Chapter 7: Port Moon-Talk
So apart from the wild political statements, that fight against Che Saguaro would have been fairly standard fare for the Staaldier initiative back in the day. It wasn’t the first time I’d faced off against something that big, but back in the old days, the normal procedure would have had me evacuating civilians or taking on smaller foes, and beating a hasty retreat if things were really bad enough to justify summoning Staaldier mechs. We’d never actually fought together as a single unit. But overall, the first outing of the Crystalline Initiative was a successful one, or so I felt.
So I was shocked to get the call from the Major that Elias was in the hospital, and that I was to get my arse down ASAP. I hailed a cab, before making my way to Port Moonstone Hospital.
The Major had provided me with strict instructions: I was not to reveal, under any circumstances, that I was a magical girl, or that Elias was the pilot behind Silverback, or basically anything to do with the Crystalline Initiative, and I was to make sure that Elias did the same.
Elias’ room was easy enough to find. It was a private room, with a TV playing some ABC talk-show in the background, in between beeps of a heartrate monitor. He looked fucked up. His face was covered in bandages and he had an oxygen mask on.
His eyes fluttered open. “What’re you doing here?”
“Visiting you. The Major told me you got attacked.”
“Fuck. Everything hurts.”
We were quiet, and Elias asked me to turn off the TV, so I did so. He motioned for me to come closer. As I leaned close, he whispered “Iron Mask.”
“What?”
“It was her. She’s back.”
She? I’d fought Iron Mask before. To the best of my knowledge, he was a broad-shouldered man, built like a tank. So who had jumped Elias? Was there a new Iron Mask taking up the mantle? One of his mooks? Definitely not the latter: Iron Mask had never shared his tech with his underlings to the best of my knowledge. When the monsters had disappeared, Iron Mask had gone to ground as well: There’d been rumours of sightings up until halfway through my first year of university, but never anything concrete. Elias coughed.
“How did the Major find out? There’s no way she should have been able to find out this quickly. And how are you here before my parents anyway? They’re the emergency contact.”
“I don’t know. All she told me was to visit you and to make sure you didn’t tell anybody about you-know-what.”
“Amy, I signed the Official State Secrets Act at age 13. Should have a little faith in me sometimes.”
None of this was adding up, and I finally voiced my suspicion. “You think the Major might be up to something shady?”
The question hung in the air, like a bomb waiting to explode. Suddenly my phone rang: the Major. It was time to get some answers. I picked up.
“He’s alright. Surprised you couldn’t make it up to see him.”
“One of us had to remain at the base. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of questions-“
“You could say that.”
The line went very quiet. I tried to listen for any sign of emotion or background noise, but got nothing. I suddenly got a text message, with a screenshot of some text messages, and a photo of Elias lying face up, out cold, up against a railing. The Major continued.
“Iron Mask’s back, we know that much. Could be coincidence, could be something more: I unfortunately don’t know what information Iron Mask has, or where he fits into all this. More to the point, we’ll have to ramp up recruitment. Unfortunately, the other mecha aren’t quite ready yet, so you’re going to have to reach out to one of the Crystalline Sisters. You’ll need to do the legwork, I’m afraid. You’ve got the pre-existing relationships. I trust this won’t be a problem?”
“Uh, yeah, it will, I need to find if they’re still in-“
“Then solve the problem. I’m out.”
She hung up on me. I grit my teeth, as a pair of old people burst into the room; Elias’ parents, I guess. As they fussed over Elias, I took the opportunity to make my escape.
When I got back home, I changed Feather Locklear’s water, and began the hunt for my former teammates and best friends. To my regret, I hadn’t really spoken with any of the Crystalline Sisters since I graduated high school: some had left the country, others, I’d been too wrapped up in my own problems to really follow up with them.
I began with a quick Instagram stalk. Believe it or not, I’d never had Instagram, so this was all new to me. I began with Jet’s real name: Jessie Tyler. Not a damn thing. She must have gone to ground, unless she had changed her name, but then I would’ve had no idea. Plus, there are a surprising amount of Jessie Tyler’s out there, and none of them looked like the Jessie I knew.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
One thing did intrigue me: an ad in the sidebar for a podcast called “Port Moon-Talk”. I clicked on it, and after an ad for a VPN, I saw exactly what I needed. She was older now, but there was no mistaking it: same white-gold hair, same green eyes and mint green cat ear headphones. In the Crystalline Sisters, we’d called her the Crystal Guardian Emerald, but to me, she’d always been my absolute BFF: Emma Roland.
Emma and I had known each other since kindy, and we’d been basically joined at the hip since then. When I first became a magical girl, she got her powers maybe 3 days later. She’d been a tomboyish sort, always kind of a rebel, never afraid to speak her mind, and never afraid to throw down against any foe: Detritus, Iron Mask, and a whole host of names.
