AnnouncementTW: violence, injury, really bad depressive episode, mention of involuntary detransition

  A dark, red portal opened from up above, from which a sudden fsh of light streamed into view, illuminating the atrium.

  “Turning darkness into illuminating light, one step at a time. Magical Girl Autumn has arrived!” The magical girl roared as she flew across the atrium with a greatsword donned with a red crystal bde and gold accents, tackling my attacker, sending her reeling across the marble floor, a field of debris forming around her as she halted.

  I froze in pce. Overwhelmed by the scene, I couldn’t run. The run command simply did not process in my brain and the only thing that did process was to stare timidly, shiver in fear, heart beating in my chest.

  She had a simir frilly dress to the girl who attacked me, but it was red with bck accents instead of all bck. It was complimented by a v-neck bck cloak that was half-open, parted from the chest down, and had an emerald jewelry piece on her chest, serving as the sole button connecting the two halves of her cloak. As she flew across, I noticed a silver, circur logo resembling the letter “C” with a sword going down the middle on the back of her cloak. Besides the dress and weapon, she possessed long, red hair, and small, pastel red angelic wings.

  Suddenly, an EMP-like field exploded beneath the magical girl’s feet as she nded, catching her by surprise, where she was thrown back a few meters, her feet sliding elegantly against the marble as she skidded to a stop, unfazed. The girl who attacked me—let’s call her evil girl for now because I don’t know her alias—floated above, summoning pieces of the earth and rubble from beneath her and shot them towards magical girl Autumn—towards me, as I happened to be dead center between the two, the monkey in the middle.

  I strafed out of the way as the rubble hurled towards me, managing to avoid most of the attack yet still got struck by some pieces of stone and concrete. My body hurled towards the floor, as I winced and yelped in pain.

  Looking back up, the two stared daggers at one other, weapons raised, waiting for the other to make the first move while I was virtually ignored.

  Evil girl muttered something under her breath, raising her staff towards the magical girl, an annoyed expression forming on her face. With haste, she gave a fierce battle cry and charged forward, dark green magic trailing behind her. As her staff collided with Autumn’s greatsword, a blinding, mint green beam of psma exploded. I shut my eyes and looked away from the fight for a second, wincing and seething my teeth at the bruises I’d accumuted. Autumn looked on as nonchantly as ever, making unwavering eye contact with Evil Girl. Raising her left hand, Autumn bsted out a dark red hexagonal translucent shield approximately three times the size of herself, perfectly countering the beam in return and refracting it in a flurry of directions. I briefly looked away again, unable to bear sight to a brightness my pupils couldn’t adapt to.

  With her free hand, Autumn shouted in what I assumed was magical girl nguage and raised her greatsword, pointing it at Evil Girl, releasing an accelerating wave of red energy in return.

  “Surrender yourself now before more people are harmed! Including you!” Autumn commanded.

  Evil girl gave a vilinous ugh Autumn’s order. “I don’t take orders from you, you dumb bitch. I cannot fathom your stupidity from that statement. You are completely oblivious to the nature of my existence. I am a god! A fucking god!” She screamed hysterically, taking a pause to cackle at her own perceived superiority. Evil girl materialized a cluster of psma energy spheres that floated around her, and hurled them towards Autumn. Autumn easily deflected them in return with her holographic shield.

  “Gods don’t bring harm upon this earth and its people. We can still fix things between us, if you surrender! There’s still a chance to improve!” Autumn persuaded.

  “Your negotiations are futile compared to the purpose I serve.”

  “And that purpose is?” Autumn implored.

  “You take me for an idiot.” Evil girl ughed, pausing for dramatic effect. “Why the fuck would I tell you?”

  Autumn opened her mouth to ask another question, but before she could negotiate further, two more tears in space fabric materialized from up above, contrasting the bright skylights with two sparkly blobs.

  Out came two more magical—no, a guy and girl. Reinforcements for Autumn, it seems. The duo fshed down elegantly from where they’d appeared, wearing a simir style of uniform as magical girl Autumn. Each carried a sleek, silver futuristic rifle and had a mix of red/bck body armor covering their entire self (including a tinted helmet), unlike the wings and staff that Autumn has. They nded on either side of Autumn, who instantly shouted some orders, which they proceeded to follow.

  Evil girl’s lips twitched as she scanned the atrium, assessing the situation, and frowned. She knows it's a 1v3 now, not a 1v1 anymore.

