A/N: Okay. We did it. Here we are. Sorry for all the delays on this one. On top of the sickness it was just a really, really hard chapter to write. And, uh, on that note, we have some content warnings! Skip to the chapter if you don't wanna see those, hoobadie doobadie wow wahoo! Okay, so: suicidal ideation, self-harm, inter-system harm, identity denial, body horror (yes, even by my standards). So yeah! This is gonna be a nasty one. And on that note, transformation themes in order here:https://youtu.be/pAkvF7HkFEYhttps://youtu.be/lGswk9-AMIwEnjoy the chapter!

[LunaLightOTK]: Castalia, Thea, hi! You're in this group chat now. Sorry for hacking your phones. There is a new member of the Dark Rebellion, apparently! Don't freak out but I'm going to go say hi and make sure she doesn't hurt anyone. If you don't see a message from me every five minutes, something bad happened.

[LunaLightOTK]: This is my automated five-minute check-in. I'm fine!

Okay, well, with that set up… I guess it's time to figure out my plan, here. I'm currently running down the highway and probably distracting most of the drivers to a rather dangerous degree, and I doubt it will be long before I catch sight of the fish girl riding a giant praying mantis. Y'know, probably. I assume she'll be hard to miss.

Oh, yep. I can feel her now. I guess I'm getting close. What is this…? Despair and desire? Jesus, I hope she's okay.

Running up to the top of a small hill, I finally spot her. She's… in a bad way. I watched the video, sure, but seeing her with my own optical sensors paints it all in a starker light. The girl sits on her commandeered monster side-saddle, her tail dangling off its back and one arm wrapped around its torso to prevent her from falling off. Her head jiggles like a bobblehead as the thing gallops forwards, staring emptily at nothing in particular. The only indication that she's even still a person at all is the obvious signs of her gemstones being cultivated with purpose. They grow in symmetrical patterns all the way down her body, and have been cut to reasonable sizes. She might have figured out how to do it herself, but it's more likely to be Mel or Nanaya's work. 

Outside of her crystals, though, her body is a total mess. She's completely naked, her hair is a chaotic, tangled mess, she's covered head to tail in scratches, and based on what I can see of her eyes I think they've been completely blinded by cataracts or maybe something worse. The reason for her steed is obvious, given there's no way she could ever walk on the shriveled, vestigial remains of what I suspect were once her legs. And while I won't deny that I can be somewhat prone to appreciating the beauty of a feminine form juxtaposed with inhumanity, her nudity is nothing but another reason to be concerned for the poor girl, as it reveals how frighteningly thin and wasted away she currently is. I can see the underside of her ribs!

I'm going to have to approach this carefully. Whether it's from Dark World corruption or simple loneliness, this girl might not be totally sane. And if she is Eliza… well, that girl was already a wreck to begin with. I'd shudder to imagine what a transformation like this would do to her if I still had that physical instinct at all. Of course, I might not have to imagine it pretty soon.

Alright. Let's keep this casual. She probably needs a friend.

"Hey," I say as I approach, slowing down and waiting for her ride to make its way to me before turning and matching its pace. "Are you hungry?"

The question seems to catch the girl off guard, a single laugh bubbling up from her throat and popping into the world.

"Ha! Um, what?" she asks. "Are you afraid I'm going to eat you?"

Hmm. Her voice doesn't really sound like Eliza's. Then again, she's been totally transformed.

"You'd probably find that a bit difficult," I say. "No, you just look like you need to eat more. You're skinny as a rail."

"I'm honestly not sure what I can and can't bite through, these days," the girl hums, "but I wouldn't be surprised if an incarnate form is on the list."

An incarnate form…? Ah. She can feel my soul, she can feel there's magic going on, but she can't see that I'm a robot. She's not looking at me when she talks at all; the girl is definitely blind. 

"Do you want to eat me?" I ask.

"Well no, not really," she admits.

"Then it's fine," I insist. "People on the highway have been filming you for a while and you haven't attacked anyone. Your monster is obviously tamed. Not sure how you pulled that off, but it's impressive."

"Thanks! I'm kinda fuzzy on the details myself, but it works great!" she says, patting her ride on the back. The mantis-monster doesn't acknowledge the contact at all, seeming to be entirely focused on running instead. 

Okay! Alright. This is going well so far. I'm glad this doesn't seem like it's going to end in a fight.

[LunaLightOTK]: This is my automated five-minute check-in. I'm fine!

