The air around Su Yin shimmered and warped, the light from the sun bending around her as if she were a black hole. The colors of the world bled together, melting into a swirling vortex of twilight hues - deep purples, soft pinks, and brilliant oranges.

I could only stare in horror as the temperature plummeted, and an eruption of crystals, sharp as diamonds and glinting with an inner, otherworldly light, exploded outwards from her body. They weren't just crystals; they looked like fragments of a dying star, shards of a broken twilight, and they were aimed directly at my younger sister.

There was no time to think. No time to react. The world seemed to slow down, the sound of Izumi's gasp stretching into an eternity.

I was frozen, a statue carved from shock. But the world had not frozen for Jenny.

One moment, she was standing there, a woman in a pink hoodie holding a box of macarons. The next, she was a blur of motion, the white box tumbling to the sidewalks. In the time it took for my brain to register the sound of the box hitting the ground, she was already there.

And then, a wall of pink light materialized between them. It wasn't a solid barrier, but a series of shimmering, interlocking hexagons, each one glowing with a soft, gentle light. The crystals slammed into the barrier, shattering into a million pieces of light that rained down on the sidewalk like a gentle, magical snow.

Jenny held Izumi, her body a shield, one arm wrapped tight around my sister's waist. In her other hand was a wand that hadn't been there a second ago. It was a slender thing, pale silver metal, tipped with a heart-shaped crystal that pulsed with a soft, warm light.

Two pure white feathers were tied just beneath the heart, fluttering in a breeze that wasn't there. It was clearly meant to be held with two hands, but she gripped it with the confidence of someone who had used it for a lifetime, her knuckles white.

But She didn't look angry. She didn't even look surprised. She just looked… sad. A deep, aching sadness.

The air shimmered, the scent of ozone and burnt sugar filling the space between us. The pink hexagons of the barrier flickered, holding strong.

In Su Yin's place stood a an armor-clad girl, her outfit a swirling mix of dark blues and pinks, her hair a cascade of starlight. Her eyes glowed with a frantic, desperate light like dusk, but there was no malice in them. Only fear.

"Who... who are you?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

Jenny didn't answer. She just held Izumi closer, her knuckles white around the wand. The pink heart on its tip pulsed with a soft, gentle light, a steady rhythm in the chaos.

"You... you stopped it. You weren't transformed. An A-Rank Magical Girl's attack. You... you're not even..." Su Yin stammered, her voice cracking.

Jenny looked at Su Yin, her eyes filled with a gentle, understanding sorrow that somehow would have felt worse than any anger could have.

It was the look of a mother who had just seen her child fall, a look of pure, unadulterated empathy that made my heart ache in a way I didn't understand.

"Su Yin," she said, her voice a soft, gentle whisper, a jarring contrast to the violence that had just erupted. "Please. It's okay. Just breathe."

"Who are you?!" Su Yin asked, her voice a trembling whisper, her eyes fixed on the wand in Jenny's hand. "You're an echo too but..."

But she didn't attack again.

She just stood there, a whirlwind of twilight and starlight.

And all I could do was stare. My mind racing to catch up with the impossible things I was seeing.

"Just breathe, sweetie," Jenny said again. "You're okay. I promise. Just talk to me."

The armor-clad girl flinched at the word 'sweetie'.

"Please," Jenny said. "Just talk to me."

"I... I..." Su Yin stammered, her voice cracking with fear.

I just continued to gawk at the scene.

Auntie Jenny, the bubbly, ditzy woman who made the best tiramisu in the city. Who laughed at Dad's bad jokes while eating all our food. Who gave Izumi and me outlandish advice like it was her job to be the devil on our shoulders.

...Was a Magical Girl?

And this strange, terrified girl, who looked like she'd been through hell and back, was one too.

"Just a concerned mother," Auntie Jenny replied a sad smile on her face. "Please. There's no need for this. Let's just talk. I can help you. I promise. How about I treat you to some of those macarons and a cup of hot cocoa? My treat. I promise, no one's going to hurt you here. Not while I'm around. I can promise you that!"

She flashed a brilliant smile, and for a sudden I felt a throbbing headache as the image of pink ribbons and blankets of pink light covering a burning Manhattan came to mind.

Su Yin stared, her breathing ragged, the aurora light of her form flickering erratically like a faulty neon sign. The wand in Jenny's hand seemed to be the only thing holding her in place.

She looked down at her own hands, now encased in armored gloves that glimmered with captured twilight, and then back at Jenny's sad, gentle face.

"Nightingale..." she whispered, the name like a prayer and a curse all at once.

