Don't Underestimate Me
"I talked to Homura yesterday," Kyoko said. She and Sayaka were eating breakfast in Kyoko's apartment after spending a second night in a row together, far more cuddled up than the first one had been. Kyoko was still somewhat amazed at how quickly all of that had developed, but she was incredibly happy that it had.
Sayaka pulled a disgusted face and said, "Why the hell would you do that?"
Kyoko gave her a brief grin and then said, "Something big's coming. Something she can't handle on her own."
Sayaka cocked her head. "And she asked you for help? Wow, didn't think she had it in her."
"Did Mami ever tell you about Walpurgisnacht?" Kyoko asked, ignoring Sayaka's barb at Homura for the moment.
Sayaka shook her head. "Nope. What is it?"
"Some kind of super-powerful witch. No one really knows how old it is, and it doesn't appear often, but when it does, lots of people die every single time. And according to Homura, it's going to appear here, in Mitakihara, in six days."
"How does she know that?" Sayaka asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
Kyoko shrugged. "She claimed it was because of 'statistics', but for all I know she pulled it out of her ass," she said. "The point is, I don't think she's lying about it, and if it's true she's going to need all the help she can get — including both of us."
"She actually asked you to bring me in as well?" Sayaka asked skeptically.
Kyoko slowly shook her head. "Not...exactly. She said you weren't fit to fight it," she admitted.
"That little–"
"And she's right," Kyoko interrupted, glaring hard at Sayaka, who looked like she'd been slapped.
"When we fought, I kicked your ass six ways to Sunday," Kyoko went on bluntly. "Against a witch like Walpurgisnacht, you'd get killed in seconds. That's why you and I are going out today, and I'm going to teach you how to fight properly, so you can help Homura and me fight Walpurgisnacht when it arrives."
Sayaka looked positively mutinous, but tough love was never something Kyoko had trouble dispensing, and though she knew how fragile Sayaka's self-esteem was, allowing her to fight as she was would only end up getting her killed, and there was no way in hell Kyoko was ever going to allow that to happen.
"You think I'll be able to get strong enough in six days?" Sayaka asked incredulously.
Kyoko shrugged. "You don't have much of a choice. You promised you'd protect me, so I'll be counting on you. But it does mean you'll have to work hard, and a lot smarter than you've been doing."
Sayaka sighed. "I can't tell if you're trying to cheer me up or make me feel bad…" she muttered.
"I'm trying to keep you alive," Kyoko said quietly. "You're very important to me, Little Mermaid."
"Well, when you put it that way," Sayaka said, a blush appearing on her face. "Let's go then, Little Firefly."
"The first thing you need to learn is that fighting well isn't the same as fighting flashy," Kyoko said.
She and Sayaka were in a large, empty meadow just outside of town, facing each other from a short distance, and both transformed into their magical girl outfits.
"Every time you fight, you use wild swings, big actions, and your defense is full of holes on all sides. If you didn't have your healing ability you'd be screwed."
"But you fight flashy as well," Sayaka objected. "I've seen you using all kinds of acrobatics."
"Never more than I have to," Kyoko said. She raised her spear and pointed it at Sayaka. "Come on, attack me," she said.
Sayaka hesitated. "With my actual weapons? I don't want to hurt you," she said uncomfortably.
"Leaving aside the fact that you can't, as you are now, your swords are a part of your magic," Kyoko said. "Even though our magic isn't limitless, it's still a part of us and responds to what we want instinctively. If you don't want your swords to cut me, they won't."
She twirled her spear and slammed the point into the ground as hard as she could. Her spear disappeared into the grass for nearly half of its length. She yanked it back out, took a step to her left, and repeated the same movement, but this time the spear didn't even sink into the ground a single millimeter.
"See? Just trust that your weapon won't hurt me, and it won't," she said.
Sayaka didn't look entirely convinced. "But...what if...what if I lose my patience? What if…"
"Sayaka," Kyoko interrupted. She walked closer to Sayaka and stood right in front of her. "I appreciate that you're worried about me, but you have to learn how to control your powers. We'll need to hunt a few witches before Walpurgisnacht arrives, too, but this is the safest way for you to train."
She leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, before walking back to her original position and saying, "And now, attack me. If you don't, I'll come to you, and though I won't hurt you for real, I'm not going to be nice, either."
Sayaka gripped her sword more tightly and grimaced, clearly frustrated but accepting she really didn't have a choice. With a shout, she raised her weapon and stormed at Kyoko, who easily sidestepped, deflected the overhand swing, and slammed the butt of her spear into Sayaka's midriff, sending her tumbling back.
"That was pathetic," Kyoko said. "Where's that fire you had when we fought before? When you fought Elsa Maria?"
"I was aiming to kill then!" Sayaka said angrily.
"You need to be focused!" Kyoko said just as angrily. "Your magic will help you fight, but you need to want to! Now, get ready, because now it's my turn!"
Kyoko raised her spear and lunged, and Sayaka awkwardly stepped back, deflecting the thrust with a wide parry and countering with an equally wide swing, which Kyoko easily dodged by stepping back. She made the same thrusting motion again, and Sayaka made the same parry — but Kyoko had merely feinted her attack and Sayaka's wild parry left her completely out of position, making it easy for Kyoko to ram the point of her spear into Sayaka's chest and sending her sprawling to the ground, where she lay gasping for air.
