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Kamijo Kyosuke lay slumped against one side of the bell-tower wall where Sakura Kyoko had left him. The insane redhead had been gone for hours and the sun had long set, leaving him in darkness. His legs and arms were both tightly bound, but even if they hadn't have been, he doubted he would have had the energy to move. He just sat there, staring dully at the broken remnants of his violin. He remembered when he'd first been given the Stradivarius when he was nine years old, on loan from a wealthy and very impressed patron. It had slipped against his neck like it was part of his body, and as soon as he'd finished the first wistful stanza of Ave Maria he knew he would never find a more perfect instrument.

It was Ave Maria he'd played atop the hospital roof as well. He'd yelled at his father to return the violin after the accident had left his hands paralysed. Kyosuke had never loved his father more than when he'd revealed he still held onto the violin. Somehow he'd held onto the faith Kyosuke had lost as the days went by in those four whitewashed walls, and watched with pride as his son played once more. The doctors hadn't understood what miracle had caused his recovery, but neither Kyosuke or his family had cared; whatever it was, it had saved him. He truly loved music and playing the violin above all. It wasn't just a hobby, losing the ability to play had left him feeling as if he'd lost the better part of himself.

And when Sakura Kyoko had smashed the violin in front of him it almost felt like she had broken his fingers.

He remembered her threats against Sayaka as well and felt a twinge of fear for his friend. Many of his school friends had visited him in hospital, but she'd been the only one to come every day, always bringing some funny story from school or a music CD she'd picked up from the store for them to listen to. She'd been on the rooftop as well, and he knew she'd watched him play with just as much warmth as his father had. He didn't want Kyoko to hurt her.

He still didn't understand what relationship could possibly exist between that mad girl and one of his best friends. Certainly Sayaka had never mentioned her to him before. Kyoko had claimed she was going to attack Sayaka, but the next moment had been furious with him when his shock had made it appear as if he cared more for his violin than Sayaka, and had blamed him for hurting her in some way.

The latter had some truth to it, he thought guiltily. He'd enjoyed her visits to begin with, which alongside his parents, were often the highlight of his day. But as time passed and his recovery had looked more and more unlikely the hope in her eyes only served to taunt him; the music she brought a cruel reminder of the joy snatched from his powerless grasp. One day it had been too much and he'd yelled at her. She'd looked so hurt, but she'd still come back to see him the very next day as usual. He'd meant to apologise and thank her later, but somehow he had never gotten round to it.

On his first day back he'd been surrounded by his classmates welcoming him back and in the midst of the happy laughter and the faces of his friends and acquaintances he'd only vaguely registered Sayaka wasn't among them. Then Hitomi had confessed to him, leaving his head reeling. The princess of the class being interested in him of all people had driven all other thoughts from his mind. He smiled thinking about her, the image of her grace and gentleness driving away the fear and pain within him for a moment.

Sayaka had also become scarce around school after that day, disappearing as soon as class was done or just not turning up to school at all. He'd asked Hitomi about it because he knew she was close friends with Sayaka as well. She'd been a bit vague about what was the matter with her friend, but had reassured Kyosuke if it carried on she would visit Sayaka's home with Madoka. Kyosuke had wanted to come along as well, but for some reason Hitomi told him it would be best if they visited separately. He hadn't understood it, but Hitomi had insisted until he reluctantly gave in. People may have called him a genius, but he was quite sure at that time girls would always remain a mystery to him.

Not that it mattered now. He was as trapped as he had been in the hospital bed. He would never see his parents, his classmates or Hitomi again; he would never play music again; and worst of all Sayaka was likely to disappear alongside him. He felt the old despair welling up inside him again, a dreadful void swallowing up all his hopes and dreams. He closed his eyes and did his best to try and calm down. He heard the gentle strains of Ave Maria and realised he was humming it. He'd done the same in the hospital, playing the music in his head and imagining himself on the stage, the inside of his head offering the comfort the doctors could not.

Naturally as soon as he'd lost himself in music and void had begun to fade Sakura Kyoko chose to make her return. He heard the sound of a key scrabbling in the lock and the heavy wooden door was flung open. As always she surprised him with her strength. His throat was still sore from where she'd grabbed him. Her power seemed almost inhuman. She was wearing different clothes from before: strange red robes, thigh-high boots and long white arm sleeves. It looked like some kind of cosplay, with a faint Chinese influence.

