Episode 2 : Will You To Love

"OH SHIT!" wasn't particularly eloquent but it did sum up the situation quite well for Kyōko Sakura as she saw her fellow Puella Magi, Homura Akemi, drop to her knees like a moldy sack of rice as corruption ate up the pure violet light in her Soul Gem. It was the preordained fate of every Puella Magi to become a victim of despair, at which point the last light in her Soul Gem would fade along with her life At one point in time, the deadly predator that had been Kyōko might have witnessed the change occurring before her with relish, as it would have meant getting rid of a cunning and tenacious opponent without even having to do the work herself. But Kyōko was no longer that person, which made for a bit of a dilemma.

"Sayaka, what do we do? This is bad. Really bad." Kyōko stood over the inert form of the black-haired girl who had until just now been their most worrysome obstacle. Well, okay, technically she still is I suppose.

No shit, Sherlock-chan. On any other night the revelation encaspulated in that thought, that Kyōko Sakura had shared her soul with the self-proclaimed ally of justice Sayaka Miki in order to bring the blue-haired girl back from the brink of despair and as a result both girls thoughts echoed as loud as words in the others' minds, at any other time that would have taken precedence. But now with Homura laid out before them, dying in a slow burn of despair as surely as if she had been struck down by a weapon, that connection was just there, to be handled later when there was time. In spite of the situation, a smile was stuck to Kyōko's face. Just having the connection with the foolhardy, naive, boisterous, outspoken, irritating, beautiful blue-haired girl was buoying the rampageous redhead's soul. Like a hot meal and and a cool shower after 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. A quick peek confirmed the presence of a luminescent blush on Sayaka's face.

"Okay, first thing's first, we need a place to sit down and figure out what to do. C'mon!" The effort of hoisting up Homura's body drew a grunt from Kyōko. "Oof, you're heavier than you look Princess. You need to cut back on the snacks!" There was a soft slap as Sayaka's hand met her forehead at considerable speed. Then the blue-haired girl was obligated to put on some considerable speed of her own, because Kyōko was making really good speed for as much as she complained about the size of her burden.

"Do I wanna know how you have a key to this place?" Sayaka looked around in disbelief. Kyōko's idea of a 'safehouse' was a suite room in the Tower, one of the major landmarks in Mitikahara Town and far and away the nicest hotel in the area.

"You really don't." Kyōko laid Homura out on one of the two queen-size beds. "But I can give you a tour sometime after we've dealt with the Princess here if you want." At first Sayaka was confused to what the redhead was going on about with her fang-filled grin, but then their empathic link filled in the rest of the meaning for her.

"You're horrible! I should have never kissed you!" Sayaka had to turn away as she felt her face turn hot.

"Hey, that's not very nice! I thought we were friends Blueberry!" The look of put-out hurt on Kyōko's face was utterly ruined by a wide grin showing off her prominent canines.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Sayaka held an icy stare just long enough for fear to knife into Kyōko's heart, then she let her own grin slowly dawn upon her face. Kyōko gave a raspberry back for her troubles.

"Jeez, you're just as bad as Homerun there. Anyway, you wanna give Pinkie a call, maybe she can help out."

"Uh, sure, but wait- where are you going!" Kyōko was most the way out the door by the time Sayaka called on her.

"I'm gonna get some brain food!"

Madoka Kaname, the non-magical girl who was at the intersection of the various calamities pressing in on the Puella Magi of Mitikahara had already arrived by the time Kyōko returned. The little pink-haired girl with the big red eyes was physically the same age as Sayaka, but her smaller stature made her seem younger. And the innocence on that face makes her younger still. Even Blueberry didn't look that naive when I first, er, met her. As she had come to expect, Sayaka was able to hear the thoughts in Kyōko's head, and she turned to look at the redhead. Kyōko noticed that Madoka had been crying, and also that Sayaka was holding her friend's hands. It was meant to be a gesture of comfort, but it still sent a twinge of jealousy down Kyōko's spine. To cover over the faux pas, but also to get their hands apart, Kyōko tossed two cans of sweet tea to the other girls.

