A dream of Gold and Yellow (FSN X Madoka Oneshot)
This one was inspired by Shrimperor's display picture, and I just had to write it. I just had to. I'm sorry if my poor writing skills can't do this idea justice, but I just thought I'd share it here.
Anyway, moving on:
-
She watched the world fall apart.
The skies were a boundless grey, covering the ends of the Earth and beyond with their melancholic hue. The barren ground beneath her groaned and split open, unable to support even a blade of grass upon its back. Skyscrapers lunged for the heavens, reaching out helplessly as they toppled onto each other, becoming a haphazard mess. It was as if the city - no, the entire world - was slowly but surely crumbling. Fading.
Dying.
A gust of wind screeched past her ear, cutting sharply into her skin like knives. A ghostly echo filled her head, mocking her, knowing that she too will soon become one of the dead. All she could do, and all she did, was to just stand there and watch the world die.
That is, until she appeared.
Standing confidently amongst all the destruction was a single girl. Sporting curly blonde hair arranged into ringlets at the sides of her head, with a stylish feathered cap atop it, she stared up at the skies with eyes of bright gold. Her outfit, a white blouse with a neat yellow skirt, accompanied by a pair of white long sleeves, gave her a dignified aura, and the knee-high striped socks under a pair of khaki-and-cream-yellow boots completed the look. Despite her gentle appearance, she also looked tough, and it would not have surprised her if she suddenly assumed a fighting position.
At least, that was Madoka's first impression of her. The next thought she had was: wow, she looks so pretty.
"She's the last one."
Startled by the sudden voice, Madoka looked around, eventually spotting the source: a queer-looking white creature with long... protrusions from the sides of its head. Its eyes, two small orbs of bright red, looked straight at her.
"Who... are you?" she asked timidly.
"I'm Kyubey!" the creature replied cheerfully, even though its mouth had not moved. "Nice to meet you, Kaname Madoka!"
"H-how do you know-" Madoka began, but hastily stopped herself. "W-what you said just now... What did you mean by 'she's the last one'?"
"This world is dying," Kyubey replied. "It's being corroded and destroyed by a force beyond human comprehension. Eventually, everything will fall into darkness, and cease to exist. She's the only one left who can fight for humanity now."
The girl in yellow narrowed her eyes, staring at something in the sky which Madoka could not see. They were too far apart, so she could not go to her and ask her what she was looking at either. But she found out soon enough.
"Was it you?" the girl asked loudly. "Was it you who caused this tragedy?"
For a moment, there was no reply. Then, a series of bemused laughter broke out, drawing Madoka's attention to... him.
The man was, if anything, radiant. Donning a bright golden armor and sporting blonde hair that looked like it was glowing, the man sat atop a mysterious flying machine, likewise golden in color but with emerald green wings. Scarlet pupils looked down upon the girl in yellow, observing her.
"Well done, girl," he praised, arrogance oozing out of every syllable. "It seems you have managed to survive the culling of commonplace trash. Rejoice, for you have been deemed worthy of serving me - an honor any mortal would willingly offer up their soul for!"
The sheer arrogance of those words was mind-boggling, but Madoka found herself unable to dwell on it; the man's very sense of presence was overwhelming, rendering everyone around him no more significant than pebbles by the roadside.
"Oh my, that's flattering," the girl in yellow replied, giving him a good-natured smile as she appeared unfazed by his attitude. "But I'm afraid I must decline; I prefer my boyfriend to be a little less... pushy."
"It seems you don't understand, woman," the man said, his tone becoming less amused. "This is what I've decided, and as such is the law. Your opinion was not sought, nor does it matter. I have decided that all those strong enough to survive this culling shall be worthy of being under my rule, and it shall be so."
"My, my, what a bully," the girl sighed. "I guess onee-chan will have to discipline you properly."
Her hand became a blur, and all of a sudden a loud report echoed throughout the space. When Madoka finally caught on to the movement, there was already a gun with smoke rising from its barrel in her hand.
A sharp 'clang' resonated, and the bullet she fired disintegrated upon contact with a golden rippled that had formed in front of the man.
"Wench... what is your name?"
All of a sudden, the atmosphere changed. The man with scarlet, demon-like eyes now radiated an air of terrible danger, making even the air around him tremble.
"I'm Tomoe Mami," the girl in yellow replied, giving him a curtsy. "And you are?"
