by N X Hunter
"What? Why?" Rayna asked, sitting bolt upright and swinging her legs round so she was sitting on the edge of her bed, facing James.
"I don't know how this works, but whatever mind control thing, or hypnosis or whatever, she used, she also must have used it to affect how Courtney, and the bouncer at the club who let her in, saw her. We spoke to him on the phone and he gave a totally different description to Courtney - said she was a petite redhead - and that was after we'd looked at the video and seen... She was wearing full motorcycle gear the whole time. Helmet included," Soren said, sitting beside his twin, his expression one of frustrated bafflement.
"But it's impossible! Courtney said she was tall with long black hair, she didn't mention her wearing anything like that!" Rayna said, although Kitsuna knew that Rayna was smart enough not to be truly rejecting what her brother had told them.
"I... I don't know how what they do to people's minds works, but if they can confuse you into thinking you believe things you don't, and that friends are enemies, then I don't find it so hard to believe that they could make you sure you saw something you didn't, too. But it sounds like she intentionally made the bouncer and Courtney remember her differently, while being careful to conceal how she actually looked from the cameras. That means she definitely knew people would come asking about her. She... I mean, she might not even be a woman. We know nothing about her identity, but we do know now that it was 100% planned, all of this, and that someone is working with Parker on the outside," Kitsuna said, surprising herself at how she's been able to reach such a sane conclusion within moments of waking up from a dream about being a mermaid.
"Yes. That's pretty much the situation we're in. And there's something else, too. Look at your wrists," James said.
Both mahou shoujo looked down in unison and saw the very faint spark of color beginning to grow inside the storm prediction gems on their Talizman bracelets. Well, of course there was a storm coming now.
"I knew we should have planned for this instead of getting stupid sleep! Our transformations would stop us feeling tired anyway. God, James, why did you let us do that, we're so unprepared and --"
"Actually, I have something else in mind for this storm, if you agree to it. It's a big gamble, but it's the only thing I can think of. We won't be able to solve the mystery of who Fake Charity Klein is in time for the trial, we don't even know where to begin. And the trial is certain to be set before the start of the semester. This might be our only chance to try this so... Well, hear me out."
Suddenly wide awake, Kitsuna listened in surprise to James' proposal.
Chapter 24
Rayna had agreed to the plan straight away, as had Soren, and Kitsuna was just about to give her agreement too when James stopped her from speaking.
"Kitsuna, don't feel pressured into agreeing to this. You're new, you don't know Courtney very well, and you may well have your reservations. Risking a life sentence is a lot to ask of someone who has only just found out about any of this. I'm sorry to even suggest it, it's just... It's the only plan I can come up with that might free Courtney, and also prevent you and Rayna from the dangers of fighting without her. But, if you don't wholeheartedly agree that this is a better course of action than you and Rayna trying to take on this storm as normal, and then seeing who we get to replace Courtney while we try and figure out this Charity Klein thing, then you have to speak up."
Kitsuna took a deep breath. She knew that from his perspective this was a big decision for her, but actually, it hadn't been hard at all.
"I didn't want to be a mahou shoujo at all, you all know that. Just a few days ago this felt worse than a life sentence, like this horrible thing I had no control over, that was going to ruin my life and take away all of my freedom. But just as I was getting to understand things and starting to think I could do this, this Parker asshole came along and made what was already like playing on hard mode into playing on hard mode with like, a controller that is on fire. He's tried to fuck this team up in every way he can, and I feel like if we don't make this stand now, he'll be so much closer to doing it. And if you are all willing to take the risk, when you know so much more about how Calibre works, then it must have a chance of working. So, well, fuck it, let's do it. But... can you make sure someone knows to feed Ivy if we don't get to go back?"
"Ooooh, yeah, Ivy - I'll message Beatrice, she'll do it, she'll be able to get a key for our place from the accommodation people if she needs to," Rayna said.
It felt bizarre discussing who'd feed the cat if they were all jailed for life by the end of the day, and it also got Kitsuna to thinking about what other consequences there could be if she went missing.
Lee would definitely ask questions, especially if Soren and Rayna were gone too... Just have to hope Fake Charity Klein doesn't find out about him and try and bring him in on whatever schemes are going on out there...
"So, we all agree then? We're going on strike?" Soren asked, looking to Kitsuna for confirmation.
"I guess we are. Well, let's go do this!"
And so, the four of them made their way out of the nurse's office, towards the elevator, and then up to the floor with the insulated room.
***
"Come on, Director. We've told you everything we know about Parker Klein and his collaborator, there's some dangerous stuff going on out there and you know as well as we do that Courtney - and probably Jacinta - have been used in all of this. We'll investigate, and we'll make sure that we quash whatever this fake sister of Klein's is trying to do, but we can't get the evidence before Courtney would go to trial. We can't work miracles. And so, well, I know you have to prioritize keeping the secrets and enforcing the rules, but in this case, I'm very sorry, but we are going to have to force your hand. The crystals are getting darker. Come on, agree to sign the paperwork to free Courtney, and the girls will come out and fight the storm."
