#kyubey cursed magicka knights AU

[afewnovelideas]

Ok. The initial sketches of the Core 4 post-betrayal in the Kyubey Cursed AU are created.

Descriptions of the four and their mindsets are beneath the cut:

Tim

Post betrayal, Tim moves his soul gem from where the R is on his Robin uniform to his waist. He feels like he failed at being a real Robin because he thinks he was tricked so easily by Kyubey, and he feels guilty that his friends were hurt by Kyubey as well because of him.

His lance now transforms into a chain whip to allow more long range attacks and the ability to grapple in combat.

Cassie

Her soul gem has moved to the center of her upper chest (star). Since she now knows her soul is in her gem, she wants it near her heart. She frequently touches it there during lulls in battle.

She's also swapped her lasso with a sword and shield. She wants to protect the friends she has left and cut down Witches as quickly as possible to be as merciful as possible. Most witches, after all, were Magika Knights just like them.

Conner

His soul gem is now part of his headband and always partially hidden by his hair. Also, when he learned his wish to become half-human meant he recieved his human DNA from Lex Luthor, it really messed with his head. He feels "torn in half" so his uniform is no longer symmetrical.

His gauntlets are upgraded so he can wrap his TTK around his hands to form claws.

After everything Kyubey did to him, he feels more like a monster than human or clone.

Bart

Finally there's Bart for the Madoka AU post betrayal. His soul gem had turned into the twin lightning bolts on his collar, and his weapons are similar to his lightning wand from before. However, there are two of them now and they are more like long needles he can use to stab/slash enemies in addition to directing lighting.

In my head, he is actually the one whose frame of mind and outlook on life is not in too bad a place once the truth is revealed.

I think he had suspicions about Kyubey's intentions and soul gems from the start, so learning the truth wasn't as earth shattering for him as the others.

Post-betrayal, he's the one who helps hold the team together and helps keep their spirits up when the others initially want to fall into despair.

He's also the one who proposes killing Kyubey on sight and not giving them any of their collected Grief Seeds.

Bart is the heart of the Core4 at this point. The rest regain their hope because of him.

#au: kcmk #kyubey cursed magicka knights au #core four #tim drake #cassie sandsmark #conner kent #kon el #bart allen #my art #wip #sketches #fanart

[afewnovelideas]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story, DCU (Comics), Batman (Comics), Young Justice (Comics), Robin (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Kyubey (PMMM), Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Selina Kyle Additional Tags: Tim Drake-centric, Tim Drake is Robin, Tim Drake is Not Okay, Tim Drake Needs a Hug, Tim Drake Gets a Hug, Alternate Universe - Madoka Magica Fusion, Soul Gems (Madoka Magica), Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Magical Boys, Origin Story, No Beta We Die Like Mami, Don't Have to Know Madoka Magica Canon, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent Series: Part 1 of Eques Magi: Originem - Magicka Knights: Origin Summary:

"The Labyrinths of Gotham City are so tightly concentrated, no human born here can escape the influence of at least one or two Witches, if not more. Despite the aura of despair and the constant work of the Witches' various Familiars, there are still those souls who persist in clinging to hope and will do whatever they can to try and make this city a better place, even though all their efforts will ultimately fail in the end.

"It's the perfect environment to find a new Magicka Knight."

---

"Have you ever seen an albino cat?"

Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle, glanced over at Batman's newest Robin curiously. She hadn't been expecting to cross paths with him, but since it was obvious the Big Bad Bat was out of town and Nightwing hadn't shown up at all in the past week, she decided to keep an eye on the new kid for at least the evening. He certainly wasn't like the previous Robin. This thirteen-year-old boy was quiet and thoughtful, which had been quite a change from the previous brash impulsive kid Batman had been mentoring a little over a year ago before they were murdered by the Joker. 

She also noticed that this Robin was glancing over his shoulder at something on the rooftop on the other side of the street. "An albino, huh?" she said as she tried to follow his gaze. However, despite using her binoculars to zoom in on the far rooftop, she couldn't see any sign of any animal, feline, albino, or otherwise. "I've heard of them, but never seen one in person," Selina admitted casually as she put away her binoculars. "They are extremely rare." She smiled at Robin. "Have you seen one around town?"

Robin leaned against his bo staff thoughtfully. "I think so, but I'm not really sure." 

"Not sure?"

The boy looked up at Selina earnestly. "Y'know how a cat has two pointed ears about here?" Amusingly to the professional cat burglar, Robin made a vague pair of cat-ear shapes with his hand at the top of his head.  She smiled affectionately. 

"Yeah. It's kind of a defining cat trait, having pointy ears."

Robin pouted slightly at the teasing tone he caught in Catwoman's voice. Then he continued. "Well... This cat I've been seeing... It looks like they have a second set of ears too."

"A second set?" 

He nodded. He made a motion with his hands that seemed to make another vague shape that started at the base of where the cat's ears ought to be and downward along either side of its head. "Yeah. They kinda start out here and go all the way down there."

"Are you sure what you're looking at is an albino 'cat'? That kinda sounds more like a white rabbit to me."

"But it has pointy ears like a cat," Robin argued. "And its got a long fluffy tail, and its legs are like a cat's." The young teenager frowned slightly. "It's really weird looking."

"Well it does sound like a unique creature, whatever it is," Selina said thoughtfully.  "Maybe it's some sort of cryptid or mutant? This is Gotham after all." She smiled at Robin. "Tell ya what. If you can catch a photo of the critter, I promise I'll take a good hard look and let you know if it's a cat, a rabbit, or something completely different." Then she gave him an almost stern maternal look. "But be careful. Don't get too close. If it does turn out to be something 'not normal', it could be dangerous."

