[x] Mami, Sayaka, Homura, and Madoka.
"I've made up my mind," you say. "I'll be going, of course, with Mami-"a smile "-Sayaka-" a cheer "And for the last two, I was thinking Homura and Madoka."
Homura's shoulders drop, tension flowing out of her, while Madoka is taken aback. "M-me?" she says. "But I'm, I'm not a magical girl! I'm not useful, like Homura or Sayaka."
"Yes, you are," you say. "With Sayaka and Mami and Homura by my side, I'm not too worried about raw power. We've got that covered. You're our friend, and having you along will certainly brighten our days; honestly, your emotional support is worth its weight in gold."
"Umm, emotional support doesn't weigh anything," says Madoka. "So in gold, it would be… worthless… I get what you're going for! But…"
"Okay, maybe not the best metaphor, but I think you get the point." She nods. "So, if you're fine coming along?"
"I mean, if you think it's for the best…" she says. "I want to be there for you guys, to
help you, but I don't want to weigh you down either."
"You won't," you say. "Aaand it just occurred to me that we'll have to come up with something to tell your parents… oops?"
"Aww, crap," says Sayaka. "Maybe say we're having a bunch of sleepovers at Hitomi's place? Hey, Hitomi, would your mom cover for us?"
"Only for a bit," says Hitomi. "The two of you staying over for a day or two would make sense, but the entire weekend?"
"I don't really like lying to my parents," says Madoka. "But we can't tell them we're going, so I guess we have to…"
"I know," says Sayaka. "But like you said, I don't really see any other way...Ooh, I've got an idea! We can say we're on a weekend field trip!"
"I don't think that will work," says Madoka. "My mom goes out drinking with Miss Saotome sometimes, what if they meet up and she wonders why Miss Saotome's not with us on a field trip? Or what if she brings it up, and Miss Saotome says that there
isn't a field trip?"
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," says Sayaka. "It'll work for me, but we might need something different for you…"
"Actually, I think it'll work," you say. Things have been lining up quite nicely for you on your quest to enter the mysterious portal, and you have the strange feeling that you streak of luck will extend to this.
"Really?" says Madoka. "If you say so…"
"Well no, not if I say so," you say. "It's your decision to make. But things have been working out when they shouldn't be so that we can go into the portal-thing, so I think that your solution will work." Madoka takes a few seconds to think, hand on her chin as she frowns. "If you really think it will be fine… I can't think of anything else, and it wouldn't be
too much of a lie; this thing is just like one big field trip!"
You smile, infected by Madoka's optimism. "That's one way of looking at it," you say. "So, I guess, make your calls?"
You step back as Madoka, Hitomi, and Sayaka pull out their phones, calling their parents to inform them of field trips and sleepovers and covering for magical adventures. plomping onto the couch beside Mami, you make a call yourself.
"
Hey Oriko, Hi Kirika," you say. "
We've figured out who'll be coming through the portal thing. Sorry, but you'll have to stay in the mansion for a few more days."
"
Aww, Sabrina!" says Kirika. "
That's just mean…"
"
Sorry," you say. "
But someone had to stay, and it ended up being you two."
"
It's understandable," says Oriko. "
I lack my main magic, and Sayaka has my dear Kirika's antimagic copied. We'd be redundant, especially compared to what Homura can do."
"
And Homura won't be going anywhere… alone, let's say, I figured it would be even worse to only take one of you."
"
Yeah, that would have sucked even more," says Kirika. "
Well, I guess this is buh-bye, at least for a bit."
"
I guess it is," you say. "
Kyoko Sakura and Yuma Chitose will be coming by to look after the city while we're gone, I trust you won't give them any trouble?"
"
Of course we won't!" says Kirika. "
We'll be fine!... Woulda been more fine if we were with you, but still fine."
"
Well, then I guess this is goodbye, at least for a bit," you say. "
See you later!"
"
Have a nice trip!" "Goodbye."
You close the connection, leaning back against Mami as Madoka, Hitomi, and Sayaka finish up their explanations. Mami smiles, leaning her head on your shoulder, and you wait in silence.
