Homura emerged from beneath a manhole cover near Hitomi's place, time still frozen from just before Walpurgisnacht's attack could hit her. Before time unfroze, Homura quickly took cover behind some rubble. Several kilometers away, the building aimed at Homura made landfall, the grenade she left behind exploded, and the other four girls gathered to witness the "death" of the ribbon duplicate that Mami created.
As much as Homura would've liked to land a few more blows on Walpurgisnacht, the loud, flashy, bombastic fighting styles of her teammates were better suited for defeating the stage-constructing witch. Conversely, Homura's powers lined up more with the stealth portion of their plan. Now that Kyubey thought Homura was dead, she'd have a much easier time infiltrating the Incubators' base and freeing Madoka.
Of course, that was all assuming Kyubey believed their performance. It may have been a tad obvious, and normally Kyubey wasn't very easy to fool. Yet Homura had noticed a significant change in Kyubey's demeanor lately. He wasn't acting much like his cold, logical self anymore, especially not with this crazy new plan of his. Perhaps it was because of what Homura put him through with the wraiths, or perhaps it was from spending millennia dealing with the unpredictability of human emotions, but either way, Kyubey was definitely losing it. Whether that was good or bad for the magical girls remained to be seen.
Then there was the more immediate problem of this forcefield around the Shizuki house. Going in through the sewers didn't work since it was being projected in all directions. Consequently, tunneling under it probably wouldn't work either. Homura could probably bring it down with some well-placed explosives, but Kyubey would definitely notice. He wasn't that far gone just yet. With Madoka as his hostage, Homura would have to approach this carefully. Fortunately for her, Kyubey couldn't stay cloistered in there forever. Once Walpurgisnacht was defeated, he'd be forced to make a move. For now, all Homura had to do was observe the battle and await the opportune moment.
As Walpurgisnacht continued her rampage, her hideous laughter echoed through the city. Despite that, Mami, Kyoko, Sayaka and Hitomi fought back valiantly. By this point the stage-constructing witch had already suffered considerable damage. All the girls needed to do now was land a killing blow. But hitting an airborne target with a strong enough attack was easier said than done, especially one as tough as Walpurgisnacht. And of course, she and her familiars weren't going down without a fight.
Walpurgisnacht focused her attention on the four magical girls. She shot a barrage of dark energy blasts towards the ground where they stood. Sayaka called Oktavia to defend them from the attack. The mermaid witch jumped in front of the team and blocked the blasts just in the nick of time. The four girls then took cover behind Oktavia and began formulating a plan.
"Sayaka, is there any way to immobilize her?" Mami asked. "If we can do that, I think I know how to finish her off."
Sayaka paused. "She stays afloat by spinning those gears. If we can stop them from moving, that should do the trick."
"That'll have to be me, then." Mami said. "Hitomi, I need your witch to fly me up there. I'll bind the gears with my ribbons once I'm close enough."
"No, I don't think that's a good idea." Sayaka said. "You're the only one of us with ranged weapons. We're gonna need you on ground support."
"What about your witch?" Kyoko asked Mami. "Couldn't she do it?"
"I suppose so." Mami mumbled.
"That's perfect." Hitomi said. "I'll fly her up there and protect her while she works her magic."
"You're gonna need some backup. I'd better go too." Sayaka added.
Mami didn't like the idea of sending her friends into such a dangerous situation on her behalf, even if it was the most practical way to deal with Walpurgisnacht. But despite that, Sayaka had long since proven how capable a magical girl she was. And considering Hitomi had held her own against every wraith on Earth for the past year, Mami had no reason to doubt her, either. With that in mind, Mami picked up a rock and waved her hand over it. The rock split in half to reveal Candeloro.
"Good luck." Mami said as she handed Candeloro off to Hitomi.
Hitomi nodded, then summoned Hildegard to her side. As she and Sayaka were about to mount the dragon witch, Kyoko grabbed Sayaka's cape. "Huh? What is it, Kyoko?"
"It's just…" Kyoko swallowed. "I've seen you die twice already, and I can't go through losing you again. So promise me you'll make it out alive, okay?"
"Hey, don't worry about me. I'll be fine up there."
"Good." Kyoko scowled at Sayaka. "Because if you don't come back, I swear I'll murder you in your sleep!"
"Uh, duly noted." Sayaka replied. Kyoko then let go of her cape. Just as Kyoko was about to say something else, Oktavia was struck down by a dark energy blast. With the mermaid witch gone, Walpurgisnacht's familiars charged at the four magical girls unimpeded.
"Sayaka, Hitomi, get going!" Mami shouted. "Kyoko and I can handle them."
Hitomi nodded, then she and Sayaka mounted Hildegard. As Kyoko and Mami fought, the dragon witch took flight. Now that they were in the air, all they had to do was dodge the floating buildings and get close to Walpurgisnacht. Hildegard charged through the air towards the stage-constructing witch, maneuvering through the buildings as best she could. But as they were about to close in on Walpurgisnacht, the blue and green magical girls found out the hard way just how big a target Hildegard was.
"Sayaka, jump!" Hitomi shouted, having sensed one of Walpurgisnacht's fire blasts hurtling towards them. She and Sayaka each leapt off in different directions onto nearby buildings just as Hildegard was shot out of the sky.
Once Hitomi landed, she set Candeloro down and instructed the dress-up witch to work her magic on Walpurgisnacht. But it seemed the stage-constructing witch was one step ahead of them. She hurled the building Hitomi and Candeloro were standing on to the ground. Sensing the danger, Hitomi picked up Candeloro and jumped onto another building just in time.
It's no use. Hitomi telepathically called out to Sayaka, who was also being forced to hop between buildings to dodge Walpurgisnacht's attacks. There's no stable footing up here. What do we do?
There's only one thing we can do. Sayaka replied. We'll have to land on Walpurgisnacht herself.
Seriously?! That's suicide!
Well, we don't really have a choice. C'mon, we can do this.
Hitomi grimaced, but agreed that there weren't any other options and went along with Sayaka's plan. The blue and green magical girls moved towards the stage-constructing witch, hopping between the buildings like they were stepping stones across a raging river. Before too long, the two girls made the final leap and landed squarely on top of Walpurgisnacht's spinning gears.
"Go for it!" Hitomi said to Candeloro after setting her down. In response, the dress-up witch conjured her ribbons and began entangling Walpurgisnacht.
