"SPIRAL HEART BEEEEEAM ATTAAAAACK!!!"
A strong flash of light enveloped the evil monsters plaguing the capital of the Fairy Kingdom. As the attack came to a conclusion, all that was left standing was a lone girl in a frilly outfit.
"Once again, Magical Girl Alara saves the day!" The girl announced, holding her wand up high.
The people of the capital peeked around the battered buildings, confirming that they had been saved. With a loud cheer, they thanked the girl who had fought for all of them.
Alara was a magical girl, one that fought off the evils that plagued these lands. She had been doing so for quite some time now.
Initially, it had been an easy task. The monsters were weak, and the power of her magic wand was enough to easily vanquish them.
Alara looked around at the building around her, heavily damaged from the monsters' assault.
As time passed, they had become stronger and stronger, resulting in more collateral damage from fighting that grew fiercer. Though she continued to put on a tough front, she knew that she was getting overwhelmed.
There was only so much a single magical girl could do. There were only so many parts of the kingdom she could save. That was evident by the damage to the capital. The evils had already pushed their way to the final line of defense.
Outside of the capital, it had already been a lost cause. Continuous battles time and time again had wrecked the surrounding lands and pushed the citizens toward the safety of the capital. Holding onto a glimmer of hope that they can survive, Alara put everything she had into fighting off those evils, but she was growing tired from it all.
"If only I had friends that I could count on, like a magical girl team. No, even a duo would make things much easier." Alara prayed to the heavens for someone to join her in her defense as the fear of failing slowly crept into her heart.
Though she was loved by the people, she felt alone and helpless that she couldn't save them. She felt insecure of the future as she could see the limits of her abilities. She was afraid, afraid that one day, she will make a mistake and perish, leaving the people here alone and unprotected.
She knew that the people here would not blame her. Rather, they were grateful for everything she did. But as she lay in her bed to spend much needed time for recovery, she couldn't help but dwell on the grim possibilities.
"ENEMY ATTACK!!!"
Alara's eyes popped open, and she looked at the time. It hadn't been long since the previous attack. She hadn't fully recovered yet, but she still had to fight on. The people depended on her. Grabbing her wand, she rushed toward the sounds of destruction.
Alara found herself staring at disgusting blobs that had weird appendages. Each of them took on different shapes, but the monsters were collectively known by one name – the Virals. And the worst thing about them was the fact that they multiplied quickly after destroying buildings and slaying people.
Carnage was the trigger for their rapid increase in forces. If the kingdom had known that ahead of time, perhaps, they wouldn't have been caught off-guard. Perhaps, something could've been done before they had the chance to become so powerful.
However, time could not be reversed. All Alara could do was to make sure each wave of Virals was completely eradicated. She waved her wand and tossed out beams of attacks, smashing into the strange bodies of the Virals and blowing them into pieces.
Many attacks later, the wave of Virals had been nearly decimated; only a few were left. As Alara waved her wand once again, the crystal that sat upon it started flickering. Nothing came out.
"Oh no! I can't have run out of energy! Not when I was almost done!"
The remaining Virals turned and seemingly laughed at her, realizing that she had frozen in place. Turning around, they smashed into more buildings and started targeting those that ran out of the crumbling structures. The sight of this was unbearable to Alara, who could only stare at the capital being slowly ripped apart as she waited for her energy to replenish.
"No…please…target me! I'm the threat to you! Why…why are you destroying them?! Why can't you leave them alone?!"
The Virals ignored her as they started multiplying, the demolition of the capital feeding their capability to do so.
"Please God! Can you do nothing?! Is there a reason that you have sent me here?! Please, answer me!" Tears streamed down her face as she begged the heavens for salvation.
However, all she received was the sound of engines roaring in the distance.
Wait, engines?
"What?" She looked around suddenly at the new, unfamiliar noise.
"Alright, spread out everyone, and let's take care of this!" A red truck roared as it and trucks of different colors formed a perimeter around the attacking Virals.
The red truck charged forward, straight into the path of one. Suddenly, it looked like flames surrounded it, turning the truck into a raging fireball. "Taste the might of Tanaka, Truck Red! ERUPTING… BURNING… FENDER!"
Truck Red slammed into the Viral, driving right through its body and forming a large hole. Moments later, the Viral burst into flames.
"I only get fired up in the midst of destruction. I am Shade, Truck Yellow!" Another truck, dyed fully yellow, drove right into another Viral and started spinning donuts on it. After the enemy died from this attack, Alara could've sworn she heard it yawn.
That wasn't that strange of a noise though, as she soon heard a green truck laughing maniacally.
"HAHAHAHA! Jester, Truck Green doesn't 'clown' around!" It roared as it chased some Virals trying to flee.
Close to him was a black truck spewing out flames as it tried to barbecue the Virals. As Alara stared in wonder as to what was going on, another one approached her. The truck skidded to a stop right in front of her.
"Mama Shanty, Truck Pink, at your service. It feels good to get out once in a while, even if it's something like this."
"Wh-What is going on? Are you helping me?" Alara hesitantly asked.
"Why, of course. Kami-sama heard your pleas and sent us here to help you fight off the evil Virals. We are – The Truck Rangers!" The pink truck seemed to smile as she said this.