"So… are you with the Dark Rebellion?" I ask. "How'd you end up in Loveland?"

"I went for a swim!" the monster girl answers cheerfully. 

Which does not, you know, actually answer anything at all. She didn't deny being in the Dark Rebellion, though, and it is the most likely explanation… well, whatever. No sense putting it off any longer.

I'm not religious, but… god, please.

"What's your name?" I ask her.

She freezes, at least as much as she can while bouncing on the back of a galloping monster.

"…Why?" she demands. "Who's asking?"

She doesn't recognize me. Of course she wouldn't recognize me. She's blind, and even if she is who I hope she is… that girl has never heard my voice. 

"Are you Eliza?" I press.

- - -

Am I Eliza? Wait, who is this girl? Does she know us, Fulgora?

I don't recognize her voice.

Me either. 

It doesn't matter anyway. The answer is no. 

It is?

Of course it is. We're not Eliza anymore. We'll never be Eliza again. Eliza was our human name. There's only one true answer here.

"Eliza is dead," I tell the Earth Guardian.

I feel their emotions shift. Despair, sadness, fear. A bit of suspicion. A bit of desire. I can't get a good read on this girl, whoever she is. Her soul is bigger than a normal person's, but not by a lot. She feels like a new Guardian, a kid, but her voice doesn't sound like a child's. Is she just bad at her job…?

Whatever. It doesn't matter.

"What happened to her?" the Guardian asks.

"To Eliza?" I clarify. "I killed her."

Surprise. Suspicion. Are we fighting now? I don't want to hurt her, and yet… there's some part of me yearning to hit something anyway. But… she doesn't start casting anything. She just gets sad.

"Why'd you do that?" she asks.

Is she sad… for our sake?

"I… it's none of your business," I snap at her.

"What's your name?" she asks.

"That's also none of your business!"

My fingers dig into the body of the monster I'm riding a bit, though if the beast feels it, it doesn't react. The sounds of the cars driving by, the rhythmic patter of the mantis' feet on the ground, and the clanking of what I assume is the Earth Guardian's armor are the only things I can hear, and therefore the only things in my entire world.

Would it really be that bad to tell her, Fulgora?

Yes. No. I don't know. It's none of her business. I don't… I don't want to be recognized. Not like this.

"Regardless, oh nameless one, the offer of lunch is still open," she says. "And some clothes, if you like? They might not fit perfectly, but I can at least lend you something to cover up with. No shame if you just like letting it hang out, though."

O-oh. I… I forgot I'm…

"…Clothes would be nice," I admit, ignoring the heat I feel on my cheeks.

"Sure," the Guardian says. "You wanna stop and take care of that now, or…?"

Minerva pulses out a bit of magic, ordering the monster to stop. So it does, but I have no idea what to do from there, so I just remain still as a stone. This is so stupid. How am I even going to put the clothes on without falling down? 

"Alright, let me just quickly adjust these for you," the Guardian says, and I hear a quiet tear of fabric.

"Do you just carry spare clothes around with you all the time?" I ask.

"Pretty much, yeah," the Guardian confirms. "I have a pocket dimension spell. It kinda rocks."

Oh, that does sound useful. I want one.

"Here you go," the Guardian says, presumably handing over some clothes but I can't fucking see them. She seems to pick up on that, at least, and pretty soon I feel her just place them down in my lap.

"The shirt is on top," she tells me. "Skirt on the bottom. Sorry if you don't like skirts. I could maybe make you something else to wear but it would take a bit."

"It's fine," I lie, putting my free hand on the fabric in my lap. 

It's soft. I don't know how I'm going to put it on, though. It feels like if I let go of the monster I'm holding onto I'll just faceplant into the dirt. 

Oh! I've got you. Here, Fulgora.

The air around me starts to swirl, clutching tight against my chest and holding me in place like a tightly-wrapped blanket. Gosh. Thanks, Minerva. You always know what to do.

Y-yeah… so hey, I'm starting to wonder, like… what if I'm NOT Minerva?

You are.

But—

You're Minerva. I carefully let go of the monster and start to force myself into the shirt. I expected it to be a bit too small for me, just based on feel, but while it's a bit tight around the shoulders it hangs off my arms and torso very loosely. Getting the skirt on is a bit more of a hassle, but with a few Minerva-assisted hops and scoots I manage to shuffle it into place. And now I am no longer flashing an entire highway! Fantastic.

