Les Fleurs du Mal – We Need to Talk
Disclaimer: In case you haven't figured it out yet, I don't own Puella Magi Madoka Magica. All Madoka-related characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of Studio SHAFT and Gen Urobuchi.
[-]
The quintet, finally united for the first time in a hundred repetitions of reality, didn't have to wait long for their foes to appear.
"Sasa Yuki. Alina Gray. Suzune Amano. Oriko Mikuni," said Homura, counting them off as they descended onto the disappearing streets of Asunaro City, flying with no apparent means of propulsion. "I see your 'Benefactor' has upgraded some of her lackeys to the deluxe package."
"Hardy-har-har. Jealous you're no longer on the winning side, Miss Ex-Devil?" Sasa sneered, childishly blowing a raspberry. "There's a new boss in town, and while I've never liked taking orders…at least this queen looks out for her subjects."
She briefly paused to indulge in what could also be a taste of her personal mental heaven, eyes rolling into the back of her head as she moaned, "Yeah, right there…on your knees where you belong, you dirty bitch…"
None of them, including the mind-controller's own teammates, seemed interested in finding out any more about her idea of paradise.
Madoka, meanwhile, felt like she was going to be sick. While her salvation had been meant for everyone, the role of Messenger most emphatically had not. Across all of time and space, she'd taken great care to select only those Magical Girls who were ready for the enormous responsibility.
Not because it was a gift…but because it was a burden. One she wouldn't bestow on another unless she knew they could handle it.
It wasn't an entirely kind thing to say, but none of these four would've made the cut for the job, for varying reasons. Sasa was too controlling for the role, Alina too unstable. Suzune, after everything she'd been through in life, simply deserved to spend her afterlife at rest.
And as for Oriko…
Madoka suppressed a shiver. Granting her this authority might've been Gretchen's most dangerous move yet. She knew the oracle meant well; had only the best intentions for the world at large in her heart.
But she could not be trusted with power. She'd misused it far too many times in the past.
"We give you one chance to come quietly," said Oriko with a knowing smile, as if she could tell Madoka had been thinking of her. "Our Savior is nothing if not beneficent. Surrender in the face of Her Glory, and all your transgressions will be forgiven."
"Yeah, don't think so," Kyoko snapped, transforming her clothes in a flash and twirling a spear in her hand. "How 'bout we skip the chit-chat an' get straigh' ta where we all know this is gonna go?"
"Ooh, Alina likes this one," the artist piped up, placing her pinky finger in the corner of her hungrily grinning mouth. "Perhaps when this is all over, Sua Grazia will let Alina keep her as un giocattolo?"
"I happen to know Italian as well, and that is not happening!" Mami exclaimed, stepping forward. "You will not touch any of my kohai without going through me first!"
"That can certainly be arranged," Oriko's voice grew darker in the face of their bold rejection. "Amano, I think it's time for our opening salvo."
Suzune nodded once, which was the only warning before a massive torrent of flames erupted from her claymore.
A split-second before the fire would've roasted them all, Kyoko managed to summon a lattice of crimson chains, blocking the attack. But this only seemed to make Alina more intrigued.
"Oh, you can create le barriere as well?" she cried gleefully. "It is like we are fatti l'uno per l'altro!"
Before any of them could object again, she conjured a glowing green cube in her palm. From it, walls of verdant energy began to erupt, cutting the Holy Quintet off from one another.
"Divide and conquer. Clichéd tactic, sure, but it gets the job done," said Sasa. "Might as well do my part!"
She held her staff aloft, waves of some unknown energy radiating out in circles. They flowed toward the bubble Sayaka was trapped inside, causing her to double over and cry in pain, clutching at her head.
"Doubt it'll work on you, with your defenses up like this. Brainwashing it so much easier on an unprepared mind," she added, with a sadistic little chuckle. She either didn't recognize, or didn't care about, the irony. "But as long as you're resisting, you're helpless! Care to do the honors, Miss Whore-acle?"
"I have no intention of killing them. Our Savior commanded they be taken alive," replied Oriko, frowning at the vulgar nickname. Even so, her orbs of light were arraying themselves above her shoulders, readying her signature attack. "But I suppose it wouldn't be a problem if they were each missing a leg or two."
Madoka stood frozen in terror, looking around wildly for someone who could help Sayaka. But Kyoko and Mami were still embroiled in combat with Suzune and Alina, and she and Homura were completely devoid of weapons for battle. Save for…
She bit her lip. Testing her theory earlier had been risky, but this would all but guarantee Gretchen figuring out her plan. The Witch might or might not be watching at any given moment, but there was no way she wouldn't be eyeing this battle like a hawk. Not after her first attempt fumbled so badly.
Madoka slowly shook her head from side to side. "There's no other way," she said to herself, before sprinting over to Homura, who was on the other side of a different barrier.
"Put your hand up against mine! Hurry!" she exclaimed, placing her palm against the impassible green energy.
Homura clearly had no idea what she was up to, but hastened to obey nonetheless.
As soon as their hands were parallel to one another, separated only by Alina Gray's magic, Madoka chanted the words, "I am Madoka Kaname, and this is a power that threatens mine."
This effect was even more instantaneous than before. Violet energy spilled out of Homura's chest and along her arm, coursing into the green barrier. It flashed for a few seconds, as if short-circuiting, and then disappeared completely.
Alina, for her part, looked like she'd just witnessed the flight of a hundred pigs.
