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How lucky am I to always fall asleep like this? Mami thought as she looked down at the girl in her arms. After a long day of patrolling Mitakihara together, striking down any familiars that crossed their paths, it always felt best to end the day on such a calming note. Kyouko, who had just dozed off, seemed quite happy to do so as well. Her arms were wrapped around Mami's waist; her head resting on her chest. Mami wasn't quite sure why Kyouko was so eager to come to sleep with her every night-- was it the promise of freshly-baked cake after lunch every day, perhaps, or maybe because she herself smelled like said cake?-- but she certainly wasn't complaining.
Ever since Kyouko had come back into her life and moved out of Kasamino City to live with Mami in her appartment, Mami had been happier than she had ever been. And to have someone she adored and cared for in her arms every night... well, she could never ask for anything better. Everything was so much better when Kyouko was around. Mami could never think of anything more horrible than being left alone again-- and with Kyouko, she felt that it was okay to smile more often, and more genuinely, as well.
Mami smiled, and ran her fingers through her beloved companion's long, red hair. "Sweet dreams, Kyouko."
Mami wasn't entirely sure if she was awake enough to hear her, but she felt Kyouko's arms tighten a little more around her waist as she snuggled closer. That was enough evidence to leave her satisfied. Mami brushed Kyouko's hair out of her face, left a soft kiss upon her forehead, and fell back onto her pillow, closing her eyes.
---
3 AM. Mami stirred from her slumber, noticing the lack of warmth or weight that was previously on top of her. She shrugged, figured Kyouko had rolled out of bed to use the bathroom, and decided to wait for her return before falling back asleep.
15 minutes had passed, and Kyouko still hadn't returned yet. "I should probably check on her," Mami sighed, and headed toward the restroom, still not quite awake. To her surprise, no one was there.
"...of course. The kitchen."
Mami rushed over to the kitchen, ready to catch Kyouko taking a very-late-night snack. She flipped on the kitchen light, a grin on her face. "Ha ha ha, it sure seems that I've caught you red han--eh?" Empty.
Now thoroughly confused, Mami called out to Kyouko. No answer. She checked to see if she hadn't gone back to bed while Mami was looking for her... and found no one. Kyouko was nowhere to be found.
Mami sighed again. "Guess I should go look for her. Hopefully everything is all right..." She pulled on her coat, and headed outside.
As soon as she had locked the door, Mami had noticed that her soul gem had suddenly started shining bright yellow.
Suddenly, worry. First Kyouko disappears, and now there's a witch to deal with? Something definitely isn't right. Mami started running toward downtown Mitakihara, where her glowing soul gem was pointing her toward.
Upon her arrival to the city, Mami was taken aback at how crowded it was-- and at this hour? Shouldn't all these people be sleeping? Where are they going, and why? Is there something she is missing here? Mami had all these thoughts flying through her mind as she meandered through the waves of people. This was no time to ponder, however-- Kyouko could be in danger.
As she walked the city streets, Mami could not help but notice how busy everything looked-- and sounded. Where was Kyouko? With her soul gem pointing her along, she kept walking.
---
Back at home, Kyouko awakened with a startle-- as if she had rolled off of Mami and fallen onto the bed. However, when she opened her eyes, Mami was not there. It was almost as if she had disappeared from under her! She let out a series of unintelligible, incoherent grumbles, and looked at the time. 3 AM.
"Mrrr. Mamiiii, what gives?" Kyouko groaned, and buried her face in Mami's pillow. What a lovely scent it had-- she could have sworn Mami baked so much that the smell always lingered on her, and Kyouko loved this.
About half an hour had passed since Kyouko curled up in Mami's place, and she had stayed awake, eager to snuggle back in her warm embrace. Why hadn't she come back yet? Kyouko rolled out of bed to search for her. As soon as she stepped out of their bedroom, she noticed a very familiar scent emanating throughout the rest of the apartment. "But... why now?" Kyouko wondered.
Sure enough, the light to the kitchen was on. "Mami, what the hell are you doing? It's thr--" Kyouko stopped. Mami was indeed in there, spreading strawberry frosting on what appeared to be the largest cake she had ever made-- at least as far as Kyouko knew. All too wise to protest against Mami's ways, especially when it came to her cooking, Kyouko held back her irritation from the somewhat rude awakening she had.
Mami jumped in surprise. "Aaaah, Kyouko! You're supposed to be sleeping!" She was quite noticeably blushing-- and dear god was she adorable. Kyouko felt the rest of her annoyance vanish on the spot, and substituted it for curiosity.
She couldn't resist. "Mamiiii, what is that cake for?"
Mami regained her composure, and smiled in a way that only Kyouko knew meant nothing good. For her, at least. "Mmmm... for me, I suppose. Late-night snack," she replied. While anyone else would have taken this and would have been quite confused by it, Kyouko knew that what she said was partially true, for that smile said more-- along the lines of "It very much will be just for me, if you don't go back to sleep!"