God. I feel like I would have cared a lot about that, once.

We should thank her.

Who? Oh, right.

"Thanks," I grunt in the general direction of where the Earth Guardian's soul feels like it is.

"No problem," she says. "That offer for food is still open too, by the by. You look like you haven't eaten in months."

Yeah. Well. That's technically not true anymore. So there.

"Whatever. I could eat."

"Great! I'm afraid I don't have anything for your bug monster, though."

"It's cool," I say. "He just eats magic."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense."

This is the most easygoing Earth Guardian I've ever met. Even Aurora has more of a sense of gravitas than this girl. Is she just that confident…? Her soul doesn't feel that powerful… but then again, it doesn't feel like she's emitting anywhere near as much power as I'd expect from an incarnate form in general. Maybe she's hiding it somehow. Melpomene was able to do weird stuff like that, back when she… back when I killed Minerva.

Huh..?

"Welp, I'll lead the way. Can you get your beastie to just… follow me?" the Guardian asks. "I don't think your castle is converging right now, but it probably will within the next few hours. I'll get us something nice to eat in the meantime."

"Why aren't you fighting me?" I ask bluntly.

"Because if I were in your position, I wouldn't want to be attacked."

The answer comes out immediately, like she didn't even have to think about it. Somehow, though, it still feels like she's being careful with her words. She's worried about something. Maybe a lot of somethings. Maybe she's just as weak as she seems, and she just knows she wouldn't stand a chance in a fight.

Let's just follow her anyway. I'm hungry!

Yeah, me too. Which like. Duh. Since we share a body and stuff.

And stuff!

"Alright, lead the way," I allow.

So she does, and Minerva directs our ride to follow. We now have even less of an idea of where we're going than before. This girl could be leading us anywhere. She could be bringing us right into the Earth Guardian base. But… well, so what? So what if she does? It doesn't really matter. She'll either bring us to an ambush and we'll fight until we die, or she won't and we'll have lunch or whatever. It doesn't matter either way.

I hope it's lunch, personally!

Yeah? I kind of hope it's the ambush.

Why would…? Fulgora, hey…

I shake the thoughts loose from my head, settling in to wait. I'm good at waiting, these days. Good at just… letting time pass by as my head fills with static and cotton, thoughts nothing but a vaguely uncomfortable mess that lets me lose track of everything. Even Minerva drowns in it. Killing her, bringing her back, killing her, bringing her back, killing her and killing her again…

"We're here," the Earth Guardian says, snapping me back to reality. "Do you mind waiting outside? While your buddy there might count as a service animal, I still suspect they wouldn't want him inside. Plus, he's a little big for the door."

"Sure," I say. "I'll wait."

I'm good at waiting. Good at waiting. Good at waiting. Good at good at good at… hah…

"Hey! I'm back. Wanna sit down in a chair, or should I just pass the food up there to you?"

"Huh? I…" 

How would I even get down from here without her carrying me? Fuck that. I don't want anyone to touch me.

"…Just pass it up here," I insist.

"Sure thing! Careful, it's pretty hot."

She hands up what feels like a plastic bowl. It is pretty hot, hot enough to burn a human, but I doubt it can burn me. Minerva helps me balance again and I feel around the bowl, remembering vaguely that I didn't actually order anything. Ah, there's a fork in here already. That's nice. It feels like… pasta? I like pasta. I take a bite. 

Ah… it's a spaghetti from that Italian place Castalia always liked taking us to. I used to order this all the time. How did this girl… what did… what's going on…?

Don't stop eating! That was so tasty!

R-right. Right. Sorry. I twirl up some more and guide it into my mouth. It really is good. I scarf down a few more bites way too fast, forming an uncomfortable lump in my throat.

"Do you have any… water?" I ask.

"Yep, here you go!" the Guardian answers cheerfully, handing me a cup.

I take it and drink the entire thing in one sitting, passing it back down before picking up my fork and continuing to eat like a ravenous animal. I guess that's more or less what I am right now, come to think of it. 

I wonder how this girl knew our favorite thing to order. 

I mean… it's spaghetti from an Italian place. She just got us the most basic, universally liked thing on the menu. 

Oh, yeah. That makes more sense.

Still yummy, though.

Yeah.

I like whoever this is. She even got us water!

Heh. She got us water, water, water, water?

Huh? Oh! Gosh, was that me saying that…? Maybe it was…

Honestly, I'm surprised I even noticed it. You were really quiet.

