Okay, so, apparently the popular vote here is to give the Madoka AU a happy ending (or rather, as happy as a Madoka Magica story can end) But, because I am as cruel as the Kyubey themselves I’ll end things with Two options; Pick your own adventure style!
So we’ll start with Tadashi. Hiro has run from home, horrified and disgusted at what he’s become and what that means for both of them. No matter how hard he tries to track down Hiro, even going so far as to extend out magical feelers to try and pick up on what little magical vestiges are left in his brother’s body, He is nowhere to be found.
He never gives up though, he’s long since abandoned his Human Friends (and if he’d been more interested in introspection as of late he’d wonder how long ago he’d stopped considering himself human) and he dropped out of SFIT about a week before Homura had approached him in the first place. So it gives him extra time to comb over the city, Even Witches didn’t come around much anymore, so his only prey without going out of town would be scant few familiars not sentient enough to realize where they were and any Kyubey too stubborn to leave
Sometimes he’d forget that this wasn’t always his life, fingers always twitching erratically over the Dark Pewter cage his Soul Gem was nestled in, ready to transform and slam his bat into anything that threatened the people he loved (person really, it was getting harder and harder to affiliate the word ‘love’ with anyone but Hiro, he was who he made his wish for after all. Like Homura said, they were demons made of despair, but born of Love) The last littlest part of him that was stubbornly clinging to humanity would sneer at this twisted facsimile of 'love’.
Because quite simply, Hiro wasn’t in the city anymore. Almost immediately after he’d left home he’d suck aboard a bus and started heading east. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he knew he was going to get the hell away from San Fransokyo. It wasn’t home anymore. It wouldn’t be home again until the demon holding his brother’s face and voice hostage was gone.
He barely hits Santa Fe city limits when it happens.
He was waiting at a bus stop, wondering if he had enough to make it to Chicago before he had to go botfighting again for funds when a girl appeared on the other side of the bus stop. Long pink hair and golden eyes, she carried herself with a weird sort of wispyness, like she’d forgotten how to stand.
Nobody else seemed to see her, and when Hiro approached she smiled at him. “My name is Madoka.” She explained, in a voice that sounded like it was practically echoing around his head “And I’m here to help, Hiro.”
She tells him her own story in how it intertwines with Tadashi’s Higher up, Homura. How much she owed to her friends, without Sayaka, Mami, Kyouko, and Nagisa, Homura would have claimed victory a long time ago.
She couldn’t break Tadashi’s contract, just like Homura couldn’t break Hiro’s, but she could give Hiro back something very important.
His Soul Gem. And with it, the memories of being a Magi and learning how to fight like a Magi. But, With a little extra magic, courtesy of the Goddess of Hope, the gold encasing that once held his purple gem had become white, platinum.
If Tadashi has become one of Homura’s Four Horsemen, than Hiro will become one of Madoka’s Archangels.
Ending A(AKA This is War):
Hiro immediately takes a bus back to San Fransokyo, Sure beyond all surety that he can do something now. Now that he remembers how to fight with his magic, now that he remembers what he was fighting for, he could stop his brother from hurting any more Magi.
In the end Tadashi still never finds Hiro. Hiro comes home. He hugs Aunt Cass, spins a lie about kidnappers and a daring escape, botfighting until he had enough money to both survive and pay for a bus ticket home, and holds her through her tears.
Tadashi wasn’t home at the time, and when he does come close enough to the cafe, the first thing he picks up on is not the light on in their room, but the feeling of magic. The annoying white magic of a Magi that always makes his skin itch. He darts in, forgetting for a moment what it would mean for someone that wasn’t him to be in their room, and comes face to face with Hiro.
Tadashi’s ecstatic at first, excitedly calls his name and walks up to hug him, So glad and so so relieved that Hiro was done being angry with him and came home so they could be a family again.
He stops when Hiro doesn’t close the distance. In fact, he didn’t look willing to hug him at all. Was he still angry? What was all of that even about anyway? Was he still upset about making a contract for him? That didn’t make any sense! Hiro did the same! Maybe Killing so many Magi? It’s not like they didn’t deserve it! If they hadn’t picked on Hiro, been the same kinds of Bullies Tadashi used to beat up in the parking lot after school, then they were trying to get him back into the Magi world. He didn’t want his brother to worry about becoming a Witch again. So really, all of them had to die.