Taking this hint and taking it well, Kyouko rushed back to bed, awaiting Mami's return. However, time passed right on by, and she found herself quickly falling asleep.
A few hours later, Kyouko reawakened, and noticed that Mami never rejoined her that night. Confused and only partially awake, she walked back to the kitchen. There she found the cake, perfectly frosted, and--
"M-Mami!!"
---
"Huh? K-Kyouko, was that you?"
Amidst a sea of aimless city wanderers, Mami darted around, certain that she had heard her dear friend's voice-- but from which way did it come? She looked in all directions, and settled for the path before her-- after all, she would have seen Kyouko behind her, right?
"Mami!"
There it was again! To the right this time.... or forward? ...No, right would do.
"Mami!!" There it was again.
"No, wait, that definitely came from behind me. Turning around!" Mami spun on her heels and dashed in the opposite direction, looking every which way until she suddenly ran into a man walking opposite her direction. Sure enough, she ended up colliding into him, and fell to the ground. The man tripped and fell to the ground, but yet, to Mami's surprise, he seemed completely unfazed. In fact, he stood up, looked all around him, shrugged, and continued walking.
Oh well, no point in dwelling on that. What mattered was to Mami was finding Kyouko and making sure she was okay. Still, even then, she couldn't help but wonder...
"Mami, I'm here! Over here!"
Kyouko's voice again. But she couldn't tell where 'over here was'. Perhaps someone in the crowd... she turned to the person closest to her.
"Excuse me, sir, did you hear someone say 'over here!' a moment ago?"
No response. Not even a turn of the head.
"Mmm.. sir?" Mami waved her hand in front of his face. Instead of stopping and noticing, the man walked right into her hand, and jumped in surprise.
"A-aaaah! What was that?!" The man frantically looked around him, not even noticing Mami.
Who Mami presumed was the man's girlfriend, following by his side, responded. "What was what?" She clearly didn't notice Mami either, and was rather bewildered at the man's shock.
"Something... hit my face... I didn't see anything though!"
"Perhaps it's just in your head, dear."
"...I suppose so."
Mami stood there, stunned. "He... didn't even notice me?" She reached out her hand once more, to another person. An obvious impact, and a look of confusion, but no one ever took notice that Mami was doing it. She stood right in front of an approaching walker. Full body impact. Nothing but a look of shock and a "what the hell was that?"
"So I'm invisible, is that it? Well, in that case..." The unnerved Mami regained her composure, and transformed into her Puella Magi outfit. She smiled, however faintly, and conjured a ribbon connecting from her hand to the top of a light post.
"I can see more of my surroundings if I'm above the crowd. And Kyouko should be able to see me, too!" And with that, she swung herself up to the top of the light, and scanned the strees.
Kyouko's voice called again. "There you are, Mami! Where the hell have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"
Mami turned toward her voice, and sure enough, there she was. Her heart fluttered with relief that Kyouko was all right. She swung over to the next light, and the next, until she was right near Kyouko was, and she approcached her.
"Oh, Kyouko... I was worried about you! Where have you been?! Don't leave me like that..." Mami sighed. "You'll never believe what just happened to me, too..." She pulled Kyouko into her arms, hugged very tightly.
No response.
Mami looked up. "Kyouko?"
Kyouko looked down, and flashed Mami a manic grin, her eyes empty and expressionless. "...Kyouko?!" Then, as if Mami's touch was the catalyst, Kyouko's body turned to dust, collapsing into a pile on the ground.
Mami, horrified, looked down at the dust gathered in her arms, and fell to her knees. She wanted to scream, but the voice just wouldn't come. Barring the time she made a contract to become a magical girl, she had never been this terrified in her life.
What seemed like hours passed by. Absolutely at a loss of what to do, Mami just sat there, next to what was left of Kyouko's remains. She looked at her soul gem. Dim. The witch must have escaped. Mami slumped over, in stunned silence. That is, until one of the aimless passers-by stepped in the dust pile that was once the girl Mami loved so dearly.
Enough was enough. Mami bolted to her feet, snapped her fingers, and in an instant, the man was bound tightly in bright yellow ribbons, unable to move. As expected, he cried out in shock and protest; his attempts to wriggle out of his restraints an inevitability.
Mami walked in front of him, looking him straight in the eyes. "You. You have no idea what you just did, did you?" No response. It was as if he was looking right through her. "Answer me! This isn't funny!" Nothing. Mami glared, tears streaming from her eyes, and reached out to grab the man by his collar. "HEY! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS ALREA--"
As soon as Mami's fingers touched the man's shirt, the man froze in place, and suddenly made direct eye contact with her, flashing a manic smile with such dead, empty eyes. Just staring at her.
