Chapter 6
"Cerebellum." Mami said, holding up a flashcard with the word printed on it in bold letters. The side facing Mami held the definition.
"Ah… alright, cerebellum." Kyoko had her arms folded and a pocky stick hanging from her lips. Her eyes were shut tight with a deep look of concentration on her face. "Cerebellum…" she played with the word, "Cer-e-bell-um."
Madoka noticed Leiko had turned away from her computer and was looking at the two of them with a raised eyebrow. 'Please don't say anything…' Madoka thought.
It was in vain though, because not a moment later Leiko said: "It's not like we are asking you to spell the word, so why do you keep sounding it out?"
"Hey! Shut the hell up! It helps me think, okay?" Kyoko had abandoned her meditative stance and was now leaning over the table with a fist raised at Leiko's general direction.
Mami cleared her throat and moved the card into Kyoko's field of vision to draw her attention back. "Cerebellum." she repeated.
"Oh, right…" Kyoko fell back into her meditation posture. "Cerebellum…" Her eyes closed tighter and her face made a deep scowl as if she was in pain. "Cerebellum… it's like, something with the brain?"
That answer was greeted by some mock praise by Leiko, as she started clapping her hands slowly. "Well, technically you're not wrong," she said sarcastically, "but if you give them an answer like that, they will probably lock you up with or without knowing you're a Magical Girl, just from thinking you're mentally deficient."
"This isn't easy, alright? I'm trying!"
"Cerebellum." Leiko started, "It's derived from a Latin word meaning 'small brain'. It's a section of the brain which, in vertebrates, is located at the back of the skull. Its main function is to co-ordinate and regulate muscle activity. What is so hard about remembering that?"
"Look, this is pointless anyway! It's not like someone is going to come up to me and say 'Oh, Doctor Sakura, we were just discussing cerebellums, what are your thoughts on this totally random topic!'"
Mami sighed and held up another card, patiently stating the word that was written on it: "Deoxyribonucleic Acid"
Kyoko grimaced as she folded her arms and closed her eyes. "De-deo-deoxyri… AH! Is that even a word?" she shouted, slamming her hands down on the table. "This is bullshit!"
Mami sighed again, setting the card down. "Maybe we should take a break? I'll make some tea." And with that, she got up and went for the kitchen.
Kyoko noticed the smile that was touching Leiko's face, although she was trying to feign her attention over to the computer screen. "If you say one word…"
"Hm? I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about." Leiko said it with a grin.
Homura had decided to clean up the apartment before Kyoko (or, "Dr. Sakura") arrived. They had provided her with a broom and a vacuum cleaner in the small storage closet, as well as other cleaning supplies. She had not made much use of these provisions over the two and a half weeks she has been here. She usually did not need to, because someone would come in and clean whenever she was out of the apartment and in one of their little test rooms.
She swept up the glass from the TV and the broken plates, and dumped it all into a trash bag. She also gathered up the broken chair legs, as well as all the other pieces of debris in the room, including the cameras, then went to the kitchen where her trash disposal was. It was a drawer which slid out from under the countertop. If she put something inside and then closed it, whatever was inside would disappear. If she listened closely she could hear banging from whatever she had put there being dropped down to who-knows-where.
She had played with the idea of stopping time and tearing it apart to see if she could go down there herself as a means of escape. It looked too small for her to actually fit inside, however, so she never tried it. She doubted her enemy would make an oversight like that anyway. Besides that, she knew it would probably be a tight fit either way, and the idea of getting stuck in some dark metal tube deep underground was enough to shake even her resolve.
She was already in the cleaning mood, and did not have anything else to do since she smashed up most of the things that were there for her entertainment, so she pulled out the window cleaner and started wiping down the tables and countertops. She did not know why she was bothering with all this. Maybe she just didn't want Kyoko to worry about her too much, and end up relaying any of her concerns to Madoka, or maybe it was just out of boredom. When she was all done, though, the apartment didn't look half bad. Aside from the smashed TV set, the hole she had cut into the couch, and the wires hanging on the walls from where the cameras were once stationed; it was almost like nothing had ever happened.
With nothing else to do, she laid down on the couch and stared at the ceiling for a while. Eventually, the intercom buzzed on: Dr. Mono was back. "Homura, Dr. Sakura has arrived, she will be coming in shortly."
