Chapter 8: End of the Line

Magenta stared at the arm hanging to her right. It... couldn't be real. Could it?

She was supposed to just wake up and realize none of this had happened. Except... how could she think like that, after what had happened to Sulfur and Azure?

Her train of thought broke as the chainsaw bit into her left shoulder. She wanted to scream, but she'd screamed so much already - her throat was too raw to make any real sound.

Magia Baiser had dared her to find a way to break out. Magical girls were always supposed to find a way out. But how could she do that from here?

The grinding sound softened, then abated. To her left, her other arm dangled from its shackle. Both of them now reduced to useless stumps.

And still the buzzing from her private parts continued. Making it even harder to think, making her look even more undignified. In front of... how many people, now?

She could look left, she could look right, she could look down. But she couldn't bear to look forward, at the camera.

Magia Baiser bandaged her left shoulder, just like the right. Just like Magenta had done for Azure.

Only three shackles still held her. The two on her ankles, and the one on her neck.

"You really don't have anything else you can do, do you?" Baiser taunted.

"Please..." Magenta rasped out. "Stop..."

Baiser let out a mad laugh. "I told you, that's now how this works! Now, if you're not going to resist... do you have a favorite leg?"

Magenta tried to squeeze her legs together, tried to clench arms she no longer had. She... she was just going to keep doing this, wasn't she? In an hour, how much of her would be left?

"I guess the order doesn't make much difference! Let's see... Figs, carrots, peppers and mushrooms..."

"Just cut her already!" the idol villain jeered. What did Sulfur say her name was? Loco Musical?

"Okay, okay. Left it is!"

Baiser set the chainsaw by the top of Magenta's left thigh, and its terrible noise resumed.

This time, the pain was coming from... right near the buzzing, blending the sensations into a surreal mix. As her leg buckled, she tried to hold herself up with her right, but it was splayed too far to the side, leaving the bulk of the work to her neck.

The leg, too, fell away. More blood, blood was everywhere. Even with her magic at work, she felt light-headed.

Her magic... how much did she have left? If she ran out, if her transformation dropped, it was all over.

Was that the only difference she could make, now? Fighting to stay transformed as they carved away more and more? Was that the only victory she could hope for?

Magia Baiser finished bandaging her leg, then stood. The two of them locked eyes, and... something flickered across Baiser's expression. A momentary crack, before her grin returned.

"Anyway!" Baiser announced. "One more limb to go!"

The chainsaw bit into her one last time. Magenta shut her eyes, tried to block out the noise, the pain, the buzzing, everything.

And then it withdrew. The noise quieted, except for that awful buzzing.

Magenta opened her eyes and dared to look down. Both of her legs were on the floor. Now, all that held her up was the shackle around her neck.

"Don't worry," Baiser assured her. "Your body is really light now, so there won't be much weight on your neck. Aha, that'd be a great advertisement! This simple trick will let you lose 25 kilograms in less than an hour!"

25 kilograms? That was... about half her weight. Or... half of what she had weighed. Had she really just lost half of her body?

She'd probably lost half her height, too. What could she even do like this?

Something deep within her shook, then cracked. The light flowing through her began to dim. Her power... she was running out of the will to hold onto it.

Magia Baiser bandaged the last of the four stumps. Her eyes crossed what remained of Magenta's body, and she looked... disappointed.

"W-Well then! You're out of big pieces I can safely take, but there are all sorts of small ones left! Vena, are there any suggestions from the chat?"

"Let me check!" the fairy replied. "Hey, viewers - you heard our host, right? Let us know what body part Magia Magenta should lose next! Or, if you prefer, what she should definitely not lose next. We'll do our best to comply!"

Magenta's vision blurred. There had to be a way to stop this. Didn't there?

Between all the chatter, a soft sound prodded at her mind. Tap-tap-tap. Was it footsteps? She swore she'd heard a noise like this before, and recently.

"Okay!" Venalita announced. "Technically the most popular suggestion is Magenta's head, but for the most popular practical one..."

