Magia Resurrection (PMMM Quest)

Midori throwing her life away wasn't something you could accept. Regardless of her motive, you couldn't agree with it. Reasoning with her wasn't possible. Mami's succinct conversation was enough proof of that fact. You stare at the writhing mass of steel on the far side of the coliseum. You escaped death once. You would not be so lucky the next time. Your palms sweat. Your vision blurs. Were you going to step into the arena again?

You grasp the Soul Gem. "Mami, can you help Midori?"

"If I did, it wouldn't be for long." Mami says. "I exhausted most of my magic fighting the witch before Chiba got here."

Mami's Soul Gem glimmers with a faint radiance. Murky darkness permeates the center of the gem. It was a little under halfway spent. If she did help, she would be relegated to a supportive role. That meant either Midori or, Heaven forbid, you had to take point. The thought was enough to make you dizzy. Yeah, looking at the available resources, victory was out of the question.

That was as you are now, though. The stakes had been altered. It wasn't just killing the witch, this was about saving someone's life. Even still, you had a wish of your own to work toward. Returning home to Madoka and Momo.

"Midori! I'm going to help!" Your attire shifts to the magical armor in a flash of light. You vault over the side of the guard rail, landing right behind Midori.

"Momoka!" Sayaka reaches over the side of the wall. "What the heck are you doing? Are you nuts!?

"Probably."

"Miss Kaname, you're forcing my hand here." Mami cradles her head in her palm. With a regretful sigh, she leaps into the arena with you. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots Kyubey on Sayaka's shoulder.

"Kyubey." Mami blinks. "What are you--"

"I went to go get help since you were having trouble with the witch."

Mami sighs. "I see, so that's how Chiba and the others arrived when they did."

"Yes, that was my doing."

"I appreciate the gesture, but the circumstances have gotten rather dire." Mami pulls off her hat and makes a sweeping motion. Muskets fall in sequence around her, forming up a total of eight. "Miss Kaname, Chiba, are you ready?"

The witch roars.

"I've been waiting for this." Midori says, holding her white blade aloft. The black knight hovering over her back grips its sword with both hands. "Thanks. Momoka. Tomoe. I… I'm sorry for … well…"

"Apologies can wait, Chiba." Mami stares down the roaring witch.

You stare at the black blade. It was familiar. Where have you seen it before? Was it something you forgot to remember? Another dream, perhaps?

It was no time to be spacing out.

"Here it comes!" Mami yells.

Almost as if on cue, the witch dashes forward. The ground upheaves with each step. Dust and sand obscure her form.

Sweat drips down your back.

Midori moves forward, shield up. The looming shadow flies forward, meeting the witch head on. Sparks fly as steel grinds on steel. The ephemeral knight relents, switching places with a lunging Midori.

She misses.

The witch swings down. The looming shadow parries. Midori thrusts forward, embedding her sword into its leg.

Mami unleashes a barrage center mass. One shot. Two. Four. Bindings rip outward, grasping the witch's sword arm. The goliath grasps the sword as the arm is bound to her side. The fabric begins to fray and rip.

That was your cue. It was an opening.

Attack. Move. Go.

Why weren't you moving?

Frozen. Fear binds you in place.

Mami meets your eyes. "Chiba!" She commands.

"I got this!" Midori grips her blade and starts tearing it down straight through the leg. The metal bindings of the leg screech in protest. The rust colored blades begin to bend and contort under Midori's pressure. "Owain!"

The knight of shadow stabs its own sword into the witch's under arm. It places one foot on the ground, and rips upward.

Black blood sprinkles onto the ground.

Move. Move. Move.

Why won't you move?

You were afraid. Afraid of the witch, afraid to fight. But, the fear of losing someone else was far greater still.

Tendrils rip out from the crevice carved by Midori's blade. They rip and ungulate, lashing out at her throat. "Agh!" The beaks rip and tear her flesh. "Shit!" Owain appears at her side, wrenching her free from their grasp.