"That's your idea of brain food? How have you managed to live this long you rotten delinquent?" Sayaka was referring to the bags on the redhead's arm, filled with various bagged candy and savory snacks, meat buns, jam buns, and what looked like enough Pocky to put Sayaka's whole homeroom class into sugar comas. Crumbs on Kyōko's face were testament to the fact that the haul must have already been depleted somewhat on the way back. "You know if you could cleanse your Soul Gem with all that junk, I'd understand, but seriously, what the hell?"

"Hey, don't knock it," muttered Kyōko, although with a whole meat bun in her mouth at the time it came out more like "umm um unn ahh uh." A packet of Pocky made for a pointer as Kyōko indicated Homura's comatose body on the bed. "How's the Princess doing?"

"Still no change." Sayaka held a gem up to the light, where it gave off wan purple light. "She's not getting worse, well not quickly at least. But she's not getting any better either." A disgusted shake of the head said as much as any words, and then Sayaka handed off the Soul Gem to Madoka, who clutched the precious object to her chest.

"Well isn't this rich." Kyōko prodded Homura's cheek with a Pocky stick. "The super genius Puella Magi Princess who has all the answers, is, of course, the one who's eating floor. Well, in a manner of speaking." Suddenly the Pocky was gone and both of Kyōko's hand were wrapped around Homura's throat, lifting off the bed. "Damn you! You are forbidden to die, you hear me! I still have a bone to pick with you Princess!" With each emphatic shake that punctuated her rant, Kyōko definitely did not notice the dead rag-doll flopping of Homura's body. In fact she took great pains to keep the image out of her head and she especially did not give any attention to how much it resembled Sayaka's own near-dead state when the blue-haired girl had been separated from her Soul Gem. "Do you hear me! There are people out here who don't want to have to cry at your funeral! Do you want to be responsible for our shed tears? Do you?"

Technically speaking, that isn't true. At once three heads snapped around to look at the owner of the voice which had just entered their minds. There sat Kyubey with his smug plastic grin firmly fixed in place and his huge fluffy tail flicking back and forth, much like a curious cat. Then the fluffball put his nose in Kyōko's bag of goodies, somehow keeping his big round eyes locked on the Puella Magi at the same time.

"Get your nose outta that bag or you're barbecue!" Kyōko barked, snatching up the bag. Tearing into a fortifying bag of rice crackers, the red-haired girl continued, "And what do you mean 'that's not correct'?"

Completely exhausting her Soul Gem is not the end for a Puella Magi. It is merely the catalyst for her to transform into the next stage of her being. The pouch of crackers slipped from numb hands and spilled across the floor as the pieces clicked in place in Kyōko's mind, just a second before Kyubey confirmed the terrible knowledge. This second stage is the form of being that you know as a "Witch." The Grief Seed, likewise, is the Witch's version of a Soul Gem. In fact while it has never been observed, it is hypothesized that if a Witch were to retain her full awareness, she could "farm" Puella Magi for their Soul Gems to increase her own impurity and thus her power in much the same way as you all farm Witches for Grief Seeds. Excuse me, my apologies, not all of you. Kyubey turned his glowing red eyes upon Madoka, but it was apparent she was not listening. Tears ran in rivers down her pretty face and Madoka clutched the Soul Gem in her hands so tight that her knuckles turned white.

"H-how could anything be so cruel? H-homura-c-chan . . . We'll save you. We will find a way, I p-p-promise!" I do not know of any way to restore a Soul Gem without the Puella Magi's conscious cooperation, but then I do not well understand how your magic works at all. But I know one way which may work, even though I cannot guarantee it will do so. This got all three girls' interest, if for different reasons. Make a contract with me, Madoka Kaname. You could wish to refill Homura Akemi's Soul Gem." Red eyes turned to meet blue and even without their empathic connection Kyōko and Sayaka found themselves of one mind. A mutual nod of determination confirmed the decision and then both shot out a hand flat.

I recognize this from other humans I have witnessed. "Rock-paper-scissors" I believe it is called? I must confess I do not understand ways of beings who have been infected with emotions, but from what information I have, is this not considered an inappropriate time for such a game? Kyōko closed up her fist into rock with a sly flourish and bonked Sayaka's scissors, ending the game. Then she turned to look at Kyubey, red against red.

