Homura Akemi did not know where she was. After the lights shined brightly in her apartment, she found herself in this strange place. There was nothing but a wasteland around her. Nothing but a setting sun on a vast horizon. Kamina had disappeared as well.

"What's going on here?" She said to herself. "What is this place?" She stopped thinking that when she heard a voice from behind her. A tall man wearing a familiar-looking cape was talking to a small young blue-haired boy.

"Here it is kiddo! The surface!" The tall man proudly stated. The small boy look around for a moment before responding.

"There's nothing here Dad."

"Exactly son! No walls, no ceiling, this is what you call a man's world!" The tall man looked down on his son. "So are you ready to go?" The boy looked at the setting sun, apparently not noticing Homura, before looking down at his feet. "I see…then when you're ready, come and join me! Farewell for now Kamina!" Homura's eyes widened at that. That man was Kamina's father? Then it hit her.

"Are these…Kamina's memories?" She wondered as the scene around her changed. Now there was dirt all around her, and the room she was in was lit with a bright blue light. There were paths that went up and down to various different levels. There were also giant holes throughout the place that people walked into. These people were all dressed in brown coats and all of them were filthy.

She then heard more people come in. What caught her attention was the fact that the Kamina she knew was among them. The strange thing was the fact that he didn't seem to even notice her. He was with a group of people and their hands were bound together with ropes with a lock on them. They were led by a big man brandishing a sheathed sword which Homura recognized was Kamina's. They stood in a line in the center of the place, as the man started speaking.

"Would you people come to your senses already?!" The man shouted. "This mysterious "surface" of yours doesn't exist!"

"Like hell it doesn't!" Kamina shot back at the man. "I've been there myself! There's no walls, no ceiling, nothing but a bright sky!" The big man pushed his face towards Kamina.

"Hmph! The son of a liar is a liar as well!" The man shot back. "You're old man did nothing but spread ugly rumors like that. You know where that ended up getting him? Dead and buried under a pile of rocks somewhere!"

"You're wrong! I was there with my Dad! He made it to the surface!" At that point the man seemed to have had enough.

"I'll hear no more of that crap! Now listen here! For untold generation, we've been told not to unseal the canopy that keeps us safe! If you don't get that rule, then you don't get to eat!" Homura watched as three of the men began begging for mercy after hearing that. Kamina then became enraged at them and called them backstabbers. What caught Homura's attention however was him not getting angry at the release of the smallest one, whom the man had named Simon. He was a young boy with dark blue hair hadn't begged for mercy, but the big man released him thinking Kamina forced him into whatever he had done. Suddenly, the area around them shook, and the small boy immediately started panicking. Kamina held him close until the earthquake subsided.

"How long are we gonna keep sitting on our asses down here living in fear of earthquakes?! Up on the surface there ain't no ceiling!" Homura watched as the man, who then dubbed himself as the village chief start to rant at Kamina as thoughts rang through her mind.

"I see. He's been living underground his whole life." Homura realized. Kamina at this point must have wanted to follow in his father's footsteps now that he was older. Homura had her suspicions about this man, but she never figured he would come from a place like this. Suddenly the area around her changed. Homura watched as a giant monstrous creature fell through the ceiling. Naturally, everyone started running away from it screaming. Kamina however stood up to it and publicly boasted about who he was to the creature. Homura could barely even look at him. How irresponsible of a man was he? Before she knew it, a redheaded woman bearing a strange resemblance to Kyoko had dropped down and begun to attack the creature. The scene changed again, this time they were underground again, in front of a familiar face that Homura recognized as Lagann. Simon was inside it with a nervous look on his face. Kamina was insisting that he drive the thing.

"You think the mighty Kamina could steal from his little brother? No way, it's yours Simon!" Kamina proudly stated.

"B-But I don't think I can-"

"Don't worry about it! Don't believe in yourself, believe in me! Believe in the Kamina that believes in you!" There it was, that proud confidence that Kamina had boasted around to the others. Homura noticed one difference between him and her. He was uplifting and cheerful while she tried to come off as enigmatic. But trying to act cheerful had only resulted in despair and suffering on her part! Besides, she knew becoming a magical girl was no laughing matter and not something you could just "encourage" people not to do. She thought this as the three of them used the tiny mecha to drill right through the monster and shoot upwards towards the surface.

