Prussia's Magical Girls

  You didn't believe in coincidence. Everything happened for a reason. Sometimes, though, you wished you knew what those reasons were. It would be nice to know why you were sitting in a cafe with three total strangers.

  The three of us looked like we could be triplets, which kept you thoroughly confused. No matter where you looked you were faced with dirty blonde hair and flinty eyes that held a strange smile. It unnerved you; we even acted exactly alike.

  "Who are you?" You addressed your question to me, the one who'd dragged you in. I rested my elbows on the table and grinned.

  "Sorry, can't tell you that. Someone might hear. Call me Bluejay."

  "Are you sure she'd one of us?" my brother asked me irritably. I grinned at him.

  "She was at Sansoucci that day O. She has to be."

  You stared at us in confusion. "What do you mean?" Osprey and I raised our eyebrows, while Magpie looked on in amusement.

  "You know what we mean." I pulled a card from the pouch at my belt and started playing with it. As the MtG logo on the back flashed in and out of view, your mind flew back a month to your trip to Germany.

-flashback-

  You were at Sansoucci, taking pictures of the beautiful gardens. It was a perfect day, sunny and windless. The only disturbance to the peace was a loud family playing card games on a bench, but you were easily able to ignore them.

  A skinny man with white hair and red eyes brushed past you. He stopped a few steps away to kneel at the famous tombstone. Tears fell like gems on the grave of Frederick the Great. The man murmured a prayer in German and stood. Then, suddenly, he collapsed back to his knees, clutching at his chest.

  You and the card family both rushed to respond. Your hand and mine met as we checked the man's neck for a pulse. Not that either of us was paying attention. We were to preoccupied by the strange heat coming from the man's body.

  His pulse was rapid, but strong. I motioned for my companions to help me get the man to a bench while you pulled out your phone to call for help. But before any of us could do anything, we were stopped by pale hands and a wan smile.

  "I'll be alright," the man rasped. "Zis happens all ze time. Chust give me ein minute."

  No sooner had he said that then white light began to burn in the man's chest. The four of us looked on in panic as his body was apparently consumed by black and white flames. He screamed in shock and pain. Four tendrils of light split off from the impromptu pyre, wrapping around each of our wrists.

  Seconds later the fire was gone. The man lay unconscious on the ground, looking paler and frailer than before. All of us stood in silent shock. We barely noticed when a tall, blond man ran over.

  "Gilbert!" The large man picked up the one who had just combusted, a look of brotherly concern on his face. He didn't seem to notice us at all. He was far to concerned with rushing this "Gilbert" to safety.

***

  When you got back to your hotel room that night, there was a scar in the shape of a stylized eagle burned into your right wrist. But given what had happened earlier, you weren't surprised. The scar quickly left your mind.

-end flashback-

  Osprey, Magpie, and I rolled up our sleeves and showed you our wrists. The three of us had the same scar as you. You raised your eyebrows.

  "So it was you guys... But what's going on? What's with all the secrecy? Does someone thing we did it?"

  Magpie shook her head. "No. I don't think anyone knows we even saw what happened. But we need to find those men. Together."

  "Why?"

  Osprey sighed and looked at me. "She doesn't know yet. Show her Blue."

  "Nothing odd's happened to you since then? Really?" You shook your head at my question. I sighed.

  "Okay then. Well, watch this."

  I looked around to make sure nobody was watching us. Once our privacy was confirmed, I laid the card I was playing with down on the table. It was an ordinary Magic: the Gathering card- a black enchantment called Crippling Blight. I sighed and pointed my right hand at Osprey.

  He immediately crumpled, as if he'd been punched. Black, withering scars appeared, racing over his skin. Magpie mumbled something under her breath an immediately whipped out her own card- a white Heal spell. Her hand glowed white and Osprey's pain immediately lessened. Within moments, the illness ravaging his body was gone.

  "Did you have to do that?" Osprey asked irritably. I frowned.

  "What was I supposed to do? Cast it on the barista? I thought we were trying to keep this secret."

  You stared at us in amazement. "Wait? What did you do?"

  I waved my scarred wrist in the air. "It's these," I said softly. "The fire that burned us, it gave us powers. O, M, and I can use our MtG cards as actual spells."

