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Chapter Text

Orion Pax jumped from rooftop to rooftop, dodging poorly aimed blasts from the Quintesson that was chasing her. It was like they weren’t even trying to hit her! In her year and a half of being a magical girl it seemed the Quintessons hadn’t grown any smarter, the underlings at least. Better for her, it kept her job remarkably easier now that she was on her own again.

 Stupid Mira Thabi, couldn’t keep her ego to herself. It was better that they had gone their separate ways despite how badly her heart ached to see her former companion once more. Orion banished all thoughts of Mira from her head and focused on taking down this Quintesson. Focusing her spark, she stopped in her tracks and summoned her energon axe. She pushed off on the roof, leaping into the air and aimed for the Quintesson’s head. They dodged just enough for her axe to become lodged in the roof shingles. 

The Quintesson sent out another blast, this one hitting Orion in the shoulder. She cried out in pain, releasing her grip on the axe to move out of the way of another close range attack. There was a flash of purple and the Quintesson collapsed limply on the roof.

Familiar melodic laughter invaded Orion’s ears. “Hello, Orion Pax. Still as clumsy as ever I see. Couldn’t even defeat a Quintesson underling on her own. Pathetic, really.” Mira Thabi stood stooped over, looking down at Orion with a condescending smirk plastered on her face. She leaned on her oversized cannon, eyes filled with a mixture of emotions Orion couldn’t place.

Orion hated that her heart picked up speed at the sight of her old friend and ally, neither title remained. “Mira. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Oh, I was in the neighborhood. Saw an old friend struggling and couldn’t help myself. It’s a wonder I didn’t leave on my own sooner, you always were miserable in a fight.” Mira watched in amusement as Orion picked herself up, dislodging her axe with a grunt.

“Quit it. If you’re here to mock me you’re free to leave. Nothing binds you to me.” It wasn’t Orion’s fault that her chest squeezed and her heart pounded as she watched Mira feign contemplation.

“Well, I’ll see ya around. Bye bye!” Mira spun on her heel and jumped into the air, disappearing into the night.

Orion clutched her wounded shoulder, watching Mira’s silhouette fade from view. She didn’t want to admit that seeing that familiar face had reactivated something deep within her lonely heart.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Fighting alone and with no real purpose had begun to take a toll on Ophelia, she sat in the abandoned house that she and Maggie had found and turned into a little hideout. It was sad now that there was no laughter shared between two close friends. There had been no sign of any falling sparks in so long, not since she and Maggie had received their own. That didn’t stop Ophelia from staring up at the sky, hoping just a little bit that another spark would fall and she would have an ally once more.

It was selfish, she knew it was. To wish the life of a magical girl on another was to wish upon them the pain that Ophelia knew first hand. Risking your own life for the sake of the entire planet was no small feat. Ophelia wouldn’t change her fate for anything, but wishing it on someone else was a new thing entirely. But doing this alone was harder than she thought.

There was more emotional hurt than physical, the loss of a friendship had been great. Now she sat alone in a space that had once been shared, casting the only healing spell she knew on her injured shoulder. At least the blast wound hadn’t been too severe, God forbid she passed out from the pain alone with no one to help her.

With a sigh, Ophelia turned her gaze back up at the stars. This time she was graced with a beam of bright yellow streaking across the sky. It fell and fell, growing larger as it appeared directed towards a hill on the outskirts of town. Ophelia blinked hard, making sure she wasn’t seeing things before racing off in the direction of the light.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Orion reached the hill just as the yellow light touched the center of a person’s chest, illuminating the surrounding area with the bright yellow. She stared in awe at the making of a new magical girl. The light shimmered, lifting the girl above the ground just slightly before glowing brighter and fading away. A girl clad in all yellow was left in its wake, a frilly skirt with white ribbon accents with her hair tied in twin buns.

“Betelgeuse, awaken as a magical girl. You are born anew in my light.” An oddly familiar voice surrounded the area, seemingly coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once.

Orion took this opportunity to step out from her hiding place behind the trees. “Hello, I’m Orion Pax, another magical girl.”

“Whoa! You’re telling me I have magic now but my name is after some yucky guy in an old movie? That sucks! Why can’t I have something cool like Bee? And you’re a magical girl too? Your name is cool, unlike mine.” The yellow girl was immediately up in Orion’s face, inspecting her own outfit with no level of discreteness. 

Orion took a small step back. “I mean, I guess there aren’t rules saying you can’t pick your own magical girl name. But it was a star first, by the way.”

“Then I want to be known as Bee. I mean it’s like my actual name but this one’s spelled differently so I think that’s fine. Right? That’s a lot cooler that it’s a star and not some creepy old movie character! I’m really glad about that.” Bee bounced on her feet, staring excitedly at Orion. “I’ve seen lots of anime about magical girls but never did I think they were real!”

“It’s nothing like the animes first off, you get hurt and you have to brush it off in a fight so you don’t end up dead. This isn’t fun and it’s not pretty. I don’t know why the Allspark chose you or why now after all this time I spent alone. But you’re here now and I won’t pretend I’m not relieved. I don’t think we’re gonna get any action from the Qunitessons so we might as well go back to the house. I’ll walk you through the basics, that spark embedded in your chest is where your powers come from. It gets too damaged or removed from you, you fade out and die. Slow and painful, so don’t let anything happen to it.” Orion smiled bitterly, tapping her own glowing spark. She began walking in the direction of the house, not waiting for Bee to notice.

“Does it always glow? I dunno how I’m supposed to stay hidden if I have a giant glowing crystal in my chest.” Bee looked down at the steady yellow glow, her face twisting in thought as she jogged to catch up.

“No, only in this form does it glow. So long as it’s not out in the open no one will be able to tell anything is off or different about you now. Come on, we can talk more at the house.” Orion picked up her pace, heels clicking on the pavement.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Once inside the safety of the abandoned house, Ophelia dropped her transformation, returning to her normal form. 