"Okay."

 ---

  It was two nights later and Tim Drake, fully decked out as Robin for another solo patrol, had just finished trussing up a pair of would-be carjackers. As soon as he placed the anon call to the Gotham PD for pickup, he glanced up to fire his grapple gun and froze.

There, on the rooftop above him, was a familiar white shape with two sets of ears and red eyes. The "cat" was peering down. He could see the animal's long fluffy tail swishing this way and that. Tim's breath caught in his throat. This was the closest he'd ever seen the animal come to him before. Rather than risk his grapple gun startling the animal and scaring it away, the young vigilante quickly indulged in some impromptu parkour up a garbage bin and a chain link fence to reach the metal fire escape attached to the side of the building. 

When he pulled himself on the rooftop, Tim was disappointed to find that it appeared to be empty. Not a trace of red eyes or white fur anywhere. He walked across the roof slowly, scanning the area for any sign of the small creature as he pulled out a small portable camera from his utility belt. "Hey there," he whispered softly. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty. I'm not going to hurt you. C'mon out please. I just wanna take a picture." 

When no one came out of hiding, Tim tried a different tactic. He reached into another pouch on his belt and pulled out a small package of beef jerky. He shook the bag temptingly before opening it and setting it on the ground before stepping away from it. "Got some food here if you want. All for you."

"Thank you, but no. I'm not hungry."

Tim froze. Then he glanced around himself as quickly as he could before zeroing in on the form of the albino "cat" sitting on top of a large A/C unit just a few yards away from him, its white body practically glowing against the cloudy night sky of Gotham City. This close, Tim could see this was not a normal "cat".  It did appear to have two sets of ears, but the two longer rabbit-like ones had golden rings attached to them and were tipped in pink with red spots. Its tail also appeared to be unnaturally long as it swished back and forth casually.

"Did you... just... talk?"

The cat-like creature flicked its smaller pointy ears. "Of course I did!" it said in a childlike voice without moving its mouth at all. Its long white tail finally stopped swishing and settled into a question mark shape behind it. "How else am I supposed to introduce myself?"

 ---

  Tim Drake gave up caffeine for the rest of the week. When the boy returned to the Cave from patrol and declared that he was quitting cold turkey, Alfred asked about it curiously. All the old butler got from the thirteen year old was a confusingly vague answer about talking albino cats with pink ears and clearly not enough sleep with too much stress before marching himself into the showers before he would make his eventual way back to his bedroom. 

 ---

  Unfortunately for Tim, giving up his favorite sodas, teas, and coffee did not stop the appearances of the strange cat-like hallucination that had introduced itself as "Kyubey" and seemed hell bent on following him and talking to him both day and night, in and out of uniform.

"You think I'm a figment of your imagination?"

Tim sighed as he reached over the creature sitting in his high school locker in order to grab his workbooks for math and english. "I'm not talking to you here," he whispered as he slammed the locker door in hopes of locking the hallucination behind it.

"It's probably better that you don't, at least not out loud," Kyubey agreed, after reappearing on the top of the locker to look down on Tim. "If people catch you talking to something they can't see, they might think you're losing your mind."

Somehow, Tim managed to choke down the near hysterical giggle that wanted to bubble up at that matter-of-fact remark. Kyubey had made it quite clear that night on the rooftop that no one else could see them except Tim.

"Besides, why waste your breath?" Kyubey said as they trotted along the top of the lockers, keeping pace with Tim as he walked to his next class. "We can speak telepathically just fine."

Tim paused at the end of the lockers and glanced at Kyubey. "Telepathically?" he asked experimentally without voicing the word.

"See! Easy!"

"Oh my god, I AM losing my mind," he thought with a grimace before sighing and stepping into the classroom and tried to ignore Kyubey as best he could for the rest of his school day.

 ---

  "So why are you here?" Tim finally asked Kyubey after tossing down his pencil and finally giving up on trying to concentrate on his homework. "What is my subconscious trying to tell me?"

"I'm not your subconscious, and I'm not a hallucination. I'm a messenger of magic." 

Tim raised his eyebrows at Kyubey as he echoed incredulously, "A messenger of magic?"

The cat-like creature made themself comfortable on Tim's bed. "That's right."

The teen noted with a slight measure of concern that he could see the disturbance Kyubey's form made on his pillow and blanket, proving that, at least right now, they had a solid physical state. Still, he was not about to reach out and try to touch the creature. "I'm probably going to regret asking this, but why is a 'messenger of magic' in Gotham City, and why am I the only one who can see and speak with you?"

"I'm on a mission to find people with the potential to become Magicka Knights to fight Witches and save the Universe, and you have that potential."

"Seriously? Magical knights? Actual witches?" Tim shook his head as he scoffed lightly. "This sounds like the plot of some generic magical girl anime."

Kyubey titled their head to one side. "And you and your mentor go out at night in masks to fight criminals who can control plants, have freeze guns, are living clay, and are occasionally half reptiles. How is that more believable than Magicka Knights and Witches?"

Tim snickered awkwardly. "I guess I'm in no position to throw stones in glass houses."

"You really aren't."

 ---

  Finally! Bruce was back from his Justice League mission and he was going to go out on patrol with Tim. Batman and Robin flying through Gotham City for the first time in over two weeks.

At least that was the plan until a call came through from Oracle barely an hour into their patrol.

"A report of potential Joker gas exposure has been put out by the GCPD in Chinatown near the Dragon's Den."

