Kyoko, Mami, and Kamina ran through the dark labyrinth that used to be where a tall abandoned circular building was. Once Kamina and Mami saw what happened, they instantly got inside both Gurren and Lagann and combined. They wasted no time as they ran through the labyrinth, desperately looking for Sayaka.
"What the hell was that?!" Kamina cried out. "All of a sudden she just exploded!" He received no answer as they found Sayaka, along with something else as well. A monstrous being stood in front of them. It appeared to wearing some kind of armor on its arms. Its head was encrusted with a helmet. It had a tail that split off into two at the end of it. The monster had brandished swords in its arms. Kamina looked at the monster and then at Sayaka. Once he realized it was a witch, he couldn't believe it once the dots connected in his head. "No way…It can't be!"
"What the hell have you done to Sayaka?!" Kyoko screamed as she grabbed Sayaka's body. Kamina and Mami prepared to defend Kyoko, but then something else came on the scene. Kamina saw a small metal object appear before the witch for a brief moment. The object then exploded as Kamina closed his eyes from the sudden light. When he opened his eyes, he found Homura grabbing Kyoko by the hand in front of them. Despite Kyoko's protests, Homura leaped high into the air and landed on Gurren Lagann.
"I'm taking over this machine." She stated. Kamina was about to protest when something strange happened. All of a sudden, the witch stopped moving all together. In fact, it had seemed like everything stopped moving. Things only got even more confusing as the inside of Gurren was shrouded in a light purple glow as he felt the machine moving on its own. "We're withdrawing for now." She added as they advanced towards a bright light in the labyrinth. They passed through and ended up before the abandoned building where they found Sayaka.
Mami was trembling inside Lagann. She had realized what had happened too. Sayaka had become a witch. That thing came from her Soul Gem. Soul Gems gave birth to witches. If they wanted to save everyone…then she knew what that meant.
"Hey blondie!" Kamina shouted as he appeared on a screen inside Lagann. "I figured it out too. That fuzzball's been putting girls into his dirty traps!"
"Kamina-san…if this is true…then we all have to die!" Mami shouted back at him. "We can't allow ourselves to turn into witches!"
"Dumbass!" Kamina shouted back at her. "There you go again with jumping to conclusions. Before you start to end up like Sayaka did, get a grip and think for a second! We don't even know if this thing is permanent! If you're a man, you'll take that frustration out on that fuzzball! You got that?!" Mami looked back at him. She let his words sink into her mind, before wiping her tears away and nodding. She couldn't let herself end up like Sayaka. Not when there was still a chance. Kamina detached Lagann from Gurren and they both got out as Kamina shrunk Gurren back down.
Homura looked at Sayaka's body with curiosity. Something was not supposed to be there. She knew that a magical girl's Soul Gem turns into a Grief Seed when it becomes a witch. So why was Sayaka's Soul Gem there? It looked damaged and its color was a very dull gray. Regardless of that change, she knew what she was going to end up going through again. Mami, Kamina, and Kyoko rode in Lagann as Mami carried Sayaka's motionless body with Lagann's arms. As they started to exit the area, the last person they needed to see showed up.
Madoka looked at Sayaka's motionless body with horror as she ran up to the group. She looked at the now gray Soul Gem with tears in her eyes.
"What…happened?" She mouthed. "Why is Sayaka like this? What's wrong with her Soul Gem?"
"Her Soul Gem gave birth to darkness and that darkness materialized into a witch." Homura bluntly stated, the cold emotionless expression on her face not changing at all. As Madoka's eyes went dark with horror, she fell on her knees. "It's the final dark secret of being a magical girl. When a Soul Gem is tainted with too much darkness, magical girls are then reborn as witches." She continued, leaving out the fact that they usually become Grief Seeds.
"But…why?" Madoka responded, her composure reaching its breaking point. "She wanted to be an ally of justice. She wanted to help people! It's why she became a magical girl!" She shouted as she broke down sobbing over her friend's body.
"Her being a magical girl could only last until she had experienced an equal amount of despair to the good that she wished for others. She will now curse one person for everyone she had saved." Homura finished.
