glitchdoka episode 2

Cody turned in a circle as his clothes shimmered, turning into the blue suit she'd seen once before. He spoke as he fought with his paintbrush, painting animated strokes into the air.

"Me name's Cody, Cody McGuire. I go to Kellogg Middle School, just like you lot."

He crouched down as Mila ran to him, putting a hand around her shoulders.

"And I'm a Puella Magi who made a contract with Mila."

Then there was only darkness. Dani turned, and --

Beep beep beep beep. Beep beep beep beep.

Dani leant up off of her bed, reaching over to pet Krypto. "These dreams are so weird..."

She didn't notice anything strange about her room until Mila spoke up.

"Good morning, Dani!"

"What?" Dani blinked and yawned, still not entirely awake. Krypto didn't even seem to notice the intruder. "Why are you..."

"It's time to rise and shine, meow!"

"But you're in my room..."

"Don't worry, no one can see me. Just look at your dog!" It was true - Krypto just laid there. "I'm a harmless kitty girl here to help you as you decide whether you want a contract, meow."

"Well, I guess..." Dani looked at Mila. She wasn't lying; the girl couldn't have been more than six years old. And she was definitely special in some way if Krypto didn't notice her. "Okay. Let's put this to the test!"

She went and woke her sis up - and just as expected, the woman didn't notice the little girl standing next to Dani.

Dani went out to meet Sora and Cody, and they walked to Cody's house together. It was a crowded affair, full of paintings.

"I don't really prepare for guests much, but you're welcome to sit down."

He fetched them some cola, and the three of them sat on his couch. Mila settled herself in Cody's lap.

"Since you've been chosen by Kyubey, you guys deserve an explanation."

"Okay, so what's going on...?"

Cody revealed his sphere again. It was a shining gem, encased in brass. "We call these Soul Gems. When Mila forms a contract with someone, one of these is created."

"That's gorgeous!"

"It's so pretty!"

"Yeah, isn't it? It's the source of our power as magical boys and girls. Our emblem, too."

Sora sipped at his cola, and then asked, "So what /is/ the contract...?"

"In exchange for a wish, meow, you become Puella Magi!"

"A wish?"

"That's right! I can make annny miracle come true!" Mila threw her hands into the air, as if embracing the sky. Strangely, her lips never seemed to move as she spoke.

"Any wish at all?! Love, power, or fabulous clothes?!"

"Sora, you've got that last one already..."

Mila cut in with her cute mind-voice. "But if I grant your wish, you get a Soul Gem. And if you have a Soul Gem, you've gotta fight."

"... fight what?" Dani asked.

"The witches."

"Witches, huh? So how are witches different from magical girls?"

"Weeell..." Mila put her hands in her lap as she thought. "Puella Magi are made from wishes, and Witches are made from curses! Witches are like the opposite of Puella Magi, mean and awful, meow."

"They sound like a good thing to fight," Sora said.

"That's right. But it gets worse! Normal people can't even see witches."

"That explains why there's never been a panic!"

"Witches work subtly, meow. Strong negative feelings are the seeds they use to sprout forests of disaster!"

"That's one way to put it," Cody sighed. "Witches are pretty nasty work. They'll infect you, just like a virus. They set themselves up inside their barriers and raise all sorts of hell."

"Their barriers?"

"That's right! You wandered into one before, meow."

"So that's what that weird place was...?"

"Yeah. You guys are pretty lucky." Cody took a drink of cola. "Normally, a human who went in there wouldn't've come out."

"... hey, Cody," Dani said, "do you fight those things?"

"Yeah, that's right. It's dangerous, too. You two should be careful about what you choose, yeah? You do get a wish granted, but once you get that wish, you've gotta fight for the rest of your life."

"Boy, this is a toughie..!"

"You could come with me on one of me hunts. You'll be able to see what it's like that way, and decide whether you wanna take the risk."

Dani jogged to catch up with her friends, and Mila jogged behind her. Sora turned to greet them.

"Hey, how's it-- eeeh?!"

Mila smiled at him, and in his thoughts, he heard her adorable voice. "Don't worry! No one can see me! And what's more, you just need to think to yourself and we can hear it!"

"We're already magical?!", Sora thought.

"No, no, I'm acting as a relay!"

"This is pretty weird..."

