Vitalizers Chapter 6 - Witching Hour (OC Multiple Tfs) (Patreon)

MGA Anniversary Celebration Today in Prime Park - New Union One

Mysterious figures floating in the sky reported; evidence of aliens? - Anonymous blog post

Speculations on Magical Girls - Who are they, and what do they really look like? - Buzzfae

— — — — —

Rebecca Sharp was in a bit of a sour mood. She always was when the work got rough. Working at the Magical Girl Association was a pretty sweet deal most of the time. Good pay for the work, good benefits, and unless you were a Magical Girl yourself or directly in their support team, you didn’t actually do much. Rebecca’s usual job was handling paperwork related to collateral damage during the fights between Magical Girls and Villains. It was a pretty great job for introverted Rebecca - she hardly had to talk to anyone and she could even work from home.

Today, though, that wasn’t her job. Her boss had tapped her to help staff a big publicity stunt - the MGA’s anniversary. It was the kind of event that annoyed the woman greatly. A waste of money on nothing more than making people feel nice. And more importantly, something that forced her to go outside. Her particular task was managerial. Make sure everyone is where they’re supposed to be.

For most people it would be an easy task compared to the manual labor many staffers had to do now. But for someone who broadly disliked talking to people and was already having a bad day due to needing to be in the awful outdoors, having a job of ‘stand around getting sunburn and talk to people’ was the worst.

A fair chunk of Prime Park was taken for the event, and Rebeca was taking her break next to the central fountain. “Ahhh… annoying… all the celebrations and here I am working,” she complained aloud as she unwrapped her lunch and started to dig into it. In addition to the general speaking, there was gonna be more food and drinks, and probably some general sorta party stuff. The MGA was kinda a big deal in a city constantly beset with Villains.

Honestly, while the woman did certainly get some bonuses just for associating with the MGA - even being a minor worker got her the odd free drink in a bar - some things about it did annoy her. She was a big fan of Magical Girls, it was why she’d chosen to work there - but they didn’t even let her know their identities! One would think working at the association would be enough to be allowed to learn more but they were really protective of Magical Girls’ real names and appearances, even offering magitech-based Glamours for those who didn’t get them as part of their base powers.

Rebecca sighed, and started browsing her phone while she ate. “I wish they’d let me be more involved. It’s no fun just being behind the scenes like this all the time.” She muttered.

“Is that so?” A voice said behind her ear. “A petty grievance, perhaps… petty, but enough.”

Rebecca gasped, her lunch falling to the ground as she felt something strange building within her…

— — — — —

“Hina, if you vibrate any harder, you’ll explode.” Maya noted.

“I can’t help it! I’m excited! This is my first time being at an Anniversary event like this!” Hina replied with a massive smile. She was bouncing from foot to foot, excitement getting to her. It was an adult celebration, it wasn’t like they were going to be handing out fabulous prizes or anything, but she was a Magical Girl nut and being at an event like this was exciting enough for her.

“You’ve attended every MGA Anniversary since you were old enough to go with friends.” Maya pointed out.

“Never as a member!” Hina said, tugging on her sweater to push her MGA ID card out prominently, “It’s my first time being part of the event instead of just watching and that’s super exciting!”

“Settle down.” Maya insisted. “Identities are supposed to be secret, and you squirming like that isn’t going to hide anything.”

“Okaaaaay…”

“Hey… I made it…” Another voice said, and Alex arrived at where the pair was sitting. They were in civilian form like Maya was, in their usual moderately oversized hoodie, and holding onto a leash.

“I didn’t know you had a dog, Alex!” Hina said cheerfully, reaching down to give the black dog Alex had brought some pets.

“O-Oh, that hits the spot, yeaaah-“ The dog said with a canine grin and a wagging tail, leaning into it even as Hina paused from surprise.

“The thing I made a deal with. I think they called themselves a ‘fairy’ or something…? Anyway, it’s Boo.” Alex explained.

“It’s close enough.” Boo said with a shrug. “More pets?”

“We’re not in magical form, Boo. You hid your wings already, you should remember not to talk.”

“Um… sorry if that was disrespectful?” Hina said awkwardly, but the dog-thing didn’t seem to mind as it hopped up on a chair beside Alex.

“You’re doing okay, right Hina? No side effects of the, uh, incident?” Alex asked.

“Nope, none for me. Why? Did it make my boobs bigger or something?”

