Last Goodbyes - MGNQ, nonCanon

Last Goodbyes

-artemi-

The line of dark limousines snake their way though the crisp morning, rolling slowly into a beautiful, yet somber, graveyard. Coming to a gentle stop at the top of a lonely hill, set far away from other graves, doors open, and a quiet procession files out.

Out of the first car comes a young woman, hat perched on her long dark hair, limbs clad in shining brutal metal. A man followed, brown haired with a sad face, his normal white labcoat replaced by a black suit. More came, a young lady, no more then six or seven, with long brown hair, and older girl, long purple black locks framing a pair of red glasses, and a tall blonde, drill haired woman, lush frame contained by a somber dress. Quietly the approach the back of the limo, opening the rear door to sound of a single chocked sob echo from the assembled crowd.

As one, the older members of the burial party grab the wooden casket, dragging the heavy thing out with a scrape of wood and metal along the car's runners. Lifting it, they carry it shoulder level, walking it in step toward the lift, perched on the edge of a empty grave carved deep into the ground. Placing it on the waiting platform, they turn, to listen to final words of respect for the departed.

As the heavy burden sinks slowly into it's final resting place, the young girl snaps, turning her tearfilled brown eyes up to her brother, beating on his leg with small fists of pain and sadness.

“So-Souji! Wh-why are they putting... putting Malal-nee-sama into the ground?! Nii-san! STOP THEM!!”

-=-=-=-
It... it wasn't easy watching his girlfriend die.

He still wasn't sure what had happened, to be honest. They had been doing some tests on a new weapon that Malal had found, a wonderfully powerful long bow in a strange golden color. She had tried it out on a few missions, and though it didn't fit her usual methods, she found herself strangely attracted with the almost gaudy thing. It certainly had the power she needed when running cover for the Warmaster, being able to knock even a Evesor out of a full headlong berserker pounce.

Where she had found it, though, not even she could really say. They had been pinned down one mission, and even Murderface seemed to be having trouble leveling appropriate amounts of cover fire for her team mates. The Warmaster had reported that they got split up briefly storming a floor, and when they met up again, Malal had her brand new weapon. At the time, it wasn't questioned, but it certainly made it's mark on the poor gunman who thought they could lure the three women into a trap. Launching arrows who could punch cleanly through walls of steel and concrete seemed to take them off guard, at least.

And now it was back in the lab. They had been trying to study the thing, and figure out where it's unusual properties had come from, and perhaps make some copies for others to try out. The shift caught him completely off guard.

Malal had just taken the Golden Bow into a small Silent Room they had to test for magical signature readings, when he heard a strange string words he didn't fully catch echo out of the doorway. Looking in to see if she needed help, he watched in horror she lifted the weapon, drawing a bolt of pure light across it's delicate yellow bowstring and fire, nearly taking his arm off.

Swearing in terror, the scientist fell heavily to the side, scrambling over to the nearest com to yell for help. He got part of the message off before another bolt of light slammed into the computer array, knocking out the com in his hand. Within moments, the labs main doors were wrenched open, and the two door guards stormed in.

They... didn't last long.

He had to give them credit for trying, though. Fully unprepared for an attack deep in the bowels of the 9ths Headquarters, the Vindicare and Eversor duo still handled themselves well. The first laid some rounds of cover fire from the small yet powerful machine gun she held, while the second tried to slip closer, to pin or disarm their fellow Magical Girl. It would have worked in most circumstances, had Malal not nimbly danced around and between the rounds, drawing back and loosing a single arrow of her own, cutting through the hail of death and shattering the other girl's Soul Gem in a dim flash of the setting sun.

Rage and shock filled her partner, the Eversor drawing heavily upon her training and lifting her ax high, throwing all her rage and hate into her lunge. It struck the Culexus' helmet cleanly, but she snapped back in time to keep her head on her shoulders. As her short pink hair spilled out, her control slipped, and her let loose her true weapon.

She had described it to him, once when he asked. A Culexus' power wasn't, really, magic. If anything, it was more anti-magic in nature. Sometimes when a girl makes the transformation into a Magical Girl her soul refuses the Soul Gem. Her consciousness goes well enough, but being unable to return to the body, and lacking a home in the gem, it... simply disappears, leaving a gaping, aching hole where the soul used to be. Allowing it's power to run free, it tugs on the powers of witches and fellow girls, attempting to drag them into the blackhole nothingness that take the place of a Culexus' soul.

He wasn't sure if that explanation was official, or even how it worked at all. But she described it the best she could, and that certainly didn't detract from the devastating effect it had with the Eversor in question. A formless, utterly quiet shriek of nothingness seemed to pulse out, slamming the girl back, causing her to drop her ax. Moments later, the battle lust was clearly driven from her, as she curled up on her side, retching heavily, trying to drag herself back to the ruined form of her partner's body.

