Guilt compels you to stand. You move in front of Momo with an arm barring her path."I'm coming too."
Momo hesitates. "What? You don't even--"
"It's not hard to guess why." You frown. "It's Mami, isn't it?"
Momo solemnly nods. Her eyes gaze toward the door, pleading for you to just let her leave.
"If you're going, I'm going." Sayaka stands up, her chair screeching against the floor.
Madoka's mind races; her eyes bounce between the three of you. Despite being ignorant of the risks, she stands up. "I-I'm coming too."
Your hands tremble in fear. Sayaka had watched you vanish into the maw of the void. The frigid darkness against your skin, the gnashing fangs tearing at your ears. You wanted to forget, to spare Sayaka and Madoka the same hell. Why was this happening? Why now? You close your eyes, trying to shut out the thoughts.
Sayaka was involved. No matter how you tried to justify it to yourself, she would thrust herself into the frey. She knew witches existed, that magical girls were real, that a miracle could be granted. You had no right to stop her. Madoka, however, had no reason to worry about something that didn't concern her. It was, ironically, wishful thinking; her best friend and her sister were involved.
With a balled fist, you swallow your concern. "Okay, well, looks like we're going too, Momo."
Momo, apprehensive, nods. You exit the store and run after Momo. Her dash was deliberate, her breathing steady, despite the circumstances.
"So what's this about?" Madoka says, struggling to speak between breaths.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Sayaka says.
"Eh?" Madoka looks at you, begging for an explanation.
"If I said 'magic', would that be enough?" You have an easier time keeping up with Momo, but your legs are starting to hurt. Talking definitely didn't make this easier.
Madoka looks lost.
"It's the reason for my nightmares, Madoka." You say.
"O-oh, I see." Madoka fidgets. "So, this is dangerous, then?"
"Yep." Sayaka places a hand on Madoka's shoulder. "It'll be fine. We're here with you."
Madoka nods.
"It's here! Big Sis Mami is here!" Momo pivots, turning on a dime and down the alley. An alley lined with interconnected pipes. They connect, split off, and interlink again like veins. The evening sun peers through the clouds, dyeing the alley in a crimson hue.
A familiar face meets you at the end of the corridor. "Momoka?"
"Midori?" You yelp.
Midori's outfit had changed. A long, blue scarf flows with each step she takes. Her armor clinks as she stops. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes darted from you to Momo.
"
I called Momo for back-up." Kyubey says, leaping down from Midori's shoulder. "
Mami is fighting by herself. I'm not sure if your help alone would suffice, Midori."
"Kyubey, you--!" Midori bites her lip. "I--... we don't need other people involved. Especially not civilians!"
"
I would hesitate to call Momoka Kaname and Momo Sakura civilians." Kyubey scratches his ear with his foot. "
Actually, all four have the potential to be magical girls."
"Magical girl?" Madoka blinks, the words bringing her back to reality. "I can be a magical girl?"
"
Yes, all you have to do is make a contract with me."
Midori winces at the cat-rabbit's words. She ignores him, addressing your group. "Stay out here. I can't protect all of you, so just--"
"I have to go in. I can't leave Mami alone." Momo says, pleading.
"No." Midori declares. "That's not happening."
"But--"
"
No." Midori grits her teeth. "You're not going inside. I can't guarantee your protection. I have to go in alone."
"... If you leave me out here, I'm making a contract to save Big Sis Mami." Momo's eyes burn with resolve. "You won't get in my way, Ms.Midori."
Midori steps back, eying what you assume to be the entrance to the Witch Barrier a mere few feet away. "You're
really making this hard. Dammit, why are you so stubborn? Why don't you trust me? We fought together before."
"It's not that I don't trust you." Momo clutches her chest. "It's just that I want to guarantee Big Sis Mami's safety. She's some of the only family I have left. If I lose her, if I lose them again… I…" The facade of strength crumbles. Tears cascade down her face. "I just don't want to lose anyone else! I don't want to be alone!"
Momo sobs echo in the alley. Sayaka remains silent. You want to step forward, to comfort her, but the words don't come. You frantically scramble for what to say and what to do. All you can do is watch as a witness to your friend's pain.
Where you fall short, your sister steps forward.
"Ms.Sakura." Madoka hugs Momo close. "It's too late to give up hope now. I don't really know what's going on, but you trust Ms.Mami, right?"
"Uh huh." Momo struggles to speak through her tears.
"I don't think she's fighting alone." She hugs tighter. "I don't know what a magical girl does, but if they're anything like the ones I know -- she's fighting for your sake, right?" Madoka smiles brightly. "If you went into that scary place, then she would be worried. So I think you should be a good girl and listen to Ms.Midori."