Empty, expressionless eyes maintained perfect contact with Mami's. That nightmarish grin.
Oh god, not again. NOT AGAIN--
The man solidified, and fell face-first toward Mami, and shattered on the ground as if he were made of glass, and suddenly, everyone in the area who saw this seemingly-strange man freeze up, fall down, and break into pieces broke into a panic. Some screamed. Some looked in morbid curiosity. Others looked on. As for Mami, this was no place for her to be. She turned, and started running as fast as she could.
Eventually, she ended up in an empty alley, next to some cardboard boxes. Her back to the wall, she slid down to sit on the ground, and wrapped her arms around her knees, shaking. This was so wrong. Everything about this was so very, very wrong.
"What's the maaaaatter, Mami? Can'tcha fiiiiiiind me?"
That voice! "Kyouko?!"
"Of course it's me, Mami-saaaaaaaan~"
"Where are-- no, that's not right! I just watched... you... but..."
"I don't know what you're talking about~"
Mami paused. She-- Kyouko was... mocking her? Yes, she certainly was. But this made no sense! Kyouko was... Kyouko is...
"...where are you, Kyouko?" Mami stepped out of the alley, looked left and right.
"Behiiiiiiind you~"
Mami turned, her eyes wide. Sure enough, there Kyouko was, alive as ever. She took a bite out of the apple in her hand, and laughed.
"What's up, Mami? You look like you've just seen a ghost!"
"That isn't funny, Kyouko. And you shouldn't mock me when I'm this scared."
"Oh, fine. I'm sorry I scared you and stuff, I guess." Kyouko held out a hand to Mami. "Really, I am."
Mami reluctantly took Kyouko's hand. No reaction... surely this really was Kyouko.
"Kyouko... it really is you..." Mami squeezed her hand. "It really is..."
"Of course it is!" Kyouko grinned.
Mami felt the tears streaming from her eyes already. "I've... had enough for today. I already lost track of the witch. Something is wrong in the city... but I don't care right now. Please. Let's go home... we can worry about this tomorrow."
"So you're giving up already, is that it?" Kyouko frowned. "I was going to say 'let's figure this out together'!"
"...you're right, I suppose. I can't just let this go unsolved." Mami wrapped her arms around Kyouko's middle, and buried her face in her shoulder. "But please. Please, Kyouko. Don't leave my side."
No response.
"Kyouko?"
Mami looked up from her shoulder.
There it was again. That manic grin, and those lifeless eyes...
Just.
Staring.
no
Staring.
no
Those expressionless eyes.
No
That psychotic grin
NO
a living statue
NOT AGAIN
but not for long
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NONONONONONONONONONON---
Mami backed away, terrified, her eyes tightly closed. When she opened them again, about ten steps back, she noticed that Kyouko's gaze was directly on her, until--
"KYOUKO!!"
---
Kyouko walked closer to Mami, who was slumped over on the kitchen floor, sobbing.
"M-Mami?" Kyouko got down on her knees, rubbed her back. "...h-hey, are you all right?"
Mami cried even louder.
"H-hey, shhhhh.... shhh. I'm here." Kyouko scooped Mami up into her arms, and Mami buried her head in Kyouko's shoulder. "It's... not like you to be like this. You're making me worry."
Mami choked her tears down enough to speak. "Y-you know... what t-today is, d-don't you? S-surely I've m-mentioned it before..."
Kyouko tilted her head a little, but ran her fingers along Mami's curls all the same. "H-how the hel--," she began, but reined in her her confusion for more gentle words. "If you did, I guess I forgot. Remind me?"
Mami sighed in mid-sob. T-today was... what seems like so many years ago..." Kyouko continued running her fingers through Mami's hair as she listened. "...today was the day I became a magical girl... and the day my parents died. The day I almost died. And as for the cake... well, I don't particularly celebrate their birthdays now that they are... you know... but I can certainly use a cake as an excuse to celebrate the fact that I am still living. But still... it makes me really sad to think about."
Kyouko, whose family was also dead-- her mother and younger sister murdered by her father, who snapped when he realized that the only reason anyone was listening to him as a pastor-- and therefore for the wrong reason-- listening, coming to her father's church due to Kyouko's magic, rather than the people coming as she wanted to them to... and after that, he had taken his own life as well.
"W-well..." Kyouko began. "I suppose I know how it feels to... not have that anymore, too."
"A-and unlike you, it wasn't my fault, either!" And with that, she buried her head back in Kyouko's shoulder. "I just... I just miss them so much..."
Kyouko, however, froze at the statement. "Did she just say... she did, didn't she?" she thought. This was...certainly not something she expected out of Mami.
A few minutes passed by. Kyouko forced herself to speak. "Mami... please tell me... what you meant, when you said that."
