Chapter 4
Agmen Clientum
Cut. Slash. Cut. Slash.
A vast web of chains destroyed one more group of carton cut-out stick figures. Poofing into smoke, they left yet another group in their wake. Several hits of the spear were enough to defeat them, however one of the countless floating lanterns' trajectory collided with the magical girl's body, making her lose her balance and cringe in a flash of pain.
"Damn… where did this witch come from?"
Kyoko now faced the enormous dry-topped tree atop the otherwise empty gray plain, and thinking on her feet – as she usually did – she immediately seized the opportunity to send a flurry of spears that she conjured up towards its trunk. The witch deflected it, however, as a mass of stick figures spawned right in front of the tree.
"They just won't quit!"
The girl briefly checked her Soul Gem while reacting just in time to dodge the next lantern. Its dim red light wasn't looking good, but she judged that it would still be able to handle a few more magic tricks she had up her sleeve.
"Sakura-san," Homura suddenly called out to her after her IMI Desert Eagle cleared the field of stick figures. "Take my hand."
The magical girl leaped close to Kyoko, who obliged the former's command.
"Time-stopping, are we?" Kyoko grinned, preparing herself to take advantage as she took on an offensive stance. "That'll even the odds!"
Just as expected, Homura's shield activated as soon as they joined hands, and everything in front of them stood still.
Almost everything.
Right above the tallest branches of the tree, a pair of sinister yellow eyes suddenly appeared among the frozen gray landscape. A couple of seconds later and it could be clearly seen that the eyes belonged to a huge wolf the size of the tree itself.
"What the-?!" Kyoko exclaimed, and from the look on Homura's face, she hadn't expected it either.
The wolf wasted no time leaping at them, and after Kyoko managed to easily dodge its fierce attacks, it dawned on her what it was really after.
Homura's shield.
"Watch out!" she yelled out at Homura while she transformed her spear into a chain once more, although it was too late.
The wolf's claws scratched Homura's time-stopping device in mid-air, which malfunctioned within a couple of seconds. With that, the wolf disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared and the floating lanterns continued rotating again.
"This witch can counter time-stopping," Homura spoke with clenched teeth. "I won't be able to use this for a while."
"Looks like we're doing this the old-fashioned way, then," Kyoko shouted, preparing her chain to strike at the lone tree in the middle of the witch's labyrinth. "Cover me!"
As Kyoko flew towards the tree, ready to strike a might blow with her fire-fuelled chain, she noticed in her peripheral vision that the numerous lanterns were being hit by speed-slowing bullets. However, the closer she got to the witch, the faster the lanterns orbiting it were, and she wasn't agile enough to dodge one of the very last ones protecting the tree. It broke her momentum, and she was forced to use the chain to lift herself up high above the ground to dodge yet another damaging hit.
"Crap… almost had her," Kyoko growled. She worriedly took another look at her Soul Gem whose red light was being diminished by the minute.
"Sakura-san!" Homura cried out in warning amid the explosions set off by her pipe bombs against the surrounding lanterns.
That was when Kyoko noticed them – a new wave of stick figures had spawned that were already way too close to her. She couldn't afford to strike them down, being in need of retreat due to the approaching lanterns that Homura hadn't managed to hit. In a sudden panic, she was just about to leap backward, only to notice that another group was waiting for her from behind.
The only sure way to dodge the attack was to use magic and transform her spear again and escape from above, but she seriously didn't want to risk corrupting her Soul Gem completely.
Damn, what do I do?! Homura looks like she has her hands full already!
There's one trick I could use… A little bit of illusion magic… but… I still can't do that… ever since—
Right that second, a dozen cutlasses flew right through the lanterns, cutting through the glass and striking several of the stick figures surrounding Kyoko, leaving nothing but smoke in their place. The precision of the strike was not the best, and one of the swords had nearly hit Kyoko herself, but they were enough to leave an opening for her.
Don't tell me…
"Kyoko! Go back!" Sayaka's yell echoed throughout the labyrinth.
"Sayaka?" Kyoko shouted incredulously, but nonetheless used the opportunity to escape the stick figures' attempts to encircle her position and flew right past a couple of lanterns.
And indeed, what she was flying towards in her retreat was none other than Sayaka, transformed in her blue magical girl outfit, with her cape blowing in the wind and a pair of cutlasses in her hands.
"Sayaka! What are you doing here?!" Kyoko asked her worriedly, her alarm at her tainting Soul Gel completely forgotten for the moment.