"But…"
"It's okay. It's a big sister's job to protect the little sister, after all."
"Big Sis Mami!" Momo cries, clutching Madoka's back. She wails into her chest. A comforting hand rubs her head.
"Ms.Midori, I'll take care of Ms.Sakura." Madoka forces a smile, wiping away her own tears.
"I don't know how to thank you." Midori says.
"Protect Momo and Sayaka."
"Ah, that's your game." Midori sighs in defeat. "Alright, okay, fine. I'll do what I can. Momoka, Sayaka, we're going."
"R-right." Sayaka nods, stepping toward the barrier entrance.
You remain silent.
"Hey, come on." Sayaka slaps your shoulder.
"Stay close." Midori conjures a decorative, white sword in one hand and a silver shield in the other. She stabs into the wall and swings down. It tears as if unfurling the fabric of reality. It was the same magic Kyouko used to free you from the witch barrier at the mall.
"Is this supposed to be exciting?" Sayaka mumbles as she leaps into the barrier.
With the image of the white blade in your mind, and a heavy heart burdening your steps, you leap into the witch barrier.
Gunfire and clashing steel harmonize in a symphony of destruction. Swords explode in the air, raining shrapnel onto the sand below. A volley of bullets meets another wave of clamoring blades. The ground shakes under the weight of the collision. A veil of dust settles across the battlefield. The crowd of familiars cheer, yelling and clapping in an unknown tongue.
The challenger, Mami, lands atop the hilt of a sword. "You won't go down quietly, will you?"
Steel grates on steel. A black shadow emerges from the cloud of dirt and debris. A metal giant composed of bound swords, tied tightly by rusted chains. It strides with purpose, ripping a large hunk of steel from the ground.
"I think I understand now." Mami leaps off of the sword. "That's how you were able to take so many."
A field of swords. In the arid land of the Witch's Barrier, trophy's dot the landscape. Magical girls lie fallen, bolted to the ground by rusted swords. Mami closes her eyes, offering a prayer to the fallen. She casts her hands out, conjuring a musket in each hand.
She fires the first shot. The giant rushes forward, angling the sword into the ground. The magic bullet strikes the blade and from the impact, a ribbon explodes forth. The newly formed tether binds the blade to the giant's hand. The second shot burrows into its arm. Fabric flows forth from the wound, spilling onto its leg.
It trips mid stride.
Four more muskets. Four more shots. Mami's barrage binds the foot, the leg, the waist and elbow.
She raises her hand, twirling a ribbon, forming it into a large cannon. "Tiro--!"
Mami's bindings explode. The air screams. A black blur barrels forward.
"Oh no--!" Mami disperses the cannon. The ribbon wraps in on itself, becoming a bulwark. The thrown slab tears through the ribbon like scissors through paper.
Mami leaps away as the ribbon rips apart. Rocks burst out from the slab's impact with the wall.
The giant closes the distance with one leap. Mami, cast in the monster's shadow, lassoes its leg with a ribbon. With a tug, she lifts herself into the air, past its hulking frame, and out of its reach.
Mami throws her hand up as if a maestro leading a procession. Muskets appear on a wall as her ready performers. Each beat their drum with the blast of gunpowder. A cacophony of gunfire joins the ringing cheers of the crowd. The bullets dent metal hide, hardly grazing the body underneath.
From the smoke the goliath leaps into the sky, screaming a harrowing roar.
Mami tugs the beast's leg-tied ribbon, thrusting herself down to the ground. The beast grasps nothing, landing on the ground. The earth splinters with a cry.
It charges. Mami summons another musket and a loose ribbon. She fires. The beast tries to crush her.
She pivots, sliding under the witch's open legs. The witch turns to grab her. Mami leaps into the air, over the wrist, tying the ribbon over its hand. The dance continues. Mami dances through the monster's swipes, punches, and kicks.
One hit was death. Even a grazing blow would instantly kill her. She emptied her mind and went with the flow. Only perceive rhythm, nothing else.
Pivot, dodge, leap. Between the legs, over the shoulder, around the head, and through the arms.
Another swipe. Mami leaps backward, grasping the ribbon. "It was fun, but I have to end this. Someone's waiting for me."
The yellow ribbon turns red as a decorative chain runs through its fabric. A scarlet spider-web appears, encasing the giant in a cocoon of magical fabric. It rips into the coliseum walls as the giant is pulled in every direction. The witch cries, its body flexing its body of blades. The fabric slowly but surely begins to tear.
Mami runs forward, conjuring a ribbon in hand. She jumps.
"TIRO--!"
The metal giant stares down the barrel of a cannon.
"FINALE!"