Mami looked up from her shoulder. "You... you were the cause of your family's death, were you not?"
"E-eh?" Kyouko's heart raced as she searched herself for a response. This was so not like Mami at all. Something isn't right here, not one bit.
"Don't you get it? My parents died in an accident." Mami's voice grew a little stronger, a little harsher, and a lot more accusatory. "...you were the one that led to your father snapping. You were the one that caused him to lose his mind and kill your sister. You were the one that made him snap and kill your mother. And you were the reason why he hung himself right before your eyes."
Kyouko's eyes widened, her pounding with rage that she was becoming more and more unable to retain. "Sure," she thought, "...what Mami said is true, after all. That's why I don't use my magic on anyone but myself." But before she could snap back at Mami for being so much harsher than she ever was before, her soul gem started glowing. Saved by a distraction.
Kyouko, still stunned, pushed Mami off her lap and dashed off. "We'll talk later."
---
Mami backed away in horror. The Kyouko she had just been talking to had spontaneously burst into intense, bright flames, and collapsed against a building, setting it ablaze.
Terrified, Mami turned around and ran away, back into the city. Everything had radically changed since she was last running through these streets. Streetlights aside, all of the lights that were once on in were now off-- those in buildings, those from cars. In fact, there was absolutely no sound at all. Every person in the city had froze in position.
As if she knew what she was expecting to see, she took a glance at their faces.
Every last one of them-- blank gaze, manic grin.
no, not again
please god, no
what did I do to deserve this
As she walked, Mami found herself surrounded by these horrifying statues. Overwhelmed, looking for a way out, she backed up into one by accident, knocking one over. Which knocked another over. And another, and another and another and another and another--
nononono that's not good at all please don't turn into--
It was as if their bodies were made of glass. With each impact, the statuesque members of the crowd cracked-- and when they hit the ground, they shattered with explosive force. Mami could feel pieces of-- was it actually glass? She didn't want to look, even if they were hitting her face, her eyes tightly closed.
As soon as the chain reaction of falling, cracking, and shattering ended, Mami reluctantly opened her eyes-- only to be met with the now broken remains of the people that once stood before her. However, she didn't have much time to examine everything, as the statues-- to her horror-- became anything but. As if they wanted revenge for their fallen friends, each statue had turned directly towards Mami, all growling at her-- still with those horrific, manic grins and piercing stares.
s-still?
One step after another, they approached her, ready to kill. The growling turned to uncontrollable laughter-- voices thirsting for blood.
I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE
And with that, Mami hopped back, snapped her fingers, and pulled one of her rifles from the ground. She had no time to waste. Hundreds of these... these... things were approaching. Now was the time. Kill, or be killed. She raised her weapon, and took aim.
i'm so sorry
Mami pulled the trigger, landing her shot right between the eyes of her closest foe. The statue-like being froze in place once more, its whole body glowing faintly at first, then bright yellow, until--
Mami closed her eyes just in time, as it became too unbearable to see. A split-second later, the statue detonated-- exploded, just as if it were a walking bomb. Pieces of the once-intact body blasted off in every direction, many setting off a similar glowing reaction in nearby statues. A second explosion.
god no why did it come to this
Then a third, then a fourth-- each one louder than the last.
what have i done
Soon, every last statue in the crowd had been blasted apart. Shards of broken bodies lay strewn about the streets-- the sidewalks-- everywhere. Once again, everything was absolutely silent. That is, until--
"Mami!"
She wouldn't believe it. Not again. Mami kept her eyes tightly closed.
"M-Mami!!"
This wasn't a normal yell. There was pain in this voice, which she definitely recognized as Kyouko's. Still, it was a lie. It had to be. It just had to be.
Except it kept getting louder, packed with more and more anguish.
Trembling in terror, Mami opened her eyes. No one to be seen. She started running toward the voice. "K-Kyouko, are you there?!"
"M-MAMI! O-OH GOD, WHERE ARE Y--"
"I'm coming, I promise!" Mami ran as fast as her legs would take her. All she had left was Kyouko. And even then, she was hardly convinced. But there was always a chance. Always a chance that she would see the real Kyouko once again. As she kept running, the anguished yelling turned into unintelligible screams.
Eventually, those screams led her to a bridge. As soon as she stepped foot on it, the screams ceased to pierce the silence. Nothing-- no sound but Mami's footsteps and the sounds of the water below her.
"Kyouko, where are you?"
No response.
"K-Kyouko, this isn't funny!"
Nothing.
She was too late.
...i'm done. i can't take any more. i'm sorry.
Mami walked to the edge of the bridge, and looked down. The fall was long, the water was very deep, and the current was incredibly strong. One who fell from here would surely not survive if someone were not to come to their rescue.
no more. just... no more.
