Daydream had to stay low to the ground to keep ourselves as far out of sight as possible. Even though we’d be able to cut our time in half if she were to take off into the air, I was in no position to fight if someone from Last Gambit’s team hit us with a surprise attack. We needed to get to our meetup spot before anything like that happened, just so we’d have more backup if the Everfree City girls found me again. I’d barely managed to survive the first time, but if they ambushed us again, there was a far higher chance of me losing this time around.

“How’s your body holding up?” Daydream asked. As if to respond without speaking, I weakly lifted my head to make eye contact, but no sooner had I done so when the aching pain in my gut pulled me back back down into Daydream’s arms. She had been carrying me ever since we’d left the mountain ranges a good thirty minutes ago, and of course, the two of us just had to be the furthest away from our meetup location out of all the girls on my team.

The flatlands seemed to extend forever. If we were lucky, we’d be able to meet up with Miss Monster on the way, but unless she’d had a runin with one of Last Gambit’s magical girls, she would have definitely already made it to the rendezvous point by now. Again, we’d more than likely be alone the rest of the way there. The good news was that the longer the two of us travelled without running into any enemies, the less time we had before the game ended for the day, giving me a chance to have Discord heal my injuries… so long as he wasn’t feeling like a total bastard and refused to help. It was in his interest for me to lose, after all. He was only putting up with this game because he thought it would be a fun little diversion, but if he ended up getting bored halfway through, he no longer had any incentive to help us out.

“How long... *cough* do we have left?” I muttered in pain.

“We’re almost halfway there.”

That was too long. We were sitting ducks out there, especially in a wide-open area with no place to hide!

“How long would it take for you to fly there?”

Daydream shot me an incredulous glance that I could only partially see from my position. Since Daydream had all the powers of the sun, she also had the ability to use her fiery wings to lift herself in the air, but along with that carried the risk that we’d be far more visible and far more vulnerable.

“You know we can’t do that.”

“Just tell Trixie how long it would take for us to fly there.”

Daydream groaned uncomfortably. “We could probably cut that time in half, but I really don’t think that’s a good idea. Could you imagine what would happen if I led their whole team to our hideout?”

“Trixie understands the risks!” Once again, I coughed violently into my hands, falling back in pain as my stomach reminded me not to move my body. “How long do you think it will take for the other girls to get there?”

I could see in her grimacing face that she knew where I was going with this, but that didn’t stop her from clicking her tongue in aggravation. “They’re probably all there already. Miss Monster was the furthest one from the rendezvous point besides us, but she’d have more than enough time to make it there by now. Unless…”

Unless she encountered another magical girl. Onida and Panicity both had a good chance of spotting her on their way back from the mountain range, and that wasn’t including the other three girls on Last Gambit’s team who were still alive. She needed us as much as we needed her.

“Trixie, I get what you’re trying to say, but--”

“Fly.”

“I really don’t think this is--”

“FLY, DAYDREAM!”

The magical girl carrying me cursed under her breath before leaping into the air, flapping her wings as she ascended into the sky, creating a bright light in the sky similar to a second sun. It was a little jarring to feel the safety of footsteps replaced by the flow of turbulent winds underneath my body, but it would be worth it if it meant we could get to our hideout in half the amount of time.

Daydream was almost like a beacon in the sky, pointing everyone within a mile radius to our exact location. Even still, I would have a much better chance of staying alive if all of my teammates were there with me, and with one less girl to worry about now that Mother Time was dead, there was a much better chance of our team having a number advantage once the five of us regrouped. I would be next to useless, but hopefully we weren’t going to find literally every single member of Everfree City there waiting for us when we got there.

Suddenly, the flatlands began to disappear as a forest landscape emerged along the horizon. Dirt was replaced by grass, trees and bushes, creating a new dimension in contrast to what was otherwise a vast, empty sea of earth. We were still a decent distance from the forest area in general and even further away from our hideout, which was located closer to the cityscapes than the open plains. Once we made it, though, that’s when I would know for sure that we were safe.

But at the same time, thanks to my impatience, a fight was now almost inevitable.

“Do you see anyone?” I asked, still too weak to move my head.

“Not right now. I’d be surprised if they don’t see me, though.”

