Magical Girl Gunslinger (2025)

Welp, after reading a bunch of other people's Omakes I figured it was time for me the throw my own hat into the ring. If some of you find certain parts of it to be uncouth then I apologize but also this is the toned down version. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it.

Into Darkness Chap 1: 90 Seconds Past Midnight

"Becoming a guardian made things easy, I kill monsters. "
–Magical Guardian Nero

I awoke, slowly feeling nature's call. I pulled off the scratchy thin blanket, then sat up on the edge of the bed.

Slowly I walked down the row of bunks headed for the door at the end of the near pitch black room. Suddenly, I was blinded by a red light being turned on just in front of my face and I raised my arm to shield my eyes.

"Baker, where you going?" Collin's familiar voice asked as he lowered the red light so I could see again. He wore his fatigues along with his plate carrier and helmet, and the red glow on his pale cheeks made the bags under his eyes look even bigger.

"Latrine," I said, gesturing vaguely to the end of the room.

"Tags?" He asked disinterested and I reached up to pull the beaded metal necklace over my head and gave it to him so he could maintain accountability of me while I was in the bathroom.

"Have a nice piss," he said, walking past me to continue counting the sleeping figures in their bunks. There were only two ways out of the building and they both were in plain sight of the front desk. No one was leaving without the Drill Sergeant on overnight duty knowing, but they still made us count just in case someone developed the ability to teleport.

"Yeah you too," I replied not realizing or caring what I said as I continued my groggy walk to the bathroom. I won't describe how I urinated because you all know basic biology but it was nice and refreshing. Then I went to wash my hands at one of the dozen sinks lined up together at the entrance.

Through the mirror on the counter behind me I saw the same white raccoon looking animal I had seen a dozen or so times over the past two months. Of all the sleep deprived hallucinations I had experienced it was actually pretty tame and just kinda sat there watching. It didn't hold a candle to the time I saw a bunch of dead Vietnam era guys dancing over my foxhole first night in the field. I ignored it, finished washing my hands and was about to leave when it started talking. "Would you like to make a contract?"

That was new, I had never heard auditory stuff before so I stared at it for a couple of seconds and it stared back. But hey, there's a first time for everything so I shrugged and walked out, it would be gone as soon as I got a little bit of sleep.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, This is important, you need to listen" It whispered loudly as it chased after me while went to retrieve my dog tags so I could go back to bed. It was kinda annoying but it also wasn't real so I continued to ignore it as I approached the fireguard desk.

"Baker," Collin said to me as he stood at the rickety old table. Just behind him was his companion for the watch, also in full kit, leaned back against the wall and passed out.

"Collin," I acknowledged back as I picked my tags up off the desk, still ignoring the squabbling from the raccoon. It would be gone in the morning after I got a couple more hours of sleep, something that was sounding increasingly more pleasant the longer I was awake.

"Why do you have an animal with you?" he asked as he turned his red light to point at the talking animal.

"You can see it too?" I asked, taking in a big breath to wake myself up a little. If he could see it was either real or I had fully gone insane, either way something stupid was happening.

"Yes, I can see it Baker, why do you have a talking animal?" he asked and turned the red light to point at me.

"I don't know, I thought I was just seeing shit," I replied as I raised a hand to protect my eyes from another blinding.

"I can assure you I am very real and we have something very important to talk about," the creature insisted as it jumped up onto the desk to face me.

"Give me a milk crate," I said pointing to the stack he had been using as a stool. He reached down and grabbed one then handed it to me.

I flipped it over and slammed it down onto the desk trapping the creature making it squeal. "The fate of the world is at stake, it is imperative that we form a contract."

"Shut up we're trying to sleep," an annoyed voice called from somewhere down the row of beds making the stupid creature shut up leaving us in silence. It put its paws through the holes of the crate and looked up at me with pleading puppy dog eyes. Its cute adorable pleading fell upon the cold lump of coal that was my heart. Yesterday was full of stupid and tomorrow was going to be as well. I wasn't interested in the little bit of decent rest I got being interrupted by a random talking animal.

"What are we going to do?" Collin asked in a whisper.

"Let's take it to Drill Sergeant, which one is on duty tonight?" I answered back.

"It's W on duty tonight," he said, unwilling to say the name.

I thought for a moment. He was mean but mostly fair. We had never been 'correctively trained' on a whim or for something that wasn't our fault but God help you if you actually deserved it. "Perfect, let's go."

"Then what?" he asked.

"Then it's not our problem anymore and we go back to sleep."

"Yeah, let's do that," Collin agreed.

"Watch the animal while I get my shoes," I said as I started to walk back down the bay, stopping to sit down between my and another to put on the already worn out standard issue pt shoes.

They had actually been a decent pair of running shoes once so their poor condition was a testament to all the running we did rather than the army saving a few bucks by employing indentured Chinese children.

"I know this is confusing but it is important that you talk to m-" the white raccoon said in a whisper as it appeared at my side. Hurried footsteps sounded as it spoke and before it could finish Collin slammed the plastic crate down trapping it again.

"Why'd you let it go," I hissed quietly.

"I didn't, it walked through the side of the box," he replied.

"The hell you mean it walked through the box?" I asked confused, the creature decided to show me exactly what he meant as it calmly walked through the box, its body phasing seamlessly through the plastic mesh.

"Chris." It used my first name, something I only heard during the phone call home on Sunday. I heard it so rarely that I had started to have trouble associating myself with it anymore. "Your world is in danger and you have been chosen to help defend it."

