Protocol Magi :ORIGIN / Episode 1

The Blue Leader is the first episode of Protocol Magi :ORIGIN. 
==Characters==
*Mashiro Mitsu
*Nakajima Shiori / Aubade
*Oshiro Hanako
*Abe Kira
*Hikawa Naomi
*Aoyama Anna
*Minami Mio
*Shitto
*Pandora (Mentioned)
*Unnamed girl
*Kawamiya-sensei
*White Ghost
*Kashida Miya (Mentioned)
==Episode==
”The universe consists of many miracles and strange things,” Mitsu spoke as the night sky slowly fades into view. “There are billions of stars. Some are human, but most are gigantic balls of gas in space. Billions of stars mean an incomprehensible opportunity for life. Humanity developed. Some thought we had developed to be the most advanced species in the world and that we had reach evolutionary supremacy. As it turns out, they were wrong.” She paused. “In the quest for new energy sources for humanity, a force we could never have anticipated woke.”
A desaturated video of a battlefield where four figures with dark hoods, covering their identities, are facing something on the other side of the field was shown.
“They called themselves the Messengers of Pandora,” Mitsu continued. “No one knew where they came from, only the devastation they caused. Every attempt to gain some sort of peace treaty with them failed. The military couldn’t do anything either.”
The hooded figures were fighting the military, seemingly effortlessly winning.
“Then, at the tipping point, when all seemed lost,” her voice took a turn to a bit happier tone, “the first and only magic user known to man appeared. She overpowered the Messengers. But, right when it seemed she was about to apprehend the four leaders of the Messengers, they vanished.”
“No one knows what happened to the magic user in white. After the messengers were confirmed to have fled the planet, she simply disappeared into hiding. No one knows her name, or how she came to wield her powers. She was dubbed White Ghost, and she is a hero.”
Mashiro Mitsu changed to the final slide for her school presentation. “And that, is why she is someone I admire. Without White Ghost, the Messengers would have won that time, yet she decided to not take the credit for it by revealing who she is.”
The class clapped as she finished, and their teacher, Kawamiya-sensei, rose from his seat. “Wonderful presentation, Mashiro,” he said, “although I would have preferred if you’d picked a person a bit more grounded in history. Thank you, none the less. Now, who’s next?”
After school ended, Mitsu walked home beside her group of friends, a routine they had every day, talking. Shiori was reading a textbook on “Quantum Physics and the Tunnelling effect”, causing Mitsu to look at her weirdly when she saw the title. 
 “Shiori?” she asked. “Do you really understand that?”
The bluenette looked up from the book, rose an eyebrow toward Mitsu. “Why wouldn’t I?” 
 “Um, ‘Quantum physics? The tunnelling effect?’”Mitsu replied. “How come that’s not way over your head?” 
 “I need to be as prepared as I can if I want to become a researcher.” 
 “Yeah, I get that,” Mitsu replied, at a loss of words, “but Quantum Physics? I mean, I know that physics come really easily to you, but Quantum Physics?” 
 “It’s good to know, and more useful than you think,” Shiori smiled slightly.
Mitsu was completely baffled. “And when exactly do you use Quantum Physics in everyday life?” 
 Shiori didn’t reply instantly. “…Every now and then.”
Wanting to end the awkward silence, Oshiro Hanako, the redhead of the group, spoke up, changing the subject. “So, did anything interesting happen today? How did your presentation go, Mitsu?”
It didn’t really go as she had planned. A scowl firmly placed itself on Mitsu’s face. The brunette refused to answer, causing Hanako to wonder what went wrong, and turn to Shiori with a raised eyebrow, who had now resumed reading her book. Without looking up from her book, Shiori spoke. 
 “Kawamiya-sensei basically claimed that White Ghost wasn’t real.”
At the same time as Hanako replied “…Ah.”, Mitsu burst. 
 “Can you believe him?!” Mitsu ranted. “I mean, HOW can he say that it didn’t happen?! The military itself has confirmed that it did!”