"È impossibile…" she uttered hollowly. "È completamente impossibile…"
But Madoka didn't stop to take in the stunned reactions of any of the other combatants. Ignoring how ridiculous she must look, she ran around the battlefield, dragging Homura behind her by the hand and continuing to shout, "I am Madoka Kaname, and this is a power that threatens mine! I am Madoka Kaname, and this is a power that threatens mine!"
Each declaration summoned a fresh burst of that indescribable power, smashing through and demolishing the dozens of barriers Alina had summoned up. Moreover, it disrupted any magic that stood in her way – from Suzune's flames to Oriko's Oracle Ray, when she tried to fire it at their feet.
Even Sasa's mind control spell was interrupted when she ran past her while shouting it – allowing Sayaka to recover long enough to deck her in the face.
"Everyone, try and get them in one place!" Madoka called out to her friends. "I think I can take care of it from there!"
Sayaka, Kyoko, and Mami didn't need telling twice. The former pair leapt around, breaking through the remaining Messengers' defenses with quick sword-slashes and spear-lunges, while the latter summoned enormous ribbons to wrap them all together.
Soon enough, their four foes were tied up in the center of the street, the last dregs of their magic fading away. Sasa and Alina were shouting a great number of expletives in Japanese and Italian respectively, before a scowling Mami gagged them with ribbons as well.
"Their Soul Gems. I need access to their Soul Gems," she said hurriedly. She knew she probably didn't make any sense, but there wasn't any time for explanations.
Thankfully, Mami didn't wait for one. She shifted the ribbons again, twisting their captives around – a bit of tricky business, since each of them wore their Gems in different spots. But eventually they were all brought together, almost-but-not-quite touching.
"One more time," Madoka declared, pulling a bewildered Homura close to her side. "I am Madoka Kaname, and this is a power that threatens mine. Now…Connect."
The energy crackled to life one more time, surrounding the Soul Gems like electricity around a magnet.
And then the world around them disappeared.
[-]
"No…" growled Gretchen, from the apex of her Heaven. "No no no no no NO NO NO NO!"
She swept her arm in a violent arc, which had the added effect of sending Iroha Tamaki flying with a wail of pain. Not that the Witch noticed.
She was too preoccupied with seething, white-hot fury.
Her Origin had figured it out, which wasn't entirely outside the realm of her expectations. But so soon, so…effortlessly?
She knew better than anyone, of course, that her Origin wasn't unintelligent. Meek, unconfident, lacking in vision or conviction…but not stupid. She would've deduced the truth eventually.
But Gretchen had intended to be in a much better position when she did. To have her Origin, and her demonic paramour, at her mercy, Homulilly ready to be extracted and given new life. Once that happened, it wouldn't matter if her Origin realized the truth.
Now, however…well, there was no longer any point in sending Messengers. Even if they resisted the girl's honeyed manipulations – and Gretchen had deliberately chosen these four to be as hard to turn as possible – none of their magic would be able to hold her, or her chosen allies.
All she would need to say was a single, slightly awkward sentence.
The Witch realized, now, the true extent of her folly. She should have put all other operations on hold and focused solely on capturing the former goddess and devil. On separating them. Before the latter had the chance to undergo a change of heart, and remove the shackles she'd placed on her Origin's mind.
Gretchen almost had to laugh at the bitter irony. All the plans she'd devised, the fates of trillions…
About to be undone because two middle-school girls had kissed.
Unfortunately, there was no changing the past – literally. The Law of Cycles existed outside the normal flow of time, so even if she did manage to reverse the past few hours, her Origin's knowledge would remain. Once she knew, she had always known.
They were both non-linear beings, vying for supremacy over time and space. With room for only one victor.
The one advantage she still possessed over her Origin was that the latter had things she wouldn't do, under any circumstances. Gretchen was not so constrained.
Clearly, a change in tactics was in order.
"Your Grace?" spoke up one of her servants; a burly, muscular Romanian girl named Iolanda. "We've retrieved the items you asked for."
"Ah, perfect timing. Your service is appreciated," said Gretchen, causing the girl to shiver pleasurably from the praise. "Place them over there, if you please."
Iolanda directed Sigrun and Jaya to follow her lead, as they dragged in a quartet of unconscious bodied. Ones which caused Iroha, still smarting from the last blow and her many hours of torture, to gasp aloud.
"Three of their souls may be native to this time flow, and likewise their physical bodies," the Witch of Salvation went on, watching as the soulless shells of Yachiyo Nanami, Tsuruno Yui, Felicia Mitsuki, and Sana Futaba were laid alongside one another. "But clearly, the bond between you five transcends realities. Perhaps having them here will speed things up a bit. And if not…"
Iroha wept openly as Gretchen's fingers closed, pincer-like, around Yachiyo's unmoving throat.
"It should at least motivate this one to Connect a little faster."
[-]
Homura Akemi had spent the past ten minutes or so having no idea what was going on.
It was, unfortunately, becoming a rather familiar sensation.
She trusted Madoka implicitly, of course, and there was certainly sense in not explaining their strategies in too much detail, lest Gretchen overhear. Nevertheless…
Getting dragged around and made to fire weird purple lightning everywhere was not going to make the list of favorite times Madoka had held her hand.
She had a few theories as to what was going on there, magically speaking, but nothing definite. Which, in itself, was an unpleasant novelty. She'd spent so long in control, the spider weaving the dark web to which others danced, that being literally and figuratively pulled along for the ride was something she distinctly did not care for.
One mystery at a time, however. She and Madoka were standing amidst a pure black void, the darkness interrupted only by slight disturbances here and there – like they were on a television station broadcasting dead air.
