Episode 1: Night of Fate

Chapter One

"The poor child whined and cried like a baby when I dumped her!"

My head rose from the cold, hard pillow of a commuter train seat railing. It was around midnight. The car was empty except for two guys cackling about the stupidity of women. I think they were pimps. I couldn't take it anymore. I brushed stray strands of blue hair from my eyes and shambled toward the men. I tried to look angry, but my face wouldn't budge. Just a blank stare. There was nothing inside me.

"Excuse me," I mumbled, "who are you talking about?"

The prettier of the pair gawked. "What?"

"Your girlfriend." I closed my eyes. "Tell me about her."

The other guy smirked. "Are you a middle schooler? Nice uniform. It's not safe to talk to strangers, little girl."

I ignored him. "You must mean a lot to her. She wants to make you happy. You know that, don't you?"

Silence.

"But you're making fun of her." I continued. "As soon as she stopped being useful, you abandoned her, didn't you?"

"Why?" A leer crept across the pretty man's face. "Do you know her daughter from class or something?" He chuckled. "Cause she sure isn't my daughter!"

I turned away. "Is this world worth protecting?" I clenched my fists. "Tell me why I should fight, tell me right now! Or I'll..." Tears choked off my words.

They laughed at me. So I killed them. I slumped the bodies over and closed their eyes to make it look like they were sleeping. It didn't make the pain go away. I clutched my chest and shook at the thought that although I could feel it beating, I didn't have a heart in there anymore.

Images shot through my mind like bullets. I saw Mami's gentle smile and soft, golden hair as she comforted a man she'd saved from committing suicide. Then, I remembered her mangled flesh dangling from the mouth of a giant worm while her headless body flailed on the ground. Mami was the reason I'd wanted to become a Magic Girl. Like her, I'd wanted to fight for the innocent and rescue them from strange creatures of negative emotion that we called Witches. Even sacrifice myself, if necessary. I thought about Kyousuke, the boy I loved so deeply. I'd given everything for him. You had to make a wish before you became a Magic Girl, and my wish was to restore his health so he could play the violin again. But then I was afraid to tell him. And after I found out exactly what I'd become, I couldn't tell him. In the end, he kissed my friend Hitomi, not me.

I slammed my arm against the wall. Hard. It snapped. Laughter erupted from my sobs as the wound closed and the bone popped back into place in a matter of seconds. Who was I kidding? Something dead couldn't get hurt! My body had no life in it. My life, my soul, was trapped in a gem in a ring on my finger. Slowly fading away.

"Kyubey," I whimpered as I crumpled to the floor, "why did you trick us?"

I already knew the answer. Creatures like Kyubey seduced us to give up our hearts in exchange for wishes, power, and a chance to help people and be important as Magic Girls. They offered us lonely little girls a chance to matter to someone. We trusted them because they didn't look mean at all. They were small and they looked like a cross between a bunny rabbit and a cat with golden rings suspended around the ears as if by invisible fairies. But it was all a farce. All a play on our emotions. We were tricked into hunting Witches until our souls burned out, at which point we'd become the very things we'd signed on to fight. Then other Magic Girls would come kill us and feed our Grief Seeds—the dark remnants of our souls—to Kyubey. It was that horrible and that simple. All the good we accomplished, everyone we saved...meaningless. The universe would always reset itself to zero in the game of predator and prey.

Shadows coiled around me. Mocking figures, half real, half illusion. Ghost People, minions of the Witches. I called upon the dimming light inside me and struck out with a cutlass that materialized in my hand. They came closer. I moaned and stumbled, cradling my head and pressing my temples, trying to make them go away. Somehow, I managed to crawl into another car full of people.

I lost my mind completely. The faces around me twisted into demonic forms, all lined with teeth, laughing at me. I wanted to kill them. Even the babies. Especially the babies. They were the loudest and ugliest. I wanted to save them from the torture of existing in this world. I thought to myself, Everyone dies, right? I should at least spare these people the pain of living, the pain of discovering that they're worthless.But I threw myself out a window before I could act.

A strip of flesh tore off against the gravel beside the tracks as shattered glass rained down. I didn't care. Tears stung my eyes for other reasons. I folded my arms and wandered for several city blocks without seeing anyone except the Ghost People. They were coming for me, giggling, just waiting to rip me apart from the inside. I knew it. Oddly enough, I found my way back to a train station. It was closed. I broke in and hobbled up an escalator to the second floor. The shadows were right behind me, then creeping in from every direction.

