“Have you ever tried going back to being a magical girl?”

“Huh? What kind of question is that, Homura-chan? Did my golden toys finally drive you completely insane? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen so soon!”

She had come to notice that the Witch seemed to enjoy physical contact. The black eyed monstrosity might have kept her distance during their first two meetings, but ever since the... altercation, in the plane, she’d changed. Since that time, whenever she showed up, the pink dressed abomination was always looking for an opportunity to either to hug, cling to her back, or hold hands. It would be somewhat adorable if not for the fact that one, she was a Witch with a Grief Seed the size of the moon and enough power to destroy the world effortlessly, and two, the fact that she had claws.

Very sharp claws.

Sure, the puncture wounds never actually remained, but it still fucking hurt dammit.

Right now, those very same claws were digging sharply into her shoulders as the Witch pressed herself against her back. She’d been making an effort at paperwork, the first honest effort since ascending the ranks that didn’t involve dumping the entire workload on her subordinate, and Ms. Black Eyes had chosen that moment to interrupt; the world taking the familiar grayscale hues of frozen time that heralded both her own unique ability and the Witch’s arrival. She craned her head back, carefully so as not to make the claws sink even deeper into her shoulders, and peered over her glasses at the bewildered looking Witch.

“I’m being serious here. Despite everything else that you might be, you’re a Witch. That means you were a Magical Girl before. Have you tried going back?”

A saccharine smile and the claws dug deeper.

Fucking hell! Ow!

“Oh, come on now, Homura-chan! Stop being silly! Why would I-”

“Have. You. Tried?”

Suddenly, abruptly, the stinging, throbbing pain of her claws was gone in a brief and hot flash of agony. Surprised, she swiveled the chair around completely to find that the Witch was now halfway across the room from her and looking rather... angry.

That was a first. She’d never been angry before. The pink haired horror might change emotions at a blinding speed, but her actual range of emotions seemed to vary very little. At most, she’d been annoyed maybe once before and never outright furious.

But now the world ending abomination in the pink dress was standing with her back ram-rod straight and looking fit for murder. It was an incongruous sight: a small, young woman in a frilly pink cosplay outfit, shoulders shaking with barely suppressed rage, snarling like some rabid animal. It should have been laughable. In fact, some part of her wanted to laugh right then and there.

Except for the fact that those sunless eyes contorted with rage and those blood spattered teeth behind her snarl made the ridiculous sight change from something hilarious into something out of her nightmares.

“Homura-chan, I do not like that question. It’s making me angry. I might be very friendly to you because I like you, but even I have my limits, you know?”

The voice was even, low, and oozing with menace; a voice fit to freeze blood.

‘Maybe I really am insane,’ a small part of her thought as she shrugged her aching shoulders and pressed on.

“You’re an unusual witch. Most don’t retain any sentience at all, becoming nothing more than mindless beasts. So, since you’re so different, I’m curious: Have. You. Tried?”

“Homura-chan, stop! This is the only warning I’m giving you: Do NOT try the patience of the world ending Witch!”

‘Yes, I am insane. Completely fucking batshit crazy.’

“Tough luck. Everybody has to die from something eventually. I figure I’ll take my chances with you. So: Have. You. Tried?”

And then, before she even realized what was happening, her back was against the floor as the Witch sank her clawed fingers deeply, painfully, into her neck, pinning her down by the throat; her body and many frilled skirt pressing heavily against her own upper body. The force of the Witch's presence was overpowering, beyond any of the times that she had felt it before; the sweet despair, corruption and decay amplified by the Witch’s rampant emotions.

“YES! Yes, I tried! Wouldn’t every Witch try if they were rational?! It’s impossible! The transformation made me forget what sort of Magical Girl I was! I remember everything else except for that! Even if I have enough power to do it, I have no idea of what to use it towards! It’s like running blind! I can’t go back! I CAN’T GO BACK!”

Claws in your neck make it really hard to talk, even if you’re technically undead.

“I... see...”

Without warning, the pressure was gone. The claws in her neck were removed, leaving behind stinging reminders, and she propped herself up on her elbows to see that the Witch was once again standing far from her. That cute face which had just been scrunched up in anger was now considerably calmer but still fuming. At the very least she was not snarling like a mad animal anymore, even if she still looked significantly angry when compared to her usual demeanor.

