Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Five girls. A Shared Destiny. Do your best.”

Those eight words echoed through her mind as she steadfastly input the target coordinates into the TARDIS console. Exactly why the details of this mission were kept to just those eight words, she reasoned, was most likely to avoid either the creation of, or causing her own entrapment within a fixed point in time. Even so, she would have much preferred having something a bit more specific to go on. Who were these girls? What sort of destiny did they share? And on a more personal level, why was she the one judged best-suited to aid them?

As she quietly pondered those questions, her first clue flashed repeatedly on the console’s display screen: ‘Planet: Earth (Level ‘5’ Planet). Year: 2011. Historical Period: Twenty-First Century (Local ‘Gregorian’ Calendar). Set Geographic Coordinates: Mitakihara City, Japan. WARNING! WARNING! TEMPORAL CAUSALITY LOOP DETECTED! PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION!’ The TARDIS Cloister Bell rang, underlining the sudden urgency of her situation.

DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG!

“Alright, Alright! Enough with that stupid noise. I get the message. ‘Stick the landing or die’.” She said, flipping a switch that temporarily silenced the alarm bell. “Scan for any viable entry points. Let’s find a way into this temporal loop.”

‘SCANNING… ENTRY POINTS FOUND. FOUR FLUCTUATION POINTS DETECTED.’
“Wow, that was fast.” She glanced over the results on the display screen. “Okay. Heading for the earliest entry point. Eeeeasy peasy. Here we goooo… Through door number one.” She flicked through a set of blinking switches, pulled the landing system’s lever down and zeroed in on her target destination.

“Shit!” She realized she had just made her first mistake. The walls of the TARDIS ominously creaked. Sparks instantly shot from the underside of the console. “Not good!” She defensively leapt back. The controls had overloaded. The cloister bell’s ring resumed, this time even louder.

DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG!

“Shearing forces? Not good at all! Appears this causality loop’s been going on quite a bit longer than I expected.” The Time Lady hurriedly stepped up, flicked the switches and raised the landing lever back up, but it was too little, too late. The TARDIS was caught and being dragged inside.

She turned her focus back on her display screen: ‘EMERGENCY WARNING! ACCESS TO TIME VORTEX UNAVAILABLE! SYSTEM ON INTERNAL POWER!’ It flashed. “No turning back now.” She replied. “It’s straight into the storm we go!” She reset the warning screen. Another wave of sparks flew from the bottom of the  console, as the creaking around her escalated into a full-fledged rumbling. “Crap, oh double crap!” She rechecked the scan results. Attempting to ease her way in on that first landing was a miscalculation that already cost her the earliest entry point. Now tumbling into the causality loop’s event horizon, she had mere moments to decide which of the three other possible entry points was her best remaining option.

“Nope! Point four is a no-go! Much too close to the loop’s reset point and I’d prefer not to have to try this again. And entry point three, only gives me a day or so. Leaves too little time to work.” As she fixated on the second point, the rumbling was joined by a fierce reverberation. A third panel explosion from the console knocked her backward. She defiantly leapt right up, circled around to the console’s emergency landing lever and clutched it. She swallowed her breath, “Door two it is,” She whispered to herself, committing to her decision. 

But an unexpected message on her display screen caught her attention right before she engaged. ‘ATTEMPTING ANCILLARY SCAN. SCAN RESULTS: COUNTER ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED. SHEARING FORCES WEAKEST AT DESIGNATED FLUCTUATION POINT’ The message flashed twice. Her TARDIS’s navigation system seemed to be insisting she try the third entry point. Her choice was thus: Trust her own judgement, or take a chance and trust this vessel. A mere moment from betting it all on her own self-assurant nature, she unexpectedly recalled a piece of advice a friend offered not long before they parted ways: “ It will always guide you to where you need to be. So trust it. “As you wish,” She kissed her hand and pulled the lever. “We shall do things your way. Take me in!”

She pressed a blue button, flicked the proper switches, and lowered the lever halfway. The creaking, rumbling and vibrating diminished with every second as the tension finally eased. ‘LANDING SUCCESSFUL. Planet Earth. Location: Mitakihara City, Japan. Local Date: April 27th, 2011. Local Time: 22:30. STATUS: MAIN POWER UNAVAILABLE. AUXILIARY POWER UNAVAILABLE. SYSTEM IN LOW-POWER MODE. VOCAL INTERFACE DISABLED. DISPLAY COMPLETE TARDIS DAMAGE REPORT?’

The Time Lady breathed a small sigh of relief, then opened a small compartment at the side of the console. She pulled out a keyboard and began manually keying her next instructions, talking aloud as she was keying. “Enter recovery mode. Initiate all self-repair protocols. Deploy repair drone units. Divert power from all non-critical systems. Use of lower deck life support systems as emergency power reserve is authorized. Attempt reinitialization of main power every seventy-five minutes. Attempt reinitialization of auxiliary power every forty-five minutes.”

She inspected the console’s fried underside, putting out the burgeoning fire with her coat’s thick leather sleeve. “Initiate fire control procedures. Ventilate system. Utilize the local planetary atmosphere in lieu of life support power.” She tucked the keyboard away, clicked off the display screen, and headed out the exit door.

Once outside, she took a quick mental snapshot of where she’d parked. “Not much time. So where to begin?” She took a few apprehensive steps forward. She then pulled a strange-looking wand with a glowing tip out of her pocket, adjusted a dial on the instrument’s bottom, and raised it to the air. “Mystery One… What possible force could be so immensely powerful that it could create a self-contained causality loop so…?” She stopped and glanced back toward her wounded TARDIS. “So... Terribly turbulent?”

She lowered the wand to her eye level and pushed a button on the instrument’s side. The glowing end lit with a blue hue, as the instrument made an audible ‘whistling’ noise. “Hmmm. Not detecting tachyon particles.” She turned the dial and pushed the button again. “Nor any natural temporal anomalies.” She turned the dial and pushed the button again. “No artificial ones, either.” She turned the dial. “No time corridors nor any signs of time vortex manipulation.” She paused for a moment, thinking back to those eight words again. “Hmmm. Five girls...” She turned another dial, a dial attached to the glowing light on the instrument. She pressed the button one more time. The device’s glow changed to green, as the whistling noise raised its pitch.

“Ah. I see.” The device’s sensors had detected something. “So that’s where we begin.” She whispered to herself with an intonation that carried both an air of fascination and dread. She extended her arm, in front of her body and followed its lead.

As she walked, she further surveilled her surroundings. The navigational computer told her it was an urban center in early 21st century Japan, and while the presence of late 20th century skyscrapers, communications towers, brightly-lit billboards and the sheer abundance of human noise and Information Age technology made this pretty self-evident, she couldn’t help but think there was something a little bit amiss about this particular place. The colors around her seemed to her to be a bit muted, the smell of the fresh air was dullened, and the sounds were playing with a toneless, droning timbre. 

And although it was certainly an urban center, there seemed to be a distinct lack of the typical bustling human activity. The reason could certainly have been because the local hour was so late, but what few people she’d walked past all appeared though they were listlessly going about their lives. Not under anyone’s particular control per se, but rather behaving as if they’d done this all before.

As The Time Lady breathed in the stale air, took in the pallid sights and monotonous sounds, her Gallifreyan senses couldn’t help but feel a palpable dread emanating from the whole environment. These buildings, the trees, the birds and the clouds, everything around here all behaved as if it was on an inevitable march towards a total doom, as if every single atom around was in some subtle way aware that whatever disaster was looming had stuck many times before, and was unavoidably going to happen again soon. It was that familiar feeling of death and despair. It was a feeling she had grown all too accustomed to in her advancing years.

This town in Japan had to be the epicenter of the time loop. She implicitly knew it. And she knew, her mission was to end it before it cascaded into something far more disastrous and tragic. The glowing light on her device again switched from green to yellow and began to rapidly blink, indicating that whatever it had locked onto was drawing close. She double-tapped the button which locked it into homing mode, its distinct whistling sound pointed her in the direction of a nearby train station. “Alright. At last we have a clue…” her voice trailed off as she picked up the pace.

“Next destination: Downtown Mitakihara City!” said an automated announcement. “We thank you for using Mitakihara Metropolitan Public Transit, and remind you to keep your trains clean! Please pick up all your trash and put it in a proper waste disposal container!”

Two men got up from checking their phones on a nearby bench. “Let’s roll, Shou!”

“Bitch still hasn’t answered her phone.” Growled the sitting man. “She knows better than to ignore me. Once I find her I’m gonna really bring her slutty ass to heel!” 

“Heh! C’mon!” His chuckling friend replied. “She’s probably still at the cabaret!”

“Whoops! My sincerest apologies for disrupting your travel plans, gentlemen.” The Time Lady abruptly popped in front of them, a few meters from the train car’s entrance. She pulled an identification card from her inner coat pocket. “By the orders of The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Emergency inspection. Just got a report of some faulty… Uh, wiring. Safety protocol dictates I can’t let you board this car. Again I apologize for the inconvenience.”

The two men glared at her angrily. “What kind of stupid bullshit are ya' pullin’, lady? First of all, ya' don’t look like yer from The Ministry of Whatever!” The man the other referred to as ‘Shou’ tugged irritatedly on her coat. “You look more like you’re some kind of lost dumbass tourist!” Second, even if you were with the government, no shitheaded bureaucrats would do an inspection at this time of night!” He leaned his reddening face closer to hers as he made his final point. “And last…” He grabbed her by the wrist. “This piece of paper of yours is blank !”

“Ahhh… Not taken by psychic paper, eh?” She muttered. She nervously pulled her wrist from his grip. “Welp.” Her eyes speedily examined their appearances. “You boys don’t look like either aliens nor geniuses, nor would I presume you’re trained in any of the psychic sciences.” They were clearly unamused by her analytical musings. “Just a pair of run-of-the-mill twits with no imagination I guess.” She shrugged. Now they were furious.

“Lady, what're-”

“I will speak on your cognitive level, then.” She interrupted, checking the wand in her pocket, its glowing tip lit red and was pulsating rapidly. “Look, fellas… Whatever’s on this train is highly dangerous. Much too dangerous to allow you humans anywhere near it. I implore you, find an alternate means of getting to wherever it is you were going. This is your only warning.” Her smile waned as their anger reached its breaking point. 

The two men pushed her upper body aside and looked into the doorway, they were not going to listen. “Now you listen up, ya’ foreign bitch! Either you get out of our way and let us on that train, or…”

“... We’ll make you get out of our way!” The other finished the sentence, pounding his fist into his hand. “We’re gonna knock your dumb bitch ass out. Put ya’ in ya’ place!” He grinned wickedly.

“My place ?” She winced as she spoke, absolutely certain that things were about to get violent and painful. But not for her. 

For them.

***

Sayaka Miki sat alone on the seat of a train car, her thoughts growing bleaker and bleaker as she tried to get a fleeting bit of rest. She had done nothing but fight otherworldly, terrifying monsters in her last few days. She hadn’t eaten. She hadn’t slept. She hadn’t even bathed. Such activities, those mundane things that civilized humans had long taken for granted, were, in her woeful mind, not practical for the creature she had now become. And the most disheartening thing was, she had done this to herself by choice.

Sayaka touched the ring on her finger. It transmuted into the shape of a decorated glowing egg. Adorned with an elaborately-patterned gold base at the bottom, and a “C”-shaped insignia capping it at its top, this strange jewel was Sayaka’s “Soul Gem”. The glowing, swirling matter at its transparent core, was for all intents and purposes, her . It was her essence, her human soul, made manifest into a physical form by a small creature called ‘Kyubey’, so that she could become a ‘magical girl,’ and more effectively face the monsters she’d only recently known existed. But that bright blue shimmer from when it was first forged had since darkened, it was nearly pitch black by now, what little blueness remained was eclipsed. Instinctively she knew this meant that her end was drawing near, yet she was too numbed to fear its approach. The withering husk that was once her human body had been too worn down to care about mounting any resistance. She was utterly without hope, ready to die, her mind swamped by regretful thought after regretful thought, her mind reeled through past month’s chain of events.

“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

Why did all this happen to me?”

Poor Mami Tomoe. A girl who portrayed this role of fighting monsters with such elegance and grace. She dedicated her extended life to helping others. A true ally of justice. Cool and perfect in every way. Sayaka had at first wanted to be exactly like her. Yet now she couldn’t picture anything else beyond that terrified look on Mami’s face, her last moment exhibiting pure shock, terror and distress, as a vanquished foe unexpectedly sprung forth a larger monster that closed its gaping maw around her neck. Then it ate her remains in a gory haste while Sayaka nearby helplessly watched in horror.

“ This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

Why did she die instead of me?”

Her mind flashed to Kyoko Sakura, a rival of ruthless brutality, who walloped the fledgling Sayaka in their first meeting. So quickly, did that duel in the alley spiral out of control. Helping humanity and living for others was wrong, Kyoko insisted with an intimidating grin, only the strong deserve to survive. But to the heroic Sayaka, such an attitude was intolerable. This girl was no different from the monsters that they were supposed to be fighting. But once Sayaka had seen ruins of Kyoko’s church, upon hearing the tragedy of Kyoko's family, sensing her great lingering pain, she realized Kyoko was no monster. And to be Kyoko’s judge, Sayaka did not have the right. But Sayaka also could not adopt her world-weary philosophy.

“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

Why would she ever try to help me?” 

The next adversarial face was Homura Akemi's, an aloof transfer student to whom Sayaka took an immediate dislike. Oh, such a patronizing attitude that girl had, it really pissed Sayaka off. Homura always seemed to be a step ahead, appearing and disappearing mysteriously as the battles climaxed. She outright rejected Mami’s outstretched hand of friendship. Then she waited for the moment for Mami to be killed and eaten so she could take the spoils for herself. That girl must have been plotting something. Yet she suddenly remembered that it was Homura who broke up that fight with Kyoko. It was Homura who retrieved her Soul Gem, after it had deliberately been tossed away. Did Sayaka’s life really not matter at all to her, as she claimed?

“ This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

Does that girl really hate me? ”  

She next thought of Kyubey, the little creature, and how he insisted the fight against darkness desperately needed allies. It didn’t matter that Sayaka was a novice, with Mami gone someone had to look after this city. Gaining superhuman powers were just a perk, the real satisfaction was in saving lives and setting a good example. Then she learned the truth about her Soul Gem, her memory of that ghastly night with the creature in her bedroom, where it demonstrated upon her Soul Gem what a truly dehumanizing process she had actually undergone. Kyubey’s red eyes and that eerily unchanging expression, a face she once perceived as cute but now only perceived as menacing, completely indifferent to her cries as it inflicted upon the anguished Sayaka the unfiltered trauma of a stab straight through her stomach.

“ This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

Why would he do that to me? ”

Lastly, Oh, Madoka Kaname, her first friend, her best friend. Madoka stuck with Sayaka through every ordeal. She served as Sayaka’s emotional support in her first heroic moment, even as Sayaka had never felt more self-assured. She was there for Sayaka when Kyoko so brazenly imposed herself onto them. She tried to help Sayaka when she and Kyoko’s rivalry culminated atop a bridge, where in her own desperate act of benevolence threw Sayaka’s gem onto a passing truck, a huge but well-intentioned mistake. She was there to be Sayaka’s shoulder to cry on, as Sayaka’s suffering and torture mounted. But Sayaka could only recall their last moment together, in a downpour at a bus stop, where in a sorrowful rage Sayaka lashed out at her, for the crime of not being supportive enough, for not having the will to take up the fight for her. Why Sayaka would say such cruel, horrid things, her addled mind could not comprehend.

“ This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

Could she ever forgive me? ”

Face after face, memory after memory, regret upon regret swirled throughout her increasingly disturbed mind. Confused thoughts and repressed emotions were brewing up from the very core of her soul, degenerating into a whirlwind of anguish. She could only sift quickly through the wreckage of her life as its end drew ever closer.

Why did she do this to herself? Why was she so eager to become a magical girl in the first place? What even mattered to her so much, that she’d toss away her normal, contented life and face a world as harsh as this one? What was the point of it all? She tried desperately to remember the reason, but something in her mind kept steering her back into that storm of pain and regret, tormenting her at every turn.

Mami’s face… Kyoko’s fury… Homura’s disdain… Kyubey’s torture… Kyubey… Glowing red eyes. 

“I should’ve saved Mami. I’m so worthless.”

Strange eyes that pierced into her soul. In return for fighting, Kyubey did her a favor.

A cacophony of distracting noise echoed within her deepest inner mind.

No… It wasn’t a simple favor, what Kyubey did was for her far greater. But what was it?

She tried to recall, but the racket and noise intensified, ever louder and louder.

“I should have heard Kyoko out! Miracles should only be for yourself!”

That’s what it was… A miracle. Kyubey granted a miracle. But she didn’t listen the warnings.

That thundering, dreary commotion had an odd pattern to it. Still she tried to block it out.

“I want my miracle back! Give it back!”

Such a shameful thought. Why would she ever think such a thing?

Music… That was the agonizing sound panging in her head. A sorrowful melody.

“I should never have said that Madoka! How could I hurt her like that?”

Because someone had hurt Sayaka like that once, too. But who? She saw a faint glimpse of his face. As well as another's, a girl whose face she couldn't recognize, yet whose visage engendered such anger and hatred within her.

That unbearable melody was getting louder with every moment. As though whatever was playing it absolutely reveled in driving her self-loathing. It coveted her descent into madness. It craved her despair. And strangely, she was growing increasingly willing to let it take her. It didn’t matter. She just couldn’t care anymore.

Sayaka’s tired eyes drifted up as she caught a glimpse of a brilliant light draw closer and closer. Was this the end at last? Had Death finally heard her cry for mercy? Was it that “white light” in all those stories? Her body growing increasingly useless, Sayaka still tried to brace herself, even as her regretful thoughts were firing off with increasing rapidity. In a sudden, frenzied panic she was hyperventilating. 

“ No! ”

She realized she couldn’t go out like this! Not with far too many regrets!

“I don’t wanna die!”

She clutched her Soul Gem in her fist. 

“I want my miracle back!”

She tried to protect herself in the fetal position. But her body was too limp to move.

“Please! I don’t want to die! I want my miracle back! Give it back! I want my-”

***

The Delta wave induction function was a rarely used, battery-intensive secondary function of her device, but the Time Lady saw no alternative but to use it here. If the Time Lady’s scans on this train car were accurate, then the powerful energy source she had locked onto appeared to be coming directly from this girl . Now that the young child fast asleep, the Time Lady was free to engage in a more thorough analysis. She promptly flipped a switch on her device, and waved it slowly over the girl’s unconscious body.

Paradoxically, while this young girl was showing no outward signs of physical damage, her scans were showing conclusive evidence of numerous recent contusions, literally dozens of lacerations, a partially fractured skull, both a broken leg and a broken arm, as well as a rather severe case of iron deficiency.

“What the heck has she been doing to herself?” The Time Lady pondered aloud.

“The train heading for Downtown Mitakihara City will be departing soon. Please find your seat at once.” The public announcer’s voice stated.
Further stipulation would have to wait for the moment. The Time lady stuck her wand back inside her coat pocket. “I’ll have to look her over back in the TARDIS.” She knelt down, scooped her arms underneath the girl’s back and lifted her off the seat. But as the girl’s arms slacked outward, a rather peculiar-looking item dropped out from her unclenching fist, clinking onto the metal floor and rolling underneath the seats.

“What the hell is that?” The Time Lady heard it drop, picked it up and examined it. “Some kind of… Oddly decorated egg?” Her mouth wide open, she immediately suspected the glowing egg to be the actual source of energy pattern she’d been tracking. The Time Lady adjusted her embrace of the girl, and spoke directly at her sleeping face. “Now why would you, a human female child, be carrying around a-”

The train started moving. “This train is leaving the station. Thank you for riding Mitakihara Metropolitan Public Transit.”

“Crap! Better move fast.” The Time Lady hastily exchanged the egg for her wand in her pocket, pressed a button, and the locked train’s side door slid open. She leapt from the slow-moving car, back onto the station platform.

“You WITCH! What the hell’d you do to us?” The deeply enraged male shouted from across the station, the face of both him and his cohort both swollen from a punch, their hands scraped from fighting. They stumbled to their feet, and ran toward her.

“Oh really? You fellas are still conscious? Little tougher than you appear it seems. Uhm, Shou, your name was it?” She pointed her wand to the far side of the station. “See that wall there? Be so obliged to run headfirst into it. Will you please?”

On command, the man’s face went blank, as he turned his entire body around and started running toward the wall.

“Shou… What the-” His friend looked on in shock, powerless to stop Shou’s charge. Shou hit the wall, face first, and collapsed straight to the ground.

“To you I give a choice. You may either run headfirst into the wall as he did, or you can pick him up and seek the necessary medical attention. Tell them you fools got inebriated and fought at a bar. You will remember nothing else of this night. Now off you go.”

“Wh- what... The hell... Are…” The expression on his face also went suddenly blank, he turned around and shambled toward his cohort. With her minor distraction fully addressed, the Time Lady raced toward her TARDIS, the Japanese teenager still tightly held and asleep in her arms.

“Display systems restoration status report!” The Time Lady ordered as she kicked in the door of the ship. The central console display screen promptly came to life. RECOVERY MODE PROGRESS: FIRST REINITIALIZATION ATTEMPT OF MAIN POWER SYSTEM FAILED. FIRST REINITIALIZATION ATTEMPT OF AUXILIARY POWER SUCCESSFUL. PARTIAL AUXILIARY POWER AVAILABLE. VOCAL INTERFACE RE-ENABLED. DISPLAY SYSTEMS REPAIR PROGRESS?

The Time Lady carefully laid her patient onto a futon in an alcove on the far side of the control room. She quickly and quietly as she could, dusted and fluffed one of the pillows before placing the girl’s head on it. She picked a blanket off the end of the futon, tucked her in and went back to studying the strange egg she was carrying. Walking back toward the control console, she pulled out her wand, clicked a switch, pressed its tip against the egg, and held the button that was on the instrument’s underside.  As it’s whistling shifted up and down in pitch, she turned her attention to the console’s display screen.

She hastily skimmed the status screen results. “Life support is... Partially restored. Good. All fires suppressed. Nice. Maintenance drones dispatched to repair other critical systems. Okay. Do we have access to the time vortex?

ACCESS TO TIME VORTEX UNAVAILABLE. “Posited reason?” POSITED THEORY: CAUSALITY LOOP HAS ISOLATED THIS LOCALE FROM SPACETIME CONTINUUM AND ALL SUBDIMENSIONAL PLANES. 

She already knew the answers to her question and the reason behind why, but the computer’s concurrence was reassuring of both the system’s functionality as well as her own competence.

Her instrument’s scan completed, she approached the console and placed her wand into a specially-shaped indentation on the console’s side. INTERLINK INITIATED. DATA UPLOAD SUCCESSFUL. She placed the egg on top of the console, her eyes firmly affixed on its swirling, darkening colors. “Analysis of object scanned, please.”

MATERIALS ANALYSIS: TRANSMUTABLE RECEPTACLE. ENERGY SOURCE CONTAINED WITHIN. MATERIALS SPECIFICATION: RECEPTACLE IDENTIFIED: --------- ----- -------. ENERGY SOURCE IDENTIFIED: ----------. She rolled her eyes at the sight of the computer’s selective redactions, muttering “Yes... Supremely Classified Time Lord Pantheon knowledge. Whatever . Thanks for confirming what I strongly suspected.”  

ALERT: ENERGY SOURCE UNDERGOING CHAIN REACTION. PROCESS IS ACCELERATING. The Time Lady turned her head back towards her patient, very grimly concerned. “That so? You mean it’s going to…”

ERUPTION IMMINENT: TIME ESTIMATION: APPROXIMATELY 100 - 180 MINUTES.          

The Time Lady put her hand to her mouth, turned her back from the screen and started pacing in a circle. “Ohhhh… That definitely means something bad.” The thing the young girl had in her possession it seemed, was effectively a ticking bomb. As The Time Lady paced, she muttered her options under her breath. “Could it be contained, perhaps? Maybe build a small temporal suspension chamber and put it in stasis? Hmmm. Naw, no… No. Not nearly enough time. Procuring the materials necessary and making it would take much too long. Or perhaps, I could channel the chain reaction.” She briefly studied the TARDIS control paneling. “Use it as an emergency power source.” She dismissed this idea just as quickly. “No, no no... What am I thinking? That’d be an even more complicated build! ” Her pacing got faster. “Can’t constrain it, can’t channel it… Could I dump it all elsewhere?” She huffed. “Dammit… I’m way overthinking this… Quickest and easiest thing would be to separate the impurities. But how? She stopped pacing and started tapping her foot on the floor, and her index finger against her temple. “Think! Think! Think! No time! No time! No time!” She breathed a frustrated grunt, her head tilting up toward a retractable panel on the ceiling. “What would you have done?”

“If I have to be practical,” She turned and reexamined the sleeping girl. “ Everything in this world is about to reset. Saving this girl needn’t be a priority. I have the data. The priority here should be on repairing key systems and getting the TARDIS ready to survive the next reset.”

She walked up to the egg on the console, clasped the egg in her hands, and closed her eyes. “I should simply dispose of it.”

She grit her teeth as she squeezed the egg in her hands. She was going to crush it with her raw strength. “The chain reaction only persists so long as it’s inside a containment vessel. Just crack it open and criticality cannot be sustained. Quick and painless.” Her eyes flashed at the ceiling piece one more time. “And kind,” she whispered. She took deeper and deeper breaths as she squeezed, resolute that this was her only logical choice.

Suddenly, she stopped squeezing and opened her eyes and took a deep, subdued breath. Another option had just popped into her head. “No... I am wrong. Logical maybe, but wrong.” She took another deep breath. “I could serve as a means to separate the impurities. As a biological receptacle.”

She set the egg aside, proceeded over to the girl on the futon, turned her sleeping head towards her, thoughtfully caressed her forehead and ran her fingers through the girl’s hair. “This could be a wee bit of a presumption, but I believe you might just be one of those ‘Five Girls’ I’m looking for.” She checked her pulse on her neck. Yes, this girl was very young, barely into human adolescence. She gently inspected the rest of her body with a light, careful touch. “Oh, you poor, poor thing. I wonder, What sort of chain of events have led to you ending up so hurt, and then all alone and abandoned in a train?” She maternally stroked the girl’s cheek with two fingers. “And worse, you’ve probably already been through this ordeal, many, many times before. And you don’t even know it. How could fate want to be so cruel to you?” 

The Time Lady discreetly reached into the girl’s school uniform pocket. There was a used-up closed portable cosmetic kit with a mirror. The Time Lady briefly glanced at her reflection in the mirror. “Hm. N-teenth time’s the charm. Not a big fan of the ears, though.” She closed it and slid it back into the pocket. Next she found a small wallet. She parsed through the wallet’s contents. “Excuse this small trespass. Just getting to know you a bit.” She flipped through some paper currency, there was a bus pass, and a train pass. She came upon a card with the girl’s photograph on it. It was her student ID. “Sayaka Miki. Mitakihara Middle School. Born in 1997. Fourteen years. So young.” Behind the ID was a photograph of the young lady and two similarly-aged girls flanking her wearing similar clothes. “Your friends I presume?” She reached into the other pocket. It contained a small technological device, plus some sort of shattered disc. She examined the disc. “A broken mirror?” She brought it over to the console, picked up her wand and more closely examined it. “Nope. Analysis, please?”

MATERIALS ANALYSIS: LATE 20TH CENTURY EARTH DIGITAL INFORMATION STORAGE UNIT. UNIT CONTAINS AUDIO DATA. PLAY AUDIO DATA?

“Sure. Play on.” It was a song. Human music. Orchestral. Considered old in the time where she’d arrived. But it was certainly older than anything this girl should otherwise be listening to. The Time Lady even recognized the melody. “Le Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin. Claude Debussy. Neat.” She chuckled to herself as she combed through her own hair. “ Really takes me back.” 

Feeling suddenly wistful, she danced back toward the still-sleeping girl. “You fancy this sort of music, my dear? Do you know I always happened to admire that man’s beard? His compositions were pretty commendable, too.” Humming along with the song, she reached into her inner coat pocket and pulled out a gold fob watch. She opened the watch and balanced the girl’s egg squarely on the watch’s face. With steady, deepening breaths, she spoke as she focused her thoughts on the egg. “What I am about to do to you is quite stupid, completely illogical, strategically unwise and terribly dangerous to attempt, and that’s not even mentioning the eventual toll it’s going to take on me!” Her continued humming is briefly interspersed with more chuckling and a third glance at the ceiling. “But it’s kind. So It’s what I’m doing.”

A shimmering, golden glow emanated from her face toward her hands. “Whaddaya know… It would seem that I am a compatible biological receptacle! Ha!” She chuckled again. “Perhaps it’s our similar musical tastes.” Still humming away, she opened her eyes and her hands so that she could witness the effects of her effort. 

In an instant, the blackness within the egg scattered, diffusing from inside the egg and spilled into her watch. A rush of black matter travelled  up her arms, and trailed down her body. The golden glow briefly coalesced within the center of the egg, then it dispersed throughout the egg and faded gradually until its glow was brightly blue again. The Time Lady stopped humming, gasped in intense pain, and instantly collapsed to the floor. The rejuvenated egg separated from the watch, dropped to the floor and then rolled underneath the futon.

“Why do I have to wear this, Papa?” Little Sayaka Miki said with a groan as she spoke.

“Because you look really nice in it. And it took your Mother a long time to find that in your size.”

Sayaka hated wearing long dresses. No matter how careful she tried to be, she couldn’t help but get them dirty while playing. Or worse, she’d tear a seam somehow. “Sayaka, that dress was really expensive and we don’t have that much money!” Her Mama would say. “Can’t you be more careful on the playground?” She didn’t want to upset her Mama. So she quickly took to wearing pants and boy’s shirts. They were easier to move around and play in, plus they were cheaper for her parents to buy, so quickly she came to prefer dressing in boys’ clothes.

“How many people are here?” Sayaka asked, looking into the crowd while standing on her seat in the front row of the concert hall. She wanted to see if anybody from her preschool was here too.

“Sit down, and sit still.” Her Mama replied, as she grabbed her wrist and pulled her down.

“A lot of people. Theater seats a thousand.” Her Papa answered, with an assuring smile.

“1… 2… 3... 4…” Sayaka was counting her fingers, trying to figure out how many fingers a “thousand” was.

She got up to peek over her seat again, but this time her Mama held her down by the thigh. “It’s going to start soon.” Her Mama said, while looking at her watch.

“What?” Sayaka wondered.

“You’ll see soon.” Her Papa spoke as he gently took her hand.

“Promise?” Sayaka asked.

“Cross my heart and hope to die.” Her father smiled. “Stick a needle in my eye.” The two of them said together.

Sayaka played with the flower-shaped clip in her hair, now just trying to pass the time. Then suddenly everyone inside fell silent. The lights in the concert hall went dark, as the curtain in front of her pulled open.

A young boy walked out onto the stage as the spotlight shined down on him from above. Sayaka recognized him right away. It was Kyosuke Kamijo, a boy from her preschool. Kyosuke had brought something with him, a strange wooden object with strings on it, something Sayaka didn’t recognize. Realizing that he was what everybody had come to see, Sayaka was very confused.

“Why does everyone want to watch Kyo-”

“Shhhhh!” Her Mama interrupted.

Kyosuke held the wooden object in one hand, his fingers on the strings, while leaning on the large end against his neck. He pulled out another wooden object with its own string with his other hand. Together, they made sounds. It was music. Kyosuke was playing music.

“It’s called a ‘Violin’.” Her Papa whispered a mere moment before she could ask.

“Shhhhhh!” Her Mama glared at them both.

Sayaka was amazed. She had no idea this boy from her class could play such beautiful music! And he was playing it so well! How? He couldn’t even figure out that Sayaka was cheating when they were playing board games together. How could he be so gifted, she wondered as she watched in awe.

“Le Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin.” Her Papa whispered again right before she asked.

“Rah-Fir-Ah-Shey…” Sayaka tried repeating.

“Shh!” Her Mama was very annoyed.

She would never forget that night, watching Kyosuke play so beautifully on stage, he had filled Sayaka’s heart with joy. He had filled her imagination with ideas. He had blessed her young soul... With hope.

DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG!

Sayaka woke up with a deep, shocked gasp. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Wasn’t she dead? Was this supposed to be the afterlife? She opened her eyes and looked around the room. No. This place, wherever it was, was definitely not the afterlife. “I- I’m alive…?” She reluctantly stood up and wandered towards the center of the room.

DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG!

“Is that a bell?” She wondered. “Where’s that sound coming from?” Her attention was so fixated on this room and that ominous sound that Sayaka had failed to notice the still-unconscious woman laying on the floor beside her, and her Soul Gem underneath the futon. Finding no obvious source for the ringing inside this room, she instead tried looking for a way to get out of this room. 

The room itself was rather minimally designed, like a waiting room, it was only furnished with a coat hanger, a few chairs, a work desk, a mirror, a matching pair of cabinets, a hope chest and a grandfather clock. The walls were uniformly lined with a pattern of backlit, circular indents. There were two doors at opposite ends, one smaller door with a simple door handle attached, and one larger one with a touch scanner on the wall beside it. At the center of the room, was a hexagonal console. Certainly the most standout object in the room, the console was faced with numerous buttons, keypads, dials, gauges and levers on every side. Protruding from the console’s center were a series of glowing rods, each extending all the way to the white ceiling and each lit with a pulsating glow that repeated at a consistent rate. Connected to the rods was a display screen, attached in such a way that allowed it to swivel one hundred and eighty degrees around the console. Sayaka slowly approached the screen so that she could read whatever information was on it, when suddenly the lighting around her shifted from soft white to a dim, apocalyptic red. 

DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG!

“I’ve gotta get out of here!” Sayaka looked to her left: The door with the handle. She looked to her right: The door with the scanner. She ran for the door with the handle. She barged at top speed through the door, but she immediately got stopped, dead in her tracks by the horrific sight she was witnessing before her eyes. 

Mitakihara City was under a massive attack! Buildings, roads and bridges were being ripped apart, piece-by-piece! The sea was raging, wave-after-wave of water crashing through the city’s streets! Violent explosions booming all around! Chaos reigned, nature was twisting itself into a knot, Sayaka turned her head up to the sky to where she witnessed the cause of it all: A massive creature, a monster, at least a hundred meters tall! An upside-down, theatrically-cloaked human-esque figure affixed to a set of humongous, turning gears! “It’s a-” She stammered. “It’s a Witch! Wh-” Sayaka was unable to say anything else, her mouth as frozen in terrified awe as her eyes.

Sayaka’s awe was snapped by a series of bright flashes happening around the behemoth. Her eyes darted back towards the ground, where she caught a fleeting glimpse of the person responsible: It was Homura Akemi! A magical girl, like Sayaka, though not considered an ally in Sayaka’s mind. Homura was dashing back and forth, appearing one moment and disappearing the next, firing volley after volley of increasingly-powerful munitions, attempting to bring the monster down.

Undamaged by Homura’s assault, the massive thing countered by tossing humongous skyscraper fragments in Homura’s direction. Homura disappeared under one fragment, only to reappear attop the next, seemingly trying to get closer and closer to the behemoth’s main body. Her effort was for naught, just as she reached the last fragment, a cadre of smaller creatures were waiting on it in an ambush. They pounced, knocking Homura off, as she fell away and out of Sayaka’s sight.

Seeing Homura so handily defeated shook Sayaka from her frozen state. She lurched a few more steps forward before stopping again, this time at the sight of another familiar figure standing atop a twisted platform. It was a girl, this one Sayaka recognized even from so far away. It was Madoka Kaname, her best friend! Madoka stood alone, atop a twisted tower of wreckage, looking as though she was prepared to face this monster alone. And worse still, the monster had noticed, turning its massive body and flying in her direction.

The sight of her friend in such immediate danger forced Sayaka to move. Impulsively she charged ahead. She had to save her best friend, dammit ! What good was having magical girl power if she couldn’t do something so simple? Sayaka’s arms gestured to her body as she ran, attempting to transform into her magical girl persona. Only nothing was happening. Sayaka stopped and looked at her hand. The ring on her finger was gone! That ring, her Soul Gem, her essence made material, the proof that she was a magical girl was not where it needed to be! Sayaka hesitated, tears barely held back as she scrambled to think of what she should do next.

“No! No! I’m not some stupid rock!” Her hands clenched into fists as she cried out. “I’m not!” She shouted as she ran toward her friend. “Madoka! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean what I said! Please forgive me!” But the further she ran, the more sluggish Sayaka’s movements were getting. Her body was weakening as the distance between her soul and its former container was growing. She collapsed to her knees, defiantly crawled on, until then her legs gave out completely. Her body growing ever limper, she kept trying, dragging herself by her arms. “I’m not a rock! I have... To save her!” She whimpered with a wheezing cry! She flopped over from her belly to her back. “I’ll… Save you... Not a ro... I have… Ma… do… ka …” The last thing she could manage to do was turn her head away and close her tear-soaked eyes, too ashamed of herself to watch anymore. “ I’m sorry! I’m so useless. ”

“Why do I have to wear this, Father?” The young Gallifreyan Girl groaned as she looked at herself in the mirror.

“Because you look nice in it.” Her father replied, his hands gently clutching her shoulders. “Academy students must wear the traditional garb colored by the Great House they represent, and I must say, you wear the colors of our House well My Dearest.”

To The young Gallifreyan Girl, the garment just reminded her of a dress. She disliked wearing dresses. She couldn't play with the other children in a dress. They tore too easily. They got dirty too easily. The adults always get upset and tell her to be more “careful”. As if it was her duty to be the Grand Keeper of her clothing.

“Will you and mother be allowed to visit?” She had been selected to attend The Time Lord Academy, but she absolutely dreaded the idea of not seeing her loved ones again for such a prolonged time.

“Once we have the Administrative Council’s permission,” Her Father reassured her. “You’ll see us promptly.” He straightened her headdress. “And I’ve heard it’s going to be a big, big class this year, now that They’ve begun allowing students from The Lower Houses and The Plebian Castes to attend. Such a progressive time, we now inhabit.” He smiled warmly and whispered into her ear, “I’m certain you’ll make friends so fast you won’t miss us at all.”

“Such a ‘Progressive Time,’ oh pish-posh.” Her mother mocked while entering the room. “It’s the same grandiose masters, and the same staid mentors, with their pompous rituals, preaching the old dogmatic views, it doesn’t matter if the number of students attending have increased. It’s not progress. It’s the elites reinforcing their rule through systemic indoctrination.”

The young Gallifreyan Girl could sense her father’s discomfort with her mother’s opinion. “Your mother. I coupled with her because she was so upfront with her opinions, but can’t help but sometimes feel I’m hitched to a cynic.” He straightened his daughter’s collar as he waited for his wife to bring in their daughter’s ceremonial shoulder piece and headdress.

“You did choose a cynic, my dear. A cheerful one!” She pecked a kiss on her husband’s cheek as they positioned the final pieces of their daughter’s attire on her. She visually inspected her daughter’s appearance. “Wearing the drapes. The one fashion that no civilization will ever deem fashionable. Truly as timeless as The Time Lords.”

“But she pulls it off.” Her father was trying to lighten her mood. But seeing his daughter in full regalia was really exacerbating his burgeoning separation anxiety.

“Still, even an old cynic like me can sometimes be an optimist. Not every student’s going to fall prey to the lure of the opulent marbled porticos and the technological wonders. Some might leave with their minds and their souls intact.”

“Leaving itself would be a huge act of defiance.” Her father muttered laconically as he straightened out her headpiece.

“You’ll be one of them, I’m sure darling.” Her mother pecked a kiss on top of her daughter’s head. “One of those who leave, and then return with the will and the means to usurp those old masters. Rassilon himself will come to know your name.”

“Become the next.” Her husband confidently took his wife’s hand. “Keeper of the torch of hope.” The couple said together.

DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG!

The Time Lady slowly opened her eyes. “Ughhh… Stupid, lousy bell. Hate you.” In a daze, she stumbled to her feet. She checked her pulse. “I guess that hit me a bit harder than I anticipated. Wonder how long was I out?” She lurched over to the console to check on the status of the TARDIS. The status message on the screen quickly whipped her mind back to focus.

PROXIMITY ALERT! PROXIMITY ALERT! LARGE TRANSDIMENSIONAL PHENOMENON IN VICINITY!

“Oh, crap!” The Time Lady looked back at the futon to discover Sayaka’s absence. “Double crap!” She bolted out the TARDIS exit. “I must’ve been down-and-out for more than a day! I’m completely out of time!” 

The Time Lady immediately stopped upon opening the door, trying to process the chaotic scene playing out in front of her. All reality was coming apart at the seams, a massive, nightmarish creature floating in the sky above. The Time Lady instinctively reached for her wand in her coat pocket, but she stopped mid-gesture at the sight of Sayaka in the distance running toward the danger. Or at least, she was trying to run.  “Wait! Stooooop!” The Time Lady called out. It was in vain. Her voice could not penetrate the cacophony of noise and destruction happening around them. The Time Lady sprinted after the Sayaka, watching the girl’s panicked run falter to a crawl, then she flopped to her belly, where at the top of a debris pile she went motionless.

The Time Lady kneeled down to check if Sayaka had been injured, but the only visible sign of trauma was the tears still going down her unconscious face. The Time Lady hastily scooped the girl up, turned around and made a hasty retreat to the TARDIS. Her curiosity still prodding, She peeked over her shoulder and saw an intense beam of light penetrating straight through the behemoth’s body and up to the sky. Fighting every instinct to observe, she entered the TARDIS, slammed its door, and stepped toward the control console.

“Stop it! Give it back! Please! Give it back!”

Sayaka heard a girl crying out as she rounded the street corner on her way to school. She looked around the hedge to see two boys teasing a smaller girl. The two were tossing the girl’s umbrella back-and forth, as the poor girl was jumping around and out-of-breath, desperately pleading for its return. The taller boy tossed the umbrella to the shorter boy, then he pushed the girl in her back, right to the ground she fell on her face.

“Hey! You two! Give that thing back to her now!” Sayaka dropped her backpack. Without hesitating, Sayaka ran up to the smaller boy, ripped the umbrella from his hands, and tackled him right in the gut, pushing him straight into the hedge. The taller boy started to run, only for Sayaka to catch right up. She pushed him right in the back, and down on his face he went.

“Are you all right?” Sayaka held out her hand.

“... Th-” 

Before the girl could finish that thought, the two boys rose to their feet. Sayaka swiftly grabbed the girl’s umbrella holding onto it as if it were a baseball bat, and shot the boys a threatening look. The two boys took the hint and ran off. 

“It’s broken!” The girl whimpered. Sayaka opened the umbrella. The fabric had partially torn from its frame. 

“S-Sorry!” Sayaka apologized glumly. Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes. “D-don’t cry!” Sayaka scampered to her backpack, “Here! You can take mine!” 

The diminutive young lady didn’t know what to make of Sayaka’s kind gesture. “I-I don’t-”

“It’s okay! It’s fine! I’m fine with it!” Sayaka pried the girl’s fingers open to facilitate the exchange, but the girl reflexively clutched Sayaka’s other hand. 

“Are you a boy or a girl?” The girl asked outrightly.

Sayaka blushed. What a silly question that was. Sayaka looked down at herself. Blue polo shirt, blue shorts, blue shoes, long socks and short cut hair, maybe the question wasn’t so silly. “Wh-What’s your name?” Sayaka asked, trying to change the topic.

“My name is Madoka Kaname.” The girl sniffled as she answered.

“Where were you going?” Sayaka followed up.

“To Mitakihara Elementary School. My family just moved here. It’s my first day of school. My Papa wanted to take me but I wanted to show him that I knew the way and could walk by myself but then those boys-” 

“What grade are you in?” Sayaka interrupted.

“Kindergarten.”

Sayaka remembered her teacher mentioning something the other day about a transfer student coming soon. “Hey, I’m in Kindergarten too!” She gave Madoka a welcoming smile. “That means we’re gonna be classmates!”

Madoka was quite thrilled with hearing this news. She clutched Sayaka’s hand tighter. Their hands together, smiles on their faces, the pair resumed walking to their destination. “Let’s you and me meet here every day from now on, and walk to school together. That way, bully boys won’t be a problem again! I promise!”

DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG!

Sayaka gasped as her body jolted back to life. She found herself in that strange room again, this time sprawled on the floor.

“Well hello there! So glad you could finally join me.” A female voice greeted her. She was standing behind her at the console in the center of the room.

Sayaka immediately shot to her feet. “Wh- Who the heck are you? Where am I? What the hell is going on? Where’s-” 

The entire room suddenly jerked to one side, throwing Sayaka right off her balance.

“What the hell was-”

DOONNNGGGG! DOONNNGGGG! DOONN- “Yeeaaaahhh! Dangerrrrrrrrrrr! Dangerrrrrrrrrrrr! Got the message!” The Mysterious Woman pressed a toggle switch on the underside of the console. “Enough with that stupid, silly bell now!”

The entire room jerked again, throwing Sayaka to her knees. On the floor, Sayaka spotted a small blue, glowing object rolling around under the futon. “M-My Soul Gem! How did-”

The entire room jerked again, accompanied by a persistent quaking. Sayaka crawled over to her Soul Gem, reaching to retrieve it just as another violent shake came and the lights went out.

This Mysterious Woman standing before Sayaka seemed to be completely unfazed by their predicament. She punched a set of keys, pressed a number of lit buttons, then turned a large dial and flicked a bunch switches, reading the words on the screen display as if she were going about her normal business. “Let’s see… Time vortex, nope. Life support, minimal. Auxiliary power, hooray. Main power, partial. So miracles do exist.” She punched in some quick key commands, then pulled a pocket watch from her inner coat pocket. “Judging by the intervals between the shimmies and shakes, and from the increasing severity of the tremors, I would say we have approximately one hundred and eight seconds left to live.” Her eyes met Sayaka’s stare under the futon. “So now would not be the best time to be shy, my dear. One hundred, three seconds.”

Sayaka crawled forward, stepped to her feet, and stood face-to-face with This Mysterious Woman. 

“Better. Now tell me, young lady, do you have any regrets?”

“R- Regrets?” Sayaka said, giving a perplexed look.

“You know… Is there perhaps a sin you’d like to atone for, maybe an argument you’d like to take back, a failure to act when you should have, y’know, the kind of stuff you’d wished you’d had a chance to do over again. Anything like that? Eighty seconds.”

The tremors happening around them were getting louder. The Mysterious Woman pointed to a large lever on the opposite side of the console. “If your answer is yes, then would you please take hold of that lever? Sixty-two seconds.”

A flurry of questions filled Sayaka’s mind. Who was this woman? Was she a magical girl of some sort? Was she really offering Sayaka a second chance or something? What was really going on here? Was any of this really happening at all?

“Forty-eight seconds.” Everything shook again. “Need an answer soon.”

Sayaka trotted to the other side of the console and took hold of the lever. The Mysterious Woman smiled while she clutched an identical lever on her side of the console.

“Okay, when I say ‘pull’ you pull that lever all the way towards your body. Simple, yes?”

“Why am I doing this?” Sayaka meekly whispered to herself.

“In short, when the temporal shockwave hits, we’re going to manually override the navigational systems, then ride the wave all the way back to its point of origin, whilst diverting all available power towards making sure we survive the trip. Fifteen seconds.”

The Mysterious Woman flicked another set of switches as she fixed her eyes on her pocket watch. “Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One… PULL!”

Sayaka pulled the lever, as hard as anybody’s ever pulled a lever. And she clung to it as hard as anyone's ever clung to anything as she felt a sudden, immense rush of energy inside her. She stared at her unsteady hand. For a split second, she thought she was watching her entire body split apart.

“Haaaaaaang oooooon!” The Mysterious Woman warned, seemingly not noticing Sayaka's odd dilemma.

The room jerked violently to one side again, swinging from high angle to high angle like a pendulum, as the shaking reached its climax. As quickly as it started the energy rush subsuming Sayaka's body subsided. Still in one piece, she kept clinging to that lever, stumbling to her knees. She closed her eyes and practically hugged that lever, desperately wishing for the shaking and swinging and jerking to just end already.

The Mysterious Woman, meanwhile, clung to the lever on her side whilst keeping a defiantly upright posture. She took out her watch, interchanging glances between her watch and her display screen. “The stabilizers are conking out! We’re going to have to reinitialize them! See that rod on the side that looks like a pinball machine plunger? Pull it out and let ‘er rip!” Sayaka grabbed the rod and let it go. The violent jerking around them lessened.

“Good, thirty seconds to touchdown! When I say ‘push’, you raise that lever right back up, you got it?”

“O-okay…” Sayaka mewled as she hesitantly got back on her feet. She just wanted this crazy ride to be over.

“Fifteen seconds.” She pressed a button and flicked more switches. “Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One… PUSH!”

Sayaka pushed the lever. All the jerking, shaking and rumbling abruptly stopped.

“Touchdoooooown!” The Mysterious Woman waved her hands in gleeful celebration as she checked the display screen. “Alright, let’s see here… Main systems down again. Expected. Back-up systems still plugging along. All in all, we’re not that much worse for the wear.” She pumped her fist. “Aw, hot damn, I’m good!” She turned her head around just in time to see the young girl flee through the exit door. “Hmm. Some gratitude.” She sighed.

The onslaught of questions swimming through Sayaka’s mind just seconds earlier needed to wait. Her wits barely recovered, and her Soul Gem back in her possession, the only thing she could think about was her friend Madoka.  Her life was in danger. Her best friend needed her help. Her best friend needed her protector Sayaka to be there for her.

But as Sayaka made it outside, she discovered that she was in for yet one more rude awakening. Somehow, they ended up in Mitakihara Mall. That gigantic witch, the disaster it caused, all the chaotic horrors she witnessed, were gone. Sayaka stumbled on a few more steps forward to see all the bizarrely normal people in the world around her. The people shopping in the shops. The people playing games at the arcades. The people eating at the food court. The people were casually talking to each other, as if the nightmares Sayaka had just endured had suddenly unhappened. Mitakihara City was totally back to normal. Normal, that is, except for one thing: That strange room she had just spent time in. That same room she had just taken a ride in, that room that she just fled from in thoughtless haste… It seemed to be a room that was crammed entirely inside… Of a vending machine . She had just experienced the most chaotic ride of her life, inside of a magic ‘Morning Rescue’ Coffee vending machine. What the heck was going on?

The Mysterious Woman casually walked out of the vending machine, looked up to see Sayaka’s mouth hanging wide open and staring at her. Quickly the woman realized that she wasn’t the strange, out-of-place object that the young girl was fixated so upon. The Mysterious Woman blithely walked behind Sayaka, put her hands on the girl’s shoulders, gave a relieved sigh and smiled.

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, wonderful! How ‘bout that? The Chameleon Circuit still works! Not much, but it’s a start, at least!”

Chapter Text

“Who are you? What happened to that huge witch? What’s the deal with your weird room? Why did you have my Soul Gem in there? How’d we get all the way to the mall? Why did you bring me here? Who the hell are you ?” 

“My, oh my, aren’t you a pretty petit package of pointedly poignant questions?” The Mysterious Woman whipped out a pair of glasses as she took a seat in the booth across from Sayaka and scanned the restaurant’s menu. “Why’d I bring you here? Because you’re hungry.”

“I’m not hungry.” Sayaka’s stomach audibly growled in contradiction to her response. Sayaka’s face changed from indignity to embarrassment as she haplessly slid into the corner of their booth. “And besides…” She curled into the corner in a fetal-shape. “I don’t need to eat. Anymore.”

“You don’t say?” The Mysterious Woman casually pulled a strange-looking wand from her coat pocket and pressed a button on it. Her odd-looking device whistled while its tip’s glow transitioned to purple. “Nope.” She pushed her glasses up with the wand. “My first scans were correct. I detect no sustenance nor nutrients within your entire digestive tract. Also, you have alarmingly-low levels of iron in your blood.” She turned her focus to the menu. “What’s the most iron-rich food they serve in this place?”

“What is that thing?” Sayaka asked, her self-pity and depression slightly quelled by her innate curiosity. 

“Oh? This old thing?” The Mysterious Woman patiently tapped her wand on her sleeve. “It’s my Magic… uh, Multitool,” her relaxed, confident greyish-blue eyes meeting Sayaka’s own exhausted baby blue eyes.

“Magic?” Sayaka’s curiosity was spiked with the mention of that precious word. “Are you telling me you’re a Ma-”

“Though I suppose that term wouldn’t accurately describe it. It’s really more a portable computer. And I uh,” she scratched her temple with it. “I use it to scan lifeforms. And examine stuff… And tap into computer systems… And open stubborn jars… But mostly it picks locks. Lots and lots of locks. It’s the best at pickin’ those locks.”

“Good morning ladies.” The Mysterious Woman discreetly tucked her wand up her coat sleeve once the restaurant waitress noticed them and approached. “What will it be today?” 

“Coffee.” The Mysterious Woman subtly tapped her chest. “Just start with coffee.”

Both The womens’ gaze turned onto Sayaka, who defensively stayed firmly curled in her booth corner. “I told you. I don’t-”

“What’s the most iron-rich food you serve?” The Mysterious Woman asked.

“Iron-rich?” The waitress wasn’t certain how to reply to such an oddball question.

The Mysterious Woman waved the waitress closer to her. “This young lady is extremely iron deficient.” She leaned toward the waitress, addressing her in a not-at-all-secretive tone.

“I… I guess I could eat a hot dog.” Sayaka sheepishly relented, her face still buried between her curled knees.

“I’m sorry, miss, but we don’t serve that until lunch.”

Sayaka’s stomach made a loud, dejected growl.

“Ooooohhh! Breakfast menu’s got eggs! And bacon! Even toast and a bagel!” The Mysterious Woman was obviously just reading the menu straight through the list. 

“I’ll Tell you what: We’ll start with Eggs and bacon and a bagel, some iced tea, and I’ll see if I can get the cook to scrounge you up a hot dog, too.” The waitress politely intervened. She tilted her head Sayaka’s way. “Does that sound Okay?” 

“Ffffffffffine.” Sayaka gave in, just wanting the woman to go away. The waitress courteously bowed and moved on to the patrons on the other side of the restaurant.

An awkward silence lingered for the next few minutes until Sayaka worked up just enough courage to peek between her knees and examine the woman sitting across from her. The Mysterious Woman was humming a certain tune, her elbows on the table with her fingers steepled, tapping them together and patiently waiting for breakfast. Sayaka was trying to place where she’d heard the tune before, when their eyes accidentally met, at which point Sayaka closed her knees.

The woman looked young-ish, perhaps in her late twenties, or early thirties in age. She was wearing a long, unbuttoned leather coat with a somewhat-worn grey hooded sweatshirt underneath. A definite westerner, her face was decidedly feminine and in Sayaka’s own judgement was quite pretty, but she also appeared as if she wasn’t particularly interested in maintaining her appearance. Her mid-length, reddish-brown hair was unkempt and she only seemed to be wearing a minimal amount of makeup. She again noticed Sayaka was peering from behind her knees. “Yes?” She cocked her head and smiled. “Welp. We’re alone again. Would you care to resume your little line of questions?” 

That flood of questions instantly rushed back into Sayaka’s head. She anxiously uncurled from her booth and lurched her body over the table, ultimately deciding to start with her original question: “Who are you?”

“Me?” The woman shifted in her seat as she gathered together her thoughts. “Hmmmm… I’m nobody important.” She leaned closer and whispered, “Merely a visiting alien from outer space.”

“What?” Sayaka squawked in disbelief.

“I’m an alien.” She pointed up to the sky. “From outer space.”

“Naw. For reals?”

“Uh, ‘For reals.’ Yes.”

“But you can’t be an alien!”

“Oh?” The woman playfully smiled. “Why can’t I be an alien?”

“Because you don’t look like an alien.”

“Why thank you!” She giggled. “I take great pride in all my disguises!”

“Are you like a lizard or a spider or something under your skin?” 

“A lizard? Er, no!” She chuckled. This face is my face.” She checked her reflection in a decorative mirror hanging on the wall. “For now.”

“For now?” Sayaka didn’t press her on it. “So, Um, if you’re an alien, what planet did you come from?”

“I came fresh from Hephaesta Four.” She took a momentary, pensive breath. “But if you’re really asking where I call my original home, I’m from the planet Gallifrey.”

“Gallifrey? That sounds made up.”

“I assure you, it is not.”

The waitress returned with a coffee in hand. “Here’s your coffee, Miss. And I have good news, young lady… Since we’re having a slow morning, the cook has agreed to fix you up a hot dog. Your food will be ready shortly.”

“Uh, thank you.” Sayaka appreciatively nodded.

After the waitress left, Sayaka went on, pointing accusingly at the woman’s coffee cup. “How would an alien from outer space know anything about coffee?”

The Mysterious Woman perked a cheery smile. “Ah, well you see, the thing is, I’ve been to this planet before. Lots of times.” She dipped her finger and licked the liquid on its tip. “I mean, It’s not really my favorite world to visit, admittedly, I do seem to oddly find myself to be… a semi-regular guest...” her voice trailed. “Player here.” She sniffed her coffee then set it aside. “Ah. Hot. Let sit for a bit.”

“Soooo if you’ve been here before,” Sayaka continued, apprehensively trying to look her in the eye. “Is that why you can speak Japanese?”

“Japanese?” The Mysterious Woman thought for a moment. “Oh, yes! That’s right! Languages.” She eagerly jostled her fingers around. “Actually, I don’t speak your language at all. When you talk, I can perceive you as speaking to me in my language, and when I talk, you perceive me as speaking Japanese. That’s a fundamental function of the translation matrix of the TARDIS.” She noticed Sayaka was already having trouble following along. “The TARDIS.” She re-positioned herself. “The TARDIS. That would be my spaceship. My alien spaceship.”

She stopped her explanation right there to allow Sayaka a moment to add all the details together. “Alien spaceship? Th- Tha- You mean, that was the weird room we were in? No way!” 

“Yes way!” The Mysterious Woman gave an approving smile.

“So why is it a vending machine?”

“I told you right when you stepped outside. It’s got a Chameleon Circuit.” She continued. “I suppose you could call it a type of ‘camouflage’, it’s a little feature that lets it land on a world, analyze its surroundings, and then disguise itself in such a particular way that it doesn't get noticed by the planet’s locals. So It’s a spaceship that only looks like a vending machine while it’s here. Hiding right there in plain sight.”

“B- But hold up. H- how is it crammed in a vending machine when it’s like a…” Sayaka confusedly gestured her arms. “Whole entire room?”

“How indeed?” The Mysterious Woman mused over the question. She took a deep breath, rested her arms along the booth seat as her head tilted against it. “How quite do I explain it...” Her polite smile persisted. “It’s… Dimensionally Transcendental.” She glanced back momentarily at Sayaka, who was visibly baffled. She patiently pushed her glasses up, scratched behind her ear, and parsed through exactly how best she should distill the Laws of Interdimensional Cohabitation and Differential Geometry down to something that a troubled teenage human girl might understand. “You see, it exists in its own pocket dimension, albeit one with all the shared fundamental physical laws of this one such as gravity or electromagnetism. And from the safety of its own dimension, its crew can travel through normal spacetime instantly via…” She could tell by Sayaka’s face that she was lagging. “Okay, I’ll keep it simple: My race created technology so sophisticated that it allows things to be bigger on the inside.”

“Oh. Okay. I get that.” Sayaka at least understood that last part, but she was way too hungry and far too tired to process any sort of complicated scientific concepts at the moment. Her tired head drooped, lower and lower until it practically rested flat on the table.

“Here’s your order, young lady!” The waitress returned with a smile and a tray full of delicious food. 

“Thank you.” Sayaka rolled her head and slid the hotdog ever-so-slightly inside her mouth. “So you’re saying those are like, your cars?” Sayaka pressed, “Does everyone on your planet just go zipping around, and visiting other worlds with these wacky spaceships?”

“No, just Us Time Lords.” She noticed her own reflection again in Sayaka’s iced tea, and picked up her glass. “Oh yeah. Time Ladies, I mean.” 

Sayaka took a couple of incrementally-larger bites of her hot dog. “‘Time Lord’? ‘Time Lady’? What do you mean by that?”

The Time Lady put Sayaka’s glass down and slid it over to her. “Because I’m female. Y’know?” She nodded once at Sayaka. “Like you are.”

“Wh- What? N- No, no.” Sayaka unwrapped a straw on her tray then stuck it in the glass. “Why do you call yourselves ‘Time Lords’ and ‘Time Ladies’?”

The Time Lady seemed bemused by her question. “Why do you creatures call yourselves ‘Humans,’ and not ‘Earthers,’ or something? Just because our planet is named ‘Gallifrey’ doesn’t necessarily make us all ‘Gallifreyan’.” She reached for her coffee, about to take her first sip.

“What? No, that’s not what I mean.” Sayaka took a large bite off her hot dog, then thirstily sipped her tea through the straw. “Why are you called ‘ Time ’ Lords? Why ‘ Time ’ Ladies?”

The Time Lady’s eyes instantly went wide, like a deer in the headlights, once she realized what Sayaka was actually asking about. “Ohhhhhh riiiiiight. I see. That’s what you meant. I guess you haven’t yet pieced that part together. Whoops. My bad.” She set her coffee down without sipping. “I regret to say that in my usual whimsiness, I may have accidentally buried the lede on you.” Her smile faded, her face red as she scrambled for a way to break the bad news to Sayaka in such a way that wouldn’t cause Sayaka to emotionally erupt and cause a scene. “The TARDIS… It’s kind of an acronym. The closest translation to one of your Earth Languages would be ‘Time And Relative Dimension In Space’.” She apologetically took Sayaka’s hand. “My spaceship is also a spaceship that can travel backwards and forwards through time.”

Sayaka instantly stopped drinking her tea, and she let out a shocked gulp. She sat and stared at The Time Lady in silent shock and horror. “I’d say by the evidence, you and I traveled back in time… About a month… Or so.” The Time Lady wet her finger and stuck it in the air as if she were examining the difference as though it were a shift in the winds. She added “That’d be my calculation. By the sights and sounds…” She looked over her shoulder. “Of everything around here.”

Sayaka pulled her hand away and immediately curled back into her fetal position in the booth corner. After a few minutes of coping with that detail, she finally spoke again when she watched the waitress pass.

“Excuse me, uhm, M-Miss. Can you tell me, uh, what day it is today?”

“What day is today?” The waitress replied. “It’s Wednesday.”

“No.” Sayaka looked up at her. “What’s today’s date?”

The waitress pulled her flip-phone from her side pocket. “It’s March sixteenth.” She showed the screen to Sayaka, folded it back in her pocket, and continued serving her other customers. 

“Th- Thanks.” Sayaka faintly replied, her eyes tearing as a profound realization dawned upon her. “S- So th- Tha- That Witch. Whe-” Sayaka tried to speak soberly, but struggled with her words.

“A ‘Witch’? If ever there was an inadequate term for a major ‘Transdimensional Cross-Rip’ event...” The Time Lady mused as she itched her chin.   

“Wait, y- You saw it too?” Sayaka’s tone changed from somberness to exasperation.

“Yes. I saw it. I also saw you were running straight towards it. So the question I’d much like to ask is: Why would a person like you run toward such an astoundingly dangerous phenomenon?” The Time Lady slowly reached her hand across the booth, sensing that this young lady was about to do something very rash.

Sayaka launched to her feet, slamming her fists on the table. The Time Lady barely caught her by the arm before she could make a jolt for the exit.
“Sit down.” The Time Lady commanded. “Right now.”

“No! Let me go!” Sayaka tugged and protested. 

“No. Just calm down, sit, and finish your meal.” The Time Lady replied, in a manner that tried to sound both authoritative and considerate. “And please, answer my question.”

“Don’t you get it?” Sayaka tried to jerk her arm away from The Time Lady’s grip. She grabbed the Time Lady’s tightening hand with her other hand. “That Witch is gonna-”

“That ‘Witch,’ as you call it...” The Time Lady finished Sayaka’s assertion. “Is going to appear again in a month or so, and cause this city a great disaster. Yes, dear Sayaka Miki. I’m keenly aware.”

“You-” The flustered Sayaka jerked again at her grip. “H- How the heck do you know my name?” 

With her other hand, The Time Lady slipped Sayaka’s wallet from her inner coat pocket. “This was in your pocket.”

“How did you-?” Sayaka suddenly remembered seeing a brilliant white light on the train car, it was the last thing she could distinctly recall. “That l- That was you?” Sayaka gasped. “You took me away from there, didn’t you?”

“I confess.” The Time Lady solemnly nodded. “‘Twas I.”

“Then you’ve gotta take me back !” Sayaka raised her voice, loudly enough to draw attention from the waitress and what few onlookers were present. She leapt to her feet and pleadingly grabbed The Woman’s coat. “Please! I have to go back there!”

“What? Why would you want to go back ?” The Time Lady asked. 

“Just do it! Use your time machine or spaceship or whatever-the-hell-it-is and take me back there! I’ve gotta sa-”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” The Time Lady interrupted, raising her voice. “We barely escaped with our hides intact the first time around! Besides, I couldn’t-”

Sayaka let go of the Time Lady’s arm and lunged for her wallet, a blatant move to distract the woman into letting go of her own arm. The Time Lady, seeing right through Sayaka’s brash little ruse, tossed the wallet high into the air. With a singular motion, her wand slid out from her sleeve and up her hand. She double-tapped the button on the side. The ring on Sayaka’s finger emanated a blue glow then instantaneously transmuted, where it formed into its egg shape at the tip of the Time Lady’s wand. Sayaka leapt and caught her wallet in time to realize that her getaway gambit had just cost her her Soul Gem. Sayaka recoiled and fell to the floor in anguish. The Time Lady promptly released her arm.

“Is everything all right?” The waitress stepped in. The Time Lady nimbly hid her otherworldly items behind her back.

“Oh, yes! Everything’s totally fine!” She reached her hand back to Sayaka on the floor. “She just dropped something is all!” Sayaka looked up at the Time Lady who was looking back at her with an unwavering, triumphant smile.

“I dropped my wallet. I found it.” Sayaka took the Time Lady’s hand and sulked off the floor. She dejectedly slunk into her booth, and curled back into her protective fetal ball. The waitress gave a courteous bow before walking away. A curious onlooking old couple turned the other way and dismissed what they’d just seen as a teen’s temper tantrum.

“I can’t take you back.” Whispered The Time Lady, tying to sound both apologetic and conciliatory.

“You mean you won’t take me back.” Sayaka’s voice choked as her eyes welled up.

“No.” The Time Lady corrected in an and even more hushed tone. “I can’t .” The Time Lady took a deep, pensive sigh. “My TARDIS is damaged. It doesn’t have enough power to go anywhere. It barely has enough juice to maintain its basic functions. And even if there were enough power, it doesn’t have access to the extradimensional plane that allows it to move through time. Whatever that phenomenon was, it caused a... Transdimensional tsunami that swept us right out of that place. Honestly, we were extremely lucky just to survive our trip here.” 

“What?” The distressed Sayaka was right back to being confused. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that,” The Time Lady confessed. “I’m not what brought us to these temporal coordinates. I haven’t a clue what did!”

“So I really can’t go back?” Sayaka unsuccessfully choked back her tears. “I can’t help-”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” The Time Lady wadded some napkins fresh from the dispenser, sympathetically wiping the tears from Sayaka’s eyes. She slid the food tray toward her. “Please eat. Your food’s getting cold.” Sayaka slowly and dolefully took a bite of toast. The Time Lady gave her a mollifying smile. She released the gem from the tip of her wand and slid it back towards Sayaka.

“I do concede that I haven’t been accommodating enough with my answers so far.” She raised her palm as if she were about to swear an oath. “Just, sit, eat, and hear me out. I’ll tell you my whole story, straight from the top.” She paused and studied around the room, collecting her thoughts. 

“I’m a, sort of a… How does one describe my job? Sort of what you’d call an ‘Independent Investigator’. A freelancer, if you will.”  She put her palm to the table and traced a squiggly path along it with her finger. “I spend my life and my time, travelling throughout all of space and time in my TARDIS, solving all sorts of big and little problems for alien peoples in some faraway future over here. Or resolving an honor dispute between roundtable knights in the not-so-distant past over there.” She squiggled a path in the opposite direction. “Rescuing the helpless in a pinch in one place. Ending thousand year wars in another. You could say it’s my raison d'être.” She locked eyes with Sayaka, who had again yielded to her hunger and started nibbling on the bacon, listening intently.

“So you help people out, for a living?” Sayaka condensed it.

“That’s what I do, yup.” The Time Lady nodded.

“So… Was that why you rescued me?”

“Yes.”

“Why me?”

“Why not you?” She shrugged. “You looked like somebody who needed help!”

“Are you paid for it?” Sayaka uneasily asked. “Because I don’t-”

“Oh, no,” The Time Lady interrupted. “I don’t do payments. Not unless somebody straight-up insists. Even then I’ll take like, little trinkets and sentimental stuff. Stuff that’ll furnish my ship.” Sayaka let out a relieved sigh. “I’d say,” She continued, “I’ve been doing this job for…” She paused as if trying to recall. “Probably hundreds of years now. Or maybe closer to a thousand.”

“For reals?” Sayaka dropped her bacon. “But you don’t look old at all!”

“Thank you!” The Time Lady giggled at the unintentional flattery. “But my race ages… A bit differently from yours. We live for quite a long time.”

“So how old are you?” Sayaka picked her bacon up.

“Good question…” The Time Lady mused. “What’s the oldest thing you can think of off the top of your head?”

“I don’t know.” Sayaka rolled her eyes. “Those big Pyramids in Egypt.” 

“Ah, those. Yup. I’m older than that.” The Time Lady remarked. “Way. I think.”

Sayaka’s bacon dropped from her mouth. “For reals? How do you not know for sure?”

“After the first three thousand years or so I just stopped counting.” The Time Lady snickered. “Plus, having a time machine makes keeping track of that type of thing seem a bit… Unimportant.” She shifted in her seat and tapped her fingers on the table. “Anyway, I think we’re getting a little sidetracked. Can you try to hold off on the side questions until I’m done, please?”

Sayaka submissively nodded. “Fine.”

The Time Lady continued. “You see, I just happened to be passing through this quaint little cosmic neighborhood, when my ship detected this humongous temporal anomaly concentrated around the Earth.” Sensing Sayaka was about to interject with another question, the Time Lady backtracked. “A temporal anomaly: That would be something that has gone terribly wrong with the normal flow of space and time.” She let Sayaka take another bite of food before continuing. “Anyway, some force, something, or somebody, very powerful, has displaced this poor world from the normal progression of The Universe. And whatever that thing is, I traced its epicenter to right here, this fair city of yours.”

“That Witch?” Sayaka said through a mouthful of bacon. “You think?”

“I’m not one to jump to immediate conclusions,” The Time Lady, momentarily looking away, dispensed a few more napkins and flipped them over to the young lady. “But it would fit the facts as we presently know them.” She continued, “So I swooped in closer, landed, and tried to investigate the situation. But navigating a TARDIS inside a spacetime anomaly like one of this sort is a very tricky ordeal: Stick the landing wrong and I’d be flung off into some deranged space between the spaces, land it really wrong and I blow up and die. Fortunately, after a false start, I succeeded in making it here, but not quite in the right time or in the spot that I wanted to.” She looked away a second time, to see if anyone was watching while she pulled out her wand. “After poking my head around a bit, I scanned the area for any strong, well okay, more on point, Straaaange ...” She double tapped the side button. Sayaka’s Soul Gem leapt from her pocket to the tip of the wand. “Energy signatures.” She concluded, pointing at the Soul Gem. She pushed her glasses up with a smile. “And I detected this little eggy here.”

“Hey! Stop that!” Quite irritatedly, Sayaka gestured to give it back. “How are you doing that, anyway?”

“My multitool is attuned to a resonance frequency that attracts your, uh, ‘Soul Gem’, as you called it. Not a perfect analogy but think of it as a sort of magnetic attraction.” The Time Lady picked the blue gem from the wand and held it at eye level between them. “So I locked on to this particular signature, followed its trail, and it led me straight... To you .” She tilted her head to an angle, looking past the gem and at Sayaka. “And now that I’ve told my side of the story and answered your questions, I think it’s only fair that you extend that same courtesy to me.” 

Sayaka nervously grabbed her Soul Gem from the Time Lady’s hand. “M- My story?” She nestled it in her lap under the table, glumly gazing upon it. “I don’t have a story. Not Anymore.” 

“Anymore?” The Time Lady leaned in closer to Sayaka across the table.

“No.” her body tensed up. Awful memories from her recent past swarmed through. Sayaka cradled her Soul Gem between her hands in her lap. Of seeing Mami's death: “I’m useless....” Of fighting Kyoko: “And stupid...” Of learning the ramifications of her when back in her bedroom: “A worthless rock that’s pretending to be alive.” Of her spats with Homura: “I'm beyond help...” A single tear formed from her eye, thinking of her last conversation with Madoka. “Beyond hope...” The tear hung precipitously on her cheek. Then she tried to remember what it was all for, the reason was fighting in the first place. “A fool.” But all she could recall was the face of some boy. The tear dropped. “I was such…” 

“Hm. It’s interesting,” Sayaka looked down at her Soul Gem and saw that The Time Lady had caught her tear mid-fall. She analytically rubbed the tear between her fingers. “I’m old.” She lifted Sayaka’s chin as she spoke. “I’ve visited thousands upon thousands of worlds.” She gave Sayaka a warm smile. “But I have never, ever met a rock that cried. I'm confident when I say that rocks can't cry. Just people.”

Sayaka jerked back in her seat. “But I am a rock!” She insisted, sniffing both back snot and tears in an exasperated fit. “I am a stupid, foolish, no good, useless rock !”

“Never heard a rock shout that it’s just a rock, either.” The Time Lady flippantly countered. “Humans. So dramatic sometimes.”

“I am a rock !” Sayaka jumped up and slammed her Soul Gem on the table, trying to hammer the point that she was in fact, being literal. “I’m this stupid, useless, foolish, helpless, hopeless, glowing rock .”

“Oh, you mean that? Why, that’s a container of Ectomatter. Albeit a very pretty and overly decorated one, I must say.” She picked up her coffee and at last took her first sip of it. “Bleh. Bitter. I’ll manage.”

Sayaka didn’t know whether to be offended, annoyed or bewildered by the Time Lady’s frivolous attitude. “Eck- ta- whaaaaat? Don’t you get it? M-My- That’s my soul! M- My soul was taken right out of my body and stuffed into this stupid thing !” The old couple sitting near had taken notice again.

“Shhhhh!” The Time Lady pulled Sayaka back down to her seat. “I understand that. I really do. So how did something like this happen to you?”

“Kyubey.” Sayaka answered after a traumatised stare. “Kyubey did it to me.” She used to think that name and that face were cute. But no longer. 

“Kyubey?” The Time Lady sipped. “What, pray tell, is a ‘Kyubey’?”

“He’s a- uhm-” Sayaka stopped herself. It’s not that she lacked the vocabulary to properly describe him. It’s that every attempt to picture that face took her right back to that awful night in her bedroom, and seeing Kyubey’s torturous demonstration on her Soul Gem.

“He’s… A cat, kind of rabbit-like little white furred creature.” She finally said as she closed her eyes. “And he’s always got this same sort of goofy smile on his face that makes him look like a plush toy.” She also reflexively clutched her gut.

“A little cat, rabbit-like creature’. Same ‘look on his face’. Hmmm.” She took a bigger sip of her coffee and winced as she swallowed. “This Kyubey… I’d venture it’s not a local lifeform. And it doesn’t ring a bell to any of the aliens I’ve met.”

“Alien?” Sayaka finally blinked. “What? What do you mean by that?” 

“I mean exactly what I said.” The Time Lady took another sip. “Kyubey’s not a creature from this planet.”

“Of course he’s not… He’s… He’s a Magical… Animal!”

“A Magical Animal ?” The Time Lady chortled mockingly while she sipped. “I like that. Somewhere out there in a faraway galaxy spins The Great world known as ‘Magic.’ A most exotic place populated by millions of little Bunnycats and alien magicians pulling out even more itty bitty Bunnycats from their funny magic top hats. Haha.”

“Stop that!” Sayaka blushed. “I didn’t ask him where he came from, okay?” She didn’t appreciate this woman making jokes at her expense.

“Sorry.” The Time Lady put down her coffee. “I get what you meant.” She leaned over the table and pointed at the Soul Gem. “If it’s not too intrusive of me to ask… How did he do… This …” She leaned over the table and lightly tapped it. “To you?” 

Sayaka closed her eyes and tried her best to picture that long ago evening when she contracted. “I’m not sure exactly how he really does it. I... Remember standing on a rooftop with him. I asked him if he could really grant...” She reflexively clutched her beating chest. What was it that she asked of Kyubey? That boy’s face suddenly popped back into her mind. 

“Grant?” The Time Lady repeated.

“Graaaant…” Sayaka heavily tailed off. She definitely knew that face. And the name that belonged to that face: Kyosuke Kamijo. Yes... Her whole ordeal was something involving him .

“Grant something .” Sayaka tried to move on. “Kyubey said it would be no problem. Then asked if I was ready. And I remember being really really nervous, but I’d made my mind up. I told him I was ready. He flexed his ears, or whatever those were, and I remember they grabbed my chest.”

“Grabbed your chest with his ears.” The Time Lady let out a stifled laugh. Sayaka shot her an unamused glare. “Oop. Sorry. Go on.”

And then I think I must have closed my eyes, as I heard Kyubey say something like ‘There! Accept it! This is your destiny’.”

“Destiny.” The Time Lady repeated. A word she was all too familiar with.

“And then the next thing I knew, I felt like I was floating down, and I opened my eyes and grasped at this bright blue light glowing in front of my face. And then the next thing after that, I was wearing different clothes, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, rushing to save my friends.” 

“Your friends? They were in danger?”

“Yeah.” Sayaka thought back. “Kyubey told me they were in danger.”

“I see. Is that them?” The Time Lady motioned toward Sayaka’s pocket. “Those girls in the photograph?”

“Yeah.” Sayaka pulled the picture from her wallet. The picture was of her and two girls next to her. “The shorter one, in the middle, The one I’ve got my arm around. That’s my best friend Madoka.” Sayaka breathed. “And the tall one, on the right side with her hands together, she’s Hitomi.” She slid the photograph over to the Time Lady, her face doleful.

“They both look quite lovely.” The Time Lady picked it up.

“They’re the best!” Sayaka longlingly agreed. “See Madoka and I go-” Sayaka stopped. Merely mentioning Madoka by name brought forth the tragic circumstances of their separation. The pain of when she lashed out at Madoka at the bus stop, berating her for not fighting witches and only watching while Sayaka was the one getting hurt. The regret, for lashing so ruefully, then running away and never apologizing for it. And the self-loathing, for failing to come to Madoka’s side as she faced that massive witch alone. She was choking up again, trying to hide the tears with the cuff of her sleeve.

“Oh, there’s no call that now.” The Time Lady assuaged.

“Yes there is!” Sayaka sniffled. “I couldn’t- I- I fa- She-" 

“I mean, not when you have all these napkins right here.” She flipped a dozen Sayaka’s way. “Crying is good. First step toward healing. But your clothes look like they’ve already been through enough misery as it is.”

“Thanks.” Sayaka managed a small, stilted laugh. She hurriedly wiped her tears and blew her nose. Sayaka checked on the Soul Gem in her lap. It was glowing a little brighter than it was a few minutes ago. “What was it that you called my Soul Gem, again? Wh- What was the word?”

It was a pretty naked attempt to steer the conversation away from the topic that was making Sayaka so upset, yet the Time Lady decided it both helpful and prudent she indulge in the young lady's question. “It’s ‘Ectomatter’.” She replied.

“That sounds made up.” Sayaka sniffled and cleared her throat as she spoke.

“Well, I grant you, it’s merely the technically accurate term, A bit like describing water as ‘Dihydrogen monoxide’. Too clinical. So my people have a boatload of other terms for it.”

“It’s my soul.” Sayaka whined.

“Who said that? That ‘Kyubey’ thing?” The Time Lady questioned.

Sayaka nodded. “Was he right?” She moved it from her lap to the table. “Is it me?”

“Ectomatter is an energy that constitutes the spiritual essence of life, yes.”

Sayaka stared at her, dismayed. 

The Time Lady sat back and fingered through her hair. “My people, they discovered a long time ago that space and time…” Her voice tailed while she collected her thoughts. “That is to say, all matter, all the planets and stars, this Universe as governed by the laws of physics…” She put her open hand on the table. “It isn’t really separate from the thoughts, feelings and perceptions of the lifeforms within it...” She put her other open hand on the table. “We figured out that there is a symbiotic relationship. That if a sentient being exerts enough pure thought, emotion and sheer will, and projects it into the physical realm…” She put her hands together. “Then that being could physically affect, or change a physical aspect of reality itself.” She held her hands out towards Sayaka’s Soul Gem. “Ectomatter is the substance, a substance within us all, comprised of all the thoughts and emotions of a creature, with sentient life having it in much more abundance. Do you understand now?”

Sayaka stared at her blankly. “You mean we all have magic in us?” 

The Time Lady let out a hearty laugh. “Sure. You can call it ‘magic’.” She rested her chin on her hands as she gazed longingly into the distance. “Honestly, my grades in Transcendental Metaphysics were kinda lousy. My tutor was a long winded rambling bore, and a girl’s gotta get her beauty rest somewhere...” The Time Lady’s gaze drifted off into the distance, as though she were reminiscing about something. Sayaka waved her gem in front of the Lady’s eyes to bring her back. “Oh! Totally spaced. Sorry.” She pulled out her wand then turned a dial, activating it on Sayaka’s glowing Gem.

“Hey! Would you stop that, already! Geez!” Sayaka jerked in her seat.

“Felt that, didja?” The Time Lady smirked with a coffee sip.

“Yes!” The annoyed Sayaka admitted. She turned her gem back into a ring on her finger covering it with her other hand. 

“The ‘Soul Gem’ object, the container itself is pretty interesting to me, too. ‘Cause it looks like it’s made of Gallifreynium.” 

Sayaka raised her brow. “ That word sounds ma-”

“Yeah you got me.” The Time Lady interjected. “That word I did make up. Just now.”

Sayaka tilted her head, questioningly. The Time Lady hunched over her coffee while she slurped more of it. “Well I ain’t calling it ‘Substance E-123 Omegium’. No way, no how. Hated that guy.” She drew her wand closer to Sayaka’s Gem. Sayaka reflexively pulled her hand back with a shake of her head.

The Time Lady looked down at her drink while she resumed her explanation. “Gallifreynium’s one of the only known artificial substances that can both contain and channel Ectomatter. So my working theory is that this ‘Kyubey’ critter has some kind of tech which takes a person’s inert emotional energy, i.e. Ectomatter, condenses and coalesces it, then initiates a chain reaction that in turn activates it, which converts it into a form that allows it to readily interact with and alter the reality around it. Then he seals it inside a portable, egg-shaped container. A container, somehow made of Gallifreynium.”