"Very well…" Homura said, trying to sound at least a little discontented. She was excited to see Kyoko, of course, but she did not want to seem too excited. She got up from the couch and went to stand by the steel door. She leaned her back against the wall and waited. After a few minutes the door let out one of its beeps and hisses as it slid open, revealing Kyoko. She was wearing a white lab coat and glasses, as well as appearing a bit taller and older than she actually was. That enchantment magic of hers was certainly a handy trick, Homura thought.
"Hello Miss Akemi, it's good to see you again." Kyoko said bowing her head very slightly.
"Yeah, same." Homura said with a level of disinterest. Her arms were folded as she leaned against the wall. She always had a certain darkness to her eyes, but her lips managed to raise into a soft smile in spite of it. "Would you like to sit down?" she asked as she gestured over to the table on the other side of the room.
"Yes, thank you." As they walked over to the table Kyoko took a look around the apartment. She noted the broken TV set and the lack of cameras, but otherwise the apartment was fairly clean. "They told me what happened... I was expecting this place to look a lot worse."
"I cleaned." Homura said plainly, as she took a seat.
"I see." Kyoko sat down across from her. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She folded her arms and looked towards the wall; she did not need any acting to show how clearly pissed off she was. "Those bastards. They tried to leash me up like a stray dog. They are lucky I didn't decide to kill them." She shrugged. "They were just following orders, so I let them go. Still, I was upset so I smashed the room up a bit. I started with the cameras, but turns out they have had even more cameras hidden here this whole time. Go figure." She added that last part as a warning to Kyoko, so she would know they can still see her. She seemed to understand.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't hurt anyone." Kyoko spoke cleanly, fully taking on the Dr. Sakura persona. Homura could honestly say she was quite impressed by how well Kyoko was doing. "I fully understand why something like that would upset you, but you should also consider the consequences of your actions. Did tearing your room apart really help anything?"
Homura clicked her teeth and turned away. "The hell do you know." It was hard to tell if it was an act or not.
"I suppose I don't really know what it's like to be held against my will somewhere, having done nothing wrong. I imagine it would make anyone angry. You are here though, and there's no way of changing it. I don't know the specifics of what they want from you - that's not my field - but it seems they are planning to keep you here for a while. Do you think it would be better to just work with them for now? They might treat you better if you did." Kyoko looked at her very intensely, 'I'm trying to tell you something, please pick it up.', she thought. Dr. Sakura technically should not know about Glazadrine and all the other information Leiko had hacked out of their systems, so she had to be careful with her words. She had to warn Homura somehow, though. Leiko and Mami also asked her to get the point across to Homura that she needs to start cooperating with them for now, to keep herself out of danger. She also figured that saying something like that would make her "employers" happy.
"Let me explain something…" Homura said, leaning over the table and showing one of her dark, threatening facial expressions, "No-one treats me like an animal. I'll do their little tests, if I feel like it, but I am no-one's dog. If they try something like they did this morning again I'm really going to kill someone." She sat back and looked up as if she were talking to the ceiling "Got that, you assholes? I know you're listening, so there's your warning. No collars and no leashes! Understand?" She sat back again with folded arms and looked at Kyoko, allowing her to respond.
"I agree with you one hundred percent. What they tried to do this morning is inexcusable. I will talk to them about it for you, and I'm sure things can be worked out peacefully. But however you might feel, there is no need for those kinds of threats. Look, I want to help you. Now that you have me, I can work with them, and help them and you find some common ground."
"You want to help me?" Homura scoffed, "Don't give me that, they're the ones paying you to be here. Don't act like your loyalties aren't actually to them."
Dr. Sakura nodded. "It's true, this is my job, and I am being paid, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you, and it doesn't mean I can't help you. I think I can, if you'll let me." Kyoko grinned: 'Hell yeah, I'm heading to Hollywood when this over. This is kinda fun.'.
They both ended up smiling at each other, and that smile was between Homura and Kyoko, not Homura and Dr. Sakura. "Here I am being rude…" Homura sighed, "I haven't offered you anything to drink, would you like some tea?"
"Thank you, that would be nice." Kyoko answered. Homura transformed into her Magical Girl attire and set the gears spinning on her shield, stopping time. She wanted to get a few private words in with Kyoko, and the best way to do that would be to pull her into her time flow. The problem with that, however, is her enemy would be able to tell it happened. One idea she had before was to take Dr. Sakura hostage, maybe hold a knife to her throat and demand to be let out. It would require some acting on both of their parts, but it would be a good excuse for stopping time with her so they could chat.
She got the tea from the refrigerator and poured it into a glass. She then opened the utensils drawer and took a moment to consider the knife that was in there. She ended up hiding it inside her sleeve. She went back to the table and set the tea down in front of Kyoko, and resumed time.
