Author's note: I hope you enjoy this OC story I am writing!

AN2: Edited and updated as of 02/21/2014!

xx

The city you came to know and love was in ruins.

That place was definitely not the city you were raised in, and at the very least, you thought, you could be sure of that one fact. It didn't spread its usual warm and tranquil aura, with a dash of modernity and sophistication: the skies, once a radiant shade of blue, were now a sickly grey; the tops of the tallest buildings twisted and curled in a monochrome, surreal, nauseating vertigo. The lights in this bizarro city were scarce, but sometimes, some streetlamps blinked in an ominous tone of crimson, seeming to mock you, wink at you from a distance. In fact, the more you paid attention, the more you could hear faint and girlish laughter echo in your ears.

Despite that, you ran. You made the most out of your frail legs; stumbling among grayish rubble; dashing though thick, suffocating layers of dust. The more you ran, the more surreal your surroundings became; and yet, you couldn't find it in you to stop. You couldn't quite put your finger on what it was: but, inside you, there was something, a strong feeling, burning deep inside you and giving you strength. And so, for the sake of that unexplainable foreboding feeling, you kept running, struggling towards what seemed to be a certain demise.

After running along what felt like miles, you found a heavy steel door, seemingly full of fashionable gears and mechanisms you weren't quite sure were actually necessary. Gathering all your (very scarce by now) physical strength, you were able to slowly push the heavy door aside, and sneak a peek on the outside of that building you didn't quite remember you were into; however, as you slid your head out of the narrow gap you just made, you instantly froze in terror.

The first thing you remember seeing is an upside down, clown-esque titanic creature wearing a long, navy felt dress –one long enough to cover a whole baseball stadium – which rather poorly hid enormous, rusted gears that poked out of its torso, in the place of anything resembling legs. Its face was almost completely blank, containing only a crimson, static smile, laughing its crimson joy at you, and inching closer to you by the second. The creature slowly turned to you as you slowly slipped out of the crack in the steel door, making a deafening metallic noise that was only muted by the loud, hysterical laughter coming from the creature's unmoving lips.

"Are you just going to look at it forever?"

Suddenly, a cute, boyish voice rang quietly from your left. Instinctively snapping your head back at its source, you see a small, snow-colored feline, sitting on a fallen piece of debris and smiling his empty smile at you. His tail wiggled lazily, and he blinked at you; as though there was nothing unusual in the situation you were both in. You would probably be infuriated, if you were not so terrified.

"You can change all that, you know!" His voice piped in once more, cheerful and soft.

Your voice was shaky, and just then you noticed the stream of terrified tears dripping down your face, but you could somehow manage some words of response. "Can- can I really…?"

His expression didn't move a single inch, and yet, his voice laughed. "Obviously!"

A moment after his cheerful response, a loud, pained scream could be heard. Looking back to the grotesque image before you, a young woman clad in grey and turquoise clothing seemed to fall down into an abyss. Before you could even call out or reach for the edge of the building you were in, however, a flash of turquoise sprung back up. After taking a second to recover, the girl jumped from a wrecked building to another in quick succession, and seemed to disappear into thin air for a second, only to reappear somewhere else entirely in the other. She then threw something – arrows?- at the horrific laughing creature, which exploded in flashes of shining green light upon contact; which made the creature choke on its own demented laughter; and retaliate with a stream of rainbow-colored fire, which the girl narrowly avoided.

While the whole scene had just grown even more bizarre, you couldn't take your eyes off that turquoise clad figure; and, whenever she disappeared, you found yourself looking out for her again. In that world which had become grey with destruction and desolation, your eyes kept darting back to that stunning dash of color that quickly moved from right to left to right again.

"Who is…she?" Without taking your eyes off the fight, you called out quietly to the feline beside you, if he was still there at all.

"She is…" He jumped to the edge of the building, landing beside you. He then turned his head to you in a secretive manner, apparently exasperated. "She's doomed. Don't worry about her."

You gasped.

"What?"

An explosion almost blasted your eardrums. Another scream rung out in your ears, and a small figure, completely covered by brightly colored fire, dropped down the abyss, with a large piece of a nearby building serving as an anchor as it dropped down. With a feeling of dread overwhelming you, you looked down and waited for the sound of a crash; which, even after several minutes, never came to be. The white feline sighed, nudging you lightly with its head.

Tears ran down your face once again, even as you tried your best to repress your fear. You were absolutely sure you would never be able to defeat this colossal monster; or at least, not all by yourself like that. You were afraid. You didn't want to join that girl in such a painful death. But even so, you could feel the expectant eyes of the small white creature beside you, waiting for you to do what he said you would. And what you yourself knew you would.

You swiftly gulped down some hesitation, and made your voice as firm as possible. You sure didn't want to mess up on the biggest choice of your life.

"What… do I have to do… Kyubey?"

The little white critter, addressed by you as Kyubey, blinked at you for a second or two, apparently confused at your sudden burst of courage. Then, he huffed, and jumped to a nearby piece of concrete, obtaining the higher ground.

"Akiko Mitsuka!" He called, his voice suddenly potent and a bit intimidating. He extended his white and pink ear appendages to reach your sides. The rings he wore on them started glowing and gaining a sudden heat. "Think of a wish you want granted! A call that dominates your whole heart and soul! Decide and make it clear in your mind! Your wish will stretch the longevity of the Universe we all live in!"

With those words, you had no way to come back anymore. Holding your breath, your searched your mind for an answer; and it didn't take you long to find one.

Even with the panic, even with the terror.

Even with the hesitation, even with the despair.

You knew a wish you want granted.

"Kyuubey, I wish —!"

And so, her eyes opened, and she was greeted by the sight of the purple ceiling of her room.

The girl blinked, confused, before giving up on understanding and hugging the nearest pillow she got her tiny hands on; squeezing on it and burying her slightly tearful face.

Akiko Mitsuka was awake.

"Was that a dream…? G-geeeeeez…!" She sighed.

Out of the window of Akiko's room, obscured by a pair of curtains, a pair of crimson eyes watched her, unmoving.

xx

Author's note: Thank you for reading this prologue! Also, the prologue was INTENTIONALLY written to be a parallel to Madoka's dream in Episode 1. Don't worry, the rest won't be a rip-off.