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

Interlude: Once Upon a Time



"Sugary Burst: Saccharine Tempest!"

An enormous barrage of sharpened candy canes, lollipops, and chocolate boulders erupted from the cloaked magical girl's outstretched hands, tearing into the chaos beasts' ranks like a tornado.

"Follow up, Rampion!"

Thorny vines burst out from the ground, entangling and immobilizing the horde, and the other three magical girls moved in to capitalize. The red-cloaked girl was the first to move. A pair of flaming, crimson hatchets appeared in her hands and she slashed, cutting through a dozen chaos beasts with a single blow, their flesh melting and boiling as they fell.

"Little Red Riding Hood," a calm, feminine voice spoke through the red cloaked magical girl's earpiece. "The other teams have engaged."

Little Red grinned. "Good! We'll make a beeline for the Blightbringer," she shouted, and her teammates nodded in unison. Red dismissed her axes and the group charged forward, the forest blurring as they raced toward their target. They passed through the dome's translucent boundary and a wave of dizziness washed over them as they entered into the pocket of chaos corruption. But this sensation quickly passed, and Little Red Riding Hood's crimson eyes scanned the landscape for her quarry.

There!

"Target spotted," Cinderfall called out as her gaze narrowed.

"Time check?" Rampion shouted.

"Forty-one past eleven," Snowblanche replied. "We should make haste."

"Right," Little Red Riding Hood nodded. "I'll take point, Rampion, Snowblanche, cover the flanks."

"Understood," the blonde and silver-haired magical girls replied, as Little Red and her team took off in the direction of the towering monstrosity ahead. It stood taller than the surrounding trees, its clay-like skin and 'fur' mottled and rotten, its glowing blue eyes sunken into their sockets, its fanged maw dripping bile and mucus. A crown of jagged antlers sprouted from its skull, each point glowing with a dark, otherworldly energy. The Blightbringer's twisted horns glowed as it sensed the magical girls approaching. It was like a cross between a werewolf and a wendigo. And it was huge. At least ten meters tall, standing upright on its hind legs.

A guttural, rumbling roar shook the forest, and a swarm of chaos beasts of varying size emerged from the woods. They were led by three towering figures that loomed over their lesser counterparts, who were roughly the same size as the Blightbringer. The first two figures resembled a cross between an ogre and a bear.

They had massive, hulking shoulders, and a muscular upper body with long arms and clawed hands, its head adorned with a pair of long horns and tusks. Its skin was a sickly shade of green, with a rough texture and covered in warts and boils. A Marquis-Class variant known as the Abhorrent Ogrus.

The third and final figure was another Marquis-Class. This one was a giant humanoid creature with long, thin limbs that ended in wickedly sharp claws. It had no face or head, but rather a single, giant mouth filled with row after row of sharp teeth. Its entire body was covered in a thick, rubbery hide that was a sickly yellow. A Viscera Wretch.

"Here we go," Little Red grinned.

"Viscera Wretch on the right, Abhorrent Ogruses on the left and the middle," Rampion said, before nodding.

"Rampant Growth: Thornbriar Bastion," she shouted, and a wall of thorns erupted from the ground, separating the group from the three monsters.

"Snowblanche, with me!" Cinderfall ordered, and the two of them charged the first beast, their blades flashing as they sliced through the chaos beasts, and Snowblanche unleashed a barrage of icicles and snowflakes, freezing the beasts in their tracks and allowing Cinder to tear into their ranks.

Timing was critical if they wanted to make use of Cinderfall Prism's Signature Motif - Shattered Midnight. If Cinder could maintain her full strength, the three Marquises would be no problem, and they'd be able to make quick work of the Duke.

"Stranglehold!" Rampion called, and the wall of briars expanded, stretching and wrapping around the Abhorrent Ogruses like a cage. She grunted, focusing her energy on keeping the beasts contained as Cinder and Snowblanche continued their assault.

The beasts were unable to move as Rampion's magic held them in place, but the Viscera Wretch wasn't going to give in so easily. With a guttural scream it charged forward, tearing through the thorns with its massive jaws and claws. It was a fast beast, its movements swift and erratic, but not fast enough.

