Notes: So while I'm stuck in Chapter 8 of Magia Record until I can power up my girls, I thought I'd post this.

Misery Record
A Magia Record Fanfic by
Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Series Summary: It's all fun and games, until a Soul Gem turns black. No, even before that, it's still lousy. Key moments in certain timelines, featuring various magical girls. And by key, I mean really, really bad.

Chapter Summary: Iroha is now a middle sister. Surely having Madoka for an older sister must be good.

Chapter 1: The Tamaki Trio

It was not the sunlight on Iroha's face that woke her, but the hair tickling her chin. Even as she inhaled deeply, the memories triggered by that scent snapped her eyes open. "Ui?!" she shrieked.

A groan was the immediate answer. "So loud, onee-chan," and a familiar head of hair burrowed deeper under the blanket, pressing against Iroha's front.

It was all she could do not to scream or cry out in happiness and relief. Instead, she managed to wrap her shaking arms around the dozing figure before her. And of course, like always, Ui filled Iroha's arms perfectly. They were meant to be sisters.

"Keep it down over there," grunted a voice from the bed across the room. "Some people like to sleep past ungodly hours."

Iroha drew a complete blank, and as she tried to figure out why there was a third person sleeping in the room, Ui came fully awake, shooting out of the bed as if she'd been electrocuted. "Onee-san!" Ui cried happily, racing across the room and pouncing on the older girl still in bed. No, older woman, Iroha decided as the pink-haired stranger sat up and embraced Ui. She was past the point of girlhood, and certainly was a young woman now. At least of college age, if nothing else. And of dating age, apparently, Iroha noted with bemusement as a second, clearly unrelated woman with dark hair yawned and sat up in the same bed, only to be similarly tackled by Ui with a delighted squeal of, "Homu-nee! You came, too!" This was one was far less prepared for the attack, and was bowled over with a wail of surprise.

It happened abruptly, as Iroha was still trying to make sense of the scene: she locked eyes with the pink-haired woman, and it was as if she could not move for a moment. Then her body, on auto-pilot, followed Ui over to the other bed, never once breaking that gaze.

"Hello, Iroha," the pink-haired woman said, reaching over to squeeze her shoulder. "You've gotten bigger. Hard to believe you were ever that baby girl I bounced on my knee."

Iroha felt her face grow warm. "Please don't tease me, nee-san."

"I'm sorry. I just can't forget, when I look at you. You have a memorable face."

Iroha wished she could say the feeling was mutual, but she could not manage to summon any memory of this person who was supposedly her older sister. If Ui hadn't identified the woman as such, Iroha still wouldn't know why the woman was in their bedroom. None of the pictures Iroha could see suggested that anyone other than she and Ui slept there. But even if their older sister was away attending school, she should have appeared in at least one picture. Knowing her parents, Iroha strongly suspected there was a photo, with all of them, when Ui was a baby. But there was no such photo in their bedroom, at least.

And yet, Iroha realized as she examined the room, sleeping in the same bed as Ui didn't feel out of place, and she thought it should have. They had always been close. Best friends, even. But they had still had separate beds, if only because Ui's delicate condition demanded it at times. From the looks of things, however, "Homu-nee" was the only delicate one here, as it seemed to take her several minutes to collect herself, and it wasn't until she managed to find and put on her glasses that she was able to offer a polite, murmured greeting to Iroha.

Once the excitement died down a bit, Ui spoke up. "Homu-nee, you promised you'd let me help you cook the next time you came to visit." She turned to her oldest sister for support. "Right, onee-san?"

"She's right, I remember that. Did you forget, Homura?"

"Of course not!" Homura protested weakly. "I'd never forget a promise to Ui-chan! I just thought she might have changed her mind, that's all."

"I haven't," Ui replied, pouting at her. "I want to help you make breakfast."

Homura smiled warmly. "Okay. But after we get cleaned up."

Ui felt this was a stall tactic. "But I'm clean now!"

Homura blushed. "And that's nice for you."

Without knowing why, Iroha opened her mouth. "Ui, you know Homu-nee has night terrors. If she wants to freshen up, you have to let her." And even as the words left her mouth, Iroha thought she could detect a slight odor of sweaty skin. Not enough for anyone present to complain about, but enough that Homura was sensitive about it.

Ui lowered her head. "Sorry, Homu-nee. Oooh, I can wash your hair for you!"

"You don't have to-" Homura began.

"No, I really want to!" Ui grabbed Homura's hands and began pulling her out of the room.

"Madoka!" Homura wailed desperately, but Ui would not be denied, and soon the telltale gurgle of running water confirmed that Ui had gotten her way.

"Ui doesn't... have a crush on Homu-nee, does she?" Iroha finally asked.

