"Ick...this place gets creepier the further in you get." Lucy said as they continued to walk through the corpse of the great witch with Homura tied up and being dragged behind them.
"I'm used to mutilating corpses by the regular. But journeying INSIDE a corpse? This is a first." Cheetah said.
"Try walking through the insides of Insidious." Simon said.
"Or a giant whale." Sora said.
"Hmm...now...I may be wrong but I think the treasure would be near the heart." Theo said.
"Okay, then it's just the question of where the heart is." Emo said. "This place is so topsy-turvy, I'm not even 100% sure if we're right side up or not."
"That is a weird thing to say inside of a body." Subaru said as something shot by them. "Damn it, crazy magical girl. Stop it."
"How can I fire if I'm tied up?" Homura asked.
"I've been watching her the whole time. She didn't make any moves." Oshawott said.
"Then what was-" Matthew said as another shot was fired as they saw a dark looking figure above as they loaded a rifle and prepared to fire.
"Run!" Jexi said as they ran to avoid the shot. "What the heck is going on?"
"I may be wrong...but I think that figure was the energy of a magical girl from this universe." Madoka said. "They must act like protectors for the body."
"So they're antibodies...we may be in trouble here." Twilight said.
"She's not wrong. There have been hundreds if not thousands of magical girl shows." Kazuma said.
The group then looked back to see multiple dark figures shaped like magical girls flying in the air after them, laughing all the while.
"Okay, that's a big nope from me!" Nemo said. "Let's book it, full speed ahead!"
The group ran with the shadows in pursuit, some of them taking potshots at the pursuers.
"Untie me! You're going to get us killed!" Homura called as the dark magical girls were close to her.
"So you can turn on us afterwards, and kill us? I don't think so." Hope said. "Madoka says you mean well, but everything you do is just for selfish love. I'm starting to see why you and Madoka are so different."
"What?" Homura asked.
"Madoka wished for everyone to be safe at her expense. You wished for the chance to save Madoka, not caring about the rest of the world. It's a selfless wish versus a selfish wish in complete opposition to each other. Both wishes are guided by love, and that's why you couldn't let her stay a Color God. That love of yours is the whole reason Black managed to trick you, and you're still caught up in it." Hope said. "You need to face the truth: your love is corrupting you, the way it is now."
"Okay, that was a pretty good speech, Hope, but the shadows are gaining on us!" Eddy said as the shadows were almost close enough to touch the group.
"Guys! Door, 12'o'clock!" Ultra said pointing to a white door the group was quickly approaching.
"Why would a place like this have a door?" Mark asked.
"Don't know, but whatever's behind it has to be better than this!" DJ answered.
The group quickly made it to the door and entered it, dragging Homura in and slamming it closed before the shadows could reach them.
"Whew… Too close." Rhatla said.
"Here's hoping we don't see them again." ZS said.
"Yeah, I think we're safe for now." Hope said.
"Yeah, but where are we safe?" Frisk asked.
The group looked around, the room they were in completely dark. It was as if they were standing in a void.
"Well, it looks like a whole lot of nothing." SE stated.
"Hang on a second." Zacian said. "I don't know if this will work, but… I would like to try something out with the sword." he said as he closed his eyes as the blade started to glow, his fur turning white and his mane and eyes turning yellow.
"Whoa, you have elemental forms now! That's so cool!" Ethox said. "This is a Light form, isn't it?"
"Yes, it would seem so." Zamazenta said. "It would seem that with the Elemental Sword in his possession, his body changes color depending on the element he's channeling."
"Good...that should help us look through this void." Theo said.
"I guess you could say we're shedding some light on this?" Mari joked. "Just trying to ease the tension."
"Now is not the time." Yaoyorozu said as they headed in further.
The group walked for some time before they noticed a single spotlight in the distance. Upon approaching it, they stopped.
"...I get the feeling that something is about to happen, and none of us are going to like it." Moltar said.
As if that was a cue, the group heard the steps of a small creature approaching before a white-furred, cat-like creature stepped into the spotlight, gazing at the group with unblinking red eyes.