As the gears began to slow, Walpurgisnacht's laughter suddenly halted, and the buildings she was levitating dropped out of the air. For the first time during the battle, the stage-constructing witch sensed that she was in genuine, imminent danger. She let out a hideous shriek, calling her shadowy familiars to her aid. Sure enough, all of the fallen magical girls flew back to her and landed on top of the gears, ready to take out Candeloro and save their master.
"This is nothing." Sayaka quipped as she drew her sword. "We got this."
"Ready when you are." Hitomi put up her fists. And with that, the two magical girls charged into combat.
As Kyoko's spear was about to impale one of Walpurgisnacht's familiars, a piercing scream came from the stage-constructing. Kyoko dropped her spear and quickly covered her ears, gritting her teeth as the horrid wail permeated the city. Kyoko looked behind her to see that Mami was reacting the same way. As soon as the scream stopped, the familiars they were fighting flew back to Walpurgisnacht as the floating buildings fell to the ground.
"Ugh, that was unpleasant." Kyoko muttered.
"No argument here." Mami said. "Looks like Sayaka and Hitomi made it. Time for us to do our part."
"Gotcha." Kyoko replied, then called Ophelia over to her side. Kyoko jumped onto Ophelia's horse, dismissed the wǔdàn witch and rode off into the distance.
As Kyoko sped off, Mami used her magic to conjure numerous ribbons out of the earth. She then wove them all into an enormous cannon, the largest one she'd ever created. She aimed the cannon at Walpurgisnacht and prepared to fire. "Tiro…"
Sayaka slashed at the closest familiar to Candeloro, slicing it in half. Just as another familiar was about to attack Sayaka from behind, Hitomi punched it in the face, destroying it in one blow. "Thanks, Hitomi." Sayaka said.
"Don't mention it." Hitomi replied. As she and Sayaka each rushed towards their next target, they lost their balance and stumbled when Walpurgisnacht's gears abruptly stopped spinning. Candeloro had finished entangling Walpurgisnacht. Now that the stage-constructing witch could no longer move, she screamed as she fell out of the sky, powerless to save herself.
It wouldn't be long before Mami and Kyoko finished Walpurgisnacht off. Sayaka and Hitomi had to get out of the line of fire quickly. The two of them got up and ran towards the edge of the largest gear, slashing and punching Walpurgisnacht's familiars as they tried in vain to stop them.
"Looks like we're gonna have to jump." Sayaka said as she and Hitomi teetered over the edge. "Good thing we have these durable magical girl bodies."
"I suppose that's one good point about them." Hitomi replied. As off-putting as it was to be an empty husk carrying her soul in a jewel, the ability to shrug off otherwise life-threatening injuries did come in handy every so often. With that, the green and blue magical girls leapt off of Walpurgisnacht.
"…FINALE!" Mami fired her cannon at Walpurgisnacht, and an enormous beam of yellow energy blasted towards the witch. At the same time, Kyoko came riding back with her spear pointed towards the enemy. The red magical girl channeled her magic into her weapon and it began to give off a fiery crimson aura. She then leapt off Ophelia's horse, and using the momentum she built up, launched her spear at Walpurgisnacht.
Sayaka and Hitomi rejoined Mami and Kyoko just as both attacks pierced Walpurgisnacht clean through. The stage-constructing witch let out one final blood-curdling screech as her body slowly disintegrated. Once she'd crumbled away to nothing, the storm around her subsided, and the clouds above dissipated to reveal the clear morning sky.
"Well done, Quattro Elementi!" Mami said.
Kyoko raised her eyebrow. "Quattro Elementi? Is that Italian for something?"
"Yeah, it means 'Four Elements'." Mami replied. "I thought it'd make a good team name for us."
"I suppose it fits." Hitomi said. "I like it."
"Eh, Holy Quintet was better." Kyoko said.
"Holy Quintet?" Hitomi asked.
"I'll tell you later." Sayaka replied.
"Maybe, but…" Mami turned to the remains of the building that crushed Homura, a somber look on her face. "We can't be a quintet if there's only four of us."
"Oh, right…" Kyoko mumbled. With that, the four girls looked on at the pile of rubble with Homura's "corpse" underneath it, bowing their heads and feigning sorrow just in case Kyubey was still watching them.
Mami telepathically reached out to the real Homura. Walpurgisnacht is down. Are you in position?
Yes, and it's just as we suspected. Homura replied from afar. They've taken over your house, Hitomi Shizuki.
In that case, Madoka's probably being held in my room. That's where I was when I became a witch. Hitomi envisioned the layout of her house and transmitted it to Homura.
Better be careful. Kyoko thought. I'm not completely sold on this whole "fake your death to get behind enemy lines" plan. And are you sure Kyubey bought that dummy's schlocky acting?
Mami shrugged. I did the best I could with what I had to work with.
Homura hadn't exactly been amused by it, either. Anyway, the four of you should advance on the Shizuki house. Kyubey will feel threatened and he'll have to do something to stop you. That should give me a chance to sneak in and free Madoka.
Sounds like a plan. Hitomi thought.
But remember, Homura… Sayaka added. You try anything funny, and, well… Sayaka rubbed her thumb and middle finger together.
Understood. Homura replied bitterly. She then severed the link.
The Quattro Elementi turned their attention in the direction of Kyubey's base as Mami took point. "Okay, girls. The next order of business is to-"
"Sayaka? Kyoko? Hitomi? Is that you?" a familiar voice called out to them. The four girls turned to see Nakazawa, as well as a few more of their classmates, standing right outside the evacuation center, which the magical girls just now realized they'd been standing right in front of.
"N-Nakazawa?!" Sayaka yelped. "What are you-"
"Where have you guys been?" Nakazawa asked. "And what was up with that monster?"
"It seems I've underestimated you humans once again." Kyubey seethed, having seen Walpurgisnacht's destruction on a monitor he'd set up in Hitomi's room. After a moment, he managed to regain his composure. "But at least I managed to kill the most bothersome one. Wouldn't you agree?" Kyubey said offhandedly to Madoka.
Madoka didn't respond. She was too busy bawling her eyes out. Thanks to Kyubey's monitor, she'd seen her friends return to Earth to save her, only to lose Homura, the one she'd loved most of all. Even seeing Walpurgisnacht destroyed and Mitakihara City saved didn't ease her pain. At least, that was Kyubey's understanding of it.
When he saw Homura die, a strange yet pleasant sensation had come over Kyubey. It felt like another one of those intrusive, aberrant thoughts that had been plaguing his mind for the past year. And just now, when he saw Homura's allies destroy Walpurgisnacht and foil his initial attack, he'd experienced another one of those thoughts, except he found that one rather unpleasant, opposite to what he'd experienced after Homura's death. What could it mean? What was happening to him?