"Pardon?" Jenny asked, tensely this time. I caught her opening her eyes in shock before lowering her wand just a fraction, a gesture of peace.

"Why do you have that necklace? Why... why do you have a Strangled Nightingale locket?" Su Yin asked, her voice cracking.

Jenny's free hand flew to the blue locket at her throat, her fingers tracing the familiar shape. Her face, for the first time, showed a flicker of something beyond concern a raw, unguarded sorrow that seemed out of place in the bright afternoon sun.

"I... I have so many questions right now. But... we need to get you somewhere safe. Let's get you inside for now," Jenny said, her voice a warm, steady balm.

Su Yin shirked back, her entire form trembling. "No. It's not real." She looked past Jenny, her gaze sweeping over the pristine street, the clear blue sky, the sound of a distant ice cream truck. "This is all just a lie. A beautiful, perfect lie that could not be."

Her eyes locked onto mine again, that same strange, intense recognition from before. "But... He's different. He is not an echo."

I blinked, my mind reeling. The words tumbled out before I could stop them. "What are you talking about? What's an echo?"

Su Yin just stared at me, her expression unreadable. Then, she turned back to Jenny.

She opened her mouth to speak again, but Jenny cut her off.

"Okay, that's enough," Jenny said, her voice firm but not unkind. "You're clearly in distress. Let's take a second to ground ourselves and reframe. My name is Jenny. This is my daughters' bestie Izumi, and her brother Ikki. You're in Bayside, Queens. We're going to get you a warm blanket and something to drink, and then we can sort all this out."

Su Yin narrowed her eyes and stepped back.

"I apologize, but those who bear the mark of the Nightingale are my enemies. For what has been inflicted on my family," Su Yin said, her voice hardening.

Su Yin took a deep breath, the frantic energy in her eyes coalescing into something hard and resolute. The twilight around her stilled, the swirling colors resolving into the stark, defined lines of her armor. She was no longer a lost, terrified girl. She was a warrior.

"My name is Mayari," she declared, her voice ringing with a newfound authority, a stark contrast to her earlier stammers. "Magical Girl Mayari of the Twilight, second in command to Magical Girl Tara of the Night Sky. I will not let your kind desecrate what we stand for again."

The name hit me like a physical blow.

Mayari of the Twilight.

The world tilted, the bright afternoon sun fading to the memory of a dimly lit library. The scent of spiced noodles and the quiet hum of a city at night replaced the smell of macarons and fear.

The name wasn't just a name. It was a key turning a lock I hadn't even known was there. Flashes: a classroom at some fancy school, a small blonde girl's quiet, steady presence beside me as we navigated the crowded halls. The weight of her hand on my shoulder in the aftermath of the kidnapping, her voice low and certain.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

...What were these memories?

Wait.

No...

Quiet, thoughtful ▇▇▇. Who carried the weight of a past I couldn't begin to imagine. Who spoke of herself in the third person.

Who...

My head throbbed, a dull, persistent ache that was rapidly becoming a sharp, splitting pain.

Jenny brushed her fingers over the necklace in a gesture that was both tender and full of exhaustion. "This necklace... was a promise," she said, her voice a quiet melody laced with sorrow. "A promise to protect, not to harm. The woman who wore this… she gave her life for that promise."

Her gaze lifted to meet Su Yin's frantic twilight eyes, and the warmth in her expression seemed to dim, replaced by a profound sadness that made the air around them feel heavy. "My husband should be there if I am to explain the story behind this necklace. And I don't think you'd believe me if I told you that alone."

A muscle in Su Yin's jaw tightened. The armor around her form pulsed with a dark, indigo light.

"Vivian Blackwood," she spat. "What does that name mean to you?"

The name hit the bright, cheerful street like a bucket of ice water. For a fraction of a second, I could almost smell it: ozone and burnt sugar, the scent of a battlefield I'd never walked on.

Jenny's entire demeanor shifted.

The bubbly Auntie Jenny vanished, replaced by something else. She still held the heart-tipped wand, but now it felt like a declaration.

"A terrible memory. A bad dream that someone refused to wake up from," she said, her voice low and steady, every word precise. "One we put an end to. A long time ago."

"Liar," Su Yin breathed, the accusation hanging in the air between them. "You would say that. She wears that mark too, you know. The Strangled Star Nightingale. Blackwood took it. She and her followers wear it as a symbol of fear."

"The owner of that name is dead, child," Jenny said, her voice as cold and hard as steel. "The original owner of this necklace saw to it herself. As did our dearest Foxie."

It was the first time I had ever heard her sound like that. And it sent a shiver down my spine.

"And are you sure about that?" Su Yin asked, a bitter smile on her face.