A tapered double-edged blade like a rapier shot forth and was buried to the quillons through the unchanging smile on the devious little contractor's face. With a twist of the wrist, and some intentional shakes besides, Kyōko turned the blade and ripped it out the top of Kyubey's body. Instead of meat and organs, all that spilled from the wound was some warm fluff, the consistency of cotton candy. Madoka's mouth hung open as though she wanted to scream but had no sound to let out.

Sayaka threw her arms around her oldest friend and pulled Madoka close. "Hey, hey, it's okay. We'll find a way to fix this without his help. I wouldn't trust anything he says anymore anyway. And besides, you know Homura-chan wouldn't want you to make a wish on her behalf, right?"

"Y-yeah." Madoka was still crying, but she summoned up a brave smile for Sayaka. "I'm surprised she didn't wake up and bop me one just for thinking about it."

"That's the spirit. Now drink some tea." Sayaka handed a can which even had a bit of cold left to it over and watched for the telltale signs of her best friend's spirit righting itself, a ship unsinkable by any storm which had come their way so far.

You shouldn't waste magical energy so carelessly. Shock jolted through Kyōko at the sound of that voice. Kyubey reentered the room, phasing through the door as he had the first time. The sinister little creature didn't even attempt the "innocent and cheery mascot" act as he walked over to his corpse and began eating it. Killing this body will not harm me, but you may not have the energy to spare. Again the narrow blade shot forth, this time spiking into the partially-eaten corpse.

"Ahh, take your fucking dinner outside! That's disgusting!" Kyōko jumped to her feet, threw open the window, and flicked the mass of fluff out to splatter upon the pavement below. Kyubey sailed out the window in pursuit, possibly aided by Sayaka's swift kick. The narrow blade withstood Kyōko's inspection from end to end before she dispelled it and clapped some non-existent dust from her hands. "Hey, Sayaka, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" A dirty look was all the reply that was given. "Looks like we're gonna have to go in and do it ourselves."

After a flurry of preparation (on Madoka's part), mourning (on Kyōko's part, for the rice crackers which had been ground into the carpet), and cursing (on Sayaka's part, at Kyōko for gobbling up the crackers which hadn't been trampled), the girls were ready to begin. Kyōko took up her Soul Gem in her left hand and Madoka's left hand in her right hand. Madoka took Sayaka's right hand in her left, leaving the blue-haired girl to hold her Soul Gem in her right hand. Then on cue, both girls pressed their Soul Gems to Homura's, which nestled between the black-haired girl's folded hands.

Hey, transfer student!

I'd like to put in a transfer

To another world

Account Management says

You have completed too many transfers recently

You must wait at least 30 days for another transfer

Where are you gonna go this time?

PVP is where the pro game is, y'know

PVE is for losers. Anyone can faceroll the dungeons if they try enough times.

But

That's not what I'm here for

Then what do you want?

I want the precious thing!

I heard that was stolen?

Besides, didn't you know?

When they catch you hacking the system, you get banned and they take away all your stuff!

A wide open field of rich green grass blowing in the wind beneath a crisp blue sky. Standing in the middle of the field is a lovely neat farmhouse with a barn and a windmill. You approach this inviting scene as a tornado tears its' way through, scattering debris and bodies and you are beckoned inside for lunch. On the table sits a wonderful feast of IV bags full of chemotherapy fluid graciously laid out by your host. But where is everybody? See, there? The dog no that's Kyubey is chasing his tail. Isn't that amusing? No? Well you should try out back. They must have just stepped out. The door is propped open to let fresh air in through the screen which tears apart with a squeal of metal like a baby's cry from the strike of a sword.

