Chapter 4

Night of Fate

It was afternoons like this that Madoka loved. She and her friends were at their usual hangout of Mami's apartment, drinking tea, simply chatting, joking, and relaxing. The snacks had been finished off, save for a piece of cheesecake.

That Kyoko and Nagisa were currently fighting over.

"Let go, Nagisa!" Kyoko tugged on the plate.

"No! It is cheese! It belongs to me!" Nagisa pulled back.

"You've already pigged out on the cake!"

"You have also had your fill! The cheesecake is mine!"

"Liar!" Kyoko pulled harder.

"You are the liar!" Nagisa countered, and continued to pull.

"Stop that you two!" Mami said.

"She started it!" Both said. "No! She started it! It's mine!"

Unfortunately, neither seemed willing to back down. Also unfortunately, Kyoko was both larger and stronger than Nagisa. This resulted in her managing to pull the plate out of her grasp. Even more unfortunately, this also resulted in Kyoko stumbling back and tripping, sending the cheesecake flying into the air.

"Oh no!" Both shouted.

Thankfully, Mami took action. She calmly held out another plate, and caught the flying slice of cake upon it, not spilling a crumb, the fork even landed with the point in the cake.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They all knew about how Kyoko hated wasting food, and Nagisa's love of anything cheese.

"Nice catch Mami!" She said, and walked over to her, hand outstretched.

"No! Give it to me!" Nagisa jumped in front of her.

"No, it's neither of yours." Mami said.

"But..."

"No!" She said, in that tone of voice that said this wasn't up for debate. Both immediately backed down.

Mami got up and walked over to the refrigerator. "I'll have it myself later."

"Aww..." Kyoko slumped back down to the couch.

At that moment the TV activated.

"What?" Sayaka, who had been watching the whole debacle with amusement jumped slightly.

"Oh." Kyoko scooted over, revealing she had accidentally sat on the remote.

"-norant to the truth. It's not human traffickers. It's aliens! I'm telling you, it's aliens! Creatures from beyond our world have come to bring about it's end! They're the reason! Wake up sheeple! The government is keeping the truth from us! But I know what's really happening! And now you do to!"

The scene showed a street where a rather obese man with greasy hair was yelling at the camera.

"Hey, are you cutting me off?! You can't keep the truth hidden! The people-"

The screen cut to a newsroom, where a pair of reporters commented. "And as you can see, explanations and theories vary wildly as to the cause of this rash of disappearances. Governments and law enforcement agencies the world over state that the investigation is ongoing. If anyone has information, feel free to come forth anonymously by contacting your local police station. The consensus is that any information might help.

"Ugh. If we're going to watch TV, can it not be this?" Mami said, returning from the kitchen. "Too depressing."

"Agreed." Sayaka said.

"How about a movie?" Madoka suggested.

"If we can agree on what to watch." Mami said.

As it turned out, agreeing on what movie to watch took some time, with Kyoko and Sayaka wanting to watch some action movie, while Madoka and Nagisa wanted to watch a mystery. As usual, Mami took charge and they instead ended up watching a rom-com.

It ran a bit longer than expected, and by the time it was finished, it was very dark outside, made worse by the ominous storm clouds gathering above.

"All right." Mami said. "Be careful on the way home."

"Oh don't worry." Sayaka said. "We'll take the bus, it's perfectly safe. No kidnappings for us! Besides if anyone tried, I'd kick their asses before they knew what was what!"

"Thank you for having us over." Madoka said.

"Of course, it's always lovely to see you two. Oh! We'll be going shopping tomorrow, would you like to come?"

"I'm sure Madoka has to pack."

"No, it's fine. Were not leaving until July." Madoka explained. "I'd love to come shopping with you all!"

"Great, we'll meet at the mall around noon!"

Madoka and Sayaka waved goodbye and headed out. Above them the sky flashed with lightning prompting both girls to hurry to the bus stop.