"See? Bit bruised, maybe, but no cuts," Kyoko said. "I wanted to hit you, but not hurt you. Now tell me what I did."
"You knocked me on the ground," Sayaka said sourly.
"Don't be so whiny, idiot, and properly answer the question," Kyoko demanded.
Sayaka got up and glared at Kyoko so fiercely that she felt a pang of guilt in her heart for pushing her so much, but there was no other way. Sayaka was too stubborn to sit out a massive battle, the fight itself would be so dangerous Kyoko and Homura would need the extra help, and Sayaka just wasn't good enough to deal with a threat of Walpurgisnacht's caliber yet.
"You pretended to attack me so you could catch me off guard," Sayaka growled.
Kyoko nodded. "Exactly. Misdirection is extremely important in a fight, and my magic leans in that direction naturally anyway. I think yours is more straightforward, so you should focus on speed and distance control. Observe my motions and react only when you think it's a real attack. If you're unsure, block or dodge. No, you won't succeed the first few times. Yes, I'll hit you. It doesn't matter. I know you can do this, Sayaka, and I'm not quitting until you show me."
"How the hell do you expect me to pick this up in a week anyway?!" Sayaka asked. "I'm not as talented as the rest of you, Kyubey said so," she added sullenly.
"Don't give me that bullshit," Kyoko said coldly. "I'm not expecting you to be on the same level as Homura or me in a week. She and I have been doing this for much longer than you have. But, as you're so eager to tear yourself down with, you're not human, either. You have magic, and that magic will allow you to improve far faster than any normal person could. But that will only happen if you want it to. If you focus on learning how to fight. Now let's go again!"
Kyoko leaned back on her couch and idly chewed on a Pocky. Her hands were still shaking and she was torn between feeling angry and sad. Training had been...strenuous, to put it mildly. It wasn't that Sayaka lacked talent, but she had so little confidence in herself, and so much misdirected frustration, that progress had been extremely slow. Kyoko wasn't a patient person on the best of days, and though she'd repeatedly told Sayaka she could do it, there had been plenty of profanity and shouting as well, and at least in that department Sayaka gave as good as she got...and Kyoko hated herself for getting into those shouting matches.
Since last night, she freely admitted to herself that she was crazy in love with Sayaka, and yet she'd spent the entire day shouting at her and beating her up. She had to be the worst fucking girlfriend in the world, but if she did anything else, Sayaka would most likely die. But Sayaka, with her self-esteem like fractured glass, had probably taken a lot of the shouting far more personally than Kyoko had meant it, and since Sayaka's parents would very much appreciate their daughter being home for a change — especially since the day after was a school day — there hadn't been much time for Kyoko to make things up to Sayaka, either.
She summoned her Soul Gem and inspected it. Mostly red, but she could clearly see the corruption encroaching on it. She scoffed in annoyance at having to go out and hunt, but there was nothing for it. Training consumed magic as well, and she knew that Sayaka's Soul Gem would need to be cleansed as well, so she couldn't afford to sit still and do nothing. If Walpurgisnacht won, everyone would die.
"Being selfish is so much easier," she grumbled. She took another Pocky and got up.
Sayaka sat on her bed, her back against the wall, hugging her knees, with the lights turned off. If anyone could see her, it would probably be a pretty sad sight, but it perfectly captured her mood. Just a day ago, she'd been kissing Kyoko and feeling safe in her arms. Now, she once again felt like the world's biggest failure. Kyoko's encouragements during the day had been far outnumbered by the countless admonishments and insults. Even if they'd been meant to push her into action, Sayaka couldn't help but feel that Kyoko was immensely disappointed in her. Surely, she'd be telling Sayaka that she didn't want her around anymore soon, and that she'd prefer to have Homura watching her back instead.
Sayaka angrily clenched her fists. Stupid Homura. If she hadn't been trying to kill Kyubey in the mall that day, Madoka and Sayaka would never have become magical girls, Mami would still be alive, and Kyoko...Kyoko would never have come to Mitakihara. They would never have met. The hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach told Sayaka more than enough about how she felt about that notion.
"Why am I only good at disappointing people?" she asked the dark room.
"Sayaka!"
Sayaka's head shot up at the telepathic voice. "Kyoko?" she thought back.
"Yeah. Open your window," Kyoko said.
Sayaka briefly considered not listening, too afraid as to what Kyoko might say, but the desire to see her won out and she got up, opening the curtains and the bedroom window. Kyoko stood on the sidewalk and raised her arm in greeting when their eyes met.
"What are you doing here?" Sayaka thought. They were close enough to talk normally, but she didn't want her parents to overhear the conversation. Even aside from the subject matter, she didn't feel like explaining that she had a more-or-less girlfriend now.
"I've got a Grief Seed for you," Kyoko thought back.
"You went hunting?" Sayaka asked unhappily.
Kyoko nodded. "Had to. We use magic even in training, and we've got much more ahead of us."
Sayaka looked away. Why did Kyoko still want to continue the training? Hadn't Sayaka proven she didn't have what it took all throughout the day?
"Kyoko, I–"
"No excuses, Little Mermaid," Kyoko interrupted. She took out another stick of Pocky and chewed it slowly, something Sayaka had come to recognize as a bit of a nervous habit of hers. "Look, I...I know I was hard on you today. I'm sorry. It's just that...this is dangerous. Really dangerous. And I'm...I'm afraid you'll die. Sayaka...I don't want you to die. I don't...don't want to be alone again…"
Even from the distance they were at, Sayaka could see that Kyoko was trying to blink away tears, and suddenly she felt the need to do the same.
