A Story of Sorcery

jellyclowndarle:

“Might want to watch your mouth, Arle,” the reflection blurted with an alerting tone, taking her hand off her eye. “We appear to be dealing with a soul-stealing genie here. This probably isn’t their true form.

“But at the same time, maybe they just need it to talk?” Dia shrugs, trying to note a possibility of non-hostile reasons. Didn’t want to claim this thing was an enemy or friend just yet, but she had doubts this thing had good intentions.

The horned Arle seemed momentarily bewildered. She hadn’t expected Dia to figure out about that. Her lips were pursed for a moment, but she relented. “…That’s very… ‘observant’ of you?” she replied somewhat hesitantly. Frowning with distaste, she averted her eyes for a moment. “Everyone thinks they’re too good for dark magic until they get in over their heads and they need something to save them. I had to make a lot of very difficult choices to be able to stand here before you today. Deus was an evil creature, and sealed away like that his existance was probably suffering. The only difference now is that he’s sealed inside me. Arguably an improvement for everyone involved. I’m a much nicer environment to live in than the void…” she explained, mildly disgusted with her own choice of words. She didn’t care for how intimate it sounded, even if everything she’d said was true as could be. 

“After what feels like eons, I’ve got a nice thing going on. My own world where I’m relatively safe. I get to make the rules. Nobody’s using me or forcing me to do things I’m not comfortable with. Maybe someday I can start to live a normal life again. Why would I risk any of that just for some revenge?” she went on to explain, gesturing to Arle.

“I definitely don’t remember beating up any doppelgangers last time I visited this place, but never mind what I did for a moment–What about Septum??” Arle demanded, not appreciating all of these distractions. She just wasn’t having it! 

The horned Arle glared at the ‘original’ for a moment, but relented. “…Of course you don’t, stupid. Last time we fought was on ‘his’ world. But Septum…” she began, becoming a tad pensive. “When I absorbed Deus’s soul, Septum… was drawn into the mix, somehow. I wasn’t able to stop myself. Something supernatural forced them together. I’m sorry, big sis…”

One could just see Arle tense with horror at that last line. Suddenly it all made sense what this horned apparition had been alluding to. Septum was right here. …Part of her. That look on Arle’s face. She was screaming internally. 

All that talking was kinda getting to Dia as well. Many eerie familiarities unsettled the reflection as well. Holding a deity inside her, wanting to live a more normal life, having been sealed in the void herself (which she actively uses occasionally)… It almost felt like she was looking at another Dia. Wanting to explore this further, Dia prodded her own couple questions.

She seemed to deflate a bit as she moved on, though. “I’ve spent what feels like most of my existence in the void. The human mind and body w-were never intended to endure in such a place--Haha... You can’t help but go a little mad. It speaks to you, you, y’know? I can still hear its call. My very humanity was undone. ...And for what?? NOTHING!!” the horned Arle went on, revealing a deep-seated hatred that stretched far beyond her apparent disdain for Arle, who was just kinda still reeling from earlier. The blue mage offered no comment. She was a little overwhelmed.

“...Now that I’ve borne my broken heart to you, I’d like to think you owe me a little honesty.”

One moment Arle was setting a zombie on fire and the next thing she knew a boy had thrown himself into their midst! The mage just sort of resisted the urge to keep tossing fireballs, awkwardly tossing one she’d been preparing over her shoulder to get it away from her before she got burnt and flinching as it shattered a stone block in the floor behind her. Yikes. Thankfully it hadn’t hit a wall or the ceiling. After visibly cringing at the collateral damage she’d just caused Arle quickly returned her attention to the unfamiliar boy and his perhaps misplaced heroics. Was he going to be alright with those zombies all up in his face? The rot had taught her to fear close proximity to the undead, even if it had been a decade since her kindergarten exam without another true outbreak.

“Not taking the hint, eh?” He revved up his signature Rampart Knuckle punch and slammed one of the zombie’s heads off in a fantastic fashion, launching the force of millions of punches in a single strike, and with his Burning Wrath, the flames flew out like shotgun fire.