"The last time you did that, we wound up inside Mami Tomoe's Soul Gem," she said. "So shouldn't we be in the dream realm of one of those enemy Magical Girls? Or a conglomeration of all four?"
"That's what I expected," replied Madoka, biting her lip. She reached out for Homura's hand once again, which she accepted immediately. "Unless one of their desires is so strong, it's overpowering the others."
"Well it certainly ain't mine," came one of Homura's least-favorite voices in this or any other timeline, as Sasa Yuki strode out of the blackness, looking decidedly bored. "Way too few groveling slaves for my tastes."
"Nor mine. There is no paradise for me without my dearest Kirika," Oriko added, emerging from the void as well, her all-white dress hunched up as if she was afraid of dirtying it.
She was followed swiftly by Alina, who was looking around this strange realm with evident fascination.
"Alina appreciates the…stile minimalista. But it is not her work," she said. "It's missing a touch of…what is the term in Japanese? Oomph?"
"It's mine," mumbled a much smaller voice, causing each of their heads to turn.
Suzune Amano was sitting amidst the darkness, clutching her claymore to her body like it was a comfort toy. Her expression was blank, hollow – certainly not what was to be expected for a girl experiencing her own personal Heaven.
"When she connected me to my previous lives, I saw everything. Learned what I used to be," she continued to whisper. "I killed…so many Magical Girls. For nothing. Just to satisfy the petty vengeance of a girl I'd never even met. And then, in this world…"
She hugged the sword even tighter, hard enough that she began to draw blood from her palms.
"I became a pawn again. And again and again," the words were coming out choked, halting. "That's my only lot in life. To be a blade for others. Because a blade doesn't feel guilt, or remorse. A blade doesn't have to think…about the trail of blood she left behind."
"That's why this is the world you constructed. A world where you don't have to fight anymore," Madoka realized aloud. "But…you can't just want emptiness. What about Matsuri?"
Suzune slowly looked up, eyes locked on the golden ones of the once-goddess.
"I don't deserve her. I never did," she said slowly. "This is where I need to be. A place where I can't hurt her, or anyone again. I don't care what that Witch does with my body. As long as my mind can be here, at peace. Forever."
Homura felt a fresh wave of disgust bubble up in the pit of her stomach. Kriemhild Gretchen's modus operandi was to give the people trapped in her Barrier everything they wanted – but not necessarily what they needed.
She'd regressed Sayaka Miki, Kyoko Sakura, and Mami Tomoe to the naïve children they'd once been, deciding that the warm blanket of ignorance was what made them happiest. Callously disregarding all the growth they'd experienced in the face of adversity.
And in this one's case, she'd given her exactly what she asked for – a safe space, free of violence or want. But also free of anything good.
Free of any way for her to earn what she truly deserved. A chance to heal.
She could tell Madoka was thinking much the same thing. Because she was slowly bending down, and embracing the silver-haired girl around the shoulders.
"That's enough. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that," she whispered, her voice dripping with such compassion that Homura almost fell in love with her all over again. "But you have to know…that burying yourself in this place isn't the answer. You need your friends. You need Matsuri, and Arisa, and Chisato, and Haruka."
"But I…I killed them. They'll remember, they'll hate me…" said Suzune, now openly weeping.
"Maybe not," Homura found herself speaking up. Suddenly she realized why she was here. Souls as broken as these – Madoka couldn't save them alone. They needed the perspective of another.
Someone who'd made the same mistakes.
"Forgiveness…is a choice for each individual to make. And no one is obligated to grant it to you," she continued, stepping forward to join Madoka at her side. This felt right; where she belonged. "But some people will surprise you. You just have to give them that chance."
Suzune breathed heavily, neither accepting nor fighting against the hug.
"I…I don't know," she gasped out. "I don't know if I can face them anymore. Face anyone…"
"Shhh…it's okay. You don't have to do anything right now," Madoka told her softly. "That's the funny thing about eternity – it's eternal. When you're ready, I'll be here. To help you in any way I can."
Suzune didn't say anything in response, as the tears continued to flow freely down her face. But slowly, she nodded, just once.
"The hell is she doing?" demanded Sasa, forcing Homura to remember they had an audience. All three of the other Messengers were watching this scene with wildly varying expressions.
"What she always does," said Homura. "She's saving people."
[-]
Iroha wouldn't have been able to say whether she'd been in this place for hours, days, or years.
For one thing, there was no time in the realm of the Law of Cycles in the first place, so a billion infinities could pass before a single second ticked by on Earth. The Law was utterly divorced from the normal course of history, intersecting with its past, present, and future all at once.
For the other, she'd spent pretty much all her time since being brought here getting brutally tortured, so it was hard to really keep track of that sort of thing.
There wasn't a good way to describe what Gretchen was doing to her, specifically. In essence, she was channeling pure Despair energy – the kind that filled Soul Gems and, eventually, turned them to Grief Seeds – into Iroha's heart at a steady clip, but that description seemed woefully inadequate compared with what it felt like.
It was as if every one of her worst memories, the darkest and nastiest emotions she'd ever felt in her life, were pounding through her head, all at once. Iroha liked to think she was a fairly kind person, but even she felt flashes of anger or spite from time to time. It was natural, and human.
Those momentary lapses of negativity were now all she could feel. And it was tearing her body and soul apart.
All to accomplish a goal she wasn't even sure was possible.
Her link to her original time flow was…tenuous at best, given that she was currently occupying the body of the Iroha Tamaki from this reality. An Iroha who had never been given the opportunity to become a Magical Girl, and as a result had lost Ui, Touka, and Nemu in turn to the ravages of disease.
