glitchdoka episode 9

Dani turned inside the barrier, watching it as it formed. Images of the circus paraded around the maze, a dark green light pulsing in the distance.

Sora's body fell to the ground, and Dani ran to catch it. "Sora? Sora!"

A carousel horse careened towards her. Dani blinked, and it was gone, with Kris standing in front of her. She took Sora's body from her, throwing it over her shoulder, and grabbed Dani by the hand.

Time stopped.

"Don't let go. If you do, time will stop for you too."

"What's going on?" Dani asked, fearful. "A witch suddenly appeared!"

"That's Sora Royale."

"What?!"

"We're getting out of here."

"But if that's Sora--!"

"You'd just get in my way if I fought him now."

They ran out of the barrier, and Kris laid Sora's body down on the ground.


Gabe approached the barrier, ready to fight the Witch. But when he saw Kris, and Dani carrying Sora, he stopped.

"Hey, what's wrong with him?"

"... his Soul Gem became a Grief Seed. He became a Witch and died."

"No fucking way."

"Yes fucking way. That's what Soul Gems become in the end. Once they're tainted dark enough, they hatch into Grief Seeds and become Witches."

Dani and Gabe watched her, disbelieving.

"That's what happens to all Puella Magi."

"You're a fucking liar," Gabe spat.

"But... Sora..." Dani's voice shook. "Sora just wanted to help everyone! He wanted to fight Witches! He wanted to be a good and pure Puella Magi!"

"It's a burden he had to bear as a Puella Magi. In exchange for the lives he saved before, now he'll go on fucking up everyone's shit."

Dani collapsed to her knees, laying Sora down on the ground. Gabe strode up to Kris, picking her up by the front of her shirt.

"Who the fuck are you, you creepy bitch?! How do you know all this?!"

Kris looked over to Dani, ignoring Gabe's words, his grip.

"Do you understand now? Don't fuck with the contract. In the end, the contract will fuck you."

"How can you keep this sort of thing from us?!" Gabe said.

"It's not worth it, telling you." Kris turned on her heel and walked away.


Dani sat on her bed, hopeless. She heard a knock at the door.

"Can I come in, meow?"

"... you're still alive." Mila stepped inside and sat on one of Dani's many chairs. "Is it true," Dani asked, "that magical girls turn into Witches?"

"Yes."

"So that's why you turn us into Puella Magi?"

"We don't want to hurt you, meow. We don't have a grudge. But we have to do this for everyone in the universe! Do you know what 'entropy' means?"

Dani was silent.

"Welllll, it's like this... you can get heat from a fire, but you need more energy than the heat gives off to make the wood grow! Some energy's lost when you make the change from wood to fire. Lame, huh?"

Dani didn't reply.

"The energy of the universe is slowly going away. We needed to find energy which didn't obey the rules! And that's when we found the magic of Puella Magi."

"Just what are you, Mila...?"

"Our culture developed technology which converts emotions into energy, meow. But our species can't feel emotions! So we looked for a species which would be good, and we found you! Your emotions are very powerful. In fact, your souls counter entropy!"

Dani listened, but didn't reply.

"Humans in their second growth phase are most effective. When your hope turns into despair and your Soul Gem turns into your Grief Seed, an enormous amount of energy comes from it! It's the Assimilator's job to assimilate that energy."

"... so we're just tools? Is that what you're saying?!"

"Do you know how much energy is being consumed in the universe, meow? Lots and lots of cultures exist, and they all need energy! One day you humans will join us, too! Do you want the universe to be dying by that time?"

"Do I look like I care? Because of your stupid entropy, Cody is dead and Sora became a... became a...!"

"But we only make the contract if you agree! Isn't that nice, meow?"

"You've just been lying and lying to us! Tricking us!"

"What is a trick? We don't even understand the concept. Why do you hate the other guy when there's a misunderstanding?"

"I don't get you, Mila. I don't get you at all."

