Chapter 28 – Repercussions: Part One

My heart leapt into my throat as I stared mutely at the door. I’d lost myself in going over the notifications with Selene and forgotten that I was supposed to be talking to people soon. It wasn’t just any random people, either, it was the Magical Guardians who had saved me.

I took a deep breath, adjusting my posture even as I smoothed out the expression on my face. There was a tightness in my chest, and I focused on it, using it as a base to build up my internal walls. When I felt ready, I got up, moving to the door with my IV.

Every step of the way, I could feel my nerves building. I was about to talk to a Magical Girl, one of the protectors of humanity who I also owed my life to. Sure, I’d managed to swallow down my anxiety when I spoke to Error Machina, but that hadn’t been face-to-face like this. Besides, I hadn’t really had a choice then, events forcing me to keep moving forward without really considering the implications.

But now I was about to sit down with a Magical Girl, and I had no idea how I was supposed to act, especially not with what they might think they knew about me. It wasn’t like I could just back out either, not if I wanted proper answers and advice, but I felt myself tensing up nonetheless, mind racing as I tried to figure out the best way to present myself.

It was only when I was turning the door handle that I realized I was still in pajamas. Warmth flushed my face, but the door was already halfway open before I could stop myself.

An elf stood across from me, her long blond hair falling over pristine features. It was hard to tell her exact age, but she looked no older than her late teens or early twenties. She wore the same outfit as I remembered, her tight leather armor and green cloak accentuating her slim body in a deadly elegance. Pine colored eyes with pupils the shape of a sharp edged flower looked down at me, and a small smile quirked the edges of her lips as her gaze flicked over my form.

“Hello,” she said, her voice smooth and sanguine as a still pond. “It is good to properly meet you. My name is Everglaive, team leader of Fantasy Fatale.”

She gave a slight bow of her head, and I found myself stammering as I tried to return the greeting.

“H-hello. I’m, um…”

“No need for a name just yet,” she smoothly interjected. “You’ve hardly had the time to think of an alias. We can discuss finding you a suitable one soon, if you’d like. But first…”

She offered her hand to me, palm face up, and I looked at it in confusion.

“Please, place your hand on mine,” she requested gently. “There is one quick matter we should take care of before continuing.”

I looked from her hand to her eyes, hesitating. I wasn’t sure why she wanted my hand, and I wasn’t really the biggest on physical contact. In fact, I really preferred to avoid it as much as possible, even if Lily was big on hugs…

[Go ahead,] Selene whispered in my mind. [She means no harm, and I promise this will be beneficial for you.]

Almost begrudgingly, I lifted my hand, placing it in hers. She gave a shallow nod, slowly moving her other hand and placing it on top so my hand was held gently between hers.

“In my authority as a Magical Guardian, I hereby release the Blacklight Protocols placed upon you. Liberate.”

A warmth seemed to flow from her hand into mine before shooting through my body, and I shivered at the tingling sensation.

[Congratulations! You now have access to your Astral Shift! Please set aside an appropriate amount of time for outfit creation with your Familiar.]

My eyes widened in surprise as Everglaive released my hand, giving me a calm nod.

“Good. Now that you are free of any restrictions, I would request that we have a discussion. If you would rather not talk with me and my team, then I have also written down all the pertinent information for you. I do believe talking directly will yield greater results, but the decision is entirely yours.”

I stared at her, completely off balance. I’d expected to have to at least talk with them before they gave me my Astral Shift, not to just be handed it. In a way, I hadn’t really had a choice about whether to talk to them or not, but now I was free to actually just walk away right here and now. I recognized it was an attempt to build trust on her part, but I couldn’t tell if it was because she was just genuinely being thoughtful or something else.

It took me a moment to shake off my shock, and I quickly gave her a grateful bow of my head.

“Thank you,” I quickly said. “Um… please, come in.”

