At the end of one of Homura's many loops, Madoka doesn't make a contract. Instead, something deep inside her soul ignited, and she Planeswalked for the first time. Three years later, she returns to Earth, only to find that somehow, time has gone backwards instead of forwards.
-
For all readers and writers
After much ado, our new tagging system is here and being rolled out to the userbase. Read more here!
The Chasm of Years and Worlds (Madoka/MtG)
- Created at
- Index progress
- Ongoing
- Watchers
- 39
- Recent readers
- 0
- Threadmarks
- 4
-
Statistics (4 threadmarks, 8.4k words)
User Total 0th Law 4 Threadmarks Reader mode
Chapter 1
0th Law
The Promethean Rose
- Location
- 5 Minutes into the Future
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Sunday, May 1st. Year 2011 of the Common Era. Year 4558 of the Argivian Reckoning. 44th of Harvest Moon, Ava. 719
Madoka ran through the city as quickly as she could, picking her way around the fallen buildings and pulverized streets, carefully stepping over the shattered glass that littered the landscape.
How had she been able to believe that the others would be okay fighting the Witch that could cause this much destruction? Yes, Homura had said that, with Sayaka and Mami's help, the fight was as good as won, but….
No, even then, Madoka had known that it wasn't going to go well. She just wanted to believe Homura was being honest back then, wanted to believe she was going to be okay. Did that make her a coward? Probably.
Sure, she was trying to get to the location of the battle, but it might have been too late for her to save them at that point.
And it would be all her fault.
Eventually, she managed to reach the place where the battle was taking place, and the very first thing she noticed was it. Walpurgisnacht. A witch, there was no doubt about that, although it was disconcerting to see one in the real world instead of within its labyrinth. It appeared as an upside-down, although slightly askew noblewoman, suspended in the air as if lifted by unseen strings. Instead of a lower body, she had a "stand" easily the size of a telephone pole, capped with at least two massive gears.
Overall, it was the largest witch Madoka had ever seen, with the closest runner-up being the Rose Garden Witch that had, in some respects, acted as her introduction to the world of Magic, when she and Sayaka were saved by… Mami.
Upon refocusing on her mission here, Madoka scanned the landscape for any sign of her friends while straining to hear more of the same. Perhaps she'd hear one of Mami's muskets go off, or Sayaka streaking through the sky towards the Witch. Maybe she'd even see Homura doing… whatever Homura did. Madoka still wasn't exactly clear on that. Inexplicable explosions? Teleportation? Sayaka or Mami probably knew, at least, given the information was much more relevant to them.
Kyubey would also be a welcome sight. If she made a contract with him… well, she'd see to it that nobody would die or would have died here today. If he could make any wish come true, especially her wishes, that was, right now, what she'd ask for in a heartbeat.
"Madoka!" The person in question greeted urgently. Madoka looked around for the source of the telepathy, and saw him on the remnants of a railing. "It's good that you're here. Mami and Sayaka are both down, and I'm not sure how long Homura can-"
He was cut off when a loud crack! sounded across the ruined city, and his head outright exploded. Madoka looked up in the direction she'd heard the gunshot from — she'd heard enough of Mami's muskets to know what guns really sounded like — but there was nobody there, even though she was sure the sound had come from the top of that building.
Her train of thought was cut short, however, when Homura appeared at her side. "Homur-" she began, but was interrupted.
"Get down!" Homura shouted, positioning herself with her shield raised, in between Madoka and a building that was being thrown at them.
Madoka had many things on her mind, but foremost among them was incredulity at the idea that Homura's shield would be able to stop a flying skyscraper. She still got down, of course: the emotion and urgency in Homura's voice was so surprising, yet somehow so familiar, that she listened without question. She shut her eyes tight, dreading the inevitable.
She was going to die here.
She needed to do something.
She needed to escape.
There was a loud crash, the sound of something tearing, and then quiet.
Madoka felt cold.
Sunday, March 27th. Year 2011 of the Common Era. Year 4561 of the Argivian Reckoning. 12th of Harvest Moon, Ava. 722
It was a cool spring afternoon in Mitakihara City. Of course, spring, in this case, depended on one's definition. After all, while the equinox, the official beginning of spring, had already passed, that had happened just last week, and there had been flurries of snow in the morning, so there were many who would say that it was still winter.
On the quite literally bright side, the sun was mostly unobstructed at this particular hour, bringing some light and warmth to the various pedestrians milling about. Still, it was hardly anything close to rush hour, so there were relatively few people around. Some of them wore jackets, some others made do with long sleeves, but there was one person roaming Mitakihara who fit neither of those categories.
She was a young woman, perhaps in her late teens or early twenties, with long pink hair that extended to the middle of her back. On her shoulders, she wore a high-collared black silk mantle, clasped with a jeweled brooch. Her arms, in lieu of sleeves, bore elbow-length gloves that managed to look warm despite their light construction. But the most striking thing about this woman was her dress: another silk construction, primarily dyed red, but with occasional white and even gold accents. It was strapless, with a sensible straight neckline and a bodice that was laced up and embroidered in front. The waistline was rather frilly, and divided the complex bodice from the simple, yet elegant flowing skirt.
Wherever she went, she turned heads, some onlookers wondering about cosplay, some imagining how much the ensemble must have cost, and others still simply stunned.
Still, the young woman paid them no mind. She walked elegantly, yet with firm purpose. Her eyes scanned the skyline and various storefronts, almost as if she was looking for something. But what that was, nobody could tell. On occasion, it appeared as if she turned to speak to someone next to her, someone at least marginally taller. But that couldn't be the case, since she was clearly walking alone, and she was far too composed for other pedestrians to consider her delusional.
For a moment, she appeared to stop at a bus stop, for fairly obvious reasons: if there was one thing people could tell about her, it was that she had somewhere to be. Yet, after a brief consideration, she decided to continue down the road, in the direction of the suburbs.
There, she strolled along the sidewalks, taking in the trees whose leaves had already sprouted by the time the equinox rolled around. There were even a few cherry blossoms that had yet to fully fall. As she made her way to her destination, an indiscernible expression began to assert itself. Confusion, nostalgia, worry, contentment… perhaps all four, or perhaps none of them.
Eventually, she came upon a very modern-style house, and began to walk to its front door. If there were any more spectators at this point, they would have wondered about her behavior — the family that lived there had a daughter, yes, but the woman was too old to be her, and the impression she gave off was completely different.
Still, she rang the doorbell of the house. Eventually, after taking a very deep breath. A couple seconds later, and it was opened by Tomohisa Kaname, who the woman froze for a moment upon seeing the face of him, before bowing.
"I'm home, Dad." She gave the traditional greeting. Of course, that meant…
"Madoka!?" The man exclaimed, after realization dawned in his eyes.
"Yes, it's-" the woman began, but was interrupted when a third person entered the… situation, rushing there in response to her name.
"Yes, dad?" She said, after arriving.
Then the two Madokas looked at each other, and everyone there knew everything was going to become much more complicated.
Madoka ran through the city as quickly as she could, picking her way around the fallen buildings and pulverized streets, carefully stepping over the shattered glass that littered the landscape.
How had she been able to believe that the others would be okay fighting the Witch that could cause this much destruction? Yes, Homura had said that, with Sayaka and Mami's help, the fight was as good as won, but….
No, even then, Madoka had known that it wasn't going to go well. She just wanted to believe Homura was being honest back then, wanted to believe she was going to be okay. Did that make her a coward? Probably.
Sure, she was trying to get to the location of the battle, but it might have been too late for her to save them at that point.
And it would be all her fault.
Eventually, she managed to reach the place where the battle was taking place, and the very first thing she noticed was it. Walpurgisnacht. A witch, there was no doubt about that, although it was disconcerting to see one in the real world instead of within its labyrinth. It appeared as an upside-down, although slightly askew noblewoman, suspended in the air as if lifted by unseen strings. Instead of a lower body, she had a "stand" easily the size of a telephone pole, capped with at least two massive gears.
Overall, it was the largest witch Madoka had ever seen, with the closest runner-up being the Rose Garden Witch that had, in some respects, acted as her introduction to the world of Magic, when she and Sayaka were saved by… Mami.
Upon refocusing on her mission here, Madoka scanned the landscape for any sign of her friends while straining to hear more of the same. Perhaps she'd hear one of Mami's muskets go off, or Sayaka streaking through the sky towards the Witch. Maybe she'd even see Homura doing… whatever Homura did. Madoka still wasn't exactly clear on that. Inexplicable explosions? Teleportation? Sayaka or Mami probably knew, at least, given the information was much more relevant to them.
Kyubey would also be a welcome sight. If she made a contract with him… well, she'd see to it that nobody would die or would have died here today. If he could make any wish come true, especially her wishes, that was, right now, what she'd ask for in a heartbeat.
"Madoka!" The person in question greeted urgently. Madoka looked around for the source of the telepathy, and saw him on the remnants of a railing. "It's good that you're here. Mami and Sayaka are both down, and I'm not sure how long Homura can-"
He was cut off when a loud crack! sounded across the ruined city, and his head outright exploded. Madoka looked up in the direction she'd heard the gunshot from — she'd heard enough of Mami's muskets to know what guns really sounded like — but there was nobody there, even though she was sure the sound had come from the top of that building.
Her train of thought was cut short, however, when Homura appeared at her side. "Homur-" she began, but was interrupted.
"Get down!" Homura shouted, positioning herself with her shield raised, in between Madoka and a building that was being thrown at them.
Madoka had many things on her mind, but foremost among them was incredulity at the idea that Homura's shield would be able to stop a flying skyscraper. She still got down, of course: the emotion and urgency in Homura's voice was so surprising, yet somehow so familiar, that she listened without question. She shut her eyes tight, dreading the inevitable.
She was going to die here.
She needed to do something.
She needed to escape.