Wait. With all the magic here, it was hard to tell, but-

Something huge and purple burst into the room. A giant stuffed animal. It crashed into Magia Baiser, flinging her into Venalita. Behind it ran a young girl in a long dress and apron.

"What the FUCK?" Loco Musical shouted. "Who are you supposed to-"

The girl threw a dollhouse towards Loco Musical and Leberblume. It grew in the air, splitting open like a mouth to swallow them both. The stuffed animal hurled Magia Baiser into a wall, then joined the girl in approaching Magia Magenta.

Was she a new magical girl? No - her forehead was marked with Enormita's four-pointed star, and so were multiple parts of her outfit. But she was fighting Enormita. What was going on?

The girl put her hands out under Magenta. The stuffed animal swiped its paw at the chain holding her up, and it broke, dropping her into the girl's arms.

Magia Baiser got back to her feet. She raised her riding crop, but she looked... hesitant. To her side, Loco Musical and Leberblume emerged from the dollhouse, and it deflated back to its original size.

"Um..." Magenta got out. "I think we should... run?"

A portal appeared next to them, and the girl leaped into it.

The two of them emerged into... a living room. The creature followed, and the portal closed behind it.

The girl set Magenta down on the couch, then collapsed into a chair next to it. The stuffed animal shrunk into a small toy, and the girl's transformation faded. She... really was young - she had to be in elementary school.

"Th... thanks. Um..." It was awkward to ask a kid to do this, but she couldn't do it herself. "Could you... take that, uh, thing out of me?"

The kid got up, looking barely awake, and extracted the dripping object from between... where Magenta's legs had been. She walked out of sight, then returned without it, sat back down, and closed her eyes.

She was... taking a nap. Magenta couldn't blame her - doing enough magic could exhaust even a teenager. And... she was tired, too.

If the girl was willing to reveal her face, there was no need for Magenta to bother hiding hers. She released her transformation and returned to being Hanabishi Haruka.

Or... half of Hanabishi Haruka. She had her clothes back on, but her sleeves and skirt lay empty, no limbs within.

What was she going to do? Nothing right now, she supposed. She closed her eyes and dozed off as well.

Her mind drifted into an unpleasant haze. Haruka found herself kneeling naked in a puddle of blood, her body too heavy to lift.

A figure floated down towards her, wreathed in a pink glow. Magia Magenta sat down in front of her and offered a warm smile.

"I..." Haruka began. "I'm sorry, I can't..."

"Don't worry," Magenta assured her. "I'll look after you, like always."

Haruka nodded. "Ah... okay. Thanks..."

Magenta walked to Haruka's side, scooped her up in her arms, and rose back into the air.

Haruka's eyes opened. She'd... been dreaming, that was all. The only reason she'd allowed herself to think she still had limbs.

How much time had passed? Half an hour? There was no sign of anyone else in the house, or at least any room she could see or hear from the couch.

Eventually, the girl awoke as well. She looked over at Haruka and rose to her feet.

"Ah... hello," Haruka said. "I'm... Hanabishi Haruka. Or, uh... Magia Magenta. What should I call you?"

The girl nodded and grabbed a piece of paper. She wrote slowly and jerkily, then held up the results.

morino korisu

NEROALICE

"Morino Korisu," Haruka repeated. "Is it okay if I call you Korisu?"

Korisu nodded.

"I... guess you don't talk, huh?" Haruka asked.

Korisu shook her head.

"That's fine," Haruka said. "Um, I noticed the stars on your outfit. Are you... part of Enormita?"

Korisu shook her head.

"You did fight them, after all," Haruka admitted. "Did you, um... steal their magic?"

Korisu nodded.

"So... that was you earlier, wasn't it? You must have sneaked in through the portals."

Korisu nodded, more vigorously.

"Ah... that was really dangerous, you know? But it worked out, and you even rescued me. So... thanks."

Korisu nodded.

Haruka looked down at herself. "Um... would you be able to help me with a few more things?"

Korisu's eyes lit up, and she clasped her hands together.

It was a good thing she liked that idea, because "a few" was an understatement. "Okay. The first thing is... the bandages. They're probably really dirty by now, and I don't think I need them anymore. Actually, um... could you bring me to the bathroom first? It'll probably be easier to deal with them there."