Sayaka ate her food while The Time Lady motored on. “Now if my theory is correct, then that would raise more than a few rather disconcerting questions.” The Time Lady scratched her chin with her finger, rolling from thought to thought. “Chiefly: How’d he obtain that sort of technology in the first place? Ectomatter’s some pretty potent stuff. The Shadow Proclamation bans any and all research into the subject, so clearly this ‘Kyubey’ or whatever race it belongs to, is not an adherent. That we Time Lords know of the stuff, is only because we discovered it first. Secondly, what use would that stuff be to him?” She scratched the back of her head as she continued rambling. “On the small scale… Perhaps profit? Could be. But any substance that alters matter on the small scale and distorts reality on the large scale obviously undermines the very economic principles of scarcity or supply-and-demand. Propulsion? Nah, he obviously got to Earth on its own somehow. And he’ll probably leave the same way. Awfully wasteful use of it anyhow. Weapons? Maybe. Something that totally screws with reality would very quickly rid you of your enemies. Enough of the stuff could make ‘em straight up un-exist. But man, that’d be overkill. Still, it's compelling though.” She squinted. “Lastly, is Kyubey the ringleader of this operation? Or simply the lackey, or the middle man?” She fixed her eyes back upon Sayaka, who was quietly finishing her food. “Oh! My goodness! I was just babbling. Oopsie. I suppose the real, chiefest question, at least pertaining to the two of us sitting here and now, would be: Why would you agree to have the Ectomatter inside you, plucked out and placed inside a Gallifreynium container?”

Sayaka dropped her bagel on the floor. “Kyubey, he granted my-” She said, wincingly. It still pained her to remember the intricate details beyond mere names and faces.

“Appeal? Request?” The Time Lady tried helping her along. “Favor?”

“No,” Sayaka stared into the distance. “A lot more than a favor.” She suddenly recalled the boy having a badly damaged hand. And of him utterly in despair. It would never ever get better.  Not unless miracles or magic exist. “... But miracles and magic are real.” She whispered. “A miracle!” She answered. “That was it! A wish! I made a wish! He made a miracle happen!” Did all her misery and misfortune really cause her to forget all about it? A wave of shame suddenly engulfed her psyche.

“A wish?” The Time Lady tried to keep her talking. “What sort of miracle did that entail?”

“I don’t wan-'' Sayaka stopped herself. “It doesn’t matter. None of it matters now.”

“What doesn’t matter? That the thing you wished for, doesn’t matter?”

“No! The thing I wished for! It un-happened!” Sayaka snapped. 

“Ohhhhh.” The Time Lady nodded to herself. “So the thing you wished for matters . It’s just that our little trip through time undid whatever it was that you wished for. Sorry.” She paused in thought, pursed her lips, took a sip of coffee and made a suggestion. “So just change it back again.”

“What are you talking about?” Sayaka narrowed her eyes, adding “I already made my wish! Kyubey can’t-”

“Kyubey can’t... He can’t do anything.” The Time Lady countered. “Kyubey is not a Genie. He’s not a magical creature. He’s not the component that made whatever miracle you wanted a reality.” She took a deep breath before her next thought. “Perhaps in my motor mouthing I didn’t quite make this point explicit enough for you.” She tapped Sayaka’s ring on her finger with her wand. “If what I’m thinking is right, then going by what you’ve described, I believe that Kyubey utilizes a technology that facilitates an Ectomatter chain-reaction, physicalizes it, then contains the reaction inside that shell. But while he does it, you are concentrating , you are focused , you are opening your mind to a whole new realm of possibilities that existence can offer, and then reshaping reality as you do it. In other words, the thing that granted your wish all along… Was you ! Your mind. Your soul. Your will. Your power.” She gave a little smile as she sat back. “And that’s all still sitting in the pretty little package before me. So change it back again.”

Sayaka’s mouth fell straight down, her revelation was a lot to take in. Was it really as simple as this woman claims, she wondered? And if it was, would she even want to do it again? That tidal wave of terrible memories washed into her brain. She remembered Kyoko’s warning, that wishing for someone else’s sake always turns out badly, and everything that happened to Sayaka after that seemed to bear that out. She thought of the other thing Kyoko told her, that someone’s happiness had to be balanced out by someone else’s suffering. All those things she went through… Finding out that her soul was real and put inside a gem… Watching helplessly as her friend Hitomi confessed her love to Kyosuke… Eventually Losing her ability to feel any pain, and with it, her very sense of humanity… Was all her suffering The Universe’s way of keeping things in balance? Wouldn’t fixing Kyosuke again just put her through all that misery again?

“I am still curious, by the way…” The Time Lady impeded Sayaka's internal machinations. She took another sip of coffee before continuing. “... What was it that mattered so much to you, that you’d agree to have that creature pluck your Ectomatter right out of you, and deposit it inside a shiny little container?”

“I didn’t know that’s what he’d done to me at the time! He tricked me!” Sayaka defensively blared. “I thought he needed my help!” She frustratedly twirled the ring on her finger, somewhat fixated on the strange shapes etched on its surface. “I thought I’d been chosen to do something special with my life. I thought I was taking on a job. A role.”

“Chosen? The Time Lady raised her brow. “For a role? What exactly did he have in mind for you?”

Sayaka hesitated to phrase it. “He wanted me... To become a Magical Girl.”

“A Magical Girl?” The Time Lady’s brow raised higher. “Okay. You are a Magical Girl. What sort of job does that entail, precisely?”

“We fight Witches. Witches that spread curses. We protect people from that. In secret.” Sayaka stated flatly. Then she took a deep, uneasy breath. “We spread hope. Defeat despair.”

“Uh-huh.” The Time Lady knit her brows. “Witches… Such as that gigantic transdimensional cross-rip from which we narrowly escaped with our lives.” The doubtfulness in her voice was apparent.

“The other ones I fought weren’t anywhere near as huge as that!”

“So what exactly makes a Magical Girl, a ‘Magical Girl’?” The Time Lady pressed. “I get that you get this so-called ‘Soul Gem’ for it, but what else do you get that would make you think you’d be qualified to face down such… Monstrous threats as Witches.”

“Well, uh, lots of stuff.” Sayaka elaborated. “I can leap really high, uh, jump really far, I can run much quicker and not get tired. I can heal like, really fast when I’m injured.” Sayaka reflexively rubbed her arm. “For a while, that was cool.” 

“That’s pretty much the bare minimum.” The Time Lady pooh poohed. “As far as humanoid physical enhancement is concerned. Though rapid cellular regeneration does have its additional benefits.”

“And, we’ve got weapons, too!” Sayaka defensively took a big bite of her hot dog. “Mami had big guns and ribbons. Kyoko had a spear of some kind. Homura had her own guns and a little shield on her arm.”

"I see." The Time Lady replied. “That makes four.” She muttered inaudibly.

“And I fought with swords.” Sayaka spoke through her food.

“Pointy sticks and projectile launchers.” She quipped. “Takes more than that to face the terrors of this realm.”

“We get our own costumes too, just like superheroes.” Sayaka finished.

“Coooooool.” Sayaka was growing irked with the Time Lady’s apparent flippancy.

“Did I mention we also all have the ability to communicate telepathically?” Sayaka bragged. ‘ It’s pretty handy, too !’ She boasted in her own thoughts.

“ It’s not as handy as you’d think .” The Time Lady’s voice retorted in her mind. Sayaka stopped chewing and gawked at The Time Lady in surprise. “Alien with a different brain.” She pointed at her temple with an irreverent smirk.

“ So this isn’t even a magical power ?” The disappointed Sayaka replied in her head.

“I’m afraid not. It’s actually a dormant ability present in every humanoid’s brain. But it offers no particular evolutionary advantage to Earth humans, so in you guys it generally stays untapped .” She resumed speaking aloud. “Mind reading’s a just parlor trick, anyway. I prefer we keep these talks verbal. Superhuman athletics, hacky-slashy weapons, trend-setting outfits and rudimentary telepathic abilities aside, that still sounds like you’re getting the short end of the stick.” She opined.

“I thought I could handle it.” Sayaka said. “But then it got to be more and more of a burden.” She let out a pained sigh. “But I wasn’t even that good at fighting Witches. I didn’t have the talent for it.” Sayaka detachedly stared at the food in her hand. “So eventually I learned how to block the pain out completely.” She realized that while she was eating her food, she wasn’t actually enjoying her food. To her still-dullened senses it was purely a mass of tasteless, odorless chemicals. “And then I stopped feeling most everything else too.” She tossed it on the plate. Starving for food she couldn’t enjoy. What a sick joke, she thought.

“So what was so important that it would make you take such a job?”

“Why do you want to know?” Sayaka pounded the table with her fist.

“What do you mean by that?” The Time Lady startledly replied.

“You can read minds, can’t you?” Sayaka jumped to her feet and stared squarely into the Time Lady’s eyes. “You want answers, take them!”

“I’m just trying to be polite.” The Time Lady was taken aback.

“Sure you are!” She sarcastically snapped. “You’re feeding me! You’re talking to me like you want to help me, and say that helping is what you do. But then you make these stupid jokes and don’t take me seriously after I tell you all I’ve been through!” Sayaka spoke while maintaining an accusatory glare. “And then there’s that look in your eyes!”

“My eyes?” The Time Lady questioned. “What look?”

“I know that look. That’s the look of somebody who’s keeping all the things she really knows to herself!” Another unfortunate memory from her recent past had sprung to the surface. “It’s the look of some who disapproves of what I did and is just patronizing me! It’s the look of somebody I know I don’t like!”

“You got all that from my eyes? That’s pretty perceptive! Must say I’m impressed!” The Time Lady simpered. 

“You took me onto that ship, asked if I had any regrets,” Sayaka huffed.

“That ?” The Time Lady interrupted. “Okay, that was just a ploy so I could get your assistance, I confess. We didn’t have a lot of time, and the autopilot was shot. I figured being cryptic was the fastest way to get you to do what I wanted. And it worked beautifully .”

“See? You don’t really care about my situation or my feelings!” Sayaka cried. “You just see me as something useful! As a means to get what you want! Well I’m sick of trusting aliens!” Sayaka pushed her food scraps aside and stepped out of the booth. “You’ve pumped me enough, I told you all I know! Let me fix my wish on my own. It’s my business! Go track down Kyubey with your Shadaloo People!”

“‘Shadow Proclamation’”. The Time Lady corrected. “They’re sort of The Outer Space Police.” The Time Lady reached for the wand in her pocket. 

“Whatever! Stop keeping me here and leave me alone!” She slid out of the booth.

“You made some sort of agreement with this ‘Kyubey’ creature. And in the agreement, he granted you what you wanted, and in exchange for getting it, you agreed to battle these ‘Witches’. That explains this gem.” The Time Lady recounted.

“Yeah.” Sayaka sighed, then added “He called it a ‘Contract’.” She turned her back and folded her arms.

“And with this ‘Contract’, you gained magical powers and with them you took up the fight. But quickly you realized that you weren’t terribly suited to the job.” She stopped stroking her wand and stared at its glowing center. “Fighting Witches took a bigger and bigger toll on your body and mind.” She sighed “Far too much for you to bear on your own.” 

“That’s what I know.” Sayaka grunted. “Can I go now?”

“You were right. I do disapprove. A girl your age should not have any reason to-”

“Because I wanted to be a hero, okay!” Sayaka exasperatedly blurted out. “I thought that I was being recruited into becoming a Secret, Super Ally of Justice.” Sayaka threw her hands up. “My grades suck… I’m not smart at all… I’m not rich. I’m not famous… I’m not artistic… I’m not gifted at anything. I’m a big nobody!” Sayaka walked over to a window and rested her body against it. “I thought becoming a Magical Girl would change my life. I thought it would give me a purpose. Give me a destiny that I could strive for. And I really did think I could use my power to help others! I thought I could use it to protect the ones I care about! I thought that it would turn me into me into someone that’s worthwhile!” She stared enviously at the unaware mall goers living their contented lives. “Into someone worth... Loving!”

“And the appeal of it sounded so great to me. And watching Mami... Gosh, she made it look so cool, too! But then she died… Died horribly. And then Kyoko came to town and she showed me exactly how crummy this world really was. We butted heads over territory. We butted heads over my wish. We even almost fought to the death about it. Yet I still believed I could do it. But by the end I was so overwhelmed that I… Even... Started regretting all the things I did. Even helping others and saving lives. The world would never appreciate me for it, anyhow. So what good is it?” Sayaka stared at her anguished reflection in the window. “And why should I care?”

The Time Lady came up and put her hand on Sayaka’s back. “I care. I appreciate it.” 

“Do you really?” Sayaka’s head turned to her skeptically.

“For ‘reals’.” She compassionately smiled. “What did you wish for?”

“I…” She at first hesitated, but by this point the entire chain of memories had finally come back to her. If she didn’t share it now, she worried she might forget all over again. “I... healed the injured hand of a boy I liked.” She relented. It didn’t really matter whether this woman really cared or not. Sayaka simply wanted someone to know of her act. “So that he could play music again. He’s really good at playing the violin. A prodigy, you know?”

“I see.” The Time Lady mused, also looking out the window.

“Kyoko thought that stupid. That I was stupid. She said that I shouldn’t worry about the lives of others. Just look out for myself. And even Mami... Before she died… She warned me that wishing for someone else’s sake may not work out.” She rested her head on the glass. “But I was stubborn. I didn’t listen to them. I thought that eventually he’d come around and we could be together.”

“And then it didn’t turn out that way.” The Time Lady gently rubbed Sayaka’s shoulder. 

“No.” Sayaka sobbed. “Once I found out what Kyubey actually did to my soul, I couldn’t… I couldn’t tell him. Because I didn’t feel human anymore. I thought I’d been turned into a freak. I mean, who could ever want to love something whose real body is a shiny rock? The only reason I had to exist after that was to kill Witches. So I killed them, and I killed their Familiars too, I didn’t give a damn about what happened to me or my body. Then Madoka tried to tell me what I was doing wasn’t good, I lashed out at her in anger, and ran off.” Her tears dripped slowly down the glass window. “Those last few days are all a blur. I only remember killing and sleeping. Killing and running. Killing and hiding. By the time I got to that train, I only wanted to die. Or so I thought.” Sayaka stared into her own pitiful eyes in her reflection.

“It was never going to work out, you know.” Sayaka glanced through her tears and into the Time Lady’s eyes, surprised to see a tearful gaze looking back at her. “With that boy, I mean.” She offered her a handkerchief from inside her coat. “Prodigies like that,” She smiled. “Their only real commitment is to their talent. You probably made it worse when you healed him, ‘cause then he won’t take that talent for granted. He would’ve worked harder at it and became the best of the best, at the cost of becoming incredibly oblivious to the needs of the people closest to him.” She took a deep, resigned sigh. “Yup. I feel oh so sorry for whomever he does end up with. Definitely in for a project.”

Sayaka wiped her tears on her sleeve. “How can you know all that?”

“Bitter experience. With my first love.” The Time Lady wiped her tears on her coat sleeve. “Did so much to get his attention yet he didn’t even notice. I guess in that regard we’re birds of a feather.”

“What you said earlier… About changing it back? That it was my power? Did you really mean it? Or was that another ploy?”

“I meant it.” The Time Lady gave an earnest smile. “You can change it again.”

“So if I wanted to make my wish come true again, could you help me do it?”

“If you want me to. Sure thing. I’ll do that.” The Time Lady held out her hand, Sayaka gratefully took hold of it.

“Say, Sayaka…” The Time Lady adjusted her glasses. The expression on her face abruptly changed from one of earnestness to glare of pure disdain. “That Kyubey creature...” She tapped her glasses and pressed her face to the window. “You said he looked like some kind of cat-rabbit-ish plush toy?”

“Yeah. Why?” Sayaka looked at her puzzled.

“I just spotted him.”

“What?” She looked out at the courtyard. “Where?”

“Far side of the courtyard.” The Time Lady ripped off her glasses and handed them to Sayaka. “There in the rock garden. Have a look.” Sayaka took the glasses and reluctantly examined them. “They’re magnifiers. Just look.” The Time Lady kept her squinting gaze on her target. Sayaka put her glasses on. Right there was Kyubey, perched atop a rock, his tail raised, his head tilted, that creepy expression of his never changing.

“That’s him, right?”

“That’s him.” Sayaka flatly confirmed. Kyubey was on the move. He leapt from the rock, onto another rock, up to another rock, onto a ledge above the garden. He trotted along the ledge, stopping momentarily to peer across the courtyard, and changed direction. “What’s he doing here?” Sayaka asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” The Time Lady gestured to have her glasses returned. She put them on, took out her multitool, adjusted a switch and activated it. “I can’t get a scan lock on him. Crap.” Kyubey jumped from the ledge and into a higher window, disappearing from their sight. “Do you suppose we oughta…” The Time Lady didn’t even have to finish the suggestion. The two girls wiped aside their tears, set their emotional connection aside and booked fast for the exit.

“Hey!” The waitress returned minutes later to an empty booth. “Wait! You didn’t pay for the meal!” 

It was too late, the two were well out of the waitress’s sight.

“How do you see him?” Sayaka asked the Time Lady as they walked around the mall’s interior.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just... Normal people can’t see him.” Sayaka stated.

“‘Normal people’? Remember, I’m hardly what you call ‘Normal people.’” Sayaka heard her reply in her own head. “More than likely he has a Perception Filter of some sort.” The Time Lady continued aloud. “Perception Filter… It’s a sort of mental manipulation tech that allows its user to fool the senses of those around. A lot like how my TARDIS blends in, but for living things. Stops working when either the user reveals themselves to their subject, or the subject itself is immune.”

“Not magic?” Sayaka asked.

“Oh, I’m demystifying all sorts of stuff for you today, aren’t I?” The Time lady let out a small laugh, just as she stopped in her tracks. “Still no scan lock. Damn. What the heck?” She flicked the tip of her wand with her fingers, and shot Sayaka a flummoxed look. “Um, so I also just realized… I don’t know where we’re going. I’ve never been here before.” Her face blushed.

Sayaka raised her hand. “I can show you around, you know.”

The Time Lady smiled and stood aside. “By all means, Miss Mitakihara Tour Guide, take the lead. Tell me where I’m going.”

“Let’s see…” Sayaka scanned around. “We’re on the side of the mall that has mostly restaurants, grocery markets and bakeries.”

“Okay. Parked in the food stuff.” The Time Lady mentally filed that fact.

“It looked like Kyubey was headed for the side with the arcades, electronics, recreation centers and sporting goods stores.”

“To the fun stuff.” The Time Lady commented.

“To get there, we’d either have to go through the part with clothing stores, hardware stores, boutiques, drug stores, and offices.”

“Through the boring stuff.” The Time Lady tapped her foot impatiently. 

“Or through the construction area. But that’s off limits.”

“Pssst. That’s never stopped me.”

Sayaka subtly shook her head. “I think we should head to the open air food court. That’s where all the sections join up.”

“Your choice.” The Time Lady patted Sayaka on the back. “Let’s move.” They continued walking fervently through the mall corridors, making their way onto an escalator. 

“Sayaka Miki… ” The Time Lady broke the silence. “I still have a few questions.”

“So do I.” Sayaka glanced up at her.

“Okay. We’ll take turns. I ask a question, you answer. You ask a question, I answer. If it’s too uncomfortable, you can pass, but I get to ask two questions the next time. ‘Til we get to where we’re going. Deal?”

“Fine.” Sayaka scratched the back of her head.

“On the subject of Witches… ” The Time Lady put her hands behind her head. “You’re a Magical Girl. Your job is to fight and kill them. What else might you know about them?”

“Uhm…” Sayaka pressed her lips in thought. “Not all that much. They’re these really ugly things that Kyubey said were creatures born from curses. He told us they sowed the seeds of disaster all around the world. Suicides and murders without reason or motive, that kind of stuff Mami said were usually caused by them. But they hide themselves in barriers that normal people can’t see. But occasionally people do wander into them and end up inside their labyrinths. Like me and Madoka did… That one day.” She briefly paused as she remembered the other events of that fateful first encounter, then gasped at a thought. “Hey, do you think Witches might be aliens, too?”

“It’s hard to say for sure, without seeing one for myself.” They got to the end of the escalator and continued walking. The Time Lady flipped the switches on her multitool while she dwelled on the question. “There have been invaders from other planets and dimensions in this neck of the woods before, so it is possible. But I’d have to get up close, get a good scan of one, to make a conclusion. That Kyubey, though, now that I’ve seen him firsthand, that’s definitely alien.”

“What do you mean, ‘Invaders from other planets and dimensions around here before’?” Sayaka asked, her interest latching on to that part of the Time Lady’s answer.

“Ah, ah! My turn, remember?” 

“What?” 

“You asked if witches were aliens. I answered. My turn now. That’s the rules.” She reminded Sayaka as they walked past a clothing store. “Just keep telling me whatever you know about Witches, okay?”

Sayaka tried to recollect the other things Mami told her. “They tend to be found around places where accidents happen, like car accidents and stuff. And around those seedy red light districts, where fights break out. Or secluded places people go to kill themselves. Or at hospitals, where they go after people who are already weak from illness. That’s what we learned from Mami.”

“Places of concentrated human misery, basically.”

“Yeah.” After a second’s pause, Sayaka reasked her question. “So ‘Invaders from other planets and dimensions around here before’... What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what you think it means. Earth’s a surprising hotbed of alien activity. Many, many races and monsters have tried to set up shop on this quiet, little galactic backwater before.” The Time Lady hid a modest, knowing smile. “None have succeeded, of course.”

“But I’ve never seen any aliens. Besides you. And Kyubey.”

“Because there are people out there, protecting you in secret, fending the monsters off. Both galactic authority figures, like The Shadow Proclamation, or freelancers, such as me. Fighting in secret so that you humans can live out your lives, in blissful happy ignorance.” 

“It’s not really that different from us Magical Girls.” Sayaka remarked as they passed a bookstore.

“Ah, but the key difference is, I’m an old, wandering soul who’s chosen this path in life for my own reasons.” Sayaka could hear the disapproval in her voice. “And you’re a young one who’s been drafted by somebody offering up a one-time bribe.”

“That’s not true!” Sayaka contested. “We got other rewards, too! We got Grief Seeds from beating Witches!”

This nugget of information stopped the Time Lady immediately in her tracks. “A Grief Seed? What, pray-tell is a Grief Seed?” Sayaka stopped and turned to see the Time Lady giving her a very strange look.

“They’re these… uhm, little round, black jewels that Witches sometimes carry. They drop them after we defeat them. Mami called them a Witch's ‘egg’.” Sayaka sensed the Time Lady’s disconcertion. “Sh- Should I have mentioned that before?” Sayaka’s gut was suddenly uneasy.

“Yes. Yes you should have.” The Time Lady stepped towards Sayaka, got on one knee and clutched her shoulders. “It’s fine. Just answer, of what use are these ‘Grief Seeds’ to you?”

“Well you see they… Uhm.” Sayaka held out her hands to mimic holding a Grief Seed. “Magical Girls use them to clean our Soul Gems and restore our magic.” She inched that hand closer and closer to her other hand, the hand with her Soul Gem. “We use them to replenish our magic until they’re completely black, and then Kyubey takes them.” This got her another curious look. “He claimed it was one of his ‘duties’.”

“Oh, I’m sure it is .” The Time Lady rose back to her feet, motioned for Sayaka to continue the lead. Sayaka walked up and clutched the Time Lady’s hand, uneasily leading them ahead. “Ectomatter can reach different energy states. It’s like conventional matter… Think of it like solid, liquid, and gaseous forms. Most of the time it’s inert, low energy and found within forms of all life. And then more rarely, there’s the Activated stuff. That stuff’s much more concentrated and thus more potent. As I said before, that type can alter reality on a localized level. That would be your ‘magic’. And then… Well there’s what we call ‘Depleted’ Ectomatter. Densely concentrated, extremely energized. Theoretically, with enough Depleted Ectomatter, you could alter the very Universe itself.” She clutched Sayaka’s hand tighter. “Theoretically, you could gather so much to such a degree, that you could become like a God!”

Sayaka’s face became very pale. “So a Grief Seed is… ?”

“A core of pure Depleted Ectomatter, I reckon. He makes you a Magical Girl, you do his bidding. You fight these horrible creatures animated by their cores of Depleted Ectomatter, i.e. the dirty work. Then you take that core, and the reaction with it revamps your Soul Gem a bit. But then he takes the byproduct of that transfer and makes out with it. Like a bandit.”

“I just wanted to help people.” Sayaka uttered in a dispirited voice, her steps dragging.

“I know.” The Time Lady tried to help her keep going. “You see suffering or injustice all around you. You want to do something about it. You want to be useful. But you’re too young, too weak, so you can’t do anything for them. It’s a feeling of helplessness that gnaws at the back of your conscience, every single day. Slowly that feeling corrodes at your sense of self-worth.” The Time Lady consoled. “But then one day someone comes along and tells you all the suffering is the work of monsters who lurk in the shadows. That there’s a war going on between the light and the dark. And you’re one of the lucky chosen few who can fight back. And he can grant you the power to fight back. Finally you can be useful. You have a sense of purpose and a clear objective. From that perspective, okay, I finally get why you’d agree to fight. A lot of people would. Human nature, I’d like to think. I get it now.”

The ladies soon arrived at a fork in the road. “Which way do we go? Left or right?” The Time Lady asked.

“We go left.” Sayaka pointed towards a clothing store. “Down one more escalator. Then we’ll be at the food court.”

“Whose turn is it to ask a question again?” The Time Lady followed-up.

“It was yours.” Sayaka replied. “But you just asked which direction and whose question. So it’s my turn.”

“Touché.” The Time Lady chuckled. 

“Why do you do it?” Sayaka inquired.

“Huh?” The Time Lady looked back at Sayaka.

“Why do you fight? Why do you help people? Why do you travel? Why do you do the things you say you do?” Sayaka clenched the Time Lady’s hand more firmly with each rephrase.

“Good question.” The Time Lady sighed. “I’m not... Completely certain myself. It’s not to best someone. Nor because there’s anything I hate. Nor do I do it to shame or blame. And definitely not because it’s easy or fun.” The ladies arrived at the escalator and stepped onto it. “It’s not because I was the first to do it and I would never claim to be the best at it.” She comfortingly massaged the back of Sayaka’s hand with her thumb while she talked. “And I’m not such an egotist to say that what I’m doing is always the right thing. But I know that I have power. And I know that I trust my sense of values. And that I use that power and my values to guide me. To be wherever I need to be. Show kindness to whomever has never known it. Fix whatever has been broken. Face whatever I may. Maybe that’s real justice… Maybe it’s not. Does that answer?”

“I don’t know.” Sayaka responded with a sigh. “To be honest, I was more asking myself.” She twirled the ring on her finger with her thumb. 

“I know.” They reached the bottom of the escalator and disembarked. The Time Lady peered up to the open skyline. Now they were in the food court, the ceiling giving way to a view of skyscrapers surrounding the mall. “We’re here.”

“Now what?” Sayaka asked.

“I was kinda hoping you’d tell me, Miss Mitakihara Tour Guide.” The Time Lady pulled her multitool from her coat. She briefly examined the switch settings, turned the knob, and gazed at it. “Hmmmm. He may have a means of obfuscating my tech.” She tossed her tool into her other hand and promptly slid it back in her pocket. She stuck her index finger into her mouth, wetting her finger as she pondered, and audibly popped it out with an insightful smile. “Let’s try something different!” She eyed Sayaka, whose bewildered stare the Time Lady was now accustomed to. Then, she took her raised, wet finger, and stuck it. Right into Sayaka’s ear canal.

“Ow! What the heck was that for?” Sayaka fussed.

“Levity! Now let’s go find a place a bit less noisy.” The Time Lady took Sayaka’s hand as they headed into a Janitor’s Closet. “If we want to find the bunnycat, find him quickly, and most of all, find him without drawing attention to ourselves, the best way to do it would be with our combined telepathic power.” Do you hear me, Sayaka? The Time Lady’s voice echoed in Sayaka’s mind.

“Y- yeah.”

“ That’s good. ” The Time Lady stood face-to-face with Sayaka, leaned over and closed her eyes. “Now close your eyes, too.” Sayaka obeyed. The Time Lady began gently rubbing Sayaka’s temples with her middle and index fingers.

“ Kyubey may have the ability to fool eyes and ears and tools, but he can’t hide his thoughts. You have heard his voice before. You’ve touched a part of his mind. With that as a guide, we can locate him. Working together, we can amplify our telepathy. We can waft from mind to mind. Sift through the flotsam of random thoughts. Listen for Kyubey. Pinpoint Kyubey. See what he’s up to. ”

“ … Bread… Eggs… Rice… What was that last thing Mariko wanted me to get? ” Sayaka heard a male voice in her mind.

“ … She beat my score in ‘Dog Drug Reinforcement’... ” A female voice this time.

“ … Where’s the kitty? I thought I saw the kitty around here? Where’d the kitty go? ” A very young female voice.

“Woah!” Sayaka marveled.

“I know, it feels eerie.” The Time Lady said aloud. “Try not to get too hung up in specific thoughts. Just listen for the matching voice.”

“ … Gotta find the right… ” Male voice.

“ … Knew about the day...” Female voice.

“ ... I should try out for the… ” Male voice.

“ … Most ice cream I’ve ever… ” Female voice

“ … Caught that sucker in the act… ” Male voice.

“ ... He’s way too tall… ” Female voice.

“ ... Doesn’t know who she’s... ” Male voice.

“ ... That bitch! Who does she think…” Male voice.

“ … Wants a fight… ” Female voice.

“ ... Where was I… ” Female voice.

“ … Going out with her… ” Female voice.

“ … Won’t say… ”

“ … I can’t keep…

“ … Shouldn’t stay… ” 

“ … Someone to find… ”

“ … Speaks softly… ”

“ … Locate that… ”  

“ … Discovered a magical... ”  Now that voice sounded familiar. Sayaka jerked backwards as her bloodshot eyes popped open.

“Wow! Even I felt that reaction.” The Time Lady said aloud. “I take it that was him?”

“Yeah. That was Kyubey. Definitely.”

“Alright. Close your eyes again.” The Time Lady reiterated. Focus on that voice .

The Time Lady pressed her forehead against Sayaka’s. Sayaka suddenly felt as if her whole soul had become unbound to both her Soul Gem and body. She was perceiving more than just passing thoughts, from the other minds she could paint a vivid picture of everything happening around the food court. Passing by that foreign family taking pictures in a photo booth. Slipping through the young couple buying baby clothes. Right past the teenage girl tapping away on her cell phone. Back across the food court. Around the other corner. Between the potted plants. Into the ventilation duct. There he was, Kyubey! With his glowing crimson eyes and unchanging smile, Sayaka and The Time Lady were seeing him move as though here were there right in front of their eyes. “ That anomalous signature is nearby. Further investigation of the subject is imperative. ” With a cat-like agility, Kyubey leapt out of the duct, on top of a clothing store sign, onto a window ledge, and down to the floor. “ This is completely illogical. ” Kyubey mused. He trotted along the mall’s interior, carefully minding the foot traffic of the oblivious humans walking around him.

“I know where he’s at.” Sayaka spoke as her eyes snapped back open.

“As do I.” The Time Lady confirmed. “C’mon! Let’s see what’s got him so intrigued.” The Time Lady grabbed Sayaka’s hand as they bolted out of the closet.

“I’m going to make her my wife.” Sayaka passed by a man holding a small box. Sayaka stumbled a little as she passed him.

“Oh, yeah. That’s right! We’re getting a transfer student next week. ” A girl in a Mitakihara high school uniform was checking her phone. She wasn’t moving her mouth. Sayaka watched her enter the arcade on the other side of the food court.

 “It’s all my fault ! I should have done something to help! ” She heard a man say as he sat alone.

“I guess I just had a change of heart. ” She heard a woman in a jewelry store on the other side of the mall. Sayaka’s stomach suddenly felt very queasy.

“This is the happiest I’ve ever been .” She heard a girl, who was kissing a boy.

“Is there something wrong?” The Time Lady looked back at Sayaka and asked.

“I’m still hearing voices. And thoughts. And seeing things.” Sayaka whimpered.

“Oh?” The Time Lady knelt down and looked into Sayaka's eyes. “Shit! Your pupils are heavily dilated. I think I might’ve hyperstimulated your brain. It’s having trouble flipping back from extrasensory to normal cognitive perception.” She checked Sayaka’s pulse on her wrist as she clutched her hand. Just keep going, stay calm, breathe in normally, and don’t dwell on all those stray thoughts and flotsam around us. Can you do that?”

“I’ll try.” Sayaka mewled.

“Good Girl.” The Time Lady surveyed the court around them. “‘Cause he’s closing in. Now where would be a good, discreet vantage point?”

“The anomalous subject’s identity has been confirmed. ” Kyubey’s familiar voice sprang into her brain.

“He’s here. I can hear Kyubey.” Sayaka’s already labored breathing got faster.

“So can I.” The Time Lady reflexively pulled out her multitool. “And I still can’t get a damn scan lock on the little pest.”

“Over there!” Sayaka pointed across the food court. Right on cue, Kyubey stepped out of the shadows. Sayaka stumbled over her own feet at the sight of him. In the nick, the Time Lady caught her as they scrambled into an alcove underneath a set of stairs.

The Time Lady adjusted her glasses. She momentarily peeked out from their hiding spot. “Got sight of him. Don’t think he’s noticed us, Fortunately.”

“The subject has been scouted as a potential magical girl candidate before. It was scheduled that first contact would be made with her soon. She was projected to contract and become a capable but otherwise unremarkable magical girl. However her Karmic Potential has unexpectedly increased somehow, to such an exponential degree that should not even be possible. ”

“What’s he on about?” The Time Lady sneered. “Whose Karmic Potential shouldn’t be possible?”

“I know exactly what he’s talking about. I know who he’s after.” Sayaka’s heart was racing, she was curled into a ball on the floor, breathing heavily and sweating bullets, but she could still clearly see the individual who was piquing Kyubey’s interest: It was Madoka Kaname, her best friend. “He’s after Madoka.” She was seeing Madoka clear as though she were standing right in front of her, innocently browsing the swimwear at the clothing store across the food court. 

“I swore to protect… ” Sayaka was also picking up the thoughts of a male sitting at a table.

“You can see her?” The Time Lady pressed her multitool up to her glasses.

“In my mind.” Sayaka confirmed. “And more.”

“Where?” The Time Lady surveyed the food court.

“There. In that store.” Sayaka pointed across the court to the women’s clothing store.

“Okay then. Just remember what I said. Calm. Deep breaths. Don’t dwell.”

“I’m not gonna lose to the likes of her! ” Thought that girl at the arcade.

“It appears that there is another magical girl candidate with her as well. ” Kyubey’s observations flowed into Sayaka’s increasingly frayed mind. More troublingly she knew exactly who the other girl was.

“Oh, shit!” The Time Lady dreaded. “Crapola. Just. Breathe. Deeeeep.”

At that moment, any lingering doubts she’d had about whether they had actually traveled back in time had vanished. The details of this particular day were all coming back to her. There was no school, because of a Teacher’s meeting. Hitomi was at dance practice. Sayaka had been saving money to buy a rainbow-colored bathing suit with accompanying blue swim trunks. But a cheaper, orange-striped bikini had also caught her eye. Madoka was helping her decide between the two. Like a ghost, she was seeing past herself, perceiving the events unfold the same way all over again. “It’s me!” Sayaka was aghast. “Holy crap, that’s me!”

“Ta-dah! What do you think?” Sayaka Miki pulled away the changing room curtain.

“The other one looks cuter on you.” Madoka remarked. 

“But this one shows me off more.” Other Sayaka proudly clutched her breasts. “Don’t you think? Plus it’s on sale.”

“But you were saving your money on that other one for so long! You shouldn’t change your mind on a whim like that. You might really regret it later.”

“If I wanted a buzzkill and a lecture I could sit here and wait for Hitomi to make it.” The other Sayaka grumbled. 

“This girl has been scouted previously as well. But she was initially rejected as having only a marginal return value.” Kyubey’s examination of herself coursed through Sayaka’s mind. A chill was sent down her spine.

“This was like, more than a week from when we first met him.” Sayaka flatly muttered.

“He tricked her! Aw, That lousy son-of-a-... ” Creeped in the thoughts of somebody else.

“Seems he’s been watching you lot for a while then.” The Time Lady peeked. “What a Creep.”

“Her potential has increased as well. However, she is still nowhere near as valuable as the other. ” Kyubey observed. Sayaka swallowed hard and intensely glared in his direction.

“Have I been misjudging things the whole time? ” Another stranger’s thoughts passed though.

“Initial evaluation projected that she would be very likely to contract. And though her level has increased, she would still only serve as a mediocre magical girl, at best. She is eminently disposable.” Kyubey assessed. Sayaka was visibly shaking now.

“Mediocre? Disposable? He was scouting you, not because he thinks you’d be particularly well-suited to the job… But because he knows you wouldn’t be? What the hell!” The Time Lady was outraged.

“Okay, Madoka… You win. Rainbow two-piece, let’s give it another go.” The Other Sayaka pulled the curtain back.

“She’s got no future with him. He barely even thinks of her. ” Another unwelcome stray thought from somebody around.

“She could still prove useful, however. She could potentially serve as a means to lure the more valuable one into making a contract. ” Kyubey surmised.

“Just who the hell does he think he is, using lives as pawns?” The Time Lady snorted.

“Oh, God… I’m going to lose him and there’s nothing I can do about it! ” The wave of thoughts, and now memories kept splashing through her mind.

The Other Sayaka pulled open the curtain. “Amazing! You’re so cute! I’m jealous!” Madoka lept towards her friend’s open embrace.

“I didn’t deserve any of this. I just wanna give up… I don’t care anymore. ” Yet another unwanted thought.

“Thanks, Madoka. You were right all along. I’ll be getting this one.” The Other Sayaka conceded.

“With so much magical potential emanating from this girl, a witch attack will almost certainly be imminent. That is when first contact shall be made. With her contract, our quota will be met. Until contact, their movements should be closely monitored. ” Kyubey deliberately walked towards the clothing store. Sayaka struggled to her feet. With every ounce of her diminished strength, she wanted nothing more than to snuff that horrid little cat-rabbit’s life out.

“I know what you’re thinking. Don’t do it.” The Time Lady pulled at her. “It’s not worth the risk.”

“I don’t care! I won’t let him do that to us again! Get outta my way!” She stood up, with whatever energy her legs could still muster.

“Listen to me! Right now, our only asset is our discretion! Don’t blow our cover out of rage!”

“I don’t care! Get. Out. Of my way!” Sayaka positioned herself to charge.

“I was so… Stupid. ”

SPLAT!

An instant later, they both noticed Kyubey's body was splayed wide open. The force of whatever had hit him sent his remains rolling under a table. He was dead. But it was not from any act of Sayaka’s.

“Wha-? What the hell just happened?” The Time Lady’s mouth dropped. The ladies stood there unmoving, staring at the creature’s remains. Both were completely astonished by the unexpected turn they just witnessed. The Time Lady bobbled her head as she collected herself, took a slight step forward, and pointed her multitool at the body. “I’ve gotta sca-”

“ It seems that there is an interloper with apparent hostile intent. Taking precautionary action. ”

“My phone’s dead all of a sudden.” They overhard a man sitting at one of the tables notice.

“Mine’s dead, too! Funny, I thought I charged it this morning. How odd.” The female sitting across from him tapped at a blank black screen.

The Time Lady jerked her head in their direction and spotted an identical-looking Kyubey flounce from out of the shadows and into the light. This one proceeded toward its dead counterpart’s remains, maneuvering from table to table, from person to person in a deliberate method so as to not expose itself to a follow-up strike.

“ Such a waste. ” The Kyubey scurried over to the largest chunk of remains, whereupon he hastily feasted upon it. The Time Lady could only stand there and watch him eat with a morbid fascination. “ This does not alter the plan, however. More careful measures will be taken in pursuit of the subject. ” Kyubey strategized as he gulped the last pieces of his corpse. Suddenly, he stopped and his gaze shot in their direction. The Time Lady jumped back into hiding in the nick of time pulling Sayaka with her. “ Yes. This girl must make a contract. She is all that matters. ”

The Time Lady backed up slowly. She gripped Sayaka’s arm. “We should really to get back to the TAR-” 

“Blaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgggh!”

The Time Lady had whipped her body around just in time to be the unintended victim of Sayaka’s projectile vomit. Sayaka collapsed to the floor.

“Student 139 - 119, stand straight and pay attention!” Her gruff, old tutor snapped at her.

“Y- Yes, Teacher, uh Sir!” The Young Gallifreyan girl hurriedly corrected her posture and readjusted her headdress, so that the elder wouldn’t notice the bruise mark on the side of her face.

 “... That this new generation of Gallifreyan children, gathered before us here, at the dawn of a new, great age, shall one day…”

One of The Founders of Time Lord civilization was delivering the Ceremonial Address, but the Gallifreyan Girl wasn’t paying attention during the introduction, so she didn’t actually know which Founder it was, nor did she really care. She replayed in her mind an event that had happened to her earlier that day. On her long trek to The Academy, she happened to come across a slightly younger, soon-to-be new classmate, someone who was being viciously harassed by a rather physically imposing bully. She rushed to their aid, and together they managed to overpower the bully, but not without taking a few nasty licks of their own. Reflecting upon it, she’d realized that she’d gotten really excited in the middle of that fight. Maybe too excited. 

“... Learn and worship those profound wisdoms of The Ancient Covenants of…”

The tutors’ back had turned, the Gallifreyan Girl had her chance to make a quick search for her new friend among the assembled class, but her task wasn’t easy. Every student was wearing the same drab, magisterial robes and headdresses, their attention slavishly hanging onto every single one of The Founder’s words. But she was at least hoping her new friend was doing the same, searching around that gigantic room, trying to find her.

“... What we have created, what we have built, what we must protect from…”

“Student 423 - 815, stand straight and pay attention!”

“Yes Sir! Thank you, Teacher!” She heard a familiar voice straight behind her. The tutor stormed past the Girl, toward the offender. The Girl poker-faced on an attentive gaze as he stormed past.

“ … Do I make myself clear?” She overheard The Tutor say.

“Yes, Sir! Absolutely clear!” The voice replied. Once the Tutor was sufficiently past, she turned her body to see her new friend looking back toward her. There they were, her and her new friend, donning a headdress placed in such a way as to hide the cuts on their faces. The two friends let out a pair of gleeful, muffled giggles to themselves. In that small, shared moment, they knew they could face anything, so long as they stuck it out together.

“Student 139 - 119!” 

Crap.

“ … With our sturdy leadership, and your collective wills, we shall ensure the triumph of…”

“Student 139 - 117, what’s the prognosis on that one?”

“Above average academically overall, specializing in administrative and organizational skills. From a minor house.” A Time Lord elder rotely read off the screen to his colleague, inside a secluded chamber above the class gathering.

“Wonderful! Another crusty Councillor, or tutor, or librarian, it would seem.” A younger apprentice remarked.

“Or they’ll just take our jobs!”

“... Please !” The two men laughed heartily with that punchline, and moved to the next on the list.

“Student 139 - 118, what’s it say on that one?”

“Below average academically, but is quite well-disciplined, does as told, and communicates well. Improvises brilliantly, when properly stressed.” The elder thumbed his screen through the projections. “And quite the outgoing type.”

“... For this has been Gallifreyan dogma for many eons…” The Founder’s voice echoed through their chamber.

“Soldier, then?” The apprentice punched the predictive calculations.

“From a rather noble house.”

“Ah. So clerical work, then?”

“Or they’ll inevitably be put into the officer’s ranks, should they go military.”

“Indeed.” Agreed The Younger Time Lord. “Next?”

“Student 139 - 119. Above average academically in the sciences and arts, but well below in history and civics. Reportedly a bit mischievous and rude but otherwise well behaved. Nothing atypical for a child of that age. Socially adept, but brash. Hmmm…” The Time Lord cleared his throat as he rhythmically drummed at his podium.

“Though from a fairly respectable house.” The Younger Time Lord read the screen. “Not much else to say about this one.” He entered the data into their Predictive Matrix. He read the results. “Prognosticates to serve as a rather middling Time Lord. At best.”

“A workaday sort.” The Elder concluded. “Probably best-suited to minor functionary roles.  Or Service Sector Shifts. Ne-.” 

“Hold on, it’s changed!” The Elder Time Lord was reaching to the screen to wave on to the next subject, only for his hand to be abruptly grabbed by his subordinate. The Younger pounded his fist on the computer terminal. 

“What are you doing?” He jerked his hand away. “How insubordinate of you!”

“A thousand apologies, Sir.” He pointed at the predicted outcomes on the screen. “But have a look!” He read the text slowly and deliberately. “The Matrix is projecting this one will... Lead a revolution... Among the Great Houses.”

“That’s quite the unassuming face for a revolutionary.” The Aged Time Lord dismissively jested while he impatiently drummed with his hand.

“Now it’s saying… This one will…” His apprentice tilted his head in utter bewilderment. 

“Leave Gallifrey and… Alter the course of the entire Universe?” The Elder read the rest as in a tone as baffled by its forecast as his protege.

“Extraordinary!”

“...It’s a systems glitch!” The Elder Time Lord concluded. “Has to be! No Time Lord has gone renegade and left our world in fourteen millenia.” He pounded their machine again while the screen flickered. 

‘ERROR! CODE: 31-91’ The screen flashed.

“Baaahh! A mere Service Worker! Ne-”

“Or,” His colleague intervened again. “We’ve identified a potential radical.” He checked the communicator strapped to his wrist to find their stated guidelines. “Forgive my impertinence Sir, but Isn’t there a procedure we’re supposed to follow when one of those appears?”

“The Deca Protocol?” The elder scoffed. “Don’t overreact. Run a full diagnostic, double check the code matrix, and I’m sure you’ll find that first assessment to be the correct one. There’s no need to waste Lord President’s time on this ordinary, lowly insignificant soul.”

His colleague nodded. “Very well.” He retracted his grip on the other’s arm. “You’re probably right.”

“Of course I am. I’ve only been doing this for nine hundred and eighty years.” He kept drumming on their podium. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Forty-eight.” The dejected junior replied.

“Carry on!” His elder ordered.

“... For Gallifrey! May it reign supreme for a thousand eons more!”

Chapter Text

Sayaka awakened to the sound of gushing water. She opened her eyes and sat up to discover that The Time Lady had brought her into the bathroom. “Huh?” She saw The Time Lady speedily washing her clothes in the sink. “What happened?”

“You puked all over me.” She squeezed her wet shirt. “Then you passed out.” She punctuated her recap with a deep sigh. “Welcome back to life.”

“Oh my God! I’m sorry! I’m so so sorry! Please, please forgive me!” Sayaka kneeled.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” The Time Lady liberally wadded a gob of paper towels while she looked back toward Sayaka in the mirror. “We just witnessed an alien bunnycat cannibalize his own corpse. Overstimulated senses aside, puking would be how any young lady would react. How any young lady should react, really.”

Sayaka retched at the mere mention of Kyubey’s deed. Feeling sick all over again, she hurriedly crawled to the toilet, over which she slunk her head. She looked into the water, gazing upon her dirty, disheveled reflection. 

“Still seeing and hearing all that other stuff?” The Time Lady asked.

“No.” Sayaka perched her head gingerly above the seat. Anxiously waiting for the next round of vomit.

“That’s good. Losing consciousness probably gave your brain just the reboot it needed.” The Time Lady’s eyes in the mirror fixated upon her own appearance. “You know, it occured to me, in our impromptu Q and A, that I completely neglected to ask you a certain, simple question. A single, silly, stupid little question, but perhaps it’s the most important question I that should have asked you straight away.”

“What question was that?”

“How are you feeling, Sayaka Miki?”

It was a pretty straightforward question that Sayaka didn’t have a clue how to answer. While her sense of touch was still pretty dull, deeper inside, she was also experiencing the worst headache and upset stomach she’d felt her entire life. And while her tastebuds couldn’t sense the food she was eating just minutes ago, they now were absolutely overwhelmed by the taste of puke. And though it was all so woeful they were also the first strong sensations she’d been having in quite some time. A small silver lining, and upon realizing it, she felt entirely reborn. Welcome back to life, indeed.

But then that memory of Kyubey eating himself spammed its way into her brain again. And the stomach acid surged right up.

“Kyubey set me up to fail.” Sayaka said after a heave.

“Yes. Normally, my next question would be asking why someone would do such a thing, but he spilled the beans on that, too.”

Sayaka heaved again.

“Sorry. Bad choice of words.”

“He was just using me the entire time. So he could get to Madoka.” She recounted in her mind the number of times Kyubey insisted that Madoka make a contract. The number of times he used Sayaka’s own suffering as a point of leverage. And by yelling at her for not fighting, for staying on the sidelines, then shaming her for keeping her humanity she was unwittingly doing Kyubey’s work for him. She had never felt so malevolent towards another soul when she said those things, and that soul was only guilty of trying to be there for her. Sayaka felt so ashamed of herself. She put her head over the toilet and retched again. 

The Time Lady slammed her used wads into the trash. “Loathsome little bunnycat.”

“Wait over there, Madoka! I’ve gotta go to the bathroom! I’ll be back in a flash!” The girls overheard a familiar voice outside the bathroom door.

“Oh shit! Oh crap! Oh shit! Oh crap!” The Time Lady rushed over to block the door with it barely cracked open. 

“Hey! What gives? Who’s in there? Let me in! I gotta pee!” Sayaka Miki knocked and shouted from the other side. The Time Lady turned the lock and motioned Sayaka over to assist in blocking the door. Holding her stomach for now, she stood up, limped over and, instead of utilizing her strength, collapsed her body weight against it.

“Didn’t you hear me? C’mon! I gotta go pee!” The Other Sayaka knocked louder and louder.

“I don’t remember this ever happening to me.” Sayaka whispered to the Time Lady.

“Because it didn’t happen to you. It’s happening to her .” The Time Lady whispered back.

“I don’t understand.” Sayaka shook her head.

“There’s two of you now.” The Time Lady said with a push.

“How?” Sayaka pressed her ear to the door.

“Look, I know you’re blocking the door! I can hear somebody talking! Open up! Answer me!” The Other Sayaka shouted as she battered the door with her body.

“Don’t quite understand it myself, really. Maybe the nature of this causality loop is allowing the existence of temporal counterparts, or maybe we’ve crashed into a split timeline, or maybe the Paradox Protection Protocols in my TARDIS failed. Might even be a lucky lottery-winning combination of all that, plus some other factors. I can't say for sure.” The Time Lady reached for her multitool. 

After a minute of silence on both sides of the door, the Time Lady’s eyes darted to the floor. A small mirror was slowly creeping underneath the gap in the door.

“Eep!” The Time Lady cracked it with a stomp then kicked it across the floor.

“That’s it! That tears it! You guys are in trouble now! I’m getting a security guard!” The Other Sayaka warned.

“What are you doing, Sayaka?” The ladies pressed their ears to the door as they heard a second familiar voice. It was Madoka Kaname’s.
“Wh- Why are we doing this to her?” Sick Sayaka asked.

“What do you mean?” The Time Lady responded. 

“Some idiot’s not letting me into the bathroom! And then they smashed my makeup kit when I tried to look inside!” The Other Sayaka grumbled.

“If The Other You’s here, then so is your friend Madoka. If Madoka is here, then Kyubey’s probably watching.” The Time Lady motioned Sayaka to go fetch the smashed makeup kit.

“Then why can’t we just warn them? Tell them to ‘Look out for that tricky cat-rabbit’ and point him out?” Sayaka picked up the smashed kit. It was the same as the one still in her own pocket.

“Because I don’t want Kyubey to know we’re here. Not yet.” The Time Lady stated.

“Why not?” Sayaka pressed as she handed The Time Lady the smashed kit.

“We can just go look for another bathroom.” Madoka urged.

“It’s a public restroom! We shouldn’t have tooooooo.” The Other Sayaka’s voice trailed in frustration.

“Look, I know you want to do something to help. You want to do something to prevent her from turning into you, but now is not the right time to act. We don’t have the assets.” The Time Lady reached into Sayaka’s pocket and took out her makeup kit. “There’s also this problem.” She slowly brought the two makeup kits closer and closer together, and then they touched. A sudden burst of energy flashed between them. Sayaka’s kit shattered too as it flew out of the Time Lady’s hand and hit the wall, cracking the bathroom tiles.

“What the hell was that?” Sayaka covered her mouth with her hands as she strained to keep her exclamation from being heard by her other self.

“That would be The Blinovitch Limitation Effect. It’s... An exotic energy discharge that happens when something interacts with its past or future self. In essence it’s when something crosses its own timeline.” The Time Lady explained.

“So if the Other Me were to see me or touch me…” Sayaka wondered. “Bad?”

“I really don’t wish to speculate further right now, but at the very least I think she would pass out from the shock of seeing her time twin. Do you really want to put her through that stress?” 

“Sounds like somebody else is coming.” Sayaka intently pressed her ear against the door. She could just barely make out a pair of adult, male voices, alongside the familiar voices of Madoka and the Other Sayaka. They also overheard yet another, vaguely familiar female’s voice.

Madoka: “... I’m sure it’s a misunderst-...”

Other Sayaka: “I don’t know what this lady’s talking about! I wasn’t anywhere near there this morning! I’ve been with my friend Madoka the whole day!”

Madoka: “It’s true, sir!”

Female voice: “It’s the same girl, officer. Same face, same hair, same voice. I’m certain of it. She ran off and she didn’t pay.” It was that waitress from the restaurant!

“Uh, oh!” Sayaka gasped. “I didn’t pay for our food. Did you pay for it?”

“I, er, uh…” The Time Lady nervously itched her nose “I don’t… Carry money. Oopsies.”

“We’ve gotta-!” The Time Lady held Sayaka’s mouth shut before she could say anything else. The Time Lady reached for a piece of Sayaka’s shattered makeup kit. She then slid the mirror fragment under the door’s gap and watched The Other Sayaka being led away.

“She was with an older woman, too. Twenty-something. A foreigner. About this tall, She didn’t pay for her coffee.” The Waitress elaborated.

“I told you I didn’t do it! I would never eat anything without paying for it!”

“Just come with me and we’ll sort this matter out.” The guard tugged her along by the wrist.

“But I’ve still gotta pee first! I’m tellin’ ya,’ some idiot’s blocking that bathroom door over there! How ‘bout you check on that!”

“Fine. Whatever.” He pointed his colleague to the door. “Go check it out.” The other guard pulled out his keys.

“Is everything all right in there?” The guard knocked.

“What do we do now?” Sayaka asked.

“Is your stomach any better?”

“A bit.”

“Can you pretend you’re still heaving?”

“What?”

“Just go over there and hunch over the toilet. Act sick.” Sayaka dutifully shuffled over to the toilet.

“I’m coming in now.” The officer announced, as the door unlatched and the lock clicked open. The Time Lady positioned herself into a spot against the wall beside the door.

“Are you okay, Miss?” The guard vigilantly took a few steps into the Ladies’ room.

“Ughhhhhh… I’m so siiiiiick… Please heeeellllp meeee…” Sayaka moaned over the toilet bowl.

“I can take you to the office upstairs.” He walked towards her. “You can rest there until you feel better, Miss.” He reached for her arm. “But keep in mind that this is a public restroom, and you just can’t keep yourself loc-”

The door behind him slammed shut before he could grab her. The man quickly turned around to see a strange, foreign woman waving a strange, glowing wand while gazing intently into his eyes.

“Wh- Who are you?” He stared back. “What’s going on here?” The guard tried to reach for the radio at his side, but quickly realized his whole body was helplessly frozen on the spot.

“There is no need to be alarmed. There is no need to be afraid. Just look into my eyes and listen to the sound of my voice. You will obey me.” The Time Lady commanded as she waved her glowing, humming wand next to her face.

“No alarm.” His posture stiffened. “Not afraid. Will obey.” He droned.

“Why is he-?” Sayaka tiptoed her way around them.

“Shhhh.” The Time Lady continued. “You have just helped a harried young mother tend to her sick child. She simply needed a little assistance cleaning up some vomit. That assistance, you have capably provided. This is what you will tell your colleague when you see him.” She leaned closer and whispered softly into his ear. “Then you will go and era…” The rest of her words Sayaka couldn’t quite make out.

“I understand.” The security guard said obediently. He exited the bathroom without saying another word.

“What’d you do to him?” Sayaka asked.

“Hypnotized him, is all. Then I told him where to go and what he needed to do for us next.” The Time Lady peeked out the door.

“Cool!” Sayaka watched him shuffle away.

“Yeah. It is. Though messing with other people’s minds is a bit like smoking. It’s a nasty habit that can become a rather addictive indulgence. So I try to avoid it, save for certain, special circumstances like this one.” The Time Lady scanned the mall in every direction. “I don’t see Kyubey. Do you see Kyubey?”

“No.” Sayaka concurred.

“Good. Let’s move.” The Time Lady pushed the door open forcefully as they booked out of the bathroom.

“To your ship?” 

“Not yet.” The Time Lady strode towards the food court. “I wanna have a look at something first.”

The two girls returned to the food court. The Time Lady discreetly drew her multitool out of her pocket. She scanned around the food court, then made a beeline to the spot where Kyubey was blasted to bits.

“Intriguing.” The Time Lady went down on all fours and sniffed the spot as if she were a bloodhound. “In the air there are definite traces of a fired projectile, but no sign of gunpowder or the projectile itself. But we never heard a gunshot, and there’s no fragments, there’s not even so much as a bullet hole in the floor. I’m also detecting a fading signature of Active Ectomater. I’d say the bunnycat was hit by a ‘magic’ bullet of some kind. And the origin of the projectile, I’d say the exact trajectory would be…”  The Time Lady’s speech trailed off as she pointed her wand toward the top of a building just visible above the food court. “There! That building!”

“That’s The Hospital.” Sayaka knew instantly.

The Time Lady sniffed around as she scanned and crawled over to the table where Kyubey’s corpse had rolled. 

“What are you doing?” The man eating at the table awkwardly interrupted her search.

“Ah, my apologies! You see, I was eating at this table earlier and I think I lost my wedding ring here.” She pressed her ringless left hand to his face. “Do you mind eating elsewhere while I take a look around?”

“Oh- Okay.” The man picked up his tray and left.

“What are you looking for now?” Sayaka joined her on the ground.

“Any piece of Kyubey that might have been left behind. I certainly don’t think he eats his own remains out of enjoyment. I think he was, in fact, covering his tracks. Making certain that no one would find any trace of him. So that no one could own a little piece of him that could be studied or used to track him. Especially by, say, whatever hostile had just axed him.” She felt around the floor with her hand. She scanned for traces briefly with her wand, before giving up and tucking it away. “And he did a pretty damn thorough job of it, too. He left me nothing, drat!”

“So where do we go from here?” Sayaka asked innocently.

“Guess we have to find out just who sho-” The Time Lady stopped herself mid sentence and looked at Sayaka, the young lady’s appearance was completely disheveled, her shirt still soaked with water and vomit. But Sayaka didn’t seem to care, the look in her eyes made it clear that she was seemingly all-too-willing to follow this strange lady down whatever rabbit hole she ventured. “You- You were right. You don’t have to come along with me.” 

“Wha- You don’t want me here?” Sayaka asked. 

“It’s not that I don’t want you here,” The Time Lady apologetically ran her fingers through Sayaka’s dirty, unkempt hair. “Look what I’ve already done to you. I’ve whisked you away, pushed you into co-piloting my ship, pumped you for info, overclocked your brain ‘til you puked and almost stumbled you right into an encounter with your own past self.”

“But I wanna know what Kyubey’s plotting on us! ” Sayaka protested.

“I understand that. But at the rate we’re going, you might wind up in even worse shape than where I found you.”

“What else am I good for now?” Sayaka drooped.

“Don’t do that to yourself.” The Time Lady counseled. “If you start to see yourself as disposable, then the people around you will treat you as such.” She remorsefully sighed. “I know this, because it’s a sin I’ve been guilty of committing before,” She paused, then added with a whimper, “Far too often.”

“What?” Sayaka questioned. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve had help in all my trials and misadventures before, all wonderful souls, all-too-often too eager to please this erudite little alien who showed them a taste of the endless wonders of time and space,” She recalled. “And my ego was waaaaay too into feasting on their adulation.” She combed Sayaka’s hair from in front of her anxious eyes. “But whenever the situation escalated into a serious mess that spun beyond all control, well,” She looked down at the floor. “They wound up being the ones who suffered in my stead.”

“You got them killed?” Sayaka gasped.

“Some did, regrettably.” She shook her head. “But most of them grew tired of my antics and left on their own. Other times, I would realize my folly and leave them behind when I knew they’d be better off.” She concluded, “I think this might be one of those times.”

“I don’t get it. Now you want to leave me alone?”

“I certainly don’t want to leave you high-and-dry. But at the same time, I don’t know what Kyubey’s up to, why he’s on Earth, why he’s recruiting girls into this war and why he’s so fixated on your friend Madoka joining up. But I assure you I am going to find out those answers. But I’m not so sure you’re quite ready to know for yourself. And that makes me think of the fates of those poor others who’ve travelled with me,” She weakly smiled. “And didn’t make it.”

“You’re sure I’ll end up just like them?” 

“You’re too young and right now you’re too wounded.” She put her hand to Sayaka’s cheek. “I put you into this mess without telling you everything up front. In a sense, guilty of exactly the same crime Kyubey’s committing. I want to give you a chance to stop now and pull back before it’s too late. If you want to, you can stay on my ship, relax, recuperate and let me do the legwork of this investigation.”

“And after this is over?” Sayaka pressed. “What do I do then?”

“I can set you up in another town, with a new home, new school and ample money and whatever else you need to start a new life fresh.” She nodded. “That’s the very least I owe you.”

Sayaka gave The Time Lady’s proposal some consideration. Tempting though it was, to just sit back and let an actual adult handle everything, her conscience just wouldn’t let her consider it for more than a moment. “You asked me, on your ship, if I had any regrets?”

“It got you movin’, yeah.” 

“The only thing in this world that I have right now, are my regrets. When I watched Mami die, I regretted not being able to save her. But she’s here now! And I wanna to do everything I can to keep it that way. Kyoko’s still out there, still scraping by alone, I regretted not listening to her, and not trying to help her change. I regret never telling Kyosuke what I felt, my feelings, and now there’s another me who might do something that I couldn’t.” She gazed over at the sporting goods store. “But most of all though, I regret what I did to Madoka. But you’ve given me a second chance.” She took a heavy breath. “I don't want to waste it. I just can't!”

“Are you only driven by regrets?” She asked. “To be honest, I’d prefer a partner with sunnier reasons to carry on.”  

“I… I don’t know,” Sayaka introspectively paused. “I want you to promise me something in return, if I’m really going to be helping you out.”

“What’s that?”

“No secrets,” Sayaka succinctly put. “Tell me everything you find out.” Sayaka peered into her eyes. “Even if you know I’m not going to understand, tell me anyway.”

“Sounds fair,” The Time Lady agreed. “Okay, then, we’re here to change fates, turn hearts, and perhaps even win a war. On top of that, we’ll devise a stratagem to counter that bunnycat’s.” She confidently smiled. “I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve tackled rougher situations before, completely alone with little time to spare.” The Time Lady playfully punched Sayaka’s arm. “With a willful partner and a whole month to work, there’s no way we’ll lose.” Hearing her words, Sayaka felt the first tinge of pure optimism she’d had in a long, long time.

“Hey, uhm, excuse me, uh, sorry to interrupt…” The man who had left the dining table returned. “Have you guys found what you were looking for yet?”

***

“My hair pin? What do you need it for?” Sayaka stood in the TARDIS control room, stripped to her bare essentials. The Time Lady was changing her own clothes while they conversed.  

“I need to use it for something.” The Time Lady pulled off her shirt. “Does it happen to carry any special value to you?”

“No, not really.” Sayaka took it out of her hair and looked it over. She just remembered she’d actually owned two identical hair pins, one yellow and one red. On her first day of middle school, she asked her mother which color was better. Her Mother told her it didn’t matter, so Sayaka chose the yellow pin. And she’d simply kept using the same yellow one out of habit every day since. “What do you mean by ‘something’?”

“I’m going to attach a micro perception filter to it,” The Time Lady answered. So the people around won’t perceive you. Though more importantly, it’ll prevent any further mistaken identity cases involving your counterpart.”

“Would Kyubey be able to see me?” Sayaka pressed.

“An excellent question. Not if I do my job and craft it right.” Time Time Lady opened a drawer which contained an assortment of disassembled technology and small tools. “And in case I don’t, I also have other ways to fool the bunnycat.” She grabbed a tool, a seat and a bottle of pills. She tossed the pills to Sayaka.

“Pills? What are these for?” Sayaka examined the bottle. The labeling was in English. Sayaka was not a great English student, but somehow the TARDIS was making the directions readable in her mind. “Per-fect-ly Pal-at-able Pell-ets. My headache?”

“Human food rations out of the next century, actually. All of the essential nutrients, none of the essential taste. But they’ll go easy on your stomach. Swallow one red and one blue. You’ll feel like you just ate a nutritious, full-course meal.” She opened another drawer as she was working. She tossed Sayaka a wrapped bar that looked like a chocolate bar. “ That’s for your headache. It’s chocolate.” She corrected, “Well, chocolate-ish.”

“In the next century the food looks like medicine and the medicine looks like food?” Sayaka opened the wrapper and sniffed the chocolate bar.

“Yep. The ironic culmination of your species’ unending drive to make its meals more convenient and its medicines more appetizing. ” The Time Lady chuckled. “I take the pills whenever I can’t be arsed to replicate a meal for myself. Which is often. Have a bar whenever I work too hard. Which is fairly often.” She removed her pants and took a seat at a nearby work desk.

“What about our clothes?” Sayaka looked down at her vomit-soaked school clothes on the floor.

“You’re going to go ‘wash’ them. Take them down to the ship’s Laundro-demat, if you’d please.” The Time Lady made a sweeping gesture, then pointed to the far door. “You know how to use a washing machine? Well, I’ve got one that dematerializes your clothes, analyzes the material, separates out dirt and contaminants and repairs any damage. Comes out like new every single time! You can even program the scent when it comes out! Very user-friendly, really  cool! Go see!” She pulled out a miniature version of her wand and slid her glasses to her face. “Go five decks down, door at the far end of the hallway.”

“Sounds neat, I guess.” Sayaka picked up their clothing. “Uhm, do you have any other clothes? In my size?” She took another bite of the bar.

The Time Lady looked over at her. “Your size?”

“It’s just…” Sayaka’s voice trailed. “These are really my school clothes. Back when I was still going to school…”

“Oh! You need not elaborate. There’s a wardrobe room on the same deck. Lots of trendy options. Should have something in there that’ll work for you. Go through the only purple door on that level.” 

Sayaka walked over to the door, stopped in front, and studied it with confusion. “Is there a door handle on this thing?” 

“Oh?” She paused. “Duh, of course!” The Time Lady rolled her eyes as she palmed her forehead while she sprang from her desk. “The inner doors are all automatic, but you’re not authorized to leave the control room. Let me get on that real quick.” She motioned Sayaka with her finger to join her at the control console. “Now place your palm… There.” She pointed at a flat plate between two keyboards. Sayaka pressed her hand to the plate. The Time Lady pulled out a third keyboard and typed a set of commands. “Now the ship has catalogued your biodata, and I’ve officially added you as one of the TARDIS’s ‘crew’!”

“The ‘crew’?” Sayaka turned her head and watched the door behind her slide open.

“Yes!” She pridefully pointed at herself. “I’m the pilot,” Then pointed at Sayaka. “You’re the Co-Pilot. Welcome aboard!” The Time Lady livingly announced. The inner door instantly slid open.

Sayaka hesitantly gazed into the open hallway. “Uhm-” Sayaka started.

“The lift is the gold-colored door on the left side.” The Time Lady interrupted. 

“How big is this place?” Her headache fading quickly, she took a bigger bite of the bar.

“It’s really big!”

“How many rooms?”

“Imagine every room in every building in Tokyo. Can you imagine it? Well, it’s many, many more rooms than that!”

“How do you not get lost?”

“I don’t go to where I don’t know where I’m going. And much of what I need is kept close to The Control Room.” The Time Lady pointed at a blue-colored door on the right. “You can rest up in that room. It’s got a bed, a bath, whatever you need to feel better. Though if I were you, I would definitely prioritize that bath.” The Time Lady walked back to her desk, sat, and got back to work. 

“I’ve, uh… Still got a question.” Sayaka finished her medicinal chocolate while she stood in the open doorway. “That I never asked you.”

“What is it?” The Time Lady fastened a small gem to Sayaka’s hair clip.

“What’s your name?”

The Time Lady pensively paused at the question. “My name? Don’t have one.”

“You don’t have a name?”

“I mean, yes I once had one. For a very long time it was the only name I could ever imagine having. But then one day I realized that name no longer suited me, so I renounced it. Was no big deal. And I suppose I’ve just never put any huge thought into thinking of a new one for myself.”

“Why would you renounce your own name?”

“Because that’s not me anymore.”

“So what do I call you, then?” Sayaka walked toward the lift.

“I don’t know,” She shrugged. “Here’s an idea, how about you try to think of something to call me. If I like it, then that’s what my name will be as long as I’m here! The fourth button down will take you to the right level, the first one will bring you back, okay?” The Time Lady smiled and waved to Sayaka as the door closed. “And if I really like it, I’ll take it!” Her voice echoed from behind the door.

“I’m supposed to think of her name?” Sayaka muttered to herself, the lift’s doors sliding open in front of her. “Geez, is she for reals?” Sayaka entered and pressed the labeled ‘Fifth’ deck button on the panel. Sayaka opened the pill bottle, stuck the red pellet in her mouth and swallowed hard. “Maybe I should’ve asked for something to wash it down with.” She stuck the blue pellet in her mouth and swallowed. The blue one was much easier to swallow. “Oh. So that was it. Weird.”   

The lift door slid open. She was in the lift for only a few moments, yet inside she felt no movement, no sense that she had travelled anywhere. Sayaka ventured a couple hesitant steps out. The corridor was very similar to the one she had just exited, but the doors on the sides were spread in a different pattern. “I think… This is the right deck.” She walked to the end of the hallway, to the white door at the end. ‘Laundry Room.’ A screen on the door’s front screen read in Japanese.

‘SYSTEM IN LOW POWER MODE. ONE DEMAT CYCLE PER ONE HUNDRED FIFTY HOURS ALLOTTED FOR USE. PLACE CLOTHES IN MACHINE. PRESS TOP RED BUTTON TO START PROCESS.’ Sayaka placed their clothes inside the machine. She removed her last remaining garments and placed them inside. She pressed the button. Their clothes vanished in a puff of smoke.

“What kind of name would she even want?” Sayaka cycled through a few names of the older women she knew. ‘Miho’, her mother. ‘Junko’, Madoka’s mom. ‘Haruka’, Hitomi’s mother. ‘Kazuko’, their English teacher. But Sayaka didn’t believe The Time Lady would appreciate a name just lazily cribbed from a list of the people she knew. “She looks like she’s from the west. Maybe a name from there will do?” Miss Saotome once gave them a list of common English last names at the start of the school year, she kinda wished she’d read it more closely. 

Sitting there naked, Sayaka felt cold, so cold she had to sit down on the floor, curl to her knees and shiver. The laundry room was a bit chilly, certainly, but this was the coldest Sayaka had been feeling in quite some time. Her brief stint as a runaway the time spent following her awful outburst at Madoka, and the point she’d been rescued from oblivion felt like the hazy remnants of a past life, but she did remember trying to sleep in places that would have been much colder than this room. Limping from derelict place to derelict place, fighting small-fry familiars and nominally protecting the world, nominally protecting those who didn’t even notice her, secluding herself behind any spot that offered a respite. But she couldn’t remember shivering at all during any of those lonely nights. But then again she’d stopped caring about her physical well being by that point.

The only memories she could vividly recall, was this strange, seething sense of anger. She had sacrificed her contented, normal life to protect this earth from the forces of darkness, and it simply spun on, completely indifferent to her loss of humanity, and with it her loss of innocence. By the time she sat on that train she remembered questioning why she still even cared, wondering whether the human race even deserved protection. She sensed this growing malevolence within herself, a cacoethës to curse it all away, make this world pay for its innate cruelty. It was a scary, yet strangely enchanting feeling, though she was certain she never wanted to feel that way ever again.

‘LOW POWER MODE PROTOCOL: LIMITED SELECTION OF SCENTS AVAILABLE’ The laundry machine buzzed. The machine provided her with only three options. Sayaka pressed the first one. ‘RECONSTITUTING ITEMS.’ There was a flash inside. ‘5… 4… 3… 2… 1… PROCESS COMPLETE. IT IS NOW SAFE TO REMOVE YOUR CLOTHING FROM THE MACHINE.’ The door on its front popped open. “G- Gee. T- That was p- pretty darn q- Quick.” Sayaka stuttered while she shivered. She collected their clothes then visually inspected her school shirt. Spotless as advertised. If only her emotional stains could be whisked away as easily as the puke.

The smell coming off the freshly-materialized clothing was definitely not a scent she had smelled before. Their clothes smelled of someplace otherworldly, alien. It wasn’t at all an unpleasant smell to her, however. In fact, it was quite enlivening. It contrasted greatly with the odor Sayaka was suddenly smelling on her own bare skin: The stink of sweat, dried blood, and vomit. The Time Lady was right. She desperately needed a bath.

Sayaka picked up the basket, and stepped into the hallway. In front of her, was the hall leading back to the lift. To her left, another hallway with primary-colored doors on each side. To her right, a longer hallway, with secondary-colored doors on each side. “A purple door, she told me to find.” She headed into the hallway on her right. The correct door was located on the right side of that hall. ‘Wardrobe Room’ read the sign on the door.

Sayaka entered the room. The room’s interior was as purple as the door, with the same indentations on the wall as the Control Room. On the right side sat a wooden bench. On the wall to her left side, was a screen presenting a message. ‘PRESS RED BUTTON TO BEGIN.’ Sayaka pressed the red button on the wall. From the ceiling behind her, she heard a distinctly mechanical sound. Sayaka gasped at the sight of a strange machine descending from the ceiling. It looked like a large eye, which was blinking and beeping. “A robot? What are you…” Before Sayaka could inquire, its eye flashed a series of bright flashes along her body, promptly finishing its task and retreating to the ceiling. “Damn it, warn me before you blind me, next time!” Sayaka chided the thing as she rubbed her eyes reflexively.

‘ADDING BODY PROFILE TO DATABASE. MATCHING PROFILE TO CONTEMPORANEOUS WARDROBE. MATERIALS REPLICATION OFFLINE. SELECTION LIMITED TO EXTANT CLOTHING COLLECTION. PRESS TO DISPLAY OPTIONS.’ “So that means there’s something in my size?” Sayaka pressed the screen. She scrolled down the list. She had two dozen options listed for shirts, about the same for pants and skirts, around a dozen formal dresses, and a set of high-topped boots, low-topped boots, tennis shoes and high heels. Undergarments were about as plentiful. “Beats browsing through aisles and racks.” She half-heartedly chuckled.

She settled upon a low-cut, sleeveless white shirt, an almond-colored short overcoat to go with it, a simple pair of blue jeans, and a pair of low-topped laceless boots. A tomboy-ish look, a fashion sense she’d kept since she was young. She scrolled on and selected a simple, blue-striped set of bra and panties. “Thanks.” Sayaka said to the machine, pressing the red button again. ‘GATHERING SELECTION.’ The wall on Sayaka’s right slid open, and out appeared her shirt and coat. “Woah!” She grabbed her items. The wall closed and opened again with her pants. Next came her shoes. And then finally her undergarments. She placed all the items into the basket. “Okay, now I’m impressed,” she finished redressing, gathered their laundry and made her exit. 

Sayaka navigated her way back to the lift and zipped up to the primary deck. A message from The Time Lady was taped to the door when she got there: ‘I’ve set the ol’ loo’s design to  ‘Japanese’. For your convenience. P.S.: Just leave my clothes outside this door. Thanks. ;) Sayaka separated The Time Lady’s clothing from the basket, then stepped inside her quarters.

The first room inside her quarters was a waiting room. Sayaka placed her clothes basket on a bench to her immediate left. The room just beyond that bench was labeled ‘DINING ROOM’. The room Adjacent was labeled ‘RECREATION ROOM’. The two doors on the far side of the room were labeled ‘LIBRARY’ and ‘BEDROOM’. The doors on her right were labeled ‘LIVING ROOM’ and ‘BATHROOM’. Sayaka entered the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, at the far end, was a large bathtub. On The left side, a large display screen. On the right were two mirrors, with a green button next to each of them. Sayaka pressed the green button next to her. The mirror retracted to reveal a Japanese-style toilet. She pressed the next green button. The other mirror retracted to reveal a showering space. Sayaka promptly declothed and stepped inside. The door behind her slid shut, as a message displayed on a screen ‘SYSTEM IN LOW POWER MODE. FULL DECONTAMINATING SHOWER UNAVAILABLE. SONIC SHOWER UNAVAILABLE. SELECT LISTED OPTIONS: SHOWER WITH DECONTAMINATING SUBSTANCE ALPHA-1. SHOWER OF WATER WITH DECONTAMINATING SUBSTANCE BETA-2. Sayaka chose the shower with water. A burst of cold water sprayed her from all sides.

“Gahhhh! W-What the hell? W- why’s it so c-cold?”

‘DECONTAMINATING SUBSTANCE BETA-2 IS MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN INTEGRATED WITH WATER AT AN APPROXIMATE TEMPERATURE OF EARTH CELSIUS SCALE 9.26 DEGREES.’ The screen flashed.

“I don’t care about contamin- Just make it warmer!” Sayaka shouted in irritation. The computer beeped in compliance, putting it at 19.26 degrees. “Warmer!” She said again. It raised to 29.26 degrees. “Wheeeew!” Sayaka finally relaxed. The automated showering system moved up and down her body, soaking her from head to toe. Around and down the drain went the stench of blood, the stink of sweat and her bitter tears, down the drain went her pain. For that fleeting minute or so, she felt as if her past sins had been cleansed away. Then the water was cut off. 

‘SYSTEM IN LOW POWER MODE. SHOWER CYCLES LIMITED TO 360 SECONDS PER PERSON PER DAY. BEGINNING DRYING PROCESS. Back to reality. A rush of hot air assaulted her from all directions, drying her entire body in ten seconds flat. 

“Geez! Thanks for the warning!” Sayaka huffed in a spurt of sarcasm as she stepped out of the shower chamber. She gathered her clothes from the basket, put them on, and went to rejoin The Time Lady. She could hear a piece of classical music playing from behind the door. She even knew which one it was.

“DeBussy. Le Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin.” Sayaka named the tune while stepping through the door. Sayaka also recalled it was the same tune the woman was trying to hum at the restaurant.

“Correct!” The Time Lady was busily applying the finishing touches to her project. “I always admired that guy’s beard.” The Time Lady spun around in her chair and pointed to Sayaka’s CD on the control console. 

“You fixed my CD? But Kyosuke smashed-”

“It’s nothing a little atomic soldering couldn’t fix. Good as new, took less than a minute.” 

“Thanks.” Sayaka closed her eyes and listened to the composition. For another moment, that feeling she had in the shower came back to her.

“You’re welcome.” The Time Lady leapt eagerly to her feet “Now check out my next trick. Now you see me...” She flipped Sayaka’s hair clip into her other hand, then fastened it behind her ear. “Now you don’t!”

Sayaka reflexively rubbed her eyes, struggling to see The Time Lady who was still standing right in front of her. “It’s like... I know you’re there, but I don’t wanna see you.”

“Yup. That’s how a perception filter works. It’s not invisibility, just unnoticeability. People walking on the street will perceive you just well enough to know to not bump into you, pass you by, then a moment later, forget they ever saw anything at all. Give me more time and I can even give you a whole new appearance.”

“What about Kyubey?”

“Ah, yes.” The Time Lady removed Sayaka’s hair clip, opened one of the circular indentations along the wall, and pulled out a black, short-haired wig. She tossed it to Sayaka. “A decidedly lower-tech solution, I admit. Got something else to add, too.” The Time Lady fastened the clip into place on the wig, reached into another indentation, and took out a pair of novelty beaglepuss glasses.  

“Seriously?” Sayaka incredulously gawked at her bushy-eyed, mustachioed reflection in the mirror. “This is silly! How are these in any way supposed to fool Kyubey?”

“Trust me. I use them all the time when I’m into going’ incognito. Never failed.” The Time Lady pat her on the back and strode to the TARDIS door. “Now come along then. We’ve got places to be.”

“Where are we going?” She reluctantly followed along.

“To that hospital. You said that was where the shot that took that Kyubey out came from, correct? We’ve got to find out who did it, why they did it, and what they’re after. But more importantly, since they seem to carry as much enmity towards the bunnycat as we do, see if we can make them an ally.”

Sayaka’s stomach churned into a twisted knot once again. She hadn’t given much thought to the identity of the Kyubey Killer before now, she was too preoccupied with her own misery, but with a clearer mind it took her a mere second to deduce the identity of the only person it could have been. And she was not looking forward to seeing that girl again.

***

“I’m telling you, she’s not going to help us! We’re wasting our time!” Sayaka whined as they walked through the Mitakihara City Hospital doors.

“Yes… You’ve said that a few times now. I was indeed always listening.” The Time Lady recounted. “Homura Akemi is a magical girl who is going to transfer into your class next week, just when all the trouble starts, but you say she’s a ‘total psycho’ who ‘only looks out for herself’. She ‘pops in and disappears’ from outta nowhere, and ‘sticks her nose in places where she’s not wanted’. Oh, and she tried to kill you the last time you saw her, too! Anything I missed?”

“She also let Mami die!” Sayaka added.

“But that was the Homura of then and there, not here and now. Perhaps all this version needs is a little friendly persuasion.”

“Persuasion?” Sayaka dismissively repeated. “Hmph. I doubt it.”

“Hmmm.” The Time Lady took a seat at an empty receptionist’s chair. With the multitool up her sleeve, she discreetly waved it in front of the computer’s casing. A list of the hospital’s patients and their locations lit up the screen.

“Your little magic wand thingy can do that to computers? For reals?”

“Yes, for ‘reals’. Doesn’t matter if it’s mechanical, or digital. My multitool can pick any lock.” The Time Lady scrolled down the list. “Homura Akemi: Patient has a congenital heart defect, says she recently had surgery on it.”

“Yeah. They removed it.” Sayaka snarked.

“Due to be discharged later today,” She read further. “No family listed. Only contact number traces to some church in Tokyo.” The Time Lady waved her multitool in front of the screen and turned it off. Then slid her device back in her coat pocket. “Room three thirty-nine. Third floor. Shall we take the lift?” The Time Lady tugged at a hesitant Sayaka’s sleeve.

“She tried to kill me.”

“Different Homura,” The Time Lady remarked. “And don’t worry. The base perception filter should keep you covered. Just let me do all the talking, and she shouldn’t even notice you’re with me.” With a deep, resigned sigh, Sayaka, followed behind.

“... See him now. Right now he’s all alone in his suite.” Sayaka heard a familiar voice just around the corner. As they turned the corner the voice revealed herself amongst the crowd waiting to take the lifts.

