I want you to remember me for what I did for the both of us…
魔法少女ゆっこマギカ: すべての魔法少女たちのための新しい運命。
Chapter 6: Arrow Storm
For every universe, there are twenty-four thousand others that run parallel to it. For each person in these universes there are twenty-four thousand other copies of that person. You may call them doppelgängers or doppeliners when this duplicity happens naturally in your own world, but in the subject of universes, this is what We call an 'Instance'.
Now this is where the complications come in.
Half of these Instances are of the opposite gender. So in half of these universes everyone's gender is reversed; every boy has a female version and vice versa. However, there are a handful of universes that only half of the Instances' genders are reversed.
1/16th of all Instances do not live out their lifespan; eventually the universe disposes of them-something about causality and entropy having to do with thief eventual demise.
Some Instances run into their doppeliners, which happens about half of the time. This usually causes some work of accident in which both semi- Instances will be killed.
Half of these accidents are usually very violent, and the others are most likely a drowning.
The other half of the time they are murdered mercilessly.
In 1/500 of the universes, the planet suffers a catastrophe, and everyone dies. One fourth of those have to do with nuclear holocaust.
All in all, just be lucky you're alive, because that's the math of the universe boiled down in lay and terms.
20 out of 2 billion people are able to hop dimensions by natural inborn talent. Only 2/3rds survive practicing their gift, and the others aren't so lucky.
Only one has mastered it so well that it is as simple as breathing.
Unfortunately she hasn't yet mastered it.
And even now, she hasn't changed her name to that one she is infamous for.
Gattino
Near the doorway, a small mewling kitten rubbed itself against the counter in the kitchen. Junko slipped on her left stiletto heel, and held her hand on the doorknob. She paused briefly, maybe two seconds, to look at the cat, but continued to get ready for work. There was an important meeting this morning at 9AM with the Chairman and the rest of the board, so it was important that she got there on time. It was already 7:45, and it usually took more than an hour to get to work by car.
But if she flew there on her broom, then she could get there in half the time.
"Make sure Kuro-chan doesn't get out, okay?" Madoka's mother shooed the cat away from the door so she could safely depart. In one ear she had an earring, and the other was in her left hand, her briefcase clutched within the other.
Tomohisa nodded, looking up from the pancake he was mixing. "Yes, dear!" He answered, without pausing at all. Tomohisa looked over to Tatsuya, who was running around with a spoon in his hand and smiling.
"And don't forget to wake up Madoka, either!" Added Junko, to which Tomohisa rolled his eyes at. Madoka usually didn't sleep in much, but she had her off days. Sometimes he wondered if she got that from her mother.
"Alright~!"
Friday, March 18th
Madoka gave the calendar a methodical examination, observing the many magenta marker strokes overlaying the upcoming weeks. This morning, she had woken up to see her Soul Gem glowing softly beside her, an unusual red aura glowing from it illuminated her face in the early morning's weak light. The entire thing hadn't been a dream, had it? No, the gem was all the proof Madoka needed to know it was real. She held it with in her palm and brushed her free hand's fingers against the calendar. Next week's square was encircled by a loopy pink heart.
'May 25th?' Madoka pondered over this date. Why was it familiar?
Nevertheless, she tried to think positively. In no time at all she would see Hōmura at school, and things would be all right. She could tell her everything she'd seen.
How did the 'other' one put it? She tried to think back.
'A paradox.'
Madoka's heart clenched. That voice wasn't Kyūbey, but she could tell that those words had not been spoken aloud.
It did not speak again, but she still felt the presence close to her for some reason.
7:50. So it was already time to get ready for school, and she didn't want to be late.
From her bedroom window Madoka could see the city, and it wasn't much different save for a few extra towers and buildings.
It took the usual amount of time to get ready, probably only fifteen minutes, but it took half an hour to walk to school, and if that was the case then Madoka would be late by five minutes. Of course, that meant she couldn't eat any breakfast, so on her way out of the kitchen she snagged a couple of pieces of buttered toast and dashed out the doorway.
Unfortunately, she didn't notice that her little white kitten had escaped with her.
The sky was bright and clear—cleaner than usual for the city, actually. Madoka took a deep breath and sighed. Hōmura was probably in the hospital right now, so she would try to visit her after school. Madoka was just about to begin her sprint to school, but she spotted Kuro just in time out of the corner of her eye.