The hall leading to the door wasn’t really big enough for two people, so I quickly moved further inside. She followed, and I heard the door close behind her. Selene had moved to the same sofa I had been sitting in, and I stood next to her as I turned to face Everglaive. She took a position across the coffee table from me, giving Selene a respectful nod before returning her attention to me.

I shifted nervously as I found myself unsure what to do next. Normally I would be offering refreshments or otherwise trying to be a good host, but I was in a hotel room without anything to really give her. I also had no idea what sort of social dynamic we had. We were both Guardians, but she was my senior and quite obviously more powerful than me. Those factors alone made it a mess to figure out, but the fact that she also risked her life to save mine just made things a tangled web.

“Um…” I mumbled, my mind going completely blank. Embarrassment flooded through me as the moment stretched on, and I looked down at the floor awkwardly. My pulse began to pick up, my anxiety letting me know how much of an idiot I was making of myself.

“Why don’t we sit down?” Everglaive gave me a soft smile. “You’ve been through a lot, and I would feel rude keeping you standing. I have some things to give you as well, if you don’t mind?”

My blush only deepened at how effortlessly Everglaive cut through my indecision, and I gave a jerky nod as I sat down. She reached over to the coffee table, clearing some of the decorative knick knacks to the side before hovering her hand over the table. Emerald motes of light began to sparkle below her hand, rapidly multiplying and forming a “L” shape before disappearing in a bright flash, the entire thing taking maybe a second.

Where the light had been was now my Umbra, and my eyes widened. Everglaive moved her hand and began repeating the process, covering the table with more and more of my items. The process looked similar to what buying things from the Gate did, just without the magic circle, but the items were distinctly mine, the black color and bunny head emblem unmistakeable.

“What…?” I sent to Selene in wonder.

[Dimensional storage magic,] Selene thought. [It lets her store items in a pocket dimension and resummon them. She’s either utilizing an enchanted item or has bought a Grimoire to use the spells directly. It’s a fairly staple tool for Guardians due to the sheer amount of utility it provides.]

It only took her a few more moments to finish, and I looked at the array of items. In all, there was my Umbra, Ripple, two Judgments, my backpack, and fifteen magazines, twelve for my Umbra and three for the Ripple. There were also three different file folders that she’d arrayed in front of me.

“Apologies,” Everglaive said, moving over to sit on the sofa across from me. “I realize you had more items than this, but I’m afraid they were either damaged or destroyed. As our fight went on, we were forced to use some of our less delicate magics to defend the area.”

“No,” I quickly shook my head, bowing it deeply as I latched on to the opening she gave me. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me. This is more than I could ask for.”

“It was our pleasure,” Everglaive replied. “I’m only sorry we couldn’t arrive sooner.”

She seemed to hesitate for a second, and I looked up from the table to see her settling into the sofa, folding her hands over her lap. Something about her poise radiated an effortless elegance, as if it was second nature to her. Pursing her lips, she tilted her head slightly before giving a nod to herself, like she had just decided something.

“The rest of my team should be arriving shortly,” she told me, “but I believe we can begin with explanations while we wait. Before we get into all of that, though, I would like to ask how you are holding up. I… Well, I’ve done introduction speeches to other Magical Girls before, but never one who was thrown directly into the fire on her first day. I imagine things are a little confusing at the moment, yes?”

I nodded at her, and she returned a gentle smile.

“That is only to be expected. Hopefully, by the end of our conversation we can remedy that. Speaking of which…”

She gestured from across the table to one of the file folders in front of me.

“This folder contains a copy of the magical Geas my team signed as well as the ones for Error Machina and the officers you interacted with. The language is a bit complicated, but please feel free to take a look or ask your Familiar for the details. I hope going over them should assuage any worries you have over your personal information being leaked.”

I reached out for the folder she had indicated, more out of curiosity than anything else, and opened it to see a few thick stacks of documents. I glanced over them, my eyes glazing over the words. I’d never read an actual legal document before, but this was exactly what I imagined one to look like. It was all convoluted word choices with dozens of stipulations and references to other pages or laws I had never heard of before.