A glimmer of hope glowed brightly in her heart as she watched the Virals being thoroughly eradicated by the team of colored trucks. Afterwards, they all came forward and introduced themselves to her.
In addition to those that she had heard call out their names, other trucks came by to greet her.
"Diesel, Truck Blue. Umm…I just hit things..."
"Insidious, Truck Black. The Virals won't be able to withstand my roasting."
"Vera, Truck Rainbow!"
"But rainbow isn't a color?" Alara interrupted the tie-dye looking truck.
"I don't care. I like my paint job, thank you very much!" A rainbow tie blew from her front, making it look more comical.
"Somad, Truck White."
Truck Red turned to him. "Is that white? It looks slightly off, with a yellowish tone."
"Yeah, seems more like the color of American, or Swiss, or Provolone…," Truck Green added.
"Do you know how hard it is to keep a truck clean after battle! It really shows on white!" Somad retorted.
"Why does he get triggered by cheese jokes, anyways?" Truck Blue turned to Truck Pink.
"Kami-sama said that he was accidentally reincarnated as a hunk of cheese for a short period. He doesn't recall it himself, so he just denies that it ever happened."
Alara broke out in laughter at the bickering team of trucks. She could tell that they were all friends. "My thanks, the Truck Rangers. I couldn't have saved the capital without you. You have my gratitude." A bright smile adorned her face as she thanked them for their help.
"Yeah! We're going to be here from now on, so don't worry about anything!"
"Just leave everything to us! We'll drive them all back for you!"
"They will regret ever setting foot in this kingdom! Soon, they'll be mere cinders!"
"Guys? It feels like we should be giving a group hug, but how about we just form a circle to avoid squishing her?"
"Now, if only we could combine into a mega truck, that would be amazing!"
The cheery voices of companions, no matter how strange they appeared on the outside, warmed her heart. A great burden had been lifted from her. Here wish had finally come true.
"Finally. Finally. My heart is at ease. Thank you, everyone…"
As she spoke those words, her body started to fade. Tears of happiness fell to the ground as the form of Magical Girl Alara slowly disappeared before them. The trucks watched in silence as they bid farewell to her.
"Her long struggle here is done."
"Yes, it's in Kami-sama's hands now."
"And this time, even Moon Goddess Yue decided to lend a hand as well."
The Truck Rangers stared off into the distance as the scenery around them started to grow dark. Like a dream that had ended, the darkness swept over the entire kingdom and turned into nothingness.
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In a hospital room, Kami-sama stood next to a bed, where a young girl was lying. The various tubes and connections that were keeping her alive had made it difficult for anyone to distinguish her features. However, Kami-sama didn't need to know that to see who she truly was.
Target: Alara Vardanyan
- Infected by a viral pathogen that slowly degraded her bodily function
- Comatose for the past 6 months
- Her one wish: To protect those around her and never give in
Kami-sama stroked her head. This young girl had never lost hope, even when others around her had. Even when her mind slipped into the prison of a coma, her will had subconsciously become a protector of the Fairy kingdom, a representation of her own body. And she fought on, even when the pathogens overwhelmed her, and her organs started failing. For many months, her will to survive had kept her going.
It was far too late to save her from sickness, so Kami-sama decided to fulfill her last request – a team of friends to fight alongside her, to comfort her in one last battle. So, she could move on knowing that she had done her best and that it was not for naught.
As Kami-sama felt the last moments of her life come to an end, a small ball of light flew out of her body and hovered before him.
Kami-sama smiled, a bit teary-eyed, and pointed to the sky.
"There, your next destination. You have earned it."
Soundlessly, the ball of light drifted off into the beyond.
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Alara woke up and took a deep breath, smelling the fresh scent of nature around her. The unfamiliar sensation tickled her nose as she couldn't recall being anywhere close to the forest.
Subconsciously, she had become used to the scent of disinfectants and clean linens from the hospital room. And she had realized at some point that she had been stuck in a coma where her senses had been dulled.
Her mind had to be playing tricks on her. But as she opened her eyes and sat up, she saw a majestic land before her, overlooking the cliff that she was on. Vibrant forests of green, a clear blue sky, and a towering kingdom in the distance – the details captured through her senses were too overwhelming and vivid compared to the imaginary Fairy kingdom that she had dreamt of.
Standing up, she noticed that she had full control of her body, something that she hadn't felt in a long time. Something within her told her that her life had begun once again, that she had been given a second chance.
"HONK!"
The sound of a goose caused her to jump. Looking down, there was a white bird staring at her with a wand in its beak. It bobbed its head up and down, asking for her to take it.
"Is this for me?" Alara reached down to retrieve it. The moment that the wand fell into her hands, a familiar glow wrapped around her.
Immediately, her clothes morphed into the outfit that she had in her dreams, the outfit of a magical girl. So surprised that she was at this transformation that she nearly missed that her goose companion had also changed as well – into that of a giant white phoenix.
"HOOOOONK!" It majestically cried out and turned around, pointing at its back.
"You want to give me a ride?" Alara asked with a hand over her mouth. Slowly, she walked over and straddled the bird's back, hugging herself against its silky feathers.
With a flap of its wings, the two of them lifted off and sailed off the cliff, making their way towards the kingdom in the distance. The crisp air blowing against her only fueled her rapidly pounding chest.
A new adventure awaited for Magical Girl Alara, one that finally matched the strength of her heart.