“Why? Why!” Lilha curled her body tighter, shaking with either sobs or pain. It was impossible to tell. Her entire world had collapsed beneath her, leaving her in an empty void of despair. Beams of sunlight from her apartment window burned her skin, so she pulled her blanket more securely over her body. As a higher vampire, mere trifles like sunlight were harmless to her, but Lilha still hated it touching her skin.

“Every time!” It made her life seem like a sick joke, tortured by some grand cosmic being for its enjoyment. In her imagination, her enemies mocked her, delighting in Lilha’s constant failures. Their sweet, smiling faces only twisted the knife in her guts harder.

For what seemed like several lifetimes, Lilha didn’t moved from her position. She didn’t even have enough energy to respond as someone stomped into her bedroom.

“How long do you intend to lie there, oh queen?” Dreven asked.

Lilha didn’t respond, so the vampire warrior continued. “What happened to your vampire pride? You were feared once by all.”

“Still no response?” Dreven gave an overdramatic sigh. “Are you really allowing such a minor setback paralyze you into inaction?”

Despite herself, a flare of pride ignited within her. While only a candle flame in the empty void, it provided Lilha the energy to raise her head. “A minor setback?! Takako made an utter fool of me. My best efforts weren’t even a nuisance to her!” She sometimes wondered if even decapitation could kill a magical girl.

“You’re alive, aren’t you? Isn’t that something?” For some unfathomable reason, Dreven’s uselessness and weakness hadn’t bothered him. His voice still dripped with haughty arrogance and superior self-assurance. Despite herself, Lilha raised her head higher in pure incongruity.

“Are you stupid or something?” Lilha asked, forcing herself upright on her dingy bed. “You appear to assume victory is even possible!”

“Did you hear Seina?” Dreven replied, his tone wry. “Even a gnat can defeat a whale if it tries hard enough.”

“The girl said that because she’s an idiot!” It burned her ears that such a simple-minded child could ever defeat a vampire elite. The pure unfairness caused Lilha physical pain.

“It doesn’t matter if the metaphor is dodgy. She’s right, and I know how to beat her.”

“Really?” Was Dreven serious right now? “Please explain.” The vampire queen’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Emiyo.”

A light bulb flashed in Lilha’s head. Right! Seina and her goon squad had only nearly defeated her. And, naturally, being the weak, simple-minded girl Seina was, showed mercy instead of eliminating their greatest threat!

A plan started forming together in Lilha’s head. “If we rescue and revive her, Emiyo can defeat the traitorous magical girls and return us to the glory we deserve!”

Lilha watched Dreven, expecting him to dance in delight at this plan. Instead, he only frowned and shook his head.

“You think too small,” Dreven replied. “Is that really our only opportunity?”

“What then, Dreven?” Lilha said, having little patience for games.

“We steal Emiyo’s power while she’s still vulnerable,” Dreven said, speaking to his queen like one might speak to a partially slow-minded child.

“How do you plan to accomplish that? We can’t even hurt them.” Lilha’s voice was tight from the blatant display of disrespect. Compared to a magical girl, a vampire’s was miniscule in comparison.

“While difficult, you’ve proven it's possible to injure a magical girl.”

“What are you talking about?” Lilha’s temper reached to a boiling point. If she was still queen, the land’s new rule. If her subordinate didn’t clarify his point, she’d rip his head off.

“Your weapon can pierce their skin, even damage them,” Dreven replied. “Emiyo is completely unconscious, helpless to defend herself.”

“I can make her bleed!” The realization made Lilha’s head spin. Her power could bypass a magical girl’s natural defenses. An ability that usually proved less than useless against their healing ability. “We can drink Emiyo’s blood and gain its power! “

If this succeeded, they might gain power beyond reckoning. The combined might of a magical girl and vampire would be unstoppable! Seina would be reduced to a bad dream and a stepping stone to greater power and glory.

“What are we waiting for? Where has that foolish girl hidden Emiyo?”

---

Jin hummed a jaunty little ditty as she swished her feather duster along the top of a bookcase. Her wings made reaching this usually hard-to-reach spot a trivial matter, and soon it was swept clean of dust. A lamp that was a particular favorite of hers was next. It was a rare piece that Emiyo’s friend Sakura had discovered on her travels from some alien world. It’s odd, asymmetrical designs fascinated her. Her partner, Miko, expected a tidy office and Jin was more than happy to oblige. After her clearing chores, Jin reorganized some files after they’d been haphazardly thrown on her partner’s desk.

