glitchdoka episode 8

The Witch's barrier shattered. Sora pushed himself upwards, bleeding heavily from several wounds.

"Once you figure it out..." Green glyphs appeared above his injuries, healing them. "... it's so simple..."

The barrier faded, and Sora leant down to take the Grief Seed. He turned, tossing it to Gabe.

"You want these things, right? There you go." He stepped forward past him, speaking quietly. "We're even, now. C'mon, Dani, let's go."

As he dismissed his magical outfit, he stumbled. Dani caught him, concern clear on her face. "Sora!"

"Heh... guess I'm a little tired." He swayed as he tried to straighten up, and Dani kept her hands on his shoulders.

"Don't push yourself too hard. Here, I'll help you..."

Kris and Gabe watched them as they left. Gabe curled his hand around the Grief Seed, glaring at them, as Kris shook her head.

"Fucking idiot," she mumbled.



Sora and Dani took refuge in a bus stop as the rain began to fall. He leant on her shoulder, clearly exhausted.

"Sora... you can't handle things like this, okay?"

"No worries, no worries, I'm fine."

"You're not! When you say it doesn't hurt, you're lying! It hurts when I watch you. It's not okay!"

"Yeah..." Sora looked up at the sky. "But if I don't do that, I can't win. I'm just not good enough, Dani."

Dani took his hand. "But this sort of fighting isn't good for you!"

"... thanks for worrying about me, Dani. But..." He conjured his Soul Gem. "Now I look like this, there's not much point to thinking about what's good for me. I've just gotta think about what's best for everyone else."

"Stop it!"

"I'm just a rock and a puppet of a body now. It's pretty pointless to do anything but defend everyone."

"What can I do, Sora? What can I do to make you happy?"

"Stay out of this." Sora stood up, releasing her hand. "Mila once told me... well, nevermind what she told me. The point is I don't want you in my position. I did this to protect you. To make me happy, just live a good human life."

"But I..."

"Don't cast off your humanity out of pity."

"It isn't pity!"

Sora smiled ruefully. "Don't do that. Don't do that to us, Dani." He stepped out into the rain, and Dani moved to follow.

"Sora-!"

"... don't follow me, okay?" He took off running into the wet night. Dani stared after him.


"I'm such a fucking idiot," Sora sobbed as he ran. "I can't save her like this! I can't save anyone!"

Inside his Soul Gem, darkness stirred.


Gabe and Kris sat in Kris's room, an elaborate time-themed affair.

"Walpurgis is gonna start here," Kris pointed to a point on the map.

"And how do you know that?"

"Statistics."

"You've got statistics when Walpurgis has never come here before?"

"I don't have to tell you shit."

"Look, of course I'm not gonna be buddy-buddy with you, but you can't just leave me in the dark!"

"I don't want to be in the dark either, meow," smiled Mila. Gabe stood immediately, drawing his pocketknife.

"Have you come to pull more shit on us?!"

"Ayaa, you don't want me here? But I've got juicy info for you!"

"Like what."

"Sora's getting pretty tired, meow! It's going faster than I thought. And it's not just from his magic, he's doing it to himself!"

"And whose fault is that?!"

"Something bad might happen before Walpurgis at this rate! Be careful."

Gabe frowned. "Careful? What do you mean?"

Mila looked to Kris. "Why don't you ask her? After all, you know all about this, don't you Kris?"

Kris was silent, but her eyes said it all.

"I'd love to know how you learnt that. After all, you..."

"You've said your piece," Kris said. "Get the fuck out."

Mila turned and walked through the door again. Gabe frowned, dismissing his weapon.

"You're just letting her go?"

"Killing it's satisfying, sure, but it won't help anything."

"... so what about Sora? What's supposed to happen to him?"

Kris looked resigned. "His Soul Gem is tainted. It's collected too much darkness. If it isn't cleaned soon... he might not be able to turn back."


