Chapter 59
Inside
Blinding light, so hot it burned. Kyoko concentrated, attuning herself and feeling the scorching heat dissipate into a more tolerable warmth. She sniffed, wondering if she detected a trace of singed hair.
The thought made her much more angry than it should have. Already, things had gotten personal.
A shimmering wasteland stretched before her, hazy wavering hills of uniform color, a bright orangish-yellow that Kyoko instantly hated. She turned to call out a warning as Sayaka appeared from nowhere, ripples in the fabric of this reality ringing her like some bizarre full body halo.
Madoka and Homura followed, each feeling the moment of terrible heat before accommodating themselves. "A desert," Homura stated, rather obviously, in Kyoko's opinion. The redhead informed her of this, to which Homura replied softly, "I've never encountered this Witch before."
Directly above, a fiery inferno burned high in the sky, wavering with its own energy. Madoka looked at the transfer student in surprise, Sayaka in amazement. "Well, you can't have found them all, could you?" Sayaka wondered. "Maybe you missed one or two."
"Or something you did this time made a new girl turn Witch," Kyoko added helpfully.
"Kyoko-chan!" Madoka implored, looking wounded. "Please, don't say such things!"
"I… suppose that's possible," the raven-haired girl allowed, but now the stomachache that had been troubling her all night was worse than ever. Sloppy, I should have checked… She concentrated for a moment, the gem on her hand bleeding a purple radiance that went unnoticed in the harsh light.
"Doesn't feel like a new Witch to me," Madoka muttered in a voice that, on someone else, Sayaka would have called sullen.
"Yeah, well…" Kyoko frowned. This realm gave off a vibe of trapped energy, and lots of it. All Witches felt different to her, each its own little twisted mockery of a human being, so it was hard to relate to Homura's worries. But if Homura was worried, about anything for any reason, it was enough to make her cautious.
Homura shook her head. "Definitely different." Something felt off. She never knew, exactly, what the Soul Gem seemed to home in on, if it was the area infected by the Barrier's malign influence, or that of the Witch itself. Tomoe Mami had been certain it was the Witch they felt, but Homura wasn't so sure.
It didn't matter; maybe they were one and the same. Regardless, the place felt wrong. Homura turned, looking into Sayaka's eyes. "The only other one that's been different is the one you and Kyoko disappeared into."
Kyoko, who'd been looking at a strange shape in the distance, the only observable feature in the heat-haze of the infinite desert, glanced at Homura in alarm. "Are you saying it's-"
Sayaka was scanning the perimeter nervously, squinting in the shimmering mirages that stretched all around them.
"No. I don't know," Homura amended, feeling uncertain. "It's not the same as that one felt; It's just different. It makes me… uneasy." She felt a shudder run down her spine, suppressing a shiver. Get it together! It had been so long, though, since she'd entered a Barrier without knowing almost exactly what to expect.
Madoka smiled energetically, patting the black-haired girl's shoulder with a petite, gloved hand. "Don't be worried, Homura-chan," she encouraged, putting all her heart into it. "We're together, and together nothing can stand in our way!" Despite her companions' disquiet, she felt a slight thrill, almost a sense of invincibility with her friends nearby. Careful, she cautioned herself, taking a steadying breath. Don't get careless. Remember Mami. That sobered her up a bit.
I'm not scared! Homura fumed for all of one second, before realizing she was working herself up in knots. It's so much easier alone; nothing to worry about except yourself. But since that was clearly not an option, not for Walpurgis… at least, not one that led to any semblance of success. "You are right, of course." She turned her gaze to Kyoko, who pointed.
The other three girls turned to look, each squinting and blinking in the blistering heat and radiant sunlight beaming down on them. At least it was to their backs now, instead of directly overhead.
"What is it?" Sayaka asked.
"A golden mountain?" guessed Madoka. She didn't relish the thought of having to climb up a mountain, with its twists and turns and cliffs and avalanches and cold and altitude sickness.
"Too perfect," Kyoko commented, and looking closer Homura realized she was right. Even through the shimmering air, the distant object seemed to stand out, it's sides clean and sharp. A triangle?
"Let's get going," Sayaka said firmly, looking determined and eager to destroy this thing, whatever it was.
Step by step through the simmering heat and unremitting desert, the object grew in size. The small shape in the distance began to swallow up a significant portion of the sky. As large as the moon coming over the horizon. As big as four moons, as ten, growing larger but remaining along the horizon.
"How far away is it?" Sayaka wondered aloud. Intent on their target, the others didn't respond.
As they walked, their shadows stretched before them, seeming to reach out to touch the monstrosity that lay ahead.
The colossal edifice rose before them, an immense equilateral triangle perfect in it's geometric precision, gleaming a warm golden yellow in the last light of the setting sun. The intersecting lines that ran through the shape gave a strange substance to it, the etched pattern lending it an incredible weight, an impossible solidity. The entire thing now stretched across the horizon, seeming to loom over them while at the same time reaching away.
Something about the way those lines connected, the shape they suggested, made it difficult to focus. It was vertigo-inducing. If she didn't focus hard, Kyoko could see both the projecting pyramid overhead, and the vast absence of it gaping in the sky above. It was like looking into an immense stadium, which was suddenly cut away, exposing the opposite side.
"That thing, that pyramid… does it look messed up to you?"
"Uh-huh," Sayaka agreed, looking towards the structure while avoiding looking directly at it.
"What is it, Homura-chan? Why does it keep… what is it even doing?" the pinkette asked, rubbing her eyes.
Homura turned to her. "I'm not sure. But… the geometry is all wrong."
The light faded, and the purple gloaming twilight became darkness within moments, the sky sparkling with a vivid patterning of stars. Madoka gasped at the beauty, amazed that these shimmering diamonds in their amazing patterns could exist inside a Barrier. Looking up, she saw…
"Oh my gosh! Look at that!"
