When the Devil Broke the Universe

Kyoko held the children's book Neloth had all but thrown at her while in the bunk she and Nagisa had been given, while also scratching at the itchy red and black dunmer clothing that had been provided which covered almost every inch of her body. She'd initially bristled when the old man had implied that she needed to cover up more and had given the sexist piece of shit a piece of her mind—until she realized he was referring to the fact that she would literally die from exposure to the ash and cold outside. And as much as she hated to admit it, despite the fact that it didn't fit quite right and wasn't the most comfortable, the thick pants, shirt, and over-robes were definitely warm.

The old man was still a piece of shit though.

The room was small and cramped, though not nearly as gross as Kyoko had initially thought considering the walls were made of fungus. But inside, it was almost more like being inside a tree, with the walls taking on a thick bark-like nature. They'd been taken to one of the smaller buildings, on the edge of the small village, and aside from the bunk bed of which Nagisa had taken the top at her request, there was room for little else aside from a fireplace and a small table with chairs. Not that they'd need anything else, Neloth had told them. He had plans for them, something that put a knot in Kyoko's stomach.

Still, she flipped through the book, pushing down the feelings of being insulted by having been given it. It was helpful in describing where they were and who lived here, as it was basically a geography book for kids.

"Altmer, high elf," she muttered to herself, then flipped the page, "Dunmer, dark elf. Bosmer, wood elf. Dwemer, dwarf," she frowned, flipping through more pages, "Orsimer, orc. Minotaur. Centaur. Giant. Harpy," she slammed the book shut in irritation and looked up at the bed above, "… Did I just get trapped in some nerd fantasy? Sayaka would have loved this shit." A small pang of guilt and pain rose up, but she quelled it, "All we need now is some dragons".

"Page thirty-seven." Nagisa said, hanging over the side of the bed with her own copy of the book to show her. Kyoko looked up at the illustration of a reptilian beast burning down a castle and ignored a childish sense of glee that dragons were real.

"… Okay, that actually is pretty cool," she admitted. She turned the page; Maormer, sea elves. Okay, so basically mermaids with legs, right?

Nagisa flipped back up onto her bed, but after a moment asked hesitantly, "… Are we going to be okay?"

"…I don't know," Kyoko said truthfully, "But, look. Thing is, before Homura's world I never knew if I was going to be okay. I didn't have a home or a future. I stole what I needed and found comfort where I could find it without thinking about next week. My life was all about taking one fight at a time."

"… I'm sorry".

"I don't need your pity." Kyoko bit at her defensively. It was mostly out of habit, but she immediately regretted her words, "Sorry, I didn't mean that. What I'm trying to say is, life is never certain, you know? We should take advantage of what we can while we can, but we shouldn't ever take it for granted because it might not be there tomorrow." Kyoko could feel the other girl shifting awkwardly above her, and realized she needed to sell this better, "But you've got me looking out for you, and I'm a master at this improv shit, okay?"

"… Do you think we'll find the others?"

Kyoko hesitated, the knot in her stomach growing as she considered what Sayaka and Mami would think of her after what she'd done. Would they even give her the time of day? And it hadn't even really been her fault anyway; she'd had no clue Homura had lost her goddamn marbles, and if Sayaka hadn't been an idiot for even a minute and just kept her head down and let the goddesses hash things out between themselves instead of declaring holy war, maybe Homura wouldn't have gone off the deep end to begin with.

"… If they're out there, then someday probably," she said at last. No more questions came out of Nagisa, and a few minutes later the redhead could hear soft snores coming from the bed above hers. Kyoko let out a sigh and then turned over as the lantern above instinctively dimmed itself, trying to find sleep herself.

It would not come for a while.

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Days in Frost Creek went by slowly. Mami and Madoka would get up before dawn and over breakfast, as well as whenever business was slow, would be tutored by both Bren and Aia in Cyrodiilic so that they wouldn't have to rely on Aia's language potions indefinitely. Work on that was faster than usual, as using the potion meant they were getting experience with it anyway, though the written part was slower. Mami picked it up more easily and would work with Madoka when given the chance, usually at the end of the night before bed.

After breakfast Bren would open the apothecary, assisted by Mami while Aia would prepare concoctions. Madoka would usually be tasked with deliveries around town, as well as ingredient collection—sometimes assisted by Aia if the shop was slow.

And this is how things went for a couple days. Sayaka was still asleep, and while the monotony was initially a relief in that it allowed for a new status quo to settle that the girls desperately needed, it soon devolved into allowing them to think about things they really shouldn't.

…At least it was sunny out? Even if that did sort of feel like a mockery after everything that had happened.

"Ah, this one, thank you." Na'ruzz told Madoka when she delivered the rockjoint cure to the elderly Kahjiit, the only one living in town. She'd been mildly surprised when first meeting him but not overly so, though Mami had amusingly stopped what she'd been doing at the time and watched with eyes as large as saucers as the six foot feline approached the front counter the other day. To her credit, she'd recovered quickly, but it was one of those things that in retrospect Madoka wished Sayaka or Kyoko had been around to witness their normally unflappable old mentor being absolutely dumbstruck. She never would have heard the end of it.

Madoka on the other hand had known many alien species during her time as the Law of Cycles, including one much like the humanoid cat, though they'd been probably closer to a humanoid cross between a jackal and a bear in terms of appearance. She wished she could remember their name, but she'd found that as time went on, a lot of the less "necessary" things she'd known and remembered as the Law of Cycles was fading away like a dream after waking up. She didn't like that one bit; it felt like she was losing part of who she was. She still kept the more important things, but stuff like knowing every inch of the universe she'd once protected had fallen away from her.