Alex flushed red, and Maya intervened. “No. It’s a reasonable concern. It took quite a while for Celica to stop saluting in response to a snap of my fingers.” Maya said, and Alex nodded fervently.

“Ahhhh… I’m fine, thanks for worrying about me!” Hina said with a smile, and turned back to the stage. It looked like the first speaker was getting up to start talking. Nobody that Hina really knew personally, it was a minor official of the national Magical Girl Association speaking. He was making the introductions, planning to hand it off to more officials from the local branch.

As that first speech went on (talking about the origins of the MGA and establishment of New Union’s branch in particular - stuff that was fascinating to Hina but that she’d researched in depth on her own time), the final member of the team managed to make it. Ducking around other attendees and through a few, Celica joined up with Alex, Maya, and Hina.

“Sorry, sorry, I went to the complete other end of the park by mistake and had to book it over here!” Celica apologized profusely, trying to be quiet enough not to be heard over the speaker.

Maya raised an eyebrow. “There were directions in the email.”

“I saw it said ‘at Prime Park’ and figured I could just wing the rest, how hard can it be to spot an event like this, right!?” Celica sighed loudly. “What have I missed? Anything from someone we care about?”

“The Director will go on in a minute I think.” Alex chimed in. “Was just someone from National.”

“Lateness is not befitting a Magical Girl.” Boo noted. “You should sleep in less.”

“And you should be quiet before I see if those wings mean you taste like chicken, hmm hmm~?” Celica said with a serene smile.

“Bark. Woof.”

“Better.”

The representative stepped off the stage as he introduced Director Marion to the crowd. Hina hadn’t actually spoken to her much, even since joining up with the Vitalizers, but she knew a lot about her. “Once, she protected New Union as the dazzling Magical Girl ‘Solar Flare’,” the speaker said, in as regal a tone as he could muster “And even once she retired from the front lines, she believed that the city still needed her. While she might not be blasting Villains with the power of the sun these days, she serves in no less important a role as Director Clarisse Marion, head of the New Union Magical Girl Association.”

Director Marion took her cue to step onto the stage. She waved casually to the crowd as she walked up to the microphone. Even at such an official event, she seemed no less casual than ever, her suit jacket unbuttoned and collar popped in a way that somehow managed to make the charcoal business suit look as easy-going as a sweater.

The Director tapped the mic and cleared her throat, getting the attention of anyone who had zoned out during the previous speaker’s speech (such as the Vitalizers, who had been talking amongst themselves regarding Celica’s lateness). “Excuse me. I know you all probably want to just get at the drinks and keep on chatting. I do too, so I’ll keep it brief, alright?” Director Marion said.

“I’ve been the local MGA’s Director for what, ten years now? And things have changed a lot since I started up. Back then there weren’t as many Villains, but there also weren’t as many Magical Girls, or other independent Heroes for that matter. Back then the MGA was still figuring out how to do things, how to get it’s feet under it. New Union wasn’t all that happy with us, and seeing as I’ve lived here all my life, I get it, we don’t really buy into fancy words until there’s some action behind it. Hell, I originally joined up just to get my parents off my back, didn’t trust it myself either.”

“But it’s different now. The MGA knows how to work with New Union these days. And while attacks are up, I frankly don’t mind so much as long as lasting casualties are the lowest they’ve ever been. Just because things are going good these days though, doesn’t mean we can be complacent. The world is dangerous, and getting more so with each day…”

Hina winced as the speech went on. Something felt weird, and not in a good way. Sitting next to her, Boo perked up as well. “Something’s not right.” Hina said after a moment.

“Bad feelings.” Boo confirmed.

Before any of the others could ask what she meant, something strange began in the sky - where there had once been a sunny blue sky was now swirling dark clouds, casting a pale shadow over the entire assembled group. Maya stood without a word and ran off while the others were staring upwards.

“What in the world…?” Hina muttered, before digging into her bag and pulling out a magitech device. The moment she put the visor on and activated it, a half dozen warnings popped up in her view.

[UNAUTHORIZED MAGIC DETECTED] [BARRIER DETECTED] [BARRIER ENTERED, ANALYZING] [UNKNOWN POWER SOURCES NEARBY: 6] [WARNING DISPATCH CANNOT CONNECT] [WARNING HIGH SPEED APPROACH]

It was a lot of information at once, and it made Hina wince back, but she knew what each was saying - she had practiced! “Something’s coming this way fast!” she warned the others.