"What the hell is this? Kid! Where the hell are you?!" Kamina shouted. After that bright light came from both objects that housed their souls, he had found himself on a walkway. The sun was beginning to set. If Kamina wasn't frustrated before, he was now. How the hell did he end up here and where the hell did Homura end up? As if on cue, he saw her walking up to him. He was about to call out to her, but something about her seemed different. For one thing, her hair had split off into two long braided ponytails and she was wearing red glasses. The mysterious vibe that emanated from her had vanished. She appeared to be walking in a daze as her head was down.

Suddenly, the scenery changed. Kamina recognized it while she didn't. No doubt she had wandered into a witch labyrinth. It was what happened next that he didn't see coming. Mami and Madoka, both in magical girl outfits, taking down a witch.

"What the hell is this?" Kamina thought to himself. "When the hell did Madoka make the contract?" As if on cue, the scene around him changed, and he found himself back in Mami's apartment. The three of them were sitting down, drinking tea and eating cake. What shocked him was when Madoka stated that she had made her contract last week. Now he was really confused. Just what the hell was happening? The scene changed again, and now Kamina was really shocked. Mami lay on the ground, completely dead. Kamina looked up and saw the same massive entity that was in the pictures in Homura's apartment. Madoka and Homura were over Mami's dead body.

"I'd better go now." Madoka stated. Homura looked up at her, her voice stuttering.

"B-but, Miss Tomoe just got killed! You can't fight that thing on your own!" Homura cried out.

"But I'm the only one left who can." Madoka calmly replied. Kamina watched her have determined smile on her face that he never saw on her before as Homura begged her to run away. "I'm glad I became your friend Homura-chan. Saving you was something I'll never forget. That's why I'm happy I became a magical girl in the end." She then jumped off as Homura screamed in a futile protest. The scene changed again. Madoka was lying on the ground, dead. Homura was sobbing over her body, saying how she wanted her to live. Then the last thing Kamina wanted to see showed up.

"Do you really want her to live Homura Akemi?" Kamina turned to see Kyubey on top of a small pillar and growled. On instinct he brought out his sword, but he remembered that he couldn't interact with anything here. Reluctantly, he listened to the damn fuzzball. "What is the wish that will make your Soul Gem shine?" Homura looked up as Kamina's eyes widened.

"I…I want to redo my meeting with Kaname-san! Instead of her protecting me, I want to be strong to protect her!"

"SAY WHAT?!" Kamina shouted as the scene changed once again.

Homura had watched the scenes unfold before her with morbid curiosity. As the scenes changed, she had learned that the surface world Kamina came from was not exactly a delightful place to live. Strange beings known as "beastmen" roamed the surface in giant mechs known as "gunmen" and it was a fight to survive up there. But what was really strange to her, was the fact that Kamina wasn't bothered by that. In fact, she saw him embrace that kind of world. He just seemed happy that he had reached his goal. Now she was watching him during another fight with these strange men. Kamina was on top of the mouth of Gurren, which looked much different than before. Lagann was holding it open for Kamina to get inside. A strange monkey-like creature was inside the cockpit. When Homura saw him threaten the strange pilot with the gun, her palm met her face, with her being an expert with guns herself. Kamina proceeded to get in the mecha. The other two enemy gunmen, believing their leader was dead, instantly attacked in vengeance as Kamina struggled to gain control. Before Homura knew it, Kamina landed mecha face-first in the dirt. But it was what happened next that shocked her.

Kamina was staring face to face with a man's skeleton. Homura watched as he stared at the bones with a scared look on his face. He appeared to be in a daze. Was this man afraid of death? Did he not realize what it meant to be dead and buried under the ground until now? Those thoughts of hers couldn't continue as she saw him get up once again, starting to regain control of the machine. The scene changed again. Kamina was in front of the same skeleton as before, when he noticed something about it.

"No…no it can't be!" He uttered as he kept sweeping away the dirt. As he swept, it was revealed that the skeleton was wearing the exact same cape as his father was. "Dad…you went and bought it out here?!" Suddenly Homura saw something she thought she would never see from Kamina. He had tears in his eyes. "You…you didn't wait…you died too damn fast! DAAAAAAAAAD!" He shouted. Homura looked at him in sorrow. All this time he had wanted to follow in his father's footsteps only to see his corpse not too far from where his village was. The scene changed again.

