The Unbeatable "Escape Room" Part 1: Bonding

Yuni looked dumbfounded. In mere seconds, this airheaded braggart had broken out of her restraints. Even professional lock-pickers would take a few minutes to break out of similar restraints. Gindini-chan then walked over to Yuni and freed her in an instant.

“That was mere seconds! How the hell did you do that!? Who the hell are you!?” Yuni asked.

“I’m just THAT good! As for who I am, I’m the sexy and amazing Escape Witch extraordinaire, the great Madoka Gindini-chan!”

Madoka then walked over to the locked door and began fiddling with the lock.

“Are you Madoka Ginkawa of the Ginkawa family?” Yuni sternly asked.

A sad smile spread over Madoka’s face.

“It’s best that you don’t get too involved with me, but you’re totally encouraged to subscribe to my Ewetube channel and follow all my socials. We’ll part ways after we get out of here. Let's make our great escape,”  Madoka somberly smiled.

Before Yuni could react, Madoka unlocked the door and motioned for her to follow.

The girls exited the room and stared into a dimly lit corridor. Madoka began running to the right with Yuni struggling to keep up.

“Hey *pant* Where are you *pant* going!?”

Madoka turned around and noticed Yuni struggling to keep up. She stopped and waited for her to catch up before matching her pace.

“Wah! I’m sorry I went too fast! I’m not used to escaping with another person," Madoka nervously smiled.

“Escaping with another person!? What are you talking about!?” Yuni shouted.

“Oh, I’ve been kidnapped so many times in the past, but this is the first time I’ve had to escape with someone else."

"Why are you so proud of being a resident damsel?"

"It’s thanks to all those kidnappings that I became a master of escapology.”

“So how do we get out O’ great and mighty Escape Witch?”

“Simple, we just retrace our steps.”

“We had sacks over our heads you idiot.”

“I’m not an idiot! True, I may be a little lackluster when it comes to academics, but I’m an ultimate max IQ genius when it comes to escapology. All we need to do is remember the sounds we heard when we came down.”

Madoka began walking as Yuni grumbled behind her.

“Easier said than done, though I’m pretty sure Sensei could pull it off,” Yuni grumbled.

“Oh? Is your sensei a master of escapology as well?” Madoka asked.

“No. She was a detective. She was very smart, but sadly I wasn’t smart enough to save her.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We were on a mission, but we underestimated our foe. Sensei sacrificed herself so that I could escape. I then regrouped with my allies to mount a rescue mission, but that failed horrifically, and I arrived just to catch her final moments. It was horrible. I couldn’t believe the awful state she was in. If only I had been more capable and smarter!” Yuni glared as she stopped and began to cry.

Madoka smiled warmly as she walked up to Yuni and hugged her.

“I’m sorry I was a little cold back then, sounds like we have a lot more in common than I thought," Madoka calmly smiled.

“__?”

“I know I said not to get to involved with me, but if you need a friend, I’ll happily be yours. Feel free to call me Madoka, now what’s your name?”

“Yuni. My name is Yuni.”

“Well Yuni-chan let’s get out of here so we can bond over some sweets. I know a nice place that’s still open at this time.”

Yuni smiled as she and Madoka ran down the corridor. Madoka’s ability seemed to be effective as they eventually made their way outside. They exited into a small alleyway between two buildings.

The alleyway was fenced off but connected to the street while the door on the building in front of them had a sign that read “Unbeatable escape room”.

“It looks like the building we were held in is separate from the one where the receptionist was. If she didn’t mention your real name and a bounty, I’d have assumed this was just part of the escape room,” Yuni mused.

“I know I said we could be friends, but please forget about that part about the bounty,” Madoka said as she climbed on top of the wooden fence. 

Yuni struggled to get up and required help from Madoka.

“Sorry about that, I’m super athletic, luckily its not too difficult for me to lift you even with your prized cantaloupes," Madoka teased.

Yuni shot Madoka an angry glare.

“What? Aren’t friends supposed to tease each other?”

Yuni begrudgingly agreed as jumped down to the other side with Madoka. The two of them were free.

“20 minutes on the dot. Not bad for you, though I could’ve done it in half that time on my own,” Madoka smirked.

“How can you tell? I don’t see a watch on you," Yuni growled.

“I just know.”

Yuni decided it was better to take Madoka’s word as the two of them walked down the street.

“Hey Madoka, why were you even here? If you knew you were going to get kidnapped, why’d you come here?” Yuni asked.

“Because I wanted some content, and I didn’t know I was going to get kidnapped until well I was," Madoka blatantly stated.

“Some danger sense you developed.”

“I’m good at escaping, not avoiding getting kidnapped.”

“Oh my, it’s only been twenty minutes and you’ve already escaped!? Oh no, we can’t have that. I won’t let a trillion-euro paycheck slip through my fingers,” a sinister voice stated.

The girls turned to face the attendant from the escape room. She had restyled her hair so that one of her eyes was covered with her long blue hair. She was also holding a gun. The girls put their hands over their heads as the attendant forced them to walk to a black sedan parked nearby. A grizzled middle-aged man got out and began bounding Madoka with duct tape.

“Is this part of the experience? If it is I quit,” Yuni grumbled.

“Sorry sweetie, this isn’t a game. I’m going to be taking you two to a very nice old man. He’ll pay top dollar for cuties like you,” the womam sneered.

“So, who is he? Must be rich if he can splash around a trillion euros.”

“Oh, it’s better if you don’t know about the bounties. Just forget about that and you won’t die.”

The man finished bounding Madoka and threw her in the trunk before walking over to bound Yuni.

“Anything you want to ask before we seal your lips with tape?” the woman sneered.

“Yeah? You looking forward to going to prison?” Yuni smirked.

Sirens blared in the distance as the man and the woman froze in fear.

“Damn that shrewd fox, I’ll be sure to kick her ass for making me bust a kidnapping ring off duty,” Yuni thought as the woman angrily slapped a piece of tape over her mouth and pushed her into the trunk.

“You damn little bitch! So, you were a cop all along! Moribe, change of plans! We’re meeting the client at a different location; you drive while I call him," the woman ordered.

The woman began making a call as she walked over and slammed the trunk shut, enveloping Yuni and Madoka in darkness.