sense of self, just puppets used by Witches. As a Digimon, being so close to where they are made must be a bit...

“Yes, but unlike most other groups, we grow them at home rather than buy them. I prefer to have my hands in as much of what I use as possible, and we need a lot of them given how many the Supreme Leader sacrifices for her plans. Making them at home keeps them cheap.” Venalita then started floating away. “Though we are currently out of them. The next batch is still growing.”

“W-Wait, aren’t we going to look inside?!” You can’t simply bring me here against my will and then not show the most important part!

“Well, this is just a quick tour. I can’t go about everything, can I?” It looked over its shoulder before motioning us to follow. “You can always come check it some other day if you want to use some of them.”

“N-No thanks...” It’s not like I want to use those Minion Digimon... I may have done bad things to the Magical Girls, and will do them again, but I’m not a terrorist!

I followed behind Venalita, but stopped when I noticed Ghostmon wasn’t following us.

Looking back, I saw Ghostmon was still floating in front of that room. Her face was still locked in an indescribable expression, and I could feel very conflicting and uncertain feelings coming from her.

“Ghostmon...?” Is she alright...?

“...Ah. Sorry, I got... Distracted...” Ghostmon turned to as and floated closer, her voice dispirited.

I don’t like seeing her like that.

I grabbed her hand, and walked by her side as we followed Venalita.

...

“That should be everything important for now. Anything else can be left for later.” Venalita concluded as we came out of a particularly large hallway, back to the main hall.

The tour had taken quite a while, and it felt like we only saw a fraction of the castle. I can only wonder how much of this place actually sees any use, it was way too large for the amount of people that apparently lived here.

“How did you even set up a place like this...?” I thoughtlessly let the question escape my mouth.

“Oh, I didn’t set up this place, I’m just re-purposing it.” Venalita talked as it guided us back to the entrance. “This is an abandoned refugee fortress from the last Cataclysm. I simply repaired and cleaned it. Pretty convenient, given the lack of survivors that know about this place.”

A small shiver ran through my back, and I could feel how Ghostmon was worried about the same as me. Now we knew about a place that Venalita may have killed people to keep a secret.

It was a discouraging idea, feeling as if freedom was getting further and further away from us. So, I decided to try to focus on something else.

“Cataclysm? What’s th-” “You finally done ‘ploring?” I froze in place as I heard from above a voice I didn’t recognize.

“We have been waaaaaiting you two for an eternity~.” I shot my eyes above, following a second voice, falling on the top of a large stone cube besides us by the entrance of the hallway.

“Yeah, yeah~. What she says~! How dare you make us wait!” On top of the stone cube were the origin of the voices, seated at the border. The one that just spoke holding the second by the ‘Horn’, brusquely shaking the head of the second, who appeared to be her Digimon Partner, through it. Receiving just laughs from her.

The girl... The Witch was dressed in a white shirt with a wide neck, tugged below a pair of jean shorts held tightly at her waist with a green belt. She wore a green jacket that had completely fallen from her shoulders and hung barely above her elbows, hands lost inside its sleeves. She wore a pair of thigh-high black socks and tall red and white street shoes, though one of them had been folded.

She was dirty blonde, with an apparently very long hair, held in two oversized buns that hung low behind her. She had downcast wine-red eyes with a mole under the left one, and her face looked set in an expression of either tiredness or laziness, but keeping a wide smile on it. She appeared to be a bit short, but her body was... VERY healthy, with quite large breasts and hips, and a small waist.

She was extremely attractive, but the way she smiled and looked at me set alarms flaring in my brain. The Digimon on the other side, was outright strange.

It was like a small flashy pink dinosaur, with shiny green claws and a green ‘canvas’ on its stomach that had an abstract skull of a darker green inside. Her eyes were purple, and a large purple horn covered in almost circuit-like patterns grew in her forehead.

But covering it, it had a large white pelt with four extremities falling to her sides, covering her real arms with them and extending large dark green claws. The fur had tiger-like purple stripes all around, and two large ‘ears’ growing on the back, while the front covered its mouth with an exterior set of thick fangs.

She was... Strange. Very strange to look at.

But they weren’t the only ones up there. Seated besides them, was a little girl, one that must not have been even 10 years old, and what must have been her own Partner. I wondered if they were sisters, given their similarities.

She was small, very small, and also cute, very cute. She had long, straight blonde hair that reached to the ground she was seated at, perfectly symmetrical  with a lack of bangs, her hair wrapping through the sides of her face to gather in her back. She had a disinterested set of bright red eyes with a large forehead, and a small mouth.

She wore a light blue dress over a puffy white blouse, tied with a belt around her waist, and with a red ribbon around her neck. Her legs were covered as far as I could see with white socks, wearing a brown pair of mary janes. 

She must have been the most adorable little girl I have ever seen, if it wasn’t for her expression looking at me with a complete disinterest in my very existence... No, I think she’s still the most adorable, even with that. But her Digimon... Was maybe stranger than the other one, but for completely different reasons.

She was legos.

She was a tiny dinosaur made of colorful and very large legos of all colors, giving her a very blocky and squared form. I could only describe her as legos.

How is a Digimon a set of walking Legos?!

“Hup!” Taking me out of my thoughts, the first pair jumped down, landing just a few meters away from me. They had lazy and relaxed postures, looking at me curiously as the Witch covered her mouth with her sleeve, but at the same time like this was their serious look.

“I have been waiting until we could meet, Hiiragi Utena-chan.” “Hey, Ghostmoooooon, good to meet~.” They talked with very friendly attitudes, despite my brain shouting to keep a safe distance.

“Wait, how do you know my name?” “Ah... Hello?” I asked warily, but Ghostmon just meekly returned the greeting.

“Vena-chan told me ‘all’ about you~. We gotta be friends!” The blonde Witch enthusiastically jogged to me, and grabbed my hands, trapping them inside her sleeves.

I flinched for a moment, but her face looked genuinely happy, with a cute smile with closed eyes, and her enthusiasm felt real. She was... Nice, just a bit too forward and free-spirited.

“This is Kiwi. She joined us around the same time you did.” Venalita motioned at her, and then at her partner. “And that’s Psychemon. As you can imagine, they are Partners, just like you and Ghostmon.”

“Suuuup’, Psyche here. You can call me Gepard, or just Pa-chaaaaan~” Psyche... Gepard lazily waved her hand in a good mood.

“Ahhh... Good to meet you two. I’m Ghostmon.” She was still a bit nervous, but their relaxed attitude appeared to be relaxing her.

“I’m Araga Kiwi! Nice to meetcha!” Meanwhile the one in front of me continued to happily shake my hands, lazy smile decorating her face.

It was a bit over-bearing, but... Also kinda nice.

“Ah... Likewise. I-” ‘Click’ “...Uh?” I heard a tiny click as Araga-san released my hands.

And was suddenly washed by a wave of panic from Ghostmon.

There is a strange weight in my hands, that wasn’t there before.

Looking down, my eyes meet up with the object left there... And my as soon as they did, my eyes dilated, and my heart stopped.

It was a heart-shaped... Hand-grenade.

‘BROOOOOOOM!!!’

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 4: Friends Made through Violence - Part 5

‘BROOOOOOOM!!!’

‘Bump!’ ‘Bump!’ ‘Bump!’ ‘Bump!’ ‘Bump!’ 

My heart beat like crazy under my right hand, as we watch the black smoke cloud in front of us cease to expand, the small grenade fragments shot from it feeling like small sting where they hit skin.

I was tightly wrapped in golden chains, holding the back of BlackWitchmon’s neck, as we both pushed each other back, barely getting away in time.

I have no idea HOW we got away in time.

I didn’t even KNOW I could Transform and she could Evolve that fast.

“Ohh~. You really are good at escaping~.” “I could baaaaarely see them get away~” Our eyes fixated on the girls that just handed me an unpinned hand-grenade.

I was not Transformed at the time. I don’t even know how I managed to get away in barely a second. I very much doubt she knew I could do it, unless she had one irrational faith in someone she doesn’t even know.

She... Just tried to kill me...!

“W-Why did you do that?!” “We almost died!” Our cries overlapped, without making the girl’s smile change even one bit.

The only change I noticed was the other pair in the corner of my eye, that were now looking with interest.

“It’s just as Sulfur said~. All you can do is run away.” I flinched a bit at those words. They weren’t exactly unhappy memories, but were very painful ones.

But most important... How does she know that?

“So, we were waaaaaatching, ‘kay?” Gepard continued, the ‘arm’ of her fur thrown around as she lazily swayed her hand. “You were defeated so baaaaadly, you two looked pathetic~.”.

“And after that, Utena-chan~.” Araga lowered her arms. Something that made my instincts scream ‘Danger’. “I don’t get it~... Why were smiling like a weirdo, while spitting blood?”

“That’s the worse paaaaart~. Your Partner was broken and unconscious, ‘kay~?” I trembled a bit at those words, and I felt BlackWitchmon flinch. 

I... That’s not something I’m proud of... I really wasn’t worrying about her well-being at the time...

“If that were me, I would be so pissed that I could die~.” “How could we run away without hitting back harder?” In a swift and almost imperceptible movement, one that I could only catch because Mom taught me to pay attention to small sleight-of-hand like that, Araga took a Transformation Star out of her sleeve, holding it firmly in her hand.

And both her’s and Gepard’s bodies started to shine with a swirling green light.

“I would have immediately gone back for revenge!” As her body was covered in light and her clothes disappeared, she swiftly set the Star in her hair

“If there is a fight, you fiiiiiight! No running away~!” Gepard’s body, now covered in light, started to twitch, and the shape of her fur coat extended to cover the rest of her body.

Suddenly, the shape of a short set of turtle-neck clothes appeared on the top of Araga’s body, large and oversized rolled-up sleeves completely covering her arms while the clothes barely reached her navel with the frills at the bottom. The Star in her hair moved up to rest over the shape of a large hat.

Meanwhile, Gepard’s body twitched violently, her horn disintegrating in the hair as two large ear-like shapes grew on her head, and the short, thick tail on her back found its mass redistributed, as if rolled up by invisible hands to grow as long as it became thinner.

Araga reached down to her legs and generous ass, and the shape of thigh-high boots with high heels and belts that reached into her top appeared. Alongside the almost imperceptible shape of a thong to cover her private areas.

Gepard, on her side, raised her hands as they suddenly doubled in size, as if covered by large gloves that exposed three thick claws. The fur around her body body changed form, shaping up into some type of large robe that reached down down to her ankles, exposing only her feet, which had belts crossing over each. 

Lastly, Araga took out something shaped like a gun from inside her sleeve, holding it firmly in her left hand. She raised the right to cover her mouth as the lights disappeared, revealing the green of a military uniform with various medals and star-shaped buttons, and dark red in the large neck and rolled-up sleeve, with golden decoration and borders all around.

And besides her, Gepard reached to her head as the fur on top changed into a hat, holding the brim and twisting it to leave it lopsided and covering one eye. Extending one arm to the side, a large and shiny rectangular shape appeared over, releasing the lights covering her body and showing the dark green with yellowish-green borders and belts of her military uniform. Hands covered in white gloves with pink paws as they held her silver twin-barreled assault rifle, and a white bag with pink borders sat to her side, wrapped around her chest. Shiny black fur with pink at the tip of her ears and tail covered her body, and two distinct star-shaped pink marks across her tail.

“But don’t worry~. I, The Great Leopard, will beat some sense into you.” “And I, the One and Only LeutnantTailmon, will make sure that lesson is buuuuurned into your core~.” The pair of girls stood threateningly with guns in their hands, making their hostile intentions more than clear. It would have even worked, if I wasn’t distracted by something else.

That was a Transformation Sequence!!!

I just witnessed a whole Transformation Sequence!!!

They didn’t need to do all that... They pretty much danced it just for me, Leopard exposing all her curves in the process!!!

Is this how it feels to receive a striptease?! Her thong is so small, it feels like with a slight touch I could...!

And...!

“Oh no... She’s cute!” “I want to hold her up by the tail...!” We both couldn’t stop ourselves from whispering out, and glancing into each other’s eyes.

Her emotions were more than clear through our connection, but it felt as if I could tell exactly what she was thinking when looking into her eyes. She found Gepard adorable, and wanted to make her cry. And she was amused and slightly disturbed by what she was seeing in mine.

W-Wait, don’t look at me like that! I- I’m 14, it’s normal I’ll have thoughts like that when a girl my age with a body like that shows so much to me! And they are common thoughts and actions for Humans!

Wha- No, of course I won’t do anything! Come on, the little girl watching over there may be her little sister! What type of degenerate do you think I-!

“Mmkay, here we go~!” “Make it fuuun~!” Arag- Leopard and Gepard raised their guns towards us... And from behind them, a dozen swirling portals opened in the air, a different giant gun coming from each of them.

“Wha-?!” “You can’t be-!” ‘Click!’ We didn’t have time to finish our surprise as the loud sound of the trigger being pulled, and all the barrels lit up.

‘Brooom!’ ‘Brbrbrbr!’ ‘Ratatatatata’ ‘Thump!’ ‘Bang!’ ‘Crash!’

We flew away as soon we were aware enough to run for our lives, avoiding the wild gunfire around us by an hair’s length, BlackWitchmon turning her chains into a shield right on time to catch a giant shotgun pellet on it.

‘BROOOOM!’

The wall behind us was shredded and turned into rubble by the impacts. I could clearly see how bullets the size of a person got embedded on it, before shinning brightly an instant later and exploding.

Explosive bullets?! You have to be kidding me!!!

Somehow, BlackWitchmon’s chain shield was holding up as our surroundings were destroyed, but I could feel the pressure on her. Being able to make up a shield didn’t make her as good at it as Sulfur, she won’t last long like this.

I look around for anything that may be useful. Something I could turn into a Schiavo to help us, but there was nothing around besides the stone making up the place... And the lines of light-bulbs hanging everywhere.

That’s it!

I hold firmly my Frustrino Dominanza, but before I can make a run for the closest line, my eyes caught movement. On the corner of my view, I can see Gepard halting to a stop and raising her assault rifle, having flanked around our shield.

“H-K G11!” She shouted from afar, before pulling the trigger of her gun.

‘Ratatatatata!’ I grabbed BlackWitchmon from the collar to drag her away as fast as possible, as a stream of far more precise bullets came in our direction.

“Kuh-!” A small burning sensation grows in my arm, as a bullet grazed it, and left a bloody cut behind.

Fortunately, I managed to notice Gepard right on time to get us out of range right with just a scratch, and fly to hide behind one of the large floating stone cubes.

The sound of explosions and shots continued, as if they were trying to break the whole thing apart. Something that, as much as I wish I could say would be futile, I can’t help buy think we have mere moments before they achieve.

“Do something!” I shout at BlackWitchmon in a panic, incapable of keeping myself together under this circumstances.

I knew that Witches are Terrorists, but I wasn’t expecting it to be taken so literally! What’s with all this guns and explosions?!

The sounds of gunshots suddenly stopped. ‘Hey Gepard, look at this~’.

“What do you want me to do?!” She rubbed the purple crystal at the end of her staff against my face. “My Agony Shocks are way slower than bullets! I’ll become a ghost if step out there!”

‘Oooooh, cool~. But I bet you miss~.’ ‘Tch, watch and learn from The Great Leopard-sama~.

“I- I don’t know, but there has to be something! And I can’t think of anything good enough!” Why do they have a whole military at their back, and we only a stick and an even shorter stick?! Magic is unfair! 

‘Thump’ ‘Thump’

“If you can’t think of anything, then how could I?! I thought you were the smart one of us!” “What?! You saw my grades, you are the smart on-!” Our little shouting match got interrupted as a small object fell from above right between our eyes.

A grenade.

‘BROOOOOOOOM!!!’

“Gyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! Gah!” I was sent flying away by the explosion, BlackWitchmon disappearing on the other side of it, before coming to a sudden stop as I hit my head against the wall.

Strangely, the explosion didn’t hurt me as much as I expected. It WAS painful, but it was more comparable to getting punched in the face, or accidentally touching a hot stove, than how a grenade exploding on your face should feel like.

From this position, I could see how on the other side BlackWitchmon quickly deployed her shield to block the incoming barrage of bullets, most flying fast her, but the ones that hit the shield sending her flying backwards from the explosion. She couldn’t properly block them anymore.

If Leopard is going at her, then...!

I drop my flight, plummeting to the ground as I look to the side. I do it right on time, as bullets fly right over my head, Gepard boldly shooting from the top of a stone cube. And more important than that, I see a line of light-bulbs besides her, going into the direction I’m falling to.

I swing my Dominanza as I fall, hitting the line in the air before falling to the ground, feeling the increasingly familiar sensation of the ‘Hole’ in my chest losing part of its contents. On the side, I could see BlackWitchmon be blasted outside the castle through the wall, not before stealthily sending violet sphere around a floating stone.

‘Gotcha now~.” Gepard lowers her aim, setting right on me. With no obstacles between us, and still having to recover my balance from the landing, there was no way I could avoid getting my body full of lead. And still, I couldn’t stop myself from smirking, as the light-bulbs besides her started to tremble and shine, before suffering an exploding growth and falling towards her. “Wha-?! What is-?!”

She tried to quickly change her aim at the incoming Schiavo, but it was too late.  The light-bulb’s glass broke apart as it grew in size, creating an ‘entry’ from which the arms of a black skeletal figure that used to be its metal parts could reach and grab her, pulling her inside and dropping her weapon. The glass of the ‘entry’ growing full again, sealing her inside.

“Release me, you- GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” Her words were interrupted as her entire body shone under the light of an electrical current of only the Goddess knows how many volts. 

It was exhilarating, if I could be honest. Turning the situation around, trapping the one that had me against the wall and making her scream... It felt great~!

“GEPARD!!!” Leopard’s screamed from the other side of the room, before redirecting all her guns towards us.

Oh, right, she’s not alone!

I fly high to avoid incoming fire and mentally order the Schiavos to disperse, but the one holding Gepard had no chance, becoming to focus of the barrage, its upper body quickly tore apart by lead and explosions, its prisoner released mostly intact.

“I’ll get you real good for that~ AGHHHHHH!!!” Leopard’s words are cut by a scream of pain, as the Agony Shock sent before reached its distracted target.

I can’t miss this chance!

I rush at Leopard, trying to shorten the distance between us before she recovers. I can’t let someone with a gun be at a safe distance, even I know that!

Reaching my arm far back, I make a full-swing of my Dominanza at Leopard, who recovers from the stun right on time to raise her gun and use it to block the swing, holding it firmly with both hands.

The impact hit right in the middle of the gun, and failed to pull through and do any damage, but her trembling arms and frustrated expression told how it had taken its toll.

On the corner of my eye, I could see BlackWitchmon come back from the large hole in the wall, though I couldn’t see clearly enough if she was alright. But I didn’t feel too much pain from her, so she should be alright. Probably.

“Tsk!” Leopard’s eyes moved in her direction, noticing her too, before directing a few guns in her direction and starting shooting again. Clearly not wanting to be ganged up by the both of us.

Following her example, I sent a mental order at the Schiavos to harass Gepard. I would rather not get shot in the back, thank you!

‘Ratatatatata!’ The sound of gunfire came from behind, as the Schiavos were without a doubt starting to be tore apart under the might of an assault rifle.

With BlackWitchmon and Gepard both busy with their own problems, we locked eyes with each other. Leopard’s face recovered her confidence, now that we had entered a small stalemate.

“Hey, Hey, Utena-chan~.” Her lazy and sharp voice slowly entered my ears, coming from a lazy and confident smile. “Or rather, Magia Baiser-chan~!”

Her face got closer, as we both stopped applying force in our weapons.

“Please tell me, Baiser-chan~. Why do you fight Tres Magia?” ...Uh? Why do I fight them? “In my case~. I do it because I hate them~.”

“...Uh? Hate?” How could anyone hate Tres Magia? That makes no sense! They are like goddesses protecting us all!

“You see~. I should be the cutest girl in the whole wide world, and yet...” She took an arms back, slowly reaching behind her. “The world is crazy over them instead~. They all look at them rather than me, can you believe it~?! ...So I got no choice but to erase them.”

A shiver ran down my spine at those words. 

This is a Witch. Nobody would become a Witch without being twisted in some way. This girl is talking about murder without shred of remorse in her voice, and for a reason like that. And given how she handled my that grenade before... She’s serious.

...And yet... I’m feeling myself pumped up. I don’t feel any fear nor disgust for this girl. The honesty with which she simply goes for what she wants... It’s kinda admirable.

All I can feel towards her besides that weird admiration... Is a desire to slap that overconfident smile out of her face.

“So tell me, Baiser-chan~. What’s YOUR reason?” Her hand took out another hand-grenade from her back, but my eyes were fixated on hers. Those dark red pools felt like a whirlpool trapping me with her question. “Why? Why, why? Why, why, why, why, why, why?”

Why... Do I fight the Tres Magia?

Of course, because Venalita is blackmailing me to do it...

“I...” ...Venalita didn’t even order me to attack Azul a few days ago. I didn’t even feel like it was an implied order to do so. “I...”

In fact, Azul was just passing by, and I interrupted what Venalita came for to go after her...

Venalita... Didn’t make me do anything at the Mall, it only tempted me to be bad. I was the one that chose to fall for the temptation.

The last time Venalita ordered me to fight, I could have gotten away once I did the job... ‘Gulp’ But I came back on my own.

Why... Did I...?

As I question myself, the memory of Azul’s face squirming under my fingers came to mind. As I trapped her in cement, immobile for me to play with her as I pleased...

Then the memory of having the Tres Magia trapped and electrocuted, as I raised my riding crop and made a sweet song painfully escape from their pretty faces...

The beautiful and heroic figures of Magenta and Azul as they rescued civilians I had captured in the middle of battle, and of the majestic figure of Sulfur as she pummeled me with her arms covered in light...

The reason why I fight Tres Magia...

The reason why I attacked Azul without provocation...

“I...” ...I want... Because I want to...

“Guh-!” My thoughts are interrupted as Leopard’s face changed into one of panic, her eyes focused behind me.

Curious, I look behind, seeing as Gepard tool something out of her military satchel. It was a... Gas mask?

...Oh...! Oh no!!! Nope!!! No, no, nope!!!

She put it on as she skillfully avoided the two Schiavos still alive, and aimed her rifle at us. In a panic, I ordered one of them to disengage and come to me.

“TSS Grenade!” ‘Click!’ With a press of the trigger of a second handle in her gun, a small cylindrical object was shot from the second barrel, the knockback pushing her whole body sideways. It quickly flew towards us, but at a speed that the eye could actually see.

Following my mental order, the Schiavo flew in front of us and, opening its ‘entry’, it caught the cylinder into its body, sealing the exist.

“WRYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!” Moments later, the Schiavo’s transparent body was completely filled with a noxious looking yellow gas, and it fell to the ground, screaming in pain. 

It trashed around wildly, before it slowly shut up and stopped moving.

I was at a loss for words, my eyes focused on it as Gepard in the background finished off the last remaining Schiavo.

“...Isn’t this against the Geneva Convention...?” This has to be taking things too far... Right?

“We are Witches, who cares about the Geneva Suggestion~? Anyways...” Leopard mockingly said from behind me, before her voice cracked for the first time. “GE-CHAN, ARE YOU SERIOUS?! You were gonna get me on that too!!!”

Gepard just looked at her, and shrugged. “Eh, you’ll be fiiiiiiine~. Just some soman won’t kill you~.” You just swung her hand away, as if discarding any worries. “You’ll just be in pain any around, vomiting, and paralyzed.”

“That sounds not fine at all!!!” What is that crazy cat thinking?! Her definition of ‘fine’ is completely wrong!

“You two cry to muuuuuch... Aren’t you two Witches? You can take some lethal dose of- ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!” Her carefree words were cut by her screams of pain as she was hit by an extra large Agony Shock.

Uh... I had never believed in Karma before, but maybe I should...

“Nefarious Binding” As Gepard screamed in pain, BlackWitchmon came from the side, releasing a wave of golden chains that covered her entire body, not leaving anything above her feet nor below her eye visible. She was completely immobile, and just for safety, my Partner valiantly and shamelessly raised her up, using her as a shield while looking nervously at Leopard’s guns. An Agony Shock floating besides her head.

I couldn’t feel more proud and more disgusted of her.

“Tch, so that’s how you wanna play~?” “Kuh-!” I let a small painful groan as I’m kicked on the side, being sent flying away from Leopard. But managing to flap my wings enough to stop in mid-air between both sides.

I decided to ignore the fact that I just found out that, indeed, the wings of this outfit may not just be decoration, nor just part of the outfit.

“If you want to play like that... I want to join~.” Despite her words, the guns around behind her hid back into their portals disappearing into the air. That gave me hopes that the fight was finally over.

That is, until she raised her gun high, aiming at the sky. Her expression only grew more confident.

Suddenly, the Star in the hat shone bright, a green light enveloping it, slowly moving towards her gun. The Star on it side burning bright.

And then, she pulled the trigger.

‘Click!’ A wave of green light erupted from her, passing us by in the blink of an eye. And every surface the light touched, the floor, walls, ceiling, floating stone blocks and the doors... It was all covered in a bright green digital patterns full of glitched rectangles.

“Install Domain: Guerrilla Warfare.”

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 4: Friends Made through Violence - Part 6

The entire room had been covered by a thin layer of green, kinda computer-like lights. Glitchy square patterns moving across the floor and walls, and the air itself appeared to have changed.

“This is... Leopard’s ‘Domain’...!” It felt like an oppressive, aggressive aura was all around us, with its animosity directed towards us.

A ‘Domain’... I honestly don’t know much about them. I used one myself twice, but... I’m not really sure how, nor what exactly it does.

I remember that Magical Girls can’t use them, only Witches can, but... The reason eludes me. The only thing I remember about them, is that Magical Girls try to rush things and finish the fight fast whenever a Witch opens one, resorting to lethal force even if they rarely do so, and that there is a lot more environmental damage whenever one is brought out...

‘Swirl’

In that case... I should do like the Magical Girls, and beat Leopard before she can do anyt-!

‘Click’

“BAISER!!! MOVE!!!” My thoughts are cut short by BlackWitchmon’s scream.

Without thinking, just doing as she said and pushed by my instinct, I dropped down from the air, turning to look back at her.

‘Bang!’ ‘Broooom!’

Right on time to avoid a point-blank rifle shot, from a giant rifle coming from right behind me. She wasn’t so lucky.

“ARGHHHHHH!!!” “BlackWitchmon!!!” She was covered in a fiery explosion, the pain she was feeling making itself evident through our bond. There was a huge shotgun floating behind her.

Dammit... Now she can make them appear everywhere?!

Isn’t that too unfair?!

“Finally~!” Taking the chance, Gepard freed herself from the now loosened chains, and quickly raised her assault rifle back at me.

Damn, I’m out in the open!

‘Ratatata!’ “Guh!” I fly away, trying to get by one of the nearby pillars to use as cover, but in the process I felt two harsh impacts in my shoulder and stomach. Still, strangely, they didn’t hurt. I just felt... Numb.

Hiding behind a rectangular stone pillar, covered from Gepard, I can take a little breather before seeing BlackWitchmon try to capture her again, but be pushed to get away by more guns appearing out of-

‘Swirl’

“Ugh!” I jump away, flying desperately avoiding the hail of bullets from Gepard, getting out the range of the guns that appeared around me.

“Diajaja! In the end all you can do is run!” Leopard’s voice grates in my ears, as giant guns behind her start shooting in my direction.

Dammit, how many of them can she pull out?!

Doesn’t she get tired or something?!

I hide behind another of the floating stones, trying to take the smallest of breathers I can before having to run again. With ragged breaths, I place my hand on my stomach, freezing at the wet sensation in my palm.

Maybe I should start worrying that I just feel numb there.

“Kuh!” BlackWitchmon arrived right besides me, a hail of bullets flying behind her as she took the corner, holding her head as black blood fell over her face. Her dress was in tatters, showing a slightly burned and bleeding back.

Her injuries didn’t appear TOO severe, but they were still bad.

The panic was clear in her face, and I’m sure I showed her a similar face. 

How did we get into a situation like this?! What did we even do to them to push it this far?!

‘Swirl’

The familiar sound of giant guns being portaled reached my ears, and I quickly look in their around. We were being surrounded by half a dozen guns slowly coming out of their portals, pointing at us.

But as one of those touched a line of light-bulbs, shaking them, an idea came to my mind. I send BlackWitchmon a quick look, hoping she would get my plan in the few seconds we have to pull it off before being turned into swiss cheese.

“Gotcha~!” “Turn them into minced meaaaaat!” I raised my Egoistischer Krieg at the girls hiding behind that floating stone, using the ambient magic absorbed by my Domain to go nuts without having to worry about my almost depleted magic pool. 

And even that magic pool is slowly being replenished! How convenient~. Using it in actual combat is so satisfying~.

Though it’s not like I REALLY will turn them into minced meat, we are not monsters after all~. I’ll not kill them, just half-kill them~. Enough so they spend a week or two in the hospital!

Gotta make it clear who’s superior, after all~.

As I will it, six portals open on the side of that rock, pointing at where I think they may be. Not like it especially matters, there is no safe spot, especially with a seventh portal above starting to drop the first bombs as the guns come out in front of them.

This will hurt a little, but I’m the cutest girl in the world, so they should be grateful for being hurt by me~.

Fingers firmly set on the trigger of the derringer, I press to fire all the guns set there. But something unexpected happened.

‘Ratatatata!’ ‘Bang!’ ‘Broooom!’

Right before the guns fired and bombs exploded, a violet light shone past it, extending through two nearby lines of light-bulbs. In less than a second, before the lag from using guns at a distance allowed them to shoot, a dozen or two light-bulb monsters were created, lunging at us.

And alongside them, a barrage of those Agony Shocks emerged from behind the rock, twisting in the air and falling in many directions. Clearly showing she didn’t have the slightest idea of our position.

“Hah! They got desperate~! Hey, don’t get distracted by them, they’ll try to sneak closer among the chaos!” “Don’t need to tell meeeee~.” I flew among the rain of bright violet sphere, though not as swiftly and gracefully ad Gepard, while we took at the incoming monsters while keeping an eye open for strange movement.

With so many of those things, sneaking must have been fairly easy, so... We simply gotta kill them all~.

Recovering the guns I sent to get at them before, I restock my weapons and summon them again one by one as I moved. Avoiding the monsters became easier once the annoying balls of pain ran out.

Summon gun, shoot, monster either killed or injured, jump away to avoid the grabby hands of one, summon gun, use gun left behind and new one to shoot, repeat the process. But by the time we killed a dozen of them, a problem became evident...

“Where the hell are they?!” They were nowhere to be seen. Where they hiding, taking the chance for a small breather? HOW DARE THEY DON’T COME AND FACE ME?! 

I shoot a monster in the face and look away. Those bitches must be SOMEWHERE, they couldn’t have simply teleported away, the portals don’t work inside the base! “Show yourselves already so I can kick your asses!”

“Well, if you insist~.” A shiver ran down my spine, as an overly sweet and venomous voice reached my ears... From right behind me.

I turn back as fast as possible, right on time to see Magia Baiser come out from inside the dead monster, hidden among its multiple skeletal limbs. She was already swinging back her weapon as she jumped at me, a crazy smile growing on her face.

“Guh!” Dammit, she was inside the monster?! I should have seen that coming, dammit! Now she got too close!

I summon a pair of MG 3s below my arms as I raised my Krieg to block... But it was too late.

“Graaaaaaagh!” I let out a scream of pain as Baiser flies past my guns and delivers an upward swing with her starred, and therefore spiked, riding crop across my torso, with enough force to throw me away.

But even worse than the wound across my beautiful breasts, was feeling myself be grabbed in the air by a pair of skeletal. My blood ran cold as I saw glass grow around me.

“W-What the hell is this?!” Did she really manage to capture me?! The great Leopard-sama?!

Grrrrr! As if I’ll let that happen!

I summon a WA 2000 outside the glass, aiming at the head of the monster, and press the trigger of my Krieg.

‘Bang!!!’ ‘BROOOOOM!!!’

And as the rifle shot, the sound of the ground exploding could be heard... The gun having been thrown off its aim by a kick from Magia Baiser.

“Now, now~. I can’t let you get out that easily, can I~?” Baiser smile as she stepped over my gun. The smile on her face appearing to grow more as she saw me captured. I’ll fucking kill her...!

I punch at the glass, but after finding my hand hurting without damaging the glass, take out a grenade, and bite onto the safety pin. If there is no space inside to summon a gun, and she’ll deal with the ones outside, I’ll get out of here, one way or another!

“Will you blow yourself up?” I stopped, hesitating at her words. I would only be one pull away from getting out, but... “You aren’t immune to your own explosions, aren’t you~?”

...Ugh...! How well can I take on my own explosions...?

No, since I’m inside this thing, it would far worse than a normal explosion, I would eat all of it multiple times...!

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!” A scream of pain resonated through the base, dragging my attention as Baiser’s smile only grew more. 

On the other side of the room, BlackWitchmon was standing behind Gepard, as she screamed in pain, hugging tightly her G11 in an attempt to somehow alleviate the pain.

Dammit, they must have gotten her in the same way!

“Now, before we start, you had made me a question before, right~?” The bastard slowly floated towards me, face looking down and covered by her hair.

What is she talk-... Oh, right, I did ask her a question.

“As for your question before... The truth is, I don’t really want to fight... Not you, nor the Tres Magia.” ...Eh? What the hell is this bastard talking about? She has been fighting them since before I became a Witch! “It hurts, it’s painful, and I don’t want to injure others. And you, them, everyone are so cute and strong, that I don’t want to injure any of you...”

...What? “...You have ended far worse than now fighting them before, and you have a fucking bullet in your stomach! What the hell are you on about injury and hurting now?!” Your Partner throws literal hurt and pain at people!

...Wait, did she just say I’m as cute and strong as the Tres Magia?

“...It’s because you are so cute and strong... So cute and strong...” She finally looked up, as she was suddenly throwing praises at me.

She had a bright, happy smile on her face, that almost seemed to illuminate the room around her as the light from the nearby planet shone brightly behind her through a crumbled wall.

“You are so cute, it makes me want to screw you up~.”

“...?!” A shiver ran down my spine. 

For the first time during this fight... No, for the first time in my life, I felt in danger.

“Do you want to know why I smiled after losing to Sulfur, even as I spewed blood?” Baiser reached towards the glass, tiny demonic wings extending, growing larger behind her, delicately placing her palm on the other side, as she looked me in the eyes. “I’ll tell you then. At the time, I was... Soooo happy... My heart was filled with pure joy...!”

“Each, and every time, I get to see it...” She floated back a bit, her teared clothes hanging limp at parts and blood flowing from her stomach and shoulder. She look as if she was falling into happy memories. “New sides of the Tres Magia. New faces they don’t show anyone else... Cuter, and stronger faces.”

She looked in ecstasy just by remembering them.

“The reason why I fight...” She suddenly rushed forward, forcefully slamming her hand on the glass besides my face, claw-like purple nails clawing into the glass, her shinning smile separated from mine by just the few centimeters of glass. “It’s because I wanted... The mess them up, and bring out those beautiful faces with my own hands...! And you are looking so beautiful now, Leopard...”

Shivers ran through my entire body.

This girl is dangerous. Dangerous in a way I can’t even comprehend, and that I’m not sure I want to.

“Holy crap... You’re fucked up...” The hell is wrong with her...? 

‘Zrrrrr!’ ‘Zrrrrr!’

My blood ran cold, as sparking sounds came from behind me.

Crap! When they got Gepard in one of this things, they- “RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” My vision went white, the last thing I saw being Baiser’s smile, before the skeletal hands of before reached for me, and electricity started running through my body.

It hurts. 

IT HURTS. 

IT HURTS  IT HURTS  IT HURTS  IT HURTS  IT HURTS!!!

“How does it feel?! Quite stimulating, right?!” The lunatic’s voice managed to reach my painfully ringing ears. She sounded so happy it made me sick. “Doesn’t it feel incredible?!”

The light stopped, as my body was freed from the electricity. But I could feel the burns all around and inside my body, and even smoke coming out of my mouth. The pain was unlike something I had ever experienced before, assaulting every single cell of my body at the same time.

“LEO!!!” Gepard shouted from the other side of the room, but her words could barely be registered by my ringing ears. I could barely see her, covered in golden chains.

“Ah... Ahhh...” My throat ached, refusing to let out a proper word. “Ah... F... Fuck... You... F...”

‘Zrrrrrrrrr!’

“Me too!” “F-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” My vision went white again, as the unbearable pain of electricity came back, running through my body and messing up what wasn’t already burned to a crisp. “I’m feeling...! SOOOO GOOOOOD!”

“LEO!!! UGH... DAMMIT!!!” I saw from the corner of my eye, as the golden chains covering her body started to expand. She made a very pained face, one I could feel even through my own, as a yellow gas started to leak through them,

Ughhhhh!!! N-No other option...!

“Don’t you crave more?! You are just craving more, aren’t you?!” The lunatic’s voice grew even more ecstatic and frantic, as if she was on the border of breaking something. “How do you like this?!”

‘ZRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!’

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!” I couldn’t see. I couldn’t think. There was only a pain that my brain couldn’t process anymore.

“RIGHT NOW, YOU ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL IN THE WORLD, KIWI-CHAN!!!”

In the middle of all that pain, my body just followed, slowly and spasming, the last thought I had.

Using the little strength my body could muster, my hand clenched inside the sleeve around the shape of something that wasn’t there. And my magic made sure that when I did, that something was there.

And with all this electricity, I didn’t even need to remove the pin.

‘BROOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!’

“Gahhhh!” My enjoyment was cut short as Leopard suddenly exploded, sending shattered glass to leave shallow cuts all around my body, and sent me flying away.

Ah... Ahahaha...!

She really did it! She freed herself by exploding!

How determined to be victorious is she?!

...She’s amazing! 

I want to break her!

Excited at seeing what she was going to do next, I try to stop my fall flapping my tiny wings, but it is useless, and I just look back to see where I’m going to crash.

Look back, to see the little girl and her lego dinosaur in front of me, right where I was going to crash.

Oh damn, I’ll hurt them-!

But that worry quickly disappeared, as with a Transformation Star in her hand, the girl and her Partner were suddenly covered in light right as I was going to crash into them. And my fall was suddenly stopped, as I felt myself be caught and gently held by a giant pair of hands.

Twisting to look back, my eyes passing by BlackWitchmon being pushed back and releasing Gepard, as she was now covered by a cloud of poison gas, my sight finally lands on the ones behind me.  

For the first time I could look at the little girl up-close. 

She was small and slim, almost reaching up to my shoulders, with long blonde hair that reached below the hips, parting in two by the middle both in front and behind. Her face was extremely cute, with large red eyes, rosy cheeks, and a small mouth.

Her clothes had changed from a one piece white dress dress with sandals, to a large light blue dress that looked straight out of Alice in Wonderland, with puffy shoulders covering her entire upper arms and had large white wrists, and a large skirt with long cuts that revealed a white underskirt and opened like a bell as it fell, before suddenly closing into an explosion of large frills as it touched the floor. 

Over the dress she wore a white frilly and baggy apron, tightly secured at her waist with a big white ribbon with red strips at the back. There was a thin red ribbon tied under the white collar of the dress, and an overly large ‘pocketwatch’ that had a large golden star over a red backroung rather than numbers or hands hung from her waist by a golden string and ball that were not connected, floating in the air. On top of her head, right at the middle, sat a large white ribbon with red striped at the end, with her Transformation Star sitting in the middle, and right below, three large red stars were painted in her forehead.

Her uninterested expression had changed, and now she seemed almost enthusiastic, holding tightly to a large pink and violet cat plushie with button eyes.

...Uh, she’s cute.

She’s way too cute.

Where did a girl this cute come from?!

“Shooooo cute! That Alice-like design fits so well...!” Is this a tiny goddess?!

The small angel of wonderland, not smiling, but apparently enthusiastic, pointed at where I came from, while looking above me.

Which made me remember, as I followed her eyes, that I was being held.

In front of me, holding me gently with hard, steel hands, there was a huge robot.

She had a blocky appearance with soft edges made entirely on white and red colors with black accents, and a few bronze mechanic gears. Her body was like a huge block in red and white diamond patterns with large white spherical shoulders, thin red arms coming out of them that ended in large white teacups, red mechanical hands coming out of them. Thin red legs came from below, before enlarging into tiny diamond-patterned towers, with heavy thick feet. Above her body there was a small narrow opening from where a pair of eyes with bronze irises peeked out, with a long tube-like cover that reached far back.

There was a large clock at the front of her body with a red star in the middle, and bronze gears on the sides. On her shoulders and over her feet there were imprinted a red heart, black spade, red diamond, and black club, and the back of her head was ‘penetrated’ by a large bronze key. Under her eyes rested a very small set of glasses, way smaller than her eyes, and under it a red bow tie. Over her head, stood a row of three cards with red four-pointed stars in them.

She had a very inexpressive face, but I could feel an almost malicious playfulness, as she ‘Nodded’ with her entire body at the girl’s instructions, before releasing one of the hands gently holding me and pulling it far back...

“...?!” Trying to fly away, but realizing too late that the ‘Gentle’ hold she had over my body was way firmer than expected, I raised my Dominanza, holding both extremes firmly, right on time to use as a shie-

‘POW!!!’ ‘Grgrgrgrgr!’

With the force and impulse of a train engine, the riding crop quickly bends in my arms, and the giant steel fist hits my entire chest as the other hand released me.

The next thing I noticed was that I had flew past a wall, crumbling it thanks to the demolition ball known as my body, and left looking up with a level of pain almost equal to the one Sulfur gave me, just a bit lower.

...Ah, I must have broken a rib or two.

...I shouldn’t be so casual about that.

“Diajajaja!!!” Looking up, I saw Leopard floating inside of a dissipating cloud of smoke. She has burned all around, and her hat had caught fire, but she was bending over her stomach in laughter as she pointed at me. “Yeah, get what you deserve!”

“Good job, Alic- GAH?!” The little girl appeared behind her, mounted into an enormous and monstrous version of the cat plushie she was holding, but with overly big metal claws and teeth. Without any warning, the giant plushie slapped Leopard with the back of its claws, sending her flying from the impact.

‘Crash!’ ‘Grgrgrgrgrg!’

She impact on the wall besides the hole I made with my body, expanding it as she fell besides me.

“Wha- ALICE, WHY DID YOU ATTACK ME?!” She got up way too fast, anger clear in her voice as she walked back into the building, looking up at the little girl mounting her giant floating plushie.

Refusing to get left behind, I force myself to get up. The pain of my broken ribs felt like a stab at my chest, but I bit my lip and pushed through.

I still haven’t gotten enough.

We were interrupted in the best part.

Her face...

Her face as she was losing herself to the pain...

...I need to see it again. 

I want to see it again.

I have to see it slowly change into a face of pleasure!

Pushing through, feeling as if my body was feeling re-energized, the almost empty hole in my chest burning hot, I get up, and walk towards Leopard.

“Dammit Alice, in what team are y-...ou?!” The little girl raised her hand as Leopard shouted. Pulses of light started to erupt from the watch hanging from her watch, before a wave of light coming from it covered the entire room.

Once it banished, the light and patterns covering the room had changed from green to a light blue. “...ALICE, DON’T OVERWRITE MY DOMAIN DAMMIT!!!”

“Aaaaaaaaalright, that’s enough Nero Alice~!” Gepard sound voiced from the other side of the room, as she raised her gun towards the girl... Towards Nero Alice.

‘Ratatatata!’

Her assault rifle released a string of bullets, but as she pressed the trigger, the robot from before got in the way, floating in the air through a pair of rockets attached to her feet.

Crossing her arms, she received the wave of bullets, floating steadfast until the magazine emptied with a loud ‘Click’. “Tch, not even a scratch?!”

Raising her left arm back at Gepard, I saw from behind how from inside the teacup arm, a rocket looking like a toy was shot towards the armed cat. But that ‘Toy’ had a fully functioning thruster, and it grew to twice its size in the air.

Gepard shoots at the missile, trying to bring it down, but it doesn’t appear to have any effect. “Ugh, dammit!” She barely managed to avoid it, jumping away at the last second from the very fast approaching missile. 

Instead, it impact against the floor, digging itself deep into it. It didn’t explode though, its thrusters turning off the moment it lost the last of its momentum.

Gepard looked relieved for a moment, before the robot raised her other hand and shoot a second missile. The cat’s hair stood on end, her posture showing her ready to pounce away, but unexpectedly, this one changed direction in mid-air.

Impacting against BlackWitchmon, who had apparently tried to sneak on them from above. She was hit right on the stomach, and carried away smashing through the ceiling.

“Alright, you want to fight Alice?!” Three large guns appeared from behind Leopard, as she pointed her small gun at the little girl. “Then I’ll show you wh-” ‘Smack!’ “GAH?!”

I hit her in the back with my Dominanza, her already shredded outfit making it clear the bright red mark left left by my strike, even over the rest of burns on her body.

You shouldn’t ignore me~.

“Ar- Are you crazy?!” Leopard looked back at me, an incredulous look on her face. How precious~. “Isn’t this the part where we fight together against the one that smashed both of us through a wall?!”

“...Do you know the trope of ‘The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend?’” ‘Smack’ ‘Smack’ I slowly smacked my crop against my palm, as I smile down at Leopard. “...I hate it. A Villain is a Villain, an Enemy is an Enemy. There should be no truces for a ‘Greater Good’~.”

Just let the Villains fight among themselves and then have the heroine fight the victor~. Villain vs Villain fights are a highlight in any story~.

“...Tch! You crazy b-!” ‘PUMP!!!’ Her words are interrupted as something impacted right besides us.

A large shadow surrounds our bodies, as a large structure now tall over us. Looking at it, it looked like a... House?

No... A Toy House? A Dollhouse?

‘Creaaaaaak’

The door slowly opened in front of us, catching our attention. “...Oh, fuck.” Leopard cursed slowly, as if know what was coming.

“Gah-!” “W-What is-?!” Suddenly, a large pair of plastic hands emerged from the inside, wrapping tightly around us, crushing my arms against my body.

And then, it dragged us inside. “A-Alice, stop!!!” “-Happening?!”

‘Thud!’

The door closed behind us, and everything turned black.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 4: Friends Made through Violence - Part 7

‘Thumb’

We are harshly dropped into the ground as the plastic hands holding us open. A quick look back revealed the owner of those hands to be a giant doll, a pretty normal looking one, but the dark environment and the whole situation made it look creepy.

Still, as soon as it release us, it appeared to lose interest in us, and walked back through a hallway of the ‘House’ we were in.

It was fairly dark, but distinguishable enough as the interior of a western-styled house. We were at the entrance, a bit more wide than I’m used to, with a few connections to a living room, the dinning room, stairs to go to the second fl-

“FUCK!!!” My looking around was interrupted by Leopard’s words. She was just getting up, her body still fairly burned, but she looked energetic enough as she looked and screamed at me. “Oi, Baiser! Temporal truce! We need to get out of here, NOW!!!”

“Eh? Wait, why?” I kinda want to still go at it, but a creeping feeling on the back of my mind was bothering me, as if telling me to do as she says as fast as possible.

I try to get up, gritting my teeth at the pain of my injuries, and suddenly realizing what that creeping feeling was. It was just my connection with BlackWitchmon, and her worry for me.

“It’s Nero Alice’s magic! She-!” “Gah!” ‘Thump’ Her words are interrupted as two figures fly in-between us, landing heavily on the floor. With the bigger landing butt-first over the smaller’s back.

A quick look revealing that are Partners had just joined us. They looked quite hurt, but nothing too serious. 

“Ughhhh...” BlackWitchmon, having gotten up first looked at us. Her hat obscuring her face from the bright room. “I don’t have good luck with cats today... Be them real or plushies.”

I think that may be an understatement. 

“A-Anyways, Leopard!” I turned back to look at her, trying to continue from where we were interrupted. Her face looked worried as she sat her eyes on Gepard, but fortunately neither of them looked injured. “What is Nero Alice’s magic!?”

“Uh? Nero Alice’s Magic?” She turned to me, confused for a moment, before her expression panicked again. “O-Oh, right! She can...! ...Ugh, dammit, this is not good!”

“Are you two alright?!” She darted towards our Partners, her skirt fluttering behind her, giving me a view of her perfectly, healthy legs.

...Nice.

“Ugh, too big of an ass... Too heavy...” Gepard complained in the ground, removing her gas mask.

Not wanting to be left behind, and worried myself, I walked towards them as I instinctively tightly held on my waist. As if I was in pain, for some reason.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” BlackWitchmon turned back and picked up Gepard, carefully carrying her in her arms, though the cat’s fluffy dress making it a bit hard. “Are you alright, my dear?”

“Ah... Y-Yes, Mommy, sorry...” She looked a bit embarrassed at being picked up, but was overall alright. I let out a relieved sigh, seeing those two safe. That sounded like a bad fall.

“Oh, don’t worry dear.” BlackWitchmon sounded relieved herself, as she sat down on the ornate chair on the other side of the table. “All that matter’s is that you didn’t get hurt.”

“Ahhh... You two scared me for a moment...” Leopard sounded just a relieved as everyone else, tensions clearly leaving her shoulders. “Now, if you’ll let me...”

I looked away for a moment as she turned to pick the teapot from the tray, sitting down at my spot on the small circular table of the small tearoom. In front of us, the table was covered in all kind of beautiful small pastries over various expensive pieces of porcelain, some even multiple floors high.

“Seriously, you two... Please, don’t worry me like that...” I carefully put aside my long dress as I sit down, enjoying the light sway of my expensive earrings and hornrings. “You have to be more careful when playing Mom, Ge-chan.”

“Ufufufu, you worry too much dear~.” Mom casually dismissed my worry, elegantly covering  her mouth with her fan, while still carefully holding my sister with the other. Though I could barely see her behind the long sleeves of Mom’s dress. “Now, my sunshine, aren’t you hungry? There are so many beautiful sweets, and we are just ignoring them~.”

“Yaaaay, sweets!” My lil’ sis adorably raised her hands at being remembered of the sweets awaiting us, and picked up a pink and white one, quickly throwing it into her mouth.

“Please, you’ll need something to accompany it, mistress, little mistress.” Leopard, elegant as always in her beautiful maid uniform, calmly poured tea into a pair of cups in front of the two, before turning around and filling my own cup. “I tried a new blend I have been working on for today’s tea. I guarantee it’s as beautiful as you, young mistress.”

The cup in front of me had a slightly reddish tint to it, and a sweet strawberry scent, but with an acidic undertone I couldn’t quite place.

“Ohohohoho, that’s aiming quite high, don’t you think~?” I haughtily laughed as I elegantly raised my fingers over my mouth. I must take compliments as a proper young lady of my standing should, after all. “Now, let’s see if you deliver as much as you promise.”

I slowly raised the cup to my lips, taking my time to enjoy the smell before lightly blowing on it to take a sip. The flavor of strawberries was light, but complementing well the one of the tealeaves, and after gulping it down, it left a slightly acidic after-taste. I don’t know what exactly was used for it, but it was as unexpected as well-received.

“...Oho, you never cease to amaze me, Leopard~.” What better maid could I have asked for~?

“You flatter me, Mistress~.” She tried to sound humble, but she looked way too proud of herself. Kinda makes me want to reward her in some way. “Now, don’t drink it alone, there is plenty to enjoy today~”

She lightly waved at the table in front of me, covered in elegant and tasty-looking pastries. I smiled happily with myself, and did as my Lil’ Sis.

It was delicious.

...

We spent a little while just enjoying ourselves, talking about whatever came up and having our fill of sweets.

Overall, it was a great time of family bonding.

“...Leopard.” I called for our maid, looking away from how Mom fed Sis a piece of tasty-looking chocolate with an almond on top.

“...Yes, young Mistress?” She took a moment to answer, having to gulp down a pastry herself, before walking to be in front of me.

“You have prepared such a great time for us, that I thought you deserved a reward~.” Her face instantly lit up at my words, like an adorable kitten hearing that food is ready. It was an endearing sight. “So... Kneel.”

‘Thump’

It was pretty much instantaneous. She knelt so fast it made a small rumbling on the ground. Though, looking at her confused face, it doesn’t look like she quite understands why.

Regardless, I slowly raised my hand to her face, delicately cupping it with my fingers.

“Ah... Uhm... Mistress...?” She asked confused, but I ignored her as I slowly caressed her face. Eventually, my hand started to slid down, until it was caressing something different. Something soft and pleasant, even under her dress. “Ah...! M-Mistres...? What are you...?”

“Shhhh... Don’t speak.” I continued caressing her beautiful gifts, enjoying how her face started turning red. I slowly started to increase the intensity, playing more and more roughly, undoing the front of her dress to be able to enjoy the feeling of her skin on my fingers.

The bra was gone pretty quickly. How could I play with her nipples with it in the way?

And to my delight, during the entire process, she obeyed, and didn’t say a word. All I could hear from her were moans of pleasure.

Ahhhh~. How delectable~!

“Good girl~. You are such a good girl~.” I took my hand upwards again to softly caress her face. And as I did, I slowly raised my leg, carefully positioning my shoe’s tall heel over the spot between her legs.

“M-Mistress, that is...!” “Shhhh...” I raised a finger in front of my lips, before softly caressing hers close with my thumb. And always the pleasure, she didn’t try to open them again, her face red but her excitement of what was coming clear.

Pleased beyond belief, I started to slowly lower my feet, closer and closer to the awaiting Leopard. 

Closer.

And closer...

Until...

‘Pop’

Pain.

My body was in pain.

I hadn’t been hurt, but I was suddenly in a lot of pain.

...No, it wasn’t sudden. This is a pain I have had all along, but somehow I had forgotten about it.

As if it had stopped being real for a little while.

And then, I suddenly remembered it, just as I noticed I was sprawled on the floor, looking at the ceiling of Nacht Base, still covered in the blue lights and patterns of Nero Alice’s Domain.

Besides me, was Leopard, her body once again covered in burns, and with a look of disbelief in her face. On the opposite side, were BlackWitchmon and Gepard, the second on top of the first, both looking confused, before changing to faces of extreme embarrassment.

And in front of us, was Nero Alice seated on the ground, drowsy and yawning, her robot seated besides and holding a small toy kettle and cup. The giant monster plushie was now just a normal cat plushie lying on the ground.

...What... Did just happen?

Was all that...?

“...Grrr...! ALICE!!!” Leopard quickly sit up, summoning a huge gun behind her. “Why the hell did you do that?! And why did you interrupt it there?! DO IT BEFORE!!! ...Or after!”

Nero Alice and her robot just glared at her, and our Partners just separated from each other, embarrassment still on their faces.

The violent image of the heavily injured Leopard in tattered clothes and carrying a huge, dangerous weapon, was overshadowed by the memory of what I just experienced. This dangerous, possibly murderous girl... Dressed in a frilly maid dress, serving us tea, and obediently shutting up as I played with her...

“...Fufu...”

My chest started to hurt, as I couldn’t contain myself.

“Fufuahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!” I let out a full-blown laughter. It was painful. It was very painful. The hole in my belly and my broken ribs didn’t like it, not at all.

“Hahahahahahahahaha!!!” But I couldn’t stop myself.

“Wha-?! Why are you laughing?!” Leopard looked incredulous at me. As if I had gone insane. “She just toyed with us! Manipulating our thoughts and memories! How can you laugh?!”

“Hahahahahaha...! Ahahaha... Ah...” It took me a moment to finally be able to stop my laughter, holding on my pained side. I was just about to give her my honest answer, of how different she looked now from before, but... The huge gun made me reconsider it, for my own safety.

So, I picked a different victim.

“Well, I was just thinking of her cuuuuute and adorable you looked in that dress, rather than that military uniform~.” I looked at Gepard, her embarrassment growing even greater. “Why don’t you wear it again, ‘Lil’ Sis’?”

“Wh-Wha-Uh-NO-Wait!” She was adorably stuttering, clearly remembering everything that just went through, before looking at Leopard. “Yo-You looked great in that maid dress, Leo! You two looked to be having fun!”

Ah, she deflected it to someone else.

Fufufu, perfect, Leo won’t shoot at her for brining it up~.

“D-Don’t bring that up!” Anger was starting to fade, replaced by embarrassment. “A-And what’s with you two, eh? Being all fluffy with your ‘Mommy’!”

‘Cough!’

I got air stuck in my throat, remembering the rest of what happened. Of how I called BlackWitchmon ‘Mom’.

I got mental damage just from remembering that.

Gepard looked less embarrassed than me, but still enough to want to jump from  a cliff, but BlackWitchmon managed to equal me. But she, unlike the feline besides her, quickly managed to force herself into composure, putting on a smile.

“...Ufufufu.” She lightly raised a hand to her face, elegantly cupping it with her fingers. “I try to be a good mother for my lovely daughters~.”

“GAH-!” “I BEG YOU, PLEASE STOP!!!” I coughed up blood as she said those words, while Gepard begged her to stop. Both reactions that greatly pleased her.

“Diahahahaha! Congratulations on your new family girls! Remember to change Gepard’s diapers!” “Oi, don’t push it there, stupid Leo!” That felt like twisting the knife, though fortunately I didn’t cough up blood this time. Though it worries me that I may be out of it.

“Of course, I’ll take care of my family~. Though I’ll need my loyal maid’s help~.” BlackWitchmon threw even more fuel to the fire. But at this point, any kind of serious embarrassment or anger had disappeared.

We were just laughing and throwing light jabs at each other.

In the middle of this, I looked back at Nero Alice. Her glare was nowhere to be seen, nor she wore the indifferent face of before.

In her, was now a tiny smile, as she looked at the laughter.

...Ahhhh, I see. So that’s how it is.

This kid... Is the worst of all of us. But there is no malice behind it.

“...This was pretty fun, Alice-chan~.” I smiled as she look taken aback by those words, clearly not expecting them at all. Though the robot besides her just looked content. “But next time you want to play like that, just ask us first, alright?”

I can still feel my mind reeling from the unexpected rush and disappearance of false thoughts and memories... I would like to mentally prepare myself first if it’s going to happen again.

Everyone stopped talking and laughing, and just looked at me for a moment.

“...Well...” Leopard was the first to break the silence, scratching the back of her face with embarrassment. It was clear she had trouble forcing herself to say something. “It... It wasn’t... So bad. Looking back on it... It’s far better than what the freak does.”

She pointed at me with a thumb as she looked at Nero Alice. I didn’t bother defending myself, I’m self-aware enough to know I have no possibly justification for my actions.

“I had fun~.” BlackWitchmon shamelessly admitted to enjoying it. Her embarrassment about the whole situation completely disappeared once she noticed she could use it to tease us.

Has she always been like this?

...Well, if she’s enjoying herself, that’s all good.

“Oh, next time I wanna be the young Mistreeeeeeess~” Gepard’s shame was also gone, though with her I had no idea why. Guess that’s just the kind of person she is.

Looking back at Nero Alice, her smile had grown as large as her small mouth would allow. 

The sight warmed my heart, and I allowed myself to fall back on the ground, utterly exhausted and in pain. This had been one crazy day.

I lightly threw my hand over my belly, and was welcomed once again by a wet feeling. Raising my hand curiously to my face, I saw it smeared in my own blood.

...Uh, right.

“...Why doesn’t it hurt?” It hurts when I push myself, but otherwise... “It just feels numb... Should I be worrying?”

I had never been shot before, so I have no idea how much I should be worrying...

...And isn’t it crazy that I can calmly ask that?

How did I end in this position?

“Nah, nothing to worry about.” Leopard lightly dismissed my worries about having a hole in my shoulder and stomach. “Some people cry like babies, others barely feel it, it somehow varies from person to person. Guns are fun like that~... Of course, there are bullets designed to say ‘Fuck you’, and are hell for everyone.”

There are different kinds of bullets?

“Don’t worry about miiiiine~.” Gepard continued from there, lazily sitting on the ground, holding her head in her palm as she patted her gun in the ground. “I don’t use hollow points nor anything like that. This babies are made to penetrate and pass through, barely any damage to the surroundings~”

“...Uh...” Is that a good or bad thing? Do I actually have a hole on both sides and didn’t notice? “...Then, am I going to die or....?”

“Wait, Baiser’s dying?!” BlackWitchmon stood up, worry more than clear.

“Damn, calm your panties girl~.” Leopard just dismissed her. “Gepard accidentally shot me a few days ago, and the wound closed in a few hours, without leaving a scar. She’ll be fine~.”

“...Hours?” I had already experienced the rapid healing of Magical Girls and Witches before, just taking a few days from the injuries Azul and Sulfur gave me, but still...

That’s way too fast.

“So nothing to worry ‘bout, BlackWi...” She suddenly stopped, right as BlackWitchmon was calming down. “TOO LONG!!! Your name’s too long!”

Leopard angrily proclaimed, leaving the both of us stunned.

“...Too long?” “It’s just my name...” I guess it’s a bit on the long side, but is it that big of a deal?

“Well, I changed my naaaame~.” Gepard happily swayed her hand.

...Uh, I guess that’s true.

