LuckyBlackCat

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

♥♠♦♣ Ayumu Harasawa ♥♠♦♣ Phantasmagoria ♥♠♦♣

@I Need A Name @SimpleWriter @1Charak2

Through the shock, Phantasmagoria forced a snicker at Gaia's little speech. Those words, exactly the kind of thing she might have once said... the kind of thing she'd once have been stupid enough to say. "Wow, even now you still think life's a fairy tale," she jeered, aiming another card at a chink in a Nightmare's armour. "Suit yourself, this is nothing we can't handle anyway."

She danced out of the way of the Nightmare's claws, disappearing from view. It turned this way and that, only for a red-outlined card to fly from thin air, cleaving its head from its shoulders. Phantasmagoria reappeared in a swirl of black mist, the translucent wisps that formed the hem of her cape and tails of her jacket thickening like pollution clouds as she absorbed the dying creature. A laugh juddered through her.

"We've got ourselves that fight you were spoiling for, all right," she said, eyes gleaming as she glanced at Kiru before summoning a jackalope silhouette from her hat. "C'mon, let's get 'em before those party poopers do!"

As she leapt from building to building on the back of the giant rabbit, her grin faded at the full, sobering impact of the scene. All those broken bodies, all that blood... A sudden wave of dizziness hit. Sympathy? Surely not. She'd discarded that long ago, at least for strangers. It was more like... Memories. An old wound ripping open. Images of limbs at sickening angles, crimson-splattered concrete, eyes that would never shine with happiness again, carved deep into her mind.

Her ribs clenched, an involuntary cry leaving her lips. She tightened her grip on the mount to keep from sliding off. No! Focus! she mentally screamed at herself, tearing her gaze away from the carnage, and from the nearby light girls. Little Miss Sparkles in particular might even try to help if she noticed, and like hell did she want that stick in the mud's pity. Trying to concentrate on the corrupt energy roiling through her, she rode past the dead and the desperate. It wasn't like they had anything to do with her. And it certainly wasn't like all these people could be saved.

Before long, she caught up with the flock of Nightmares pouring down the street. "Thank you all for gathering here tonight!" she called, her stage persona covering up any weakness. "Uh-uh, forget the movies." She flicked cards at some of the creatures making a beeline for a movie theatre. "Wanna see a magic show instead? I now present my assistants!"

With that, an army of figures were upon the Nightmares. Illusory copies of every other dark magical girl in the club lashed with their weapons, manic glee on their faces as the monsters hissed and flailed. By the time the images disappeared upon being struck, it was too late for many of the mutant creatures. Cards spun through the air, the razor edges the scarlet aura gave them biting deep through armour.

Phantasmagoria jumped from the back of her shadow contruct, which faded. "Your turn, Kir-" Her shout choked into a whimper. A few feet away from her, a small form lay unmoving in the snow, stomach and throat torn open. She recognised what was left of the girl's face. The child who'd watched her earlier show.

Claws jabbed into Ayumu's left arm, yanking her away from the corpse. Her surroundings rushed past as she found herself being dragged across the ground. Several pairs of jaws spread wide, looming over her... only to let out a screech and snap upwards at the air as a giant drill burst through its back, out from its stomach. Black goo splattered all around. Just for effect, Ayumu thought, dismissing the illusion with a flick of her hand and leaping to her feet. Before the Nightmare realised it was uninjured, the cards the magician flung dug into its neck.

"And that, dear spectators, was the Drill of Death!" she announced, hoping the banter hid just how shaken she was. Distraction had been her attacker's undoing, just as it had nearly been hers. She gripped her upper arm, feeling stickiness, torn cloth, broken skin. Just an inch under her emblem. Her heart thudded. That had been close.

Reaching out and drinking in the monster's essence, she kept alert from the buzz. A cluster of Nightmares gathered nearby, zeroing in on a target concealed from view, some breaking from the group to face the magical girl about to disrupt their meal.

Phantasmagoria smirked, lifting one side of her cape and sending a murder of crows to greet them. "What, you thought you were the guests at this banquet? Life's full of surprises, huh?" She skipped towards her struggling prey, resolving to think of nothing but the hunt. "Kiru, let's tuck in!"

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

✦✧✦ Tama Miyara ✧ Angelite ✦✧✦

@Noxx @KoL

With all the strength she could muster, Tama lashed out with a wing, fused into a razor-sharp structure. It took off a Nightmare's head just as the creature lunged. Locking the other set of fragments together, she blocked a set of swiping claws, then punched with a dagger-like formation protruding from her armour. Her wings spread and split into shards again, fine threads of magic coursing between the gems, and she swung them as hard as she could to unleash a flurry of energy crystals.

