Well Meaning Sins (Madoka Kaname)

Well Meaning Sins (Madoka Kaname)
Date of Cutscene:	29 May 2024
Location:	Kaname Household
Synopsis:	Gretchen is mad at Madoka because she thinks she'll do a dumb thing. Madoka promises not to do the dumb thing, then Brai talks her into doing the dumb thing anyways. Happens directly after Scene 1599.
Cast of Characters:	Madoka Kaname

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Date: May 29th. (After Madoka received the Humpty Lock from Tadase, but days before the battle with Sunset of Sora.)

Location: Kaname Household (Dining Room and Kitchen Area)

Time: Ice Cream.

Current Participants: Madoka, Gretchen, and Brai. Other Chara presumably to arrive later.

On this day Gretchen was particularly angry. Madoka, with a longsuffering sigh, pulled out three bowls and began scooping out marbled vanilla and chocolate. Brai, growing curious, asked, "What is Gretchen-chan mad about now?"

The Witch X-Chara said nothing. Madoka produced her necklace which held the pearl that Aqua Regina had given her. Next to the gem was a golden lock-shaped pendant with a pearlescent four-leaf clover pattern. The pinkette explained, "It's because I have this now. It's the Humpty Lock, a purification device meant specifically to work on X-Eggs."

Brai glanced at the locket, and then at Gretchen. "So... are you going to use it on Gretchen-chan?"

Madoka shook her head. "No. It's for Sunbreaker. She's still terrorizing people, draining them and putting them in the hospital. This is the only way that I can help both stop and save her."

Gretchen put her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "Yeah, sure. That all sounds legit, but I bet you're gonna do something dumb with it!"

As Madoka carried the three bowls of ice cream over to the Kaname dining room table and set them down, she said, "I wouldn't do anything that would harm you. We know how badly you take purification energy, and how scared of it you are."

Gretchen went silent again, but Brai was scratching her chin. "Wait a minute. That's what Hinamori-san used to purify me way back when, remember?" After a moment's thought, she added, "Come to think of it, that didn't hurt at all. It was perfectly safe. I re-hatched only a few days later."

Gretchen gave Brai a wide eyed stare before crossing her arms and turning away. "Y-yeah well that's different. Don't assume that your situation is the same as mine!"

Brai had objections, opinions, and a complete lack of hesitation when it came to sharing them. "That doesn't make sense! You might think yourself a Witch, but deep down you're still a Chara!"

Gretchen was exasperated. She wanted nothing more than for her sister fairy to shut up immediately. "Yeah, well... That doesn't change the fact that purification always makes me feel sick and horrible. Remember what happened when Madoka first henshined with me? You and Medo got hit with all of my sadfeels and you two slept in your egg for like a month! If that happened to me now..."

Brai cut her off. "That all sounds like an excuse to me! I bet all that stuff is just dark energy twisting your mind. Doka-chan, we should purify her right away. I'll help!"

The Witch Chara panicked. She was grateful when Madoka came to her rescue, "I said that I wouldn't. Brai-chan, I understand that you're just trying to help Gretchen, but now isn't the time. Let's just enjoy our ice cream."

Brai stuck her tiny finger in Madoka's face. "Right now is the best time. Don't forget what happened when you last fought Sunbreaker. All of Gretchen's darkness was used to make an Eclipse Zone! What makes you think that wont happen again?"

As soon as the Witch fairy heard those words her mood turned somehow even more sour. Because that's what she needed right now: a reminder that she was a liability. Madoka winced and said, "Brai-chan... please don't."

That was the end of the conversation for the moment. The three of them started eating their respective bowls of ice cream. Gretchen brooded quietly as she dug into a mountain of vanilla and chocolate as big as she was. Brai spent the whole time casting a suspicious eye at her fallen sister. Madoka ate cautiously, watching her two fairies and wondering what chaos might break out between them.

Eventually, the Bearer started considering Brai's words. Among her Chara, the veteran fairy was always the cautious and precise one. She wouldn't be this insistent unless she was sure it was optimal. Gretchen would have to get purified eventually. Right now people left her alone because her Chara Bearer vouched for her, and it wasn't the first time a dark energy user hung out with a member of the Sparkle Faction, but it was only a matter of time until the masked X-Chara ran across someone who didn't care about Madoka's concerns and purified Gretchen regardless.

Thus it was that Madoka silently stood up from her chair, leaving her dessert half eaten. She gestured for Brai to follow her, and as the two ducked around a corner. Madoka cupped Brai in her hands and whispered, "Are you sure it'd be safe? If it doesn't work..."

Brai whispered back with clenched fists held up to her shoulders. "If it doesn't work then all that happens is that she goes dark again! I bet a lot of her corruption is just Easter's magic nonsense anyways."