"Wakey-wakey, Kyosuke-chan! The party's about to begin," she said cheerfully. Kyosuke was stopped from replying by the gag she quickly stuffed in his mouth. "Sorry 'bout that, but I've already lost my temper twice today, and I ain't risking it a third time. Not tonight anyways."

She slung him over her shoulder. Under her other arm she was carrying a dark bundle of fabric. She promptly flung him on top of the alter. Kyosuke could see she'd made a few alterations. There were candles everywhere and Kyosuke was reminded of when he'd been dragged along to see phantom of the opera by his parents (The music had been poor, the voice of the man playing Raoul average at best, but the sets had been cool). Sayaka's family had come with them and he'd been surprised to see her crying by the end of the melodramatic finale.

The piles of rubbish that had littered the church had been surpassed by piles of food, mostly tinned, including an entire mountain of pocky still inside the trolley Kyoko had no doubt stolen from the supermarket. The centrepiece though was the pile of boxes behind him. There were TVs, computers, printers, microwaves, games consoles, even a mini-fridge, all in their original packaging. They were stacked into a dais, an expensive looking black armchair precariously balanced at the top.

Kyoko jumped into the armchair, which wobbled dangerous, but quickly regained balance. She appeared to settle herself down, but a barely a minute had passed before she was drumming the leather with her fingers and thirty more seconds more she jumped down again. Soon she was pacing up and down the stone floor. She must be waiting for Sayaka, Kyosuke thought. He wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed his friend hadn't come for him.

Suddenly she stopped and her mouth split into one her familiar grins Kyosuke had quickly learned to dread. "And here she comes," she muttered gleefully. "Time to get into character."

She quickly unwrapped the black bundle, which turned out to be a long black cloak with red lining. It looked like it had been sewn out of very cheap fabric, the kind of thing you could pick up at a costume shop. Kyosuke's suspicions were confirm when with great dignity Kyoko placed a plastic tiara on top of her head. In any other situation he would have laughed, but right now laughter was the last thing on his mind.

"Now time for the finishing touch." Kyoko bounded over to Kyosuke, another strip of fabric in her hands.

"Mmphhh," Kyosuke fruitlessly protested as Kyoko tied the blindfold around his head, and he was plunged into darkness.

There was nothing but silence, then his heart leapt and quickly died as he felt a draught against his face and heard the unmistakable sound of the church doors creaking open.

Sayaka stopped outside the church, panting for breathe. The grief seed the Akemi girl had given her was light, but Sayaka was sure she could feel its weight in her pocket. She hadn't used it yet and hoped she wouldn't have to. She leant for a second against the church doors, hoping to catch a moment of respite after her breathless flight across the city.

She reprimanded herself almost at once. How could she pause while Kyosuke was still in danger? As she pushed the doors aside she heard a noise that someone - if they had a very special imagination - might suppose sounded like a badly balanced pile of boxes with a chair on top coming crashing down after somebody badly mistimed a jump in their effort to climb to the top quickly. A faint, "Oh Sod," whispered past the creak of the door.

The church was resplendent with candlelight and Sayaka thought for a second of the time she'd gone to see Phantom of the Opera with Kyosuke. She'd been to see the production several times since with her friends - Madoka was always guaranteed to tear up which left her feeling a bit less embarrassed at getting misty eyed - but the first time she'd gone with Kyosuke would always be special.

She gasped as she saw Kyosuke himself just in front of her on the alter. He was tied, gagged, blindfolded and very pale, but he was still breathing. For some reason she couldn't fathom dented cardboard boxes were dotted around the alter, and - even stranger - an armchair with a large tear down the side. She shook her head and ran eagerly towards the captive boy.

Something stirred in the shadows. Kyoko stepped out from behind the alter, and into the faint ambience of the candle light. Sayaka stopped where she was, her eyes drawn to the flickering reflection along the edge of Kyoko's spear point, which was a whisper away from Kyosuke's throat. Sayaka saw the skin around his neck was dark and blotchy, she'd hurt him, and felt a surge of anger. More than ever she was determined not just to rescue Kyosuke but also to bring about Kyoko's long overdue reckoning.

The candlelight shone off something else as well. Sayaka couldn't quite believe her eyes. On Kyoko's head was perched a cheap plastic tiara, the silver paint and plastic jewels sparkling with cheery fraudulence. To top it off a machine stitched cape rested on Kyoko's shoulder's over her red uniform, falling to her shins.

Kyoko noticed Sayaka's gaze and grinned. "A Queen's gotta be dressed proper before she presents herself before her subjects, don't she?"

