Lillith Lawless was in a sour mood. She was always in a sour mood, lately. She didn’t regret the contract, not exactly. But it hadn’t made her life easy. Six weeks. It had taken her six weeks to get Pacifica’s number. Seven bucks on coffee a day just to flirt with the cute barista for six weeks. That was more money than any high school student should be spending. But it paid off, and she finally, finally got a date. And then her . . . part time job ruined everything. She’d stood Pacifica up, and had no good excuse for it. Now she was not only single, but couldn’t even go back to her favorite coffee shop.

  But she was making a difference. Saving lives. And, of course, working with the greatest hero on the east coast. One of the three greatest heroes in the country. Violet. A girl who’d been saving lives when Lillith’s greatest accomplishment was being chosen as teaching assistant in AP Biology. Lillith admired Violet. Or, she admired ‘Dreamer Devastation’. She had no idea the magical girl with the scythe was also Violet from her English class. That is, until Violet approached her and offered the contract. That was when ‘Dreamer Revolution’ was born. The magical girl of fire, always ready to lay her life on the line to protect the people of the city.

  She made the third and final member of the team, and by far the most aggressive. She never backed down. Never shied away from a fight. And never let anyone, man or monster, threaten the innocent. She wasn’t the most popular magical girl in the city, but she didn’t care. So long as she was helping. Still, she was in a sour mood. It wasn’t an easy job. It required a lot of personal sacrifice. And above all, the more she fought, the more fighting there was to do. She would defeat a monster only to ruin the victory with the humans she met afterward. People abandoning one another. Laws and leaders and men in uniforms doing as much damage as any monster. The more she fought, the more she saw, and the angrier she grew.

  It felt like they had been attacked every day lately. By monsters. ‘Almosts’, they were called. She didn’t know how they earned that name, but she was growing weary with fighting them. It was the first day in a while she’d made it to lunch without incident. At least, without encountering an Almost. It was certainly the first Saturday in months, and she was desperate to enjoy it. She’d run into a spot of trouble that morning, but at least it wasn’t a fight. She’d made it to the mall. The food court, even. And the girl at the sub shop was hot. Lily had a thing for redheads. Finally, she felt a hint of hope that her mood could improve. The cashier’s irritated face as she made it to the counter poured a bucket of water on that hope.

  “Everything okay?” she asked, stopping the girl from taking her order. “You look like you’re having a rough day.” The girl, Rebecca according to her name tag, looked down and to the left, avoiding Lillith’s eyes.

  “Nothing to worry about, what can I get for you today?” Rebecca deflected. Lillith paused for a moment, unsure whether to press or not, but ultimately decided it was none of her business. Lot’s of women have bad days and she wouldn’t want a stranger pushing her for details.

  “Well. Alright,” Lily agreed. “I guess I’ll have the vegetarian sub with the marinated artichoke.” Rebecca tapped away at the register, putting the order in. Every few seconds she would glance up, not at Lily but behind her. Every time she did, she wore an expression of intense discomfort, one Lily might wear if someone dropped a slug down the back of her shirt.

  “That’ll be $12.34,” Rebecca finally said. She glanced back again, physically shuddering this time and prompting Lily to turn and investigate the cause. What she found was a man, maybe fifty-years-old. He looked average, male pattern baldness brutalizing his hairline, but neatly dressed and mostly unremarkable. Mostly. With the exception of his eyes. He was seated at a table with a clear view of the table. He sipped a soda slowly, his eyes fixed on Rebecca. They may as well have been hands, the way he was attempting to assault her with them. Lily understood immediately. She saw the pleasure in his eyes. The power a simple look gave him. And she could feel the anxiety and fear he was projecting onto the victim of his attention.

  “Sure,” Lily agreed, tapping her phone against the card reader to pay. That was a criminal price for a sandwich, but she was suddenly more concerned with the man at the table. “Is that guy bothering you?” Rebecca winced before giving Lily a searching look. After a moment of this she sighed.

  “He comes here and does this every day I work. He stays for hours, just staring. Occasionally licking his lips. It’s miserable. I don’t know if he plans to do something or not but . . . he enjoys it. Making me squirm. It’s like some kind of sick hobby. I’m trying to get another job, but no one is hiring right now. I don’t know what to do. Even coming into work makes me feel sick at this point,” she explained. A second later she covered her mouth, looking behind her to see if her manager heard her complain. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. You’re just here for a sandwich. I don’t know what I was thinking,” she apologized.

  “I have that effect on women,” Lily quipped, winking at Rebecca. “And you have every right to feel upset. Can your manager not ban him? Or the mall’s manager, at least?” Rebecca shook her head. She glanced behind her again, then lowered her voice before responding.

  “No. Or at least, they won’t. He always buys something when he comes. And not just from the sub shop. He makes them money, and he’s not doing anything but looking at me, so they won’t act. I’m stuck with him,” she replied.

  Lily scowled at this. “We’ll see about that,” she replied. Then, as soon as Rebecca handed her the receipt, Lily offered thanks before marching right to the man’s table, flipping a chair around and sitting down with her arms resting on the back. “Hey, Stary Gary, I think it’s time you moved on. You’re not welcome in this mall anymore.”

  The man’s eyes lazily walked over to the new woman challenging him, and he offered a saccharine smile. “I don’t think so, I rather like it here,” he dismissed. “But I’d be happy if you decided to visit more often.” Lillith raised an eyebrow, wrinkling her nose as the smell of onions wafted from his mouth.

  “You’re a creep. A real slimy one. I know exactly what you’re doing, and I know you get off on it. Makes you feel real good, when girls are afraid of you, right? Exercising that little power. What a fucking man. Proving that no one can do anything about your daily leering. Flaunting how untouchable you are. Implying a threat you may or may not follow through on. Real impressive. But it’s over. You are gone. This is your one warning,” Lillith hissed.

  The man’s smile only broadened as his eyes swept over Lillith’s body like a paintbrush, leaving her with a feeling like she was covered in grease. “Or what?” he asked, voice as chipper as a bird. “I’m not doing anything wrong. I am a paying customer. I’m not breaking any laws. I’m not even violating any policies of the food court. Who are you going to tell? How are you going to stop me from coming back? The law is on my side, sweetheart. If anything, you are harassing me right now.” Lillith took a deep breath through her nose. She stood slowly, gently turning the chair around and pushing it back under the table. As she walked past the man he smirked. “That’s what I thought. Next time mind your business, bitch.”

  Just as Lillith was next to him, she spun on the ball of her foot, grabbed the back of the man’s head, and forced his face into the table in one swift movement. His soda burst open, covering his face and shirt as his nose made a loud *crunch*. Lily then pulled his head back up and leaned into his ear. “Who said anything about the fucking law? I wasn’t threatening to call the cops. Do I look like a woman who would call security on you? No. That’s a tool for men like you. Me? I use the tools that are left for the rest of us. The tools you can’t control and reserve for yourself. Tools you can’t take away from me, and tools you can’t avoid on a technicality. I don’t give a shit what’s legal. I told you you fuck off and I meant it. And if you don’t, well . . . I’m stronger than I look, aren’t I? You ignored my warning, and this is the cost. If you continue to ignore it, well, this will look gentle. Get the picture, sweetheart?”

  As she let go, the man’s thrashing tipped his chair back and he fell backward before scrambling away and gripping his bleeding nose. “I’ll fucking sue you, you think you’ll get away with this?” he cried, “I’m calling the cops!”

  “Scary, I’m shivering in my boots,” Lillith mocked, miming a shiver. “But I thought I told you to fuck off.” She took a sudden step forward, startling the man. He turned to run, fumbling for his phone as he did.

  “Lily, how many times do I have to talk to you about this,” a new voice said, breaking the silence the scene has left in the usually loud food court. Violet. The leader of the Madica Dreamers, the magical girl trio Lillith had completed. Lily slumped into the creep’s now vacated chair as her friend chastised her.

  “The creep deserved it,” she grumbled. Violet crossed her arms. Behind her, Mars bit her lip, nervously watching the crowd, still staring at the commotion.

  “And the bench you apparently dismantled this morning?” Violet challenged, tapping one foot. “Yeah, I heard about that. I don’t care if you weren’t transformed when you did it, people notice that sort of thing. The building manager called the police. Which means I have had to talk them down on your behalf once already. Today.”

  Lillith crossed her own arms. “I didn’t dismantle jack shit. I removed the anti-homeless bars in the middle. The bench not only continues to hold asses off the ground, it now works better. It was a public service,” she replied. Mars looked back and forth between the two, more stubborn women.

  “Maybe we should head back to the apartment, talk about this in private?” Mars suggested.