You didn't notice it! I didn't even notice it, and I was the one doing it! Probably.

God, I hope there isn't a third one of us. That would be a horrible mess.

…Yeah. Um. I dunno, would it really be that bad? We could be like, um, the three mouseketeers or something. Remember that movie?

What? No?

You know, that Disney movie we watched with Mom and Jim. Mom wasn't mad at us that night, so she made popcorn and we got to put sugar and cinnamon on it and we all sat on the couch together and I cuddled up in Jim's lap and we watched the movie together! It was Mickey Mouse, but in like, Spain or something.

I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

Uh… well, I remember it, so shouldn't you remember it too?

No, I… wait. I remember you remembering it, kind of? I mean, now that you're thinking about it I kind of remember it. Between the popcorn and the blankets and Jim it was really warm. We were sweating a little, but it was still… nice.

Mom got mad at us for smelling bad the next day, though.

Right… yeah, she was really mad. Did we forget to bathe?

We… must have, I guess.

I… I don't want to think about this anymore. How do you even remember this? I haven't thought about Mom and Dad in… years, probably. Jim is all we need. All we… used to need. 

Right. Sorry.

It's okay. It's fine. I'm sorry, I just… I wasn't expecting that, is all. I barely even remember Mom’s face, I don't… sorry. My heart is beating very fast for some reason. It kinda… hurts. It's fine, though. It's fine. I… I just don't want to think about Mom, okay?

Sorry. It was just a random memory. I didn't mean to… sorry.

You're fine. It's fine. Sorry, Minerva.

"Finished eating?" someone says, and oh right the Earth Guardian, she's… here. And buying us lunch. And lending us clothes. And stuff. 

And stuff!

"I, um… I guess. Is there any more food in the bowl…?" I ask awkwardly.

"Hmm? Oh, no, looks like you got it all," she confirms.

"Cool. Cool…"

"So… Eliza's dead," the Earth Guardian says. "But you're totally still Fulgora, right?"

- - -

The fish girl freezes in place, shock on her face. Did she think she was being slick with the 'Eliza is dead' stuff? Even more evidence that she's Fulgora, frankly. I know what a metaphor is, girlygills. 

"I… I'm…" she stammers, not seeming to have any idea what to say. 

Which, again, is totally a Fulgora-type behavior. I was very confused earlier, when she was acting like some chipper manic pixie dream girl type, but she probably just has a new headmate or something after the eight months of horrible mutation alone in the Dark World. Like duh that would dredge up a new personality or two. Eliza wasn't all that mentally stable beforehand; I could probably pick her up and shake her and watch like three more girls fall out of the cracks inside her brain. 

"You realize you could just come back and everybody would still be your friend, right?" I ask. "Castalia misses you. Chloe misses you."

"I… I can't… I'm not…"

"Not what?" I press. "Not human? It's cool. Thea defected from the Dark Rebellion too, and she's like… green. With cute little paws. People are getting along with her fine!"

Mostly fine. Amaterasu and Veritas are kinda being bitches about her but Chloe and Bean and Jim and Castalia are all getting along with her so the point stands.

"Shut up!" Probably-Fulgora snaps. "Just… shut up."

"Okay," I agree.

It's odd, sitting here again without my skinsuit on. This old restaurant is one of the first places I went with Eliza, Luna, and Chloe all as a group. It sits in a huge plaza parking lot, its front facing the road. The outdoor patio is consequently a little loud and car-exhausty, but it's still a decent place for people to eat in the sun, with their pets, or in this case, with their seeing-eye monsters. 

What else can I do here? She's clearly unstable. If I can't somehow come across as a safe, calming person to be around, then I have no idea what'll happen but I doubt it'll be good. That's kinda part of why I haven't shared my name; if she's been around Melpomene, she might know that her friend Luna was lying to her about the whole artifact thing the entire time. Better to reestablish a rapport first, I think.

[LunaLightOTK]: This is my automated five-minute check-in. I'm fine!

[WrenchWitch]: Oh my god. Where are you?

Oh hey, Thea is awake.

[LunaLightOTK]: Location data attached here.

[LunaLightOTK]: You probably shouldn't come here though.

Hmm. She's not responding. That… might be bad.

[LunaLightOTK]: Thea? 

[LunaLightOTK]: Thea, hey. At least wake up Castalia first? Bring her with you!

[LunaLightOTK]: Thea!