Madoka laughed. "I wouldn't blame her if she did. Homura was sickly when she was younger, too, so they understand each other. Not quite the way you and I do, but similar."

Iroha hesitantly sat down beside Madoka. "Nee-san, I always wanted to ask. Why didn't you tell me?"

"That I was adopted?"

Iroha nodded. "It... wouldn't have changed anything! I wouldn't have looked at you any differently, I swear!"

Madoka smiled. "Maybe that wasn't so obvious to me, then. Maybe I really wanted to fit in here. And once you had Ui, well... I hate myself for saying this, but once you had a real-"

"NO!" Iroha immediately threw her arms around Madoka's neck. "I have TWO real sisters!"

Madoka sighed. "Iroha, I-"

"Don't ever say that in front of Ui! Promise me!"

"Of course I wouldn't. I adore Ui, and would do anything to protect her. Even lie to her. But, Iroha, you were the one I had trouble keeping secrets from. You always wanted to follow me, and be like me. You even wanted to make my mistakes."

Iroha frowned. "What's wrong with my wanting to be like you?"

"Nothing, but sometimes it just-"

"MADOKA!" Homura suddenly shrieked. "It's Ui-chan!"

Iroha didn't hesitate: she ran to the bathroom at top speed. And yet, even though she was certain that no one had passed her, Madoka still got there first.

Ui had collapsed, and was lying limply in Homura's arms. There was no blood or telltale wound, so either she'd managed to avoid injury, or Homura had caught her as she fell.

"She hasn't been healed," Iroha whispered aloud, but no one seemed to hear her.

Madoka knelt down and carefully took Ui from Homura. And even though there was nothing but tenderness in the act, Iroha knew, without question, that it was pointless, and that no one but Kyubey could save Ui now. The only question was how to explain her leaving now to find him.

"You can't risk waiting any longer, Madoka," Homura said. "You have to do it now."

Madoka stared at Homura, glanced down at Ui, then turned worried eyes on Iroha. "Homura-"

Homura grabbed Madoka's arms, forcing her to turn away from Iroha. "You have to save Ui, no matter the cost. You have to!"

Iroha had no idea what to make of this exchange. She thought she understood that Homura was under the impression that Madoka could save Ui somehow, but that was wrong. At least, it should have been.

But then something strange happened. A pink aura suddenly appeared around Madoka, and rapidly began to expand so that it covered Ui's body, as well.

Iroha gasped. She knew what this had to be. Madoka was a magical girl, too. And though Iroha had no idea what Madoka's power was, it never even crossed her mind that Madoka could or would do anything that would hurt Ui. That just couldn't be. She was certain of it.

So when Madoka stood up with Ui in her arms, Iroha was not alarmed. Not at first. But then she looked into Madoka's eyes, and any hope or joy died at once.

Sorrow. That was all she saw in Madoka's eyes.

At first, Iroha thought that Madoka's power had failed. That she couldn't save Ui. But as she considered Homura's insistence, and Madoka's hesitation, a new, more worrying possibility sprang into Iroha's mind. And the longer she stared at Madoka, the more convinced she became.

"Iroha," Madoka said softly. "I need-"

"Don't take Ui away from me," Iroha whispered.

Madoka flinched, all the proof that Iroha needed.

"You don't understand," Madoka pleaded. "The only way to-"

"Don't take her away, nee-san! Please!"

Homura shook her head. "She'll die if Madoka doesn't take-"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Iroha snapped. "What can she do somewhere else that she can't do here?!"

"You have no idea what Madoka is truly capable of, under the right circumstances."

"That's enough, Homura." Madoka sighed and turned to Iroha again. "I am sorry, Iroha. I'll give you as much time to say goodbye as I can. But once you're done, Ui and I have to leave."

"Why are you doing this, nee-san?!" Iroha pleaded.

"I don't have time to explain. But this is how I can save Ui, and I must."

"No! Can't you see that if you do this, I'll hate you forever?! I don't want that!"

Madoka smiled sadly. "I will bear the burden of your hatred, Iroha. I won't let it twist you into someone that you shouldn't be. I'll find a way, I promise. I'll save you and Ui."

The pink glow suddenly became brighter, blinding, and Iroha lunged forward, only to feel Homura's hands pulling her back. In a flash, Madoka and Ui were gone. And when Iroha spun around to yell at Homura, she was gone, as well.

Iroha was alone.

That was a condition that she would come to hate. And she would always associate it with the two who had forced it upon her. They could never earn her forgiveness for the betrayal, and even if they could, she would not give it to them. Some wounds were just too deep.

Ui didn't know where she was, but the sight of Madoka was enough to calm her.

