I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

“So, what are we supposed to do now Sis?” The blonde girl asked her as they walked near a dog park. Alice was wondering if Reginald would like being there, the small dragon-like entity had gone back to sleep after the fight against the shadow man.

Right now he was sleeping transformed into a necklace, “Nothing much to it, it seems that the shadow man can’t track us after whatever happened when we found our names.” Alice answered to her sister.

“Your name you mean, Elzbeth feels weird to me, like something is missing…” The blonde girl answered back, her sister. [The Elemental Weaver] felt right, but as soon as they moved to a more normal name things went wrong. It wasn’t like with her, she had two names one normal and one of a [Hero].

Alice Ashcroft and [The Shadow Empress].

Elzbeth and [The Elemental Weaver].

“Should we check again to see if we show up in another registry?” Alice asked her sister, they had tried that with the registry on Germania to no avail. And then had needed to run away when they tried to incarcerate them for illegal entry.

Not like the excuse of [We have been here since we have memory!] worked, it was true, but also didn’t explain from where they got here.

“I think you could show up on the Izanami records, but your name isn’t very Izanamian…” Elzbeth said while putting her thinking face, it formed a cute frown on her when she started thinking hard, as if she hadn’t done any thinking before, “I look like I could be from Britania or Veritalis I guess? I think I have some noble looks…That or I was a cheerleader, hard to tell.”

Elzbeth did a spin and curtsy while speaking, they had learned to change the composition and form of their clothes, so while they still were wearing mana clothes, at least it wasn’t that obvious that they hadn’t changed clothes in months.

“You do look gorgeous Sis…wish I had some of that plot,” Alice said with a whisper as she looked at her own chest, it was…not flat, but there wasn’t much plot in her.

“You still are the prettiest sister a girl could have!” Elzbeth said in a cherry tone hugging the arm of the black-haired girl. “And I’m sure my name will come soon enough, probably I’m a Mary or a Beatrice or some kind of fancy name blondes have nowadays anyway, wonder how it matches with your Aschroft name tho.”

And that was the most important question of all, if Alice was an Ashcroft, then would Elzbeth be one too? Or was the relationship not one of sisters but friends? She didn’t think it was a simple one, but while she felt care and love for the blonde girl, it wasn’t quite to the point of romantic interest.

Alice wasn’t sure if Elzbeth felt the same, but at least, to her. Elzbeth was closer to a sister than anything, the best friend she could have, but she didn’t look at the other girl with that kind of eyes.

“I still think Elzbeth is one that fits you, probably it's closer to that. Perhaps Eloise? Elise? El-something?” Alice said as they came near a taxi station.

There seemed to be some kind of ruckus nearby as people ran from place to place, there were even some cops and TV stations filming.

“I’m sorry girls, but the area has been closed, there was a Mana Discharge a few weeks ago and we are still cleaning the area.” A cop came to stop them and showed them some pictures of three girls. “Have you seen them? They are victims and are missing from the area. They should be a tourist like you two actually.”

“I haven’t seen them.” Her sister answered first, she showed some interest in the picture and even took a closer look, “Say…can we take this one? To check with some acquaintances?”

“Sure, we have copies. If you find them send them to the closest hospital, this…this was a nasty Mana Bomb, we need to find the culprits. We are already dealing with [The Shadow Tide] and now this?” The cop mumbled as he turned to look back, “None of the victims has woken up yet…And [The Nine Stars] even declared this was closer to what happened to those around [The Advent] a year ago. So they should wake up soon…But still,..”

They kept speaking for a few minutes after that, mostly random questions Elzbeth came up about the incident and how the victims could deal with the problem. Alice was busy thinking about other things, namely the picture.

“Sis, you really should try to disguise your obvious interest. The cop was wondering if we knew them or not.” Elzbeth said bringing her back away from the picture of those three smiling girls. “She does have nice looks right?”

“Elzbeth, that is you,” Alice said pointing at the blonde girl in the picture, the date was around a couple of weeks ago. “Where we were at this time?”

“I think it was when you woke up screaming in the morning about something coming?” Elzbeth said bringing back a notebook from within her space inventory, a fancy spell she found that allowed her to create a separate space to store things. They hadn’t found how it worked, so it was mostly used for disposable things. Lest they lose something important. “Yep, it was when you woke me up screaming about someone coming, marked here as [Alice had a nightmare, check on later.]”