"We don't really get humans either, meow. Your values and ethics are pretty weird to us! I mean, why do you care so much when one of you dies, since there are so many of you?"

"You're crazy. You're definitely our enemy."

"I came to explain, meow. I wanted you to know that your sacrifices are important. I guess we can't be friends, huh?"

"No!"

"Dani, you'll become the strongest Puella Magi soon enough. And then you'll become the strongest Witch! When that happens, we'll have lots of energy to collect."

Mila hopped up, and went to the doorway. "If you feel like dying for the universe, just call us!"

She left.

Dani sat on her bed, alone.


Gabe looked over at the body. Why the hell did he agree to get rid of that thing? Well, it wasn't like he'd put it in those words, not around that kid. But it may as well have been what he said. Sora was dead.

Except...

When Mila appeared at his doorway, Gabe had a question for her.

"Oi, Mila. There any way to get a Soul Gem back?"

"Worried for yourself, meow?"

"Who cares what I'm worried about? Just answer the damn question."

"There's absolutely no way I know about!"

Gabe was silent for a moment. He shook his head.

"... so, there's a way you don't know about?"

"You Puella Magi exist beyond all reason! I wouldn't be surprised if you found a way."

"So it is possible, huh?"

"I don't know how, meow!"

"Tch, as if I'd accept your help now."

"..."

"It's too bad, Mila."


There was a knock on Gabe's door. Knock knock, knock knock.

"Please let me in!" For once, the voice wasn't Mila's. Gabe went to the door and unlocked it, facing up to the girl who hadn't signed the contract.

"Dani. What's up?"

"I can't find Kris anywhere, so let me talk to you, okay?"

"... yeah, sure. Guess I've got the time."

He let Dani inside, glad he'd thrown a blanket over Sora's corpse before he answered the door. Dani wrung her hands together, looking up at him.

"I've decided," Dani said. "I'm going to save Sora and turn his Grief Seed back into a Soul Gem. But I need your help! If I go into a Witch's barrier alone, I'm definitely going to be killed."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Just... defend me while I'm talking some sense into him. Please!"

"Christ..." Gabe sighed, shaking his head. "Well, maybe it's not impossible. But you're sure about this?"

"I am! Sora said that this was going to be a happy story from now on, and I'm not going to let that be a lie!"

"It'll be dangerous."

"... I know."

Something about Dani's - something about /Dani/ - made Gabe hesitate, made him say something other than usual fare. "... all right. I'll help you."


As they walked towards the Witch who had once been Sora, Gabe spoke.

"You should get outta town once this is finished."

"Huh? Why?"

"Walpurgis is coming to the city."

"What's a Walpurgis, Gabe?" Dani frowned.

"It's a witch more powerful than anything you've ever seen in your short little life. Neither Kris nor I could fuck it up ourselves, which is why we're gonna work together."

They walked towards the Witch's barrier.

"Hey, how do you know this is really Sora?"

"Don't question my genius, man. I was out hunting Witches when I found all you guys. The pattern I was following then is the same as this one now, so it's as good a lead as any."

When they came to the Witch's barrier, Gabe transformed, and turned to her.

"Now are you absolutely fucking sure about this?"

"I am. For once, I'll be able to actually help."

Gabe took out his pocket knife and slashed a hole in the wall - the Barrier. An opening flared up, and they stepped inside.

Dani laughed uneasily as they walked down a sideshow path, bright lights illuminating stuffed animal prizes. "I guess I must seem pretty weak, needing a bodyguard for this, huh?"

"You could always become a Puella Magi."

"I guess..."

"But," Gabe turned to her, "I wouldn't suggest it. Not for someone like you. Yeah, you lost your friend, but you've got lots of other friends. Don't you?"

"Well, yeah."

"Someone like you shouldn't become a Puella Magi. You've got way too good a life. You'd be a fucking moron if you did."

"Gabe..."

