(2025 Edit) Technomancer: A Magical Girl's Sidekick [Post-Apocalyptic][Mecha][Magical Girls]

The sound of lapping water mixed with the distant hum of the city, creating a surreal backdrop to the standoff unfolding before my eyes.

Midori stood defiant, her hair and cardigan blowing in the cool, salt-scented breeze, and her knife gleamed in her hand, reflecting the firelight. The neon lights and distant fires painted the foggy night with a dreamlike quality.

The air was thick with tension, and I could feel my pulse quicken as Hellhound's grip on her gun tightened. The fog around us seemed to thicken, swirling in unnatural patterns as if responding to the intensity of the scene.

The sounds of the city faded into a distant echo, the world narrowing down to just the three of us on this abandoned pier.

The next few moments felt like an eternity. No one spoke. No one moved. I felt a strange energy almost crackling in the air, like the calm before a storm.

Then, Hellhound began to laugh.

She palmed her head, and a maniacal cackle echoed through the night. She stopped abruptly, then shook her head in amusement.

Then, she slipped the cylinder she was carrying in her left hand into her coat pocket and pointed her gun at Midori once more.

I quickly came to my senses and discarded my empty rifle without thinking. As it clattered to the ground, Hellhound's masked face flicked away from Midori glance over me for a brief moment.

That was the opening Midori needed.

Midori lunged forward, her body moving in a frantic sprint that I had trouble following. She swept her arm across Hellhound's neck from behind, her blade slicing through the air with a sharp whistling sound.

Hellhound met her blade with her pistol, causing a clang echo off the foggy night. She retaliated quickly, sidestepping and delivering a vicious roundhouse kick to Midori's open gash. Midori yelped in pain, quickly regaining her footing, but the brief distraction was enough for Hellhound.

She jumped back, raising her gun, and fired again at point-blank range.

Midori twisted, evading the bullets by a hair's breadth, spinning like a dancer as she brought her knife up and around in a fluid arc.

But Hellhound was ready this time, parrying the attack with her gun and following up with a short elbow strike straight to Midori's face.

Midori shifted with the strike, dropping to one knee under the swing. She stepped in, reaping her foot inside as she fought for an underhook on Hellhound's arm. Midori pressed in, swinging for a stab at Hellhound's chest.

But Hellhound was too quick, sensing the danger and pushing away before Midori could fully secure a lock. She kicked Midori away as she took a step back to give herself space, raising her gun again, and firing a shot at Midori's chest.

Midori dodged to the side again, her movements fluid and graceful, but I could see the strain in her body, the fatigue setting in. Blood dripped from her nose, and her injured leg was trembling from the exertion.

A bullet grazed Midori's side, ripping the sleeve of her shirt. Midori hissed and faltered for a moment, her hand flying up to press against her wound as she closed the distance.

I wanted to help, but I hesitated — they were in the open and even further away now. However, unlike Midori, I didn't have the ability to deflect bullets with a freaking knife.

I looked around frantically before setting my eyes on another rifle from the fallen Sidewinder Midori. I moved instinctively, grabbing it and priming it as quickly as I could before aiming at Hellhound.

I aimed down the sights, but Midori was a flurry of movement, her body weaving in and out of the line of fire. Hellhound was equally nimble, dodging and weaving as they exchanged blows.

My finger tightened on the trigger as I tried to track their movements, but I couldn't get a clear shot.

No. That wouldn't do.

The two of them were moving too quickly, and I'd likely end up shooting Midori. I had to find another way. I advanced forward, hunkering down next to a crate with the rifle in hand.

"Rai-chan, how close do I have to be for a Hijack?" I whispered, glancing down at my gun.

She responded in an instant. "You will unfortunately have to be close enough to touch her. Distance isn't the only issue, however. The mana disruption device she has will interfere with the hijack, and these drones have been modified from the standard military model. Their circuitry is significantly more sensitive, to cut down on satellite latency times. The engineers responsible for this have made enormous sacrifices to chassis durability and construction in order to compensate. However, they compensated by drastically improving the shielding to signaling systems. To successfully execute a Hijack without endangering your life, you will have to hold onto her for three seconds."

"Dammit," I whispered, glancing at Midori's fight. I watched her take a solid kick to her wounded side and wince before retaliating with a quick jab that caught Hellhound on the chin.

My heart skipped a beat. I knew what that meant, and it was a risk.

Hellhound was playing around with us. Playing with her food, as she put it. There was always a chance she would let her guard down like the cyborg did back at the highway.

I needed an opening, and there was no way I was going to have one handed to me. I had to get close and create it.

"This is sophisticated work. That is to say, no known major military organization on Terra has anything remotely comparable," she said. "Whoever is responsible for this model has considerable funding and resources to spare."

