View source for Takayama Letters, After D-Point (Ami Mizuno)

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|Date of Scene=2016/03/22
|Synopsis=Erin Takayama and Ami Mizuno have begun a correspondence, and Ami tells her friend all about Walpurgisnacht and D-Point
|Thanks=Tin Roof Sundae
|Cast of Characters=54
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Haikei Takayama Erin

Thank you for your letter. Fortunately, I am doing well, and I am very glad to hear that the same is true for you.

Tokyo continues to flourish, despite the efforts of many who would see it destroyed.  But do not worry, those of us whom you grew to know are all well, and putting our utmost into continuing to defend a place such as this from evil.  Your decision to renounce the White Flower, embrace your mistakes, and seek penance has been an inspiration to others.  But I will explain those who have followed in your footsteps in time.

Before that, I must first tell you that although I did not expect to receive a letter from you, I am exceedingly overjoyed at the news you have given me.  It still amazes me that we have only met twice, and yet I feel closer to you than I do to many of the girls who attend my school.  I appreciate the hardships that you have faced, and have such an immense amount of respect for your strength and determination to overcome that hardship in favor of what good you may provide to the world.

Your letter--which I have here sitting beside me and have read three times over now in appreciation of its contents--came at a good time. Recent events have been troubling, and I may not have truly had the time to pen a proper reply.  Now, however, the worst of it is behind us, and I  find myself with both the spare time and the lightened heart required to answer your many questions.

To the first, you asked of the massive storm which you saw reported on the news.  Of course, to the outside world it likely did simply appear as a hurricane, but as you have so shrewdly surmised there was a great deal more to it than that.   The storm was actually a supernatural convergence known as Walpurgisnacht, which Akemi Homura and Tomoe Mami organized the city into defending against.   I unfortunately was unable to directly contribute to efforts against Walpurgisnacht; however, I was able to gain a great deal of data on the storm's esoteric and absolute nature.  I can tell you that its energy was greatly akin to that of a witch found within its labyrinth, but there seemed to be no labyrinth.

Tragically, some of Tokyo's heroes died in the fight against Walpurgisnacht.  Two in particular have been whispered amongst Virtue's membership as particular heroes: Hayakawa Anshi and Kita Laisa, both Puella Magi. Both Puella sacrificed themselves to provide an opening against the immense Walpurgisnacht, and were lost.   Nevertheless, their memories will live on in the hearts of those who knew and loved them.

You have also asked me about the power outages and solar eclipse which followed only a few short months after the great storm.   Unfortunately this event was of far greater consequence, and I hope you will forgive me if I fail to eloquently or completely elucidate these events for you, as they are still very close to my heart and difficult to dwell upon.

The most direct explanation--the one which will leave you the least satisfied and yet the best answered--is that a demon which escaped from the Sun attempted to utilize the power of an ancient artifact to destroy the world.  But of course, this explanation leaves so many unanswered questions.  I do not know that I have the stamina to write the full story out here, but I will summarize it for you, in this letter, and beg that you will be patient while I arrange a more formal explanation in a future correspondence.  

I do want you to know the whole story, as I believe you especially will benefit from the hearing of it, but I am simply not at a place in my life where I am prepared to deliver it.  Not yet.

In the mean time, I hope that this summary will suffice to satisfy your most pressing of questions.  Long ago, all of the planets were populated with people of their own. In the heavens there was the moon kingdom, led by a beautiful Queen.  And here, Earth had a kingdom of its own who were ruled by their own King.  Now it so happened that the Queen of the Moon had a daughter, and the King of the Earth had a Son, and each of these had four guardians who were tasked with their protection, and who also were their dearest friends.

I apologize for the smudges that have appeared; my hand is shaking somewhat as I pen this portion.  I am blessed to be one of the friends of the Princess of the Moon: the soldier of Mercury, Wisdom, and Intellect.  Thus, this story and its retelling are very close to my heart.

You see, we failed to protect them, thousands of years ago.  We failed, and in a last desperate moment the queen of the moon altered the flow of time and reset the universe, allowing us another chance in another lifetime. This lifetime.

The Demon of the Sun corrupted the guardians of Earth's Prince, manipulating their love for him and their fears of that which they did not know to turn them against the love their Prince shared with our Princess.  And it happened here, once again. Four brave and valiant warriors, philosophers, and artists, they were corrupted not by their own faults, but by a perversion of their strengths.

When she had gathered enough power, the Demon of the Sun sent her greatest servant forward to seduce the Prince himself, and took him from our Princess.

The war to recover the Prince and his Guardians was long, and nearly claimed my life, among others.  We succeeded, and in so doing we also succeeded in recovering the very artifact which the Queen of the Moon used to grant us this second chance--the Silver Crystal.   When she saw it, the Demon of the Sun attempted to steal the Crystal.  This led to the climax of our war, when she attempted to destroy Tokyo  and all of the Earth.

We would not allow that to happen.

I have never witnessed such bravery, heroism, sacrifice, and hope as I have witnessed in this past month.  It was not just those who defend Tokyo, but also those who seek to manipulate it to their own ends, who came together in defense of this world. Together, we traveled to the North Pole, where I knew of the entrance to the Dark Kingdom's fortress.  Our objective was simple: allow the Princess to use the Crystal to defeat the Demon of the Sun.

But our enemy was deeply entrenched and had years to build up their defenses, whereas many of us were still new in our own powers.

I am ashamed to say that I personally did not account very well of myself in the battles that ensued.   Early on, the Demon's servant sensed my tactical prowess and isolated me from my allies.   I was once again forced to entomb myself in ice to avoid my own death, but in so doing I ensured I could take no further part in the Princess's defense.

But the plan was not mine alone, and those who came with us were fiercely determined not to lose.   Many sacrificed themselves for the sake of the greater good, and in the end, Princess Serenity reached her objective.

There, she nearly faltered.

But with the Crystal's power, she was able to reach out to all of us--even those who had fallen--and draw on our strength.  I believe it was this experience which you described to me near the end of your letter: as the rest of us, when Serenity needed you most, you were able to send forth your own support, without fully realizing why it was needed.

For that, I greatly appreciate your contributions, and I hope that when I send the longer treatise on this subject that you will fully understand just how important your contributions were.

The Demon of the Sun was defeated, and with the power of the Silver Crystal, Princess Serenity was able to restore those who had sacrificed themselves to their bodies.   I was freed from my prison, as well, and all of us have now returned to Tokyo to rest and recover from this harrowing ordeal.

As far as I have been able to discern, we all made it back.

Of course, this demon, and the storm which preceded it, are but two villains who have threatened Tokyo and the Earth in a long line.  They were not the first, and they will not be the last, which is why all of us are as committed as ever to the task.  I am so grateful that you have reaffirmed your own dedication to this same cause.

I look forward to the next letter you send me, and also to the day when you and I might meet once more face to face.   I will never forget you, Erin, and I hope that you know my thoughts will always be with and in support of your efforts to gain a sense of redemption.

Please take care of yourself.

Keigu

Mizuno Ami
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