Batman and Robin paused on the roof of St. Peter's Cathedral. Tim felt a weight settle in the pit of his stomach as he took in the tightness of his mentor's jawline. He knew what was coming next.

"Go home, Robin."

"But B--"

"It's the Joker. I need to handle this alone."

"You don't have to. I can stay out of the way and watch your back. Make sure no one gets the drop on you."

Batman shook his head. "Head back to the Cave, Robin."

The leather of Robin's gloves creaked a little as he clenched his hand into a fist and turned away from his mentor. "Fine."

Without even looking, Tim could tell when he was left alone on the cathedral's roof with just the gargoyles for company.

Then, he wasn't alone.

"He doesn't trust you?"

Tim looked up to see Kyubey sitting on the head of a nearby gargoyle. He sighed. "It's not like that," he said telepathically. No need to risk Oracle or Agent A overhearing him talking to Kyubey. Not like the mic would pick up the magical creature's voice anyways. Still, better safe than sorry. "The Joker is really dangerous. He killed the Robin who came before me. B just doesn't want to risk me being anywhere near him."

Suddenly, Tim heard a pinging from his comm link, a sign that Oracle was attempting to signal him. "Yes O?"

"I know B ordered you home, but do you think you could swing by Amusement Mile along the way? I got a report on a Mad Hatter sighting there."

Tim brightened visibly at the prospect. "Sure!" He reached for his grapple gun and loaded a cartridge. "Any idea what he's up to?" 

"There have been earlier reports over the last few months of missing girls fitting the Hatter's preferred victim profile. Children with long blond hair under the age of twelve. But since the children are usually street kids or runaways, most attempts to investigate by the police have been half-hearted at best. Those that have tried haven't found anything but dead ends."

"Well, that's going to come to a stop tonight." Tim declared confidently. 

"Be careful Robin," Oracle warned. "Focus on recon tonight. Don't engage Hatter unless absolutely necessary."

"Understood!"

 ---

  "What's this?" 

At Amusement Mile, Tim was just in time to stop a kidnapping in progress. While the sudden appearance of Robin was enough to send the Mad Hatter scurrying away into the shadows, the young vigilante reluctantly let him go in favor of caring for the victim, a child of eight or nine who appeared to be in a catatonic state.

However, nothing Tim did seemed to be able to wake her up. He was about to notify O to call an ambulance when he noticed a small red mark, like a tattoo, on the girl's neck, right above her pulse point. It was about the size of a quarter and looked like the symbol used in chess to designate the Queen piece. 

"Hey O. I found a weird tattoo on the girl. Sending you a pic now." Tim quickly snapped a photo and sent it electronically to Oracle. A moment later, he got a response.

"Are you sure you sent me the right photo?"

"What do you mean?" 

"There's no tattoo in the pic. All I see is a bare neck."

Tim opened the monitor of his camera and his eyes went wide. Even on the camera, the girl's neck had no tattoo. He took several more pics to be sure, but despite being able to see the crown icon with his own eyes, they defied being photographed.

"Not sure what's going on, but I can't take a pic of it," he told Oracle. "Maybe it's some sort of weird ink that comes up invisible on cameras?"

"That's not it."

Tim glanced at Kyubey, who was sitting beside the girl. The white creature sniffed at the tattoo. "That's a Witch's Kiss."

He felt his chest tighten a bit at Kyubey's words. Tim carefully masked the sudden nervousness he felt in his voice. "Can you call an ambulance to pick up the girl? I'm going to investigate the area and try to find out where Hatter ran off to."

"Will do. Be careful."

Once the comm was silenced again and after the EMTs came to pick up the rescued child, Robin backed into a secluded alleyway and hid within the shadows before addressing Kyubey telepathically.

"What's a Witch's Kiss?"

"It's a mark used by Witches and familiars to control the minds of their prey."

Tim felt a shiver run down his spine. Still he continued. "Is... the Mad Hatter a Witch?"

Kyubey tilted their head thoughtfully before shaking in the negative. "No. I think he's just a familiar being used to bring humans to a Witch's Labyrinth."

"Why? Why would a Witch want a human child?"

Kyubey sighed. "A Witch is a creature that feeds on misery and sadness," they said very matter-of-factly. "What could be more delicious to a Witch than the grief and fear of a kidnapped child? At least this one seems to prefer the despair of children in particular."

A sudden sensation of dread settled over Tim. "That's.... That's horrible! We can't let this continue!"

"But you can't stop them."

"Why not?" Tim's righteous indignation flared up. "Batman's stopped the Mad Hatter dozens of times. Why can't I?"

"Most likely it's because your mentor has never captured him near his Witch, and never within an actual Labyrinth." Kyubey stared at Tim with their round red eyes, their stoic tone never wavering. "You're just a human being, and so is he under all that armor. Even with all your training, there's no way your frail human bodies can endure the strain of fighting a Witch and their familiars in their own Labyrinth. If you get trapped in a Labyrinth, there's no way out until either the Witch is dead or you are."

Tim watched the retreating lights of the ambulance carrying the nearly kidnapped child away. Then he took a deep breath and released it slowly.

"Can you help me find the Witch's Labyrinth?"

"I can."

 ---

  He was going to die.

Tim leaned against the wall and watched helplessly as his blood flowed freely from beneath and between his fingers to pool on the floor under him despite the pressure he tried to keep on the wound in his stomach. The Witch's familiars, not just the Mad Hatter, but a March Hare and other fictional characters pulled straight from the story Alice in Wonderland, had been too numerous and too merciless for him to fight off alone. 