There was a loud crash, the sound of something tearing, and then quiet.
Madoka felt cold.
Sunday, March 27th. Year 2011 of the Common Era. Year 4561 of the Argivian Reckoning. 12th of Harvest Moon, Ava. 722
It was a cool spring afternoon in Mitakihara City. Of course, spring, in this case, depended on one's definition. After all, while the equinox, the official beginning of spring, had already passed, that had happened just last week, and there had been flurries of snow in the morning, so there were many who would say that it was still winter.
On the quite literally bright side, the sun was mostly unobstructed at this particular hour, bringing some light and warmth to the various pedestrians milling about. Still, it was hardly anything close to rush hour, so there were relatively few people around. Some of them wore jackets, some others made do with long sleeves, but there was one person roaming Mitakihara who fit neither of those categories.
She was a young woman, perhaps in her late teens or early twenties, with long pink hair that extended to the middle of her back. On her shoulders, she wore a high-collared black silk mantle, clasped with a jeweled brooch. Her arms, in lieu of sleeves, bore elbow-length gloves that managed to look warm despite their light construction. But the most striking thing about this woman was her dress: another silk construction, primarily dyed red, but with occasional white and even gold accents. It was strapless, with a sensible straight neckline and a bodice that was laced up and embroidered in front. The waistline was rather frilly, and divided the complex bodice from the simple, yet elegant flowing skirt.
Wherever she went, she turned heads, some onlookers wondering about cosplay, some imagining how much the ensemble must have cost, and others still simply stunned.
Still, the young woman paid them no mind. She walked elegantly, yet with firm purpose. Her eyes scanned the skyline and various storefronts, almost as if she was looking for something. But what that was, nobody could tell. On occasion, it appeared as if she turned to speak to someone next to her, someone at least marginally taller. But that couldn't be the case, since she was clearly walking alone, and she was far too composed for other pedestrians to consider her delusional.
For a moment, she appeared to stop at a bus stop, for fairly obvious reasons: if there was one thing people could tell about her, it was that she had somewhere to be. Yet, after a brief consideration, she decided to continue down the road, in the direction of the suburbs.
There, she strolled along the sidewalks, taking in the trees whose leaves had already sprouted by the time the equinox rolled around. There were even a few cherry blossoms that had yet to fully fall. As she made her way to her destination, an indiscernible expression began to assert itself. Confusion, nostalgia, worry, contentment… perhaps all four, or perhaps none of them.
Eventually, she came upon a very modern-style house, and began to walk to its front door. If there were any more spectators at this point, they would have wondered about her behavior — the family that lived there had a daughter, yes, but the woman was too old to be her, and the impression she gave off was completely different.
Still, she rang the doorbell of the house. Eventually, after taking a very deep breath. A couple seconds later, and it was opened by Tomohisa Kaname, who the woman froze for a moment upon seeing the face of him, before bowing.
"I'm home, Dad." She gave the traditional greeting. Of course, that meant…
"Madoka!?" The man exclaimed, after realization dawned in his eyes.
"Yes, it's-" the woman began, but was interrupted when a third person entered the… situation, rushing there in response to her name.
"Yes, dad?" She said, after arriving.
Then the two Madokas looked at each other, and everyone there knew everything was going to become much more complicated.
Last edited:
0th Law
The Promethean Rose
- Location
- 5 Minutes into the Future
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Depends. Worst case scenario, you open a time rift.
Chapter 2
0th Law
The Promethean Rose
- Location
- 5 Minutes into the Future
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[Note: This comes with a fairly minor retcon, in that the date of the "Present" segment has been shifted a day forward, to be more in line with the canonical Madoka timeline]
44th of Harvest Moon, Ava. 719
Madoka slowly, hesitantly opened her eyes. She felt a chill, yes, but she quickly realized that it was not the chill of death, and instead of feeling a building crashing into her, or simply nothing, she felt leaves beneath her legs. So she had — somehow — survived, and was somewhere else entirely.
Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, or rather lack thereof. Mitakihara had been dark, yes, but more as a product of being overcast. Here, the only source of light was the moon, which bathed the world around her with a faint, steely light. It shone through leaves far above her head, on the trunks of ancient-looking trees all around her, and illuminated the pervasive mists in the air.
It was at that moment that she realized something: the cold she felt wasn't just a product of the weather. There was something more there, a chill feeling that seemed to permeate the soil and sink into her bones. It carried with it a sense of… insignificance, that honestly reminded Madoka of some of the Labyrinths she'd been in before, at least prior to Homura convincing Mami and Sayaka that bringing her along wasn't exactly the safest course of action.
In the end, Madoka agreed with that decision. It wasn't like she was much help anyway.
Of course, they were all dead now. Even Kyubey had gotten shot, so even if she found her way back, she wouldn't be able to do… anything.
Which brought her back to the question of where exactly was she? While the… atmosphere reminded her of a Labyrinth, the world itself and what she could see was… simply too realistic to be one, at least going by those he'd been in before. Of course, it was possible that this one was unique in its realism, but she wasn't exactly sure if that was doable. On the other hand, if this wasn't a Labyrinth, what was it, and how had she gotten here?
No answer she could think of made anything close to enough sense.
Eventually, she realized that simply waiting for something to happen wasn't going to go well for her. If this wasn't a Labyrinth, then there were probably people here: the trail she was kneeling on was exceptionally weathered, much more than a game trail would be… she thought, anyway.
Assuming it was indeed a man-made trail, then both directions were equally valid. Eventually, she'd hopefully come across either a settlement, a signpost, or both. There, she'd be able to…
She wasn't sure what she'd be able to do. She'd at least have a better idea of where she could go, hopefully.
And if this was a Labyrinth, she was as good as dead already.
So, staking her hopes on the former possibility, she stood up, and began to walk down the trail, in the direction of the moon.
========================
The first hint of danger was the distant howling — of wolves, almost certainly. Honestly though, it was somewhat comforting to Madoka: for something like an hour, she'd been walking through the forest, with the only sound being the noise of her breathing and footfalls, as well as the occasional breeze that blew through and rustled the branches overhead. And besides, if her memory served her right, wolves only attacked people if they felt threatened, so as long as she stayed on the path, she would be okay.
Her positive outlook was bolstered when, in the distance, she spotted what looked to be actual color through the mists: a large grouping of flickering, yellowish lights in the distance. So she had managed to find her way to a settlement. She let out a deep breath, letting the tension she'd been feeling fade away. Things were going to work out.
But then she heard the growling.
She stopped in her tracks, heart suddenly pounding. Slowly, step by step, she turned around, to at least be able to see what had come up behind her.
The most visible parts were the eyes. There were three pairs of them — large, reflective yellow orbs, not human in the slightest. Beyond that, it was difficult to make out what she was seeing. But, from their large, hulking forms, at least one thing was certain: these were not wolves. Their heads were similar, yes, but she was confident that most wolves didn't stand a meter taller than her, even while hunched over.
Her mind raced as she tried to figure out how to survive her predicament. She could try to call for help, but that might just incite the creatures to attack. She could run, but that would probably have the exact same consequence. She could back up slowly, but she doubted she could get all the way to safety before they got fed up and pounced.
…Except at the same time, that was really her only option, wasn't it?
Carefully, ever so carefully, she raised her foot a centimeter above the ground and moved it backwards, shifting her weight onto it when she felt it was safe. She repeated this process once, twice, three times more, and every time she moved back, the creatures followed, beginning to bark and howl at her. Surely, the people back there would-
There was a loud snap, and a thick piece of wood buried itself in the head of one of the creatures, dropping it instantly. Madoka whirled around, and saw a figure on horseback tossing something aside and picking up a spear from their saddle, the horse galloping straight at the monsters.
That was Madoka's cue to run.
She was already facing the settlement, so she just sprinted as quickly as she could — which wasn't really fast at all, but she had to trust that the monsters' attention had been drawn by the rider.
And drawn it was, as she wasn't mauled immediately, and in the corner of her vision, she saw the creatures — which were very wolf-like, just also unusually humanoid and large — charge the lancer. Only a couple seconds later, one got a spearpoint through its neck for the trouble, as the rider galloped past her.
Of course, that also put her savior on the other side of the monster compared to her. On the other hand, its attention was not on her at all, so… she was safe now? She let herself stop to catch her breath. She really should've taken up running or something when she learned about Witches, but here she was, as unathletic as ever.
In contrast to her negligible physical ability, the rider, seeing as the creature they'd speared was still on their spear, dropped the polearm and dismounted, drawing a sword from their belt. Madoka's brief confusion as to just how they'd be able to defeat such a monster with such a relatively short-range weapon was resolved almost immediately, when, as the beast lunged, the warrior also moved forward, ducking under the bite to shove their sword up through the monster's jaw, a little bit of the weapon's tip appearing on the top of the creature's head showing that the head had been pierced through fully.
She watched, stunned, as the person proceeded to recover all of their weapons from the things that they'd killed, up to and including the crossbow bolt that'd been fired at the beginning of the fight. After cleaning the blood off of them, they stowed them, and walked towards Madoka, leading their horse with them.
It was then that Madoka was actually able to get a good look at her savior: she was a relatively tall woman, with dark skin and some very bulky-looking armor, with numerous plates painted white and gold, topped with an equally-armored tricorn hat.
All in all, it was an outfit that Madoka probably never could've even imagined anyone wearing, but it somehow worked nonetheless.
"Are you okay?" The woman asked, in a language Madoka couldn't understand. It sounded vaguely… German? Madoka wasn't exactly sure, but she was at least confident that it was neither Japanese nor English, as bad at the latter as she was.
"Do you speak Japanese?" Madoka asked, at the very least to check. "English?"
The warrior's eyes widened, but evidently not in recognition. Instead, a sympathetic, yet somewhat pained smile graced her lips as she held out a hand to Madoka, who took it after only slight hesitation. This person had saved her, after all.