  “Yes, Mars makes an excellent point, Lily,” Violet agrees. “Because what we do in public reflects on all of us, and even what we do in private affects how we are perceived. And people in our position need to be cognizant of the example we are setting. People look to us as an example! They look to us as an ideal! We provide hope for everyone in this city. If we go around assaulting people and destroying public property, then we fall short of the ideals we represent! We must be above reproach. This? This is not above reproach.”

  “Oh come on, this slimy asshole has been openly harassing women. And that bench was an offense to human decency! It’s still there, by the way. It doesn’t even look bad! What ideals are we even living up to that include ignoring that kind of thing?” Lily countered.

  “And what example are we setting when we respond to them the way you do?” Violet replied easily.

  “Well maybe I disagree on what a good example is. Or maybe I disagree about who we need to set an example for,” Lillith snapped back, standing up and approaching Violet until they stood face to face.

  “Guys, I really think this is a bad place to argue about this,” Mars insisted.

  “See what I mean?” Violet asked, eyes locked on Lillith. “You are too in people’s faces. Even Mars can see it. Our group isn’t supposed to make people feel afraid. It’s not supposed to make witnesses uncomfortable. We are here to make people feel safe. Right Mars?”

  “R–Right,” Mars agreed hesitantly, nervously smiling at the continually staring crowd.

  “For certain definitions of ‘safe’ I suppose,” Lily retorted under her breath. Violet sighed in exasperation, ready to rebuke her further, but she never got the chance. A familiar shaking of the world interrupted the argument, sending a shock wave of sound screaming through the mall. As bystanders fled, the three women immediately forgot their quarrel, facing the source of the sound together. They knew what this was. Everyone did. It was heard and felt somewhere in the city almost daily recently. And unlike the rest of the crowd, these three couldn’t flee.

  “Almost . . .” Mars whispered. Lily tensed immediately, clenching her fists. So much for her day off. Yet again, Lillith had to use all her energy fighting.

  The world slowed around Lillith, her environment melting into brilliant and swirling colors around her. Instead of a greasy food court she found herself swimming through a twisting river of paints and watercolor. She lifted her arms in front of her chest, cupping her left fist in her right hand. As she applied pressure and knuckles cracked, her clothes began to burn with the amethyst embers of a once furious fire, breathing in fresh oxygen and preparing to rage again.

  “Flame of my heart!” Lillith cried, summoning a fury in her blood and challenging the world to deny its expression. “Consume the filth before my eyes with your brilliant justice!” As she chanted the embers caught fire and instead of clothing she wore a brilliant and purple blaze, crackling over her body with passionate fervor. In a single, violent motion, she plunged her still connected hands to her chest, covering her heart like she was trying to force it to beat again. As she held them there, she began to tremble, gently at first, aimless energy collecting in her fists until they could remain still no longer. “Light me up!” she screamed and her hands moved. Not away from her chest but in two bursts, returning to her breast each time like a beating heart.

  As she did this the fire formed into a dress around her torso. Again her hands beat, the sound of a heart reverberating through the world of color, and ribbons fastened themselves along her body, decorating the dress. Another heartbeat and the fire surged again, forming boots up to her ankles. Another beat and the remaining fire spiraled inward toward the hands she had pressed to her chest, burning into gloves with no fingers. Finally, she opened her hands, extending fingernails through both exposed skin and fresh cloth, drawing blood. Her fingers burrowed into the flesh up to her knuckles, breaking through bone and gripping her naked heart. Two more times she flexed her fingers and the heartbeat she created rang out around her. As she did this, a large patch drew itself on the front of her dress, the emblem of a flame embroidering itself on the surface with fire.

  The color evaporated like mist and Dreamer Revolution walked through it, facing the threat with violence in her eyes. She radiated heat with every step, leaving permanent footprints in the ground as she launched herself into the air, propelling herself toward the horrible, screeching violation of the world.

  The monster wasn’t hard to find. This one was particularly messy, even for an Almost. The break in reality, like a stone thrown through stained glass, always made Almosts easy to spot. But the three girls found blood to lead their way outside long before they saw the monster under the broken sky. Not bodies, not really. Evidence of bodies. Parts of bodies. Bits of bone and spine in pools of red filth. Only one word rang through Lillith’s head as she flew over the carnage. Chaos. Whatever this almost was, it’s violence tasted and smelled like chaos. It was aimless dread. Like Lily was being unraveled with every passing moment. That was the only way she could describe the feeling. Chaos.

  As soon as she emerged from the ruined mall she saw everything. The usual shattered color in the sky, blowing like wind over the almost sitting on the asphalt below. That didn’t alarm her at all. What really took her breath away was the art. The almost this time was just a girl. Lillith couldn’t gauge her age, not with the distortion Almosts always had. Almosts didn’t own color. They barely owned features. They were just white absences from the world given form. Every movement was fuzzy like an old TV with no signal. But they had no color. Not until they bleed. But Lillith could always make out what they were. What they almost were. And this was a girl, crouched on the ground, painting.

  She was at the center of a larger work. An abstract art that Lillith failed to understand. It had too many twists and turns. It was flat but felt like it carried more dimensions than made sense. It was a painting of nothing. At least, that’s what Lily thought at first. She was the first to approach the almost, and as she got closer, the impossible painting began to take shape in her mind. It was . . . legs. Not human legs, something more like an insect’s. Countless legs going in countless directions. Disappearing and reappearing in seemingly random and nonsensical places. And they were tangled. Tangled in tree roots and blood and endings. As she grew closer still she realized there were other paintings inside the legs. Like a mosaic of agony. Sinew and limbs and eyes without owners, all stacked together to make up the uncountable, marble white legs.

  They all led to a common center. Some kind of bug. Or was it another girl? As Lillith tried to comprehend it, it almost seemed to switch back and forth between the two, like it was neither and both at once. Only one thing remained consistent. It had been torn in two. Ripped down the middle, organs connecting the two halves, and the almost girl crouched in the middle, painting herself in the fetal position at the center. How had she painted so much so fast? How had she created something so impossible. Lillith couldn’t understand it. It took her mind away from the fight, and just as she felt like she was just about to really understand the painting, it was bathed in the brilliant blue light of Mars’ magic.

  Lillith blinked, and the art was gone. Rapidly aged and turned to dust with the parking lot it had been painted on. She didn’t see whatever Mars had seen. She didn’t know why such energy needed to be used just to destroy a painting. It was grotesque, and confusing, but that was all. But Lillith trusted Mars. The other girl saw things that no one else could see, and never used her abilities when they weren’t needed. So Dreamer Revolution shrugged it off, and refocused her attention on the almost. Already, it had changed. This happened sometimes, especially after Mars acted. It was one reason Dreamer Redemption stayed in the back, only using her powers when absolutely necessary. Almosts responded to most of Mars’ attacks by mutating their form and abilities, which could be unpredictable at best.

  This time was no different. The girl with her paints had been replaced by a woman. Older, it felt like, and proportioned differently. She wore a robe and, most notably, she had been broken. Her arms and one leg were bent unnaturally, and her jaw hung from her head like one side was only connected by skin. She had a thick rope wrapped around her waist and in her hands, the rest laying on the ground around her. This rope carried the woman’s one color. The only color Almosts ever had. Red. Streaks of blood decorated the twine, leading back to the Almost’s hands. The woman screeched, an agonized, dissonant sound that wormed its way into Lillith’s mind with agonizing urgency.

  Revolution had no time left to examine her opponent. The heavy rope had left the ground, heaved into the air by the furious almost, and its end was headed straight for the fiery magical girl. She flew to the right, turning her body to narrowly avoid the alarmingly fast attack. Wasting no time, she flooded her body with heat, a purple glowing lighting her arms up like magma. Raging amethyst fire burst to life around each of Lillith’s fists, and she tried throwing it at the almost. The flames burned with a fury to melt steel, distorting the air around them with heat. But as the target swung the rope, bending it to collide with the projectiles, it was the fire which dissipated. The bloody weapon remained unharmed.

  At this point, Dreamer Devastation joined the fight, her scythe of black energy catching the rope. “You’ll have to get in close!” she called and Revolution agreed. Fire continued to build around her, propelling her forward from behind and burning her clenched fists. She had every intention of making this monster pay for what it had done to innocent people. If she had to do it up close well, that was even better. She had to dodge the rope several more times on her way to the monster, even as her leader protected her from it. It was flexible and violent and the almost was skilled at controlling it. Lily had to spin out of the way, duck, and elevate to avoid the middle of the rope colliding with her. Even with her speed, she still took glancing blows to her ribs and legs. She groaned through these, knowing she would feel the bruises later. Still, Violet had maintained the primary attention of the almost, sparing Lily any dangerous hits.

