Doll Dance

The doll whirled as if it stood on ice and lanced a kick at Mira again. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Kyoka twirled her out of the way and leveled her bow when her hands were free.

She loosed a shining arrow between the doll’s eyes, making a flute-like scream come out of it.

The next arrow hit its chest, knocking it back, and an arrow to the ankle sent it toppling to the ground. Unfortunately, it fell onto its hands and whirled its legs around. Kyoka took Mira’s hand and pulled her out of the way, then twirled with her to dodge another lancing kick.

As Lena righted herself, she couldn’t help but be impressed. Kyoka wasn’t just a fighter; she was a dancer, making the battle look like a performance. She was still fighting it alone, however, and it was drawing closer. The older girl would never let it hurt Mira, it seemed, and she slowed herself down each time they pulled away. She needed help, and with daggers in hand, Lena knew it was time to step in.

She launched one across the room, catching the doll in the shin. That caused an ax kick to miss, letting Lena rush in while it was still off balance. She grabbed her blade and worsened the wound, then slashed the other at its thigh as she dived between its legs. A back kick almost got her as she slipped behind it, but missed as Kyoka pinned its pivot foot, letting Lena cut it again.

The doll whipped around at the waist, and a kick swept Lena off her feet. She dug in with her daggers before she was sent flying and regretted it immediately as she was raised in the air.

A chakram tore through the leg just then, and she fell free as the doll stomped its nub into the floor. It let out another fluting scream and tried its hands instead. Lena ducked a chop and drove her dagger into its gut. Another chakram sliced through one of its eyes. An arrow blinded the other, and Lena stabbed for the heart.

It bled Astra from every wound, but still rose on its remaining leg.

“This isn’t working!” She cried out.

Kyoka called back. “We have to find its Astra heart! That’s the only way to defeat it.”

Lena scanned, sensing the body, feeling the astra pump through it like blood. The weak point was… in its neck, but it didn’t give her the chance to strike it. Another chop came down and dug a hole in the floor. A knife hand swung around, and Lena flipped back, wondering if it could have torn her in half. It speared a hand after her, and one chakram took it off at the wrist, while the other came spinning for its neck. It sacrificed its other hand to catch it, then sprang after Lena. An arrow caught it in the knee, and it fell, letting her run in and finish it off at last.

The doll’s whole body cracked, then fell to pieces on the floor in front of her. She let out a relieved breath, and almost fell over as Kyoka threw her arms around her.

“You did great!” Kyoka exclaimed. She turned to Mira next and hugged her tightly, making the girl flush. “You too!”

“Thanks for saving me.” Mira failed to meet her eyes.

Kyoka lifted her chin and gave her a smile. “If I get a choice, I’m not letting you two get hurt.” She turned and bowed to Lena. “Sorry you had to be in there alone.”

Lena laughed. “That’s what I get for liking daggers, right?” Her heart was still racing, though. She took another breath and looked at the chunks again. “What was that?”

“A doll,” Kyoka replied. “My mom taught me about them. They’re constructs made of condensed Astra.”

“Astra can condense by itself?” Mira asked. Kyoka nodded.

“Why did it look like the Headmistress?” Lena asked.

“I think it was mirroring her, in a way. Like, she’s the best Astra expert here so it tried to be like her.” Kyoka folded her arms. “I’m just guessing. My mom would sometimes fight ones that looked a lot like her.”

“Good thing it only looked like her,” Mira muttered. “If it could use magic like the headmistress, I don’t think we could have beaten it.”

Lena shuddered at the thought. “Are we going to keep running into things like that?”

Kyoka nodded. “Probably not just like that, but I think we’ll always find dolls down here.” She gave them a smile, though. “But we got this, we just have to keep working together like that and they won’t be a problem!”

They were still a problem, though not as bad as the first one. As the girls continued through the labyrinth, they continued to choose the most dangerous path and found that the dolls came in all sizes. Some were like their teachers, but danced like the first. Others were armed and looked like other students. Still, the three of them fought their way forward, beating each doll they met. Until they found their way into a grove with a glass ceiling overhead.

It was afternoon when the trial first began, but now they could see the orange-pink glow of evening. Lena couldn’t help but pause, staring up at the sky. It felt like they had made it somewhere important, making her wonder if this was the end of the trial.

“Are we… done?” Mira seemed to think the same.

Kyoka shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought it’d be clearer.”

Lena looked back the way they came. “Do you think the other girls made it out of there all right?”

Kyoka placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “They made good teams. Let’s trust them while we figure this out.”

Lena frowned, but accepted there was no other choice. She went back to looking around the grove, but could find nothing but gorgeous flowers. After a while, it was clear Kyoka couldn’t find anything either, so they sat down while Mira searched on.

“Something’s definitely here,” she told them as she looked. “Maybe…” She looked up.

Lena and Kyoka did too. They saw nothing, but Mira smiled. She pointed at one of the panes.

“Kyoka, can you shoot right there?”

Kyoka didn’t object, manifesting her bow and letting her arrow fly. It hit something that sparked, then stretched into Astra, covering the ceiling. It swirled together into a ball, then twisted to the ground. A figure began to appear, the twister rising to draw them in place. It resembled a woman in an ornate dress, staff in one hand, with a five-point crown. She was pale white, with a glowing golden star pulsing in her chest.

The girls went on guard as she strode towards them, but a wave of her hand put them at ease.

“Be at peace, daughters of the mountain. I am She of the Star on High. You have done well to come this far, and it is my pleasure to reward you for your efforts.”

Calm was quickly replaced with awe. She of the Star on High… All the students knew this woman and knew that meeting her meant their lives could never go back to normal…