An actress in our midst! (web version)

It probably would have been smarter to run away. To leave the battlefield as soon as it started. But Rick couldn’t help himself. After all, Jessica, the actress who was supposed to be playing Tepes, had just pulled out Tepes’ actual magical spear and began using magic.

And then Erika and Devola transformed into Pretty Flame and Frost – who they were also supposed to only be playing – and began fighting by her side. Rick wasn’t sure what was boggling his mind more, the fact that his friends had been the magical girls and a demon general this whole time, the fact that they happily played themselves in a school play, or that a demon general and the magical girls were fighting by each other's side!

Things quickly got hectic as more demons appeared, and the other magical girls – as well as some four suspicious demon minions who must have been working for Tepes – appeared from somewhere and joined the fight. Even freaking Cody pulled out some apparently magical bow and started shooting things. Was everyone secretly a demon or a magical girl here?!

If it weren’t for the other actors ushering him away, Rick would have probably been incinerated by all the magic being thrown around. But he still didn’t run away. No. He, along with Hellen, Alice, and a couple other people from the club hid behind the curtains and watched the three fights develop.

One had Pretty Frost pull out a demonic sword and become some kind of magical girl slash demon hybrid, another had the four mysterious demon minions fight a demon who was apparently possessing the singer from The Sweet Lemons band. And the last fight was Tepes, Flame, and Bloom against a man who looked like the old general Forneus.

“What the fuck…” Hellen whispered as the group watched on. “I have so many questions…”

Rick did too. Although at least one of his prior questions had been answered.

“Three out of five… That’s what she meant…” he murmured to himself, still dazed from the display. “Motherfucker…”

Before he could recover from all the shock, the fights seemed to have ended with all three possessed people sealed in gray chunks of ice. And Jessica… Tepes was looking straight at him. She looked pissed. Rick froze in place like a deer in the headlights even as she, along with the Flame, Bloom, and Frost, made their way back inside and in his direction. Spark, Cody and the four minions joined them as well once they got inside.

Then Tepes transformed into Jessica – who was still cosplaying as Tepes – as they approached. Jessica took off her mask and shouted something at one of her minions. They all seemed to be in a heated discussion, in fact. It was quite the bizarre sight to see the demon minions conversing with the magical girls and seemingly telling them what to do.

Once they got closer, though, Jessica looked straight into Rick’s eyes, and her overflowing annoyance seemed to abate for a second as she put on a grin.

“Hey, you know what, Rick?”

Rick startled, before lifting his numb hand and pointing at himself. Jessica raised an eyebrow, making him feel like an idiot. Of course she was talking to him.

“Uh… Y-yeah…?” he managed to stammer out.

“You were right.” She gave him a solemn nod.

“I… I was…?”

“Yeah. I do kiiinda look like Tepes.” Her grin widened.

Rick’s jaw went slack. He had absolutely no idea how to retort to that. Part of him thought Jessica had become a demon general for the sole purpose of pulling off this one exact punchline. It would definitely fit with the girl he knew.

He heard a snort behind him from one of the other club members.

Flame, on the other hand, let out a long-suffering sigh. “Jessica…”

“Right, right… My life’s in danger and all that crap.” Jessica groaned. “Well, you guys go deal with the police and shit. We’re gonna go to the clubroom and concoct a backup plan.” She nodded to the magical girls, prompting them to go outside to wait for the police. She then gestured to Cody and the four minions to follow.

“Wait, wait. Your life’s in danger?!” Hellen startled in alarm.

Jessica turned to her, cocking an eyebrow. “Well, yeah. Obviously. I had a whole audience not only see me transform, screwing over my secret identity, but also watch me fight on the magical girls’ side. Three guesses as to what will happen when the news of me being a traitor reaches the demon king.”

“Oh…”

Rick felt a chill go down his spine.

Sure, he bickered with Jessica sometimes, she was arrogant, rude, and a massive troll to boot… But that didn’t mean he wanted her dead, dammit. Even if she was a freaking demon general.

By the time he shook himself out of his stupor, Jessica and her minions plus Cody were already headed off to the clubroom, some of the club members trailing behind them. Rick followed.

He wasn’t really sure what he was going to do. Going home would be the smart thing to do… but there was exactly zero percent chance he would do that after everything that had happened.

He could hear the police sirens in the distance as they made it to the clubroom.

Jessica breathed in and let out a long tired sigh.

“Well, now… What to do… What to do…” she murmured to herself as she put a hand on her chin and stalked across the room over to the pile of her casual clothes.

“Well, for starters… How about you finally share all the details, so that we can help figuring it out?” one of the minions – the one with the orange zero on her mask – suggested. “It’s not like you’re all alone in this, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah. The time for mysterious secrets is over. I get it.” Jessica rolled her eyes as she picked up her casual clothes. Then a glint flashed in her eye and she grinned at the other club members. “Hey, y’all wanna see a cool trick?”

Rick and the others glanced at each other before Alice asked with some trepidation, “Trick…?”

“Yeah… Check this out!” She lifted the clothes in one hand before they shimmered and disappeared in a whirl of blackness. Then she spun around, a familiar black mist covering her for a moment, and as she finished with her little spin, and the dark mist dispersed, she was wearing her casual clothes, and the drama club-made Tepes outfit was in her hands.

There were some claps and ooh’s, but apparently, her minions were having none of that.

“Jessica… I know what you’re doing,” the minion with the zero said, deadpan. “Stop distracting yourself. This is serious.”

“Well, what do you want me to do, Ol?!” Jessica suddenly shouted, her carefree attitude instantly replaced with desperate anger out of nowhere. “I’m fucked! It’s over! The more I think about it, the more certain I am! And the worst part is that I agreed to this! Hell, I fucking suggested it!”

That brought everyone present up short. An outburst like this was very unlike Jessica. She normally just bulldozed over everything with a nonchalant attitude, but now…

“Oh! I know! How about I play the traitor!” she began, pitching her voice to be sickly-sweet. “I’ll be the one communicating with both the demon lord and the magical girls while working on the solution! And if it ever gets out, you can just call me a traitor and throw me to the wolves!” she finished, her last words turning harsh.

“Fucking… stupid past me. Completely dumb. Utterly retarded–!”

Slap.

The zero minion slapped Jessica, stunning everyone into silence.

“Wh–” Jessica gasped out as she touched her red cheek. “Wh…”

Before she could say anything back though, the minion hugged her, causing a total whiplash of emotions.

“Jess… It’s fine. It’s okay. We’re gonna figure it out. It’s not over yet,” she cooed. “You’ve been stressing yourself out a ton lately, haven’t you? Your club activities… Your duties as a general… Your sparring sessions with us and Devola… Your secret research project with the demon lord… When was the last time you just sat down and relaxed…?”

Jessica screwed her eyes shut as she shuddered. The tears poured out of her eyes anyway.

“F-fuck you… Ol’ lady…” she whimpered as the sobs started.

This was the first time Rick, and probably anyone in the club, had seen Jessica cry.