  You shrugged. "I don't play Magic," you informed us. "What does it have to do with me?"

  Osprey sighed. "Blue figures we got those powers because that's what we were doing at the time. She wants to know if anything weird's happened with your camera."

  Denial was on the tip of your tongue, but you couldn't voice it. You weren't sure. You hadn't used your camera since coming home from your trip, though you always carried it with you. Concerned, you whipped it out and turned it on.

  At first, nothing seemed odd. But as you looked at the pictures you'd taken at Sansoucci, strange images began to dance in your mind. An old man smiled at you when you looked your snapshot of Frederick's grave; the gardens were filled with what appeared to be ghosts. You knew each of them without thinking, their names and histories. You also knew the names of all the plants, how the castle had been made, and a hundred other things you'd never been taught about the gardens.

  "Ghosts and truth," you whispered. "I can see ghosts and truth through my camera."

  Then your head snapped up. You glared at us across the table. "That's not fair! You can cast spells and summon things using cards, and all I can do is see things!"

  "Whoa, calm down!" I raised my hands as if in surrender. "It's not our fault! We don't know what happened!"

  "You're right..." You deflated. "Sorry..."

  "What I want to know is why we have powers at all," Osprey drawled. "Not that I'm complaining."

  "The white haired man must know. We got them trying to help him."

  I smirked at you. "Thank you, Captain Obvious. We came looking for you cause we already knew that. What we need to figure out is how to find him and what he knows."

  You looked at your camera. "I might be able to help with that." Flipping through the pictures, you found what you were looking for. When the white-haired man had brushed past you, he'd gotten caught in one of your snapshots. Normally you would've deleted it, but with the panic that'd come afterwards, you'd forgotten. Now you were grateful for it.

  Except that the man's data made no sense. It was jumbled together, a half dozen names and addresses, and age that didn't make sense, a nationality that didn't exist. You closed your eyes and rubbed your head. A migraine nipped the edges of your consciousness.

  "What's wrong?" Magpie asked, concerned. You winced.

  "This guy doesn't have a truth. I can't see where he's from or who he is. He's got a crap tonne of names and half the places he's supposed to live don't exist."

  "Maybe we can help," I suggested. "What names do you see?"

  "Gilbert Beilschmidt," you began. "Pruten, das Konigreich Preussen, Teutonic Knights, Deutsche Demokratische Republik, East... And half of those are also listed as his nationality."

  "Does he have a current address?"

  You squinted at the picture, trying to make the cramped images in your head clearer. Eventually something came through, a home address on the edge of Berlin. You informed us, shutting off your camera with a sigh of relief. Your head ached. There was no way you could see anything else today, not when you'd just learned about this power.

  I leapt out of my seat and grabbed your hand. "Alright, come on!" I dragged you out of the cafe, Osprey and Magpie following behind.

  "By the way, I'm gonna call you Augury," I informed you. You grunted in acknowledgement, to tired to care. This new power took a surprising amount out of you.

  Moments later, the four of us stopped in a back alley. I released your hand and pulled a card from my deck, slapping it down on the ground. "Oros the Avenger, I summon thee!"

  A black and gold dragon rose from the card, solidifying as he grew. He said nothing, but glared at me with disdain as I informed him he would be flying us to Germany. You climbed onto the dragon's back and settled between me and Osprey, leaning back against my brother with closed eyes. Despite the rush of wind and noise as we took off, you were soon asleep.

***

  You didn't wake up until we landed and Oros went back into his card. Yawning, you blinked at the three expectant faces staring at you.

  "So, what was the address again?"

  You reiterated the address, still blinking away sleep. I grinned and called us a taxi. At first you wondered why my siblings and I didn't summon a ride of some sort, but then you remembered how odd a unicorn or something would look running through the streets of Berlin.

  When we got to the house, a blond man opened the door. It was the same fellow who had carried our mystery man away at Sansoucci. "Hallo. Can I help you?"

  "Is there a Gilbert Beilschmidt here?" you asked. The blond man frowned.

  "What has mein Bruder done zis time?"

  "Honestly," I frowned, "We're still trying to figure that out."

