Fan Fiction ❯ Middle-Aged Magical Girl Mahonna ❯ Break From Routine ( Chapter 1 )

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Bystanders stared in awe at the mysterious young girl who had entered into battle with the strange and frightening beast. The girl dodged a flurry of attacks from long arms which bore claws that seemed nearly as long. Due to feats of gymnastic ability, ranging from simple side-steps to elaborate back-flips, the monster had not managed a single blow yet. The only thing which was even more surprising was when the girl counterattacked.

She held out her right hand and pointed with her index and middle fingers. As a faint orange glow began emitting from them, she raised those fingers over her head and traced a circle with them. Where her fingers circled a bright orange light appeared over her. When the circle was complete, the girl plucked it out of the air and brought her arm back.

“Enko Chakram!!” she yelled as she hurled it at her enemy.

The ring of light sailed through the air. The beast tried to dodge, but was not fast enough. The ring sliced through its left arm as it tried to get away. As the arm fell to the ground it instantly disintegrated in a flash of fire. The beast was left with a smoldering stump. There was no blood, the ring that the girl had called the “Enko Chakram” had cauterized the wound in the same instant in which it had caused it.

The beast, expectedly unhappy about losing a limb, charged at the warrior girl with a renewed vigor. The creature’s long claws slashed out, intending to slice open her chest, only to be stopped by a mysterious rock wall that had appeared from the ground. On the other side of the wall, the girl stood. Her left arm had, out of reflex, brought itself in front of her to defend. As she did so, the earth wall that had come between her and her adversary had risen from the ground.

The menacing creature extracted its claws from the mound of earth and moved back. It seemed as though it wasn’t about to attack recklessly a second time. The fight had become a standoff. The people watching (who had, not surprisingly, given the two combatants plenty of room) could only stare with their mouths hanging open. Not a single person could believe what was happening.

That included the mysterious young girl…

How in the world am I doing this?! she asked herself.

She was also asking herself how she had wound up in this situation in the first place when her day had started out so normal.

“Again?!”

Four teen year-old Darcy Archer stood before her mother, her head bowed down solemnly. It had been a routine Friday morning until Darcy, in a rush to leave for school before she missed her bus, made the mistake of answering honestly when Mrs. Miranda Archer had asked “Did you remember your homework?”

“You didn’t do your homework again?!” Miranda asked in frustration. This was far from the first offense.

“Well… I forgot.” Darcy replied. Miranda sighed, this was becoming more and more common. Darcy’s schoolwork was coming in second to her social life more and more often. It was beginning to worry Miranda, partly because she wasn’t sure if her daughter was just forgetting or actually “forgetting.”

“There will be no more of that.” Miranda declared. Darcy gulped because she knew her mother had reached a verdict, “At school today you will go to each and every one of your teachers and ask them to let you make up your missing work. I want a list of all your assignments when you come home today and we’ll make a start of it over the next week.”

When she saw Darcy’s body stiffen at the idea of all that work, Miranda softened slightly. “Don’t worry. Short of actually doing the work, I’ll help you as much as you need.

“Also,” she continued, that softness disappearing, “to make sure you don’t forget; I’ll tell you now that if you don’t get your assignments from your teachers, I will. During school hours and, if possible, while you are in class.”

Darcy’s head shot up in fright. Miranda knew her daughter would do what she was told. Darcy wouldn’t dare do otherwise so long as she remembered two very clear facts. One was that having your mother make a special trip to your school was among the greatest of humiliations. The other was that Miranda Archer did not make idle threats.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Darcy answered. With a frown she grabbed her backpack and left to catch the school bus. As Darcy left Miranda turned her attention to her other child.

“Shane?” Miranda called, “It’s time to get ready for school!”

“I am ready!” Five year-old Shane called out as he came out of his bedroom wearing an inside-out T-shirt, shoes on the wrong feet and two socks of a completely different color. Miranda covered her mouth. Though even she didn’t know if it was to stop herself from laughing at the sight or sighing in frustration.

“Stay there…” she said.

Another day…

Darcy sat at her usual seat in first period. Her usual upbeat attitude not present this morning. Though her friends tried to get her talking before class began, she simply stared out the window. Her brown eyes showing clear disinterest in what anybody had to say. Her mother’s admonishments still rang in her ears.