A dozen spikes of crystal erupted from the ground, impaling the monster and immobilizing it. Cinder's crystal slippers gleamed with power as she flourished her twin glass daggers, and her ballgown shimmered as she spun, slicing through the beasts that had managed to avoid being skewered. She leapt onto a crystal spire, then bounded from spike to spike, weaving between the thorny briars with grace and agility.

She landed in front of the Viscera Wretch, and with a flick of her wrists, her glass daggers morphed into two large, crystal sickles.

"Shatter!" she declared, and her sickles glowed brightly.

The Viscera Wretch lunged at her with its gaping maw, but Cinder was faster. She swung her blades, the glass scythes carving into the beast's rubbery hide and tearing into its flesh. It reared back with a pained shriek, its wounds already closing as its flesh knitted together. Cinder skated back to the team as Rampion and Snowblanche wrapped their team in a house-sized 'crystal' coffin formed out of their mana.

Cinder's glass spires exploded, and razor-sharp shards flew through the air in all directions, shredding through the ranks of the lesser creatures and tearing chunks of flesh from the monsters.

Rampion and Snowblanche and locked hands with Red in a circle as their mana swelled and the world was bathed in a flash of light.

"Book Ends: Once Upon a Time!"

A wave of golden light swept out, engulfing the entire area. The briar wall burst apart, and the Viscera Wretch roared in agony as the shards of glass lodged in its flesh detonated. It fell to its knees, and Rampion released the spell, allowing the beast's corpse to fall lifeless to the ground. The remaining chaos beasts were frozen in ice or had been turned into statues, their flesh turned to crystal as a sweet scent of bellflowers and sugar filled the air.

Cinder's crystal blades flashed again and again as she danced through the chaos beasts' ranks. Her glass scythes slashed through their bodies like paper, and the creatures were torn apart, their bodies dissolving into ash and ichor. Red quickly glanced down at her watch.

The four Magical Girls had spent half their lives working as a team, and had fought together for the entirety of their careers.

Their coordination and teamwork had been honed to an edge. The four girls had a plan for every contingency, every situation. Their strategies were fluid and ever changing, but the basic principles were always the same. Red was the vanguard and front line, while Cinder would flank and shred their enemies with her abilities. Snowblanche and Rampion's battlefield control kept the enemy from getting a chance to retaliate. It was a formula that had served them well over the years. They had fought and won countless battles together, and their trust and understanding of each other was absolute. They had saved the lives of thousands upon thousands of people, and they had developed a reputation as one of the most effective teams in the world.

There were only a few dozen S-Rank Magical Girls in the entire world at any given time, and a few hundred A-Ranks. Red was the sole formal S-Rank here, but Cinderfall Prism was by far the strongest member of their team when the conditions for her Signature were fulfilled.

Red glanced at her teammates.

"Status?"

"Green," Cinder stated, the shards of her scythes dissolving and reshaping into twin glass daggers.

"Green," Snowblanche said.

"Green," Rampion added.

Red nodded. The Abhorrent Ogruses had broken free from Rampant Growth: Thornbriar Bastion, but even now they were slowly being frozen from the inside out as Red and Snowblanche's mist worked its way through their flesh.

"Alright, then," Little Red murmured. "Time check?"

"Forty-seven past," Snowblanche replied. "Thirteen minutes till midnight."

"Right," Little Red sighed, and the group took off into the woods, leaving behind the Marquis corpses. Cinder was the fastest, and Rampion and Snowblanche brought up the rear, keeping a safe distance from the Blightbringer. Even at its slowest speed it could easily outpace them all.

Duke-class Aberrations were, of course, dangerous enough to threaten entire countries by themselves. It couldn't hurt to be cautious.

The Blightbringer was a creature that could devastate a small continent if it were allowed to run amok for too long, but thankfully, it was the least dangerous Duke-class Aberration. Its strengths were in its durability and its ability to call forth hordes. In terms of pure offensive and defensive power, the Abhorrent Ogruses that Little Red and her teammates had faced earlier were superior. But it was notoriously resilient and could call forth an endless number of minions.