  "Vell, I'm sorry, but Gilbert is ill right now. He's in no condition for visitors."

  Almost as if we had rehearsed it, you and I raised our scarred wrists in sync. The blond man's eyes went wide with surprise.

  "All four of you?" We nodded. He sighed. "Very vell, come in. Mein Name ist Ludwig, by ze way."

  "Bluejay, Osprey, Magpie, and Augury," I introduced us. Ludwig nodded and led us to the living room.

  "You must be ze children who tried to help mein Bruder at Sansoucci. How much do you know about Gilbert?" he asked. We shrugged.

  "Less than I'd like," you muttered. "His data's very confusing."

  "Data?" Ludwig frowned deeper. "You received some sort of truth sight?"

  You nodded. Ludwig sighed again. "Very vell, I vill tell you vat I can."

  "Mein Bruder und ich are countries. I am Germany und he is Prussia. Ever since his nation vas dissolved, Gilbert has been slowly dying. Ven you tried to help him, what vas left of his powers reached out to you as a survival mechanism. He vas searching for someone who could give him land und people again."

  Before any of us could come up with a response, we heard a rasping cough from the hall. Gilbert appeared in the doorway, wrapped in a blanket and leaning on the wall. He looked like he was wasting away, even thinner and sicker than he had been after he'd burned.

  "Vat's going on Vest?"

  "Gilbert! You should be in bed!" Germany stood and rushed to his brother's side. Prussia waved him off, instead stumbling to the couch and flopping between you and I.

  "Hey, it's zese kids again. Does zat mean zey've accepted?"

  "I'm still trying to explain to zem vat you did!" Germany ran a hand through his hair in irritation.

  "It's not zat hard." Prussia paused, coughing into his fist. His breath rattled. "I gave zem ze power to conquer in ze name of ze awesome me."

  "Und used up most of your remaining power doing so! Dummkopf!"

  "I vas dying anyvay Vest. Zis vas mein last chance."

  You and I shared a glance across Prussia's hunched shoulders. Your eyes were full of pity, and mine of rage. You wanted to help and I wanted to punish whoever had done this to Gilbert. Admittedly, some of the feeling came from the magic he'd implanted in us, but we both knew Prussia wouldn't have chosen us if we wouldn't have helped on our own.

  "How much land do we need?" Osprey asked before either of us could speak. Germany shrugged.

  "Ich weiss nicht. Not much. Bruder was once a knighthood order, so even a large town should be enough."

  "You know," I pondered, "That little Kaliningrad Oblast thing isn't even attached to the rest of Russia. Surely they wouldn't miss it?"

  "Putin does need to be taken down a notch," you agreed hesitantly. I smirked.

  "Sounds like we have a plan then."

  Curious, you held up your camera and used it to look at Prussia. What you saw scared you. With the power he'd lost to us, his data was much clearer. One thing stood out that you hadn't seen on him before, nor on any of the Sansoucci ghosts. A lifespan.

  "We have three months," you whispered. Germany paled, but you looked at me wit pleading eyes. "Do you think we can do it?"

  "Leave the fighting to us." I grinned and patted the pouch containing my cards. "You need to find some citizens with your magic camera."

  "How will she do that?" Magpie asked, before you could voice the question yourself. Her doubt in you immediately replaced your self-doubt with a need to prove yourself. You would prove your powers were just as awesome as ours!

  "I'll find a way," you snapped. "You just worry about the Russians."

***

  After three months, you had a good handle on your powers. You'd managed to find a small, but dedicated, group willing to recolonise Prussia. Many of them actually had Prussian ancestry. You'd also learned a great deal about Prussian history, including that the land we were invading had once been the core of Prussia. That made you smile, although you weren't sure if that was all you, or the influence of Prussia's powers.

  You and your colonists arrived in Kaliningrad by boat. When you stepped off, you were surprised to still hear roaring and gunshots in the distance. You'd thought the fighting would be over by the time you arrived.

  "Stay here," you ordered the colonists. You then took off, cursing your lack of vehicle.

  Several hours later you were on a hill overlooking the battlefield. Below you and army of magical creatures and spells rammed futilely against what appeared to be the last Russian stronghold in the Oblast.

