[Magical Girls]

"It all starts with this..."

A pale purple glow shone across a blank face. Barely illuminating the features that were hidden from the world. Only able to outline a wicked smile on that otherwise blank expression...

"What is 'this', Lady Ravenheart..?"

A much weaker voice spoke up, the flickering candles hanging overhead barely illuminating her figure. Compared to the woman being cast in the wicked light, she was almost completely swallowed by the darkness around them...

The faceless woman known as Lady Ravenheart stood up from her throne. All while letting that foul heart hover above her palm. Slowly spinning due to its own power, illuminating her form in full...

She was wearing a dress that seemed to be made out of a raven's feathers. Each feather layered on top of one another to the point of making it impossible to tell where the dress began and where it ended, all while maintaining an incredibly soft texture. While at the same time allowing plenty of space up above, letting her wing-shaped pendant rest on her bosom...

Her face looked like it was completely featureless. As if it was covered by a mask. Her hair did not bring any favors in that regard either, as her raven black hair curved around her head and formed a set of six wings, each stretching across her face as it hit yet more of her features from anybody that would dare lay their eyes upon her...

"My Lovely Crow..." Lady Ravenheart chuckled as she came closer to the young girl. Kneeling down as she used her free hand to raise the girl's head, so that the girl's eyes could meet her featureless face. So that she may gaze into those eyes, and receive no gaze in return. "Do you recall what I told you when I welcomed you to this world?"

Crow slowly put her hand over her heart. In response to her gesture, a heart formed above her palm. Just like the one that had been floating over Lady Ravenheart's palm. However, Crow’s heart was lacking any real filling. It was more like a faintly glowing outline. "My heart... My heart is shattered. It's lacking the emotions that it needs..." She muttered. She wouldn't consider it shattered. Shattered would mean that it had emotions in the first place. But even an emotionless being like her wanted something to call her own, even if it meant implying that it was something that it simply wasn’t...

It was because of her broken heart that she was currently dressed in nothing more than a black bodysuit. She was not meant to go outside. Not meant to interact with the people of this world. Because she was incompatible. She wasn't ready. That was what Lady Ravenheart had told her. Why she had sheltered her...

Her hair, styled in a similar way to Lady Ravenheart's, gently twitched. Her bangs, which took the shape of two crossed wings that made it hard for her to see with those brilliantly obsidian eyes of hers... They wanted to part and make her look much closer at the heart that Lady Ravenheart held.

"Indeed. And I've finally done it. I've made one of the emotions that you lack. It sounds amazing, doesn't it, Crow?" Lady Ravenheart said, as she carefully handed the heart off to Crow...

The heart seemed to react to Crow's own. For a single moment, right before several sparks started to fire off from the heart-shaped emotion, rejecting the heart in Crow's hand. Rejecting the girl's shattered center...

Crow did not react to the rejection beyond simply letting her own heart descend back into her chest. Cupping the new emotion, as she watched it spin. Spin and spin, able to sustain itself with the purity of its emotion. "...What should I do with this, Lady Ravenheart..?"

"Bring it to the world. Find somebody that resonates with this emotion. This Sadness that I want you to have. Once attuned to their heart, once they've turned into a creature ruled by their new emotion... Then, and only then, will it be able to sink into you as well. I apologize that I must take this roundabout route, Crow, but it was the only way."

Lady Ravenheart would never lie. Crow was sure of that. And if she wanted her to carry an emotion to the other world, where others could be touched by it and become something more... Then that was simply what she had to do.

"I understand, Lady Ravenheart." She said. Not feeling fear, despite where she was going to go. Despite the warnings that Lady Ravenheart had told her to heed, the ones that kept her so isolated.

She had to repay her for everything that she had done for her. Taking care of her. Raising her. Ensuring her complete safety. All of this, and so much more...

She had to make Lady Ravenheart proud. And as she sank into the darkness beneath, the body-suited girl could only hope that she would do a good job. So that she could earn the Sadness that this heart embodied...

"Go, Crow... I look forward to seeing how far you can go..."

Lady Ravenheart's voice echoed through her throne room, as the lights went out one by one. Each making it harder and harder to see anything...

Anything besides the wicked smile barely pushing through her mask-like face...

---

"Sumiko? Sumiko, did you just fall asleep again?"

A young girl let out a tired gasp as she suddenly shook awake. All while blushing brightly. She had been sleeping, hadn't she? W-Well, she had a long day yesterday. There were so many tasks that she had to carry out back at home, and her Mom needed her at her side...

"Sorry, Aika. W-What were we talking about again..?"

