You inspect the grief seed curiously as Tooru continues talking dazedly about what she say. It's such a pitiful thing now, the wing broken in half and all the shine covered by black... rust? You rub your thumb across the surface, but none of the black comes off. You frown, and turn it over. There's a pin on the back, strikingly similar to the pin that attaches your medallion to your clothes, but it's closed, and looks stuck in place. Hrm.
You sit down, leaning back against the concrete slope, so that you don't fall, but hesitate to press the seed against your soul gem. It just looks so...
, and evil, your mind is a little repulsed by the thought of touching the thing to your soul. You close your eyes and shake your head a little, chiding yourself. You're just procrastinating, and that's a stupid reason to procrastinate. You press the grief seed against your medallion, and
"Okay, mine was an ace, so I take the whole pile." you say to the angel across from you, feeling a little nervous with how she's been staring blankly at the cards on the table. She looks up at you with a smile and nods, but you can sense that her mind's just... not quite here. A lot like the girl she's based on, really, but in a subtly different way; you don't think the angels really have minds, not like you. They can talk like they're people, and can make simple plans if you tell them to, but you can sense that they're not truly independent. You frown a little and take the whole pile, adding the cards to the bottom of your deck.
You draw a card and flip it over into the center of the table. A five of spades. The angel copies the motion simultaneously, and reveals a six of hearts. She pauses for a second, and you watch carefully as she then takes both cards without you having to say anything. You smile; she is learning! Maybe you can teach her to play games with you! You flip another card, a nine, and she flips over a three. You wait a moment, watching the angel expectantly, but she doesn't take the cards. Yes! You grab both and flip over the next card. You win again, not even bothering to wait for the angel this time as you flip your next card over.
"...What are you doing, Izzy?"
You hear Lucy speak up behind you, a disturbed note in her voice. You look over your shoulder and see that she's wearing an expression that matches her voice.
"Uhm, well, you've been busy, so I thought maybe I could teach one of the angels to play games with me." you say, feeling a little self-conscious. Lucy looks up at the angel, almost identical to her, with an expression that you can't decipher. She doesn't say anything, so you continue, a little bit of hope welling up "She's, uh, she's not very good, so I'd like to play a game with you instead, if you're not still busy?"
"...You're playing War. There's no playing War good or bad."
"Oh, yeah. Well, maybe I could make extra rules, to make it better?"
Lucy just stares back at you with that indecipherable expression, thinking through the offer in her head. Usually she'll play games with you a lot more if you keep coming up with new ways to play. She usually wins more the more you add, but you don't really mind, as long as she spends the time with you, instead of... whatever she does most of the time. You open your eyes wide in the best pleading expression you can make, and she looks away. After a few more long seconds, she sighs and says that she'll play a couple rounds with you, on the condition that you unsummon the angel first. A wide smile breaks out on your face and you immediately agree, turni-
You stare at the grief seed sitting on the plush carpet as your senses come back to you, your mind whirling in confusion. Your hands are shaking, one of them holding your soul gem, still with Izzy's now-inert wing attached to it, and the other... outstretched? You turn the hand over, staring at your palm as if it had suddenly started glowing bright orange. Then it comes back to you: you threw the grief seed away. Because--your eyes return to it, staring at the tiny blackened wing with mounting horror--because it's Izzy, it's what's left of Izzy. And you were starting to consume her!
You cover your eyes with your hands, your still-dark soul gem pressing painfully into your forehead. There's a sudden waterfall of thoughts crashing down on you, it - you killed Izzy, her witch, she recognized you, and she let you, a witch has never let you just, just- You didn't know! You've been blaming the witches for her death, that witch, or no, Izzy's witch, you blamed her too, but you didn't understand! You didn't know!
You take a deep breath, and look back up. The grief... no, Izzy, is still sitting there, in the form of that depressing piece of blackened metal. She's in there. She's in there. She still remembers who she was, she didn't fight you when she was a full witch. That means she can be saved. Just like the first time she died, she can remake her body, everything can go back back to how it was. Only, this time, you'll understand the risks. You'll keep her out of labyrinths, you don't need the help. You're talented enough to fight alone, Pumsy's said that you're far stronger than most magical girls, you can get all the seeds you and Izzy need, without her having to fight, ever again!
