Even Magical Girls Have To Grow Up

By johnnedwill

it was the first time that Sarah had been inside one of the Galactic Authority's prisons. Even though she had been responsible for the capture of dozens of Titan-level criminals, Sarah had never given any thought to what happened to them afterwards.

At the entrance to the facility, her identity had been checked. Then she had handed over her belongings, putting them into the safekeeping of the sour-faced guard in the visitors' reception hall. Next, Sarah had signed a declaration that she was not bringing any contraband into the prison and that she knew the penalties if she was found to have any concealed about her person. By the time she had gone through the second set of scanners, Sarah was disoriented and anxious; unsure of her own existence. If this was what it was like for her, what would it have been like for those she had sent here? For those who were still here?

A uniformed guard had accompanied Sarah through the corridors of the prison to the visiting area. His instructions had been simple and to the point. "Follow the blue line. Remain within sight at all times. Do not stop. Do not talk to anyone. Do not make contact with anyone. Should you fail to follow these instructions, you will be given a single warning. Any further infractions will incur a penalty up to and including death."

Sarah indicated that she had understood.

Now, here she was. The visiting area was a small room, big enough to hold maybe a dozen people. Apart from the entrance, there were three hatches, each with a number stencilled on it. The centre of the room was dominated by a guard station: a metal pedestal behind which stood another of the prison's uniformed personnel. As Sarah and her escort approached, the guard looked up from the screens in front of them. "Name?"

"I'm Sarah Kanno."

"Purpose of visit?"

"I'm here to see prisoner Lylythandra Tyree."

The guard checked something on one of his screens. "You are scheduled to use pod two."

"Thank you." Sarah started towards the door with the number '2' stencilled on it. Her escort put a hand in front of her to stop her.

The guard at the pedestal continued speaking. "Once you are inside the pod, please remember that you are being monitored at tall times. This is necessary for your safety and security. You are to have no contact with Prisoner Tyree. You are not to change items with Prisoner Tyree. Your hands must remain visible at all times. The session may be terminated at any time - on your instruction, the prisoner's instruction or on the instruction of the prison authorities. Please confirm that you understand these conditions." This had all been recited in a monotone.

"I understand."

The guard nodded to Sarah's escort. "Proceed."

This time, Sarah was allowed to step forward. As she approached door number two, it slid to one side. Sarah took a deep breath and entered.

"Hello Sally."

Sarah remembered the voice. Even though she had last heard it over a decade before, there was no way she could ever forget it. This had been the last voice so many of her friends and companions had heard before they died. A slim figure, dressed in body-hugging black, a golden sunburst crown on her head. Shrieking laughter rising above the sound of plasma discharges and explosions. "I'm not Sally any more."

"But you'll always be Sally Proton to me." Lylythandra Tyree was dressed in a prison jumpsuit, bright orange with a barcode emblazoned in black strips across its chest. Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. She gestured to a seat fixed to the other side of the table that took up almost half of the inside of the pod. "Go on. Sit down."

Sally glanced back over her shoulder, into the room she had just left. Her escort was still there, waiting by the guard station. For a moment Sarah thought about turning around, running away, leaving this terrible place and the memories locked inside it. Then she stepped into the pod.

The door closed behind her.

"So, what do I call you if I can't call you Sally?

Sarah sat down on the seat opposite the woman in the orange jumpsuit. "Sarah." She took a breath, then said in a louder voice, "Sarah Kanno."

"Sarah?" There was a pause as the prisoner mulled this over. "It's not as cute as Sally Proton, but if that's what you want me to call you ... . I suppose then you won't be calling me Queen Lylyth or 'your majesty'? That would just be too sweet." She laughed, a high-pitched giggle that made Sarah wince. "Tell you what, seeing as we're old friends and on almost-first-name terms, you can call me Lylythandra. How about that?"

"Lylythandra."

Lylythandra sat back on her perch. "Good. Now we can talk properly."

Sarah looked away from the older woman's smile. Teeth bared in a lunatic rictus, filling her vision as she struggled for breath. "Fine. What do you want?"

Lylythandra shrugged. "I thought it would be good to talk about the fun times we had together. You and me. Sally Proton and Queen Lylyth. How I would plot to take over worlds, and how you and your friends would try to stop me." There was a sudden venom in her words. Sarah looked up, shocked at the violent tone. Then, Lylythandra composed herself. "The fun times."

"They weren't fun."

"Oh, but you seemed to be enjoying yourself at the time. You had your costume - you were oh so pretty in it - and your super powers. You would run around, posing and calling out that little catchphrase of yours. Now, what was it - ?"

Sarah stood up and slammed her fists on the table. "Stop it! Just stop it!"

"No. That wasn't it. I remember! It was - ."

Sarah lunged forward, reaching across the table to grab the woman in front of her and to - ! Then she saw the dark eye of the security camera in the ceiling above, and stopped. "No."

"I'm sorry." Lylythandra held up her hands, her stance placatory and admonishing at the same time. "I didn't mean to touch a nerve. I just thought that ... Never mind. I would offer you a handkerchief or something, but we're not allowed." She leaned closer to Sarah and spoke in a stage whisper. "They think I'm still a danger to society."

Sarah knew that she was losing control of the situation; that she had to take it back from her old arch-nemesis. She took a deep breath. "What do you want?"

Lylythandra's whole demeanour changed. Her face sagged, her shoulders slumped. "You haven't heard the news, then?"

"What news?"

"They're going to execute me."

Sarah sat in silence for a minute. Then she raised her head and looked into Lylythandra's eyes. "And what do you want me to do about it?"

"I have been here for ten years. I have tried every possible route of appeal. The only option that I have left now is an appeal for clemency. Even then I'll spend the rest of my life here. But I need someone to speak up for me, on my behalf. You are - you were Sally Proton. You were a hero. If you were to speak up for me, then that would mean something. Please, Sarah. I'm begging you."

"No."

"No?" The disbelief in Lylythandra's voice was obvious.

"What did you expect me to say? 'I'm sorry'? 'You don't deserve this'? 'Of course I'll save you'? No. I think you deserve the death penalty for your crimes. When I think about all those who got in your way and paid for it, I'm just sorry that I'm not the one who is going to be pulling the switch on you." Lylythandra stared in silence at Sarah as she continued her rant. "You killed my friends." Her hand reaching out, grasping for fingers just out of reach. "You destroyed lives." Bodies, floating in space, surrounded by clouds of frozen blood. "You think I'd speak up for you now?"

"No." Lylythandra's head bowed; her gaze fell. "No. But you were the only person I could think of who might have helped me."

"After what you did?"

"After what I did?" Slowly, Lylythandra raised her eyes until they met Sarah's. The two women stared at each other in mutual hatred. "You should be grateful for what I did. I showed you that life was not just fun and games. I showed you that actions had consequences. I showed you that death was real and forever, and that there was nothing that not even the great Sally Proton - even with all her powers - could do about it. I made you grow up."

Lylythandra recoiled as Sarah lashed out, her hand slashing across the older woman's face. There was the slap of flesh on flesh. "You bitch!"

The door to the pod slid open. Sarah's escort pointed at her. "You! Out! Now!"

The last Sarah saw of her nemesis was Lylythandra reaching up to caress her bruised cheek.