Why was I here, again?

I was sitting in the school library after school, trying to study. There was a chemistry test next week, and I still had my English essay to do. Maybe I should’ve just gone to robotics club with Alice, marks be damned. Would’ve padded my university applications better, right? No. I needed to study. My marks were getting dangerously low, and I didn’t want to face another ‘talk’ with my parents if I got another 85. Even though they were grade 11 marks and didn’t matter.

Well, they mattered for early acceptance. I sighed. As soon as I clicked back to the pdf of my textbook, my vision started blurring again. I didn’t have the patience for this. I didn’t even want to go to university. Couldn’t I find a job that didn’t require me to go into debt first? But no, I had to get a degree, and ‘look at cousin Kevin and how nice he is with his law degree’ and I just wanted to tell my parents no. But how could I do that? They’d worked really hard to provide for me. And if this made them happy...

My thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

“Daughter of Earth, you have been chosen to protect this planet.”

What? I looked around, but nobody was nearby. Everyone had their eyes on their phones or laptops or textbooks. Yep. It definitely wasn’t one of the six other people who were studying around me. Then...

“Daughter of Earth, will you let Gaia’s power awaken the power within you?”

No way. I must have dozed off. This was a dream, right? This sort of stuff didn’t just happen in real life. There was no... no supernatural. Right?

“Will you become one of Earth’s magical defenders? Will you become.... an Angel?”

“Yes!” I said, drawing the annoyed glares of the half-dozen students scattered throughout the library. “Oops. Yes,” I whispered. This couldn’t be real. But if it was, it was just the sort of thing I’d always dreamed of. I wouldn’t be condemned to live a plain old high school life. No! I was special. My whole body was literally shaking.

I was going to be a magical girl!

I looked around again for the source of the voice. What was my cute companion? A mouse? A cat? Something more exotic, perhaps? I couldn’t see anything between the tall bookshelves. For a moment I reconsidered that I’d just been hearing voices. That the boredom of my life was getting to me and I was going crazy.

Then the voice spoke again. “Oh, are you looking for me? I am probably going to be a bit hard to see. Do not worry about it.”

“Right. That’s okay,” I whispered. “So what happens now that I’ve accepted? What does the Earth need to be defended from? Do I get powers now? Do I get to transform?”

“Slow down. Um... what’s the protocol again? Allow me to introduce myself, first. My name is Vespa.”

“Oh.” Maybe I was getting just a little bit ahead of myself. “Right. N-nice to meet you, Vespa. I’m Quinn.”

“Okay, Quinn. Now, the first thing I must do is confirm that you indeed want to take on this responsibility,” she said. “It is a serious—”

“Of course I do!” I said, a little too loudly. “Of course I do. I’ve been daydreaming about something like this all my life. I feel like it’s a dream come true. Something exciting to distract me from the daily grind.”

“Well, if you are absolutely sure,” Vespa said. I felt a tickle on the back of my neck, then a sharp prick. Instinctively, my hand flew to my nape, but there didn’t seem to be any cut or scratch, though there was a sore patch on my skin.

“What was that?”

Vespa seemed to ignore my comment. “Okay, you are officially an Angel now. It will take about 24 hours for the power of Gaia within you to fully awaken. In the meantime, I can answer any questions you may have. Though I imagine you do not have—”

“Right,” I said. Questions. So many questions. I figured I should probably start from the top. “So... who exactly are the bad guys here? Who am I defending the world from?”

“Our enemies are the forces of evil, naturally. As an Angel in tune with the power of Gaia, you will begin to see their servants, though others can only see the masters.”

“Forces of evil? Can you be more specific?”

“I am afraid they take many forms, Quinn. It would take forever to list them all.”

“Are any of them hot?”

“Are you seriously asking that? Yes.”

Yes! I could see it all already. The battles! The forbidden romance! The intrigue! Hiding this secret life from my parents and classmates, saving the world. But not alone, right? “Are there other magical girls out there?”

“You are an Angel. But you can think of Angels as ‘magical girls’, as you call them, if you really want to. And yes, there are numerous other Angels out there.”

“Right, right. Angels. In this area?”

“You really ask a lot of questions, Quinn. Yes, there are several other Angels operating in your area. Perhaps you will meet them soon.”

Perfect. I couldn’t wait to meet them all. Maybe we’d become best friends and bond while fighting evil. “A lot of questions? Look, I’m not leaving any of this up in the air. I’ve read enough to know that you can’t take any of this for granted. I don’t want any plot twists dropped on me in the middle of some crucial fight or something. You know? It’s very dangerous to go into things without knowing what you’ll expect.”

Vespa chuckled, a sort of soft, humming sound. “Okay, Quinn. Any more questions?”

“What sort of powers will I get? Do I get a transformation too?”

