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?

[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)

[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.

[ Truthfully, Mami went up to the meadow to have some quiet time. Of course, there was always someone in the meadow whenever she arrived. She was about to turn and leave, but she couldn't help but sneak a quick glance at the person standing there.

Madoka. Her student in some sense. Yet... There was something in her gut feeling that was telling her something was wrong. Really wrong.

But it's been so long,mso long since she's seen the person who gave her hope. So Mami ignores the hut feeling and slowly approaches the girl. ]

Kaname-san?

Mami-san?!

[It came as quite a shock to for Madoka to see Mami again. Not only because she had seen the blond-haired girl die before her very eyes, but also that she had been the reason Madoka had even considered becoming a magical girl in the first place.

Regardless of her other half's mental assult, it was good to see a fallen friend again.]

Kaname-san...

[ And there, she embraces her friend when she closes the distance between them. After some silence, she lets go of the girl and gives her a smile. ]

Are you... Are you OK? [ The motherly attitude that Mami has is starting to show, and she can't help but worry about the girl. Aft all, Madoka's shouting when she first stepped foot in the meadow made her worry a bit. ]

[It felt good to be embraced by such a good friend, and a feeling Madoka has missed dearly since nearly everyone she knew had perished because of the creeping madness bred by the darkness growing within their hearts.

As Mami pulls away, she smiles back at the older magical girl.]

I'm fine, my witch side was just being mean again.

Edited 2013-02-05 22:58 (UTC)

[Kazumi is walking through when her cat, Toto, hops off the stairs to look around]

Ah, come back!

[At least it wasn't a dangerous floor... the magical girl follows her cat over to the couches where she sees Madoka sleeping]

Eh? Madoka? [The lounge is a relatively safe floor, but falling asleep by yourself was never too great an idea in the Tower... she debates waking the girl, when suddenly she flickers like that momentarily, startling Kazumi.]</small. Eek!

[Startled by Kazumi's cry, Madoka snaps awake with a dazed cry.]

Huh...? Do I know you?

Eh? Ah, um... wrong Madoka?

[IT KEEPS HAPPENING...]

It's all right! But is there really a girl named Madoka who looks like me here?

Um, yeah, there is. So... you're not Madoka then?

[She's not sure if that would be more or less confusing than two Madokas]

Oh no, my name is Madoka. I just thought it was strange that there was another Madoka here.

[She smiles.]

Oh, yeah, it's pretty weird but it actually kind of happens a lot here for some reason. Double of people keep showing up; sometimes they're a lot a like or sometimes they're really different but they're still the same person.

Someday I'd like to talk to her, I'm sure it would be interesting to talk to myself for a little while.

[Madoka giggles.]

I wonder if she has a witch in her heart like I do...

Yeah, it would be kind of neat to meet yourself, wouldn't it?

[Those words stop Kazumi cold though]

A... witch? Inside of you?

[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.]

... Witch side?

[ Sure, she knows that magical girls are immature witches now, but the thought of talking to witches is something she's not used to. In fact, it's kind of frightening. Mami really doesn't like this. She was sure this wasn't normal. Kazumi simply said that magical girls turn into witches when their soul gem darken completely. ]

Madoka... What witch side?

Oh, it's a little strange, but when I became a magical girl I was fused with something called a Witch as part of the process.

Now I'm part human and part witch, if that makes any sense.

[She smile awkwardly]

[Madoka cocks her head to the side in slight confusion, did Mami really not know all this, despite being a magical girl herself?

It was a sobering thought, to have died never knowing the truth behind becoming a magical girl.]

Um, her name is Gretchen and she was born and then became part of me when I became a magical girl.

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[Meadow]

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floor thirty-eight

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meadow;

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[Lounge]

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