Chapter Text
The yellow curls of mami’s hair flew in the breeze as her gem glowed. A labyrinth? With the mall this close… the witch's destruction will be massive! She looked around her to see the breeze picking up further. It’s only a matter of time now.
Sayaka grabbed Madoka’s shoulder as the wind set her off balance, Her sweater puffed over her uniform as wind flew into it. Once reestablishing her balance she still feigned weakness to hold onto Madoka.
“So Hitomi, you like the new kid?”
“She’s kind of odd, but she seems nice.”
Sayaka nodded before they all fell silent again. They walked into the mall and towards the kids store.
“Aren’t you guys a bit embarrassed to be here with me?” Madoka blushed and looked down, rubbing the back of her head, reminding her to re-do her twin-tails. “I mean, I still have to buy a kid’s size small in most things…”
“Well it certainly doesn’t make you any less cute!” Sayaka chimed in, she pulled a long maxi skirt off of a rack and held it in front of Madoka, whispering to Hitomi about it.
“I’m not sure if I could pull that off… Dark green doesn’t always look great on me, Sayaka.”
“Oh hush, you would look beautiful in this! Let me go find a matching top! Hitomi I was thinking maybe a light blue?”
“Yes! I know just the thing!” They flew across the store leaving Madoka alone for a minute so they could rifle through the shirt section. In that moment, the lights seemed to flicker just for a moment.
Sayaka ran back, and nearly stumbled into Madoka before showing her a small sky blue t-shirt with an image of a bee on it in the front, right where Madoka’s chest would be. She urged Madoka into the closest changing room and tapped her foot outside waiting. When she came out, Sayaka stuttered.
“Wow… you look really good Madoka!”
Her hair flowed over her shoulders, slightly exposed by the shirt that perfectly fit her. The pleated olive skirt outlined her small figure and exposed her ankles, showing flower socks she had had on since the day before. She was shamefully sloppy, but her level of shame was much lower than anyone else she knew.
Sayaka stared at Madoka as they both blushed, Sayaka held some clothes she wanted to try on and went into the same changing room to try them on.
______
Oriko was lying in her room, Kirika outside playing what she imagined was some first person shooter game. Her white hair flurried out on the sheets as she continued staring into the ceiling, only interrupted by the blades of her ceiling fan and the occasional yelps of Kirika on death. Her insurmountable fear was all consuming as she spiralled. All she could think of was the impending battle to come.
She moaned out for Kirika, who promptly came for her.
“Yes Mikuni-san?”
“Kirika…” she groaned a little, “we need to head down. A witch is forming as we speak.”
“Finally?! A real witch battle?! And we might be able to find Kaname-san! Where is it?”
Oriko could tell Kirika was excited; she let her calm down before answering. “Notira mall.”
______
Sayake teared a bit in the changing room. She stared into the mirror as she saw her stomach slightly protrude from the tighter-than-she-thought dress she put on. She was eating more recently, and the light fat emphasized her already-existent curves. But it unnerved her that she might be criticized for it. Madoka knocked on the door after she had been inside for about 4 minutes.
“Everything alright?” Madoka said softly, it seemed like Hitomi had gone somewhere else for the moment.
“Y-yeah.” Sayaka barely got out, her face high in pitch as she wiped a tear from her cheek. She wasn’t normally this critical of herself but she certainly didn’t want Madoka to think of her as being ‘fat’.
“Is it– is it ok if I come in?” Sayaka was silent, but she unlatched the lock. A moment or so later Madoka weakly came in. She looked at Sayaka and sat next to her, letting her lay her head on her shoulder. “Do you need to talk?”
Sayaka stood up nervously, shaking as she showed herself off to Madoka in a yellow sundress.
“What’s the matter Saya? You look super pretty!”
She weakly fell into Madoka’s lap, accepting her embrace. “Are you sure I look okay in this? It's so tight…”
“If you want I could get you a larger size if that’s the issue…” She calmly let out, consoling the girl with the same blue hair she was stroking.
“It’s not that it’s just… I’m worried I might not look as good with the weight I have put on recently…” She cried a bit into Madoka’s stomach.
“I think you look better than ever honestly, it makes you look a lot cuter! And there is always more of you to hug or squeeze!” She smiled and kissed Sayaka’s hair, continuing to pat it. Sayaka sniffled a bit and thanked her as the light flickered again.
“Are you sure I’m pretty enough for you?”
“Of course! If we weren’t right in here I would be spinning you around and showing you off to Hitomi right now! I really do think it looks great on you, just like everything else I see you in!”
