Chapter 64 - To Get Back There
Sunlight pours through the windows and over your body, signaling the arrival of morning. You knock twice on Mami's door and receive only a faint mumble from the other side. After a moment's silence you knock once more, and are this time rewarded with a loud thump followed by the sounds of frantic movement. You did let the kids sleep in a short while, since it's been a very eventful past few days and they don't have school today, but if you wait any longer you won't have time to prepare for the meeting. Seconds later, Mami bursts out of the door in a t-shirt featuring some video game character you aren't familiar with. She appears just the slightest bit disheveled, having only just gotten out of bed at your knocking. Well, you can't all be morning people.
"I'm up!"
You just smile and turn away, continuing on to Yuma's room. Your younger daughter wakes with much less commotion, although it appears that she too is not much of a morning person. Yuma rubs her eyes sleepily despite the fact that it's past eight as she stumbles out of bed. Regardless, her grin is nearly as wide as Mami's as the three of you head towards the kitchen. Maybe you should have them try and work on that? For Mami at least, being able to wake quickly would be more convenient in cases of emergency. It's not really a pressing issue, especially not in comparison to some of the other things looming over you. At least you'll have something to think about after this is all resolved.
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After taking a few minutes to perform her usual morning routine at your insistence, Mami emerges looking far less weary and ready for the day. She wears her hair not in her usual ringlets, but instead a short braid you threw together practically as an afterthought. Surprisingly, it's Ayin's memories that guide your hands in crossing and weaving the structure. He, and by extension you, are actually rather good at it. You wonder how your creator could have acquired such a skill, but there is not enough time for further contemplation. Not today.
Mami practically skips into the kitchen, Yuma trailing behind her. The three of you begin preparing for the arrival of your guests, ready to dig deeper into Mami's stock of baking supplies. Your first meal to prepare for the day is in fact not for the upcoming party, but a simple breakfast for the three of you. Waffles are easy to make and go well with some sides, but most importantly leave the major appliances open for starting the baking process. Mami has far more pastries and pastry supplies than a single person could ever eat, some of which have been in her pantry for a long time. You and her move from place to place in the kitchen, adjusting measurements and adding ingredients on multiple dishes at a time. While this would ordinarily be an easy way to ruin everything that you're baking, multitasking comes easy to you. Mami's no slouch either, and between the two of you everything is well on its way. Yuma mostly watches in barely restrained awe, although she does retrieve a tool or two that's been left out of reach.
By nine, the three of you are sitting at the small table in your living room and enjoying your breakfast while waiting for the various treats you've readied to finish.
"Thank you for the assistance, X. I cannot remember the last time I had a chance to cook alongside somebody." Mami says.
"It's nothing." you respond. "This whole meeting was my idea. It's only right that I should help prepare for it."
"Speaking of the meeting," you add, finishing off your last bite of waffle, "There's a few points I'm hoping to discuss that I want to run by you first. You remember how I told you I'm an Abnormality?"
Mami grimaces. "I've been trying not to think about it. I'm sorry, it just must be horrible to have your humanity taken away like that."
"I appreciate the concern, but it's not necessary." you say with a sigh. "I don't feel any different now than I did before. If anything, I'm stronger than I used to be. I should be happy about it."
"So you're like Mister Bird? Is that why he left Yuma with you?" the greenette chimes in. Right, Yuma didn't know about you being an Abnormality nor has she heard your explanation for what an Abnormality is.
"You're half-right. Abnormalities are either born naturally from the collective minds of humanity, like the Birds, or they're made using a specific idea extracted from a person. I'm closer to the second category than the first, but even so I'm not aware of any other Abnormalities who kept anything even close to recognizable from the people they were derived from."
Yuma and Mami stare in rapt attention as you speak. Without realizing it, you've slipped into the same tone you'd use for delivering announcements to your Agents. Not the same as when delivering orders, but instead a softer, warmer tilt. Announcements weren't a part of your job, but a personal decision that you kept up until the very end. They were usually for establishing missions for the day or just congratulating your employees on a job well done. Honestly, that's not too far off from what you're doing right now.
"Aside from some notable exceptions, Abnormalities aren't particularly friendly with one another. I have no clue why Punishing Bird believed I would be the best person to care for you. Not that I regret it." you add when the slightest hint of fear crosses Yuma's face.
"Abnormalities are almost universally dangerous to everyone around them. That's why they were kept contained before."
"We are very fortunate that you are one of those exceptions then, X." Mami says warmly. Her smile falls when you shake your head.
"Technically, I'm 'contained' right now. The reason I can look and act human is because I made a false body for myself to seal away my nature as an Abnormality. Because of that, I didn't even know I wasn't human anymore until a few days ago. If I were fully an Abnormality, I would be just as dangerous as any other."