You gingerly pick up the rusted, ruined soul gem, treating Izzy with the care she deserves. Your hand is shaking, but for the first time in the last two weeks, you feel something hard and strong inside you. You actually have a chance to fix things. You won't be able to tell your parents, but you haven't been able to tell them anything already. It doesn't matter, when Izzy's back they won't need to understand what happened. You just... need to figure out how, but you're smart, you always figure something out. Something will work. Something has
reath a sigh of relief as you toss the remote glownade down the hole, then shut the trapdoor over it, closing off the cramped and lightless corridor. The trapdoor looks frail, but if anything starts trying to break through, you can just detonate the glownade under its feet. Clever! That done, you lean against one of the plywood walls and look around the room, letting yourself rest. You can't imagine what purpose this room actually serves in the witch's labyrinth; it's just an empty wooden box lit by a candle on each wall, with the only exit being the trapdoor you just closed. Vaugely, you can sense solid material behind the plywood, probably more stone, like the walls of the pitch black corridors below. If it weren't for that comforting solidity, you'd think this room, with the first light you've seen since entering the labyrinth, was a trap.
You slide down into a sitting position as you turn your music back on, trying to relax and think about what to do. You can't fly in this place, the corridors are too small, too unlit, for it to be safe. The air seems to suffocate any illumination, your flashlight is unnaturally dim, and your soul gem only provides enough light to act as a beacon for the familiars. You don't want to fight another of those monsters, and you definitely don't want to be caught in a corridor between two of them. That leaves you stumbling blind through the darkness, relying entirely on that invaluable blindsense you've developed, listening to the horrible sounds of them grinding against the walls as they force their themselves through the tunnels. You haven't felt as afraid as this since your first labyrinth. You hate these dark ones...
You take a deep breath. You have to focus on solutions, not problems. Singing is right out, you'll just get swarmed, and you can't think of any songs powerful enough to make it work, anyway. Wandering blind until you meet a familiar, and then teleporting silently behind it, that might work, but only if there aren't multiple. Besides, teleporting blind is probably a very bad idea. You might be able to leave glownades behind you, then detonate them remotely to attract familiars, but that's an expensive way to create a distraction, especially without your music. Lastly, you could just not play the witch's game, and use a starfall, hoping she's close... but that won't work if this labyrinth is bigger than you think, and you're already so low on soul. You had hoped that giving Izzy your last grief seed would revive her, but at most it restored the shape of her soul gem, not the shine.
You screw your eyes up at the thought. She's definitely still in there. She manifested an angel last time, or something... like an angel. If only you could tell her what's going on, having an angel or two with you would make it trivial to kill these things. You reach into your pocket and pull out her black soul gem, inspecting it. She can't hear your telepathy, or your voice, you know that much. You're not even sure how conscious she is inside that thing, maybe this is all just a bad dream for her. Your other hand reaches into your pocket and pulls out the inert copy of your soul gem that you made, modeling it after the inert wing she made for you, before her soul gem turned black.
After you connected her created wing to your soul gem, the two of you were always bound, you could always talk, you could each tell how the other felt. You've wanted so much to have that again, to hear her voice one more time, talking about whatever game she had been playing last, or babbling happily about some book she'd read. You just don't want to hurt her, you don't know how the special wing will work when you connect it to her, and you're scared that you'll just absorb the rest of her memories, destroy Izzy once and for all... Ugh. And, and you're scared that it just won't work, that even this won't let you talk to her again.
Your eyes flick down to the trapdoor. You really don't want to go back down there, you don't know how you can win this. But, if you leave, you'll just be even weaker for the next witch. You hate to admit it, but you really can't do this alone. You look back at Izzy's soul gem. You don't have a choice.
You gingerly press the ruined wing-shaped gem against the pristine wing that you created, practically a mirror of her gem, just shinier. You wait for a moment, but nothing dramatic happens; at most you feel a light tingling in the bottom of your mind. You lean back and let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding - Izzy's still okay. Or, at least, she's no worse off than she was before.
You close your eyes and let the music relax you while you focus on that tingling sensation. It's not a link like you had with her before, but it's something similar. It's just... weak? Like she's only barely hanging on, or... no. As you focus, you realize that she isn't weak, she's... distant? It's a very strange sensation, but you can tell that there's something powerful, something immense, just beyond the edge of your connection. Like a planet hanging in lightless space; virtually invisible, and yet exerting a powerful pull. But, it's not quite Izzy. Or... your brows furrow, and a headache is setting in, but you keep trying to understand the sensation.