The woman led Madoka to the village — and it was a village — stopping only briefly to retrieve her crossbow. The settlement, nestled in the middle of the woods, was still fairly open, with large areas of land having been evidently cleared for agriculture of various types. The mists around here were much less prevalent than out in the forest, and numerous torches and the like burned. With those, the stone walls separating pastures, the weapons and armor that'd been used, and the general construction of the buildings, it seemed as if Madoka had been flung into the past… if the past had giant wolf monsters.
Eventually, Madoka was led to what looked to be a western-style monastery next to a rather large graveyard. It wasn't christian, from what she could tell: there were no crosses, and almost in their place were symbols of… what looked like an upside-down omega atop a pole. There also were a lot of depictions of long-necked birds. Swans? Ibises? Madoka wasn't exactly an expert on birds, so she wasn't sure.
After walking up the steps of the monastery, the woman motioned Madoka to open the door herself. Although confused, she still did it, idly noting that the door handle was made of barely-tarnished silver and emblazoned with that same omega symbol she'd seen earlier. For some reason, the woman breathed a sigh of relief when she did it, before tensing up once again.
Madoka was led inside, to one of the pews, which she sat on as the woman rushed off elsewhere in the monastery. Or was it a chapel? Church? Temple?
Still incredibly confused, Madoka looked around, trying to get a sense of whatever this place stood for, if absolutely nothing else. However, there was barely anything around that Madoka could really derive meaning from, aside from the statue of an angel behind the pulpit. It looked more or less exactly how Madoka would've imagined an angel looking, aside from what the statue held: a spear that was once again topped with that same symbol she'd seen everywhere, except in this case, at the top of the inverted omega, there were a pair of blades, making it into an actual spear.
Bereft of basically any context, Madoka simply sat back and listened. She could faintly hear her rescuer, presumably, going around the monastery and waking others, speaking more of that same tongue. As they got closer, she tried to listen more closely, trying to see if she could piece together any of it.
Surprisingly, she could, once she put her mind to it. There wasn't much she caught, but bits and pieces… they became more and more obvious to her the more she listened. So, she continued to listen, even as the woman came back with a pair of people, both of whom looked to have just gotten up. One was an old man who wore flowing blue robes, and the other was a younger woman with robes that once again showed that omega symbol, but this time above a full moon. Or at least above a circle, but something told Madoka it was supposed to be the moon. All of them had tricorn hats of some variety. Apparently it was a piece of religious-wear? Maybe?
The three of them began a very… intense conversation, with the old man referring to his book frequently. Madoka continued to listen, and far more quickly than she anticipated, she was able to properly discern what these people were discussing. Apparently, from what she could tell, they thought she was possessed, which… was certainly a new experience if nothing else. She was reasonably confident that nobody had thought she was possessed before.
While she was trying to think of things that would convince them that she wasn't possessed, she noticed that she heard one word that she couldn't figure out the meaning of over and over again. Avacyn. Eventually, she decided to just ask. It wasn't like her situation could get worse.
"What - who is 'Avacyn?'" She asked, speaking in their tongue as best she could, and immediately realized that she'd made a mistake, as all three of their heads snapped in her direction, aghast. Madoka shrank back into her seat, pulling her knees close to her chest.
However, the mood was, mercifully, promptly broken when the old man shouted "I've got it!" and ran back into the door they'd all came in from. A beat passed, and Madoka shared a confused glance with the other two.
"So, you really don't know who Avacyn is?" The warrior asked. "And I thought that you couldn't speak Common Innistradi."
"I… figured out how?" Madoka shrugged. "It's strange: I was never good at other languages before, but now…."
"Before what?" It was the robed woman this time.
Madoka paused, unsure of how to answer. Before she almost died? Before Walpurgisnacht? Before she got here?
Thankfully, the arrival of the old man saved her from needing to answer. "Before her spark ignited." He declared, holding a tome even older than the one he'd been holding previously.
"Spark?" Madoka asked, and realized after a moment that the other two had asked the question at essentially the exact same time.
"Something in a person's soul that an incredibly low number of people are born with. They generally lay dormant, but rarely, they ignite, and those who bear them become Planeswalkers."
Sunday, March 27th, 2011
"What's a Planeswalker?" Tomohisa asked, voicing the question that was on all of their minds. Well, at least Junko's. She wasn't entirely sure about Madoka, or at least her- no. The younger Madoka, she wasn't entirely sure about her, but she was reasonably confident she was wondering something at least along similar lines.
Junko had been upstairs, keeping Tatsuya company, when Tomohisa had called Madoka's name after answering the door. Which was… unusual, but not too concerning, but then she'd been called down as well, and saw what the trouble was.
It was their daughter, that much was certain. Sure, she was older and wearing a style completely different from anything Junko had seen on her, but it was her. Of course, that opened up quite possibly the largest can of worms she could imagine, especially given the fact that the more normal Madoka was still there.
Honestly though, it would probably be equally concerning if she'd been replaced by her older counterpart, just in different ways. Still, before Junko could fully unleash her "concerned mom" mode, Tomohisa had gotten them all to sit down at the table, while he made tea for the totally-not-an-interrogation. There was also a random pillow on the seat next to the older Madoka, but Junko paid it no mind.
"A planeswalker is… someone who can travel between different planes of existence." Madoka explained. "Think of them like different, alternate planets or solar systems, but instead of being separated by merely empty space, they're separated by the Blind Eternities, which, at least usually, can only be traversed by a Planeswalker. It certainly can only be safely traveled by planeswalkers, unless the non-planeswalker is completely inorganic. Additionally, most, if not all planeswalkers are gifted mages."
"So is that how you've traveled to the past?" Junko asked the most obvious question, at least from her perspective.
"Honestly, I have no idea how I did this. Or even if I was the one who caused this situation." Madoka said. "If it's something that planeswalkers could do, then I would've liked to…" she tilted her head in thought, "honestly, now's as good a time as any. It would've been only slightly more convenient, like, two months ago? But again… yeah, no, this almost certainly wasn't my doing."
"Only two months? You certainly seem more than two months… when did you become one, anyway?" Junko continued the not-an-interrogation.
"Around three years." Madoka answered simply. "It's just that I only got out of a… complicated situation two months ago, and over half a year before that, before I got involved there…" she trailed off, a wistful, loving, yet sorrowful expression on her face. "Well, I don't think I'd trade that time for anything else, in the end."
"What was this 'complicated situation?'" Junko continued to press. "How did you get involved in it? Is it resolved?"
"It was something of a refugee crisis." Madoka waved the question aside with that silk-gloved hand. "But I'd rather not get into that. For three years, I've thought you were dead, and-"
Junko's brain did the math in an instant. "Madoka, what's coming?"
The young woman paused, before clicking her tongue. "Right. That."
45th of Harvest Moon, Ava. 719
After explaining the concept of a planeswalker, the old man looked Madoka in the eyes. "If you want my advice, young planeswalker? Go home."
His words caused the two women to look at him with… intense expressions.
"What?" He demanded. "You'd have a child who can go anywhere, anywhere at all, stay here? Even on this plane, she'd probably be able to reach Thraben and join the Cathars' seminary in basically no time at all, and off-plane, there are probably places infinitely safer than here, where you're not in constant danger of getting mauled by werewolves, drained by vampires, reanimated after death, or some other, equally horrible fate."
Madoka was about to say that her home… plane, was one such place, but upon further consideration, she decided that Witches added a substantial degree of danger to what were, on the surface, fairly safe areas. She wouldn't be safer at home than she would be here, if nothing else, due to the fact that Walpurgisnacht had probably already destroyed all of Mitakihara. The only difference was… here, she could learn. Here, things might get better.
"I don't have anywhere to go back to." Madoka shook her head. "Is there anything I can help with here?"
44th of Harvest Moon, Ava. 719
Madoka slowly, hesitantly opened her eyes. She felt a chill, yes, but she quickly realized that it was not the chill of death, and instead of feeling a building crashing into her, or simply nothing, she felt leaves beneath her legs. So she had — somehow — survived, and was somewhere else entirely.
Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, or rather lack thereof. Mitakihara had been dark, yes, but more as a product of being overcast. Here, the only source of light was the moon, which bathed the world around her with a faint, steely light. It shone through leaves far above her head, on the trunks of ancient-looking trees all around her, and illuminated the pervasive mists in the air.
It was at that moment that she realized something: the cold she felt wasn't just a product of the weather. There was something more there, a chill feeling that seemed to permeate the soil and sink into her bones. It carried with it a sense of… insignificance, that honestly reminded Madoka of some of the Labyrinths she'd been in before, at least prior to Homura convincing Mami and Sayaka that bringing her along wasn't exactly the safest course of action.
In the end, Madoka agreed with that decision. It wasn't like she was much help anyway.
Of course, they were all dead now. Even Kyubey had gotten shot, so even if she found her way back, she wouldn't be able to do… anything.
Which brought her back to the question of where exactly was she? While the… atmosphere reminded her of a Labyrinth, the world itself and what she could see was… simply too realistic to be one, at least going by those he'd been in before. Of course, it was possible that this one was unique in its realism, but she wasn't exactly sure if that was doable. On the other hand, if this wasn't a Labyrinth, what was it, and how had she gotten here?
No answer she could think of made anything close to enough sense.
Eventually, she realized that simply waiting for something to happen wasn't going to go well for her. If this wasn't a Labyrinth, then there were probably people here: the trail she was kneeling on was exceptionally weathered, much more than a game trail would be… she thought, anyway.
Assuming it was indeed a man-made trail, then both directions were equally valid. Eventually, she'd hopefully come across either a settlement, a signpost, or both. There, she'd be able to…
She wasn't sure what she'd be able to do. She'd at least have a better idea of where she could go, hopefully.
And if this was a Labyrinth, she was as good as dead already.