The sleepy girl's name was Sumiko Yamamura. And despite her little sleepy moment, she was a girl who pushed herself as much as she could. There was nothing in life she wanted more than to be a help to others. Especially her ailing Mother. Especially her friends...

Which was why she was so sleepy in the first place. Why she had honestly thrown on something that wasn't good for outdoor wearing. A white sweater with black stripes going down from the collar and out across her sleeves. That, and some thick pants that probably kept her insulated in the cold outside, yet it didn't really feel like the kinda pants she should be wearing while out with a friend...

"You really should try and get more sleep, Sumiko..." Her friend, Aika Hieda, sighed before gently smiling. She had put on a pink jacket that looked a lot more fashionable than what Sumiko had picked out, and probably better for the cold too. She even picked out a matching pair of pink leather boots, making her look like she was ready to go out and shop the day away...

Their hair couldn't be more different either. While Sumiko had styled her platinum blonde hair in an unremarkable bob cut that really didn't go well with her current look, Aika had her soft pink hair braided together in such a way that her long braid nearly reached the ground. Which was why she also took the moment to reach behind her head and tie part of the braid together, so it wouldn't hit the ground....

"I know... But if I don't make sure I'm on top of everything, I can't help Mother. And I can't help you either, Aika. I know you've got a lot of homework still, and I know there's a lot you struggle with. That's why we were here, right?" Sumiko smiled softly, trying to ignore how drowsy she had been...

Only to get very gently flicked by her pink pal. "We're just having fun today, Sumiko. No need to worry about school, we don't have anything due for the week. Just relax, 'kay?" Honestly, if there was anybody that needed help, it was Sumiko. The girl just didn't know how to restrain herself. Always offering help to others, without thinking of how much it would drain her...

A nervous laugh left Sumiko's lips, before she slowly lifted herself from the chair she had gotten so cozy in that she could fall asleep. "I'll... I'll go get us something to drink then. Sorry, Aika." She could feel the shame filling her cheeks. Good grief, she didn't like disappointing her friend at all. And it's not like she was disappointed because she had done something bad. No, Aika was disappointed on her behalf...

"Just don't pass out on me while you're in line, Sumiko. The last thing I want is for you to end up on the news because you overexerted yourself." Aika said, before smiling softly as she watched the girl turn around. "Wouldn't want my study buddy to be humiliated because she just wanted to help."

Yeah. She appreciated her. That much Sumiko knew. She wasn't worried for no reason. She genuinely wanted her friend to be okay. But it's not like she was actually going to doze off in the middle of getting the two of them something to drink, right?

Sumiko waved a little to Aika as she walked away from where they had been sitting, rounding the corner as she headed straight for the place where they usually got milkshakes. She could really go for a big Vanilla and Strawberry milkshake for the two of them to share right about now...

"I can feel it..."

Sumiko paused as she heard a voice in the air. Blinking rapidly, she turned and turned around. Trying to pinpoint what it was that she had just heard. What was that..? She didn't recognize the voice, but it sounded...

Sad? Yeah, sad. Lonely, even. And she swore she could see a very faint purple light from one of the side passages inside the mall she was walking through. Was somebody having a lightshow inside one of the bathrooms?

Whatever the case was, Sumiko couldn't help but go investigate. "Excuse me?" She asked, walking towards the ladies' bathroom...

Only to suddenly feel her heart jump the moment that she stepped too close. Everything grew dark around her. All while that purple light grew stronger and stronger. Shining straight into her eyes. Straight into her... eyes..?

"You..."

A soft voice reached her ears. As a figure gradually revealed herself, illuminated by the purple heart. A girl her age..? It seemed like it, at least. But why was she wearing nothing but a bodysuit..? Had she wandered into something weird..?

...None of that really mattered the more that Sumiko looked at her. Just a look at her empty expression, and she couldn't help but feel  her heart resonating with it. The girl... The girl needed...

"Sink in. And Spread Your Wings."

Sumiko wanted to reach out. To try and reach for the girl that felt so sad. But all that happened was the purple-hued heart sinking into her chest. And as it sank in, several purple veins started to sprout from it. Spreading across her body...

She could feel an overwhelming sense of sadness pouring through her. Such potent sadness that she immediately started to cry. What else was she supposed to do when she was filled with this much sadness..?

The darkness that she had been pulled into gradually faded. And so did the girl that had gifted her this heart. Having her leave her like this... Having disappeared right before her eyes, right when she wanted to try and help her..!

Sumiko couldn't stop herself from sobbing audibly. All while those very same tears that were pouring from her eyes started to fly off her. All of them flying to her back. Tear after tear stacking together, gradually forming a pair of much more solid wings. Wings just as purple as the heart that had been pushed into her...