A long pause loomed between us, the only sound being that of the wind whipping past our hair. I could almost feel how bitter Daydream was just from looking at her teeth chewing into her bottom lip, experiencing how much her hands shook underneath my back and knees. I needed to at least say something to lighten the mood, but thankfully, just as I opened my mouth to speak, she immediately cut me off.

“You know I trust you, right?”

“Even though you know that Trixie is probably leading them straight to us?”

“Yeah, but…” An awkward pause suddenly filled the air with Daydream looking straight ahead, never even glancing down at my direction as her lip began to tremble. This couldn’t be good. “...Since I trust you, I want you to be honest with me.”

I tilted my head in curiosity. “OK? About what?”

“Once we get to the hideout, I want you to tell us everything you know about what’s going on. I’ve been trying not to think about what Last Gambit said yesterday, and I know that your memories have been erased. If I’m having these thoughts, though, then others must be thinking it too. I just think it would be best if we heard all the details from your mouth instead of Last Gambit’s.”

Of course. I hadn’t had the chance to properly explain my past to the girls before Last Gambit and her own team showed up the day before. There was no doubt that after Last Gambit brought up the fact that I’d killed multiple people already--including my own teammates--without giving me a chance to clear things up, the others were bound to have questions. Plus, now that Dazzling Gleam had helped me fill in the blanks that I didn’t know earlier, maybe I’d be able to finally let the others know exactly what we were up against.

Letting Autumn Blaze free was a scary enough thought by itself, but there was no way we could let her revive Divinity.

“Trixie understands,” I said quietly, closing my eyes. “I just hope I’ll have a chance to explain before they show up.”

“Then we’d better hurry.”

Suddenly, the light surrounding Daydream got brighter, and in the same moment, the winds stroking against my skin began to accelerate. If there was any chance that they didn’t see us before, they were sure to notice us now.

What would I even say to them when I got there? Should I tell them about the original death game that Discord put us through, knowing that this was the same Discord that gave them their own powers? Of course I should tell them about that; I’d promised to be open and honest with them about everything, including the parts they may not have wanted to hear about. Did that mean telling them about the other Platinum City girls, though? Did that mean telling them about Dreamdrop?

We didn’t say another word on the entire way back, both giving me a chance to collect my thoughts while simultaneously leaving me to fight with myself inside my own head. I debated with myself over and over whether I should plan what I would say ahead of time or just try to forget about it altogether, but thanks to Daydream’s speed, I wouldn’t have time to think about it for much longer. There wasn’t much for me to say anyway. So long as they knew how important it was for us to win, the rest would work itself out.

Hopefully.

What would have taken us over an hour was suddenly cut down to just a few minutes, and finally, the two of us had arrived at the rendezvous point where Daydream slowly descended to the ground yet again. I couldn’t see anything other than the tall trees rising above us, but I could immediately begin to hear the confused mumbles from the other Platinum City girls. Finally, they were with me again. Their voices were all panicking for one reason or another, but just knowing that we were all there in one piece caused all the anxiety to disappear almost instantaneously.

“Great and Powerful Trixie! What happened?!”

“Daydream, what were you thinking?! We could see you coming from a mile away!”

“Oh, thank goodness you’re both here. I was starting to get worried.”

Daydream, however, didn’t waste a second getting me inside the empty building, pushing past the throng of magical girls and setting me down onto the hardwood floor. “Girls, make room. Trixie got hurt pretty bad out there.”

“What happened?” Midnight asked again.

“Panicity happened,” Daydream replied. “We were able to take care of Mother Time, but Onida showed up before we could stop her.”

“Hang on,” Daisy intervened. “You’re saying you killed Mother Time?”

Daydream slowly nodded her head, leading Midnight and Daisy Quake to jump up and down, cheering with excitement. “I wouldn’t celebrate too soon, though,” Daydream continued. “Onida and Panicity were able to get away after all, and there’s a good chance they’re coming here right now.”

“And whose fault do you suppose that is?”

Suddenly, everyone’s eyes turned to glare at Miss Monster, who folded her arms as her own eyes continued to stare disapprovingly at Daydream Shimmer. The sun-themed magical girl quickly scowled back, standing up with her hands on her hips.

“You know, I’d think you would be able to trust my judgement at least a little bit.”

“I did. Are you going to explain yourself, or should I just assume that that trust was misplaced?”

“What do I have to explain to you?! Do you not see the shape the Great and Powerful Trixie is in right now?! Did you expect me to let her just walk here?”