I took a seat by a billboard, hung my head, smiled, and waited for the end.

Chapter Two

Footsteps. I winced. No, not you, Kyoko! Not now! Please, stay back. I'm not me anymore. Can't you see the Ghost People? The redheaded girl jogged right through them, totally unaware. I guess not.

"I finally found you!" Kyoko caught her breath and plopped down next to me. She popped a can of pizza-flavored wedge chips from her pocket. "When are you going to learn to stop being so stupid? Come on, expending all your energy like that and then throwing a tantrum and running away? Really childish."

I could tell immediately that she was there to offer me the same Grief Seed I'd refused to accept from Homura earlier. Homura was another Magic Girl with dark hair who acted mysterious all the time and always seemed ready for a fight. She'd tried to kill me when I rejected her gift, but Kyoko had stopped her. The redhead and I hadn't gotten along well in the beginning, but we'd since become good friends. She'd probably ask me to use the Grief Seed to take away some of the darkness from my Soul Gem, but that would only prolong the inevitable. She hadn't figured it out yet. It wasn't about recharging magical energy.

"Sorry for wasting your time," I muttered.

"Huh?" She munched on a chip. "That's a weird thing for you to say."

"I don't care anymore."

Kyoko stopped eating. Her brow scrunched up.

"What was important to me," I continued, "what I wanted to protect...it's useless."

"Hey," the redhead chewed her lip, "what are you talking about?"

I opened my hands slowly to reveal my Soul Gem. Whenever I manifested it from my ring, it took on the form of an ornate, golden Fabergé egg cradling a huge sapphire. Now it was cracked all over and looked like a snow globe full of sludge.

Kyoko gasped.

I whispered, "Hope and despair, light and darkness, always balance out to zero. That's what you said, isn't it?"

Her eyes were scared.

I sighed. "I understand what that means now. I did save a few people, but with each battle, the hatred inside me grew. I failed Mami. I even hurt my best friend, Madoka. And you're right, I ran away, unable to face it."

"Wait! Did you—"

"No, she's still alive." I grinned. "But whenever I wish for someone to be happy, someone else has to suffer. That's what it means to be a Magic Girl."

I gazed up at Kyoko with watery, tired eyes. "I'm such a fool."

A single teardrop landed on my Soul Gem and it shattered. Darkness spilled everywhere. Kyoko tried to hang on, but the force was like an explosion. She spun across the room and clanked against a steel grating. The lights overhead blew out and the ground quivered. I collapsed and the Ghost People took me.

Chapter Three

The next thing I knew, I was standing on a stage watching a man of pure shadow conduct an orchestra of distorted, blue, cutout replicas of my love, Kyousuke. Wait, was it a stage or an arena? I couldn't feel my heartbeat in that place, but I was still doing fine. It was so surreal. Columns made of bookshelves like the ones in Kyousuke's hospital room went up as high as the eye could see. This was definitely a Witch Maze—an otherworld they trapped their victims in before draining their souls. Something breathed down the back of my neck. I turned around.

Words can't describe my horror.

A colossal, faceless mermaid with a black, heart-shaped crest behind its head, ironclad like a knight and wagging a tail of bronze, chucked a sword twice as tall as me into the ground. Suddenly, I wasn't okay with dying anymore! Was this my Witch? I flipped and tumbled, but couldn't use any magic. The orchestra played louder and louder until it drowned out my screams. Music morphed into waves on a sea, swirling round and round the Witch. I struggled to keep my head above water. A claw whipped out from the mermaid's underbelly and latched onto my ankle. It dangled me upside down above the center of the whirlpool. Below me, the Witch's helmet creaked open.

So this is how it happens, I thought to myself.

"It doesn't have to, Sayaka," came a girl's calm, quiet voice.

Time froze. Did someone call my name?

Water droplets sparkled in front of my eyes like tiny stars. I spun my head this way and that. Is this what it feels like to go crazy? I thought I was already there...maybe this is death?

"Remember your friend!" commanded the voice. "If you can't fight for your own heart, then fight for hers! Don't let the darkness take her too!"

