Author's note: Obviously, massive spoilers for Madoka Magica are present, and I in no way own it or Touhou.

I'm not afraid of anything anymore...

She grabbed at her throat, her hands wrapping securely around it. Had it been a dream? The last thing she could remember was staring into the unforgiving, hungry maw. No... she remembered more, though she was already wishing she didn't. She remembered how she had failed Madoka and Sayaka... doomed them with her recklessness. Everything she had wanted had been so close... but then she had lost it all. Even now, the gnawing, chewing, tearing noises echoed in her ears

No... it must have been a dream... a nightmare. How else could she have hands to grab her throat? A sweltering heat surrounded her, making even basic thoughts sluggish and overwhelming. She opened her eyes... eyes she had thought would never see light again. Suddenly she wished that she was still in that nightmare, for she recognized her surroundings almost immediately. The flames illuminating her surroundings removed all doubt...

She was in hell.

The Hell of Blazing Fires

"Yeah, yeah, I'll getcha some more corpses, so calm down. Not like you even need them to keep the temperature up anymore, with your power."

"Hey, I still get hungry too, you know." The hell raven was currently channeling Yatagarasu and sporting the nuclear armaments that indicated such... the long control rod on her arm the most obvious such effect.

"Oh! I thought you meant for fuel. I'll be back in a snap, then!" The hyperactive cat darted off. Corpses were never in short supply if you knew where to look. As luck would have it, though, she didn't need to travel far at all. A corpse was right there in the Blazing Hell... it wasn't every day that happened.

Rin Kaenbyou swooped down, and in a swift motion, tossed the blond corpse into her cart before moving on.

"What's going on?" Orin heard an unfamiliar voice and looked for its source.

"Huh? Who's talking?"

"Down here? Where are you taking me?" Sure enough, the corpse in the cart was speaking.

"Eh? Corpses aren't supposed to talk."

"Corpse? I... am dead, then..." The corpse even frowned a bit. If it were alive, Orin would even say it seemed disappointed. But she knew a corpse when she saw one.

"Don't know what else you'd be." Orin looked around, uncertain. "I don't suppose you'd stop moving around so much? You're really doing a very bad job of being a corpse, which is making it hard to carry you."

"What... what's next for me?"

"You really are an odd one. Well, if I had to guess, I'd say you're Okuu's next meal." Orin's comment caused the corpse to suddenly start behaving properly. Probably some spirit that had possessed it had now left or something.

"Well, that was strange." Orin shrugged it off and flew back to Okuu with her meal. Okuu eagerly looked it over. Blond hair styled as twin drills, a short plaid skirt, a plain white top with a red ribbon...

"Wow! You sure were quick, Orin. And she's so fresh, it's almost like she's breathing! And... fresh tears? You're really getting good at this!" Okuu grabbed the corpse's right arm and raised it to her mouth...

"I know! She was even talking a bit ago!"

"Please don't eat me!" Okuu lost her grip on the arm as it jerked back and it's owner called out. No doubt about it now... the body was sobbing.

"Yeah, just like that!"

"Orin, I don't think this corpse is dead yet."

"You know, I was thinking the same thing, earlier. A corpse is a corpse, though."

"I mean, I don't think it's a corpse." Okuu looked at the sobbing girl.

"No, no, it's definitely a corpse! Trust me, I know a corpse when I smell one."

"It does feel like one, but... I... I think we'd better ask Satori before we eat it, though." Okuu looked again at the girl, who looked relieved that she wasn't on the menu any longer, though her tears still spilled forth.

"Fine, but I get the first bite when she says it is alright." Orin said as she flew away, Okuu's reply following her.

"Hey, that's not fair!" The first bite let her choose what she wanted to eat first, and they had very similar tastes.

"Well, back to work then... wait, I never got my meal!" Okuu sighed as she pressed on anyway, disappointed.

Chireiden

"Orin, I've told you before that if they're moving, you need to consult me. I can't believe Okuu showed more sense than you." Satori's tone was level and distant as always.

She is a corpse, though! Orin's reply thought revealed that she had been properly humbled, but she still trusted her senses.

"I suppose her situation is a bit complicated. All the more reason you should have come to me first. Remember, we can't have you trying to keep secrets again... we all know how badly that almost turned out.

Well, but I got a nice second home from it! Orin's thoughts drifted to a lazy scene at the Hakurei shrine.

"And you nearly lost your best friend forever. Never forget that little detail. Now go." Satori dismissed her pet, and Orin skulked away, feeling shamed. Satori wondered how long it would stick this time, but at least she was keeping a closer eye on them now. They shouldn't need to worry about intruders coming to fix problems with the hell again. She turned her attention to the girl Orin had unceremoniously dumped at her feet, and who had now sat up properly, though she still seemed tremendously confused.

"Mami Tomoe-" The shock on the girl's face was an expression Satori would never get tired of. No one ever expected her to know their name.

What? How does she know my name?

