Once Upon A Time

"It… it worked… It worked!"

The Lady of Tokyo stands in awe of her own brilliance. She's done it. In a chamber buried deep beneath the ground, embedded right in the middle of a nexus of ley lines, soaking up the Prana seeped into the earth from the Tokyo Spirit Realm Gate, within an artificial womb, stirs the first homunculus.

It opens its eyes. Or rather, she opens her eyes.

The Lady of Tokyo waves her hand and a series of mechanical arms activate. They hiss as they unplug the tube from the socket in the ground and lift it into the air. The arms slowly glide along the ceiling, taking the tube with it. . She walks alongside it as the homunculus swims around in her little habitat, confused but curious. A group of her most trusted researchers await her at her workshop. The mechanical arms place the tube into a socket at the very center of the room.

"Leave us." With two words and a simple wave of her hand, the Lady of Tokyo dismisses the other researchers. They file out solemnly, heads bowed as though they were leaving a holy place. She presses a button on a control panel and the tube drains of fluid. The homunculus tries to stay upright but she's never used her legs before so she simply collapses onto the floor. Its limbs tremble, like a newborn fawn's.

The Lady of Tokyo opens the tube, exposing the homunculus to the open air. She shudders from the cold. Without hesitating, the Lady of Tokyo takes off her lab coat and drapes it over the homunculus. The air-conditioned chill crawls up and down her exposed skin.

She points at herself. "Mama."

The homunculus points at the Lady of Tokyo with a trembling metal finger. "Ma…ma…"

"That's right. I'm your mama. And you…" She thinks for a moment. "You can be Elexi. Elexi Purina."

"Ehlecksy! Alecksy Poorina!"

"Yes, yes." The Lady of Tokyo smiles and pats her on the head. "Let's go home. I will show you the universe."

"Mama!"

"Yes, yes. I'm your Mama."

"Elexi doesn't want to go back to school! They hate Elexi!" The homunculus cries into her mother's arms, her voice broken up by sobs. "The– the others– they said Elexi– They said Elexi was a monster!"

"Oh, honey." The Lady of Tokyo runs her fingers through her 'daughter's' hair. "What happened?"

"But it's true… Elexi is different."

"You're special. I made you perfect just the way you are."

"Really?" Elexi lifts her head up and looks The Lady of Tokyo in the eye.

"Of course. You're stronger and more powerful than you could imagine. You are the key to magical girl ascension."

"Magical girl… what?"

"You're above regular humans. Your physiology is completely different from ours. You're more suited to sustaining the blowback from magic than any normal human. It's by analyzing what makes you different from us that we normal magical girls can access even greater forms of magic. Don't you see? You are our savior. You and you alone."

"Elexi… doesn't get it."

The Lady of Tokyo sighs and lifts the adult-sized Elexi onto her lap. "Let mama tell you a story."

"Okay…"

"So once upon a time, there lived Rudolph, a youthful reindeer buck who possessed an unusual luminous red nose–"

"Reindeers can have red noses?"

"Not in real life, no."

"Aw."

"Anyway, Rudolph was mocked and excluded by his peers because of his red nose."

"He's just like me!"

"Just so, just so." The Lady of Tokyo smiles at Elexi. "Now hush, mama is telling a story."

"Okay."

"One Christmas Eve with poor visibility due to inclement weather, Rudolph proves himself after Santa Claus caught sight of Rudolph's nose and asked Rudolph to lead his sleigh for the evening, Rudolph agreed and was finally favored by his fellow reindeer. The end."

"Yayyy!" Elexi claps her hands. "

"So, Elexi, what was the moral of the story?"

"Hmmm… Elexi… doesn't know."

"The moral of the story is that deviances from the norm are rejected unless they prove themselves to be useful."

"Elexi… doesn't get it."

"Hmmm… how does mama put this…?" She takes her glasses off to see Elexi more clearly and places it on the table. "You know, mama is also a little different from other people."

"Really?"

"Yep. Mama doesn't process emotions the same way other people do. It's not really mama's fault, that's just how mama's brain is wired. Mama is… subhuman, in a sense. A defect. In many ways, Elexi is more normal than mama."

