Odds are that's the situation. So I suspect we're in for interesting times when Madoka gets that call, but other than that I don't think it'll change much for us. Sure, Sayaka and Tira might be upset if this is the case (and it will probably mean they aren't really themselves so much as an imitation created by Ashtaroth as familiars), but since we've already gotten their Pokédex Novella entries we'll probably just avoid the copies if at all possible.
The more interesting question is what if there aren't?
Odds are that's the situation. So I suspect we're in for interesting times when Madoka gets that call, but other than that I don't think it'll change much for us. Sure, Sayaka and Tira might be upset if this is the case (and it will probably mean they aren't really themselves so much as an imitation created by Ashtaroth as familiars), but since we've already gotten their Pokédex Novella entries we'll probably just avoid the copies if at all possible.
The more interesting question is what if there aren't?
Odds are that's the situation. So I suspect we're in for interesting times when Madoka gets that call, but other than that I don't think it'll change much for us. Sure, Sayaka and Tira might be upset if this is the case (and it will probably mean they aren't really themselves so much as an imitation created by Ashtaroth as familiars), but since we've already gotten their Pokédex Novella entries we'll probably just avoid the copies if at all possible.
The more interesting question is what if there aren't?
It does change things for us because we are probably going to visit Tiras home. Depending on how things go, Ashy might have to subsume another magical girl before she turns into a Witch. But hey, we might be able to get an army of Tiras.
Also, I don't think Sayaka and Tira got replaced with imitations. I think their souls became part of Ashy so that they didn't count as separate beings for the purpose of time-travel. Kind of like mixing a drink, you can't separate the different parts after they got mixed but that doesn't mean the different ingredients stopped existing.
Now, the question is, are souls temporally dependent or temporally independent (are souls dependent on time, or are they independent of time)? If souls are dependent on time, homura's time travel is two steps, isolating her soul from time and then transporting it backwards and replacing old-Homuras soul with it, but if they are independent of time, time travel involves returning every soul except homura's to its state at the target time before doing the same to space-time.
Why does the distinction matter, you might ask? It matters because if the first scenario is accurate, then because sayaka and tira's souls do not get put into their previous bodies but stay linked to Ashy as part of her soul, then they aren't replacing the version of sayaka and tira that currently exist.
This is all assuming that reality is not mutable enough that it will treat the two of them as never have existing in the first place
I guess its the first case. Souls are temporally dependent.
We actually have two things that point into that direction.
First, we know Sayaka and Tira didn't replace their earlier-timeline selves. We know that because they stayed with Ashy instead of appearing in Mitakihara, for Sayaka, or Kazamino, for Tira.
The two cases that replaced their past versions, that we know about, are Homura and Ashy. Both appeared at the locations they were earlier in the timeline.
Given that we know Sayaka and Tira didn't get separated from Ashy, we can assume they didn't replace their past versions.
Second, we know that space-time doesn't get reset.
In this story, we see that because Ashy can feel the... Karma? Narrative?, whatever of previous time loops on Homura.
You don't get the chance to be shocked that she just teleported, as a glance at her proper suddenly sends your senses reeling — the girl is weak, the pull only half as much as it was with Sayaka, yet she's also strong, massively strong, enough to dwarf your own power by several orders of magnitude. Something is affixed to her, a great many somethings in fact; you can't see them but you can feel them, binding her even as they strengthen her, bettering her even as they chain her; her magic, her power, it's... it's...
That's based on one of the spinoff comics, but in the show itself we have Madoka. The plot hinges on Madoka building up accumulated karma from Homura's looping. If time just resets, then Madoka doesn't get anything from the looping and the story breaks.
That's based on one of the spinoff comics, but in the show itself we have Madoka. The plot hinges on Madoka building up accumulated karma from Homura's looping. If time just resets, then Madoka doesn't get anything from the looping and the story breaks.
Uh, actually by the QB explanation, Madoka gets it because every time Homura time loops she's forking a timeline because of Madoka, abandoning the old timeline.
Thats why Madoka has the accumulated karma to rewrite the universe - the universe was rewritten for her by Homura.
Uh, actually by the QB explanation, Madoka gets it because every time Homura time loops she's forking a timeline because of Madoka, abandoning the old timeline.
Thats why Madoka has the accumulated karma to rewrite the universe - the universe was rewritten for her by Homura.
Worse, she'd never even seen that witch before — a rarity, at this point — so there was nothing she could have done to prepare for it ahead of time. She couldn't even express just how much she hated these occasional deviations. Not only did they seem to occur totally at random, they made it impossible for her to perfectly plan things out, despite having literal time travel on her side.