“You think so too, right Alice?!” Leopard shouted at Nero Alice, who thought for a moment before raising her hand parallel to the ground and doing a ‘More or less’ gest. “See?! Alice agrees with me! So get yourself a new name!”

“Ehhhhh...?” “I don’t care...” In the first place, aren’t all names of Magical Girls, Witches, and Digimon kinda long anyways? Like my beloved Magia Magenta, Posh... Poz... Whatever-it-is-pronounced Zemli of that Witch that killed Putin, and that Kabuterimon that tends to appear in driving safety adds.

What’s the point of worrying about it now?

“Choose a new name, or I’m giving you one myself!” She looked serious about it, and we exchanged looks. BlackWitchmon was visibly worried, given the ‘Name’ that Venalita wanted to give me before I accepted choosing one myself, but since Leopard hadn’t mentioned what name would she choose... “...Alright, I waited enough! You are nor Morgana! I’ll call you Mor!”

“...Morgana?” “Well... It sounds nice, so... Alright?” And she just accepted the name...

Well, if she’s alright with it, then that’s fine. But... “...Wouldn’t that be a pretty common name? I’m sure I can remember at least 6 Witches with Morgana in their name.” It kinda feels like calling her Yamada or Steve...

“It’s fine~. Just kill those bastards and make the name yours!” She enthusiastically said something outrageous.

“Looks like you all are getting along.” A shiver went down my spine as the familiar, unsettling voice of Venalita sounded besides me.

...How long has it been behind me? And when exactly did it disappear?

“A bit of an explosive start, but no injuries that’ll take more than 2 or 3 days to heal completely. I’ll call that a success.” It flew around, lightly checking on everyone’s wounds... Before Alice caught it by the tail, and dragged it to her lap, hugging it like a plushie. “Ara.”

...Seeing Venalita treated like that felt almost surreal.

“Looks like you four got already very acquainted with each other, so I’ll help finish the last introductions.” It said with its always cheery and unchanging tone, as it waved and pointed at us. “Alice, those are Hiiragi Utena, aka, Magia Baiser, and Ghostmon, currently BlackWitchmon.”

It then waved back at the girl holding it and the huge robot dwarfing her. “Baiser, this are Morino Korisu, aka, Nero Alice, and ToyAgumon, currently WonderGuardromon. Try to get along, you all will be working together for the foreseeable future.”

“Ah-! R-Right, we never introduced ourselves!” It’s a bit embarrassing I forgot, but... I think it’s to be expected, given the circumstances! “Nice to meet you, Alice-chan. Let’s try getting along.”

I smiled at the little girl, who just nodded back at me, her inexpressive face back. But this time, it somehow felt warmer than before.

This day has been kind of wild, but... Putting aside my injuries, I think I...

‘Creaaaaaak’

My thoughts are interrupted by the sounds of the large stone doors of the castle being opened.

Everyone turned their heads to it, as a figure crossed into the base.

It was a bit far to see too clearly, but it looked like a tall woman dressed in a long sleeved pure white kimono with a dark blue and golden obi, with dark blue boots with golden heels below. Over it, she wore a long dark blue cape that fell by her sides down to her ankles, with golden general-like decorations in her shoulders. Her Star was on the right side of her head, over layers of falling white.

She was quite tall, with a sharp face. She had small, but long eyes, with long dark eyelashes, soft pink-colored cheeks just besides her eyes, and a small mouth with cherry-painted lips. Long straight brown hair fell to her waist, cut in straight lines in almost a hime-like cut, separated right on the middle to reveal her forehead. In there, there were 4 stars lined up in a column.

And besides her, walked what must have been her Partner... A dangerous-looking one at that.

She was tall, at around 3 meters tall, and looked like an human-like demon. She had a slim figure with a small waist and large shoulders, with thin, long black and fleshy arms ending in bone-like claws, and a second pair of skeletal arms growing from her back. Their elbows had long claws that held up the wide flopping cape-like wings that grew from her back, and separated at the end into three large serrated blades. A long black tail shaped like a spine extended from her back, ending in a golden sickle.

She was dressed into what appeared to be as if a renaissance suit and a pirate’s outfit were blended together alongside half a set of armor. Below a pirate captain’s hat she wore an elegant golden mask with a skeletal design that covered all her face, and a red cloth extended from it to cover everything to her chest, with blue gems at the bottom. A golden bone-like armor covered her upper body, with two large four-eyes skulls at her shoulders and various belts at the waist and under her arms. Below she wore a pair of blue stripped puffy renaissance pants, with long black and golden sharp boots. On both sides of her body, inside black sheaths, were a pair of red and gold sword and gun.

“Girls, stand up.” Venalita’s words were as sudden as it got out of Alice’s grasp, and lacking on their usual upbeat, as it flew towards the woman. “That’s Enormeeta’s Supreme Leader. Lord Enorme.”

She’s... The Supreme Leader?

That’s our Boss...?

I got up, the strangely serious warning from Venalita sending a warning to my brain. And being the head of an Evil Organization... That woman must be dangerous.

The others got up just as quickly, sensing the severity in the air, but...

...Gepard and WonderGuardromon looked terrified. They were wildly trembling as they stepped back, their faces looking as if they were facing certain death.

Wh-What is going on with them...?

“Hey, Lord, wasn’t expecting you here today. Didn’t you have a meeting with the Leader of Baem-ui Siseon to keep them outside Japan?” Venalita’s words brought me back to reality, and paying attention to our supposed Supreme Leader.

“Hum, I had to come back in the middle of that. They had the guts to offer me a deal about that, 10 of our trophies for in-home research and they would be off Japan for as long as I’m alive.” She stopped to answer to Venalita just for a moment, before continuing talking as she walked. “I was going to just kill them all and be done with it, but then they offered to also lend us their connections with the Korean black market, and that was too juicy of an offer to let slip.”

She turned back to Venalita for just a moment, exerting enough pressure with her words that it almost made me fall back. “Or do you have a problem with me being right here at this exact time?”

There was venom in her voice, holding a weight that could be felt in the air. She was making a point, even if I didn’t know which.

“...No, there is no problem.” Venalita gave a simple, unenthusiastic answer as Lord Enorme continued walking... Right towards us.

As she slowly walked, she casually took a look around the base and at us. “You three really messed up Nacht Base.” 

She then raised her right hand, and...

‘Snap’

With a snap of her fingers, the entire Domain around is ‘cracked’ and shattered into nothingness, disappearing completely.

...Oh. Oh no...

We... Kind the wrecked up the place right as we came here...

And since this is also supposed to be the Throne Room...

We are just a bunch of new recruits that arrived, started fighting, and destroyed one of the most important rooms for the organization.

She... She must be VERY angry right now...

And it’s completely justified...

I strengthened my grip on my Frustino Dominanza. I have no idea what she’s going to do now, and I’m in no condition at all to fight any more. 

Not knowing what this would end in, instinctively, I took a step forward and set my eyes on Enorme’s. Sweat ran around my body as the pressure that woman was releasing continued to grow, but I could barely keep myself on my feet.

As I did, she focused her eyes on me. It felt as if she was appraising me. 

And ultimately, she stood in front of us. I had to look up at her golden eyes, as my entire height barely reached her shoulders. I couldn’t even see the eyes of the Digimon besides her, which stood motionless with her hands behind her back.

She slowly raised an arm, and I gritted my teeth.

After making such a mess, she’ll surely...

‘Pat’

...Eh?

My mind stopped working for a moment, as I felt a hand softly fall on top of my head, and gently ruffle my hair.

“I have been keeping up with your work. There are plenty of rookie mistakes, but you have put a surprising performance against opponents that greatly surpass you in power.” Her voice was firm, strict, and authoritative, but also... Caring, and with a strange fondness to them. “Keep at it, I’m sure you’ll get far. I’ll later teach you a a thing or two on how to use your Magic. Given your interests, I’m sure you’ll find them useful.”

...This... Is not what I expected.

Not only there is no anger, but it’s kind of... The opposite?

I was stuck looking with surprise at her eyes, trying to process what was going on.

“Ufufufu~.” My shock was broken by BlackWitchmon’s... Not, I guess it’s now Morgana’s voice, as she floated besides me. “Looks like you just became the Boss’s favorite, Bai-~.”

‘THUMP!!!’ ‘GRGRGRGRGRGRGR!!!’

I froze, as an ear-shattering impact happened right besides my face, followed by the extremely loud rumble of a collapsing wall, a collapse bigger than what any of the attacks during our fight could create.

The hand on top of my head was now besides it, right where Morgana used to be just a second ago. It was tightly shaped into a punch.

I couldn’t feel my connection with Morgana anymore, in the same way as when she fell unconscious when fighting Magia Sulfur.

“Tools shouldn’t speak when not spoken to.” Her words were harsh as strict, as if having to state a fact of the universe that somehow hadn’t gotten across yet, before softening up to her previous almost affectionate tone and giving me a quick pat in the head. “I’ll give you a few pointers on how to control your Digimon at a later date. For now, I have a reunion to go back to, once I get what I came for.”

She then walked away towards one of the hallways, as I was still stunned in place. Just listening to her parting words.

“I won’t get involved since the month of time I gave Venalita to train you girls hasn’t passed yet, but...” Her voice held what could only be described as a hint of genuine worry. “The Tres Magia are too much for you at your level. Magia Magenta is an opponent I should be dealing with personally, even if already crippled. If you ask, I’ll place her on top of my list of priorities, and help you with her.”

And with those parting words, she disappeared into the labyrinth-like hallways of Nacht Base.

All I was left with, was the warmth her hand left in my head and her words in my ears, and the almost dead-cold left of my connection with the now unconscious Morgana.

Nobody uttered a word.

Nobody had any idea of what to make of what just happened.

The only thing I could hear, was a single thought in my mind.

I don’t like her.

I don’t like her.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 4: Friends Made through Violence - Intermission

I fell from the portal set over my bed, landing face-first on my sheets exactly as I undid my Transformation, me clothes back in perfect state. The cool and soft sensation of those pricey pieces of cloth feeling like heaven against my burned skin.

I felt like a truck ran over me.

‘Thump!’

“Gah!” And right after me, Ge-chan landed on my back, having turned back into Psychemon. Her ass suddenly falling like a meteorite on my poor, bruised back. “Get off, it hurts!”

Still, I was grateful that she didn’t fall face-down like me. Should have probably thought about it before jumping in.

“Daaaaamn, she made a number on you, didn’t she?” She spoke as she started to look around, searching for something. I threw my hand in-between my breasts, taking out my Transformation Star and raising it in the air. She slowly tapped it with the back of her claw, before being absorbed and coming out as an hologram. “You should probably check a mirror~.”

She sounded as worried as amused. The little bastard. 

Thinking where I had my hand-mirror, refusing to stand up, I try to reach for the thick window frame. Removing a shirt that had landed over it, I manage to barely grab it with my fingertips.

Almost falling to the floor as I retrieved it, I get back comfortable over my half a dozen of pillows and cushions as I took a look.

“...Whoa.” “She really messed you up, eh~?” There were bright red lines running across my face. Looking down, taking a look down towards my body for the first time, I saw that they were running across my entire body.

Electrical burns.

“...Hah!” I couldn’t stop myself from laughing about it. “I thought I was gonna mess her up, and look at me! I’ll have to hide this burns with makeup to not scare Mama! Diajajajaja!”

“You got your ass handed to you~!” Ge-chan started snickering as she floated besides me. “So~... We getting reveeeeenge~?”

A tempting question. If you lose, you go back and try again. If they beat you, you beat them back twice as hard. Any failure will be corrected, until you can singlehandedly handle any problem.

That’s how Araga Kiwi stands above everyone else!

...Still...

“...Nah. I had fun, even if ‘Big Boss’ came to ruin the mood at the end.” The image of Utena, completely changing, going more and more unhinged during the battle, came to mind. It was kinda hot. “I liked Utena way more than I expected. Though, if you want revenge on Mor-chan, go have fun~.”

“Eeeeeeeh, if you wanna be friends with them, then let’s be friends~. And I’m kinda satisfied myself.” She sat head-down in the air, getting comfortalbe with a relaxed expression. “They got Alice to smile, when she didn’t even talk to uuuuuuus~. That was worth the paaaaaain~.”

I started to balance a cushion over my feet, changing from one to another in a rhythm from a song I listened to recently.

“True~. A sadistic demon and good with kids, maybe I should have her have my children~.” She would be one hell of a mother. Just remembering how she talked to Alice after she electrocuted me... Whipped me... Made me feel unbearable pain, as she praised me, calling me the most beautiful in the world... How she wouldn’t stop going at me even after being punched through a wall by a robot... “...Damn, what a freak~.”

Freaking hot~.

And the way she treated me when we were under Alice’s control... It kinda made me want it to continue for a while longer...

“Congratulations on falling in looooove~.” Ge-chan suddenly said something that froze my brain.

“...Eh?” The cushion on my feet fell to the ground, as I looked at her as if she suddenly grew a second horn. My heart started to beat faster. “...Waitwaitwait, aren’t you going too fast about it~?! Sure, she’s hot, exactly the kind of freak I like, her Magic could do all kinds of fun sexy things, she’s apparently a good and understanding friend, she’s good with kids, she managed to beat us, her smile sends shivers down my sp-OH FUCK, I FELL FOR HER!!!”

If the increasingly rapid beating of my heart and the heat weren’t proof enough, and a sudden rant of how attractive she is wasn’t either, the mere look of ‘Come on, it’s obvious~’ on the face that can outright read my feelings was irreproachable evidence.

“The hell I do now?! I never fell for anyone before!” This is completely unexplored territory for me!

“...Go have sex with her? That’s what Humans do, right?” Ge-chan said as if it was obvious, thinking on what little she understood about Humans.

I froze for a moment, my mind going to an hotel room. Utena was dressed in an unbelievable sexy dominatrix outfit, mask covering her pretty eyes and holding my face tightly in her hands with a savage smile, looking down at me as I looked terrified and expectantly at her.

My body grew so hot that I started leaking a bit.

“...Oh fuck, I’m REALLY into that...” I don’t consider myself a bottom, but... Fuuuuuuck, that girl makes me re-consider it. “...Oh well, if my body wants Utena, then I’ll follow my instincts and get her!”

“Yeah, go for it! This is a war for love! Plunder the land and ravage the queen!” Her words struck right into my heart, firing me up even more.

“Just wait for me Utena! I’ll do whatever I can to get closer to you!” Everything is fair in love and war!!!

We exit the Portal at home’s door, exhausted and hungry.

The lights were out, so Mommy must have been forced to work extra hours again.

I feel bad for Mommy, she must be so bored...

Agu-nee, now back to her small form, ran to the living room, and used a chair to reach over the table. I walked slowly behind her, as she picked up what Mommy left in case she couldn’t come back until tonight.

There were about 2000 Yen to get something to eat.

More than enough for the both of us to get something at the bald grampa’s place.

It would be more fun to eat with Mommy, but... She must be a lot more bored than me, so I have to be a big girl and endure it!

And... I had a lot of fun today.

The play-fighting with my new ‘Classmates’, and then playing house with them with the dollhouse... They... Were nice. Very nice.

They played with me, and promised to play again! They laughed happily once we were done! They enjoyed playing with me!

Even Kiwi-oneechan, that for some reason was scared of my dollhouse before, had fun thanks to Utena-oneechan!

And they didn’t even ask me to speak like everyone but Mommy does!

Yes! They aren’t just ‘Classmates’ as I expected! 

They are actually fun and nice!

I pump myself up, determined to do my best in whatever this group is supposed to be, and smile at Agu-nee, who feels my enthusiasm and nods happily.

That done, satisfied, I look back at the money, and then signal either 1 or 4 at her.

She thinks for a moment, before raising both hands to raise 4 fingers. I nod back, liking the idea myself.

Today we eat Yakiniku.

Carefully checking my bag in case I didn’t forget anything inside, I throw the money in and take out the Digivice. Agu-nee jumps inside it, and I put it back in as she started to float around like a ghost.

With everything ready, I walked back to the door and reached for the knob. I was tired after playing so much, so I wanted to eat something before taking a nap.

‘Thump!’

The briefcase falls loudly on the other side of the table, as I threw it as soon as I came out of the bubbling and viscous black Portal. I sat back down on my seat, ignoring their surprise and murmurs of awe and jealousy about the convenience of Teleportation Portals. 

Personally, I’m surprised they are all still in the room, even after waiting 15 minutes for me.

Well, that just comes to show they know their place in this business relationship.

‘Clack’

My eyes were focused on the Leader of Baem-ui Siseon, or ‘Queen’ as they like to call her, as she opened the briefcase. Sinseonghan Bupae was a respectable Witch and Leader. The four Stars in the back of her left hand were more than enough proof of her strength, and had a tight grip on the operations of her organization.

Their group was great at avoiding confrontation while advancing on their own goals, but still had the boldness to make risky moves in search of long-term profit.

Like trying to expand into the ‘Empty’ Japan rather than compete with the other organizations of Korea, disregarding that I claimed the entire country as my territory.

Like trying to ask ME for a bribe to not get into the country.

But their offer of connections in the black market was too tempting to pass on it.

“Oh my~. They are the real deal!” The woman held up one of the broken Transformation Hearts from inside the briefcase through the long sleeves of her robes. 

“Of course. Should I take it as an insult that you are surprised by it?” She flinched for a moment at my words, while her Digimon, a large white winged snake, hid just a bit further behind her.

“J-Just a bit surprised to have so many in front of me~.” The woman tried to salvage the situation, which to be honest, was enough for me. At least, for now. “Having so many of them to simply give away... Any other group would have a squad of the strongest Magical Girls knocking at their door~. Portalers sure have it convenient.”

“Hum. As long as I don’t perform any attack outside Japan, the UN won’t lift a finger. In their eyes, I’m just not a relevant threat, just the Leader of a Country Prevalent level Evil Organization. Not even as powerful Korea’s strongest Witch. They are too busy dealing with International and Global threats to assign resources to Japan.” And that’s exactly how I want it. At least, for a few more months... “And if they do bring their top Magical Girls against me... It won’t make a difference.”

After all, I have forged the strongest weapon.

“I can certainly see why...” Her eyes moved across the room, passing by every Digimon.

Each and every one of them was either trembling in terror or had fallen unconscious.

Surrounded by the scene, I laid my eyes down on VoltoBoutamon behind me.

Yes, this is exactly as it should be. Those things are just barely alive enough to understand the concept of fear.

No matter how strong or weak they are.

No matter their history or beliefs.

They all shut up, give up, and tremble in the ground in front of their superior. They can’t stand against despair made manifest.

Those things lack the Human spirit to stand against all odds.

None of them...

...The memory of a short, mild sensation of pain in my knuckles came to mind. The memory of a Digimon I had just used to demolish a wall.

‘Looks like you just became the Boss’s favorite, Bai-~.’

Of a Digimon that showed no signs of fear, even as the ones of Leopard and Nero Alice were quaking in their feet.

...How?

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 5: A Villain Among Heroes - Part 1

‘Thump’

The door closed behind me as I entered my room, my body still fresh from the shower. The warm water had felt heavenly on my injuries...

...Though, now that I was back to the fresh, cold air of the cruel outside world, they were back to hurting, and my body feeling sore.

I made a quick test, poking me on the side, and- “Ugh!” I winced, as the finger felt like a stake driven into a vampire’s heart.

Ahhhh, it still hurts... But... The ribs appear to all be connected to each other again, so I guess it’s alright?

...It probably would be smart to just remain home and rest for today, but I don’t wanna cancel with the girls...

Poking it again, slightly surprised at how well I was taking the injuries I have received lately, I confirm that the ribs are, indeed, in a single piece, even if slightly cracked. So, good enough to go out today.

...Is my resistance to pain just that high, or is there something wrong with me?

...I’ll fault Magic. It must be Magic. If it can change my body like Venalita said, then it must be interfering with my feelings of pain, right?

I haven’t ever gotten badly hurt before to compare, but I doubt I would be the kind to just shrug off injury and pain. I’m not that sort of badass girl, that would probably suit Sayo-chan and maybe Haruka-chan better. By looks, I probably would be on the same level as Kaoruko-chan...

...Though, that girl probably has all of us beat by a landslide when it comes to toughness. It wouldn’t even be a competition.

Trying to get my mind off from whatever the Magic is doing to my body, I pick up my phone, looking into the group chats. Second from the top, there was a new one that was added just yesterday.

‘Korisu’s Playroom’

Named in honor of the ‘Winner’ of yesterday’s fight. Seeing the name brought my attention once again to my ribs.

...That girl and her robot are way too strong...

There was already the first conversation going on inside. 

「WarCatrime」: “Hey Korisuuuuuuu~, why do you get full clothes when you Transform when Kiwi ends in a thong? It’s because you are stronger?”

「Wonderland」: 

Alice appeared to have found the emoticons. Pretty fast, considering Vena gave her her first phone yesterday, just so we could keep in contact.

「GodBowsToMe」: “Oi, I’m not weaker! It’s just that Korisu is irrationally strong!”

「WarCatrime」: “That’s called being weaker, dumbAAAAASS~.”

「GodBowsToMe」: “Lets go otside. I’ll beat the crap outta you, twerp.”

「WarCatrime」: “lmao, come on, calm down, don’t wanna shoot a bullet up your pussy, so don’t temp meeee~”

「IronGiant」: 

「Wonderland」: 

...The hell are those two doing? Why are they fighting through messages when they are besides each other?

Also, don’t talk like that in front of Alice! 

「PetalaViolacea」: “Please, don’t shoot each other in weird places...”

...I can’t believe what I just had to write.

「WarCatrime」: “I don’t make any promiseeees~.”

「GodBowsToMe」: “No worries, we heal fast!”

「PetalaViolacea」: “It’s not about the recovering!”

‘Sigh’

「PetalaViolacea」: “Also, we were told not to speak about this stuff here. That our phones can easily be hacked if we are under the minimum suspicions, so try not to be so obvious...”

Supposedly, those weird black screens are the only safe way to send messages.

「GodBowsToMe」: “It’s fine~. There’s no way they’ll look at us any time soon~. Give it a few dozen appearances and we’ll have to start worrying a bit more.”

「WarCatrime」: “And we can just ask Vena to erase the data lateeeer~. Put that that idiot to work! www”

「IronGiant」: 

「PetalaViolacea」: “...Korisu, don’t follow those two’s example. We have to be careful, it’s over once we are found out... Also, I get the feeling that bothering Vena too much will lead to trouble.”

Ah, I called Vena’s name...

「Wonderland」: 

「PetalaViolacea」: “You may be the smartest among us...”

...It feels weird to think about this. I’m in a group chat with Witches and Digimon, as just one of them.

Is this my new normal? 

How do Witches even interact with each other anyways?

I’m a Witch from Enormeeta, so I guess it makes sense to be on friendly terms with them. But what about other Witches? Other Evil Organizations?

Do Witches help each other to fight for... Whatever they are fighting? Will I join with Witches all around the world to performs unspeakable acts?

Judging by the... Boss’s, talk yesterday about keeping other Evil Organizations outside Japan, are we in conflict with the other Organizations? 

Is that the normal for Witches? Or did I become a pariah in the world of Evil Organizations just for joining Enormeeta?

...Are we on our own, with the whole world against us?

“Hey, Utena.” I’m taken out my thoughts by Ghost, looking at me from the computer’s seat. “I don’t get the Internet’s lingo...”

Patches of her body had changed into a very light blue. I felt bad at seeing those bruises, but I also knew she felt bad at seeing my temporarily fragmented ribs, so we agreed to not bring up each other’s injuries. For both our sanities.

“...Eh?” Taken aback by the suddenness of that, I wait a moment before walking to look at the screen. “What are you even reading?”

“I’m looking at the Internet’s opinion of us.” As she said, the screen was covered in various windows from different forums, message boards, and even Ourtube comment sections. “But there are too many weird words I don’t get... Some don’t even look like words.”

“Ahhh... Yeah, it’s almost like it’s own language. I’ll translate the messages, try to remember what they... Wait.” This talk made me realize something weird I had never thought about before. “...How did you learn Japanese in the first place? Wait, a few of those are in English! How do you understand them?”

I understand English better than most Japenese people, but I’m not exactly fluent either!

“...” Ghostmon just looked at me, as if her mind had just glitched thinking of an answer. I started to really worry that may actually be the case after the first minute without receiving an answer... Until she suddenly shrugged, a confused expression on her face. “...I didn’t even realize there was a difference between languages.”

“...What?” Do the Digimon... Not see language as language? Do they just... Understand words innately? “...Forget it, I’ll just translate it.”

If Digimon do indeed understand languages without needing to learn them, that speaks very poorly of Internet jargon...

...And I feel slightly embarrassed for using it too.

Taking my mind out of that, I just limit myself to go about various comments from the different windows spread across the screen.

I won’t deny that I’m interested myself. I never bothered checking on Enormeeta, or any Evil Organization to be honest, beyond their fights with Magical Girls. What will the people think about us...?

‘That Witch is crazy... She just threw a bunch of girls in a cell and starter waterboarding them in the middle of a mall!’

‘It’s not like Enormeeta haven’t attacked civilians before, but that’s normally their Minions. Those things are pure instinct and obedience. This is the first time one of their Witches blatantly attacks people!’

‘This is worse than an attack, it’s TORTURE!’

‘How the hell did this freak slip from Tres Magia twice?! I can see her face, those are just 2 Stars! She’s a small fry!” 

‘Thrice. She got away thrice. I saw it happen in a construction site besides my home.’

‘Seriously?! She attacked Azul in public for the goddess’s sake! How can they let her get away after that?!’

‘You have gotta be kidding me! We have a Witch in our city attacking people, and not even Tres Magia can stop her?! I have a daughter! How can I send her to school now, knowing that monster is out there?!’

‘Wasn’t there another Enormeeta Witch attacking people too? Or am I remembering wrong?’

‘Nah, Loco Musica subjects people to auditory torture, but nothing actually serious. Unlike those girls that get drowned in freezing water.’

‘What the hell is the UN doing?! We have been dealing with Enormeeta for more than a year, and they have done nothing about that!’

‘The bastards have us abandoned at our luck!’

“What’s the UN?” I’m taken out of the translation effort by a simple question, but also one a bit hard to explain.

“Mmm... It’s the United Nations, a group that includes most countries in the world, including Japan. The representatives of each country work together to decide how to help each country with their problems, and are the ones to speak with Cosmos and her Satellites to decide how things related to Magical Girls and Witches will be managed.” That should be a good enough explanation, right?

“Uhum...” She had a small expression of understanding, before another question covered her face. “Then, if the whole world is united to deal with the problem... Why haven’t they dealt with Enormeeta? We are kinda small.”

“Because they never do their job properly. They only really care when the problem will affect the United States and a few European countries.” And Enormeeta is just a local problem, so they don’t care. “Honestly... I’m on the camp that thinks we should simply let Cosmos take over Earth. She would probably do a better job than our leaders.”

“And she’s the boss of the Magical Girls.” “Exactly!” What better world than one lead by the Magical Girls?!

We should just take down the system and instate the Magical Girls as our new leaders!

I vote for Magenta to lead Japan!

“Ah, right, the comments!” Got too into it and forgot to continue translating!

‘At this rate, we’ll end just like Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela! Taken over by Witches!’

‘I would rather be taken over by the Magical Girls instead! Not by this freak!’  

I completely agree with you, DungBeetle42.

‘We can only depend on the Magical Girls! Let’s pray for the Tres Magia to stop this Witch before she kills someone!’

‘...Would that be so bad? She’s kinda h-’

“It appears to mostly go like this...” I cut the last one short, not wanting to process that one.

“They are... Pretty scared of us, aren’t they?” Ghostmon sounded pretty hurt as she said that. Though, there was a strange feeling mixed in. One that I was feeling myself.

“Yeah... But, I guess it makes sense... We DID attack civilians...” Not my proudest moment... But I can’t change the past. I can only deal with what I have done.

And... As much as it worries me the reputation I got myself... It also felt kind of...

...Satisfactory...?

Being seen as a Villain, one that they prayed the Tres Magia could take down...

...Yes... As THE Villain for the Tres Magia to take down...

As Tres Magia’s worst enemy...

A quick look into Ghostmon’s eyes, as she looked into mine, made it clear we were feeling the same way.

Maybe... Once we finish recovering... We should...

...What do Haruka-chan, Sayo-chan, and Kaoruko-chan think of Magia Baiser?

Are they... Scared of me? Do they feel unsafe and scared when going out because of my actions...?

“...Ugh... Why is everything so complicated...?” “Dunno, has been like that since barely after I was born.” Ghostmon just shrugged. I guess she IS a lot more used to this all than me...

Taking out my phone, I check the other group chat that I have been in since just a little while ago, ‘Mushroom Garden’. Because Haruka won the rock-paper-scissors.

Inside, the girls had already sent a few messages, though not many. Probably because we’ll meet-up soon.

「SkyPrincess」: “HELP! I can’t decide if to wear pants or a skirt today, and the coin fell sideways when I left it to luck!!!”

...What?

「SimpleSolutions」: “How the heck did it fall sideways?! There’s no way that happened!!!”

「WinterMaiden」: “How...? Why...? Is-Is this some sort of divine intervention?”

「SkyPrincess」: “I don’t how how it happened!!! And I don’t want to jsut flip another coin! What do I do?!”

「WinterMaiden」: “Just... Choose one, I guess? Today’s a bit chilly, so maybe the pants?”

「SimpleSolutions」: “I still refuse to believe it actually fell sideways! ...But if you want us to choose for you, I guess something warm would be a good idea.”

「PetalaViolacea」: “I didn’t even know it was possible for it to fall sideways...”

「SkyPrincess」: “Me neither! This world is full of mysteries and surprises~.”

...I guess that’s one way to take my mind off from my worries.

Putting the phone done, I open my drawers, trying to decide what to wear today.

...Trying to decide for 5 minutes, without getting any closer to a decision.

How... Does one dress when going out with friends...?

Do I have to dress a bit formally to cause a good impression?

Or do I have to be careful to not overdress, and just wear casual clothes?

Wait, I don’t want them to think I didn’t care about today... Maybe something cute?

But... 

“...Ghostmon, help!” “Eh?! What?!” Having fallen into a loop, I cling to my only hope of getting out of it.

“I can’t decide what to wear...! How does one even dress when going out with friends?! I have never done it!” I grabbed her by the shoulders as I knelt, unconsciously shaking her. “Help me choose...!”

“Wha-?! I don’t know! I don’t even wear clothes most of the time!” ...Ah, that’s true. “Just... Calm down, and let’s choose something!”

And so, with Ghostmon’s help, we decided on a light brown knitted sweater with wide sleeves and a high neck, tucking at the top of the waist into a white straight skirt with buttons at the side. The shoes were simple but cute and combined with the rest, and the knitted socks were warm.

And to not overdo it and feel out of place if they come dressed casual, I didn’t do anything in terms of nails or makeup.

...

As I finish my breakfast, I take a quick look at the transparent Ghostmon. I wish we could have breakfast together, but that’s kind of impossible. At least, as long as Mom doesn’t know that I’m Magia Baiser.

And I would rather die than let her know.

I take my eyes off her so Mom doesn’t think I’m going crazy, but as I look back at her, she looks... Smug.

“...Ehm... Mom?” Why do I feel embarrassed just by that look?! What IS that look?! I have never seen it before!

“Fufufu~. This is the first time you are going out with friends. My little Utena is finally growing...” Her sentimental voice somehow gave me goosebumps.

Shivers ran down my spine.

“M-Mom! I-It’s not that big of a deal! Don’t get like that!” What is this?! A new kind of torture technique?!

“But it is!!!” Mom suddenly started crying as she rubbed her eyes. “My little Utena is now going out into the world, leaving me alone at home! Our sundays together are no more!”

She tried to clean her tears with a tissue.

I could feel even Ghostmon was starting to panic, not knowing what to do.

“Mom, c-calm down! I-It’s not-!” I flinched, as she put the used tissue aside... Leaving it floating in the middle of the air.

Ghostmon did more than flinch, jumping back in utter surprise and confusion.

“Wha- How...?!” I stop as I look back into Mom’s eyes. There was utter and pure satisfaction in her eyes, her smile growing wide and thin in her face.

Behind the soy sauce bottle, I caught a glimpse of a small bottle of fake tears.

“Fufufu~. Now I can send you out satisfied~.” She lightly tapped the air with her finger, making the tissue shake without touching it. The invisible thread flexing under her finger.

Ughhhhhh... She got me...!

I relaxed as I sat on my bed, just enjoying the sensation as Renamon brushed my hair. She hummed contently, enjoying working on my hair, and I just enjoyed the melody.

“You appear to be in a good mood today, Sayo.” Renamon unfortunately interrupted that nice melody.

“Yes, it’s the first time we are going out with Utena-chan after all.” She has been joining out group for a little while now, but it’s the first time we are going out the 4 of us. “It feels nice to get closer to other people.”

“I can share that sentiment.” She finished brushing, and started braiding a small portion of hair. “She may not be a Magical Girl, but she looks like a nice girl.”

“Indeed. I just hope everything goes well. Last time we went to that mall, Magia Baiser appeared.” The hands suddenly stopped, flinching just a little bit and pulling at my hair.

Looking back, Renamon didn’t show anything strange, as she resumed braiding my hair. But she can’t hide her emotions from me. “Renamon?”

“...It’s nothing...” It clearly wasn’t nothing. “Yes, it would be great if those two didn’t appear today. Or ever...”

‘Sigh’ “I’m happy to not have to deal with Enormeeta, but if they don’t appear we’ll never catch them.” Any attempts to track Witches once they cross those Portals has resulted in failure. Even the Satellites researching it in the Digital World are stuck. We are left with no option but waiting for the Witches to appear on their own...

“...Don’t worry about that.” She finished braiding my hair, tying it at the end with a tiny ribbon. “Today, just have fun. Enjoy your time with your new friend. Work can wait for tomorrow.”

It felt a bit strange to hear her say that. It feels a bit less responsible than usual.

“...Yes, I’ll do that.” Still, after yesterday’s interview, I really want to be able to rest today. “Do you have plans for today?”

“Yes, I do.” She jumped off bed, looking down at me, satisfied with her work. “As much as I would like to watch how things go with your new friend, I and Angoramon promised Salamon to let you four have fun in private. Instead, she wants us to go to the batting center.”

...The batting center?

...But...

...Salamon doesn’t have hands...

Ah took a last look in dah mirror as ah finished tyin’ mah ribbon. There didn’t seem tah be anything out of place, so ah picked up mah phone an’ was ready tah go.

“Are you forgetting anything?” Angoramon asked from dah bed, where she was playin’ in her phone.

“N-” Ah was ‘bout tah answer, but stopped tah think ‘bout it. Checkin’ my pockets, dah wallet an’ keys were there, an’ there wasn’t anythin’ else ah could think of. “Nah, ah’m good.”

“Nice.” She put away her phone inside her fluff, an’ got outta bed. “I’m accompanying you half the way. Then, I’m going to batting with the others. Salamon wanted to go.”

“Battin’? ...Wait, how is Salamon goin’ tah bat without hands?” Angoramon just shrugged at my question.

...Ehhhhh? How...? Why...?

...Fuck it.

Ah just shrug back at her. If dat dog wants tah go battin’, then dat dog will go battin’. Ah’m sure she knows what she’s doin’.

Ah put mah phone in mah back pocket, an’ walk out mah room.

“Bye Mom, ah’m goin’ out.” Ah call to my Mom as I pass by dah livin’ room.

“Take care~. Don’t push yarself too hard, an’ call me if yah need somethin’.” She answered turnin’ back from dah TV. There was some true crime show or somethin’ goin’ on. She has been glued to it for weeks.

“Yeah, see ya later~” I waved at her an’ walked outta dah door.

...

Houses passed by as we walked, keepin’ some light conversation as we went. It was a relaxin’, peaceful day, somethin’ rare this days. 

Daaamn, ah wish more days were like this~. Ah got too swamped with dah non-violent side of bein’ a Magical Girl this last few weeks. Too many interviews, photoshoots, fan meetings...

Finally ah can relax~.

“Ah, right, now that I remember... How is Utena like?” Ah look slightly confused at Angoramon for dat question. “I normally sleep during class, or I’m just out doing stuff, so I barely knows what she looks like.”

“Ahhhh...” Yeah, ah don’t think ah have ever seen her awake at school. “Well, if ah had tah describe her... She’s like a small, scared animal, dat makes yah want tah protect her.”

Dat girl is a bunch of nerves in human-shape, worryin’ too much ‘bout everythin’.

“Though, now dat she has gotten used tah bein’ ‘round us, she’s smilin’ a lot more. More dan ah have ever seen of her ‘fore.” Ah guess she wasn’t alone by choice... Makes me feel kinda bad we didn’t talk tah her before. “She looks tah have things in her life she’s constantly worryin’ ‘bout, but she looks a lot happier nowadays, an’ is even takin’ better care of herself. She’s looking more healthy, an’ even a bit slimmer.”

Her skin is certainly lookin’ a lot better dan before. Make me wanna poke ‘em~.

“People take better care of themselves when they have more people worrying about them.” Angoramon nodded, satisfied. “She sounds like a nice girl. I’ll make sure to keep her safe, catching Enormeeta next time they appear.”

“Oh, ah’ll make sure they don’t get away next time...” I clench mah fist in front mah face. Mah frustration with dah whole situation beggin’ tah be released on their faces. “Last time, we got stopped by dat faceless and nameless Enormeeta Witch dat paralyzes and controls people. Next time, ah’ll be stronger... Ah have tah become stronger, so ah can just bulldoze through those types of abilities.”

Even fightin’ it with all mah might, it took me 10 seconds tah free myself. If there were more Witches ‘roun, dat would have been a fatal...

Ah’ll become stronger. Mah heart will become stronger. So she can’t get me for even a second.

‘Pat’ Angoramon lightly pats me on dah back. Or, as much as she can while just an hologram, but ah could feel dah intent behind it. “You are already the strongest person I know.”

Ah look back at her, not hidin’ the slight surprise on mah face, ‘fore smirkin’ back. “Yah mean strongest Human yah know, right? After all, yah have met God.”

She just smirked back, an’ looked ‘round. “Alright, this is where we separate. Let’s look for a good private place where I can materialize.”

Ahhh, what a nice breeze~.

The flavor of the potato chips dances in my mouth as I slowly munched on them, holding them with my lips to make a duck’s face. The wonderful view atop this building made the taste even better.

The sun was bright, the sky was just clear enough to have enough light while also being decorated with an healthy amount of clouds, and the day was just chilly enough to be pleasant with slightly warm clothes.

“Ahhhh~... Sala, do you think I could turn the clouds into a fluffy bed, and sleep in the sky?” It would probably be the best bed in the world~.

“Mmm~. There is probably a way? If you find out how, tell me, I wanna sleep up there too...” Her voice was slightly muffled as she munched on chips in the same way as me, eating them as she laid on top of my head. The large golden holy ring around her neck hard against my head, but barely an inconvenience. “Anyways, are we on time? We spent quite a bit on this sudden patrol.”

“It’s alright, we won’t arrive late. And I wanted to make sure there wasn’t any Witch around that could ruin today.” Though it’s more likely that one would simply appear out of nowhere than hiding around already Transformed. But hey, that didn’t stop that Witch of Sharp Threads from turning an entire street into a trap before I even noticed her, so better to prevent than to cry! “Are you on time? Dunno when you were going to gather with Rena and Ango.”

“It’s fine~. Worst case scenario, they start without me.” She finished her chips, and relaxed even more on top of my head.

“Ahahaha~. Yeah, they’ll be pretty surprised when they see you manage the bat, won’t they?” I pocked at one of Sala’s front legs. It’s easy to wonder how she’s even supposed to hold one. Fortunately, I already know how~.

“Sahahaha! Can’t wait to see their faces!” She laughed happily at the prospect of surprising those two. She’ll have a good time today~. “Anyways, when are you turning Utena into a Magical Girl?”

“Cagh-!” I chocked with my potatoes at the sudden outrageous question. “W-Why are you asking that?! I have no intention of turning her into a Magical Girl!”

“Well, it’s kind of the pattern by now. Make a friend, get close to them, and they become a Magical Girl.” She shrugged over my head. “Happened with Sayo and Kaoruko~.”

I stop for a moment, not knowing how to answer to that. It didn’t feel like I COULD deny that.

That... That’s really a pattern, now that I think about it... “W-Well, even if it’s a pattern, I’m not planning to recruit her or anything. We are just friends!”

“Eh~?” I could feel that Sala was getting into this. She was starting to have fun at my expense. “You didn’t plan for the others to other, did you? And it still happened~.”

“W-Well, that may be, but Utena doesn’t seem really tough, right? I can’t put her in danger like that!” She’s too frail for this, I don’t wanna see her get hurt!

“Oh, come on, you can’t bring THAT card after Kaoruko. Just remember her when you two first met, and look at her now~.” ...I have no possible retort against that.

“...Ugh... W-Well, whatever happens, happens!” Anyways, at this point, if Utena had the qualities for a Magical Girl, I’m sure Vatz would have already recruited her. “In the end, Kaoruko-chan was an exception! The only girl in our school that had the amount of Mana necessary to be chosen as a Magical Girl was Sayo-chan, Kaoruko-chan was just a special exception they did because I asked for it, plus her circumstances.”

Even if I asked for Utena-chan, it would get denied. And it’s not like she NEEDS to become a Magical Girl, so why try to turn her into one?

“Well~... That ‘Exception’ became one of the few Magical Girls to somehow create a Mode Change, and is possibly the strongest Magical Girl in Japan~.” She was going after all my possible arguments against the idea. “Who says Utena couldn’t end becoming the strongest Magical Girl on Earth? Just let her get over her worries and nervousness, and... BAM! La Verità!”

“Ahahaha, come on, you know it’s not that easy~!” There is a reason why nobody has shouted La Verità in Japan in 5 years~. “And Sulfur can’t be the strongest Magical Girl in Japan, you know? Magia Blanc is still out there~.”

“Hey, don’t underestimate Sulfur! And Blanc can only fight for a short time anyways~.” But that’s also the case for Sulfur! “And unlike her, Sulfur can still fight with her barriers without exhausting herself by going on the offensive!”

“Mmm, good point...” having finished the chips, I reached into the bag for more, but found it empty.

Oh well, time to get going then.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 5: A Villain Among Heroes - Part 2

“S-Sorry for being late!” I felt sightly winded after jogging the last street once I saw that Kaoruko-chan and Sayo-chan were already waiting in front of the mall.

“Nah, it’s still early.” Kaoruko-chan just waved my apology away. “An’ Haruka’s still who knows where.”

“Don’t worry, we are still a little bit away from the time we agreed to meet.” Sayo-chan properly explained that I had no reason to worry. “We all arrived early.”

“Well, except Haruka~.” She had a bit of an impish air on her usually relaxed and friendly expression as she said that.

“Ahahaha... I’m sure she’ll arrive soon.” She gives me a bit of a funny look as I defend Haruka, but doesn’t make another comment on it.

To be honest, I was a bit taken aback by getting to see them in their casual clothes. It was both kind of what I expected, and completely unexpected.

Sayo-chan was about what I imagined, wearing a white unbuttoned jacket over a simple light blue dress held below her breasts with a dark blue belt, but with the surprising addition of a pair of dark blue wedge pumps with a white heel, making her even taller than she already was. My eyes were already at just her collarbone, so this made her an even more imposing presence.

Her hair looked as pretty and orderly as ever, but with the addition of a thin braid that fell over her shoulder and by the side of the right breast, all the way to her hips. She had just a hint of natural makeup, and her nails were painted in the same light blue of her dress.

She looked quite pretty and elegant. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got scouted to be a model.

Kaoruko-chan on the other side was completely off from what I imagined, but at the same time, in retrospective, it’s what I should have imagined. 

She was wearing a ragged dark gray shirt that looked two or three sizes too big for her, tucked at the waist into a pair of very wide faded greenish blue jeans, held tightly by a grayish blue belt with a golden buckle. The top of a white tank top could be seen by the wide neck of the shirt, and the tears in her jeans got so big that they revealed some thigh. Below it all, she wore just a pair of sneakers.

Her hair was done in a high ponytail, held up by her usual ribbon and leaving her bangs as usual. She wore a variety of bracelets, rings, and a necklace, and while she wore no makeup, her nails were painted in a bright blue. She had a white earbud on her right ear, probably listening to music as we spoke, and was eating a lollipop.

She looked... Cool. Her normal appearance makes me think that big elaborate dresses would suit her the best, but having gotten to know her personally... A cool look like this certainly fits her better than anything else. Kaoruko was a very cool girl in a very small package.

...But isn’t she cold? Or am I just oversensitive to it?

“Mmm~?” I’m taken out of my appreciation of their outfits by Kaoruko humming as she looked at me. “Dat’s some nice style. Yah look cute~.”

“...Eh? Wh-Wha-?!” C-Cute?! I-I have never been called that before! At least, by anyone outside my family!

“I agree. You look great today Utena. It’s nice to see you outside the uniform.” Sayo-chan relentlessly threw more wood to the fire.

“Y-Y-You t-two look good too!” I could barely let the words come out in my embarrassment. “I-It fits you both perfectly!”

I guess I wasn’t the only one wondering how they would look outside school... Ahhhh, I’m glad I put so much work into thinking what to wear...!

“Everyone’s already here?!” I’m saved from my embarrassment by Haruka’s voice. Turning around, I saw her running towards us, waving an arm high. “Sorry for being laaaaate~!”

She was wearing a long light yellow jacket in a tartan patterns, reaching her knees, with an equally long red hoodie jacket below, both completely open. Below she wore a yellow shirt completely covered in white letters, but I couldn’t figure out what it said, tucked into wide pants of the same color and pattern as the jacket with a black belt, ending right below the knees. She wore small dark yellow and black boots with a bit of a heel.

She had her usual twindrill hairstyle, but the drills were held in place by ribbons of the same red as the hoodie. She had just a touch of makeup, not much, but enough to add some pink to her face, and her nails were a shiny yellow.

...I can’t say I expected what she would wear, but at the same time, I don’t think I was at any point able to imagine what she would wear outside school. And still, this really felt fitting for Haruka-chan.

“Hey, Haruka. Nah, Utena just got here, yar on time~.” “Yes, it’s just that we all arrived a bit early.”

“G-Good morning, Haruka-chan.” I tried to greet her as she jogged towards us. But she didn’t stop. No, not only that, she was running straight at me. “Wha- W-Wait, Har- Guh!”

“U-Utena?!” Ghostmon shouted in alarm as I was tackled by the taller bundle of energy.

Fortunately, Sayo-chan was right behind me, catching us before we fell straight to the floor.

“Good Morning, Utena-chan!” She had me sandwiched between her hug and Sayo’s generous breasts as she held us. And just as fast as she came, she got up and patted me firmly in the shoulders. “Ohhhh~! You look pretty!”

“Eh- Ah-!” I could barely process what was happening, and the soft sensation pushing on the back of my head didn’t help. “T-Thank... You...?”

“Now, let’s go!” Without waiting for my brain to restart, or for anyone to say anything, she held my hand and dragged me into the mall.

This was going to be an exhausting, but probably fun, day.

...

By the time my brain fully reseted, I was already seated at the Arcade, Kaoruko-chan on the other side choosing her character. Sayo-chan was on the other side, looking at her screen, while Haruka-chan was with me.

A quick look up confirmed to my now functioning brain that we were in a machine of a game called ‘Innocent Machinery”. 

“Uhm... I-I just want to say, that I never played this game before...” The only fighting games I have played were ones made of Magical Girls. And it was in my computer, not with this controls... “So... Don’t expect much...”

“Don’t worry about that, Utena-chan!” Haruka said with a smile, trying to comfort me. “We all have been demolished by Kaoruko-chan, so it’s your turn!”

“I was set to lose?!” Is this some kind of rite of passage?!

“Huhu, don’t worry, Utena, we have all gone through that. Kaoruko is simply too strong.” Sayo peeked out from the other side.

“Mhmhmh~.” Karouko-chan was just happily humming on the other side. “Do yar best~. Show me how yah take on an impossible fight~.”

“Ugh... I’ll try.” Looking at the character screen, there were about 3 dozen characters, and I didn’t know any of them. All I could do was choose one based on aesthetic. 

“Oh, how about this one? Looks weird.” As I passed by the characters, Ghostmon pointed at one.

...Ah, I have been called her Ghostmon in my head... I still haven’t gotten used t calling her Morgana...

“This one...?” I murmured as I moved to it, and the character was indeed weird... She was a strange, very tall and lanky nurse with a giant scalpel and her head covered by a cardboard box. 

“It kind of looks like something you would make with your Magic.” I decided to ignore that comment, not sure if my Schiavos are better or worse than this things, and simply chose it.

Quirky characters are fun, anyways, so it should be a fun character to use, right?

“Uh?” Haruka sounded a bit surprised, as we moved to the arena selection. Though we ended choosing at random, so we quickly found ourselves face-to-face.

Kaoruko-chan had chosen a small and dangerous looking pirate girl, holding a giant anchor. 

“Ohhhh~? So yah are DAT type of Player, Utena~?” ...Is that a good or a bad thing? “Now, come at me, ah’ll give yah 20 seconds~.”

“A-Alright!” I rushed at Kaoruko-chan, and pretty much pressed random buttons to see what this character could do.

...And Kaoruko-chan avoided all of them. She blocked, took a step back, jumped, no matter what I did, nothing worked on her.

“Ugh...!” They weren’t exaggerating! How is she avoiding everything?!

Still, I could use that time to find out as many different moves from the character as I could, and how to execute them... As accurately as I could with this controls.

“Time’s up~” “Uh?” As I was doing an attack, I was suddenly hit by a giant anchor. And then another. And another.

“Guh-!” I tried to jump back, but only managed to get bitten by a giant shark.

I wasn’t even sure of what happened afterwards, as all I could see was an anchor being swing at supersonic speeds, and my HP evaporating.

‘Perfect!’ The game announced, as I finally fell to the ground, after being put through a shredder.

Wha-What just happened...?

“Ah’ll give yah 30 seconds for round 2~.”

...

‘Perfect!’ Those additional 10 seconds didn’t help at all.

“Sorry, Utena~. But good attempt~.” Kaoruko-chan smiled as she switched places with Sayo-chan. 

“You did great, Utena-chan!” Haruka-chan consoled me from the side, her honesty almost making me believe her words.

“I... I couldn’t even get a hit in...” How is that even possible...?

“She’s a monster...” Ghos- Morgana said on my side. And I couldn’t agree more.

“Kaoruko is just that strong, neither of us can beat her. So relax, I’ll fight you now.” Sayo-chan talked on the other side as we moved to the character selection screen. “Still, I’ll try to hold back a bit. I’m used to fighting her, so I don’t think you’ll have it easy.”

Right... The rite of passage is done, so now starts the real games!

After such a defeat, I can’t allow myself to lose again! 

...

‘Perfect!’ ...Ah, she’s weak.

Kaoruko-chan was comfortingly patting her shoulder, as she was sprawled in over the controls. 

“I...It’s alright...! D-Defeat is just another chance to improve!” Sayo-chan sounded very frustrated. Or at least, I think that was frustration. Either that, or she was genuinely excited for that chance to improve.

I guess she likes challenges?

“Ahhhh~. That was fun!” Having Utena-chan here was great!

I love playing with Sayo-chan and Kaoruko-chan, I really do! ...But Kaoruko-chan is way too strong, and Sayo-chan is way too weak.

Utena-chan falls right in-between me and Sayo-chan, so she’s an actually beatable challenge~.

Once we were done playing games, I dragged Utena-chan and the rest to the claw machines. Hopefully, she’ll bring us good luck!

“Dammit!” “Again...!” Unfortunately, Kaoruko-chan and Sayo-chan were not having any luck on their side. The level of frustration on their voices indicating that they were not getting any closer.

But in my case...

“Hu, hu, hu! Admire!” I held up a big rabbit plushie I got in just my third try! “This is my true power!

They turned towards me, jealous looks on their faces, as I held it high. The whole 40 centimeters of fluffiness in my hands felt like the biggest of treasures.

Utena-chan really brought me luck!

“Grrr, just wait, ah’ll get somethin’ soon!” Kaoruko’s competitive spirit had ignited, and she looked ready to jump back at her own machine.

“And how are you doing, Ut... Eh?” Sayo suddenly stopped, a shocked look on her face.

And following her gaze, I ended freezing myself at the sight.

Utena-chan had caught a box in her own claw machine, and was steadily bringing it to the corner. But what was shocking, were the other 2 boxes already set to the side.

W-When did she...?!

‘Thump!’

The box fell right into place, and Utena-chan slowly knelt to take it out. Her smile was blinding as she raised a box... With a Magia Magenta figurine... In a Maid Uniform.

I felt the worried eyes of Sayo-chan and Kaoruko-chan fall on me, as I slowly covered my face with my hands.

...Ahhhhh...

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!

Why did I allow them to make any merchandise they wanted?!

So embarrassing!!!

I happily hold my bag with 5 boxes of Magical Girl figurines.

As always, Arcades are the best place to get figurines for cheap~.

I ignored the incredulous looks of the girls and Gh- Morgana diving her face inside the bag to look at them closely. 

“H-How about we get some crepes?” Haruka-chan suddenly spoke up catching everyone’s attention.

Crepes? “Mmm... I’m not really hungry, but they do look nice... And I haven’t had one before...”

“What, you haven’t eaten crepes?!” The incredulous tone in Haruka’s voice, accompanied by Sayo’s and Kaoruko’s surprised faces made me flinch.

“I-Is it that strange?” I-It’s not like everyone stops at every food stall they come across, right?!

“We are fixin’ dat.” Kaoruko-chan suddenly grabbed my hand, and pulled me towards the stall. Well, more like I allowed her to pull me. “Now.” 

“I’m sure you’ll like them, Utena.” “Yeah, trust us!” It’s not like I needed extra convincing to get one...

...

Shortly after, we found ourselves sitting besides a fountain, crepes in hand.

I wasn’t really sure of what to order, there being a lot, a LOT more flavors than I expected, so I went for something simple that I knew I was going to like. Cream, strawberries, and cherry sauce.

Kaoruko besides me had gotten one of cream, chocolate, and little cookies. It looked delicious.

The others though...

“Utena, if yah’ll only learn one thin’ from me in yar entire life, let it be this.” She motioned at Haruka-chan past her, with a crepe filled with some type of mushroom. And then at Sayo-chan, on my other side, with one of green tea cream, kiwis, and cheese. “Never order dah same as any of those two. Haruka’s obsession will drive you crazy, an’ Sayo will order stuff even she doesn’t know if she’ll like ‘em or not, an’ will eat ‘em even if she doesn’t.”

“Ahahaha... I’ll make sure to remember that...” I haven’t even imagined there would be flavors like that...

...Still...

I look at Sayo’s crepe, as she bites into it. She has a shocked expression for a moment, before switching to a contemplative one, and then just one of confusion.

...I wonder what Kiwi-chan and Korisu-chan iare doing... I hope nothing dangerous, considering they are...

...No, I have no right to worry about that. I’m a Witch too. If anything, I have a worse history than th- ‘Munch’

I’m taken out of my thoughts as I notice Kaoruko-chan getting away from my crepe. Leaving a bit mark behind.

“Mhm~.” I looked incredulous at her, at the heinous act of stealing my food, an act so heinous that even a Witch is shocked by it, as she chewed and gulped it down. “It’s great to have yah here, Utena~. Ah don’t have many chances tah eat ‘em, an’ when ah do, neither of those freaks order anythin’ ah’m willin’ tah steal~.”

“...Are you begging for punishment~?” Kaoruko-chan froze for a moment, and the others flinched, as I spoke. Taking the chance, I dived right into her crepe.

‘Munch’

I happily chewed as she looked at me with a shocked look. “You were right...” I gulped down the creamy goodness. “They are delicious~.”

With a stomach full of cream, I walked alongside the others into the clothing store. As we did, I looked over at Utena, who appeared to be in a good mood after having crepes for the first time.

She surprised me quite a bit before, and the same appears to be the case for the others. Her tone of voice and words sent a shiver down my spine.

N-Not in a bad way! She did nothing wrong!

I-In fact, it was quite a pleasant sensation, a nice surprise!

Just... I wasn’t expecting such an authoritative tone from her. And for it to feel so natural... And still, used so playfully.

I guess this is what happens when you get to know people better. You learn about more sides of them. Kaoruko also ended being a lot different than we thought, once we got to know her.

I idly looked at the clothes in the display mannequins as I had such thoughts. 

“Hey, Utena-chan, what type of clothes do you like?” Haruka asked Utena as she held a shirt with a weird print in the front.

“Uh? Ummm...” She took a moment to think about it, dropping the skirt she was holding. Apparently, a bit unsure on what to answer. “...I guess clothes that cover my body entirely? Aside from that, I’m not too attached to any type of fashion. Though, I would rather avoid anything too flashy.”

“Mmm. So, yah don’t like showin’ off your body?” Kaoruko commented as she looked at a pair of pants.

“Mmm, not really. I don’t think I have a problem with that, I just like how the clothes look by themselves.” She turned around to focus on the talk. “I’m alright with showing a bit more, I just like how the clothes themselves look.”

“Ohhh, I get that~!” Haruka enthusiastically dropped the shirt to join. “In the end, all that matters is that you like how it looks, right?!”

“Then, how about we do a shuffle?” The three of them focused on me with curiosity, as I jumped into the conversation. “We all choose an outfit we would normally get for ourself, but instead, the one at our left gets to wear it.”

“Oh, that sounds fun!” Haruka was the first one to jump at the idea, to nobody’s surprise.

“Sure, why not? Sounds fun~.” “I-I’ll try to choose something nice.” Kaoruko and Utena joined right after.

And so, the first of many outfit shuffles, if I get my way making this a normal event, started.

...

I looked at myself in the mirror of the changing room, wearing the outfit Haruka chose. It was quite far from what I normally wear, but it was quite comfortable.

A pair of brown overalls over a long-sleeved white shirt with ‘Summer’ written in the front, with a pair of sandals. 

It felt a bit tight in my chest, but otherwise, it was quite comfortable.

Nodding at my reflection, satisfied, I walked out of the dressing room, and looked at the other ones. I was the first to come out.

Waiting just a few more seconds, the second one came out. 

Kaoruko was wearing the outfit I chose for her, a baggy yellow sweater with a plain white skirt, and a pair of heeled boots. If it was me, I would wear a ponytail with a ribbon alongside it, so it fits her perfectly today!

“You look wonderful, Kaoruko!” I grasped my hands in joy. That she looked so good in the outfit I chose filled me with pride.

“Thanks, yah too. Lucky dat Haruka didn’t choose anythin’ weird~.” She joked as she pointed at Haruka’s dressing room. Just a little bit too loud, so she would be heard.

“Oh come one, what part of my usual clothes is weird?!” Haruka immediately came out of the dressing room, wearing the clothes Utena chose.

It was a white sleeveless sweater that slightly hugged her curves, with a pale purple layered skirt that reached her ankles, with its layers spread unevenly and almost chaotically. Below it, she had a pair of short white boots with a small heel.

“You look pretty, Haruka.” I happily told her. Utena made a nice choice.

“Y-Yeah... Y-You look cute...” Kaoruko managed to barely say it out loud, embarrassment clear on her face. I acted as if I didn’t see that.

“Ehehehe~. Isn’t it~?” She twirled around, holding her skirt high like a princess. “You two look great too! I feel like I could eat you both!”

“E-Eat-?!” Kaoruko flinched, her face red, something I definitively didn’t see.

“We are only missing Utena.” I looked at the last changing room, awaiting for her to come out.

“Utena-chan, let’s go!” “Wha- Haruka-chan?!” She wasn’t willing to wait, entering the changing room and dragging out an embarrassed Utena moments later.

She was wearing Kaoruko’s choice, a puffy black long-sleeved and open-shoulder top that left her bra straps visible, and ended right below her breasts, exposing her waist to the world. Below she wore tight blue jeans and a pair of black boots that ended right below the knee.

She probably pulled it off better than Kaoruko would, even if neither have too much of a figure.

“D-Don’t enter while I’m still changing!” She looked embarrassed, tightly hugging her waist, as she complained to Haruka.

“Come on, you were already finished!” No complaint registered in her brain. “And you look cool! You have to show it off!”

“Ugh...” Giving up, Utena just stood tall as Haruka deposited her in front of us. “H-How do I look...?”

“It suits you well, Utena.” She didn’t have quite the ideal waist for it, but besides that, the style looked very good in her.

“Oh... Yeah, it looks nice~.” Kaoruko seemed to agree. 

“I-I see...” Utena looked relieved at hearing that. It made me happy that I made this happen.

“Hey! I’m going to wear this out of the store, you three joining~?” Haruka’s words took the three of us by surprise.

I wasn’t really planning on buying the outfit, and even less to walk out wearing it... But on the other side, I barely touch my pay for my work as a Magical girl, nor the share I get from the sales of my merchandise.

“Sure, I’ll do it.” If I don’t use that money for special occasions like this, when will I?

“Sure, ah’m joinin’ too.” Kaoruko probably thought the same as me.