...You can hear her, just barely. A whisper below the roar of an ocean, quiet, drowning, but it's unmistakably your sister. You shiver as you focus in on that whisper, mentally crying out to her, trying to hear her better. There's no coherent words or thoughts to it, just feelings, of confusion, chaos, panic, like a fever dream. Then, wonderfully, something else is audible in that madness: Recognition. The whisper blooms, radiant, and you hear her voice clearly, ringing in your mind like it used to.
<Lucy!>
A wide smile spreads across your face. She's alive, Izzy's really alive!
<HELP!>
A wave of abject terror washes over you, powerful and overwhelming. And then it's gone, along with Izzy's voice, all of it reduced back into that tiny tingling. You open your eyes and look around the room, the light of the candles seeming harshly bright, now. Your entire body feels sore, and you feel exhausted. It... didn't work. Izzy's alive, but she can't help you. You look down at the trapdoor, feeling dull. No, Izzy needs help, far more than you do. You need to get her out of that, that... whatever that was. You can't let her stay in that state, it's worse than death.
You mute the music again, and immediately your ears pick up that horrible grinding sound, louder than it had been when you climbed up here. You have to beat this witch, but you just don't know h
quealing finally stops as you pull the trigger three more times, emptying the last of the pistol's magazine into the swollen pigman's head. You hate how loud guns are, you can barely hear your music over the ringing in your ears, but the weapon is undeniably effective. The last of the familiars dead, you alight on a table, then kneel next to the man strapped down on it. You can sense his heat, his breath, just barely. He's still alive, and you let out a sigh of relief.
You look up at the room around you. A massive fireplace takes up most of the nearest clay-brick wall, and a roaring flame inside provides the room's only illumination, excrutiatingly hot even with some distance from it. You turn your back to the flame, letting your wings block most of the heat. The light filters through the stained-glass and sends a rainbow of colors dancing across the room; it would be beautiful if not for the gruesome sight. Four more of the bloated pigman familiars' corpses are spread around, all of them shot to death. But most of the room is just filled with these rotting wooden tables, the human victims of the witch strapped down, among rusted and oversized knives, cleavers, and forks. Only sharp cutlery, no spoons. You almost laugh a little at how over-the-top it all is, but the noise dies in your throat.
You think everyone is alive. You don't see blood. That makes you a little proud, and happy; you've saved all these people! Ever since you fled the last labyrinth, you've felt useless, but today you've saved... fifteen people? Twenty? You're amazed so many have been captured, without any of them being killed. The witch must have been saving them for... ugh, you don't want to think about that. You can't even begin to imagine what kind of twisted magical girl became... this.
You look down at the man next to you. You could free him, but it wouldn't serve any point, it would take too long to drag all these people out yourself, and you're already super low on magic. You need to find the witch, and kill her. Then all these people will be freed. You just need to do it without depleting what magic you have left, and judging by how weak her familiars are, you should be able to do that. You can't use a starfall on her, but you're confident you have a few glownades left in you. Yeah. Yeah, you can do this! You stand up, and start scanning the walls for exits beside the little door you came through.
...Something moves, above and to your right, and you spin around to aim the pistol at it. You spot it immediately, hovering among the meat hooks hanging from the ceiling, but it takes you a few seconds to fully register what it is.
It's an angel. One of Izzy's angels, shining with a golden light. She's no longer just wearing your gear; the helmet, jacket, and wings have all fused together into angular pieces of shining metal which cover her whole body like plate armor, all of it bright gold aside from the always-beautiful rainbow wings. You lower the pistol, tears starting to well as a smile forms on your face. The angel descends, landing on one of the other tables and kneeling over the woman strapped to it, the angel's motions identical to the ones you made seconds ago. As you watch, more angels descend from above, and they begin to remove the straps, freeing the victims. One lands next to you, and looks at you, though you can't see any face behind her opaque visor. You step back, almost tumbling when you step off the table, but you transition smoothly into a little hop down.
You can barely believe this. Izzy is actually helping you! You reach into your pocket and pull out her soul gem, still attached to the inert wing you made for it. It's still black, but there's now a glow around it, a dark glow that twists light as it passes, like shadowed eddies in water. Your head hurts, and you can hear the tingling in the bottom of your head, louder than usual, still distant, but now roaring, and coming closer. But... try as you might, you can't hear the whisper under it all, the part that's unmistakeably Izzy.
