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Claimer: everything else (c) mostly us.
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Chapter One: Twisted Beginnings
*Ring, ring, ring, ring...*
The alarm clock went off, breaking the silence. A lone figure rose from the purple mattress.
She whispered "Madoka..." with a single tear drop dripping down across her left cheek. She quickly wiped away the tear and thought, Why am I crying? Did I have a nightmare?
After a moment of pondering, Akemi Homura decided that there was no point in wasting any more time on trying to remember what was already forgotten. Doing her signature hair flick, she got off the bed and turned off the alarm. After brushing her teeth, combing her hair, and putting on her favorite headband and school uniform, she headed to the door.
"I'm off…" she called out to no one in particular, then caught herself, realizing what she had said. What am I doing… she mused, I live alone so no one will respond…
"Have a safe trip!"
A gentle female voice echoed through the supposedly-empty halls.
Oh yeah my mom and dad came back from the business trip.
Smiling, Homura made haste and quickly headed to school to meet up with her friends, especially her best friend Kaname Madoka.
Homura couldn't help but notice the foliage all around her on the path to school. It was springtime so the sakura were in full bloom - a cloud of white petals fringed with pale pink casting their shadows onto passersby. Glimmers of sunlight dotted the path, illuminating the flowers growing around the bases of the trees, drawing more attention to them than they would on their own. The white daisies, lilies and magnolias stood still, greeting each passerby with nothing more than their innocent purity. It was a perfect example of the harmony of nature.
This is nice. She thought, as she approached the hill leading up to the school.
On the hill leading up to the school, Homura saw four girls waiting for her: Sakura Kyoko, Miki Sayaka, Tomoe Mami, and Kaname Madoka.
"Homura! Over here!"
Madoka was waving to Homura who was now only a few metres away. Homura immediately broke into a slight jog while waving back. Amongst the shadows, a small figure hid behind a tree, observing these young girls, a mischievous gleam in their eyes as an ill-natured smirk crossed their lips.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
After a long day, class had finally ended and the girls were chatting away about the day's random topic about boyfriends and how they liked their eggs. Feeling sorry for the teacher they joked around about getting her a boyfriend while enjoying parfaits at the local dessert house. Time flew by and the sun was beginning to set, signalling that the day was finally coming to an end.
Homura and Madoka waved goodbye to the group and headed down a road, Madoka leading the way and Homura trailing behind her.
"... So in the end, Tatsuya ran right into my dad!"
Homura smiled as she replied, "Wow, were they both okay?"
"Tatsuya was fine since he has a hard head, but my dad almost burst into tears!" Madoka chuckled.
"R-really?" Homura asked, surprised.
She took a moment to enjoy the look of astonishment on Homura's face before bursting out into laughter. "Hehehe, just kidding! They both laughed and kept playing tag."
Giggles filled their conversation till they eventually reached an intersection and halted to a stop. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon now, casting an orange glow on the pair. Unfortunately here was where they had to part ways.
"Well, see you tomorrow Homura!" Madoka said brightly.
"See you!" Homura responded with equal cheerfulness.
At the sight of Madoka's adorably gentle smile, she couldn't help but feel grateful to know her. To her, Madoka was like a sunflower; she was strong, lively, bright, and she was never afraid of being herself. Homura really admired that, and it always inspired such confidence in her. Homura knew that she would always try to better herself as long as it was for Madoka. It was the reason why she didn't hesitate to respond so cheerfully - it truly made them both happy.
Madoka's gentle smile with her head at a slight tilt caused Homura to blush a little. Just as Homura was about to turn and head home she saw a change in Madoka's expression from joy to distress.
What's wrong? Homura wondered, and she noticed Madoka was looking past her.
She was about to turn around, when suddenly a sharp pain sprung from the back of her neck and everything faded to black…
xXxXxxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Homura opened her eyes, finding herself in a dark room. As she tried to get up, there was a sharp stinging in the back of her neck. Tears slowly formed in her eyes, and she attempted to wipe away the premature tears with her right wrist. She then noticed that there was a mysterious watch attached to her wrist, so she instead used her left wrist to wipe away the tears before examining the foreign gadget on her wrist. Suddenly, the LED screen on the watch switched on and she saw an all-too familiar doll staring at her.
"Hello Homura, welcome to the greatest game ever! Welcome to a game where trust, talents, and deducting skills will be tested! There will be excitement, drama, and different sides of people will be revealed! The only cost is… you're… life…."
