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Madoka could not help but scream when the butterfly familiar slashed her side. Its wings were like shards of broken glass, and it let out a distorted screech as red blood fell upon paper flowers. Gritting her teeth, Madoka managed to shoot an arrow of pink light, hitting the familiar before it could strike her a second time. It screeched again, and Madoka fell to her knees, clutching her bleeding side tightly.
Above, Sayaka fought with the witch, whose upper body was a glass mannequin while its lower body was insect-like, and its wings appeared a mismatch of stained glass panes. The labyrinth was much like a greenhouse, but colder, and the plants were merely yellowed, crinkled paper. The witch swiped at Sayaka with a jagged wing, but she dodged to the right and struck the wing with her sword, and the witch screamed.
Madoka wanted nothing more than to slap her hands over her ears, and her white gloves grew more stained with blood. Even after accompanying Mami on witch hunts, she still couldn't get used to just how unnatural witches were, and how brave Mami had been fighting them alone for so long. But now Mami was dead, and Sayaka would've died too if Madoka hadn't used her wish to save her life. They were both magical girls now, fighting in Mami's stead to protect this city.
But it hurt, it hurt so much. Madoka tried to stand, clutching her bow with her other hand, but the pain was too much for her aching legs, and there was just so much blood. The witch struck Sayaka with the flat of its wing, sending her into a glass pane, and the glass cracked at the impact of her body.
"Sayaka-chan!" Madoka cried, and pain shot through her side as more blood gushed between her fingers.
The witch dived for Sayaka, but she managed to summon a dozen swords and sent them flying at the witch. It shrieked as the blades pierced its body, shards of glass falling to the ground. Sayaka got back to her feet and seized a sword to slash at the witch, and paper locusts began to swarm them both.
With a painful grunt Madoka forced herself to stand, despite how her legs trembled. She had to be brave. She couldn't lose Sayaka. She couldn't always expect Mami or Homura to save her - Mami was gone, and Sayaka didn't trust Homura. She inhaled deeply, holding up her rose bow, and with her bloody hand summoned an arrow of magic and aimed at the swarm of familiars. The arrow flickered, its magic unstable, but she'd just enough strength left for this. She loosened the arrow and it struck true, scattering the familiars.
Stunned, the witch fell to the ground, and in the blink of an eye, Sayaka was on top of it, plunging the tip of her sword into its core. It twitched and writhed beneath her and tried to swat at her with a broken wing, but couldn't reach her. Finally it stilled, and the labyrinth began to fade. Madoka's legs gave out, and her body fell onto the soft grass.
"Madoka!" Sayaka exclaimed worriedly, rushing over to her. They were in a park on the outskirts of the city, the witch's trail having led them to this oddly secluded trail. Their classmates had mentioned rumors of people vanishing in this park, as if spirited away.
Madoka tried to smile, again clutching her bleeding side. "We did it, huh…?" she said weakly. "Are you hurt…?"
"Worry about yourself!" Sayaka yelled, and Madoka saw tears at the corners of her eyes. "Okay, okay, I can do this…" She pressed a hand to Madoka's side, and Madoka let out a low hiss of pain.
"Sayaka-chan…" Madoka said softly, and music notes appeared around Sayaka's hand. With her other hand Sayaka took Madoka's, and their fingers intertwined.
A deep blush rose to Madoka's cheeks, and the pain in her side began to ease. She could almost feel her skin knotting itself back together, and she saw how deeply her blood stained Sayaka's white glove. She opened her mouth to apologize, but found she could not speak, and Sayaka gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Even through their gloves she felt how warm Sayaka's hand was, and how her fingers trembled.
"Just a little more, I promise…" Sayaka muttered, beads of sweat lining her brow, and still she held Madoka's hand protectively.
Sayaka was strong, Madoka found herself thinking. She'd always been strong, protecting Madoka from bullies and diving headfirst into danger to help others. There really was no one more suited to being a magical girl. Compared to her, Madoka was weak and cowardly, but she wanted to be stronger. No matter what, she couldn't let Sayaka fight alone, especially as Homura had warned them a powerful witch known as Walpurgisnacht was soon approaching…
The pain eventually eased, and no blood now stained Madoka's side or their gloves. Sayaka slumped over and Madoka caught her shoulder with her free hand. "Sayaka-chan!" she said, fear gripping her heart.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Sayaka smiled faintly, and her hand holding Madoka's was still tight. "Kyubey said since I made a wish to heal someone, my magic is really good at healing too."
Madoka bit her lip, and tears stung at the corners of her eyes. "I… I'm sorry!" she cried, and she couldn't stop the words from spilling out. "Even though I'm a magical girl now too, I'm still just a burden…!"
Sayaka's eyes grew wide. "Madoka, wait—"
"I'm not strong like you!" Tears rolled down Madoka's face. "I couldn't do anything against that wish… If I was stronger, then maybe Mami-san wouldn't have died…"
"Madoka," Sayaka said firmly. She pressed her free hand to Madoka's face, brushing away tears. "You are strong, and you have saved me lots of times. I wouldn't be alive if not for your wish, and if you hadn't fired that magic arrow of yours at those creepy familiars, I probably wouldn't have won against that witch."
Sayaka's glove was so very soft against her cheek, Madoka could not help but notice. Sayaka's thumb brushed beneath her eye, catching another tear. "Sayaka-chan…" was all she could bring herself to say.
"You say I'm strong, but I'm actually really scared." Sayaka's hand holding Madoka's began to tremble. "And losing Mami-san…" She fell silent a moment, and Madoka's tears slipped between her fingers. "But I'm glad you're with me, I really am. For Mami-san's sake, we can protect this town, the two of us."
For a moment, Madoka shut her eyes and became more acutely aware of Sayaka's fingers against her cheek, wiping away her tears. Magical girls were stronger together, weren't they? But Homura had looked so sad upon seeing Madoka as a magical girl, and guilt welled within her chest. But she would never regret saving Sayaka. She opened her eyes again, her heart racing, and pressed her lips to Sayaka's.
When her mind finally caught up to her, she realized what she had done - kissing her best friend! She quickly pulled back and stammered, "S-Sorry, I know you and Kamijou-kun—!"
However, she was silenced when Sayaka kissed her back, just as passionately and clumsily.
Over and over they kissed, until they were breathless, and Sayaka pulled Madoka into her arms and held her tightly. "You're right, I did use my wish to heal Kyousuke," she said, her voice shaking. "But I think you can understand me in a way he can't. Of course I care about him, and Hitomi too, but you…" She let out an embarrassed chuckle. "Well, you're really special to me, you know?"
"You always did say you wanted me to be your wife."
"Guess I was being more honest than I realized, huh?"
Madoka laughed as she took Sayaka's hand into hers, and kissed Sayaka again. Her heart felt lighter than ever; magical girls really could make dreams come true, she thought.
"Let's go find that Grief Seed," Sayaka said. "We've got to make sure we're in tiptop shape when Walpurgisnacht comes!"
"Right!" Madoka nodded, and her fingers tightened around Sayaka's as they stood together.