Gah! Shit, shit, shit, I shouldn't have told her where I am. But… she asked, I couldn't just not answer. Damn it! I just hope it won't be that bad. Maybe I'm being paranoid. Maybe Fulgora won't fly off the handle like I'm afraid she will. 

I remember asking Nanaya if Dark World corruption is real. She had a lot to say in response, but in essence her answer was 'does it even matter?' Spending that long in the Dark World alone, having to wait in pitch blackness as your body shifts into something from your own nightmares, without food or water or hope for god knows how long… you wouldn't need some supernatural force to drive you crazy in a situation like that. It would happen either way.

Still, though… Fulgora, of all people, siding with Melpomene. It's beyond belief. The girl I knew was so stubborn, so insistent on the hard lines she drew between good and evil, that she never would have entertained a thought like that for a moment. Which means this isn't the girl I knew. I'm either entirely wrong, and this genuinely is someone I've never met… or Fulgora was broken to a degree that even my experiences with the Dark Rebellion would pale against. 

And those teal crystals all over her body, well… those are pretty strong pieces of evidence for the latter. I know what teal feels like. I know what despair feels like. I know what it means to yearn for death. What happened to her? Beyond just the isolation, there had to be something more.

"Why?" Fulgora asks softly, her whole body tight with stress.

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this?"

Hmm. That's a tough question to answer. 'Because I care about you' is the honest one, but our relationship was kinda rocky shortly before her Dark World trip so I'm not sure it's the angle I wanna go for. Oh, I know.

"…Veritas has been searching for you for eight months," I say. "She's never given up. She's out searching right now, even."

"No," Fulgora hisses. "Not me. Not me. She's looking for Minerva."

"Minerva and Fulgora both," I insist. "Minerva was her team leader, sure, but Fulgora was her cool senior Guardian who cared about her, too."

"No," Fulgora hisses. "No. I didn't do anything for her."

"Did Minerva sit all by herself with her team after Nanaya almost killed them?" I ask. "Or were you there, too? Insisting you couldn't possibly be anywhere else?"

"I killed Minerva!" she snaps. "I killed her. Even though she's back, I still killed her."

What does… what? How does that even work? I guess that part of her went silent for a while? Fortunately I don't have to try and figure it out for long, since Fulgora keeps babbling.

"Her incarnate form was killed," Fulgora says. "It was my fault. She was gone. My stone was red. And then it was teal, and now… I don't know. But she's back now! She's back, she's back, and I… no. NO! DON'T LIE TO ME!"

Don't… huh!? Fulgora clutches her own head with both hands, seemingly screaming at herself.

"You're Minerva! You're Minerva! You have to be! Or I, I, I—!"

She falls off her monster and I rush forward, catching her in my arms.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screams immediately, a thunderous shockwave of force launching us away from each other. I slide back into the patio table of the restaurant we were eating at as she tumbles into the middle of the street, still clutching her head. Her next scream is entirely wordless, and I suspect entirely unrelated to her fall.

This… isn't going to go well. We're past the point of no return here. And even if we're not, there's only one responsible thing to do. I hack into the restaurant's internal speakers and give them an evacuation warning. Y'know, if it wasn't already obvious to all the people working there that they should leave.

"Hi everyone! This is official Earth Guardian business and I need to ask you all to calmly exit out the back door of the restaurant. Please escort any patrons as necessary and clear the premises swiftly."

"Luna!" I hear my master shout, and panic bursts through me.

My power reserves have increased to 36%. I've done a decent bit of recharging since the kaiju fight, but I'm hardly in ideal fighting shape. If I tried to enter my incarnate form right now, I'd get… eight point five seven seconds of operational runtime before hitting zero, not accounting for additional emotional gain. That's really bad! And now my master is here while an unstable teal mage is having a breakdown and also—

"Luna!?" Fulgora shouts. "You're Luna!? No. No! Fuck you! What do you want from me!?"

"I'm your friend!" I remind her. "I want to help you!"

"My friend Luna was mute!" Fulgora growls. "You're nothing but a liar! SHUT UP!"

I can't tell if she's telling me to shut up or yelling at her own brain again. I honestly just can't tell. 

"Luna, what the heck is going on!?" Thea squeaks, dropping down next to me from up above.

"Thea, get out of here!" I snap back at her.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Fulgora screams at everything. "I can't. Fucking. Hear. Myself! Think! JUST SHUT UP!"

I go silent. But somehow, I suspect the inside of her head does not.