Mami closed her eyes, and gradually leaned forward. So far forward, until nothing was beneath her.
However... the expected impact, the imminent watery doom never came. Instead, it felt as if she was falling in quicksand-- unable to keep herself above the surface as she ever-so-slowly sank beneath. Just as her face was completely immersed, she had started falling much faster, as if she had fallen simply through a layer of said quicksand and ended up in a void beneath.
There was no impact whatsoever. Mami felt herself land gently on her feet. She opened her eyes. What she saw...was nothing. Absolutely nothing. A gray, flat landscape. No buildings, no people, no streets, cars, sidewalks, sun, clouds... nothing. Absolutely nothing for as far as Mami's eyes could see. She looked up. There was no hole or opening from which she had fallen.
And it was at that time that Mami realized that she was trapped in the worst way possible. Absolutely alone.
She fell to her knees, and looked to her soul gem. Maybe, just maybe, a witch was here. No light came from her soul gem, but quite the opposite. Small traces of despair were already tainting the once brilliant gem Mami once wore with pride on her beret. And they were getting bigger.
---
Deeply insulted and her pride slighted, Kyouko dashed into the city, following the glow of her soul gem. Mami was lucky for now, but she had damn well be ready for the rant she had prepared for when she had returned.
She transformed into her magical girl outfit in mid-dash, brandishing her spear as she ran straight to the witch's labyrinth.
Mami was with her, of course, even if she didn't want her to be. At the very least, this was her chance to blow off some steam before confronting her.
When they arrived in the city, Kyouko felt that something was... off. And this was aside from how Mami was not acting anywhere near how she normally does. No, something else was different. Normally, witch's labyrinths were condensed; centralized in a smaller area. However, as soon as they set foot downtown, it had seemed that the entire portion of the city was taken over. And even more strange was that there was no witch in sight.
"We'll have to split up and look... not that I mind," Kyouko growled.
"Gladly," Mami grumbled. Every time Mami spoke in this way, Kyouko couldn't help but notice how unusual this was for her. How utterly irritating. And yet... she had a point, didn't she? Despite good intentions, her wish did in fact lead to her father pretty much losing his mind and killing his wife and youngest daughter. But what was so weird was that before now, Mami had always comforted her, saying that it wasn't her fault. Even if it wasn't entirely true, it still made her feel better. But to have it shoved in her face like that...
A barrage of rifle shots fired in the distance. Apparently Mami had found something. Kyouko ran toward the direction of the sound, only to be greeted with a cry of pain as she arrived. Mami had two of her rifles on the ground beside her, and she was clutching her side, her clothes stained red. On the ground in front of them was a shadow, not connected to any body or object, moving back and forth between the two. Not one to hesitate, Kyouko rushed forward and thrust her spear into the ground. However, no sooner did the tip of her spear touch the shadow before it bounced off of it, throwing Kyouko off guard.
"W-what the hell?"
"Fool," Mami glared. "Way to totally not notice that my bullets were deflected by whatever that is. One bounced off and hit me. And you didn't even bother seeing if I was okay or not? Some partner you are."
Kyouko winced at Mami's remarks, but fought back. "As if I thought you wanted help. I wasn't about to let that thing get away."
As soon as Kyouko had mentioned a getaway, the shadow emerged from the ground, solidifying into what appeared to be a dark-gray fairy. It stuck its tongue out at the girls, and flew away.
Mami rolled her eyes. "You were saying?"
Kyouko sighed, rubbed her forehead, and reached out to offer Mami a hand, ready to help mend her wound. However, Mami smacked her hand away.
"Get away from me. I know what happens when you try to 'help'." Mami stood up on her own, and started running after the fairy.
Kyouko just stood there, stunned. "What the hell is wrong with her, anyway?" Something was also off-- she was close to Mami, who was just baking a very large cake all night. How come she didn't smell like she usually did? She looked down at her soul gem, and noticed that it was pointing her in the direction Mami had run off toward. Kyouko dashed from block to block, looking for a sign of any sort of foe. However, she heard explosions in the distance. Surely Mami had found something more? She ran off to join her once more. What she saw when she arrived left her without words. Dozens of those same fairies were flying around, but Mami was nowhere to be seen. Knowing much better than to attack them at this point, Kyouko held back, and ran to search for Mami.
She sighed. "Even if she's acting strange, I can't just leave her behind..." She gritted her teeth, trying to keep her temper in check, and looked down at her spear, her face reflecting in its point. She did not expect to see what she saw, not one bit.
A flower mark, on her forehead-- which curiously looked just like the accessory that held Mami's soul gem on her beret. What was that doing there? That was where Mami had...
...no.
Another round of rifle shots. She was getting closer. So close, she could see...
...no.