"Okay, I believe you," I lied, deciding it was best to just placate the thing till I could pass the whole issue off to someone. I finished tying my shoelaces and flipped the box back over. "Why don't you get in the box and then I'll talk to you."

"You just want to take me to your instructor," it said, seeing through my admittedly various obvious ploy.

"Drill Sergeant says I am not allowed to talk to strangers so we're going to go get his permission first," I said plainly to the raccoon.

"This will be a very personal conversation, it should be conducted in private." I snorted a little at its words. I had slept with the same 60 odd people in the same room for the past 9 weeks and half the showers didn't have curtains.

"Then I guess I won't be able to talk with you then, " I said in a gentle patronizing tone. "Or you could just get in the box and be quiet."

The creature was apparently unwilling to call my bluff and tentatively it jumped into the box. I picked it up and handed it to Collin while I took my camelback off the bunk bed's post and put it on. Together we walked out of the bay down the stairs into the assembly area under the bays and stopped just in front of the office.

Slowly I approached the door and following the script taped on it pounded twice before yelling, "This is Private Baker, requesting permission to speak Drill Sergeant."

I then stepped back and assumed parade rest by folding my hand behind the small of my back and spread my feet 9 to 12 inches apart. The door swung open and out emerged Drill Sergeant. He had a perpetual scowl on his face though I had never seen it very closely, it was always hidden under the wide brim of his hat whenever he got close. Like all the other training cadre I didn't know much about his past though rumor was his mother had been adopted during the baby lift at the end of Vietnam.

"What is it Private?" he asked, his voice cracking and yet to recover from when he had injured his vocal cords by yelling too much.

"Drill Sergeant, we found this in the bay," I said directly and nodded to the crate Collin had placed on the ground when he too went to parade rest.

The white raccoon jumped out of the box and made direct eye contact with him. "Mr. Warden, I would like to have a conversation with Chris if you would allow it."

I felt my soul try to flee my body, desperate to escape the gruesome fate this unknown creature had just unknowingly condemned me to.

"Private Baker," Drill Sergeant said, looking directly at me. "What did it just say?"

"Drill Sergeant, uh, it uh." My tongue tied itself in a knot while my brain searched for the right answer. There wasn't one. Screw it— modified virgin mary defense, direct question, direct answer. "Drill Sergeant, the talking animal said 'Mr. Warden, I would like to have a conversation with Chris, if you would allow it.'"

"Is this a prank trainee?"

"No Drill Sergeant," I answered immediately.

"Sergeant Warden," the raccoon interrupted forcefully. "I know you don't understand why I am here but I assure you it is of the utmost importance. Your world is in great danger and Chris here has been chosen to help defend it."

Drill Sergeant looked at it while it spoke then turned his attention back to me. "Private, where did you find this."

"I was using the latrine Drill Sergeant, it appeared and started talking. Then I brought it here to you, Drill Sergeant."

"Okay," he said, sounding unsure of something for the first time since I had known him. "You two stay here I need to make a phone call."

"And the talking animal, Drill Sergeant?" Collin asked before he could go back into the office. I could see the gears turning in his head as he tried to figure out what to do with it.

"What is your name?" he asked the white raccoon.

"I don't have a name yet, naming me is part of the process that Chris goes through in forming a contract. So I would appreciate it if we could get on with it."

"Okay Mr. No Name," Drill Sergeant said in a tone I recognized from the start of the cycle, he sounded like he understood and vaguely agreed with whatever complaint he was receiving. He didn't and by the end of the 'conversation' neither did the one who brought it up. "Why don't you get in that box with me and then we can go inside and have a nice conversation about that."

"No, I will stay here with my choos-"

"Mr. No Name," I interrupted before it could somehow dig its hole deeper. "Please get in the box. I am sure this can wait a couple of minutes while you talk to Drill Sergeant."

The raccoon looked at me before tentatively jumping into the box. Drill Sergeant wasted no time scooping it up and walking inside leaving me and Collin alone.

"That went well," Collin said, relaxing after we were alone for a minute and a half.

"Yeah, for us," I said, also lowering my guard, "No Name is about to get messed up."

"Five dollars Drill Sergeant kills it before he comes back," Collin said jokingly while holding out his hand.

"Deal," I replied and we shook on it, but a small part of me felt guilty. The strange creature had trusted me in some way and I had just thrown it to the wolves. Though I didn't really have a choice, I couldn't exactly keep it in my locker and smuggle contraband to feed it.

With nothing better to do we waited in silence until Collin saw the door open and called "At Ease."

"Relax," he said coming out empty handed. "Collin, go dump your kit and wake up the next shift early, tell them medical emergency and that I'll smoke if they're not ready in 10 minutes." We both turned to leave not wanting to break the ever so important battle buddy system till Drill Sergeant interrupted. "Just you Collin, Baker stay here."

We hesitated at the breaking of protocol but there were outstanding circumstances and it was a direct order so I stayed while Collin took off and ran upstairs. Leaving me alone with Drill Sergeant.

"Baker," he said my name and I immediately moved back into parade rest. "Relax, you're not in trouble. Explain to me what happened."

"I don't know Drill Sergeant I was using the latrine, then it appeared and started talking."

"Have you ever seen this creature before?"

"No Drill Sergeant, um Drill Sergeant what's going to happen?"

"I called First Sergeant and the MPs to report that me and two others are experiencing hallucinations. We're waiting for them to get here then we're going to go to the hospital," he said in answer to the more immediate part of my question

"And then what, Drill Sergeant?" I asked trying to get a little more.