At first, anyway.

Madoka calmly explained that they had to leave home in a hurry, and that Iroha hadn't been happy about the idea of being separated.

Ui could easily imagine. She would be upset, if she couldn't be with Iroha. Then she recognized that Madoka was telling her that she wouldn't be with Iroha. And it was indeed very upsetting. But, where with Iroha, Madoka's presence had not been enough, it was with Ui. She quickly reasoned that, even if she could not be with her favorite sister, at least she still had Madoka. And Madoka took no offense at this, as she was terribly fond of Iroha, as well. It was hard not to be.

Then Madoka got around to explaining why they'd had to leave. This was far more complicated, and even more upsetting.

First, Madoka was not actually Ui's sister. Or had not always been. Or was only for the time being. That part was very unclear, but the part Madoka chose to stress was that Iroha was Ui's only real sister. That sounded very much like a rehearsed speech to Ui, however, and she was surprised to note that she felt certain that the act, and all the lies, had resulted in Madoka being unable to close her heart. It didn't matter if Madoka wasn't really their sister, because Madoka could no longer see them as anything else. This gave Ui a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Second, Madoka was no longer human. It was never stated what she was, exactly, but Ui quickly formed her own opinion, based on what she was told, and what she saw with her own eyes.

Third, Madoka had intervened to save Ui's life. This really narrowed down what Madoka had to be, as only so many entities could do such things. And as if in response to that thought, Madoka revealed that some force in Kamihama City was preventing her from accessing her full power while she was there. But she could only save Ui by entering the city. And to avoid suspicion, she had posed as Ui's oldest sister. Curiously, Madoka offered no explanation for Homura, which Ui had admittedly been waiting for. Maybe it would be best to hear that from Homura, Ui decided.

Finally, Ui was extremely important. It was why she had to be saved, even at the cost of removing her from her home. And because, if Ui wasn't saved, then she would be doomed. And a lot sooner than she realized. For example, dying would have been a kinder fate. And Ui tended to do that quite a bit sooner than she would have preferred, as well.

Ui was sick, which she had already known. But it was only now that she truly understood the cause. She had a terminal case of sad fate. But, thanks to Madoka, she was now in a position to change that.

But the funny thing about people, is that they rarely changed at all. Rather, their circumstances did. Madoka had gone through a lot of changes, but she was basically the same person she had always been, back when she was a person. It was just that her good points were a lot more obvious now. And while that might not normally be a bad thing, in Ui's case, it was.

Because at some point, between learning what her life would have been, and what it now could be thanks to Madoka, something did change about Ui. Something very important, that Madoka would have never expected, and could not change. Some impressions were just too strong.

Touka and Nemu were left staring in shock at the place where Ui had been standing only seconds before.

Nemu was the first to speak. "W-What just happened?"

"She changed her wish completely," Touka said slowly, starting to get angry. "Ui, you liar! This wasn't the plan! We were supposed to save magical girls together!"

"Instead, Ui may save them entirely on her own," Kyubey said, swishing his tail back and forth. "But still, what an amazing wish. And even more amazing, I was able to grant it. I never would have suspected that Ui's karmic destiny was great enough to-"

"Shut up!" Touka snapped. "Undo her wish right now! Bring Ui back to us!"

Kyubey stared at her. "Even if I could, what would be the point? This is the wish that Ui traded her soul for. Obviously, she really wanted it. And are you asking me to betray a magical girl I have contracted with? How truly ironic."

"None of that matters! We had a plan!"

"And this plan is worth invalidating Ui's wish? You realize that she wouldn't get a do-over, just because you're unsatisfied with the result, right? Her wish will have gone to waste, and she won't get a second one. I assume this plan of yours was depending on all three of you making aligned wishes. Whatever could you have been plotting?"

Touka hesitated in the face of Kyubey's penetrating stare. "N-None of your business!"

"It is, actually. You were going to have to tell me the wishes at some point. But, I suppose now that Ui has invalidated your plan, you don't have to tell me anything. Just call on me when you've revised your wishes, and of course I will appear in order to grant them, whatever they may be."

Touka frowned as she watched Kyubey scamper away. "Nemu, do you-?" she began to ask, but stopped at the sight that awaited her.

Nemu was jotting down something on a notepad with alarming speed. Abruptly, she stopped. "This is what Ui wished for. Verbatim."

The two girls put their heads together, and in less than a moment, their genius intellects came to the same conclusion.

"This wish did not come from Ui's head," Touka declared aloud. "Someone put it there."

Nemu agreed. For as much as she loved Ui, she would be the first to say that the strangest part of their friendship was that Ui was nowhere near as smart as Nemu or Touka... and despite that, or even because of it, she was especially dear to them. Or had been, until her apparent betrayal.