Whatever was going on, Kyubey still had four more magical girls to eliminate, as well as billions of human souls to harvest. He turned his attention to Madoka. As tempted as he was to taunt her and exacerbate her suffering, Kyubey had to act fast. It wouldn't be long before Mami, Kyoko, Sayaka and Hitomi, or the Quattro Elementi as they were apparently calling themselves now, came to avenge Homura. He began probing Madoka's mind looking for more witches, though it was doubtful he'd find one that could rival Walpurgisnacht. Kyubey once again saw visions of all the previous timelines Madoka was involved in, focusing on the witches she and her friends encountered. Now that Kyubey knew what witches to use, he began the extraction process.
"Wait, you guys actually saw that whole fight?" Kyoko asked the small crowd gathered around her and her teammates.
"Uh, yeah. Everyone in the center saw it." one of the boys replied. "How could we not?"
"Well, normally humans can't see witches or wraiths." Mami said. "At least, not unless Kyubey reveals himself to them."
"Kyubey?" a girl asked. "Are you talking about that weasel thing?"
The Quattro Elementi reeled back in shock and confusion. "How do you know about Kyubey?" Hitomi asked.
"Well, after we all took shelter from the storm, he suddenly appeared in the middle of the evacuation center." the same girl said. "We thought he was kinda cute at first, but then he started saying some weird stuff about how our souls would be consumed to prolong the life of the universe. Then he told us to look outside and witness our despair or something like that. That's when we saw the four of you fighting that monster."
"You kicked ass, by the way!" another boy shouted.
"Thanks for saving us." a girl added.
"How'd you get those powers?!" yet another boy asked. "You gotta tell us."
"Yeah, I want superpowers, too!" someone else said.
While their classmates continued chattering, the four magical girls contemplated Kyubey's recent actions. So Kyubey revealed himself to everyone, huh? Kyoko thought. Why would he do that?
I don't know. Mami answered. Maybe he figured he didn't have to hide himself anymore?
Could be. Sayaka thought. Honestly, I have no idea what's going on with him. His behavior's been so erratic lately.
Not knowing what to say about Kyubey, Hitomi changed the subject. Y'know, if everyone saw us fighting, that probably includes our parents. You think we should go talk to them?
Hmm, I guess we should. Sayaka replied. That's gonna be awkward.
Speaking of awkward… Kyoko jerked her head towards Kyosuke, who was standing near the back of the crowd, apparently trying to avoid them. Sayaka spotted him as well and ran up to him before he could make a break for it.
"Hey, Kyosuke. Long time, no see."
"Uh, hey, Sayaka." Kyosuke muttered. "It's… it's been a while."
"Yeah, I guess it has." Sayaka turned her attention to the bandage around Kyosuke's head. "Are you okay, man? What happened?"
"Ugh, I don't remember." Kyosuke rubbed the back of his head, gritting his teeth in pain. "I just kinda woke up like this outside Hitomi's house. Me and a bunch of other people."
Sayaka decided not to insinuate anything about what Kyosuke was doing at his ex-girlfriend's place. It was pretty obvious he'd been drawn there by Hildegard's kiss. Good thing Madoka was able to save him and the other victims before getting captured. How she managed that was anyone's guess. "Speaking of Hitomi, did you want to say anything to her?"
Kyosuke looked away. "Uh, I'd rather not."
Just leave him be, Sayaka. Hitomi thought. We have more important things to do now.
Kyoko couldn't help but smirk at the sheer awkwardness of what was going on. It earned her a glare from both Mami and Sayaka, but it was worth it.
With that, the Quattro Elementi made their way through the crowd of students and entered the evacuation center. The four of them were immediately greeted with cheers and thunderous applause from the citizens of Mitakihara City. Given the typically thankless nature of being a magical girl, this was their first experience with any sort of gratitude for their heroism. None of them were sure how to take it, but they agreed that it was nice to get some recognition for once.
Before too long, Sayaka's parents came running out of the crowd. The first thing Mrs. Miki did was grab both Sayaka and Kyoko and hug them as tight as she could. Mr. Miki joined the group hug immediately after that. "We've been so worried." Mrs. Miki said. "Where have you two been?"
"It's a really, really long story." Sayaka replied before she and Kyoko began telling them what happened.
"Hitomi…" Mrs. Shizuki said to her daughter as she and Mr. Shizuki made their way through the crowd. She took a look at Hitomi's magical girl costume. "This, uh, certainly explains your behavior this past year."
"I'm sorry." Hitomi replied. "I got tricked into this and-"
"No need to apologize." Mr. Shizuki cut her off. "We're just glad you're safe."
"Oh, and if you're worried about that cat, we've got her right here." Mrs. Shizuki held up a cat carrier with Amy inside it.
"Thanks, Mom." Hitomi took the cat carrier. As always, Amy hissed at her.
As her friends were reunited with their families, Mami couldn't help but feel a tiny bit envious. Her parents died years ago, and since then she'd been more or less on her own. It was moments like this that made her remember just how much it hurt. Mami cut through the crowd looking for Shigeru Momoe, the closest person she had to a family member. Considering his daughter had been "missing" for over a year, he likely wasn't doing too well. At least Mami could explain what happened and maybe bring him some closure.
To Mami's surprise, she ended up finding him sitting next to Nagisa, who was lying comatose on a gurney, dressed in her magical girl costume and hooked up to a ventilator. Kazuko Saotome was trying her best to console Shigeru, but it didn't seem like it was working. Mami stood there for a moment trying to figure out what Nagisa was doing here, but before she could say anything, Shigeru looked up and noticed her standing there. "Hey there, Mami." he said, trying in vain to mask the anguish in his voice.
"Mr. Momoe…" Mami took a seat next to him and Kazuko.
"Someone up there must really have it out for me." Shigeru said. "I mean, she disappeared for a whole year and now I find her like this? What did I do to deserve this?"
"It's not your fault, dear." Kazuko said, stroking his shoulder. She then turned to her former student. "Mami, do you have any idea what happened to her?"
Mami explained everything she knew about Nagisa's history as a magical girl. Right after her mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Kyubey appeared to Nagisa in that desperate moment offering her a contract, as per his M.O. Nagisa accepted, wishing for one last cheesecake to share with her mother before her death. When she realized that she could've used her wish to cure her mother's cancer, Nagisa fell into despair and was taken by the Law of Cycles. Some time after that, she'd come back to help save Homura and wound up being pulled back to Earth as part of Homura's scheme. She ended up going back to the Law of Cycles once Madoka got her memories back, and now she'd evidently come back to Earth as part of Madoka's attempt to rescue Hitomi. None of it made any sense to Shigeru or Kazuko, but after all the crazy stuff they'd recently witnessed, they weren't in any position to question it. "… But don't worry, Mr. Momoe. She'll be okay once we finish our mission."