“Whoa! How’d you change back?” Bee’s eyes widened, watching the sparkles that had surrounded Ophelia dissipate.

“Focus your intent on your spark, then think about changing back to your civilian form. I’m Ophelia by the way. It’s important to keep your identities separate, I’d rather the Quintessons not find out who we are outside of our magical girl personas.” Scowling as the thought of the Quintessons finding out anything about her crossed her mind.

Bee nodded firmly, scrunching her face up as she focused on transforming. She was consumed in the same burst of yellow light and sparkles before reappearing in baggy jeans and a band tee. “Hi! I’m Bea! It’s like I said earlier but both names are spelled differently. That’s fine right?”

Ophelia huffed in amusement, reconsidering this whole having an ally again thing was definitely on the back of her mind. But she should give the new girl a chance at least. “I don’t have the answers for everything. I’m just a girl like you, I only know as much as I do because it’s been over a year since my first transformation. Since being picked by the Allspark.”

“So then, Ophi, you keep talking about this ‘Allspark’. What is it?” Bea plopped down on the wobbly chair that sat in the middle of the room, leaning her head back against the back of the chair.

Ophelia’s heart did a funny squeeze at the nickname, she could feel herself becoming attached to Bea rather quickly. She might not have any siblings but Ophelia would take Bea under her wing and teach her the ropes like she might for a little sister.

“The Allspark, from what I’ve gathered, is kinda like the source of our own sparks. Our own magic. I don’t know a lot but I don’t think it’s from Earth. Regardless of where the Allspark comes from it speaks to those it deems worthy of possessing a spark. You and me.” There was no need to reveal the falling out Ophelia had with Maggie. It wasn’t needed, really that was the only reason. Certainly not because of Ophelia’s lingering feelings, no not at all.

“And that falling star, I guess, was my spark. But why did it choose me? What makes me so worthy of becoming a magical girl?” Bea’s face fell, her fingers reaching out to trace the outline of her own spark over her shirt.

Ophelia knew nothing of this new girl who she now was in camaraderie with, who she would risk her life side by side with from here on out. But she knew that whatever the Allspark saw in Bea, she would have to put her trust in. That the Allspark had found a true ally for Ophelia.

“I don’t claim to understand the Allspark or its methods but it chose you for a reason. Maybe that reason will be revealed eventually, or maybe not.  Either way you’re here now. It would be an honor to fight alongside you if you’re willing.” Ophelia extended a hand to Bea, a small smile on her face. Maybe, just maybe things would be better now.

Bea returned the smile, taking Ophelia’s hand. “It would be my pleasure!”

Chapter Text

It had been a full day since ‘running into’ Orion Pax and Mira’s heart still hadn’t calmed. She had thought she was over it, was done with that goody two shoes. Evidently, she was anything but. All Mira had wanted to was be a menace, to keep herself in Orion’s thoughts, but now she had done the opposite. Orion’s stupidly perfect face and laugh and her stupid righteous morals consumed Mira’s thoughts as she fought her way through several Qunitessons. It wasn’t enough.

To just see and not touch Orion Pax, absorbing each detail of Orion’s face wasn’t enough. But the hurt that had been engraved upon Orion’s features as she stared up at Mira had been too real. Mira had never meant to hurt Orion, at all, but it had gone far past that now. No turning back now. No second chances would be afforded to Mira, she knew that. 

There had been a flash of light last night, touching down in a burst of yellow. Mira had a strong feeling in her spark that things were changing. She could feel a thrum of magic in the air that hadn’t been there before, new and just beginning to bloom. It was then, out of the corner of Mira’s eye in the same instant her cannon fired into the chest of a Quintesson, a flash of navy light began to fall.

Before the Quintesson even finished dropping to the ground, Mira was racing towards the light. The feeling in her spark was similar to last night, that had to mean something. Rounding the corner, Mira was blinded by the light. She shielded her eyes as the light gave way to the form of another girl.

The girl whipped her head around, noticing Mira stepping closer and dropped into a defensive stance. “Who are you?”

“Relax, I am Mira Thabi, a magical girl defender not unlike yourself. Did the Allspark speak to you?” Mira raised her hands slowly as a sign of surrender.

“Allspark– you mean the voice that gave me this thing in my chest. It called me Subra.” Subra bunched the hem of her skirt in her hands, swishing the material in thought.

“Yes, now that the Allspark has chosen you, you have been reborn into greatness. I want the dawn of a new future for Earth, I ask for your aid in bringing my dream to fruition.” Mira gazed into Subra’s eyes expectantly, the rest of her face was covered with a mask.

“This dream, what is it?”

“The end of the Quintessons, the end of innocent lives being stolen by aliens who have no claim on this planet. I want an age of magical girls, ones chosen by the Allspark to guide humanity. What do you say?” The words seemed to be magnified in the silence that followed as Subra stared past Mira into the distance.

“I will do it. By your side, I will fight for this dream.” Subra placed a hand over her newly formed spark, dipping her head into a bow.

“Wonderful, welcome to the team.”

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Draped over the couch in her small apartment, Maggie watched with limited interest as Suki typed away on her laptop. Lines of code that made no sense to Maggie filled the screen. The Quintessons had been quiet since Suki was reborn as Subra, the magical girl. Uneasiness settled in Maggie’s heart, but no Quintessons meant no chance of running into Orion and that was fine by her.

Maggie didn’t need to get over Ophelia, she did not . You couldn’t get over someone you never had feelings for. It had just been a very attached friendship. Right? She scoffed, jolting in surprise as Suki craned her neck slowly back towards Maggie.

“Stop sulking, I can feel your bad mood coming off you in waves.” Suki cast a judgemental look towards Maggie, looking thoroughly annoyed.

“I’m not sulking! Merely thinking.” Maggie crossed her arms, looking away from Suki with a frown.