The podcast was mainly talking mad smack about Port Moonstone, but she’d mentioned the latest battle against Che Saguaro. She was paying attention, she knew we were out there, and when she mentioned me, she just seemed sad, like she didn’t know what to make of it.
I did some digging and found an email address for the podcast, and began to write an email.
Emma, it’s Amy.
Firstly, I wanted to apologize. For everything. I should have reached out. I should have leaned on you more, and I should have been a better friend to you. I should have tried harder to stay in contact with everyone. The truth is that after we disbanded, I felt lost. I hope you’re doing well. Truth is, combat footage aside, my life has not been going the way I thought it would. And I kind of need your help. Please let me know if you want to talk. Amy ?ojjell.
I pressed send and waited. It was a long shot, it was manipulative and I knew it, but what choice did I have, realistically? I could try and protect the city by myself, but then if I went down- best not to think about it.
I was grabbing groceries when my phone rang, from an unfamiliar number. I picked up, and a very welcome voice filtered through.
“Aight, bitch, first of all, did that fuckwit Elias Beltran put you up to this?”
“Emma! No, he didn’t, I was reaching out. I swear, he had nothing to do with this-“
“Because that derro’s been talking to my nitwit brother. You’d think they’d grown up already.”
“Goddammit. Elias’ meant to be in hospital. Remind me to put him back there, full time.”
An uneasy silence filled the air as I paid for my groceries, then took them back to my car. I sat there, not knowing what to do, so I figured I’d start with the truth.
“I meant everything I said in the email. I- I’m so sorry. For everything.”
“Why did you stay away for so long? I mean, I thought you’d moved on, or I’d done something-"
“No. I- I was an idiot. Fuck, so much went wrong, I had a breakdown, and then we’d been apart for so long, and then I ended up in a job I hated, and I’ve only just been able to be a magical girl again, and-“
“So why are you calling me now?”
“Because you’re the best friend I ever had, and I missed you, and you might be the only person I can rely on or trust right now.”
The line went quiet. I could feel the tears beginning to come on, but I fought them. I gulped. “I still have the group photos, by the way. I kept everything. I- I was waiting for the day I'd get to see you guys again and-”
I heard a loud sigh. “Where are you now?”
“I just got groceries, I’m in my car.”
“Fine. Put the groceries away, then come over my place. You’re coming on the podcast, you’re having Negronis, and I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“For real?”
“We’ve got a lot to talk about, and I want to do it in person.”
“Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
I did as I was told, and showed up at Emma’s apartment, with an apology bottle of gin that I’d picked up along the way. I’d tried to look somewhat presentable, and I’d been rehearsing what I would say to Emma, when she opened the door and pulled me into a crushing bear hug, before ushering me inside. I tried to get a word out, but she shook her head.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you. Get in the recording room, you have the grey headphones. We’re about to go live.”
The podcast was honestly some of the most fun I’d had in ages. The Negronis were flowing, and we talked about everything and anything, like we were picking up right where we left off. And we may have had a few too many drinks.
When the podcast ended, Emma smiled, and pinched the bridge of her nose. “So, girl, lemme get this straight. You got jumped by Dmitri… Dexter… Trashy Mctrashbag, can suddenly be a magical girl again, signed a jubilous… dubby… freaky-ass contract, and you’re teamed up with Elias why? Did you forget the punk-ass motherfucker he used to be?”
“Because he can make me transluce- transmogro- turn into magical girly again, and I need him to do it now. Also, my new job wants me to work with him to sell merchandishe-”
“Merch? Woman, who's trying to buy merch of us? And why are you turning into Sean Connery?”
"SIs, we gotta have the merch! Elias and my boss want to sell toys of us!"
I don’t really remember much of what happened afterwards. I think we ended up having Carbonara with ramen noodles (Ramenara, I guess?), before I collapsed on her couch, doing something vaguely resembling sobering up. “I need help.”
“Girl, anything. This episode gon’ get hella views, and you’re my BFF Forever”
“I need you back with me. I need the Crystal Guardian Emerald.”
Emma grew real quiet. “I-I haven’t done this for years. But for you, I’ll try.”
“Cool, I’ll call the Major right now!”
Perhaps mercifully, I don’t actually remember any of what I said to the Major. But I do remember that night, feeling like for the first time, in a long time, that I had my best friend back, and that was enough. It was almost like old times, except we could drink legally now.
Morning came with a hangover, and a notification on my phone.
Elias has matched with you on Down Under Connections. Say hi!
My heart froze, and I stifled a scream. Was this asshole serious?