Shigeru looked up at Mami with a tiny glimmer of hope in his eyes. "You mean it? I'll get to see my little girl again?"
"Yeah. I'm sure you will."
Shigeru allowed himself to smile. "Then godspeed to you. Bring her back to me."
Of course, that meant Mami would have to face Nagisa and own up to deceiving her. Mami had hoped that she wouldn't have to until she was taken by the Law of Cycles, but it looked like it would happen much sooner. And considering how Sayaka reacted when she found out the truth, Nagisa was likely deeply hurt as well. Trying her best to mask her guilt, Mami nodded at Shigeru. "I will. You have my word."
"And what about that other little girl?" Kazuko asked. "Will she wake up too?"
Mami quirked her eyebrow. "Another girl? Yeah, I guess so, but-"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Kyoko suddenly shouted from across the room.
Kyubey stood on the roof where he'd gathered the dozen or so witches he'd split off from the Law of Cycles. He'd primarily focused on extracting the witches he'd seen in Madoka's memories of the timelines before her ascent to godhood. Each of them paled in comparison to Walpurgisnacht, but maybe deploying all of them at once would still be enough. Kyubey could only hope.
Witches were certainly odd creatures, at least from what Kyubey knew about them. Up until very recently, he and the magical girls he contracted dealt exclusively with wraiths. While all wraiths looked and acted more or less the same, each witch was unique in appearance and behavior. Apparently this was due to them being dark reflections of the magical girls they were born from. Kyubey didn't care for that kind of individuality. Such a concept was quite off-putting to him.
In any case, one thing that all witches had in common was that they fed on human souls. And there was a whole city's worth of them conveniently gathered in the evacuation center. Kyubey could sense the witches' desire to go forth and consume them. He dropped the barrier protecting his base of operations, setting the witches loose. It was only a matter of time before they made it across the city to their prey, and with any luck they'd take out the Quattro Elementi as well.
Kyoko stood in front of Momo's body, trembling as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. As far as Kyoko knew, her little sister died years ago along with their parents, but now here she was lying on a gurney right in front of her, dressed in a magical girl costume nearly identical to hers. When did Momo make a contract, and why? And if she came down from the Law of Cycles trying to save Hitomi, why didn't she come on the mission to save Homura? Had she been avoiding Kyoko for some reason? The elder Sakura sister grasped the gurney's side rail, fighting back tears as her allies gathered around her.
Mami let out a gasp. "Is that… Momo?"
"Momo?" Hitomi whispered. "You mean that's Kyoko's sister? But wasn't she-"
"I can hear you, you know." Kyoko snapped. Mami and Hitomi promptly stopped talking.
"Kyoko…" Sayaka paused, trying to choose her next words carefully. She hadn't expected to be put in this position. Momo had backed out of the mission to rescue Homura because she wasn't ready to face Kyoko yet, so Sayaka and Nagisa agreed to stay quiet. If all had gone as planned that wouldn't have been a problem, but now that Kyoko was standing right in front of Momo's comatose body, Sayaka had to at least say something. "She'll wake up once we save Madoka. Then-"
"Just leave me alone." Kyoko interjected.
"O-okay." Sayaka stepped away and gestured for Mami and Hitomi to do the same. Once they were out of Kyoko's earshot, they continued their conversation.
"I had no idea Momo made a contract." Mami turned to Sayaka. "How'd that happen?"
Sayaka looked away. "I can't say."
"So are you just gonna leave Kyoko like that?" Hitomi asked.
Sayaka didn't say anything. Seeking a distraction, she turned her attention across the room, eventually spotting Madoka's family. "Hey look, it's the Kanames. We should probably tell them what's going on."
Figuring they weren't going to get any more information out of her, Mami and Hitomi decided to drop the issue for the time being. Mami excused herself and went back to Nagisa's family. Hitomi, on the other hand, accompanied Sayaka as she walked over to Junko, Tomohisa and Tatsuya.
"Mr. and Mrs. Kaname…" Hitomi began.
"Overly formal as always, Hitomi." Junko said softly as she put on a smile. "It's good to see you two. You and your friends were great out there."
Tomohisa also put on a smile as he turned to Madoka's friends. Tatsuya, however, was still crying over his missing sister. Tomohisa picked him up and tried to calm him down. "Sorry about this little guy." Tomohisa said.
"Hey, we understand." Sayaka said. "We miss Madoka, too."
"Do you know what happened to her?" Junko asked desperately. "Please, tell us if you know."
Sayaka and Hitomi exchanged a look, then agreed to tell them. They informed the Kanames how Madoka had given up her physical form in order to save fallen magical girls from despair, but that Kyubey had managed to trap her on Earth and gain control of the Law of Cycles. Madoka was being held at the Shizuki house, but they, Kyoko and Mami were planning to storm Kyubey's base and free her.
"Wow…" Junko said as she took a moment to take everything in. "So, you're gonna save Madoka from that creature?"
"Of course we will!" Sayaka exclaimed.
Fortunately for Tomohisa, that got Tatsuya to stop crying. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Homura is, would you?" Tomohisa asked.
Now that Sayaka and Hitomi thought about it, nobody had asked about Homura until just now. Apparently nobody saw her fighting Walpurgisnacht, or the "death" of her body double. While it was good that their plan was working, they couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for the dark magical girl, not having anyone here to miss her. "Well, about that…" Sayaka began. "We don't really know."
"Don't lie, Sayaka Miki." a familiar, unsettling voice called out. Sure enough, Kyubey had appeared on a railing nearby.
"You!" Junko shouted. As the others reeled back at her sudden outburst, Junko grabbed Kyubey by the neck and held him up against the wall. "Let Madoka go right now!"
"Oh, my." Kyubey said flatly. "You want your daughter back that badly? I wonder if that's something you'd trade your soul for, Junko Kaname."
Junko merely scoffed at Kyubey's offer as she tightened her stranglehold on him. To her surprise, Kyubey didn't seem to be affected by it.
"Well, no matter. I'm not making any more contracts, anyway." Kyubey turned his head towards Sayaka and Hitomi. "I only came to inform you that more witches are on their way here."
