Force of Magic
by Ewen "Blackibird" Cluney
Chapter 7
"You... WHAT?!" The hospital room seemed to tremble at the
force of the words. Yasuko looked at Haruko in disbelief.
Piyo sighed heavily.
"You could've been killed, you know!" she added.
Haruko nodded, keeping her gaze on the floor. Yasuko was the
one who'd wanted to die, to atone for her sins. "I know."
"Did you have to disintegrate him though?" asked Rob.
She shrugged. "I didn't mean to, I was mad; he shot Mysterious
Pink six times."
Yasuko was gripping the railings along the sides of her bed so
tightly her knuckles turned white. "You have NO right to put
yourself in danger like that, Haruko."
"I know. You're absolutely right." Mama and Papa. Teruo and
Minami. Teruo...
Yasuko blinked. "I am?"
She nodded. Here it came. "That's... that's why I'm quitting."
The room was silent. Haruko carefully removed the pendant, and
set it down before Piyo. She could feel the eyes on her. Yoko,
Yasuko, Ellie, and Rob, all wondering why.
"You said I could go back if I changed my mind." She paused
and took a deep breath. "I... I have. I can't go on like this."
She'd expected Piyo to ask why. She'd even practiced what to
say the night before. But he stood there. He looked at the locket
for a long time, and then looked into her eyes. Those eyes, so
old, so out of place in his tiny body, so knowing.
"If that's what you really want, then I have no choice. I'll
have to find another, I suppose." He glanced back at the others
for a moment. "Do you want to say goodbye to them?"
Haruko shook her head. She didn't want to look, but out of the
corner of her eye she saw Yoko starting to cry. "Nothing to say."
She wouldn't remember it anyway. Maybe she could still be friends
with Yoko, but that was for later. After.
"Alright then. Stand still."
Piyo closed his eyes. Haruko did the same, standing as still
as she could, thinking of the letter she'd written to herself.
There were a few things, like what Goro had told her, and her
decision, that she didn't want to forget. She wondered what it
would be like, to lose memories, even if they were bad ones. Time
passed, until she was startled by a soft thud. She opened her
eyes to see Piyo lying on his side, breathing very slowly. Rob
and Ellie were on either side of him, looking on in dismay.
Ellie rested a trembling paw on Piyo's chest, then removed it.
"Is it possible?"
Rob scowled, looking at Piyo's unconscious form. "I don't
know. It's never happened before. Never. Why now?" A look of
realization played across his features. "Can it be?'
"What's going on?" demanded Yasuko.
Ellie took a deep breath, and shuddered as she spoke. "Piyo...
may have been denied the right to take back Candy Rose's powers.
It's... unheard of. Unspeakable..."
The sensation Haruko felt was like falling -- into a black pit
of despair. Her stomach tied itself into knots. This couldn't be
happening. It _couldn't_. No. Please. It had to end now. No more
Candy Rose ever again. It had been too soon, and far, far too
much. She let herself fall into a chair.
"Is Piyo alright?" asked Yoko, wiping tears from her eyes.
Rob nodded. "His spirit is in Chrysalia now. It seems we have
no choice but to wait for him to return."
Haruko suppressed a sob. Piyo. He'd been the one thing that
had made it almost bearable. He'd be arguing for her, demanding
permission. He wouldn't give up. He couldn't.
Could he?
"Why do you ask this?" Queen Artessa demanded in a level tone.
She was cold and hard, and fixed him with an icy stare. She'd
changed so much.
Piyo met her gaze with his own. "It was her decision. I gave
her my word that she could change her mind, and now she feels she
cannot continue."
"Such insolence cannot be allowed."
He frowned, looking for any hint in her features, but they
might as well have been carved from ice. "Insolence? Magical
girls aren't soldiers. They're volunteers, and I opposed making
them into warriors from the beginning."
"They are soldiers." she replied. "Perhaps it should not be
so, but it is. We have no others."
Piyo's ghostly form became tinged with red. "What are you
planning? Why are you doing this?"
"I see no need to explain myself to you." Her expression
showed the faintest hint of irritation. "And I think you are
overstepping you bounds."
"I am a Companion," he replied, "but I've been one for a long
time. I have more experience than some of your generals. I've
always believed in the fight against the Dark Kingdoms, but I'm
starting to doubt your methods."
Eyes of blue ice regarded him with contempt. "My decision
stands."
This was unheard of. It went against the most basic
principles. And Haruko -- she could _not_ be expected to fight.
