Chapter 1

Awakening

Madoka was falling. And she had no idea how she had gotten into such a situation. Everything around her was pitch black, though she could see her own body perfectly, as if it was in a bright sunny day. The wind rushed around her, screaming in her ears yet, oddly, she didn't feel afraid. Everything felt like it was right. All, part of the plan. All, in order…

She began to slow, and found herself falling through some strange world. It looked like some sort of cut and paste art project, loosely resembling a garden. Strange cotton balls with mustaches and butterflies for legs tended to the flowers. They didn't notice her as she fell past them, through the floor, and back into the darkness.

It wasn't long before she slowed, and fell through another world, this one made almost entirely of sweets. The smells made Madoka's mouth water as she drifted through it, noticing more strange creatures, these some odd fusion of dog, biscuit, and macaron. Soon enough, she was gone from the sweets world, to her mild disappointment.

She was falling faster now, passing through a world comprised of floating screens with creatures like artist pose dolls with faces and wings. She felt a twinge of fear as she passed, but she was out before long.

The next few passed quickly, a small area that resembled a childs playroom drawn mostly in crayon, the next some sort of hill with a monstrance, resembling an ink painting of some sort.

Then came the concert hall. A ghostly orchestra played a haunting and sad song, and Madoka's eyes filled with tears as she listened. Her fall slowed, and slowed, until she was only ever so slowly drifting towards the ground. This place seemed very familiar, but also wrong. Like she had failed somehow, but she didn't know why.

As he feet gently touched the ground, it cracked like glass. The cracks spread, as light shot forth from between them. And then it began to shatter. The walls began to collapse, as a blinding light shone through. Madoka saw a brief flash of a towering creature upside down in a dress, it's lower body made of gears. It rushed towards her, and Madoka reflexively closed her eyes.

Nothing happened. When she opened them, she was now standing somewhere completely different. On a platform that looked to be made out of stained glass lit from within, almost like a church of some kind.

However, the image it depicted was a complete shocker. It was her! Madoka saw herself asleep in the stained glass. She looked so peaceful. Around her were images of her friends. Kyoko, Sayaka, Mami, Nagisa. However, in addition to them was… Homura?

She had never though of the girl as her friend, she was so distant to everyone, but here she was, though her image seemed to be faded and washed out compared to the others.

So much to do, so little time…

"What?" Madoka asked. It was a voice, but also, not a voice. Silent, yet she heard the words all the same. It felt familiar, like an old friend, though just out of the reach of memory.

Take your time, don't be afraid. Completion is still not yet at hand. Step forwards.

Madoka did so, and then three altars appeared at the edges of the platform. On each was something different. A sword, a rod, and a shield.

Each had some sort of symbol, three circles loosely resembling a mouse, either emblazoned upon it or worked into the design.

Power sleeps within you. If you give it form, it will give you strength. Choose wisely.

"O-okay." Madoka wasn't sure she should be listening to voices in her head, but considering as she saw nothing else anywhere she might as well play along.

She first stepped over to the sword. When nothing happened, she cautiously touched it, and then took it by the hilt. It was surprisingly light, and felt almost normal in her grip. She gave it a few practice swings, and found it incredibly easy to wield, the sound of it cutting through the air satisfying. The not-voice spoke then.

The Power of the Warrior… Invincible courage… A sword of terrible destruction… Is this the power you seek?

"I'm not… sure." Madoka said. She liked the idea of invincible courage, but it seemed it could be blinding as well. And the terrible destruction. She didn't like that at all.

She very carefully returned the sword to it's pedestal, and went to the next, the one with the rod, taking it into her hands.

The Power of the Mystic… Inner strength… A staff of wonder and ruin… Is this the power you seek?

"Hmm…" Madoka considered the rod. It was light. Even lighter than the sword, and it tingled slightly but pleasantly in her hands. When she swung it, she heard a glimmering sound, and small motes of light trailed in it's wake. She giggled slightly. They were pretty to look at. Inner strength, she wondered if she even had something like that. The power of wonder and ruin. It seemed familiar, but wrong… off.

Madoka returned the rod to the pedestal and headed over to inspect the shield. As she took it into her hands. The shield almost seemed to naturally raise itself, as if it wanted itself to protect her from harm. She rapped her knuckles on it's surface, and it hummed pleasantly while also feeling incredibly solid.

The Power of the Defender… Kindness to aid friends… A shield to repel all… Is this the power you seek?

Madoka wanted to, but as she thought about it. She wasn't really much help to her friends at all. She always felt like the third wheel. Kyoko and Sayaka got along fairly well. Nagisa and Mami were like sisters. Heck, Nagisa, Mami, and Kyoko were basically a family ever since they lost their own, and Sayaka had known Hitomi and Kamijou since childhood. She was always the one sitting at the side, the tag along. And to repel all? Would she be alone forever? She blanched at the thought, and returned the shield to it's pedestal.

She stepped back into the center of the platform, looking between the three pedestals. The choice was clear.

Madoka approached the staff, and took it into her hand. She felt a connection. Inner strength. It felt necessary, like there was something lacking in her. Something that should have been there, but was missing. She'd been feeling like that for a long while. Perhaps this would help.