Two dark shapes were visible in the sky above - and coming down quickly. Alex moved in front of Celica and Hina protectively as the figures landed on the stage. Above them, three other shapes circled around like vultures.

One of them was clad in a few colors, primarily black and green. She was pale skinned and wore an elaborate, frilly witch’s outfit, wielding a long and fancy gold-and-green staff. Despite the witch aesthetic there was a surprising amount of brightly colored frills on the skirt and a ribbon on her pointed hat, and a rather cutely designed pouch on her hip. Whatever her clothing might have suggested though didn’t fully match up with her expression - the green-haired woman was clearly angry, glaring over at Director Marion.

The second was stranger still, long white hair flowing from under a pointed and blue skin shimmering softly. She actually hadn’t properly ‘landed’, as such - she was lounging on a classical broomstick, sidesaddle style. Her robes were simple in comparison to her companions, deep blue with white trim and a simple shape lacking any accessories. It only enhanced the intensity of her chilly gaze, glowing purple eyes under the shadow of her hat’s wide brim.

The latter witch made a sharp gesture with her head. Without a word exchanged, the first whirled her staff to face Director Marion and smiled savagely. Hina leapt to her feet, shouting “Look out!” to the Director.

Even as Director Marion started to move herself - instincts left from her days as a Magical Girl kicking in - a red flash blurred across the stage and tackled her out of the way of the magical blast. Vita Rose stood after that, cautioning Director Marion to get to cover - while Alex and Celica rushed off to discreetly transform themselves, along with what Hina counted as at least four more people from the crowd.

“Hmph. Impressive reflexes, if wasted here.” The aggressive witch said - but didn’t follow up on her attack. Instead, she glanced back to the blue skinned witch, who glared out at the crowd. “Let’s get on with it.”

“Of course.” The blue women's aid, and floated to the front of the stage.

“I won’t waste your time with theatrics, and I won’t make a long speech.” The woman said. “I am Circe. My organization, Witch’s Glade, declares open revolt. No longer will we sit by and watch as the terrified fools of the world try to subvert or destroy that which they do not understand, that which they fear will uproot their simple little worlds.”

“When Magic came back to us, it should have been cause for celebration. A tragedy of the past undone in the present. But humans can’t accept that, now can we? We can’t let the world change so dramatically, so quickly. We can’t upset our houses of cards and the people who sit astride them. There must be rules. Safeguards. Chains.”

“Magic is not meant to be shackled. Magic is not meant to be ‘contained’ - and in fact, it can’t be, as all those you call ‘Villains’ attest. Attempting to do so is the height of idiocy, and yet day after day after day you try and try… Magic must be free, and Witch’s Glade will stop at nothing to make it so. We will employ whatever means are necessary. We will force the world to accept the new reality or else burn it down to start anew. It makes no difference to me; one or the other is inevitable.”

“Today our war on the Magical Girls and all others who would bind Magic begins. Witch’s Glade will ensure that the MGA sees no rest in their fight against so-called ‘Villains’ - that each is more powerful than those before. Consider this Barrier a test - if you can’t overcome it, Magical Girls, then I will be truly shocked that such a weak group has stalled progress for so long. The clock is ticking - our little trick has already begun.”

As Circe’s little speech came to an end, she was already floating upwards on her broom. “I am not needed here any longer. Hecate, come.”

The witch who had attacked Director Marion rolled her eyes, and glared as more Magical Girls arrived on scene - the other two Vitalizers, along with two pairs that had also gone off to transform. “Pathetic. You have power like that and you decide to use it for such a rotten cause?” she growled. “I’ll look forward to seeing you all break when the reality hits you. Or when I do, if I don’t feel like waiting around.” Hecate finished her words as she joined Circe on her broomstick, fleeing the scene.

Even as the Witches left, the Barrier still remained firmly in place. “The big magic signatures are flying off now, I think…” Hina reported.

“Bunch of small ones coming this way though! How much of the park did they cover?” Another Handler said, looking into his own devices.

“Of course there’s a lot of minions.” A third Handler said. “There were five Villains here, and since the Barrier’s still active there’s a sixth. They’ve got minions to spare.”

“Y-Yeah…” Hina said awkwardly - she’d never actually met anyone else with her job, notwithstanding the trainer who’d helped her learn to do it. “So, uh, what should we do about the Barrier?” she asked.