Sayaka took a moment to glance around before looking up, her friend's tone indicating that whatever she was drawing their attention to, it wasn't a threat. "What the…"
Kyoko looked up into the dizzying expanse, the bright pinpoints of light flickering against the black velvet void of the night. They spun across the sky, moving visibly from one moment to the next, a parade of white fireflies in some kind of slow-motion race.
"Do you see them?"
Homura frowned, but refused to be pulled in. "Let's stay focused," she cautioned, a little harshly. Don't get drawn in, everything in a Barrier is a trap!
"Yeah, I can kinda see something," Kyoko said. It was like seeing images in the clouds, but somehow more distinct. She'd never really appreciated constellations, but then again she'd never seen so many stars before. Staring, things started coming into focus. "A snake."
"People. Standing kinda funny," Sayaka breathed. "With animal heads?" How could a bunch of stars combine into such a clear picture?
"There's a cat, and… a dragon?"
"Dinosaur," Sayaka guessed.
"Crocodile," Kyoko insisted.
"If you're quite through stargazing…" Homura's voice had a slight edge to it.
Kyoko blinked, gave her a smile. "Not every day I get to enjoy the sights inside a barrier, protected by such a badass while I sightsee." Homura tried to detect any sarcasm in the redhead's statement, but couldn't, so she shrugged, making sure the others were ready before turning back to the structure ahead of them, black even against the midnight sky.
"Mew."
Madoka caught a flash of motion to her right. She stared out into the dark nothingness surrounding them. "Something's out there… I think its a kitty!" she informed the others in an excited whisper. The trudge through the twilight realm of gentle, unending dunes had been uncomfortable, but she was confident, surrounded by her friends. Maybe it wandered in somehow...
Kyoko peered around suspiciously, while Homura brandished a strange, military-looking rifle Madoka hadn't seen before, with a bulbous cylinder she was pretty sure held the bullets. Unlike her gleaming pistol, it was a harsh, ugly looking thing. Sayaka had looked at it and smiled in a strange way, but the blunette knew stuff about weapons from the games she liked to play.
They were surrounded by a dim halo of illumination, courtesy of the pink and red glow of exposed Soul Gems, giving the the sand a hue that brought to mind sunburnt flesh, peach and vermillion. The pinkette thought it looked pretty.
"Psst!" Sayaka hissed, drawing the other three's attention. A small shape circled the edge of their illumination, starlight playing over the creature in soft ripples. It's lithe body solidified, a sleek black cat, it's coat so glossy it reflected the stars.
Even as Kyoko readied to pounce, she saw the cute figure begin to change, its body rippling unnaturally. The cat's head rose, stretching out its neck proudly, but the noble profile continued to rise, growing as the forelimbs extended. Its spine arched, swooping up, and the hind legs condensed, thickening, powerful muscles visible beneath the creature's short ebony fur.
To their credit, Kyoko felt the others leaping into action, Sayaka's sword whistling before her as she interposed herself between the enemy and her small, pink-haired friend. Homura was taking aim as Kyoko leapt, but a glimmering pink bolt of energy was the first attack that got off. Halfway to the target the beam split into two, but the creature slithered to the side like a moonbeam through fog, flexing limbs tipped with gleaming white crescent claws. The redhead nevertheless was impressed by the unexpected decisiveness of the small, soft-seeming rookie.
Homura's first blast seemed to vaporize part of the monstrous cat's torso, but the shadowy ribbons reknit themselves even as the thing staggered back. She adjusted her aim, letting off one more blast; the final shot she'd get, since Kyoko and Sayaka were nearly upon the thing. It fell heavily, emitting an eerie hiss as it landed on sand, claws thrashing wildly.
Kyoko reached it first, leading with the point of her spear. As the wicked wedge of magical steel slammed through the creature, she held on to the butt end, pushing herself off and away from the madly-flailing beast. As she backflipped up and away, she did something to her spear that made it burst apart into chains, spiraling around to entangle the creature's limbs, the night abruptly rent by frustrated yowling and spitting.
Seeing the enemy pinned by the redhead's spear, Sayaka made for the head. Always a good place to start, when you had the chance. She grinned with something that was part amazement and part pride as her partner's weapon enveloped the dangerous-looking claws scything through the darkness.
A spinning pair of pink laser bolts impacted the creature just before Sayaka got within reach, her sword buzzing eagerly as she lunged forward, catching her target in the neck. With an economical yank, she severed the creature's head; much larger now than the housecat sized creature from before. This was as big as what she imagined a saber-toothed tiger to be.
The creature dissolved into wisps of shadow and smoke, leaving Sayaka with a tingling sensation.
"Good warm-up," Kyoko yawned.
"Everyone okay?" checked Madoka. The four regrouped before continuing on, the dark triangle ahead of them growing ever more titanic.
The sky grew pink, and then it was golden. The four scanned the vicinity, the titanic pyramid ahead, rising from the horizon like an impossibly massive city tower. "Dawn?" wondered Kyoko, and Sayaka nodded. "That was fast." The pyramid ahead of them gleamed, it's edges backlit by the rising sun.
"Here comes the blinding light and the heat again," sighed the blunette.
"It only bothers you if you let it," Homura commented, but then the sky brightened further and everything seemed to explode around them.