  “Surrender yourself now, and we will spare your life!” The guy reinforcement said, raising his rifle and aimed it at Evil Girl, with his amplified voice coming from a loudspeaker attached to his chest. With no response from Evil Girl, the girl reinforcement persuaded further. “Listen. We will not harm you in our custody. You do not want to wait around for the police to come and detain you. Trust me, when they do that body search and see all your magical weapons, eyebrows will be raised. Not to mention if they find out about your magical abilities, your next stop will be in a cssified science nexus, shoved into a tiny experimental holding cell for extrapnar entities. Consider your options when you still have a chance! Don’t make a decision you’ll regret down the line!”

  Evil girl completely ignored their cries, seemingly deeming them as not a threat. She focused back on Autumn. carefully watching her with narrow eyes, making the two reinforcement’s requests completely irrelevant. They continued their battle as the guy reinforcement sighed audibly, stowing his rifle away into its sheath on his back.

  “Wait. Look over there.” The girl reinforcement said, making direct eye contact with me. “A civilian. And she looks injured. What is she doing here?”

  They quickly rushed towards me, weaving through the battlefield of beams and psma pulses as they crossed from the other side of the atrium.

  As they came to my side, where I was still downed around a small barrier of debris, both of them rained down a barrage of questions. “Who are you and what are you doing here? What’s your name? You’re hurt. How long ago did this cut appear? You’re bleeding heavily.” They said, overpping each other as they talked. They guided me behind cover and gently sat me against a wall, pulling out some medical supplies from some pouches on their vest. As they started treating my bruises, I forgot that I was hurt at all due to the adrenaline I was feeling. After patching me up, and expining to me that the bandages were magically enchanted which dulled the pain I was feeling, I began expining myself to answer some of those questions..

  “Okay so-“

  I was immediately cut off by one of them. “Cmon, let’s get out of here first. It’s too dangerous to be here.” They dragged me to my feet, each supporting my arms on either side.

  I resisted as they attempted to tug me. “I can’t leave, I’m need to find my friend! She went to the washroom but I think she got lost in the chaos of the crowd leaving and I’m really really concerned.” I protested.

  “Maybe she already left with the crowd. Did you try contacting her via cell phone?”

  Maybe she did. I pulled out my phone and flipped through my call and message history, checking messages from other social media apps too. Then I facepalmed as I’d never gotten her a phone to begin with. That will be one of many necessities that need to be taken care of after I find her. “She left her phone at home, I don’t think she brought it.” I lied.

  “Let us take you to safety, please. And don’t go to the hospital, they’ll see your magic-infused injuries and that will raise eyebrows. And definitely not the police. The gauze and bandages we applied will be sufficient in treating your injuries to make it as if they’d never happened in the first pce. Don’t mention todays events to anyone.”

  “Oh and when you get home, get some rest. Like lying on the bed kind of rest.” The other magical reinforcement person said.

  I nodded, energy levels too spent to argue, and pointed to the general direction of where I’d came from. We proceeded to walk in a steady pace in said direction when a crackle came over the mall’s intercom. “Attention shoppers. This mall is currently under lockdown and is closed. Please evacuate the area in a calm and orderly manner. Law enforcement will be arriving shortly. If you are asked to surrender, do so slowly and without hesitation, for both your safety and theirs. Thank you for your cooperation.”

  “Shit, we need to hurry.” One of them said.

  We picked up our pace as I tried to remember where exactly I parked my car. This section of mall was unrecognizable from all the shattered gss to the exposed wiring and rebar on the shattered concrete walls to the glitching, once-vibrant neon white storefront signs and plush furniture ying in piles on the ground.

  The scenery changed when we entered a different, more untouched section of the mall, away from where the standoff was happening. I recognized the cute shop where I’d bought all my clothes earlier and from there I had an epiphany: I suddenly remembered exactly how to retrace my steps back to the underground parking lot as if I were rewinding time itself. “I a-hundred-percent remember the way now. I shopped at this store earlier with my friend.” I led the way, staying a few feet ahead of my two saviors.

  Without warning, someone outside my peripheral vision shouted “FREEZE!” and I froze, hearing a bunch of feet shuffling and people speaking into radios from behind me. “Three suspects located. Two armed. Apprehending them now.” Looking back, I saw an array of fshlights shining down at the two magical girls, who faced them with their weapons drawn, creating a barrier between me and the light source. Narrowing my eyes, I noticed the riot shields and battle rifles pointed towards us.