No matter how many Nightmares fell, the slaughter continued, bodies lying limp and broken in the snow like discarded dolls.

Set on saving as many people as she could nonetheless, Tama threw her full armoured weight into a punch. Instead of connecting with the Nightmare's head, her fist struck a solid wall. "Ah!" She staggered off-balance, not so much hurt as jarred, thanks to her crystal shell and the natural toughness of a magical girl. She stared up at the bubble surrounding her, then at those that held civilians. The uninjured tried to run, panicking at the invisible walls that stopped them, bracing themselves for attacks, faces overcome with relief when none happened.

"Good job, Soma," she commented, "but you wouldn't mind letting me out? Gotta be on the battlefield, not stuck in the barracks..."

As a tower started to appear - no, not so much appear as rip its way into reality - Tama understood Soma's reason for protecting everyone nearby, her included. The rifts in space flung the Nightmares around as if a tornado had whipped up, Soma chanting some kind of speech that probably only made sense to her all the while.

"Huh." Tama couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. "I'm going to guess that translates to something along the lines of 'you Nightmares are picking on the wrong person'."

Surprise gave way to shock as a blur hurtled down like a meteor, right at the shield user. "Soma! Watch out!"

Be my Sanctuary

Jessamyn "Jess" Bailey

Over the weekend, Jess started to relax slightly. She'd been worrying about nothing. When they went out, the watchers blended in so well her mom didn't notice them. Not that Jess could exactly be comfortable in their presence, but she kept mentally repeating what Roxy had told her. They wouldn't cause any harm. Not right here and now, anyway.

Of course, although her mom didn't spot the shady men, what she did pick up on was her loss of confidence. And she was quick to set about trying to build it back up, with a suggestion on the Sunday afternoon.

"You know," she said, her quick glance out of the window at the parked car making it clear what was coming. "Since it's a pretty easy route, if the two of you are ok with it, this might be a good chance for you to get some driving practice in."

At first, Jess wasn't sure what to reply. This was what Roxy had offered on the way here, and had turning down the chance really been the best choice? It had just annoyed the anchor more than it had helped. Then again, dealing with a nervous empath behind the wheel, on top of being stuck in a closed space, wouldn't help Roxy's mood either. The words came back to her: Nothing is going to make this less stressful.

"Heh, that's..." she started, then stopped herself. She'd been about to say that was the same thing Roxy had said, but it would probably lead to questions as to why she'd refused. "A good idea," she finished instead, her smile awkward as she turned to the anchor. "As long as you're alright with that."

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

♥♠♦♣ Ayumu Harasawa ♥♠♦♣ Phantasmagoria ♥♠♦♣

@I Need A Name @KoL @SimpleWriter

Phantasmagoria let herself relax a little. Had she worried about nothing? Was this Aegis girl all talk? When the blonde took a break from snarking, Ayumu snickered at the request she made.

"Hm? And what's in it for us?" she asked, amusement flickering in her eyes, although she took care not to taunt Aegis too much. "Oh c'mon, do you expect us dark magical girls to help out of the kindness of our hearts? But I guess we could comply, as long as you don't try to pull anything..."

Whatever the request was, she didn't find out. No sooner had she spoken than a blur of green swept Aegis right off the roof, dragging her out of sight. "Why hello Touka, nice of you to pass by!" Ayumu called, although the Detention Club president was well out of earshot. "Thanks for dealing with that little annoyance."

With a chortle, she turned to Jin, releasing the crows' hold on her with a click of her fingers. "So much for all her tough talk. But geez, don't scare me like that again. You never know what to expect round here any more." Her eyes shifted to the green-haired girl, Gaia. "Although one thing you can expect is that Kiru here must be rather disappointed that her target got away. So shoo fly, before you become her next one. Of course, she does like a chase..."

The temperature suddenly plummeted as waves of dark magic pulsed through the city, grotesque forms like none Ayumu had ever seen before rising up everywhere. The normally composed magician couldn't help but stare in shock at four armoured Nightmares clambering up the building. "Proves my point about the unexpected, huh?" In a flash, she reached for her cards, flinging them at the long-limbed forms. One creature fell, an arm and a leg sliced off, but the remaining three managed to pull themselves onto the rooftop, closing in on the girls.

