Sidestory 11 - There Are Precious Few At Ease With Moral Ambiguities
"Oz, welcome back."
Sena Mikoto lifted herself from the floor where she had been recording the patrol reports, notes forgotten on elegantly-crafted table as the Magical Girl went to greet the returning Wizard. She took care not to be too hurried, though. Excess eagerness would make a poor impression on her teacher. The Wizard herself gave Mikoto a quick bow, her towering frame folding over in an elegant gesture that left her eye-to-eye with her pupil for a moment before swiftly pulling back to her full height.
"It's a pleasure to see you as well, darling. Have you made any progress with Winchester?"
The mention of Mikoto's Doppel dampens her enthusiasm slightly. "No, sorry. While getting it to show up it is simple, I have been having a little trouble getting it to act. Even after you bound it, I still can't do anything. I'm sorry." Those last two words were the only break in the girl's relaxed tone, a brittleness that crept through as she glanced at the pale blue crystal hanging from a chain around her neck.
Despite the bad news, Oz's smile hardly waned. It seemed sometimes to Sena that the Wizard never really stopped smiling, just smiled in different ways depending on what they wanted to express. "Well, that's perfectly alright, Darling. I can give you all the time in the world to learn. It would be unreasonable for me to be disappointed in such a promising pupil for having difficulty doing something difficult, now wouldn't it?"
Mikoto nodded, though by then Oz had already turned away. A beckoning gesture from the crystalline woman called the young Magical Girl to follow behind, catching up just in time to brush her fingers against the screaming swirl of black and green that heralded Oz's teleportation. The maelstrom subsided as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving Mikoto alone in the lounge. Not sparing a moment, the bluenette reached forwards and pushed against the air, feeling space crack and shatter around her.
Teleportation was one of the first things Oz had taught Mikoto after saving her. It was an ability the Wizard had prized for its utility, and the normally sophisticated and prideful woman had shown a hint of excitement when she told Mikoto that she could teach it to her. Mikoto wasn't anywhere near Oz's level, unable to teleport quickly or accurately enough to use in combat, but the utility was enough for her. Hanna hadn't been able to replicate the feat at all, apparently because her copying Magic didn't allow her to replicate the skills needed and Oz had different courses planned for the other girl to study.
The cracks in reality folded back together, leaving the Magical Girl walking alongside her tutor through one of the Emerald City's streets. A quick glance around showed the frozen statues that had once been the citizens of Kamihama City, placed in stasis until their work was finished. Until then, it would be too risky to leave them exposed. From what Oz had told Mikoto and the others, they wouldn't even notice any time had passed. It still made for an unsettling scene, an empty street of statues beneath a murky green sky.
"So Oz, where were you today? You said it would be a surprise for when you got back." Mikoto asked. Whether the older woman was aware of it herself or not, Mikoto knew why Oz had chosen to teleport out to the street instead of straight where they were going. For as much as it felt contradictory to the woman's aura of overwhelming power and wisdom, she seemed almost desperate for somebody to talk to at times. She had saved Mikoto, Hanna, and Futaba and agreed to train, house, and support them, only asking that they help her in her crusade against Kyubey in return. From what Hanna had told Mikoto about the others, their recruitments had gone much the same way. Leonie had been with Oz longer than any of the rest of them, but the timid girl had only met their teacher about two weeks ago. Before that, Oz had been alone.
So it didn't cost Mikoto much to engage with Oz when she wanted to talk to somebody. A good story always helped lift the mood, as far as she was concerned.
"Well, if you must know, darling" Oz started, sounding not nearly as reluctant as her words would indicate, "I was visiting France."
"France? Really?"
"It's the place to be for anyone sophisticated, or so I've heard. Although my interests weren't nearly so pedestrian. Did you know that hundreds of years ago, a french Magical Girl tried to overthrow and replace Kyubey?"
"Oh?" Mikoto's eyes sparkled. Even if she knew a story like that could only have ended in tragedy, it was still reassuring to know that they weren't the only ones to have fought against the Incubators.
"Indeed, she and her children sought to replace Kyubey as a wish-granter. Sadly, the Incubators deceived other Magical Girls by pretending to be an angel, using Soul Gems as proof of its supposed 'divine providence'. The Magical Girls were thrown into war with one another, and none survived." Oz's smile took on a sad, wistful air as she explained, as if picturing the loss in her mind.
"We will learn from their mistakes, though. But be careful; Kyubey isn't the only creature here who may try to deceive you for its own benefit."
Mikoto's eyes narrowed. "The Alchemist."
"If we are lucky, it will be in a benevolent mood. But one should always be prepared for the alternatives." And with those words, Oz teleported once again.
Space fractured around Mikoto as she arrived in the Mill Chamber after her teacher. Involuntarily, a shudder ran through her body. As uncomfortable as the others found the concept of using Magic stolen from a dead Magical Girl, Sena understood the necessity of it. The Incubators were powerful, and they wouldn't take kindly to humanity trying to assert their independence. They needed every advantage they could get. But even so, something about the room just felt… off.
The cylindrical emerald chamber was mostly filled with machinery, pitch-black gears and blocks filling the space below the affluent balcony that overlooked it. Oz gestures towards the device, prompting Sena to toss one of the spent Grief Seeds she was carrying down into the funnel at the top of the mechanism. The blackened seed tumbled past the jaws of the machine, an unsettling moan filling the room as it was ground into powder. Another teleport took Oz to the base of the Mill, with Sena following shortly behind.
The pair stood before the titanic crystalline basin that the Mill fed into, more a pool than anything else. Within it was a thick, tarry sludge that shone and pulsed with sickly, vile energy. The pool of black bubbled and boiled, its diffused malice still clambering for shape. The Mill used this pool as the final step before forming its spawn, a collection of life energy processes and extracted to be shaped into something new.
Oz reached into the shimmering black-green fabric of her dress, fishing out a tiny crystalline cube tinted a violent red. With a contemptuous grin, she tossed the jewel into the mire.
Instantly, the pool began to shudder. Mikoto had been frightened the first time she'd seen this sight. Now, she barely flinched as the rotted arm pierced the darkness.
An unsightly figure staggered out from the basin. A head taller than an ordinary person even with its hunched stance, the thing was barely humanoid. Its skin was a leathery, mismatched brown-grey that looked more dead than alive, different patches stitched together in some places and bandaged over in others. The creature's head was featureless but for several slits all around it through which bright red eyes peeked out. Extending from the monster's back were several spidery limbs, each one lined with sharp hooks.
"Take care of this one, would you? I've got a lot of plans for it, but we can't have it getting away from us like little boy blue did. I've cut down on the ratio to include more Mill product, so we shouldn't have that issue again, but you can never be too careful."
Wordlessly, Sena Mikoto withdrew her weapon. It seemed it was time for her to do her work.