“Hitomi?” Sayaka was astonished to see her friend here.

“Who?” The Time Lady asked.

“That’s Hitomi over there.” Sayaka pointed at her good friend.

“... Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that, Ryoko.” Hitomi was talking with somebody on her cell phone. “I thought I heard someone say my name.” Hitomi peered around the room. She couldn’t notice Sayaka standing just three steps to her left.

“ She’s that other girl in your photo, yes ?” The Time Lady telepathically asked.

“Yeah. But what’s she doing here?” Sayaka replied aloud.

“ Probably paying someone here a visit .”

After a momentary, puzzled pause, Hitomi went back to her phone conversation. “I told them I’d be shopping with Madoka and Sayaka today. I complained to them that I haven’t been able to spend enough time with my friends lately.”

“She lied to us!” Sayaka was flabbergasted.

“ Oh? What about ?” The Time Lady pressed.

“She told Madoka and me that she’d be at dance practice.” Sayaka distinctly recalled. The lift doors rang and opened. 

Hitomi stepped inside. “No, I’m not going to bring that up today.” She paused and looked around the elevator.

“Could it be you’re simply misremembering?” The Time Lady suggested aloud.

“No, I definitely remember exactly why we were at that sporting goods store. I really wanted to buy a new bathing suit, and I wanted Madoka and Hitomi to come along. Hitomi told me she had dance practice but would try to make it eventually.” The second lift doors rang and opened.

“Thanks again, Ryoko. I knew I could at least tell you. See you whenever we make it back out to our vacation home.” Hitomi continued as the lift doors slid closed before Sayaka could hear the rest of her conversation.

“She never went to the mall today.” 

“I guess she’s got a secret she’d quite rather keep.” The Time Lady gently pushed Sayaka into the second lift. “Now come along! I know you are curious, but I didn’t give you that thing so you could snoop into your friend’s private affairs.”

The lift was steadily packed with passengers as the unnoticed Sayaka found herself pushed into the corner. Sayaka surveyed the faces of the people riding with them. Mainly adults, the elderly, doctors, nurses, a young couple holding hands, the girl visibly pregnant, a half-dozen plain-clothed adults, and in the opposite corner was crammed a small, young child. She appeared to be completely alone, quietly playing with what looked to Sayaka to be some white pieces of string with her fingers. Then the girl spooled the pieces into her mouth. Sayaka figured that it wasn’t string, but rather she was eating some stringy food.

“Y- Your little magic stick thingy!” Sayaka chirped as the crowd around them shuffled out in mass.

“Call it a ‘Magic Multitool’.” The Time Lady corrected. “It’s shorter I like the alliter-”

“Your whatever! It’s blinking!” Sayaka noticed the light source emanating from The Time Lady’s coat pocket.

“Is it now?” The Time Lady reached for her tool and studied its tip. Surely enough, the tip of her device was flashing a steady, red light.

“Does that mean something bad?” Sayaka queried.

“I had it set to passively scan for other temporal anomalies.” The Time Lady’s mouth was agape as she spoke. 

“Bad?”

“I don’t know yet.” The Time Lady elaborated. “It’s just telling me there’s something really weird in our immediate proximity.” They continued down the third floor hallway. The light blinked faster and faster as they neared Room 339. “But I think I should go in first.” They turned the corner to find Room 339 as the last door on the right.

 The Time Lady slowly turned the knob and peeked inside. Cautiously, with Sayaka hanging on her coattails, the two crept into the room. But the only thing in the room before them, was an empty hospital bed, an open window, a wheelchair, a table with student transfer forms and a small pair of glasses laid on top. Sayaka delicately reached for the small pair of red glasses.

“It’s curious,” The Time Lady pulled back the curtain as she peered out the open window. “Either she’s in hiding or she jumped three stories right out this win-”

The Time Lady’s observation was interrupted by the threatening sound of a gun cocking. The ladies whirled around to see a face Sayaka had seen only hours before: Homura Akemi, wearing her magical girl uniform, with a circular buckler affixed to her arm, pointing a gun point-blank at Sayaka’s face. Sayaka startledly tumbled backwards onto the bed as she tucked the glasses in her inner pocket.

“Who are you?” Homura commanded.

“Oh! So, so sorry to trespass, Miss.” The Time Lady tried to sound contrite. “I think I wandered into the wron-”

“Don’t play dumb with me.” Homura added “There’s someone else in this room right now. I can see the dent on the bed. It’s a magical girl.”

“Eh?” Miss Jones continued her charade. “What’s a magical-”

“I can also sense her magical presence.” Homura interrupted. “Felt her coming from a hundred meters away. But I can’t quite make out that face. I presume it’s because her power conceals her. But I am certain she’s right in front of me. And I know that if I pull this trigger,” She threateningly tilted her head, “I won’t miss.”

“I see. Seems you’ve got us, then.”

“If you want to live, answer my question. Who are you?”

“I’m an alien.” The Time Lady pointed upwards. “An alien from outer space.” 

Homura glowered at her suspiciously. “You don’t look like an alien.”

“ It’s the truth! Honest-to-goodness! ” The Time Lady confessed telepathically to Homura. That somebody without any ambient magical power was able to respond telepathically was enough to momentarily ebb Homura’s menacing facade.

“Anyway,” The Time Lady went back to speaking verbally. “From my spaceship, I detected some rather otherworldly shenanigans in this here locale, and swooped down to investigate.” 

“Investigate?” Homura still looked very skeptical.

“Yes, it’s what I do. I’m a freelance interplanetary investigator.” The Time Lady pulled an identification card from her coat pocket and tossed it to Homura.

“This is blank.” Homura chucked it back at her, barely sparing a glance.

“Damn. Really striking out with the psychic paper all of a sudden.” The Time Lady muttered, shoving it back in her coat. “Well, as luck would have it, I happened to cross paths with that magical girl whose face you are presently threatening with your weapon.” Homura’s eyes were still trained on her target, even though she wasn’t able to focus on the poor girl’s visage.

“Is that so?” Homura asked the figure in front of her. Sayaka nodded her head in the affirmative, a physical gesture just perceptible enough for Homura to see.

“Afterwards, she and I got together, had a delightful chat, and witnessed your summary execution of that fuzzy little scuzzball bunnycat Kyubey.”

“He’s dangerous.” 

“We agree.” The Time Lady concurred. “Nice shot, by the way.”

A tense, nervous silence pervaded through the room. Homura considered her options. 

“Whether or not I believe your story is ultimately irrelevant.” Homura cut straight to the point. “What do you want?”

“Help. Help you, to help me to help you. Which in turn helps her here helping me while I help you.”

“Utter nonsense! I don’t need anyone’s help.”

“Oh, I think you do.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Because, just like my quasi-invisible associate here, you made a deal with this Kyubey creature without fully grasping what you were signing up for, and now you’re trapped in a life of violence and bloodshed, all alone and probably on the brink of regretting your wish.”

“I don’t regret my wish. And I’m used to the violence.”

“And what about the loneliness?” The Time Lady pressed. “Fighting monsters, never knowing aid or praise?”

“It’s better that way. Allies become liabilities.”

“I can relate to that. Not saying your sentiment is totally right, just that I know how you feel-”

“Leave!” Homura’s normally monotone voice raised an octave. “This is your last warning.”

“Very well.” The Time Lady took a couple of slow, deliberate steps toward the door. “I’ll just leave you with this, then: What Kyubey is doing here is a blatant violation of Article Fifty, Clause Fourteen, Subsection Eight of The Treaties of The Shadow Proclamation. He is experimenting with the evolutionary destiny of a developing race on a Level Five Planet. As a freelance, duly-deputized free roving investigator, it is my obligation to notify The Shadow Proclamation’s authorities of this crime. Problem is, their chief enforcement troops, The Judoon, are very mercurial, and extremely ‘letter-of-the-law’-type goons, and I fear that the protocols would dictate that any subjects of the experimentation would be isolated and, if deemed enough of a threat, summarily ‘neutralized’.” She swallowed. “Do you understand what that means?”

“Do you expect me to?” Homura stared unflinchingly. 

“It means that, once the powers that be in this particular portion of the Universe discover that magical girls exist,” She explained. “And eventually they will discover you, whether I inform them or not, they’re not going to treat you as the victims of a crime, but rather as an existential threat to interplanetary peace and security. Their peace and security. They’ll come and wipe you out.” 

The room momentarily fell silent. “So what I want,” The Time Lady summarized, “Is to catch Kyubey. With the perpetrator as my leverage, I’m confident that I can then negotiate a resolution which would spare the lives of you and your fellow magical girls.”

“Why would they listen to you?”

“Because I happen to belong to one of the only races they’ll defer to.” She coolly smiled. “And I can be extremely persuasive in a pinch.”

Homura shook her head. “You’re going to try to capture it? And you want to enlist my aid in doing so?” Homura tucked her gun inside her buckler and casually flipped her hair. “I don’t believe that it can be caught. He’s far too shrewd. And I don’t have the time to be wasting any energy on frivolous follies. So my answer is ‘no’.” Sayaka delicately slid off the bed and out of danger. But Homura picked her up and trained it right back on her.

“Okay, okay! If we can’t agree to an alliance,” The Time Lady proposed, “Can we, at the very least, agree upon the free exchange of information?”

These two may not have been a threat to her, but that did not mean Homura was ready to share anything or simply let them go. She had this unnerving feeling about the magical presence in front of her. That she was somebody familiar. Too familiar. Distressingly familiar. But surely it could not be the girl Homura had in mind. 

“That magical girl at your side… Who is she?” Homur stepped back in front of the mysterious girl. “If you really want to exchange information, then her identity is the first thing I want to know.”

The Time Lady put her hand on Sayaka’s shoulder, and gave her a reassuring nod. Sayaka faked a meek, submissive smile to her accoster, then removed her tacky glasses. Next came off the altered hair clip on the wig. Then last, she removed her wig entirely. 

“No! That’s not possible!” Homura gasped. “Not you ! Not now !” Her surprised exclamation betraying a crack in what had up until then been her carefully controlled expression. Before Sayaka and The Time Lady could explain, Homura spun the device affixed to her arm, and vanished before their eyes.

“Huh. Not quite the reaction I expected.” The Time Lady dryly remarked while she retrieved her multitool from her coat pocket.

“I told you she's awful.” Sayaka said. “What a waste of time!” 

“No, it was not a waste at all,” The Time Lady contradicted. She walked over and peered out the open hospital window. “To me it was quite the revelation.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“You saw that look on her face?”

“I saw someone angry, horrified and disgusted.”

“Do I really have to spell it out for you?” The Time Lady held the student transfer papers to Sayaka’s face. “You said that you pair are not scheduled to meet until she transfers to your class next week.” She playfully pressed her finger against Sayaka’s temple. “Yet to your face, she had a very distinct and specific reaction! Which means..."

“... It means… That she recognized me?” Sayaka’s eyes lit up and went wide as eventually added one and one together.

“Bingo!” The Time Lady congratulated. “Clever girl!” 

“Sh- She's the same Homura? How?"

“That’s what I always loved about my old travelling buddies. Those probing questions!” The Time Lady uttered, sporting a coy smile.

“Did she hitch a ride with us somehow?"

“I don’t believe so.” The Time Lady adjusted knobs on her multitool. The glow on its tip was blinking rapidly again. “I think it’s more likely, she may well be the cause of this whole space-time messup!”

“For reals?” Sayaka gasped.

“You say that a lot.” The Time Lady broke towards the door. “It’s cute.”

“How?”

“If I had to venture a theory, probably an effect of her wish, whatever that was.”

Sayaka processed that silently for a full minute. "So what happens next?" 

“Next?” The Time Lady thought carefully. “I very much want to get my hands on one of those Grief Seeds. To catch a bunnycat, we need some bunnycat bait. I know I said I didn’t approve of you doing it before, but I can’t readily think of another way of obtaining one. Do you feel like going out on one of your witch hunts today?”

“Not really.” Sayaka said curtly.

“Fair enough.” The Time Lady slid her multitool back into her pocket. “It’s been an eventful enough day. Back to the TARDIS for a little rest-up. We can begin tomorrow.”

“What about Homura?”

“We’ll see her again. When she’s ready.”

“Not sure I’ll be ready.” Sayaka put her disguise on as they headed out the room and boarded the lift together.

Chapter Text

“Stupid stupid waitress! Stupid, stupid stupid mall cops! Stupid, stupid stupidstupid bathroom hog! Gah!” Sayaka Miki furiously mashed buttons on her game controller, venting all her pent-up anger and frustration in a virtual street fight. Not wanting to involve her friend Madoka in what should have been a clear cut case of mistaken identity, Sayaka had told her to go home while Sayaka tried to handle the situation herself. Unfortunately, all the security tapes of the mall that morning had been mysteriously erased, effectively making it an argument between herself and the restaurant's waitress. And the waitress somehow had an old couple and the cook her side.

“K.O! You Win!” The game blared with Sayaka delivering her favorite character’s trademark knockout combo. “Auggggh! Stupid, stupid tapes! Stupid, stupid dishes! Stupid, stupid stupid restaurant!” Sayaka had already spent most of her allowance money buying her bathing suit. When she couldn’t cover the cost of the meal and somebody’s coffee, she had to wash their dishes for a whole afternoon shift. But she wound up accidentally tripping and breaking some of their dishes. She was going to have to pay for those, too. What was supposed to have been a wonderful day off from school and homework with her friends had turned into a pretty rotten day of actual work without any time for fun and friends.

Sayaka checked the time on the wall clock. It was nearly the top of the hour, her favorite anime was about to air. Feeling her pent-up frustrations had been vented enough, Sayaka shut the game off and flipped the television channel. She leapt off her futon, and hustled over to the refrigerator. 

‘Stir-fry vegetable leftovers inside. Save some for your mother!’ Read a note taped to the refrigerator. Her father was a police officer who worked overnight shifts, her mother an office lady who was away from home for much of the day. They very rarely ate or spent time together as a family, usually only on special nights out. Typically one parent would come home, cook a meal, Sayaka would arrive home from being at school or out with her friends and find the leftovers still somewhat edible. She’d reheat and prepare it as necessary, go on with her business. The other parent would come home, cook a meal, Sayaka would do it again, rinse, and repeat. She had grown pretty used to their cycle by now.

“In the name of justice and with the power of love… I will punish you and end your evil schemes!” It was one of those ‘magical girl’ shows. The anime’s plot was corny as heck and made to sell toys to kids half Sayaka’s age, but she didn’t care about that. She was into the magical transformations, the character and costume designs, the meticulously animated battles, and the music. Most of all, she was drawn to the ideals of these shows, that a person her age could gain the power to fight for justice, make miracles, protect the innocent, and leave the world a little bit better place than when they came into it. If only such miracles and magic were real. Whenever she was in a really good mood, she’d sometimes tie a blanket around her neck.

“What’s tha-?” Something stuck out in the corner of Sayaka’s eyes. She jumped to her feet and peered out her window and looked around outside. “Who’s there? Where are you?” Somebody sitting on a tree limb, watching her right through the window, she swore. She suspiciously scanned up and down the tree, visually searched the trees next to it, then checked who was in the streets below. But the trees were clean. The streets are quiet, as far she could tell. “Weeeird.” Sayaka closed her window, shut the drapes, hit the light switch and went back to watching her show.

***

Homura Akemi could not doubt her eyes: The girl she was spying on through the window was Sayaka Miki. She was living in the same apartment, playing the same games and watching the same contrived programs as the Sayaka Miki that Homura had known for nearly as long as she’d been a magical girl. Then who could that Sayaka Miki at the hospital have been? It was unmistakably the same signature of magic, and once all the camouflage came off, her face had matched the short-haired tomboy to a tee.

But how could that person be Sayaka? Was it possible that the mysterious woman was another magical girl, one with the ability to hide her own aura and make copies from someone’s memories? It’d be much more plausible than her story about being an alien. Homura had had to deal with anomalous interlopers in numerous timelines before, such as the ever so bothersome Oriko Mikuni and Kirika Kure, but no one seemingly as out of left field as this woman. But yes, Homura concluded, she had to be another anomalous magical girl. Both needed to be neutralized. And quickly. Before Kyubey could manipulate the situation to his own ends.

Homura checked the time. She needed to move. A witch was going to appear somewhere near the docks in forty minutes. Mami Tomoe was going to hunt a familiar near Mitakihara’s Shinto Shrine in seventy minutes. And Homura’s “warning” shot earlier was not going to deter Kyubey away from monitoring Madoka for very long. He was going to snoop on  Madoka at her home in another two hours. She calculated these events as having a seventy, an eighty-five, and a ninety-five percent chance of occurring in this timeflow, respectively. Afterwards, she needed to stock up on weapons and ammunition by infiltrating the nearby JSDF base. Homura peeked around the tree trunk, saw that Sayaka had closed her curtains, spun her buckler and sprinted to the docks.

***

"Dear Hitomi:

I have known you in class ever since elementary school, and I would very much like to get to know you more. Should I ever gain my strength, I plan to confess my love to you in person someday soon. Until I do, I ask that you please wait for me.

                        -  From Your Secret Admirer"

Hitomi Shizuki took the note from its envelope, reread the message, and held it close to her chest. This love letter was not discreetly stuffed in her locker as per the usual love notes she always tossed, but rather passed along her homeroom class, from person to person, from boy to girl to boy to girl, before ending up in her hands so that she couldn't guess who wrote it. Still, she had a few clues and suspicions. And with those clues and suspicions, came the worry.

Since it was passed along the homeroom class, it stood to reason that it was probably one of the boys from that particular class. There were thirteen boys in that group, two of which already had girlfriends that Hitomi was aware of. Of the other eight, five had been in her class since elementary school. The handwriting on the note was pretty crude, even for a boy, as if whomever wrote had just learned how to write with their opposite hand. This could possibly indicate whomever made the letter had just lost the use of their normal hand. And then there was, that choice of words: “Gain my strength”... Hitomi guessed that he might have meant his physical, rather than emotional strength. Just one of the boys in that group had been through an incident that required that they “gain strength” and write with their other hand: Kyosuke Kamijo. It was his note, she was sure of that. 

Or it was possible Hitomi was jumping to conclusions. Could it have been that the note writer was deliberately using their wrong hand, so she couldn’t figure it out by the handwriting alone? Was it possible one of the boys with girlfriends was only seeing another girl so that Hitomi wouldn’t suspect them? Perhaps Hitomi just desperately wanted it to be Kyosuke, as she had been crushing on him for quite a while now. Upon finally admitting to herself that she had become smitten, it made her feel more anxious.

Hitomi’s friend Sayaka Miki had also been a long time admirer of Kyosuke’s. Though Sayaka stubbornly would only admit to being just “friends,” Hitomi could plainly sense that Sayaka’s feelings were blossoming into something greater, too. It was Sayaka who attended every single recital, back when Kyosuke could still play his instrument. It was Sayaka who waited outside the hospital, for any news on his surgery after his terrible accident. It was Sayaka who visited him during his recovery the most, often using her own money to bring him cards, gifts, and even CDs. It somehow felt wrong for Hitomi to put her own nascent feelings above her friend’s increasingly-apparent ones. She felt guilty every single time she went to see him without Sayaka knowing, so guilty that she absolutely had to confess to someone about it. That unfortunate ear being her cousin Ryoko.

But right now, Kyosuke showed no signs of any reciprocating interest in Sayaka. It may just have been because he was still trying to cope with the trauma of his injury. It would be hard for anyone to cope with the complete loss of function of their hand, let alone someone who was once a musical prodigy. And it didn’t help that some of Sayaka’s CD gifts included songs he used to play. During her visit early this afternoon Kyosuke confided to Hitomi that he’d been growing increasingly displeased with the CDs Sayaka would bring to him. How could he move on with his life, he told her, if Sayaka kept insisting he listen to the very music that he couldn’t play anymore?

Why would Kyosuke trust Hitomi with a secret so personal and painful? This singular intimate confession led further credence to Hitomi’s notion that he really was the note writer, and that getting a girlfriend was his way of taking that first big step into moving on with his life. But that was merely a hunch. Or maybe more of a hopeful wish. She was going to visit him again soon, she just had to make the time in her always-busy schedule for it. But how was she to do it, without tipping off Sayaka?

***

“A Walpurgisnacht? Coming to Mitakihara? Are you absolutely sure, Kyubey?” Mami Tomoe was in the middle of eating her dinner, when Kyubey trotted into her apartment. He had some bad news to deliver.

“That is the current projection, yes.” Kyubey replied.

“When is it going to arrive?” 

“In about forty to forty-five days from today, I believe.”

“That’s… Not that much time.”

“Quite true.” Kyubey scratched behind his ear.

When Mami was first starting out as a magical girl, after making a contract with Kyubey, which caused her to survive a nasty car accident that claimed the lives of both her parents, she once broached her benefactor on the issue of the most powerful witches. He stated that Walpurgisnacht was the most powerful witch on record, that its attacks come decades, even centuries apart, that it does not hide in barriers so its attacks become recorded in history as natural disasters, and that no magical girl has ever defeated one alone. Mami had to consider all of her options if she was to save Mitakihara City from such a catastrophe.

“I could try to patch things up with Kyoko… She should still be in Kazamino City.” Her falling out with her former magical girl protégé had been a source of sleepless nights for months now. “She probably doesn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore, though.”

“Forty days would be enough time to recruit and train new magical girls.” Kyubey suggested.

“Barely enough.”

“I have candidates in mind.”

“You do?” Kyubey had always been a trustworthy and honest little messenger of magic for her, but sometimes she’d lie awake and wonder just how he knows all the things he knows. How he goes to the places he goes.

“They also attend your school.”

This little nugget sent Mami’s heart into a flutter. She’d pined for a new student to fill that void left by Kyoko, that she might soon get two new students, nay, two new friends, to talk to was an opportunity she absolutely wanted to jump at. Still, training them, only to know they’d soon have to face down a terrifying Walpurgisnacht was cause to reconsider.

“I’d prefer not to pit newcomers against a Walpurgisnacht. I don’t think I could forgive myself if I had to watch them...” She shuddered as she tried to finish that sentence. “Die.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” Kyubey succinctly countered. “Mami, there is something else I think I should warn you about.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“While I was scouting the two potentials, I was attacked by another magical girl.”

“Oh no! Did you see who she was?”

“No. She attacked with a magically-coated human projectile round that originated from outside my perceptual range.”

“Oh?” 

“While it is premature to assume that this girl was attempting to prevent me from making contact with new magical girls, such an act would fit with the methods utilized by other aggressively territorial magical girls. So it would also be logical to assume that this girl may soon try to challenge you for this territory.”

“Hidden rivals, former students gone rogue, and a Walpurgisnacht looming large. This life isn’t anything like those stories I loved as a child.” Mami set aside the rest of her dinner. Just like that, her appetite was gone. 

From the ring on her finger, a large golden yellow egg formed. She tossed it into the air, danced a pre rehearsed jig, and caught her egg as a big burst of energy sprouted forth from it. 

Her school shoes morphed into a majestic pair of yellow and brown boots, her school uniform into a bust-emphasizing top and tight-fitting brown corset to match. Her grey plaid skirt changed into a short yellow edition with brown trim, and a prim brown cap which her Soul Gem latched itself to. Her blonde, ringlet-curled hair shined a queenly gold upon her finished transformation.

“I do still quite enjoy that part, though.” She smiled with a self-assured confidence as she headed out the door. “Time to go witch-hunting again. Thanks for all your words, Kyubey.”

“No gratitude is necessary. I am simply doing my duty.” Kyubey replied as he leapt onto her shoulder.

***

“No… Stop… P-please, have mercy!” Kyoko Sakura had the rookie magical girl chained up with her weapon, and hanging upside down from a rooftop almost six floors up.

“Mercy?” Kyoko nibled the last of the Pocky stick in her mouth while she laughed tauntingly at her victim. “You think this is some kind of game? What sort of world do you think you’re living in? One of those fairytale stories where those with power exist to protect and serve the weak and helpless? Ick! Don’t make me puke!” 

“But it’s going to kill somebody!” The rookie pleaded in vain. The unfortunate girl had chased this familiar all the way to Kazamino City, unwittingly encroaching into Kyoko’s hunting grounds. She had the creature nearly cornered, but Kyoko intervened at the last moment and the creature escaped. The situation escalated to an exchange of blows, but the veteran Kyoko quickly overwhelmed the rookie.

“I’ll only explain this once, kid: Think of the food chain. Familiars eat lowly humans, and they eat and grow and grow until they’re ripe new witches! That’s when they’ll carry a Grief Seed!  Then we magical girls come in and kill the witches and use the Grief Seeds and increase our magic! You don’t kill a chicken before it’s laid an egg! Let the familiar go, and kill it when it’s all grown up!”

“But what if it goes after someone you know? Don’t you have a fam-” Kyoko released her before she could finish the appeal. Down she dropped, screaming pathetically, as she tumbled right into a filthy garbage dumpster.

“And if you meet any other magical girls, tell them this town belongs to Kyoko Sakura!” Kyoko shouted down to her vanquished foe.

That was pretty harsh of you, Kyoko.” Kyubey was watching the fight while perched on a rooftop ledge.

“Eh, I let her off easy.” Kyoko said dismissively as she turned the other way and leapt higher onto the building where Kyubey was perched. “I really hate running into rookies who think it’s their duty to be savin’ the whole world or somethin’. So naïve.” Kyoko dusted off her collar as she checked her reflection in a window.  

“What of the familiar?” Kyubey asked.

“What of it?” Kyoko shrugged. “It got away. Once it becomes a witch, if it stays in my town, I’ll bring it down.” Kyoko leapt from the next building onto a hotel rooftop. “Even if it doesn’t stay, I think I’ll chase it to whatever place it goes. The pickings have been getting a little slim ‘round here lately.” 

“That observation does seem to be accurate.” Kyubey concurred. “Kazamino City would appear to have experienced a recent downturn in witch activity.”

“Heh! Maybe I’m just that stinkin’ good.” Kyoko boasted as she slid down the hotel building’s stairway rails. “Gazelles know to steer clear from lions!”

“You would be even more powerful if you tried to regain your enchantment magic.” Kyubey reminded her as he dutifully kept pace. “I still deem you to be at a severe disadvantage so long as you continue to rely solely on your weapon and your physical strength in battle.”

“Don’t need it. Ain’t me anymore.” Kyoko brushed him aside the moment he caught up. She once possessed the power to create elaborate illusions with her magic, but lost that ability shortly after she had her family, lost everything she had held dear in her life. It was because of that illusion of happiness she had lost them, so she rejected that power, and with it, she rejected her own wish. 

“I completely cleaned out the witches and rivals in this town without it.” Kyoko opened the fourth floor stairwell window and jumped through to an open hotel room window across the way. She transformed out of her red-clad magical girl outfit and back into her normal clothes. The room she had entered was a room she had previously squatted in. Without a place to call her home, she had gotten into the practice of sneaking into unused hotel rooms and bathhouses. The luxurious places she’d been squatting were worlds better than even the home she had when she’d had a family, only further reinforcing her opportunistic worldview.

“That aforementioned downturn is not likely due to you or your own perceived talent.” Kyubey remained perched atop the window ledge on the floor above. Kyoko turned back and saw his glowing, beady eyes looking down at her.

“Huh? What the hell do you know?” Kyoko disrespectfully spat. Kyubey’s emotionally detached style of passively watching and clinically advising was really starting to grate on her.

“The downturn in witch activity in this city is consistent with a downturn in a number of adjacent cities. Their collective pattern of movement suggests that they are migrating.”

“So where the hell are they all going?” 

“To the only city with a correlating increase in the number of witch attacks.” Kyubey cocked his head as he wagged his tail back and forth. “To Mitakihara City.”

“Reeeeaaaaallllly?” Kyoko’s heart jumped a beat when he namedropped that town. The last time she was in Mitakihara City, she’d had a falling out with its resident magical girl protector, Mami Tomoe. The two magical girls had become fast friends in the heat of battle. Mami was the elder who had taught Kyoko nearly everything she knew about this magical life, but with Kyoko’s change in fortune and subsequent shift in philosophy, to her more self-serving attitude, was a change that Mami Tomoe just couldn’t abide. The last time they’d spoken they even came to violent blows. Kyoko wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of seeing her former friend again. Nor, Kyoko imagined, would Mami Tomoe be too happy either.

“If that’s where they’re headed, then that’s where I’m going.” Kyoko closed the window and pulled the curtain down. She reached for a wrapped hamburger from a small stockpile of food on the table, and bit into it with an animal’s ferocity. “I’ll turn Mitakihara into my town, too! Bet she don’t have the guts to stop me!”

***

Kyubey stepped out of the bushes and looked up toward the lavish home in front him. ‘This is definitely the place. The girl with the inordinate magical energy potential lives here.’ He telepathically reported. Kyubey climbed up a tree in front and made his way onto a small ledge. He looked through the first window. The room was empty. It moved on to the second. An older human male. Most likely the family patriarch. Not of interest. It jumped to a higher ledge, and peered into another window. A younger male was sleeping in a crib, presumably a sibling. Not of interest either. Kyubey jumped to a higher ledge. This window was only partially open, but open just enough he could conceivably paw the rest of it open.

There she was: Madoka Kaname, quietly typing away on her computer. ‘ This is indeed the same girl that was previously scouted .’ There she sat, completely ignorant of the karmic energy she was emanating, an energy so strong Kyubey felt it from kilometers away. Any witches around would sense her, too, it expected. Kyubey surveyed the room. A properly made-up bed, stuffed animal toys, and pictures of friends and family on the desk. She looked to be a completely normal Japanese teenager. She was no royalty, not the figurehead or source of any religious movement, there was no apparent clue at all as to the cause of this girl’s sudden blossoming of magical potential. 

Kyubey stepped closer, right up to the window’s opening. The logical course was to continue observing, discover whatever it was this girl desired most in life, before revealing himself. He stuck his paw in the window frame. He could also wait for a witch to attack first, then he could present himself during her moment of crisis, perhaps bring an elder magical girl in to make the rescue, let her see firsthand the destiny which awaits her. Mami Tomoe was already being primed to play such a role. He nudged the window open, slowly. But it was possible that this girl did not have any need for a miracle, no desire for power. The window was open enough for him to wriggle inside now. It was also possible that any witch attack could kill this girl before he or Tomoe could act. Kyubey stepped inside. He was going to do it. It was not the first time he had taken the initiative in this manner, and this girl was far too valuable to allow even the slightest chance of a mishap.

Kyubey felt something grab his tail. Less than a split second later, a human hand was covering his eyes. A second later, it felt its entire head being twisted and slammed repeatedly against a hard surface. If he were a creature that could feel pain, this would be a very painful demise. Seconds after he was airborne, the last sensations that body registered were the air rushing around and the Kaname household fading beneath his view.

“Such a waste.” The new Kyubey form said to himself as he hastily gnawed on the corpse Kyubey’s remains moments after its abrupt landing. The attacker was most definitely a magical girl. For the scant moments that body was still alive to experience the attack, he sensed her distinct magical presence. What he did not know was the identity of the attacker, for her magical signature was not that of someone he’d recalled making a contract with. So who was she? Was he her only target, or was the girl about to become a victim? Kyubey finished eating his remains. For minutes he circled around the bushes. The aura of Madoka Kaname remained unperturbed. He heard a rustling in the trees behind. This magical girl was definitely trying to chase him away. Kyubey had no choice but to retreat and not make another attempt to contact Madoka Kaname for now. The creature had many bodies in reserve, but there was nothing to be gained by needlessly wasting them in this situation. The most logical thing to do was to think of a way to get Madoka Kaname to come to it. 

***

Her planned day out with friends Sayaka and Hitomi derailed, the former tangled up in a mistaken identity case with the mall’s security, while the latter could not manage the free time to come along, Madoka decided that, with her family out of the house, it was instead going to be an afternoon to just go home and rest. She had dozed off on her bed at around four in the afternoon and awakened just before dusk, to the unexpected sensation of wetness under her eyes and down her cheeks. She realized she had been crying in her sleep. And the terribly unsettling dream still fresh in her mind was the apparent cause.

MADOKA: ‘Sayaka? Are You There? I really need to talk to you right now.’ 

Sayaka often kept her phone off while she’s at home, and Madoka’s phone was usually confiscated by her Papa at night. Instant messaging on their personal computers was their go-to method of chatting without them. It was a bit antiquated, but both of their parents’ permitted it. They saw it was preferable to having their children's eyes glued to phones, like most of their peers.

SAYAKA: ‘What’s up?’

MADOKA: ‘What happened at the mall?’

SAYAKA: ‘I had to wash that restaurant’s dishes all afternoon. >:( ’

MADOKA: ‘That’s terrible! You’re not the girl they were after! You were with me the whole time! I knew I should’ve stayed there with you! I could’ve told them that.’

SAYAKA: ‘They would have accused you of lying for me. They probably would have called your parents. Then we’d both be in trouble. Not letting that happen to you. Nope.’

MADOKA: ‘Doesn’t the restaurant have cameras? Didn’t they check the tapes?’

SAYAKA: ‘The tapes were erased. The mall security guards said there was some sort of glitch. So it was my word against the waitress’s. My word against the customers’. Kid vs. adults. Kids always lose. Even if you were there for me, no chance.’

MADOKA: ‘That’s not fair!’

SAYAKA: ‘It’s fine. They called my parents and told their side. But I told him my side, and now my dad’s going to be on the lookout for that foreigner the people there claimed I was with.’

MADOKA: ‘So your dad believes you? :) ’

SAYAKA: ‘Dad yes. Mom’s not convinced. Typical. But he thinks there’s something really odd about the lack of tapes. Mom thinks I’m acting out. I just want to move on with the whole mess.

MADOKA: ‘Sorry.’

SAYAKA: ‘Don’t worry about it. It’s fine. I’ll be fine.’

Trying to bring up the quickly-fading details of a bad dream seemed rather trivial compared to her best friend’s real-world problems, but Madoka still felt the need to tell her best friend what she remembered. The dream was just too upsetting to not to talk about it. It felt too real to just sit on.

MADOKA: ‘I woke up crying a little bit ago. I think I was crying because of you.’

SAYAKA: ‘Because of me? Why? Upset about today? I told you it’s not your fault.’ 

MADOKA: ‘No it’s not about that! I had this really scary dream where you were yelling at me and I think we were fighting about something!’

SAYAKA: ‘Yelling? Fighting? About what?

MADOKA: I don’t know. I just remember that it was raining and we were arguing about fighting and I was wondering what would make you happy and...’

Madoka spent the next minute or so trying to recall the exact details.

MADOKA: ‘I remember you telling me that I should fight instead. That I had more talent, or something? That I wouldn’t suffer for it…’

SAYAKA: ‘You have a talent? For fighting? You’ve never picked a fight your whole life LOL!’ 

MADOKA: ‘That I should walk in your shoes…’

SAYAKA: ‘You don’t fit in my shoes.’

MADOKA: ‘That I couldn’t give up something important out of pity? I’m trying to remember. But instead you accused me of doing nothing while you’re the one getting hurt.’

There was one detail still clearly imprinted in mind, however.

MADOKA: ‘I remember being so scared by the look on your face. You’d never looked so mad at me before! And then when I tried to follow you, you ran away. And it honestly felt like to me like I was never ever going to see you again!’

SAYAKA: ‘I could never feel that way towards you, Madoka. Not ever ever ever. Wouldn’t dream of it. ;) ’

MADOKA: ‘And I also remember a glowing jewel of some sort? I think you called it a rock? You said you were that rock.’

SAYAKA: ‘A glowing rock? That was me? Okay what anime have you been watching?’

MADOKA: ‘You think I’m weird. ;_; ’

SAYAKA: ‘I think you’re just feeling guilty for not being here with me today, and your guilt morphed into a bad dream. But you don’t need to worry. It was just someone’s lunch and a coffee and a stupid misunderstanding. I’m over it. Won’t even matter in a few days. Not worth the stress. Definitely not worth you crying over.’

MADOKA: ‘You promise you won’t say anything to anyone about my dream?’

SAYAKA: ‘Who would I even tell? Hitomi? She’d probably agree with me.’

MADOKA: ‘You’re probably right.’

SAYAKA: ‘Now that you mention it, don’t tell Hitomi about what happened today. She doesn’t need to know about the restaurant. Two secrets between two besties. Deal?’

MADOKA: ‘Deal! :) ’

Madoka suddenly heard a sound just outside her window. She turned around and looked outside. The only thing making noise was a small stray cat rustling around the garbage bin.

“Amy!” Madoka identified it as a stray cat she’d been nurturing for the last few weeks. “You wait right there while I get you some food, okay?” Madoka signed off her computer and took off downstairs.

***

“My room!” Sayaka burst back into the TARDIS control room.

“What about it?” The Time Lady replied.

“It’s huge!” Sayaka had just seen the bedroom in her quarters. “It’s bigger than my whole flippin’ apartment!”

“Is it too big? Bit drafty in there?” The Time Lady pecked away on a keyboard at her control console. “I know, the climate settings are all over the place. I’ve been trying to save power in every little spot I can…”

“No, it’s just-” Sayaka stumbled to find the words. “I’m just not used to having so much space. I guess.”

“Feels... Alien, yeah? Like you don’t belong there?” The Time Lady gave an understanding smile.

“Yeah.”

“I get it. It’s supposed to be the Commanding Officer’s quarters, if I remember correctly.” The Time Lady hit a button as a paper printout slowly rolled out of a slot on the console. “Basically it’s my room. But I don’t care to sleep with so many books. Reminds me of my school days.”

“So why do you have so many books in there?” Sayaka wondered. “It’s like a whole library in there!”

“Well… you see, a lot of them are one-of-a-kind prints. They literally don’t exist anywhere else. And then I’ve got some old Gallifreyan epics and poems, plenty of nonfiction like physics books, history books, and biographies. And then there’s the collective knowledge of a few long-extinct societies. Others are the token payments I’ve received from some of the people I’ve helped.” She widened her eyes and scratched the tip of her lip. “Hey, do you by any chance read Agatha Christie?”

Sayaka shook her head.

“Oh.” The Time Lady was not surprised, only slightly disappointed. “If you’d rather sleep on my futon out here, I could-”

“No. It’s fine. I’ll sleep fine.” Sayaka didn’t want to inconvenience her host any more than she already had.

“I’ll bring you extra blankets if you get a bit chilly in there. It probably will. Power issues and such.” She skimmed a read of her console’s paper printout.

“Do you have any pajamas? That I could borrow?” 

“Pajamas?” The Time Lady paused for a moment. “Ah, yes, those things that some humans wear to...” She skipped from readout to readout. “Think I’ve got a pair of bunny pajamas. Belonged to a girl I once counseled. Let me find them first.”

“Thanks.” Sayaka turned around to head back into her room. It was barely dusk outside, but she was already exhausted.

“There’s something else I want, but I don’t really know any un-awkward way to ask,” The Time Lady took a seat back at her work desk. “So I’ll just out and out ask you for it: I’d like to take a look at your Soul Gem.”

“M-My Soul Gem? No!”

“I won’t do anything weird with it. I promise.” The Time Lady looked up at Sayaka, raised her hand and gestured with her pinkie finger. “I just want to run some tests. Take a small sample of that egg-shaped container part.”

“This thing is my soul ! It’s me ! You’d be doing tests on me ! Sampling me !”

“I’m aware of that. That’s why I’m asking you for permission.”

“Do you have any idea what it’s like to have someone mess with your identity? With your very sense of self?”

The Time Lady thought for a moment. “I do, in fact.”

Sayaka was caught a bit off guard with that answer. She studied the ring on her finger, examining more closely its decorative etchings and its strange writing. After a silent few minutes Sayaka held out her hand, waved over it with her other hand, as the ring transformed into her Soul Gem in the palm of her hand. “You promise… You won’t take it anyplace either?”

“What do you mean?” 

“If my Soul Gem and my body are separated by more than a hundred meters or so, my  body,” Sayaka uncomfortably swallowed before continuing “Uh... I die.”

“Did Kyubey tell you that?”

“It happened to me once.” Sayaka thought back to that unsettling night, atop the bridge, foolishly trying to battle Kyoko. “I was being an idiot. Trying to pick a fight that I wasn’t going to win.” The memory already felt like it happened in another lifetime. “Madoka knew that and so she swiped my Soul Gem away and tossed it onto a truck.” She remembered Madoka telling her later that it was Homura who took off and retrieved it. Why would Homura do such a thing for a person she didn’t even like, for a person Homura was even about to fight? Sayaka hadn’t even considered that question until this moment. “The next thing I knew, everybody had gathered around me looking real worried. Madoka looked like she had just gone to my funeral.”

The Time Lady took the Soul Gem from Sayaka’s hand and set it on her work desk. “It’ll stay right here. Promise, promise. Promise!”

Sayaka turned around and was about to return to her quarters, when The Time Lady put in one last question. “How’s my name coming along? Thought of one yet?”

“I’ll sleep on it.” The door slid closed behind her.

Sayaka fell face first onto her bed as she let out a long, grunting, frustrated sigh into her pillow. She was beat, but her mind was jumping from unanswered question to unanswered question, she simply could not relax. What happened to everybody she’d left behind, what became of the Madoka and the Kyoko that she knew? Or was this the same world at an earlier point? Then why would there be two Sayakas now? What was Hitomi doing at the hospital? Why was she lying about it? How long before this had Kyubey been scouting the two of them, and why was he so fixated on Madoka? Is defeating witches even the real reason he’s here? How could that Homura at the hospital already know her? Above all, who was this mystery woman that had saved Sayaka’s life? Was she really just here to help? She seems to know a lot, but Sayaka could still sense that she was still thinking of other things while they talked. Her eyes… They were almost a dead ringer for Homura’s.

Just about the only thing Sayaka could readily accept at the moment was where she was. She was definitely aboard a spaceship. She was aboard a huge spaceship that was also a time machine. She was aboard a huge spaceship that was also a time machine that was also disguised as a small vending machine at the mall. And she had been conscripted into becoming a member of its ‘crew’. She is its ‘Co-Pilot’.

She had to admit, the idea of flying around through space and through time, fighting bad guys, meeting aliens and making the Universe better, sounded really cool. Even cooler than the idea of being a magical girl. But there were probably a lot of unknowable downsides too. Maybe that’s why the Time Lady’s eyes looked that way.

Ugh, the downsides. If only she’d known what becoming a magical girl really entailed. If she’d never have to don that silly blue top and white cape again, it would be too soon. And now that Other Sayaka was on track to make that same mistake. Or was she? No, Sayaka knew she needed to stop her other self from going down this path. Why else would she be here? Why else would there be two of her? She just had to find a way.

Tossing and turning, her brain bouncing from thought to thought and still tired yet sleepless, Sayaka rolled off the bed. There was a large screen on the far wall between two large bookshelves. It activated and lit as Sayaka approached. 

‘PLAY MUSIC?’ it read. It’s as if the ship were reading her mind. “Play this.” Sayaka held out her music CD in front of the screen with both her hands. Debussey’s signature song blared throughout the room. “Lower the volume a little.” Sayaka searched up and down the bookshelf. “Perfect.” Sayaka used to catch her mother dozing off while reading a book. Plus, reading was for her the quickest way to make it through class, as well. She just needed something to distract from the swirl of questions. Soothing music and boring reading was her impromptu solution.

‘ On Non-Linear Nonsubjective Causality: The Wibbly-Wobbly of Temporal Mechanics ’ one title read. The words ‘Wibbly-Wobbly,’ instantly stuck out at her. She pulled the book from the shelf, threw herself back into bed, took off her shirt, pulled a blanket over herself and cracked it open.

‘Under temporally exceptional conditions, what would linearly be observed as an effect preceding a cause, would in fact be, an effect following a cause in a parallel reality, as a multitude of timeflows will overlap in a multiversal nexus.’ Sayaka’s eyes glazed over, her head drifted onto her pillow, she was finally at rest.

Sayaka couldn’t figure out what she was doing wrong. She was following the instructions the teacher had given perfectly, so she thought, but her attempts were all turning out the same.

“You’re cutting it all wrong!” Her classmate Nakazawa whispered to her. “That looks like a mustache!”

Valentine’s Day was tomorrow, and the kids in Sayaka’s first grade class were all busy making paper heart cutouts, and they were going to glue them to cards and make Valentine’s exchanges with one another. Sayaka planned to cut a great, big heart, decorate it with glitter and ribbons, and give it to Kyosuke Kamijo, but first she had to figure out how to do it right. She was now at failure attempt number seven. Failures number one through six all looked like mustaches, too.

“Shuuuush it!” Sayaka blurted at him out of frustration. Sayaka grabbed another red sheet of paper. She folded it in half and cut in. Start at the bottom, cut in towards the other end, and then outward again. Eighth attempt: Same as the other seven. Sayaka could hear Nakazawa trying not to laugh next to her. And failing. His outburst attracted the attention of the rest of the kids at the arts and crafts table, including Kyosuke, who was sitting on Nakazawa’s opposite side.

“Hey! Sayaka’s hearts all look like mustaches!” One of the girl classmates at the table took notice and grabbed a mustache. “Sayaka’s making mustaches!” The word was out now. Sayaka could not create a paper heart. Was she going to cry? Was she going to admit failure and ask for help? Was she just going to run away and hide in the girls’ bathroom? Just as she was seriously considering the third option, she got a spark of an idea that might turn this embarrassment into a better way of getting Kyosuke’s attention.

“Papa, how did you get Mama to notice you?” Sayaka asked her father one morning.

“I put a bug in her hair.” 

“That’s mean!”

“But it sure got her attention! And then I started sitting behind her in class, poking her in the back. Then I would hide her gym shoes. And steal the ribbon in her hair. That went on through all of Seventh Grade.” He recounted all his pranks as he sipped his coffee. 

“Did she hate you for it?”

“Oh, yeah.” Her father rolled his eyes. “And then she started firing back. Tied my shoes together, swapped my lunches, cut a… Particular hole in my gym shorts. That’s when I knew she was the girl for me. Last day of Seventh Grade, I made a confession letter, folded it into a paper airplane and tossed it… Right into her face!” 

“That’s right! Step right up! Master Mustache Maker Sayaka’s here to make you all mustaches! Bwahahaha!” She held her latest failure up to her mouth as she hastily applied glue to the one in front of her on the table.

One of the boys at the table grabbed a piece of tape and taped her mustache to his lip. “Look at me! I’m a big grown up!” It worked. The other kids were laughing with her, and not at her. Big relief. Kyosuke was laughing too as he tentatively reached for a mustache.

“But I know you weren’t trying to make th… Mmmmf!” Sayaka pushed Nakazawa out of the way and slapped the mustache full of glue over Kyosuke’s mouth. Everybody else at the table burst into laughter. Unfortunately for Sayaka, their teacher was standing behind them. And she was not as amused.

Sayaka had to sit in the corner facing the wall and finish her arts and crafts project while the rest of the class was in recess. 

Sayaka grabbed a red sheet of paper, folded it and tried again. “Just one heart. Please?” Sayaka sobbed as she cut. No joy. Another mustache. She crumpled it as her grief grew into more audible despair from the corner. “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”

“Here you go!” Sayaka heard a voice approach her from behind. “You can have mine.” It was Madoka. She had somehow snuck past the teacher and gotten back into the classroom. 

Madoka pulled a folded paper heart from her pocket. She grabbed a sheet of red paper, folded it, and placed her folded heart on top of it. She took Sayaka’s hand and gave her the papers, and with Madoka’s heart serving as her outline, Sayaka cut out her first heart.

“Thanks!” Sayaka smiled. Madoka smiled, and they hugged.

“Main power… Still down. Secondary systems… Mostly functional, for the time being. Time travel is… A definite ‘No’. Can’t even budge from our current parking spot.” The Time Lady was reading down the printed TARDIS status report. “Automated repairs continuing… Non-Vital System all set to ‘Low Power’ Mode. No ETA on repair completion yet.” She let out a deep sigh as she pushed her glasses up. 

She glanced at Sayaka’s Soul Gem sitting on her work desk. Of course, the reason she gave to Sayaka for handing it over was a fabrication. The egg was a human soul coalesced and encased inside a container of unpurified Gallifreynium. That fact was self-evident. “A zero point zero zero zero one four seven percent rate of active-to-depleted ectomatter conversion increase since previous scan.” The Time Lady removed her glasses. “So just the act of controlling one’s own body requires the use of one’s ‘magic’. Making certain you can’t ‘quit’ the job once you’ve agreed to do it. I’m sure that bunnycat conveniently didn’t tell you that part, either. Hmph!”

The Time Lady looked over at the console display. It was showing her new Co-Pilot’s heart and blood pressure as dropping to levels that would suggest she was finally asleep. Brain activity corroborated that conclusion too. The Time Lady pulled out her pocket watch. She placed Sayaka’s Soul Gem on top of it, and clasped them in her hands. A small amount of blackness rushed out of the egg and into the watch, swirling around it before finally traveling up The Time Lady’s arm and through her body.

“In smaller spurts it’s not nearly as rough.” She twitched her fingers rapidly while she took deep, controlled breaths. “Still, this can only work so long. Have to get to work on an ectomatter purification system. And find a suitable receptacle for the bad stuff. Before she starts questioning how her soul’s staying ‘lit’.” She set Sayaka’s Gem back on the work desk and plopped the watch into her pocket.

“Sayaka Miki. Homura Akemi. Her friend Madoka. And she also spoke of a ‘Mami’ and a ‘Kyoko’.” The Time Lady was pecking instructions on the control console as she spoke to herself. “Five girls. One destiny. Were they all fated to die at the hands of that monstrous witch we saw? Was that the ‘destiny’?” 

“Yes I know we’re in ‘Low Power Mode’. Pour me some damn tea anyway. You can spare it.” The Time Lady tapped at the screen display on the console. She trudged over to an indentation on the wall. It opened and served her up a cup. 

“Much as I would like to believe that’s the answer, there’s gotta be more to it. Sayaka was fading too fast to last that long.” She stared at Sayaka Gem with each sip. “No. It’s something else. It’s a fate that the bunnycat knows.” 

The light at the tip of The Time Lady’s multitool started blinking rapidly on her work desk. The Time Lady took a big tea sip, strode over, sat down and glared at her device’s rhythmic pulsing. “And so does she.” 

***

“This… Is not a very efficient use of one’s time or energy.” The Time Lady complained while she followed Sayaka around Mitakihara City.

“It’s the way Mami taught me. It’s the only way I know how to find witches.” Sayaka walked along with her Soul Gem glowing in hand.

It had been a few days now since their partnership in this predicament. In the interim, The Time Lady made more makeshift refinements to Sayaka’s ‘disguise’. No more goofy glasses, just the wig, a little makeup and a spray-on perception alterer. Helps her “blend in”. The Time Lady insisted this sort of thing used to be her specialty.     

“This is still a time in your society where it still utilizes currency, yeah? I don’t carry any, so I'm going to need to come into some money so I can purchase some local tech for repairs.” Sayaka’s role was to take some of the identifiably Earthly objects and valuables from the TARDIS and bring them to antique stores around town. There, they would sell them for cash. Then she would go to the electronics stores, and buy whatever gadget The Time Lady requested she find. Then The Time Lady would promptly disassemble that device and cannibalize its parts for her own ends. The Control Room was practically Akihabara, with the number of electronics strewn about, but at least Sayaka’s uniquely unlikely skill of finding super rare items was being put to good use.

Sayaka took a few chances in that time to sneak off and spy on her other self. The Time Lady figured out what she was doing very quickly. “You can look, but do not touch. Blinovitch Effect, remember?” She reminded Sayaka. “And if you see Kyubey around… Bolt!” There were a few seemingly close calls, particularly whenever walking near her apartment complex, the other Sayaka would turn around and stare, as if she was vaguely aware there was a presence watching. Fortunately, Sayaka never risked removing her disguises.

It was still oh so very surreal, to watch her other self going about her old life from an outsider’s perspective. To see her eat out with her friends. Play at the arcade. Ride the indoor carnival rides. To watch Sayaka Miki just being Sayaka Miki. So blissfully ignorant of the darkness surrounding her. Of all the perils lurking so near.

The Time Lady still desired to gain possession of a Grief Seed for study. But she wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of letting Sayaka do the dirty work. Sayaka wasn’t too enthralled with it, either. But while she was watching her other self, seeing her and Madoka go about their happy lives, made her all the more certain that the reason she was rescued by this stranger was so that those girls wouldn’t need to know the darkness, never ever experience that fateful night that she had with her own Madoka. And to prevent that, she was determined to do whatever it took.

“Are we there yet?” The Time Lady flippantly commented.

They were near the community park, not that far from Madoka’s house. The typical witch hideouts, the back alleys, hospital lots and construction sites, were turning up nothing. So they expanded their search, to places near retirement communities, parks and elementary schools, where other vulnerable humans would typically gather.

“Hold on a sec. I think I’ve found something.” The blue-ish glow in Sayaka’s Soul Gem was fluttering, a sign that her Soul Gem was reacting to something magical drawing close.

The two ladies followed the signal down an overgrown alleyway. A bright, day-glo flash consumed their forms. The two instantly found themselves amongst a childish collage of stars, shapes, colors and animal figures.

“Holy Cow!” The Time Lady scoped her surroundings. “It’s as if reality decided to let a toddler redecorate it!”

“I’ve seen this one! I know this one!” Sayaka looked around. “I tried to take it down once before. It’s a familiar, not a witch.”

“What’s the difference?”

“This one’s not gonna have a Grief Seed.”

“Well if it’s not going to have a Grief Seed, then there’s no point to risking our necks in-”

“I have to kill it.” Sayaka’s tone made it clear she was hearing no argument to the contrary. She had decided to be the kind of Magical Girl who would hunt both witches and familiars, to protect people even when there was no reward. Just like her hero, Mami. Besides, Sayaka thought to herself, this was the one she was trying to eliminate when she met Kyoko. Without this familiar to serve as a catalyst to their heated first encounter, then that particular spat would not occur a second first time. 

“Fine. Do what you want.” The Time Lady adjusted some dials on her multitool. “At the very least, I suppose I could settle for getting a few energy readings on the nature of their,” She poked at a crude drawing on the ground. “Reality-shaping powers. But do be careful.”

Sayaka’s Soul Gem erupted in a flash of blue light, her gem’s energy dispersing and encasing Sayaka’s entire body. Another flash and she was completely enveloped in a radiant blue glow. Then radiance subsided, as a familiar-faced, blue-haired magical girl emerged, donning her blue, shoulderless top, a diagonal-cut skirt, white gloves and stockings, blue boots and a long, flowing cape. Within fractions of a second from the Time Lady’s perspective, Sayaka and her clothing had completely transformed, her carefully crafted disguise replaced by her real face and wearing entirely different clothes.

“Seems your disguise goes away when you transform. Probably something to do with the way the transformation alters the local matter. Don’t know what to do about that.” The TIme Lady momentarily inspected the young lady’s appearance. “A bit revealing up top. I admit I am a fan of the cape, though!” 

“It’s up there!” Sayaka pointed at the small creature darting around above their heads. Sayaka reached to the side of her hip as a fully-sheathed cutlass flared into existence.

“Watch your back!” The Time Lady cautiously shouted as Sayaka stood steady.

The creature was sputtering around and giggling like an insane young child, it even appeared to look like a crudely-drawn picture of a kid in a boat. The boat morphed into a just-as-crudely-drawn car, and then an airplane.

Sayaka darted into the air and gave it chase at an incredible speed, leaving the Time Lady to study their colorful surroundings. “Fascinating! It seems to exist in its very own, secluded subdimension.” She pointed her multitool at its boundary, which seemed to cause the day-glo colors and silly shapes to briefly give way to the normal decaying brick wall the barrier had subsumed. “Albeit, in this case, a rather weak, ill-defined one.” 

The Time Lady looked back towards her young companion. Sayaka was frantically racing up and down the wall, swinging and slashing at her target. Her fighting technique was incredibly reckless, in The Time Lady’s observation. The inexperienced magical girl seemed to give no consideration to her surroundings, or even for her own safety. Somebody needed to teach this girl the basics of swordsmanship, she judged. Luckily for Sayaka, The Time Lady was an old pro. 

The immature familiar darted around frantically, screaming and shouting as Sayaka gave chase. “This is it, for yooouuuuuuu!” Sayaka had finally cornered it, steadied her blade, took aim and charged forth. But as Sayaka’s blade closed in for the kill, a bright flash erupted directly in her face. Completely blindsided, she tumbled straight to the ground as the familiar gleefully giggled and scurried away. The familiar’s weak dimensional barrier faded back to normal reality. Sayaka had failed to kill it all over again. 

The Time Lady’s multitool pulsated rapidly. She reflexively tucked it back in her pocket. “I knew you’d eventually be making an appearance. Now come out and show yourself, Homura Akemi!”  

“Sh- She’s he-” Sayaka staggered to get back up. Homura appeared behind her and smacked her with her buckler on the back of the head. Sayaka had been knocked out cold. Her magical girl form dissipated in a flash as she collapsed to the ground.

“You do appear to fight just as Sayaka Miki fights. Which is to say, ineptly.” Homura disparagingly told her vanquished target.

“I must warn you… I am one of the only experts at Venusian Aikido.” The Time Lady assumed a defensive posture. “Two-armed experts, to be specific.”

“Hmph.” Homura nonchalantly flipped her hair and vanished before The Time Lady’s eyes.

“Your ‘magic’... Actually a form of time manipulation, yes?” 

“Who’s to say?” Homura’s voice taunted from the shadows.

“Not much of a braggart, are you?” There was no time to banter, less than no time to strategize, and her foe providing no opportunity to either retreat or deescelate, The Time Lady closed her eyes and focused herself. In a nanosecond she instantaneously whipped her torso around, reached out and caught Homura’s arm, at the exact moment Homura reappeared.

“Gotcha!” The Time Lady exclaimed.

“Incorrect.” Homura flatly countered. Another flash burst off, Homura had planted a stun grenade perfectly in her opponent’s periphery. Homura freed her arm with a hard karate chop on her wrist, slide-kicked her legs, punched the woman hard in the ribs, then knocked her on the back of her head. The Time Lady collapsed to the ground.

Homura looked over her unconscious targets. The magical girl definitely had the look and overall presence of Sayaka Miki. Not much else to learn there. So Homura opted to first examine the mysterious woman instead. She was indeed from elsewhere, dressed in a long leather coat and wearing some uniquely unfeminine clothing underneath. Homura searched the woman’s pockets. One pocket contained a pocket watch, a yoyo, a wallet with a blank paper card, and a strange wand with a lit tip that was blinking rapidly. Homura tucked the wand behind her buckler and up her sleeve.

The other pocket contained some shoestring, an electronic pad, a hairclip, some ribbon, a pair of glasses, and a paperback book. “‘ Appointment With Death ’,” She muttered its title aloud. Homura put on the woman’s glasses. They were not her own missing pair, though they were the same color, it was the wrong lens type. She folded them up and put them back.

Without a barrier to mask them from snooping outsiders and Kyubeys, Homura had little time to decide which person to take with her and interrogate. And the magic expended by the clash of magical girls was certain to attract Kyubey soon. As much as her curiosity insisted she take this strange woman, past experience already taught her which individual needed to be dealt with first, before she turned into a threat to Madoka. Homura spun her buckler and vanished with the thing that resembled Sayaka Miki.

Chapter Text

Sayaka awoke to the ominous sound of a ticking clock. She found herself bound in thick rope, lying on a flat, padded piece of furniture. She opened her eyes and saw Homura Akemi sitting directly across from her. On the table between them laid the various pieces of Sayaka’s hairpin and ‘disguise’.

“You look like Sayaka Miki. You speak like Sayaka Miki. You even fight familiars like Sayaka Miki. But on this day, at this time Sayaka Miki would be at the Observation Tower on the other side of the city with Madoka Kaname and Hitomi Shizuki. Hitomi Shizuki typically leaves early.” Homura was rolling Sayaka’s Soul Gem Ring between her thumb and forefinger. “Madoka and Sayaka won’t meet Kyubey for another week. Sayaka Miki will not make a contract for another ten or eleven days after.”

Sayaka scanned around the room. The furniture around them was arranged very peculiarly, they almost looked to her as if the room were deliberately designed to resemble a clock. High above their heads was a complex gear mechanism, the apparent source of the ticking sound. The room was brightly lit, the walls and flooring both a blinding shade of white. Dozens of projected images lined the walls, images that looked to Sayaka like a set of maps and medieval drawings. Many of which featured something that resembled the thing she witnessed attacking Mitakihara.

“How do you know all that? You’ve been stalking them?” Sayaka tried to wriggle her way out of the rope, without luck. The more she tried to move, the more the thick, dry rope scraped against her wrists. “What a psycho.” Sayaka added under her breath.

“I’m not the only stalker here, it seems.” Homura retorted. “I’ve been watching your public appearances as well.” She dispassionately tapped away at a screen on the table. “In front of Sayaka Miki’s apartment. On their way to school.” Images of Sayaka and The Time Lady appeared on the wall. “But generally, you and your associate have been most frequently present at the Mitakihara Mall. Although someone has been erasing any trace of your activity there. Most likely her.” Homura pointed at The Time Lady. “So tell me… Who is this woman?”

“Stalking us and then attacking while I was trying to get that familiar. You’re just as psycho as I thought you were, Transfer Student.” Sayaka said in a louder, more defiant voice.

“You are anomalies, both unanticipated and unpredictable presences. I needed to know what I was dealing with before I formulated a counter strategy.” Homura displayed an image of The Time Lady on the table between them. “Now answer my questions and I may yet allow you to live. Who is this woman?” Homura said in a clinical, detached tone.

“Still  lying to me, huh? You’re not gonna to let me live! So why should I tell you anything?” Sayaka sat up and straightened her tightly-bound body.

“'Still ’ lying? To you?” Homura slightly raised her eyebrow.

“She was right. You’re the same Homura, alright And acting just like last time.”

“Last time?” Homura's raised eyebrow became an arch.

“That night,” Sayaka stared her square in the eyes. “Yeah. I remember what you tried to do that night. You offered to help me. Tried to give me a Grief Seed. But I kicked it away. I didn’t want your help,” Her body wriggling as she spoke. “And that’s when you tried to kill me!” She shouted.

“That Sayaka Miki’s Soul Gem was at its limit. I was merely stopping her before she became a bigger problem to Madoka,” Homura justified.

“I would never hurt Madoka!” Sayaka cried.

“Yet that’s what happens in every single timeline.” Homura leaned across the table. “It doesn’t matter. She was dying. I calculated the odds that she would be dead in the next three to five hours at one hundred percent. You cannot be her.” 

“Well, your math’s wrong!” Sayaka retorted. “That woman saved me!”

“She did?” Homura tilted her head. “How?”

“She found me, healed me up, then she brought me aboard her spaceship, and we...” Sayaka swallowed and paused, still mentally coping with that wild journey right after. “We uh,” She hesitated over exactly how much else she should say. “Traveled back in time together.” 

“You what?” Homura’s unblinking eyes glanced at Sayaka’s ring, then back to Sayaka. “How could you possibly be able to do that?”

“Because,” Sayaka wriggled in her seat. “Her spaceship…” Sayaka still had trouble believing it, and she was the one who’d experienced it. “It’s a time machine, too!”

“She’s an alien with a spaceship that’s a time machine.” Homura’s skepticism was plain, even through that monotone voice. “What is her name?”

“I don’t know! She said she doesn’t have one!”

“Where does she come from?”

“Gallimaufry… Or something. I don’t remember!”

“An unnamed stranger, from another world, took you away from that night and brought you here.” Homura’s expression was unchanged. “Not credible. That’s a big strike against you being who you claim to be. The real Sayaka Miki is far too bullheaded to blindly accept a stranger's he-”

“I am the real Sayaka! I don’t care if you don’t believe it!” Sayaka spat back.

“You do earnestly appear to believe you are,” Homura asserted. “However, It’s more probable that she is a magical girl, and you’re an entity conjured to resemble Sayaka Miki.”

“Ha! Now that sounds impossible!” Sayaka hawed.

“I’ve witnessed magically made duplicates act as real as their counterparts before.” Homura stated. “She’s probably planning to get to Madoka first by replacing Sayaka with you.” Homura theorized. “Though I admit I’m at a loss as to explain how she could so perfectly duplicate the magic of someone who hasn’t made a contract. Perhaps she's manipulating my own memory, and making me think it's the magic of-”

“I am Sayaka!” Sayaka shouted as loud as she could. “You crazy witch !”

“What’d you call me?” Homura’s tone of voice shifted noticeably with the accusation.

“Witch! You know… Evil creature that does whatever it wants and takes whatever it wants whenever it wants it?” Sayaka retorted. “That’s a witch! That’s you !”

“I’m not a witch!” Homura protested, the tonal shift becoming more apparent. 

“You Hide in a creepy place and you make sure that victims can’t fight back?” Sayaka added. “I don’t see any difference!”

“Quiet!” Homura abruptly jumped to her feet and lifted Sayaka up by the rope around her chest.

“And you don’t care about anyone or anything but yourself!" Sayaka egged. "Just like when you let Mami di-” 

“Shut up!” 

Sayaka felt the instant, shooting pain of a hard slap across her face.

“You don’t know anything about me or my reasons! You haven’t a clue at all about all the things I’ve seen and done!” Homura’s face appeared to be visibly agitated. “Of the things I’ve had to do!”

“Owwwwwwww!” Sayaka whimpered as the slap reverberated through her nerves.

“Pain? How odd,” Sayaka, through her pained tears glimpsed up at Homura, perplexedly staring at her own hand. “As I recall, the Sayaka of that timeline learned to block out the vestigial sensation of pain.” She slowly clenched it to a fist. “Which makes that another strike against the plausibility of your story.”

“You really do hate me, don’t you?”

“I don’t hate you.” Homura’s voice lowered. “I simply don’t care about you.” She reasserted. “You’re an obstacle who is impeding my mission. That’s all.” Homura reached into her buckler. “An obstacle I will now be dispatching.” She pulled out a glock. 

“You don’t hit someone you don’t care about that hard.” Sayaka sniffled. “If you didn’t care, then why did you chase after my Soul Gem that night?”

“That?” Homura’s face displayed a fleeting hint of surprise over the question. “It was so that Madoka wouldn’t have to see you that way. She’d do something reckless.”

“Oh?” It was just for Madoka’s sake?” A disappointed pain worked its way down to Sayaka’s gut. “Of course. At least she won’t ever know about this.”

“Be quiet now!” Homura positioned her finger on the trigger. She took aim, point blank at Sayaka’s Soul Gem on the table.

“How many times have you done this before?” 

“Huh?” Homura’s finger momentarily twitched off the trigger.

“I see it in your eyes.” Sayaka whispered. “It’s not the first time you’ve killed me. You don't think you have a choice, but...” Sayaka paused, closing her eyes tightly. The two girls were locked in silence for what seemed to them both like an eternity, with only the ticking above them indicating that time was still passing at all.

Thirty ticks.

Sixty ticks.

One hundred and twenty ticks.

Two hundred and forty ticks later, Homura felt something strange on her hand. She hadn’t pulled the trigger. Instead, it was an odd sensation located in the spot on the back of her hand between her thumb and her index finger on the trigger. That sensation, she recognized, as wetness. She let off the trigger and checked the back of her hand. It was indeed a single drop of water, dripping slowly down her hand.

Was it a leak? Homura glanced at the bright, seemingly endless void above. Clearly not the source, Homura felt it again dripping down her face. She wiped it away. It was a tear. A tear, somehow rolling down her eye. 

“... The first time…” Her words had unintentionally aroused a dormant memory within Homura. To that long-ago dark day, lying in the midst of Mitakihara’s ruins… Out of energy… Out of hope… Dying. And all too ready to go.

But so too, was Madoka loyally at her side, beaten, bloodied, hopeless and dying as well. And yet, in that one unforgettable act of self-sacrifice, she secretly gifted Homura her last remaining Grief Seed, saving her life, tasking her with a mission. A mission that has kept her going every day ever since. 

Another tear. Homura reflexively wiped it away, dried her hand and aimed again. She took one last look at the creature who claimed to be Sayaka Miki. She noticed something else, something red protruding slightly from the girl’s waist pocket. It was a pair of red glasses. Her glasses.

This whipped up the memory all over again, in much more intimate detail. Madoka’s woeful, apologetic smile… Her tearful final request… That used Grief Seed Homura kept with her as a solitary memento.

The memento… Very rarely did she ever bring that Grief Seed out, only when it felt like she was losing sight of her mission. And never ever did she ever look at it more closely, the memories it carried with were simply too overwhelming. And she had never, ever, not even once been curious, as to where Madoka may have obtained it. That is, until this moment, where she brought it out on a whim.

Sayaka slowly opened her tightly clenched eyes, to the sound of a sad girl’s sniffling. She saw Homura Akemi, her back turned, clenching tightly in her hand something small and round. As Homura immediately noticed Sayaka peeking, she stuffed away the object and recomposed herself. 

So Sayaka sat there, body bound and unable to move. Homura stood there, her gun still in hand, mulling over what she needed to do next. For twenty ticks.

Then forty.

Then eighty.

Then one hundred and sixty.

“Too many times.” Homura finally answered three hundred and twenty ticks later.

“Huh?”

“Too many times you’ve died by my hand.” Homura put the gun away. From her buckler, she took out something else, a knife.

“Y- You’re letting me go?” The shocked Sayaka leaned over, allowing Homura to cut the ropes binding her loose.

“So long as you don’t threaten or endanger Madoka.”

“Tch.” Sayaka tittered at Homura’s entirely predictable response. “I watched you fight that enormous witch all alone. It took you out like you were a bug.” Sayaka recalled. “How many times has it destroyed Mitakihara? Fifty?

“More than that.” Homura sliced and cut through each rope. “I stopped counting.”

“And Madoka… That’s when she decides to become a magical girl, isn’t it?” Sayaka went on. “She dies trying to fight it, doesn’t she?”

“Always.” Homura straightly answered.

“And that's what you’ve really been trying to prevent, isn’t it?” Homura didn’t answer, but Sayaka could tell. “Then I guess… You and me aren’t as different as we might think.” Sayaka felt Homura’s hand reach for something stuffed in her pocket, the glasses. “Oh. Were these yours?” She leaned over and allowed Homura to take them out.

“A long time ago.” Homura kept cutting. “They remind me of someone I hope to be someday.” She slit the last knot apart. “Again.” 

“Thanks.” Sayaka graciously uttered, rubbing her hands. She stepped to her feet. She gathered together her disguise. Then she remembered The Time Lady. “You didn’t hurt her… That much, did you?”

Homura’s eyes suddenly widened. “Take my hand, right now.” The two girls instantly vanished from the room.

***

Determining the identity of the attacker was starting to be a very trying effort for Kyubey. Her magical energy signature seemed to appear in one place at one moment, and then disappear the very next. It’d spring up in one part of the city, then randomly jump from location to location, as if she were teleporting. But it was a waste of energy to simply speculate without any direct observations or evidence, so the only thing Kyubey could do was to wait, stay out of this girl’s way, and find a pattern to her locations and movements, whenever he could sense her nearing.

This conservative tactic was yielding some very interesting preliminary data: This aging, European-style residential building seemed to be at the crux of the location dataset. The most logical assumption was that this was the attacker’s home. ‘Homura Akemi’ read the nameplate by the main entrance. If little else, Kyubey now had a name to assign his attacker.

Homura Akemi’s energy signature was also not one that Kyubey could readily recognize, which was much utterly baffling. Magical girls are only created when they make a wish and enter into a contract with him, and a Soul Gem is formed. Kyubey knew of no other method for a magical girl to exist. Homura Akemi was not a name he had recognized as a girl who had made a contract, therefore, she should not exist.

But exist she did, a mystery which would seem to warrant as much scrutiny as the one Madoka Kaname. And Akemi’s apparent activity on this day proved just as perplexing. The energy movements indicated that she had left this location, ventured nearby into the barrier of a weak familiar, emerged from it and returned with a second magical energy signature. This second particular signature, by all indication, also belonged to a magical girl with an unfamiliar energy signature. Kyubey could just not understand this improbable turn of events.

Kyubey concluded he could no longer lie low and act as a passive observer in this situation, in his calculation it was worth the risk of losing more bodies, if faces and true motives could be attached to these magical anomalies. From a partially-opened window, Kyubey crept inside. He went up the stairs, and approached the door. With a tiny spark of magic the lock sprang open, and he peeked inside.

There was nobody there. The anomalies had just eluded his eyes again. But that did not render this little intrusion completely meaningless. Kyubey checked around the room. On the floor was a cut of rope. Intended for itself, perhaps? On the wall were images of Walpurgisnacht. How did they already know it would be coming? Whomever this Homura Akemi and the new girl were, it was evident that they were planning something. And so, in proportion, must its kind.

“... Did Whaaaat ?” The Young Gallifreyan Girl overheard her tutor’s incensed reaction to her latest bout of mischief.

“Disrupted some very sensitive temporal experiments, using a rudimentary time flow analog she crafted in her dormitory.” 

“I didn’t mean to do that.” She muttered sheepishly. “It was supposed to be a prank.”

“The resultant feedback surge, blew her analog and set fire to her bed.”

“I didn’t mean to.” She regretfully added, “My grandma knitted that quilt for me.”

“What’s the overall damage?”

“The experiments will have to be redone from scratch. The upperclassmen are quite ‘thrilled’ to have to do their term projects over again. And we’ll have to requisition her a new bed… Provided the disciplinary committee doesn’t decide to expel her once they catch wind of this.”

“Don’t worry about that. This child is my responsibility. You just leave the disciplinary committee to me.”

“As you wish, sir.”

“Now send the girl in.”

“Student 139 - 119, what have you to say for yourself?” She knew it was bad when she was being addressed by her student designation and not by name.

“I- I’m so sorry! I was just…” She pleaded “I was trying to get someone’s attention!”

“Well, you certainly succeeded in that aim.” Her tutor leaned back in his chair.

“I didn’t know…” She took a breath. “I didn’t know about all the experiments that were happening across the school!” That was a lie. She miscalculated. She just did not think her device was going to be powerful enough to disrupt the more finely-tuned machinations of the upperclassmen.

“Like any school-age child, your concerns were strictly parochial in nature, without regard for the wider repercussions of your acts of horseplay… Is that your excuse?”

The Young Gallifreyan Girl tearfully nodded.

“Hmph. That’s what I’ll have to tell the committee, then.” He hunched forward in his chair as he shuffled through the incident report pages on his desk. “Frankly, I’m surprised you were even able to craft a functional time flow analog, considering your grades.” The Young Gallifreyan Girl’s eyes awkwardly looked towards her tutor’s face. “And then there’s the mishmash of items you built it from.” He put on his glasses as he studied the wreckage of her invention on his desk. “What is this? A hairclip?”

“Y-Yes, sir.” She confirmed. “It’s mine.”

“I see.” He took a deep breath and rose from his chair. “If you’ll follow me, then, young lady.” She dutifully trailed a couple paces behind them as they marched out of his private study and towards the ancient academy library.

“Why are we at the old library?” She timidly asked.

“You will see.” Her tutor pressed a button on his wrist device, which caused a shelf of books to quietly slide open. “You will need some place to reside while your dorm is getting fixed. Now have a look inside.”

The Young Gallifreyan Girl peeked past the shelf. It was an entire extra room hidden within the library. At the far corner was a furnished bed. On the other corner a Gallifreyan Multiple Substance Waste Disposal Unit, a toilet. Every single wall consisted of rows and rows of shelved books, old print, modern print and seemingly every age in between.

“In you go.” She felt a forceful push on her back. The shelf behind her slid closed.

“Hey!” She turned around. “Why’d you do that?”

“This is how I am going to discipline you. You are going to remain in this room, reading these books.”

“What? That’s stupid!” She protested. “Let me go!”

“Granted, you don’t need to read every book in this cage, simply read the right combination of books. You must liberate yourself. ‘Tis discipline through education!” She looked through the books to see his satisfied eyes gleaming at her.

“You can’t imprison somebody with books!” She took hold of a row of books and tried to toss them onto the floor, without success. The books felt to her more like heavy bricks.

“That isn’t going to work, my dear.” He chuckled. “The books are physically bound together by a force shield, in such a way that it won’t allow for such a simple escape. Pick the wrong book, and it won’t move from the shelf. Pick The right book, and off it will come. Pick the right book next, and it too, will come. A mere four books in all. But you won’t be able to put them back until they are read. Though I am not going to reveal the secret to that. Should keep you occupied for a few days.”

“That’s just cruel!”

“More cruel would be to lose a fine young mind such as yours to an expulsion. I’ve disciplined some of my finest students before in this manner. You should consider it an honor!”

“There’s thousands of books! Thousands of combinations!”

“My dear pupil, you should already know the correct combination… That is, if you have been paying attention to my lectures!” Through the books she saw him chuckle, turn and walk away. “You best get started.” He pressed another button on his device, as the music began to play inside her room.

‘ Sensorite Senses ’ ‘ Shakri Stories ’, ‘ Sontaran Strategies ’, ‘ Silurian Songs ’, she glimpsed along a row of titles on one small section of the shelf. It was useless. She had no idea which books she was supposed to select, for he was a pretty tiresome talker, and she a heavy sleeper. Dejectedly, The Young Gallifreyan Girl curled up onto the bed, and cried and cried until she fell asleep.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She awakened hours later when she recognized a familiar voice just outside the room. She looked and saw the sympathetic eyes of her friend peeping through the books.

“How did you find this place?” She asked.

“I followed you two, I didn’t mean to snoop. But I had to wait until after classes to come back.” Her friend replied. Her friend added, after a hesitant pause, “I’m so sorry. It was all my fault.”

“What’s your fault?”

“I made a time flow analog in my room, too. I think they must’ve amplified one another, and that’s what caused all the trouble. But I smashed mine once I realized things were going bad.” After another pause, her friend said “I’m going to go to him and confess that.”

“You’ll just end up in here too. Or worse. Get expelled. I don’t want that. Even if you’re trying to help me.”

“How long do you have to stay in there?”

“Until I figure out the right combination of books I’m supposed to read.”

“What?”

“He’s crazy!” She pounded on her bed. “A crazy old coot! Says I should already know the combination!”

“Do you know it?”

“Of course not! I’m just going to sit it out until he lets me go! He knows he can’t keep me here forever!”

“What about the music?”

“The music?” She had not noticed the music until now.

Her friend looked toward the other direction. The session alarm was ringing. “I- I have to get back to class now. If you’re still locked in this room by the end of the week’s sessions, then I’m going to confess.”

“No! You don’t have to-”

“That’s what I’ve decided.” Her friend gave her a reassuring smile. “If you want to save me, then you’ll have to figure out his puzzle. Do your best.” Her friend waved goodbye and ran out of the library.

She sat there for a while, listening to the song. It was a short, simple song, repeated multiple with a different string instrument being used for every repeat. She vaguely recalled her tutor playing the song at the start of a lecture, displaying the holographic image of its composer, before she drifted off. She couldn’t remember who the composer was, though. Just that he had a beard. Was this mere background noise or was the old man actually merciful enough to give her a hint?

She jumped off the bed, and approached the shelf. “Songs.” She muttered to herself. Tentatively, she reached for the book ‘ Silurian Songs ’. She pulled at it. To her shock, off it came. Three more books to go. 

What else could be a clue? Perhaps another hint lied in the instrumentation? She identified one version’s lead as an exotic alien instrument: A violin. The next version she recognized as a cello. The one after featured a harp. The recurring theme seemed to involve strings. She scanned the shelves for any mention of the word. ‘ Karmic Strings: A Quantum Theory of Destiny ’ She reached for it. To her amazement, off it came. What was next?

The guy with the beard, the one who composed the song, she also  remembered he wasn’t a Gallifreyan, but rather of a race that looked a lot like them. Humans, she remembered him mentioning. The instruments used were also of their invention. She scanned the shelves quickly for a mention of the race.  No luck. She looked at the books she had. Silurians and Humans, she remembered him once asking what they had in common. They were born of the same world, she knew that was the answer. So what was that planet? ‘ Sol III: From Kingdom of Siluria to The Fourth Great Human Empire - A Political History ’. She saw a picture of a small, blue world and its pockmarked, white satellite on this book’s binding. They looked familiar to her. She grabbed the book, and off it came. Only one more to go!

A book on music, a book on metaphysics, a book about a planet, and a song giving hints. What could the final book be? She scanned up and down the rows and rows of books, looking for a title that might strike a chord. ‘ Acoustics And Sonic Technology 101’ She spotted. It was a book about sound. Music is composed of sounds, and she recalled awakening once to an annoying buzzing noise, to witness her tutor demonstrating the power of sound using a strange, glowing device. It was a leap, to be sure, but she felt a strange surge of certain self-assuredness as she reached out for that elusive final key.   

“Did you really have to hit her so hard?” Sayaka scolded Homura as they approached The Time Lady’s unconscious body on the ground.

“It was the tactically prudent thing to do.” Homura stated bluntly.

“You could’ve killed her!” Sayaka kneeled down and placed her ear next to The Time Lady’s mouth trying to see if she was still breathing. Homura checked the pulse on her wrists.

“Believe me, I’ve been worse off than this beforrrreee….” The Time Lady whispered into Sayaka’s ear, to both their surprises.

“You’re conscious?” Homura asked.

“Just came to.” The Time Lady’s eyes peered into Sayaka’s. “Guess I’m just drawn to that distinctive voice of yourrrrs.” A relieved smile slowly filled her face.

“I broke at least two ribs.” Homura examined the side of The Time Lady’s chest.

“Riiiiiibs.” The Time Lady corrected with a coughing fit. “And a concussion on top.”

“What do we do?” Sayaka clutched The Time Lady’s hand.

“The hospital isn’t far from here.” Homura carefully tried to help The Time Lady get up.

“They’d ask waaaaay too many questionssss.” The Time Lady breathed heavily as she spoke. “And they’d just be gawking at my extra hearrrrrt.” She coughed a little chuckle.

“Do you have anything back in the TARDIS?” Sayaka asked.

“Sssssure I do! There’s emergency medical ssssuppliesss...” The Time Lady’s voice trailed as she struggled to continue her statement. “Fix me riiiight up.”

“TARDIS?” Homura asked.

“That’s her ship. But it’s back at the mall.”

“It’s also much farther away.” Homura pointed out.

“Could use the emergency transmat in my multitoooool.” The Time Lady weakly reached for her coat pocket.

“Do you mean this device?” Homura pulled The Time Lady’s wand from her behind her buckler.

“You can pull stuff right out of your sleeve? Sweeeeeet. Wish I could do something oh soooo cooool...” The Time Lady’s eyes rolled around as her consciousness was starting to lapse.

No! Don’t pass out! Stay awake, please! Please Miss -” Sayaka stammered upon realizing she still had not given thought of a name for her partner yet. The Time Lady’s eyes drooped closed. “Miss Jones!”

“Jones?” The Time Lady’s eyes sprang open. “Days of thought and that’s the best you could come up wiiiith? On the other hand, it’s not kiiiiiiiilling me to say riiiiight noooow. Guess it’ll do.” She coughed another fit. “Where was I?”

“This thing.” Homura waved the multitool in front of Miss Jones’s eyes.