The pinks and reds and oranges bled into harsh white and blue that washed across the sky, the lambent edges of the Witch-sun's corona flickering around the edges of the colossal pyramid in front of them. There was a blinding flicker of light, and Homura saw three radiant jewels of energy appear at the three corners of the triangle, tracing lines of fire along its surface. "Something-" The lines of fire seemed to etch into her eyes; she felt movement around her as Kyoko reacted to the perceived threat, Sayaka too, but Madoka brought a hand up, shielding her vision from the painfully brilliant energy. "-'s happen-"
The three luminous trails of energy met in the center of the triangle, the gleaming yellow surface brightening like some vast, impossibly-shaped sun. A white-hot sphere of light pulsed once, and Homura started to scream "Nnn-", feeling it focus on her like a hot, deadly gaze. She raised her shield. It swept across her in a fraction of a second, moving on. "-no-"
The sphere collapsed, and a blazing bolt of light shot forth, a beam of solid energy that froze Homura's heart and seared her soul. Reaching in to herself, she strangled the sands of time, seeing the deadly, jewel-shattering spear of light continue on, slower but still reaching out towards Madoka, who stood meters away. Everything is stopped, but still it reaches out, the light lancing toward the frozen pinkette. Too fast to get to her, too fast to think-
Impossible!
Even before she'd thought the thought, Homura reacted.
Standing up from her roll, Sayaka's heart stopped as the colossal golden pyramid projected some kind of beam, A laser!, and a horrific boom echoed across the sandy wasteland, a spray of sand raining down painfully as the intense light abruptly disappeared. She felt Kyoko behind her, already moving, and followed suit as soon as she heard the scream.
"Shit," Kyoko muttered, seeing two shapes hurled through the air. A small, glinting metallic disc, and a limp, uniform-clad body. Even in full-on ninja evasion mode, she'd kept aware of what was going on: the strange light, the energy attack, Sayaka's admirable reaction time, Homura seeming to appear before the blast and the echoing flash as the girl had been engulfed.
"Homura-chan!" Madoka screamed, blinking the dazzling spots from her vision, searching for her friend. The sun rose over the pyramid, blinding her further, and anxiously she began to run, desperate to find her. "Homura!"
"Madoka, wait! Shit," complained Sayaka, seeing lumps of sand rising from the low, unending dunes, strange, impossible mounds rising and rising and then standing, lumpy sentinels taller than a man, before disintegrating, grains falling off like water. The cascading sand revealed dark, misshapen columns of greenish iridescence. The pillars began to writhe, clumps beginning to drop off as if disintegrating. "Kyoko! Something weird-"
"I see 'em," the girl stated, right behind her, watching the sand-columns continue to rise in the distance around the limp, unmoving figure.
The emerald masses burst apart, smaller bits of shiny green skittering across the sand. Hundreds of shimmering, fist-sized beetles swarmed forward, carapaces glittering deep green in the sun. The air was suddenly filled with a horrible chittering.
The sun was already approaching its zenith, the heat was intense. Refusing to indulge her fear of creepy-crawlies, Madoka pulled back on her bow, seeing the insectile tide assemble before her. Twang, her bow sang, and two arrows corkscrewed across the distance, each impacting against one of the columns, culminating in a small detonation which resulted in the clusters exploding in showers of emerald sparkles. The bow thrummed, rapid-fire, each shot finding its mark but hardly putting a dent in the hundreds of swarming insects. "Homura-chan!"
The pinkette dashed ahead, spurred on by the sight of her friend laying in the sand, unmoving. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but her eyes were slitted with furious concentration as she sent arrow after arrow into the creatures ahead of her. Oh no you don't! Pincer-mouths clicked in anger and beady, multi-faceted eyes stared while meter-wide holes disintegrated from the carpet of the gleaming beetles as she continued her assault, reaching the prone figure in the sand. But she couldn't spare a moment to look down; the familiars were surrounding her, and the thrumming of her bow ceased as she flailed about, wielding it with both hands like a staff. They're too close, I have to keep them back! Her weapon crackled with a pink nimbus of power as it swept through the bugs, but there were too many-
And then the creatures around her dissolved in a whirlwind, Sayaka scything through a nearby cluster with a sweeping arc of her gleaming blade as Kyoko's speartip spun and thrust, an intense ruby aura flowing, leaving faint trails like elaborate calligraphy against the backdrop of the sky, withering and splitting the bugs as she swept her weapon across the ground.
The seething mass split into clusters, the pair's assault cutting wide swaths through the swarm. Madoka drew back on her bow, but paused, watching Sayaka and Kyoko flow across the dunes in amazing synchronicity. The fire behind each girl's eyes could have been identical, and she saw the way Sayaka seemed to anticipate Kyoko's next move, leaping over her as the redhead twirled low, the spear darting out to destroy several creatures. Landing, Sayaka started flicking and spinning her sword this way and that, the blade seeming to disappear whenever it was aligned with the pinkette edge-on. Everything it seemed to touch died. The evil-looking beetles she was unable to destroy in those few moments retreated, harassed until Kyoko appeared with her reddish-pink glow and the spear crackled with energy, leaving a clump of charred husks bursting apart in dark puffs of mist.
And then they were gone.
Breathing heavily, Madoka gave the two a nod of thanks, heart hammering and too worried to work up a smile. She knelt down by the still form of the transfer student, her long black hair fanned out in disarray. "Oh, Homura-chan," she whimpered. Is she breathing?
Sayaka kept her eyes moving, searching for threats, feeling alive and invigorated from the battle. The physical elation flowing through her veins contrasted oddly with the feeling of unease that approached dread as she watched to the others assess Homura.
Kyoko knelt down, then slowly shook her head. Madoka gasped, disbelieving, and Sayaka felt herself welling up with unexpected emotion.
"She's fine," Kyoko diagnosed, startled by the squawking noise that the pinkette emitted before the girl fell to her knees, gently cradling Homura's head in her lap.
"Kyoko, when you shake your head like that after… checking the vitals..." Sayaka swallowed, and felt surprised by the relief that is suddenly suffusing her. Homura's a powerful ally, even if she is a little unhinged. Why would I want her dead?
"What?"
"Nevermind. Nice one, badass." She held out a fist, which Kyoko regarded with a grin, indulging her with enough enthusiasm that Sayaka had to rub her knuckles when the redhead looked away.