  “POLICE DEPARTMENT! Put your weapons down NOW and slowly raise your hands!” An officer shouted through a megaphone at the two rifle-wielding magical persons.

  Nonono this is exactly what we don’t want! Fuck what do I can’t move-

  “Civilian girl, our legal team knows how to deal with w enforcement but you don’t have that sort of protection.” The girl reinforcement spoke grimly, handing me a handgun. “Take this and get the hell outta here. We’ll hold them off for as long as we can. Don’t worry about us and don’t look back.”

  A voice came from behind us. “What the fuck are you doing? I said, put your hands up over your head and kneel down!”

  Nodding once, I took the handgun and sprinted forward automatically, without thinking, away from the police and the fight. “Okay, okay. We surrender!” I heard from a distance as I heard their weapons ctter on the ground, buying me time to get into a fire escape stairwell and rush down to the underground parking floor.

  Pulling out of the mall, without Ellie in the passenger seat was distressing. Police cars surrounded the front entrance, so I left through one of the less used side entrances. I’m shaking a real lot right now, I observed, looking down at my visibly shaken hands tightly gripping the steering wheel with beads of cold sweat running down them. Only when my adrenaline and fight or flight systems calmed a few minutes ter did my anxiety and emotions spike in repcement as the day’s events began flowing back into my mind.

  ~ Joanna ~

  I dialed Zoey’s phone number after running around the mall for what felt like ten minutes, as per Amber’s orders. I watched my surroundings as I waited for the call to go through, tapping the back of my phone anxiously. People were running towards exits, shopkeepers were locking their storefronts and joining the evacuating crowd, and the security team were struggling to maintain peace and order. A voice came over the mall’s announcement system right as Zoey picked up. “Attention shoppers—“

  “Girl did you find anything?” I hastily asked.

  “Nothing here. And I’m guessing you didn’t either?”

  “Nope. Nuh uh.”

  “Okay, let’s regroup back at the atrium.”

  “Wait, do you think we should evacuate? Cuz like, everyone else is?”

  “No Joanna, we gotta get Amber. Have you like called her yet?”

  “Not yet—“

  “Okay, call her now to see if she has any updates. Something’s going on, with everyone evacuating and such.”

  “Mkay. See you in 10.” I hung up the call and immediately dialed Amber’s contact on my phone. The dial tone ringed repeatedly without any response. “Please leave a message at 8-2-6—“

  “I guess I’ll ask her once I get there.” I said to absolutely no one, pressing the red hang up button.

  ~ Zoey ~

  I ended my call with Joanna and adopted a jogging pace, weaving around chaotic groups of people pushing and shoving towards the outside. Step 1 after all this is over. Work on better team coordination. And maybe train with Amber for step 2, since we have not developed any sort of synergy between our combat abilities and magical specialities yet.

  If that monster specimen from Amber’s tablet actually gained enough magical energy to materialize, then that must be the reason why everyone’s evacuating. Looking up at a sign, I headed towards the direction called ‘South Atrium Wing.’ Five more minutes.

  —

  Entering the south atrium was like entering a post-apocalyptic movie set, except this was completely real. Amber—-er, Magical Girl Autumn, was pacing around with a worried look on her face. Her clothing and armor were slightly damaged and dirtied.

  “What happened?” I asked, walking over. “This pce literally looks like it’s been uprooted by a tornado. Are you okay?”

  “I’ll tell you ter. First, we need to get outta here before local w enforcement arrives. Give me your hand.” I did as she asked, just as Joanna arrived from the opposite side of where I came from. We exchanged a quick hello and, with the three of us holding hands, we descended into the ground through a dark purple void.

  ~ Maddie ~

  I felt drained as I opened the door to my dark apartment. Nobody’s home..? Huh, Zoey and Joanna are still on that girls night out I think. If I only went with them… Ellie might still be in my bedroom right now. The sun had already set outside and it was near pitch bck, and I was in no mood for dinner.

  I entered my bedroom and face pnted on the bed, feeling truly alone again, as I did a few days ago before Ellie appeared in my life.

  And I’d lost all of my shopping bags too. So much for the shopping trip that was supposed to be a good day.

