"Now, Madoka Kaname..using your soul as payment, what wish do you want granted?"
"I wish for all Witches to vanish before they can be born." While that wish managed to wipe the calm, cute smile off Kyubey's face, Madoka kept right on talking, knowing that the shocked, amazed look on the alien was a sign that she had picked a wish that would work out-at least, for her."I'll save every last Witch myself, though all of space and time, in the past and future!" For a few moments, Kyubey sat there, stunned and silent, but then his usual cat-like grin appeared on his face once more. While Madoka didn't cower-she wasn't scared anymore-she steeled herself for whatever trick Kyubey was thinking about pulling. For better or worse, the 'trick' Kyubey was thinking of was less elaborate than the others he and his kind had pulled in the past.
"I refuse to grant that wish." This time, it was Madoka that looked stunned and confused, and while she still refused to abandon hope, she quickly tried to think of all the reasons Kyubey might give her for why he refused to grant her wish. As Madoka spoke, Homura looked on in fear and pain, still quietly crying, due to both her bloody injuries and her wasted effort. Even though she had given up her humanity, traded the life she knew for one filled with endless fighting, seen her friends die, commit suicide, and murder each other, failed to save the one she loved the most, and had repeated the whole painful month for god-knows-how-long, it was all for naught. No matter what she chose to do, Madoka would eventually become a Magical Girl and a Witch. There really was no changing her fate. Though Madoka didn't notice, since she was focusing on Kyubey, both he and Homura saw that slowly, little by little, her soul gem was starting to become tarnished with despair.
"Why?! You haven't ever refused a wish before! This is what you want, isn't it? You've been trying to get me to be a Magical Girl for a long time now, so why?!"
"None of the wishes ever threatened to change the universe on so large a scale. You Humans may not like it-through I'm still not sure why-but the system we have right now is working well for us. It would be foolish to knowingly grant a wish that would change it in a way that we didn't like. I'm sure you have another wish to save Akemi Homura with." As Kyubey spoke, the determined look slowly slipped off Madoka's face as all the hot, hopeful air blew out of her. While she wanted to turn the tables on Kyubey and show that Magical Girls really did fight and live for hope, she had no secondary wish to fall back on. Plus, even if she quickly thought of one, it would be useless if Kyubey just rejected it again. There was no way she could wipe away Homura's tears like this. She couldn't put a smile on anyone's face.
"Madoka..hurry! Run away! Please!" At the voice of her best friend, Madoka turned around and saw that said friend was holding a pistol to her black soul gem. If she couldn't prevent her soul from being burned and blackened, she could at least destroy it so that she didn't harm Madoka or the world she loved so much. While Madoka quickly cried for Homura not to, the Magical Girl had made up her mind. So, as Homura quickly pulled the trigger and ended the cycle, Madoka screamed, tears running down her face. She couldn't change anything, and she couldn't protect anyone-except herself. Quickly, she ran back to the shelters, leaving Kyubey alone to witness the destructive anguish of Walpurgis Night.
When Madoka got back to the shelter, both her little brother and father were sound asleep, but her mother was still awaking and waiting for her beloved daughter to come back with whoever she had been trying to save. However, when she saw that her daughter was coming back alone and sobbing her eyes out, she quickly got up and hugged her, trying to provide some comfort to her daughter. It was already too much that her best friend had recently gone missing. Madoka didn't need this. No one did.
"Madoka..are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?" It was a stupid question, but the situation would only get worse if Madoka was physically and emotionally injured. As she wept, Madoka clung to her mother and tried to quickly reply to the questions.
"Mama..Mama..I couldn't save her! I tried, but..but I couldn't. I couldn't do anything! I was useless!"
"Shh..that's not true. You're not useless. What happened wasn't your fault." As Madoka kept on crying, her mother rubbed her back, quietly cursing the storm and whatever god had decided to give her innocent, good girl such a stream of bad, disgusting luck.