Kamina growled to himself. That fuzzball had gone too far. As Kyoko began to berate Homura for being so blunt and inconsiderate of her feelings, Kamina thought to himself. Now he knew that kid's power from earlier was stopping time. If he remembered correctly, the fuzzball stated that a magical girl's ability depends on the kind of wish she made. What part of stopping time had to do with this mysterious raven-haired girl? As he thought this, Homura told Kyoko to be careful in hiding Sayaka's corpse before she disappeared into the night. Kyoko growled to herself before taking the corpse and walking off. Mami and Kamina then took the sobbing Madoka home. She had only barely managed to regain her composure by the time they arrived at her doorstep. As Mami and Kamina walked back to Mami's apartment with Lagann, they were approached by the one creature that they didn't want to see on the pathway back.
"You seem to be reacting to this the same way all the others do." Kyubey stated. Kamina's eyes fired up. He wasted no time as he unsheathed his sword and brought it down on the creature.
"Now you've pushed me too far you damn fuzzball!" He shouted. "You took the heights of the human spirit! The core of a man's soul! And you stomped into the dirt! Smashed it around and spat on it!" As the creature's blood spilled all over the path, Kamina brought it down again for another strike. "You've done it now! I'll wipe you off the face of this planet!" He shouted as he continued to slash at the creature. Mami covered her mouth in shock at Kamina's violent outburst. He was relentless in his attacks. Mami looked at the corpse and did her best not to throw up. It was hard to admit, but she didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for Kyubey. Even so, seeing her friend enraged like this hurt her as well.
"Kamina-san stop!" Mami cried. Kamina breathed heavily as he looked at the bloody white mangled mess in front of him for a moment before looking back at Mami.
"Sorry about that blondie. But that thing isn't going to be bothering you guys anymore. Now that he's out of the way we can-"
"There was no point in doing that Kamina." Said a familiar voice. Kamina turned around and looked with shock on his face as the little fuzzball walked out from between two trees, completely unscathed. Before he knew it, it had gone and eaten its own corpse. "I have countless upon countless spare bodies." Kamina grit his teeth. What the hell was this thing? "But since you're not the type who wastes any time, allow me to explain ourselves to you. Understand that we do this for the good of the universe."
"What are you talking about Kyubey?" Mami replied as sternly as she could. "How is anything that you've done good for the universe?"
"I'll put it short, since Kamina has spent his life underground and would not understand the scientific terms. The duty of our race is to collect energy for the universe. The amount of energy in the universe is decreasing, and your souls provide the universe with a great amount of it. You humans possess something that our race doesn't. Emotions." Kamina and Mami's eyes both widened at that. "When magical girls become witches, an enormous amount of energy is created. From your hope to your despair, we collect the energy from it. It's all so the universe can survive."
"So that's it?" Mami replied bluntly. "Humans to you are nothing more than food for the universe? You manipulate all of us with the promise of wishes knowing that we'll fall into despair and turn into monsters!" She continued as she clenched her fists and shook them.
"Human emotions are NOT something you can just turn into food for the universe!" Kamina shot back. He took out his Soul Drill from Lagann. "It's a lot more than that! Our emotions are the things that drive us forward in life! You see this drill?" Kamina pointed to the yellow object in his hands. "Back where I came from this drill is destined to be the drill that pierces through the heavens! It belongs to someone who turns my big talk into reality. I know that he would never fall into despair, no matter what happens. So neither will we!"
"He's right!" Mami added. She began to regret thinking about killing everyone and herself earlier. "Our souls will push us forward on our paths. No matter what happens, we will triumph!"
"You hear that?! You can bet your ass that tomorrow Sayaka's going to once again be part of Team Dai-Gurren! No way are we going to let her remain as a witch!" Kamina yelled again, whipping out his glasses and smiling. "Right blondie? Tomorrow we're going to go back to that place and turn her back to her old self again!"