"Spread... Spread My Wings..."

Those words that the girl had left her with... They flew from hers as well. All while those wings that had formed on her back started to wrap around her. Letting all of that sadness wrap around her, burying her inside of sadness itself. Letting all that power spread through her further, until she was nothing but the Sadness...

Little by little, that saddened wrapping started to fall apart. Like tears dripping from her figure... Or rather, droplets of pure sadness. Because it wasn't the wrapping that was falling apart...

It was her. Sumiko herself was falling apart. Even as the sadness unwrapped from around her body, taking the form of wings that dripped like the rest of her, she still kept on dripping. All while sniffling and sobbing like the Sadness that had filled her...

She had trouble making sense of anything in front of her. It was like she was submerged in the deepest pool, which meant that she could only see the vague outline of things around her...

If others were to see her, they would not see Sumiko. They would see a sorrowful beauty, a water elemental powered by the tears that formed her body. All of her tears streamed down her body, making an outline of a big and elegant dress. As if she had been stood up at a wedding or a ball, someplace where her love had the biggest chance of blooming into something more. And her wings, struggling to maintain their form due to how many tears were dripping from them, served as her only comfort...

Even her face, what little of it you could make out due to how much it was being washed out by her tears, displayed an egregious amount of sadness. Especially thanks to black makeup running down her cheeks, washed out and turned into its own kind of tears thanks to how much she sobbed...

Her name... Her name..? She... She couldn't remember her name. All that she knew right now was sadness. And the way that her tears were falling off her... Tearfall... That... That had to be her name, didn't it..?

"Uhm... Are you okay?"

Tearfall turned towards a woman that was stepping out of the bathroom that she had been trying to enter. She was a tourist, the tanned hue of her skin plus her shades and blonde hair made that obvious. But Tearfall could tell. There was a sadness within her...

"It's... It's okay..." Tearfall muttered, as she held out her hand towards the woman. "It's okay to let your sadness loose..."

The tourist tilted her head, only for the teary girl's body to start ominously glowing purple. And almost immediately, she could feel her tears welling up within her eyes. Not only that, but something she truly grieved over started to fill her heart...

"W-What? H-How did you know I'm that fat? It's not fair! All my friends can eat so much and show off on the beach, and I'm getting flabby!" The woman cried out as the tears practically flew from her eyes as she sobbed. Sobbing and sobbing as much as she could...

All while Tearfall watched and watched. Watching as those tears started to wrap around the woman. She was being wrapped in sadness, just as Tearfall had. And just like Tearfall, she would be unable to stop it once it had gotten going like this...

The woman did not develop wings that wrapped around her like Tearfall did. She had nothing to comfort her in such a difficult time. All that she could do was simply sob as she turned into a living Tear, just like the girl that had transformed her...

A tear that ran into the mall, sobbing from the depths of her heart. Attracting everyone's attention towards both the crying Tear, and the saddened being that followed after her...

So many eyes were falling onto her. So many people hid sadness in their eyes. So many that needed help. So many needed to acknowledge the sadness within them, so that they could be set free...

"It's okay..." Tearfall said, as she held out her hands. An ominous purple glow flooded out from the palms of her hands, as the tears that had been shed by the earlier Tear started to form a heart where the glow was coming from.

The glow spread out as far as it possibly could, with several people being struck by the glow. And as they were struck, sobbing erupted. Filling the mall before long, especially as the presence of a Tear served to amplify the glow's reach and power...

"I lost so much money buying that card before it got banned!" "I messed up the cake and my crush's allergic!" "Mommy! Mommy, where are you!?" "Oh, honey..! Honey, I miss you..!"

All sorts of sadness started flying around inside the mall. So many of them different from one another. Of course they were. Not every single sadness was the same. Everyone had something that would drive them to tears if they stopped to think about it for too long...

Seeing everyone break down like this should make Tearfall happier. It really should. More people sharing in her misery by making their sadness apparent to the world was meant to make her happy...

So why couldn't she stop sobbing? Why did seeing all of them cry make her cry that much more..!? She wanted to help them by freeing them from their sadness, but none of them were able to overcome it..!

None of them, not even herself! She sobbed and sobbed, and was quickly joined by so many of the other Tears that had been born from her light...

"W-Why can't I help my friend!? W-Why!? I want to help her, but I don't know how! I don't know how to tell her that she's killing herself like this!"

Tearfall's eyes widened slightly as she heard another one of the Tears cry out. And she just barely was able to notice the pink-clad source, before she too was converted into a Tear that couldn't stop crying out...

It was... It was her friend, Aika. She... She wanted to tell her that..? Wait, how could she remember that girl..? She... She wasn't... Was... Who.. What..?