“Hmm?” Her ears twitched as a file caught her eye. “Suffering down by 3.88 in Sector 3?” Unusual considering that sector typically scored third highest in the suffering quotas. Many magical girls considered Sector 3 the pride of Starlight Dream and their holy mission. For it to backslide by such a significant level was unusual, a point worthy of investigation.

As Jin studied other reports, she jumped in surprise as something burst through her window. After calming her beating heart and hiding the paperwork behind her, Jin searched for the source of the disturbance.

“Oh, it’s only you, Nyx. You scared me half to death!”

“Jin, good! I’m glad you’re here! We need to call a meeting with the Devil Princesses right away!” Nyx spoke the words in such a rush, Jin only understood every third word.

“Sorry, what? Calm down. What happened?” Had Nyx been crying? The fairy seemed in a terrible state, barely keeping together.

“There isn’t time! Emiyo is dead! Enemy magical girls have killed her!” Nyx said, after taking a steadying breath. “I don’t have long until I disappear. The Devil Princesses should know what happened.”

“Wait, Emiyo is dead?” Jin blinked. That couldn’t be possible. The power of a lieutenant of Starlight Dream was unmatchable. “What? How? The rebel?”

“No, some new upstart calling herself Seina and the traitor Takako,” Nyx replied. “Together they somehow beat Emiyo.”

“I see.” Jin took a moment to process this startling news.

“Get Miko right away!” Nyx glanced around the room, looking for Jin’s partner. “She can summon the right ears that need to hear this news!”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that.” Before Nyx could react, Jin grabbed the lamp on her partner’s desk and smashed it across the fairy’s head. It shattered to pieces as it cracked against Nyx’s skull, leaving tiny trails of blood.

“Wha-what are you.. you?” Dazed and battered, Nyx’s words came out a jumbled mess.

“I’m sure Miko will learn of Emiyo’s death eventually, but not yet,” Jin said, raising a paw to smash Nyx’s skull.

“Traitor!” Nyx spewed several curses before Jin knocked her fellow fairy unconscious.

“Dang, I really liked that vase.” Jin said, gazing towards the shattered remains of her favorite ornament. But needs must. If she wanted to defeat the Devil Princesses, sacrifices were necessary.

So, Emiyo’s dead, and not by Ume’s hand. The entire story was a marvel, a yarn for the ages! To think there were other rogue magical girls besides Ume. The newcomer Seina and Takako would be worthy allies against Starlight Dream.

Thanks to Jin’s intel, Ume had already dispatched almost fifty magical girls. This new development was beyond her wildest dreams, giving her hope the Devil Princesses weren’t unbeatable.

“Jin! I’m back!” Miko said, yelling from the front entryway.

Oh! Jin didn’t finish her curse as she dragged Nyx’s unconscious form towards the back closet and unceremoniously tossed it inside. It dislodged several storage boxes, their contents of random junk spilling onto Jin’s captive. The door slammed behind the body. Jin would address the fairy and cluttered mess later. She swallowed a curse again when she remembered the broken vase and the specks of blood.

“Did you get the cleaning done?” Miko asked from the other room. “I brought plenty of treats if you did!” The magical girl’s step came closer. Only moments remained until Miko entered her office.

With quick thinking, Jin darted towards the broken lamp. She winced as she purposely cut herself on the broken ceramic. More blood stained the carpet as it dripped from Jin’s paw.

“Jin, what happened here?” Miko said, stunned as she saw her partner standing over the broken lamp, paw bleeding profusely.

“I knocked it over,” Jin replied, ear drooping and sounding guilty.

A hiss escaped Jin’s lips as Miko threw a nearby book into her face. Blood oozed from a gash in her face. “Stupid, careless fairy. I happened to rather like that lamp. Whatever, just clean this up while I make some tea. You better clean this up before the kettle boils.” A nasty smile appeared on Miko’s lips as she left, promising worse if Jin disobeyed her orders.

“Okay, Miko.” Jin increased the shame in her voice, and her partner left in a worse mood then when she entered. While her head throbbed in pain, inwardly, Jin smiled in triumph.

Phew, that was close. As she carefully picked broken pieces of ceramic from the carpet and tossed them in the trash bin, Jin pondered Nyx’s story further. Her wings fluttered, swooped in the air as she considered her new allies. Her merry band of rebels had grown. Soon, not even the Devil Princesses could stop them!

