That night, at around eight, I'm waiting on top of a high rise near the docks, where Asha texted me to meet her. Chibi Destiny and I talked an hour ago, a hushed conversation in my room just after dinner. As it turns out, she is fully aware of what's happening around her even when she's pretending to be inanimate, and I do have a low-power mode, so to speak. It requires a different trigger phrase, and I don't have access to my full powers. Which makes sense, and I honestly don't mind that much at the moment. I don't even know the full extent of them anyway, so why not get used to them in this form and then adjust expectations when I actually need them at full capacity later? I still have my weapon, Twilight Point, though, it's just not glowing as brightly as it did yesterday.

  As I should probably have expected, this 'stealth mode' transformation features a different outfit. It's sleeker, without the wide skirt and puffy shoulders, and where the one from yesterday was practically glowing blue, this one is a tight-fitting black main piece that ends in a more modest knee-length skirt. There's still gloves, stockings and heels, too, all in accenting darker blues that suit my new hair. Of course I can't help but wonder how much of this uniform's appearance is just how it's supposed to look and how much of it is a manifestation of my subconscious influencing reality.

  It's not long before Asha - Incarna - arrives, gliding silently through the air and landing on the rooftop beside me. Just like mine, her stealth uniform is less colorful, but it doesn't even have a skirt. In fact, it's not much more than a tight bodysuit hugging her body, with the only thing maintaining an air of modesty and mystery being the long cloak and hood billowing around her. She hugs me before she says anything. "Damn girl, you tryin' to win a sexy cosplay contest or something?" she asks, and I blush a little and return the compliment.

  "You... Look like I wish you weren't straight." That makes her grin even wider. She's been encouraging me to be more honest about how I feel, even if it'd make other people uncomfortable. It's good practicing around her, because she obviously doesn't mind at all.

  "Did you decide on, like, a field name? An alias?"

  "Not really? Destiny feels oddly right for this, too." Asha frowns a little at me and makes a strange twist with her lips.

  "So you're Destiny, chosen by Destiny, your Squire is Destiny and your alias is Destiny? That's not going to get confusing and at all. Besides, the rest of us picked aliases because the glamour doesn't stop civilians from figuring it out."

  "Yyyyeaaah. I know. But I'm telling you, this one feels right, and one of the tips Chibi Destiny gave me for figuring out my powers more naturally was to follow my gut." At that, Asha lowers her voice and leans in almost conspiratorially.

  "Speaking of- Did she hear our conversation earlier? Did you bring her?"

  "She heard it all, made my conversation with her tonight a little easier. But no, she's not here."

  "Can she travel under her own power?"

  "Well, I mean I guess she could walk, but that'd take a while with those little legs of hers. Why?"

  "Okay. I'm asking because our Squires can always show up near us if we need them or if they just want to, and I'm sort of trying to assess what the two of you can do... I promised Onyxia a report..." She looks sheepish, guilty at admitting to that last one.

  "I suppose that's to be expected," I say, failing to stifle a sigh. "But to be fair, I'm still trying to figure that out too. Destiny said my powers should come to me naturally over time and I need to learn them through use."

  "I know, I know. I'm sorry, I just-" She steps back, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm trying to balance my duty as a Knight and our friendship and it's surprisingly stressful now that I can't just keep you out of this part of my life." I follow her step backwards and squeeze her bicep in what I hope is a reassuring way.

  "We can figure that part out together, right? We always have. Now, what's this whole patrol thing about?"

  Thirty minutes later, we're jumping from rooftop to rooftop, following Kareh as he moves around the dock area trying to get the scent of one of these small larvae things we're supposed to be hunting. For his size and shape, he moves rather quickly, in the dashing, jerky motions that one would expect of lizards, leaping and running across the gaps between buildings in front of us. We could fly, but Asha said civilians might see us, so I'm getting my first experience of more mundane physical activities while transformed and, wow, I have to admit, I'm blown away by how easy everything is. We've been running and jumping for most of 20 minutes and I'm not even winded. I barely have to put in effort to leap ten-meter gaps without engaging in flight, and I'm fairly certain I can move a lot faster than we already are. Wonder how much I can lift while transformed? And this is the low-powered mode! Being a magical girl is

  I'm so lost in the high of exulting in my newfound strengths that I almost don't notice Asha and Kareh slowing down and turning their attention toward the water. "I sense an adversary, Knights Incarna and Destiny," the large lizard intones. Evidently already considers me one of their number. "It has not yet gestated to a stage for which we need backup, not with the two of you here."

