Be Careful What You Wish For | Hey Arnold! x Puella Magi Madoka Magica Crossover

Chapter 10 (The Way We Were)

"Maria...hey, Maria...wake up...!"

Connie knelt down and frantically shook her best friend, but to no avail; though her eyes were wide open, Maria's body remained lifeless and unresponsive.

It looked like a scene from some bizarre sci-fi film. Though Maria was in her civilian clothes, Connie was wearing a blue leotard, accented with a large flowing blue cape attached at her neck.

Two other girls approached Connie as she futilely attempted to revive her friend. When she became aware of their presence, she clenched her fists into a ball and glared furiously.

"What did you do to her?"

One of the girls was a brunette, who was wearing a pink, angular, haute couture outfit, with matching angular skirt. The other girl – who appeared to be chewing some type of bubblegum – was black and had her curly afro hair styled into two afro puffs on the sides of her head; she appeared to be wearing a purple tube-top dress with a single black stripe across the middle. The brunette approached Connie and sighed. "That isn't going to accomplish anything."

"Stay back!" yelled Connie, who stood up fast enough to cause the brunette to pause. "I ain't messin' around, Simone! Now what's the matter with Maria?"

"She's gone, Connie," replied Simone, as if she were saying something as blasé as the time.

Connie's eyes widened and darted towards the tiny magenta gem on Maria's hair bow, now shattered. She then turned back to Simone. "You killed her..."

Simone scoffed and ran her hands through her hair. "Please, she was dead to begin with. We all are."

"What are you talking about?"

"I did Maria a favor. Better to die now and save yourself the misery."

Tears stung Connie's eyes. "You're crazy..." As she shook her clenched fists, a glowing blue aura appeared around them. She charged toward Simone, who made no attempt to move out of the way.

"Cookie," Simone looked to her friend, who remained silent the entire time. Cookie held her right palm out towards Connie. A large pink orb appeared in front of Connie's path and she was bounced back, falling to the ground and having the wind knocked out of her. Cookie then blew a bubble with her gum, and when it popped, she held a long staff with two pink orbs on the ends (similar to a pugil stick), and pointed it towards Connie. "That wasn't very smart, Connie. Then again, you were never exactly the brains of the group anyway. That's why I was elected leader. And now the leader has to make a few tough decisions."

Connie struggled to feet. "Why..." she gasped. "Why are you doing this?"

"This city's not big enough for the four of us," Simone explained. "And quite honestly, Cookie and I think we can get along just fine on our own. You and Maria were weak anyway. Now, I'll give you one more chance to do this the easy way..."

But Connie shook her head in defiance, her fists glowing blue once again. "We were supposed to be a team...I'll never forgive you...you witch!"

Connie charged once again, then froze suddenly, as though her body was being manipulated. Her hands ceased to glow as she placed both on her head and knelt to the ground in pain.

"Okay, Cookie," said Simone. Cookie nodded and pointed left palm at Connie, this time trapping her inside one of the pink orbs. The orb must have been soundproof, for though it looked as though Connie was screaming, no sound escaped from the orb. After several seconds had passed, Cookie popped another bubble with her chewing gum, and simultaneously the orb surrounding Connie had disappeared. Connie collapsed to the ground; she was still alive, but she made no effort to get up, simply crying where she lay.