---

✦✧✦ Tama Miyara ✧ Angelite ✦✧✦

@Noxx

Nightmare battle music

Without warning, the recently-cleared space filled with Nightmares, ones nothing like the horde the light girls had just fought. Angelite spun round, eyes widening as the shadow blobs sprouted spindly limbs, claws, rows upon rows of teeth...

"There are only two words for this," she said, breath rising as mist from the cold. "Oh. Shit."

No time to come up with a plan. Tama charged through the erupting panic, the rocky layers materialising around her arms once more. She raised her fist, the armour thickening and sharpening into one large spike, then plunged it into the side of a Nightmare snapping its jaws at a fleeing crowd. Its shriek ripped through the icy air as it twisted and turned on her.

"Ah!" Tama raised a wing just in time, fusing the gems into a shield. "And we thought the ones earlier were upping the ante..." Not wasting a moment while its guard was down, Tama slashed the crystal point jutting from her hand across its neck. As it fell back, more leapt in front of her.

No matter how she or anyone struggled against the creatures, blood of innocents sprayed across the snow. Bile crept into the back of Tama's throat. She whirled, sending a barrage of crystal fragments into a Nightmare's mouth before it could go for a man lying in the snow, a red puddle pouring from several deep gashes on his leg.

"Alara, we need Alara," she called, her desperate voice rising above the shrieks. "Someone needs to... agh... heal these people!" Plates of gemstone armour spread all over her body, blocking the enraged Nightmare's retaliation. "And Yui... If there's a time we've got to stick together, it's now!"

The others had to be alright. They had to. Tama clung to that hope as she fought, staying close by Soma. Alara, wherever she was, and Yui, atop the building... and Ayumu, and the other girls who'd gathered here... Dark or not, nobody deserved this.

Pokemon Spiral

Amber Pine

Mesalon Gym

@Dusksong

Moments after Amber and Sophia re-entered the building, the researcher heard the door swing open again. "Ah, hey!" she said, turning to face a somewhat flustered-looking Aedre who explained the reason for her lateness. A missing item. "Ehh, we all do things like that," Amber reassured her. "If you want, I could help you find it."

Pressing at two Pokeball buttons, she let out Aeshna and Tacita. With a soft hoot, the Rowlet settled on the floor and tilted her head at the trainers, while the Yanma zoomed around the hall. "These two could keep a look out, Rowlets have very good eyesight, and Yanmas can see 360 degrees. Did you know their eyes are made up of tens of thousands of facets, and they're sensitive to over three times as many kinds of light as we are? Uh..." Noticing the look Sophia gave her, Amber trailed off.

"Anyway, if you'd like me to come along," she said, taking a quick glance at the doors to the arena, "I'll let the others know, then I'll be right over. Sophia, you going to be alright?"

At Sophia's typically insistent reply of "Why wouldn't I be?", Amber decided it would be a bad idea to answer.

Notes

Pokemon Party: Kabuto "Chalcedony" lv11, Yanma "Aeshna" lv9, Rockruff "Kyra" lv13, Rowlet "Tacita" lv10, Anorith "Larimar" lv12, Sableye "Almandine" lv11
Pokemon in PC:
Inventory: Pokeball x1, Potion x2, Dusk Ball x1

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

♥♠♦♣ Ayumu Harasawa ♥♠♦♣ Phantasmagoria ♥♠♦♣

@I Need A Name @KoL @SimpleWriter

Once beside her partner, Phantasmagoria jumped off the jackalope's back, and with a wave of her hand, it vanished into swirling black mist. She dodged one of the books that scattered across the roof as the blonde swung a bag to block Kiru's attack. "Kiru, sorry I've gotta do this..." Phantasmagoria took off her hat, the smoke-like substance pouring from it and forming several crow shapes. Their talons grasped the ragged extensions of Kiru's cape, holding her back from the blonde.

The magician's breath rushed out in a sigh of relief. Books. Just books. Nothing worse. Were the duo facing anyone else, Ayumu would have sneered, asking if that was the best they could do. Not this time. The stranger looked like a light magical girl, but her aura... Ayumu couldn't place it. It didn't feel like any light presence she'd ever known, or any dark one. All she knew was it gave her the feeling that if anyone got on the blonde's bad side, they'd be in deep trouble indeed.

Like she and Kiru were undoubtedly in now.

"Ehh, please excuse my partner, she just got a little carried away there." Phantasmagoria explained, a cautious smile creeping across her face as she advanced, placing herself between Kiru and the scowling girl. "Couldn't help but wonder though," she added, tilting her head, trying to deflect the question, "You don't seem to be a face we've seen in the light crowd, who might you be?"