  "Anything we need to be aware of?" Asha asks, squatting down next to her Squire.

  "This one has supped on the essence of fishermen frustrated with the dwindling population of their prey. It will be aggressive, and likely take the form of a beast from the sea."

  "Alright, not a simple kill then," the purple-haired Knight mutters and stands back up, using her unique power to manifest a pistol in one hand and a short sword in the other. I don't recognize the specifics of either, but I'm certain Asha knows their exact names and variants, as I realize this explains her sudden interest in weapons last year, which I had otherwise mistaken as a crush on my brother when she started asking him about that topic a lot. It was nice to see them bond like that though. She smirks at me, holding the gun in profile behind her face like she's in an action movie. "Ready Des?"

  "I think so?" I nod and try my best to look badass as I strike a pose with the needle in my hand. What? A girl can indulge a little. It's not that much different from playing Knights when we were kids. Except for the danger. "I'll follow your lead."

  She drops from the rooftop, landing silently on the pavement beneath and starts running up to the docked boats indicated by Kareh, and I quickly follow, briefly activating my flight before I hit the ground to soften my fall. As I turn the corner behind Asha, she's already turned toward the water and dropped into a defensive stance. A faint purple glow illuminates her from the direction she's facing, a deeper shade than the one made by her own magic. What she's facing is about the size of a large dog, shaped like a strange sea slug with two sets of legs, each sprouting from under a fan of fleshy, feather-like appendages, of which two more sprout above the shoulders of a pair of arms. Its skin is black and white, with that unnatural purple glow pulsing from beneath. The eyes are hard to locate, but appear to be situated on the front of its very flat head, and I only spot its mouth when said head is lifted a little to reveal a circular hole with all too many teeth. The would-be-monster is already wary of us, crouching low as it tries to circle around. "What kind of an ugly dog is that?" I ask, turning on my heels and pointing the needle's dangerous end at the creature, no doubt making a face that'd make an anime character envious.

  "Not a dog," Asha responds, squaring up and aiming her pistol. "Your task is to immobilize it, I'll make sure to keep its attention."

  Without further warning or even allowing me to ask follow-up questions, Incarna pulls the trigger three times so quickly the purple beams of energy might as well have come from a multi-barreled weapon. The creature nimbly dodges by slithering down on all of its limbs, belly almost touching the pier as it dashes forward with a snarling screech and surprising speed! Incarna meets the move by grinning and twirling her sword, bringing it up in front of her. The slug-thing slithers up, rears its ugly head and strikes at her with a clawed forelimb, but Asha blocks it with ease and pushes her gun up against the monster's belly, pulling the trigger again and again. "Wake the fuck up Destiny! Get to work!" I realize I've just been staring dumbfoundedly at my friend displaying such ease at yet another form of combat just as I see the holes in the budding monster's belly close up just as quickly as they had been made.

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  "Right! Sorry!" I hesitate for a few moments more as the two other combatants exchange another set of moves. Unlike my first time in battle, I don't see the little threads of fate this time; I have no inherent sense of what I can do to restrain the slug like was asked of me. Alright, Destiny, time to learn on the job, then. I rush in, needle pointed ahead of me and aimed at one of the creature's knees, figuring if I hamper its movements, the two of us will have a much easier time taking down our prey. Just like in that video game about hunting robot dinosaurs I watched Shawn play once. The creature steps to the side as it again displays the almost incredible speed and agility it possesses, and turns so it now faces both us Knights. It rears once more and shakes, bristling before a literal storm of tiny projectiles I barely manage to register shoot at us.

  "MANIFEST SHIELD!"