“Yeah.” She took a deep, pained breath. “It’s got an emergency teleportation protocol that’ll zip anyone holding it right to the TARDIS Control Room. Zaps the battery but extremely handy when I’m in a siiiiiitch.” 

“How do we do that?” Homura glanced over its various knobs and buttons.

“First dial on the sssside, click all the way to the riiiight.” The Time Lady took another break. “Middle dial, click to ssssetting sssssix.” She coughed up a spurt of blood. “Third dial, turn all the way to the leeeeft.” She huffed. “Toggle the switch on the other side up.” Homura complied with her instructions. “Now the dial on the baaaase. Turn it counterclockwise until it beeps and the light up top turns whiiiite.” Homura turned the dial affixed to the wand’s base.

“It’s done. I think.”

“Now everyone, grrrab hoooolllld.” The three girls clutched each other and took hold of the device. “Press the button.” The multitool flashed and everyone was, in an instant, teleported into the TARDIS Control Room a few steps from the console. Homura immediately stood up and studied their new surroundings.

“Now listen well.” Miss Jones tugged on Sayaka’s sleeve. “Seven decks below, there’s a medical bay. Take the lift there, go down the hall, take a left, go down the next hall, take a right, take the first door on the left.” She tried to speak as clearly and concisely as she could still muster. “There’s a vial in a drawer with a silvery liquid inside. There’s also a device inside which looks like a pen. It’s a syringe. Bring the vial and the syringe back here. Quickly nowwwwwww!”

“Down the hall, left, right, door on the left! Silver liquid vial and a syringe pen! Got it!” Sayaka repeated to herself as she nearly tripped over one of the disassembled gadgets on the floor. “Hall, left, right, door, left, vial, pen.” Sayaka’s voice faded as she ran down the hallway.

“I apologize, for my act of hostility.” Homura coolly said.

“It was a nearly tactically flawless execution of a calculated capture and neutralization plan. That I was able to mount even a token counter move, is a testament to how flippin’ awesome I am.” Miss Jones turned her head and looked into Homura’s eyes. “How I choose to see it. And you’re not sorry.”

“Indeed.”

“Keep the injured oooooold lady talkin’… She’s bound to have those answers you waaaaant.”

“You don’t look old.” 

“Looks can be deceiving.” Miss Jones coughed a fit as she tried to sit up against the control console. “Ohhhhh, she’s soooo going to get loooooost.” She groaned.

“She’s not particularly intelligent.” Homura glanced towards the door that Sayaka exited through.

“Spoken with the certainty of someone who’s known a person for a good, looooong time. How long, I wonder?” Homura looked away from her inquisitor’s eyes.

“Irrelevant.”

“Y’knowwwwww... I initially thought it was that gigantic witch that was the focal point of the causality loop that’s enveloped this planet. But it’s really you, isn’t it? It’s the consequence of whatever contract you made with bunnycat. Your wish is what’s at the crux of this whole chain of events.” Miss Jones coughed and wheezed as she finished her observation.

“Do you intend to oppose me?”

“If I did I’d be doing a much better job than this.” Miss Jones laughed and coughed. “That you and I are here and talking at least means she managed to get through to you in some way.”

“Let’s say for a moment that I believe her story that you healed her and brought her back in time with you.” Homura put her eyes back to Miss Jones’s. “Her Soul Gem was near its limit. Without a Grief Seed to replenish her magic...”

Miss Jones took a gold fob watch from her coat pocket and opened it. Homura observed a swell of black matter twirl and pulsate around its center as a brilliant swirling glow of golden energy steadily stemmed its expansion.

“What is that?” Homura’s usually steady eyes widened.

“My people long ago unlocked the secrets of what you would call ‘magic’... Er, it’s an exotic form of matter that flows through all life in trace amounts. Or, as you would call it, a ‘soul’. We discovered it, tamed it, and were for many eons its absolute masters.” She took a deep, pained breath. “It’s an integral part of both our biological makeup and most of our lost technological marvels.” She took another breath. “But to answer your question specifically, I’ve been using the energy that’s in my body to draw out and neutralize the ‘darkness’ that’s in hers. And then storing it in here.”

“You’re... Acting as her personal Grief Seed? Is that safe?”

“Nooooope,” She puttered a pained chuckle. “It’s going to kill me, eventually. But hopefully not before I think of another way to effectuate the process. And I can’t say for certain how many more uses she’s going to get out of me. Depends on her ability to stay emotionally balanced…” She coughed a deep, bellowing cough and slouched over. “And on my ability to not let the job hazards do me in first.” She stuffed the watch into her coat pocket.

“Is she aware of what you are doing for her?” Homura attempted to help her sit back up.

“No, and I’d much prefer we keep it that way for now.” She let out a pained sigh. “She’d most likely see it as me trading my life for hers, and she doesn’t look to be the sort who thinks of herself as... Worthy of such a trade. Is she?” Homura subsequently shook her head.

“So who are you? What do you stand to gain out of this?”

“I’m nothing. I go around and help because it’s kind. It’s all the reason I’ve ever needed. Just who I’ve chosen to be.”

“For a magical girl, such kindness is naïveté. Courage is foolishness. And for the people you help, there is never any gratitude.”

“Then it’s fortunate that I am not a magical girl. Nor am I naïve. I’m old enough to have learned to never expect any gratitude.” She positioned her body to rest on the floor. “Though I do grant that I have often played the fool. Can’t help that. It’s the ooooold romantic in me.”

“I’ve got them! I’ve got them!” Sayaka was careful to not trip over any of the items on the floor this time.

“It took you long enough!” Miss Jones let out a pained laugh. “Did you get lost on the way?”

“Seventh deck, left, right and left, yeah? That was a cafeteria I think! I ran through like, four other rooms and then lucky I found the right one!”

“Oops. Sorry, I don’t go down there very much! Hehe…” She coughed. “Now, have you ever injected anyone with a syringe before?” Sayaka shook her head.

“I’ve received injections before.” Homura admitted. “Always before I am discharged from the hospital. I’ve become accustomed to the routine.” Homura pulled the cap that revealed the long, thin needle underneath.

“Hold the vial upside down and draw about half the liquid from inside.” Homura calmly obeyed. “Now jam it, right in this spot.” She was pointing to a spot just below her chest. Sayaka couldn’t help but look the other way while Homura did the dirty work.

“What’s in that stuff, anyway?” Sayaka asked after turning the other direction.

“Liquid-suspended nanogenes. They activate immediately upon entering the bloodstream. Powerful little microbe-sized robots. They can cure ills, big and small… Long as you program them for the correct species.”

“Could you program them to fix permanently injured parts?” Sayaka asked. “Like somebody’s hand?” Homura stared at her. “I don’t think it’s selfish, what I mean is that if Kyosuke’s hand is healed, then I… I mean the other ‘me’ won’t have a reason to make a wish. Then she won’t become a magical girl and Madoka won’t worry about her and then she won’t…” She met Homura’s stare. “She won’t suffer too, right?”

“Yeah, I could reprogram this last batch real quick, if it came to it.” Miss Jones answered.

“With Madoka, it’s rarely that simple.” Homura broke her stare and tossed her hair back. “She doesn’t become a magical girl merely to help you. There have been times she makes a contract to help Mami Tomoe. There have been times she makes a contract to help me. There have been times she makes a contract to help something else entirely. There have been times she made a contract in the face of Walpurgisnacht.”

“Walpoo-what?” Sayaka asked.

“That’s the giant witch that is going to attack next month. It is a name given to it by both the old texts and Kyubey.”

“Oh.” 

“My point is that she just keeps treating her own life, her own desires, as something secondary to the lives of others. She’s made wishes for a wide variety of reasons. It is her nature to be unselfish.” 

“So our main goal then,” Miss Jones regained enough strength to sit up.“Should be to prevent a meeting between Madoka Kaname and the bunnycat. Lends credence to my belief that we should just try to catch him.”

“As I explained at the hospital, Kyubey is extremely wily. I have tried to catch him before, unsuccessfully.”

“Even with your fancy powers?” Sayaka chimed in. “I just thought that you were really really fast before, but what you did when we went back for  Miss Jones… The whole world around us seemed like it was frozen in place. You’re really freezing time, right? How can Kyubey outmaneuver that?”

“There’s more than one of it.” Homura reminded Sayaka. “When one is cornered, it dies and the other swoops in and disposes of the remains. I’m not sure how many there are, but it could very well be an entire race. Typically, they deduce the nature of my ability and take countermeasures.”

“Countermeasures? Of what sort?” Miss Jones steadily climbed off the floor.

“He’ll make contact with Madoka whenever an opportunity presents itself. She always aids a helpless creature.”

“So you saying it’s Kyubey’s fault that you came across to us as a stalking creep?” Sayaka quipped.

“He’ll seek the protection of another magical girl as well.” Homura continued, ignoring Sayaka’s comment. “Typically he turns to Mami Tomoe. She is the strongest amongst the magical girls in this city, and her commitment to being a magical girl borders on zealotry.”

“A zealot?” Sayaka folded her arms. “You really think Mami’s like that?”

“What I think of her is irrelevant… The fact is, the life she has as a magical girl is the only life she has. She has no close family, no close friends, nothing but the fights and her dedication to protecting the masses.”

“Sounds like you know her well.” Miss Jones said.

“I do.” Homura glared briefly at Sayaka before continuing. “Because of that, she implicitly trusts Kyubey. When he claims that someone is trying to harm him or is invading on her territory, she has no reason to doubt him. I have yet to think of an adequate strategy that would win her trust over his grasp.”

“She might appreciate a smile. Or a compliment or two.” Sayaka facetiously suggested.

“If he fails to instigate a conflict with Mami, he will try to engage Kyoko Sakura’s interest. While she generally acts in her own self-interest, she can also be quite territorial and paranoid, which often manifests as picking conflict with others.”

“Kyoko’s not a bad person, you know.” Sayaka said.

“I didn’t say that she was. But what little she has in her life she has obtained by fighting for it. Whether it’s food, territory or Grief Seeds, she is a survivalist first and foremost. Kyubey counts on that. You’ve seen that very scenario play out, firsthand.” Homura glanced at Sayaka. 

“I see.” Miss Jones rubbed her chin. “Hence you’ve taken the strategy of watching events unfold from afar and acting only when Madoka looks like she’s about to fall into a trap.”

“I wonder why he’s so desperate for her to become a magical girl.” Sayaka mused. “I mean, I get that she’s more naturally talented than any of us for it, but she’s still just one person. Surely the fight against witches can’t be hinging on the life of one person.”

“It’s more of a cost-benefit analysis to him, I’d guess.” Homura was about to open her mouth to speak, but Miss Jones interceded first. “That… ‘Walpurgisnacht’ is going to be a huuuuuge payday, as an energy source, so I’m sure to him, pitting the most naturally gifted girl against it would be the fastest and most assured way of guaranteeing its procurement. It doesn’t even matter to him if she survives the encounter or not.” Miss Jones turned to Homura. “She dies every time she faces it, yes?” Homura silently nodded.

“Gah, and all that time I believed he was humanity’s ally.” Sayaka huffed. “Should’ve drop-kicked him when I had the chance!”

“That leaves Walpurgisnacht. It’s always his trump card. Whenever Madoka sees the city besieged, or sees us fall in battle, she makes her decision. Any chance of victory must include its defeat.”

“How do we beat something as huge as that?” Sayaka wondered. “I think we might just be better off trying to get everyone out of the city to safety.”

“You’re right, we should try to get all the locals to flee.” Ms Jones said. “‘Terrorism’ is the buzzword of this age, right? I’m thinking... I should call in a big bomb threat of some sort. Think of something that’ll set off their primitive radiation detectors. Nobody’ll be around for kilometers in those final hours.”

“Then Should we just run and let it wreck the whole town?” Sayaka asked.

“Not at all.” Miss Jones replied. “Thinking I could whip up something that could take it out quickly. Maybe not something as epic as a De-Mat gun or a Time Torpedo, but even limited by local tech, I believe I can devise something real... Special for the occasion.”

“It’s not going to be something so powerful that it’s going to destroy the city is it?” Sayaka asked.

“The sacrifice of the city would be a small price, as long as its people are safe.” Homura stated, drawing Sayaka’s gaze. “As long as Madoka remains safe.”

“Out of curiosity, just how much variation has there been amongst the timeflows you’ve experienced?” Miss Jones asked Homura. “That is, how often do certain events seem to repeat themselves?”

“The broad-scope events do not appear to change. Things like the weather on each day. The Bus and train times. General world affairs. And I can predict within a certain margin of error where and when more esoteric events will occur. A probability of a witch being located at one place, what their attacks will be. Chances of Kyoko Sakura appearing on a given day.” Homura glared at Sayaka. “But there always seems to be some sort of variation, a slight change that makes every situation afterward less and less predictable. Sometimes from unanticipated interlopers. Or unforseen witch attacks. Fights between magical girls. To be honest, it’s those small changes that frustrate me the most.”

“Yeah, I can see how that would really suck for you.” Miss Jones said. “But believe it or not, those little variables are actually why there’s still hope.”

“Why’s that?” Homura and Sayaka asked in unison. 

“You guys really want to know?” She asked. “It’s pretty complicated.” They nodded in agreement. She took a deep breath. “Okay… Try to picture all of space and time as a humongous ball.” She tapped her finger on the console display screen and on it she drew a picture of a circle. “Now from afar, this ball looks smooth, solid and immutable. But when you look closer,” she drew small pictures of waves of different sizes in different directions, along the ball. “You see that the ball is all bumpy, it’s like liquid and it’s constantly rushing about in patterns like the waves on a beach. An old tutor of mine had a word for it. I can’t remember what.” She turned around and started wiggling her fingers about in a chaotic dance. “Now these flows, they’re actually strings, and while they appear to be chaotic and shifting in every direction and incredibly scary, they are in fact all the different timeflows, all the different realms of possibility and potentiality, all of our choices and all the outcomes, happening across every single quantum reality. The realities where you can imagine your dreams and your happiness coming true, where you possess both the potential and the will to make it so, that is hope.” She erased the waves on the circle and drew some new waves moving in unison. “But when the ripples become steady and aligned and predictable, once the choices narrow down and the probabilities turn into certainties, that’s when a fixed point in time is born. And a fixed point, when it manifests, can’t never, ever change. And when change becomes impossible, hope is lost. So while those little differences that frustrate you so, they mean that the flow of events is still trying to be dynamic, still trying to change the future. That means, we still have hope. Do you get it now?”    

“Balls of strings?” Sayaka was scratching her head.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have been so wordy.” Miss Jones pursed her lips. “Okay, think back to those hours before Walpurgisnacht attacked. “Didn’t the sights and the sounds and the tastes and the smells of the world around you feel a bit… Stale?”

“My senses have long been dulled.” Homura sighed.

“I don’t… Really remember much of it.” Sayaka added.

“Well believe me, everything about this place was off,” Miss Jones continued. “That’s because the attack and its fallout had by then become inevitable, and when matter loses uncertainty, it loses its... Zest. So to speak.” She pushed up her glasses. “Contrast to what’s around us now, where that future’s farther away and still less certain. Everything’s full of life.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Homura tossed her hair.

“I still don’t get it.” Sayaka confessed.

“Eh, well I tried.” Miss Jones sighed.

“Tell me… Why do you have all this… Junk?” Homura lightly kicked a dismantled stereo system at her feet.

“She’s making things.” Sayaka replied. “She’s trying to fix the ship.”

“Not only that,” Miss Jones added. “I’m trying to design and build something that will work to purify your Soul Gems. One that will supplant your reliance on Grief Seeds.”

“You want to replace the Grief Seeds?” Homura and Sayaka said in amazed unison.

“Of course! If we do succeed in apprehending Kyubey and repelling the Witch invasion, you magical girls are eventually going to require an alternate means of sustaining your existences. I am the sort who thinks such long-term things out, you know. I’ve got a number of design ideas in this-here brain of mine, but the fastest way to success involves the procurement of a Grief Seed for study.”

“Is that the reason you were in that Familiar’s labyrinth?” Homura asked. “You do know that a Familiar is not going to possess a Grief Seed, right?” She glared directly at Sayaka.

“We were there because killing it is the right thing to do.” Sayaka shot back with an equally dissatisfied glare.

“I also wanted to get a look at what these so-called ‘labyrinths’ are like.” Miss Jones added in an attempt to deflate the tension. “Best to try to do so with a creature that’s less harmful than a full-blown Witch, I’d say.” She walked over and put herself between the two. “The principle of these labyrinths is actually not entirely dissimilar to my TARDIS here. They both exist within their own pocket of space-time, governed by their own physical laws and powered by a concentrated energy source at their center.” They followed Miss Jones to the control console. “Now that I’ve got a better idea of what I’m dealing with, now I just need to get a sample of their energy source, i.e., a Grief Seed.”

“If all you want is a Grief Seed, you only need to ask for one.” Homura transformed into her magical girl form.

“Just how many extra Grief Seeds have you got?” Sayaka asked Homura.

“Enough to sustain myself for weeks.” Homura added. “And to aid another magical girl should such an emergency arise.”

“How chivalrous of you.” Sayaka sarcastically grumbled.

“It’s not my fault you refused my aid. Your stubborness is entirely on you.”

“Oh there you go, acting all smug and superior again!”

“If having the ability to think rationally and plan ahead means ‘superior’, then yes I am.”

“Get over yourself, you stuck-up bi-

“Hey! Girls!” Miss Jones interrupted. “Can we stay on topic, please? You say you have a surplus of Grief Seeds? I just need one for now.”

“As you wish.”

“Oooh… I get to see her neat trick again!” Miss Jones snickered excitedly.

Homura reached inside and grabbed a Grief Seed. “If it will free us from our reliance on witch hunts and Grief Seeds, then may this be the last Grief Seed I need ever share.” She hid the seed in her hand, turning her back away from where Sayaka could see. She apprehensively walked over to Miss Jones, took her hand and imparted the Grief Seed. “It’s… A used Grief Seed, if that will suffice.”

“Yes.” Miss Jones replied softly.

“Be careful with it. Its purification ability is used-up. If it takes in any more energy, the Witch inside may be reborn.” 

“I’ll be careful.” Miss Jones briefly examined it before sliding it into her side coat pocket.

“You kept the used ones, too?” Sayaka asked.

“What else was I to do? Hand them to Kyubey? Provide the very trophies Kyubey is here to plunder?” Homura changed out of her magical girl clothes in a brilliant purple flash of light.

“I Suppose not.” Sayaka conceded. “Uh, Miss Jones, about that, I’ve been wondering, just how did you rescue me that first time, without a Grief Seed?”

“Ah, heh, well you see…” Miss Jones scurried over to a cabinet and took out a fob watch. “You see this old watch? It’s also made of Gallifreynium. I guessed that the used ectomatter could be contained within any properly refined container of Gallifreynium. So I carefully used my multitool’s transmat ability and zapped it all inside there. And fortunately for you, I guessed correctly.”

“Can I see?” Sayaka inquisitively asked.

“Sure.” Miss Jones placed it in her hand. “But don’t open it. The nasty stuff’s all inside there. Makes it single use, unfortunately.

“Can’t believe I’m alive because of a lucky guess.” Sayaka studied the watch. It had unusual indentations and patterns that made Sayaka think it might be a language of writing.

“I need to leave now.” Homura said. “There is a high probability that a Witch will appear on the riverbank within the next two hours.” She looked toward the TARDIS door. “I presume that door is the exit?”

 “It is.” Miss Jones replied.

“Thanks for deciding not to kill us after all.” Sayaka somewhat sarcastically waved her goodbye. “And sorry I’m a lousy magical girl.” She non-apologetically added.

“Do not take my decision lightly. I’m taking a huge risk in trusting someone I do not know.” She flipped her hair and looked over her shoulder at Sayaka. “In trusting you.”

“We’ve at least agreed to not be enemies.” Miss Jones stated. “I applaud that.”

“You have better be able to live up to these grandiose promises.” Homura looked over her other shoulder. “If you can’t, the consequences will be dire.”

“Indeed.” Miss Jones waved her goodbye with a half-smile.

Homura pushed open the TARDIS door. She stood for a moment within the frame, lightly stroking the sides of it, tactilely examining the exterior, her expression seeming to change from a look of nonchalance, to a brief and and subdued awe, then back to nonchalance again. Then she disappeared in a flash. 

“Geez, even when she’s trying to be polite, she still has to be weird and creepy and put on airs.” Sayaka commented as she walked over and closed the door.

“It’s a practiced look, born out of necessity.” Miss Jones walked over to the control console and started typing on its keys. “But make no mistake, deep inside that cool, collected facade burns the white-hot passion of a thousand fiery suns. And a drive to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals.”

“You sound like you’ve met people like that before.”

“You could say that.” 

Sayaka languidly marched to her bedroom door. “I’m gonna get some rest. Talking her down exhausted the hell out of me.”

“You do that. Those pajamas you requested are waiting by the bed for you.” Miss Jones waved her goodnight.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Do you need me for anything else? Do you need my Soul Gem for anything?”

“Not tonight.” Miss Jones smiled and tapped on her coat pocket. “This thing should keep me pretty occupied for a while. Sleep well.” 

The door slid shut behind Sayaka. Miss Jones lightly scanned through the damage repair updates on her console’s display screen. She hit a key and the screen cleared. Now she was staring at a blank screen, at its tinted reflection of her face, alone in the Control Room, alone with her many, many private thoughts.

“She’s right. Those were my eyes.”

Chapter Text

“This is nuts! This is totally, completely nuts! ” Sayaka thought to herself while she sat opposite the room to her own counterpart in the waiting room of the Mitakihara Middle School’s office.

“This is nuts! This is completely nuts!” Her other self kept pleading her case to her father sitting next to her. “For the last time, it wasn’t me at that stupid restaurant! You said you believed me!”

 “I believe you, Sayaka, I really do,” Her Papa reassured as he flipped through the pages of the after-school activities guidebook.

“So why the heck are you making me do this?”

“Because it’s about more than that restaurant. Frankly, your mother and I have been a little worried about you lately. Your grades are slipping. And you’re not involved in any clubs or activities. It’s made us worry about your future. Worried that the two of us haven’t been giving you any direction in life. Worried that you won’t be prepared for the challenges of being an adult.”

“Signing me up for something isn’t gonna fix that!” She batted her hand at the pamphlet. This is just gonna stress me out!”

“Stress you out? ” Sayaka thought to herself. “ You know nothing about real stress! ” 

“That’s the point. It’s only an after-school activity, Sayaka. The low-stakes kind of stress.” He smiled, leaned in and lightly grabbed her arm. “You know, your mother’s idea was to get you a part-time job.”

“Ugh, forget that.” Sayaka rolled her eyes and cringed at the memory of her recent dishwashing experience. “I think I’d rather be stabbed in the stomach.”

“No you wouldn’t! ” Sayaka glared disgustedly at her other self.

“So go along with my idea, at least until you’re mother’s off your back. You might even have fun.” Her Papa patted her on the head as they got up and shuffled to the office front desk. He fingered through the pages in his hand to the sports activities section. “Let’s see… Your mother would like to see you engage in something that teaches you good values… Teamwork, patience, persistence and perseverance, all the good stuff.”

“Yeah. ‘Good’ stuff.” Sayaka rolled her eyes and gave a deep, resigned sigh. Sayaka knew what her opposite was thinking. She was aware that she was being perceived amongst the class as being stronger and more physically built than the other girls, and her ultimate fear was being pigeonholed as some kind of tomboy. So she’d always turned down any invitations to join the class’s sports clubs, and she never tried out for any teams. She didn’t want to appear too unfeminine to the others, especially Kyosuke. But now she was going to be forced right down that hole. Not even getting a say in the matter. That Sayaka must have been absolutely seething underneath her flippant teenage facade.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to overhear,” The physical education teacher, Miss Yamazaki was standing nearby at the front desk. “But our softball team could really use an extra person right now! One of our players hurt her arm.”

“Really? See that? You hear that!” Her Papa smiled at her. “It’s like it’s your destiny!”

“Ffffffiiiine.” Sayaka snatched at the sign-up sheet.

Sayaka looked over her transfer papers. She thought it was pointless to return to school. She had entirely stopped going in those final days of the last timeline, and felt that right now she’d be much more use on the outside hunting witches and on the lookout for Kyubey, but Miss Jones decided otherwise. “What we need to do right now is try to blend in. Give the bunnycat no reason to see us as any anything but ordinary humans living ordinary human lives doing ordinary human things.” Sayaka pointed out that her other self was going to be there as well. “Yes that’s the idea: Keep watch over the whole lot of you in one place! Say ‘Hi’ to the lady who’s going to be your new teacher!” Sayaka pointed out the danger of her touching her other self. “Just try keeping your distance then.” She added, “Or if you can’t, make sure Kyubey isn’t watching the sparks,” with a wink.

Miss Jones had cooked up a phony backstory for Sayaka in which she was a transfer student from a school on the island of Okinawa. She even tapped into the government’s computer systems and forged all the necessary images and documentation. The only thing she didn’t think up was Sayaka’s name. That space was left blank, Sayaka’s to fake. “You did a fine job thinking up my name… Joyce … Jones! Short, sweet and best of all alliterative!”

“I heard we were getting a transfer student soon. That you?” Sayaka looked up to see herself face-to-face with her other self. “I’m Sayaka Miki! What’s your name?”

“S- Sa- Saya-” She stammered as she put her transfer sheet between her faces. She was so red-faced she had to look again at the name she wrote down. “Sa- Saya. O-to-na-shi. Otonashi.”

“Huh. That’s an unusual name.” Sayaka raised her finger towards Sayaka’s cheek. “I swear I’ve heard that name somewhere before.” Sayaka reflexively leapt to the seat next to her before her double’s finger could make contact.

“Sorry.” Sayaka stepped back. “That was rude of me.”

“Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you so much for being available to fill in on such short notice!” The Superintendent was gratuitously shaking Miss Jones’s hand.

“It’s not a problem, really!” Miss Jones was trying to make her exit, her cheeks blushing redder with each compliment the School Superintendent was heaping on her.

“Filling in? For whom?” Miss Yamazaki asked.

“Ohhhhhh… Kazuko Saotome won a month-long trip to Paris.” The Superintendent replied. “Claimed it was a contest she didn’t even remember entering. But she’s leaving with her boyfriend on Friday.”

“Lucky lady!” Miss Yamazaki sighed. “I always wanted to visit Paris! And she gets to be there a whole month?”

“Lucky for us, I have right here her substitute! And a very-highly qualified one at that! Graduate of some of the finest institutions in the west!”

“Oh? A foreigner? Welcome to Mitakihara Middle School!” Miss Yamazaki promptly bowed and shook the woman’s hand.

“Thank you! It will be an honor teaching young minds here.” She returned the courtesies.

“You’re fillin’ in for Saotome-sensei?” Sayaka walked over, smiled and bowed to her new teacher. “Awesome! I’ve never had a foreign teacher before! It’s nice to meet you, Sensei!” 

“Sen-...” Miss Jones glanced from one Sayaka to the other and did a double-take. “Why, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Sayaka!” Miss Jones gave her a big embracing hug. Sayaka took this as an opportunity to quietly maneuver by and hand her transfer papers over to the office’s front desk. 

“How do you know my name already?” Sayaka asked her in surprise.

“It’s right there on that sign-up sheet in your hand, dear.”

“Oh, yeah.” Sayaka’s smile vanished. “Darn it.” She remembered exactly what she had in her hand and disappointedly glanced at her father. “I look forward to seeing you in class on Friday…”

“Jones. Joyce Jones.”

“Jones-sensei.”

“See you soon!” Miss Jones let go of her embrace and started toward the exit door which Sayaka had also just discreetly retreated to.

“Looking forward to it. Looking forward to seeing you, too Saya.” Sayaka courteously bowed to Sayaka. Sayaka awkwardly bowed back to herself on her way out the door.

“That was close. You could have told me that ‘You’ were going to be here this afternoon.” Miss Jones voiced as they walked down the stairs.

“Because I didn’t know that ‘I’ was going to be here, either.” Sayaka replied.

“That so?”

“It sounded like my folks found out about our restaurant mishap. I guess they’re gonna ‘punish’ me… er, Her… By making her join the softball team.”

“Yeah. I still feel a bit bad about having to do that to her.”

“Maybe we accidentally did her a favor.” Sayaka pondered.

“How do you mean?”

“Do you remember what I said to you at the restaurant, that I became a magical girl because I felt like I didn’t have a purpose?” Sayaka stopped and looked back toward the office. “Who knows? Maybe being part of a team will give her one.” She shook her head and shrugged. “It might be good for her. Who’s to say?”

“So why didn’t you do that? You do look like you’ve got the ideal physique for youth athletics.”

“P- People have said that to me before.” She clasped her hands behind her back as they continued walking. “It’s why I never did.”

“Go on.” They continued walking.

“I mean… Pretty much everybody in my class thinks I’m a total tomboy. The boys, anyway. They think I’m quick to hit back and hit back harder when someone messes with my friends.” Sayaka modestly chuckled. “So they don’t mess with my friends, y’know?”

“A tough cookie, eh?”

“But that’s the problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve never been asked to go to any dances, never been asked to go on any dates with boys. If I wanted to go anywhere do anything with boys, I always had to set it up as a group thing with Madoka and Hitomi,” She sighed. “And every time the guys were always more drawn to Hitomi.”

“Envious? Don’t be. Aren’t you more into that boy you wished for, anyway?” 

“Well of course I want Kyosuke.” She wanly smiled. “But I wanna know how I’m supposed to talk to Kyosuke first.” Her head drooped toward the floor as she was walking onward. “And not like, as a pal… But like, how a girl would talk to a boy she likes.”

“It’s not as hard as you think.” Miss Jones pat her back. “Talk. Listen. Talk. Listen. Then sparks.”

“Heh. I’ve tried.” Sayaka replied. “But he hardly ever wants to talk about anything besides music.” She kicked a stray rock on the walkway. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I hate talking about a bunch of guys who died over a hundred years ago, it’s that I’d much rather know everything else about him. Everything I can know.”

“So you’re doing it by asking his classmates?” Miss Jones scratched her head. “Method seems a bit roundabout.

“It’s not that per se.” Sayaka corrected. “They’re just practice. I’m trying to figure out Kyosuke by figuring out what boys are into. You know, in a more general sense.”

“Ah, yes. Practice.”

“Yeah.” Sayaka head bobbed, then sunk. “But they’d never bite. We go out, and they won’t even look at me. We do things, and they don’t look at me.” Her voice cracked. “I couldn’t understand it. We talk and get along and chit-chat just fine in class!” She lamented. “So finally I asked Hitomi what I was doing wrong, and she said the problem wasn’t me, it’s that all the boys have told her they were afraid of me!”

“Ah. Warranted or not, your ‘reputation’ was cemented.”

“Exactly.” Sayaka dejectedly confirmed. “And that got me wondering even more about Kyosuke.” Her voice cracked a little more as she sniffled back her tears. “Is he afraid of me too? If a boy like him… Somebody who has just lost his unique talent… Somebody may never even be whole again, would he want to have anything to do with a girl who’s, say, the star of the basketball team? Or the soccer team’s goalie? Or the softball squad’s slugger? Or the math Wiz? Or the poetry expert? Would he want to get together with a girl who outshines him?”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. It’s on him if he doesn’t.”

“I didn’t think he would. So I thought that if I acted more girly… like... Hitomi and Madoka, and let my grades slip... and then devote myself to helping him… That he’d…”

“He’d eventually like you back.”

“Yeah.”

“But you’d only be acting. He wouldn’t be liking the real ‘you’. And besides, devoting yourself to his care or his interests is just restricting yourself, limiting your future, your potential.”

“I get that.” Sayaka wiped away her sudden rush of tears with her sleeves. “But I don’t get what else I’m supposed to do,” She sniffed.

“No shame in that. But here’s a little secret: That’s love. Nobody knows what they’re supposed to do. The heart plays games with the head. Or hearts, in my case.” Miss Jones handed Sayaka a handkerchief from her coat pocket.

“Thanks.” She blew her nose in the handkerchief and tucked it in her pocket. “I feel better saying all this out loud to someone, somehow.”

“Was he the reason you had that dead composer’s music disc on you? The smashed disc?”

“I bought it for him. I really do like to listen to all that old music. I thought he’d enjoy listening to it with me, and from there we’d bond. But one day, he smashed it. And then he yelled at me… He said I was torturing him by making him listen to songs he couldn’t play anymore. That’s when I decided for certain to make my wish. It didn’t matter to me at that moment if he’d ever come around to liking me or not. I just couldn’t stand to watch him suffer anymore.”

“Let me guess: That’s where the bunnycat swooped in.”

“Yeah.” Sayaka shook her head and stared at the ring on her finger. “I was ripe for the picking, wasn’t I?”

“He’ll get his just desserts. I promise.” Miss Jones reassuringly put her hand on Sayaka’s shoulder.

“So what do we do about it next?”

Miss Jones thought for a moment. “Let’s go to the hospital.”

“Why?” Sayaka attached the perception filter clip to her hair.

“To go visit your boyfriend, of course.” Miss Jones said with a wink, a smile, and a pat on Sayaka’s head.

***

The battle with this particular witch had become extremely routine to Homura. She’d faced it dozens upon dozens of times by this point in her life. Even so, Homura knew all too well the potential risks of not staying focused on the objective at hand.

Stop time. Jump. Ride the spinning roulette platform and get closer to the target. Jump again onto the bird-like familiar to get in range. Fire a volley of M249 ammunition at other bird-like familiars. Toss a couple M26 frag grenades at the witch inside its cage. Make the escape Time resumes. The grenade explodes. The target is destroyed. With clinical precision, Homura’s job was done. The Grief Seed awaited procurement. But as she bent over to pick it up, an unexpected complication arose.

“Hmmm… You really are quite powerful, that much I expected.” A voice that Homura immediately recognized spoke in the distance behind her. “You defeated that witch in a matter of seconds. I must admit I am quite impressed.” It was none other than Mami Tomoe. Damn. An uneasiness hit Homura directly in the pit of her stomach. An encounter with her was unavoidable, no matter what timeline, but this was happening far earlier than Homura anticipated.

“I have no desire to fight you.” Homura said succinctly.

“That’s not what your attacks on my friend here would imply.” Kyubey stepped into view behind Mami. Of course he would be the instigator of this confrontation.

“Attacks? I have no idea what you are talking about.” Playing dumb and denying everything was probably going to antagonize Mami, but she was typically not the sort who attacked without provocation. Typically . Keeping Kyubey in the dark had to remain the priority here.

“Homura Akemi… Now we have a face to go with your name.” Kyubey said. Homura flipped her hair nonchalantly.

“What do you think, Kyubey? Are you certain that the person standing before us is your attacker?” Mami asked.

“While I cannot say for sure that she is the assailant, what I am certain of, is that she is the unexplained new presence we’ve detected appearing around town in the last few days.” Kyubey affirmed.

“I’m not your attacker.” Homura turned her body and took a step away from the duo.

“Now you just wait a second.” A yellow ribbon slithered from Mami’s sleeve and grabbed Homura by the leg. “We’re not done talking yet.” Mami’s eyes gleamed in the twilight as she smiled her matronly, self-confident smile. It was a familiar visage that once buoyed younger Homura’s spirits, now it caused her revulsion.

“You are, nonetheless, an anomaly.” Kyubey restated. “I do not have any recollection of ever making a contract with you.”

“I don’t know what to say,” She tugged lightly on Mami’s magical ribbon. “Perhaps your memory is faulty,” She added. “Understandable, as my contract was made quite some time ago.” She tried putting a feigned tone of concern in her voice. “And you have other clientele who need supervision far more than I.”

“Just how long ago was that?” Mami said. “What did you wish for when you became a magical girl?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Homura then tried to untie Mami’s ribbon. “What only matters now is my mission to protect it. Which I must be getting back to.”

“I said...” Mami pulled back on the ribbon, swiping Homura off her feet. “You can leave when we are done talking to you.” 

“What do you know of the other anomalous presence?” Kyubey asked. Damn. Did Kyubey know about Sayaka too?

“Nothing.” Homura transformed out of her magical girl form, an attempt at de-escalation she hoped would get Mami to back down.

“You two were in that familiar’s barrier together.” Kyubey asserted.

“I was only chasing after the familiar. I was not aware of another individual present.” Homura countered.

“You were also both inside that apartment building as well. Presumably your home.” Kyubey added.

“Then it would seem I have a secret stalker.” Homura added. “Thank you for the warning. I’ll have to be more vigilant in the future.”

“Do you really expect us to believe those answers? That you can’t sense another magical girl hiding right underneath your nose?” Mami’s self-confident facade was still holding, but her frustration was clear and mounting.

“Why is it so hard to believe? It is the truth. I did not see this accostment coming, either.” Homura pointed at Mami’s ribbon. “Perhaps I’m not as powerful as you seem to think I am. Just let me go .” Homura looked Mami directly in the eyes, and simply added. “ Please .”

The smile from Mami’s face disappeared as she decided to relent. “Very well. You may go.” The ribbon disappeared in a flash of flowers and light. Homura began walking the other direction.

“Thank you.” Homura cooly expressed.

“Before you go, know this.” Homura’s head turned toward Mami. “This city already has a magical girl protecting it. Me.” Mami added, “I suggest you not plan on staying here for the long-term.”

“Is that a threat?”

“More a… Word of caution. From a more powerful magical girl to a less powerful one.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.” Homura kept walking and walking and walking, until finally Mami and Kyubey were together alone.

“You’re just going to let her go?” Kyubey asked Mami.

“I’m not the kind of person who would convict somebody without conclusive proof of misdeeds.” Mami straightened the ribbon on her collar as she continued. “Nor am I the sort of magical girl who picks needless fights if I can help it.”

“Her answers were obvious lies.” Kyubey jumped onto Mami’s shoulder.

“I’m choosing to give her the benefit of the doubt.” She slightly tilted her head. “For now.”

“Her words convinced you?” Kyubey turned his head and looked at Mami.

“Honestly...” Mami stopped walking underneath a streetlight. “No. I decided to let her go, because I noticed a certain… Something in her eyes.” 

“Her eyes?”

“Her eyes looked…” Mami looked towards the sky above. “Sad. As though her... Gruff exterior and her brusque words were all a mask.” She longingly peered into the twilight sky. “I guess that brought out some of my sympathy.”

“You humans and your emotions… So perplexing.” Kyubey wagged his tail and stared at the young lady.

“I didn’t expect you to understand.” Mami stared reflectively into the Soul Gem conjured in her hand.

“We should seek out that other anomaly.” Kyubey suggested.

“In good time.” Mami resumed walking down the street. “Tonight, I’m going to keep hunting witches. Duty first.”

***

“Excuse me, young lady?” Sayaka awoke to the voice of the secretary in the hospital lobby. Sayaka checked to see if the perception filter was still in her hair. It was. The woman wasn’t speaking to her. “Visiting hours are over now. You’ll have to go home.”

“Oh. Okay thank you.” Sayaka looked over to the girl sitting a few seats away. Wearing a Mitakihara Elementary school uniform, she had long, flowing hair with a small pair of twin-tails jutting from both sides of her head. Sayaka recognized her as the same young girl eating in the elevator from a few days ago. The girl hurriedly stuffed her belongings, a phone, a toy, and a number of cheese snacks, into her backpack, and approached the front desk. “Can you please give this to her? A- And tell her I was here for her today too?” She handed the secretary a shrink-wrapped snack.

“Of course we will, Sweetie.” The secretary took the snack. “Now you’d best be getting home now. Before the last train leaves.”

“See you tomorrow.” The young girl waved back as she exited.

“Byyyyyyyyeeeeeee!” The secretary waved as she watched her go.

Sayaka and Miss Jones had separated after their last talk, trying to minimize the risk of Kyubey seeing the two of them together. They had agreed to meet back up here in the hospital lobby, but while Sayaka had gone straight to their destination, Miss Jones was nowhere to be found. Sayaka checked the clock on the wall. She was nearly four hours late by this point. And Sayaka really had to use the bathroom right now.

“Chiwa!” The secretary punched a nurse in the arm as Sayaka walked by. “I told you to take that to her mother!”

“Ow! Gimme a break!” The nurse had apparently eaten the young girl’s gift snack instead of delivering it to the person she wanted. “I’ve been on my feet all day and I’m starving!” The nurse crumpled the wrapper and threw it in the trash. “Besides, it’s not like her Mother is going to be able to take it anyway. Poor woman probably won’t even…” Sayaka entered the bathroom without hearing the rest of it.

“Psssssst! Sayaka! Over here!” Sayaka heard a voice calling out upon exiting the bathroom. Miss Jones was waving at her with her multitool from inside a storage room.

“Where were you? You’re late!” Sayaka said.

“Oh, just out and about. Taking a tour. Seeing the sites.” Miss Jones handed Sayaka her multitool and began undressing. “Trying to hunt for Kyubey.” She lowered her voice. “Didn’t see him. I don’t think he’s nearly as omniscient as he presents himself to you magical girls. Just a little hunch.” She slipped off her shoes, and raised her voice. “It’s a very nice town you have, by the way. Though it’s a wee bit over designed from an aesthetic perspective.” She chuckled. “But then again, I’m no urban planner or architect. Merely a well-travelled tourist.”

“You could have told me you were going to be late.” Sayaka chided.

“I knew you’d be fine.” She removed her pants. “You have your disguise and you have your perception filter.”

“No, not about that!” Sayaka corrected. “I was worried about you.”

“Me?” Miss Jones stopped her undressing and gave pause. “Huh, now there’s an old feeling. Somebody’s worried about me.”

“Why are you taking off your clothes?”

“I told you. Because we are about to go visit your boy Kyosuke.” Miss Jones opened a locker and pulled out a pair of colored uniforms. “As a pair of nurses. Blend right in with the staff.”

“I am not wearing a nurse’s outfit.”

“Why not?” Miss Jones tilted her head and scoped Sayaka’s backside. “I think you’d look pretty cute in one.”

“That’s not- That’s…” Sayaka was completely flustered and was hiding her beet-red face in her palms. “Where did you even get those?”

“Do you really want to know or are you just changing the subject?”

“Uggghhhh… Nevermind nevermind nevermind!” Sayaka took a deep breath. “Let’s just get our butts up there, already!”

“As you wish.” Miss Jones re-folded Sayaka’s unworn outfit and carefully shoved it back into the storeroom locker.

“Kyosuke Kamijo.” Miss Jones read the room plate upon arriving at Kyosuke Kamijo’s hospital suite door. “The name sounds familiar. Oh, well.” She took her coat off and laid it on a table in the room. She grabbed her multitool from her nurse outfit’s pocket, flipped a switch and waved it over his head. “Perfect. He’s sleeping. This’ll make sure he stays that way.”

“Why are we here?” Sayaka asked, staring out the high-rise window.

“Why, we’re here to fix your boyfriend, of course.” 

“We are?” Sayaka scratched her head. “You brought some of those medial nano-thingies?”

“No.” Miss Jones patted Sayaka’s shoulder. “You’re going to be healing your boyfriend.”

“What?” Sayaka was confused. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“Give me your hand.” Miss Jones commanded.

“O- Okay.” Sayaka held out her hand.

Miss Jones pulled a needle from her other pocket and swiftly stabbed Sayaka’s outstretched hand.

“Ow!” Sayaka recoiled in pain. “What the heck was that for?”

“It hurt?” Miss Jones asked.

“Yes!” 

“You bleeding?”

Sayaka looked over her hand. “N- No.”

“Oops. Sorry.” Miss Jones apologized. “I’m going to have to prick it again.”

“No, you’re not!” Sayaka protested.

“I’ve gotta.”

“I’m not letting you!”

“Not even for his sake?” Miss Jones pointed at Kyosuke.

“How does hurting me help him?” Sayaka asked.

“Just trust me on this.” Miss Jones smiled and gestured her own hand over to Sayaka. “Just one liiiittle prick. For his sake.”

Sayaka looked over Kyosuke Kamijo’s peacefully-sleeping body. She had already given up her soul for his happiness, what was one little prick in the hand? “Fine.” She conceded. She outstretched her hand a second time, looked away and winced.

“Ow… Owwww…” Sayaka closed her eyes and bit her lip as Miss Jones, more slowly and deliberately, pricked her in the back of the hand.

“Now then.” Miss Jones whispered. “Take a look.” 

Sayaka opened one eye and looked over her hand. The blood gushing from her wound instantly slowed to a small trickle, then amazingly, dissolved altogether as the wound itself sealed closed. In a matter of seconds, the injury on her hand was gone. As if it never even happened.

“M- My magic?” Sayaka rubbed her healed hand.

“In a manner of speaking.” Miss Jones said. “Your ‘magic’, is simply put, an ectomatter energy-powered form of cellular regeneration. And it remains active, even while you’re not donning your flashy battle getup. If my theory is correct, then your ‘wish’, was just the initial manifestation of an unlocked ability to regenerate any living, organic tissue. The ability to heal your own tissue is innate, but with the right amount of applied willpower and focus, I suspect you also have the ability to heal others as well.” 

“For reals? You really think I can heal him again?”

“I know you can.” Miss Jones offered her a confident ‘thumbs-up’ gesture. “You’ve only gotta figure out how.”

“You make it all sound so easy.” Sayaka uttered skeptically. “Couldn’t you inject him with those nano-thingies?”

“I suppose I could.” Miss Jones elaborated, “But I’ve only got one last dose of those things left. Would much rather save it for an emergency. But if you were to learn how to heal others, with that oh, so wondrous ability of yours, then saving those nannies won’t be an issue.” She smiled. “You heard the ol’ ‘Give a man a fish’ cliché?”

“You want me to be useful.” Sayaka stared down at the floor. “To you.”

“Don’t think of it like that.” Miss Jones lifted Sayaka’s chin up. “Think of it as… Unlocking your true inner potential.”

“I don’t even know how I’m supposed to start!”

“Listen closely and I’ll show you.” Miss Jones pressed a switch on her multitool and conjured Sayaka’s Soul Gem from the ring on her hand. She handed it back to her. “Hold out your hand and close your eyes.” Sayaka reluctantly complied. “Think back to that day you made your wish.” She delicately took Kyosuke’s damaged hand and placed it atop the gem in Sayaka’s palm. “Think of all the things that were going through your mind as you stood on that rooftop.”

“As I stood and let Kyubey pluck my soul out and stick it in a rock.” Sayaka bitterly recalled.

“Don’t get hung up so much on the specific memories. More your feelings at the time.”

“I remember being very nervous. I remember feeling like there was a great big elephant on my chest.”

“Dig deeper than that. What were your feelings toward him?”

“Kyosuke?” Sayaka opened one eye toward his face. “I… Remember how much I wanted to hear him play again. How much I wanted him to be able to share his music with the whole world again. I wanted to see him on a tour of all the packed houses and auditoriums, at sold out arenas and humongous stadiums. And that made me feel so…” She gently caressed his hand. “Happy. For him.” The blue glow within her gem noticeably intensified, pulsating between their hands.

“Hmmm.” Miss Jones scanned the results with her multitool. “Better.”

“R- Really? Is his hand getting better?” Sayaka asked optimistically.

“... No. I detect no change in his condition.” 

“Awwwww, come on!” Sayaka exasperatedly dropped her gem. “That’s what I really really felt! Why isn’t it working?” It rolled under Kyosuke’s bed.

“Strictly speaking scientifically… The ectomatter energy reaction is not concentrated enough to stimulate cellular growth. You’re holding something back, it seems.”

“I’m not holding anything back!” 

“Are too.”

“Am not!”

“Are too.”

“Am not!”

“Are too.”

“Am not!”

“Are too.”

“ Am not !”

“Did I come at a bad time?” The two ladies were startled by the sudden voice of a third person in the room. It was Homura. Sayaka’s gem was suddenly back in her palm.

“No, not at all.” Miss Jones snickered. “Been a long while since someone triggered the silly schoolgirl in me. What’s up?”

“We need to talk.” She took a few steps closer.

“Sure thing.”

Homura glanced at Sayaka. “Preferably in private.” 

“Very well.” Miss Jones put her hand on Sayaka’s shoulder. “You two going to be alright alone?” 

“Pfffffft.” 

“Oh, don’t get so discouraged. It was only your first try. Who succeeds at something hard on their very first try?”

“I killed a witch on my first try.” Sayaka rebutted back.

“Perhaps we’re focused on the wrong thing here. You know what you wanted him to get out of your wish. But what was really in it for you? A cool costume, nifty superpowers, sure. But was that really all you wanted?” Miss Jones stepped towards Homura in the doorway, turned and added “Dwell on that.”

“So what is it that you want to discuss?” Miss Jones closed the suite’s door behind them.

“A short while ago, I was accosted by both Mami Tomoe and Kyubey.” Homura stated.

“I take it this is distinctly a new turn of events?”

“A confrontation with her is inevitable in every timeline, but this is the earliest it has happened thus far.”

“I trust you told them nothing useful?”

Homura nodded. “However, Kyubey indicated that he was already aware of the presence of another abnormal magical girl in Mitakihara.” She paused and looked toward the suite door. “It could be problematic if we appear to be in direct collaboration.”

“Kyubey’s not yet aware of who she is, though, I hope?”

Homura shook her head. “No. Only that she exists.”

“Not an entirely unexpected development. Didn’t figure a perception filter and some cosmetic trickery would cover her soul’s general aura.”

“Magical girls have an innate ability to sense one another’s presence. It’s an ability that can be honed so that we can immediately recognize one another. It can even be tuned to sense specific girls from longer distances.”

“My race has a similar kind of extrasensory perceptiveness.” She added, “Made those hide-and-seek games I played as a kid rather trivial.”

“Kyubey possesses it as well. Probably just as acute.”

“A not-unreasonable assumption to make. So you expect Kyubey to pop in at any moment on us now?”

“That Kyubey would instigate such an encounter, and such an early time suggests that he intends to take a more proactive approach in this timeline. If he comes, expect him to bring along a magical girl who is looking for a fight.”

“Did you have a scuffle with Tomoe?”

“I narrowly avoided it. By looking... Weak. She’s one of the strongest among us, but she’s not a bully. But I can’t say for certain that she’ll remain that way, with Kyubey more actively pulling her strings.” 

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll try to think of a way to keep Sayaka’s head down. He must not learn who she is, or that I’m a player. Not until I get a chance at him one-on-one.”

“The primary concern is that she not get herself killed.” Homura peeked through the crackin the door. “Sayaka Miki has never been a particularly competent magical girl.”

“You must have watched her succumb to a lot. Dozens, maybe hundreds of times if my TARDIS’s readings were accurate.” 

Homura watched Sayaka through the opening, as Miss Jones noticed the magical girl’s expression change almost imperceptibly from a look of stoicism to one resembling sympathy. “I wish you luck.” Homura finally closed the door and turned to walk away.

“One last question, before you go.” Miss Jones requested. “You said you girls have certain abilities that can be honed. In those other timelines, did Sayaka ever possess the ability to heal others with her regenerative power?”

“Is that what you two are trying to do in there?”

“It’d be nice and handy to have in a pinch.”

“She… Never survived long enough to be able to experiment much with her magic.” Homura took a few steps away, stopped and looked back. “But I think I do recall... Her using her powers that way on others a few times.”

“That’s good to know! And I’m going to tell her that! Thank you, very very much-ity much!” Miss Jones said cheerfully.

“Good luck.”

“See you in school.” Miss Jones waved.

“In school?” Homura looked back again.  

“Oh, yes.” Miss Jones winked and smiled. “I should also mention that…”

Sayaka sat there in the dark, in her chair next to the sleeping Kyosuke Kamijo, silently watching the flickering blue glow of her Soul Gem sitting beside his injured hand. 

“Hi, Kyosuke… It’s me. The girl you’re gonna reject. Or am I the girl you already rejected? Or maybe I’m that girl you rejected in an alternate world?” 

“Okay, I’m getting off track. Sorry. You see, I’ve been reading a science book, and I think it’s about time travel and alternate realities and stuff. I can’t say I understand much of it, but at least it puts me to sleep. And reading it keeps me from thinking about all the things that I’d think about, like the stuff I’m thinking about while I’m looking at you.”

“Ugh. Babbling.” She noticed her altered reflection in a picture frame on the wall. “Here, let me try again. It’s okay. I’ll do all the talking. You just have to listen.” She cleared her throat. “Hi again, Kyosuke… It’s me. The girl who loves you but you didn’t love back.” She hastily closed the curtains behind her, then in a singular motion ripped off her disguise. “I’m Sayaka Miki.” 

“Ha! You thought I was some cute girl? Too bad, it was just me, Sayaka. Sorry to fool you.” She hastily put her disguise back together. “But I have to wear this silly getup. And to be totally honest though, I’m not feeling too much like Sayaka right now anyway.”

Her eyes momentarily glanced at her fluttering Soul Gem on the bed. “You see, this face of mine isn’t the real me, either. Not anymore. It’s a long story and I’ll try my best not to bother you too much over it.”

“Back in the world I’m from, I… Saved you. Your hand was hurt, just like it is now, you couldn’t play your violin anymore. And I came to see you, every day that I could. Sometimes, you were too busy to see me, but I came anyway, just to show you how much I cared.” 

“I brought you gifts sometimes. CDs and such. Told you all the news and gossip from school. I did whatever I could that would help you get better and back on your feet, so that once that day came, you’d join the rest of us living our lives out there. I was ready to dedicate my life to helping you do that. Because...” She was breathing heavily, her heart throbbing from her chest. The amount of achiness it was causing surprised her.

“But I could tell,” She felt her chest, took a deep breath and soldiered on. “When I looked into your eyes, as time went on and the number of surgeries and rehabilitation efforts mounted, I saw that you knew you were never going to be the same person again. You were never going to be the guy who could charm an entire theater full of people with your music again. That part of you was gone forever. And that was wearing you down day-by-day, zapping the life away from your very soul.” 

“And no matter what I did, no matter how I tried to show you how much you still meant to me, I wasn’t getting through to you. There were times I would go home and cry in bed sometimes, thinking of what else I could try.” She swallowed her breath. “Because I…” She swallowed again.

“You were fading. Only a miracle, or some otherworldly magic, could help you.”

“Then one day, not that long ago… Or is it not that long from now? Anyway, I met this little creature. He was small, and fuzzy, and cute, and he asked me for a big big favor. He wanted me to join in a great battle between humanity and these insidious monsters from far beyond. If I agreed to do it, I’d gain tremendous magical powers, and I’d be able to fight back with them. Yeah, I’d become a real, live magical girl, an ally of justice who protects the world from evil and saves people and stuff. And in exchange, he would grant me a miracle, any miracle I desired. It didn’t matter how impossible it sounded.” She soberly rubbed her arm. “He said he could grant it.”

“Yeah, I know, it sounds far-fetched. It sounds like the plot of a dumb anime. But it all happened to me. For reals.”

“I could have made any amazing wish for myself, but you were the only person in my mind. But I admit, I hesitated for a while. Was a miracle really worth risking my life in battles, fights where death can come for you at any moment?”     

“And that’s what happened. Another girl I’d just met, died in one of those fights, while I stood there, helpless, too scared to do anything. Useless.” She sniffed. “Right after you rejected one of my gifts, yelled at me, broke it, then said those CDs were just torture for you to listen to. You had given up. No hope left. So useless.” She rubbed her teary eyes. “So right there I made my decision. Give you a better gift, a wish, my wish to heal your hand. Because I… I lo...” She closed her eyes and winced. The heartache was getting more and more intense with every breath.

“And it worked! Your hand was fixed, exactly as promised! And on my very first night out, I was able to save Madoka and Hitomi from a monster. I went along hopping from rooftop to rooftop, jumping for joy afterwards! Useless no more!” She smiled and giggled through the pain.

“After word spread that your hand was healed, your parents, they brought your violin and you gave us all a performance right here on the roof at sunset. It was wonderful! You didn’t miss a beat, it was like the accident never happened.” Her smile persisted while her chest thumped. “It was the happiest I have ever been in my life. I knew I had done the right thing.” She adoringly clutched the boy’s bandaged hand. “Because I loooooo… Ve you. Kyosuke.”

An endless minute passed in complete silence. “There. I said it. Finally. I confess. I love you.” Another minute passed. Her thumping heart made the only noise as its rapid pounding gradually slowed.

“Geez,” She suddenly and exasperatedly resumed. “You have no idea how much restraint it took for me not to run up to you and just spill the beans up there on that roof. But I didn’t say anything, maybe because I didn’t want to overwhelm you. Or maybe because I didn’t want you to think you owed me for it. Or maybe I wanted to protect you from knowing that the girl who loved you, was now a girl who might die at any moment in a fight with evil monsters.”

Sayaka wiped the accumulating tears from her face with her hand. She took a deep, anguished breath and continued.

“No. It wasn’t you. It was me. I’m a coward. Still too scared to admit everything I felt. Too afraid that it would mess up the good things we still had. And too terrified to admit that there was any hint of selfishness to my desires. So I said nothing.”

“Then right after I started to learn the horrible truths about the job that I agreed to take. You see, most of the girls who become magical girls don’t do it to protect humanity at all. They fight just to reap the rewards. You see, the creatures we kill possess something that a magical girl can use to make their own magic more powerful. Most of them are content to watch humans suffer and die if it’ll mean a bigger payday.” She angrily clenched her fist. “And then they spend as much time fighting each other over it as they do fighting the monsters.”

“Well of course I found that kind of behavior to be absolutely despicable. There’s no difference in my mind, between the monsters who kill people and the magical girl who lets people get killed for her own gain. And I vowed not to ever turn into one of those girls.” Sayaka gnashed her teeth. “I would fight against them, too. To the death, If I had to.”

“But I wasn’t good enough to beat them,” She lamented. “I had jumped in way over my head. I wasn’t a very good magical girl. I didn’t have the talent. Or maybe I needed more experience. Got my butt kicked for my stubbornness. But I persisted, which only got my butt kicked harder, and that led me to the most shocking truth of all.” Her heart rate wound up again.

“To become a magical girl meant getting my soul ripped from my body and put inside a rock.” She angrily wrenched the boy’s heavy blanket. “Yes, that’s right! Human souls are really real! And mine’s been violated in a way that I didn’t even know was possible! Done so that I could be a more effective fighter. Or something! God dammit!”

Sayaka picked up her Soul Gem and shook it between her thumb and forefinger. “This stupid shining object is my body now, and my body is separated too far from the thing it becomes as useless as your hand! The rest of me is a remote controlled meat shell. Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!” Her aching heart was racing, she sorrowfully hurled her glowing gem across the room and under the table. “I’m a zombie!”

“I definitely wasn’t going to tell you anything after I found that out… How could I? How could I ask you to hold the hand of a freak? How could you take the hand of a corpse? How could you come to love a zombie? No! We could never be happy together like that. No way!”

Sayaka sat there in silence for a few minutes. Until she could muster the strength to overcome the heavy, agonizing weight within her chest. Slowly she got off the chair, and proceeded to pick her Soul Gem off the floor under the table. But when kneeled down to take it, she noticed its glimmering light was illuminating something else underneath there. It was a purse. Belonging to a previous visitor who had forgotten it there. And Sayaka recognized whose purse it was right away.

“Bwaaha… Hahaa… Hahahaa… Hahahaha…. Haaaaawwwwww…” She burst with a mixture of laughter and sorrow. “I was stuuuuuuupid… Sooooooooo stuuuuuuuupid! Stuuuuuuupid to believe that I was the only girl with her eyes on you!” She ruefully rifled through its contents. “I was such an idiot... To think I ever had a chance with you!”

“Augh! What’s this? Oh, you like this raspberry lip gloss? Well guess what… It’s mine! I remember you told me you like raspberries, so I bought a two pack and gave her the other one!” She irreverently flicked the lip gloss in the trash can.

“I mean, what do you and I really have in common anyway? Music? You’re great at violin. And I can namedrop some dead guys. Big whoop de doooooo!” 

She pulled out Hitomi’s lesson schedule. “Ah, did you know she’s a really talented piano player? I sure bet you did! No idea how she fits it all in, dance practice, tea ceremony and school! A real Renaissance Girl, for sure! Sheesh!” She tossed it right in the can.

“And speeeeeaking of school!” She found Hitomi’s signed report card. “Good golly, didja she’s ranked number one again! And you were always right up there with her! Meanwhile I feel over the moon when I skate by with ‘A minus’ in science class!” She crumpled it and tossed it too.

“Was I just taken in by your handsome looks?” She took out a booth photo of him and Hitomi. “Hell, you’re not even that attractive!” She tore it in half and cast Hitomi’s visage in the trash. “Your left ear sticks out and your teeth need work. Not to mention your nose is just huuuuuuge!”

“Ugh, that nose of yours must give you a really keen sense of smell… Hey you like this perfume? I gave it to her for her birthday! It’s pretty rare! Took me the whole day to find it! Not much of a perfume girl myself… That stuff makes my eyes burn. Bah!” She flinged the perfume down the can.

“You’re both so tall… You’re both rich… You’re both annoyingly courteous in every. Single. Social situation… Two peas in a pod, really! It’s almost like you were made for each other. Pssh!”

“What’s this?” She found an item buried deep down in the purse. “A used movie ticket?” She paused. “Oh, yeah, I remember that movie! It was last fall. I wanted to get you out on a date, so I arranged this whole group thing with all of us... But nooooooo.... You just had to be you, and you backed out at the last minute just so you could go rushing off to play for some dumb old folks at a community home! Ha!”

“If only you’d stuck to my plans and come along with us, Kyosuke! Haaaa! Then you wouldn’t have gotten into that acci- den…”

Sayaka stopped herself. She couldn’t believe all the vitriol she had just spat out loud. She couldn’t imagine herself being so cruel, so vindictive towards her friend. That couldn’t have been her. It just didn’t make sense. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Sayaka panted out in apology. She glanced into the trash can. That act couldn’t have been her, either. “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry…” Her voice eventually trailed off. No amount of ‘sorrys’ could ever be enough to wash her mouth clean.

She rushed over to the trash basket. She carefully picked the trashed items out from the can, placed them back into the purse, and returned it to its place under the table. Except for the torn picture, a memento of her shameful little trespass.

“I’m horrible. Just horrible.” Sayaka stuffed it in her pocket and curled up under the table. “In the end, I hadn’t changed at all. Still useless. So I ran away. From everyone. From everything. I... Regretted saving my friends. I... Even… Regretted healing you. I desperately wanted my miracle back. I don’t remember much about that night, but I do know it was my dying thought.”

“And then… I wasn’t dead. I got my miracle. I was brought back into this world and given a second chance to do all of it over again.”

“But why me? Why did I get this chance? And I’m blowing it again. That transfer student... Homura, and the old lady who brought me here, they’re the ones doing the heavy lifting. And I’m just sitting here, useless as ever. The one thing I’ve been asked to do, and I just can’t do it. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t deserve this second chance. Mami does. Or Kyoko does. Even Madoka-”

“Madoka.” Sayaka pulled the picture of them from her wallet. “Oh, Madoka.” She paused. “That group date I was really setting up for her sake. She’s… Even worse around boys than I am, so I invited Nakazawa, Nakajima, Ohtani. I had set it all up so none of us would have to go it alone. You being there was just a plus.”

“But most of them said ‘no’. Other plans. Then the ones who agreed all cancelled too. That night it was just us three. Maybe I should’ve picked a better movie. Who knows. We girls had lots of fun anyway. Heh.”

She slowly crawled out from under the table. “But I was given a second chance.” Sayaka took a deep breath and stood up. “I might not have deserved to get it, but that’s not an excuse to mope around and waste it.” Sayaka strode towards the exit door. “I’m going to make sure Mami doesn’t die. Then I’m going to help get that stinkin’ Kyubey. Then I’m going to help the transfer… Homu- Homura beat that big Witch. And above all, I’m going to protect Madoka. Yeah!”

“And I’m going to heal you, somehow. Some way.” She looked back over her shoulder. “Because I still love you.” She waved an affectionate, farewell kiss goodbye to the sleeping young boy. “And it’s okay that you don’t love me back. Thanks for listening.”

***

“Woah, goooolly!” Miss Jones exclaimed in the TARDIS Control Room hours later. “That was a bigger recoil than I anticipated.” She clumsily leaned against her grandfather clock as the darkened substance from Sayaka’s Soul Gem coursed its way from her pocket watch, and into her body. “Still, I’ve dealt with darker emotions.” She shook her head rapidly as she took a few deep breaths, and sat down.

“Perhaps I asked too much of her. Or maybe I should’ve used someone other than that boy as the test subject. Maybe I should just give him the damn nanogenes.” She checked the security screen on her console a second time. Sayaka was laying face down in her bed, staying asleep even after the transfer.

Miss Jones silently entered Sayaka’s bedroom, where she placed Sayaka’s Soul Gem down on the table beside her bed. For a few quiet minutes she affectionately watched her ward sleep, then crept up and gently patted her on the head. “I wish I could tell you that you’ll eventually get over that boy, that a girl’s first crush is little more than a flight of fancy. But I’d be lying. ‘Cause I’ve never been over my first crush. Thousand of years old and not a day goes by that I don’t think about what we might’ve been. If only it could’ve turned out different. Alas . ” She whispered. She fixed Sayaka’s covers, pulling them from her thighs over her back. 

“Hm?” She noticed an overturned book in Sayaka’s hand under her pillow. She lightly wrested it out of Sayaka’s hand and read a few paragraphs. “Heh. Oh that ‘ol teacher of mine?” She muffled another laugh. She took a pen from her back pocket, removed its clip, used the clip as an impromptu bookmark, closed the book, then set it next to Sayaka’s Soul Gem. “I’d like to think my crush and I might’ve had a girl like you.” She whispered to herself as she discreetly exited the room.

“Alight, back to work then. First, make me some tea.” A cup of tea appeared on a platter on the console. 

She had planned to use much of the night to study the Grief Seed and begin proper work on the Ectomatter purification device, but Homura’s warning necessitated a slight change in priorities. Miss Jones Jones pulled a Map of Mitakihara City out of her coat pocket, hung her coat on the coat rack and strode over to the control console. She scanned the map with her wand, and transferred its image onto the console screen.

“Within the displayed locale, scan for all non-native lifeforms.” She commanded as she typed the instructions on the keyboard. She added, “Exclude migrant bees.”

SYSTEM IN LOW POWER MODE. LIFEFORM SENSORS OFFLINE.

“Oh. Of course.” Miss Jones muttered while she slapped her forehead. “That really should’ve been a higher priority.” She opened a compartment underneath the console, pulled two wires out and switched them around. “Now do what I tell you.” She took a sip from her tea cup.

ONE NON TERRESTRIAL LIFEFORM DETECTED. It was herself. “Increase sensitivity settings. And don’t you dare tell me there isn’t enough power.”

ONE NON TERRESTRIAL LIFEFORM DETECTED. Same result. “Dammit! How the hell is that bunnycat evading my sensors?” She took a deep, annoyed breath. she rubbed her eyes as she ruminated aloud. “Maybe the thing’s not biological. Initiate scan for technological lifeforms. Non-terrestrial. Maybe he’s a robot or something. Increase sensitivity settings again!”

ONE NON TERRESTRIAL TECHNOLOGICAL MACHINE PRESENT. SENSITIVITY SETTINGS APPROACHING TOLERANCE THRESHOLD. Just the TARDIS pinging itself. 

“Oh, you’re kidding me! Auuuughhhh!” She growled as she ran her fingers through her hair. “Maybe I’m going about it the wrong way. Perhaps I should…” She opened a panel on the console underside and parked herself underneath it. “Yeeessss.” She shuffled around a set of crystalline microchips, pointed her multitool at them and hit a button on it. “This Kyubey fellow may have the ability to conceal himself from a lifeform or tech scan, but if do this right, I might be able to track him using the very prizes he collects.” 

“Now, then.” She confidently stood back up and typed on the keyboard. “Scan for Ectomatter energy signatures. Active and depleted forms in concentrated quantity.” She took another sip of tea.

ENERGY SOURCE DESIGNATED: ---------- IS CLASSIFIED STATE SECRET BY DECREE OF LORD HIGH PRESIDENT. PLEASE PRESENT SECURITY CLEARANCE FOR SEARCH RESULTS TO DISPLAY. The console before her splayed open as a circular indentation in a panel raised outwards.

“Oh great, an extra hurdle.” She hustled over to her coat and took from it her fob watch. “No problem.” But as she was about to place the watch in the indentation, she stopped herself. “Then again, those Pantheon Wiseasses probably revoked my clearance. I know I’m not the most welcome soul on Gallifrey these days.” She put the fob watch in her trouser pocket, then went for the watch she’d previously presented to Sayaka as part of her little white lie. 

SECURITY CLEARANCE ACCEPTED. DISPLAYING SEARCH RESULTS. “Once again, thanks for helping me out, old friend.” She gently kissed the second watch, and put it back.

THIRTY FOUR ENERGY SOURCE MATCHES DETECTED. Dots of various sizes popped on the map screen. “Yessss! Now we’re cookin’!” Miss Jones victoriously pumped her fist.

“So who’s who, and what’s what… That we need to distinguish next.” One of the dots was a clear standout from the others. “Ah, Young Miss Kaname. Not even a magical girl and somehow you shine as brightly as a newborn star. Overflowing with Ectomatter. Amazing.” She pressed on the dot and typed in a ‘KM’ designation. 

Two other dots were positioned not far to the east of her. One of the dots was moving erratically, seemingly jumping from one position to the next. “Miss Akemi. Watching over your friend.” The second dot next to her suddenly vanished. She singled it out and typed in ‘AH’. 

A similar battle to that one appeared to be going on far to the west. One dot was charging intensely toward another dot, quickly overwhelming it as its size suddenly rapidly diminished. “Oh, my my, look out for that one.” Miss Jones quipped. “Expand the search area,” She ordered. The map zoomed out to include the cities adjacent to Mitakihara. She watched more dots appear, some shining more intensely than others, most not moving, some charging at other dots, and some, ominously, fading until they could be detected no longer.

“This doesn’t add up.” Another dot’s light faded out. “Why would Kyubey choose kids for this? I mean, child soldiers are practically worthless, mere cannon fodder, the last resort of the despots and the desperate. And the bunnycats don’t strike me as being either of those. I can’t imagine any of these girls holding out for more than a year or so… Miss Time Jumper notwithstanding.” 

She next searched for Ectomatter pairs that were not engaged in apparent combat. “It’s logical to presume these would belong to a magical girl, and her Kyubey, if he’s got a Grief Seed on him.” One dot was unmoving on the city’s southwest side. “It’s a start.” 

“Now, if I were the mercurial sort…” Miss Jones looked into the reflection on the screen, and closed her eyes. “The type who had no moral compunction against utilizing the local lifeforms in a war against a perceived threat, no… I still wouldn’t resort to young girls.” She kept typing away instructions on her keyboard. “Or if I absolutely had to, I’d at least put them in powered suits and arm them to the teeth. With far better than just pointy blades and projectile weapons. Ick.”

“Display just subjects with only active Ectomatter.” The screen flashed to show Madoka. “Thus proving that the darkened muck-ity muck in a Soul Gem is a buildup of depleted stuff. Display subjects with only depleted Ectomatter.” The results on the screen showed no change at all. She sipped her tea impatiently. Another dot faded away.

“The witches are made of depleted Ectomatter and they feed on the active Ectomatter. The magical girls, that is, their Soul Gems, must purify by exchanging their depleted stuff for the witches’ active stuff. Kyubey created soldiers whose lifespans are entirely dependent on recharging their energy like a battery. Ensure there’s no wish-and-quitters. Fishy fishy.” Another dot was subsumed by a stronger appearing dot.

“Scan for any dynamic dimensional distortions.” She looked away and typed on the keyboard. “Logically, those would belong to live Witches and Familiars.” Suddenly, electrical sparks shot out of the underside of the console. She’d blown a sensory circuit. The screen fizzled out. “Augggh! Dammit!” She hastily threw most of the liquid in her cup at the small fire her rewiring caused. “I just can’t keep nice things, can I?” She angrily hit the top of the console, pointed her multitool at it and pressed a button on it. The screen was restored to a static shot of the map display.

She sat in her chair, staring at the screen, her mood soured. “It’s no use.” She said with a resigned sigh. “I can’t single out Kyubey from this lot.” She slouched back in her chair as she finished off what little of the tea remained. "Hell, I can’t even tell the difference between a Witch and a magi-” She spat tea onto her console as a horrifying, precipitous revelation dawned upon her. She truly was an idiot. She had completely misunderstood this situation from the get-go.

“Five Girls.” She picked up the keyboard and typed in a command to playback the survey results. “A shared destiny.” She whispered to herself. She watched the dots more intently. “Oh, you bastards.” A dot she previously concluded was dying had suddenly burst in intensity the exact moment her sensor overloaded. 

Now she was certain. Witches were not strange invaders from another dimension. They came from this one.

And Kyubey, certainly seeking Ectomatter for his own ends, though not as the spoils of war, but rather the methods of cultivation. He was a farmer.

And these girls, they were not selected soldiers, but rather, his crop.

“You unbelievable bastards!”

Chapter Text

Homura awakened from her rest and sat up in her bed. She rarely slept anymore, there was really no biological need for it as a magical girl, but on those nights before her first day at school, she’d always make sure to set aside a couple hours for a nap. 

Once upon a time, this was the day she would properly get to meet Madoka Kaname. A day she used to always look forward to. Sometimes she wouldn’t even wait for the teacher to finish introducing her to the class, before she trotted over to Madoka’s desk and blurted out how much she was looking forward to working with her. But now it was just another day to prepare for, another day to calculate the odds of certain events repeating themselves, of planning the proper tactical countermeasures. In other words, it had turned into a day exactly like all the other days.

Homura briefly checked her reflection in the mirror. She tied together her big red bow tie, unwrinkled her school uniform and tossed her hair. It had become such a rote routine, maintaining the appearance of even caring about one’s appearance. She only did it so as not to look too scary to Madoka. She straightened the bow, put on her miniskirt and shoes, picked up her book bag and departed for school.

At the third crosswalk Homura stopped and looked around. Homura sensed she was being followed, nay, stalked, from the very moment she left her home. And her pursuer wasn’t being particularly adept at it. This was no surprise to Homura, the stalker was, after all, only Sayaka. One of the only things consistent in every timeline was Sayaka Miki’s lack of subtlety.

Homura scanned the faces surrounding her while they waited for the signal light to change. None of the faces matched Sayaka’s, but her magical energy signature was unmistakable. Undoubtedly she was wearing an even more sophisticated version of her disguise provided by her alien benefactor. She was probably testing to see if Homura could still recognize her through the new disguise.

Two blocks down the path, Homura discreetly turned and headed down an alleyway, where she crouched behind a dumpster. Her Soul Gem flashed from her finger, transmuting into a purple diamond on her wrist. A ball of energy consumed her entire hand, as it swept over her body, changing her school uniform into her Magical Girl uniform. She spun her buckler, then took off in a dead run for the other side of the alleyway.

There her target stood, motionless in the middle of the road: A small black cat. In over ninety percent of the other timelines, this cat was just moments away from being run over by a passing motorcyclist. Homura scurried between the frozen pedestrians, cars and cycles and gently lifted the cat up from the road. The cat suddenly cried as she clutched it to her chest. Whatever creature Homura touched while her buckler was spun would also become unstuck from the suspension of time. Homura trotted back toward the alleyway, setting the cat atop the dumpster before resuming time and changing back into her school uniform.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now.” Homura calmly uttered trying her best to soothe the agitated animal with her gentle touch. While it seemed to be nobody’s pet, it was at least friendly enough to acquiesce to Homura’s overture of affection. The sensation, petting an animal’s soft fur was one of the few things Homura still took a small pleasure in doing.

“Yo- Did you just save that cat?” A much more polished version of the disguise she had at the hospital, now with brown eyes, and jet black hair in a pixie cut style. She also wore a grey sweatshirt and light beige coat over her school uniform, her stalker had at last revealed her new self. Homura turned her head to study this different Sayaka at the other end of the alleyway.

“I did.” Homura flatly replied as she stroked its back. “Did that woman not warn you that Kyubey already knows of your existence?”

“I’m fine. He doesn’t know who I am.”

“Even so, it’s unwise for us to be seen together. It’s too much of a risk.” Homura tossed her hair and walked past Sayaka. “Stop following me.”

“Why’d you help the cat?” Sayaka asked.

“Why does it matter to you?” Homura countered.

“I just can’t figure you out. Why is it worth your time to go out of your way to rescue a cat, but you don’t use your powers to save people who get swallowed by familiars?”

“Destroying familiars requires too much time, too much energy, too much planning and too much exposure to danger, with no material reward for the effort. They’re simply not worth the risk. Saving a cat is just saving a cat.”

“You don’t get anything for saving a cat.” Sayaka pointed out.

“I don’t need anything from it. But minor satisfaction.”

“That’s what I felt when I was I was fighting familiars.”

“And that almost led to your ruin. Now stop following me.”

“Owch. For a sec I almost thought maybe there was a decent human being hiding behind that condescending attitude of yours.”

“I am simply communicating the critical flaw in your approach. If you think that is condescending, then that’s your problem.” Homura sped up her walking pace.

“On me? You’re the one still putting on airs, Miss Superior.” Sayaka kept the chase.

“I’ve had a lot of experience. I know what to fight and what not to waste energy doing.”

“Mami had a lot of experience. She kept fighting familiars.”

“Mami Tomoe doesn’t know the things I know. Or even know the things you’ve since learned yourself.”

“Then let’s tell her! We need her on our side! ‘Hey Mami, that little thing right next to you is really an alien and he’s only helping us so he can make off with the Grief Seeds’! Would that really be so hard?” 

“I’ve tried that. It never worked. Stop following me.”

“Well scale back on the snobbery and try it a-!”  

Homura had turned a corner and vanished before Sayaka could finish. “Dammit! Why is she-”

“I won’t let you become popular with the boys, Madoka!” Sayaka heard a familiar voice coming up rapidly behind her. 

“Crap!” She quickly jumped aside into the bushes. “Someday, I’m going to make you my wife!”

“Wehehehe!” Madoka playfully giggled as she ran past. Sayaka’s frolicking counterpart quickly caught her friend and picked her up in a big, warm embrace.

“Ahem!” Hitomi Shizuki walked past and ended their moment of fun. 

Sayaka laid there in the bushes for a few more minutes, as those halcyon memories played out before her. She slowly peeked from behind the bushes, making sure that everyone else had gone inside the school. “I’m never going to get used to that.” Sayaka took a few deep, reassuring breaths as she mustered together the courage to follow herself and her two best friends.

***

“Gooooooood Moooooorninggggg, class!” The enthusiastic new teacher’s voice cheered. “I’m your new teacher, Miss Jones!” She excitedly wrote out her last name in hiragana, katakana and Kanji. “Teacher Joyce Jones.”

“Good morning, Jones-Sensei.” The class said in unison.

“Sensei?” Miss Jones paused for a moment. “Anywho, I am going to be teaching this fine class until the end of April, when your regular instructor returns from her vacation.” 

“She totally needed one, if you ask me.” The Other Sayaka quipped.

“Indeed.” Miss Jones continued. “So, what particular subject do I have the privilege of imparting upon your developing young minds? Quantum entanglement? Analytical Chemistry?  Stellar Cartography? Differential Logic?” The class looked around at one another, absolutely confused. “Or maybe Lambda Calculus? No? Maybe more artistically bent? Art History? Musicology?” Miss Jones looked down at the books and notes left for her on the desk. “Ah. It would seem that I am to be your new ‘Ang-glesh’ Teacher.” She shuffled the notes around and under her breath uttered a disappointed, “Languages. Ssssssweelllll.” She hastily added the Romaji and English versions of her name to the board. “J-O-N-E-S.”

“Personally, I’d much rather learn about those other ones you mentioned.” The class nervously laughed at Sayaka’s silly joke. “They sound so much easier.”

“Ah, so you must be the Class Clown.” Miss Jones countered. “Nice to meet you Miss Clown.”

“Show some respect, Sayaka.” Hitomi whispered to her friend.

“Eh, sorry.” Sayaka apologized.

“But before we begin our grand educational adventure, I must first introduce you all to our new students. Yes, students.” Miss Jones signaled towards the door. Homura punctually stepped into the classroom.

“Wow, she’s gorgeous.” Sayaka remarked.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Homura Akemi.” Homura robotically bowed to the class, stepped toward Miss Jones, took the digital pen and wrote her name on the digital blackboard. She put the pen down and took her seat.

“And now it’s time to meet our next student…” Miss Jones signaled towards the door. A full minute of awkward silence settled, before Sayaka breathlessly rounded the corner and rushed through the door.

“I’m sorry! I’m late! I’m sorry!” Sayaka panted out in apology. “Sorry!”

“It’s alright. Introduce yourself properly now.” Miss Jones smiled. 

Sayaka let her breathing settle first. “I’m Sayak-.” She stopped. Almost slipped again. “Saya Otonashi. Pleased to meet you all.” She turned to the digital blackboard, picked up the pen and very slowly wrote out her name.

“Didja get lost in the woods on your way?” Her own voice cracked from behind. The class burst out in collective laughter. Sayaka turned around and glared at her other self. 

Miss Jones calmly approached Sayaka and grabbed something sticking out of her back. “There’s some twigs and leaves and berries on your back and in your shirt. On it.” She whispered. She promptly tossed the brush in the trash and cleaned what she could of the berries away with a wet cloth.

“As far as the seating arrangement goes, take that seat next to Akemi. Apparently, its occupant, Mister Nakazawa is away on vacation, too.”

“Oh. Uh, okay.” Sayaka apprehensively sat and glanced over to Homura, whose arms were folded and whose focus seemed to be exclusively on Madoka.

“Now, then. Let’s begin our day.” Miss Jones smiled and cycled through her notes. “It looks like the esteemed Miss Saotome had a test prepared for you all to take next Monday. But I think, what better way to gauge your collective aptitude than to have you all take it today?” The entire class except for Homura and Sayaka groaned in unison. “Now, now! There’s no time like the present. Or so an old friend of mine kept telling me. Eventually took it to heart.” She walked from desk to desk, scribbling on the back of each test as she handed it to a student. “Each and every one of you is going to have a bonus point question on the back page. Tailor-made for each of you and answering is completely optional. Prefer you did, though. It’s my way of getting to know you all a bit better.”

“And for you, Miss Clown,” Sayaka reluctantly reached for her test paper. Miss Jones swiftly yanked a lock of hair from the top of Sayaka’s head.

“Ow! Hey, what the heck was that for?”

“Levity.” Miss Jones wryly smiled and moved on.

“And one for you Miss Shizuki. And for you…” She jotted her question on the paper. “Miss Kaname.” Madoka nervously grabbed her paper. Miss Jones continued her way up and down the rows.

“And, for our new girls.” Miss Jones handed Sayaka and Homura their papers. Homura grabbed it and immediately went to work. 

Sayaka looked over the test. She remembered taking it before, a time that had seemed so long ago, before she had decided to become a magical girl. She also remembered failing it, quite badly. But by then she and Madoka met Kyubey, and after learning stakes in Mami Tomoe’s magical world, the idea of studying for tests and exams just seemed so silly and unimportant. Now, after all that she has seen and experienced since, it felt even less so.

