Chapter 3: Sweat and Shaky Hands
Pink was slammed violently to the ground by a fierce, heavy punch from one of the shadows. Before she could even push herself back up, a massive ball of concentrated ice struck her squarely in the chest, sending her rolling across the stone floor of the arena.
In the stadium seating, Team 7-A stared down with wide, horrified eyes.
Suki stood up so fast her chair screeched against the concrete. Her hand instantly flew to her hilt as her baseline magical aura flared, preparing to force a transformation and draw her sword.
But before she could step forward, the corporate representative grabbed her arm, her face pale but stern. "You can't do that! This is an official Syndicate battle. Any outside interference will be severely punished by High Command. If you step in, Tony will be disqualified, his rank will be permanently stripped, and the other teams will look down on your squad forever because he couldn't even control his own teammates. This is your final warning... sit down."
Suki grit her teeth so hard her jaw ached, but she slowly sank back into her seat.
Maya crossed her arms tightly, her face twisting in pure rage. "I absolutely hate this!! They're getting mercilessly pummeled by this snobby, self-righteous brat!"
Alice stared down at the struggling pink form, her chest heaving. She couldn't just sit there and watch. Taking a deep, localized breath, she cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs, "TONY, YOU CAN DO IT!!! WHATEVER HAPPENS, WE BELIEVE IN YOU!!"
The second those words echoed across the massive stadium, something shifted inside Pink's shared headspace. Tony’s eyes widened in total shock, a deep, involuntary blush burning across his face.
On the arena floor, Pink suddenly sat straight up. She aggressively spat a mouthful of blood onto the stone. When a shadow minion lunged forward to deliver another punch, she didn't dodge—she literally caught the fist out of midair, twisting the shadow’s wrist with a sickening crunch. The creature let out a sharp gasp of agony before dissolving instantly into purple smoke.
Slowly, Pink stood up and opened her eyes.
A collective gasp rippled through the spectators. Her bright magenta irises had completely morphed into sharp, trembling heart shapes. A deeply strange, wobbly, unhinged smile crept across her face, and she shrieked out at the top of her lungs, "Alices... eeeeeeee!!! Tony, Alice is encouraging us!! She is actually cheering for us!!!"
Suddenly, a suffocating, terrifying wave of pure psychological pressure slammed into the entire stadium, making the concrete walls visibly vibrate.
Pink’s vibrant frilly dress began to rapidly shift, the fabric shrinking tightly into a tactical, sleek design as a dark, deep crimson began to bleed into the pink cloth. Her twin pigtails snapped loose, instantly tying back into a single, high-sweeping ponytail. A stark red eyepatch snapped into place over her left eye.
She turned her head, looking directly up at the Team 7-A booth with tears of pure mania pricking her eyes. "I love you all so much!!! It hurts!! You guys are literally my family!!" Then, her gaze locked squarely onto Alice, her wobbly smile turning into a sharp, intense smirk. "You, though... you make my entire tummy flip!"
Alice’s face turned an immediate, bright crimson. She instantly slammed both hands over her face to hide her embarrassment, screaming back, "Tony, stop!!!"
Across the battlefield, Celeste stood frozen, her eyes wide with absolute horror. It wasn't just the terrifying nature of the transformation that scared her—it was her vanguard. The shadow minions closest to the crimson-clad girl were completely unresponsive. Worse, instead of attacking, the terrifying spectral knights were literally holding each other's hands, swaying back and forth in a state of pure, pacified love.
"What are you doing?!" Celeste shrieked, frantically raising her hands to send a second, massive wave of shadows directly at her. But the moment the dark creatures entered the red girls radius, they stopped dead in their tracks, their weapons dropping as they dissolved into blissful smiles.
The newly transformed red girl stepped forward slowly, her heavy boots clicking against the stone. "I don't particularly like your attitude... but as a person? I can genuinely appreciate how hard you try to uphold corporate tradition. I absolutely love that about you."
Celeste took a defensive step back, her face flushing as she raised her scythe. "Stay away from me, you complete freak!!"
The girl in red smiled warmly, her heart-shaped eyes narrowing into dangerous, calculated slits. "How incredibly sad... you're completely afraid of love. Here, let me help you think a little more clearly! Time for some sweaty palms and shaky hands!"
In a flash of blinding light, a colossal, multi-barreled minigun—one that was literally larger than the red girl herself—materialized heavily in her hands.
Celeste’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. In a total panic, she slammed her hands downward, forcing every remaining shadow in the arena to form a thick, dome-like shield over her body.
Suddenly, everything dropped into absolute slow motion.
The crowd in the stalls was completely losing their minds, screaming and jumping to their feet. In the front row, a spectator magical girl who had been casually eating a basket of fries dropped them in sheer shock. From across the stadium, Pigeon Chad materialized, flying gracefully through the air in beautiful slow-mo. He landed perfectly on the railing and immediately began aggressively devouring the distracted girl's floating fries.
In the box, the rest of Team 7-A raised their hands into the air, completely giving up on logic and cheering on whatever version of Tony this currently was.
The corporate representative’s jaw remained unhinged as her clipboard slipped from her numb fingers, falling toward the floor in slow motion.
The crimson girl slowly turned her head as the barrels of the massive minigun began to spin with a deafening, mechanical roar. Before pulling the trigger, she looked right up at the stands, heavily winking her single exposed eye at Alice while blowing her a kiss, using her free hand to form a perfect heart shape.
Alice blushed a deep, deep pink in slow-mo, but this time, she didn't hide. She closed her eyes, smiled warmly, and cheered her on with everything she had.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT!
Even in slow motion, the overwhelming barrage of heavy magical rounds absolutely tore through Celeste's shadow shield within a fraction of a second. The defense shattered into a million pieces of useless mist, and Celeste was instantly pelted with a relentless stream of heavy impacts. The shots weren't lethal, but they packed enough kinetic force to inflict pure, unadulterated pain.
The red girl screamed over the roar of the gunfire, her voice echoing with manic affection, "I love you so much I have to show you with pain!!!!"
SNAP.
Everything violently slammed back into real-time.
The gunfire ceased, leaving the air thick with smoke and the smell of ozone. Celeste was flat on her back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, completely bewildered, bruised, and utterly defeated.
The crimson girl casually de-materialized the massive weapon and walked over. The moment she stepped within a certain range, Celeste felt a suffocating, terrifying sensation wash over her entire soul—the feeling of raw, unfiltered, heavy emotional love.
The red girl leaned down, her heart-shaped eye staring directly into Celeste's soul as she offered a hand. "Come on, get up... you're definitely gonna feel that tomorrow for sure! But then you'll know exactly how much I care about you!"
Across the arena, Celeste’s entire team stood completely speechless, looking like a collection of confused, utterly terrified statues.
Behind the spectator glass, the corporate representative shook violently, her hands trembling as she stared at the battlefield. "That... that complete anomaly... just effortlessly beat one of the highest-ranking magical girls in the entire sector..."