  Revolution finally closed the distance, swinging a flaming fist at the almost, trying to kill it in a single hit. But the broken creature bent in an impossible way, it’s spine cracking and protesting as it’s back bent away at an unsettling angle. Only sparks made contact with its skin, but Lily wasn’t going to give up. She followed through with the momentum of the swing, allowing her body to spin and transferring the force to a backward kick at the Almost’s chest. It hit bloody rope instead, skillful hands wrapping twine around ankle with inhuman speed. Lily recognized the danger and lit her leg on fire to burn through the enemy’s weapon. Such fire had melted concrete barriers before, but the simple rope was unaffected.

  The monster, on the other hand, was. The blast of heat alone hit it hard and it recoiled, pulling Lily with it. It used the rope to throw Lillith to the ground, which hurt, but the rope around her ankle loosened. Lillith wasted no time, spinning on her hands and regaining her feet in an instant. As the Almost reeled, Revolution took advantage of its disorientation, swinging a fist of fire at the monster’s chest. She was too close, too fast, and too angry to be avoided this time. It was time for this monster to die. It should have been, at least. Until Devastation crashed into Revolution. The dazed monster had a back up plan and had pulled the other magical girl closer, using Lillith’s ally as a weapon against her. As the two girls collapsed into each other Lily frantically suppressed the intense heat around her to avoid hurting her friend.

  As she did this, she felt the rope again, this time wrapping around her neck. She’d been too disoriented, too worried about Violet, and it had happened in an instant. Her air was already being cut off by the time the blur that was the world around her came into focus. The Almost was above her, looking down as the rope tightened and seemed to rise into the sky, like something was pulling it up. It started to cut into Lily’s neck, mixing the two sources of blood. Violet was above them both, trying to cut through the rope with her scythe, but it wouldn’t budge. Lily gripped the tightening rope around her neck with one hand and reached the other out to Violet, using all her strength to bathe her friend’s blade in fire. Still, the rope wouldn’t cut. Lillith had to fight to remain conscious as the rope finally stopped. At its end a massive bell seemed to resolve into reality. It hadn’t been there before, but the almost glared into Lillith’s eyes before pulling down on the rope.

  The bell looked too large and heavy for the strength of the almost to move it, but it began to ring, almost. The bell moved like the world itself, and just as the clapper struck the side, Dreamer Redemption’s magic surrounded it. Freezing it in place. Lillith didn’t know what would have happened if the bell had rung, but if Redemption was stopping it instead of freeing Lily from the rope, it couldn’t have been good. She trusted that. Lily stared at the frozen bell above her, the rope still burning her throat as her lungs begged for the air. And then, before it ever made a sound, it was gone and Lily was on her knees, gasping for air. Mars had acted again, so the almost had changed as well.

  Violet grabbed her by the back of her dress and pulled her to her feet. “Get it together, Rev. Look, it’s split,” she said. Lillith fixed her eyes on the almost to find it’s new form wasn’t one woman or girl, but one of each. The fist was smaller, with wide, bat-like wings and a thick scaled tail. She had long reptilian ears and antlers as well. Behind her was a much taller woman, holding some kind of phone in her hand. She waited a few feet back, letting the smaller, not entirely human enemy take the stage. Lily rubbed her neck and coughed.

  “Don’t call me Rev, you make me sound like some kind of preacher,” Lillith scoffed.

  “You take the one with the wings. I’ll fight the other. This is still one Almost, if we try to separate them, I bet they’ll slow down,” Violet ordered, ignoring the complaint. Lily nodded, reigniting her fists, and not a moment too soon. As Violet was giving her instructions to Lillith, so too was the human almost screeching at the other. Her words couldn’t be understood, but as soon as she spoke them the smaller monster began to move, and the wind moved with her. A wall of solid wind collided with Revolution, knocking her from her feet again.

  Revolution recovered herself before she even hit the ground, twisting through the air and flying back toward her attacker. Violet had already moved on the humanoid Almost, leaving Lillith to face the fierce wind attacks on her own. She’d been knocked further back than she thought, and new wind attacks were still coming at her. Like with the rope she had to close the distance while dodging the oncoming violence. This time, however, Violet wasn’t drawing the opponents attention and the attacks were far more frequent and brutal. She tried. She really tried to avoid them, but she couldn’t, and each hit like a freight train. But she couldn’t give up. The people she’d failed to save deserved her attention. She took hit after hit, again feeling her consciousness trying to flee her. She couldn’t close the gap. If she kept taking these hits, she wouldn’t survive.

  Then, as one hit her, she saw the impact of one of the spells which had missed. It collided with the bricks of the nearest building with far more force than the spells hitting her did. There was only one reason she could think of for this, and she decided to capitalize on it. She flared her powers, heat distorting the air around her enough to create a mirage in all directions. Instead of dodging the next attack, she super-heated the world. As another wall of wind tried to knock her back, the air inside it rapidly wavered and collapsed as it hit the heat wave. Lillith grunted, then accelerated, finally having the opportunity to reach the bat-winged creature.

  Her victory was short-lived, however, as wind was apparently not the only spell the enemy could summon. As Lillith propelled herself with her fire, flying faster than either of her teammates were capable of, the almost moved again, creating a spell of pure light. At the same time, it created an aura of power that seemed to pull Lillith’s fire into it. Lily’s own flames were stolen from her, like a well of gravity was pulling it from her. The light she then found herself hurtling toward consumed all of her vision until the entire world went black and she felt herself collide with the earth instead of the Almost she was attacking. Again she coughed. Her eyes were open, but she couldn’t see. Desperately, she coursed power through her veins, forcing the purple fire to her face. Flames engulfed her eyes like a mask, and she extended her senses into the waves of heat radiating around her.

  She couldn’t see, but she could feel anything that felt her heat. This is how she could see it. The Almost had changed again. Redemption must have saved her from whatever that last spell was. Three times in one fight. This Almost was a dangerous one. Now, where the small girl had stood casting her spell, Revolution felt a new woman. Definitely an older one. This one slumped with fatigue, and had wide gashes across her face. There was something still lodged in her skin, and one hand was missing a fingernail. This was all Lillith could make out. But she was done with this fight. Mars only had so much power, and her attacks used a lot more than Lillith’s. She couldn’t keep protecting everyone.

  Lillith was done. The Almost started creating pillars of earth, opening deep chasms where the stone split. Lillith ignored them, melting her way through anything that came her way. Spires collapsed and now molten spears splashed across her face. She hated doing this much damage, but the fight was getting out of hand. She didn’t know if the Almost had merged into one again, and she couldn’t see Violet anywhere, but this one, at least, was going to die.

  Finally, she made it, twirling through the air and swinging a fiery kick into the monster. She felt it, in that last moment. The agony the monster was in. The turmoil and regret. She didn’t understand it, but it didn’t matter. Her foot burned through the enemy, filling the air with the smell of cooking meat. Finally, the fight had ended. Again, the Magica Dreamers had won.

  The world around Mars lost its opacity. Every item in every store, now baroque glass of every color. They crashed into each other, shattering one moment and combining in the next. They created a tunnel, spinning around Mars like a kaleidoscope. It opened up at the top and bottom, remaining narrow in the middle. Instead of an unwelcoming mall, she found herself shivering inside a shimmering hourglass. She lifted her arms in front of her chest, clasping her hands together as if in prayer. As her fingers interlocked, her clothes began to come apart, one grain of unforgiving sand at a time.

  “Glass of my soul!” Mars wept, summoning waves of regret she threatened to drown herself in. “Bury the sins of my past with your brilliant forgiveness!” As she mourned, her clothing continued to dissolve to dust, and she found herself wearing a brilliant desert storm, covering her every scar with sand like a river. In a single, violent motion, she extended her fingers, moving both hands to grip her throat, gasping for a sudden breath that tore through her lungs like a knife. As she held her neck, she began to tremble, gently at first, aimless energy collecting in her hands until they could remain still no longer. “Take me back!” She sobbed and her chest expanded, another deep, painful breath invading her.

  As she did this, the sand formed into a dress around her torso. Again she took a pointed breath, the sound of a desperate gasp reverberating through the world of glass, and jewelry dressed her, the hands of a clock hanging from her ears. Another breath and the sand danced again, forming shoes and long socks around her legs. Another breath and the remaining sand skittered toward her hands, combining into elegant gloves. Finally, her hands separated, extending fingernails into her skin, drawing blood. Her fingers burrowed into the flesh up to her knuckles, tearing through sinew and gripping her larynx. Two more times she breathed in, strangling her protesting voice and the drowned gasping she created rang out around her. As she did this, an elegant embroidery sewed itself into her dress, the emblem of an hourglass presenting itself on the surface with sand constantly trickling through it.