"Yes! No matter how impossible it may seem, I believe that if we can call out to her, we might be able to bring her back to her senses!" Mami looked up at Kamina. "That's what we do right? Kick logic out and do the impossible?" Kamina nodded. The tiny white creature looked at their optimism with the same emotionless stare. He knew that now the Anti-Spiral would no longer have any concern for universe of the Incubators in the near future. They will try and bring Sayaka back to normal, and they will fail and die. It was a simple law of their system. He continued to think that thought as the two humans hopped back inside their tiny mecha and ran towards Mami's apartment. They needed to prepare themselves for the next day, as they were not going to go down without a fight. Kyoko was thinking the exact same thing as she rested Sayaka's body down on a hotel bed. As she left to go sleep somewhere else, she didn't realize a small green light had glowed in Sayaka's Soul Gem.
Sayaka continued to wander in the place she was in. If she wasn't scared before, she was scared now. Although, she thought it was an appropriate punishment for her, after everything she did. The walls around her felt dirty. It was like someone had buried her underground. The more she thought about that, the more dead she thought she was. Suddenly, she heard a noise. It sounded like metal clanking together. Then something really unexpected happened. Part of the wall collapsed as the sound of metal whirled past her. She stuck her head through the collapsed part of the wall and looked to see dirt being flown out of the spot where the sound was coming from.
Curiosity getting the better of her, she followed to where the sound was coming from. She crawled as fast as she could, not caring how dirty her clothes were getting. She continued to follow the sound even faster to find out what it was. As she moved on ahead, the sound suddenly stopped for a moment. When she heard the sound again, it was a bit slower as opposed to how fast it sounded before. She continued to follow the path until she could see a faint figure up ahead. The closer she got, the more confused she got when she got a better look at the figure.
It was a boy. It was hard to make out his features, but she was pretty sure he was wearing blue coat and wearing goggles with lights shining through them. She could also barely make out his dark blue hair. In his hands was a small drill that he was slowly turning. The boy then turned around, noticing her.
"Oh uh…hi." He said. "I…didn't hear you come through here."
"What are you…doing all the way down here?" Sayaka asked, really confused.
"Digging tunnels." The boy replied. "Day after day it's what I do. It's my job." He continued to slowly turn the drill. Sayaka watched as he continued to dig through what looked like a dead end. "Well, it's not just my job to me. I just like to dig up treasures too." After he said that, the spot he was drilling in broke apart, and he found himself able to move forward as Sayaka continued to follow him. He moved much slower now that he knew there was someone with him. "But what are you doing here?" Sayaka sighed sadly.
"Me? I honestly don't know what I'm doing anymore." She didn't bother giving him the details. "I thought I was going the right way, but it turned out that that wasn't the case. Now I can't go back." As she finished her sentence, she heard another sound of metal. She looked in front of her to find a small drill with a crank was thrown before her as well as the same pair of goggles he was wearing. She looked up at the boy.
"If you're lost, I keep a spare drill and goggles." The boy replied. "You're welcome to use it if you like." Sayaka looked at the drill in her hands for a moment while continuing to crawl down the tunnel with him. Her face gained a confused expression.
"Do you even know where you're going?" She asked. The boy stopped digging for a moment and sighed.
"Well…not really. But that's why I dig." He resumed digging through the dirt. "I always know that if I keep digging, I'm bound to find something. I always keep digging when I'm doubtful. At least…that's what bro says I should do."
"Bro?"
"Yeah." The boy replied, while blushing. "I…actually don't have any siblings. Bro tells me that we're brothers of the spirit and blood doesn't matter. He's the one person that doesn't say that I smell, or that it's weird to be digging around all the time." Sayaka couldn't see it, but the boy had a big smile on his face as he spoke those words. "He always says that my drill will be the drill that will bust through the heavens!"
"What does that mean?" Sayaka asked.
"I don't know. But then again, it's why I dig. I do it because I don't know what's out there." As the boy dug, he flinched in pain for a moment. He rolled up his sleeve and found a small bruise, which Sayaka noticed.
"You're hurt!" She pointed out.
"This kind of thing happens all the time down here. With all the rocks and everything you're bound to get a couple cuts." The boy said as he rolled his sleeve back down and continued to dig.
"But…why do you still do it if you end up hurting yourself?" Sayaka questioned. This boy was a really weird one to her. The boy turned around and shrugged.