Kyōko shook her head and kicked her way through the rest of the seriously disturbed set piece. Sayaka followed close behind still holding tight to Madoka's hand as the pink-haired girl brought up the rear. What lay beyond was a dreamscape constructed of just the garden variety horrors which crop up between when the alarm first goes off in the morning and the snooze alarm starts wailing. Books lay piled everywhere, all of them shredded, burned, or shot through with holes. Morbid curiosity drove Kyōko to pick up one and open it. Inside a grainy, blurry video played, showing a clumsy little girl with her hair done up in braids smashing something with a golf club. A person who looked to be Mami Tomoe was watching, so Kyōko snapped the book shut before she could make eye contact with the Puella Magi who was no longer alive. A snake rolled past then, having swallowed its' own tail and taken to travelling like a runaway hula hoop.

"There!" Madoka pointed at where the fractured sky glowed just a bit violet. As they closed, the girls found Homura. And wished they hadn't. The black-haired beauty was fetched up against the side of a mountain, looking anything but the cool, controlled Puella Magi they knew from the outside world. This Homura was a scared little girl, thrashing in pain with her flesh torn away in many places. The breaches were like breaches in an eggshell, and from each wound, purple light leaked forth. A viscous black rain fell in dashes, and wherever a raindrop impacted one of the tears upon Homura it left a stain upon the purple glow and made a shrieking sound. No. Not a shriek- each sound was definitely a cry, and although many were so raw as to not even sound human, the girls could clearly make out the sound.

Madoka! MADOKA! MA-DO-KAAAaaaaa! And the girl herself flinched with each repetition as the pain in all those voices bit into her heart.

"W-w-what do we do? Homura-chan, she's in so much pain! I-i'm sorry!" Tears now leaked from Madoka's eyes, hanging on her pretty face like little gemstones. "P-please, forgive me!" Madoka Kaname added her own cry to the symphony of sorrow being played out in this cruel valley and her tears splashed upon Homura's broken form.

And where these teardrops fell . . .

BGM: Alstroemeria Records - Plastik World - "God Know Will You To Love From True"

New skin grew, covering over the grevious wounds. And then the mountain shook.

"God grant me strength . . . " Kyōko looked up . . . and up . . . and up, until she gazed upon the face of the monster which was the mountain. Another tremor ran through the ground, a growl of anger from the being which worked to destroy Homura. "Hey, Blueberry."

Sayaka broke free from her shock to turn and look at Kyōko. She dearly wanted to tell her red-headed teammate to stop calling her that, but now was definitely not the time, so she settled for "What?"

"Keep the waterworks goin'."

BGM: Alstroemeria Records - Plastik World - "Plain Asia"

Kyōko shot skyward with her Puella Magi dress assembling itself around her. In each hand was one of the narrow-bladed swords and now that battle was upon her, the redhead felt their true potential. Perfectly sharp points darted outward to knock away black rain with a sizzling sound, reaching as far as Kyōko needed them to at any given time and yet coming around fast and smooth to cover all angles.

Up here at the top, Kyōko realized that the rain was actually falling from the monster's hands. Well, that's easy enough. Rapier blades licked out and amputated one of the gigantic appendages at the wrist, and Kyōko had just enough time for a cocky grin to cross her face before the stump exploded in a torrent of black rain. And then there were two hands reaching for her. "Goddamnit!" spat Kyōko as she worked her swords in a fury to keep the tendrils of darkness from reaching her. She was almost successful.

I am not dying in your fucking head Homura! I will bail on your sorry ass well before that happens. Even as she made the promise to herself, however, Kyōko demonstrated just how devoted she was to the idea by ducking beneath the hydra hand to scatter another shower of the black rain before it could reach the vulnerable forms below, accepting a fly-swatter slap for her troubles. Kyōko rode out the attack, letting the hand throw her through the air and bleed off that momentum into the air rather than resist and be crushed, but then she saw that she was headed for the monster's other arm, where another hand waited to clap her into oblivion. The final blow came on quickly-

But the hand stopped dead with a musical chime. Sayaka stood braced against the lethal appendage, leaning into a shield woven from a line of symphonic score. Little quarter notes sprang off here and there where sparks would have flown from a shield made of steel. "Who said you get to have all the fun?" shouted Sayaka over the din of her own magic.

"What about downstairs?"

"Eh, I think they're gonna be okay."

"Homura-chan, I'm sorry." Madoka knelt over the girl's broken form, needing no help in letting tears fall from her eyes.