Hiro starts talking about things, about them growing up, How much Tadashi has changed from the kind, selfless, optimist he once was (‘Weak, Weak, Weak! He used to be so weak!’ was all he heard) and then he starts talking about things he shouldn’t remember. Apologies for giving him such hell when he was still learning the ropes about being a Magi.
“If I had known it would have messed with you so badly I would have risked missing shattered my soul gem myself.” And then Tadashi noticed the ring on Hiro’s finger.
Hiro got his Soul Gem back, the magic he felt was Hiro. Hiro was a Magi again, and all of Tadashi’s work had been for nothing. Being a demon had the first time in a long time made him feel in control, powerful, important. Even if all he was doing was being Hiro’s Guardian Demon. He’d thought he’d been doing something, doing something far more important than his human life had given him.
And it was all for nothing.
With that, the last tiniest part of his heart that still fervently clung to humanity, the last speck of light, finally shrivels up and dies.
Tadashi transforms and Hiro is only milliseconds behind him. Whatever specs of color that had been on Tadashi’s uniform were gone, as though he’d dunked it in black ink. While Hiro’s looked almost like it had been bleached, light lavender and white where his uniform was once purple and black.
Hiro yanks the bat from Tadashi’s hands with his Bolos, immediately summoning his Astral Baymax as a shield. Tadashi wasn’t used to fighting an equal, so for once he has an advantage against his brother.
And so, much like Homura and Madoka before them.
Ending B (AKA The Closest Thing to Happily Ever After)
Hiro immediately takes a bus back to San Fransokyo, but instead of his own memories of fighting playing back in his head, He thinks of nothing but Madoka’s words, how Homura’s failures tend to be because she tries to handle everything on her own.
When he hits the city again he suppresses his magic as much as possible so Tadashi couldn’t sense him, and finds his way to SFIT.
There are a few friends there that may be curious as to what ever happened to Tadashi (and perhaps worried about Hiro whom, for all they know, was fine long after Tadashi stopped hanging out with them, and then just dissappeared?)
Of course, it’s a little hard to believe, the magical stuff, and what he’s trying to tell them Tadashi has become (TADASHI? Mom friend Extraordinaire Tadashi turned into some kind of heartless demon that kills kids? You’re joking right?)
But even being well aware how smart Hiro is, it’s hard to deny that transformation was anything but magical. Besides, it makes a weird sort of sense, and offered an explanation as to why Tadashi had been so moody before he’d just… started ignoring them.
The plan is still to confront Tadashi and get him to stop; But, he pulls a page from Madoka’s Book about it. Of course none of the nerd crew could ever possibly make contracts of their own, even Gogo and Honey are far too old to be in the range Kyubey go for. But they didn’t actually need to do it for real.
They would just need to convince Tadashi.
Honey and Wasabi do most of the Costume work, making everything look similar enough to the vaguely regal look Hiro could recall most Magica wearing, while Hiro works on weapons and things that could look like Magi Magic. Weapons and gadgets have to be considerably slimmed down to fit into pockets and hidden in sleeves, instead of the armor he’d silently wanted to do instead.
When things are complete they have to take a little more care. Practicing at Fred’s house for more than just a couple of days to test their weapons and armor. They have to fight as a unit too, Magi don’t work together often, so that would be the best way to catch Tadashi off guard.
When the night comes, the first thing Tadashi’s aware of is the spike of magic, far too powerful to be one Magi. (it really is though, just Hiro letting loose as much power as he could to seem like there are multiple weaker Magi here instead of one powerful) before a chakram flies through the air and rips a hole in his sleeve, closely followed by what looked like a plasma induced lazer bolt.
