Chapter 68 - The Almost Person
"Alright then. We'll move into my room for the operation." You day as you stand up from the table. Kyoko does the same. Mami shuffles in her seat uncomfortably beside you. Depending on what you see, it may be for the best that she isn't there to watch. Especially since it's unclear if you'll be able to patch Kyoko's memories back together.
"We'll only be in operation for a short time. Until then, I ask that the five of you please respect Kyoko's privacy and wait for us to finish." Mami flinches, though your words are directed far more at Sayaka and Yuma than they are at her. As worried as she is about her friend, you can say without a question she wouldn't intrude upon the procedure. While the two in question aren't malicious, they're definitely the least mature out of anyone here.
The tension in the air only thickens as you and Kyoko turn and walk away from the table. What was a bright morning originally has become cold and dark. It's as though the weather has shifted to match the mood. Every new thing you've had to tell the kids today has hurt them. Hopefully you'll be able to give them some good news this time.
"Let's just get this over with." Kyoko grumbles, and the two of you you step into your room and out of sight.
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The second you've closed the door behind you, it feels as if all light in the room has been extinguished. With the sun blocked by heavy, dark clouds and the lights in the room off, the only source of illumination is the faint trickle from the other side of the door. Kyoko trails her hand from table to cabinet, eyes scanning the few photos left for something she does not find. Once she reaches the opposite wall, she stares out into the rain before falling back onto the bed.
"It's just so awkward." Kyoko mumbles at nobody in particular. She seems almost deflated, all emotion gone save for resignation. "I really don't wanna do this."
"I can wait." You say in return. "We can begin whenever you're comfortable. This can go at whatever pace you'd prefer."
And that is the moment before everything goes wrong.
Kyoko sits up suddenly, like a puppet on a string. Her smile has returned, but something about it has changed. Before, Kyoko was still a child. She could be hostile, predatory even, but never quite menacing. There was always something defensive about her aggression, as if she were hiding some great weakness. Now, any trace of that is gone. The smile you see now is gleeful, unrestrained, hungry. It is the smile of somebody who sees something beautiful and reaches out to take it, no matter what the consequences may be.
It is the smile of a monster.
"I mean, it's just embarrassing. You caught me so early! It's downright shameful!" Don't you think so too, Manager?
Only the sounds of the wind and the rain fill the pause that follows. Your hands clench involuntarily.
"You aren't Kyoko Sakura, are you?"
The thing squeals in glee and falls back onto the bed, clutching its arms to its chest. "Just like that! Honestly, I should've seen this coming. I didn't wanna get close until I was ready for you, but then I saw you with her body and I just couldn't help myself!" The creature giggles and leisurely pushes itself up off the bed and to a standing position, unconcerned by the sword in your hand burning with pale starlight. "I always knew you were supposed to be a genius or something, but you really are amazing."
"Well, I wanted to wait until I was done, but I'm close enough to give you a show right now. C'mon Manager, do you recognize me?"
With that final word, the image of Kyoko Sakura vanishes from the world like a candle being blown out. The illusion disperses in a final few curls of smoke, and in the girl's place is something else.
The person before you is tall, nearly your height. Dull red hair falls in messy curls down barely past their shoulders, a few trails of green and blue twisting together just above their left ear. Their skin is a bone-white that gradually transitions to a light tan towards the extremities. Mismatched eyes, sapphire blue and emerald green, stare at you in unrestrained glee. Around the creature's body is a heavy coat that resembles Kali's own, veins and muscle woven together in place of threads. Beneath, the creature wears a simple black shirt that seems slightly too coarse to be any ordinary fabric. The Abnormality smiles at you, as if everything is right in the world. You can say only two words, your voice flat and emotionless.
"Nothing There."
"Haha, I knew it! I knew you would recognize me! So, what do you think? I'm not quite done yet, but I still wanna know." the Abnormality chirps, unbothered by the grim expression on your face.
Why? That's the first question you can ask yourself. Why is Nothing There here now, and how did it manage to hide from you and Kyubey both? Why did they choose to keep up their act for so long, instead of attacking? Why aren't they attacking now, even after they've been unmasked? You need answers, and you need them fast. So you do the only thing you can do for now.
Keep the situation from getting any worse.
"That's a shell, isn't it? So Kyoko Sakura really is dead." Your voice is somber, though the Abnormality doesn't notice. It's entirely possible you never even met Kyoko. She was abrasive and pessimistic, the exact sort of person who allowed the City to exist as it does. But for whatever mistakes she might have made she was a child, a child whose life was taken from her by a monster for its own goals not once but twice. She was family to Mami, and if things had gone differently she might have one day been family to you as well.
To your surprise, Nothing There's excitement actually dims for a moment. But that moment ends as swiftly as it began, and the Abnormality once more breaks into a grin.
"Actually," Nothing There begins with savage glee as they extends a single hand. Sharp plates of bone twist themselves into existence around the extended hand, forming a vicious claw. The Abnormality digs their fingers into the skin just below their neck, then forces the other hand in after it. In a single, sickening motion, they tear open their flesh to reveal Kyoko's Soul Gem shining within a network of fleshy threads.
"…she's just fine!"
The Abnormality withdraws their hands, allowing the gaping wound to close. Not noticing both what would be a grievous injury to an ordinary human and your restrained disgust and horror, they continue.