You look up as the angel on the table hoists the man into her arms. The rotting wood is gone, from all the tables, they're now made of polished smooth wood, with marble tops, just like the tables at home. The walls are shifting in the background, but your eyes are glued to the angel as she takes flight, lifting quickly into the air. Your tears start running, and your smile dies, as you realize what's actually happening. The angel reaches one of the lower meathooks, then pauses in front of it, rearranging her grip on the man as she hovers in the air, trying to figure out how to impale him. You set Izzy's grief seed down, then raise the pistol at the angel, barely pausing to aim before you pull the trigger. Then--nothing. You forgot to reload.
You immediately look down at your feet, the floor now polished tiles, and set the gun on the table, next to Izzy's grief seed. Then you reach into your pocket and turn the music back up. You don't want to hear what's happening above you. Mechanically, you unpin your brooch, and set it down on the table next to... next to Izzy. Your soul gem is nearly as black, but still has some glow to it, enough magic to fight through this labyrinth, kill the witch. But not enough to kill two witches. Not enough to fight Izzy and her angels.
You whisper quietly to Izzy's, though you know that she can't hear you. "Izzy... why? You could help, you don't have to do this, I can bring you back..."
You stare down at her, her grief seed is growing larger, pulsing with shadows. You can't tell if she hears you; the tingling in your head is growing louder and louder, a continual background howl of torment, but you don't even know if that thing is her. It isn't like her, at all. You're not even sure if what you said is true, maybe Pumsy lied, or just didn't understand, or... it doesn't matter, not anymore. You've... failed. Somewhere down the line you failed, and you can't fix things now.
...No, that's not true. You screw your eyes shut, a powerful and strong emotion solidifying inside you. You hit mute on your music, and your ears fill with screams, matching the screams inside your head. You can end both, right now, and at least free Izzy from whatever hell you led her to. You can't save anyone now, but at least you can end it, for Izzy, for these people, and for the fucked-up witch that captured them in the first place. And, for you. Better than becoming a witch, at least.
You focus all your remaining magic into your soul gem, throwing all the pain you've been experiencing into it, all the misery, and letting it ignite, but not letting it flow out. The power builds inside, a roar of defiance that drowns out the screams.. You somehow manage a grin despite everything, loving the sensation.
"...Starfall!"
And then the world shattersYou jerk upright as you awaken, looking around at the girls around you in confusion. For a brief moment you wonder who they are, and where Izzy is, but then your mind catches up, and you recognize the others. That was... strange. It all felt so
, and so natural, but... you look down at your hands. They're no longer dirty, but they look so plain, almost fake, like they're not yours. It's strange, but you feel good all the same.
, if a little disoriented. Asha kneels down next to you, holding Pumsy tight against her abdomen, and looks over you worriedly. You give her a grin, and stretch your arms up, noticing that they're no longer dislocated.
she asks sadly.
the cub chirps happily, before snuggling against the girl affectionately. Asha doesn't look much happier, but she hugs him closer.
There's a short silence, everyone disquieted by the reminder of their friend's death. Aleksandra is the first to break it, confidently stepping up to your other side as she speaks.
Pumsy's attention is immediately captured when Aleksandra makes her announcement. His little pink head pokes out from between Asha's arms, a glint in his golden eyes. Aleksandra meets his gaze unflinchingly as she takes a few deep breaths.
Aleksandra's expression dulls, her eyes suddenly vacant. Then, she starts to tip over, leaning over towards the bottom of the concrete canal. The AK-47 falls from her hands, hitting the concrete with a loud clatter. Aleksandra follows just after, her knees giving out, but Alida reacts instantly. The blonde girl rolls to her feet in a blur, diving forward to catch the young Russian girl. She's entirely limp in Alida's arms, her head lolling about randomly.
and leaps to her feet, dropping Pumsy in the process. Alida turns around to face the other magical girl, presenting Aleksandra's limp body to her. Asha leans close, grabbing the ribbon in Aleksandra's hair with one hand, and supporting the back of the girl's head with the other. Her face is a mask of panic, as she repeatedly whispers
under her breath.
Tooru starts to step over to the three girls, but freezes midstride when she sees Pumsy. He's right where Asha dropped him, in a predatory crouch that's more reminiscent of a true wild tiger than the magical stuffed animal he typically acts like. His tail is held straight out behind him, the tip twitching ever so slightly, but much more worrying are his eyes. There's not a trace of gold left in them, just two deep black abysses, aimed directly at Aleksandra.
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Topic: Pumsy's Seeds - A ~MAGICAL GIRL~ game inspired by PMMM (Read 149779 times)