Kamen Rider Dragon Knight (c) Adness Entertainment / Toei / Ishimori Production. Puella Magi Madoka Magica (c) Magica Quartet / SHAFT / Aniplex / MBS.

Phase II: Careless Whisper

"Kit…"

"Kit…"

"KIT!"

I may be dead – or not quite dead – because my body went transparent, but…

What are those voices that are resonating in my head?

"All along, you have been ignoring several warning signs. You were too obsessed with that red-headed traitor-slash-witch with a capital B, birds*** for brains!"

"Ahahaha! In the end, the girl of your dreams backstabbed you! Serves you right for being a lovesick Kamen Rider loser!"

"Ignoramus… truly you held on to the last vestiges of a love that can never be… and you paid the ultimate price for it."

Those three voices then converged.

"Have you been ignoring our warning signs – those things you just brushed off as mere careless whispers from untrusting individuals – and then proceed to unite body and soul with that girl… even though that girl has no soul in the first place, since it was traded off to that white animal-like fiend? Well, here's a montage of those whispers you ignored!"

"Then the waters told me the truth:
how much you remember your deaths
where the halves of the Innocent spirits
unite in a lost terrain,

From the outset the heavens
had this in mind, a passage through
darkness and suspect the Dark souls of Traitors,

One of witch, wicked and with no heart,
With tainted love, master of deceit and lies

KYOUKO SAKURA"

"OY! KAMEN RIDER LOSER! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT KYOUKO'S JUST USING YOU FOR HER OWN SELFISH AND TWISTED REASONS! HERE'S FOOD FOR THOUGHT, WHY DON'T YOU JUST VOTE HER OFF, TO SAVE HER FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE TRAITORS, HEHEHE... YOUR KAMEN POWERS WON'T BE ABLE TO PROTECT HER ONCE THE TRAITORS MAKE THEIR MOVE!"

"True love has already been lost, for Kit Taylor's part anyway – for the love he is being shone isn't love, but cruel manipulation. You dangle to him hope – is he like your horse that runs after the carrot on the stick, always running, never reaching the goal?

Forgive me Kamen Rider – I have wronged you. I am sorry that your soul will be scarred by this experience."

"Oh you, with Innocent blood,
Hear this voice of truth
the time preceding the birth of the worlds.

Where all of us waited
in the mothering dark,
in the death that the card foretells.

But alone and together we ride
into the dying and dead
the story that means we are starting again."

"Love sucks. Sometimes it feels good. Sometimes it's just another way to bleed. Your definition of the so-called love is too s***ty for my taste that it makes want to puke. I heard you're a magical b**** or something like that. I believe they can use magic to turn boys into one of a **** love a**holes. I think I've said to this to someone earlier but, admit your sins you strawberry whorecake."

"The knight of red dragon, being played like a fool,
In the hand of Witch for lust and power.

Love turning to treachery.
The earth will bleed out innocent blood

For her kiss might be as sweet as nectar,
Yet it will be the last to be stabbed at the back."

"Go ahead then… fulfill the prophecy. Be resigned… to be… the victim… of a forced destiny… rather than choosing… to be its conqueror.

Die a PUPPET… wiggling in the traitors' strings."

"I pity you, Mr. Kamen Rider. At the end of this game, you will be the sorriest person of all. You WILL regret your actions, as much as I regret my inaction, or even more.

I assure you, Kit-kitburikit, at the end of this twisted game, two things WILL happen. It's either you DIE at the hands of the traitors or you will be betrayed by the one you love, or both. Mark my words!"

That montage… really got through me. It pierced through my every sense.

Even for someone teetering on the border between life and death… those voices… were painful reminders… of my utter naïveté!

"!"

And those three voices only watched as I poured out all my agony into this piercing shout that can be heard in this darkness – a darkness that is vastly different from the Advent Void.

"This destructive relationship is reversible, but time... is not. Turn back! Turn back! Turn back! Turn back!"

The three voices mumbled, and then faded into the darkness's stale air.

They belonged to the other people involved in the game – Seth Nightroad, Shinnosuke Nohara, and Gig.

And in their place… a familiar sight came into view.

It was Kyouko.

However, this wasn't the same Kyouko she used to look like.

Because…

She had lots of cuts and bruises on her body, her clothes were tattered (though her private parts were still thankfully covered), and her eyes – most specifically, her irises – emanated a dull, lifeless red. The Soul Gem that she held radiated the same lifeless red.

Who could have done this to her, after she made this betrayal that shook the very foundations of my being?

A virtual screen that suddenly appeared above Kyouko's body showed the answer.

Mayuri had too much time in his hands, dealing with the prisoners and unfortunate victims who have all shown acts of defiance against him.