It was walking in the middle of the street.
"Nyeeeee, nyeeeee~"
She heard the engine before she saw the machine. It all was happening just like the dream she had the night before. A car was heading towards the unknowing cat, and her hand went instantly into her bag.
'Save it.'
Madoka didn't know how she was going to make it, but ran to the cat, scooped it up, and held the kitten close to her chest. There was not enough time to dodge, but her thoughts were much faster than her reflexes.
'αιολική ασπίδα' She knelt in the spot where she had stopped in front of the car. Her head was down, and the staff was held out in front of her horizontally. Before Madoka realized what exactly what was doing, there was a giant pocket of air that cushioned the impact of the car.
It did a double—no triple flip before it landed behind the two and sped off.
Her forehead was coated in sweat, and she shakily placed her staff back into her schoolbag. Madoka walked back to her house and put the kitten back inside.
"What was that?" Whispered Madoka to herself. Her mind and body had reacted all on their own, and it was frightening to imagine what would have happened if she hadn't pulled it off. With two fingers, she held the Soul Gem up to the light. Maybe it was all a part of being a Puella Magi?
'Hello there,' said an all too familiar little alien.
インキュベータ
Kyūbey flicked his tail, curling it around Madoka's neck as he rubbed his face against her cheek. Looking upon this unprecedented display of affection, Hōmura wasn't sure how to feel about the Incubator snuggling up to Madoka like this. She didn't seem to mind, but it Hōmura was just a little but creeped out at a seemingly affectionate Incubator.
Mami had tea, as usual. Her golden eyes were on the so-called Goddess and Kyūbey, examining the exchange between them. Kyūbey would purr and grin, while Madoka scratched behind his ear/tentacle things.
"I finally get to meet you, Hōmura-san." Mami sipped deeply from her teacup and set it down—the delicate fragrance of Earl Grey somehow overpowering Madoka's stronger Blue Mountain coffee.
Hōmura bowed her head lightly. "It's nice to meet you as well, Tomoe-sempai."
"Oh, stop it," the gunner blushed, "not even the other students in the lower grades call me that." She smiled, the happiness radiating from her like the sun.
"As I've told you before," Madoka remarked absently. "Hōmura already knows much about the Puella Magi." The time traveler's eyes never left the scene of Madoka hugging Kyūbey to her chest. He had an aura of content surrounding him like a baby swaddled in blankets held next to his mother.
"Really?" Mami put a questioning finger to her lips. "But…you're not a Puella Magi, are you?"
"I was…" Hōmura murmured with a somber expression on her face. "But that was…a very long time ago you could say."
'So shall we get down to business?' said Kyūbey, looking to Hōmura with a delighted grin. 'You wanted to accompany us to hunt Demons today, isn't that right?'
Hōmura tried to hide her confusion. Demons? Puella Magi hunt Demons, now, do they? She figured Madoka's wish probably had something to do with the absence of Witches. But, of course, the Puella Magi had to have something to fight. So Hōmura guessed that these "Demons" were just as destructive.
"That's right," Hōmura lied. She wanted to ask Madoka about the differences between their old universe and the new one that they had constructed, but it looked to be that would have to wait. "I just have one question, Kyūbey."
'Ask away,' he chimed, stretching out on the table.
"Why do you call Madoka 'Kami-sama'?"
神
Over twenty years ago in Mahokari City, an unusually strong Wraith appeared. It was unbelievably strong, possibly a class A-7. The local Magical Girls couldn't defeat the monster, and tried to call for help. It was destroying everything it touched in the city, and several of them lost their lives trying to contain it. Even the mages in the city had no idea how to tame such a beast. That is, until one girl stood up in opposition to the monster.
We Incubators had no idea who she contracted with, but she was a Magical Girl all the same. She wasn't alone, either; there were six other people with her. Two boys and four girls, all appearing to have Contracted with an Incubator, yet no one knew with whom they had.
They even had the legendary artifacts with them.
The girl, their leader faced the darkness and said "I am the Goddess of Love. I am supported by the Goddess of Hope. My friends and I shall save you from Despair!"
Then the real battle begun.
People say that the monster was called "The Dawn of Hyades". Why it had such an odd name is unknown. But those seven children, the "Shiroi Chōchin", the "Pleiades Knights", protected the city.