Technically, the butterfly effect would cover that bit of narration but I understand there was also something about the musician guy varying in canon so yeah.
Souls are recurred at the state they are in when Subsumed:
-Mami and Nagisa are still there
-Candeloro and Charlotte will vanish at the instant they witch.
-Sayaka is still there, but if she contracts she disappears
Body and soul are brought from the previous instance:
-Mami and Sayaka are still there, but they may have weird dreams
-Charlotte is still there
-We should collect extra copies for second ascension
Souls are singular across loops:
-Mami, Sayaka and Nagisa vanish, overwritten by their looped versions
-Causality may adjust such that their current state and location make sense, if its parallel universe sliding then finding a compatible timeline isn't impossible.
Technically, the butterfly effect would cover that bit of narration but I understand there was also something about the musician guy varying in canon so yeah.
With that part, I was more going for the fact that if everything, except for Homura's soul, gets reset then there shouldn't be anything left to be bound/chained to her. But the inconsistencies between timelines are also a thing, yes.
Maybe if the reset process isn't perfect and deviations accumulate over time; but then the changes should be more consistent.
With that part, I was more going for the fact that if everything, except for Homura's soul, gets reset then there shouldn't be anything left to be bound/chained to her. But the inconsistencies between timelines are also a thing, yes.
Maybe if the reset process isn't perfect and deviations accumulate over time; but then the changes should be more consistent.
Madoka did get a flashback dream, presumably timed to match Homura entering the timeline and replacing the local Moemura.
Like, WHY Homura rewinds matters. Homura rewinds because of Madoka. Because of Madoka this universe was instantiated. Because of Madoka this universe will be abandoned.
Madoka did get a flashback dream, presumably timed to match Homura entering the timeline and replacing the local Moemura.
Like, WHY Homura rewinds matters. Homura rewinds because of Madoka. Because of Madoka this universe was instantiated. Because of Madoka this universe will be abandoned.
Homura's REASON for doing both is Madoka, so the karmic weight is on Madoka(and Homura, but she already contracted and cannot renegotiate leveraging her own contract). What Madoka does, and what happens to Madoka will directly lead to a dramatic and significant change in the world.
... Just me idly pondering here, don't read anything into this, but...
Hamura causes a new everything
because Madoka contracted/died(yes Homura is obsessed with Madoka, but that wouldn't get her creating worlds unless things go wrong.)
because Walpy attacks, or Sayaka disintegrates, or Hitomi gets hit by a truck...
Like, Madoka is the linchpin in Homura's mind, but the fate of a new world is dependent upon Madoka getting to that point, which is in turn influenced by other people. Madoka establishes that it isn't just the trigger, but also contributing forces. Madoka and Homura can rewrite reality, surely Sayaka can at least turn into hollywood godzilla? I guess, if there is absolutely nothing that will dissuade Madoka to forgo contracting then maybe nothing influences her? It isn't whether Madoka contracts, but rather whether Madoka stops Homura from pressing the button? Meh, I probably shouldn't be typing now.
... Just me idly pondering here, don't read anything into this, but...
Hamura causes a new everything
because Madoka contracted/died(yes Homura is obsessed with Madoka, but that wouldn't get her creating worlds unless things go wrong.)
because Walpy attacks, or Sayaka disintegrates, or Hitomi gets hit by a truck...
Like, Madoka is the linchpin in Homura's mind, but the fate of a new world is dependent upon Madoka getting to that point, which is in turn influenced by other people. Madoka establishes that it isn't just the trigger, but also contributing forces. Madoka and Homura can rewrite reality, surely Sayaka can at least turn into hollywood godzilla? I guess, if there is absolutely nothing that will dissuade Madoka to forgo contracting then maybe nothing influences her? It isn't whether Madoka contracts, but rather whether Madoka stops Homura from pressing the button? Meh, I probably shouldn't be typing now.
Walpurgisnacht appears to be stronger in later time loop. Loop 0 Madoka was a perfectly average and unremarkable magical girl, and she duo'd it with Mami.
By the later loops, with vastly more firepower and more allies...she couldn't beat it.
Also from all indications Sayaka wasn't even worth contracting in the first couple of loops.
Walpurgisnacht appears to be stronger in later time loop. Loop 0 Madoka was a perfectly average and unremarkable magical girl, and she duo'd it with Mami.
By the later loops, with vastly more firepower and more allies...she couldn't beat it.
Also from all indications Sayaka wasn't even worth contracting in the first couple of loops.
So the time loops ended up working like karmatic tar pit with a animal aka Madoka struggling to escape and gets the attention of predators and carrion eater that get stuck and so on aka everyone involved with with Madoka is dragged under the karmatic bonds of themselves
<...go on then.> you say. <You two should head inside.>
"Just us two?" Sayaka questions, looking back at you.