Madoka! My friend! My best friend! The pink hair, the bright smile, the cheerful laugh—it all rushed back to me! I remembered listening to music at the mall with her, giggling under the covers and telling ghost stories at slumber parties, and holding her hand when she cried after her pet goldfish died. I know those things sound silly and stupid, but they flipped a light switch on inside me. If I went away, who would protect Madoka from Kyubey? What if that creature tricked her into becoming a Magic Girl?

I clenched my teeth at the Witch. "No, I won't—I refuse—to become you!"

Light spiraled around my hand and took shape. What was it? A strange sword, glasslike—no, blue diamond—crafted to look like a long, cresting wave. The tip bulged out a little to make room for a five-pointed, sapphire star with a golden center. The handle felt like ivory and the hilt curved into two heart-shaped openings. At the base there was a small, glowing teardrop.

I'd never seen a Magic Girl wield something like this before. And besides, hadn't my Soul Gem broken? How was I using magic? How was I even alive?

Time started flowing again. I put the questions aside and swung with all my might at the claw that was digging into my ankle. The Witch shrieked. Black smoke puffed out. I tumbled downward, hooked my new blade on the mermaid's visor, and leapt away from its mouth before it could eat me. As I fell, the sea below me turned to mist and vanished. I was back on the stage, but now it was definitely an arena.

The Witch lunged. I held up my sword and blocked the mermaid's blade even though I was really tiny by comparison. But the creature pressed harder and harder, forcing me to my knees as steel ground against diamond. I summoned all my strength and thrust the creature back. The mermaid toppled a column and sent books flying everywhere. Literally! They had teeth and swarmed me. I cut through. Next came the Kyousuke cutouts, marching down from the stage. They were no match for me. I saw some Ghost People holding violins and daggers too. I killed them easily. I ran faster and faster, putting everything into my charge! Then, I jumped up and threw my blade at the Witch's chest. Smack! Direct hit. Shafts of light pierced its flesh.

"I, Sayaka Miki, will protect Madoka, until the very end!"

Hope surged inside me. I couldn't resist it! My blade reappeared in my hand. Had I won? Did I beat the darkness? Uh oh. The earth began rumbling. Cracks ran along the ground. Everything crumbled into an infinite, black abyss.

No, but I won, I won! How can this be?

"Take my hand!" came the voice again. "I won't let you go!"

A blonde girl in a flowing white dress grabbed me. She stood suspended in midair, her pretty blue eyes unmoved by all the destruction raining down around us. We looked to be about the same age. Was she another Magic Girl?

"I was so afraid you wouldn't listen to me this time either," she smiled, "but you did! I guess the memory keeps getting stronger. Maybe it's strong enough now?"

"Huh?"

Everything blurred to white.

Chapter Four

I came to in a white room. And I mean white. Everything, the chairs, the central table, the ceiling, the floor...all of it looked like it had been bleached. If I would've touched something, I'd like to think it might have felt very soft. But all I could do was stare at the blonde girl standing in front of me.

"Where am I?"

"It's not a question of where," she nodded, "but rather, of who."

"Of who? ...I, I don't understand."

The girl glanced down and kicked at the floor. "I'm sorry...I guess you can't understand it right now. And unfortunately, I don't have time to explain it."

"What do you mean?" I took a step forward. "Tell me what's going on!"

"I can't—not yet." She sighed. "But I can say, you've been led to believe a lie."

"Excuse me?"

"The darkness. It doesn't take away the light."

Silence.

"It's like putting a candle in a dark room," she continued. "The darkness may go on forever, but there's no limit to how bright you can make the light. The darkness and the light—they don't cancel out, Sayaka, not unless the darkness convinces the light to extinguish itself. Because the darkness knows the light will drive it back until it's gone."

I clasped a hand to my chest. The warmth...I could feel my heart beating again.

"It wasn't me." The girl smiled. "You made it start all by yourself."

"Hold on." I pulled away. "Is this another trap? Like with Kyubey? Are you going to do something nice for me, then take advantage of me and screw me over?"

"No," she ran a hand across the table, "but I can't prove it."

"What do you want from me?" I demanded. "Why did you save me?"

The girl paused. "Long ago, I gave a boy a choice—me, or someone else. I'd already changed everything about him to force him to like me. I knew what was the right thing to do, but I made him decide anyway. I wanted him to pick me. He did. But I was tricked, just like you. And that's why the darkness came."

How weird. She spoke as if her explanation was supposed to make perfect sense to me. All I could do was stand there and shudder with fear and confusion.