We didn’t have time for this, and I especially didn’t want my own team to get into one huge fight because of me. I quickly tried lifting my shoulders off the floor, falling back and groaning in pain immediately, but thankfully, it at least caused the other girls to quit their bickering just long enough to rush to my side.

“Girls,” I mumbled weakly. “Before they show up… I need to talk to you.”

The girls around me all looked at each other in curiosity before turning towards me again, waiting for me to continue. Even after all the thinking I’d done, I still hadn’t been able to think of where I would even start, but I had to tell them something, just to make sure they trusted me if for nothing else.

“Trixie is sorry for… Agh! For not telling you earlier… about the things I’ve done in my past…”

Again, the girls looked at each other in curiosity before collectively smiling down at me again. “We understand, Great and Powerful Trixie,” Daisy replied. “I’m sorry that we ever doubted you. I guess hearing it from Last Gambit kinda caught us off guard.”

“No,” I said, making the girls flinch as I pushed back the pain to prop myself onto my elbow. “Trixie needs to tell you everything that happened. I may not remember any of it, but I can at least tell you what I know.”

Midnight offered me a sympathetic smile. “You don’t have to. We get the gist of it.”

“I don’t.”

Once again, everyone glared at Miss Monster, who continued to stare down at me with her eyes fixed and arms folded. Daydream, though, quickly turned with a fiery scowl.

“What’s your problem?! I thought we were on the same team!”

“Last Gambit is going to try and manipulate us again. Remember how quickly you were ready to turn on her back at the cityscapes? I think it would be best for all of us if we heard it from Trixie’s mouth, just so we don’t have to risk something like that happening again.”

Daydream Shimmer flinched in embarrassment, growling in anger before finally allowing her aggravated scowl to soften slightly. Then, once it was clear that the other girls were all in accordance, they turned their attention towards me again so that I could continue with what I was saying.

“As you know, this is the third time Trixie has had to kill other magical girls. The first time was because… Discord asked me to.”

The others raised their eyebrows in surprise. “Who did he tell you to kill?” Midnight asked, to which I hesitated for several moments before answering.

“...He asked us to kill each other.”

Suddenly, Midnight and Daisy gasped, placing their hands over their mouths in shock. “Is this… the same Discord you introduced us to?” Daisy Quake asked.

“...Yeah… It was him…”

“B-but he must have had a good reason, right? He wouldn’t have just had you kill each other for no reason, would he?”

“No…” I breathed a deep sigh, wincing at the pain in my gut while the others watched on with wide eyes. “If I understand right, he did it just for the chaos. That’s who Discord is. He gave us our powers for his own twisted reasons.”

“And we’re here fighting for him?!” Midnight snapped, clenching her fist in fury, but surprisingly, Miss Monster immediately stepped in, holding her hand in front of her to calm her down.

“Let’s give the Great and Powerful Trixie a moment to explain before we rush to conclusions.”

I wanted to laugh. The only thing stopping me was the pain I’d undoubtedly feel if I tried. “You’re right… Discord is a monster who’s just using us in whatever way benefits him the most. BUT!” I quickly cut Midnight off before she could speak, leaving her with her mouth open while she waited for her turn. “I think it’s better we fight for Discord than Autumn Blaze. I thought that was the real reason we were fighting in the first place, to keep her locked up inside Everfree City, but it turns out there’s something else that I hadn’t thought of.”

“OK?” Daisy said quizzically with her hands on her hips. “What is it?”

“Divinity. If I die, she will be brought back to life.”

“I think now’s a good time for you to explain who this Divinity girl is,” said Miss Monster, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

I nodded my head. “If Trixie understands correctly, Divinity is the most powerful magical girl to ever live, and if she decides to go along with Autumn Blaze’s plan, nothing you do will matter anymore. You won’t be able to stop them after that. She’s that strong.”

“Trixie,” Daydream began hesitantly. “What can she do?”

I breathed a deep sigh while the other girls held their breaths, gathering my thoughts for several seconds before speaking again. “Everything. Her power is omnipotence. I spoke with one of the girls who fought against her with me, and she said that Divinity was even more powerful than we could possibly comprehend.”

Some of the girls gasped, but Daydream shook her head. “But you beat her, didn’t you? If you did it once, we can do it again, right?”