“You’re the one that said that the military is virtually useless,” Shiori added. 
 “What? No! I didn’t say… that.” Mitsu exclaimed, “But yeah, when compared to a Magical Girl like White Ghost..!” 
 “See?” Shiori replied, which Mitsu pointedly ignored.
“And it only happened a few years ago!” The brunette said. 
 This time, it was another of the girls that spoke up; Hikawa Naomi. “Still, no-one knows if White Ghost really existed, or was just a ploy to give hope to humanity again.” 
 Mitsu pouted, instantly defensive of her precious White Ghost. “Then how do you think they beat the Messengers?”
Naomi shrugged. “I have no idea. Does it matter?” 
 Mitsu was about to retail, when the youngest of the group, Minami Mio cut in. “Um, guys? We’ve had this conversation before, and it’s never led anywhere. Maybe we could talk about something else?” 
 She was backed up by Shiori. “I agree. It’s getting a bit old.”
After a few minutes of silence, the sixth girl, Aoyama Anna spoke up. “..Are we still good on hanging out in town today?” 
 Mitsu nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.” 
 "Same here,” Naomi replied, “unless mom calls me home to babysit Yuki, but we’ll see.” 
 “I’m good,” Kira agreed. “I’ve nothing planned that should stop me from coming.”
An hour later, after everyone had gone home, Mitsu walked out of her house, toward the central part of Hanabi. She was looking around, seemingly searching for someone. Her head turned and found the five familiar figures when she heard a shout. 
 “Mitsu!” She recognized Kira’s voice. “Over here!” 
 Mitsu ran over to the group of five, greeting them, “Hey!” and then noticed that one of the group of friends wasn’t there. “…Where’s Shiori?”
Hanako sighed. “Well, she…” She paused. “She said she had some homework to catch up on. She said she’ll be along later.” 
 “…Oh, yeah.” Mitsu narrowed her eyes. The bluehaired girl had been studying a lot more the past three years than she had before. 
 “That girl is always studying, isn’t she?” Anna voiced her thoughts.
Hanako nodded. “Well, she wants to become a scientist, so she’s taking extra classes after school.” 
 “Yeah,” Mitsu replied. “At first, I thought it was just a phase she was going through, but she’s been doing it for the past three years.” 
 “Really?” Anna replied. “And she still manages to do all the homework for school too?” 
 “Yep.” Mitsu nodded. “Although I think she has some sort of agreement with some of the teachers – in the subjects she’s taking extra classes for.”
The six girls sit down at an open-air café after an hour, placing their shopping bags by their feet by a table, talking about different artists. The café was semi-full; about half of the tables were occupied, including one in the corner where a purplehaired girl is playing a game on her phone whilst eating a strawberry tart.
“Well,” Naomi said. “If you ask me, I prefer @STaR. They aren’t like ordinary pop idols. It’s a shame they aren’t bigger than they are. They really are different.” 
 “Isn’t that the group that opened for Fate at the concert in Noginaka?” Hanako asked. 
 “Yeah, they are,” Naomi confirmed. “It’s a good thing too; they got a much bigger following thanks to it.”
“In my opinion, both @STaR and Fate are good, but to be completely honest, Fate beats @STaR by miles,” Kira nodded. “To me, it’s kinda hard to know what to focus on with @STaR’s music. They kind of need to figure out what kind of music they want to do, because at the moment, I just feel like they are all over the place, but that’s just me. What about you, Mio?” 
 Before Mio had the chance to answer, Anna cut in. “Well, there’s no need to ask Mitsu what she thinks; she’ll find a way to bring the conversation back to her precious White Ghost. For the millionth time.”
Said girl did a double take at the words. “Wha-… HEY! You make it sound like I’m obsessed!” 
 Anna shrugged. “I never said anything of the sort.” Anna shrugged. “But now when you mention it…” 
 “I’m not obsessed!” 
 “Yeah, right,” the older of the two deadpanned. “And I’m a Magical Girl.” 