The park. As he followed her to the destination, he felt like he needed to explain to her on why he suggested to her to find a good spot to contact his friends.

“Hey Arle, the reason why asked you on any peaceful spots, in Remnant; myself and my friends have discovered more of our latent to potent abilities. So through meditation, I can get a sense on where my friends are, the four of us are spiritually connected. Trust me, I’m not into this spiritual stuff but Knuckles told me that it’ll help and I guess he was right for once.” In the last part of his sentence was a bit of a joke to his hot-headed friend.

“Huh--That does sound pretty helpful.” Arle mused aloud, rather impressed by the ability. “I know a bit of spirit magic myself, but I was never able to master it so it’s a bit unreliable...” Arle went on to remark, pondering the nature of the spell in question. It was called Judgement, arguably her strongest spell. It was a type of spiritual magic, also known as divine magic. But she worshipped no deities, not unless you counted the goddess of space-time, but that was an Owanimo thing and even then she had grown to feel distant from that spell because of its own unreliability

jellyclowndarle:

The reflection looked at Arle a bit surprised, unsure where all this was coming from. Then again, Arle was here before.

“Something’s fishy here. Bayonsa!”

Targeting the horned ‘Arle’ here, Dia started to analyze what she could of this entity… whatever it was. Down inside she was really hoping the spell wouldn’t shock her, knowing what that would mean.

…The shock never came. Instead, Dia is treated to a rollecoaster of arguably shocking information, but none of it literally electrifying. The horned Arle’s raw magical potency was quite a ways above her own, almost dwarfing it. And yet, she was completely human. Just as vulnerable as she and Arle were, or at least that was the form she’d taken right now. Her powers, on the other hand, were understandably impressive. She gained strength from wishes, and oddly enough she seemed to have plenty of strength from them right now. She could also grant wishes to an extent, but her ability to do this didn’t appear to be absolute. There was a sort of monkey’s paw clause that limited her ability to truly do whatever she pleased. She also wasn’t omniscient, though she could hear a wish from across time and space.

Perhaps more startling though, she possessed a mixture of light and dark magic that would be strikingly familiar to Dia, only larger in scope. Though she lacked the ability to cast Bayonsa in particular.

One other thing Dia would likely find alarming was the horned Arle’s soul. It was extremely dense compared to her own. An amalgamation of souls, forced together rather crudely in one body. The horned Arle wasn’t lying. She had… consumed Deus–and he was still in there! There were also a few other distinct presences, though they were all extremely faint in comparison. A few of them might feel vaguely familiar to Dia in a way that would be difficult to place her finger on. …As if she knew the people those souls had once belonged to…

“…The villagers will return. I just have to find a way to protect their village first.“ the horned Arle replied, eyeing Dia warily. She couldn’t tell what the other was doing to her, but since she wasn’t in pain she didn’t retaliate. “As for Septum…” she replied, hovering a hand over her heart and lowering her gaze slightly. A smile could be observed lingering on her face. “They’re right here~ Would you like to speak to them?” 

“…Did you do something to them?”

“Might want to watch your mouth, Arle,” the reflection blurted with an alerting tone, taking her hand off her eye. “We appear to be dealing with a soul-stealing genie here. This probably isn’t their true form.

“After what feels like eons, I’ve got a nice thing going on. My own world where I’m relatively safe. I get to make the rules. Nobody’s using me or forcing me to do things I’m not comfortable with. Maybe someday I can start to live a normal life again. Why would I risk any of that just for some revenge?” she went on to explain, gesturing to Arle.

“I definitely don’t remember beating up any doppelgangers last time I visited this place, but never mind what I did for a moment--What about Septum??” Arle demanded, not appreciating all of these distractions. She just wasn’t having it! 

The horned Arle glared at the ‘original’ for a moment, but relented. “...Of course you don’t, stupid. Last time we fought was on ‘his’ world. But Septum...” she began, becoming a tad pensive. “When I absorbed Deus’s soul, Septum... was drawn into the mix, somehow. I wasn’t able to stop myself. Something supernatural forced them together. I’m sorry, big sis...”

jellyclowndarle:

The cop with the megaphone definitely felt quite intimidated by the stare Raffina gave him as he looked towards his backup… who were hi-tailing it to the city with all the other cars like they too knew how big a deal these two girls are.

