W-what is this place?
She had been in her share of overwhelming situations in life, but this surpassed it all. She had never felt so small, so insignificant. What was happening around her was incomprehensible to her, yet that place felt so familiar it almost hurt.
Everything around her was light blue, so much like water that she felt she was drowning. But she couldn't be underwater: she was standing on solid ground of a just slightly darker hue of blue, she could breathe, and furthermore, it was raining. And not just some drizzle: torrential rain.
Above her, a large storm brewed. The mere sight scared her: the storm clouds were monstrous, stretching as far as her eyes could see, and produced abundant and powerful lightning, in addition to the downpour.
But the storm was not a regular one. It took her a while to understand what was truly happening. The clouds were not grey: they were pitch black and pure white, and they were not at peace, swirling and circling around each other, as if engaged in an ethereal battle, giving birth to terrifying jolts of lightning with each impact.
And the girl just stood there, in the middle of it all, soaked to the bone by the relentless deluge, a mere bystander to the unbelievable events in her surroundings. She couldn't understand anything. Why did she wake up there? Just a few seconds ago, she was with… she was with…
A lightning struck down the ground right in front of her, mere meters away. She jumped back on reflex, and landed on her rear, with her heart racing like never before. The roaring thunder that followed caused it to skip a beat. She was unharmed, but scared more than she'd ever been in her life.
Why? Why is this happening?
Eventually, the clouds grew in size, and stronger in color: the dark clouds were triumphing over the white ones. As the skies above her grew darker, so did the air, almost to the point where she could barely see anything in front of her, enveloped in the darkness. The only beacons of light remaining were the few surviving white clouds. But even those disappeared, as simply they escaped the doomed battlefield.
For a second, everything went black. She felt lost, hopeless. But she quickly came to miss that darkness. For when it disappeared, she was welcomed by an even more terrifying sight.
The skies cleared up, for some reason. To the point that she could see that there was no sky above the clouds, but glass instead: she was in some sort of dome. Six large pieces of glass, one much larger than the others, formed the ceiling, supported by golden beams between them. Suddenly, the glass started to crack all over, first small cuts, then large fractures: it seemed about to collapse. However, through the broken glass, she was able to see a large picture. It was barely discernible, but appeared to be a red-haired girl, grabbing on to dear life to a rail, as she shouted something as loud as she could in her direction, as if she could see her from the outside.
"Kyouko! No… What's happening here?"
The blue-haired girl fell to her knees, in despair. It was only then that she saw why the dark clouds had disappeared. They had left the skies, and were gathering into a shapeless mass in front of her. The mass twitched and spasmed, randomly sprouting appendages that were absorbed back just as quickly. An utterly gruesome sight.
Fear struck her heart again when she realized what it was. And the more defined the body of the mass got, the more she was certain of it. It was a witch.
She tried to retrieve her Soul Gem, just to realize she didn't have it with her. She fumbled in her pockets, and looked around her to see if it had been washed away by the rain. Nothing.
But then… how am I alive?
Maybe she had realized it much earlier, but didn't want to believe it. Or maybe she just recognized the pattern. But she instantly looked back to the glass ceiling, and understood why that place felt so familiar.
The witch in front of her was… it was…
*boom*
The already weakened glass finally gave in, and shattered into a million pieces in a magnificent fashion. The golden beams that supported it collapsed as well, deforming and eventually being blasted off below the horizon.
The now fully armor-clad figure in front of her seemed almost amused both by the events, and the confusion in the face of the little girl in front of it. It grew in size, becoming monstrous to the point where everything in the girl's sight was under its shadow.
She was lost. She was hopeless. She was dead.
And only when she saw the light did she realize it wasn't quite over yet.
The white clouds from before had returned, and started to circle majestically around her, losing their cloud shape and becoming bright beams of the most pure light. They backed off for a second, and merged with each other to form a large ball, which, after circling around her once, threw itself into her chest, entering her harmlessly.
Her mind was instantly swept away, and she saw her life pass in front of her. But it wasn't a near death experience: she did not see only her past, but everything in her life. Her past, her present, and her future, every detail of them, and perfect understanding of every event. It seemed like days, but only a millisecond passed. When she opened her eyes again, her whole body was glowing with the same pure light that had entered her. She slowly stood up, while keeping her head down.
She had no more doubts. Everything was crystal clear to her. No more would she cower away.