 "That’s not a valid argument!”
Kira, having had enough, clears her throat and looks at the pair. 
 “Oh. Yeah,” Mitsu replied sheepishly, getting the point. “Sorry.” 
 “Sorry, Mio,” Anna added. “Who’s your favourite artist?”
“Um... I prefer Kashida Miya-san,” the brunette replied. “She’s not been an idol for very long, but she’s really talented, and her songs are all creative and unique without being hard to listen to.” 
 “I had completely forgotten about her!” Hanako exclaimed, realizing who the idol was. “Yeah, she’s good. And she lives here in Hanabi, right?” Mio nodded. 
 “She does, but she’s travelling all over the world to perform. It’s amazing how far she goes to see her fans.” 
 “I can admire that in her,” Naomi added. “She’s genuine.”
On a nearby roof, a brownhaired figure was standing looking down at the mall, holding some sort of tracking device in front of her. The screen of the device flashed once, causing the figure to look up and look at the mall before her. 
 “So this is the place, huh?” She said. “Well, if I find ‘em, I suppose Pandora-sama’ll have to promote me to Knight.” She paused, as if she was contemplating. “I guess it can’t be helped, can it?” she added with a grin, pocketing the device.
She raised her arm to the side, palm facing away from her body. A black, gooey substance formed from seemingly nothing, before condensing into a small, black pearl. She picks it from where it’s levitating in the air, and looks at it. 
 “Hey bud’,” she said. “Yeah, I’mma need your help a teensy bit. Munouna’s a moron, so I suppose it’s no surprise that he couldn’t find them before Aubade and her team of do-gooders ruined him and foiled his attempts one time too many. You’re not going to let me down, are you bud’?” She smiled, “no, of course you aren’t. Good boy!”
She walked over to the edge of the roof, looking down at the rather busy street, whilst the pearl is hovering over her opened palm. She held the pearl out over the street. “Now be a good little Shade and wreck some havoc!” 
 A black flash emitted from the black pearl, before leaving her palm, heading toward one of the parked cars. Upon impact, a loud crash is heard, followed by several smaller similar sounds. The now mangled car started to implode into a shape as small as the pearl initially was, before expanding outwards and upwards into a towering monster made of car parts. The Shade released a horrible screech, causing everyone nearby to scream and clutch their hands to their ears in a vain attempt to block out the noise.
Undisturbed by the noise, the figure smiled. “That’s a good boy!” She then turned her attention back to the street, which was now emptying at a rapid rate.
The six girls at the café instantly rose up at first the crashes. They could see the Shade forming a little ways down the road. 
 “… … What in the world is that?!” Mio asked. No-one could answer her.
Then came its horrid screech. The six girls screamed as the sound assaulted their ears, hiding under the tables. When the sound stopped, they looked up towards each other. 
 “What do we do?” Anna asked. “Run away? Call the police?” 
 “The police can’t do anything!” Naomi protested. “Didn’t you see? That thing was a car a minute ago! This isn’t something the police could POSSIBLY handle!” 
 “…Then what should we do?” Kira asked, looking at the large Shade.
Meanwhile, Mitsu seemed to be having something akin to a mental breakdown. “ This can’t be happening.”
“I mean, if the police can’t do anything,” Kira continued, “then how much would the military be able to do either?”
Mitsu was staring at the large Shade with wide eyes. “…This scenario… It can’t…”
“Guys!” Mio cut in, for once speaking up loudly. “We can’t just sit here! It’ll find us!”
Mitsu was now clutching her head in shock. “Oh my god. This is really happening.” And finally, her friends took notice of what she was saying. 
 “WHAT?” they asked. 
 “..This is like the first episode of an anime.” Mitsu replied, still shocked.
“Wait, what?” 
 “What?” 
 “An anime?” 
 “I don’t see ho-…” 
 “How could this be an anime?”
“Don’t you see?” Mitsu snapped out of her dazed state. “This scenario is like it’s taken straight out of the first episode of a Magical Girl anime!” 