Madoka embraced the tears because they were tears of joy, and couldn't help dripping over Homura. The transfer student blinked several times, slowly. Something's wrong, something's missing. "I… what happened?" A bright light…
"You're okay," Madoka assured her, petting her hair gently.
"You took one on the chin for Madoka is what happened," Kyoko stated. "You okay?" The redhead looked around. "It's already getting dark again."
"Homura-chan, I was so worried! You saved me. You're so brave," Madoka continued fervently.
"I'm okay," Homura conceded after a quick inventory. Madoka's fingers stroking her hair felt good enough to linger for a moment. She sat up. Stood up. "Good thing these bodies are concussion-free."
Around them, the sands began to shift.
Dusk descended swiftly, the rich reds fading to purple along the horizon behind them, the metallic pyramid gleaming a monstrous rose, then shimmering, violent red, before fading to the all-consuming black.
"They're back," Sayaka commented, readying her sword. Changing her stance, she hurled the blade, watching it cut a swath through the rising mounds of sand, seeing them burst apart in a shower of fine grains. They didn't disappear, but merely continued to rise up from the dunes, standing impossibly before the sand trickled down, and again the dark, chittering swarm of emerald iridescence appeared.
'Worth a try," the blunette shrugged.
"Wait until you can see the little buggers, first," advised Kyoko.
Homura's heart stopped. "My shield!" she cried, right hand clutching her left, the purple gem biting into her palm. She glanced around wildly, dismayed at the thought of losing it in the dark. Losing it in this Barrier.
"Just summon it back," Sayaka advised, assuming the girl was not thinking clearly. Tiny, glimmering lights burst out across the canopy of the sky, pushing their way over the horizon with disturbing speed, as if the dome of the sky were covered with nothing but shooting stars.
"It doesn't work like that," Homura stated through clenched teeth, peering anxiously between the lumpy, disintegrating pillars.
"I think I see it," Kyoko began, looking off to the side. "Wait!" Cursing, she watched the transfer student take off running, right toward a host of familiars. "Shit!"
The redhead's gaze darted back and forth, uncertain. The looming triangular shape in the distance, what they all guessed was the Witch's inner sanctum, the shooter-of-death-rays. Homura, scrambling across the dunes lugging her rifle in one hand, the writhing carpet of emerald insects waiting off in the dim, starlit sands, a faint glimmer like glowing leaves fluttering in the wind. The determined look on the pinkette, ready to charge forward to help, drawing back on her bow and sighting some tiny fraction of the enormous mass of beetles for destruction.
Crimson eyes flitted over to the other figure, and Kyoko felt a wave of gratitude at the look Sayaka gave her. The blunette, aware of the danger as well as her girlfriend's worry, looked like she understood. "Go," she said, giving the redhead a nod.
Sayaka did understand her girlfriend's concerns. Homura was difficult to read in the best of times, but something's clearly wrong. She's in danger without that shield, as bad as if her own sword were taken away. Why she couldn't just re-summon it was a question for later. The girl needed help, and although Madoka is ready and willing-
"Move, Kyoko!" the pinkette demanded, trying to find a target that the veteran is suddenly blocking. She's amazing with that bow, Sayaka thought, but against a million bugs, it's not ideal. Not when Homura's lying there helplessly, vulnerable to any of the more explosive attacks.
"I think this might require something more up close and personal. I've got this one, kid," said the older girl, rushing forward before Madoka can argue. "Help Sayaka with the Witch, try to keep that beam off of us!"
Madoka, looking woefully at the diminishing figures, lowered her bow. Frowning, her hand clenched, and her weapon rose to let off a salvo of pink energy, determined to make a dent, help out at least a little.
But Sayaka needed her help, too. Letting off one last shot, she turned, hopping over to the blunette, who was studying the obscured shadow-shape ahead of them with a flinty stare. "Ready," she stated, keeping up as the blunette took her first bound towards the pyramid in the distance. "But maybe we should help Homura and Kyoko first..."
Sayaka would have liked nothing more than to have the redhead at her side, but she shook her head. "Kyoko's right, fighting those things takes all your concentration. If we got attacked again by that laser or whatever…"
"Oh." Madoka opened her mouth, but lost her train of thought at the series of gunshots in the distance.
"Be careful of… well, everything," Sayaka began, feeling like she had to warn her friend but not exactly knowing how. "But especially that beam attack."
"It happened when the sun came up, and around the edges it shone right in my eyes," Madoka remembered aloud, feeling like Homura's injury and the current predicament are her fault. "I'm sorry I was so slow-"
Cutting her off, Sayaka quickly gave her friend's slim shoulder a pat and reassuring squeeze. "Not your fault, you couldn't have known, and we don't have time to think about stuff like that." She inclined her head, and Madoka saw the faint wisps of dawn tickle the horizon, the stars ahead of them vanishing in the encroaching light. "Sorry, but-"
"No, you're right. I get it." Put it away for later, she thought to herself.
Rushing forward, the two felt the incredible mass of the burnished pyramid, its already epic proportions seeming to increase with every stride.
BLAM. The echoing blast was reassuring, the sight of bug guts and familiar death-smoke even moreso. Homura clenched her jaw out of habit, the assault shotgun's bark disappearing into the featureless darkness of the desert along with a two meter wide swath of green, evil-looking beetles. Not darkness, not anymore… she spared a second to glance back, seeing the first traces of sunrise behind them, and two shapes in the distance.
Kyoko was behind her, leaping and cutting her way through the scattered familiars that have closed in around her. No matter, her shield was just ahead. Another pull of the trigger, the recoil surprisingly light as hundreds of high-density tungsten pellets launched out of the barrel, spreading out in a lethal cloud of shrapnel , shredding the beetles before her. Carapaces cracked open, spider-like limbs twitched and writhed, tiny puffs of black mist disappearing into nothingness. Another blast before she noticed dozens of the sandy pillars burrowing up behind her, surrounding her on all sides. BLAM-BLAM-BLAM.