He paused, then calmly said I never thought I would hear him say. "I don't know."

We waited and I began counting wall bricks cause I had nothing better to do when suddenly No Name walked out, phasing smoothly through the office door. "As amusing as it was Sergeant Warden, a plastic box and a 45 pound weight isn't enough to trap me."

To prove the point it walked through one of the two foot thick brick support pillars that held up the building above us. A shocked expression spread across my face while Drill Sergeant managed to keep his mostly stoic but I could see cracks form.

In response, Drill Sergeant grabbed my shoulder and rotated so we faced away from it. "Private, did it just walk through a wall?"

I glanced briefly over my shoulder at the raccoon waiting patiently for the impromptu powwow thing to be over. "It did Drill Sergeant."

"You didn't mention that earlier," he said, annoyed.

"I didn't know it could do that, Drill Sergeant," I said mostly truthfully.

"How am I supposed to deal with if it can do that?"

"Maybe you could try smoking it, Drill Sergeant."

"You want me to correctively train on your magical talking animal?" he asked bluntly making me realize just how stupid the idea really was.

I stayed quiet. It was one of the dumbest things I have ever said but I had literally nothing else and apparently neither did he.

"No Name," Drill Sergeant yelled spinning around. "Do push-ups you stinky flea ridden albino trash panda, do push ups."

The surprise burst of expletives caught the animal off guard causing it to back up several short steps. Drill Sergeant gave it no repriever, squatting down to continue screaming into its face. The insults devolved into a series of guttural roars while he wielded his knifed hand inches from No Name's face until it relented and began doing something that vaguely resembled push-ups.

It was one of the silliest sessions I had seen but that didn't mean it wasn't intense. It was almost as bad as when Drill Sergeant had promised to make Gregg's pregnant wife and 4 year old daughter live under a bridge. I started to feel a little bad watching it push until it decided to open its mouth again and any sympathies I had for it died violently. "Sergeant War-"

"My name is Drill Sergeant, that's why you don't have a name, because you're too stupid to know how they work!" The raccoon looked at me with seeming annoyed as it suffered the barrage of verbal abuse. I avoided eye contact like I had done every other time I got forced into a similar position. It was quite literally asking for this by playing this stupid game, and now it was winning its stupid prize.

"Drill Sergeant," it said cautiously, and when no further barrage of insults followed it continued. "I will continue to do this all night and remain unaffected and I will not return to the box as I have deemed your presence unsafe for Chris's wellbeing. During my observations, you have demeaned and insulted him for no practical reason. You have indoctrinated to follow the dangerous way of your organization while showing no care for his physical or mental health. I have witnessed the severe punishment of over two hundred of your trainees for the innocent mistake of a single individual. Your main goal appears to be breaking capable young people instead of training them. Had I the power I would end this barbaric institution in its entirety."

Drill Sergeant stood slowly as he listened to the verbal trashing of what he had devoted his life to and his core values. I felt it a little too as the animal attempted to tear apart the biggest authority figure and best role model I had outside of my immediate family.

"Alright then, since you care about him so much..." Drill Sergeant turned to me and I cursed under my breath as I realized where this was going. "Private Baker, Position of Attention move."

"Drill Sergeant!" It tried to intervene but we both ignored it. I wasn't foolish enough to incite more of this than necessary, and something told me if I went along with him, it might actually work. My heels snapped together and my hands shot to the seams of my shorts as I awaited the next command.

"Half right, Face." I pivoted 45 degrees right while wishing I had just ignored the creature and gone back to sleep.

"Front leaning rest position, Move." I dropped to the floor kicking my legs back. The name was a lie, there was no rest in this godforsaken position. If it had been invented at the time the Romans would have crucified Jesus like this instead of nailing him to the cross.

"Down," I lowered my chest to hover inches off the cement floor and made direct eye contact with the raccoon while I yelled in response, "Thank you."

I don't think Drill Sergeant was expecting me to reply but it was obvious what I was doing so he rolled with it. "Up."

"No Name." It was a simple cadence we had been introduced to on the second day. It was basically a forced guilt trip and great at making people feel shitty.

"Down" "Thank you" "Up" "No name" "Down" "Thank you" "Up" "No name" "Down" "Thank you" "Up" "No name" "Down" "Thank you" "Up" "No name" "Down" "Thank you" "Up" "No name" "Down" "Thank you" "Up" "No name" "Down" "Thank you" "Up" "No name" "Down" "Thank you" "Up" "No name" "Down" "Thank you" "Up" "No name"

It was clear from the slow pace and only going to ten that he was being 'nice' to me. "Private Baker, do you like doing push ups?"

"No Drill Sergeant," I yelled, using the break to catch my breath. Not that I needed to yet, but I played it up for effect.

"You hear that No Name? Baker doesn't like doing push-ups, why are you making him do push-ups?" Drill Sergeant asked mockingly. In the corner of my vision saw Collin hiding in the doorway stairs as he decided to be smart instead of strong.

"Drill Sergeant this has no practi-"

"You hear that Baker, he thinks you're weak. Down," he called, staring the cadence again for another ten count. Doing 20 push ups wasn't actually very hard and I had gotten into the habit of doing a lot more each night before going to bed though it was still annoying having to do them when I should be asleep.

No Name looked like he wanted to say something but mercifully didn't as he finally realized facts and logic held no power here. It retreated back into the office before it could indirectly inflict further suffering upon me. I stood back up once it was gone.