“Monochroma can handle protection of the VIPs. White’s got some wide-ranged shields while Black can go ham as they approach.” The male Handler said, nodding to his pair who had joined Maya on the stage to check on Director Marion.

“Chivalric can handle the civilians then. Between Knight and Princess we have them on lock. That leaves the Vitalizers to go after the Villain generating the Barrier.” The female handler noted.

“That’s helpful, but, uh, not what I meant?” Hina stammered. Did they not notice? Or was she just wrong about it?

“What is it then? Some issue with the Vitalizers?” The man asked.

“The ambient corruption is a big issue, isn’t it?” Hina said, tilting her head a bit.

The woman handling Chivalric looked down to her own instruments and squinted. “What do you mean- wait, you’re right… this Barrier isn’t just a lockdown…”

The male Handler investigated himself and nodded. “It’s starting to corrupt everyone under it. Magic’s seeping into us all, slowly but steadily. It’s too early to tell what it’s doing exactly, they must have traded off speed for wide range so it’ll take a while yet. The ones who’re already changed probably encountered one of the Villains directly.”

Hina nodded. Okay, she wasn’t just seeing things! “Can Chivalric or Monochroma help stave it off in the people here?” Hina asked.

“They can.” The male Handler confirmed. “The Magical Girls should be resistant to this level and our gear should help us, but the rest will start changing fast if we don’t get on top of it.”

The three Handlers split to go meet with their respective teams and relay the plans they’d made. Hina jogged over to where Vita Rose, Sun, and Sky were standing, along with Director Marion. “Are you all alright? Not feeling strange or having any bad effects from that attack?” she asked them.

“I’m fine.” Maya said, “They missed completely. I’m just glad I thought to change once it went dark.”

“Sorry we didn’t realize sooner!” Alex said, looking towards the Director.

“It’s fine, girls. It would have taken more than that to hurt me bad anyway. I wasn’t a Magical Girl for nothing.”

“Hurt you?” Hina asked. “The way you say that means you don’t think…”

“No, that wouldn’t have transformed me - that one was just meant to hit hard.” Clarisse confirmed. “I know the difference, and that one was supposed to send me flying. Not standard Villain behavior, I have to admit, but these clearly aren’t your standard Villains either.”

“Well that’s downright rude,” Celica scoffed, before turning to Hina. “So, I saw your little tea party with the other Handlers. Care to clue in your unruly children, Miss Handler~?”

“A-Ah, right, sorry!” Hina said, and then launched into a brief summary of their assessment of the situation. “…So we think that the Villain is probably in the center of the park. That would give them the widest possible Barrier that can cover here. There’s a lot of minions, but their numbers probably mean they’ll be weak - their job is to slow us down so the Barrier can do it’s work, not to beat us themselves.”

The assembled Magical Girls nodded. “So since there’s three of us we’ll be the ones heading to the center to beat up the bad guy?” Alex confirmed.

“It makes sense.” Maya nodded, tilting her head towards the two pairs of other Magical Girls. “They’re in more danger if any single one of them gets changed, and can be swarmed by the numbers easier. Beyond that, they’re broadly more suitable to defense and preserving the minds of those here.”

“I guess I should stay here? I can talk with Vita Sky to help you keep in contact over here.” Boo suggested.

“Well well, why don’t we get on with it~ We’re not getting more human just sitting around now are we?” Celica said with a smile.

— — — — —

The park felt different under the supernatural darkness created by a Barrier. It wasn’t actually any harder to see but that just made it more ominous. The cheery place had a sinister feeling to it, like when one is walking alone at night - and it certainly didn’t help that they knew there were things lurking in the shadows.

“Barriers are really difficult to maintain, especially at this size” Vita Rose was explaining. “It’s basically a large radius, persistent spell over an area. Such a wide-ranged spell requires an immense amount of magical power, and keeping it going for this long makes that exponentially more difficult. At this scale either we’re dealing with one of the most magically powerful Villains we’ve ever seen here, or they’re going to be committed to some kind of long-term casting or ritual to keep it going. That likely means that the Villain themselves won’t be terribly difficult to fight.”

“…Thanks? I, uh, I knew that…” Hina said. Wasn’t that her job…?

“Vita Rose, my friend, you’re rambling.” Vita Sun said with a smile. “Is our no-nonsense lady feeling a bit spooked, hmm hmm~? I wonder, is it the dark you’re afraid of, or are you expecting ghosts to leap out of the shadows~?”