- - -

Just listen to me! Please!

No. No. No. You're wrong. I'm not listening to anything.

If you're so insistent I'm Minerva, then shouldn't you trust me!?

No. Because you're wrong. Understand? You can't… you can't just give me hope that she's alive and then rip her away from me again! You can't do that to me!

I didn't do anything! You insisted I was Minerva! You decided that before I even had any idea what was going on!

She was the good part of me. I'm the bad part of me. There's nothing left for you. There's no one else you can be. 

Maybe I'm the only part of you that isn't STUPID!

Then you're definitely not me. You're just some interloper. Something that deserves to exist even less than I do. Worse than bad. No wonder you can control monsters.

Clearly, I can't control monsters well enough!

You're just like Luna. A liar. A pretender. How dare you try to be her.

You did that! YOU did that! I tried to tell you so many times that I—

"I said SHUT UP!" I shout out loud again. "I'm not listening to you! Pretending to be someone I love, someone who cares about me…! You and Luna can both go to hell!"

There's nothing for me. Nothing left. She's gone forever. Gone and replaced by some sick pretender. I'm lost without her. Blind. I can't exist on my own, but there's no one else in the world I can trust. No one who can help me see, except… except for… fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Melpomene is… not a good person. Melpomene does not care about me. Melpomene is a monster. That's what everybody says. That's what I said. But everybody else is a liar, and I'm a fool. There's no point trying to trust anyone's judgment. The only thing I can trust is what I can see. And I can't see anything without her. It's all just mist and lies.

She cares about Thea, right? If I bring Thea back, will Melpomene stop walking away…?

Don't do this, Fulgora. She's not… we're not…!

Not what? Monsters? Members of the Dark Rebellion? The subjects of a Queen? Don't kid yourself. There's nothing else we can be.

Luna wanted to—

Fuck Luna. Fuck you. Fuck everything. It doesn't matter. 

Let it all get washed away in the storm.

"Oɴᴄᴇ Aɢᴀɪɴ, I Fᴀɪʟ."

A blazing teal light envelops my body, lifting me up into the air as I feel my body change and fade away. There's something ironic to it all. I hate my new body. I despise it. And an incarnate form, well, that's the truest representation of the self. So you'd think, if you were an idiot, that it wouldn't be quite so horrific as my physical form.

And maybe, to some extent, you'd be right. The first thing that changes is my legs, elongating back to full human size and then some, regrowing clawed feet from where there was previously just a claw. My tail doesn't go away, though, staying right where it is and forcing me to hunch over slightly as my feet touch the ground, taking my weight.

At least the webbing between my fingers vanishes. The anglerfish-like lure growing from my head shrivels away into nothing. But in its place, my forehead opens like a weeping wound, an eye ripping itself into being and returning vision to my world. I see them, then. Amalthea. The artifact. It's just like old times, really. This, at least, is something I can understand.

Why are we attacking them? They haven't attacked us!

Shut. UP. I dig the claws of my right hand into the side of my head and feel the skin start to fall away as my transformation continues. Then, too, does the muscle beneath it start to dissolve. All the way down the right side of my body, my incarnate form, once whole, begins to fall apart. In its place is only a skeleton, the bones of a dead girl who was once my better half. Without her, the part of my body that's still somehow alive can do nothing but pour blood onto the street, a red waterfall that barely lasts long enough to hit the pavement before dissolving into motes of teal. 

This is the truth of me. A broken monster bleeding out and destined to die.

"Dᴇsᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ Bᴇᴀsᴛ Aɪᴍʟᴇss Fᴜʟɢᴏʀᴀ," I declare, the shockwave from my completed transformation shattering the windows of the building and cars nearby. 

My eye locks on Amalthea first. I may as well take her with me, right? It's not like my life can get any worse.

- - -

"Oh my god," Thea whispers in shock, instead of doing anything useful like, I don't know, speaking her transformation phrase! 

I'm already stepping in front of her and erecting a shield, thankfully, because the attack comes fast.

"Fᴜʟᴍɪɴᴀɴᴛ Fʟᴀsʜ."

She says it so blandly, so casually, that I almost don't register it as an attack. The bolt of lightning arcs out from her skeletal fingers and hits my shield, biting far deeper into my reserves than I expected. The defensive system I optimized for the last time I fought Fulgora—which to me still doesn't even feel like a week ago—is already far outdated. This isn't the lightning I'm used to, but an entirely new kind of storm. There are no howling winds and no pouring rain, just lightning flashing in the darkness. These clouds, after all, aren't made of water. They're made of miasma.

