Magical Girl Alara and the Truck Rangers

"SPIRAL HEART BEEEEEAM ATTAAAAACK!!!"

A swirl of rainbow light enveloped the evil monsters plaguing the capital of the Fairy Kingdom, turning them to ashes. With the attack’s conclusion, only a lone girl in majestic frills and ribbons remained standing.

“Once again, Magical Girl Alara saves the day!” she announced, holding her wand high in celebration.

Slowly, heads popped up around the debris, the people of the capital relieved at their salvation. With a loud cheer, they thanked the girl who fought valiantly to protect them.

Alara nodded and walked away, ever cheerful. She rounded a corner, out of sight from her admirers, before dropping to one knee. Her breathing turned haggard. She had been holding it in, how much it took out of her.

At first, the so-called ‘Virals’ plaguing the Fairy Kingdom were straightforward to beat. A simple strike kept them at bay initially. But now, it seemed that even the weakest of them took a toll on her. There were only so many power-ups she could invoke, so much her magical garment could transform to look more impressive. A courageous front was all she had left to stave off panic.

Days turned to months. Alara lost count of how long she had been fighting, but slowly she realized that it was a losing battle. The towns on the outskirts had been the first to fall, Alara retreating when the situation became hopeless. But now, even the capital was suffering from the damage. A look around at the decrepit buildings sank even the stoutest of heart.

Part of it had been her own fault, the magic used to crush her enemies causing collateral damage. But as her enemies grew fiercer, she couldn’t hold back anymore. Regardless of how poor the outcome was, she had to tough it out, continue smiling, and hope for the best. Getting overwhelmed was not an option.

Yet, there was only so much a single magical girl could do. Only so much of the kingdom that her salvation could reach. It felt like the royal castle behind her was the last line of defense, still undamaged.

Alara couldn’t bother to think about the region outside the capital anymore, a lost cause where the Virals ran rampant. Anyone left behind when taking refuge in the capital had likely perished in the cancerous lands, dark and festering with poisons. She had to protect those that remained, but exhaustion had become a daily occurrence.

“If only I had a team that I could count on, more magical friends fighting for the same cause.” Alara prayed to the heavens for someone to join her in battle, like those children shows that were all about friendship and teamwork. Reality was a stark contrast, fear of a forever lonely war creeping into her heart.

While she was loved by the fairy people, it wasn’t the same. They were helpless. They simply ran away for their lives. The insecurity of how long Alara could keep this up tested her abilities. If she faltered, there would be no one to stop the Virals from wiping out the rest.

Alara could run away. She could save herself. But she couldn’t. Even knowing that the fairies wouldn’t blame her for it, Alara’s thoughts were filled with nothing but a hopeful future. A chance for their gratitude to remain everlasting.

Slumping into her room in the castle, Alara felt immediately asleep.

“ENEMY ATTACK!!!”

Alara’s eyes popped open. She looked at the time. Barely two hours had passed since the previous attack. She had barely recovered her reserves, but there was no choice but to fight on. The fairies had no defense other than her. Gripping her wand again, she rushed toward the sounds of calamity.

Disgusting blobs with gross tendrils slinked their way across the landscape. Anything that they touched turned a sickening gray, like the color had been sucked out of it. Worse yet, only minutes would pass before the object burst apart, like a festering wound, releasing more of the Virals. The fact that they multiplied so quickly was the most challenging part.

Carnage rapidly bolstered their forces, an exponential growth that Alara couldn’t hope to keep up with. If the kingdom had known ahead of time, perhaps, something could have been done. Perhaps, the problem could have been nipped in the bud early.

Time couldn’t be reversed, no matter how much Alara wished for it. She waved her wand, tossing out beams of attacks that disintegrated any Viral it touched. Scanning every location as thoroughly as possible was necessary. A single Viral would multiply and restart the cycle.

Thirty minutes later, Alara’s wand started growing dim.

“Oh no! Not now! Not when they are almost gone!” Alara shook her wand a few times, but it sputtered weakly.

The remaining Virals all turned to her, making various noises. They sounded like laughter to Alara, mocking the failure that she was. With Alara frozen in place, they returned to smashing buildings and killing fairies.

Tears ran down Alara’s cheeks. It was an unbearable sight, to be helpless, to watch as everything she worked for crumble in the end.

“No… please… take me instead! Be satisfied with ending my existence! I’m the threat to you! Why… why are you ignoring me?! Why can’t you leave them alone?!”

The swarm of Virals grew thicker. The capital turned more and more gray. She turned to see several Virals breaking through the final wall and flooding the castle, where the fairies had taken refuge during the attack. Screams of terror echoed in the distance.