“Of course she’s not scared! Ma- Vita Rose isn’t afraid of anything, right?” Vita Sky came to the other Magical Girl’s defense, but when she looked oddly strained.

Vita Rose stared directly ahead as she continued. “No. I am not rambling. You must be imagining things, Sun. Are you feeling alright? Perhaps you should return to the stage and get yourself checked up.”

Ah, she’s totally freaked out, Hina thought. “Well… it’s not a worry anyway right? I’ll probably detect any minions before they leap out at us-“ she paused. “Huh, that blip wasn’t there befo-“

The path was passing a region of more dense trees, and a large pile of rocks. And while one minute ago there had been nothing showing on her visor or any other magical instruments, suddenly there was a lot - and they were rushing towards them. Leaping from shadows was an eclectic mix of mostly human-shaped figures; Hina hardly had time to process it before they were on them.

Hina stumbled backwards, and surprisingly Maya did too. They were nearly at the party by the time they slammed face first into a shield from Celica, followed by Alex blasting them away. “Are you two okay?” Vita Sky asked.

“Y-Yes! I’m fine! Was just surprised is all!” Hina stammered. Vita Rose didn’t say anything - but she leapt to her feet with an angry look on her face.

“Don’t leap out like that!” She shouted at the minions, before charging in herself. The remaining two Magical Girls shrugged at each other, then got to work supporting.

Hina got a better look at them now - and it was like someone had swung by a Halloween store and bought out their entire stock. There wasn’t a single theme to the minions; Hina could count just as Maya punched out a werewolf, then a green-skinned witch, then a fetishistic parody of a police officer, and then a Frankenstein’s Monster. Not one of them was threatening on their own but the variety of methods of attacking was jarring to fighters used to dealing with a dozen of the same enemy.

As the fight wore on, Hina noticed another power source - and this one she could recognize from not so long ago. She looked around trying to find it, before thinking to look up. One of the witches from earlier, the one that had responded to ‘Hecate’, was floating on a broomstick of her own above the park path turned battlefield. She must have been the one that brought the minions to them, since otherwise Hina should have been able to detect them.

“Up there!” she called, pointing her out to the others. Vita Sky followed Hina’s pointing and then fired a blast at the witch, but she simply dropped in the air a bit.

“Come on. You can do better than that, can’t you?” Hecate said - somehow, her voice was easily audible without shouting despite the height at which she floated. “When we started this, I was hoping there would be some interesting Magical Girls to fight, but this is honestly a little sad.”

“Why not come down here and say that from where we can hit you then?” Vita Sky called up, before sending another blast her way.

“Because that would be cheating on the test.” Hecate rolled her eyes as if that was obvious. “We can hardly call it fair if we intervene personally. If you can’t beat our minions, though…”

“So you’re just going to sit up there taunting us then? Seems a little petty, doesn’t it~?” Vita Sun added.

“Oh, it definitely is. But I’d have to respect you to care about that, and I don’t respect the MGA’s pets.” Hecate grinned maliciously, and then waved. “I have to see to the next stages. Have fun with these.”

“…I think that I’ll enjoy punching her.” Vita Rose grumbled, as she kicked the last minion and sent them flying. “That’s the last of them. We should keep moving.”

As they started along though, Hina noticed something strange. “…Rose, are you feeling okay?”

“Hm? Of course I am, why?”

Hina patted herself on the head a few times. Maya reached up and… found something fuzzy. “…Ears?”

Over the course of the fighting, Maya had sprouted a pair of fuzzy, pointed ears on the top of her head. “Oh, that’s adorable~” Vita Sun laughed, “I think they’re wolf ears. Can you say ‘woof’~?”

“…Nope, absolutely not.” Maya said. “The Barrier must be getting to us. We’re on a timer. Vita Sky, you look a bit pale, don’t you?”

“Huh? Do I…?” Vita Sky looked down at her hand, trying to check if she was paler than usual.

“I think Vita Sun’s outfit looks kinda different too. Or at least your cap is.” Hina added. Vita Sun investigated, finding her hat had taken on a shape that while similar at a glance to her default, was definitely different.

“…A nurse’s cap?” Vita Sun mused aloud. “Well, that’s cute enough. Halloween was never my favorite holiday, but it seems to be the preference of the Barrier’s creator.”

“What makes you say that? We haven’t seen any Jack O’ Lanterns or anything right?” Alex asked.