"I don't want you to die, either," she thought back. "And I'm sorry I'm so bad at this."
"You're not," Kyoko said firmly. "I told you, I don't expect you to be at the same level as Homura or me. You need to have more faith in yourself. And if you can't...well, then don't believe in yourself. Believe in me, who believes in you."
Despite herself, Sayaka grinned. "Really?" she asked.
Kyoko shrugged. "Well, it's true, isn't it?" She held up the Grief Seed. "Can you catch it?" she asked.
Sayaka was about to say yes, when she thought of something else. "I'm not sure...maybe you should come up here and hand it over in person."
Kyoko blinked in surprise and then grinned. "Well, okay, then," she said.
With practiced ease, and silent as a cat, she climbed over the wall and used her spear to pole-vault herself into Sayaka's room.
"Showoff," Sayaka whispered.
"Yep," Kyoko replied proudly.
She held out the Grief Seed to Sayaka, who took it and quickly purified her Soul Gem. She looked at Kyoko and smiled.
"Thanks," she said quietly. She hesitated. "I wish you could stay here tonight," she said, "but my parents…"
Kyoko nodded slowly. "I get it," she said. She leaned in and gave Sayaka a quick kiss. "That'll have to do for now, then. Meet me in the field after school tomorrow, okay? I'll be waiting."
Sayaka nodded, and just as easily as she'd come in, Kyoko had left through the window again and disappeared into the darkness.
Sayaka smiled faintly and savored the lingering feeling of the kiss. It mystified her that Kyoko cared so much about her, but she'd never stop being grateful for it.
"Right, I know that usually, you don't really move on to learning new stuff until you've mastered the basics, but we don't have time, so I'm gonna teach you to use your magic better when you fight," Kyoko said.
They were once again in the field, and Sayaka gave a quick nod to show she was listening. Today, she definitely wasn't going to let Kyoko down.
"I already mentioned it a bit yesterday, but everyone's magic is different because all our wishes are different. It's not really a science, but Mami spent quite a bit of time thinking about it so I know a little bit. Mine is good at misdirection, so I'm pretty good at using feints because my magic makes me good at them, if that makes any sense. Your wish was a healing one and your body heals much faster than mine could, so I think you'd be able to use magic to make yourself stronger or faster as well, and if that damages your muscles you can heal it off pretty easily. I think you might also be able to heal other people, if you wanted to, but you'll have to figure out for yourself how that works. I'm...I'm not as good as Mami was at explaining this stuff," Kyoko said.
Sayaka nodded slowly. "Okay...So...should I just try to be faster than I was yesterday, or something?" she asked.
Kyoko shrugged. "Yeah, you might as well. Your technique is still really basic, but if you get the timing down and you have the speed you can still do damage and keep yourself safe, I think. Let's just fight, and tonight before you head home we'll hunt a witch together so we can keep our Soul Gems clean and you can practice for real."
She raised her spear. "Ready?"
Sayaka nodded. "Yeah, let's do it!"
Immediately, Kyoko dashed forward and thrust her spear at Sayaka's face, but she'd already stepped to the side, willing herself to move faster. Kyoko made the same kind of pole-vault with her spear as she'd done the night before to turn herself around, and then split the shaft into its chained form, lashing out as if she was now brandishing a whip. The tip followed an erratic trajectory, and Sayaka stepped back, trying to keep it in focus — and it seemed liked the spear-point slowed down a bit, just enough for her to react and slap it aside with her sword, and her legs were coiled now, she felt the tension in her muscles and adding some magic to it felt as easy as breathing…
She exploded forward in a lunge, crossing far more distance than she rightfully should be able to in the blink of an eye.
Kyoko immediately retracted her spear and blocked the lunge, but she grinned wickedly and said, "That's what I'm talking about! Now keep it up, I'm going to make it more difficult!"
Sayaka grinned back, her body feeling as light as air and as fluid as water. "Bring it on," she said confidently. She summoned her magic and attacked.
"Are you okay?" Kyoko asked, sounding both worried and a bit sheepish.
"I'm fine," Sayaka said through gritted teeth.
She sat on the ground, still in the field, having just sat up after being smashed into the ground by one of Kyoko's attacks. Her entire body was covered in bruises and welts. Kyoko hadn't been kidding when she said she'd make it harder. Sure, she, too, sported a fair few bruises, but not nearly to the extent Sayaka did. Despite her sudden understanding of her own magic, she still hadn't been able to defeat Kyoko, and it hurt both physically and mentally. It'd be so much easier for Sayaka if her confidence would last longer than five glorious fucking seconds.
"You're doing loads better than yesterday," Kyoko said. "I mean, you got me good a couple of times."
"Yeah," Sayaka said without looking up.
She winced at her own angry tone. She knew Kyoko was trying to help her, and she was happy for it, but her improvement just wasn't fast enough. How would she ever be of use in fighting Walpurgisnacht like this?
"Don't beat yourself up worse than I did," Kyoko said warningly.
Sayaka sighed. "How could I not? You're just showing me how inadequate I am every time you beat me," she said.