“I’m afraid your transformation will still take some time to be tailored to your specifications. Until then, only some limited abilities will manifest. But yes, after Gaia’s power is unlocked within you, you will be able to transform into your Imago, with some corresponding powers.”

“What powers?”

“Well, you will have several weapons at your disposal, as well as increased endurance, agility, enhanced senses, and flight.”

Flight? “Yes!” I exclaimed. Quietly. This was going to be so cool. Oh wait. “The transformation costume isn’t something lewd, right? I’m not really comfortable with that sort of thing, but I’ve seen enough—”

“Well...” she seemed deep in thought. “Your Imago will not have any exposed skin. Is that to your liking?”

Not any exposed skin? “Like... not even my hands? Or face?”

“No. Is that unusual?”

“Very unusual.” Hold on. “Is there anything else unusual about this whole deal?”

“I am afraid that I am unfamiliar with what is ‘normal’ and ‘unusual’ for hu— for you. You will have to ask me more specific questions if you want specific answers. However, I do not find any of these facts unusual.”

Of course. That made sense. But it was so frustrating. I already had the sinking feeling that something unusual was afoot, and yet I didn’t know what to ask. There was much more going on here. “So... what now? Am I just... waiting for something evil to come by?”

“You can go back to your... you are not even doing work, are you? What is that other tab open on your laptop?”

I slammed my laptop shut. “Nothing. I’m studying.”

“If you are just going to be slacking off anyways, we can get started right away. There is evil lurking nearby, after all, always.”

Evil lurking nearby? “Sure, let’s check it—hold on. There’s evil lurking nearby, but I only need to take care of it if I’m not busy studying? What sort of logic is that? What, does it wait patiently until I finish studying to take action?”

“Whenever you confront them is the correct time to do so.”

What did that even mean? I opened my laptop again. “I really do need to do well on this test, you know. I should probably be studying.”

“I was hoping that you would be able to begin exploring your powers. But if that is what you want, then this exciting new world can wait.”

Why did she have to word it like that? I bit my lip; On one hand, I really did want to see my ‘powers’, whatever they were. I wanted to jump in things. On the other hand... ah, screw uni. It could wait. “Okay fine, Vespa. Let’s go.” I gathered my binders and laptop and slipped them into my knapsack before heading out the door. And thus began my first day as one of Earth’s magical defenders.

***

A pigeon. That certainly was a pigeon.

I must have actually been going insane. That was the only explanation. I’d though the voice was telling me to go onto the roof. The roof! I’d been watching too much anime. We didn’t even have access to the roof here. The tiles were sloping gently, or as gently as they could be, given the three-storey drop to the ground below. What was I doing? I must have been dreaming. I closed my eyes, telling myself to wake up.

“Don’t close your eyes. You are going to fall. And I do not believe your body can withstand the impact without being severely compromised.”

My eyes fluttered open. Still on the roof.

“You know, I am quite impressed at how easily you were able to climb up here through your classroom window.” Vespa gave me what I could only assume was a chuckle.

“Okay, okay. Enough jokes. Why am I looking at a pigeon.” Or at least, it certainly looked like a pigeon. It had two stumpy little legs and a fat little body and two stubby wings, strutting back and forth on the roof tiles with all the other pigeons. There were too many pigeons up here. “It’s just a pigeon.”

“It is not just a pigeon. Look harder.”

I squinted. “This is one of the ‘forces of evil’? What is it going to do, steal my lunch? This is lame. I’m delusional, and I can’t even come up with an interesting premise for my magical girl adventures.”

“Will you stop pretending that this is a game? Look harder.”

I sighed and sat down on the tiles, putting my hands down to steady my body. “Look. This is a pigeon. I don’t know why you want me to look at it so badly.”

“How odd. Perhaps there is an issue with the genetic recombination. Your eyes should be adjusted to—”

I drowned out her voice. As Vespa spoke, the pigeon changed. The feathers... had they always been so dark? They were black, slick with something black, like oil. Its eyes glowed red. And it felt different, too. While the other pigeons had a sort of warmth to them, this one felt... hot. Burning hot. Dead. Angry. And wrong. As if its very existence was a paradox tearing at the fabric of reality. “Okay wait. What’s up with this pigeon?”

“You are beginning to see. It sure took long enough. I am glad that there is nothing wrong with the recombination.”

“What is this thing?” I asked.

“It is an Echo,” said Vespa. “A demonic creature. A messenger from hell.”

“It still looks like a pigeon.”

“They take the forms of creatures familiar to us. But do not be fooled. Those creatures are long gone. All that remains is an echo of once was, brought to life by demonic power.”

“So the ‘forces of evil’ are... Demons?”

“Correct. Naturally. As we are Angels, so they are Demons. They and their Echoes are the enemies that you are defending the earth from.”

I looked back at the pigeon. Pigeons? Since when had there been two? “It’s multiplying?”