  "Not something I can control! I just- It was reflex." As Asha swipes away another blow from the creature I grit my teeth. She's right. There's gotta be something else I can do that's not big and flashy. The threads! Damnit Destiny, you've already done this one, just do it again. "I got an idea! Keep it occupied, yeah?"

  "Yeah, I got it. Now get to work, Knight!" She grins and turns her attention back to the monster. "POWER BOOST: SPEED!"

  I grin at my friend and take three steps back, even though she can't see me doing so because her attention is entirely on the fight. She's moving Not Onyxia levels of speed, or even as quickly as I did back when I instinctively saved her, but she's plenty fast enough to keep up with the monster, even pushing it back a little. I let go of my weapon, allowing it to fall, but instead of clanking on the pavement below, it hovers just a few inches from my hand, a little unstably at first. A few quick test swipes of my hand confirms that I don't need contact with Twilight Point to use it. "Fate's Bonds," I whisper, finding the words in my mind almost instinctively, and reach out with my other hand to grab the ethereal thread through the needle's eye, finding it with surprising ease this time. The battle between Asha and the beast moves fast, but she seems to have it under control, ducking a blow from one appendage and blocking another with her shield before she strikes back with her sword, as I start to move my needle with a shaky hand at first. With the magic connecting me to it, I almost feel as if it's still in my hand. First I tie my unending string around one of the wooden poles on the pier and then back to my friend's conflict where it takes a moment before I see an opening to make the needle zip beneath the creature's belly and back around. Another pause, and I let it slip between the slug's pair of hind legs, rinse and repeat. After half a dozen moves like that, the beast's movements have become restricted and it slows down. "Push it to the ground!" I yell out and Asha responds without saying anything by growing her shield larger and using it as a barrier between herself and the monster as she quite literally just lays herself on top of it. The creature has been exhausted by the battle, and with my strings preventing it from utilizing its normal movement, that appears to be enough to keep it in check for a moment. With another flick of my wrist, grabbing the string in several places at once without touching it, I tie the thread around another wooden pole and tighten it, finishing my plan. "Alright, got it!"

  "Now Kareh!" Asha yells out and the large lizard skitters in from somewhere out of sight, hurtling straight at the burgeoning monster. His chest pulses with the same purple glow as Incarna's magic and he opens his mouth wide. The weird sea slug writhes in obvious pain as it begins to dissipate in much the same way I've seen its larger cousins do on TV so many times before, but this time its remains stream into Kareh's open maw. He's eating, I realize with a strange sense of nausea. I don't know what I expected to happen once we took the creature down, but it certainly wasn't this.

  Once she's satisfied there's no more danger, Asha stands up and lets her weapons disappear, and I call my own back to me, holding it as I watch the strings of destiny slowly fade from reality now that their chosen wielder has no more need of them. "See? That wasn't so bad. Good work Des." I don't respond immediately, just kind of stand there watching Kareh for a moment as he consumes the creature we defeated. Asha notices my hesitance and turns to me, tilting her head a little. "... Destiny? You okay over there?"

  "So... Does he always do that? Eat them, I mean." Asha bites her lip, considering.

  "I don't think I'm supposed to tell you yet, but yes. It's how our Squires sustain themselves, and in turn how they fuel our powers."

  "I... See." I don't say what I'm thinking, but I have a strange, bad feeling about this that I can't quite place. I shake the thought for now, deciding to confront it later, maybe after I have more details. "You totally didn't need my help with that slug thing, right? You seemed to have it handled pretty easy."

  "I could have taken it on my own, sure. Kareh and I do it all the time. But I was asked to train you and make sure you have a chance to prepare for our next big battle. These little skirmishes seemed like the perfect opportunity to me."

  The rest of the patrol goes by smoothly with no other incidents, and I'm heading home just as it starts getting dark out. Flying's getting easier already and I have to admit just the act of moving so freely, so fast that the cars on the highway below me feel slow, is immensely satisfying. I wouldn't be surprised if I find myself just flying around for fun in a few months. The fresh, cool air also makes it easier to clear my head and think. Why do Kareh and the other Squires need to consume the essence of monsters in their larval states? Even more evidence on the pile to prove my theory that the Squires aren't native to our world. Chibi Destiny said all the Squires were from outer space, and Asha didn't deny it just earlier. Maybe my own Squire knows something more.

