“Long ago, two alien races discovered a powerful weapon…”

The ever-shifting landscape began to shake. Kazama and Belle fell to their knees to avoid stumbling. A horrific shriek erupted from a tear in the mauve ground. The twins clutched their ears. It was as if every molecule in that space was quaking in fear.

“One was a peaceful race that wanted to safeguard the weapon. The other was a race of warmongers who coveted power by any means necessary. If they had their way, this entire galaxy could be destroyed. My virtuous race was left with one option.”

A jet-black hand shot out of the crack. Fingers the size of anchors dug into the earth. The monstrosity’s head slowly escaped the fissure. Black swirling mist was pierced by two gleaming golden orbs. The horror’s body was just as vague as the space that birthed it.

“You said it yourself, Kazama. Sometimes you need to fight strange with strange. My people began using this new weapon to fight back. Although, our methods are complete opposites. This weapon-”

Kazama, Bell, and even their kidnapper cringed as the monstrosity let out another rancorous howl.

“Ahem…” The fox-like creature swished its tail in annoyance. “This weapon is unlike guns, spears or anything else you might imagine. It is-”

“WHO CARES WHAT IT IS!?” Kazama’s shrill voice may not have been as loud as the monster’s, but it carried a similar sentiment. “When I asked ‘what the hell is going on?’ I wasn’t asking for alien history 101! I was asking why am I here, in this place, in these clothes, in this body!?”

“I was getting to that.” The creature snapped. “The weapon we discovered is emotions. Human emotion is a powerful catalyst and the optimal form is a female-”

“-So, how am I involved?” Belle cut in with a droning tone. “Because I’ve never met either of you.”

“Belle, we went over this.” The blue-haired beauty shook her head. “It’s me, Kazama. Your brother.”

“I refuse to believe that.”

“Don’t get all defensive just because I’m prettier than you.”

“What!?”

Meanwhile, the vaguely humanoid monstrosity finally freed itself from the pit. It let out another earth-shaking roar and then began its rampage. Claws, teeth, fists and talons assaulted every surface within reach. The monstrosity hadn’t noticed the three other beings in its space, but soon there wouldn’t be anywhere for them to hide.

“…I’m just saying, I was always the better-looking twin. It makes sense that-”

“-Please! We do not have time for this petty argument!” The fox-like creature raised its voice, but the siblings continued to glare at each other.

“Ok, fuck this.” Belle spun away with her hands raised in mocking surrender. “White thing, do we have to beat that monster to get out of here?”

The white thing bristled its fur. “Yes. Defeating nightmares is your mission as magical girls. Killing it will allow you to escape this-”

Belle slammed a fist into her open palm. “Ok, I’ll kill it, and then we never speak of this again.”

“Please stop interrupting me! I haven’t even explained how a magical girl should fight!”

Belle ignored the creature and began striding towards the monstrosity.

“Well, if I had to guess…” Kazama muttered.

The blue-haired girl extended her hand and then a sapphire rod materialized in a flash of light. The wand’s length was comparable to Kazama’s arm, and it was tipped by a pulsating crystal heart. Kazama pointed it at a random mound and a blue laser shot towards her target. Unfazed by the subsequent explosion, Kazama twirled the wand with practiced ease.

“Hey Belle! That guy looks pretty strong. Your brother’s worried, so he’ll back you up.”

“Great.” Belle waved without looking back. “Let me know if you see him.”

“To manifest a heart-weapon so easily…” The fox-like creature breathed. “And it’s so powerful. That kind of talent only comes once every hundred years.”

The monstrosity turned its smoke-covered head towards the explosion. Then its gleaming eyes settled on the nearest target: Belle. The magical girl in question calmly held out her hand. The horror recoiled as light erupted from Belle’s palm. In a frenzy, it swung one massive hand towards the source of the light. Belle sidestepped effortlessly and then raised her weapon.

It was the sun incarnate. Powerful flames licked every inch of the metal surface. Hiding underneath the inferno was a hefty steel blade. Belle’s sword was three times the length of Kazama’s staff and twice as thick.

Somewhere in her heart of hearts, Kazama felt a deep jealousy. Though, it was lessened in her current form, that didn’t stop the young boy-turned-girl from crying out.

“Bullshit!”

Belle swung the sword like it was a paper roll. She sliced through the monstrosity’s arm without any resistance. The horror groaned in pain and lowered its head. An upward slash carved a one meter gash into its swirling visage. The horror reared up and released another quaking bellow.

“O-Once every thousand years…” Belle’s kidnapper whispered in awe. “No, once every ten thousand.”