This time, Kamina was inside the Gurren she knew, and was holding Lagann. Another enemy mecha was in front of them, this one taller and slender than the other one.

"You ready little brother?" Kamina shouted. "We're gonna do the you-know-what!"

"Bro? What are you talking about?" Simon replied.

"Dumbass! We're gonna combine!" Homura then watched as Kamina very stupidly jammed Lagann's drill into the top of Gurren. "You see that? Now we got two faces too! We're the same as you now fuzzball!" As the enemy mecha began to strike, the same bright green light from before started shining from the mecha as Lagann finished its combination.

"How foolish is this man?" Homura thought to herself. How did he know they would become stronger by simply attaching Lagann to his Gurren? It was one stupid move after another with this man, and yet somehow things always worked out for him! Those thoughts continued in her mind as Gurren Lagann began a strong offense on the enemy.

"Listen good you fuzzball! Combining is all about one manly spirit slamming into another!" Kamina shouted as Gurren Lagann grabbed the enemy mecha's helmet and put it on top of Lagann. "It's a combining of courage that sets a man's soul on fire! You hear that?! From this moment on, the name of this mecha, is GURREN LAGANN!" Homura clenched her fists at his logic. Why were things so simple for him, and not for her? She continued to think that as the scene changed again. This time, Kamina was in front of a sword with his father's cape on it, and what he said next really shocked her.

"Sorry dad, I'm moving on now." Homura's eyes widened. She didn't know how much time had passed, but considering the state of the place they were at, she didn't have a large estimate. How had he gotten over his father's death so quickly? "I'm going to see all those horizons in your place." He added as he grabbed his father's cape and put it on his back. "All right, we found the enemy's headquarters!" He continued as Homura noticed his usual bravado coming back to him. The other villagers gave them something for their journey, and after the red-headed girl named Yoko joined them, they declared that they would take down the beastmen to make a change for the surface world.

"Despite his stupidity, his resolve is pure." Homura thought. When Homura first saw him, he had reminded her of Sayaka. Brash, arrogant, and she thought that when he made the contract, he would meet the same fate as her. But seeing this and the way he acted around Simon, she could understand who he was better.

Kamina stared wide-eyed at the scene in front of him. After watching past Homura clumsily adapt to her new time-stopping powers, he had watched Madoka once again on the ground. Not dead this time, but instead something different was happening. Madoka screamed as her Soul Gem morphed into a Grief Seed and a dark cloudy mist came out of it. Kamina watched as Homura looked on the horrifying site.

"Why…Why is this happening?" She uttered, before the scene changed again to her in a bedroom. She opened her eyes and looked up at a calendar. "I have to warn them!" She added. The scene changed again to a some strange room with a lot of pipes. Sayaka, Mami, and Madoka were there along with Homura.

"This kid went back in time to stop her friend's sacrifice?!" Kamina grit his teeth in anger. But as he thought about it, Simon would probably have done the same thing to him if given the chance. He continued to think this as Sayaka rejected Homura's words about the magical girls becoming witches. The scene changed again to a familiar scene Kamina was a part of not too long ago. Sayaka's witch was there, and her friends were desperately trying to get her to come to her senses. Only this time, Kamina wasn't physically there to help them. Seeing the situation as hopeless, Homura activated her bombs and destroyed Sayaka's witch.

"She's turned into a witch before?" Kamina thought. Now he realized what he meant when Homura said there was no chance of saving Sayaka. How many times has she been through this? He couldn't continue that train of thought as he was not prepared for what happened next. Mami had tied up Homura and shot Kyoko's Soul Gem.

"If Soul Gems give birth to witches, then we all have to die! Both you, and me!" Mami stuttered with tears in her eyes. Kamina looked at her with shock on his face. This girl had put on a tough mask, but it was very fragile one.

"Blondie…" Kamina softly uttered. He never thought Mami would actually go and do something like that to her own comrades. He saw Madoka shoot an arrow at her Soul Gem, causing her to drop dead as well. Kamina clenched his fists as Madoka started sobbing at the entire situation she had gotten herself into. It was despicable to think that fuzzball was profiting off of all of this. The scene changed again. This time, they were in the same spot as before, only both Homura and Madoka were down on the ground defeated.

