Tsukino Moon, the sworn protector of Minato City, had to fight to suppress a yawn as she walked through streets and alleys in search of the monster that had been devouring innocent civilians. She would always remember the lessons that had been drilled into her as a naive young magical girl, of course. She was the defender of everything light and good, and the enemy of everything dark and sinister. Evil lurked in every shadow, and it was her duty to remain ever-vigilant against all its perils. But, after all these years, that didn't make her patrols any less boring. She had fought world-ending threat after world-ending threat, and she was still standing. One more little monster wasn't much to worry about.
Still, it was hurting people, and that meant it had to be stopped. According to the reports she'd heard, the monster manifested as some kind of strange, malevolent doppelganger that preyed on those who crossed its path. Tsukino wasn't sure where to look for it, so she was just patrolling the streets and waiting for it to strike.
Or, perhaps, stumbling across its lair.
Rounding a corner, Tsukino found herself facing a small alleyway that should not have been. It was darker than dark, and the deeper the magical girl peered, the more it seemed to collapse into something almost organic. The walls of the adjacent buildings became like solid shadow, illuminated only by odd, jagged crystals that reflected the night sky above into infinite shards of light.
Creepy. But not, Tsukino decided, the creepiest she'd seen. She wasn't afraid. Stepping forwards, the magical girl raised her enchanted scepter and smiled as it glowed with a warm, familiar light, keeping the unnatural dark at bay. Over the years, she had learned to work her magical sailor outfit into a slightly more tasteful lolita dress, something more appropriate for the physique she had grown into: toned, tough, and a little scarred. She kept the scepter the same, though, tacky as it was, with its big, pink, heart-shaped crystal. It was a nice reminder of things past.
She kept her old hairstyle, too. Twin, blonde buns on top of her head, and long, flowing pigtails behind. It was a signature look.
The deeper Tsukino went into the shadows, the darker and more encompassing they grew. She was no longer in an alley, but an expansive cave. The sky above her was gone, as were all the lights of the city, but the cave remained dimly illuminated by the crystals that jutted from every surface. Tsukino was no longer sure it was the night sky that they reflected. They seemed to glow like they were filled with stars, but were tinted with a sinister, purple hue.
Perhaps this strange place - this pocket dimension - was like a spider's web, Tsukino mused. She could easily imagine that civilians would find themselves hopelessly lost in the darkness, and become easy prey for the doppelgangers lurking within. Not her, though. She was far too strong for that.
"Oh? What do we have here? How interesting..."
Tsukino stiffened at the voice. It was uncomfortably familiar but it distorted slightly as it echoed throughout the strange, dark cave, and Tsukino couldn't quite place it. She knew, though, that nothing good would sound so at-easy in a place like this.
"Stop!" she called out. "In the name of the light, show yourself!"
The only answer she received to her command was a resounding and mirthful laugh. "Oh? It's you? That certainly is amusing."
"Show yo-"
Tsukino's lips froze when the other presence stepped closer, into the dim light. She recognized them at once, of course.
It was her.
Not really, of course. It couldn't have been. It was a cheap, poor, mocking imitation, but the resemblance was still striking enough to give Tsukino a moment's pause. The doppelganger, along with all its clothes, seemed to made of the same shadowy substance as the rest of the cave; it was all night sky and shimmering purple. As unnatural as it looked, though, it was clearly meant to be Tsukino. The silhouette was unmistakable, and there was a telltale familiarity in how it moved and carried itself. Those similarities were all the more repugnant, given the equally marked differences between the doppelganger and Tsukino.
The doppelganger carried no weapon, but it was wearing what Tsukino could only think of as a whorish parody of her own magical girl outfit. It had the same ribbons, the same folds and the same patterns, but it seemed to have been ripped to shreds in a way that had to be deliberately suggestive. The top barely covered her breasts, and the skirt had been cut so short it barely deserved to be called one. Everywhere, the outfit was raked with tears that allowed alluring flashes of soft, purple, corrupted skin to show through. The only part of the outfit that had been added to were the boots, which had metamorphosed into tall, impractical, fuck-me heels. This shadowy clone of Tsukino looked like something between a succubus and a streetwalker.
And the most unnerving thing of all was the too-wide grin, stretched across her otherwise featureless face.
Tsukino sniffed. She wasn't impressed. "What are you, some kind of shape-shifter? Stealing people's faces as you attack the innocent? If you expect this embarrassing display to unnerve me, you're sorely mistaken. In the name of the light, I will punish you!"
As she spoke, Tsukino made a familiar with her hands. As she did, the doppelganger, which had been slowly sashaying towards her, bent double in laughter.
"Oh my god! That's how it looks? And those words... ah, the naivety is thrilling! It's been so long."
Tsukino scowled. She was in no mood to let a demon mock her. "Are those your last words, fiend?"
The doppelganger's laughter died. "Last words? I hope not! Maybe instead I can correct a few of your misconceptions, hm? I'm not a shapeshifter. And I haven't attacked anybody."
"Ridiculous!" Tsukino pronounced. "I won't be fooled by your lies."
To her surprise, the doppelganger visibly cringed. "Ugh. So stuffy! I had forgotten how bad it was... well, tried to forget, anyway." She laughed. "Tell me, do you actually think I'm dangerous?"
That sounded like a trick question if Tsukino had ever heard one, but she had to admit that she sensed nothing from the shadowy being in front of her. No power, no hidden weapon. Nothing. "You're a monster."