<Pretty sure I won't fit through the front door, so yes, just you two. Besides, if Mami does still remember herself, I doubt I'd be particularly welcome anyways.>
A smile ghosts over Sayaka's lips. "...yeah, probably not."
You nod. <I'll just wait out here and watch through you two. Do your best to keep each other safe and out of trouble, alright?>
You only realize after already having said it just how... motherly that sounded. Ick, bad thoughts.
"Shall we then?" Tira asks, thankfully choosing not to comment on your wording.
Sayaka nods, and the two of them hop down from you onto the landing-pad-sized platter below. Cautiously moving past the familiars, whose heads slowly turn to watch them go, the girls make their way over the nearby rainbow bridge and tentatively step down onto the small island at the other end.
Though the cottage itself takes up most of the available real estate on the tiny land mass, there's still enough remaining room for a few spotted red and blue mushrooms to be sprouting out of the short, dark grass that covers it. There's also a large red sign staked into the ground on the left, with black witch runes inscribed on its surface that read "Welcome All"... you suppose that may be another good sign? Albeit a somewhat more literal one than the last.
You don't get to examine the sign for long, as Sayaka and Tira soon turn to the cottage door, which you now notice has an intricate yellow-and-black symbol on it in place of a window. After a moment of trepidation, Sayaka moves forward to pull it open, and with a synchronized intake of air, she and Tira step inside.
Beyond the entrance of the cottage lies a grand chamber, far larger in size than should be physically possible given its comparatively minuscule exterior. It's remarkably stylish in appearance, with velvety-soft red carpet flooring and checkerboard-patterned walls, the design of which is slanted to put the squares on a diagonal. Elegant marble support arches frame the left and right sides of the room, helping to hold up the high ceiling, and soft music is playing from somewhere nearby, a slow, cheerful tune primarily composed of gently chiming bells. At the same time, there's a bizarrely festive atmosphere to it all, owing mostly to the golden, key-laden chains strung like party streamers from the walls, as well as the colorfully-wrapped presents spread all across the floor, huge piles of which are stacked up in every corner like miniature dragons' hoards. A bush covered in white flowers and trimmed into the shape of a picture frame is set high upon the back wall, at the center of which is another set of witch runes, these ones in white and which read "Happy Birthday".
In addition to all this, there are more familiars of the same kind you found outside scattered about, most of them simply standing in place as though awaiting orders. Sayaka and Tira aren't really looking at them though, their gazes instead focused on the unreasonably tall dining table sitting at the center of the space. Atop its tasteful purple tablecloth lies a plethora of objects, including a large strawberry shortcake topped with merrily burning candles, several platters of fresh-looking tea biscuits, multiple royal blue teacup sets with matching empty plates... and a small, sprite-like being, hovering a good two or three feet over the table's actual surface.
"Is that... her?" Tira asks.
You think so — or rather, you suppose it must be. While you'd sooner assume the floating entity to be a familiar than a witch, unlike the maids, there's only one of her present, and since the room doesn't seem to continue any further, you can only assume that you have in fact already reached the heart of Mami's barrier. You suppose it's possible that the real witch is still hiding somewhere, and this is just a "unique" familiar in the same vein as Shemesh, but more likely, she's the real deal.
Still, you can understand Tira's uncertainty. Much like her barrier, Mami's witch form is shockingly tiny, smaller even than Charlotte's "plushie" mode. Her body is roughly humanoid, but comically over-proportioned, with a waist that's literally pencil thin and a set of hips nearly twenty times as wide. Unlike many other witches, she's also clothed, garbed in a frilled green dress with a tiny red apron over top, and a large yellow bonnet that extends down into a small shoulder cloak. The latter is fastened around her neck by a colorful bow tie, and from within it, two long golden ribbons — remarkably similar to your own, actually — stream down on either side of her like arms. In contrast, her legs unravel as they narrow, revealing their nature as wound white cloth. Though she's facing off to the side, you can just barely see a gray, mannequin-like head protruding from the multicolored bottom of her bonnet, a pattern of six red circles in the vague shape of a flower its only concession to facial features.
The doll-sized witch doesn't seem to have noticed her visitors yet, too busy using her evidently quite sharp ribbons to snip off a large pink tag attached to the back of her bonnet. The tag looks to have even more rune writing on it, but neither of the girls are close enough to see what it says before the witch abruptly slices it to pieces.
"Ma- Mami-san?" Sayaka hesitantly calls out.