Dashing forward, she rushed through the opening, grimacing in disgust as a pair of mandibles closed around her leg, a bloody rent appearing along her calf. Another traced a slicing trail along the arm held out before her to shield her face. Lashing out with the rifle, she swatted the beetles off; the impacts feeling like she'd hit a coconut.
Aegis lay half-buried in the side of a dune, clearly visible in the increasing light. She looked back nervously, worried about another attack from the monolithic pyramid, but had no time to watch as she dodged a fresh wave of shiny emerald bugs.
Without her shield, she felt naked. Helpless. It is deeply shaming, in a way. But no matter how she felt, she depended on it, relied on it. Needed it. Going on without it is unimaginable… there is no her without it. It's the one thing that remains constant, and although it is the source of her suffering, it has also been her only hope. She dodged again, the creatures surprising her with their speed. She tried to turn, twisting away, but was enveloped by a wave of the green-carapaced monsters from behind, feeling their hard weight dragging her down. Sharp, stinging pain erupted across her body, and she shook herself, like a dog caught in the rain, stumbling forward while hurling purple blobs of energy at her feet to clear a path. If she could just get her hands on the shield…
"Madoka, get ready!" Sayaka shouted as the pair leapt across the dunes, puffs of sand lingering where they'd landed. Racing forward, she realized that the size of the monstrosity towering over them stopped expanding. We're close.
It was difficult to tell exactly how close, though. The softly gleaming pyramid rose high above them, crystal clear all the way to the apex. It was hundreds of meters high, possibly thousands: it was impossible to scale it precisely, but seemed to dominate a full third of their vision. It wavered unpleasantly; not the shimmering of the heat, or even the haziness atmospheric occlusion. Sayaka tried to make out a series of innumerable lines that ran across the face of the titanic structure, and as her eyes strained to make sense of the pattern the object appeared to both pop out at her three-dimensionally, and sink back into itself like a hollow illusion.
Madoka shot off three arrows in rapid succession, frowning as the streams of pink energy seemed to pass right through the half-solid object, continuing on for a moment before impacting against what appeared to be the far edge of the hollow. The light was stronger now, any moment and things would start happening. Despite the urge, she kept herself from looking back at the other two girls. They'll be fine, they're both tougher than me! "What should we do?" she asked, desperate for any idea.
The rising corona lit up the edges of the golden pyramid, sparkling radiance beginning to climb up its edges. "Keep moving," the blunette cried. "It's gotta target us, we can't let it hit the others." She felt rather than saw the pinkette's determined nod, and the pair split apart, zig-zagging their way across the sand.
The world lit up, brighter than a summer noon. Sayaka leapt to the side, Madoka bounded up into the air, spinning. The blunette felt a malicious gaze linger upon her, felt the heat of its anger and hate. Madoka felt it as well, the single-minded focus of ill intent coming from within the monstrous pyramid.
The beam shot out, cutting a trail in the sand as it nearly caught the blunette as she threw herself to the side.
Barely registering the hot, chemical smell and faint odor of singed hair, Sayaka shouted "Now!" and the pair cut back, heading direction towards the immense plane of gold. Madoka followed, feeling their enemy somewhere high above them. She shouted this to Sayaka, and closing up, the pair finally reached the strange thing, bounding up the sides of the mirror-polished golden surface, eyes narrowed against the oppressive brightness that assaulted them from above.
Snarling, Kyoko cut through a gathering swarm of the beetles, the deadly tip of her spear trailing an intense scarlet aura. She saw the black-haired time traveler unload what must have been the last of the shotgun's ammo, because the girl started swinging the thing like a bat at the nearest of the glittering green creatures.
There were a lot of the things. Several leapt forward, overwhelming Homura, who fell back, unleashing blobs of purple energy. Kyoko crouched, pushing off the ground to gain some height as the persistent bugs swept across her own position. Little bastards, she thought, willing herself to land near Homura.
The impact, even on sand, made Homura stumble, and a wave of red and purple energy washed over the area, emerald insects flipping end-over-end as they were pushed back, legs skittering helplessly through the air. "Kyoko," she breathed, thankful but trying not to let it show too much.
"Time to get out of here," Kyoko commented, pointing with her spear at the approaching wave of iridescent beetles, their mandibles clacking audibly.
"But I-"
"But nothing." Grabbing on, Kyoko shot up into the air, dragging the reluctant passenger along.
The sky grew brighter in an instant, and a hollow boom echoed across the dunes. Both girls spared a second to look behind them, the sun poking above the tip of the pyramid. Was that a shape, flying across the surface of the shining golden triangle? Two? It was too far away.
That thing is even bigger than I thought, Kyoko realized. Homura looked worried. "Saya-... They're okay. But we gotta go help them."
Homura nodded. The insects were below them now, but so was her shield. "I have to get my shield, Kyoko."
"We'll come back late-"
"I need it. Go help the others, I'll-"
"Fine." A tiny part of Kyoko wanted to call attention to the apparent lack of success the girl had before, but realized now was not the time for any barbed comments. "Can't you stop time? Slow it, at least?" An intense look flashed across the raven-haired girl's face, and she shook her head, jaw clenched so tightly Kyoko saw the tendons defined against her cheeks. "Got any more guns? A bazooka or something?"
"They're in the shield," Homura stated flatly, feeling panicky and desperate. The sun had passed its zenith already, their shadows disappearing beneath them and stretching out behind them, back towards the pyramid.
Kyoko frowned; they were running out of time and it was obvious Akemi wasn't going to budge. So be it. She took a few deep breaths out of habit, eyes flicking from the approaching carpet of voracious insects to the seething mass that was swarming around the half-buried shield. "Alright, let's go then." Focusing, the two boosted themselves straight up, leaving the snapping bugs far below them. She concentrated, trying to channel power down the length of her spear. Nebulous purple bubbles followed in the wake of her weapon's blade, swirling around the fiery crimson aura. That's new.