The Witch herself, in the guise of a twisted Queen of Hearts, shrieked for his head through the twists and turns of her Labyrinth. 

   ͙̹̫ͪ̆̏͝  "̶͚̜̪̣̬͇ͭ͑ͅOͩͫ̄͏̬͖̳ Ḟ̖̝̟̜͖̭͑͢ F̡̜̼̰͓͍̟͎͇̆̾̐ ̨͚̫̗ͮ̚ͅ W̐ͧ̑͏͍͎͍̖̤̥ͅI͓͙̤͔̺̦͌̓̌̍͠T̖͍͒͛͢H̡̳̪̭̹̺̒̓̿ ̹̥͉̟͙̝͓̅ͫ͝H̸̝̬̘͕̩͙̤͇̾ͥ͂Į̯͔̦͖̳̣ͥ̌͆̂S͆̑ͪ͏̦̥̭̺̞̳̪͔ ͙̪̯͗̑͞Hͧ͏̤̯̪̩ E̶̯̣̰͌̆ͨͯ A̬̦̻͍͒͝ͅD̖̹͂͒͟ !ͫͯ́͆҉̺̦̩̹̺

 ̠͓͈͎ͧͨ͡Ō̵̪̻̭̩̯F̣͙̲̖̈́̋͝ F̌̅̾̓͏̭̺̰͉̹̖̯ ̡̮͔͇͚̬͎̝͊̆ͪͅŴ͙̠̽ I̘̬͇̖͑͂̏̂͞ T̨̗̫̜͙̩̖̮͒ H̴̙̝̀ͥͣ̚ ̘̯̮̺̥ͣ̑̄H̻̭͇̮̮͕͗͗ͬ̊͠ͅ Iͮͪ͋͏̬̺̖̝̥̭̘ͅ S̵̝̖̙̿ ̛̬̳̠̪̰̑͗̽ H̸͙̟̱̝̳̰̄͑̃̊ Ě̳͓̝̗͎͟ A̴̤͖̬̖͓͇̖͗̆ͫ́Ḋ̜͚̬̐̋͟!̨͇͚̞̩͚̗̣̿                                        

                  Ơ͚̹̜̥ͮͥ͑̏F̴̯̤̮͉̰ͫF͈̱͍̌ͩͥ̍̕ͅ ̧͎͕̱͚͍̥͔̐W̩̦̯̹̏͊̏̌̕I͐҉͕̪͔̥̞̭͈̲T̖̝̖̪̑̿̓͢H̤̠͍̣̻̠͚ͧ̍̐̿͢ ̴̲̖̫̫̺ͭH̗̤̒̆͆͡Î̤͓̭̻̝Ș̵͉͔͙̗̝̌̍̍ͬͅ ͎̫͉̞̲͆͡Ḫ̨̪̅ͧ̏E̵̮̲̩̤͓̱̙ͦÁ̻̦̘̜̂ͩ͝D̸̯͖̦͔̲͕̠̜̓̓̆̚!̨͖̓̐̈́ͪ̏ͅ҉̬͉̰̫"̙̺̬̯̹̦͖͛͗͘  

  Her magic.. too powerful.

His… everything... too weak.

Trapped in this magical Labyrinth that resembled a scene from Wonderland, he couldn't even get a signal out to call for a rescue. He'd tried early on to call Oracle... Nightwing... Agent A... Batman... But the only thing he got for his troubles was static.

Tim felt tears flow down his cheeks as his vision became dark and hazy around the edges and his limbs began to grow numb. He could hear the sounds of his pursuers coming closer, searching for him, and he just didn't have the strength anymore to run. All he could do was hide and wait for the inevitable.

Batman was going to lose another Robin.

Dick was going to lose another little brother.

Jack Drake was going to lose his only son.

He was going to die.

"Oh dear. I was almost too late."

A set of dainty white paws walked into his sight line, contrasting starkly against the pool of crimson blood on the floor. Weakly, Tim lifted his gaze.

"Kyubey?"

The magical creature stepped closer to the fallen teenager and took a seat in front of him. They tilted their head slightly. "I tried to warn you. A normal human isn't able to fight a Witch. Only a Magicka Knight has the power to defend against a Witch's curses and attack them in kind."

"I know," Tim whispered. "I should've listened to you."

Kyubey titled their head to the other side. "It's not too late. You can still listen to me."

Despite the cold feeling in his limbs and the shadows in his vision, Tim did his level best to keep his gaze locked on Kyubey, on the one bright spot in his dying world. 

"If you enter a contract with me, you can become a Magicka Knight." Kyubey explained. "You'd be duty bound to fight Witches, but in return I can grant you one wish. Anything in the world your heart desires."

"If I become a Magicka Knight, I'll have to fight this Witch right away, right?"

"I'm afraid so. It's the only way to escape her Labyrinth."

"And there's no guarantee I'll win?"

"I won't lie to you. Turning you into a Magicka Knight is not a promise of victory. But at least you'll have a fighting chance."

Tim closed his eyes and smiled sadly. "Then I want to make a wish that can outlive me, in case I die." When he opened his eyes, tears slipped down his cheeks again. "I wish Bruce Wayne's son, Jason Todd, was alive."

Kyubey's round red eyes seemed to shimmer in the darkness, and the twin gold rings that encircled their longer set of ears started to glow brightly even as Tim's vision finally faded into blackness. As his consciousness slipped away, he heard Kyubey's voice, as if it was very far away.

"As you wish."

 ---

  "Dinner was great, Alfred. Thank you." Tim set down his fork and watched as the kind old butler retrieved his dirty dishes.