“This isn’t good…” the cop said, megaphone off this time. He had figured out the police were basically helpless, and though the military will fight back for them it’s unlikely they can do much either. It didn’t take long to put two and two together and he too quickly got back in his car and fled.

“N-no need to worry, madam,” the little guy in Raffina’s neckerchief said, apparently trying to reassure the big girl, “We couldn’t hurt people as big as you if we tried! It’s half the reason everyone is going indoors, the other being they’ll recover with the building… or whatever, as long as they’re in the city.” Does he know something about the Core the cops don’t?

“Well then, Raffina. It must be time to find that big crystal,” Dia quips with a bit of a smirk on her face. Even if she had no clue where it was, the reflection was ready to race.

“I can’t say I blame them for wanting to avoid getting squished in the first place, though. I can’t imagine it’s anyone’s idea of a good time.“ Raffina replied rather eagerly, the notion that anyone would try and stop them lost on her. Surely those police leaving meant they saw the error in picking fights with someone of their size and they’d have no further trouble.

…Right? 

Regardless, this oddly helpful bystander was feeding her excuses to stop worrying so much. She wouldn’t question why, merely relieved to be able to focus on other things for now. “Would you be so kind as to show us the way~?” she went on to ask, beginning a leisurely walk deeper into the city until she could get an idea on the correct direction to go.

“Not a problem.” the little guy brightened up his arrow-shield and turned the rest of his clothes purple to match the garmet he’s being held in, pointing towards the downtown area of the city. Having no guide for herself, Dia could only follow the duo.

You could tell a place was closer to downtown by how tall the buildings were. At the entry-levels most houses were the size of, well, houses. After a while, they become multi-story complexes and eventually rising much higher than even the girls were close to the heart. As the girls got closer, one could possibly notice several people looking out their windows for more glimpses of the big beauties that have descended on Ordownia. It wasn’t that much unlike a runway or red carpet in that sense, picturing Raffina as an immense idol of exceptional beauty and charisma. Some on high enough floors would even watch from nearby balconies, not wanting to miss being a witness to such an enormous encounter.

One moment Arle was setting a zombie on fire and the next thing she knew a boy had thrown himself into their midst! The mage just sort of resisted the urge to keep tossing fireballs, awkwardly tossing one she’d been preparing over her shoulder to get it away from her before she got burnt and flinching as it shattered a stone block in the floor behind her. Yikes. Thankfully it hadn’t hit a wall or the ceiling. After visibly cringing at the collateral damage she’d just caused Arle quickly returned her attention to the unfamiliar boy and his perhaps misplaced heroics. Was he going to be alright with those zombies all up in his face? The rot had taught her to fear close proximity to the undead, even if it had been a decade since her kindergarten exam without another true outbreak.

“Not taking the hint, eh?” He revved up his signature Rampart Knuckle punch and slammed one of the zombie’s heads off in a fantastic fashion, launching the force of millions of punches in a single strike, and with his Burning Wrath, the flames flew out like shotgun fire.

@remorsefulmolemagician  

A massive thud impact from mere meters away did more than just scare the non-existent pants off of Arle. The impact shockwave tripped the apprentice mage up, sending her falling to her hands and knees as if she had been struck!

“…Welcome to my planet, I guess!” Arle awkwardly replied, resisting the urge to ask where the other had come from or how they got here. Did Satan need a fist shook at him or something? Was the dimensional barrier falling apart? …She didn’t see any raining puyo, but you could never tell these days.

“My name’s Arle, and we’re not too far from Ruins Town. Did you get lost on your way somewhere else, or is this just kind of a shot in the dark for you too?”

“…you could most certainly call it a shot in the dark… I was traveling, using my own portals. I certainly did not expect that sort of entrance, however…”

The purple-clad mole dusted off his robes, taking a look around the place once again. He guessed that the town visible in the distance was the town in question.