One of their friends interrupted them as she watched Sora seemingly staring at Dani. "Whoa, wait, what happened between you two?!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You're already staring at each other like lovebirds after one date?!"

"Hey, it wasn't a date--"

"You two are absurd! How could you be so obvious with your affections?! What happened yesterday?!"

"Now you cut that out!", Sora said as Dani blushed a little. "Nothing happened!"

"Well, uh, something sorta actually did, but not..."

"Auuugh! I can't stand this! I'm giving you two your space!" The girl ran off ahead, and Sora sighed, rubbing at the back of his head.

"... geez, how troublesome."


They went to class, Mila following them. She sat down on the floor next to Dani, still smiling.

"Hey, Mila," Sora thought, "you sure you should be here?"

"What do you mean?"

"That girl who tried to kill you? She's part of this class..."

"I'll be fine, meow! Because Cody's here, too!"

"But Cody's not part of this class," Dani thought, concern clear in her expression.

Suddenly, Cody's voice could be heard in their minds. "Naw, I can hear you guys. I'm within range, see? Anyway, she won't attack with all these students around. It's too public."

Kris stepped into the room and sat herself down. Sora glared at her back, and thought, "there she is."

Kris looked back at Dani, and Dani frowned.

"I hope everything'll be okay..."

"Don't worry, Dani. If she tries anything, I'll protect you! And Cody'll be there, too."

"Yeah, me trigger finger's ready."


At lunch, Sora and Dani say on the rooftop with Mila. Dani looked up at the clouds and sighed.

"Have you thought about your wish, Sora?"

"Yeah... but I can't decide on anything. I mean, there's lots of things I could wish for, but..."

"But what?"

"None of them seem important enough, I guess. There's nothing I'd really give my life for..."

"I think that if we use a wish, we should use it on something really important."

"Yeah, you're right. But what's really important?" Sora stood up, striding to the chain-link fence. "We're just kids. We don't know what importance really is. Our lives are just great, we don't need anything like a miracle..."

"Sora..."

"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be a hero and fight against Witches. I just..."

Before he could go on, the door leading up to the stairwell opened and Kris strode out. They fell silent as they looked towards her, Sora running over to stand in front of Dani.

"It's all right," Cody telepathically assured them. He was standing in a nearby building, watching them.

Sora glared at Kris. "You want a piece of us?"

"No, you moron. It's way too late now he's already contacted her."

"So what're you gonna do?"

"... are you going to become Puella Magi?"

"I..." Dani hesitated, and Sora spoke over her.

"Get outta here! We don't need the likes of you creeping everything up!"

Kris ignored him, looking down at Dani. "You remember what I told you?"

"I do," Dani replied.

"Good. 'Cause it'd fucking suck if I said all that and you just ignored me."

Kris turned and began walking away. Dani called out after her:

"Wait! What'd you wish for when you became a magical girl?"

Kris stopped, and turned to stare at Dani for a moment. Her stare burned into her until she turned and walked away.


Cody, Sora and Dani gathered in a cafe. Cody leant over the table, leaning on his hands.

"This'll be your first lesson on Puella Magi, so listen up. You guys ready?"

"I dunno if I'm ready," Dani said, "but I brought this!" She uncovered a baseball bat with a triumphant grin. "I figured it was better than nothing."

"It's a good thing you're prepared. Did you bring anything, Sora?"

"Why, of course!" He uncovered his notebook with a flourish, placing it down on the table. "... I brought costume ideas!"

Dani and Cody burst out laughing. "That's just like you!", Dani grinned.

"Hey, this is serious!"

"Yeah, it is...!"

The three of them went to the renovated part of the mall, where Cody took out his Soul Gem. Its glow guided them on the Witch's trail, out of the mall and down the street.

"It's faint," Cody sighed. "Guess that's the price I pay for not chasing it down first thing."

"Sorry we slowed you down..."

"No, no, don't worry 'bout it. Your safety came first."

"See that? That's how we know you're the good guy, Cody." Sora grinned. "You're nothing like that weird chick."

As they walked, Dani asked: "Do you know where the Witch could be, Cody?"

"Me, I got no clue. But there's a few places it could be. Wherever there's misfortune... where folks've been hurt or where they fight. Anyway, the light's getting brighter, means we're close."

They followed the pulsing light of the Soul Gem as it led them to an abandoned building. Dani gasped as she looked upwards and saw a woman standing over the railings - about to jump.