To Kyoko it looked like she instantly vanished from the seat across from her before reappearing beside her with a cup of tea. Kyoko had to fake her surprise a little. She then laughed and adjusted her glasses. As Dr. Sakura, she said: "I don't think I'll ever get used to that." As Kyoko, she thought: 'quit showing off, idiot.'.
"So…" Kyoko said, taking a sip from the glass as Homura sat down, "Aside from the incident this morning, is there anything else that has been troubling you lately?"
"You mean aside from being locked in a basement, being kept away from my friends, and forced to do these idiotic tests every other day? Yeah everything is great."
Dr. Sakura sighed. "You do seem a bit more on edge today than last time we spoke."
Homura thought about it for a moment and said: "You know that cat picture I gave you? You want to know who I really drew it for?" Homura asked. "It was for my girlfriend. I've been thinking about her a lot lately. Wondering what she must be thinking about me suddenly disappearing. I know she's worried, I just hope she isn't taking it too hard… I really miss her."
"I'm sure she is doing just fine." Kyoko said, and Homura smiled a bit at the confirmation Madoka was doing ok. "Who knows, maybe you will get to see her again. Again, I don't know what their plans are for you here, but I imagine they will eventually start giving you at least some freedom again. If you start working with them, that is…"
"Yeah, maybe…" Homura said, though Kyoko's words did not seem to do much to reassure her on that end. "Kay, listen, I kind of like you, so I do feel bad for what I'm about to do…" She stood up and set the gears spinning on her shield. "Please don't be too mad at me for this."
Homura held her hand over Kyoko's to keep her in the time flow. Kyoko looked around in her sheepish way, fully dropping the persona of Kay Sakura, knowing she was no longer being watched. "Alright, what are you planning?" Kyoko asked, noting the mischievous look in Homura's eyes.
"Subject One is breaking out." Homura explained. Then she dropped the knife out of her sleeve, and as it hit the table it became frozen in time with the hilt touching down but the blade still slightly in the air. "Feel like playing hostage?"
"Idiot, that's not going to work. Which do you think they are more okay with losing? Some random psychologist, or a one-of-a-kind lab rat with magical powers? If something like that could sway them I doubt they would'a let me here in the first place."
"You're right, I'm not planning on this actually working, but that's not the point. I did this so that I would be able to actually talk to you without having to speak in code words. When we are done chatting I'm going to hold a knife to your throat in front of a camera for a few minutes, just so they don't start questioning you too much on why I pulled you into my time flow in the first place."
"Geez, that seems like a lot to go through." she sighed. "Well, anyway, I'm glad I can talk to you, because there's something I need to warn you about. I should explain first that the reason I managed to make it here in the first place is because of that Leiko chick. She has some kind of weird ass magic that lets her hack into computers or something, so she forged all of Dr. Sakura's credentials and got me inside."
"Hm, so that's how you did it." Homura had not been able to so much as guess at how they pulled it off before, so she was glad to finally have an explanation.
"Yeah, anyway, she has been keeping up with all the logs related to 'Test Subject One', and there's something you should know about. Apparently, your captors are planning to start drugging you with this stuff called… Gala… eh, Gala-something… anyway, it's bad stuff. Leiko says if they start dosing you with that shit you'll become all like zombified and whatnot, and start doing everything they tell you to. She has been messing with their communications to stop them from using it, but she says if you keep smashing stuff up and causing problems they are going to end up using it anyway."
"I see…" Homura seemed to think on this for a little while. "I suppose holding a knife to my psychologist's throat will count as 'causing problems'?"
"Yeah, probably."
"Still, now that you are in my timeflow, they are going to want to know why I did it. So, it might be a good idea to continue with my plan, rather than putting you in a position where they could catch you telling lies."
"Maybe… Actually, this might be a good chance to show how valuable Dr. Sakura is. See, while I'm standing there with a knife to my throat, I can like, talk you down. See? Then, if you start cooperating with them a little more they might think the drug isn't necessary anymore. You know, since they have my expertise in psychology to keep you cool." She grinned. "I dunno, it might end up helping your situation in the end."
"Speaking of my situation, what is your plan for actually getting me out of here?"
"Don't really have one yet." Kyoko admitted, "There's like five layers of these steel doors between you and freedom, not to mention an elevator that I'm sure they'll have the ability to shut down. So as long as you are in here, there's not really much we can do. The best idea we could come up with is if we could find some way to get them to move you out of the building. Leiko would be able to keep track of when and where you are being transported to. Then, while you are in-transit, we could come steal you away… We have no idea how to make any of that happen, though."