So, staking her hopes on the former possibility, she stood up, and began to walk down the trail, in the direction of the moon.
========================
The first hint of danger was the distant howling — of wolves, almost certainly. Honestly though, it was somewhat comforting to Madoka: for something like an hour, she'd been walking through the forest, with the only sound being the noise of her breathing and footfalls, as well as the occasional breeze that blew through and rustled the branches overhead. And besides, if her memory served her right, wolves only attacked people if they felt threatened, so as long as she stayed on the path, she would be okay.
Her positive outlook was bolstered when, in the distance, she spotted what looked to be actual color through the mists: a large grouping of flickering, yellowish lights in the distance. So she had managed to find her way to a settlement. She let out a deep breath, letting the tension she'd been feeling fade away. Things were going to work out.
But then she heard the growling.
She stopped in her tracks, heart suddenly pounding. Slowly, step by step, she turned around, to at least be able to see what had come up behind her.
The most visible parts were the eyes. There were three pairs of them — large, reflective yellow orbs, not human in the slightest. Beyond that, it was difficult to make out what she was seeing. But, from their large, hulking forms, at least one thing was certain: these were not wolves. Their heads were similar, yes, but she was confident that most wolves didn't stand a meter taller than her, even while hunched over.
Her mind raced as she tried to figure out how to survive her predicament. She could try to call for help, but that might just incite the creatures to attack. She could run, but that would probably have the exact same consequence. She could back up slowly, but she doubted she could get all the way to safety before they got fed up and pounced.
…Except at the same time, that was really her only option, wasn't it?
Carefully, ever so carefully, she raised her foot a centimeter above the ground and moved it backwards, shifting her weight onto it when she felt it was safe. She repeated this process once, twice, three times more, and every time she moved back, the creatures followed, beginning to bark and howl at her. Surely, the people back there would-
There was a loud snap, and a thick piece of wood buried itself in the head of one of the creatures, dropping it instantly. Madoka whirled around, and saw a figure on horseback tossing something aside and picking up a spear from their saddle, the horse galloping straight at the monsters.
That was Madoka's cue to run.
She was already facing the settlement, so she just sprinted as quickly as she could — which wasn't really fast at all, but she had to trust that the monsters' attention had been drawn by the rider.
And drawn it was, as she wasn't mauled immediately, and in the corner of her vision, she saw the creatures — which were very wolf-like, just also unusually humanoid and large — charge the lancer. Only a couple seconds later, one got a spearpoint through its neck for the trouble, as the rider galloped past her.
Of course, that also put her savior on the other side of the monster compared to her. On the other hand, its attention was not on her at all, so… she was safe now? She let herself stop to catch her breath. She really should've taken up running or something when she learned about Witches, but here she was, as unathletic as ever.
In contrast to her negligible physical ability, the rider, seeing as the creature they'd speared was still on their spear, dropped the polearm and dismounted, drawing a sword from their belt. Madoka's brief confusion as to just how they'd be able to defeat such a monster with such a relatively short-range weapon was resolved almost immediately, when, as the beast lunged, the warrior also moved forward, ducking under the bite to shove their sword up through the monster's jaw, a little bit of the weapon's tip appearing on the top of the creature's head showing that the head had been pierced through fully.
She watched, stunned, as the person proceeded to recover all of their weapons from the things that they'd killed, up to and including the crossbow bolt that'd been fired at the beginning of the fight. After cleaning the blood off of them, they stowed them, and walked towards Madoka, leading their horse with them.
It was then that Madoka was actually able to get a good look at her savior: she was a relatively tall woman, with dark skin and some very bulky-looking armor, with numerous plates painted white and gold, topped with an equally-armored tricorn hat.
All in all, it was an outfit that Madoka probably never could've even imagined anyone wearing, but it somehow worked nonetheless.
"Are you okay?" The woman asked, in a language Madoka couldn't understand. It sounded vaguely… German? Madoka wasn't exactly sure, but she was at least confident that it was neither Japanese nor English, as bad at the latter as she was.
"Do you speak Japanese?" Madoka asked, at the very least to check. "English?"
The warrior's eyes widened, but evidently not in recognition. Instead, a sympathetic, yet somewhat pained smile graced her lips as she held out a hand to Madoka, who took it after only slight hesitation. This person had saved her, after all.
The woman led Madoka to the village — and it was a village — stopping only briefly to retrieve her crossbow. The settlement, nestled in the middle of the woods, was still fairly open, with large areas of land having been evidently cleared for agriculture of various types. The mists around here were much less prevalent than out in the forest, and numerous torches and the like burned. With those, the stone walls separating pastures, the weapons and armor that'd been used, and the general construction of the buildings, it seemed as if Madoka had been flung into the past… if the past had giant wolf monsters.
Eventually, Madoka was led to what looked to be a western-style monastery next to a rather large graveyard. It wasn't christian, from what she could tell: there were no crosses, and almost in their place were symbols of… what looked like an upside-down omega atop a pole. There also were a lot of depictions of long-necked birds. Swans? Ibises? Madoka wasn't exactly an expert on birds, so she wasn't sure.
After walking up the steps of the monastery, the woman motioned Madoka to open the door herself. Although confused, she still did it, idly noting that the door handle was made of barely-tarnished silver and emblazoned with that same omega symbol she'd seen earlier. For some reason, the woman breathed a sigh of relief when she did it, before tensing up once again.
Madoka was led inside, to one of the pews, which she sat on as the woman rushed off elsewhere in the monastery. Or was it a chapel? Church? Temple?
Still incredibly confused, Madoka looked around, trying to get a sense of whatever this place stood for, if absolutely nothing else. However, there was barely anything around that Madoka could really derive meaning from, aside from the statue of an angel behind the pulpit. It looked more or less exactly how Madoka would've imagined an angel looking, aside from what the statue held: a spear that was once again topped with that same symbol she'd seen everywhere, except in this case, at the top of the inverted omega, there were a pair of blades, making it into an actual spear.
Bereft of basically any context, Madoka simply sat back and listened. She could faintly hear her rescuer, presumably, going around the monastery and waking others, speaking more of that same tongue. As they got closer, she tried to listen more closely, trying to see if she could piece together any of it.
Surprisingly, she could, once she put her mind to it. There wasn't much she caught, but bits and pieces… they became more and more obvious to her the more she listened. So, she continued to listen, even as the woman came back with a pair of people, both of whom looked to have just gotten up. One was an old man who wore flowing blue robes, and the other was a younger woman with robes that once again showed that omega symbol, but this time above a full moon. Or at least above a circle, but something told Madoka it was supposed to be the moon. All of them had tricorn hats of some variety. Apparently it was a piece of religious-wear? Maybe?
The three of them began a very… intense conversation, with the old man referring to his book frequently. Madoka continued to listen, and far more quickly than she anticipated, she was able to properly discern what these people were discussing. Apparently, from what she could tell, they thought she was possessed, which… was certainly a new experience if nothing else. She was reasonably confident that nobody had thought she was possessed before.
While she was trying to think of things that would convince them that she wasn't possessed, she noticed that she heard one word that she couldn't figure out the meaning of over and over again. Avacyn. Eventually, she decided to just ask. It wasn't like her situation could get worse.
"What - who is 'Avacyn?'" She asked, speaking in their tongue as best she could, and immediately realized that she'd made a mistake, as all three of their heads snapped in her direction, aghast. Madoka shrank back into her seat, pulling her knees close to her chest.
However, the mood was, mercifully, promptly broken when the old man shouted "I've got it!" and ran back into the door they'd all came in from. A beat passed, and Madoka shared a confused glance with the other two.
"So, you really don't know who Avacyn is?" The warrior asked. "And I thought that you couldn't speak Common Innistradi."
"I… figured out how?" Madoka shrugged. "It's strange: I was never good at other languages before, but now…."
"Before what?" It was the robed woman this time.
Madoka paused, unsure of how to answer. Before she almost died? Before Walpurgisnacht? Before she got here?
Thankfully, the arrival of the old man saved her from needing to answer. "Before her spark ignited." He declared, holding a tome even older than the one he'd been holding previously.
"Spark?" Madoka asked, and realized after a moment that the other two had asked the question at essentially the exact same time.
"Something in a person's soul that an incredibly low number of people are born with. They generally lay dormant, but rarely, they ignite, and those who bear them become Planeswalkers."
Sunday, March 27th, 2011
"What's a Planeswalker?" Tomohisa asked, voicing the question that was on all of their minds. Well, at least Junko's. She wasn't entirely sure about Madoka, or at least her- no. The younger Madoka, she wasn't entirely sure about her, but she was reasonably confident she was wondering something at least along similar lines.
Junko had been upstairs, keeping Tatsuya company, when Tomohisa had called Madoka's name after answering the door. Which was… unusual, but not too concerning, but then she'd been called down as well, and saw what the trouble was.
It was their daughter, that much was certain. Sure, she was older and wearing a style completely different from anything Junko had seen on her, but it was her. Of course, that opened up quite possibly the largest can of worms she could imagine, especially given the fact that the more normal Madoka was still there.
Honestly though, it would probably be equally concerning if she'd been replaced by her older counterpart, just in different ways. Still, before Junko could fully unleash her "concerned mom" mode, Tomohisa had gotten them all to sit down at the table, while he made tea for the totally-not-an-interrogation. There was also a random pillow on the seat next to the older Madoka, but Junko paid it no mind.
"A planeswalker is… someone who can travel between different planes of existence." Madoka explained. "Think of them like different, alternate planets or solar systems, but instead of being separated by merely empty space, they're separated by the Blind Eternities, which, at least usually, can only be traversed by a Planeswalker. It certainly can only be safely traveled by planeswalkers, unless the non-planeswalker is completely inorganic. Additionally, most, if not all planeswalkers are gifted mages."
"So is that how you've traveled to the past?" Junko asked the most obvious question, at least from her perspective.