It made for a very disorienting experience, and if she hadn't had Yachiyo by her side going through precisely the same thing, Iroha doubted she would've made for a very good "agent."
But now Yachiyo, as well as this world's versions of Tsuruno, Felicia, and Sana, had all been forcibly extracted from their Soul Gems, solely to be subjected to the same agonizing treatment as she.
From amidst the other negative emotions, guilt bubbled up worst of all. Those three would've never been in this mess if she and Yachiyo hadn't dragged them there. Wanting to rebuild the comfort of Mikazuki Villa in this new reality, until they could accomplish their mission.
A mission they'd failed. Yachiyo had deduced the presence of a being outside their universes, subtly interfering, but none of them had dreamed it might be the Salvation Witch. Or that she'd manage to take over the Law of Cycles by force.
Now, the entirety of infinity was all but certainly doomed. And it was all their fault.
"Stay in there…please…" she whispered to herself, clutching at her chest.
Even though she wasn't a Magical Girl right now, somehow she could feel Giovanna, boiling just below the surface. She always was, with how often Iroha called upon her Doppel.
But this felt different. More…final.
She looked up at Gretchen with trembling, tearsoaked eyes. The black smoke of Despair playing at their edges.
The stare she received in return was utterly without pity.
"You bring this on yourself by resisting. You all bring it on yourselves," said the Witch. "I wanted you to come to me willingly. To accept the gifts I offer, and offer your fealty in turn. But if that is too much to ask…"
Nothing, in this world or any other, had terrified Iroha more than the next words that came out of the twisted creature's mouth.
"Then perhaps I must take more…drastic measures."
[-]
Oriko backed away, looking at Madoka like she was an open flame.
"Stay away from me," she demanded sharply. "I will not have my service questioned. Nor my devotion. Your blasphemy to Her Grace will be punished!"
"Oh for the love of…" said Homura with a groan, placing a palm over her face. "We've never been allies, Oriko Mikuni, but I know you're not stupid. You should be able to recognize the one who saved you and your lapdog. And it wasn't a Witch."
The seer's lip quivered, as she determinedly looked everywhere but at the former goddess.
"She isn't…she can't be…" she hissed out, breathing heavily. "You…You're just trying to confuse me! As if I'd trust anything from the mouth of a Devil…!"
"Then trust your own eyes," Homura cut her off. "I remember our conversation in the last timeline. How deeply it affected you when, after so many attempts to kill her, you came face to face with Madoka Kaname…and she forgave you."
It took some time, but Oriko eventually turned her head back, gazing into the divinely golden depths of Madoka's eyes. The pink-haired girl stared back unblinkingly, still clutching the weeping Suzune to her chest.
Oriko let out a soft, strangled gasp.
"Oh god…it is her," she said breathlessly. "But…what made you decide to restore her? You said you wouldn't, under any circumstance."
"The same thing that made me enact my Rebellion in the first place," Homura answered in a whisper. "Love."
"Love…" repeated the oracle, clutching her hands over her heart. "Oh, my sweet Kirika…I need you with me. Neither of us is whole without the other. How…How could I have forgotten, even for a moment…?"
Suddenly she fell to her knees, bowing her head as low as it could go.
"I know there is no point in begging your forgiveness. That it is offered freely and without reservation, no matter what crimes I may commit," she pronounced, reaching forward to clutch Madoka's hand in supplication. "But know that you have my service, My Savior. My true Savior. For so long as you may desire it."
The about-face was so quick, and so dramatic, that it had Madoka and Homura sharing an awkward look. But ultimately, the latter just shrugged.
There was no explaining Oriko Mikuni or Kirika Kure with pure logic.
"Well, Alina knows her Benefattore is una falsa Dea," said the mad artist, who'd been watching all this with a bored expression on her face. "She simply does not care. At last, Alina has the mondo dell'arte she has always dreamed of. There is nothing left for reality to offer her."
"Not even Karin?" Madoka asked.
The atmosphere seemed to chill by a dozen degrees. Alina's entire demeanor shifted, her usual detachment and cool confidence giving way to an unsteady gait, and a sudden inability to look any of them in the eye.
"What does that monello irritante have to do with anything?" she snapped.
"I know that whatever you might try to pretend, she means a lot to you. Maybe more than anyone ever has," Madoka replied back, a fierce edge to her normally gentle voice. "No matter what happens, you're always gonna be her beloved senpai."
Alina grimaced, her eyes again turning askance. "She only cares for…un fantasma. If she knew the real Alina…" she muttered darkly. "She wouldn't feel the same."
Homura personally would've agreed with that assessment, but now wasn't the time.
Instead, she summoned up everything she knew about Karin Misono. The hapless, error-prone Magical Girl who styled herself off a similarly named manga character, and was infamous in Kamihama City for her amusingly moronic, Robin Hood-esque schemes.
And who also happened to be best friends with a psychopath.
"I won't pretend it'll be easy for you. You have a lot of blood on your hands, and little remorse," Homura said diplomatically. "But your love for Karin Misono demonstrates that there's something of worth within you. Isn't there a part of you that wants to be the senpai she believes in?"
Stealing lines from her own parallel world self. Classic.
Alina, meanwhile, was removing her ever-present conductor's hat. She pulled something small out of the lining: what looked to be a worn, old-fashioned photograph.
There was a short girl with purple pigtails, dressed up like a stereotypical witch and grinning over a bowl of candy. A painted banner overhead, far too elaborate to be the work of an amateur, read "HAPPY HALLOWEEN, MAGICAL*KARIN" in big, bold letters.
