Starlight Dream

Chapter 9

A fire burned through Seina's chest as the bullet pierced straight through her body. Her opponent continued to fire, sending more shots through her chest. Every breath was agony, barely able to breathe. She pulled out her pendant, hoping she wasn't too late.

Through blood-soaked lips, Seina croaked out her transformation chant. "Change... Change...," she gasped through punctured lungs, "Magical... Love Dress... Up..." Light engulfed her, changing her into her magical girl form. Much to Seina's relief, the pain vanished, though it left her a little tired.

"What?" The vampire thug, Jentin, gaped in surprise. "You're alive? But she shot you through the heart, twice! How are you still standing?!"

"She's a magical girl, obviously," Takako said, bored. "It takes more than that to kill one of us."

"But, I." Panic filled Jentin's features for a moment before turning back to confidence. "Nevermind. We still have a magic girl on our side! We'll just cut her to pieces."

"Maeko is a magical girl?" Aiko asked, surprised. "What's going on?"

From the shadows, a female vampire appeared, wearing a smug expression on her face. Something about the woman was vaguely familiar. "That's right, Seina. We have duped you. We sent her to train with you in order to learn your every weakness." She gave a cruel laugh. "Don't you remember? Love, friendship and affection are weaknesses. Your naivete will be your death, Seina!"

Seina's face twisted into a scowl. How had she allowed Takako to foolishly trick her? As usual, the vampires corrupted everything good in the world to hurt her. Just like her parents.

"Kick her butt, Seina!" Colten said, fuming. "I know magical girls are evil, but betraying you like that is a low even for her kind!!"

Takako snorted. "I'll do whatever it takes to beat you. You are my hated enemy, after all."

"You!" Being told that Takako hated her hurt more than Seina had expected. She'd really believed they'd been friends. Unexpectedly, it brought tears to her eyes. She rubbed them away and directed her anger towards the girl that had fooled her. Seina would enjoy punching her stupid face in.

"Understand this, Seina, it's my job to dispatch rogue magical girls, and that's what I'm going to do." Takako pointed her pistols towards Seina's heart. "I'm not playing around this time. Let me show you what I've learned since our last battle."

"Yes! Kill her!" The female vampire said. "Today, you pay for every humiliation you made me suffer through!"

Seina blinked. "Sorry?" Did she know this woman? Before she could inquire any further, Takako unleashed her bullets onto Seina. Like last time, the shots flew wide. Had the girl not learned anything from their last encounter? Her body jerked as something started pressing on her with crushing force, and Seina found herself unable to move.

"Each of those bullets creates a gravitational force with the strength of a black hole," Takako said, smirking. "That should make this easy."

"Shinobu, now!" The vampire woman said, and a middle-aged man appeared from the manga shop. Much to Siena's surprise, the shop vanished to reveal an empty building. He extended a hand, and Seina gasped as blackness engulfed her vision.

"Where am I? What's going on?" With some effort, Seina moved her head around, trying to understand what was happening. She froze as a strange gurgling sound echoed in the distance, sending a chill down her spine. Her heart almost beat out of her chest as a strange white figure with pale skin and stringy black hair wrapped around her body, screaming as centipedes emerged from their mouth, crawling all over her.

---

"We did it!" An almost hysterical laugh escaped Lilha's lips. "We did it!"

They watched as Seina stood petrified, twisting and turning, eyes widened in fear. Sweat dripped down Shinobu's head as he forced Seina to see her worst fears realized. With her gravity bullets in place Takako doubted her rival could escape easily. Still, they couldn't waste his opportunity. It couldn't hold Seina forever. Trapped or not, she was a formidable opponent. She'd break the illusion eventually.