So what if I’m not getting all my homework in? she fumed internally, I’m still pulling a C plus average in my classes. Last I heard that was still considered a passing grade. It didn’t matter, though. Darcy knew her mom wouldn’t just let it go. She let out a sigh as the teacher began class.

Mom did promise to help, at least. Darcy thought as she continued staring out the window next to her desk, So I guess things could be worse.

It was at that moment when she saw the strange lights in the sky.

Miranda Archer and Elspeth Innes had met about five months ago, while dropping off their five and four year old sons, Shane and Jude, at the local kindergarten for the day. The two had hit it off immediately and had made a practice out of getting together every Friday, one of the only two days El took off from her work. So now, as she always did on Fridays, Miranda sat at a small corner café sipping a cup of tea. Elspeth, with her own drink, chatted with her about the week.

They talked about Miranda’s recent difficulties with Darcy. Miranda just wasn’t sure what she could do to make Darcy focus on her schoolwork.

“Well, ‘least y’know she’ll do what you told her.” El said, her voice just lightly tinted with the accent of her native Scotland. She had chuckled at hearing about Miranda’s threat to go to Darcy’s school, “Other than that, all y’can really do is keep on her and help her out like y’said.”

“I suppose you’re right. If I leave her be she won’t do anything on her own.” Miranda admitted, “I’ll get Fletcher to help, too. Darcy seems to relate better with her father than me at times.”

That was true enough. While Darcy might resemble Miranda physically, with a fair complexion and brown hair and eyes, in terms of personality she was very much her father’s daughter. He always tended to fare much better than Miranda at talking to Darcy.

“Everything’ll be fine. I promise you.” El told Miranda, “She’ll be fine. You said she’s pulling C-plus averages, right? She’s still at least passing. So it could be a lot worse.”

It was at that moment the two women saw strange flashes of light in the sky. It was only seconds later that those lights appeared to crash into an alley not far from their café.

How had it all gone so wrong…? She thought as she struggled to pick herself up. The plan had been to stop the Yaness from conquering another world, and she and her comrades had mostly succeeded. But at great cost. The image of one of her friends being speared by a shot of magic, her body disintegrating in a white glow, was one that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Right now, however, she couldn’t dwell on that. If that memory was going to haunt her, she had to make sure she would live so that it could. Her survival instinct gave her enough strength to get herself to her feet. She could feel people approaching. She didn’t know how the people of this dimension would react to her appearance. Getting away seemed the prudent thing to do.

As she extended the ring and pinky fingers of her right hand, she recited the proper chant. She could feel liquid surround her body. A basic stealth spell, it would refract light, rendering her nearly invisible for a brief period. Shorter than it would for most, as she wasn’t very talented with Water magic, but it would suffice. She mustered her strength and staggered out of the good sized crater her landing had made. The people who had gathered around just stared into it. None saw the figure crawl out and work her way through the crowd.

“Tell me why we’re doing this again?” Rona complained. She and Darcy, at the latter’s insistence, were currently working their way through the streets by their junior high.

“I wanna check out what those lights were.” Darcy explained, yet again. While the rest of the class had been mesmerized by the strange beams’ point of origin, Darcy, who had been watching from the start, had tracked some as they plummeted to the ground. She saw one land in a park not far from the school. A popular after-school hangout for the more outdoorsy students. In the rush between periods, Darcy and Rona had ditched their next class so they could go check it out. Darcy knew she’d regret it, for it meant her mother would be coming to school come Monday. But her curiosity demanded she suffer the humiliation for the sake of the greater good.

Rona, on the other hand, was having less fun. What was supposed to be just another Friday had become yet another pointless foray that would only get them in trouble later, if not sooner. She often wondered why she always followed Darcy instead of trying to stop her. She just as often realized the reason was obvious. As much as she tried to be the more rational of the two, Rona possessed every bit as much curiosity as her friend. It was only when following Darcy that she had the guts to actually try and satisfy it.

So now here they were, making their way to West Park to find out what happened. Darcy was certain they’d see something amazing, though Rona suspected it was more likely they’d see the area roped off by police or some government agency saying it was just a meteor crash. Not that that logic satisfied Darcy.

“It just happened!” Darcy said when Rona mentioned this, “Even if that’s true they won’t have had time to get people away so we can still sneak a peek.”

Rona wasn’t sure if she should feel comforted or worry even more about the fact that Darcy had a legitimate point.

