Chapter 1: Prologue
The drenched figure of her classmate and fellow Magical Girl stood before her a rapier drawn in her hand as she stared back at her with a cold angry look. ''Draw your blade Rin.'' She said with steel in her tone.
Rin shook her head frantically. ''Why are you doing this Ķ̵̬̠̓ạ̷̛̲̤͍̠̃͋́͜r̸̨̨͓̤̩̲͎̀̉̓̂̽̆̂̇́̑̐̕͝ḭ̵̡͔͍͕̭̣̑̈́̆̔͆̉̓̀͗́̂̽̒̋́n̴̻̔̍͐̐̉̎̒͗̊͝? We're both on the same side!''
The other girl laughed hollowly. ''On the same side? Don't make me laugh. This was supposed to be my grand debut. The only prodigy coming from this shitty little worthless school. But you ruined it! All that people care about is you! The Magical Girl that should not be! I cannot let that stand. Before this school year is over I need to make it clear who is the real prodigy here. So draw your blade or I'll kill you where you stand!''
Rin closed her eyes sadly. ''My words really won't reach will they? Fine I really don't like it but it seem like you won't take no for an answer.'' A sword suddenly appear in her hand. It was glowing and crackling with otherworldy energy.
Ķ̵̬̠̓ạ̷̛̲̤͍̠̃͋́͜r̸̨̨͓̤̩̲͎̀̉̓̂̽̆̂̇́̑̐̕͝ḭ̵̡͔͍͕̭̣̑̈́̆̔͆̉̓̀͗́̂̽̒̋́n̴̻̔̍͐̐̉̎̒͗̊͝ grin became predatory and she took off sprinting toward Rin. Rin took off running too and swung her blade. The two swords clashed with a metallic clang. The other girl immediatly tried swinging again and Rin ducked under the hit before she tried taking advantage of the opening left from the attack.
But the other girl was ready for it and grabbed Rin's arm before kicking Rin in the stomach hard. The hit was powerful enough to send her flying and crashing against the wall of a building. Leaving a crater behind her wake. But Rin looked no worse for wear from the hit as she immediatly jumped and drew a pistol.
She pulled the triggers again and again letting bullets fly toward the older girl. Ķ̵̬̠̓ạ̷̛̲̤͍̠̃͋́͜r̸̨̨͓̤̩̲͎̀̉̓̂̽̆̂̇́̑̐̕͝ḭ̵̡͔͍͕̭̣̑̈́̆̔͆̉̓̀͗́̂̽̒̋́n̴̻̔̍͐̐̉̎̒͗̊͝ began moving and dodged the bullets as best as she could and swung her sword to parry the bullets she couldn't avoid. Not one of them managed to hit the more experienced girl.
Once Rin's gun was empty and she landed back on the ground. The other girl's body glowed brightly and a magic circle appeared underneath her feet. ''Ortu Terrae!'' She yelled making the ground shake violently before chunks of the earth rose in the sky.
The older girl pointed a sword at Rin and one of the chunks of Earth was hurled toward her.
Rin took a breath. The world suddenly turned gray and everything froze in place. She took off running and jumped toward the chunk of Earth that had been hurled toward her. Then she took another leap on the next chunk with the grace of a cat and repeated it again for a third time as she landed on the chunk of earth right above the other girl.
Rin exhaled and the world resumed. The chunk of earth that had been going toward her crashed uselessly on the ground where she used to be. The other Magical Girl searched around frantically for where she might have gone.
''I'm sorry for this.'' Rin whispered before she jumped down and slashed her sword down at the girl. Ķ̵̬̠̓ạ̷̛̲̤͍̠̃͋́͜r̸̨̨͓̤̩̲͎̀̉̓̂̽̆̂̇́̑̐̕͝ḭ̵̡͔͍͕̭̣̑̈́̆̔͆̉̓̀͗́̂̽̒̋́n̴̻̔̍͐̐̉̎̒͗̊͝ screamed in pain as she was slashed on her chest and fell down on the ground.
She glared murderously up at Rin and grit her teeth. ''This is nowhere near over. There's no way I'm going to lose to you! Terram Crettipus!'' Her vision was filled with light and the ground shook more violently than what she had ever felt.
''Are you insane?! You're going to kill both of us!'' Rin shouted in horror.
''If that's what it take...'' The other girl replied with a deranged grin. With a earth shattering crash, the world exploded...
Rin woke up gasping. The feeling of the wind brushing against his hair managed to calm him down and realise he just had a dream. That dream felt familiar somehow though. As if he had seen it often.
The wind picked up once again. At first he had tought maybe he had left the window open. But then as the rest of his sense woke up he realise he was laying on a hard surface.
Somewhat startled he opened up his eyes and saw the open sky above him. He quickly sat up on what he realised was a bench and looked around. He was facing a relatively large sandbox. There were swings, a small slide and two spring riders in the shape of an unicorn and a tiger. He realised he had fallen asleep in the local playground.
Judging by the sun above him he could tell it was morning. Had he slept all night at the park? Why would he do that? And why didn't his mom come find him? But as he tought of his mom he froze and his memories of yesterday came back to him.