"Hey…" Homura said weakly. "How about the two of us become monsters…and really mess up this terrible world?" Kamina looked at her, stunned as she continued. "We can do it until there's no more evil, sadness, and suffering forever. Let's just break everything to dust!" She stopped talking when Madoka put a Grief Seed next to Homura's Soul Gem, cleansing it. Homura looked at it in shock, and then back at Madoka. "W-why would you use your last one on me?!"

"Because I want to ask you something. It's something only you can do Homura-chan. You can go back in time…right?" Madoka replied as her voice got weaker and weaker. "Can you change history…and stop stupid me before I got tricked by Kyubey?" Kamina's jaw dropped at that. Not even he could see that coming.

"I swear! No matter how many times I have to do this over, I will protect you Kaname-san!" Homura shouted back, tears in her eyes once again.

"Good…can I ask you another thing Homura-chan?" Madoka added, her voice almost inaudible to Kamina at this point. "I don't want to become a witch. There…may be terrible things in this world...but there are lots of things worth protecting…as well." Homura, shocked at what she meant, knew what she had to do. She took out a pistol out from her shield and fired at Madoka's Soul Gem. At this point, Kamina was too stunned and shocked to even say anything. There was absolutely nobody he knew who had it that rough. Absolutely no one. He continued to think that as the scene changed again.

Homura couldn't help but smile to herself as she saw the next few scenes. They had met quite a few people on their journey. Throughout the entire time Kamina h been trying to make Simon stronger as a person. It only reminded her of how Madoka was able to change her from her weak, timid self and become stronger. Even Yoko started to develop feelings for him. The scene she saw after those scenes is what caused her to regain her serious composure.

The team had come across a massive enemy gunman. Their strategy was to lure out the smaller enemies out of the big gunman so that Simon could steal the big one by combining with it in Lagann. At first, the plan was going smoothly. The team was able to successfully lure the enemy out and get Lagann to merge with it, but something was wrong with Simon. Apparently, he was having trouble getting complete control over the massive mecha. Once Kamina realized something was wrong, he rushed up to where Simon was. He ended up tripping in his Gurren and he fell out on top of Lagann.

"Open the hatch Simon!" Kamina shouted as Simon did so. "Let's see you grit those teeth!" Kamina added and to Homura's shock, he punched Simon in the cheek! He punched him so hard that he ended up flipping over in Lagann's seat.

"B-Bro?" Simon uttered.

"Have you snapped out of it yet? Now listen here, if you ever start to doubt yourself I'll come and belt you one, you got that! Don't forget that I'm with you! Believe in the Simon that I have faith in!" Kamina shot back smiling. Simon then returned the smile as the Spiral gauge in Lagann filled up all the way. Homura looked at the two and softly smiled to herself as fond memories came back to her. Seeing this really reminded her of her first meeting with Madoka. Well, she knew Madoka would never punch her in the face, but she would always cheer her up when she was feeling doubtful before the Walpurgisnacht disaster started. But as if on cue when she thought about disaster, something happened.

As Kamina got back inside Gurren, a bright blue light fired upwards through his cockpit, injuring him and causing blood to spray on the inside as Gurren was launched into the air. Another enemy mecha popped out from underneath Gurren. It was bigger than the tall one from the combining, and it brandished a large spear.

"I won't hand over my Dai-Gunzan so easily!" Came the voice of the commanding beastman inside.

"Thymilph! When did you-UGH!" Kamina shouted. Homura watched in horror as the tall mecha from the first combination came back and used Gurren's own glasses against Kamina. The beastman named Thymilph extended the length of its spear in a fashion similar to Kyoko. It sliced off Gurren's leg.

"You're a tenacious man, but now it's the end of the line!" Thymilph shouted as he stabbed Gurren in the middle where Kamina was sitting.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Homura looked on in horror as she heard Kamina scream. The entire battlefield seemed to go silent after hearing that.

"BROOOO!" The silence was broken by Simon's horrified scream. The giant mecha he was piloting started to glow a brilliant green light as beastman after beastman was flung out of it. Its cannons started firing all over the place as lava erupted from the cracks in the ground. She saw Kamina's body in Gurren, barely moving as she heard voices around him telling Simon to snap out of it. Then something she could never have seen coming happened. Kamina got up again, while still battered and beaten as blood ran down his chest and head.