Calculating optimal barrier adjustments. Predicting most dangerous attack patterns. Predicting most likely attack patterns. Providing tactical encouragement.

"Transform and fly out of here already!!!" I shout at my master.

"You don't have enough power to fight her alone!" Thea insists. "Gʀᴀɴᴛ Mᴇ Cᴏᴜʀᴀɢᴇ!"

Oh my fucking god she's lucky she is my master or else I would strangle her!

"Fᴇᴀʀғᴜʟ Sᴀɢᴇ Dᴏᴏᴍᴇᴅ Aᴍᴀʟᴛʜᴇᴀ!" Thea declares, her transformation finishing in a green flash. "Lɪɢʜᴛᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ! Aᴍᴘʟɪғʏ Mᴏᴍᴇɴᴛᴜᴍ! Gɪғᴛ ᴏғ Tᴇʀʀᴏʀ! Sᴜᴘᴇʀɪᴏʀ Fʀᴇᴇᴅᴏᴍ! Iᴍᴘᴀᴄᴛ Rᴇᴘᴇᴀᴛᴇʀ!"

Grrrr. Well, I can't say the classic buff rotation is entirely unwelcome. I jump forward, not truly able to stay entirely on the defensive as long as a threat to my master is still extant. 

"Oh, good," Fulgora comments. "Lɪɢʜᴛɴɪɴɢ Sᴛʀɪᴋᴇ!"

She summons her staff in her non-skeletal hand, suddenly swinging it at me so fast that not even I can react. It cracks me hard on the forearm, chipping my plating through my shield and forcing me to stumble back. 

Heh. I get it. Like, a physical strike, like striking someone with a stick, but it's a lightning strike instead because—terminating thread. Focus, moron.

"[M ᴇ ɢ ᴀ B ᴜ s ᴛ ᴇ ʀ]" I incant, firing my first and favorite spell at her creepy halloween-ass face.

She doesn't dodge it. She doesn't block it. She just takes it, and not even in a badass no-sell kind of way. My shot explodes on contact, snapping her head back and charring a good chunk of the skin she has left. I follow it up with another attempt at close-quarters combat, boost-kicking her in the chest and sending her sprawling out on the street.

"Hey emergency dispatch! This is Earth Guardian Luna. Just wanted to let you know I'm hacking into your systems and instructing some police to cordon off a street so nobody explodes in a horrible magical girl fight, thanks bye!"

"What? Who is this?"

"Don't you record these calls? I'm sure you can figure it out. Look, I gotta go, so just keep the area clear!!!"

Deciding to press my advantage, I jump over to land on top of Fulgora and try to keep her on the ground. Although, after I've already committed to the action, it occurs to me that it may be significantly less practical in a magical girl fight than it is in a regular fight.

"Rᴏᴀʀɪɴɢ Bᴜʀsᴛ!"

Because of that, yeah. Most people (and monsters, for that matter) can't just explode on command. Her omnidirectional shockwave attack blasts me away from her and doubles as a quick way to knock her back onto her feet again. I don't get stunned just because I fuck up a little, though, so before I even land I'm already lining up a shot.

"[M ᴇ ɢ ᴀ B ᴜ s ᴛ ᴇ ʀ]"

"Fᴜʟᴍɪɴᴀɴᴛ Fʟᴀsʜ."

Our attacks meet in the middle, causing my spell to detonate prematurely as hers just passes clean through and wracks my shields once again.

My power reserves have decreased to 29%. I'm already out of all the extra energy Thea gave me. Though speaking of…

"Qᴜᴀᴅ Sᴇᴇᴋᴇʀ Sᴡᴀʀᴍ!"

Magically-conjured drones burst out of her spellbook and converge around Fulgora, each firing off a harassing shot… and each ignored as those shots land true, biting into flesh and searing bone. Obvious damage is being done, but Fulgora just isn't reacting… ah. She can't feel pain, can she? Well, that makes two of us, but at least I get a damage alert. At this rate, she might just 'ignore' damage until she ends up letting herself die.

…Damn it, she's a teal mage. That's exactly what she's going to do! Hell, it might be the point! I need to beat her down not just to protect Thea, but to protect her from herself as well! How the hell am I going to do that, though? She's extremely dangerous, I'm very low on power, and by the looks of her incarnate form she might not even need my help when it comes to bleeding out and dying. She's doing a great job of that all by herself! What do I do, then? How can I knock someone like this out safely?

