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Juana sat on the gentle grass looking out to the sunset, the light scenically bouncing off of rolling hills.
She's here! She's here…
Lullah rushed up to her friend, two new figures fading into view as she neared the peak of the hill—Pomme and Sunny, the other members in their group of four. A group that was now, finally, complete again.
Their lilting chatter resounded through the rolls of the hills around, laughter bounding back to their ears in a pleasant ringing.
If only it could be like this always.
…If only this could be real.
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Lullah digs the toe of her shoe deep into the mushed mud lining the sidewalk. That dream—how accurately did it reflect reality? Was it just a hopeful rendition, or…
"You were mumbling a lot in your sleep last night. Was everything okay?"
She shrugs her brother's comment off, focusing her attention tightly to a singular spot on the asphalted road. Chayanne sighs.
"I'm really worried. You've been so secretive lately—you do know, if there's anything you need to say, you can talk to—"
He's cut off by the rumbling approach of their ride to school—aggravatingly slowly, the passenger window lowers, and Sunny's bright smile erupts from the empty space.
"Get in losers, we're going schooling!"
Brushing off her brother's concern, Lullah slides into the middle of the back seat next to Pomme, with Chayanne sliding in after her. Soft chit-chat ensues until the radio turns over to one of Sunny's favorite songs, and the volume gets cranked up higher. Tubbo—Sunny's father, and the parent unfortunate enough to claim carpool duty for the week—clears his throat.
"You kids have a math test today, right? Everybody feel ready?"
"Mhmmmm…" Sunny hums.
Pomme giggles. "You sure? You seem pretty doubtful about that!"
"Oh, I am so sure. So very totally sure…"
Lullah suppresses an impulsive snort—Sunny is very-totally-not prepared for today's test by any means. Oh, to think of the damage that would be done to their ego if they knew!
The car ride resumes rather smoothly, granting them peaceful respite and a semblance of normalcy largely unknown to them over these past few months. Ever since they were gifted those charms, things have certainly been… different, but at least through it all, their friendship has stood strong. So, soon, in shades implying the concept of a normal life, they find themselves parked at the curb of the carpool lane.
"Okay, love you princess!" Tubbo says, giving his daughter a quick hug goodbye. "Now, all of you, get out of my car."
The four (formerly five…) shuffle out, playful banter echoing through the school's entrance hall as Lullah gives a wave of goodbye to her brother. The day seems average for a brief, blissful moment, before Lullah's eyes land on the corked announcement board, trailing to a paper bearing a familiar face…
Seeing the missing person poster tacked up so carelessly left a stabbing sensation in her gut. Gods, the reminder hurt. To think that she was missing, all because of… ugh, they never should have agreed to this, never should have gone through with it. This was all such a mistake. Her stress spirals, thoughts falling deeper and deeper, only being torn away when a hand graces her shoulder with a light touch.
Pomme glances at the paper, then back to her friend. "We… we'll find her. We will."
"We better." Sunny huffed. "We'd make for some pretty lame magical girls if we can't save her, and I am not lame."
Lullah giggles. "Well, if Sunny says its true, then it certainly must be true."
"Yeah! Exactly!"
"Alright, we're headed off to science." Pomme beams. "Good luck on the test!"
With a smile, Lullah relaxes in the comforting support of her friends. Things… things will turn out okay. She's sure of it now.
"Thanks, see you girls later!"
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Gah, this test is brutal!
Lullah scratches out a dead-end equation, racking her brain for the one that would solve this question. There's been too much on her mind lately, and too many formulas in this unit. At this point, the least she could do is hope that her friends will be better than her!
Engrossed in in the frustration of numbers, she hardly notice as the chartreuse haze encroaches, enveloping the scene around… everything and everyone goes still. It's silent. Her gaze perks up at the abnormal disturbance.
Already…? No, now is really not a good time… ugh!
However much she might wish for the Veil to hold off even just twenty minutes longer, there really is no controlling over exactly when it chooses to overtake this city. It comes and goes as it pleases, once daily, every day. There really seems to be no rhyme or reason as to when it happens, or why. All they know is that it is their sacred duty to protect the city from the invasive threats the Veil invites, while the rest of the population sleeps in static slumber.