“Sure, tell that to my spark. It can pick up on what I’m assuming are the frequencies put out by your own spark. Basically, I can practically taste your bad mood. So quit it.” Suki stood, crossing the distance from the desk to the couch and flicked Maggie’s forehead. “Think about something productive. Like how are we to defeat the Quintessons? With just the two of us taking on an entire alien race seems a little– challenging.”

“The Allspark will provide for us, I have no reason to believe that you’re the only rebirth beginning to take place. In fact, the day before I found you there was a similar flash of light that made contact with the Earth. It cast a different color but otherwise it was nearly identical. Allies will come with time, I firmly believe that.” The Allspark had given Maggie her own powers, given her potential unlike anything she had ever known. It would provide for her again, this time in the form of allies.

“Oh, I’ve been wondering about this for a little while now. How do we know when Quintessons are attacking? And what are they even after?” Returning to the desk, Suki turned the chair around to face Maggie.

An unsettling feeling radiated from both girls’ sparks. Maggie placed a hand over her spark, shooting a quick grin at Suki. “That. Let’s go, your spark will tug you in the right direction.”

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Screams filled the air as a squad of Quintessons fired shots at a group of civilians huddled against a collapsed building. Mira summoned her cannon, jumping between the Quintessons and civilians. One, two blasts from the cannon and nothing remained of the Quintessons.

“Subra! Get them to safety, I’m going after the squad leader.” Mira turned back to see Subra nod, guiding the civilians away from the fight. 

A blast sent Mira into the air, she landed haphazardly on a car in an unbalanced crouch. Her heels dug into the metal, the force creating a horrible screeching noise. Mira stood, a fire blazing behind her eyes as she located the leader. They stood over a head taller than the underlings, stooping down to reach for a small child hiding behind a pile of rubble. Letting out a war cry, Mira bolted right for them. With a jump, she used both feet to kick the leader in the face, sending it flying far from the now hyperventilating child.

She glanced quickly at the child. “You need to run, NOW!” Mira didn’t wait to see if the child listened, focusing all her attention on the Quintesson. Her cannon hummed as she poured her spark’s magic into it, taking aim and firing at the leader’s chest. The energy exploded on impact, Quintesson guts spraying everywhere. Bits of flesh and sludge landed on Mira’s face, she grimaced and wiped the gore off with the back of her hand.

The last Quintesson in the group laid dead at her feet. And with that, the strange energy field that followed the Quintessons fizzled out leaving a completely undamaged city block in their wake. The dead Quintessons were the only traces that remained.

Mira looked around for Subra, finding her leading a limping woman towards the ambulance that had just arrived. “You survived your first battle of many, still willing to walk down my path?”

After helping the woman sit down, Subra turned to face Mira. “More than ever now that I see what the Quintessons are capable of. I want to help, to keep fighting alongside you.”

“I’m glad.”

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Mira had yet to develop a solid plan to bring forth her dream. Saving small handfuls of people was good, yes, but what good was that when another wave of Quintessons would come to replace the fallen? They needed to do something to put an end to the Quintessons for good. Make them leave the planet or exterminate them, Mira wasn’t too picky about their fate, so long as they left the people of Earth alone.

“What is your aim, Orion Pax ? You just gonna show up and claim the glory for our hardwon battles?” Mira leaped down from the lamppost she had been standing on.

“That is never my intention Mira Thabi, you of all people should know that. Bee and I saw fellow magical girls in need of aid and we came to help. There are no underlying intentions here.” Orion brushed rubble off of her shoulder, the energon axe she held in her hand disappeared into a small burst of sparkles and light.

“This is our territory, we do not need your help. Now or ever. Keep to your own devices Orion.” Mira sneered, letting her distaste of her own actions cloud her behavior towards her former friend.

Orion’s head dropped. “I wish you didn’t think like this. We could’ve been a team still, you never had to leave. I never wanted you to leave!”

“But I did leave. And we must all deal with the consequences of my actions, don’t we? Subra, we’re leaving. Let Orion Pax and her new friend lick the wounds they never would’ve sustained if they hadn’t stuck their noses where they didn’t belong.” Offering a hand to Subra, who had collapsed to her knees after the fight, she heaved the other girl to her feet before storming off.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

“Why do you hate Orion Pax?” Suki ran a washcloth under the faucet before returning to dab the dirt and grime from a wound on Maggie’s face.

Maggie winced, more from her friend’s words than the pain. “I don’t see why we need to have this conversation.”

“I’m your teammate and friend, Maggie. I want to know more about you. That includes the baggage you bring to the table. Something happened between you and Orion Pax. What?” Suki poked Maggie’s cheek just below a bruise, making the other girl gasp sharply.

“I’m under no obligation to tell you. Some things are best left in the past.” Mira rolled her eyes harshly as Suki gave her a pointed look.

“You’re taking this entire thing with Orion Pax into the fight against the Quintessons. It’s warping your decisions. I don’t see why we need to go against fellow magical girls. Aren’t they on our side?” Suki set down the cloth and crossed her arms with a frown.

“No, no, no. The only one on my side is you. Orion Pax made her choice by limiting her potential. That is why I left, she does not share my vision for the future. So I chose to go it alone, finding you along the way. Orion Pax is nothing more than an obstacle in the way of a better future, one free of Quintessons.” The edge in Mira’s voice grew sharper with each word uttered, her disdain for Orion’s choices was evident.

“That still doesn’t answer my question fully.”

Mira scoffed, facing away from Suki. “Then maybe your question is best left unanswered.”

The roiling concoction of emotions that stirred in Mira’s chest was suffocating. She didn’t expect Suki to understand. Maybe even Maggie didn’t fully understand herself. But maybe that’s just the will of the world, to let her anger against the Quintessons simmer until it boiled over in a grand display of violence and gore. Maggie knew she was destined for greatness, she just needed to see that greatness into fruition.

Chapter Text

The sun was bright and high in the sky, Bea was sore after a long fight that her mind was still reeling from. She understood that her friendship with Ophelia was still very new, but she had assumed she had a pretty good grasp on Ophelia as a person. 

