Chapter 1: Salamander
The battle inside this particular barrier took much longer than expected. The witch had already shifted the labyrinthe structure of her maze twice and had pulled Homura and Madoka into the inner-most sanctum: an amphitheater covered by a dome of blood-red glass. The witch had also transformed herself into the visage of a salamander with bright yellow stripes contouring her tar-black body. She crawled around the amphitheater and shot out a poisonous tongue to attack the girls. Homura stood nearby, firing her Uzi into the salamander's side and limbs, but the bullets had little effect. The witch's tongue swiped at Homura, who backflipped over it just in time, but some of the poisonous saliva splashed on her leg, leaving a stinging burn that shred through her tights.
Homura grunted and immediately leapt back to Madoka's position on a moss-covered perch opposite from the witch. They both stared wearily at their nimble opponent.
"We have to finish this now," Homura stated dryly.
"I know. I have an idea," Madoka replied. Homura turned her head and nodded slightly.
Madoka continued, "If we can get this dome to collapse, that might give us a chance to use your shield long enough for a direct hit."
"What do you need me to do?" Homura asked.
"Get it's attention and leave the rest to me," Madoka replied with a smirk. Her disarmingly mischievous eyes met Homura's.
Homura loved that look more than anything. But before she could relish it, the witch's lumpy tongue stretched out toward the perch. The impact destroyed the platform and both Homura and Madoka were slung in opposite directions. Homura glared at the witch.
How dare you interrupt us.
Ditching the Uzi, Homura materialized her newly acquired FAMAS with a custom grip she specially modified herself. Dashing and darting around the amphitheater's floor, she opened up fire in successive bursts, trying to hit the salamander's body in different locations.
In response, the salamander crawled up onto the glass dome and lashed out its tongue yet again. This time, Homura let the tongue wrap around her. The venomous lumps seared her and pain shot across her body. She cried out in anguish.
Suddenly, a blinding pink beam of light shined from above, followed by a white flash. The glass dome shattered, causing the salamander to fall from the ceiling and release its grip on Homura, who still grimaced in pain.
"Now's our chance!" Madoka called from across the way. With that signal, Homura raised her shield and the metallic gears clicked and snapped into place.
The blood red shards of glass suddenly froze and remained suspended along with the salamander's body. Homura circled around towards the salamander's backside and raised her manifested RPG-7 up to her shoulder. She inhaled as she fired one rocket and froze it mid-flight. Then, she circled to the front as she reloaded the weapon and leapt up to fire a second rocket directly at the salamander's agape mouth.
"Ready!" she cried back to Madoka.
The gears clicked again and time restarted. Instantly, the rockets simultaneously slammed into the salamander, creating a maelstrom of flame and smoke. Amidst the cloud of smoke, another laser beam of pink light shined and pierced through the salamander's exposed underbelly - its weak point. The light ripped a hole in the abdomen and its guts exploded outward like confetti. The witch disintegrated with a twisted, deafening shout.
Immediately, the maze collapsed and the barrier dissipated, leaving the two girls alone. Weary and exhausted, they rested on the the tarnished wooden floor of an old stage theater where the witch had made its nest. Homura leaned back and stretched out her burnt legs while Madoka pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them.
"Why was it so hard this time?" Madoka asked.
"We're either getting weaker or they're getting stronger." Homura replied.
"The openings to beat them are getting so much smaller now. Sometimes I wonder if we'll run into a witch with no weak points at all."
Homura closed her eyes and exhaled sharply through her nose.
Not yet, please.
"Homura? Will we be okay?" Madoka sheepishly asked, her voice cracking. Homura opened her eyes and tilted her head.
"Of course," she responded stoically, "we just have to train harder and develop new techniques. I have some ideas on how we can analyze weakpoints more quickly."
"That's wonderful Homura! I believe in us more than anything." Madoka said with a smile.
She's always happiest after a fight.
Homura pushed herself up and walked across the fractured wooden of the stage floor to collect the grief seed left behind by the witch.
"We're fortunate. This grief seed has enough to fully replenish both of us," Homura noted.
"Thank god. I was sluggish from our split last time," Madoka said.
She continued, "Homura, are you still hurting from the burns?" Homura walked back with the grief seed in hand.
"I'll be fine," she replied, "Here, you first." Madoka lifted her soul gem and let the dark matter flow into the grief seed. Homura repeated the process for herself.
"Feeling better already! So, should we head back?" Madoka inquired.
Homura replied, "Yes. We need to regroup and work out some strategies. Plus I want to tinker with a few of my weapons. Give me your hand." With an extended arm, Homura helped Madoka back up to her feet.
"Thanks!" Madoka said as she suddenly wrapped her arms around Homura, who was caught off-guard.
She's so warm. Can't this last forever?
After a moment, Madoka pulled back from her embrace but kept her arms on Homura's shoulders. Homura offered a smile and said, "We do make a great team, don't we?"
"Of course Homura! I've learned so much from you. You're the best mentor anyone could've asked for," Madoka responded with a wink.
"I'm glad to hear that. Let's get back."
With that, the two girls ventured towards the exit of the theater and from a shadowed corner, Kyubey watched them intently.