There could be no reasonable explanation, simply because Ui was not as smart as Nemu or Touka. Any plan that required deep thought, as theirs had, had been guided chiefly by a girl other than Ui. Oh, she contributed, but anything she added was examined for flaws, revised, and rephrased in a way that she could easily see was better than the original idea. There was no offense meant by this at all. It had been Nemu's job to procure example after example of how wish-granting went horribly wrong in various forms of literature, and she had been extremely thorough. Their wishes needed to be phrased in exactly the right way, and that was best left to Nemu, who read even more books than Touka, which was saying something. Despite Kyubey's claims of his race being of a higher intelligence, Nemu had actually been concerned that Touka might phrase a wish in a way that even he didn't understand. And whether she was wrong or not, they would only get one chance at this, so it was better to be cautious.

But Ui had ruined their one chance, with her foolish attempt. And since she was not in any way malicious, they could only assume that she had been trying to protect them, perhaps hoping to take on the entire burden so that they could wish for something else. Maybe even save their own shortened lives.

"Honestly," Touka muttered. "Wishing for the power to erase every Witch before it's born. It's not a bad starting point, but there's so much it doesn't take into account. How can you contain something if you never find its limitations? Silly Ui."

"How are we going to find her?" Nemu asked. "Where would that wish even take her? There are Witches in this city. The wish shouldn't have transported her away."

"She wished for a specific power. Maybe it's not one she can receive here," Touka replied. "So Kyubey couldn't just give it to her. Or if he could, he chose to do it another way instead."

"We should regroup and reconsider. Neither of our wishes cover enough ground now, without Ui."

Touka frowned. "You know what this means, don't you? Alina was exactly right about us not being able to depend on Ui. She's going to be so smug, now. Don't you hate it when she's smug?"

"Ui-chan," Madoka sighed, shaking her head. "This wasn't what I wanted for you."

"You said it was my choice," Ui insisted.

"And I meant that. But why would you chose the exact same path that I-?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you have Iroha!"

"And you had Tatsuya!"

"Tatsuya was young enough where he could eventually convince himself that I was a cousin or friend who lived with his family. Iroha is never going to forget her little sister!"

"The same way that Homura never-"

"You know that's different," Madoka interrupted.

"Why is it all different for you?"

"It just is, Ui-chan. I didn't take you so you could be like me."

"Didn't you?"

Madoka hesitated. "Well... not this much like me," she sighed.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Of course not. I'm just... sad for you. I don't know if I did a good job of explaining things, if you still felt this was necessary."

Ui smiled, her golden eyes dancing. "Maybe you should just believe in me, nee-san."

"That's not funny, Ui-chan."

"I was being serious! Have faith that I didn't make a mistake!"

Madoka said nothing to that. This hurt Ui, if only a little.

"Well, I'm going now," Ui said.

"Be careful," Madoka replied at once.

Ui pouted. "I haven't even done anything yet!"

"So please think about why I would tell you to be careful, with that being the case," Madoka added, her eyes pleading with Ui to understand.

"I'll see you later, nee-san." Ui vanished at once.

Madoka sighed deeply, knowing Ui hadn't gotten the message. But she would. Just not in any way that Madoka would have preferred.

Ui's hopes of a midnight picnic in the park had been thoroughly squashed. Well, they were in a park, and it was slightly after midnight, but this was no picnic.

"Touka-chan! Nemu-chan! Don't you recognize me?!" Ui pleaded.

"Of course we do," Nemu replied as she carefully checked the shackles weighing Ui down. "Thanks to a particular Rumor that I created, we were able to retrieve our lost memories of you. And to our credit, we knew you even though we had never seen your goddess form before."

"But then, why are you treating me like a prisoner? We're friends!"

"We were friends," Touka corrected, adjusting the chains that secured Ui to the tree. "Until you betrayed and abandoned us. So at best, we're former associates now. Maybe if you hadn't done what you did, we'd be willing to treat you differently. But as things stand, you're too troublesome to keep around. We need to get rid of you."

"What?!" Ui cried in shock. "No! You can't kill me!"

Touka shook her head. "You'd probably just revive yourself if we did that. No, I just meant that we can't keep you in our custody. So we're handing you over to the very person that makes it so troublesome to keep you. Which means far less trouble for us. Plus, we don't want you wandering around, unmaking Witches. That doesn't exactly help us."

"Yes, it does!" Ui insisted. "How could it not?"

Touka and Nemu glanced at each other in silence.

"Look, I know what the plan was, but my way, we don't have to-"

"You should stop talking," Nemu interrupted. "The Hunter is coming, and she doesn't care for too much talking."

