Behind the glass bars, could only watching everything.
Like a mannequin in some front display of a shop. But she was indeed a doll, just like everyone else. But everyone else was also free to reign over this world, even when they were just dolls.
It was unfair.
She was the only one Mother restrained.
As she was the only one Mother wanted to protect. Forever more, if she had to say it.
Behind the glass bar, could only watch everything.
This life was hers, and her life was to simply live.
But what was the meaning of it, if the source of her self was nothing but an unreachable back Mother tried to push away in fear of her own weakness? She was the only one Mother never rejected, twisted into something that she thought she had in her. In one way, maybe it was true - but to say that she was either unredeemingly evil or vain or abhorrent was like calling this single doll locked inside the glass bar an obsession; only sparing a glance and the first judgment was the final verdict.
She was "Love", but was also "Obsession". Just like her sister "Pride", who was also "Honor". Just like her sister "Stupidity", who was also "Innocence". Each coin had two sides, and only glancing at one would not reveal what it truly was.
Unfortunately, Mother also fell victim of such thought. She thought her sisters were there to torment her, she thought there was nothing else behind the eternally grinning marionettes frolicking around the city. With only her as her only anchor to the small part of belief she had for her cause, she was locked away. To stay pure even from her own hands.
Thus was the story of a single doll inside the glass bars.
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"Hey, Madoka?"
"Hng?"
"Wanna hang out?"
Said pink-haired looked up to her recently rekindled childhood friend. Sayaka was as cheerful, loud, and outgoing as ever. Madoka appreciated her presence so much in this unfamiliar world. New friends came and went; but with Sayaka, she knew she would never be alone.
But right now, alone was something that she needed to do.
"Ah, sorry, Sayaka-chan. I have to go home early. There are things that we still need to unpack."
"Eh? Really? That's too bad, I'm going to introduce you to this very cool sempai. She makes the best tea."
Madoka giggled at the face Sayaka made. Her cheeks were so puffy...
"I'm sorry. How about this weekend? Mama thinks it's practically my right to laze in weekend, so I don't think I will have anything to do at Saturday."
"Alright, Saturday then."
She waved her friend off, before sighing after she's no longer within earshot. The truth was, she had no more unpacking to do, and no more furniture to rearrange. No, there was something, no, someone else she had an appointment to meet.
Glancing at the door with the tail of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of those giggling children.
They wanted her to follow them. Though every single lint of her consciousness screaming not to take the bait, she felt that those children meant no harm to her.
Everytime she followed them, she could only go as far as the edge of the suburb. It felt like the world itself rejected her from walking out of the town.
But those children had said something to her one day.
"Do you want to see her?"
"Do you want us to help?"
"Do you want to know what's going on?"
They spoke of thing she didn't really understand, but she could feel it would explain everything she wanted to discover. Of this nagging feeling, of the strange classmate who spoke in cryptic manner and gave her the red ribbons.
She was in front of the school, waiting, when she heard the steps. The strange girl, with a too wide smile and grey blue eyes, was sending out an equally strange black bird to fly. Her hair was blond and cropped short, she looked a bit tomboyish than most of them in her manner of dress. Seemed like she was the leader of the lot; Madoka saw her always walking at the front of the line.
"Are you-"
"Ja."
The girl quickly cut her off. She didn't really understand what kind of 'yes' this girl was agreeing of, but she took it as a confirmation of every single of her question. Madoka tried to smile at this girl, but slightly dismayed when the smile could only look like a grimace based from the girl's indignant reaction.
"I see... Can you show me, then?"
"...Ja."
...What was with the pause?
Nevertheless, she followed the doll-like girl. She never really noticed it, but the girl was only as tall as her chest and quiet lanky. She wore short shorts, so her almost stick-like legs were visible. The girl looked like a wooden marionette than a doll.
Maybe it was a bad idea to follow this obviously not human... thing, but they mostly not unpleasant and never do any harm. Well... except that one time Madoka noticed them dropping a bucket of ice water on Sayaka, but it was at the end was a harmless prank everyone played in someone's birthday; they were just a bit late for the pranking time everyone did at school. The point was, this girl could give her the answer, and the only one who could. She might as well do the risky thing before regretting it, rather than regretting that she could no longer do so in the future.