Sayaka checked on Homura, who was now already making her way through the second page of questions. For a split second Sayaka was impressed, but then she remembered that Homura had probably already taken this test before, many times. She already knew all the answers rotely by this point. Still, Sayaka was amazed that Homura was willing to go through any of the motions at all, which was more than she could say about herself. Sayaka took a deep, resigned breath, picked up her pencil and went to work.

She skipped right to her ‘Bonus’ question: ‘What does ‘Sensei’ mean (I seriously would like to know)?’ It seemed like such a random question, but she remembered from their chat in the restaurant that Miss Jones saying she isn’t actually speaking Japanese. That she and her ship were psychically translating words, or something to that effect. So maybe, for whatever reason, ‘sensei’ wasn’t translating right. Sayaka pondered over it for a moment, thinking about the sorts of adults she’d normally attached that word to.

‘An experienced elder who is highly skilled and knowledgeable at certain professions, like at schools, hospitals, or courts and churches. Somebody who’s totally trusted by everyone in the room.’ She wrote, for a moment impressed with how elaborate her answer was.

Several minutes later, Sayaka heard Homura put her pencil down, get up from her seat and approach Miss Jones’s desk. “I’ve finished the test. I need to go take my medication. Will you please have the class health officer escort me to the office?”

“The health officer?” Miss Jones checked her notes on the seating chart, and looked up at Homura. “Ah, yes. Of course.” She sat up in her chair. “Miss Kaname?”

“Madoka Kaname.” Homura promptly approached Madoka at her desk. “Will you please take me… To the nurse’s office?”

“O- Okay.” Madoka meekly complied.

Sayaka watched the two girls leave out of sight, put her pencil down, stood up and spoke. “Miss Jones… May I- May I please go use the bathroom?”

“The bathroom? You gonna need an escort too?” Sayaka motioned her head at two girls leaving. “Fine. Be quick and stay outta trouble. You know where to go?”

“Here’s a hint: If you meet a big scary wolf you’ve gone too far.” Blared her Duplicate’s voice.

“Ugh. Fool.” Sayaka muttered as she made towards the exit.

“Madoka Kaname. Do you treasure the life you currently live, and do you consider your family and your friends precious?” Sayaka remembered Madoka relaying the gist of Homura’s words to her after they’d first met Homura. At the time, Sayaka dismissed it as Homura simply being a total nutjob.

“Well, I uh… Of course I do. I mean I… I do. My family, and my friends... I love them very much and yes they’re very precious to me!” Madoka replied. Sayaka cupped her ears around the corner of the hallway.

“Do you mean it?” So she really is going at this again? Sayaka leaned in around the hallway corner. Her words didn’t go over well last time… What made Homura think it would be any different now?

“Absolutely! I couldn’t lie about that!” Couldn’t she tell how uneasy it made Madoka? And an uneasy Madoka only leads to an irritated Sayaka. Both of them. 

“Good. Because if that’s the truth, then you wouldn’t try changing the life you have, or the person you are. Otherwise, you’d lose everything you love.” Sayaka slapped her forehead. Homura was being way too cryptic. This is exactly what she was trying to tell her on the way to school. Tone it down a notch!

“Don’t change. Stay as you are, Madoka Kaname. Stay as you are, for-” Homura paused and shot a dissatisfied glare across the hallway. Sayaka had been discovered. Oops.

“Do… Do you need something?” Madoka took two steps toward Sayaka at the corner.

“I was... Looking for the bathroom.” Sayaka stepped out of hiding. “I- I didn’t mean to snoop.” Her obvious lie made Homura fold her arms and almost glower at them both.

“The bathroom’s the other way.” Madoka pointed in its direction.

“I was uh… Trying find the one by the Administrative Office.” Sayaka uncomfortably glanced at Homura as she meekly stepped closer to Madoka. “It’s the one I went to. At orientation.”

“Oh. Well if that’s the case, I can show you where the other one is.” Madoka turned around. “Can you make it the rest of the way to the Nurse’s Office, Homu-” Homura was already walking away from the two of them.

“So um, Miss Otonashi? Sayaka told me she’d met you a few days ago.” Madoka tracked behind. “So where are you from, uh originally?”

“Uh, from?” Sayaka replied, checking behind them to see whether Homura was following or not. It didn’t appear that she was. “Uh, Okinawa.”

“Oh. That’s pretty far away. Did your parents have to change jobs? Is that why you left your home?” Madoka did a second look back herself.

“No. I’m living with… An acquaintance of mine. For now.”

“Oh? That has to be a pretty stressful thing. Having to go far away from home, without your family or friends or anybody to support you.”

“I don’t think too much about it. I’m just doing whatever I’m told.” Sayaka slowed her pace.

“Ah. I remember when I first moved here to Mitakihara. I was walking to school alone and it was raining, and some boys snuck up on me and tried to steal my umbrella.”

“Brats.” Sayaka recalled.

“But that was how I found my first friend. Sayaka she-” She reflexively smiled. “She found me and she chased them away! And she walked to school with me the rest of the way. And then she did it again the next day too. And the day after.”

“I’m sure she was just doing the right thing. Protecting you.”

“Protecting me…” Madoka brooded. “Yeah. Ever since, she’s always been there for me. She’s always put me before herself. Cheered me up whenever I cry. She speaks up for me when I’m quiet. Protecting me even when she got in trouble for it. I’m so thankful to have her as my friend.” Her pacing slowed. “But...”

“But what?” Sayaka gazed at her friend.

“I… I can’t remember any time I’ve done the same kind of things for her.” She stopped dead in her tracks. “To be honest, I’m not sure I’d be able to. I- I’m not fit to be her friend.” 

Sayaka could not believe what Madoka had just said. Homura’s esoteric ranting about friends and what’s precious had made Madoka all doubtful about her own value. “Madoka Kaname…” Sayaka whipped around and stared deeply into Madoka’s eyes. “Do you believe she-” She paused. “Do you think Say-” She paused a second time, trying not to confuse herself for herself a third time. “Do you think she... Sees you as her friend?”

“Well of course she sees me as her friend!” Madoka laughed nervously. That same laugh. Those same wide eyes. The same twin-tailed hair. Even the same pair of red ribbons. The good times they had were all the good times they had, too.

“If there was ever any situation where her life was at stake, do you think you’d lay down your own for hers?”

“Well I uh…” Madoka hemmed over the gravity of the question. “I think I would…” She uneasily clutched her miniskirt. “Yes. I would put her life before mine if I absolutely had to.” Yes, this is the same girl. The kind girl who Sayaka last rebuked purley out of resentment and spite. That same girl who then proceeded to stand alone against a city-leveling monster as Sayaka failed to go to her side. This Madoka thinks that she’s the bad friend? No, Sayaka simply could not abide by her self hating mindset.

“Then you’re fit to be her friend. Don’t let yourself think anything different.” Homura should’ve been there taking notes. Madoka simply smiled humbly.

“The bathroom’s right behind you.” Madoka pointed to it.

“Thanks.” Sayaka gave her a reassuring thumbs up.

“I think you’d make a really good friend.” Madoka waved as she walked back to class.

“No.” Sayaka lurched into the bathroom and muttered to herself. “I’m the one that’s not fit to be anybody's friend.”

***

“So what was your bonus question, Madoka?” Sayaka asked. She and Madoka were sitting together at a restaurant table, having ordered their after school meal at the mall. Hitomi was refilling her tea.

“If I could have any wish granted, what would it be?” Madoka replied.

“Easy. Wish for a million wishes.” Sayaka jested.

“I said that I would free the world from all misfortune.”

“Bwahahaaaa.” Sayaka giggled. “That’s like a beauty contestant’s answer. Haha, I can already picture you with long flowing hair in a bright white gown.” Sayaka pointed to Madoka’s bow tie. “With a big shiny pink gem on your chest.” Madoka’s face was glowing beet red.

“What was your question, Sayaka?” Hitomi asked the same.

“Ohhhh…” Sayaka took a sip through her straw. “If I ever found out a friend was seeing a boy that I liked, what would I do about it?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“A trap. Probably.” Sayaka pounded the table. “She’s already pegged me as the class clown, I think she’s fishing for a way to knock me down a peg.”

“My, that’s unusually distrustful of you.” Hitomi got up and went to retrieve her food.

“Eh, I just wrote ‘Talk our feelings out, and ask the boy who he likes more.’ She didn’t say anything about our answers being truthful.”

“What would you really do?” Madoka asked.

“I’d punch her lights out.” Sayaka’s response made Madoka spit out a mouthful of her drink. “Hehe. Sorry. Just joking.” Sayaka hastily grabbed some paper napkins and wiped it up for her.

“Madoka,” Hitomi Shizuki returned to their table with her drink in hand and sat down. “You had the chance to speak to the new girls. What were they like?” She and Sayaka both attentively leaned in.

“Well the second girl, Saya, she didn’t say a lot. Just that she came from Okinawa and she’s not living with her family or friends.”

“She didn’t say a whole lot in the office a few days ago, either.” Sayaka added. “She must just be one of those shy, quiet girls.”

“So I did most of the talking and eventually she…” Madoka stared appreciatively at Sayaka.

“She what?” Sayaka shrugged.

“She helped me figure out something... That I think I already knew.” Madoka quickly sipped her drink.

“What about the other girl,” Hitomi asked. “Miss Akemi?”

“She was… A bit stranger.”

“How so?” Her friends asked in unison.

“She did most of the talking, and acted overly familiar… With everything. As if she already knew everything about our school. She insisted that I call her ‘Homura’... Then while we were in the skyway hall she…” Madoka’s face blushed as she recalled the conversation. “Turned around and asked me if I treasured my life and considered my family and friends to be precious. When I told her they were precious… She told me… That I shouldn’t change or I’d end up losing everything.”

“She said whaaaaaat ?” Sayaka exclaimed.

“It doesn’t make any sense, does it?” Madoka sighed.

“And there I was thinking she was this awesome, gifted girl but it turns out she’s a total psycho! Auggh! I hope she doesn’t think acting like a mysterious transfer student is cool. That’s so moe it makes me sick! Ugh!” Sayaka’s head dropped right to the table.

“Perhaps there was a misunderstanding.” Hitomi chimed in. “Is this really the first time you’ve met Miss Akemi?”

“Hmmm… I guess the sensible answer would be ‘yes’.

Sayaka’s head perked up. “Okay what do you mean by ‘sensible?’ Either you met her or you didn’t.”

“Well it’s like… You’re going to think I’m weird, but I first met her in my dream. Or something.”

Hitomi and Sayaka both burst into laughter at once. 

“That’s awesome! The anime character in you is popping out today!” Sayaka chuckled.

“C’mon! That’s mean! This is really bugging me!”

“I got it all figured out! You guys knew each other in a past life and fate has reached across time and space to bring you back together again!” Sayaka cracked.

“In your dream, what happened when you met her?” Hitomi pressed.

“That’s the thing. I can’t really remember what happened in it. All I know is that it was really strange and spooky.” Madoka paused and pointed at Sayaka. “And... I remember you being there, too! Really far away, but I knew it was you somehow!”

“Ohhhhh no! Leave me out these wacky dreams of yours! It was silly enough when you thought you had to tell me about that dream where I was really mad at you. I’ll play no part in your cosmic harem.”

“Sayaka, you said you weren’t going to talk about that!” Madoka heatedly shouted.

“Oops.” Sayaka dropped her hot dog onto her plate.

Hitomi looked at them both, puzzled. “What do you guys mea-”

“Nothing!” The two girls shook their heads and waved their arms at once. 

“Nothing at all.” Sayaka grabbed her food and penitently shoved it in her mouth.

Hitomi stared at them both in perplexed silence. “Well, if you want my opinion,” She finally changed the subject. “I think it’s entirely possible you met Miss Akemi somewhere before. You might not remember meeting her, but your subconscious certainly took note of it. When you were having that dream, your subconscious simply brought up the image of her.”

“Seriously?” Sayaka said through her food. “That’s a heck of a coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Perhaps.” Hitomi checked her phone. “Uh-oh. Look how late it’s gotten.” She got out of her seat and gathered her things. “Excuse me, but I really should be going now.”

“What do you have today? Piano lessons, or Japanese Dance?” Sayaka asked.

“I have Tea Ceremony practice. Even though exams are coming up my mother still wants me to keep doing them.”

“So glad I was born petit-bourgeois.” Sayaka watched her friend depart the restaurant.

“Shouldn’t you be going too?” Madoka whispered to Sayaka.

“What?”

“Don’t you remember? You have that softball team meeting this afternoon.”

“Oh, crap! You’re right! I gotta go home and change clothes and get my bat and glove! Gah! I’m going to be soooo laaaaate! Maybe I could just tell Miss Yamazaki I was visiting Kyosu-”

“You shouldn’t lie about such things!”

“Ugh. But I reaaaaalllly needed to go the CD Store this afternoon!”

“Another gift for Kyosuke?”

“Hehe. Perhaps.”

“You can just give me the money and I can go.” Madoka offered. “Is there a CD in particular that you’re looking for?”

“Well I uh,” Sayaka scratched her head. “I had a couple in mind.”

“Write them down for me.” Madoka suggested.

“They’re kinda hard to find, though.”

“Even if it takes me the whole afternoon, I’ll find them for you.” Madoka cheerfully assured.

“It’s your time.” Sayaka gathered her belongings. “Your really don’t mind?”

“Not at all! I know how much Kyosuke matters to you.”

Sayaka tore a piece of paper from the back of her class notes. “These are the ones I’ve been looking around for. You only need to find one for today.”

“I promise I’ll find it.” Madoka smiled. “You can count on me!”

“I know I can.” Sayaka slung her bag around her shoulder and smiled back at her best friend. “See you later!”

***

“You’re going to need this.” Homura pulled a grenade launcher from her buckler and stuffed it inside a duffel bag. She proceeded to stuff a dozen grenades inside along with it. She was preparing Sayaka to fight a witch, due to appear near the mall construction area. For this was the witch encounter that first introduced Madoka and Sayaka to the world of magical girls and witches. This time, Homura and Sayaka had willingly, though reluctantly, paired together to avert a repeat in the chain of events. Homura was arming her with an entire amory’s worth of grenades and explosives.

“Geez, where’d you get those? You go loot a JSDF base or something?” Sayaka said.

“Yes.” Homura next pulled a gas mask from her buckler. “And you’re going to need this too.”

“A gas mask? What’s that for?”

“For the gas.” Homura handed Sayaka the gas mask and next pulled a set of tear gas canisters. “It disorients the familiars.”

“So I take it you’ve fought this witch before?”

“Numerous times.”

“What prevented you last time?

“Kyubey. He tries to make contact with Madoka earlier and earlier with every timeline.” Homura strung the grenades along a belt and tied the belt across Sayaka’s shoulder. “If Miss Jones wants one captured, it should happen before he tries to make contact with her.”

“I don’t see why I have to be the one who fights the witch. I’d much rather be the one who goes after Kyubey. Been itching for a shot at it.” Sayaka gazed at the ring on her finger. “And besides, you’re better than me anyway.” She admitted. “At the magical stuff.”

“Only because I always plan ahead.” Homura continued “Aside from that, wherever Kyubey goes, typically Mami Tomoe is not far away. And she is definitely not to be trifled with.”

“You sound afraid of her.”

“Afraid of her ability to adversely influence Madoka’s judgement, yes. And I…”  Homura paused. “Properly respect her pure magical strength.”

“If you really respect her, then tell her the darn truth!”

“I told you, I tried.” 

“Well try hard- Oof!” Homura shoved the bag hard into Sayaka’s gut.

“Do you think you’re the only person who idealized Mami Tomoe? The only person who witnessed her nobility and kindness and made a contract aspiring to be just like her?” Homura’s face showed a small glint of anger.

“I-” Sayaka reflexively grabbed the duffel bag.

“The fact of the matter is,” Homura explained. “She has absolutely no reason to trust our word over Kyubey’s. He is the reason she’s alive, in her mind.” Sayaka remembered Mami telling her wish, a dying plea for life after a major car accident. “To challenge that trust, for now, would be to her a challenge upon her very sense of identity, her purpose.” She stuffed another gas canister in the bag. “And believe me, the last thing we want, under any circumstances, is Mami Tomoe questioning who she is.” She brusquely zipped the main compartment shut.

“Fine. If you say so.” Sayaka acquiesced.

“Lastly, take this.” Homura handed Sayaka a phone. “It won’t get a signal inside the labyrinth. So if there’s a problem, retreat and call me and I’ll kill the witch.”

“Retreat. Tch. Admit it. You only trust yourself to get the job done. You can just say that. I get it.” Sayaka said glumly.

“You don’t have to defeat the witch. Just preoccupy it long enough that it doesn’t find its way to Madoka.”

“Ah, for Madoka. Of course.” Sayaka slung the bag around her back. “I’m not important at all.”

“It would be very problematic if you were killed in battle. My alliance with Miss Jones is largely contingent on your safety.” 

“I was referring to The Other Me. Don’t forget she’ll be around too. But thanks for your concern. It almost sounded like you care about me.”  

“That Sayaka is going to be at softball practice. Or have you already forgotten?”

“Oh, yeah… That completely slipped my mind.” Sayaka scratched her head. “Wait, how do you know about that? Are you really stalking them?” Sayaka tilted her head and stared at Homura.

“Of course not.” Homura grumped. "Miss Jones told me all about the restaurant incident.”

“Still, there’s a chance she’ll be there. I suck at remembering when I’m supposed to be somewhere.” Sayaka worryingly rubbed her forehead. “I still can’t believe how exactly alike we are. She even flubbed that flop in gym class.” 

“You always flub it.” Homura checked the time. “Where is Miss Jones at the moment?” 

“Still at the school.” Sayaka sighed. “Getting to know the other teachers.”

“She wanted to arrange another meeting.”

“She didn’t say anything to me about it.”

“It was my bonus question.”

“Ah.” 

“I don’t know how she could possibly balance repairing her ship, building devices, and helping us, in addition to pretending to be an educator.”

“She strikes me as the type of person who’s convinced that, if they ever stopped working, or doing stuff and settled down, they’d die. I’ve got an aunt who’s the same way.” Sayaka surmised. “And, you know, she’s not really as human as she looks.”

“Hm. Still, she might have closer qualifications to that word than either of us.” Homura’s Soul Gem flashed, as she became encased in a brilliant flash of violet light. “Do you believe she can do all the things for us that she’s said she can?”

“Wait, you actually want my opinion?”

“You’re better at assessing people’s true intentions than I am.”

Sayaka’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow! Was that a compliment? From you? For reals!”

“No. Merely an observation.”

“Ah- Heh. Honestly, I don’t know if she can do all the things she says. But I do get the sense that she’s trying to do her best to help.”

“Let’s hope that’s enough.” Homura strode off on her mission. “Begin searching in the construction area. There’s over an eighty percent chance it will be located there.”

“Will do.” Sayaka started off. “Good luck! And happy Hunting.” Sayaka waved a goodbye.

“You, uh stay sharp.” Homura stiffly waved back at her. “Your lack of talent is somewhat mitigated by your ability to think on your feet.”

“Eh, you really gotta work on those compliments.” Sayaka smiled. “Get better, and you might be able to pass for a real girl someday.”

“I wasn’t making a compliment.”

***

“I can still make it! I can still make it there! Gotta go fast!” Sayaka took off in a dead run from her apartment complex toward her school. She had a little under ten minutes to make it on time. “Gotta go fast!” She huffed and panted as she leapt over bushes and cut across private properties. “Faster!” A quick rush of adrenaline kicked an as she dashed past the woods and climbed the steps of the pedestrian bridge. “Faster! Go faster!”

“I can make it! I’m going to-'' She tripped over the last step. Sayaka’s nose instantly made contact with the ground. “Owww! Owwwwwwwwch!” She opened her eyes to the sight of rushing blood from her nose.

“Owwwwwch!” She turned over and tried to sit up. Her knee had gotten badly scraped as well. She covered her nose and examined the damage on her school uniform, its tannish fabric being dyed red with her gushing blood. She grabbed the first soft piece of cloth she could feel, and applied it to her nose. Unfortunately for her, it was also her new team uniform.

“I won’t make it.” She sniffed some blood down her throat and just as quickly coughed it back up. She guiltily stuffed the uniform back into the bag as she searched for something else to stop the blood flow. She settled on her quiz paper from class, already reddened with ink from all the check marks and corrections.

“I can’t make it.” She frustratedly crumpled the paper and put it to her nose. “Why does this stuff always happen to me?” She wheezed in anguish, flopped flat on the bridge and dispiritedly watched her nosebleed form a flowing river between the cracks in the brickwork. 

Sayaka’s heart sank. She could already picture what was going to happen next: She was going to be late. She was going to get kicked off the team. Her parents were going to find out, and then her mom would make her get that braindead dreadful dishwashing job. Washing dishes. Barely making it through middle school. Washing dishes. Failing right out of high school. Washing dishes. Eeking out a meager existence at the edge of town. Washing dishes. Never mattering to anyone. Washing dishes. Her life was over. Her fate was sealed. The tumble might as well have killed her. “Why am I such a screw up?” 

Was there a point to even getting up and trudging on? To trying anymore? It was just going to lead to more humiliation and failure, to everyone around laughing at her. “I’m not good enough.” Her wheezing gave way to sobbing. “Not for my parents. Not for Kyosuke. Not for Madoka.” Her soul was crushed. She could feel all her passion for life being sucked away from her body. “I’ll never make it.” 

“Maybe it would be better if you just died!” A child-like voice spoke to her from beyond.

“Yeah. Maybe it would be better...” She repeated. Her eyes sank closed.

“That’s right! You should just die!” The voice encouraged.

“Yeah. I should just…”

Sayaka stopped herself and her eyes snapped open. She was no longer sitting on the bridge. Somehow she had found herself transported into a strange realm, a place that looked to her like some kind of bizarre art museum.

“Where am I? What is this place? What’s going on?” Her frightened questions echoed through its halls. Sayaka anxiously clutched at the bat in her bag, and uneasily wobbled to her feet. She checked on the path behind her, the steps on which she’d tripped moments before were gone, replaced with a white wall. She took her bat from her bag and pounded on it, hoping its solidity was just an illusion, but her repeated strikes against it were futile. It seemed that the only way out of here, was to go forward.

“Hello?” She clutched the bat and pressed it to her shoulder. “Is there anybody there?” She reluctantly proceeded along a red-carpeted walkway, her only signpost. “This has to be a cr- crazy dream! I must’ve hit my head really hard!” Her words echoed throughout the halls.

“Thissssss wayyyyyy!” The childish voice from beyond playfully called to her. But somehow, Sayaka instinctively knew this was a voice not to be trusted.

Her walking speed quickened, the adrenaline was pumping, her heart beating practically out of her chest, she turned a corner, and suddenly found herself face-to-face with a half-dozen grotesque, humanoid creatures.

“No! S- Stay away from me!” She swung as hard as she could at one, striking it right in its deformed face. A second creature lurched at her. She aimed for its torso, hit, and turned to run in the other direction. That’s where another creature appeared. Sayaka struck it in the leg.

“Get away! Get away! Get away!” Sayaka had gone into full panic mode, her attacks doing little to deter all her pursuers from giving chase.

“Teeheeheheheeee!” The child’s voice mockingly laughed throughout the halls.

Another creature lunged after her and grabbed her by the leg. “No! Get off of me!” She bashed at this one with her hardest swing yet, but it was too late. The other creatures had closed in.

“Noooo! Let me go! Let me goooo!” The creatures collectively took her body and hoisted her above their heads. Wherever these creatures were intent on taking her, she could no longer resist. The walls around them suddenly vanished, as the ceiling morphed into a menacing reddish-orange skyline. And she knew, to the very core within her soul, that this nightmarish hellscape was going to be the place where she died.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” She thrashed and screamed in abject terror. Was she beyond all help? Was she beyond all hope? “Heeeeeelllllp!” She made one final plea into the ether.

“Oy, guess I can’t just sit n’ watch this crap!” A voice shouted behind Sayaka. She opened her eyes. To her utter amazement, her captors had all been decapitated. Their bodies dissolving like puffs of smoke, Sayaka fell hard to the ground.

“Whaddaya know! The little fuzzball was right!” Sayaka’s savior chuckled. “This town’s just crawlin ’ with big fish! Second big catch of the day!” To Sayaka’s sheer surprise, her hero appeared to be a girl somewhere around Sayaka’s own age. With a Pocky stick dangling from her mouth, she had red eyes and long, flowing hair the same color, with a thick black ribbon tied on top in such a way that gave the appearance of a pair of wolf ears. She was clad in a darker red dress, with white ruffles along the bottom and a strange jewel on her chest, this odd looking heroine stood triumphantly over Sayaka’s body still splayed on the ground. “I just saved yer ass so, ya’ better do the smart thing and butt out of this battle. This witch’s Grief Seed’s allllllllll miiiine”!

“W- Witch?” Sayaka cautiously rose to her feet. “Wh- What’s a Grief Seed?” She sheepishly asked.

“Ya’ gotta be kidding me! What are you some idiot rookie? Has Kyubey not even explained the basics to ya'?”

“Q-Who?” 

More grotesque humanoids sprang from the ground and charged at them, but the girl skillfully stymied them with a simple wave of her hand, conjuring a thick lattice-shaped barrier between them and the attackers.

Then the redhead grabbed Sayaka by her wrist and studied her hand. “Hey, wait a… No way! I thought for sure I’d sensed you had magic in you! But ya’ ain’t got no ring! You’re only a human! Shit!” 

“Magic? What do y-” The cadre of humanoid creatures collectively wailed and were now pounding on the redhead’s barrier like a horde of ravenous zombies. Sayaka found her lost bat and anxiously stood ready to fight them away.

“Nope! That thing’s not gonna do you much good.” The redhead remarked.

“They’re coming!” Sayaka screamed.

“I save yer ass, ya’ bring me food. Deal?” The redhead said.

“What?”

“I’m not in this business for heroics or kicks y’know! Ya' gotta make it worth my while!” The redhead smirked self-confidently.

“I’ll do whatever you want… Just get me out of here!” Sayaka replied.

“I’ll take it as a deal then!” The redhead chewed up the rest of her pocky and gracefully twirled her spear above her head. 

“They’re gonna come through!” Sayaka yelled. The horde of creatures were pounding and smashing at the barrier.

“Yup! I’d say we have another minute or so before they do, though.” The redhead nodded. “Quick, what’s the craziest or grossest looking thing in this area?”

“Is that a serious question?”

“Magical Girling One-Oh-One, For The Dummy Human: This place that you and I are trapped in is a Witch’s Labyrinth. Those gross things attacking us right now are its Familiars. The Witch controlling them is usually either the biggest or the craziest and grossest looking thing around. Kill the big Witch, they go away too. So what fits the description?”

“I don’t know!” Sayaka jerked her head as she looked for any clues. But everything around looked to her like some loosely-cobbled together work of tacky art. “Tha- That arc thing over there is pretty big!” But there was something that did particularly catch her eyes. It looked like a twisted version of a French landmark.

“Y’know, I thought that looked suspicious, too!” The familiars were steadily breaching the layers of her barrier, they only had a couple dozen seconds left. “But I wonder if it’s the whole piece or just that creepy-looking figure up top?”

“What difference does it make? Just chop it all up!” Sayaka begged.

“Hmmm… That’ll take a few seconds extra. Still, it’s a plan. But I’m going to need someone to keep those familiars offa me!” The redhead glanced over Sayaka’s bat. “You up to the job?”

“I- I’ll do what I can!” Sayaka tensed her bat to her shoulder.

“Alright then! Let me give you a little edge first!” The redhead gripped onto Sayaka’s bat. In a red flash the bat had been transformed into a magnificent, double-edged golden sword. 

“Woah!” Sayaka gasped.

“Heh! Saw someone I knew turn a broomstick into a gun once. Figured if she could turn a broom into a gun, then I can turn a bat into a blade!”

“They’re coming!”

“They look pretty braindead, so they’re probably gonna rush you. Swarm you. Just slash and dash, ya’ got it? Slash again, and dash! Don’t let ‘em touch you! And most important of all, stay the hell outta my blade’s way!”

“I’ll try!” Sayaka gulped.

“Ready?” The last barrier fell as the redhead vaulted right over the oncoming horde using her spear. “Heeeeere they come!”

Sayaka slashed and dashed. Their bodies fell slain. So she dashed, and slashed again. More bit the dust. So she slashed and dashed a third time. And a fourth. Sayaka was thriving on the pure instinct and adrenaline of the moment. From her perspective, time was warping, the battle stretching out as she persisted, seconds extending to minutes, as that single minute felt like a whole eternity. 

But every single creature that got close, whatever monster came within a step, she slaughtered with all her desperate might. And in the heat of that moment, Sayaka sensed something, a voice from deep within herself. This was her destiny calling, at last she had a purpose, a reason to exist, a sense of importance, a real use in this life. More than adrenaline, she was thriving on the thrill of the kill. She made one last charge and dash before finally collapsing from exhaustion, her body finally having had enough of the fight.

She witnessed a bright red and orange flash all around, the next thing she knew, she was lying down, facing up on the pedestrian bridge, looking up into the bright afternoons sky, wondering if everything that had just happened to her was all just a dream. Was this wonderful thrill only going to fade away once she came to?

“Hey, not bad!” She heard the mysterious redhead say. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Kyubey comes and sees ya’ soon.” Sayaka’s vision was rapidly blurring. She was about to pass out. “Just remember now…” The redhead’s cocky, grinning face was the last thing she saw. “I’m gonna hold ya’ to that deal!”

***

“A witch’s kiss,” Sayaka cradled the unconscious woman’s body in her arms. On the nape of the woman’s neck marked a butterfly insignia, a type of supernatural branding the witch used to lure its victims to their dooms. Fortunately, Sayaka had managed to incapacitate this poor unsuspecting lady before she could enter the creature’s lair.

“She was right.” A butterfly lined portal formed almost exactly in the area Homura had predicted. “There it is. Oh, boy.” Sayaka took a deep, focused breath. She removed her hair clip, and with it her disguise, and in a blue flash changed to her magical girl form. She conjured a sword from her cape with one hand, picked up the duffel bag with her other, and proceeded vigilantly into the Witches’ realm.

“Now where was it again?” Sayaka jogged down the corridors. She already knew this particular witch from the world she left behind, it was the first labyrinth that she and Madoka had wandered into, subsequently the first witch hunt Mami took them on. The first time, Sayaka remembered claiming that she wasn’t scared, but she knew deep down it was just bravado, trying to make it appear to Madoka that there were two tough girls by her side. But her heart was racing as frantically right now as it was at the time.

It was not hard for her to remember what the witch looked like, but it was far less easy to remember the particular path they took to find it. “Outta my way!” Sayaka slashed an attacking multi-eyed, mustachioed flying minion in half with her blade. Two more charged in its wake. She sliced them away with just as much effort. Sayaka headed down a corridor on her right. A dozen more mustachioed creatures awaited in ambush. 

“Take this!” She shouted in a momentary retreat as she pulled the pin on a flash grenade and chucked it in their faces. That gave her a moment to slip her gasmask on. “Alright! Almost there!”

She came to a bridge overlooking an army of mottled familiars waiting to attack. “Man, Mami sure made this look easy!” Mami used a spray of musket fire to disperse them. Not nearly as gifted, Sayaka needed to rely on Homura’s bombs and gas grenades. “Heh. Starting to see why she likes these things.” She chucked a couple more grenades behind her.

Sayaka spotted the door leading to the witches’ inner lair. In rapid succession she pulled the pins out of six gas grenades and tossed them along the path. She sprung off the bridge and charged on the moment she landed, frantically tossing flash grenades as a horde of flying familiars buzzed above. In a flash the doorway to the witch’s lair was open, Sayaka was escorted to a balcony overlooking the monstrous Witch, in repose on an enormous couch in the center of the room.

“I won’t let you get anywhere near Madoka! Not this time!” Sayaka pointed her blade threateningly in its direction. “Huuuuuup!” She heroically leapt off the balcony and made a mad dash for the misshapen monster. Her offensive was immediately thwarted, as the witch tossed its seat in her way and took off into the air. Distorted shapes of butterflies and roses writhed around its visage as it moved.

“Oh, yeah. It can fly. Forgot that.” Her memory of her opponent’s abilities were a bit hazy, at the time her attention was much more focused on Mami, and how cool she made this gig look.

“Let’s try this then.” Sayaka conjured dozens of swords around herself, tossing each at the witch in rapid succession. The results were no better, the Witch was too quick to be touched. “Damn it!” She agonizingly shouted.

Was it time for that strategic retreat? No... Sayaka dismissed the idea. She hadn’t bought enough time, and would only prove her own ineptitude to Homura. Perhaps this Witch was as vulnerable to flash grenades as its flying familiars? Sayaka felt for the grenades along her belt. She still had seven remaining. If she could toss her remaining lot at strategic points, maybe she would corral the beast to a spot where she would unleash an all-out charge with her body. It was worth a try.

Sayaka fired a grenade with the grenade launcher in front of the Witch. It screamed a most wicked roar, and fled in the opposite direction. “Gotcha now, freak!”

Her plan coming together, she readied her charge, when suddenly she felt something tug her hard around the leg. The familiars along the floor had discreetly strung themselves together, daisy chaining their bodies into a black, barbed vine that kept Sayaka from charging. The next thing she knew, her body was getting flung from wall to wall. Now she was at this thing’s mercy. Only the overwhelming surges of pain kept her conscious. Her mind scrambled to think of how she once figured out how to block her physical pain, but there was too little time to dwell.

As the Witch pulled Sayaka towards its body, Sayaka had just one option left: Throw her hand grenades, just as the Witch was going to bring her near. A suicide attack. Take the thing down with her. Only, Sayaka knew it wouldn’t be suicide for her, so long as her Soul Gem stayed intact. It would hurt, and her body would be mangled, but she would be able to recover with her rapid healing magic.

As the Witch reeled her in close, Sayaka removed the C-Shaped Soul Gem affixed on her belly button and clutched it firmly in her hand. She closed her eyes, took a breath and reached for the two hand grenades on her side belt.

“You were on the right track there, luring it into a spot to attack, but unfortunately you didn’t pay attention to your surroundings and left yourself open to capture. Lucky for you, I made it here just in time.” Sayaka’s eyes popped open. This confident voice belonged to someone amazingly familiar.

A volley of musket fire rang throughout the lair, several of which struck the black vine of familiars that held Sayaka tight. Sayaka fell toward the ground, where a web of glowing yellow ribbons caught her and rolled her to safety. Sayaka astoundedly gazed at the regal-looking form of her liberator.

“Just remember, you’ve always got to think things through completely. There’s always other options to consider before a suicide attack.” Mami Tomoe stepped up and reassured her. “For now, just hang back and let me take care of this Witch. You tried your best.”

With her second, more massive volley of musket fire, the Witch panickedly retreated right into Mami’s trap, where it was ensnared in a bigger web of ribbons. “Let’s wrap this up!” Mami said. She untied the bow around her collar and whipped it around herself as it morphed into a gigantic, single shot gun.

“Tiro… Finale!” Mami exclaimed. She aimed and fired her trump card. The shot penetrated right through the creature, eviscerating it. It vanished into a sea of yellow light, as the lair around them slowly shifted back to conventional reality. Mami landed gracefully on the floor, sipping a cup of tea calmly as the defeated Witch’s Grief Seed fell to her side.

“Now that it’s safe to talk, why don’t we formally introduce ourselves.” Mami’s magical uniform dissolved in a golden yellow flash. She picked up the Grief Seed laying beside her. “I’m Mami Tomoe. Pleased to meet you!” 

She used the Grief Seed to cleanse her Soul Gem and lobbed it over to Sayaka. “Seeing as you did your fair share of the work, you can have it. It should be good for at least one more use.” Mami politely smiled at her.

The sheer swarm of conflicting emotions Sayaka had, upon seeing this lady alive again were almost completely overwhelming. The sheer joy of victory, the pure gratitude she had for saving her life, the surge of relief that she wouldn’t need to resort to a painful desperation attack. But above them all, she had the uncontrollable urge to just go up and give Mami a great big, friendly hug. 

“That’s a pretty cute outfit.” Mami held out her hand. “Why don’t you take that gas mask off, so I can see your face?” And yet… She also had other feelings, much more cautionary ones, congealing in the pit of her stomach. As much as Sayaka wanted to rip that mask off and explain everything , she dreadfully realized Homura was right: This Mami Tomoe had never met her before. This Mami Tomoe had no reason to take anything Sayaka had to say seriously. This Mami could just as easily see Sayaka as an upstart rival spouting lies. No matter how much she wanted to show her face, she knew that letting Mami see her could mean letting Kyubey see her. Which would put everything Miss Jones was working on at risk. Sayaka carefully tucked the Grief Seed into her duffel bag, and took a few steps back.

“Th- Thanks.” Sayaka said stoically through her mask.

“I am curious to know, just how you managed to obtain such an allotment of explosives? Where’d you get them? From whom?” While Mami’s was trying her hardest to sound cordial and inquisitive, her words, to Sayaka’s weary ears, came across as rather calculative and detached. She already knew who gave Sayaka those bombs. This Mami was simply trying to poach more information, not actually trying to be her friend as last time. This Mami, was unfortunately to Sayaka, not someone she could trust yet.

“I have to go.” Sayaka uttered regretfully through the mask. She turned her back and started walking away.

“Awwwww… You’re just going to leave? Not even going to introduce yourself to the girl who just saved your life? At least tell me your name!” 

“I can’t.” Sayaka swallowed. “Sorry.”

“So that’s how it is, then.” The pain and disappointment in Mami’s voice was palpable. “Then tell your partner who it was that came to your aid today. And for your sake, take my advice about minding the things around you.” Sayaka’s walking retreat hastened in pace until she was clear of Mami’s sight.

“Must we all be rivals?” She whispered to herself in the dark. “Is there never going to be a better way?”

“Mami… Help me!” A familiar voice pleaded directly into her mind. Dear Kyubey was in danger! No time for her to ruminate over anything else!

Chapter Text

“Is this her first lesson?” The middle-aged parent asked Sayaka’s father in the waiting room outside the door.

“Fifth, actually.” Sayaka’s father corrected. 

“Ah, my mistake.”  

“Do it again.” The stern-faced piano teacher ordered.

Sayaka was so frustrated. It was a pretty basic piano melody that Sayaka still could not master, the fingers on her left hand stubbornly refused to keep pace with her right. Not helping was the captivating echo of the song coming from the more experienced student in the next room, whoever it was, playing it so adeptly that it made Sayaka feel like a fool for even wanting these lessons in the first place.

“She absolutely begged us for music lessons after we attended the violin recital of a friend of hers at the city theater a while ago.” Sayaka’s father explained.

“Recital at...” The older parent raised his brow. “Do you speak of Kyosuke Kamijo?”

“Already has a reputation, does he?”

“Well a local one, anyway.” The older parent briefly peeked his head in on his practicing child. “Plus his parents won’t stop raving about his big regional debut coming up in Osaka.”

“Oh? You’re also acquainted with his parents?”

“They’re regulars at my bank.” He handed Sayaka’s father his card. 

“Shizuki?” Sayaka’s father read the card. “Do you mean you’re that Shizuki?”

“Indeed I am.”

“Would she be your granddaughter then?” Sayaka’s father also peeked in on her.

“Heh. No, she’s my daughter, actually.” The man corrected. “Being the head of a major bank made dating and starting a family a secondary priority, regrettably.” He sighed and smiled. “I had to resort to the old tradition of an arranged coupling with her mother.” He proudly clasped his hands. “But to have fathered a girl like her, it was worth it.”

“Again.” The teacher ordered. “Slow your quicker hand down a bit. You’ve got the correct notes memorized, now you gotta learn to pace yourself.” The teacher calmly excused herself into the next room. Whoever this superior student was, the young Sayaka intensely disliked them.

“A private school?” Sayaka’s father questioned. 

“My wife went to the same school.” The older father confessed. “Was an honor student through every single grade.”

“Yeah, but that might invite constant comparisons to her mother from all the teachers,” He warned. “And if she doesn’t quite measure up, she might develop some adequacy issues.”

“That thought has crossed my mind,” He nodded. “And she’s had some problems socializing at that place.”

“You could always transfer to the local public school.” Sayaka’s father suggested. “At least do it for her formative years. You and I both know the grades don’t start to matter until well into middle school.

“What are you, a child psychologist?”

“A police officer, actually.” Sayaka’s father chuckled. “And admittedly, I speak purely from personal experience. Late bloomer… Terrible elementary and middle school marks.”

“Not that far off from my experience, as well.” The man laughed. “Does your girl go there too?” He peeked in on the practicing Sayaka.

“She does,” He affirmed. “As does Little Kamijo.”

“Your time for this week has expired, Mister Miki.” The teacher came out to the waiting room.

“Thank you,” Sayaka’s father got up from his seat. “For your patience.”

“The piano’s not for everyone.” The teacher added. “It’s not as easy to master as it looks.”

Sayaka’s father grabbed his coat and leaned closer to her ear. “It was the only music lessons we could afford for her,” He whispered.

“I’d hate to tell you that you’re wasting money, so I’ll simply say that I’m certain she’s not the type of pupil who’s going to learn an instrument through rigid lesson plans and routine practice.” She advised. “She’s gotta learn on her feet. If she’s absolutely still interested in learning an instrument after this, ask her what she wants to play, then buy it for her to practice at home. That way she can learn at her own leisure.”

“Thanks for your honest assessment.” Sayaka’s father waved her out of the room. “Again thank you, and goodbye.” The echo of the other student’s beautiful notes resonated throughout the hallway on their way out.  

“Stupid stupid showoff.” The teary eyed Sayaka uttered in the lift.

BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…

Sayaka awoke to the steady beeping of a heart monitor. At first, she thought she had fallen asleep next to Kyosuke’s bed again. Then she remembered, she hadn’t gone to see Kyosuke today. Her eyes snapped open. She saw an oxygen mask over her mouth, with a heart monitor attached to her finger. She was being treated at the hospital, in an observation room.

“Wh- What happened to me?” She sat up and asked whoever was listening. Two nurses were idly chit-chatting in the doorway.

“Somebody found you passed out on a bridge, that one over by the middle school.” The shorter nurse approached. “Reported blood at the scene. You were brought here for treatment and observation.”

“I tripped and I-” Now she remembered. She was in a mad rush to make it to softball practice on time, then she tripped and fell hard. “I fell down and slammed my face.” She checked her knee. It was still scraped pretty badly and bandaged. “Skinned my knee, too.” 

Sayaka also remembered suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of despair, almost to the point of losing her very will to live. And then what she remembered happening after that was… Too weird to even want to go on thinking about. 

Encounters with murderous monsters. Meeting magical redheads. Did she hit her head a lot harder than she thought? Was it all a trauma-induced dream? Brought on by watching way too much anime? It had to be that. Any other explanation was ludicrous. 

“I’m okay, though, right?”

“You might have suffered a minor concussion.” The nurse came over and studied Sayaka’s eyes with a tiny light.

“Do you remember your name?” 

“Sayaka Miki.”

“Where do you go to school?”

“Mitakihara Middle School.”

“Do you know where you live?”

“Mitakihara Heights Apartment Complex.” Her eyes followed the light back and forth.

“What’d you have for breakfast this morning?” She checked Sayaka’s pulse.

“Scrambled eggs and toast.” Sayaka sighed. “Made it myself.”

“Who are your best friends at school?”

“Madoka and Hitomi.” She rolled her eyes. So inane.

“Who are you crushing on right now?” The nurse winked.

Sayaka glared at her, quite unamused.

“Can I go home now?” Sayaka stood up off the bed.

“Do you feel nauseous? Or tired? Do you have a headache?”

“No. No. And no.”

“Negative for concussion symptoms. Your nose bleed looks pretty healed up. And you don’t appear to be any worse for the wear, but we’ll give you more bandages for that knee.” The nurse replied.

“It feels fine now.”

“We called the middle school. Apparently you were supposed to be at a softball practice?”

“Oh, yeah! I was in a rush to get there on time. Guess this’ll teach me a lesson about slowing down or making enough time to get there or something.”

“We also called your parents.”

“My parents?” Sayaka could already picture what was going to happen next with them. Her father will make doubly sure she’s okay. Her mother will nag and lecture.

“Your mother said she had to work late.” Lecture postponed for today. Lucky break.

“Your dad was at his workplace, too.” Sayaka was going to be home all alone, again. She was used to it by this point in her life.

“Actually, uh, can I stick around for a little while longer?” Sayaka had another thought on something of a whim. “As a visitor?”

“Why?” The nurse asked.

“I, uhm, there’s a friend of mine who’s been cooped up here for a few months. I want to go up and pay him a real quick surprise visit. Is that okay? Is there time?”

The taller nurse whispered into the other’s ear. “Oh! Yes, that should be fine. But first you’ll need to sign a few of these papers for us. And let us know at once if you do suddenly start feeling dizzy or queasy, alright?”

“I will. Thanks a lot.”

After Sayaka was fully examined and then discharged, she gathered her belongings and boarded the glass elevator to Kyosuke Kamijo’s room. She examined her reflection in the glass. Her hair looked a little ruffled up. She hurriedly combed her fingers through it. She took her makeup kit out of her pocket, and applied a touch of raspberry lip gloss and a smidgen of eyeliner. She straightened her clothes and pulled up her skirt. There, she thought. Now she felt much more presentable.

Sayaka looked down at her bloodied shirt and bandages. “Oh, that thing, well you know, I was a bit careless. I was running and tripped over a step and I hurt my head and scraped my knee pretty bad. I guess I must’ve passed out.” She rehearsed. “So much for the rough-and-tumble reputation of Sayaka, yup.” She flashed a practice smile to her reflection. “But enough about me and my problems. I’ll be fine. How have you been today?” 

She could feel her heart fluttering. One of these days, she was going to finally work up the courage to tell him that she very much wanted to become more than just his friend. Maybe that day was going to be today. Who knows? Maybe she was fated to trip and fall head over heels. Just so that she would have an excuse to tell him that she had fallen head over heels for him. It’s poetic. Fate, yeah. Hokey as heck but poetic, she reasoned.

Sayaka exited the elevator. She greeted and bowed at the pair of nurses who recognized her. She turned the corner to Kyosuke’s room. There was a bookbag nestled against the wall beside his door. How odd, she thought. She heard a voice coming from within his room. Not his, this voice was decidedly female. Sayaka pressed her ear against the door. Who could it be? A relative?

“I’m surprised you know even that song.”

“It was the first one I ever heard you play. Of course I know it.” Not a relative.

“Your brain is bigger than mine then.”

“Your heart is bigger than mine.” Uh-oh.

“Oh, stop it.”

“I’m serious! You’re the nicest person I know!” No! No! No!

“That’s really nice of you to say.”

“Your inside matches your outside, you know.” Crap! Crap! Crap!

“Oh, so I’m Ugly?” Who was this girl? “And disfigured. Too.”

“Oh, stop it. You’re wonderful.” She sounded upsettingly familiar.

Sayaka couldn’t stand it anymore. How dare this girl impose herself on Kamijo! How dare she stand in the way of Sayaka’s fate! She had to know for certain who this flirtatious girl was. She had to know! Sayaka indignantly slid the door open wide.

This was fate, alright. But fate, alas, was clearly acting against her today. Fate, and one Hitomi Shizuki.

***

“ Help Me !” She heard a strange voice cry out. Madoka removed her earphones, confused.

“ Madoka… Help me !” The voice cried out a second time. Madoka cupped her to the air.

“What?” 

“ Please… Help me !” Madoka promptly put the earphones away and left the kiosk. That voice wasn’t coming from anyone in the music store. Somehow, it was calling directly into her mind. ‘NOTICE OF STORE RENOVATION’ The construction sign authoritatively read. But still she felt compelled to head toward this particular section of the mall. 

“ Help… Me… ” The voice was getting weaker. She needed to hurry if she was going to find it in time. Madoka saw no other choice. She stepped past the warning signs and cautiously crept onward.

“Where are you?” she called out. “Um, do I know you?” Never had a closed department store ever seemed so ominous to her before.

“ Help me !” This area was definitely the source. She was certain she was close to finding who was calling.

Suddenly the ceiling panel above her fell away. A small, white animal flopped out and scared Madoka off her feet. Madoka gasped from both surprise at the sight, and concern for the little creature.

“Is that you?” Madoka asked the wounded little animal.

“Help me…” It beseeched.

Another, more familiar face appeared unexpectedly before them. But she was dressed in what Madoka saw as a rather unusual uniform.

“Homura?” Madoka whimpered.

“Get away from that creature.” Homura commanded.

“B- But… He’s really hurt.” Madoka clutched the thing close and tight in her arms. “Leave him alone! Why are you trying to hurt him?”

“This doesn’t concern you.” Homura stepped closer.

“But he was calling me! I could hear him calling my name! He was asking me to help him!”

“Is that so?” To Homura this conversation had a pang of familiarity. She had to think and act quickly if she was going to avoid a repeat of their last fateful encounter, even if that meant prying that duplicitous little devil right out of Madoka’s hands.

Suddenly, Madoka felt a rush of cold air against her back. Instinctively, she cowered on the floor. She heard the clanging and rolling of metal nearby, whoever it was had just emptied a whole fire extinguisher on her and the little animal.

“Hand that creature over to her, now!” She heard a muffled voice say. Whoever it was, what little Madoka could see of her, was wearing a gas mask, and appeared to be dressed in even more peculiar attire than Homura.

“No! I won’t won’t let you hurt him!” She shivered and clung her hardest to the creature.

“What are you doing here?” She heard Homura ask.

“Never mind that, just snatch him out of her hands and let’s go! Before she-” Madoka took off running away from their voices.

“That way!” The girl in the gas mask pointed and they gave chase.

“The Witch?”

“Beaten.”

“That was far too quick.”

“It wasn’t me.”

“Who then?

“Who do you think?”

“Oh, no.” The two girls were dashing down a dark hallway, steadily gaining ground on the fleeing Madoka. “Grab my hand before she-”

A swarm of yellow ribbons swiftly sprang from every gap in the ceiling, out of every crack in the walls and floor. Madoka had unwittingly led them straight into Mami Tomoe’s carefully-laid trap. The swarm meshed together into a complex network of ribbon webs, one of which formed directly behind Homura and right in front of Sayaka, splitting them apart. 

A ribbon from the wall grabbed Homura by her right arm, binding her buckler and pulling her aside. “Damn it! She’s got us!” Homura yelled out in anguish. Sayaka pulled out a sword and hacked away at the ribbonwork barrier between them, to no avail. The ribbons kept re-growing and re-joining with each slash, like kudzu on steroids.

“Behind you!” Homura shouted. Sayaka slashed at the ribbons creeping behind her, while sidestepping their attempt to snag her. “Get out of here, now!”

“No! I can’t just let you-” Sayaka barely dodged another ribbon’s capture attempt. She took another hard swing at the barrier, the thing proved quite impervious to her blade.

“Go!” Homura cried. “She’s attempting to scare us into submission! But if you’re caught, and they discover who you really are, then-!” To Sayaka’s surprise, Homura’s normally stoic eyes displayed an unusually deep level of concern. “Get back to her ship. I can handle myself. Retreat!”

“O- Okay.” Sayaka withdrew to a nearby ventilation duct, pried it open with her sword, squeezed herself in and jumped down.

“Oh, thank goodness. You rescued Kyubey for me! I’m very grateful! He’s a dear friend of mine and I was so worried!” Another strangely-dressed girl appeared before Madoka. This one with curly yellow locks. A barrier of ribbons sealed off the hallway behind them.

“H- He called out to me! I- I could hear his voice inside my head!” Madoka took a hesitant step toward the girl.”

“Ahhhhh! I see!” The yellow-haired girl looked at Madoka’s clothes. “I can tell by your uniform that you go to Mitakihara City Middle School. Are you in Seventh Grade? Or Eighth?

“Eighth.” Madoka anxiously replied. “W- Who are you?”

“Oh, that’s right… Maybe I should introduce myself.” The yellow-haired girl kneeled down on one leg and cautiously checked the condition of his animal companion. “Hmm. Actually, it’s going to have to wait for a bit. There’s something that needs my attention first. Could you please take him out of here for me? I’ll come and find you at the mall’s courtyard.” The yellow-haired girl graciously put her hand on Madoka’s shoulder.

“O- Okay.” Madoka gingerly trotted to the exit. “Thank you!”

The barrier into the hallway slid open wide enough for Mami Tomoe to pass. “Let’s see what little flies I’ve netted in my trap.” A blood-stained knife laid on the floor against the wall. She spotted Homura cradling her arm, trying to make an escape at the opposite end of the hallway.

“I am not your enemy.” Homura implored.

“There are two things in this world I will not stand for.” Mami stated. “Magical girls who behave callously towards humans, and magical girls who harm Kyubey! Any girl who does so is my enemy!”

Homura pulled an aerosol can and a lighter from her buckler.

“What do you hope to accomplish with that?” Mami raised a defensive shield of ribbons in front of her body.

“This.” Homura pointed the can and the lighter at the ceiling. A spray of fire blasted to the sprinkler system hanging above. The fire alarm roared as the sprinklers spurted out water. 

“Tch!” Mami fashioned an impromptu umbrella out of her ribbon shield.

“Either let me go, or security will get here and we’ll both be exposed. It’s your choice.”

“Touché!” The ribbons sealing off the hallway instantly disappeared. “Make sure you and I never see each other again! I am through with talks and warnings! Next time, you can bet I won’t be holding back!” 

“Owwwww! Unnngh! Oooooof!” Sayaka fell out of the shaft down to the concrete floor of the maintenance room below. She flashed out of her magical form, took her gas mask off and hastily put her hair clip disguise on. The mission was pretty much a disaster. She got up, and limped away. “Geez, that sucked. That really, really sucked. I can practically hear Kyoko laughing her ass off at me.”

***

“Gyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Sayaka shouted at the top of her lungs in the entryway of her apartment complex. It was the first thing she’d said out loud since discovering her “friend” Hitomi was at the Hospital visiting Kyosuke behind her back. It was a long, quiet, humiliating, seething trek back to her home. And all she’d been aching to do once she got back was take her clothes off, eat, boot up a fighting game, create a character who happened to look exactly like Hitomi, and beat the ever-virtual loving crap out of it. But right there she realized she had lost her wallet, and with it her apartment key card. She couldn’t get inside. One extra humiliation in an entire afternoon of them.

“Hey, hello, Mrs. Yamada?” Sayaka tried her best to sound chipper on the microphone.

“Hello, Sayaka!” The voice on the other side answered. It was her elderly neighbor.

“C- Can you ring me in please?” Sayaka begged.

“Did you lose your key card again?” The old lady’s voice asked.

“Y- Yeah. I think I left it in my bedroom. But I have to get in to look. Hehe. Please?”

“Give me one second, dearie.”

“Thank you.”

Sayaka slipped off her shoes. ‘Weiners in the fridge. Chili on the stove. Buns and ramen in the cupboard. Microwave chili, ramen and apple slices.’ Her mother’s note read. Yum, Sayaka thought. Yum. What a healthy combo for a growing girl. Whatever. She was in no mood to be picky right now. She was too hungry and too irate to care.

Sayaka took the top off the pot on the stove and looked inside. The only chili left in the pot was the crusted, burnt remains along the base and at the sides. How strange. Did her dad stop by and help himself? Eh, that’s fine, she thought to herself. 

Seemed like Sayaka would have to settle for just the ramen noodles. She’d just have to make a double sized serving of it. Sayaka opened the cupboard. She gasped. The ramen was nowhere to be found! She quickly opened the refrigerator door, even the apple slices had been picked clean. She didn’t understand it. Her dad would never be so rude as to poach her entire meal without at least leaving an apology note and some cash to spend at the convenience store to compensate. What had gotten into him?

Now she was going to have to dig into her own allowance for her dinner, and without her wallet, she’d have to tap the piggy bank in her room. Could her day get any worse?

Sayaka walked over to her bedroom door and turned the knob. It wouldn’t budge! It was locked! And apparently, from the inside. But her door couldn’t lock from that side. The only way to do it would have to be if someone in the room had jammed something heavy in front of it. What in the world was going on here? 

Sayaka went to the bathroom and grabbed a hand mirror from the vanity. Her peripheral vision caught sight of a white cat in a tree branch outside the window. She polished the mirror with her sleeve, checked her reflection in it, and glanced in the cat’s direction. It had vanished. Maybe it had climbed down and went home. Maybe her tired eyes were playing tricks. Whatever. She didn’t care.

She slid the mirror underneath her bedroom door. Somehow, her own baseball bat had been jammed against the doorknob! She nervously tilted the mirror and peered further into her room. Nothing near the closet. Nor the dresser. She tilted it towards the window. There was that cat again, perched on her window’s ledge! But further inspection made her realize that it wasn’t a cat at all, but rather… Something that had secondary ears hanging down like a rabbit’s. Sayaka pulled the mirror out and rubbed her eyes. She trepidatiously checked the window again. It had vanished again. She panned over to her bed, where the biggest shock of all was laying. Sayaka jolted to her feet.

“Open up!” She banged on her door. “Whoever the hell you are, open this door right now! My dad’s a cop, and when he gets home you are going to be in big trouble! You hear me!”

The door promptly came unblocked and opened. Sayaka’s mouth sank agape. There she was, that redhead from Sayaka’s fantasy, her cocky, grinning mouth stained with Sayaka’s chili dinner.

***

The TARDIS door popped open. Homura traipsed in, her whole left arm bloody and her clothing soaked.

“What happened?” Sayaka gasped.

“I escaped. Obviously.” Homura answered.

“I mean, what happened to your arm?”

“I had to get those ribbons off of me. Didn’t have time to make precision cuts.”

“But did you have to mangle your whole arm?”

“I’m fine. It’ll heal quickly. I’ll be fine.” Homura’s monotone voice and dismissive attitude towards her injuries put Sayaka on edge. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“Jus- Just follow me.” Sayaka guided Homura along by her other arm. 

“Where are you taking me?” Homura asked as they entered the TARDIS lift.

“Down below. To the Medical Bay.” Sayaka pressed a button once inside.

“Do you know where to go this time?” Homura asked.

“Don’t have to.” Sayaka pointed at the lit wall paneling. “Just say the name of the room you want to find and follow the arrows on the wall.” Quickly they found their way to the Medical Bay. “Hop on that one.” Sayaka pointed to one of the bay beds. “I know I saw bandages in here.”

“You would think a time-travelling spaceship would have more sophisticated medical equipment than bandages.” Homura observed.

“Maybe it does. But I wouldn’t have a clue how to use them.” Sayaka ferreted through cupboards until she spotted a roll of bandages. “Here. Now roll up your sleeve, Homura.”

Homura tilted her head and stared at Sayaka strangely.

“Is something wrong?” Sayaka asked.

“It-” Homura hesitated. “Might be the first time you’ve said my name. Without being snide.”

“So what?” Sayaka unraveled the bandage roll. “You still think I’m not really me or something?”

“No.” Homura said. “Only you could interrupt my warnings to Madoka with such impeccable timing.”

Sayaka rolled her eyes. “Well, sorry I just have such a knack for being the third wheel.” She applied a liquid disinfectant. “Come to think of it, have you ever used my name? Without insulting me?” 

“No.” Homura replied candidly. She slowly rolled up her arm sleeve. 

“Y’know, this wouldn’t be a bad place to give my name a try.” Sayaka rolled the bandages up her forearm. 

“Have you ever done this before?”

“You mean ‘Have you ever done this before, Sayaka’?”

Homura flatly stared at her for a minute. “Have you ever done this before?” Her face gradually blushed red. “Say-Ya-Ka?” She stammered.

“Once. A very, very long time ago.” Sayaka continued as she rolled down her arm. “I uh, I had just learned how to ride my bike. I was trying to teach Madoka how to do it, too. We were at the park, I was trying to copy the way my dad taught me, by holding on and running alongside and steering while she pedaled. And then I let go of her.”

“You let go?”

“So she could peddle on her own. But I forgot to teach her how to stop so she panicked and peddled faster and steered left and right and then she veered straight into a tree.”

“Poor teaching method.”

“Gimme a break, we were First Graders.” Sayaka kept rolling. “So, anyway, she was crying so I hoisted her right onto my back and carried her all the way home, where I found some bandages and I wrapped them all up and down her arms and legs and around her neck.” Sayaka chuckled. “She was basically a mummy by the time I was done.” She tied off the bandage. Homura flexed her arm, and moved it around.

“Was she okay?” To her own surprise, Homura was actually interested. Dozens upon dozens of time loops, yet somehow this was the first time she’d ever heard this story from Madoka’s formative years.

“She was fiiiiiine! She wasn’t really hurt at all! I was just too upset from seeing Madoka cry to think about anything else.” She checked over the bandage. “Is that good?”

“It’s fine. The cuts will heal in a day or two at most.” Homura hopped off the bed.

“I let her dress me as a toilet paper mummy on Halloween in return. We had fun with that.”

“Halloween… Is that the one where people confess their love and spend their whole day together?”

“No,” Sayaka corrected. “That’s Valentine’s Day.” She paused. “What? For Reals? You don’t know which holiday Halloween is?” The Medical Bay doors slid open.

“I’ve spent…” Homura tilted her head and gazed into the distance. “So much of my existence... Reliving this time. I think. I don’t really recall much of the other seasons or their holidays.” 

“Geez. You never tried explaining everything to us?” 

“No one ever believed me. Most often, it made them distrust me.”

“By ‘them’, you mean-?” Sayaka pointed at herself.

Homura subtly nodded.

“Oh.” Sayaka’s head sunk. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for all the crap I must’ve caused you. I know I can be a blockhead.” She stared sullenly at her ring. “You’ve been reliving this experience again and again, fighting on and all this time, and nobody knew. How did you not give up?”

“I came close.” They walked through the white hallway. “Numerous times.”

“Even still, you’re strong.” They entered the lift. “Better than me, anyway.”

“I’m not as durable as you think. I only appear that way because I’ve been fighting the same battles over and over again, and planning everything in advance. In situations like today, when the unexpected occurs, I have trouble handling it.”

“What a disaster that was.” Sayaka palmed her face. “And now we’re going to have to explain it to Miss Jones when she gets back.” They exited the lift.

“Madoka and Kyubey have made contact.”

“And we placed ourselves smack dab onto Mami’s radar. Dammit, I’m such a screw up. If only I’d done better against that Witch. Then I went and led Mami straight to you.”

“No, the miscalculation was mine. That hallway was clearly a pre-made trap. She knew we’d try to avoid her and shepherded us straight towards it.” Homura clasped her hands together. “She’s every bit as cunning as she is powerful.”

“Watching her take down that Witch in seconds almost made me want to make a contract all over again, yeesh.” The hallway doors to the Control Room opened. “Can I ask you something else? About Mami? It’s been on my mind.”

“What is it?”

“That day, by the hospital… That day she…” Sayaka pained to remember that day. 

“You want to know what really transpired? Does it still matter?”

“Of course it matters! I’ve thought about what I should’ve done differently ever since that day.”

“I didn’t want to frighten Madoka, or provoke Mami so I entered its labyrinth unarmed. But I miscalculated. Mami quickly noticed my unguarded presence and on sight she immediately restrained me with her ribbons. I wasn’t able to move again until her magic had been-” Homura strained to say it. “Neutralized. I tried to warn her. I tried to tell her the Witch was different.”

“And she didn’t believe you. Or listen.” Sayaka shook her head disappointedly. The way I saw it, you swooped right in after she bit it, took on the Witch and told us off. And you wonder why I came to dislike you?”

“Frankly I didn’t care what you thought of me.”

The TARDIS door opened in front of them. Miss Jones entered inside, a bag over her shoulder, carrying school papers in one hand, sketched blueprints in the other, and an envelope of money in her mouth. “Gooood neeewwwws, Sayaka! I got an advance on my first paycheck, which means you can finally stop trading away all my antiques and trinkets.” She noticed Homura standing at the control console. “Oh, you’re here, as well. Good to see you, too!” She set her belongs aside and noticed Homura’s bandages. “Okay, would you guys like to tell me what’s up?”

***

“I’m Mami Tomoe. I’m a Ninth Grader at Mitakihara Middle School.” The drill-curl-haired upperclassmen formally introduced herself to Madoka outside her apartment home. “And, when I made a contract with Kyubey, I became a Magical Girl!” The freshly-healed Kyubey leapt onto Mami Tomoe’s shoulder.

“I’m Madoka Kaname. P- Pleased to meet you!” Madoka nervously giggled. Mami invitingly opened her door. “Wow! Cool apartment!”

“I live alone, so make yourself at home. Although, as far as refreshments go, I don’t have much.”

Sayaka grumped as the oddball redhead helped herself to a spare bag of potato chips from the cupboard. “Just make yourself at home. Yeah. Like I’ve got plenty of refreshments to go around.” 

“You said this girl defeated a Witch?” That strange, small cat-rabbit creature sat on the floor of her bedroom. Somehow, it could talk. Even weirder, it did so without moving its mouth.

“No, I beat the Witch.” The redhead said with her mouth full of chips. “She-” She took a moment to swallow the wad of chips down her throat. “She just held back the familiars that ganged up on us.” She burped. “Did a pretty sweet job of it, too.”

“Interesting.” The creature titled its head.

“Who the heck are you guys?” Sayaka threw up her hands in confused exasperation.

“Oh, yeah. I ‘spose I am bein’ a little bit rude.” The redhead briskly brushed the crumbs on her hand off on her short-cut denim shorts as she presented her hand for a shake. “I’m Kyoko. Kyoko Sakura. Nice to meet ya’!” 

Sayaka examined Kyoko’s rather unkempt appearance. She donned a visible black crop top underneath a turquoise hooded sweatshirt, which was unzipped at the bottom, exposing her belly button. She wore a pair of short-cut denim shorts, with fur along the bottom as pants. Her boots were a brown color that ran just below her knees. Overall her appearance was decidedly unfeminine, aside from a long ponytail and the black wolf-like ribbon tying it together. “Hi.” Sayaka lightly shook her paw.

“My name is Kyubey.” The little creature hopped onto Sayaka’s bed. Kyoko promptly plopped herself onto the bed after the handshake. She grabbed a big handful of potato chips and shoveled them in her mouth.

Madoka giggled heartily as she dug into a slice of cake. “Wow, Mami! This is so delicious!” 

“Thank you!” Mami smiled and took a breath. “Since Kyubey chose you, that means you are involved in this, whether you like it or not. I thought it might be good if we had a talk!”

“Go ahead... Ask us anything ya’ want!” Kyoko laid back and stretched on the bed. Sayaka pinched herself hard on her arm. 

“So I’m not dreaming. I really did fight off a bunch of monsters!” Sayaka puffed and wheezed as the magnitude of this realization set in. “So what are you?” Kyoko immediately presented her a red, gold-decorated egg.

“It’s called a ‘Soul Gem’.” Mami explained to Madoka. “When Kyubey chooses a girl, it’s created when she makes a contract with him.”

“It’s the source of our magic.” Kyoko’s gem transmuted her Soul Gem back into a ring on her finger, “And it proves we’re Magical Girls.”

“What’s this ‘contract’?” Sayaka asked.

“I will grant you one wish. Any wish you desire.” Kyubey stated.

“Huh? For reals?” Sayaka sat down on the bed.

“Anything at all?” Madoka wondered.

“Anything at all. I can grant the most impossible of miracles.” Kyubey specified.

“You could wish for huge treasure! Or even eternal youth! Or better yet, a huge Imperial Feast!” Kyoko suggested with an exceptionally enthusiastic grin.

“Not so sure about that last one.” Sayaka replied. But it did make her hungry stomach growl. 

“Want some?” Kyoko offered the already open bag of chips.

“And in exchange for that wish, a Soul Gem is created.” Kyubey elaborated. “But, if you have a Soul Gem, it will be your duty to fight Witches.”

“Witches?” Madoka looked worried.

“Witches cause all the really really bad stuff.” Kyoko had turned on the television and was casually flipping through channels. “Sudden suicides and murders. Unexplained disappearances and stuff. Curses cause those bad emotions to build up inside of people, ‘til they’re ripe for the Witch to take away and eat. Then we magical girls hunt down the Witches and reap the rewards from it. Think of it a bit like the food chain.” She nonchalantly reached down her pants and scratched herself.

“If there’s things like that out there, how come people don’t know about them? Sayaka asked.

“A Witch is careful about not letting humans see them. They hide deep inside of labyrinths that they create.” Kyubey answered.

“Ya’ wandered straight into one.” Kyoko commented. “First time I’ve ever met a human who’s come out of one alive.” Sayaka fearfully gulped at that revelation.

“Is that what you do? You fight horrible creatures, Mami?" Madoka asked her new friend.

“Yes. I risk my life. That’s why you should think carefully before you decide.” Mami sipped her tea. “Kyubey chose you and offered a rare chance. It’s true that he’ll grant whatever wish you can think of. But remember… Death is a part of that deal!”

“Gaaaahhh… As if I wasn’t stressin’ out enough already!” Sayaka pulled at her hair.  

“No need to rush yourself.” Kyoko smirked. “I’ll be right here for at least a few days.”

“What?" Sayaka glared at the redhead. "What do you mean by that?”

“Dontcha remember our deal?” Kyoko reached for a bag at the bedside, pulled out a box of Pockys and flipped one in her mouth. “I’m gonna hold ya’ to it.”

Madoka struggled to say the girl's name. “H- Ho- Homura. S- She’s a new student in my class. She was the one there at the mall today! I- Is she the same as you? Is she a magical girl, too?”

“She is. There’s no doubt.” Mami concluded. “And she’s a very powerful one, from what I saw.”

“And the girl who was with her is too?”

“Not nearly as strong, but still formidable enough.”

“So then they’re good guys who fight Witches?” Madoka’s voice cheered up. “But I wonder, why would they attack me?” Her head sunk.

“It was me they were after.” Kyubey sat up from a resting posture. “I think they’re trying to keep me from making a contract with a new magical girl.”

“Yeah but… If we’re all fighting the same enemy, wouldn’t it be better if there were more Magical Girls out there?” Sayaka asked. Kyoko had just informed her that there were other magical girls, all around the world, and that they were typically not friends with one another.

“Ya’ see this thing here?” Kyoko pulled from her sweatshirt pocket a black, spherical object, with ornate decoration at its top and bottom. “It’s called a ‘Grief Seed’. It’s like the witch’s egg or somethin’. We magical girls use these things to replenish our magic. The more ya’ got, the tougher ya’ are. So magical girls usually fight each other over them as much as they fight the witches. To the death, even. This one’s the one that came out of that Witch we sacked today.”

“Sounds like a pretty rough life.” Sayaka commented.

“I manage.” Kyoko sat back as she turned up the television’s volume.

“Can I see it?” Sayaka held out her hand.

“Won’t do you any good. Not unless you’ve got a Soul Gem.” She pulled out another Pocky stick.

“I just want to have a look at it.”

“Eh. Whatever.” Kyoko handed it over. “But be quick. I gotta use it soon.”

Sayaka examined the patterns adorning it. The cup-like crest at its top reminded her of a championship trophy from a contest. “Do they all have these weird… Patterns on them?”

“Dunno. Never looked at them too close.” Kyoko scratched under her pants again as she focused on the television. Sayaka’s gaze turned to Kyubey for the answer.

“There is much about Witches that we still don’t understand. But in this case, I suppose the appropriate analogy would be to that of a human’s fingerprints. I have so far seen no two Grief Seeds that are completely alike.”

“Looks strange.” Sayaka handed it back to Kyoko. “ Do you need any help?”

Mami comfortingly put her hand on her new friend's lap. “I know it’s a tough decision. But maybe, if you went on a few Witch hunts with me, it’ll help you decide!” She offered.

“Really?” Madoka’s eyes widened.

“You can see for yourself what it’s like to fight a Witch. You can think about the offer while you do.” Mami looked at a clock on the wall and stood up. “It’s pretty late. You should be going home. I don’t want your family getting mad at you.”

Madoka stood up and bowed. “Thank you for explaining everything to me.” Then she bowed to Kyubey. “And thank you for your kind offer.”

“Think long, and hard.” Mami walked her over to the door. “Just ask yourself, is there something you want so badly, that it’s worth putting your life in danger?”

Kyoko skeptically tilted her head. “Ya’ really willing to stick your neck out for this?” 

“I wanna…” Sayaka took a breath and sat at Kyoko’s side. “I wanna protect people from the Witches out there.”

“Wrrrrrrroooooooong!” Kyoko crudely shoved her off the bed. “Rookie magical girls that fight for such silly high-minded reasons, like protecting people, they wind up washing out in a matter of days. Believe me, I’ve seen it before!”

“What do you mean by that? You protected me!” Sayaka picked herself off the floor and indignantly retorted.

“I wanted food. Ya’ said ya’ had food!” Kyoko grinned. “And, besides, at the time I mistook ya’ for a real magical girl.” She tilted her head and her face blushed. “Thought ya’ had the smell of one. Oopsie. Nose gets it wrong sometimes.”

“Y’know, that was supposed to be my food!” Sayaka forcefully slammed her bed. “Wait… how’d you even find my place to begin with?”

Kyoko pulled a wallet out from her other sweatshirt pocket. It was Sayaka’s, with her key card stashed inside. She tossed it back to her. She then reached for a bag full of apples by her side. “You want one?”

“You couldn’t have accepted this job for food!” Sayaka grimaced. 

“I didn’t have a lot as a kid. What’s it to ya’ anyway?” Kyoko put the burger down between them and turned over on the bed.

“C’mon, can’t you at least tell me your wish? Maybe it’ll help me figure out what I might want to get out of it.”

Kyoko rolled her eyes. “It’s none of yer business.”

“If you don’t I’ll wish for something high-minded like world peace or something.” Sayaka threatened.

“Aw, yuck! Dooon’t make me sick!” Kyoko scratched her nose. “Tch. People. Ask yourself this: How can people ever be thankful that yer protecting them from a threat… When they don’t even know that there is a threat? They’ll never thank ya’, so how could they appreciate ya’? And if they do find out, what’s to stop the world from freaking out over it? Or What if those in charge just see your power as a threat? What if they treat you as the same as the things we fight?”

“Not much of a ‘People’ person are you?”

“People ain’t got a clue, don’t want a clue, and if they get one they’re prone to havin’ a total freakout. Once yer on the outside o’ humanity and ya’ take a step back, and reeeeeeally take a look at ‘em, it’s easy to see why they’re such easy fodder for witches. Buncha whiny, self-centered animals. Save them from evil? They still do plenty of evil all on their own, without a witch’s corruption. Why would we fight to protect a bunch of liars and hypocrites and betrayers? Why should we?”

“Betrayers?” That word seemed to touch a nerve in Sayaka. She layed back on the bed beside Kyoko and unwrapped the hamburger. “It’s funny… I think that if I’d heard you say this stuff earlier, I probably would’ve gotten real mad at you.” She bit hard into the burger. But on a day when she’d been betrayed by one of the only people she thought she knew intimately, her mind was suddenly open to whole new ideas.

Kyubey adjusted his lying position at the end of the bed, staring at the two girls together. “Is there something you desire in your heart, that is worth trading your life for, Sayaka Miki?” He asked, tilting his head.

Mami Tomoe watched Madoka stroll away from her apartment, and closed the door once she was out of sight. “Kyubey, I’m a little bit mad at you right now, I must admit. Fleeing to that girl when Homura Akemi was chasing after you. That could have put her in a lot of danger.”

“It was a calculated risk, yes.” Kyubey lept on her chair and laid down. “But it confirmed that I was indeed Homura Akemi’s target. Madoka Kaname at the time happened to be closer.”

“Still, you could have run towards my protection. You were lucky Madoka more or less headed for my trap.”

“Then we wouldn’t have known whether or not Akemi and the other girl are collaborators. That the other girl came afterward confirmed that they indeed are working together.”

“Two on one. I guess I’ve handled tougher challenges before.”

“I know a way you can tilt the odds to be more heavily in your favor, Mami.” Kyubey’s head perked up.

“How?” Mami asked.

“Partnering with Madoka Kaname, of course.” Kyubey suggested.

“Hmm.” Mami’s shoulders slumped.

“Surely you already sensed her amazing magical potential?” Kyubey asked.

“I did. I’d be a pretty blind magical girl not to have noticed it.” Mami replied. “You wouldn’t think she’d be such a natural candidate, merely judging by her appearance and her demeanor.”

“If she made a contract, she’d become a Magical Girl even more amazing that you, Mami.” Kyubey stated. “And she is one of the candidates I mentioned to you earlier.”

“Is that so?” Mami laughed, a little uncomfortably. “Still, fitting the physical profile is one thing. Having the mental fortitude to stay committed is...” She sighed. “Rarer.” Mami glanced at the calendar on her wall. “Especially when you throw a Walpurgisnacht into the mix.” 

“Gaaaaaawwwd, ya’ caught her red-handed flirting with yer boyfriend?” Kyoko was looking at a photo of Sayaka, Madoka and Hitomi from Sayaka’s wallet, hysterically laughing at Sayaka’s unfortunate story.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Sayaka corrected. “He-” She paused. “He’s a good friend of mine who happens to be a boy.” She hunched down. “But I wouldn’t necessarily mind it if he saw me as more. Someday.”

“Baaahhhh… There’s plenty of other fish out there.” Kyoko patted her Sayaka’s back as she flipped another Pocky stick into her mouth. 

“Kyosuke’s not like the other boys. He’s… Special. To me.”

“Awwwww…” Kyoko mockingly cooed. “Rookie’s first crush.”

“I mean it!” Sayaka snapped back. “He’s like a… Prodigy. He played his violin like a virtuoso. He’d been doing it ever since we were little kids. But he… Got into an accident, and it badly hurt his hand.”

“Mmm. Sucks to be him.” Kyoko chewed.

“I’ve been visiting him at the hospital every day I can. Bringing him gifts and stuff. Cheering him up while he rehabs. Trying to help him see that I’ve always been there for him. And that I always will be.”

“ Force him to see you as girlfriend material. Yeah?” Sayaka glared at her.

Sayaka continued. “But I’ve been overhearing what the doctors and nurses have been saying about his progress. They don’t think he’s ever going to recover enough to be able to play again. I think he secretly knows it, too. So I’ve been trying to get him to realize that, it doesn’t matter to me if he ever plays the violin again. He’s still special to me. Then maybe he’ll come around on his own.”

“Geez, then out and say it, already! Idiot!” Kyoko playfully slapped the back of her head. “I love you. Is that really so hard?”

“Because that would be putting more pressure on him. And I don’t want him thinking I’m just saying it to cheer him up, or that I’m only doing what I do out of a sense of obligation. I know he’d feel like a burden. And he’s already feeling pretty down.”

“So ya’ think that if you stick to him long enough he’ll start to think it’s because you genuinely want to be there? Some kinda long game? That it?”

“I genuinely do, though.”

“Hmmm…” Kyoko twirled another Pocky stick in her fingers as she gave thought. “Even if he’s only got half a brain cell still workin’ after he got hurt… If hasn’t seen what you’ve been trying to do by now, then either he’s already sunk so low that his heart ain’t listenin’, or…”

“He… Doesn’t see me.” Sayaka choked. “Not that way.”

“...And that he’d be flirting with that friend of yours, makes me believe...” Kyoko’s voice trailed. Sayaka’s face sunk into her hands.

“You can fix that.” Kyoko suggested. “Just make him see you that way! There’s your wish!” Kyubey’s ears twitched and his lying body perked up.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I dunno. It just- It feels wrong.” She uncomfortably rubbed her forearms with her hands. “Like I’d be disrespecting him somehow.” Sayaka looked at herself in the mirror. She checked on Kyubey. “Hey, Kyubey… Could I possibly use my wish… To fix his hand?”

“Of course you could.” Kyubey sat up. “That would be easy to do.”

“No!” Kyoko sat up and pinched Sayaka hard on the cheek. “Absolutely not!”

“Owwww!” Sayaka whined.

“Don’t ever use your miracle for the sake of someone else!” Kyoko exclaimed, her fingers still threatening.

“Why not?” Sayaka rubbed her cheek.

“If you wish for someone else, it always turns out bad!” Her hand lowered slightly. 

“How do you know?”

“I just do! I’ve seen that stuff happen before, too! It’s a classic Rookie mistake!” Kyoko hastily brushed food crumbs off the bed, which shooed Kyubey off it too. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Do I have to spell it out?” Kyoko angrily straightened the sheets as she spoke. “You go and fix his hand. Fine! He’s all better now. But would you ever out-and-out admit it was you who fixed him?”

“I might.” Sayaka hemmed.

“Idiot! Ya’ just said ya’ don’t wanna put pressure on him. What do you think tellin’ him that’s gonna do?”

“Wow. I guess I didn’t think that hard into it.” Sayaka’s head drooped.

“A miracle doesn’t guarantee your ‘Happily Ever After.' Life's ain’t no fairy tale.” Kyoko continued. “When you wish for someone’s happiness, someone else has to suffer in equal measure. It’s how the world stays in balance. So you better make a wish that’ll make you happy.”

“I really don’t know what I should do.” Sayaka shook her head. 

“Geez... Won’t wish for love. Can’t wish for someone else’s happiness.” Kyoko twirled the picture of Sayaka and her friends around and stared at it. “It’s a little out of the box, but… I wouldn’t be against the idea of wishing for someone else’s un happiness.”  

***

“So let me get this straight,” Miss Jones straightened her glasses. “In a joint effort to avert a certain first encounter, you girls inadvertently created the situation that caused it, or what an old mentor of mine used to call the Pogo Paradox. Is that the gist?” Homura and Sayaka solemnly nodded their heads.

“Sorry.” The two said together.

Miss Jones sighed wearily. “I guess I can’t be too upset. One of the first things I learned as a time-traveller,” Miss Jones briefly glanced at Homura. “Is that reality has a way of pushing back hard against any effort to alter the normal flow of events. This is especially true when trying to save somebody’s life from a tragic end.”

“She can still be saved though,” Sayaka asked upon eyeing Homura, who was staring grimly at the floor. “Right?”

“Yes.” Miss Jones tilted Homura’s chin up with her hand. “Of course she can. We just need to be craftier is all.”

“Kyubey gets wilier every time I try to save her.” Homura lamented.

“It’s why I’m here.” Miss Jones reminded. “It’s why you’ve got to keep me in the loop. When Kyubey thinks he’s three steps ahead, I’m six steps ahead. But I can’t do that while on my back foot and I certainly can’t do it on my own.” Miss Jones sat down on her futon and steepled her fingers. “When’s the next big day of action?”

“Monday.” The girls said in unison.

“What happens Monday?”

“M- Mami. She-” Sayaka struggled to spill it. “Dies.”

“Odds?” Miss Jones turned to Homura.

“Increasing frequency in recent timelines.” Homura recounted.

“That would be reality pushing back, the fixed point retaliating.” Her steepled fingers came together and clenched. “What are the odds Miss Kaname makes a contract in the interim?”

“Slim to none.” Homura continued. “If there’s any benefit at all to her being with Mami Tomoe, it’s that Mami encourages her to think carefully before coming to a decision.”

“Way to look at the bright side.” Miss Jones smiled. “I’ll keep her with me after class Monday, say I’ll need a teacher’s assistant. Covers that base. What are the circumstances surrounding your friend’s timely-untimely demise?” 