“Please God! Can you do nothing?! Is there a reason that you have sent me here?! Answer me! PLEASE!”

Alara was tired. Tired of floating above the destruction, untouched while others suffered. Slowly, her feet neared the poisoned ground.

The sound of engines roaring in the distance piqued her attention.

Wait, engines?

“What?” The roars grew closer and closer, strange because they came from outside the capital. The sight of several trucks appearing behind the decimated buildings caused her to pop back in surprise.

“Alright! Spread out everyone, and let’s take care of this!” A red truck roared as it and several others of different colors spread out across the perimeter, slamming into any Virals in their paths.

The red truck charged forward, undaunted as Virals disintegrated like water balloons popping upon impact. It suddenly glowed like it had caught fire, invoking an inferno in its stampede.

“Taste the might of Tanaka, Truck Red! ERUPTING… BURNING… FENDER!”

A trail of cinders reversed the damage that the Virals caused, bringing color back to the capital. It looked to Alara like a cleansing by holy flame.

“Exciting only in the midst of destruction! It is I, Shade, Truck Yellow! Spinny, spinny, spinny attack~~~!”

Another truck twirled like a top, creating wind-like projectiles as it passed. Any Viral nearby was sliced into bits, the hue of yellow splashing onto the ground, like splattered paint on a canvas.

Alara turned another direction as a piercing laugh ripped through the air, nearly causing her to jump.

“HA HA HA HA! Jester, Truck Green doesn’t clown around!”

Despite claiming to be green, this truck looked a bit like an alien clown. A batch of hammers extending from the roof bonked everything around it with a comical squeak. While silly in appearance, it nonetheless obliterated the Virals it chased down, smashed piles of green goo left in its wake.

An orange truck whizzed by it, spewing out flames that barbecued its targets. The warm glow of orange burning Virals made Alara think of gentle candlelight in darkness. Suddenly, a truck skidded to a stop in front of her.

“Mama Shanty, Truck Purple, at your service. It feels good to get out once in a while, especially to help a dear like you.”

“Wh-What is going on? Are you helping me?” Alara wondered aloud, hesitant.

“Why, of course. Kami-sama heard your pleas and sent us here to fight off the evil Virals. We are – The Truck Rangers!” Alara could almost see the purple truck beam a smile on its grill.

Tears dripped down Alara’s front as she gripped her chest. A glimmer of hope returned to her heart as she watched the Virals easily beaten back. When the fighting died down, they all lined up before her, joyful greetings at the ready. A few of them that she had missed in the fighting left her with an impression in just a few words.

“Diesel, Truck Blue. Umm… I guess I just hit things…”

“Vera, Truck Rainbow!”

Alara cocked her head. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. She stared blankly at the truck, which looked like it had driven through a tie-dye factory.

“But isn’t ‘rainbow’ the color scheme?”

“So what? I’m happy being the color scheme, thank you very much! It feels fabulous! I will only change for an ikemen! Sorry, cutie.” The tie, also rainbow, looked comical as it blew in the wind at her retort.

“Somad, Truck White.”

Truck Red turned to him. “Is that actually white? It’s a bit off-tone, maybe yellowish in hue.”

“You’re right, Tanaka! Like the color of American, or Swiss, or Provolone,” Truck Green added. “We should be calling him Truck Cheese instead!”

“Do you know how hard it is to keep a truck clean after battle! It really shows on white!” Somad retorted, obviously annoyed.

“Why does he get triggered by cheese quips anyways?” Truck Blue turned to Truck Pink.

“Ah, well… apparently, he was reincarnated as a hunk of cheese by accident. A mistake that Kami-sama will never admit if you ask him. Somad denies it ever happened, but it certainly gets to him.”

Alara broke out in giggles at the bickering team of trucks. She could tell how much they were friends with each other. It seemed like her request was finally answered.

“My thanks, Truck Rangers. I couldn’t have saved the capital without you. You are all in my debt.” A bright smile adorned her face. Even in this shape and form, helpful companions were all she wanted to share the burden.

“Don’t you worry about a thing! We’re going to be here to save the day from now on!”

“Just leave everything to us! We’ll drive them all back for you!”

“Truck-kuns are invincible! They’ll be roadkill before they realize what is coming for them!”

“Guys? I feel a group hug moment coming on, but how about let’s form a circle due to the obvious lack of appendages?”

“Now, if only we could gattai into a mega truck, that would be amazing! What would we call it? Megatruck? Galactic Truck? Super Ultra Truckzoid?”