Korisu nodded again, then went to Haruka's side and tried to lift her. She couldn't.

She stepped back and retrieved the four-pointed star that must have been her transformation item. That... could complicate things.

"Wait. If you transform, the others will be able to sense your presence. You'll have to set up a barrier to keep them from noticing. If I walk you through it, do you think you'll be able to do it?"

Korisu nodded, and transformed into Neroalice.

"Okay. So, the way Azure explained it to me is... You need to take something that can hold the magic, and touch it while you focus on the area you want to cover. Think of it like pulling a blanket over it, except rather than the actual space, it's over the... feeling of magic in the area. Does that make sense?"

Neroalice picked up a stuffed bunny and closed her eyes. The bunny began to glow light blue, and something felt different around them.

"I think that worked. You're a fast learner, Neroalice!"

Alice nodded. It really was impressive that she'd gotten so good with her powers this quickly.

She lifted Haruka again, successfully this time, and took her to the bathroom. She set her down, then lifted Haruka's skirt and started peeling away the bandages from what was left of her thighs.

The movement made it harder to ignore the pain. It would fade in time, but its cause would not.

Alice gave the spots a thoughtful look, took hold of the skirt again, and removed it. From there, she circled Haruka and began the more complicated process of removing the shirt.

Haruka leaned up as much as she could, but without legs to act as a counterweight, she couldn't do much. Alice set the shirt aside, then peeled off and disposed of the remaining bandages.

"Thanks. Um, next, could you... clean me off? Also I... kind of have to pee."

Alice finished undressing Haruka, then removed her own clothes. She turned on the shower, washed off Haruka's stumps, and continued to the rest of her body. Which... felt entirely too brief. There were supposed to be other things to wash.

Haruka was pretty sure she noticed Alice's... thing standing up. She tried not to think about that.

When they were done, Alice dried the two of them off and put her own clothes back on, then carried Haruka to the toilet and helped to keep her upright as she did her business. This was... so awkward.

Once that was dealt with, Alice moved her back to the floor and stepped away. She returned holding a diaper.

It... would probably be useful, Haruka supposed, as much as she didn't want to think about needing the option. It also fit surprisingly well.

Did Korisu just... have diapers sized for middle schoolers on hand? It had to be too big for Korisu herself, and Haruka hadn't seen anything to suggest she had any sisters. So far, no one else had shown up in the house at all - which was very fortunate.

Idle thoughts began to wander in an uncomfortable direction. Did Neroalice rescue her as soon as she had the chance, or did she... wait on purpose?

She was not going to ask. It would be insulting to someone who had helped her so much, and... she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

Alice helped Haruka into a bright red dress, which... also fit better than she'd expected. She picked up Haruka once more, carried her to another room - a bedroom - and laid Haruka down on the bed that was probably Korisu's.

"I... really appreciate all of this. Um... what should we do now? Is your family coming home soon?"

Alice shook her head. She opened a box of toys and dug through it, then retrieved one. A small action figure in the form of a humanoid robot.

"Oh, that's cool! Do you like robots, Alice?"

Alice shrugged. She looked ambivalent - like she didn't particularly care.

So, then... why?

Alice held the robot in Haruka's view. Then she seized its right shoulder joint, and snapped it.

"Um... Alice? What are you doing?"

Alice turned the toy in her hands. She snapped off its other arm, then both of its legs.

She was... making it like Haruka. Was that a gesture of sympathy? It was a nice thought, but...

Alice dropped the robot's middle portion back into the box. She held onto its limbs.

Huh?

She held the robot's arms and legs between her hands, and closed her eyes. Her hands began to shine with blue light - and so did the toy limbs between them.

Alice opened her hands. No - the robot limbs pushed her hands open. They were growing.

She shifted her grip to hold them from below, like a pile of wood, as they continued to swell. Until...

They were about the same size as... the limbs she'd lost. This was... but they couldn't work, right? They weren't actual robot limbs, they were just plastic.

...And the stuffed animal that had attacked Magia Baiser was just fabric.