The two girls arrived at the park to find local law enforcement had, indeed, not yet managed to cut off the crash site immediately. However, there was a police presence so they decided to try and avoid being seen. They snuck the long way around into a dense formation of trees and bushes. Darcy complained as twigs and branches kept scratching her in the legs and arms and catching on her clothes.

“Why did I have to wear a skirt today?” Darcy whined to herself.

“Because our school has a dress code.” Rona commented, “And even if you weren’t wearing a uniform, you always wear skirts and short sleeves. The only difference here is that we will, on top of everything else we’re likely to get in trouble for, probably get a lecture about taking care of our school clothes.”

“I get the feeling you don’t wanna be here.” Darcy said, the sarcasm hard to miss.

Before Rona could respond with an equal amount of sarcasm, Darcy signaled her to stop. The girls saw something on the ground. They weren’t close enough to get a good look, but it appeared to be a person. Darcy began to tentatively approach it, ignoring Rona’s warnings.

“Hey…” she said, “Hey, there. Are you okay?”

“Hey, there. Are you okay?”

She heard the voice echo in her head. Though she could not understand the words, she knew immediately the owner of that voice was speaking to her. Her water cloak had worn off some time ago, and she didn’t feel much strength in her to try again just yet. She had found herself lying flat on her stomach when her physical strength had given out. She could feel her body being turned over, placing her on her back.

Her blurred vision showed two people standing over her. Though she could make out only one. Someone with brown hair and brown eyes. The other person was keeping her distance so that all that could be seen was the fact that the person was female.

“Can you hear me? Are you okay?” she asked the person again.

“She looks real out of it.” said her friend, “We should get an ambulance.”

“Yeah…” she agreed, “Go and ca-wait… El! I think she’s coming to!”

Elspeth and Miranda watched as the girl before them regained full consciousness. She looked worn out and appeared severely injured. The women had considered an ambulance from the start, but hesitated, as the girl had apparently come from the area where that strange crash had occurred.

Immediately upon hearing it, El and Miranda, and many others, had rushed to the scene to get a look. Mysteriously, there had been nothing there. But Miranda had caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. But upon looking in that direction, she had seen nothing. She thought she was hallucinating, but something told her to investigate. Not long after, the women witnessed a girl appear from seemingly nowhere. She swayed and staggered before falling flat on her face. The two had carefully rolled her over and tried to wake her up.

“Can you hear me?” Miranda asked the girl as she helped her sit up. She appeared to be a few years older than Darcy, definitely not in her twenties. She had bright green eyes and a mane of fiery red hair, with two blond streaks beginning from her temples and joining together partway up.

“Shaita… fochi… nauini… taana.” the girl replied.

“Huh?” Miranda asked before realizing the girl couldn’t understand her. The girl, apparently, realized the same thing, as she then did something that the two women could not believe. She raised up her left hand, extending the index and middle fingers, and began to speak in her own language again. As she did, a green glow began to emanate from them. When it faded, she looked to the women again and spoke.

“I’m sorry…” the girl said, “Can you… understand me now?”

Elspeth could only stare, dumbstruck at what had just occurred. Miranda managed enough coherent thought to nod her head.

“How did you do that?” she managed to ask after a moment.

“It’s just…” the girl began before letting out a small cough, “a basic spell. It allows two people speaking different languages to understand each other.”

“Spell?” Miranda asked.

“As in magic?!” El asked. The girl seemed taken by surprise by Elspeth’s shocked response.

“Of course.” she replied, “My name is Omiga Njion. I came to his world to try and prevent its destruction by the Yaness.”

When the women just stared at her she wondered aloud if her spell had worn off already.

“No… we heard what you said.” Miranda asked.

“We just don’t know what you’re talking about.” El clarified.

Omiga was about to respond to that when she suddenly grasped her side. Miranda gave El a nod and she pulled out her cell phone. She held it to her ear and got a frustrated look on her face.

“No signal in this alley…” she complained as she turned around, “Be right back.”

“Where is s-”

“She’s going to get you some help.” Miranda answered before the girl could finish, “We need to treat those injuries.”

“Th-thanks…” Omiga said, not quite sure of what else to say. She had feared this world’s response to her arrival. Now she relaxed as she realized she had gotten lucky. However, she noticed the woman’s friend returned far too soon to have gotten help.

“Miranda!! Get over here! You gotta see this!!”

“El! We have more important-”

“It’s Darcy!”