“Fuck you, Homura-chan. You’re the one that made me this way, remember? Are you happy now? You break my heart, turn me into a Witch, and now you stoop to making me feel bad about myself?! Real cute, Homura-chan. Others might be willing to put up with your ‘Murderface’ crap, but I know how to keep you in line: I’ll just start ripping stuff out. I wonder how much you’d scream if I ripped out your liver? I’d keep it on my shelf, right next to your heart.”

Puncture wounds in your neck make it really hard to talk, even if you’re technically undead.

“Sorry... sorry... I was... just... curious.”

“Stuff it! If you bring this up again, going insane will be the least of your worries. I swear I will-”

“Kharn... changed... back.”

“-And I can make it so you can scream for days without, wait, what?”

“It’s not... impossible... Kharn... changed back... You shouldn’t...”

“Wait, Homura-chan, hold up! I can’t understand anything you’re saying! You sound really hoarse! And why are you gurgling like- oh, wait! Your neck! Oops! Silly Madoka-chan! Here, let me fix that!”

The 'fixing' hurt nearly as much as getting her throat pierced in the first place, but at least blood wasn't gushing out of her neck with every syllable like a punctured hose. She rubbed at her neck, trying to ease the last remnants of throbbing pain away. In a few seconds she was satisfied and she looked up to find the rose haired Witch standing nearby again, her hands resting on her hips and an impatient look on her face as she tapped her red shoes over and over again on the floor. She didn't say anything, only staring at the prone girl with those disturbing pure-black eyes.

It didn't change the fact that she was still physically - or metaphysically, whatever - nothing more than a short young woman in a frilly pink dress; now that she wasn't exuding enough menace to drive people insane, she simply didn't cut an imposing figure at all.

So they stayed silent, neither willing to be the first to back down from the impromptu staring contest.

Eventually, the Witch sighed and rubbed at her temples.

"Well, Homura-chan? I'm waiting!"

The prone girl smirked as she slowly stood up and dusted her costume off.

"Actually, I'm surprised that you didn't know about this before given that-"

"I'm not omniscient. I'm omnipresent and that's only for very specific cases. So just assume that I don't know what you're talking about and get on with it already! You've made me really angry today and I'm still sorely tempted to start ripping stuff out!"

She raised her hands in a gesture of mock surrender and immediately plunged on ahead with the explanation: How Kharn had spoken of their shared past and how she'd fallen into despair and come back for more. The black eyed abomination remained silent during her rambling discourse, softly mumbling to herself all the time. She couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but it sounded like the pink haired monster was berating herself over something.

"It's not perfect, obviously. She's still having side-effects and in constant pain, but... she's human. She came back."

The Witch just snorted derisively at that.

"So, you think it's going to be that easy? You're going to 'save' me? Save the Witch of Salvation?"

The bespectacled girl remained silent.

Then she nodded.

"Yes. I'm going to save you. I don't expect it to be easy, but I'm going to try."

"Wha-?! What are you saying, Homura-chan?! Do you have any idea what you just-!"

She took a step forward and the Witch took a step back.

"You said this is all my fault, right? Even if I don't remember it, I feel responsible. It doesn't feel like you're lying and I know that I'm only good at destroying others lives, that I'm only good at leaving things in ruins and, well... you didn't ask for what I did to you."

She nodded again.

"I've been slowly trying to put my life back together, trying to treat others better. Become a better person, you know? It's tough. I'm not good at dealing with others. I'm blunt and I'm coarse and some other very unkind adjectives. But I'm trying and, well..."

The raven haired girl seemed to run out of words at this point, so she just shrugged in a rather helpless manner.

"You said your name was 'Madoka', right? From before all this happened? I'll make it up to you. I promise."

Breath.

"I'll save you, Madoka."

The Witch was silent, her face down turned. Her shoulders were shaking and her body was trembling. It was impossible to tell whether she was about to fly into another rage or if she was... was she crying?

"Homura-chan, you! I!"

She raised her face.

“I hope that you succeed!”

She smiled weakly as tears poured forth from golden eyes.