"I'll be safe," says Sayaka. "Love you, Mom. Buh-bye." She turns off her phone, plopping down onto the couch beside yours as Madoka finishes up her call. "So, what do we do now?" she asks. "Just, sit here and wait?"
"We've got maybe half an hour until the barrier appears," you say. "Until then… I guess we just chat."
"Another one of Sabrina's patented plans," says Sayaka. "What do you think the place we go into will be like?"
"I have no clue," you say. "I want to say it's not that dangerous, if we can go into and usually survive, but with the group we've got we could make it in most places."
"Ooh, what if we're in some anime world!" says Madoka. "With sentai teams, and giant monsters, and mechs!"
"Madoka, that would be too weird," says Sayaka. "Can you imagine
us in an anime? Actually, now that I think about it, I
could imagine Sabrina in an anime. You hear that, Sabrina? You're an anime character!"
You feign shock. "Sayaka, I can confirm that I am not, in fact, an anime character."
"Aren't you, though? You're overpowered as hell, dramatic, you have a trenchcoat-" "-You're really silly!" Madoka chimes in. "Yes, you are
very silly," says Sayaka. "Overall, I say that you are one hundred percent anime character!"
"Oh no!" you say playfully, putting a hand to your heart and swooning dramatically. "I have been slain by your
vile lies! Fortunately, as an anime character I have just one more resource available to me. My waifu!" You wrap your arms around Mami, collapsing onto her as she squeals, surprised. "Mami, defend me from these fiends!" She giggles, returning your hug and trying to stay upright, but it's too much. She falls, side hitting the couch as she laughs, and all but Homura start chuckling.
"Sabrina, I'm afraid I can't help you," says Mami. "You have to face the truth. Sabrina… you are an anime character."
"Noooooo!" you say. "I-... I'm an
anime character? This can't be… Though, I guess if I'm an anime character, I can survive anything as long as I have my friends by my side, even this revelation! Power of Friendship, people!"
You continue on like that, joking and playing, and before you know it the time is almost up. You feel something to your right, and look up to see that a large blue circle has appeared at the end of the room, humming quietly.
"So that's it," says Madoka. "That's the portal…"
"It is," you say. "Well, Hitomi, I guess this is goodbye for a few days."
"I will be awaiting your return," says Hitomi. "Stay safe, everyone."
"We will," you say. Everyone waves goodbye, and you take Mami's hand in your own.
"Good idea," says Mami. "There's a chance that we'll be separated in our crossing, keeping close should prevent that."
"Not
exactly what I was going for, but I suppose you have a point," you say. Madoka slips her hand through Homura's, smiling at the startled reaction. You take the opportunity to squeeze Homura's other hand, and Sayaka grabs Madoka's.
Hand in hand, you all step into the portal.
In a place that does not exist, an ageless woman smiles with a face not her own.
The first thing you think is that the sensation is quite different from that of entering a witch's barrier. It takes longer, a good five seconds, for you to be spat out on the other side.
"Is-" you pant, out of breath."-Is everyone still here?" you ask, looking around. They are, to your relief, and you look around to see that you're standing in grassy plains. The sun is high in the sky, making this somewhere close to noon, and the quiet wind flows through the grass.
"Where are we?" says Sayaka. "This place looks empty."
"I can't see anyone," says Homura. "If we're in a rural area, it could be hours before we find someone, even if we fly on Sabrina's grief jet."
"But doesn't it feel weird?" says Madoka. "If we fly up to people like that, they might not respond too well."
"But if walk, we could go the whole day without finding anything," says Sayaka.
"I agree with Sayaka Miki," says Homura. "We can only talk things out if we
find people to talk with."
Mami grips your hand, and you squeeze hers back.
"If… if we find people, there is a good chance they may just attack us," says Mami. "If I were in Mitakihara and d-didn't know Sabrina, and her grief jet arrived? I would most likely panic, or assume hostile action."
"Again, they can't assume hostile action if we don't meet them," says Sayaka. "And who cares if they think we're bad and attack us? We can take em!"
Well, you need to do something. What do you do?
[ ] Grief Jet.
[ ] Walk.
[ ] How do you act?
--[ ] Careful, wary.
--[ ] Joking, silly.
--[ ] Serious, calm
--[ ] Something else?
[ ] Anything else? (Write-In)