While it couldn't freeze time, bypass barriers, or copy abilities like the nastier Duke-class Aberrations that'd come with the Chaos Event that spawned it could, its minions were capable of quickly overwhelming an unprepared nation's capital if they were allowed to multiply exponentially. It could also create more Marquis-class horde leaders, and was a serious problem to be dealt with as quickly as possible. And even though its minions weren't as strong as the Ogruses, there were so many of them.

And that didn't include whatever special abilities the Marquises would have, like the ability to manipulate the weather or summon their own unique minions. Even an elite team like theirs could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

"Commodore William we will be entering bombardment range soon. All strike teams accounted for and in position. Converge and begin your assault," a man's voice echoed through their earpieces.

"Copy that," Red replied. She looked back at Cinderfall. Her best friend looked tired and her dress was fraying. She had used up a lot of mana to take down the three Marquis, and the strain of maintaining Shattered Midnight was starting to show.

Red could feel it too. She was getting tired. Her body ached and she had a headache. She knew Cinder must feel it worse.

Red's magic was much less costly, but Cinder had been using her Signature non-stop.

"Hey," Red called, and Cinderfall turned around. "Are you sure you can do this?"

Cinderfall nodded, smiling. "Of course. I'm good."

"Okay," Red smiled back.

She knew better. Cinder's smile didn't reach her eyes.

She was exhausted, and her mana reserves were draining rapidly. But that was the price she had to pay for the power to protect the people she loved. Red knew she was just as bad when it came to pushing herself. Cinder was the youngest of three sisters. Her family had been poor, and they'd lived in the worst part of the city.

Her mother had died giving birth to her. She had no memory of her, only the stories her older sisters had told her. When she'd become a Magical Girl, things got better, and they had more money, and more freedom to do the things they wanted. Her fiance, a young boy from the slums, had stayed by her side, supporting her every step of the way. Studying to become a doctor to do so better. Cinderfall would have died a dozen times if not for him. But the life of a Magical Girl wasn't easy, and the toll it had taken on Cinder was obvious.

The "R" word was on her mind, Red knew. And she damned well knew it was jinxed to talk about retirement plans. It was a superstition all Magical Girls around their age knew. But the thought of losing one of the people she loved was more frightening than her own death. Red knew Cinder wanted to retire, but the world needed her. Needed them all.

"Red!" Rampion shouted, and Red snapped out of her thoughts.

"Sorry! Just got lost in my head for a moment," Little Red replied, shaking her head to clear her mind.

"Let's move. We're almost there."

"Roger," Red replied.

They sprinted through the forest, dodging trees and branches. Soon, they emerged into a clearing, and Red saw the towering form of the Blightbringer standing at its edge. It was easily five or six times taller than her. The creature was an enormous wolf-like monster that towered over the forest. Calling its thick black coat 'fur' was a stretch. It was covered in matted hair that looked more like thick, coarse, rotting mold, and it's muscles seemed to be rotting off its bones. Its eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, and a miasma of toxic chaos energy emanated from its jaws.

"Just like in Norwich, eh, Red?" Rampion called out.

"Too right, Rampion." Red replied. "Too right."

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The giant creature's eyes glowed, and it raised a clawed paw, portals opening up in the ground as it began to summon its horde. Little Red Riding Hood charged in first, a pair of blazing crimson axes materializing in her hands.

"Cinder, you know what to do!" Little Red shouted as she ran forward.

"I've got it!" Cinder yelled, and she dashed to the left as the rest of the group followed Little Red. A horde of beowulves erupted from the ground as the Blightbringer roared, and Little Red leaped into the air, swinging her hatchets at the creature. The weapon was wreathed in crimson flames, and it sliced cleanly through the monsters. She spun in midair, slashing at the creatures with her other axe as she landed. A blast of frost shot through the air, and the beowulves froze solid.

"Mirror mirror..." Snowblanche whispered, tracing sparkling lines in the air with her rose-tipped staff. "...On the wall, show them all..." Her spell complete, she drove the rose into the earth, a massive wall of ice rising up around her. "...My icy veil!"