Gogo and Wasabi are first up, Their goal is to get Tadashi in place away from the center of the city, while clearly working together as well as possible. He hadn’t hung out with any of them in so long, but it still felt like a stab of betrayal to see two of his friends two of his best friends allied with Magi, of all people. He tries to hold back, but it had been so long since he’d given himself those kinds of limitations and finds himself striking for their ‘soul gems’ anyway. (really it’s just yellow and green colored clear plastic with well placed LED lights)
Once they get him where he should be, along the edge of the bay, it’s Honey and Fred’s turn to join in. They’re talking to him now. About how he can’t just do this all alone, he’s let his anger and resentment of the Magi world justify killing innocent children, some of which no older than nine years old. Nothing about a side that openly calls themselves ‘demons’ and considers killing children an adequate part of the job could be a good place.
The fight drags on for a bit, Tadashi hasn’t fought such odds before, it’s wearing him down more than he’d care to admit to keep an eye on four different targets. He’s normally used to one scared Magica or one cocky Witch. Eventually, he realizes what’s going on. Notices certain details about weapons and 'magic’ that didn’t look very magical, their soul gems aren’t glowing right. Those aren’t Soul Gems.
That little speck of humanity that he’s been trying so hard to smother in the darkness rallies and cheers for his friends, commending their intelligence and cleverness on how deeply he’d been tricked. That little speck of light starts to grow, starts to finally fight back once more. Tadashi’s suddenly wearing down, the fight on both fronts taking much more of his energy than before.
And that was what Hiro was waiting for. The others fall back, let Hiro stand between them and Tadashi, but ready to shove him down and close ranks if things don’t work out.
“You’re going to have to kill me all over again if you want to hurt them.” He’d begged Tadashi for death last time, he’d barely had the heart then.
If he’s right, He doesn’t have the heart to do it again if Hiro’s only daring him.
Worn from the chase and the fight, and already upset at what feels so intimately like betrayal and trickery and fighting against himself, he’s not prepared for the emotional impact.
Seeing Hiro again, Magi form or not, just immediately decides the fate of his inner battle. Tadashi bursts into tears, the part of him that was still human forcing itself back to surface. All at once remembering what horrible things he’s done, how he’d twisted every little piece of his moral system into justifying it all.
Oh god, he was a murderer, he’d killed people, killed children! And if Hiro hadn’t stopped him he was going to kill his friends! his best friends! He nearly throws up, he’s so encompassed in horror and disgust. He’d become a monster, such a monster…
He doesn’t deserve Hiro almost immediately pulling him in for a hug, shushing his sobs in a voice that sounded like forgiveness. (Hiro’s just happy it worked) Doesn’t deserve how quickly everyone, his friends, close ranks around them, like an impenetrable barrier that no demon, even one as powerful as Homura herself, could get through.
A gentle voice calls out into the air. Quiet, but all six of them can hear it. A kind voice that sounded like white ribbons in pigtails and fluffy angel wings.
She reminds them that she can’t break a contract, but they can if they’re very clever.
There’s a flash of white light, and everyone wakes up in a big pile of sleeping bags and pillows in the Hamada household. Aunt Cass calls out from the kitchen that just because everyone slept over from the showcase last night didn’t mean that she was making breakfast for an army, someone better come in and help.
Hiro and Tadashi still carry platinum and black rings, worn carefully around their necks but with no Soul Gems attached. If it weren’t for those rings it might have all been a very strange very long nightmare.
When Hiro and Tadashi chase Baymax following a broken Microbot to an abandoned warehouse, they catch each other reaching for their rings and nervously laugh it off.
Hiro is just as sure Tadashi doesn’t remember being a demon as Tadashi is sure Hiro doesn’t remember being a Magi. Nobody else seems to remember after all. Why should his brother be any different?
He only remembers because he still has work to do to make sure this never happens again.
So if Hiro hangs a ward against evil over Tadashi’s bed, and Tadashi gets twitchy around white cats with red eyes, it’s just a tag along from a life the other doesn’t remember living. Right?
Submitted by: Madoka Anon
(Woooooooow. I can’t believe you actually managed to pull off a happy ending...sort of...there. Like, this was one of the darkest AUs in our collection and yet not only did you make it kind of happy, you managed to put in all these references to the movie and kind of match it up even when the original stuff had little to do with it, and make it work. Holy cow I’m impressed.
Slow clap for you, Madoka Anon. Slow clap for you