That statement felt very, very wrong now. The look of hurt and betrayal on Orion’s face as she talked to that other magical girl, Mira Thabi, had been so intense. Like a dying star that Bea couldn’t help but stare into the blinding light of. Things had happened between Orion and Mira that Bea wasn’t sure what to make of with the little information she had. Bea wanted to know more.

“Hey Ophi?” Bea shifts her body to look up at Ophelia from her position on the couch to look at Ophelia, who was slumped in a chair across from her.

Ophelia hummed in response, moving only her eyes to look up at Bea.

“What’s the deal with Mira Thabi?” Bea asked, noting the flash of hurt in Ophelia’s eyes.

A long pause hung between them before Ophelia spoke quietly, like her own voice was too loud for her liking. “Once, it was the two of us. Reborn with sparks in the same moment by the Allspark. She was like my other half, we were two sides of the same coin. Fighting together it felt like we were unstoppable. Then, it was like a switch had flipped. Mira began speaking of eradicating the Quintessons to bring in a new age of prosperity for Earth. I know the Quintessons are bad, trust me but eliminating life for the sake of another is not what I believe is right. I want them gone badly but killing all Quintessons is not the way. I told Mira exactly this, she grew disillusioned and bitter before eventually leaving me behind. I wanted her to stay, I even tried to stop her. I wanted to tell her I lov– cared for her deeply but it was too late and she was too far gone down her own path. She doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”

Taking all of this in, Bea looked at Ophelia who looked more hollow than she had before. “So why bother trying to make her see your side?”

Ophelia broke out into a poorly concealed sob. “I don’t want to lose her forever! I know there’s still some part of her old self left, even if it’s deeply buried. I can’t– I can’t let her go that easily!”

“Hey, whoa! I didn’t mean to open old wounds. I'm sorry. Listen, I trust your judgement. So whatever you choose to do in regards to both the Quintessons and Mira Thabi, I’ll follow you. You might’ve been left once, but I’m not going anywhere.” Bea gave Ophelia a reassuring smile. “It’s you and me now.”

Ophelia nodded but didn’t say anything else, letting her breathing slow again. Bea moved to a sitting position, running a hand through her hair. She didn’t know what else to say, if there even was anything else to say. They sat in relative silence as Ophelia sniffled softly as tears dried on her face.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Orion hopped backwards to dodge a blast, looking off to her side to locate Bee who had a string of electricity wrapped around a Quintesson. It was fine, they had this under control. Saying it was nice to have someone to watch your back during a fight again would be a grave understatement. Bee was quick, agile and responsive to on the fly battle plans. They were a great team. They would be even better if Orion would stop thinking about Mira, leave her in the past like had been done to her.

It was pointless, wasn’t it? To pretend that she wouldn’t spend the rest of her life being miserable over the fact she couldn’t get Mira to stay, to see that ending all Quintessons was wrong. She needed Mira more than she’d like to admit. She missed the soft touches and the countless hours talking and the steady reassurance Mira brought Orion during fights against the Quintessons. Mira was strong in ways that Orion would never be and she had relied on that strength much more than she realized. Now Orion was alone in that aspect despite having gained a new ally.

This wasn’t fair to Bee, at all. But the yearning for things to return to the way they had been before weighed heavily on Orion. Moving on was better than sinking in nostalgia, but was it so bad to want what could have been?

“Orion!! To your left!” Bee shouted over the sounds of gunfire.

A chain reaction of explosions triggered close enough to Orion for her ears to begin to ring, the heat blowing against her skin. She pushed off against the ground, leaping into the air high above the explosion. As she fell, she took in the chaos of the fight; Bee going hand to hand with a Quintesson, having quite the upper hand and further away a different Quintesson was dangerously close to discovering a person trapped underneath a fallen beam.

As soon as Orion’s feet touched the ground again, she took off running towards the Quintesson before they noticed the trapped person. Her energon axe sliced through the metal plating of the Quintesson’s tentacles with practiced ease. Raising the axe, she lodged it within their head and watched as the life drained from them.

“It’s okay now, I’ll get you out.” Orion turned all her focus on the trapped person, gripping the beam and in the same moment she drew strength from her spark, she lifted the beam up enough for the person to drag themself out. She didn’t even notice she’d been hit until Bee’s screams overpowered all other noises. Looking down, she was graced with blood dripping down her arm a little too fast for her liking.

“ORION!” Bee ran up to Orion, yanking her away from the beam still in her grasp.

Orion blinked in shock, looking from her arm to Bee. “It’s okay, really. Bleeding more than it should. My arm is still attached so all good, yeah?” She went to hover her uninjured hand over the wound to begin casting her healing spell but was stopped by Bee.

“No. I’ll do it. We have time, the remaining Quintesson retreated and the injured are already getting help. Better to stop the bleeding now rather than later.” Bee’s smile was pained, she hadn’t gotten used to the panic and gore of a fight but no one really did.

“You remember the healing spell I taught you?” Orion sucked in a breath as Bee shifted her arm and nodded. “Good.”

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

The storm was fitting for the emotions that raged within Orion’s chest. Hurt, loss, betrayal, grief. Lots of grief.

“You just don’t understand Orion! This is bigger than you, me and anything else! We could change the world together!” Mira spoke above the thunder, her voice a mixture of rage and something Orion couldn’t place.

“Is it something truly together? Or have you lost sight of our purpose? We protect and we heal wrong, decimating an alien species no matter how much wrong they’ve done is not our purpose. It’s not right!” The tears threatened to mix with the rain pelting down onto Orion’s face. Maybe she had seen this coming, Mira’s breaking point, maybe she had just been too blindsided by her affections and selfish desires to see it.

“It’s for the good of the entire planet! Not just humans but the plant and animal life that’s destroyed with every resource raid the Quintessons do. If we don’t stop them as soon as possible, who's to say it’s too late. Forever.” Mira’s head snapped away from Orion’s pleading expression. “Our purpose? Our purpose is indeed to protect but we’ve done a shoddy job at that so far. Things need to change.”