Her eyes shifted from the stranger to a winged girl fluttering over and settling nearby. "Ahh, well I remember you all right. The flower fairy from the park." Again, Ayumu refrained from taunting. The pixie wasn't a threat, but who knew what the girl with the strange aura might try if anyone made a wrong move.

---

✦✧✦ Tama Miyara ✧ Angelite ✦✧✦

@I Need A Name @SimpleWriter @Noxx

"Gaia!" As Yui took to the air, Tama sprinted after her. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, some of the battle fatigue returning, but she pushed on. "We've got your back. Like you say, together."

She could already feel auras of corruption seeping through the air, some of them familiar yet twisted. Angelite's fingernails dug into her palms. So many magical girls gone astray... and the worst thing was, she couldn't exactly say she blamed them. Trying to block out memories of happier times, she stopped by an office block, from the top of which she could sense something else. Something odd. Something powerful.

Frowning at the bizarre presence, she stared up at the distant forms atop the building. Gaia, standing in front of two girls, one of whom Angelite recognised with a pang. Trick of the Light, or whatever she called herself now. And in the middle, a deceptively ordinary looking blonde radiated that surge of energy. Tama turned her attention from the group to her comrades. If a confrontation between light, dark, and some other force entirely was about to break out, she wouldn't just stand by. They were a team. They had to stick by their leader, just as they'd agreed to do.

Somehow.

"Hmm, it'd be easier to keep up the deal if my wings worked like Gaia's," Tama muttered. "Clusters of rocks may be useful for fighting with, but flying, not so much." She glanced upwards, mulling over options. Encasing her hands and feet in rough crystal shells would give her enough grip to climb, if she extended the points and grasped on to ledges, but that would take a while, and wouldn't help Alara or Soma... Soma. Of course. Remembering the shield user's full power in action, she faced her.

"Alright Soma, this might call for those spiral shields of yours," Tama suggested. "Think you could create ones tall enough to take us to the top if we held on?"

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

♥♠♦♣ Ayumu Harasawa ♥♠♦♣ Phantasmagoria ♥♠♦♣

@I Need A Name @KoL

- Earlier that day -

"Aaaand just like that..." Ayumu fanned out torn card pieces with one hand, raised the other and clicked her fingers. As she unfolded a whole card, several pairs of eyes widened. "Good as new!"

If any other magical girls, light or dark, spotted her, they would likely find it odd that somebody who drew strength from suffering liked to spread joy. Well, it was only natural for someone as unapologetically self-serving as a dark girl to revel in being the centre of attention. Ayumu worked through her carefully calculated repertoire, such motives hidden along with her cards and coins - and yet, she couldn't help but find something heartwarming about the enthralled face of a little girl.

"How do you do all that?" the child piped up. "Tell me! When I grow up, I wanna be magical like you!"

Ayumu suppressed a wince. All she'd done were classic tricks anyone could do with enough practice, but if only this kid knew of her true nature. "Hehe, sorry but we magicians have gotta keep our secrets," she replied. "And don't you be in too much of a hurry to grow up."

The temperature started to drop, not just from the winter weather. "Well, I'm afraid I'll have to do a disappearing act of my own, but thank you all!" Ayumu announced with a bow, gathering up coins from the box at her feet as the crowd dispersed. Not that she needed the money, pockets being so easy to pick, but a little extra was always appreciated. She slunk from the street corner into an alleyway, slipping the real torn card into a trash can as she did so.

If only broken things could be so easily fixed, she thought as she let a black and crimson aura flow over her.

...

"Wow, someone sure got out of bed on the wrong side," Phantasmagoria commented, flicking cards at any Nightmares that got in her way as she skipped after Kiru. "I know, I know, it sucks that someone thinks they can lord it over us, but easy there. We've gotta know what we're doing."

Although she meant to calm Kiru, her words came out strained. She hadn't been quite herself lately, and even the abundance of prey could only help so much. In fact, as the remnants of Nightmares seethed into her to bolster her power, the shudder they brought wasn't purely thrill. It was like eating something with a bitter aftertaste.

That face...

She couldn't drive it from her mind, the image on the screen three days ago, the look of utter horror and disbelief. Ayumu knew next to nothing about this girl, but one thing was obvious. The former Detention Club president must have been close to the victim. Eyes prickling with the threat of tears, Ayumu tried to focus on the here and now, but the visual message lingered.

Had her own face looked like that, back then?