Tearfall grabbed ahold of her head, her watery arms having trouble keeping their shape due to her unstable mental state. "W-Why... W-Why does her being sad make my tears run faster..!?" She didn't understand. She didn't understand at all!

What... What was she going to do? Who was going to stop them!? Should somebody stop them!? There were so many questions running through the saddened girl's head, and she knew none of the answers to her problems..!

"Hah. Finally."

A light shone from the crowd of crying minions, before several of the Tears that had been born from the sadness that Tearfall shared with them were knocked to the ground. Several of them even returned to their original state. All thanks to... All thanks to..?

Tearfall wanted to try and identify what she was looking at. But the tears in her eyes were making it almost impossible to make things out. At best, she could tell that the one that had knocked the Tears down was Red, White and Blue. And she seemed... She seemed really strong..!

But even as she tried to hold out her hands, to try and beckon the darkness within the girl's body, she couldn't. Not just because it didn't respond, but because her hands were blasted by gunshots the moment she tried it.

"Sorry, I'm not letting a crybaby like you read my heart." The Red, White and Blue mess of colors said, as she seemed to flick a set of matching blades, causing them to go from facing inward towards her, outwards towards Tearfall...

Tearfall felt something else besides the Sadness as those weapons ended up pointed towards her. She sobbed and sobbed, as the fear of being hurt consumed her. All while many of the Tears that she had made, the ones that weren't knocked down by the earlier attack from the new girl, tried to get in between her and the one that had shared sadness with them...

"Small fry will always be small fry, no matter how much they cry over it! These Monsters don't change at all!" The mess of colors cried out as she slashed straight through the horde, ending up right in front of Teardrop. With all of her Tears, the ones that tried to protect her, having been cut to pieces and returned to normal..!

N-No. No, this wasn't right. She wasn't meant to be defeated like this. W-Was she? WAS SHE!? WAS SHE JUST A MONSTER, JUST LIKE THAT GIRL SAID SHE WAS!? She shrieked in despair and sorrow as she tried to fly away. Anything to get away from this crazed girl..!

She didn't get that far. All that she managed to see before her vision went completely dark was the White shine from the messy girl, especially as she swung her blades in front of her. She was crafting... A sigil of sorts..? Carving out of the air..?

"Wings, Fly Away!"

A sharp sensation rushed through Teardrop as the sigil was carved in two. And as she gazed down at herself, she instantly recognized why. And why she suddenly felt... Nothing...

Her chest had been slashed open. Tears were streaming out like mad, and the heart that had infested her with Sadness was flying out of her. Leaving those saddened emotions to just cry and cry and cry and cry... Cry, until the well of tears ran completely dry...

Putting an end to Sumiko's transformation... And more importantly, causing the girl to collapse onto the ground after it had all poured out. She wasn't hurt, just passed out from the entire ordeal...

"Heh. Even if there's new Monsters, they don't make them like they used to. They're cry babies." The girl said, the colors that had swallowed her form and turned her into a threat to Tearfall vanished bit by bit. Revealing a girl with a red mane of hair, part of it tied into a ponytail that hangs at the side of her head...

That was the last thing that Sumiko could see, before the exhaustion and the lingering sadness consumed her completely. She didn't know who this girl was, even if she had saved her. All that she knew was that she was back to normal. And while that was good...

She just couldn't stop thinking about the girl that had gifted her that heart in the first place, and how much her heart ached when she looked at her...

---

"Sadness..."

Crow muttered, as the heart had returned to her. The girl that had been infested by the emotion had been bested. Returning the emotion to her. Not only that, but it seemed to be even darker than before. A foul black compared to the mere ominous purple that it had when Lady Ravenheart introduced her to it...

Was this really meant to go into her heart..? Even if she didn't have emotions, she couldn't help but wonder a little as she stared at that heart. It had made that girl cry so much, transforming her into an embodiment of Sadness. So what would it do to her..?

She quietly held the heart, before letting it gradually sink into her heart. Gradually filling her with that black light that poured from it. Gradually filling her with Sadness...

And little by little, the tears started to well up from Crow's eyes. Little by little, she got to experience that emotion. An overwhelming emotion that could conquer anything when pushed hard enough...

...

The tears wouldn't stop rolling down her cheeks once they had begun. Why was she sad..? She understood that she was sad now. She understood that very clearly. She just didn't know why. Nor did she know how to make it stop...

All that Crow could do now, with tears trailing down her pale cheeks, was return to the darkness whence she came. Lady Ravenheart would be proud of her. That much she was sure of.

Even so, the tears just kept streaming…

As if knowing that the Lady being happy wouldn't make her happy...