"Did I tell you to get up Private?" Drill Sergeant asked me.

"No Drill Sergeant," I sighed returning to the front leaning rest.

"I didn't tell you to get down either." Drill Sergeant chided me and I stayed down knowing not to respond. "Do 10 more for starting this bullshit on my shift."

Fortunately, he was just messing with me and I didn't have to do anymore. The military police showed up a couple of minutes later and me and Collin stood by watching as Drill Sargeant led the police sergeant into the office to show him the talking raccoon. They didn't come out for 20ish minutes until another military police car pulled up and outstepped a sergeant first class.

"Where is the talking animal?" He asked us sounding tired and annoyed he had to deal with our random crap in the middle of the night.

"In there Sergeant." Collin nodded to the office door as the both of us stood at parade rest and he when in without waiting.

"That's not good," Collin said

"What do you mean?" I asked back."

"They had to call a supervisor," he started to explain. "I say 5 minutes till this place is swarming with more of them."

"We're not going back to sleep tonight are we?" I asked, bracing myself to experience the next 24 hours with the few hours of sleep I had.

"No probably not," Collin replied letting out a sigh,

"Damn it."

My fears were confirmed when a while later a Humvee pulled up and out came a pair of soldiers in full MOPP gear. One of them started to fiddle with a handheld device attached to a wand while the other approached us.

I could tell he was a first sergeant from the rank on the front of his full body rubber suit but I couldn't make out any other detail about him. He stopped 10 feet away from us and yelled through the gas mask. "Private Baker, when did you first see the white raccoon."

"Tonight first sergeant," I yelled back

"Are you sure you haven't seen it before?"

"Yes, first sergeant."

"Since you first saw the creature have you experienced any illness or felt unwell." As the first sergeant spoke his partner came up and began to swing the wand around my body.

"No first sergeant" I answered as the soldier with the wand waved it around a little more then moved on to Collin. Nothing happened and he stepped back to talk with his superior. After a little bit of back and forth, they must have decided we weren't walking Chernobyls cause they told us to stay still and went inside.

"Okay, this might be a lot worse if they are bringing out the CBRN stuff." Collin said.

"I don't think I got a space virus off it," I replied

"Hopefully not, if they decide to do a proper decontamination it'll probably take a few hours just to set up."

Fortunately, our fears were proven wrong when a couple of minutes later everyone inside the office came out. The two in MOPP gear had removed their masks and hoods while Drill Sergeant carried the box with No Name still inside. He gave the box to me and told us to get into a police cruiser which we did before he got into the back with us smushing me into the middle with the talking animal still in my lap.

I fumbled to get the seatbelt on but Drill Sergeant stopped me. "Don't bother, they just get in the way when you need to get out."

"Yes, Drill Sergeant" It would've also stopped me from flying out of the car if we got in a crash but I knew better than to mention that.

"Drill Sergeant," Collin asked across me, "What happens next?"

"They're taking us to the hospital, they want to get a chaplain to see what he thinks. Tell the truth but for the love of God don't say anything stupid." He answered Collin's question but I felt like the last part was directed at me. We sat in awkward silence for a little bit then the SFC and first sergeant got in and started to drive to the hospital.

When we arrived the senior NCOs took No Name, who mercifully stayed in the crate, somewhere else in the building while a nurse led us through the winding beige colored halls of the hospital till we reached a door simply labeled 'patient isolation room'.

Collin and Drill Sergeant were told to wait on the rows of chairs outside while I was let into the empty room. It was fairly sizable with a couch pushed into one of the corners and there was a lounge chair on the other side. The only other notable part of the room was a low coffee table between the seating and a couple of pictures of woods or meadows. Hopefully, this would be over fast so I could go back and get some sleep. Damm this couch was actually really comfortable, probably the softest thing I had been on since I joined.

*ywan*

I jolted awake as I heard the door to the room open and in came the chaplin. I could tell it was him from the black cross stitched onto his uniform over his name tag. I wasn't sure exactly how old he was but he was past his 40s and what was left of his black hair was thin and greying. He smiled warmly and I might have mistaken him for my grandfather under better circumstances.

Then I saw the golden oak leaf on his chest and jumped to my feet, I wasn't going to make this any worse by pissing off a major.

"No, no, I am just here to talk to you," he said gently with a wave of his hand and relaxed body language as he moved to the chair across from me and sat down. "What's your name son."

"Private Baker sir." I replied as I sat back down but didn't allow myself to relax.

"Well Baker you can call me Clint," He said passively as he sat back into the chair with a notepad in hand. "As much the army tries to make us forget we still have names and we're allowed to use them in here so no need for the formalities. Now can you tell me why you are here tonight Baker?"

"Because of the talking raccoon sir." I didn't even notice that ended the sentence with the honorific.

"Is it here in the room now?" the chaplain asked as he wrote something on his notepad.

"No sir, you would be able to see it if was."

"Okay then, can you tell me what it says?" he said and scribbled something new onto the notepad.

"Something about forming a contract to give me magic and the world being in danger sir. I don't remember the specifics but you can go ask it and it'll probably tell you." Something felt off, like he handling me with kiddy gloves.

He sighed and sat forward, "Baker, you are in a very difficult and high stress environment its-."

"Sir, they didn't show it to you before you came in here." I knew where the rest of the sentence was headed and I wasn't interested in accidentally being gaslit.