And now here she was, making others' grief into her gain... Of course, she told herself, flinging another card, decapitating a Nightmare, drawing out its essence. What else was there to do? No point in living in a fantasy world. No point in holding on to such useless feelings as hope and compassion. Better to live as she'd promised, and follow Kiru's example.

Kiru... Veiling herself in a shadow illusion, Phantasmagoria sped up her pace. "Please," she whispered, the target's presence growing stronger and setting her more on edge with every step. She'd never felt one like this before. "Remember, you've gotta think something through before you can pull it off! Who knows what tricks are up her sleeves?"

No use. Before Phantasmagoria could stop her, Kiru had launched herself at top speed into the air, closing in on the girl looking down from the building. "Kiru, no!" Fuck stealth. Dissipating the illusion, Phantasmagoria threw her cape open, a jackalope silhouette springing forth and growing to the size of a small horse. "Let's go," she commanded, leaping astride it. The shadow creature jumped onto a roof, pushing off it to reach a taller building, then another.

She wouldn't fail to protect somebody close to her. Not a second time.

Be my Sanctuary

Yeah, we could do, I mean looking into the counselling could help with that?

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

✦✧✦ Tama Miyara ✧ Angelite ✦✧✦

@I Need A Name @SimpleWriter

"Urgh..." The shell growing over Angelite's arms started to crumble, pieces clinking to the ground and disappearing. A second later, at the touch of a gloved hand, she felt some of the strain leave her body. Her cuts and bruises vanished. Her stone armour strengthened.

"Thanks, Yurei." As much as Tama hated making excess work for Alara or anyone else, everyone had to give this fight their all. She curled a wing around herself, the gem shards closing into a solid wall and blocking a tendril, then drove a point-covered fist into the mass of slime. Whirling to face the advancing horde, she spread her wings wide, the gems separating and floating once more, connected by thrumming energy streams. The threads brightened, sharp fragment shapes forming from the glow, which Angelite sent hurtling at the Nightmares with one sweep.

It wasn't enough. For each monster defeated, another would take its place.

"Great..." Tama muttered as the magical crystals faded, a fresh wave of Nightmares crawling over the ground where they'd been. "Yet another game of supernatural Whack-A-Mole."

Sensing a familiar presence, she raised her head to see Gaia making good use of her new battle skills. As the green-haired girl settled on the ground and swung an ornate floral blade at a Nightmare, Tama's dour expression turned into a fraction of a smile.

"We would have," she replied to Yui's comment, "but waiting isn't exactly their strong point. Not any more. So we had to turn up early too." She gestured at the nearing creatures, then nodded. "Together."

As she spoke, an idea came to her. "Gaia!" Shifting her stance to a suitable angle, she crossed her wings, a shimmering, diamond-faceted barrier appearing. "Hit the shield with a flower bomb!"

If this worked, she could reflect the energy at not just one Nightmare, but many.

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

✦✧✦ Tama Miyara ✧ Angelite ✦✧✦

@I Need A Name

Battle music

To most residents of Miso City, the evening was one of post-Christmas quiet. To some, it was a time of battle with no end in sight.

Street light blazed across crystal points that tore apart murky form after murky form. "Ugh... Geez..." Amidst the unknowing citizens trudging through the square, Angelite clenched her jaw as she slammed a spike-covered fist into one filthy creature. Spinning round just in time, she lashed a rocky wing across another, each storm of shards launched with even more vigour than usual.

Panting, dripping ooze that slowly evaporated, she looked up to see just what she'd expected. Countless more Nightmares slithered in from every street like a sea of black. "Y-You're really set on starting your evening meals earlier and earlier, aren't you?" she growled, fists still coated in stone armour as she charged towards one going for a man who sat slumped on a bench. "This... This city isn't your fucking buffet bar!"

Once she'd smashed through the monster, she sagged, shaking. When was the last time she'd had a decent sleep? A decent meal? She didn't know, or care. All that mattered was mustering enough strength to keep standing. To keep fighting. Fighting alongside Yurei, being strong for her and the others, relying only on her power as a light magical girl, with no assistance from the darkness she dispelled. She forced herself to turn away from the dissolving creature, despite the effort it took to move, let alone take on Nightmares.

She couldn't go against Luna's ideals. Especially not now.

Biting her lip and keeping tears at bay, Angelite staggered to Alara's side, the crystal shell spreading up her arms and sprouting more spikes as she prepared to assist her ally against the onslaught. They had to stick together. If only they'd all done so three nights ago... Things could have turned out differently.