"Don't be so full of yourself, mongrel," the man said in a low tone. "I thought you dared spout such words because you were someone of significance, but you are but a nameless dog. Not only do you dare point your weapon at your king, you are unable to recognize Him when He is right in front of you. Your impudence has cost you your life, insolent cur!"
As though to punctuate his fury, the air burst open into countless golden ripples, each with a sharp tip emerging from the center. Without warning, something shot out of them, tearing through the air like a hail of arrows.
"To throw such dangerous toys at a lady..." Mami said, and two muskets fell out of her skirt. How they had managed to fit in their despite their size was anyone's guess. "Such an ill-mannered child."
Grabbing the two guns, the look in her eyes changed. While the same air of grace still resided in them, there was now also a firm determination blazing in her pupils.
Twirling around and arching to the side, Mami avoided the first 'arrow', which turned out to be a heavy-looking ornate spear. Stepping forward in a graceful leap, she bowed, allowing the next weapon to soar past her and crash into the ground. Following through the motion and performing a front handspring, she finally lifted her guns, took aim, and fired.
Clashing into the incoming blades, the bullets failed to destroy their targets, but did manage to alter their course somewhat. Veering off course, they bore into the ground, their impacts like cannonballs or missiles rather than arrows.
Using the guns in her hands as melee weapons, Mami spun around and smacked an incoming sword right out of the air, before throwing it aside and using the other to parry another blade. When she was safe from the fired projectiles, she produced a large percussion-lock rifled musket from her small sleeve. It was easily over twice her size, but she held it like it was a feather.
"Tiro Finale!" she shouted, and a large streak of light shot towards the golden King. Thoroughly unimpressed, the King sent out a spear to meet the shot - and the spear exploded into pieces.
"You dare break my treasure with your filthy tool, mongrel?" he seethed. "Very well! I shall see to it that not even a drop of your blood remains!"
At his words, a golden chain shot out, restraining Mami's limbs and lifting her into the air. Before she could even say anything in response, several spears and swords impaled her, rendering her incapable of further speech.
"No!" Madoka yelled, tears welling up in her eyes.
"No, it's not quite over yet," Kyubey said calmly.
Unsatisfied with the state of his foe, the golden King fired off even more arrows, stabbing and perforating the corpse until only the hands and feet were visible through the mass of metal. Just as he was about to fire another one, the hands and legs twitched, losing their form and melting into a single, bright yellow ribbon.
Entangling the weapons around it and even the chain, the ribbon held them in place and manifested a large bowtie on top of them, with what seemed like a lock on top of it. The helpless heap of swords, spears, axes and chain fell lifelessly to the ground, and a rather pleased-looking Mami stepped out from behind it.
"That was rather brutal," she commented. "Do you not know what it means to be a gentleman, I wonder?"
The golden King, trembling with fury, no longer spoke. With a roar of pure anger and hate, he tore open the sky with countless ripples of light, raining down an unimaginable amount of deadly weapons. Falling towards the Earth below, was a downpour of rage and force, bringing with it the power of countless armies and destruction capable of wiping out countries. It was power befitting of a King, and it was all just to kill one girl.
"What a troublesome little boy," Mami sighed, pulling out a ribbon from her sleeve with one hand and holding her cap in the other. "But if it's quantity you want, I can most certainly oblige."
With a graceful swing of her arms, the ribbon danced around her, summoning countless guns as it came into contact with the air. Similar copies of the guns also flew out of the cap, aimed at the skies. In the blink of an eye, hundreds - if not thousands - of muskets surrounded her, all pointed towards the incoming squall of death.
"Now then," she said sweetly. "Can your swords keep up, O great King?"
All at once, her weapons opened fire.
Madoka stared at the scene in shock, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. Numerous explosions scattered across the air, each one sending out violent shockwaves that threatened to lift her off her feet. The battle raging in front of her had, at some point in time, become an all-out war.
"Such coquettish movements," the golden King mocked. "How befitting of a jester like yourself, mongrel! Dance for me, until your very last breath is ripped out from your lungs!"
"Oh, if you liked my dance, you could have just said so," Mami said teasingly, weaving through the blades that had flown through her defenses and firing the guns in her hands. Countless blades were shattered by her bullets, raining down gently on her like glittering stardust. "I'm appreciative of having a fan."
Leaping into the air, Mami rested a musket against her arm, which proceeded to be pierced by an incoming spear. Before it could pierce flesh, however, she shifted the position of her gun, forcing the spear to fly in a different location, instead colliding with another sword and shattering both.