“Selene?” I thought to my Familiar.

[I’ve already had a chance to peruse the information in the database, and everything is in order. With this Geas, all personal information they have gleaned about you from this event is to be kept secret. Interestingly enough, Error Machina and Fantasy Fatale both have signed the additional mentorship clause which says any System or Guardian related information they learn in the next three months will also be classified. As a note, the Geas on that part is more… vague. While I would still keep your exact details secret, sharing general information with them should be fine if you feel comfortable. You can also allow them to share certain pieces of information with others, if you wish.]

I set down the folder, chewing on my lip. Maybe I was being paranoid, but it was a little worrying how much Everglaive seemed to be cutting through all of my potential worries. It both made me feel more comfortable and tense at the same time. It was like… Well, it was like she’d had an entire week to plan out this encounter while I had just woken up. She was also obviously skilled socially, while I was decidedly not. It had taken me months to get used to talking to Lily, and even then it was only her easygoing attitude that helped smooth over my occasional bouts of silence or awkwardness.

“Are you satisfied with everything?” She asked, and I nodded after a moment.

“Good. Now then, how about we get to the events that happened after-”

A knock on the door interrupted her.

“Hello? It’s Magical Girl Naiad.”

I felt myself freeze in response, unsure what to say. Thankfully, Everglaive picked up on my indecision almost instantly.

“Would it be alright if I told my teammate to join us?”

I quickly nodded, and Everglaive smiled softly.

“Please, come in,” Everglaive called out. My eyes flicked to the doorway, and I felt my muscles tense as the electronic lock on the door gave a small beep before opening.

Magical Girl Naiad appeared to be in her late teens with pale blue skin and a slender, delicate build. A white, toga-style dress was artfully draped around her, aqua-colored embroidery extensively decorating the dress in gentle patterns reminiscent of waves. The short skirt of the dress showed off quite a bit of her legs, leather sandals wrapping around them all the way to her thighs. Finally, her aqua colored hair fell down to her shoulders, moving with an ethereal gentleness as if underwater.

She smiled at me as she entered, and I felt my breath catch as I remembered. She had been the one healing me at the shielding station, which probably meant she had been the one taking care of me while I was asleep. Which meant…

“Ever, what are you doing?” Naiad gasped, hurrying over to both of us. “Are you trying to get my patient sick?”

Everglaive and I both blinked as Naiad gestured with a hand, a flash of blue light condensing into a thick blue sherpa blanket with a logo on it. It was composed of two Fs with a “4” below them, and the 4 was made up of the silhouettes of a glaive, arrow, trident, and hammer. Naiad unfolded the blanket as she approached me, and I held my breath, muscles tensing as she drew closer.

Her steps slowed, a flicker of something crossing over her face as she reached me. Moving slowly, she draped the blanket around me, giving me a smile.

“There we go,” her eyes met mine. “Is that more comfortable?”

The blanket was soft, like a cloud had descended upon me. It had to be Zenith made, because I had never felt anything more comfortable in my life. It didn’t make my heart stop racing as I wondered how this conversation was going to go, but the warmth was welcome.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

I gave a simple nod to Naiad, cursing myself as the motion came out stiff.

“I’m glad,” she told me, hesitating for a moment before she moved away to stand next to Everglaive. “Oh, I’m Naiad by the way. I’m the Magical Girl who healed you and took care of you while you were asleep. I have some medical things I would like to go over with you, but it can wait. Unless any of your previous injuries are feeling uncomfortable?”

I quickly shook my head, a spike of dread worming into my gut. She was the healer, so she knew. That meant the conversation she wanted to have with me…

“That’s good,” she gave me a quick grin. “My healing should have been enough to get you back into shape, but I always like to go over exactly what I did and any potential complications with my patients no matter how unlikely they might be. I’m bound by a special sort of doctor-patient confidentiality, though, so it’s best if we have that conversation in private.”