A blue laser pierced the howling monstrosity’s chest. The horror pawed at the hole with its remaining hand. Dark smoke rose up from the wound. It was already beginning to close. Meanwhile, the horror’s injured arm hung limp at its side. The miasmic skin seemed to have been cauterized by Belle’s flames.

“Well, at least you’re still the pretty twin.” Belle called out.

“Ugh.” Kazama grunted before firing off a volley of lasers.

The sheer number of attacks overwhelmed the horror’s healing. It fell on its back with a cry.

“Watch it!” Belle yelled as she raised her sword to block a stray shot. “You did that on purpose!”

“Did not.”

“Hey Kazama…” The edges of Belle’s lips rose. A warm and inviting smile appeared on her face. With the makeup from her transformation, she looked quite elegant.

Kazama flinched on instinct. It was the same face that Remira made before she asked for something obscene.

“It seems like either of us can kill this guy without any trouble. So, maybe we should settle our own issues first.”

“Having a catfight over something so trivial…” Kazama shook her head and sighed. “Girls are really such-”

“-I don’t want to hear that from the person who started it!”

“You’re the one swinging that huge thing around right after I lost mine!” Kazama’s shout rang out a little louder than she intended.

Belle blinked. “What are you even talking about?”

“Forget it…” Kazama sighed again and then raised her wand. “Guys are stupid too, let’s just fight.”

The fox-like creature jumped in between them and screamed something about how magical girls shouldn’t fight one another, but its pleas went unheard. Kazama opened up with another barrage of lasers while Belle charged forward fearlessly. She sliced every projectile in her path and then swung her sword towards Kazama. A magical shield cracked as it collided with the torrid weapon. Belle was forced to retreat as Kazama readied another volley behind her failing defense.

Ten minutes later, the ground in that vague space had been reduced to ash. The monstrosity was only responsible for a quarter of it. The mauve surface continued to shift and pulse, but its movements were like a heart under duress. Those short spasms continued to rock Belle as she stood above her sister. Kazama lay on the floor, alive, unconscious and thoroughly beaten.

“31 to 17.” Belle muttered as she stepped over her incapacitated sibling.

The pink magical girl plunged her sword into the groaning horror. The monstrosity couldn’t even fight back, it was another casualty of the twin’s collateral damage. After the horror finished its death-throes, Belle woke up.

“Huh?” The pink-haired girl exclaimed. “It was a dream?”

“Yes, but not your dream.” A calm void replied.

Belle noticed a ball of white fur resting by her feet. She poked it, prompting her kidnapper to raise its head.

“By the way, thanks for leaving your window unlocked.” The being swished its tail in a smug flourish. “I dragged you into this on a whim, but your results were beyond anything I could have imagined. So, how did it feel having that much power?”

“Pass.”

“Hmm, that’s too bad.” The creature’s tail continued to glide back and forth. “Well, I still haven’t paid you for your services. Normally, a magical girl makes a wish before I transform her. You could always wish to return to normal…”

Belle opened her mouth and a white tail shot out to interrupt her.

“But then you would be abandoning your brother. He’s already used his wish, you see.” The creature’s eyes gleamed with malicious intent. “Of course, you could always save him with your own wish. It would be a sacrifice worthy of a true magical girl.”

“Screw that.” Belle folded her arms. “Why should I-”

“-Your own brother will be trapped in a foreign body for the rest of his life. He’ll be forced to fight difficult battles with a strength that’s dwarfed by your own.”

Belle glared at the creature, but it simply returned her gaze.

“You could also just wish for both of us to return to normal.” A feminine voice spoke from behind the bedside wall. “My wish was essentially a twofer.”

“Huh.” Belle’s lips rose in a slight grin. “Then I wish Kazama and I weren’t magical girls.”

“Ugh.” The fox-like creature let its tail lay flat. “I hate to abandon such a gem, but rules are rules.”

After a brief flash of light, Belle felt her connection to the snowy being vanish. When she opened her eyes, the creature was sitting on her windowsill.

“Haah, this has been an enlightening experience to say the least.” It sighed. “Goodbye Belle. You and your sister won’t be seeing me again.”

And with that final strange statement, the creature jumped through Belle’s window and disappeared into the night.

“So, Kazama. Can you explain what just happened?” Belle called out.

There was no response.

Belle left her room and quietly knocked on Kazama’s door.

Once again, there was no response.

Belle opened the door and crept inside. Kazama was kneeling in the center of the room. Her sibling’s head hung low to the point where Kazama’s silky blue hair touched the carpet. Kazama parted her hair to reveal an expressionless face. Of course, as a master of deadpan stares, Belle knew it wasn’t Kazama’s default glare. She was just trying to look composed.