Moving eye contact to the redhead once more, he decided to introduce himself as well.

“Also, it is a pleasure to meet you, Arle! My name is Kura, and I am a mole mage from… well, another planet entirely! I promise I come in peace.”

“Ehehe, thanks~! ..You can travel dimensions on purpose?” Arle somewhat curiously asked. Man, that sounded handy. Albeit, about as consistent as poking the space-time goddess and hoping for the best by the sound of it. Thankfully, she seemed pretty comfy around Kura. She barely even understood why he had felt the need to tell her such a thing. Then she had a recollection of the last time she’d met strange mole people.

‘I swear, if this is another banana, I’ll–’

Her mental train of thought was interrupted as she caught the visage of a familiar pinkette inside. What. Why. How. As the figure of Raffina was fully revealed to Lidelle (and the outside world as well), the smol undeniably had some questions, one of which escaped her mind and went to the mouth as fast as possible…

“EEP!”

Well then, turns out that Raffina was resting inside a Mimic of all things. This was actually not her first true encounter with this wannabe treasure chest, but seeing one of them hold her friend in custody? A first for sure.

“H-hey, spit her out!” She frantically urged the mimic before realizing that said critter was probably not in the mood to enter friendly discussions, so she went straight to the offense.

“Vento!” And she makes the first move, firing a sonic boom straight towards the chest. Unfortunately, Raffina would have to hold on while she was there…

The vento spell knocks the chest back a bit with a loud thud, its metal bearings scraping against the ground! …But–… maybe not as far as Lidelle would’ve been expecting from her last fight with a mimic. This mimic was far stronger than–

…The mimic hopped forward with a loud thud, only to reveal that it could barely move. Nope. Wait. It was just much heavier than the last mimic she’d fought. False alarm. The monster hopped toward Lidelle at a speed that was only ‘technically’ faster than a banana slug’s crawl, just sort of laboriously trying to catch up to Lidelle at a pace she could just kinda calmly out-walk if she wanted to.

And then… it barked at her. It was really more of a yipping noise than a proper bark, but well–It was a chest, and there was probably something caught in its throat! Give the thing a break! Or y’know, don’t. There wasn’t much stopping Lidelle from pounding away at it until it released her classmate.

Honestly, the smol felt a tinge of regret for attacking the sorta-helpless Mimic, but still, that didn’t excuse it eating Raffina. So that tiny regret ended up being come-and-gone.

“ . . . “

“ … “ A moment of thoughtful silence followed as Raffina considered where to take Amitie. Somehow she strongly doubted the other would appreciate her taste in food, but she also wasn’t inclined to bother trying to explain that either. They’d have plenty of time to figure these things out, one way or another. Catching the other’s blush, Raffina gave Amitie a knowing look.

“Excellent–And if you don’t mind me saying, that’s a good new look on you! It matches your hat. O~hohoho” Raffina remarked, lightheartedly poking fun at Amitie. Frankly, it was probably the only thing that matched in that girl’s ‘outfit’, but Amitie hadn’t really set her up for a more satisfying fashion joke. Without further ado, she began leading Amitie across town, to a small little shop she frequented because it advertised healthier, fresher food that you wouldn’t be able to tell from a home cooked meal. …Whose home was up for some strong debate, but it was pretty obvious which part of the sentence Raffina had come for.

The joke flew off of Amitie’s head, causing the other to tilt her head in confusion. She didn’t have much time to delve into it though because they were on the move! …At least, that what it felt.

Reaching the restaurant, Amitie took a good look around. 

“Whoa, never been to this one before! Wonder how the food tastes here.”

Meanwhile, Raffina debated what to get them. She hadn’t been expecting Amitie to wander off, but she supposed she was paying. The question was, did she try and get Amitie on a diet, or feed her what she thought she would want? ...Eh. A diet wouldn’t do Amitie any good if she didn’t follow it on her own time. She might as well treat the other. 