"Honestly, I have no idea how I did this. Or even if I was the one who caused this situation." Madoka said. "If it's something that planeswalkers could do, then I would've liked to…" she tilted her head in thought, "honestly, now's as good a time as any. It would've been only slightly more convenient, like, two months ago? But again… yeah, no, this almost certainly wasn't my doing."
"Only two months? You certainly seem more than two months… when did you become one, anyway?" Junko continued the not-an-interrogation.
"Around three years." Madoka answered simply. "It's just that I only got out of a… complicated situation two months ago, and over half a year before that, before I got involved there…" she trailed off, a wistful, loving, yet sorrowful expression on her face. "Well, I don't think I'd trade that time for anything else, in the end."
"What was this 'complicated situation?'" Junko continued to press. "How did you get involved in it? Is it resolved?"
"It was something of a refugee crisis." Madoka waved the question aside with that silk-gloved hand. "But I'd rather not get into that. For three years, I've thought you were dead, and-"
Junko's brain did the math in an instant. "Madoka, what's coming?"
The young woman paused, before clicking her tongue. "Right. That."
45th of Harvest Moon, Ava. 719
After explaining the concept of a planeswalker, the old man looked Madoka in the eyes. "If you want my advice, young planeswalker? Go home."
His words caused the two women to look at him with… intense expressions.
"What?" He demanded. "You'd have a child who can go anywhere, anywhere at all, stay here? Even on this plane, she'd probably be able to reach Thraben and join the Cathars' seminary in basically no time at all, and off-plane, there are probably places infinitely safer than here, where you're not in constant danger of getting mauled by werewolves, drained by vampires, reanimated after death, or some other, equally horrible fate."
Madoka was about to say that her home… plane, was one such place, but upon further consideration, she decided that Witches added a substantial degree of danger to what were, on the surface, fairly safe areas. She wouldn't be safer at home than she would be here, if nothing else, due to the fact that Walpurgisnacht had probably already destroyed all of Mitakihara. The only difference was… here, she could learn. Here, things might get better.
"I don't have anywhere to go back to." Madoka shook her head. "Is there anything I can help with here?"
Last edited:
Chapter 3
0th Law
The Promethean Rose
- Location
- 5 Minutes into the Future
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Sunday, March 27th, 2011
"We'll probably need to evacuate the city." Madoka floated the idea that, frankly, made the most sense in the situation. "Sure, we have buildings that can be repurposed to be disaster shelters, but…."
"What's going to happen?" Her mom repeated. "An earthquake? A tsunami? A tornado?"
"Well…" Madoka trailed off, trying to think of the best way to explain the situation.
"A witch?" Her younger self asked, causing everyone at the table, even Tamiyo, to turn their heads toward her. Of course, only Madoka could see Tamiyo as she was, but people were good at sensing when another's eyes were on them. In her head, Madoka tried to estimate if her younger self had learned about witches and magical girls at this point, before realizing that it was pointless given the fact that she clearly had.
"Well, yes, but I'm honestly not sure that term should be the one used, especially in the case of Walpurgisnacht." Madoka confirmed, also trying to draw everyone's gazes away from her younger self. She knew how much she disliked that sort of attention, after all, and it was better for her to experience the discomfort than someone else. "Typically, a witch is just… someone who gets their powers by making a deal or bargain with some greater power. Not all are bad or malevolent, I've even occasionally met some that are actively helpful, and even in the case of the worse sort, they really can't be compared to… our 'witches.'"
"Look, you're going to have to explain what you're talking about if you don't want your father and I to be hopelessly confused." Her mom reminded.
Madoka bit her lip slightly. Right. "I… suppose I'll just call them witches for now for the sake of convenience." She resolved, before launching into the explanation proper. "While it may initially seem like there's nothing natively magical on this plane, there are two… three types of magic wielders here: Witches and Magical Girls. Witches are monsters that hide in a sort of closed space called a Labyrinth, and prey on us humans by draining people, causing suicides, murders, and accidents, and sometimes simply drawing people into their Labyrinth, where they're killed. In contrast, you have magical girls, who receive magical powers and a wish from Kyubey, the third type of magic wielder, with which they can hunt witches and save people from them."
"So we somehow live in a magical girl anime now?" Her mom shook her head. "Does this 'Kyubey' do anything other than recruiting magical girls?"
Surprisingly, it was her younger self who answered the question. "He helps them in fighting witches, when he can."
Her — their mom sighed. "And I suppose one or both of you are magical girls?"
They shook their heads simultaneously, in exactly the same manner — they were ultimately the same person, after all — and Madoka began to provide context from her experience. "Kyubey and a veteran named Tomoe Mami approached both Sayaka-chan and me, but only Sayaka-chan had contracted by the time Walpurgisnacht arrived. On some level, I wish I hadn't listened to Homura-chan and made a contract anyway, but…." She closed her eyes and smiled softly, pulling those memories to mind. Sure, that whole thing had ultimately been a consequence of her indecision, but everyone was alive again, and Madoka had long since decided that having loved and lost was better than never having loved at all.
It took some of the sting away, at least.
"And Waplurgisnacht?" Her mom interrupted her brief reverie.
"A witch of incredible strength." Madoka described. "So strong that it doesn't need to hide in a Labyrinth, but normal humans still can't see it. By the time my spark ignited, it had killed Sayaka-chan and Mami-san, and I'm pretty sure Homura-chan as well. It utterly wrecked the city, and I have no doubt that nothing was left standing in its wake."
Everyone but Tamiyo's eyes widened.
"Yeah I can see why evacuating the city would be a good idea." Her mom agreed, face pale. "When is Walpurgisnacht arriving?"
"May first." Madoka supplied, before sharing a glance with Tamiyo. "Think we should…?"
The Moonfolk planeswalker pursed her lips, before nodding, and dispelling the veiling magic she'd had up. "If it's any consolation, the plan is to bring a number of… planeswalking heroes and allies here who have dealt with significantly larger threats before. It was already on the table once it became clear that time was… behaving abnormally: one of them is very experienced in time-related crises, and his expertise would be needed to know the story of what's happening here. The current situation just makes their presence much more… relevant."
Madoka's dad blinked. "You… you were always here?"
Tamiyo gave a slight smile. "I apologize for the deception. I was already disguised for reasons I imagine are obvious, and your daughter insisted that I be here, specifically."
While her dad inclined his head in understanding, her mom had her own questions. "Yeah, about that, just… what are you?"
It was a sensible question, Madoka supposed. After all, she was very clearly not human, as evidenced by her porcelain-white skin, purple head markings, and extremely long earlobes. The elaborate updo didn't help matters.
"I am one of the Moonfolk, from the plane Kamigawa. Suffice to say, humans are far from the only sapient organic species in the multiverse." Tamiyo briefly supplied.
Madoka nodded in agreement. "While humans are common, there are also orcs, sirens, goblins, merpeople, minotaurs, elves… you get the idea."
"So, is Earth unique in just having humans?" Her mom followed up.
Madoka waved her hand in uncertainty. "Even we also have whatever Kyubey's species is, and there's a decent argument to be made that Innistrad, the first plane I visited, falls into that category as well. There's a bit more wiggle room there, though."
"What do you mean, wiggle room?"
"Well…."
48th of Harvest Moon, Ava. 719
Madoka picked a bit at the dress she'd been provided while she waited in the priory's library. It wasn't that the dress itself was uncomfortable — quite the opposite, even: it was both warm and practical, as opposed to something reserved for formal occasions — it was that she just wasn't used to its fabric, construction, or just… dresses in general.
So in a sense, she was uncomfortable with the comfortable dress.
She mused on that thought as the old man who'd revealed her nature as a planeswalker, Erwin of House Galan, he'd said his name was, walked into the library and sat on the table across from her. "So, now that you're situated, we're going to begin the first part of your training. Since you're not from here, you're going to need to start from the very beginning."
"Accessing mana or something, right?" Madoka had done a little reading on the topic since arriving, and it seemed that it was where a mage began.
Erwin scoffed. "No, learning to survive around here. Being able to use mana means nothing if you can't recognize a vampire till it's already draining you dry."
Madoka nodded slightly. It made sense, despite his rather aggressive phrasing.
"First off, let's start from what you've already encountered: werewolves. What do you know about them?"
"Well… they're humans, who transform into wolf monsters under the full moon, right?" That was something everyone knew. "Also, they can be harmed by silver."
"Close, but not quite." Erwin said. "Werewolves can transform in theoretically any circumstances. The moon does make their transformation more likely the more full it is, as it seems to strengthen a werewolf's wolf side, to the point that not even prayer can let them retain their humanity under a full moon. Additionally, only blessed silver will pose a threat to werewolves that can't be replicated with good steel: it causes extreme pain in them, allowing for a swift execution in ideal circumstances."
"And outside of their wolf form, they're just like anyone else, right?"
"In most cases, yes. However, some of them… embrace their wolf side. But I digress, and you should already know enough about how dangerous a werewolf can be. Let's see… geists. They're the largest threat here in Kessig aside from werewolves, but they're the most… tricky. Suffice to say, until you learn how to use magic to deal with them, just get Lucia or Emelia. Just don't follow strange lights unless you absolutely have to."
Madoka nodded. Lucia was the warrior — Cathar — who'd saved her from the werewolves, and Emelia had been the "moonsage" who'd been present when Erwin explained what a planeswalker was.
"To continue with the undead, there are two types of reanimated corpse that necromancers can create. The first are the Unhallowed, who are simple reanimated corpses, brought back by ghoulcallers. They're near-mindless, but echo their past lives as they attempt to carry out whatever task their master sets them. Individually, they're often quite weak, but they tend to gather in large numbers. Dealing with them requires patience, planning, and level-headedness.