"If you've got no other choice, sure. If you're in a terrible situation, sure. If you can see no other way out, sure. You're none of those things, so don't even think about it."

He pulled open a tent-flap, and they stepped inside the darkened tent.

"I," Dani began - but before she could finish her sentence, the lights in the big top all flared on at the same time.

"Shit! He knows we're here!"

They seemed to get sucked into the maze, the bright colours and entertainment. The circus gave way to lush greenery as they were pulled into the Witch's chamber; in centre stage stood Caelestis, a blazing figure wreathed in a flowing cloak and hidden by the huge warfans it held. All the spotlights shone on it.

"Okay," Gabe said, stepping forward. "Do it just like we said."

"Sora! Sora, it's me, Dani!" Dani clutched a hand to her chest as she called out. "Can you hear me?! Can you hear my voice? I came here to rescue you! I came to help you, so just hold on, Sora!"

Caelestis raised its fans, and laughter echoed out in the life-filled chamber as rings of fire began pouring out towards Dani and Gabe.

Gabe stepped forward, summoning a wreath of protection around Dani. "Just keep calling out!"

"Sora!" Dani screamed. "Sora, listen to me! This isn't what you fought for! This isn't what you wanted! You wanted to protect everyone, Sora! This isn't protecting anyone!"

An eerie giggling echoed through the chamber as tightrope wire lashed out at Gabe. He cut through it with his knife, glaring at the Witch.

"You're not fucking listening to her, are you?!"

The wire wrapped around Gabe, and he was assaulted with the burning rings. After a moment he whirled, throwing all the instruments of pain away, cutting through them with his knife. His skin was singed from the fire.

"Gabe!"

"I'm fine," Gabe huffed. "Just keep on with that hairbrained scheme of yours."

"Stop, Sora! Please stop this!"

Caelestis beat on Gabe as Dani called out to Sora, and despite Gabe's insistence, it was clear it was a losing battle. Eventually, the Witch slammed Gabe through his own protective wreath, and reached over with a giant gloved hand to grab Dani.

"Sora..." Dani squirmed in its grasp. "Sora, please... don't..."

"You bastard!" Gabe leapt up, slicing at the Witch's arm with his knife. It came off right at the feathered base of the glove. "Are you some kind of liar?! You said you wanted to be a different Puella Magi to everyone else! Look at you now!"

Caelestis swung its huge fan at Gabe, who leapt aside - but Dani was still in the line of impact.

Was.

Kris appeared suddenly, Dani in her arms, a good few feet away from where the fan impacted with the ground. "You fucking morons," she growled. "We're getting out of here."

"Works for me," Gabe shrugged. They began to flee, but -

Tightropes bound Gabe, dragged him to the ground.

"Shit!"

"Gabe!"

There was a sound like a scream as his neck was squeezed. The Soul Gem which held his cape in place cracked.

"You want revenge for back then, huh," Kris spoke in a low voice as Gabe fell to the ground, lifeless. "So who's next, me? You know what? Fuck you."

"Sora, no..."

"That's not Sora. Not any more." In an eyeblink, the Witch was riddled with holes, huge holes, and Kris held the elephant gun which delivered those blows. She threw it aside, and in another blink, the Witch was dead and Kris held a sniper rifle.

As the Barrier faded, Dani went to Kris, shaking. Kris caught her as she swooned, and carried her out.


Kris sat alone in her room, until Mila appeared.

"Dani really wanted to save Sora."

"Well that's clearly impossible."

"So where'd you plant the seeds of doubt?"

"Me? I'm just an innocent kitty girl, meow!"

"Bullshit."

"All I had to do was make sure Gabe would help her, hee hee. And now the stage is set. You're the only Puella Magi left."

Mila smiled. "Not even you can do it alone, Kris!"

"Fuck you," Kris raised her head, stared at Mila, drew her gun. "Fuck you, you fucking, BITCH!" Blam, blam, blam, she fired on the girl.

The useless gesture showed how desperate Kris really was.