And it's done. Not quite sure if this is en par with the chapters before, but I'm feeling rather good about how it turned out. Seems getting back to writing wasn't as hard as I expected.
Since it's been seven months since the last update, let's recap the situation briefly:
In the library, the Sealed Book "How to be a Magical Girl" has been unlocked and its pages spread throughout the land. As a result, those possessing pages from it have changed according to what's written on the respective page. Moerin abuses the power of the book to gather a group of evil henchwomen around her and abduct Donut, the Princess that keeps the balance of the world. To free Donut, Ruro has made the Librarians into the Magical ★ Librarian Squad. Numerous obstacles await the Librarians on their quest, and soon Ruro has to face her old friend Trancehime in battle. Through liberal use of ferret Ruro wins the battle. Meanwhile, at another place, Polaris and Sana prepare for their own fight....
- Episode 3: Fight, Magical ★ Librarian Squad - Part III
A warm wind blew over the clearing on which the two girls faced each other with serious expressions on their faces.
?Well, that is quite the surprise. I didn?t expect us to meet again like this??
?Yeah??, Polaris answered calmly.
The two stared at each other for another few seconds, then Sana suddenly smiled.
?So, how have you been, sis??
?? fine, I guess??, Polaris responded with hesitation.
?And that outfit??
?I?d rather not talk about it.?
?It looks silly.?
?I know.?
?? and what about you? Why are you working for that crazy tilde-woman??, a reproachful tone swung in Polaris? voice.
Sana looked taken aback, then pulled her hat over her eyes and stared at the ground. Polaris could see she was blushing a bit.
?I?. I?.?
Polaris sighed.
?You got lost, right??
Sana?s body twitched.
?And then ended up in Moerin?s hideout by accident??
An even stronger twitch.
?And then you somehow got one of those pages and got turned into a magical evil henchwoman.?
Sana staggered as if the words had hit her physically.
?You were supposed to buy some stuff for dinner down the street. How could this even happen? You?re supposed to be a role model as an older sister, for crying out loud!?
Sana raised her head forcefully and stared directly at Polaris, tears glimmering in her eyes.
?It?s not my fault, okay? I don?t have this stupid ability because I wanted it!?, she shouted at her younger sister.
Polaris looked unimpressed. This wasn?t the first time something like this had happened, and it would not be the last, she was sure of that. However, up to now those events never had led to them suddenly being enemies in a conflict with the fate of the world at stake.
?So what now??, she asked with a sigh.
Sana took a deep breath before straightening her face and answering with a calm voice.
?We will have to fight. If you want to get rid of my curse, if you want to find Mistress Moerin?s place, you will have to get past me.?
Polaris narrowed her eyes.
?I don?t want to fight you, sis. Can?t you just lead us there??
?Sorry, but that won?t be a possibility. Those magical pages, they won?t allow it. Just as you have to dress up in those clothes and fight for Ruro?s cause, I have to give my best to stop you from getting to the Mistress.?
Within a heartbeat, the atmosphere on the clearing grew tense.
?We haven?t done this in a while, eh??, Sana asked with a grin.
?Yeah??
?Don?t disappoint me, okay? I want this to be fun!?
A small fire seemed to burn in Sana?s eyes, and a dark aura had started to form around her.
?The power of the pages is taking over?, Polaris thought to herself.
The two girls looked into each other?s eyes one more time, then, as if someone had given them a signal, they both leaped backwards into the air and started their battle.
?Sisters of Sound?, this was the name Polaris and Sana were known by in this world. Where others used bullets, swords, small mammals or thermonuclear weaponry, those two fought their battles with music.
Polaris took a deep breath, then spread her arms to the side and shouted ?Let?s do this! Magical ★ K-Power!?
At once, a song started playing and several colored orbs appeared in the air and started to circle around Polaris as she started reciting the lyrics of the song. With each word she sung, the air vibrated with powerful waves that shot off towards Polaris? opponent.
On the other side of the clearing Sana grimaced as she casually dodged the first few airwaves.