  The glass shattered and Dreamer Redemption tread over it, facing the screaming with anxiety as a mask. Revolution was the first to move, launching herself toward the threat with none of the hesitation Mars felt. Violet looked back toward Mars and offered a reassuring smile. “Don’t push yourself, alright. Hang back until your power is needed.” Mars nodded, and Devastation took flight as well, following the headstrong Revolution. Mars took a deep breath, and floated into the air to follow her friends. She hated fighting. Loathed violence in general. But that wasn’t her role in the group. She was there to protect the others. To stop them from getting hurt. But that thought only offered her greater apprehension. Because, every single time she saved one of the other girls, she had nightmares. She would be haunted. They didn’t understand what her role entailed. They couldn’t know the toll it took.

  But those nightmares are what pushed her forward. Because if she wasn’t there, then they wouldn’t be nightmares. They would be real. She had only failed to stop such a reality once. Although, ‘failed’ is not the word she would have chosen. ‘Refused’ may have rang more true to her. Ran away. Fled. Covered her eyes and ears in fear and allowed it to happen. She could have stopped it. There was no doubt about that. She may not have been a magical anything yet. But she could have stopped it. Instead, she chose to become an only child. This was her penance. Protecting the protectors. Defending those who defend. She swore to do this until the day she died. To never run away again. She wouldn’t hide behind a safe, locked door, too afraid to let her sister in. She would risk everything, every time, to avoid carrying the guilt of another life on her shoulders. She knew the blood on her hands, won through inaction, would never wash away. But she would never add to it again. Nightmares be damned.

  The stench of blood assaulted her as she passed over the remains in the mall. Those who failed to flee in time. In each pool of blood she saw Camilla’s face. In each lifeless limb she saw the remains she’d left her sister to become. She shuddered, and she flew. Until she saw the broken glass of the sky. The glass which reminded her so much of her transformation room. And below it she saw the impossible painting. The uncountable limbs. The undefinable mosaic. Dreamer Revolution hovered over this scene. She stared down at the painting, trying to understand it while Dreamer Devastation watched Mars with concern and wearing a reassuring, but subtle, smile.

  And then Lillith was dead.

  She was dead.

  Legs fell from the sky, blood painting over the art they landed on. Mars could barely process what had happened. It was like . . . nothing. But it was such a violent nothing. Starting, black and empty in Lily’s head and spreading through her body in an instant. An expanding sphere of blood curdling emptiness consumed her before she had any chance to fight back. Mars stared down at the almost below, still working on her horrifying painting. And she screamed. She only had a few seconds until it was irreversible. Sand erupted from her and blue aura raced along it. Mars poured her power into the spell until she grew dizzy and the world stopped around her. Then, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter, the world undid itself. The nightmare unraveled, retracing its steps little by little. Forcing Mars to confront the chaotic quiet of whatever had killed her friend. Again. Something in Mars' mind cracked. Like a fracture in too thin ice.

  It hurt to do this. It exhausted her. But now that she had the power, she would never let her friend die again. She’d earned the pain. She’d earned the sleepless nights. She’d bought the fear and the memories and the nightmares when she locked the shelter door and left her sister to the almosts. The other girls hadn’t. And she would save them.

  Finally, she reversed enough, to her very limit, and her friend was okay. Her friend was alive. She wasted no time stopping history from repeating itself. Her magic flooded the parking lot below, drowning the beautiful, horrible painting. The time she didn’t reverse anything. Instead she accelerated. She aged the art and the ground beneath it. Stole the rest of their years from them. Turned them to the dust they deserved to be. Mars was exhausted, gasping, and ready to drop from the sky. But she had saved her. One more nightmare. But Lily was alive, and the terrifying almost who’d killed her had changed.

  The next fight seemed better. Lillith and Violet actually had the chance to attack. It was a frightening monster, so broken yet so quick. But it only had a rope, and it was up against two Dreamers. Mars allowed herself to rest. The fight started to look dicey a couple times, but she couldn’t step in. She needed to save her power. In case another nightmare happened. She needed to know exactly what caused it to avoid it. And she couldn’t risk changing the almost to a more dangerous monster. So she watched, and worried, but knew her friends would win.

  When Violet collided with Lillith, Mars lost sight of the fiery girl. The almost charged in, rope in hand. By the time Mars could see her friend's face again, Lily’s neck had a rope around it. Mars’ heart started pounding and her breathing grew short. Violet was trying to help but failing. And then the bell appeared. The almost was no longer fighting with only a rope. It had tied both itself and Revolution to a colossal bell in the sky. This wasn’t nearly as terrifying as the sound when she rang it. She didn’t look like she had the strength to ring it, but she did. Sound assaulted Mars with a physical force until the world went silent and blood ran from her ears. A glance at Violet revealed she had covered her ears in time, which was a relief. But Lily. Lily looked like she was in agony. No longer fighting the rope, she was writhing and convulsing.

  Bubbles appeared in her skin. Small at first, but growing large like she was boiling. Except, she was immune to heat. Her mouth opened and Mars could tell she was screaming, even if the world had become silent. Her ears were the first to bleed, but her eyes and mouth followed not long after. None of this was so terrifying as when the first bubble popped. It was followed by all the others in short order, and Lillith burst from the inside out, veins failing to contain her riotous blood.

  And then Lillith was dead.

  She was dead.

  The rope fell limply as what was left of her body sagged, still hanging by her neck. Another nightmare. Again Mars took the world in her hands, pulling it backward with desperation. Like she was buried alive and she had to claw her way back to reality. Again the world complied. And when it did she felt the cracking again. This time wider. Its legs extended past her mind, creeping into the world around her, compromising its stability. She barely turned the clock back to the impact of clapper to bell, catching it with her magic and freezing it in time. It took so much of her energy. Her magic drained from her like water, leaving her thirsty and haggard. But again, Lily was alive. Mars had saved her.

  The Almost had split in two. Mars was tired. Her eyes were bags of sand, demanding to close. She faltered in the air, nearly failing to maintain her altitude. The battle unfolded below. Mars could barely see Violet’s opponent, the black scythe moving so quickly the fight couldn’t be made out. Lillith struggled at first to make it to her own fight, some kind of wind knocking her back and destroying the environment. But she seems to overcome it on her own. Finally, Mars believed they were in a more standard fight. A fight they could win without her intervention. But just as Lily was making progress, something happened in Violet's fight. Mars couldn’t understand why, but the scythe stopped moving and the almost she was fighting let out a horrible sound.

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  The moment this happened, Revolution's opponent changed tactics. The winged almost moved its arms and created a light. The world lit up with a brilliant fury, growing brighter and brighter until Mars could see nothing. It took her a moment to realize that she could truly see nothing. Her eyes burned, and no matter how many times she blinked she saw nothing but darkness. Frantic, she drew her sand to her eyes, reversing time locally on them only. She blinked and saw a blur. She blinked again and the world took shape.

  First she spotted Violet. The leading Dreamer had managed to cover her eyes in time, it seemed. Then she looked for Lily. And she looked, and looked. All that remained where she had been was destruction. A cylinder of death had been carved out of the world. The truth hit Mars like an avalanche.

  Lillith was dead.

  She was dead.

  Mars had almost no power left. Almost no energy at all. But she used it anyway. She used it and she strangled the world. She chained it and she dragged it back to when Lily was alive. When Lily was fighting. This time she saw the cracking as much as she felt it. Like a spider web, starting at Mars and spreading out, bit by bit. Again she barely made it in time. The world was already bright when her magic reached its limit. She couldn’t aim her spell. She had neither the energy nor the sight. She simply Froze the world in as wide an area as she could. If the almost existed inside, it would change again. She would have to trust them to survive the next round. That was all she had. She descended to the ground, and let the darkness take her.

  They had won. That was the only news that mattered. Even though Mars had reached her limit and the safety net had disappeared, they beat the final version of the Almost. Violet and Lillith had come through. Mars . . . Mars hadn’t failed again. It was still okay. She was okay. Almost. She had three new nightmares. She’d never dealt with three in one fight before. She couldn’t get them out of her head. She couldn’t think of anything else. The other girls, no longer transformed, looked at her with concern.

  “You alright, Mars?” Lillith asked. Mars had only been conscious for less than a minute, and she was already troubling the other girls.

  “Yeah,” she replied, “I just . . . I need some time alone. I need to think.” She didn’t wait for a reply, instead collecting herself and looking for a place to decompress before they could ask her if she was okay again. She didn’t see the silent conversation between Lily and Violet, during which it was decided Violet would be the one to follow.

  They’d brought her back to the mall, far from the carnage. Most people had evacuated, leaving the building largely empty. Mars took advantage of this, finding a quiet spot in the garden center to process what had happened. She liked plants. Well, her sister had liked plants, and they felt a little like her. They were all she had of Camilla, and they were the only way she had to talk to her sister.

