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"Lady Miracle is justice!"
Lady Miracle, the most perfect and miraculous magical girl to have ever debuted. She'd appeared almost a decade ago and taken the world by storm, upholding justice day and night without ever faltering in the face of evil. Although it had been almost two years since she'd disappeared after a fight against the Queen of Death, she remained beloved by her fans and juniors alike.
Yume counted herself as both.
So on that fateful day…
"Me? A magical girl?" Yume echoed the floating bear's offer, disbelieving.
It nodded excitedly, flitting around her like a humming bird, as it pressed on in its pitch, "A warrior of justice! You'll have incredible magical power! You'll be a paragon of light! Everyone will love you! All you need to do is…"
But Yume had stopped listening, her thoughts caught in a web of memories. That impeccable figure flying high in the sky, her warm brown eyes watching over them with care, vibrant colors billowing around her in the wind. Yume's greatest love, her idol, her bias—
Lady Miracle!
"—I can be like Lady Miracle?!" Yume cut off whatever the bear was saying about responsibility or diginity or whatever. "I'm in! I'll sign up!!"
The bear stared at the girl's sparkling eyes for a moment, flabbergasted, before sighing. "Lady Miracle was…" it seemed almost reluctant to say, "something of an… anomaly. But if you do your best, I'm sure you can live up to her legacy! Maybe!"
The contract was sealed that day.
As Lady Dream, a name chosen in honor of the greatest magical girl, Yume had slowly built up a team of reliable magical girls, so that they could all protect the world in Lady Miracle's absence. Despite only having been active for the past year, they'd managed to acquire such a reputation that some even praised them as the second coming of Lady Miracle. Of course, only by working together as a team could they managed to graze such a lofty height.
It was… not as glamorous as she'd imagined. Lady Miracle had always made it appear so effortless, but balancing her work life with the ever-increasing threat of corruption? Yume almost regretted her decision.
Almost.
Because Yume had a dream. One day, she would cut into the abyss—or wherever it was the forces of darkness lived—and find Lady Miracle! Surely the demons had managed to capture Lady Miracle at her weakest, because Lady Miracle could never die. Yume vowed to be the one to save her!
Many of her dreams depicted such a moment. Yume would cut through the darkness and monsters that stood in her path and come across a prison in the deepest depths. Trapped within would be Lady Miracle, caught within an endless cursed slumber. But Yume would rush to her aid and— She squealed just thinking about it.
It was to that end that she'd spent the last year investigating the Tarot Club, a dastardly organization that had appeared right after Lady Miracle's disappearance. They hadn't really done much, as far as anyone could tell, but after exhausting all of her detective capability, Yume had deduced it was this Tarot Club that had caused Lady Miracle's disappearance! Or, at least, they knew enough about it to capitalize on it in order to rise to fame before anyone truly believed Lady Miracle could have vanished.
And now, finally, Yume had caught their trail.
For a month, the Tarot Club's appearances had been building up to something. A reveal perhaps? And Yume (read: Yume's team) had solved the puzzles left behind to determine that they intended to strike the Plot-Convenient Park! Why? She wasn't entirely sure. As far as she was aware, the park held only one point of significance:
It was the last place Lady Miracle had appeared.
Vindication! Yume had been right! This organization held clear ties to Lady Miracle and her disappearance. Everything had built up to this moment. Through sacrifice after sacrifice, her sweat and tears, and every moment she pushed herself beyond her limits, Yume would finally achieve her dream!
A cold swept through the park, shocking Yume out of her thoughts.
The chill of death.
The Queen of Death! The demoness Lady Miracle had faced off against in her last sighting. The Queen of Death and her army of the undead had scarcely been a whisper since that night, causing some to theorize mutual destruction, but Yume's theory had always been that the Queen of Death had spirited away their lovely Lady Miracle to keep her all to herself.
I'm so jealous… she thought. No! I shouldn't think that way. Lady Miracle belongs to everyone!
Colours deepened and bled into each other, creating a rift in space. The Queen of Death's preferred method of travel. Sure enough, out stepped a dark skinned woman, beautiful as she was tall, draped in revealing black silks and golden finery. The Queen of Death looked down on Yume and her comrades with slitted cold eyes, regarding them as nothing more than insects to be stepped on.
Yume swallowed the rock in her throat, taking a step back in fear. The Queen of Death was an opponent even Lady Miracle couldn't defeat. What chance did a team of relative rookies have against such a monster?
Paying the group no heed, the Queen of Death extended her hand to the rift, which had not closed behind her as it usually did. This time, a black-tipped hand extended out of the portal, settling within the Queen's offered grasp. Another woman, dressed in similar colors, stepped out of the portal, shadowy tentacles gathering around her feet.
The beautiful, ornate black dress showed off the woman's curves in a way that brought Yume's thoughts to a halt. A long black veil, golden underside, partially obscured her face. But Yume didn't need to see everything to know exactly who laid behind those silks.
Lady… Miracle…?