“Not if we lose. If Trixie understands correctly, it took all of the Platinum City girls just to stop that one magical girl. If I die and Autumn Blaze is released, there’s going to be no way we can stop them. Trixie doubts that Divinity’s memories will be gone when she comes back to life, and someone with powers like those won’t lose twice, especially with Last Gambit behind her. If you think that Last Gambit is tough right now, just imagine a game where Autumn Blaze is allowed to intervene. Plus, once this game is over, the Everfree City girls will still have their powers. Even if we win, I’m scared that they might try to come kill us in real life…”

The other girls’ faces were now contorted in fear, which was honestly what I was hoping would happen. If we lost, then it wouldn’t just be Platinum City versus Autumn Blaze. It would be Platinum City versus Autumn Blaze, Last Gambit, Mother Time, Panicity, Onida, Frost Lass, Bloody Mary, and Divinity.

Miss Monster, however, nodded her head before breaking the silence. “Understood. So Discord had you kill your own teammates as well as the Everfree City girls. Now, I know for a fact that there are plenty of girls still alive in Platinum City right now, and if Divinity could be resurrected, then I’m guessing that resurrection correlates to all of this somehow?”

I nodded my head. “For each one of Autumn Blaze’s magical girls that we killed, we were allowed to bring back one of Trixie’s fallen teammates, which means that the real reason Last Gambit wanted the team captain to die both in the game and real life--”

“Was so that she could bring back Divinity!” Daydream quickly exclaimed, folding her arms and placing a finger to her bottom lip. “It’s all starting to make sense now.”

“And the reason the others are fighting against us,” Midnight began, “is because they know what kind of creature Discord is.”

“Right,” I answered. “Last Gambit probably knows just as much about Discord as I do, and she’s going to twist every little detail to make it sound like we’re fighting for the bad guy.”

Daydream scoffed. “We basically are fighting for the bad guy, but… I guess it’s still better than the alternative.”

“There are no ‘bad guys’ in a fight like this,” Miss Monster added. “There are simply two competing sides who are both looking to win. The winners will get to decide who the bad guys really were.”

Then, cutting our conversation short was the sound of a slow, loud clap that echoed throughout the abandoned building, making my eyes go wide as my breathing stopped. The sound hadn’t come from anyone surrounding me, which meant that we’d barely had the chance to rest before somebody else arrived at our rendezvous point. Then, as the girls around me gradually backed away, giving me a clear view of the girl standing at the doorway, I finally saw the one behind the source of the sound, clapping her hands unenthusiastically. She had curly blue hair, a pink dress, a long, purple cape, and a dull stare that somehow sent shivers down my aching spine.

She wasn’t alone. That much I was sure of.

“Gee, Miss Monster! That sure was elegant of you! Though I’m sad to say that yet again, Trixie left out probably the most important part.”

My glare began to harden, and from what I could see, the others shared the same expression. “What do you mean?” I asked, angrily yet sincerely. There was no doubt that she still knew things that I didn’t, and I wanted to get as much information out of her as she would give me before the others started what was inevitably going to be another battle.

“Oh, just one teensy weensy detail is all. Just the fact that you, Trixie, were the one who started the attack on Everfree City in the first place.”

My eyes squinted in confusion. “That can’t be true…”

“Oh, but it is! The Everfree City girls were all just minding their own business when you started hunting them down one by one until Divinity stepped in!”

“Quit lying already!” Daisy shouted. “You really expect us to believe that?!”

Last Gambit chuckled, shrugging her shoulders with a smug smile. “You know what? I’m actually not even exaggerating. You can ask Discord yourselves! The Everfree City girls never saw it coming, but you decided to use their lives to revive the friends who you killed in the first place!”

I grit my teeth, seething both from anger and confusion. I knew she wasn’t telling the whole truth, but who was I to complain when I didn’t know the details myself? “Storm Rose told me that Autumn Blaze wanted us dead!”

“For what?! None of them ever did anything to you, yet you guys murdered all of my friends! Dokaeru, Sonic Boom, Lucky Star, Trickster, Sun Shadow, Catastrophe, Genny, La Proxy, DIVINITY!”

“TRIXIE WASN’T THE ONE WHO KILLED DIVINITY!”

Last Gambit scoffed, folding her arms as her eyes peered down bitterly at my weak body. “No… But you’re gonna be the one to bring her back.”

