Chapter 12 - Between Love and Limerence

 

Sunlight streams through the stained-glass windows of the modern cloister, casting kaleidoscopic patterns on the metallic beams and upper floors above. Becca, her pigtails crackling with electric energy, stands poised in the center of the school's courtyard terrace, her eyes narrowed against the monstrous crystal gems that loom before her.

Maiyra, the combined gems of greed crackles with energy, threatening to unleash a devastating blast. Her monstrous form slams her whip towards Becca who leaps three stories to dodge, before the weapon smashes several steel columns over. Becky's butterfly-like wings glide her above the roof as she descends. She watches as the crystal-covered form charges, its monstrous claws ripping through the concrete and metal like butter. Becca tumbles on a higher-level platform. A deafening boom rings out and sends a gust of wind, scattering some of the surrounding trees. She turns to see a new form of Petal holding her spear, now standing 9 feet not counting feline-ears, with giant paws and with orange-black stripes running around her, Petal's signature rounded gem on her forehead. The gem's eyes dilated, the traces of 'Nefcy' fused within - Citrine, the fusion dubbed themselves. Claws gleaming with energy. She opens its jaws, emitting a monstrous howl and leaps from ground level towards her, a combination of Nefriset's Siberian morninglory attack given perfect grace and poise through Petal's acrobatics and ballet. Becca could just barely keep up pace. She attempts to fly even higher to avoid Citrine's repeated charges, only for the form of Diane to appear flying overhead. There's another figure in the courtyard, the gem of Envy watching. Half-heartedly supporting as the newest Crystal Gem, but mostly watching with lovestruck and gloomy admiration.

Lazuli watches as Diane's form suddenly charges from above, her spear of light glowing, an orb of energy she charges and launches at Citrine's form, who grabs the energy into her paws and in perfect synergy redirects them with a series of swipes at Becca who attempts to dodge but is

knocked back, only to fly through a wall of classrooms, creating several large holes. "Code 15: Elemental Overcharge!"

Are the words Caleb hears. He's been hearing alot of her loadouts and powerups like that lately, is sure he's heard every single one by now, atleast that's what he tells himself. He leans over by the guardrail of the 5th floor and observes below.

A great cracking of sound breaks the daylight, and his dim-concentration of the battle as something from the sky falls a few feet beside him. Thatti, lost in a whirlwind of fiery spells and molten fists, battled Sugarlite, Diane and Citrine below, the courtyard floor groaning under the fury of their duel. Caleb turned his attention away unceremoniously at the feet of a vision in pink. Facing towards him, a magical girl in a shimmering skirt stumbled. "Oh dear!" she exclaimed, her voice dripping with honeyed sweetness.

Caleb blinked, scrambling to his feet. This dazzling stranger, quite cute for looks with eyes like spun Maismas and a smile that could melt glaciers, belonged in a dream, but not amidst the chaotic brawl. The strange girl with her silken top, white gloves and wand seemed absolutely magical.

"Who are you?" he stammered, mesmerized by the glitter trailing in her wake. "Glitterkiss Magus Lumina, at your service. Newly christened and assigned to this quarrelsome region!"

"Quarrelsome?" Caleb turned around, his brow furrowing. "That's Thatti. My friend. She… she's got herself in a bit of a bind."

Lumina's smile softened. "Ah, a friend in need," she mused, tilting her head like a curious sparrow. "Nah, trust me she's got this." He said as she was Citrine's head rammed her into the ground with a fierce tackle.

"But your friend, is she not from Glitterkiss herself?"

Caleb blushed, a sunrise creeping up his neck. He turns to see Becca sending crashing fountains of lightening at Sugalite, knocking her back, then double-dancing with Diane and Citrine both assaulting her at once with deft fighting ability. "It's not a big deal, Lumina. Just think we should, you know, hang out before Thatti… uh… finishes flattening Pyra and Nefcy." He shrugs.

A giggle, like fizzy soda pop dancing on her tongue, erupted from Lumina. "Flattening? Oh, you Xi'ans and your colorful metaphors! You're kinda funny." She giggled. Caleb blushed. Her took her hand and they ran far from the scene, soon heading to the arcade.

Caleb, armed with a pixelated laser rifle, defended Lumina's cotton-candy castle from pixelated dragons with his knight-avatar on the screen. The magical girl gasped as his impressive

deftness at the game. She clapped him on the shoulder, causing his avatar to slam his fist into the ground, creating a shockwave. Her hands ran over his cheeks.

