Muriel sighed as the last note on her checklist came back. No missing person had been reported in the last few hours. This was very concerning. She looked at the helpless little girl, reminding herself of why she became a police officer. She was young but idealistic. A true desire to serve the community, and help those in distress. But she could not help this one child find her parents. She hoped to God they were still out there.
"Jenny?" Muriel called to her as the child got up.
"Yes Mis'?" She asked.
"I am going to take you in a car, around the area I found you. I want you to see if anything at all looks familiar... maybe something there will jog your memory."
"I don't 'member anything" She sniffled. It was always the same question to her now. She was starting to get frustrated.
"Well, maybe if we looked around though, you might remember something.. lets give it a try. We can then get some ice cream, would you like that?"
Ice cream? Jenny had a vague memory of that sweet frozen food. "Y-yes.. I like I' cream".
Inside the police car Muriel carefully buckled the child in. She was in the front passenger seat, looking at all the little gadgets of the car. The police officer smiled a little, at the child's curiosity.
"Wha's that?" She pointed to a button.
"That makes the lights above flash... " She gave a quick demonstration as the car lot was bathed in a blue light.
"Oooo" Jenny looked in awe.
Muriel started the engine, and drove up the ramp into the main streets. The child beside her looked uncertainly as the officer continued to drive. Could any of these buildings be familiar? She thought she would try the various schools first, or public gatherings, maybe a few parks... something out there will spark a memory, and hopefully link her to her real identity.
Suddenly Jenny looked alarmed. "L-left..."
"Hm?" Muriel asked. "You want me to go left?"
"Left- yes."
Muriel didn't ask and just turned as requested. Had she remembered something?
"Right... go straight... straight... " Jenny spoke strangely monotonously. "K-keep going- we got to hurry... Fast... go faster. Faster."
What was the child remembering? There was something in those urgings... Muriel couldn't place it. She turned on her police sirens and sped down the road.
"Why do I have t' join the balle' team?!" Becca asked Trident. "I-" she paused suddenly as she looked in the distance.
Trident looked in the same direction too. Something... something not quite right. Like a feeling of unease, something that shouldn't be here... it couldn't be the enemy could it? Unlikely, it was too soon. Becca was nowhere near ready. It had to be something else.
"Um- those activities will help your skills... you have to keep yourself fit. Trust me on this."
Becca shook herself off that weird feeling and looked back to Trident. "I never done stuff like tha' before" Part of her thought it could be exciting though. Besides if she didn't like it she could always drop it.
Where did Ratchel go? Oh well play time was over anyway she thought as the bell rang.
"I love you so much..." Toby spoke again.
"And I love you..." Terri said again.
Something very... very strange was happening to the area around them. Their auras which caused real world items to become animated was extending slowly in a circle around them, a meter... two meters.. then three meters beyond them. It was still growing. As it spread, everything was loosing its detail. It was like water colours spreading onto a table, as everything became like an animated show.
All around them, the colour of their new state started to spread beyond its normal reach. It tinged the pavement into curious shades of grey, and even the air itself seemed to take on an aura like sheen. Everything became angled, as the insignificant details became lost into artistic visions.
Suddenly, the air had the feeling of static, causing one to feel very uneasy. Their children in the porch watching as a cold wind blew.
"What's going on?" Toby asked surprised at the sudden chill. They glanced up at the sunlight, and around... suddenly the static around them jumped into the air, cascading in a circular motion. It seemed to be animated, much like they were.
"Mum dad! Look out!" Charles screamed.
A bolt of lightning radiated from the circle narrowly missing the couple. The lightning danced in the air like a firework display. It crackled, ripping molecules, atoms, and all constituent matter.
A strange crack formed in the air centred around the anomaly. The air felt like it was starting to run towards it, like water down a plug hole.
"Back my darling," Toby said as she took a few steps back.
Terri didn't argue as he too took steps slowly back, trying to reach the children and the safety of the house.