“Naturally. Soon, there will be enough to completely overpower you.”

“Very funny. Now what am I supposed to do to stop it? Vespa?” The voice in my head stayed awfully quiet as the creature—the Echo—continued to multiply. The birds’ skins would bubble and crack, black feathers fanning out in bizarre, unnatural patterns before lurching abruptly into animation, separating with a sickening crunch. There were four now. Then eight. I knew enough math to know how this was going to go.

They swirled around me, a vortex of black feathers and claws and glowing red eyes. In their wake, the air distorted too, leaving jagged black particles that dissolved into the atmosphere. The city pigeons were still huddled together on the roof, in their own flock, seemingly unconcerned with the ever-growing swarm of shadow copies forming in their midst.

“Vespa? Now would be a really good time to show me how to use my powers.”

“Do not worry, Quinn. Just act natural.”

They were fast. They flew at me, claws scratching at my skin and face, a torrent of black feathers that blotted out my vision and swept me off-balance. I stumbled on the roof, my head spinning. Right. I was on the roof. Idiot! I scrambled for a handhold before the stupid birds could push me off the edge. The tiles slipped under my fingers and feet. I was sliding down, despite my best efforts. Despite their size, the Echoes were heavy. Much heavier than they looked, much heavier than birds had any right to be. They pressed in on all sides, weighing me down. My muscles began to ache from holding on, but I wasn’t going to let go.

When the blade materialized in my hands, I nearly fell to my death. It burst out of my palm, tip-first long and serrated. At first, I panicked, but quickly it felt like a part of me. Think, Quinn. Through the crush of birds, I raised my arm and slammed it down, using the teeth of the blade to get a grip on the tiles and pull myself back up. When the rest of the handle slid out of my palm, a metre long, I grabbed it with both hands and managed to scramble back up to the top. For a second, the birds scattered, perhaps surprised by the sudden materialization of a weapon in my hands. I certainly was.

In the moment of clarity, I got a good look at the tool in my hands. The tip was long and serrated on one edge, with a smooth and sharp blade on the other end. The blade took up the outer third of the weapon, while the remainder of the length was a simple black handle. Despite its size, it was oddly light. Much too light to have been made of wood, or metal, as it seemed to be. Perhaps some sort of composite? And strangely, although I’d never held it before, I knew how to to use it.

Like second nature, I stood up and swung it.

A wide slash cut through some of the pigeons like butter. The blade cleaved off bits and pieces that fell off and shattered into crystalline fragments against the roof tiles, splattering something that was red but decidedly not-blood. Rather, it glowed faintly red, much like the creatures’ eyes. One by one I cut them down. After a few had shattered, the remaining no longer seemed so keen on replicating nor attacking me.

“What is this?” I asked.

“Careful,” said Vespa. “This is your stinger. The half-manifested martial form of your Imago. It is fragile, but until your full Imago is prepared, it will do.”

“You keep using that word. ‘Imago’. What does it mean?”

“Your Imago is the full blossoming of the power of Gaia within you. It allows you to sense the forces of evil, equips you to fight it, both materially and bodily. It is your metamorphosis. Although it is not ready yet, beyond the stinger that you hold in your hands.”

“This... stinger, then.” I swung it once again. The remaining pigeons were scattered among the rest, but I could run along the roof tiles without much trouble. Strange. I didn’t feel any vertigo anymore. Instead, I felt laser-focused on the remaining Echoes, popping them like balloons one by one. “It doesn’t happen to have some sort of deep philosophical or emotional component, right? Like, my soul or my emotions or something like that.”

“Why yes. It represents your chastity?”

I stopped in my tracks. “Really?”

“Of course not. That would not make for a very useful weapon. Humans have sex, after all. It is simply a weapon, Quinn. It is created from you by Gaia’s power, for the purpose of killing Echoes and killing Demons.”

Demons. That was right. “What are Demons, anyways?” The last pigeon was sitting idly at the edge of the roof. I approached it with measured steps, my stinger levelled in front of me.

“Demons are difficult to describe. They are the antithesis of the Angels, beings of evil who fight against us for the fate of all living souls. While we seek to preserve them, they seek to bring them to an end. To destroy all life on Earth.”

“My, my. That’s... that’s quite the pressure to put on a highschool girl, isn’t it?”

“It would be, if you alone were responsible for everything. But you will be supported by the thousands of other Angels who fight alongside you in this war.”

Thousands? “Just how big is this war?”

“The war is everywhere. But you only have a small part to worry about right now. Only one pigeon remaining here.”

Only one. The glaive connected with the shadowy bird, smashing it to pieces. The fragments dissipated, leaving behind glowing red stains and crumbling black sand. I took a deep breath. When had I become out of breath. I got down to my knees and sat down on the roof. Right. The roof.

Now all I had to do was get back down.