"Really? You're this good? How old are you?" "16! I'm 16!"

"I'm older than you," she giggled, turning away, letting her skirt flow behind her in shades of lavender and cream. Caleb pouted.

"Um, I'm sure you are," he said with a nervous chuckle.

 

"It's time for another round!" she declared, her voice rising above the din of coins and video chips rattling in the machines. She slid into the seat beside him.

"We should keep playing." "Yes! That's the idea!"

Around half an hour later, the two were in Caleb's dorm chopping up onions and steak make a stir fry. Caleb laughed like a boy again as he playfully swatted at the sparks of magic Lumina tossed over the griddle. She giggled, too, teasing him peas chucked at him.

"It's time to eat, huh?" he said with a wink.

 

"Wow, I'm impressed," she cooed, smacking him on the back. "You're just that kind of a boy, aren't you? You just like to have fun and cook for me! It's very cute."

"Aw…" Caleb's guts churned. "I-I really like you, Lumina."

 

The glitterkiss magus smiled, placing a finger to her lips and leaning over him, placing her face close to his. "Well, Caleb, you're quite sweet to me," she said, smiling. "The kind that might make my heart melt." Caleb's cheeks grew rosy. "Oh, we're out of broth. Wanna make a store run?" He asked, the two looking at one another.

The two were later driving on a scooter with a bag of groceries in hand, when they saw a horned- rabbit, a native species lost on the side of the road. "Cally-B, look! It's paw is heart!" She ran over, took out some bandages and immediately started to bandage it up, before holding it in her arms and cradling it gently.

"What are you doing, Lumina?"

 

She paused. "Just what any good magus would do." She said, smiling. "We have to protect life, that's our most sacred vow we undertake."

Caleb scratched his head. "Thatti never told me anything like that.." Lumina raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? You know Thatti, right?"

"I live with her…" He paused. "Kinda. No, I mean not like like know her past or anything."

"Thatti is quite infamous where I'm from. But first let's do our duties. Let Hearts and Thorns, trace these horns!" With a point of jeweled heart-shape wand with a rosary dangling from the hilt, the path of the animal's past was lit and waved through the trail. "C'mon!" She took the scooter and started to roar across the trails a grinning Caleb atop of her shoulders. The magical girl flashed a smile over her shoulder, making Caleb laugh, his hand clutching at her biceps to keep his balance. "We're here!" The scooter stopped before a large mansion, a lily-shaped garden adorned the perimeter.

There were numerous cages in the backyard of the manor, they came across one with a gigantic horned-rabbit larger than them both. "This must be its mama!" Lumina peered over. "And based on this trap equipment, these are big game hunters." The small rabbit-cub mewled for the larger animal trapped.

"These poor things, we have to free them!"

 

Lumina declared, drawing her wand and taking a mighty swipe at the cage. The metallic bars flew apart. Lumina scooped up the smaller rabbit and placed him beside the much larger one. "Hold on, let us give them some healing magic. The little one was clearly in shock!" She leaned over and started to sing a soft hymn, when a series of angry voices from men in suits with guns came out. "Who the hell are you?" One asked pointing his gun at the two.

Lumina's eyes flashed. "Sacred Garden! Thorns and Hearts!" She called out, charging with a swish of colorful bladed petals at the group, before leaping directly at them. Her weapon turned into a croquet mallet, and she started making sweeping charges at the men one by one, dodging bullets and shots with ease. As Lumina fought, she called upon the spirits of nature. Two gigantic plant-monsters burst out of the ground, larger than Lumina herself, which she rode on, leaping up to kick one of the hunters in the face.

"Hey! Stop!" She shrieked, the two leafy beasts began chomping down the rest of the hunters. "Spit them out! All life is sacred." She kicked the plant-monsters.

By the time the prey were released, they had lost all their fight and fled. She turned to the rabbit, and several other uncaged freed animals. "Oh, don't be sad," she sang, waving the blossom and holding it in front of the rabbits. "It's time to take on new adventures, and grow big and strong!" The bunny looked at her, and smiled. Lumina and Caleb helped the horned-rabbits through the woodland, towards a thicket. The two made one last look back, and soon fled into the great unknown of nature's expanse.

Soon the two were back on the scooter, Lumina holding her hands around Caleb, blushing. "You're kinda cute, you know?" She leaned into him.

"I just wish that everything would be like this," Caleb chuckled. "We could just hang out and be normal together, or go to the beach or something, maybe have a picnic in the forest."