At least fifty or sixty of the invulnerable fairies were swarming around Mami, who was on her knees, her clothes completely soaked with blood. Clearly, she had tried once more in vain to shoot the bulletproof fairies down. The shots had reflected right back at her.
"Mami!!"
"Get away from me already!"
"Will you stop it?! God, Don't you know that the witch is i--..." Kyouko looked down. The shadow fairies were rising out of Mami's shadow.
"...yeah... I noticed." Mami looked up at Kyouko. "...and I think that's why I was saying such horrible things-- I was under its influence... but not anymore."
"Mami..."
"I'm sorry, Kyouko. For everything I said. And for what I'm about to do. Allow me to make up for what I did, and protect you." Mami stood up, burning determination in her eyes. The swarm of fairies became thicker, ready to attack. Mami laughed a little. "...just as planned."
"Wait, Mami!" Kyouko dashed forward, ready to attack, but it was too late.
"Tiro Finale!!" It was Mami's signature attack, and she was putting everything she had into it. And, just as she had planned, the shadow fairies were disintegrating. Also as expected, the attack was reflected just as much onto her. The blinding light faded as soon as it had appeared, and Kyouko saw nothing on the ground but a single grief seed.
"...no... no! Mami!!!"
She couldn't be gone. "This is all my fault... again." Kyouko fell to her knees.
---
Mami laid back on the monochrome ground, staring at what seemed to be a perpetually gray, cloudless sky. Her heart bereft of hope, her soul gem was almost completely black.
She closed her eyes. "So... this is how it ends. How it should have ended a long time ago. Alone. I hate this..."
"...no... no! Mami!!!"
"...eh?" Mami sat up, looked around, and saw nothing. "...stupid imagination." She slumped back over on the ground.
---
Kyouko stared at the ground where Mami, the witch possessing her, and the fairies once were. She leaned down to pick up the grief seed, and reached for her soul gem, ready to cleanse it... but faltered.
"I don't deserve to do this. I really, really don't." She stashed the grief seed in her pocket, then looked to her soul gem. "If I want to keep going on, I better fight until I deser-- huh?"
Her soul gem was still glowing, just as brightly as it was before.
Something wasn't adding up, here. If the witch died along with Mami, and left a grief seed... shouldn't her soul gem stop glowing? She held it out, and moved in a circle. It wasn't pointing in any direction, which meant...
"Something's still here!" Kyouko braced herself, and the ground began to shake. Looking around in all directions, nothing stood out... that is, until she noticed the cracks in the ground below her.
"That's not good---aaaaaaaaaaaaah--!" The ground below Kyouko split open, and she plunged into the darkness below.
---
Crash!
This time she was sure she had heard something. Mami sat up, and looked around, and to her surprise, there was a hole in the sky, and below it, a red figure face-down on the ground.
"K-Kyouko...?"
Mami stood up, and cautiously approached Kyouko, who laid unconscious on the ground.
"Kyouko? Is it... is it really you, this time?" She kneeled down and rolled Kyouko onto her back. No response... but no adverse reaction, either. She placed her hand over Kyouko's heart. Definitely a pulse. This really was her!
"M-mmm... Mami..." Kyouko stirred, and slowly opened her eyes. "I-it is you..."
Mami smiled as widely as she could, until Kyouko noticed her soul gem in her other hand, and gasped, sitting straight upright. "M-Mami! Your soul gem...!"
"Kyouko, don't sit up so fast!"
"I'm fine, really! But... but you... ah!" Kyouko reached into her pocket, and tossed the grief seed her way. "Use this. I'm fine, but you...you really need it."
"A-ah... thank you..." Mami smiled, still somewhat apprehensive. She placed the grief seed next to her soul gem, and used it until her soul gem was clear of despair. In more ways than one, even. With Kyouko here... there was hope... but.
"Mami, why are you looking at me like that?"
Mami looked down, and sat down next to Kyouko. "Well..." Mami recalled her entire ordeal to Kyouko, who listened intently.
"That's... insane. How could I have died so many times? I'm right here!" Kyouko laughed a little. "I promise you, I am right here. I will not leave. However... what happened with me was somewhat different." Kyouko told Mami her own side of the story, looking away a little when mentioning Mami's sacrifice.
"...so...yeah." Kyouko looked down, still a little shaken.
"While I would have certainly fought for you... I'm not gone, but I wasn't there, either. I'm right here, Kyouko. We're both right here. But... how did we get here?"
"It's all starting to make sense to me." Kyouko smiled a little. "We both had different scenarios... but both were both some of the worst things we could imagine. We both were put into our worst nightmares..." Kyouko held out her soul gem. "And the culprit is right here."
Mami's eyes widened. "So you mean..."
"Yep." Kyouko grinned. "It was a dream all along. It's time to wake up, Mami."
Mami nodded, and pulled Kyouko into her arms. "Let's go, Kyouko."