After a month she was an emotional wreck, and surely unfit for
fighting. The memory erasure would be a mercy; perhaps it would
undo most of the damage she'd endured. He'd had such high hopes
for her, for Candy Rose, but he'd never wanted to see her hurt
so. The more he thought about it, the more guilt he felt. It had
to stop. He couldn't bend this time.
"Why?" he demanded. "She isn't fit to do the job. If you could
see her eyes, how much she's been hurt--"
"I have decided." said the queen. "There will be no more
discussion."
What was she planning? And why did Haruko -- Candy Rose --
have to be a part of it? It seemed unlikely that Rose was being
singled out, which meant that pure numbers were being gathered.
And he did not like the direction that thought was headed. But he
was powerless to defy Artessa's wishes. "I can't stop you." he
said at last. "But at least say it to her face. She deserves that
much."
"I'd intended to speak to that trio." she replied with a hint
of satisfaction. "They're to receive new orders."
Pretty Cherry and Shining Midnight stood with their respective
companions, transformed into magical girl form according to
custom. Haruko was herself, and intended to stay that way. There
was a chilling breeze in the air, and a full moon hung in the
sky, competing with the sickly yellow glare of the street lamps.
Haruko knew her partners stood behind her, knew their eyes were
on her, but couldn't bring herself to look, to risk meeting their
eyes.
She would at last meet Queen Artessa, ruler of Chrysalia. Piyo
had said the queen would give her answer in person, though his
dour expression made it all too clear what that answer would be.
Rob and Ellie were shocked to hear that the audience had been
granted -- it seemed these were rare in the extreme. The look in
their eyes as they regarded Piyo was nothing short of awe.
Haruko looked at the pendant in her hand and frowned. She
would not cry. Not in front of the queen. There had to be a way
to escape. How could the queen _force_ this on her? It had been
such a simple dream, and it had been twisted so much, so fast.
More than anything, she hoped that the world didn't do that to
every dream, didn't always taint the dream and break the heart of
the dreamer.
The pendant felt dirty, hateful, in the palm of her hand. It
had to stop. It had to.
Before them multicolored motes of light appeared. More and
more came, making a luminous haze. It grew in intensity, becoming
a blinding white haze, and abruptly stopped. A regal woman
hovered there, perfectly still above the roof. She had a harsh,
cold beauty. Dull purple eyes cast a harsh, icy gaze across them.
Pale, straight blue hair reached down her back. Almost-white skin
was covered by an elegant blue and white gown.
Rob and Ellie both made some semblance of a bow, and Cherry
and Midnight gave nervous curtsies. Rose and Piyo stood still, a
pair of stones.
Looking at those eyes as they gazed at her sent a chill down
Haruko's spine. At last, Queen Artessa spoke.
"Magical Girl Candy Rose. Why do you defy me?"
Something about the queen made it hard to speak, to even
breathe. Haruko shuddered with the effort of speaking. "I can't
go on like this. I thought I could do it, but..." She lowered her
head to look away from those cold eyes. "I can't. I just
_can't_."
"I see strength in you." said Artessa. "And we need all the
strength available for what has been set in motion."
Haruko's grip on the pendant tightened. This _had_ to end.
They couldn't _make_ her do this, no matter what. She hurled the
pendant as hard as she could. It flew over the edge of the roof,
and fell to the street below, its sound lost on the breeze. "No."
she whispered.
The queen's neutral expression changed to a slight frown. "You
will be a part of this whether you will it or not. We will crush
our ancient enemies."
"By the creator..." breathed Ellie. "She can't mean..."
Rob scowled, trembling. "Do you have any idea what the
casualties would be in that kind of assault?"
"Of course she does." replied Piyo. "Her Majesty--" he spat
the word as though it were an insult, "--has learned how to
reduce magical girls to a statistic. Disposable heroines."
"What's going to happen?" asked Shining Midnight.
Piyo lowered his head and let out a despairing sigh. "A war."
Queen Artessa nodded. "Call it what you will. We shall destroy
the Dark Kingdom of Krystlan once and for all. And you will
fight. But first you must be trained. To that end you are being
reassigned to the Crystal Crown Training Grounds."
Haruko thought of the discarded locket, and realized that
it didn't really matter. The faint tingle of magic had never
left. Before she could seek another means of escape, the queen
made a sweeping gesture, glowing with magical power. The world
was filled with white light.
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Ewen "Blackbird" Cluney blackbird@earthdome.com
Blackbird's Domain http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/6127/
Knight Kevlar of the Immortal Frog Silver Knight of Mihoshi
"Be nice to me; I might just develop
psychokinetic powers and destroy Tokyo!"
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