"Hey," Lumina said, looking over at him. "You know that we're magical girls, right? We have duties!"

"Y-Yes…" Caleb muttered. "Well," she paused, her cheeks turning a shade of pale magenta. "No

 

reason we cannot slow down from time to time, love is important too you know."

 

"Uh… I just… You are the most important thing to me, Lumina, I just… really love you." Caleb stammered. "I think… I mean…" Soon they arrived back at Echostar Academy, the sound of rumbling of Thatti's battle still going on in the far backdrop.

Lumina got off and looked at him affectionately.

 

"I like you too," she said, her voice sweet as honey. She paused. "Maybe the most."

"L-Lumina, I love you, I want to be with you! Please be with me!" Caleb blurted out, holding her as he had a moment of clarity. Lumina smiled. "Caleb, you know we can't be together, that we have to do our duties. Don't get me wrong, but this is serious."

Caleb's heart dropped into his stomach. "I-I just thought maybe we could be together, that we could talk."

"Oh, Caleb, don't be so sad, we'll always be friends, that's the promise of Glitterkiss." She kissed him on the lips. "But even with my duties, I'd love to get closer to you."

"W-W-We could… maybe go on a date?" Caleb kissed back.

 

"Well, what do you call this afternoon?" Lumina asked, her lips pressing full into a long wet press.

"Whatever this is…" Caleb paused. "I love it." The two kissed for a moment longer, moist tongues exchanging. The scent of honeysuckle hung heavy in the twilight air. Lumina leaned into his touch, her eyes, usually shimmering with celestial energy, now softened with a tenderness Caleb hadn't witnessed before.

The two kissed for a time longer, finally separating as the sun dipped and fell below the purple horizon. The kiss deepened, a tangle of soggy limbs and whispered moans.

"I've got to go," Lumina said, blushing and smiling at him. She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. Caleb held his head as it tingled with the warmth of her lips.

As they turned around, a blurry silhouette of a gnarled, black and metallic figure with a latex gimp-mask was just standing there, a tall umbrella held in the hands of this ominous figure. There that one smiled wickedly, crystal-like eyes within them seemed to glow an ethereal exchange of colors across all hues.

"Who the-" The figure, first in front was gone. They were there again. Blurring for a microsecond. Behind Caleb and Lumina, then turning around as if moving at speeds beyond perception. "Huh-"

They stood just behind the two, waggling their black latexy fingers at them. Lumina stood deathly-silent and still, a strange red line running down her neck. She didn't have a chance to react. The deep stinging pain only lasted a single second, before the dissection ceased all thought in the magical girl. The red line on Lumina's neck deepened into a gash, and then finally a full on separation from her neck and torso. Blood sprayed everywhere, hitting Caleb like a confetti fountain out of a meaty pinata, the juices of love pouring from the veins of eros herself.

The individual behind them spoke. "So young and pretty…" The person's voice was deep and smooth, akin to that of a jazz singer. They spoke in an English with the cadence of something out of antebellum, with the accent of the American South, an accent Caleb as an Xi'an surely had never heard before. Lumina's head dropped onto the ground, a large bloody trail from her back, headless, and her body lay face-down on the ground with a pool of blood and no sign of life. "What a waste." They said. "Toodles sugah." They shielded themselves from the rain of blood with their umbrella, and continued walking in the other direction until they were out of sight.

Caleb stood and looked down. Decapitated head. Body. Lifeless. He didn't know what happened, what just happened. She was smiling, and happy, just a few minutes ago.

He started pulling her up and running back to his dorm room. They lay down her on a bed, and Caleb covered her with a blanket, his face turned towards the ground. Lumina's blood dripped from the wound, her lips now a pale color. He looked both ways, just to see if anyone was watching or spying, and slowly lifted the blanket, picking up her head one last time. Her long black hair still shimmering in shades of lavender. He just wanted to hold her, to have her close,

to touch her again, to be with her, always. She wasn't coming back. Caleb leaned in to kiss the corpse. Soon, Caleb heard footsteps. Someone was coming towards the room.

He threw her head into the trash.

 

Thatti burst in, covered in wounds and dirt. She put Becca on the shelf. "What a miserable day." She said.

"Thatti!" Caleb cried, hugging her tightly. "She's gone."

 

Thatti scanned the area, seeing Lumina's head in Caleb's lap. "Uh oh." She blinked twice, looking at the blood stains on Caleb.

“Who?”