“....Right, so you if you were with me…who is this girl? And the other girls?” Alice said turning her attention to the other two girls with the twin of Elzbeth.

On the right was a pink-haired girl smiling while clinging to the second Elzbeth, she seemed quite happy and was biting her lips in this picture, the second Elzbeth wasn’t paying attention to her, she was, speaking with the third girl. A red-haired girl with quite the tomboy style.

“I bet you today’s lunch that this girl has a thing for my twin there.” Elzbeth said with a smirk as she pointed to the pink-haired one, “I mean, to be fair she is, like me, quite the looker.”

“Be serious Elzbeth, this could be our ticket back to get our memories, if she really looks like this. Then maybe she is your sister…And I’m…” Alice said turning to her sister, only to find her scowling at her.

“No. YOU are my sister. She may look like me, but she wasn’t with me when we woke up in that basement with the shadow man. She wasn’t with me running for our lives, she wasn’t with me helping me sleep while I was too scared of shadows…” Elzbeth said in a serious tone, her eyes betraying no doubt. “She wasn’t the one to teach me that shadows could be great things and not only something to fear.”

Elzbeth took the picture from her and with a pen drew a circle around the blonde on it. “ She was messing around with her friends/lovers while you were with me. You are my only sister, if you got lost I would be worried sick searching for you, and I know you would do the same for me.”

That…was true.

“But this bimbo? This girl? She is messing around with her friends/lovers.” Elzbeth seemed angry at the idea of being her relative. “At least till we meet her, for me. You are the only sister I have. This? This is at best a doppelganger.”

“...And if she is your true sister?” Alice asked, she wasn’t sure what to think of this situation, the fact that there was a girl who was almost the split image of Elzbeth was weird.

“Then I will have a favorite sister and a twin.” Elzbeth said dismissively, “The fact that she doesn’t have a cute Alice with her is minus points in my book, instead she has pink hair and tomboy. I mean, not even a man in sight? With those looks? Oh well, can’t blame her for her tastes I guess…”

“You seem very sure that she is into girls…Are you…?” Alice wasn’t quite sure why her sister was so fixated on this point.

“I mean…I wouldn’t mind experimenting here and there, but I don’t think I’m into girls. Wanna test?” Elzbeth smirked at her.

“While this is cute and all…What are you two even doing?” Only to be surprised by the voice of a blue-haired girl around their age.

“You spokeed them, I told you we needed to come with our [Shifts].” A fourth voice spoke behind the girl, this was a black-haired girl who was somewhat shorter. Alice couldn’t help but feel a sense of sisterhood with the girl. For they both had the same problem on their chest.

“I mean…but it wouldn’t be fair to them Lexi, we already know their civilian identities…kinda…” The blue-haired girl said to the black-haired one.

“Fine, but we should move somewhere else for this Luna.” The black-haired one said, then turned to Alice and Elzbeth and said, “Alice, [Elemental Weaver]. Come with us, we need to talk.”

And started walking away into an alley, it was somewhat dark and hidden from the main street, but the other blue-haired girl didn’t seem to mind it and started walking after Lexia.

“Should we…?” Alice said to Elzbeth, the blonde girl seemed to have stars in her eyes as she looked at the other two strangers walk away. “Please don’t….”

“Mysterious girls speaking to us after we find a crime with a look-alike to me? Of course, we must! The plot thickens Alice!” Her sister cheered as she took notes about this, “ONWARDS TO THE PLOT!”

And with her war cry, her sister ran after the two very mysterious and ominous girls, why was her sister like this? It was at times like this that she really wondered if they were sisters or not…Then she couldn’t help but smile at the answer she came to.

“Onwards to mystery and beyond…” And walked after her sister, if she didn’t who would have her back?

Walking into mystery was…lackluster to be honest, the dark alley they walked in was not what she expected, granted there was trash around and some graffiti, but that was about it, no dead bodies or vagrants.

“Okay, so first of all…What do you know about the terrorist attack [Weaver]?” The blue-haired girl said first when they caught up to them.