Yesterday afternoon
After school ended Rin headed straight back home as he usually did. It's not like he had any real friends to hang out with back at school. All the kids thought he was a weirdo for his obsession with wanting to be a Magical Girl.
Of course everyone at school admired Magical Girls. They were modern heroes that fought back against the alien menace. But for some reasons it was considered really weird for a boy to want to be one. It was a girl's profession after all. And it wasn't like boys could ever be contracted by a Familiar.
As he entered inside the house. The boy headed straight toward his mother's room. He went toward her drawer and went straight to his favorite dress. It was nothing special, it was a white night gown with a few frills around the collar and sleeve.
He took the gown in his hands as he closed the drawer and quickly headed to his room. His mom shouldn't be back for a few hours yet so he should be safe to play in his room.
As he closed the door of his behind him he quickly took off his school uniform and put on the dress before rushing toward the mirror. He smiled as saw himself in the dress. The familiar weird lightness in his chest that was always there when he did this returned.
''I'm Magical Girl Etoile! Watch out Unfeelings because I'm going to destroy all of you!'' He said while twirling around and giggling.
''What's all this racket?!'' The voice of his mother suddenly shout and Rin froze in horror. before he could react the door to his bedroom opened and his mom froze as she saw him standing there with her gown.
Then the vein in her forehead started bulging as she stare at him with pure fury. ''You little freak! You stole my clothes again?! I've had it with you and your perversion! Give me back my clothes and get out of my house!''
''B-but m-mom I'm-'' Before he could finish his sentence he was cut off by his mom.
''I don't fucking care about your excuses! Do you know how many times I've got calls from your school because of how many fights you get in caused by your stupid Magical Girls obsession? I can't deal with this anymore. Get out of my house!''
Before he could react she tore the dress off of him and took his discarded uniform off of the ground before she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the house. She threw his school uniform back at him before slamming the door and locking it behind her.
Rin rushed at the door and banged on it. He pleaded for his mom to let him back in. But his mom walked away in her room and ignored him. When it was clear his mom wouldn't let him back in. Rin put back his now dirtied school uniform and slink away...
Present Day
So with no place to go he had ended up in the park for the night. Now he didn't know what to do with himself. He was only twelve, it's not like any business would hire him. The only thing he could do for now. Is go to school and hope his mom would let him back in tonight.
If she didn't...He would rather not think of that right now. Deciding to check out the time he activate his magiteck heads up display to check the time.
Current time: 7:45 AM
Oh shoot! If he didn't hurry he would be late to school! He started running as fast as he could. hoping he would make it in time. His mother was arleady mad enough at him. He really didn't want the school to call her to tell her he was late to school!
As he ran however he slowed down as he heard the sound of mocking laughter up ahead. Rounding up the corner he gasp as he saw a group of three boys throwing rocks at a poor black cat. The cat was inside a box and was making a pretty strange noise that sounded almost like screaming, it must really be in pain! One of them threw another rock which nicked the cat on the forehead and Rin could see blood seeping out from where it had been hit.
Rin felt a surge of anger at the older boys cruel act and decided to run up between them and the cat. ''Stop hurting it! it did nothing to deserve this!''
The trio look at him in surprise before they all burst out laughing! ''Hey look who it is! If it isn't the sissy little freak who want to be a Magical Girl! Well news flash shrimp! You're neither magical or a girl so get out of here before we beat the crap out of you!''
''I-I won't let you hurt this cat any further!'' Rin yelled before charging at the closest boy. Unfortunately the boy hit him in the stomach hard and he lost his breath. Another boy came up and kick Rin in the leg making him crumple on the ground. The third boy kick him on the back of the head dazing him.
''Ahahahahah! Pathetic little shit! You're nothing but an useless faggot! Don't come up between us and our fun again if you don't want to die!'' The leader of the gang said mockingly before the trio walked away leaving Rin writhin in pain on the ground.
As he lay there he felt something warm and fuzzy pressing against him. Looking at his chest he saw what he had tough was a black cat looking at him with an almost curious expression. But on closer inspection the animal looked more like a really young black fox. What was a black fox doing here randomly? He had never heard of any foxes living this close to town.
Being careful to not touch where it had been wounded. Rin started petting the fox on it's head. It seemed to appreciate the gesture as it's close it's eyes in contentment at his touch.
[Interesting, I tought this would be a waste of time and ressources. But I've never met a boy with so much potential before. Then again, maybe calling you a boy wouldn't be right either.]
Rin looked around in confusion at the voice that almost felt like it had come from his own head. But there was no one here except him and the fox. ''Hello? Who said that?'' He looked down at the fox who looked back intently. ''It couldn't possibly have been you, is it?''
Before he could get an answer the bell of the school started ringing in the distance and Rin's eyes widen in a panic. ''Oh crap! I'm late to school!'' He quickly rose up from the ground and dust himself as best as he could before taking off running. The young fox watched him go with an interested gleam in it's eyes.
When he arrived at his class it was by the nick of time right before the second bell ringed. Everyone else were arleady sitting at their desk, except him.
