Aftermath (A PMMM fanfic)

Route 5:ii

    Mami isn't at home today, citing university research. Madoka invites me to her place and I accept. It'll be a perfect opportunity to confide in her and gain her trust. She meets me outside the school, as it isn't out of the way.

    We continue on and she tells me Sayaka had other business and is busy. I shrug, that'll be better in fact, especially if I have to get through using Madoka's opinions. In the meanwhile I explain to her that the Wraiths are in fact real, and that a force gets rid of them. She gives me a look of awe.

"Whoa, that must be cool, having someone on your side."

"We're just crossing paths for now, this force is definitely not on my side or on that of any human."

"But you're still being helped." She stops, to knock at the door in front of us. It seems we've reached. It is opened.

    I am crushed by whom I guess to be her mother, what with the description Madoka gave me of someone wearing extreme makeup.

"Hello. So you're Madoka's new friend. How nice to see you!"

    She attempts to act the 'cool' mom, but the gleam in her eyes is way too obvious. Madoka's brother Tatsuya comes out to see which friend of hers is here. She introduces us to each other and then takes me inside.

"Mom, can we go upstairs? We need to discuss something secret."

"I could take Tatsuya out for a walk if you'd like."

"You don't need to do all that ."

"Okay, okay. You can both go there."

    Madoka takes me up, then is dragged downstairs by her mom. I take some time to observe her room. The walls and curtains are pastel and there are a few photo frames. One of them is of her as an elementary schoolgirl, posing for the shutterbugs. Another, more recent is the group pic we clicked on the first day and the newest ones were of the Comic Con. She enters, a bit embarrassed seeing me look at her photos and lays down some refreshments.

"Have something. Let me tell you why I've called you here, especially on a day when Sayaka isn't around." Perhaps Madoka isn't the innocent girl anyone would think she'd be.

    She defies that theory by what she speaks next.

"I've been having real awful dreams. People die, or worse things happen to them."

    Of course she'd get nightmares. Living a so-called 'happy, safe life', of which the strings are controlled by someone mentally unstable, is bound to play into her subconscious and give her nightmares.

"Go on."

"There are about two types of them. The first includes only Homura and possibly me, while the second includes Sayaka, you, Mami and the red haired girl at the Con. How do I even begin telling you what it's like?"

"However you want to."

    Madoka slowly explains her bedtime ordeals, which sound more like omens to me. Homura as evil, she as unrecognisable. Mami and Sayaka, lying unconscious, and Kyōko just sobbing at the side in a battle.

"I don't want all this to be true. This can't be! It can't!"

    She begins to yell in pain, as if she were in the dream now. I wouldn't expect anyone to handle something along those lines any better, nevertheless, she needs to know everything. It's her only chance at possibly being saved and saving others for real.

     I pledge to help her, no matter the circumstances. She calms down to an extent. In these moments is my opportunity to explain from my side. Excluding how the five became Magical Girls and their wishes, everything else is placed before Madoka. After the long-ish lecture, I show Madoka her Soul Gem, in the form of a pendant on a chain she always wears.

    She doesn't look surprised at that.

"So if I'm a Magical Girl who's more powerful than any other, why didn't you just tell me everything earlier? We could've dealt with Homura while she'd still be saner."

"It's because her eyes are specifically on you. She's created this entire plane of existence for what she assumed as your sake. Only when she gets addled with emotions will she keep those eyes off you, when you can act. Right now her state is fragile, but she hasn't yet given up. It's only now that I can warn you and help so that the others don't suffer a grisly fate. Perhaps she may even get another chance to redeem herself with these odds."

"I hope we can all get out of this well."

"So do I."

I then explain what she has to do if and when we detect a Homura breakdown. She listens intently, a little too intently in fact. Her face changes expression, from exasperated to calm. A golden light seems to emanate from her, especially from the tips of her hair, which also appears to be growing. Madoka is slowly giving way to her other half, Madokami.

Do I allow Madokami to appear or not?

~Allow Madokami to appear.
(Continues in 6 ii)

~Stop Madokami.
(Continues in 6 iv)