  “I don’t know if I can keep doing this, Cammie,” she whispered. The only response she received was the dripping of condensation from recently watered leaves. “I think it’s killing me. A little at a time. I see every death every time I close my eyes. They are starting to push yours out. They are greedy for room, tripping over themselves to claw at my eyes. I don’t know how many more I can witness. Each one feels like cancer. Growing and growing and eating and eating and I can’t take it. I can’t take it.”

  The flora around her were cruel in their silence. The cracking sensation in the world seemed to grow. She felt it like her own bones were shattering inside and outside all at the same time. “I let her die. I let her die three times in a single fight. And each one was so . . .” Mars’ stomach revolted against her. She choked on a sob. “Cammie, I ran out of power today. I collapsed in the middle of a fight. A fight that killed Lily three times! What if it gets worse? What if everything falls apart around me and I don’t get lucky next time? What if I take too long to respond and I can’t go back far enough? What if I introduce an even worse Almost just to save my friend? What if . . . what if I leave someone to die again?”

  She closed her eyes as the sobbing fought to break free. Every death she’d ever watched flashed before her. The hopelessness. The pain. The agony and the blood. Every nightmare. Every failure. Her breathing grew short and violent, only upsetting her stomach further. She couldn’t hold it back any longer. The images were too vivid. Too insistent. Too violent. Bile rose in her throat and she painted the ground with the small breakfast she’d barely managed to force down that morning. She looked down at it, her hands holding her up on either side. “I’m sorry, Cammie,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry.”

  Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

  Mars was the last to finish her transformation, but Violet waited patiently. She had all the time in the world. She knew Lillith may rush ahead, but that would only serve to make the fight more interesting. Violet watched the hourglass shatter around Dreamer Redemption with interest. Most people couldn’t see the effects of a transformation. Their mind filtered it out, protecting the girl as she activated her powers. Even other magical girls usually couldn’t, but Violet could. Violet could see everything. Nothing could escape her.

  It was so funny, the way Mars practically broke down with each transformation. Where Lillith was clearly furious and itching to get into the action, Mars literally cried. Every single time. She hated being Dreamer Redemption. It was eating at her. She was, without a doubt, the best recruit Violet had ever found. The apprehension and fear was palpable every time she changed. As Mars stepped out across the broken glass, Violet had to fight to hold back her laughter. She was practiced at it however, and managed to pass the escaping smile off as something reassuring.

  “Don’t push yourself, alright. Hang back until your power is needed,” she said, securing the lie in place. Besides, she needed Mars to believe that. Dreamer Redemption was far too powerful. If she used her abilities as a front line fighter and let Revolution fall back to support, the Almosts wouldn’t stand a chance. Mars' fear of abandoning people was a powerful leash. It kept her in check. Violet, with the right encouragement, could make sure Mars was used only in the ways that served Devastation's design.

  Violet followed Lily, leaving Mars to force herself to join them. She could have pushed the other girl to move faster, but the more her pet hesitated, the more guilt would build up. If Mars waited a moment too long and Lillith died before she got there, well . . . that could lead to all kinds of fun. If they lost Lillith for good Violet would have to let herself die a few times again, to make Mars trigger her power. But she could handle that. It was honestly its own brand of exciting.

  She caught up to Revolution and saw the painting on the ground. She understood it in a moment. It felt warm and familiar, and if she looked at it for more than a moment, she would be annihilated. Lillith was already looking at it, trying to decipher it. Violet looked away and bit her lip, choking back the laughter. She wished she could watch what was about to happen, but she didn’t want to risk it. Mars wasn’t there quite yet, and she wasn’t going to risk a death that wouldn’t be reversible.

  She watched Mars when she caught up, a subtle smirk nearly escaping as she used the new arrival as an excuse not to look at the deadly art below. There was nothing for it, she’d have to miss this one. Lillith died and her legs fell to the ground below, and Violet couldn’t watch. She sighed in disappointment, but shrugged it off. She knew she could catch it on the replay, so to speak.

  As Redemption screamed, Violet turned away from her and allowed her unnaturally wide smile free. It was like ambrosia. Her childhood had been so dull. So boring. Until the Almost attacked during a field trip her freshman year. Everyone else had run, leaving Mr. Blankenship to distract it. But not Violet. The adrenaline that ran through her veins the day she saw that attack was the first time she ever really felt alive. The fascination she took as she watched what happened to him. She still remembered it. When the Almost clawed at itself, tearing gaping wounds in its own colorless flesh, each the size of its fingers.

  She barely understood the onslaught that exploded from him when he did. The world slowed around her and her lilac eyes sparkled. He didn’t simply bleed, and he didn’t bleed red. Cyan blood formed crystal knives which flew like a murder of crows through the air. Graceful and quick and wonderful. As they tore into the man protecting Violet, red joined blue, splashing together in a world of slow beauty, like an abstract painting in motion. Violet’s heart quickened like she’d only ever experienced through the eyes of fictional characters. Her breathing grew deeper as her world filled with color for the first time. One after the other, the two men’s blood mixed with clean, sharp impacts. Blue, then red, then blue, again and again, discovering something new. The light faded from the teacher’s eyes. Blue knives and red water, twisting and creating . . . Violet.

  As the shredded man fell dead to the ground the almost turned to Violet. Her cheeks flushed as it bit into its own arm, releasing more brilliant blood in her direction. She felt it bite into her. Her heart beat faster. Adrenaline flooded her veins. This. This was excitement. This was what she never understood. It would probably be the last thing she ever did understand, but it was worth it. She fell to the ground. Her arm was gone, she thought, but she didn’t care. A thousand brilliant birds were dancing with her.

  It was in that moment, staring at the shattered sky, bleeding in the grass, that she understood. She understood everything. Who the Almosts were. Who she was. And what she had to do. It was that moment that she discovered her magic. It saved her, and it gave her a purpose.

  She didn't get to watch Lily die this time. But that one, gorgeous memory was consolation enough, and she got to relive it every time Mars changed the flow of time. It was delicious. And, she got to catch the tail end of the rewind. Lillith’s death had been so sudden, it must have terrified Mars. It wasn’t the same, watching it be undone, but it was something. Besides, this Almost was easily one of the most dangerous she had seen. Able to kill in an instant and without a single touch. Sending her out into the world was its own reward. As Mars poured everything into aging the art away and saving Lillith, Violet pulled out her phone. She set an alert for a particular set of keywords.

  Almost attacks happened in every major city, every day. Many Almosts had similar abilities. Individual attacks rarely made more than the local news, so she’d have to specifically go looking for any particular news this fight caused elsewhere in the world. She finished just as Mars completed her work, tucking her phone away before anyone had the luxury of checking on her. She watched the scene below unfold as a new Almost appeared. She read its history in a moment and tapped her chin appraisingly. Another dangerous one, if not quite as dangerous. If Revolution was quick, she could beat it. The Almost’s most powerful weapon was a massive bell, an instrument too large to pull into this world quickly.

  Lillith had managed to kill Almosts in the time it would take before, and this one was stuck with the bell rope alone. It would take effort to ring as well, which would be a massive opening for Lillith to act. Violet wasn’t sure she could pull another spell out of Mars with this one. But it wouldn’t hurt to try. When Revolution tried to close the gap, Violet joined her. She teased at the rope, attracting the Almost’s attention so she could fight behind Lillith and with her back to Mars. There wasn’t much she could do to extend the battle. She managed to wrap the rope around her scythe, giving her a little control over it while putting on a good show for the little time machine behind her. There was still plenty of flexibility in the rope and the Almost was able to maintain her assault on both of them. Violet helped, directing the rope into Revolution as many times as she could.

  It wasn’t much, but it did slow her down. Unfortunately, it seemed like the resourceful girl below was going to succeed anyway. She was about to kill this Almost, and would all be over. This was usually how it went. It was rare to get two deaths out of one fight. Often she didn’t even get one. But when the rope wrapped around her scythe grew taut, the Almost trying to pull it back, Violet had an idea. She let it take her, feigning a greater loss than it actually was and using the excuse to tackle Lillith.

  The heat was gloriously dangerous and exhilarating. Her skin wanted to bubble under it, but just as planned, Lillith suppressed her power to protect Violet. With Lillith dazed and facing away, Devastation positioned herself between her two allies, blocking Redemption’s view of Revolution. Everything in place, she grabbed the rope and wrapped it around Lillith’s throat. With that, all she had to do was back off and let the Almost handle the rest. She made a show of trying to cut the rope, but it was easy enough to stop the scythe before any damage could be done. It was sturdy enough she could hit it without cutting, so long as she held back. Adorably, Lillith offered her flames to the scythe to make it easier. It would have worked, too. The combination attack had the power it needed and faking failure grew more difficult.