"Ahem."

Our eyes all snapped towards Izumi, who broke free from Jenny's protective grasp. She stepped forward, her small frame a stark contrast to the two magical figures facing off.

She stood there, her hands on her hips, a defiant look on her face. And for the first time since this whole surreal encounter began, I saw a flicker of something I recognized in her eyes. The same stubbornness she had when she insisted on carrying the groceries by herself, even when they were too heavy for her.

"Ok. This is getting super weird. Can someone please explain to me what. In the flippity fuck. Is going on?" she asked, her voice ringing with a familiar, indignant impatience that cut through the tension. "Because last I checked, I was just trying to go hang out with the girlies. And now we've got... crystal attacks and magical girls and some weirdo in a gray jumpsuit. Who's apparently having a standoff in broad daylight my Auntie Jenny over here?"

Her words tumbled out in a rush of pure, unfiltered Izumi, a torrent of bewildered outrage that was so normal, so her, that it felt like a lifeline in the storm of impossible things I was witnessing.

"Look. We just wanted to hang out with family before Dad's big thing. We're not looking for a fight. And you're freaking me out. And you're making my brother look like he's about to pass out."

Then she turned to Jenny. "Which, by the way, Auntie Jenny, you're a magical girl? What is UP with that? Last I checked you aren't no Terran. For how long? Does Uncle Elio know? Do my parents know? Does Dad know? Oh my god, Dad is going to lose his mind. Does he know?"

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, her glare sweeping over the three of us.

"Now let's drop all of this darned silliness before you two turn the street into some kind of magical nuclear light show, and we're all going inside to get some damned hot cocoa. And you," she said, pointing at Su Yin again, "are going to tell us what's going on. And you're going to like it. Because if you don't, I'm going to tell my dad. And he's a really big guy. And he knows how to wrestle."

The world seemed to hold its breath.

Su Yin stared, her aurora form flickering, the terror and suspicion in her eyes slowly replaced by a look of pure shock and disbelief.

Jenny looked at Izumi, a slow smile spreading across her face. It was a real smile this time, a smile that reached her eyes, a smile that was filled with a warmth and a pride that was so pure it was almost overwhelming.

"Hehehe," she giggled, a sound like wind chimes in a summer breeze. "You've certainly got her fire, that's for sure."

She lowered her wand, and it vanished in a puff of pink smoke.

"Now, Su Yin. Let's try that again. I'm not your enemy. And I'm not an echo. I'm just a mother who wants to help a lost child. Please. Let's go inside."

She reached out her hand again, a gesture of peace, of welcome, of home.

"Or... do you prefer I address you as something else when you're in working clothes?" Jenny said with a gentle smile. "Mayari, is it?"

Su Yin hesitated briefly, her eyes looking at Jenny's hand, then at the macarons in the box she was holding, before finally her gaze landed on me, a silent question in her eyes.

Izumi just stood there, her arms crossed, a look of stubborn determination on her face.

Su Yin let out a long, shuddering sigh, relaxing her stance. Then, she took a hesitant step forward, her hand reaching out to take Jenny's.

"It's... It's nice to meet you," she said, her voice a soft, shy whisper. "I think."

And as her fingers brushed against Jenny's, a cold chill ran down my spine. It was a feeling like I was being watched, a feeling like something was wrong, a feeling like this perfect, sunny day was a lie.

But I pushed it aside.

"I was rescued from imprisonment in Zhou Ling City by my partners. Tara of the Night Sky, and Hana of the Dawn. We were making our escape when we were fallen upon by an unknown Aberration. I... I've been lost ever since. I've been trying to find them. For weeks. Or maybe it's been a year if not more. It's hard to keep track."

She looked at me, her eyes filled with a desperate, pleading hope.

"Zhou Ling City? Rings a bell. That's Terra's Hong Kong ain't it?" Jenny replied gently.

Su Yin... Mayari nodded. "Yes. I... I don't. It's all a blur."

Jenny smiled, a sad, gentle smile. "It's okay. We'll figure it out together. Now, let's get you inside. You must be exhausted."

She put her arm around Mayari's shoulders, pointing towards a house up the street.

And as Jenny's fingers brushed against Mayari's arm, the world started to flicker.

The bright, cheerful colors of Bayside began to fade, the vibrant greens of the lawns, the brilliant blues of the sky, the warm yellows of the sun, all of it started to bleed into a dull, lifeless monochrome.

It was like watching an old, grainy film, the colors washed out by time, the world losing its life, its warmth, its soul. My sister froze in place, her defiant expression now a mask of gray. The monochrome layer washed over Jenny's warm, inviting home the box of macarons, and my own outstretched hand. Mayari's eyes widened, her twilight aura flaring in a defiant, brilliant aurora pattern in the encroaching gray. She jerked her hand back as Jenny's arm turned to a hazy, dull gray.

