You'll know it when you see it.

The Kurogaisha headquarters was an absolute eyesore of a building. A grey skyscraper of concrete, glass and cheap cladding. The neon sign of the company’s boring minimalist corporate logo was the only colour in the whole damn thing.

If not for the civvie housing district below it, I’d have suggested bringing the damn thing down just to make the skyline a little more bearable to look at.

“Toki, my dear. Ms Denka’s distraction is due soon. Are you in position?”

“Yeah, I’m here Ryou. Sat on the roof of the office building opposite HQ. Why’s Fuji not on the line?”

“She said she ‘would rather we see her work without spoilers,’ which is utterly incomprehensible to me.”

“Well she’s always had a flair for the dramatic. But how are we supposed to know when she starts?”

“When I asked the same question, she merely replied ‘you’ll know it when you see it.’”

“How the hell are we supposed to see it, we’re miles aw-“

My question answered itself before I could ask it. The dark city was momentarily illuminated by an enormous bolt of lightning, brighter than any I had ever seen, followed by the deafening roll of thunder.

“HAHA! COWER BEFORE ME, FOOLS! I AM BECOME DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS! LOOK ON MY WORKS, YE MIGHTY, AND DESPAIR!”

A familiar (and irritating) voice blasted out of every speaker in and around the Kurogaisha building. Alarms blared, and even from outside I could tell there was a lot of panicked scrambling going on. Not least because the site of the lightning strike was now smoking.

“So she can destroy a power plant alone and hack every Kurogaisha sound system, but she can’t get a quote right?”

“I’d expect nothing less from the Camerlengo of Careless Violence.”

“Princess of Electric Power!”

Fuji’s voice was no longer sounding out through the corporate speakers, but instead through our earpieces. It was accompanied by the sounds of crackling and distant explosions.

“Subtle as ever, Fuji. Expect company soon. Keep our friends occupied until Ryou and I are ready.”

“Rrrroger that, Toki! I haven’t had this much fun in years!”

“Please do not overdo it. We’re here to help civilians, not reduce them to ashes,” interjected Ryou

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll keep myself in check. Denka Out.”

God above. With her on our side, I really wasn’t sure I could claim we weren’t a terrorist organisation. Then again, maybe that ship sailed when I bombed a freight train that one time. Or when I publicly executed that CEO.

Wait, am I a terrorist?

“Tokiko, the convoy will be at the intercept point shortly, so I won’t be available until my part is done. I’ll be on the line when I need you.”

“Alright, Ryou, stay safe out there.” I pressed a button on my earpiece and switched over to a different channel. “Time, you there?”

“I’m here, Toki. That was a pretty big distraction, but Denka can only keep them occupied for so long. You should start your infiltration at first opportunity.”

“Actually I was gonna go at it now.”

“What? But the ground floor is still swarming with MPs moving out, you’ll never get in there without being spotted.”

“Of course I won’t. Who said anything about the ground floor?”

“What?”

I stood up from the edge of the roof and looked over the edge. Then I looked at the gap between the building I was sat on and the HQ I was trying to enter.

“…don’t even think about it.”

“Yeah, you’re right, stunts like this are better to do without thinking too much.”

“Dammit, Toki, don’t you dare-“

The wind whipping in my ears stopped me from hearing Time’s protests. I stepped off the edge of the roof, dropping a few floors before kicking hard off the wall behind me.

Thanks to all the commotion below, no one noticed as I crashed through the window of the HQ building. Well, no one except the MP that I flattened on the way in. But he only ‘noticed’ me for a tenth of a second before he was sent for an early kip.

“Dammit, Toki, you’re supposed to be securing an entry point.”

“Did you not just see me enter?”

“On the sixth floor!”

“They’re big girls, they can jump that high. Just record my route for them, will you?”

“God above…” she sighed dramatically, like a disappointed parent. “...I thought we were against the ‘leave no witnesses’ approach?” She added suspiciously, as I kneeled down by the unconscious body of the MP I had put to sleep with my knees.

“I’m not gonna kill the guy. Just gonna make sure he can’t blow the whistle when he wakes up.” I looked for the release catch on his left cybernetic arm and detached it from his body. I then did the same for his right arm and both legs, leaving him just a head and body. I also stuffed his mouth with one of the gags I had kept inside my cloak and tied it behind his head. Cruel? Yes. Necessary? Almost definitely.

“If someone walks in on thi-”

“Shh!”

Footsteps. Outside the office room door. Approaching quickly. Think fast.

“Commander, what was the n-”

As the door opened, I leapt forwards and slammed my palm into the chin of the MP on the other side. His head flew backwards, slamming into the hallway wall behind him with a thud, and he slumped to the ground unconscious… I hoped.

“Toki…”

“What? What other choice did I have?”

“I thought you were trying to avoid killing?”

“I didn’t kill him, I just…uhhh… sent him on a trip?”

“To where? The past tense?”

“To dreamland or something, I don’t fucking know, but he’s not dead.” My cybernetic eye still read a faint heart signature. Considering these guys were modded up the wazoo with cybernetics, he would almost definitely survive.

“So what, you gonna dismember this one too?”

“That’s the plan.” I dragged his limp body back into the room, removed his limbs and gagged him just like his commander. “Here’s hoping that’s the only run-ins we have today.”

“Why do I have my doubts?” Sighed Time.

Luckily, I could hear no more footsteps in the area, which meant the higher floors had likely been reduced to skeleton crew in the wake of our beloved Empress of Excessive Force. The same girl who had set all of the security cameras to loop, a trick that would hide my presence for a while but would almost certainly be noticed soon. I had to keep moving.

I stepped out of the room into the hallway, my hand gripped on my sword and my body low. I kept my steps as quiet as possible, listening out for every possible disturbance in the area.

I found none between the office room and the staircase.

I turned to open the door to the stairs, when something next door caught my eye. Or, more specifically, someone.

“Woah… beautiful…” I muttered aloud to myself. Why did I say that?

“Toki?”

“Y-yeah, sorry Time, I just… she’s gorgeous…” I stepped towards the room with the open door, a beautiful girl sitting on a table inside and staring at me. I had to meet her…

What? What was I doing? It wasn’t the time. Why was I suddenly so enamoured with this girl?

I had to meet her…

I had to get on with the mission…

I had to meet her…

I had to get-

“Hey, gorgeous.”

My precognition saved my life. Before I’d even noticed, I was within an arm’s reach of her. And there was a dagger pointed towards my abdomen. A moment later, and I’d have been trying to fight with a punctured intestine.

“My my, what good instincts you have. This may yet be an enjoyable dance we share.” The stunning, beautiful, flawless girl licked her lips as she stared at me.

“I’d love to dance,” I said gleefully.

…why? Why the hell did I say that?

The half of me still in my right mind knew exactly why. 

She was a magical girl.