"I'm sorry X, but I cannot accept that." Mami states resolutely. "I refuse to believe that you would willing hurt people, no matter what happened."
"You said you're still the same person you were when you weren't an Abnormality." Yuma adds before you can properly respond to Mami's insistence. "If you had met Yuma and Mami back then, would you have hurt us?"
And that's the question, isn't it? Were you always a monster? You want to say no, because you always tried not to be. The facility seemed almost designed to demand sacrifice. In the beginning, you lacked the force of will to resist that design. But the guilt grew and grew until you could bear it no longer, and your next iteration held the lives of their agents in higher regard. Even so, not every day was without sacrifice. Only in the very end could you take everyone with you. Had Mami and Yuma been among your agents, would you have been unable to save them as well? Would they have ended up like so many others, their lives given up for some 'higher purpose?'
How many people did you sacrifice?
"No." you say, without a trace of doubt. Because in the end, you would only accept one sacrifice. And it wasn't somebody else's.
"Then you shouldn't be worried. Yuma and Mami trust you, so you should trust yourself too! Besides," Yuma adds as almost an afterthought, "If you were really a scary Abnormality and wanted to hurt people, then why would you have made yourself human so you wouldn't hurt people?"
Heh. Leave it to the kid to make the most logical argument here so far.
"Yeah, you're probably both right." You admit. "What did I ever do to deserve the two of you?"
"If I remember correctly, it was because you were a kind person. Unless there's something I'm forgetting?" Mami says in a joking tone, though there is an underlying softness to her words.
"Thank you, really. I appreciate the confidence. Still, I feel like we've strayed from the point I was getting to." And then, with a bit of flourish that comes more from Chesed than Geburah, you ask "Have you ever heard of the Many Worlds Theory?"
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It does take some time to explain the concept to Yuma, who hasn't yet reached quantum theory in her education yet. Much to your surprise, Mami is familiar with the concept. The two of you work in tandem to explain the concept to your youngest daughter, who enthusiastically absorbs as much information as she can. Though you can tell she doesn't really grasp the principles of "how" the theory works, she at least has the basic idea.
"So, now that we have that all established, I have a confession to make. I'm not from this world."
Mami and Yuma simply stare at you for a moment, before turning to one another.
"Yuma can believe that."
"Yes, it would explain quite a lot."
"Wait, just like that?" you exclaim. "I kind of expected to have to work to convince you of this."
"X, I have seen many strange things in my time as a Magical Girl." Mami answers. "Is it really such a surprise after learning that Magic is real that there could be other universes? Your story seems at least more understandable than Kyubey's wish-granting. So why wouldn't I believe you?"
"Is Kyubey from another world too?" Yuma asks.
"Technically, I think Kyubey's an alien. Haven't confirmed it, though."
"Is he now?" Mami says in a slightly unnerved voice. "He never told me anything about himself beyond him being a companion to Magical Girls."
You suppress the venom within you. If only she knew what else he never told her. And of course if any of you were to confront Kyubey, he'd just say that it "wasn't relevant information" or something along those lines.
A beep from the kitchen interrupts the conversation. It appears that some of your pastries are done. You and Mami excuse yourself from the table and head off to continue your preparations. Yuma trails behind, staring hungrily at the freshly-baked treats.
"You can have some once everybody's arrived." you chide. "It wouldn't be fair if you got to eat before everybody else." Yuma nods disappointedly, giving you the most pleasing expression she can muster. Unfortunately for her, you aren't going to cave that easily. She'll get some eventually, and in the meantime there is more work to be done. You and Mami make an effort to include the younger girl in the final predations, helping her frost and cut the various dishes that have been readied over the course of the morning.
"So," you say as you arrange plates of confections across the table, "I've been thinking about telling the others about Abnormalities. About myself. Is that a bad idea?"
"Yuma already said! Keeping secrets from people you care about is bad!" declares the younger child. If only it were that simple. "So you should just tell everyone everything."
"While I'm not as certain of that, I do believe that it would be better to keep everyone informed. Sayaka and Madoka are likely to encounter other Abnormalities, and as you have said information is key when it comes to combating them."
Any further discussion is cut off by the sound of a knocking at the door. Somebody has arrived.
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Your first guest is…
[] Kyoko Sakura
[] Madoka Kaname, with Homura alongside her
[] Sayaka Miki
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Big Bird's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Der Freischütz's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Punishing Bird's Sapling - Observation Level 1/2
Sorry this chapter took a little longer than usual, getting this conversation right was tricky. Writing dialogue has never been my strong suit.
And here we are! The last day of Act 1. I hope you're ready, because I can hardly wait.
