I've recently just beaten base-game Fallout: New Vegas, and watched PMMM, and I thought to myself, "How cool would it be if Madoka could use VATS?" a question which had been followed with, "I can't just write Madoka with VATS without any explanation on how she got it". And so here it is...

My first fanfic ever. I hope you and I enjoy this story!

T'was supposed to be springtime within the Mojave Wasteland, but ever since the bomb fell, the season doesn't seem to matter anymore. The sun sears upon anyone brave or foolish enough to wander around the middle of the Mojave. But one girl, neither brave nor foolish, was laying on the hot, dry sand, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

Madoka woke up to the sound of harsh wind and tumbleweed. Her brain struggled to make sense of the situation, as she had yet to fully grasp it. After a full minute of laying face-first on the sand, she jolted up.

"Huh?! Where am I?!" exclaimed Madoka.

Looking around, all she sees are sands and other things one would expect to find in a desert.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she called out, hoping for someone, for anyone to make sense of her situation — but only wind answered.

"This...this must be a dream, right?" Madoka asked no one in particular. And then she remembered a way to tell if she is dreaming or not. Confident that she is indeed just dreaming, she pinched her arm as hard as she could — only to immediately regret it. "OUCH!" yelped Madoka, not expecting it to actually hurt.

She concluded that maybe she was not dreaming, but it only raised more questions than answers, alongside her worries. It makes no sense! She could have sworn that she went to her bed, in her own house, just last night. Looking at herself, she's even using her pajama still. Was she kidnapped? Dumped right in the middle of nowhere? Is she even in Japan anymore? Does Japan even have a desert? How did she remain asleep and blissful through it all? Was she drugged? Is her family okay?

With so many questions and no answer in return, Madoka decided to head west, hoping to find someplace where she could get help. She had a feeling that staying here for too long might not be a good idea.

She must've been walking for hours now. The hot sand burned her soles along the way. She felt silly about even having to pinch herself, seeing as the climate is doing a good job of making her trip painful. Dehydrated, and nearly running out of strength to continue, she almost gave up then and there. She doesn't know where she is, and she doesn't even know if she'll be able to return to her home at this rate. The heat is making her delirious.

Madoka fell on her knees. She's going to die here, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but...more sands! Tears started trailing her face, but she couldn't give up now, she still had some strength left. Fate itself seemed to reward her tenacity, for as soon as she lifted her head, she could see roads and a building in the distance. Filled with renewed vigor, she set off to investigate.

As soon as she was closer to the building, Madoka noticed at least a dozen scary-looking people and what seems to be broken cars in front of the building. She contemplates if she should ask for their help, but seeing as she had few other choices, she decided to do it.

"E...excuse me? Can you…" she trailed off, for, upon closer inspection, these people seem to be high on drugs.

"Huh? What's a little girlie like you doing all the way out here? Mommy left you behind?" jeered the one who seems to be the leader of the group, while the rest of the group chuckles.

These people speak English. Knowing this, Madoka was glad that she paid attention to her English lessons for the upcoming English test. She actually disliked that subject.

Although she doesn't appreciate the jeer.

"I just...can you tell me where the nearest city is?" asked Madoka.

"Why should we tell you?" countered the leader.

"I...I.."

"If you give us all your belongings, maybe we can tell you." interjected another member of the group, while the rest of the group snickered.

The fact that most of them are approaching her, some with guns, only made Madoka think further that perhaps talking to these people may not be a good idea. Halfway from where she currently stands, adrenaline filled her body as she immediately bolted off to the north, where the road goes.

"Somebody shoot her!" she wasn't sure who ordered it, but bullets started whizzing past her head. It seems all those drugs impaired their aim, as their shots gradually worsened as Madoka gained more distance away.

"Does none of ye' have any steady?"

"We're all out!"

"Stop shooting! You're wasting ammo!"

Eventually, their shouting faded away as soon as she gained a substantial distance away from them.

Madoka wasn't sure how far she ran, only that she kept on running until, eventually, her legs finally failed her.

"Ugh…" Madoka looks behind her back, and it seems the hostile group of drug addicts didn't even chase her. Well, that's something to be glad of. She looked back in front of her, and almost immediately noticed something in the distance.

"Is that...a roller coaster?". Mustering her strength, she walked further, she started to notice more buildings, this time clustered together...a town!

Hope filled Madoka's heart, but also fear. She had found a real town, but will its inhabitants be as hostile as the group she met before? Seeing as, again, she had no choice, she approached the town.