“Ah...” I froze for a moment, and my, and Kaoruko’s and Haruka’s eyes, fell on Utena.

...I... Forgot. We have money to throw away without worries, but... The same’s not the case for Utena.

The look of regret on Haruka’s face said it all.

“I-I’ll join too!” She said with clear hesitation in her voice.

“O-Oi, yah don’t need tah buy it if yah don’t want or can’t!” Kaoruko slightly panicked voice pleaded to Utena.

“T-That’s right!” I tried to help, hopefully being able to hide my own panic. “Just because we are doing it doesn’t mean you should!”

“Yeah, it’s fine!” Haruka held Utena by the shoulders, hiding her own panic far better than us. “It’s just a spur of the moment thing! We shouldn’t be throwing our money away so easily either!”

“N-No, i-it’s fine!” She insisted, slightly in panic herself. “I got a bit of money recently, so I can pay for it! I just wasn’t expecting to spend it today... But... I-I want to share the good moments with you three, even if it’s accompanied by slightly unpleasant ones! It’s worth it!”

I couldn’t say anything against that. 

How could I?

How could any of us?

Ah passed dah pack of strings for mah guitar to dah clerk. This was a nice chance tah finally get a replacement, since last time ah lost mah chance when Magia Baiser attacked.

As dah clerk checked dah price, ah looked to dah side, noticing how Sayo was lookin’ with curiosity at a saxophone. Interestin’ choice if she wants tah go for it, not somethin’ ah can help her with though.

“Hey, Utena-chan, check this out!” Haruka enthusiastically brought Utena a disc case as she searched dah discs section. “It’s an album from a Virtual Idol I follow, the shinning comet of her generation! I always listen to her when I f-... When I study at home!”

“Oh? Is she good?” Mah eyes fell on Utena, an’ ah kinda zoned out of what they were talkin’.

Damn... She looked good on dat, but it kinda feels like we pushed her tah buy it, when she really couldn’t afford it...

But how could ah step her after dat...?

She pretty much declared she wanted tah be with us for good an’ bad... it’s stupid, with it bein’ all ‘bout damn clothes, but it still hits home.

“Oh, you should check them out!” Mah senses returned as Utena enthusiastically pushed a case tah Haruka. “The Sky Signs are a British group of Magical Girls that also work as professional musicians! I have most of their albums!”

“It’ll be-“ Ah just pass dah money tah da clerk before she could even say the amount, hurrying tah go back to ‘em.

“Listenin’ to music from all aroun’? Nice~. Ah should check ‘em out~.” Ah already listen to ‘em, though.

“Ehehehe...” Haruka looked away, slightly embarrassed. “I don’t really listen to anything from overseas... I can’t get into it if I don’t understand the lyrics...”

“Ah’ll give ‘em a listen, then. Ah understand English decently well~.” Though speakin’ it is a different story.

“Please do, they are great!” Utena’s eyes were pretty much shinning. Oh goddess, ah know ‘here this is goin’. “They are an unusual team where each member has a variation of the same type of Magic, each of them based on music but with a different instrument as their weapon! Apparently only one of them could actually play the instrument before becoming a Magical Girl, but after realizing that actually knowing how to play it made their Magic more powerful and precise they all practice like crazy to improve with it! Eventually, they became so good that they were scouted by a music agency and formed an actual band! They do concerts, but since they have to protect their city, they are all local, which ended increasing the tourism and-“

She continued gushing her soul out ‘bout those Magical Girls, to dah point ah worried she would end hurtin’ her throat.

...It was kinda cute. Whenever she speaks ‘bout Magical Girls it feels like when Haruka speaks ‘bout mushrooms. Just a little weirder, bein’ a Magical Girl mahself.

We sat down at the restaurant, eager to have a bit of a late lunch. I ordered chicken curry on rice, Haruka-chan a hamburger steak with a mushroom sauce, Sayo-chan an extra spicy beef curry, and Kaoruko-chan some kaarage.

“Will Sayo-chan be alright...?” My eyes were set on her plate. Just looking at it made my tongue burn... Curry shouldn’t be bright red...

“Don’t worry, she manages spice very well!” Haruka answered as she cut into her steak, the meat pretty much melting into juice under the knife.

“Well, I’m not sure if I manage it well or not, it IS still quite painful.” As if to made her point, she brought a bit to her mouth. Her entire body shuddered, and a small tear formed in the corner of her eye as she chewed. That she could actually gulp it down both impressed and terrified me. “But it’s so tasty~.”

“Weirdo.” Kaoruko-chan jokingly said as she dipped her kaarage into some mysterious sauce. “Remember what I told you before Utena. Never forget.”

“Yeah... I don’t think I would survive that.” Now I truly comprehend that her lesson was truly to guarantee myself a long life.

I shuddered when just imagining that curry getting close to my mouth. It was pretty much a chemical weapon, maybe as bad as whatever Gepard threw at me yesterday...

“...Sorry, when ah picked dat outfit ah wasn’t thinkin’ we would walk out with it. Ah should ‘ave picked somethin’ warmer.” She suddenly said on my side, regret clear in her voice.

“Ah- N-No, it wasn’t that! It’s not that cold!” Well, it IS cold, but not enough to be a big deal! “I was just shuddering at thinking about that curry!”

Don’t feel bad about it!

“Ohhh, I totally get that! I once tried it out, and I thought I was going to die!” She sounded way too enthusiastic about that... “In fact, Kaoruko-chan once did, and she ended in the hospital!”

“That bad?!” And why do you tell it as if it was a funny story?!

“Always remember that lesson Utena...” Kaoruko-chan talked with a distant, regretful look. “Always...”

“So you learned it the hard way...” So Sayo-chan is eating an actual chemical weapon...

“I-It’s not that bad...” Sayo-chan shrunk into herself, looking embarrassed.

...

As we finished lunch, we devolved into a mass of discussion and laughter.

It was pure joy.

Was this what having friends was like? Having a group of friends with which to have dumb fun?

I really have been missing out.

‘Hahahahahahahahaha!!!’

‘Wha-?! Why are you laughing?!’

The memories of yesterday came back with that thought.

Memories of pain, fear, anger, and losing control of myself. And also memories of laughter, fun, and unexpected connections.

...I wonder... If I’ll feel the same way with them.

If I’ll end becoming good friends with that pair of Witches...

I took out my phone, looking at the group chat. There were a few more messages.

「GodBowsToMe」: “Ahhhhhhhh!!! I was trying to cook a Baumkuchen, but forgot it in the oven while watching Ourtube! I was plannign to sahre it with you guys, dammit!”

Attached to it, there was a photo of Kiwi-chan crying besides a piece of charcoal.

「WarCatrime」: “It’s my fault... Should have kept an eye on her, expecting she would mess it up.”

「IronGiant」: 

「Wonderland」: 

「WarCatrime」: “Ohhhh, that Emote looks like meeeeeeeee!!! NICE!”

“...Pft!” I failed to keep that laugh down.

What is she even doing?

「PetalaViolacea」: “I’ll eat it anyways.”

I sent a quick response, and put the phone down. 

So she wanted to cook something for us...

...Maybe things will be fine.

“Oh, something funny?” Haruka-chan just brought my attention back to the table, expectant eyes set on me. “Tell!”

“O-Oh, it’s nothing important!” Can’t exactly explain that. “Just something dumb~.”

Dumb and nice~.

“Should we get dessert?” Sayo-chan thankfully changed the subject.

“Dessert, eh...?” It did sound appetizing. After all I ate today, I was far from hungry.... But why n-?

‘Magical Girl’

My thoughts were cut short as my attention was suddenly forced into the conversation of the table besides ours. A pair of girls were happily talking, and I’m sure I heard them say ‘Magical Girl’.

‘What would I do if I became a Magical Girl? Well, of course I’ll...’

Oh, it’s just that sort of conversation. I was hoping for something more interesting...

My attention returning to our table, I was met with the knowing look of those three. Looks like my swift of attention by just two words didn’t go unnoticed.

“...Ahahaha...” I nervously scratched my chin. Even if they know of my love for Magical Girls, I just acted like a dog hearing the word ‘food’...

“...Say, Utena...” I sat my eyes on Kaoruko-chan besides me. She was lazily resting her head in her palm, but for some reason, she sounded more serious than usual. “If yah had dah chance tah become a Magical Girl, would yah take it? An’ why? What would yah do with dat power?”

“Uh? Become a Magical Girl...?” ...Mmm, I would definitively take the chance if I got it, that’s precisely how I became a Witch, but why...? And what would I do then...? “...I would take the chance, no doubt about that! As for what I would do... I would love to fly freely in the sky, and do all kinds of fun things with Magic! And fight alongside the other Magical Girls! It would be great if I got some sort of Flower Magic~.”

It would be so much fun~. Just being able to play with Magic, without having to worry about being pursued by the Magical Girls or some Evil Mascot blackmailing me into committing crime.

And of course, fighting alongside the Tres Magia!

There was a short silence as the three stared at me, until it was broken by a tiny laugh.

“...Kuku...! Yeah, dat’s ‘bout what ah expected of your answer~.” Kaoruko-chan chucked in her palm, while the others just looked at her with faces I couldn’t quite read. It sort of looked like relief, but it didn’t really fit given the context.

Still, the laugh made me feel a bit insecure about my answer...

“I think that’s a good answer...” Gh-Mor behind me said, slightly offended in my stead.

“W-What would you three do if you became Magical Girls, then...?” I shrank on myself, and threw the question back at them.

For some reason, Karouko-chan’s laugh seemed to intensify at that.

‘Cough’ Fortunately, she seemed to calm down once Sayo-chan loudly coughed in her fist, a very clear ‘Calm Down’. “Well, if I were to become a Magical Girl, I would fight to stop the Witches. They have been causing problems for too long.”

“Oh, I would protect the people!” Haruka-chan jumped in immediately after, happily and seriously giving her answer. “Be it crime or accidents, I would fly everywhere and save everyone!”

“Ah would make a lot of money, and have fun fightin’~.” Now that answer caught me off-guard. “Though, if ah can make money while doin’ dah right thin’, dat’s a nice bonus~.”

“...Stopping the Withes, saving people, and doing the right thing...” ...They... Have such selfless reasons... Mostly...

...I... Have I ever thought about using Magic for Good... When dreaming about becoming a Magical Girl...?

...

After a long day of fun, that felt way too short, I finally made my way home, slowly walking deep in thought.

“...G-Mor...” She looked at me as I called her, the walk until now way too silent. “Am I... A bad person? I... Never thought about using my powers for Good...”

“...I...” She fell in thought for a moment, idly adjusting her hat. “...I’m not sure... I have been worried about causing trouble for others... But I never thought about HELPING them either...”

...Maybe...

...Maybe I could have never become a Magical Girl in the first place...

“...Maybe I was born to be a Witch...”

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 5: A Villain Among Heroes - Intermission

After greetin’ Mom an’ tellin’ her how dah day went, an’ gettin’ slightly chewed over for eatin’ so much delicious trash, ah walked tah mah room an’ happily fell face-first into dah bed.

“Ahhhhh, what a nice day~.” Ah stretched mah sligthly sore body, enjoyin’ dah annoyin’ rather dan painful sensation of a day of fun with dah girls. “Ah hope we get another day like dat soon~.”

With so much work as Magical Girls, it’s rare we get an entire free day like this. Especially since dat Witch, Magia Baiser, appeared. She may not be attackin’ every day, more like once a week, but because of her we got dah press beggin’ for more interviews an’ stuff. An’ Vatz wants us tah go tah all of ‘em, tah calm an’ reassure people dat things will be fine, dat they are protected.

Seriously... Those Mascots have good intentions, but they forget dat their work ethic is inhuman.

Well, ‘least we got a nice free day today, an’ could finally go out with Utena. Felt kinda bad that we got so busy dat she had to wait this long...

Still...

Dah memory of Utena in dah clothes I chose for her came tah mind. Her naturally, though a bit uncared for, slender figure really pulled off somethin’ dat showed it off.

...It was worth dah wait.

It was cute how she got embarrassed when tryin’ those clothes, an’ ah feel a bit guilty ‘bout dat... But she looked good on ‘em, so all’s fine. Ah wonder if Sayo felt dah same...

Ah slightly pulled at mah new skirt, which Sayo was so happy tah see me in.

...Ah guess it IS kinda fun tah get others tah wear your style.

An’ even if she was embarrassed at first, she looked pretty happy dah rest of dah day. She normally has a gloomy aura ‘round her, but once we start talkin’ tah her an’ havin’ fun, she really relaxes, an’ finally shows her smile.

...Well, dat is, until she has tah speak tah a clerk or pretty much any stranger, and she devolves back into a shy, chaotic mess.

“...Kuku!” It IS kinda cute to see dat~.

Though, cute or not, a smile really suits her dah most. Especially with those tiny fangs of her pokin’ out. They are cute~.

Another set of fang-like canines came to mind. Those coming from a far less pleasant smile, from a far less pleasant person.

“...Ah gotta catch dat girl soon...” Vatz may worry too much about keepin’ dah people feelin’ safe, but in dah end, it’s dah truth.

We are dah only line of defense between civilians, and dah Witches. Between Utena and whatever dat crazy Witch will do next.

Ah may not be a Magical Girl out of altruism, but if ah can get dat girl to feel safer... Well, ah should go an’ do mah work. 

Next time, she’s not gettin’ away. An’ once we capture one of them, dat will lead us tah da rest of Enormeeta.

‘Hey Kaoruko, I’m getting home now.’

“Ugh!” A headache sharply digs into mah head, as dah telepathic voice of Angoramon assaults it.

‘Oi, don’t so loud, dammit!’ Ah send mah own voice back. Something far less painful than just receiving one.

‘O-Oh, right... Sorry...’ She sounded truly sorry. This was honestly rare of her, she doesn’t forget stuff very often.

‘Ahhh... Doesn’t matter. Nowadays it’s bearable, it doesn’t feel as if mah brain was split open ‘nymore.’ Still not a nice experience, but more annoyin’ dan painful. ‘Ah’ll go meet you up.’

Ah pick up mah Digivice an’ Transform. A bit annoyin’ dat we have tah do this every time she goes out, but if she just entered dah house like anybody else, someone would eventually notice.

There is a limit tah dah Recognition Inhibition magic.

...

“...What do yah mean Salamon cleaned dah floor with you two?” She doesn’t HAVE HANDS!!!

The faint light of the chessroom was weaker than normal, reacting to my mood.

I slowly extended a hand towards the board of Enormeeta and Tres Magia, towards Enorme’s piece. The temptation to destroy her piece, and then her, was strong.

Her impulsive actions put the plan at risk. 

Her need to one-up me was becoming more and more of an hindrance, and my patience with her was running out.

It would be so easy to just break her piece, take her off the board, and re-arrange the plan.

Just do it. I’m sure I can think of some direction to pivot the plan, that would still result in the desired outcome.

Enorme has grown too big of an hindrance, and at this rate she’ll ruin everything. Better to get rid of her before the worst possibility happens.

She has become too dangerous anyways, more than calculated. Letting her follow up with the plan could destroy the last hope of it working.

...But her role is still too important.

I frustrated pulled back my hand, before doing something I would regret.

It is too late to pivot to a different plan. There are too few turns left, and even if this first half ends as planned, it’s just a matter of time until my sabotage gets fixed.

If we don’t win by then, we will lose, with no possibility of victory anymore.

If only we had more turns...

If only I hadn’t messed up...

..No.

Atiraf is still out there working relentlessly and tearing apart her own pride to make this all work. If she can do it, then so can I.

The plan will work.

Besides Lord Enorme, things have been going better than expected. As few turns we have left, we are still ahead of schedule.

In just a few more months, Hiiragi Utena will be ready.

My emotions were a mess. I was happy for the great day I had. I was heartbroken by my realization. I was hopeful that if I couldn’t be a Magical Girl, I could make it work out as a Witch. I was confused as to why I was hopeful about that.

Ghostmon was worried about me, but she didn’t say much on the trip home. She had her own worries, that question having gotten to her too.

With those conflicted thoughts in my head, I opened home’s door and walked inside, coming across Mom while she chilled in the living room.

“Welcome back~. How did it go?” She asked before turning, and the surprise was clear on her face once she died. “...Uh... An unexpected change in fashion.”

“Ahahaha...” Right... I forgot that this would surprise Mom. “We did a bit of a style exchange in the clothing store... I ended wearing what Kaoruko-chan would normally buy, and I decided what Haruka-chan would get.” 

“Fufufu~. Sounds like you had fun~.” Her surprise quickly turned to joy, and just as quickly changed to curiosity. “So, what did you do?”

“Well...” 

...

After talking with Mom for about an hour, I went up to my room. There, Ghostmon was already at the computer, having gotten away from the conversation quite early.

Sometimes I wish I could turn invisible like her...

I threw the bag with my clothes to the side and fell into bed, suddenly finding the ceiling extremely interesting.

“You alright Utena?” She stopped whatever she was doing on it and turned to me, the worry clear in her face.

“Yeah... It’s just...” It’s just... What? What even is it? “...I ask for a different question.”

“...Wanna rewatch our fight with Sulfur?” I visibly perked at that, and the relief on her face was evident.

...I would love to watch it again.

...But...

“...Maybe... We should make a second video...” The words came out of my mouth without really thinking about it, but as conflicted the idea made me feel, it was undeniable that I started to feel energy come back to me just by saying it out loud.

And it also pumped up Mor, if her flames becoming more vivid were any indication.

...Though...

I lightly lifted my top. The bruises in my ribs becoming evident very quickly. They were just barely covered.

“...I’m so glad Haruka-chan didn’t see them when she suddenly entered the changing room...” I don’t think I would be able to come out with a good lie in the middle of panicking.

Mor was still light blue at parts, her injuries being clearly visible once you know how they look like.

“Once we’re recovered... Let’s go out as Magia Baiser and BlackWitchmon.” I saw her happily nod. This was something to look forward to. “For now...”

I got up from bed and reached for my purse, where my Transformation Star awaited.

...

We walked through the hallways of Nacht Base. We didn’t have any objective in mind, it was too entangled to have any. We just walked, and thought.

I will never be a Magical Girl, and could have never been one. I don’t think I ever had the sense of justice I expect from one...

Instead, the idea of going out and causing trouble made me happy...

And now, I walk the halls of Enormeeta, as just one more of them...

Is this what was supposed to happen? What I was supposed to be?

What is wrong with me?

Those kinds of thoughts repeated in my head as we aimlessly walked. That is, until a familiar visage appeared in front of us.

A beautiful garden, shinning under the light of a close planet and dressed in all the colors of the rainbow. Flowers and vines the kinds I had never seen before, with a sweet aroma that enchanted me to get closer... With the intention to eat me alive.

A dangerous, man-eating garden.

And somehow, that made it even more beautiful.

“...Who takes care of this garden...?” It has to be taken care by someone... Right?

“Hiiragi Utena.” We flinched and quickly turned back, getting dangerously close to the flowers. Having appeared behind us at some point, there was Venalita. “I thought I made it very clear last time before you went home to always be Transformed when coming to Nacht Base.”

“A-Ah... Right!” I panicked and almost dropped my Transformation Star as I tried to raise it. “T-Trans Magia!”

The familiar light enveloped us, as we changed into Magia Baiser and BlackWitchmon.

...I had completely forgotten about that part. It just didn’t sound too important compared to the rest...

“Good. You are lucky nobody else is here right now besides me.” I don’t want to know why I’m lucky, nor what would have happened if someone else saw me. “As for your question... I just throw meat and water into the field every few weeks. That’s enough to keep them alive.”

It looked at the garden behind me. To be precise, right at my feet, giving me enough warning to step aside as a vine was sneakily approaching my feet.

“I... I see...” So they need so little care...

“...Still, I just do the bare minimum.” It continued, as if knowing what was bothering me. “If you want them to flourish and grow, salty water, meat, and crushed bone every day should do the job. There is more than enough in the kitchen.”

My mood lifted a bit when hearing those words, and turned back to the garden.

So this is it with just enough to survive...?

How will it look once it grows...?

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 6: Even Footing - Part 1

I walked into the classroom, my mind still on the events of yesterday... Mainly on the image of the plants digging their roots into meat and bone, and how they slowly shriveled and crumbled as their nutrients were violently absorbed.

It was a terrifying sight. And yet...

...An entrancing one.

Plants greedily devouring flesh and bone, and as they did, I saw in first row how their color became even more vibrant, and their petals opened and danced.

It was such a beautiful sight, accompanied with the clear message that they’ll do the same to me if I let them get a hold of me.

Compared to the flowers I just gathered here at school...

The school flowers are like cute, young girls calmly and happily drinking tea and reading books. While the flowers are Nacht Base are like survivors of an apocalypse, their bodies and minds scarred beyond belief, but holding an unique charm from their strength and willingness to do anything to survive, their bodies matured through strife and using their looks to trick the ones foolish enough to approach.

They were both beautiful in completely different ways.

And only I get to enjoy both.

“Utena-chan! Good morning!” “Good morning, Utena.” “Mornin’~.” The girls greet me as they notice me pass by them in the way to my seat. And I can’t stop myself from smiling as I notice how Sayo-chan is now calling me by my name rather than my surname.
 
“G-Good morning, Haruka-chan, Sayo-chan, Kaoruko-chan.” I sit down and take out my books for the first class, Morgana behind me sitting in the air and acting as if she was another student.

I guess that if she’s stuck coming to school with me, she would rather go all the way and try to learn too.

...Wait, is she stuck with me?

It’s not like Mom is home during the day, and if the Tres Magia could just sniff her out and attack her at home while alone, then they could do it while I’m there too...

And if they did, she could turn invisible and run.

Why is she...?

...She didn’t think about that, didn’t she?

I’ll have to ask her later...

“Alright class, shut up and go back to your seats. Specifically you, continue trying to convert the twins during lunch.” “Geeeeh-!” As soon as the teacher entered the room she silenced everyone, and pointed at the white haired gyaru that was leaning over the desk of one of the twins. She let a pained groan, and dragged herself back to her own.

Then, with a glance, she made the tall and scary green-haired girl of the basketball club take her feet off her desk and sit properly.

...I wonder if her eyes have some type of magic.

Maybe she’s a Witch? I’m coming to school as normal even though I’m one, so why couldn’t she be one too...?

...Ufufufu, no chance. The probabilities of being in the same class, or even school, as another Witch or a Magical Girl are so low that they aren’t even worth considering.

“Alright class, today we have a new student joining us.” It was almost impressive how the silent class suddenly erupted into an uproar as soon as those words came out of her mouth. “Shut up!”

And also how quickly it died down with just two words.

“...That HAS to be some form of Magic.” I completely agree with you Mor. Maybe she IS a Witch after all.

She turned to the open door as she kept a look to the class, to make sure everyone was behaving. “Come inside, Araga-san.”

“...Eh?” “...Isn’t that...?” My brain froze for a minute, and could barely process what Mor was insinuating.

No. Nonono, there is no way. It’s not like she’s the only Araga in the world, this is just a coincid-

My brain capacity and rationale was thrown out the window besides me as a girl I had become familiar with walked into the room, her lazy smile, relaxed pose, and half open wine red eyes looked as if she thought she owned the place, and didn’t care that she did. Just like last time.

But this time, she was in my classroom, wearing my same white and green sailor school uniform with a yellow ribbon, albeit wearing red sandals rather than the uniform’s shoes and with a way shorter skirt that fell above her thigh high socks... Albeit one of them hanged loose just above the knee, and wore a big pale yellow cardigan that fell from her shoulders and covered completely her hands.

Behind her, a small horned transparent figure walked with her arms behind her head, humming a song.

Why- Why is she here?!

Her eyes fell on mine, her tired eyes somehow feeling like those of a beast that had just found its prey... And smirked.

“Now, Araga-san, please int-” The teacher didn’t even have time to finish those words.

“Utena-chaaaaaaaaaaaa~!!!” She exploded into a sprint, right towards me.

I didn’t even have time for my brain to process what was happening. Before I could react in any way beyond flinching and barely opening my mouth, before I could even scream, she was already right in front of me... Pouncing right at me.

For a moment, it felt as if time had frozen, as if my brain identified this as a life-or-death situation and went into overdrive. Giving me just a moment to clearly see her in the air, her hands extended and grabbing into me like claws, and the pupils of her eyes turned into slits.

The moment didn’t last long though.

“Gaaaah?!” ‘Thump!’ My chair loudly fell into the ground as I was pushed down by the wild beast on top of me.

“Utena-chan?!” “What is-?!” “Who-?!” “Oi Araga, get off Hiiragi!” I could hear screams all around, but I was in no condition to process them.

I was too focused on the wild beast hugging me on the ground, fondly rubbing her cheeks against mine and kissing it.

...

Having somehow kept the chaos in order, the teacher managed to get Kiwi into one of the only two available seats.

Though, given her display, she was sat in the one near the opposite corner of the classroom, right behind one of the twins.

It was evident that for the following hours, nobody could pay any attention to the class. Everyone spent most of the time either glancing at her or at me. She spent most of it looking at me, as if awaiting the moment she could dart out of her seat. And Haruka-chan, Sayo-chan, and Kaoruko-chan looked at me with curiosity, surprise, shock, and various other feelings as their thoughts on the situation probably changed and their imaginations ran wild.

It felt like Kiwi-chan had set up a bomb in the middle of the classroom, and it was tickling down every second, waiting for the start of the lunch hour to blow up.

Even Mor could feel the tension in the air, and could only look around nervously for the explosion to finally happen. While Gepard appeared to be awaiting to enjoy the spectacle.

And as the last seconds of the clock started to run out, I gulped, and saw Mor float out the window and partially hide behind the wall, nervously looking it at whatever is going to happen.

‘Riiiiiiiiiiiing!’

The bell rang, and everyone in class got up instantly, hungrily chasing the new interesting development that had surged in he class.

But none of them were nearly as fast as Kiwi-chan.

Somehow, rather than getting up, she turned her seated position into a running start, and by the time everyone else had just stood up, she was already halfway through the classroom.

“Utena-chaaan~!” She pounced at me in the same way as before. But fortunately, this time I was prepared.

Just turning on time, I set my arms to catch the beast pouncing at me.

“Guh!” I’m pushed back by the sheer force and momentum being thrown at me, and my back painfully hits against the window frame.

But I manage to keep the both of us from falling to the ground. The entire class freezing at the scene, and one Digimon on the back barely able to contain her laughter.

“K-Kiwi-chan! W-Why are you here?!” I’m finally face-to-face with her as she clung to me. I could see her pupils change back from slits into more normal... Or more like, the circles that any human being should have.

“Huhuhu!” She got off and stood up proudly puffed her generous chest. “I realized that I really don’t care about my old school or the people there, so I got Mama to transfer me to your school!”

“Eh...?” Is transferring that simple...? We just met two days ago... “...You could have just told me you were coming....”

“That would have ruined the surprise~.” ...That’s a good point...? I guess...?

But what a surprise... Does she always take everything to the extremes like this?

As if taking that word as a cue, everyone that was frozen when she pounced started moving again, and we soon found ourselves surrounded by the entire class.

Which ended in me being the one frozen in place under all the attention.

“To what school did you go before?!” “How did you pounce like that?!” “Why did you jump Hiiragi like that?!” “Are you two hurt?!” “Hiiragi, how do you know her?!” “That was a fantastic run! Are you interested in joining our athletics club?!” “No, join the basketball club! That weird running will be a nightmare to compete against!” “How did you skip the uniform rules like that?! I have wanted to change this ugly shoes, but the teachers say I already push it too far!” “Hey hey, did you really change schools because of that?!” “Hey hey, are you and Hiiragi only friends?!” “Hey Hey!” “Do you have have someone special?! Oh, it’s not like I’m interested~. Totally not~.”

My body and mind had gone completely stiff. There was too much pressure aimed in Kiwi’s, and by extension my direction.

“Too many questions~.” Kiwi-chan happily and lazily talked, without a shred of nervousness in her voice. Rather than that, she sounded proud. “Well then! Kiwi-sama will answer to them all! First, I went to-“

Frozen solid by being completely surrounded, I get startled as I feel someone grab me by the arm, and forcefully pull me through the wall of people.

Once I somehow got through, I could see Kaoruko-chan holding me by the arm and panting slightly. Haruka-chan and Sayo-chan were behind her, looking worried.

“Yah alright, Utena?” She slowly said between panting, clearly having had it rough to push through that, and then pulling me through it. “Yah can’t handle dat much attention, right?”

“...Ah... Yes...” My brain slowly managed to restart now that I was free from that mob, and a quick look around showed that besides them, only the class delegate remained at her seat, still processing what was happening and probably deciding if to try to stop it or giving up on that. Meanwhile, Mor had gotten back into the classroom, and was speaking with Gepard. “T-Thanks, Kaoruko-chan.”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it~.” She calmly responded after recovering her breath, going back to her relaxed and elegant posture. “Anyways, it was quite scare tah see yah tacked tah dah ground like dat before. Yah alright? Nothin’ broken?”

“I-I’m alright! Don’t worry, Kiwi-chan is just a bit... Forceful.” Fortunately not, though I think I’m pretty much used to broken bones by now.

“Sooooo, you know each other?” Her worry now replaced by curiosity, Haruka-chan stepped closer. “You two look pretty close~.”

“Ahahaha...” We have only known each other for two days though... But how do I even explain how we know each other...? It’s not like I can just go and say ‘Oh, we are both Witches from Enormeeta’, it would be a disaster... “...We are friends from outside school. I didn’t know she was going to transfer though, she really surprised me there.”

I hope they don’t ask where we met... I have no idea how to answer to that.

Dammit Kiwi-chan! I didn’t come prepared with any sort of backstory!

“Ah don’t think yah were dah only surprised one...” She said as she looked at the mob of people surrounding Kiwi-chan as she talked.

“Yes, seeing you tackled into the ground like that was... Surprising, to put it mildly.” Sayo-chan still looked a bit worried, but appeared to have mostly recomposed herself. “Is she always that... Energetic?”

“Ahahaha... Yes...” You have no idea... “Kiwi-chan tends to take everything to the extremes...”

Like giving you a live hand grenade out of nowhere as a prank, or maybe a test. Or to prove something? ...Uh, I’m still not sure why she did that.

Still... After everything we went through on Saturday, I think I can confidently say that I like her. She may be a bit crazy and push things too far, but I like that extreme honesty of her.

In the end, I think I’m happy to see her again, joining our class.

“...Even so, she’s just being honest about what she thinks and wants to do. She’s a bit hard to handle, but I hope we all can get along.” I still don’t know her very well, but I hope this opportunity can help remedy that.

We met under... Less than ideal circumstances. And she was pretty much the one that made them less than ideal.

But that’s precisely what helped me get to understand her better so quickly, and in the end, somehow, we ended that madness in good terms. So, I really hope we can get to know each other under less... Violent, circumstances.

“Of course!” Haruka-chan responded with a wide smile, not even thinking about it. “Your friends are our friends!”

“Especially with how few yah ‘ave. Any yah do get, must be a good person.” Kaoruko-chan mercilessly threw a jab, or maybe a compliment, at me.

“Kaoruko!” Sayo-chan reprimanded her, but she didn’t seem to care. “A-Anyways! Yes, she’s welcome to have lunch with us. It’ll be a great opportunity to get to know each other.”

“...Thanks.” ...I just hope that Kiwi-chan doesn’t throw a hand grenade at them, or ruins it in a similar way.

“Alright, that’s all the questions~.” Kiwi-chan’s voice resounded louder than before through the mob of people surrounding her. “Now scram! I got interrupted by the teacher before, so I wanna spend time with my Utena-chan now~.”

Fortunately, everyone in class appeared to be understanding enough of that and started to disperse, going back to their usual places during lunch. Some saying a word or two before, promising to talk more about something later, but she was quickly freed to walk to us.

“Hey, Utena-chan~. Let’s have lunch together~.” She happily approached, waving a hand high. Her sleeve swinging past her hand.

“Of course. We are about to put our desks together to eat. You are welcome to join.” I took a glance at the others, just in case, and they all nodded back at me. 

“Sweet~. I’ll go pick up my stuff~.” She lazily walked back towards her desk, and we took the chance to start setting up our desks in place.

As we finished, she came back carrying her chair in one hand and two small boxes in the other.

Fortunately, with four desks we have enough space to accommodate probably 6 or maybe even 8 people.

“Greetins~.” As we sat down, Kiwi-chan half-raised a hand as she looked at the others. “I’m Araga Kiwi, nice to meetcha~.”

“Hello! I’m Hanabishi Haruka, good to have you!” “I’m Minakami Sayo, it’s a pleasure.” “Tenkawa Kaoruko, same~.” They all introduced themselves without incidents.

...I...Was kind of expecting things to go worse from the start, considering how she was when we met.

“It’s good to know that Utena-chan has more friends outside school!” Haruka-chan continued, to start the conversation. “I was under the impression that she didn’t have friends. I think she commented not having any before?”

She looked slightly confused at it, making me freeze in place.

W-What do I do?!

I said we are friends from outside school, but I also told them before that I don’t have other friends besides them!

M-My lie is already crumbling to pieces!

“Oh, that’s because I tend to be pretty busy, so we don’t get to meet very often~.” She lied with a fluidity and confidence that shocked me. “We haven’t seen each other in months~.”

...Did she... Did she already craft a backstory...?

...Wouldn’t it be convenient to tell me about it before?

“Anyways, that session of questions already took enough time, so let’s dig in~.” She happily opened her lunchbox, making us remember we had to eat too.

Everyone opened their lunchboxes, Haruka-chan with her usual mushroom pandemonium, Sayo-chan her normal and varied bento, and Kaoruko-chan the healthy if a bit unsavory lunch she brings 4 out of 5 days per week. And as I peeked into Kiwi-chans...

...Hers looked like a normal bento, but if every piece of it was pushed to the next level.

The rice had been fried to a beautiful golden color and was full of spices, with slices of hard-boiled egg assembled on top in a circle. A salad of lettuce, tomato, pickles, and tuna was set on the side, covered in mayonnaise. For the main dish there was a juicy looking hamburger steak, swimming in a cheese sauce. And on the side for dessert, a tiny donut covered in chocolate.

Everything was kept in their place without spilling with a plastic wrap.

“Woah...” That’s all I could let out as I saw her lunch. But she didn’t appear to hear it, as she had a shocked expression.

“The heck is that...?” Her gaze was fixated on Haruka-chan’s bento box.

...Yeah, should have expected that reaction.

“Ohhhhh, that looks amazing Kiwi-chan!” Haruka-chan didn’t even question her reaction, just focusing on the food Kiwi brought. And that appeared to finally take her out of her shock.

“Y-Yeah, of course!” Having recovered, she boasted proudly, hand to chest. “I made it after all!”

“Oh, you made it?” Sayo-chan sounded genuinely surprised. “It looks so well done... You are really good at it.”

“You bet I am!” She was looking even more prideful with every moment that passed. “If I got to do something, I may as well put my all into it! No matter what it is!”

She then looked at me with a proud smile. “Since we are classmates now, I could make a lunch like this every day, Utena-chan~.”

“Eh?! Really?!” It looks so good... Maybe I should take on her offer...

“And what’s on the second box?” The innocent question from Haruka made Kiwi go stiff.

“Ahahaha... Well...” With a lot less confidence, she slowly moved to it, and slowly revealed its contents. A slightly burnt baumkuchen. “It was going to be to celebrate my transfer, so I was going to eat it with Utena-chan and Korisu, but... Well, I got distracted with my phone while cooking it~. Korisu made clear she wouldn’t eat it, but Utena-chan said she would eat it anyways, so I brought it~.” 

“Kiwi-chan...” She’s so considerate... “Of course I’ll eat it! You put a lot of effort into it after all.”

“Yaaaay!” She threw her hands up in happiness. It was quite the endearing sight.

“Will yah be okay, Utena?” That endearing moment was interrupted as Kaoruko looked doubtful at the baumkuchen. “Is it even edible? It looks pretty badly burnt...”

“Uh? Of course it’s edible, I put a lot of effort into it, you flat bitch.” Everyone froze in place at those words. 

“K-Kiwi-chan...?” D-Did she just...?

“...Effort doesn’t amount tah much if it ends like dat, no matter how much a cow works into it, yah know~?” My blood started to run cold as Kaoruko answered back, her tone icy and venomous. 

The shocked and nervous faces on Haruka and Sayo made especially clear this was bad.

“Uuuuuh?! Well, at least I have something to brag about~. What do you have, eh?” Kiwi answered with the same level of icy hostility.

“Ah have a brain, which appears yah threw away tah send all dah matter tah yar udders~.” H-Her what...?

“Uhhhh, you wanna go, bastard?” Kiwi started to slowly raise up from her seat.

“Good for me, ah’ll rip those udders off, bitch.” Kaoruko followed up, slowly raising up.

T-This is bad, right...? This is very bad, right?!

“G-Guys, pl-” “Please, don’t fight, Kaoruko-chan, Kiwi-chan! L-Let’s try to get along, alright?” Haruka tried to stop them, but I ended interrupting her in a panic.

I-It would be very, VERY bad if those two fought!

Kiwi may end killing her by accident, even without her Magic!

And I’m not entirely sure it would be an accident!

“P-Please...” I begged at them with my eyes. They looked ready to jump at each other’s throats, and every second that passed felt like minutes.

““...Tch!”” They both looked away, and slowly went back to their seats.

Ahhhh... Crisis averted...

They both still looked pissed, but at least they weren’t going to fight. Haruka and Sayo on the other side looked at me with surprised expressions.

I-I guess I don’t tend to assert myself so much, it may have surprised them...

Still... I really hope this doesn’t become a problem going forward...

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 6: Even Footing - Part 2

We walked together after school was done, having a photo-shoot to attend to as Tres Magia... But the air was tense.

Haruka looked uncharacteristically nervous, and even Renamon, Angoramon, and Salamon looked tense and like they didn’t know what to do or say. And the reason for that was clear.

Kaoruko walked behind us, an irritated look on her face, like she was one slight away from re-arranging someone’s facial structure, as if it was an art project. And the reason for that was also clear.

Araga-san was... An energetic girl. A bit overbearing, but she seemed nice to be around, and after checking the cooking process of a baumkuchen on my phone, I got quite a bit of respect for her. But how things went midways...

“...Kaoruko...” They all tried to hide their quiet flinch as I broke the ice and called to her. “...I know her response was overblown, but... I checked how those are make, and making a baumkuchen is at more than an hour of non-stop and careful work even in the easiest and fastest recipes... so... Well...”

Her irritated gaze fell on me, and my determination to calm her down started to waver. She was... Quite scary, when angry. Especially when that anger pointed in your direction...

“...What... What Sayo is trying to say...” Fortunately, I was saved by Renamon, that noticed my distress and stepped up. “...Is that maybe your own response was also overblown.”

When Kaoruko moved her gaze at her, now looking ready to re-arrange someone’s face, I could instantly see how her posture lose its strength, and distress and regret was sent to me through our connection. And right after, I could feel a telepathic connection open between all of us, except with Kaoruko.

‘HELP! I regret getting in the middle! Someone else, please, calm her down!’ Her voice resounded in our minds. A desperate plea for help.

I have to help her...! But I’m scared of becoming the target too!

I haven’t seen her that angry since the day we recruited her into Tres Magia!

And I REALLY don’t want to be on the other side of what happened that day!

“I get you are angry, but... You probably made her that angry too.” Coming to everyone’s rescue, Angoramon made herself the focus of Kaoruko’s anger. “She was probably hurt when you said that about the cake she made. Even if it may have been true, she put a lot of effort to make it for her friend, to celebrate that they would finally be able to spend more time together.”

“...Tch!” Thankfully, she redirected her anger at the ground. “...Ah know dat. Ah get it. But still... Ah don’t like her.”

Well, if she gets it... But I doubt we can make them like each other any time soon with how their first meeting went. I was sure they would end fighting, that not even Haruka would be able to calm her down. Well, not unless she physically restrained her.

...And still, Utena managed to stop both of them. Looking back on it, that was quite impressive.

“Why don’t you like her?” Haruka, by surprise of everyone and also nobody, asked the question that already had a clear answer. “She seemed nice.”

“...Ah know her type. Dat girl is dah kind who sees herself as better dan everyone else. Ah can tell.” ...Uh? Really? She seemed quite proud of her work, but nothing that extreme... “Ah have met too many people lookin’ down on me. Ah can tell when someone does.”

“Uh, really? I didn’t notice.” Haruka accepted it in an instant, and got quickly got contemplative. “Still... She didn’t show any bad intentions, and shared the baumkuchen when I asked for a slice... Even if she feels like that, as long as she tries to be good and kind, shouldn’t we reciprocate?”

“...Grrrrr...” She irritatedly scratched at the back of her head, below her ribbon. “...Ah’ll try. Ah’ll try...”

...It still surprises me how mature Haruka can be sometimes...

With Utena keeping them off each other’s throats and Haruka reasoning with them, maybe by the end they’ll be able to understand each other and become friends...

“Enjoy your food~.” The waitress set up our plates of waffles and drinks over the small table. They were completely covered on honey, with a variety of fruits and berries on top and scoops of ice cream on the side.

“Woah, this is so cute!” Kiwi was all over the table, taking photos of it from every possible angle with her phone. Half of those including herself posing on it. “Utena-chan, let’s take some pics! This one’s going on my feed!”

It was quite a cute phone, with a bright yellow case with mouse ears.

“P-Please don’t upload any pics with me in them!” I-It’s embarrassing!

“Hey, is taking photos fun?” Mor asked from besides me to Gepard, who was seated on top of the wooden partition that separated our table from the ones on the other side. The small bushes growing in the little garden on it passing through her holographic body.

...How does that work, anyway? Shouldn’t she also pass through the wall?

“Oh, we have taken turns taking photos at Nacht Base while Transformed. It’s pretty niiiiiice~.” Gepard gave an answer that made my heart stop for a moment.

“...Uhm... Kiwi-Chan... You aren’t thinking of publishing ‘Those’ photos, right...?” She’s not dumb enough to do that... Right?

“Uh, which ones? Me as Leopard or me Nude?” I almost bend over from the shock of hearing that, and she let a loud chuckle. “Dihahaha, of course I’m not publishing them in my account~! They are going to the organization’s socials once I make my debut~.”

“So you’ll post them...” Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever checked what exactly is posted on it... Maybe I should check that out later.

“You should post some toooo~. You already debuted, so you can get a headstart from us!” Gepard talked enthusiastic about it, as if it was something to be happy about. Though, maybe for them, it is.

“Are you two treating this like being youtubers or something...?” I... I guess actual Magic does make for great videos. Many Magical Girls have their own Channels, and I spend maybe too long watching them. “A-Anyways, Kiwi-chan... Can we talk about today...?”

“Sure, Utena-chan~.” She relaxedly said as she cut and ate a large piece of waffle, the honey dripping from the corner of her mouth. “Ohhhhh, it’s so good! The sugar’s taking over my brain~!”

“W-Why did you suddenly transfer to my school...?” It’s not like I dislike it, but it was quite sudden... “And how did you do it so fast...?”

“Oh, what I said at school was the real reason~. I didn’t have anything tying me to my old school, and I wanted to be your classmate, so I transferred! There is nothing else to it~.” Eh?! That was really it?! Just like that?! “As for how I did it so fast... I asked Mama to transfer me, and Venalita to hack schools computers to speed up the process~. And also to guarantee we would be in the same class!”

“...Eh?” “...And Venalita just did it?” Mor asked the question that I was too stunned to put out. That’s... Quite helpful coming from it...

“Of course~! She’s quite helpful, you knoooooow~.” Gepard happily said from the side something our brains could barely process. “After recruiting us, she spent quite a bit of time teaching us at Nacht Base how to fight, and teaching Kiwi and Korisu how to use her magiiiic~.”

“...Eh?” They are joking... Right? “Venalita trained you all...?”

“...You are joking, right?” Mor, I seriously hope they are.

“Yeah, of course~.” Kiwi answered it as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “We needed to learn to use our Magic before going out to fight, right? So we trained against Minions to see what we could do, and learn to put out our Domains. It still bothers me that Alice has 2 Stars more than me~. Did your training go differently?”

“...” “...” We both went silent, trying to somehow process what we just heard, as Kiwi happily ate another piece of waffle.

“...We... Didn’t get any training.” Mor was the first one to recover and say what was in our minds, so I finished for her. “Venalita just made us Transform and then threw us against the Tres Magia on our first day...”

They both went silent at that, this time their turn to be stunned. Though in their case it didn’t last long.

“DAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Gepard exploded in laughter, doubling over as tears started to stream down her face. “SHE MUST REALLY HATE YOU TWO!!! DAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

“Kuku...!” Kiwi looked aside, asphyxiating as what she was eating got stuck when she tried to laugh too. It didn’t take long until relief came to her face, and she gulped down. “Daaaaamn~. You were playing on Hard Mode, uh~? And even skipped the Tutorial~.”

“I wasn’t even given the choice to play it...” Maybe Venalita does hate us...

“What did we even do to put Venalita against us...?” I wish I knew Mor...

“A-Anyways, let’s put that aside for now...” I REALLY don’t want to put that aside, but there is something more important I wanted to discuss. “...About how you and Kaoruko-chan...”

Her face instantly went sour, looking to the side in irritation.

“That annoying midget...” She muttered with a tone of absolute frustration.

You aren’t even that much taller than her... You are shorter than me, and I’m below average...

“Dahaha!” Gepard laughed on the side, pointing at Kiwi. “You aren’t fixing thaaaat~.”

“Kiwi-chan... Don’t you think you... Pushed it a bit too far?” Even if we put the insults aside, they were about to resort to fists in the middle of the classroom...

‘Thumb!’ “Guuuuuh... It’s not my fault!” I jumped a bit as she punched the table. “She insulted my baumkuchen! That thing took hours to make! Next time I see her, I’m blowing her up!”

“P-Please, don’t go that far!” “S-She’s Utena’s friend!” “If you do that, we are getting found ouuuuut~.” Somehow, even Gepard was on our side on this one. Not like it worked to calm her down.

Still, if she says she’ll blow her up... I can’t avoid thinking that she is serious. Especially considering how we first met.

“Don’t worry! I’ll Transform first to hide my identity~.” She happily raised her thumb at Gepard, as if that solved the problem.

...It’s good to see she’s at least thinking calmly enough to not blow up her secret identity... But I don’t want it if it’s about killing Kaoruko-chan!

“S-She probably didn’t know how hard those are to make... And Kaoruko-chan can be pretty direct with what she thinks... But, she’s a good girl. Can you... Give her a chance...?” I really want those two to get along, if we’ll be classmates...

“I don’t wanna.” She looked away, pouting with a frustrated expression.

“Ugh... Kiwi-chan... Please...” How did those two end fighting like cats and dogs so fast...?

Fortunately, my plead appeared to have some effect, as she seemed to be swung by my plead for a moment. But she still remained pouting.

Ugh... What do I... If I had someone to help... But I don’t think Mor could help...

Looking to the side at Mor, she instantly confirms my suspicions, nervously looking away. She had no idea what to do or say here to convince Kiwi... Still, that gave me an idea.

I looked at Gepard, I put the best pleading eyes I could. The kind I would use with Mom when I wanted some extra money to buy new merchandise.

And to my surprise, she smiled back with a raised thumb.

“Weeeeell, that’s to be expected~. Kiwi is so immature after aaaaall~.” There was a slight flinch from her. “I bet that girl, Kaoruko, already forgave and forgot, like a properly mature person... But there’s no way our Kiwi could eeeeeeever do that~. She’ll never be mature nor smart enough for thaaaaat~. Unlike that other giiiiirl~”

“OI!!!” Kiwi immediately shouted, looking at us with a furious face. The people on nearby tables all turned to us at the sudden outburt. “I’ll have you know that I’m plenty mature! There is no way that bitch is more mature than me!!! Forgive and forget?! Well, I don’t even remember what happened?! What are we even talking about?!”

...Ah...She’s an idiot.

“K-Kiwi-chan, don’t make a scene!” I whispered as loud as possible to her, feeling the penetrating gaze of everyone around. “I-If everyone’s paying attention to us, then we can’t talk about the other stuff!”

“...Hum!” She sat back straight, and in a bad mood quickly ate a huge piece of waffle. “Mmmm~!”

Fortunately, it looked like tasty food was enough to improve her mood.

‘Gulp’ “Aren’t you gonna eat too? You haven’t even touched it since we started~.” Her mood having made a sudden 180º, she pointed at me with her fork.

“Ah...! Right, I kinda forgot...” I got distracted with what we were talking about... It would be a waste to not eat it after we came all the way, even if I just wanted a somewhat private place to talk... Though now that so many people are aware of me, it feels a bit embarrassing...

“Here, try it~. Say ahhhhh~.” “Eh-?” Suddenly, she picked up the remaining piece of waffle and shoved it into my mouth before I could react, leaving eating as my only choice.

It was... Unbelievable soft. The flavor was mild, but all the honey on top penetrated into it, making it unbelievable sweet. “Mmm~.” It was so tasty... 

I want to come here together with everyone later....

“Eheheh~. You’re so adorable, Utena-chan!” She looked fondly at me, as she slowly pushed the fork and I finished eating.

“W-What are you doing, Kiwi-chan?!” That’s so embarrassing!

“Awwww, you’re blushing~!” She lightly laughed, and all tension completely disappeared from the table.

“Hey Mor, say ahhhhh~.” “Y-You aren’t holding anything!”

...

After eating, we ended just wasting time going through shops, looking at plushies, and even watched a movie, during which Kiwi fell asleep on my shoulder halfway. 

We just had fun, until the sun started to go down and the sky turning orange.

I held tightly the bag holding my latest two acquisition, one mine and one Mor’s.

“What’d you get, Utena-chan?” Kiwi looked curiously at the box, having gotten distracted looking at figurines from Kaiju movies and missing what I bought.

“I bet it’s whip or something like thaaat~.” “It’s not!” I quickly refuted that wild claim, almost by instinct.

How did she even think that? This was a figurines store!

“It’s a treasure!” Mor proudly intervened, happy with her purchase. I couldn’t have said it better.

I slid the top box out of the bag, showing her my new relic. “It’s a figure of Magia Azul. This one just came out.” It was a great design, with 9 frozen fireballs around her. Though I doubt if she would actually freeze fire, especially her Partner’s, during a real fight, but her majestic figure surrounded by pillars of frozen flames was such a cool and beautiful image... It was worth every yen!

“And I got one of Magia Blanc, wedding dress version!” ...How much longer do I have to wait for Azul and Sulfur to get figures in wedding dresses? I want them...

“...Hum...!” Kiwi suddenly started to pout. “Come on! Why are we talking about that stupid booba monster right now?!”

“S-Stupid?!” “Y-You are about the same size!” That’s not the problem here Mor! What does she mean ‘stupid’?! ...Ah, right. “R-Right, sorry. I forgot you said you hated the Tres Magia.”

I carefully put the box back into the bag. This had been a day with many raise and falls, so I would rather not make her end it in a bad note.

“...Mmm...” For some reason, now she looked at me with a thoughtful expression as we walked. “...Y’know, Utena-chan, you’re a lot different when you’re Transformed.”

“Uh?” Where did that come from?

“Ahhhh, I know what you mean. She’s quite different, isn’t she?” Eh? Wait, you think the same too, Mor?

“Yeah! She’s totes unhinged! This is completely different to her when we were fighting!” I-I think being in the middle of a fight may change things a little...

“But isn’t that normaaal...?” Gepard looked at us, confused. “I feel different when I Evolve into LeutnantTailmon, and that also happens to ToyAgumon when going into WonderGuardromon. Isn’t the same for you too, Mor?”

“Now that you mention it... I do feel more confident as BlackWitchmon, and start getting an itch to mess up others...” Don’t you mean ‘mess up with others?’. “Maybe it’s the same for everyone.”

“W-Wait, I don’t like how that sounds!” T-Transforming alters our personalities?! Are we being brainwashed?! I that even me when I Transform?! “I-Is that why I can’t hold back, even though I know it’s wrong?!”

Is this all the result of some weird type of brainwashing?!

“Does it mater if it’s wrong? We are the bad guys.” Kiwi looked pensive, but unbelievable relaxed in front of this possible disaster. “Also, I don’t really feel any different when I Transform.”

“...Eh?” That can’t be! It’s totally affecting me!

“Then why is Utena so different?” Mor looked like a bit irritated at her theory having a hole.

“Well, there is a pretty important difference... We are Humans, you are Digimon. Even if you two Evolve when we Transform, they are still different things, aren’t they?” She happily raised a finger to point at me, as if she had solved the mystery. “Digimon change when they Evolve because they are weird like that! Utena changes when she Transforms because she’s a freak!”

I tumbled back, those words feeling like a spear stabbing through my chest. I could do nothing more than cover my face in shame.

“So it WAS all me!” Dammit, being brainwashed would have been a convenient excuse to not assume responsibility of my actions! “Ahhhhh, how can I keep saying that I was forced into joining if I’m doing all of that on my own?!”

“There, there, calm down Utena-chan~.” She lightly patted me in the back, trying to make me feel better. “Don’t worry, you look totally hot when doing it!”

That doesn’t make me feel better!

“Ehhhh, so you were forced into iiit?” Gepard looked quite surprised at that. “What a way to join~.”

“Was that not the case for you too?” Was I the only one forced to join...? “How did it happen to you, Kiwi-chan?”

“How I joined? Well...”

‘Click’

Nice! That’s a perfect photo!

In the partially cracked screen of my phone, I could see my beautiful face laying in bed, cutely holding one of my pillows as I lazily side-view the camera.

“Wow, I look totes cute! I’m so posting this one!” I happily flapped my legs behind me as I opened Snitter. A few of the various things thrown around my bed fell to the ground as I moved, but I doubt anything will break. “Gimme those likes~!”

Let’s see, throw the photo in, and... “What do say with it? ...Mmm... ‘Ready to go to bed, but no intention to sleep~.’!” That’s a nice one!

And... Post!

Now, to wait for the Likes~.

‘Snit!’

“Oh, I got one already!” Sweet, my followers are so fast!

The last one got about 400 Likes, so maybe this one will reach 500~? Bring them all!

“Uh?” What the hell is this?

Looking down my timeline, I saw a post by some nobody I follow.

‘I ran into those Magical Girls! They are so cute!’ The post had a photo of three girls in frilly identical outfits of different colors, floating in the air. Below there were links to the accounts of those girls.

It had 500.000 Likes.

“Who the hell are those idiots? Why’s this post popping off?” Who the hell cares about them? Japan doesn’t even need Magical Girls!

“Why are there so many Li- The hell is this?!” Opening the account of one of those girls, she had 1 million followers.

“Why does this random girl have so many followers?! All she does is fly around with powers that someone gifted her!” I bet she’s an asshole off-camera! Those twin-drills must be to catch people’s attention! “...Ugh, pay more attention to me! I deserve it more than her!”

“I’m WAAAAAAY more cute than her! And smarter! And I dress better! And I’m just better!” I trashed wildly in my bed out of frustration, sending clothes, underwear, makeup, snacks, a pillow, and something I don’t know what was flying out. “Dammit, I hate Magical Girls!”

Fuck them all! They did nothing to deserve those powers, and even less the attention! “Geh!” I stop when a pillow I sent to the ceiling decided to obey gravity, and fell right on my face, making me bite it by accident.

“...Grrr! How do I...!” There has to be a way to get more popular than those Magical Girls, but how... “...Oh, I know!”

I’m 14 now, so there is a method barely legal I can abuse!

...

I carefully set the phone at what I assume must be the perfect angle, at least according to the 10 minutes of research I put into this.

Pointing slightly at an angle to the point between my legs as I spread them to the sides, covering my naked body with my hand so nothing important is visible, my shirt raised to show my entire underboob but still covering my nipples.

If I post pictures without the hand, I WILL get in trouble, so not doing it until I’m old enough to not risk my entire account for doing it~.

“And set!” Set in position with its back to a plushie, I use my now free hand to lightly cover half my face. Now, I just need to give my best smile, and all those suckers on the Internet will be coming to me!

The countdown for the photo was short, giving me little but still enough time to get in position.

3...! 2...! 1- “Eh?!” The screen suddenly turned black.

Did I forget to charge it...? No, I’m sure I did.

“...Did this piece of trash finally break?” With how many times it fell, I’m surprised it lasted so long. But that’s quite the time for it to break.

‘Ding’

The idea of it being broken was quickly betrayed by a tiny sound, that came as a small white and pixelated letter appeared on screen. And then another, and another, until it formed a sentence.

A question.

‘Do you hunger to be above everyone else, no matter the cost?’

...Fuck, I got my phone hacked.

Below those words, there were two buttons, one light blue and green saying ‘Yes’, and one red and orange saying ‘No’.

“...Eh, already got hacked, what’s the worst that could happen?” With the hand that was supposed to cover my privates, I clicked on ‘Yes’.

I AM above everyone else, after all. And for those still above me, I’ll eventually surpass them!

Nobody can stop Kiwi-sama!

After clicking it, the screen returned to normal... Except that there was an App I didn’t have before.

“...Fuck, they installed something.” Well, they would have done it regardless of what I pressed, so not my fault~.

‘Swirl’ 

I froze for a moment, as something like a whirlpool of black smoke suddenly formed over my bed, and from inside, something came out. One of those things that are supposed to work with the Magical Girls or something, whatever they were called.

We just looked at each other for a few seconds, while I was still in a pretty risky position.

“Hey, how’s it goin’?” The thing casually spoke, breaking the silence.

“Ah? Who the hell are you?” Can’t she see I’m a bit busy right now?

“Do you hate Magical Girls?” “Hate ‘em.” I didn’t even need to think the answer.

“Wanna take ‘em down?” “Hell yeah!” The weird rabbit thing is starting to speak my language!

“Our organization battles Magical Gir-” “I’m in!” Witch time baby!

“And that was that~.” She happily said, as if remembering a fond memory.

That’s it?! Really?!

“Really?!” Mor, stop reading my mind and asking the questions I don’t ask myself! I know you can’t do it, so how do you do it?!

“But what about world domination?” That’s the objective of this group, right?

“Don’t care about that at all~.” Ehhhhh...? “Ah, but, like, before, I wanted everyone in the world to tell me how cute I am....”

She stopped, and looked back at me. A fondness clear in her eyes. “But now, I’m happy just hearing it from you, Utena-chan~.”

“...Eh?” Wait, is saying...? T-That’s happening too fast!

“Oh, yeah, Utena-chan!” Ignoring my shock, she just reached into her bag, and pulled out... Her Transformation Star. “Since we are here, let’s have my debut~.”

“Wha-” “Oooooh, yeaaaaah! Let’s have some fun!” Gepard interrupted my scream of surprise and confusion, while Kiwi raised it to her chest.

“Tra- Mhm?!” I quickly reach for her, covering her mouth and grabbing her hand, forcing the Star back into the bag.

“W-Wait! You can’t just do it here!” Has she gone insane?!

“Mmhmmh- Ah! Why not? There is barely anyone here, and the ones that are here won’t even remember my face is they are asked later, they aren’t paying attention~.” How carefree can she be?!

“There could be cameras! Or someone actually paying attention! You can’t just do it anywhere!” Is she really an idiot?!

“Yeah, I think she’s riiiight~. You are a dumbass for trying here~.” Gepard just found the situation as an excuse to dig at Kiwi.

“Tch, alright. Let’s go to a public bathroom so I can have my debut already~. Utena-chan got us beat by quite a while, so it’s about time we start~.” She turned back to walk to the nearest bathroom, without a care in the world.

“Wait right there!” I grabbed her by the shoulder, forcing her to stop.

What she’s about to do...

I can’t allow it!

It’s completely unacceptable!!!

“You can’t just do it like that!” That’s wrong in too many ways!

“Eh? Why?” She just looked confused at me.

“Utena’s right! Where is the drama?! The emotion?!” Mor started spilling out what was in my mind.

“Drama?” “Emotion?” Kiwi and Gepard just looked at us, incapable of understanding what we were clearly letting them know.

“It’s your debut! Your debut as Tres Magia’s enemy! You can’t just appear out of nowhere!” That would be terrible, a shitty and completely unremarkable event!

“Yeah! Ours got ruined because of Venalita! Don’t ruin yours too!” Mor looked offended at the idea of don’t making the most out of it.

I grabbed both her shoulders, and made her look me in the eyes.

“Wednesday. We are doing it Wednesday. I’ll think of a way you can make a memorable entrance, just give me until Wednesday! I’ll ask Korisu too to join, so just wait a couple more days!” Two days is enough to think of something! Damn, in worst case scenario I would do it in 10 minutes!!!

“Ah... Okay...” Her answer sounded as if she didn’t even understood what I was talking about.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 6: Even Footing - Part 3

“See you tomorrow.” “See you~!” We waved at them as we walked out of school, our groups going on different directions.

“See you later, Utena-chan, Kiwi-chan!” “Have a good rest of your day, you two.” “Later, Utena-han~.” They warmly waved at us... Well, almost.

“Oi, aren’t you forgetting someone, flatie?” Kiwi sounded and looked pissed. And it had quickly been also passed onto Kaoruko.