As usual, the buses ran perfectly on schedule, arriving just as they arrived at the stop. Sayaka and Madoka boarded, and took their seats.

"So, it's just us." Sayaka said, leaning back in her seat.

"Yeah, it's been kind of a while." Madoka said. "How are things going with Hitomi and Kyosuke?"

"Hitomi's still all torn up over the break-up." Sayaka said.

"Really? Still?" Madoka asked. "It's been months!"

"Yeah, but it was so sudden, y'know?" Sayaka said.

"Why did he dump her anyways?" Madoka asked.

"Dunno. I've tried asking, but he's been so distant lately. He barely gives me the time of day. And to think I used to have a crush on him!"

"You don't anymore?"

"Originally yeah, but didn't want to let it get between Hitomi and me. But now, I've kinda moved on, I guess. Not like Kyosuke was that attentive when he was dating Hitomi anyways. I tried to get them back together, but he's been blowing me off. I think somethings going on with him, but he won't tell me. It's frustrating! He's been acting really weird lately."

"Well, you have a good heart Sayaka. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Hmm..." Sayaka began looking out the window. They sat in silence for a while, simply appreciating the scenery. Mitakihara was a beautiful city, even at night and during a storm.

"So, what's up with you!" She suddenly said.

"Me?"

"Any guys or girls lusting after you?"

"What?"

"C'mon." Sayaka placed her arm around Madoka, her trademark mischevious grin on her face. "If not that, then any guys or girls your lusting after?"

"No!" Madoka said.

"Really? With looks like those, I find that hard to believe!" She giggled as she embraced Madoka and poked her in the cheek. "Maybe I'll take you for myself!"

"Sayaka! C'mon!" Madoka complained as she tried to wrestle her friend off, to no avail. Other passengers on the bus were starting to stare.

"But seriously? Nobody?"

"I've never really given it much thought." She said, but even as the words left her mouth, thoughts of Homura leapt unbidden into her mind.

"Aha! You're blushing!" Sayaka said triumphantly. "So, who's the lucky person?"

"It's not like that Sayaka!"

"Not like that my perfect ass! You-"

There was a sudden bell, and the intercom called out their stop.

"Looks like this is where we get off." Madoka breathed a sigh of relief. Saved by the bell.

As the two of them stepped off the bus, they could tell that the storm was building. The winds were picking up, and lightning was flashing all the faster.

"We should hurry!" Madoka said.

"Agreed."

The two girls rushed to Sayaka's apartment complex.

"G'night Sayaka." Madoka said.

"Yeah, now hurry home. See you tomorrow! I'll call you when I'm ready!"

As Sayaka entered the staircase, Madoka turned around and headed back outside. It wasn't that long of a walk to her house, but she really should hurry. Or… should she?

The winds were starting to die down, though the sky remained dark and cloudy. As she walked, the wind dropped further and further. Madoka shivered, and then realized what she had just done. It was summer! Why was it this cold?

Then the streetlights flickered, and went out, leaving her in near total darkness. What was going on? Her heart began pounding.

No! Madoka admonished herself. It was probably just a power outage from the storm. She took a deep breath. She knew the way to her home from Sayaka's by heart. Even if she could barely see, she would be fine. One foot in front of the other, and she would be home before she knew it.

Then Madoka saw it. Something slinking around in the darkness. While she started, she quickly admonished herself again. It was probably just a cat.

A cat with glowing yellow eyes…

A lot of cats, with glowing yellow eyes.

Those weren't cats.

A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the creatures. They had a strange cuteness that belied the almost primal fear Madoka felt. Had she seen something like a plush doll of one in a store, she likely would have fallen in love with it. They were small, with round bodies and antennas that twitched in a manner that could be considered cute. However, they were constantly in motion, their movements jerky, like that of an insect. In fact, these creatures reminded Madoka of a very large bug like a giant ant. She had once seen a picture of an Australian Huntsman Spider. It gave her nightmares for a week, and these things were dredging up those unfortunate memories.