Below them, countless emerald insects paused, thousands of glittering backs splitting open, cracking apart with a raspy echo repeated all around. Then there was a buzzing hum pulsing through the air, and the beetles lurched up, taking flight on blurry wings.
As the sun sank below the horizon, it lit up the impervious metallic structure in a deep red that slowly transformed to shimmering grey-black. Sayaka felt furious, both at herself, and the monstrous edifice that had proved immune to her assault.
Madoka darted to and fro, equally upset at the effect of her arrows. Just as the pink beams would be about to impact, they'd pass through what had been solid metal and hurl through the thing harmlessly like it wasn't even there. Sayaka's sword, sparking as it slashed across the smooth, reflective surface, encountered the impossible resistance again and again.
Stars hurled through the sky. Sayaka broke off her latest attack, finding Madoka and zooming towards her. "I'm not having much luck," she admitted, understating her sense of defeat. Madoka, troubled, could only agree.
"What should we do? The stars…"
Sayaka frowned. "Daylight soon, again. Dammit." She glanced back across the infinity of dunes. What's taking them so long?
"It hurts my eyes, looking at that thing," Madoka admitted. The seeing and then not-seeing where it actually was had been disorienting.
"Any, um, feelings. Or anything? That might help?" Sayaka held her breath.
Madoka shrugged, searching for signs of light on the horizon. "Just… it's inside, I think. Not inside the… the hollow space, where my arrows all seem to go." It was hard to describe. "Inside the actual thing, what you keep hitting."
"Hmmm." Faint radiance appeared along the dark horizon, stars disappearing and the world swiftly brightening again. "Here we go again. Get moving."
The pair hung impossibly in midair for a long moment, the flying swarm buzzing below them, a swirling emerald storm of twitching limbs and gnashing mandibles. There's gotta be thousands of those buggers. "You're sure about this?" Kyoko asked for the third time, not looking forward to the plan at all.
"All I need to do is touch it," Homura confirmed. Once it was in her grasp again, there wasn't anything she couldn't do. Until then, though, she'd have to make do with her underwhelming bolts of violet.
"Fine." Kyoko glanced at the haunting structure in the distance, and the early rays of morning peeking out across the edge of the world. Be careful, baby, she half-prayed, then put all such thoughts out of her mind. Time to get Homura's shield and finish this.
The two rocketed back towards the ground, right into the center of the swarm and directly towards their target, the shield gleaming tantalizingly from the ground as the sun shot up into the sky.
Dodging and twisting, Sayaka felt the intense gaze following her as the trails of fire unified in the middle of the epically proportioned triangle, wilting under the malevolence of the creature behind the attack. An icy fear washed over her, and somehow she was certain her speed wouldn't help her this time. The sky bloomed with color, and she felt the energy building up an instant before it lashed out.
Desperate, she drew from her well of power, trying to interpose something, anything, between her and the deadly ray of blinding light. As the beam shot forth, she turned her head, shielding her face with an arm, wincing in anticipation of agony.
Madoka watched the ray of brilliant energy form like a solid bar of white-hot fire. It lanced forward in a perfect line, but just as it was about to hit the blunette it seemed to change course, angling up into the sky. Wide-eyed, expecting to see her friend hurled into the distance, or worse yet drift to the ground reduced to a clump of charred cinder, the pinkette breathed a sigh of relief.
Sayaka stared at the sphere before her in amazement; the water contained within boiling furiously after the hit from the light. Feeling faintly sunburnt but otherwise unharmed, she refocused, turning back toward the demonic structure and letting the bubble dissipate, roiling water vaporizing into a cloud of steam.
Hurling herself forward, she resumed her attack on the seemingly-invincible metal wall. There's got to be a way to get inside! Her blade sparked as she cut and slashed, trying to find a weakness, a chink in the armor. Something.
Below her, the odd pattern of lines warped without moving, the strange angles that hurt her eyes drawing her gaze to the emptiness bound by the opposite side of the pyramid, far in the distance.
Maybe the middle, where the beams met. "Where the lights meet!" she shouted down to Madoka, leaping up the side of the sheer metal exterior.
The sun set as she reached the place she thought was where the deadly rays originated from. Now, she wondered, looking around frantically, what am I supposed to be looking for?
Flying through the swarm had been punishing. Leading with her spear tip, Kyoko had sped down, weapon crackling with pent-up energy. Homura, one arm clutched tightly around Kyoko's stomach, used her other to hurl little blobs of violet energy downward.
The flying insects had coalesced around them, buzzing and chittering. Kyoko cut through the first one, then her spear split apart into a long spiral of chains. The razor-sharp links swirled around in a vortex of deadly protection, cutting its way through dozens of the creatures in their path.
Glancing up, Kyoko was not surprised to see what appeared to be the entire population of flesh-hungry familiars descending. Fist-sized, they wouldn't have been at all frightening alone. But in this massive group, with those deadly pincers, it became difficult to get them all.
The first of the creatures to make it through latched on to Homura's leg, and despite herself she gave a little shriek as the thing bit deeply into her flesh, feeling multiple legs writhing against her, scrambling for purchase. She kicked it off with her other leg, nearly losing her grip on Kyoko in the process. The spiraling whirlwind of linked steel ground through the last of the familiars below them, and she hopped off, landing neatly beside Kyoko and immediately sprinting towards the shield, sand erupting in bursts as the insects slammed into the ground around them, righting themselves with their eerie insectile legs.
Homura ducked, feeling the hideous sensation of one of the insects latch on to her hair, tangling it's legs in a frenzy. A beetle dug its claws into her back, the scissor-maw of the thing closing around her shoulder. Kyoko cried out as blood poured down her thigh, flailing around with her chain-spear in an attempt to keep the onrushing creatures at bay.