At the sound of Sayaka's voice, the witch turns to fully face her and Tira, whereupon you notice that written along the top of her bonnet is yet another string of runes. Interesting; you've never actually seen those on a witch before... if only you had some idea what "Candeloro" is supposed to mean.
The witch suddenly darts forward, a sparkling gold aura filled with equally golden flower petals springing into existence around her as she does. Sayaka flinches backward, as does Tira... but the witch stops several feet before actually reaching them. She rapidly bobs up and down in the air for a few moments, as though highly excited, before extending her ribbons backwards and gesturing at the table, seemingly inviting the pair to sit down.
Sayaka lets out a relieved sigh. "She's not attacking..."
<Charlotte didn't either, at first.> you remind her.
Sayaka stiffens and looks up at Mami's witch with renewed wariness. The witch seems to droop slightly at the scrutiny, and Sayaka's expression softens again.
"Should we sit?" she asks.
You're not entirely sure if Sayaka is talking to you, Tira, or the other witch, and so remain silent. Despite not receiving an answer from anyone, Sayaka seems to come to a decision anyways, dismissing her weapon and moving forward to take a spot at the table. The witch eagerly flies back over to join her, prompting Tira to follow suit a moment later.
Due to the dining set having seemingly been constructed for someone significantly larger than the average person, Sayaka ends up having to literally pull herself up into a chair, while Tira elects to simply jump up onto hers. As they settle down on the oversized furniture, you idly you notice a pair of large windows built into the wall across from them, both of them set at completely different heights. They look out onto a gridded teal sky, which doesn't remotely match the one you're seeing through your real body... wait, does that mean the barrier does go further than this?
Before you can ponder this for too long, the witch sets down on the table in front of Sayaka and Tira, her sparkling aura fading as she does. Now that you see her up close, you notice that her apron looks almost like a smiling pair of lips- strike that, those are lips. They have teeth.
"You're not gonna hurt us... right, Mami-san?" Sayaka asks, a tentative hope in her voice.
In response, the witch moves the plate with the cake over to herself and proceeds to use one of her ribbons to cut out two equally-sized pieces of it. She then slides the pieces onto two of the table's spare plates before placing them down in front of Sayaka and Tira.
"Er. Thank you?" Tira says uncertainly, staring at the single burning candle atop her slice, which doesn't seem to be melting at all.
The witch turns and seems to gesture to two of the maid familiars standing near the end of the table, which silently walk over and move a pair of teacups in front of the girls. A matching teapot follows, along with a large bowl of sugar, and a pot that you can only assume to contain either milk or creamer. One of the maids also places a much smaller teacup from its serving platter down in front of the witch, before the tiny being gestures again, and they both back away to their previous positions... wait a second, she's communicating with her familiars? So that is a thing! Why can't you do that?
"Heh." Sayaka quietly laughs, not being privy to your mental monologue. "It's a tea party... yeah, that's you definitely you, Mami-san."
She pauses, her tone turning slightly heavier. "You... you do recognize us, don't you?"
The witch pays Sayaka no attention, instead taking hold of the teapot and pouring the steaming liquid within into the provided teacups.
"Tomoe-san?" Tira tries. "Can you understand us?"
The witch still fails to respond, other than sliding a plate of biscuits over to join the pieces of cake already in front of them.
<Hey, see if "Candeloro" gets a reaction.> you suggest.
<...'Candeloro'?> Tira telepathically questions. <I cannot claim to be familiar with that term. What does it mean?>
<I'm not sure, actually. That's what the runes in her bonnet read though, so I assume she might at least recognize the word.>
<...hang on a sec, are you telling me those weird symbol things are an actual language?>
If it were possible for you to mentally squint at Sayaka, you would be doing so right now.
<Of course they are, Sayaka. You've seen me write them out before. What, did you seriously think I was trying to communicate with Charlotte yesterday by showing her random nonsense glyphs?>
<Yeah, pretty much.>
<...look, just try it before she gets fed up with waiting.>
It's a genuine concern, as the witch appears to just be watching the two of them now. Her eyeless gaze slowly shifts from Sayaka to Tira and back again as she prods their plates and cups a little closer to them.
"I suppose it is at least worth a try." Tira says doubtfully. "Candeloro?"
The witch looks over at Tira again, but this time her gaze lingers. Lifting off the table and hovering slightly closer to the seated girl, the witch lets out a small, questioning chirp, though the apron you're assuming serves as her mouth fails to move.
"She does appear to recognize that..." Tira says, eyes widening in surprise.
"Which means she must understand us, right?" Sayaka says, her voice growing excited. "And she wouldn't be being this nice if she didn't know who we were — she must recognize us too!"
You're a lot less certain about that than Sayaka sounds right now, but the witch is acting remarkably friendly so far. You're not quite sure what to think of her just yet.