"It's all~ because of your gift! 'Cause we got to follow you here, I've never been closer to being human!" Nothing There's eyes are practically glowing with manic energy as they step closer to you, pushing into your personal space. You consider attacking now, but stay your hand. Depending on how powerful Nothing There is right now, that could be tantamount to suicide. "Magical Girls put themselves back together, y'know? So as long as their Soul Gems don't break, each one keeps this shell together a little more. I can tell, I only need a few more and I'll finally be human. Then I can help you!"
You can't help it. With everything you've just seen, your ability to remain calm is being pushed to its limits. And so when Nothing There makes its final declaration, you deadpan a single word.
"What."
The Abnormality is practically leaning up against you now, like an over-affectionate puppy. "Yep! When I'm human, I can be one of your employees! Like those kids you found. I'll be great, the best you ever had!"
That's it? And yet, it makes sense. All Nothing There wants is to become human. They're not actively malicious, they simply either don't understand or don't care that they are hurting people in the process. If they could actually achieve that goal, why would they continue to kill? Of course, that premise requires two assumptions. First, you have to believe that Nothing There will actually lose their violent impulses when they become human. While it seems a logical conclusion, Abnormalities are very rarely that straightforward. More importantly is the question of if it's even possible for an Abnormality to become human. No matter what shell they wear, how perfectly it fits, how many people believe it to be real, an Abnormality will remain an Abnormality. It would take a miracle to change that.
And even if you found that miracle here, you can't accept the cost.
"How many Magical Girls did you hunt for that shell?" you say, your voice just barely not a growl. Nothing there remains unperturbed, sitting back down on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.
"I think it was… thirty-six? Thirty-seven? Yeah, thirty-seven. Some of 'em were actually pretty tough, all things considered."
Thirty-seven people. That's how many you'd be sacrificing if you accept Nothing There's offer. And not just to death. You remember days ago, when you were investigating at the church. Those Magical Girls aren't just alive, they're conscious. If you were to reach out right now, you could hear them crying out in agony. You wouldn't be able to accept not saving them. But is that even within your power to do? Nothing There's shells are typically fragile enough that a sufficiently powerful attack can incapacitate the Abnormality, but this is anything but a typical situation. You have no idea if you'd be able to match this amalgamated form of Nothing There. If it's anywhere near as strong as its true forms, then there's nothing you can do now. Whatever the case, you have to handle the situation properly. There's no room for errors, not with your kids sitting patiently in the room outside without a clue as to what's going on. You need to regain control of the situation, and the first step to that is clear: Treat Nothing There as you would a completely new Abnormality and gather more information.
"How are you keeping them cleansed? Shouldn't they all have become Witches by now?" you ask. Nothing There lights up at your question.
"I just sorta push myself in their Soul Gems. I used to just re-hunt the same few Witches over and over again, but one day I had an idea. If Grief builds up in a Soul Gem, then it has to go somewhere to do that. So if I just filled up that space where the Grief goes myself, then no more Grief can form!" the Abnormality declares proudly. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem like something you can replicate. Leaving aside if it's even possible or a unique trait of Nothing There having consumed those Magical Girls in some way, you simply can't accept it on a moral basis. Forcing your way into a Soul Gem and simply blocking the flow of Grief shouldn't prevent Grief from forming, so it's instead violating the function of the Soul Gem in some way. However the specifics, you can't imagine it's either safe or painless. The longer you wait, the higher the chance that Nothing There's victims will never be saved.
There is one option you could try. It's a minuscule chance, but barely a week ago you would have said the same thing about you becoming an Abnormality or having a friendly conversation with one.
Well, relatively friendly. The way Nothing There has started staring at you seems somewhere between adoration and hunger. They either want to eat you or are… what was the phrase? "Checking you out?" Whatever it is, it's not just mindless cheer. This whole deception already proved that Nothing There is far more cunning than you had believed back at the facility.
Regardless, your fellow Abnormality has been friendly so far. Maybe you can hold onto that?
"I'll accept it," You say with your usual managerial cadence. Nothing There leaps up and towards you in joy before you add "on one condition."
The Aleph immediately stops centimeters away from you, nervous energy apparent for the first time since you began.
"I can get you a human body. I can find you a shell that will never wear out or break. Give me some time, and maybe I can make you human." you say almost pleadingly. "But you can't keep those Magical Girls like that. They're suffering, and-"
"N̶̛̻̭̩̳͈̠͉͂̓̈́͘͝o̸̡̨̨̫͙͗!̶̩̱̣͕̲̮͑̒̔̃͋" Nothing There shouts in distress, their otherwise androgynous voice suddenly far more feminine and far younger. "I won't give them up. Not one of them." they hiss. "Not when I'm so close. Not when I'm so close to-" They suddenly cut themselves off, and for a second you think you see embarrassment at the outburst.
"I can be better than any of them. You need Kyoko, right?" A twist of light almost like a flickering flame, and Nothing There's human shell is once again replaced by the image of Kyoko Sakura. Even now, knowing the truth, you can't pick out a single detail in the Abnormality's disguise that might have hinted at their true nature. Nothing but their undisguised voice as they cheerfully chatter with a dead girl's mouth. "I can be Kyoko. I can be a better Kyoko than she'd ever be! You saw it already, didn't you? I can be a perfect sister for Mami. I can help calm the others down when they're too afraid. I'm not as strong like this, but I'll kill every Witch and Magical Girl who stands against you! And if anyone finds out, you can fix it!"
"I can be anybody you want, Manager."
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[] If Nothing There is still in its shell, you might have a chance. Fight.
-[] Tactics
[] You don't know if you can win this. Accept the offer.
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