The world turns white.
An explosion.
Mami slides onto the ground after firing her strongest attack.
The familiars, regardless of their master's fate, continue to cheer. The fact they continue to cheer causes Mami to stare at the supposed corpse of the witch.
The smoke clears.
The witch's head had been blown completely off. Steam drifts off the burnt, gnarled metal of her blast. In the open wound of its 'neck', there was something
else.
A person.
A girl.
A head of white-hair and green, empty eyes.
Tendrils grasp the nameless girl, pulling her further inside.
Crunch.
Her bones break.
Crunch.
Her muscles tear.
Crunch.
Her life leaves her.
The wound closes.
"W-what?" Mami stares, bile bubbling in her throat. "What
is that?"
The witch cries, tearing free from the bindings. It lands, grasping another blade from the ground.
Mami snaps to attention, conjuring another musket.
The second round begins.
Interlude End
The last thing you expected to do in a Witch Barrier was cut in line. Lines made up of bronze and stone statues that do little more than acknowledge your presence. They move slightly ever few seconds as the line advances toward the massive coliseum at its center. Winding paths intersecting with buildings made out of crumpled paper and magazine clippings. Despite being in a Witch Barrier before, this was something you could never see yourself getting used to. You follow Midori, running along the warping corridors, using the slow moving line as a guide.
"This place gives me the creeps." Sayaka says with Kyubey nestled on her shoulder. "I feel like I could get lost here for days."
"
Precisely. It's a Witch Barrier." Kyubey speaks into her mind. "
Witches lure humans into their labyrinths in order to feed off of their despair."
"So, wait. What happens if you go missing?"
"If you're caught by a witch, you die. It's as simple as that." Midori answers. She walks as if wading through glass.
Sayaka scoffs. "Unless a magical girl comes to save the day, right?"
"Not all of the time."
You round another block. The path opens into a large park with mannequins for its occupants. Plastic dogs float in the air, suspended by a wax rod. The fountain in the center sprinkles out white cotton for water. It was an art project brought to life before your eyes. An eerie silence permeates the park, only punctuated by the sound of clinking steel.
Midoir's hands shake.
"Midori?" You approach her.
As you walk past her, Midori fights to maintain composure. Her lips quiver and her grip tightens on the hilt of her blade. Her eyes refocus as she shakes her head. "Sorry about that." She breathes deeply. "Let's go." She runs forward.
What was that about? You exchange a look with Sayaka who shrugs in response.
The cheering cries from the coliseum echo through the barrier. Distant explosions herald the sound of battle. Midori picks up the pace, running up the stairs and into the long, dark corridor leading into the center of the coliseum.
Shattered swords lay strewn about the battlefield.
Bullet holes dot the landscape.
Mami stands alone, her clothes torn and bloody.
Why was this familiar? Why do you remember this?
"
I wish I could be a magical girl just like you, but I'm weak."
Was this it? Was she going to die?
"
There's nothing special about me. But, I don't think there needs to be. I've got Madoka, you know?"
She was fighting alone. Midori was here. No, that wouldn't happen. No. No,
that wasn't going to happen.
"Stay here. I'm going to help her." Midori starts running forward.
"What? Wait, what about the familiars!?" Sayaka yells.
"They won't attack you!" Midori says as she jumps over the side.
You couldn't do anything but watch.
Helpless. Again.
Your heart beats in your ears.
"Tomoe, I'm here." Midori lands next to Mami, brandishing a strange black object. "Use this."
"Chiba? I thought I told you to--"
"Reprimand me later." She raises her shield. "Here it comes!"
A scream. A scream so loud your body shakes, and your ears ring.
The monster hovers over them. You don't see it run or leap. It was simply just there like impending death.
Midori's shield sparks as she barely holds ground. Steel grates on steel. Midori's feet buckle as the shield shatters.
"MIDORI!" You scream, reaching out. There was nothing you could do.
"
They can't win this fight as they are now." Kyubey says.
You grit your teeth.
Mami leaps away, firing. The beast moves with reckless abandon. She avoids it, dodging and darting away.
She scrambles, guiding the witch away from Midori. She wasn't dead.
Sayaka grits her teeth. "I-I can't watch this anymore. Kyubey!"
"
Momoka." The kind voice speaks to you. And, as you look to your right, a white-gloved hand rests on your shoulder. "
You can do it. Reach out your hand and believe."
Reach out your hand? What did that mean? Is this the person who's been talking to you this entire time?
Your heart pounds in your ears.
You breathe deep, and …
[_] Make a contract with Kyubey to become a magical girl.
[_] Reach out your hand.
[_] Have faith that they'll succeed.
[_] Write-in