The doll began to snicker while the last few words were being comprehended in Homura's mind.
"What are you doing?! What do you want from me?! Where am I?!" she demanded, panic resounding in her voice.
It was only then when she remembered she had been with Madoka when she was abducted.
"Where is Madoka?!" Homura howled, "What have you done with her?!"
"Calm down, calm down," the doll chided. "Like you, she is stuck somewhere. Locked from everything… even from air…" The doll snickered once more, bemused by their situations.
The screen flashed off and once again Homura was left alone in the dark, damp room.
"I must get out of here and find Madoka," she murmured determinedly to herself.
With a newfound resolve, she headed towards the door with the hope that there was a slight chance that the door was unlocked. Sadly, Lady Luck was not on her side and the door was sealed tightly shut. However, Homura noticed that there was a hole which seemed to have a shape of a ring. There was also some faint wording etched on the door which she barely was able to make out.
Look for the ring to open the door. For the ring is the beginning of betrayal and adventure and the ending of …
Unfortunately the rest was unreadable. But Homura shook her head, thinking that the rest wasn't important enough to warrant a second thought.
Right now finding Madoka is my top priority, she thought, as she turned around and scanned the room.
In the right corner of the room there was a prison-movie bed, as well as a sink on the left corner of the room. Across from the bed was also a giant briefcase with another ring-shaped keyhole, as well as a shattered mirror to its left. The broken glass from the mirror was scattered haphazardly around the briefcase. She decided to investigate the case first since it seemed the most likely to contain the ring. She looked all around the case and underneath it too, taking care to avoid cutting herself on the glass, to no avail. Next she checked the bed, tearing off the pillow case, sheet, and mattress using the broken glass.
Suddenly a glimmer caught Homura's eye while she was shredding the mattress, stopping for a moment and picking it up. It was a silver ring with a pink gem embedded in it.
Could this be for the door? Homura wondered curiously.
Deciding to take the chance, she went back to the door and pushed the ring into the keyhole. It fit perfectly!
The door unlocked and air gushed into the room. Immediately a foul stench invaded the room causing Homura to nearly puke. Peering out into the dark hall, Homura's eyes widened at what she saw: corpses, loads of them. Rotting bodies lay scattered across the floor, some hanging on chains.
Homura twisted her head around and began to cough, the putrid smell lingering in her nostrils.
What kind of twisted place is this? She thought.
Forging her resolve she steps out of the room and slowly proceed. The smell seemed to come from the rotting flesh of the corpses. Some corpses had some flesh left, some were just bones. Her room seemed to be at the end of the corridor, so she proceeded forwards. After a minute of walking with nothing but corpses and walls, she noticed a window on the left up ahead.
Thoughts of hope, chance, and freedom popped up in her head as she dashed to the window. But the moment she peered out, whatever hope that existed in her heart was immediately crushed. As far as the eye could see, a dark forest stretched across the land. Faint moonlight from a waning moon illuminated the area directly in front of Homura, but it was clear that it was pitch black further out.
Most young people live their lives without ever experiencing raw nature. To them, nature was something kind and gentle, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth. Homura was beginning to see this first-hand. The lush greenery that she always believed would be beautiful and tame was overgrown and overbearing. Cold, indifferent, completely oblivious to human life, the forest outside was only concerned with growth. The trees were large enough to put skyscrapers to shame, but at the base, only moss, grass and ivy could thrive. What used to be flowers, struggling to find their place in the forest, were now dead and rotting, fated to be nourishment for the plants that were still alive.
No way… Homura dropped to her knees and tears start swelling on her eyes.
"Madoka… where are you… This is too cruel…" she whimpered, wrapping her arms around herself.
… Locked from everything… even from air… Recalling what the doll had told her, Homura steeled her resolve, knowing that there was something more important than finding a way to escape right now. I mustn't cry. I must find Madoka before it's too late!
The moment Homura stood up and was about to proceed down the corridor, a familiar voice rang out behind her. To Homura, this voice was the voice of a goddess.
"Homura! Thank goodness I was able to find someone!"
Homura slowly turned around and saw Madoka running up to her with a similar watch attached to her right wrist.
"...Ma...do...ka?" she murmured, her voice raspy with disbelief and doubt. Is my mind playing tricks on me? She thought, tears welling in her eyes.