"Cody!"

The boy leapt into action, his clothes shimmering and changing as he used his gem's magic. He painted strokes into the air, and the lines of paint caught the woman as she fell. She was lowered gently to the ground, and the paint dissipated.

Cody leant down and turned her head to the side, revealing a detailed sigil. "... it's a Witch's kiss. I knew it."

"She gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, she's just unconscious."

They went inside, and faced the Witch's barrier. Crumbling stone could be seen in an elaborate sigil.

"There you are, ya bastard," Cody said. "I'll get you this time. Mark me."

He turned and took out his paintbrush, painting strokes onto Dani's bat. It transformed into an elaborate club.

"That should help you out a bit."

"Thanks!"

"Stay close. Don't want you getting hurt."

"Okay," they nodded. The four of them stepped into the Witch's barrier.

As they disappeared, Kris stood in the entryway, watching them.

The nightmare-world remained terrifying. Crows lined strings of stone, staring at them from the distance. Some approached them, here and there - Cody slashed them down with his paints.

As they descended deeper into the Witch's barrier, the scenery began to change. Earth was replaced with darkness, the void stretching out into infinity as they ran down a shadowy path.

"We're almost there," Cody assured them, striking down some crows which were barely visible against the black.

They came to a door, which opened to reveal another, and another, almost as if it were sucking them in. When the final door opened, it revealed a huge earthen golem, eyeless and shrouded in void.

"Stay back," Cody warned them.

"Are you really gonna fight that thing?! It feels so wrong..."

"Yeah. Don't worry 'bout me, though." He took Dani's bat and slammed it into the ground, creating a shimmering barrier.

"I'll be fine."

He leapt down into the pit of darkness, painting strokes with his brush to create a platform for him to land on. The huge gigalith raised its body to strike at him, and he painted an arrow which sailed into its earthen girth.

It pulled back and roared, an impossible sound which made Dani's eyes ache as she almost thought she saw it. The monster struck at Cody with tendrils of inky shadow, capturing him and pinning him down.

"Cody!"

"Don't worry," Cody frowned to the creature in front of him. "I've got this."

He gestured with his paintbrush, painting a long thin streak in the air. The razorwire sliced through the monster's face, or what might have been its face; it roared and let Cody loose. He landed delicately on a painted line, and slashed three strokes of paint into the air. One, two, three. They dug into its skin, or what would have been its skin, bound it and finally crushed it.

It disappeared with another solid scream, and the room faded back to normal - an abandoned hallway. Cody stood there, brushing himself off, not disturbed in the least.

"That's how it's done."

"So cool..."

Cody strode forward to pick up a small black sphere encased in silver metal. "Here, lookit this. It's a Grief Seed - a Witch's egg. Witchs'll drop them if you're lucky."

Dani gave the egg a dubious look, and Mila piped up from behind her: "Don't worry, meow! It's safe as an egg. Actually, it's pretty useful!"

"Look here," Cody said, holding out his Soul Gem. "It's dimmer, see? But if I do this -" He held the Grief Seed up to the Soul Gem, and the seed seemed to draw the darkness from the gem and into itself. "- me magic's renewed. Simple as that."

"Whoa..."

"This's the reward for defeating Witches." With that, Cody turned and tossed it into a dark hallway. There was a sound of the Witch's egg hitting flesh, and Kris stepped forward, holding the Grief Seed.

"There's still more use left in that one," Cody explained, calm. "You'd better use it, Kris."

Kris stared at him, silently. He grinned.

"What? You don't wanna share?"

"... that was your hunt. I don't want your fuckin' leftovers." Kris tossed the Grief Seed back to him.

"Oi... you're not gonna accept my olive branch, are you?"

Kris turned and walked away, gracing him with a silent middle finger as she left. Sora huffed, folding his arms.

"I can't believe that creepy girl! Who does she think she is?!"

"It'd be nice if we could get along..."

"Yeah, but she don't feel that way," Cody said to Dani. "It's too bad."


When they went outside, Cody crouched by the girl who had fallen until she woke up. He reassured her, and helped her home - and Dani watched it all.

"I don't know what I want to wish for," she said to herself, later, as she sat in her room. "But it'd be nice to help other people, just like Cody. Yeah, that'd be great."