?Oh come on, K-Pop? You are still using that?? she shouted in a snarky voice. ?You should learn to use some good music, like THIS!?
At the final words, a strange box appeared in the air before Sana. It had a number of buttons, similar to a keyboard. Sana cracked her knuckles and wriggled her fingers over the buttons.
?Let?s start off easy. Wouldn?t want to end this too quickly now, would we??, she laughed and waved her arm,
causing her own music to start playing.Polaris stopped her own song for a moment and narrowed her eyes. She had never seen her sister use this style before. They didn?t have practice battles often, but as far as Polaris could remember, Sana had always used an instrument with large, brightly colored spherical buttons.
She tensed her body when she saw Sana?s hands move towards the buttons. In time with the beat of her song, Sana started to push the keys in a seemingly random order.
?Come on, how will you attack??, Polaris thought. Then, without any warning, she felt a sharp pain on her face.
?Ow!?, she shrieked as her hand flew up to her face. She felt something wet and warm flowing down her cheek.
?She hit me? What? how??Before she could think any further, Polaris felt something graze her hair. Immediately after that something rushed past her leg. Then her waist, after that her shoulder, then her other leg.
Polaris clenched her teeth and flew backwards to get some distance between her and Sana. And then she finally saw it, the true nature of Sana?s attack.
?Air blasts! Every time she hits those keys, she creates a small air blast!?
?This is? when did she??, she gasped.
Sana noticed Polaris? eyes on her and grinned.
?Surprised? Unlike you, I have been practicing all the time, sis. This is only a fraction of my true power, but it seems you are already having trouble, huh??
Polaris? felt anger welling up inside her at those words.
?Concentrate?, she thought to herself.
Taking a deep breath, Polaris resumed her song. Immediately the orbs around her reappeared, hovering in front of the girl like a colorful shield. Small ripples appeared on them every time one of Sana?s air bullets struck them.
?Okay, this should work!?, Polaris encouraged herself.
Polaris started her counter-attack. Dancing through the air as she sung her song, she gracefully dodged the bullets that her shield couldn?t block, all the while shooting her own airwaves towards Sana.
?Tch??, Sana sounded displeased as she struggled to keep up her own barrage of bullets while dodging Polaris? attack at the same time. She had practiced this song a lot, but she had never used it in a real fight. She looked towards Polaris, who was closing in on her quickly.
And then it happened. Sana lost her rhythm for a split second, just as another airwave was about to hit her. There was no sound as the wave reached its target and sent it flying.
All music stopped immediately. Polaris hovered in the air with a grin on her face.
Then, with a small thud, Sana?s hat hit the ground. Its owner was still up in the air, staring down at the hat in disbelief.
?You shot my hat??, she muttered.
?Your hat is your weak point, sis. Everyone knows that?, Polaris declared triumphantly. ?So, are you giving up??
?You shot my hat...?
?I sure did!?
?You. Shot. My. Hat.?, Sana?s voice became louder with every word.
All of a sudden, a feeling of fear rushed through Polaris. The small dark aura around Sana, which she had assumed was mostly for show, grew in size rapidly, stretching out all over the clearing and blocking the sunlight. At the same time, Sana?s eyes glowed bright red.
?YOU SHOT MY HAT!?, the girl screamed and in a bright flash her instrument changed.
At first slowly, then gradually faster, the keyboard-like box grew. As if it was inflated, its size increased until it was so big that each single one of its buttons was bigger than Sana herself.
?How is she going to use something this big???, Polaris wondered.
As if to answer her question, the dark aura around her sister started to change form, wriggling and twisting until it manifested into two giant hands of darkness.
Polaris could do nothing but stare in horror as Sana?s face contorted into an evil grin and she raised her hands in preparation of another song. Following her movement, the black hands raised up into the air as well.
?Jewellery Storm!? Sana shouted, and as the music started her hands flew down and started a mad dance.