The crack widened considerably and a curious circle like aura formed underneath it. Terri and Toby tried to run but they lost their footing- though not because of a trip. They were levitating towards it! Some unseen force was pulling them. They had nothing to grip with as they found themselves flying, or falling into the anomaly.
"Stay back! Don't come any closer!" Terri screamed to their children.
"Go back! Run!" Toby shouted straining with all her might to fight the unseen energy wrapping around them.
"Mummy!" Charles screamed again, torn between wanting to help them but unable to because of the sunlight and the orders of his mom and dad. He was about to rush for them anyway when his sister Anna stopped him.
"Stay back!" she yelled to him. "The suns still out there!"
"But mummy and daddy-"
!I Know! But whatever's happening we can't do anything about it! Call the police!"
There was a sudden explosive sound, as Terri and Toby fell into the crack... Anna looked in complete shock, Charles having gone beyond shock and into total despair. His parents were gone!"Sis! Help them! Their gone! We got to help them! Go after them! Why aren't you helping them!" he screamed to her over and over.
Anna stared at the crack as it widened even more. It took a different colour, no longer pulling., but pushing the coloured air around it. Strange.. blob like creatures were pouring out, spreading themselves onto the street. They started to take form, and shape. "I- I-" She looked terrified as something even larger came out, some kind of huge wolf- like creature. All of them took on the appearance as something animated, indeed the animation aura was not gone despite the absence of their parents. "Stay in the house... close the door" she ordered in the end.
"But mum and dad-"
"I said close the door!" She practically pulled him inside closing the door and finding anything she could find to bar it shut. She quickly got every piece of junk she could and barricaded themselves, when she heard a window smash from the living room.
Charles screamed as some kind of animated gremlin thing grinned to them. It had scaly orange skin, and tusk like teeth. It only stood 1 foot from the ground, but seemed to have a cat like gait to it, standing on either fours or twos. Its claws and demeanour seemed as a juvenile. It ran into the kitchen as the siblings ran after it.
The creature was gorging itself on everything in the fridge! Anna got a broom and tried to force it out. It seemed to get annoyed at being hit on the head and ran off through the living room and back out the broken window.
Anna didn't waste the time, she called the police- as was practically every other person in the neighbourhood.
"“ -
Muriel heard the warning.. on the radio. Some kind of disturbance- and they were incredibly close! In fact... was Jenny 'directing' her there?
"Left.. here.. here..." She spoke again with some finality.
Muriel couldn't believe her eyes, as she stopped the car. A strange apparition was in the middle of the road, a circular hole pulsing in different colours. It was like lightning caught between being real lightning, and animated. It seemed to look two dimensional but rotated on her view. Most startling of all, there were creatures coming out of it. She got her gun out.
"Stay here" She told the child as she came out armed. "Muriel on the scene. I need backup. I don't know what's going on but there's a-" Her calm was lost as she shot at one of the gremlin creatures. It turned into a puff of smoke as soon as the bullet impacted. A few more took their place having now gained an interest in the police officer. "Fucking Monsters!" she screamed into the radio as she let off a few more rounds.
Inside the car, Jenny stared at the little creatures... she was absolutely terrified. She didn't know what was going on, but she was terrified hearing the sound of gun fire from Muriel's side arm.
"Your here..." A voice spoke- almost purringly.
Jenny screamed. "W-who- how did you get in here!"
"Oh never mind that dearie. You sensed it too. You must be my partner."
Jenny looked to see... a talking cat? She appeared to be a catgirl! It was a small one though, no bigger then her hand. And weirdly, it was standing upright.
"I'm-"
"Whats going on!" jenny screamed as another sound of the gun went off outside.
The cat girl looked annoyed at being interrupted but did not seem to lose her poise. "Well, that over there is another dimension. And this world is about to become infected by it. So unless you want this world to suddenly become part of that other dimension you have to transform. Use your totem!"
"H-huh? I don't ha've a totem-"
The tiny cat girl looked wide eyed. "Oh- was that my job to prepare you? This really is bad timing on your part-" she paused as something heavy hit the car roof making them jolt. Sounds of the gun going off again made Jenny duck trying to go as low as possible.