When she finally had a closer look, she could see that the state of some of the buildings are in ruins. She wasn't sure what had happened here, but it did not fill her with confidence. To her left, the first thing that she noticed is the flag, a two-headed bear with the word "NEW CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC" and some tents. Is she somewhere in the United States? How? She decided to shelf that question for later and looked to her right. Not much to see. There's a building with the sign that says "Vikki & Vance" and another building with the sign "MOJAVE EXPRESS". Despite the town seemingly in a state of disrepair, it seems there are also people here, hopefully not as belligerent as the last encounter.

A few steps after she began approaching either building, her visions started to blackout.

"Urg...I can't go on…". Her body pushed to her very limit, she finally collapsed in the middle of the road. Before blacking out completely, she saw someone approach her. The figure might have said something, but everything just blurred at this point for Madoka.

Slowly, Madoka woke up and regained her senses. The first thing she noticed is the mattress-less bed that she currently lays on. Sitting up, her vision gradually clears up to the sight of a small, poorly-lit room. Looking around, she noticed a broken door, a fridge, other miscellaneous and a plate of casserole. Where is she?

"Ah, you're finally awake." a woman walked into the room, "How are you feeling?" the woman asked.

"I'm tired…" answered Madoka.

After a few seconds of silence, Madoka asked "Where am I?"

"You're in the Nash residence. Name's Ruby Nash, and you are…?"

"Madoka, Madoka Kaname-" she stopped. What if this woman has ulterior motives? Madoka shook her head, she's usually not the type of person who would be suspicious of everything. After all, this woman may have just saved her life.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" inquired Ruby, who noticed how Madoka suddenly shut herself up.

"Ahaha, it's nothing. I just...I wasn't expecting help when I entered this ruined city." Madoka sheepishly answered.

Ruby initially smoked her cigar in response, smiled, and replied "Well, you're lucky that you didn't get a fever. Go have a rest, and if you need me, I'll be out front." Ruby turned around and started to walk away.

But before she could leave the room, Madoka suddenly asked, "Wait! Please wait! Is it okay if I ask some questions? I'm a little lost on what's happening…"

Ruby turned around and sat on the bed where Madoka currently laid on, "I can see that. It ain't common for someone young like you to be going around the Mojave on her own, much less only in her pajama. Waddya wanna know?" Ruby offered to ask.

"Where am I exactly?"

"Well, if you want to be specific, you're in the town of Primm, Nevada. You're not from around here, are you?"

"No, I'm from Mitakihara, Japan."

"Japan? You're really far from home, kid. How'd you end up here?"

"I don't know, I just woke up in the middle of nowhere somehow…" Madoka trailed off after that.

Feeling that she wouldn't be able to elaborate further on the topic of her initial conundrum, she tried to change the subject, "Why is this town left in a bad shape?"

"It was already like this when we got here."

"What?"

"Yep. While the nuclear bombs destroyed the old world, Primm was left mostly intact. Mostly."

Madoka almost did a double-take after hearing that. "Wait- nuclear bombs?! The old world?!"

"What? Didn't they teach you about the great war in school? Assuming you came from the west coast…"

"I…I…" now Madoka is starting to struggle to answer, until she came up with a convincing made-up excuse, "I didn't get the chance to…"

"Alright then, I could tell you the short version if you'd like."

Madoka could only nod in approval to that, but at the same time, feared on what she was about to learn.

And so Ruby decided to educate Madoka on the history of what has happened in the past 200 or so years ago, about the global instability of the 21st century, the Great War, and how humanity survived after the nuclear apocalypse. Madoka also learned about the new countries and civilizations that emerged from the ashes of the Great War, such as the NCR, New Vegas, and Caesar's Legion. When she heard that more than 200 years have passed since her own time, she felt the urge to point out that the date before she woke up here was March 24, 2011 — but decided against it. After all, she would sound crazy for pointing that out.

"So what year is it now?"

"Now? It's 2281."

Upon hearing this, Madoka is doing everything in her power to not appear deflated.

Ruby got up from the bed and gave one last look at Madoka, "Well, it's getting late. You can use the bed for tonight. Me and my husband will be spending the whole night in the Casino across the street. Oh, and I made that casserole for you, so you should eat up." and with that, Ruby left the room.

Once she heard the sound of the door closing, Madoka put her palms against her face.

"This can't be real, this can't be real!" Maybe she IS dreaming, she tried to reason to herself. But no matter how much she wanted to deny it, everything about this felt so real. And if this is real, then maybe there's a way to go back, right? If she managed to arrive at a post-apocalyptic 23rd century United States, then there has to be a way back! After all, she have friends and family to return to. But...

"Where do I even start?".

And so, Madoka ended up in the town of Primm. Safe from the hazards of the wasteland, she would soon recover physically. But would she be able to return to her own time? Find out next time on Puella Magi Madoka Magica: New Vegas!