"That's always the first question, isn't it? And the first answer is always the same as many others. I can read your heart... your soul and its secrets are secret no longer."

Is... she a Magical Girl then, like that one with wings? Mami was off balance here... Just who is this? What's with her outfit? She sure doesn't look like she should be in hell... Mami looked over her new conversation partner. She looked quite comfortable, wearing red slipper along with a pink skirt and blue blouse. Her skin was pale enough that if not for her violet eyes and shoulder length purple hair Mami would swear she was an albino. The oddest feature by far, however, was the odd eye that seemed to hover in front of her chest, supported by six twisting cords that encircled her body.

"Ah, of course. My apologies. I'm Satori Komeiji, master of Chireiden, the palace in which you now find yourself. And no, I'm not a Magical Girl... at least, not one as you know them. I am a youkai; one of a great many living here. Though... it seems you don't know what you truly are..."

"What do you mean?" She knows about them, but isn't one? Maybe she really is able to look into me... But wait, that girl earlier even had a soul gem! That must be how she knows.

"Okuu isn't either... she, too, is a youkai; a hell raven, to be specific, though her story is rather involved as well. What you thought was her soul gem was actually... well, it's complicated. Let's just say it's a god and leave it at that. As for what you are... well, Orin was right. That body is a corpse and nothing more."

Mami looked over herself. She felt the same as she ever had since the accident... certainly not dead.

"But... I'm still... alive? I thought I was dead." Is this... all just a nightmare?

"Oh, rest assured, you're indeed still very much alive, and this is very much real. Well, in any way you'd care about, at least. I must say, it's really very odd hearing someone's heart come from outside of their body." Satori gestured towards a nearby pillow. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable."

Mami sat, her head still reeling. What is she talking about?

"I'll demonstrate, but I'll need to see your ring." Satori held out her hand and waited. Mami was wary... Kyubey had said to be very careful with her soul gem... but the more she let its importance be known, the more likely Satori would wish to get it. Mami decided to hand it over... after all, if worse came to worst, she could probably fight to get it back.

Satori took the ring. "I do wish fewer people would turn to violence so readily, but I suppose in your case it's all you know... the reason you're living, you might say." Satori whispered to the ring, but Mami heard the words clearly... then Satori did... something. Mami could tell she was performing some sort of magic, though there was something familiar about how she was using it... it almost seemed like she was using Mami's own magic.

Then the ring's true form as her soul gem revealed itself, though its normally brilliant yellow had faded to a sickly, rotting sort.

"What? But how?" Kyubey had made it clear... the only soul gem a Puella Magi could change like that was her own! Does that mean... she's me?

Satori let out a lighthearted laugh. "No... I just have a bit of a knack for mimicry. Though I'm getting the impression this Kyubey seems to have left a few details out of that contract you bound yourself to. I suppose you may have simply missed them, though, what with being nearly dead at the time you made it."

Mami was quickly growing uneasy... it was becoming harder to deny Satori's ability to read Mami's mind. She hadn't even told her closest friends the entire story behind her contract, and she hadn't mentioned anything about Kyubey here at all. No... Kyubey saved me. I knew what was going on...I just...made a mistake with my wish.

"You knew then, perhaps... but do you know now? Well, I can help answer a bit of that, at least. For starters..." Satori channeled some unfamiliar magic, though Mami easily recognized it as such. She sent a small spike of it at the soul gem, and Mami's world exploded in agony. She felt pain as she had never imagined she could... far worse than when her mangled body had been found by Kyubey.

Almost as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Mami drew deep breaths as she lay where she had fallen. Across the table, also on the floor, was Satori, clearly in a similar state.

"Didn't... ow. Didn't think it was... that sensitive... urgh." The purple-haired girl grabbed her head and wished it would just stop... aching... already.

"What did you do?" Mami was already beginning to recover, and took the opportunity to reclaim her soul gem from Satori's skirt, where it had landed.

"Just... poked you. Lightly."

"You're not a terribly good liar. That wasn't a poke, it wasn't done lightly, and it wasn't even me, it was my soul gem."

"You idiot! You are your 'Soul Gem'" Satori's earlier composure had faded, and the lingering pain she felt wiped away the small amounts of tact she had previously had.

"Wha... What? No, that's not what it-" is...

"How can you not even notice when your soul is ripped from your body? What is wrong with you humans? Are you really so out of touch with your spirit? Of course you are..." Satori had managed to collect herself enough to sit back up, but she still hadn't recovered from the shock, while Mami was feeling fine, now. Well, physically, anyway.

What can she even mean? My soul...? Are they real, then?

"Look around you! Of course souls are real: you're literally surrounded by them!" Satori swept her arm around, and Mami finally realized that off in the shadows were many small white forms... they really looked like simple wispy clouds, though some bore vestiges of a skeletal face on them. Satori took a deep breath and continued.

"How can I explain this to you? I was being honest when I said I was poking you with magic... I know you felt it. I'm a bit amazed you recovered so suddenly, really. If I'd known it would be so painful, I'd have done so even more lightly." Satori herself seemed to finally be nearly back to herself again.

