towerofanimus

Entry tags:

First

Characters: Madoka and Open
Setting: Dormitory Floor, Room 1-11, 38th floor lounge, the meadow.
Format: Action
Summary: Madoka arrives in the tower and attempts to find her bearings.
Warnings: None

[Sitting alone on her bed in the dorms, Madoka shakily reads the letter provided to her by the tower's managers. Just the day before she had resolved to meet with Homura and find a way to end the vicious cycle that had birthed so many horrors into the mortal world, now, if the letter and its mysterious senders were to be believed, it was all pointless. In the end she hadn't been able to protect anyone, despite all the power afforded to her by the dark being dwelling in her pitch-black soul, everyone she had ever loved was gone and likely would never return.

Even for someone like Madoka, who could see the good in even the darkest of circumstances, it was quite a load to bear. Nevertheless she remains strong, for even the smallest admission of sorrow could open a window for her witch side to assault her already fragile mind with mental suggestions to carry out her darkest desires. Holding back a torrent of tears with just a few sniffles for show, she tucks the letter under her pillow and stands, ready to go out and find something to calm her shaken mind.]

[After awhile of simply ambling around the tower, checking every floor within a short distance of her room for anything that could take her mind off the contents of the letter that currently lay back n her room, she eventually happens upon the 38th floor lounge. Near exhausted from her wanderings, Madoka plops herself upon one of the lounges chairs and relaxes for a while, watching as people come and go, after awhile she begins to nod and eventually falls asleep.

As she does, her form begins to flicker like an unstable hologram. Behind the facade of a pink-haired middle-school girl lies a strange girl clad in a dark dress and pale mask. Though she appears to be harmless, a strange and almost malevolent aura radiates from Madoka's small frame, like that of a monster who exists solely to spread despair to others. ]

[The end of Madoka's journey takes her to the tower's idyllic meadow, despite her recent nap, her body remains racked by exhaustion and grief. Leading the pink-haired magical girl to take the time away from being dealing with the tower's various horrors to sit and meditate on everything that has happened to her

Though she finds clarity among the grass and oddly real skies, among thoughts of home, friends, and the meaning of the power she had gained, darker images begin to seep through, the most basic form of her other half's obsessive need to corrupt her host's every good intention.

"You should be happy, everyone you've ever known has finally be given true happiness."

The witch's words echoed in Madoka's head, making her feel worse then she already did. All she can do to shake the feeling is to shout at the top of her lungs.]

"Stop it...!"

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[The gathering of energy was what had caught Kyoko's attention first. She had a heightened sense for it, thanks to the kind of life she had carved for herself back in Mitakihara with Homura. Its no real surprise that, when she hears Madoka cry out in unison with the prickling feeling she's suddenly been gifted with, Kyoko turns on heel and dashes back toward the floor with the bright colored Meadow.

She hated this place. She had found Mami here also, upon arrival. It seemed to bring out the worst in all of them, despite being such a tranquil place. Perhaps because it was a tranquil place.

But when she arrives, she finds nothing. Nothing but Madoka in the middle of the meadow. She hadn't actually talked to Madoka as of yet...perhaps now was a good time. After all, she and Homura had made such an effort to make sure she didn't contract. Stopping her vigil now seemed pointless.

Something isn't right. Her gut tells her so.]

Madoka.

[For a moment grips her head in pain, as if she was experiencing an intense headache. Gretchen's mental prodding were never fun, but now her darker side was just sowing salt in a wound that would likely never heal, an attempt to prove her morbid sense of salvation was the only correct way to save someone.

Upon hearing Kyouko's voice, one she never thought she'd ever hear again, was enough to break out of the dark trance, and begin to wonder what the heck was going on in this strange place.]

Kyouko?!

[The red-haired girl relaxes a bit when she sees no immediate danger in the area, but she doesn't bother to change back. Something is still stirring in her stomach, and so she won't back down entirely.

She seems surprised to see her, which causes Kyoko's eyes to narrow a little. Nobody had ever said anything about her dying across timelines.

She guessed it was a little silly to assume otherwise, especially without her background.]

You screamed. What's the big idea?

Sorry to scare you like that, Gretchen was just being mean again and I was trying to calm her down...

But it's all right, I'm ok now!

[Madoka flashed a pained smile, the words of witch side still burned into her memories.]

Edited 2013-02-04 21:08 (UTC)

[Almost on cue, Kyoko's eyebrow raises.]

Gretchen?

[Madoka tilts her head slightly in confusion.]