The doll girl was walking her to the bus station. They were waiting, waiting for the bus. One bus came in front of them, but the doll-girl stood unmoving. The bus passed by and another came, she still prone without reaction. The third and the fourth came, they passed without any regard from the girl.
Then, a minibus came. It was small, more like a private vehicle than a public transportation. How could this thing get inside the designed bus route?
The bus' door slid open, showing it was driven by another of the children. The one with long white hair, or maybe a platinum blond. There was no smile, no shred of acknowledgement given, she only looked on to the road in front of her. The girl that accompanied her walked inside the bus and motioned her to do the same.
The travel was silent. It was unusual. They usually chattered about many things, though she couldn't catch everything when all fourteen of them were talking all at once. But this silence was unnerving, an awkward silent where every participants in the vicinity just didn't have anything in common to talk about. Like a blind date.
"Was denken Sie?"
The short-haired asked suddenly.
"...Pardon?"
"Über Mutti. Was danken Sie?"
The doll was asking something, but she was lacking context. Just what did she meant by 'Mother'? The doll was waiting for a moment before she visibly deflated, and muttered "Vergiss es..." at her. The long-haired driver scoffed with an obvious contempt, but it wasn't clear to whom that contempt was aimed at.
Again, there was only silence in their journey.
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The bus dropped them off in a strange place. It was as if the world was made of mirror, face to face, creating an infinite reflection against each other. A closed space, with only a small spotlight focusing on a small figure.
Madoka turned to her companion. She was unmoving, a little hesitant, but then it was like the resolve itself was swelling and taking possession of her form. Those steps, those straight-backed stride, confidence and charisma practically oozed from this small creature. Madoka was taken aback. Almost like seeing a true face of a primadonna; who still felt fear but bit back any trace of hesitation for sake of self-image.
The small creature sat in the middle of spotlight was visibly brightened and run toward the doll girl. Only then, Madoka noticed something. Surrounding the smaller doll was a cage with transparent bars; almost invisible but no less a cage. The taller doll, 'Ibari' as she finally caught the name of, immediately doted on the smaller doll; her little sister, it seemed. Entertaining the little one with an overly dramatic theatrical and performances, singing and dancing and making rhymical noises with taps of her shoes.
No, this girl was less a primadonna, and more like a true-born performer. The confidence was not for a self-image, but for sake of the one she was entertaining.
It was said that those in that industry had to sacrifice their selves for sake of their crafts. No more personal need, no more personal feeling, there was only those who watched the entire stage. Only the satisfaction of the 'audience' mattered, and so the 'person' disappeared and only the 'artist' remained. As 'audience' demanded performance, only the 'performance' should exist.
It could be said the same with 'leaders' and 'role models'; expectations and demands was crushing their backs, and they fully understood such responsibility. Unlike 'primadonna' - whose front-image was for sake of front-image, their front-image was for sake of the recipients' morale. To infect the confidence into other people, to bring smile into the audience's face, to send fear into any of the competitors' hearts, such was the strength of 'confidence'.
And it left Madoka with a feeling of guilt, as she judged Ibari too fast to see what she actually was. Just a big sister trying to cheer up her little sister, making a brave face so her sister would not be sad inside the small space she was confined in.
"Sie an der Reihe..."
Madoka turned, and saw the driver had followed them. Now she had a good look of her, and she could see someone in her appearance. Long hair, cold expression, taller than the two doll he previously met, dressed in an attire that gave out a slightly androgynous charm.
"Sie an der Reihe..."
The doll repeated herself, jerking her out of her musing. Madoka nodded and walked closer to the cage. She then gasped at the small one.
Bald and mouthless, about as tall as her knees. If the other dolls could be pass as peculiarly short children, she looked even more like a wooden marionette with that size. Looking both hideous and adorable, the way she was watching Ibari telling stories through dances and songs was strangely endearing even when she was jerking around unnaturally and making noises like her ball joints were rusting.
When the small doll caught her in her sight, her eyes widened in surprise. Well, if you only had eyes to express yourself, then the result might be too vast to determine, no? She pointed at the newcomer, no sound made from that mouthless face even when it was obvious she was peppering her sister with questions. But nevertheless, her sister capable of knowing what she meant, and accordingly answered.
That's the one, she said. The one Mother loves.
