Quests End

No matter how much she screamed at herself to move, Mahannana remained frozen. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Bisky. ‘What do I do? Oh, God! She’s going to die, isn't she? She’s going to die and, even with my magic, I’m not going to be able to do anything!’

“M-mama! What do we do?” The words flew out of her throat. Selena growled. “We need to get her out! But the thing’s the size of a building and tougher than the others!” Mahannana’s head throbbed. She wanted to run and hide, but she knew she’d never forgive herself. She squeezed her eyes shut. What could she even do?

‘You’re always the one she searches out, so I think she does trust you on some level.’

Mahannana gasped and her eyes shot open. ‘Bisky trusts me even though she doesn’t like people. For her, I have to...!’ She turned to her mother. “Mama! Try to break through with your claws and teeth!” Selena let out a low growl. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get her out.” “Don’t worry about that! Just try to make an opening to let some air in! I’ll blast it apart, but I need a minute!” She didn’t bother hiding the desperation and fear in her voice. “Please, mama! Try! Buy me some time!”

“Got it!” Selena charged the slime and, sinking her claws into it, scaled the creature like a mountain climber. “Hold on, Bisky!” The woman screamed, frantically biting and digging into the gelatinous creature.

‘Mama’s fine. Focus!’ Mahannana ordered herself. She held her staff out in both hands. ‘Please, God! Let me save her! I don’t want to lose anyone now that I have real friends!’ Closing her eyes, she visualized a laser cutting through metal and how the earlier slimes had imploded.

A pink magical circle appeared in the center of the slime and began charging up. Mahannana could sense the light even with her eyes closed. She felt a tugging sensation in her head. ‘It’s not enough! The slime’s resistant because it’s so big and it’s aware enough to fight back! The explosions gotta be as strong as possible!’ She opened her eyes and glared at the slime as the light grew in size and intensity. She could feel the mental pushback of the slime resisting her magic. ‘No, you don’t!’ She lifted her staff up high in the air. The magic circle expanded into the entire cavern, with the light extending in a dome above them. An intense wind tore at Mahannana’s hair and clothes, brought on by the sheer scale and intensity of mana in the air. Mahannana gritted her teeth, refusing to take her eyes off Bisky, who was beginning to fall unconscious. For what felt like an eternity, Mahannana was locked in a war of wills with the slime, feeling like the two were using shields to try and push the other away. Mahannana bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood. “Let her goooooo!” She screamed, throwing all her mental and spiritual strength into assaulting the slime.

The light and wind became blinding; as if a nuclear explosion had gone off. The roaring of the wind made Mahannana’s ears ring. Suddenly, everything stopped. The cavern was still. As if someone had thrown a rock at a mirror, the slime shattered into a rain of goo. Mahannana stared in awe at the goo shower. ‘I-I did it...I did it!’ Snapping out of it, she realized that Bisky was free-falling towards the ground. This time, she didn’t hesitate.

“Bisky-Chan!” Mahannana screamed her friend’s name with all the air left in her lungs as she flew up towards the little girl. Catching Bisky firmly in her arms, Mahannana soared down to the ground. She shook her friend. “Bisky-Chan! Bisky-Chan!” The girl didn’t respond. Her lips had a blue tint and her skin felt cool and clammy. ‘Don’t tell me-!’ The mage’s heart sunk. “Mahannana! Start CPR!” Selena yelled as she leapt toward them. “R-right!” Mahannana laid the child’s body on the ground but, before she could start chest compressions, Bisky coughed a rain of slime into her face.

“Bisky!” The coughing was the sweetest sound that Mahannana had ever heard. Bisky hacked and gagged, trying to get air into her lungs. Mahannana wrapped an arm around her. “Careful! Try and take deep breaths.” Bisky took a few ragged gasps. “Are you okay?” Mahannana asked frantically. “Y-yeah, I think so...”

The tears of relief and panic that Mahannana had been holding back fell down her cheeks as she pulled the young girl into a tight hug. “You idiot! You scared the crap out of me! I thought you died!” Bisky leaned into the older girl’s embrace, surprising Mahannana. “Thank you...” Bisky clenched the back of Mahannana’s cape tightly as her voice began to tremble. “I-I was s-s-so s-scared...” She buried her face in the mage’s shoulder. “I thought I was going to die...”

Even as a frantic Selena came up and began licking them in worry, the two terrified girls clung to each other. It felt like an eternity before they felt ready to let go.