Sayaka didn't even bother asking Kyoko to return Kyosuke, she already knew her answer. She had to get the red-headed girl away from him, focus Kyoko's attention on her instead.

"A Queen? You look cheaper than ever!" It was a lower remark than Sayaka would usually allow herself to sink to, but she wanted to wipe that cocky smile off Kyoko's face. Maybe Kyoko would get mad and attack her, then she could save Kyosuke.

Kyoko was unperturbed. "What can I say? I've got simple tastes."

"I can see that. Is this all your big plans come to, then?" Sayaka gestured around her at Kyoko's ill-gotten treasures, piled up around the church. "Queen of the scented candles? Queen of the stolen appliances? Queen of the tin cans? You're still nothing more than a petty thief!"

"Christ, how can you even manage to get self-righteous at me for not being evil enough? You're a fucking miracle worker, ya know that, Sayaka? I'll admit, I've started off pretty small today, but you know what's better than having all this shit? Takin' it. Strolling into that supermarket and strolling out again with my trolley piled high, and ain't nobody around with the balls to stop me. That's power, Sayaka. I ain't queen of the candles or the cans, I'm queen of this entire damn town, and soon ain't nobody not gonna know about it."

"Not if I kill you, here." Sayaka said, calmly. The one advantage of letting Kyoko rant was it had allowed her to get her breathe back.

Kyoko stared at her, her expression inscrutable, and then started to laugh. It wasn't a malicious laugh, but a quiet chuckle, the kind one makes between friends over an inside joke.

"Those are pretty strong words, girl scout, you sure ya can back 'em up?"

"I told you didn't I? If you hurt Kyosuke I'd kill you. Well, you have hurt him." Sayaka carried on speaking with the same terrifying calmness. "I'm going to cut you open and watch you die."

"And that brings us back to square one, don't it? Because - and please, jump in if ya think I'm recollecting wrong here - I'm fairly sure I told ya if you tried any of that shit, you're little boyfriend was gonna be in for a whole world of pain." Kyosuke squirmed furiously at her words.

"You've already hurt him," growled Sayaka. "And he's not my boyfriend," she added.

"Yet here you are. You really are a sucker. As for the love bite - " Sayaka's heart almost stopped as the spear point brushed against Kyosuke's bruised flesh, causing him to go quite still, " The dumb bastard thought he could run from me so I had to learn him a little humility. You haven't even seen me start getting creative yet." The spear pressed a little harder against Kyosuke's neck and the boy whimpered.

"Stop it!" Sayaka screamed. She went to take a step forward but Kyoko's gaze stopped her. To move would mean death for Kyosuke. Sayaka's hand was gripping her sword so tightly her fingers were aching from the effort. She wanted to curse and yell at red-haired girl, to strike her down where she stood, but even with all her might, she was as powerless as ever. There was a sharp crack, and a spiral of glass dust trickled away from her soul gem.

Kyoko's eyes went wide and to Sayaka's surprise the spear instantly swung away from Kyosuke's throat.

Kyoko took a deep breathe, then her mocking smile returned. "Don't get your knickers in a twist. I ain't planning on killing him...yet. I was just gonna use Kamijo to keep a leash on ya while I had my fun, but then I realised how boring that idea was, so the plan's changed. I'm gonna give ya two choices to settle this." She held up two fingers. "Option one: You piss off, right the way off; skip town, tonight, and you have my word Kamijo stays safe. Option two: You take your shot at me, and if ya win, he's free to go and I promise I won't touch him again."

"And if I lose?" Sayaka asked.

Kyoko advanced on her, her voice rising. "If? You ain't gonna win this, Sayaka. It ain't gonna be quick either, because one fucking way or another, I'm gonna teach you what being a magical girl really means. I'll take you apart piece by piece. And then, when I've brought you a breathe away from hell, I'll drag what's left of you over to Kamijo, and the last thing he'll see before I rip out his throat will be your broken corpse." Kyoko spat on the ground in front of Sayaka. "Make your choice!"

Sayaka started stepping back in horror at Kyoko's cruel words. She could barely recognise the girl in front of her. Even when they'd first met, Kyoko had never been like this. Her disbelief was mixed with a surprising undercurrent of sadness at seeing the red-haired girl fall so far and so hard.

However, all those feelings were quickly overwhelmed by her own burning anger. She stopped stepping back. Her fury had long passed righteous indignation and inflamed into a murderous rage, filling every cell of her body. Kyoko had barely finished speaking, when the fire inside Sayaka lifted her up and flung her across the room at Kyoko.