"Actually, we already told her where to find you, so it's not like we even have to stay for the exchange." Touka grabbed Nemu's arm, and they both ran off.

Ui didn't have to wait long: someone appeared at her side almost immediately, and their identity cheered her up immediately. "Onee-chan! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Ui," Iroha whispered, tears in her eyes as she carefully cupped Ui's face in her hands. "You're alive."

The pain in her sister's voice made Ui's heart ache. "I-I'm so sorry I left you, but I-"

"Shh. That doesn't matter anymore, Ui." Iroha hugged Ui tightly. "We're together again."

Someone else appeared at Iroha's side. "Then... this is her, Iroha?"

Iroha nodded. "Yes, Yachiyo-san. This is Ui."

"Good. It seems the Magius have already withdrawn, so we can extract her safely."

Ui blinked. "Do you mean Touka and Nemu?"

Yachiyo stared at her, frowning.

"They didn't do anything to you, did they?" Iroha demanded.

"Just put these chains on me," Ui replied. "Why would they do that? I thought we were friends."

"That was a long time ago, Ui. They've changed, and not for the better, I'm sorry to say. I don't like to think they would have hurt you, but it's best for everyone that they handed you over without a fight."

"If you say so." Ui winced. "Onee-chan, can you take these shackles off of me, please? They're really tight."

Iroha paused, glancing at Ui's shackles. "No."

"I'm sure they must be complicated, since Touka said she invented them just for me, but-"

"You misunderstood," Yachiyo cut in, kneeling to examine the shackles herself. "The issue isn't that they're complicated. The issue is that if we removed them, you would be free."

Ui blinked. "Wait. What?" She turned to Iroha, who wasn't looking at her. "Onee-chan?"

"It's just until we're sure that you won't run away again, Ui." Iroha took a deep, shuddering breath. "You don't know how much that hurt me. How much it changed things for everyone. People died because I was so fixated on looking for you."

Ui hesitated. "You mean... because you were too busy to save them?"

"Because I killed them if they couldn't give me the answers I wanted."

Ui drew back in horror. "No. You aren't like that."

"I wasn't like that. Until you left me, Ui." Iroha suddenly grabbed Ui and shook her. "Why did you leave?! I was a good sister, wasn't I?!"

"You were the best! I left to save you, onee-chan! I didn't want you to become a Witch!"

Iroha froze. "That's why...? Ui, I never knew that was the reason. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't know how much you knew, or if you'd believe me. I just wanted to protect you."

"Then... Touka and Nemu weren't lying about that. I thought it was another of their tricks."

"Does that change things?" Ui asked hopefully.

"Not really. But I could give them a chance, since they gave you back to me unharmed. Maybe they aren't beyond our help. Right now, though, all that matters is getting you home."

Yachiyo sighed. "Well, Ui was right about one thing: these shackles are complicated. Separating her from the tree will be difficult."

"Then we'll take the tree with us," Iroha said dismissively.

Yachiyo frowned. "Iroha, you've already used that power once tonight."

"I don't care. Ui is more important than anything else."

"You should care," Yachiyo snapped. "If that thing takes you over-"

"Even if she does, she won't hurt Ui."

"I'm more concerned about anyone who isn't Ui."

Iroha turned her back on Yachiyo. "This isn't up for debate, Yachiyo-san. I wasn't asking for permission."

Yachiyo glared at her. "Then don't bother asking for forgiveness later, either."

"I hadn't planned on it." Iroha drew back her hood, then placed both hands over her chest. "Please, Gio-chan. Ui is finally here. Help me keep her safe."

Ui watched in alarm as Iroha's hair began to flutter, as if caught in a breeze, and then flap violently, as if the breeze had become a tornado. She also did not care for the way that Yachiyo ducked down, as if expecting an attack. Then there was loud, echoing shriek, and something enormous burst from the back of Iroha's head, its sheer size blocking Ui's view of the moon.

Something grabbed the tree that Ui was chained to, and ripped it out of the ground with no visible effort. Ui wasn't so busy screaming as the world flew by in a blur (although she was screaming) that she failed to notice Yachiyo had stabbed a halberd into the tree, and was hanging on for dear life.

It was impossible to tell how long they flew: Ui was focused on not being sick the whole time. All she could be sure of was the moment when the tree began to drop without warning. Ui nearly screamed in fear, but the tree landed, hard, in a standing position, and showed no sign of falling on its side.

Yachiyo moved into Ui's field of vision, dragging Iroha's limp body and looking rather cross about it. There was no sign of the huge thing that had brought them, but if Yachiyo was moving out in the open again, it had to be gone. Ui watched Yachiyo carefully place Iroha on the ground. Iroha still didn't wake up.