“All the minions we’ve seen have taken the kinds of forms you see in the most stereotypical Halloween costumes. I’d thought it was classical monsters at first, but ‘nurse’ means it’s more about the holiday. I hope I make a sexy one~”

Hina managed to grasp what Celica was going on about. “Werewolf…” she pointed at Vita Rose. “Nurse…” That would be Vita Sun, “….I’m not sure, my first guess is vampire with how pale you’re looking?” That was Vita Sky. Though, they never did seem to go out much, so maybe that was just how they looked. “And me…?” she muttered. What would she be turning into? It was hard to tell.

“Whatever we’re becoming makes no difference.” Vita Rose said. “We’ve got to find the Villain, now we have to do it faster.” As she finished, she started walking off down the path, faster now.

“…She’s not very good with spooky stuff, is she?” Hina asked aloud.

“Nope~!” Vita Sun giggled.

— — — — —

The Magical Girls continued to be accosted and harassed as they worked their way through Prime Park, minions jumping out at them from shadows every step of the way. The variety kept up the theme of Halloween-esque minions that had begun earlier, but most of them still went down fast. They were more numerous than Hina had expected, but some further scanning with her magitech let her know that the Barrier didn’t stop people from entering, just from leaving. As people entered, they transformed, reinforcing the minions.

The transformations, meanwhile, continued unabated. Hina couldn’t find any rhyme or reason to it, but their initial guesses had each turned out to be quite correct. Vita Rose’s gloves and boots had been damaged by the growth of claws and not a small amount of fur and she had gotten rather more vicious against the minions they fought.

Vita Sky, meanwhile, had developed sharp fangs and her eyes had gone red, while her skin was a stark white tone. She wasn’t showing much mental effect yet, besides arguably some more arguing with Vita Rose - vampires and werewolves, stereotypical foes and all. She was still mostly doing alright, but who knew how long that’d last?

Finally, Vita Sun had one a bit less spooky than the other two. Her outfit had changed significantly, looking more like a parody of a nurse’s outfit, if still in her usual colors. She was teasing the others a lot and occasionally saying innuendos but that was probably just Celica being Celica rather than any mental corruption.

Hina, herself… well she felt weird, but she hadn’t seen anything changing on herself? She kind of had an urge to crack open some of her gear and look at how it worked or maybe cackle maniacally- oh, that wasn’t normal. Well she was pretty sure she was still doing fine?

That witch from before, Hecate, was the biggest pain in the side that they found as they continued onwards - magically bringing more minions to face them and helping those minions hide in ambush against Hina’s detection tools, it meant they had to be a lot more careful as they went if they didn’t want to get taken by surprise, and she kept keeping out of the fight even though she seemed like she’d much rather get directly involved.

“Are you doing alright, Rose?” Hina asked after a particularly rough fight - Maya seemed to be doing the worst, as the fur had spread up her arms and had presumably done the same up her legs.

Vita Rose whirled on Hina as she asked this, and growled at her! Hina stepped back, and Vita Sky stepped between them - though she had a rather more smug expression than normal. “Now, don’t behave like an animal. She was asking how you were feeling.” Vita Sky said - in a rather fancier tone than she normally took.

“…Sorry. The stress is getting at me.” Vita Rose said after a few moments of glaring at Vita Sky. "I’m fine. Completely fine.”

“Cuties, don’t fight~ It’s hot and all, but we should really just get along, ehehehe~” Vita Sun giggled.

“I was just wondering how the transformation was working- er, feeling. I’m worried and a bit curious…” Hina shook her head to chase the intrusive thoughts out - dangit, what was she getting turned into, some kind of mad scientist?

“It’s fine, it’s fine…” Vita Rose muttered, before her ears perked up sharply. “We’re close to something important.”

They turned a corner around another tight group of trees and found that Vita Rose had been correct - they were close to something quite important, specifically the Villain. Standing in front of the elaborate central fountain directly in the center of the park, she had sketched out an elaborate ritual circle pumping dark purple magical energy into the sky, maintaining the Barrier. Surrounding her was a tight group of minions, forming the final barrier between the Vitalizers and their target.

This was another witch type - but as Hina’s assorted devices scanned her, they found she felt different from most other Villains, and indeed different from the self-proclaimed Witch’s Glade as well. “Something is very strange about her… I wonder what it could be…” Hina murmured aloud.