I thought I told you about her... Oh well, I'm sure you just forgot, so I'll explain it again.

Gretchen is the witch who was born when I became a magical girl. Sometimes I hear her voice echoing in my head telling me to do bad thing, but I've learned ignore her for the most part.

[It's been at least half a year since Kyoko sensed the presence of a witch (or something similar) and for the second time in her she's none too enthused about it. There were just the five of them in the tower, now, so it means somebody went and blew it. Or so she thinks, anyway, as she follows the magical signature up to one of the tower's many lounges. She has no game plan, uncertainty clouding her thoughts and turning into agitation, but even if she had they would have disappeared upon seeing Madoka laying on the tower.

The illusion doesn't fool her. Her ability to project illusions works in reverse as well; there's no fooling her. She stares at Madoka--dressed in an unbecoming black, face hidden behind a mask, carrying a similar yet distinct magical signature from that of the one she knows from home, but different in a way that she can't put her finger on. She stops at the sight, stares at the girl on the couch--Madoka. Not the Madoka she knows, probably not a magical girl any longer, but still Madoka.

Her fingers closing firmly around the Soul Gem in her hand, as though to protect it from corruption. She makes no effort to attack. There's no way she can just treat Madoka like a monster. Not even a witch, not when she still seems so decidedly human. Instead, she takes steady steps forward. She's guarded, a frown on her face. Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst, but not attacking. Hurting the people she cares about is tiring, she's been sick of it for a long time. If she can avoid it this time...]

...Madoka. What happened?

[...but maybe that's asking too much. She's straight to the point, perhaps even a bit more than usual.]

(ooc: If you'd rather Kyoko not be able to see through her illusion/recognize her as a witch, shoot me a private plurk or a pm and I'll edit this!)

[With a yawn, Madoka wakes from her light nap and greets Kyouko with a bright smile that clashes profoundly with the dark aura her body casts upon the floor around her. Having just awoken she is completely unaware that the illusion shrouding her darker side had been dropped due to a simple combination of exhaustion and despair.

She didn't know why her dead friend was standing here before her, and didn't really care. To see anyone from home was a welcome change in a place that had robbed her of her hopes and dreams, and left a broken shell of a girl in their wake.]

Huh...?

[Madoka yawns again.]

I'm not sure what your talking about. Everything's fine as far as I know.

Edited 2013-02-05 03:00 (UTC)

[She doesn't understand it, how Madoka can so casually say everything's fine when she's been reduced to precious little more than feed for new magical girls. Someone who might be treated as a monster by the very people who might have worked alongside of her, a missing person to the world, but somehow...more human than any witch Kyoko has encountered up until this point.

In fact, appearances aside, she barely seems any different at all from the Madoka that Kyoko was familiar with. She doesn't understand and that annoys her.]

Madoka. Tell me. What happened after you contracted?

[It is as good of a place to start as any.]

[This was confusing to Madoka, most magical girls should know about the existence of witches and their involvement in how a person becomes a magical girl.]

After I made the contract, I was put into a strange space where I saw my family and friends die over and over again. After a very long time of watching that, something happened inside me and a witch named Gretchen was born and then became a part of me. From then on on, I've been part human and part witch.

It's really strange, but Kyubey said it was just a part of being a Magical Girl.

Edited 2013-02-06 16:25 (UTC)

[Kyoko settles on the couches armrest as she listen to Madoka's explanation. The pain of losing one's family is a pain that she knows well; to see that over and over in order to become a magical girl...to be turned into a witch on arrival. The idea sickens her. It's unforgivable. She grits her teeth, gripping her knee.]

What the Hell kind of system is that!? [She snaps immediately, but is able to recognize that Madoka won't understand. Although what she adds might not be particularly helpful] The magical girl system I know is nothing like that!

Oh...

[It hurt a little to know not all magical girl's were forced through what she had undergone to become a magical girl. Madoka sighed heavily, realizing just how awful the world could be.]

the Kyouko I knew went through the process too. She looked a little different then you, but I'm sure you both think the same way.

Maybe. I've never met her, so I can't say, but...you don't seem too different from the Madoka I know.

[She shrugs, as though that were the end of it. She tries to keep the disgust off of her face, if only so as not to agitate the situation further--after all, it's not as though it'll do any good to take out her frustration on Madoka.]

...so, how's the Puella Magi system run in your world? You guys got Soul Gems and Grief Seeds or what?

[Meadow]

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floor thirty-eight

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meadow;

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[Lounge]

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