"Chiba! Fall back! I'll cover you!" Mami fires.

You had to step up. You had to do something.

Anything.

You pray for the resolve, for the strength to continue on.

The witch obviously wasn't playing fair, so why did you have to?

Dig deeper.

You venture into the ocean once more. Walking along the shallow shores, wading through the sea of possibility.

Memories coalesce.

Experiences yet lived, stories yet unheard.

You skim the foundation of what comprises the confines of the Soul Gem.

Deeper and deeper still. You venture forth, slowly wading into the cold water.

The image of the cleaver flashes in your mind. Not just the cleaver, but the story, the meaning behind it. Dig deeper. There was an answer amidst the chaos of these distorted memories. The static grows.

"I just wanted to leave it all behind, you know?" A brash voice speaks into the void. "Cut it all away. It's the past, so I don't need it, right?"

"But isn't that who you are?"

You submerge your head, the voices becoming more distinct, more clear. Find the meaning in the memory.

"Nah, not anymore. I got you guys now."

The pressure thrusts you above water. You angle down, diving deeper. Push it. Keep pushing.

"I-I don't know… I'm not too confident."

Don't lose heart. Don't lose hope.

"Come on. I told you what I wished for. Spill the beans."

There were other people depending on you.

"Well, uh, that's a secret."

Pain assaults your body. The abyss crushes you.

"Come on, Chiba. Out with it!"

You reach further, pushing back.

"W-well, I'll tell you the motive… if that's okay."

Madoka's bright smile, Momo's tears. Don't let them go to waste.

"Sure. What was it?"

You step out of the abyss.

"I wanted to be a hero."

You stand, one arm raised overhead, a cleaver in hand.

Midori stares with wide-eyes. "What?"

You rush forward, cleaver in hand. You swing into the leg once.

It wasn't the force of the blow. It wasn't a property of the weapon. It was the magic tied to its very impetus. The facet that created it.

Severance; to cut, to separate.

The leg falls off.

It hits the ground with a thud.

The witch, off-balance, pivots. It frees itself from Mami's binding. It swings.

The cleaver slashes into the witch's arm.

The wrist flies off. The hunk of steel it called a weapon slams into the ground.

The witch roars, reaching its free hand out toward you.

You swing into the open air.

Black blood flies.

Another swing. More armor flies off.

The witch regenerates enough to stand, only to be stripped of its armor and its flesh.

Then -- pain.

Searing pain.

Your head, your arms, your legs, your body. They scream in protest as magical energy flows as blood through your body. It wasn't meant for this.

It felt as though if you pushed it any further, your soul itself would shatter. Not just the Soul Gem, but your body. Conjuring a spear was one thing, but this -- this went above and beyond what you even believed yourself to be capable of.

Then, your adrenaline ceases. As the last vestige of magic leaves your body, you collapse into the ground. In the mire of your fading consciousness, your memories overlap and coalesce with other moments and other times. For an instant, it was hard to discern what were yours and what were anothers. As your eyes close, you pray that you dream your own dream and not another's nightmare.

---

You stir from your sleep, waking up with a body writhing in pain. You wake-up in...

[_] ... a hospital room.
[_] ... your own room.
[_] ... Mami's apartment.
[_] ... a house you don't recognize.

A stinging sensation indistinguishable from the pain felt during the battle with the witch. No, it was worse. Much greater, in fact. Tears flow as freely as blood from an open wound. You grimace, clenching your hand to cope with the burning onslaught. You put on a brave face, but it falters with each second that passes. You resign yourself to the pain. There was no fighting the inevitable, after all. Your battle was done. It was a long and arduous battle. The hope was that you would finally receive reprieve with rest, but such was your fate.

"Ow!" You wince. "Madoka, a little softer? Please?"

"Sorry, Momo." Madoka dabs a damp cloth on your arm before wrapping it in a bandage.