"I don't know. I just like to dig. I think its ten times better than just sitting alone in the dirt all the time." The boy added. "But then again, I guess I could use a little break every now and then. Did you want to help?" Sayaka didn't know how to respond to that. She remembered how helping people in the past went out for her. But then again, he wasn't asking much, just to keep digging. She nodded and used the drill he gave her and started turning the crank as quickly as she could. She drilled through the dirt as the boy followed, but then she reached a dead end. She turned the drill faster and faster, but it would not dig through the dirt.
"You're drilling it a bit too fast. There's probably a small boulder or something here. Try digging softer to weaken it a bit." The boy informed her. Sayaka did what he said. She turned the crank slowly. It took a few minutes, but she eventually heard something crack in front of her. She continued to dig slowly until what was blocking her path had broken completely.
"I did it!" She cried out.
"Good job!" The boy replied. Sayaka and the boy moved through the spot she had broken through and were surprised to find that they could stand up again. Using the lighting on her goggles, Sayaka was shocked to find where they had ended up.
"There's…so many tunnels." She uttered, marvelling at the room. There had to be at least five small passageways. "Which one are we supposed to go through?" The boy shrugged.
"I don't know." The boy replied. Sayaka and the boy both stared at the room they were in for a few minutes, wondering what to do. "Well, I guess I'll take this path." The boy stated bluntly as he crawled into a hole on the room's left side. Sayaka looked at him in shock.
"You're just picking one just like that?!" She replied, dumbfounded. "You don't even know where it'll take you!"
"I know." The boy replied. "But we have to choose one. If we don't, who knows how long we could be here." Sayaka was really surprised by this boy. He didn't even hesitate. He just kept on digging. No matter what his surroundings looked like, it didn't seem to bother him.
"Can I at least come with you?" Sayaka asked. The boy took off his goggles.
"I guess but…do you really want to come with me? If you came with me, you might not be able to go back. Do you really want to go down this way?" Sayaka opened her mouth to say yes, when a thought struck her mind. She didn't want to be alone down here, but something in her gut told her something. She thought how pathetic she was, being unable to even think for herself and think that the best option was to walk down the path of others. She realized that even when she DID think for herself, she couldn't decide what was right or wrong and she made choices that hurt herself.
"I…don't know anymore." She said sadly as tears formed in her eyes. "I'm…I'm completely helpless! I don't know what I'm fighting for, I try to be helpful but I ended up hurting myself and others! Maybe it's best that I just die down here!" The boy looked up at her with a shocked look on his face.
"Why would you think dying all alone underground would be the best option?" The boy asked, bewildered. "Dying all alone underground is actually something that really scares me. It's why I keep digging. I never stop digging until I find the answer! Bro always says: "Once you've dug through, you've won!"" Sayaka looked up and into the boy's eyes. They were fierce with determination. "He tells me…to believe in the him that believes in me!" Sayaka's eyebrows rose at that. That sounded awfully familiar. "I believe in those words, and that's why I won't stop digging." Sayaka looked at the boy for a moment before looking at the tunnels around her. "So which tunnel are you going to take?" The boy asked.
Sayaka looked around for a moment. There were five options to go through. She looked at the drill in her hands, and at a tunnel in front of her. A new feeling arose in her body. She pointed at the one in front of her.
"I'll…go down that one." She stated.
"The one straight ahead?" The boy asked as he crawled into his tunnel. "All right. Good luck out there. Remember: once you've dug through, it means that you've won!" The boy cried out as he started drilling. Sayaka nodded as she went into her tunnel and started digging through it, when suddenly something she should have thought a while ago popped into her mind.
"Wait!" She cried out. "What's your name?" She received no answer. The boy had already dug deep into his tunnel. She looked straight ahead and continued to move forward with her drill. Deeper and deeper she continued to dig. Little by little, she advanced further with each turn of her drill. She dug faster and faster as memories flew through her mind.
"My name is Madoka Kaname. It's nice to meet you!"
Madoka…her best friend. If she died down here then she would never see her again. At that thought, she dug even faster as more memories flashed through her mind.
"I want you to make contracts with me and become magical girls!"