  "Welcome home!" Dad calls from the living room when I get home. I landed in the secluded spot Asha showed me and transformed back before I walked the rest of the way home. "How was studying with Asha and Jeanette?"

  "Fine. We didn't get to everything, talked about boys and girls instead." I already had that lie locked and loaded. My dad is fine with me dating whoever I want, but doesn't want to know all the details, so this is an easy way to get him to back off. It feels weird, but 'Yeah, I'm a new magical guardian with the power to manipulate fate and reality now' isn't really an easy conversation either.

  "Good, good."

  "Any leftovers from dinner in the fridge? I'm kinda starving," I say at almost the moment I realize that I indeed am. Fighting like I did, taking in all those new impressions, it all must have taken more energy than I had thought.

  "Oh- Uh, I think so? Probably some stuff to make a sandwich too if you want."

  "Thanks dad. Love you," I say and kiss his forehead before I move into the kitchen where mom is reading a book, this one a sort of biography about one of the first journalists who dedicated her career to following the Celestial Knights back in the seventies, when the general public knew next to nothing about their magical heroes. I feed her the same lie I did dad, but she's too consumed by her book to ask any follow-up questions. I ask her a few in turn about the book while I make a sandwich and get some vague answers. I probably know most of the things the book talks about already anyway.

  Once I'm in my room with the sandwich, I turn on some light music and set the volume high enough I'm pretty sure it'll drown out mine and the doll's voices. "How do you sustain yourself?" I ask her before she has a chance to say anything.

  "I'm a doll, I don't need sustenance. Just keep my stitches in place and maybe give me a new dress once in a while and I'll be happy. No need to be so rude though."

  "Sorry, I just... I'm bothered by something I saw tonight. When you gave me my powers, you mentioned the Squires being from space, right?"

  "I said the bunny was, but yes, they all are. I don't know much more than that unfortunately. Why do you ask?" I chew on my sandwich for a few seconds before I respond.

  "We fought something tonight, we won. At the end I witnessed Kareh consuming the creature. Asha explained that's how the other Knights' powers are fueled, and I can't help this sinking feeling that it's connected to something bad."

  "You're wondering if the monsters and the Squires stem from the same place, and you wanted to make sure I wasn't in on whatever is going on," Chibi Destiny guesses correctly, climbing on a set of strategically placed boxes to get onto my desk, where she places both her hands on one of my arms. "I don't know what's going on with the Squires, but I'm sure we could figure it out if it's important to you. I also don't think whatever it is needs to pit you and the Knights against each other. From what I know, they are fighting the good fight."

  "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll keep an eye out for new information anyways, though."

  "Of course. So how did the fight go? Did you discover anything new about your powers?"

  I spend the next ten minutes telling the small doll about the fight in detail and especially about how I wielded Twilight Point at a distance. She gives me a few pointers and hints about how to explore my powers in the future, and I especially ask how I'm going to do that without a big fight, since using another potentially lethal situation to figure out what I can do doesn't feel like the best idea. She suggests we go outside the city soon and attack some poor, harmless cacti. That doesn't sound like a bad idea.

  This time, when I pull out some of my magazines to leaf through before bed, Destiny reads along with me. When I hit upon another Eden Sinclaire section, the doll falls silent. "Yeah, she's pretty right?" I ask her with a smile, nudging her shoulder with one of my fingers. "Didn't know dolls could feel like that."

  "No, no, no. Well, she is. But don't you see it?"

  "See what?"

  "Oh, nothing. It'll be funnier when you discover it on your own." I squint and scowl at her a little.

  "You know, you don't have to be so inscrutable just for fun." She just gives me a shrug and a smug little smile.

  We read for a few more minutes before I start getting sleepy and turn in. It's been a big couple of days, and I suspect the next weeks and months are only going to offer more of that.