"You're about the least inadequate person I can think of," Kyoko said. "And you're the person I want to see succeed more than anyone else, too."
She walked over and knelt down next to Sayaka, looking into her eyes so earnestly that Sayaka couldn't help but blush.
"I want you to prove me wrong," Kyoko said quietly. "I want you to prove that your idealism works, and that my selfishness doesn't. I need a hero to believe in...and I hope, with all my heart, that you are that hero."
She grinned wryly. "The world's a fucking awful place. I wanted to make it better, but I got burned badly, so I decided to just live for myself and to hell with everyone else. You rejected that. You rejected it so hard it nearly killed you. That was dumb as hell, don't get me wrong, but it's also a kind of bravery I don't have. Don't lose that beautiful heart, Sayaka."
"Y'know," Sayaka said, rubbing her eyes to clear away the tears that had begun to form there, "I used to think you were just a violent brute. When the hell did you become such a sap?! Because I love it, and I love you."
"I love you too. Just don't tell Homura. She only likes me when I'm selfish," Kyoko said with a small grin.
Sayaka scoffed. "I wouldn't tell her tomorrow's weather, so you don't have anything to worry about." She got back to her feet and smiled at Kyoko. "One more round, or is it witch-hunting time?"
It became their rhythm for the next few days. Train after school, hunt witches after training to make sure their Soul Gems were clean. Sayaka had become better at using her powers, and though she still couldn't beat Kyoko in a fight, she'd become markedly better at fighting witches already, much to Kyoko's relief. She seemed to be much more comfortable with simply letting her magic help her out, and she'd even begun summoning multiple swords, as well as healing some minor injuries they'd taken in fighting witches. On her own, she'd be nowhere near strong enough to fight Walpurgisnacht, but Kyoko was fairly confident that at least she wouldn't be a liability either.
The weather began to turn as the night of the battle came closer, but Kyoko and Sayaka didn't stop training. They needed every second of preparation and even though they shouted at each other a lot during those sessions, neither doubted their feelings for the other anymore.
Kyoko had told Homura what she'd been doing, and Homura had told her in no uncertain terms that involving Sayaka was foolish and would certainly get her killed, but Kyoko refused to believe it. Sayaka would survive, and she'd become the hero the world so sorely needed. She had more faith in that than she'd ever had in any deity, and she hoped with all her heart and soul that she wouldn't turn out to be wrong, because if Sayaka died, Kyoko was sure she wouldn't be around for much longer anymore, either. Having her heart shattered once had been bad enough. Twice would be fatal, one way or another.
On the last evening, an evacuation of a large part of the city was announced for the next day, because a supercell was expected to form, which meant that Sayaka and her parents — as well as Madoka and her family — would be temporarily staying in a massive gymnasium with many other families.
"You'll have to sneak away," Kyoko said.
She and Sayaka were in Kyoko's apartment after their final hunt. Sayaka had to go home for the evening, which didn't sit well with either of them given what might happen the next day, but Sayaka had already said she'd go home, because if the worst happened, she did, at least, want to spend one more night with her parents.
Sayaka nodded. "I will. I'm not letting you fight Walpurgisnacht alone. That sort of thing is worth breaking all the rules for."
"Homura's fighting too, you know."
"Like I said, I'm not letting you fight alone," Sayaka repeated with a small grin.
Kyoko grinned back, but then she became serious again and quietly said, "I'm afraid for what might happen."
Sayaka nodded slowly. "Yeah. Me too." Then she smiled faintly and said, "But we're protecting each other, aren't we? We made a promise, and I'm not going to break that promise."
Her smile became a bit more embarrassed and she said, "You already saved me, anyway...so I'll be counting on you to do it again."
"You saved me, too," Kyoko nearly whispered.
She gave Sayaka a quick and forceful kiss and then said, "Come on, get home to your parents, and be on time tomorrow. Can't be late in saving the world, after all."
"Yeah…"
Sayaka got up a bit hesitantly, clearly torn about leaving Kyoko behind, but then she clenched her fists, turned around, and left the apartment.
The door was hardly closed, or Kyoko leaned back on the couch with a heavy sigh. Her entire body trembled. She enjoyed fighting, witches or otherwise, but the prospect of facing Walpurgisnacht, of all things, shook her to her core. So little was known about it, but the stories of the destruction it caused were terrifying enough on their own, and tomorrow it would be Kyoko's turn to try and take it on. If Homura was to be believed, there was a chance, but Kyoko felt that Homura was quite possibly being too optimistic. If beating Walpurgisnacht had been a simple matter of bringing in more magical girls, then surely someone would've done it by now, right? Would the three of them really stand a chance, or were they all just deluding themselves?
"Perhaps you simply need more allies," a very unwelcome voice said.
"I seem to have a pest problem," Kyoko replied, turning to look at Kyubey in the windowsill.
"That's not very polite of you. I'm simply here to offer you a better chance at beating Walpurgisnacht," Kyubey said. "Kaname Madoka has more raw potential than anyone else. If you can convince her to make a contract with me, then you, Akemi Homura, and Miki Sayaka will most likely survive."
"And yet Homura seems determined to prevent that from happening," Kyoko said. "I don't know much about her, but she must have a reason for it, and I think you know that reason, so spill it. What's her deal? Why doesn't she want Madoka to make a contract, aside from not wanting her to become a zombie like we are?"