Kyoko barely had time to raise her spear to guard, before Sayaka smashed into her. The candles flared around them. Sayaka forced her back with a mad whirlwind of blows. Kyoko was barely kept her footing amongst the scattered cardboard boxes, and Sayaka pressed her advantage. The blood pounded in Sayaka's head. She was yelling and screaming incoherent obscenities at Kyoko, barely conscious of her own words.

Kyoko lashed out, the point of her spear easily finding its way past Sayaka's non-existent defence, and scraping along the side of Sayaka's rib cage. Sayaka barely registered the pain, and struck out again. Kyoko, clearing expecting the hit to stop Sayaka, narrowly ducked to avoid a decapitating blow. She returned Sayaka's wild slash with a strike with the butt of her spear into Sayaka's wounded chest.

This did give Sayaka pause, her vision blurring for a moment. She looked down, confused at the dull pain and the red blossoming across her white corset. She refocused and saw Kyoko had used the brief respite to put some distance between them. Out of the gloom something hurtled towards her. Sayaka spun around as a boxed TV glanced off her shoulder.

Kyoko used her spear to lever another heavy box at her, and another. Sayaka dodged a mini-fridge and followed up by cutting a microwave clean in two when something large and black descended on her. The heavy armchair caught her full on. Sayaka was catapulted across the church, crashing through the wooden pews one after another. She felt a sharp pain at the back of her head as she struck the stone floor and darkness enveloped her.

Kyosuke was afraid. He'd been afraid for Sayaka when he'd heard her familiar voice, using cold unfamiliar words; he'd never heard her threaten anybody like that before. He'd been afraid too when he'd felt the cold metal of Kyoko's spear press against his throat and downright terrified listening to the demon-girl describing in painstaking detail the gruesome fate she was planning for the both of them. However he'd been most scared when he'd heard Sayaka's berserk battle cry followed by the sharp clash of metal against metal (How she'd blocked Kyoko's spear, he didn't know). His best friend was fighting for her life and he was utterly helpless. With the blindfold he couldn't even see what was happening to Sayaka.

He heard Sayaka cry out and an almighty crash. Unable to take it anymore he pressed his head against the alter and wiggling about was able to loosen the blindfold. It drooped slowly down his nose. His eyes strained through the gloom as he strained to see what was happening.

He gave a small gasp when he saw Sayaka. She was lying in a crater of wooden splinters, scattered candles and cracked stone. Kyosuke's barely noticed her strange blue and white clothing of a strangely similar style to the garments Kyoko wore. All he could see was the blood. Her arms and legs were covered in cuts and her chest was a mess of red. Kyoko was slowly advancing on the downed girl and Kyosuke ,muffled by the gag and his bruised throat, mentally willed her to get up.

She rose – painfully slowly – to her feet. Hunched over in pain, and legs trembling, Sayaka did the last thing Kyosuke expected: she laughed. It was a dreadful and empty noise. As she laughed octaves and wavers shimmered in mid-air and danced discordantly around her wounds.

Sayaka tilted her head at Kyoko, "I told you, didn't I? If I wish for it, the pain just goes away. If you want to stop me, you'll have to do more than that!"

Sayaka flourished her cloak and as it passed by a row of swords appeared stuck point first into the floor out of nowhere. Now it was Kyoko's turn to duck and weave as Sayaka used a steady stream of the materialising weapons to unleash a flurry of thrown swords at her enemy. Kyosuke couldn't quite believe his eyes, first the strange floating notes and now Sayaka was making swords almost like magic.

Kyoko was not so easily caught off balance as Sayaka had been. Her spear blurred into a web of steel. Swords ricocheted left and right. One sword from a particularly powerful throw arced over Kyoko's head and embedded itself quivering into the alter, an inch away from Kyosuke's head. Once he'd gotten over the strong urge to wet himself he sat up on the alter and shuffled backwards towards the blade. His questing fingers brushed against the sharp edge of the sword and very carefully he started to saw at the ropes binding him. He knew he was likely to be spotted, and could only pray Sayaka could keep Kyoko distracted.

She seemed to have at least stopped Kyoko from advancing. The last of the rope binding his hands snapped apart and he began to work on his legs. Once he was free they could escape together. Or so Kyosuke thought until he saw the red-haired girl's knees bend as she braced herself against the stone floor. Another sword was batted away, then Kyoko leapt. Sayaka already had the next weapon in the air but it was too late.