Their leader is our Goddess. The pink-haired beauty with white wings—the merciful maiden with the red Soul Gem. We search for her, even today.
鬼神
Some things never changed. These Demons they were hunting down gathered in the same spots that Witches did, and could be tracked down using one's Soul Gem. Madoka couldn't use her own because, as she tried to explain to Hōmura, it would pick up all of the Demons in the surrounding area, and they would probably be led in circles the entire afternoon.
Doutor Coffee was located in the mall, so they decided to try and find a Demon within the area.
They had walked only a couple of blocks away from the mall when Mami's Soul gem reacted rather violently. It began to shine as brightly as lantern, and it radiated heat like a tiny fire within her palms. Their party of four was facing a wall right beside a dark alleyway. While perched on Madoka's shoulder, Kyūbey shivered and clung close to his 'Master'.
'I always hate going near these places.'
"We've reached the Closed Space," Mami told her three tag-alongs.
Hōmura could feel the deathly cold aura surrounding the place, much different from the surreal and mind numbing feeling that a Witches' Barrier gave off. She took her staff out of her bag in case she needed to defend herself. After all, she wasn't as powerless as she had been in the other universe before she Contracted, so she might as well carry her weight.
'Good thinking, Akemi-chan,' Kyūbey praised her for thinking of such a thing. 'Mage magic should help us as well.'
Etched in the brick was an unfolding flower made up of triangles. They stepped through the glowing symbol on the wall once Mami had activated the entrance.
"Alright everyone, time to find it," she announced. Mami turned around, tracing the ground with her foot, creating a circle of light below her. It shone upwards, along with a strong wind, bathing her in gold for a few seconds and changing her clothes as it did. Her uniform skirt became a muted yellow, and the hem gained a slim brown stripe. Her hat and soul gem materialized, the metal loops no longer golden, but were now silver, and the feather attached to the cap was grey instead of white. The potion of her Puella Magi battle uniform that had once been white was now a light grey. However, her Soul Gem was shining a bright gold, as if she had been Contracted yesterday.
"Watch out for Subordinates," said Madoka. Her bow popping up within her hands despite not transforming. She took note of the poorly drawn stick figures ambling towards the group and raised her bow up to shoot.
"Wh-what?" Blurted out Hōmura, staring at the rose-bow. Its signature flower at the top was now a deep bloody red, and Madoka didn't seem at all surprised that Hōmura was having a reaction to this.
'Kami-sama can wield her weapon without transforming,' Kyūbey explained. 'She's just that powerful! Isn't she amazing?'
"Y-Yeah." Hōmura looked a bit crestfallen, but tried to regain her courage. She watched as Madoka picked off the Subordinates with a few carefully aimed arrows. The three girls ventured on deeper into the Closed Space.
Around them were piles of paper everywhere. Ink pots and pens were scattered within the dimension, dancing and spinning around in circles. The Subordinates were much like Familiars in their attack patterns, so it wasn't too hard to dispose of them. They were either stick figures or random scribbles of ink that tried to claim hold of the girls and Kyūbey
Hōmura summoned some fire with Incendio to keep back a wave of out of control scribbles. The blue flames made the stringy things writhe in pain and back away. Most of them hardened into black curved statues from the heat.
"How much further?" she asked, giving a sideways glance at her comrades.
"Not too much, we probably—," Mami was cut off by a long roaring noise. Up ahead a perpetual fountain of ink was spewing upwards in a column. The sludge grew arms and had two glowing white eyes near the top of the fountain. Before them its name was displayed in the same runes that Madoka and Hōmura were accustomed to:
Gregor
The Demon of the Arts
Nature: Diligence
"…There!"
"Hōmura, stand back." Mami already had summoned her guns, the silver shafts sticking up from the ground and surrounding her in a circle. "You too, Kyūbey." One gun, point, shoot, repeat. Her method of fighting was nothing special, or so she told herself. Adding in all the twirling and jumping made her look spectacular though. Each shot made a small portion of the monster dissolve, but it regenerated pretty quickly.
Madoka was off to the side shooting arrows faster than a normal human could possibly accomplish. It rained upon the Subordinates, giving Mami room to launch a full-scale attack on the Demon directly.