                            *                                                          *                                            *

“Hey.” Selena padded onto the back porch softly. “Is she okay?” Mahannaha stroked Bisky’s tangle of blue and gray hair. “Yeah. Just exhausted.” The little girl was curled up with her head in Mahannana’s lap, passed out in a dead sleep. “I gave her a potion that helps clear out your airways and it seemed to help with the gunk. But after everything...” Selena wearily sat down next to her daughter. “I don’t blame her. I feel like I ran a marathon what happened today!” 

Mahannana whispered as quietly as she could. “Is Pip good?” Selena nodded. “I brought him dinner and told him that Bisky was tired from the quest and staying with us tonight. I didn’t want to scare him, so I didn’t say anything about what happened.” “Good.” Mahannana sighed. The two sat in the cool evening air, silently staring up at the moon.

“Are you okay?” Selena asked. Madoka was quieter than usual, and her face had the look of passive stress that usually indicated she was internally struggling with something.

“Not really.” Mahannana’s chest felt like it was burning, and her guts were twisted into a knot. “I... I’m such a pathetic idiot.” She bit her lip. “Bisky almost died! And I was so scared that I froze up. I... you’re right, mama. My outlook on this world is too cavalier. I wasn’t prepared for...that. I’d never even considered the possibility that what we were doing was dangerous and when my friend needed me...I had no idea what to do. Damn it!” She lightly punched the porch. “That’s not enough! This feeling, it feels so icky, oppressive, and pervasive! I can’t calm down from my worry that something will still happen or stop thinking about what could have happened! It feels like I can’t escape it and it’s going to suffocate me!” Hot tears and snot started pouring down her face. “I need to describe it because I want to get this feeling out, but I can’t! It’s so intense and bad but I can’t describe it in words!” Mahannana’s chest heaved, and her breathing became heavy.

Selena scooted close and laid her head on her daughter’s. Madoka processed emotions differently that most people so, in the right situations, her daughter felt things with an incredible intensity. Even though she’d gotten better at regulating herself as she’d gotten older, Madoka’s little body still didn’t know what to do with the intense feelings and stress and her mind couldn’t fully process them. She was overstimulated by her own internal state, and Selena couldn’t blame her.

What had happened to Bisky was horrifying, and it was something that not even Selena had anticipated. “It’s not your fault, and you’re not an idiot.” She promised. “Even I...I never thought that slimes could be dangerous in the right circumstances. I assumed they were harmless, too. None of us thought that the cavern being so open would allow a bunch of the slimes to assimilate into a king slime. We just didn’t know.” Mahannana sighed and leaned into her mother’s furry shoulder. “But...I still feel like it was such a rookie mistake. And I was so scared I couldn’t think clearly.”

Selena bopped Madoka on the head with her snout. “That’s normal, Ma-chan! You’re not a solider, so facing down death like that wasn’t something you ever thought you’d have to deal with! We were highly domesticated and spoiled with peace back home. You never know how you’ll react to something like this until it happens.” She licked Madoka’s ear. “Besides, I was terrified, too.” “You were?” Madoka sounded surprised. “Yep. I was just as blindsided as you were. The idea of losing a child who’d chosen us and followed us around when she had no family of her own...”

Mahannana felt her mother shudder. “You really were scared.” “I’m human, too. Just because I’m an adult doesn't mean I don’t get scared. It doesn’t mean that I don’t freeze in scary situations. I had no idea what to do, either, but you figured it out.” Selena pulled back and stared into her daughter’s eyes. “Who gives a crap if you were scared? You were scared but acted anyway. You saved Bisky. I barely did anything. This was all you.”

“I saved her?” Mahannana looked down at the catgirl’s sleeping face. ‘If Bisky-Chan had died, I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself. She's like a little sister and, even if her jumping out of the shadows is annoying, I’d be sad if she wasn’t following me around.’ She smiled slightly. “I guess I did. And if we’re going to keep going on quests...” “Yeah.” Selena sighed. “It’s a lot more intense in real life, isn’t it? But we both want to keep going, right?” Madoka nodded.

“We just have to get stronger and be careful. Really, we were doing everything right today and there should have been no danger. But the world is a scary and chaotic place. Sometimes bad things happen for no reason, even if you’re doing things right.” She leaned her head on her daughter’s shoulder. “You did good, Ma-Chan. Don’t let the voices in your head tell you otherwise.”

Mahannana closed her eyes and leaned into her mother, finally allowing her body to relax a bit. ‘I'm still scared but, I guess mama is right. No matter what...I saved my friend. I was able to do something. That’s why I wanted to learn magic in the first place. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again. I won’t lose any of the people I love.’