glitchdoka episode 12

"I'm sorry, Kris. I'm going to become a Puella Magi."

"Dani... no..."

"I get it now. I have a wish I want fulfilled, and I'm gonna use my life to make it come true."

"No, don't! Everything I worked for, everything, it'd be fucking meaningless!"

Dani walked to her broken body and embraced it.

"I'm sorry, really I am. I think things turned out this way because I was so important to you... if you didn't have to take on that responsibility, I wonder how things would have went?"

She straightened up and smiled. "I've found an answer. And I won't let your work go to waste, either."

"Dani... Dani....!"

"You're the focal point of hundreds of worlds, meow," Mila tilted her head, smiling in a way entirely unlike Dani's smile. "Even if your wish is impossible, it could still come true! None of those lame limitations."

"Good!"

"So, Dani Martin, tell me what you want so badly you'd lose your soul for it."

"I..." Dani took a deep breath, steeling herself. "I want to erase every witch before they're born! Every witch from every world, from the past and from the future! I'll do it by my own hand!"

"But that wish... if it's fulfilled, it'll surpass even space-time interference! It's treason! Treason! You really wanna become a God, huh?"

"I don't care what I become. I'm not going to let everyone suffer! Everyone, every single Puella Magi believed in their hopes and fought against the Witches. I want them to live on with their hope If the rules don't allow for that, I'll change them. This is my wish, so fulfill it, Assimilator!"

Mila took a step forward, reaching into Dani's chest, her smile dark. She pulled at something which oughn't be pulled, and Dani took her Soul Gem.

Flash.


Cody leant back against the couch. "You're doing something real scary, you know that?"

"Yeah."

"You'll have to fight forever, and forever's a real long time. You gonna be able to keep yourself together?"

He passed her a can of cola. "Dying'd be easier, honestly. You'll have to destroy Witches for all eternity."

"I'm going to do it. I'm going to make everything okay for everyone. If someone tells me I'm not allowed, I'll tell them they're wrong!"

"It's worth a try," Gabe shrugged, appearing suddenly as he leant against the back of the couch. "You were always way too kind, but I reckon you could use that. So long as you decided to do this on your own, just go ahead and do it."

"Thanks, Gabe."

"Here," Cody said, smiling as he handed over Sora's costume ideas. "He had something in here for you, too."

"You're not just granting hope to all those people. You're becoming hope!"

Flash.


Dani appeared in a grey and pink dress, the shimmer fading as she changed. She took her whistle and blew, summoning a countless number of light-formed dogs who leapt into the sky.


A metal-plated young woman stumbled and fell, groaning as her Soul Gem filled with blackness. From nowhere leapt a dog, and that dog became Dani. She took Lalaos by the hand, covering her Soul Gem, drawing the darkness away. Then she was gone.


An armored girl fell to the ground, sobbing bitter tears. The dog leapt to her side, and Dani was there, reaching out to the Soul Gem in her gauntlet. She took the taint from Belona's gem, and disappeared.


A sweet young woman dropped to her knees, hugging her midsection as she wailed. The dog made of light walked up to her and nudged her with her muzzle before Dani was there, embracing her gently. She took the taint from Diemca's Soul Gem and faded away.


A boy stumbled to one knee, fighting back tears. The dog stepped over to him, and Dani was there, cradling Joklen's cheek in a hand. "It's okay," she said to him as she drained the taint from the Soul Gem in his eye.


The dog approached a boy's fallen form, nudging his side with its muzzle. Dani was there, then, shaking his shoulder gently. As Verfal looked up, she reached gently to his Soul Gem and took the darkness from it. "You don't have to suffer, or make others suffer."


A young man dropped to the ground, sobbing quietly. A dog stepped up to him, and Dani was there. "I'll take all the misfortune," she said to Regeni as she covered his Soul Gem in her hands, drawing the blackness from it. "None of it will touch you. So please believe in yourselves until the very end!"


Thousands of dogs leapt into the sky and disappeared. The gearbound Witch screamed in the clear blue sky, bursting into clear flames.

"It's okay," Dani said to it. "You don't have to hate or curse anyone. Not anymore. I'll stop you before it comes to that!"


Kris awoke in a plain white field, the sky filled with blackness.

"Where am I...?"

She heard Mila's voice.

"According to Dani's new laws, space is getting a spruce-up!" The blackness faded into millions of points of light. Stars. "But it looks like your magic has drawn you beyond time. Wanna look at the end of Dani together?"

A huge red-wreathed comet hurtled through space.

"That's Dani's Soul Gem, meow! I wonder if the despair she's taking on measures up to the hope she's creating. She wished for enough hope to create a universe, but that means enough despair to end one, too!"

As Kris watched, a Witch surrounded Earth. It embraced the planet, screaming and laughing at the same time.

"No.... no...!"

"It's okay." Dani's voice was calm. "I wished to erase every Witch. If that's fulfilled..."

She blew her whistle, summoning a titan of a dog.

"... I have no reason to despair!"

The dog leapt towards the Witch, biting at it.

Flash.


"Your life's a big old circle now, meow! No beginning, no end."

Mila's voice echoed in the shimmering light.

"There's no proof you ever existed, either. After all, you became a concept, didn't you? You can't be friends with a concept. And a concept can't interact with anyone. You've ceased to be human."

"What is this?!" Kris demanded, fighting the stars which threatened to consume her body. "This isn't what Dani wished for! Don't let her be erased! You've gotta be kidding me! This is even worse than getting killed...!"

As the light faded, Dani appeared behind her, embracing her.

"No, Kris, that's not right." Kris lifted her head from her hands, looking at Dani with a trembling expression.