"Baker," he said then paused as he searched for words before continuing softly like he was going to tell me some unfathomable truth, "there's nothing for me to see."

"No there is, they just told you there's a private seeing a talking animal without actually showing it to you and now you think I'm just seeing shit." I stood up and made for the door. This was a pointless waste of time and not going to solve anything under he understood what was happening.

"Baker, I'm trying to help you but I can't do that if you leave and make things worse for yourself." He said still gentle but definitely firmer as he stood up but made no effort to stop me.

"Respectfully sir, you can't help me right now either." I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Drill Sargent was looking a something on his phone while Collin, a couple of chairs down, had to head tilted way back probably so he could get a better angle while counting the spots on the ceiling tiles. Both of them turned their heads to look at me as I came out.

"Drill Sargent," I said going to parade rest to address him. "They didn't tell Chaplin that the raccoon was real so he thinks I'm a mental patient."

"Yeah, that would be a problem." He said as he stood up and put the phone away. "Stay with Collin I'll take care of it"

I went and sat next to my battle buddy on the rows of chairs while Drill Sargent talked to the chaplin. After a short exchange of words and some confused looks from the priest they both left in search of the magic animal.

"How'd it go," Collin asked bored.

"He didn't know the raccoon was real so he thought I was crazy."

"How long do you think it will take for him to get back?"

"Not long hopefully." I said leaning back in my chair though not too far to avoid falling asleep again.

15ish minutes later Chaplin returned and gestured for me to follow his back into the isolation room. He closed the door behind him then sat down. He pulled out a worn leather bound flask from his breast pocket which he took a deep swig from without hesitating then offered it to me. "Want some?"

Under any other circumstances, I would have thought it was a test but now I wasn't sure. "I don't drink sir."

"Good answer, don't start, but it is just fruit punch." He said keeping his arm outstretched still offering me. I took the flash and tasted some, it was pretty good so I took another deeper sip of it before handing it back.

"The white raccoon, No Name, it said you didn't accept the contract?" The Chaplin tone was serious now and I could tell he meant business.

"No Sir, I told it straight to its face that I reject its deal," I said matching his tone.

"That was the right decision. Now, Private Baker, This is a direct order, under no circumstances are you to accept this contract or even make the slightest joke or allusion about accepting it. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir I do."

"Good, I won't allow you to risk losing your soul to an unknown magical creature." Any chaplian probably would have given the same order but it felt like he gave it more out of fear for my personal on a personal level than as part of his duty to the army. " Do you pray Baker?"

"Occasionally sir." I had gone to church somewhat regularly before joining but the services here were quiet and boring. It felt disrespectful to go and inevitably fall asleep mid sermon so I hadn't been back.

"I suggest you make it a nightly thing, God only knows the size of the storm you've just been through into the middle of."

I was about to respond with some form of affirmative when there was a knock on the door and a female nurse came in, she held a tray with dozens of vials and what looked to be a blood draw kit. "Excuse me but I need to take some blood for lab tests."

I looked at the chaplain for his input and he looked back at me, non veberally giving the choice to me. "I don't mind ma'am."

I held out my arm while she rubbed it down with an alcohol wipe and put the rubber IV tourniquet on. "You're not afraid of needles are you?"

"No ma'am." I had actually cried like a baby all the way into my early teens at the thought of even getting a flu shot. I had left that patheticness behind when I joined and was better off for it.

"You have good veins," she said and I clenched a little as she stuck in the neddle.

"Thank you I guess, what does that mean?" I had never been complimented on my veins so I wasn't sure what to do with that.

"It just means they are visible and healthy, it's good to have if you're ever in an emergency," she said as my blood spurted out through the tube into a vial a little smaller than my index finger.

"Well, hopefully he's never in a situation where he needs to worry about that," Chaplin said.

"What are you testing me for?" I said out of curiosity.

"Everything we can and a couple of spares. This one for example is an HIV test." She held the filled vial with a purple cap so me and Chaplin could both see it.

"You think the raccoon gave me AIDs?" I asked, a little dumbfounded.

"We're just doing our due diligence that's all," she said passively and started to fill a new one with a green top.

"Is that one testing for chlamydia or something?" Chaplin asked mockingly.

"No, blood iron levels and proteins," she said bluntly and switched vials again.

"Probably should then, the barracks bunnies are bad enough, I can't imagine diseases the Raccoons have from what they get down to in the dumpsters," Chaplin joked, but the nurse was unimpressed.

She filled a dozen more vials and then left to get a bandage before she took the IV out of my arm leaving the tray of blood samples behind. I noticed Chaplin was eyeing the purple vial with a smirk. "Baker, have you ever had unprotected sexual intercourse with No Name?"

Despite the somewhat justified reputation young male privates such as myself had gained, I had not attempted sexual intercourse with what I assumed to be a sleep deprived hallucination of a raccoon. "No sir."

As soon as I answered he pocketed the vial and replaced it with an empty identical one from the tray which he filled with the red Kool-Aid from his flask. My blood might have been a little bit richer in color but I couldn't tell from a glance and neither would the nurse who filled the original.

She came in a couple minutes later to remove the IV and take the tray. I said nothing about Chaplin's little prank and we talked for a couple minutes before he called in Drill Sargent. "Sargent Warden, have you witnessed any changes in Baker's personality or mood since No Name first appeared or over the course of this training cycle."

"Nothing unexpected sir," He said before elaborating. "He's become more disciplined and mature during the training but so have all the other soldiers."

"Aside from the raccoon have you noticed anything I should be concerned about?"