The culprit was immediately obvious. The green-haired girl at the edge of the photo, despite her feigned disdain, couldn't hide paint smears on her hands and uniform that matched the banner perfectly.
Nor the tiny smile at the corner of her mouth, as her friend pulled her into the shot.
"Alina didn't…Alina can't…" her voice stopped and started several times, each one followed by an audible swallow.
Finally, after several moments of heavy breathing, she said, "Alina…will not join your crociata. But nor will she stand in your way. She needs…to think things over."
And with that, she sat down cross-legged, pulled out a pen and sketchpad, and began to draw. What, none of them were precisely sure. But she seemed to find purpose in it.
It was, Homura supposed, about the best they could've possibly expected out of the madwoman.
"Ooof…barf," came Sasa Yuki's voice, predictably ruining the moment. "Gonna pass on all this touchy-feely crap."
And then, there was one.
Homura grimaced as she turned to the final Messenger, tapping her foot impatiently on a floor that didn't exist.
This was going to be the ultimate test of Madoka's philosophy. The girl she loved was always determined to find the good in everyone – even for people like Alina Gray, where a mere scrap of it was buried so deep.
Sasa Yuki, however? If she had any redeeming qualities, Homura had yet to see them.
Which is why it surprised her so heavily when Madoka strode over, and pulled the mind-controller into a tight hug.
"Hey! Get the fuck off me!" Sasa exclaimed in protest. "I'm not gonna play your goddamn…!"
"He doesn't blame you," Madoka said suddenly, cutting her off.
Homura had no idea what that meant, but the harlequin-like girl clearly did. Her eyes went wide, shimmering with something akin to fear.
"What…?" she whispered.
"He wants you to know that he doesn't blame you," Madoka stated again. "And that it wasn't your fault."
"How…" Sasa choked out, all her usual vileness and bravado flooding away, along with all the color in her face. "How the hell could you know that?"
"Give me some credit, Yuki-san," Madoka answered, without ending the embrace. "I did sort of used to be God."
Homura found herself wondering what was going on in the wicked girl's mind in that moment. She was pretty sure she'd never find out. It occurred to her that, even if she didn't know the full context, no one became as twisted as Sasa Yuki without some sort of cause.
It didn't excuse her crimes, of course. But it seemed to be enough, for the kindest soul who had ever lived.
"I won't ask you any more than this, Yuki-san. Just…stop. Stop this mad quest to be more than you are," she said. "Has it really brought you any happiness? Or has it just made the hole in your heart even bigger and harder to fill?"
Slowly, she released her hold on the diminutive girl. Revealing that she wore an expression that was equal parts shellshocked and devastated.
No surprise; Madoka had just demolished her entire reason for being in the space of about a minute.
Several moments passed in near-total silence. Broken only by the soft sobs coming out of Suzune and Oriko – the former from sorrow, and the latter out of reverence – and the faint scratching of Alina's pen.
Then, without warning, Sasa Yuki screwed her eyes shut, and let out a bloodcurdling scream. The kind of scream that was utterly without reason or purpose.
The kind of scream that simply needed to be.
And in the midst of it, the darkness around them shattered for good.
[-]
For Sayaka, Kyoko, and Mami, this whole process had taken only a few seconds.
One moment, Madoka and Homura were standing over the enemy Magical Girls, that weird purple energy crackling around the latter as they reached forward, almost-but-not-quite touching the girls' Soul Gems.
And the next, the energy had dissipated into nothingness, and their foes were no longer struggling against Mami's ribbon restraints.
"Dunno exactly what jus' happened…" said Kyoko, her brow furrowed. "But did it work?"
"Oh, benevolent Goddess! Though I know it to be woefully insufficient, please accept my humblest apologies!" Oriko cried out loudly, causing the other girls tied to her to wince. "If there is anything at all that I can do in Your service, please do not hesitate to ask!"
"…Kind of," Homura answered with a low sigh.
"I'm still lost, honestly," Sayaka declared, stepping forward and scrutinizing the girls who, up until just a few minutes ago, had been trying their damnedest to kill or maim them. But now, none of the quartet – not even Sasa Yuki, though she looked rather forlorn – seemed to have any interest in erupting into further violence. "I know you can't go into detail in case Gretchen is listening, but…"
Madoka held up a hand. "It's okay. There's no point in hiding things from you guys now, since I had to act so obviously before," she cut in. She turned to the sky, directing her next words to the unseen entity they all knew to be watching. "Let's bring it all into the open, alright?"
She cupped her hands across her chest, and then approached Homura with slow, purposeful steps.
"You remember what your Wish was in that final time flow, right?" she asked the once-devil. "When you chose to become a Magical Girl again, and fight the Wraiths in my memory?"
"Of course. How could I forget?" said Homura. "Those are my feelings towards Madoka! That's why, once more, lend me power! Not as the shield that protects Madoka, but as the power that smites anyone who threatens her!"
Her voice tripped up partway through reciting, as her eyes widened in realization.
"The thing is…that Wish didn't exist in a vacuum. You were the first, and only, Magical Girl to make two Wishes…" Madoka tried to explain. "Because your first never actually came true."
She paced back and forth for a moment, clenching and unclenching her jaw, before she gathered enough fortitude to continue, "That second Wish doubled the connection between us. A bond that was already warped beyond recognition by my Wish. By my becoming something so powerful, that 'protecting' me was completely impossible."
"Each of those three Wishes bounces off the next, and the next, and the next in turn," Homura stated slowly. "It's a feedback loop."