Though, each passing day, the opening of the Veil does provide one upside—a chance to find her.
To find Juana.
It had closed on her while she was still transformed… they had been warned never to let that happen, but the attacks have been increasing in intensity lately. In an attempt to protect the others from a sudden surprise attack after the big bad had been taken down, she got caught up in the world behind the Veil. To think she's been fighting here all by herself for nearly a week, and that they've failed to find her all this time…
Shoes click down the tiled hallway, and Pomme, already in transformation, cracks open the classroom door and peaks in.
"You ready?"
"Ugh… yeah… I just wish I was able to finish my test before… this. I'm gonna forget everything again…"
"Hmm… maybe we can quiz each other while fighting? I could use the extra practice, and I feel as though Sunny isn't as prepared as she claims to be…"
"Hey!"
With a laugh, Pomme waves off Sunny's exasperated expression and continues down the hall with her friend huffing behind her.
Lullah chuckles—guess there's no use in sitting around moping about the unfinished test, though it certainly is gonna suck going on such a lengthy side quest before coming back. She had just gotten into a focused mindset, too… sigh.
Alrighty, time to transform and save this city from certain peril! Just like always!
Just… like always.
She unhooks the charm from her backpack and shakes her head to clear her thoughts. The energy runs down her arms and through the tips of her fingers, sparks sparkling in short pizzicato notes entwined in curved staff lines. In pleasant tones, her outfit chimes into a puffy purple dress with whole note buckles and quarter rest ribbons. Her feet hit the ground as her charm's glow shimmers away—now her wand in the form of a flute—and she rushes off to reach her friends.
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The creature dissolves to dust upon receiving a hit from a long, piercing note. Today has been unnervingly easy, and its leaving Lullah on edge. It's usually only this light when the beasts have coalesced somewhere else, or there's some otherwise powerful enemy present within the bounds of the Veil… if the latter were the case, Juana would have been able to track it down easy-peasy. Her powers allowed her to sense the presence of beings in the Veil and attune herself to its small changes. After all, it was her who sensed the enemies waiting in attack that day, and her who risked herself to save them…
They have to find her. No matter what.
A sudden sting in her foot brings her attention downwards, and she kicks off the scuttler that had taken upon itself to nibble her shoe. It fumbles on its back for a few seconds before flipping over and crawling away to an office building, bidding her to chase.
Fine. If that's how it wants to play…
She follows it into the building, lobby bustling with a chilling stasis, and down a flight of stairs into a basement storage room. Blasting it with a blow from her flute, she's just about to leave when a pulsating glow catches her eye.
What was…?
The glow is emitting from the suspension of a silhouette in the middle of the room, held firmly in place by bright green wires resembling a spider's web. The suspended visage is so familiar… wait, could it be…!
"Lullah?!" Pomme's voice booms from the stairwell behind. "Oh, thank goodness, there you are. We were worried, are you—"
With a gasp, she freezes in her tracks, and a rare break in Sunny's voice rings out 'round the room.
"J… Juana?"
"…Hel1o?" The wiring lowers the silhouette to the ground as the mystery figure casts a sharp green gaze. "S…unny, is that y0u?"
"…Juana…?"
Lullah stands slack-jawed… it's her, no doubt that it's her! Her face, her voice—it's Juana, it really is—!
Wait…
That trilling tone—something certainly seems… off…
"Sunny! Watch out!"
Lullah lunges, shoving her friend out of the way of a chartreuse ray—the close call left its mark with a graze on Sunny's cheek.
Wasting no time going on the offensive, Pomme scatters apple seeds at Juana's feet. They explode into tangling saplings and trap her firmly in place, eliciting an incomprehensible, glitch-tuned scream. Juana—Ju4n4?—refocuses her aim to target Pomme.
She dodges the pummeling attacks and counters with her own—fruit-themed illusions flutter through the air, slashing through the incoming offenses. Pomme's firepower increases in an attempt to swiftly take down the being possessing their friend, yet exhaustion settles in quick, wheezing breaths increasing in frequency, until the lack of stamina becomes too overwhelming to hold on any longer.
