Chapter Text
“Es…”
“Wake up, Es.”
Your hazy, heather purple eyes slowly pan open, making contact with the white cat-like creature sat atop your lap. It swishes its tail behind itself when you wake, dragging the gray cape along with it.
“Good morning, Es. Have you slept well?” It speaks with a feigned cheerfulness— a voice laced with sweetness, but you know already that it’s merely a front; a comforting mask to hide its lack of substance. “You must be wondering where you are.”
You look up. The room surrounding yourself is as familiar as the back of your hand. You can’t count the number of times you’ve been here, for better or for worse. You aren’t particularly excited to listen to the same speech the next time over; hopefully, this time will finally be the last, you swear to yourself. You won’t need to restart any more.
The creature bows its head while it hops off of you, taking care not to let its little hat fly off. “My name is Kyubey, and you and I are the guards of this prison called MILGRAM.” It begins its explanation, a small screen flickering on next to it while the lights around you dim nearly dark. “Here in MILGRAM, you will meet four prisoners— all of these prisoners, like yourself, are Magical Girls!” You can’t help but raise a brow at its assumption that you know what a Magical Girl is, but there’s no point in questioning what you already know.
“And all four of them,” the screen displays the word in bright red text. “Are murderers.”
Your head tilts, leaning against your shoulder. You already know that this prison carries a broad definition of what is considered “murder.” You have seen it both directly and indirectly, but just one case continues to perplex you. A case that you yourself haven’t been able to identify one bit of for your whole time here— but not knowing anything doesn’t change a thing. No matter the crime, your goal is absolute; to save Madoka Kaname.
“Es, are you listening?” Kyubey tilts its head. “Try not to space out. This information is very important.”
You already know all of this information. You also already know that your name is not Es. Your name is Homura Akemi, and you are a Magical Girl, as well as the guard of MILGRAM. Despite all that you know, to keep suspicion away from yourself, you have taken to responding to the name ‘Es.’
“I’m listening,” you answer, leaning forward with your hand on your chin. “Keep going, please.”
Kyubey nods. “Very well. In MILGRAM, you will interrogate these four murderers and learn everything you can about them; from their crimes, what led to them, and even their attitudes on them.” As it explains, the electronic screen in front of you shifts over to familiar images of each prisoner. Though you have seen them all before, your pupils dilate at the sight of the fourth prisoner. Even still, after all of this time, your mission holds firm; stronger than the duty that binds you to this prison.
“The procedure takes place over three trials— at the end of every trial, you will decide to forgive or not forgive each prisoner.” Kyubey continues its explanation, walking past to the other side of the screen. It glances at each image as if it has never seen them before— you suppose this one hasn’t. “However you learn of their cases is completely up to you. This prison can be a Heaven or Hell of your own making; really, I have no say in what you do with it.” It pauses to sit down and press a button. As it clicks, the lights pan back on and the screen in front of you dims. “That said, some prisoners might not be as easy to pry information out of as others. Whether you torture them, or merely ask politely… I can’t begin to predict the outcome of any method you try.”
“I’ve heard enough,” you mutter. You rise from your seat as the fabric underneath settles in the lack of pressure. Your gloved hand runs through your long, dark hair, before swooping it behind you. It falls like a curtain behind your back, as you reach up to straighten the warden’s cap on your head. “I’d like to get started.”
“Your enthusiasm is refreshing,” Kyubey remarks as it leads you out of your room. “I suppose we can get to the introductions, then?” There really is no need for such, but you nod anyway. Only you know that you’ve been here before, after all.
You swing the door open to the panopticon; it was once a heavy gate that you have now managed to steer with ease. The panopticon is far from impressive— only bearing five cells in the vast, hexagon-shaped room. Aside from the cells along the walls and the entrance you came from, the panopticon itself is mostly empty, allowing the prisoners to have free reign of the place— of course, aside from right now. You breathe in the air that flows from the vents and remember that you need to switch on the Grief Vapor when you’re back in your room, a special odorless gas that absorbs the impurities from the Soul Gems of the prisoners. There’s too much trouble to be had with a Witch in the prison, after all.