"If that is the case, then why is she not saying so?" Tira asks as the witch continues to stare at her for a moment longer before returning to the table's surface. "Even if she can no longer speak, surely she could write something to the same effect, or signal as much in some similar fashion."
Sayaka's enthusiasm dims slightly.
"Maybe... maybe she doesn't know how to anymore." she says aloud, before abruptly switching to telepathy. <Ash, you said you lost most of your memories from before you were a magical girl, right?>
<Yeah, I did.> you confirm. <A few other things, too... are you thinking she might have lost her memories of how to communicate with others, or something like that?>
Sayaka tentatively nods. Hmm... well, you don't think you know enough about your own hyper-specific amnesia to say how likely she is to be right, but you certainly can't deny it's possible.
"Perhaps, but if she has retained her comprehension of spoken language, proving so should still be relatively simple." Tira points out, turning back to the tiny witch. "Tomoe-san, if you truly do understand us, could you extend your left... ribbon, I suppose, as proof?"
The witch looks at Tira, then floats forward and extends her left ribbon, wrapping it around the handle of the magical girl's teacup. She then holds the cup up near Tira's hand, obviously wanting her to take it.
<Wait, was that a confirmation, or a coincidence?>
"...I truly could not say." Tira admits.
As Tira fails to grab hold of the teacup, the witch switches tactics, moving it away from Tira's hand and up towards her mouth, before pressing it forward even more insistently.
"Ah, n-no thank you." Tira stutters, nervously leaning away as she pushes the steaming drink back towards the witch. "I am not feeling particularly thirsty at the moment..."
The witch tilts her head slightly to the side as though in confusion, but lowers the teacup back to the table... then moves Tira's plate of cake even closer to her than before, to the point that it's nearly at risk of falling into her lap.
"Nor am I particularly hungry." Tira insists, looking more and more uneasy as she slides the plate back towards the center of the table. "Apologies, but I really must decline..."
"Why though?" Sayaka cuts back in. "I'm not really sure why she's being so insistent about it either, but I think you're making her upset."
Indeed, for a being without any real facial features, the witch looks remarkably put out by Tira's refusal to partake in anything she's yet offered. Whether she's still sapient or not, she's certainly one of the more expressive witches you've come across thus far.
"I guess you just really want us to enjoy the party, huh Mami-san?" Sayaka asks.
She reaches over and picks up her own teacup from the table. Noticing this, the witch instantly perks up, flitting over to Sayaka's side.
"Mi- Sayaka!" Tira hisses as Sayaka raises the teacup to her mouth. "What are you doing?! We do not know if any of this is fit for consumption!"
Sayaka pauses, breathes in some of the steam from her tea, and shrugs. "It looks fine, and it smells fine, so I'm guessing it's probably fine... though, I think I'll pass on the cake too. I had enough sweets yesterday as is."
She pushes her plate back towards the center of table, joining Tira's similarly discarded one. The witch glances at the two rejected servings of cake, then turns and beckons to another familiar, which walks over and sweeps the unwanted food up onto its empty serving platter. It swiftly produces a large silver lid from somewhere, which it uses it to cover said platter, then waits a few seconds before lifting it back up... revealing that the plates have magically been replaced by a pair of golden lacquer bowls, each one with a pair of ornate black chopsticks delicately laid upon its rim.
You feel like someone should be clapping right now.
The familiar places the dishes down on the table before stepping away again, leaving Sayaka and Tira blinking down at them in surprise.
"...well, this is a definite improvement." Sayaka comments, staring down at the bowl of noodle soup she's just been served.
"Is this... toshikoshi soba?" Tira questions, squinting confusedly at her own bowl. "But we are months past New Years."
Evidently uncaring of the dish's seasonality, Sayaka picks up her chopsticks. Noticing this out of the corner of her eye, Tira whirls around to face her again.
"Sayaka!" Tira objects, much louder this time. "I reiterate, we have no idea if this food is edible, or what sort of effects it may have on one if eaten! Are you truly going to risk ingesting this when doing so could be actively harmful to you?!"
Despite Tira's volume, the witch doesn't react to her protests, her focus still centered entirely on Sayaka. Sayaka glances over at her expectant audience, then sighs and turns back to the food laid out in front of her.
"Mami-san may have tried to kill me, but... it wasn't intentional." she says. "I still trust her."
Her mouth quirks up into a slight smile again. "Besides, all I've had to eat or drink since yesterday is candy. I like dessert and all, but I'm definitely not gonna say no to some real food."
"This is hardly real food-!"
Tira cuts off with a cry of dismay as Sayaka slurps up a large mouthful of noodles, following it up with a small sip of tea.