"Simon! Let's see you grit those teeth!" Kamina shouted again. He launched Gurren's fist from its body and rocketed it towards Simon in Lagann. Despite getting punched again by his soul brother, Simon appeared to be very happy.

"Bro! You're alive!"

"Simon, just who the hell do you think you are?" Kamina uttered. Homura watched in awe as Gurren lifted its remaining arm upwards and pointed its index finger towards the sky. "Isn't your drill the drill that's gonna pierce through the heavens? What are you sitting around for? We've won! That big-ass gunman is yours now!" He screamed as he slumped back down.

"Heh." He softly said to himself as he looked at his wound. "That asshole got me real good back there." His words were interrupted as he heard Thymilph's angry voice from outside. He sighed. "That old fuzzball just doesn't know when to give up does he?" He whispered. "Simon! Come on! Let's send these losers packing." He added as Simon's confused face appeared on Gurren's internal screen. "Let's combine! As our last fight with Gurren Lagann, let's finish things up here!"

"Right bro!" Simon shouted as Homura saw him jump inside Lagann from the giant mecha and attach itself to Gurren. The transformation process started as Gurren's damaged body got fixed up as the combination process continued.

"We brawlers are strengthened by willpower!" Kamina shouted. "Even when we are mocked as reckless and crazy!"

"If there's a wall in our way then we smash it down!" Simon chimed in. "If there's no path then we carve one with these hands!"

"The magma of our souls burns with a mighty flame! SUPER ULTRA COMBINING! GURREN LAGANN!" They both shouted together as Gurren reattached its glasses to its eyes.

"JUST WHO…" Simon shouted.

"IN THE HELL…" Kamina continued.

"DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!" They shouted in unison as a volcano behind them erupted. As their comrades cheered for Gurren Lagann's arrival, even Homura couldn't help but smile at their companionship. The more she saw of this, the more it reminded her of her past friendship with Madoka.

"Those two…" Homura thought to herself. He was a fool that man, but a very different kind of fool. Any normal man would have backed down after a harsh wound like that, but here Kamina was, pushing himself forward with all his might with Simon. As the enemy gunmen counterattacked, Gurren Lagann shot many drills out of its body in a fashion similar to how it took out the witch that nearly killed Mami. Thymilph fired one last blast at Gurren Lagann, but much to his shock, the mecha blocked the blast with his hand.

"Listen Simon…" Kamina softly whispered. "Believe in yourself. Not the Simon that I believe in, not in the Kamina that you believe in, believe in the you, who believes in yourself." The scene started to fade away as Kamina struck Thymilph down using the same technique Sayaka had used. The scene faded the more she saw of it.

"Later…buddy" Was the last thing Homura heard before the scene vanished completely.

Kamina could barely stand to watch this. It all made sense now to him. How Homura acted, why she was like that, and why she was determined to stop Madoka from making the contract. She was now fighting Walpurgisnacht, and losing. The witch was even more relentless then Sayaka's witch. Homura had leapt up towards it, but a giant building slammed into her and onto another building. Kamina grit his teeth. She couldn't possibly take that thing down alone. Unfortunately, a certain fuzzball knew that as well. Kamina looked down to find Kyubey along with Madoka, who was looking at the scene in horrible.

"That's horrible! This just can't be right!" Madoka shouted.

"It was like this from the beginning. There's no way she can achieve victory on her own." Kyubey replied. Kamina's anger only increased after hearing that. "But you have the power to change this horrible fate. All this despair and tragedy can be erased. Just make a contract with me, and become a magical girl!"

"You son of a bitch…." Kamina couldn't even shout at this thing anymore. His anger was just too great. He was using Homura's own despair to trick Madoka into making a contract! Homura apparently knew this as well, as she screamed at Madoka not to fall into his trap. But Homura's words didn't seem to reach her as she began to fall. A bright light then emanated from where Madoka and Kyubey was as the scene changed again. Kamina found himself in the same spot where Homura and Madoka were when they were defeated before, but something was different this time. Homura was standing alongside Kyubey, looking up at a monstrous shadow that loomed above them.