Miranda got to her feet immediately and went to the place El indicated. An electronics store with television sets in the display window. She watched in horror as one, currently showing a live special report, showed Miranda’s daughter and a friend running from what Miranda could only call a monster.

Darcy and Rona ran as fast as their legs would allow, the strange person they’d found hot on their heels.

The strange person they’d seen lying on the ground hadn’t been a person at all. It had several scratches and scrapes on its body and likely worse injuries that weren’t as apparent. However, with a grunt from the creature, those injuries had appeared to heal at a rapid pace. Darcy and Rona had watched as the lightest of the wounds had simply stopped bleeding and closed themselves off, as though stitched together by magic. As it picked itself up off the ground, the girls couldn’t help but notice the unnaturally long arms it possessed. They definitely couldn’t ignore the long claws that began to extent from the hands.

When the beast caught sight of them, the two girls ran for their lives. They didn’t think to try and keep it away from others. Nor did it occur to them that they’d be seen by one of the many television cameras currently filming at the crash site. The two girls’ only thoughts revolved around saving their own lives and keeping as far away as possible from the monster that was behind them. As such, they ran right by the crater the monster had created upon its crash landing. Police officers, agents in suits, civilians, and news crews who were nearby watched as the two schoolgirls were chased by the beast.

The officers of the law, however, didn’t sit by and watch for very long. As soon as shock over the creature’s appearance had worn off, they pulled their weapons out and began firing them at the monster in order to protect the children. However, bullets from their guns did very little to the creature’s thick gray hide. They did succeed, however, in drawing its attention from Rona and Darcy, who immediately took cover behind a tree and began to catch their breath.

At the electronics store, Miranda watched the entire scene. It was an act of will, possible only because she saw Darcy escape, that she pulled herself away and returned to El and the girl Omiga. She arrived to see El trying to hold Omiga down to the ground.

“Soon as I told her what was happenin’ she started trying t’get up!” Elspeth explained.

“Your child… is in danger…” Omiga said as she fought with El. At that moment, El had her pinned in a sitting position, Omiga’s back against the alley wall.

“We came… here… to prevent that!” Omiga continued, “I can’t just… sit back… and do nothing.”

“If y’go you’ll only get killed!” El told her.

“It’s my duty! My responsibility!”

“She’s right.” Miranda interrupted, “You’re in no condition to do anything, magic or not. There are police there. They can protect the kids.”

“‘Police’…?” Omiga asked, “Protectors?”

Miranda nodded.

“Can they use magic?”

Dreading Omiga’s implication, Miranda shook her head.

“Then they likely cannot defeat him.”

“Neither can you!” Miranda told her.

“But I must… try!” With that last word Omiga mustered enough strength to force Elspeth off of her. Bracing herself on the alley wall she got to her feet. But almost immediately after, before she could raise her hand for another spell, she began to fall forward. Miranda caught Omiga in her arms, her legs buckling slightly under her weight.

“Thank you.” Miranda told the girl, “Thank you for wanting so much to protect her. But you can’t. Not like this.”

“I’m the only one who can…” Omiga said, “Alfeta… Alfeta’s gone, and I don’t know where Tanulo is or what happened to her. I’m all there is. There’s no other way!”

“There has to be!” Miranda shouted, “If you want to protect this world as badly as you seem to, you can’t just throw your life away!”

“Mira…” El muttered.

“You don’t think the police can do it. You’re in no condition to. Isn’t there anything else?”

As Miranda sat Omiga back down on the ground, the girl had a thoughtful look on her face. She gave Miranda a good, hard look-over. As though assessing her.

“There may be… but it would require a significant sacrifice on your part.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll do it.” Miranda said without a hint of hesitation.

“I’ll say this only once. If you agree to what I’m thinking of attempting, and it succeeds… it will take time to reverse. You will be required to take up my battle in the meantime.”

“Fine.”

“I won’t force that on you.”

“You don’t have to.” Miranda said, “No price is too small for me if it means my kids are safe! If I have to put my life on the line, so be it.”

Miranda heard El give a small “heh” of admiration. Omiga seemed to be looking at her differently as well.

Omiga smiled before assuming a more serious expression, “Well then, I’ll explain quickly. There is a technique used among instructors. They give over a small portion of their own magic to an apprentice to aid their learning how to bring out and control their abilities. I’m going to use this technique on you, now, and make you into a warrior sorceress. A Mahonna.”