The pink girl addressed her fairy with a stern voice and a serious face. "We're talking about something that, according to her, could potentially make her disappear forever. I need to be sure."

The competence fairy shook her head and said, "She doesn't know everything! I bet she's just confused because of dark energy and Witch nonsense."

Madoka still had misgivings, but... the way things were wasn't really acceptable. Dark energy wasn't really healthy for Gretchen, and she was always sad even if she acted tough. If it was possible to help her get better...

Yet she also remembered what Tadase had said. Purifying X-Chara wasn't that simple. Madoka had to fix the underlying issue. She had to believe in the core dream that Gretchen represented or it wouldn't work. Maybe if she gave herself a pep talk...

Silently, Madoka henshined with Brai, and started whispering to herself. "Believe, Madoka! Believe in yourself, and in Gretchen too! Everything's gonna be fine. She's gonna be purified and she'll be even more cute and we'll all be happy and go on adventures together. We'll be magical girls and save the world and everything! No matter what... this wont be the last time you see Gretchen-chan. She won't truly die as long as you don't give up on her!"

Convincing herself that she was convinced, Hope Blossom turned around the corner and took a long look at the unaware Gretchen. The Witch Chara was eating her ice cream quietly, eager but not really happy. She always had that sort of laughing, bitter facsimile of joy that one uses as a pretense to mask a deep depression. Today, Blossom hoped, she might actually hear genuine laughter from her most powerful mascot.

Madoka made a heart-shape gesture with her hands. There would be no more delay. "NEGATIVE HEART: LOCK ON!"

A beam of heart outlines shot from her hands and surrounded Gretchen, trapping her within. The direct hit knocked the bowl of ice cream over, spilling a bit of melted mess over the table. The X-Chara's eyes beheld Madoka with a look of absolute disbelief and betrayal.

"OPEN HEART!"

Sparkly Rainbow energies washed all over the kitchen and dining room, filling the air with hopes and dreams. Purifying power pushed over and through Gretchen as the top and bottom halves of her egg appeared, closing and sealing her within. The white cross on the eggshell vanished as if wiped away, and the dark coating was stripped off to reveal the true form of Gretchen's Chara Egg.

It was much like Madoka's other eggs: pink and frilly and with the icon of a winged teardrop in the middle. There was just one slight difference: Gretchen's was painted up much like a Soul Gem in ornamental egg form, and also had a red ribbon fastened at the top via presumably magical means.

At first, Hope Blossom was happy to finally see the true form of Gretchen's own egg, washed clean of the dark energy that Easter had corrupted it with. It was pretty and cute while still being a symbol of strength.

Yet... the more she thought about it, the more it bothered her. The symbolism of a tiny Witch fairy hatching from a Soul Gem egg was... kind of awful, really. Like a sick joke played at her expense. Sure, technically, there was probably a lot of net benefit to be gained from Madoka karmic potential being turned into free physics-breaking energy pouring out into the universe, but considering how much pain and suffering she had gone through because of Kyubey... the actual idea was outright horrible.

Could it ever really be true that the best way to benefit the universe was to sacrifice not only herself but everything and everyone she ever cared about for the sake of some faceless, distant alien civilization? No. That was horrible. Everything about this was terrifying, gross and unfair. In no universe could Madoka ever accept that her dream involved becoming a Witch.

Even if she really wanted to, it was far too late. She could never make a contract with Kyubey as she is now. Such a dream was as impossible as it was nightmarish.

As she wrestled with these doubts, the black coating began to reappear around Gretchen's egg. It was only then that Madoka realized the price of her doubts. To not only reject the dream but give up on it... Surely, regardless of circumstances or implications, the X-Chara deserved better from her Bearer than horrified disgust. The white cross formed over the surface of the black egg, sealing the deal.

"Oh no..." whispered Hope Blossom. "What have I done?"

As Gretchen's egg cracked open, the tiny dark fairy spoke out. "You did the dumb thing I knew you would do." The silence hung between them for a moment, before she spoke again. "You know... come to think of it? It's not the cleansing that hurts. Not in of itself." Her tiny red eyes peered at Madoka through the narrow opening. "It's your rejection. That's what hurts the most. Every time you purify me, you force me to face that all over again."

The eggshell sealed close. Gretchen wasn't coming out. Madoka's shame dropped her to her knees. All she could muster was, "Gretchen-chan... I'm sorry."

The Witch Chara's muffled voice only answered briefly, "Yeah well... no point in crying over spilt ice cream." She and her bowl then vanished through a Labyrinth portal. Gretchen ate alone, leaving Hope Blossom to deal with her feelings.

All of Gretchen's problems... all of her darkness and sadness... it wasn't Easter's doing. It was Madoka's own heart. It was her fault.