01 ➷ video

[heartfeltfancy]

 [The feed turns on to the face of someone possibly familiar.]

Ahh, it is working? I was afraid this worked differently than the one I'm used to. 

[She folds her hands in her lap, but awkwardly--because her left hand keeps twitching uncontrollably. If you study her for longer than a few seconds, you'll notice it's for a reason. Her entire left arm, as well as the left half of her face is horribly scarred, with a lightning-like pattern on the skin itself. Her left eye is partially closed, and overall the left side of her seems awkward.]

My name is Madoka Kaname. If anyone here is familiar with a place called the Facility, please contact me.  [she pauses, looking a bit unsure.]

I guess...maybe it's good it was destroyed, if our worlds are all really gone, now. I hope everyone was able to get out safely, and those who weren't...

[A longer pause.]

They're in a better place, now.

Comments

[heartfeltfancy]

S...Sayaka?

[Oh. Oh. Sayaka was here. Sayaka was here.

It wasn't clear if she remembered the Facility or not, but the fact remains that she was here. One of her dear friends was here...]

Sayaka, oh...you're here, see, it's no big deal, but...

[She holds back a nigh-ocean of tears at this point.]

what's doing threads over the network sayaka has to hug a madoka stat

[beknightedheroine]

_{['It's no big deal' - everything's a big deal right about now, everything.]}

Madoka, I know you're new here so it's confusing, but - where are you? I'll find you, okay?!

_{[Sayaka's voice is high-strung as hell once she's recovered her scattered wits enough to answer.]}

[heartfeltfancy]

A-Ah, I'm in one of the dorm rooms! 1-07, I think.

[voice -> action!! ..action as soon as the elevator's done]

[beknightedheroine]

--Heheh, you're two doors down from my room! I'll be there soon, I just gotta get down to the elevator and take it up, so don't - don't go anywhere!

<sub>[..so hey guess who left the video feed of the library still running while she was busy taking off running herself? ..Sayaka Miki, that's who.

Sayaka, for her part, is definitely speedy - she nearly falls down the stairs several times as she races down them, but physical injuries aren't really a thing that last more than a few seconds with her so it barely gives her any pause at all.

The worse part is waiting for the damned elevator to travel its way up.]</sub>

[heartfeltfancy]

[Madoka gives a small smile at the rashness of her friend, but continues to wait in her room, sitting on the edge of her bed, trying to remain calm.]

[beknightedheroine]

<sub>[Soon enough, there's the sound of frantic steps approaching - and then desperately skidding, because the owner had been running too fast. Sayaka gulps air for a moment then gives a brief flick to the glowing ring on her hand, a quiet order to turn off the magical speed she'd spent to get here. The blue glow around it dissipates.

Woo, okay, that was more active than she's been for a while. ..she's been slacking off, huh? Subdued by that thought, it's with a somewhat dissonant calm that Sayaka enters room 1-07. Then she turns to see Madoka properly -]</sub>

..Ah, you're...

_{[With the reinforcement of seeing Madoka's state in person, her recognition of it has gotten a lot more prominence. Sayaka is visibly shocked.]}

[heartfeltfancy]

[Madoka says nothing at first. If Sayaka didn't recognize the injury, it definitely wasn't the same one from the Facility. Whelp, this opened up a whole new can of worms, much to her displeasure.]

Excuse my injuries. I had a bit of an accident.

[beknightedheroine]

<sub>You, you're...

[Sayaka grits her teeth, and with serious effort manages to turn her expression into a smile.

Was this one of the things that was going to happen, back home...? Would she have lived to see it? Sayaka's mind swims with questions - the word 'facility' is important for some reason. Right now she's a little bit too overwhelmed to remember why.]</sub>

..You're excused. But only on one condition! ...You wouldn't mind a hug from your old pal Sayaka, right...?

[heartfeltfancy]

O-Of course not! [she stands up to greet Sayaka, clenching her left fist to stop the shaking.] I'm happy to see you, eheh.

1/2 cuz gotta use my hug icon!!