God know will you to love from true - In this halved body

"You've been trying to look out for me all this time and didn't even say 'thank you' for it."

God know will you to love from true - True love

"And all this grief is my fault, and I can't even do anything to make up for it. I don't care if you end up hating me, just please don't die."

God know will you to love from true - Exists

"The only wish I could ask for, is to see you smile one more time."

God know will you to love from true - Even now

"Damn this thing! Why couldn't you have gotten a nice big hammer as your weapon or something?" Kyōko whirled in place, cutting three fingers into slices of black vapor before they could close upon Sayaka, who returned the favor by pricking a palm with a thrust of her spear, causing the monster appendage to spasm open, away from the redhead. There was apparently a limit to how much stuff the monster could push out, and right now the Puella Magi were destroying their attacker faster than it could regenerate, but it was not a matter of if their magnificent dance would end in tragedy, but how soon.

"Well excuuuse me! I didn't ask you to steal my weapon either you know, and I sure didn't ask to be stuck with this stupid thing either!" For emphasis Sayaka speared a finger with her lance through what would be the knuckle, if these horrid constructs had any defining features. An augur of cobalt magic spun up in time with the blue-haired girl's roar of anger and then the finger finally exploded, spraying black fluid in all directions and buying another precious second or so. Sweat ran all down Sayaka's face and crawled along the inside of her Puella Magi outfit in uniquely uncomfortable ways and the hammer of her heart beat in time with the hum of Kyōko's pair of swords at work.

"I think we might- actually- be screwed." Kyōko was reduced to straight out panting, and though her swords still wove a net of razors about her body, they felt like traincars which had been filled with cement.

"Then why don't you get the hell out of here! Save yourself! It's what you do best, isn't it!" As Sayaka raged, she concentrated on stabbing through a wrist since the new hands took the longest to regrow, despite the danger. She turned to look at Kyōko, hope and pity in her eyes.

"Aww hell no! You think Pinkie would forgive me if I let you get snuffed?" You think I could forgive myself? Sayaka felt the last thought carry through their bond. Inside, she shivered. Damnit! Why did you have to make me feel this way, Kyōko Sakura? I was fine living in a limbo where I could worship Kamijou-kun without ever having to actually take a step further! Now what am I supposed to do? I can really hold you in my hands, which means you can also slip from my grasp! Kyōko blinked away the shock as she heard what was going on inside Sayaka's head, but before she could respond, a new voice cut in.

Sayaka Miki, stand clear. Sayaka looked around to figure out where the voice was coming from when she saw a shooting star rocket up towards them, coming on faster and faster until it hit the point where time ended. With the object embedded in a pocket of timelessness, both Puella Magi could see that it was a bomb. Quite a lot of bomb, actually. A bullet came streaking in afterward to stick in the non-time as well, and that was when Kyōko and Sayaka both decided they needed to be anywhere else at that moment. Time began again and the bullet slammed into the detonator, triggering a thunderous explosion right at the level of the monster's face. The being of black rain unwound before the force of the blast, coming apart into ribbons of jaundiced yellow and the red of old dried blood which fluttered slowly into nothingness and then the girls were holding hands once more, in the hotel room once more.

And Homura Akemi opened her eyes, searching the room for a moment before settling upon Madoka. "Your wish is granted," said Homura as she let a smile light up her face. Cheers rang out from all three of the girls and they crowded in and hugged Homura and welcomed her back to the world of the living.

"Kyōko Sakura. I propose a trade." This made the red-haired girl blink in surprise, and she tried to act nonchalant as Homura locked on to her. " I need food."

"Uh, okay." Kyōko dug in her bag and came up with a jam-filled bun, the best of the haul which was left. "You said trade, so what are you offering?" she asked, holding the bun as if it were the grandest of treasures.

"I will give you this." Homura opened her hand to reveal a Grief Seed, small but as-yet unused, with a faint scent of roses upon it. In her other hand, the black-haired girl felt two things; one was a Soul Gem and she knew it would be as vibrant purple as it had been in a long time, and the other was a ribbon, which she knew would be red.