"No sir."

"Okay here's the plan, No Name is going to stay here. Tomorrow they are probably going to call Baker back for more tests and the like. Till then keep him fed, keep him hydrated, and make sure he gets plenty of rest."

"Should I isolate him from the rest of the company?"

"That would probably be for the best, make sure he has his battle buddy with him though."

"I will, anything else?"

"I don't know, this is the first time I have had to deal with the human soul in such a.. tangible way." He said after looking for the right word for a moment. "Try to keep him in a good mood, I don't know if it will make his soul stronger or anything but it wouldn't hurt to try."

"I understand."

"Good, I have nothing else for you then Sargent Warden." Chaplin said then yawned briefly "Make sure you take care of Baker, we need good soldiers like him."

"I will sir." Drill Sargent said ending the conversation.

We rode back with the same SFC that took us to the hospital to begin with and the ride was quiet the whole way. When we arrived Drill Sargent led us through the company's drill offices and into the part of the building that belonged to the whole battalion the smaller training companies were a part of.

We came to an unused bay meant for holdovers left behind from prior training cycles that couldn't leave for various reasons. It was the same basic layout as our own bay, with lockers against the walls and two rows of bunks separated by a kill zone that ran through the middle of the bay. The room was a little smaller than our previous room but now we had it all to ourselves.

"Baker." Drill Sargent's tone was weird as he said my name, It lacked much of the gruff and seriousness that it usually carried. "Don't worry about anything, everything is going to be okay."

"Yes, Drill Sargent." I wasn't sure how to respond to the stoic and uncaring wall showing something close to genuine human concern so I went to the default answer.

"Go to sleep now that's an order." It didn't feel like one with how he said it. "Collin stay awake. I am going to have them move both your stuff in here."

"Yes Drill Sargent," we both said in unison, then I left and found a bunk in roughly the middle of the bay and tried to go to sleep as ordered. Despite how tired I felt I couldn't manage it now that we were back. The future was too uncertain for me to relax and the last 9 weeks called me to always be at the ready for any number of problems.

With nothing better to do as I laid there, I started to think about the raccoon's warnings. It clearly didn't understand how to operate in this environment so I dismissed most of what it said but looking back that had been a mistake. It had mentioned some great danger in the bay before I brought it to Drill Sargent and again in the car before I silenced it. The entire time it had been practically begging just to talk to me. I should have at least heard it out a little more.

Now I had created a division between myself and information on a potential attack on the base or country or something, maybe even the whole planet. I didn't know, all because I wanted to go back to sleep. I should have taken it seriously and despite my better judgment, a part of me felt like I should have accepted.

I heard shuffling at the end of the bay as they brought our stuff in and I was still awake 20 minutes later when they finished and Collin turned the lights off. I listened to his snores for what felt like hours till finally, I passed out from sheer exhaustion.

I bolted awake as I felt the begining of something awful. It was like the flat of a rusty razor being dragged along my spine, old and corroded yet still sharp and craving to carve open my flesh. I sat up in bed out of reflex and in the dim light, I saw the rift open as reality was torn apart.

Slowly a crack that vaguely resembled a tree made out of black lighting grew out of the concrete floor in the middle of the bay, its branches were sharp and jagged, and in its center was a void of darkness and something primordial that thirsted for blood.

From it emerged a dozen chittering shrieks followed by a series of black winged shapes that swarmed toward me. They looked like bats having small bodies with long transparent wings that stretched from their wide arms back to their thin rear legs. The wings were 3 feet across and each end carried a pair of 3 inch talons that were dispositionally large for their body.

I rolled off the bed onto the hard floor as the pack flew by narrowly missing me by a hair's breadth. The swarm scattered to dodge the wall locker behind my bunk and individually began making runs at me. I ducked the first one only to feel pain bloom across my back as another one came from the left dragging its claws through my shirt and shoulder as it went.

Grunting through it I raised my head only to see a new one driving towards my face. I was saved at the last moment as from atop one of the bunks a white blur leapt onto the black flyer and forced it to crash meer moments before it could reach me. Before I could even process what had saved me another one let out an ear piercing shriek and began its attack run on me.

I swung at it with my open right hand managing to grab it by a wing before it could reach me but it still sunk its teeth into my wrist and tore at my forearm with its free talons. I smashed it into the side of the bunk with all my might hurting my hand a little in the process but doing far worse to the small thing and I dropped its lifeless body onto the floor.

A new one came at me but I backhanded the flying vermin to the ground and with a single foot stomped the life out of it. I heard a human yelp and looked up to see Collin pounding on one that managed to wrap itself around his right arm. I wanted to help him but the momentary distraction cost me as a sharp pain pierced my left flank.

I looked down, one of the bats had dug the ends of its talons into my side, it raised its head to look me in the eyes before opening its mouth to shriek its hatred at me. I raised my left arm then swung it down silencing it as I crushed its fragile body between my ribs and elbow.

It went limp and fell off making me winch as its weight pulled its talon out. Surging adrenaline made me forget about the wound as I began to look for another bat to kill, in the corner of my eye I saw No Name, his fur ruffled, scampering back up to the top of a bunk. I only saw one more immediately around me but before I could reach it the white Raccoon jumped at it.

Unlike before he missed its main body but still managed to catch a wing pulling it down in a spiraling tumble that turned into a catfight once they hit the floor. As nothing new was coming at me I turned back to Collin, the one that had been around his arm was on the floor dead next to another one but a new one had wrapped his face in a bear hug refusing to let go as he struggled to pry it off.