She remembered her and Madoka's first encounter with Kyubey and Mami. Becoming a magical girl sounded incredible at the beginning. However that was before she had realized what it truly meant for her. But even still, she continued to dig onward. She then struck a dead end and she flinched. Remembering the boy's words, she dug at it a bit slower.
"I will confess my love to Kyosuke after school tomorrow. I'll wait one day for you to make your move before I do."
That was when she couldn't take it anymore. She felt like she couldn't love someone with the body of a magical girl. She remembered her brief selfish thought of her thinking about how it would have gone if she didn't save her when she was attacked by a witch. Now Hitomi was in love with the boy she had so desperately wanted to confess too. But as she dug, another thought struck her mind. She remembered how happy they looked together when she saw them on that bench together. She also remembered the despair she felt when she saw that. She became a magical girl because she wanted to make everyone happy. Was her love for that boy really so important that everyone else needed to be pushed away now that she couldn't have him? She managed to dig through the dead end as another memory rang through her mind.
"I didn't know what he really wanted but I made the wish anyway. That's why I think using magic for anyone other than yourself is dangerous."
Kyoko. At the beginning she thought she was nothing but an evil selfish spoiled brat of a magical girl. But then she heard her story. All this time she was trying to help her, along with everyone else. Her methods may have been different, but now that Sayaka thought about it, she deserved to have some sense beaten into her.
All of those memories and regrets flashed through her mind as she dug. She continued to dig faster and faster through the dirt. She had realized it now. She thought she was fighting for justice, but she made the wish for someone's love just so he would be loved back. She really was stupid. But…now she didn't feel like stopping anymore. She continued to dig forward.
"Kamina. I understand now. I understand what you were trying to tell me!" She thought as she kept digging. She kept looking forward as she continued to slowly turn the drill, until she saw something. After another turn of the drill, a light was up ahead. She moved towards it, all hesitation in her mind disappearing.
"I'm sorry I pushed you all away." She thought to herself. "But now I know what I have to do." She said to herself as she got closer and closer to the light. It got brighter and brighter the closer she moved until it got too bright for her to keep her eyes open. Nonetheless, she continued to keep drilling towards it.
"Dammit Sayaka! Listen to her already!" Kamina shouted.
The next day, Kamina, Mami, Kyoko, and Madoka all banded together to attempt to bring Sayaka back from her witch form. Mami was going to go inside Lagann, but Kyoko insisted that she be the one to do it this time. When they once again found her grotesque witch form, Madoka immediately called out to her as Kamina and Kyoko combined. Mami stayed behind and protected Madoka from the incoming wheels that the witch threw at them. The fight was not going well. Kyoko was blowing away all of the witch's attacks, but it was starting to get more and more hopeless the more Madoka cried out to her. But nonetheless they still tried as hard as they could, but all but Kamina's resolve was beginning to falter.
"Kamina-san, this isn't good!" Mami cried out as she shot another incoming wheel in the massive concert-hall like labyrinth. "Her attacks are getting more and more ruthless!" She said that immediately as a stray wheel struck her. The witch then whacked Gurren Lagann with its tail. The mighty mecha fell through the floor along with Mami and Madoka. As Mami fell, she summoned ribbons to break Madoka's fall.
"Dammit…" Kyoko muttered. If she put her back into it, she could kill the witch easily. However that's not what she wanted. She wanted her to go back to normal more than anything. But now…she was starting to lose hope. She prayed to God for just one happy dream in her life. She was so focused that she didn't notice that Homura had appeared behind them along with Mami and Madoka.
"This is absolutely nothing!" Kamina cried out. "You think we're going to give up? We'll you've got anoth-"
"Sorry about this, Kamina." Kyoko appeared on the screen inside Gurren. She then proceeded to open Lagann's hatch and get out on top of the helmet.
"Redhead!" Kamina shouted. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Saving her and all of you." Kyoko replied in a very soft tone. She materialized a barrier, blocking the others from doing anything. She took off her hair braid and put her Soul Gem on it. She then mustered all the power she could as a massive spear materialized from below her.