"None of us really understand magic, on that fundamental level. Not even me," the once-goddess admitted. "But I'm pretty sure my theory is right. It's what gave you enough power to usurp me in the first place. The karmic relationship between us…in essence, it's been reversed. Everything the Law of Cycles does increases your karmic destiny, because you've appointed yourself the destroyer of anything that opposes it."
Mami let in a sharp gasp of air. "That's why she wants you so badly," she said in a small voice. "She must mean to harness this unique confluence of magical energy for herself. To eradicate any obstacles that stand in her way."
Homura wheeled on the Messengers who'd been sent to oppose them.
"Do any of you know what she might be planning now?" she demanded. "What she's doing that could need that kind of power?"
Oriko's eyes lit up at the opportunity to be of use to her newly pledged deity, but it was Suzune who responded first, "Before we left, she was trying to breach the boundaries of another universe. One that was giving her quite a bit of trouble. I don't know anything else about it…but that Iroha Tamaki girl seems to be connected."
Madoka and Homura slowly shared a glance of alarm and dim horror.
"When I met the Homura from that time flow…" muttered the black-haired girl. "She claimed it to be an anomaly. Disconnected from the Law of Cycles."
The once-goddess nodded solemnly. "It's a long story. But basically, their version of Kamihama City is surrounded by a barrier than prevents Magical Girls from becoming Witches. The Law of Cycles exists solely to destroy Witches, with my own hands," she said. "So I couldn't force my way in. Not without risking the stability of their whole universe in the process."
"Gretchen won't care," spoke a grimacing Sayaka. "She'll justify it, the ways she justifies all of her destruction. Sacrificing a few to save the many."
"Guess we ain't gonna comment on the whole 'Homura meeting herself' thing? Cuz that seemed kinda important," Kyoko remarked, snapping a Rocky stick she seemed to have pulled out from nowhere. "Well, whatever. If we gotta take down the Big Bad before she blows up some other universe, then what the hell're we waitin' fer?"
"For a ticket to the battle," Homura answered coolly, before turning to their captives again. "How about it, Oriko Mikuni? Do you think you can trace back your connection to the Salvation Witch?"
"I will certainly try. It's the least I owe you, My Savior," said the oracle, inclining her head in Madoka's direction. "Give me just a moment to…"
But she never got a chance to finish that sentence. The sky above them turned dark in an instant, and a furious voice thundered down, overwhelming their eardrums.
"I DON'T THINK SO."
Again, it was recognizably Madoka's voice, but shouting at a volume they had rarely if ever heard out of the normally shy girl.
"I MUST CONGRATULATE YOU, MY ORIGIN. MANAGING TO TURN EVEN THESE WRETCHED SOULS. I HAVE CONTINUED TO UNDERESTIMATE YOU, AND PAID THE PRICE ACCORDINGLY."
There was the briefest of pauses, and then…
"I WILL NO LONGER MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE."
Suddenly, all four of the deputized Messengers doubled over, screaming in pain. The outpouring of magic shredded Mami's ribbons to scraps, and kicked up a maelstrom of chaotic energy around the area.
"What're you doing to them?!" Madoka cried out in distress. "Please, just stop!"
"NO! THEY SURRENDERED THEMSELVES TO ME. MY CONTROL MAY HAVE WEAKENED, BUT NOT THEIR OBLIGATION."
It was a horrific sight. Each of the girls twisted and convulsed in unnatural ways, as the dark energy covered more and more of their bodies. And more to the point…
More and more of their Soul Gems.
"She couldn't…" whispered an absolutely terrified Mami. "She wouldn't…"
"I MUST COMMEND YOU, MY ORIGIN. WITHOUT YOUR INTERFERENCE, I NEVER WOULD'VE DEVISED THIS SOLUTION. WHY GO THROUGH SUCH EFFORT TO BRING HAPPINESS TO A HUMAN MIND, IN ALL ITS COMPLEXITIES…"
The last they saw of the four was Sasa Yuki, her eyes wide and brimming with fear. She was desperately trying to reach for help.
Despite all she'd done, Madoka would've given it to her in a heartbeat.
But it was already too late.
"WHEN A WITCH IS SO MUCH EASIER TO PLEASE?"
The corruption reached its apex, swallowing the four Messengers whole. And when it subsided…
Meredith, Old Dorothy, Sotria, and Clothette were floating and writhing in their place.
[-]
Kriemhild Gretchen smiled to herself in satisfaction, as she strode through her newly refashioned Heaven.
She really couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this solution from the start. It was pure perfection; elegant in its simplicity.
She'd learned, from the perfidy of her Messengers, that even the gift of a perfect world wasn't enough for some humans. Inevitably, they'd chafe at even the most well-intentioned restrictions, and throw that gift back in her face.
Why, the Witch of Salvation couldn't even begin to understand. But the fact remained that it'd happened seven times in a row now. And it would happen again.
Witches, on the other hand, didn't possess enough cognizance to distinguish reality and falsehood. They could be placated easily, with visions of a world where the Despair they embodied was a thing of the past.
With no risk of ever turning away.
Already, the realm of the Law of Cycles had become a far more peaceful place. Gretchen paused for a moment to stroke a knight-like creature upon the nose.
No matter what she did for the poor girl, no matter how much she gave her, there was a part of Jeanne d'Arc which would always be tormented by memories of her former life. Of the struggles she'd withstood in the Hundred Year War, and the tragedy of her unjust execution.
La Pucelle de Blancheur didn't have that problem. She knew nothing except the perfect paradise her Savior had so lovingly crafted for her.
