Seeing Red [PMMM x LoR] Crossover (2024)

Spoilers for Lobotomy Corporation, Library of Ruina, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Most of them not right now, but they will come up. No dedicated knowledge of either setting is necessary to participate.

The Library shook under the wrath of but one man. A crucible of the City's people, where even the mightiest went to die, now turned into a death trap for its Librarians. They fretted, they rallied, they fought, and the monsters they cultivated fought with them.

But by the time the Magical Girl of Courage fell, it was still not enough.

Love had been first to go, crushed underfoot by their enemy's enormous, distorted foot. Then went Happiness and Justice, drowned in a sea of steaming corpses that rose from the monster's melting flesh. The beasts spewed an insipid smoke as they went, meaningless on their lonesome but nasty in packs. Their coughs and barks only added to the symphony of violence that shook the Library.

If the Magical Girls had their full powers and real bodies, the result would have been different. Courage knows that. Yet she can not help but bemoan the fact she had to borrow a Librarian's body to manifest. The Abnormalities lost much of their power along the way. Now they were cut down like everyone else, for their opponent gave no quarter. No hesitation. No mercy.

She was last to fall, just as they brought the hulking beast low. Her mallet finally shattered its last kneecap while the legendary Red Mist sliced off its head in a final blow. And the man beneath coalesced into who he once was. Yet before she even realised that the battle continued, a pale white spectre ran her through.

Now Courage floats in-between, dragged along by currents of pink, purple, and gold. The everpresent anger ebbs and flows within, both at her failure to persevere and the fact they had to fight at all.

It was supposed to be over.

But alas, she should have known better.

Normally, she knows, she would go back to dwell in her book until the Library calls upon her again. Perhaps she could continue examining its structure to find a way to peek outside. But her book does not come, neither the familiar forest of her memories, nor the blank nothing of a container. Have they failed? Is Director Angela too distracted to funnel Courage back into her book?

The Magical Girl lazily turns around herself, more for lack of anything to do than any purpose. Something keeps pulling on her, not dissimilar to when she left Lobotomy Corporation behind. A party everlasting dragged her along the last time. This time, an invisible force takes her along on its ethereal stream.

Then she opens her eyes, sight the first sense to truly return.

Courage stares up at the clear blue sky, blinking slowly. The echo of voices she can not comprehend still sounds in her mind, only to quiet down as she begins thinking again. Her senses return one by one. She can smell a different quality to the air, feels blades of grass poke her back.

Sensations were always muted while she borrowed another's body to manifest herself. Now they feel real again, to the point she first thinks this wis a different book, perhaps a mix-up. Only in a dream could she feel like this, after all. But a quick spark of magic tells her she is not in a book; its viridian glow fades before anyone can notice.

Which leaves only one option: she is outside.

Courage sits up and looks around. She finds herself on a riverside, its length no less green than her own clothes. She arrived just shy of the slope. Highrise buildings reach into the sky on the river's other side, but turning her head reveals the same behind her. The buzz of crowds is audible, though she has yet to spot anyone.

Blades of grass tickle Courage's calves as she shuffles, a sensation that feels overall too real. They distract her from the surroundings for a time as she reaches out to touch her restored flesh. Her skin is warm to the touch, just like she remembers it being.

She is outside, and she has her own body. How did this happen? And how did she get here?

There is a number of explanations, but she has too little concrete information to even guess. In truth, Courage does not care to guess, either. It happened, and so it is. She understands that she had no true home since her own world was destroyed; it is a shame about losing those occasional conversations with Tiphereth, though. Or the tea parties with her seniors. But this is how it always would have ended.

In fact, considering the difference in architecture and far lower scale, perhaps this is yet another world entirely.

The thought comes unbidden, but Courage clearly notices the signs. It might still be The City, but even then she has to ask just why she is outside of the Library. Was she taken by a freak accident? By purposeful action? Or was she sent away, perhaps by Angela to save some of those under her care?

Courage can not tell. And ultimately, it really does not matter now. She is here, simple as that.