Miranda nodded her understanding.

“Since you’re going right into battle, I’m going to give you as much of my strength as I can safely spare. In addition, you’ll have your own innate magic. Even if you’ve never used magic in your life, that will give you an advantage because you will possess far more power than normal.”

“My own…”

“Yes.” Omiga said with a nod, “Every living soul has a small bit of magic in them. The ‘Instructor’s Spark’ aids in bringing that ability out by giving it a brief and sudden boost in power.”

“A jump start?” El asked. Omiga, not understanding the term, didn’t answer.

“Before I do it, there are a few things you must know. Based on your friend’s description, the Yaness you face is one known for its tough body, fast healing, and savage nature. As I said you will have more power than is considered normal, and you will need every bit of it you can muster.”

Miranda began to bite her lower lip slightly. But she nodded all the same.

“Very well. Let’s begin!”

Omiga brought forward her right hand, extending her index and middle fingers, and touched the center of her chest. As she brought her hand back out, an orange string, beginning from her chest, seemed to be attached to it. She held her hand out as the string seemed to coil around her fingers. As the seconds went by, eventually the end of the string left the girl’s chest and wrapped around her hand.

Omiga began muttering under her breath during this entire process. That chanting ceased as the magic left her body completely. Without warning, she quickly pointed her extended fingers at Miranda. The string of light immediately left Omiga’s hand and plunged itself right into Miranda’s chest. El watched in awe as Miranda’s body began to glow a pale shade of orange.

“Now,” Omiga began, “There are three spells you’ll need to know. The first is for your protection, it’ll change your body and hide your identity. The second will get you to where the Yaness is almost instantly. The third is the simplest, most effective attack that will likely harm the enemy.”

Miranda didn’t appear to be listening, as she simply stared at her own hands. But she heard every word Omiga spoke.

“The first spell is called ‘Minec.’ To perform it, say the word while extending the bottom two fingers of your left hand. As you do, picture me in your mind as clearly as you can, and you should take on a form similar to my own.”

Tentatively, Miranda adjusted her left hand as instructed and said the word Minec. The effect was instantaneous. Miranda could feel energy cover her entire body, encasing her in a bright shell.

Within it, Miranda felt her body begin to change. Her body began to shrink, losing inches and dropping weight until she was the same size as the teenage girl before her. She could feel her sandy brown hair seemingly fall right out of her head, only to be replaced by a wild mane of red hair, identical to Omiga’s. She couldn’t see it, but she knew that, along her temples, two blond streaks had appeared which traveled up her hair and joined just before the top of her head, giving the impression that she was on fire. The only part of Miranda completely unchanged were her eyes. They remained their natural dark shade of brown, rather than taking on the bright green of Omiga’s.

Even her clothing, a conservative dress and a pair of short heels, changed. The dress transformed into a bright orange tunic and skirt while the shoes became a pair of knee high leather boots. Accessories were removed and added, as well. Miranda’s wristwatch became a silver bracelet. One of which also appeared on her other wrist. She felt a small weight on her shoulders as two dark green shoulder pads appeared on them. She also felt an object on her head as a thin tiara made a place for itself on Miranda’s forehead.

“M-Miranda…?” Elspeth asked as the shell faded, revealing her new form to her friend.

When all was said and done, Miranda didn’t simply look similar to the injured girl in the alley. She was identical in every physical aspect. Even Omiga appeared shocked at just how close she had gotten the transformation on her first try. It took a moment before she recovered and explained the next spell.

“The next one is called Funori.” Omiga said, “Extend the top two fingers of the left hand, say the spell as you think of a place, and you will be transported there almost instantaneously. Don’t use it yet, though.” she said quickly as Miranda held out the left hand again, “I still have one spell to tell you. Your primary attack spell.”

Immediately after Omiga explained the final incantation Miranda used the Funori spell and disappeared in a powerful gust of wind that knocked Elspeth onto her butt.

“Is that wind always so strong?” El asked as she got up. As Omiga was helped to her feet, she admitted that Miranda’s was unusually strong.

“Here’s hoping it’s strong enough, then.”

At the park, things weren’t going well. Darcy and Rona watched as the police officers were attacked by the monster that had been chasing them. They fell one by one, their firearms doing little to harm it. They brought out rifles that seemed to slow it down some. But it didn’t do enough. The creature attacked them, badly cutting up those who couldn’t dodge.

