Lily was dreaming that she was in a barren, desolate landscape, with black clouds covering the sky. Bolts of lightning struck the earth as if it was raining, bright flashes surrounding her. To her, it felt like a nightmare. It was only fitting then that a literal mare trotted to him, with a black, swirling form, and a familiar horn; Ixion.
"What...What was that? What did you do to me? I remember crying, and then...It is all hazy...I...Killed Helga...And then...I don't remember."
"I lent you my strength, Lily. It was the only way-"
"You possessed me! You made me do horrible things! I...I killed someone because of you! You asshole!" Lily attempted to kick Ixion, but it only passed through him.
"Calm down, Lily. In your fragile state, you could have broken down and lost your powers. You have to fight, Lily, even when it is someone similarly chosen as you have been."
"But...I..." Lily looked at her palms, and then gripped them shut. "You promised me...That I could be free...That I didn't have to care about anybody anymore."
Ixion neighed. "And I have kept to our covenant. Is that not the case?"
"Well...Not anymore..." Lily then heard someone's voice speak to her, and she realized she was dreaming.
"It is time you woke up, Lily. Don't be afraid of death, Lily. There are beings in this world who deserve to be smitten, and to be left as nothing but dust. I will entrust my aid when you need my help again. Goodbye."
Lily then woke up, springing out of the coach she was laid upon. She returned back to her untransformed state sometime between Alex picking her up and bringing her back to home. She blinked a couple of times, her glasses on her forehead, before she adjusted them. The person before her was strangely familiar, until she recognized them.
"Is that...Me?" The person looked exactly how Lily looked like back in her old life, when she was older. It was uncanny, almost like looking at a strange mirror to her past. "...Alex?" She asked, and rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing correctly.
"Hugs! Haaahhh...hugs! Caroline...loves hugs!"
Julia and Jillian heard the high-pitched voice of a young girl behind them. and they turned to see the girl floating just five meters away from them. Her red, tattered dress swayed in the night air like a burned flag, and her smaller red ribbon fluttered the same. Her red eyes that shone past her beautiful yet wild blonde streaks of hair were devoid of emotion, attentively focused on the ghostly pair, accompanied by a wicked, disturbing smile that showed her elongated pair of teeth. The girl looked younger than was usual for a magical girl, as if she had yet to be middle-school age, and didn't wear shoes or any other sort of leg-wear. She had black wings on her back, but they were atrophied and lacked the leathery membranes that bats have. Yet, despite this, she showed a complete lack of effort as she floated in place, her arms spread wide to her sides, as if she was about to trap them in her embrace.
"Caroline loves huggy wuggy hugs! Can...Caroline have a...hug, too?" The girl asked. Her voice was young and sweet, belonging to a girl who seemed to act cute and innocent. However, Julia recognized her to be broken on the inside with her powers, like a doll with it's limbs cut and its stuffing ripped out. There was a terrifying darkness to her soul, and the psychic of the pair had to stop peering inside or her mental health would be at risk. Jillian sensed from her powers that hidden behind the facade of naivete was an empty shell, a void of emotion, replaced by pure insanity. The empath of the duo however also felt a strong feeling of loneliness deep inside, trying to claw its way out of the abyss.
When Caroline was met with nothing but stares to her question, her smile twisted into a pout, her eyes dilating.
"Huh? Huhhuh...huhuh? Do you think...Caroline...doesn't deserve hugs? Caroline is too...sweet and...cute for hugs?" The tips of her fingers seemed to glisten in the night, and a sharp eye could see red nails extending from them. She lowered her head, visibly shaking, her lips curled into a snarl.
"Do you not want to be...Caroline's...friends?" The duo had to decide on how to answer the emotionally unstable girl before she was agitated further.