And she never would.
Of course, there were limits to this strategy. For whatever reason, even though by all rights she should have been connected to them as well, Gretchen found she couldn't induce the transformation in Sayaka Miki, Kyoko Sakura, or Mami Tomoe. And she wasn't even going to make the attempt with Homulilly's Origin, or her own.
Not until she was ready.
There was one other potential limitation, of course, but one she was in the process of addressing. She returned to her personal realm, her heart glowing warmly at the sight.
Campanella, Yu Hong, Beatrice, and Theresia all drifted amidst the cosmos, united in peaceable slumber. No pesky worries or regrets to bring them down.
At their center lay a single figure, her body tossing and turning in obvious distress. Tears were running down her face, the emotional torment far outweighing the physical.
"Y…Yachiyo…san…" she choked out, staring at the lantern-wielding Witch floating aimlessly above her head. "Please…come back. I…I can't do this…without you…"
"Don't worry, sweet child," said Gretchen, placing a hand upon her similarly rosy hair and gently stroking it. As irritating as her interference had been, the Witch saw no point in holding a grudge. She'd suffered enough. "You'll be joining her soon."
"I…I can't…" Iroha murmured weakly. "I'm…not a…Magical Girl…"
"And since when does someone have to be a Magical Girl…" Gretchen whispered back. "To fall into Despair?"
The Witch of Salvation poured one last flood of energy into her captive. Allowing her to let out one last, rattling wail of pain.
The last pain she would ever be forced to endure.
Then, like embers cast from a flame, a small spark emerged from Iroha's chest. Gretchen drew it out slowly, lovingly.
Until it crystallized into a new form. A pitch-black Soul Gem.
One that, as was its nature, immediately twisted into yet another shape.
Iroha's physical body melted and shifted, taking on the consistency of something like black tar. Reforming around the Grief Seed that was now its core. Until, at last…
Giovanna, the Witch of Silence, lived again.
"Excellent proof of concept. I knew absorbing the Incubators' power would come in handy," Gretchen hissed victoriously. "There was never anything stopping them from Contracting the entire population of Earth – or from doing it without consent. Save concerns of petty ethics."
She spat the last word as if it was a vicious swear. And why shouldn't she? Anything that stood in the way of her Salvation was clearly unjust.
And this way…
No one would be left behind.
"Soon enough, my Barrier will encompass all realties. And soon enough…everyone will find true happiness," Gretchen said with relish.
She could see the future now. See her purpose.
And it was beautiful.
"An eternal dance…of Witches."
[-]
"Okay, I did not see that one comin'," declared a slack-jawed Kyoko.
It was the best any of them could think to say. Now that they were suddenly staring down four vicious, out-of-control Witches.
Old Dorothy acted first, spewing great fountains of goo-like, multicolored paint in every direction.
"Don't let any of that stuff touch you!" Homura shouted warningly. For better or worse, she was pretty much their resident expert on Witches right now. "It'll drive you as insane as she is!"
Kyoko and Mami clasped hands, combining their chains and ribbons to create a shield just in time.
But it was only a temporary fix. Meredith, Sotria, and Clothette were all gearing up attacks of their own.
"There's no point in fighting them here! I don't think she even intends for them to win," said Sayaka. "Just to hold us off long enough to enact her plans."
"Can you feel it, though?" asked Mami, firing off a few volleys of her muskets to hold the approaching Witches at bay. "That…ringing sensation in your head? I think Gretchen is trying to do the same to us. I'm glad it doesn't seem to be working, but why not?"
"Perhaps…" Madoka guessed, her eyebrows scrunched up. "Because you've already accepted your Witches as parts of yourselves. Or maybe…simply because you're close to me."
She rounded on the black-haired girl. "This is what I was getting at earlier, Homura," she hurriedly added. "We aren't powerless right now. She just wants us to think we are. That's why she's doing everything she can to avoid facing us directly."
Mami's warning shots were managing to hold most of the Witches back for now, but Meredith suddenly broke ranks and rushed forward, roaring furiously. Sayaka managed to stop her with a rushed summon of a few dozen sabers, but it was a very near miss.
Meanwhile, Madoka stretched out her hand, offering it to the girl at her side.
"I don't…fully understand this block she's put on my magic. But my very nature is to destroy Witches. I should be able to do this," she said. "The Law of Cycles…has to operate under strict rules. And I think she's taken advantage of that, to cast me down. But you…"
"My nature…is to break rules," Homura realized aloud. "Particularly ones around you."
"Which means that, together…" Madoka whispered. "There shouldn't be anything we can't do."
The Messengers instinctively huddled closer to the goddess they'd once served, and the devil they'd once opposed. As that mysterious purple energy again began to erupt from the latter's heart.
This time, it didn't need a verbal cue. This time, Homura Akemi knew exactly what she was, and embraced it.
No longer was she Madoka's shield, protecting her from the shadows. No longer was she her opposition, making decisions for her that she thought were best.
She was Madoka's sword, slashing through anything and everything that dared to stand in her way.
The purple light surrounded them, and in the next moment, they were on another plane of existence entirely.
"Sayaka should recognize this place, but this is the first time for the rest of you," said Madoka, taking in the expressions of awe on the rest of her friends' faces. "Welcome to the Law of Cycles."
[-]
They were here. She was here.
Kriemhild Gretchen frowned deeply. She knew that was the risk of her latest gambit. Opening up the connection between this realm and the lower one, wide enough for her Origin to easily follow.
But it no longer mattered. The girl's meddling, while certainly irritating, had come too late to matter.