I’m getting ahead of myself. Starlight Dream will note Emiyo’s disappearance and eventually send someone to investigate. But that would likely take months or even longer! Emiyo wasn’t that important. Her disappearance would be noted, but it’d cause no genuine alarm. After all, Starlight Dream considered itself unbeatable. They’d never imagined anyone could defeat one of the mighty lieutenants.

Humming filled her partner’s office as she scrubbed out Nyx’s blood. Once she’d extracted the location of Seina’s universe from her captive, Jin would need to schedule a rendezvous. They had much to plan and scheme. Better yet, Starlight Dream would be none the wiser. She’d sleep happily knowing Starlight Dream knew nothing about Seina or the threat they posed.

---

“Sister, your arm!” Seina almost lost her balance as the massive Masato threw his massive bulk into a crushing hug, sobbing like a child.

After getting almost smothered, Seina gave the former thug a reassuring pat on the back. “It’s fine. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“What happened?” While appearing calm on the surface, her bodyguard Mr. Kiyojiro hid a great deal of distress as Seina entered with Takako. On her friend’s back was the still unconscious Emiyo, wrapped in ribbon. He eyed Takako with equal parts wariness and distrust.

“Long story short, this magical girl attacked us, and Takako and I defeated her,” Seina said. “Apparently, she’s a big wig at Starlight Dream.”

“Big wig is stretching it. Emiyo’s mostly just a paper pusher.” Takako replied, dropping their unconscious enemy unceremoniously on the carpet of Seina’s apartment.

“And you captured her for interrogation.” Mr. Kiyojiro said, nodding his approval. “Will she cause any trouble?”

“Not in her state.” Takako’s mouth extended into a smug smile. “Wrapped in my ribbon, I can make it impossible for her to recover.”

“Perfect.” Mr. Kiyojiro eyed Takako’s new weapon in surprise. Seina heard the gears whirling in his head as he considered his new development. “Now she can’t cause problems.”

“About that.” Seina hesitated before spilling the bad news. “Emiyo’s partner escaped and fled for help. They, uh, might destroy the entire universe in retaliation.” Sweat perspired on her forehead as she fought back her panic.

“What?!” Mr. Kiyojiro and Masato said in unison, shock clear on their features.

“My bad.” Seina still felt horrible for allowing Emiyo’s fairy partner to escape. While her heart told her she’d done the proper thing, it didn’t make their desperate situation any easier to bear.

“Stop beating yourself up about it, Seina.” Colten placed a comforting paw on Seina’s back, giving it a reassuring pat. “I’m proud of you! You did your best.”

“Speak for yourself! What are we going to do?!” Nier said, crossing his front paws.

“How long do you think we have?” Mr. Kiyojiro asked.

“Beats me.” Takako could only offer a shrug. “It depends on how serious they take the situation. Though, I doubt they’d take long. Days maybe?”

“Oh.” Seina sagged. Only a few days to save everything she cared about. Unlike Ume, she had no intention of abandoning her universe. If it fell, Seina was determined to die alongside it.

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet.” Masato beamed, his expression smug. “Train. With Takako’s healing, you can train yourselves past your limits. With some effort, you’ll far surpass this Emiyo girl.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Takako said, rolling her eyes. “A few days of training won’t mean squat against the forces we face!”

“Shows what you know! It works all the time in anime!” Masato replied.

Her bodyguard seemed to agree with Takako’s assessment, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Anyone have any ideas?”

“I do!” Takako said. “Move the entire universe! It’s certain to confuse them when they go searching for it.”

“Your magic can do that?!” Seina said, utterly amazed. Takako’s magic never ceased to dazzle her!

Takako hesitated. “Maybe? I've never tried anything like that before. But I bet it’s theoretically possible.”

“Anyone have some ideas that are actually plausible?” Mr. Kiyojiro asked again, getting somewhat impatient. The practical man liked plans with a chance of succeeding, and not silly fantasies based on anime.

Seina’s head dropped, drawing a blank. If she had to fight a hundred Emiyo, their chances of winning seemed beyond impossible. Was she just fooling herself about facing up to Starlight Dream? Was Ume right to abandon this universe?

“Um, I might have a suggestion.” Nier raised a tentative paw. “They prove just what we need.”

“Oh?” Takako blinked, not expecting this exclamation. “Who?”

“A fairy named Charity. It’s beyond a long shot, but she might have the ability to help us.” Nier entered a long explanation of his encounter with the strange fairy and her purported prophesying powers.

“That might be exactly what we need!” Seina said, astonished that such powers could exist.

“Hey, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,” Takako warned. “Charity might just be crazy, and it’s just a dumb coincidence.”