The Power of the Mystic… Inner strength… A staff of wonder and ruin… Is this the power you seek?

"Yes." Madoka answered, more confidently than she expected of herself. Suddenly, the staff vanished in her hands in a flash of light. Had she done something wrong?

Your path is set. Now what will you give up in exchange?

Her vision turned to the other two pedestals. Unlike the first, this decision was fairly simple. She still wanted to aid her friends. She walked over to the sword. The voice was silent, until she remembered to pick it up again. This time, the sword felt heavier, weighing her down. It's tip clanged to the ground, where it struck a spark against the stained glass floor. She could barely lift it.

The Power of the Warrior… Invincible courage… A sword of terrible destruction… You give up this power?

"Yes." Madoka said. The sword vanished. The not-voice answered.

You've chosen the power of the Mystic. You've given up the power of the Warrior. Is this the form you choose?

"Yes." Madoka answered. She suddenly stumbled. The platform she was on began to crack split apart. And she was falling again, into the darkness.

She soon enough saw a second platform similar to the first one. Again, it held sort of stained glass depiction of herself. This time however, she was dressed differently. She wore a pink frilly dress with a bubble skirt, knee high socks and red shoes. She carried some sort of bow and appeared to be aiming it at some far off target.

I look like some sort of magical girl, like from an anime. Madoka thought with amusement. It was kind of ridiculous. Around the image of her were depictions of incredibly bizarre creatures. A butterfly mixed with a flower bouquet. A doll with a head like a candy wrapper. A mermaid in armor with a massive sword and surrounded by wheels. A shadowy girl praying. A lonely creature atop a horse. A ribbony girl in a dress. A spider made from human limbs in a school uniform. They were all so strange. There were also others, though the platform was cracked, damaged, the cracks obscuring them.

As she landed, she felt the platform shake a bit, and she almost lost her balance. The cracks widened, and then closed, and then widened again. As if it was being broken and fixed repeatedly. The not-voice spoke again, though it was likewise broken and difficult to understand.

You… for-… hurry!

A door appeared, as the platform began to shift again, Madoka struggled to keep her balance as she rushed towards the other side, barely managing to grab onto the handle as the floor beneath her suddenly dropped. She hung onto the handle with all her strength, dangling above the darkness while the pieces of the platform violently shifted around. Her breathing intensified as she struggled. She had fallen before, but now, she got the feeling that she really didn't want to fall here.

Eventually, one of the shards moved beneath her. She dropped down and quickly opened the door before it could move again.

A light shone out of the door, blocking Madoka's vision, and forcing her to shield her face. She was momentarily blinded. When her vision returned, and she blinked the spots out of her eyes, she found herself in a familiar setting. Mami's apartment. Had she fallen asleep?

She was sitting on the couch, like she did most days after school, where she and her friends would talk, study, joke, and generally hang out. Currently, Mami was sitting next to her, while Sayaka reclined across from them on a couch. However, instead of Kyoko or Nagisa, that Homura girl sat on the floor in the distance, seemingly gazing out the window. That was strange, what was she doing here?

She was about to ask when Mami turned to her. Her gentle smile and her heavy-lidded eyes projecting an aura of calmness that could always put her at ease. "What's most important to you?"

"Huh?" Madoka asked. That was never something Mami had asked her.

"What's most important to you?" Mami asked again. The same tone. The same expression.

"What kind of question is that?" Madoka said.

"What's most important to you?" She asked again. The tone still hadn't changed.

Maybe this was some sort of joke? Were they playing a prank on her? She was about to give some sort of silly answer, but the words stopped in her throat. She couldn't. Somehow, Madoka got the feeling that she had to answer honestly.

She inhaled deeply. She hoped they wouldn't laugh at her.

"You guys. My friends. My family. You're all what's most important to me."

She cringed in preparation for laughter, but none came. "Are we really that important?" Instead, was the answer. She turned away, facing forwards.

"Wha-? Mami? What's that supposed to mean?" Mami said nothing. What kind of answer was that? She gave no indication that she had even heard her.

Madoka turned to Sayaka sitting across from her. "Sayaka? Why is Mami acting so weird? What's going on?"

"What do you want most out of life?"

"Say what?"

"What do you want most out of life?" Sayaka had her trademark mischievous grin, as she repeated the question.

"Not you too?!" Madoka asked.

"What do you want most out of life?"

Again, Madoka got the same feeling. She needed to be honest. She sighed. Here goes. "I want… I want to do something meaningful with my life. Something that makes a difference, something big and important."

As she said it out loud, she realized that it sounded somewhat selfish. It was what she truly wanted, but she couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed of it, now that it was out there. Who was she to wish for such things when she wasn't really good at anything? She winced in preparation for some sort of jab, comment, or punch-line, but it never happened. Instead, Sayaka answered.

"To have meaning, huh?" She looked forwards, still grinning. She said nothing more.

What was going on? She turned to the final person in the room. Homura. She was simply sitting by the windowsill, gazing at the sunset outside. She seemed almost wistful.

"Homura?" Madoka asked.