She involuntarily walked closer. The mouthless doll was openly gawking at her like a curious child, her eyes were almost twinkling. Quite endearing, indeed...
"Hey."
Madoka slipped her hands to the between of the glass bars. They were like made of ice, cold, but she didn't let it get in her mind. The doll took her hand and observed the seemingly alien appendage with slight awe, turning it over and over like she was trying to take every detail of the hand.
It's beautiful...
A disembodied voice spoke directly into her head. Echoing, while still as soft as a whisper. The voice was for some reason was familiar. In fact, the way this mouthless doll was looking at her was familiar. A lonely child, but who? A sad, but happy eyes. Strange emotions swirling inside, and she couldn't really pin down the exact right expression of it.
You're beautiful...
"Thank you."
Do you want to play?
"Yes, I would love to."
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Ibari discreetly stepped away from the glass prison, leaving the two.
She bumped into her taller sister's chest as she did so. Her eyes were skeptical.
Are you sure we have to let this be? Reiketsu spoke. Contrary to Madoka's belief, she had never left. In fact, she might be the most worried of them all. Ibari laughed good-naturedly at her question.
Do you question my wisdom? Ibari gloated, making her sister rolled her eyes.
What you call 'wisdom', I call 'planless ploy'; the taller sister retorted back. The older sister only once again laughed. Reiketsu would raise an eyebrow if she had one; the laugh was ended in a slightly unusual dissonant, like she had a change of heart at the last second.
What was that? Reiketsu offhandedly asked. Her older sister smirked, all her sharp teeth were showing.
I just wish they have nothing to hide.
That's impossible, Mother will never let it happen; Reiketsu spat out. It's just her nature.
The nature of (magical) girls is to be (witch) women. It didn't happen twice already.
Her older sister puffed out her chest like she had won an argument, but Reiketsu was tempted to point out just how ridiculous that notion was; after all, if they not to be women, what left of them as females? Eternal adolescent girls? Maybe, but in the end, to be a Puella isn't a nature of a human in the first place. It was like comparing how tall a tree and a weed could be using a same scale; the differences between the two had cause the estimation become moot.
Even as Puellae Magi, their mother and Her Ladyship were special cases. Comparing them to the other Puellae was just like trees and weeds; and now they comparing Mother to mere human who always got restrained by some obnoxious strata like genders? It was an insult to the Nutcracker Queen! And to Her Ladyship! And to the rest of the Puellae Magi! For generations, the Puellae Magi had succumbed to the society's inherently corrupt judgments just because of their status as females and their potential greatness was drained into keeping up the appearance in front of those misogynistic swine!
But of course, those entire analogy weren't matter as Ibari's argument was faulty in the first place.
Reiketsu meant the nature of their personality, not those 'earthly' natures that human perceived so religiously. Nevertheless, talking about those things to her sister would bring nothing into the conversation; after all, she was 'Pride'. Earthly matters were the outmost important things for her, bar none. To be the richest, to be the wisest, to be the strongest, to be the top of the world, that too was her 'nature'. For her, her argument was the gospel truth and anyone who disagrees was in the wrong.
Just like Mother who was prideful of her decision to cage her 'love', her 'daughter' was prideful of the truth she believed in. And that truth was the truth their mother was pridefully believed in, to create heaven on Earth no matter what and who oppose them. Such pride was inherent to the cycle and the cycle would always be a cycle if the 'nature' was to never change, blind to any other matters outside their interest.
And so, Reiketsu stayed silent. Mostly.
"Dummkopf..."
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It was almost dark when Madoka finally noticed the time. She stood up and brushed her skirt from when she was sitting on the ground.
The mouthless doll looked up, and Madoka didn't really have a heart to leave her.
Will you come back? The doll asked. Madoka immediately nodded her head.
She took a bus home and went on with her day, as ordinary as it could be.
Tomorrow morning, she bumped with the mysterious Homura Akemi. Her dark eyes, her gaudy earring, her grayish skin; she was unnerving as much as she was beautiful. But today, Madoka noticed more of the beauty, as Homura right now was in a seemingly good mood for some reason. She was smiling. It was thin, but it was enough.
"Good morning, Homura-chan."
"Good morning."
"Is something happen? You seem happy."
"I... had a nice dream yesterday. It's not important, just me being silly."
"I see. I'm glad to hear that, though. Because I can see you smile so freely now."