She sniffled again, “Th– Thanks Madoka” And wiped her face off. She blushed seeing Madoka’s face stare into her eyes as she got up and wiped her knees. “Can I change out of this?”
“I mean, it is called a changing room!” She chuckled, “I’ll just get in the corner, I would rather be here if you need any more support.” She hugged Sayaka again and then sat down on the floor and closed her eyes. She heard the ruffling of the dress flow above her as Sayaka took it off. Sayaka looked at herself in the mirror, a bit of skin flowed over just the top of her white underwear, her bra seemingly hanging an amount lower and fuller than she remembered, and Madoka across the room from her.
She smiled a bit before getting her previous sweater back on. She and Madoka left the room holding the dress, folded on top of Madoka’s new outfit that she had taken off in another room while originally waiting for Sayaka; they met with Hitomi at the checkout counter. Madoka scanned the tag of her skirt as it started flowing around, a strong gust of wind blew through a lightly opened window. The clouds rolling in now darker than before. Young leaves of the season blew off trees as shade consumed more and more of the surroundings.
______
The weather seemed to keep picking up as Hitomi checked out a new schoolbag and Sayaka her dress, Everyone chipping in their money together. The music slowed on the tape playing on high, the old store’s electric lines not fully holding up against the elements. Mami looked around outside, seeing the walls slowly warp around her.
“Will that be all for you ladies?” The cashier asked, green lipstick sunk into the flesh of her neck. They nodded and watched her open the register. She seemed not fully in the moment, as if she was drugged the day before or simply hadn’t gotten enough sleep. Madoka asked if she was alright and she didn’t respond. The clerk stared into the register before jamming her hand into it and slamming it closed, they heard a small snap.
Madoka jumped at the sound as the girls stared at her, hanging limps on a barely upright body frozen in place. Her weight shifted as if she was a walking corpse. She took her other arm, and stretched it unnaturally far to grab Hitomi’s hand, forcefully pulling her over the counter. Sayaka grabbed her foot as Madoka backed up into a shelf behind them. The clerk pulled Hitomi over and grabbed her face, staring into her eyes as she held her head below her own. “You look great! It’s a shame nobody will be able to see this again” she groaned out, her voice seemingly echoing from every corner of the store. She opened the register again and held Hitomi’s hair tightly across the back of her head. She smiled and slammed Hitomi’s head towards the cash bay as Sayaka and Madoka screamed.
A loud bang rang out as all force stopped in the clerk, and she slumped over, blood spilling out of her chest. Sayaka cowered down and grabbed Madoka to the floor as some blood sprayed over them. Another shot echoed through the building as Hitomi grasped for air. “I’m– what just happened? Madoka, Sayaka, are you there?” She whimpered out, held underneath the corpse of her provisioner. Sayaka jumped over, Madoka shaking underneath her, left on the ground. She lurched over the table to see the effects, Hitomi practically unharmed other than her hair and clothes dyed a deep rusty brown from blood. A gaping cavity oozed from the cashier's chest as the mark on her neck faded, less blood coming out of her than she expected. She grabbed Hitomi’s hand and pulled her up, embracing her and wiping some blood off. A girl in a brown and cream dress unveiled herself from an aisle, holding a smoking musket. Slowly her curls sprang into the light as the three girls stared at her. She called out to them.
“You three best leave here. It isn’t safe anymore.”
Sayaka went up to her face. “Now what’s your deal yellow?”
“That woman you just met, her soul was taken by a monster who is setting up shop here. You can’t imagine what it’s like. It’s best for us all if you vacate these premises as soon as possible, which seems to be now.” They stared at her a bit confused for a moment after she spoke “Did any of you mishear me? Please scram.”
“I’ve seen you before,” Sayaka talked in an almost more serious tone than Mami had started with, “You go to Mitakihara Middle School like us. You’re Tomoe-san from the yearbook club, yes? Now what the hell is your deal?”
“I shouldn’t go around saying.”
The wind continued picking up around them, the doors blew open as leaves lightly coated the entrance of the store.
“Feel free to watch. I can’t imagine you can get out now.” She grabbed Sayaka roughly, along with the others and went into the back-room of the store. The room seemed to slowly twist the farther they got in, before a black form ran past the front of them. “Welcome to your first and hopefully last labyrinth."
______
“Oriko, could we please stop in a corner store at least to grab some manga or something? There’s a new issue of one I really like and this is going to be a really long walk!” Kirika looked up to her partner with puppy dog eyes, before having two 1000¥ bills dispensed into her yearningly cupped hands. She jumped up and hugged Oriko before starting to run to a corner shop she knew a block away, Oriko continued walking calmly.
