A/N: So, this is something I wanted to try out. Don't know why I'm putting more stuff like this onto my ever expanding plate of stories to finish, but what the hell. Let's see where this goes.

Kyouko's footsteps echoed through the train station. Sayaka didn't bother to look up to greet her. Instead, she let her stillness speak, unmoving to anyone who would come to meet her. In her hands, she clutched the instrument of her death, covered in her hands. Not that it did any good.

"I finally found you." She was exasperated, probably having come from halfway across Mitakihara to meet her here.

She didn't look up.

Kyouko was, of course, oblivious to any of her wants, taking a seat right next to her and opening a small tin of chips.

"Just how stubborn do you plan to be?"

Go away. She thought. Not to her, but to anyone who would dare to approach her.

What came out instead was "I'm sorry for wasting your time." Her voice was emotionless, still not bothering to look up at the girl who had come to comfort her.

"What? You're not acting like yourself."

What the hell gave that away?

"I guess I just don't care anymore. I can no longer remember what I was trying to protect, or what was so important to me" She softly replied. Kyouko's eating continued. Whether or not she was paying attention was questionable, but she somehow wanted to believe that she was.

"It's all blank now. Nothing makes sense anymore."

"Hey..." was all Kyouko replied. At the very least, she knew she was listening.

She uncovered her hands to reveal her gem. At this point, she wasn't sure if it was blue or black or even if it mattered.

A startled gasp escaped Kyouko's mouth.

"Balance means hope and despair have to balance themselves out, right? That's what you said, or something like it. I get what you meant now."

Kyouko said nothing, still in shock at what she was witnessing.

"I did save quite a few people, but in exchange, hatred and jealousy filled my heart."

Hitomi.

Kyousuke

Madoka.

Mitakihara.

Myself.

"It got so bad, I even hurt my best friend." She could feel her gem reacting to her sorrow. Something was just waiting to get out, for her to emotionally break.

"Sayaka, your-"

Don't bother saving me.

"For all the happiness you wish to someone, someone else gets cursed with equal misery."

Hitomi.

Kyousuke.

Madoka.

Mitakihara.

Myself.

"That's how it works for all magical girls, and it's how it worked for me." She felt the teardrop escape her eyes, her soul gem now a wildfire that endlessly consumed her sorrow.

"I was so stupid."

Her teardrop landed with a light drip onto the swirling mass she had doomed herself to bring into the world, barely audible and yet more impactful than anything she could have ever hoped to accomplish in her lifetime.

In an instant, a plethora of images passed through Sayaka's mind.

A concert of pure magnificent chaos unfolded before her eyes, directed by a being that needed to introduction for her. It really was the cruelest irony that not even she could've ever hoped to understand, becoming the one thing she had sworn to destroy, giving up everything she had to do it: her sanity, her hopes, her ambitions.

Her friends.

Her happiness.

Her life…

Sayaka Miki's life ended with a shatter and the formation of an unspeakable demon resting within her.

Or so she thought.

Sayaka opened her eyes and took in the world around her. Blackness stretched far into the distance, infinitely expansive.

She was also in a chair.

Frantically, Sayaka reached into her pocket and pulled out her gem. Sparkling blue.

"How…"

"Hey, you done daydreaming over there?"

She looked up from her gem to see a girl. She dressed in blue with a skirt that was way too short for her. Blue boots sat over her feel, and her hair was done in what she could only describe as a ring.

When she finally had her attention, she cleared her throat.

"I am the goddess Aqua. Sayaka Miki, you lived an honorable life. I watched over you with great interest as you courageously fought for everything you believed in. I'm sure your family would be proud of you…"

Sayaka didn't know what to say. Someone had been looking over her?

"Th-thank you. It's nice to-"

"...If you weren't such a massive moron, that is." She interrupted with a really temptingly punchable smile plastered over her face.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Sayaka asked, throwing herself up from her seat. It didn't occur to her that she was standing in water.