"Well, I could never have estimated that Madoka would take down Walpurgisnacht with a single shot!" Kyubey remarked as Homura looked down, her hair waving in the wind. She asked if Kyubey knew what would end up happening to her. "But even so, there is only one ending for magical girls. It is only natural that the greatest magical girl would transform into the greatest witch. I estimate that with her power, it'll take ten days for her to ultimately destroy the entire planet." He emotionlessly stated as Kamina's rage increased. "But that is humanity's problem, not ours. Our quota is almost met with the energy we gained from her."

Homura then turned around and began to walk away from him. Kamina knew what she was going to do before she did it. He then saw her running through a large white corridor.

"I'll do it over." She stated. "No matter how many times I have to go back, I'll will definitely save you…Madoka."

All of these scenes flashed over in Kamina's head. The anger he held towards that damn fuzzball was at a critical point now. To think that he was taking advantage of her own struggling to get the one thing Homura didn't want. It enraged him as images of that invincible fuzzball stayed in his mind. It was all his fault. That damn fuzzball had hurt one too many souls. No matter how many times Homura would reset the timeline, Kamina didn't think she had what it took to defeat that monstrosity. No. There was one critical piece missing from those scenes. The one piece that could change this horrible fate.

Him.

Kamina grinned to himself as he realized it. Gurren Lagann had what it took. Team Dai-Gurren outnumbered that thing. Yes. This would be where it ends. Kamina's face that was filled with rage turned into a determined smile as his anger cooled down.

"Don't screw with me. You bastard fuzzball." Kamina said to himself as the scenes of Homura began to fade away. "It ends now!" Kamina added. "I Kamina, will no longer tolerate this cycle of never-ending despair! JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AMMMMMMM?!" He shouted as the scenes faded away faster.

They both found themselves back in Homura's apartment. Both of them looked at each other with shocked expressions on their faces. They both looked like that for a moment before Kamina broke the silence.

"I saw it all." He bluntly stated, before his bravado came back to him. "Don't worry. Team Dai-Gurren is not gonna just stand by and let that thing walk all over you! Not after the crap you've been thr-"

"No." Homura interrupted, much to Kamina's shock. "You don't understand. Madoka is happy now." The tone in her voice had gone blunt once again. "If we all were to team up against Walpurgisnacht, there would be casualties. Of all the times I've gone back in time, Madoka had never looked this happy before with everyone while still not making the contract." Homura clenched her shaking fists. "If she saw even one of us fall during the battle, then she will make the contract."

"Homura, can you not see that I'm trying to help you here?! Only a moron would reject help from the mighty Kamina! Especially someone in a tight spot like where you are right now!" Kamina shot back.

"I know!" Homura shot back as well. "But before I was only concerned with saving Madoka. Now that all of her friends are alive and well, Walpurgisnacht is the only thing that can destroy that happiness. That's why I won't rely on anyone anymore. I don't know how you were able to survive and end up here after that battle of yours, but don't think you need to put yourself and all the others on the line for my pitiful sake. I'll defeat Walpurgisnacht with my own hands. So tell the others to stay out of this." Kamina put on his glasses once again, and turned around and prepared to leave. "But I was wrong about you before. For all the good that you've done to help Madoka and the others, I thank you. But you have already done enough for everyone at this point."

"Sure. Whatever you say kid." He uttered as he walked out the door. He then smiled to himself. A young woman has no place giving orders to the mighty leader of team Dai-Gurren! He continued to think that as he walked back towards Mami's apartment, not realizing that Kyubey was just about to hop inside Homura's apartment, to tell her what her time-travelling has ultimately done to Madoka.

OH MY GOODNESS.

Man was this a pain in the ass to write! I always wonder why there aren't a lot of crossover fics where the characters look into the past of the other characters.

Well now I see why! Man it was difficult to recreate those famous scenes from both shows! I also had to be very careful with their reactions to it. Nonetheless, I think I did all right. Props to whoever has the patience to rewrite all that stuff for their own fics. But now the final battle looms near! I've been waiting a long time to get to it! Trust me, you're gonna love what I have in store for you soon!

So you know what? I'm gonna go back on my word on the whole no more next chapter title thing, cause I know what I'm calling the next one!

Next Chapter: Libera me from my hell!