"You really can't free yourself from those chains?" Yachiyo asked abruptly.

Ui shook her head.

Yachiyo stared at her. "Why did you come back?"

"To save everyone."

"Why did you go to the Magius first?"

"I went where I sensed the most magical girls. I wasn't looking for anyone in particular."

"Iroha is afraid you'll leave again. Will you?"

"I left because I didn't have the power I needed. Now I have it. I won't leave, I swear it."

"I'm not the one you have to convince. But if you run, and I have to chase you, I won't be nice about it."

"I understand, Yachiyo-san. But, please tell me one thing." Ui stared sadly at Iroha. "Did she... did my sister really kill people?"

"No," Yachiyo said at once. "It was always that thing inside of her. I warned her not to trust it. But every time she let it out, she swore that you were worth it. I hope that is true. I suspect it isn't."

Ui knew then that Yachiyo wasn't simply an angry person. Rather, she was angry because of what Iroha had become. Which meant she had known Iroha before then. "Thank you for not abandoning her."

That only seemed to make Yachiyo angrier. "You still don't understand what she's become. But you will." With that, she leaped straight into the air and vanished.

Ui started to wonder when Iroha would wake up, or if Yachiyo would ever come back. Then she wondered if anyone would release her from the tree. And where the slightly creepy carousel music was coming from.

The last thought made her pause, and that was when she first saw them: the parade of carousel horses, gliding smoothly along the ground. And among then, waving a set of enormous fans and dancing like a fairy possessed by a spirit of flame, was-

"Tsuruno-chan."

Ui gasped as Iroha instantly sat up. "Onee-chan!"

"It's okay, Ui," Iroha said, misreading the concern in Ui's voice. "She's a good friend."

In moments, the carousel horses had surrounded them, and Tsuruno danced for almost ten more minutes before she finally came to a stop in front of Iroha, panting slightly.

"I can hear it," Tsuruno said, closing her eyes. "Gio-chan is singing. She must finally be happy."

"It's Ui," Iroha said, tears falling from her eyes. "She's happy that Ui's back."

Tsuruno opened her eyes and stared at Ui, who smiled hesitantly. It wasn't returned. Instead, Tsuruno stared into the distance. "Shishou, you didn't stay, again. Are you that disappointed in me?"

"It's not that, Tsuruno-chan," Iroha insisted. "Yachiyo is angry with me, that's all. She'll come around eventually, you'll see."

"Maybe." Tsuruno turned back to Iroha. "Well, you're home and you're safe, Iroha-chan. That's what matters."

"Um, Tsuruno-san?" Ui asked. "Would it be possible to-?"

"Of course. Please forgive me, Ui-sama."

Ui blinked in surprise as Tsuruno snapped her fan gracefully, sending out a pillar of flame that sailed just over Ui's head and instantly incinerated the entire tree, leaving Ui slightly more comfortable, but still shackled. A carousel horse slid in front of Ui and dipped low, obviously meaning for her to ride it. She got on only once she saw Iroha had already climbed on a nearby horse. "Oh, and before I forget, Ui-sama." Tsuruno smiled and gestured with her fans. "Welcome to Chelation Land."

"Presenting the Terror of the Invisible Girl!" Tsuruno announced loudly.

Ui stared. There was an older girl sitting on a raised platform. She wasn't invisible, and she didn't look afraid. Sad, maybe, but not scared. "Um... am I supposed to be able to see her?"

"Of course you are," Tsuruno replied. "That's what she's most afraid of, now: a world where everyone can see her, and still treats her like she's invisible."

The girl waved sadly to them as the carousel horses slid forward silently. Ui wasn't sure if she should wave back or not. She took her cue from Iroha, who stared straight ahead and did nothing.

"Presenting the Eternal Struggle!"

"TSURUNO! IROHA! GET ME OUT OF HERE, DAMMIT!"

"Sorry, Felicia-chan! You know the rules. Until you accept Be-"

"I HATE YOU!"

Ui stared. There was a blonde girl, Felicia apparently, chained to... well, it was a monster. It had one enormous eye, a crimson hide, and what looked like giant weights for hands. Oddly, the monster seemed to be asleep, which was impressive, considering how loudly Felicia was screaming.

"So sad," Tsuruno sighed, shaking her head.

"Why can't you let her go?" Ui asked softly. "Did she do something wrong?"

"We aren't the ones keeping her there," Tsuruno explained. "The moment any magical girl comes to Chelation Land to stay, an attraction is formed around her. She can only get out of it if she accepts the truth about herself. Felicia thinks we chained her up, but that chain was there long before she ever came here."

The carousel horses slid silently forward, and Felicia's howls of outrage faded behind them.