“And we can do that without enacting genocide! The Allspark chose us for a reason, it sees something in us that we cannot see in ourselves. I thought better of you…” Thunder crashed once more, the flash of lightning illuminated both their faces. Orion didn’t know if her pleading was even making a case for Mira. This might very well be it for them.

“We are no better off than in a war, Orion. This is war, just two girls blessed with magical powers against an oppressive alien force. Something has to change, we have to change before our own life forces fade away and there is no one to protect the Earth.” Mira’s voice continued to raise, each word more booming and forceful than the last.

The dam for her tears finally broke, Orion gave in. Sobs wracked her body as she watched Mira stand tall, eyes blazing. “This is it then? The end of seeing each other in a shared light. I will never condone such levels of violence. If you take the magic the Allspark gave you and contort it to your own misguided form of justice what kind of world does that create?”

Mira steadied her gaze, the deep violet of her irises piercing through Orion’s every defense. “Then this is it. I want this planet freed from oppression, clearly you do not wish the same nearly strong enough. Goodbye Orion Pax.”

Orion’s knees buckled, hitting the flat rooftop harshly but she didn’t even flinch as her skin broke open from the jagged gravel beneath her. She watched with blurry, tear filled eyes as Mira Thabi disappeared into the storm. Clutching her heart that panged with a grief she’d never felt before to such an intensity, Orion looked to the sky and screamed.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

A stray tear rolled down Orion’s cheek, she blinked hard to focus her eyes and found Bee’s panicked face shaking her arm.

“What happened?” Orion could barely get herself to speak, her throat felt thick and rubbery.

“I uh– used the spell like you taught me and then as the wound healed you kinda zoned out? Your eyes got really glassy and distant like you were trapped in a memory. You weren’t responding to me. You really scared me Orion!” Bee let go of Orion’s arm to pull her into a vice-like hug.

Orion faltered slightly before returning the hug, patting Bee’s back. “I’m sorry, really. It seems I got caught up in the past for some reason.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Bee’s face was painted with a worry that made Orion’s heart twinge.

“Yeah, yeah I will be. The Quintessons?” Orion took Bee’s outstretched hand and heaved herself up.

“Gone. Like I said earlier, you sure you’re okay?” Bee questioned but shrugged when Orion nodded. “Alright, let’s get back to the house.”

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Bea sat on the table, dangling her feet absently, much to Ophelia’s dismay, apparently she didn’t believe that any flat surface was fine to sit on (that was incorrect). She stole a glance at Ophelia who was reading some poetry book, Bea didn’t care to hear Ophelia ramble on about prose and abstract concepts that made Bea’s head spin. She looked fine? It was hard to tell, whether it was because Ophelia was scarily good at hiding her true feelings or just because Bea was still a new addition to her life didn’t matter. Ophelia wasn’t keen on sharing anything right now which would be fine if weren’t affecting every aspect of her life. Including combat. 

On several occasions Bee would look over and Orion would be staring blankly off into the distance, seemingly caught in a memory. It wasn’t good while in a life or death situation as they often were when facing Quintessons. As if Orion were stuck in a trance, she would be unmoving and unaware of all her surroundings. The amount of times Bee had to defend Orion against an attack while she was in her trance-like nostalgia state was getting out of hand. Something had to be addressed before one of them was gravely wounded or ended up dead.

“Listen Ophi, I can tell something’s up. You’re not present during fights with the Quintessons and I’m getting worried. I know we aren’t super close or anything yet but I already trust you with my life. Literally most of the time.” Bea took a deep breath, pausing to make sure Ophelia was paying attention. “Can you at least clue me in on what’s happening? I don’t mean spill all your deepest darkest secrets right now, but give me a chance. Let me help, we are a team aren’t we?”

Ophelia closed her book carefully, setting it aside. “It’s been getting bad, huh? I’m sorry. I know I’m putting you in danger every time I go catatonic during a fight. I don’t know what to do if I’m being honest. My heart hurts and it’s tugging me in opposite directions.”

Bea nodded, this must be about that other magical girl. She must’ve meant a lot to Ophelia, and likely still does. “I really dunno what to say, it’s tough I’m sure.”

“I don’t expect you to say much. I bore my heart to a person who I thought shared my ideals and who I could trust to make decisions for the good of the world. Like we were called to do. All of that seems to be a lie and I don’t even know what’s the truth anymore!” Ophelia rubbed at her now tear stained cheeks in frustration.

“There must’ve been a point where you two were on the same page. People change, sometimes in strange and unexplained ways. You cared for her and maybe she felt the same, at least at one point. Anyway, it doesn’t seem like it was your fault. You can’t control the lives of others, maybe it’s time to let her go.” Bea felt at a loss, she was never good at giving advice. This didn’t seem like an exception.

“I don’t think my heart can let me. Even if I wanted to, which I’m unsure I do, I don’t think letting go is something I’m capable of. Maybe I’m being stubborn and weak hearted but I’m not sure I care. I miss her with every fiber of my being, but I don’t even know if she ever felt the same.” Ophelia sniffled, a bitter expression settled on her face. “I want to hate her, want to let her go and never think of her again, but I just can’t. I’m not being very cooperative, sorry.”

“Is it love?”

“What?” Ophelia looked aghast before her expression smoothed. She spoke softly, the words seemed forced from her lips. “I– I’m not sure. Is it love if you don’t even know the feelings you’re experiencing? I do care for her deeply but I really don’t know how I feel. Could I truly be in love with someone who stripped themself of their morals so easily?”

“I don’t have an answer for that, I’m sorry Ophi.”

Chapter Text

Suki watched as Maggie paced back and forth, brooding and sullen. To her knowledge, that was just how Maggie acted, but even this display seemed more extreme than normal. She absently touched the spot where her spark lies from over her shirt, something within felt off too.