Kitsuna was closest to the door of the insulated lab, with Soren and Rayna behind her. The door was open, so they could hear James' conversation with Calibre Academy's Director on the phone in the hallway, but they were still within the lab's field. If the storm started now, Rayna and Kitsuna would be deserters, and Soren and James would be guilty of failing to make them leave. They'd heard James give a full and honest account of their findings from talking to Courtney and Parker, and from their investigation, and they could only hope it was as compelling to the Director as it sounded from their end.
"James... I wasn't aware that the situation was this bad. We've known each other a long time, and I heard that you were planning to defend Courtney, but... I wasn't aware that there was a potential conspiracy going on with Parker Klein, we were sure he was working alone. And as for this business with people with mind control powers... I'd say it were far fetched were it not for, well, all of the things we don't understand about our own secrets. You're putting me in a difficult position here, but I suppose that's the point," came the voice of a man Kitsuna had never heard before, but knew was the Director, the person who they were banking on reacting in the right way now.
"I am glad you understand," James said, and it was clear to Kitsuna what he meant.
He'd explained to them before, in the nurse's office, when he'd made his proposal that the mahou shoujo go on strike, that a lot of it hinged on the fact that the Director would be able to save his own hide when questioned about letting Courtney go free without trial. The elected Director's decision was absolute, but some would be certain to ask why he would take such a choice, and if he could say that if he hadn't then nobody would have been protecting their region from the storm, then there would be no questioning that.
In truth, nobody actually knew what would happen if the Director refused to meet their terms, and they refused to fight. New girls wouldn't be able to take on the storm, though they would probably begin to transform. Girls from other regions in the vicinity may be able to somehow access the local storm domain, but given the semester hadn't started, there may not be any of those around, and even
if there were, it wasn't something that had ever happened before. It was entirely possible the region would go undefended, and the creatures may stand a chance of breaking through for the first time. This was why Rayna and Kitsuna were ready to leave at once if they had to, but they weren't going to let the Director know that. They were willing to risk their own freedom to pull off this gambit, but not humanity's safety. They had to hope their bluff wouldn't be called on that, though. They also hoped that the Director would realize that the same problem would apply if all of their party were in jail.
The Director was heard to sigh, though he didn't sound angry.
"I'll have to come up with some kind of punishment for you all, you know that."
"Of course. We are prepared for that. So, you'll bring us the papers? As you can probably anticipate, I'm going to ask you to bring them in person, and the girls won't go out until we have had a chance to check them, and word has been sent to the prison to release Courtney so she can join them in the domain."
"I see there's no helping it. OK, looking at my Talizman we've got time for all that. I'm printing off the forms now, I'll be straight down with them. Luckily I was in my office anyway."
"Yes!" Soren and Rayna hissed in unison, as James ended the call and headed into the insulated room with them, closing the door behind them for the time being. The Director would have to buzz the door. For the next few minutes they just wanted to enjoy the huge sense of relief that they wouldn't be going to jail, or being invaded by the Big Emptiness today. A few moments of calm, before Rayna and Kitsuna would have to go and face the storm.
"So, it looks like you predicted what the Director would do pretty accurately. He didn't even argue," Kitsuna said, feeling proud of James for solving everything.
He'd never looked so attractive to her, but she still had a fight to win before she could get him alone and tell him so.
"I think he's probably pretty shaken about the news that Parker Klein has at least one accomplice out there, and we don't know their identity. He's a smart guy, he will have seen that Courtney isn't a real threat, and that he'd be making bigger problems for Calibre Academy by locking us all up and relying on an all new team of kids without the usual support... But he also cares about maintaining the appearance of playing strictly by his own rules - it's something he thinks is an important part of leadership. So, reasonable as he sounded there, he will punish us, and it will be serious, and public."
"Ah, who gives a fuck, he can't scare us, we fight way uglier stuff than him all the time. Not that he's ugly. Actually kinda hot for an old guy, you know, a bit of a silver fox..." Rayna said, lying on her back on a stainless steel table and playing with her wand.
Kitsuna found herself giggling. What kind of crazy world was she in, now, where it wasn't even surprising to hear that the old principal was sexy?
A red light above the door flashed and a buzzer sounded.
"Well, that'll be the Director, shall I go out and get the papers from him?" Soren asked.
"Sure," said James.
"Wait, I want to stand behind you, I've never seen the Director before, I want to see if he's really a silver fox or if Rayna's taste is just weird," Kitsuna said, following Soren to the door.
"Just stay on this side inside the field until we've checked everything is in order, yeah?" James called after her.
But she was unable to do that. As Soren stepped out into the hallway, the seemingly impossible happened, and he vanished in front of her eyes. All Kitsuna could do was leap after him, shrieking in terror into a domain unlike one she'd ever imagined.