"...mmm!" Sayaka hums, smiling as she swallows. "Tasty!"
The witch chirps delightedly, rapidly circling around Sayaka's head for a couple of seconds as the magical girl takes another, larger swig of tea. Having direct access to Sayaka's taste buds, you second her opinion — while the noodles probably aren't of quite the same quality as Charlotte's candy, they're still quite tasty, and the tea is exceptionally good, even without anything added to it. Man, why is witch food so consistently amazing?
"You should really try some of this." Sayaka says to Tira, plucking a biscuit from the nearby plate of them and dunking it in her tea before biting into it. "Seriously, who knows when we'll get to eat again."
As if in agreement with this, the witch turns her attention back to Tira, grabbing and offering the teacup to her once again. If the way Tira immediately flinches back is any indication, she still isn't particularly convinced, and based on how the tiny witch leans forward in turn, her ribbons starting to furl in on themselves like slowly clenching fists, you suspect you're not the only one who can tell.
<I think she may be getting frustrated with you, Tira.> you note. <Sayaka's right you know, you should probably just try some. Witch food really has turned out to be surprisingly edible so far.>
<Under what precedent?> Tira telepathically retorts. <Forgive me, but I sincerely doubt this to be a situation that commonly comes up!>
<It has, actually. Just yesterday, in fact — Charlotte is the witch of sweets, and her entire barrier is full of them, hence why all Sayaka had to eat yesterday was candy. That was all witch-made too, and we haven't had any problems from that as of yet.>
<...truly?> Tira asks, caught off-guard.
<Truly.> you reply. <I do understand your reluctance, and you might even be right about it having side-effects, magical or otherwise. But Sayaka seems alright so far, and... well, given that our food sources are kind of limited at the moment, you may want to get over this rather quickly anyways.>
With your additional prodding, Tira finally caves. Gingerly taking the teacup from the witch's outstretched arms, she brings it to her lips and takes a very, very cautious sip before immediately setting it back down, holding the liquid in her mouth for nearly ten full seconds before finally swallowing. Despite Tira's obvious hesitance, the witch seems just as pleased as she was with Sayaka, squeaking happily and doing jubilant circles around the magical girl's head before setting back down on the table next to her own, miniature teacup.
"So?" Sayaka asks, having been watching. "What's the verdict?"
"It is... good." Tira admits.
"Sure is." Sayaka says contently, raising another bite of noodles to her mouth. "See? I told you, Mami-san's not gonna hurt us."
Tira sighs. "Perhaps not... but if I still believed her to have any say in the matter, I would not have been so concerned to begin with."
Sayaka pauses and turns to give Tira a confused look. "Huh?"
"...Tomoe-san is gone, Sayaka." Tira says solemnly. "This witch is not her — not anymore, at least."
Sayaka drops her chopsticks. "What...? No, how can you say that?! She's being so nice to us!"
"She is acting quite benevolent for a witch, yes." Tira agrees. "However, she is not acting like Tomoe-san, nor is she responding to her name. In fact, I suspect the only reason she reacted to 'Candeloro' is because that is now her name."
...you're kind of thinking the same, honestly. Granted, you probably wouldn't react to your old name either, not remembering it and all, but if you were trying to convince someone you still had a human mind in any respect, this would not be how you'd be going about it. The witch — Candeloro, you're going to assume for the time being — does actually seem decently intelligent, but not... human intelligent.
"But she recognizes us!" Sayaka protests. "If she didn't, why would she be so excited to have us here?!"
"She may have simply been excited to have anyone here at all." Tira says. "I cannot claim to understand how witches think, but this 'party' looked to have been set up to take place before we even arrived... it is possible that literally any person who entered this cottage would have been greeted with the exact same enthusiasm, regardless of who they happened to be."
<Afraid I have agree with Tira here.> you chime in. <Candeloro doesn't seem hostile, and even her familiars seem fairly nice, but unless she got over turning into a witch really, really quickly, I don't think she remembers being human.>
Sayaka stands up in her chair and slams her hands on the table, causing Candeloro to let out a startled squeak.
"Her name is Tomoe Mami!" she cries. "Not Candyladle or whatever you two keep saying! Here, let me just-"
Sayaka's hands glow blue as she reaches over and lays her palms on the diminutive witch in front of her. Candeloro seems merely curious at this treatment, and doesn't resist at all... but nor does anything happen to her.
<Sayaka, if I thought that would work, I'd have asked you to try it on me.>
"I didn't ask for your input!" Sayaka shoots back as her hands light up even brighter. "Come on-!"
Still, nothing continues to happen. Candeloro tilts her head at Sayaka as the magical girl's face begins to fall.