He walked over to Kit's convulsing body, kicking it around to see if it's still worth salvaging. But the poor Kamen Rider, filled with regret and feelings of betrayal, was a poor mess on the floor. Mayuri considered keeping him alive in hopes of extracting the Advent Beast from him, but he instead found pleasure in just watching the Rider gasp his final breaths.

Audrey, Silvia, Kyubey, and Kyouko walked up to their master's side – all projecting their wide smiles. They've done their jobs well, didn't they? Traitors, hiding amongst the sheep, cutting away at the weak until only the very best remained.

"Master," Kyouko said. "The job is finished. We did well, didn't we?"

Mayuri, still staring at Kit, only nodded. "Yes, you certainly did. But good, isn't always enough."

He waved his hand. Shackles came up from the floor and held the four Traitors in place!

Mayuri turned around to face them. "You see, with some of these stupid people dying, I have a few gaps in my specimen collection. That just won't do. Thorough experimentation is the hallmark of a good shinigami scientist."

"And I... am always... thorough."

"Hey! You can't do this to us! We helped you! We did all you said!"

As vats of acid, test tubes of mayonnaise, and artifacts of torture began popping out of the walls of his laboratory – which was formerly the space station's Dark Sphere, Mayuri walked away from the soon-to-be gruesome scene without bothering to look. He liked the concept of surprise.

"Come back! Please, come back! Master!"

The Dark Sphere's doors closed.

"Computer."

"Yes, Master." S.H.A.R.K.Y., the central computer, responded.

"I heard Pakaskas is wonderful this time of year."

Pakaskas was the planet wherein the Yousouma was headed to.

A scream was heard. And another. Soon wails upon wails of agony filled the halls of the space station.

But Mayuri's laughter was the loudest of all.

The playback ended…

…and I didn't know if I could laugh, cry, or get angry at this turnout.

She betrayed me, and then she gets betrayed by her own master. Such delicious irony.

At least we were even.

I stared at Kyouko's body for some minutes, when suddenly…

The Descender and Kanonno showed up in front of me and her.

But instead of their hopeful, cheerful faces…

Tears rolled down their cheeks.

"History indeed repeats itself, right?" Kanonno stated.

"You were oblivious to the fact that she was a pawn of the real enemy… just like me," the Descender followed.

"Yes. And I had been ignoring several warning signs from my innocent comrades. Therefore, I've had it worse than you did," I replied.

Kanonno then advised me, while trying her best to stop her stream of tears, "Kit Taylor… even though the circumstances of the four of us have the same parallels… please... decide for yourself the best course of action. Kyouko has a more fickle personality compared to me, so the same methods that my beloved Descender did to save me from the darkness that engulfed me may not be effective on her."

The Descender continued with this, also following Kanonno's stoppage of tears: "Whatever road you may take to save her… and yourself… from the endless abyss of hopelessness… always think of the times you two will spend together… when this chaotic blur in your lives has finally been erased."

The two then finished their advice with this line, spoken together:

"The power of pure, consummate love will always endure no matter what happens – not even betrayal can stand against it. Because in the end… a perfect love will complete the imperfections of the couple practicing it."

They then vanished into thin air.

This time, my mind was all clear.

I finally accepted the fact that Kyouko was a Traitor and only exposed her true role at the end of this game – but still, she loves me deep down inside. She may have discarded her feelings of care and affection, like she loved me no more – but it was all just a ploy, just because…

She only resigned to her ultimate fate and never fought against it.

Like I did.

I was susceptible to what they call "love at first sight" when I first met Kyouko at the space station. All because we share the same color of our transformed forms – red. And then… we began to know each other; fought alongside each other; and shared happy, sad, and awkward moments with each other.

I held on to that love, and never let it go.

And it backfired.

This time, Kyouko and I…

…will wield the power of pure, consummate love to fight our fates…

…and to live without regrets, shame, and distrust.

I called out.

"Seth! Shin-chan! Gig! I now accept my fate… but still… I will fight against it! I will still love Kyouko like I always do… and prove that pure love will still prevail!"

After a few seconds… the voices of the three re-spawned.

"Such magnificent display of bravado, Kit Taylor. Fighting fate will not be easy… and you know how Kyouko Sakura must have felt after a double dose of betrayal… Even with that premise, you still want to love her… Indeed, you are to be commended. A true warrior does not only defeat the enemies outside, but also the enemies within. Prove to this Puella Magi, Kamen Rider… that love is not just an emotional flutter, nor an ebullient fascination… but an ever-enduring future."

"Thank you… whisperers."

After I have said my thanks, the voices of the three vanished again.

And so… I closed my eyes… and let my body free itself from too much emotional baggage.