Chapter 25
Kitsuna caught her breath, knowing immediately that this transformation was stronger by the fact her hair was now much longer, and her clothes more elaborate. The hair thing was a bit annoying, given that for the first time, the storm domain actually seemed to have a storm going on inside of it. She was high up on a rocky platform, just big enough for her and maybe another person to stand on - but there was no other person there. The sky was full of ash gray clouds, like those she had seen above active volcanoes in VR, but when the thick, dark layers of them parted there was an angry glow, in places bruise purple, in others ember red. Wind whipped her waist length silvery-pink hair around, causing strands to attack her eyes and mouth, though the misty humidity of the air was already beginning to weigh it down. White sheets of lighting rippled across the sky, but the thunder, though it was there, was barely audible. That was because of the sound of the swollen, ink-black sea underneath her platform, moiling and crashing against the tall, spindly rock pillar holding it up.
There were other platforms, she could see, black outcrops of some kind of glittering volcanic rock jutting out towards the sky. With the darkness and seaspray she could only see a couple of them, but she hoped there were more off in the distance. If not, then the two things she needed to find - Soren, and the core - were down there in the sea, and that was a thought she didn't want to entertain unless she absolutely had to.
She couldn't see any monsters, but decided to summon her gun anyway - the two times she'd been in storm domains before things had been quiet at first, and then the strange aggro effect she had on the monsters had kicked in and they'd attacked her in their droves. She had to think that the same would probably happen here, though she had no idea what kind of attack to expect - something flying from above? Something climbing up the rocks to her platform? something leaping from the sea?
The gun was different this time again - in fact, she was pleased to see she was now able to summon a veritable assault rifle. It gleamed its icy, platinum gleam whenever the lighting lit up the sky, and just like its previous forms, it had magenta accents on the grip and on the sights. She wanted to fire it off and see how it felt, but reasoned that this might draw monsters.
Her first plan was to start making her way to the other platforms in the hope that on one of them, she would find Soren. She had to work on the assumption that he had been brought to the domain somehow when none of the mahou shoujo had come, even though it seemed impossible. If he hadn't, then things were even worse - they'd have no idea where he was in the whole of space and time. It was possible that Rayna had made it out of the insulated room behind her in time and was somewhere here too, but she didn't want to count on that. Poor Rayna - if she hadn't got out quickly enough, she'd be going through hell. It may only be a few minutes at most to people outside of the storm domains, but Kitsuna knew enough of Rayna and Soren's bond to know these would be the longest moments of her life. Her brother missing, and she unable to reach him.
Maybe it's wrong for me to try to find him. He might be totally powerless here. If men have never been brought to the storm domains before, then I have no way of knowing what it would do to him. He might have transformed somehow, given he's of the bloodline of mahou shoujo, but he might not, which would mean he won't heal if he gets hurt, he won't have a weapon, and he'll just have normal agility. And I do attract monsters. Maybe I'd be leading them straight to him. Maybe I should just search for the core and try to end this quickly. But then, if he is defenseless here, wouldn't it be better if I was there to shoot anything that tried to attack? Even one of those creatures would be impossible to take on if you hadn't transformed. He's fit, and by all accounts has trained a bit in martial arts, but I don't think you can really beat these things with judo throws or whatever...
She realized though, that unless she was willing to dive into the disturbing, dark waters below, it didn't really matter whether she prioritized finding Soren or the core - there was only the option of trying to leap to the other platforms, and see whether either of them could be found.
I hope cores are obvious when you see them... I never got to see either of the last two.
She looked over to the two closest platforms. Both would have been a stretch for the agility of her last transformation, but she felt she had a reasonable chance of jumping to one of them as she was now - she felt springy, and lighter than ever. The gun was a bit of a hindrance
, however It was a lot bulkier than in its other forms, and while it wasn't heavy, at least with her current strength, she was worried it would affect her ability to jump.
Can you change back to your other forms if I ask you to? Let's try.
Kitsuna closed her eyes for a moment and tried to will the gun back into its previous form. She wasn't surprised when it worked - there was something intuitive about these things, like she'd somehow known it was one of the possibilities as soon as she had realized it would be useful. Such were the instincts she had for her powers.
Having turned the assault rifle back into the chunky handgun she'd had in the cathedral domain, she took a deep breath, made an arbitrary choice to go to the platform to the left of her rather than the one at roughly the same distance off to the right, and leapt into the air.
It was exhilarating, leaping with the wind in a superhuman arc to the next platform, but terrifying too, as the moments spent in the air with only that foreboding sea beneath her struck a kind of primal dread of drowning into her heart. Could she even drown? Rayna had mentioned octopi and krakens before, albeit ones made of bread, so maybe ocean domains weren't actually unusual. Maybe her transformed form would be as good in water as on land. She felt no desire to test that right now, though.
Landing easily on the platform, she saw further into the distance. There was only one platform she could reach from here, but something was glinting far off into the mist, catching her eye when the lightning blasted.
Maybe it's the core. I'd better keep moving.
Two platforms later, and it was clear that it was not the core, but a white haired man in what looked like polished armor the color of gasoline on water.
"Soren!" she yelled, the storm making it hard to shout.
He raised an arm, trying to shout back to her, but he was against the wind and his voice didn't carry. Yet just two more hops to other platforms, and she was beside him. There was a huge sword at his feet, but she stepped over that and embraced him, ignoring the cold, greased feel of his armor against her skin and raising up onto her toes to press her cheek against his.