She didn't respond at first, simply gazing out the window, looking over Mitakahara City. Eventually, she slowly turned to Madoka and asked. "What are you most afraid of?"

Another weird question. She didn't want to think about it, but... She closed her eyes, and spoke. "Being useless, being unwanted."

"Is that really so scary?" Homura asked. She returned to looking at the window. The sun was just dipping blow the horizon, and the city was quickly becoming dark. The apartment was also growing darker.

"Okay? What's going on?!" Madoka asked everyone. None of them responded. Instead, there was the familiar not-voice.

The most important thing is those close to you.

You want to do something meaningful.

You fear being useless.

Your journey begins in the dead of night. Your road won't be easy, but a rising sun awaits your journeys end.

The day you become whole is both far off and very near.

Everything in Mami's apartment became darker and darker, until Madoka couldn't see anymore. Then she felt the familiar sensation. She was falling again.

She looked down, and gasped. The next stained glass platform held a depiction of her alone. She was dressed in a flowing white dress, her hair was free and long, and she had wings. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling with her arms spread wide in perfect serenity. She couldn't help but stare. It was like some sort of religious depiction like one might find in a cathedral. She looked like a goddess of some sort. There wasn't any other word for it. She was beautiful.

She slowed as she descended to the platform, giving her plenty of time to observe it and take it in. Was that really her? The not-voice had talked about becoming whole, did this have something to do with it? She was nearing the platform now. She extended a foot to land on it.

And her foot passed through the platform. Madoka gave a cry of terror, as whatever had been holding her aloft let go. She fell straight through the platform like it wasn't even there and tumbled downwards. From below it, she could briefly see the other side of the depiction of herself before it violently shattered into countless shards.

Madoka screamed.

She tumbled through the darkness for however long she didn't know. She begged and pleaded for help, but none came. The wind rushed past her ears, deafening to the point where she couldn't even hear her own voice, while her heart pounded in her chest.

Eventually, a dull light began to shine in the distance, and Madoka realized she was headed towards another platform. Depicted on this one wasn't anything of herself, but of Homura, wearing some strange dress, holding a black bow and with black feathered wings. While shocking, what was more shocking was that she wasn't slowing down this time. She landed. She landed hard.

Strangely, even though she hit the ground so hard she bounced, even though she felt the impact and shock run through her, she was okay. She picked herself up and inspected her body. As she thought, she wasn't injured in the slightest. No pain either. She then took a look at the platform. It was definitely Homura, wearing some sort of shockingly skimpy dress that made Madoka blush just to look at it. She certainly could never imagine herself wearing such things. But why was Homura here again? The image reminded her of the previous one. Homura also looked like a goddess. Her depiction was much more sinister however. Her expression was cold and severe, one hand held the bow at her side, the other forming a fist held to her chest. Suddenly, the platform began to darken.

Then, the not-voice spoke.

The closer you get to Hope, the greater Despair becomes.

Madoka saw something shifting in the corner of her vision. She turned to see her own shadow stretching out, as if a light source was moving. Dropping.

Then it rose out of the ground. A replica of herself, cloaked in darkness. But it didn't end there. The shadow grew, and grew, and grew. Once it was completely upright, she could see a strange mountain-like entity of shadowy tentacles in a form resembling a dress, the top of which looked vaguely human, it's hands extended into the air as if in praise or joy. The platform began to shake. Darkness spread out from the monster threatening to engulf Madoka.

She ran. Unfortunately there wasn't anywhere for her to go, as she realized. She barely stopped herself from falling over the edge of the platform. Sadly, that left her at the mercy of the monster, and it's darkness soon engulfed her.

She screamed and writhed as her very skin seemed to crawl at it's touch. It felt wrong in every sense of the world, twisted, violating, broken, foul, unclean. And she only sunk deeper and deeper.

-but don't be afraid.

Soon, it covered her vision. Madoka screamed, and screamed, but nobody was coming to save her. She was helpless.

Someday, you will bring Hope once more.

She began to loose sensation in her limbs. She couldn't move them. She couldn't feel them. It was creeping up her body. The numbness reached her abdomen, and then her torso. She couldn't scream. It crept up her neck, and she couldn't breathe. She couldn't hear. She felt the numbness cover her head.

The Light within you is the mightiest of all.

Madoka was as nothing.

She awoke with a jolt. She panicked for a few quick seconds, before realizing that she was now in her bedroom. In her pajamas. She breathed a sigh of relief. It had all been a dream. Right? It felt so real though.

As she looked around the room to get her bearings straight. She glanced at her clock. And nearly screamed again.

"I'm gonna be late for school!" Madoka took off, flying out of bed, showering, getting dressed and getting out the door in record time. It wouldn't do to be late on the last day of the school year after all.

Keys to the Contract

And what better way to start off than with a new fic! I'd been conceiving of this one for a while and I felt that the two series could work together very well, so here it is! Don't worry about Yugioh Monsters, I fully intend to continue working on that fic as well, and now that I have more free time on my hands, updates will be faster again.

As to this fic, it takes place post Rebellion, as you could probably guess. For the Awakening scene I felt it would work better doing it PMMM themed.

Thanks for reading!

~Dragonexx