"Crap… I'm out!" Pomme shouts, coughing as her transformation slithers away into her normal clothes. Vulnerable now that she's out of magical energy, she scans the room for a safe hiding spot and dashes to take cover behind a desk.
Not good, not good! Lullah plays a short, panicked tune before securing her flute on her ribbon's holster, having summoned two mere fragile sixteenth notes. They won't last long, but with her breathing as anxiously uneven as it is now, she can't do much better… she'll have to find an opening to catch her breath and focus. Which would be far easier if…
Her eyes catch on the person standing in the corner, stuck in place from shock and confusion.
"Sunny, get over here! Help me!"
Lullah can't quite catch the soft mumbling dancing off Sunny's scared lips. Suppose she's on her own for now… fumbling through exhaustion and the itching in her throat indicative of low energy, she sprints towards the origin of the attacks.
Incoming zaps of magic are deflected off her weapons, the bolts fizzling into stray sparks as they come into contact with the immaterial formation created from her own magical energy. The notes can only withstand a few hits before shattering… she knew they would be far too weak for this! Pomme's out, and Sunny's still in a daze… dang it. Dang it!
Guess she'll just have to summon again. What a waste of magic, honestly, but its necessary… sighing, she grabs her flute from the holster. Yet before she can play even a single note, a sudden burst of power shocks her to her core, sending her flying next to the desk sheltering Pomme.
Ow ow ow—OW.
She winces as Pomme pulls her to safety, transformation chiming out to ease away the pain. She's… she's out. That just leaves…
"Sunny!" Pomme calls. "C'mon, we need you!"
Finally finding footing, Sunny grounds herself back in the reality of the situation. It takes not even another second for her to jump into action, emitting the glow of the sun and heading straight into the line of fire. The crackling beams of green energy fizzle out against her magic, and with a grunt of frustration, Ju4n4 swaps stances and unleashes rapid-fire ones and zeros, just barely chipping away at Sunny's beams. Unfazed, and with mist in their eyes, Sunny sets her feet firm on the ground before taking a single, succinct step forward.
"Remember… remember when we snuck out between classes to get ice cream? You gotta remember! Your Papa was so pissed… mine wasn't exactly happy, either…"
Sunny shudders at the lack of recognition in Ju4n4's eyes, yet they strengthen their resolve, golden glow burning like a star, and push on nonetheless.
"You… you said that there was a movie I just had to see! That you wanted to watch with me! You promised!" Sunny approaches one step closer, gleam glowing brighter still. "So I'm not giving up on you! Not now, not ever!"
With each step they take forward, the barrage of binary bullets grows in strength, and the beam of Sunny's light magic increases equally in defensive, desperate pursuit. The intensity of attacks soars as the gap slowly closes, until finally, Sunny is close enough to reach out and grab Ju4n4's outstretched hand.
Sunny sniffles, barely holding back a sob. "So… please. Come home."
The distant glare in Juana's eyes fades away, and in an instant, she snaps to awareness, and the Veil begins to dissolve around them.
"Sunny?"
Sunny lets her transformation fall in protective measure, overwhelming joy enveloping them as they wrap their friend in a tight, loving hug.
"It's… it's really you! Thank the gods, I…"
Juana chuckles and shakes off what remains of a dizzying sensation. "Aww, who knew you had such a soft side!"
"Oh… shut up!"
"Sunny Side Soft…"
"Shut UP! Gods, you're so…" The annoyed expression on their face falls, replaced with a beaming smile. "You're back! Oh, you're finally back! We've missed you so much… I can't believe it, have you been here the whole time?"
"I… can't quite remember. Sorry…"
Pomme giggles, her and Lullah rushing over as soon as the Veil falls completely. "Sorry about what? You were like, possessed by the Veil, there's nothing to be sorry for!"
"Yeah!" Lullah interjects. "And certainly not for forgetting."
Juana smiles, overwhelmed by the love and familiarity of her friend group.
A group that is now, finally, complete again.