  She was saved by the bell, however. Once it materialized it was only a matter of time. Violet was sure to cover her ears, filling them with the same black blood she used to make her scythe. The bell rang and this death was far better than the last. Slower. More painful. To Violet, the bubbling and bursting blood veins were the true art, however fascinating the painting had been. It was the beauty of crimson fireworks in the night sky and Violet reveled in it. Mars rewarded her further by taking the world back again. Violet didn’t need to make a note of this one. She’d be able remember the more specific and simple phrases necessary to effectively leave an alert for this one.

  Again she was allowed to revisit the day she became a magical girl. The birds flying around her and waking her up. Giving her life. Opening her eyes. Of course at the end of this, Mars stopped the bell from ringing, and the Almost was replaced.

  Violet tilted her head at this one. It seemed to be another with music based magic. Or, two others, rather. Only one of the two Almosts was dangerous, however. She realized immediately why they had come together. Their magic was intrinsically connected, one providing energy and instruction to the other. Almost like a more synergistic Pokémon trainer. The thought nearly made her laugh. These were extremely dangerous enemies, perhaps the most dangerous they had fought. Violet realized, for the first time, she may be able to get three spells out of Mars. At the same time, if she let this one get away, the game may be over. It had one particular ability that would definitely make national news. International, even, although it would only be able to use it once.

  It would be a risk, but Violet lived for risks. She decided to take it. She sent Lillith after the dangerous Almost, flying to the mostly harmless one instead. It would be dangerous to actually attack, the dragon girl would prioritize protecting the woman over fighting Lillith. But she wouldn’t do that. Instead, she simply spun her scythe around to kill time and put on a show. She moved it fast enough that Mars wouldn’t be able to tell no fight was taking place, but harmlessly enough that the girl in front of her wouldn’t feel threatened. This would keep both focused on Lillith.

  The fight made a lot of noise and did a lot of damage, but Violet was growing bored. She was almost certain Lillith would lose without her intervention. And she was right. The human almost shouted out a command, something Italian, and the fight was over as far as Violet could discern. She stopped swinging and shut her eyes, covering them with an arm as well. Another death that was too quick. Another she couldn’t watch. A pity.

  She did get to visit her younger days again, at her old school, when she discovered the meaning of beauty. When her broken body was put back together with the black blood for the first time. Three times in a single day. It was over too quickly. Mars stopped this spell as well and that, at least, sent a thrill down Violet’s spine.

  The new Almost wasn’t nearly as dangerous. It reminded Violet of Mars a bit, actually. It could have been fun to see the two interact, but she couldn’t think of a way to arrange it. Besides, three was apparently Redemption’s limit. The younger girl barely managed to land safely before passing out. Violet sighed. She flew to Mars and picked her up, protecting her from the upcoming changes to the landscape and finally allowing Lillith an uninterrupted fight.

  Violet put her hand on Mars' shoulder. The vomit was funny, sure, but she’d read the news on the way over. She had been right. The risk with the almost pair hadn’t paid off. The minute Mars composed herself enough to open her phone, she’d learn the truth. She’d know what she had done every time she’d turned back the clock and stopped an almost. The game was up, and this was Violet’s last chance to get anything out of her at all.

  “Tough fight today, huh?” Violet asked. Mars choked on her response the first time before wiping her mouth on one sleeve and looking at her leader.

  “I don’t know if I can keep this up, Vi,” she responded. Violet sat down next to her and rubbed her back to offer faux comfort.

  “It’s not your fault, Mars. I get it, Lily has more of a stomach for violence than me, too. Yeah, today’s fight was ugly. I struggled with it. Lily struggled with it. You couldn’t have been expected to join such an intense fight. We’ve always managed alone before, and we managed this time too,” Violet reassured.

  Mars eyes opened wide. “You don’t think . . . it would have been better if I fought on the front lines this time? That I could have ended it faster?” she asked.

  Violet paused, waiting just long enough to imply hesitation, then rubbed the back of her own neck. “I don’t know. I really don’t. I thought you were going to for a second, actually. When you aged the painting it almost looked like you were going to kill the monster with it. But I understand why you didn’t. It’s not so easy, crossing that line. Committing an act of genuine violence,” she replied.

  Mars started to tremble. “You think that would have ended it? If I’d just . . . killed it the first time? But . . . you said that was dangerous. You said I needed to save my power, and with the effect my power has on the Almost it could be dangerous to attack them directly! I thought . . . I wasn’t supposed to . . .” Mars panicked, her breathing growing shorter.

  Violet held up a placating hand, “No, sorry, you are right, you are right! You made the right call! I’m serious. I don’t know what kind of effect actually killing an Almost would have on you! I’m glad I told you that. I’m glad I protected you from that. And it worked. We won. You should be proud of that,” she said. Mars looked at her with horror.

  “What do you mean you’re glad you told me that? Like it was a decision you didn’t have to make?” she asked, practically pleading. Violet carefully wore an expression of pure guilt.

  “I . . .” Violet trailed off. “I meant . . .”

  “It wasn’t true? It wasn’t dangerous, you just didn’t think I could handle it . . . this?” she pressed. Violet looked at her like a deer in headlights.

  “I . . . I’m sorry. It was for your own good,” Violet admitted. Mars looked like she was going to vomit again. Violet quickly followed it up to avoid this. “Listen, you still did the right thing. We can’t know what would have happened if you fought directly. And we can be certain you wouldn’t have handled it well. Otherwise you wouldn’t have believed me so easily, right?” Violet asked.

  Mars blanched. “B-but, why would I have questioned you? You taught me everything about this! I didn’t know . . . I would have helped more if I’d known!” she protested.

  “Would you have?” Violet asked. “Couldn’t you have if you really wanted to? Listen, you are blowing this out of proportion. What you have been doing? It’s been working. You’ve fulfilled your role well. You’re our safety net, Mars. And for that you need to be safe. I know it, and deep down, you know it. It was a simple lie, and it was one worth accepting. Like a wall, or a steel door. The lie was a shelter for you. A safe place to hide while Lillith and I faced the monsters outside. It’s where you fulfill your role best. If you didn’t know that, you would have come out. Because I only provided the shelter. When you accepted it without question, it was you who locked the door, wasn’t it? And it’s been good! It’s why everything has worked like it has! Don’t blame yourself for that! Don’t blame yourself for staying safe to fight another day. Accept that shelter! Lily and I can handle the monsters on the outside.”

  Mars lost her stomach again, doubling over and catching herself with one hand, landing directly in the first wave of vomit. This time it was mostly acid, with little left to actually expel. Violet ran her hand through Mars' hair. “None of that now. Don’t do that. I can see you beating yourself up. Blaming yourself. And I can see the answer that is presenting itself. Mars, I know it was a rough day. But I want you to promise you won’t do anything stupid, alright? We do need you. The Magica Dreamers need you. Think of everyone you’d be leaving behind if you did something rash! Think of the effect it would have on your family. You really, truly did nothing wrong! Not everyone has the courage for combat and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Especially after the way that painting killed Lily in an instant, you were shaken! Scared! Most kids your age would respond the same way!” Violet pushed.

  Mars froze. “What did you say?” she whispered through a whimper.

  “I said you did nothing wrong,” Violet repeated.

  “You . . . saw Lily die?” Mars asked, enough sorrow in her voice to nearly drown the question. Violet saw her mistake just a moment too late. She’d gotten too worked up. She was in too much of a rush, with the news that Lillith was bound to rush in and deliver. She hadn’t been thinking as clearly as usual. This approach wasn’t going to work. She dropped the concerned look in a breath. Bored, half-lidded eyes locked onto Mars as the younger girl looked up in horror.

  “Not biting, huh?” Violet intoned. “What’s it gonna take to get you to eat a fucking bullet? Do I have to go tell your parents what you did to Camilla?”

  Mars actually fell on her face, her own acid covering her shirt as she rolled onto her back and tried to scramble away. “H-how did you know about–” she started but Violet snapped her fingers, cutting Mars off.

  “I know everything about you. I have since the moment I saw you. I have a good eye that way. It’s how I know you ran ahead of your sister when you were both attacked by an Almost. It’s how I know you got to the shelter first and slammed the door behind you. It’s how I know you locked it, and ignored your sister's pleas to be let in, too afraid of facing the monster behind her. I even know what happened when she gave up. When the last moment passed when you could have let her in, and she cried, but promised you it was okay. That she understood. That you did the right thing and she forgave you. But you know what? She didn’t. She hated you, as she died. I think you know that. She was disgusted by your cowardice. She died painfully, and slowly, and hating you the entire time. Her last thoughts were the wish that it had been you, and not her, to be torn apart like that,” Violet snarled, a cruel smile stretching unnaturally wide on her face.