With flowing movements at a speed that reduced her hands to a blur she commanded the black hands to play the giant keyboard, each single keystroke resulting in a huge blast of air being shot off towards Polaris.
The Librarian barely managed to shield herself with her orbs when the storm of air blasts reached her. Her defense held for a few seconds only, then the orbs shattered to pieces under the merciless barrage. Countless blasts hit Polaris? body and sent her flying towards the ground.
?Gaaah?, the girl screamed in pain as she smashed into the grass below.
?No? this is insane? how am I supposed to fight something like this??Even as she was lying on the ground, more hits struck the defenseless girl.
?I can?t? do it? Ruro? everyone?. I?m sorry?.?Polaris? vision was wavering, she could barely make out Sana up in the air staring down at her. Her consciousness started to fade from the exhaustion and pain.
?Do you want to let it end like this??, a voice suddenly spoke in Polaris? mind.
?What? who???Stand up. You can still fight, I will help you.??You? who are you???A friend.??? friend??, Polaris was barely able to think anymore
?Polaris, stand up. I shall grant you new power!?The girl felt warmth all throughout her body. The sensation of the air blasts hitting her one after another stopped, and with it the pain she had felt. Her mind cleared up again, as did her vision. She felt great, she noticed, better than ever before. Slowly she raised herself from the ground.
Up in the sky, Sana?s face twisted with anger. She didn?t know what was going on down there on the ground, but she was absolutely certain she did not like it. She had broken Polaris? defense and the girl had taken the full force of her attack. She should not be able to move anymore, let alone be conscious at all. And yet, Polaris was standing up. Surrounded by a glowing white light, the girl that had been on the brink of defeat a second ago stood up without any signs of injury or exhaustion.
The miracle did not end there though. The light that shone around Polaris wrapped itself around her body, covering her completely in white, before suddenly bursting off like fireworks. Polaris looked down at herself in surprise. The revealing outfit she had worn before, the one Ruro had forced on her, was gone. In its place she found a long, lime green skirt and a matching top.
?Sing!?, the unknown voice spoke to Polaris.
?Sing? what???Sing!?, the voice repeated.
Polaris wanted to protest again, when something flashed through her mind. At once, the girl knew what she had to do. She looked up at Sana, who was preparing to continue her attack once more.
She black hands moved rapidly once more, sending a wall of air bullets down towards the Librarian.
Polaris took a deep breath, then she opened her mouth and sung.
?Was yea ra??A sphere of light burst out from around Polaris and spread across the clearing, destroying Sana?s bullets as it touched them.
The girl knew neither what the words she sung meant, nor did she know what language they were in. But she knew that this song was more powerful than the K-Pop she had used for so long could ever be. Her sister?s bullets unable to reach her, she floated back up into the air, until she was at the same height as her enemy.
Sana let out a tremendous roar of anger as she saw Polaris in front of her, and her hands started to glow a bright red as they moved even faster. At the same time Polaris? song, which had become calmer after its first outburst, grew more intense as well. Disembodied voices echoed through the air, joining the Polaris? voice like a ghostly choir.
This was it, the last stand between the Sisters of Sound, they both were aware of this.
Blasts of air clashed against waves of light, one after another, growing fiercer and faster with each strike. Both girls strained their bodies and minds to the limit, releasing everything they had in this confrontation.
And finally, as the power of both songs reached its peak, the clearing exploded in a clash of light and darkness?
...
.....
Light.
All she could see was white light.
Then Sana felt someone catch her from her fall.
?Sorry, sis?, Sana could barely hear the voice that said those words.
?It was fun?, she answered, managing a grin before her mind drifted into sleep from exhaustion.
Polaris placed her sister carefully against a tree at the edge of the clearing. Then she walked over and picked up Sana?s hat, dusting it off with her hands before she placed it on its owner?s head, where it belonged.
?See you later, sis?, Polaris said, before jumping into the air and flying off into the direction that her comrades had run off before.
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Bonus-info: Stein came up with a nice name for Ex-Sana here: Insana!