Her eyes teared up a bit. "I'm sorry. I wasn't tricked like you. You wanted to help someone else, even die for them. I listened only to my selfishness. The world is unworthy of a light so great and selfless as yours. Nevertheless, it needs it again."

She talked as if I were some kind of hero. And maybe I was—a failed hero. I wondered if she knew about all the terrible things I'd said and done.

"What do you mean selfless?" I went pale. "I just killed two—"

"Your blade," she cut me off, "it's also a key that will open many hearts and bring them healing. You remind me of a woman who helped me long before I became what I am now. She gave me something, and I've given it back to you. Don't just be Madoka's guardian—protect everyone. Find that desire again, please, or else..."

"Or else what?" I leaned forward. "Tell me! You're not making any sense!"

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, "I have to go. He'll see me if I don't."

"Who will see you? Come on, this is all really vague and scary! I don't know what to do with any of it! I'm serious!"

"Don't worry," she insisted, "you will. Have faith—we'll meet again. I promise. Stay strong and hold onto the light. Then, when the time comes, even the darkness will fight for you."

She started walking away.

"Wait!" I called after her. "At least tell me your name!"

She glanced over her shoulder. "A Nobody has no name."

My chest began pounding harder and harder. I passed out.

Chapter Five

"Sayaka!"

Madoka? Is that you?

I heard gravel crunching under feet, but everything sounded distant like my head was under water. My arms and legs tingled. I couldn't move anything. I couldn't even open my eyes to look around. What happened to the blonde girl? Oh, she left. Right. I remembered that much. How long have I been out?

"Sayaka! What's wrong?" Madoka sounded hysterical. "Where's her Soul Gem? What happened to her?"

Homura's voice answered in a monotone, "Her Soul Gem turned into a Grief Seed. She became a Witch and died."

No...that's not true. I'm right here!

There was a thud. Madoka rasped, "You're kidding...right?"

Kyoko responded barely above a whisper. "It's the truth."

I could feel the redheaded girl's breath on my throat. Was she carrying me? A muscle twitched in my leg. I don't think she noticed.

Please, I pleaded inside, someone notice that I'm alive!

"Death." Homura sighed. "That's the final secret of the Soul Gem. When the gem gets tainted and turns black, we become Grief Seeds and turn into Witches. That's the unavoidable fate of all who become Magic Girls."

A train raced by several feet away.

"It's not true..." Madoka cried. "...Tell me it's not... Please!"

"Madoka!" I croaked.

My eyes shot open and my head jerked up with a cough. Kyoko shrieked and dropped me. I rolled on my side and wheezed.

"Sayaka!" Madoka beamed from ear to ear.

Homura gasped and stepped back. "Impossible!"

"Someone's a liar liar pants on fire!" Kyoko growled at the dark haired girl.

Madoka put an arm against my stomach and helped me to my feet. My strength wasn't totally back yet, so I leaned on her.

"No!" Homura freaked. "Get back! It's not her, it can't be her!"

The dark haired girl blinked out of sight. Oh, that was bad! Homura could jump to other places. That was her special power as far as the rest of us knew. I raised my arms in defense, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't do any good. Then, there was a tremendous blast of light. My new blade materialized in my hand. I swung as hard as I could. And just in time! The broad side of my blade struck the dark haired girl's jaw and sent her flying. She smacked square into a pole almost a hundred feet away and slumped to the ground in a dust cloud.

"Whoah!" Kyoko oohed and aahed. "Where'd you get that sparkly thing?"

"I'm not really sure. Look, sorry about earlier, I went somewhere else, and I—"

"Yeah yeah," Kyoko waved it off, "you can tell me all about your freaky misadventures in dreamland later, okay?"

Red energy circled Kyoko as her Magic Girl armor and spear appeared. I summoned mine next. It had a white cape over blue formal wear, so I looked like a more colorful, female version of Zorro without the silly mask or hat. Homura's outfit was as bland as always and she looked like a maid. But a really, really scary maid.

Madoka hid behind me and Kyoko. "Homura, stop it!"

"Fat chance of that happening." The redhead chuckled.

"Do you think we can take her?" I asked Kyoko.

"Hm...probably not." She scratched her chin. "Madoka, you might want to run."

"No!" She stomped her feet. "I'm staying right here! I want everybody to stop this instant! I won't let you kill Homura!"