"In contrast, you have skaabs, created by skaberen. They're incredibly easy to distinguish from ghouls, as the necro-alchemists that make them use numerous different parts from different corpses, resulting in a cobbled-together and stitched appearance. In addition, their minds are blank slates, painstakingly reeducated by stitchers to perform specific functions. Individually, they're often more dangerous than ghouls, but they also take far longer to create. Additionally, they're extremely weak to fire, due to a consequence of the reanimation process leaving them very flammable. Finally, we have a type of monster that's frequently mistaken for an undead, but actually isn't. Can you guess what it is?"
"… Vampires?" Madoka answered He had mentioned them earlier, after all.
"Vampires." Erwin confirmed. "There are a number of different signs, the most obvious of which is the fact that their eyes have black sclera instead of white. However, they're also almost always capable of using glamours to conceal the more inhuman parts of their appearance."
"Is it possible to see past the glamours?" Madoka knew how dangerous monsters that concealed themselves completely could be.
"Theoretically, but it's not something to rely on. Instead, the best way to determine if someone's a vampire is with silver. Vampires abhor silver, even unblessed silver, because it reflects what their appearance would be if they were mortal, and without any glamours. In the case of many, this means that all they'd see would be a corpse. I imagine the oldest vampires would see little more than dust."
"So only reflective silver works?" If it relied on reflections…
Erwin shook his head. "While the basis comes from silver's ability to reflect their true form, the effect applies to all silver, even silver the vampire doesn't know of. However, unlike with werewolves, silver doesn't cause them more harm than normal. Instead, take advantage of the Dryad's Legacy: living wood is especially effective against them, to say the least."
"The Dryad's Legacy?"
"Long ago, a bloodline of vampires that lived in Kessig began to undertake extensive logging operations, which ended up cutting down a dryad's grove. However, she retaliated by cursing all vampires to, when stabbed with living wood, have that wood rapidly grow in and through them. That vampire bloodline died out within a year."
"That's… horrible." Madoka tried to imagine someone, anyone, dying that way. It wasn't exactly a pleasant image.
"Don't feel bad for those bloodsuckers." Erwin advised. "Almost every vampire kills at least one person a month, but most kill far more humans. If you ever do have the need and opportunity, put running water that reflects the moon between you and a vampire, or better yet, stay in that water: they are unable to cross it. Of course, there's the issue of what happens come morning, but most bloodsuckers prefer the night anyway. Additionally, if someone's bit by a vampire, but survives, they still probably won't turn. It's intentional in the vast majority of cases, as it requires the vampire's blood to enter their victim's veins. Regardless, a three-day quarantine will be necessary. If the victim hasn't been turned by that point, then the only problems they'll experience will be anemia and occasional dreams."
"And if they were turned?" Madoka asked, face feeling rather cold.
"They'd be dust: the bloodthirst a vampire experiences as they begin to turn can only be quenched by that of their sire, and a blood-starved vampire will turn to dust and die."
Madoka hugged her chest slightly. Everything relating to vampires just seemed… overly cruel. Like, they didn't have to kill people, right? People gave blood all the time back home, after all. And…
Madoka let out a deep breath that she hadn't known she was holding. "Could we continue this later? I'm…feeling a bit queasy."
In that moment, Erwin's eyes seemed to widen, as if he was noticing her and how she was feeling about this for the first time, and a soft, sympathetic expression found its way to his mouth and eyes, before his face hardened. "Very well. Just remember: you can leave at any point. It was your choice to stay, and if you're going to stay, you'll need to know how to survive."
"We'll probably need to evacuate the city." Madoka floated the idea that, frankly, made the most sense in the situation. "Sure, we have buildings that can be repurposed to be disaster shelters, but…."
"What's going to happen?" Her mom repeated. "An earthquake? A tsunami? A tornado?"
"Well…" Madoka trailed off, trying to think of the best way to explain the situation.
"A witch?" Her younger self asked, causing everyone at the table, even Tamiyo, to turn their heads toward her. Of course, only Madoka could see Tamiyo as she was, but people were good at sensing when another's eyes were on them. In her head, Madoka tried to estimate if her younger self had learned about witches and magical girls at this point, before realizing that it was pointless given the fact that she clearly had.
"Well, yes, but I'm honestly not sure that term should be the one used, especially in the case of Walpurgisnacht." Madoka confirmed, also trying to draw everyone's gazes away from her younger self. She knew how much she disliked that sort of attention, after all, and it was better for her to experience the discomfort than someone else. "Typically, a witch is just… someone who gets their powers by making a deal or bargain with some greater power. Not all are bad or malevolent, I've even occasionally met some that are actively helpful, and even in the case of the worse sort, they really can't be compared to… our 'witches.'"
"Look, you're going to have to explain what you're talking about if you don't want your father and I to be hopelessly confused." Her mom reminded.
Madoka bit her lip slightly. Right. "I… suppose I'll just call them witches for now for the sake of convenience." She resolved, before launching into the explanation proper. "While it may initially seem like there's nothing natively magical on this plane, there are two… three types of magic wielders here: Witches and Magical Girls. Witches are monsters that hide in a sort of closed space called a Labyrinth, and prey on us humans by draining people, causing suicides, murders, and accidents, and sometimes simply drawing people into their Labyrinth, where they're killed. In contrast, you have magical girls, who receive magical powers and a wish from Kyubey, the third type of magic wielder, with which they can hunt witches and save people from them."
"So we somehow live in a magical girl anime now?" Her mom shook her head. "Does this 'Kyubey' do anything other than recruiting magical girls?"
Surprisingly, it was her younger self who answered the question. "He helps them in fighting witches, when he can."
Her — their mom sighed. "And I suppose one or both of you are magical girls?"
They shook their heads simultaneously, in exactly the same manner — they were ultimately the same person, after all — and Madoka began to provide context from her experience. "Kyubey and a veteran named Tomoe Mami approached both Sayaka-chan and me, but only Sayaka-chan had contracted by the time Walpurgisnacht arrived. On some level, I wish I hadn't listened to Homura-chan and made a contract anyway, but…." She closed her eyes and smiled softly, pulling those memories to mind. Sure, that whole thing had ultimately been a consequence of her indecision, but everyone was alive again, and Madoka had long since decided that having loved and lost was better than never having loved at all.
It took some of the sting away, at least.
"And Waplurgisnacht?" Her mom interrupted her brief reverie.
"A witch of incredible strength." Madoka described. "So strong that it doesn't need to hide in a Labyrinth, but normal humans still can't see it. By the time my spark ignited, it had killed Sayaka-chan and Mami-san, and I'm pretty sure Homura-chan as well. It utterly wrecked the city, and I have no doubt that nothing was left standing in its wake."
Everyone but Tamiyo's eyes widened.
"Yeah I can see why evacuating the city would be a good idea." Her mom agreed, face pale. "When is Walpurgisnacht arriving?"
"May first." Madoka supplied, before sharing a glance with Tamiyo. "Think we should…?"
The Moonfolk planeswalker pursed her lips, before nodding, and dispelling the veiling magic she'd had up. "If it's any consolation, the plan is to bring a number of… planeswalking heroes and allies here who have dealt with significantly larger threats before. It was already on the table once it became clear that time was… behaving abnormally: one of them is very experienced in time-related crises, and his expertise would be needed to know the story of what's happening here. The current situation just makes their presence much more… relevant."
Madoka's dad blinked. "You… you were always here?"
Tamiyo gave a slight smile. "I apologize for the deception. I was already disguised for reasons I imagine are obvious, and your daughter insisted that I be here, specifically."
While her dad inclined his head in understanding, her mom had her own questions. "Yeah, about that, just… what are you?"
It was a sensible question, Madoka supposed. After all, she was very clearly not human, as evidenced by her porcelain-white skin, purple head markings, and extremely long earlobes. The elaborate updo didn't help matters.
"I am one of the Moonfolk, from the plane Kamigawa. Suffice to say, humans are far from the only sapient organic species in the multiverse." Tamiyo briefly supplied.
Madoka nodded in agreement. "While humans are common, there are also orcs, sirens, goblins, merpeople, minotaurs, elves… you get the idea."
"So, is Earth unique in just having humans?" Her mom followed up.
Madoka waved her hand in uncertainty. "Even we also have whatever Kyubey's species is, and there's a decent argument to be made that Innistrad, the first plane I visited, falls into that category as well. There's a bit more wiggle room there, though."
"What do you mean, wiggle room?"
"Well…."
48th of Harvest Moon, Ava. 719
Madoka picked a bit at the dress she'd been provided while she waited in the priory's library. It wasn't that the dress itself was uncomfortable — quite the opposite, even: it was both warm and practical, as opposed to something reserved for formal occasions — it was that she just wasn't used to its fabric, construction, or just… dresses in general.
So in a sense, she was uncomfortable with the comfortable dress.
She mused on that thought as the old man who'd revealed her nature as a planeswalker, Erwin of House Galan, he'd said his name was, walked into the library and sat on the table across from her. "So, now that you're situated, we're going to begin the first part of your training. Since you're not from here, you're going to need to start from the very beginning."
"Accessing mana or something, right?" Madoka had done a little reading on the topic since arriving, and it seemed that it was where a mage began.
Erwin scoffed. "No, learning to survive around here. Being able to use mana means nothing if you can't recognize a vampire till it's already draining you dry."
Madoka nodded slightly. It made sense, despite his rather aggressive phrasing.
"First off, let's start from what you've already encountered: werewolves. What do you know about them?"
"Well… they're humans, who transform into wolf monsters under the full moon, right?" That was something everyone knew. "Also, they can be harmed by silver."
"Close, but not quite." Erwin said. "Werewolves can transform in theoretically any circumstances. The moon does make their transformation more likely the more full it is, as it seems to strengthen a werewolf's wolf side, to the point that not even prayer can let them retain their humanity under a full moon. Additionally, only blessed silver will pose a threat to werewolves that can't be replicated with good steel: it causes extreme pain in them, allowing for a swift execution in ideal circumstances."