Raffina would meet Amitie at the table with a salad for herself. It wasn’t a mere side salad, but a meal salad with what appeared to be chicken, apple slices, grapes, and some grains, seeds and leafy greens that might be difficult to identify. That didn’t look like lettuce... For Amitie though, her meal came in three parts. The first was a cup of what appeared to be turkey chili and the second was half of a sandwich--a soup and sandwich combo. The sandwich was made with chicken, tomato, lettuce, diced celery and sliced grapes with a light sauce over it all. Lastly? An unusually large chocolate chip cookie. It didn’t quite fit in the palm of one’s hand but appeared to have been freshly baked. 

Arle promptly rolled back onto her bottom. not wanting to put all of her weight on Lidelle for very long. At a mere hundred pounds, she probably wasn’t that much heavier than the other in all honesty. Small mage. She did, however, pull Lidelle with her onto her lap, just kind of gently holding her there so that they could both calm down for a moment. “–…Mine too~” Arle light-heartedly joked, unable to resist commenting on her affection for the other. 

“Y’know, you make a pretty good warlord! Have you ever considered taking up a job imprisoning heroines in dungeons?” Arle remarked, a big smirk on her face. She was overtly playing with the other by suggesting something utterly absurd. That wasn’t how anything worked! …You don’t imprison heroines. You force them to marry you! Take it from the elderly troublemaker duo over there.

“H-hey, c’mon. I-I need to put that dark magic to use in a more destructive fashion, y-you know…?” Lidelle retorted, giving the other a small smile in return. She stuck to Arle’s lap in silence before giving her some heartfelt words:

sorceressarle:

“…Excuse me. This is Primp and we call this ‘homework’ here.” Raffina replied, her tone chock full of snark. “We’re practicing what we study, and I intend to graduate at the top of my class. But since Ms. Arle seems to be pre-occupied with ‘lunch’, perhaps you could serve as a replacement.” the pinkette went on to remark. It seemed that she’d picked up on Dr. Mario’s anger and had retaliated with some aggro of her own.

Meanwhile, only a low groan could be heard from Arle. All things considered, it was probably something along the lines of ‘help’.

The doc was pretty visibly upset with the pink haired girl and her snide remarks. “So, you think this is funny? Ms. Nadja here could be seriously hurt, and you aren’t even going to lend a hand?” The virus hunt could wait: this young lady needed to be taught some manners… puzzle-style.

“Well, Mrs… whoever you are… If it’s a fight you want…”

“…Then it’s a FIGHT YOU WILL GET!… but first, maybe I should check on Arle…” Dr. Mario wasted no time in removing the white blobs from the young sorceress. She looked fine enough, with no visible bruises or cuts… Still, Dr. Mario worried about her. He then turned his attention back at the girl, whom he still had no idea of her name. “Grab your pills, lady! IT’S MEDICINE TIME!”

Arle replied with a soft “Thank you”, crawling her way out from underneath the giant nuisance puyo and awkwardly laying down nearby to catch her breath. Goodness. Meanwhile, Raffina gave Doctor Mario a funny yet defensive look.

“--And just what gave you the idea that I was sick and in need of curing?” Raffina defensively asked, her fists tightening with anticipation. How dare this short, portly man offer to medicate her??

…A brief moment of regret, followed by several familiar pinching sensations racing across her body. If it weren’t for her breastplate, such an attack could have very well been the end of her right then and there. She’d just been stabbed several times in quick succession, an unfortunately familiar sensation. It became clear to Arle at that moment that she had made a mistake. She was going to die if she didn’t take steps to protect herself. The mage looked like Hell, but she got back up and faced her reflection to confront the other. A lot of people wouldn’t have been able to.

“L-Levia!” Arle stammered out, a mostly transparent barrier manifesting itself before her. She fully expected the other to be smart enough not to attack into it, which made it a superior defense to simply healing herself and hoping she handled the next attack better. She was buying herself time, at least assuming the other didn’t find a way to get past Arle’s barrier.