"I still don't understand at all why you are all so hung up on that," Kyubey said. "And technically, you're not actually zombies. Liches would be a better word for it, with your Soul Gems acting as phylacteries."
"That's not the point," Kyoko said bluntly. "Now answer my question, Little Bastard."
"Akemi Homura has fought and failed to defeat Walpurgisnacht before," Kyubey said. "I am not certain how many times this has happened, but I am certain she is not from this timeline. It is possible something happened involving Kaname Madoka in one or several of those other timelines that has made her unwilling to allow her to form a contract."
Kyoko blinked. "So her powers are time-related? What was her wish?"
"She did not contract with this incarnation of me," Kyubey said.
"So you don't know what her wish was? Great… But if she's fought it before, then maybe by now she knows its weakness, right?"
"I don't know," Kyubey said. "All I know is that Kaname Madoka has vast magical potential, to a degree I have never seen before. I'm certain that if she becomes a magical girl, she would be able to defeat any witch, including Walpurgisnacht. Akemi Homura is unwilling to let her form a contract. Miki Sayaka likewise doesn't want to get her involved. But you desire very strongly to keep Miki Sayaka alive, and you're pragmatic. Convince Kaname Madoka to form a contract with me, and your desire may become reality."
"You're assuming that I trust you enough to listen to you, though, and that's a big assumption," Kyoko said.
"Why? I have never lied to you," Kyubey said.
"You haven't exactly been forthcoming with information, either."
"I will answer any question you have, but I can't answer a question that hasn't been asked," Kyubey said.
Kyoko didn't reply immediately. Though she didn't trust Kyubey's motivations at all, the idea that getting Madoka to sign a contract would keep Sayaka safe was a tempting one. She'd be lying if she said that wasn't her main goal in all of this. But Homura was dead set against it, and though Kyoko didn't exactly trust her either, she was still more inclined to trust Homura than Kyubey, because even though Homura clearly didn't like Sayaka, she had acted immediately to retrieve her Soul Gem when Madoka had thrown it away. Without Homura, Sayaka would already be dead, and although she acted aloof, she did seem to want to save people, in general. And aside from that, Sayaka wanted Madoka to remain human as well. It was just about the only thing she and Homura agreed on. Madoka was innocent in this, and Kyoko didn't want to get her involved. Sayaka would be furious if she did, too, so even if she survived, the relationship might be over, and death almost seemed like the preferable option in that scenario. Selfish? Yes, but being selfish had become Kyoko's self-defense mechanism, and that mechanism now also involved Sayaka no matter which choice she made.
"Sorry Kyubey, no deal," Kyoko said. "You'll have to convince Madoka on your own. We're fighting Walpurgisnacht with just the three of us tomorrow, as planned."
"Human irrationality baffles me," Kyubey said, "But I can't force you to make any choices. I hope you know what you're doing, Sakura Kyoko."
With that, he jumped out into the night, and Kyoko sighed. "So do I…"
The rain was almost torrential, but Kyoko was outside anyway. Homura was already waiting at the docks, where she'd said Walpurgisnacht would appear. Sayaka was nowhere to be seen yet, but there was still a little bit of time. She'd be there, surely.
"Are you prepared?" Homura asked.
Kyoko nodded. "Yeah. What's the plan?" she asked.
"I have various high-powered explosives prepared, as well as a great number of high-caliber firearms. If all goes well, that alone will be enough to take care of the witch. If not, we will need to improvise."
"Right," Kyoko said. She held out her packet of Pocky to Homura. "Want one? It might be your last chance," she said with a cocky grin. She hoped her confident act would fool even her own mind, because her heart was beating a million times per minute, by the feel of it.
"No, thank you," Homura said.
"Kyoko! Hey!"
Kyoko turned around and saw Sayaka running up to her — but she wasn't alone. Madoka ran with her, with Kyubey on her shoulder.
"Madoka…" Homura muttered, her eyes widening in shock. "Miki! Why did you bring Madoka here, you stupid fool?! She should be with her family; it's far too dangerous for her to be here!"
"Homura," Madoka said before Sayaka could give a scathing reply, and Kyoko noticed that Homura tensed up even though Madoka hadn't raised her voice. She smirked and thought, Oh, so that's how it is.
"Sayaka didn't want me to come, but I don't want to leave all of you alone here." She hesitated for a moment and then went on, "I know I'm not much good to anyone as I am, but...you're my friends. It'd be wrong to let you endanger yourself while I do nothing to help. I might be able to distract Walpurgisnacht...or something. And maybe, if things go really wrong…"
She glanced at Kyubey, who immediately said, "I'm here to form a contract whenever you need to, Madoka. It would be best if you did it now, but I respect your decision to wait."
Kyoko looked at Sayaka and said, "I think I've got a nickname for Madoka: Little Miss Badass."
Sayaka grinned, but Homura said. "No. Madoka, no matter what happens, no matter how bad things go...don't make a contract. You can't make a contract with Kyubey."
"And why exactly can't she, Little Crazy?" Sayaka asked.
"Little Crazy?" Madoka asked blankly, and Kyoko chuckled.
"We'll tell you later," she said.
"You wouldn't understand," Homura said, ignoring the short exchange as well as the nickname. "But even if you believe nothing else of what I say, Madoka cannot make a contract."