"I'm… normal?"

"Compared to me, yes." The Lady of Tokyo laughs heartily. "But you know what? That's why mama works so hard. Mama turned her loneliness into strength. It's because mama is alone that mama can focus exclusively on my research. It's because mama is subhuman that mama is so driven to justify mama's existence. What hurts us can also make us stronger."

"But you're not alone, mama! You have me!" Elexi giggles as she hugs her mother.

"...Ah yes, I suppose you're right, Elexi." The Lady of Tokyo smiles gently. "We're not alone. Not anymore."

"Does mama want to be normal?"

"Well… Mama wishes she was born normal. But it's too late for mama now. Mama was gifted with a scientific mind. You were gifted with magic potential. We are special. And special people have to give back to humanity in exchange for our gifts. That's our place in the world."

"But Elexi doesn't want to be special! Elexi wants to be a real girl."

The Lady of Tokyo sighs. "Do you really want to be a real girl?"

"More than anything else in the world! Elexi wants to be a real girl so we can be a real family! Elexi wants a papa and a little sister! I want to grow up smiling with everyone."

"A real girl..." She turns the thought over in her head. "Alright. Once you become an ICMG Major, I'll make you into a real girl."

"Really?!" Elexi's eyes light up. Almost literally.

"Yes. You'll be just like everyone else. Completely normal, just like you asked."

"Elexi's going to be a real girl!" She claps her hands together excitedly.

The Lady of Tokyo smiles like she hadn't just told the most bold-faced lie she's ever told. She can do anything, but she can't unmake her greatest creation. She needs a homunculus. Once she ascends into a third-stage magical girl, she'll taste power no human has ever even approximated. She'll understand. Once she's older, Elexi will understand that being a homunculus is far superior to being a human. She'll understand why her mother had to feed her an innocent lie.

"Mama?" Elexi asks innocently.

"Yes, Elexi?"

"Can I have a papa?"

"That… I can't promise." The Lady of Tokyo scratches the back of her head and laughs, avoiding Elexi's gaze. She briefly considers creating another homunculus to marry but she quickly dismisses the thought. "B-but I'll try my best."

"Yay!" Elexi hugs her even tighter. "I love you, mama!"

"I love you too, sweetheart." She really does mean those words.

"By the power vested in me, I grant you, Elexi Purina, the rank of Major. From today onwards, you will be the Lady of Ozawa." The Lady of Tokyo places a metal wreath on the kneeling Elexi's head.

"Thank you, mama."

The Lady of Tokyo smiles and whispers. "You're not supposed to say anything."

"O-oh. Right." Elexi fidgets with her metal fingers. "Sorry."

"It's okay, sweetheart." She tries to pet Elexi on the head but she brushes her hand away.

"Moooom. I'm ten years old now! I'm practically an adult!"

"Let your mother indulge herself for just a bit longer. You aren't going to be ten years old forever."

"Hmph. Fine." Elexi pouts.

"Heheh…" The Lady of Tokyo pets her head to her heart's content. After a moment, she turns to address the I-C's in the room. "All rise."

A thousand and one pairs of metal feet clang against the ground, each one belonging to an I-C. Just months prior they were regular magical girls, struggling to keep the world from collapsing in on itself. Now, their numbers are legion. They are deathless. They are the hot wind blowing. Immortal warriors who know no disgrace. From the ashes, their justice rises still. Dirty and faceless, waiting to heed their master's instruction. They fulfill their duty then vanish without a trace. They are angels of destruction, fighting for judgment in a forgotten place.

"Today, we gather to honor the twelve volunteers who gave their lives in the name of progress. Their suffering and their sacrifice has brought upon us a new age of the ICMG! Please, a moment of silence."

The tremendous cathedral-like room falls completely silent. Colored light seeps in through the stained glass windows, each one depicting a mural of an ICMG Major. The Lady of Tokyo smiles as she stares at the blank window next to hers, knowing that her daughter's going to take her place by her side.

"Now let us rejoice! Let us welcome the youngest Major in ICMG history, Elexi Purina!"

"HARK! PRAISE BE UNTO OUR MOST HIGHEST LADY!" A joyful chorus ripples throughout the chamber.