With a shout, she slammed her palm against the ice, shattering it into a thousand glittering snowflakes. The shards swirled around them, setting Red up as she raised her hand - dismissing her axe in favor of a picnic basket.

"Portals huh? Well, try these," she shouted. "Saccharine Medley: Macarons and Madeleines!"

With a burst of power, a storm of macaroons, madeleine cookies, ice cream cones, and marshmallows rained from the sky. The swirling snowflakes and shards of ice caught and lifted them as they expanded over the portals, clogging and gumming up the monsters emerging from within.

The Blightbringer snarled and howled, lashing out with its claws. Little Red dove aside, dodging a massive claw that slammed into the ground, cracking the earth and sending up a shower of dirt. She cartwheeled back, dropping her hatchet and summoning a sugary zweihander as long as she was tall, and swung, clashing against the claw.

The creature roared, and the ground rumbled as it slammed its paw against the sword. The weapon shattered into a dozen pieces, but Little Red was unharmed, having already rolled out of the way. Cinder dashed past the two of them, weaving through the horde as she charged at the monster.

Her crystal blades flashed as she sliced up its forearm, spinning as glass spires shot out from the ground, tearing into the flesh and pinning the creature's limb in place.

"Icy Burial!"

A dozen freezing spears shot through the air in a torrent, impaling the Blightbringer's head.

"Rampion, the head! Red, limbs!" Cinder shouted.

"On it!" Rampion replied. "Bramblebind: Rose and Thorn!"

Vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around the Blightbringer's skull, pinning it to the earth and sealing its maw shut.

Little Red flourished her picnic basket, summoning licorice whips in each hand, and lashed out at the monster's limbs, entangling its legs in her sticky candy. The creature roared, but was unable to move, the candy holding it tight. Cinder leapt up into the air and spun her glass daggers in her fingers. "Midnight Waltz: Glissade and Glace!" She declared.

Her crystal blades flashed and shattered, the pieces recombining into a single massive scythe. She spun through the air in a pirouette, her weapon slashing across the creature's throat.

The blade sliced through flesh and fur, leaving behind deep cuts, but the wound healed instantly, and the beast roared again. Cinder cursed, but kept up her barrage of attacks.

Red huffed in frustration. This was the problem with Dukes - the damn things were too damned durable.

Ordinarily, shattering the core of a chaos beast would kill it. But it was not uncommon for Dukes to have multiple cores and other nasty abilities that made killing them difficult. Even with Rampion and Snowblanche sealing off the beast, it would be hard to find and shatter the cores without a coordinated effort.

"Damn, it's got a helluva regeneration factor!" Red cursed dodging a wild paw swipe as it lashed out and crawled at her. She parried a follow-up with her sword which promptly shattered before leaping back out of range. More than twenty portals erupted around them, and this time, dozens more monsters began to form out of them.

"Fuck."

Red swore, cursing her luck. Celestial Sonata's ability to disrupt these portals and close them would have been extremely useful right about now. If the Blightbringer wasn't dealt with soon, there was going to be no end to the monsters.

"Commodore Williams here, we will be entering bombardment range in fifteen seconds. Status of target?"

"Immobilized but still fighting!" Rampion shouted. "Red, mark it with the laser!"

Red cursed again. "Damnit! It's too early! Cinder isn't ready yet!"

"Do it, Red!" Rampion ordered. "We'll figure it out!"

Red nodded gritting her teeth. It was risky, but what else could they do?

She fished out a laser pointer and flicked it on. "Marking now!" She shouted. "Hurry the hell up, Commodore! We can't hold this thing much longer!"

"Affirmative, target confirmed," the woman replied. "Firing now."

The world shook as the clouds above were split in two and a beam of pure energy struck down, enveloping the beast in a blazing white light.