“Fine! You can be ‘Arle’!” the mage shouted in frustration. “…But think about what you’re doing. Anyone can choose the name Arle. For their kids; for themselves. It’s who you are that makes a name meaningful!” she remarked, berating the other for her actions. She proceeded to pause, however, and allowed herself to give in to the weakness eating at her a bit.

“…Do you really want the name Arle to mean murderer..??” she continued in a much softer, pleading tone.

“I learned a really long time ago that it’s easy to make a mistake. Just because you feel justified now, doesn’t mean you won’t regret anything later. Es-Especially when it comes to killing someone. If you’re going to take my name, …at le-least learn from my mistakes, alright?? I want to help…” the blue-clad mage finished, trailing off rather breathlessly. The pain from her wounds was starting to really set in.

…something was wrong. Why was she feeling pity!? This was a mere doppelganger, right!? The same ones that she fought while she was still Arle…

Yet, something was telling her this was no fake. She had listened to every word her blue-clad counterpart had said, and yet…

“…do you really want the name ‘Arle’ to mean murder…?”

Those words repeated in her mind. No, she was a warrior of justice! …right?

The words were not ones that a mere doppelganger would use. Not one bit. And her offer to help of all things…

It finally clicked. Doppelganger or not, this Arle wasn’t hostile. Not only that, but she herself was the one that attacked her without warning. Just like how a hostile doppelganger would. 

She took another look at herself. Instead of the blue-clad attire she had worn before the universe was remade, her armor was a red color. She had recalled a doppelganger of herself long ago, when she was a child, also clad in red armor instead of the typical blue…

Who was the real doppelganger here?

She waited a bit before casting her next spell towards Arle… which happened to be a much different type of spell than the two before it.

“…Healing.”

“Hey...” Arle softly began, only for a rather distracting feeling to wash over her. It was very jarring, but it reminded her of the pain she’d felt when trying to comfort a terrified Dia. Only, this time she was focused enough to analyze those feelings. To her alarm, they were ... distinct and relevant? It was as if she were feeling the other’s angst, and it gave her valuable insight into her mind. She didn’t know why this was happening; frankly, it was a little bizarre--but maybe she could use this insight to better herself?

“...I guess you probably know this already, but I made the mistake of treating... ’doppelgangers’ like they weren’t real. Like they were just illusions and not people, y’know? But... someone close to me helped me realize I was wrong, and just now you reminded me of that.” Arle began in an encouraging tone, just kind of addressing the elephant in the... other room. She shouldn’t have been able to see it, but she knew it was there.

“So... I’m sorry--Really. And thanks for giving me a second chance. I may not understand what’s going on really, but from now on... you’re real to me.” Arle went on to offer. The red-clad mage might become aware of a strange sensation of her own, a radiating feeling of relief and joy mixed with slight hints of lingering confusion might just wash over her. Perhaps more revealing though was the subtle accents on that joy. Arle wasn’t just happy. Arle was proud, both of herself and of her lookalike. She was also fond of the other, a sort of affection mixed in there that matched Arle’s beaming expression.

sorceressarle:

The red-clad Arle gave Dia a knowing look. It seemed like she might not buy the other’s response for some reason, but she declined to comment on this. Dia’s choice of words seemed to make her flinch though, momentarily put off. “–…Uhuhu, I’m no devil! These are goat horns. This is what happens when you absorb a goat deity.” she replied somewhat awkwardly. It seemed like she was a bit self-conscious about those horns.

“Iiii was more curious about why you look like me. But I guess the demon smell is just a coincidence, huh?” Arle replied, suddenly a bit snappy with the other. Something had soured her mood. “That’s DARK MAGIC!!” the goat-horned Arle replied in a fury, just as snappy in return. “…And I don’t look like you. You look like me~!”

“…Oh yeah? Well, I want to know where Septum and all the other villagers are before you get all buddy buddy with us! What’d you do with them??” Arle went on to accusingly demand. Boy, she was really angry! …Almost as if she knew something Dia didn’t.

The reflection looked at Arle a bit surprised, unsure where all this was coming from. Then again, Arle was here before.