The buzzing increased, and the rest of the swarm began dropping down from above, Kyoko having just enough time to wonder if maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. She turned, fending off the encroaching beetles with a hastily-created net of chain, diamond links glowing light red and orbited by shimmering violet points of light along its length. The menacing bugs flashed as they hit the barrier, hurled back or dissipating into a black mist.
She saw Homura fall, several of the glittering emerald attackers piling atop her. Kyoko took a step forward, looking at the mound of writhing mandibles and twitching legs with horror.
And then, everything stopped. Kyoko jumped, feeling a hand on her shoulder. She spun, looking at the black-haired girl in confusion, unsettled by the manic grin spread across her normally-stoic face. Back to the swarm that had overwhelmed her, still in the throes of their assault. Looking closer, Kyoko realized there were several less of the creatures than before.
Homura, for the first time in what seemed like all night, smiled, patting her arm, the one still holding on to the redhead's shoulder. "Thank you, Kyoko. I-"
"No problem," Kyoko stated, obviously impatient. "Let's get to the others. Now." Crimson eyes glanced at Homura's hand, lingering.
"We have to stay in contact, otherwise you'll be moving at the same speed as everything else."
Looking around, the redhead had to admit that she preferred the perspective from inside the time-traveler's effect. Thousands and thousands of the beetles hung, motionless in midair, their diaphanous wings seeming far too small for their squat, bulky bodies. Concentrating, Kyoko brought into being a chain that slithered around her waist, encircling Homura's at the same time. The veteran ignored the sudden, bitten-off yelp of surprise. "Will this work?"
Homura shrugged, attempting to play it nonchalant. "It'll do. Better than holding hands, anyway."
"Uh, yeah." By mutual consent, the two took off, racing across the desert towards the real enemy.
The stars spun across the sky, sparkling points changing into streaming comets, their bright light burning after-images along their path. Frantically, Sayaka continued her search, only occasionally pausing to take a stab at the impervious golden shell. Inside… inside… there has to be a way...
Madoka watched the telltale signs of dawn light up the horizon yet again. She'd blasted every part of the structure, to absolutely no effect, avoiding only Sayaka's area out of concern for her friend.
The light was tracing it's way up the edges of the titanic pyramid's face, adding further pressure to the situation. "Madoka!" the blunette shouted, "Shoot the middle!" Obligingly, her friend's eyes narrowed in concentration, letting off a rapid series of shots. Sayaka watched them sail harmlessly through the wall as if not there; as if the wall was really the opposite side of the pyramid, a hollow, impossible illusion.
Except… across the absence she thought she realized, beyond the empty space where before existed the sheer golden wall, she could see something. A glimmer, a beam of light. Sunlight, pouring inside from a small rectangular hole-
The pyramid was solid, right in front of her again. The nimbus of light had nearly reached its pinnacle, the fiery beams would descend upon her in moments. But somewhere, nearby, there was a matching portal.
"Madoka, get out of here!" she shouted, using her sword to scrape across the surface, searching for the illusive entrance she just knew had to be there. She saw a series of pink bolts impact the area around her, startling her for a moment, but the flickering effect of the structure as it disappeared gave her eyes something to focus on. There! A tiny, blank area that remained unchanged. A shaft, leading in! The strange patterning had masked it, and she locked her gaze on the area, terrified of losing sight of it. "Go!" she screamed, pushing herself with all her magical might towards the opening, her mind absurdly turning to the scene from Return of the Jedi, fighter craft flying into the belly of the beast.
Madoka held her breath, seeing her friend seem to fly right into the side of the pyramid. She desperately wanted to see what had happened, but the light was glowing powerfully now, the fiery trails were burning in from the corners, so she fled, feeling the unbearably angry mind focusing on her as the temperature spiked.
Inside the pyramid, Sayaka tucked her elbows in, wide-eyed at the tight ride down the rectangular chute. It was a race against the coming light, and she was losing. Frowning in concentration, she sped up, suddenly exiting into a huge chamber.
Madoka saw the sudden increase in light, feeling the build-up of immense energies into a sphere that would explode and blast her with a laser beam death ray-
And then she was being yanked away. Suddenly Kyoko and Homura were there, a slim hand disappearing from her wrist almost immediately as she gaped in shock at their bloody, bedraggled state. Then she laughed, delighted, ambushing the other two with an encircling hug.
"Alright, alright," muttered the redhead.
"Homura-chan, you got your shield back! Kyoko-chan, I'm so happy you're safe!"
"Meh, just familiars," Kyoko shrugged, the bloody gashes on her body, and worse on Homura's betraying their difficult adventure. Her eyes searched for a shock of blue hair. "You've been in on the main fight."
"Speaking of which," interrupted Homura, her gaze flickering between the two girls and the pyramid and it's growing sphere of energy. "What's going on?"
"We haven't put a dent in it," Madoka admitted dejectedly, "and Sayaka… I think she found something."
"What do you mean?" asked Kyoko, perhaps a little too forcefully.
"I'm n-not sure, exactly," Madoka explains. "She… kind of… flew into the side of the pyramid." She reached out with a gloved hand, her delicate finger pointing up towards the glowing orb of deadly light.
"What?!"
"Before those trails of light formed. Minutes ago." Madoka frowned. "Well, seconds ago; I guess. Maybe ten or so before you showed up."
Inside the chamber, the sun sparkled off of every surface, the angular lines of the room harsh and unforgiving. Strange decorations adorned the walls, glyphs and pictures black against the burnished gold.
The Witch sat across a massive stone slab, oddly proportioned and heavily decorated. She stood, a gaunt figure topped by a massive, carven face. It looks like a man! was all Sayaka had time to wonder before the creature rose up, lashing out at her with long, jagged claws.