Kyoko crossed the distance like a thunderbolt. The thrown sword was just wide, and drew a red line across Kyoko's cheek, the first blood Sayaka had drawn this evening. It wasn't worth the cost though.

Kyoko's spear bore into Sayaka's shoulder and lifted her off her feet. Kyoko raised the spear so the blue-haired girl was left dangling in the air like a landed fish. Sayaka screamed in agony. Kyosuke wanted to shut his eyes and press his hands to his ears to block out the horror of his friend's suffering, but instead kept working at the rope around his legs. It finally came loose and he was free.

Kyoko was breathing heavily, blood trickling down from the cut on her cheek. "What's the matter Sayaka? Why don't you just wish the pain away!" She yelled over Sayaka's cries.

"Leave her alone!" Kyosuke wasn't sure how he moved as fast as he did. Half running, half stumbling, heart clenched in terror he threw himself onto Kyoko's back.

Desperately grappling at her, sobbing with fear and anger, he tried to get his arms around her neck. It was like a puppy trying to strangle a gorilla, for all the good it did. Kyoko, trying to swat Kyosuke off like an annoying, over-large fly, did let go of her spear though. Sayaka hit the ground with a thud. She was whimpering as she eased the spear-point out of her shoulder, but at least she was still alive.

As he felt Kyoko's hand get a grip on the collar of his pajama shirt, he wasn't sure how much longer he could say the same about himself. He was thrown, hard, onto the floor. Kyoko's boot slammed into his solar plexus, driving the air out of his lungs.

Kyoko bent down and picked up her spear. She tugged it sharply, Sayaka gasping with pain as it left her shoulder. She tried to raise herself up, but collapsed back onto the floor.

"Tell me, Sayaka, have you had a good long look at hell?" inquired Kyoko pleasantly

Sayaka didn't answer. Her eyes met Kyosuke's; they were wet with tears. I wish I'd got a chance to thank her properly, thought Kyosuke.

"Well, if you ain't got no more fight left in ya, let's get to the finale. Say yer goodbyes, lover boy," she addressed Kyosuke.

"Wait," whispered Sayaka.

"What for?" Kyoko snorted. "You've got nothing left."

"Got...this," Sayaka pulled out a dark jewel, set in sharp, pointed metal.

"A Grief Seed? You cheeky bitch. You've been holding out on me." Kyoko's voice sounded surprised but her expression didn't match her shocked tone.

Kyosuke suddenly remembered the earlier conversation he'd overheard when he'd been left hanging from the ceiling. Kyoko had been talking to another girl about Grief Seeds. He'd assumed it was code at the time, but they must mean the jewel. Was the Grief Seed Sayaka was holding one they'd passed onto her?

He looked up and seeing Kyoko's red eyes locked onto the jewel confirmed his suspicions. He didn't understand how any of this – whatever 'this' was – worked, but it had to be a trap. He opened his mouth to yell a warning, but Kyoko's foot drove into his chest again, silencing him.

Sayaka brought the Grief Seed to the smoky jewel at her stomach. She paused, and looked at Kyosuke, before her brows crinkled into that stubborn, determined frown he knew all to well. The two objects clinked together and the darkness swirling around in the jewel began to flow into the Grief Seed. Kyoko was watching intently as the jewel lighten into a softer sapphire blue, and her lips twitched towards a smile, filling Kyosuke with dread.

The notes returned, but they flowed more evenly around Sayaka than they had before. To Kyosuke's surprise the bleeding at Sayaka's chest and shoulder stopped, and some of the smaller lacerations began to close up.

Miki Sayaka stood up.

"Get away from him."

Kyoko cocked an eyebrow. "You really think one Grief Seed is gonna change a damn thing?"

"Yes."

Sayaka held out a white-gloved hand. Blue particles coalesced into the shape of a sword, that glowed briefly before solidifying into reality. Kyosuke was sure now, what he was seeing had to be magic. She raised the sword above her head with both hands and charged.

Sword met spear in an almighty clash. Kyoko had braced for the impact, but the blow was so powerful it pushed her down onto one knee. Kyosuke was pressed into the ground by merely the shock wave, every candle in the church guttered in nothingness by the fierce wind.

Kyoko and Sayaka were illuminated in soft brushes of red and blue from the respective jewels at their chest and waist, the fighters momentarily cast into sharp relief by the sparks flying from their weapons as they met again and again. Kyosuke took the chance to start crawling towards the church doors. He wouldn't leave without Sayaka, but he could at least make their escape a little easier.