“Oh, sorry~. With the same IQ as a rock, I mistook you for part of the gravel~.” She mercilessly and sharply dig at Kiwi.

“You wanna go, shrimp?” She smiled sharply as a vein popped in her head.

Ugh, they have been like this since yesterday.

“Let’s get to it, I’ll tear your ti-” “L-Let’s go, Kaoruko-chan!” Haruka grabbed her by the shoulders, and interrupted yet another fight as she dragged her away.

“L-Let’s leave it at it for today, Kiwi-chan. We have things to do today.” “...Hum!” Fortunately, she just looked at Kaoruko one last time before walking away.

I wonder if there is any way to make those two get along better...

...Though, it’s not like they are avoiding each other. They just verbally attack each other both with or without provocation, and don’t look especially resentful about it afterwards...

...Are things going well, are slowly building up to a disaster?

“So, Utena-chan~.” I’m brought back to reality as she looked back to me, a smile wide on her face. “What’s the plan for today~?”

“You said you would have it for Wednesdaaaaaay~.” Gepard dug more from the side, anticipation clear on her inhuman face. “Well, it’s now time~.”

“...Yes, it’s about time we start, isn’t it~?” I couldn’t hide the enthusiasm in my voice. What we were about to do was deeply wrong... And still, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at the idea.

“We spent the last 2 days discussing how to do it!” Mor seemed to share my hype. “Maybe we could have done something better with more time, but I think we got something pretty good for today!”

“Sweet!” “Niiiiiiice!” They looked more than ready to start.

“Just let me call Korisu-chan first...” I took out my phone to send a message to our shared chat.

「PetalaViolacea」: “Korisu-chan, ToyAgumon, when you can, can you come to the agreed place? We’ll start soon.”

“Alright, now let’s just wait for her answer.” It shouldn’t take long. Hopefully.

“Great! Let’s kill those Magical Girls!” ...Eh?

“I’ll fill them with lead and pump them with so much toxic gas they’ll blow up like a balloooooon~!” That’s scary!

I almost panicked. I had to stop them fast...

“P-Please, don’t kill the Magical Girls!” “W-We aren’t aiming to kill!” Even if we are the Villains, I really don’t want to seriously hurt them!

“Uh, why?” “Aren’t we the bad guys?” I-I get why they are confused, but still...!

“T-The world needs the Magical Girls! A world without Magical Girls is not worth it!” What would I do without someone to simp for?!

“E-Exactly! It would be grim and boring!” Mor was getting it perfectly.

P-Please, don’t insist on this...!

“Mmm... Don’t get it! But doesn’t matter, if you say to not kill them, then I’ll just beat the crap out of them!” “That sounds fun too~.” Fortunately, they both quickly agreed to it.

“Girls...” They are surprisingly cooperative... I should properly thank them for that later.

‘Brrrrrr’

My phone vibrated, and I quickly checked the message I got.

「Wonderland」: 

The smile returned to my face.

It is time.

“Now, smile slightly sideways to the camera!” Sulfur and Leomon did as the photographer said, Leomon standing behind with her sword unsheathed and looking ready to pounce, while Sulfur was at the front conjuring two small shields in her hands. Both with confident smiles.

‘Click’ ‘Click’ ‘Click’

Me, Haruka, Nefertimon and Youkomon looked from the side as we listened to the instructions of the director.

Today’s photography session was going to be rather long, but hopefully it would be done before dinner. 

I worry a bit if we should really be doing this at such a time. That Witch is still roaming free, and rather than being out there patrolling, we are here getting photographed for a magazine.

I should be out there, exposing myself to danger and...

‘Let’s have even more fun next time~.’

My blood froze for a moment, before my heart started beating rapidly as the words of the Witch came back to my head. 

‘Looks like we’ll have to cut it short today, I would rather have a more... Private, time.’

Her venomous... And sweet, smooth voice resounding in my head. A terrible, so terrible voice, that somehow felt like...

NO!

I shook my head, ignoring the curious glances from the others.

What am I thinking?!

Put yourself together!

How would I face grandma if I allowed myself to have such disgusting thoughts about an evil Witch?!

And this is an Enormeeta Witch, if I let my mind wander at the wrong moment, it’ll all be over!

The barrier set up to protect this building from attacks should keep those Witches out, and with the protection ritual that Youkomon performed on it, it should be more than strong enough to keep out most Witches...

...But I don’t like to put that to the test against their Leader. 

I should focus against any surprise attack, no matter how safe it may feel at the time... Last week I was took down way too easily for not paying attention...

For how little time that girl has been a Witch, at least according to the Satellites working at Cosmo’s Castle, her ability to hide her Magic until she attacks is way too good...

If we aren’t careful at all times, then...

Magenta and Nefertimon suddenly flinched, the later’s fur standing slightly. Something that could only mean one thing.

Moments later, my body was covered by the strong presence of a Witch Transforming. The familiar sensation of a corrupt, dark, and negative magical wave softly washed over my body.

It didn’t feel as strong as last time, but it felt strong enough that she must be somewhere in the city. But it also felt... Sharper, than the last times. As if the magic slowly prickled at my skin.

We all shared a quick look, and ended saying the same through telepathy.

‘‘‘‘‘‘It’s Magia Baiser!’’’’’’ Our six voices resonated in our minds.

“Agh!” A small scream of pain could be heard from the side, followed by another voice. ‘Don’t speak all at dah same time, dammit!’

‘‘‘‘‘‘Sorry...’’’’’’ We all realized our mistake and quickly apologized. Which was another dumb mistake, as another, although smaller, scream came from her.

‘Yah fuckers...!’

...

Having informed the people of the magazine and left, we quickly approached the source of the dark magic on the opposite corner of the city. She wasn’t even trying to hide.

‘Kyaaaaaaaa!!!’ ‘Run! Run!’ ‘It’s Enormeeta!!!’

People screamed below us as we flew, running from the terrible figures that were looking at us, as if awaiting for our arrived seated over a monster as if it was her personal throne. Patiently waiting with a smile the few seconds it took to reach her.

“What are you doing here, Enormeeta?!” Magenta shouted as she pointed at Magia Baiser with her spear. And her smile only grew more at the action.

Magia Baiser and BlackWitchmon were seating over an enormous mass of twisting black belts. It must have been at least 10 meters tall and wide, and the only thing that indicated it was a single creature was the two red lights on the inside, that felt like eyes looking at us. It had put together a bundle of belts on top to make a makeshift throne for Baiser to sit on, while Witchmon sat on the armrest.

They weren’t calm, as if that wouldn’t have been bad enough. Instead, they looked almost excited at our arrival.

‘Oi, girls, ah’m having a very bad feeling ‘bout this.’ Sulfur’s voice reached to us in our minds. Saying what we all must have been thinking.

‘I agree. This is the most obvious trap, I have ever seen, and I have fallen in plenty.’ Nefertimon was looking around with clear suspicion, and she wasn’t the only one. Youkomon was sniffing for any DigiMinion or one of her monsters that may be in hiding, and I carefully looked around, trying to not get my eyes off of her.

This was a trap... But what WAS going to trigger, we had no idea...

Wait, that is...!

‘Girls, look at BlackWitchmon!’ My eyes focused on the Witch’s Partner, and the others followed. ‘Her Stars...!’

BlackWitchmon had 2 Stars in her thigh, putting her at about the same level of strength as Magia Baiser. That was the usual thing, a Digimon tends to be slightly stronger than their Partner, usually having the same or 1 more Star than them.

Now, she had 3 Stars aligned in her thigh. 

‘She has already grown stronger...!’ Leomon’s frustrated voice resounded in our minds, pointing out what we all already understood, but would have rather not accept.

They are growing even faster than the specialists at Cosmos’s castle calculated... If it continues like this, it will be just a matter of weeks before Baiser herself develops a complete third Star...

...And who knows how far she’ll go if she’s allowed to roam free for months.

...The only thing certain, was that she wasn’t playing around this time. ‘This isn’t a random attack... This is one of Enormeeta’s hunts! They must feel they are strong enough now!’

Everyone tensed as I spoke. Even if they weren’t necessarily scared, they all knew what this meant. They had decided it was our turn to be taken out.

And Enormeeta very rarely failed!

“...Fufufu!” Breaking the silence, Baiser slowly got up, the throne disappearing into belts as she did, and Witchmon just floated in the same position as she sat before. “Oh, it’s nothing special... I just reaaaaaally~ wanted to see you all~.”

Her words sent a shiver down my spine. All my instincts were telling me to be careful.

‘Girls, be on guard, I can feel her Magic growing. She’s ready to take all of us on.’ Magenta’s voice resounded in our minds, the warning more important than ever before. ‘Remember: According to the analysis, in terms of raw power only I, Neferti, and Leo should face her, and Sulfur if she enters Assault Mode. Let’s follow the plan they gave us for this situation: Azul, Youko, keep on the back and watch out for more of her monsters and any support that’ll come, while harassing those two with ranged attacks. Especially for the Witch with the control/paralysis Magic, Youko, try to sniff her out. Sulfur, keep the gauntlets for later to not exhaust yourself too fast, and keep a shield prepared at all times for emergencies. Leo, deal with the monster, since it’s created by Baiser’s Magic, it’s considerably weaker than her, so just be careful of unexpected attacks and abilities. Neferti and I will handle them directly. Everyone got it?’

‘Understood!’ I was so glad that telepathic communication was three times as fast as normal speaking. Planning in the middle of battle like this would be impossible otherwise.

‘For some reason, she hasn’t installed her Domain yet, so dat’s both a relief an’ worryin’.’ Sulfur said so, but she was mostly relieved. Fighting inside a Domain was always extra hard. 

Worries aside, things are looking in our favor now. We can do this!

‘Hum... Magenta, there’s already a problem in the plan.’ Uh? What do you mean?

We followed Youkomon’s tail as she pointed at the side of Baiser... As a human figure, completely wrapped in belts and struggling to free herself, emerged from inside the monster.

“...Dat bastard...!” Her words said what we all must have been feeling at the moment.

“Oh~? Does that mean I got your interest~?” “I can make it more interesting if it doesn’t~.” The joy with which Magia Baiser talked right after revealing her hostage, and how BlackWitchmon pointed her staff at her was disturbing, frustrating, and infuriating.

If she has a hostage...!

“That’s dirty! How can you use a civilian as a hostage?!” Magenta let out all of our feelings, the disgust in her voice feeling very clear. “Do you want to take us down that much?!”

‘Change of plans!’ Magenta’s voice resounded in our heads as she shouted at Baiser. That she could speak physically and telepathically at the same time never stopped to impress me. ‘Hostage situation! Open negotiations, and try to create an opening to release the civilian before whatever she has planned happens!’

We all kept a serious look on our face, our gazes fixated on those two and trying not to show that we were scheming something.

‘Azul, freeze the Schiavo as soon as you have the chance. It’ll stop it from crushing the civilian when given the order, and I’ll take the chance to release her and take her to safety. Leo, Neferti, engage them while I do that, though it’ll be ideal if you can take her down before I come back!’ We all sent a quick telepathic affirmation, trying to not show it on our faces.

Hostage situations were, and will always be, tricky. And this Witch has already shown that she not only is willing to injure powerless civilians, but also derive a sick pleasure from the act.

We need to thread this carefully, so we can create an op-

“A Hostage? You misunderstand me~.” Baiser feigned being hurt, as BlackWitchmon took her staff away from the hostage. “You don’t need to worry, I have no intention of hurting her. No matter what happens, none of us will hurt her.”

“...Uh? Really?” That was obviously a lie, but Magenta still believed it. “Will you really not hurt her?”

One can only wonder how she can have so much experience, and still be so naive...

“Of course~! I won’t hurt her, nor threat to hurt her if you don’t follow my demands nor anything like that! I promise!” Her smile grew as she spoke, and I could feel my and Youkomon’s instincts screaming. “We’ll just fight like normal, and you all will have to be VEEEEEEERY careful not to hurt her by accident~.”

“...Eh?” We were all shocked at those words. Those utterly merciless and insane words.

Before we all could get out of our shock, she took a handful of scissors and threw them in the air, hitting them with her riding crop.

In a flash, the scissors became dozens of beams of light that shot in our direction.

“Guh!” We had no time to get away nor even block. The only one that managed to protect herself in time was Sulfur, covering herself with a barrier that covered her body.

All I could do was cover my body with magic as much as I could at the last second, before a sharp pain similar to half a dozen paper-cuts covered my body.

A buzzing sound surrounded us, as what looked like a swarm of hand-sized insects flew around us. But on a closer look, they were butterfly-like monsters, with scissors as their wings. 

A quick look at the others to confirm the damages was both worrying and relieving. While Sulfur was safe, everyone else had multiple cuts around their bodies, including myself. But they weren’t too deep, and the ones in Nefertimon and Magenta were especially shallow... Though, all of our clothes were worryingly tattered, and they probably wouldn’t survive another wave.

While feeling embarrassed at the cuts in my uniform that almost exposed my nipples, I noticed one of those insects had been frozen solid inside the cut it made. I broke it off and threw it to the ground, noticing half a dozen of frozen-dead monsters on the ground, transforming back into broken pieces of a pair of scissors.

Fortunately, with my wounds frozen, I didn’t have to worry about the bleeding. The pain could be ignored... But it felt almost reinvigorating. The adrenaline may be doing its job, so may be better to focus on the pain and embarrassment.

‘Girls, how do we-!’ ‘Auch, that stings!’ ‘How do we deal with this?!’ ‘They move fast!’ ‘They frozen when-!’ We all telepathically spoke simultaneously, in a slight panic at this unexpected attack. This Witch’s Magic could do way too many things...! “AGH!!!” ‘DON’T SPEAK ALL AT DAH SAME TIME!!!’

“Oh, those poor Scissorflies can’t even touch you two, Azul, Sulfur~.” Baiser pointed at us with her riding crop, a confident smile firm on her face and her voice playful and almost flirty. “But can you stop a swarm~?”

The swarm flying around us started to get agitated, getting ready to strike again.

“Sulfur!” Magenta shouted in alarm, and Sulfur didn’t need any other explanation.

Extending her hands, a large dome barrier surrounded us all, stopping the ‘Scissorflies’ right on time. They all struck and stabbed at the barrier with their wings, but they couldn’t make any damage on it.

“Grrr...! Yah damn Witch!” The anger in her scream could have melted my ice. “Yah say dat yah won’t hurt dat girl, but yah’r usin’ her as a shield!!!”

Baiser just continued to look confident, as BlackWitchmon on her side started releasing her Agony Shocks, one after the other, letting them float freely in the air. “...So what? If you don’t like it, save her~.”

If looks could kill, the way Sulfur looked at Baiser would have already ended the fight.

Regardless of that, the barrier is buying us time, but they must have something planned for this. A way to break it. Otherwise, she wouldn’t look so confident.

We must get rid of the Scissorflies, and fast. And to do that...

I take a quick look at my frozen wounds, and at the broken scissor pieces lying down in the ground.

...Either spend most of my Magic to freeze all around us, or take the attacks of them all on myself.

I open my mouth to speak, but before I can tell the others to stand back, a large tail lightly pushes me aside.

Youkomon gives Sulfur a look, and they both nod to each other. Getting the message, I stand back.

“Homuradama!” She released the 9 fox fires from her tail, sending them to the borders of the barrier, surrounding us in a square shape.

“Sulfur Shield! Double Layer!” Sulfur created a second shield inside the first, leaving the fires stuck between the two. The strain from layering shields was evident in her face. “And... Release!”

The outer shield vanished... And right after, the fireballs glowed brightly. 

‘BROOOOOM!!!’

“Grrrrr!!!” Explosions surrounded us completely, and Sulfur growled painfully as her arms trembled, trying to keep the barrier up and the explosion out.

Moments later, we were surrounded by a cloud of some, and the buzzing of dozens of giant, metallic insects had completely stopped as Sulfur finally allowed herself to drop the shield.

“Neferti!” “Magenta!” Calling at each other, Magenta charged her magic and swung her spear in a wide arc, while Nefertimon flapped her wings, as they circled each other. A huge gust of wind quickly blew the smoke away, recovering our vision... 

...Right on time to see the giant Schiavo in the air, pouncing at us.

“...!” I tight the grip on my sword by instinct, preparing to strike at the creature, just like the others. But the person trapped in front of it made me doubt.

“Dammit!” Another Shield is created right in front of us, the Schiavo hardly crashing against it, its momentum completely stopped. But rather than falling, the belt monster grabbed the edges of the shield to keep itself on the air, and its belts started to circle around the edges.

The creature was surprisingly determined... But this time, it was to our benefit!

“Magenta!” ‘Let’s release the civilian now!’ The monster was right in front of us, stuck at Sulfur’s shield. There won’t be a better chance than this!

“Right!” ‘Freeze it and...!’ She stopped for a moment, quickly looking alarmed. “Where’s Baiser?!”

I had no time to think about the question nor curse my slip of attention, before the sound of the consequences of our inattentiveness resounded in our ears.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” “ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!” Sulfur and Leomon’s screams of pain could have shattered glass. I turned right on time to see Magia Baiser and BlackWitchmon struck down at the screaming pair, still stunned by the unbearable pain they were just made to go through.

‘SLAP!!!’

The sound was sharp, almost as sharp as they cut through the air while being sent straight into the belt monster, the barrier separating them now gone, letting the monster be claimed by gravity.

“NO!!!” Magenta shouted, as the two quickly sank into the moving sea of black belts. The last thing we saw of them was Sulfur’s outstretched hand, reaching towards us before being consumed by the mass of black leather.

“MAGENTA, RELEASE THEM!!! WE’LL DEAL WITH ENORMEETA, GO NOW!!!” I pretty much dragged Youkomon by the neck towards Nefertimon. There was no time to lose.

Magenta looked doubtful for half a second, but quickly dived down towards the monster.

‘You two, to the sides!’ Nefertimon’s words resounded in our heads, and we just nodded as she darted straight towards them. We flew around, moving to encircle the Witches.

It takes barely a second for her to get to them. Baiser’s confident smile visibly strains, turning into a mix of nervousness and excitement. I start creating ice blades around me, while Youkomon on the other side created and released her 9 fox fires.

Swiping at them with her claws, Nefertimon clashes against the wall of golden chains created by BlackWitchmon. She easily bulldozed through that wall, sending the witch flying to the ground, impacting loudly against it.

We release our attacks, dividing them between both Witches. Magia Baiser tries to push back as Nefertimon continued her charge towards her, but her back ends against one of Youkomon’s fireballs.

‘BOOOM!’

With a small explosion, Baiser is painfully pushed towards the quickly approaching beast, any possibility of escape consumed by the fire.

BlackWitchmon below barely managed to avoid the initial barrage, and used her chains the block what she couldn’t. But her shield ended frozen and then shattered in the process. She somehow got away mostly unscathed, but she got too far to assist Baiser.

Magia Baiser is forced to block the incoming swipe with her riding crop, but is completely unable to stop Nefertimon’s charge, and is quickly tackled into the ground. A raging beast keeping her in place, her hands trembling trying to keep herself from being stomped into a pulp.

We focus our attacks on BlackWitchmon in part to not hit Nefertimon, and in part because there was no need to worry about her anymore. A bright red light started to shine in her mask, as she looked down at Baiser.

“Curse of Queen!” Magia Baiser twisted her neck to barely avoid the beam melting her face, just lightly searing her hair instead. But eventually, one will hit, or she’ll be crushed under Nefertimon’s paw.

‘Oi, yah guys outside, how’s dah situation?!’ Sulfur?!

‘Sulfur, are you alright?!’ ‘ARE YOU HURT?!’ ‘Did the Witch do something inside there?!’ ‘How long will you last?!’ ‘GAH! SHUT UP, DON’T YAH SPEAK ALL AT DAH SAME TIME!!! And we are alright, just can’t move a muscle. Leo is trying tah free her sword tah get us out. Don’t worry ‘bout us, we’ll get out. Probably.... Maybe.’ I don’t like the lack of confidence in that statement...

‘Got it! I’ll focus on rescuing the civilian first!’ Magenta didn’t even consider doubting Sulfur’s words.

Magenta slashed at the monster’s dozens of belts sent to restrain her, swiftly flying into close-quarters and cutting off the entire area where the hostage was kept, releasing her. And as she reached towards her...

“...! MAGENTA!!!” I screamed, but it was already too late.

With Magenta completely focused on the hostage that was just a few centimeters away from her hand, she didn’t notice how from behind the captured civilian, two giant shotguns suddenly emerged from black portals, pointing at her.

‘BROOOOOM!!!’

With the deafening sound of a twin pair of shotguns firing together, everyone froze in place, only able to watch as Magenta was wrapped in a cloud of smoke and fire as the bullets outright exploded on impact, and was sent flying back, a small canister following her, and the moment it caught to her when she managed to stop in mid-air, it exploded in another cloud... But rather than a black cloud of fire, it was a cloud of a sickly looking yellow.

Meanwhile, the ‘hostage’ slowly raised her arm, completely unimpeded by the belts covering her body, a small gun magically appearing on it. And she spoke words that shook the entire battlefield.

“Install Domain: Guerrilla Warfare.”

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 6: Even Footing - Part 4

A familiar wave of light quickly passed us by, covering the entire the street and buildings around us in green digital patterns. But our eyes were focused on the form freeing herself from the belts covering her body.

She was short but stacked blonde with her hair in large buns, wearing a manic grin under a modified green military uniform that left her hips and thighs exposed. Her modesty protected only by a thin black thong.

From below her, a small figure covered in black and pink fur with long ears and a tail emerged from inside the belt monster. An unknown Digimon wearing a pink and white military uniform, carrying a rifle with a grenade launcher and wearing a gas mask.

The Witch’s Stars were not visible, but the Digimon had 2 Stars in the fur of her tail. So the Witch most likely had 1, maybe 2. Not really a threat for Magenta, even with a surprise attack... But I got a bad feeling about it!

“Wahahahaha~, you fell for the great Leopard’s trap!” “Now enjoy the ‘gift’ of the amazing Gepard, dumbaaaaaass~!” Their introduction was loud and confident, but as soon as I snapped to my senses I looked at the yellow cloud of smoke.

If she’s wearing a gas mask, then that is...!

The cloud of smoke quickly fell off Magenta, being heavier than air, revealing her figure. Her clothes were slightly tattered and her body was covered in slightly burns and scratches, nothing serious, the shotguns didn’t appear to have too much power...

...But she was crying, and her entire body was trembling.

“How do you like my cocktail of neuro-toxins?! I bet you won’t last loooong~. Nyahahahahaha!” The cat Digimon removed her mask as she laughed, and her words sent a chill down my spine.

A neuro-toxin?! “MAGENTA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!” That’s bad, that’s really, really bad!

“I-I’m fine!” Her voice sounded shaky, but she held her spear tightly as she entered a combat form. “I-I’ll deal with those two while you girls finish over th-!”

“Don’t even try~!” The Witch, Leopard, lowered her gun towards Magenta... And besides her and Youko, a portal opened, giant rifles coming out of them. “Blow up, you idiots~.”

“Mag-!” “Azu-!” ‘Click’ ‘BROOOOOOOOOM!!!’ My voice and Youkomon’s superposed, before being covered by a loud explosion, and pain suddenly coursed my entire body.

It took me an instant too late to realize that one had also appeared besides me, way too late to avoid getting shot.

It wasn’t too painful, the Witch clearly lacking in power... But the true pain, came from where the explosion sent me to.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” “GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” “GYAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” We all screamed in pain, as the explosions threw us into the various Agony Shocks that BlackWitchmon had spread around before.

The pain coursed deeply through my veins, feeling as if my entire body was asphyxiating, if that makes any sense. It being an artificial pain that did no damage did nothing to stop my shock, horror, and that other strangely positive emotion I got at the sensation of every cell in my body being deprived of oxygen, and I could feel that Youkomon was going through an even worse experience.

Still, I managed to keep my eyes open through the entire experience, enough to see Nefertimon spread her wings to clear the smoke around her. She had not moved from her position on top of Baiser, tanking the shot like it was nothing.

“Curse of Queen!” She was relentless, taking the attempt at saving Baiser as the signal to deal with her before they could actually succeed, the red light shone once again in her mask, and-

‘THUMBP!!!’

She was tackled by a huge, mechanical figure that appeared from inside a building at high speeds, impulsed by rockets on her feet, and dragged trough a wall on the other side... Releasing Magia Baiser.

“Ugh...!” Yet another Witch?! Or was that a DigiMinion?! Anyways, this is bad! If we don’t put her down fast, she can just create more Schiavos and we’ll be overwhelmed in numbers! “Youkomon, we have to-!”

My heart plummeted, as I looked at Youkomon, who had gotten distracted by Nefertimon being taken off Baiser... Allowing BlackWitchmon to sneakily fly behind her, extending her chains towards her.

She clearly noticed my feeling, and realizing what was going on, the last thing I could feel was pure dread before she was wrapped in the golden chains. After that, all I could feel from her was an unbelievable amount of pain.

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” She was swung by the chains forced to go through many of the Agony Shocks left behind, all kinds of pains piling up over her in just a moment.

‘Slash!’

To my relief, Magenta cut off the chains, releasing Youkomon, who fell to the ground, her entire body trembling. I could feel that she was in shock, she wouldn’t be getting up for a little while.

“How can she still move?!” “Is she not taking my toxin grenades seriously?!” The Witches sounded both surprised and outraged at Magenta’s resilience, befor-

‘BROOOM!’

Another wave of pain runs through my body as I’m hit by yet another shotgun blast, shooting from right besides me.

I’m sent flying, seeing as more guns start appearing in the air aiming at Magenta and Youkomon. But I’m stopped by a hand carefully catching me, almost in a kind embrace.

...Eh? Who..?! 

The hand moved to my rights breast, and a jolt of pleasure ran through my body as they softly but firmly handled it, but that didn’t stop the feeling of dread as I head the voice speak behind me. “You shouldn’t look away from me~.”

“Magia Baiser...!” I try to turn back as fast as possible, swinging my sword at my back, but I’m only halfway through the swing before I could clearly see her face. A twisted, malicious smile full of excitement, as the shadow of the riding crop covers my face, just centimeters away from it.

All I could do before the impact was close my eyes, grit my teeth, and pray.

‘SLAP!’

A sharp, deep pain ran from my forehead to my hip, incomparable to the pain of the explosion, as I’m sent flying to the ground... And for my fortune, but mostly misfortune, I land on something soft that soften the impact...

...Something that starts wrapping around me.

“Agh! Release m- Mmmphg!!!” My arms and legs were quickly and tightly wrapped, the belts crossing all around my body, painfully going in-between my legs and breasts, and covering my mouth. Though, for some reason, I didn’t sink inside like Sulfur and Leomon, remaining on the surface of the creature.

“Mmmpghmmh!!!” I could barely move a muscle, couldn’t even speak, as the belts tightly hugged my body. It was a disturbingly pleasant sensation...

I started to release my magic to freeze the belts, and- “Mmmpgh?!” The belts tightened and rubbed against my nipples and between my legs, sending shocks of pleasure that ruined my concentration.

I could still release some magic, but it was a pitiful amount as my thoughts where assaulted by the pleasure I was feeling. All I could do was watch, and hope that the little I could push myself to do would be enough.

“Azul! Don’t worry, I’m coming for you three!” “Oh no, you aren’t~.” “Not going to happeeeeen~!” Magenta shouted at me, flying in my direction with the intention to release me... But Leopard and Gepard had other plans.

As I saw the robot from before exit the building through crashing a wall of an upper floor, wrestling with Nefertimon, giant gun after giant gun started appearing and shooting in the middle of the air, trying to take Magenta down. Meanwhile, Gepard shot at her with her smaller and only rifle... But from my place below their feet, I could feel how each of her shots made the entire creature shake. They were dangerous.

The buildings and street around us were being torn apart in the explosions, each shot leaving destruction on its wake...

And, somehow, they couldn’t hit Magenta.

Dozens of guns appearing and disappearing, shooting from all directions, live grenades falling from portals, and another, more dangerous one shooting at her from below... And she flew all around them. She flew evading all bullets, bombs, around the Agony Shocks floating around... And got closer and closer to me.

She looked desperate, in pain, she was trembling, she was terrified... And she was awe-inspiring.

‘Azul! I’m com- Guh?!’ My eyes look to the side, as Youkomon recovered enough to stand... But standing in her path, was BlackWitchmon.

Youkomon visibly flinched, and I could feel the fear in her as the dark witch calmly walked to her, ready to face her head-on. ‘Don’t worry about me, just focus on winning there!’ Motivating her was all I could do, as I looked back at Magenta, flying straight at me through an Agony Shock.

The pain was evident on her face, but she didn’t stop.

“Azuuuuuul!!!” She swing her spear backwards, and if my eyes weren’t failing me, she looked more than ready to cut the entire creature in half or at least get as close as possible to that.

Hope filled my heart at the scene.

Magenta was unstoppable when she was this determined. No matter what they did, they wouldn’t be able to stop h-

My brain and heart stopped for a moment, as I saw something in the corner of my eye.

A small hand, emerging besides my head, followed by the expressionless face of a beautiful little girl. She was cute beyond belief, wearing a beautiful dress that made me think of Alice in Wonderland...

...And she had 3 Stars in her forehead.

Magenta’s face changed into one of pure alarm, but couldn’t change direction before the little girl suddenly rushed forward... Or to be precise, how the monster of which head she was riding on top swiftly pounced at her. An enormous... Cat? Raccoon? Pink and purple plushie, with overly large, sharp and golden claws and teeth, and... Button eyes. It was a plushie.

Magenta didn’t stop, it was too late to stop. With attacks coming from every direction, all she could do was push forward.

“Gahhhhhhhhh!!!” With fire in her eyes, she swung her spear at the creature.

‘CLASH!!!’

Her spear met the monster’s claws, and cut through them... But only halfway, before getting stuck. Still, she overpowered the giant plushie, pushing it back, and the claws started to br-

‘BROOOOM!!!’ ‘Bang!’

She was covered in an explosion, and suddenly the plushie tackled her, tearing apart the smoke cloud as the little girl raised her hand, and a large house appeared in front of them, floating in mid air.

The little girl jumped back from the monsters head, as it dragged Magenta through the front door.

‘Thumb!’

And the doors closed, Magenta’s and the monster’s create disappearing behind them. And right afterwards, the house started to shrink down.

Any sounds of battle had stopped. Youkomon, Nefertimon, and their opponents stopped, just looking at the impossible scene in front of me. I couldn’t even bring myself to breath.

The house continued to shrink down, until it fell into the hands of the little girl, now just the size of a dollhouse. The girl looked at it, and then held it up proudly.

“Ooooooooh!!! Nero Alice, you got her!!!” “That was the strongest one to, wasn’t sheee~?!” Leopard and Gepard enthusiastically cheered her from the side.

“Great job, Alice-chan!” Magia Baiser flew besides her, a joyful look on her face as she looked at the little girl. “I honestly didn’t know how to stop her if she got past you, just dealing with Nefertimon alongside Morgana was more than I could manage!”

The little girl, Nero Alice, looked prideful at the dollhouse in her hands. The small dollhouse where Magenta had disappeared into. 

‘M-MAGENTA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!’ I fiercely screamed in my mind, trying to connect with Magenta... But I couldn’t reach her. “NEFERTIMON, HOW’S MAGENTA?!”

‘I...I don’t know...’ Her words quickly shattered my heart. ‘I... I can’t feel her anymore...’

...What? T-There’s no way...!

T-There must be a mistak-!!!

I freeze, as I see Magia Baiser. She was smiling down at me. Her smile growing wretched and cruel, full of a gleeful sadism.

She slowly flies down, stopping right in front of me. I could only look up at her cruel smile.

We... Have been defeated...

I could feel the tears starting to swell in my eyes, at the terrible reality in front of me.

“Fufufu... Don’t cry, Azul~.” She gently reached with her hand, softly and kindly cleaning the tears from my eyes, before raising them to her face... And cleaning them with her tongue. “I told you so before, didn’t I? We would have a lot more fun when nobody could intervene anymore...”

My skin shivered in repulsion and pleasure as her hand got inside my skirt through one of the holes, and delicately grabbed my ass, gently massaging it.

“Mmmpgh!” No...! Please... Stop...! This is hell...!

Regardless of my unspoken protests, my heart started to beat faster and faster, my body getting warmer under her touch. Fear and excitement mixing in my heart.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine~.” She got closer to me, her words whispered in my ear and sending chills down my spine. “Just forget everything and give in to the pleasure... Whatever pain you are going through can be turned into pleasure... Doesn’t that sound great~?”

Turning the pain... Into pleasure...?

“Unless you still want to fight, of course~!” She spoke gleefully as if hoping for me to do so. Her other hand moving to my chest to play with my breasts, forcing a stuffed moan out of me. “Give in, and escape reality to a world of pleasure... Fight on, and you’ll go through hell, but you may able to triumph in the end...”

Pleasure... Or triumph...

“What will it be...?” She leaned back looking at me in the eyes. Her face had descended into pure insanity. Her star-shaped pupils were glowing, growing past her eyes and shining over her face. “Azul~!”

Triumph...!

But... Can... We even win...?

Sulfur and Leomon are down... Magenta may be gone... Even Youkomon and Nefertimon are shocked and aren’t doing anything... I can feel Youkomon’s despair...

We... Have lost...

If I fight, the end will be my...

But...

If I surrender...

If I give up...

If I escape from this terrible reality...

Will this pain...

...Turn into ple-?

‘Thump’

“Uh?” Baiser’s surprised voice took me out of my thoughts. 

There was a yellow light slightly illuminating her face... And it was growing stronger.

No... No, this isn’t just a yellow light, this is...!

“Tch!” Baiser quickly flew back, as the belt monster trapping me suddenly exploded outwards, a bright light shinning behind me as I fell to the ground.

“Ahhhh, finally outta dat thing~.” “Let’s not repeat that. Ever!” I turned back to see Sulfur and Leomon in their Assault Mode, lightning releasing from their fists and sword, as if expressing the anger that their faces wasn’t enough to show.

‘Thump!’

“S-Sulfur! Leomon!” I called to them, tears running down my eyes. “You- You are alright!”

We haven’t lost yet!

“Looks like dat bastard made yah go through hell, Azul. Don’t worry, leave dah rest tah me...” “We’ll break their faces until they are physically unable to smile like that ever again...” Their anger at this point had peaked beyond what I had ever seen from them. I could FEEL their power rapidly growing by the sheer rage burning inside them. Sulfur’s gauntlets released thunder as she cracked her fingers.

“...Ufufufu, I guess it would have been way too easy if I could take you tow down like that~.” Not only there was no nervousness in Magia Baiser’s voice, but she sounded even more excited than before.

“Ahhhhh?! And how do you plan to do that, flattie~?” Did she just...? “Yeah, yeah~! We are aaaaaaall still in perfect health, while you all lost a member and are all batter-” ‘THUMP!’ “Uh?”

A loud battering sound came from the Enormeeta Witches, catching everyone’s attention. Including them.

Everyone was looking at Nero Alice’s dollhouse.

‘THRUGH!!!’

Suddenly, a large spear pierced through the dollhouse, and tearing apart it’s front side, Magenta’s figure pushed through, growing from doll to human-size in a blink... Dressed as a red nutcracker.

“Aha!” She stopped right over us, holding her spear high. “Yeh dare think to be possible to keep contained the great Maria von Dus-!” ‘Poof!’ A sudden poof of smoke surrounded her body, her clothes returning to normal, and she looked unbalanced and confused for a moment as she saw us.

“....Wah, that was something else... My mind felt like clay!” She sounded completely calm and careless, even if she looked as injured as before, her body still trembling. “If I spent a minute or two more inside there, I may be fighting the blue nutcrackers to protect Christmas!”

To... What?

N-No, that’s not important!

Magenta’s safe! Sulfur and Leomon are freed!

This... This is not the end!

“...Magia Baiser!” With trembling legs, I slowly stood up, looking at the Witch straight in the eyes. She looked back with an excited smile. “About your question before... I choose Triumph!”

“...Have it your way, Magia Azul!” In her excitement, a third Star started to phase in and out below her right cheek. Incomplete, ephemeral, but close to being born. “I’ll engrave the cost of opposing me in your mind with pain! ...But for today...”

Her excitement suddenly died off, alongside the third Star under her cheek, as she looked down at the little girl holding the dollhouse. The sudden change in tone pushing everyone to look at her.

She was... Sad. Looking at the dollhouse with a tear in the corner of an eye.

“...We are done for today.” Her words carried a definitive sense of finality. “Alice’s mood is ruined, we have things to do, and I have a dollhouse to buy.”

“...?! DON’T YAH DAR-!!!” “Leo-chan, smokescreen.” Magia Baiser spoke over Sulfur, without giving her a second thought as she wrapped her arm over the little girl’s shoulder.

“Yessir!” Leopard happily saluted at her superior, and in a moment, dozens of portals opened all around the street, bombs coming out each of them.

Nobody could react before they all exploded, covering the entire street in smoke.

“Next time, the battle could fall on either side.” Those last words from Magia Baiser resounded through the smoke.

“COME BACK HERE, YAH FREAK!!!” I could hear Sulfur charging, thunder resounding as she rushed forward... But nothing that came out of it.

Moments later, Magenta and Nefertimon swept all the smoke away...

...But by then, the Witches from Enormeeta were gone, leaving behind a ruined street and cracked buildings.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 6: Even Footing - Intermission

With the battle over, to terribly inconclusive result, we all flew back to the ground, looking at the destruction around us, now that the Domain has disappeared. Devastated streets, cracked and pierced buildings, one of which had started to crumble, and fires that I’ll have to put down once I recover my breath.

The destruction caused by that Witch, Leopard, was no joke. She must have only been actively attacking for a minute or two at most, and this looks like a war-zone... This is what I hate newby Witches the most. The weakest, most inexperienced ones, are always the ones that cause the most collateral damage. And being one of the few that has a Domain... It only makes it so much, much worse.

The only saving grace being that, given Youkomon’s lack of warning, the entire area must be desolate, having all evacuated the moment Magia Baiser first appeared, without anyone left around to get hur-

I decide to ignore the girl a street away I just noticed, pointing at us with her phone from past the corner.

...Well, there will always be people that keep around to film the incident in secret. At least she was smart enough to not get any closer than that, even if it was exceedingly foolish. 

‘Tap’ ‘Tap’

Magenta taps on her Transformation Heart, opening a line to speak with Vatz. I wince when looking at her. She was pale, breathing with difficulties, and trembling. Still, I opened the telepathic link, hoping this would be quick, and flew towards the burning buildings.

‘Hey Vatz, where are you right now?’ Magenta’s voice resounded in all our minds. 

‘...Hey, Magenta!’ It took a moment for Vatz to pick up. ‘I’m in Hokkaido, in a meeting with the Amaterasu’s Grace. If you need something, can it wait until I’m done here?’

‘Please, come now. There was an Enormeeta attack... One of their hunts. We are all safe and the battle is over, but... You may want to come soon.’ There was a moment of silence that felt like an eternity as she finished speaking. I couldn’t see their expressions, now focusing on the burning and crumbling buildings in front of me.

The people living here won’t be happy to find their homes half-frozen. Many things will be ruined and broken either now, or when the ice melts... But I’m sure they would be even more unhappy if the fires spread, and the cracks on the structure to spread as bits and pieces, some larger than me, continue to fall.

‘...I’m going. Give me a minute to wrap up things here. I’ll bring a medical team.’ After the silence was finally broken, the call was abruptly cut off.

“Magenta!” At Sulfur’s shout I quickly turned towards them. Fortunately, Magenta just stumbled, but she still looked bad. “Are yah alright?! How yah feelin’?!”

The panic in her voice and face was more than clear, even from across the street.

“Y-Yeah, I’m alright!” Magenta just answered in her usual, happy tone. The worst part, is that I don’t think she’s lying. “I have had worse. I just need to lie down for a moment...”

Even before she finished speaking, Nefertimon already laid down on the ground, spreading her wings to make space. With a quick ‘Thanks’, she slowly laid over her back, letting a sigh of relief.

...It was frustrating. 

I gripped my fists tightly and looked away, focusing on stopping the fires on the next building.

It was frustrating that she was always like this.

Frustrating that she could go through this, and still consider it was fine just because it happened to her rather than us.

Frustrating that she had to keep us safe for being waker than her.

Frustrating that she could go through so much, fight so precisely and fiercely, in such a state and situation.

Frustrating that while she fought to the very end, I had almost given up barely putting a fight.

Frustrating that this was the third time I have been caught by Magia Baiser and needed rescue...!

It was so frustrating...!

Why am I so weak?!

I moved to the next building, gritting my teeth and fists until my nails started to pierce my skin.

Am... Am I getting in the way...?

If Magenta hadn’t been trying to save me... If I hadn’t been used as bait, she wouldn’t have been caught off-guard by the third Witch...

...If...

“Don’t fault yourself.” I’m shaken off my thoughts by Youkomon’s voice, and a tail grabbing my head and forcing me to look at her. “The situation was... When Magenta was caught, I also started to lose all hope. I could even smell, for the first time in almost a year, Nefertimon’s fear. You aren’t the only one that lost her fighting spirit there...”

Her voice carried almost as much frustration and guilt as did the feelings she sent through our connection. She wasn’t trying to convince just me.

“...Still, if I wasn’t so weak, that situation wouldn’t have happened in the first place.” We only ended in that situation in the first place because I was caught...

“...Would you say Sulfur and Leomon are weak?” “Wha-?!” What is she saying all of a sudden?!

“Of course not! Maybe they are weaker than us in their base forms... But their Assault Mode’s are at Magenta’s and Nefertimon’s level!” If it comes to a straight fight, there is probably nobody in Japan they can’t beat!

“...And still, they were the first ones captured, and remained like that for most of the fight.” That... That’s true, but... “...We knew it was a trap. And still, we fell for it. For all of them. Each and every time, we were taken as fools... We weren’t overpowered for being weak, we were outsmarted at every step.”

Outsmarted...

...That’s true... In all her appearances, she has gotten use through stealth, surprise attacks from any direction, and tactics... She even tries to make us give up through words and assaulting our bodies in... Unorthodox, ways.

If we fought face-to-face in a fair fight... We were advised to leave her to Magenta, but I wasn’t told to not fight her myself.

If I had... If I had resisted until the end, not given up hope at that time... Maybe I...

‘Swirl’

I stop freezing the seventh building when I hear the sound of a Portal being opened. Turning around, I see a small white swirling hole in space manifesting near Magenta and Sulfur.

Having ran out of fires to put out by the fifth building, I decide to leave the rest to the construction golems and the government, flying towards them.

From the hole, various Satellites of varying colors and patterns of Hearts and Stars in their bodies started to come out, carrying small pieces of equipment that they swiftly started to set-up in the ground. Besides the portal, the familiar figure of the white satellite with only pink hearts across her body phased in, teleporting rather than portalling from the Digital World.

“W-What happened here...?” Vatz looked around in shock at the the sight of the destruction, and in horror at Magenta’s state. “Magenta, are you alright?! What happened?!”

“I-I’m fine! We w-” “Alright, that’s enough.” One of the Satellites, a dark green with mostly white stars and a single white heart in the left ear, suddenly pushed a large flat lollypop into Magenta’s mouth, and then pushed her to lay flat on Nefertimon’s back. “Your friends can do that part. So just lay down and keep quiet to make OUR job easier, alright?”

“...’kay.” Magenta couldn’t say much more while handled by the doctor, which was both quite the sight, and something I was deeply grateful for. Doctor Nila is as reliable as ever.

Seeming that Sulfur was too focused on worrying about Magenta, I took a deep breath and took a step forward.

“We were attacked by Enormeeta... Well, more like they set up a trap, and we fell right into it.” Into way too many of them, in just a couple of minutes. “During this fight, Magia Baiser and 2 unregistered Enormeeta Witches with a Partner Digimon appeared, the first with either 1 or 2 Stars and the second with 3 Stars, not including the one with the paralysis Magic, so it’s very likely this was one of their actual ‘Hunts’ rather than a random attack, like Baiser tends to do. The details of the encounter should be recorded in our Transformation Hearts for later review, but the important part is that we managed to fend them off after Magenta managed to escape from their trap... But she took the worst of the assault.”

“That... That’s a lot... And... Oh Cosmos, I’m so glad you three are safe!” She was slightly trembling, horror clear in her face. “You are one of just 4 Teams that survived one of the Hunts! W-Wait, I shouldn’t be happy yet! How’s Magenta?!”

Vatz flew in a panic towards the doctors working on the machine they already set besides Magenta, scanning her body with some hand-held devices, and injecting in her an RGB intravenous... Something.

“Well... There are traces of a few different artificial digital versions of human-made neuro-toxins in her. If it was her Material Body, or a weak enough Magical Girl, she would be dead already. But they almost disappeared by now, either by distance from the source, her anti-virus, or both. Not surprising, the girl has gone through worse viruses before. If the ones that should have killed her failed, then a mild one like this stands no chance.” Doctor Nila’s words did its job of calming Vatz, but they only made me, and apparently the rest too, more tense. We know she has gone through a lot, but this is considered mild?! “Still, there is extensive damage to her nervous system and heart. We’ll treat her now, but without the facilities back at Center of the Universe, we can’t do it in one go. She’ll need to keep her Transformation on all-night, and then rest for 3 or 4 days before fighting again. Preferably, avoiding all strenuous physical activity until this...”

“Gya!” In the middle of talking, she slapped Magenta’s thigh, leaving a yellow patch behind, glued to her skin.

“...Turns green. If it turns red instead, you call me. Got it?” Having said that, she looked away from Vatz, focusing back on Magenta, and taking out of her sleeve a blue and white pill the size of my fist. “Now, I need you to swallow this whole, no biting like last time.”

“Ugh... I’ll try...” Magenta looked defeated at the doctor, as she ordered one of her assistants to bring a glass of water.

Meanwhile, I could only look at Magenta... And think how badly it would have been for anyone except her.

If I was the one to be hit by that, would I even be conscious...?

Is this the weapon they used in past Hunts?

The user is not too strong, but it is truly a terrifying one...

...And I very much doubt this will be the last we see of them.

Magia Baiser...

...Was she the one to make this plan, or is this part of Enormeeta’s usual tactics?

Were all our encounters until now to gauge our abilities?

If this was all her... Then we’ll be hunted by a terrifying adversary.

Everything went according to her plan from the very beginning to almost the end, just falling apart by the others pushing through with sheer raw power.

What sort of terrible schemes will she craft next, now that she has gotten an even better handle of our powers and limits?

Ahhhhh, that was great!

We came out of the portal by Nacht Base’s gates. I’d prefer to directly inside, but the Anti-Teleport barrier annoyingly gets in the way.

But in any case, somehow things mostly worked out!

Just... I wasn’t expecting that Nefertimon would handle us that easily. For a moment, when looking up at her emotionless mask as she charged her ‘Curse of Queen’... I really thought she was going to kill me.

B-But there is no way that would have happened, right? Ahahaha... Ha...

A-Anyways, just looking at them all as they struggled... As Azul prepared to tell me that she would rather die than give up... As Magenta valiantly fought through poison, pain, and gunfire... As Sulfur somehow broke free of mummifying levels of bondage in an explosion of light and lighting...!

Ahhh~...

Tres Magia~...

I can’t wait for the next time we meet~.

“AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!! FUCK, WE HAD THEM!!!” “HOW DID THEY ESCAAAAAAAAAAAPE?!?!?! I HAD MAGENTA IN MY STRONGEST, LIMITED EDITION ONCE-PER-DAY TOXIN COCKTAIL!!!” Leopard and Gepard were shouting their frustrations at the sky. Gepard looked to have taken personal offense on it.

“Ahhhh~...” Morgana on my side had a dumb, ecstatic, and a bit scary smile. “I want to swing Youkomon like a ragdoll again...~”

Looks like she had fun today. That’s good, I would feel bad if I was the only one that enjoyed herself.

And speaking of enjoyment...

I look down to my side, as Alice was looking sad at the broken dollhouse between her arms. WonderGuardromon was on her knees, holding her shoulder in comfort... While she herself was covered in claw-shaped rends, and a few parts of her body were partially melted.

My heart hurt as I looked at those two.

...I can’t allow this continue.

Enjoying myself wouldn’t be worth it if it just becomes a terrible memory for those two.

I slowly crouch down to be at eye-level with Alice, letting her notice it before I spoke.

“I’m sorry about your Dollhouse, Alice.” The little tear I noticed on the corner of her eye felt worse than a gut-punch. “How about we go together to buy a new one? I save a bit of my money every month to buy toys for myself, so if we use it, you can get whichever one you want.”

I tried to speak as kindly as possible to her, but her reaction made me flinch a bit. 

She looked genuinely surprised, both her and Wonder. She pointed a finger at me, shock clear in her face. Again, without saying a word.

Let’s see, this should mean...

“...Yes, I also like toys. Though mine are all about Magical Girls in one way or another.” I don’t play with them though, they are to collect... Well, except when I do, but nobody salve Morgana will get to see that. “I can even try to fix this one too. I’m not sure if I CAN, but I do a bit of arts and crafts for fun.”

Maybe getting into garage kits last year will help with this.

Once I finished talking, her eyes, and even Wonder’s, were pretty much glowing as they looked at me.

...Ahahaha... Now I don’t think I’m allowed to fail at repairing it...

“How about we go but it tomorrow after school? That way, you two will have time to think about which kind you want.” Not sure which types of dollhouses there are, though. They were never my kind of thing... Probably because I don’t remember seeing any related to Magical Girls. “I’ll get whichever one you want, so don’t worry about the price. I’ll get the most expensive one if you want.”

That was pretty much it, as they both looked at each other in joy, and happily raise their hands.

‘THOSE DAMN-!!!’ ‘NEXT TIME, THEY-’

...Yep, this feels a lot better.

“...Thanks, Wonder.” She’s clearly taken aback at my sudden comment in their little moment of happiness. “You really saved me back there. I was about to get KO’d by Nefertimon back there before you bulldozed her through a wall. And you ended pretty hurt dealing with her...”

Her response was short and simple. She just closed her eyes in a smile, and raised a thumb up.

...What a good girl. I’ll take the both of them to eat some ice cream.

“Anyways...! That was a great plan, Baiser-chan!” Having suddenly had enough of shouting at the stars, Leopard suddenly wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “You should have seen Magenta’s face when she suddenly exploded~.” “Nyahahaha, getting a direct hit with my strongest mix felt so gooooood~.”

“Ehehehe... You think so?” It was a bit of a rushed one in the end, I didn’t have too much time to think it. “...Though, sorry that I made you all wait inside that Schiavo. Especially you Leo-chan, it must have been very uncomfortable being tied like that...”

“Wahahaha~! Don’t worry ‘bout that! I had a blast~!” “Yeah, yeah! I bet this freak even enjoyed it!” “Hah, shut up, you little fucker~. Though, I’m impressed it went so well with how vague you were with Alice~.”

“Ahahaha... Yeah...” I guess telling her ‘Come out whenever you think you’ll surprise Tres Magia the most’ wasn’t a very good plan... “I thought that would have the biggest impact... And it somehow ended with Alice managing to drag the strongest Magical Girl in Japan into her Dollhouse... That was amazing, Alice-chan!”

She had a smug look on her face, and Wonder had an even smugger look, as if saying ‘Yeah, praise my Alice even more!’. Though a moment later she shrugged, looked at her Dollhouse, and shrugged.

I think that means...

“...Yeah, it’s a shame she got away before you could play with her. I’m sure Magenta would have been lots of fun to have in the Dollhouse!” She just nodded, dejected. “...Mmm, maybe next time one of us should follow her insane? So we can keep her occupied enough for the brainwash to have its full effect...”

Her perking up at the idea was all I needed to hear. I’ll plan for that one day.

“Wahahahaha~! With how well our debut went, I’m sure those bitches quake on their boots each time they hear the name of the great Leopard!” “Nyahahahaha, and I bet that pink girl will have nightmares each day she sees a caaaaaaat!” Those two are flying high right now.

“...And what do you say, Alice-chan? Was it fun?” A quick nod, a thumbs up, and a tiny smile made it more than clear.

...I’m relieved. It’s good to know I wasn’t the only one enjoying it.

...

Having said goodbye to the girls after a great day, I hummed happily as I spread the bucket with the mix of crushed bone and salt water through the garden, being careful not to get too close to it. The grass pretty much danced in joy at the nutritious ‘rain’ it was receiving.

Morgana was on the side, throwing thin slices of mysterious meet at a group of flowers, amused at how the flowers caught them in the air.

It was very relaxing. A special kind of relaxing, in fact.

The kind of relaxation you only get after planning hard, working hard, and playing hard. I felt refreshed to a level-

‘Crush’ I crushed a vine trying to get too close to me under my heel.

-that I had never felt before. I felt content, I felt good, I felt as if I could just lie down in the flowers and nap happily... If the flowers weren’t happy at the idea of eating me in my sleep if I did.

I shove a large meaty bone into the large flower approaching me, and softly caressed its side as it crushed the bone.

“Ahhh... I can’t wait for the next time...”

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 7: The Sweetness of Challenge - Part 1

With a last look in the mirror, I nodded satisfied. The were no problems with my uniform, my hair was perfectly set in my usual hairstyle, and my nails had a nice but subtle coat of polish.

How strange, how I slowly started caring more about my appearance since I started talking with the girls. I guess that someone smarter than me probably would know why that happens... Or I’m just being weird about something unimportant.

Oh well, nothing worth over-thinking about.

“Hey Utena, check this out.” I glance at Mor, who’s waving at me from the computer, lowering the headphones to rest over her shoulders. “There is a lot going on about yesterday’s fight...”

“Uh? Like what?” Yesterday we just... No, right, there should be a lot to talk about it. Leo-chan and Alice-chan had their debut, and we somehow managed to push Tres Magia against the wall.

If it wasn’t me the one behind planning that attack, I probably would have been very interested too. Probably spending all night talking online about it, and watching whatever video about is was available, enjoying the analysis of people smart than me, and smugly pointing out at where I know they were wrong.

...It feels strange to think that ‘I planned the attack’...

...I’m seriously going falling into the deep end, aren’t I...?

“Utena?” “Ah, right, sorry, was thinking of something...” Discarding those thoughts for a moment, I move to look at the screen...

...And was welcomed by a video showing the consequences of yesterday’s fight.

“Wah... Did we really do all that...?” I nervously spout out, looking at the image on screen. 

The street looked as if an earthquake had hit it, hard. The asphalt was cracked and uneven, creating many ‘islands’ through it, and the buildings were barely better. None had exactly collapsed... But at least a few apartments were now outside their buildings, in a thousand pieces. 

At least a dozen families probably lost their homes in that battle.

“Well... It was technically Leopard. Though, since you made the plan...” “Ah, it’s MY fault...” So the responsibility of this lies mostly on me...

“...Can you restart the video, and put it on the speakers?” The video started again, and although I didn’t see her press on anything, the sound now came from the speakers.

‘-he damage from the battle was fortunately contained by its short duration, since as you can probably appreciate in the previous video, one of those two new Witches has a type of Magic that appears specifically designed to tear a city apart.’ A video... Right! I should ask Venalita for a video of the fight! ‘Fortunately, the fires and collapse of the nearby buildings was stopped by Magia Azul once the fight ended, and with everyone having evacuated the area, or hiding on the far side of their buildings before the fight started, there were no injuries besides those of Tres Magia themselves.’

Ahhhh, so Azul reduced the damages... That’s great~!

Going out of her way to help people, even after a hard fight... She’s truly a magnificent Magical Girl! The kind that everyone wants to be like!

I should thank and ‘thank’ her properly next time we meet~.

...Still, that amount of damage...

...Mmm...

“...Hey Mor...” “The answer’s yes.” Are you reading my mind?!

“So it IS weird that I don’t feel bad about this...” Something must be seriously wrong with me...

“Ah, wait, that’s what you were going to ask? Sorry, misread your feeling.” ...Wait, then what was that answer for? “The answer’s no then.”

“Eh? Come on, it HAS to be weird, right? We caused a lot of problems to people!” I’m very sure that’s a bad thing!

“...Well... Your opinion is probably better than mine in this case. Not like I get how important this is supposed to be. How much does an apartment costs, anyways?” ...Right... It’s not like she would understand all Human problems... “If it’s a problem, then I would prefer to not inconvenience strangers... But yesterday’s fight was so fun, that I can’t bring myself to care. Isn’t that a normal thing? I was pretty sure it was.”

...Yesterday WAS fun... 

...There weren’t any accidental injuries either, only the intentional ones. And thinking more about it, those apartments will probably be repaired by the end of the day, and the government should be paying the damages caused by Witches...

...What’s the problem, then?

I know that I probably should feel guilty about this... But it’s not too bad, isn’t it? Those people will just have to sleep at an hotel or with a family member for a day or two.

“...I guess this isn’t that big of a deal...” Besides giving a bit more of a bad fame to Enormeeta, not much will come out of this. And I care about that even less.

‘It’s alright as long as I have fun’ is something I shouldn’t say, but... I’m a Witch, right?

So...

...Having a few attitudes befitting a Witch... Is not too strange, right?

It’s to be expected for me to think of stuff like that, isn’t it?

With the video finished, Mor scrolled down to the comments. They were talking a LOT about us.

‘TWO new Witches?!’ ‘This one brought the heavy artillery... Will the city survive this?’ ‘The collateral damage suddenly escalated...’ ‘Would.’ ‘Who gave a gun to the cat?! NEVER give a cat a gun, they’ll take over!’ ‘That small Witch... Looks strangely huggable.’ ‘That cat monster has button eyes... Is that a plushie?!’ ‘A Plushie Witch?! ...That sounds terrifying and adorable.’ ‘Is that a frigging ROBOT dressed to assist the Mad Hatter’s tea party?! ...I pardon them of all their crimes.’ 

There were hundreds of comment threads talking about Leopard and Nero Alice. It was nice to see they made as much of an impact as I wanted.

...And yes, I agree. Alice is both adorable and terrifying. I’m happy she’s with us, because she would be scary as an enemy... 

And they don’t even know the full-effects of her Dollhouse.

‘With this, we now know of 4 Enormeeta Witches, right? Where is Loco Musica?’ ‘Did anyone else notice that those new Witches looked to be following Magia Baiser’s orders?’ ‘Really? Let me watch again... OH FUCK, NOW I CAN’T UNSEE IT.’ ‘There is no way in hell you are suggesting that frigging MAGIA BAISER is Enormeeta’s Leader! That freak?!’ ‘Same as the previous guy, no way.’ ‘Nah, that would be awesome. I vote for Magia Baiser for Grand Witch of Enormeeta!’ ‘Well, not necessarily their LEADER leader, more like... Leader of this tiny group? Maybe they are divided in Teams, and while the rest of Teams work in secret (Besides Loco), this one doesn’t give a shit about that.’ ‘Who’s the Leader, anyways?’ ‘Dunno, there is no public info of that.’ ‘Nobody knows, but apparently she scares the shit out of the Mascots, for what little is known.’ ‘...I would rather believe Magia Baiser is the Leader then. Better than someone that can scare them.’ ‘Same, from now on I’ll assume that Baiser is the Grand Witch.’ ‘Baiser for President!’

...There was a lot of talk about me.

...How... Why did they start that assumption... Campaign? Of me being Enormeeta’s Grand Witch?

“...Ufufu...!” I glared down at Mor, who was chuckling while reading that. The little gremlin was finding it funny, until she suddenly put on a serious face. “...What are your orders, oh Grand Witch Magia Baiser?”

“Ugh, you little...!” I shoved her aside, but I could outright feel her laughter as I looked aside, my embarrassment just growing.

I tried the ignore that, and focus on the last group of comments: The ones talking about Tres Magia.

‘They even got Magenta out of combat, even if just for a moment...’ ‘How did they fall for it?! It was obvious it was a trap!’ ‘The hell you wanted them to do? Ignore the possible civilian?!’ ‘Not gonna lie, they fooled me too. Thought they were just using a random they picked off the street as a human shield.’ ‘Did you see Magenta dance around dozens of giant guns appearing out of thin air to shoot at her?! DAMN!!!’ ‘The others didn’t last a minute, but Magenta was taking on them all at the same time...’ ‘The other’s kinda useless, not gonna lie.’ ‘That girl is made different.’ ‘The pride of Japan!’ ‘How has she not gone to the next level yet?’ ‘Probably not recovered yet.’ ‘Poor girl...’ ‘Are you all ignoring Sulfur’s BLAZING FISTS?! LEOMON’S LIGHTNING CAPE?!’ ‘Yeah, the hell was that?! Don’t tell me they got there before Magenta and Nefertimon?!’ ‘Nah, Sulfur’s clothes didn’t change... A Mode Change?’ ‘That’s almost as good! She look awesome! ...And a bit scary.’ ‘Come on, it’s not THAT big of a deal... Just a big one.’ ‘Since when can they do that?! I never heard of it before!’ ‘Did they just unlock it?! And why fists?! She’s a Support, isn’t her?!’  ‘Always knew the one with the big angry muscle lion couldn’t be just a Support.’  ‘Power of Friendship for the Win!’ ‘Praise the Power of Friendship!’