  “Why are you doing this? I don’t understand,” Mars sobbed.

  “I also know what the Almosts are. Are you curious? They are just people. People from other lives. Other paths. Other . . . timelines. The worst version of them. The version that went through the most pain and loss. The versions of these people who broke. They don’t even understand the pain they cause when they get here. Only I do. Do you know how they get here? Have you ever wondered why the chromatic broken sky looks so much like your hourglass? Did you really think it was a coincidence? They are slipping through the cracks in reality. Through damaged time,” Violet taunts.

  “You’re lying,” Mars cried, trying to crawl backward but slipping in her own mess before successfully finding purchase on a large flower pot. She knocked it to the ground as she pulled herself up. “You’re lying,” she repeated.

  “You think so, do you? Funny how you finally figured out how to doubt me. How to question me. ‘We must live above reproach! We are an example to everyone around us!’ I sounded like a fucking Saturday cartoon and you lapped it up like a dog with vomit. You took everything I fed you before but now, when it’s convenient for you, now is when you consider I might be lying? You believed the Almosts were changing, to an entirely different monster with entirely different abilities. And only when you used your magic. How fucking convenient, to have an excuse all tied up with a bow. You know what really happens?” Violet cackled.

  “No, I didn’t . . .” Mars protested, trembling and backing away until her back hit the wall.

  “You are replacing them. Letting a new one into the world. But the old one doesn’t disappear. No, that would be too easy. I am the one who handles all our records. All our research. It even took me a while to see it. Imagine my delight when I realized every almost you ever sent away just found themselves somewhere else in the world. They slipped from the world whenever you reversed it, and came back out somewhere else. To do exactly what they had done to Lillith, or me, to someone else. Dozens of other people. Hundreds. Let me tell you Mars, I have killed innocent people before. It’s like a game, watching them realize the perfect magical girl with the perfect manners and the unassailable reputation is going to kill them. That she isn’t going to stop. That she is enjoying it. But as many times as I have done this, I have to stand in awe of you. It would take me decades to wash my hands in as much blood as yours,” Violet says, an almost sultry tone in her voice.

  “I never meant to hurt anyone!” Mars protested. She started counting under her breath. Desperately trying to find her way back to reality.

  “And yet,” Violet smiled, pulling her phone out of her pocket and holding the screen to Mars' face. “Those two Almosts, with the light spell earlier? Well. They had a doozy of a fucking spell. Even you couldn’t miss this one. You see that? The entire city of Portland. Gone. You basically sent a nuclear bomb to them, just to save Lily. Was it worth it? How about now? Now that you know you are one of the most violent killers in history. Feel like swallowing one of your own spells now?”

  Mars took a deep breath, her eyes bloodshot and bulging. Her hand on her heart. “No.” she whispered. “No. You’re wrong. That’s not the solution. There is no redemption in that. Maybe there is no redemption in anything for me, anymore. But there is only one thing I can do to even start to make things right.” Violet sighed. This approach did work sometimes, but she didn’t have enough time to set up for it. She’d thought Mars was right on the edge, though. Apparently she was, but it was the wrong edge. “I have to fight. No more hiding, I have to stop you.”

  Violet watched the colorful hourglass surround Mars. This could not be perceived or interfered with by almost anyone. Anyone but Violet, who saw everything. Violet pulled a butterfly knife out of her pocket, toying with it as she grabbed a brick from a nearby shelf with her other hand. She swung the brick into the hourglass. It cracked. She swung again and the crack spread. Again, and again, and again, until it shattered. Inside, Mars stood with her hands around her throat, pure shock in her eyes. Violet shoved the knife through both hands and into Mars’ windpipe.

  Spluttering blood splashed against Violet’s face. “It would have been so much easier if you’d done it yourself,” she complained. “It could have been so much more fun.” Mars slumped, unable to stop gripping her bleeding throat, blood spilling out her lips. Violet was prepared to finish her target off, but something caught her eye. A thousand colors. She groaned as she turned and saw Lillith’s transformation behind her. She didn’t have time to interrupt this one. She could tell at a glance how long it had been active. Lillith was a fierce fighter. Without Violet’s intervention, she would win most fights. Violet wasn’t sure she could beat her in an honest fight. But there was nothing left for it. She had to face her, magical girl to magical girl.

  The world bled its color. Every green and orange and blue of the plants around her dripped into an empty void beneath her feet. Instead of a quiet gardening center, she found herself in unending darkness. She lifted one hand to her throat, extending a single finger. As she drew a line across her throat her clothes began to bleed with the black bubbling of an empty soul.

  “Blade of my mind,” she chuckled, summoning an anticipation in her heart and inviting the world to choke on its beauty. “Tear, and chew, and rend the flesh in my hands with your brilliant brutality.” As she snickered the blood pooled and instead of clothing she wore an ocean of brilliant carnage, dripping from her body with greedy joy. In a single, violent motion, she gripped her head in both hands, pressing into her skull like she was trying to crush it. As she held them there, she began to tremble, gently at first, aimless energy collecting in her fingers until they could remain still no longer. “Make me bleed!” she cackled and her hands moved. One fell to her side as the other formed a gun with two fingers and her thumb, pushing into her temple. She then flicked them up, as if firing.

  As she did this the blood formed into a dress around her torso. Again she pulled the trigger, the sound of a gunshot echoing through the vast and empty world of nothing, and stitches sutured themselves along her body, decorating her dress. Another gunshot and the blood ran down her legs, forming boots and leggings. Another shot and the remaining blood climbed her arms and gathered around her hands, forming surgical gloves. Finally, she pressed harder, her index and middle finger digging their way up to her knuckles, fracturing her skull and tearing her mind apart. One more time she fired the gun, black blood flew from the other side of her head and the crack of gunpowder rang out around her. As she did this, liquid stained the front of her dress, the emblem of a scythe taking shape like a wine stain.

  The darkness blew away like dust and Dreamer Devastation emerged from it, facing the raging fire before her with an unquenchable thirst.

  Lillith had read the news after Violet followed Mars, but it took her several precious minutes to do so. At first, she’d wanted nothing more than to finally find something to eat. But as she idly scrolled social media, physically and emotionally exhausted, the news started rolling in. She recognized the depicted Almosts in an instant. And she ran. She had to talk to Violet and Mars. She had to make sense of it. Something was wrong. They had been wrong about everything. She had to ask Violet. The girl who’d recruited her. Given her the power to fight back. She would know what to do. She could explain it.

  And explain it she did. When Lillith found her two friends, they were arguing. Or, Violet was berating Mars for some reason. It didn’t feel right. It didn’t sound like Violet at all. Lily paused, just out of sight, deciding to listen instead of interrupt. She figured they must have seen the news. So many people dead, and it could be their fault. Anyone would act strange. But as she started to make out the words, Lily paled. Violet knew. She knew everything and she always had. It didn’t make sense, until the leader of the Magica Dreamers confessed to murder. Confessed to enjoying it. And she was trying to push Mars to . . .

  Lily couldn’t process it. But she couldn’t hesitate either. She was tired, but for the second time that day, she transformed into Dreamer Revolution. Her fire burned brighter than ever before. This was no monster. No unknowable beast. She had to fight a person, and a person she loved. A person she admired. A girl who, despite Lillith’s conflicting views, she’d truly thought was the best of them. Above reproach. A great woman of history in the making. And she took joy in death. In power. So many memories were re-framed. Shattered. Soiled.

  By the time the colors turned to mist, Violet was missing. Mars was on the ground, sputtering and bleeding. Revolution burned. She’d been too slow. It had taken her too long, and Mars was paying the price. She took a single step forward to help before black dust filled the room and Dreamer Devastation stood in her way. Violet hadn’t run. She had realized Lillith was there. And she was smiling.

  “I guess things sort of got away from me this time,” she giggled, the friendly voice matching that of a thousand jokes on a thousand late nights playing games and sleeping over. “I’ll have to be more careful with the next team. A shame though, it’ll be hard to replace Mars.” The water that flooded Lily’s eyes steamed as it touched the air. The room around her began to quiver with the waves of heat radiating off of her.

  “Why?” Lillith asked. She grit her teeth as Violet replied with a closed-eyed smile. “Why? What’s the point of it all? Why?”

  Violet held a finger to her lower lip. “I don’t know, exactly,” she mused. “I guess just because everything else is just so fucking dull. I don’t know how you do it, I’m jealous, really. You are so invested in so many petty little things. So many pointless little people. But I can’t see all the colors you do. This is the only way I can make the world light up, I guess. Does that make sense?” She asked the last question as if she was explaining why she didn’t like coffee. So casually. So . . . uninvested.