Suddenly, all four of my teammates fell to the floor, covering their heads and screaming at the top of their lungs. They were all shaking violently, squeezing their eyes closed as if someone were standing above them with a butcher’s knife. Then, after a few moments of screaming, Miss Monster suddenly fell forward, grabbing onto her stomach as rainbow-colored bile poured out of her mouth, causing her screaming to momentarily stop while her eyes began to water. With one girl no longer crying out in terror, however, the other three began shaking even more vehemently, their whole bodies convulsing as their minds gradually shattered.

Nothing had happened to me yet, but that must have been part of their plan. They knew I couldn’t move, and if they couldn’t kill us in one quick motion, they would have to eliminate the biggest threats first. They didn’t need to focus on me in order to kill me; I was already broken. All they needed to do now was walk in and slice my throat, which was exactly what Last Gambit had in mind as she summoned her spear and walked right past the other Platinum City girls.

I quickly tried using my magic to create a forcefield, to push her back, to trip her--anything that would keep me safe for at least a little while longer, but the only thing I could do was wince in pain. Then, seeing me hopelessly attempting to save myself at the last second, Last Gambit’s smile began to grow wider. She wasn’t wasting a single moment that could hinder her plan, and in the next second, her spear was above her head, ready to swing down the moment it reached its apex. Now was the time to think of something. If I didn’t come up with anything right then and there, I was dead!

“I know who killed Divinity!”

Last Gambit froze, her spear halfway into its swinging motion. With my life spared for just a few moments longer, I breathed a soft sigh of relief as Last Gambit’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Boss! What are you waiting for?! Now’s your chance!”

Looking just past the magical girl’s body, I made out the image of another girl with pink hair, a yellow dress and fingerless gloves calling out to her, but Last Gambit held up her hand to silence her. “Quiet for a second! If you girls do your job, there’s no way they can get out of this!” Onida grimaced, but a small smile crept up on Last Gambit’s lips. “Keep talking, Trixie. The more information you give me, the longer you get to stay alive.”

“Her name is Lulu Lemon, but she goes by the name Marrow.”

Last Gambit’s smirk grew wider. “You’re really gonna sell out one of your own teammates just to buy yourself a couple of extra seconds?”

“Trixie wants her dead just as much as you do.” I flinched once I realized that I was saying this in front of my own teammates, but if they could hear me past their screaming, hopefully they would understand. As long as I was still alive, I had to keep talking. “She’s the one who had Discord erase Trixie’s memories in the first place!”

Last Gambit raised an eyebrow, chuckling quietly. “Huh. Sounds like this chick has been a real thorn in your--”

“GAH!”

Suddenly, Last Gambit looked behind her, but by the time she got her head turned around, her entire body was being launched to the side of the building, landing with a crack against the wall. Then, looking around, I saw that while Daisy Quake, Daydream Shimmer and Midnight Sparkle continued to shake in fright, Miss Monster slowly made her way back up to her knees, coughing out the remaining vomit in her throat. Immediately, however, once she was free of the sickness in her stomach, she placed her hands over her head and began screaming with the others, but while she shrieked in terror, the panic in the other girls’ voices slightly diminished.

In the next moment, a lightbulb went off in my head. ‘That’s it! Panicity’s power must have a limit! If she wants to use her powers on multiple girls, then she has to divide it between them!’ If I was right--and I still didn’t know for sure--then if she was using her powers on all of them at once, it would be that much easier to break out of it. That must have been why I wasn’t under the anxiety spell: because I was so helpless already that I would only end up making it easier for everyone else to break themselves free. I still didn’t know how to snap them back to reality, but it was going to be easier so long as they were all being hypnotized at once.

Quickly, though, I looked around my environment again for what had saved me. Onida was no longer at the doorway, so it must have been her voice Last Gambit and I had heard earlier. Finally, I heard it, and looking off to where Last Gambit had landed, I noticed a black monster growling angrily as it stepped towards the magical girl sliding down the wall.

“RAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!”

Finally, Last Gambit opened her eyes, glaring daggers down at the creature who’d struck her. “Frost Lass! Get over here!”

Immediately, ice surrounded the entrance, followed quickly by a ghost-themed magical girl appearing out of nowhere, lifting her hands as icicles formed at her palms. If this was going to be a fight, Beasty wouldn’t be able to handle them alone.