"Will you be heading out with Master Bruce this evening?"

Tim got to his feet and placed the cloth napkin that had been on his lap onto the table, though he fidgeted with it a little before finally letting it go. "'Fraid not. B wants me to stay in and 'do my homework'."

Alfred gave him a knowing compassionate look. "I see. Well, if you want to take your dessert upstairs to have while you work on your homework, I'll allow it for tonight. If you need anything else, I'll be in the Cave on comms tonight..

"Thanks Alfred," Tim said with a smile and a quick side-hug. "You're the best!"

Tim made his way upstairs with a small plate of cheesecake topped with strawberries. Once in his bedroom, he closed the door behind him with a sigh.

"Bruce isn't letting you patrol again tonight?" 

The teenager glanced over and watched as Kyubey unwound itself from the fluffy white ball it normally curled into while it napped on Tim's pillow. Tim couldn't help the fond smile as his little friend stretched leisurely and indulged in a wide mouthed yawn. 

"Nope. He's still got his cape in a twist over Jason's whole empty grave thing." Tim shook his head before making his way to the window seat and making himself comfortable. "I think he just wants to make sure I don't wander off either, but it's still annoying! It's been nearly a month and B still won't let me go on any solo patrols." 

"Well, look at the bright side. Now you can get a full night of sleep and wake up early to go Witch hunting before school."

"I suppose."

Tim and his sullen mood weren't alone for long at the window before Kyubey leapt gracefully from the bed to his shoulder. The startled expression on Tim's face lasted only a second before it melted into one of amusement as Kyubey headbutted him affectionately against the cheek. Once they'd managed to wring a chuckle out of the boy, Kyubey hopped down to the window seat where Tim had placed the cheesecake and began sniffing at the selection. Tim watched as his friend picked up the reddest strawberry it could find and popped that into its mouth first, eating it with obvious relish. Then he looked out the window and thought back about the night he became a Magicka Knight, about the moment he set foot back in the cave after defeating his first Witch and claiming his first Grief Seed.

 ---

  "Where have you been?!" 

Batman had stormed up to him the moment Robin pulled up on his motorcycle into the Cave. Tim froze the moment he saw his mentor barrelling toward him. "You're back already?"

"The Joker gas was a false alarm," Bruce said as he pushed back his cowl and grabbed Tim by his upper arms, Tim was startled by the frantic way Bruce's eyes were darting over him. "Where were you?! Barbara sent you to investigate a Hatter sighting, then you didn't check in for hours! It's nearly sunrise. Where have you been?!"

Tim swallowed hard. "I... I got lured into a maze trap by Hatter," he admitted quietly. "The place had some weird interference so my comms were scrambled. Hatter got away and it took me forever to find my way out. I'm sorry."

"Are you hurt?"

Tim shook his head. "I'm fine B. Just... tired. It... was a really long night."

After another long moment of Bruce looking over him, the older man finally seemed to relax. He released his hold on Tim's arms and raked his fingers through his cowl-mussed hair. "Please don't go running off like that ever again, Tim. If anything had happened to you--"

"I know," Tim murmured, his eyes focused on the floor even as he wrapped his arms about himself tightly. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Master Bruce?"

Both Bruce and TIm turned to see a shaken Alfred coming toward them with a phone in hand. 

"What's wrong?"

"Commissioner Gordon is on the line."

Bruce and Tim shared a confused look. "Why is he calling at this hour?"

Alfred swallowed hard. "He needs 'Bruce Wayne' to come to the precinct as soon as possible. There's been a robbery."

"I don't under--"

"Someone broke into Gotham Cemetery tonight. They stole Master Jason's body."

As Bruce immediately went after Alfred as the old man gave him the phone, Tim stood in the Cave in shock before daring to glance at Kyubey, who had materialized at his heels. 

"My wish... It really came true?"

Kyubey curled their tail around Tim's legs in a comforting gesture. "Of course it did. We made a contract."

 ---

  "I wonder where Jason is," Tim mused aloud as he continued to stare out the window. "I thought he would've come straight home. Bruce has looked everywhere. I've looked everywhere..." He looked at Kyubey who had taken a delicate bite of the cheesecake itself. "Do you have any idea where he went after I made my wish?"

Kyubey looked up at Tim, a curious tilt to their head as they stared back at him with their round red eyes. "I was with you in the Labyrinth when the wish was made," they said matter-of-factly.

Tim shrugged. "Yeah. I know... I guess I was just hoping... Well, I hope he's alright, wherever he is." 

Quietly, Tim studied the new silver ring encircling the ring finger of his right hand as well as the green alchemical symbol of Mercury that was now on his fingernail. The small emerald gem inlaid within the ring itself shimmered with magic. With a smooth motion, Tim turned his palm up and the ring morphed before his eyes into a brilliant green gem encased in an intricate cage of gold, just like a faberge egg. 

His Soul Gem. The source of his power as a Magicka Knight.

For several minutes there was nothing but a comfortable silence as Tim watched the swirling glow of his Soul Gem and Kyubey ate their fill. Once the plate was empty and their paws and muzzle were thoroughly cleaned, Kyubey trotted onto Tim's lap and laid down comfortably. Unconsciously, Tim began to stroke Kyubey's soft whilte fur with his free hand. 

"I just hope Jason comes home soon," Tim said as he finally put his Soul Gem away, turning it back into his ring. "That way, he and Bruce can reunite, they can be a family again, and I can step away from being Robin so I can devote myself to being a Magicka Knight instead."