Sayaka looked uneasy and said, "Well, I'd rather prevent it from happening too, especially since...well...I wouldn't want her to become a zombie–"
"Lich," Kyoko interrupted.
"What?" Sayaka asked in confusion. She shook her head and went on, "Well, whatever, anyway, I don't want her to give up her humanity either...but if we all die there isn't going to be a humanity, you know? What could be worse than that?"
Homura shook her head. "You don't want to know," she said darkly, "but it doesn't matter. I have...a failsafe, if things go wrong, but please, Madoka, don't make a contract. Trust me. Trust...us."
Madoka nodded a bit uncertainly. "I...I'll stay on the sidelines. But don't think I'm just going to let all of you die," she said warningly.
"We'd never think you'd let us down, Madoka," Sayaka said reassuringly.
A sudden fog began to roll in, and Homura said, "Prepare yourself. It's time. Let me take care of the opening salvo, and then...do what you can. Madoka…"
"I'll be here," Madoka promised with a smile.
That girl really has a steel spine, Kyoko thought. No powers, yet she's still here as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Look!" Sayaka said, and Kyoko followed her outstretched finger to look in the air above the water, where a harlequin-like witch of massive proportions had suddenly appeared, gracefully rotating beneath what seemed to be a massive gear. Familiars paraded away from it in all directions — and then, out of nowhere, rockets were streaking towards the massive witch from all directions, and Homura had disappeared.
"What the fuck?!" Kyoko shouted in surprise.
"Took the words right out of my mouth…" Sayaka muttered.
The rockets slammed into Walpurgisnacht and detonated, covering the body in smoke, but the familiars were still swarming. They were directionless, but sooner or later they'd detect Kyoko, Sayaka, and Madoka.
"Sayaka, let's go after the familiars and leave Walpurgisnacht to Homura for now. She'll find us when she needs us," Kyoko said.
Sayaka gave a single nod. "Right." She turned to Madoka and said, "Stay here, okay? We'll keep them away from you." Then she looked at Kyoko again and said, "Let's go, Little Firefly."
"Right behind you, Little Mermaid."
"Good luck, all of you," Madoka said quietly.
Kyoko and Sayaka sprang into action, focusing their attention on the closest familiars first. Eerie laughter filled the air, and Kyoko realized it was Walpurgisnacht, who seemed to have been entirely unaffected by Homura's barrage of explosives.
There was no time to think about it now, though. She split her spear into parts and burst forward, shredding through the parading familiars like they weren't there. Nearby, Sayaka was doing the same. Her movements had become much more fluid and decisive even after just a week of training, and Kyoko could see that she was moving mostly on instinct, like she should be.
Still, things wouldn't stay as easy as they were now. The familiars hadn't been prepared to fight, instead simply following something like a parade route without a care in the world. Now, however, they were angry, and they were beginning to fight back.
Kyoko kept moving, dodging all manners of odd creatures with bodies that looked like they came from different worlds altogether. No matter how many witches and familiars she'd slain, their unnatural appearances would never become less odd to look at.
Attacks came from all directions now, but these familiars weren't strong, and Kyoko got a moment to glance at Sayaka, who was holding her own well, also always in motion. Explosions still rent the air in short bursts, so clearly Homura hadn't run out of weapons yet, and as the resistance of the familiars began to get stronger still, Kyoko and Sayaka fought their way toward each other to give each other cover.
Despite the very real danger, Kyoko laughed when she decapitated three familiars at once. Here she was, fighting for the future of humanity, back to back with her girlfriend. As much as life sucked, this was absolutely worth it.
There was an explosion directly overhead and a massive crane tilted over, looking like it was going to crash into a nearby building.
"Shit!" Kyoko yelled, leaping into action to pull it in another direction with her magic.
"That's way too heavy for you!" Sayaka yelled.
"Don't underestimate me!" Kyoko yelled back, summoning up her lattice barrier and yanking on the falling crane to send it crashing into the water, instead of the building.
"Nice!"
"I know!"
A series of explosions so closely together they seemed like a single, massive rumble ripped through the air, and again Walpurgisnacht disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
There was a momentary lull in the wave of familiars, and Sayaka asked, "You think she did it?"
But before Kyoko could answer, a blast of dark, sparkling energy shot from the cloud of smoke, slamming into her block and pushing her back, away from Sayaka. She managed to slam the energy wave into the ground, but she didn't get a chance to take stock of any injuries. Shadowy familiars, who looked eerily like magical girls, began attacking in waves, and Kyoko was forced on the back foot to keep them away from her.
Kyoko jumped back to create some distance and grimaced. This could be going better…
Sayaka had just managed to see that Kyoko was alright before a similar blast of black energy had targeted her, and she was now fighting against the very shadows themselves, by the look of it. Never had she been as glad with Kyoko's training as now, as her hours of practice against another magical girl — and a very skilled one, at that — now enabled her to keep moving, and block most of the attacks sent her way, while quickly healing the damage that did manage to come through. She impaled a familiar on her sword and pushed it back, letting go of the sword in the process, and quickly drawing a new one from her cape. She was beginning to understand what Kyoko had said about their magic following their intentions. If Sayaka wanted a sword to be in their cape, there would be a sword in her cape. Very convenient, although of course there was no time to dwell on how cool her powers were.