"..."
A small crack appeared on the barrier between two. Maybe it wasn't impossible after all.
End
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It's been awhile, for some reason I can't write anything for months.
Maybe I'm just tired of writing that moment, and spending more time to think about what to do in the future. School and stuffs, things like that.
So yeah, this chapter is mostly about Madoka and Ai, with guest appearance from Ibari and Reiketsu. I really like all the Claras, but there are those I really like the potential from their personalities. I think of all Claras, Ibari, Nekura, Reiketsu, Wagamama, Higami, and Ganko are the most Homura-like, so it's easy to write them in a way that has connection with their 'mother'. Of course there are those who just plain fun to write like Noroma and Namake, so it's kinda depending on dice roll on who's going to have the spotlight.
Ibari's mojo is just that strong to get that many jackpot, I guess?
So, this chapter is about Madoka and Ai. I'm a bit conflicted with the theories surrounding about 'who is Ai?' wild mass guess. On one side, I can see why people claim that Ai is the AkuHomu, with her profile specifically calls her 'devil that not yet came' and she wears Homu's funeral dress. On one hand, I also like the one that says she's the personification of Homu's idealized love to Mado as Homu seems to shield her away. And also because she also wears Mado's magical girl outfit.
In this, I decided to make her both, with her different outfits billed as 'a girl is still a girl, always want to wear different pretty and cute clothes'. Indeed, those clothes are both pretty and cute, no matter which the style is your preference. Both Mado's magical girl outfit and Homu's funeral clothes are all hers, and many others that her sisters made and gave her as gifts.
... Does that mean Ai is Homu and Mado's magic baby?
Not that I mind, though the implication of 'baby makes everything better' doesn't have a very good taste in situation like this. Maybe when the conflict slightly subsides then...
Anyway, this one cliffhanger is too good to be left hanging, so I might write the second chapter for it.
Now for the reviews for those who gave it, I would like to say thanks for your time.
For GhostWriter73, I agree that the Claras' POV are the best way to convey the real feelings of these guys, though I know I might make too much adjustment to my headcanon of these kids at this point. That chapter is simply me having some kind of weird plot bunny jumping around without much consideration for the overall feel of those kids. Indeed, there are things that make me dissatisfied with it, and I would like to make another look on this kind of setting, just with more thought put inside the story.
By the way, the one Sayaka struck down at the end was Warukuchi, not Noroma. Warukuchi jumped over Noroma to kick away Sayaka, but that flying-kick-while-using-Noroma-as-stepping-stone position makes her the prime target of Oktavia's strike. Remember, it was the red-haired doll that got ripped out, while Noroma is blond.
For the two, devilsama666 and TheBleachDoctor, thank you for your time. I will definitely write more when I have enough time and motivation.
For December21, I have to say that there's a reason why I put the Germans as it is, along with the dolls' name in Japanese. The reason why their conversation in German is because they are still familiars, and familiars and Witches are canonically cannot be understood unless the recipients know the source language of their tongues.
Though the point of view implies that whoever hears the tongue knows what they're talking about, there's a difference between first person and third person perspective. Third person perspective only cause the readers to perceive the way the perspective wants it, in knowing the existence of possibility that there are several outsiders' perspective. Let's just say there's a situation where a Clara speaking with Homura and Sayaka hearing it; that Clara will speak in German, Homura will understand it, and Sayaka doesn't get a lick of said talk.
The ensuing dialogue will make the conversation makes sense in context, and also makes things clear that most people doesn't understand in the same way you think the entire thing was obnoxious. I specifically chose short sentences for convenience of the readers to know just what they're talking about even with online translation, with the longer sentences usually shared with fellow Claras, who explicitly known to understand each other.
Same thing with their names in Japanese; that's their names. None of the Witches or the Familiars has names translated into the language equivalent of wherever the protagonists are residing in (for example, Arzt Kochen and Itzli). The Magica Quartet are naming the dolls the way they are because that's the way they are (at least they're not in German). Walpurgisnacht was called Walpurgis no Yoru simply because Walpurgis has no name, so she's an exception.
In short, I deliberately makes the way it is as a way to describe the detachment of communication that seems prevalent within these girls' interaction. Misunderstanding ahoy and such, the audience included.
Wait for the continuation of this chapter. Maybe. Possibly.