“Forget about them!” I shouted. “Go find Panicity! Quick!”

The black monster looked curiously in my direction, but once Frost Lass’s icicles turned into projectiles, he immediately bolted for the door, jumping from wall to wall to avoid the incoming blizzard. Hopefully he’d be able to get the others free from their mental prison, because as soon as Frost Lass had taken her eyes off of Beasty, her eyes immediately shot towards me.

“Oh, you’re so dead.”

Icicles once again formed in the air around her, circling around her body as they got bigger and bigger. I had seconds to spare. I needed Beasty to act quick. Unlike before where there was at least the possibility of distracting them for a few seconds, now they were on kill mode, taking shots as soon as they had the opportunity.

Once again, I tried calling my magic, and once again, nothing came except for pain in my stomach. “Daydream!” I shouted. “Save me! Quick!”

“I…” she muttered, moaning in fear before falling even further to the floor, screaming out in terror. “I CAAAAAAN’T!”

It was too late. Frost Lass had already thrown her icicles towards me, and my body was too weak to allow me to move, even with all the excess adrenaline shooting through my veins. I couldn’t even lift up my arms to flinch, instead just squeezing my eyes and waiting to experience a frigid pain taking away my last few moments.

But somehow, I was still breathing. The attack was taking longer to hit me than I expected, and upon slowly opening my eyes in curiosity, I saw Midnight Sparkle standing in front of me with her hands grabbing hold of the icy spears. They seemed to disintegrate into her hands, creating a warm steam around her as the magic gradually disappeared. My mouth was wide open in shock, but in the next moment, she turned towards me, offering me an optimistic grin.

“But I can.”

Following immediately, however, was a growl from Last Gambit as she bit down onto her finger in fury. “What the hell, Panicity?! Why did you let her out of your magic?!”

Suddenly, Panicity emerged in the doorway, helping Onida back up onto her feet. “I thought Daydream would have been more of a threat, so I released who I thought would have been useless. Turns out I was wrong.”

“Yeah, a little more than wrong! Put her back under!”

Wait. If Panicity was here, then where was Beasty?

“Frost Lass! Emergency!”

Everyone turned their attention towards the doorway, and Frost Lass wasted no time bolting out as soon as she could, following the voice that had called out to her. Panicity quickly stepped out of the way to allow the magical girl passage, but in that moment of weakness, Midnight thrust out her palms towards her and sent Frost Lass’s magic hurtling towards the anxiety-inducer. Frosty ice gathered all around Panicity’s arms and legs, building up so much that even as she attempted to take a step back, she found herself stuck to the ground with her feet frozen below. After that, I could see Miss Monster’s eyes begin to look upwards again.

“Miss Monster! Go take care of Bloody Mary!” I shouted, quickly followed by another panicked expression from Midnight Sparkle.

“No! She can’t go alone! It’s too dangerous!”

Was this the result of Panicity’s magic? No. The others weren’t screaming anymore, and there was no way Panicity would have broken her magic just to focus on Midnight. Her concern was real, and the moment Miss Monster got up to charge after her, Midnight quickly followed behind.

Even though Panicity was frozen to the ground, however, Onida’s body was ready to stop them, holding out her hands like she was about to make a tackle. “Oh, no, you don’t!”

Again, Midnight held out her hand, using one to grab Onida by the shoulder and the other to slam against the outer wall of the hideout. The pink-haired girl’s eyes went wide with Midnight smiling triumphantly. “Tag! You’re it!”

This time, Onida was the one sent on a collision course, her shoulder hitting the wall with an “oof” once her body made contact. Miss Monster and Midnight then made their way towards the sound of the voice, following after Frost Lass while Daisy and Daydream slowly rose from the ground, still breathing heavily with their hands on their chest. Last Gambit was now the only one left in the building with her mind and body still intact, although she was gradually getting more and more furious with everything that was happening.

“Shit!” she muttered. “Shit, shit, shit, shit! Everyone! Cover for me as best as you can! I’m gonna take this bitch’s powers before I kill her, just in case she even thinks about coming back.”

Anxiety shot through my body once again. “Daydream! Daisy! Quick!”