That... Gave me mixed feelings.

Yes, Magenta did great. She was fantastic! My heart beat by crazy while watching her! But it’s not like the others are weak! I just took Sulfur down first because I didn’t want to deal with her Assault Mode at the same time as Magenta!

“Those idiots don’t know what they are talking about...” I firmly nodded at Mor’s words.

“They don’t even understand Azul’s strengths!” ...Well, she may be a bit weaker than them, but it’s not like she’s useless!

“Have they ever suffered from extreme frostbite?! It’s not nice, I tell you!” It’s an horrible sensation, you can barely move, and if you did you may break! “...Mor, hack them!”

“On it!” She touched the screen and focused for a moment, giving me just enough time to realize the absurdity I had just asked in impulse. But not enough time to come to my senses and stop her. “Done! Their screensavers are now images of Magia Azul and Youkomon! I used the ones from your +18 folder.”

“...Uh, so she can really do that... I just asked on im- Wait, why that folder?!” Why are you showing the world my shame?!

“It’s the one you open the most, so thought they would be the best.” Her innocent answer, given with a way too pure smile, felt like a stab at my heart.

She knows what I like, she just doesn’t really get it... She just considers it must be good because I like it...

...W-Well, it’s not like they’ll know it comes from MY stash, so it should fine.

Y-Yeah, it’s fine!

“T-That aside! Looks like now everyone knows about the Assault Mode, uh?” This is the first time they have used it in public, isn’t it?

“That they have never even needed to use it until now... Those two are amazing...” I could do nothing but agree with Mor’s words.

They have been at it for almost a year now. And not only they managed to find their way into a Mode Change, something very rare among Magical Girls, but they haven’t even NEEDED to use it until now...

...They are incredible... So amazing, that I want to put them on a leash, and have them kneel at my feet... How far will they be able to go...?

...And still, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling a bit sour about it.

Now, everyone knows what only I did...

I’m not special for Sulfur anymore...

...So...

...Maybe I should do something to be VERY special to the Tres Magia~...

Mah knuckles ached.

They didn’t ache out of pain, but quite dah opposite. They ached from a lack of use. They ached in desperate need of bein’ used.

They needed tah meet Magia Baiser’s face.

“Hey, do yah think ah could track down dat bastard if ah follow my bloodlust?” Ah’m sure dat at this point, mah fists would guide me to dah face they crave tah meet.

“Please, don’t go on a rampage.” Sayo’s words were probably well intentioned, but they did very little tah improve my soured mood.

“Unfortunately, although I would very much appreciate it being the case, I doubt you’ll be able to find them that way.” Renamon’s words pointed at dah unfortunate reality dat mah fists are not a GPS, nor will they point towards what ah crave dah most.

“Though, if you suddenly get the power to track them down, that would be great. I have a fair bit of frustration to let out too.” Ah would high five her for goin’ along with mah rambling, but mah hand would just pass through her holographic body. An’ it would look weird since nobody else can see Angoramon, they would just see me high-fiving dah air.

‘Sigh’ Ah could only bring mahself tah sigh when lookin’ at Haruka’s empty desk. “...Just feels like we ain’t doin’ anything, yah get me?”

Dat Witch has been goin’ around for almost a month now, an’ we haven’t caught her yet... An’ tah make it worse, it’s not like she’s actually runnin’ an’ hidin’.

A Portaler Witch dat runs away dah moment we got close? Dat woul’ be understandable, those are a pain for any Magical Girl, an’ dah only saving grace bein’ that Portalers are extremely rare.

But she is NOT doin’ dat. She’s waitin’ for us, fightin’, an’ THEN escapin’...

As if it was a game for her.

As of she was doin’ it for dah challenge.

And dah worst part, is dat she’s gettin’ away with it!

Dah mere thought of dat made me clench mah fists until mah nails started tah pierce mah skin. It was humilliatin’ to a painfully nostalgic level. 

Ah hated dat feelin’ of impotency, an’ failin’ tah prove wrong a bastard underestimatin’ me...!

“Yes... I get what you mean...” Sayo’s voice sounded frustrated too. It was kinda comforting tah not be dah only one frustrated with all this.

“Let’s not let it get to our heads, it’s not as bad as it may seem.” Our eyes snapped towards Renamon, who was dah only one managin’ tah somehow keep calm when talkin’ ‘bout our current problem. “We can fight them off, even with difficulty, and we only need to take down one of them. If I catch their Untransformed scent, that could guide us to the other members. And once we find their real identities, they are done.”

...Yeah... Ah guess dat’s true.

Her now gettin’ backup is a problem, but at dah same time, an opportunity. We just need tah beat one of them for dah entire castle tah crumble down.

Lookin’ at it like dat, it’s only a matter of time until- “Good Morning.”

Mah thoughts are interrupted as Utena enters dah classroom, walking straight tah us.

Ah try tah remove the scowl in mah face an’ relax mah posture, settin’ into a softer an’ more friendly form, greetin’ her with a calm smile. “Hey, Utena-chan~.” Mah bad mood doesn’t mean ah shoul’ throw it at her.

An’ fortunately, seein’ her helped me calm a bit.

“Good morning, Utena.” Sayo, also tried, but she wasn’t as good at hidin’ how she felt. Fortunately or unfortunately, Utena was too focused on somethin’ else to notice it.

“Strange, did Haruka-chan not arrive yet?” An’ dat’s dah question ah didn’t want tah answer yet.

“...Haruka got-” “I’M NOT LATE!!!” As soon as ah started tah speak, Araga suddenly shouted from the entrance. Everyone turned surprised at her, and she was breathing heavily while holding the door.

“...Uh? The teacher’s not here yet? Lucky~.” The shameless ball of chaos entered the classroom with a smile once she realized she was not late, her overly big sleeves dangling at her sides as she went straight to us. “Heya~, Utena-chan, Small Tits, Sayorin~. Hey, where’s Harukappi~?”

An’ dats how my mood started tah sour again.

“...Haruka is a bit ill.” Fortunately, Sayo took over from there, probably noticin’ dah strain in my eyes while tryin’ tah stop mahself from pickin’ up a chair. “She went to the doctor yesterday, and was told to take the rest of the week off.”

“H-Haruka-chan’s ill?!” “The week?! Oi, that sounds pretty serious...” They both looked pretty worried at dat. Ah guess even a thoughtless dummy can be worried ‘bout others.

“Yeah, me and Kaoruko were going to go visit her after class to give her the notes of today’s classes. It’s nothing too serious, but we’ll still make it a short visit so she can rest.” Sayo perfectly gave her dah story we had agreed on.

It feels bad tah lie to Utena-chan, but we can’t exactly tell her how serious Haruka’s condition really is... Nor how she got like dat. Better for civilians to not know.

“W-We should go too, Kiwi-chan!” “Yeah, I’m kinda worried...” ...Oh, crap. Now we have to somehow give them a reason to exclude them... “AH! Damn, we can’t, Utena-chan. Remember your promise with Korisu!”

...Uh, that’s convenient. But what promise? And who’s Korisu?

“Ughhh... That’s true...” Utena looked truly sad and conflicted about that. “But Haruka’s sick... That sounds like an emergency...”

“Don’t worry ‘bout dat, Utena-chan.” Ah have no idea of who dat ‘Korisu’ is, but ah wanna hug her as thanks for this easy way out. “Haruka would probably get angry if yah broke a promise tah go visit her.”

“Ugh... That’s true...” She backed down quickly. “Please, tell her that I’m sorry for not going to visit her...”

“Got it, don’t worry ‘bout it~.” Ah’ll consider this a tiny miracle, an’ thank Cosmos for it.

“Interesting...” Renamon spoked on dah side, curiously lookin’ at Utena. “She was always alone at school, but she appears have to many friends outside it.”

Yeah... Dat’s kinda surprisin’. We didn’t know ‘bout Araga until she suddenly transferred, and now there is this ‘Korisu’...

Ah wonder how many are there?

“No, we wanna play with Onee-chan!” “Playing always makes me feel better...” “Treason! Treason I say! This is treason in our own house!” The little triplets complained from the other side of the door, after we had them leave the room.

I felt kinda bad for that, but we were going to discuss things they shouldn’t know about.

‘Snap’ With the sound of snapping fingers, a thin, almost invisible layer of yellow appeared around the walls. “Done, dat should keep any sounds from leakin’ out, as long as we don’t scream.”

“Thanks, Kaoruko.” “Thanks~.” We could only be thankful of how convenient her Magic is, even if heavily limited while not Transformed. “Really, I love them, but I can’t trust Natsuna, Akiho, and Mifuyu with my identity, they would brag about it at school~!

With that dealt with, I laid my eyes back on Haruka as we sat down around her.

She was happily laying on her bed wearing her pajamas, smiling as if nothing was wrong, but she looked... Pale. Very pale. 

I honestly couldn’t fault the triplets for not wanting to separate from her side.

“Anyways, thanks for coming you two! It’s so boring to remain in bed all day!” “Yeah, this girl can’t keep quiet for 5 minutes. It’s always hell to keep her in bed when she is like this~.” Haruka and Salamon joked about it, but that just made me more worried. She has never been in this state, at least not since I became a Magical Girl... Was this common while she went solo?

“’nyways, how yah feelin’ Haruka? Need some water or somethin’?” Kaoruko tried to act relaxed, but she was very clearly worried.

“Yeah, I may not be an export in Human biology, but... I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t look that pale.” “Yes, it’s quite worrisome to see.” Angoramon and Renamon on the other side made no effort to hide that worry.

“It’s fine! I just need to rest a few days! It’s not too bad.” Regardless of her state, she sounded energetic and healthy, and it didn’t sound forced either.

“That’s a relief. Did the Satellites finish analyzing the toxin?” I doubt they’ll be finishing a vaccine against it any time soon, but knowing more about what it is would help us at calming a bit, and it’s important knowledge for future battles.

“Oh yeah, we got a message about that today.” Salamon looked pretty relaxed, laying at the end of Haruka’s bed. “Apparently, it’s a crude compound of 3 different and well-known neuro-toxins thrown into a bucket and used as is, quite easy to analyze! I think they were called Tabun, Sarin, and Soman, don’t know about them though. They’ll send us a report of their exact effects and what to do if we get hit with it later.”

“...” ...What?

“Mmm, don’t know ‘bout ‘em. Do any of...” Kaoruko asked, before stopping as she looked at me. “...Yah know somethin’, right? Ah can see dat in yar face, an’ on Renamon lookin’ at yah worried.”

...How much do they want us dead?! “...Haruka, have you REALLY been hit by something worse than this before?”

Renamon, sensing my panic, walked straight to Haruka. “Alright, try to keep quiet. I’ll re-apply the recovery ritual of this morning... No, I should simply remain here a few days to re-apply it every 2 hours.”

“Eh? Ah, okay.” She just did as told, and kept quiet as Renamon started to draw markings across her body, bed, and walls with her finger. She just let her work for a moment before looking at me, answering my question.

“Ummm... There was one that took me out for like a month.” She didn’t look the least bit bothered about the question, just taking a moment to remember it. “It was a big battle about 2 years ago, where they called on dozens of Magical Girl teams from across Japan and as many from Poland to deal with a Witch that escaped here from their territory. She had this big cyborg dinosaur with her, with a big cannon on its left arm.”

“The entire forest we fought it in had to be burned down and regrown by those polish Magical Girls after the fight. The thing was strong, even if it looked like it was already rotting alive...” Salamon shuddered at a memory. And Salamon of all people acting like that was enough to sell on how bad it was. “Haruka did nothing but touch someone that was barely scratched by one of the shots, and got infected with something that left her out of commission for a month or so. The ones that were directly hit... It wasn’t pretty.”

I was speechless. I didn’t even know what to think about that. Renamon had stopped working halfway through the story.

“...Dah hell? Why did ah never hear ‘bout that?!” “That’s quite... How do I even say it?” “...Should I switch to a ritual of mental healing?” Everyone else had more to say than me.

“Well, it was kept out of records for some reason, so you wouldn’t hear about it unless asking someone that was there.” Magenta looked too cheerful when talking about that. “And don’t worry, Rena, it’s alright! In fact, that incident is what made me start considering having a Team, so in a way we can thank that month for the existence of Tres Magia~.”

Haruka... Magenta, went through so much... And still fights so fiercely, never giving up... Meanwhile, I...

“Why... Why am I so weak...?!” I clenched my fists on my uniform’s skirt, unintentionally letting out my thoughts.

“Uh?” “What’s that all of a sudden?” I flinched for a moment, once I realized I had said that out loud.

“Ah, no! I wasn’t trying...! I accidentally said...! It was supposed to remain a thought...!” I sent a pleading look of help at Renamon, but all she sent back was an encouraging smile, rather than a saving line, before getting back to working on the ritual.

The others just looked at me, as if telling me that we wouldn’t continue unless I went on with it.

“...” Taking a moment to organize my thoughts, I lightly freeze my face to force myself to calm down. “...Do you all think I’m weak?”

“What do yah-?! No, of course not, I would never think that!” “I’d say you are average at the low-end.” Kaoruko strongly denied it, while Angoramon gave a calmer but still supportive answer.

“Are you worried about that? Don’t worry! I know we have been too busy lately to go train, but with Enormeeta acting up in our city, I’m sure Vatz will give us more free time!” “Yeah, let’s go get some training to get stronger!” Haruka and Salamon on the other side were already getting pumped up to go train together.

I considered their words for a moment, but I couldn’t find any solace in them. “...Will that be enough...?”

Without waiting for a reply, I reach for the ribbon of my uniform and swiftly take it off, followed by the rest of the top. “Oi, don’t start suddenly undressin’!”. Ignoring her words, I unclasped my bra, and threw it to the floor.

“Domn’t suddenly flash yar tits, pervert!” Kaoruko looked away with an embarrassed look on her face, while Haruka was simply confused.

I took out the Transformation Heart from my pocket, and focused on it for a moment. Until a slightly tingling sensation could be felt in my breasts.

Slightly cupping my right breast in my hand, I slightly raised and pushed it to the left. From there, I could see, starting beside my nipples and set in a ‘line’ towards my armpit... Were just two bright blue 4-pointed stars.

“Eh, dat’s what worries you?” Kaoruko relaxed in her chair, resting her head on her fist as she raised the other, a single yellow star appearing on the back of her hand. Angoramon following with her own fist, the fur changing into a pattern of 2 green stars. “Ah have yah beaten there~.”

“Well, Kaoruko-chan raises into a 3 Stars when she enters her Assault Mode, so I’m not sure that’s the best comparison...” She flinched a bit at Haruka’s words, losing confidence in her argument. “Still, it doesn’t really matter that much, right? Stars aren’t everything!”

“Exactly! Technique and ability can overcome a difference in power! That’s why my Haruka is the strongest!” Salamon jumped besides Haruka, and opened the buttons at the front, pushing one side down, revealing the upper part of her left breast. “She’s both skilled AND powerful!

As she said that, Stars started to emerge in her skin. A group of three pink Stars surrounding one at the center, positioned above her heart, while a line of 4 Stars of a dark pink appeared along her side.

“S-Sala-chan! I-It’s embarrassing if you suddenly do that!” She fixed her pajama in a flustered rush, not noticing Kaoruko getting red at the sight.

“...I get what you mean, but...” I understand that... And that’s precisely the problem. “...Magia Baiser has 2 Stars, same as me, and I have done nothing but lose to her... And she’s supposedly just had her Magic for a couple of months.”

They all tensed at my words, understanding what I was getting at. Renamon looked away, remembering her own frustration at the situation, as the two white Stars appearing on her right shoulder.

“...And she’s already growing into 3 Stars. Her Partner did already get there.” In just a quarter or less of the time I have been a Magical Girl, she has already managed to beat me consistently in combat, while both of us being at around the same level of power. And now... She was going to be more powerful than me.

“...Tch, don’t worry too much ‘bout it, Witches ‘ave always grown more powerful faster dan Magical Girls. Comes with bein’ crazy an’ just doin’ whatever they want.” She was visibly frustrated, looking at the ground. “Dat’s a problem, but we ‘ave our own advantages. As long as we can avoid gettin’ killed, eventually we’ll win. I’m sure of dat.”

“Indeed. We have Cosmos’s backing, and what’s better than having the Goddess on our side?” Angoramon spoke with absolute belief.

I get what they mean, but that doesn’t really help at lifting my spirit...

“Mmm, I wonder about that...” That soft murmur from Haruka caught everyone’s attention. “Is Magia Baiser really trying to kill us?”

“Ehhh? Of course they are!” Kaoruko looked outright confused at her words. “Dat’s what Enormeeta does! They have killed hundreds of us! Dammit, look at what they did tah yah!”

“I know, but... I doesn’t really feel like Magia Baiser herself is actually trying to kill us.” Somehow, she sounded sure about her words. “For example, if we think about it, she already had two or three chances to kill Sayo-chan, right?”

I grimaced, feeling even worse than before with my weakness being pointed out.

...But she had a point.

Magia Baiser could have killed me... But she didn’t.

“And during last fight, she had Kao-chan and Angora-chan inside her monster, right? But she didn’t injure them at all.” This time, they were the ones to grimace and flinch, remembering how they were the first ones to be captured. “And Nero Alice was waiting inside the monster, so she could have done it while the rest of us fought.”

That’s... True. If they were aiming at killing us... The only one alive right now, would be Haruka.

But... Why?

Why choose not to kill us, after everything Enormeeta has already done?

“...Wouldn’t dat be even worse?” Now it was Kaoruko’s words that caught everyone’s attention, as her grimace deepened even more. “Bein’ captured alive, ah mean. Remember what Magia Baiser’s position in Enormeeta is suspected tah be? Their torturer.”

“...We would get all kinds of confidential information painfully ripped out of us.” Renamon shivered at her own words. I could feel her fear of the possibility. “...And then, once we have nothing left, they would kill us.”

That... Makes things even worse than before...

“Mmm... I still feel like we are missing something important in all of this...” Still, Haruka didn’t sound convinced.

But whatever the case was... Things weren’t looking good.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 7: The Sweetness of Challenge - Part 2

“Ahhh~” I felt refreshed as the last of my drink ran down my throat, tightly holding the can of the limited edition ‘Magenta Peach’ in my hand. And being faced by the hard decision of either throwing it away, or keeping it as a collectible item.

Unfortunately, I decide that it would be best to throw it. I haven’t reached the point where I’ll collect even tin cans just because they have the image of Tres Magia in them... Yet.

If one day start though, I’ll probably deeply regret throwing away this can.

“Yay~!” I looked to Kiwi at the side, as she posed for a selfie, holding a can of a different limited edition drink, that appears to be quite popular. I didn’t bother to remember its name nor flavor, since it had nothing to do with Tres Magia.

“Why is Gepard posing with her, if she won’t appear in the photo?” Mor’s question was a completely understandable one, that had also been puzzling me. 

“I’m wondering more how many selfies she has taken now.” She’s constantly taking a few of them, looking at the phone, and apparently deleting them before moving to a different spot on the park. From besides a tree to the fountain to the tree again to laying in to grass to back to the fountain. “She has been at it for almost 10 minutes...”

How is Gepard even keeping up with that...?

“Oh, I like this one~!” And as if waiting for us to have this exact conversation, she got up and walked back to us fiddling with her phone. “And... Sent! Come to me, likes~.”

“Sorry for the waiiiiit~.” As Kiwi continued to look at the screen of her phone with a satisfied look, Gepard was the one that looked just slightly apologetic. “She wanted to keep trying until she found one that ‘could cause World War III’~”

What type of metric even is that? “D-Don’t worry. If you had fun, that’s all that matters.” Everyone has fun their own way, after all.

“But daaaaaamn, where’s Korisu?” Finally putting her phone back in her bag, the first thing she did was complain. “We have been waiting 20 minutes already... I’m gonna die if I have to keep quiet for so long right after school!”

“C-Come on, be patient.” Mor tried to step forwards and placate Kiwi. “Korisu’s school is further from here, it’ll take her a bit longer.”

“She could have let us go pick her up... Will she even be able to get here on her own? Just one portal inside the bathroom and we would have gotten there in a minute.” “Yeah, nobody would noticeeee~.” It’s not like I don’t get where they are coming from, but...

“Korisu-chan insisted that she would be fine, so let’s trust on her.” And I don’t think we have to worry too much about her. She’s the strongest among us, at least considering she beat the two of us together last time. “And this is for her, so let’s do it how she wants.”

In the worst case scenario, she can just send us a message to go pick her up if she gets lost. I doubt she would do something dumb like Transforming and flying high to orientate herself... Right?

...Now I’m starting to worry.

“...Right... Damn, sucks for Korisu. That double croissant tore apart her dollhouse while escaping. Next time I’ll beat her up!” “Yeah, let’s kill Magenta next time to payback for the dollhouseeee~!” D-Double croissant?

“N-No killing!” A quick shrug from Gepard showed just how much she actually cared about killing Magenta. None at all. “And it was my plan that failed and let Magenta break out... So I’ll compensate her. It’s not Magenta’s fault.”

Those words quickly got me weird looks from those two, and made Mor smoothly float away to leave whatever is coming solely to me, like the little traitor she is.

“...Daaaaaamn, you really don’t hold any contempt nor grudge against Tres Magia, don’t you?” Gepard sounded genuinely surprised and confused. “Just having my toxin be pretty much ignored makes me angry~. Don’t you feel anything for your plan failing and the Schiavo being blown out?”

“Uh? Mmm... Not really?” That’s not something to be bothered about, right? “It’s just natural for the plans of the Villain to be ruined, isn’t it? Rather than succeed, I was aiming to succeed as much as possible before the plan was ruined.”

Fights are more hype when it looks like the villain has control of the situation the entire time, before the Magical Girls get out of the Villain’s predictions and the real fight starts! The raw, sometimes very bloody brawl where they throw everything they have at each other!

It would be boring if everything went according to plan after all, it just needs to go on rails for juuuuuust long enough to make the Magical Girls do their best~.

“Succeed as much as possible...” Kiwi looked thoughtful for a moment as she looked at me. “...Succeed at what exactly?”

“...At what?” That’s a strange questions... Didn’t I already answer that before? “To mess them up, I said it before at Nacht Base.”

It was quite the big moment too. Did I fry her brain too much that time?

“No, I get that. I think. But I don’t get exactly what ‘succeeding as much as possible’ means here. Either you mess them up or not. Or is it that you don’t care ‘How Much’ you mess them up as long as you do it a bit? And are you aiming for permanent damage or not? What do you want to accomplish as a Villain?” She looked quite puzzled as she asked this.

“Oh, it’s pretty simple. I just... Uhm...” ...Maybe it’s not that simple...

I know what I aim for, but I have just been going at it by instinct... That day at Nacht Base is the closest I have been to putting it into words... And this last fight, finally being able to fight on equal terms with Tres Magia... How do I say it...?

Kiwi and Gepard just waited for my answer, giving me time to think.

“Mmm...” I think... It would be something like this...? “...I want to mess them up, but not JUST to mess them up... That would be boring. I want to make them show me raw emotion. Their fear. Their pain. Their shame. Their unwilling pleasure. Their panic. Their despair... Their hope. Their determination. Their unbreakable willpower.”

Yes, it should be something like this.

“Each step of a plan should make them show me something. I don’t want just calm composure or them on ‘Work Mode’ like when dealing with DigiMinions or random weak Witches. I want to see them cry when I touch them. I wanna hear them scream when I lash at their bodies. I would love to see them try to bite me with tears down their faces as I tie them up and play with their bodies~.” They really do look great tied up~. “I guess that the end goal of the plan would be to completely and utterly break them up mentally, but that could never happen. They are Magical Girls after all. The point is to enjoy each step of the process that would make anyone else give up on everything~.”

I have been reading many kinds of... Well, porn, since I found out about BDSM, and while a lot of it is quite disgusting, a lot of it also looks quite interesting. And right in the middle of those extreme, making them quite fascinating, are things like Mindbreak and Corruption. Especially since I have seen it many times before in actual Magical Girl shows!

The process of slowly tearing apart someone’s mind, be it through pain or pleasure, or even both... Is fascinating, and often accompanied by a very healthy dosage of BDSM. Though at the same time, I dislike when it goes all the way and the character is permanently broken. Which, from the little I have read until now, seems to be quite common.

Once someone breaks, that’s it. If they stop fighting back, where is the fun?

There are many stories where a Magical Girl goes through a Corruption Arc, it’s quite a common trope, but they always come back to their senses in the end! They are Magical Girls after all, they can’t and they shouldn’t be permanently corrupted or broken!

“Yeah, that’s it. It feels good to put it into words, I just instinctively knew what I wanted until now~. Thanks for asking, Kiwi-chan.” I think I can think of what I want to do easier now that it’s more clear!

“...” “...” “...” They all just stared at me, incredulous looks on their faces. It felt uncomfortable.

“D-Did I say something weird...?” I... I just tried to give her a proper answer...

S-She started all this actually wanting to kill Tres Magia, so this shouldn’t be too extreme, right? ...Though, I guess that actually wanting to do to them what I see in porn may be weird...

“...Damn, you really ARE crazy... I like it!” W-What am I supposed to think of that...?

“You reaaaaally don’t have any shame~.” “I-I’m not shameless!” What is this furry scalie saying?!

“No... Well...” Even you Mor?! “...I kinda get it too, but... You are freaking them out.”

“...Eh?” Mor pointed at behind me, and as I looked back, I saw...

...Korisu and ToyAgumon, looking up at me judgmentally.

“...P-Please, don’t look at me like that! Forget what you just heard!!!” Since when have they been there?! How much did they hear?!

They just looked at me with judgmental eyes, before Korisu sighed and slowly shook her head disapprovingly, while ToyAgumon just looked away.

I fell on my knees, feeling as if my human decency had just been taken away by a 9 years old and a bunch of legos.

“...L-Let’s just go to the toy store... And forget everything I said...” I wish the earth could just swallow me whole right now...

...

The toy store was big, way bigger than I expected. Korisu looked so tiny surrounded on all sides by dozens if not hundreds of toys, some as big or even bigger than her. And she was radiant.

Her usual inexpressive face was now one of pure awe, her eyes shinning brightly as she looked around, taking in all the toys and games.

I had also lost ToyAgumon from sight. She’s still limited to be just 5 meters away from Korisu, so she must be close... Well, she’ll appear at some point.

“Now, where are the dollhouses...” This place is big, but not big enough to get lost. It shouldn’t take long to find them...

“...!” Korisu enthusiastically pointed deeper into the store, and without waiting for us, immediately ran off.

Well, as long as she didn’t break anything, it’s fine. We all have been like that at her age, so we just walked towards we assume she must have gone.

“Aaaaand those two are the strongest of us~.” Gepard’s comment let small laughs come from out little group.

It was pretty funny to think that this little girl and her robot could take all of us in a 1v1, and maybe even all at the same time. That mountain of steel punches HARD.

It’s impressive that she could actually keep on a straight up brawl with Nefertimon, even if she was the only one meaningfully hurt... And her injuries had already disappeared.

It took me way longer to recover from the bones she broke...

“How are you four so strong, anyway?” Mor just went and asked the question that I hadn’t thought of myself, but now I was curious for the answer too.

“Because we are the beeeest~.” Gepard looked way too proud of that. “Well, in reality all we did was fight those minion things for like a week. I ate a few. They taste quite bad...”

“A-ATE?!” “You what?!” I didn’t hear her wrong, did I?!

“Mhm, I got quite stronger after eating a few big ones~.” Either she didn’t notice our shock, or she enjoyed it, as she just bragged about it.

“It was quite the scene~. Those things disintegrated into shiny little balls after being killed, and she somehow absorbed all them as they came out~. All left behind was a weird egg.” I... I have never seen a Digimon do that... Is that something unique to her, or... “That’s quite the way to grow stronger~.”

I looked at Mor, and as she looked away from me, sensing the question I was about to ask, I dug my eyes into her even deeper. “...Can you... Do that too?”

“...Not sure. I... Think I can...?” Is... Is that a thing Digimon do, then? “A-Anyways, Kiwi! How did you get that strong?! How’s that thing where you just create guns everywhere?!”

The little coward changed the subject.

So, it IS a thing all Digimon can do... They... ‘Eat’ each other. That’s... News to me. I don’t think it has ever been mentioned by the Satellites nor any Magical Girl... I haven’t seen any Digimon working for them do it either...

Are they hiding it...?

“Oh, all I did was getting a lecture on how to use Magic, open the Domain, and then thrown to fight. It was mostly fighting.” She said casually, before turning to me. “Now that I think about it... Utena-chan, do you know how to use your Domain? You didn’t try to in our fight, but I’m sure you have done it before...”

“Uh? I have...?” When was that- Ah, right. When I first Transformed, and in my fight with Sulfur. “...No, I don’t really know how to use it. It just... Came out on its own, I guess?”

What’s with that, anyways? And what does a Domain actually do?

“Yeah, I think she mentioned something about it coming out on its own if you don’t practice controlling it...” ...Do I have to practice? ...I don’t wanna... “Well, using it is pretty simple. Just focus on what you want the most at the moment, until it goes ‘Kabaaaam!’ in your chest. When you feel like a hole in your chest is going ‘Fururururu’ then you focus in your weapon, and with a ‘Shuuuush!’ say ‘Install Domain’ followed by its name. And it comes out just like that!”

“...Can you explain that in Japanese?” Is the Fururururu part important?

“Oh, there is Korisu! Hey, Korisuuuu~!” She quickened the pace, as we finally found Korisu, having gotten to the corner of the store, where dozens if not hundreds of boxes with various types and themes of dollhouses were kept. Many on clear and carefully arranged exhibitions.

They were quite pretty... The cheaper ones were probably not as good as those, but we weren’t here for the cheap ones. We were her for the one that Korisu wanted.

And the ones being exhibited were gorgeous. They were very detailed, with lots of tiny additions like tables, tea sets, and even small musical instruments. Some weren’t even made out of plastic, but actual wood and steel.

I was starting to feel a sense of dread.

...Did I make a mistake? I brought all the money I have, both the remains of what Mor ‘Found’ and of my allowance that I still haven’t spent... But some of those are quite expensive...

Korisu and ToyAgumon were fawning all over them, moving from one to another, admiring each and every one with shinning eyes. 

...Oh well, Mor can go on a diet if we spend everything.

Mor gave me a side eyes. Not knowing what I was thinking, but undoubtedly getting the gist of it through our connection.

“Found one you like, Korisu~? Oh, this one’s cool!” “This is on Utena’s, so choose whichever one you waaaant~.” Kiwi and Gepard surrounded them, happy expressions on their faces as they saw those two so enthusiastic.

It was quite the heartwarming scene, I had to adm- “Uh?” My brain stopped for a moment, as I saw the dollhouse besides the one Korisu was checking out.

Or more like, the little figures accompanying them. 

In a moment, I was already in front of it, looking at it closely. The design was something I was completely unfamiliar with. But in front of it, there where small dolls of Tres Magia.

“I...I want it...!” My rationality had been left behind in the spot I was standing in a second ago.

This dollhouse had absolutely nothing to do with the Tres Magia, it was just a random dollhouse with a Magical Girl thematic. It was frilly, colorful, full of tiny references to nothing a fan would recognize, and I wasn’t nowhere delusional enough to believe the real Tres Magia lived in a house like this. It was just a not-so-cheap piece of merchandise, designed by someone that barely knows who the Tres Magia are.

And I wanted it so badly...!

‘Pat’ ‘Pat’

I’m taking out of my drooling at the dollhouse by a few small pats on my shoulder. After taking a moment to recover my senses, I looked to the side, to see a Korisu raising a thumb at me with a slight smile on her face. ToyAgumon was on the side, nodding understandingly.

“K-Korisuuuuu!” She gets it! That when my eyes fell on this Dollhouse, it was decided I HAD to buy i- “Ah! Wait, I’m not here to buy one for myself!”

Don’t forget why you are here, Utena!

“...Can’t we buy both?” Mor, if we buy both, you probably aren’t eating for a month.

“D-Did you find one you like, Korisu-chan?” I looked at both of them in the eyes as I asked. I could see one of the employees at the store getting closer in the corned of my eye, so I couldn’t call ToyAgumon too. Talking alone is one thing, but saying a name that ends in ‘-mon’ while taking to someone they can’t see is a bit too risky.

“,,,” She looked thoughtful for a moment, before she seemed to decide on one. So quickly walked besides one that looked like a large mansion, pointing happily at it. “...!”

I was not so happy when I saw the price.

T-They get THAT expensive?! I-I guess she may have chosen since it’s thematically similar to what happened when we first met... But I can’t pay that!

Fortunately for me, ToyAgumon had walked to a completely different one, one in my price range, and was happily jumping while pointing at it. And with a look of realization, Korisu quickly joined to point at the hotel-themed one.

“Then, do you want that one? You can still choose a different one.” I was hoping she kept to that one, which I could actually pay for, but I had to give them the chance to choose a different one.

“...!” They both strongly nodded... Before suddenly stopping, as their eyes fell on the boxes of still packed dollhouses in the wall. In a moment, they had moved to point at a different wall. “...?!”

The problem was that they both were pointing at a different one. They looked at each other in shock, as Korisu had pointed at a firefighter station and ToyAgumon at a police station.

And after a challenging look between them both, they suddenly moved to point at a different one. Again, at completely different ones.

“...This is hopeless.” “Agreeeeed~.” Mor and Gepard had gotten in agreement about this very delicate situation.

“Hey, Utena-chan, what do we do? I don’t think they are getting to agree on one any time soon.” Kiwi lightly nudged me on the side, a combination of amusement and worry in her voice.

“L-Leave it to me.” I said with a combination of panic and insecurity in my voice.

Slowly approaching those two, as they once again pointed at different dollhouses in some sort of fight, I crouch down to get closer to their eye level. 

“K-Korisu-chan, and...” It took just a moment for their eyes to fall on me, curiosity clear in their inexpressive faces. “How about you choose one thinking of what you would need the most...? One that has things that you’ll want when playing ‘inside’ with everyone, and you can come back to play with in many different ways.”

“...” They both attentively listened to what I said, and fell in thought once I finished. They slowly scanned their surroundings, taking into account every single dollhouse surrounding them.

And then, at the same time, their eyes focused on a single one. They walked together to it, and pointed together with confidence and a small smile.

“So, that one?” Their tiny, confident nods, had sealed my fate.

It was one of the fancy ones.

A pretty big house, boasting of many kinds of different rooms, from kitchens and dormitories to a pool and a ballroom. It wasn’t quite the mansion she had first pointed at, but it also wasn’t quite far from it in price.

I didn’t have enough in me for that one, even pooling together what I hadn’t spent of my allowance... As little of it as it remained after clothes shopping with the girls, and what was left of what Mor ‘Borrowed’... Well, as little as it remained of it after her meals.

“Should I help you girls picking up a box of that set?” My heart stopped for a moment as the employee that had just been watching us until now approached. “They are in the upper stands, so they may need a ladder to bring down, and they are pretty heavy.”

“...” Korisu and ToyAgumon just raised theirs thumbs, confirming the purchase.

“We... Don’t have enough for that one, right?” I wished I could unheard Mor’s words.

I started the sweat, and a shiver ran down my spine. As the woman got in the ladder, I grabbed Kiwi by the shoulders and whispered to her in a panic.

“K-Kiwi-chan, can you lend me 4.000 yen? I swear I’ll pay them back next m-” “Sure, take it.” Without even letting me finished, as I spoke, she reached into her school bag, put out her purse, and passed me more money than I asked for.

“...T-Thanks...? That... Was fast.” She didn’t even think about it...

“Sure, it’s just money. You don’t need to return it either~.” The casual way in which she put it took me completely off-guard.

“...Thanks.” All I could do was thanks her. Thank her from the bottom of my heart for saving me from having to tell Korisu, ToyAgumon, and the employee that I couldn’t pay for it.

...

We walked out of the toystore, Korisu proudly holding the bag with a box way too big for her to comfortable hold, while ToyAgumon walked almost glued to the box as she admired it.

I pointedly ignored Mor as she looked at the sky with a satisfied and resigned expression. I could feel her dread of what was going to come. Of the died we would be put through now that we would be sharing a single meal for the next 3 weeks, until I got my next allowance.

I’m sorry, Mor... You’ll have to be the sacrifice this time...

“Hey Korisu~. You sure you can carry that?” Kiwi asked the question that had been worrying me. “It’s too big.”

Korisu was starting to fall behind, having to stop at moments to adjust her grip,  and the box partially covering her field of vision. She looked proud as she held it, but that didn’t change that it was hard for her.

I stopped for a moment, before getting closer to her and extending my arms. “Can I help?”

I didn’t take it from her, I just left my hands there so she could pass it to me if she wanted. After a few seconds of thinking about it, she slowly passed the box to me.

I raised it, tightly holding it in front of my chest. I probably could hold it by the handles of the bag, but it was a bit heavy to hold with one hand for longer than a few minutes. This was no cheap toy. “We’ll get you two and the dollhouse home, is that fine?”

“...?!” She looked a bit surprised for a moment.

“Yeah, leave it to your big sisters!” Kiwi happily, if a bit roughly, ruffled Korisu’s head. “So lead the way, captain!”

After a short moment of silence, she smiled, and quickly walked ahead of us, pointing the way forward towards her home.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 7: The Sweetness of Challenge - Part 3

Ugh...

My arms are killing me...!

“Hello...” As we finally got to Korisu’s house, I called out as she kept the door open for us, her face back to her usual expressionless one after the long walk, but received no response.

It was a small apartment. The entrance led directly into the living room, with a small open kitchen on the side, 3 doors in the other and large windows at the end. There wasn’t much more than the essentials in both, no decoration nor anything like that besides a potted plant.

Is there nobody home...?

Still, I couldn’t think much about it was my arms were screaming at me, so I put that thought aside and walked into the home, straight to put the box down the large box over the living room’s table. It wasn’t TOO heavy, but carrying it for the 20 minutes it took to get here... Though I guess I should be grateful that she lives so close to the store. It could have been way worse.

“Your luck suuuuucks~. In all that stretch, there was no convenient place to open a Portal~.” Gepard was snickering at me from behind, but I couldn’t say anything about that. Of all the areas where I lack, luck is probably at the top.

“Yeah, no dark alleyways nor old poorly maintained streets. People and cameras everywhere~.” Ugh, I’m getting increasingly annoyed at how secure Japan is...

Opening Portals wherever I have seen in person before is so convenient... When I’m acting as Magia Baiser. When I’m Hiiragi Utena though... It’s hard to open a Portal in a good place, that wouldn’t have people see me nor make people checking the cameras wonder ‘Uh? Where did that girl go? She entered that place, but she’s not coming back...’.

It’s not like I want crime to run rampant, but... A few less street cameras would be helpful. I would rather not risk leaving possible evidence like that if an investigation on me starts.

“Korisu-chan, ToyAgumon-chan, where’s your room?” I look back at the little girl and the lego dinosaur, right on time to see the later come out of the Digivice, as Korisu held it in front of her.

“Ooooh, nobody’s home? Lucky~.” “Wah!” Gepard surprised Kiwi by suddenly jumping back into her bag, where she must be keeping her Star. Kiwi In a little panic reached into her bag and took the Digivice out, right as a clawed hand was already coming out of it.

‘Thud’ “Oi, don’t turn it upside down as I come out!” “Don’t come out so suddenly, idiot!” Gepard fell neck-first to the floor, causing the two of them to start arguing again.

‘Kreeek’ The sound of an opening door took my eyes away from them, and I saw Korisu opening a door as ToyAgumon pointed inside.

Ah, right!

I turned back to pick up back the large box, now more easily as my arms had a moment to rest. “Hey, Utena.”

“Mmm?” I looked at Morgana besides me, but rather than say anything, she just pointed down at the table, at a paper and... Money? There was a flowery letter there.

‘Korisu, please buy yourself some dinner.
                                              Love, Mom.’

There was a thousand yen bill alongside the note.

Buy herself dinner...? Not having anything pre-prepared, or telling her to wait until she arrives, but telling her to buy it herself...?

I lifted the box and turned away towards the room, my mind trapped in that note.

But... Korisu is just 9 years old... Is she supposed to order it online...? Would someone actually hand the delivery to a 9 years old? And one that looks a bit younger than even that...? Is she eating out?

“...Korisue-chan, is your mom at work?” I asked the little girl as I passed besides her, entering her room.

“Mhm.” She just gave a slight nod and a small sound, her eyes glued to the box I was carrying. Still, she waited for Kiwi to pass through before following me inside.

So her Mom is at work... And doesn’t appear to be anyone else here. 

Now that I think about it... Shouldn’t there be someone to pick her up at school? Isn’t she still too young to come back from school alone?

Mom only allowed me to go and come on my own when I became 11. Before that, she had negotiated her work hours so she could drive me to school on her way to work, and come pick me up on her way back.

I know that we live in a very safe town of an already safe country, but... This can’t be good.

...Though, I guess that now anyone deranged enough to try anything against her, would quickly become the victim.

“Whoa, not bad!” “This is quite the roooom~.” “It’s pretty...” They all commented as they entered the room behind me, but I was too focused looking down, carefully stepping around the various toys around the ground until I found a nice clean spot.

Crouching down to leave the box in the ground, I take a proper look at all the toys in the ground. Plushies, dolls, a toy cooking set, a figure of Magenta from the Life Colors era released in the 13 of march of 2021 that is currently a sought after collector’s item, a dollhouse hospital, something that I didn’t really know what it was but appeared to be circus themed...

Many of them appeared to be old in very bad shape. Dolls with missing limbs, plushies with their eyes jumping out and leaking their filling, the toy kitchen lost some of its fake buttons... Though many of them also looked new, as if they were just bought. She must really love them if she doesn’t stop playing with the broken ones.

I was joined by Korisu as she sat besides me, looking down at the box.

“That’s a lot of toys.” I said as I looked at her, while reaching into my bag now that my hands were free.

“Mhm.” She just nodded, her eyes focused on the box. Meanwhile I picked out the Digivice from my schoobag.

“Oh, finally!” Ghostmon jumped into the Digivice... Though, technically she never left it, and then came out. Lightly floating in the air, rather than falling neck first into the ground. “I kinda wish I was like the ghosts I saw on the Internet, so I could just pass through the bag...”

“Wait, you were tangible?! Awesomeeeee~!” “Waaah?!” Gepard jumped and grabbed Morgana by the ‘tail’, dragging her to the ground.

Looking away from those two, I finally got a good look of the room.

The walls were covered in a white wallpaper with pink diamonds scarcely spread along it, with decorative ribbons of colored paper adorning the walls. All the furniture was of a clear, almost yellow, wood, with the bed and a chest of drawers besides the door, and on the opposite side a set of open shelves below a window and besides a desktop combined with a bookshelf. On the side wall there was a pair of shelves on the wall, and a walk-in closet, while the other only had a window leading to a balcony.

‘Oi, don’t touch my hat!’ ‘I thought all along you were intangible like a ghooooost! As payback for lying, I’m taking your hat~.’ ‘When did I lie?!’

Besides all the kinds of toys spread everywhere, the room looked clean. A few dollhouses over a shelve, baskets full of toys, matryoshka dolls lining where books should be, a large yellow bucket with various plushies visible at the top... With the most eye-catching item in the room being a plush doll inside a glass case.

It was a very cute room, the kind that any little girl would probably love to have, but it also wasn’t overdone. It was very different to the living room, that appeared to have the minimum necessary.

‘Give it back!’ ‘Not until I get to try it o- Ow, ow, your hands burn! Kiwi, pass!’ ‘Wha-?! Got it!’

It was as if this room was the only one that mattered beyond being functional.

“...?” I’m taken off my thoughts as I notice Korisue looking up at me, confused at me suddenly stopping. ToyAgumon was now seated besides her, eying the box.

“A-Ah, right. Sorry, I spaced out. Should we open it?” Her eyes opened slightly at that as she nodded, while ToyAgumon slightly... Shook? Jumped? On her seating position. I guess that’s hype?

Thinking about it, it makes sense. It’s always more fun to open a gift with other people, so she must have been waiting for me to start.

‘How does it look on me? Do I look like a pretty Witch~?’ ‘It fits you gr- Wait, where is Morgana?’

Slowly taking the box out of the bag, mainly because the bag fit it too tightly and it took a bit of effort and help to get it out, we admired the packaging for a moment before starting to open it.

‘Wheeere did she g- Kiwi, don’t move.’ ‘Eh?’ ‘...Move one centimeter, and I’m burning off your buns. Now, take off my hat, slowly.’

As soon as the box was opened, we were welcome by the exact same dollhouse we were hoping to be. It was wrapped in plastic and foam, as expected, but it looked exactly of the quality promised. It almost made me wonder how it was as cheap as it is.

Is it because it’s not associated with any famous brand?

“Having it in our hands, it looks even better than in the package...” I admired the little vanity I held in my hands, taking directly out of the plastic package that came besides the dollhouse in the box, containing all the little parts. It was plastic, but it was pretty detailed for its size, and didn’t have any clear imperfections. It even had an actual functioning plastic mirror!

Korisu and ToyAgumon were looking in awe at other tiny pieces, all with a similar level of quality.

This was definitively worth the money.

“Should we start putting everything in place?” The two of them nodded, Korisu’s eyes wide open, while ToyAgumon was visibly shaking in place.

And so, with everything out of the box, we started to unpack all the little pieces, before choosing where they should go. It was a bit of a wonder how those blocky lego hands could hold anything, but things just... Stuck to it? 

‘Alright, alright, no need to get so... TOYAGUMON, CATCH!!!’ ‘ARE YOU SERIOUS?!’ ‘Nyahahaha, don’t so fast~! Genshoku no Mai!’

While we were in the middle of that, ToyAgumon reacted to the ruckus behind us and turned back. Right on time for Ghostmon’s blue flaming hat to fall on her face.

What is even going on? What have I exactly been ignoring?

She pushed it away, positioning properly over her head as I turned away to look at what was going on. Kiwi and Gepard had satisfied shit-eating grins on their faces, while Morgana slowly stumbled on the air towards us. She looked like she had a headache.

“Ughhh... Please, return my hat...” She sounded both irritating and pleading, it was almost pitiful. And I must admit that seeing her without her hat felt kinda sad.

ToyAgumon looked at her for a moment... Before deciding to sit on the ground, raising and crossing her legs as much as those jointless blocks would allow, and raised a hand to her mouth before doing the motions of laughing. Even without a sound coming out, her laugh was clearly loud and haughty.

“I-I don’t laugh like that! R-Right?!” She was taken aback at that clear attempt of imitating her as BlackWitchmon.

“Wahahaha~!” “Nyahahaha! It’s identical, identical~!” Those two gremlins were on their backs laughing, at the scene.

I totally didn’t laugh. I totally didn’t. I didn’t even snicker. Totally not. Nobody can’t prove it. And Korisu didn’t either.

“Ugh... My hat, please...?” With a pitiful look she begged for the hat once again. And ToyAgumon, having had her fun, stood up and offered her hat back.

“Tha-” But she froze as my hand reached it first, surprise and confusion in both of their faces as I took it away.

I’m not entirely sure WHY I did it. It was mostly my instinct telling me to not let it end there, and me just following it.

Maybe I’m getting into a playful mood?

I picked up the hat and, carefully, set it up in my own head, trying to not touch the active flames on it. Then, straightening as much as possible, I tried to take on an elegant pose with a hand holding the other arm’s elbow, and delicately raising my hand to my cheek.

“Now, let me enjoy your delicious screams of agony~.” I did my best to put on a sadistic smile on my face. I wasn’t exactly sure of how, so I just let my instincts do it, and hope it’s good enough.

“WAHAHAHA!!! SHE LOOKS THE EXACT SAME!!!” “NYAHAHAHA, THERE IS NO DOUBT THEY ARE PARTNEEEEERS~!!!” ‘Thump!’ ‘Thump!’ They were bashing their fists against the ground, visibly starting to have problems to breath out of the laughter.

Korisu and ToyAgumon were supporting each other, clearly doing their best to contain their laughter.

“You too?! Traitor! Backstabber! I thought we were Partners!” She shouted with overly dramatic pain. But I could tell what she was feeling at all times, so she couldn’t fool me. She was just irritated, not in any actual pain nor feeling betrayed.

Also, I don’t wanna hear that from you, little traitor! You have used me as a human shield multiple times!

“Fufu!” I couldn’t stop myself from letting out a chuckle before taking out the hat to return it. The hope that this would end very clear in Morgana.

But then I realized something...

...There is still someone that hasn’t worn it.

I stepped past Morgana, feeling like her hope shattered, and placed the hat on top of a surprised Korisu. “...?!” I didn’t say anything more. The message was clear, so I just raised my thumb at her.

And then, she feel deep in thought, holding her chin with her right hand. Followed by a few moments of silence as she thought.

“...K-Korisu...” Morgana reached to her pleading, but right after she thumped her right fist in her left palm, clearly showing she had gotten an idea.

She swiftly moved to the large yellow bucket between the pieces of furniture, and started to search inside.

What is she doing...?

After a few moments of silence as she searched, she finally found what she was looking for, and pulled out a... Jumping rope?

Walking back, she proceeded to swiftly grab Morgana from the ‘tail’, bringing her down to her level, just confusing the little ghost. And her confusion only grew more as she started to be loosely wrapped by the jumping rope, and gently pushed into the ground once Korisu was satisfied.

Only for then Korisu lightly stepping on her, holding an end on the rope, as she pulled her best attempt at a cruel smile over the ghost. 

What followed right after, started with two casualties.

Kiwi and Gepard died on the ground, twitching in an almost painful-looking way as they cried and released sounds that could barely be recognized as laughter and attempts at speaking some dead language.

ToyAgumon was painfully holding the wall, her body violently trembling, looking like it was about to come apart at any moment.

I didn’t laugh.

I SWEAR I didn’t laugh.

Nobody can prove ANYTHING.

...

“I’m sorry, I let my instincts...” “Hum!” I tried to apologize to Morgana, but she just held tightly her hat, covering her face.

“Oh, so that’s the Dollhouse? It look greaaaat~.” Gepard approached Korisu and ToyAgumon, having recovered her breath. Kiwi was still trying to resurrect herself on the back, but looked mostly fine.

“Y-Yeah, we were in the middle of setting it up! C-Can you help us, Mor?” “...Fine.” She gave me the perfect excuse to try to mend things with Morgana, and fortunately, she was forgiving enough to accept it.

“Wahaha... I’m... I’m joining too...!” Kiwi slowly approached us, tightly holding her stomach. She was barely alive, but slowly recovering from death.

“...” “...” Those two just nodded, but it was easy to notice they were happy of it by how much Korisu opened her eyes, even if she didn’t smile, and how ToyAgumon moved. Well, at least I think that’s what that means.

And so, we sat around the Dollhouse, talking, laughing, and emoting as we chose where to put everything, something just going back and changing stuff, just to then put it back.

“No, ToyAgumon, just think about it! It would be great to have a bookshelf in the bathroom! You can read while you shit!” Kiwi tried to make her point, but ToyAgumon just looked at her unimpressed.

“...Uh, talking about that... I’ll be back in 5 minutes.” Morgana floated off to the door. The apartment isn’t particularly big, so I doubt she needs to be pointed out at where the bathroom it is.

“...Mmm. I just noticed it, but...” I looked at Kiwi, who was having a glaring contest with the small lego dinosaur. “...You gave Gepard her name, and arbitrarily gave Mor hers because BlackWitchmon was too long... So why do you still call her ToyAgumon and WonderGuardromon? It’s even longer...”

“I tried giving her a name! But they don’t like any of my choices!!!” Kiwi looked irritated at those two, but they just looked away.

They didn’t like them? Well, I guess we just went with it too easily, but I’m sure they could have come up with something good together, right? “And, what was one of your suggestions...?

It can’t be that bad, right?

“Oh, I thought of great names like ‘Ultimate Battle Robot, Great DaiWonder!’ and ‘Machinery Devil, Dark Toy Kaiser!’, but they don’t like any of them!” She announced the names proudly and loudly, combined with her frustration at no name being chosen.

Korisu and ToyAgumon looked back at her just to look at her as if she was trash and a moron. I joined them, before I realized I did, and tried to turn back to a more understanding position.

“...A-Aren’t those even longer thought? The point is a shorter name, right...?” What is even with those names, anyways?

Gepard just shrugged on the side, apparently just accepting Kiwi’s naming schemes. Either that, or just not willing to put the effort to help change it.

“But that’s the point! Robots have to have a cool name like that!” Her insistence was kind of impressive in a certain way. “It has to be a name that sounds cooler and stronger the more you get into saying it!”

Korisu and ToyAgumon still didn’t look impressed.

“W-Well, if a name like that doesn’t work... Why not try the opposite approach?” Something that wouldn’t become painful to say all the time. “Maybe choose something short and cute...?”

She seemed to sulk for a moment, looking at the pair. “...Roboko.”

Korisu and ToyAgumon looked at each other for a moment... And nodded, returning a pair of raised thumbs at Kiwi.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!” Kiwi plummeted and spread in the ground, a pissed of face set on that ceiling as her arms and legs trashed around. “After 2 weeks of suggesting names during training, and you like this one?! It has nowhere the impact a cool giant robot should!!!”

No, I don’t think she’s giant in the first place.

“W-Well, it’s their choice in the end, right? If they prefer that kind of name, it’s nothing to be angry about.” “Yeah, Utena’s right~. It’s up to theeeem~.” Fortunately, Gepard backed me up on this, Kiwi visibly calming down. Though still looking sullen.

“A-And speaking of the training! You told me how to activate my Domain, right?” Though I didn’t really understand most of that explanation. “You said I have to say the name of the Domain, but... What’s the name?”

I can’t exactly call out something I don’t know how’s called...

“Mmm.” At that, Kiwi finally came back to normal, stopping a moment to think. Korisu and To-Roboko were just waiting on the side, leaving the explanation to her. Yeah, makes sense. “Yo-” “It comes naturally to you when saying iiiiit~.”

“Oi Gepard, don’t interrupt me!” “Speak faster then~.” Kiwi jumped at Gepard, grabbing her by the horn, and she responded by grabbing Kiwi by her buns. “You dumb lizard!” “Slow monkey~!”

...Are they seriously fighting over this?

“...Ehm... What do you mean it comes naturally...?” They both stopped to look at me. Fortunately, they both appear to get distracted pretty easily.

“It’s sim-” Gepard was going to answer, by Kiwi covered her mouth and continued for her. “Nah, she didn’t listen to half the explanation of Venalita. You CAN say anything that comes naturally, but ANY name you decide to give it works. And you don’t even NEED to say it, it just makes it easier. Korisu doesn’t even open her mouth when she uses it.”

“Uh... I guess that makes sense... So you do it the hard way?” I looked at Korisu,  who gave back a smug smile.

Those kind of smiles really come more naturally to her, don’t they?

“So any name works... I’ll have to ask Venalita what my Domain exactly does to choose one...” 

“Grrr, anyways, enough of this, let’s play!” Kiwi released Gepard, and got closer to Korisu, picking up an old pink plushie from the floor. “Kiwi-chan will be the rabbit!”

“Whiiiiim! Weeeeee!” She raised the rabbit high, treating it as toy airplane. “Tututututu-!”

‘Snap’ “Ah-” She froze as the slightly torn arm of the rabbit finally gave up under the rough play, and fell off. “Oh, crap!”

“Kiwi-Chan!” Y-You can’t break Korisu’s toys! She clearly cares a lot about them!

“I’m ba-” Morgana came back from the bathroom at that moment, but when look at the situation she arrived to, she floated back and closed the door in front of her.

“Don’t you run away!” You want me to deal with this situation alone?!

“Wahhhh, you reaaaally messed up now, Kiwi...” Gepard looked down at the torn arm, a strained and nervous smile on her face.

“Sorry, Korisu...” She looked and sounded truly apologetic as she lowered it towards Korisu.

“...” Korisu, on the other side, just slowly shook her head as she took it. T-Roboko picked up the arm from the ground, and they walked towards the desktop.

Korisu set the bunny down on it, as Roboko picked a round of tape from it and passed it to her, setting the arm on the side of the rabbit as Korisu took out a long strip of tape.

With clearly practiced movements, she started to tape the plush together, ‘Bandaging’ its torn arm back into place.

We just stood back, looking at her work, including Morgana that had decided she couldn’t run away.

Is she... Used to this?

Does she have to fix her own toys?

“I-I’ll look for one that doesn’t look like I’ll break by accident...” “That’s probably impossible~.” Korisu walked back, looking around and raising her middle finger at Gepard.

Until she arrived at the glass case on the shelves besides the door.

“Oh, this looks cool!” She didn’t think about it twice before lifting the glass to look at the doll inside. “What’s it called... An antique or something?”

It was a very pretty and old doll. A plushie, but clearly rougher than modern ones, wearing an old-style long-sleeved red dress and hat, with blonde hair tied in a pair of braids.

“K-Kiwi-chan!” That’s clearly the most important in the entire room!

“This one looks better~.” She carelessly picked it up with a smile, holding it from below each arm. But her smile faded off as soon as she did. “Wait, this one’s broken too.”

...Is it?

It didn’t LOOK broken, only old... But it could be below the clothes. Maybe something one would only notice when actually holding it...

Korisu didn’t lose much time on going after Kiwi, extending her arms in front of her to signal at her to give the doll back.

“What, is it special?” Isn’t that obvious?!

“Isn’t that obvious?!” Morgana, stop reading my mind and exposing its contents to the world.

Fortunately, Kiwi properly and carefully handed Korisu the doll. Who just held it in front of her, looking at it.

Looks like that one is her favorite.

If her favorite is in that state... And if she has to fix her own toys...

...I... Don’t have myself too much confidence on this, it would be a challenge, but...

...I guess nothing really worth it comes easy.

Having made up my mind, I approached Korisu, walking around Toy-Roboko, and lightly lowered myself to her level. “Korisu-chan, if you want, I can fix her for you.” 

They both looked at me, surprise clear on their face.

“Wait, you know how to do that, Utena-chan?!” Kiwi somehow was the most surprised of them all.

“Eh, you really know how?” Morgana, why are you the one sounding doubtful? You have seen some of my handmade things!

“Ohhhh, can you make me a jackeeeet~?” Don’t start just asking for crazy stuff like that, Gepard!

“My mom taught me when I was little.” I tried to keep my smile, not letting those last two get to me. “Of course, I’ll only do it if you’re okay with it, Korisu-chan.”

“Wow, you are total wife material! Marry me~!” I ignored Kiwi as I looked at Korisu.

She looked closely at the doll, deep in thought. It was hard to guess what she was thinking about. There was simply no way I could know what story she had with that doll.

But after a few moments, she turned around, and slowly handed the doll to me. 

I was surprised for a moment that she actually accepted, but put my smile back in, and carefully took it. “I’ll get it fixed up for you!”

She nodded, as Roboko just looked curiously. Maybe not even her knew the story behind this doll.

I’ll have to do my best. This may be a lot more important than I can imagine.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 7: The Sweetness of Challenge - Part 4

“MAGENTA!!! SULFUR!!!” I screamed to the top of my lungs at my friends, who were immobile in the ground. I didn’t know if they were just unconscious, or...

I tried to reach for them, desperately, but my hands and legs were tied to the ground by a mass of wriggling, soft wires, which were slowly climbing up my body, reaching places they absolutely shouldn’t.

I didn’t know what had happened to Youkomon, I couldn’t feel her presence anymore. She, alongside Nefertimon and Leomon, had been thrown inside Nero Alice’s dollhouse, and still haven’t come out.

“Grrrr!!!” I clenched my teeth, desperately trying to break free, freeze those wires to stop their progress and break them off. But no matter how much I tried, they resisted, and went further and further up.

I wasn’t strong enough.

‘Click’

Then, a sound reached my ears. One that made my heart jump in a mix of emotions.

‘Click’ ‘Click’ ‘Click’

The clattering of heels was slowly, almost mockingly slowly, coming closer from behind. Fear, terror, anxiety, dread... And a different emotion that didn’t fit with the rest swirled in my heart, making it beat faster and faster.

I-I have to free myself, now! 

Nobody is saving me now, I have to be the one to save them!

I have to be strong for them!!!

“Grrrrraaaaaaa!!!” I pulled with all my strength, I pushed out every bit of magic I had left, I even froze-solid the entire area around me, turning it into a pure white and blue landscape.

‘Click’ ‘Click’ ‘Click’

Put regardless of that, or maybe even heedless of that, the sound of those heels, of each step getting louder and louder as SHE approached, remained constant. Not slowed even a bit. And the wires didn’t slow down their approach either.

I could feel the wires starting to wrap themselves around me. Wrapping in complex patterns, around my thighs, around my hips, around my breasts, around my neck.

The only thing that changed in speed, was my heart. It continued beating faster and faster, making my body grow hotter regardless of the cold I had created around myself, the emotions inside it burning and growing exponentially. Especially one, burning hotter and brighter than any other. The one that didn’t fit the others, and that shouldn’t be there.

The one that I didn’t want to give a name to.

‘Click’ ‘Click’ ‘Click’

I bit into them them.