"KID!" Kamina shouted. "Don't you dare! We still have a chance at this!" He was beginning to get really frustrated and angry. How many innocent girls were going to die in front of him because of that damn fuzzball!
"Kamina-san! We need to go! It's dangerous here!" Mami cried out, holding Madoka along with Homura. Kamina grit his teeth and slammed his fist on the side of Gurren. There was no way he was going to sit back and let this happen!
"You guys go if you want! I'm staying with her! Like hell I would abandon anyone!" Kamina shot back, ignoring Mami's pleas. He turned around and focused on Kyoko. "Kid! The instant you give up it's over!"
"I'm not giving up." Kyoko stated bluntly atop the giant spear as tears formed in her eyes. "I'm doing the only thing I can do for her right now. Don't worry Sayaka. I know it sucks to be alone. I'll be by your side the whole time. She threw her Soul Gem, and waited for the sweet embrace of death as Kamina continued to yell at her.
What happened next couldn't have been predicted by anyone. Homura was about to escape with Madoka, when something happened. Kyoko had disappeared, along with the barrier in a quick flash of light. The giant spear was gone too, but there was no explosion. She looked up at Lagann, and couldn't believe what she was seeing. A massive amount of green light was shining from Gurren Lagann. A figure emerged out of Lagann, arms crossed. What surprised everyone and especially Homura was when they got a better look at it.
"But…how?" Homura thought to herself.
Sayaka was on top of Lagann, along with Kyoko. Her hair waved in the wind created from the force of Kyoko's magic.
"Kyosuke is in love with Hitomi now." She stated bluntly. But this time there was something in her voice. It wasn't just anger, it was determination. "I can't change that. But I wished to become a magical girl to grant people happiness! If he's happy the way he is now, then SO AM I!" Everyone in the labyrinth and especially Kyoko looked at her with shock on their faces. They thought she had turned into a witch! So why was she standing on Lagann right now? They got even more confused when she threw her hand up in the air and held her index finger up high.
"I chose to dig, and I'll dig towards the heavens! No matter how many wrong turns I make I'll keep going!" She continued to speak as Madoka saw her best friend's renewed sense of self-confidence with tears in her eyes. "Just who the hell do you think I am? I'm Sayaka Miki! Not Kyosuke's girlfriend, not the ally of justice, I AM MYSELF! MAGICAL GIRL SAYAKA!" She shouted as she hopped back inside Gurren Lagann as its right hand materialized a drill. The witch had then grabbed Gurren Lagann with its tail and prepared to bring its swords down on it. Sayaka saw them coming, and started twitching as memories of her time with Kyosuke flashed in her eyes. She looked up with a fierce determined look.
"Finishing…..MOVE!" The Spiral gauge in Lagann filled up completely as her Soul Gem on her chest shone brightly with the green light. Suddenly many drills had shot out of Gurren Lagann, breaking out of the witch's grasp. Kamina noticed this as well as a surprised smile crept on his face.
"No way! Is she doing what I think she's doing?!" Kamina thought to himself as Gurren's glasses came off as Sayaka threw them at the witch as the glasses split in two. They knocked the witch into the air and held its arms in place, becoming a wide open-target. Gurren Lagann raised its arm to the sky as Sayaka screamed.
"GIGA…"
"I will…"
"DRILL…."
"Dig through…"
"BREEAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!"
"MY DARKNESS!"
The drills in Gurren Lagann retracted and went up to its right arm. A long drill had appeared on it as she said those words and it expanded, becoming massive. She spun the giant drill with all her might as she rocketed towards the witch, colliding with it.
"Once you've dug through, you've won."
That last thought was the next thing she thought as she didn't look back. The witch had a massive hole in its chest. The glasses came back on Gurren as the drill retracted. As the witch that contained all her despair, her hatred, and her sadness exploded, she still didn't look at it. She now had clear path in mind for her to go. Forward towards the heavens.
…What are you still doing here? Go open up a new tab and play Happily Ever After and read that scene again. You know you want to!
No? Okay then. Gotta say, that was the longest chapter I've written there.
So Sayaka has found a new resolve! But how will the Anti-Spirals and Incubators react? What will Homura plan to do now with this unexpected development? Find out next time!