"It's happening again," Mayari whispered, her voice trembling. "That thing is here..."

My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat in a world that had gone silent. I could see the panic in her eyes, a reflection of my own.

This wasn't real. This beautiful, perfect life, this happy family, this safe, clean neighborhood.

The Shelter. I was in a Shelter. Midori was asleep. I'd gone to the bathroom.

The memory hit me like a physical blow. I stumbled back, my hand flying to my chest.

And at the same time, the memories from this world began to fade rapidly, the warm, comforting glow of a happy family life turning to ash in my mind. The weight of the academic medals vanished, the smell of pancakes turned to the sterile scent of antiseptic, the sound of my father's laughter faded into a distant, mournful echo.

"Raiko!" I screamed, my voice a ragged, desperate plea.

She'd been right there with me when...

Mayari's head snapped towards me, her lavender eyes widening. "You..."

A voice from the shadows spoke. A voice that was not a voice, but a feeling, a cold, creeping dread that seeped into my bones, a whisper in the back of my mind.

'Your father is dead, Ikazuchi.'

A flash of my father, stripped naked and chained up in a cell in a place that could only be described as Hell, with an unnervingly calm expression on his face.

'He can't hear you.'

The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. A voice that was both familiar and terrifyingly alien.

'Your sister and her comrades, fallen. You can hear her last screams now, can't you?'

A blurry silhouette. My sister's voice. Swinging her fists wildly in a dark basement. Flashing orange lights. The sound of a crack of bone and a thud.

And I heard it. I heard her scream. In agony.

'You left them all. St. Antonia's? Keep telling yourself you're doing it for them. For what? To play hero? You don't even know where you are. You don't even know who you are. Why you're here.'

A small but firm hand on my shoulder brought me back to the present. The images were gone as soon as they appeared, replaced by a wave of cold, hard reality. I was back in the gray, fading world of Bayside, my breath ragged, my heart pounding.

Eyes that swirled like dusk and dawn stared into my own. They were filled with an unwavering resolve that cut through my confusion.

"You hear it too," she whispered.

My blood ran cold. "The voice?" I choked out, my voice barely audible.

She didn't answer.

She just gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod. Then, she tensed and spun around, summoning four floating crystals around her in a flash of blue.

I followed her eyes. And then, I saw it.

Down the street, standing in the middle of the now-monochrome road, was a figure.

It was tall and slender, dressed in a long, flowing orange robes that seemed to absorb what little light was left in the world. Its face was hidden in the blurry shadows of its hood, but I could feel its eyes on me. A cold, piercing gaze that seemed to see right through me, to the core of my being.

It took a step forward, its movements slow, deliberate, unnervingly silent.

The next thing I knew, Mayari had grabbed onto my hand.

"Stay close to me," she whispered, her grip surprisingly strong. "Whatever you do, don't let go."

I stared at her, my mind racing.

The world was crumbling around me, a strange, terrifying girl was clinging to my hand, and a hooded figure was stalking towards us, a silent, spectral predator in a world of gray.

I felt a strange sense of calm wash over me. A calm that was both terrifying and reassuring.

"You... you're her, aren't you?" I stammered.

"What?!" she said, her voice steady, her eyes fixed on the hooded figure as it glided towards us.

"Hana... Dior's reason for fighting," I said, the name feeling right, true, on my tongue.

Dropping Dior's name felt like it carried actual weight.

The girl's hand tightened around mine. I could hear the faint, desperate sound of her breath hitching.

Mayari looked at me, a flicker of confusion in her eyes, then understanding dawned on her face.

"You know D... nevermind," she said, shaking her head. "It does not matter. We have to get out of here."

I took one last glance at the frozen 'Aunt Jenny' - the false memories I'd thought my own were slipping faster now, like water through my fingers. My sister's smile. My father's laugh from this warm and beautiful world.

I... didn't know who this woman was.

But I did recognize her. She was one of the two women in Elio's faded pictures on his desk and car.

And I knew Dior.

And I knew that she'd told me once in a moment of quiet vulnerability over a bowl of spicy noodles that her sworn sisters had died three years ago. That she'd failed to protect them.

That one of her sworn sisters was Mayari of the Twilight. The three of them were S-Rank threats that had attacked Zhou Ling City the same day Midori's brother had died.

"We'll have enough time for that later," she whispered, tears visibly leaking from her eyes as her aura flared and somehow wrapped around me. "Run."

And, so we did.

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