''You do not belong here. Leave this place."
She stated to walk forward, in a slow but steady pace, towards the monumental witch that looked down on the little worm that started to approach her.
Sayaka raised her head, giving the witch a threatening, fearless gaze. A defiance. But it did not move.
"…I see. So it's like that, then."
She thought about everyone she held dear. And she apologized to all of them. Her parents, who had always been there for her and whom she completely ignored during her debacle. Mami, who had died pointlessly, right in front of her, without having been able to do anything about it…
''Give me wisdom, for it was my naiveté that brought me here. I was blinded by the light, and was unable to see the shadows of this world, until it was too late.''
Homura, for treating her with a cold shoulder despite her attempts to save her, even if she was unfriendly. Kyouko, for failing to realize just how much she cared for her…
''Give me strength, for it was my weakness that brought me here. Weakness of body, for allowing the darkness to surround me. Weakness of spirit, for allowing it to affect me. And weakness of mind, for being unable to fight it.''
Hitomi, for not realizing how good of a friend she was. Kamijou, for trying to keep him restrained to her … and for failing to confess her real feeling to him…
''Give me courage, for it was my cowardice that brought me here. When, being unable to see or fight, I ran. I abandoned what I held dear, and let my regrets overcome me. I allowed myself to have second guesses when I must have not.''
And Madoka… especially Madoka, for dismissing her like that, her best friend, the one that cared for her the most, that wanted nothing but peace and happiness… yet she treated her like that…
I'm sorry…
''But do not give me guidance. For now, I am able to see it. I see the growing darkness that threatens to overcast the light. My light. And I understand it is the fate destiny holds for me. ''
She hadn't stopped walking. In fact, her pace had increased. In the blink of an eye, her clothes disintegrated, and she donned her Puella Magi outfit, which was instantly infused by the light that glowed inside her, causing it to glow white as well.
''But I will not comply willingly.''
The already powerful glow increased; glowing so bright it could outshine the sun itself. She summoned a sword with her right hand, and promptly pointed it at the witch, placing the blade right in line with her sight. However, she could not see its helm: it had grown so tall that all she was able to see were the rainbow-colored scales of its mermaid tail. The sky, previously adorned with the glass dome, had turned pitch black, further hiding the witch's upper section.
''For my words, whoever vague and misguided, were not false. I am true to my beliefs. I am faithful to my heart. I am loyal to my word.''
The glass shards, after their long fall, had started to rain upon the land, forming a beautiful diamond dust, which was even more spectacular around her, reflecting the intense light she emitted. Her sword had started to glow as well, so much that no metal could be seen, only light. As she walked towards the witch at an ever increasing pace, the light sword grew, reaching almost her size.
"And I will not surrender."
She had started to run by now, with her large sword on her right hand, with her arm fully extended to the side.
"Draw your sword! Fight me with everything you've got!"
She blinked, and when she opened her crystal clear eyes, a single white wing, so magnificent it would make angels envy her, sprouted from the left side of her back. She spread her wing, releasing hundreds of beautiful feathers, which transformed into regular swords stuck on the ground, as soon as they landed.
An archangel was born.
"And if my light is to fade, then I will make it shine brighter, one final time!
Oktavia!"
Running at maximum speed, Sayaka flung her wing back, taking flight, and readied her sword to strike, as her bright, tiny light ripped through the massive darkness that engulfed her.
A/N: I had the idea of having Sayaka facing up to Oktavia for a while ago. I can accept a lot of things, but never surrender. You gotta face the demons within you, you know? Plus, she is my favorite character (too bad there's so few people who like her :/ ).
And while I'm at it, go listen to Self vs Self by Pendulum, like, NOW. Preferably the instrumental. Wrote most of this with it on constant replay, and boy is it a perfect fit.
Surprisingly, for a long time, I did not find a single piece of artwork that depicted Sayaka facing up to Oktavia. Boatloads of pairings (nothing against them, go yuri) and stuff like that, but very little that would actually break the standards. "Unbelievable!", I thought.
I had already written the "prayer" part, but the rest came about when I finally saw art of that confrontation. It's brilliant, in fact, you can see it in my Puella Magi wiki page (User:BrickBreak). I would link it here, but... yeah. So thanks to the original artist! =D
(and damn, do you guys make me work hard to keep something on the front page xD)
And, as always, enjoy!