"I suppose I'd better get serious too," she said, flicking her wrist. Once more, the long, thin ribbon appeared, fluttering across the landscape and summoning once more the myriad of firearms. Except that, this time, all of them were at least twice the size of her body.
"Things might get a little noisy," she beamed, giving him a wink as she covered her ears. "Tiro Finale!"
The sound from those cannon-like guns firing alone was enough to knock Madoka on her rear. Staring at the display with a mixture of awe and horror, she found herself unable to speak or even move.
"She's powerful, that's for sure," Kyubey stated. "Alas, her foe is out of her league."
"W-what do you mean?" Madoka asked.
"Look around you," Kyubey replied, tilting its head towards the dying world around them. "See that black sludge everywhere? It will swallow everything, and leave nothing standing. Nothing can stop it, so she's doomed to fail. She'll just be consumed by the rest of this world."
"N-no way..."
"On top of that," Kyubey went on. "Her current opponent is someone who has conquered that black sludge before. He's no longer even in the same dimension as she is."
Even as Kyubey spoke, and even as the two before them continued fighting, the black sludge was moving, writhing, emerging from shadows and attempting to cover everything it touched with its vile shroud.
"But," Kyubey added. "If there's someone who can change that fate, it's you, Madoka."
"Eh?" Madoka asked, her eyes still glistening from the tears.
"If you become a Magical Girl, you can attain the power to save the world," Kyubey said. "To save the girl down there... To save this world from being destroyed... It's all possible with your power. If you just form a contract with me, you can change destiny itself."
"I... Do I really... have that kind of power?" Madoka asked meekly. "Can I... really save the world?"
"Of course!" Kyubey replied cheerfully, smiling. "If it's you, Madoka, I'm sure you can do it!"
Madoka swallowed nervously.
"Come on; let's save the world!"
"I..."
-
The Golden King sensed an irregularity. It had been a small shift, something that could not be discerned or even noticed by the common rabble, but being the absolute being in all of Heaven and Earth, he picked up on it.
He looked away from the jester desperately dancing for her life under his arrows, and saw the cause: a girl with pink hair and a weak look on her commoner-like face. She was talking to a queer, rabbit-like creature, which looked harmless on its own-
The black sludge shifted, and a blinding light engulfed the girl. When it faded, she was wearing a pink and white dress, adorned with frills and complete with a pink gem gleaming on the choker around her neck. Red ribbons fluttered in the wind as she moved, raising a simple-looking longbow and preparing an arrow.
The darkness moved, converging behind her and almost pouncing on her. The white creature stood between it and the girl, staring at her intently. The girl, unaware, simply readied her arrow, which had started to radiate a warm, gentle light.
That's it, Madoka. Now you can save the world.
She was not something that was supposed to exist. Her very existence, in this moment, was a threat. Even though he did not know how, the King of Heroes instantly knew she was a threat. Even though to him, the only things coming close to being a threat were the Gods themselves.
Now you have the power to vanquish any evil.
Madoka nodded, believing in those words without an ounce of doubt, evidently unaware of the darkness all around her.
Now, can you see the enemy you must defeat?
The Golden King reached into his endless treasury, and pulled out his greatest treasure. It was a divine construct that had created the world from nothingness, and split the earth from the heavens with one swing. It was the oldest sword, and by far the most superior.
"Awaken, Ea."
The Sword of Rupture roared to life, creating violent whirlwinds of crimson energy as it was raised and pointed at the sky. The Earth shook upon beholding its power, and the air screeched from being in its presence. It was a weapon capable of obliterating entire worlds, and one which even Gods feared.
Show him the power of the strongest .
"Enuma Elish!"
Against the maelstrom of unstoppable power, Madoka let fly a single arrow. She watched it fly, casting a graceful arc across all the destruction and suffering, and meet his attack head on.
Sound vanished, and a blinding light filled her vision, engulfing everything around them-
-
Madoka jolted awake, sweating bullets and panting hard. Remaining in shock for a few moments, she finally calmed down after realizing it was all just a dream.
What a strange dream to have, she thought, pushing off the covers. Maybe I should cut down on watching all those anime with Sayaka-chan...
Sighing, she got out of bed and checked her clock. She still had plenty of time to get ready for school, so she might as well take it slow today.
What a weird thought, she giggled to herself. After all, magical girls can't possibly exist in real life.
Right?
-
Again, I'm sorry if that hurt your eyes, but I just had to post it. Please don't flame me.