"So, you really are an idiot after all. I knew those final words spoke truth."

"Don't mock me. Answer my damn question."

"Well, where do you want me to begin? You gave the man of your dreams up to your friend because you couldn't find the courage to talk to him after risking your entire well being for him, and just when I thought you would swing the other way with the red haired chick, you turn her down too. Does nothing satisfy you?"

"Are you done?" She annoyedly asked.

Aqua just laughed in her face.

"Not even close. We haven't even started on your "I'll protect everyone" personality, but we can get back to that later."

Could we not?

Sayaka's mind jolted to life, pulling out the gem and showing it to her.

"Oh, that. Yeah, your kind always makes my job difficult. Had to scrape that from the blackness that was that...thing. You still have your magic, though, so that's a nice little advantage. Still undead though." She seemed to shudder at the last sentence, forcing herself to get it out.

"In any case, I'm supposed to offer you two choices: either I can take you to heaven, or I can bring you into a fantasy world of adventure where you must work to beat the demon king"

"Fantasy world?" Sayaka questioned. "And don't change the subject. What do you mean by 'my kind'?

"You should know exactly what I mean by that. They're always the same, except they're all smarter than you were."

"Are you...naked under that skirt?" Sayaka tilted her head, trying to get a better look.

"Perverted, too. You really are awful. It's no wonder you died like you did."

Aqua took a deep breath.

"Now, in this fantasy world, you will be able to fight the demon king. It's very popular and, as a token of my kindness, I will let you take one item with you into this world."

"Anything?" She asked. She felt herself mind wander, deciding whether it was truly worth it.

"Yes. Anything you wish. I'd strongly recommend that redhead you're so attached to, but I'm running real short on time here, so just pick something and get out of my sight, you undead idiot."

"In that case..." she proudly stated "I guess you're coming along for the ride with me." A blue gate appeared below the two of them and it only took a moment for Aqua's panic to set in.

"Hey, this isn't funny. Look, if you're mad about me bringing up the redhead, I didn't know it would spark such a nerve. Look, you can take whatever else you want with you, just please don't take me." Aqua was pounding on the barrier, desperate to be released.

Meanwhile, Sayaka could do nothing but laugh.

"Who's the idiot now, huh? Who?"

Soon enough, the world around them vanished, and the pair found themselves falling into the world below.

The pair appeared outside a large building in the center of town. She had been right: The city very much resembled a fantasy town she had imagined when she was younger. People went about their lives along the streets. Adventurers adventured, shopkeepers sold, workers worked. It really was a paradise.

"Hey, little lady."

She looked to her left to see Aqua hunched over. If it weren't for the fact that she could see her face, she would've assumed her to be sick.

"Hm? What do you want?" She asked blankly.

"You can't just drag me down to a world like this and then forget about me. What kind of cruel human being are you to do something so evil? Please, take me back. Get me away from here. I want to go hoooooome." The girl bawled her eyes out on the ground, leaving Sayaka no time to think.

This was a mistake.

"You're not the only one who wants to return you back to your little chair in the clouds, so stop whining."

Aqua stopped bawling her eyes.

"How dare you talk to a goddess like that. I am invaluable to your survival. You'd probably be dead within a day if it weren't for me. Now, do me a favor, do something useful, and get me out of here. I don't want to be here."

Someone kill me...someone kill me...someone kill me...someone kill me…

No wait.

Someone kill her...someone kill her...someone kill her...someone kill her…

"What are you doing just standing there?" Aqua asked condescendingly. "Do something useful."

"Fine." She yelled out. "There's a big building over there. Why don't we go there?"

Aqua took a quick look at where she was pointing.

"Oh, that's the guild. While you go register on your fun little adventurer job, I'll go get myself some booze. I would offer you some, but you're too young, aren't you?"

Sayaka slowly walked towards the guild building, the girl on her back starting to feel like more of a literal weight on her shoulders than an actual help.

"Come on, walk faster. We don't have all day."

This was gonna be a long lifetime...