 “What are you-..” Mio asked, furrowing her brow. 
 “Us six hanging out in the city, enjoying a seemingly normal day,” Mitsu elaborated, “sitting down at a café, talking about things we like. I mean, usually, it’s boys, but music is something we all share an interest in. AND THEN, a monster looking like some sort of gigantic monster-version of an object or creature living on the planet appears!” She gestured towards the Shade.
“You can’t be serious!” Hanako exclaimed. “You’re comparing this to a Magical Girl anime? No offence, but-…” 
 “YES.” Mitsu interrupted Hanako, already knowing what she was going to say, and disagreeing with the statement the redhead was going to make. Then a thought seemed to hit her. “Oh my god.” She turned to look at the Shade again. “And that means that one of us is the main character! One of us is going to become a magical girl!”
The five girls stared at her in disbelief. “…You’ve officially lost it,” Naomi stated. 
 Mitsu moaned in frustration. “Come on, you guys! You can’t say that you don’t see the pattern too! And we already know that magical girls exist, so-…”
A scream interrupted Mitsu. The six girls looked out from underneath the tables, and find that the purplehaired girl who had been sitting at the corner table of the café had been snatched up by the Shade. The six girls looked on in terror as the Shade tightened it’s grip on the girl. This prompted a scream of pain out of the girl.
“We’ve gotta help her!” A determined spark had been lit in Mitsu’s eyes. 
 “By doing what?” Anna asked. “We’d be as powerless as her!”
Mitsu paid her no need – of course she paid her no heed – running out from underneath the table.
“HEY! UGLY!” the brunette yelled. “YEAH YOU! LET HER GO!”
Her taunt successfully caught the Shade’s attention, causing it to turn towards Mitsu. While it was visibly agitated, it actually dropped the girl who landed on an awning. Mitsu cheered in victory, but then the cheer turned to dread as the monster advanced toward her. Mitsu started backing up the street. 
 “Okay, I did not think this all the way through,” she admitted. “..Nice monster..? No need to kill me..?” She shrieked in fear as she the monster lunged for her. Saved by grace or pure luck, she didn’t know, but she managed to avoid the attack. “This was a bad idea,” she admitted, groaning. “Why can’t I be a magical gi-… HOLY..!”
The monster lunged for her again. She managed to stay out of its grasp this time too, however, doing so, she tripped and scraped her knee. “Owww,” she whined, gently prodding the aching scrape. 
 A large shadow covered her, and she tore her eyes away from her aching knee, looking up with large, terrified eyes as the Shade approached her. It rose an arm, intending to crush her. Time seemed to slow down for the injured girl as she squeezed her eyes shut, when something came flying at the monster from a couple of blocks away, causing it to stumble backwards, its back hitting the street.
Kira, Hanako, Anna, Mio and Naomi all gasped at the sight. Mitsu slowly opened her eyes, “…I’m not dead..?”
She looked at her hands, as if to confirm that she was, in fact, still alive. Then, she looked up to see why the Shade hadn’t gone through with the attack, and her eyes met the most beautiful sight – in her eyes – she could ever have wished for. In front of her, with her back turned, stood a girl with long, blue pigtails, and she could only be described as a “Magical Girl”. 
 “…No. Way.” Mitsu stared in awe, her scrape temporarily forgotten. This caused the pigtailed girl to turn around, revealing a pair of piercing, electric blue eyes. Mitsu, completely awestruck, was waiting for words similar to “Are you alright?” or “I’m glad I made it here on time”. Or even “I’m glad I found you. I need your help to defeat the monster, here’s a transformation item”. What she got, however was completely different.
“What kind of an idiot tries to combat a Shade without means to defeat it?” The Magical Girl scowled. 
 “Wha-…” The teenager asked. 
 “The logical thing to do when a Shade appears, is to run.” 
 “I-…” 
 “But evidently, not everyone are logical thinkers.” The Magical Girl criticized. 
 “Um-..” 
