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15strangers2017-12-22 08:14 am
strangerpeople) wrote in 15strangers2017-12-22 08:14 am
Entry tags:
FINAL TRIAL
[Soon after the final clue it found, the large set of double doors at the end of the hall finally open.
And beyond is what Nyaf-ya calls the Room of Reckoning. And this room is...]
[...rather impressive. Large, for certain. Maybe a bit too large for the space it would have to occupy beneath the mall, or to have light streaming from the windows, all things considered. But given everything else that the surviving strangers have encountered, this might not be the strangest thing with this situation overall.
There is a wooden throne at the top of the staircase, and at the bottom of the staircase are four large, comfortable-looking sitting pillows - one green, one orchid, one gold, and one pink. The red pillars surrounding the staircase are also decorated with markings that definitely don't look like they fit the aesthetic of the room.
There are also two low hot pot induction cooker tables in the great hall area before the staircase. One table has six spots, all with sitting pillows, each with a name written onto a paper placed carefully on a plate. When everyone sits at their place, they will find that the stove in the center is already heated and ready to go, and every imaginable ingredient for a proper barbecue and hot pot meal is available to them for cooking. A pitcher of their favorite drink is also next to each respective cup.
And, once everyone finds their place, their phone pings with a message.]
Once you've figured everything out, the Boss....wants to talk to you. She doesn't want to fight. Not this time. Please, take your time, but please be careful, ok? The rules of the Game are still in effect.
We're rooting for you. I know you'll find a way!
It's time to finally answer the questions the Titled have about why they are here - and face the Masterminds behind the Game.
Good luck, Titled.]
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[She admittedly looks reluctant to explain. Because it's Joey.]
Are you sure you want to know?
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1/6
[A deep breath. Then, a sharp headache that only lasts a second, and--]
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Make a contract with me, and become a magical girl!"
[The cat is saved. The cute black cat named Amy. And now, Madoka can use her bright Soul Gem to fight the creatures that curse human kind with negative feelings: the Witches. And the greatest Witch is the rotating monster known as Walpurgisnacht.
There is only one month to prepare. She does so with her newest fellow magical girl, fighting abominations beyond imagination within their labyrinths. She even meets a new student at her school: Homura Akemi.
Then Walpurginacht came. Madoka fought. She died to destroy the greatest Witch in the world.
That should have been the end of her story.]
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Homura Akemi makes a wish.]
"I want to redo my meeting with Madoka Kaname. But this time, instead of her protecting me, I want to protect her!"
[The month repeats. Madoka has still contracted, but this time, Homura is there to help her with her powers. They defeat Walpurgisnacht...and Madoka lives.
But this time...her Soul Gem turns black and changes. Her body dies, but her soul...fulfills its real purpose.
A magical girl doesn't just fight Witches, after all.
No.
They become - and are - the very thing which fills the world with curses...]
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Homura tries to warn the girls, now numbering five. She is not believed. The girls learn the truth, eventually, and one goes mad, killing all but two. Madoka is forced to end her life.
Walpurgisnacht is defeated, and Madoka is starting to turn into a Witch. She saved Homura, and is ended.
The month repeats. This time, Homura manages to prevent Madoka from contracting. She saves Amy. But then, Madoka eventually contracts. She becomes the Witch.
The month repeats. This time, Madoka contracts to save a girl from being killed by a Witch and dies in battle. The month repeats. Madoka contracts to save another girl from becoming a Witch. The month repeats.
Its an abnormal month, as another magical girl realizes the threat Madoka represents - the Witch Madoka becomes is taller than a building. She doesn't contract. But the girl kills Madoka. The month repeats.
Repeat. Homura is forced to reset after Madoka contracts. Repeat. The Witch is now taller than Everest. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat...]
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[Karma now surrounds Madoka like fog. Universes depend on her wishing or not wishing, now. In this timeline, she could become a god if she so chose.
And despite Homura's efforts, she makes her wish.]
"I wish I had a power to erase Witches before they're born. Every single Witch from the past, present and future, everywhere!"
[Instantly, it happens. Madoka's wish is so powerful, so hopeful, that every girl who ever became a magical girl finds themselves visited by Madoka. Famous people, unknown people - all magical girls around Joey's age, like Madoka. All of their despair was taken in by what Madoka created.
Even Madoka's Witch, a being so powerful it could wipe out the universe. This new creation takes it away as well - and erases Madoka from known reality. Instead, there is a new layer of reality, a new concept, which shoulders this despair with supreme hope, beyond the physical universe. A place where magical girls are taken to heaven when their magic runs out.
This being is a Law.
And Madoka is forgotten...]
6/6
Madoka tries to save Homura from her despair. Concocts a plan to personally go to Homura in her time of need. And, when she is saved from her Witch, she comes to conduct Homura personally into heaven...
and then Homura grabs her hands.]
"I finally...have you."
[Reality cracks. She cracks. She begs Homura to let go, but she just...holds...on...until finally.
She splits. Her hands disappear, for they were Madoka's hands, and Madoka is now in Homura's arms. All of Homura's curses suddenly pulse forward, enveloping the field, the world, the universe. Until everything is covered in a barrier.
All except the goddess created by the wish. She drifts as she feels her core in Homura's grip, suppressed and unable to reunite with her. The pieces of her that had gone down to help Homura are also trapped. She can only watch, now...and do nothing, for Homura's power comes from something she claims is stronger than all the hope in the universe. Keeping her out.
She has lost her hands. Her heart. Her purpose.
She is alone.
That loneliness still pervades as Joey finds herself back in the room, no time having passed.]
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...
How...are you...
[She shakes her head. How she looks is one thing, but there's no icon for how she's feeling. Let's reach into the future of an alternate universe and borrow one from that aunt she's never met. There we go.]
How do you still exist after that?
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... I want to know as well, if you don't mind sharing with another person.
[ SHE LOOKS SO YOUNG, BUT SEEMS SO SAD??? He's genuinely concerned about her.
at least this wouldn't require six new comments]no subject
All right...
[The memories are now in Akira's head.]
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Can he second Joey's question...? ]
You're officially the strongest person I know.
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[ He doesn't know Madoka. Well, technically, he doesn't know this girl, either? He just wants to try making a point. ]
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[hate anyone. do anything but try to help.
Like the wish that created her.]
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Clearly, so are you...
[ There's a moment where he pauses to take a breath. ]
With how our situation was, I didn't appreciate what you were doing as much as I should have...
[ His expression dims and he shakes his head. ]
I'm sorry.
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This whole souls-being-physical-and-divisible thing is really new to me, but it seems like you're parts of that girl-turned-god in your memories, and suffering just as much as any other part of her right now.
[Or something.]
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[She looks down.]
The truth is, without Madoka Kaname...I'm just...a visage. A reflection of what the Law was, nothing more. No matter how powerful everyone has claimed I am.
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Look at you. You're the nicest person here, in spite of what you have to do. You gave someone part of your soul just so she could have one. You're helping us and protecting us and...cooking food for us. You know that only one other person, ever in my living memory, has made me food just because she could? And she made me do the dishes. Which is fair, I just really hate doing dishes.
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Still, there is a smile.]
Aha...dishes aren't so bad...especially if someone else is with you.
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[Maybe her kitchen would be less awful if she worked with the other two instead of trying to take turns and everyone ducking out of theirs...]
That's not the point, though. I don't know Madoka Kaname, but I do know you, a little bit, and I know you're a kind person. And strong, but like...resilient, as opposed to powerful. I think that's a lot more impressive, personally.