“That someone detonated a mana bomb?” Elzbeth answered with a confused expression on her face, “And that these three girls are missing?”

“Rossaline Singh, Watanabe Rena, and…” Lexia said going through a folder that manifested after a magic circle, “...Elizabeth Starbright.”

That made Alice wince in pain as the name resounded in her mind, she noticed her sister likewise had winced at that, was that…

“Ouch, that hurt…So is this Elizabeth girl…A single daughter?” Elzbeth asked as she nursed her head. Weird, she hadn’t winced like this when they found out their respective names. At that time only each had reacted to a single name.

“...an orphan, why do you ask? Do you know her?” Luna asked back at them.

Really?

“...We don’t know her…but…are you serious? Can’t you see why we are interested?” Alice asked dumbfounded, “Also who are you people? Why do you know about us? Shouldn’t this be something for... I don’t know, Magical Girls? Heroes?”

“....Did we not whitelist them?” Luna asked the black-haired girl.

“...I did not, didn’t think you would speak to them in civilian form.” Answered Lexia with a sigh as she summoned a…Teddy Bear? “President, please whitelist these two girls.”

“[Whitelisting Shadow Empress and Elemental Weaver.]”

The bear spoke in a deep voice, and when it finished speaking a deluge of memories came crashing down on her, memories of [Law Bringer Sentinel] and [Lunar Shade], and the parallels between those two girls and these two.

“...You are way shorter and less endowed on this form.” Was the first thing Alice said as she looked at Luna. No..at [Law Bringer Sentinel].

“gah!” Luna only said that while blushing at the statement, “That does not matter! Quick, tell us what you know about these girls!”

That was very important to Alice, if she could…get better assets with the [Shift] spell, perhaps she should try to learn it too? They could tamper with their clothing as they wished, so perhaps it could be possible?

She too wanted to be better endowed like her sister….

“I mean, this blonde girl here?” Elzbeth started speaking, “She looks like me, as in exactly like me.”

Both Luna and Lexia stared at the picture, then at her sister…Then back at the picture.

“....She does? Doesn’t that girl seem more…plain? “ Luna said comparing both girls with a projection made from magic.

“[Weaver] seems to shine more, while this girl seems more normal. She is good-looking, but not to the same degree…envy.” Lexia said at the side comparing both girls too.

“...They look exactly the same.” Alice said pointing out, “Look, same eyes, nose, lips, hair, face, boobs, waist, everything is the same!”

“...But it is?” Luna asked looking at both of them. “Not gonna lie, but your sister seems prettier.”

“Oh gosh, thank you.” Elzbeth smiled taking the compliments.

“...Whitelist…[Weaver] adds us to your [Whitelist].” Lexia suddenly said. “This isn’t your real form, right? but another [Shift] if not we wouldn’t know you were a [Magical Girl].”

….What?

“Sure, how do I do it?” Elzbeth quickly answered. “Add these two kind and smart girls to the whitelist!”

Elzbeth suddenly said and…nothing really happened.

“It didn’t work,” Elzbeth said turning her head to Lexia.

“You need to focus your magic, I channel most of my spells with a focci. In this case, I use Mister President.” Lexia said summoning once more his teddy bear.

A focci?

“Do you use a focci Elzbeth?” Alice asked her sister, she had never seen her use anything like that.

“No? I just…point the mana in the right direction?” Elzbeth said pointing at Lexia only for a burst of mana to come from her finger at Lexia, from there the bolt of lightning jumped at Luna before she could react. “....Sorry?”

Her sister only said as such while she quickly hid her finger away from both girls, staring at it in wonder and pointing it at a trash can, nothing happened.

“....well, she does look like you [Weaver]. So care to tell us what were you doing at the time of this picture?” Lexia spoke in a serious tone, trying to not pay too much attention to the remnants of electricity on her body.

“...we were sleeping at the time of the picture, we know for certain since I had night terrors and woke up scared,” Alice answered before Elzbeth could say anything. “We mostly sleep in the mornings, and travel during the afternoon or night if needed.”

“We just got to this city this morning and were looking for a place to crash when we got there.” Elzbeth added from the side, “A nice officer gave us the picture since he thought that we were tourists and would know of them.”