"In the meantime, it's not so bad for you to be both Robin and a Magicka Knight," Kyubey mused. When Tim glanced down at them, they continued. "You have to admit that nearly every night you go out on patrol as Robin, you stumble upon one or two Labyrinths. Even if we can't get to them immediately to flush out the Witch, at least we know where they are for later!"

Tim grinned. "Yeah. I guess there is a silver lining there." Impulsively, he picked up Kyubey and gathered them into a gentle hug. "Thanks for staying with me."

Kyubey nuzzled the underside of Tim's jawline. "Of course I'm staying with you. You're my Magicka Knight. We're in this together." Kyubey flicked their short pointy ears cutely. "Besides, it's not like Bruce or anyone else can separate us. You're the only one here that can see and hear me."

"I'm glad," Tim said. "It's nice to not be alone all the time." He smiled gratefully at Kyubey. "And it makes being grounded by Bruce easier to swallow when I've got you for company."

Then he glanced back out the window at the dark outlines of Gotham City's skyline when the appearance of the Bat-signal lit up the night sky above it. "Still--" he mused. "I really hope Jason shows up soon. I can't wait to meet him."

#au: kcmk #kyubey cursed magicka knights AU #fanfiction #crossover/fusion #pmmm au #dcu au #tim drake #kyubey #batfamily #batfam #batfam fanfic

[afewnovelideas]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Comics), Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bart Allen & Tim Drake & Kon-El | Conner Kent & Cassie Sandsmark Characters: Kyubey (PMMM), Tim Drake, Kon-El | Conner Kent, Cassie Sandsmark, Bart Allen Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Madoka Magica Fusion, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Crossover, Meta, Metafiction, Kyubey is Awful, Tim Drake is Not Okay, Conner Kent is not okay, Bart Allen is Not Okay, Cassie Sandsmark is Not Okay Summary:

Inspired by the original Tumblr post created by Marundy-Robot that sparked the existence of this AU, here we have a description of Kyubey's history with the Core Four Young Justice team of Tim Drake, Cassie Sandsmark, Conner Kent, and Bart Allen.

Several years ago, Kyubey decided to conduct an experiment. The Incubator wanted to see what would happen if they turned trained adolescent vigilantes and metahumans into Magicka Knights (and eventual Witches). Would the energy they generated through their eventual Grief Seeds be equal, lesser, or greater than that created by normal adolescent human beings?

   Core Four Magicka Knights   Conner Kent (Superboy) - Wish: Wanted to be more than just a pure clone of Superman. He wished to be half Kryptonian and half human. - Curse: The human half of his DNA was made to match Lex Luthor's, Superman's mortal enemy. - Soul Gem: blue egg/"Super S Shield" shaped diamond crest on belt buckle. (Magicka Knight uniform style inspired by old "Justice Lords" fanart designs by Nosso.) - Powers/Weapons: Kryptonian abilities augmented to allow them to attack/defend against Witches (heat vision, tactile telekinesis, frost breath, super strength)

Tim Drake (Robin) - Wish: He wished Jason Todd wasn't dead. - Curse: When Jason Todd returned, he hated Tim for replacing him in the Wayne family and attempted to kill him on several occasions. - Soul Gem: green egg/circular "R" insignia on his chest (positioned as an off-center cape clasp?) (Magicka Knight uniform style inspired by old "Justice Lords" fanart designs by Nosso.) - Powers/Weapons: fights with a glaive instead of a staff and can regenerate them if he loses the one he's using; can use healing magic to heal himself and others; his uniform as a Magicka Knight also generates typical Batfam gear, like throwing stars, smoke bombs, grappling gun.

Cassie Sandsmark (Wonder Girl) (original inspiration from twerkmasterkarkat at Tumblr) - Wish: To have natural Amazonian superpowers just like her idols Wonder Woman and the original Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) so she could be a hero both when she's a Magicka Knight and when she's not. - Curse: Being a "hero" means enduring a lot of loss and death of friends and others, one of the first being the original Wonder Girl (Donna Troy). Being an "Amazonian" now in the same vein as Diana and Donna has also placed her in the crosshairs of the Greek Gods Ares, who seeks to manipulate her into becoming "his" champion. - Soul Gem: red egg/star earrings - Powers/Weapons: has a golden lasso that can channel lightning. Amazonian powers are augmented to affect/defend against Witches

Bart Allen (Impulse) (original inspiration from twerkmasterkarkat at Tumblr) - Wish: He wished to know everything about the era he was now stuck in (originally from the 30th century) (he thought knowing more would help because he felt like he didn't fit in with the 21st century) - Curse: Even though Bart now has knowledge about this era, he still doesn't know how to use it to not feel like an outcast in the 21st century - Soul Gem: yellow egg/lighting bolt insignias on either side of his head that cover his ears and are part of his goggles. - Powers/Weapons: Speed Force powers augmented to affect/defend against Witches; photographic memory to retain knowledge permanently

Other members of the Young Justice team based out of Happy Harbor, RI were also turned into Magicka Knights as well.

   However, one day something went horribly wrong. Some of their teammates had gone off Witch Hunting and never returned. So the Core Four went looking for them. When they found their teammates, most of them were already dead due to a powerful Witch that had managed to escape. There was only one survivor, but they were soon consumed with despair at the loss of their friends, which corrupted their soul gem. The Core Four watched in horror as they transformed into a Witch right before their eyes. Unable to save their friend or escape the Labyrinth they were trapped in, the four had no choice but to kill the newborn Witch.