"Do you really think that's gonna stop us?" Sayaka asked sarcastically. "We just took down Walpurgisnacht."
"Yes, but not without suffering a heavy loss." Kyubey bit Junko's hand, forcing her to let him go. Junko winced, clutching her hand in pain. "Let's see if your luck holds out." were Kyubey's parting words as he ran away.
"It doesn't look too deep." Tomohisa said, looking at his wife's hand. As he applied a bandage to her wound, he asked Sayaka and Hitomi what Kyubey meant by a "heavy loss". The two magical girls didn't answer.
"We need to get going." Hitomi said. Without another word, she and Sayaka left the evacuation center. When they got outside, they found that Kyoko and Mami were already there waiting for them.
"You guys saw Kyubey, too?" Sayaka asked.
"Yeah, he told us everything." Mami replied. The four magical girls turned their attention to the ruins of Mitakihara City, observing the gauntlet of witches and familiars that stood between them and Kyubey's base. "It's nothing we can't handle. Let's get moving."
Kyoko pointed her spear at a flaming pile of rubble, summoning Ophelia's horse from the flames. "Get on." she said to Sayaka after mounting the horse herself. Despite the unease she felt from Kyoko's tone, Sayaka complied. The red and blue magical girls rode off into the city.
"I guess you're with me, then." Hitomi said to Mami. She then raised her fist skyward, calling Hildegard down from the air. The green and yellow magical girls mounted the dragon witch and flew out.
Now was Homura's chance. The second the forcefield dropped, Homura activated her shield and ran up to the Shizuki house. While time was still frozen, she peered into the window to find that the house was crawling with Incubators. She also saw a number of alien devices that Kyubey had set up. Whatever they were for, it couldn't be anything good. Homura made a mental note to take them out once Madoka was safe.
It wouldn't be long before time unfroze, and Homura had already used up a considerable amount of time sand faking her death. She'd have to use her time manipulation powers wisely going forward. Acting quickly, she opened the window, jumped into the house and closed the window behind her. She then dove behind a couch, hiding herself just before time resumed.
One of the Incubators glanced towards Homura's hiding spot. Homura tensed up, holding her breath and doing her damndest not to move or make a sound. If she was spotted here, it would all be over. Kyubey stared at the couch for a few more agonizing seconds until, to Homura's relief, the Incubator turned away and went back to working on one of the strange machines.
For a brief moment, Homura felt the temptation to pull out one of her silenced pistols and shoot Kyubey in the back. But she knew that all it would do was give herself away. She'd learned a long time ago that all the Incubators on Earth were little more than meat puppets animated by a single mind and soul. No matter how many of its bodies she killed, it wouldn't make the slightest difference. Maybe someday Homura would be able to find the Incubators' soul and destroy it, but for now she'd have to settle for sabotaging Kyubey's plans.
Rather than grabbing a gun, Homura instead reached into her shield and pulled out some C-4. She then armed it and stuck it under the couch. Once the opportunity presented itself, she froze time again, then ran from the couch and hid in a broom closet, arming more C-4 and placing it on the floor.
As she was about to leave her hiding place, Homura heard some noise coming from outside. From the sound of it, Kyubey sent the witches he'd extracted out into the city. Homura then heard the forcefield being reactivated. She clenched her fist thinking about what kind of horrific things Kyubey must've done to Madoka in order to extract those witches from the Law of Cycles. Homura swore to make sure Kyubey paid dearly for hurting Madoka. With that, she stopped time again, ran to another hiding spot and readied more C-4. Homura repeated the process several more times until she made her way to Hitomi's room.
Just before opening the door, Homura paused, mentally preparing herself for what might happen next. This would be her first time seeing Madoka since their fight nearly a year ago, and Homura knew she'd have to answer for her transgressions. As Sayaka had said before, anyone who messes with the Law of Cycles is bound to face terrible consequences. On top of that, Homura would also have to contend with seeing whatever Kyubey had been putting Madoka through. But the longer she stayed out here, the longer Madoka would suffer at Kyubey's hands. Homura took a deep breath, stopped time and turned the doorknob.
As Hitomi and Mami flew through the sky on Hildegard's back, they encountered a squadron of Anja familiars closing in on them. Acting quickly, Mami conjured several guns and opened fire on the familiars. She managed to shoot down a couple of them before the rest of the squadron surrounded Hildegard.
Hitomi, unfortunately, was unable to do anything to help Mami. Being a fist-fighter, her biggest weakness was that she had by far the shortest range out of the entire team. Her powers were no good against airborne enemies. That never mattered when she was battling wraiths, but now… "Ugh, I can't fight from up here."
"Don't worry." Mami said as she shot down another Anja. "I can handle these things."
"Yeah, but I should be helping." Hitomi replied. "I feel so useless."
"You're not useless, Hitomi." Mami said. "You're a good friend and a valued member of the team. Don't ever let yourself think otherwise."
"Um, that's not exactly what I meant, but…" Hitomi's face went red. "Anyway, I should probably go fight on the ground. I'd be more helpful down there."
"Well, alright…" Mami mumbled. Before she could object, more Anjas surrounded her. Mami readied more guns and began shooting down the familiars.
Wasting no more time, Hitomi stood up and jumped off of Hildegard's back, landing squarely on the ground. In front of her was the witch commanding the Anjas: Albertine the scribbling witch. The blonde-haired patchwork doll had been sketching more of her familiars on the concrete when she noticed Hitomi. The witch instinctively tried to hide behind a downed skyscraper, but Hitomi was too fast for that to work. Hitomi charged at Albertine and punched her in the back of the head, knocking the witch into the side of the building. She then delivered blow after blow until the witch was destroyed.
With their master dead, the Anjas died with her. As they fell lifelessly to the ground, Hitomi's sixth sense suddenly went off. Gisela the silver witch, in her motorcycle form, was racing towards Hitomi at breakneck speed. Just as Gisela was about to run Hitomi down, Mami shot a single bullet straight through the witch's front tire. Gisela spun out, careened off course and rammed straight into a propane tank. Mami fired another shot, blowing up the propane tank and incinerating the silver witch.
Hitomi looked up to see Mami smiling down on her. The two magical girls nodded at each other, then went their separate ways. Mami flew towards an airborne witch while Hitomi ran to meet up with Kyoko and Sayaka.
Homura opened the door to Hitomi's room and entered with time still frozen. The first thing she saw was a lone Incubator operating another alien machine. Next to that was her dear friend Madoka trapped in an isolation field. Homura clenched her teeth, her blood coming to a boil imagining the immense pain and suffering Kyubey had no doubt put Madoka through. Homura pulled a Desert Eagle out of her shield. Figuring her cover was about to be blown anyway, she allowed herself the pleasure of emptying the clip into Kyubey's skull.