  You watched all day and saw no change. When night fell you ran down and barged into my tent, worry giving you energy.

  "What's going on? I thought the Russians wouldn't be able to counter magic! We've only got a few more days! The people are here and everything!"

  I glanced at you tiredly. "It's an impasse. We can beat them on the field, but the forts are too well entrenched. We don't have enough energy left to take this one by force."

  You frowned. "How many have you had to raze already?"

  "Lost count. This is the last one, but O's all out of juice, and without his green tanks we can't break the walls down."

  "What about Magpie?"

  "Her summons are durable, but they've got no attack power. And mine are all about speed, not mass. I need to strike a weak point."

  "Why didn't you say so?" You pulled out your camera. "Lend me a flier. I'll find your weak point by morning."

  I pulled out a red card and summoned a Dragon Hatchling the size of a large horse. You sighed. You'd hoped for something that could defend you if needed, but I was just too tired. You would just have to make sure nobody saw you.

  Hopping on the dragon's back, you raced out of the tent and took off. The night was pitch black, not a star in the sky. If you hadn't known better you would've thought it had been enchanted to keep you safe.

  You took photos of the fortress from every angle you could. A blueprint built itself in your head, until you knew the base inside and out. Unfortunately, you couldn't see any good entry points. There were plenty of vents and sewage pipes, to be sure, but they were too small for any respectable creatures, and a goblin horde was no mach for guns.

  "How can they be too tired to summon?" you muttered irritably as you flew back to camp. "I thought they could draw magic from the land."

  Then you thought for a moment. Working with us, you had learned a little about Magic. In particular, you remembered that each colour of magic drew energy from different landscapes. But none of them were represented in the land around us; our current battlefield was a land of rolling, rocky hills.

  As soon as you landed, you ran back into my tent. The sun would be rising soon and you had an idea. "Blue!" you shouted, waking me up.

  "Oro?"

  "Have you ever tried summoning any of your land cards?"

  I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Why? No! Can you imagine how much energy changing the Earth itself would take?"

  "But don't your powers work the same as the card game? Playing lands doesn't take mana."

  My eyes went wide. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of that myself. "Fudge-nuggets! I'm an idiot!"

  We ran to wake Osprey and Magpie. As the sun peeked over the horizon, the three of us stood on three sides of the base. You kept safely back, watching us from a hill.

  Three cards slapped on the ground; three voices called out in exhaustion. We all summoned land of the same type, the one colour that overlapped in all three of our decks.

  "I summon the magic of the Plains!"

  The rocky hills flattened out and grew thick with grass. You beamed from your vantage point. The land cards changed about a square kilometer each; not a lot, but enough. As the Russian soldier stared in amazement, three more cards were slapped down.

  "Alabaster Dragon!"

  "Yosei the Morning Star!"

  "Angel of Serenity!"

  Two dragons and an angel appeared in the sky. Flashing eyes and burning wings rained golden judgement down on the Russian military base. For a moment you were blinded, even far away as you were. Then everything calmed. There was nothing to be seen of either Russians or summons.

  You ran down to where my brother, sister, and I had collapsed in a laughing pile of mush. Flinging yourself into our glomp-fest, you knocked the wind out of us.

  Our elation was short lived. The sky became dark as wind whipped heavy clouds over from the east. A man dressed all in grey descended from the sky, his arms clanking with chains. He was accompanied by a huge man with a pink scarf. Both looked murderous.

  Peering through your camera, you gasped in fear. "Russia and General Winter," you whispered.

  I snarled at the newcomers and drew a card. "Smite the Monstrous!"

  A blast of white light flew from my hand. It was meant to strike Russia, but the nation brushed it off effortlessly. His motion was accompanied by a small, creepy smile.

  "It's no good," you told me. "We're only human, and our powers came from a dying nation. We can't beat them in a magic fight."

  Russia stepped forward, smacking his pipe against his hand. "Such naughty children. You need to be punished, da?"

  He raised the pipe to strike. You closed your eyes, curling into a ball and waiting for the pain. I wrapped myself around you in a vain attempt to protect you while my siblings froze in fear. But the strike never came.