Luckily, they seemed to both have their head on their shoulders again, and in the next moment, the two of them leapt in front of me, holding out their hands like a barricade for protection. Last Gambit, though, wasn’t phased in the slightest. Her hand suddenly turned a light blue as she reached out towards me, making the other two girls flinch backwards, trying to avoid her magic. As Daydream fell backwards, though, her hand subtly moved inwards, turning into pure fire and reaching towards Last Gambit’s gut. In the next moment, though, Daydream gagged.

“Did you really think I was that stupid?”

Last Gambit had rematerialized her spear again, but she’d done it inside Daydream’s stomach. The fire-themed magical girl immediately put one hand to her stomach while the other slapped to her mouth, her eyes watering and her abdomen bleeding. Excellerating the pain, Last Gambit pulled her spear out of Daydream’s body, sending her toppling forward and gripping around her lower torso while wailing in agony.

“Daydream!” Daisy exclaimed, stepping backwards. Then, once she realized she was the next target, she turned her attention towards Last Gambit again, taking a stance like she was about to retaliate. Last Gambit, however, simply smirked in response.

“What are ya gonna do? Cave in the whole building? Ha! Out of my way, bitch.”

Just as Last Gambit stepped towards me, though, everyone’s eyes went wide. Daisy hadn’t been bluffing. The moment Last Gambit tried getting past her, Daisy sent a harrowing punch to Last Gambit’s jaw, sending her stumbling to the side several steps with her hand quickly rising to her mouth. She probably would have been cursing right about now, but we could hear the bones in her jaw begin to crack, shattering to pieces within her mouth.

Immediately, she fell to the floor, rolling side to side and screaming in pain while holding onto her broken jaw. Now was the time to attack, but both Daydream and I were useless at this point. Daisy was our only hope left, and she didn’t waste any time walking towards Last Gambit with her hands still clenched into fists.

“What did you call me?!” she asked, reaching down to grab Last Gambit by the collar, but before she could get there in time, Onida had managed to pull herself up again, holding onto one shoulder while her other hand quickly tagged her leader.

“Boss! Run while you can!”

Daisy swung her fist downward, but before she could connect with Last Gambit, the target had suddenly been pulled out of the hideout, flinging to some area in the wilderness. With her momentum still pulling her forward however, Daisy shifted her body to aim for Onida instead, who was just a hair quicker, skidding along the floor and dodging at the last possible moment. That blunder, though, would lead to our downfall.

“Guh!”

Daisy hadn’t just missed her target. She had hit the ground on the way down, causing the walls all around us to begin to sway back and forth, debris falling from the ceiling. Daisy immediately saw what she’d done and flinched, grabbing both Daydream and I and running as fast as she could out of the building. Of course, Onida was the quickest one out of the area, zooming out at twice our speed while Daisy attempted to carry two magical girls in her arms. Then, leaping towards the exit, the three of us collided with the ground just as the building behind us toppled into pieces, creating a large billow of dust rising from its crumbled remains.

Ahead of us, though, was another battle. Miss Monster was shouting commands to her creature while Midnight did her best to play both defense and offense, absorbing Frost Lass’s magic and hurdling it towards Bloody Mary before she could use her own magic.

“Dammit, Frost Lass! I told you I could handle it from here!”

“In a two on one?! You can’t handle that by yourself!”

“Then take that monster thing and get it out of here! I can handle Twilight myself.”

“Or maybe you could make yourself useful and help out over here!” shouted a third voice.

Panicity was still frozen solid just outside the rubble, doing her best to pull herself free of the icicles at her feet and failing miserably. Once Frost Lass saw the situation, however, she immediately nodded, sliding on a trail of ice towards her immobile teammate. It looked like the perfect opportunity for Miss Monster to attack, but as soon as the ice queen was gone, Miss Monster suddenly fell to the floor, screaming in pain while clutching at her heart.

“Aaaaahhhh!! I can’t breathe! I CAN’T BREATHE!”

Beasty immediately lunged forward to attack, but after the first step, Bloody Mary shouted, “Take another step and I’ll give her a heart attack right here! I just wanna talk to Twilight really quick.”

The creature suddenly stopped and turned towards her master, who nodded silently while trying not to scream any further. None of us knew whether or not she was bluffing, but based on the situation, none of us wanted to make any hasty moves just yet. Meanwhile, Frost Lass was already beginning to unthaw her teammate, creating yet another problem that we had to deal with.

“Daisy,” I said weakly, pulling her attention towards me. “I need you to take care of those two for me. Get them as far away from here as possible.”