And now, she'd chosen to confront the Witch of Salvation at the very seat of her power. Presumably she was banking on the notion that, faced with two potential occupants to its throne, the Law of Cycles would choose creator over usurper.
If so, she was in for a rude awakening. Gretchen and her Origin were like two sides to the same coin. One embodying Hope, and the other Despair. And here, at this moment…
There was no question which of the two was ascendant.
Gretchen basked in the wordless, aimless moans of her fellow Witches. They surrounded her now, in every direction, lost in dreams of pure, unending bliss.
The more her Barrier expanded, the more beings she Contracted. By force, if necessary. And the more she Contracted…
The more she introduced to their true destinies, as Witches.
There were millions, billions, trillions now. Entire universes filled with Witches, who would never again have to know the sting of suffering or pain.
Soon enough, there would only be one left. And she was working on that world now. With Iroha Tamaki and Yachiyo Nanami, its sentinel guardians, converted to her cause, that aberrant record would surely spin for her in time.
Then, at last, her mission would be complete. Every soul in this blighted, wretched multiverse…saved.
"You think I am afraid to face you?" she said aloud. "You, who tried and failed to fix the rot that I will soon eradicate?"
Gretchen knew she could hear her. Now that they were on the same plane, their connection was like a magnetic pull, drawing them inexorably toward a final confrontation.
"Come to me, my Origin," she murmured. "And let us prove, once and for all…which of us deserves to bear the mantle of God."
[-]
Madoka winced, trying to shut out the whispers in her head. The closer they drew, the louder she could hear the voice, so akin to her own.
It was wild to contemplate, but since she'd been unconscious at the time of her emergence, she was the only member of their group who hadn't yet met Kriemhild Gretchen.
Not unless you counted the single femtosecond she'd existed, before the Law of Cycles obliterated her from beyond time and space.
"Are you alright, Madoka?" asked Homura, grasping onto her hand out of concern.
"It…It's nothing. I just…" said Madoka with a sigh. "I feel bad we had to leave those four behind. Not to mention…all of them."
The five girls were huddled together closely as they traversed this realm. Not the least, because wherever they turned…
They ran across hundreds of Witches.
Thankfully, none of them seemed to be aggressive. On the contrary, they were floating about without a care in the world, as if Madoka and her friends were ants they didn't need to be bothered with.
Still, she recognized them all. That Witch that resembled a bipedal biplane was Amelia, of course. The one with all the metal spikes jutting out at awkward angles had to be Jaya. And Xiaoping was surely that mountain-like Witch, sitting atop a crab's legs.
They were her Messengers, her responsibility. And she'd failed them.
But hopefully, not for too much longer.
"The best thing we can do for them now is take out the Witch on top," Sayaka declared. "Once you're back in control of the Law of Cycles, you should be able to fix all this. Uh…probably."
"Think we need better than probably righ' now," said Kyoko, who was clearly suppressing a shiver as they walked directly underneath an enormous, boar-like Witch. "We gettin' closer ta Darth Pinkie yet?"
"You really need to quit it with these dumb nicknames," groaned the blue-haired girl.
Kyoko shrugged both shoulders. "What? She's basically if Pinkie over here turned ta the Dark Side," she replied.
"No, I get the joke, it's just really stup…"
"Girls," Mami cut in, placing hands on both of their shoulders. "Probably not the time for this."
"Yes," Madoka answered Kyoko's earlier question after a pause. "Yes, we're almost there. I can…sense her. It's hard to explain."
"An' what're we gonna do when we do find her?" asked the redhead. "Ya gonna go full goddess, zap zap, pow pow?"
She emphasized these sound effects by making finger guns and miming a fierce firefight. Sayaka rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else.
"I…" Madoka mumbled, her eyes turning askance. "I'm still working that out."
Their procession continued on for some time – metaphorically, of course, since there wasn't any such thing as time here. Walking among so many Witches carried an almost smothering sense of tension, as if they were tiptoeing through a den of sleeping cobras. Any second, it seemed like they might all suddenly converge and attack.
But that moment never came. And eventually, Madoka threw out her arm, preventing them from walking any further.
"This is it. I can feel it," she said, very quietly. "She's coming."
The anticipation was like daggers under the skin. None of them, least of all Madoka herself, knew what to expect. What kind of grand, cataclysmic entrance would the Witch of Salvation choose for herself? Would she attack immediately, or wait to feel them out first?
In the end, it was nothing so dramatic. Gretchen simply appeared in front of them, walking with the same casual, relaxed gait Madoka herself used when she wasn't in a hurry.
Still, the once-goddess had to suppress a pang of shock. Having her Witch's new form described to her wasn't the same as seeing it herself.
As seeing her very own pale cheeks, and rosy hair, and soft lips curled into such a cruel, vicious sneer.
"At long last," she spoke coldly. "The Salvation Witch and her Origin, facing off for the final time. Are you going to try to destroy me again?"
Once again, Madoka felt her hand snake out to grasp Homura's. She needed all the support she could get right now.
"No. I'm not going to do that," she responded.
"Then are you ready to surrender?" asked the Witch. "It would certainly save us both a great deal of time and energy."
"That's not it either. I'm willing to fight, if it comes to that," said Madoka, suppressing the urge to gulp audibly. "But there's one thing I want to try first."
"Oh?" Gretchen uttered, tilting her head to the side. "And what might that be?"
Madoka Kaname took the biggest, longest breath of her life. Gripping the fingers of the girl she loved as hard as she possibly could.
"Kriemhild Gretchen…" she told the dark reflection of her heart. "We need to talk."