“Do you feel that?” Suki mused, eyes flicking up to meet Maggie’s. “There’s something tugging at my spark.”

“Look to the sky, I believe we might have a new chance at a companion soon.” Maggie pointed up, her finger tracing a rapidly descending star.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

The falling star hit the concrete with a deafening crash, destroying it so effectively the rubble finely coated everything in dust. In the center of a newly formed crater was an orb of orange light that slowly became brighter as the dust settled. The light dissipated and the form of a girl took its place.

The girl scoffed, entirely unphased by the turn of events. “What kind of a name is Sadachbia? It sounds drab and I dislike it.”

“It is the name of a star.” Subra stepped closer, revealing herself from where she and Mira had hidden in the shadows. “It means a lucky star of hidden things.”

“Well I don’t suppose you know who’s in charge of naming around here. What’s your name then?” Sadachbia glowered, her face still framed in an orange glow.

“Subra, the mane of leo. And my leader.” Subra gestured to the shadows for Mira to reveal herself.

“Mira Thabi, although my original name was Merga Thabit. A combination of two stars with the meanings reaping hook and endurer respectively. I too found my chosen name less than inadequate.” Mira smirked as she watched Sadachbia closely. “Join us, become part of our team to create a better world.”

“Then take it as a symbol of my loyalty to follow your footsteps, Mira Thabi. Please, call me Sadari.” Sadari stepped out of the crater to bow before Mira and Subra, arms sweeping dramatically.

“It is an honor, Sardari.”

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

“Is this all that happens? We sit around and wait for the Quintessons to make the first move? What cowardly plan is this?” Sasha sat on the arm of the couch, watching over Suki’s shoulder as she typed.

“We wait because there’s no strategy with the Quintessons. At least not one I’ve noticed.” Maggie glared from her spot opposite in the room. “If you have some grand plan to stop them once and for all feel free to share with the class.”

Sasha scoffed, voice laced with thinly veiled disdain. “I’m simply stating what I observe. Who am I to question your grand leadership?”

Maggie sighed inwardly, who was Sasha to criticize the way she guided their small team when she hadn’t even met face to face with a Quintesson yet? It was irritating but that seemed to be Sasha’s entire personality; irritating. Brash and self-aggrandizing, it was a wonder why the Allspark chose her of all people to wield its power. There was a reason for Sasha’s appearance in their lives but that didn’t mean Maggie had to like it.

“Local police scanner is reporting an attack across town. Maggie?” Suki looked up from her laptop to await Maggie’s instruction.

“Let’s go. Time for Sasha to finally see some action.” Maggie nodded, transforming in a cloud of shimmering light before leaping out the window, not waiting for Suki or Sasha to follow.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Subra sighed, the Qunitessons weren’t even after anything this time. Their only apparent goal was to make her life more of a chore and destroy more public property. Mira was exhibiting a little too much glee as she pummeled a mid-ranking Quintesson and Sadari was– well, Subra wasn’t sure. She seemed to be holding her own against one of the weaker Quintessons that had been unleashed so Subra took her eyes off the newbie for just a moment to stop the destruction of a library.

That was the wrong choice apparently. 

Subra’s head snapped in the direction of screams just in time to watch Sadari be flung into the walls of the very library Subra had been fending off attacks from moments before. The brick crumbled around Sadari’s body from the impact, there went all of Subra’s hard work. In a flash of orange, Sadari used the building as a launch pad and pushed off against the destroyed wall back towards her attacker.

The only thing circling Subra’s mind was how to maintain PR and ensure they didn’t end up looking like the villains as she watched her teammates destroy almost as much of the city block as the Quintessons. So much for a rational new member of the team.

Discordant cackles echoed through the rubble as Sardari landed a punch on a Quintesson that sent it flying. At least Sadari was more than capable in terms of power, maybe Subra could try to talk to Mira and Sardari about the destruction of public property. It was going to be a long few hours when they got back.

Subra’s eyes widened as from the edge of her vision Sadari was flung by her ankle into the sky by a Quintesson. She gasped sharply before running after Sadari’s descending form, calling out to Mira at the same time. “MIRA! I’m going after Sadari, cover me!”

She didn’t look to see if Mira had reacted before chasing after Sadari. Whatever unnatural strength the Quintesson possessed had launched Sadari several hundred feet up in the air and left her hurtling back down to Earth. The sheer height that Sadari wasn’t nearly as impressive as the screams that came from Sadari, shrill and indignant as she screamed profanities aimed towards any and all Quintessons within the area.

If Subra wasn’t so focused on trying to pad Sardari’s landing so the other magical girl didn’t break every bone in her body she might’ve laughed. Instead, she braced for impact and caught Sardari in her arms. Subra did allow herself to snort slightly as she watched Sadari’s face morph from sheer terror to disgust in a heartbeat as she shoved her way out of Subra’s arms.

“Back to Mira's, come on.” Subra managed to catch Sadari’s wrist and attempted to tug in the direction of the apartment.

Sadari wrenched her wrist from Subra’s grasp, a wicked scowl on her face. “No! The fight isn’t done, I’m fine .”

“This is your first engagement with conflict, it’s okay to not know how to handle it. Let Mira finish this one off. You did well enough today.” Subra stood with her arms crossed across her chest, staring Sadari down. “You’re bleeding in multiple places and you still don’t have full control over your magic or strength. Let’s go.”

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Suki had a massive headache. Somehow Sasha had placed the blame on Suki for pulling her out of her first fight early despite her being in no condition to keep going. It was fine. She repeated those three words like a prayer as she fought with Sasha to allow herself to be patched up. It was like trying to bathe a cat, but at least cats were small and cute. Sasha had no such saving grace.

“Watch it! You have a very rough touch for someone who’s supposed to act as the team medic.” Sasha whined, wincing as Suki plucked a sliver of debris out of a gash with little gentleness.