 “Can you stand?” 
 “…Ye-..”
“Then why are you still on the ground?” The Magical Girl narrowed her eyes. “That is the easiest way to meet a painful death.” 
 Behind her, the Shade had now gotten back to its feet, and was advancing toward them. 
 “…Death?” Mitsu asked. She couldn’t quite believe that the Magical Girl was scolding her. Weren’t Magical Girls supposed to be kind? “..What?” 
 “Yes.” The Magical Girl didn’t bother sugar-coating. “Had I not gotten here when I did, it wouldn’t just have crushed you; it would have crushed every bone in your body before the dark energy would’ve allowed you to die, there wouldn’t have been enough of you left to bury. Considering you became immobile because of a scrape to the knee, I wouldn’t say that that would have been a very pleasant last few moments. But it seems like you are too dense to notice that that thing can, and will kill you.” 
 “I don’t-…” Mitsu started, before noticing that the Shade now was within striking range again. “Look out!”
The Shade launched another punch toward the magical girl, only to have its fist stop dead in its tracks when the magical girl lifted her left hand with the palm facing toward the monster – without even looking, and the air rippled with a blue sparkle around her hand before spreading outwards, forming a circular shield. The magical girl turned around to look at the Shade, and clenched her right hand. The air around it rippled with the same blue sparkle, and she punched towards the monster. The blue ripple – along with the shield – pushed the Shade back several blocks. The magical girl noticed that Mitsu still hadn’t moved, she turned once more with an even deeper scowl. 
 “And why exactly, aren’t you running to safety?”
Mitsu simply stared at where the Shade was currently being held back by the blue sparkles for a second, before the other’s words registered. “…Right.”
The blue girl turned back to face the Shade again, crouched down, before taking off at an inhuman speed towards the Shade. When she neared the monster, the air around her hands rippled and started to sparkle. She flipped in the air, and kicked the Shade down into the asphalt, creating a large crater. The blue sparkles around her hands, spread and created something akin to a lid to the crater, locking the Shade in place. She landed at the edge of the crater, and rose her right arm. Blue light swirled around it, before concentrating at her outstretched palm. 
 “Aubade, Cleansing.” The magical girl spoke, and from the concentrated blue light soared a beam of the same light. The beam divided into two streams instead of one, and both lights circled the monster. It then tightened around the Shade’s middle section, before seeping into the Shade. A second later, the light emerged at the middle section of the Shade, pulling a small, black pearl with it. The pearl followed the light to hover close to the magical girl’s hand. The light then faded, and the pearl cracked, turning to dust.
The magical girl looked at the destruction that had been caused by the Shade and the fight. She frowned. It had been a close call this time. It was a wonder no-one got hurt – aside of Mashiro Mitsu, that is. Speaking of whom, the magical girl-maniac was now running towards where she was standing. She turned her back, readying to jump up on a nearby roof to scour the nearby area for other enemies. 
 “WAIT!” The maniac called. The magical girl sighed, straightening up again, but not turning. The girl panted – despite only having run a hundred metres – speaking hurriedly. “What’s your name?” The girl asked. “D-do you have teammates?”
The magical girl paused. Then she uttered one word, “Aubade”, before taking off.
Mitsu sank down to her knees in a mix of amazement, triumph, and disappointment. She had met, and gotten saved by a Magical Girl, and had learned the name of that one too. She had been right all along when she had believed Magical Girls existed, and if Aubade existed, why couldn’t White Ghost have? However, during the whole ordeal, she had been wrong about the fact that she or one of her friends was going to become a Magical Girl. She had hoped the former, but being friends with a Magical Girl would have been something she could live with too. Too bad Aubade wasn’t one of her friends.
==Trivia==
* This episode marks the start of Protocol Magi :ORIGIN.
* The most difficult scene to film was the scene in wish Mitsu runs towards Aubade after she destroyed the shade.
** The reason was that Sashihara Rino was panting too much after running hundred meters.
Category:Protocol Magi :ORIGIN