"Stop them!" she screamed. "Please! M's Muriel is out there!"
"Okay hold your horses kid.. I'm thinking." The cat creature started linking her paws, as she put on a thinking pose. "Your untrained, your not even awakened, and your in the middle of a battle... well we can at least fix one of those things. If we awaken you, and your near that portal, you should draw enough power to scare em away and seal it. But first we need your totem... hm..." She took one of the handcuffs left in the backseat.. "use this. Put it on!"
"W-why?"
"Because your friend is about to die unless you go into magic girl mode and stop those things! Now do it!"
The child needed no more prompting. She put on one of the handcuffs as the cat girl touched it. A soft light formed and the handcuff changed into a bracelet. The chain part melded away, turning into a diamond like stud, with four pin points on it. Jenny glanced down seeing the same light just underneath her clothes but it disappeared before she could have a closer look.
"Now... touch your bracelet, close your eyes, and count to four- but this is important.. don't say four, until your really close to that hole."
"B-but-"
"No time just do it!"
She looked to see her friend hit by one of the gremlins. She was sprawled onto the ground unconscious. The monsters seemed to be avoiding the car now and have lost interest in the police officer, instead scuttling themselves on the streets, smashing the occasional window or taking an interest in pulling up mail boxes. Still larger creatures were pouring out as the hole became even bigger. "So I count to four, but don't say four until I'm actually under 'dat?" she asked again.
"Yep. Sorry kid, I think that's our only option at the moment. You got no weapon, and nothing else... And even if this works, we're still going to have our work cut out for us..."
She saw the unconscious Muriel again. She had no choice but to do what this strange creature said. She started to count. "one.. two... three..." she held her breath and ran towards the anomaly. She dodged the various gremlins but they seemed to ignore her at the moment. She was right underneath it... "four!"
There was a huge wave, and a blast of light. All her clothes suddenly fit her a lot better. She had a short skirt, dressed in white. It seemed to match her long white hair, which turned into four braids down each side.
A square shape started to form, compressing the circular aura of the anomaly, as it centred around her. All the closest monsters were suddenly being pulled into the crack, although Jenny felt no force on her, secured by the magic square underneath her.
There was a struggle as it became smaller then half a meter before finally, closing like an eye. It gave one final crackle of energy as if it was a last breath of defiance. Jenny at this point was in so much shock at what happened in the last five minutes she fell onto the ground, her magic girl clothes disappearing.
Trident was now very worried. She could sense increased magical activity somewhere down town. Was it another magic girl? Or was it the enemy? Was it both? There was no way to know. But if it was the enemy, it would sense Becca and go after her. Still she should be safe in the school for a little while. One things for sure, she had to train her really quickly.
Muriel woke to see the monsters all gone, and a very exhausted looking Jenny where the hole was. She heard the click of the latch to the house nearest as someone opened it, and saw two more children. They were normal humans and staying in the shade.
"I- I-It took our parents!" the boy screamed.
Muriel rose up quickly holstering her gun. "Police... Calm down... I need to ask you some questions." Her priority at the moment was the health of the unconscious girl. She carefully picked
her up "Hey... Jenny..."
The girl on seeing her quickly wrapped herself around her neck crying.
Muriel pat her back hugging her, as she let her sit on the steps of the porch. Somehow, she knew this girl must have stopped- whatever it was. But she had no idea how... With the girl comfortable she went back to the two children.
Before she could ask anything, she heard the wail of more police sirens. It sounded like the entire precinct was coming here. What exactly would she tell them? The children from the house started to cry again. She tried her best to console them, but she knew from experience, the loss of parents was not something she could find words for.
"Its all the suns fault!" Charles cried again, running back into the house. "leave me alone!" His sister ran into the house after him, Muriel let them go. She stared at the space where the parents used to be, where the weird... thing was, then back to Jenny.
A tragedy... but looking at all the debris on the street, somehow she had a feeling that without this girl it could have been a lot worse.