"But you used magic on my soul gem..."

"And you felt it. If that weren't proof enough, why else would a Kasha mistake you for a corpse? Why else would I hear your heart from within your little trinket? How else could you still be alive after having your head bitten off?" Satori said, staring intently at Mami. The last point seemed to hit hard.

It... it wasn't a dream... was it? But I'm dead, aren't I? "I... I really failed them, didn't I?"

"Madoka and Sayaka? Indeed. Given how you remember that event, they're likely dead now." Mami's heart sank... despair threatened to engulf her.

"But -you- are not. It seems there was a bit of a... mixup, you might say. I can't be sure what happened, but I suspect the taint in your soul confused the system... and when the realm of the 'witch' vanished with you in it, you became lost... stopped being real, so to speak."

The witch's barrier vanished? Then... that means it was destroyed... it means... they might still be alive! Hope surged in Mami's heart.

"What? Of course not. They were right there with you, and the only other one able to fight was bound- by your hand, I remind you- far, far too far away. She would never have made it in time, and they wouldn't have even had time to make the contract you're thinking of."

Mami's heart sank even more. Why? Why does she insist on destroying my hope...?

"I'm simply telling you what your own heart is telling me. I don't know what else you'd expect from me. Though it seems your heart is... what is it doing? Hells, it feels like it's eating itself..." Satori was confused, but that quickly turned to disgust... it looked like she was ready to heave. She turned to a black cat that was passing by and whispered something to it.

Mami looked at her soul gem... it was far more tainted than she remembered. Why, though, if she had fallen so quickly? She'd hardly used any magic in that fight. She'd... hardly even gotten the chance.

"Creating a body takes a great deal of magic, I would think."

"Creating... no..." That's... Well, I've healed my wounds before, but... an entire new body?

"How many times do I need to repeat this? Your body is just a hollow shell. You rebuilt it with magic. Considering your complete lack of training it's a miracle you managed something like that.

Satori still looked to be struggling with nausea as she looked at Mami, who was gazing into her soul gem as she listened, her eyes growing wet with tears. Satori spoke, as much to distract herself from the nausea as to fulfill her purpose.

"Creating a human body, even for puppetry, is no small feat. They're very complex. Odd, though, that you would be given such a gift with no instruction on how to use it without turning your soul upon itself. Perhaps this Kyubey simply left that bit out to prevent you from going mad with power... a sort of magical block... I've seen other similar things done by masters to their apprentices."

"A gift? What good is it if I can't even help those who need it?" Mami watched as her soul gem seemed to turn darker by the moment... perhaps it was simply reflecting her mood... or perhaps she was more dead than she thought, and the gem was just taking longer to realize it.

"No doubt about it now... You were sent here because your soul is as troubled as the other vengeful spirits that come down here." Satori turned towards the approaching wingbeats. "Oh, thank goodness you're here, Okuu."

Mami looked up at the name, and saw the crow-winged girl she had mistaken for a Magical Girl earlier... the one that had been intent on eating her.

"I suppose you're hungry, then." Mami let out a resigned sigh. Had she escaped being devoured once only for it to happen again? Perhaps her mind was simply hallucinating all this... a clever illusion to ease her way into death.

"What? No, Orin brought me some really delicious-" bodies.

"Not now, Okuu." Satori swiped the gem away from Mami, who didn't even react. The gem felt sick and slimy to the touch as a black shadow threatened to envelop it... a far cry from even a few minutes ago. The corruption had grown far too quickly; it must have been engineered to collapse with such speed. To Satori's third eye, the gem was abhorrent to behold. Once Mami's doubt had started to cloud her mind, it had literally begun to gnaw at her being.

If I can't even protect those near me, what was I hoping to do? Spread hope or justice? Fight the good fight? And I couldn't... when it all came down to it, I failed. I devoted myself to living as a magical girl, and I couldn't even do that?

"Ready, Okuu?"

Why even fight? Why even live?

"Just tell me what you need me to do."

Satori sighed. Apparently that part of the message hadn't been delivered... or more likely, Okuu had forgotten.

I can't defend the weak. I wanted to have an impact... to matter, but I can't spread peace through fighting... Maybe I just wanted friends...

"I'll toss this in the air, and I need you to purify it with Yatagarasu's divine flame."

"So... target practice?"

But fighting is all I know how to do...

"Close enough. Just make sure it's far enough away. I don't do as well in fire as you." The gem started to throb... It stung now, as though thousands of needles pierced Satori's hand. A human likely wouldn't have felt anything, but the spiritual nature of the gem was having a heavy effect on Satori... already she just wanted to see the thing dealt with. She used magic to heave that vile thing as far away as she could.

Maybe I'll just have to fight people... make them my fr-

Mami's body slumped over, and Okuu unleashed the pure heat of a sun, and the light and fire that burned away the sins within the Blazing Hells enveloped the gem...