To Save Two Friends
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica
Chapter Eleven

2015.12.24 - 3:45 PM JST
Thursday

Once I started talking, I just couldn't stop. I told Okabe all about my first few loops. How I've seen Madoka die over and over and over. About the existence of magical girls and what that means in the grand scheme of things. Okabe, remarkably, never interrupted me to disprove any of this ridiculous information. In fact, he actually stopped me a few times to ask for clarification. By the time I had finished, I was crying. It finally happened. I got up to get some tissues to blow my nose. I grabbed the whole box and sat back down across the table from Okabe. He crossed his arms.

"What you've told me… it's quite a story." Okabe closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm not sure what to say.

"It's entirely the truth." I told him. "Are you going to help me?"

"The way I see it, I don't have a choice." He replied with a sarcastic laugh. "I can't sit back while a fourteen-year-old girl is suffering. Hououin Kyouma is cold, but not that cold. Our goals are pretty well aligned anyway. It only makes sense."

"Hououin Kyouma? What?"

Okabe blew off my question and stood up again. He seemed… different. More triumphant.

"I guess this is only a formality at this point, but I still feel it appropriate." He then paused and pointed at me. "I officially declare you, Akemi Homura, lab member 009!"

"Lab member?" I questioned. "I'm a member of your lab now? You can just do that?"

"Of course, it is my lab after all."

Something had definitely changed. Okabe was all smug and arrogant right now. This didn't last long though. His smile disappeared and so did his goofy face.

"I just thought of something. Could you demonstrate your magic? I think actually seeing it will be more convincing than anything you could say."

He was right. I told him all about it, I might as well show him too. I still had plenty of magic left. It's not like I was in desperate need of a grief seed or something. I switched over to my magical girl outfit with a simple flick of the thrust. The transformation made Okabe jump in surprise. He was astounded as I stood there, now wearing my bold purple costume. Okabe then regained his composure enough to make a coherent comment.

"Wow. That's actually quite impressive all by itself. You can multiplate time too?"

"Yes, follow me."

I led Okabe over to a window looking out to a busy road. Cars were just flying by non-stop. There were also plenty of pedestrians as well. I had this whole canvas of movement of play around with and make my point. I grabbed hold of Okabe's arm with one hand and grabbed hold of the shield's time control mechanism with the other

"I'm going to freeze time now." I told him. "Don't let go of me, otherwise you'll freeze too."

"Got it." Okabe confirmed this with a nod.

I pulled down the switch and everything stopped in its tracks. People froze mid-walk and the vehicles looked like something shot with a high speed camera. In fact, this entire scene must've appeared like a photograph to Okabe as he tilted and turned his head into different positions to prove that this wasn't an illusion. I restored everything to normal once I knew he was convinced.

"I'm… speechless." He said with a sigh. "It's a little scary to know this kind of power exists."

"If it makes you feel any better, I use my magic very responsibly." I assured him. "I was given these powers for a reason..."

"...to save Kaname Madoka." Okabe finished my thought. We then walked back over to where we were seated before. It was time to formulate a battle plan.

Our first objective was to determine when and where their deaths will take place. We weren't going to just let them die, but we needed to know when to expect it. I had screwed around with the timeline (or worldline) quite a bit since I got back here. Madoka died at 5 AM on December 25th last time, but who knows what will happen this time. Mayuri was also very much a wildcard as her death could've been a fluke. However, it's also possible whatever stopped her from dying five years ago could've only been a temporary fix.

It was settled. I was going to hang around Madoka and Okabe was going to hang around Mayuri. If something happened, we would immediately alert the other person and record the time and place. Honestly, we both thought this plan was a bit cold, but we didn't any other ideas. We were waist deep in the unknown and we needed some starting point.

We ended the meeting with a firm headshake and Okabe made his exit. I soon realized the time and headed out the door myself. It was getting late and I had to meet with Madoka before we headed to Mami's apartment for tonight's witch hunt. I was excited, but also nervous.

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(Chapter Twelve: Out Now!)