Afterwards, they forced the truth about the Magicka Knights, Soul Gems, Grief Seeds, and Witches from Kyubey. Understandably upset at the horrifying revelations and furious with how Kyubey was very nonchalant about their distress and the loss of their friends, the Core Four turned on Kyubey, attacking the Incubator. While they killed this version of Kyubey, they didn't realize the creature could create clones of itself to take the place of its slain predecessor. At the time, they thought it was well and truly dead.

However, there was nothing they could do to fix their own situations. Their souls were bound in these Soul Gems that were still in constant danger of becoming corrupted by despair, and there were still Witches hiding in all over the world. They were also all humiliated and scared about what their mentors would do to them if they learned the truth about what they had all become.

To everyone else (Justice League/Titans) outside the Four, the deaths of their Young Justice teammates were thought to have been due to a tragic ambush/attack by an unknown enemy. The Four returned to their respective mentors/families.

However, once every few months, the Core Four would get together under the guise of relaxing with their friends, but in actually they were going on regular secret Witch Hunts to collect enough Grief Seeds to purify all their Soul Gems.

   Meanwhile, Kyubey (still alive and well in a new cloned body) decided that its experiment was a great success. Even though the Core Four Rebellion (as it now referred to them) had turned against it, the energy collected from the Grief Seeds of the rest of the Young Justice members that had turned into Witches was far greater than that of previous ones from normal non-meta/non-vigilante human adolescents. Also, even though they saw Kyubey as their enemy now, they were still doing the work of harvesting Witches and collecting Grief Seeds. All Kyubey had to do was collect the Seeds when they weren't looking once they purified their Soul Gems.

Kyubey wanted to turn more adolescent metahumans and vigilantes into Magicka Knights, but they would have to be more "discreet" about it going forward. It wouldn't do for the Rebellion to find out they were still alive and cultivating more Witches and Grief Seeds for them to eventually harvest.

#au: kcmk #fanfiction #crossover/fusion #kyubey cursed magicka knights au #kyubey #tim drake #conner kent #cassie sandsmark #bart allen #pmmm au #dcu au

[afewnovelideas]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: DCU (Comics), Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kyubey & The DC Universe Characters: Kyubey (PMMM) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Madoka Magica Fusion, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Metafiction, Kyubey is Awful Summary:

Notes on how the existence of the Incubator known as Kyubey (From Puella Magi Madoka Magica) is woven into the DC Universe of this crossover/fusion AU.

The Incubator known as "Kyubey" has been targeting Earth for centuries in order to create Magicka Knights and Witches

Certain areas with high instances of metahuman activities (especially villainous ones) have had hidden populations of witches with active labyrinths, which have corrupted the land and people who live nearby (for example, Gotham City has several hidden labyrinths... largest is somewhere in/under Arkham Asylum)

Incubators are (seemingly) impossible to permanently kill. Whenever one version of them is killed, another copy of them steps in nearby to take their place.

Incubators are originally from the 6th Dimension. Its purpose is the collection of energy to prevent Entropy and the Heat Death of the universe

Entropy: Principle where energy output is always less than energy input. Right now the universe consumes more energy than it generates. Heat Death is inevitable once all the energy in the universe is consumed.

However, Incubators exist because they figured out that the raw emotional energy from adolescent members of sentient races is excepted from entropy.

First, an Incubator uses a small amount of energy to contract with a Magicka Knight and turn their souls into a Soul Gem. Their souls are now in a small concentrated vessel that not only powers their magic/powers and makes their physical forms nearly invulnerable from permanent damage, but it also stores the energy gathered when their emotional states fluctuate from hope to despair.

When a Magicka Knight's despair reaches critical mass and fully corrupts their Soul Gem, it then turns into a Grief Seed and transforms the Knight into a Witch.

In their Witch state, they feed off sadness and spread darkness, adding even more despair energy to their Grief Seed.

Once a witch is defeated, their Grief Seed can be used by a Magicka Knight to cleanse their own Soul Gems. This will completely fill the Grief Seed with max energy, which Kyubey then claims for itself to return to the Universe.

Kyubey doesn't see anything wrong with any of this. They don't see any wrong with manipulating and consuming the emotional energy of these living beings. All they care about is that this is the most efficient way to combat Entropy in order to preserve the existence of the Universe.

Because only one Incubator works a planet at a time, their existence and the danger they pose to a planet's sentient race is not usually known... at least not discovered until a great deal of damage has already been done to the population. An Incubator will only abandon a planet once one of two things happen.

1 (most likely outcome) An extremely powerful Magicka Knight finally falls into despair and becomes a Witch so strong that no one can defeat it. This Ultimate Witch then fully corrupts/destroys its world. Once the world is destroyed, it burns itself out and then the Incubator can harvest its Grief Seed.

2 (less likely outcome) A world's population becomes aware of the Incubator's existence and the truth behind the Magicka Knights and Witches despair cycle. If the number of adolescents willing to become Magicka Knights drops to unsustainable levels, the Incubator will have no reason to remain on a planet and leave of their own accord to find a new one. However, this can be extremely hard to do on a planet with a large and varied population.

In a way, Incubators are like emotional vampires, except instead of just consuming the negative emotions of their victims raw, they farm them (cultivate them, prepare them) to make the energy more "nutritious" for the universe.

Currently there is no known way to break a contract with an Incubator in order to reverse a Magicka Knight's transformation and return their souls to their physical bodies.

An Incubator, being a 6th Dimension creature, can grant any wish asked of it in the creation of a contract. However, unknown to the Magicka Knight, these wishes usually end up being more like a "Monkey's Paw Curse", in that while the wish will be granted, just as asked, there will always be some sort of eventual negative backlash on the person who wished it. This is actually on purpose. The Incubator intends for this "wish" to be the catalyst to set the Magicka Knight on the path towards despair. This wish, hidden at the heart of every Soul Gem, is the true "Grief Seed".