Alice set the right arm down next to Haruka and pushed it into place. Magic tingled against her skin - the skin that had grown to cover the spot where her arm had been - and the arm stayed in place.

It wasn't... she couldn't feel the arm. It was still just plastic. What was she supposed to do with it?

Alice didn't look concerned. She fixed the two legs in place, then the other arm.

"Um, thanks, but... I don't think I can move these?"

Alice frowned. She shook her head, then slowly nodded.

No, you can do it.

Alice had used magic to make them. Could she use magic to move them?

Haruka still felt so drained. She reached for the scraps of power within herself, and called on them to take hold of the plastic limbs. To... lift them, as if they were her own.

Slowly, the right arm began to rise. She still couldn't feel it, but she could see it moving as she'd wanted. She willed it to stop and clench into a fist, and it did.

"A-Alice, this... this really works, doesn't it?"

Alice nodded.

The next thing was to try to sit up. She focused on each of the four limbs and gradually moved them as she needed, while her remaining muscles worked to pull her upward, to an almost vertical-

Her grip broke. All four limbs slipped out of her hold - they split off from her body and fell back to the bed as Haruka collapsed back down.

"Agh... I..."

Alice arranged the limbs back around her, next to the stumps they'd attached to - but this time, she didn't attach them.

"You... want me to attach them?"

Alice nodded.

That sounded even more impossible. But... if Alice's magic could do that, maybe hers could, too.

Haruka thought back to how she'd connected her magic to the plastic limbs, and willed the connection to form anew. One by one, they leaped up like magnets and snapped into place.

Okay. She was... getting better at this. She tried again to sit up, slowly, keeping her hold on each limb steady. She folded her legs - not her legs, but they kind of were, now? - and... it worked. She was sitting.

She smiled at Alice. Alice nodded in approval.

Standing would be harder, but... she had to try it. Slowly, carefully, she moved to the side of the bed and dangled her legs off the edge.

She pushed forward and let her feet hit the ground. The impact... she wasn't ready for it. Her legs broke off, then her arms did the same. Haruka crashed down into a heap next to the bed.

"Owowow..."

Alice extracted Haruka from the pile, laid her on the floor, and set the limbs around her once more. This time, she didn't put them as close.

Haruka's shoulders were in reach, but this time, the dress lay between the legs and her hips. She called to the arms, first, then used them to grip the dress and lift it out of the way as she called the legs into place.

She was getting the hang of this. But it was so much to think about, so much energy when she was already exhausted. She pulled herself back to a sitting position, and used an arm to grip the side of the bed as she rose and slowly straightened her legs.

When she was fully vertical, she took a moment to steady herself, then released the bed. She was... standing.

That was enough for now. She could figure out walking some other time.

She lowered herself back into bed. When she was lying down again, she let go, and the limbs separated once more. Finally, she could catch her breath.

A sound came from somewhere else in the house. Was that... the front door opening?

Neroalice turned back into Morino Korisu. Korisu put a finger to her lips, and Haruka nodded. Then she left the room and closed the door.

Would that really be enough to keep her secret? If Korisu's family discovered Haruka, that could get... really weird. But she wasn't in a position to do much to conceal herself. All she could do was trust that Korisu knew what she was doing.

The plastic limbs around Haruka were still enlarged. Whatever their combined magic had accomplished, it didn't seem to require active maintenance.

Their magic. Haruka had so little of it right now. Even if she tried to transform, it wouldn't work.

Sorry, Magia Magenta said. I wish I could do more to help...

You've done plenty, Haruka replied. I know you'll be back soon.

I will, Magenta promised.

And when you do... maybe then I can face the others again.

Haruka... Azure began.

I-I know. I just... I'm not ready yet. You... saw what happened, didn't you?

We're not the same without you, Sulfur said. You gotta come back to us soon. Okay?

As soon as I can... In the meantime, you two stay safe.

Haruka let out a breath and returned her mind to her surroundings. She... could come back from this, she was sure of it.

But she wasn't ready yet. She'd have to leave it to them, until she was ready to emerge.