"Mami-san, I..."
After a few more seconds, the glow cuts out, and Sayaka's shoulders slump. She stares at Candeloro for a little while longer before finally turning away.
"...who am I kidding." she mumbles.
Releasing Candeloro, Sayaka pushes herself out of her seat. She lands back on the carpeted floor below, and quickly begins walking back towards the entrance.
"Sayaka, where are you going?" Tira calls, jumping down as well.
"Anywhere but here." Sayaka replies in a tone drained of emotion.
Tira starts to run after her, only to be preempted by Candeloro herself, who darts over and places herself directly in Sayaka's way.
"...what do you want?" Sayaka asks flatly. "They're right. You're not her, and I can't fix you."
Candeloro rapidly shakes her head, the motion causing her entire body to twist from side to side, and loosely wraps her ribbons around Sayaka's right arm. Sayaka ignores her, pulling her arm free and brushing past the witch before reaching out towards the door-
A pair of enormous yellow lengths slam into the exit with enough force to rattle the entire wall it's attached to. Sayaka and Tira let out simultaneous startled cries, the former jumping back towards the center of the room as Candeloro floats upwards, her golden aura reigniting as her ribbons retract and return to normal size. She leans forward in the air, chirping in a notably more menacing manner than before, and a pair of maid familiars moves to block the door.
<...apparently I spoke slightly too soon about her not being hostile.>
"So it would seem." Tira quietly agrees.
She re-summons her weapon, a penbrush materializing between her fingertips. Seeming torn between anger and nausea, Sayaka does the same, a sword manifesting in her already clenched grip. Before either of the girls can even so much as move however, Candeloro's ribbons lash out again, crossing nearly half the room in an instant to wind around the two of them and bind both their limbs and weapons to their sides.
"Wha- hey!" Sayaka cries. "Let go of me!"
"Tomoe-san — no, Candeloro-san, we do not wish to fight you!" Tira yells.
The pair immediately begins struggling against their bonds, but Candeloro pays them no heed, instead flitting back over to the table with the two of them in tow... and releasing them, depositing them back into the seats they just got out of. Sayaka and Tira are both left somewhat stunned as the witch's aura winks out again, and she returns to calmly watching them, as though none of that even just happened.
"...what the heck?" Sayaka says in a slightly befuddled tone.
She stands back up, only for Candeloro to immediately reach out and push her back down. Does she just not want Sayaka or Tira to go anywhere...?
Sayaka glares at the witch, her grip on her weapon tightening. Her thumb begins to move towards the switch on its hilt, as Tira slowly aims the pen end of her weapon at the witch-
<Wait, don't!> you cut in, forcing both their hands to still. <Stop resisting!>
"Stop resisting?" Sayaka repeats, futilely trying to make her hand obey her. "Are you serious?! If she's not Mami-san, then she has no reason not to hurt us!"
"I concur." Tira hastily adds. "We need to either fight back, or leave this place immediately, and I do not believe she plans on allowing the latter!"
<Both of you, calm down. I don't think she'll do anything to you so long as you stay put, so let's at least take a moment to figure out a plan before going off half-cocked. The room you're in is pretty large, but not enough so that throwing exploding swords and acid ink around is likely to be a great idea.>
Sayaka grumbles at that, but seems to begrudgingly acknowledge the point, slumping in her chair with her arms crossed. Tira does the same, albeit in a slightly more dignified fashion.
"Fine... any bright ideas then?" Sayaka mutters.
<Give me a minute.>
You refocus on your personal perspective, which you've largely been ignoring while all of this has been playing out. You immediately notice that the familiars that met you at the bridge seem to have vanished — you guess they must have left at some point while you weren't paying attention to them. At least they won't be an issue then... not that you'd really been thinking they would be.
You look over at the cottage, considering. Based on what you just saw, Candeloro probably won't get aggressive unless Sayaka or Tira attempt to leave. They obviously can't just stay in there with her forever, but you wonder if you can't still resolve this without a fight — even if she doesn't remember being Mami, Candeloro clearly at least understands body language to some extent, and she may even understand witch runes as well, given just how many of them there seem to be around here. You'd need the other witch to come outside to try and talk with her though, and it doesn't really seem like she's planning on going anywhere any time soon. Besides, you do have other options...
[-] Attempt to lure Candeloro outside to talk, by...
[-] ...making an illusion. You're fully stocked on grief at the moment, so you can spare enough for at least one or two of these. [Write in: What?]
[-] ...throwing shatterwords at the ground outside. You imagine you'd want to know what all the racket is if you suddenly heard things start breaking all around you.