The creatures steadily advanced towards her, prompting Madoka to back away.

"S-stay away!" She shouted, though the creatures gave no indication they heard her.

She turned around, prepared to run, only to find more of them behind her. They had formed a circle around her.

One of them twitched and writhed, before leaping towards her, claws outstretched. She screamed and leaped to the side. She was jerked off balance and tumbled to the ground. The creature's attack had glanced off her shoulder.

The realization flashed in Madoka's mind. The creature had just attacked her! It was trying to kill her!

A flash of lightning illuminated the area once again, showing the shadowy creatures leaping on top of her. Madoka screamed as they crawled all over her, while her vision began to fade. She was reminded of her dream, of being swallowed up by the darkness, and all the horrid sensations that came with it.

Suddenly, a burst of light shone forth, brighter than even the lightning. At the same moment, Madoka felt something appear in her hand.

She grasped it. When the light faded, she sat up, and realized what it was she was holding.

It was a giant key. A very ornate giant key, that looked like a tree branch with pink gemstones placed into it. The teeth resembled a pink flower that was closed, though as she watched, the flower bloomed into something like a rose or a lotus. The base of the key formed a loop with the handle inside, the heart-shaped loop seemingly made of pink and white feathers. Hanging from the base was a keychain ending in a red chrysanthemum ornament.

Keyblade… Keyblade…

It was the not-voice from her dream! It called this thing a Keyblade? As she looked it over, a name resonated within her mind, Crystal Clarity.

Behind you! The not-voice said.

Madoka turned in time to see one of the creatures leaping towards her. Acting on pure instinct, Madoka swung the Keyblade and struck the creature head on. The monster dispersed into wisps of smoke-like darkness that quickly faded away.

The other monsters seemed to hesitate as Madoka brandished the weapon, though it didn't last for long. They leaped. Adrenaline surged through Madoka and she swung the Keyblade, smacking away two of them as she rose to her feet. She stepped to the side, avoiding the swipe of another and swung. It backed away, avoiding the swing, and gathered with the other creatures.

Don't let down your guard! The shadows are without mercy!

The monsters attacked again, relentless even in the face of their companions being destroyed and heedless of the danger posed to themselves. Madoka dodged and swung, rolling out of the way of claw swipes and headbutts, and responding with slashes with the Keyblade, gradually wearing down their numbers.

She didn't stop to think about what she was doing. The only thought on her mind was survival, not getting hurt by the strange little monsters. As she fought, a gradual rhythm came over her, recognizing telegraphs for attacks and blocking or dodging them. When she had defeated about half of them, the others started flattening, almost becoming like a literal shadow. They crawled along the ground, ignoring any attempts Madoka made to hit them as they moved about wildly.

When they reemerged, Madoka found she was surrounded again. She turned about rapidly, attempting and failing to keep all of the monsters in her field of view. It wasn't long before they attacked again. Instead of attempting to block, Madoka rushed forwards, cutting her way through two of them and placing the circle of monsters on one side of her again. They followed her, allowing her to keep them coming at her from one direction, and eliminating them as they approached.

Soon enough, her opponents were vanquished. Madoka would have given at least a little cheer of victory, but the adrenaline wore off and fatigue and realization of what had just happened caught up to her. She had been attacked. She had fought and killed her attackers. She had been attacked by monsters. She had fought and killed the attacking monsters. With a giant key! What the hell was going on?! She leaned on the key as her vision blurred. She felt dizzy and her mind was cloudy. It was difficult to think. She knew had to be somewhere, but she was having trouble remembering where that was. What was she doing before? She stumbled, as the key glowed, and began to vanish.

The last thing she saw was lightning striking somewhere in the distance before the ground rushed up to meet her.

I can't draw, so for Crystal Clarity, imagine Madoka's bow but in Keyblade form.

~Dragonexx