Red shielded her eyes, watching as the monster howled in agony. But it slowly stood up as her and Rampion Vale's bindings were broken and the beast rose up on its haunches. Red watched, horrified, as it began to regenerate again. The beam expanded and grew brighter as her team jumped back, gawking as boulders and trees alike were incinerated by the blast. "Jesus," Red breathed, staring up at the sky in awe. She had seen bombardments from Sisyphus's dreadnoughts before, but the improvements they made on every iteration never ceased to amaze her.

It was a good reminder that those nerds toys were not to be fucked with.

The beam continued for several moments before finally fading away. As the light faded, Red could see the deep scar left behind, the ground scorched black.

"Direct hit on target. Effectiveness unknown. Awaiting status report," the Commodore declared.

Red stared, dumbfounded.

"It...it can't be..."

"Negative," Snowblanche reported frantically, "It's still alive!"

"We've still got a live one!" Rampion screamed.

"That's... That's not possible," Williams replied. "That was three times the estimated power required to take down the Blightbringer in Norwich!"

"Tell it to the damned thing in front of us! Just fire again!"

"We're going to need time to recharge!" Williams shouted, her voice tinged with fear.

"What? How long!?"

"Fifteen minutes!"

"We don't have that long!" Rampion yelled.

The monster was starting to stir.

"Cinder. Two minutes to midnight. We can still finish this. Cinder, can you do this?"

There was a long silence as the monster rose up again. Then Cinder sighed, nodding.

"I can," Cinder said.

She looked up, and the moon hung high in the sky, just a sliver from being full. Red could feel the energy building within Cinder. Her magic, her will to protect the world, and the strength of her desire for happiness. Her dress, frayed and torn, began to mend itself as the power of the moon filled her, and her twin blades began to shine brightly as if reflecting its silver glow.

"Snowblanche! Rampion! Keep those portals locked down!"

The Blightbringer howled and stomped its paws on the ground.

Cinder rushed forward, her twin blades flashing. She sliced into its flank, cutting deep gashes across the creature's hide. Red cursed and ran after her, dodging another wild paw swipe and lashing out with her own weapon. The Blightbringer roared and thrashed about, but the team's combined attacks kept it in place. Cinder leapt back as Red's blade bit into its hide again, and the beast howled.

It tried to stomp her, but she dodged aside, slashing its legs with her crystal scythes. Red lashed out at the Blightbringer's paws as they tried to crush her and Rampion. The two girls continued to attack the monster's limbs while it tried to shake them off, and they managed to get it to stumble back. The monster roared again, and Red could see a faint blue glow emanating from within the creature. It was a weak spot.

"Hey girls, I found a core!" Red shouted.

She charged in again, but was met by a wall of chaos beasts, and Red was forced to stop her attack. Rampion used her magic to bind and trap the beast as Red hacked away at the horde.

"Snow, can you do anything?" Rampion asked.

"I'll try!" Snow shouted back. She aimed her staff at the glowing core, and a torrent of ice erupted from it, encasing the beast's leg in ice.

It was enough to slow it down. Cinderfall took advantage of the momentary lull in its attacks and dashed forward, leaping into the air. Her twin blades glinted as they caught the moonlight. The Blightbringer reared up, roaring in anger as its paws lashed out.

But she was ready. She ducked low, dodging its attack as she slashed with her weapons, slicing through its arm and causing it to howl in pain as its paw fell limp.

The Blightbringer howled in pain, its arm hanging limply. But it was only for a moment as the severed limb was regenerating. Little Red Riding Hood swore and leapt back, her axe flashing as she decapitated a beowulf.

She checked her watch. "Cinder! One minute to midnight!"

"Got it!" she replied. "I'm going for it!" she shouted.

The Blightbringer roared again, stomping the ground, sending tremors through the forest floor. Cinder leapt over a paw and spun through the air, slashing at its flank as she passed. She landed on its shoulder, her twin blades flashing. The monster howled again, thrashing about. The chaos beast's movements began to slow and it howled again.

It was weakening.

Cinder looked down at the beast. It was covered in cuts and deep gashes, but they were slowly regenerating.

Red felt a shiver run down her spine as she checked the watch. Thirty seconds to midnight.