“There’s going to be a Witch at the hospital.” Sayaka said. “Last time, I was the one who spotted it.”

“And ‘you’ will be at softball practice. There’s that base.” Miss Jones’s clenched fingers loosened as she stood up. “Apparently, Coach Yamazaki told me you failed to show up for the team meeting today.”

“What?” Sayaka exclaimed.

“Perhaps she forgot to go. Or maybe snuck off to visit Kyosuke Kamijo?” Homura suggested.

“I may be forgetful, but I’m not a flake.” Sayaka said in defense. “And I wouldn’t break a commitment just to go see him.”

“Coach Yamazaki will keep an eye on you, hopefully.” Miss Jones said. “That just leaves the small matter of the Witch, and Miss Tomoe.”

“Gimme permission to skip class that day.” Sayaka jumped to her feet as she insisted. “I’ll patrol that hospital all day, if I have to.”

“I dunno. I’ve seen your grades.” Miss Jones teased her hair. “Nooooot great.”

“That stuff doesn’t matter.” Sayaka blushed.

“Education always matters.” Miss Jones countered. 

“Please! Mami’s life’s at stake here!”

Miss Jones relentingly smiled. “I know. Do the homework well beforehand.”

“Fiiiiiiiiiine.” Sayaka rolled her eyes.

“I’ll monitor Mami Tomoe then.” Homura sat up. “I’ll do what I must to prevent her from going near that hospital.”

“‘Must?’” Sayaka raised her eyebrow. “You’re not going to take her on, are you?”

“Fine.” Homura put her hand over her bandages. “I’ll do what I can .” She corrected. 

“And that’s our best-laid plans.” Miss Jones concluded. “Of Mice and men.” She bunched up the Yen notes on the desk. “Onto other matters for the moment. I got paid today.” She handed Sayaka the notes and a shopping list. “You know what to do.”

“Another microwave? What in the world do you need a bunch of old game systems for?”

“Come.” Miss Jones got up and led the girls over to a partially-removed panel in the wall with a modified microwave slotted inside. “This prototype is going to be what replaces those Grief Seeds.” She pulled her multitool from her pocket and with the turn of its dial attracted Sayaka’s Soul Gem from off her finger.

“Hey! I told you to stop doing that!”

“It’s only for a demonstration.”

“I’m not letting you put my soul in a microwave!”

“Use mine.” Homura pulled the ring from her finger, transmuted it to its egg form and handed it over.

“Thank you.” Miss Jones set the gem at the center inside the microwave and set it to two minutes on the panel. The device hummed, and the egg slowly turned. Gradually, numerous clouds of darkness bubbled from Homura’s Soul Gem, manifesting as orbiting particles around her Gem. “As you can see, with the correct calibration, it’s possible to separate the Active Ectomatter from the Depleted stuff.” The timer on the microwave ticked down to zero seconds. The undulating dark matter instantly collapsed back into the gem. “With a set of fine-tuned lasers, I can channel that dark stuff out of the Gem into an alternate container. One that can properly retain that energy.” She took the Soul Gem out and handed it back to Homura. “For now, it’s a proof of concept.”

“How long will that take?” Homura slid the ring back on her finger.

“This thing I whipped up overnight.” Miss Jones boasted. “Give me a few more nights, I could have this prototype finished. Weeks, a working model. After that the sky’s the limit. Now chop chop! Get me the things we need!” Sayaka quickly stuffed the cash in her pockets and headed for the exit.

“I had better get going as well.” Homura said. “There will be a Witch appearing around the windmill area tonight.”

“No rest for the weary, huh?” Miss Jones shuffled through some school papers. “Tomorrow night, then? Once she’s asleep?”

“I can accomodate, yes.” Homura stepped towards the doorway.

“Fascinating little baubles, these Grief Seeds.” Miss Jones pulled the Grief Seed that Homura gave her from her coat pocket. 

“Have you finished studying it?” Homura turned her head back slightly.

“Not yet. Still need to run some scans. Just saying, from a purely aesthetic perspective, they really are quite… Enchanting.”

“If you say so.”

“Very ornately decorated. Quite beautiful.” Miss Jones muttered. Homura had just slipped out the door. “How like a Soul Gem.”

Chapter Text

BEEP BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP BEEP!

The alarm clock sounded. Madoka Kaname’s eyes popped open. She drowsily sat up as she clutched her stuffed animal toy. “Awwww... I had another weird dream.” She sighed.

The details of this one were pretty sketchy. But it was yet another dream that heavily featured her friend Sayaka. This time she was lying dead on the ground, in a place where they clearly weren’t supposed to be. Madoka remembered clinging to Sayaka’s limp body, hugging it, overwhelmed with grief, as an unfamiliar girl in red stood over them in shock and anguish. That was when the dream ended. But what could’ve happened to her? Madoka struggled to remember those rapidly-fading details as she sat there in bed.

“Good morning, Madoka.” A voice amongst the stuffed animals on the shelf behind her abruptly greeted. It was Kyubey, the little creature she rescued at the mall. She smiled at him shyly and scratched her head while thinking back to the even weirder turn of events that actually happened to her yesterday. 

“Madoka… You got in pretty late last night, didn’t you?” Her mother, Junko Kaname asked her as they were brushing their teeth in the bathroom together, a daily ritual between them.

“I got invited over to a friend’s house.” Madoka told her.

Her mother gargled water and spit. “I don’t want to start cracking down on you with curfews and stuff. Next time, let us know where you are before dinner.”

“I’m sorry.” Madoka smiled and apologized. She looked over and saw Kyubey resting lazily in a washbowl, amused that her mother could neither see nor hear him.

“Hey, Mom… This might sound silly, but, um, if someone could grant any wish you wanted using magic, what would you wish for?”

“I’d wish for those two trustees to get kicked right out of the company.” Her mother keenly grinned. Madoka chuckled nervously. “Come to think of it, there’s the CEO. He’s too old to keep up the pace like he used to, so maybe I’d wish for him to retire.” Her mother mused as she applied her makeup. “Thing is, he hasn’t named a successor yet.”

Madoka thought about asking her what she would do if she became the CEO, but the ambitious, scheming look in her mother’s eyes was already starting to scare her. So instead she changed the topic.

“Hey, Mom… This might also sound silly, but, um…” Madoka hesitated. It felt rather childish to raise the subject of bad dreams to her mother at her age. Dreams were just dreams, after all. They had no influence on the real world or the people in it. 

“What is it?” Her Mom patiently smiled.

“It’s nothing.” Madoka cleaned her toothbrush and put it away. 

“Now, c’mon! Smells like your Papa’s got breakfast ready!” Junko excitedly headed to the door.

“Is there something wrong?” Kyubey asked Madoka as he clung to her shoulder on her route to school.

“No, it’s just…” Madoka’s pace slowed. “Usually Sayaka and Hitomi are here with me by now.” She stopped and checked her phone. “We always walk to school together.”

“Something’s off.” Homura said to Sayaka as they watched Madoka from behind while they were traveling to school.

“You noticed it too?” Sayaka replied. “We should be there. Hitomi and I should be walking with her. Wonder why they aren’t?” 

“This might warrant investigation.”

“But what do we do, with Kyubey hanging on like a pet?”

“I don’t know.”

“We have to do something !” Sayaka protested. “I don’t trust him alone with her for one spitting second.”

“Anything we say or do would be tactically ill-considered.” Homura warned. 

“What do we have to lose? He already knows we’re here!”

“He knows we exist and oppose him. But nothing else. Wisest if we keep it that way for now.”

“Whatever. I’m going in.” Sayaka started a run.

“What? Stop!” Homura grabbed her. “Your face might be disguised, but your soul is still unique! We don’t know his methods of identifying magical girls. What if getting close allows him to deduce your identity?”

“Hmmm. Maybe you’ve got a point.” Sayaka gave pause, then slid her ring off her finger and put it in Homura’s hand. “Just try and stay within a hundred meters of us.”

“What?” Homura examined the ring. “This is crazy. You can’t be serious about-”

“I’m not leaving her alone!” Sayaka trotted. “I trust you.” She waved back “Maybe for the first time ever!”

“Are you alright?” Sayaka heard Madoka’s concerned voice approaching her. Her separation limit was already getting tested. She was feeling a little woozy and disoriented as she got closer. 

“I’m fine! Just fine! Got out of bed not too long ago! I guess a part of me would rather be back there.”

“I know how you feel.” Madoka giggled. “Saya Otonashi, right? Is there something you wanted?”

“No, no. I just saw you walking along from back there.” Sayaka looked back behind them. “You looked…” Homura was out of sight. “A bit lonely.”

“ I am aware that you are a magical girl. I sense the presence of your Soul Gem .” A voice addressed Sayaka directly in her mind.

“I’m not lonely at all.” Madoka corrected. “I’m worried. My friends walk to school with me every day. Since we were in elementary school.”

“Maybe they’re both sick today?” Sayaka moved to the shoulder opposite the one Kyubey had perched on.

“ But your soul is not in the immediate proximity to your body. ” Kyubey’s voice pressed. 

“They both looked fine yesterday.” 

“Well, if you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.” Sayaka tried her best to sound more cheerful. “For today.”

“ You are an anomaly .” He prodded, his facial expression never changing. “ You, and Homura Akemi .” Madoka was obviously not privy to his thoughts.

“Thanks.” Madoka said. “This may sound strange, but if someone could grant any wish you wanted with magic, what would you wish for?”

“Easy. Wish for a million wishes.” Madoka giggled. “I like the sound of your laugh.” Sayaka complimented.

“ She’s the one who now possesses your Soul Gem, yes? ” Kyubey continued. “ I can sense her moving around with it . What is the meaning of such a rudimentary ploy ?”

“I always thought my laugh was kind of childish. It’s embarrassing.” Madoka said. “So I only laugh like that when I’m with my friends.”

“That’s too bad. It’s like you’re hiding a part of yourself. A part that someone might really like about you.” Sayaka replied. “Still, I suppose I’m lucky.”

“ Hiding a part of yourself, indeed .” Kyubey injected his thoughts into that part. “ You are taking measures to conceal your identity. Even your outward appearance is somehow… Not correct .”

“Lucky? How?” Madoka asked.

“That you showed that part of yourself show around me. I guess that makes us friends.” Sayaka smiled. “For today.” She put her arm around Madoka’s back. Kyubey instinctively leapt off.

“Yeah, friends.” Madoka smiled back.”For today.”

“ But what are you hiding it from ? Myself ?” Kyubey let go of her shoulder and landed hind-foot first on the ground. “ Or perhaps… Her ?” 

 The two girls arrived at school. A luxury car had just pulled up in front of the steps. Hitomi Shizuki promptly stepped out of the passenger seat.

“Oh, hello Madoka. I’m sorry I couldn’t walk to school with you guys today.”

“It’s okay, Hitomi. I’m just glad to see you here.” Madoka trotted over to greet her.

“Are you alright, Miss Otonashi?” Hitomi approached and asked. Sayaka was feeling lightheaded and woozy again. Homura must have gone in around back.

“I’m fine, thanks for asking.” Sayaka collected herself.

“Madoka just told me you were walking to school with her earlier.”

“It’s no big deal. I was just trying to be nice to her.”

“All the same, I’d like to thank you for doing that.” Hitomi whispered as they walked up the schoolhouse steps. “It’s been a tradition for me and Sayaka Miki to walk to school with her.” She paused. “But I… I don’t think we’ll be doing so again. For quite some time.”

“Eh?” Sayaka wanted to press her on that, but Kyubey was sitting at the top step, watching them. 

“If you happen to see her walking alone tomorrow, please do so again.” Hitomi requested. “Doing that would put me in your debt.” Now Sayaka was really curious. The bell rang, and the girls scrambled to put their things in their lockers and make it to Miss Jones’s classroom on time.

“ Aren’t you coming inside the classroom with us, Kyubey ?” Madoka telepathically asked.

“ I appreciate the offer. However, it may be better if I stay with Mami .” Kyubey gazed at Homura, who was approaching from the opposite end of the hallway. “ For now .”

“That’s unusual.” Homura muttered to herself.

“Thanks.” Sayaka whispered as Homura discreetly handed Sayaka’s ring back to her. They all took their seats. Sayaka next to Homura, and Hitomi next to Madoka.

“Good morning, class!” Miss Jones said cheerfully.

“Good morning, Miss Jones.” The class repeated together.

“The good news is that with a couple of exceptions, you all did quite well on that quiz! You should be proud of yourselves!”

Suddenly, the Other Sayaka came bursting through the doorway. She was out of breath.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Miss Jones!” She bowed as courteously as she could manage. “I had to give an absentee excuse note to Miss Yamazaki!” 

“Hmmm.” Miss Jones checked a notebook on her desk. “It was very rude to just come barging in the way you did.”

“S- Sorry again.” Sayaka apologized as her focus wandered in the direction of her empty seat.

“Since your prior tardiness record has been spotless until now, I’m going to forgive this transgression.” She marked it in the notebook. “Now please take your seat.”

“Uh, actually.” Sayaka interjected. “M- May I please exchange seats with someone else? For today?”

“Eh? You want to switch seats, too?” Miss Jones gave Sayaka a perplexed look, then craned her neck and gave the Sayaka next to Homura a more befuddled look.

“Miss Otonashi.” Miss Jones addressed Sayaka. “How would you feel about exchanging seats with Miss Clown here?” She placed herself between the Sayakas. “Would you object to it?”

Everyone’s eyes trained on the disguised Sayaka. “N- I guess not.” She slowly slid out of her seat and backed up.

“Good. Now take your seat, please.” Miss Jones picked up a pen and began writing on the digital blackboard. “And who knows? If moving closer brings your lagging scores up, I may be willing to make this change permanent.” The class collectively chuckled at their instructor’s remark.

There Sayaka sat. Back in her old seat. Back where she seemingly belonged. Only, she didn’t belong there. The events separating her life from her counterpart had morphed her into being a stranger in a familiar land. Madoka gave her a warm, reassuring smile, something she would’ve done regardless of the person she was sitting next to.

Hitomi, on the other hand, was less accommodating. She offered a small, feigned wave, then went right into taking her usual studious notes. It was clear to her that there was a budding issue between Hitomi and Sayaka’s counterpart. And that they were both pretending there was nothing wrong while unintentionally making it the big, giant elephant in the room. Something changed yesterday, she was sure. Something that created a rift between these three girls. 

***

In the hallway, across the building, Kyubey trotted into the girls’ bathroom.

“ So what’d you learn ?” Mami Tomoe asked him telepathically.

“ That Homura Akemi and the other girl, named Saya Otonashi, are collaborators in some capacity .”

“ Might they have designs on this city? ” Mami asked while washing her hands thoroughly.

“ That I cannot say. What I can say is that they appear to have a shared interest in Madoka Kaname .”

“ Hm. So it’s more likely they have a mutual goal of preventing the birth of a new magical girl. ” Mami scoffed, “ Bullied children inevitably become bullies themselves. ”

“ It would be unwise to underestimate them .” Kyubey said. 

“ Akemi is very astute, and moves efficiently, judging by what I’ve seen .” Mami noted. “ It would not surprise me if she were the senior in the partnership .”

“ At the other end, Otonashi’s entire appearance looks like it is somehow fabricated.”

“Maybe her wish was to change herself with magic. ” Mami mused. “ That would certainly provide a fair number of advantages in life .”

“Yes, and that would not be an unprecedented wish.” Kyubey concurred. “However, there is one more thing I must note: I do not have any recollection of making a contract with either of them .”

“ What do you mean? How could you grant a wish and not remember it ?”

“ I do not know. It could be the result of a side effect of what they wished for, but without evidence I can only speculate. ”

“ For now ,” Mami continued “ We must be ready for anything. And we must protect Madoka from them .”

“ The tactically more beneficial thing, I think ,” Kyubey opined “ Would be to make Madoka Kaname a Magical Girl .”

“ That can only be her decision to make, Kyubey .” Mami clasped her hands and looked into the mirror on the bathroom wall. “ While I would certainly welcome her with open arms if she chooses, I’m not going to press her if she’s not up to it .”

“ Of course that’s your prerogative .” Kyubey said. “ But I highly doubt those two view her the same way as you .”

“ I just hope she doesn’t get backed into a corner ,” Mami clenched her fist. “ And left without a choice .”

***

“Something really really weird must’ve happened yesterday.” Sayaka muttered to Homura as they watched Hitomi and Sayaka’s counterpart take careful steps to avoid one another while they picked out their lunches. Homura wasn’t particularly interested, she was watching Madoka proceed to the building’s rooftop, the place where she and Sayaka normally ate their food together.

“Where the heck am I going?” Instead of following Madoka to the roof, her counterpart seemed to be headed elsewhere.

“Don’t know.” Homura straightforwardly replied. She took a few steps in Madoka’s direction. “Not my concern.”

“But we’ve gotta look into this.” Sayaka clutched Homura’s arm. “Something’s gone screwy between them. I’m sure even you can tell that.”

“There are always relationship variations from timeline to timeline. Typically, delving further into them served little more than to waste my time.”

“Is that how you came to see the rest of us?” Sayaka frowned. “Gee, and you wonder why I was so quick to dislike you.”

“If investigating the matter is so crucial to you, then you pursue it.” Homura jerked her arm away. “I need to talk to Madoka.”

“And trot out the same scary, cryptic warnings like last time? What do they say is the definition of insanity?” 

Homura was nonplussed. “And I suppose you have an alternative in mind?” She added, “Besides sticking your nose in the conversation at the most inopportune time.” 

“How ‘bout this…” Sayaka proposed. “I go talk to Madoka, you go talk to Other Me and Hitomi.”

“No.”

“Would it really kill you to care about us others from time to time?”

“I don’t need to justify anything to you.” Homura headed towards the roof.

Sayaka quickly dashed in front of Homura, blocking the stairs in front of her. She obstinately pounded her fist to her palm. “Rock-paper-scissors. I win, we do things my way, you win, you can go play the psycho transfer student all over again.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“Let’s do it!”

“I don’t have time for this.” Homura tried to dodge around Sayaka, but Sayaka backed up right against the doorway. “Tch.” Homura scowled. “Fine. One round.”

“Rock… Paper… Scissors… Shoot!” Sayaka threw scissors.

“I win.” Homura threw rock. Her frown slowly morphed a wry smile.

“Darn it!” Sayaka exclaimed Just…” Sayaka stood by. “Talk with her. Not at her. Then she might be more open to what you’ve got to say.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Homura proceeded. Sayaka retreated down the steps. “It would be more productive if you talked with Hitomi Shizuki. She would be the more forthcoming, between the two of you.” Homura advised as they split. “But I’m sure you already knew that much about yourself.”

***

“Here you go, Kyubey.” Madoka cheerfully fed Kyubey a piece of her packed lunch.

“Have you decided on your wish yet, Madoka?” Kyubey chewed as he spoke to her.

“No I haven’t. I’m drawing a blank. Is that weird?”

“Most girls do accept my offer right away.” Kyubey said bluntly.

A dark figure suddenly stepped out of the doorway. It was Homura, walking towards them with urgency. Madoka instinctively picked Kyubey up and held the little creature in her arms.

“It’s okay.” A voice reassuringly echoed from atop a tower on the other side of the school building. It was Mami Tomoe, attentively watching over her ward.

“I haven’t come to fight.” Homura glared at Kyubey. “I wanted to catch it. Before it made contact with Madoka Kaname. But it’s too late for that now.”

Her stern glare abruptly switched to Madoka. “Well? Now what? Are you going to become a magical girl?”

“I’m uh…” Madoka reluctantly put Kyubey down.

“I warned you.” Homura reminded. “Before we were so rudely interrupted. Remember?”

“Yes.” 

“Very well then. I hope my warning was not in vain.” Homura turned to go back inside. “Goodbye.”

“Homura… Wait!” Madoka struggled with what she wanted to say. “I uh… I’d like to know what you wished for when you became a magical girl!”  

Homura stopped and gazed into Madoka’s eyes. This wasn’t the first time Madoka had asked her that question. Far from it, in fact. But Homura could never answer her. Not because she didn’t want to, she ached desperately to do so every single day, but it was actually because she had been fighting for so long, had been reliving this chain of events so many times, that she could no longer precisely remember the wish that began her lonely, burdensome journey. ‘Protect Madoka’, were the only words that still endured. And with Mami and Kyubey both watching, she dare not risk betraying such an intimate detail about her exisence. She flipped her hair, turned, and walked coldly away.

***

The lunch period at Mitakihara Middle School was unique for its kind, as rather than eat in the cafeteria, the students were allowed to dine wherever they’d like, under the condition that they always clean up after themselves when finished. Some would go eat by the playground. Some would eat in their respective club rooms. Some would eat at their desks. Others, like Sayaka and Madoka, would eat more in exotic spots. Madoka, once upon a time, had confided that she had a fear of heights, so Sayaka started taking her up to eat on the rooftop as an immersion therapy of sorts.

Hitomi Shizuki, on the other hand, would only rarely join them. Typically, she’d do what the rest of the Honor Students of her ilk did, and dine while she crammed at the library. And there she was, quietly reading while she ate a bowl of chicken and rice.

“Is this seat taken?” Sayaka politely approached.

“Oh?” Hitomi yanked her head away from her book. “Ah, hello, Miss Otonashi. Um, no, it’s fine. You can have lunch there if you’d like.”

“You can call me ‘Saya’.” Sayaka checked around the room. No staring eyes of Kyubey. No curious substitute teachers. No counterpart. The other students were too buried in their studies to pay any special attention to her presence. This was her best chance to get Hitomi to talk. Now if only she could think of a tactful way to do so. “If you wanna.” She sat down and ate a single grape.

“Um, that thing you said to me earlier,” Sayaka continued. “About walking to school again with that girl,” Hitomi peeked from behind her book. “Can you tell me more about it?”

“It’s a personal matter, is all. I’m hoping a little bit of time and some separation can smooth it out.”

“Are you not getting along with her?” Sayaka asked, already suspecting the issue wasn’t with Madoka.

“Who? With Madoka? Oh, no, no.” Hitomi confirmed. “I have no issue with her. She’s a wonderful friend!”

“Then what’s up?”

“It’s with her friend.” Hitomi continued, reluctantly. “Sayaka… That girl you swapped desks with earlier today.” She nibbled on her food as she tried to focus on her book.

“Oh,” Sayaka shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. “Yeah. Her.”

“She’s really not a bad person.” Hitomi prefaced, upon noticing Sayaka’s sudden discomfort. “I want to apologize for her remarks yesterday. She can be rather uninhibited to the point of being rude.” Hitomi was now apologizing to Sayaka, on behalf of Sayaka. Now this was getting really bizarre. “I always found her carefreeness to be quite endearing.”

“But… Now you’re not getting along with her?”

“It’s not because of anything she said or did.” Hitomi clarified.

“So what happened then?” Sayaka pressed. “Between you two?”

Hitomi set her book aside and took several bites of her meal. She glanced around the room, surveying the other inattentive students, before discreetly reaching for her bookbag. “I can’t talk to my Mother about it. She would just tell me to drop the whole issue and stick to my studies. She’d probably even sign me up for another extracurricular.” She rifled through the bookbags contents. “My father is always working and traveling. We don’t get much chance to talk at all.” She stopped for a moment, visually searching through the items inside. “I can’t say anything to Madoka. She and Sayaka are close to a point where I often feel like the third wheel.” She sighed, and reached for a slip of paper inside. “And I can’t trust any of the other kids in class. Most of their parents know mine… Their unbridled gossip would eventually find its way back to my Mother.” She handed the slip to Sayaka. “You might be the only person I can reasonably confide in, under the circumstances.” She spoke in a hushed tone. “If you care to hear me out.”

“What’s this?” Sayaka opened the note. She read it over. Now she remembered. Hitomi had a secret admirer. She’d even said something about getting a love letter, way back in that world Sayaka left behind. Back in that life before magic, witches, time travel and space aliens. A simpler world with much simpler problems.

“It’s a love confession note. From a boy in school.” Hitomi attested.

“If he can’t say it to your face, then he’s not worth it.” Sayaka said, regurgitating the romantic advice Madoka’s mother gave to Madoka, who relayed it to the both of them.

“If only it were that simple,” Hitomi elaborated. “The thing is, I think I know exactly which boy in class wrote it.”

Sayaka shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, she immediately reread the note for clues. But deep in her gut, she pretty much knew exactly which boy Hitomi was talking about. The only boy who could possibly drive a wedge between the two of them, Kyosuke Kamijo. “W- Who?” She timidly asked. “Who is it?”

“It’s someone you haven’t met in school yet. His name is Kyosuke Kamijo.”

“Oh?” A chilly sense of déjà vu worked its way down Sayaka’s spine. “How do you figure it’s him?”

“The handwriting on the note, it’s incredibly crude.” Hitomi added. “To the point where it’s almost not legible.”

“A lot of boys have crummy handwriting.” Sayaka pointed out. “I don’t think I know a boy where that’s not the case.”

“And then there’s the part where it says ‘Should I ever gain my strength’.” Hitomi rested her hand on her cheek and stared longingly into the distance. 

“A shy fella?”

“No more than you or I. But the thing you should also know about him is, he has been cooped up in the hospital for the last few months. He’d gotten into a rather serious accident, one that caused him to almost entirely lose the use of his better hand. He’s been pretty down emotionally ever since.”

“Yeah,” Sayaka slowly munched another single grape.” I can see why.”

“At the risk of reading too much into this, the handwriting, so poorly done that it looks like it could be coming from somebody learning how to write again, plus the choice of words, which I believe he means it both to be his physical and emotional strength.” Hitomi stopped and finished her meal. “And then there’s the third clue, the manner in which I received the letter.”

“How’d you get it?” Sayaka twiddled her thumbs under the table.

“I received it from Nakazawa. Who was adamant that he received it from Naganuma. Who said she passed it along on the instructions of Ohtani. Who said he was just doing what Matsumoto told him to do. I found out that it had been passed along at least seven times before I received it. I know I’m jumping to a major conclusion, but that suggests to me that the letter writer wasn’t able to be physically present to deliver it himself. Like say, a boy at home.” She paused “Or stuck in the hospital.”

Sayaka slowly sipped her drink. It was a bit of a jump, but Sayaka could see that, these clues could form a tenuous, but plausible connection back to Kamijo. “But what’s this got to do with that girl you’re friends with?”

“Well, she’s a good, longtime friend of Kamijo’s. She’s known him since they were both very young children. After his injury, she’s gone out of her way to keep him comfortable, to make visits and bring him gifts. She hasn’t said anything, but I suspect she’s sees Kamijo as someone she wants to be more than friends with, some day.”

“So take a step back, and let her have her chance.” Sayaka selfishly advised. “I mean, you don’t even know for sure this silly note is his!”

“I was going to do that. I was ready to pretend this note was a non-issue.” Hitomi admitted. “But I’m afraid I allowed my curiosity and zeal to get the better of me.” 

Sayaka folded her arms uncomfortably. “What’d you do?”

“For the last few weeks, I’ve been visiting Kamijo in secret without Sayaka’s knowledge. I just had to know for certain if the note was his. So I’d fib a few excuses to Sayaka and Madoka here and there, then sneak off and go visit him. Then I’d strike up a conversation, talk about school, help him write things, even flirt a little, look for any conclusive evidence he’s smitten with me.”

So that explained why she never came to help Sayaka pick out a bathing suit. And the forgotten purse she’d found that night. And the reason she was in the lobby that day. “I- Is he?”  She asked, almost inaudibly. “Has he said?”

“No. I’m still not sure yet. To be honest, I don’t think the note even matters anymore.” Hitomi put down her book and tiredly rubbed her eyes. “You see, before his accident, I confess that I had a bit of a crush on him too. He’s so much gentler than the other boys in class. He’d do such nice little things, like stop and help a classmate who tripped and fell down. Or give up a seat on a bus. Or volunteer to help a teacher grade papers. And he’s smarter too. He’d explain math problems to friends who didn’t understand. And he was talented, too! He had been a violin player, one who’d play for anybody willing to listen.”

This was all sounding familiar. They were all the qualities Sayaka had seen in him. “Man, he sounds like quite the catch.” She uttered wih feigned envy.

“But after the accident, he couldn’t play it anymore. He’s like an artist who feels they’re worthless without their talent.” Hitomi wiped a tear from her eye. “But his gentleness, his intelligence, and his soul are all still there, desperate for someone to help make those other qualities shine. And the more I’ve been talking to him, the more I’m sure that my infatuation has blossomed into full-blown love. I want to show him he’s still a wonderful person, even without his talent.”

“So you two are pining to help the same guy. Lucky him.” Sayaka pecked and nibbled at her food. “D- Did you tell her this stuff yesterday or something?” The butterflies were in her heart, not her stomach, so she thought maybe eating while talking would make her appear more casual and less uncomfortable than she really felt inside. 

“If only I had.” She shook her head glumly. “Then things wouldn’t be nearly as awkward as they suddenly got.”

Sayaka stopped eating. “What happened?”

Hitomi paused for a moment. “Yesterday, while I was in the middle of a visit, Sayaka walked in and discovered the two of us together.”

Sayaka’s heart sank, spoiling her nascent appetite. In a momentary flash, she remembered how furious she herself had been, simply stumbling upon Hitomi’s purse at the hospital. “... What did she do?”

“She slammed the door and ran away, before I could explain.” Hitomi was rubbing her hands, regretfully. “I’ve wounded her, quite badly.”

The lunch bell rang. It was time to get back to class. “So I avoided walking to school with Madoka today, because I assumed she would be there with her and things would be awkward. I suppose she assumed the same of me, and Madoka wound up all alone.” Hitomi gathered her things and got off her seat. “So thanks again. If you see her alone tomorrow, please do it again. You’d be doing me a favor.”

“You’re not going to resolve anything, just avoiding each other.” Sayaka said, staring off into the distance in her seat.

“I’m going to write an apology note, for lying about where I’ve been going. As a start.” Hitomi said as she looked back. “But I’m not going to apologize for my feelings toward Kyosuke. Mine are just as true as hers.”

***

Sayaka gathered her food, with a whopping amount of second helpings, and rushed out of the cafeteria. There would be no lunch on the roof with Madoka today. Madoka’s fear of heights was pretty much conquered by now, anyway. Nor was she rushing to meet up with Hitomi. Her opinion of Hitomi was so low that she frankly didn’t care if the two of them would ever be on speaking terms again. 

She hustled down the schoolyard steps, well past the playground, toward the woodland area. If Mitakihara Middle School weren’t so prestigious, and had its own gang of delinquents, this is where they’d probably hang out. 

“‘bout time! I’m starvin’!” Sayaka heard a voice say above her. “Look out beloooow!” Kyoko nimbly jumped from a high tree branch and onto her feet below.

“You don’t have to hide all the way out here, you know. The school allows visitors around lunch period.” Sayaka handed Kyoko her meal and an apple juice box, and the two sat down on the grass.

“Oh, please! Like I give a damn about grown-ups and their rules! I’m just hangin’ here ‘cause I don’t wanna get in no fight.” She took her utensil, stuck it right into a chicken leg, and chomped down.

“Fight? Why would anybody here pick a fight with you?”

Kyoko stared cautiously at the school building. “There’s another Magical Girl at this school. She’s a pretty tough one.”

“Really?” Sayaka also looked back toward the school building. “Wonder who?”

“I can damn well tell ya’ who.” Kyoko took a moment to wolf down her chicken meat. “Mami Tomoe.”

“Never met her.”

“Eh, I crossed paths with her a long time ago.” Kyoko chomped a big bite of chicken. “If ya’ ever met her you’d pretty much get all the wrong ideas about us Magical Girls.” She swallowed. “Y’see, she’s one of those 'idealist' types. Outfit’s all prim and pretty. She judges other magical girls only on the terms of being a friend or a foe. Mindset's all ‘bout protectin’ humans.” She reflexively stuck her tongue out. “Works hard, makes the grades and acts real high and mighty about it, too.” Kyoko laughed. “Oh, and she even calls out her attacks! Laaaaaaame! Ya’ gonna to finish that?”

“I was planning to.” Sayaka nibbled her way through her lunch.

“But, she is pretty great in a fight, though. Really tough. But she acts like this whole city belongs to her. And any girl who doesn’t do exactly what she does is not welcome to stick around.”

“The haughty type.” Sayaka asserted. The image that sprung into her mind, though, was of Hitomi. “Someone who could stand to be brought down a notch or two.”

“Yeah! That’s exactly it. Plus I think you got a few more in there.”

“For reals?” Sayaka slurped on her juicebox. “You’re kidding! How can you tell?”

“I just can.” Kyoko chewed and spoke. “We Magical Girls kinda have this sorta extra sense. It lets us sniff each other out.”

“How many?”

“At least two.” Kyoko stopped and sniffed the air like a dog. “Mayyyyybe three? A little harder to tell, but it feels like there’s another one in there.”

“Wow!”

“And they’re all going to the same school as Mami Tomoe.” Kyoko started chomping on a small bag of chips. “So either she’s made a few allies, which I doubt, knowing her. More likely some old rivals of hers have banded together and are going to tackle her head-on. And I don’t wanna get caught in that avalanche!”

“You could help her out.” Sayaka suggested. “Then she’d owe you a favor.”

“Noooooo way!” Kyoko slurped down the rest of her juice. “‘Sides, I know she can hold her own. Trust me, it’ll take more than a few small fry Magical Girls to bring Ol’ Mami down for good.”

“Have you decided upon your wish yet, Sayaka Miki?” A voice worked its way out of the bushes, where Kyubey emerged.

“Wish for them to break up.” Kyoko nodded. “Get Miss hoity toity out of the picture.”

“I dunno. What’s to stop him from falling for somebody else?” Sayaka picked at a few stray blades of grass. “Now that you’ve got me thinking about the ways my wish could go wrong, I’ve only been thinking about all the ways it could go wrong. Gah! It’s making my brain hurt.”

“That’s unusual.” Kyubey noted. “Most girls accept my offer right away.”

“Give her tiiiiiiime.” Kyoko bluntly pushed Kyubey away from her food stash. “If she’s gonna be riskin’ her neck out there, it had better be for a damn good reason!”

“I mean, there’s a bunch of stuff I want to have or do.” Sayaka laid back flat on the grass. “But, there’s nothing I want right now that’s worth that much. Maybe I’m just ignorant. Blissfully ignorant.”

“Whaddaya mean by that?” Kyoko opened a box of Pocky sticks.

“Of struggle.” Sayaka stared thoughtfully at the clouds above. “I think about all the people out there who would give anything for a chance like this, people like you, and realize just how lucky I really am. I’ve got parents who love me. I’ve got plenty of food. I go to a good school. I have a best friend. I live a good life. I’ve never had to struggle to get anything before. So why did I get this chance? What have I done to deserve it?”

“Don’t go overthinkin’ it.” Kyoko chewed. “Everyone wants something they can’t have. Far as I care, ya’ earned yer pay with what ya’ did yesterday.”

“But it’s one thing to fight for your own life. And, I admit, I got a real rush out of fighting back there.” Sayaka sighed. “But it’s another to fight for a real purpose. And now to have the chance to create mine… I can’t think of a worthy reason right now. Sorry.”

“Boy, now yer’ making’ my head hurt!” Kyoko complained. “Shit!” Kyoko chomped her Pocky stick. “Tell you what… How ‘bout you come with me on a few more witch hunts. Maybe if you get that rush again, you’d get a better idea of what you want out of this gig. How’s that sound?”

The school bell rang. “Really? You’d be willing to put up with me?”

“Sure! I mean, yer’ willing’ to put up with me!” Kyoko chuckled and playfully punched her arm. “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

“I- I’m supposed to be at practice today. Can we do it Monday?”

“Sure. Some jerk topped My ‘ DDR ’ score. I was gonna spend the rest of the day at the arcade, anyway.”

“It’s a date, then!”

“Just don’t you go crampin’ my style.” Kyoko leapt back up into the tree. “I don’t want word getting out that I’m helping a rookie find her legs.”

“Is she joking?” Sayaka started back toward the school, stopped and looked up. “Tell who? Those other magical girls? I wouldn’t have a clue who they are.”

***

“... Miss Jones? Are you listening?”

“Oh? Sorry!” Miss Jones shook her head rapidly. “I guess I let my mind wander a bit. What were you two ladies just talking about just now?”

“Sayaka Miki.” Miss Yamazaki sat down next to her in the teachers’ lounge. “She brought a doctor’s note to me this morning. Apparently she tripped and hit her head yesterday while crossing the bridge.” She poured some sugar into her cup of coffee. “She told me she woke up at the hospital, and doesn’t remember anything else that happened. I was asking you if you’ve noticed any odd lapses from her in class today.” 

“Sayaka Miki… Hmmm…” Miss Jones pondered. “That would be the short-haired, rather tomboyish class clown wannabe, right?” She said, feigning unfamiliarity. The two ladies nodded to verify. “She managed to stay awake for me this morning. Made a rather unusual request to switch seats with someone up front, though.”

“Just the same, I think I’m going to limit her to warm-ups in gym class this afternoon.” Miss Yamazaki said. “And limit her activity during practice this afternoon. Can never be too careful with how you treat head injuries, these days.”

“Coddle her too much, and she’ll quit on you.” Miss Asagiri, the school’s music teacher, sat down across from them. “She’s the type of girl who’ll resent that kind of treatment.” She sipped on her coffee and scratched her temple. “Though I may be projecting a little bit of my younger self on to her, admittedly.”

“So what are your opinions of the young lady, then?” Miss Jones sat back and stirred her tea. “I’d like to get to know my students better. Your thoughts would be most helpful.”

“She’s… Highly outspoken.” Miss Yamazaki nibbled on her lunch. “Isn’t afraid to confront somebody she thinks is in the wrong. Even if she winds up in trouble for it.”

“Kind.” Miss Asagiri added. “In all the little ways. Gives an extra pen to a student that doesn’t have one. Lends others her notes. Breaks tension with silly jokes. Those sorts of things.”

“But a bit of a slacker though, as far as her studies go.” Miss Asagiri took another sip of coffee. “Like, I can tell she’s smart, but she really needs to apply herself. It’s not a lack of ambition… It’s more like, she’s afraid to stand out in any way. Afraid that standing out will make others expect things out of her. And then afraid that failing them means embarrassing herself.”

“I’d say she’s more afraid of success. And the dramatic things that can happen when the world changes suddenly.” Miss Yamazaki nodded. “Perhaps joining my team may help her grow up a bit.”

“Perhaps,” Miss Asagiri sighed. “But I was always kind of hoping she’d join the school band. You know, I gave out a pop quiz in music class last week, and she was one of the only girls who could correctly name The Renaissance, Classical and Impressionist eras. To the other girls, anything before 1990 is ancient history.” 

“Knowing a little about musical eras is different from actually being able to play an instrument.” Miss Jones commented.

“I went to school with her parents. I’ve stayed in touch with them.” Miss Asagiri replied. “I know she took some piano lessons when she was younger. They had to drop the classes for some reason. I told them, if she ever had any interest in picking it back up again, just send her my way.”

The bell rang, and the ladies gathered their things.

“Thank you, ladies.” Miss Jones bowed. “You’ve been most insightful.”

***

“That transfer student’s a bit of a weirdo.” One girl whispered to another as they walked by. “That book she’s reading is blank.”

“I can hear them.” Sayaka muttered to herself. “It isn’t blank. Jerks.”

It was a free study period. Sayaka and Homura were in a classroom reserved for new students, and the students who had fallen considerably behind in their studies.

“‘ The Wibbly-Wobbly of Temporal Mechanics ’?” Homura read. “Strange topic for you to have any interest.”

“It’s from Miss Jones’s library.” Sayaka closed the book and put it down on the desk. “I read a few pages when I want to think about something besides my own messed-up life.”

“I take it your talk with Hitomi Shizuki proved revelatory.”

“So you care now?”

Homura momentarily looked back at the gossiping girls. “I’m not entirely disinterested, if that is enough reason for you.” The somewhat less intense look on her face did seem to suggest to Sayaka that she was trying.

Sayaka frustratedly planted her face firmly on top of the book. “Either I’m paranoid,” she closed her eyes and sighed. “Or the Universe really is making me its big, cosmic punching bag. Of course she was seeing Kyosuke behind my back. To be honest, I kind of suspected something way back when she first told me she had feelings for him. That day she told me at the restaurant,” She paused. “Back in the world that I… Fled.”

“Has your counterpart discovered this secret as well?”

“Worse than that.” Sayaka muttered, face still on the book. “She caught them red-handed together. Somehow she didn’t go to any of the places she was supposed to go, so of course she’d wind up in the worst possible spot.” She put her hands atop her head. “I can’t help but feel like this is all my fault somehow. Like my little lucky breaks become her mounting misfortune or something.”

“There were always distinctive differences in the timelines I experienced.” Homura recounted. “Some were subtle and others more significant. You shouldn’t assume Shizuki was seeing him in the previous world, nor should you believe your existence here is inherently hazardous or detrimental to hers.”

“As much as I wanna believe you’re right… It doesn’t make me feel any better.” Sayaka peeked from out of her book. “Huh. Wait… Were you trying to console me just now?”

“No.” Homura slightly tilted her head. “I’m telling you what I experienced in those prior timelines.”

“Too bad.” Sayaka wanly smiled. “For a moment there, I thought I was talking to an actual friend.” She paused and glanced into Homura’s eyes. “Were we ever friends?” She paused again. “You and me?” Homura remained silent and poker faced. She dejectedly changed the subject. “How’d the talk with Madoka go?”

“Exactly the same as it was in the last timeline. Except...” Homura hesitated. “You weren’t with her. I had thought that with you not in the way, she would be more open to my words, but now I’m not so sure you were ever a factor.”

“Important enough to be the punching bag, not important enough to change my friend’s life.” She quipped. “Swell.” Sayaka thumbed through the pages of her book. “Can I ask you something else? Did I ever make a wish for anybody but Kyosuke?”

“No.”

“Good. I still think my idea of using those nano-thingies on him is the best option. Heal him, let him decide who he wants. And if the karmic cost is just a friendship with Hitomi, then I’d say she got off easy.  As far as Madoka’s goes, well… I think you and I should just kidnap her and stuff her down in the deepest deck of the TARDIS, until this all blows over.”

Homura tilted her head and raised her brow.

“What? Too drastic for you?”

“The Other You would then wish for her safe return, I imagine.”

“Yeah. I would do something like that. You’re right.” Sayaka slouched. “Still, there’s gotta be a way we can get through to her without Kyubey knowing.”

“I’m open to ideas.” 

Sayaka thought carefully for a moment, then popped up from her desk. “I got it! Hypnosis!”

“That’s stupid.”

“No, no… Hear me out. I saw Miss Jones do it on a security guard at the mall. We can just ask her.”  

***

“Yeah, no. Sorry. I’m not going to hypnotize Madoka for you.” Miss Jones shook her head as she rewired the makeshift Soul Gem microwave to a three-pieced headset dangling from the ceiling, back inside the TARDIS Control Room.

“Why nooooot?” Sayaka whined.

“Long answer: Because it’s more than just a neat party trick, it’s a very delicate form of mind control. And since we know that Kyubey is psychic-capable, there’s a very good chance he would have the ability to recognize the signs of hypnotic suggestion. And then he would know something was up. And I’d rather not risk that.” She tied the wiring together, and plugged it into the wall. “Short answer: I want Kyubey to stick around Madoka, at least for the time being.”

“You do?” Homura exclaimed.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I was certainly hoping to keep her out of it. But now that she and Kyubey have made contact, I’m thinking I can somehow use bunnycat’s preoccupation with her against him.” She carefully placed the custom-built machine back into its slotting on the wall. “That he’s so obsessed with getting her to contract, that he doesn’t notice the trap I’m going to spring around him.”

“What kind of trap?” Sayaka asked.

“You’ll be the first to know once I think of it.” Miss Jones took a pocket watch out and checked the time. “That reminds me. The bunnycat’s going to need a jail cell.” She walked over to her coat on the rack and counted out a roll of cash. “Sayaka, will you please head over to the mall’s pet store and buy a pet carrier?”

“Right now?”

“Yes please.” She strode over and stared directly into Sayaka’s eyes.

“Why now?”

“Because a good student obeys her Sensei.” She calmly put her hand on Sayaka’s shoulder and waved a pocket watch in front of her.

“Can’t it wait?” Sayaka’s eyes were immediately transfixed on the watch.

“No. So please be a good student and obey your Sensei.” Sayaka's head dangled to one side.

“Yeeeeeeeeees. Caaaaaaaan’t waaaaaaaait. I’ll go buy a pet carrieeeeer.” Sayaka’s eyes widened and her tone of voice went completely flat and relaxed.

“Good student. Now when you come back...” She smiled and whispered the rest of her instructions into Sayaka’s ear.

 “Yeeeeeeaaaah. It’s been a looooong daaaaaaay.” Sayaka yawned as she took the cash from Miss Jones’s hand and headed toward the door. “But I first must buy a pet carrieeeeer.” Miss Jones hastily affixed Sayaka’s disguise to her hair as she started her walk.

“What’d you do to her?” Homura stared at the robotic Sayaka.

“That was a quick and dirty example of a hypnotic suggestion at work.” The two watched Sayaka proceed out the door. Miss Jones put her hands on her hips. “Go right ahead and call me a hypocrite. But I couldn’t think of another way to get her out of the room until she broached the topic.” She waved Homura over with her finger. “Now then, let’s you and I have that scheduled pow-wow.”

She opened the microwave door. “But first another test. If you’d please, would you place your Soul Gem inside again?”

Homura slid the Soul Gem onto the microwave tray. Miss Jones tapped two minutes on the timer, and pressed the ‘Start’ button. Dark energy swirled into orbit around her gem, then settled back inside once the timer expired. Miss Jones grabbed a portable tablet wired to the microwave, and examined the data displayed on it. “It says there’s been a nineteen point eight four percent increase in the amount of Depleted Ectomatter since yesterday. Busy night I take it?”

“Always.” Homura breathed.

“Would you happen to have a Grief Seed at the ready?”

“Always.”

“Care to share?”

Homura flipped her hair and reached into her pocket. She tossed her Grief Seed over to Miss Jones. Miss Jones took out some bunched metal wires and tied the Grief Seed to the headset suspended from the ceiling. “This setup’s going to look a bit silly. The device is actually designed to be worn over someone’s head.” She took out her multitool, pressed a button on its side and waved it up and down the headset. “But it’s got to be function over fashion until I get a chance to build a better one with more than just cannibalized parts and local tech.”

She handed Homura the tablet, walked over to the microwave, and set the timer again. “It’s your Soul Gem, so if you’d care to do the honors, just press the ‘Engage’ button on the tablet screen.” Homura looked at the screen display. She pressed the button. A laser pulse fired from the top. The swirling darkness around her gem was instantly zapped from inside the microwave, and into the Grief Seed.

“You’ve cleansed my Soul Gem. With extra steps.” Homura removed her Soul Gem from inside the microwave.

“Goodness, you’re sure hard to impress.” Miss Jones tittered. “I’ve successfully tested and calibrated my Artificial Soul Gem Absorbent Radiation Device, or ASGARD.” Miss Jones cheekily winked.

“Did it really need to have a name?” 

“It’s the little extra touches that show how much one cares.” Miss Jones smirked. “Now all that’s left is to figure out what could serve as a suitable replacement receptacle for the Depleted Ectomatter. Which, thanks to the data we’ve just obtained, will be only a matter of time.” 

“Thank you.” Homura said politely.

“There’s no need for thanks.” Miss Jones untied the Grief Seed from the metal wiring that bound it to the device. “It’s just what I do.” She tossed the Grief Seed over to Homura, then adjusted the settings on the microwave. “Now then, onto experiment number two. Will you please fetch that Grief Seed you lent me? It’s in the lower left-hand pocket in my coat on the rack.”

Homura felt around the pocket and took out the Grief Seed. Her Memento. She examined its design one more time before bringing over to Miss Jones. “What are you going to do with it?”

“Scan it. First I gotta know what I’m dealing with if I’m going to replace it with something better suited.” She set the timer, and stuck the Grief Seed inside. The darkness inside it started to quiver around, gyrating from side to side inside the shell as quick laser pulses beamed it from the top.

“Give it a little more juice.” She grabbed the tablet from Homura’s hand and slid her finger along the screen. “Just enough to excite the Depleted Ectomatter.”

The Grief Seed flashed as it spun, the darkness excised into its orbit, revealing within its center a tiny, but observable, blue glowing core. “As I suspected.” Miss Jones put her hand to her mouth. “As you can see, there’s still a tiny embryonic bit of Active Ectomatter, shining faintly in the center. Like a white dwarf star, burning away quietly until it’s gone.” Suddenly, sparks shot out of the back of the microwave, and the inside went dark.

“What happened?” Homura recoiled.

“An overload. That’s what happens when primary safety systems get bypassed.” Miss Jones patted down the back with her sweatshirt sleeve. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing I can’t fix.”

“The Grief Seed?” Homura opened the microwave door.”

“Intact.” Miss Jones pulled the Grief Seed out. The darkness had settled back inside its shell. “Interesting that you care about the state of the Grief Seed.” Miss Jones sat in a chair and leaned back. She closed her eyes and took a deep, thoughtful breath. “Be honest with me. How many times did you have to kill her, Homura?”

“Kill her?” Homura tilted her head. “Kill who?”

“You know who.” Miss Jones solemnly spoke. The door suddenly opened behind them.

“I bought the pet carrieeeer.” Sayaka said. She set it down beside the door and walked over to the Control Console. 

“Ah, Sayaka. We were just talking about you.” Miss Jones called over to her.

“It’s been a loooong daaaay. I need to go take a naaaap.” She changed her Soul Gem into its egg form and set it on the console.”

“Awww. Not gonna stay and chat with us?” Miss Jones teasingly asked.

“It’s been a loooong daaaay. I need to go take a naaaap.” She walked over to the interior door, and headed toward her quarters.

“Now do you see what I mean? She’s all robotic and stuff. Bunnycat would notice for sure. Though a much better hypnotist would have the ability to mitigate some of the symptoms of mind control. But they’re still going to act juuust a little bit off. And it didn’t help that I’ve allowed my skills to atrophy through the years.”

Homura got up and followed Sayaka into her quarters, where she keeled out on top of her bed. “Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fiiiiine! Won’t remember a thing about it. In fact, she’s about to enjoy the best night’s sleep she’s had in quite some time.” Miss Jones stood up. “She’s earned as much.” She approached Homura. “Back to my earlier question: How many times have you had to be her executioner?”

“You figured it out?” Homura staidly watched Sayaka from the doorway. “Our secret?”

“The breadcrumbs were all there, in hindsight.” Miss Jones said. “First, the wacky readings I was getting from her Soul Gem after I first arrived. Next, while she and I were spying on Kyubey, he mentioned something about wanting to recruit her because he already calculated she’d fail.” She explained. “Then that familiar’s labyrinth you ambushed us in, contained readings similar enough to Sayaka’s gem on the train that it should’ve raised all the red flags for me right then and there.” She lamented. “Poirot I’m not.” She continued, “But the biggest clue hit me smack dab in the face a few nights ago. I was trying to tune my ship’s energy sensors to distinguish between a magical girl and a witch. It couldn’t do it.” She put her hand on Homura’s shoulder. “But that experiment we just did on the Grief Seed confirmed it conclusively. That dim, remnant core we saw was in fact the magical girl’s remnant soul.” She continued in a hushed tone. “How many times did you do it, Homura?”

“I didn’t keep count.” Homura whispered. “But so many that it became routine.”

“You hardened your heart to survive.” Miss Jones consoled. “It’s an all-too-common coping mechanism when one experiences so much traumatic death around them.”

“Madoka asked me what I wished for today.” Homura’s eyes went wide. “I can’t remember what it was. I just know that it was my mission to save her life.”

“So you just focused on your mission. On Madoka Kaname. And she’s all you’ve needed to carry on.” Miss Jones sympathetically caressed her back. “Amazing feat, soldiering on this long. So amazing it shouldn’t even be possible for any human, let alone a girl your age.”

“That’s because I’m not human.” Homura stared into her open hand. “Anymore.” 

“Poppycock.” Miss Jones rejected. “There’s much more to being human, than the sum of your parts. It’s all the experiences you’ve had. All connections you’ve made to others. And the friendships and those lasting memories forged along the way.”

“Memories that I can no longer remember.” Homura shook her head. “Friendships with people that I can no longer maintain.”

“But if you didn’t at least still care a little, then you and I would be having this pleasant conversation.” She reminded.

“I was ready to dispose of her. Then she called me a witch.” Homura recalled. “She meant it as a desperate insult, but that word did make me remember a time when I was about to become a witch.” She closed her eyes. “Madoka and I were bundled together amongst the ruins, our Soul Gems black. I was all too ready to give up right then and there. I didn’t care about anyone or anything anymore. I only wanted to die with her at her side.”

“But then Madoka saved you. One more time.” Miss Jones held out the Grief Seed. “And she used her friend to save you.”

“I didn’t realize who the Grief Seed was.” Homura’s head sank. “Sayaka and I were on bad terms by then, she didn’t matter to me.”

“But remembering made you realize, Madoka’s not the only reason you’ve come this far.”

“I do want to remember them all. I want to remember caring. I want to remember being their friend.” Homura’s eyes teared up as she clutched her chest. “But I don’t know how.”

“I can help you with that.” Miss Jones said.

Homura rubbed her sleeve on her eyes and glared skeptically at her. “You’re asking for permission to hypnotize me?” She sniffed.

“Oh, nothing so heavy-handed.” Miss Jones pressed the button that slid the bedroom door in front of them closed. “Just a telepathic memory revival. Way less invasive than hypnotism.”

“Will I feel anything?”

“Well, that’s the general idea to it.” They made their way into the control room. “But I’ll try to balance it so that the painful memories don’t overwhelm you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

Homura took a pair of glasses out of her pocket. She looked at her teary-eyed reflection in those red framed, reflective lenses. “Very well.” She choked. “Try it.”

Miss Jones pushed her glasses up and soberly approached her. “Admittedly, I’m a little  bit out of practice when it comes to forging a psychic link. When Sayaka and I joined to search for Kyubey, I accidentally overstimulated her brain. So I ask that, if at any point you feel the need to puke, please do not do so on my clothes.” 

Homura stood firm and closed her eyes. “Do it before I change my mind.”

“Heh. As you wish.” She placed her hands on each side of Homura’s face, placing her index and middle fingers on her temple.

"Think back. Way back. ” Miss Jones telepathically instructed. “Back to before your life as a Magical Girl .” Miss Jones breathed steadily. “ Yes . I see a young girl. So lonely. No parents. Passing through life without knowing friendship. Sickly too. Born with a weak heart .”

Homura winced as the pain of her oldest memories came flooding back. “If it gets to be too much, just imagine a door and close it. That way I’ll know not to poke further. ”

“I' m fine .” Homura telepathically assured. “ I can handle it .”

"Ah, yes, a happier day. Your surgery was a success. Your first day at a new school is soon. The adults have told you how prestigious your new school is. You’re looking forward to meeting your classmates .” She pressed on. “ But it doesn’t quite go the way you hoped it would. You’re beset by questions from everyone. You tire too easily in Gym class. You’re behind everyone in your lessons. Hmmmm. You hear them gossip. Deep down you fear this is going to be the same as your life at Catholic School .”

Memories poured into Homura’s mind. She had suppressed so much of that life. She could scarcely believe that the unconfident girl in her memory was once upon a time, her.

“ But some classmates try to be accommodating. I see one is leading you to the nurse’s office. Ah, yes, Madoka Kaname, she tells you her name. ” Miss Jones slightly moved the tips of her fingers. “ And another girl voluntarily gives you her class notes. Hello, Sayaka Miki. She says she copied them from her friend Hitomi, so she guarantees they’re top-notch. Yeah. ” 

Homura remembered that first meeting with Madoka. There was no way she could ever forget it. But that memory of Sayaka giving her those notes had been completely buried. Reliving it here and now felt both unexpected and refreshing. They proceeded through the next door of hidden memories.

“ But your spirits are still low. You’re walking home from school feeling down, oh so depressed, a despair so deep that causes you to contemplate death .” They both jerked back reactively. “ What’s this? The world before you is suddenly different. Something’s after you. A monster! Is this creature somehow manipulating your mind ?”

It was Homura’s first fateful run-in with a Witch. Also unforgettable. But what happened to her next, was nothing short of a miracle.

“Two girls… They’ve come to your rescue! An unfamiliar, spiral-haired blonde, and a girl you immediately recognize wearing a frilly pink dress, ” Miss Jones continued. “ Yes, she is absolutely glowing with magic... So beautiful in that outfit. Brimming with the same sort of grace and self-confidence you’ve longed for. ‘Twas love at first sight !”

“ But her life was to be cut short. Being a Magical Girl means having to face fearsome foes, and now you see her, standing before the fiercest .” Miss Jones winced. “ You know in your gut that she cannot survive this. You beg her not to go. But nothing you do will change her mind. She’s resolute. She tells you she was glad to be your friend. How proud saving you made her. She says her final goodbye, and flies away. Her fate was sealed .” 

That first time Homura was cradling Madoka’s lifeless body, she remembered what happened next, the event that permanently bound her existence to Madoka’s. Through the next doorway of memories.

“ But that little white creature sits high above you offering hope. A wish. You already know what you want. You want to meet Madoka Kaname again, but this time not as the protected one, but as her protector !”

Yes, that was her wish! She could not bear to go on in a world without Madoka, so she wished to do it all over again. And her wish came true. Exactly in the way that she wanted. Or that’s what she believed, so naively, at first.

“ You’re introducing yourself to her again. In front of the whole class. ” Miss Jones went on. “ You’re with Madoka and Mami Tomoe now. Practicing. Learning and experimenting with your magic. You’ve studied how to make bombs. Even used one against a Witch in your first big battle. Mami Tomoe is so proud. Madoka is so happy, she gives you a big wonderful hug right on the spot .”

“ Hearts together, you defeat Walpurgisnacht this time. But something’s terribly wrong with Madoka .” They both reflexively winced. “ Her Soul Gem looks wrong. You realize, too late to save her, that it’s become a Grief Seed. In that moment, deep in the pit of your stomach, you realize Kyubey has tricked you all !”

Images and memories were flowing more freely between them now. “ You’re in another battle. A little before you’ve decided to tell them. You’re fighting a Witch, in a candy-colored world of treats and sweets. The poor thing looks like a pitiful little stuffed doll .” She pressed her own head against Homura’s forehead. “ But that doll is a dirty trick. Its real form within is much bigger, much scarier, and… Ohhh, no! It’s got you in its mouth! ” They heavily gulped her synched-up breaths. “ But a new Magical Girl leaps to your rescue! It’s Sayaka! She’s propping its mouth open with her swords, its teeth piercing into her flesh! But she’s still desperately clinging to you! Trying to pull you out! She won’t give up !”

Sayaka saved her life back then? How could that memory have faded? “She did it! You don’t know how you could ever thank her. So you pay her back with the only thing you have: The truth. So you tell her... While you two are playing video games… Then later you tell everyone what you’ve discovered about Kyubey.” Miss Jones paused. “But they don’t believe you? It only confuses and upsets them. The idea that Witches are fallen Magical Girls, is just too horrifying to consider. It only makes Sayaka more suspicious of you.” She remembered being particularly hurt by Sayaka’s accusations. Was that why she let that memory wither? “And then she turns into a Witch herself. The truth is out. Mami can’t handle it.” Their faces both pained at the sight of Mami Tomoe killing Kyoko Sakura and turning her guns onto herself and Madoka. That door they mentally slammed closed.

“ But let’s not dwell on the sadness .” Miss Jones rubbed her fingers around in a circle on her temple, winding through the memories like they were a video tape. “ You still occasionally shared tea with Mami, bought meals for Kyoko, still stepped in and broke up the conflicts between the girls, but you must keep your distance, and focus on protecting Madoka. Because you know deep down things could never be the same .”

Never be the same, indeed. Homura was stepping into another door. More memories were flowing through Homura’s mind. A lonely little girl about to attend a new school. Meeting her best friend for the first time. A fateful encounter. Choosing to embrace her destiny, only learning too late that the figure she blindly trusted was not an ally. A life of battle, of discord and strife, the only beacon of hope was her best friend. The story was replaying all over again. But the face she loved in this version was not Madoka’s. Something was off. Did Homura go through the wrong door? Should she say something about it?

“ ... And your relationship with Sayaka never recovered. ”

Miss Jones released Homura from their psychic link, stumbled back, corrected herself, and rubbed her eyes. “Sorry I couldn’t find more happy memories.” She panted an apology.

“It’s alright.” Homura rubbed tears from her eyes. “I’m alight.”

“Sayaka doesn’t react well to your honesty.” Miss Jones noted. 

“No, she did not.” The pain of Sayaka’s rejection remained in the pit of her gut. Both their guts.

“I said I would tell her everything,” She shook her head. “If I told her what witches really were, she would most likely believe me, but after experiencing the reactions all the others had…” That image of Mami Tomoe’s homicidal freakout flashed in both their minds.

“I don’t think Sayaka Miki would handle it much better.” Homura concurred, a fresh memory of Sayaka freaking out at the sight of her own zombified form floated to the top of her mind.

“Dammit.” Miss Jones cursed.

“If you really can free us from Grief Seeds, then hopefully she’ll never need to know.” Homura picked the somewhat-tarnished Soul Gem up from the control console. “You should be focusing your energy on that.”

“Yes. Looks like it could use a good cleaning.” Miss Jones pulled out her multitool, and immediately got to work repairing the microwave. “As I thought, a simple overload. Switching out a few electronic components for sturdier ones should do the trick.”

“I have another Grief Seed.” Homura said. “If you need it, you can have it.”

“Thanks, but that’s not the point of this next experiment.” She dismantled a number of electronic components from the pile of scrap on the floor, and with her wand attached them to the back of the microwave. “Experiment One was to get data on the energy transfer between Soul Gems and Grief Seeds. Experiment Two was to get data on Grief Seeds themselves.” She took her pocket watch out again. “Experiment Three, will be centered on garnering data on the viability of other Ectomatter containers, such as this one.”

“Your watch?”

“It’s an Ectomatter container, as I’ve said.” She tossed it to Homura. “There’s an obvious slot on that headset it’ll go. Place it there.”  

“So why is this watch a compatible container?” Homura studied the watch’s markings.

“It’s a Soul Gem…” Miss Jones hesitated. “Of sorts . How should I phrase this? Inside the watch contains an imprint of my soul, an echo of my being. And as I explained prior, I’m tapping my vast reserves of energy to balance hers. With that thing serving as a receptacle.” She readied the machine. “All people of my kind receive a personalised watch like it once we go through our initiation ritual and become Time Lords. Uh, Time Ladies, I suppose would be my case.”

“Initiation ritual?”

“Quite the unpleasant experience, wouldn’t recommend it.” She finished her repairs and modifications and slotted the microwave back into the wall. She stuck Sayaka’s Soul Gem inside, and set the timer. “Now for the most important part of the equation.” She took the headset and put it over her head.

“What are you going to do?” Homura asked.

“Exactly what I’ve been doing: Using my body to purify her soul. Only this time, I can regulate the flow of energy with a machine instead of wasting energy focusing my mind.” She picked up the tablet and adjusted the settings.

“And the watch?”

“For the moment, just an intermediary. Needs to recharge. My own body, though, it has some extra bits that function as Depleted Ectomatter purifiers, somewhat like a human liver would for alcohol.” She turned the microwave on, as darkened matter swirled out of Sayaka’s Soul Gem.

“But you said that was dangerous!”

“It’ll chip years off my lifespan, but what’s a few decades from a body that can endure for over a thousand?” She pressed the ‘Engage’ command on the tablet. “Stand back, please.”

“Miss Joooooones!”

“This student is worthy of my attention, why?” Their Leader boredly cursed through the young subject’s educational records.   

“Uh, S-” The Younger Monitor cleared his throat. “Sir! Our Predictive Matrix… It couldn’t properly make a prognostication when it scrutinized this subject.”

“I trust you gentlemen did your due diligence and checked your machine?”

“Affirmative, Sir.” The Elder Monitor nodded impatiently. “Everything was working at optimum levels.”

“And then it happened again, Sir.” The Younger added.

“What, specifically, did it envision?”

“It said that this one would lead a revolution amongst the Great Houses.” The Younger revealed. “That the subject would become one of the most significant souls in the Universe. When I read that, I believed it was prudent to follow The Deca Protocol.”

“And other times, it would say that this person would become a full-fledged renegade. Wreak all sorts of havoc out there.” The Elder chuckled rolled his eyes dismissively. “But most of the time, indeed, the vast majority of predictions,” he emphasized, “Predicted this person would become little more than a mediocre Time Lord. In either one of the Service duties, or a small Functionary role, at best.”

“B- But after all the diagnostics and recalibrations, it displayed this error.” The Younger Monitor displayed in image in front of their leader, reading ‘31-91’. 

“So what’s your opinion of the student?” Their Leader turned to the Tutor.

“When properly motivated, the student is quite perceptive and intelligent. Very ingenious. A true lateral thinker.” The Tutor opined. “But I confess I have had quite the difficulty engaging with this one. Been caught sleeping countless times. Devising mischievous contraptions a number of others.”

“Did the student pass the initiation exam?”

“With borderline results.” The Tutor grumbled. “I was going to plead a case on the student’s behalf in front of the full assembled Council. That was, of course, before these two intervened.

“I still contend that this is all much ado about nobody.” The Elder Monitor grumbled. “This individual shall play little more than a minor role in our fair society, I am certain of it.”

“That is a name rather unbefitting of a so-called ‘Revolutionary’ figure.” Their Leader tried his best to sound the student’s name out under his breath.

“Sir, may I remind you that their machine is supposed to only serve the purpose of general guidance,” The Tutor explained. “It is not, nor was it ever designed to, foretell the absolute fate of every single individual it observes. Such a tool would undermine the very principles of freedom and self-determination, principals our academy portends to uphold.”

“That so? What say you two?”

“The purpose of the technology was intended to ferret out the radicals, the non-believers and any other anomalies who could upend our eternal society, so we could correct them before they become our undoing.” The Younger recognized the question was really a litmus test intended to gauge his loyalty. So he toed the line.

“Hah! And what did your marvelous machine say about me, again?” The Tutor goaded. “That I was to become a politician?” 

“That was a long time ago. With a less refined Predictive Matrix.” The Elder Monitor countered. “It’s accuracy rate has quintupled in the centuries since. Indeed, it hasn’t made an errant assessment in nearly three hundred years!”

“Then you’re due.” The Tutor laughed from his hardy belly. 

“Enough of this!” Their Leader commanded. He tuned the console displaying the student’s record and the assessments off and shot out of his seat. “Arguing serves us no purpose. If you all truly feel, this student is a matter that is deserving of my personal attention, then the prerogative of guiding this student’s path forward is mine alone. Do any of you challenge that?”

“N- No, Sir.” The Younger Monitor tensed.

“I would not, Sir.” The Elder concurred.

“The student is at your mercy, since you do have Overriding Authority over the Council,” The Tutor sighed and straightened his collar. “I will follow your judgement henceforth.”

“Very well, then. Thank you all for bringing this to my attention, Dear Subjects.”

“Shall I make the case that I was preparing for the Council to you, exclusively, Sir?” The Tutor asked.

“That won’t be necessary.” He took a deep breath. “You will immediately send all your personal logs on this student to me. Then I want you to make your case to the Council as you were, they shall pass their recommendation onto me.” He turned to the Monitors. “You shall keep running assessments. Send the revised results directly to me.” He then made a final statement to the group. “That is all. Long Live Gallifrey!”

“Long Live Gallifrey!” The gathered group repeated. “May it reign in the heavens eternal!” They collectively saluted their leader.

Chapter Text

‘Dear Sayaka:

I sincerely apologize.

I have deceived you. For the last few weeks, I have been secretly visiting Kyosuke Kamijo at the hospital. To that, I confess. 

That anonymous confession note I briefly discussed with you and Madoka, I had reason to think that it might have been from Kyosuke. But before I told you two about it, I tried to investigate my suspicions of its source on my own.

But I admit, I only did so because I had already developed my own feelings for him. And my continued hospital visits have since convinced me: I am in love with Kyosuke, and I intend to tell him that soon.

I regret that you found out about it the way you did.’

“No. That won’t do.” Hitomi crumpled up the note, and tossed it in the trash. On second thought, a note just seemed too cold and formal. She at least owed Sayaka a face-to-face explanation. If ever she could work up the nerve to do it.

Hitomi checked tomorrow’s itinerary on her phone. School, piano lessons and a visit from her grandmother. A busy day, with no room for distraction. Things between her and Sayaka were going to just have to keep being distant and awkward, at least until she thought of what she really needed to say. “Father, could you please drive me to school again tomorrow?” 

***

“Don’t you ever sleep?” Sayaka asked Miss Jones. It was just before sunrise Monday. Sayaka was preparing to go on her day-long stakeout of the hospital. 

“Don’t need to. It’s not as much a biological necessity for our species as it is for yours.” Miss Jones was occupied with work on the Soul Gem microwave. “But I did take a bit of uhhhhh… ‘Power nap’ recently.”

“What are you doing now?” Sayaka peeked over Miss Jones’s shoulder.

“Putting in a higher capacity voltage regulator. And installing a redundant fail safe to back it up. Can never implement too many extra safety measures. Especially when microwaving eggs on high so long.”

“Welp, I’m off to protect the hospital.” Sayaka slung a duffel bag behind her back.

“Got everything you need for the mission?”

“I’ve got a phone, a couple of Homura’s extra bombs, and that gas mask in case I need to hide my real face again.”

“What about refreshments?”

“I’ve still got your pills in my pocket.”

“No that won’t do.” Miss Jones rolled her chair over to one of the circular indents on the wall, and opened it. “The pills are for a pinch. Here’s a wrapped sandwich and some nacho cheese-flavored chips. Not much, but at least you can eat something real.” She tossed them over to Sayaka.

“What about Homura?” Sayaka asked. “Is she gonna help me out today?”

“She suggested it would be more prudent to keep tabs on Mami Tomoe directly. I agreed. Covers as many bases as we can.” Miss Jones rolled her chair back over to the microwave. “But she does send her regards, and isn’t against the idea of coming to your rescue if you’re in a pinch.”

“I won’t bother her.” Sayaka sighed as she stepped towards the TARDIS exit door. “I’m off.”

“Oh! Wait! Before I forget…” Miss Jones rolled over and opened another indent. “Reconfigured it for healing human cells, whatever the ailment. Go ahead and use it on your boy while you’re there.”

“You mean it? You want me to use it on Kyosuke?”

“I still want you to give your healing magic another shot.” Miss Jones leaned back in her chair. “But I’ve been thinking more about that first day at the mall food court… When the bunnycat had expressed his opinion of you. According to Homura, you have never made a contract for any reason other than for your boy. If we nip that situation in the bud, it should eliminate your counterpart as an ‘X’ Factor and allow us to focus our full attention on protecting the young Miss Kaname. At least for the time being.”

“What if I go and wish to make him my boyfriend?”

“Would you really do that? Be that selfish?”

“ I wouldn’t. But she ...” Sayaka looked down. “She’s found out about Hitomi’s crush. She might be bitter enough to take the bait.”

“Perhaps his ‘miraculous’ recovery will let everyone involved take a step back and reevaluate the whole situation.” She hunched forward in her chair and smiled. “Oh. There I go again being the silly optimist again.”

***

It was just prior to dawn. The area around the hospital was serene, birds chirping in the sky above and bugs clicking on the ground below. Sayaka couldn’t remember the last time she was awake enough to catch a morning sunrise. But today, she didn’t have time for such an indulgence. She began her search in the bicycle parking area, the very spot she had first sighted the Grief Seed that spawned the deadly witch. “Crap. Too early. It’s not around yet.” She nervously muttered. Sayaka looked up at the hospital building, and felt for the syringe in her bag. For now, she decided, Kyosuke and his hand had to wait their turn. Finding and preemptively disposing of the witch before it hurt anyone, took priority.

Her Soul Gem’s light fluttered. It had sensed something that was close. Sayaka’s own body went very tense, she nervously bit her lip, and changed into her magical girl form. She then proceeded towards the building’s anterior entrance. 

As she walked, the hallway in front of her began to wind and twist. “Huh? Is this it?” Sayaka’s heart skipped a beat. With her cape, she covered her eyes as a flash of light completely encapsulated the world around her. A rainbow of sparkling colors and light hailed down from above.

“Wait a minute,” Sayaka stopped in place while she surveyed the nascent labyrinth around her. “This isn’t right.” A cadre of colored mannequins under dull yellow spotlights danced in place around where she was standing, seeming not to pay Sayaka’s presence any particular mind. “This isn’t the witch I’m after. But-” 

She still recognized the creatures as familiars she had encountered before. Back from the world she fled, she had killed some strays close to the top of a nearby building. They didn’t pose any sort of real threat at the time, but by that point in her magical girl life she had run away from all her friends and all her problems, that all she remembered was aimlessly shambling around, looking for something to mindlessly bash away her frustrations. By that point, she had run herself so ragged in those dark days that by the end of it, she could barely fight with any coordination.

“Gotta get a rematch in first, huh? Fine then,” Sayaka searched through her bag, pulled out the gas mask Homura lent her, and put it on. Couldn’t take the chance of allowing Kyubey or any other unexpected intruders to see her real face. “I’m game.”

The mannequin familiars twirling around were still completely ignorant of her presence, content to spin in place. Sayaka drew her swords and charged forward. She sliced and diced the familiars into pieces, theorizing that her rampant acts of mayhem might draw the main witch out, if it were somewhere close.

“Ow!” Sayaka suddenly crashed flat onto her face. An odd bump on the floor had tripped her up mid-run. Sayaka gathered her wits, crawled over and examined the culprit. It was a girl, with long white hair, and a pair of twin pigtails sticking from the sides of her head. 

Sayaka checked the girl’s wrist. Her pulse was weaker, but the girl was definitely alive. “Hey! Wake up! This place is really really dangerous!” The girl was dressed rather oddly, with a brown hat over her head that featured cat-like ears and fluffy balls attached to strings on each side. She was wearing a salmon-colored cape jacket with two red buttons and white fur along the garment’s edges. It was held together by a pair of brown suspenders that attached to a pair of bloomers on her hips. Just below her belly button rested a white, candy-shaped jewel. Indeed, it was a shimmering, white jewel. To Sayaka this could only mean that this girl was another magical girl. Her young face looked familiar, but in the rush to help her, Sayaka didn’t think to pinpoint where she’d seen it before.

“Eh… Whaaaaaa… ?” The girl softly whispered. 

“How’d you get here?” Sayaka delicately asked with an eye on their surroundings.

“The little animal… Where’d he-?” 

“Animal?”

“He’s small and he’s white, and he’s got this big long tail and red eyes.” She could have only been describing Kyubey. This girl was definitely another magical girl.

“How could he leave you in here like this?”

“The animal said…” The young lady slowly sat up. “He said I wasn’t strong enough to fight it, so I went inside on my own.” She staggered. “‘Cause I wanted to make her grateful. But I… I got really scared and I passed out.”

“I’ve gotta get you outta here.” Sayaka helped the girl get to her feet.

“No!” The girl protested. “I haveta make her grateful!” She angrily stomped her heel. 

The dancing mannequins slowly retreated from view. A large, deformed dog, with a misshapen plastic doll for a tail, and a cupcake frosting-esque pink head trotted nearby, its head to the floor, a nose protruding just far enough out from its frosting head to sniff the ground. This had to be the witch, Sayaka judged.

“Take my hand.” Sayaka commanded the girl.

“Scaaaaaary!” The fearful young girl latched onto Sayaka’s waist.

“I gotta fight it.”

“Alone?”

“Yeah.” Sayaka conjured another sword. “It’s what I do.”

“Are you a magical girl too?”

“Yes I am.” Sayaka bravely swallowed.

“Let Nagisa help! Let Nagisa help! Please! Please! Please!” The little girl insisted with a pesky obstinance that rang all too familiar. Her childish temper tantrum caused the canine witch to lurch its malformed head in their direction. It growled and positioned its legs for a full-force charge.

“Fine, you can help. On the count of three, we’re going to run right at it. You got a weapon of some kind?”

“Weapon?”

“I use swords. Don’t you have anything you can fight witches with?”

“Uhhhh...” The canine angrily barked out a warning. “Never fought a witch before.”

“Take one of mine.” She conjured another blade and handed it to the girl. “When I let go of your hand, I’ll charge faster and go for its head, you follow with a swing for the body. Like swinging at a ball. Can you do that?”

She unconfidently nodded. “Okay.”

“One… Two…” The canine abruptly rushed right at them at full speed. “Crap!”

Sayaka and the little girl panickedly dropped their swords, whipped around and ran in the opposite direction. “New plan! See that bag over there? Let’s grab it!” Sayaks grabbed her wrist and they made a quick turn for the bag and scooped it up as they fled. Sayaka took out one of Homura’s bombs, twisted the cap, and armed it with a hard tap against her hip.

“W- What’s that? The girl panted out in a frantic breath.

“A little bone for the doggie.” Sayaka set it to detonate. “I’m gonna swing you in front of me… Now!” The creature lunged at them just as Sayaka had tossed the bomb over her shoulder and straight in its face. The pouncing canine witch instinctively chomped the device, causing it to explode a scant second too early. A fragment of the bomb casing shot its way into Sayaka’s shoulder.

“Guaaaahhh!” She screamed as she put her own body between the young girl and the explosion. They locked arms, hit the floor and rolled away as the labyrinth around them dissolved away.

“You’re hurt!” The girl helped Sayaka get back up. “Nagisa will go find the Doc-”

“I’m fine.” Sayaka grabbed the girl’s arm and took a moment to catch her breath. “My magical power is healing fast. See?” A pattern of musical notes formed around the wound as the damaged tissues regrew. “All better!” Though she was still feeling the lingering pain, as she still couldn’t recall how she’d previously figured how to block that sensation out. Sayaka slid her gas mask over her hair.

The girl gazed at her face. “Why were you wearing that?”

“It’s because…” Sayaka blushed. “I’m trying to hide from that- What’d you call him? That ‘white animal’. From Kyubey.”

“Ohhhhhhh! Him! Why?”

“Because he- How can I say this?” Sayaka bent down to meet the girl at her eye level. “He doesn’t really care about what happens to us magical girls. He just cares that we do what he wants us to do.”

“Oh.” The young girl nodded. “You’re hiding so you can be free!”

“Yeah. I suppose you can put it that way.” Sayaka pulled the gas mask off her head. She walked down the hallway and retrieved the Grief Seed. “Did that animal- errrr, did Kyubey at least explain to you what’s important about these things? Grief Seeds?”

“They…” The young girl inched closer. “Do something magical?” Either Kyubey hadn’t told her, or she plum forgot.

“They restore a magical girl’s magic.” Sayaka changed out of her magical girl form and stuffed the gas mask into her duffel bag. Her disguised face replaced her real one.

“Ohhhh! Your face is different again! What face is the real one?”

“My other one. This one’s for hiding from him too.”

“Ohhhhhh!” The girl tugged Sayaka’s shirt. “That’s good. The other face was better.”

“Huh, thanks.” Sayaka blushed. “Hey, you said your name’s ‘Nagisa’... What’s your full name?”

“Nagisa...” The young girl’s voice softly trailed. “Momoe.”

“I’m Sayaka. Sayaka Miki.” Sayaka bent down and held out the Grief Seed. “Can I see your Soul Gem for a quick sec?”

Nagisa changed out of her magical girl form in a white flash. Her normal school uniform belonged to that of a nearby elementary school. “Why do you want to see it?”

“So I can see how much magic you’ve still got.” Nagisa reluctantly transmuted the ring on her hand into her Soul Gem. “Thank you.” 

The Soul Gem was a very cloudy shade of white, with a swirling black mass of darkness surrounding its core. It looked eerily similar to how Sayaka’s own gem looked when she had first fought the dog witch’s minions. Not a good sign, she knew. “Have you ever used a Grief Seed before?” Nagisa shook her head. “How long ago did you become a magical girl?”

“Last night.” Nagisa tiptoed backward. “Was it?”

“What? You really don’t know for sure?” Sayaka wondered. The young girl shook her head again. Still, if she’d never fought a battle nor used a Grief Seed, Sayaka speculated, it couldn’t have been that long ago. So why was this girl’s magic already so spent? Something didn’t quite add up. Sayaka carefully inched the Grief Seed toward Nagisa’s Soul Gem.

“What are you doing?” Nagisa reflexively tugged it away.

“I’m going to purify it.” Sayaka assured her. “Your Soul Gem looks like it's near its limit. If you don’t use a Grief Seed, you’re going to-” Sayaka paused.

“Die?” Nagisa finished. “I’m a bad girl.” Her eyes slunked to the floor. “Maybe it wouldn’t be bad if I died.”

“You don’t really mean that!” Sayaka took her shoulder. “Do you?”

“Yeeesss!” Tears swelled in Nagisa’s eyes as she swallowed her exasperated breath. “I hate her! She doesn’t want me! She’s always ignoring me and pushing me and hurting me! She hates me and I hate her back!”

“Who hates you?” Sayaka gently rolled up Nagisa’s shirt sleeves. There were purple marks up her forearm and upper arm. They appeared to be half-healed bruises. “Wh- Who did this to you?” 

“My momma.”

“Just because she hurt you, that doesn’t make you a bad girl!”

Nagisa took a step back. “But I am a bad girl. I am. I knew I could have made her better, but decided I wouldn’t do that.”

“Made her better? Are you talking about your wish?” Nagisa nodded. “Is your mom somewhere in this place?” Nagisa nodded again. “Will you take me to see her? Please?” She reached out her hand to take Nagisa’s.

“Why?”

“I want to see her. Would that be okay?” Nagisa reluctantly clutched Sayaka’s hand.

They walked onwards from hallway to hallway, until they reached the hospice wing. It was still plenty dark outside. As if the witch had scared the Sun away from rising.

“This one.” Nagisa whispered and led Sayaka to a critical care room. “She’s going to die soon. Because I didn’t wish for it, my mom is going to die.” Her mother was lying unconscious in bed inside.

“What did you really wish for?”

“A cheesecake.”

“What?”

“For my mom.” Nagisa pointed to a cheesecake on a plate on the table next to her. It had only been bitten into a single time. “The world’s tastiest cheesecake.” She repeated, “For my mom.”

Sayaka picked up the clipboard that was hanging beside the door, she turned her phone on and tried to read through it. Sometimes she’d read a page through Kyosuke’s chart while she was waiting for him to invite her inside. She didn’t understand most of the medical terms, but it kept her brain occupied. Although she did absorb just enough to know that the doctors were not expecting Kyosuke’s hand to ever recover. 

“How long ago did your mom…” Sayaka tried to sound delicate with her words. “Start hurting you?”

“After she married my Papa. After she got sick.” Nagisa whispered.

“Your Dad? What happened to him?” Sayaka squinted at the woman’s patient history on the paper. ‘Initial diagnosis: schizo...’ The glow of her phone provided insufficient light to read. 

“He was working all the time. Came home late lotsa times. Came here sometimes. Then one day he stopped coming here. Then after that he stopped coming home too.”