“Something’s fishy here. Bayonsa!”

Targeting the horned ‘Arle’ here, Dia started to analyze what she could of this entity… whatever it was. Down inside she was really hoping the spell wouldn’t shock her, knowing what that would mean.

...The shock never came. Instead, Dia is treated to a rollecoaster of arguably shocking information, but none of it literally electrifying. The horned Arle’s raw magical potency was quite a ways above her own, almost dwarfing it. And yet, she was completely human. Just as vulnerable as she and Arle were, or at least that was the form she’d taken right now. Her powers, on the other hand, were understandably impressive. She gained strength from wishes, and oddly enough she seemed to have plenty of strength from them right now. She could also grant wishes to an extent, but her ability to do this didn’t appear to be absolute. There was a sort of monkey’s paw clause that limited her ability to truly do whatever she pleased. She also wasn’t omniscient, though she could hear a wish from across time and space.

Perhaps more startling though, she possessed a mixture of light and dark magic that would be strikingly familiar to Dia, only larger in scope. Though she lacked the ability to cast Bayonsa in particular.

One other thing Dia would likely find alarming was the horned Arle’s soul. It was extremely dense compared to her own. An amalgamation of souls, forced together rather crudely in one body. The horned Arle wasn’t lying. She had... consumed Deus--and he was still in there! There were also a few other distinct presences, though they were all extremely faint in comparison. A few of them might feel vaguely familiar to Dia in a way that would be difficult to place her finger on. ...As if she knew the people those souls had once belonged to...

“...The villagers will return. I just have to find a way to protect their village first.“ the horned Arle replied, eyeing Dia warily. She couldn’t tell what the other was doing to her, but since she wasn’t in pain she didn’t retaliate. “As for Septum...” she replied, hovering a hand over her heart and lowering her gaze slightly. A smile could be observed lingering on her face. “They’re right here~ Would you like to speak to them?” 

@remorsefulmolemagician  

A massive thud impact from mere meters away did more than just scare the non-existent pants off of Arle. The impact shockwave tripped the apprentice mage up, sending her falling to her hands and knees as if she had been struck!

Well, to be fair, he’s seen weirder. Though the way she was clad was already giving implications that this universe had to have some similarities with his own… or so he was guessing.

“...Welcome to my planet, I guess!” Arle awkwardly replied, resisting the urge to ask where the other had come from or how they got here. Did Satan need a fist shook at him or something? Was the dimensional barrier falling apart? ...She didn’t see any raining puyo, but you could never tell these days.

Arle looked to Dia with a somber understanding in her eyes. That wish sounded all too familiar to her… A moment of silence would follow, after which the voice spoke up. “…I don’t get you.” the voice remarked in overt confusion. However, it quickly relented. “But I kind of want to~!” it added in a more light-hearted tone. “If that’s what you want, let’s start fresh.”

On cue, the world began to swim rather disorientating before Dia’s eyes, melting away and snapping to a new form around her. It only took a brief moment, but it was a tad jarring and maybe even  little nauseating to watch. The next thing she knew, she would be back at Hero’s Village. It hadn’t been blown up, and a familiar presence could be felt watching her. Just one thing was wrong…

Dia would still remember the bad future she had created. Likewise, Arle was not unconscious. She was just kinda standing there next to Dia, looking perfectly fine. The blue clad mage would turn to glance at Dia, just kinda raising her arms in a helpless shrug. It seemed like she had also noticed something was off, judging by her bewilderment.

And then, a gust of displaced wind heralded the arrival of their voice, no longer disembodied and …uncomfortably familiar. Her hair was almost a dark golden blonde beset by distinctly goat-like horns, her eyes were an odd shade of golden-green and her armor a deep crimson, but hers was the distinct visage of Arle. “And just who are you~?” she greeted in a rather aloof tone, a hint of curiosity creeping into her tone. Her eyes were locked on Dia as she spoke.