She could barely move in the morning! Honestly, this girl needs a chill pill – if something happens to her again…
Instead of replying, Sayaka dashed towards Homura's position, slicing through one of the lanterns that threatened to hit her classmate. Kyoko then noticed that Madoka was here herself, having had hidden from sight behind Sayaka before she ran to assist Homura.
"You too?" Kyoko narrowed her eyes at the pinkette, who had her hands clenched nervously.
"Thought you could use the help," Sayaka spoke after she and Homura dealt with the remaining enemies in the area – one with her gun and the other with her swords.
"Miki-san," Homura simply stated, still obviously in disbelief that she was there, and then followed Kyoko's gaze at Madoka as well – concern evident in her eyes. "Madoka…"
"Are you both okay? Homura-chan, Kyoko-chan…"
"They are now," Sayaka said with a grin, already eyeing the sinister-looking tree up and down with her cutlasses still drawn. "Don't everybody thank us at once."
"Wait! Don't go charging that thing by yourself!" Kyoko exclaimed, already running up to Sayaka's side with her hand clutching her chain-and-spear.
"I'm not, I'm not," Sayaka smiled reassuringly, winking at Kyoko as soon as the girl approached her. "I'm waiting for you guys, obviously."
"Miki-san, are you sure you can handle this fight?" Homura asked seriously, walking up to the girls as she reloaded her gun.
"With you watching my back, I can," Sayaka nodded, and then quickly looked at the Soul Gems of both magical girls. Of course, she couldn't help but notice the state of Kyoko's. "Kyoko… please be careful, okay?"
"I'll be fine, stupid," Kyoko said, her cheeks blushing a little as she put her hand over her Soul Gem. "You were the one who was bedridden in the morning, not me."
After they exchanged a nod between themselves, the three magical girls began a simultaneous attack, with Kyoko and Homura making sure the lanterns didn't reach Sayaka while she sliced through the newly spawned army of stick figures with her cutlasses.
Well… she may make a habit of worrying me, but it's sure nice seeing Sayaka back in the action again. Still headstrong as always, and perhaps a little overconfident – but I've got her back.
Heh… this will be the first time we truly fight side by side, isn't it?
Though this was one of the strongest witches they had faced, and one that had appeared unexpectedly within the span of minutes with no Familiars to warn of her coming, it finally felt like they truly had the upper hand.
Homura's long-range firearms and bombs protected her from any of the lanterns getting too close while Kyoko's close and personal approach made sure that they never got far enough to reach Sayaka.
Everything seemed to go like clockwork until out of the blue, Sayaka's raised voice could be heard resonating throughout the labyrinth again. She was staring at the tree that was the cause of all this.
"Hey! Can you hear us?" she was saying with a look of relentlessness on her face, her progress halted for the time being. "Stop this – you were once a magical girl fighting witches as well! Remember who you were! Please, this isn't you!"
What the hell is she—
"Stupid! It won't work!" Kyoko shouted angrily at the top of her lungs while fighting off the next wave of lanterns. "She doesn't know who we are! We won't be able to get through to her!"
"How can you be sure?" Sayaka yelled back at her. "What if we can rescue her like you did me?"
"What made you remember who you were, Sayaka?! Was it just because you heard voices, or because you recognized them?!" Kyoko cried out, sparing a moment for her sharp, red eyes to glare at Sayaka until she continued attacking.
"Miki-san, finish her off!" Homura commanded as she gave Sayaka an authoritative look. "We do not have time for this!"
"Sayaka-chan, watch out!" Madoka's voice could be heard from the distance as well.
Kyoko knew she had to focus on fighting off the waves of lanterns that were otherwise about to hit her comrades, but she couldn't help but take a backward look just in time to see the reluctant acceptance in Sayaka's eyes before the she turned around to face the witch. However, the blue-haired warrior was hit by a group of leaping stick-figures that exploded all around her, resulting in a smokescreen that blinded Kyoko from seeing what had happened to her.
"Sayaka!" she shouted, getting ready to form a wall of chains that would momentarily hold back the lanterns and jump to Sayaka's position to save her. What she saw, however, made her stop her plan.
As the smokescreen cleared, it revealed something that was definitely not Sayaka – instead, an all-too-familiar witch stood in her place. The mermaid tail, the long blue cape and the sword in the machination's hand, it was all there – and seeing all that was like being reminded of a trauma one would bury deep inside.
Oh, my god, Sayaka… No, no no no no no no no no… Did she turn back to—
A few seconds later and Kyoko could see that Sayaka was still there. The sight of her standing in front of her witch form, alive and well, calmed down her rapidly beating heart.
"This is the end!" Sayaka screamed, her body mimicking the movement that her witch form just behind her performed in tandem with her.