As soon as she got into the store she ran to the yuri section, she was kind of ashamed to be searching through it but she wanted the newest issue of Molly’s paradise. She had first started reading it a year back when she got the first chapter online, and had become mildly obsessive about it. After about two minutes it was in her hands and she went towards the counter, not before grabbing a sticker of a hedgehog and a cute yellow pen. It came to 1800¥ after her member discount, she was the only person to have one as she specially begged the owner for one. At least it helped her repeat business. She met Oriko outside of the store, she was perched sitting on top of the back of a bench, and opened it up as she got back onto the sidewalk. They continued walking as Oriko occasionally looked down at her soul gem, pulsating every few seconds. Kirika kept reading her manga and asked if Oriko had any snacks, to which she lightly tapped a sucker into Kirika’s mouth; It was tamarind flavoured, an odd obsession of theirs.
Kirika almost spat out her sucker before shouting, “Oh my god Konemi and Umara finally got together! I’ve been waiting for this the whole series! After those girls slept together it was basically all but confirmed but they finally kissed!”
Oriko felt her gem’s pulse growing faster as they continued walking, clouds slowly covering more and more of the sky; Kirika even noticed hers start glowing. She closed her book and shoved it into the waistband of her skirt before asking Oriko if they were almost there, in which she simply nodded. Step after step their gems continued showing them they were closer to the labyrinth until they turned a corner and finally saw the mall. “Now, Kirika, remember that you can’t just jump into the fight. We need to at least get some sense of comradery before breaking it. It is best to defeat the witch before dealing with the Puella Magi around.”
“Oh c’mon Ori you don’t give me enough credit! I can hold back!”
“I trust you can, but it is always good to remind people of what to do before.” She held her head up as Kirika pouted feebly, trying to bait Oriko. They walked into the first store of the mall, and saw the world slowly start warping around them.
“Ori what’s going on? This shouldn’t happen right?”
“Kirika, welcome to the labyrinth.”
The room continued melding into different colours as they walked through. A wall switched to an expansive field, a tile of floor here and there swirled, until the room seemed to disintegrate right in front of them. Oriko took Kirika’s hands as they both transformed together. A large insect flew up to them that Kirika swiftly took out with her knives, now held multiple in each hand like claws. She spat her now gotten through tamarind sucker onto the floor, for which Oriko lightly bopped her on the head for and reprimanded. She sadly picked it up and tucked it into her shirt pocket.
______
Mami continued leading the three girls through the long passage they were stuck in. She readied a small pistol, one that looked like an artifact straight out of an old maritime museum the girl’s class went on the month prior. She pulled the flint out and tucked it gently into her right hand before picking their pace back up. Hitomi was pale across the face, Madoka clinging to Sayaka’s left side as normally happened in frightful situations. Sayaka too wanted to cower, but she at least had to have some strength for her friend. What looked like the top half of a body clung to the floor at the barely visible end of the hallway. It looked rotted and swung its arms to crawl towards the quartet further back in the hall. As they got closer to it, or it got closer to them, both possibilities were equally palpable, it seemed to start groaning. It reverberated horrendously through the room as they could start piecing out words.
“Please– help me. Help me Mami. Help me Madoka.”
They froze. Mami held the girls back with her arms before swinging the pistol in front of her and swiftly serving a shot to the corpses face. It blew black sludge across the end of the hall as the rest of the body seemed to melt into a puddle of the same goo.
Hitomi nearly fainted as they all stared at where the being had been. Mami swung back to face them and smiled, tilting her head and closing her eyes. She crossed her hands in front of her hips before speaking. “This is why I hoped you would leave. This is a familiar, a witches greatest ally in their goal to kill you.”
“Like a fantasy witch?” Sayaka blurted out.
“No. A witch here means almost certain destruction. They are horrid creatures that masquerade as disasters or suicides in your world, but secretly kill and wreck. They invent these rooms, labyrinths, to exponentiate their wicked magic and lure innocent girls like you all in.”
“So- we can't get out can we?” Madoka asked, shaking just a tad more than before.
“Not without me, that much is true. You probably wouldn't be able to get in in the first place without me though too, so it is a double edged sword.” She grabbed the girls again before getting back to the end of the hall. Mami noticed the puddle stirring before a hand shot out and grabbed Madoka’s leg, in an attempt to drag her into the pungent void of its existence. Mami swiftly took her gun and shot at it, punching a hole through the arm. The black hand melted, staining Madoka’s tights, the rest falling to the floor. She ran to the adjoining wall, hugging it tightly. Mami tried to calm the group down before opening the door in front of them. A large heavy wall of steel that had some kind of caution warning, in a language that looked like their native Japanese, but was complete gibberish. Another attempt to mimic the real world.