She looked up at the moon, a pale silver circle in the night sky. She had to buy Cinder time.

Red shouted at her. "Go!"

Cinder nodded, her twin blades flashing as she slashed again. The beast roared and thrashed, trying to shake her off. She jumped off of its shoulder and landed on the ground, her dress billowing around her. The Blightbringer tried to swipe at her, but Cinder rolled to the side and struck at the glowing core. It was the only weak point they had found so far.

The monster reared back as Cinder struck at it, roaring in pain and anger. It stomped its paws, causing the ground to shake, and sending tremors through the forest floor.

Red and the others dodged as the beast attacked. Red lashed out at it again, her blade cutting through flesh, but the beast ignored her, focused solely on Cinder. Cinder jumped to the side, dodging its attacks.

"Hey! Pay attention to me, asshole!" Red shouted, slashing at its flank with her burnt-sugar zweihander.

It shrieked, and Red felt a chill run through her. Ten seconds. She had ten seconds left.

The closer the regional time was to the hour of Cinderfall's transformation, the stronger she'd become, and the more powerful her ultimate attack would be.

It was a race against time, and the fate of millions hung in the balance.

Nine.

"Little Red! We're gonna have company!" Rampion shouted. "Shitty little bastards can smell weakness!"

Over thirty wendigos, a hundred beowulves, ayakashi, mogwai, and a whole bunch of monsters she couldn't recognize had begun to emerge from the woods.

CInderfall Prism dismissed her daggers, kneeling in a prayerful pose, and a spectral, glittering, glass clockwork slithered out from the folds of her skirt as her ballgown was transformed from silk and tulle into crystal and silver.

Seven.

The monsters swarmed them, and Snowblanche shouted in pain as one of them bit into her shoulder.

Rampion's thorns caught several, but she was soon overwhelmed as well. Little Red cut down a half-dozen beowulves in quick succession, her blades flashing as she fought, but the beasts kept coming.

"Fuck, Cinder! Do it!" Red shouted. She didn't dare turn around. All of her focus was on keeping the hordes of chaos beasts at bay.

Three.

A blinding light flooded the area. It was like staring directly into the sun, but Little Red couldn't look away.

Cinder was starting to transform, and the Blightbringer stabbed its claws directly at Cinderfall.

Two.

Red screamed, jumping between Cinderfall and the monster. She swung her blade, but it shattered on impact, and she felt something break inside of her.

One. Her stomach heaved and bile rose in her throat.

The beast's claw tore into her as she reinforced her arms to throw it off course, and Little Red could feel her body being ripped open, and her insides were on fire. She hissed in pain and grit her teeth.

She was bleeding badly, and her legs were weak. Her arms hung uselessly at her side. She knew her elbow was probably shattered, but that didn't matter.

"Go to hell," Red choked out, pushing up with her legs in a contest of strength with the beast, slowly forcing the claw deeper into her stomach as she spat blood, throwing its claw to the side.

"CINDER!" Little Red screamed, and she fell backwards, onto the ground.

Midnight.

There was a flash of silver and glass.

"Projected Domain..." Cinder murmured. "Midnight Waltz."

There was a sudden flash of light. It blinded Little Red, and she closed her eyes instinctively. The light faded and when Little Red opened them, the entire world had changed. The sky was black, the stars twinkled, and the moon shone down upon the earth. The entire area had turned into an eerie landscape of darkness. The ground was made up of a reflective glass-like substance. A crystal chandelier hung high in the air, illuminating everything with a silver glow. And there was a sense of weightlessness to everything.

The Blightbringer tried to move but found that it couldn't.

Its limbs were frozen in place. It tried to howl but it's mouth didn't work.

There was a sound like glass chimes, and the crystal chandelier glowed brighter.

A spotlight shone down across the room, and a girl stepped out of the darkness, wearing a crystal gown - her glass slippers sparkling and glittering.

She looked up at the beast and smiled sadly, her eyes filled with sadness, and she raised her arms.

And then she danced.