Vita Rose’s response to such a question seemed to be “don’t care, charging now” - because as Hina spoke the increasingly canine Magical Girl charged into the assembled minions with fists (/claws?) swinging. Nothing tactical about it, she just wanted to get into the fight.

“How uncouth…” Vita Sky sighed loudly, but followed after, blasting away some minions as they tried to surround Vita Rose.

“Wait for me~” Celica sing-songed, sending supportive magic after the two to keep them fighting well.

Hina was left to observe the fight, and something that she was seeing was making her worried. It wasn’t that the girls were losing or anything - they were dealing with the minions handily, not seeming to have much trouble with any of their foes. No, the thing that was bothering her was that they didn’t seem to be even trying to take them down, even this close to the Villain! Sure, a lot of the minions were getting grabby or shooting some kind of projectile (a robin hood type was presently being blasted to the next post code by Vita Sky in retaliation), but they were causing even less harm than one would normally expect of them.

All they were doing was slowing the Magical Girls down… and letting the Barrier keep working on them. This close to the source and with this much activity, the Magical Girls changes were progressing even faster! “Watch out, ehehe- damn it- watch out, they’re stalling!” Hina called. Unfortunately, it was increasingly unlikely that the girls were listening.

Vita Rose’s gloves and boots had burst open to allow for her new claws, and the rest of her outfit was going ragged as she started to tear into the foes viciously. Dark red fur climbed from her fingers (now more paws) up to her shoulders and hips, with patches rapidly forming on her neck as the transformation approached a climax. The werewolf in progress howled as she threw herself at the nearest foe without regard for approaching the Villain holding up the Barrier.

While many of the minions focused on holding Vita Rose down, they became easy prey for a laughing Vita Sky; “Ohohoho~! Such meager foes stand no chance against me and my pets~” Her voice was haughty now as her clothes had darkened down to black, lengthening to begin to form a proper gothic gown. She wasn’t all gone either, but it was obvious she’d soon be a vampire.

Vita Sun… well, she was wearing a nurse’s outfit now. It was all white, and most of the frills and such were gone, while she’d somehow gotten a very large syringe. Hina still wasn’t actually sure there was anything happening with her mind though, all the teasing and innuendo seemed normal for her.

That left Hina. She was having some trouble thinking clearly, having more than a little desire to watch the transformations through to their conclusions; it was so very fascinating, she wondered if they could be replicated - nope! She was definitely becoming some kinda mad scientist, and she found that she had started wearing a coat at some point without realizing - a labcoat specifically. Though the rest of her outfit wasn’t changed; maybe since she wasn’t in the thick of things, she wasn’t changing as fast.

“Ehehehe… like this, it doesn’t matter the real identities of the Magical Girls… everyone will be just who I say they are~” The villain cackled. She stood at the center of a runic circle, geometric patterns in constant motion beneath her feet as she kept the Barrier running.

Hina did a double take - even through the taint of increasing madness, she recognized that witch! She didn’t know her name, but Hina had seen her around the MGA HQ before. And this morning she’d definitely not been a witch! She must have been a minion too, but those witches had elevated her to the power of a proper Villain…?

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about but it seems like an overreaction…?” Hina said.

“Silence! Be quiet, and enjoy the building madness!” The witch snapped.

The Handler had to think fast; she was pretty sure the Vitalizers were too occupied to realize what was wrong; they hadn’t responded when she warned them. She was on her own! She had to do something to interrupt the ritual-

There was a loud humming behind her, that turned into a violent rattling whir. She turned, and saw a masked man with a live chainsaw looming over her. “Get her!” the Villain shouted.

Hina screamed and bolted, running away from the circle and the Magical Girls as she did. The chainsaw wielding man chased her wildly. As she ran and screamed her own transformation progressed - the pink highlights of her hair turning white and lightning-shaped and the clothes under the labcoat becoming more industrial.

She had to think of an escape and fast, and then she had to interrupt the ritual, and- she nearly ran into a tree while she was thinking. The near face full of bark had given her an idea though - dangerous, but it might work, and to her increasingly mad scientist brain it would at least be interesting!

Hina hid herself behind the tree. Naturally, being that he’d seen her do it, the chainsaw man wasn’t fooled; he revved his chainsaw again and swung at the tree, planning to cut both plant and her.