With her gun depleted, Homura took a second to calm down. She turned to the isolation field, wincing at the look of anguish and sorrow on Madoka's face. And considering the fact that she was dressed in her magical girl outfit rather than in her goddess form, Kyubey had most likely stolen a good chunk of her power in extracting those witches.
Whatever the case, Homura had to free Madoka before time resumed. She knew that isolation fields were effective at blocking magic, but were quite vulnerable to brute physical force. But since Madoka wasn't at full strength, Homura couldn't risk using explosive or ballistic weapons. There was a good chance they would hurt Madoka, too. Fortunately, Homura had the perfect weapon for the job: that stupid golf club she'd bought when she first became a magical girl. Acting quickly, she drew the golf club from her shield and used it to pummel the isolation field until it cracked open. Once time resumed, the shards of the isolation field scattered about, and Madoka fell onto Hitomi's bed.
Madoka blinked a few times as she got up, trying to get her bearings. Just a split second ago she was caught in the isolation field, and Kyubey was gloating about how he would destroy Madoka's friends and harvest all human souls on Earth. But now Madoka was face-down on the bed and Kyubey was lying dead on the floor with several holes in his head. Madoka had seen this happen before, and it could only mean one thing. She turned to her left, and just as she'd hoped, she saw Homura standing beside her.
"Madoka, I'm-" Before Homura could finish, Madoka stood up and threw her arms around Homura, embracing her as tightly as she could, much to Homura's surprise.
"Oh, Homura." Madoka said as she fell into tears of joy. "I should've known you'd come to save me. Can you believe I actually thought you were dead?"
Homura felt a twinge of regret at causing Madoka more pain. Apparently her plan worked a little too well. "That was just a body double that Mami Tomoe made. I had to do it in order to…" Homura broke down into tears herself. She dropped her golf club and returned Madoka's embrace. "I'm so sorry, Madoka. I shouldn't have been so selfish. I should've respected your decision and-"
"It's okay. Don't worry about any of that." Madoka replied as she stroked Homura's back. "I'm just so happy to see you again."
"Madoka…" In that instant, it felt as if all traces of Homura's doubt and self-loathing vanished into thin air. For the first time since she could remember, Homura finally felt whole. She wished that she could stay in this perfect moment forever, here in the arms of the one she truly loved. But they weren't out of the woods just yet.
Suddenly, all the lights in the room went out. "I can't say I'm too surprised." Kyubey's voice sounded in the dark just before the lights came back on. Homura and Madoka let go of each other, then turned to Kyubey, who had just conjured a new body on top of Hitomi's dresser. "I should have known it would take more than an exploding building to kill you. I don't know why I thought otherwise."
Homura tilted her head. "Perhaps it was wishful thinking?" she asked sarcastically.
Kyubey chose not to dignify that with an answer. "You always were insufferably persistent, Homura Akemi. But it ends now. I had a feeling someone would come and try to save Madoka Kaname, so I kept one witch back here as a contingency plan." At that, the room around them slowly disappeared, replaced by a chalky beige ground below and an unnatural red-orange sky above, looking as if it were drawn by an amateur painter. "Try getting out of this alive."
Homura recognized this as the labyrinth of Izabel the artist witch. And sure enough, the familiar-looking archway appeared in the distance. Homura remembered her well. Izabel was the witch that almost killed her in the very first timeline, until Madoka and Mami saved her. Evidently Kyubey thought he could psych Homura out by reminding her of that traumatic near-death experience. Did he really think that would stop her from defeating such an average, run-of-the-mill witch? He really was getting desperate. Still, it was best that Homura didn't take any chances, not when she was this close to finally saving Madoka. "Listen, Madoka. No matter what happens, I want you to stay close and let me protect you."
Madoka smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Homura closed her eyes and held her left hand over her heart. Dark energy poured out from her Soul Gem and enveloped her from head to toe. The dark mass that was once Homura grew to about twenty feet tall, then dispersed to reveal the nutcracker witch Homulilly. Madoka spread her wings and flew onto Homulilly's shoulder. The pink magical girl then shot an arrow at the stocks around Homulilly's hands, destroying them. With her arms freed, Homulilly advanced on Izabel and her familiars, ready to eviscerate the only obstacle left in her way.
"Take that!" Sayaka shouted as she threw a sword at Roberta. The blade struck the birdcage witch and killed her in a single blow. As Roberta lay dead on the ground, Sayaka took a look at Kyoko, who hadn't said anything since they left the evacuation center.
Kyoko was still holding her own against the witches, though, and had been riding Ophelia's horse masterfully, even with Sayaka as her passenger. As they rode by Suleika, Kyoko segmented her spear and whipped the bladed end at the dark witch, bisecting her with ease.
"Alright, Kyoko!" Sayaka exclaimed, trying to diffuse the tension. When Kyoko didn't reply, Sayaka tried again. "Hey, are you still with me?"
"Sayaka, why didn't you tell me about Momo?" Kyoko asked bitterly. "You had to have known she made a contract, so why did you keep it from me?"
Sayaka had dreaded that question, even though she knew Kyoko would ask it sooner or later. As much as it pained her to do so, all Sayaka could do was tell Kyoko the truth. "It's… it's because she asked me not to."
Kyoko winced, gritting her teeth in anguish. "Why?! Why wouldn't she-" Kyoko and Sayaka were suddenly bucked off of Ophelia's horse. As they fell face-first onto the concrete, the horse was entangled by thorny vines tipped with rusty black pairs of scissors. The two girls got to their feet just in time to be surrounded by a swarm of Anthonys and Adelberts. And sure enough, their master, Gertrud, was just a few meters away, slowly lurching towards Kyoko and Sayaka.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you." Sayaka said as she cleaved an Adelbert in half. "I promised Momo I wouldn't."
Kyoko took out her frustration on a cluster of Anthonys, clobbering them one by one with the haft of her spear. "Look, is this about me working with Homura? If you're still mad about that, I'm-"
"No!" Sayaka cut Kyoko off. "No, I'm not mad about that at all. I never was. Well, maybe at first, but…" Sayaka and Kyoko backed closer to each other as Gertrud's familiars closed in on them. "Look, I get why you did it, I really do. I know how horrible your life's been, and I don't blame you for wanting to hold on to the one Homura gave you. And if there were some way we could have that life together without having to imprison Madoka to get it, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is leave you behind again."