“But you can’t--”

“Daisy! NOW!”

By the time Daisy Quake turned towards the other magical girls, though, Panicity was just about unfrozen from the ground. She no longer had any time left to waste, and with a loud gulp, she brought her fists up as high as she could and screamed loudly, slamming them both to the ground in front of her. Craters didn’t just form. An entire mountain rose up from the ground, separating the two Everfree City girls from the three of us closest to them. Then, once the ground stopped shaking, Daisy looked back to give us a nod before running along its circumference and creating more mountains around them.

Immediately, I looked down at Daydream, who was still holding onto her stomach. “How bad are you hurt?”

“Ngh! I might--AGH!--be alright if I just--UGH--use some of my magic to stop the bleeding.”

“Your magic? You mean you’re going to set yourself on fire?”

“I’m just gonna try... to get the blood... to clot… GAAAAHHHH!!!”

The hands around the wound in Sunset’s abdomen suddenly began to glow, and in the next moment, she was screaming at the top of her lungs as her blood literally began to boil. I had to do all I could not to watch. Besides, Midnight had her own issues I needed to worry about.

“What did you want, Moondancer?”

Bloody Mary scoffed. “Let me guess. You saw my real body when I was killed by that thing yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but the real question is how you got caught up with someone like Last Gambit in the first place.”

“‘Caught up’?! I’ll never catch up so long as you keep getting ahead of me!”

Midnight flinched. “Is this… about me?”

“You know what? I don’t even know anymore! At first I thought it was about you, learning magic so that I could finally get ahead of you, but surprise, surprise! You can use magic too! Now I finally get it. I’ll never be able to be happy until I prove once and for all that just this once, I can be better than you at something!”

“Moondancer… You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do!” Bloody Mary’s voice continued to grow louder and louder, and the more she yelled, the more Miss Monster’s beast leaned forward in precaution. “Because this time, it’s not just about me. It’s about making sure that we get rid of Discord once and for all! If I can’t do that, if I can’t surpass you when there are people who are depending on me with their lives, then maybe I should just kill myself!”

“Listen to me--”

“NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME!” Beasty flinched, but still, nobody moved other than Miss Monster, who remained with her hand on her chest, breathing heavily. “You picked the wrong side, Twilight. I thought you were smarter than that.”

Another moment of silence fell before Midnight spoke again, this time with her head held high and her eyebrows furrowed, despite the total calmness her voice carried. “I’m just trying to protect my friends.”

“Tch. I thought I was your friend.”

Everything that happened next was a blur. Beasty took a step forward in reflex, but by the time he could react, the fight was already over. Bloody Mary’s hand was on Midnight’s head, but Midnight’s hand was on the center of Bloody Mary’s chest. The two stood still for several excruciatingly long moments, making everyone stand on edge until--

“Mmff! Blaaaffch!”

Bloody Mary suddenly collapsed to the floor, vomiting all of the fluids she could, but it wasn’t bile or rainbows that she was throwing up. It was blood. Gallons of blood. It was as if her lungs had ruptured, leaving her spurting so much blood that she couldn’t breathe even if her lungs still worked, audibly gagging from the discomfort in her throat.

Midnight suddenly took a step back, her trembling hand rising to her mouth while Bloody Mary’s eyes poured tears of pain. There was nothing left that could save her now. Bloody Mary had gone for a kill shot, and Midnight had sent the shot straight back into the user’s body before the magic could take effect. Even if Midnight tried to save her, the damage done to her body had already taken place. This wasn’t a mild sickness like she’d done before; she made sure that someone would die from this attack, but the last person she probably expected to suffer was herself.

Minutes passed, and all any of us could do was watch Bloody Mary as she writhed in agony, crying out in pain as more and more blood mixed with bile cascaded out of her mouth. Even Miss Monster had managed to recover, still clutching her aching chest, but otherwise still carrying a functioning body. Then, after what seemed like forever, Bloody Mary finally stopped moving and gagging, albeit with bloody still pouring out of her throat. Once her entire body had finally gone limp, a bright light surrounded her body, and when the light eventually diminished, what was left was the body of a high school girl with large glasses and messy, reddish hair.

Midnight immediately fell to her knees to reach out for the body, but as soon as she did, we heard a sound that made us all flinch and look up.

“Time up. Redirecting.”