But there was not a scream of pain as the man cut clean through the tree. It was more a yelp of fear, but was followed by a much more intimidating noise - the groaning of the tree as it began to fall. Frozen with surprise, or perhaps waiting for further orders, the serial killer waited as the tree fell nearly on top of him, sending him sprawling.

More importantly, Hina’s quick calculations were correct - it had fallen right into the runic circle! The witch was knocked over and out cold, surprised by the sudden tree just as she’d turned her attention back to the Vitalizers.

Hina approached the circle. Despite the tree and the loss of it’s creator, the circle still took magic from the Villain and turned it into a Barrier. A durable spell to be sure, one that Hina wanted to look into. But first she had to disable the circle somehow. The Handler pondered the issue for several moments; the minions were too wrapped up with the Magical Girls to notice her so she had time to think.

Something caught her eye. A portion of the circle relatively empty of lines and glowing just the faintest bit differently to the rest. Strictly speaking she didn’t know what it would do; it could be that it would empower the Barrier further. It could backlash against her and instantly change her. But when Hina saw that section she knew it would break the spell…

She walked up to it and crouched, humming aloud to herself. “This part looks… hmmm… yeah, this feels right…” she muttered, scuffing out bits of the circle with her foot. The circle glowed brightly - and then there was a sound like breaking glass as the spell shattered. The light returned to the sky overhead, and the minions changed to look more like normal people wearing costumes. Just in time, too - the Vitalizers seemed to be just about finished changing, before their transformations were turned into costumes like the rest.

Hina blinked. How had she…? Was it because of that mad-scientist transformation going on with her that she’d been able to figure that out so fast? Well, whatever it was, it was lucky that she’d done it. She shook her head - it wasn’t important, she had to check on the others!

— — — — —

As Hina rushed off to check on her friends, floating above the park, Hecate glared down from her broom. “Hmph. So excited about such a narrow victory, are they? They’re just lucky that she guessed right.” She muttered.

“I wouldn’t be so certain.” Circe’s voice said in Hecate’s ear.

Hecate nearly fell off her broom - even as long as she’d known Circe, she never did get used to that little trick. “What do you mean? They’re just more MGA pets, nothing worth the concern. Frankly, I’m not even sure why you did this little ‘test’. With all of us together we could crush them.”

“Perhaps,” Circe conceded. “But I wished to see how they would handle such a challenge. It was a narrow victory, but it was a victory.”

“I hardly think such a clear fluke should count.”

“I do not think it was luck. Something is interesting about this group…”

Hecate shook her head, glaring down at that ‘Hina’ girl again. She was happily chatting with the other Vitalizers - at least until she paused, and turned to look up at her.

Hmph. Nothing worth worrying over. Hecate flew away from the park, leaving the MGA to clean up the mess.

— — — — —

“Report for you, Director Marion.” The man said, dropping a file on the Director’s desk.

“Lecroix. Isn’t this someone else’s job?” Clarisse said as she took the folder and started flipping through.

“The medical team asked me to bring it to you since my lab is closer.” Doctor Lecroix shrugged. “Since I was involved in the interrogation, I suppose you’ll be wanting a summary before letting me back to my work?”

“You read my mind.”

Frederick cleared his throat. “Miss Sharp claims to remember very little of her time as a Villain. Medical was able to detect signs of transformation akin to those discovered on captured Magical Girls or civilians. As Villains with altered forms are not uncommon, the doctor decided they needed more evidence that she had not, in fact, turned of her own will.”

“I was called in to analyze her. Scans indicate very little magical capacity; no more than your average civilian and far, far below the minimum threshold needed to actually make use of it without magitech assistance. This is consistent with records before the event - however, to cast such a large spell needs an immense capacity.”

“The conclusions, then?” Clarisse prompted.

“We’re of the belief that Miss Sharp was accosted by the self-proclaimed Witch’s Glade before their appearance at the anniversary celebration. Through unknown means, they not only transformed and brainwashed her but increased her power to a level of a full Villain in her own right.”

It wasn’t uncommon for those who discovered magical abilities to go mad with power; uncontrolled magic had a tendency to warp human thoughts, even those with the best of intentions. It was where most Villains came from. This was different, however; they had taken someone with no ability at all, and made her a significant threat.

Clarisse waved Frederick out as she thought about it. She shuddered to think what might happen if they could do that on an independent Villain as well…

She glanced over to another set of files on her desk, featuring pictures taken during the incident. In particular, one on this ‘Hecate’ woman. She seemed distressingly familiar…