"Now I'm everywhere. Past and future, and present, too! In every world which ever might exist! It's really cool."

"Dani..."

"I finally get it," she said, nuzzling her cheek against Kris's own. "I get how hard you've been fighting for me. You were hurt a lot, right? And all for me. I'm sorry I didn't know. I'm really sorry..."

Kris turned in Dani's arms, sobbing into her chest.

"I had to become this before I realised anything... pretty stupid, huh? I never knew I had such a great friend. I'm so glad." Kris looked up at her, and Dani leaned forward, kissed her forehead in a tender motion. "I'm glad you were my very best friend."

"But... you won't have anyone! You'll be trapped here forever! You'll be all alone!"

"I'm not alone," Dani stroked Kris's cheek and smiled. "The way I am now, I'm everywhere. So even though you can't see me, I'll always be there! Kinda spooky, isn't it?" Dani grinned.

"But Dani, I'll... I'll forget you! I'll never get to see you again! I...!"

"Isn't it a little too early to be saying things like that?" Dani smiled to her, warm. "After all, you're still here with me." She reached down and undid the ribbon around her chest, tying it about Kris's midsection.

"I know that everything will be fine," Dani said, holding Kris's hands as she smiled to her. "So believe with me, okay? Puella Magi fulfill hopes and dreams, after all!"

Dani let go, and was slowly pulled away. She never stopped smiling, but it was unlike Mila's constant smile. Hers had warmth. "Sorry, Kris, but I've gotta go."

"No! Dani, don't! Don't go! Don't you dare leave me!"

"Sorry... I've got to meet everyone! I'll meet you again, too, so just wait for me. Wait for me, Kris!"

"DANI...!"

Dani disappeared, leaving only a star which whisked itself away. Kris was pulled away, back down to the new Earth.


In the circus, Dane performed his sleight of hand. At the back of the tent, Sora and Dani watched him.

"I caused a lot of trouble, huh?"

"It's okay, Sora. And... I'm sorry. To save you, I had to get rid of everything. This future will disappear, too, even though you worked so hard for it."

Sora took Dani's hand, and Dani smiled to him. "What you did wasn't meaningless. So don't..."

"... it's okay," Sora smiled back. "I just wanted to see my friends one last time. I want to see everyone, so... let's go."

They stood, and disappeared.


The monster burned, and the train station returned to normal.

"... hey," Gabe said. "Where'd that flounce go?"

"It looks like he used all his energy in that last attack," Cody said.  "He's gone now."

"What an idiot... what's the point of disappearing for your friends?! When I finally started giving a shit, too..."

"That's the fate of a Puella Magi," Cody looked away. "You should've learnt that when you got these powers. We have to disappear before our hope brings misfortune to the world."

Kris looked down at the ribbon around her waist, and tears fell down her cheeks.

"Dani..."

"... huh? Who's Dani..?"


Dani's sister sat on the bench, humming Dani's favourite tune. She didn't know why she was doing it... just that the song brought her comfort.

Kris sat down next to her, smiling. "Hey... where'd you hear that song?"

"I don't know," Sis shook her head. "It just gives me a really nostalgic feeling when I hear it... oh, look at me, talking like this to a stranger!"

"No, no, it's okay. What's it called?"

"I don't know... but I think it's called Dani's Song for some reason."

"That sounds nice," Kris leant back against the bench.

"Ahh," Sis looked down at the ribbon around Kris's waist. "That ribbon is adorable!"

"Thank you. Would you like it?"

"No, no," Sis waved her off. "If I wanted something like that, I could get it myself. Besides, it wouldn't fit someone like me. If I had a daughter, I'd get one for her!"


"That's interesting," Mila said, perched next to Kris on the rooftop. "It's very possible!"

"It's not possible, you idiot, it's the truth." Kris took a shard of blackness and threw it to Mila, who caught it in the mouth on her chest.

"There's no way to prove it, meow! If the rules of the universe changed, I mean. You're the only one who remembers it, so maybe you made it up?"

Kris sighed, tossing another shard of darkness to Mila, who caught it deftly.

"Well, I mean, not even we can explain why exhausted Soul Gems disappear! So I think your theory of 'witches' is at least fascinating. It would be a great way to collect emotional energy!"

Mila smiled. "If it was that easy, we Assimilators would have a very different plan."

"Yeah, you're arseholes like that."

"Were there any Demons in the world with Witches? Isn't it easier to gather curses this way, anyway?"

"No," Kris shook her head. "You don't get it. We hated you guys."

"Huuuh," Mila said, tilting her head and smiling. "I don't understand you humans!" To punish her, Kris threw several black shards at her at once -- but Mila caught them all deftly in the cavity of her chest.

"Even though Witches aren't born in this world," Kris thought, "it's still not a free lunch. There's still curses. It's Distortions instead of Witches, now, and they attack people from the darkness."

Mila scurried up to Kris, hugging her leg. Kris kicked her off. "The miasma is pretty thick tonight, huh? The Demons will all come out! Every one of them! And we've got to defeat them allll..."

"No whining," Kris said as she leapt downwards.

"This world is still shitty," she thought. "People still hurt and use each other. People are still fucking bastards. But Dani believed in this world. She gave her life to protect it. And I'm never going to forget that. I'll fight!"


Far in the future...

Kris walked towards a long line of demons, her boots crushing the sand beneath her feet. Wings spread from her back, huge shimmering things which showed the world inside them.

She grit her teeth as she looked up at the impossible fight, and in her ears she heard a whisper.

"You can do it, Kris. I believe in you!"

Kris smiled and nodded. She leapt forward towards the towering monsters, and beams of light surrounded her as she attacked.