And with that, the gray infinity all around them began to swirl, and everything in sight faded.
---
After the faded world slid back into focus, Kyouko found herself back in bed, wrapped in Mami's shaking arms.
She looked up. "Hey. Look at me." She lifted Mami's chin, directing her gaze into her own. "See anything?"
Mami looked up at Kyouko's forehead. "No... but... gaaaah, that was terrifying..." Mami buried her face in Kyouko's hair, deeply relieved that the Kyouko in her arms wasn't going to disintegrate, shatter, explode, or drown. "Are you sure we can't just stay here... just for a while?"
Kyouko shook her head, but wrapped her arms tightly around Mami's middle, rubbing her back. "We can't. It sounds weird, and you'll have to believe me, but that was a nightmare...well, within an illusion. One that we're still in. It won't be a nightmare from here on unless we treat it like one. If we don't see it as a nightmare, then it'll be a good dream-- one where we'll be victorious." She looked up, kissing Mami on the cheek. "The worst is over, but we can't stay here forever." She pulled out her own soul gem, and pointed Mami to her own. "Look. Still glowing. Whatever is causing this... it's outside. Whatever it is... we need to defeat it."
"A-are you sure we can do that? What if it throws us back into our worst nightmares again?" Mami looked down, biting her lip.
"Then we'll be ready to pull each other out once more. We were together the whole time in those nightmares-- we were just in separate nightmares. That sounds weird, but... well, that's how it was." Kyouko grinned, satisfied with her conclusion. "If it happens again, we'll know precisely that it's a dream, and we'll wake each other up. But for now, we're still in the real witch's labyrinth-- the real illusion. And it's time to get out."
Mami regained her composure, lifted Kyouko's chin, and gently kissed her nose. "That's... all I needed to hear. Thank you, Kyouko. I know, for sure, that I will never be alone as long as I have you."
"Thanks for giving me a reason to fight on and not lose myself in my past mistakes, Mami. Even if I may find reasons to hate myself because of them, I know that you've always got my back, and see me not for my mistakes, but how I grow from them." Kyouko blushed a little, hugging Mami even tighter, showing no signs of wanting to let go.
"Now look who doesn't want to go." Mami giggled, ruffling her hair. "Come on. Let's go, and win. And when we're done..." She smiled, and whispered in Kyouko's ear. "...we can surely rest in each other's arms. How does that sound?"
Kyouko smiled back, sitting up on the bed. "Let's go."
---
Hand in hand, they dashed outside, transforming into their magical girl costumes along the way. They had come this far, and they were not about to give up now.
"Ready?" Mami grinned.
"Ready." Kyouko opened the door, and together, they went in pursuit of today's true foe.
Sure enough, the real witch that caused the nightmares was right outside; it was a monolithic shadowy angelic figure-- easily three stories tall, like a fully grown version of the shadow fairies from Kyouko's nightmare. It was holding a sword, and was pointing it threateningly at Kyouko's face.
"Hrm... Hey, Mami." Kyouko readied her spear. "Try something for me, will you? Fire one shot at its head."
Mami nodded. "It would be my pleasure." She removed the beret from her head, pulled a rifle from it, placed it back on her head, took aim, and fired one shot straight between its eyes. Sure enough--
"Duck!" Kyouko spun her spear around, deflecting the bullet away. "...yep. Definitely just like the ones in my dream. Don't fire any bullets at it. Your Tiro Finale might work, but..." Kyouko shuddered. "...it will reflect back at you. Don't use it unless you know you can do so without being hit."
"Okaaaaay, so... what do we do?" Mami looked puzzled.
As soon as Kyouko began to answer, the witch swung her giant sword in a wide horizontal slash at the girls, who dodged just so much to save their lives. "Not get killed! Come on, think!"
As the girls ran to evade, the angelic witch lifted her robes from her feet, and out marched an army of empty-eyed, manically grinning stringless marionettes, and Mami gasped as Kyouko went to slash at one with her spear, and fired a shot at the point of her spear to knock it away. Kyouko glared, but Mami explained, "Don't touch those, seriously! Not... well, not unless you want a chain reaction of explosions that will likely kill us too!"
"Err... good call!" Kyouko blinked her irritation away, suddenly happy her swing was knocked away. "What now?"
"We need to get rid of these if we want to get any closer. That much is true..." Mami pondered.
"What if the witch isn't immune to her own explosions, then?" Kyouko decided that any guess was a good guess at this point.
"Mmm...worth a try!" Mami pulled one of the marionettes into a ribbon lasso, and threw it in the air. "Knock it into the witch!"
"Got it!" Kyouko leapt up in the air, giving the marionette her best home-run swing, sending it flying at top speed into the witch's chest. Sure enough, the solitary explosion tore a hole through the witch's robe, exposing a heart. "Would you look at that?!" Kyouko grinned. "It works!"
