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]

Ah, um, that's okay, I can wait for whenever she gets back, but...

[Her voice drops down to a whisper.]

How much does she know...about Witches?

[beknightedheroine]

Eheh! As usual, she knows way more than me! She talked about something I'd never even heard of, a little -

_{[The name was highly foreboding, so even if she'd only heard it spoken once months ago, Sayaka remembers it clearly.]}

Something named Walpurgisnacht.

[heartfeltfancy]

[All of the color abruptly drains from her face.]

Mami-san...she knew...Walpurgisnacht...

[beknightedheroine]

..Madoka, you knew about it too? She said it was a really powerful Witch, but that's all I got.

_{[That just raises more questions.]}

[heartfeltfancy]

Yes, she...Walpurgisnacht is the most powerful witch, she was made from the bodies of countless other witches. We--Homura-chan and I, we tried to take it down, but...

[beknightedheroine]

...it didn't work when you guys tried, huh...?

_{[..So not everyone else's timelines were as happy as Mami's. It almost makes her feel a little better, but realizing that it does just makes her feel worse.]}

I think you really should talk to Mami-san soon, then. Things went a lot differently for her.

[heartfeltfancy]

Differently? [She frowns.] What do you mean?

[beknightedheroine]

She said that from what she remembered, everyone was..

_{[Despite her trailing off, Sayaka's current body language seems rather happy.]}

..everyone worked together and beat it. It sounds nearly like a really happy dream, doesn't it...?

[heartfeltfancy]

Yes. I think...she's lucky. [Madoka's shoulders slump.] I guess I don't need to try and protect her anymore...

[beknightedheroine]

--Hey. I don't know how she'd react to me saying this, but... don't say that so fast.

_{[It's another tenet of the mindset Sayaka's built up towards this Mami - it's still Mami-san, but this was like a second chance, after waiting so long to make her own contract-]}

...I mean, wouldn't you wanna help her more, because her world was so happy? It's like..

_{[Sayaka clams up there, realizing what 'it's like' was just going to lead into the same 'wrong world' reasoning Madoka had just chastised her for.]}

[heartfeltfancy]

[Madoka looks up abruptly, snapping out of her melancholy reverie.]

Aha...you're right.

In the Facility, I was used to keeping Mami-san from the awful truth of things, I even had to take her Soul Gem from her to make sure she didn't see [...] Oktavia. Maybe she needs it even more...

[beknightedheroine]

<sub>[...Sayaka doesn't want to dredge up what she's done already to try to help. Madoka spoke of taking Mami's soul gem away--

What would she say if she knew Sayaka had gone as far as to smash it entirely, in a failed try at saving her from the pods?]</sub>

Mami-san is still a really strong person, but we'll just have to keep a sly eye out for her as her underclassmen, right? That's all -

<sub>[There's something else. That name Madoka used.. it puts a strange chill through her, like her insides are coated in ice water.

She is really getting sick of the emotional rollercoaster today.]</sub>

- Nn. That name, <sub>'Oktavia'...

[That was it. The source of her renewed discomfort.]</sub>

Something about it makes me not want to hear it again.

[heartfeltfancy]

Well, then, I guess you've been here with her longer than I have, so I'll take your word for it...

That's a feeling easy to understand. I'll refrain. [Like she never wanted to hear the name Gretchen ever again.]