"And outside of their wolf form, they're just like anyone else, right?"
"In most cases, yes. However, some of them… embrace their wolf side. But I digress, and you should already know enough about how dangerous a werewolf can be. Let's see… geists. They're the largest threat here in Kessig aside from werewolves, but they're the most… tricky. Suffice to say, until you learn how to use magic to deal with them, just get Lucia or Emelia. Just don't follow strange lights unless you absolutely have to."
Madoka nodded. Lucia was the warrior — Cathar — who'd saved her from the werewolves, and Emelia had been the "moonsage" who'd been present when Erwin explained what a planeswalker was.
"To continue with the undead, there are two types of reanimated corpse that necromancers can create. The first are the Unhallowed, who are simple reanimated corpses, brought back by ghoulcallers. They're near-mindless, but echo their past lives as they attempt to carry out whatever task their master sets them. Individually, they're often quite weak, but they tend to gather in large numbers. Dealing with them requires patience, planning, and level-headedness.
"In contrast, you have skaabs, created by skaberen. They're incredibly easy to distinguish from ghouls, as the necro-alchemists that make them use numerous different parts from different corpses, resulting in a cobbled-together and stitched appearance. In addition, their minds are blank slates, painstakingly reeducated by stitchers to perform specific functions. Individually, they're often more dangerous than ghouls, but they also take far longer to create. Additionally, they're extremely weak to fire, due to a consequence of the reanimation process leaving them very flammable. Finally, we have a type of monster that's frequently mistaken for an undead, but actually isn't. Can you guess what it is?"
"… Vampires?" Madoka answered He had mentioned them earlier, after all.
"Vampires." Erwin confirmed. "There are a number of different signs, the most obvious of which is the fact that their eyes have black sclera instead of white. However, they're also almost always capable of using glamours to conceal the more inhuman parts of their appearance."
"Is it possible to see past the glamours?" Madoka knew how dangerous monsters that concealed themselves completely could be.
"Theoretically, but it's not something to rely on. Instead, the best way to determine if someone's a vampire is with silver. Vampires abhor silver, even unblessed silver, because it reflects what their appearance would be if they were mortal, and without any glamours. In the case of many, this means that all they'd see would be a corpse. I imagine the oldest vampires would see little more than dust."
"So only reflective silver works?" If it relied on reflections…
Erwin shook his head. "While the basis comes from silver's ability to reflect their true form, the effect applies to all silver, even silver the vampire doesn't know of. However, unlike with werewolves, silver doesn't cause them more harm than normal. Instead, take advantage of the Dryad's Legacy: living wood is especially effective against them, to say the least."
"The Dryad's Legacy?"
"Long ago, a bloodline of vampires that lived in Kessig began to undertake extensive logging operations, which ended up cutting down a dryad's grove. However, she retaliated by cursing all vampires to, when stabbed with living wood, have that wood rapidly grow in and through them. That vampire bloodline died out within a year."
"That's… horrible." Madoka tried to imagine someone, anyone, dying that way. It wasn't exactly a pleasant image.
"Don't feel bad for those bloodsuckers." Erwin advised. "Almost every vampire kills at least one person a month, but most kill far more humans. If you ever do have the need and opportunity, put running water that reflects the moon between you and a vampire, or better yet, stay in that water: they are unable to cross it. Of course, there's the issue of what happens come morning, but most bloodsuckers prefer the night anyway. Additionally, if someone's bit by a vampire, but survives, they still probably won't turn. It's intentional in the vast majority of cases, as it requires the vampire's blood to enter their victim's veins. Regardless, a three-day quarantine will be necessary. If the victim hasn't been turned by that point, then the only problems they'll experience will be anemia and occasional dreams."
"And if they were turned?" Madoka asked, face feeling rather cold.
"They'd be dust: the bloodthirst a vampire experiences as they begin to turn can only be quenched by that of their sire, and a blood-starved vampire will turn to dust and die."
Madoka hugged her chest slightly. Everything relating to vampires just seemed… overly cruel. Like, they didn't have to kill people, right? People gave blood all the time back home, after all. And…
Madoka let out a deep breath that she hadn't known she was holding. "Could we continue this later? I'm…feeling a bit queasy."
In that moment, Erwin's eyes seemed to widen, as if he was noticing her and how she was feeling about this for the first time, and a soft, sympathetic expression found its way to his mouth and eyes, before his face hardened. "Very well. Just remember: you can leave at any point. It was your choice to stay, and if you're going to stay, you'll need to know how to survive."
interesting story
I was interested in what will happen to homura now
I was interested in what will happen to homura now
0th Law
The Promethean Rose
- Location
- 5 Minutes into the Future
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Good question. Plans are for that matter to be discussed next chapter, which'll take place on the 28th instead of 27th, finally.
Chapter 4
0th Law
The Promethean Rose
- Location
- 5 Minutes into the Future
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Monday, March 28th, 2011
"Where do you see yourself in… three years?"
Hitomi turned her head to look at Madoka, who was, at least right now, walking between her and Sayaka. She seemed rather distant today, in a manner dissimilar to how both she and Sayaka had been acting two days ago, when they'd seemed to share a connection far beyond what they had with her.
Perhaps Hitomi had… overreacted on Saturday, just a tad, as now, not only was Madoka being distant, but Sayaka was also acting worried, furrowing her brow in an expression of concentration, while shooting numerous glances at Madoka that ultimately went unnoticed. Of course, Madoka had asked a question, so perhaps if Hitomi answered, she'd get a better understanding of the situation?
"Well, I expect to be in my second year of high school." Hitomi gave the obvious answer. "Hopefully, alongside the two of you, wherever we end up deciding to go."
"Uhhh… yeah, same for me." Sayaka agreed. "What's this about, Madoka? Is it related to…" She trailed off, and tilted her head slightly as if to indicate something significant that she couldn't speak of openly.
Madoka, shook her head in response, contradicting Sayaka's presumption, but unknowingly giving Hitomi herself an answer to the question she was turning over in her head. They still were keeping something from her. What, exactly? She wasn't entirely sure.
It was possible that the two of them were still together, if they indeed had been two days ago. She still hadn't exactly ruled out that possibility, after all. But now that she was actually paying attention, it seemed that there was something… different there.
Madoka, unaware of Hitomi's internal monologue, continued. "And what would you do if you met a version of yourself from three years in the future, and they were completely different from what you expected?"
Hitomi blinked. That implied that Madoka had done that, given that it was pretty clear that these weren't just hypotheticals. Except time travel wasn't possible, and while she wasn't exactly part of the scientific community or anything, she was fairly confident that it still wouldn't be possible three years into the future.
Sayaka, though, seemed to have some inkling of what was going on. "Like, with a wish?" She tentatively proposed, glancing nervously at Hitomi.
"No no no no." Madoka waved her hands in denial. "It really isn't related to that. I mean it sort of is, but only sort of. Just… what would you do in that situation?"
"You do know that you can talk to me about whatever this is, right?" Hitomi interjected, halting where she stood. "Both of you."
The other two stopped after a moment as well, turning to look at Hitomi, who put her best "accusatory look" on, before continuing. "I don't know what's going on or what you're doing, and if neither of you talk to me about it, I won't be able to do anything about it. Even if I can't do anything about it, I still care about the two of you, and having secrets of this magnitude kept from me, especially when I'm in earshot… it hurts."
A number of seconds passed. Sayaka seemed to be really interested in the cobblestones they were walking on, while Madoka's eyes darted about. Hitomi was about to give up on the topic, but then….
"I met a version of myself from three years in the future." Madoka blurted out a revelation that Hitomi honestly wasn't surprised by. But Madoka wasn't done. "She can travel between dimensions and has an alien friend who can also do that. She's rich, and prettier than I thought I could ever be."
"Nice going, Madoka!" Sayaka said, with a legitimately congratulatory smile. "I'll keep that in mind when-"
"Also, everyone else from Mitakihara was dead before she came back, apparently." Madoka interrupted, very effectively killing Sayaka's enthusiasm.
Hitomi opened her mouth to respond, but then the bell rang. She pursed her lips and revised what she was going to say. "How about we discuss this during lunch?" She suggested.
The other two nodded gratefully.
========================
Sayaka let out a deep breath as she and Madoka began to walk towards where they'd arranged to meet up with Mami. After explaining everything to her, Hitomi had — understandably — been intent on meeting Mami. However, she had yet another one of her rich girl classes right after school, so she couldn't meet her until Tuesday, which….
Frankly, Sayaka was relieved on Mami's behalf. Hitomi could be scary when she wanted to be.
As she was thinking about that, they turned a corner and saw, naturally, Mami standing there, waiting for them. Kyubey, the cat-rabbit… thing that made contracts to make Magical Girls, was lounging on her shoulder, as he was wont to do. He'd been with them on the way to school, but he'd seemed to completely ignore Madoka, and was rather tight-lipped as to why, requesting that Mami be present when he talked about the matter.
"Mami-san!" Madoka called excitedly, running up to meet their Magical Girl Senpai. Her cheer was contagious, not to mention relieving. Sayaka had somewhat expected Madoka to be down in the dumps about the "Walpurgisnacht" situation for the rest of the day, if not longer, but it seemed that she'd put it behind herself. At least, for the most part.
"Ah, Kaname-san, Miki-san, you're here." Mami greeted with a slight smile, before her expression turned deadly serious. "I'm afraid something rather concerning has come up recently. Kyubey here tells me that Walpurgisnacht is coming to this city in a bit over a month. It's an incredibly powerful witch that's been known to destroy cities before. While this isn't entirely relevant to the normal Magical Girl experience, I… thought it was something you should know."
Madoka laughed nervously. "Yeah. We… kinda heard about that already. Long story. Although, where is Kyubey?"
Mami paused. "He's right here. You can't see him?" She asked, to which Madoka only shook her head.