"Hm…" Homura got that pondering look on her face again. "You say that Leiko will know if I'm being moved?"
"Yeah, that's what she says."
"I might be able to come up with something, then. Just tell her to keep her eyes open, I think I might have an idea."
"An idea you say? Do tell." Kyoko grinned.
"I'm still working on it… But I'm thinking I might have another vision soon, like the one that told me about Walpurgis Night." Kyoko knew that the real reason Homura knew about Walpurgis Night is because of her time traveling capabilities, but she thought she understood what Homura meant. Homura must have told them that she had a vision of the future or something, to explain her knowledge. "Just make sure you are ready if they do end up moving me… I don't know if it's going to work, but we can't miss that chance."
"Yeah, don't worry about that." Kyoko assured her, "We'll be ready."
They shared a moment, each of them feeling fervorous since actual escape plans were finally being discussed. Homura broke the moment when she asked: "How's Madoka been through all of this?"
"She's staying strong." Kyoko said, giving her a reassuring smile, "She misses you, of course, but she's handling it well... When I handed her that cat picture she practically broke down into tears, but it was a joyful sort of teariness, you know?"
Homura was not the kind of person to show tears herself, but Kyoko imagined that what she had just said brought her close. "Well…" Homura finally said, with a soft voice, "Are you ready?"
Kyoko sighed. "Yeah, let's do this."
Homura led her over to the plant in the back corner of the room that had a camera hidden in it, then got her into a hold that pinned one arm at her side, and pulled the other into an awkward position with the arm that held a knife to her throat. "When you see Madoka again, tell her not to worry… I'll be home soon."
"Hm, alright, I got you. By the way, when we do get you out, I'm going to have to kick your ass as payback for putting me in this kind of situation. Alright?"
"Hm, fine, you can try." Neither of them were really in the laughing mood but they both grinned slightly. "Alright… get ready." They both got back into character before Homura resumed time.
Dr. Endou (the man Homura knew as Dr. Mono), sat in his office watching from the plant camera in Subject One's room. He had the screen of his monitor tilted so that Dr. Kaiji (the owner of the softer toned voice which Homura would recognise over the intercom) could see.
"Got that, you bastards? I know you're listening!" they heard Homura say.
"You see?" Endou said, "She has given us a verbal warning that she plans to harm our employees. What more do you need?"
Dr. Kaiji shook his head. "She hasn't actually harmed anyone yet, except for those two guards she shot in the leg. Even that was purposefully non-fatal, though. Sorry, but there just hasn't been enough to support giving her mood altering drugs yet."
"So what then? Do we wait until she actually does do serious harm to someone? It'll be too late by then, Kaiji."
They listened to Dr. Sakura talk to Homura, "...and I think I can help you, if you'll let me."
Kaiji noted the positive change in Homura's demeanor: "Here I am being rude. Would you like something to drink?"
"See that?" he said to Dr. Endou, "This psychologist seems to be able to get through to her. I think we should give her a chance. If we could just get Homura to understand what good her powers could do for the world, maybe we could get her to start cooperating with us."
Endou did not seem to want to respond to that, and instead said: "We should tell her not to transform while Sakura is in there." Homura disappeared and reappeared with a cup of tea. "It makes me nervous."
"I think she just likes showing off her power. She did the same thing last time."
"I do find it odd that Sakura was able to get on good terms with her so easily. Homura has been nothing but cold and violent towards the rest of us."
"Dr. Sakura isn't the one holding her against her will." Kaiji explained. "There is a big difference there, you know. Sakura is also the only person who has been talking to her like an actual human being since we brought her here. I think we just need to adjust our treatment of Subject One, and maybe we can get through to her."
"Kay, listen, I kind of like you, so I do feel bad for what I'm about to do…" Endou and Kaiji were both broken away from their conversation as they looked to the screen, feeling that something bad was about to happen. "Please don't be too mad at me for this."
The next thing they knew Sakura's face was right in front of the camera, Homura having one dark eye peeking out from behind the psychologist's shoulder. They could see the knife in her hand, firmly pressed against Dr. Sakura's throat.
"Shit!" Kaiji shouted as he jumped up. Endou reached for the intercom. "Wait." Kaiji said to him, holding out a hand. "Let me… She… doesn't like either of us, but I think she dislikes me just a little less."
"Alright." Endou said, "I think this proves my point, though. Let's just hope Dr. Sakura doesn't end up losing her life over this."