More blasts of dark energy were shooting out in random directions from where Walpurgisnacht was. It seemed to be rising back into the air, and the number of explosions was beginning to decline drastically. Homura's arsenal seemed to be running dry, and she herself was nowhere to be seen. Sayaka had never considered herself to be a genius, but even she knew that that probably wasn't a great sign.
A strong attack by a familiar who looked eerily like Mami forced Sayaka back, but she kept moving, making herself a more difficult target, and she was actively dulling her pain and healing her wounds to make sure she could stay on her feet. She was struggling, but not defeated yet, and she could see that Kyoko, some distance away from her, was still going strong as well.
She chanced a quick look around and she saw that the fighting and constant running had left her and Kyoko quite some distance away from where Madoka was hiding. She wanted to shout at Kyoko that they had to retreat, but right at that moment another bolt of energy streaked past, slamming into Kyoko's back right between her shoulders, and slamming her forward into a nearby container.
"Kyoko!" Sayaka yelled, fury and panic rising up within her in equal measure.
Don't be dead don't be dead don't be dead, she repeated in her head like some kind of insane mantra, and she began to cut herself a path in Kyoko's direction.
Then, however, Kyoko's familiar lattice barrier flashed through the air, scattering the nearby familiars — regular ones and shadows — like bowling pins.
Sayaka breathed a sigh of relief, her panic residing somewhat only to be replaced by more fury. How dare these familiars and this witch hurt her girlfriend?!
"You bastards are dead," she growled, and she summoned a second sword from her cape. Dual wielding hadn't, strictly speaking, gone very well for Sayaka in her training sessions, but she was exceptionally angry right now, and a single sword just wouldn't cut it, in a very literal sense.
She dashed forward, strengthening her legs and speeding up her arms, and she moved faster than she ever had before.
"Kyoko!" she yelled when she got close enough. "We need to get back to Madoka!"
Kyoko swung her segmented spear around to give herself some room and nodded. "Got it!" she yelled back.
They began fighting their way back, and just when they'd gotten to the right area, the explosions fell silent entirely, and even more familiars began to attack.
Is this what Walpurgisnacht does? Just send waves and waves of familiars while spinning around in the air? And it doesn't even look hurt after all those explosions… Just what is this thing?! Sayaka thought to herself.
Sayaka spotted Madoka nearby, hiding under the collapsed beams of another shipping crane that had been destroyed, and she began fighting her way over, with Kyoko following close behind. Then, at last, she also spotted Homura, fighting familiars on the other side of where Madoka was hiding and looking incredibly battered. Normally, Sayaka might have felt a bit vindicated at seeing that Homura, the aloof veteran, looked distinctly worse for wear than Sayaka, the rookie, did, but right now wasn't the time to be smug.
"Homura! Get over here! If we're closer together we can cover each other!" she yelled.
Homura quickly glanced behind her and then vanished from sight, instantly appearing a lot closer. She still had her magic, then, by the looks of it, but things were beginning to look dire. Kyoko, Homura, and Sayaka herself were all bleeding from various wounds. Homura's supply of explosives had run out, Walpurgisnacht was unharmed, and the familiars just kept on coming. Sayaka could see that Kyubey was talking to Madoka, no doubt urging her to make a contract, and even though Sayaka and the others could extend the battle for a bit longer, it certainly did look like they were going to lose.
She glanced up into the air, where Walpurgisnacht was still laughing and spinning. They needed to attack her directly, and they also had to take of their injuries...and Sayaka had an idea of how to achieve that.
"Kyoko! Can you put up a lattice barrier around us?" she asked.
Kyoko shot her a questioning look, but clearly decided to trust Sayaka with whatever she was planning, because she made a wide gesture and called up a lattice barrier ring around the group.
"This won't hold for long," she warned, even as the familiars were beginning to tear into the barrier.
"It doesn't need to," Sayaka replied. "I'm going to heal all of us, and I'm going to take out Walpurgisnacht."
Without waiting for a response, she spread her arms wide and concentrated, ignoring the sounds of the familiars attacking the barrier and using the brief moment of reprieve to call up all of her magic. A wide blue circle appeared around her, filled with bubbles and written music, and extending right up to the barrier Kyoko had made. Sayaka willed everyone's wounds to close, and she didn't even need to look to know it was working; she could feel it on her own body, after all.
"Sayaka, you can't do this," Kyoko said, her voice panicked. "If you use that much magic, your Soul Gem will corrupt instantly!"
"Don't underestimate me," Sayaka said, echoing Kyoko's own words back at her. "You said you hoped I'd be the hero you could believe in...so now I'll be that hero!"
She threw both of her arms up, and a forest of swords, glowing blue, rose up from the ground. Sayaka could feel her entire body straining under the massive load she put on her magic, but she wouldn't falter now.
She looked over her shoulder at Homura and said, "Take care of Madoka."
She looked up at Walpurgisnacht and yelled, "This is what happens when you mess with my friends! Take this!" She swung her swords apart, and the swords that had risen from the ground flew toward it, but Sayaka knew it wouldn't be enough, and she called up more and more swords.
"Sayaka!" Kyoko yelled.