Even he wasn't left unscathed, despite him having many... more personal moment's with the Culexus in the past. A deep quake of nausea hit him, but he grit his teeth, watching desperately for some way to stop this madness. Reaching painfull for the fallen machine gun on the floor a few feet away, he almost missed the next pulse of sunlight fill the room, as the Eversor jerked stiffly, then drew still.

What he didn't miss, couldn't miss, however, was the sound of an engine, of chattering chain teeth that announced the arrival of the Warmaster herself.

Suddenly, instantly, Malal had been teleported back from the doorway where she stood over the almost-embracing dead girls, slammed almost clear through the lab back into the Silent Room. Blinking, he realized that the Warmaster had brought the third of her command staff with her as Murderface stepped into the room, shaking her shield with a frown.

Clearly, whatever effect the Golden Bow was having on Malal's powers, it was overwhelming her former comrade's perfect time stop ability.

The next few seconds flash in a blur, as Murderface kept attempting to pulse her own powers, only to be thrown out of them by the Culexus' heightened abilities. The Warmaster moved in, sidestepping and batting aside golden flashes of light from the beautiful Bow, leaving deep scores in her roaring chain blade, teeth coming off with each defense. He realized they were yelling, trying to bring their friend to her senses, to stop her murderous attack.

Something was different though. Now that she was closer, and had her helmet off, he realized her eyes... her eyes were different. Normally a hauntingly beautiful crimson color, they looked like they had been filled with ink, glowing red embers of light shining hotly out of a pitch night. And... what... was she saying...?

'The Flesh of Fallen Angels'. What... what did that mean..?

He watched as the Warmaster finally reached the pink haired girl, clearly having trouble as she staggered forward directly into the force of the Culexus' Animus Speculum field, only to have her leap clear over the much taller woman's head, Golden Bow pulled at full draw, aimed not at the Warmaster, but at their mutual friend, Murderface.

Kharn acted in a moment, on instinct, as she realized the threat. Feeling the force of Malal's power changing focus to the other woman behind her, she spun, dragging her now sputtering chain blade through the air in one clean, super heavy slash. The blade barely paused as bloodthirsty teeth hit flesh and bone, cleaving through the black power suit in moments, covering the lab in a shower of gore.

A single cry of pain was Malal's response, as her destroyed body fell to the ground wetly. Feeling her stifling field drop from the room like a fluttering curtain, he burst from his place in the corner, rushing over to the woman he loved. Dropping to his knees, he drew her head into his lap, refusing to look at the ruin that made up most of her lower body at this point.

She blinked, looking upward at him. Her eyes had gone back to normal, the crimson orbs sparkling in happiness, and in pain. “So-Souji. I... I think I really screwed up, somehow... You... you... Lis-listen to me! You... you gotta keep an eye on Kharn. She... she can't take care of herself. She's gonna get herself killed. Please, you, promise... me...”

She slumped back, with a sigh, hand held to her chest opening. He brushed her fingers aside, then looked in horror as he saw her now dim Soul Gem, cracked and chipped, the bottom half completely missing.

-=-=-=-

Of course, they couldn't have word get out that the most level headed and magically resistant Magical Girl in the Ninth, or even several other nearby, Officio had gone on a murderous rampage because of some golden weapon she had found someplace. Instead, it was much easier to blame the already high profile Warmaster, who had a well earned bloodthirsty reputation, and seemed to already be considering retirement for her replacement, a certain Miss Tomoe whom was well regarded by the other Officios. As for the weapon itself, it had been shipped to the Ninth's highly classified research lab deep in the Siberian tundra, with Souji himself tasked to keep an eye on it.

None of that mattered today, however. Not to the mourners who paid their respects then drifted off in ones and twos, nor to the main funeral party, as then huddled around in the cold wind blowing across the desolate hill, set far away from the other graves so the bodies of the Culexus that it held wouldn't effect their afterlife. Souji's eyes kept drifting to Kharn, no longer the Warmaster, and remembering Malal's final words to him.

What did she mean? What did she except HIM to do? No one held Kharn's leash, certainty not him.

His eyes widened as he watched his younger sister march up to the tall woman, fury on her face. She had loved Malal like an older sister, and had hoped she would join their little family as an actual one. She of course didn't know the full story; he wasn't even really sure how she had heard the modified version placing the blame at Kharn's feet. He took a step closer, reaching out to pull his sister away from the older woman, and barely caught the angry, whispered threat she laid at her feet.

“You... You stay away from my nee-san! I... I don't want you anywhere near us! You ruined our family!”