She spun around in a circle, her skirts flaring out, her hair billowing around her face. The form of a man slowly emerged, wearing a tuxedo made of glass. His features were indistinct, but he was the very spitting silhouette of Cinder's civilian fiance. He was her Midnight Prince. Her dancing partner. And as they waltzed, the Blightbringer could only watch helplessly.

Little Red watched in awe as they moved, their steps graceful, their movements precise.

Cinder twirled and leapt, and her prince lifted her high above his head.

He held out his hand to her, and she took it, pulling him into her dance.

The music began to play. It was soft and sweet, but there was a sadness in the notes.

And the two danced to the melody, the crystal chandeliers illuminating them.

And the music grew louder, and louder still.

And the Blightbringer screamed, writhing in agony, trapped within the domain of the glass maiden who danced.

Slowly, a crack began to form over where the wolf-like giant stood. The crack wasn't on its body - but the very space where the beast was.

It grew, spreading, spider-webbing outward, as Cinder and her Midnight Prince waltzed. The Blightbringer thrashed, but the cracks continued to grow.

And the crack grew larger, spreading across the room. The wolf struggled against its invisible bonds, almost like it could see its doom approaching.

The glass maiden danced with her prince, the two moving in perfect unison. Tears glistened in their eyes, and the crack spread further and further.

The glass maiden's dress shimmered and gleamed as she twirled. Her glass slippers clacked on the floor, and her prince spun her around.

The crack grew, and the monster struggled to get away. But it was no use.

It couldn't escape the inevitable. The crack grew wider, and color began to fill the room - the void transforming into a brightly colored baroque ballroom. Red blinked away tears of joy as she witnessed her own civilian form standing next to a faceless man in the background. Her face was blurry, but she recognized her favorite cocktail dress, and she held her hand up to the faceless figure, a smile on her lips.

Her heart swelled with emotion. She wanted so desperately to be happy. But the dream was broken. Her only desire - like Cinder, was a family to call her own.

She looked over to Snowblanche, who was watching Cinderfall with an expression of longing and envy. Cinderfall's dance continued, her steps growing faster, her feet clacking on the floor.

Her Midnight Prince spun her around, and she piroetted into the air, landing gracefully.

She smiled at her prince, and he smiled back.

Then the two dancers stopped, the glass maiden bowing, her prince bowing.

"Midnight's Grace: Memories of Stained Glass."

Cinder's words shattered the world.

There was a deafening roar, a blast of light, and the beast... vanished.

Its existence itself was shattered on a metaphysical level. It was no longer alive, nor was it dead - it just was no more. It's very concept erased from the universe.

It was this ability alone, that qualified Cinder as a conditional S-Rank Magical Girl.

And then there was only the glass maiden, and the moon shining down on her.

There were no words. The three girls stared at the spectacle, tears in their eyes.

They were speechless. Little Red closed her eyes, her heart racing.

There was a deafening crash and a rumble of thunder.

Little Red's vision blurred. Her arms were broken and she couldn't move.

"Red!"

"Shit, shit, shit! Clara... I'm sorry, you shouldn't have jumped in, this wasn't - this isn't. Fuck!"

Red didn't answer. She felt a warm wetness in her stomach, and the smell of iron filled her nose. Everything was spinning around her, and her vision blurred. Her head hurt, and she was dizzy.

"Red! Stay with us!"

She knew her guts had been punctured, and the world spun around her. Her head pounded. She tasted copper.

"E-Elise...?" Red croaked.

"I'm here," Cinder replied. "Hey. Come on. You have to awake. Lyssa's got you."

"Lyssa...?" Red murmured. She could barely make out her friend's face.

"You're going to be fine, Clara," Snowblanche said.

"Clara?"

Cinder knelt over her. Red's vision was blurry, but she could make out her friend's worried face.

"Clara? Hey, you've gotta stay with us, okay?" Cinder asked, her voice shaky. She was trying to stay strong.

Red tried to smile, but her face was too stiff.

I...I think..." she started, feeling her blood rush to her head.

"I think... I'm going to be pretty bummed out if I die here, guys. Still... still gotta see that damned wedding."

She closed her eyes and drifted into unconsciousness.


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