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Tomoe Mami never expected to see the end of the world, or that it would be so quiet.
Standing atop a ruined building, she shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. It was rapidly growing colder, as if that witch in the far distance was taking even warmth into its barrier. Walpurgisnacht was no more, but after a flash of pink light, that greater witch now stood where Walpurgisnacht once had.
Mami bit her lip; that unknown witch could probably engulf the entire world in a barrier, so how were she and Homura still alive and free?
She glanced at Homura, who sat in a corner while repeatedly striking her shield, as if it were broken, and she appeared haggard as she kept muttering to herself. "Why can't I go back…? I need to save her… What did she wish for…?"
Sighing, Mami stepped closer to Homura. "Akemi-san, we need to find shelter, or we're going to freeze."
"What does it matter?" Homura stared at her Soul Gem on her hand. Much like Mami's, it seemed frozen in a single moment, not glowing or darkening, and Mami didn't understand why. "We're all alone now…"
"Maybe if we found Kyubey, he could provide an explanation."
Homura's back straightened. "He's gone," she spat. "He only wanted the energy from witches, and now that he has all he needs, he's abandoned all of us."
"Akemi-san!"
"It's true!" Homura screamed as she jumped to her feet. "He lied to us, condemning all of us to this cruel fate, and I couldn't even save her…!"
Mami reached out to touch Homura's face, catching tears on her fingers. "Save who?"
Homura's dark eyes were hollow. "Kaname Madoka. I promised to save her, over and over, and now I can't…"
"I can help you search the city for her." Mami tried to smile. "I'm sure she's still alive, waiting for you to find her."
Homura shook her head and stared at the great witch. "She's gone. I failed."
Mami wanted to scream, but she didn't quite understand why. She seized Homura's hand and forced Homura to meet her gaze. She could at least make sure she didn't lose Homura either. She couldn't let Homura leave her too. "But we're still alive," she said firmly. "We should find shelter and rest for now."
Homura said nothing, and in her eyes was a despair deeper than any curse Mami had ever seen.
Shortly after transferring to Mitakihara, Homura had approached Mami about defeating Walpurgisnacht. She hadn't bothered to hide her disdain for Kyubey, so Mami couldn't bring herself to fully trust her, but as all of her other predictions had come true, Mami had agreed to team up with her, for Mitakihara's sake, and Homura had also offered to split her share of Grief Seeds with Mami for that battle.
Now they seemed to be the only two living beings left in this world.
The next few days they spent searching for survivors, but found no one, not even corpses. All the while that great witch grew larger, and sometimes seemed to scream, and Homura would break down and apologize over and over, and nothing Mami said or did could console her. Snow had also begun to fall, but it wasn't like the white, frozen snow Mami normally liked. This snow was more like ash, but nothing was burning. Yet this ashen snow continued to fall, soon covering the remains of the city in a gray haze, and the witch seemed more and more like a dark void.
During those times, something dark stirred within Mami, and she almost thought that witch was beautiful yet pitiful. Why hadn't she absorbed Mami and Homura into her barrier yet?
Sometimes Mami dreamed of a magical girl in pink, and that girl smiled as she clutched her rose bow tightly, as if beckoning Mami and Homura to find her.
Mami and Homura spent their nights in an empty emergency shelter, which should've been filled to due to Walpurgisnacht's destruction but wasn't, and Mami had found a good amount of nonperishable foods and water. These days were rather quiet and peaceful, and more than anything she was thankful she wasn't alone.
After Kyoko had left her, she had been plagued by nightmares of facing the end of the world alone.
Homura sat against the wall as she clutched her broken shield tightly, and she barely lifted her gaze as Mami sat beside her. "She probably wished to save us," she muttered.
Mami jolted; they had shared few words these past several days, and Kyubey was still missing. (But Homura had to be wrong, Mami kept telling herself, Kyubey would never abandon her.) "Who?" she asked gently.
"Madoka." Homura rested her forehead against her knees. "That's why our Soul Gems will never darken, and why we haven't been absorbed into her barrier…"
"So your friend is protecting us from that witch." Mami chest tightened. "Do you think this Kaname-san also defeated Walpurgisnacht?"
"Yes. But she's gone now…"
A sigh escaped from Mami's lips. "I would've liked to thank her. Perhaps the three of us together could've defeated that other witch."
For a while neither said anything more. It was a rather deathly silence, but if this truly was the end of the world, Mami supposed it was fitting. As long as she always had at least the sound of Homura's heartbeat…
"Do you remember when you asked about my wish?" Homura said suddenly.
"Yes, but it seemed like a private matter, and Kyubey wouldn't tell me either," Mami replied.
Homura inhaled deeply. "I wished to go back in time to save Madoka. When she dies, my shield is supposed to send me back to the day before I transfer to Mitakihara." She shook her head. "But her wish must be stopping my magic somehow…"
"Maybe she's still alive." Mami tried to reach for Homura's shoulder, but then thought better of it. "There's still so much of the city we haven't searched yet."
"No!" Homura screamed. "She's gone, and I'm stuck here…"
Mami's heart felt as if it were being crushed, and a sudden chill filled her. The world was ending, falling to that witch, and only Homura was left with her. Kyoko and Kyubey had already abandoned her. "You can't leave," she said, seizing Homura's shoulders. "You can't! You can't leave me all alone!"
Homura's eyes were wide and full of tears, and suddenly Mami had a memory of a scared girl in glasses and braids. "I'm sorry," she sobbed as she collapsed against Mami's chest. "I'm so sorry… I could never save you either…"
"Akemi-san?" was all Mami could say as she put her arms around Homura's trembling shoulders. She had never seen Homura so frightened or vulnerable, but a strange sort of nostalgia filled her heart.
Perhaps it was only that, in this ending world, they were both broken magical girls cut off from the rest of Earth. It was a terrifying thought, and loneliness threatened to suffocate them both.
Yet a dark thought echoed in the back of Mami's mind: Now I'll never be alone again.
Mami tilted Homura's chin up, those dark tearful eyes meeting hers, and she pressed her lips against Homura's. "There's nothing to be scared of," she said softly, threading her fingers through Homura's hair. "I'll always be with you, I promise."
Homura's cries grew louder as she threw her arms around Mami, and Mami held her tightly as she kept apologizing over and over. Mami whispered sweet comforting words to Homura, and eventually Homura calmed and rested her head in Mami's lap. As Mami stroked Homura's hair to comfort her, a strange kind of smile tugged at her lips.
At the end of the world, she was no longer alone.