“M-Maybe you should have been a little more careful with your words…heh heh haah” Kazama trailed off into a strange mix between a sigh and a chuckle. “It seems that, instead of a magical girl, now I’m just a girl.”

“Um, sorry.” Belle found herself looking away from Kazama’s face. “I didn’t think that would happen.”

“Well, what if it’s a good thing?” Kazama spoke with a desperate gleam in her eyes. “Remira and Lin probably won’t bother me anymore. A-And, uh, I’ll probably become more popular in school.”

“It’s good to look on the bright side.” Belle spoke mechanically as she forced a smile.

“Then again, Remira will probably say something like ‘I don’t care about gender so long as you abuse me’ and I don’t understand what Lin wants from me in the first place. Also, how would I even explain something like this to the school…”

Kazama’s head lowered even further as she considered her situation. The blue-haired girl’s tone dropped and she began mumbling about the consequences of her new body.

“Daniel seems uncomfortable around women…Mom would probably call me Kazama-chan…If there’s a difference in physical strength then fishing will be…”

“Enough!” Belle shout-whispered. “Look, I don’t know how we got into this situation, but you’re usually the one who fixes things like this. I might have been stuck as a magical girl forever if you didn’t tell me what to do back there. So, pull yourself together. Can you think of anything that could turn you back to normal?”

Of course, it had been on Belle’s mind since she first saw Kazama like this. While her sister rationalized, Belle had been wracking her brain trying to think of any otherworldly thing that could help. As much as she hated to admit it, the pink-haired girl had a lot more faith in Kazama’s deductions than her own.

Belle’s brother-cum-sister stopped mumbling. She brought a hand to her chin and began staring off into space. Belle waited patiently. Several minutes later, Kazama opened her mouth.

“I definitely haven’t seen anything that could fix my body.” She concluded.

Belle’s shoulders slumped.

“But, there is one place I could look.”

Belle’s expression lit up until she noticed that Kazama was glowering.

“What’s wrong? You finally found a lead.”

“I…I just thought I was done with him.” Kazama shook her head.

The pair quietly snuck into the basement. Kazama retrieved a book from the nearest bookshelf and held it up to the light. The tome’s unwieldy size and glittering lock were all the confirmation she needed, but the blue-haired girl found herself stalling.

“What kind of light novel is that? Or is it a manga anthology?” Belle asked, listing the only two kinds of literature that could be found in the Noh family basement.

“Don’t you dare compare me to the garbage lying around here!” A muffled voice yelled. “I read some of those books while I was resting here, and my god! Do you have any idea what it’s like to read the same terrible rejects for over a decade!?”

Kazama and Belle stared at the book in stunned silence.

“Er, sorry.” The book apologized, taking a more civil tone. “Ever since I got a taste of freedom I’ve been going stir-crazy.”

“That’s good.” Kazama replied. “Play your cards right, no pun intended, and I might let you out of here.”

“B-But I can’t just leave! Who will guard the cards?”

“You’ve got that shiny new lock. Plus, I have a chest that’s specially made for safeguarding magic items.”

There was a pause, then a tiny winged creature emerged from the cover. The beady-eyed being crossed its arms and sat on the book with a ponderous expression.

“Ok, I’m listeni-”

The creature froze as it stared up at the siblings. Its lion tail began to quiver and the being’s wings flapped madly. Finally, it couldn’t hold itself back any longer.

“WAHAHAHA! Is that you Kazama!? I thought your voice sounded weird. Looking good, kid!”

Kazama promptly slapped the creature back into the book. Its head resurfaced moments later, like a seal bobbing in water.

“Ok, I’m listening.”

“All of those cards have magic effects, right?”

“Yup. There’s a whole plethora of spells that can be cast from this book.”

“Can any of them undo magical transformations.”

“Ah, I get you.”

The creature dove back into the book and came out with a glowing white card. There was a lighthouse drawn on its front that seemed to actually be producing light.

“Shine this baby on something and any magic affecting it will be nullified. It can reverse curses as well.”

Kazama reached for the card but the creature pulled away.

“But you need to free me from this book first, ok? Cutting a guardian away from his magical treasure is an impossible feat for a layman. Only a master sorcerer could accomplish it. This might take years, but I’m willing to train you if-”

Kazama muttered a short phrase and then grabbed the creature. Purple sparks jumped harmlessly along its body as the blue-haired girl pulled the guardian free. The lion-esque being floated above the book in silence.

“H-How in the world?”

“I may not be a magical girl, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use magic.” Kazama replied with a wide grin.

She plucked the card out of the trembling creature’s hands and let its light wash over her. Belle breathed a sigh of relief as she sat next to her twin brother.

“Like I said. Sometimes you have to fight strange with strange.”