“But!” Seina said, offering protest, but her friend stopped her before she could speak further with a raised hand.

“Still, it couldn’t hurt. We need more allies anyway.” Takako said.

“Actually, even without these purported future seeing powers, this fairy offers other useful opportunities.” Mr. Kiyojiro said, surprising Seina. She’d assumed he’d be against just a reckless plan. It involved storming the center of the enemy stronghold, after all. “If Charity lived before the Devil Princess’s reign, then she might possess information that could prove useful.”

“You right!” Masato’s eyes sparkled in wonder. “Charity might know some secret technique to unlock Seina’s true power!”

“No, don’t be stupid.” Seina’s ever-practical bodyguard replied. “I mean be able to teach Seina how to use her magic. Besides, knowledge of how Starlight Dream was before the Devil Princess’s might prove useful.”

Takako tapped her chin in thought, considering this point. “She might know certain secrets the Devil Princesses don’t want people to know. There must be a reason they’ve kept her locked up for so long.”

Takako must be right. Otherwise, wouldn’t the Devil Princesses just have killed her by now? The rightness of this plan rang true. Seina’s gut told her they were taking the right course of action.

“Okay, I guess we have a plan.” Nier gave his partner a nervous glance. “But, uh, should you even come along, Takako? Can you keep Emiyo trapped without being in this universe?”

“Sadly, no.” Takako shook her head, glancing down at her captive. “I’m using everything I have to keep her captive. Once I leave, Emiyo would be free in moments.”

“So, uh, I guess this rescue mission is up to me?” Seina asked, shifting nervously from foot to foot. She didn’t look forward to infiltrating such a powerful and dangerous place like Starlight Dream by herself.

“Yeah, it sounds risky.” Takako clenched her teeth, wondering about the wisdom of this plan.

“Actually, it would be fine,” Nier said, surprising both girls. “Seina would just be another magical girl. They’d hardly notice her.”

Really? Even with a single arm?

“Besides, Charity had been pretty much forgotten by everyone. She isn’t that well guarded.” Neir added.

“So it is possible.” Seina sighed in relief. She didn’t relish fighting with only one arm, but needs must.

“But we need to act before Emiyo’s partner gives a full report.” Nier cautioned. “Takako can guard the fort while I take Seina to Starlight Dream. If luck holds, we’ll have Charity free before anyone notices. Though, uh, I doubt the Devil Princesses will be pleased. If they aren’t angry with us already, they’ll place a mark of death on us for sure!”

“It’s fine,” Seina said, waving a dismissive hand. “If we’re spitting in one of their eyes, we might as well split in the other.”

A dark smile appeared on her bodyguard’s lips, giving him tacit approval. “You better hurry. Time is short.”

“Let’s go, Seina!” Nier fluttered around in the air, gathering dark magic around him. A crack appeared in the air, creating a dark vortex. It looked like a gaping wound in the fabric of reality.

As Seina motioned her fairy partner to follow, she noticed his hesitation. The fairy seemed frozen to the spot. “Is something wrong, Colten?”

“Uh, well, if it’s okay, I’d rather stay behind.” Colten’s ears drooped in shame. “I have many unpleasant memories back in Starlight Dream. I’m not eager to return.”

The fairy gasped in surprise as Seina suddenly gave her friend a supportive hug. “I understand. I won’t force you if you don’t wish to come.”

“Are you sure? With things so dire, my opinions hardly matter.” Colten said, flushing with embarrassment.

“I’m sure.” Seina tightened her hug around her partner.

“It’s probably for the best.” Mr. Kiyojiro said. “If Colten is as infamous as he claims, he’d draw too much attention, anyway.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me!” Colten’s guilt for abandoning his friend on such a dangerous mission ebbed. “I’ll watch things here!”

“Yeah, don’t worry, sister!” Colten flinched as Masato pulled the fairy into a manly embarrassment. “With us watching things, Emiyo wouldn’t cause any trouble! Isn’t that right, brother?”

“Please don’t touch me.” Colten wiggled out of the former thug’s grip, shuttering in disgust. Not that Seina blamed him. It still irked her that the former thug was so friendly with them. Despite her numerous attempts to explain that, no, they weren’t anything approaching kin or even friends, the young man refused to listen.

“Good luck.” Mr. Kiyojiro said, giving a nod that showed his absolute confidence in her. After waving her goodbyes, Seina entered the portal to Starlight Dream with Nier and whatever trouble she’d encounter in that evil realm.