Fortunately, miraculously, it didn’t seem as though anybody had been killed yet. That, however, was only because the beast didn’t care about killing them, it only wanted them out of the way. Its savage mind had focused on a target, and anything else just got in its way. Its chosen target was the first thing it had caught sight of upon regaining consciousness. A little human girl.

It found her easily enough after the humans who tried to fight him were down. Hiding behind a tree with another girl the same age. It didn’t care for the extra though, it was the brown-haired one it wanted. She and her friend stood, paralyzed with fear, as the beast came after her once more. It had almost reached them when something suddenly blew it backwards. It had done the same to the girls, blowing them both onto their backs.

At its center stood another girl. A human female not much older than the creature’s intended victims. Her clothing, more than anything, was a dead giveaway to her identity. Even a slow a mind as its new what the person was.

“Mahonna…” it growled.

Miranda stood before the beast that had been threatening her daughter, unable to believe what she was doing. The Funori spell had done just as Omiga said it would. Brought her to the park in an instant. She noticed the beast, as well as the kids and nearly everything next to her, was blown down by the force of the Funori’s wind. She quickly checked on Darcy and Rona and saw they were scratched up but otherwise all right.

“Get away from here!” she yelled to them. Neither hesitated to obey. That left Miranda alone with her enemy. She gulped, she had never been in an actual fight since about grade school. She had no idea if she could do this. Of course, her opponent neither knew nor cared about that. It recovered quickly enough from this newest interruption and set its sights on the girl standing in its way. It ran at her, long claws pointed straight ahead, intending to stab her.

For an instant, Miranda froze. She didn’t know what to do. In her panic, however, instinct took command. There wasn’t enough time to dodge to either side, so instead Miranda leapt right at the creature’s outstretched arm, planted her hands on the wrist, and pushed herself over its head and onto the grass directly behind it.

Miranda was more than a little stunned at what had just happened. She knew what she had done. She had vaulted herself over the creature’s body. She knew how she had been able to do it. In her high school and college days, Miranda had been a talented gymnast; leaping vaulting horses had been second nature to her. Yet, she still asked herself just how she had done what she had just done.

The creature was not so impressed. Rather, it was annoyed that its attack had been evaded. It used a wide sweep of one of its claws. Again, acting on instinct, Miranda performed a perfect back-flip, something she hadn’t done in years, and dodged it easily. The Yaness tried to attack more, only to have Miranda, who was beginning to fully realize that she was in a body younger and more able than her real one, dodge one strike after the other. Miranda’s initial panic started to fade, as she began to think she might actually be able to do this. After a few more dodges, Miranda decided to take the offensive.

Just as Omiga had instructed her before she left, she held out the top two fingers of her right hand and traced a circle over her head. That circle became a ring of flame, which Miranda grabbed out from over her.

“Enko Chakram!!” she called as she threw the ring at her target. The ring flew, exactly as a metal chakram would, and severed the Yaness’ left arm, which disintegrated into ash as it hit the ground. The beast howled in pain and, adrenaline now pumping strong with its fury, ran at Miranda at a speed she couldn’t follow. Without thinking, she closed her eyes brought up her arms in a futile attempt to block the claws of the remaining arm. It took her a moment to realize that nothing had struck her.

When she opened her eyes, Miranda saw that a hefty chunk of earth had pulled itself from the ground and come between her and certain death. She had somehow, without thinking, called on magic Omiga hadn’t told her of. As a result, the beast’s claws had gone through a wall of rock and soil instead of Miranda’s chest. It pulled itself free and jumped back. After taking such a severe injury it was unlikely to attack recklessly again. Miranda, meanwhile, took the opportunity to catch her breath and wonder to herself just how in the world she was doing this.

One moment El and I were having coffee like we always do. The next I’m fighting a monster right out of some sci-fi or fantasy movie.

What had been another ordinary day was now anything but. Miranda realized, though, that she couldn’t dwell on that anymore. She had to concentrate on the here and now. This thing had been about to kill her daughter. Looking around she saw other people the monster had attacked. They had since been moved out of harm’s way by the uninjured among the bystanders.