“And then you meet us and found that your true form is like Elizabeth Starbright.” Luna answered back, “Miss…Elzbeth…?”

“....She is my sister, so if my name is Alice Ashcroft then wouldn’t my sister be called Elzbeth Ashcroft?” Alice quickly added in defense of her sister.

“But is that your name? We aren’t whitelisted by you yet are we?” Luna said as her eyes turned from black to azure, her form shone in blue light as her clothes [Shifted] to her [Magical Girl Regalia]. “Shadows have a good way of hiding information, so please Alice. [Whitelist us].”

….It all came down to that? But…

“Fine…” Alice said as she took a deep breath, one hand over the pendant as she closed her eyes and prayed within her mind, trying to imagine what kind of thing was her focci. What did she focus on when using her powers?

What could be her trigger? What was what she used to call upon her power? The power of [The Shadow Empress]?

“Heed my call those that dwell within this world…” The words started flowing from her mouth witouth her input, “...open the gates into the underworld. Grant safe passage to those that wish to peer into the darkness…” Wasn’t that ominous?

It sounded ominous.

“Bring the truth to those that wish to know, and warn them…For not all those that wander upon the shadows are monsters.” The words finished so Alice opened her eyes.

What she found was the shocked expressions of Luna and Lexia, and the starry-eyed eyes of her sister. “THAT.WAS.AWESOME!” Followed by the jump-hug of her sister. “Your shadow started to expand around in a web-like form catching all of us. Then we couldn’t move, at all and could only stare as from within your shadows small tendrils climbed upon our bodies and seemed to mesh with our mana, and, and…”

“What your sister means to say…” Lexia said as she shuddered as her clothes shifted back to normal, “...Is that whatever you did Alice Ashcroft seemed to do more than a mere [Whitelist].”

“...I…What happened to [The American Crusader]? [The Stardust Weaver]? Why did we forget? No I mean, we knew that they were heroes…But…why did we forget their human past?” Luna said aloud walking in circles. “And why does a lone [Villain] have the key to those memories? No wait, why did I not recognize her? I knew she was walking around [The Hydra’s Fang]!”

Luna seemed to be having a breakdown.

No wait.

“I was with who? Who was I!?!? Was my sister there?!?!?” Alice said as the shadows seemed to tremble with her mood. Weird.

“Yes, you both were there…but…never together. I met you there as you were walking towards [The Hydra’s Fang] hideout. Then I met you again as you stalked around [Elemental Weaver] in your [Shadow Empress] form.” Lexia answered.

“And I met [Elemental Weaver] while she was flying with…a pink-haired Magical Girl…” Luna said as she turned to look at the picture again, “Which I guess is this one even if I can’t match the faces. Goddamned [Security Nodes].”

“And I want to know what is happening here to make two not S-Tier entities be able to remember about [The American Crusader] and his wife.” A new voice spoke from atop the building.

A new blue-haired woman peering down on them.

“Is she your friend?” Alice asked to Luna, the only one who shared hair color with the new woman.

“....[Law Bringer Shift].” “[Lunar Shift]”

“We are on an active investigation under the blessing of Germania, please identify yourself lest you be deemed a threat and marked as such.” The [Law Bringer Sentinel] spoke as she summoned her rifle.

“sis…we may need to…run.” Elzbeth said as her back was drenched in cold sweat.

“No, I don’t think I will be doing that. Or tell you what.” The woman said as she disappeared from there and reappeared sitting on a chair five meters away from them. “I will answer your question if you answer me…What are doing two [Echoes] walking as nothing, and how did they get those bodies.”

Two what?

Why was she staring at her and Elzbeth like that?

“And more importantly…How did they get those bodies? And where is Elizabeth Starbright?” The Woman said and as if something was breaking Alice felt her web snap. And with that, the response of Luna and Lexia made sense, why her sister wanted to run made sense.

In front of them wasn’t a [Human] no…

“So? What will it be? Will you explain where you got those [Bodies]? Just because you look like my baby sister doesn’t mean I will not restrain myself. [My Hero] asked me to look after her. And you parading around using that appearance….” The [Monster] said as her mana climbed more and more. It was becoming suffocating…

Was…was this how the mana terrorism happened?

She…They…[Reginald….]....Help....