I hesitated for a second. The prospect of charging into a close combat with Midori and Hellhound was a terrifying one.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," I cursed as I sprinted from my cover to a crate, moving in closer.

I took a second to weigh my choices.

If Midori missed a single dodge or strike, it could mean death for her.

But if she failed, it would also mean my own death.

There were no good options here. I needed to take action now.

"Okay," I mumbled to myself. "Okay."

I grit my teeth, steeling myself as I gripped my rifle tighter.

I had to create an opportunity. I didn't know if I could, but I had to try. It was a desperate move.

Forty meters. Just forty, Ikki.

I quietly placed the rifle on the ground and broke into a sprint.

Midori lunged forward, slashing and stabbing with the knife in a chaotic but controlled flurry. Midori's knife was met by Hellhound's steely forearm, the metal scraping and sparking against her skin as she wrapped it around and trapped the knife.

Midori's face contorted in pain as Hellhound jerked her arm out of the trap, wrenching the knife from Midori's grip. The teenager growled hatefully as Hellhound forced her to the ground, and I knew it was now or never.

The wind rippled through my hair and clothes, but I stayed focused as I zoned in on my target.

Thirty meters.

Midori was in trouble, pinned beneath Hellhound's weight.

Her face was contorted in pain and fear as she struggled against the stronger, bigger, faster opponent.

I could hear the thud of their bodies hitting the ground, the scrape of metal against concrete.

Twenty.

The cold air and salty mist rushed against my skin, my eyes glued on her.

Fifteen meters.

I could see Hellhound's mask, her gaze fixed on Midori, not noticing me closing in. Midori was struggling beneath her, trying to push her off.

I clenched my teeth, feeling the burn in my lungs and legs. This was it.

Just as I was about to reach them, Hellhound suddenly turned, sensing my presence. Her reflexes were sharp, almost inhuman. She swung around, aiming her gun at me.

"Shit!" I shouted, my voice echoing in the still air as I sprinted outside of her aim window.

But before she could pull the trigger, Midori kipped up and pushed Hellhound off balance with a burst of strength. The shot went wide, and I felt the bullet whiz by with inches to spare.

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Hellhound quickly regained her footing and leaped backward, taking aim at me again. I ducked low, pulling away as quickly as I could, my heart pounding wildly in my chest as I took cover behind some crates.

I peered over as Midori scrambled to her feet, her eyes still fixed on Hellhound, who was now standing a few meters away.

"More… show me more!" Hellhound suddenly shouted. Her voice echoed through the fog in a crazed and excited fervor. "You aren't the spoiled little bitch I thought you were! You're so much stronger, so much better than the rest! Show me!"

But Midori didn't say anything, she just readied herself for another attack, her chest rising and falling rapidly, and her body trembling from the exertion. My palms were sweaty and I felt like throwing up.

Midori, panting heavily, wiped the blood from her lip and fixed her gaze on Hellhound.

Despite her injuries, her eyes were ablaze with a fierce determination. Hellhound giggled with childlike glee, letting her robotic limbs hang loosely in front of her as she shifted her weight back and forth.

I knew I had to get closer, but I couldn't risk running out into the open. I had to wait for the right moment, a distraction, anything.

Hellhound charged at Midori, cackling from behind the mask as she drew her combat knife. She was like a demon, relentless and unforgiving.

Midori met her with a sidestep, gracefully parrying and delivering a flurry of counterattacks with incredible skill.

I edged closer, moving from crate to crate, trying to shorten the distance. Rai-chan's words echoed in my mind. 'Close enough to hold onto her for about three seconds.'

That was all I needed.

But it was a distance I couldn't close quickly enough — they were moving too fast.

Midori and Hellhound were locked in a dance of violence, each one pushing the other to their limits. It was a battle of wills as much as it was of skill. Midori's movements were fluid and precise, while Hellhound's were wild and powerful. They were like fire and water, clashing and swirling around each other in a deadly ballet.

Hellhound flipped her knife in the air, alternating hands before surging forward in a series of jabbing thrusts.

Midori stepped to the side, narrowly dodging the attack and countering with a stab of her own. But Hellhound was ready for it this time, parrying the attack with her robotic arm before driving her shoulder into Midori's midsection and pushing her back.

They clashed and separated, their blades meeting again and again. Midori's breathing grew heavier, the exhaustion visibly starting to set in as the pain in her leg threatened to overtake her.

Hellhound, on the other hand, seemed tireless, her movements growing more frantic with every passing second. They were like a whirlwind of violence, two forces of nature clashing in an epic battle.

Then, time seemed to briefly slow for me as Hellhound feinted a left-handed thrust.