I sprinted over, grabbed it by the neck, and yanked it off before throwing it to the floor. It tried to recover but I stomped it, ending its life with a sickening crunch. Collin let out of a series of coughs and out of concern, I asked him if he was alright.

"Yeah," He said and spat on the floor using the back of his hand to wipe the corners of his mouth before walking over to kick the dead thing down a couple of bunks. "Fucker tried to stick his dick in my mouth."

If he could joke he was fine but I still did a blood sweep to make sure. Once I knew he was fine I turned back to the black tree, its branches seemed thinner and slowly they twisted back into its core as if unable to maintain its hold upon the real world. At the foot of the withering tree, I saw the end of the fight between No Name and the bat.

Using his more dexterous limb the raccoon managed to straddle it on the floor holding its arms outstretched. Then to finish it he lunged forward mouth open to salvage the thing's neck till it stopped struggling and the last monster was dead.

"Baker stop, let me take a look at that," Collin said realizing the bats had gotten their claws on me but I still felt nothing from it and turned my attention to the raccoon. He called my name again as I walked away but I ignored him again. He gave up on arguing with my stubbornness and rushed over to the supply cabinet and began digging through it while I went to with the raccoon.

No Name stared warily into the receding darkness until it decided that whatever still lurked beyond its maw was no longer a threat and it turned away to address me, "This Baker, is the threat I tried to warn you of. I told you this would happen, and now because you refused to listen your comrades are being killed and you are powerless."

No Name was right and his words stung because I knew they were true. I should have listened, maybe if I had I could have prevented this entirely. Now people were being killed all because I was a tired bitch and thought sleep was more important than taking 5 blasted minutes to listen to what it had to say.

"This is my last offer, if you refuse I will leave to find a new candidate to become a guardian." I knew what No Name would say next and I already had my answer. "Baker, will you form a contract."

"Yes," I said, the chaplain's warning flashed through my mind but I forced it aside. It was given before we were attacked, before the tear opened and the demonic bats came through to kill me in my sleep. It was not the time for caution or hesitation, it was the time for action, to attack, to engage and destroy whatever these demon bastards were before any more could be lost. "I'll do it."

Without warning, I felt myself slip unconscious as if I had stood too long while locking my knees.

I awoke among the rubble and dust of a destroyed city that was basked in the fading red glow of a sunset. Once tall and proud buildings were toppled over in ruin and burnt out cars cluttered the streets. Every surface was covered with a mixture of cement dust and ash, even the air was choked by it.

High above me on a pile of rubble stood a soldier silhouetted by the falling sun, he was decked out and kitted for combat. He carried a machine gun, though I could not tell the type, and from its feed tray hung a long belt of silver tipped ammunition. He looked like he was taken straight from a recruitment poster in you ingored the lack of a helmet and the wicked blonde mane of hair only held back by the bright red bandana he wore around his forehead. He looked like what I wanted to be though perhaps a bit liberal on grooming standards.

Spread out behind him stood dozens of figures and together they stood against the coming night. Many didn't wear uniforms like the soldier and most didn't even carry firearms opting for spears or swords or hammers. I knew in my heart they were heroes but I felt like I should recognize them personally, like I should know each one of their names and faces.

Then the first one fell, her broken body leaving behind smears of blood as she tumble down the mountain of rubble. She landed at my feet her dead eyes gazing up at me while more blood pooled around her lifeless corpse. Then the next one fell, ragdolling down the pile untill he too reached the bottom and another puddle of blood started to form.

The majestic red hues in the sky began to fade faster as the sun slipped below the horizon and another warrior fell. A new guardian came up to take their place to face the coming night but they did not stop before the ledge and merely walked straight off it and joined their comrades in death. The pools of their blood combined and I looked down to see it cover the toes of my feet and reach my ankles.

The once vibrant red was a sliver of itself as the black starless night encroached upon it. The guardians and the ones that came up to replace them began to fall even faster and their blood reached my knees. Some of the fallen managed to catch themselves on the rocks before reaching the bottom and they struggled to climb back up barely alive but most didn't, most died.

I looked up as I heard the distinctive rattle of a gun being dropped, the soldier fell to his knees and his hands covered in blood. Beneath him, the mound of rubble itself began to bleed and the tides began to rise faster and I had to tread the blood to keep my head above the surface. The red sky was gone down but I could still make out the soldier, behind him loamed a grim figure in a tattered black robe holding a long scythe ready to strike. He stood and drew a sidearm from his hip as he turned to face it but I did not see what happened next as the currents sucked me under and I began to drown.

A deafening crack awoke me and I stumbled forward to catch myself before I hit the ground.

[Obtained Magical Guardian Starter bonus! Welcome to the world of magic!]
[Obtained 150 Points]

[Defeated ( Vespertilio Bat - Level 1) x6]
[Reward: 18 Points]

[New Total: 168]

[Unique Augment Avaible]

A series of voices spoke into my head but I was too busy coughing out a lung as the sensation of air returned to them to be able to understand what they were saying.

I didn't know why but I felt like I had just been somewhere else. I looked down at my hands, they felt warm and sticky like they had been dunked in a hot vat of syrup. They were clean aside from the right hand which had a slow trickle of blood flowing down it from the gash on my arm. Collin rushed to my side dragging a sheet of linen behind him, and gently put his hand on me in support but I shrugged him off. "I'm fine."

