"Wait, but you can't-!"
"I will make this wish, I can't leave Paris like this!"
"We'll never be able to see each other again-!"
"We will see each other again, I promise. I—"
"WAIT!"
"I wish…"
/
Times didn't improve.
"Move out of the way, I will protect you, / / / / / /!"
Nothing changed.
"Wait, no, you can't throw away your life like that-"
Death was still a familiar scent in the air.
"/ / / / / /!"
But this was what they wished for.
"...Please… don't turn into one of those things just because of me… I don't…"
So this was what they got.
"/ / / / / /!"
Nothing was in vain.
A wish for a wish.
The worlds collided.
Nothing changed.
/
The crisp, auburn leaves of autumn rustled as they flew about in rambunctious waves. Usually, at this time of day, a chaotic crowd of Parisian citizens would be bustling about. They would go to meet up with their friends, forgetting about the daily routine of work and school. Their hearts would soar as they wandered into the fields of a nearby park, catching up on all the latest trends during their hangouts. People would gladly go to a famous bakery for some delicious goodness. It would've been the best place and time to do all these things.
Alas, this was not the day for such activities.
The sound of footsteps was evident, but the pace was too quick for the usual calm activities. No, these footsteps were racing. There was no time to waste, it seemed. Something was happening, and the owners of these footsteps had to get to where they needed to be. Fast.
"You really think that this is the place? We've already been searching these areas more than enough, we should have found something already."
"I'm sure of it-the magic here is unmistakable! Keep going, we'll get to it soon!"
"If you're sure…"
The two pairs of footsteps seemed to belong to two girls. The sound of feet hitting the ground grew louder as they made their way into the alleyway, echoing as they entered into a narrower pathway. Death and retribution hung in the air as they made their way towards the end of the alley.
A small symbol appeared at the end of the portal. It seemed to be a jagged line of some sort, probably representing a lightning bolt.
A small, orange hue engulfed the brown Parisian in comfort. The bluenette beside her looked in awe-even with the soggy atmosphere, getting to see a Puella Magi transform into their dreams and wishes was always a great sight to see. Marinette basked in the soft glow of her best friend, thankful that she didn't have to see these gruesome sights by herself.
The lightning symbol enlarged to reveal a portal behind it, having recognized the aura of the Magi as well.
Alya Cesaire entered the portal with her best friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, in order to help relieve the witch of their curses.
/
Marinette didn't want to admit it, but she was always afraid of going into a witch's barrier. This time was no different.
She had all the right to be scared, though. Without access to Magi abilities of her own, she couldn't defend herself as much as she liked to. This was usually a problem whenever Alya took her out on witch hunts.
That didn't mean that she couldn't help, though. As Marinette swung the enchanted roll of fabric at another one of those pesky familiars, putting all her might into each and every swing, she realised she had more to give than just the emotion of fear.
Her hope was probably the most encompassing trait about her, and everyone enjoyed it.
Having the chance to become a Magi was probably the greatest thing to have ever happened to her, but… she didn't have anything to wish for.
Magis represent the hope of the world, born from wishes. Witches were the detested enemies of Magis and humans, born from curses. Humans were vulnerable to witches, as they couldn't see them. Even so, it doesn't take witches very long before they make your life a living hell.
Witches were… flamboyant creatures. They hide in their barriers, their barriers are hidden by a portal only Magis had access to. Once in a while, the witches come out of their barriers to cause mischief in the human world. This can range from a person getting mad at their lover, a friend betraying their friend in their own selfish desires, or death. No matter how illogical it may seem, witches were able to manipulate the human world, cursing them just like the curses they were bestowed upon.
Magis are the total opposite of this, being the voice of reason and optimism. So they were the best bet on defeating witches.
Magis are created through Kyubey, an entity designed for fulfilling wishes of normal human girls and boys. In return for granting their wishes, Magis are destined to fight the everlasting creatures of mischief and curses. Magis are recognized through their soul gem, a small egg-like jewel that they keep with them at all costs. Magis are also able to exercise their abilities in the human world as well, these abilities being granted through their wish. They also use these abilities to fight witches.
After defeating a witch, a Magi receives a prize called a grief seed. When Magis exercise their abilities for too long, they are able to use the grief seed in order to allow them to use these abilities again.
Magis were truly the hope of the world.
But Marinette doesn't think she'll be able to do it.
She can't even think of a good wish. Why wish for something when she has everything right about her old life? Great friends, amazing parents, wonderful talent for designing (though she'll never admit that out loud)...
...If anything, the one thing she truly wishes for is to make Chloe go bother someone else. But then she won't be able to exercise good abilities after that, so she has to keep thinking.
"Alright, I think we're done here!" Alya, Marinette's best friend, calls out to her. "You ready to head out to the witch now?"
"Yeah, we probably should," Marinette says, running towards Alya. "We don't want the witch to get away like last time."
"You're right, they're a pain to find in the first place." Alya opens up the next door with her soul gem. "Let's get going, then!"
/
To Alya, a witch's barrier was always… unnerving. Nothing made sense.
As a reporter and a blogger, being able to predict something was always on the top of her list. Without her great observation and intuition skills, she's pretty sure she wouldn't be called Alya Cesaire anymore.
The large, rock-like familiars seemed to be testing those skills.