“I would not have to act as team medic if my teammates weren’t idiots who constantly rushed head first into danger with little heed for their own safety. I don’t really even have any medical training so it’s probably best if we dropped that as a title.” Suki rolled her eyes, watching Sasha squirm as she finished cleaning out the wound. She didn’t bother warning the other girl before casting a small healing spell.

“You barely even know me yet you call me an idiot so easily.”

“I would call anyone an idiot who took on a Quintesson solo during their first fight. I would also extend that label to anyone who during said first fight got thrown into a wall and woke the entire neighborhood with shrill screams. I had to catch you after you were launched hundreds of feet into the air!” The light from the healing spell dimmed and Suki sat there with a tired look, just watching Sasha.

Sasha said nothing, simply scoffing and examining her newly healed flesh. Suki elected to stop talking and pulled out her laptop as they waited for Maggie to return.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Sasha ached everywhere after her first encounter with the Quintessons. It wasn’t like she was told just how strong they were! Sure, maybe Maggie had mentioned their brute strength or ruthless intellect once or twice but who was Sasha to actually take that seriously? The only time she’d seen Quintessons was brief glimpses on TV. She had nothing substantial to base their true strength off of.

“Maybe you should stop moping and go train if you’re so set on continuing being a magical girl.” Maggie interrupted Sasha’s thoughts with that nagging voice of her’s.

“Oh illustrious leader! Wouldn’t it be so great if you actually did as your role implied and aided me in that task?” Sasha clasped her hands together, holding them up to her cheek.

Her leader scoffed. “Like you would truly listen to my guidance. I have done nothing but be gracious to you since I asked you to join the team and all I’ve been met with is resistance. If I were to train you, would you actually go along with it?”

“You offend me so! But truly I would rather Suki train me, I trust her combat skills over yours any day. You seem to act with more rage than true strategy.” Sasha feigned a swooning motion, falling to the side of the couch into Suki who shoved her off harshly.

“Whatever. So long as you agree to work on your own skills I don’t care how you gain them.” Maggie waved her hand dismissively, watching with a small smile as Sasha got shoved once more off the couch onto the floor.

Sasha pouted, grabbing the closest pillow and smacking Suki with it once before retreating to the other side of the room. How Sasha had gained the two most irritating teammates mere minutes after gaining a magical power unlike anything she’d ever dreamed of was beyond her. Pure bad luck she supposed.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

The brutal training schedule Suki had shoved onto Sasha had to be worth it, otherwise Sasha was going to scream and cry and run away from any and all magical girl responsibilities. It wasn’t fair that she was being trained so harshly when she had just been given this power! She would prove her worth to Maggie and Suki, soon they’d eat their words. So what if Sasha complained the entire time?

“Keep your weight balanced. You might be stronger now you’ve been blessed by the Allspark but you still need to know how to use that strength.” Suki motioned for Sasha to hit her again, somehow unphased by the power Sasha was using in her attacks.

Sasha panted, wiping the sweat from her forehead and did as she was told, shifting her feet and attacking Suki with full force. “Why do I even need to know how to fight if my magic isn’t even close range?”

“If there comes a time where your magic depletes enough you need to know how to fight without it. I won’t always be there to save you.” Suki blocked the attack, flipping Sasha onto her back in a single fluid motion.

Groaning as her back hit the mat, Sasha heaved herself up and quickly attacked again. “Then make it so I’m not the damsel in distress you think I am. I never asked you to catch me after I was flung in the air by the way.”

This time the hit landed, Suki grunted from the impact and counter attacked before Sasha had time to gloat. “You are my teammate and were going to be flattened upon impact with the ground if I hadn’t intervened. You say this like you wanted to kiss the pavement.”

“You are so irritating!” Sasha’s voice came out shriller than she expected. She didn’t care too much, devoting her energy to jumping up to land a kick to Suki’s head, knocking the girl onto the mat. Sasha grinned as she towered over her toppled companion.

“Alright I think we can call this good for now.” Suki pushed herself up, batting away the hand that Sasha offered as an afterthought.

Chapter Text

Bruises littered Ophelia’s body, muddy purples and blues made watercolor patterns on her skin. It was the one thing she refused to heal with magic, it made her feel like the fights were more impactful and were actually making a difference. Whether that was true or not she didn’t care to know– believing something had meaning could be just as impactful.

“Why did the Quintessons even come to Earth in the first place?” Bea asked, she was sprawled out on the floor as she doodled.

Ophelia stilled, she’d never actually thought about that. She had been willed by the Allspark with Mira Thabi to fight against them but the true reason why was unknown to her. She took a steady breath, playing with the ends of her braid before responding. “I don’t really know. They don’t seem to have a clear objective or goal aside from causing chaos and inflicting damage. There must be something they’re after but I really don’t know what that is.”

With her chin cradled in her hands, Bea hummed in thought, legs kicking up behind her. “Then how are we supposed to beat them? How do you make someone leave if you don’t know what they’re after?”

“That’s a great question I have no idea how to answer. For now we focus on getting people to safety during an attack and try to fend them off. Outside of that– I just don’t know.”

Bea nodded slowly, returning her focus to her drawing.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

It was dark, the inky black sky was only sparsely dotted with stars. A shooting star streaked across the expanse of the sky, falling down towards the Earth. Orion Pax looked up from her hands, watching as a streetlight illuminated a shadowy figure in the distance. The figure’s shadow stretched in the dim light as an upbeat melody began to play. It was familiar but Orion couldn’t place how. The figure moved, slowly at once before picking up speed as they danced along to the beat of the music. Orion felt herself smile, watching the figure dance.

“Orion Pax, child of the stars, seek the Matrix and lead with your heart.” A disembodied voice called to Orion, it sounded comforting and familiar but just like the figure she didn’t know how or why.

She looked up to the stars once more, there was a constellation that Orion didn’t recognize. It felt like she should know what the constellation was.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Ophelia woke with a start, blinking rapidly as she tried to collect her thoughts. What was the Matrix? It sounded important, perhaps that was the Allspark talking? She rubbed the last bits of sleep from her eyes and grabbed her phone to call Bea.