Hōmura did what she could, keeping them at bay with her fire as usual.
"Colpo Brigata!"
So Mami still named her attacks in Italian, did she?
An inky arm swung in Hōmura's direction, but the former Meganekko did a surprisingly fast split, dropping to the ground, rolling away and aiming her staff at the monster.
"Hōmura," shouted Madoka over the commotion, firing arrows at the Demon now. The Subordinates were closing on her, but at the moment she was preoccupied with defending Hōmura.
'Kami-sama!' said Kyūbey. "Transform!'
As much as she didn't want to, it looked like she had no choice. Mami's magical power was great, but since the monster was made up of an inky, liquid substance, her magic alone wasn't sufficient to dissolve it quickly enough.
In real-time her transformation was brief, almost instantaneous, but to those who have been to the Otherspace where Madokami resides, it lasted for quite a while.
It was her and Madokami, floating across from one another in the light. The Goddess took hold of her other self by the hands like before, and on our Madoka a pair of pure white gloves sprouted forth in a flurry of petals. The ribbons around them were a dark red, as well as part of the corset that appeared around her waist. The bottom ruffled part of her skirt burst from nothingness as well, a nice dark lead color that matched the top of her sleeves. The front of her corset was black, except for the ruffles and buttons.
Lastly, the Goddess gave her a blessing by kissing her on the forehead, and she gained two ruby ribbons that matched her corset and shoes.
In the instant she transformed, there was a shimmer of light, and the clothes popped into existence in an explosion of sparkles. The Subordinates surrounding her had dissolved, and she aimed her bow at the Demon that Mami was so busy attacking.
Hōmura watched her friend with awe, her mouth open in a little 'o' to see such a different appearance.
The only thing she could think of though was 'Kaname-chan looks good in red.'
And then Madoka let go an arrow. "Pfeil Sturm"
It was larger than the usual shining pink bolts of energy she let loose. It split apart into several thousand tinier arrows and hit the Demon. It squealed in pain, having been separated into thousands of little dark droplets. In the middle of them, though, they spotted its heart.
'Now's your chance!' Kyūbey pointed out to Mami, and the gunner nodded in agreement.
"Tiro…" her signature giant gun popped up within her arms. She made sure the glowing remnant of the monster was in sight and then. "Finale!"
The dimension around them faded away, and they were standing at the wall once more, as if they dreamt the whole thing up.
Mami and Madoka were in their school uniforms again, and were smiling at Hōmura.
"Looks like we had a good night," Mami exclaimed, holding out her palms to her fellow schoolmates. There were 10 coins the size of quarters piled up within them. Engraved on them were two rings overlaid by a teardrop. "Ten Wish Coins!"
"I got the Despair Cube," said Madoka, holding up something that looked like a pitch black Rubik's Cube.
wünschen -硬貨を希望
Wish coins. They are a manifestation of the energy gathered once a Demon or Wraith is destroyed. Incubators usually take 90% of the energy that the Puella Magi create once they defeat the abominations, but the other 10% materializes as this form of currency.
You see, the first wish that Incubators grant utilizes the latent energy with a Puella Magi to accomplish the task. After that, Puella Magi can turn to the Incubators after they've collected enough Wish Coins, and redeem another wish.
Later that evening…
Hōmura found a box while she was rummaging around under her bed. I was a light blue metal tin that Christmas cookies usually were packaged in, and it had a strange ribbon with a red and yellow flower-shaped lock. When she touched it, the ribbon came loose in her hands and she decided to open the container.
"..."
There were several bells with dark purple ribbons attached to them. Possibly they were for her hair? Maybe to tie off a ponytail, but Hōmura wasn't about to go back to wearing those girly pigtails. Besides, she realized long ago that they were one of the reasons she had had trouble balancing.
There was also a long necklace that looked like a coiled silver snake; the links that made it up were tiny irregular shapes that resembled scales. Hanging from it was a dark blue jewel the size of a quarter, most likely a sapphire. And then there was the book.
It was a dark brown leather-bound volume with worn pages and cracks in the binding.
Impressed on the front in golden capital letters were the words 'Diarium Ejus' and a red Fleur de Liz.
Augh…I promised I wouldn't make the story so slow…but here's what happened.
Next time, more things happen (obviously) involving Sayaka and Hitomi.