[beknightedheroine]

_{[When Madoka stands up, Sayaka's smile turns into something that looks much more genuine.]}

2/2 quality roleplaying by me

[beknightedheroine]

_{[See keywords.]}

hey i can use that icon too :'D

[heartfeltfancy]

[She stays silent for a while, still trying to hold back that flood of tears.]

wall of hug icons is pretty 0kay with me

[beknightedheroine]

<sub>[--Ah. There's something wet on her shoulder. Just one spot, but - was Madoka crying?

Sayaka feels a brief flash of painful self-consciousness - her eyes weren't dry, but she'd reflexively been reigning herself in. It always seemed right to try being strong in front of others, in the tower - but had she turned herself cold?]</sub>

..We probably have a lot to talk about, huh?

>8)

[heartfeltfancy]

Mmm. [A small nod in confirmation.] But...it's not pretty.

[beknightedheroine]

That's okay. I can't promise mine will be much better. Maybe it'll even be a little fun, trading stories.

[heartfeltfancy]

[She gives a weary smile, and lets go, plopping back down on her bed.]

Well...I haven't come straight from home. Ah, for the past...three months, I think, I was living at a testing facility.

[beknightedheroine]

A testing facility, hah.. ..I think I'm starting to hate scientists. Weirdest thing.

_{[Is there more than one place that unceremoniously drags people away from their homes, like here? Sayaka bristles at the thought, in a mix of fear and outrage.]}

Was it.. a place in our world? Or 'some place else,' like here?

_{[Either answer is bad. The chance that places like that exist in their world is unbelievable, but after meeting Jin and Minato.. it's not impossible to fathom.]}

[heartfeltfancy]

Some place else, I'm sure. It was a floating space-station that orbited the Earth, silly as it is.

It was...terrible.

[beknightedheroine]

...

<sub>[Sayaka wrings her hands for a moment, staring at them rather than look at Madoka. She doesn't want to give back news on top of what Madoka's sure to have gone through already.

When someone says something was 'terrible' and doesn't continue on, she's learned not to pry.]</sub>

Guess it's my turn to say a little.

I don't know how long I've been here. I usually tell people four months, but that's just when I started counting the days. I wasn't really that.. good at paying attention to those things, when I first woke up here.

I don't know what it'd be like in comparison to where you were. But this has never been a good place to be.

[heartfeltfancy]

Well, if it's anything like the Facility, I can just adapt.

Maybe it'll be better, now that I'm here.

[beknightedheroine]

<sub>[Sayaka's gaze jumps right back up to Madoka at that, her immediate response frozen in her throat even as her emotions turn into something utterly tumultuous.

She wants to say 'It'll be worse.'

She wants to say 'I know it'll be better.'

She decides on the latter.]</sub>

You're right.

We'll be fine. We'll be fine as long as we stick together, no matter what they do to us.

that icon makes me giggle so much

[heartfeltfancy]

[She gives a small clap, though her left hand falters a bit.]

Um, there's not a lot to say about the Facility, I think. [Spoiler: there is.]

They made us grow wings, one week. And we got replaced by...murderous puppets another week...

good that is what it exists for

[beknightedheroine]

..Wings sound kinda fun.

_{[She wonders if wings would be useful for a fight, if things end up in a situation desperate enough. Puella Magi work so strangely, it might be possible to will some into being..? Huh.]}

So they did things week by week. They mess with us here, too. Usually just once a month, depending on who's in charge. ..There's Dax, Riki, Zo, Ruana... and Jason.

<sub>[The last is said with a supreme jolt of venom, like that one name is a symbol of everything terrible in the world.

With the way Sayaka thinks, to her, he might be.]</sub>

He's the worst of them all, but--

_{[Hold on a sec. Sayaka had chanced to look down, away from Madoka's still rather upsetting visage - and sees a very familiar kind of ring on her finger. She stares, and feels her insides twisting themselves into knots the longer she does.]}

[heartfeltfancy]

[Madoka was listening intently, but widened her eyes when Sayaka abruptly stopped.]

...what? What's wrong?

[beknightedheroine]

...You have one. A soul gem. Madoka, you know what that means, right...?