The cheery voices of those standing alongside her were comforting, no matter how strange they appeared. It warmed her heart. So very much.

“Finally. Finally. I feel at ease. Thank you, everyone…”

As Alara spoke these words, her body started to fade. Tears of happiness trickled to the ground, just as Magical Girl Alara disappeared before them. The trucks watched in silence as they bid farewell to her.

“Her long struggle here is done.”

“Yes, it’s in Kami-sama’s hands now.”

“And he somehow got Moon Goddess Yue to lend a hand as well this time.”

The Truck Rangers stared off into the distance as the scenery around them faded to dark. First, the skies in the distance. Then, the very ground around them crumbled to nothing.

The dream was ending. The entire Fairy Kingdom, a make-believe place for Alara to protect, was a parallel of her struggles in the real world.

v

In a hospital room, Kami-sama stood next to a bed, where a young girl lay. The various tubes and instruments obscured her features, attached for quite some time to keep her alive. He was a silent, unseen apparition to the other people in the room, who wept in mourning at the defiant beep of the machine signaling the end to her life.

Kami-sama simply heaved a long sigh, knowing exactly who the girl was.

=====Alara Vardanyan=====

[Status – comatose, infected by a viral pathogen]

[Condition – bodily functions degraded, terminal diagnosis]

[Wish – to protect those around her, to never give in]

Kami-sama floated over and stroked her head. This young girl had continued to fight, even as her body gave up. Even when others gave up as well. When her mind slipped into the prison of a coma, her condition subconsciously became the world of the Fairy Kingdom, her mind as the protector of it.

She battled on, even as her organs failed one by one. Even when she had to do so alone. For many months, her will to survive kept her clinging to the realm of the living. It was enough to make an old deity cry.

As such, Kami-sama prepared a special farewell for her – one last battle with the team of friends that she always wanted. A comfort that the Fairy Kingdom that she fought so hard for would be protected in spirit. She could finally rest, assured that her efforts were not for naught.

Kami-sama reached into her body and drew out a small ball of light, grinning but teary-eyed. He prayed silently before lifting it up to the sky, where it floated toward the heavens.

“There, your next destination. You have earned it. Live strong, my dear. Humans like you are a blessing.”

Soundlessly, the ball glimmered as it flew off into the unknown.

v

Alara woke up and took a deep breath, smelling the freshness of nature around her. The unfamiliar sensation tickled her nose as she could swear the scent of disinfectants and clean linens were fresh in her memory. The realization that she had been comatose in a hospital returned to her, so being out in the middle of a field felt disorienting.

She wondered if it was all a dream, her mind playing tricks on her once again. But then, she opened her eyes and sat up, seeing a majestic landscape before her.

She was atop a cliff – vibrant forests of green below, a clear blue sky above. In the distance, a towering kingdom was nestled. The crispness of the air danced on her tongue. A cold nipped at her ears. More than before, her senses exploded with information, too overwhelming for it to be just her imagination. It was nothing like the flat, minimal setting of the Fairy Kingdom. Details popped all around her, telling her how ‘alive’ she was.

Alara stood up by instinct, looking down to marvel at how light she felt. There was no longer the burden of a decrepit body, weighing her down in a bed for months and months. It felt like a second chance had blessed her.

“HONK!”

A sudden cry made her jump. Looking down, there was a white goose staring at her, a wand in its beak. It bobbed its head up and down, as if asking her to take it in hand.

“Is this… for me?” Alara reached down gingerly to fetch it. The moment it touched her fingers, a familiar glow spiraled up her arm and encompassed her body.

Moments later, she found herself in an outfit similar to her dreams, that of a magical girl. So surprised by this transformation, she didn’t catch what else had happened, until a deeper, richer voice sounded.

“HONK!”

Alara turned to see giant wings of white flapping. Her companion from before was no longer a goose – but now, a majestic phoenix twice her size.

“HOOOOONK!” It cried out again, showing her its back, wings spread like it was ready to take to the sky.

“Are you… giving me a ride?” Alara asked with a hand over her mouth. Slowly, she walked over and climbed up the bird’s back, losing herself in the fluffy feathers that were more precious than silk.

With a flap of its wings, the phoenix hopped off the cliff, gliding towards the forest below. Just before skimming the tree line, the phoenix flapped again, sending them shooting upwards and towards the kingdom in the distance. A swift breeze blew against Alara, fueling the excitement of her rapidly pounding chest.

A new adventure awaited Magical Girl Alara, one that would finally match the strength of her heart.