Kyoko sniffled. "You really mean that?"
"Yeah, I do. I love you too, Kyoko. And I couldn't live in a world without you, either."
For an instant, Kyoko smiled brighter than ever before. After everything she'd been through, her feelings for Sayaka were at long last being returned. Kyoko started imagining the perfect, blissful life they'd have together after all this was through. But her smile quickly faded, knowing that it would likely never be. "But that's exactly what's gonna happen, isn't it? You're going back to the Law of Cycles after this, aren't you?"
"Well, probably. After everything Homura did, I'm not really sure what's gonna happen."
"Then, just in case this is our last battle together…" Kyoko raised her spear towards Gertrud. "Let's make it one to remember!"
Sayaka nodded. Acting in tandem, the two magical girls slashed through Gertrud's remaining familiars and charged straight at Gertrud herself. The rose garden witch attacked by extending her scissor-vines at them, but it backfired on her when Kyoko put up her chain barrier, entangling the vines around its links.
"Go for it!" Kyoko shouted to Sayaka. Now that Gertrud was stuck, Sayaka quickly ran behind her while Kyoko maintained the barrier. The blue magical girl stabbed Gertrud in the side, causing the witch to lash out at Sayaka with one of her remaining scissor-vines. Sayaka jumped back to dodge. Enraged, Gertrud tried to lurch towards Sayaka, struggling to pull away from the chain barrier.
Seeing an opportunity, Kyoko dropped the barrier. Being suddenly let go sent Gertrud off-balance, and she toppled forward straight onto Sayaka's blade. As the rose garden witch writhed in pain, Kyoko charged forward and impaled Gertrud with her spear. Sayaka then leapt up, conjured another blade and decapitated the witch with a single slash. Gertrud's headless body briefly wriggled around before exploding in a burst of rose petals and butterflies.
As the rose petals rained down on them, Kyoko and Sayaka embraced each other in celebration. Then, caught up in the rush of their victory, they leaned in, closed their eyes and shared their first kiss. For that moment, the two lovers forgot about everything around them. It was just them, in a perfect world of their very own.
Unfortunately for them, a sound like shattering glass snapped them back to reality. As Kyoko and Sayaka parted from the kiss, they turned to see Hitomi standing nearby, next to H.N. Elly's broken body. The green magical girl stared back at them, looking as if her brain had just short-circuited. "Um… did you two… just…?" she sputtered.
"Oh, don't act so surprised." Kyoko cut Hitomi off.
"Lemme guess, it's forbidden love? Girls can't love girls? Something along those lines?" Sayaka added.
Hitomi paused before answering. "Actually, to tell you the truth, I've kind of been… rethinking that lately."
"Since you and Kyosuke split up?" Sayaka asked.
Hitomi looked away. "…Yeah."
"Heh, Violin Boy strikes again." Kyoko snarked. "Honestly, he should just marry that damn instrument of his."
Sayaka and Kyoko both laughed. And to their surprise, Hitomi laughed too. "In that case, I'll be the maid of honor."
"Yeah, and I'll conduct the ceremony at my dad's old church." Kyoko added.
"Well, if we want that wedding to happen, we'll have to finish saving the city." Sayaka pointed her sword in the direction of the Shizuki house. "Let's go!" With that, the three of them continued pressing onward through the city.
Before too long, Sayaka, Kyoko and Hitomi closed in on the forcefield encircling Kyubey's base. It was being protected by Patricia the class representative witch. The three magical girls charged at her, but before they could get close, Patricia spewed out a swarm of Mathieus. The familiars rained down on the magical girls, quickly overwhelming them. While they were distracted, Patricia skittered towards them on her spider-like appendages, ready to devour their souls.
Suddenly, Mami fell from the sky, making a flawless three-point landing on the concrete. She extended her hand, and the ground cracked beneath Patricia. Numerous ribbons sprang forth from the fissure beneath the witch, ensnaring her instantaneously. As Patricia struggled against her restraints, Mami conjured another cannon, and with a resounding "Tiro Finale!", destroyed the class representative witch with a single shot.
"Thanks, Mami." Sayaka said as she, Kyoko and Hitomi waded towards Mami through the dead Mathieus. "We owe you one."
"It was nothing. Just doing my part." Mami replied as she brushed herself off. "Oh, and congratulations, you two." she added, pointing at Kyoko and Sayaka.
"You, uh, you saw that?" Kyoko said.
"Yep. Had a bird's-eye view of the whole thing." Mami then turned to Hitomi. "Took them long enough, don't you think?"
"Um, right…" Hitomi mumbled, looking away. She didn't feel like making eye contact with the others right now.
"Anyway, that was the last witch in the city." Mami said. "Now let's bring this forcefield down. Hitomi, go right. Sayaka, go left. Kyoko, other side."
"On it." the other three replied in unison. As per Mami's plan, the Quattro Elementi positioned themselves at four equidistant points around the forcefield. Each of them readied their weapons and awaited Homura's signal.
Just as expected, Izabel and her minions couldn't hold a candle to Homulilly. The nutcracker witch tore through the Michaela familiars like a hot knife through butter. These creatures that once nearly killed Homura were now merely road bumps in Homulilly's path. A part of her couldn't help but take pride in how much stronger she'd become since all those timelines ago, and that this time, it was her protecting Madoka from the artist witch.
Before long, Homulilly closed in on Izabel herself. Homulilly stretched out the dark, ethereal appendages extruding from her back and grabbed each side of the archway. With minimal effort, Homulilly ripped Izabel in half. She then transformed back into Homura as the artist witch's labyrinth faded out of existence. Homura and Madoka then found themselves back in Hitomi's room.
"I don't believe this." Kyubey said with an uncharacteristic bitterness in his voice. "I thought for sure you'd-"
Homura silenced Kyubey with a bullet to his face. "Madoka, we have to get on the roof."
"Um, ok…" Madoka replied as she stared at Kyubey's body. Normally she didn't like seeing Homura shooting Kyubey's brains out like that, but considering the situation, she decided to let it slide. Homura took Madoka's hand and activated her shield. With time frozen, Madoka picked Homura up, spread her wings and carried Homura out the window and onto the roof.
As the two of them landed and unfroze time, they looked down to see that their friends had surrounded the forcefield. Sayaka telepathically reached out to Madoka. Thanks to her mind shield, she was able to make contact even through the forcefield. Madoka, do you read me?
Loud and clear, Sayaka. Madoka replied. Is everyone okay?
Yeah, they're fine. The whole city is safe inside the evacuation center.