Sayaka didn't seem interested in escaping at the moment. Kyoko was retreating again. She tried counter-attacking, but Sayaka's previous rage seemed to have cooled and she kept up her guard.

She forced the red-haired goal towards the spot where Sayaka been thrown by the chair. There was a squelching noise and Kyoko disappeared from view. She must have slipped on one of the fallen candles. Sayaka brought her sword down and there was a grunt of pain. Something tapped against Kyosuke's foot: It was a cheap plastic crown.

Kyoko reappeared, clutching her neck, blood seeping out from an ugly gash. She grimaced in pain and Kyosuke's heart leapt for a moment at seeing Sayaka had finally scored a hit, but slowly sank into unease when he realised the kind, cheerful girl he knew had just wounded another person with the clear intention of killing them.

Kyoko smiled through the pain, "You've calmed down, huh? I was wondering why you'd started actually trying to fight me rather than maul me like a rabid cat."

"I'm not calm at all, I'm angry," Sayaka retorted, "I've never wanted to hurt someone – to kill someone before. I'm so angry it hurts. But if that pain gets in the way of saving Kyosuke, then I'll throw it away!"

"That ain't strength. You're just running away like you always do. But you ain't escaping this time." Kyoko thrust out her staff, suddenly. "End of the line!"

The staff split into segments, each connected by a chain. The spear point shifted direction, arcing around her guard like a scorpion's stinger. Sayaka managed to ward the thrust off, but Kyoko had already stepped forward and shifted her grip to the upper end of the spear, whipping the butt sharply across Sayaka's face.

Kyosuke winced as he saw the blue-haired girl's head snap backwards. Disorientated Sayaka barely pushed aside the next two blows, the third sent her sword spinning out of her hands. She held up her arms in a feeble attempt to block and Kyoko's spear wrapped around them, trapping her hands close together.

Kyosuke's hope died as quickly as it started, as both he and Sayaka realised Kyoko had been toying with her opponent from the very beginning. Kyoko pulled on her spear and Sayaka, her arms bound, was dragged off her feet again and smashed into a pew. Kyoko didn't give her time to recover before sending her flying a second, third, forth and fifth time. By the sixth Sayaka was barely twitching, the only sound her ragged breathing. Kyoko loosened the spear from Sayaka's arms and the shaft clicked back into placed, with not even a crack visible between the segments.

She crouched down by Sayaka and pulled the girls head up by her blue hair, so they were looking into each other's eyes.

"You lose."

She picked up Sayaka, still holding her by her hair, and flung her against the wall. She slid down into a sprawled sitting position, her back against the stone, her head lolling listlessly on her chest. For a terrible moment Kyosuke thought she was dead. His fear were quickly alleviated by Kyoko of all people.

"Passed out already? I guess its time to pull the curtain on this pointless exercise!" She unexpectedly shouted out the last words.

Kyoko's wasn't looking at Sayaka when she spoke either, Kyosuke noted, her eyes darting around the cloisters. He looked up as well and was sure he caught a glint of purple darting through the rafters. Before he realised it Kyoko had leapt, spear raised, her weapon pointed straight at Sayaka's heart. He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to watch.

He opened them again when he heard Kyoko's surprised exclamation. A strange raven haired girl had appeared in front of Sayaka. She'd caught the spear in one hand, in the other she held a pistol. The jewel on her left hand was purple.

The mysterious girl struck Kyoko with the pistol square across the face, leaving her reeling and swearing furiously, her nose a bloody mess. With Kyoko distracted, she picked up Sayaka, and promptly disappeared as quickly as she'd made her entrance. Kyosuke didn't even have the energy to be surprised any longer.

He did know Sayaka was – probably – safe, and it was time for him to make his own exit. He would search for her the moment he was away from the church. He moved to open the heavy church door, but no matter how much he struggled it wouldn't shift.

He looked around to see Kyoko leaning against the door. Her face was covered with blood, which only made her grin, which stretched from ear to ear, even more disturbing.

"Need some help with that?"

Author's note

First off, sorry for the massive delay. I hope this slightly longer chapter makes up for it a little bit.

Second, I hope you enjoyed the confrontation. Kyoko's a bit evil here, but all part of the plan.

Third, the next chapter will deal with the aftermath of Sayaka and Kyoko's first fight.

So, stay tuned and please keep those reviews coming.