While manifested wheels accompanied by music notes formed a shield around Sayaka, a swing of her massive sword cut through the length of the tree, slicing it in half. A shadow of a wolf briefly appeared in the place of the tree before the labyrinth began to lose its opaqueness, slowly but surely disappearing. And with the labyrinth gone, Sayaka's witch vanished as well. All three magical girls panted, worn out from the fight.
Signum Malum
As expected, there was already a Grief Seed in the witch's place. It lied on the asphalt of a dead end street that was close to Mitakihara Middle School and not too far from Mami's apartment, which was where Kyoko and Homura had detected it earlier. The late afternoon sun was still shining above, its orange light touching the faces of the four girls that now stood there.
Sayaka crouched and picked up the Grief Seed, looking at it with an expression that even Kyoko couldn't quite decipher. Conflicted was the best way she could describe it.
"Everyone! Are you—are you all alright?" Madoka ran up to them, her large, round pink eyes darting from girl to girl.
"Miki-san, what were you doing?" Homura asked harshly. "This was a very powerful enemy. We could not afford errors of any kind – we are lucky you seem to have tamed your witch's power."
"Sayaka, I know what you wanted to do, but…" Kyoko walked up in front of her classmate with her hands on her hips, her tone scolding but at least less cold and more understanding. "Even if it somehow worked, what would we have done with the Soul Gem? We have no idea who she was or where her body is."
"You're right… I'm sorry," Sayaka shook her head after a moment, and then met Kyoko's gaze after she straightened up. "I guess I wanted to give it a try, at least. But… then I realized I was putting you all at risk, too."
"You do realize that if you do that during Walpurgis Night, you could ruin the whole mission?" Homura asked with her eyes sternly narrowing at her. "If you plan on doing that, then it might be best if you left things to just me and Sakura-san."
"Look – I didn't want to just give up on her, okay?" Sayaka snapped at the magical girl, brows furrowing in irritation. "I thought that— maybe—"
"You really thought it would be as easy as that?" Homura retorted, angered herself. "First you bring Madoka here, and then you endanger her – and us – even more?"
"Homura-chan, I—" Madoka tried chiming in before she was cut off.
"I already said I was sorry!" Sayaka spat back. "What more do you want me to say?"
"Will this be the last time you try something so foolish?"
Sayaka gritted her teeth. She looked like she was just about to say something in response, but then she remained silent as she eventually looked down at the ground uncertainly.
"Look, what she did was risky, but let's just calm down, alright? We should be glad we made it through," Kyoko suddenly spoke as she threw Homura a glance and walked up between her and Sayaka. "And let's not forget we'd probably be dead meat if she and Kaname hadn't come."
Homura didn't look any less mad with Sayaka, but at least it looked like she let the matter go for the time being. It was then that Sayaka raised her head, and after taking one last look at the Grief Seed in her palm, she reached out her hand and offered it to Kyoko.
"Here. You need this more than anyone right now," she said, glancing at the redhead's tainted oval crystal. In a moment, Kyoko nodded and gently grabbed it, although somewhat reluctantly. I hope we'll be able to make a system like this work or we're screwed.
Sayaka then glanced in her pink-haired friend's direction, her features immediately softening. "You okay, Madoka?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Madoka beamed at her reassuringly. "Don't worry, Sayaka-chan…"
"Be on your guard, Madoka," Homura spoke up after she tested her shield's mechanism, which seemed to be functioning again. "Walpurgis Night is near and I do not know if we will run into other witches by then. And we still have not seen Kyubey."
Homura narrowed her eyes at Madoka and spoke with more emotion than she had shown to any of the rest before, "Again… I implore you. Do not contract with him, Madoka."
"Homura-chan…"
And with that, she was virtually gone, walking back to the other end of the street in her signature stoic gait. Madoka curiously watched her before she disappeared. Sayaka did as well – with visible suspicion.
"Honestly, that girl," Kyoko sighed, shrugging her shoulders as she did. "At least she actually helped us this time. She may be becoming more of a team player, but she's definitely not a people person quite yet."
Heh. Look who's talking. Just a week ago, you were pretty much the same loner.
"Let's call it a day, huh?" Kyoko then suggested to Sayaka with a smile. "I doubt we'll see more action for now."
"Okay," Sayaka nodded after a moment of thought. "I'm feeling kind of beat anyway..."
Author's Notes: So here we have a little action before Walpurgis Night! Sorry for the wait (again), and the short length of the chapter - the next few ones will be compensating for that. As always, thank you to everybody who's been reading the story so far!