Dane walked back with some of his guy friends, laughing with them. Someone mentioned Sora's name, and they laughed out loud.

From behind the bridge, Sora listened to them mock him. He grit his teeth, and ran away.


"Hrrraaaargh!" Sora screamed as he slammed his fans into the familiar. The barrier faded, and he heard footsteps as he swayed back up into a standing position. He turned to face Kris.

"Don't you fucking get it?" She spat the words. "You're at the end of your rope. Focus on the Witches."

"It's none of your business..."

"Your Soul Gem's at its limit. If you don't purify it now, you're in trouble. Here," she thew a Grief Seed to him.

Sora kicked it away. "You're planning something, aren't you? I'm not buying it."

Kris grit her teeth. "Stop that. You don't get to be suspicious, not in your position. Accept my fucking help already!"

"... I'm gonna be a different Puella Magi than all of you. I'm not gonna work with anyone who hurts others. And I don't need a reward. I'm not gonna use my magic for myself."

"You'll die!"

"Yeah, when I can't kill Witches any more, I'll be killed. But if I can't kill Witches, I'm useless, so what does it matter? ... I don't give a shit."

 He fell to his knees. "If I can't kill Witches, what's the use of me?"

"Why the fuck are you doing this, Sora? I just want to help! Why won't you believe me?!"

"Maybe it's because you're a creepy liar! You've given up, too. I know you have, I can see it in your goddamn eyes. You're not even doing this for me, are you? I'm not an idiot."

"You're making Dani suffer."

"Dani's not involved in this."

"Yes, she is. This is all for her."

Kris transformed, her magical girl outfit settling onto her skin.

"You're pretty smart, realising this isn't for you. It's for her. I don't want Dani to see you fuck yourself up like this! If you keep on going this way..." Kris reached forward, towards Sora's soul gem. "I'm gonna gut you, you arrogant bastard..."

Gabe's footsteps echoed down the hall, and he threw an arm around Kris's neck. "Run!"

Sora picked himself up, and staggered off, slowly. He moved like a puppet.

"I thought you were coming here to help her," Gabe said when he was gone.

"Let go."

"You can't just --"

But Kris was gone. She'd disappeared without a trace when Gabe blinked.

"... damn it!"


Sora rode on the train, listening hopelessly to two men.

"Shit, did you see that arsehole? He seriously thought he was your friend."

"I reckon he wanted more than that."

"What a poofter!"

They laughed.

"So you reckon you're gonna string him along some more?"

"Hell yeah, he's practically eating out of my hand."

"Careful you don't get a reputation bein' seen around him."

"Naw, I got that covered. I'm not gonna talk to him in public, I'm not stupid!"

Sora stood, and moved in front of them, swaying a little with the train's movements. "Hey."

One of the men looked up. "Whaddya want?"

"Tell me about that guy, the one you were talking about."

"You're a middle schooler, ain'tcha? You should butt out of things what ain't your business."

"You probably mean a lot to your friend. He wants you to be happy, I bet. You know that, right? But you're sitting there calling him names and putting him down. You probably never even thank him for his help!"

"You know this guy? Well, looking at your hair, I wouldn't be surprised..."

"Hey." Sora's voice was flat. "Are you worth defending?"

"What?"

"Tell me why I should fight. Go on, give me one good reason."

He stared them down, and his body shimmered green.

Screams.



Dani paused in front of a fountain as she saw a figure in the shadows of the night.

"Do you hate me, meow?"

"If I hate you, will you turn Sora back...?"

"I can't do that!"

Dani sat down on a bench, breathing out quietly. "Hey... you said I'd be a really powerful Puella Magi, didn't you?"

"That's an understatement! You'd be more powerful than I could measure!" Mila jogged over and tugged herself onto the bench next to her.

"If I'd accepted the contract, Sora wouldn't have had to become a Puella Magi..."

"Sora made his own wish. It had nothing to do with you!"

