Magical Girl Quest - The Fire That Burns

You walk through her door without knocking, completely unsurprised to find Karen sitting at her desk, a freshly brewed cup of tea waiting for you. You've calmed down enough since you last talked to her that you actually accept the offer for what it is. A long sip later and you feel a relaxing warmth spread through your stomach. When you look up, she stays silent, waiting for you to make the first move.

Alright then. No more alluding, I want this done with. You take a fortifying breath and start. "Give me an unbreakable guarantee that my sister will be cared for to the best of your, or if you die, your most trusted persons ability."

Her reply is quick and sharp. "Hold out your hand." You stare at her for a second, taking in the way her eyes have almost completely iced over, her magic actually pressing out in a slightly impressive manner. You hold your hand before her.

She moves one of hers to hold it, lacing her fingers through yours as she maintains eye-contact. "I swear that so long as I or another I trust completely lives, I will ensure that Una will be cared for to the best of my ability in the case of your absence." Her words echo with a soundless quality, her vow touching something inside of you briefly. "Will you accept this vow?"

You let out a harsh breath. "This is a one sided deal, you are going to regret this before the end." She just nods, waiting for your answer. You glance down, a tiny slip of paper underneath your mug spelling out the words of acceptance or refusal. Clever Bitch. You lock eyes, noticing the way her pupils flex and contact slightly, the tiny layers of her iris held steadfast on you. You feel a reluctant sense of respect and gratitude in your chest, solidly locked away from sight.

"Karen Samson, I accept your vow, may you carry your word to the grave and beyond." There is a groan, the world leaning slightly at your proclamation, then silence.

You can feel it settle upon you, fading away from notice within seconds. Karen is panting slightly in her seat, eyes still locked stubbornly onto yours as you take a long breath. She has a tiny smile at the corner of mouth, and you can't quite stop the edges of your lips from turning up as well. Daft woman, you let your heart guide you too much. You don't really mind that too much right now though.

She finally closes her eyes, letting her breathing even out in-between sips of tea. You give her the chance to rest, even her normal Karen-ness wasn't present about her now, she just felt drained. When she opens them again, her eyes are flickering with that warmth, her usual excitable spark dimmed but still alive. "Next question?"

"Will you rush to replace me so quickly next time?"

She shakes her head. "No, I should have had more faith."

You nod. "You will give Sabina some time to recover before you try and talk to her."

She sighs a little but nods. "A week?"

"That sounds fine." You shift a little in your seat as you hesitate over your next words, taking a sip of your tea, just as warm as it was when you got it, to fill time. "I think she might have some problems." Karen tilts her head slightly, waiting for you to elaborate. "She only agreed to come with me when I promised to teach her how to fight and when i mentioned her village she zoned out completely for a while, came back panting for breath."

She sucks a little breath in between her teeth as she takes a long gulp of tea, tapping her finger on her desk. "Yes... I can see how her situation might have caused complications." She stretches her legs slightly before resting them back. "I will wait until I've talked with her myself, but don't worry, we've dealt with this sort of thing before. Perhaps not with such a potentially powerful individual, but I'll work something out."

You nod at her words taking a moment to appreciate the scent of the tea you are drinking. "Alright then... If everything personal is out of the way." You nibble your lip slightly. "How has clean-up been going?"

Her brows draw together a little sharply at your words, but she doesn't look displeased with you. "It is... under control, for now. There is no chance of making this disappear like we have done in the past, but we can at least shift the blame elsewhere." You raise an eyebrow. "The official story is that it was a collection point for disarmed World War Two munitions, there is still a significant amount of unexploded shells and the like in the region. Not decided yet, but it's either going to be accidental or deliberate action that set them off, gives a nice and easy explanation for the gigantic crater and the destroyed landscape if we claim that Firebombs were also stored there."

"And the people?"

She grimaces slightly. "That is the problem, even if such a stockpile was to explode, there would have been no chance for everyone to have been caught in the radius and die. Someone is going to notice things not adding up here, but well..." She lets out a humourless chuckle. "It's not like that is going to matter for much longer."

You tighten your grip slightly on your mug. "Don't you know any way of reinforcing the barrier, surely there must be a way?"

She shakes her head, actual frustration on her face. "No, it just... doesn't make sense. The magic shouldn't be able to do what it's doing and no matter what we do, everything we try just slides off of it." She turns an eye to you. "I'm going to be honest and just say, it feels more like your magic than it does mine."

Her words sink in after a moment and you let out a slow breath, fresh steam from your drink floating from your mouth. "Well fuck." She nods slightly at your words. "Do you have any idea how to get in contact with the Light? Any at all?"

She quirks her lips slightly. "Of course I do, I even know where they live. The problem is that we don't have fuck all of a chance to get in there, they attack anyone who comes too close, thankfully not lethally. The collected magic they have at their disposal is just too much for us to deal with." An idea sparks in the back of your mind and Karen obviously notices. "Yes... that was an idea I'd had, I'm worried about them having some sort of Anti-Magical Girl barrier of some sort, seeing as they've worked with many over the millennia."

You sort the idea to the back of your mind and continue with your conversation. "What is going to happen then, if the barrier falls? I know you are preparing somehow."

She falls silent, even the slight twitches she would normally be making absent. She stays still for a long time, thinking before she nods slightly. "The most likely occurrence is that nothing will happen straight away, but before long we'll catch the attention of something and it will try to tear our face off. For my preparations... we could be here for days discussing them all, but let's just say that I've got everything and everyone working overtime."

There is a long pause as she takes a sip, returning to staring at you in silence before speaking. "Cerys." The use of your name for the first time makes you sit bolt upright and sends a slightly nervous thrill down your spine. "When magic is uncovered, there is going to be a war." You open your mouth to object, but she keeps going, cutting you off. "No, this is something I've thought about for a long time. I've asked many people, scholars who spend their entire life studying people, ancient beasts with memories longer than language, even the average person on the street. The first human response to this is going to be panic. Panic then fear and from fear to war. It's inevitable."

You gently set your mug down, muscles tensing as you feel your magic gently thrum at your notice. "Karen, what are you asking me?"

She presses her hands together, resting her chin on them as she narrows her eyes. "Who's side will you fight for?"

The response is instant, without thought. "My sisters."

Karen lets out a little chuckle, her lips twitching upwards. "It's good you are honest, this is no time to be indecisive." She shifts her jaw slightly before continuing, voice a quiet, sad thing. "This will be bad, a war beyond describing, modern man and magic waging total war against one-another." Her eyes go distant and her voice falls to a whisper. "By the hand of man, the world will burn." She turns to look at you, face set. "And what shall rise from the ashes?"

[] Your Answer...