Kyubey strings you along, but you don’t even glance into the cells. “Here, in the first cell, is Prisoner 001— Sayaka Miki.” It peers through the metal gate barring her from the outside. “She doesn’t look pleased, as you can see. She hasn’t spoken a word since arriving. The reason is beyond me at this point.” It shrugs her off and pads along, as you instinctively trail behind it. Your eyes narrow. “You’ve taken her from her home and kept her here, after all.” You speak up, but you’re aware that it’s futile. It turns its head back to you. “Well, she’s a murderer. She has to be here.” It states matter-of-factly. “Besides, it shouldn’t matter to you humans where you reside. There’s no point in mourning over it if there’s nothing you can do.”
It stops to sit down in front of the second door; the fourth is not hard to see from here. “Prisoner 002, Kyoko Sakura.” It stands once again, not spending too much time standing still before it trails to the third door. “A loud prisoner. Strong language, too. I don’t have much interest in them. They might be troublesome to interrogate, too.” It doesn’t take long to reach the third door. “Prisoner 003, Mami Tomoe. She’s easier to talk to, in my experience. I doubt you’ll have much trouble with her.”
Once the other prisoners are out of the way, you clench your fist until your nails dig into your palm. As it reaches the fourth door, it parks in front and peers in. You can’t help glancing in as well, despite not caring to look at the others. “In this cells is Prisoner 004—”
“Madoka Kaname.” You can’t help but whisper. Kyubey glances incredulously at you for a moment, before turning its gaze back inside the cell at the girl. “That’s right, Madoka Kaname.” It repeats. You stare for a moment at Madoka. She’s been in the same position, with some slight variations, every time you’ve been back here. She’s perched on the white mattress, staring down at her knees. She’s confused— a bit afraid, but mostly curious. While you stare, her gaze turns up to face yours. You startle back a bit, not expecting the eye contact, but she simply smiles and waves unsurely at you. Your finger twitches— you want to wave back, but Kyubey is already walking away and it will give you trouble if you don’t follow. Your cape floats behind you as you catch up, walking past the fifth cell. You’ve asked about it before— apparently, there isn’t anything in there. Kyubey hasn’t elaborated much on your question, but it’s not important to your mission.
“Well, with that out of the way, why don’t we let them all out?” It suggests, its head turning back up at you. You nod, brows furrowed. “I’m looking forward to seeing how you handle this job.” It remarks as it turns away, leaving you in the panopticon. It has headed for the control room with the goal of unlocking all of the gates and letting the prisoners roam free. After a few minutes by yourself, you turn your head to see each door swing open, the four prisoners slowly trickling out of their cells. They all have drab white uniforms with straitjacket-like harnesses weighing them down, though they are loose and don’t inhibit function in their current state. You hear footsteps and the jangling of belts and loops, before all four prisoners are lined up in front of you.
Your mouth opens to recite the same speech you’ve given countless times. “Greetings, my name is Es. From here on out, I’ll be your prison guard.” From the corner of your eye, Madoka looks unsurely at the other three prisoners to her left. “To my awareness, all of you are Magical Girls, and all of you are murderers. My intention is to learn of your murders and decide if forgiveness is deserved. Please look forward to interrogating me individually over the course of the three trials.”
The prisoners all start murmuring to each other, starting to make acquaintance. Before you turn away to head back to your room, you’re stopped by a familiar voice.
“Um, Es—”
You turn your head to the source of the voice, Madoka Kaname herself. The other three prisoners seem preoccupied with trying to figure out how they got here in the first place. She mutters meekly, before stepping forward. “You’re— you’re a Magical Girl too, aren’t you?”
The other three dart their gazes at you after overhearing what she’s said. Your eyes trail along the group, before they lid and you nod. “Yes,” you answer. “I’m a Magical Girl, too.”