"Hmph!" Kyoko tossed her hair back. "Don't worry, she's not going to be the one dying tonight." The redhead braced against her spear as Homura rose from the ground. "Well, Sayaka," Kyoko grinned, "it's always about spiting your friends, isn't it? You just had to fake us out before dying right in front of us, didn't you?"

I gulped. Homura charged.

Chapter Six

I swiped at empty air again. Homura kept blinking all over the place! Why couldn't she hold still long enough for me to smack her out of the ballpark again? She and Kyoko spiraled up into the air and exchanged blows. Most Magic Girls had a unique weapon of their own, but the dark haired girl only had a tiny steel buckler on her forearm. So she couldn't do much damage in melee. However, judging from the flash grenades she liked to throw and the explosions that were prone to go off around her, we all figured she must have stored stuff inside it somewhere.

"Sayaka," Madoka screamed, "look out!"

An iron slab whizzed right at me! I ducked and it took out the window of a boarding station. Homura blurred and reappeared inches from my face. Her hand squeezed my throat and lifted me up.

"Please!" I choked.

There was a tear in Homura's eye. Madoka bawled. I could hear a train coming. The dark haired girl marched me over and held me out over the tracks. She grimaced and braced herself for the splatter.

"Are you insane?" Kyoko squealed.

The redhead tried an intercept with her spear, but faltered. Homura kneed her in the gut. Kyoko's mouth gaped like a fish as she struggled to stay standing.

"For you and me it's hopeless," Homura chided. "If you get in my way, I will kill you. All that matters is Madoka!"

Kyoko crumpled.

My pink-haired friend couldn't have been more terrified. Apparently, Homura thought I was a Witch and wouldn't be convinced otherwise. She'd bought Kyubey's lie long before I had. Could it be that she was working for the creature? Maybe. It seemed plausible at the time. Homura knew too much. I really wanted the blonde girl to come and save me again.

The train wasn't far. I closed my eyes.

Wait. A shadow moved up above! I heard something zing through the wind like a boomerang. The force thrust me out of harm's way. Blood spurted from Homura's wrist as she staggered back. An ebony sword carved like a demon wing stuck up from the tracks that divided us. It had a creepy eye jewel on the hilt. The train roared past and the sword vanished in a puff of black smoke.

"I knew I smelled something familiar," remarked a cold, deep voice. "And here I thought I was the only one left."

Someone landed catlike by my side.

I glanced over to get a better look at my rescuer. A hood concealed his face. In fact, his whole body was covered in a dark robe. Was he a ninja monk or something? Hey, at that point, I thought anything was possible.

"Need a hand?" He helped me to my feet.

This must be the guy the blonde girl is hiding from. But why is she hiding? I didn't want to think about it. I nodded sheepishly to accept the man's help. If he wanted to kill me, he'd have to take a ticket and stand in line.

"Okay. You protect the girl," he instructed, "I'll deal with the Witchling."

I shuddered at the term. Does he mean Homura?

The train passed. Homura glared. My new companion arced one arm above his head like a scorpion ready to strike and guarded his waste with the other. His ebony sword took shape again from gathering shadow.

"Hold on," I tugged at his robe, "whatever you do, don't kill her."

"Why?"

I looked across the tacks at Madoka. She nodded.

"Fine. But you'd better have a good reason for this."

I ran and cradled my friend while the man fought Homura. Both of them blinked in and out as they tumbled and twirled. Sparks flew whenever they blocked each other. It seemed neither could gain the upper hand and I started getting very worried. Madoka clung to me tighter and tighter.

"Sayaka, it'll be alright, won't it?"

"I really hope so." I held her hand and got my sword ready just in case.

Gunshots! Homura had a pistol. Madoka and I started screaming. The hooded man seemed unfazed and blocked the bullets with his blade. But the dark haired girl disappeared again. He looked all around, but she was right behind him. A train roared by and Homura tossed him in front of it.

"No!" Madoka wailed.

I winced. The scene was beyond words.

Homura's hair blew in the wind as she turned her attention to us. Her gun sparkled in the moonlight. My friend burrowed into my chest and I nuzzled her hair. The dark haired girl took aim.

"Madoka," I whispered, "I love you."

Her teeth clattered.

"Sh," I rubbed her shoulders as I got to my feet. "It'll be over quick."