"Why am I the powerful one?"

"I dunno. I never would've dreamt of potential like yours! I'd kinda like to know what's going on, too."

"Hm..."

"If you used your power, maybe you could even make a miracle of your own! I don't know why that's a power of yours, I just know no one else has that power."

"I thought I didn't know what to do... I thought I'd never find a true purpose..."

"That's not true though, is it? If you want it, Dani, you could become God."

"Could I turn Sora back if I were a God?"

"It'd be easy for you, I think. Is that a wish worth your soul, Dani?"

"For Sora? Yes! I want to be a--"

Time froze. In an instant, Mila was riddled with bulletholes. She fell to the ground, unbleeding.

Dani stared at her corpse, disbelieving. She heard a gun hit the floor, and turned to see Kris standing there.

"How could you?! You killed her-!"

Kris stepped closer. "Why, Dani? Why?! Why are you always sacrificing yourself? Don't you think you're worth anything? Don't you think people care about you?!"

She reached out and grabbed Dani by the shoulders, shaking her. There were tears in her eyes. "Stop trying to be a hero! Because people do care, damnit! Why can't you fucking get that?! What about all the people trying to protect you!"

Kris released her, falling to her hands and knees.

"Kris..."

Dani was taken by a strange feeling as she looked down at her, reaching out.

"Have we... met before?"

"Fuck... I can't..." Kris sobbed.

"... I have to find Sora."

"No... no, wait! Sora's already...!"

"Sorry..." Dani hesitated, turned away and ran, scared of the strange feelings invading her mind.

"No, Dani! NO!"

Kris slammed her fist against the ground, gritting her teeth.

All of the lights flickered out, plunging her into darkness.

"That was pretty lame. Don't you ever learn?"

Kris pushed herself upward, looking over at Mila's voice. She saw her, standing there against the fence, her eyes glowing red.

"I have lots of bodies, meow! You can destroy them all you'd like, but it won't help you. You're just wasting your efforts!"

She went to her corpse, and began tearing it up like old clothing. The slivers of flesh she shoved into her mouth, chewing with her everpresent smile.

Kris pushed herself to her feet.

"This is the second time, right?" Mila finished her meal and sat down on the bench, patting her tummy. "Each time you attack me, I get to see just what sort of magic you use! You manipulate time, don't you?"

Kris was silent. Mila closed her eyes. "I was right! You're not from this time-line!"

"I know what the fuck you are. And I know what you're going to do."

"So that's why you keep butting in, meow? You can't change Dani Martin's fate."

"Just watch me. I'm not going to let you win."

Kris closed her eyes. "Mila... or should I say, Assimilator?"


Dani finally caught up with Sora at the train station, panting a little. "Sora! I'm glad I found you."

She sat down next to him, reaching for his hand and smiling. He pulled it away.

"... sorry, Dani."

"Huh? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I don't care any more. Not about being a hero... not about protecting the town... not about anything."

"What are you saying?"

"I wanted to protect something vile and evil... that's just like me, isn't it?" Sora laughed, his voice hoarse. He summoned his Soul Gem, staring at it. The green light was stained, /wrong/.

"Even when I wanted to do good, it was no good in the end. The people I wanted to save, were they even worth it? I think you might be the only good thing in this world."

"Sora..."

Sora looked over to her, smiling, grim. "And what'd I do in the end? Yeah, I hurt you."

"No, Sora, that's not..."

"Misguided intentions and failure. That's what being a Puella Magi is..." Tears leaked from his eyes as he smiled. "I'm so stupid."

His tears hit his Soul Gem, and the Barrier began to form. Sora's gem shattered as he fell to the ground, the metal turning inside out, becoming blackened.

Dani was blown away by the force of the barrier, and she screamed  as she held onto the railing.

"SORA!"



"Puella? That's a word which means 'maiden'. Since you grow up into Witches, doesn't it make sense to call you Puella Magi?"