Confirming her situation is fairly simple, at least: a single teleport sends Courage floating a kilometre in the air, where she can oversee the area. And while the skyline is impressive from the ground, she knows deep down that it can not compare to any of the twenty-six Nests.

Neon skies superimpose on her vision, a writhing memory not her own that reminds her of recent events. Courage softly touches her chest where it sits, right below the heart. It is not a voice so much as a tangle of rage, oh so familiar yet oh so different. A final reminder of Roland, who once resonated with her in the Library. His wrath was true, which should have told her to anticipate how things turned out.

Sighing softly, she pushes the matter aside. If anything, the unprompted response gives her assumption credence. None of the Wings that rule the world she last lived in would have a realm this small, nor would they allow untended wilderness beyond their borders.

Then again, even a megacorporation needs farmland of some sort. Even if they somehow can create food through some of their unethical experiments, tending the land ought to be easier and create jobs.

Regardless of the reasonable argument against necessarily being in another world, Courage is fairly certain of her assessment. Something about this new place just feels... off. She still thinks it is some different quality of air.

The winds mussing up her poofy hair gets annoying by this point, so she teleports back to ground level. Nothing changed here, but Courage knows she can not be idle.

She may be out of a job right now and prefer reading over talking, but she still carries a lot of curiousity. What is this world like, assuming it really is a different one? How do the people compare? Are there people in need of a guardian? Is there somewhere she can hunker down and learn about this world?

She ambles around the area for a bit, getting a feeling of her new legs and her surroundings. Then Courage stops in front of a window, where she studies her reflection; a diminutive woman looks back, crimson eyes hidden behind her blindfold. She can see just fine even while wearing it. The rest of her facial expression can be described as aloof, or devoid of any outward tells. Her entire body is relaxed, clad in a tight green suit with inlaid, oval gemstones.

Just as she takes notice of the odd necklace she now wears, someone pipes up near her. Courage turns and finds a small teenage girl with pink hair, a little bit taller than Courage herself. She says something else, just as incomprehensible. So Courage clacks her fingers together and applies a translation spell.

"Come again?" she requests in her usual, soft voice.

"I said what's your name, weird girl?" the teen repeats, giggling a little over the nickname. The Magical Girl tilts her head ever so faintly, but does not comment on it.

"I am Courage," she says.

The girl tilts her head in turn, frowning thoughtfully. "So Yuki?" she asks back, making her wonder if something went wrong. "What Kanji do you use for that?"

She can only shrug, unaware what that even is.

The girl makes a face at that, but seems to shrug it off a moment later. "Why are you wearing that?" she asks next, pointing at Courage's face; specifically, her blindfold. "How can you see with it on?"

"I simply wear it, and I can see just fine," Courage answers simply. She has no reason to justify herself or her choice of dress.

The child seems enthused about her answer, though. She huffs and crosses her arms. "You really are weird," she decides with a little grin. "It'll be fun having you around."

Then she pauses and squints at the sky. "Ah, too bad. I'd love to chat some more, but I gotta run and look for mom. See you around, Yuki!"

So saying, she waves and darts away, leaving Courage behind to mull over the odd encounter. With how the sequence of events went, she figures that her name must have been translated along. The girl did not seem confused by the term itself, so 'Yuki' should be fine for a cover name.

Looking back at her reflection, Courage runs a hand about the two cross-shaped pendants dangling on that leathery necklace. Both are steel, but one bears a band of thorns while the other's T-section is lower and seems fluffy, as if covered in downs.

Shaking her head, Courage, now Yuki, strolls back to the spot she woke up in. There is no special meaning attached to it that she can tell.

What now?

[] Cross the channel to explore the sister city
weight: x1

[] Investigate the city you landed in
weight: x1

[] Stay where you are, let's see what happens
weight: x1

-Voting Unlocked
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-Dramatis Personae Unlocked
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Welcome all, and welcome back to some.

It has been almost two years since the curtain call on In The Name Of Love And Hatred. And after rereading it recently, I decided that this performance should be a step closer to ever-repeating. So we are doing it again, if with some important differences.

I am looking forward to this. Please stand by while I reserve three more posts.