Her joy was limited, however-- the witch had begun regenerating her armor-like robe.
"...Damn it. Any other ideas?" Kyouko jumped to the side to dodge another swing from the witch's sword.
Mami pondered once more, then flashed a wicked grin. "In fact... I do. It's... well... you remember when I mentioned..." Mami began whispering in Kyouko's ear.
As Mami revealed her plan, Kyouko's face turned to a grin as well. "That has to be the most insane plan you have ever come up with." She laughed. "...and goddamnit, I love it. Let's do this!!"
"I believe the witch split us up for a reason-- we can't defeat her alone. But together..." Mami smiled. "In that case... start us off. And yes, you do have to say it. Because I said so."
Kyouko growled a little. "Oh, fine! Rosso Fantasma!" Kyouko snapped her fingers, and summoned one, two, three, four, five, six, seven copies of herself, one after another. Each of the copies grinned, ready for orders. "All right, you know what to do! Go!"
Decoy Kyoukos 1-3 dashed forward, and began throwing individual marionettes into the air, and smacking them at the witch, tearing its robes open once more, but much wider this time. In retaliation, the witch began swinging at them.
"A perfect distraction!" Kyouko declared as the remaining four decoys stood at attention behind her. "Mami, are you ready?"
"You know it! But I'm going to be going all-out for this one, do we can't afford to miss. Are you ready?"
"As if I'd miss." Kyouko laughed. "Do you really think I'd let that happen?"
"Fair enough! Here goes!" And with that, instead of preparing her usual cannon for her Tiro Finale, she summoned what appeared to be a giant revolver, and opened it. "Heh, heh, heh. You know what to do." Mami looked very pleased with herself for coming up with this. Kyouko didn't blame her.
Kyouko pointed at the revolver. "Get in, girls!"
The four decoy Kyoukos saluted. "Aaaaaaye!"
One, two, three, four. Each one hopped in, and Kyouko herself hopped into the last remaining position.
"Ready!"
Mami nodded. "Here goes! Tiro Primo!" She pulled the trigger, and Decoy #4 fired from her revolver, a manic grin on her face, her spear blazing forward. She connected with the witch's left arm and exploded, disabling it.
"Tiro Secondo!"
#5 flew forth from the barrel, blasting the witch's right arm right off her shoulder. It fell to the ground, vanishing in a puff of smoke.
Mami laughed. "It's working, it's working! Tiro Terzo!"
#6 was aimed right at the witch's head. She swung right between the eyes, piercing its skull, smiled, waved, and burst into flames, setting the witch's head on fire.
"Almost there! Tiro Quarto!"
The seventh and final decoy flew forth, aimed straight at the witch's heart once more. She plunged her spear as far as it would go, and detonated, blasting a hole in its chest, bearing its heart once more.
"All right, Kyouko! Let's end this!"
Kyouko readied her spear inside the barrel. "Damn, this is gonna be good!"
Mami took a deep breath, aiming her shot-- "Here we go! Rosso Fantasma Finale!!"-- and pulled the trigger.
Kyouko blazed forth, a stream of crimson flames trailing behind her, her spear aimed forward. "Scarlatto Razzo!!"
Kyouko not only connected with the witch's heart, but blasted right through it, and landed on a net of ribbons that Mami summoned. She couldn't believe how much fun that was, and couldn't help but double over in laughter as the witch froze in place, began glowing, and exploded in a spectacular blast.
Mami ran toward Kyouko, and pulled her down from the net, into her arms, jumping around quite excitedly. "Did you see that? Oh god, did you see that? Ahahahaha~"
"You're damn right I did!" Kyouko hugged her just as tightly as the witch's labyrinth faded, bringing both girls back to reality.
Mami sighed, looking up at the night sky. "Shall we go home now, Kyouko?"
Kyouko nodded, smiling. "Lead the way."
---
How lucky am I to always fall asleep like this? Mami thought as she looked down at Kyouko, who was snuggling in her arms, resting her head on her chest. She ran her fingers through her hair, smiling.
Kyouko laughed a little, and leaned up. "Just as lucky as I am to do the same." She leaned in, affectionately kissed her lips, leaving the ever-familiar taste of her favorite apples on Mami's lips. Mami wrapped her arms around her dearest companion, returning her kiss while blushing quite a bit.
"Sweet dreams, Kyouko. I love you." Mami smiled, and Kyouko slid down in her embrace once more, resting her head on her chest again.
"Even if it's a nightmare, you know we'll both be there together. But I'd much rather spend good dreams with you than bad ones." Kyouko yawned, closing her eyes. "...and I love you, Mami."
And with that, they both drifted off in each other's arms, victorious, and never had to worry about such horrific things ever again.