Gone was the battlefield, replaced by the soft serenity of Mami's apartment. You lay in Momo's bed, covered in enough bandages to make you look the part of a mummy. Madoka sits on a chair at the bedside with an open medkit at her side.

"That's tight. That's really tight."

"We don't want it falling off." She smiles nervously.

"Man, you don't mess around. No wonder you're the nurse's aid."

"W-well, it's not really like that." Madoka closes the medkit and places it on the nightstand. "It was something no one else wanted to do, so…"

"I don't think there's any real shame in that." Finding the right words to say was hard, so you just speak your mind. "If it's a job you can take pride in, even if no one wants to do it, I think that's a good thing."

"You sound like Mama."

"Ah." You cringe. "I do, don't I?"

Madoka laughs. "At this rate, you'll have an office job before you know it."

"I would rather not." You fall back in bed, arms crossed. "I don't want a salaryman's life. Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl."

"Really? I don't think I would mind it." Madoka takes a seat on the foot of the bed. "Especially if I could come home to a loving family."

"I mean, if you put it that way… it doesn't sound so bad. But you've seen Mama come home from her meetings. She's usually black out drunk."

"Mama likes to drink to have fun. It's not really that much of a bother."

"I mean, true, it could be a lot worse." You frown. "... I dunno. Just thinking about this stuff gets me anxious."

"About the future?"

"Yeah." You look out the window. The sun dips over the horizon, casting a red glow over the glass sheen of Mitakihara. "It's getting late. We should probably be…"

"I already took care of it."

"Huh?"

"I asked Mama if we could stay the night over at a friend's place. I already went back home to get an overnight bag." Madoka points to a blue bag sitting in the corner of the room. "Mami said it was alright."

"Well, that takes care of that then." You sit up in bed. "Where's Sayaka?"

"Ah, uh, Sayaka wanted to stay the night but Mami sent her home." Madoka scratches her cheek. "There was a bit of a fight, but after seeing you were alright, she left."

Sayaka really cares. A heavy feeling stirs. It felt like a butterfly rummaging around your empty stomach. "I shouldn't fight with her so much."

"If you stopped, I think Sayaka would be more concerned."

"I guess." You sigh. "And you would be out of the job."

"Eh? From what? Breaking up your fights?"

"Yeah."

"I mean, that wouldn't be a bad thing, I don't think."

"It would be awful. If you weren't here, imagine the horrors Sayaka would inflict."

Madoka blinks. "I think you're absolving yourself of blame here, Momo."

"Me? No, never. Not at all."

Madoka falls silent. Her eyes drift between your wounds and the floor. She clasps her wrist. Something was clearly wrong. It didn't take much of a guess to figure out what that was. Her entire life had been turned upside down in the span of only a few hours. Who wouldn't react the way she is?

"I didn't like being left behind."

"I'm sorry." You say.

"It was scary, you know? Wondering if you were going to come out or not."

It was the same thing Sayaka felt, watching you vanish. It was the same thing. "It's just… how things ended up."

"I don't blame you." Madoka wipes her eyes. "I probably would've done the same thing if I was you. If I felt like I could make a difference, if I could help, I would. So, that's why I'm thinking about becoming a magical girl."

"Don't."

"How come? I'm sure I could…"

"Madoka, I was scared. I was terrified. The fact I was able to do what I did was a complete fluke." You look at the hand that held the cleaver. You clench it, feeling the grip, the weight of the magic and the fleeting memory. "I don't want you to be in the same situation."

"But I can't just sit by and do nothing."

It was how you felt watching Mami and Midori fight that monster. Feeling helpless, like there was nothing that you could do. You were able to reach out and get a miracle. Something told you the only miracle afforded to Madoka would be one granted by Kyubey. That just begs the question - why you? What made you unique? You were given the Soul Gem of another you. A you from another time, another world. You've seen the vastness of its depths. You weren't sure where the influence of the older Madoka and the other you begins and ends. It was a menagerie of fractured memories and distorted voices. "Hey, Madoka, what do you think my wish was?"