“…Are you a doppelganger?” Arle awkwardly interjected, just kind of addressing the elephant in the room. “No.” the figure snapped in response, glaring at Arle rather sharply. “…Oh.” Arle rather awkwardly stammered out. How did one even respond to that? That glare she was getting told her she wasn’t well liked. Had she offended the other? The look-alike would return her gaze to Dia after a moment, her expression noticeably softening a bit.

“The name’s Dia,” the reflection responded, “I’m a doppelganger of Arle, though I’ve grown quite a bit from that.” She faked a lack of knowledge, not wanting to spark any confusion or paradox.

“Iiii was more curious about why you look like me. But I guess the demon smell is just a coincidence, huh?” Arle replied, suddenly a bit snappy with the other. Something had soured her mood. “That’s DARK MAGIC!!” the goat-horned Arle replied in a fury, just as snappy in return. “...And I don’t look like you. You look like me~!”

sorceressarle:

…Just the idea that something so insignificant could stand up to her if it wanted to infuriated Raffina. What sort of messed up irony was that?? “…I’m perfectly capable of putting someone my own size in their place, Ms. Dia.” the pinkette replied after taking a moment to swallow her indignity, not even meeting Dia’s eyes as she spoke to the other. It was clear that Dia’s words had offended her.

Meanwhile, the tiny people had asked two things of her. Raffina was unimpressed with their threat but did not give them the satisfaction of unnerving her. It was decidedly very easy to underestimate them. Instead, she gave the man talking to her a piercing stare. “…Very well. You may finish your evacuation.” the pinkette replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Noteworthily, she had not said anything about the core. As much as she wasn’t known for her patience when it came to hunting down fashion, even she understood the severe consequences the word ‘casualty’ implied. A few minutes was a worthy compromise, as she saw it, and she’d probably feel a lot better if she didn’t have to feel like she was going to accidentally step on someone anyway. Everyone won! …And then she’d win twice–because that core? She still had her heart set on it.

The cop with the megaphone definitely felt quite intimidated by the stare Raffina gave him as he looked towards his backup… who were hi-tailing it to the city with all the other cars like they too knew how big a deal these two girls are.

“This isn’t good…” the cop said, megaphone off this time. He had figured out the police were basically helpless, and though the military will fight back for them it’s unlikely they can do much either. It didn’t take long to put two and two together and he too quickly got back in his car and fled.

“N-no need to worry, madam,” the little guy in Raffina’s neckerchief said, apparently trying to reassure the big girl, “We couldn’t hurt people as big as you if we tried! It’s half the reason everyone is going indoors, the other being they’ll recover with the building… or whatever, as long as they’re in the city.” Does he know something about the Core the cops don’t?

“Well then, Raffina. It must be time to find that big crystal,” Dia quips with a bit of a smirk on her face. Even if she had no clue where it was, the reflection was ready to race.

“I can’t say I blame them for wanting to avoid getting squished in the first place, though. I can’t imagine it’s anyone’s idea of a good time." Raffina replied rather eagerly, the notion that anyone would try and stop them lost on her. Surely those police leaving meant they saw the error in picking fights with someone of their size and they’d have no further trouble.

...Right? 

Raffina was being told one thing by one person and another by another person. What was even up with this pretty boy with the horns anyway? She didn’t remember him very fondly, but she also really wasn’t super interested in fighting him either. Apathy. Apathy was the word she was thinking of. …On the other hand, though, she had to admire his determination. She kinda wished a man would claim her hand with such assertiveness… –Maybe not this man specifically. She was looking for someone tougher looking–and tougher fighting. And even handsomer. She had never even seen a man that fit her own standards in fact, but hell if she would settle for reality! That would never compare to her romance novels!

Huh. Raffina wasn’t sure what was going on even as she watched the exchange. ...All of Arle’s friends from the outer worlds were weird. The other’s request, on the other hand, took her by surprise. It seemed that Arle had confused her for a fellow. She was really more about school and boys than monsters and treasure. ...Yet school was out for the day and, bemusingly enough, she found that Arle had more boyish charm than anyone in her class. It was both off-putting and intriguing at times... She... decidedly had nothing better to do, except maybe daydream--but that didn’t count as exercise so...