Two individuals walk a verdant landscape under the actinic light of a dead star, hanging alone in endless void.
Stars are enormously wasteful. Hydrogen-hydrogen fusion is a potent energy source, but insufficient to last timespans best expressed in exponents of exponents, for really, what do you do with all that helium? And lithium, and so forth until you reach the break even of iron and the star poisons itself, going out with the blaze of glory of a nova or the quiet ignominy of a white dwarf.
By far a better source of energy is magic, and so, the star is truly dead. Murdered, unmourned, and its mass slowly siphoned away.
The illusion of a sun illuminates the landscape.
"Why do you want a sun, anyway?" The language is not Japanese, nor is it English.
"We have been over this before. Approximately a year ago. And I am reasonably certain that you do not actually possess brain damage." The second voice is syrupy sweet and telepathic.
"Ah. Right."
They walk along in silence for a while, soft alien plants crunching underfoot.
"It would be you, wouldn't it. Here at the end."
"I don't understand."
"Well, you won. Technically. You beat entropy, and it wasn't even that bad, or I wouldn't simply be walking beside you. The universe thrives."
"And yet we failed."
An indifferent shrug. "Can't win 'em all." A slight weariness, perhaps, a tone of voice, that lends weight to that statement.
"You exceeded all expectations, you know."
"'course I did."
"A unique circumstance."
"Aw, you do care!" The smaller form is picked up and swung around, before being met by a baroquely decorated warhammer of a style eons dead, and punted on a long arc over the lush greenery.
"I would ask whether that was necessary, but I know the answer."
"Just for old times' sake."
"Am I interrupting anything?" A new voice.
Sabrina turns. Still unchanged, after millenia, after eons, her blue eyes meet a pair of golden ones framed by long, flowing pink hair. She smiles.
"Huh. How are you here, anyway?"
Madoka shrugs sheepishly, a radiant smile lighting up her face. "I will once have erased my own Witch and myself from existence. I may will never have actually done it, but I did."
"Who are you?" Kyuubey asks.
"Kaname Madoka, I'm pleased to meet you," the goddess smiles. She bends down, holding out a hand to the Incubator. The little alien -does that word even apply any more?- inspects the white-gloved hand, and scampers up to the goddess' shoulder.
"You cannot be the Kaname Madoka of Mitakihara in my memory banks. But what does it matter?"
"Well, do I get to go to..." Sabrina rolls her wrist as she searches for the right word. "To Madokahalla?"
"You could," Madoka replies seriously. "You could also stay."
"Ah."
The wind ruffles the leaves of the alien plants surrounding the trio.
"You've already made up your mind." It's not a question.
Sabrina shrugs. "I've lived this long. Long enough for even you to know me well, apparently!"
"Will you remember us?"
A melancholy smirk, and a small shake of her head. "I remember everyone." Looking at the goddess, Sabrina asks, "Will I be seeing you?"
Madoka shakes her head. "You could come with me."
A slow exhale. "Tell them I miss 'em."
"OK." A sad smile, and the goddess engulfs the girl in a hug. "Goodbye, Sabrina."
"Goodbye, Madoka."