The Queen of Death knelt before "Lady Miracle", pressing her lips against her hand in reverence. Not a single time had the Queen of Death been sighted with an expression beside cold disdain for the living, barring something closer to interest when facing Lady Miracle. But now the Queen's expression overflowed with nothing but genuine adoration for the lady before her.
That bitch did take Lady Miracle for herself! is what Yume would have been thinking if her brain had been working.
"Accompany me, my Death," Lady Miracle's voice was just as Yume remembered it—gentle, measured, and downright hypnotic.
"As you wish, Mistress Fool," the Queen of Death answered with all the solemnity expected of her and a devotion that could ruin her ice cold reputation. Obediently, the necromancer rose to her feet and offered her arm to the lady she apparently served.
"W-wait a minute!" Yume finally found her voice, blurting out an interruption. "You—why—Lady Miracle?!"
Somehow, her teammates hadn't immediately realized Lady Miracle's identity based solely on the curve of her hip or the angle of her nail—which was absolutely ridiculous in Yume's opinion but some people weren't as smart as others—and a wave of shock and outrage ran through the girls behind her. Some of them yelled something but it just sounded like noise to Yume.
The dread of death flooded the park, grass browned and leaves fell as its chill seeped into every nook and cranny. Even the magical girls, protected by the power of their wands, couldn't stop themselves from wrapping their arms around themselves in an attempt to fight off the shivers that racked their bodies.
And yet, somehow, the Queen of Death's voice was even colder. "Who gave you permission to speak in the mistress' presence?"
An unspoken understanding emerged among the group: Oh god, we're all going to die!
Until a warm chuckle melted the ice.
"Now, now, my darling Death," Lady Miracle gently chided her companion. "There's no need for that. Be a good girl, okay?"
The chill receded. Death bowed to Lady Miracle, a silent apology, before offering her arm once more. This time, nothing interrupted Lady Miracle's acceptance.
"Lady Miracle…?" Yume ignored the primal fear coursing through her veins, the fear of letting Lady Miracle vanish without understanding trumped everything.
"Mistress Fool." The Queen of Death delivered a correction, warning, and prompt for instruction all in one.
Well sure, Yume wouldn't mind calling her Mistress—
"Miss Fool is fine," Lady—no, Yume would not misname her bias!—Miss Fool allowed, patting the Queen of Death's arm to calm her. "I've chosen to retire as Lady Miracle. It was fun but we must all return to our rightful place."
Miss Fool… Death… That's why the Tarot Club appeared right after Lady Miracle had vanished! Because she'd become Miss Fool! Yume pat herself on her back for a job well done.
"That's insane! Are you really saying you've betrayed us?!" one of Yume's stupider teammates yelled back. She was swarmed by skeletons for her trouble. Deserved.
Another one of Miss Fool's beautiful giggles rang out as she shook her head. The cruel words were spoken so sweetly, "Oh, your poor thing… To betray you, I would have had to have been on your side in the first place."
Yume pretended her heart didn't break a little at that. No matter, she'd never claimed Lady Miracle was on her side to begin with. After all…
"Miss Fool, might I be permitted to speak?" Yume asked, her voice trembling. Her teammates foolishly believed it to be from fear.
Miss Fool's eyes sparkled with interest and Yume's heart skipped a beat. "You may."
Steadying herself, Yume took a deep breath. She took a step forward and…
Dropped to her knees with her hands clasped in prayer, "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE—"
Silence.
Miss Fool burst into laughter, holding onto the impassive Queen of Death for support. If anything, that only stunned Yume's (hopefully soon-to-be ex-)teammates further into silence.
Once Miss Fool (mostly) recovered, wiping a non-existent tear from her eyes, she managed to ask through gasps for breath, "And what… are you asking so nicely for, little one?"
"Do you need a dog?" Yume's mouth ran faster than her brain could process. "I can bark."
"NO!" a new voice shouted. A blur of black and red shot out of the still open rift and attached itself firmly to Miss Fool's waist, where a pair of emerald eyes now glared at Yume. Between the twitching wolf ears, the bared fangs, and the red leather collar around her throat, it was clear—"That position is taken!"
A soothing hand ruffled the "dog"'s hair as Miss Fool cooed over her pet's antics. "Quiet now, starlight, nobody is going to take your collar."
In that moment, Yume felt a spark of kinship with the Queen of Death as both of them stared at the interloper. This only served to bring Miss Fool more amusement, so it was energy well spent!
"Now then, as you can see, I've already got a lovely puppy." She hummed, considering, before adding, "And a few cute kittens."
"Then I can be a chair! Or a footstool!" Yume didn't back down. Her mother didn't raise a quitter!
Miss Fool's radiant smile was worth every word. "Oh? Do you wish to be mine so badly?"
Yume's teammates had finally caught up to the situation. Various objections and insults rang out behind her, but Yume didn't pay them even a moment of heed as she nodded rapidly.
"Very well then," Miss Fool's smile turned wicked, sending Yume into near cardiac arrest. A hand was offered. "Give everything to me."
As if she even had to ask.