Well, except Nagisa and Momo. Mami added. They're still unconscious.
Madoka felt relieved for the citizens, particularly her family, but regretted putting Mami and Kyoko through seeing their loved ones like that. While she didn't know their attempt to rescue Hitomi would end up how it did, she should've seen it coming and prepared for that possible outcome. The red and yellow magical girls had been through enough hardship already.
There's no use dwelling on it. Homura's voice echoed in Madoka's mind, having sensed Madoka's thoughts. They should wake up after we destroy this forcefield.
Right. Madoka replied. She then reached out to the Quattro Elementi. Is everyone ready?
Yeah! Mami, Kyoko, Sayaka and Hitomi replied in unison.
Madoka conjured her bow. Homura grabbed onto it, and the two of them pointed it directly upward, each channeling their magic into a single arrow. As they let the arrow loose, Mami fired her cannon while Sayaka, Kyoko and Hitomi charged straight at the forcefield. All five attacks struck simultaneously, and the forcefield shattered to pieces. At long last, Madoka was freed from Kyubey's clutches.
"It's great to see you again." Madoka said to Sayaka as she and Homura landed in front of her.
"Yeah, it's been way too long." Sayaka replied.
"So is that mission accomplished?" Kyoko asked as she, Mami and Hitomi joined up with the rest of the group.
"Not just yet." Homura pulled a detonator switch out of her shield. She pressed it, and the C-4 she'd planted exploded, sending the Shizuki house up in flames. The Incubators and their machines inside the house were completely destroyed.
"Aww, did you have to blow up my house?" Hitomi groaned. Homura didn't answer.
"Ah, I'm sure you've got insurance." Kyoko snarked. Hitomi wasn't amused, but decided to leave it be. With that, Kyoko approached Sayaka, knowing that they'd be parting ways once again. "I suppose you and Madoka will be going back soon?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Sayaka replied softly.
Kyoko took a deep breath. "Well, if you love someone, set them free. I'll see you in the Law of Cycles someday."
"I'll be waiting for you." Sayaka said. "And so will Momo. I swear I'll get her to tell you everything then."
"I'll hold you to that." Kyoko said.
Sayaka then turned to Mami. "Nagisa will be waiting for you, too. And I'm sure she'll forgive you. She's not the type to hold a grudge."
Mami simply nodded.
As the others said their goodbyes, Madoka approached Homura, who had been looking away from the rest of the team. "Homura, are you okay?"
Homura sniffled, tears welling up in her eyes. Though she didn't want to admit it, there was still a part of her that longed to have a normal, happy life with Madoka by her side. Even now, after she'd long since accepted that such a life could never be, she still couldn't face losing Madoka yet again. But at least this time she'd get to say goodbye, and she wouldn't be the only one to remember her. Steeling herself, Homura turned to her dearest friend. "Madoka, I'm… I'm gonna miss you."
"It'll be fine." Madoka said. "We won't be apart for very long. Then we can spend the rest of eternity together."
Homura said nothing. She merely shared one final hug with Madoka before letting her go. The six magical girls fell silent as Madoka and Sayaka prepared to return to the Law of Cycles. Yet after several minutes of silence, everyone was still here.
"Not that I'm in a hurry to see you go, but shouldn't something have happened by now?" Mami asked.
"Homura…" Sayaka glared at the dark magical girl.
"I haven't done anything." Homura responded. "This must be-"
"Damn you, Homura Akemi!" Kyubey suddenly shouted as one of his bodies manifested closeby. "You and Madoka Kaname have ruined everything! Again! Why must you humans be such infuriating creatures?!"
As the other girls stared at Kyubey, Homura let out a tiny smirk. Kyubey couldn't hide it anymore. He'd grown to despise her and Madoka. With his schemes in ruins and his base destroyed, he'd reached his boiling point, unable to contain his anger and frustration any longer. What was it he said once? That to his species, emotions were considered a mental disorder? If that was true, then Homura had succeeded in driving Kyubey mad.
"Y'know, you could give the rest of us some credit." Kyoko said. "We helped ruin your plans, too."
"What are you still doing here, Kyubey?" Mami asked. "You've lost. You'll never gain control of the Law of Cycles now."
"Capturing Madoka didn't work, making contracts didn't work, and using witches to harvest souls didn't work." Sayaka added. "Face it, Kyubey. None of your schemes ever succeed in the long run."
"Just get off our planet and try again somewhere else." Hitomi said.
"I can't do that." Kyubey seethed. "I have no choice but to harvest human souls."
Kyoko quirked her eyebrow at Kyubey. "Oh yeah, and why's that?"
"Because it's in my contract!"
All of a sudden, a Soul Gem appeared floating behind Kyubey. Unlike the ornate, stylish, colorful Soul Gems belonging to magical girls, this one was plain and featureless. The symbol at the top was just an ordinary circle, and even its color was pure white. Or rather, it would've been pure white if not for the darkness of the curse tainting it. Both Homura and Madoka had seen this countless times before. Kyubey's Soul Gem was at its limit, moments away from transforming into a Grief Seed.
"Kyubey, it'll be okay. I can help." Madoka stepped forward hoping to purify the Soul Gem, but she was too late. Kyubey's body went limp as his Soul Gem cracked open, releasing an incredible burst of energy that flung the six magical girls back. As they struggled to their feet, a Grief Seed appeared in the epicenter of the energy burst. The first thing it did was shoot a dark energy tendril straight at Madoka. But without even thinking, Homura dove in front of Madoka, taking the hit for her.
Always a thorn in my side, Homura Akemi. A demonic parody of Kyubey's voice echoed as the attack brought Homura to her knees. The dark tendril latched onto her Soul Gem, immobilizing Homura and draining her energy.
"No, Homura!" Mami shouted as she and the rest of the Quattro Elementi ran to help her.
Don't make me laugh. Four more tendrils shot out of the Grief Seed, striking Mami, Kyoko, Sayaka and Hitomi simultaneously. Just like Homura, they fell to their knees while Kyubey drained their Soul Gems.
"Madoka… forget about me." Homura rasped as she struggled against Kyubey. "Run for it."
Madoka froze up. "I can't. I-" Taking advantage of her hesitation, Kyubey shot yet another tendril at Madoka, this time striking her right in the Soul Gem on her chest. With the last of her strength, Madoka channeled all the magic she could spare into two arrows and shot them in the direction of the evacuation center. Nagisa… Momo… it's all up to you now. Madoka thought as she and the others were enveloped by Kyubey's labyrinth.