I outstretched my arms and dropped my blade. "Listen, Homura. I don't know what you want with Madoka, but I'm not going to fight you anymore! Kyubey is turning us against each other! Can't you see that?"

Her hand wobbled. "But...," she yelled, "but I watched you die! Again and again and again! It's always the same! It has to be the same!"

Her eyes looked wild. I was shivering from head to toe. Homura was crazy and my best friend and I were going to get shot! Madoka hid her head beneath my cape. I wept for her. Homura squeezed the trigger.

Chapter Seven

Blam!

The bullet ricocheted off a nearby metal girder. Homura screeched as something yanked her arm back and forth. Ew, what was it? It looked black and inky like a tentacle, but it was coming right out of her own shadow. It bulged and the man from earlier splashed out from it like it was water.

"Darkness!" he commanded.

The shadow obeyed his voice and coiled around Homura. She was suffocating from the pressure and turning blue. Finally, the shadow let up and she fell to the ground, motionless. The man stood over her.

The blonde girl's words echoed in my mind, Even the darkness will fight for you. Was she talking about this guy? No thanks. I still wondered if he might be planning to kill us next. Tingles went down my spine and I pushed the thought away.

"Is she...?" Madoka's words trailed off.

"No," the man replied. "Just unconscious."

He walked over, picked up my sword, and handed it back. "The name's Riku."

"Thanks," I panted, "I thought we were dead."

Silence.

His hood tilted. "Aren't you going to introduce yourselves?"

"Um, I'm Sayaka. And this is Madoka."

She waved with a blank look on her face. "Mister, are you a Magic...Boy?"

"No." He let out a single, dark chuckle. "I'm just here to protect special people like you."

He crouched down to her level—he was about two feet taller than us—and touched the center of her chest, right where a necklace would hang. There was a brilliant light. Madoka stepped back and everything got dark again. I clenched my fists and decided that if he touched her again, he'd lose a finger!

What a creep! That blonde girl is right to hide from him!

"Just what I suspected." The man rose to his feet. "No wonder the Organization is interested. You'd make a very powerful Magic Girl, perhaps the most powerful of all..."

"Too bad!" I put myself between them. "She's not going to become one!"

"Sayaka," he folded his arms, "is she your friend?"

"Yes," I nodded, "my best friend. So back off!"

"Don't worry, we've got the same objective. But you'd better train much harder to protect her if you don't want her winding up dead...or worse than dead. Are you new at this?"

I didn't respond.

"Word of advice, kids, avoid Witchlings."

Madoka wrinkled her lips. "What do you mean?"

"Magic Girls. They're dangerous, they're hopeless, and sooner or later, they'll turn into Witches and kill you."

"That's not true!" I protested. "Not always..."

He pointed at Kyoko. "You see that red thing? It'll attack you just like the black one. It's inevitable."

Madoka's eyes went wide. "But Kyoko's our friend!"

He got quiet.

"Homura is too!" she added.

"So that's why you wanted her unconscious...well, I'm not sure how else to put this, but, if you truly care about your friends, you'll kill them before they hurt somebody. What's been done to them can't be undone."

"That's a lie!" I shouted. "Don't you dare believe it! I was told..."

I trailed off. I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to mention the blonde girl.

"Whatever you've been told, forget it. You have no idea how lucky you are," he wagged a finger. "A very powerful Witch—one of the most powerful ones I've ever seen—appeared around this very rail yard just a few hours ago. I found two men dead on a train. That's the only reason I'm in the area. To hunt what killed them, even if it kills me. And you're even luckier it vanished, or else I wouldn't have even noticed you." He looked off into the night. "I've never seen one do that, but it couldn't have gone far."

My blood ran cold.

"So if you'll excuse me," he turned to leave, "I have unfinished business."

I couldn't talk. My throat felt swollen. All I could do was watch him walk off into the shadows. How can I put into words what was going through my mind? I won't even try. The faces of the two men I killed, frozen in that final look of shock, stared at me from the darkness. I fell to my knees, doubled over, and puked.

"Sayaka...what's wrong?" Madoka trembled. "Are you okay?"

I couldn't tell her the truth. I didn't even know the truth, really. I had so many questions, but I didn't want answers. I only wanted Riku to come back and kill me. I mourned for myself and my victims and listened to the trains go by. Madoka stood in silence with her hand on my shoulder. She never moved the whole time.

I wasn't a Witch. Not anymore. But I was a monster.