"I don't know…"

"To come back to you." You grin. "To come back home. And it was granted. Not by Kyubey, but by everyone else; Mami, Midori, and Sayaka. I still remember coming home the other day and seeing you sleeping with Takkun. You had this lazy look on your face. Think you had a bit of drool dripping too."

"Ah!" Madoka instinctually wipes her mouth. "What, really? That's so embarrassing."

"It made me happy." You reach out for Madoka's hands. "That's not something I want to lose. Not now, and not ever."

Madoka averts her gaze. "I understand, I do, but if you're out there fighting witches… then I'm not sure what I'll do."

"Then I'll just be such a bad sport that I get fired."

"What? Can you do that?"

"I dunno, it's worth a try."

"Momo." Madoka laughs.

"What? If I got this Soul Gem by a fluke, then I'm--" You stop. "Wait. What happened to the witch? What about that girl? Crap, I got so caught up in the conversation that I didn't ask!"

"Still alive." Mami says, knocking on the doorframe. "How are you feeling, Miss Kaname?"

"Ah, better, at least. I'm not dead, so that's a good thing."

"Oh, Mami. You're back."

Mami nods. "Miss Madoka, can I talk to your sister for a moment? Alone?"

"Oh, um, sure." Madoka frowns. "I'm sorry, Momo. Good luck."

Your sister exits the room with a bow.

"So… you're probably mad, Mami. I can understand that." You force a smile. "But, before that, can … you tell me what happened? I mean, with Midori and the girl inside of the witch."

"We'll get to that." Mami walks forward, taking the seat at the side of the bed. "They're both safe for now."

"That's good." You wanted to ask how the girl from inside the witch was safe. Given recent events, it wasn't entirely unbelievable that she was alive. "So, I know what I did was stupid, but…"

"Stupid? Not necessarily. Reckless fits a bit better." Mami composes herself with a breath.

"I know." You can't look her in the eye. "I know it was, but I felt like I had no other choice. If I didn't, it was going to be Sayaka."

"It doesn't matter who did it, the end result would've likely been the same." Mami crosses her legs. "Kyubey mentioned something about you being 'irregular'. So, were you hiding the fact you were a magical girl? Did you make a contract with Kyubey in the past? What's your goal?"

"No, no, and I have no clue."

Mami walks forward, grasping your hand gently. She finds the finger the Soul Gem ring sits. "There's a mark, but it's faded."

"I'm not lying." You stare. "It all just happened at once."

"For the sake of the conversation, I'll believe you for now." Mami sits down. "So you became a magical girl without contracting with Kyubey?"

"I wouldn't say 'without a contract'." You clench your hand. "There was something going on. I heard a voice calling to me, saying to 'reach out', and I did. And the next thing I knew, I was a magical girl."

"A voice? Were they trying to manipulate you?"

"I don't know." The warmth you felt from that other Madoka was genuine. At least, you wanted to believe it was. "They could be? I dunno what benefit they get from dropping a Soul Gem on my head, though."

"There could be any number of reasons." She shrugs. "They could want you to work toward a certain end, maybe? Did they give you any objectives?"

"Nothing other than 'reach out' and 'believe in yourself'."

"What a strange person." Mami frowns. "It seems you're just as confused as Kyubey and I."

"Believe me, I want answers just as much as you do. But, there's the thing…"

"Yes?"

"I don't really know what to do from here."

"That's for you to decide. Though, there's something else I wanted to discuss with you, but that can wait." Mami stands up. "Are you hungry, Miss Kaname? I just started on dinner."

"Yeah." You throw the covers off and stand up.

With that, you exit the room with Mami and …

[_] … go find Midori. She has to be around here somewhere.
[_] … go see the girl you rescued. She's likely in Mami's room, if she's resting.
[_] … go talk to Momo to see how she's doing.
[_] … go see what Madoka was doing, since your conversation was cut short with Mami entering the room.
[_] … Write-in