"Ha! You!" Madoka said.
"Hello, Madoka." the creature said in a child-like voice. "Or would you prefer to be called Color God Pink? Either way, it would seem that your contract is still in effect, despite your presence in this world."
"Uh… what is that?" Legolia asked. "I know it's a cat… like, but I'm getting a bad feeling by the way it's looking at us.:
"It's an Incubator." Homura spoke up. "They created the first system of Magical Girls… including their fate to become Witches when they fell into despair."
"Homura Akemi, so you're here too." the Incubator spoke. "Are you still attempting to fulfill your wish? These desires of yours are quite illogical. Madoka's wish turned her into one of the highest powers in our reality, and yet you continue to pursue her. Why is that?"
"Because she loves her." Hope said. "How long has she been trying to fulfill her wish to save Madoka. How many times has she tried to change her fate?"
"That number is unknown to us, but due to the amount of karma tied to Madoka, I would estimate that she went back in time almost 100 times." the Incubator said. "In your human's lifespans, she lived the same month for 12 years. I do not know why she would subject herself like that, but a contract is a contract."
"How can you make light of something like that?" Mirror Match said. "Furthermore, why are you here? Are you the master of this dungeon?"
"No, this place is not of our design, even if it has similarities to our system." the Incubator said. "I am here to observe this place. There is a large gathering of negative emotion that is growing stronger here. Perhaps this place will birth a new Witch, and break the Law of Cycles. It is unclear at the moment. That is why I'm here. Running into you was a coincidence, but I decided to ask some questions about Madoka's contract."
"Well, I'm not sure she should talk to you, little… guy, girl, whatever you are." ZS said. "You got 'evil alien' practically in lights over your head."
"Evil?" the Incubator said, tilting its head. "Our system was meant to prevent the heat death of the universe. Is the preservation of existence not the goal of all life?"
"Ugh… This whole conversation is giving me a headache. Listen… Whatever you did to these two, I won't hold it against you. I understand that times were dire, and you had to do what you had to. After all, it's the person that wields the power that decides how it is used." David said. "However… These are people's lives this process is dealing with here. Surely, even you should understand that they should have some agency in their own lives."
The Incubator didn't respond to that, as it just stood still, falling to give an answer.
"...I think you broke it." Filo said.
"This is getting ridiculous." Ainz said, unleashing a thunderbolt on the Incubator, reducing the creature to ash. "I think we can all agree his prattle was leading nowhere."
"Yeah. Let's just go." David said.
The group simply walked away, until they spotted a door. Upon going through it, they found themselves in an area that gave them pause: it was seemingly outside, a cliff overlooking a city. At the edge of the cliff stood a single chair, filled by a figure whose form seemed to twist and morph, as if they were a crudely-drawn picture in motion. They had their back turned to the group, looking at the half-moon that hovered above the landscape.
"Oh great, another mysterious figure." Eddy said. "Is this whole dungeon filled with people that are gonna talk all cryptic and not actually say anything important?"
"I say we just move on and leave this person alone." Kazuma said. "I really don't wanna hear another 'I'm not evil, just misunderstood' speech."
The group turned to find a way out…
Y͡òu͠ let͝ ̧he̕r̨ down, ͜M͜a̕d͡óka
That warped voice caused the group to pause, slowly turning around to see the figure standing up and facing them, now seeing that it was in the form of a young girl, whose face was constantly shifting, yet always smiling a broken smile.
Y̕ou̴ let́ Ho͟mu͡r̡a do̡w̡n. J͟ùs̨t͡ ͝like ̷I l̶e͘t ́t͞he̡m̛ al͞l͢ ̶d̀o̧wn.
"M-Minami?!" Madoka said in surprise.
"Uh...who?" Hope asked.
"Another magical girl who made a wish like me. Hers was to give to others." Madoka said.
"Say no more. I don't wanna know how she fell into despair." Hope said. "Let's just leave. I don't want this place giving us any more headaches than it already has."
"The sooner we clear this place, the sooner we can bring all this to an end." Kaibara said as they continued onwards, Minami, or whatever it was, was still looking at them.