  We looked up. Standing over us was a man in a blue coat, not as large as Russia, but full of wiry strength and cocky determination. He had blocked the pipe with a sword. The man turned to grin at us, flashing red eyes and white hair.

  "Prussia?" We couldn't believe this was the same nation we'd met in Germany. He looked nothing like the sickly man who'd given us our powers.

  "Ksesesesesesesese! Ze vun und only! I'm glad I got here on time." Prussia pushed Russia away and brandished his sword.

  "Look, ze awesome me is still pretty weak. I'll need your help to keep zis bastard off our land."

  You looked at me. Our land. Up until then, we hadn't understood the feelings Prussia implanted within us. We were just trying to help him. But suddenly we understood. A country gives strength to their people, and vice-versa, and we were now Prussians.

  "Land first," you advised. "I'll keep an eye on them and warn you if anything comes up."

  Prussia and Russia were in the middle of a furious duel on the magical plains, General Winter watching from the sidelines. That was the greatest threat: if the general joined the fight, Prussia wouldn't stand a chance.

  "Swamp!"

  "Island!"

  "Mountain!"

  "Forest!"

  The named lands appeared around the plains as my siblings and I played our cards. You immediately raced up the mountain to get a good viewpoint for your camera. As soon as you were in position, you began calling out instructions.

  "Blue, he's charging them!"

  "Rotting Mastodon!" General Winter halted in his tracks, thrown in the air by an undead elephant. Magpie immediately followed up with her own summon.

  "Vendilion Clique!"

  "Highland Game!" Osprey summoned an elk to help keep General Winter away from our nation. You watched through your camera.

  "It's no good! He's about to freeze them!"

  "Heat Ray!" I cut the general off with a quick spell, glancing in your direction. "How to we eat him?"

  "You need more heat! What's your strongest fire summon?"

  I smirked. "Hang on, this'll take a minute. Warn me if he's up to anything."

  Three cards slipped into my hand. I threw them into the air one by one. "Dragon Tyrant! Crucible of Fire! Dragon Breath!"

  The huge dragon appeared first, a roaring mass of gilded scales. It charged General Winter, flames wreathing it as the second card came into play. Then finally, flames spilled from the dragon's mouth.

  I collapsed to my knees, exhausted even with the bolstering lands. My dragon struck General Winter in a blast of heat, immolating his icy aura. The season was sent flying into the sky, blown back north-east in defeat. Steam hissed through the air as the dragon vanished. You rushed down the hill, believing it to be safe now.

  It was, almost. Prussia and Russia were still duelling. As you reached me Prussia faltered, the weakening of a citizen affecting his strength. He glanced over at us, taking his eyes of Russia for a moment. That moment allowed our nation to be knocked flying by a swing of the pipe.

  You raced over to him. "Gilbert!"

  Prussia smiled weakly. "Ze awesome me is a little rusty." He groaned and lay back.

  "Don't give up!" you snapped, kicking him lightly. "What was the point of giving us powers if you can't finish the fight? If you don't get up we'll all die!"

  Tears welled up in Prussia's ruby eyes. "I know! But ze awesome me isn't strong enough. If he'd vaited at all, or if I didn't have so much strengz to recover..."

  "You don't need strength," you told our nation, holding up your camera. "You can read the minds of your citizens, right? I'll keep an eye on him for you."

  Grinning, Prussia stood. "Alright zen. Ze awesome me vill count on you for zis vun."

  Prussia charged back into the fray. You watched through your camera, noting Russia's weaknesses and movements. The change was immediate. The data you saw allowed Prussia to dodge and strike around the deadly pipe, cutting and kicking at his foe. Soon it was Russia laying on the ground bloody and bruised.

  A sword rested at the arctic nation's throat. Prussia smirked. "Zis is my land," he spat. "I gave mein Kind mein own life to take it back, und zey made me proud. If you ever zreaten zem again, you'll be breazing zrough your neck for ein hundred years. Verstehest du?"

  Russia nodded. Moments later, he disappeared over the horizon. Prussia fell to his knees; the fight had tired him more than he wanted to admit.

  You dragged me to my feet; I leaned on your shoulder. "Did we do it?" I slurred. You laughed.

  "Yeah, we did it Blue."