More than that, with the exception of maybe Homura (if she was even still alive), there was the unspoken fact that there was no one else who would remember the countless civilizations that had populated her universe. She was the sole guardian of their memory now, the one person who knew they had ever existed, and she seemingly couldn't even manage that.

"You're welcome," she replied to the Kahjiit, pulling herself from her thoughts, "I hope you feel better!" she added, as cheerfully as she could. Na'ruzz nodded and closed the door to his house. As soon as she was alone again, Madoka's manufactured cheer evaporated as she let out a deep sigh and slouched over. She didn't even pay attention as she walked back onto the street with her basket. It wasn't until she collided with another body and her basket fell on the ground that she realized there was an old man there.

"Ah!" Madoka shouted in alarm as she scrambled to help the old man up. The man, probably somewhere in his seventies, caucasian, and bald on top, had dropped the contents of his own basket—groceries, from the looks of it, and Madoka quickly tried to put everything back. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking—"

The old man laughed, seemingly not quite as frail as Madoka had initially assumed, "Gave me quite the shock there. Thank you," he said, as Madoka returned his basket to him. She then began to pick up her own items, making sure none of the vials were cracked as the old man continued, sizing her up, "… Ah, you're one of the Akaviri kids, aren't you?"

"Er, I suppose so," Madoka said halfheartedly. She wasn't super keen on the label the town had given her and Mami. Everything she heard about Akavir was contradictory and bizarre, like it was a made-up place meant to be exotic. Snake people that ate humans. Snow demons that froze in the winter. It didn't sound anything like home.

"Ah, where are my manners?" the old man said as Madoka gathered up the last of her materials, "My name is Wulf, I live just outside town," he offered a handshake.

Madoka took it, albeit hesitantly, "Uh, Madoka Kaname."

Wulf looked at her thoughtfully, "Madoka. A pretty name, one I've not heard before," he stretched, wincing in pain with a grunt.

"Are you okay?!" Madoka asked, both concerned and mortified considering.

He waved her off with a chuckle, "I'm fine, just not as young as I used to be. Could you help me over to the bench? I need to rest for a minute."

Madoka nodded and assisted the old man, taking him over to a bench made out of a half-log sitting on the side of the street, right next to the bank of one of the streams that ran through town. "I'm so sorry, I should have been paying more attention."

Wulf laughed again as he sat down, "Ah, youth. Always so concerned that they never pay attention."

"Er…"

"How have you and your friends been settling in to Frost Creek?"

Oh no. He wasn't just an old man, he was kindly too, and Madoka wasn't exactly in a good headspace for extended small talk. She groaned internally but put on as bright of an appearance as she could, hoping this would be over quickly, "It's been fine. It's a nice town you have here. It's… quaint." Old. Remote. Lacking in basic sanitation. No TV or comforts of home. Missing a few billion peo—

"Ah, I know that look," Wulf said gently, "Missing home, are we? You can be honest with me; I've known the feeling."

"You have?"

"I may be an old Nord, but I was once a soldier. Got sent all over Tamriel in my youth, but while I saw many wonderful places, none of them were ever like home. Home is special. Everywhere else you're bombarded by strange customs and people and sights, and you have little to anchor you. But do you know what helped?"

"What?" Madoka asked, becoming a bit more invested in the conversation, despite herself.

"Friends. The soldiers I worked and fought alongside for years. We became like a second family, and they always made wherever I was feel a little bit more like home."

Madoka smiled at that, but then that quickly turned to a frown, "Some of my friends are missing, and we can't find them," and then there was also…

"… One of yours is sick too, isn't she?" Wulf said comfortingly.

Madoka's eyes widened in shock as she gave him a stare, "How did you—"

Wulf chuckled, "Aia and Bren brought home three girls from the swamp the other day, and one of them didn't look too good. Since then I've only seen you and the little blonde girl. Mami, was it?"

Madoka nodded, "She…" she trailed off hesitantly, not wanting to burden the man.

"It's alright," he replied, "I'm the one who asked. Did nothing in the apothecary help?"

Madoka shook her head, "She won't wake up. I don't know how to make her better."

The old man nodded in understanding, "Sometimes herbs and potions can only get you so far. It may be a deeper affliction," he paused, considering something, "I know a bit of restoration magic. Nothing much, just some things I've picked up over the years."

Madoka looked at him in surprise, "You'd do that for us? I mean, I just knocked you over and—"

"You didn't mean it, and it gave us this wonderful conversation," Wulf said earnestly, "I'll understand if you say no to a complete stranger, but the offer is open."

"I—" wheels were turning in Madoka's head. She had to tell herself that no, she shouldn't get her hopes up, this was only going to disappoint her when nothing happened. She was also slightly hesitant about trusting someone she didn't know in a world she'd never been to, but she was desperate, and the thought of Sayaka finally waking up overcame all others, "… If you'd like to take a look at her, I would be very grateful."

Wulf gave her a wide smile, "I would be happy to help. Come by this afternoon when you have a chance. You can find my house just outside of town, it's the hut at the top of the hill, just past the river," he pointed east, "It's not very far".

Both of them stood up, "I… thank you. Thank you so much." Madoka said gratefully.

"Don't thank me yet, I haven't been successful, but you're welcome all the same," Wulf said, "As it is though, I do need to get going before my food spoils, as do you, I imagine."

Madoka glanced at her basket; she still had a few more deliveries to make, "Yeah, I do. I guess I'll see you later then."

"Until then," Wulf said with a nod, before turning and walking towards his hut.

Despite her best efforts, Madoka couldn't go against who or what she was—hope kindled within her as she watched Wulf disappear in the distance.