  Lillith couldn’t bear it. She flew into Violet, picking her up and vaulting her into the air. She carried her as she forced their way through the ceiling and into the sky above. Violet laughed with genuine glee, like a child on a carnival ride. Once they were in the sky, the other girl melted into black blood, an ability Lillith had never seen. Instead of burning the girl in an inescapable grip, she found herself choking on toxic blood. Devastation reformed on the other side, still laughing like they were friends playing a game together. She wiped her own happy tears from her eyes as Revolution coughed and spun around.

  “Now this, this is interesting!” she exclaimed. Lillith growled, fire erupting from her hands and back at the same time. She propelled herself at Violet with startling speed, swinging a burning fist aimed at the other girl’s chest. Violet floated easily to the side, hands behind her back, twirling her scythe in one as its wrist was gripped in the other. She was not so casual because she was safe, however. Lillith was heat incarnate and making contact wasn’t necessary to do damage. Violet’s dress caught fire despite the dodge and the skin behind it bubbled and popped. Still she moved casually, and still she laughed. She was simply having fun.

  Lillith didn’t slow down, turning through the air with the same momentum and swinging a kick into the same spot. Again Violet dodged, and again it wasn’t free. She’d be forced to fight back or risk dying. So Violet twisted her scythe around, going for Lillith’s back as she passed. The outer edge made contact, cutting Lily’s dress and leaving a long but shallow cut in the colorful skin beneath.

  Fire burst from Lily’s feet, elevating her from the bottom first and turning her upward in the air. This way she gained elevation over Violet and circled above her, descending on her and showering her with purple flames. Violet countered with rapid swings of her scythe, cutting through the fire and taking only the sparks that made it through. With her free hand she batted at the fire still burning on her dress, only to earn burns for her trouble.

  Lily didn’t slow down, diving straight into the rapidly swinging scythe. She was the faster of the two and predicted each move, gliding to the side like a guided missile. She wasn’t quite fast enough to avoid everything, taking several flesh wounds in order to close the gap. Violet quickly realized she was going to have to move, her small cuts not carrying enough value to wait any longer. Flame licked at her side as she barely dodged in time and vibrant pain coursed through her.

  These exchanges repeated over and over. Two powerful girls, both determined to win. Both determined to kill. Neither giving an inch as different emotions nearly blinded them. Violet wore burns and blisters and oozing bubbles of flesh all over her body. She could transform herself to ashen blood, but it didn’t heal her and it didn’t prevent the damage. Lillith was decorated with razor thin cuts, shredding flesh and cloth but never cutting any deeper. Each cut glowed like a dying fire as her very blood literally burned with rage.

  Both realized the same thing. They were going nowhere. They needed to risk more to win. Violet smirked and Lillith glared. They hovered and gasped for breath, twitching to move. Lillith was the first to act, accelerating faster than ever before, too fast to react to anything. Too fast to dodge, for either of them. Violet knew Lillith well and expected this, casually holding her scythe in front of her. Both plans worked flawlessly.

  Lillith finally landed a direct hit on Violet. Her left fist collided with and sunk into the other girl’s body as it melted into that same black blood. In the same moment, the scythe tore through Lily’s right shoulder, rending flesh and bone. Lily screamed. Violet laughed. Lillith’s left arm burned and boiled the blood around it. Her right arm fell to the ground below.

  “Think I won that one,” Violet grinned. “I’m impressed by the pain you’re capable of causing, but this won’t do any permanent damage. You, on the other hand . . .”

  “You think so, do you?” Lillith snarled. She then twisted her body, letting her steaming blood splash across Violet’s face and into the black liquid forming Violet’s chest. Lillith’s blood was magma in the moment, and as it mixed with the poison that was Violet’s, it became clear who the real winner was.

  As Violet’s face contorted with agony, steaming red blood permanently marring it, Lillith planted a foot in Devastation's gut and kicked her away. She streaked across the sky, black, and purple tainting the blue above. She recovered with her back facing Lillith, before twisting her head back at an unnatural angle, a sickeningly wide grin and wide eyes finding Lillith immediately. The next fight exchange would be the end. Lillith’s blood permeated Violet’s body and burned her from the inside. Lillith was losing too much of her own to survive without treatment. They had to end it.

  “Do that again,” Violet ordered. “I’ll make sure you don’t survive it.” Lillith believed her. She could feel it. If she attacked like that again, Violet would take her head.

  “Neither will you,” Lillith called back. And then she charged.

  Violet was ready. She was in agony and the world had so much light in it. That move with the blood had been clever. But Lillith was too blinded by rage. Violet couldn’t survive this next exchange. She knew that. But how fucking funny would it be if she took both of the others with her? No one would be left to protect the city. The next almost attack would be a catastrophe here. Her legacy had been decided. It was a trade she was willing to make.

  Lillith agreed, and charged. Violet held her scythe out. Lillith approached. The kick and the blood together would kill Violet, but her scythe would take Lily’s head. She grinned as death approached at breakneck speeds. It was a single instant away. Her blade was at Lily’s throat, already drawing blood when . . . the world froze. Mars. Lily had distracted Violet too quickly. The other girl must have had the chance to rewind time just on her own body. A safer spell. One which wouldn’t invite an Almost. And now she was stopping time. Violet nearly laughed, thinking a new Almost would come already. Until she saw a bird fly by. It was localized. Violet’s worst fear had been realized.

  Mars was actually using her magic to fight, and she was using it safely. She’d saved Lillith again, finally acting before the tragedy instead of forcing the world to undo it. But that was alright. Violet’s body wasn’t affected by her time magic. Violet could move, and now Lillith was frozen. Mars had only saved her enemy, ensuring her allies' death. It was hilarious. Maybe she’d be able to drive the girl off the ledge after all. Except, as she tried to move her body, it refused to budge. She wasn’t caught in the spell. She was conscious. But she couldn’t move. She couldn’t extend her scythe even a little to finish the job. Finally, a bead of sweat formed on her brow.

  “I-it’s Lillith,” Mars explained with a stutter, floating into view. “You aren’t frozen. No part of you is. But Lillith . . .” she trailed off. And Violet understood. The blood. She had been betrayed by the blood. Lillith’s permeated Violet’s body at every level. And it was frozen in time. So Violet was as well.

  “So what are you going to do now, oh brave Dreamer Redemption? You can’t hold this spell up forever. You’re already exhausted from the fight earlier. How much power could you have recovered in that time? You’re going to let it go, to keep yourself safe, and Lily will lose her head. Then, I am coming for you. I’ll make you look at her head when I kill you. You’ve only bought yourself a few moments to grieve. To fail. That’s all you’ve done.

  Mars pulled a bloodstained butterfly knife out, holding it in trembling hands. Tears ran down her face as she flew closer to Violet. Violet smirked. “You don’t have the spine,” she taunted. “I wasn’t lying earlier. We both know that you can’t live with it. Killing me. Whatever the consequences. It will haunt you until the day you die. It will be the worst nightmare you own, and it will ruin you. You simply cannot handle it.”

  Mars nodded. “You’re right, I can’t. I really, really, can’t. It will tear me apart and leave me as nothing,” she agreed. Violet grinned, until Mars spoke again. “But I have been safe for too long. I have protected myself for too long. Everything you said was true. I believed you to protect myself. And people got hurt. It’s time to unlock the shelter doors and face the monster myself. It’s time to let everyone else in while I’m the one who is torn apart outside.” With this, Mars shut her eyes tight, tears running down her cheeks. She shook like a terrified child as she closed in on Violet. She bit her lip until she broke the skin. But she didn’t stop.

  It wasn’t until the knife cut into Violet’s throat that she realized Mars was actually going to do it. And there was nothing she could do. Shifting to her blood took time and that didn’t exist in that moment. For the first time in her life, Violet felt fear. Not at the thought of death. She’d accepted that. It would have been worth it. But this? Killed by this pathetic whimpering child? And they would survive. The risk of loss was thrilling. But this wasn’t that. This was just . . . losing. Mars was weeping quietly, pathetically. She was so much weaker than Violet. But she was the reason Dreamer Devastation died, choking on her own blood, barely recognizable, and completely, totally, and all consumingly afraid.

  Lillith woke up in the garden center. She hurt everywhere, and she was missing an arm but she was alive somehow. Her neck had a narrow cut but she still had her head. The wall where she’d last seen Mars was empty, covered in blood, but she wasn’t there. Lily sighed in relief. She was alive. They had both survived. And as she turned to leave, she found a corpse. A friend. A girl she loved like family. Violet was propped up against a large flower pot, a butterfly knife in her throat. Her eyes were empty and her smile was gone.

  Finally, the fight had ended.

  Again, the Magica Dreamers had . . .

  won.

  I enjoyed writing this a lot. Should I start outlining a full novel in this universe?

  

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