The students muttered hushed whispers and chuckling between each other as they saw his dirty clothes. Trying to not let the judgemental looks get to him Rin quickly made his way toward his desk.
The math teacher arrived just as he took his seat. And despite his best efforts Rin couldn't help but zone as soon as the teacher started talking. His mind raced with what he could possibly do to convince his mom to let him back in the house. He really didn't want to go live in a orphanage, especially not here.
The only interesting thing about Alagia Town was the name. It was not too small and not too big. The restaurants were just your average fast food joints. The school was subpar, it's only expensive expanse being the Emergence Shelter in the basement which all schools were required to have by law. It wasn't known for any cultural or economic reason. It was a completely forgettable town.
Hell there wasn't even a single Magical Girl patrolling the town. In this modern era if you wanted to put a town on the map it needed to have at least one local Magical Girl. The fact Alagia didn't have one meant most people living outside of it probably didn't even know it exist.
And from what he heard the local orphanage was understaffed and underfunded. And it was run by an old lady that barely tolerated the existence of the children in her care.
He really didn't want to go there, but depending on how tonight goes, he might not have a choice.
Rin suddenly wince as did most of the class as a siren suddenly start blarring in their own minds from the Magiteck Alert System.
Warning: Unfeeling Emergence detected. Find shelter as soon as possible. Magical Girls are on their way and will arrive in three hours.
Reality Usurpartion in: 4:59 min.
Many cries and shout of horror filled the classroom as the students realized what was happening. Of course they all had heard about Emergences and how it could happen at any time and any place. But it's always seemed like something that happened to other towns and cities. The fact that it was happening right here and right now felt like something out of a nightmare.
''Silence!'' The teacher yelled above the cries of the students. When the class was sufficiently silenced he continued talking. ''Form a line and follow me calmly and orderly as we make our way to the shelter. Under no circumstance must you break from the group. Let's hurry.'' He said before clapping his hands together.
The student quickly did as ordered. Even the usual troublemakers of the class were unsusally silent and timid as they started following the teacher. Rin for his part wasn't faring much better.
It was one thing to dream of becoming a Magical Girl and slay the Unfeelings. But it was another thing entirely when it happened for real. And it wasn't like he was a Magical Girl like in his fantasies either. He was just a useless normal kid who would quickly be subdued and killed if faced with one of those alien monsters.
They were walking at a respectable speed as they followed the teacher throught the hall and down the stairs to the first floor. But to Rin and the other students it felt like an eternity. On the first floor they arrived in the main hall of the school. They were the third class to have arrived down here. They were now standing behind the other two middle school first years class.
Unfortunately the stairs to the basement were far away tucked in a long corridor facing them. But as they started following the other classes down that corridor. A sudden crash shook the entire building.
Rin looked up in shock and horror as the ceiling cracked and gave way as something heavy fell right in front of their teacher. To Rin's confusion the thing that had fallen looked like a huge oval rock.
But then the rock started moving and cracking before it exploded in pieces. Before he could react Rin felt a chunk of the oval shaped rock hit him on the side of the head. His eyes blured from the intense pain and he collapsed on the ground unconscious...
He didn't know how long he laid there before he regain his senses. But it couldn't have been too long, otherwise he would most likely be dead.
As he opened his eyes he saw that all the students he had come down with were gone. However right where his teacher had stood he could see the littered remains of the oval shaped rock. And a quadruped creature was standing there it's head lowered with it's jaw wide opened. He could see some sort of weird energy entering it's mouth as it stood there.
''H-help.'' The weakened voice of a man that he realised was his teacher called out. He realised with horror that in front of the creature was the body of his teacher. He could see that his skin had turned to a dark gray color almost the same color as the creature that was standing above him.
Then his teacher went slack just as the creature above him ran out of energy to absorb. His teacher's body soon began twitching erratically before he slowly started to rise up with jerky movements.
The teacher rose up and opened his eyes they glowed an eery purple color as he stared at where Rin was laying with a completely blank look in his eyes.
Rin felt a chill run down his spine as he realised his teacher had turned into a Emotionless. A human Unfeeling. He rose up quickly and tried to run back toward the stairs where he had came from. Unfortunately while he could easily outrun the Emotionless. The quadruped creature that had attacked his teacher was another matter entirely.
The creature tackled him just as he reached the second floor. Rin tried pushing off the creature off of him but quickly realise he wasn't strong enough to get it off. So in a desperate attempt he tried hitting the head of the creature with his fist repeteadly. But it didn't even flinch as he continued wailing on it.
The creature finally overpowered him and bit down on Rin's neck. Rin could only panic as he tried breathing and was chocked by his own blood. It hurt, it hurt so bad! Why was it happening to him, why did he always ended up having the short end of the stick?
The creature opened up it's maw wide and started sucking out some sort of weird energy out of him. Just like it did with his teacher. He felt so cold and empty suddenly. The panic he had felt thus far became nothing more than a dull ache in the back of his mind.
He was going to die here. But maybe it was for the best. Everyone hated him simply because he loved Magical Girls, even his mom. But in the end they were all right, he would die having achieved nothing in life. Nothing but a forgotten pathetic freak...