They spawned at the most random of times. Alya probably wouldn't be able to survive the sheer number of them, had it not been for their slow speed. Their large size was nearly leaving them immobile, but it sure did increase their strength.
"Try defending yourself against these ones, Marinette! Only hit when you need to!" Alya looked over her shoulder.
…
How on Earth was Marinette able to club these damned familiars down like that?
"Ah… nevermind, I think you're good." Alya decided to approach the problem with a different tactic. She raised her flute to her lips, her fingers moving delicately to play a soft little tune. Then she bashed the flute into the ground.
About fifty more Alyas stood beside her, matching the same number of rock golems there were. She grabbed Marinette and made their way to the back of the Alya swarm. The illusions won't last long-they disappear at one touch.
She hoped that it will be enough to distract them so they can focus on the witch.
"Why did we have to leave?" Marinette moaned. "I was midway into my famous combo for one of the bigger ones, I could've finished them off easily-"
"There were too many, Marinette," Alya replied with a sigh. Becoming a Magi sure did give her more than just abilities-ever since she withheld the responsibilities of a Magi, she seemed to have become more realistic in whatever she does.
"...?" Marinette looked at Alya, seeming to question her. "We've dealt with a lot more than that before…"
There was one more thing Alya hated about witch's barriers. Especially with this one.
The magic seemed too familiar to her.
It could be because they literally lived in a class full of Magis. Kyubey seemed to grant the wishes of those in Ms. Bustier's class, and Ms. Bustier usually took it upon herself to take care of the many Magis in their class. None of her classmates was sure if Ms. Bustier herself was a Magi; though sometimes, with the many drastic personalities and conflicts in their class, it seemed like she was.
Alya could be sensing the aura of one of her classmates. They probably tried to defeat the witch before, but couldn't finish it off. Sometimes that does happen with her colleagues-although they'd usually tell the class about their attempts the next day.
Alya also didn't see anyone on the streets, so… why does this witch's barrier seem so familiar?
She had no time to question the unnerving thought, though. She could feel them getting closer to the witch.
/
Whenever a witch came onto the scene, Alya always told her to stay back.
This time was no different.
"I think I've seen you defeat witches enough times to know how to beat one…"
"You can defeat a witch with me once you make your wish, I promise you, girl."
Though what Marinette really wanted to see was the rest of the witch's barrier.
She's not too sure if Alya has noticed it or not, but…
…Marinette saw a dead body somewhere here.
Don't get her wrong, she's not some sort of creep who enjoys dead bodies. Marinette would rather look away from dead bodies than towards them.
But something about this one felt… weird to her. Like she's seen it before.
Even though it was pretty mangled, she's sure she's seen the person somewhere before.
Nevertheless, she decided to focus her attention on Alya.
Alya was fairing pretty well. The illusions she created were just enough to trick the large witch and their familiars, as she landed in blows through her super strength. After a few more shots, it seemed like the witch was going to go down.
Except when its familiars grew bigger as well.
As beads of sweat ran down Alya's forehead, the familiars grew bigger. And bigger. And bigger. And bigger.
...What was going on?
Marinette felt like calling out to Alya, Marinette felt like running towards her, anything to try to help her. Why were the familiars growing now and not before? They seemed to react to Alya whenever she sweated, so…
...oh.
"Alya, we'll come back another time!" Marinette scampered out of her hiding spot. "We can't defeat the witch now!"
"But-"
"Either we get out, or you let me help you!"
Alya paused for a moment. She looked back at the witch, a twinge of guilt resonating within her. She gave a tiny bow to all those who may be killed because of this witch, then ran off with Marinette.
/
Marinette sighed as she watched the news, slumping onto the couch beneath her. It was a pretty long day-the witch wasn't defeated despite their best efforts. She and Alya separated on a heavy note. She wanted to ask her what was wrong, but couldn't muster up the courage to do so.
And it didn't help that her favourite designer's son got kidnapped too.
Yeah, kidnapped. You don't see that much in Paris, but apparently, people do that.
The poor kid (who seemed to be her age) got kidnapped for ransom. He's been held up for a while. The unnamed kidnapper was asking for a pretty huge sum of 1 million dollars.
The police were notified of the case soon after Gabriel Agreste noticed that his son was missing. One of the policemen dared to ask if, just maybe, his son ran away.
Mr. Agreste wasn't happy with that. "My son is not a delinquent rat, I have raised him to make sure he meets all of my expectations. If I didn't have these expectations, nothing would be stopping him from running away. And I do not want that to be the case." He's sure that his son got kidnapped.
And lo and behold, a day later after the police conference with Mr. Agreste was released, the kidnapper had announced online that he wants a tidy sum of $1 000 000.
The police managed to trace back the post to 1219 Lafayette Avenue, though no one's too sure whether the criminal wanted them to find out where he was or not. He could've kept the location in his post so Gabriel Agreste could hand the sum over to him. Nevertheless, it was a stupid idea, because the police would've been contacted to get involved with this case.
Marinette yawned as she looked at the clock. It was getting pretty late, and she had a school day tomorrow. It would be best if she got some sleep, especially after that long day.
Her feet shuffled as she turned off the television and climb upstairs into her bedroom.
She prays that the Agreste kid is doing okay before slumbering into blissful sleep.