Lurking

Chapter 11: When The Lights Go Out

Koyuki lay in her bed. She couldn't sleep... Actually she hadn't slept in days. Swim Swim's constant brutality matched with her age just didn't sit right with her. In the span of just over a week she had killed two magical girls, multiple criminals, and a pitbull of one of the felons she also killed. Ayana had no problem dishing out death at her age and she hated that she even had the gawl to do so. She decided the following day she would try yet again to talk her out of the brutality, she knew she could do it she just wanted to convince her to do it all the time.

Swim Swim shoved a man to the ground on the docks, he was battered, cut up and missing an eye and his left arm. She raised Ruler high in the air as the man pleaded for her to spare him and with a firm stroke cut his head in half. She flung the blood off the blade and ran to the warehouse behind her. Inside cages were boxes and when Swim Swim cut them open what was inside almost astonished her... There were other children, most of them around her age shivering and cowering in fear from the trauma the way they were treated. She reached her hand out to one of the girls she was scared at first but she took her hand.

Swim Swim gave all of the children blankets and left them for the police to handle. She continued jumping and jumping until she landed atop the Barclays Centre building. She decided that would be a good place to sit down and eat a snack for the night. She heard a noise from behind her so she reached into Calamity Mary's bag and tossed a powder bomb behind her. It exploded and a thick white material covered her assailant which turned out to be Snow White. Swim Swim sighed and set the bag down next to her.

"What do you want"

"I just want to talk"

"Shouldn't you be in The Bronx?"

"Yeah... But I finished my duties for the night" Snow White says.

Swim Swim stood up and turned to face her. Snow White took a deep breath and said what she needed to say, "If this is about the way I handle my missions the answer is no"

"Don't you feel any regret?! Any sense of compassion?" Snow White shouts.

Swim Swim turns around and looks at the busy street below her, "No... I don't"

"They may be scumbags and degenerates but they're humans too!" Snow White says, she squeezes her fist, "You have to stop this... This... This constant brutality and disregard for life"

She wipes the tears from her face, Swim Swim is silent again, "My answer remains the same"

Snow White looks down at the ground in disappointment, "I was really hoping you would be able to change... But it looks like there's no changing your mind isn't there"

Tears starts to stream down the girl's face as she stares at Swim Swim who still has her back at her.

"They're people who deserve the maximum punishment. They won't stop hurting, they won't stop killing, they won't stop raping, and kidnapping and torturing..."

Swim Swim swings Ruler around and turns to face Snow White, who's still crying, "... They won't stop until someone who can really make a difference comes in"

"That's just how humans are... We're imperfect creatures"

Swim Swim stays silent, Snow White wipes her face again. Her attempts to get her to calm down are pretty much useless at this point. Without warning an energy blast lands near Swim Swim but she doesn't flinch. Snow White turns around frantically looking to see where the attack came from then see across the building there's a pair of glowing eyes atop the building opposite. The mysterious shadow leaps and lands on the building they're standing on.

She's a magical girl, dressed like she's in the Victorian era, and there are stickers all over her face and on her dress. Swim Swim turns around slowly to meet her hate filled gaze.

"You have no sense of compassion..."

Swim Swim grips Ruler tightly, "I least I have the gall to do what I believe is right"

"So butchering people is the right thing to do?" The other girl shouts.

"If it's an option, it's something I can do" Swim Swim responds.

The other girl lets out a snarl and with a twinkle of magic an old musket style rifle appears in her hand. She takes aim at Swim Swim but when she does the girl is gone. She freezes as Swim Swim emerges from the floor below, right behind her too. She raises Ruler high into the air and cuts the barrel of the the musket off with a firm stroke, the pieces clatter to the concrete floor.

The girl stands there doing her best to battle the fear eating inside her. Swim Swim slowly strolls in front of her and points the blade of her spear at the girls neck.

"What's your name..."

"Ganimede" The girl says shakily.

"Ganimede... I'm going to be nice to you. I'm going to let you run off. But the next time you attack me, I won't be so nice"

Snow White's ears perk up when she hears that Swim Swim is sparing the girls life. She can't help but smile excitedly, to her this meant she still had a heart.

Ganimede's head hangs low in defeat, she turns around and starts walking towards the ledge of the building, she looks back at both Swim Swim and Snow White and then she leaps jumping from one building to the other. Once she's out of sight, the pieces of the musket she had evaporate into magic dust and are blow away in the wind.

"... You didn't kill her. Why?"

"All part of my plan"

Snow White gasps, she should have figured there was another reason why she didn't kill her and this was it, Swim Swim's mysterious agenda that she knew nothing about.

"What... Plan...?"

"One the world of magical girls won't see coming" She says, then she sinks into the ground taking Ruler with her.

Fear washes over Snow White's face. She has no idea what she's talking about but she can tell it's nothing pretty.

---

Ayana is writing in a book during lunch time at her school sitting at a table with her friends. In said book she's documenting every magical girl she's come across in her time staying in New York so far, a lot of them seem to value friendship, compassion and trying their best to do the right thing. She would take note of each of their skills so she could find their weaknesses and crush them. She would also note which girls she could befriend with Trifle already technically being her first ally.

Charlie runs over to her and taps her on the shoulder, Ayana goes from scheming to her regular innocent child behaviour.

"Hey Ayana! Wanna go play at the park later?" Charlie asks excitedly.

She smiles brightly, "Sure!"