Bea picked up on the second ring, her voice bright and cheerful through the phone speaker. “Hi Ophi! What’s up?”

“I had a dream and I’d like your thoughts on what it could mean.” Ophelia sighed, realizing how insane this sounded. “There was a figure dancing in the glow of a streetlight, they seemed really familiar but I’m not sure how. Then I heard a voice telling me to seek the Matrix and after looking back to the stars I saw a constellation I’ve never seen before. I know it seems crazy to believe a dream to mean something more than just being a dream but this feels really important.”

“I wonder if the constellation is the Matrix. I don’t really know what that could be but I think you’re right. This has to be the Allspark guiding us. I’m coming over, we can talk more then.” Bea hung up, leaving Ophelia to wonder what all this could mean.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Bea shoved her sketch pad into Ophelia’s arms, handing her the pencil that was tucked behind her ear. “Here. Draw the constellation, I’m sure that has to be the Matrix.”

Ophelia took the pad and pencil warily, gripping the pencil tightly before drawing what she had seen. It was an odd shape, a circle in the center with two angular handles on each side. “The voice told me to lead with my heart. Maybe this thing has something to do with that?”

“I wonder if that figure is important too, maybe they know where to find the Matrix. Oh! Or what if they’re another magical girl?”

“You think so? I didn’t get any prophetic dreams when you showed up. But there was a shooting star that fell when you became a magical girl.” Ophelia hummed in thought, chewing on her bottom lip.

“As far as magic can make sense, I think this fits. Was there a shooting star in your dream?” Bea asked and flopped down on Ophelia’s bed on her stomach, dangling her legs in the air above her.

Ophelia nodded, “It was teal. The shooting star I saw when you appeared was yellow. I’ve been wondering if that has to do with your spark color.” 

“Then I guess it’s just a waiting game now.”

“Yeah, it is. I can only hope that the answer comes soon.”

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

“Orion look!” Bee jumped in the air as pointed up to the night sky where a teal shooting star streaked across the horizon.

Orion stopped, looking up to where Bee was pointing. Glimmering light trailed behind the shooting star, illuminating the sky. She traced the star’s path with her eyes; it was likely to land in the park on the other side of the city.

“Come on, we’ll meet the star where it lands.” Orion took off into a run, not bothering to wait for Bee’s acknowledgement before going after the star.

The park was still in the shroud of night, streetlamps illuminated the pathways in a golden halo. Orion looked up to the sky to find the shooting star only to find it had vanished from view. A blinding burst of teal overtook Orion’s vision. She blinked hard, trying to adjust her eyes to the obtrusive light. The world slowly dimmed and a girl was left standing in front of Orion and Bee.

“What’s going on?” The girl looked around slowly, touching the blue visor that covered her eyes. “There was a voice. It called me Janus…”

“I am Orion Pax, and this is Bee,” Orion said, gesturing to herself then Bee. “It seems as though you’re our new teammate. There’s a lot we’ll have to explain, unfortunately being blessed by the Allspark doesn’t give you all the knowledge you need. But that can come later.”

Bee offered a soft smile to Janus. “It’s a lot all at once, believe me. But Orion is very good at explaining things and it’s not so bad once you get into the swing of things.”

“Right. Lead the way I guess.” Janus returned the smile and followed Orion’s lead back to her apartment.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

As it turned out, Jazz was a perfect fit for their little team. It made the long nights of missing Mira Thabi just a little more bearable with two new friends to share the time with. Jazz was easing into her new responsibilities nicely, but the shroud of mystery surrounding whatever the Matrix was still hung heavy over Ophelia’s head. Over a year of being a magical girl and this was the first mention of such a thing, why was that?

She longed to ask Mira her thoughts on all of this but even if she managed to track down her former teammate she doubted Mira would be anything but hostile to her. She would just have to rely on her new team and trust the Allspark to make this make sense.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

“I wonder what the deal with the Matrix is. Do you think it’s something that can turn the tide against the Quints?” Janus asked over her shoulder, dodging an attack from an oncoming Quintesson. She jumped back before launching an attack of her own, somehow unphased by the combat as she asked her questions.

“Less talking more punching Janus!” Bee shouted, sending a blast of electricity into the head of a Quintesson. It stumbled back, allowing Orion enough time to cleave it in half with her axe. Bee flinched at the wet squelch the halved Quint made as dark green blood sprayed everywhere.

The battle was nearly won, only a small handful of Quints remained and Orion’s team had them outmatched in strength by a long shot. A low hum rattled in the back of Orion’s head, she whipped her head around to find the source. It was painfully familiar, she recognized the hum and its source immediately before she had even turned to face Mira Thabi.

“Struggling to hold your own against foot soldiers Pax? You were always weaker than me but I didn’t think you were that weak.” Mira laughed, aiming her cannon at a Quintesson. The alien exploded in a mess of green blood and guts.

“You’re not needed here Mira.” Orion grit her teeth, wincing at the pain in her chest the other girl’s presence brought.

“Oh? I’m not? You certainly seem to need my battle prowess.” Mira kicked down the last remaining Quintesson, grinding her heel into its face with a cruel smirk on her lips. “Sentimentality will not win you this war Orion Pax. It’s a shame we couldn’t work together any longer, it seems I’ll watch your downfall before that happens again.”

“ You were the one who left, not me. Don’t place your bloodlust in my hands. All I ever wanted was peace while you continue to dream of carnage and power. The Allspark was wrong in choosing you.” Orion could taste the bile rising in her throat, fighting down the urge to cry. Mira had lost the right to seeing her vulnerable.

A gentle hand settled on Orion’s shoulder and she looked back to Bee’s impassive expression. “The Quints have been dealt with, let’s just go.”

Mira’s team had gathered behind their leader, watching with a cruel interest as Orion nodded and followed Bee and Janus away from her former companion.