Out of strength, out of magic, out of options, I bit into those wires like a rabid animal. With despairing and fruitless effort, knowing fully well that it would do nothing.

Maybe at that point I knew that it was useless, and I was doing it for a completely different reason.

I was doing it just to ignore that unnamed feeling in my heart.

The reality had already settled inside me, and consciously or unconsciously, I had already accepted it.

She was stronger than me. 

‘Click’

I stopped, freezing in place regardless of my ever increasingly hot body, as the sound of heels stopped, and the light covering my body was hidden in the shadow of a person.

The shadow of a demon.

I slowly looked up at her, at the shadowy silhouette keeping the light away. And my eyes met hers, shining golden set on mine, her star pupils feeling like sharp daggers piercing into my heart.

And she smiled, a smile full of sharp teeth, with fangs that looked like they could cut through and pulverize bone. A smile that made my heart beat strong enough that it felt it was going to explode.

“M-Magia Ba-!” I tried to scream her name, but wires suddenly shot from my neck, wrapping around my head and sealing my mouth shut. All I could make now where muffled sounds, my right to speak being completely and utterly denied.

“Now, now, Magia Azul~.” She slowly crouched down, her face slowly closing on  mine. Her slightly red lips in front of my eyes as she softly cupped my face with her hand. “You don’t need to speak anymore. You don’t need to fight anymore. You don’t need to think anymore... There is something that fits you a lot better~.”

Her hands, slowly, delicately, lowered to my neck, their touch sending shocks of a strange, powerful sensation through my body. One that made me scream, but only muffled sounds could escape.

‘Click’

A last clicking sound, one very, very different from the previous one, with a meaning that completely stopped my heart at the realization of what it was, came from my neck.

And as she started to rise up again, the light behind her growing dimmer and dimmer as it disappeared entirely, my heart turned on again as I saw her hand. Beating faster than any human heart should be able to endure.

As I saw the leash she has holding.

The leash that was connected to the collar around my neck.

“From now on, you will speak only when I tell you to speak, fight when and who I tell you to fight, and think what I tell you to think...” Her shining eyes and smile became the only things visible in the overpowering darkness, as she stood tall above me. “From now on, you are my...”

A tear ran down my face, as my body violently trembled out of terror, and out of that overwhelming, unnamed sensation running rampant through my body.

I could do nothing but tremble, as I looked up at my new mistr-

...

I forcefully opened my eyes, the darkness of the dream replaced by the darkness of my room, as I stared into the ceiling. 

What... Was that dream?

I reached a hand to my face, and looked at it after clearing a tear that had gone down my face. A very real tear, not the same one as the dream.

Or maybe, they were the same one.

I slowly sat up in my kakefuton, rubbing my eyes to erase any presence of tears. I instinctively looked for Renamon, before remembering she wasn’t here tonight.

“Ahhh... I need some water.” I wasn’t particularly thirsty, but I felt like I needed something to clean my insides.

Slowly getting up, I get the thick sheets of my bed out of the way and lightly straighten my white yukata, not like I need to do so. My body comfortably cool under all of that thanks to my magic circulating my body.

I walk carefully over the tatami mats, trying to not wake up anyone in my way to the kitchen. Not like that’s very likely, given how heavy is everyone’s sleep. The only one with a light sleep is not here anymore. So I feel no worry as I cast a short spell to create a small light over my finger, lighting the path ahead.

What was that dream even about...?

The details of the dream were already escaping my mind, I had never been particularly good at remembering them. But I could clearly remember Magia Baiser’s eyes and smile, and how I felt during it, even if not the context of why.

The wrong feelings that had filled my heart during the dream. 

The wrong feelings that had filled my heart just days ago, when Magia Baiser had me trapped, and I thought all hope was lost.

“...What is happening to me?” If I should be dreaming something like that, then it must be a nightmare. But why didn’t it feel like one?

“...I need Renamon...” I needed her to perform the same ritual of mental strengthening she likes to perform on me before going to sleep. I have never had a nightmare after she did it, so maybe I could avoid another dream like that with her help.

I reach the bottom of the stairs, and turn towards the kitchen. But halfways, my eyes fall on the small shrine at the living room.

Stopping for a moment, I turn towards it, but stop after taking a single step. The shame in me too great to approach it right now.

But still... I really felt like I needed to.

Taking a deep breath, I walked towards it, the doubt in my heart growing at the prospect of letting things out. It didn’t stop me, but as I sat on my knees in front of it, I couldn’t let a word out.

“...” I just sat there in silence as the minutes passed. The guilt and shame in my heart to great to speak it out loud.

But if there is a place, someone I could let it out... It should be here.

“...What... Should I do...?” I let out the words slowly, feeling as if they burned my cold throat. “I... Have never felt like this before... I... I don’t want to... At least, not because of her...”

I gripped my yukata. The words starting to come more smoothly, but also more painful to let them out.

“The things she did to me... The things she did to us...” The mere thought of it had made my heart start to beat faster. I slightly cooled it with my magic to calm it down, something I was told not to do, but still found myself doing from time to time. “I... Don’t want to imagine what would happen if we lost... I know what Enormeeta does, but I feel that if we lost to her in specific... It would be even worse...”

Something even worse than being killed.

Something that sullied everything we have all been fighting for, that made it crumble and collapse.

“Witches are Evil... All of them are... And still...” And still...! “Why... What... How is it that I have this feeling in my heart? Is this some sort of Mental Magic attacking me?”

I tightly bit on my lips, as tears started to run down my face.

“...I’m scared. I’m scared of what this feeling is... I’m scared of what’ll happen if we continue fighting her...” Of her continuing to grow even stronger than me, of me not being able to stop her from turning me into... “...I have had many challenges since I became a Magical Girl... I overcame them all... But nothing like this...”

My life has been in danger many times before, it is each time we go out and fight Witches and Digimon, but my spirit had never wavered, and together we all triumphed in the end. Yes, my life being threatened is not enough to make me step back.

But what do I do... When the thing being threatened... Is my heart?

“...What should I do... How should I deal with this...?” I raised my tearful eyes to the shrine, meeting with those of the photo sitting at the middle of it. The kind eyes of the kindest woman I have met. “...What do I do, Grandma?”

“Melt! Grrrrr! Melt already!!!” I screamed with everything I had, as my paws dug into the ground, trying to somehow stop in place. But it was useless.

The DigiCore in my chest vibrated as I panicked. My very soul trembling at knowing what was about to happen.

And one look behind me was all it took to make the trembling even worse.

My nine tails were tightly wrapped in golden chains, chains that refused to melt even while inside the hottest flames I could make. Their golden shine clear even inside the bright orange flames.

And those all those chains converged back into the staff of that woman. That witch of golden chains, smiling cruely as her eyes were hidden by her large hat.

BlackWitchmon was gleefully reeling her prey in. 

Me.

“Fufufu... Resist all you want. It’ll only make what comes next even more satisfyin~.” A shiver ran through my wireframe at her words. The dozens of spheres of dark purple lightning were floating around her.

I knew exactly what was coming next if I didn’t free myself. 

I knew that there was no way I could ever know what was coming next.

Each and every one of those things contained a different, unique kind of pain. From something manageable like a small cut or a light burn, to feeling like my very DigiCore was scratched. There were even kinds of pain I couldn’t describe, pains that I don’t understand. Pains that I can only assume are of Human origin, that I SHOULDN’T be able to feel under any circumstances, and still, she can force me to.

And among all of those, there was one that was worse than any of the others. One that I couldn’t even imagine what could even do to me. One that had been witnessed once, and fortunately destroyed before it reached its target.

A giant crying head floated over BlackWitchmon, its transparent form and purple lightning clearly shouting its true nature.

The step above the Agony Shocks.

The Agony Elemental.

...If that thing hits me, I’ll...!

I’ll...!

I didn’t even know what words to use, or what even to expect of it. After all, how could I?

It won’t hurt me. Those techniques have never hurt me, they have never hurt anyone. They are just a terrible distraction, barely above an illusion, or maybe even lower than one. The kind of technique only a real monster with way too much overconfidence would consider using in combat.

And that being the case...

...What would happen if that same twisted, evil, and harmless technique was twisted even more, the evil behind it growing even stronger, and still remaining completely harmless?

What could it possibly be doing with all of that power, when it’s not actually causing any damage?

...I don’t want to find out.

I don’t want to find out.

I don’t want to find out. I don’t want to find out. I don’t want to find out! I don’t want to find out!!! I don’t want to find out!!! I DON’T WANT TO FIND OUT!!!

I De-Evolved, turning back into Renamon. And with my change in form, all those chains wrapped around my tails fell off, giving me my only chance.

I tried to run away.

To escape.

‘Thump!’

But the next thing I saw, was the hard ground meeting my face, and a sensation around my feet that filled my DigiCore with despair.

“Graaaaaaaa!!!” I clawed at the ground with everything I had, shook my leg with all my strength in the vain hope that I could free myself. But I couldn’t even slow myself down.

“Now~. How about we test this one out~?” She talked with a twisted glee, as the Agony Elemental above her started to move. “Please, give me some good screams...”

“N-No... No!!! STOP!!!” The giant head was only motivated further by my screams, opening its mouth wide, and in just a moment that felt like an eternity, engulfed m-

...

“Gra!” I suddenly opened my eyes, my fur standing on end as I looked alarmed at my surroundings.

But there was no presence of BlackWitchmon anywhere.

“...Just a dream...” It had been all just a dream. Just a terrible dream.

I let out a sigh of relief as I looked around, feeling a sense of wrongness from waking up in a different place than usual. Rather than the usual japanese-style room with little to no decorations, waking up in a room full of trinkets, posters of things I didn’t know, and jars with a variety of mushrooms growing inside. I could barely see things in the dark, but looking at it in the middle of the night gave it an unique charm.

...Maybe I should suggest Sayo to stop saving all her money and just spending it when going out with the girls, and just start buying things she wants. It’s not like she lacks the money.

I should just go back to sleep...

...Though, since I’m awake, I may as well re-apply the ritual on Haruka. The faster she recovers, the sooner she’ll have to stop suffe-

“Guh... Ah...!” “Grrr...!” My thoughts are interrupted as I heard both of their voiced, grunting in pain.

“...!” I almost shout of to them in worry, but manage to stop myself right on time. I don’t want to wake up them.

They were both lying on the bed side by side, twitching as they grunted and murmured in their sleep.

I slowly approach them, paying attention to their faces, as their bodies twitched. They didn’t exactly look in pain, more like they were having a nightmare.

I... Should probably just give her the Recovery Ritual, putting her health first. But...

Debating it with myself for a moment, I decide to change to a Spirit Strengthening Ritual, the same I give Sayo every night so she sleeps well. It should help with the nightmares.

Calming my soul and focusing energy on my finger, I start softly tracing the DigiCode across the wall, leaving lightly shinning lines on it. I had to be careful to not press too hard and make actual scratched on it.

Then, I moved to marking the floor, and ultimately the bed itself. It was a simple, short ritual. The kind my current power allowed me to use. But still, an effective one.

“Grr... Renamon...?” I stopped my work, focusing back on the people sleeping. Salamon’s eyes were slowly opening, barely awake. “What are you doing...?”

“Sorry, for waking you up, Salamon. I was-”  “Mmmg... Rena...?” I was cut off as I heard Haruka’s voice.

I ended waking up the both of them...

“Sorry for waking you two up... I got up from a bad dream and noticed you two were struggling with a nightmare, so I was performing a ritual so you two could sleep well.” If I ended waking them, then my technique is still not good enough...

“Oh, I see... Thanks, Rena.” “Sorry for worrying you~...” Fortunately, they took very well being woken up in the middle of the night. If it was Kaoruko and Angoramon, I may have ended injured.

“If it’s not much problem, can you remain still as I finish it?” They both quickly agreed with smiles on their faces and remained in their positions, letting me work. It was a serene moment, though also nerve-wracking in its own way, as they just looked at me with curious smiles as I worked. With Sayo it’s usually more solemn, but now it felt like they were poking at me with their eyes. Just working in silence felt wrong, and uncomfortable. “...Was that nightmare... From our current problem?”

“Mmm...? Not really... Just a normal nightmare.” “Yeah, just some old memories...” Memories... Normal... I don’t like how that sounds...

“...Do you have nightmares like that often?” I continued tracing the lines of DigiCode, getting to writing them over their bodies. They released small chuckles as they got ticklish.

“Not too often... Just once or thrice a week.” “Depends on the time of the year~.” I really don’t like what I’m hearing. I don’t like it at all. If my sisters heard about it, they would drag those two immediately to talk with a High Priestess, or maybe even ask the Supreme Priestess for help.

I finished writing the DigiCode, so not wanting to lose time, and therefore effectivity of the ritual, I put my hands together, letting my fingers touch but keeping the palms as far as part as possible, as I prayed. “Spirits that travel the flow the earth and the stars, I beg for your kindness and compassion. Share your strength of will and fortitude of soul with us. Help these people face their fears with their head held high, so they may one day help someone else.”

The writings all around started to shine brighter, energized by the spirits of this world lending a little bit of their strength, before their bodies themselves started to glow in a soft, blue light.

After a few seconds of that, the light died down, and the DigiCode disappeared, leaving just the two of them behind.

They blinked a few times, before taking a deep, long breathe, and letting it all out, leaving just pleased smiles on their faces.

“That feels a lot better!” “I should ask you to do this more often~.” They looked genuinely happy, even knowing this was just a temporal solution. A patch to the problem.

“...I’m sorry this is all I can do.” At my current level, I can’t do much more for them, neither a stronger ritual nor wiser words that could help them. All I can do is making them feel better for a moment. And I can’t make this an usual thing either. As much as I would like to do this every night, I can’t come every day, it would be dangerous to not remain by Sayo’s side as much as possible when Enormeeta is being so active, and even targeting us.

“You did more than enough.” “Seriously, thanks~.” The sincerity of their words only worries me more. I should speak with Sayo about th-

“Oh, and please, don’t speak to the others about my nightmares, alright?” “Mhm, it wouldn’t be good if they started worrying~.” That was exactly the opposite of what I planned to do. I can’t just leave it at that. Even if they aren’t experts on the subject, Sayo, Kaoruko and Angoramon can he- “Please...”

Her eyes were pretty much begging me. But she didn’t sound desperate. It was more like she accepting whatever I decided to do, but truly hoping I wouldn’t do it.

“...Ahhh, alright...” Considering I don’t even know what that nightmare was about... Maybe telling the others right now wouldn’t be the best. I’ll just try to help them out however I can, and as long as they allow me to. “...I’ll go back to bed then. You two try to get some sleep, I have already kept you two awake too long.”

I turned away, in direction to my bed. Kind of wishing I could perform that ritual on myself. But alas, I’ll have to just try to sleep normally. “Uh?” But I was stopped in place, as Haruka’s hand grabbed mine.

“Where are you going?” “You aren’t getting away now~.” Salamon joined her, and together the dragged me back, pushing me into the bad.

“W-What are you-” I was quickly silenced by Salamon covering my mouth with her paw.

“You said you were woken up by a bad dream, right? In that case, you should sleep with us tonight!” “It’ll help you sleep better~.” They said with complete confidence, as they settled the sheets over me. “Good Night...”

Without even giving me the chance to protest, they had made themselves comfortable on each side of me, while Haruka hugged me like a pillow.

At that point, I didn’t have an option besides just making myself comfortable, and closing my eyes.

They were warm. Very warm.

Before I realized it, I was drifting back to sleep.

I had a nice dream.

“GRAAAA!!!” ‘THUMP!!!’

I suddenly wake up, jolting upwards at the feral scream and sound of something being hit hard, accompanied by the rush of anger through my link with Kaoruko.

Looking down from the ceiling, where I was sleeping face-down in my holographic state, I saw her in the bed, panting heavily after burying her fist into the poor, innocent pillow.

“W-What happened?!” Did something happen while I slept?! Did the pillow suddenly attack her?! Can pillows do that?!

“...Ahhhh... Sorry for wakin’ yah up, Angoramon.” She calmed slightly, laying back in bed to look up at me. “Just had a dream of Magia Baiser. She was just flyin’ ‘round, gettin’ away from all attacks an’ just sendin’ weak monsters, mockin’ me all dah time for not being able tah get tah her. It was so dam’ frustratin’...”

...Irritation started to build up on me as I heard that. 

We got to pay her back for our first encounter when we cornered her at the mall, but were held back from finishing her off by one of her allies attacking us by surprise. But after that, that despicable villain attacked Azul and Youkomon while they were patrolling alone, and the next time we faced off against her, she attacked us from behind to get us out of the fight quickly.

She didn’t even TRY to actually take us out, nor beat us with that. Just capture us, keeping us out of the fight, without even giving us a chance to fight in the first place.

And the moment we got out, she ran away, alongside her new comrades. Who we didn’t even get the chance to fight.

It was so, so frustrating...

...My fists were starting to ache.

I slowly floated towards the Digivice in her side-table, and entered it, coming back in my actual body just moments later. 

She just looked at me with curiosity, as I picked up one of the cushions in the ground, and ‘THUMP!!!’ punched it, sending it flying in a straight line towards the wall.

“...Yeah, I get your frustration.” From all the enemies we have fought until now, from all the fights I have had before joining the Tres Magia... I had never fought someone so frustrating before. 

The way she was doing things felt wrong in so many ways. Wrong even for a Witch. I desperately needed to make things right.

“...Ahhhh~. Ah wanna cave her face in~...” “You and me both...”

I really needed to deliver a dose of hard justice at those two.

And they better fight back properly the next time.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 7: The Sweetness of Challenge - Part 5

‘Chirp’ ‘Chirp’

The sounds of birds sing caught my attention, and a look at the window told me that the sun was already coming out. And I hadn’t gotten a single wink of sleep.

‘Yawn’

I took a long stretch in my chair, before looking at the desk in front of me. The doll resting there was in far better shape than before, but still not completely fixed.

“Still so much to do...” I picked up the doll, which had her dress removed. That was pretty neat, one of those with many different outfits you can get separately, or even get custom ones for it. I can only wonder if it was a popular one at some point.

Still, the state it was in wasn’t nearly as good.

The dress wasn’t sparking new, but it was mostly alright. I had managed to pretty much fix it with just a needle and thread of the same color, though with evident ‘scars’ if one looked closely.

Her body though... All the damage she had acquired over time was hidden by the dress. Multiple stretches, scratches, and outright ruptures that had been covered with tape were all across her body. Removing a single piece of tape had the filling dangerously close to spilling out. And by the sensation when touching her, she had already lost some of it.

It’s of no surprise Korisu’s mom had decided to protect it with a glass case, and it was left at that. She could break entirely at any moment if played with, and not everyone know how to fix or even a place where to send a doll like this to get fixed.

Damn, I’m not even sure if I’ll be CAPABLE of fixing this doll. I’m not even sure my Mom could do it. She did teach me, but she’s no expert.

“...Her mom...” The though had come back to my mind. I still hadn’t met her. We were at Korisu’s home until relatively late, my own Mom was already at home for a few hours by the time we said goodbye. It was already getting dark.

...And still, nobody arrived at Korisu’s home.

“...Is that normal for her...?” Being alone all day. Just given money to get something to eat. At just 9 years old...

Her only company being her toys...

“...” I slowly, carefully, picked up the doll. She had a smiling face, as if not caring at all about its pitiful state.

It’ll be hard. I don’t even know how to fix most of it. This challenge is beyond my current abilities...

...And still...

“...I’ll get you fixed.” This was Korisu’s precious doll. It’s not a question of it being possible or reasonable.

I’ll do it.

“...Nothing worth it is easy, right?” I’ll take on this challenge. How hard it is will only make Korisu’s joy even sweeter once I show her the doll fixed.

Carefully letting the doll back in my desk, I got up and walked to my bed to pick up my phone. A quick check showed that it was too late to get any sleep, so I just looked at the Transformation Star I foolishly left over my bed, completely forgetting to hide it.

Morgana must be having a nice sleep right now, having gotten frustrated when trying to learn to sew after the first hours and gone to sleep. If it goes like with me, she’ll give it a try again tomorrow and keep up with it.

“Mmmgrph!” I take another long stretch, trying to throw the tiredness away from my body, as I made up my mind.

After school, I’ll go to a specialist shop to get the materials I’ll need to fix the doll. Though before that, I should check some tutorials online on how to do it, and what materials I’ll need... And ask Mom for money for those materials

This will be a long day.

...

'Yawn’

I did as best as I could to keep down a yawn, but it was impossible. As soon as I sat down on the classroom, I could feel the exhaustion take a hold of me.

“Utena, will you be alright?” Morgana asked worried as she floated around me. “I’m not sure you’ll endure all day like this...”

“...Mmmgrh...” I tried to answer, but I had to stretch my shoulders a bit first. “...I’ll try. In the worst case scenario, I’ll sleep during history class.”

“You probably should have slept at least a bit... Good thing I went to bed as normal yesterday.” Dirty traitor.

“Good morning, Utena.” “Mornin’~.” Sayo and Kaoruko greeted me as soon as they entered the room. Haruka was still absent.

“Ah, good mor-‘yawn’.” My greeting was ruined by my exhaustion.

“Are you alright, Utena? You look exhausted. Sayo looked worried, while Kaoruko sighed. “Did you have problems sleeping?”

“Ah... Yes, I spent all night working on something, and before I noticed the sun had already come out, so... I just came to school.” I nervously scratched my chin, while looking aside, suddenly very interested in watching the gyaru giving a manicure to the twins. “...Mom got quite angry at me for that, threatening to throw in the trash whatever I was working on. At least until I told her what it was...”

She calmed down when she heard I was fixing a doll for a 9 years old, and was quite impressed when I showed her what I had done by that point. But still warned that she would throw something out if I spent another night not sleeping.

“T-That’s not good, Utena! You need to sleep properly!” Sayo got quit assertive about the subject. “I understand if there is something you want to finish as soon as possible, but you can’t sacrifice your sleep for that!”

“Ugh... I... I want to finish it soon...!” I don’t know if it’ll be especially hard for Korisu to be away of that doll for long, but in case it is, I would rather finish this sooner rather than later.

“...Yah say dat, but yah had problems sleepin’ too, didn’t yah, Sayo?” Sayo froze, and turned back to Kaoruko flustered.

“Y-You promised to not tell that!” “I lied.” Sayo looked shocked and betrayed, before turning to the other side and murmuring something to herself.

“What were yah workin’ on?” Leaving behind the backstabbed Sayo, Kaoruko approached with curiosity.

“I’M NOT LATE!!!” But before I could answer, a loud shouting from the door caught the attention of the entire class. “Oh, the teacher’s not here yet? Lucky~.”

Kiwi went from panicked to completely relaxed and joyful in the blink of an eye.

“How you doing girls~?” She approached us happily, swinging her sleeves. She looked in a particularly good mood. Probably related to the... Sauce? On her cheek, of whatever she ate that must have made her think she would be late. “Something fun going on? Sayo looks pretty flustered~.”

Gepard wasn’t with her, so she probably was sleeping inside the Digivice.

“Good morning, Kiwi-chan. They just asked why I didn’t sleep tonight.” Stopping for a moment, I reached for her cheek, cleaning whatever sauce she had in her cheek with my thumb, and licking it clean. “I was going to tell them how I was fixing Korisu-chan’s doll, and by the time I realized it was already morning.”

Uh, it wasn’t sauce, it was strawberry ice cream. Tasty.

For some reason, both Kiwi and Kaoruko flinched, their faces growing slightly red. Sayo on the back was already even redder before, but she still looked surprised.

Is it that surprising that I’m fixing it...?

...Though, I guess not many people actually know how to sew, so it makes sense. It’s likely that only one person besides me knows how to sew in this classroom. Maybe two if we are lucky.

“O-Oh, ah see... Dat’s very kind of yah...” Is it? Helping a friend is just the natural thing to do, though. “But don’t overdo it, even if tomorrow’s dah weekend, yah need some sleep.”

Ugh, I know... But I can’t rest until this gets fixed!

“W-Well, of course Utena-chan is very kind!” Kiwi suddenly looked very happy. “Anyways, where’s Harukappi? Still ill?”

“Y-Yeah, she’s still recoverin’.” Kaoruko’s expression and posture were returning to normal.

“She should be back to normal by Monday. So there’s no need to worry.” Sayo had finally come back. She really gets way too embarrassed when she’s caught on something.

“Next Monday...” Still, I feel bad knowing she may be suffering in bed like that, even if not for too long. “...Should we go visit her today? Since we couldn’t yesterday.”

I should have time to go buy the materials and fix the doll even if I take a detour, right?

“Poor Haruka... Don’t get ill like that, Utena.” I don’t plan to! Though, not like I can control if it happens or not. “...Wait, can I fall ill?”

...That’s... A good question. Can she?

“Yeah, let’s go! We’ll surprise the illness out of her!” What are you planning to do to surprise her that much?!

“Nah, don’t worry. Apparently her little sisters convinced her parents tah let ‘em miss school today tah spend all day with her, so Haruka’s usin’ dah day tah have a long movie marathon between sisters.” Kaoruko said with a smile, clearly on a good mood when thinking about that. “We aren’t goin’ either. We shouldn’t intrude in their sister bondin’ day.”

“I see... Yes, that makes sense. I wouldn’t want to get in the middle of that.” Her sisters were about 6 years old, right? Missing school to remain by the side of their ill older sister... What good kids.

“So they’re using her sister illness to skip school? Smart kids~.” Don’t think of it that way! “Well, I’m not postponing today’s plans th-”

“Alright class, back to your seats. Hoshino, I hope for your and the twins’s sake that their nails will dry fast, because I want all of your books out.” Kiwi was interrupted as the teacher entered the classroom, quickly getting everyone back to their seats.

I took out my books, thinking mostly of what I’ll have to do after school.

If we are not visiting Haruka today, then I can go on with my plans. I feel bad for not going to visit her while she’s ill... But there is nothing I can do about it. Things just haven’t gone that way.

Instead, I’ll put all my effort into fixing Korisu’s doll, so she can get it back as soon as her weekend begins!

I out down the phone after sending the message confirming that we are alone, right as I finished eating the... Whatever is that I ordered online. It looked tasty in the photo, and was tasty, so it doesn’t matter if I’m not sure on how to read the name.

Agu-chan had finished before more, and was washing her plate. So, knowing she would soon arrive, I picked up main and walked to the kitchen.

As Agu-chan finished cleaning hers, she jumped off the stool she was standing on so I could get up, and I got them cleaned in no time. She’s faster to east, but I’m faster to clean.

Jumping off the stool, trying to fall as far as possible, I got right behind my best distance.

Unfortunate.

Agu-chan points at the door, so I raise my thumb up. She should be coming at any moment.

And as if waiting for me to confirm it, or maybe waiting for it to make a grand entrance, a large, swirling portal opened in front of the door. And from inside, a figure I was getting more and more familiar with walked out.

The older girl walked out of it, followed by the small transparent ghost who would have scared me when I was small, but I’m 9 now, ghosts don’t scare me. She looked very mature out of her school uniform, wearing a cardigan and a long skirt over boots. As expected of someone that is already 14.

Though, for some reason she was wearing a beanie, scarf, and a face mask. Was it that could where she lives?

Agu-chans eyes were set on the bag she was carrying, so I followed them.

Is there...?

“Good morning, Korisu-chan, Roboko-chan.” “Sorry to intrude~” We nodded back at Utena and Morgana as they greeted us. It’s important to have good manners. Mama says that sometimes. “Should we go to your room to sit down?”

Her voice sounded strangely rough.

I nodded back again, and guided them back to our room, Agu-chan walking behind them.

As I opened the door I was glad I had cleaned my room before they arrived. All the toys in the ground had been pushed to one side of the room, so there was plenty of space to walk in. Though I’m not sure how I would walk into that side if I needed to.

“Is your mom at work...?” She asked as she sat down on the ground, so we sat in front of her. I nodded to answer her question. “I see... Is she coming home soon, or...?”

I lightly swung a hand as I shook my head. Mama only gets free every other weekend, so she won’t be home until tonight.

“I... See... A-Anyways, I finished repairing her.” At those words, I leaned a bit closer as she reached into her bag. I could feel the curiosity from Agu-nee.

Did she really...?

Slowly and carefully, she took her out, and handled her to me. I was astonished as I picked her up.

All the tears in her dress were gone. All the small scratches across her skin had disappeared. She felt heavy, all her lost stuffing back into her. Besides some small ‘Scars’, she looked brand new.

Almost the same as...

“I’m sorry Korisu, for not coming back home yesterday... Work dragged me into an emergency meeting in another prefecture, and the Boss wouldn’t let me out of it...” Mama sounded very sad. 

I don’t want her to feel sad about it. I understand. It’s like me having to go to school.

I don’t want to go. It’s boring. I just want to be play, not study. I wanna be with Mama and play together. But I don’t have a choice on it, I have to go to school.

It’s the same for Mama. Her ‘Job’ is her ‘School’. But hers is even worse than mine. She is bored for far longer than me, even on weekends...

I want to play more with her... But... I understand that she doesn’t have a choice.

“I’m sorry for this excuses, you must feel so lonely... It’s not much, but since I was there, I went through a few toy stores and antique shops, to find something special.” Mama then reached into the large bag she brought. “Is a bit old, it’s... A pretty nostalgic one. Something that was all around when I was a child, but my parents wouldn’t buy me. I can’t believe I found one, especially in Japan...”

She took a stuffed doll. A doll in a pretty red dress and hat, with long blond hair in braids.

“It’s not much, but... I hope it can help you feel a bit less lonely...”

I hugged the doll in my arms, feeling how a smile grew on my face. Agu-nee felt happy in response, creating a small and pleasant loop of joy.

“Ufufufu, I’m glad you liked it.” Utena sounded happy, her vice feeling warm and pleasant.

“I tried to help, but in the end all I could help with was getting the fluff inside...” Morgana looked away embarrassed, but she was smiling.

She really fixed her...

Back to how Mama gave it to me...

...No, now it’s even better, since she put so much effort into it.

It kinda makes me remember all I hear from my classmates, about them bragging of how their big sisters take them to eat, buy them gifts, and help them with various things.

Just like she did...

...Ute... Nee?

‘Cough! ‘Cough!’

“Utena!” My attention is brought back up by the sound of violent coughing, and Morgana’s surprising shout as she lunged forward to hold Utena.

I-Is she okay...?

Agu-nee besides me is quickly starting to panic, maybe not really knowing what coughing like that means.

“S-Sorry, I caught a little cold.” Her voice was even raspier than before, as she slowly started to get up. “I don’t want to get you sick, so I should head out...”

‘Thumb’

Only to immediately fall to the floor.

I got up and approached her. She doesn’t seem fine. Especially with Morgana worrying over her. She must feel how bad it is.

“I-I’m okay, really! You don’t have to worry about me!” She sat back up on her knees, trying to fool me into thinking that she’s fine. “Venalita said that we are more resistant to illness, so I should recover soo- ‘Cough!’ ‘Cough!’.” 

You can’t fool me.

I know that grown-ups lie. They all lie to not worry me, hiding me how bored or tired they are. I know it.

But what can I do about it...?

Fortunately, I didn’t have to think much about it, with the answer right in front of my eyes. A Dollhouse I got last year, behind her.

The answer was clear. I may not know how to heal someone...

I took the Transformation Star out of my pocket, and held it in front of me, watching how it started to levitate over my hand.

...But I have played plenty that I knew.

“Trans Magia.” As the words left my mouth, I felt the magic build up in me, as my everything swifted.

I would rather do a silent Transformation, like always. But this is important enough that I want the extra oomph from doing it properly.

In a flash of light, I had changed, and Agu-nee had changed even more. Or did she change less? I don’t remember which was which.

“Alice-chan...?” Utena... Ute-nee said weakly as she looked up to me.

Without losing time, I released my magic, connecting with all the toys in the room. Focusing in the one I was going to use.

Mama has said that sometimes you have to fake it until you make it. So lets fake being a doctor until I become one.

I felt a tingle across my skin, like a wind going through me, one that I could somewhat tell where it came from. Four of them. Not too far away, but two pairs in opposite directions.

I have to act fast, before the Magical Girls find me.

Raising the hospital dollhouse in the air, I don’t even need to make it grow. Instead, I make it glow, her body absorbed by it without her Magic to resist.

And soon, I followed her.

...

“...Ugh...” Ute-nee slowly started to open her eyes, having fallen... As I made her unconscious for a moment, and started to get up from her bed, looking all around as she took off her facemask. “...Did Alice take me to...?”

She was appreciating the playground I created for her, as close to a real infirmary as I can remember. Mostly based on the one at school.

I moved Agu-nee and Morgana to a different room, so I could focus on playing with Ute-nee until she gets better.

And as she looked away, I transferred myself behind her, sitting on the bed crossing my legs, trying to get in-character as I looked down at her.

It felt slightly strange to change myself so much, but becoming someone else is an important part of the game. And now, I must take on the character of a school nurse.

A nurse isn’t a child, a nurse is tall and beautiful, so I made myself like Mama. And I dressed for the character, appearing as they appear on TV since, admitedly, I don’t remember the nurse at my school. An open white coat white a tight blue shirt with the top buttons open, showing part of the chest, and a tighter black skirt. Below, those long black and slightly transparent socks up to the thigh, with tiny belts attaching way up on the inside of the skirt, and black open shoes with high heels. With a bit of makeup to finish the look.

I had turned into the ideal school nurse to start the game.

“Huh?” Once she felt my arrival, she slowly turned to me, a confused look on her face. Thoughts forming in her head to understand the situation.

Unnecessary thoughts.

We don’t need those thoughts.

Nobody needs unnecessary thoughts inside my Domain.

So I press my Magic into her, harder than just letting it happen on its own, to give her the thoughts I want.

While inside my Domain, you aren’t you anymore, you aren’t a person anymore.

You are a doll.

My doll.

Dolls will think what I want them to think.

Dolls will do what I want them to do.

Dolls will obey the rules I set for the game.

And dolls will recover from an illness when I play doctor with them.

“...Oh, Doctor. I think have a cold...” She spoke weakly and honestly, fully turned into a patient in need of help. The unnecessary thoughts were gone, brining a smile to my face. Now, the game could start.

I raised a little plastic pink stick, and emulated opening my mouth. I’m not sure what this is needed for, but doctors use it, so lets use it.

“You want me to open my mouth...? Ahhh...” She obediently opened it, letting her tongue out. Right, I forgot the tongue part was important for some reason. 

I poked her tongue with the stick as I looked inside. I don’t know what am I supposed to look for, but maybe just doing this helps in some way.

In any case, she was making funny noises and drooling as I pressed, so I’ll call this part of the procedure a success!

Setting the stick aside, I motioned by opening my coat, pushing it slightly aside from my chest. It was kind of nice looking at it from my position, my fingers were so long now, and my nails were far longer than I ever had them, painted in a nice cherry red. They were pretty. 

I wonder how exactly I looked...

But there’ll be time for mirrors later, I’ll not interrupt the game for that!

“Okay, I’ll take it off...” She slowly started to undress, like the good little doll she was.

She took of her scarf, and unbuttoned her cardigan and shirt. I smiled at her, propping her to continue, as she let her clothes hang from her elbows. She was left in only her bra. It was cute, it was white with a little pink bow.

Does she need to take it off or should it remain in...?

...I’m not sure, I still don’t wear one, so the doctor never had to ask me for.

...Oh well, it probably doesn’t matter.

Though, to supplement my lack of knowledge, she proceeded to slowly take it off, exposing all of her chest. “Please Doctor... Examine me...”

She looked pretty embarrassed. I get it. Undressing in front of a doctor and having them examine every bit of your body to check if you are healthy is embarrassing.

I smiled at her to try to make her feel less nervous, and put the plastic blue and yellow stat... Steto... Stethoscope with a pink heart on my ears, holding the end that I’m supposed to hear from in my hand.

Now... Where is this supposed to go?

...Well, it’s supposed to be on the chest, and the end of this thing is round, so maybe it goes here?

Slowly, I reach my hand out and press the end of the stethoscope against her nipple. “Aghh! Ughh!” She let out some tiny screams, but for some reason, it didn’t look like it hurt. Weird.

It was kinda funny though. So I kept pressing. Sometimes letting go, only to then push back harder. She let out all kinds of fun noises as I did.

Is this what I’m supposed to try to listen to with this thing? Why does it go in my ears, though? I could hear her even without them.

Well, they must have a reason. I don’t need to understand why to do it.

After a little while, I let it down to place it on her stomach, lowering it slowly as I tried to listen at anything. Not sure as to what, but maybe there is something to listen for.

“Doctor...” She said weakly, embarrassment clear in her voice, as I went lower than her navel. 

I would need her to take off her skirt to go lower. And since doctors only ask to remove the top part, I probably don’t need to.

So, that should be enough with the Stat... This thing.

I take it off, and calmly put it aside. Who knew that you could use it to make people let out funny sounds?

In any case, I proceed to the next part, softly but firmly pushing Ute-nee’s small body into the bed, holding her hands over her head with my left one. Some of my hair ended cascading over her, and some of hers fell over her eye, so I slowly pulled hers aside, before fixing mine over my shoulder.

“D-Doctor...!” She was bright red in embarrassment. She probably knew the part that came next.

It is, indeed, a pretty unpleasant one.

I reached with my right hand for the bottle that was now lying besides us, and dipped my fingers into it, taking out a general amount. The medicine inside, whatever it was, was cold to the touch, and unpleasantly slimy.

Doctors really use and touch some weird stuff, don’t they?

I raised my fingers in front of her so she could see what was next, and prepare for it.

“Will that cream help...?” She asked worriedly, her eyes set firmly on it. She was starting to sweat, so this was probably working. Or maybe it’s making it worse...?

...Well, we’ll find out!

I smile and nod at her, mostly sure that this is helping more than not, and lower my hand to her chest.

“Ah!” He lot out a small, short scream. The cool cream touching her warm skin must have felt shocking.

Still, this is an important part of the process!

Probably!

And I, as the Doctor in charge, must do it properly!

“Ah! Ahhh... Ugh... Ahhh!” I spread the cream over her chest, slowly massaging the area. “F-Feels so good...!”

It felt good?

Great, it must be working them!

Letting an extra rush of magic run through the cream, encouraged by knowing that whatever I was doing was working, I hear an even bigger funny sound.

Good, but it’s time to move to the next step, cream is only applied in the chest! 

I think.

Taking back my hand, I make the cream over it go away, before making a plastic pink syringe appear, filled with... Something.

“I-I need a shot?” She sounded nervous. Yes, I totally get it. I guess no matter how old you get, that never changed. “Doctor, I’m scared... So please... Be gentle...”

Don’t worry, I’ll make you feel better soon.

And if not... Well, at least it was fun to try.

I suddenly opened my eyes, confused, awakening from what I can only explain felt like being turned off and on, rather than actual sleep. 

The first thing I saw, was Korisu’s face, as I was laying down in the ground, using her thighs as a pillow. “K-Korisu-chan? What was I...?”

As expected, she didn’t answer, her face remaining expresionless. Instead, she raised a hand, and started to slowly, softly, rub my head.

A head that was no longer hurting.

“...Eh? I’m... Feeling better?” Did... Did she...?

A small smile grew on her face, both in her lips and eyes, before she took her hand out.

“My cold’s gone!” She... She cured me!

She... Can use her Magic to heal people?!

That’s incredible!

That’s just like...!

...No, I don’t have to distract myself with that right now! 

There is something way more important, something that I should be saying right now!

I slowly sat up, taking note of all the toys of medical instruments around us, and faced her.

“...Thank you, Korisu-chan!” The first thing I should do, before anything else, is properly thank her.

She smiled back, clearly pleased and proud of her work. And she had rights to be.

Magical Girls with Healing Magic are not unheard off, but they are rare. Japan has only had one until now, and she lost it after the incident five years ago. And as for Witches, I haven’t heard of any that possesses it, but admittedly, I’m way more familiar with Magical Girls than with Witches, and the later tend to not advertise their abilities.

Korisu must be the only person in Japan, be it Magical Girl or Witch, that can heal people with her Magic!

“That was impressive. Who would have though Nero Alice could do that?” My body froze at the sudden, familiar voice, before I turned to it.

Venalita sat on the bed, Roboko and Morgana nervously eating snacks on its sides.

“Eh, Venalita? What are you...? I haven’t seen you since last Sunday!” Why did it suddenly appear?!

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. I have been pretty busy, I just came to check because I noticed Korisu had Transformed. And I came across something very interesting.” It sounded as genuinely fascinated as it could be, which made me feel uneasy. “In any case, I didn’t really need to do much. You did a pretty good job on your own. That attack on the Tres Magia was splendid! A shame it was overturned through sheer brute force, but I guess that’s a plus on your book, right?”
 
“...Eheheh...” I nervously looked away, not willing to show to it that I was happy about that. Indeed, the Villains should make all sorts of barely good plans, and Magical Girls break through them with a bit of thought and lots of force of will!

That it knew me that well worried me.

“How are you feeling, Utena Hiirage?” I looked back. “How do you feel about Nero Alice’s healing? As normal? Worse? Better?”

“How I feel...?” I looked down at my hands, flexing them. The feeling in them... The feeling across my body... “...I feel like I could beat all of Tres Magia on my own.”

I felt completely refreshed. Not particularly more powerful, but it felt like I had been pushed forward somehow. Like anything weighing my body down had been forcibly removed while I had a good full night rest, and then injected with an overdose of pure energy.

And that may be even better than just being more powerful.

In fact...

“...Korisu, do you want to play with Azul and Sulfur tomorrow? I want to see how well I do in a 1v1 against Magenta.” Fighting against the strongest Magical Girl of Japan in a 1v1. I’m going to be destroyed. But I’m feeling good enough to fool myself into thinking I have a chance, and I plan to make the most out of that slim chance!

With a thumbs up, I got all the answer I needed.

“That sounds nice. I’m going with you three. I missed last fight because I was busy, and it ended being a fantastic one, so I’ll make time to not miss this one.” Venalita sounded upbeat, looking forward to it. I wasn’t sure how honest it was being, but sounded legit.

“Perfect! ...But that’s tomorrow, today...” I looked back at Korisu. “We are having a tea party to celebrate that I’m feeling better! Do you still have enough Magic to pull out one in the new Dollhouse?”

She quickly stood up, a smile on her face, quickly followed by Roboko. That was a yes.

Without missing a beat, I pointed at Venalita. “And you are joining!” You are the Mascot, so act like one!

“...Sure, I have time today.”

We spent a good time, before Alice got too tired to keep up the Dollhouse.

It was a great day. And tomorrow, would be too.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 7: The Sweetness of Challenge - Part 6

“Alright girls, take 10 minutes!” 

With the director giving us the go to have a break, I let a sigh of relief, and walked straight to a chair in the back. Interviews like this normally don’t take so much from me, but now... 

...Now I just have so much already in my mind. Putting what I think into words, and properly filtering what can or can’t be told to the public...

It’s just too much of a weight in my brain.

But still, it’s an important part of the job, so I must do my best! For all the people placing their hopes on us, I must always keep a strong and confident front.

I must be the Magical Girl they are hoping me to be. No matter how hard. Every other Magical Girl is managing to do it. Magenta is pushing through with a smile regardless of everything she has gone through, and Sulfur is following her example, even if she has to hide half of her personality in front of the cameras.

Magia Azul can’t be any different. I willingly took on this responsibility. I must fulfill everyone’s expectations of me, failing is not an option.

‘Don’t worry, it’ll be fine~.’ I freeze in place, as a line of cursed, disgusting words, eco in my mind. The terrible worlds of a terrible girl. ‘Just forget everything and give in to the pleasure...’

Horrendous words, trying to push me into doing something unforgivable, spoken with a venomous and loving voice. One that made my hea-

I shook my head and lightly froze my heart. I didn’t need to finish that though.

I SHOULDN’T finish that thought.

Picking up a glass of tea on the way, I sit down on a chair away from the chaos of people running around, preparing to continue where we left as soon as the director calls for it. Some were relaxed and confident. Some were panicking and discussing with each other, pointing at the broken chair where Leomon sat just a minute ago. The ones panicking are either newbies, or the most experienced of them all. Hard to tell sometimes.

Magenta and Nefertimon were enthusiastically speaking to the camerawoman, not really sure about what. But the camerawoman looked happy, embarrassed, but happy and having fun. It’s as if she didn’t finished recovering from that neuro-toxin just this morning. Meanwhile, Sulfur and Leomon were enjoying the refreshments offered to them. She usually looks, speaks, and moves in a very refined way, at least until she is completely relaxed and her more aggressive and overly-casual side gets out, but it’s still amazing how elegant she moves when on the job. With Leomon by her side, she almost looks like a princess protected by her imposing knight. And she keeps that image even with how visibly stressed she’s for the trained eye.

Those two are like the ideal Magical Girls, what anyone expects, what anyone hopes the people protecting them could be. Magenta spreading optimism and happiness wherever she goes, Sulfur calming people and leaving them in awe with her presence.

I should be there, expressing confidence and strength, being firm in front of the challenges and hardships set in front of us. Make people feel protected, that the ones defending them from those evil Witches and Evil Organizations can confidently stand against them.

Instead, I’m here sitting in the back, sipping at my tear with an exhausted face...

What kind of Magical Girl am I, if just putting a strong front in the front of the camera has become too hard for me...

It’s almost painful how useless I’m becoming...

‘Whatever pain you are going through can be turned into pleasure...’ I stop for a moment, before drinking the entire glass in one go. 

I must stop thinking about her words. Whatever she’s planning, she’s trying to get into my head!

“Are you alright, Azul?” Youkomon asked worriedly, sitting besides me in my little private space. Her worry was clear in her voice, and her confusion at my strange feelings evident through our bond. “I can re-apply the Mental Strength Ritual if you need it, the effects ran out by the middle of that interview. We should have barely enough time to perform it.”

“...Heh, Sulfur may need it more than me. Dealing with Baiser has been stressing her, and now she has to put a mask over half her face. That must be hard.” I can’t imagine how it must be for her, hiding half her personality in front of the public. Me and Magenta are just ourselves, all we do is put some effort into strengthening some parts of ourselves, we don’t really hide any of it.

And still, she’s doing a far better job than me at getting herself together and facing the cameras... She’s far more deserving of the spirit’s help than me.

“...Azul, if something is worrying you, please, tell me. I CAN tell when something is getting to you, I just can’t tell what it is. And knowing that, but not being able to know what it is or how to help is...” The frustration was as clear as the worry in her voice. Even when she was trying to speak as lowly as possible so nobody around could hear.

...I’m just making her worry. What a Partner that I am...

“...I don’t know myself.” What is it that I’m feeling exactly? 

I’m self-aware enough to know that I’m feeling inferior to Magenta and Sulfur, but I don’t think that’s all. It doesn’t feel like that’s all.

There is more going on. Feelings that I can’t describe. Feelings that I don’t want to describe. Things I’m feeling curiosity for, that I’m feeling ashamed of. Some sort of fear mixed in it all. And wrapping it all, some foreboding feeling, like things are slowly spiraling downwards, and I can’t do anything to stop it.

But how is it spiraling? What am I fearing? What are those feelings...?

...I don’t know. I’m not sure if I want to know.

“I just... Have the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Something very, very bad... But I don’t know what, or why... All I’m sure, is that it’ll be because of Enormeeta... Because of Magia Baiser... She...” The source of all our current problems. Whatever she’s planning, she has rooted herself deeply into my mind, stopping me from thinking and worrying of what she... No, I need to stop. This is what she wants! “...Please, ignore me. They attacked just 4 days ago, there is no way they’ll attack again so soon. And even if they did, we are protected by a barrier. I should be taking this as a chance to rest, to stop worrying for at least a few hours...”

I just need to stop thinking about her.

This all started once she arrived. Before that, everything was going well. I was doing well. But once she did, she has been constantly trying to get in my head.

I don’t know why. How could I understand the thoughts of an evil Witch like her?

But whatever she’s trying to do, I’m only making it easier for her if I continue thinking in circles about her.

I just... Have to stop. I’m sure that if I do, I’ll be able to face her at full-force.

We should be equal in strength. We both have two Stars, we are the average strength of a Magical Girl, but I have a year of experience. Her Magic may be problematic and tricky to fight, but so should be my Ice.

If we fight in a straight fight, I should be able to take her down.

Rather than worrying, I should be using my time preparing to fight her. Magenta and Nefertimon will have to focus on Nero Alice, the 3 Stars of their group, and Sulfur will protect us from Leopard’s ranged attacks as Leomon rushes to take her down. That leaves me and Youkomon to at least keep Magia Baiser occupied until one of them takes down their target.

It’s a solid plan. And if they bring another Witch or a Minion Digimon, we have reasonable changes of plans to adapt. Especially necessary given the nature of Magia Baiser’s powers.

We can do it. I just need to focus.

“...Alright. But if you are feeling unwell, tell me. Even if I don’t understand it entirely, I’ll help as much as I can.” She sounded slightly relieved, which made me more confident in my own conviction. 

“I will. And it’s the same for you. I may be younger than you, but I would like if you could rely on me.” After all, I’m not the only one that’s feeling scared lately. Even if you hide it more than me.

“Huh, I’m still just a Child if left on my own. We aren’t that far apart, considering yourself younger than me is just another thing I don’t get from Humans.” She dismissed in a good mood that she almost doubles me in age. I guess that’s just another thing I don’t get from Digimon.

Taking out my phone, I also take my mind out of my worries. And what better what to stop worrying about things, than with some cat videos?

Opening Ourtube, I take a quick glance of my recommended videos at the front, and quickly ignore them to go to the search bar. I’m not looking into sweet store recommendations right now. Though, maybe later.

Clicking on the search bar, I move my finger to start writing, but stop as the tab showing my latest searches open. At the top of the list, there was one I had been researching recently. It was a word that had come up on the reports and research made by the Satellites in the Digital World, in the section about the type of Magic that the members of Enormeeta were using, and also on the ones detailing their personalities and criminal profile.

One that formed the quite extensive text we had by now about Magia Baiser.

One that I had researched on my own in preparation for our next encounter... And may have done me more harm than good.

BDSM.

Finding out and understanding her weapons sounded like a good idea at the beginning, but once I got to actually understand what was being used on us...

T-The kind of things that girl is doing to us... W-What they are normally used for...

W-What is she planning to do to us?!

What is she going to bring next time?!

I-if... If she were to capture one of us...!

“Azul, are you alright? You are feeling like that again.” Youkomon’s once again worried voice made me close the phone, tearing my eyes away from the list of half a dozen BDSM-related terms on my Ourtube search bar.

“I-I’m fine!” I slightly froze my fast beating heart, forcing it to beat slower. The suddenness of it being quite painful, but nothing compared to what we have gone through lately.

Is... Is there a way to clean my browsing history in Ourtube...?

“Hey girls, how are things going?” Fortunately, I’m swiftly saved by a familiar voice surprising me, and probably everyone else. 

“Vatz?!” Raising my sight, I notice the white Satellite finishing her teleportation into the studio, looking in a good mood.

It didn’t take long for everyone to gather around her, as her visits tend to be important. Especially more so lately, with how busy she has been because of Enormeeta.

“Fortunately, I finished all my work for this week, so I have the rest of the weekend free.” Vatz sounded pretty happy about that. “I thought I should come and check on you girls while I had the time, and bring you some information that hasn’t been properly compiled and re-revised for delivery.”

“Dat’s all nice an’ all, but... Doesn’t dah weekend end in like half a day?” Sulfur asked the question that must have been on most of our minds.

“I would rather not think about that.” Vatz said in a slightly less upbeat tone, before taking out a tablet from inside her sleeve, pressing a few buttons on the screen. “Anyways, there... Oh, right, first...” 

Stopping for a moment, Vatz reached into her sleeve again, this time taking our a small silver heart, with a star-shaped blue gem in the middle. It quickly floated over her, and a light-blue barrier generated around us.

“There, that should keep this conversation private.” That done, she looked back at the tablet. “There is some information from the researchers at Center of the Universe. They are still doing calculations and stuff, but apparently they are 98.3% sure that LeutnantTailmon... Gepard can only use her neuro-toxin grenades twice per day, and it would take her at least 4 hours to recharge the use of one.”

“That’s very specific.” Leomon sounded quite surprised at the specific of the numbers. Can’t say I didn’t feel the same. “How did they even...?”

“I share Leomon’s surprise. Even if it’s the Satellites at that castle, with Cosmos herself supervising their work, how did they even reach such specific numbers?” I trust them, but... How? “We have only met her once...”

“I don’t know. All my science studies are in social sciences, I don’t understand what kind of math they are doing.” Vatz didn’t give that any other thought. Though, I guess it makes sense, even in our world scientists come to some truly baffling answers to question that at a glance, should be impossible to answer. “Only they and the Goddess know how they reached this numbers, and from among them, only the Goddess would know how to explain it. All I know is that they used the information in the black box of the Digivice.”

“Well, it’s good to know I helped at figuring things out!” Magenta was overly optimistic about it. As if she ‘Helping’ had been a simple and harmless endeavor.

“Yeah, yeah, dat’s nice an’ all, but there’s somethin’ more important right now.” Sulfur seemed to have given up in understanding how they got such precise numbers. Though, maybe she never cared in the first place. “Rather than inter-”

“I have already reduced the number of interviews and public apparitions in the short and medium term, and made the arrangements for training equipment and coaches to come help you all train.” Vatz interrupted Sulfur, answering her question before she could even finish asking it. And by Sulfur’s reaction, that seems exactly what she was going to ask for. “It’s a bit of a shame though... We are losing a lot of PR opportunities... And we need them now more than ever. With how Enormeeta is starting to successfully go more public, and with Sulfur revealing her Assault Mode to the people, I wish we could instead get more interviews...”

“Argh, yah worry too much for PR! There are more important problems tah worry ‘bout dan what people think.” Sulfur was clearly annoyed at this. She may be better at it than me, but she clearly dislikes the whole public part of being a Magical Girl.

She probably would prefer if it was like in Manga and Anime, where the Magical Girls only appear to fight the bad guys.

“Keeping a good image in front of humanity is important! We need to keep it up to ensure their cooperation and trust.” Ah, we got on the subject that gets Vatz heated up. She’s not really angry, but... She’s a bit too passionate about her area of expertise. “The UN is already fighting back against most of or offers and attempts at negotiation to help, always finding a reason to turn something down, why we shouldn’t investigate in the dealings of a certain country, or turning down proposals to make more Magical Girls and bring more Satellites to the Material World...”

‘Sigh’ Vatz sighed tiredly, her passion being quickly brought down by what assume was talking about her work this week. “They distrust us, many believing we are the cause of all the problems with the Witches and Evil Organizations, and only cooperate because they don’t want to end like the countries that rejected having Magical Girls...”

“But it’s not your fault!” Magenta tried to console Vatz. “You all are trying your best to stop the Witches!”

“Yeah, we are trying our best!” Nefertimon quickly joined her. “They have no reason to mistrust us! So don’t let it get to you, Vatz!”

...Unfortunately, I don’t think their distrust is completely misplaced.

“...I want to agree with Nefertimon, but in the end, it’s true that this all started on our side.” Youkomon stepped forward, putting to words what I didn’t dare to. I couldn’t say that some of that blame was deserved, even if they never intended for this to happen. “The Digivices the Witches use are, in the end, just modifications of the ones designed by Cosmos and the Satellites at Center of the Universe, even if we don’t know who made or is distributing them. And although we don’t know how the Digimon creating and joining Evil Organizations got into the Material World, when Cosmos herself hasn’t found a way to let anyone bigger than a Child through, it’s still a fact that they come from our world.”

“I don’t want to agree with Youkomon, but I must.” Leomon was clearly frustrated at the whole subject. “Even if we came in peace and wanting to help, it’s undeniable that the Evil Organizations emerged from our side. It doesn’t matter if we don’t know how. All we have been doing the last decade is just fixing our mistake.”

“...That’s the truth, even if I wish it wasn’t.” Vatz had completely lost all the energy she arrived with. “And because of that, the ones getting in our way of helping have a good argument to do so. If it happened because of us, then we could be the ones actively causing and controlling it. And because all of this is happening, they have to grit their teeth as both Human and Digimon Childs are dying fighting Evil Organizations. They can’t even send their Adults since they tend to make very weak Magical Girls, and we can’t send ours because they can’t fit through the Dimensional Barrier.”

Vatz sat tiredly over a table, picking up and nibbling on a cupcake from the refreshments left for us. “...We need to project the image of perfect heroines, of the ideal Magical Girls, so they understand that we would NEVER turn our backs to Humanity, that we are on their side.” She looked seriously at Sulfur, a bit of sadness in her tone. “That’s why it was important to keep Sulfur’s other half hidden, especially her Assault Mode. The UN isn’t happy when we let a young girl let out such levels of aggression and tendency to violence.”

“...Hum... ‘Sigh’ Vatz, ah get dat yah know what yar doin’ with all dat sociology, politics, an’ all dat stuff. But yah got no idea how things actually are on dah battlefield.” Sulfur tried to sound reasonable, but she was coming pretty hard. She was failing to hide her irritation. Though, she at least was trying to. “Why do yah even ‘ave tah do all this on yar ouw, anyways? Can’t get someone dat actually knows what they’re doin’?”

That... Is a bit too harsh.

“Ugh... When I was assigned to Japan, there still weren’t any Evil Organization...” Vatz answered quickly, clearly hurt by those last words. “I wasn’t prepared for their arrival, and I didn’t have time to prepare after... The UN was already familiar with me, so they insisted that I remain, and voted against increasing the amount of Satellites per country...”

“Is there something those fossils don’t get in dah middle of..?! Argh, anyways, dah point is dat if we continue half-assin’ it just tah look good in front of dah camera, we’re going tah die! We need more time tah train, not more magazines tah appear in!” Sulfur was getting way too agitated. The elegant image she was trying to portray was falling apart. Though, fortunately, Leomon and Nefertimon had moved to mostly cover her from outside view. “Tell dah UN tah get their heads off their asses an’ send some reinforcements tah Japan! Especially dah big guns, so we can get rid of Enormeeta once an’ for all! They ‘ave been hunting us down since before ah became a Magical Girl, for god’s sake!”

“S-Sulfur, maybe you are being a bit harsh...?” It’s not like it’s Vatz fault...

“I-I’m trying...! But the UN insists that they want the strongest and most experienced Magical Girls to take down, or at least keep in a stalemate, the bigger Evil Organizations that pose a problem to the entire world.” Vatz was answering nervously. Probably a bit scared of Sulfur, but I’d mostly out of her own frustration at the situation. “They refuse to send them in, as they called it, a ‘Wild Goose Chase’ for an organization of Portalers, something that can take weeks or months. Especially for one that doesn’t present any risk to the world outside of a ‘Small Sphere of Influence’...”

“Dat’s bullshit! Ah know how many of dah big shots they ‘ave positioned wastin’ their time ‘round dah Syberian border since their Witches took over all of Russia, just tah then let it shatter into smaller countries! Dat was 3 years ago, an’ they ‘aven’t done anythin’ since then! At this point those just Witches work for their government!” T-That’s a bit much to say!

“S-Sulfur, don’t suggest that those Witches are-!” “I-” 

‘Clap!’

“Alright, that’s enough!” Both me and Vatz were interrupted by Magenta’s clapping. “This conversation won’t lead anywhere, it’s only making everyone upset.”

That’s... True.

“I agree with Magenta.” Youkomon followed her, looking over all of us. “Nobody here is even really disagreeing. We all understand that things are difficult, and that Vatz is doing her best. We can’t change how things are, especially with the complicated position our Partnerships are at, with us Digimon officially working for Cosmos and Magical Girls working for the UN.”

‘On paper’ Sulfur muttered, without interrupting.

“So, rather than getting upset about what we can’t change, we should do our best with what we have to prepare for the incoming fights.” As Youkomon finished, the boiling heat around us had dissipated. 

She was right. Regardless of what we though of the whole situation, it would us no good to get heated over it.

“...Thanks, Yo-” Vatz tried to thank her, but suddenly froze in place.

Moments later Youkomon, Magenta, and Nefertimon froze in the same way. And just a bit later, I could feel the reason.

Waves of Dark Magic assaulted me, as only a Witch or Digimon flexing their power could. It passed all around me, in a way that no single Witch or Digimon could.

No, this was not a single one, nor a pair of them. There were multiple of them. Six different waves of Dark Magic passed through us. 3 Witches, and 3 Digimon.

And they were right outside the building.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 7: The Sweetness of Challenge - Part 7

“Vatz, can the barrier stop Enormeeta?” Magenta wasted no time in asking Vatz, having gotten serious in a blink.

“...According to the analysis, if they go all-in, the barrier should be able to withstand their attacks for 2 minutes. A portable battery like this won’t last long.” Vatz answered with the same level of seriousness. “We should evacuate everyone befor-”

“IT’S ENORMEETA!!!” Interrupting Vatz’s words, someone entered the large room screaming, pointing at where she came from.

And just a moment later, everyone was already running in the opposite direction, towards either the back exit of the building or basement, wherever they felt safe running to.

“...Before that happens.” Vatz said sadly. “Hope nobody gets injured while running... Anyways, girls!”