I tensed up as Midori bit on it, her eyes immediately glazing with realization as Hellhound shifted her weight and quickly brought her right leg up, darting past Midori's guard. Hellhound slammed a vicious knee to Midori's stomach, and quickly twisted on her heels. In one smooth motion, she elbowed the knife from Midori's hand and followed the momentum into a powerful spinning back kick.

Midori was sent crashing to the ground just a couple of feet in front of me. Blood spilled from her mouth and nose as she hit the ground with a sickening thud.

"What a fucking monster..." Midori groaned, spitting out a glob of blood. "Who the hell is this psycho nutcase?!"

Hellhound laughed psychotically, her voice cutting through the fog like a knife. She spun her combat knife in her hand.

"Who am I? Oh, my dear sweet child. It matters not who I am, but who I was. How I missed this life! The exhilaration of battle, the heat of a looming kill! Ahh, it's like coming home after a long trip away!"

Her laughter was wild, unrestrained, as if the fight had unleashed something primal within her.

I watched, frozen in place, as Hellhound advanced on Midori. The bloodlust she was giving off was almost tangible and I suddenly lost all feeling in my legs.

Despite her injuries, Midori climbed back to her feet. She was breathing heavily, but there was a fire in her eyes that told me she wasn't going to back down.

Hellhound's blade gleamed in the dim light, a sinister arc of steel that seemed to hunger for the fight as much as its wielder. Midori's stance shifted, lower and more guarded, as Hellhound circled her like a predator sizing up its prey.

Suddenly, Hellhound lunged forward , her knife a streak of silver in the murky light. But even in her battered state, Midori was quick.

She dodged, rolling to the side, her movements labored but still sharp. I could see the pain in her eyes, the struggle in each breath, but she fought on, driven by something deep inside her.

Hellhound's attacks grew more frenzied, her laughter turning into a mad shriek. Every strike was meant to kill, to end the fight in a burst of blood and pain.

"Come on! You're still holding back! I want to see you fight!" Hellhound cried maniacally.

It wasn't fair.

Hellhound wasn't fighting with a flesh and blood body – her robotic limbs were faster, stronger, allowing her to keep pace with the smaller but much more nimble Midori. She wasn't subject to fatigue, and Midori needed a decisive blow to do anything significant to her.

I knew no matter how hard Midori fought, she'd eventually succumb to exhaustion and blood loss. Midori had to push herself to her limits to barely keep up with the drone.

And yet, despite it all, Midori continued to fight.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, fatigue set in as it inevitably did. Midori hissed in pain as Hellhound's blade grazed her arm, causing her to stumble.

With Midori's guard down, Hellhound growled and lunged forward for the kill. It looked as though Midori's fight would soon be over. But instead of trying to dodge, block, or parry, she reached up and pulled off her cardigan in one swift motion.

Before I realized what was happening, she threw it in front of her.

Hellhound slashed forward, and her knife was immediately tangled up inside the garment.

The sudden interruption startled the robotic soldier, allowing Midori to close the distance between them and grab onto her arm. Midori quickly wrapped the cardigan around Hellhound's knife hand, using it as an impromptu rope.

The sharp blade sliced through the garment, but it was enough of a distraction for Midori to grab hold of Hellhound's arm, wrenching it behind her back.

Midori dropped her knife, and wrapped both of her hands around the hilt of Hellhound's blade in a last ditch effort. I could feel Midori's desperation as all her physical and mental strength were put into the death grip. She would not give in.

And then, with one primal scream of defiance, Midori tore the knife from Hellhound's grasp and threw it away, disarming her. The knife skittered and bounced across the asphalt and came to a rest, out of reach for both combatants.

But it wasn't enough. Hellhound snarled and struck Midori in the stomach with an elbow strike. Then, she stepped in and wrapped one arm over Midori's elbow and the other around her waist, taking her down to the ground.

I felt my heart sink as Hellhound cackled in satisfaction, driving a knee into Midori's midsection before smashing her in the face with a wound up power elbow.

I needed to take a leap of faith. I didn't have any gas left in the tank for any fancy tricks other than the Hijack.

If I didn't, Midori would die here. I made my decision in a heartbeat.

I dashed out from behind the crate, sprinting to close the gap between Hellhound and me as quickly as I could.

I had no time to think, no time to plan. I had to act now or it would all be for nothing. I felt the wind rush past me, heard the pounding of my heart in my ears. Her back was turned to me, and for a moment, I thought I would make it.

But then, Hellhound's head immediately snapped in my direction.

Her reaction was inhumanly fast. She released Midori, spinning around and pointing her gun directly at me.

My heart stopped. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The distance to any cover was too great, and I knew I wouldn't make it in time.