Its arms moved with fluid grace, reaching out impossibly as she fell towards it. Gritting her teeth, Sayaka felt her heart pumping madly as everything slowed down enough for her contemplate her angle of attack while she boosted herself to the side, spinning to avoid the wicked slashing claws and lashing out with her blade just so as she passed, aligning the angle of her edge with its limb.
The blade hummed as it sliced through the thing's arm, the claw-hand shriveling as it fell away, dissolving into dust. The thing shrieked, black maggoty flies pouring out of it's shadowy stump like blood, reaching out with its remaining arm to catch a beam of light. Sayaka watched the hand throw its impossible weapon, twisting to avoid the ray but not quickly enough, feeling it scorch a hole through her upper chest below her right shoulder.
Snarling, Sayaka wove her sword back and forth as she slammed down next to the Witch, the blade shimmering with azure energy. Faint, swirling sounds of a far-off symphony could be heard within the chamber like a whispered promise The Witch's eerie-eyed golden man's face looked down on her with a dispassionate expression even as the thing wailed and screeched. Sayaka dodged under the slashing claws, sliding her blade across the creature's torso and then cutting out its legs on the back-stroke, the sounds beginning to crescendo around her, the tempo increasing to match the pace of her lightning fast sword strokes. The Witch's shrieking cut off as it fell heavily to the ground, aided in part by the meter of magical steel imbedded in its elaborate mask. Sayaka leapt backwards, away from the feebly thrashing claws and growing pool of shadowy, twitching insects, and created another blade. Aiming carefully, she threw the sword at the twitching, moaning figure, smiling with satisfaction as the edge severed what passed for its neck. The music took on a triumphal note as the creature twitched, and then was still.
Sayaka exploded both swords, tearing the mask from the Witch, shredded gold hurling outward before dissolving into oily-black mist.
The light inside the chamber began to fade, and Sayaka watched as the interior of the pyramid, and everything else, burst apart into stardust, finding herself standing in a darkened alley, smelling garbage and feeling the sting of a cool spring night on her face.
"Sayaka-chan, you did it!"
"Thank fucking god," another familiar voice muttered fervently.
She saw Kyoko, and Madoka and Homura, and fell into the redhead's outstretched arms, only to pull herself away a moment later. "Kyoko! Are you okay?" She touched the bloody gash on the girl's slender leg, athletic muscles taut with pain. "What happened?" The redhead sighed, feeling the stinging wounds soothed by the cooling trail her finger left.
"I was fine, but now I'm even better," she smiled, giving the blunette a squeeze. See? Nothing to worry about. She's fine! "Glad you're…" she stopped, shaking her head but still smiling. Feeling strangely elated, Kyoko turned towards Homura, unable to resist. "Told you she was badass." She held out a fist, and Sayaka grinned and punched it with her own. Then the redhead opened her hand and made an exploding noise wearing an In your face, Akemi! expression.
"Yes, well, fine work. Everyone," Homura muttered, seemingly with bad grace. Sayaka frowned in concern, but Kyoko shook her head and gave her a Significant Look. She feels bad about her own self-perceived lack of contribution to the fight was how the blunette interpreted it.
"So what happened to you two?" Sayaka asked, noting Homura's injuries for the first time, reaching out until the transfer student backed away. "Don't be stupid," Sayaka said, seeing the other girl's discomfort.
"Yeah, Hom, don't be-"
"It's already healing remarkably fast on its own." Homura wiped away some of the encrusted blood, the pale, flawless skin underneath proving her point. "Which I have you to thank for anyway," she nodded to the blunette, "and Madoka's wish." The pinkette beamed. "Save your energy." She held out a clenched hand. Hesitantly, Sayaka made ready for another fist bump, but Homura's gaze grew a fraction colder. "No, here." Opening her hand, she held out the dark, swirling marble. A sun motif was etched along the sides, elaborate scrollwork banded across the blacker-than-black orb. The ever-present spike was offset by a strange cap; at first Sayaka thought it was a cross, but as the Grief Seed turned in Homura's palm, she noted the top of the cross was a weird loop with a hole through the middle.
"If someone else needs it more… or, we can share," Sayaka began. Kyoko gave her a What are you doing? look. Sayaka slipped it into one of her cloak's invisible pockets.
"It's yours," Madoka smiled. Then, her face got grim. "We'll have more, before the night is over." She looked off into the distance, suddenly worried.
"Hopefully after dinner. I'm starving," Kyoko commented. Homura gave her an impatient glance. "How long were we in there?"
Sayaka checked her phone, but Homura beat her too it.
"No way that was twenty minutes." It felt more like an hour. Whatever. "I'm still hungry. Let's go meet up with what's-his-name and-"
"Kyousuke," Madoka supplied helpfully.
"Yeah, well, him and your other friend-"
"Hitomi."
"Thank you, Madoka-chan," Kyoko grinned with a surprising number of teeth. "They'll be there sometime soon, expecting us, right?"
Madoka considered. "It's just... I'm worried about people getting, you know." The very thought of some helplessly ignorant regular person getting peeled apart by one of those monsters made her queasy.
"An hour? We can come back, find it in an hour." Kyoko looked around hopefully. Sayaka was doubtful, but knew that if they didn't get something into the redhead soon she was going to start getting crabby. Should have brought some snacks.
"How far is the restaurant?" Homura asked, suddenly reluctant. Maybe I could stick around, pad out the store of Grief Seeds.
"It's a ways," Madoka admitted. "We might have to get a cab-"
"Oh hell no, Madoka-chan," Kyoko stated firmly, drawing all three stares with her outburst. "We're going to ride in style." With that, she turned and headed back towards the theater. The others followed in tow, Sayaka the only one realizing the redhead's intent but determined not to spoil her surprise.
Thanks to FoldedHands for making me aware of all the present/past tense switching in the middle there. Whoops.