“““Got it!””” We all nodded together as we looked at each other. There wasn’t any more time to think. It was time to act.

We all flew through the building, taking the shortest route possible through a window on the third floor. And we were quickly taken by surprise by the sight in front of us.

The semi-transparent magical barrier covering the entire building... Was quickly being covered by large threads. Large gaps in-between sections became completely wrapped by those oversized threats. They originated from a large beast which limbs, chest, and head were made of large thread rolls. All of them connected and given form through colorful threads from all colors of the rainbow, forming a bulbous and dense body. 

And confidently sitting over that monster, was Magia Baiser.

She... She’s...?!

What is she planning to do to us with those threads?!

“She’s turnin’ our barrier into a jail?!” Sulfur shouted what we all wanted to.

“Ufufufu, looks like I overestimated how fast I could pull this off~.” Baiser joyfully said, acting as if she made an innocent and harmless mistake. “Sorry, could you wait another 2 or 3 minutes?”

“Baiser-chan, don’t worry, that’s probably enough already~.” Leopard happily floated to her, admiring the work they had done.

“Oh, hey Youkomon, how fortunate to meet you here~.” BlackWitchmon floated forwards from behind Baiser. Her expression betrayed the true intentions behind her cheery words. “Did you miss me~?”

“Guh...!” Youkomon took a step back at the witch’s apparition, her feelings clear to me.

I place my hand over her shoulder, to give her as much support as I can. At least, as much as I can in-

“Venalita?!” Vatz voice interrupted my thoughts.

My gaze quickly focused back on the scene in front of me. Baiser and Witchmon were over the thread Schiavo, and Leopard besides them. On the side, Nero Alice was silently watching with an expressionless face, sitting over the shoulder of... It was WonderGuardromon, right? At least, that’s what the analysis reports said.

The cat... LeutnantTailmon was nowhere to be seen. If things went like last time, she must be hiding inside the Schiavo, or anywhere else. We must keep watch for her.

And behind Magia Baiser, was The Traitor, carelessly floating as she looked up at us.

“Hey, Vatz, long time no see. Wasn’t expecting to see you here. Keeping an eye on your Magical Girls?” She spoke with enthusiasm in her voice, as if she was just happily meeting a friend. “How’s it going? Is Nila doing well?” 

“How can you be so casual?!” Vatz, unlike normal for her, sounded genuinely angry. “Why are you siding with Evil?! Why are you doing all this?! You should stop already and come back! This is all wrong!”

“You are quite energetic, and I thought they had you overworked.” Venalita’s tone didn’t change a bit. “As for the why, it’s simple. You are looking over your Magical Girls as their Mascot, and I’m looking over my Witches as theirs. There is nothing wrong with that.”

“EVERYTHING is wrong with that! Open your eyes, Venalita!” Pure frustration was seeping through Vatz’s voice, as it looked at Venalita with a painful expression. “Please, just come back! If you explain yourself, I’m sure Cosmos will forgive you!”

“...Vatz, do you really think I want Cosmos’s forgiveness?” Her voice and expression remained the same, but how she inclined her head appeared to indicate a slight confusion. “If I thought that following Cosmos was what was best for the world, I wouldn’t be on this side after all.”

“OF COURSE IT’S BEST!!! Cosmos is-!” “Alright, dat’s enough!” Sulfur suddenly interrupted Vatz’s emotional outburst, anger in her voice. “While yah two kept yappin’, we keep gettin’ more entrapped!”

“Ah!” Looking around again, tearing my eyes away from the discussion of the two Mascots, I noticed how the gaps between threads had been turning smaller and smaller. Only the ones right on front had been left as is. 

They kept us distracted!

“Ups, I got found out.” Baiser spoke playfully, with an amused expression on her face. “Still, I agree with Sulfur. You two talk too much. How about we start this already? I’m out of thread anyways.”

Smoothly standing up, she floated upwards, her golden eyes set on us, until she reached our eye-level. We bundled together, everyone ready for the fight to start, even with the barrier still separating us.

Magenta and Leomon, standing over one of Sulfur’s barriers, were at the front as the vanguard. Me and Sulfur stood behind them, preparing our magic to use as soon as needed. Youkomon on the back, ready to bombard them and trying to sniff where LeutnantTailmon was. And Nefertimon was flying above us to take whatever role would be needed at the time. We made sure to avoid the ground, where a second Schiavo may be hiding.

If we can push through them in this formation, we can force them to scatter. Once divided, they should be easy pickings individually. At least, for the others. But all I need to do is keep Baiser occupied.

I don’t need to win, I just need to not lose until one of the others wins. I should be able to do at least that.

“Now, how about we try this out?” Magia Baiser raised her hand high, magic starting to gather on the weapon in the other, and a third star starting to worryingly blink in and out of existence below her left eye. It was clear what she was about to do, but we had no way to interrupt it. ‘Snap!’ “Install Domain: Carnal Limbo.”

A dark purple light shone brightly, as the Witch’s Domain expanded around her, covering the street and clashing against the barrier. Bright colors going through the entire spectrum of the rainbow flashed through the barrier, as it fought back against her power.

It was not going to last long.

“Everyone, prepare to advance at any moment!” Magenta tightened her grip on her spear as she shouted at us. “Vatz, teleport to a safe place!”

“I...!” It looked like Vatz wanted to say something, as she took a last look at Venalita. But kept it to herself, and just nodded before disappearing.

“What do we do about the threads surrounding us?” Leomon asked, without turning back to us. “The moment the barrier breaks, all that is coming at us!”

“Leave that to me!” I started gathering my magic, forming ice blades around me. Two, three, five, eight. A dozen freezing blades were floating around me, straining my magic reserves and senses, but we were going to need all of them. “Just advance and don’t think about them!”

‘Crash!’

There was no time for anyone to answer or add anything. The barrier broke under the force of Magia Baiser’s Domain, growing and expanding through it.

The wave of dark light passed through us, a deeply uncomfortable sensation invading every fiber of my being. Everything that I was screamed that I was now in hostile territory. And that sensation was accompanied by feeling like some of my senses had intensified to a worrying degree.

But there was no time to dwell on any of that.

As soon as the barrier broke, we charged forward. And so did the threads all around us, falling inwards at full force, aiming at constricting us like a pile of snakes, or a spider’s web.

And I had made it my job to stop that. 

“Cryogenic Blades!” Casting the Spell to give it an extra boost, I send the blades flying all around us, impacting the many bundles of thread all around us.

Upon contact, the blades froze entire patches of thread and patches connected to those. It didn’t freeze them to the root, but having lost the mobility in them, the Schiavo stopped its assault, losing control of them.

That gave us the chance to- 

“G11 Mission!” ‘BANG!’

I fell back as the others advanced, pushed by something my mind didn’t have time to process before the pain arrived. It was small at first, but it grew into an unbearable burning in the moment it took me to fall to the ground.

It was too sudden for the others to even react in time. But my panicking mind saw it fit to slow things down for a moment for me to understand what had happened.

As I fell, I could see a small metal cylinder lodged almost entirely into my stomach. And afar, a small nuzzle, coming from inside WonderGuardromon. From inside the large clock on her stomach, that for some reason was opening. And from inside came out a smiling cat, raising a thumb at Nero Alice.

“Gggggggghhhhhhh!!!” I gritted my teeth, as the pain was way greater than it should have been. It was a relatively shallow wound, but it felt as if I had been pierced from side to side.

“Azul!” I tried to recover my balance as I heard Youkomon’s scream and her surprise and worry through our bond, to get back up into the air. But the unexpected intensity of the pain stopped me from doing it in time, panic rushing through my body as my impact was softened by threads that didn’t waste any time to wrap around me.

“S-Sto-Mmph!” The threads covered my mouth and eyes, and unable to see what was going on, I was violently yanked away.

“Release her!” “Those bastards...!” “Neferti!” “On it!” “Heh, not happening~!” ‘BANG!!!’ ‘BROOOOM!!!’ ‘RATATATA!!!’ “Dammit! Find an openin’ tah get her!” I couldn’t see what was going on, only listen as I impacted against a large bundle of the threads.

This must be the Schiavo!

Struggling to get free, I start releasing my magic to freez- “Mmmph!?” Instead, I freeze in place as unbelievably strong sensations rush through my body.

The threads covering me had tied my hands and feet behind my back, while the ones in front tied on each other on what felt like diamond patterns. But right between both sides, a single, thick thread had firmly set itself between my legs, and my attempt at struggle had only made it rub against my crotch.

Even the pain in my stomach was completely overwhelmed by the sheer pleasure I felt from it.

It felt like my body was hit by lightning, my whole body trembling at the sensation. That shouldn’t have felt that strong. There is NO WAY it could have!

G-Get yourself together!

You are a Magical Girl!

Ignore that in the same way you can pull through most pain, and free yourself!

Trying to get my mind out of that, I try to focus entirely on my magic. Once those threads are frozen, they’ll shatt-

“Mmphg! Mrr-Mph?!” My whole body trembled, as the threads surrounding my breasts started to lightly vibrate, massaging them.

It was rough. Those threads were hard, and they had none of the technique nor special touch that I felt when Magia Baiser assaulted my body with her own hands. It was, objectively, a far worse experience.

And still, it felt many times more pleasurable than anything I had ever experienced.

W-Why?! W-What’s going on?! H-How-?!

And then, it dawned on me.

The Domain!

‘Carnal Limbo’.

Limbo. The place between Heaven and Hell. The point in the middle of eternal joy and happiness, and eternal punishment. Pleasure and Pain.

And if we already confirmed that this Domain increases the feelings of Pain...

I-I have to get out of this, fast!

The struggle through the pleasure was hard, way harder than anything I had ever experienced. This was not just a hard opponent to beat, a complicated problem to solve, or having to push through my own limits. These were things I already experienced many times, things I could deal with. Things I should be able to deal with as a Magical Girl.

No, this was nothing like that. 

This time, it felt as if I was fighting my own body.

“Mmppph!” I try to gather as much focus as possible. If I can freeze the threads, they’ll stop their vibrations, and once they do, pushing through with that impulse will b-

“MMMMPGH?!” Intense pain ran through my body, any feeling of pleasure disappearing as the threads stopped massaging my body, and instead, they rubbed against the bullet in my stomach.

A light touch here. A little push there. And a whole world of pain spreading through my body.

“Mmmpppph!!!” I could feel tears falling inside the threads covering my eyes. My teeth grit so hard that I would have feared they may shatter, if my mind could think. If being shot was painful, then having the bullet lodged in you be pushed around is not any better.

And then, it suddenly stopped. The pain left my body as the threads got away from the bullet, and they started massaging my body again. The pain replaced with pleasure again.

“Mmmp...” My body relaxed, being freed from the torture it had just been inflicted with. My mind was just grateful for this respite, letting myself take a moment to just enjoy the pleas-

W-What am I doing?! 

T-This must be what it’s aiming to!

“Mmmrph!” I push myself to resume my struggling, my attempt at getting a handle of my magic through the waves of pleasure running through my body.

“Mrrrrph!!!” And then, the pleasure was replaced once again by pain.

I-I have to push through this!

“Mmmmmph!” The pain stopped, replaced once again by an unbearable pleasure.

I-I’m a Magical Girl! I can’t fall here, not like this!

“Mrph!” The pain came back, the pleasure left behind.

I-I have to...!

“Mmmmh!” Pleasure.

T-This can’t...!

“Mrrrph!” Pain.

I can’t...!

“Mmmph!” Pleasure.

I have to...!

“MMMRPH!!!” Pain.

I-I...!

“Mmmrph?!” Pleasure and Pain.

S-Somebody...!

“Mmmrph...” I wasn’t sure anymore which one was which, pleasure and pain merging and mixing together.

...Help...

“...Mmmph♥!”

Those friggin’ Witch cunts already ruined everythin’!!!

‘BOOOM!!!’

Another explosion blocked with a barrier, but dah cloud of smoke was obscurin’ what was happening in front of us. Not lettin’ us see what was happenin’ on dah other side. Not lettin’ us see what’s happenin’ tah Azul.

“How does dat bitch always take away at least one of us from the start?!” What kind of talent is dat?! Fuck! “Youkomon, how’s Sayo?!”

“...She’s not injured, but she’s not doing well!” She was throwin’ her fireballs around mah barrier, but they didn’t seem tah be hitting any target. Unfortunately, her burned fur an’ three bullets diggin’ into her left leg were a remainder of what happened when tryin’ to get outside mah barrier.

Well, dat’s one hell of a consolation. I’m sure dat she not being injured while not doin’ well means she’s totally fine an’ nothin’ even worse dan just a beatin’ is bein’ done tah her. For sure.

But it’s not like ah can rub dat in her face, she’s dah most desperate one tah save Azul.

“Guh... No choice, me and Neferti will tank Leopard’s and Gepard’s attacks, since they can’t do much to us!” Magenta, impatient from dah whole situation, decided on just gettin’ beaten up. Honestly, ah’m very tempted mahself tah do dah same. “Sulfur, Leo, Youko, you- CAREFUL!!!”

Before finishin’, she flew tah our side, an’ destroyed with her spear a pair of Agony Shocks dat had been furtively shot at me.

Lookin’ at the side, ah could see Magia Baiser and BlackWitchmon far away, preparin’ tah throw more of those things at us from outside mah barrier.

Ugh, dammit, do ah have tah make a spherical barrier?! How dah hell are we gettin’ tah Sayo in time then?! Ah’m all up tah just let dah Witches spend all their magic trying tah get through mah barrier, ah can keep with this all day, but this is no situation for a war of attrition!

“...If we take Baiser down, the Schiavo will disappear, releasing Sayo.” Nefertimon spoke gravely, turnin’ towards dah Witches throwin’ more of those darn balls of pain at us from dah side. “And since Youkomon can still feel Azul, then she wasn’t thrown inside that Dollhouse.”

“Neferti’s right! Sulfur, Leo, Youko! Keep them here while I deal with Baiser!” An’ with those words, Magenta and Nefertimon charged at dah Witch, not even takin’ time tah discuss it.

Not like there was anythin’ tah discuss. At dah current situation, dat was dah best pla-

Dat thought sent a shiver down my spine.

Dah best plan. Takin’ down Baiser tah release Azul, who was not thrown inside Nero Alice’s Dollhouse. An’ Baiser an’ BlackWitchmon right now showed themselves, alone, away from their group bombardin’ at us.

ARE WE STUPID?!

‘BOOOM!’ “Magenta, stop! It’s a trap!” Unfortunately, mah words didn’t reach her through dah noise of dah explosions, an’ ah had been too panicked tah remember tah use telepathy instead.

An’ as if tah slap me in dah face for mah mistake, a large fence of thread rose between us an’ them, separatin’ us entirely.

FUCK!!! ‘I’m out of thread’ mah ass, she lied from dah beginnin’!!!

“...Dammit! Leomon, tank dah bullets an’ bombs! Ah have tah get tah those two before who knows what happens!” Ah raised mah fist at her, mah intentions clear.

“...Grrr, damn, this is going to hurt!” Resigned tah what was ‘bout tah happen, she fist-bumped me. An’ then, in a move tah would make Vatz cry of stress an’ Magenta make a face ah don’t wanna see, we exchanged an’ clashed our strength, forcin’ each other tah push past our limits.

In a flash of light, we entered our Assault Mode.

Alright, ah should be able tah keep this form up for a couple minutes, more dan enough! Just get over there, save Magenta from whatever trap was set, an’ we take down Baiser together before anythin’ bad happens!

“Let’s go!” Ah grabbed a surprised Youkomon by dah neck, an’ rocketed towards dah impulsive pair of morons, Leomon by my side.

As soon as we got out range of my barrier, an’ it got outta mah sight, it disappeared, dah shots from Leopard gettin’ past the smokecloud an’ hittin’ dah building we were in just minutes ago.

On our side, it took no time at all before Leomon, coverin’ for us an’ using her lightnin’ cape as a makeshift shield, started bein’ bombarded with more types of artillety dan ah know of.

Fortunately, dah attacks were too weak tah significantly injure her. Unfortunately, they were enough tah stun her, leaving her behind.

Even more fortunately, she was one tough an’ smart bitch, so rather than just be left behind, she charged at ‘em as we continued on.

But as we got closer to the fence, Nero Alice appeared in the middle, mountin’ her giant cat plushie with metal claws larger dan me.

Dammit, ah can’t deal with her quick enough!

“...Youkomon, fire!” This better work out, an’ yah got elemental advantage!!!

“Wha-?!” Ah swung dah surprised fox like a weapon, her fire-covered tails flailin’ forwards. 

It was a long shot, but fortunately, it paid off, with Nero Alice an’ her plush jumpin’ away. As ah expected, fire is the weakness of a plushie!

But as if dah world was mockin’ me, dah big, chunky robot of WonderGuardromon now stood between me an’ dah fence. An’ ah very much doubt we can scare off this one.

“...Fuck! Youkomon, you deal with this!” “Are you crazy?!” Ah threw her at dah robot, her panicked claws clashin’ against dah robot’s arm as it blocked dah attack.

It was strange tah see a robot so surprised, but taking dat chance, ah kicked back at dat robot’s head, reachin’ dah fence with dah impulse forward.

“Not happenin’, flattie~!” “Keep dreaming~. G11 Mission!” “You two are not interfering! Shishi Jūhazan!!!” Listenin’ tah dat damn Witch of Leopard an’ her black cat, an’ resistin’ dah urge tah go punch her in dah face, ah tense as ah prepare tah get shot. But with Leomon’s interference, ah relax, as no shot comes mah way.

An’ like dat, explosions rumblin’ behind, ah finally reach dah fence. Where mah luck finally runs out.

Seein’ her comin’ from dah corner of mah eye, ah barely have enough time tah block Nero Alice’s strike before those claws divide me in four.

“Couldn’t yah ‘ave remained outta dah way?!” Ah don’t have a fire dog at hand anymore!

Dah little girl just smiled at me, as if she found my shout funny while her giant cat put dah pressure tah cut me into pieces. 

Just what ah needed, a way too strong little girl breakin’ her stoic face tah laugh at mine!

Ah struggled against dah giant plushie, slowly pushin’ it back. But as ah did, the little girl put on a serious smile, an’ the weight of dah plushie’s claws intensified, pushing me back again.

It took everythin’ ah had tah push back, leavin’ us both in a stalemate.

Dammit...! If ah could get an arm free, ah could charge a good hit an’ get it off me...!

How am ah gonna...?!

Finally, somethin’ good happened. A bunch of fireballs impacted on dah cats right arm. An’ tah mah surprise, ice daggers into dah left, partially freezin’ it.

A look behind it showed dat Youkomon was strugglin’ with dah robot, gettin’ a bad hit in an’ sent flyin’ away with a rocket tah dah stomach. But still managed tah get some fireballs past it tah hit Nero Alice. An’ on dah other side, Azul was bein’ firmly held by Leomon, besides dah almost cut in half Schiavo, an’ blockin’ dah assault from three enemies at dah same time as best she could. Azul was heavily panting, her face covered in tears, an’ still, she acted fast tah get me outta this one.

Heh, does dat girl really worry ‘bout her strength while bein’ this reliable? What an idiot.

Takin’ dah chance they gave me, ah push dah claws away an’ punch dah plushie, sending it an’ Nero Alice flyin’ back. An’ without wastin’ any time, ah turn towards dah fence.

Dah thing was already tremblin’ from dah pitiful state of dah Schiavo, so ah just bulldoze through it, an’ fly straight at Baiser.

Magenta an’ Nefertimon struck down a large bird with feathers made of sewin’ needles in just two hits, an’ rushed at dah Witch. 

Just how many of these Schiavos can she pull off at dah same time?! ...Grrr, inside her Domain, ah guess dah answer is ‘As many as she goddamn wants’!

Dah two sides are rushin’ at each other, which should be bad news tah Baiser and BlackWitchmon, but only makes me worry ‘bout why she’s doin’ it then.

Ah won’t give her dah chance tah show dah reason!

Pushin’ everything ah had into flyin’ fast, ah reach Baiser before Magenta, an’ get a nice punch in. One she had tah notice right on time tah block with her riding crop. ‘Cause ah can’t have 2 good things happen tah me in a row.

“Sulfur?!” “Why are you...?!” Magenta an’ Neferti got surprised at mah interference, expectin’ me tah be fightin’ on dah other side. Guess ah should have telepathically called ‘em, but mah mind was too busy trying tah get here tah use it.

“It’s a trap! She was purposefully separatin’ yah two! Don’t fight her alone!” Ah shouted back at ‘em, before focusin’ back on Baiser. “Dunno what yar plan was, but sucks tah be yah, it’s not goin’ tah happen~!”

“Sucks...? Sulfur, you don’t understand how much better this is!” ...What? “Things going according to plan is fun and all, but this?! You pushing through the blockade and clashing with me face-to-face to ruin my plans and stop me?! Now this is fun!”

“...Damn, yah’re one crazy bitch.” She likes havin’ her plans ruined...? Still, if she really is up tah a proper brawl, ah can respect dat as ah pummel her bones into dust~.

“Ahhh, this is great~! Come on, Sulfur! Make it hard and challenging!” A shiver runs down mah spine, as her face gets closer an’ closer tah mine. As ah clearly see her star-shaped pupils grow past her eyes, shining in a sinister light, an’ a star starts to flicker besides the one under her left eye. “Let’s have some fun, Sulfur~!”

An’ then, dah star stopped flickerin’. A third star now firmly sat below her eye, now a permanent feature of her face. One on the right, two on the left.

...I have to kill her. Now.

“Thunder Crush!” As fun as it would be tah have a proper brawl, she has tah die. She’s growin’ too fast, an’ ah don’t wanna know what she’ll pull off next time if she keeps gettin’ stronger at this rate.

Chargin’ mah other arm, ah send it back just tah give a little bit of extra impulse before sendin’ a skull-shattering punch at her. A punch dat should hit. Dat accordin’ tah mah previous experience pummelin’ this girl into dah ground, she shouldn’t be able tah avoid nor block it.

And still, she did.

With a speed far superior dan before, she side-stepped dah punch, missin’ by just a few centimeters but still missin’. An’ she just smiled of joy.

“Agony Shock!” “Curse of Queen!” At the sound of attacks, we both disengaged, jumpin’ back tah barely avoid dah attacks coming at us. Probably a mistake, since ah ended givin’ her space.

“Sulfur!” Magenta flew to mah side, her spear pointin’ at Baiser. “Thanks for the backup and warning. Let’s fight her together!”

“...Heh, just don’t jump like dat, this girl is a compulsive liar an’ trickster. Who knows what dirty trick she has prepared.” An’ ah hope we take her down before we find out. “Leomon can keep the others occupied on her own for a minute or two, let’s take her down fast!”

“Yeah, I won’t let her go this time!” Nefertimon behind us was getting pumped up.

Between us three, she should have no chance.

“How dare you call my Baiser dirty?!” BlackWitchmon very clearly feigned taking offense. “She was just hoping for a straight, honest, and honorable fight with Magenta~.”

Bullshit!

“True, that’s true! I just hoped to have a proper, friendly fight!” Baiser followed her play, acting hurt. “I would never prepare any sort of trap for my dear Magenta! Even less... One like this!”

In a swift movement, she raised her hands upwards, as if she was dragging something from the ground up towards the sky.

Tch, another Schiavo?!

Ah set mah hands in front as ah looked down, creatin’ a large barrier preemptively below us. 

But there was nothin’. In the single second ah looked down tah create dah barrier, an’ there was no sign of anythin’ on dah ground, ah realized mah mistake an’ tried tah extend dah barrier ‘round us.

‘Slash’ ‘Slash’ ‘Slash’ ‘Slash’ ‘Slash’ ‘Slash’ ‘Slash’ ‘Slash’ ‘Slash’ ‘Slash’ ‘Slash’ 

But it was too late. As mah body was assaulted by dah sensation of a thousand papercuts all ‘round, as ah saw dozens of those scissor Schiavos she used last time fly past us an’ get stuck in mah barrier.

It was obvious what had happened, an’ how stupid ah was tah let it happen. An’ dah price for mah stupidity quickly made itself apparent. 

“AHHHHHH!!!” Ah screamed in pain, in more pain than ah have ever felt. Enough pain tah drop dah barrier. Enough pain tah not even listen tah dah screams of dah others.

They were just small cuts, each one of those things lackin’ dah power tah properly injure me. But each small cut, even those as small as a papercut, felt like a friggin’ stabbin’!

Grittin’ mah teeth, ah looked at dah others, right on time tah see Magenta, her clothes turnin’ to shreds an hidin’ very little, get in front of me tah block a strike dat Magia Baiser aimed at me.

“Aha~. As expected of Magia Magenta, those Scissorflies could barely do anything to you~.” She was right. There were apparent cuts across Magenta’s body, which were VERY evident given dat there was barely enough cloth left tah cover enough of her chest tah not flash dah world. But they looked very shallow. Not even drawin’ blood. “But, I’m not sure the same can be said of your Partner.”

...What?

Ah turned back, an’ saw Nefertimon desperately flappin’ her wings, which had been shredded. Each flap just made her lose more feathers, until she started to free fall.

“Agony Shock!” At the shout of dat sadistic witch, ah just need a quick look tah realize dat stream of balls of pain was directed at the fallin’ Nefertimon.

“So dat was dah plan?!” Raisin’ mah hand, ah create a spherical barrier ‘round her, stoppin’ her fall. A spherical one at this distance was quite taxin’, but ah only needed tah keep it up a few seconds. “Well, too bad ah’m here tah ruin i-”

‘BOOOM!’

A searin’ pain quickly spread through mah body, as if ah was suddenly set aflame an’ mah bones shattered. Mah sight went black for a slight moment before ah’m knocked out of the smokecloud where ah was an instant ago. Mah mind was knocked ‘round as if it was hit with a damn hammer.

“Sulfur?!” Magenta screamed behind me, as ah recovered mah bearin’. Right on time tah see her jump in front of me, cuttin’ down giant bullets shot in mah direction. Leopard was grinnin’ on dah other side, an’ Baiser havin’ gotten away from dah explosion.

“You aren’t getting in the way that easy, moron~.” She was smilin’ triumphantly, dah battle behind her havin’ Nero Alice an’ WonderGuardromon keepin’ Leomon occupied, while Youkomon and LeutnantTailmon were shooting at each other.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” An’ havin’ been stunned an’ made tah look away, dah inevitable happened. Mah barrier fell.

Turnin’ tah look at her, ah saw Nefertimon get hit by multiple of those damn torture balls, falling weightily against dah ground. She was shakin’, showin’ no sign of tryin’ tah get up.

“NEFERTI!!!” Magenta screamed at her, panic an’ worry equally mixed and overflowin’ in her voice. A moment of distraction dat didn’t let her notice in time dah golden chains wrappin’ ‘round her. “Wha-aaaaaaaaaa?!”

She was yoinked away by BlackWitchmon, swung in the direction of a small cumulus of those Agony Shocks.

“Dammit, Magenta!” Ah raise a hand tah create a barrier in front of her tah let her stop in time, but unfortunately, ah change plans last second tah create a spherical one around mahself, right on time tah block more of those explosive bullets bein’ shot at me. “Why can’t yah just stand out of dah way?!”

“Idiot, if you don’t like me getting between you and Baiser-chan, then just do something about it~. Not like you can do anything against Leopard-sama~.” Her voice, her smug tone an’ self-grandeur quickly got in mah nerves. “Now, I wonder how much can that shield withstand before breaking.”

“Ohhhhh~? Then why don’t you come here an’ tell it tah mah face, eh? Or better yet, ah go an’ punch yar face upside down!” Ah was on dah border of dismissing mah shield tah blitz dat bitch, maybe gettin’ tagged once or twice in dah process.

Dat is, until ah started noticin’ scratchin’ noises comin’ from all ‘round me, noises dat were almost completely drowned by dah explosions hittin’ dah shield. An’ a quick look ‘round put dropped some ice in mah back.

Scissorflies. Ah was surrounded by dah damn entire swarm, tryin’ tah scratch their way past dah barrier from where dah explosions didn’t reach ‘em. If ah dropped it, it would get nasty very quickly. “...Well, fuck.”

“You wanna get fucked? Why doesn’t that surprise me with how you are exposing your non-existant tits to the world~?” Somehow, her annoyin’ voice could be heard through dah explosions. Dat make this situation even more infuriatin’.

Ah hadn’t even noticed how those things had shredded mah uniform, but how’s dat mah fault?!

“...Atleast ah don’t willingly go exposin’ mah ass an’ pussy tah dah world like yah. Are yah dat desperate tah get some action?” If ah couldn’t let mah irritation go with mah fists, then ah would do it with mah words. “Ah guess it’s inevitable, if yar aware nobody will want yah unless yah beg for it.”

“...I’ll fucking kill you, bitch!” Ah seem tah have struck a nerve, as dah explosions started comin’ twice as fast.

“As if yah could, slut.” Ah say dat, but this was bad. Ah was still in mah Assault Mode, so ah would run out of Magic soon. An’ since Leomon was still fighting multiple opponents at once, ah couldn’t turn it off, or ah would fuck her over.

I’m pretty much fucked, unless someone gets me a chance.

In my moment of distraction, I somehow managed to get myself wrapped by those golden chains and swung around. Straight towards the Agony Shocks of BlackWitchmon.

Ugh, why am I always so careless...?!

Ahhhh, I’ll think about that later! Neferti is down and Sulfur is dealing with Leopard, I have to focus!

“What?!” Flexing and spreading my arms, I break off the chains and hold tightly to them. In a quick move, I pull from the chains, moving right on time to avoid the awaiting balls of pain by half a meter, and instead have BlackWitchmon herself start being rapidly pulled towards them. “W-Wait, that’s not funny!”

Oh, looks like she isn’t immune to them! In that case~!

I strengthen my grip and pull with all I have, dragging her full-force towards them. But unfortunately, Magia Baiser reacted quickly and broke the chains with her riding crop, holding BlackWitchmon from the collar right on time to stop her from diving face first into her own attack.

Awwww, I thought I had her!

As a result, we ended still face-to-face, just a pair of meters between us, looking at each other with just the Agony Shocks between us, a barrier that none of us was going to dive through. The third star now sitting firmly on her face very evident now.

That was not good.

“T-Thanks, Baiser. I don’t wanna actually find how they feel on the receiving end...” BlackWitchmon spoke nervously, slowly floating away from her own attack, floating centimeters away from her face.

“Don’t worry, I probably owed you that one from a previous fight. Still...” She spoke kindly to her Partner, but her eyes turned sharper when she looked at me. But it was strange. It didn’t feel like hate, irritation, nor anything negative I can think of. It was almost a gleeful smile! “I guess that’s what experience looks like? I’m pretty sure that’s the same move you pulled when fighting The Shockwave and The Tentacle Witches.”

“Uh, you know about that?” That happened 2 years ago!

“Of course I do~! It’s thanks to that that I could react fast enough to save Morgana.” She looked in a good mood. She’s... More chatty than I expected. “Let’s say... That I study my enemies. I have looked at every available information of Tres Magia, all the while back to the Life Colors~.”

“That’s... A lot of dedication.” That’s 5 years worth of research...

“It was pretty easy~.” Having gotten far away from her own attack, BlackWitchmon floated comfortable behind Baiser. In as good of a good mood as her. “You had such a beautiful and dramatic story, that I couldn’t stop reading it when Baiser passed it to me~. It feels like you would cry if I said a single word, but looking at the ones that tried, that wouldn’t end well for me... It really makes me want to see if I can break you, until you are a sobbing mess begging me to stop~.”

“She does give you that feeling, right~?” Baiser happily agreed to that messed up statement.

“That’s... Not a very nice thing to say.” That’s pretty scary... Though, if they are so willing to talk, then maybe... “...Magia Baiser, what are you after? What is your goal?”

For how they act, Magia Baiser and BlackWitchmon seem to be very close. So, if I get to understand the first, maybe I could also understand the second.

“Your screams.” She answered so fast and naturally that it didn’t seem to have any thought at all, just her feelings. Scary feelings at that. Though, after that, she took a moment to think, before continuing her answer with a smile. “And world domination.”

Alright, this may not be easier than expected. Though, that last part sounded a bit weird...

“And talking about screams...~” BlackWitchmon raised her staff towards me, the top of it almost coming in contact with the Agony Shocks in front of us. And then, they quickly started to move towards me.

Acting through pure muscle memory, I slash through them with my spear. At 3 Stars, they are not at a level I can just shrug off most of their attacks anymore.

Since it seemed they wouldn’t easily talk anymore, I pushed forward, swinging down at Baiser. She blocked with her riding crop, clear exertion for pushing herself.

As expected and as it says in the analysis, physical strength is not her forte. Even at 3 Stars, this strength is just of 2. In that case, I have to keep up the pressure!

I twist my spear to slide it through Baiser’s weapon, and send it at BlackWitchmon’s face. She barely avoids it, but I manage to cut the Shock she was making, so that’s a success.

Before Baiser can do something, I use the motion of the movement to kick her in the stomach, stunning her for a moment as she loses her breath. “Baiser, if you are aiming for world domination, then why didn’t you kill Azul or Sulfur when you had the chance?”

Since their powers aren’t suited for direct damage, I can believe the theories that they just didn’t have enough time for it... But something doesn’t feel right.

“Ugh...” She coughed a bit, before looking me in the eye. “...Why should I tell you~?”

With a swift move, I throw Baiser at BlackWitchmon, intercepting the chains being thrown at me and having them clash with each other.

If you want to take me by surprise, at least try to get me from behind!

Going after them, I gather Magic in my spear. If she wants to be difficult, I’ll make it difficult for her!

Swinging the spear, trails of bright and colorful magic are left behind the blade. The two witches hurriedly create a shield of chains, with Baiser even holding it with her hands, before it impacts.

‘SUUUUSH!!!’

Gusts of wind fly out from the impact, the shield cracking and the two being pushed back. But they manage to block it. “Why didn’t you kidnap Azul in either of the times you got her? I know that you can bring anyone through your portals.”

They were both trembling as they tried to keep the shield on. But they were smiling. No, their smiles were growing. “...I have my plans, and you don’t need to know them~.” She spoke teasingly. It sounded like she really was enjoying herself.

Ugh, this will take a while. But with how much she likes to talk, I’m sure I can get her to be honest if I keep trying!

Sticking the spear between the chains, I use it as a lever to forcefully push the shield away, and following that momentum I send a kick at BlackWitchmon’s face.

“Gah!” Which, fortunately, connects. Which gives me a chance to swing at her, but she’s pushed away by Baiser.

That was fine. If I don’t give them any time nor space, she can’t create her Schiavos, especially not this high in the air.

What came after was a repeat of constant attacks, blocks or misses, and trying to get some answer out of Magia Baiser. But she held steadfast on not saying anything.

...No, that wasn’t quite right. It didn’t feel like that.

She wasn’t steadfast in not saying anything. It felt more like... She was enjoying not saying anything. She was enjoying lying in her answers. Like she was treating this as a fun game I had started.

With another charged-up spear, I swing down at them as they raise another shield. It’s only a matter of time until they can’t keep it up anymore. But then...

“Curse of Queen!” A bright red laser hit BlackWitchmon in the side, pushing her aside and taking out her shield.

The change on Magia Baiser’s face from excitement to panic was instant, as it was too late to avoid this attack. All she could do was swing back at me, charging her own weapon with as much reinforcement Magic as possible, and meeting mine directly.

‘Fluuuush!’ ‘Brrrrrrrrrr!’

Gales of wind and magic flew all around us as our weapons clashed, enveloping us in a twister of bright pink and purple. But my own power quickly overwhelmed hers.

“Haaaaaaaaa!” Putting all my weight and magic into the swing, I break through Magia Baiser’s block, my spear cleaving through her chest as it hit her with enough strength to send her flying.

‘THUMP!!!’ ‘CRACK!!!’

“AGH!!!” She fell to the ground like a meteorite, debris being shot in all directions as she created a small crater on the pavement. Even from up this high, I could still hear her scream of pain.

“That must have hurt...” I felt a bit bad about that, but she left me no choice!

“BAISER!!!” BlackWitchmon, recovering from the hit, screamed, and flew straight to check up on her Partner.

...Damn, now I feel worse.

Still, I looked back, seeing Nefertimon now standing steady on the ground. Relieved, I send her a telepathic message as I floated down to the ground. ‘Thanks for the backup! Good to see you are alright!’

‘Yeah, sorry for losing consciousness there. Getting hit by a bunch of those things inside her Domain is no joke.’ She sounded fully recovered. That’s always the good thing with opponents that attack your senses or mind. It doesn’t last long. ‘I had already kinda felt it the first time we met at that warehouse, but she really wasn’t throwing a serious one at that time.’

Not a serious one, uh...?

‘Frooooooooom!!!’

I stop in place, that line of thought interrupted by a powerful surge of magic. 

“Ufufu...!” Magia Baiser started to raise up from the ground, Magic being violently released from her body. There was a huge cut in her chest spewing blood, and her right arm was hanging limply.

And she smiled.

A smile she directed at the worried BlackWitchmon, and who smiled back, as if she understood.

...I hate when I find this kind of Witches. The kind that just get stronger the harder you go at them.

It’s hard to stop them without using lethal force.

Baiser picked up her weapon with her other hand, as Magic power visibly started to gather and swirl around them. ‘If they are going to throw something big, then that must be...’ Following Neferti’s words, BlackWitchmon created an Agony Shock. One that continued growing, and growing, and growing, and then...

‘Snap!’

With one hit from Magia Baiser, all the Magic around started gathering and being absorbed by it, its appearance changing, until a line cracked on it. ‘Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!’ It wailed with it’s new mouth.

““Agony Elemental!!!”” They both chanted together, as the giant crying head was shot at me.

‘Neferti.’ ‘Let’s do it!’ I nodded, ready for it.

That thing was ‘Alive’ to a certain extent. Avoiding thing was useless, it would just pursue, and you don’t want to keep avoiding something like that in the middle of a fight. No, something like this must be destroyed before it becomes a problem.

I got myself in position, my spear ready for an overhead strike as I charged a Spell into it. Neferti down below also charging her own technique. Vatz’s friends had already made the calculations for us, including in case Baiser grows stronger. This will be more than enough.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” I breathed in deeply, and as the giant head screamed right at my face, I swung down at it.

“Saviour’s Rend!” “Rosetta Sto-?!” My spear cut down, turning into a large shining wing of magenta light, as it sliced through the Elemental, cleaving it almost in half. Its face split vertically, its crying stopping.

But Neferti’s attack didn’t come. Instead, a wave of panic got through our bond.

Looking away, I saw Neferti being shot at by Leopard, who got punched by Sulfur the moment she looked away and used as a shield to deter the swarm of Schiavos going after her.

‘MAGENTA, RUN!!!’ Neferti screamed into my mind, right as I saw two walls of shinning purple around the edges of my vision, accompanied by a shriek coming from all around me. 

“Wha-” But before I could say anything or even move, the walls, the vertical slice I made on the Schiavo violently closed around me.

And my mind went white and red.

My smile felt like it was going to tear through my face to actually reach my ears, as Magenta was caught inside the Agony Elemental. It felt especially good since our first one had failed. And it was clear that Morgana was feeling the same.

No, she was feeling it even more.

“Fufu...! Fufufufu...!!! Fufufahahahahaa!!!” She started cackling madly, spreading her arms wide. She just felt full of energy, full of raw power that kept on growing. I could feel it through our bond, the pain that Magenta was feeling was being converted into pure power just waiting to be used.

So much power, that it felt like she could actually fight Magenta 1v1!

The sounds of the battlefield had completely stopped. Everyone had stopped and just enjoyed the spectacle. And what a spectacle it was!

“Shashashasha!!!” The Elemental laughed in glee, the pain that encompassed her entire existence finally being shared with someone else.

Magenta wasn’t even screaming. She just held her mouth open as her entire body quietly and consistently spasmed. There was no over show of pain, no scream, there weren’t even tears. It felt quite unique.

Like there was no proper way to share with the world how it must be feeling.

“““““MAGENTA!!!””””” Nefertimon, Azul, Youkomon, Sulfur, and Leomon all shouted together, coming out of the shock at the same time. 

“THUNDER CRUSH!!!” “ROSETTA STONE!!!” “CRYOGENIC BLADES!!!” “JAENRYū!!!” “SHISHI JūHAZAN!!!” 5 Super attacks were shot all at the same time. The Agony Elemental being quickly obliterated with such an overwhelming force that nothing was left of it, and such an unbelievable precision that none of them hit Magenta.

Morgana blocking with her chain shield the fire dragon that was thrown at us instead. 

They all suffered a heavy counterattacks. 

Sulfur had to run through a swarm of Scissorflies to get to Magenta, the remains of her uniform being turned into just the bow holding her Transformation Heart, and then got shot in the back by Leopard. 

Youkomon was smashed against the ground by Roboko. Leomon was poisoned and Azul was shot by Gepard. And Nefertimon was slashed by Alice’s Chesire plush, and was not struggling to not be dragged inside the new Dollhouse.

Ahhh, Magical Girls truly are the best... They all just jumped to save their beloved friend, even if that meant putting themselves at risk by giving their backs to the enemy!

Sulfur even flew throw a sea of sharp blades to save her!

Yes, that’s how it should be!

Fight with all you have, protect each other, and in the end, turn the tables around!!!

Now, turn it around MAGIA MAGENTA!!!

YOU ARE MAGIA MAGENTA, IT’LL TAKE SO MUCH MORE THAN THIS TO TAKE YOU DOWN!!!

Magenta was floating limply in the air, silent, her gaze white. She wasn’t moving. She wasn’t falling. She wasn’t anything. She looked like a corpse hanging in the air.

And then, there was a beat.

The air itself beat with a pulse of Magic.

And then another. And another.

Until a vortex of magic grew out of Magia Magenta, her hand gripping her spear to strongly that she started crushing it. And when she lowered her face, she showed me an expression I had never seen from her before.

Teeth gritting so strongly that her gums were starting to bleed, her eyes bloodshot, and her gaze hard in a way that felt both like enduring something painful, desperation, and sheer determination.

Yes.

Yes!

“YES!!! Come, Magia Magenta!!! Show me everything you have!!!” Show me what makes you the best Magical Girl in all of Japan!!! Defeat me!!! “Morgana!”

“Fufufu...! Baiser, there’s no way I’m stopping that alone and coming out of it with all my limb~.” Morgana happily said as she looked up at Magenta, who was getting into position to dive down at us.

“Well, now isn’t that a problem~? My right arm is busted.” I didn’t feel any pain from it. Or to be precise, I didn’t feel it at all. It was completely and utterly dislocated. But I must have been going so high on adrenaline that any pain must be a problem for future me. “In that case~.”

Holding my Frustrino Dominanza, I look around for something I can use. Something to turn into a Schiavo to use as a meatshield. Unfortunately, we were in a small crater in the pavement, there wasn’t good material here.

The pavement itself was no good, I couldn’t think of anything that could be done with just hard rock. That would just be a golem, and I could feel my Magic wouldn’t make that. It was also broken and shattered, I just couldn’t turn something in that state into a Schiavo. The earth under it is also no good, I can’t even imagine it as a single thing to turn, and I don’t have the power to turn the entire planet, that would be absurd.

And then, my eyes fell unto something. On a single root from one of the nearby trees, poking through the earth.

Ahhhh, that’s perfect! 

I have been taking care of your cousins, so you better die for me now!!!

Charging Magic into my Frustrino Dominanza, I swing down at it. The amount of power in the swing being enough to create one of if not my best Schiavo to date.

But it didn’t happen.

The Dominanza stopped just a few centimeters away from the root. My hand frozen in place, refusing to go down.

“Baiser...?” Morgana asked me confused and worried, her shield up and waiting for extra support.

What was... What was I just going to do?

This... This isn’t what I do, is it? I take care of plants, especially flowers, I have two gardens for my two lives. 

I care for them, I don’t turn them into monsters and send them to die.

I don’t-

As I turn around, my thoughts freeze as I come face-to-face with Magenta, diving at us with her spear and leaving a trail of shinning Magic behind her.

She looked beautiful. She looked terrifying.

And she was suddenly covered in shadows, hundreds of eyes opening all around her body.

‘BROOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!’

“Argh!!!” She impacted like a missile, causing a magical explosion that sent us flying away, along with the debris that used to be half the street. 

She had suddenly turned to the left, barely missing us.

We rolled in the ground for a moment, flying debris hitting us before we could get up. But as we did, looking back, all we could see was a giant crater, with Magenta somewhere inside.

“Voix Forte!” “Ovation Stream!” An unknown pair of voices shouted, screamed, and from above, the shapes of musical notes surrounding a torrent of shinning water fell into the crate, cracking the pavement even more.

Looking up, I found the source of that attack. It was a girl a girl wearing a large open sweater resembling a sailor uniform that reached her knees, leaving the front exposed. Below she had a pencil skirt that reached up to right below her breasts and thigh-high socks, with heeled boots that reached to her knees. Her chest was hanging even more freely and way more fuller than mine, held by a pitiful microbikini, a golden star between them. A military cap adorned her head, which cascaded in maroon locks with cyan highlights, tiny twintails on the sides of her hair.

Hooking around her shoulders was a Digimon, but I couldn’t get a good look of her from here. She looked humanoid, but her skin was green, and appeared to be wearing frilly blue clothes.

Wait... She is...!

“Baiser, that’s... Loco Musica, right?” Morgana asked what I had in mind.

“Yes... I’m sure that’s her.” The only publicly known members of Enormeeta before we arrived. Of which I honestly didn’t know much about, but was at least aware of their existence. “Loco Musica and IndieRanamon.”

The new arrivals, finishing their attack, looked over the battlefield, and then quickly flew down at us. I instinctively put myself into a defensive position... But tried to do so with my right arm, which refused to move.

“Hey, you’re Magia Baiser and BlackWitchmon, right?” She asked with a wide smile. With an unbelievable amount of sincerity that she should have no reason to have with me.

And then it dawned on me. 

I’m now her ally. She just saved me from Magenta’s attack.

“Are you two alright?” The Digimon around her shoulders... IndieRanamon, asked as she dropped to the ground, standing just as tall as her Partner. “Can you keep fighting?”

“Keep fighting...? Of cou-!” I wanted to say yes. I wanted to say yes so badly. I had been having such a blast, everyone was being amazing and so beautiful...! But I could feel the gaze of the three of them on my right arm, and my bleeding chest. “Maybe... Not.”

“Uhum, uhum! Supposed so, everyone looks pretty bad right now~!” Loco Musica said happily as she patted me on my shoulders. “Good on not pushing yourself too far! Now, leave everything to your Senpai, I’m getting you all home~.”

...Senpai? I guess she’s my Senpai...

“Just sit back and relax, you two deserve that rest~. I recommend you keep your eyes closed.” IndieRanamon raised a thumb at us, before she and Loco Musica turned away from us.

Loco took out a microphone, right as Magia Magenta started to float out of the crater.

“Alright, everyoneeeee~!” She cheerily shouted into the microphone, her voice expanding through the entire battlefield, momentarily stopping the fight. “The fights over~! Now, we are going home! Good job today~!”

There was a moment of silence, as everyone was stunned by that bold declaration. That the fight would stop just because she announced so.

“Don’t fuck with me!!!” “Yeah, why should ah stop killin’ this bitch just cause yah say so?!” Leopard and Magia Sulfur audibly voiced their complaints, as Sulfur held Leo by the collar with her giant gauntlet raised to punch her face, while Leo had a giant shotgun aimed at Sulfur’s head.

“J-Just asking everyone to stop is a b-” I try to reason with her, but I’m stopped as suddenly, my eardrums get dangerously close to exploding.

“AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Loco Musica started screaming into her microphone, and everyone in the battlefield, allies and enemies alike, fell to the ground, covering their ears as my Domain shattered.

My whole body vibrated from the intense sound running through it. My bones trembled, threatening of getting disconnected from my flesh, and my eardrums held on for dear life.

And then, my brain itself started to hurt. But not from the sounds, but from what it was trying to process.

I was seeing two different realities. Two different places at the same time, through the same pair of eyes. As if two different images were overlapped, with one becoming increasingly clearer while the other was slowly disappearing.

One image, the one that was slowly vanishing, was of the battlefield in front of me. The other, becoming increasingly more vivid, of the outside of Nacht Base.

“D-Don’t yah even think... Of gettin’ away...!!!” Sulfur stood up, removing her hands from her ears, and shot forward towards us. Towards me.

She charged so beautifully as everyone clutched their ears in pain, as she slowly disappeared from my vision. And as she reached her hand, her fingers just centimeters away from my face...

She was gone.

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 7: The Sweetness of Challenge - Intermission

“D-Don’t yah even think...” Dah pain in mah head was unbearable. Dah high note bein’ spewed endlessly by dat girl ringin’ in mah ears, threatenin’ tah tear ‘em apart, similar tah how dah windows near her were crackin’. 

But ah couldn’t let dat stop me. No, there is NO WAY ah’ll let dat stop me, as dat bitch Magia Baiser was tryin’ tah get away after what she did tah Magenta!

“Of gettin’ away...!!!” She was disappearin’. Slowly vanishin’ in dah air through dah Magic of Loco Musica, somethin’ dat ah didn’t even know she could do. Bein’ transported tah who knows where.

As if ah’ll let dat happen!!!

Ah darted towards ‘em. It was painful, mah ears screamin’ at me tah stop before they burst. Every single meter ah got closer tah Loco Musica makin’ it worse.

But it was nothin’. It was nothin’ compared tah bein’ cut all aroun’ while inside Baiser’s Domain, which Loco Musica so generously shattered. It was nothin’ compared tah seein’ her slowly disappear, once again trying tah get away under our noses after doin’ whatever she wanted.

An’ fortunately, it appeared tah be too much for Baiser herself, who was grittin’ her teeth in dah ground, coverin’ her ears tightly as she was dah closest tah Loco Musica.

So ah pushed forward, ignorin’ mah eardrums on dah border of explodin’. Gettin’ closer an’ closer tah Baiser, ah saw her become more an’ more transparent in front of mah eyes.

“BAISEEEEER!!!” Ah extended mah hand toward’s her, tryin’ tah grab her with mah gauntlet. Tah anchor her here, or ‘least strangle her before she disappeared.

But suddenly, dah sound stopped... An’ mah hand passed through where Baiser had been just moments ago.

“...DAMMIT!!!” Ah punch at dah ground with all mah strength an’ frustration, which now had nowhere tah release it on. Dah ground held firmly, as if nothin’ had even bothered it, which didn’t help at dealin’ with mah frustration.

Dah screamin’ was gone. Dah pain was gone. Enormeeta was gone.

All dat was left was dah damage they’d done. An’ dah pure frustration left inside me. A frustration dat only grew bigger because of dah questions left in mah mind.

Why did Loco Musica have tah appear just now!? Where was she hidin’ all along?! Why did she wait until dah end tah appear, rather than join dah fight from dah beginnin’?!

Why have ‘em fight us on their own, when they had a stronger an’ more experienced Witch with ‘em?!

It was almost a miracle for us. We could barely keep up fightin’ ‘em, dah difference between us growin’ smaller an’ smaller, an’ it bein’ compensated by Baiser’s surprise attacks an’ plans. If another Witch joined their side, then we could have...!

Ah stopped, an answer tah it comin’ tah mind. An answer made me grit mah teeth in pure, unendin’ frustration.

“...DON’T FUCK WITH ME!!!” Ah punched dah ground again. An’ again. An’ again. An’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again an’ again.

They are usin’ us for trainin’.

They are trainin’ their new members with live combat, sendin’ ‘em ‘gainst us an’ keepin’ watch tah intervene if they are in danger.

They are givin’ Baiser, Leopard, an’ Nero Alice dah chance tah acquire real combat experience, get hardened an’ pushed tah grow through real danger, an’ givin’ Baiser opportunities tah make an’ test plans, polishin’ her as a strategist.

An’ we are dah unfortunate ones chosen tah be their ‘Opponents’ durin’ their trainin’.

“GAAAAAAHHHHHHHH...!” Ah punch as strongly as ah can at dah ground, hopin’ tah shatter it, dat ah could tear apart this entire street. But as always, dah safety locks inside mah Transformation Heart stop me from causin’ any real damage. Ah almost wish dah Domain was still up, just so it would let me release mah frustration against dah ground.

“Sulfur.” Ah stop punchin’ dah ground as a large hand lands on mah shoulder. Lookin’ back, ah meet Leomon’s eyes, lookin’ worriedly at me.

...Ahhhhh, damn, ah completely lost it, didn’t ah? “...Sorry yah had tah see dat.”

Ah slowly got up, takin’ a deep, deep breath as ah closed mah eyes.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Ah open mah eyes, lettin’ dah air escape mah lungs. Bottlin’ up mah anger as much as ah can, tah release it at ah better time, at ah better place. Standin’ straight an’ smootly, relaxin’ mah body as much as possible. Let mah body stand an’ flow easily, let mah movements be soft an’ refined, rather than lettin’ them become stiff from dah anger.

Successfuly returnin’ back tah dah Tenkawa Kaoruko dat most people know me for, an’ dah Magia Sulfur everyone expects me tah be, ah let go of dah Assa-

“Please, don’t turn it off.” Ah stop in place, lookin’ up at her worried face as she hurriedly speaks. “If you turn off the Assault Mode, I’ll turn it off too. And I REALLY need it up for a bit longer.”

“Why are yah-” Dah question dies in mah throat, as ah finally get a good look at Leomon. She looked uninjured, unlike probably everyone else here. But her face looked... Slightly pale, an’ ah could feel a small, but constant stream of pain comin’ from her. “...Oh. Dammit, dat cat got yah with dat toxin, didn’t she?! Are yah alright?!”

“I’m fine! I’m fine, don’t worry. I held my breath and got out of the cloud as fast as I could, so I got a way smaller dosis than Magenta. Just...” She hurried tah explain, doin’ her best not tah worry me. An’ fortunately, she felt sincere. “Keep it up as long as you can. I’m sure that when the Assault Mode runs out, it’ll hit me a lot harder.”

“...Ahhh, wait for dah medics tah arrive first, got it.” Ah hope ah can maintain it dat long, ah’m almost runnin’ on fumes right now. If ah tried tah throw a Thunder Crush right now, I’d outright return tah mah civilian form.

Havin’ calmed down, ah took a quick look aroun’. Dah street an’ buildings ‘round looked like they had gone through war, but it wasn’t as bad as last time. Guess dat’s dah benefit of Leopard’s attacks mostly hittin’ their target or mah barriers.

In dah back, ah could see Azul on her knees, grippin’ dah pavement as her Magic was freezin’ dah entire area. An injured Youkomon was wrapped ‘round her, usin’ her fire tah keep herself an’ Azul warm.

Ah couldn’t see her face from here, bein’ a bit far an’ covered by her hair. But ah think she’s cryin’.

...Unfortunately for her, there’s someone ah gotta check first.

“Magenta!” Ah flew straight at dah crater made with Magenta’s impact, where she was waitin’ at dah border. Dat crater was almost overflowin’ with water.

She was tightly holdin’ her spear, diggin’ it into dah ground with her whole body tensed up an’ breathing deep and rapidly. Nefertimon had halfway wrapped ‘round her an’ covered her with her partially shredded wings, her expression unreadable under her mask.

Her face looked like she was either goin’ tah kill someone in a fit of rage, or die. An’ neither of those were somethin’ ah would ‘ave expected from her. Ah flinched when she turned tah look at me, those murderous eyes set on me.

“Are you two alright?” Leomon approached worried, extending a hand towards them. But Nefertimon, raised a win’ between ‘em, as if sayin’ ‘Wait a moment’.

“...Ahhhhh...” After a moment dat felt way too long, she took a deep breath, before lettin’ it all out. “...I’m fine. Sorry for showing you all that.”

Her body finally relaxed an’ she let go of her spear, but there was still a grimace on her face. “The pain from the Agony Elemental is fading away, but it’s still not gone. But it’s at an endurable level now.”

...What?!

“What do yah mean it’s not gone?!” “Even if they leave you stunned for a little while, the pain should only last a few moments!” How long is it going to last?!

“It’s probably because that thing was created through the combined Magic of the both of them. Giving ‘Life’ to the Magic must have given it a longer lasting effect.” Nefertimon answered us, but never got her eyes off from Magenta. “Though being inside Baiser’s Domain must have had some influence too. I’m not entirely sure, but I think that the Agony Shocks that got me also lasted twice as long.”

Yah ‘ave got tah be kiddin’ me... As if those things weren’t bad already! “Are... Are yah alright?! How are yah feelin’?!” How long is it goin’ tah last?!

“I’m fine, I’m fine! It’s almost completely gone by now! Thank you all for getting me out of it, I don’t think I could have escaped it on my own.” Magenta looked back to normal, her face returned to her usual happy expression. Somehow, that worried me even more. “When I was inside it, my mind had pretty much gone completely blank, it was too painful to think of anything, so I couldn’t even fight back. After I got out of it, it started to fade away, returning enough thought to at least put me in survival mode. The only thing I could think of for a while was fighting as hard as I could. I fully recovered my senses when they were teleporting away.”

“Ah... Ah see...” How much pain does one have tah be under for their mind tah go blank?!

“What did she even make you feel to cause that?” Oi, Leomon, don’t ask that! Let her forget it!

Unfortunately, ah didn’t send those words through telepathy, nor could they undo dah question.

“Mmm, that’s a bit hard to explain...” She started thinkin’ ‘bout it, way too casually. As if it was just a distant memory, rather than somethin’ she just suffered moments ago. “I’m not sure if this is right, since I never felt something like that before. But I think it felt like having all my organs fused together, and then pulled harshly by someone, though in my entire body. Something like that?”

...DAH FUCK?! “...Dah hell is wrong with ‘em?!”

Leomon was speechless, an’ Nefertimon pulled Magenta closer.

“More importantly! Sulfur, your clothes... Well...” She looked away nervously.

...My clothes?! How is dat more important than...?!

Then, it hit me. Ah looked down, gettin’ tah see mah own body covered in superficial an’ slightly bleedin’ cuts. All of ‘em, exposed tah dah winds, mah outfit havin’ been shredded an’ blasted away until all dat was left were remnants of mah gloves, boots, an’ dah Transformation Heart in mah chest. 

“Gah?!” Ah crouched down, trying tah cover as much as possible with mah hands and legs. But it was too late, she had already seen everythin’.

Magenta herself was nervously coverin’ her exposed nipple with her hand, her outfit also shredded, but in far better state than mine.

Ughhh...!!! Why?! Why did it ‘ave tah be like this?! 

Tah top if all, now we are naked in dah street?!

Ah don’t wanna see her or her see me like this...! If we’ll see everythin’ of the other, at least let it be in a private place...! Make it somethin’ like out of a romance novel!

“Sulfur, your injuries...” Magenta tried tah approach me, clearly worried. Lettin’ her hand leave her nipple exposed for a moment.

“A-Ah’m fine!” Ah looked away as fast as ah could, before ah started feelin’ more than just mah injuries.

Ah tried tah get up and turn mah back tah her tah escape dah embarrassment. But ah couldn’t. Mah legs refused tah move, completely exhausted.

Mah body was reachin’ its limits. Ah was completely spent, an’ keeping up dah Assault Mode was drainin’ whatever remnant ah had left, ah could feel mah Transformation startin’ tah slip. An’ without Magic tah support mah body, it couldn’t handle dah exertion of dah fight anymore.

Ah was not gettin’ up on mah own for a while.

Grrr, this is all Magia Baiser’s fault!

If photos of us like this spread, ah swear next time ah see her ah’ll...!

“Girls, are you alright?!” Mah thoughts are interrupted as Vatz comes back from wherever she was hiding. Concern more than clear in her face an’ voice. “Wait a moment, I already contacted the medical team, they’ll be here at any moment!”

An’ as if waiting for dat signal, dah portal opened in dah middle of dah street, Nila an’ her team pourin’ out, settin’ their equipment an’ flyin’ tah us.

Ah let mah body relax just a moment, relieved, truly feelin’ now like dah fight was over.

An’ with dat moment of relaxation, dah last of my Magic ran out, an’ ah fell unconscious.

___________________________________________________

I got up, the now familiar exterior of Nacht Base in front of us.

How did she...? We didn’t cross a portal!

“Oi, you bitch, are you trying to break my eardrums?!” “I’m filling her throat with lead.” Leopard and Gepard were angry shouting, so I turned around to see them getting on the face of the new girl, Loco Musica.

Alice was in the back, sitting on the ground as she rubbed her hands over her ears. Roboko was worriedly holding her, apparently unbothered by what we just went through.

Maybe she was less sensitive to strong sounds?

“And I thought I was good at causing pain...” Morgana was also sitting on the ground, rubbing her own ears. It looked like both an injury to her ears and her pride.

“Ahahaha...” I wasn’t really sure of what to say to that. My own ears were still ringing... “But it was fun, wasn’t it?”

“...Yes. It was very, very fun~.” Morgana seemed to be in a good mood as she rubbed her ears. “Just let me sulk a little.”

Suit yourself.