Slowly the adrenalin began to fade and my racing heart calmed down, the wounds on my body began to sting and I started to believe my words a little less as the pain returned.

"No you idiot, your not." He snapped back pulling off my tattered shirt to see the wounds to my side. He stuffed a wad of the bedding against the injury before wrapping the rest around my abdomen and tying it into a knot to secure the makeshift bandage and apply pressure. I let him work but didn't let myself focus on it, there was something more important to worry about.

Even as the tree collapsed in on itself as reality reasserted its hold on the room I still felt the wrongness in the air. It wasn't a physical or tangible feeling like when the rift first opened but some part of me, my soul if had to guess, knew that it was not over. "No Name, how do we end this?"

"There is a miasma seed, it is the source of this incursion. Destroying it will end the incursion and the anathema will die unable to sustain themselves." The once white raccoon had most of its fur turn red almost making it look like a red panda but it had the distinctive eye blotches of a raccoon and had kept a white belly.

"Where is it?" I asked as Collin started to tear up another sheet and wrapped it around my arm before trying to put it in a makeshift sling but I shrugged him off again with a grunt.

"Baker, you're going to need a doctor, let me help you before you make it worse," he said still trying to sling my arm but I refused again and he threw his hands up in defeat.

"Collin is right, you need proper aid before you continue to fight." No Name said trying to dissuade me from continuing.

"Then use some of your magic and heal me," I told the raccoon before turning to Collin, "Go get my vest and FLC."

He gave up on arguing and left to retrieve my kit from the pile of green duffle bags and rucksacks our stuff had been dumped into last night. With him going I turned by to No Name, "You said you'd give me magic, how do I use it."

"There are many benefits the system provides such as the ability to procure armor and weapons using points accumulated from killing Anaethma. It also gives the ability to communicate telepathically between us along with several useful tools," No Name spoke aloud before projecting the last part into my mind. It felt invasive, it wasn't a terrible feeling and could be useful but also felt gimmicky for normal conversation and a hassle if there were multiple people. "The part of it you are looking for however is your astral shift ability. Sit down this will leave you disorientated."

I wasn't sure what would happen next and I still didn't truly trust No Name but I wasn't going to make the same mistake as earlier by doubting him. So with a suppressed wince I lowered myself onto the floor and propped my back against one of the bunks. I glanced over to Collin who was rushing to take off the black PT uniform we slept in and change into a regular uniform. Not even close to what I had asked him to do but not a bad idea and I would do the same after I finished whatever this was. "I'm ready."

[Astral Equipment Construction Initialized.]
[Mana Resonance: 100%]
[Soul Gem Stability: 99%]
[Testing Stat integration… Complete.]
[Reformating Reflection Room… Complete.]
[Arranging Creation Room Format 93… Complete.]
[Beginning Astral Equipment Construction.]

The text scrolled through my periphery faster than I could read and in less than a blink of an eye I was standing in a new room. I recognized it or at least its purpose having once gone through a similar place myself multiple times even if they were smaller in scale. I stood in the corner of a massive warehouse and before me was a simple flat grey countertop. Behind it stood thousands of tall shelves filled with every possible type of gear the army could issue boots, rucksacks, water bladders, and every different size and variation of uniform.

"This is where we will construct your astral shift," No Name said taking the spot of one of the civilians behind the counter who would hand me a pile of equipment or uniforms before sending me to the next station in the row. "It will cover you in a barrier that will shield you from harm, minor anathema such as the Vespertilio Bats will be unable to harm you. Its magic will also improve your physical abilities beyond what any normal human could ever hope to achieve."

"If it's so great why don't just give it to me, why are we here," I asked probably sounding a little more annoyed than I meant to.

"Because you are supposed to be an inspiration to the regular person as you fight back against the darkness and the attire you chose should reflect that. I also doubt that you want to fight in your torn bloodied clothes."

I looked down at the short sleeve shirt and shorts the shirt was the only part that had holes in it but they were both stained with my blood and no longer in a serviceable condition. "Fair enough, I want a pair of summer OCPs, a plate carrier, and a velar."

Three red spheres of light appeared over the counter, they began to change shape form into the gear I requested, "You should be aware, the vest and helmet wouldn't actually provide any additional protection and are purely cosmetic,"

I picked up the vest it was 3 generations of IOTV newer than the ratty old one they had issued me at the start. It felt just as solid as my current one although the color of it was off, a strange mix of neon reds replaced the greens and the tans of the camouflage pattern. "It feels like it would stop a bullet, also can you change the color at all?"

"The magic that shields your body has nothing to do with your appearance. It feels solid because it is a reflection of its real world counterpart but the actual shape the magic takes has no impact on how protective it is." No Name said as he stepped onto and sat on the bright red velar helmet that should have been green. "As for the color, there is no helping it, red is the color the system has given to your soul and it will always be the primary color of what you wear."

"If there's no point in wearing armor couldn't I just fight just fight naked?" I wasn't going to even if I could but I was still curious. "Also can you tone down the red so it doesn't look like I'm wearing a circus tent?"

"Technically yes, but that would create problems very quickly so I would heavily advise against fighting in the nude." No Name replied as he jumped off the helmet as the gear on the counter changed form again. The new pattern was far more muted although still extremely tacky compared to what a normal uniform should look like.

I knew I didn't have time to waste on it but I wanted to wear a normal uniform, not one meant to blend in with a Christmas tree. Then I got an idea, an awful idea, I got a wonderful awful idea. "You know what No Name, just give me a red pair of underwear."