"Presenting the Chained Goddess of Chelation Land!"

The wording was just a bit too descriptive for Ui's liking, and the next thing she knew, her carousel horse gave a great jerk, and she was tossed into what looked like a drained dunking booth.

"This is your attraction, Ui-sama," Tsuruno explained.

"And what truth do I have to accept about myself?" Ui asked.

"That you're here to serve a greater purpose."

"You're bait," Iroha said bluntly. "We'll use you to lure her here. And when she comes for you, I'll kill her."

Ui drew back. "W-Who are you-?"

"Don't pretend you don't know, Ui. The one who stole you from me. The one I can never forgive."

Ui's eyes widened. "But... you shouldn't have-!"

"Those memories? Well, I do. Thanks to Touka and Nemu, oddly enough, but I'm glad they did it."

"This isn't right, onee-chan. This isn't you!" Ui pleaded.

Iroha hung her head, so that her loose hair hid her face. She looked up sharply, revealing a white mask with empty eyes. "No. It's me. And you're wasting words, Ui. If you want to be useful, call the traitor."

"She had to do it! It was the only way to-!"

"And where did that leave Iroha, Ui? You still don't understand. You weren't just Iroha's sister. You were her heart. And when you don't have that, things like killing... they don't seem as bad. Iroha needed a partner who would never abandon her. She chose me. And now that we have our heart back, we have to make sure it never leaves us again. That means ending the only one who can steal you away."

"She won't come. I asked her to leave this all to me."

"Of course she'll come. Anything for a precious little sister. Isn't that how it goes, Ui? Anything to regain your heart. Madoka will fall into that trap. She can't help it. We wouldn't be able to resist, either."

It took over a month, but Madoka finally did come to Chelation Land. And when she did, the heart-rending sight of Homura's severed head on a pike greeted her. Madoka looked away, and with a wave of her hand, took Homura back into the Law of Cycles, to be reborn anew later. But that would depend on Madoka not dying herself here.

And the enormous, blood-stained, bird-like creature slowly rising out of Chelation Land made her wonder how close death was.

"Welcome home, nee-san," said a cold voice from the bird's head, magically amplified so Madoka could easily hear it. "I've been waiting so long."

"Iroha," Madoka whispered. "Please don't do this."

"I said the same to you, so long ago, and was ignored. Why shouldn't I ignore your pleading now?"

"If you still see me as your sister despite everything-"

"It's because I see you as my sister that I can't forgive you. You could have taken me with Ui, as easily as you just took your little pet Homura back. Why didn't you?"

"There are some people who are essential to the timelines in which they exist. Remove them through unnatural means, and the timeline collapses. If I had explained that to you then, would it have changed anything?"

"No. I would have only said that Ui was essential to my being whole. And you, of all people, should have understood that without me needing to say it!"

"I'm sorry, Iroha. I did what I felt was best. If you hate me so much that you want me dead-"

"Of course I hate you. You're worse than any Witch. But once I kill you, everything will be as it should."

Ui woke up in a bed, and was shocked to find that she was no longer shackled. Iroha had seemed so determined not to free her. What had changed while she was asleep?

The answer was not hard to find: lying a few inches to Ui's right, looking unusually pale and far too frail, was Madoka. The total lack of any ethereal appearance or power, and the shallow way she was breathing, spoke volumes.

"Your power," Ui whispered. "It's gone."

Madoka opened her eyes. "Ui. I tried to warn you."

"It's my fault that you're like this now," Ui sobbed.

"No," Madoka sighed, cupping Ui's cheek with her hand. "I never got around to showing you how to properly view a timeline. It's all about multiple angles. You can't just view it one way."

"So you knew she would do this?"

"I knew you would never believe Iroha was capable of such things, so telling you was pointless. And it's not as if I can't understand her. All of this was done out of love. Twisted and tainted, but still love."

"How can you be so sure?"

Madoka smiled faintly. "You heard her say she would kill me. Do I look dead to you?"

Ui frowned. "So... she was lying?"

"Not really. It's more-"

"I think that's enough secrets revealed for now, nee-san," Iroha said as she entered the bedroom. "You should be resting, anyway."

"What did you do to her, onee-chan?" Ui demanded.

"I'm sure you can tell, Ui, since you still have your power. I removed the part of her that I found distasteful."

"Why take her power and leave mine alone?"

"There are several reasons. But if you're thinking of running, or undoing what I did to her, you will find it quite impossible. I've taken every precaution. Go on, try something... heavenly."

Frowning, Ui raised a glowing hand and placed it on Madoka's stomach. After several moments, she glared at Iroha. "That power was intended to save magical girls. What did you do with it?"