“Oh come on, I got us all out of that, right? With Magenta going berserk like that, getting out with a portal would have been hard.” “Exactly! You should be thanking us!” Loco Musica and her Partner, IndieRanamon, were proudly puffing their chests out, unbothered by their aggression. 

I kind of understand Leopard, but... It’s true she got us out of there. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but I was kind of losing my mind back there, and about to get done pretty badly. I’m not sure if I could have gotten us out like planned.

Still, that leaves a question in my mind...

“Thank you. You are... Loco Musica and IndieRanamon, right?” I cautiously approached them, Morgana left behind still bothered by her ears, and my right arm hanging limply on my side.

“Yes yes, Loco Musica here! Happy to meet you all~!” “Call me Umi-chan~! Good we could give you all a hand~.” They both answered happily and energetically, in a way that seemed almost like Idols greeting their fans on-stage. It felt rehearsed, but also honest.

“Oi, don’t ignore me! I’ll blow you up!” “That’s it, here comes the second grenade~!” Those two were starting to say some dangerous things as they picked up their weapons.

“Leo-chan, Ge-chan, please, calm down. She’s not an enemy; she was trying to help. Can we listen to her first, please?” At least, I think she isn’t an enemy. Probably. Still, that was enough to calm those two. Leopard looked away frustrated, but didn’t raise a fuss about it, while Gepard just shrugged and apparently threw away her anger entirely. “Thanks for helping us there, but... Where did you come from?”

She appeared right at the end, so had she been watching the entire time, waiting for her chance to make a big entrance. Or did she join as soon as she arrived?

...Wait, that sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

Arriving right at the end, doing her first big apparition in the ‘story’ by hitting Magenta with a huge attack, declaring that the fight is over, and then somehow teleporting us away with some crazy spell that left everyone in the ground...

That’s a great Villain introduction!!!

If she did that on purpose... She’s a genius!

I REALLY need to ask Venalita for the video of this fight as soon as I can, I’m sure it’ll be amazing!

“Oh, we were watching from the beginning!” Loco Musica proudly announced.

So she WAS trying to get a great Villain introduction!

I think I like this one!

“Venalita told us that your group was going to have a big fight with Tres Magia today, so we wanted to come and see first-hand how you girls fought and give you all a hand if it turned dangerous.” IndieRanamon spoke with enthusiasm, and I wasn’t sure if she was in a good mood or if she’s always like this. 

“It’s our job as your Senpais, after all!” Loco Musica proudly spoke as she held a hand over her very generous chest. It screamed of pride and honesty.

I relaxed, now sure that she wasn’t dangerous. At least, not to us. And being so close, now I could finally take a good look at IndieRanamon... At Umi.

She was humanoid, just like Morgana, though while Mor was taller than me, she was a few centimeters shorter than Loco Musica. But her skin was a light shade of bluish-green and looked slightly slimy, with webbed fingers and fins coming out of her hips and where her ears should be, turning blue at the tips. She had cascading blue and slightly transparent ‘Hair’ that made me think of the umbrella or tentacles of a jellyfish. Her eyes were large and yellow with vertical, and her lips were the same shade of blue as her fins, with sharp lines of the same color shooting out from below her left eye.

She was wearing what I could only describe as an Idol outfit. It was light blue, turning a darker shade the lower it went, with a cascade of frills in the middle, going down from her neck to her waist. Below she wore a short skirt that opened at the sides, letting her fins out from inside of layers upon layers of frills that reached down below her skirt. She wore large sleeves that were disconnected from the rest of the outfit, frills protruding from both sides, and thin ‘boots’ that were little more than socks that left her toes, of a darker shade of green than the rest of her body, exposed.

On her head, she wore a large hat that imitated the sharp head of some kind of frog, light blue with patches of a darker tone similar to her hair. It had large, orange eyes on the sides, that appeared to look to where she looked. And between the eyes of the hat and at the top of her boots, she wore golden 4-pointed stars.

There were 2 big blue Stars tattooed in her shoulders, one on each, with her left shoulder showing a second, smaller star over the big one. They were 3 Stars, same as the 3 tiny Stars visible on Loco Musica’s throat. 

“Anyways, are you alright?” Loco Musica looked at me seriously, her voice showing genuine worry. “Those injuries don’t look good.”

My injuries...? “...Ah. I-It’s nothing, really! I’m fine!” I try to raise both hands to show that I’m fine, but the right one refuses to move, and a look down showed me that the cut across my chest was still bleeding, just not as much as at the beginning. In fact, it was strange how little I was bleeding from an injury like that.

“Aham...” Ind... Umi gave me a knowing smile, and without warning, poked my right arm.

“Grgh!” I reeled back, holding my right arm tightly, as a grunt of pain escaped my lips and I fell on a knee. Suddenly, my arm started hurting. A lot.

“...!” Alice ran to me, holding worried on my side. That’s not good, I don’t wanna worry her.

“Ahhh, yeah, looks like the adrenaline was doing its job.” Loco said as she threw me an empathetic look. “Been there. I’m still surprised you could continue trying to fight in that state, that’s kind of impressive.”

“Of course she could, she’s MY Baiser-chan after all!” Leopard suddenly came from the side, holding my face against the side of her breasts. She sounded a bit too aggressive when speaking to her. “...Anyways, Baiser-chan, are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m doing fine, Leo-chan, Alice-chan...” These injuries were probably pretty bad. But the pain of them made me remember how I got them. “In fact, I’m more than fine... I feel great...! Did you see Magenta there?! I got her with the best I got, and she still could go full-force against me! It was amazing! It was a fantastic fight!”

My plans both were ruined and went as expected! I didn’t know how things would go, just that Tres Magia would win in the end, which is exactly how a fight against a Villain should go!

Ahhhhh... Just the memory of it is making me feel warm all over...

I want to recover and fight them again...

In the end, the harder the challenge is, the better it feels at the end...~

Loco Musica and Umi took a step back, weird looks on their faces, until Gepard spoke to them. “Yeah, that’s how she always is~.” She said so without a shred of doubt.

“...Woah, so she’s a battle junkie?” “She didn’t look that type...” They said as they looked down at me, slight worry and surprise in their tones.

Oi, calling me a battle junkie is a bit much!

“A-Anyways, we should do something about your injuries.” Umi was the first to step forward, going back to her upbeat, although a bit worried, tone.

“R-Right! If you keep bleeding like that, it’ll be bad! As your Senpai, we won’t let you die from something like that~.” Loco Musica stood proudly again. It felt like she looked even more proud each time she said ‘Senpai’. “We have a contract with a good underground doctor in Spain. She’s a bit expensive, but she does good job, we’ll take you there and pay your treatment~.”

“Uh... That’s... Nice.” We have contracts in Spain? ...How complicated is all this Evil Organization stuff, actually?

“...?!” Alice suddenly parted from my side, standing firmly in front of Loco Musica. She crossed her arms, her face lacking a clear expression, and then pointed at herself with her thumb.

“Eh, what is it?” “You got hurt too? We’ll bring you too, of course.” They looked curiously at her, completely misunderstanding what she tried to say.

“...!!!” She shook her head before raising her hands high, a small hospital Dollhouse I had already become acquainted with appearing in the hair.

‘Poof!’ In a large poof of smoke, the Dollhouse grew into its full size, towering over all of us.

“Wha-?!” “Is this-?!” Loco and Umi were shocked at the sudden appearance of the Dollhouse, and its implications.

“Ahhh... Yes, thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll have Alice-chan heal me.” I just said that I would rather have a 9-year-old than a trained professional treat my severe wounds. I wonder if the blood loss is affecting my judgment...

“...~” Alice raised her head, showing clear pride and satisfaction in her face as she crossed her arms.

...Oh well. Whatever happens, it’ll be worth it.

“...Sweet! We got our own doctor!” “I won’t have to go to that smelly old woman again~!” Loco and Umi happily high fived each other, their mood growing even better than when we arrived. ““Free healing!””

Right, they said that Spanish doctor was expensive.

“In that case, we’ll leave you all to it~.” Loco was all smiles. “Oh, but before we go, we had to pass you all a message from Lord Enorme.”

We all stopped froze in place when hearing that name, remembering how our first encounter went. I felt hostility coming from Morgana, who suddenly forgot her petty complaints.

“Lord wants you all to come to Nacht Base next Saturday at 2PM to get properly introduced to everyone.” Umi continued, the eyes of her hat nervously looking around. “The month she gave Venalita to train you gals and let you get accustomed to your Magic is up. It’s time for you all to properly join.”

“...Uh?” ...A month?

“Wait wait wait, I have never heard about that month thing!” “Never heard of it either~.” Leopard complained on my side, though Gepard didn’t seem to care too much about it.

“...?” Alice and Roboko looked at each other, but they both shrugged. Neither seeming to know about that either.

Morgana remained silent on the back.

“Wait, you didn’t know? ...No, wait, that makes sense. Not telling you all sounds like something Venalita would do...” Loco looked surprised at the beginning, but that quickly changed to a clear ‘Of course’ face.

“Yeah, you guys had a month before that. And, well... We TECHNICALLY shouldn’t be interacting with you all before Saturday, so...” Umi started looking around nervously with her bottom eyes too. “We probably should get going before we get in trouble.”

“Ahaha... Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” Loco nervously scratched her chin, looking to the side. “I also have some stuff to do today, so we’ll leave you all to treat your wounds then. But first...”

Loco suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders, a serious expression on her face.

“You all, promise me something. If you do something that makes Lord angry, just apologize in the moment. Lower your head and say you are sorry for saying or doing something dumb. Alright?” We were all taken aback from the sudden seriousness in her voice. “Promise me.”

“Eh... Ah... Alright, I promise...” ...What?

“Ahhh... Thanks, that’s something less to worry about then~.” She stepped back, opening a portal as she waved back at us. “See you all on Saturday~.”

“Take care!” Umi followed her, and they both went through the portal.

There was a moment of silence after they disappeared into the black swirling vortex. 

What was that at the end...?

“...Baiser-chan, you are still bleeding.” Leopard took me out of my stupor, poking at my open wound.

“Ah, right!” Auch. “I’m in your hands, Alice-chan.”

I walked towards the hospital’s doors... But unexpectedly, Alice stood in front of us, indicating at us to stop.

“Uh, what’s it, Alice-chan?” “Did one of them forgot somethiiiing~?” Why are you suddenly accusing us of something?

“...” Alice took out a plastic first-aid kit and then pointed at the ground, before motioning to the hospital.

“...Eh?” I don’t think anyone understood what Alice was trying to say this time.

Which only got her impatient.

“...!” Looking slightly angry, she started hitting the ground with her plastic kit.

“A-Alice-chan...?” What is...?

“So she finally lost iiiiit~.” Don’t sound happy about that, Gepard!

“Agh, fine, fine, I’m coming out!”

...Eh?

Everyone froze in place, as a voice suddenly came out of nowhere. A voice I have never heard before.

...No, it wasn’t coming from nowhere.

It was coming from the place Alice-chan had been hitting just a moment ago.

It was coming from my Shadow.

The shadow at my feet grew darker, darker, and darker, until it became a solid, pure black. And then, it started to rise.

A black blob of pure darkness grew out of my shadow, rising until it grew as tall as me, taking on a humanoid form.

Moments later, the darkness disappeared, revealing a person below it. She had her back turned to us, so all I could see was the back of her light blue sleeveless, sideless robe and raised hood. It was held together on the sides by yellow rope, exposing quite a lot of skin, and her arms and legs were completely covered by long gloves and high-heeled boots.

There was a line of three small dark pink stars on the side of her right arm.

“Ugh, I know I showed myself back there, but I was really hoping nobody found out where I was...” The girl started complaining as she rubbed her shoulder.

“...!” Alice took her by the hand and tried to drag her into the hospital.

“I’m fine, I just strained a few muscles pushing her away. I’ll be fine in an hour or so.” She sounded annoyed.

“...” Alice looked unhappy and looked dejectedly at the ground.

“Wha- A-Alright, alright, I’m sorry, but I’m really fine! And, same as Loco, I shouldn’t really be here talking with you all.” Those two had completely forgotten we were here. “Next time, I’m going in, alright?”

“...” Alice took a moment before nodding at that, clearly not satisfied with that.

“Sorry.” The girl apologized to Alice before headpatting her for a moment, and then turned to us, finally showing her face.

She had turquoise hair, going down to her chin and curling inwards, the right side of her face completely covered by her bangs. Her pink eyes were sharp and piercing, like she was looking through me, but also looked tired and bored, with dark bags indicating a serious lack of sleep.

She stood with her hands lying inside her robe as if they were pockets, using the robes on the side to rest her wrists at.

“Baiser.” The unknown girl addressed me, showing rows of sharp shark-like teeth. “Here, take this.”

She handed me a paper she was keeping inside the robe. Confusedly, I took it, and looking at it, it was a list of addresses.

“...Uh, what’s this?” And why and how were you inside my shadow?!

The girl just started walking away, not looking back. “Corrupt banks, loan sharks; if you’re short on money, they are places you can steal from without feeling guilty from all across Japan.”

I crunched the paper in my hand out of the surprise of what I had just heard.

Is she telling me to...?!

“Cya.” She just raised her right hand to wave at us, before she started to be consumed by a swamp-like darkness that emerged at her feet, swirling and bubbling in waves as it absorbed her body.

“See you on Saturday.” A second voice came from her, and it was at the last moment before she disappeared that I noticed it.

Her shadow was waving with her left hand.

We were left in silence as I looked down at the piece of paper she had just given me. An outrageous piece of temptation left behind to push me into doing something I know very well I shouldn’t do.

“...What was all that?” Morgana, who had remained silent the entire time, broke the silence. 

And before anyone could try to answer the question, Alice started dragging us into the hospital.

___________________________________________________

The girls had all received treatment and were now resting at the studio before being allowed to go home, something which released at least a bit of tension from my shoulders.

It had been a close one. Their injuries were considerably worse than last time, but fortunately, nothing that wouldn’t heal in a couple days, or a week for Angoramon... But we were lucky. If Loco Musica had decided to join the fight rather than help her allies escape...

“Vatz!” Before I could answer, Nila grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away. “Come with me.”

“Ah- Alright?” With no reason to refuse a friend, I let her drag me to an empty room, away from the other Satellites supervising and speaking with the girls, and from curious onlookers that should have evacuated already.

‘Click’ With the door closing behind us, the next thing I felt was Nila grabbing me by the neck and roughly holding me against the wall. “Gah-! N-Nila?!”

“Vatz, these girls are going to die.” Nila said it with absolute and cruel certainty. “After each fight they have with Enormeeta, they come off worse. You bring them to me in an even worse state. At this rate, in a fight or two more, one of them will not make it.”

She then forcefully pulled at my neck, making me look her directly in the eyes. “And they are the lucky ones. You have already lost more than a hundred teams to Enormeeta.”

“...I know!” Of course I know. I don’t need someone else to tell me! “You think I’m not frustrated about this whole situation?! All of them had been recruited before Enormeeta appeared! They were ready for danger, we were ready for it, but nothing like THIS!!!”

“DO SOMETHING!!!” She shook me, almost starting to strangle me. “They are all just Childs! They shouldn’t be sent to die like this! Even during the Cataclysm we did everything we could to keep the children safe!”

“I’M TRYING!!! Almost every request I send gets turned down!!! No matter how much I try to appeal to reason, the consequences this will eventually have in the rest of the world, it’s always dismissed...! It’s as if they assume it’ll never become their problem, no matter how obvious it’s that it will...!” Why is the Human government so hard to work with...?! Most Humans are reasonable enough and good people, so why is their government like this?!

“Grrrrrrr!” She threw me aside, before frustratedly rubbing between her eyes. “I wish we could just break our treaties, do whatever we want. Bring all the technology and support we need for those girls...! The Humans are just destroying themselves!”

“...Please, don’t say the same as Venalita.” Even if things are hard, we can make it work. “We have to build a good relationship with the Humans, not go to war with them. Even if they make it hard...!”

“Dammit...!” Her frustration was more than evident. A frustration that I unfortunately shared. “Do you have a plan?!”

“...It took me half a year to get the authorization, but just today I managed to get approved my request to bring more Satellites into Japan, some of the best trainers from all of Ether, and some high-tech training equipment with parts small enough to cross the barrier between worlds.” Making sure not to let the UN know how much of a difference this equipment can make, so they don’t decide to deny it at the last moment. “...Ironically, the clear targeting of Tres Magia this last month made it easier to argue for it and finally push them into accepting. I’m not sure how to feel about having to thank Magia Baiser for getting this request passed...”

Especially after today. The researchers keeping up with her case and building her criminal profile will have a ‘fun’ week working on this fight.

“...Will that be enough?” Her doubt was, unfortunately, perfectly understandable. “That Witch is growing more powerful at a very accelerated rate. In a month or two she did what takes most a year or five. If she is not stopped soon, there may not be more any Magical Girls in Japan by the end of the year.”

Her voice was sharp; she was completely done with what was going on. She wanted things to be solved already.

“...I’m also cashing in the favor the Polish government owes us for the incident with the MetalGreymon and the Pandemic Witch. They’ll be sending some of their best Magical Girls to help Tres Magia train for 2 weeks. And if they are attacked during that time, they’ll help.” They will not send their strongest, but they are still some of the best; each one should be at Magenta’s level. They will help a lot.

“...I hope that’s enough...” She didn’t have high hopes. And I couldn’t fault her.

“It will have to be.” Because I doubt we’ll get much more than this. “...Oh, and... Not sure if I should mention this but... Venalita asked how you’re doing.”

“I’ll be better once I give that bastard a lethal injection.”

___________________________________________________

I jump straight into bed, landing into the supremely soft mattress like a cannonball. My... Stitched? Magically closed wounds? Hurt a little, but it was almost nothing.

“Auch, dammit!” Besides my broken rib, that would take more time to recover, and all I could do was hold onto it as I regretted jumping into the bed. “Fuck, that hurts!”

“Nyahahaha, idiooooot~! Look how injured you got~.” That annoying little pest just pointed and laughed at me.

“Shut up! How are you not even injured yourself?!” She went against that fucking lion!

“Skill issue, moron~.” One day, I’ll rip off that damn horn of hers.

“Grrr, dammit, both you and Alice got out completely uninjured, cheaters!” I threw a pillow at her with all my strength. And fortunately, she’s physical this time, so it smacks her in the face.

“Hate the game, not the playeeeeer~!” The annoying lizard happily threw the pillow to the ground and jumped into the bed. “Though, thinking about it, maybe hate the organizer of the game. What do you think of Baiser? She’s the one taking us to those fights, after all.”

“Oh, she’s great!” And hot! “She’s smart enough to understand that we, unfortunately, are weaker than the Tres Magia, so she plans for that and somehow got us having the upper hand on them twice in a row! Damn, if she didn’t ask us to not kill them, we would have erased them from the map already~.”

“Nyaha! True! Though personally I don’t really care if we are going lethal or not, as long as I can shoot someoneeee~.” Hah, little psycho! “Though I wonder if it’ll end making any difference if we kill them or not?”

“Uh, what’ya mean?” Doesn’t it make quite a difference if you are dead or alive? Do you know something about the afterlife that I don’t?

“Do you remember what Utena told us she wanted to do with the Magical Girls? Do you think she’s right saying they won’t break?” She asked a pretty dumb question with genuine curiosity. “I’m not Human, so I don’t really understand it, I’m just taking her word for it. But I wonder if they really won’t break.”

“Damn, you are really dumb sometimes, you know~?” Look at what you’re asking~. What a dumb lizard!

“I’ll penetrate you with my horn like in the videos you watch~.” The dumbass went to threatening me very fast.

“Do it bitch, I’ll enjoy it! Anyways, are you seriously even asking?” The answer should be obvious, even for her. Damn, she’s asking because she knows the answer! “Tres Magia’s fucked. There is no Human alive, besides probably me, that would be able to endure everything that Baiser-chan is putting them through, and planning to put them through in the future.”

I reach from my bed, too lazy and with internal damage to properly get up, trying to reach my model of a Walther WA 2000, just wanting to hold it. 

“Won’t that hit Baiser hard? She kinda looks like she REALLY doesn’t want that to happen.” Damn, you have a lot of dumb questions today~.

“Of course it will~. I’ll just be there to wipe her tears and fuck her until she is happy again when that happens~.” I wish I had a real one instead of just a model. “Damn, if I didn’t have a rib out of place, and Baiser wasn’t even worse than me, I would have done it right on the hospital’s bed~. She was HOT today!”

“Hah, better win next time so you don’t lose the chance then~.” This annoying little...!

“Oi, if that screaming weirdo hadn’t appeared, I may have accidentally blow Sulfur’s brains out! I won!” How can you even think I lost?!

“Nyahahaha, to me it looked like she was going to punch your lights out permanentlyyyy~.” This fucker...!

“Shut up, idiot!” I kicked her out of the bed, but the annoying little shit just continued laughing.

Grrrr, next time I’ll have your face under my heel, Sulfur!

___________________________________________________

I idly floated around, looking through the dimly illuminated room at all the chessboards spread around.

So many battlefields. So many plans going well. So many plans going wrong. So many plans still showing promise. So many plans I will discard.

Is there something I’m forgetting? Something I’m not seeing? What moves have been made that I still haven’t been notified of?

So many questions that I have no way of getting a proper answer for. But we are rapidly approaching the point where it won’t even matter anymore.

I move to one table, and after a quick decision, move a few of the pawns and a knight. Then I take out my phone, sending a quick message, and moving to the next.

Move a single pawn and two bishops, send a message, move to the next.

Move the queen, make a small call, move to the next.

About to make a move on the tower, but after thinking for a moment, I move the knight instead, and touch the white queen, draining her color and turning her gray. Marked for death.

‘Thump’ ‘Thump’ 

The sound of steps resounded through the entire room, breaking the silence.

“Hey, Atiraf. How did it go?” I turn back to go greet her. She looked exhausted, so I dragged the chair closer to her. She sat down so heavily that for a moment I thought the chair would break.

“I need a vacation.” Her words carried as much energy and determination as a corpse from a century ago. “I haven’t slept in 3 days and haven’t gotten a full sleep in 2 weeks.”

“Yeah, sorry for putting so much work on you. There is just so much to do, so many pieces to move, so many things to keep away from the current main board. And it’s not like we can send that team to deal with it, we have to keep them as unrelated to us as possible until we REALLY need them.” I’m sure she understands, but while Humans need to complain or they’ll explode, I should keep the facts straight at all times. And that should include her. Probably.

“Ahhh... How’s the situation with Hiiragi Utena going?” She seemed resigned to her fate and went back to work. Great, you can get your rest tomorrow.

“It’s going smoothly, way better than expected. Though Lord Enorme interfered by contacting Magia Baiser before schedule; she ruined it by unnecessarily antagonizing her without even realizing she did.” Not only was she an annoyance at most, but she may have even made things easier for us. “Utena is doing a great job, already taking leadership of her little group without even being aware of it, doing nicely at her practice fights with Tres Magia, and she even fully developed her third Star already.”

“...Wait, really? That should have happened in about a month, and we were pressuring it to happen faster.” Her incredulous look brought me pure satisfaction. Nothing better than a plan going way better than expected, with no opposition nor unexpected incidents. “Well, that’s good news to come back to. And how is our little collaborator inside Enormeeta doing?”

“Oh, she’s doing well. Still not asking any unnecessary questions, just doing the job we give her without speaking of it with the others.” As a good piece should. A very good piece. “She seems to intuit when things are going on behind the scenes, but she is smart enough to not ask questions that she knows won’t be answered. Who knows, depending on how things develop on this board, we may have her join us fully, moving her to that team.” 

“Mmm... I doubt that.” Oh? “She’s just doing so out of survival instinct. That will probably lead her to remain by Lord Enorme’s side, considering her a more dangerous enemy than you.”

“Yeah, I can imagine that.” I guess that’s Human intuition. Glad to have some on my side too. “Though, in that case, wouldn’t she make a great double agent? I’m sure that if we just reveal a bit more to her, she would gladly kill Lord Enorme if I ordered her so.”

“Mmm... Yes, I suppose that could be the case. Though we still need to see how Magia Baiser factors in all this. Can’t make proper predictions when they haven’t properly met yet, just prepare for the most likely scenarios.” ‘Yawn’ She let out a long yawn, before rubbing her tired eyes. “In any case, I’m going to sleep. Don’t wake me up for the next 12 hours.”

She stood up, clear sadness at having to leave the comfortable chair, even if just for a moment, to get to her bed, and turned away to go to her room. But remembering something, she turned back and fished for something between her breasts.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot.” A moment later, she took out a Transformation Star from between her breasts, throwing it to the ground. “Remove the Black Dragon Bishop from board E14G3.”

With those last words, she portaled away, not looking back nor waiting for me to say something.

I slowly floated down, picking up the Transformation Star. It was crushed, crumbling into tiny pieces, its internal mechanisms and circuits becoming exposed. Some parts seemed to be lost.

“...I would be grateful if you didn’t lose so much of it. Huanglong Metal isn’t exactly abundant, we need to keep as much of it as possible.” With a sigh, I portaled the Star and all its tiny fragments on the ground to our reserve, hoping to recycle it later.

“...Though, maybe it doesn’t matter anymore. With the plan on its final stage, we don’t need to think long-term anymore.”

A quick look at the main board showed the trio of Pawns halfway through it, the white pieces pushed back and cracking, and the black tower dutifully protecting them. It was a great board state, far more advanced than in our predictions.

Once Hiiragi Utena is crowned, nothing more will matter anymore.

My victory will be set in stone.

Arc 2: The Firearms and Toys Witches, Leopard and Nero Alice

END

Extra:

IndieRanamon's Design

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 8: The Witches of Enormeeta - Part 1

My mind wandered. No matter what I did, my thoughts kept coming back to the note I had received yesterday. It only took until the fifth re-watch of the recording from yesterday’s fight until my mind started thinking about it again. Even the pain of the injuries hidden beneath my clothes continued to be forgotten.

Letting my eyes get away from the computer screen, from Magenta dislocating my arm and almost cutting me in half and leaving behind a bloody wound, I reach into my pocket.

I took out the note that had been plaguing my mind and took a long look at the names written on it. The handwriting was very neat and easy to read, but I didn’t recognize any of the names on it. Though, considering the type of places they were supposed to be, they probably didn’t want to be recognized.

“Are you going to do what she said?” My attention was turned at Morgana, who had been watching beside me. “Stealing.”

“...I don’t know.” How could I? I have to come to a decision about this soon, but it’s troubling that I can’t. 

I shouldn’t do it. This is something that I know very well that I shouldn’t do. Stealing is against the law. It’s also very immoral in addition to that. And most of all, it would be falling deeper and deeper into the role Venalita is forcing on us.

No matter what, we shouldn’t do it. Even if we have already done plenty of things that we shouldn’t, that’s no excuse to just continue adding more to the list. 

...But on the other hand, the places written on this list are supposedly places that deserve to get that money stolen from them. They got the money in illegitimate or immoral ways; they haven’t acquired it legitimately.

Would anyone actually care if I steal from them...?

“Mmm... How are our reserves holding up?” Mor gave no opinion on if we should or not. Her stance on it was probably the same as mine.

“...Completely dry. We ran out of the last we had yesterday.” We didn’t ration the money well. There were 20.000 yen in addition to what remained of my allowance, so it wasn’t going to last long... But we should have been able to make it last a few more days.

Well, thinking about it, it’s impressive we lasted until now after buying Korisu and Roboko that Dollhouse. We only had left the 2.000 I forgot at home to last until we got more.

...Though, what will I do after that?

It’s almost the middle of the month, so next Friday Mom will give me my allowance. Those 30.000 yen would help. If we buy 500 yen meals at the convenience store, Morgana can have two meals a day for the entire month, and if I share some of my meals with her in secret... 

But... Is that alright?

“Sorry, I should have chosen the cheaper ones...” Mor sounded apologetic at that. Probably thinking how we could have made that money last longer. “I’ll try to go on a diet for the rest of the month.”

She shouldn’t feel like that. The pressure that makes me feel in my chest hurts more than the cut under my bandages.

Can I really just have her live out of the cheapest convenience store meals...?

That’s... Not right. That feels way worse than the idea of stealing. 

Wouldn’t letting my... ‘Little Sister’ go hungry like that, only eating the cheapest of the cheap, be worse than stealing? And isn’t focusing only on keeping her fed wrong?

There is so much that I want to get for myself, so there must be so much she would want too. Mom gives me an allowance so I can get what I want... But who is the one that provides for Mor?

...Me. That’s me. Mor living well, falls on me. She eating what she wants and getting the things she likes, that falls on me.

20.000 Yen is nowhere enough for that. Not even 30.000, even if I tried to be smart with the money. It would just be barely enough to keep giving her two meals a day, and not healthy ones.

For Mor, I need more money. And it’s not like the money I have been using this last two weeks has been part of my allowance... If I think about it, even if I REALLY hated those girls, it doesn’t really justify stealing their wallets.

I have been using stolen money for a while. So... If I already did it, would it really be that bad...?

But... Doing it in the heat of the moment and clearly planning and thinking about doing it are different.

If I do it... I’ll just be falling deeper and deeper into being a criminal.

What should I...?

I rubbed my stomach, slowly and constantly applying Magic to freeze the area, numbing the pain. No matter how good the treatment was, it would still take me another day for the bullet wound to fully close, and another for the area to be back to normal. 

Looking at my side, ‘sitting’ in her invisible and intangible projection from my Digivice was Renamon. She looked as worried and spaced out as I felt she did; some of that worry was directed at me, some of it at herself.

I couldn’t stop myself from worrying about her too. There were multiple furless spots across her body, revealing the raw digital frame below. The texture covering the model of her body was having problems recovering from the bullet wounds, in part because of the severity of the damage, and in part because she apparently inhaled some of LeutnantTailmon’s toxin.

It was a strange sight, one of those moments where I’m made to remember the nature of what the Digimon are. That they are Digital, existences made of actual Data rather than Matter, and somehow interacting with it as if both were the same. And if I thought about how this would be the equivalent of a person missing patches of skin, it became disturbing, even if the sight didn’t cause a guttural reaction from me.
 
And still... She was lucky. Both her and Salamon. Salamon was seated on the table in front of Haruka, non-stop scratching at her back, some sort of phantom pain left from having so much of her wings cut as Nefertimon. 

Angoramon, on the other hand, wasn’t present. She was sleeping inside Kaoruko’s Digivice and wouldn’t be coming out for a couple of days. After inhaling LeutnantTailmon’s toxin during the battle, the moment she undid the Assault Mode, she almost collapsed.

They almost dragged her back to the Digital World, but she convinced them to just let her rest it out through sheer stubbornness. And she inhaled only half as much toxin as Magenta had before.

Kaoruko, now in the bathroom of the dinner, had her body covered in scars from the dozens of cuts all across her body. They were small, and would probably finish healing by tonight, but apparently still burned.

We were all injured in one way or another... Everyone, except Haruka. She was just happily humming to a song she was listening to with her phone, a single earphone in her right ear. She showed no sign of pain nor worry.

...How?

She arguably had it the worst of us all, receiving the biggest attack from Magia Baiser. One that made me feel physically sick from listening to her describe it to  Nila. And yet, she’s smiling, facing the day as just any other.

Where does that strength of heart come from...?

Is it from a place too far for me to reach...?

There was an awkward silence at the table. One caused mostly by me and Renamon, as Salamon was too busy scratching her back, and Haruka had gotten too into that song, sometimes her mumbling turning into singing about being a star and the hero. So, I let myself be extremely disrespectful and just listened to the conversation on the table beside us.

“I’m telling you, Digimon Great Array loves me! I got another 6 Stars!” The girls appeared to be playing on their phones while slowly chipping away at their food.

“Damn Nacchan, I haven’t pulled one in months! Who’s it?” The other girl had her phone out too, focusing more on the game than on the conversation.

“I got Adamant Basuna!” She tried to make it sound important, but her friend just shrugged at her, probably not knowing who that was. “Ugh... She’s the strongest Magical Girl in Egypt! You know, one of the strongest in the world? She has that humongous Proganomon, that big indestructible turtle? That she actually has to use Magic to make smaller to fit in the city?”

“Ahhhhhh, her... Tch tch tch, as always, you focus too much on rarity~.” Her friend didn’t seem impressed, as she showed her screen. “The amount of Stars doesn’t matter! Now look at this beautiful 2 Stars! Magia Azul and her Youkomon! One of our local Magical Girls! This is a good pull!”

My breathing stopped for a moment, as I felt myself grow slightly redder. It was always slightly embarrassing hearing others talk about me while I was around. The continuous realization that I have fans, people looking up to me, all around me, and I have no idea who could turn up to be one.

It was embarrassing. But at the same time, it made me feel a little better with myself. It made me feel that my efforts were being acknowledged, and not by someone actually trying to make me feel better or for courtesy, but by someone that really means it.

It was a heartwarming experience. And I could feel that Renamon felt similarly.

“Ahahaha, come on, really? Magia Azul is pretty weak, isn’t she? She’ll never get to Evolve her Youkomon!” The first girl started laughing at her friend. “If you’ll choose one of our local Magical Girls, then go for Magenta. Damn, after what she showed recently, we probably will get a new version of Sulfur soon! Dunno how rare she’ll be, but that HAS to be a Mode Change! I’m sure she’ll be at least a 3 Stars, maybe even 4! Those two are far better than Azul!”

“That doesn’t matter~. Azul and Youkomon are beautiful and cool! Standing taller than the others, her composed and serious attitude overflowing with confidence and grace, how her ice shines under the sun in battle...” The girl was going in a ramble about the things she liked about Azul. “It doesn’t matter if she’s the weakest of the trio, she’s perfect for me~.”

I tuned out of the conversation at that point.

Weak... Me being weak was pretty much common knowledge by now, it seems like...

Being the weakest of the Tres Magia, incomparable to Magenta and Sulfur... That’s how I’m known. Even before Sulfur had revealed her Assault Mode, her shield had never been broken through before, and it still hasn’t. She may not have fought against many Witches, but even with a single Star, she has never failed nor messed up in battle even once. Me on the other hand...

I have made plenty of mistakes. Magenta and Sulfur have saved me from getting badly injured quite a few times in the past, and since Baiser appeared... It’s now all the time. And even if I do things right, I can’t protect people as easily and effectively as Sulfur does, nor can I fight with the strength and technique that Magenta has.

The only thing people can appreciate about me... Are my looks. Looking ‘Beautiful’. Looking ‘Cool’. That’s all that Magia Azul is. That’s all I have amounted to since I became a Magical Girl...

I gripped at my dress, my mood growing worse and worse with each passing thought. And I felt the same kind of feeling through my emotional link.

With a quick look to my side, I saw Renamon wrap her tail around her waist. Something she only does when she’s not feeling well or is overly stressed.

She must have been listening, too...

“Sa-” “Sorry for takin’ so long~.” I heard Salamon say something, but she was interrupted as Kaoruko came back.

Making herself comfortable on the seat beside Haruka, she flicks her fingers, raising an almost imperceptible barrier around us. As usual, it would dampen all sound coming in and out, giving us some very needed privacy.

I don’t know how she does that... All I know is that it isn’t her normal Barrier Magic, but one she learned the hard way.

Kaoruko had managed to quickly get a hang of performing the common types of Magic, even if at a base level, and had been dabbling in the more advanced kinds, which I assume include this barrier. Meanwhile, even though I have been a Magical Girl for half a year more than her, I’m still stuck only able to use effectively basic telekinesis and light creation. I have problems with Magic beyond my innate one...

And I can’t even begin to imagine getting to Haruka’s level. She has no offensive Innate Magic at all. She hasn’t used any sort of Innate Magic in all the time I have known her, besides manifesting her spear. Even her Saviour’s Rend is the result of hard work, a Spell created by pulling together advanced magic knowledge into an attack that somehow passes through all defenses, even Sulfur’s barriers.

How does she even do that...

I couldn’t understand a single word when she tried to teach me how to do it. Though, admittedly, she herself didn’t know how to teach it, and just did her best at trying.

“Now, should we get tah it?” Taking a sip from her milkshake, Kaoruko sent a look to all of us. Haruka took out her earphone, happily nodding at her.

What followed was pretty much work talk. What happened during the last battle, how more and more members of Enormeeta are joining in and putting us at a numerical disadvantage, how information and plans quickly grow obsolete with the rapid changes of the fights, how Magia Baiser is growing smarter and stronger with each encounter...

They were things we all already knew, and deeply worrisome things. With each fight, it feels like they are getting closer and closer to finally beating us. If Loco Musica properly joins in the fights... I can only pray.

“Vatz said that the researchers are making a compendium with all the information they have on Magia Baiser, and all their theories on what monsters she could possibly create and how to counteract them.” Magenta stopped for a moment, growing visibly nervous about her next words. “It’s... Already at 800 pages.”

“As if I’m reading all that!” Kaoruko’s reaction was instantaneous. And I must agree with her. 800 Pages is a bit... “That would take weeks, maybe months to read! We don’t have that kind of time. And there is no way we are memorizing all that and applying it in the middle of combat!”

“Ahahaha, and they are adding more pages as we speak!” Salamon seemed to find this funny. “They may already be at 900~.”

I feel bad for the Satellites working on it...

“Even if we studied it from beginning to end... There are still the things we can’t counter in any way.” Unfortunately, I had to bring this up. “Their Domains.”

“Yes... They are a big problem.” Renamon nodded, her face showing the same wave of displeasure I felt from her. “Magia Baiser’s Domain... I don’t think I would have been shot more than once, maybe twice, if it wasn’t present. And I definitively wouldn’t have been made to breathe LeutnantTailmon’s toxin. But with it active, a single hit could stun me enough to leave me open for more.”

“Yeah, ah totally get you.” Kaoruko nursed one of the scars on her hand, before looking at me and passing me her hand. Without question, I grabbed her hand and slightly froze her body. She shivered but looked pleased as the slight burning sensation in her scars must have calmed down. “An’ there is also dat bitch of Leopard’s Domain. Even if ah do mah best, ah can only create my Sulfur Shield in mah field of vision. If she conjures guns all ‘round us, all ah can do is cover us with a spherical shield, an’ with a Domain constantly fuelin’ her with Mana, ah’ll run outta juice first.”

“That’s a big problem, indeed.” Salamon solemnly nodded. “And there is also the deal with Nero Alice’s Domain.”

“The deal that we don’t know what it does...” Renamon looked thoughtful, but I could feel her worry. “Magenta, you said that being inside her Dollhouse messes with your mind, right?”

“Yes! It felt so weird! It felt like pieces of my identity were slowly being replaced the longer I spent inside. I don’t even know when it started, but at some point, I went from thinking about fighting Witches to fighting Nutcrackers, and it just felt like it had always been like that. Then rather than thinking of myself as a Magical Girl, I was Maria von Dusfrein, the great Protector of Christmas.” ...We aren’t even close to Christmas. “The scariest part is that I think I was slowly forgetting I was inside the Dollhouse, going from thinking about it as her Dollhouse, to some sort of prison created by the Nutcrackers, and slowly just starting to think of it as their base of operation... If I spent a few minutes more inside, I may have forgotten that I HAD to escape.”

“Dat’s... Scary.” Kaoruko looked perturbed, and I completely shared her sentiment. What would even happen to someone trapped in there for hours? “So, her Domain will have some sort of mental effect? Well, ain’t dat great? Dah day she pulls it out, we may all experience being the Specters of Halloween or somethin’.”

I want to believe that sort of effect will only happen to someone trapped inside the Dollhouse. At least, I hope that’s the case...

“...Are you alright, Haruka?” Renamon looked worried at her, who didn’t seem fazed in the least. “After everything you went through in the last battles...”

“I’m fine~.” Haruka truly didn’t seem even the least bit worried herself. “The problem is what to do on the next fight, right? Without the others’ interference, I think I could have taken out Baiser at that time. That must be why she tried to separate me, while Loco Musica waited on the side, and another Witch hid inside Baiser’s shadow. Now I know she may be there, so I think I can deal with her. Can I leave keeping the others occupied to you all while I deal with Baiser?”

Everyone around the table nodded. We all knew that Baiser was a priority, her Innate Magic being beyond just a problem. Rather than something we could find a counter for, it’s the kind that can find a counter to anything else. And if one of us can take down any opponent, those are Magia Magenta and Nefertimon.

Still, a Witch hiding inside Magia Baiser’s shadow... Yet another unknown factor that complicates things even more.

“Ah’ll spend all mah Magic if needed tah make barriers dat’ll keep everyone else out.” Kaoruko spoke with confidence. She was sure she could pull it off. “Ah’m not sure ‘bout dat Shadow Witch, but ah can buy yah a few minutes away from all dah others.”

“Alright, thanks~. If both me and Neferti are occupied somewhere else, then Sulfur and Leomon will deal with Baiser.” Haruka continued with an alternative. “We’ll turn it around and try to take down Leopard. If we’ll continue having multiple fights with them, then removing one Witch from them will at least make things easier.”

The plans we continued discussing all sounded good. We knew that things wouldn’t go as easy in actual combat, but at least we would be ready to react fast and know what to do during combat without having to discuss it in the moment. Most of the time at least.

But there was something worrying me about those plans...

...In none of them was I considered an option to fight Magia Baiser. Leopard, Nero Alice, even Loco Musica, we planned how I could fight against each of them. I could block Leopard’s guns with ice, seal Nero Alice’s Dollhouse by freezing its door closed, even interfere with Loco Musica’s sound attacks by dampening them with ice structures or partially freezing her throat; and with the unknown Witch, by freezing the entire ground where she would come from.

But there was a silent agreement on not having me fight Magia Baiser.

They are all aware of my weakness. Of how easily Baiser has been able to beat me on each of our encounters. We don’t even know if her Monster Creation Magic could actually use my own Ice against me or not, so freezing her weapon may not help.

...Magia Baiser has only been a Witch for a month or two, according to the researchers working on the case.

So why...

Why can’t I beat her...?

Why is she so much stronger than me...?

Why am I so weak...?

...I need to beat her.

I... Won’t let things go the same way again...!

I must show the world that they can trust Magia Azul!

Next time I face-off against Magia Baiser, I’ll prove to her, to everyone, to myself, that she’s not going to have me at her mercy ever again!

Saga 1: Birth of the Defiant

Arc 3: A World Where the Strong Dominate

Chapter Text

Eden’s Touch

Chapter 8: The Witches of Enormeeta - Part 2

As my eyes met Baiser’s, all I could see was a cruel and seductive smile on her face that sent shivers down my spine.

The chain around my neck tightened, breaking my concentration and making the Cryogenic Blades around me fail to form, crumbling back into ambient moisture and Mana. Youkomon’s tails squirmed in pain around me as the chains binding us together retaliated against any attempt to fight back.

My heart sank at our precarious situation. Youkomon was chained to the ground, BlackWitchmon gleefully stepping on her head as she surrounded us with her Agony Shocks, a constant reminder of what an escape attempt would mean.

Meanwhile, I was entangled in Youkomon’s tails, the golden chains binding and tying us together into an inescapable knot. The warm and soft sensation of her fur, contrasting wildly with the cold and slightly painful sharp edge of the chains constricting my body, created a mix of sensations that made me feel weird.

And that feeling only grew more and more intense as Magia Baiser, standing on Youkomon’s back, looked me in the eyes, the sadistic and pleased smile growing when she extended her arm. Her soft, malicious hand softly caressed my face, and her long, sharp, and perfectly manicured nails lightly traced across my skin, sending tingles across my body.

“Release me!” I tried to shout at her, but the chain tight around my neck got in the way. What came out was not a demand; it was not a show of will, nor defiance. It was a whimper, the cries of a defeated dog, begging for forgiveness.

It was weak. It was very, very weak.

“Magia Azul.” Her voice was confident, steady, arrogant, and oh-so pleasant to the ears. It was strong. It was very, very strong. “Why don’t you try to make a daring escape?”

Her hand slowly crawled down. Her nails sent shivers through my body as they descended, lower and lower, forcing a moan out of me as they passed over my nipple. “Ahhh...~!” The moment the moan escaped my mouth, the delicate touch turned into a forceful grip, holding my left breast tightly with her hand.

My heart beated like a drum as Baiser’s smile came closer and closer. I hated it. I hated how my heart was not beating out of fear, but of something more, something very different. Even when I felt Youkomon tremble below me, berated by BlackWitchmon who sent small Agony Shocks all across her body as nothing more than harassment.

“It’s easy, you just need to freeze the chains to break through them. It’ll just involve freezing and breaking Youkomon’s tails, too...” The way she gave me an unacceptable, despicable option like that as if it was the natural thing to do sickened me. And that I could do nothing but listen, as I had fallen completely into her hands, made me feel something I refused to acknowledge. “Though, the same could be said of Youkomon. She could just melt the chains wrapped around her tails and use those flames to free herself. But she’s such a good friend, taking on Morgana’s punishment to not hurt you~.”

This was Checkmate. I could only escape by severely injuring Youkomon. Youkomon could only escape by severely injuring me. The only way out was by turning on each other.

But that was not going to happen. Neither of us could ever do something like that to each other. So, we were trapped. Perfectly, completely trapped, in a way that we never predicted. In a way that none of our discussions and planning ever saw coming.

We were turned into each other’s chains holding us down.

As I gathered whatever will I had left to look defiantly at her, her smile grew. And as a reward for my defiance, she twisted my nipple, forcing a pained moan out of me. 

“That’s truly a beautiful friendship between you two~. So, wouldn’t it be better...” She started to slowly, but firmly, massage my breast, and her face came closer and closer until it almost felt like her lips were kissing my ear. “...To give up?”

The voice in my ear shook my entire body. It felt as if my brain itself was being softly, lovingly massaged by her words. A truly pleasant, and utterly terrifying, sensation, the likes I had never felt before.

“Stop struggling and suffering, fighting and rebelling. Just live under my heel, embracing any and all pain and pleasure it may bring you... No need to hurt anyone, no need to get hurt, just endless bliss... Doesn’t that sound better?” Words like poisonous honey poured into my ear. Words tempting me to do the unthinkable, to allow the unacceptable, to become the complete opposite of what a Magical Girl should be. To drop everything and just become hers. It was disgusting, repulsing, it was something I should fight with all my being. But with another twist of my nipple and gentle massage of my breast, the fighting words died in my chest.

“Or... You could try to fight. Oppose me. Reject me. Stand on your weak little feet, believing yourself bigger than me, against everything I represent. Turn around this situation through some new power I know nothing about. And once you do, Magia Azul...” She slowly stepped back, her hand raising to hold my face tightly by the chin, forcing me to look at her face. A cruel, sadistic, and seductive smile weakened my heart, as my eyes were forced into hers. Below them, 3 Stars that cemented her above me. And inside them, inhuman, star-shaped irises glowing in a corrupted golden, a malicious light growing well past the confines of her eyes, an evil that could no longer be contained. “...And I’ll show you real pain.”

My whole body trembled at the woman in front of me. It screamed at me to do two  opposite things. Two things that I could feel deep in my soul would change things completely once I embraced one of them.

I tried to shout at her through the chain around my neck, to fight her with everything I had. Tell her how I would never give up. But the words were pushed down, as her words reverberated in my brain.

The promise of bliss, of safety, of pleasure... And the consequences of fighting back.

I... I have to fight back...!

But... But how...?!

She... She has me completely beaten...

I have nothing I can do, and she’s not even fighting me seriously...

If I were to fight back, what would happen...?

I-Instead, if I just did what she said... Just acted as if I did, just for a little moment...

If I gave up for a moment, accepted her position below her heels just to make her lower her guard for an instant, if I surrendered and embraced... If I faked embracing this pleasure...

If...

If I...

“Baiser-chan!” As Leopard appeared, the invisible, non-existent wall that separated us from the battle behind us broke. The sounds of impacts, cuts, and thunder reached my ears. She spitt some blood on the ground, her frayed clothes and skin showing slight electric burns. “That bitch Sulfur broke through 3 Shotguns and got me in the gut in one hit. Also, 1 of your 3 Schiavos is... Wait, now 2 of your 3 Schiavos are dead, and Alice and Roboko are being pushed back.”

Taking a deep breath, the noise of battle helped me come back to my senses. And with all the willpower remaining in my body I created a single Cryogenic Blade, launching it as both Baiser and BlackWitchmon were distracted by Leopard.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go unnoticed, as she broke it in the air with her riding crop.

Dammit...! Must have caught it in the corner of her eye...!

Magia Baiser and BlackWitchmon looked back at me. But rather than rage, frustration, or disdain... They smiled at me, pleased. Excited smiles, ones that flared an intense fear in my heart.

Real pain...

Her words resounded in my head, as I anxiously wondered what that could mean, but the answer came quickly to my head alongside Magenta’s face. Her face as she was engulfed by the Agony Elemental and needed us to get her out of it.

Something that not even Magia Magenta could endure.

Fortunately, Baiser took her eyes away, focusing back on the battle I couldn’t see. “So they took down the Scissorflies and the Electacle Mass... Was hoping it took them longer to figure how to deal with the flies. In that case...”

As she was about to speak more, Nero Alice and WonderGuardromon landed behind us. The large robot released missiles toward the battlefield, and BlackWitchmon sent the Agony Shocks around us there one after the other. Dozens of portals sprouting giant guns appeared all across the air, empowered through Leopard’s Domain, and started shooting.

Alice pointed at the robot’s stomach, at the large clock in the middle of it, and the large cat plushie she was mounting poked at it repeatedly. That seemed to make everyone flinch.

“Ooops... Is it that late already?” Magia Baiser sounded a bit nervous, like she had messed up something. “I got a bit carried away~.”

Raising a hand, a black portal manifested behind Magia Baiser, and they all gathered in front of it. A faraway scream demanding them to stop could be heard like an angry thunder even through the shooting and explosions. But it didn’t stop them.

The members of Enormeeta entered the portal, their bodies slowly passing through the swamp-like swirling mass. With our bodies being freed from the golden chains, I fell over Youkomon’s back and saw Magia Baiser look down at me right before she disappeared.

“We’ll continue next time~.” And with those words, her face was absorbed entirely into the darkness, with the portal and Domain promptly disappearing. Right on time to avoid a large cut from Leomon, which clashed harmlessly against a wall.

I could hear the others scream our names as they flew to us, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at them. I laid over Youkomon’s shaking fur, gripping strongly at it, and trying to think of my grandma’s words in a desperate attempt to clean my mind and heart.

As we exited the portal, we were greeted by the more and more familiar sight of Nacht Base, the shining planet positioned right above.

Makes me wonder what time even is locally... And the names of this moon and that planet. Do they even have names?

Leaving those questions on the list of things to ask Venalita in the future, I turned towards the girls who were stretching after that short fight, and quickly starting to panic, as we were missing someone.

There was me, Morgana, Leopard, Nero Alice, and Roboko. “Wait, where is Gepard?!”

That caught their attention, and everyone except Leo started frantically looking around. 

Where is she?! Did we leave her be-?! “I’m heeeeere~.”

We all looked at the source of the sound... Except for the source of the sound herself, who was visibly panicking, and slowly looking down. Roboko looked shocked beyond belief, as the clock in her stomach was suddenly kicked open from the inside, the familiar figure of a black cat jumping out.

“It’s pretty cozy inside theeere~.” She started stretching, pleased, ignoring our reaction as the clock closed behind her. “Though you should do something about those things inside, they were poking at me annoyed~.”

Roboko raised her shaking hands at Gepard, confusion more than clear in her eyes, one that she shared with everyone here.

“Ehm... Gepard...” I had to be the one to ask. I was not willing to wait for someone else to. “How... Did you get inside Roboko without her noticing?”

Why do I even have to ask this?! Is this some power of hers I didn’t know about?! Some sort of military black ops stuff?!

Leopard was just snickering on the side at the whole scene.

“What you mean how?” She looked at me with genuine confusion, as if the answer should have been obvious. “I’m a cat, of course I will get to and hide in places without anyone noticing.” 

“Wahahahahahahaha~!” Leo started laughing as we all fell into silence.

That... I... Is there even a possible retort to that?

...I won’t even try.

Taking a breath, I decide to just accept what just happened, and take a look at everyone’s current state. “Is everyone alright? Any injuries?” They all looked mostly fine in the first place.

“Just a few scratches~. Nothing Alice can’t quickly patch up later!” Leo had a little blood drying in the corner of her mouth, so she must be exaggerating. Still, she doesn’t seem to be lying, and seems to be standing up confident and relaxed, so she was probably fine.

...Since when can I just see someone bleed and be so easily convinced that they are fine? Is it because I have bled a lot more than them last week?

I may be getting used to getting injured a bit too fast... I never thought I would be able to take on pain and injury so well...

“Unlike her, I’m completely unscathed~.” Gepard sent a smug smirk at Leo, whose returning murderous glance only made the cat laugh. “Nyahahahaha~.”

Roboko, mostly recomposing herself but still sending worried glances at Gepard, raised a thumb in confirmation. Unlike previous fights, she was uninjured this time.

It was a good idea to give each of them a Schiavo to use as a meatshield while the Scissorflies harassed the Tres Magia. Though, that left me with very little energy to actually fight...

Oh well, it ended up working out, so it’s fine~.

Alice, from above her ‘Chesire’ cat plushie, pointed at the side of both of its arms. There were two deep gashes from where its stuffing was spilling out, a result of somehow holding Magenta back. Those arms were barely held in place.

First frozen and burned, and now almost cut in half... At this rate, I’ll become a professional seamstress just from the practice of fixing that cat. Not like that’s a problem.

I nod at Alice with a grateful smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll fix Chesire. It’s the weekend, so I should be able to get it done tonight, as long as I don’t run out of material.”

Alice gave back one of her rare smiles and nodded. That tiny action made me feel the effort was worth it, and even more important, that she had fun.

I didn’t bother asking Morgana, since I could just feel that she was fine. And at the moment, she was just enjoying the aftertaste of the fight.

“And are you fine, Baiser-chan?” Leo asked slightly worried. “You got a pretty nasty hit from Magenta when she got you in a 1v1, right?”

“Oh, that was nothing. Alice-chan got me out of that pretty fast, so all I got was a kick on the side.” And this time I didn’t get my ribs broken! “Thank you, Alice-chan~.”

She raised her thumb smugly at me, before returning Chesire to its normal form and tightly holding onto it. I could almost feel her pride at having to save me from Magenta.

“Though, it is a bit of a shame...” I couldn’t stop myself from letting out a sigh at the memory. “I had set up things this time to get some private time with Sulfur, but Magenta caught me in a 1v1, and somehow I ended up alone with Azul... It was a complete failure.”

But, despite those words, I could only smile as I spoke. “...Just as expected of Tres Magia. Watching them ruin my plans, forcing us to improvise, is so fun~.”

“And thanks to that, I got to tie up Youkomon and Azul in a completely new way~. I have been thinking of trapping them like that since our last fight!” Morgana looked pleased with the results of today’s battle.

“I get you, that was a wonderful catch I hadn’t thought of! You truly are a genius, Mor~.” She looked proud of it, and she deserved it! I wish I was the one to think of this one! “And did you look at Azul’s face?! She looked like she was about to explode, but had to restrict herself to not hurt Youkomon! It felt like if we didn’t tie her by the neck, she would have bitten and ripped off my finger~.”

“It’s the same with Youkomon!” Mor looked very excited to talk about her own ‘Prey’. “She was trembling with anger, her entire fur standing up! Like she wanted to burst into flames, but had to restrict herself to not hurt Azul~. Just being able to take anything I did to her while waiting for a chance to strike... So wonderful~.”

My body was growing hot just from remembering it...!

“...Good to know you two had fun, but didn’t it look like those two couldn’t take it anymore?” Leo caught our attention with her serious tone, helping me ignore the looks Alice and Roboko were giving us. “They looked like they were going to break.”

“What silly thing are you saying, Leo-chan~? Of course they won’t break, Magical Girls don’t break~.” “Exactly, exactly! Once we push them to the breaking point, those two will just explode in a burst of power and surpass us!” Morgana truly understands it~. 

When a Magical Girl is pushed to the human limit, she doesn’t shatter! She doesn’t break! She only grows and gets over the evil pushing her!

And I can’t wait for Azul to do so~. Coincidence or not, I have been putting a lot of work into her! I NEED to see her and Youkomon get a Mode Change like Sulfur’s! Or maybe even more!

“...Of course, how silly of me!” Leo gave a big, bright smile as she recognized her mistake. “Anyways, we probably should get going. We are already 3 minutes late.”

She pointed at Roboko’s chest clock, and indeed, we were already late. “Oooops, sorry, I get carried away!” Fortunately, we were in the place we needed to be.

“Fufufufu, I’ll try to contain myself a bit next time~.” Mor didn’t sound the least bit regretful, but that was to be expected.

“Is everyone ready?” I took a last look over everyone, and as they all nodded back at me, I set off for the giant castle in front of us.

Taking a long breath, I walk forward towards its gates, the rest following me closely behind. Today was going to be... A day. I didn’t know what would happen now; if it would be good, if it would be bad...

...I had no idea how our first proper meeting with the other members of Enormeeta was going to go. 

How our first proper meeting with Lord Enorme was going to go.

But there was only one way to find out.

As we reached the large gates of our base, I reached my hand towards it... But stopped, as I saw a note stuck in front of it.

“Mmm? What’s it, Baiser?” Morgana looked over my shoulder, and the rest imitated her right after. “A note?”

“Seems like it...?” Reaching forward again, I ripped the note off and looked at the contents. The handwriting was very neat and tidy.

‘One warning before you enter.
I probably don’t need to warn you all, but just in case, make sure the Digimon don’t talk or do anything in front of Lord Enorme.
She’s overly hard with them.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
And make sure to get rid of this letter before you come inside.
                                                        - Leberblume’

We all looked at each other, taken aback by the contents of the letter, and then we looked worriedly at the Digimon in our group. The memory of Lord Enorme punching Morgana comes back to mind.

This... Didn’t sound good. Would this really be fine...? If half our group will be treated badly...

Leopard and Gepard looked outright pissed off, while Roboko was worried and Alice just confused as to why this would happen. Morgana on her side seemed like she had bitten into a lemon, remembering something she didn’t want to.

There are... People who discriminate against the Digimon. I know that they are a thing, even if I don’t even give them a space in my thoughts.

Their reasons vary from things I can barely comprehend, although they sound absurd to me, like saying that they are a bunch of aliens coming out of nowhere and telling us what to do, or them being a danger given their supernatural strength... To truly absurd pseudo-arguments that I truly can’t understand, like irrational hate or conspiracy theories.

If Lord Enorme is one of those...

“Who does that bit-!” Leopard started to shout, but was cut off by Morgana.

“I trust Leberblume.” All eyes fell on her. But before continuing, sensing my worry, she held me softly by the shoulder. “We only talked to her once, but she has been watching our backs, right? In that case... I’ll trust her. We can speak more about this later, but for now, I’ll follow her advice.”

I took a moment to look at the seriousness in her eyes. She barely knew about the discrimination against Digimon, in part because of how young she is, and because those people can’t actually do anything against them, so she may be underestimating it... But, on the other side, she was also the only one here that had experienced it once before.

Her gaze remained steady, sure of her choice. And I trust her enough to decide that’s enough for me.

I nodded and looked at the rest. Roboko looked worried, and Alice’s confusion started to turn into her own concern. But after thinking about it for a bit, Roboko nodded and looked reassuringly at Alice, calming her down.

Ge-chan and Leo-chan... Still looked pissed. That may be a problem.

If Leo is pissed, normally I can depend on Gepard to help calm her down... But what do I do if both of them are pissed?

...Ahhhh, dammit, I’ll just beg!

Stepping forward, I embraced both of them.

“Wh- Baiser-chan?!” “What are you-?!” Leo-chan instantly went red from the hug, while Ge-chan froze in shock before trying to free herself.

“Please... Don’t do anything dangerous. Just calm down and... Try to deal with it, alright? We’ll think about what to do later.” All I could do was ask them. There was no way I could logically erase their anger, so I just tried to show them how worried I was and hope for the best.

“...Tch, if you are the one asking...” “...Nyahahaha! Come on, you really think I’ll get angry that easily~?” Fortunately, Leo-chan decided to listen to my request, and Ge-chan discarded her anger as easily as ever.

“...Thanks, gi-” ‘Chu’ I try to thank them, but my words and thoughts go blank as I feel the warm sensation of lips on my cheek.

I jump back, feeling my face quickly heat up, as I look Leopard in the eyes. “You can give me one later as payment for going along with this~.”

“Ah-?!” My mind and heart started to race, and I raised a hand to my cheek. 

This was the first time anyone besides Mom had done something like this to me. Somehow, a simple kiss on the cheek felt more intimate than everything I had done to the Tres Magia.

I-It’s not like I dislike Leo-chan!

B-But that’s still too sudden!

Not knowing what to say, I followed my primary instinct: Running away.

“E-Everyone ready?!” I turned away from her to face the large gates in front of us. Hopefully, that’ll hide at least a little bit of the embarrassment on my face.

After a chorus of confirmations, a few snickers, and two that I just kinda assume nodded, I take a deep breath to calm myself down.

With my heart slowly calming down, I reached my hand forward.

And opened the gates of Nacht Base.