“Do you have a brother or sister or anyone else in your family?” Nagisa shook her head. She was all alone. ‘The first diagnosis was... in err...’ Sayaka could just barely make out what was on the paper. ‘Verified Diagnosis:… Glioblas…” She couldn’t quite make out that last word nor was she sure what it meant. “Condition: Terminal.” But she certainly knew what that word meant.

“Nagisa? Nagisa?” Her mother softly spoke as she pained to open her eyes. “Are you there? It’s so dark I can’t tell.” Nagisa didn’t reply at all. Sayaka stepped behind a curtain and covered her phone.

“Call a doctor…” She struggled to say. “Some…” Her eyes closed. “... Monster hurt me.” Sayaka inched a little closer. There was a very faint mark on her neck. Could the mark have been a witch’s kiss? Sayaka presumed that was the case, but the light was too dim, and the mark too faint for Sayaka to know with certainty. 

Sayaka sympathetically took Nagisa’s hand. “Would you mind if I tried something... On her?” She whispered into Nagisa’s ear. Nagisa gripped Sayaka’s hand more firmly, a sign she took to mean consent. “I don’t know if I can do much for her.” She formed her blue Soul Gem in her hand and tried her best to focus. Using her magic to try to free her Mom from the late witch’s influence was the least she could do for her, she figured. 

“... Pure white… And its mouth was torn…” Her mother rambled inaudibly. The mark on her neck faded, then vanished. Sayaka’s token gesture appeared to have worked. Her Mother immediately passed out.

“You don’t have to stay.” Nagisa choked. “It won’t be long.” She released her grip. Her dullened eyes resigned to watch her Mom wither and die alone.

“You shouldn’t have to go through this alone.” Sayaka assuaged. “Nobody should.”

“I could have helped her. Made her all better. But I didn’t do that.” Nagisa repeated. “I wanted to kill that witch so it wouldn’t kill my Mom. So then I would have her cake. Because I wanted her to regret it! Regret hurting me!” Nagisa looked away from her Mom in shame. “I’m a bad girl who deserves to die.” She choked. “Leave me alone!”

“She-” Sayaka stopped and started. “Your name. She called out your name. She cried out for help. From you. Would a mom who hates her girl do that at the very end? Do you think?”

“She doesn’t have anybody else.” Nagisa dismissed.

“Would a bad girl stay here with her when there’s no one else?” Sayaka took a small step closer to Nagisa. “You could have left, like your Dad left.” 

“Because I hate her and wanted her to know I hate her! I’m bad! I was gonna do the bad thing!” Nagisa choked.

“If you really hated her, you could’ve just let the witch get her.” Sayaka slowly hugged the girl around her back. “When the people I knew best needed me the most, I ran away.” Sayaka choked. “I was the one who did the bad thing. And every moment in my life since then I’ve been trying to live that down.” Sayaka wiped a tear clouding her eye. “But you didn’t run. You stayed. You tried. Then you let me meet her. Would a bad girl do any of those things?” She smiled.

Nagisa’s swollen eyes met Sayaka’s tearing eyes.

“Would a bad girl be crying about taking her mom’s cheesecake?” Sayaka slowly pitched a smile. “Do you think?”

“Nooooo,” Nagisa conceded.

“You see? You’re a good girl.” Nagisa clung more firmly to Sayaka’s body, her face digging into her stomach. “Will you let me help again?” Sayaka requested. Nagisa clutched her tighter, her tears sopping through Sayaka’s shirt. “Show me your Soul Gem. Please?”

Nagisa’s gem formed in her hand, still clinging on behind Sayaka’s back. Sayaka cautiously pried the Soul Gem from her hand, then took the Grief Seed from out of her pocket. The Soul Gem was nearly pitch black, only glints of Nagisa’s soul inside shining through. Sayaka mindfully tapped the two objects together. The dark black corruption drained gradually from out of the Soul Gem and into the Grief Seed.

“There you go.” Sayaka slipped it back into Nagisa’s hand. “Do you mind if I tried one more thing?” Sayaka turned her head. “On your Mom?” Nagisa released her stomach from her clutches. Sayaka formed her Soul Gem in her hand one more time, and held it above the woman’s chest.

“What are you going to do?” Nagisa asked, a glint of hope had returned in her eyes.

“I can- uh...” Sayaka paused, trying to think of how to explain. “I… Think I might also have the ability to use my healing power on others, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to do it. I need to practice. Would you mind if I tried it on her?”

“I won’t stop you.” Nagisa calmly backed away and sat down.

“Thanks.”

Sayaka closed her eyes and stood focused, trying to focus on her task. She had just met this young girl. She didn’t know this woman. She was seriously doubting if this woman was even worth the effort of saving. But her conscience absolutely insisted that she had to try. More lives than this person’s could depend on her success.

“Food.” Nagisa interrupted.

“Huh?” Sayaka opened an eye.

“Can Nagisa eat these?” Nagisa had been ferrying through Sayaka’s duffel bag. She had found the sandwich and chips.

“That’s fine. Eat up.” Sayaka still had the pils. Nagisa dove right in, taking the cheese out of the sandwich and scarfing it first. Then helped herself to the cheese-flavored nachos.

Sayaka refocused her concentration on Nagisa’s Mother. She tried to think of positive thoughts and memories. Perhaps that was the key to it, she believed. So she tried thinking of her happiest times, playing games with Madoka. Of that one time she made a half-court shot in gym class. Of her first day at the beach, staying at her aunt’s inn. She popped one eye open and peeked down. None of it seemed to be having an effect.

“Your Soul Gem,” Nagisa interrupted again. “It’s cloudy too!” She pointed at it.

“Hmm. A little bit, yeah.” Sayaka pulled it away. “I did spend some magic in that battle.” It wasn’t in nearly as bad a condition as Nagisa’s was, but it still had a visible buildup of darkness. Perhaps her Soul Gem needed to be fully restored, she reasoned, before she could attempt to heal another. “In that bag. Left side pocket. There’s another Grief Seed.” It was the Grief Seed Mami had offered to share after she finished off the garden witch, though Sayaka had intended to save it for an emergency. “Bring it over here. Please.” This situation was close enough.

Nagisa walked it over to her. “I purified yours. You wanna try it on mine?” She offered.

“O- Okay. Nagisa climbed out of the chair, and shuffled over. She slowly reached out to touch Sayaka’s gem with the Grief Seed. Quickly the buildup swirled out of Sayaka’s Soul Gem and into the Seed. Its restorative ability was now completely used up.

“Thanks,” She smiled. Sayaka turned her focus back to Nagisa’s Mother. She breathed in and out slowly, meditatively. Nagisa stood silently at her side. 

She tried to think of the warmth and pride she felt when helping others. She thought back to that afternoon she put those bandages on Homura’s arm. She thought back to all the times she helped Miss Jones procure items to repair her ship. She even tried to think all the way back to her debut outing as a magical girl, when she saved Madoka and Hitomi from a witch. But it still didn’t seem to do anything for the woman on the bed.

“Now you’re hungry.” Nagisa interrupted a third time. “Your stomach’s all noisy.”

“Did you eat all those chips?” Nagisa nodded. “You ate the whole sandwich too?” She nodded again. “Yeah. Okay.” Sayaka rubbed her eyes with her thumb and index finger. “There’s a row of snack machines down in the lobby.” She walked over to her bag and zipped open the right side pocket. “In the lobby, on the far left side, one of the snack machines sells some healthy snack bars.” She fished out some money and then slid another item up her sleeve. “Get me two triple chocolate bars. Or if there aren't any more of those, get the raspberry flavored bars. Can you do that for me real quick?” Nagisa eagerly nodded her head. Sayaka dropped the money in her hand and watched her trot down the hallway.

“A nice kid, but geez, she’s really gotta learn to read the mood.” Sayaka sighed and walked back inside. “That’ll keep it quiet in here for a few minutes at least.”

She held her Soul Gem over the woman’s sleeping body one more time. She thought of whatever else she could use that might instigate her healing magic. She thought back to all the times her mood was lightened listening to music in her room. How enlivening each symphony of Beethoven was. She thought of all the shopping trips she took with Madoka and Hitomi, oh what a simpler world that was. She even tried to think back to her first magical girl transformation, and how ecstatic she was jumping off rooftops, feeling like the sky was the limit now that she had the power to protect the world.

Sayaka lightly felt the woman’s pulse. She was alive, but her breathing was still heavy and strained. She was running out of time. The Sun had finally peaked above the buildings outside, its morning light propagating throughout the room. Someone was bound to check in on this woman in due course, and be alarmed at the sight of a strange teenager standing over her.

The item she was hiding up her sleeve slid down into her hand. The syringe of nanogenes Miss Jones gave to her. “This is stupid. Kyosuke needs this. Why am I doing this?” She took the cover off the needle. “This is stupid. Kyoko should come and kick my ass!” She pressed the needle against Nagisa’s Mother’s chest. “This is stupid. Homura should shoot me right now!” She looked away and stuck the needle downward. “This is stupid. Dammit I’m so stupid!” The syringe emptied its contents into her body. “I did it again. Wasted a miracle on somebody else.” She flipped the needle into the bag, then wiped her tears with her sleeve. She checked on her Soul Gem, somehow it shined as brightly as when it was first forged. She stood above her silently for a full minute. Then she let out a single, long, decompressive sigh.

“Oh, my… This is quite the unexpected development.” The air she’d just exhaled she abruptly sucked right back in. 

“You!” Sayaka furiously shot around and stared at Kyubey. “You… You set her up to fail, didn’t you?”

“I presume, by the body you stand next to, that you are referring to one Nagisa Momoe, correct?” Kyubey jumped into view atop the balcony railing outside the window. “I had advised that she did not physically have the strength to defeat that witch, but she chose to proceed anyway. In fact, I was on my way to find another magical girl in this vicinity when I sens-”

“That isn’t what I meant! She’s what? Seven? Eight? Maybe nine years old!” Sayaka stomped her foot in protest.

“Physical age of the subject is not a determinant factor considered when finding magical girl candidates. Indeed, speaking relatively with regards to the human biological aging process, you and Nagisa Momoe are both in the second stage of development. Basically you are the same.” 

“You set her up to fail!” Sayaka whipped open the curtain. “Just like you set me up to fail!”

“A curious accusation to make, considering I have no memory of ever making you a magical girl, ‘Saya Otonashi’.” Kyubey tilted his head to the side. “I do, however, recognize that this appearance of yours is a fabrication. It would not be illogical to conclude that your name is false as-”

“Bastard!” Sayaka snapped. “If you already scouted us, and knew we were going to be crap at this, why would you want to make us magical girls in the first place?”

“You girls had a wish you desired to be granted. And so we grant them. In exchange you must fight witches.” Kyubey’s eyes glowed as he tilted his head to the other side. “Though I am curious as to how you are aware that there is a selection process, seeing as we do not reveal ourselves to you until the proper-”

“Shut up! Admit it!” Sayaka was riled up now. “You don’t care about us at all! You just want these Grief-...” Sayaka suddenly realized she couldn’t move. Her eyes were locked onto Kyubey’s cold unflinching gaze.

“I am telepathically asserting control over your body, overriding you Soul Gem’s control of it. Acting in such an arbitrary manner would normally be considered a serious transgression of my protocols with regards to how I am supposed to interact with humans. But in my judgement, the rather unusual circumstances of your existence justify such a measure.” Sayaka couldn’t feel the Soul Gem in her hand. She heard it drop to the floor.

Kyubey kept his eyes fixed upon her as she witnessed her own hand slowly slide the door open, letting him inside. He leapt in, then lightly stepped his paw on top of her gem, just as he did that terrifying night in her bedroom. Sayaka collapsed instantly onto the floor, her eyes frozen open, staring at Kyubey and her gem mere centimeters in front of her face.

“ No! Get out !” She tried to reassert control of her body to no avail. 

“I see… An image of myself standing before you as you agreed to make a contract. I recognize it as the top of this very building. Yet I do not remember making such a contract in such a manner. To verify its authenticity, I will need to see into a memory that is much more intense.” The blue light from Sayaka’s Soul Gem flickered and fluttered, her very soul trying desperately to resist his grasp.

“ Getoutgetoutgetoutgetout !” Sayaka tried thinking of classical songs, of the plots of movies she’d seen, of the catchphrases of her favorite magical heroes on TV, of even the most boring lessons in school, she tried anything that would stymie Kyubey’s mental invasion.

“I see you are fighting a witch now.” Kyubey was diving further into her memories. “You attempted an all-out frontal attack with your weapon. Its counter attacks are piercing directly into your body, but you are ignoring the physical damage as you strike. It seems you discovered a method to block out the pain that you should be feeling from such wounds.” Kyubey rubbed his paw over Sayaka’s Soul Gem. “But these sensations are merely disregarded. If the experience were truly real, then the pain of the battle should still exist as raw information stored within you.” Instantly, the pain she should have felt during that battle overwhelmed her senses. 

Her arm felt twisted! Her whole gut felt impaled! Her face felt slashed! Her collar felt broken! And the worst part was, she still could not move or react. “ Stopitstopitstopitstopitstopit! ” Her desperate plea went unheeded. The tortuous pain was too intense now to think of anything else that could stop him.

“I see. The pain is real.” Kyubey wagged his tail around. “That proves these memories of yours are definitely genuine.” Kyubey’s cold, unchanging stare flashed in her mind. “Now then, show me.” He commanded. “Show me a memory where you are addressed by name. Show me a memory that features your reflection. Show me your true identity.”

“Animal! You leave her alone!” Nagisa’s voice shouted from the doorway. Kyubey’s surprised gaze turned toward Nagisa and his cat-like paw slipped off of Sayaka’s gem. With but a moment to spare, Sayaka alertly snatched her Gem away and regained control of her body.

“You really wanna get a hold of a Grief Seed so much…” Sayaka reached into her pocket. “Then take it!” She jammed the sharp, pointed end of the Grief Seed directly into Kyubey’s right eye. She grabbed Kyubey by the tail, jumped to her feet, and tossed him out the balcony with all her angry might.

“You killed him!” Nagisa watched his flight to the streets below.

“He comes back.” Sayaka slid the balcony door closed and caught her breath. “Unfortunately.”

“He was trying to hurt you, wasn’t he?” Nagisa said. “I knew there was something bad about him!”

“We’ve gotta go.” Sayaka grabbed the duffel bag.

“What about my Mom?” Nagisa asked.

“He’s not interested in her, don’t worry.”

“No! I don’t mean that!” She took her hand. “Did you fix her?”

Sayaka glanced at the empty syringe in the bag. “Yeah. She’s gonna make it.” She zipped the bag closed. “She’s going to be all better soon.”

“Where can we go?” Nagisa wondered as they scrambled into the hallway.

“I’m not sure. Let me think for a sec.” She knew they had to go somewhere Kyubey couldn’t pull another stunt like that. She considered retreating back to the TARDIS, but that would mean calling off the search for the witch that was going to kill Mami.

“There’s a few people in the lobby.” Nagisa said. “The Animal always talked to me when I was alone. He never showed when there were people around.”

“Good idea.” Sayaka agreed. He wouldn’t dare try another such stunt with potential witnesses. A public spot would have to serve as their refuge for the time being.

***

“Hey, Sayaka!” Kyoko shouted into the bathroom as she straightened the red bowtie in the mirror. “Check it out! You and I are the same size!”

“What are you doing in my school clothes?” Sayaka popped out of the bathroom, still wearing her pajamas while brushing her teeth.

“I was just curious.” Kyoko tossed her hair back as she checked her reflection. “Besides, you took my clothes away.”

“Because they’ve gotta be washed!” Sayaka rubbed her eyes exasperatedly. “They flippin’ reeked.” She tossed a bottle of shampoo Kyoko’s way. “And you don’t smell too great yourself, to be frank.”

“You try livin’ a night in the wild and coming out smellin’ like roses!” Kyoko huffed.

“What about your family?” Sayaka asked. “Where are they?”

“Gone.” Kyoko replied, crossing her arms.

“To where?” Sayaka followed up.

“Does it matter?” Kyoko grouchily replied. “They’re gone.”

“Well if you’re going to crash here,” Sayaka sensibly shifted the subject. “You’re going to have to at least try to keep clean. Have you ever washed your own clothes before?” 

“Down by the river.” 

“Okay. I mean have you ever used a washing machine?”

Kyoko simply shook her head.

“Then I’ll teach you when I get home from school.” Sayaka looked at the time on the wall clock. “Now will you take that off? It’s my last clean uniform and I’m already running late!”

“Fiiiiiiiiine.” Kyoko swiftly slipped the shirt off her body and the skirt down her legs. Sayaka looked the other way in embarrassment. “What am I gonna to wear until then?”

Sayaka slid her closet door open. She hastily tossed Kyoko a pair of blue overalls and a red striped T-shirt.

“Will it fit?”

“Sure will. If you’re right and we’re exactly the same size.” Sayaka rapidly put her school clothes on.

“Hey! We’re going Witch huntin’ after that, right?”

“Huh?”

“You said at the schoolyard at lunch that you’d go with me on a Witch hunt!”

“Sorry. Sorta slipped my mind a little.” Sayaka checked her appearance in the mirror. “I’ve had some other stuff bugging me.”

“You want me to rough her up for ya’?” Kyoko grinned.

“What?”

“That two-timin’ friend of yours. I can get her out of the way if you want me to. That’s what you’re thinking about, right? Call it a favor between magical girls. Or, a magical girl, and a rookie-to-be.”

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that.” Sayaka packed her book bag. “Look, they scheduled a sudden practice today, but I’ll go on that Witch hunt afterwards, if you really, really need me with you.”

“Tch. I was jokin’.” Kyoko grunted.

“There’s a DS in that desk drawer. Don’t erase my save. Or you can watch TV.” Sayaka stepped out the door. “Just… Leave Hitomi for me to worry about. Please?” 

“Fine. Whatever.” Kyoko shrugged. “Meh.”

“And go take a bath!” She pleaded as the door slammed closed. Kyoko reluctantly sniffed herself as she splayed her body onto the bedspread.

“... Woah!” She sniffed again. “Mmmmmaybe I should.”

“Good morning, Sayaka Miki.” Kyubey was waiting for her atop a bicycle rack outside her apartment.

“Uh, morning Kyubey.” Sayaka slung her bag around her shoulder.

“Sayaka, do you by any chance happen to have a sister in your family?” Kyubey asked.

“Nope. I’m an only child.” Sayaka looked back up towards her room window. “And real thankful for that.”

“Your parents did not have children before they paired?”

“They’ve been friends since middle school. They never dated anyone else. Why are you asking me?”

“A desire to get to know you better.” Kyubey glanced to the skyscrapers downtown then leapt off the bicycle rack. 

Sayaka slipped between two cars, checked for cars in both directions, then cut across the street. “This kind of street crossing is generally considered by your society to be inconsiderate and unsafe.”  Kyubey pointed out as he trotted along at her side.

“I know.” Sayaka ducked into a construction area. “But if I’m late again, Miss Jones is going to make me her personal punching bag for the rest of the month. I just know it.”

Sayaka crunched herself between a pair of close-together buildings, barely squeezing through the gap between them. Kyubey squeezed in just behind her, as effortlessly as if he had maneuvered himself in this manner many times prior. “Have you decided on your wish yet?”

“Yeah. I wish you’d stop asking me.” Sayaka suddenly stopped walking, turned and looked at Kyubey. “That’s not my wish. That was a joke!”

“That, I inferred.” Kyubey trotted ahead.

“Is Kyoko right? Would it go wrong if I were to make a wish for someone else’s sake?”

“While I am not at liberty to disclose the wishes of other girls.” Kyubey’s head turned upwards to her. “I will say that it is natural for certain ramifications to occur after such miracles have occurred. But such complications are endemic to social and emotional beings as you humans, in my observation.”

“What about the opposite? What about wishing for someone else’s misfortune?” Sayaka cut her way through a parking lot. 

“Such a wish would be unconventional. But it is also not unheard of.” Kyubey leapt onto a building’s ledge as he followed along. “Did you have such a wish in mind?”

“... No. Just curious.” Sayaka hurried to catch a stoplight. “Seven thirty!” She smiled while she glanced at her wristwatch. “Saved ten minutes just now! Twenty minutes is plenty of time! Looks like Miss Jones will have to find someone else to pick on.” 

“That is incorrect. The present time is seven forty.” Kyubey said. 

“What?” 

“Your watch battery must be running low.” Sayaka nervously caught sight of an electronic billboard above her.

“Crap!” She took off in a dead sprint. “Ten minutes left!”

“You may as well not waste your energy. There is statistically very little chance you will arrive at your school on time.”

“Yeah? Just watch me!” Sayaka left Kyubey completely in the dust.

***

“She’s alone again.” Homura muttered while she watched Madoka stop at the last crosswalk on her way to school.

The sight of Madoka being completely unaccompanied was, for Homura, a bit disheartening. She could tell that Madoka was unnerved by it too, she clearly needed somebody’s ear to speak to. 

Homura used to meet up with Madoka and her friends at that crosswalk every day, back in her more impressionable days as a magical girl. Well before she knew the truth about witches. Before she knew of Kyubey’s deceit. Before Sayaka and Mami came to distrust her. But trying to get closer and closer Madoka only seemed to make her and her friends suffer more, so eventually Homura conscientiously kept her distance. Then she forgot those meetups happened entirely. 

Homura’s pace increased to a full run. If she hurried, she could still catch up to her at the crosswalk. Her psychic session with Miss Jones made her remember those old walks, and now she coveted a fresher version of those memories. Yes, this could be her chance. One time, absent Sayaka and Kyubey, surely would do no harm. One time, serving as her quiet confidant, could be the singular change that makes this timeline the successful journey she’d long sought.

Abruptly, she halted. Madoka smiled and waved at someone on the other side of the crosswalk. It was Mami Tomoe, waiting with Kyubey perched on her shoulder. The two girls met halfway in the street, where Kyubey promptly hopped from Mami onto Madoka’s shoulder, He cocked his head and stared back at Homura, as if he were daring her to approach.

“Good morning, Madoka!” Mami cheerfully greeted.

“Hello, Mami!” Madoka smiled.

“Greetings, Madoka.” Kyubey balanced himself on Madoka’s shoulder. “ Homura Akemi is directly behind us .” He telepathically communicated to Mami.

“I know it’s not far, but would you mind if we joined you the rest of the way?” Mami politely asked. “ I’m aware. Looks like we were just in the nick of time .”

“Oh, no, I don’t mind at all!” Mami put her arm around Madoka’s back as they started walking again.

“Were your parents angry that you got home late last night?” Mami asked.

“No, not really. I told them I’m getting tutored by an upperclassman.” Madoka answered.

“That’s good to hear.” Mami nodded. “I would never want to see you get in trouble with your family.”

“Have you thought about your wish, Madoka?” Kyubey jumped down in front of her.

“What did I tell you last night?” Mami lightly pinched Kyubey’s ear. “Girls hate guys who pressure them.”

“No. I haven’t a clue.” Madoka sighed.

“That’s perfectly understandable.” Mami assured. “ See if she’s backed off at all .” She telepathically instructed Kyubey. “Has watching my battles made you reconsider becoming a magical girl?” She asked Madoka.

“Not at all, Mami.” Madoka smiled back at her. “You’re awesome! I just hope I can be as awesome as you!”

“You would become a great magical girl, Madoka.” Kyubey said. “ I cannot see her, but I do still sense her presence. It would be prudent to stay alert .” Kyubey telepathically relayed. “You have the potential to become the greatest of them all.”

“Weheheee!” Madoka giggled and blushed.

“Would you like to go Witch hunting with me again later today?” Mami offered. “ It’s likely she’ll attempt another confrontation after school .” She telepathically surmised.

“That’d be great!” Madoka accepted.

“Maybe this time we’ll find a full Witch instead of just a small Familiar.” They arrived at the schoolyard. “ It’s unlikely she’ll try anything in class .” Mami telepathically said to Kyubey. “ She should be safe on her own. For now .” 

“ I concur .” Kyubey replied.

She turned to Madoka. “If you need my help with anything, come find me on the other end of the school.” She handed Madoka a note. “That’s my class schedule.”

“Thank you, Mami.” Madoka turned to Kyubey on her shoulder. “You wanna sit in on my classes today, Kyubey?”

Kyubey briefly glanced up the street. “For the time being, I think it’s best I stay with Mami Tomoe. But I will see you during lunch again, should the opportunity arise.”

***

Sayaka was in a dead run now. She cut through the backwoods, across the parking lots, and into the streets. There it was, Mitakihara Middle School, right ahead with but a minute left to spare.

Sayaka maneuvered between two parked cars and popped into the street, when without warning, a moving car zoomed in front of her, almost clipping her as it went by. Instinctively she jumped backwards and out of the way, losing her balance and knocking her head against the mirror of a parked car behind her. The offending vehicle promptly pulled up in front of the school.

“Hey! Watch where you’re goin’! You nearly killed me! Idiot!” She jumped to her feet, and angrily ran over to confront the driver.

The passenger swiftly exited the vehicle. To Sayaka’s shock it was none other than Hitomi Shizuki. “I’m sorry that happened, Sayaka.” She slung her bag around her shoulder. “But you weren’t properly crossing the street at the crosswalk. That was quite careless. You very much need to think of the consequences of acting so impulsively.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The two girls stared at one another, until another driver angrily honked Sayaka out of their way.

“Is everything alright?” Her father’s voice asked from inside the car. “Was she hurt?”

“She’s unharmed, father. Thank you for bringing me to school today.” She bowed to him and stepped towards the school’s main doorway. 

“High and mighty lil’ backstabbing liar.” Sayaka muttered to herself.

***

Early afternoon arrived. The students shuffled into Miss Jones’s classroom. First came in Hitomi, then Madoka with Homura following closely. Sayaka lumbered in last.

“Miss Otonashi has an excused absence today.” Miss Jones jotted a note with a murmur.

“M- May I have her seat again today? Since she isn’t here?” Sayaka tentatively asked.

“Well, your homework results did improve, however marginally, from your last assignment. Might do you good sitting closer again.” Miss Jones turned her back to the class. “Today I’ll allow it.” 

“Before we begin, I have an announcement to make.” She took a deep breath. “I’d like to take some time to get to know you all a bit better, one-on-one.” She pulled a hat from underneath her desk. “To that end, I am going to draft a special after-school class assistant, who will stay after school and help me with the busywork. While you do, I’ll be making friends with you. Lucky soul. Of course, extra credit will also be your reward.” She sifted through paper clipping in the hat. “Naturally, anybody in the extracurriculars happening today will be exempted.” She sat in her chair with an enthusiastic thud.

“Yessss!” Sayaka pumped her fist under her desk.

“And our first ‘volunteer’ will be:” She drew a name and read it from the paper clipping. “Madoka Kaname. Madoka, is there anything you are committed to this afternoon, which would preclude you from participating?”

“I- uh-.” Madoka sat up in her desk. “I do. But. I uh- I- I can tell them I can do it later.” She blushed as she scratched the back of her head. 

“Alright kiddos. Let’s do the book learning thing.” Miss Jones stood up from her desk. 

“Miss Jones!” Madoka unexpectedly shot up from her desk. “M- May I go to the bathroom?”

“Class has just started.” Miss Jones arched her brow. “Can’t it wait?”

Madoka crossed her thighs and shook her head. She needed to update Mami right away on her altered afternoon, this little white lie would have to suffice.

“Okay.” Madoka darted towards the door. 

The lesson proceeded uneventfully. “Class: Phonetically repeat after me.” Miss Jones wrote out on the board. “‘If I had more money, I would definitely travel more.’”

The class repeated, in unison: “‘If I had moar muh-nee I wood def-in-it-lee trah-vel more.’” Sayaka’s eyes were glazing over already.

“Good. Now Miss Akemi,” she tossed the virtual pen to Homura. “Please write the English translation on the board.” Homura got up and wrote the correct translation.

“Very good. Next: ‘If I had more time, I would definitely travel farther.’” She wrote on the board.

“If I had moar time, I wood def-in-it-lee trah-vel fahl-therr.” They repeated. She wrote the sentence again in Japanese.

“Miss Shizuki, come write that on the board.” Hitomi came up and wrote her translation.

“Oop. Little misspelling there at the end. That’s ‘farther’.” Miss Jones corrected it. “Not ‘father’.”

“Gasp!” Sayaka blurted. “Miss Perfect’s made a mistake! Turns out she’s just as human as the rest of us!” Hitomi put down the pen and retreated to her seat. “Somebody better alert her boyfriend,” She added as Hitomi was about to sit. The class collectively put their eyes on Sayaka. 

The two young ladies suspiciously stared at one one another while Miss Jones wrote  the next sentence on the board. Hitomi slowly lowered her body to her seat. “In the hospital.” Sayaka bluted. The whole class erupted in chatter. Hitomi’s face immediately turned beet red.

“Miss Clown, zip it!” Miss Jones snapped her fingers. “That’s your one warning.” 

Hitomi took out her phone and furitavely began typing a message.

“Ohhhh my Gaaaawd!” Kyoko laughed to herself as she slashed the boss to smithereens in the video game she was enjoying. “In the name of love and justice! Tiro finale!” She was sarcastically quoting the game’s dialog. “What a crock! So this was where Mami got all that crap! Hahahaaa!”

Kyoko turned her head. An odd buzzing sound behind her caught her attention. Sayaka had forgotten her phone on its charger. And she had just received a new message… From Hitomi.

‘Sayaka:

I’ve been secretly visiting Kyosuke Kamijo in the hospital. To that I confess. It was wrong not to have told you sooner. I regret that you discovered it in the way you did.’

“Oooooooh. Juicy.” Kyoko chuckled. The phone buzzed again.

‘But that is not a reason to air the affair class. That was extremely rude and hurtful.’

“Heh! More like ‘gutsy’. Knew I liked you, Sayaka.” It buzzed one more time.

‘Kyosuke is not my boyfriend. But I do want to discuss our situation with you soon. But only in private.’

“Hitomi Shizuki!” Miss Jones whipped around. “Were you just texting in my class?”

“N- I- I uh…” Hitomi had been caught red-handed.

“That’s a violation of school policy. Fork it over.” Miss Jones opened a labeled-drawer in her desk, only to discover that the top drawer was already full of confiscated and unclaimed cell phones. “Hooooly Hannah.” She slid it closed. “Okay. Go take your phone to the Administrative Office. You’ll get it back after school.”

“Y-Yes Ma’am.” Hitomi solemnly got up from her seat and headed towards the doorway, only to catch Sayaka with a self-satisfied smile out of the corner of her eye.

Miss Jones checked the clock on the wall. “Hmmm.” She smiled and sat down and thumbed through the rest of the lesson plan. “Well, looks like we may not have time to make it through the rest of today’s agenda.” She fingered through the English book. Pages one-eighteen through one hundred twenty two will be your homework for tonight. Let’s spend the rest of our time parsing through the rest of pages one fifteen, sixteen and seventeen.”

“Should I text back? I think she's like, expectin’ Sayaka to say somethin’. Hmmmm.” Kyoko studied the messages. Out of the blue, Kyoko’s shiny red Soul Gem flashed, and her neck hairs stood up. She had caught wind of a magical entity nearby. Her hunting instincts told her to put down the phone and the video game and chase it down. Kyoko paused for a second, then promptly typed out a single word reply, that word Sayaka had been repeatedly using to describe her friend Hitomi. “Welp! Time to get to work!” She hit the ‘Send’ button, put on her newly-dried hooded sweatshirt and leapt out of the window.

Hitomi reached the office. Her phone buzzed just as she reached the office door. She hesitated, momentarily then hastily decided to check her message. It was from Sayaka, a single word:

‘Liar.’

Chapter Text

“Hello, Nagisa!” One of the nurses recognized her sitting in the lobby chair. “Who’s your friend?”

Nagisa lightly elbowed Sayaka, who had dozed off in her seat. “Er, Sorry. Sayak-. Saya Otonashi.”

“Do I know you from somewhere?”

Sayaka shook her head and yawned. “Naw, I’m her cousin. Just visiting.” She affectionately noogied the top of Nagisa’s head.

“I see.” The nurse turned her attention to the papers she was carrying. “Well, Nagisa… It seems your Mom’s doing a lot better today, but none of the Doctors don’t seem to have any clue why. So she’s going to be put through a lot of tests for the rest of the day, so unfortunately she won’t be having any time for visitors.”

“That’s okay.” Nagisa took Sayaka’s hand. “I don’t mind.” The Nurse promptly walked away.

“What time is it right now?” Sayaka tiredly rubbed her eyes. 

“Twelve.” Nagisa pointed toward the wall clock.

“Time we do another patrol.” 

“Again?” Nagisa whined. They had been scouring the building every hour for any sign of the witch that Sayaka was expecting, staying together to ensure that Kyubey would not attempt any more dirty psychological tricks. 

“We’ll try outside the building this time.” Out there was, after all, where the witch had appeared the last time. “Go around the whole block and back.”

“Okay.” Nagisa fidgeted. “Can we use Nagisa’s this time?” Nagisa twirled the ring on her finger.

“Sure, go ahead.” They snuck behind a potted plant as Nagisa’s Soul Gem manifested.

“How am I supposed to do it?” Nagisa watched the grey light of her gem shimmer and shine.

“You walk around and you…” Sayaka paused as they headed out a side exit. “Keep your eye on it. That’s basically it I guess.”

“How do I know when it’s found something?” Nagisa’s head tilted up as she spoke.

“You…” Sayaka itched her cheek. “Just know .” She eyed the ring on her own hand. “It like, sends this icky feeling deep down in your gut. Not icky like you’re sick, but more like you’re having your per-” Sayaka stopped herself.

“My what?”

“Nevermind.” She put her am on Nagisa’s back. “You suddenly feel very very tense in your belly.”

“Oh.” Nagisa nodded. “Why’s that?”

“Not sure.” They turned a corner. “Might be something Kyubey could explain.” Or Miss Jones, Sayaka thought to herself.

“Wonder why he’s called ‘Kyubey’?” Nagisa wondered. 

“I don’t know.” Sayaka shrugged. “I guess I never asked.”

“It sounds like it’s short for something.” They arrived at the bicycle parking lot. “Oh! Nagisa knows this place!” Nagisa hustled over to a secluded picnic table underneath a tall tree. “Can we stop here?”

“We’ve only started looking, though.” Sayaka’s head shifted over to a certain spot on the wall. They’d come close to the exact spot where Sayaka had spotted the Mami-killing witch’s Grief Seed.

“So hungry.” Nagisa climbed on top of the table. Sayaka’s stomach instinctively growled at the mention of food. She had been ignoring her own growing hunger until this moment. “Can we eat something first?”

“I suppose.” Sayaka relented and sat down at the table. She unzipped the duffel bag and took the sandwiches out. Nagisa had already eaten one sandwich, and the cheese off the other, as well as the nachos.

“Got these.” Nagisa still possessed the desert bars Sayaka asked her to fetch hours ago. “They’re raspberry. It didn’t have chocolate.”

“That’s fine, thanks.” Sayaka took one of the bars from Nagisa’s hand. “You can have the other one.” 

“I like to eat in this spot a lot.” Nagisa looked up at a bird feeding its young in the tree above. “The animal came to me right here the first time I saw him.”

“That so?” Sayaka bit into her sandwich, her eyes searching around for any sign of Kyubey nearby. “How long ago?”

“Let’s see…” Nagisa started counting on her fingers. She clearly didn’t really know how much time had passed since her first encounter. 

“So you didn’t make a contract right away, did you?” Sayaka said. Nagisa shook her head with a small jerk to one side. “And you probably didn’t even realize you could’ve fixed your Mom.” She jerked again. “Knowing Kyubey, he wouldn’t suggest it.”

“I-” Nagisa stopped eating for a moment. “I knew I could fix her.” She took a big, hard bite of her sandwich. “I was going to do that. But then I decided I wouldn’t do that.”

“Really?” Sayaka tilted her head. “Why not?”

“Because I knew that would make me a bad girl.” Nagisa set her sandwich down. “I knew I’d be doing it so she’d be grateful for it.” She stared guiltily at the ground.

“Gee, that actually sounds…” Sayaka hesitated. “Familiar. But you still let me try my magic on her?” Sayaka glanced down at the duffel bag, then took a bigger bite of her sandwich.

“Because you looked like you really wanted to.” Nagisa took the last bite of her sandwich. “But I…” She paused. “I didn’t really think you’d be able to do it.”

“Don’t feel bad. That makes two of us.” Sayaka rested her chin on her hand.

“So she’s all better now?” Nagisa unwrapped the desert bar.

“Right as rain. Fit as a fiddle.” She bit and spoke with her mouth full. “For reals.”

“Wow!” Nagisa’s eyes widened.

“I’m nothing special.” Sayaka sighed. “Just doing the best I can with what I got.”

“Do you need help?”

“Help?”

“Doing what you can and stuff.” Nagisa chomped on the raspberry bar.

“Are you asking to stay with me?”

“I don’t have anywhere else to go.” Nagisa’s sleeves were rolled back by the table corner as she pleaded.

“But what about your-” Sayaka paused and glared at the marks along Nagisa’s arm.

“I wanna be free!” Nagisa cried. “Nagisa won’t be any trouble at all! Promise!”

“But I don’t-” Sayaka stammered. “I don’t have any way to take care of you! I don’t have a place or a home of my own. Or even a life of my own. I’m… ”

“Freeeeee!” Nagisa eagerly smiled and shoved the rest of her bar in her mouth.

“I-” Sayaka thought to herself for a moment. “Suppose that is true. Hmm.” She stood up, took Nagisa’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Break’s over. We got a patrol to finish.” She briefly checked the wall for any sign of the expected Grief Seed. Still none. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it more. For now, let’s keep doing what we can with all we got.”

***

“Ahhhh! Miss Kaname!” Miss Jones greeted. “You’re right on time!”

“I’m happy to be here.” Madoka courteously bowed. Miss Jones noticed Kyubey following her into the room.

“That’s okay.” She pretended she saw nothing. “You don’t have to lie. I’m sure I’ve disrupted some sort of big, afternoon date at the mall or something.” Miss Jones very nearly missed stepping on Kyubey’s tail.

“It’s not a problem!” Madoka insisted. “I told the person I had plans with what you wanted. They understood.” She smiled. “I’m so glad to be meeting you, I mean it.” She took her seat in the front, middle chair of the classroom. “What do you need my help with?” Kyubey chose to sit in front of the desk beneath her.

“Hmm. Let’s see.” Miss Jones gathered a stack of papers. “First, I’m going to need your assistance with these.” She laid them in front of Madoka on the desk, nearly booting Kyubey.

“Last week’s homework?” Madoka asked.

“I’ve fallen a little behind in grading everyone’s assignments.” Miss Jones handed Madoka a red pen. “You know, the usual reasons. Had other matters to oversee. New people to meet. Still settling into this gig.” She slapped the answer sheet on the desk, her feet narrowly avoiding Kyubey’s tail a second time.

“This one’s mine.” Madoka separated her sheet from the stack. “I don’t think I should be the one who grades my paper.” She stood up and handed it over. “ It’s fine that you wanted to join me here, Kyubey, but um, maybe it would be safer if you sat in back .” She telepathically messaged him.

“How honest of you. Well, if that’s what makes you comfortable.” Miss Jones took her sheet back. “So, tell me a little more about yourself, then. When’s your birthday?” 

“ Perhaps you are correct .” Kyubey slowly trotted to an observational position further back.

“October third.” Madoka started checking and comparing the papers.

“That’s the month with that holiday where the kids all get to go play dress-up, right?” Miss Jones sat and started to sort through some of her other paperwork. “Do you like to do that?”

“Not really. I only liked getting the candy.” Madoka giggled. “When we were younger, I always used to let Sayaka pick out our costumes.” Madoka circled and corrected some wrong answers. “I think she secretly wants to be a cosplayer someday.”

“So what is your favorite holiday, then?”

“I really like New Year’s.” Madoka moved on to the next student’s paper. “It’s fun! It’s a day where you feel like you can start your whole life brand new.”

“I can already tell you’re the optimistic type.” Miss Jones stapled some papers together. 

“What about your classes? Do you like my class? Do you enjoy learning English?”

“Oh.” Madoka stopped correcting for a second, looked up and blushed. “It’s not my favorite subject. Or one of my best. But I do like learning the language.” She scratched her cheek. “I’m sorry. I’m really really trying my best.”

“So what subject is your favorite?”

“Art.” Madoka said timidly. “I mean, I really really like to sketch and draw things.” She started correcting the next paper. “But I don’t like the idea of someone telling me if what I drew is good enough or not.”

“That I understand completely.” Miss Jones opened her laptop. “Tch. Critics. Never dug the notion of applying stiff ‘objective’ standards to purely subjective fields. Art. Food. Music. Would you happen to play any instruments?”

“Uhhmmm.” Madoka paused. “We all had to learn to play the recorder in Elementary School.” She circled and corrected a few more wrong answers. “I kept mine, and sometimes I’ll play it whenever I’m feeling stressed or when I need to think something over.” She wrote the paper’s grade at the top and moved on to the next one. “I’m not that good at playing it, though. Honestly.”

“I had an old friend who used to do exactly that sort of thing, too.” Miss Jones typed away on her laptop. “Y’know… It’s funny. I often used to wonder whether or not I was the one who inspired that friend to take an interest in music. At the risk of making myself out to be a bit of an egotist, but you see, I was a pretty avid music lover back in my most formative years.”

“Now that you mention it.” Madoka mused. “I think I kept it because I used to see the look in Sayaka’s eyes whenever she and I were watching Kyosuke Kamijo play his violin. You see, he’s a really really good violin player and we would go watch him practice when we were little. I think... I just wanted her to look at me the way she would look at him.” Her face blushed a deep red. “A girl being jealous of a boy. It sounds weird. Don’t tell her that.” She circled and corrected a number of incorrect answers.

“Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe.” Miss Jones connected a cable from her laptop to a printer nearby, and printed copies started rolling out. “I had an oddball crush on my very first friend, too.”

“Are you two still friends?”

“Hm?”

“With your old friend?” Madoka clarified. “Are you and them still friends?”

“Are we?” Miss Jones heavily sighed, leaned back and her chair and stared wistfully toward the ceiling. “I hate to admit this, but we’ve lost touch. My friend was always a bit of a whimsical type. Loved to go everywhere and do everything under the stars. I tried, but I just could never quite keep up. Still, I’d like to believe they stop and think about me every now and then. Might be a delusion, but it’s a reassuring one.”

“S- Sorry.” Madoka “I don’t mean to pry.” She glanced at Miss Jones quickly before circling and correcting more answers. “But I’ve been thinking a lot lately and I’m wondering if I’m still going to be friends with Sayaka in the future. If we can still be friends when we get older.” Kyubey’s ears twitched in the back.

“Oh?” Miss Jones leaned forward “Why? Have you had a reason to worry?”

“Well…” Madoka put the pen to her mouth. “Last week we got into a mess at the mall. A waitress from one of the restaurants insisted that she didn’t pay for some food she had. But she was never even there! I offered to stay and vouch for her, but Sayaka sent me away.” Madoka circled a few more answers. “She was trying to protect me from getting in trouble with her. She does that an awful lot.”

“Mhmm.” Miss Jones got up. “Hope they let her off easy.”

“And she and I always walked to school together with our friend Hitomi. But for the last few days I’ve had to walk to school without her. Or Hitomi either.”

“That’s not necessarily because of you. She might be the one who’s got issues.”

“I understand that.” Madoka circled some other answers. “And I’ve wanted to ask her about it. She knows that she can talk to me about anything. But when lunch comes- uh, we have our lunches together too. I’ve waited and waited for her in the spot where we always eat together, but she hasn’t been coming up to talk. I don’t know where else she’d go eat. Or who else she’d be talking to.” Kyubey got up and walked a little closer to Madoka.

“Definitely sounds like the issue is hers.” Miss Jones also walked closer.

“I’d talk to our friend Hitomi about it.” Madoka scribbled a final grade at the top of the paper. “But I feel like they might be trying to ignore each other. That something happened between them.” The paper she was grading was Sayaka’s. The grade was a failing one. “And I don’t want to take sides. I feel like she’d get mad at me, even if took her side.” She moved on to the next paper.

“You really think she’d be mad at you if you involved yourself?” Miss Jones craned her head.

“Normally, I don’t think she would be that mad.” Madoka circled some wrong answers on the next paper. “But lately, I haven’t been so sure.” She corrected some more answers. “I don’t know what’s going on in her head.”

“Really?” Miss Jones Jones pressed. “Why not?”

“You’re going to think it’s silly. Or that I’m weird.”

“I promise I won’t.” Miss Jones smiled.

“It’s a little embarrassing.” Madoka corrected another answer, then put her pen down.

“I swear by my old friend’s name… You can tell me.”

“I told Sayaka a couple times.” Madoka blushed and hesitated. “She thought I was silly.”

“No judgements here.” Miss Jones clasped her hands, bowed and zipped her lips. “Your secret’s safe with me.” 

“I…” Madoka took a deep breath. “I keep having these really really bad dreams about her.” Kyubey’s ears perked behind them.

“Oh?” Miss Jones’s eyes widened. “What sort of bad dreams are you experiencing?”

“I can’t remember that much of them.” Madoka concerningly stared down at the papers in front of her. “Last week, I remember having this dream where Sayaka looked extremely mad at me. Like, mad in a sort of way that resented my whole existence.” She closed her eyes. “I remember another one where I was holding her in my arms… Like she was dead or something.” She took a deep breath. “Then there was this other one where it felt like the whole world around us was ending… Where she was reaching out to me, but I had this feeling like I wasn’t going to see her ever again.”

“Those do sound pretty distressing.” Miss Jones nodded sympathetically.

“I thought it couldn’t get scarier than that. But then I had another one last night.” Madoka choked, cleared her throat and tried to continue. “I…” She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “I dreamed that she’d become a scary monster.”

“Monster?”

“I… Think. I remember seeing this big, ugly metal monster, and I called out Sayaka’s name like I knew it was her.” Madoka shook her head mournfully. “But whatever I did, everything I tried, it wasn’t working at all. I couldn’t reach her. Because she wasn’t the person I knew anymore. Then she exploded, and...” She bit her lip and looked up at Miss Jones. “Then I woke up crying. I couldn’t even sleep after that.”

“Hmm. Anger. Destruction. Transformation. Death. Sounds like you’re afraid of not being there for her. Or maybe of losing her. Or of bad things happening if you two ever parted.” Miss Jones handed Madoka a tissue. “Conventional psychology, if I were such an adherent, would suggest that you’re having a classic case of separation anxiety.”

“Separation anxiety?” Madoka leaned over her desk.

“It would fit your situation. You two are growing up and getting older. Your goals in life are changing. You’re worried you’re going to change. And that she’s going to change too. That in the future, you’re both going to change so much that it drives you apart. So much that you no longer even know each other. And that’s making your subconscious mind believe that it’s the same thing as losing her.”

“I don’t know if I could stand that.” Madoka hunched back down in her seat. Kyubey traipsed into the corner of her sight. 

“But that’s only one possible explanation.” Miss Jones shuffled over to a file cabinet in the back of the room, almost kicking Kyubey twice as she went by. 

“What else could it be?” Madoka sluggishly circled and corrected more answers.

“If you want my personal, absolutely certifiable opinion…” Miss Jones sat in her chair and rolled it over to Madoka’s desk, narrowly rolling past Kyubey’s tail. She waved Madoka in over her desk like she was revealing a secret. Madoka leaned her ear closer. “It’s another world,” She whispered.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Madoka tilted her head.

“You’re seeing into a whole other world!” Miss Jones excitedly kicked her legs out. “Of many other worlds! Of the lives so similar, yet very distinct from your own.” Miss Jones’s eyes widened as she whispered. “You see, while we sleep, our consciousness has the ability to tune in on the lives of our other selves, and we can experience the infinite paths which we may travel.” She rolled away, rolling straight onto one of the prying Kyubey’s ear appendages. “Well, that’s my personally held belief, anyway.” 

“But why would I see a bunch of world’s where Sayaka’s in trouble?” Madoka lightly giggled, trying her best not to sound dismissive or skeptical.

“Maybe your other selves are trying to tell you something. Something important.” Miss Jones smiled. “Be wise to listen.”

“What should I be listening for?” Madoka momentarily glanced at Kyubey to see if he’d been grievously harmed. He wasn’t, he chose to retreat back to the safety of the bookshelf.

“That’s the real question.” Miss Jones got out of her seat. “Have you finished with those corrections?”

“Almost done.” Madoka picked up two sheets and held them up. “Miss Jones?”

“Yes?”

“The answers on these two girls’ assignments.” Madoka got out of her seat and walked over to her. “I don’t want to be a tattletale or anything, but their answers are nearly identical.” She double checked her corrections as she moved closer. “They both got a lot of the same things wrong.”

“That so? Whose assignments?” Miss Jones leaned closer and closer to Madoka so that she could whisper who they were straight into her ear.

“Saya Otonashi’s.” Madoka hesitated momentarily as she presented the paper of the other one. “And Sayaka’s.”

“Mere coincidence.” Miss Jones studied their answers. 

“I guess.” Madoka squinted at the sheets. “But their handwriting is similar, too. Almost the same. It’s weird.”

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that? For now you should give your friend the benefit of the doubt.”

Miss Jones glanced up to the clock on the wall. “Our time together is almost up for today.” She handed Madoka a set of worksheets. “Do me a wonderful favor, and go down to the office and make three dozen copies of those for me. Then you’ll be free to go.”

“Okay.” Madoka took the sheets and headed for the exit.

“Did it help you?” Miss Jones asked as she was at the door. “Talking about those things with me?”

“A little bit.” Madoka peeked over her shoulder.

“Good. Don’t ever be afraid to ask questions. Even if the question seems silly.” Miss Jones smiled, then added, “Even if they’re questions you aren’t sure you want to know the answer to. For that is Decision Making One-oh-one.”

“I’ll remember that.” Madoka waved.

“Your friend should still be in softball practice. If you hurry you can still meet her there when she’s done.” Miss Jones proposed. “And talk.”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” Madoka left the room. Kyubey closely followed. Miss Jones watched them go down the hallway.

“Like a predator shadowing its prey.” She knuckled her hand against the frame. “That’ll be your undoing little Bunnycat. That, I promise.”

***

“Hey, Sayaka!” Sayaka heard someone call her name. “Sayaka! Over here!” It was coming from the bushes. “Ya’ see me?” A familiar redhead popped out from behind them.

“What are you doing here?” Sayaka snuck over and knelt beside her.

“Came to see ya’ real quick. How come ya’ ain’t out there playin’ ball?”

“I’m not cleared to play until I get a doctor’s note that clears me to play.” Sayaka scratched her butt. “Stupid stupid rule! Told them I was fine. I really wanted to hit something hard today too!”

“Ugh. Stuck watchin’.” Kyoko sympathized. “How boring!” Kyoko waved her even closer. “See this?” Kyoko stuck out her Soul Gem.

“What’s it doing?” Sayaka watched its red light flicker and flutter.

“It caught wind of a witch while I was chillin’ at yer place.” Kyoko tapped at it. “I always try to keep it out whenever I’m restin’ up. Like I’m keepin’ one eye open all the time.”

“So where is it?”

“Dunno. I tracked it all the way here.” Kyoko stuck her head out a little further. “Sucker moves around real fast, though.” She looked at Sayaka. “Ya’ haven’t seen anything crazy around here? Like anything like ya’ saw the other day?”

Sayaka shook her head. “No. Just been benchwarmin’.”

“Sure.” Kyoko backed out of the bushes and brushed herself off. “Ya’ wanna come with?”

“Now?” Sayaka looked back at the girls on the field.

“You promised.” Kyoko grinned. “It’s not like you’re actually doin’ anything better right now.” Her sneaky grin intensified, a snaggletooth sticking out from her smile.

“It’s going to hurt someone if we don’t find it soon, right?” Sayaka swallowed.

“Prolly.”

“Just wait here. I’ll tell the coach I’ve got an emergency. Then I gotta change.”

***

“Is this going to take very long?” The two girls were weaving through the streets beyond the school building and towards the downtown apartment complexes. Sayaka had taken off her softball uniform and stuffed it inside her bag.

“Dunno.” Kyoko studied her Soul Gem closely. “It’ll take as long as it takes.” 

“Colder than I thought out here.” Sayaka was only wearing a light t-shirt underneath her jersey. She rubbed her bare arms trying to warm herself up.

“Here.” Kyoko effortlessly slipped off her green sweatshirt and tossed it over her head to her. 

“Aren’t you cold now?” Sayaka asked.

“I’ve been colder.” She stuck a Pocky stick in her mouth.

“Why’s it smell like raspberry bubblegum?” Sayaka sniffed it as she slid it on.

“I washed it. Like ya’ said.”

“How?”

“In the bath.”

“With what?” Then it dawned on her. “You used my shampoo to wash your clothes?”

“Not a lot.” Kyoko kept her eyes on the Gem. “Besides, you didn’t have that much left.”

“That’s not the point! You-”

“Shhhhh!” Kyoko lightly pushed her back. “It’s close! Reeeeally feelin’ it now.” The two girls turned down an alleyway. “Definitely the kinda place they like to hang. Stand back!”

A childlike giggling echoed against the walls around them. Kyoko’s Gem flashed and bathed her entire body in a brilliant red light. Instantaneously her clothes changed from her tank-top and short-cut shorts, to her dark red magical girl dress. She effortlessly spun her spar around her body and sprang forth into her attack position.

“That is cool.” Sayaka enviously muttered.

The alleyway around them started to morph, a bright, day-glo flash erupted. The two girls were surrounded by a childish collage of stars, shapes, colors and animal figures.

“Tch! False alarm!” Kyoko loosened her stance. “Just a lame ass familiar. No wonder I had a hard time trackin’ it down.” 

“So? What’s the difference?” Sayaka watched it zip by in a crudely-drawn airplane over their heads. 

“Won’t get nuthin’ for killin’ it.” Kyoko picked her nose and sniffed. “It’d be like killing a chicken before it laid an egg.” She turned to leave it be.

“But it still might hurt someone.” Sayaka moved in front of Kyoko’s path.

Kyoko arched her brow and peered over Sayaka’s shoulder. “That building we passed a few minutes ago. That one with all the little rugrats running ‘round back. Was that a preschool?”

“A daycare, I think.”

Kyoko tugged her collar. “Tell ya’ what… Jus’ this once I’ll make an exception.” She took Sayaka’s bat out of her bag, and changed it into a sword. “We’ll tackle this one together. You take point, I’ll show ya’ some basic moves.” She handed the weapon to Sayaka.

“Alright.” Sayaka kept an eye on the creature giggling and darting around. “Thanks.”

“Ya’ see how it moves ‘round ‘n’ ‘round like it doesn’t even care that we’re here?” Sayaka nodded. “That means it’s dumb. Real dumb.” Kyoko continued. “Most all familiars are like that. Don’t waste time playing tag or chasin’ it around. Let it come at ya’.”

“What if it doesn’t?”

Kyoko took a pair of trash can lid off and banged them together like they were a pair of cymbals. “Get its attention.” She tossed it like a frisbee at the creature. “See? Like a fish that sees bait! Can’t help itself! Now I’ll box it in, you make the killin’ blow!” Sayaka tensed as the creature turned around. Kyoko clapped her hands and a series of lattice barriers led it their way. “I’m going to put the last barrier right in front of you. Stab it once it bashes into it.”

“Got it.” Sayaka confidently smiled.

The small creature in its airplane charged at them, giggling and screaming. Sayaka positioned herself to strike.

“Ready! N-” Kyoko’s barriers all abruptly collapsed at once, amid a deafening sound of gunfire and a wave of intense explosions.

“Oh? What’s this?” A voice sounded from above. “I thought you were no longer in the business of killing familiars. A blonde magical girl draped in brilliant yellow and brown jumped down to the ground, as the panicked familiar scurried away. “It’s been a long time, Kyoko.”

“Awwwwwwww shit! I shoulda known you’d be pussyfooting somewhere around here!”

***

“She’s not here?” Madoka surveyed the ballfield. “Where could she have gone?”

“She said she had a sudden emergency.” Miss Yamazaki lightly patted her shoulder. Madoka took out her phone and called Sayaka. No answer. She tried a second time. Sent to voicemail.

“Could she have gone home?”

“I don’t know. She would have told me if something was wrong.” She tried calling one last time. No luck.

“For one it’s worth, I saw her take off that way.” An upperclassmen player pointed in a direction. “She live out that way?”

“No.” Madoka was really concerned now. She only had one lead. Her options were either to follow it, or try waiting her out at her home.

“Thank you so much!” Madoka took off in that direction. Kyubey was watching from the sideline. He followed her along from a watchful distance.

***

“Looks like our simultaneous attacks cancelled one another out.” Mami Tomoe imperiously smiled with her eyes closed. “Oopsie. We scared it away. Sorry.”

“Wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t come parading through everything like ya’ own the place!” Sayaka shouted. Kyoko half-heartedly suppressed a chuckle, impressed by Sayaka’s boldness. “Geez! What’s wrong with you?”

“Oh? I apologize again, my focus was solely on dealing with that familiar. I had no intention of getting in the way of your…” Mami inspected Sayaka’s appearance. “Training session? That is definitely unlike you, Kyoko. Taking on a trainee.”

“I learned it by watchin’ you.” Kyoko rolled her eyes.

“Who’s she?”

“Oh? I guess I haven’t properly introduced myself.” Mami curtseyed. “I’m Mami Tomoe! Magical girl of Mitakihara City. How nice to meet you.”

“Mami Tomoe?” Sayaka turned to Kyoko. “ That’s ‘Ol’ Mami’?” Her eyes widened.

Mami’s smile disappeared. “Thrilled to hear you still think so highly of me.”

“Yeah, whaddaya want?” Kyoko huffed and took out a Pocky.

“I’d love to know what you’re doing back in Mitakihara.” Mami folded her arms. “Didn’t you say you were taking over Kazamino City?”

“Life got quiet over there.” Kyoko grumbled. “‘Sides, it’s not like this town belongs to you!”

“So I’ve noticed.” Mami pulled her gloves up. “First I get challenged by two mysterious Magical Girls, then I get a visit from you. Would you happen to know anything about them?”

“Wouldn't know nuthin’ ‘bout ‘em.” Kyoko said dismissively, chewing her Pocky stick.

“How exactly do you guys know one other?” Sayaka interjected.

“Used to work together a bit. While ago.” Kyoko severed her Pocky with a chomp. “Didn’t pan out.” Kyoko momentarily glanced down at the dissolving candy in a puddle then shoved another in her mouth.

“That’s what all our time together meant to you?” Mami clutched her chest. “An offhand remark?”

“What? Ya’ still bitter I split? What the hell ya’ wanna hear? A big ‘ol ‘Thank You’?” Kyoko impatiently gnawed on her Pocky. “An apology? Graaaaand praise? A medal? Some food?” She flippantly shook her box of Pocky at Mami. “Keh. Want one?”

“She’s going to let you down, you know.” Mami warned Sayaka, still caught between them. “She’ll just take what she needs from and leave you all alone.” She held out her hand. “You’d be much better served by learning from someone with a better attitude whose philosophy is not so strictly transactional.”

“As opposed to what?” Kyoko stepped in front before Sayaka could reply. “Being misled into thinking this job’s all about saving lives and makin’ a shitty world slightly less shitty? Screw off! Save the Miss high-and-mighty shit for some other fresh-faced rube!” Kyoko replanted herself between Mami and Sayaka. “Don’t go ruinin’ her life just ‘cause yer desperate for a lil’ lap dog!” A lattice barrier appeared between Kyoko and Sayaka.

“Do you need any help finding anything, young lady?” The tea store employee asked Homura.

“No, thank you. I’m just browsing.” Homura replied. She took a tea box off the shelf. “Darjeeling tea.” She whispered the name and read its ingredients.

Mami Tomoe would typically make daily visits after school to this specialty tea store. Rather than outright tailing her, Homura calculated that it would be safer to shadow Mami by preemptively appearing at the places she was the most likely to be, avoiding suspicion and passing off any encounter with her as a mere coincidence. It was still going to arouse Mami’s suspicion, but she was unlikely to be confrontational about it in such a public setting.

“Peppermint tea.” She grabbed at another box and read it. There was however, another reason for Homura’s visit to this particular store: She’d remembered that she used to quite enjoy having tea with Mami Tomoe. More and more lost memories from her life were returning now, after her psychic exchange with Miss Jones. She was remembering more and more of the forgotten little things, like that time she took care of a sick Kyoko, or that time she brought flowers to the grave of Mami’s parents, and that time she helped Sayaka search for a rare CD for Kyosuke Kamijo, the little things that reminded her that she once had a life beyond just Madoka Kaname and her mission.

“Chamomile tea.” She had been trying to recall which particular tea it was that she used to like sipping the most. She remembered enjoying it so much that she would point it out to Mami whenever she went shopping. But there were so many different kinds, too many choices, her memory unable to be more specific. “Hibiscus tea.” She read. Furthermore, she wondered, would it taste the same way to her now as it did when she was less experienced? 

“Excuse me.” She waved the employee back. “Actually, I am searching for a particular kind of tea. I don’t remember what it was called, but I know it had a reddish-bro-” Homura suddenly felt very uneasy, as if an earthquake were shaking inside her very being. “I’m sorry. I’ll have to come back another day.” It was a feeling she knew all too well. It happened whenever she sensed a surge of powerful magic, typically from the emergence of a new witch. 

Was this the scheduled appearance of the sweets witch? It was due to appear around this tie. Did Sayaka fail to properly dispatch it? Homura stepped behind a parked car and transmuted her Soul Gem into its egg form. 

No, she paused. It wasn’t coming from the direction of the hospital. It was coming from the other side of town. And there was something else amiss, too. A Witch hatchling would give off a single, powerful burst of energy as it emerged, then the detectable energy would level off as its new form settled into existence. Whatever this phenomenon was, its energy appeared to be fluctuating, drawing its power in fits and spurts. It felt as if the energy wasn’t from a witch, but rather something more familiar. And that worried her. Homura secluded herself and changed into her magical girl form, and took off in its direction. 

***

“Nagisa felt something!” Nagisa exclaimed. “Look! Look at it! Look at it!” She pointed as her Soul Gem shimmered in the afternoon sunlight.

“So did I.” Sayaka took her own Soul Gem out. For her, the feeling wasn’t so exciting, or so new for that matter. “Is it a witch or…” She didn’t have a whole lot of experience yet in the field tracking magical entities, but even so she could tell there was something amiss about this outburst of energy.

“Where is it?” Nagisa dashed over and looked out a nearby window. “Where is it?”

“Not close.” Sayaka looked up and down the building alongside her. They were at least two dozen floors up. “That’s for sure.”

 Sayaka pulled out her phone. She promised herself she wasn’t going to call Homura today, but this seemed to be a situation where Homura was better suited to know something about.

“Where? Where? Where?” Nagisa stretched her hand holding her Soul Gem out the window. 

“Don’t drop that!” Sayaka snatched her hand back. “You’ll regret it if you do.”

“Why?” Nagisa stepped back.

“Just trust me on this.” Sayaka put her ear to the phone. 

“Yes, I’m aware of the magic you’re sensing. Stay where you are. I’m closer to it.” Homura tersely instructed.

“Fine. Good luck.”

“Have you dealt with that witch?” Homura asked quickly.

“No. It‘s been a total no-show.” Sayaka replied. “I did happen to find something else, though.” She watched Nagisa playing around with her fluttering Soul Gem.

“What?”

“Tell you about it later. Meet you back in the TARDIS. Please don’t try anything reckless.”

“Never do.”

***

“Tiro volley!” A wave of gunfire blasted into the brickwork.

“Oh, my gawwwwwd, yer still callin’ yer attacks?” Kyoko dashed from side to side.

“Only when I’m confident in victory.” Mami condescendingly smiled. “Regale!” A smattering of ribbons arose from the bullet holes.

Sayaka lowered her weapon, which had morphed back into a mere bat, turned tail, ran and hid inside a dumpster. Whatever their quarrel was, she had no intention of getting caught in the crossfire.

“You ain’t stronger than me!” Kyoko effortlessly sliced through Mami’s attempt to restrain her. “Get over yerself!”

“I guess we’re both going to learn the truth today.” Mami fired a wave of rounds into the area around her.

“Tch! Dumb waste of magic!” Kyoko hopped between the walls. “Too soft! Treat me more seriously than that!”

Sayaka peeked through the lid at the chaos. Kyoko was jumping everywhere around, trying to be as hard a target to hit as possible. Mami, on the other hand, was simply standing her ground, arms still sternly folded, seemingly daring Kyoko to charge directly at her.

A volley of larger gunfire exploded behind Mami, covering her Kyoko in a cloud of smoke.

“Again with the smokescreen trick?” Kyoko twirled her spear furiously. “Don’cha got anythin’ new?” Kyoko planted her weapon and vaulted high above the cloud, retracted her spear in a flash, pushed off a fire escape, then lunged directly at Mami’s position. 

“Yaaaaaaarggggghhhh!” Kyoko screamed as she her blade extended. “I warned ya’ last time!” She sliced clean into Mami’s neck, severing her head completely. “I wouldn’t hesitate to take your head next time.” Kyoko enraged voice choked up as she whispered.

Then Kyoko heard the unexpected sound of a gunshot going off behind her. “So you did.” She heard Mami’s voice affirm. Her right leg unexpectedly collapsed into a pool of its own blood, followed immediately by the rest of her body. “But I did learn a new trick.”

“What… The… Hell ?” She turned her head to see the Mami’s headless body dissolve into a mishmash of ribbons and flowers. Another gunshot glazed her in the wrist, removing her weapon from her grip.

“What was it you said?” Mami’s real form emerged from the smokescreen, marching toward her wounded foe with a deadly inevitability. “You learned it by watching me? As have I.”

Kyoko panickedly attempted to conjure another spear, but a third shot from a small gun in Mami’s grazed her cheek. “A body double made from ribbons.” Mami kicked the withering remains of her ribbon clone aside. “I got the idea from your old illusion magic.” Mami raised a twin gun at her defeated foe. “It takes a lot of effort to pull off, but it serves as quite the trump card.” 

“Shiiiiiiiiiit!” Kyoko gasped.

“Crap!” Sayaka exclaimed inside the dumpster. “She’s really gonna kill her!” She looked down at the bat she was clutching in her hand. She knew there was one thing she could do, but she only had seconds left to act. Sayaka cautiously opened the lid. Mami was standing three, maybe four meters away, if she charged fast enough, she hoped, she might be able to get one lucky blow on her body, then pick up Kyoko and head for the hills. 

She leaped out of the dumpster, landed on her feet and charged. 

“Don’t think for a second that I’ve forgotten about you.” Mami gestured behind her back. “Regale!”

“You idiot! Get outta here!” Kyoko warned.

Sayaka’s left arm and right leg were instantly accosted by Mami’s Ribbons.

With her still-mobile right arm she desperately chucked her bat at Mami’s head. “No-”

“You leave her al-”

“Crap!” Homura exclaimed as she instantaneously appeared between the combatants. “Damn! This is not good!” She had frozen time, but too late to stop the worst of the melee. “This is not good at all!”

From her evaluation of the situation, it appeared that Kyoko and Sayaka, the still-human version of her native to this timeline that is, were somehow in league with each other and trying to challenge Mami, and had just been roundly trounced. Why Kyoko had arrived in the city early or how she could have joined forces with Sayaka in this situation were irrelevant, the only question Homura considered was, exactly how she was going to keep this fight from spiraling further out of control.

Homura grabbed the bat that Sayaka had thrown and altered its trajectory so that it would hit Mami squarely in her face. That momentary injury, she figured, should buy the other two enough time to regroup and escape. If necessary, Homura figured she herself would see them to safety.

She took out her knife, and cut into the ribbons that were binding Sayaka’s arm and leg. Fortunately for Homura, these ribbons had no magical protection over them, Mami probably presumed such a safeguard wouldn’t be unnecessary against a mere human. She slashed at the last of the ribbons, just as the last of the sands in the hourglass in her buckler were sliding down. She took her position behind the dumpster and watched as time resumed.

“-Ooooneeee!”

“-Oooooo!”

“Auuuggghhh!” The bat hit Mami’s face and she fell back against the wall.

Sayaka lunged into Kyoko’s arms, somehow freed from Mami’s grasp. 

“C’mon!” They both jolted up, Sayaka swinging Kyoko’s arm around her neck.”We’ve gotta get outta here!” Kyoko erected a set of lattice barriers behind them as they fled.

“We’re not finished yet!” Mami angrily declared, pressing her sleeve against her bloodied nose.

“ Let them go !” Homura’s voice telepathically rang in Mami’s mind. Homura stepped into sight as the two defeated girls turned the corner and fled. “Or your next opponent will be me!” Homura pulled out her handgun.

“I suppose you’re on their side?” Mami spat out the blood in her throat as she spoke.

“I’m on whatever side thinks rationally, and doesn’t pick needless fights.” Homura confidently tossed her hair.

“Didn’t I warn you that next time I wouldn’t be holding back?”

“I guess I’m not a very good listener. Still-” Homura opened her eyes and stared into Mami’s. “I suppose it’s better that I bear the brunt of your wrath, as opposed to that human girl. And here I thought we magical girls were supposed to be protecting them?”

“How dare y-”

“H- Homura? M- Mami…?” A voice familiar to them both spoke from the opposite end of the alleyway.

“Madoka!” Mami and Homura exclaimed simultaneously.

“That appeared to be quite the magical skirmish.” Kyubey revealed himself seconds behind her. “I apologize for my belated arrival.”

“W- What happened?” Madoka surveyed the damaged walls and brickwork. “We- Were you guys fighting?”

“No.” Homura tossed her hair and collected herself. “Mami Tomoe started a fight with two other girls.”

“That’s not true! I didn’t start the-”

“It doesn't matter who started the fight. You’ve demonstrated your superiority and scared them away. Let them be, lest you do something you’ll wind up regretting.”

“Mami!” Madoka passed right by Homura and ran towards her new friend, taking a handkerchief from her pocket and pressing it against Mami’s nose.

“Thank you.” Mami changed out of her magical form.

“The life of a magical girl is far more perilous than you are being allowed to see. This is the reality.” Homura changed out of hers, turned her back and began walking away. “It is not a world in which you should want to have any part in.”

***

“Shiiiiiit. I really underestimated herrrrrr.” Kyoko’s words were slurring as they’d stop to rest in the bushes several blocks away from the fight. 

“I don’t see her. I don’t think she’s coming after us.” Sayaka ducked back into the bush.

“She was tooootally ready to kill meeee. Didn’t figure she had it in herrrrrr.”

“I gotta get you to the hospital.”

“No! No hospitals!” Kyoko groaned. She instead pointed in the opposite direction, towards the woodlands on the outskirts of town. “That wayyyy! I need a Grief Seeeeed!”

“You’re kidding!” Sayaka tried to pick her up and carry her in the hospital’s direction, only to be blocked by one of Kyoko’s barriers. “Don’t be stupid! You’re bleeding really really bad!”

“Church… The edge of town… Grief Seeeeed.” Kyoko was not going to stay conscious much longer. “Pleaaaaaase!”

“Why? Why won’t you go to the hospital?” Sayaka picked her up and headed for the railway bridge and towards the woodlands.

“Too many… Ask too many questions. I’ll become a freak show.”

“What? Why would you think that?” 

“Be- ... Because I’m dead.”

“What?” 

Kyoko promptly passed out.

“Kyoko!”

***

“What the heck? This doesn’t make sense!” Sayaka and Nagisa were back in the bicycle lot as the sun was setting behind the city building tops in the distance. “Why wasn’t it around today?” She frustratedly smacked the wall where the absent Grief Seed should have appeared .

“What was it?” Nagisa studied the wall. “What was supposed to be here today?”

“There was supposed to be a big nasty witch here this afternoon and I don’t get why it never showed up.” Sayaka took a deep, relaxed breath. “I guess it can’t be helped.” They walked over to the picnic table they dined at earlier and sat down.

“I’ve never been here so late.” Nagisa watched the colors of the dusk darken the city around them. “I usually go home now.”

“Sorry I wasted your time this afternoon.” Sayaka apologized.

Nagisa shook her head. “No there’s no reason to be. Nagisa very much liked being with you today, very very much.” An evening lamppost switched on nearby. “So can she stay with you then?” She kept referring to herself interchangeably between the first and third person. Maybe she thought Sayaka would find that endearing?

“I- I can’t say no.” Sayaka took her bait. “Heh.” Indeed, upon seeing Nagisa’s wide, hopeful eyes Sayaka couldn’t even try to reject. “Need as many friends as I can get nowadays.”

“You want some?” Nagisa took her secret pack of string cheese from her pocket. 

“Sure.” Sayaka took a portion. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“To the one place we’ll be totally safe from Kyubey’s scary eyes.”

***

“After you told me you couldn’t join me this afternoon,” Mami explained. “I decided to go hunting early and meet you back here at my apartment.” Mami pressed a pack of ice against her face. “That’s when I encountered another magical girl,” She paused. “And her cohort.”

“What happened?”

“Her cohort threw a bat at me. I should’ve restrained the arm with the bat.” She tilted her head forward. “It might’ve broken my nose. Guess I learned a little lesson.” 

“Who hit you? Who were they?” Madoka helped her get up her apartment stairs.

“I don’t know who the one with the bat was.” Mami reached for her apartment keys. “She’s somewhere around my height. Shorter haired.” She dropped them on the stairway. Madoka swiftly picked them up for her. “Kind of boyish-look to her. Though she did have a hair clip on this side,” She pointed to her left temple. Madoka dropped the keys.

“Uh, what about the other girl?”

“I know exactly who that was. She’s a magical girl named ‘Kyoko Sakura’. Redheaded. Long-haired. Very powerful. Moves quickly. Very ruthless attacker.” Mami continued up to the top step. “She’s dangerous. If you see her on the street, you stay out of her way.” Madoka picked Mami’s keys back up and rushed to Mami’s side.

“I tried to warn that girl what Kyoko’s like, but it seems Kyoko’s got her wrapped around her finger.” Madoka opened the door while Mami flipped on the light.

“But how do you know Kyoko?”

“She used to be…” Mami felt around for her chair and sat down. “She was once my student. For a while at least, I thought I had found a partner.” She opened up a book of photographs. “But events in her life suddenly took a turn for the worst. It changed her whole outlook on life. Became convinced that magical girls were wasting their energy trying to save everyone. That our powers were gifts meant to be used for ourselves. I tried to help her, but I think my approach only ended up reinforcing her worldview.”

Mami pointed to a photo of herself and Kyoko in a photobooth. “Last I heard, she was patrolling the neighboring Kazamino City, viciously scaring away any poor girl who wandered close to her territory. But she’s back in town, for whatever reason.”

Madoka checked the time on her phone. “I- I have to get back home soon. Are you going to be alright alone?”

“I should be okay. Most of the bleeding’s stopped now.” She leaned back in her chair. “Plus, I’ve got Kyubey here to keep me company.”

“Okay.”

Mami reached for the phone. “Do you need a ride home? I have the money to call a cab for you.”

“No, that’s okay.” Madoka headed for the door. “Actually I-” She hesitated. “I was looking for someone else when I found you back there. I’m still looking for them.”

“Oh?” Mami tried to smile. “I hope you find them. See you soon.”

“See you.”

“And thank you. For everything. I hope you’ve just seen me at my lowest.”

Madoka simply bowed and left.

Madoka really did not want to be back in this alleyway. But she had a hunch. A terrible hunch she desperately hoped was wrong. 

She shined the light of her phone underneath the dumpster. There lied the bat that hit Mami’s face. What else did those assailants drop when they fled? She looked inside the dumpster. There was a school bag in between the trash bags. Madoka used the handle of the bat to fish it out between the trash bags.

She zipped the bag open. She was horrified. There it was, that softball jersey, all the proof Madoka dreaded finding. The proof that Kyoko Sakura’s partner in crime was none other than her own best friend, the name on the jersey’s back that read ‘Miki’.

Chapter Text

Homura cautiously approached the front entrance of the Mitakihara Mall, her eyes searching every little nook and cranny for the white-furred, red-eyed creature. It was dark, but her eyesight was enhanced by her magic. And there he was, nestled inside a potted plant beside a window, Kyubey. Homura knew he’d be close, undoubtedly attempting to ascertain the true nature of her powers and formulate a strategy on how to deal with her. 

Kyubey was more than likely aware that Homura had already found him. Indeed, his perch was so obvious and in plain sight it was as though he were daring her to interact with him, so he could glean whatever valuable information he could about her capabilities.

Homura tossed her hair and stepped inside. She had no time to indulge him today, here at the mall she now had a place to escape his watchful eyes, now it was just a matter of making it there without betraying anything useful to him. She stepped on the escalator and rode up to the second level. There he was again, watching from the third level overpass. Watching from positions that were plainly obvious, but just beyond her grasp. It was pretty evident to her that his strategy was to provoke her into using her magic on him.

Homura politely waved at the polite elderly couple passing her by. The mall was a popular public spot for cosplayers, otaku,and their photographers, so no one around paid any real mind to the young lady in the strange costume with the metal shield bound to her wrist. She turned and walked amongst a group of chatting salarymen. They’ve been ritual nightly shoppers at this place, avoiding their home lives, punctual yet ignorant enough of her presence to serve as a brief visual cover. There he was again, walking alongside a young family unwittingly going about their business.

Homura stepped onto the next escalator. This time, he was watching from a catwalk situated above. There were many more than just one Kyubey, exactly how many Homura had no way to know for certain, but right now all that mattered to her was finding a way to avert those eyes and get to her destination.

There he was again, at the far end of the walkway, probably thinking she only had one direction to go from there: Towards him. Homura looked down over the handrailing. There it was, down on the second level, a nondescript vending machine situated between two dining businesses. 

Kyubey puzzlingly tilted his head as he watched her walk his way very slowly. “Homura Akemi.” Kyubey glared. “What are you planning?” 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” With one fell swoop Homura leapt over the handrailing, spunn her bucker and fell down to the other deck, landing right on top of her target. Moving just as swiftly she rolled off its top, landed on her feet, opened the door and slipped inside. A perfectly executed misdirect.

“Hello.” A young girl stood there to greet her. “Want some cheese?”

“W- Who?” Homura slammed the door behind her. She transformed out of her magical girl attire.

“You know that ‘something else’ I told you I found?” Sayaka was reading her book while seated next to the TARDIS control console. “Her name’s ‘Nagisa’.” She pointed at the girl with a breadstick she took from a plate collection sitting on the console.

“I… See.” Homura flatly replied.

“Food synthesis systems are partially restored.” Miss Jones was working at an open wall panel. “Figured the best way to test it out was to make some simple foods.” She put down her multitool and nibbled on some cheese from a plate next to her. “Help yourself.”

“You look like you were in a hurry.” Sayaka closed her book and set it aside. “What’s up?”

“Kyubey was following me around the mall just now.”

“What? Did he see you come in here?” 

“I managed to give him the slip.”

“We’ll see what he’s up to.” Miss Jones trotted over to the control console. “I may not be able to get a lifesigns lock on him.” She typed in commands on the keyboard. “But the short-range visual scanner should suffice. Especially if he’s within spitting distance.” A live feed of the area around them in the mall displayed on the screen. 

“Will it be able to see him?” Sayaka wondered.

“If I could see through his perception filter, my ship most definitely can.” The visual feed panned around the mall walkway.

“There!” Homura pointed at a white creature just behind a display of Mitakihara City’s mascot.

“Enhancing.” Miss Jones zoomed in just as another white creature approached from a ventilation duct.

“There’s two!” The little girl next to Homura gasped. 

“Can you find out what they’re saying to each other?” Sayaka got out of her seat.

“I’m scanning the standard psychic wavelengths.” Miss Jones typed more instructions into the console.

“Three! You see? You see there?” The little white haired girl tugged on Sayaka’s cuffs. A third Kyubey was visible in the reflection in a window. It promptly approached the other two.

“That’s the most Kyubeys I’ve ever seen in one place.” Homura commented. “He never shows more than one living body at a time to us.” The three Kyubeys’ eyes glowed and their rabbit ear-like appendages touched.

“But of course. He wants you girls believing that he’s but a single, passive, benevolent emissary of magic, not one amongst a whole conniving race of alien overseers that he really is.” Miss Jones stopped typing and stared at the screen.

The Kyubey’s eyes and head motions were faster and much more jerky than the girls were used to seeing, for without anybody’s eyes on them, they need not keep any pretense of being a benign lifeform. “Scaaaary.” The white-haired girl reflexively hid behind Sayaka’s back. Just as quickly as their meetup had convened, the three creatures dispersed. One went back into the ventilation duct, another jumping onto a window onto a ledge and up to the third deck, and the other continued walking the second level walkway.

“Damn. They work quick.” Miss Jones turned a knob on the console. “Too quick to pick up anything on the scanners.”

“Just once I’d like to know what’s going on in his brain.” Sayaka mused.

“That’ll have to wait until we catch a specamine for study.” Miss Jones watched the screen as she stepped back towards the wall paneling. “At least they don’t appear to be aware of the TARDIS. Its ability to blend in should still far exceed whatever perceptual abilities they have. Even so, keep one eye on that screen, just to be sure. In the meantime, feel free to crash here for the night if you wish, Miss Akemi.”

“More cheese, please?” The young girl gently tugged on Miss Jones’s sweater.

“Why, sure thing!” Miss Jones waved her wand and on command a wedge of cheese materialized inside one of the circular indents on the wall. “How’s that?”

“Mmmmm.” The young lady pleasurably grinned. “Where’s it from?”

“A far, far off world.” Miss Jones tore off a slice of cheese for herself. “Wisconsin.”

***

“I just do not understand.” The Kyubey surveyed the mall walkway. “The magical signature of Homura Akemi abruptly terminates near here. What could possibly be the explanation?”

“Her particular signature has a tendency to disappear in one place only to reappear in another in a matter of seconds. This incident would appear to fit into that pattern. Most likely a trait inherent to her magical power.” A second Kyubey telepathically relayed nearby.

“Teleportation magic? That would appear to fit the evidence.”

“Inconclusive. She was observed to be utilizing a device on her arm.”

“Speculative. The device may serve an unrelated function.”

“Possibly true. Ultimately, we can only wait until she appears again to base any explanation for this incident.”

“The more prudent measure would have been to attempt a telepathic override of her Soul Gem’s control of her body.” A third Kyubey interjected. 

“That would have been an unnecessary risk, without knowing the full extent of the subject’s capabilities.”

“It was effective on the subject known as ‘Saya Otonashi’. Data was gained. Data we are still trying to analyze.”

“But that did not ascertain the subject’s identity. And such action subsequently resulted in that body’s termination. The most valuable data was irretrievably corrupted by its premature termination.”

“Indeed, we should refrain from such direct action in the future unless deemed by all consensus as absolutely necessary.”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed… For now.”

“The strategy of bringing Kyoko Sakura back to this town for the purpose of cultivating further conflict succeeded.”

“Affirmative. However, her subsequent interactions with Sayaka Miki may bear fruit as well.”

“Agreed. Her previous evaluation as a mediocre magical girl still holds true, but her encounter with Kyoko has provided an opportunity to devise other strategies.”