It was at that moment that she understood, here and now, she was the only one with the ability to fight and win. It was at that moment did she realize the “sacrifice” Omiga had spoken of. Miranda knew what she had to do. Just as Omiga had been so determined to, Miranda had to do everything in her power to protect, not only her little girl and her family, but everyone. All of these people, watching the battle with a mix of fear and hope. All of those who would need help in the future. Until Omiga was ready to resume the fight again; so long as creatures like this were in her world; this would not be the last time Miranda Archer risked her life.

Knowing now that this would be only the first battle of many, Miranda began to think of how to win. Her original intent had only been to rescue Darcy. Now she had to think of how to destroy this thing, and prevent it from harming anybody else. With no experience and three magical spells at her disposal, only one of which was for actual combat, her odds didn’t look good. However, an idea was forming. Something that might do the trick.

She waited. For this plan to work, she could not be the aggressor. She didn’t wait long though. This Yaness, far from being a patient creature, was unable to wait much longer and charged. Miranda recognized her opportunity when the creature was almost upon her. As it swung back its remaining arm Miranda held out her left hand, extending its index and middle fingers.

“Funori!!” she cried. In a gust of wind, Miranda, just as she had the first time she used the spell, felt an instant where it was as though she was the wind itself. The gust of wind the spell created caught the Yaness off-balance. It began to stumble backward as Miranda reached her destination. In another rush of air, Miranda appeared above the creature. The wind had, this time, succeeded in knocking down the beast, leaving it wide open for Miranda’s finishing blow.

As she fell, Miranda traced over her head the circle for the Enko Chakram. She plucked it from the air above her, but this time did not throw. Just before she landed right on top of the Yaness, she swung the chakram down, bringing it down right between the beast’s eyes and bisecting most of its torso. Again, there was no blood, as the heat from the chakram’s fire scorched shut the vessels it would have come from. However, there was nothing else from the creature either. As Miranda landed next to its head, she knew it was dead. The battle was over. She had won.

The monster lay still, its one arm limp at its side. Its face and most of its chest bore a burning line where the chakram had sliced through it. With its death, the aftereffect of the Enko Chakram kicked in, and the body became a large mound of monster-shaped ash. She stared at the remains, no longer quite as stunned at what she had done. Now that she knew this was but the first of many, the wonder of it all wore off a bit.

She scanned the crowd, some of which had begun celebrating. To her surprise, Darcy and Rona, who hadn’t gone as far as Miranda would have hoped ran over to her.

“T-Thank you so much!” Rona said.

“That was awesome!” Darcy proclaimed. She was practically bouncing, “That was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen!!”

As relieved as she was to see Darcy alive, she couldn’t help but remember a minor detail.

“Don’t you have homework to do… or something?” she asked, adding the last as an afterthought. Darcy just stared for a moment before getting a panicked look on her face.

“Oh my God!!” Darcy screamed, “I completely forgot about that!!”

With only a hasty “c’mon” Darcy grabbed Rona’s hand and ran off, back to school.

“Thank you, again!” Rona cried out as she ran, trying her best to keep her glasses on as Darcy yanked on her other arm. Miranda waved slightly as they left. Not long after though, she noticed the gazes of all of the other people, and some of the still-intact news cameras were all on her. Brining up her left hand, she used Funori and disappeared into the wind once more. And once more knocking down everything within a yard of where she’d been standing.

As she and Rona made their way back to school, Darcy couldn’t help but think about what she had witnessed. She had a certain love for fantasy and daydreaming. And this went beyond even the wildest of either she’d ever had. Watching that girl warrior take down that monster even a small army of police officers could not was, just as she had said, the single most amazing thing she had ever seen. That girl was also the single most amazing person she had ever met.

Or rather, Darcy thought with a slight frown, She was… until she started to sound like my mother!

Miranda brought herself back to the alley she and El had found Omiga. Not surprisingly they weren’t to be found. El, however, had enough foresight to leave behind a note saying “Went home.” So she knew where to go. She used the Minec spell to return back to normal. She could have used her new magic to go there right away, but decided to walk. She needed time to clear her head. And time to decide what she would do now that she had officially begun her career as the world’s first and likely only “Middle-Aged Magical Girl.”

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Special thanks to NumbuhInfinity, Toujin, and Albert for helping me out with this.
Shorô Mahô Shôjo Mahonna - Loosely translated, “Middle-Aged Magical Girl Mahonna.” Mahonna is a combination of the Japanese words Mahô (Magic) and Onna (Woman). Also, in an unintentional double-pun, replace the H with a D and you get “Madonna.”