"Homura!"
Madoka jumped and collided into Homura, knocking her down onto the ground. Madoka was crying and continued to cling onto Homura.
"I was so scared!" Madoka cried, "I heard you were sealed in an airtight room and I got scared and thought of the worst possible thing! But thank God you're safe!"
This is not an illusion… Homura realized. The tears she had been fighting back immediately started spilling out her eyes uncontrollably.
"Madokaaaaa…" she wailed, wrapping her arms around her friend, "I was terrified of what might have happened to you… but now I know you're okay. We have to hurry and get out of here!"
"We can't!" Madoka protested, pulling Homura up, "The doll told me the others are also trapped in here. We can't just leave them behind!"
So the doll spoke to her too. Homura made a mental note of it.
"I understand." Homura agreed with a nod, "We'll find them, and we'll all leave this place together!"
The two girls proceeded onwards down the corridor. There were a few locked doors and one of them contained a door with a slot that seemed just large enough to fit a ring. There was one unlocked door which led to what seemed to be a janitor closet. There were some chemicals, buckets, brooms, rubber gloves, and rubber boots lying around inside. But otherwise there didn't seem to be anything important in the room, so they left it alone and eventually reached a door at the end of the corridor. It seemed oddly out of place, not unlike a door to a mysterious fairy tale world. All the doors the two had seen so far had been cold and grey, but this door… this door was whimsical and inviting. Butterflies, chocolate, leaves, fire… all of these came together to form an intricate border, framing a large, red rose.
"What could be past this door?" Homura wondered aloud as she reached for the handle.
"Madoka, I'm opening the door. Are you ready?" she asked, making sure they both had time to prepare.
Homura looked back at Madoka, and she nodded in response. Swinging the door open, Homura and Madoka squinted their eyes due to the bright light. When their eyes adjusted, they noticed they were in a foyer or something alike. There were 3 more doors in this giant room and there was also a giant staircase where it split off in two different directions. At the end of the two staircases there seemed to be 2 doors as well. Standing in front of the staircase, there was one door to the left where they came from, two doors to the right, and one big door behind them which seemed to be the exit. They immediately headed to the exit, to see if it was locked or not. Sure enough, it was locked shut.
"Locked… I guess we'll need a key if we want to open this door." Madoka murmured in disappointment.
"Yeah…" Homura nodded in agreement.
They suddenly heard two clicks, and upon turning they saw two of the doors open, one of them revealing Sayaka and Kyoko, while the other was Mami. Homura noticed that all of their right wrists bore the exact same LED watch she had.
"Everyone! You're all safe!" Madoka ran to the three newcomers and grasped each one of their hands.
"Heya!" Kyoko greeted with a grin. She was holding a stick of green pocky in her mouth with her teeth.
"Ha, of course I'm safe," Sayaka responded confidently, "No creepy pervert will ever keep me locked up!"
"Ha stop acting tough Sayaka, you were clinging onto me saying how we were doomed five minutes ago," the redhead snickered teasingly, "Heehee."
Sayaka reddened in response, clearly embarrassed. "S-S-Shut up! I was just playing around!"
Well it seems they are quite calm about this, Homura thought while approaching them.
"Since everyone is here," Mami said, "all that's left is to find a way out."
Madoka nodded. "Yes, but the exit's locked. It looked like there was a keyhole though, so there must be a key."
"I see…" Mami seemed to be calmly assessing the situation.
Then the led screen on the watches on all their right wrists lit up, but this time instead of a clear picture of their apparent captor, only static showed. Nevertheless the same creepy voice from before resounded clearly through the tiny speaker in the watch.
"Bababum! It seems the four of you were able to escape the airtight room!"
"Oi! You'd better let us out of here now, you stupid doll!" Kyoko yelled.
"What do you want, you creep?!" Sayaka added furiously.
"Yes, yes…" the voice replied with ease, "if you want to get out, then just… find… the… key…"
Madoka squirmed uneasily. "Just let us out!"
But their captor ignored her. "Let me just leave you with this warning: when an animal is cornered, they will do just about anything to find a way out…"
The creepy voice snickered for a moment before there was only static. Moments later, the screen's light turned off and silence resonated through the empty corridor.
The girls looked at one another with worry. They weren't sure what their captor was planning, but they knew that it wouldn't be good….
End of Chapter One.
Hope you enjoyed chapter 1!
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