"I donated a portion to the Magius, to keep them civil. I still don't agree with their methods, but I can't deny that I've benefited from their research. And it was you that asked me to give Touka and Nemu a chance. This is how I do that."

"And where's the rest of the power?" Ui asked. "I can tell that you don't have it."

"Locked away in a safe place, until it is needed."

"No!" Ui protested. "All the magical girls-!"

"The Magius will achieve their goals in time, I have no doubt of that now. Any Witches that still exist, or will be born, before that happens, will ultimately benefit the cause. There must always be sacrifices."

"You... you never would have said that before."

"I hadn't lost both of my sisters before." Iroha smiled softly. "And now we're a family again."

Ui turned to Madoka. "Say something to her! Make her understand!"

Madoka shook her head. "Ui, I told you. Iroha did this out of love. For us. It's the only way we could all be together. Yes, it means some girls won't be saved. And that is sad. But one day, you'll be able to see your friends again, and they won't turn you away. And until then, you'll have us."

"But this isn't right!" Ui cried. A golden aura formed around her body, glowing brighter and brighter by the second.

Iroha sighed. "Don't bother, Ui."

Ui ignored her, convinced that it wasn't too late. She still had power. Why Iroha had removed the shackles, but not the power, was a mystery. But it was also a mistake, and Ui was going to exploit it.

But then the door opened, and what Ui first mistook for a second Iroha came in, until she saw the face.

The white, emotionless mask with empty eye sockets, and a mouth that opened impossibly wide.

Abruptly, all of Ui's strength seemed to leave her, and she collapsed face-down on the bed.

"That's enough, Gio-chan," Ui heard Iroha say. "I think she's learned the lesson."

Ui slowly, and with great effort lifted her head.

Iroha was holding hands with her dark twin, speaking too softly for Ui to hear clearly. At last, Iroha smiled, hugged her twin tenderly, and released her. The twin said nothing, but her empty gaze lingered on Ui before she turned and left the room.

"You gave it to her?" Ui asked with certainty. "Why?"

"Because the only thing she has ever done is protect me. Too aggressively at times, but once Tsuruno helped me understand her, we've been a real team. I know she will only use that power in defense of my dream. She won't let anyone destroy it. Not even you, Ui. So there was no need to take your power, or keep you shackled."

Ui wanted to say more, but Madoka gently took her hand. When Ui turned to her, Madoka shook her head, and Ui let her protests fade.

"Well, we've all had a busy night," Iroha said, as if nothing too out of the ordinary had just happened. "We should get to bed."

It was only then that Ui realized the bed was indeed large enough for three people. So she was not surprised when Iroha climbed into the bed from the left side. It made sense, she was probably still mad at Madoka. But to Ui's surprise, Iroha climbed over her, and settled herself between Ui and Madoka, wrapping her arms around them both and falling asleep almost immediately, a satsifed smile on her lips.

Ui thought for sure that Madoka would say something, but instead, Madoka also closed her eyes, though she clearly was not asleep yet. More confused than ever, Ui used a small portion of her power, and looked into Madoka's mind, something Madoka no longer had the power to prevent. Apparently this was allowed, since Iroha's twin did not return.

Ui wanted only to find out why Madoka was allowing this, or at least why she was not urging Ui to find another way. And the reason was the last thing she'd ever expected to see.

When Madoka had first told Ui the truth about herself, that they were not really sisters, and why she had chosen Ui... it had hurt, until Ui saw that Madoka did care about her and Iroha, deeply. More deeply than perhaps an objective goddess should have. And she had liked that. Likewise, when Ui first realized that she cared for Madoka in return, not as a savior or teacher or friend, but still as an adopted sister despite that lie no longer being needed, it made her happy.

But the newfound knowledge of just why Iroha had ripped away the goddess Madoka, leaving only the human portion, was heartbreaking. Yes, Iroha had wanted Ui back at her side, and would have done anything to make that happen.

But the reason she had hated the goddess so much, was because that goddess had taken away two treasured sisters, not just one.

And the reason Homura had to die, was because she had tried to keep the most treasured sister out of Iroha's hands. No, even deeper than that, Homura had to die because she had once had those same desires, and had surely recognized them in Iroha. And Iroha did not care to have any rivals.

So Ui now had to accept that she and Iroha had something else in common: their love for Madoka was stronger than their love for each other.

End of Chapter 1.

Continued in Chapter 2: Hollow Heart

Seeking a reunion with Mifuyu, Yachiyo reluctantly joins Wings of the Magius. Brainwashing isn't needed, however, because she is already under the control of a ruthless force that will do anything to realize its desires.

Endnotes:

This chapter ran unusually longer than I intended. I don't expect others to be anywhere near as long.