  It feels as though life is tormenting me. It’s like it pretends to make it as though things are finally getting better, then proceeds to do a complete 180 and make things worse than how they’d begun. As if some supernatural being was pulling the strings for the sole purpose of their enjoyment.

  I sat up from my bed, and ughed a bitter ugh. “Are you happy now? Seeing me suffer?” I asked the wall in front of me.

  I wiped my face. Of course they’d come. I’ve gotten so used to crying it doesn’t even bother me anymore. The pain I felt became so constant I’d gotten so used to it, but this time, it was betraying.

  I hugged my pillow and allowed the tears to flow, crying softly and inaudibly. A practice I’d mastered so nobody else could hear me.

  After some time had passed, I’d calmed down a little, and stood up. My pillow was stained with makeup and I figured my face was too, in streaks of where my tears had ruined them. And then I noticed something as I looked further down at myself. “Wait… my neckce?” I noted as an idea appeared in my head. Ellie said we were bound by this neckce right? “Yeah. Huh, yeah,” I nodded to no one. I grabbed the crystal on my neckce and said, “Take me to where Ellie is.”

  The neckce glowed and flourished a wave of thoughts into my head. Where Ellie was. I knew exactly where to go.

  With the pn set in stone, I went ahead and grabbed my keys and a hoodie, then stopped abruptly mid-grab. “What if she left me? Like on purpose? She probably doesn’t want anything to do with me after realizing how many issues I had and all the problems I’m dealing with. It’s too much even for me, why did I think she could help, with that much weight I put on her it’s understandable, like I would leave too. Why couldn’t I just like, live a different life? Like go to life customer support and say, I don’t wanna live this life anymore. Give me a better one. Or a refund.”

  I sat back down on my bed again, and felt the crystal urge me. It was warm to the touch and no matter what I did it wouldn’t stop glowing, and I couldn’t afford taking it off as it, well, it’ll stop giving me a feminine body. Well no choice now right? I’d already asked the crystal to do this for me. I pushed my negative thoughts away and headed down to where my car was parked in the parking lot.

  —

  Our downtown wasn’t much of a downtown. Main street was the one with the tallest buildings (5 stories at most), followed by a couple perpendicur intersections named from 1st to 6th street. There was a pza, a few restaurants, a movie theater, and a bowling alley, all within a minute’s walk away from one another. Typical college town stuff. The more exciting attractions—the mall and the golf course—were farther from town, around a 30 minute highway drive further from here.

  Sigh, Great job on distracting yourself with thoughts, Maddie. Keep thinking about other things, so I can avoid stressing about right now.

  What did stress me a little bit was that it was now pitch bck outside, which consequently increased the difficulty of my mission.

  The light green guidance trail I’d been following for the past 15 minutes stopped abruptly in the middle of the street. Pulling over, and grabbing my gun just in case since I was a girl alone and outside at night, I got out of my car. I did a 360 and scanned around. No Ellie. Maybe she was in a building somewhere? or in that pyground over there? Or somewhere in that parking lot? I thought as I scanned around. How accurate was this magical guidance system? 5 feet? 50 feet? I figured it was the tter since, unless Ellie was somehow in the soil beneath the asphalt I was standing on, there was no way she was anywhere near close proximity.

  I kept looking around for a bit when the trail eventually picked back up again. Following the trail, I stopped just short of a dimly lit alleyway.

  I felt creeped out just by peering into the narrow entrance, and anxiety creeped up slowly from my arms to my chest.

  “H-hello?” I called out. The wind rustled back, tossing my hair back ever so slightly. Well, I guess it is what it is. A ‘do or don’t’ situation, per se. I gently took out my gun, and looked at the hand to my right holding it. No shaking. Okay, I’m ready.

  Inhale, and exhale. Inhale, and exhale. I said to myself as I approached the alleyway slowly, checking every crevice, door and window. The only source of light was a dim, sensor-activated mp that startled me when it lit up in my proximity.

  Up ahead, around a slight bend, I could hear the sound of sniffles. Was someone crying?

  Turning the bend, I saw her. Sitting down next to a dumpster, at the steps of the back door behind a dated ramen pce, was a girl, softly crying, head in her hands. She was wearing a bck dress that was tattered and frayed, her hair was messy and disorganized, and her hands and face were covered with speckles of dust and grime.

  It was undeniably Ellie.

  lunamidnight