Mami got closer and the door swung inwards, without her even being within a foot of it. The group saw bridges, strung across what looked like an endless field and swirling whites and blacks. Banners hung from some higher walkways as a monster, looking nearly three stories tall, stood in the center. They saw a girl with a cape running on a taller one as a white-dressed girl was being held by the amorphous creature, a hand larger than a car grasping her tightly. They were forced in by the labyrinth itself as the hand grew an eye staring directly at them.
Birds started swooping down on them, pecking the girls as Mami pulled out her muskets and shot down 5 at a time. She jumped up to see Kirika running on a long spiral ramp down, Oriko finally managing to fight back against her captor. After a moment to ascertain the situation she jumped again, floating directly above the hand still watching her, and blasted it with a dozen guns flying around her. The shot and bullets of her ancient artillery eviscerated the stringy oil of the creature's makeup, tearing wounds across its entire body (if you could even say it had one). Oriko fell to the ground as Kirika stared at Mami, floating down gracefully as the corpse melted down into the same sludge as the one prior. She gently grabbed the grief-seed that awaited her in the center of the puddle. The three girls she had left by what had been their entrance simply stared. Oriko weekly got up, her knees shaking, and stared at her rescuer. She tried to take a step closer but fell face down. Mami ran to her and grabbed her right before her nose would have struck the hard ground. She flipped her body and checked Oriko’s pulse before trying to talk.
“Are you hurt ma’am?”
“I think my leg was broken,” she let out whimperingly, “My magic has been drained by the witch. I- I didn’t know they were able to be that powerful.”
Mami comforted her and threw her right hand over Oriko’s chest, pulsing with the seed she had just pulled out of the sludge. It drained into Oriko’s gem as Mami continued with her.
“This will help. I still have magic in me that I can get another one.”
Kirika walked towards them silently as the Mami kept talking.
“What is your name?”
“It’s Mikuni-san. Oriko Mikuni. I am… sufficed to say new to this operation.”
“It’s okay it's okay,” she wiped off the blood from Oriko’s face. “I have first aid materials in my home. I can bring you there, I’m Mami Tomoe by the way! It’s nice to meet you.” She smiled kindly into Oriko’s cold face, staring directly past her.
Kirika threw her cloak back lightly and reached for her long karambit knives. She put them individually between her fingers until she had three in her right hand, pointing out like claws. She stepped directly behind Mami and threw her right hand back.
Madoka screamed so loud you would think you could see pieces of her vocal cords flying from her throat. “Mami no!”
Mami looked behind her quickly, seeing Kirika’s face. Madoka got up and ran forward before Sayaka grabbed her waist with all her weight, Hitomi covering her own eyes. Kirika flayed her hands straight through Mami’s face, and she slumped over. Three deep wounds opened up the face of who was Mami Tomoe as they oozed blood and her body fell weightlessly onto Oriko’s torso. Madoka screamed at the top of her lungs as Sayaka held her, she was crying into Madoka’s shirt.
Kirika tucked the knives away again and walked on Mami’s body as she pulled Oriko up, kissing her on the cheek. They held each other’s hands and spoke.
“Great acting Ori! She really believed you were hurt!”
“Kirika, great job with the attack! And it seems our audience really helped make it more thrilling! The way she made eye contact with you right before you killed her! God it was such a sight!”
“Thank you so much! I think that was some of my best work so far!”
“Truly.”
Kirika got one of her knives back out and slowly walked towards the girls, motioning Oriko to stay back. Madoka screamed bloody murder at her as she came. Sayaka could only watch and hold Madoka as far back as she could, shaking.
Kirika bent down to Madoka’s face and gently rubbed the knife on her cheek, not enough to carve but enough that she felt it. Madoka was dead still. “You three must have had a fun watch party seeing Tomoe-san go out like that huh?”
Sayaka barked at her. “You fucking murderer! I- We’ll get the cops here and you will be arrested immediately!"
Kirika retracted her blade and spoke calmly. “If any of you three want to keep living, I’m fine with you getting out of here right now. Otherwise, well I think you would just get in our way.” She spoke almost sensually, in a manner like how an older woman might speak to a younger man flirtatiously. Suddenly a look of seriousness struck her previously smiling face. “Now scram.”
She bent back as the labyrinth started receding, leaving them in the empty store, it was wrecked by a particularly rough storm that was finally fading. Madoka was frozen still as Sayaka grabbed Hitomi and her hands and ran with as much force as possible out the door. The monochrome duo were nowhere to be seen when she looked back.