"…I told you to shut up," Fulgora hisses.

"Sorry, it turns out I'm pretty chatty when I don't have to speak with my hands," I fire back. 

Talking gives me more time to think, and it's certainly better than fighting. Unless I really am on a time limit until she bleeds out and dies for real, I guess, but I think she should be forced out of incarnate form entirely before that happens, right?

But of course, she wasn't actually talking to me.

"Be quiet, Minerva! Quiet!" she demands, clutching her head again, her skeletal right hand dragging itself through what's left of her hair. "SHUT UP!"

And with that final shout, she digs those claws in deep, piercing holes right through her own skull. It happens so fast that I think I've already lost, that she's already killed herself before there's anything I can do about it, but she's just an incarnate form. A less stable one than usual, even. Those fingers don't dig through anything like her real brain when they crack holes into where that brain should be. The whole right side of her body is just bone, after all, so this should have been obvious from her empty eye socket.

There's nothing inside. Just a black void… one that, if you look carefully, swirls like mist. Yet still, breaking open those holes still seems to hurt something, if not her. Because out of nowhere, without her ever moving her mouth, something inside Fulgora screams.

The sound wails out of her like it's deep inside a tunnel. It's a bit higher-pitched than her usual voice, maybe a bit younger, though then again Fulgora is not a woman prone to screaming in the first place. Maybe this is what she'd sound like. Maybe, if you stripped everything else away, if you could get her to cry out at all, she'd still cry out in pain like a child. But no. This is something else. Someone else. Minerva, perhaps, or someone like her.

"Aʙʀᴇᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ: Sᴀᴛᴇʟʟɪᴛᴇ Cᴀɴɴᴏɴ!" Thea incants, and a green pillar of destruction descends on the street, carving a hole in the earth all around where Fulgora was standing. 

The flash is bright and powerful enough to blind all of my relevant sensors, but somehow I know. I rush to the edge of the hole and find her inside, still standing at the bottom. Again, the attack clearly injured her, but again, she doesn't seem to notice. Instead, she glares up at me.

Well. At least she's not making the void inside of her head scream in pain anymore.

"Alright," she says, maybe to me and maybe to herself. "Let's just finish this, then."

She leaps straight at me, directly from the bottom of the pit. No flight, no attempt at defense, no chance to dodge on the way up. Just uncaring aggression as she swings her staff at my head. I duck and counter with a grab, locking my fingers around her left wrist to gain control of her weapon. 

"Fᴜʟᴍɪɴᴀɴᴛ Cʟᴀᴡ."

Her skeletal hand tears through my shields like paper, dragging gouges through my outer plating and chunking my power reserves to barely half of what they were moments ago. How the fuck is she so fast!? It's—

Fulminant. Adjective. Suddenly and with great severity. 

—oh my god why did I even bother to download the dictionary this is not helpful right now! I yank Fulgora's arm down and bring my knee up, aiming to shatter her elbow, which succeeds but the girl simply does not give a fuck and throws me off of her with her broken arm. I end up doing a back handspring to prevent myself from landing on my head, grouping back up with Thea.

"Can I convince you to run away yet!?" I snap at her.

"Not a chance," she answers.

"For a fear mage, you're really lacking in self-preservation instincts," I complain.

"There's a reason my transformation phrase is 'grant me courage,'" she responds quietly. "Do you have a plan?"

"Not yet," I say. "Can you refill my reserves?"

"Gʀᴇᴀᴛᴇʀ Gɪғᴛ ᴏғ Tᴇʀʀᴏʀ," she incants, and I feel that sweet, sweet temporary reserve slot into my power readings. Man, I love that spell.

"She's leaking magic like crazy," I observe. "Mostly in the form of all that blood. I doubt she can keep her incarnate form active for long."

"So we're just trying to stall her?" Thea asks. "I can probably manage that."

"Be careful, Thea," I beg her. "She'll rip through your shields like they're nothing. I'm still analyzing possible countermeasures."

"She was your friend, right?" Thea asks.

"…Yeah," I confirm.

"Then I'm staying," Thea insists. "And we're saving her from Melpomene."

My power reserves have increased to 17%. My temporary power reserves are at 61%, dropping by approximately 1.24% per second before extraneous use. God, I love this girl.

…Though personally, I'm a lot more worried about saving Fulgora from herself.