Sayaka's heart ached with regret, but there was no way she could stop. If her life could save everyone else's, it would all be worth it…
"No fucking way I'm letting you do this alone, then, Little Mermaid," Kyoko said, and Sayaka could feel a static in the air as Kyoko began to pour her magic out as well, saturating the very air, and the blue swords were joined by red spears…and the air crackled, and sizzled, and the glow around all the weapons became pure gold…and Walpurgisnacht's laughter changed to screaming, because the magic hurt it now...and its body was being torn to shreds, and so were its familiars...and there was a hole in the clouds, beyond which was a bright blue sky...and everything went dark.
The bed Sayaka was lying on had to be the least comfortable one she'd ever been in. And what idiot had left the curtains open, anyway? The sun was shining directly into her face.
She opened her eyes, keeping them as slits against the bright light, and with that, the memories came flooding back. She immediately sat up, but before she could even make a sound, a pair of arms had already been thrown around her.
"You stupid, fucking idiot! What the fuck were you thinking?! Don't fucking scare me like that, you hero-obsessed moron!"
Kyoko wasn't even looking at Sayaka, instead having her head buried in her shoulder, shouting and sobbing in equal measure.
"I'm okay, Little Firefly," Sayaka said softly. She slowly began to stroke Kyoko's back to calm her down a bit, not caring that they weren't alone.
"You won't be when I'm through with you!" Kyoko said, still holding on to Sayaka as if she might suddenly blow away in the wind.
"Are you really okay, Sayaka?" Madoka asked. By the looks of it, she too had been about to jump around Sayaka's neck, but Kyoko had beaten her to the punch. Though Sayaka felt a bit guilty to admit it since Madoka was her oldest friend, she was overjoyed that Kyoko had been first.
"Yeah, I guess so," Sayaka said, still stroking Kyoko's back.
She looked around, only now noticing that Homura and Kyubey were there as well.
"So...what happened, exactly?" she asked.
"I don't know for sure," Kyubey answered. "Your magic mixed with Sakura Kyoko's in a way I've never seen before. Both of your Soul Gems are fully clean, and Walpurgisnacht appears to be destroyed, or at the very least badly injured. Everything I know says these things should be impossible. I don't understand it at all, but the energy output was tremendous. If we can learn to harness this phenomenon, we could advance our knowledge by leaps and bounds."
"I think it was their love," Madoka said with a smile.
Kyubey cocked his head. "Love?" he repeated.
Madoka nodded. "Yes. Sayaka and Kyoko clearly love each other a lot and they wanted to protect each other more than anything. Maybe that formed some kind of new wish?"
"Ridiculous," Kyubey said immediately. "Yet it is a hypothesis we'll need to test regardless. The potential gains are too valuable to ignore."
"The only thing you'll gain is a kick to the ass," Kyoko said, finally letting go of Sayaka and turning around to look at Kyubey after hastily rubbing her eyes. "I don't want to be your lab rat, especially not now. You want to watch us kill witches? Whatever. But if you hurt Sayaka, then whatever we just did to Walpurgisnacht will be child's play compared to what we'll do to you."
"You humans always seem to take issue with progress," Kyubey lamented. "Well, it doesn't matter. I've seen something very interesting today that would never have occurred to me, and for that you have my gratitude. It is too bad Madoka didn't end up contracting with me, though…"
He looked at Madoka and said, "But if the world is ever in danger again, the offer remains open."
"Get out before I kill you," Homura said, speaking up for the first time since Sayaka had woken up.
"Very well, I'll leave you alone for now. Think about my offer, Madoka!"
Kyubey cheerfully sauntered off, and Sayaka shook her head as she watched him leave. "He really is a Little Bastard."
Then she looked at Homura and said, "And you really are a Little Crazy, with all those explosions, but I bet they hurt Walpurgisnacht more than they seemed to, so...thanks."
She held out her hand. Homura hesitated briefly, but when she saw Madoka's encouraging smile, she inclined her head and shook Sayaka's hand.
"You performed far better than I had thought possible," she admitted. "I have never seen you fight like that."
"In any of the other timelines, you mean?" Kyoko asked.
Homura's eyes widened. "You know?" she asked.
"Kyubey told me," Kyoko said. "And you'll have to tell us all about that...sometime."
She looked at Sayaka. "But right now, I want to go home and sleep for a week. And I want you to come with me, Little Mermaid."
Sayaka smiled, feeling better than she had the entire week, and probably a good while before that as well. Walpurgisnacht was gone, at least for now, everyone was alive, and Madoka was still human. And best of all, Kyoko was with her. Kyoko, who had saved her in so many ways...and whom she had saved in turn, which would forever be her proudest achievement for sure.
She gave Kyoko a quick kiss and said, "I'd love to go with you. But first, we'll need to go and talk to my parents. I want them to meet my girlfriend…"
Much longer than the first two, this one, and less fluffy and more 'love under pressure', but it was still a blast to write. Now, it might seem that everything I did here goes against what the show itself stood for...but is this truly a happy ending? Yeah, they lived, and Madoka is still human, and Sayaka and Kyoko are together, and their love saved the day (because I'm sucker for Power of Love stories like that)…but witches still exist, Kyubey has new twisted experiments to run, and he might still try to contract Madoka, who retains her massive potential, in the future.
I think that a somewhat shortsighted happy ending like that fits in with the setting just fine, so I don't feel too bad about writing it, and it keeps things open for me if I inevitably decided to continue this story. In fairness, the next one (whenever it appears) will likely be a straight up fluff fic, but I really did want to write this battle to make it clear they all live.
Anyway, please let me know what you think, and see you in the next one.