Magical March 3: Fun in the Sun

Magical March 3

Fun in the Sun

Mark A Davis

314

Waves rolled up the beach.  The sound of the surf and the cries of seagulls soothed sunbathers.  Daesdemona -- at the moment looking like a native Mexican girl with tanned skin and black hair, rather than the usual red-skin, horns and bat wings, and dressed in a floral bikini of white and blue -- lay on the beach soaking in the warmth.  Beside her lay Octava, who truthfully resembled a boy of fourteen at the very most.  His skin was tanned and his long hair was bleach blonde, and he wore red and black bermuda shorts.

"So," Daesdemona said, "our next target is a sun-themed magical girl...."

"Indeed," Octava replied.  He was wearing mirror shades.  The two of them lay on beach blankets -- his depicting Sailor Moon.

"And we're relaxing in Puerto Vallarta...." Daesdamona said.

"Yes," said Octava.  "Where' there's sun."

"And you have a Sailor Moon towel...." she said.

"It never hurts to advertise," replied the part-time magical girl adviser.

"Not that this doesn't feel wonderful," said Daesdamona, "but how long were we planning to stay here?  Ysolde will not be happy if she catches us here.  We're supposed to catch up on our quota of magical girls...."

"Yes," said Octava, "and given that the theme is the sun,  I felt that a little worship was in order.  It's bound to inspire us."

"You do not appear to be taking this assignment very seriously," Daesdamona said.  "As always, I find it strange that it's the former demon who has to remind you of our assignment...."

"Mmmm," said Octava.  "Just a little longer...."

"If you insist," she replied.  "Admittedly I don't want to move from this spot either.  But let's at least review what we've accomplished so far."

"A very good idea!" Octava exclaimed.  "We have a sword-wielding clone of a girl from an anime called  Puella Magi Madoka Magica, who admittedly hasn't done anything yet, and a young Pokémon monster trainer who patrols the parks of Chicago and uses them to fight crime."

"They're just Pokémon," said Daesdamona.

"Pardon?"

"The term means pocket monster," she said, "so calling them Pokémon monsters is being redundant."

Octava shrugged.  "Like I care?  Anyway we've assigned two new guides to help them -- Merope for the Pokémon girl, and Circe as a guide for the blue-haired anime girl.

"Her name," said Daesdamona, "is Savitha.  She picked it out herself.  It means, strangely enough, bright sun, although sadly I don't think we can count her as fulfilling our sun-themed magical girl into the bargain...."

"Yeah, whatever," said Octava, waiving a hand dismissively.  "Anyway Circe's got her work cut out for her.  Turns out that transforming a thirty-year-old Indian programmer into a sixteen-year-old Japanese girl causes a few problems, especially for his wife and family...."

Daesdemona rolled her eyes.  "Who could have predicted that?"

"My point exactly!" exclaimed Octava.  "Everyone acts like it's my fault somehow, but how was I to know?

"The good news is that she's somehow still employed as a programmer, which means she's supporting the family, and her wife is not quite as disappointed as one might have expected.  In fact she's wants to act as Savitha's agent and market her as a magical girl.  So maybe it'll all work out.

"But from now on let's stick to young girls and women."

"Getting you to stick to anything is the problem," Daesdamona muttered.  "Also, what's wrong with the occasional magical boy?"

Octava made a face.  "I got nothing against magical boys per se, but they come with their own set of issues," he said. "I'm used to dealing with girls."

"This isn't all about you, Octava Dear," said Daesdamona.  "Also, I think we've wasted just about enough time here...."

"Oh.  My.  Gawd!" a young woman exclaimed.  "Sailor Moon!  ¿Son fanáticos?"

Octava peered over his sunglasses at a girl of about sixteen.  She appeared Hispanic, but had an American accent.

"Not so much a fan of Sailor Moon," he said, "but magical girls in general."

"Oh!  You speak English," she said.  "Good, because my Spanish is suspect.  I've gotta say, I used to be such a big fan of that show -- for years I dreamed of becoming a magical girl somehow!"

"Dreamed of becoming a magical girl, you say?" replied Octava.  "Hold that thought."  He glanced at his partner and produced a cigar.  The end burst into flames.  He said, "What was I just saying? It always pays to advertise!"

FINI