[-] ...opening the cottage door and waving at her. A simple, non-threatening greeting may be best, especially if she doesn't already know you're here.
[-] ...opening the cottage door and making a "come here" gesture. She's done this with her familiars multiple times now, so she must understand what it means.
[-] Write in.
[-] Break open Candeloro's cottage, then...
[-] ...ambush her, with help from Sayaka and Tira. A fight may be inevitable anyways, and at least this way it won't start with you on the back foot.
[-] ...grab the girls and run. You expect the other witch will just chase you if you try this, even if you were willing to leave this problem until later.
[-] ...complain about not being invited to the party as well. Just because you couldn't eat, drink, or fit inside the building was no reason to be so rude!
[-] Write in.
[-] Have the girls continue eating. Given her behavior thus far, you think Candeloro might just not want the girls to go anywhere because her "party" isn't over yet. If you let it come to completion, maybe the witch will just let them go...?
[-] Ask the girls for suggestions. You're perfectly open to any ideas they may have, so long as they don't involve explosions and acid in a confined space with only one exit.
[-] Write in.
This chapter dedicated to the generous person that donated FIFTY ONE dollars to my Ko-Fi for this fic. You are awesome.
We could have them alert her to a third friend outside who wanted to join but was too big for the entrance and suggest a picnic or taking the party to the porch
The doll-sized witch doesn't seem to have noticed her visitors yet, too busy using her evidently quite sharp ribbons to snip off a large pink tag attached to the back of her bonnet. The tag looks to have even more rune writing on it, but neither Tira nor Sayaka are close enough to see what it says before the witch abruptly slices it to pieces.
So canon Candeloro then, Unfortunate. Still, she is now a problem we must solve if we want our puppets friends back.
I reckon we fight fire with fire! We track down Charlotte and shove her into Candeloro's cottage, then take bets on what happens. No way that could possibly go wrong, no way at all!
Failing that the ambush would probably do the trick, have the girls enjoy the party until then.
The witch suddenly darts forward, a sparkling gold aura filled with equally golden flower petals springing into existence around her as she does. Sayaka flinches backward, as does Tira... but the witch stops several feet before actually reaching them. She rapidly bobs up and down in the air for a few moments, as though highly excited, before extending her ribbons backwards and gesturing at the table, seemingly inviting the pair to sit down
I know it's confirmed later down, but this here made me sad because it confirmed this wasn't really Mami anymore. Mami thought Tira was dead, so you'd think she'd have more of a reaction to seeing her alive and well.
One of the maids also places a much smaller teacup from its serving platter down in front of the witch, before the tiny being gestures again, and they both back away to their previous positions... wait a second, she's communicating with her familiars? So that is a thing! Why can't you do that?
You can kinda talk to Shemesh, I think most of the others just don't care about what you have to say.
Really should avoid pissing off or killing Candeloro. She's got food on demand, and while it might be the familiars making it we don't know if they'll make more if anyone else askes.
I reckon we fight fire with fire! We track down Charlotte and shove her into Candeloro's cottage, then take bets on what happens. No way that could possibly go wrong, no way at all!
That's not the worst idea. If Candeloro just wants someone around, we could plop Charlotte down here and have them watch each other. It'd only be a temporary solution, Charlotte will want to wander off later, but for now it'd be decent.
Hmm, but that makes me think of the first time we met Charlotte. I wonder, if we bust open the doors and invite her to come with us, would she? Charlotte was eager to follow, and Candeloro just wants friends, not to be a hikineet that stays in her room all day. She might go for it.
That in mind, I'm voting this way.
[X] Attempt to lure Candeloro outside to talk, by...
[X] ...opening the cottage door and making a "come here" gesture. She's done this with her familiars multiple times now, so she must understand what it means.
[x] Knock on the door. A good host, which she most assuredly is, will invite you in, and it would be impolite not to acquiesce. If that should result in property damage, well, a broken doorway is a small price to pay for civility, and what manner of uncultured buffoon would refuse such a momentous work of literature?
-[x] Join the party and attempt to engage in conversation.
--[x] Try asking about the maids.
--[x] Debate philosophy and the nature of experience. Lead into the problem of repetitive experiences and how much better it would be if we could have regular tea parties with new experiences to discuss in wach one, instead of one long tea party. The latter would, along with *gasp* the tea, inevitably become stale.
-[x] If communication is impossible, make an illusion of that wb litch who killed you making a rude gesture and jumping through the window, then escape while Candeloro is distracted.
--[x] Use an illusion of magical girl Mami politely excusing herself and leaving instead.
[x] Put up a sign asking people not to enter without consulting the management(with a cute little chibi-moe-book), and that being rude to the occupant would come with severe consequences.