"End of the line, kids," Hellhound sneered in a distorted whisper. "One bullet left."

My eyes widened in terror as I stared down the barrel of the gun.

Time slowed down as I watched her finger squeeze the trigger. I could feel the sweat on my skin, the cold air on my face, and the pounding of my heart in my chest.

Helpless, I watched as Hellhound slowly tightened her trigger finger. Adrenaline and fear raced through me, all of my thoughts going frantically into overdrive. Time seemed to slow down, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest as I waited for the inevitable.

Hellhound laughed cruelly as she began to squeeze the trigger, her robotic fingers closing around it like a vice.

The sound of the gunshot was deafening.

Time stopped.

I was going to die.

I flinched reflexively as the gun fired and I felt my end loom in for one long, drawn out second.

But then, out of nowhere, a single glint flashed through the air.

Hellhound's flinched in surprise, locked in disbelief as a bright object spun through the air. Sparks briefly flashed in the air as the object ricocheted around the battlefield, before it settled down between us in a screeching clang.

I stared down at the sundered knife in disbelief. It was broken, the tip of it shorn clean off, with a single, spent bullet on the ground a foot away.

Midori coughed, and I watched her slowly roll onto her side, staring angrily in our general direction. There was blood in her hair and her eyes were glazed, barely open.

She'd done something absolutely absurd again, after fighting a grueling battle to try and save our lives. She'd just deflected a freaking bullet by throwing a combat knife.

Hellhound chuckled as if she were in on a joke that no one else was. "My god, what in the world are you?"

Midori didn't respond. Her body had been pushed to its absolute limit.

I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears, the taste of iron in my mouth, and the sweat trickling down my face.

Hellhound took a step toward me, her chest opening to reveal a spare pistol magazine.

I felt a sudden surge of courage. I couldn't just let this happen. I had to fight. It wasn't like me, and I was terrified. But I couldn't just give in to despair.

I was afraid of pain. Afraid of death.

I'd been so close to it so several times, and it always felt like I could never do anything.

I felt that same feeling again now. Helpless.

It didn't matter.

I couldn't ever allow myself to give in to it. I had to take action.

I broke into a dead sprint.

I could see her mechanical joints twitch and whir as she loaded it into her weapon with an audible click. It was like she didn't consider me a threat at all. She had all the time in the world.

The air rushed past me, and I felt the wind on my skin as I closed the distance between us. My eyes were focused on Hellhound, and her weapon.

But to my surprise, she whipped around, aiming her gun at Midori with one hand, who was prone on the ground once again. Her other hand was outstretched in front of her in a defensive stance, waiting for my charge.

She wasn't even going to take me seriously, instead just planning on shooting the real threat to her while I pathetically struggled in futility.

My mind raced, searching for an idea, any way to get her attention off of Midori.

I was still too far. I wouldn't make it.

Hellhound seemed to sense my desperation and laughed cruelly.

"Say goodbye!" she taunted, her robotic voice echoing in my ears.

I reached out desperately toward Hellhound as the distance between us closed down to five meters, then three in a fraction of a second.

My heart clenched in my chest as she began to put pressure on the trigger. The muzzle of her gun seemed to grow in size, and I felt my pulse pounding in my veins.

Midori had closed her eyes. She had nothing left to give.

No!

It was a desperate, last ditch effort.

A final chance at salvation.

I leaped towards Hellhound with a desperate, animalistic scream.

A single gunshot rang out through the night.

And all I could do was scream as I closed my eyes and felt myself crash into Hellhound's heavy metal chest.

Strange.

She didn't fight it, she simply fell backward and collapsed on the ground, making a loud crack as it impacted the pavement.

Silence.

Dimly, I realized Hellhound had stopped moving beneath me.

What... what just happened?

My eyes were still squeezed shut and my hands still gripped around her. I didn't want to see what happened next.

My chest pounded, and my breath was quick. I didn't know if she was still alive or if she had killed Midori.

I took a deep, shaky breath. I didn't want to see if Midori had died. I was afraid of what I might find. I held onto the hope that she had survived and that the bullet had somehow missed.

"Rai-chan," I whimpered.

A pause. Then, "Yes, Ikki. Are you okay?" her familiar, calm voice replied in my head.

"D-Did Midori get hurt?"

"I believe you should see for yourself."

My heart skipped a beat at her words.

My hands trembled, and my eyes were still closed shut. I wasn't ready to face the truth yet.

I slowly opened my eyes, only to see Hellhound's limp metal head lying in the puddle of water beside me. Sparks and small bursts of mana were shooting from her head, the red eye dimming.

And a single gunshot opening was cleanly drilled at the center of the face mask.