"I'M GOING TO BE A REAL GIRL!" Elexi cheerfully announces to the crowd who simply stares back at her, confused.

The crowd doesn't seem to know how to react.

A rapier of havoc drags itself across Ozawa, setting the city ablaze wherever it touches the earth. There are weapons raised without anger, without compassion. Amidst the burning wreckage, a monster and a girl come face to face. The homunculus stares through the burning embers at her mother.

「Elexi Purina」- Third Stage Magical Girl

The Lady of Tokyo twirls her scythe, its grim blade cutting through the smoke. The flames of destruction reflect grimly in her glasses.

"What did you do to me?!" Elexi growls at The Lady of Tokyo. "I was supposed to be a real girl! We were supposed to be a real family! You promised you would make me a real girl!"

"I did! I made you perfect! You are everything you are supposed to be. You are hope, you are power, you are everything I could ever hope for you to become!" The Lady of Tokyo jabs her scythe at Elexi.

"I never wanted any of those things! I didn't ask to be a homunculus! I didn't ask for this! I just wanted to be a real girl with a real family!" The pristine metal making up the homunculus is tainted with soot, oil, embers, and tears. "I trusted you and you LIED! YOU LIED TO ME!"

"I still love you!" The Lady of Tokyo plants her scythe's hilt on the ground.

"Then make me a real girl!" Elexi stamps her foot on the ground. "I don't want to be a homunculus! I want to go to school! I want to make friends! I want to grow up! Just… Just make me like everyone else!"

"I...alright." The Lady of Tokyo drops her scythe. "I'm sorry, Elexi."

"For what?!"

"For lying to you."

"And?!"

"For using you."

"What else?!"

"For– for everything!" The Lady of Tokyo takes off her glasses and wipes her tears on her sleeve. She's clenching her teeth so hard it looks like they might shatter. "I'm sorry, alright?! Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Gh–!" Elexi clenches her fist so hard her hand trembles. Then, the dam bursts. "AAAAAAGHHHH–!" Waves of raw power begin to radiate from Elexi. Nearby power lines begin to lift and magnetize towards her. The Lady of Tokyo smells it before she sees it. The scent of overwhelming magic, causing visible ripples in the air. A field of unstable tesla begins to manifest around Elexi. "YOU'RE NOT SORRY! SAY YOU'RE SORRY FOR REAL!!!"

This… this power–! The Lady of Tokyo does some quick calculations. At this rate, if the amount of magic continues to increase, she might annihilate the city.

"I'm sorry, Elexi." She closes her eyes, looking away from what happens next.

The Lady of Tokyo hurls her scythe at Elexi. It cuts through the tesla field like it's nothing before lodging itself into the crevice where the back of her head connects to her spine, severing her 'spinal cord' or rather, the closest thing she has to one. She shuts down instantly. "Mama! Mama, where are you?! It's dark! What happened?!"

"I'm sorry, Elexi." The Lady of Tokyo whispers under her breath. "I'm so sorry."

"What– what did you do to me, mama?!"

That girl that wanted nothing more than to be a real girl is reduced to little more than a soul trapped in an empty shell. Silently, solemnly, The Lady of Tokyo lifts up her daughter's body.

"Mama?! I can't… I can't see!"

and walks all the way to the edge of the city where she kept her failsafe.

The recoil from her ascension was too much for even Elexi's homunculus body to contain. That's why The Lady of Tokyo had no choice. That woman who could not bear to see her daughter die redirected the splashback from her ascension into the leylines within the earth, which in turn redirected the splashback into the bodies of everyone within a five kilometer-wide radius. Approximated deaths, close to a thousand. The experiment was a technical success but at what cost?

That woman who could not bear to end her own daughter's life, but also could not betray her duty to humanity, forsook her greatest failure and sealed her within a mansion to be forgotten by time itself. Neither did that mother ever see her daughter nor did that daughter see her mother ever since that fateful day.

Once upon a time, in the fictional country of Japan, in the cooked city of Ozawa, at the crooked border between crooked forest and crooked city, in a crooked mansion, waits a crooked girl for the crooked day where she meets her crooked mother and makes her pay her crooked due.