Kyubey, apparently noticing that it was his cue, hopped off of Mami's shoulder and took a position where he could stand and look at both Sayaka and Mami. "Kaname Madoka can no longer see me, because, regrettably, she is no longer a Magical Girl candidate." He explained, pacing back and forth slightly.
"What, why?" Mami asked, an utterly baffled expression on her face. "She still has the potential to be one. Far more than any other girl I've met, candidate or otherwise."
Sayaka blinked. That was the first time she was hearing about that sort of thing.
"Which is why it's such a shame that she's no longer a candidate." Kyubey agreed. "However, it has come to my attention that making a contract with her might have… untenable consequences. This isn't Madoka's fault or anything, as it's a matter that, from what I understand, is out of her control."
"Consequences, what sort of consequences?" Mami pushed.
"Mami, what's going on?" Madoka asked, a worried expression on her face. Right. Madoka wasn't privy to Kyubey's telepathy. Not anymore, anyway.
"Apparently-" Sayaka began, but cut herself off when Kyubey responded to Mami.
"In the worst case scenario, total universal annihilation. I'm not sure if that eventuality would happen, but it's a non-negligible possibility. I'm sure you understand why continuing to pursue a contract with her isn't something I can do, unless it turns out that I'm wrong about my suspicions."
"Apparently, you're no longer a Magical Girl candidate." Sayaka relayed. "Something about the universe being at risk if you do contract."
Madoka stared for a moment, her mouth open. "...Alright. Well, I can still provide moral support!" She gave a cheerful smile that was so obviously false that Sayaka very nearly ran over to hug her then and there.
Mami seemed to regain her composure. "Unfortunately, I cannot, in good conscience, let you follow me into Labyrinths, solely for your own safety. I took the two along with me before partially because I knew that, if things took a turn for the worse, one or both of you could make a contract with Kyubey and save at least yourselves. As it stands, though…."
Madoka's face fell. "I… of course. I understand. I'll just… get out of your hair then, I guess. See you tomorrow, Sayaka-chan." With that, she turned and began to leave
For a moment, Sayaka moved to head after her, to ask her to stay, but stopped herself. Madoka would be safer this way, right? So, she instead simply responded. "See you tomorrow!"
Madoka did not turn back.
AN:
Sorry for the wait. Last week was just... very busy for me. That's also ultimately why this chapter is relatively short & lacks a flashback: I decided to post what I had finished sooner rather than later, and save the flashback & its following scene for next chapter.
"Where do you see yourself in… three years?"
Hitomi turned her head to look at Madoka, who was, at least right now, walking between her and Sayaka. She seemed rather distant today, in a manner dissimilar to how both she and Sayaka had been acting two days ago, when they'd seemed to share a connection far beyond what they had with her.
Perhaps Hitomi had… overreacted on Saturday, just a tad, as now, not only was Madoka being distant, but Sayaka was also acting worried, furrowing her brow in an expression of concentration, while shooting numerous glances at Madoka that ultimately went unnoticed. Of course, Madoka had asked a question, so perhaps if Hitomi answered, she'd get a better understanding of the situation?
"Well, I expect to be in my second year of high school." Hitomi gave the obvious answer. "Hopefully, alongside the two of you, wherever we end up deciding to go."
"Uhhh… yeah, same for me." Sayaka agreed. "What's this about, Madoka? Is it related to…" She trailed off, and tilted her head slightly as if to indicate something significant that she couldn't speak of openly.
Madoka, shook her head in response, contradicting Sayaka's presumption, but unknowingly giving Hitomi herself an answer to the question she was turning over in her head. They still were keeping something from her. What, exactly? She wasn't entirely sure.
It was possible that the two of them were still together, if they indeed had been two days ago. She still hadn't exactly ruled out that possibility, after all. But now that she was actually paying attention, it seemed that there was something… different there.
Madoka, unaware of Hitomi's internal monologue, continued. "And what would you do if you met a version of yourself from three years in the future, and they were completely different from what you expected?"
Hitomi blinked. That implied that Madoka had done that, given that it was pretty clear that these weren't just hypotheticals. Except time travel wasn't possible, and while she wasn't exactly part of the scientific community or anything, she was fairly confident that it still wouldn't be possible three years into the future.
Sayaka, though, seemed to have some inkling of what was going on. "Like, with a wish?" She tentatively proposed, glancing nervously at Hitomi.
"No no no no." Madoka waved her hands in denial. "It really isn't related to that. I mean it sort of is, but only sort of. Just… what would you do in that situation?"
"You do know that you can talk to me about whatever this is, right?" Hitomi interjected, halting where she stood. "Both of you."
The other two stopped after a moment as well, turning to look at Hitomi, who put her best "accusatory look" on, before continuing. "I don't know what's going on or what you're doing, and if neither of you talk to me about it, I won't be able to do anything about it. Even if I can't do anything about it, I still care about the two of you, and having secrets of this magnitude kept from me, especially when I'm in earshot… it hurts."
A number of seconds passed. Sayaka seemed to be really interested in the cobblestones they were walking on, while Madoka's eyes darted about. Hitomi was about to give up on the topic, but then….
"I met a version of myself from three years in the future." Madoka blurted out a revelation that Hitomi honestly wasn't surprised by. But Madoka wasn't done. "She can travel between dimensions and has an alien friend who can also do that. She's rich, and prettier than I thought I could ever be."
"Nice going, Madoka!" Sayaka said, with a legitimately congratulatory smile. "I'll keep that in mind when-"
"Also, everyone else from Mitakihara was dead before she came back, apparently." Madoka interrupted, very effectively killing Sayaka's enthusiasm.
Hitomi opened her mouth to respond, but then the bell rang. She pursed her lips and revised what she was going to say. "How about we discuss this during lunch?" She suggested.
The other two nodded gratefully.
========================
Sayaka let out a deep breath as she and Madoka began to walk towards where they'd arranged to meet up with Mami. After explaining everything to her, Hitomi had — understandably — been intent on meeting Mami. However, she had yet another one of her rich girl classes right after school, so she couldn't meet her until Tuesday, which….
Frankly, Sayaka was relieved on Mami's behalf. Hitomi could be scary when she wanted to be.
As she was thinking about that, they turned a corner and saw, naturally, Mami standing there, waiting for them. Kyubey, the cat-rabbit… thing that made contracts to make Magical Girls, was lounging on her shoulder, as he was wont to do. He'd been with them on the way to school, but he'd seemed to completely ignore Madoka, and was rather tight-lipped as to why, requesting that Mami be present when he talked about the matter.
"Mami-san!" Madoka called excitedly, running up to meet their Magical Girl Senpai. Her cheer was contagious, not to mention relieving. Sayaka had somewhat expected Madoka to be down in the dumps about the "Walpurgisnacht" situation for the rest of the day, if not longer, but it seemed that she'd put it behind herself. At least, for the most part.
"Ah, Kaname-san, Miki-san, you're here." Mami greeted with a slight smile, before her expression turned deadly serious. "I'm afraid something rather concerning has come up recently. Kyubey here tells me that Walpurgisnacht is coming to this city in a bit over a month. It's an incredibly powerful witch that's been known to destroy cities before. While this isn't entirely relevant to the normal Magical Girl experience, I… thought it was something you should know."
Madoka laughed nervously. "Yeah. We… kinda heard about that already. Long story. Although, where is Kyubey?"
Mami paused. "He's right here. You can't see him?" She asked, to which Madoka only shook her head.
Kyubey, apparently noticing that it was his cue, hopped off of Mami's shoulder and took a position where he could stand and look at both Sayaka and Mami. "Kaname Madoka can no longer see me, because, regrettably, she is no longer a Magical Girl candidate." He explained, pacing back and forth slightly.
"What, why?" Mami asked, an utterly baffled expression on her face. "She still has the potential to be one. Far more than any other girl I've met, candidate or otherwise."
Sayaka blinked. That was the first time she was hearing about that sort of thing.
"Which is why it's such a shame that she's no longer a candidate." Kyubey agreed. "However, it has come to my attention that making a contract with her might have… untenable consequences. This isn't Madoka's fault or anything, as it's a matter that, from what I understand, is out of her control."
"Consequences, what sort of consequences?" Mami pushed.
"Mami, what's going on?" Madoka asked, a worried expression on her face. Right. Madoka wasn't privy to Kyubey's telepathy. Not anymore, anyway.
"Apparently-" Sayaka began, but cut herself off when Kyubey responded to Mami.
"In the worst case scenario, total universal annihilation. I'm not sure if that eventuality would happen, but it's a non-negligible possibility. I'm sure you understand why continuing to pursue a contract with her isn't something I can do, unless it turns out that I'm wrong about my suspicions."
"Apparently, you're no longer a Magical Girl candidate." Sayaka relayed. "Something about the universe being at risk if you do contract."
Madoka stared for a moment, her mouth open. "...Alright. Well, I can still provide moral support!" She gave a cheerful smile that was so obviously false that Sayaka very nearly ran over to hug her then and there.
Mami seemed to regain her composure. "Unfortunately, I cannot, in good conscience, let you follow me into Labyrinths, solely for your own safety. I took the two along with me before partially because I knew that, if things took a turn for the worse, one or both of you could make a contract with Kyubey and save at least yourselves. As it stands, though…."
Madoka's face fell. "I… of course. I understand. I'll just… get out of your hair then, I guess. See you tomorrow, Sayaka-chan." With that, she turned and began to leave
For a moment, Sayaka moved to head after her, to ask her to stay, but stopped herself. Madoka would be safer this way, right? So, she instead simply responded. "See you tomorrow!"
Madoka did not turn back.
AN:
Sorry for the wait. Last week was just... very busy for me. That's also ultimately why this chapter is relatively short & lacks a flashback: I decided to post what I had finished sooner rather than later, and save the flashback & its following scene for next chapter.