#au: kcmk #kyubey cursed magicka knights au #pmmm au #dcu au #crossover/fusion #kyubey #fanfiction

[afewnovelideas]

Couldn't help myself...

Added a world building page so the KCMK-AU Collection on A03. I'll post a proper copy of the post here after work.

#au: kcmk #fanfiction #crossover/fusion #pmmm au #dcu au #kyubey #kyubey cursed magicka knights au

[afewnovelideas]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, DCU (Comics), Batman (Comics), Young Justice (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Robin (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Kyubey (PMMM) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Madoka Magica Fusion, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Kyubey is Awful, Meta, Metafiction, Worldbuilding Summary:

Kyubey has been creating Magicka Knights and harvesting Grief Seeds on Earth for centuries. They're influence has left marks on the DCU world.

Kyubey has been creating Magicka Knights and harvesting Grief Seeds on Earth for centuries. They're influence has left marks on the world.

Lazarus Pits were created using a wish from a past Magika Knight who was a friend/lover of Ra's al Ghul over 1000 years ago. The wish was for a Fountain of Youth that could heal all injuries, cure illnesses, and extend natural human life. The hidden curse of the wish was that the waters of the Lazarus Pits would also cause violent temporary madness as well.

Kyubey made a nest of Gotham City between the 1800s-1900s. It was an experiment in how many Witches and Labyrinths could fit in one area. They wanted to see if concentrating them together would increase the energy collected in the eventual harvested Grief Seeds. It was a partial success. True, the Grief Seeds harvested were higher in energy quality than those of secluded Witches in less populated areas without constant competition from other Witches. However, it got to a point where one Witch started cannibalizing other weaker Witches, consuming their Grief Seeds and became too powerful for any living Magika Knight of the era to defeat. Eventually, both weaker Witches and Knights would flat out avoid crossing paths with the Witch and her Labyrinth, which is located in Arkham Asylum.

This Witch's influence is the reason people who are sent to Arkham Asylum go even more insane if they spend too much time there. Kyubey was disappointed. If no Magika Knights are strong enough defeat the Arkham Witch, their very powerful collection of Grief Seeds can't be harvested and are out of Kyubey's reach. This Witch was also content to remain on her island with the physical asylum building and doesn't want to expand her borders beyond Gotham City. She is secure and content in her superiority over Gotham City's Witches and Knights.

Going forward, Kyubey made sure limit how many Witches were allowed to concentrate in an area, and they would direct their Magika Knights to immediately hunt any Witch who showed signs of cannibalism before they for too strong.

The appearance of "metahumans" is often a result of either the passive/active influence of a resident Witch's powers in the area that person was born in, or due to direct/indirect influence of a Magika Knight's wish. Metahumans, as long as they aren't directly descended from a Magika Knight, can contract with Kyubey.

If a Magika Knight survives long enough to bear children, those children and their descendents will often be natural-born magic users. (ex. Zatanna, Constantine, Klarion, Raven etc...) However, they can't become Knights themselves. Due to being born with magic, Kyubey can't touch their souls and can't contract with them. Also, because of their natural connection to magic, these men and women can, in theory, fight a Witch. If they were to collect even a single Grief Seed from a weak Witch, it would give then a boost to their powers. However, because they are using fragile human bodies and their souls aren't protected by Soul Gems, they are at high risk of being killed or worse in a battle with a Witch.

Read more about this world at the Kyubey Cursed Magicka Knights AU - Annotations page.

#au: kcmk #kyubey cursed magicka knights AU #fanfiction #crossover/fusion #pmmm au #dcu au #world building

[afewnovelideas]

"Kuybey-Cursed Magicka Knights" AU plot bunny notes

Inspired by @marudny-robot 's original thoughts of the Core Four being compared to magical girls. One thing led to another, and now there is an incredible AU idea blossoming where the villain from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Kuybey, is running loose in the DCU and trying to recruit the teenage/child heroes of this Earth.

So far (and you can read more on the link and notes of the original post) Kuybey has been "courting" Damian Wayne and Jon Kent.

However, the Young Justice Core 4 (Tim Drake, Cassie Sandsmark, Conner Kent, and Bart Allen) have actually been secretly Magicka Knights for years and who have Soul Gems but know Kyubey and what they're really up to and the truth about Magicka Knights and "Witches". The moment they find out Kuybey is sniffing around Tim and Conner's little brothers, they immediately start hunting the little bastard with a blood-thirsty vengeance! They won't let Kyubey rip the souls from their siblings!

However, they don't take the time to "explain" why they want to murder every incarnation of Kyubey they can find. So Damian and Jon are thinking the four are completely out of their minds or possessed or something. They try to protect Kyubey! How could their big brothers want to kill something that wants to save the world from Witches?!

Will have to post more about this later. If anyone wants to add more detailstothis chain, please feel free to hijack this!

#au: kcmk #pmmm au #fanfiction #batfam #plot bunny #core 4 #Tim drake #cassie sandsmark #conner kent #bart allen #damian wayne #jon kent #crossover #dcu

[afewnovelideas]

Sketching for the first time in awhile. I feel so rusty. Playing around with trying to come up with a style for Kyubey in the Kyubey Cursed Magicka Knight AU .

Need to do some standing and motion poses with different angles. Figure out head rotation too... Hmmm...

#au: kcmk #kyubey cursed magikca knights au #kyubey #my art #sketches