"Homura," came the softer toned voice from over the intercom, "Please take a moment and think this through, you don't want to do something you'll regret."
"Already thought it through." Homura said, her eye staring intensely into the potted plant, "And here's what I'm thinking: open that metal door at the front of my room, and every other door behind it, or this knife is cutting right through Dr. Sakura's jugular."
"We can't do that, Homura." said the voice, "Harming Dr. Sakura won't benefit you in any way, so please just stop this."
"You think I'm not serious!" she shouted, tightening her grip on the knife and pushing it into Kyoko's flesh to show just how serious she was.
'Geezus! Not so hard!', Kyoko thought. Then, in her Dr. Sakura persona she said: "Homura, it's alright, just don't do anything rash. I know you don't want to hurt anyone."
"You're right," Homura said, "I really don't want to hurt you, but it's really up to them if anything happens or not." Then, addressing the camera: "You know what I want. If that door isn't open by the time Kay and I walk over there, then it's over for her." She then started pulling Kyoko towards the front door.
"Okay, just relax. Everything's okay." Kyoko said as she was pushed to the other side of the room, "Listen, can you lower the knife just a little? There could be an accident." She was doing pretty well acting as someone who potentially had their life in danger and was calmly trying to talk her attacker down. Although, Homura ignored her request.
"Alright we're here." Homura shouted up to the ceiling, "Open the door!"
There was a long silence. Homura was getting ready to make the demand again, but the intercom buzzed on first: "We can't do that. Please just let her go and we will forget this happened." Then: "You have ten seconds before we start the gas."
"No!" Kyoko shouted, "Don't do that! Just let me talk to her!"
The intercom buzzed on again, and it was the voice Kyoko recognized as Dr. Endou, but Homura only knew him as Dr. Mono. "Drop the knife, Homura." he said patiently, "This has gone far enough." Kyoko felt Homura's grip on her tighten. She got the impression that the sudden tension wasn't just acting. She really didn't like that guy.
"Homura, don't pay attention to them, just talk to me." Kyoko said. Then, to the other doctors: "Don't turn on the gas, just let me to talk to her."
"There's nothing to talk about, I'm getting out of here!" Homura said.
"Listen, I know you don't want to be here, but this isn't the way to go about it." Kyoko spoke calmly, "You want to go home, and see your friends, I get it. I don't blame you, hell I'd probably try something like this too if I were in your shoes. They are not going to open the door, though, so it's pointless. Why don't we just go back to the table and continue our meeting? Did you draw anything new since I was last here? Why don't we go look at that?"
Kyoko felt the knife tighten against her throat and she thought: 'Come on Homura! This is the part where you chill out and start apologizing!' Homura did not seem to have any plans of doing that, however. Kyoko realized that although Homura said she was not expecting to be able to escape like this, part of her must have been clinging to a hope that it would work out that way. She has not had any other means of escape, and although her "hostage" was an imposter, she knew that her enemy did not know that. Therefore, using her psychologist as a bargaining chip was not entirely an act. Right now, Homura's goal actually was to escape.
"Open it now!" Homura screamed with a cracked voice. "Do it now! Last chance or she's dead!" The despair was clear in her voice, and as Kyoko felt the knife dig deeper into her throat she legitimately started to fear for her own safety. She could feel Homura's heavy breaths as she was locked in her grip; was she crying?
"Homura, please, we're friends right? We said we would be friends." Kyoko was scared to the point of tears herself now. How well did she really know Homura? They were friends on the outside, but only for a few months, and she knew it was not beyond Homura to use others as a means to an end with her own plans. She could be cold, manipulative, ruthless… insane... Madoka saw it too; she knew all about Homura's dark side, and Kyoko had overheard her confessing this to Sayaka one night.
It was early in Madoka's relationship with Homura, and Sayaka had started the conversation by expressing some concerns to her childhood friend. Madoka did not completely disagree with Sayaka, and she admitted that she was right about some of the points she was making about Homura. Madoka acknowledged the darkness that was in her, but had followed up by saying something like: "She's been through a lot; I think terrible things have happened to her. Things she won't even tell me about. I think it caused her to close her heart in a lot of ways, so it's true that she can be callous. She's getting better though, and I think I can help her."
Homura's grip tightened on the knife, and Kyoko could feel it move ever so slightly to the side. The surface of her skin parted, and thin ribbons of blood trickled out from under the blade's edge. The muscles of Homura's arm were tense; it was almost as if she were struggling to stop herself.
Kyoko spoke as Kyoko, and not as Dr. Sakura: "Homura… don't…"