“Agreed. Their unexpected pairing should prove beneficial to us.”

“The strategy of pairing Mami Tomoe and Madoka Kaname appears to be proceeding as planned.”

“Affirmative. Sayaka Miki and Madoka Kaname are known to have an established peer relationship, correct?”

“Affirmative. However, presently neither are aware that the other is a magical girl candidate.”

“That information could be used to drive further conflict in the future.”

“Agreed. It remains imperative that Madoka Kaname make a contract, everything else is secondary.”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed. With her, we will have all the energy we will ever need.”

***

“That tool that looks like a tuning fork… Hand it to me, please?” Miss Jones instructed Nagisa.

“What are you doing now?” Nagisa yawned.

“Examining the transmat system. I want to make sure it’s totally unsalvageable before I even consider cannibalizing its parts.”

“Oh. What is it?”

“That piece of cheese you just ate? A transmat can zap it out of your tummy and send it straight to the Moon.”

“Oh. Why would you do that?” She yawned again.

“So you’ll be hungry for more cheese. Now hand me that tool that looks like a kaleidoscope.”

“Okay.” Nagisa handed the tool over. “Is it working?”

“That’s what this tool’s designed to find out.” Miss Jones stuck her eye in one end and rotated the cylinder.

“How long will it take?”

“Boy do you like to ask questions.”

“Sorry.” Nagisa apologized. “I ask questions when I’m nervous.”

“No worries.” Miss Jones assured. “Forty minutes or so.”

“Oh.” Nagisa yawned and stretched.

“The more pertinent question is, are you going to be awake enough to help when I’m finished?” Miss Jones put her hand to Nagisa’s forehead.

“I’m not that tired.” Nagisa said with her eyes drooping.

“When’s your normal bedtime?”

“Eight.”

“Homura, what time was it when you got to the mall?”

“I don’t know. I think it was nine.”

“Past your bedtime. Sorry.” Miss Jones stood up and took Nagisa’s hand. “You two… Stop watching the ‘tube and do me a solid.”

“What is it?” Sayaka sauntered over to them.

“I need to get a diagnostic started on these quantum energy crystals inside the transmat matrix.” She pulled out a floor panel underneath the detached wall panel. “Each of these crystals needs to be checked for its energy storage capacity. 

“How many are there?”

“Approximately five hundred of them.” She removed a second floor panel. “Three hundred primary, two hundred redundant.”

“Geez!” Sayaka slowly backed up. “That sounds like a lot of-”

“It’s easy enough.” Miss Jones flipped the kaleidoscope tool at her. “The tool’s already calibrated to their resonance frequencies.” Miss Jones guided Sayaka through the crystals in the slots under the paneling. “I want you to check, from left to right, row by row, from top to bottom, the status of each crystal. Once it’s analyzed the crystal, the tool will flash you a color through that eyepiece.” Miss Jones pointed to a large clipboard and booklet of stickers sitting on the control console. “Green means it has energy capacitance. Red means it’s busted. Homura, you mark the corresponding color to its crystal in the diagram on the clipboard. Working together. Easy peasy.”

“Couldn’t I use a marker?”

“You screw up, you can just swap out the sticker. With a marker, you gotta cross it out, write a correction, make a big confusing mess out of it. Bleh.”

“Very well. What are you going to be doing?”

“I’m going to be tucking the little one into bed.” Miss Jones lightly nudged Nagisa. “I’m sure she’s had a long day.” She smiled at Sayaka. “Longer than yours.”

***

The door to the guest quarters slid open. Nagisa peeked inside and gazed at a crib on the right side.

“I’m not that little.” Nagisa complained.

“Of course not.” Miss Jones put her hand on her shoulder. “If I recall this was intended to be a guest room for brand new families.” She pointed toward the larger bed on the opposite side. “You can have that big bed all to yourself.”

Nagisa deliberately pulled out the covers and squished the pillow. “No one’s ever slept in it.”

“Quite correct. You’ll be the first.”

Nagisa slowly climbed in and pulled the covers over her body. She turned over and slid her hands under the pillow. A moment later she slung them down the side of the mattress. Then she tried resting them between her legs. She sat up and looked over at the crib.

“Can I have one of those toys?”

“Used to sleeping with one, I take it?’ Nagisa shook her head. “You can have ‘em all if it makes you more comfortable.” Miss Jones fetched the small, stuffed creatures and brought them over.

“What’s that one?”

“A striped pig bear.” Miss Jones handed it to her. “It’s native to the forests of my homeworld.”

“What about that one?” Nagisa positioned it on one side of her body.

“A Yaddlefish. Nearly driven extinct in the wild, it’s reputed their yaddling soothes the souls of younglings, upstanding parents would get their kids an aquarium full of them. '' Miss Jones set it on top of the headboard.

“And that one?” Nagisa pointed at the more exotic stuffed creature.

“That’s a flubble. Another popular pet.” Miss Jones stroked its stuffed fur. “I once knew someone who tried keeping one in secret at my old school. Set it free come mating season.” She set it beside Nagisa. “Pity the poor service drones in the ventilation ducts.”

“And a stuffed cat?” Nagisa grabbed it and examined it.

“And a stuffed cat.” Miss Jones smiled. “We had our own evolution of them on my world, but we interbred with an introduced population of Earth cats. Eventually the two became physiologically indistinguishable from one another. Now they’re the second most common biotype in the Universe, after Humanoids.” 

“‘Kay.” Nagisa slung her arm around it and turned over.

“Anything else I can do for you?”

“Uhm.” Nagisa glanced at the pair of bookshelves that were flanking the bed. “Before she got sick, my mom used to read me bedtime stories.”

“I see.” Miss Jones scanned the titles on the shelf. “Although I don’t know what would be appropriate, for a girl like you, amongst this selection.” She scratched her chin as she parsed through the selections. “Most of these are pretty dry history lessons of other worlds.” She looked over at the other shelf. “What fictional works there are, feature some pretty... Bleak endings.”

“I don’t mind hearing those.”

“Oh, this one looks pretty Earth-centric.” Miss Jones picked a large, encyclopedia-sized book off the shelf. “‘Earth Fables, Fairytales and Folklore, Middle Humanian Era. Annotated Edition’.” Miss Jones brushed off a thin layer of dust from its cover. “What a mouthful.”

She opened the book in the middle and paged through a couple chapters. “Here’s a story that’s popular on the other side of the sphere. It’s about a poor little boy and a girl who are abandoned in the deep, dark woods, where they are left to fend for themselves. Eventually they find a hou-” 

“I know it. There’s a witch in the house. They kill her. They shoved her in the stove. The end.” Nagisa demurred. “I don’t like it. If she could’ve eaten her candy house like they did, she would have done that.” She said, “She’s not a bad person just ‘cause she’s gotta eat people to live.” She reasoned.

“That’s some very unique logic.” Miss Jones paged through some more chapters. “Okay then, here’s one from your end of the world. It’s got a cute princess and even has time travel. My specialty.” She cleared her throat.

“Is it the one about the fisherman and the turtle?” Nagisa asked. “Because I know that one, too. He opens the box and becomes an old man and cries. The end.” She yawned.

“As you wish.” Miss Jones paged back a few chapters. “Ah! How would you like to hear the story of The Little Mermaid?”

Nagisa shook her head. “She turns into seafoam and dies. The end.” 

“But that’s only in one version of it.” Miss Jones pointed out. “There’s also a completely different one where she ascends to the heavens as an angel.” Nagisa still wasn’t interested. “Or the one where she becomes a roaming spirit who does good deeds for the next three hundred years?” Utter silence.

“Fine.” Miss Jones turned the pages on and on until she was practically at the end of the book. “This one I guarantee you haven’t heard before.” 

“Once upon a time,” Miss Jones began. “There lived a lonely young girl.”

“Why was she lonely?” Nagisa interjected.

“Because she had a hard time making friends.” Nagisa’s eyes empathetically widended. “One day, she was specially selected to go to a very special school for very special people.”

“Why’d she get selected?” Nagisa interjected again. “Was she a Princess?” She sat up. “Was it a School for Princesses?”

“Princesses?” Miss Jones politely pushed her back down. “Well, not quite.” She immediately sensed Nagisa’s attention waning. “Well, there were lots of silly-looking hats and irritatingly strict rules surrounding decorum. So yeah, I guess one could call it a Princess School.”

She turned a page. “And one day on her long,” She paused. “Quite unnecessarily arduous trek to her Special Princess School, she happened to see an unfortunate young child being picked on by a much larger bully. Being a good natured soul, she came to this child’s aid and together they managed to send that stupid hulking bully packing.”

“The princess fought the bully?” Nagisa asked. “Princesses can fight?”

“Never heard a rule that says they can’t.” She licked her finger. “So the two young souls discovered that they were going to the same Special School, and they got to talking, and the more they talked, the more they found they had in common.” She flipped a page. “They had the same tutors, the same interests, the same hopes, the same fears, and above all they were both born into this Universe with a deep, unfathomable loneliness, a loneliness that would often cause them despair.”

“What’s despair?”

“It means that you’re so sad that you’re completely without hope.” Nagisa understandingly nodded. “You know if you keep butting in with all these questions, this story’s gonna take all night, and we need to rise early tomorrow.” Miss Jones leaned closer. “So if you’d please, just listen, relax and let your imagination answer the questions for you.”

“Sorry.”

“That’s how fairy tales change over time, you know. When the listener’s imagination eventually goes and shapes another account.” She flipped another page. “Where was I? Oh, the more and more time they spent together at that School, the more and more they bonded. Through the bad times and good, whenever one failed a big test, or the other got in trouble with the teachers, or one won golden trim, or the other earned their medallions, they need only look at the other and smile to know that everything would be all right in the end.”

“Bestest friends.” Nagisa yawned. 

“Exactly,” Miss Jones agreed. “Their feelings probably went even deeper than that. But tragically neither ever quite came to the point of confessing it,” She paused. “Possibly because their similar personalities made them too stubborn to admit their feelings. Or possibly because they were still very young and thus didn’t fully understand the true scope of their affections. Or possibly because they simply didn’t want to risk spoiling their good friendship. Or possibly,” She flipped another page. “Because there were terrible, dark forces that conspired to keep them from doing so.”

She continued, “You see there was this cabal - er, that’s a small group of powerful people who plot and scheme to keep themselves that way, who foresaw that the Lonely Princess and her bestest friend would one day get together and change the world. That they’d transform their whole world and its people a more loving, more just, fairer society. Of course, doing so would mean the end of this cabal’s reign, so secretly, their Supreme Leader hatched a plan that would eventually drive the two bestest friends apart.”

She licked her fingers and turned another page. “When the time came for the Lonely Princess and her bestest friend to be formally inducted into their Special Princess School, in a ceremony in which that wicked Leader personally oversaw, That Leader cast a most insidious spell, a spell that planted a most terrible idea into The Princess’s mind.” She sighed and itched her temple. “‘Twas the spark of ambition, a piece of The Leader’s very own greed and lust for power, that he planted directly into her. Seeded not just only the back of her mind, but also deep within the very core of her soul.”

She briefly paused and turned the page. “As the two friends got older, the best friend realized that she had changed. You see, while the two were still young and inseparable, they had made a promise that once the day came when they had graduated from their School, the two of them would run away and explore together, to go everywhere imaginable, to travel everywhere travelable, to meet everyone who was meetable. For they’d believed that doing so would cure their loneliness. And so that day at last arrived, and the friend waited patiently for The Lonely Princess to come, and waited, and waited.” 

She wiped a small tear from her eye. “But alas, she never came. The seed that leader planted had bloomed, she had by then transformed into an incredibly self-centered fool, who by this point in her life was trying her damndest to be just like their wicked Leader.” She continued, “Though spurned, her friend remained and tried to help her, to show her the errors of her increasingly aggressive ways. But eventually he had to give up. By this point, their paths had split, the friend had started a family, as did the Lonely Princess. But even the enormous  responsibilities of a family were not enough to constrain the Princess’s steadily beating ambitions.”

She turned to the last page. “Eventually the friend did run away and fulfil their promise, but without her. And then she ran too, but not because of their promise, but because that spell of ambition had changed her into an evil witch on a quest for conquest and destruction. Naturally, this would lead to the two of them meeting again, but with their goals and ideals now so starkly different, the two former friends had no choice but to fight. And thus they fought and fought, time and time again at whatever junction they crossed paths. And the most tragic part was, it was all just going according to The Leader’s awful plan. For The Leader knew that, if the two were always out there fighting, they would never come back together, and never challenge the cabal’s power, never change their society.”  

“Has it gotten bleak enough for you dear?” She paused. “Well it’s gotten a little too bleak for me.” She continued on, “Eventually the curse of greed and ambition had been excised, the witch had been vanquished. She was the Lonely Princess again, but by then her friend was long gone. So she took to travelling too, forever chasing her friend, adopting his methods, hoping for that day she-” She was interrupted by Nagisa’s snoring.

“Bored you to sleep? Can’t say I blame you,” She smiled. She quietly closed the book and left for the door. “Half-improvised, half-remembered side stories make for poor fairy tales. Good night and hopeful dreams, Lonely Princess.”

***

“Number seventy-one, it reads…” Sayaka peered through the scanning tool. “Red.” She noticed that Homura had not marked the scan result, as Homura was still gazing at the display screen. “Hey! Aren’t you paying attention?”

“Huh?” Homura jerked her head around. “I apologize. You said ‘red’, yes?”

“Yup.” Sayaka started scanning the next crystal. “Look, I get that this is boring and tedious. So if you want to just hand me that clipboard and the stickers, I can do it all on my own.”

“It’s fine.” Homura sighed. “I’ve been thinking about something.” 

“What about?” Sayaka’s eye glanced into the scanning tool’s eyepiece. “Number seventy-two, is green.”

“Green.” Homura marked it with a green sticker. “About that young girl that you’ve brought here.”

“Nagisa?” Sayaka moved on to the next one. “Why? Seen her around before or something?” The scan result flashed in her eye right away. “Number seventy-three, red.”

“Red.” Homura noted. “Perhaps.”

“Yeah I think I have, too.” Sayaka recalled. “Just can’t quite flag where.” She scanned the next crystal. “Lemme ask you something else. Has anything like this happened before?”

“You mean have I ever assisted you while we inspected a bunch of crystals and  chit-chatted board an alien’s ship?” Homura deadpanned. “No. This timeflow’s entirely unique.”

“Heh. Number seventy-four, it’s green.” Sayaka continued on. “Unique’s a good thing, right?”

“Not in my experience. These timeflows make me anxious. They make me hesitate.” Homura marked it with a sticker. “Then I start to second guess every previous decision I’ve made.” She gazed at the partially-eaten pieces of cheese on the console. “Past and present.”

“You think you’ll get so bogged down by the past that you miss important details in the present?” Sayaka continued scanning. “Number seventy-five, is green.”

“Yes.” Homura stuck another green sticker. 

“I’ve had trouble with something similar lately.” Sayaka scanned on. “How do you cope with it?”

“I stop thinking, then I go out and I destroy a witch. Then I check on Madoka.” Homura tilted her head. “What do you do?” 

“Me? I read a few more pages of that crazy science book.” She paused. “Then I get mad at Kyubey.” She looked over at the plate of cheese. “I can’t believe he’d leave her all alone in a labyrinth.” She grit her teeth. “Dammit I can’t believe he’d make her a magical girl in the first place.”

“He doesn’t take human values into consideration. He doesn’t understand them. To him we’re just useful resources.”

“So I discovered. The hard way.” Sayaka peeked through the eyepiece. “Number seventy-six, red.” She moved on. “Did he ever try tampering with your Soul Gem? Or screwing around with your body or your mind?”

“No.” Homura shook her head. “I learned quite early on to keep him at a healthy distance from me and my soul gem.”

“Great to know.” Sayaka rolled her eyes. “Whatever the timeline, seems I’m his favorite torture toy.” The light flashed in her eye. “Number seventy seven, also red.”

“Torture toy? Did something happen today?”

“He tried to hijack my body.” Sayaka scanned. “Then he screwed around in my brain. Told Miss Jones about it already.”

Homura stared at her. “Did he discover anything compromising?”

“I don’t think so. But another moment or two, and we’d have been screwed. If it weren’t for Nagisa,” Sayaka scratched her cheek. “I owe her big time. Number seventy-eight, green.”

“Still went better than my side of the mission.” Homura put in a red sticker.

“What happened? Mami’s alive, right?”

“Yes.” Homura breathed. “But I miscalculated again.”

“What do you mean?” Sayaka stopped her scan and stared at her.

“I tried to predict where she would be based upon her typical daily routines. So I visited a tea shop. Typically she buys the tea, goes home, eats dinner and makes her tea, then goes witch hunting. But today she deviated. I should’ve factored Miss Jones keeping Madoka after school into the equation.”

“How so? What’d she do instead?”

“I think she skipped straight to witch hunting. When I finally sensed her, she was engaged in a fight with another magical girl.” Homura took a long, melancholy breath. “It was with Kyoko Sakura.”

Sayaka’s jaw dropped. “She’s here? You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“Their fight was that outburst of magical energy we felt this afternoon. That was their battle.”

“Holy crap!” Sayaka set the tool down. “You mean that’s what a clash between magical girls feels like?”

“Between two powerful ones, yes.” Homura added. “Particularly when the girls are as emotionally fraught as those two.”

“Oh. So that’s why you try to be such a robot all the time?”

Homura’s eyes showed the briefest glint of annoyance before she continued talking. “I was too late to put myself between them. By then Mami had already triumphed. Kyoko barely managed to retreat.”

“Aw, dammit.” Sayaka shuddered. “I admit that I’ve fantasized about Mami and me teaming up to kick Kyoko’s ass, but…”

“Actually,” Homura tensed. “From what I read from the situation, it looked like that other version of you had gotten involved, too. Somehow, as Kyoko’s ally.”

“No way!” Sayaka suddenly became exasperated. “What? Oh, my god! How the hell did that happen?” She grabbed Homura’s uniform, and then grew even more exasperated. “Sh- She didn’t make a contract, did she?” 

“No.” Homura removed Sayaka’s hand. “I sensed no magic from her. She was also only armed with a bat.” Homura added, “Fortunately, she escaped alongside Kyoko.”

“Any ideas where they could have gone?”

“I have a guess.”

***

The abandoned church they’d found in the woodlands looked to Sayaka like it was in a state of terrible disrepair. “Are you sure about this place?” Sayaka asked the barely-conscious Kyoko. Kyoko weakly pointed to the small, equally-ruined residence attached beside it.

“Bedroom… Toward the east…” Kyoko breathed. 

“But the door’s been barricaded shut.” Sayaka thrusted her body futilely into the residence’s front entrance.

“Church door…” Kyoko struggled to speak.

“Don’t die on me now!” Sayaka picked her up and they walked slowly around the building to the church’s front entrance.

“Bust it open.” Kyoko wheezed. The large church door surprisingly collapsed inward on Sayaka’s first kick.

“It’s too dark to see.” Kyoko pointed towards the right side of the room.

“Doorway.” The two felt their way along the walls, crunching their feet on broken glass strewn along the floor.

“Is this it?” Sayaka felt a doorknob poke her in her side. She turned the knob. “It’s locked!”

“Key.” Sayaka heard Kyoko’s hand scratch along the floor. “Take it.” She slipped it into Sayaka’s hand.

“Now where?” 

“Bedroom.” Kyoko weakly tugged Sayaka toward her desired direction. The two girls felt their way along the walls from room to room, from the living room, to what appeared to be the dining room, along the hallway until they came upon an open doorway, with its interior dimly lit by the weak moonlight.

“We’re here.” Sayaka could barely make out a pair of unmade beds by the window. “Now what?” Kyoko promptly lurched towards the beds and fell on top of the mattresses. She slid her arm over the edge and changed her Soul Gem into its egg form, where it dropped and rolled over to Sayaka.

“Holy crap. It’s really cloudy.” Sayaka picked it up. Its red glow was obscured by a pulsating malstrom of darkness surrounding its core. “What does that mean?”

“Need magic.” Kyoko murmured. “Under… Floorboard.”

“What?” Sayaka leaned in. 

“Underneath.” She huffed. “Floorboard.” 

Sayaka stepped forward. The floorboard she’d stepped on sounded noticeably different from the others in the room. She kneeled down and inspected it, using Kyoko’s gem as a dim light source.

“Oh. I get it.” She felt along the board for a spot to lift it up, surely enough her intuition was correct. Underneath the floorboard was a small storage space. She shined the gem lower, lighting a closed shoe box. She opened the box.

“Grief seeds! There’s three of them!” Sayaka picked one up. “Is that why you wanted me to bring you here?” Kyoko didn’t respond, having succumbed to unconsciousness from her injuries.

“Crap! I don’t know what I’m supposed-” Kyoko’s Soul Gem flashed as Sayaka had unintentionally brought it close to the Grief Seed in her other hand. She reflexively dropped the Grief Seed to the floor, then picked it up. “That’s how you do it? That’s easy?”

“Were you expecting the purification process to be something more elaborate, Sayaka?” Kyubey appeared in the outside windowsill, his glowing eyes providing a little extra illumination to the dark night.

“There you are! Where the heck have you been all this time?”

“My apologies. But with the number of magical girls out there, I don’t have the ability to be around and supervise them for every single moment of their lives. Nor do they expect me to.”

“So I just put these two things together?” Sayaka tentatively slid the Soul Gem and Grief Seed closer on the floor.

“Yes. A witch’s egg will naturally purify the Soul Gem. All it takes is proximity between the two.”

“Nothing else? No special spells or incantations?” She looked at a broken cross on the floor. “Or prayers?” She moved the two closer and closer until the glow in Kyoko’s gem flashed again.

“Some magical girls do indulge in such rituals. But it is not necessary to carry out the process.” Kyubey watched as the darkened energy scattered out from Kyoko’s Soul Gem and leapt into the Grief Seed. “You’ve done it. Her Soul Gem is purified. Though I admit, this is not how I pictured how your first Soul Gem purification process would be carried out.”

Sayaka picked up the Grief Seed. It was even darker than before, a shade of black even bleaker than the night around them. “Ewwww.” Sayaka said repulsively. “It’s so dark.”

“And now it’s dangerous. If it’s tainted any further, a witch might hatch.” Kyubey pawed at the window. “Don’t worry. If you let me inside, I will take care of it.” Sayaka took the Grief Seed, got to her feet, reached over Kyoko’s sleeping body, and unlatched the window.

“Give it to me.” Sayaka handed it to him, where he promptly flipped it with his tail, landed it on top of his head, flipped it again, and caught it inside an opening on his back. He contentedly stretched and wiggled his tail.

“You... Ate it?”

“It’s one of my duties.”

“Is she going to be alright?” Sayka checked Kyoko’s pulse.

“Magical girls recover from injuries at a much faster rate than humans.” Kyubey looked at the wound on Kyoko’s leg. “And Kyoko I’ve personally witnessed survive injuries far worse than this. Her ability to survive is her most distinctive trait. I am confident she will make a full recovery,” He tilted his head towards her glowing gem. “So long as her Soul Gem remains purified.”

“That’s good.” Sayaka took a deep, relieved breath. “I wonder how late it’s gotten.” She felt through her pockets searching for her phone, quickly realizing that, in her rush out the door this morning, she had completely forgotten it. “Damn. Left my phone at home. My parents must be worried sick about me.” She checked Kyoko’s wound. “But I can’t just leave her here like this.” 

“She’s likely going to remain unconscious and vulnerable for a while.” Kyubey said. “Fortunately for her this location is rather remote. It’s unlikely anyone or anything will come along and threaten her.”

“I’m going to stay with her. Just in case. But I’ve gotta get in touch with my parents.” She sighed and rubbed her eyes. “A payphone.” She snapped her fingers. “Yeah! There was an old payphone back where the railroad intersected with the road. I’ll tell them I’m at a friend's place. They’re sick and I’m helping them out.” She felt Kyoko's forehead. “Not really a lie.”

“What you do next is entirely up to you.” Kyubey leapt back onto the windowsill and outside. For the time being, my business here is done. That is, of course, unless there is a wish you would like granted.” He looked back and twitched his tail.

“If I do eventually go through with it, you can be sure I’ll do it when I’m damn good and ready.” She stared at Kyoko sleeping on the bed. “Or when she needs me to be.”

***

“Admittedly, I’m not privy to all the details.” Homura stopped. “Kyoko doesn’t seem to open up to me, the way she opens up to you.” She then paused and thought of what she could remember. “But from what I’ve pieced together, she was Mami’s first magical girl student. And soon after her friend. But as Kyoko’s wish went wrong, Mami couldn’t abide by Kyoko’s changed worldview, and the two suffered a falling out.”

“And they’ve suffered an unhappy reunion.” Sayaka sighed.

“And I get a feeling that Kyoko partially blames Mami for how her wish turned out. But I could be wrong.” 

“Number seventy-nine, red.” Sayaka continued working while she processed their conversation. “Maybe we should tell them both about Walpurgisnacht. Maybe they’ll put their differences aside for the greater good.”

“When I tried that, it typically made them suspicious of me and my motives.”

“Maybe it’s better to have their targets painted on our backs than on each other.” Sayaka looked through the eyepiece. “Number eighty, it’s green.”

“That tactic could easily backfire, too. While I’m confident enough in my own ability to evade their attacks separately, if they united, I’m not at all confident that I could prevail.”

“I’d have your back.” Sayaka continued working. “Number eighty-one, green.”

“You wouldn’t be enough.” Homura marked it down.

“Gee. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“It’s just an honest assessment of our abilities compared to theirs.”

“Yeah, I get it. You’re being candid.” She chuckled. “I know I’m no great help. Just the glorified extra.” 

“Now you’re the one being hard on yourself.”

“It’s true though. This isn’t a world where I belong.” She examined the next crystal. “I mean, let’s be total optimists for a second and assume that we’re completely successful from here on. Madoka’s saved, Walpurgisnacht is defeated, witches gone, Kyubey’s captured and Miss Jones frees us from relying on Grief Seeds. What then? What comes after? Have you thought about it?”

“I can’t say that I have.” Homura admitted. 

“Number eighty-two, red.” Sayaka continued. “I’ve thought a little about it. I can’t go home. Can’t crash at Madoka’s. And those few days I had of living like Kyoko out on the streets almost killed me.” She looked at her reflection on a metal bar below the floor. “And I’m not gonna keep pretending I’m this ‘Saya’ girl. There’s nothing keeping me here. And I’m just not cut out to be a magical girl.” She pensively swayed her head toward Homura. “Do you think Miss Jones would be open to me staying with her? You think she mind me tagging along?”

“I don’t know.” Homura marked the reading with another sticker. “But I know it’s not something to be asked of her on a whim. Explain yourself. She was the one responsible for your situation. I’m sure she understands that much.”

“You’re right.” Sayaka half-smiled. “You’re right. Number eighty-three, red.” She sighed, then checked out the next crystal in the series. It was completely charred black and had a broken tip. She put down her tool and reached for it. “Well I can already tell you that this one’s going to read as- Guuuuyyyyaaaaahhhhhh!”

“Sayaka!” Homura shouted as brilliant sparks of energy shot out from the compartment.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-” Homura raced over to assist her screaming companion. “-ccccckkkkkkkkk! That hurt!”

“That hurt you?” Homura examined Sayaka’s hand. “You still haven’t figured out how to block such pain?”

“Nooooooooo!” Sayaka jerked it away and bit her lip. “Everytime I try to think of how I did it, it’s like something’s blocking me! Shiiii...” She stuck her burned fingertips in her mouth while she muttered another English profanity under her breath.

“Blocking you?”

She took the fingertips out of her mouth. “It’s like, when Miss Jones rebooted my brain or something, I think she blocked the memory where I figured out how.” She gave her hand back to Homura to examine. 

“You think she may have brainwashed you?”

“No, nothing like that. I think she was just trying to help me feel human again.” The burns on her fingers were already fading, the pain by that point was just a sharp tingle. “To be honest, I’m not sure I want to relearn it. Not if it’s going to turn me into a stark-raving mad brute again.” 

“How’s it been coming along?” The interior doors slid open as Miss Jones came back into the room. 

“We’ve inspected eighty-four crystals so far.” Homura handed her the clipboard.

“Excellent.”

“And the last one burned my fingers when I touched it.” Sayaka added.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine. But you could have told me the damaged ones could be dangerous.” 

“That kinda goes without saying, doesn’t it?” Miss Jones strode over to the microwave. “Now pick one of the green crystals, the good ones, and bring it over to me.”

“Any in particular?” Sayaka looked down at the crystals.

“Eh, number seven.” She looked at the clipboard. “Yeah. Lucky number on any day.”

“Care to explain what you’re about to do next?” Homura requested.

“Certainly!” Miss Jones hung her coat on the rack. “A transmat system works, in simplest terms, by taking matter from one position, then dismantling and ‘teleporting’ the matter’s ‘data’ into these crystals, where they’re held in suspension for a microsecond, then sent to their target destination where the matter is reconstituted into its original configuration in a practically-instantaneous voyage.”

“So you’re attempting to teleport the darkness out of our Soul Gems.” Homura surmised.

“To where?” Sayaka asked as she picked the seventh crystal from its slot and brought it over.

“Nowhere.” Miss Jones replied. “The ectomatter is far too dangerous to exist in our reality untethered, it would cause disruptions in space-time that would make those witch barriers look restrained by comparison.” Miss Jones took her wand out and started working. “Instead, I’m hoping we can keep the ectomatter in suspension within these crystals, where they’ll be contained. In short, my transmat crystals, I’m hoping, can serve as near-term substitute Grief Seeds.”

“How long can the crystals contain it?” Homura asked.

“Don’t know. Hopefully indefinitely. But that’s what this next test is going to find out.” She pressed a button, and a slightly charred helmet descended from the ceiling. “No worries,” She whispered to Homura. “No biological component needed this go ’round.” She polished the helmet with her sleeve, turned the hemet upside down and slotted the crystal inside.

“Step two: Place your Soul Gems inside the microwave.” Homura immediately complied. Sayaka, however, was a little more reluctant.

“I used a Grief Seed today. Mine’s clean enough.”

“Just do it.” Homura glared at her. She gulped, reluctantly stepped forward and placed it inside.

“Set the timer.” Homura set it to two minutes, and pressed the button on the microwave. Lasers flashed into each Gem, repeatedly in series, until the darkness inside was agitated into orbit around their gems.

“Ectomatter’s separated.” Miss Jones pointed at the big red button next to Sayaka. “Now, prepare to engage the final step.” Sayaka nervously picked up the tablet with the button. “Hit it!"

In a brilliant flash of light, the darkness was teleported out of the microwave.

“Di- Did it work?” Sayaka asked, rubbing her eyes. Miss Jones peered tentatively into the helmet. She tried to pick it up, then immediately dropped it to the floor. “Hot?”

“No, it’s cold.” Miss Jones bent over and picked it back up with her sleeve. “Damn cold.” She scanned it with her wand. “Hmmm.” She studied the crystal and arched her brow.

“What is it?” Homura and Sayaka asked simultaneously as they leaned closer.

“I have some good news, but it also looks like there’s bad news.”

“What’s the bad news?” Sayaka asked.

“What’s the good news?” Homura asked at the same time as Sayaka.

“The good news is, the energy transfer was a success. The transmat crystals will indeed function as replacement Grief Seeds.”

“So then what’s the bad news?” Sayaka apprehensively bit her lip.

Miss Jones scanned up and down the crystal with her wand as she gauged its energy readings. “It’s not doing as good a job keeping the matter in suspension as I’d hoped.” She tapped on her glasses. “There’s a small, but detectable cascading reaction happening within the crystalline matrix.”

“What does that mean?” They asked in tandem again.

“It means that we're going to have to dispose of this thing, because it’s going to erupt.

“What?” They exclaimed.

“Yup.” She scanned one more time with her wand. “Confirmed. The reaction’s accelerating, exponentially.” She lifted her glasses above her head. “Fortunately, the crystal’s quantum-shifting nature is going to suppress virtually all of the ectomatter’s reality-disrupting properties, we should only be in for a good ol’ fashioned, big-ass explosion when it goes.

“How large will the explosion be?” Homura asked.

“How long ‘til it blows?” Sayaka’s eyes widened.

“Let me run some calculations.” Miss Jones took out a pencil and scribbled a set of equations on the back of her clipboard. “Let’s see… Carry the three.” She nodded. “Four minutes, give or take a couple seconds. Honestly math was never my strongest subject. As for the scale...” She sighed. She scratched her cheek with her glasses as solved the next question. “How big was that bomb that destroyed those cities in Japan in that war a few years back? Somewhere around that neighborhood.”

“Holy crap!” Sayaka slapped her forehead.

“No call for panic.” Miss Jones reassured. “This is one of the experimental outcomes I anticipated. I prepared for it.”

“What do you plan to do?” Homura asked.

“Send it down to one of the lower levels.” Miss Jones approached the control console. “I’m thinking one of the paludarium levels. One of the desert sectors.” She typed on the console as images of a jungle, a beach, and then a desert flashed on the screen. “Sector Eleven. No bioforms detected. Nice and deserted desert.”

 She typed further instructions into the console. “Should be enough power for a site-to-site transmat of a nonliving object.” She flipped a switch on the console’s underside. “Homura, do me a favor and set the crystal inside the round-thingy next to the microwave.”

“This one?” Homura set it in place.

“Yes. Thanks.” She flipped the underside switch again. Nothing happened to the crystal. She tried again, to the same non-result. “Hmmmm. That’s odd.”

“What’s odd?”  The two other girls uttered in unison.

Miss Jones dislodged a keyboard from the console’s underside, and pecked away. “Ah, crap. An eleven-oh-three, dash four-seven-one error. Damn. I should’ve anticipated that.”

“What’s that mean?” Sayaka read the screen.

“It’s a safety feature.” Miss Jones explained. “There’s a risk, however small, that the transmat energy required to send the thing away could also serve as the energy catalyst that would trigger the chain reaction. Thereby blowing it up right in our faces. Which would be bad, so the TARDIS refused to do the transmat.”

“Crap!” Sayaka shouted as she clutched the console. 

“I could disable the safety protocol and try it anyway.” The screen flashed over to a long, unending line of computer code.

“We don’t have time!” Sayaka exclaimed.

“I agree. That’s way too much code to parse through in two and a half minutes.” Miss Jones nervously bit her lip. “I could try erecting a containment field around the crystal itself. Constrain the explosion into a tiny glowing clump.” Miss Jones input the calculations into the computer. “And wouldn’t you know it, we’re right below the minimum power threshold needed to pull that stunt off.” She scratched behind her back, and desperately whispered “Shoot.” 

Sayaka was staring at her, visibly panicked. Even Homura was showing a hint of exasperation. “If push comes to shove, we can wake Nagisa and flee to the back-up control room. Even in low power mode, there are still plenty of damage control systems that’ll contain the blast to this level.” That was little reassurance to the two girls.

“Ah, the toilet!” Miss Jones snapped her fingers. 

“What?” Sayaka exclaimed.

“Yeeeaahhh. That could work.” Miss Jones started pacing. “Flush it down the toilet, then erect the containment fields around all the plumbing systems. The waste disposal system is heavily isolated, although I’d have to resort to using public restrooms for the next few… Years.”

“There’s no need for that.” Homura flashed her Soul Gem and changed into her magical form. She quickly grabbed the crystal from the circular indent and shoved it behind her buckler. Just as quickly, she changed her form back. Miss Jones and Sayaka both stared at her with their mouths hanging open, completely speechless. “What are you looking at?” Homura flipped her hair. “It’s not like that’s the first time I’ve disposed of a defective bomb.” 

“T- Th- Tha- That magic sleeve of yours…” Miss Jones’s stuttered. “How did I not put it together before? Y- You keep everything you’ve ever acquired inside there, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Homura slightly tilted her head.

“Bombs and guns and Grief Seeds and stuff?”

“Yes.”

“Did you keep that other multitool of mine in there as well?” The look of an epiphany all over her face.

“I did.” Miss Jones instantly jolted over and giddily tugged at Homura’s sleeve. “What are you-?”

Miss Jones’s eyes widened with an unabashed glee. “Could ya’ fork it over?”

“Didn’t you say the battery was dead?”  

“Not dead, per se, just drained to a point where I couldn’t do anything useful… That is, beyond making a few passive environmental scans.” Miss Jones corrected. “Which I already had it set to do.”

Homura waited for the detonation moment to pass, pulled her sleeve away and flashed into her magical form. She paused for another moment, then tossed her hair and took the multitool from behind her buckler.

“Ssssssssplendid!” Miss Jones gleefully cheered.

“You can stuff anything you want up that sleeve of yours?” Sayaka asked.

“Anything that’ll fit.” Homura changed back.

“I think I got shafted in the magical powers department.” Sayaka sighed.

“Never mind that. Never mind that.” Miss Jones merrily skipped over to the control console. She stuck the wand into its slot on the console. “There should’ve been enough juice left to maintain a passive scan cycle for at least a few hours. Which should be more than enough to get a reading on what it’s like inside that sleeve of yours.”

“Why is that important?” Homura walked over to the console.

“Because if my itty bitty hunch is correct, then that little ability of yours is, in fact, the power to create a mini-portal to a parallel dimension. One not only of sight and sound, but hopefully, of its own physical laws not dissimilar from our own.”

Homura and Sayaka simply stared at her, bewildered.

“Don’t you get it? It would solve the biggest issue we have when it comes to creating an alternate means of Soul Gem purification: What to do with all that depleted ectomatter generated by your magic.” She typed scan instructions into the computer as she explained. “Remember that I told you that Ectomatter is some very highly potent stuff?” She pointed at Sayaka.

“Kind of.” Sayaka rolled her eyes. 

“So potent that, really, it shouldn’t exist on its own in our Universe without proper containment, otherwise it’ll have adverse effects on the environment around it. In the case of the Depleted Ectomatter, that’s even more true… As we almost just experienced firsthand.” 

She continued on. “Think of the Grief Seeds as, say, something akin to nuclear waste storage casks. They contain all sorts nasty stuff that would pollute the reality around it.” She turned a set of knobs and dials and pressed a button on the control screen. “You follow?”

“A little.” The two girls said together.

“If her sleeve really is a portal, and a portal to an entirely segregated dimension, then that solves the issue of where to put all that excess Ectomatter. We can sidestep the issue, simply send it over and dump it in that other dimension. If it’s not in our Universe, then it’s no longer our problem. Now do you get it?”

“Wouldn’t you be making it the problem of whoever lives in that other dimension?” Sayaka asked. Homura and Miss Jones turned and simultaneously stared at her. “What? Stupid question?”

“No, it’s a perfectly valid question.” Miss Jones glanced at Homura. “I guess we’re a little stunned by who’s asking it.”

“Hey! I am actually reading it, you know.” Sayaka folded her arms and blushed.

“The odds of it being an inhabited Universe are somewhere akin to say, being struck by lightning while getting abducted by aliens after winning the lottery that day.” She tilted her head back whimsically. “Which is also your birthday.”

“For what it’s worth, the one time I tried putting something alive in there, it… Didn’t live long enough to tell me what it experienced.”

“It was Kyubey, wasn’t it?” Sayaka prodded. Homura’s only answer was a small yet satisfied grin. 

“Basically, we’re doing what I was doing with my Grief Seeds already.”

“Yeah,” Miss Jones admitted. “But hopefully on a wider, eventually more readily distributable scale.” She started typing commands into the console. “It’ll take some time to determine the exact quantum signature on which that universe resonates. Then eventually I’ll be able to replicate the conditions of your portal, and calibrate it to attract Depleted Ectomatter specifically.” The screen displayed the results, which prompted from her a wide smile. “But not with any of the local tech. I’ve pushed that as far as it will go. If I’m going to free you guys from Kyubey’s system, then it’s imperative that we break out of this causal loop. We have to defeat that Walpurgisnacht.” She turned around and put her hand on Homura’s shoulder. “That’s our next goal.”

“Which has to depend on both Mami and Kyoko surviving.” Homura’s eyes shifted over to meet Sayaka’s. “We can’t do this without them.”

Chapter Text

“You can blow bubbles with a trumpet?” Sayaka looked on as Nagisa practiced with the magical weapon she was able to materialize. With a deep, anxious breath, Nagisa blew on her instrument, a horn that instantly inflated bubbles that flew off into the fake horizon. “ And they explode ?” Sayaka shielded her eyes while the bubbles blew up in a series of bright flashes hundreds of meters away. “Okay, I definitely got shafted in the magical powers department.” Sayaka jealously grumbled. 

“It’s pretty impressive, sure.” Miss Jones nodded. “But she’s gotta find a way to put it to practical use. Don’t want to accidentally blow someone’s face off.” She patted Nagisa on the  head. “Homura, will you coach her on that?”

“Me?” Homura stepped out from the TARDIS lift behind them. “Why me?”

“You seem to be our guns and explosives expert. Maybe you can figure out the ‘magic’ to her magic.”

“I’ll…” She stared at Nagisa, her face displaying the slightest glint of trepidation. “See what I can do for her.”

“Fantastic!” Miss Jones pointed off to the distance. “There’s a quarry a few hundred meters that way. It should serve as an adequate shooting range for you two.”

“Here you go!” Miss Jones took from her bag a non bladed sword hilt and casually flipped it to Sayaka.

“What’s this for?” Sayaka juggled the catch.

“Practice.” Miss Jones took a hilt of her own from the bag. “You and I are going to spar. For an hour a day each day before school, and another two after. Exempting nights like tonight when there’s a mission and-or when I have a social obligation to fulfil.”

“I don’t rea-”

“Press the button on the underside.” Miss Jones interrupted. A gold light beamed from Miss Jones’s hilt and formed a makeshift blade. “A good friend and I used to spar all the time back in school. The one you’ve got used to be theirs.”

“Woah!” A blue blade of light flashed right before Sayaka’s eyes.

“En garde!” Miss Jones slashed across Sayaka’s wrist. Sayaka’s hand went limp as she dropped her weapon.

“Hey!” Sayaka rubbed her wrist reflexively.

“Body damage with these is simulated in such a manner similar to a real sword battle. Your hand will be paralyzed for the rest of the fight… That is, unless…” Miss Jones just as quickly slashed across Sayaka’s neck. “An equivalent of a killing blow is delivered. Then the game resets.” Sayaka’s wrist returned to normal as she knelt down and picked her blade back up. 

“You really learned to fight with these things in school?” Sayaka asked.

“Yes I did. Was even asked to join the battle club. But I graciously declined. So did my friend. They were were going through a bit of a pacifist phase and I had that wee bit of a crush... You know how it goes.” Sayaka took a defensive posture. “Wait a tic… Let’s make this a fairer fight first. Change into your magical girl form.”

“Tch! What? Are you serious?” Sayaka glared at her. “But I’m like, way stronger and faster when I’m changed.”

“As I said, it’ll be a fairer fight.” Miss Jones smirked. “Trust me. I’m Your Sensei.”

“Ooooohhhhkayyy!”

***

Hitomi Shizuki watched her parents pull out of the long driveway as they both headed to work that morning. It took some skillful acting, but she convinced them that she was too sick to go to school today. So much for her perfect attendance record. One less trophy for a case that’s already full to the brim.

But that was the least of her concerns at the moment. She reached into the trash can beside her desk, where the crumpled note she tried writing yesterday was sitting. She uncrumpled it, and straightened it out.

“Dear Sayaka…” She reread its message aloud word-for-word. She next turned on the phone beside her, and scrolled through her message history with Sayaka, all the way down to the last text she had sent her: “Liar.” 

She took out a notebook, and after taking a heavy resolute breath, she started writing a new note. 

‘Dear Sayaka:

I confess that I have been seeing Kyosuke Kamijo in secret for quite some time. I regret that you found out in the manner in which you did.

This note was originally intended as a way to explain in writing my motives, my actions, and above all to apologize and ask forgiveness, but I fear that you’ve already made up your mind about me. No explanation is going to change that.

So instead I will only lay before you my deepest feelings: For a long time now, I have always liked Kyosuke. But now I’m in love with him. My secret visits to the hospital have made me more and more certain. And I refuse to stay silent about it any longer.

But I also acknowledge that you two have been friends for much longer, and that you may have developed similar feelings toward him. Therefore, in the interest of fairness, I will give you twenty-four hours to tell him what you feel. If you don’t, rest assured I will. Can you face your true feelings?

If this matter harms or brings about an end to our friendship, I am terribly sorry. But I want you to know that, whatever happens next, I sincerely wish you the best.’

An ultimatum. Had it really come to that? Was Kyosuke’s heart so important that it could cause the end of a friendship? She asked herself that question as she reread it out loud. Maybe a written note was still too impersonal, she thought. Perhaps she still owed Sayaka a face-to-face warning.

***

Her parents had bought that she had spent the night at a friend’s house. Lied and said it was one of the transfer student’s, Otonashi’s, so that her parents wouldn’t do the due diligence of calling Madoka or Hitomi’s parents. Sayaka’s next plan was simple: Sneak in little early through the gym door, retrieve her school clothes and book bag from the girls’ locker room, change into them, go to class, feign illness early on, go home, grab food, money and supplies, remember her phone this time, head to the train station, get off at the last stop, then walk all the way back to the church to tend to Kyoko. No needless distractions.

“There you are!” A familiar voice blared at her in the locker room.

“Aw, crap!” Sayaka muttered. She had just barely changed into her school clothes before getting noticed.

“You left practice early yesterday.” Miss Yamazaki was reading in the Coach’s Office. She set her book aside. “Said it was urgent. What happened?”

“I- I uh…” Sayaka hesitated. “I got a call from a cousin of mine. She came to town for a sudden visit. We’re good friends but we don’t get to see each other a lot. So I sorta, uh, got a little giddy and took off to go see her!” Another on-the-spot lie so elaborate, she was almost impressed with herself. “Forgive me for cutting practice yesterday!” She bowed repentantly. “Forgive me! It won’t happen again.”

“Be sure that it doesn’t.” Miss Yamazaki waved her on. “A team only perseveres when everyone is at their best. Breaks at its weakest link.”

“Gee… Reading from the big book of sports clichés in there?” Sayaka muttered back as she passed.

“There you are!” A second familiar voice gasped at her as she got to her regular locker.

“Madoka!” Sayaka half-smiled. “What’s up?”

“You disappeared yesterday. Where did you go?”

“Made a surprise visit to Kyosuke at the hospital. It’s been a while since I last saw him. Been meanin’ to say a few things to him that couldn’t wait.”

Madoka was surprised. This was the first time she could remember that Sayaka had ever outright lied to her face-to-face. She had Sayaka’s jersey tucked in her bookbag, her first instinct was to call her out on it. But she could tell from the look in Sayaka’s eyes that her friend was both tired and really stressed out. She might not react well to Madoka’s concerns.

“Sayaka, I wa-”

“There you are!” Yet another voice boomed at her from down the hallway.

“Crap! Oh, crap!”

***

“Those glasses look really cute on you, Miss Akemi.” The female student sitting across from her complimented her eyewear, a red pair of glasses augmented by Miss Jones to protect her against any future mind-to-mind invasions by Kyubey.

“Uh, thank you.” Homura acknowledged. 

“Are they new?” She asked.

“Uh, no. They’re an old pair.” Homura paused. “I’m wearing them while my contact lens prescription is being changed.”

“You should keep wearing them in school. They really highlight your pretty eyes.” The girl resumed talking to the girl sitting behind her.

“That’s like, the fourth person who’s said something like that to you today.” The Disguised Sayaka, sitting beside her with her own set of specialized specs on her face, commented. “While the only thing said about mine was that they were ‘teacherly.’” She added with a tinge of jealousy. “Not cute.”

“Personally, I’d prefer not to be the center of attention.” Homura admitted. The two turned their heads watching Miss Jones at the front of the room merrily writing out the first period’s lesson plan on the board. “She seems to be in a rather good mood this morning.”

“She would be. She beat me in every single sparring match we had.”

“You sound like you were expecting a different outcome?”

“I was transformed. I should’ve been moving way too fast for her to keep up.” Sayaka lamented. “What good is magical powers if I can’t even take on an old lady in a sparring match?”

“Have you forgotten? She’s not human.”

“Oh, how could I? Not when all the while she’s regaling me with tales of her exploits traveling around the Murgatroyd Cluster.” Sayaka sighed. “Wherever that is.”

“Perhaps that’s why she’s in a good mood.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“She’s had the chance to share a small part of herself with someone.”

“Good Moooooorning, claaaaaass!” Miss Jones chipperly greeted with the ring of the morning bell. “Everyone be seated, and we can take the morning’s attendance!”

“Miss Jones! Miss Jones!” Madoka stormed into the room, her eyes full of concern. Homura immediately shot up from her seat. “They’re fighting! They’re in the hallway!” Sayaka followed suit.

“The offer to join me still stands, you know.” Mami Tomoe stood blocking the hallway with her arms folded and a medium-sized bandage over her nose. 

“Thanks.” Sayaka looked her directly in the eye. “Not interested in being the loyal lapdog to a queen bee wannabe.”

“A queen bee?” She huffed through the bandage. “Is that what she said I was?”

“Using your strength and status to do whatever you want and punish all who don’t bow before your holy beauty and grace? Nope, just callin’ it as I see it.”

“I was defending myself. She was going to slice my head off if I hadn’t. You saw that much yourself.” 

“And yet she’s the one with the hole in her leg. A gracious person would’ve just walked away and let us chase that familiar.”

“That familiar was in my territory, and unlike Kyoko my philosophy to destroy both witches and familiars.” Mami yelled. She added, slightly more softly “I’m sorry that you got in the way.”

“Woooooow! Even that apology sounds condescending and petty. I hate people who put on such airs.”

“Is there a problem, Miss Clown?” Miss Jones strutted toward the two girls in the hallway.

“No, Miss Jones.” Sayaka answered. Madoka came running and put herself firmly between the two girls. 

“Good to hear. Now you two get the heck into my class before I mark you as absent.”

“Yes, Miss Jones.” They dutifully marched down the hall.

“You’re an upperclassmen, correct?” Miss Jones addressed Mami. “Your place is on the other side of the building. Move it along now.”

“I’m aware.” Mami stood firmly watching the two girls pass. “Thank you.”

“Seriously? You went to get her ?” Sayaka disgustedly whispered to her friend.

“I don’t want to see you in any trouble.” Madoka whimpered.

“I can handle a bully on my own.”

“Mami’s not a bully,” Madoka corrected. She’s-”

“Wait, what?” Sayaka stopped in her tracks. “You know who that girl is?”

Kyubey leapt down from his perch at the top of a locker, and onto Madoka’s shoulder. “B- But. You didn’t tell me… Why?” Sayaka muttered under her breath.

“I found your jersey.” Madoka proceeded to her seat in the classroom. “Please stay out of trouble.” 

***

‘What year did The French Revolution Begin?’

It was a pretty basic western history question to which Hitomi should’ve known the answer right away, but somehow she was drawing a total blank. She double checked her notes, and copied the answer. 

She was always a few lessons ahead of the rest of the class, that’s why she figured it wouldn’t hurt to skip a day and just focus on her work at home. Away from the stress of social interaction. Away from their teachers and their increasingly demanding expectations. Away from the class gossip mongers. But mostly, away from the cause of her woes, Sayaka Miki.

‘Who was the tyrant that soon after rose to power?’

Speaking of tyrants… That Sayaka… Right now she was probably spreading rumors and lies about her around the class. Then just out of spite, she’d spoil all those intimate secrets in which Hitomi had confided in her. Hitomi was going to be the laughingstock of the entire school by this time tomorrow. Who was she kidding? She’d made a huge mistake in skipping school today. Her unforced error would let Sayaka run rampant over her good name unrebutted. ‘Napoleon Bonaparte’, she copied out.

‘Who was the British military commander that defeated him?’

But Sayaka was her best friend... She wouldn’t do something as wantonly cruel as that. Where were these nasty thoughts coming from? Even when they argued or disagreed, Sayaka had never been the sort of person who’d ever antagonize, let alone seek revenge or vindication over it.

‘But that’s what she did. The evidence is right in front of you.’  

A peculiar little voice whispered into her ear, coursing its way right into the back of her mind. She couldn’t focus on history right now. She decided that maybe it was time to move on to the next subject.

‘Translate This English Nursery Rhyme:

Hey Diddle Diddle,

The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon.

The little dog laughed,

To see such sport,

And the dish ran away with the spoon’

Ugh, English. Sayaka would be completely failing that class if it weren’t for the notes that Hitomi kept providing for her. And how was she repaid for her generosity? By being called a liar? By having their private matter so callously tossed before the rest of the class? The nerve of that girl!

‘She’s not really your friend. She’s just been using you the whole time.’  

Come to think of it, when was the last time Sayaka went out of her way to do something nice for her? Hitomi was the one who paid for their last meal together. Hitomi was the one who assembled their group art project. Hitomi was the person who stuck it out and went to that crummy movie with her and Madoka after all the boys canceled. 

‘ That’s terrible! You don’t need her! You deserve friends who will appreciate you better!’

English was a nonstarter. Next up, Biology class. Everyone paired up weeks ago to dissect a bunch of frogs. It was the only class where both her and Sayaka’s grades were on par, so naturally they paired up. Hitomi was the type who’d get squeamish at the sight of blood and guts, so Sayaka volunteered to split the poor creature open, while Hitomi would do the write-up. At the time she’d thought that Sayaka was simply doing her a favor, saving her from having to do the dirty deed of dismembering an innocent creature, but looking over those notes and thinking about it now, she realized Sayaka was totally taking advantage of her. Of course Sayaka would want to splay that frog’s body open, Hitomi thought to herself. Sayaka’s always had an unusual affinity for blades and sharp objects. She probably even got some sort of sick thrill from dissecting the thing. 

‘Using yoooooouuuu!’

She was painting this elaborate picture in her mind of Sayaka gripping that scalpel, gleefully cutting away at that frog’s body parts, laughing like a maniac and having the time of her life. Oh, what a sadistic creep! It made her stomach churn. Hitomi had to stop thinking about it.

‘Terrrrrrrrible!’

So why couldn’t she stop thinking about it? It seemed no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t erase the image of that bloody scalpel from her mind. Nor could she think of anything but Sayaka’s menacing laughter. So ingrained now, she couldn’t think of anything else. Where were these twisted thoughts coming from? 

‘You deserve betteeeeeer!’

“No! Stop it!” Hitomi promptly jumped to her feet and screamed out loud, banging her knee on the table. She heard a shattering sound. She looked down to find that she had just knocked over and shattered that precious snowglobe her father had gotten her for Christmas. She panickedly fell to her knees to clean up the fractured mess, but her movements were stilted, her concentration increasingly obstructed by an influx of gruesome imagery and frightening sounds. 

‘Not your friend!’

“Owwww!” She whined, realizing that she’d cut the side of her palm on a big glass shard. It looked pretty deep, as deep as Sayaka’s cuts in that poor frog’s chest. She hysterically jumped back to her feet, then thrust her queasy, wobbling body onto the bed as she shut her eyes. But strangely, her bed did not feel at all like a bed, it suddenly felt very hard and very cold, like metal. And her room absolutely reeked of formaldehyde. Hitomi wearily opened her eyes… 

To her utter shock and abject terror, she was no longer in her bedroom, no longer even human, her physical form was now that of a frog, helplessly splayed out on a dissection tray. And above her slimy green body stood a giant, deranged Sayaka holding a long, terrifying scalpel right up her chest. The beastly creature’s first incision was quick and terrifying, she gleefully flayed Hitomi’s skin open and ripped her heart from inside and clenched it within her grotesque, clawed fingers! Hitomi screamed at the top of her lungs, thrashing her body around with as much force as she could still muster and rolled straight off her bed. Control momentarily restored, she impulsively dunked her entire frog face into the wastebasket, she was absolutely certain she was about to puke her guts out. But nothing came out, instead she flopped onto the cold, hard floor, the wastebasket plunking right onto her head. She instinctively curled up on the floor in the fetal position. She tried to scream and shout for help, but she could only cry a weak, hopeless frog-like croak. 

Was she going crazy? Was there no one around to save her from this hellish, waking nightmare?

‘I’ll box up that memory,’ Whispered an angelic voice from the ether. Whose voice was it? Was this the voice of Hitomi’s salvation? From what wonderful land did this benevolent spirit hail?

Hitomi reluctantly sat up and slid the wastebasket from over her eyes. To her pure unadulterated joy, her form was human again. The once-monstrous Sayaka had been reduced to an annoying, squealing, harmless image trapped inside a floating television screen. Hitomi reflexively smacked at the floating screen and the apparition vanished into a puff of smoke. Just as quickly as it had appeared, her horrifying nightmare had been vanquished. And she just knew, deep within the core of her soul, that she couldn’t have had the courage to overcome it had it not been for the assistance of that mysterious, lovely voice.

Hitomi suddenly felt a soft and passionate, tickling touch on the side of her neck. It was like a gentle kiss, a token of love from her invisible savior. The alluring sensation worked its way down her entire body, dissipating every single one of her imagined agonies. The tortuous cuts of the scalpel had vanished. The need to vomit was no more. That stinging pain from the cut on her hand was completely relieved. This voice, she truly and deeply knew, was her guardian angel.

“T- Thaaaaaaaank youuuuuuu!” The enraptured Hitomi affectionately stroked the side of her neck. What an intoxicating sensation this was, all her troubles in the world had evaporated, she was lighter than air and overwhelmed with joy. She was so happy here, so contented in this moment, that all she wanted now was for this sublime, carefree sense of elation to never ever end.

‘Come with me! I’ll appreciate you better! I’ll be your bestest friend forever and ever!’

“Yes… I’d like that very much.” Hitomi obediently stood on her feet and followed the alluring call of her wonderful liberator.

***

“I’ll try to be quick.” Sayaka and Homura appeared just outside Kyosuke Kamijo’s hospital room. It was the middle of the afternoon. Sayaka figured he’d be resting in bed after another long day of physical rehab.

“If Kyubey senses us in this room together, he will immediately come and investigate.” Homura stated.

“I know, I know. Believe me, I know.” Sayaka waved her hand impatiently. “But I have to try again.” They quietly snuck down the hallway. “His rehab got bumped up to earlier so there shouldn’t be any visitors.” She opened the door and peeked inside. “Good, he’s asleep.” She whispered. She sprinkled a dose of dust over his eyes, a substance Miss Jones told her would help him remain that way.

“I’ll keep watch.” Homura put on her protective glasses, shuffled to the window and closed the blinds.

“Thanks.” Sayaka gently grasped Kyosuke’s damaged hand with one hand, and held her Soul Gem over it with the other. She closed her eyes, held her breath and tried to focus her mind on healing it. A couple minutes later, she exhaled and checked to see if there was any progress. But nothing looked healed.

“You said you definitely remember watching me heal other people right?” Sayaka asked.

“Yes. You have the ability.” Homura cautiously peeked out of the blinds.

“Oh yeah? So who’d I use it on?”

“Me.” Homura answered.

“You? For reals?” Homura simply nodded.

“Okay. So why’s nothing happening?” She took a deep breath.

“I… I also remember you were transformed at the time.”

“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” Sayaka rolled her eyes, took a couple steps back, and flipped her Soul Gem above her head. In a blue flash, she donned her magical appearance, complete with the musical “ff” symbol on her transmuted hair clip. She took an even deeper breath and tried to focus her energy on the sleeping Kamijo.

“Anything else you remember?” Sayaka opened one eye and glanced over to Homura.

“I remember a bunch of…” Homura drew circles in the air with her finger. “Musical notes around as my wounds closed.”

“So it isn’t working.” Sayaka huffed again and sat down in the chair beside him. “I don’t get it. What did those other versions of me know that I don’t?”

“Perhaps your problem isn’t ability. Maybe it’s will.”

“Will? What do you mean?”

“Maybe you don’t want to heal him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I wanna.”

Homura stepped closer. “In the short time you spent with Kyoko, did she tell you that she used to possess the ability to cast elaborate illusions?”

“No.” Sayaka slightly turned her head and looked at her. “What happened?”

“After her wish destroyed her family, she lost the ability to create them.” Homura examined Kyosuke’s hand. “She was typically elusive about going into the details, but she did once trust me enough to tell me the story of a witch she was fighting not long after they perished, when suddenly she had completely forgotten how to make illusions. And that Kyubey had claimed it was because she had subconsciously rejected her own wish.”

“No kidding?” Sayaka dejectedly stared at the floor. “Gee, that’s... Awful.”

“I can only speculate, but maybe there’s a part of you that’s rejecting your wish as well.”

“How can I reject something I never learned to do?”

“You gave up a big part of your own self to help him, only to be emotionally wounded by your later experiences. Maybe you’re afraid of risking your heart and soul for someone else only to have the same things happen again. So reflexively you’re rejecting it.”

“But I get that I’m not going to be with him. I know it. I accept it.” Sayaka huffed. “I just wanna move on with my life.”

“Like I said, I’m only speculating. I can’t claim to know what’s in your heart.”

“That makes two of us.” Sayaka uttered. She sighed, sat back down, and gave another try.

***

Nagisa Momoe sauntered over to the swingset, and seated herself in one of the swings. Her Papa used to bring her to play here a lot, back when they were still a happy family. She’d hop right into this swingset and he’d push her, up as high as she could comfortably go. He’d even continued to take her to this playground after her Mom became ill, but she could sense he was growing less and less enthusiastic about it with each trip, with every little push. Then one day, he was gone, he was there to push her on no longer. 

Yet she would still take time out of her life every day to visit this little playground, whenever the chance came. She’d return to this very swing and sit, hoping that someday, somehow, her Papa would come back to play with her and push her on it again. And then after, just maybe, he’d take her away from here.

But today she decided it was time she tried something different. Today, she wanted to figure out how to keep this swing going up and down all on her own. She resolved to make this day her first small step towards freedom, towards independence. She pushed off against the ground. She swung back and forth a couple times, then stopped. She settled her bottom in the swing, moved her body back as far as it could go, and picked her feet up. She swung a couple times more than her last try, then stopped moving again. 

She tried again, putting her body back as far as it could, and picked her feet up. This time, she tried kicking her legs rapidly as she swung back and forth, but that only jerked the swing from side to side. What could she possibly be doing wrong? She sat there and wondered to herself.

She put her body all the way back one more time, and picked her feet up. This time, she kicked her legs up together as she swung forward, then jerked them down in singular a kicking motion as she went the other way. Was this, she wondered, the trick? She kept at it, pumping her legs as the swing kept going, her height getting a little higher with every sway.

“Greetings Nagisa Momoe. Where have you been since yesterday?” 

“Animal! Go away!” Nagisa barked at Kyubey. “I’m busy now!”

“I must say, I don’t understand young humans’ infatuation with such an activity. It’s a repetitive kinetic motion that serves little benefit to your physical development.” Kyubey jumped his way to the top of a post along the playground fence.

“I said go away!” Nagisa turned her body as she snapped back. The swing twisted around, as she was veering out of control. She spontaneously drug her feet against the ground, and leaped to safety, falling to her hands and knees as she landed in the dirt.

“Interesting that you now wear those eyeglasses. Did you need them?” Kyubey prodded. Nagisa hastily straightened the thick, black frames on her face. “Where did they come from?”

“I don’t wanna talk to you, animal.” Nagisa stood up and dusted herself off.

“I am merely fulfilling my duties, when I watch over you magical girls.” Kyubey patiently sat on his post.

“I don’t need you to watch me.” Nagisa sat down in the swing and tried again. “I’m free.”

“Your needs or desires are not relevant to the matter, I am simply telling you this as a matter of fact. I am only doing my duty.” 

“Go away.” Nagisa swung back and forth.

“If your perception of me has been skewed by recent events, perhaps a clarification would put you at ease.” Kyubey waved his tail along the side of the post. “You see, that magical girl you met is another irregularity. I have no memory of making a contract with her. Therefore I judged it to be in my best interest, and by extension, the interest of all other magical girls of this city, to directly investigate who she was, and discern the nature of her presence and the reason she was at the hospital.”

“You hurt her.” Nagisa drug her feet along the dirt, her swinging height had gotten a little too high for comfort.

“Whatever discomfort either she or you experienced, I assure you, it will not happen again, there will be no long-term ill effects from it.” The data retrieved from the deceased Kyubey was partially fragmented, due to the nature of its untimely termination. This one had some idea of what incident she was referring to, but nonetheless thought it more prudent to keep the apology generalized. Then maybe she might fill the rest of the gaps for it.

“Bad animal.” Nagisa stopped swinging.

“Perhaps my wording has been too sophisticated.” Kyubey mused. “I’ll simply state that I do not mean you, nor the other magical girls any harm. My only aim yesterday was to determine exactly who this ‘Saya Otonashi’ person really is.”

“She’s free.” Nagisa slowly dug the tip of her shoe into the dirt.

“An interesting description.” Kyubey titled his head.

“Free, free, freeeee!” Nagisa stood up. “Like me, me meeeee!” She ran over to the slide on the other end of the playground.

“You appear to be uncharacteristically carefree today, Nagisa.” Kyubey leapt from his perch and followed her over. “Is it reasonable to presume your recent contact with this ‘Saya Otonashi’ has affected your demeanor in some way?”

“Nope nope.” Nagisa looked up from the bottom end of a long slide, to its top. Her parents always told her never to climb up a slide, saying that she could slip and hurt herself, and that it was inconsiderate toward the other kids on the playground. But she was all alone today. Free. No one around to offend nor object.

“From what I’ve since witnessed at the hospital, it would seem that your mother has made a rather unexpected full recovery from her illness. Was that Saya Otonashi’s magical power at work?” Kyubey scurried over to the slide.

“I let her try.” Nagisa took a step on the slide’s bottom base.

“Did she do it as a token of alliance? Have you two become allies?”

“Nah, she just wanted to help.” Nagisa took a steady step up the slide, followed by another, then another. “‘Cause she’s freeeee.” She extended her arms out as she balanced herself going up.

“Have you talked to your mother? Does she know who is responsible for her condition?”

“Nope. No talking.” Nagisa’s steps were smaller and less steady as she climbed up. “She can come find me if she has to.” She was almost there, at the top. “But I don’t know if she wants to.”

“What about your wish? Has that special cheesecake affected you, perhaps?” Kyubey unexpectedly appeared in front of her at the top of the slide, having climbed up the steps. Nagisa gasped as she fell to her butt and slid back-first all the way down and off the slide.

“Ow.” She got up and dusted off her back. “Bad animal.” She held her glasses tight to her face.

“I did not intend to startle you.” Kyubey trotted back down the steps.

“I ate a bite.” Nagisa pushed up her glasses and stepped away from the slide. “I guess she can eat the rest if she really wants it.”

“The product of your wish no longer matters to you?” Kyubey tried to follow behind her.

“It’s just a cake.” Nagisa looked up at the sky to the Sun above. She figured she had played around enough. Now it was time to do what she’d been asked to do here today. She held out her hand, as her Soul Gem changed from a ring on her finger to its bright white egg form.

“You’ve brought your Soul Gem out?” Kyubey’s rabbit-like ears perked out. “Whatever for?”

“Shhhh!” Nagisa strode over to the playground’s entrance and held it out. She quickly ran to the entrance on the other side and held it up. “Ohhhh!” The light in her Soul Gem shimmered as her gut suddenly felt very perturbed.

“It would seem…” Kyubey stopped and stared at her. “You’ve come upon the trail of a nascent witch.” Nagisa scampered around the corner, where a group of people had just gathered. “Impressive for such a novice.”

“Shhhhh!”

“This isn’t good.” Kyubey narrowly avoided being stepped on by an entranced human male. “Do you see that marking on its neck, Nagisa? That’s the mark of a Witch.” 

“Be quiet, animal!” Nagisa ducked behind a bush. “Spooooky.” She whispered to herself.

“With your present level of magic and experience, I do not recommend that you fight this witch. Not without some kind of assistance.” The gathered horde shuffled steadily towards the highway overpass ahead. Nagisa followed along behind them. Kyubey dutifully behind her.

***

“Our feelings will be stronger by sharing our joy and sorrow…” Sayaka quietly crooned to herself as she cupped her C-shaped Soul Gem above Kyosuke’s sleeping body. “If my voice can reach you, then I’m sure a miracle will happen.” She paused. “Right?” 

“Does the singing help?” Homura peeked through the blinds. 

“It can’t hurt.” Sayaka moved her gem up and down Kyosuke’s arm to his hand. “Besides, I’ve had that song stuck in my head all day. If I don’t sing it out loud then it’s never gonna lea-” The phone in her pocket abruptly buzzed.

“It’s her.” Sayaka checked her screen. “You were right. It passed near that playground.”

“Always does.” Homura came over to the bed, reached into her magical sleeve and pulled out a gas mask. “We’re out of time. Put the mask on and let’s go.”

“Gimme a sec.” Sayaka hurriedly shuffled through her bookbag, took out a notebook and pen, then tore out a page. “I want to leave him a note before we go.”

“Why?”

“Because today was not only the day I became a magical girl, it was also the day he…” Sayaka hovered over his sleeping face. “Gave up. I wanna leave something here that might help him.”

“You really think that’s going to help?” Homura skeptically asked.

“It might. A little bit.” Sayaka started writing, then stopped. “Actually, can you write it for me?”

“Me? Why?”

“He might be able to tell it’s my handwriting, you know?”

“If you insist.” Homura sighed and took the paper. “What do you want to say?”

Sayaka thought for a moment. “How about, ‘Don’t listen to them. Don’t despair. There’s so much more to you than your talent’.”

“That’s all?”

“Doesn’t have to be a lot.” Sayaka added, “Sign it, ‘From a friend’.”

“As you wish.” Homura complied.

“I’m going someplace wonderful.” Hitomi shuffled along the overpass as she entered the city’s industrial park. “Sooooooo wonderful.” She whispered blissfully, echoing the words of that alluring voice that was calling her forth. “Woooooow.” She cooed as she joined up with the rest of the collectively entranced people. “Oooooooooooh.”

“It’s either going to manifest in the abandoned factory like last time.” Homura shouted to Sayaka as they jumped onto the next rooftop. “Or about a kilometer south in a storage warehouse. The odds are fifty-fifty.”

“I’ll ask her where she’s at.” Sayaka hastily wrote out a text on her phone.

“Interesting that you now possess a mobile device.” Kyubey observed. “Where did you acquire it?”

“Not talking to you, animal.” Nagisa lightly pushed him aside and sent her text.

“She doesn’t know the difference between the buildings.” Sayaka read.

“Ask her if the smokestacks are big and close to her or small and farther away.”

“I strongly urge you to answer my questions, Nagisa. I have no desire to be more intrusive than I need to be.” Kyubey hopped onto a trash bin.

“Big smoke stacks. Big, big big!” Nagisa uttered as she typed and looked around.

“The Factory.” Sayaka and Homura said in unison.

“Let’s go!” Homura clutched Sayaka’s hand as they disappeared from view.

“I’m worthless.” The despondent man uttered. “It’s true. A failure. I couldn’t even keep this little factory’s doors open long enough to turn a profit.” The mesmerized crowd of just over a dozen people huddled around him. “There’s no room for a person like me in today’s world.” They lowered the factory’s shutters. Nagisa snuck inside and took cover behind a crate. “I’m… Obsolete.” Kyubey made his way in through an open office window.

A sleepy-eyed woman holding a bucket shambled to the center of the gathering. She poured a pair of bottles into the bucket, as Nagisa peered at them. A man holding a large canister lurched over to the bucket. 

Nagisa immediately recognized the liquids they were about to mix together. After her mother first became ill, she and her father had to start doing the cleaning chores around their residence. Her father, just before he left her all alone, warned her that mixing those two chemicals up was a very dangerous thing to do. It was a warning both sudden and stern enough that it scared her away from cleaning with any chemicals. Then it lingered long enough to scare her from cleaning on her own altogether.

“Oh, I am so, so blessed to bear witness to such a sacred ceremony!” A middle school girl standing in front of Nagisa audibly whispered. Nagisa peeked out and saw a funny-looking mark glowing on the young lady’s neck.

“It would appear that they are planning to perform an act of ritualized suicide.” Kyubey commented. “We’re witnessing a typical example of a witch’s power to manipulate humans’ wills.”

Without thinking, Nagisa ran out from behind her hiding place and at the lumbering man ahead of her. She charged and kicked him as hard as she possibly could in his shin. He reflexively dropped the canister, Nagisa picked it up, ran over to the bucket, then kicked it over as well. The gathered group immediately turned their collective scorn on Nagisa.

“You’re interfering with our ceremony!” The middle school girl admonished the scared Nagisa. “Don’t you see? We all want to go on a most wonderful journey, to a magnificent new world!” The crowd collectively lurched towards her. “But we can’t do so until we get rid of these bodies that hold us back!” Nagisa looked down at the floor and saw the shadow of her own head obscuring the evening moonlight. “In a little while, you will understand, too!” The girl called out. Nagisa turned around and noticed she was standing just beneath a window to the outside. With all the might that she could muster, she chucked the canister over her head, straight through the window and ran. The group collectively staggered in pursuit of her.

“This is not good.” Kyubey spoke from a beam above the fray. “These people are all being directly controlled by the witch. There’s no telling what they might do to you if they catch you!” 

Nagisa reached into her pocket and took out her Soul Gem. Without any pomp or preparation, she transformed into her magical girl form. Nagisa picked a direction, and ran. The middle school girl lunged at her, narrowly missing Nagisa’s ankle. Two adults tried to tackle her down, but she instinctively leapt straight over their heads and nearly all the way up to the ceiling, a feat made possible only by her new magical powers. “She’s over there!” The middle school girl pointed as Nagisa staggered to the ground and straightened her specs. Nagisa darted her head around in search of an exit. Three to the left of her, four to the right, and two in front of her, she had effectively been cornered.

Nagisa spontaneously conjured her weaponized horn in her right hand. “A musical instrument?” Kyubey observed her struggles from the rafters above. “Of what use is that?” Nagisa thought back to her early morning training session with Homura. The two of them quickly discovered that, if she played a certain correct sequence of notes on her trumpet, it would play a loud, boisterous, disorienting stanza. Seeing no other option, she took a deep breath, put her lips to the mouthpiece, and blew as hard as she could, pointing her instrument straight into the air.

“Auuuuugggh!” The middle school girl curdled to the floor in pain and covered her ears. The others just as spontaneously followed suit. Kyubey was shot right off his perch above. “Wha…” The young lady appeared to momentarily come to her senses. “Wh- Where… ?” Nagisa dashed away and up a staircase leading to the factory’s office. She locked the door and tried to hide under a desk.

But unwittingly, she had stumbled directly into the witches’ inner labyrinth. All the computer and video screens in the room flashed on at once, each displaying a horde of small, angel-like one-winged creatures. The creatures tried to swarm around her, but she put her mouth to her horn and blew as hard as she could a second time. The swarm was temporarily blown back, but they regrouped, as Nagisa tried to scramble around searching for another exit.

It was no use. By that point, the room had been completely subsumed by the witches’ world, and Nagisa found herself spiraling straight towards the angelic creatures. Nagisa let out another blow, sending them back and propelling herself upward, but now she was spiraling in the opposite direction.

 “I’ve got you!” A voice cried out from a caped figure charging in her direction. “Grab my hand!” Nagisa threw her hand as high as she could above her head.

Sayaka grabbed a hold of her arm, followed by the rest of her body, as they launched mid-air toward the labyrinth’s edge. The angelic swarm tried to follow, but were quickly dispatched by a barrage of automatic gunfire.

Sayaka conjured a sword and stuck it directly into the lair’s solid edge. She conjured another and did it again. “Grab onto it!” Sayaka commanded through her gas mask. Nagisa nodded and complied. “Wait here while I help her out.” A ring of musical notes swirled underneath Sayaka’s feet, as she blasted back toward the labyrinth’s center.

Homura shot the angelic familiars to pieces with an Uzi. She jumped and landed on the labyrinth's opposite end and bounced back. “Why don’t you just… Die?” She shouted. The witch dispatched another pack of familiars toward her, which she dispatched easily with the lob of a grenade. “Damn it, where’d it go now?” Homura instantly found herself floating in the middle of the labyrinth, suddenly surrounded by video screens.

“Huh?” Homura’s head twirled around. “What’s it-” The screens flashed, transfixing her mind, assaulting her with images of her own past failures. “No! Stop it!” She sat by, powerless as Madoka went to Walpurgisnacht alone that very first time. She watched helplessly as Madoka transformed into a most terrifying witch not long after. “Madoka!” She instinctively cried. She was rendered defenseless, that time Mami Tomoe bound her up for execution that night they collectively discovered the truth about witches, and then she witnessed her last attempt, for all she’d learned, for everything she’d planned, Madoka’s fate remained unchanged. It was using her own recovered memories against her… And she was helpless to stop it! She had not felt this useless since the day she had first begun her long quest.

“Are you alright?” Sayaka’s voice rang around her as the monitors encircling her Homura were instantaneously hacked and slashed to pieces. “You look like you totally spaced for a moment there!”

“I- I’m fine.” Homura answered. “This witch likes to twist your memories around and fills your mind full of anguish and self-doubt.” She panted. Homura promptly turned her buckler, stopping time, and launched herself from a torn piece of a dead familiar over to Sayaka.

“Woah!” The relieved Sayaka smiled as Homura reappeared face-to-face with her.

They took a moment and scanned around the labyrinth. “There’s the witch.” Homura pointed at the frozen, silhouetted image of a female being on a giant computer monitor above them. “When time resumes, I’m going to throw you at it. Remember, don’t think at all. Just strike fast and true, as you always do.”

“Gotcha.” Sayaka nodded.

“Ready?” Sayaka put her foot in Homura’s hand, and precharged her attack with a ring of musical notes. 

“Ready!” She raised her sword to strike.

“Go!” Time resumed and Sayaka was flung as fast as she’d ever moved directly into the giant computer screen.

“This is the end… For you!” She screamed as she struck its center with all her remaining might. The two beings impacted the ground with an almighty boom, blood-like liquid squirting from the witch in all directions. The labyrinth around them rapidly collapsed and the girls were transposed back inside the locked factory office.

“Did I…” Nagisa breathlessly jumped off a desk. “... Do a good job?”

“You did…” Sayaka caught her breath. “... An awesome job! Sorry we took so long to come get you.”

“I didn’t miiiiind.” Nagisa swooned into Sayaka’s arms. 

“You go ahead and rest.” Sayaka hoisted her into her arms. “You’ve earned it.”

“My, oh, my!” Kyubey’s unnerving voice came from the window. “It seems that Nagisa Momoe has a penchant for attracting the attention of atypical magical girls.”

“Buzz off, bunnycat.” Sayaka scoffed at him through her mask.

“The obfuscation of your identity will not protect you indefinitely. I have already deduced that you are indeed native to Mitakihara City, despite there being no apparent record of your existence.”

“You just like hearing yourself talk, don’t you?” Homura suddenly appeared before him and grabbed Kyubey by the neck.

“And I am aware that your existence is somehow tied to Homura Akemi’s.” His eyes flashed bright red, in a fruitless attempt to make Homura put him down. Homura choked him tighter. “I see. Those pieces of eyewear you all wear function as a countermeasure to my psychic influence.” His strained gaze shifted over to Sayaka. “Could your personal magic perhaps be that of altering the perception of both animate and inanimate objects? But why would you need to don any sort of disguise while transformed? It doesn’t make sense.”

“That’s enough out of you.” Homura covered his eyes as they headed out the office door. “You’re coming with us.” Sayaka went first with the sleeping Nagisa in her arms.

“I think I’ll have to decline such an invitation.” Kyubey said. “I’m not particularly eager to join a pair of magical girls with whom I am not properly acquainted.”

“It was not a request.” Homura stated as they got to the bottom of the steps.

“I’m afraid we must insist.” Three more Kyubeys awaited them just outside as they raised the factory shutters. “Since you have both inflicted fatal harm upon one of our previous bodies, we suppose it is only sensible that we dispense with the pretense that we exist as a singular entity.”

“Tch. We already knew that.” Sayaka approached the door.

“We do, however, function as a collective. And we cannot abide by the detainment of one of our kind. You will release that individual now.”

“Not happening.” Homura squeezed its face harder in defiance.

“Release that one. Our command will not be repeated again.”

“Or else what?” Sayaka took a step outside.

“Tell me, have either of you ever done battle against a revived witch?” A Kyubey stepped in front of them just outside the door. A used up Grief Seed slowly rose from the glowing red marking on its back. “Of course it is an extremely rare phenomena so we have only limited data on what ensues when it happens, but what we do know is that it merely takes a concentrated dose of additional unstable energy applied to a saturated Grief Seed to instigate a chain reaction. It is energy, we’d much prefer not to waste, but energy we do possess, and if forced to act, ultimately can provide.”

“You’re bluffing.” Homura scoffed.

“Do you really wish to find that out for certain, with so many humans around whom are already primed to serve as its fodder?” 

“Unghhh…” A number of the entranced people were slowly beginning to regain consciousness behind them. Sayaka immediately spotted Hitomi Shizuki amongst the gathered victims.

“Or are you the sort of magical girls who do not care about human casualties?” The three Kyubeys joined together side-by side in front of them. “Whatever your decision, I will simply state that we are a kind that is willing to experiment, whenever the opportunity to collect new data presents itself.”

“Homura…” Sayaka shook her head.

“Very well.” Homura tossed the Kyubey in her clutches to the ground. 

“So you are not willing to risk human lives, after all.” Kyubey picked himself up. “That in itself is useful data.”

“Willing to cause a confrontation for the sake of one?” Homura stepped over to Sayaka and Nagisa. “Yes. Useful data.” She reached toward her buckler and the trio disappeared before Kyubey’s eyes.

“Teleportation magic?” One Kyubey theorized to the others.

“The evidence would seem to support it, but drawing that conclusion would be premature.” The other replied.

“There does, however, seem to be enough evidence to conclude that Homura Akemi is the group leader, and the two others are subordinate.” Another commented.

“Agreed.” The fourth concurred. “Humans typically follow a hierarchy based on power and experience. It would not be an unreasonable assertion.” It added.

“We must determine what she is ultimately planning.”

“Her aims are most likely just territorial.” Kyubey asserted. “Mami Tomoe is the only other local magical girl with a comparable power level. The two have been observed to be hostile. She is probably building a coalition capable of defeating her.”

“Indeed.” Kyubey agreed. “And her attempts to prevent Madoka Kaname from making a contract, and thus the creation of a more powerful magical girl, would fit such a goal.”

“But she appeared to try to avert any further confrontation, after Mami Tomoe defeated Kyoko Sakura.”

“Because she lacked the others as back-up.”

“It could also be that she’s trying to build a coalition for another purpose.”

“That is speculation.” The Kyubey said. “What possible purpose?”

“She may know that a Walpurgisnacht attack is imminent, and may be planning accordingly.”

“Intriguing notion. But no evidence that she’s aware of it. Besides, none of these girls have the level of power necessary to defeat it, except Madoka Kaname. Preventing her contract would not be conducive to such a goal.”

“She might have other reasons for wanting to prevent that particular contract.”

“Such as?”

“She may also be aware of the fate of all magical girls.” The other three Kyubeys simultaneously stared at it. “It’s not unprecedented that a magical girl discovers their fate. She could be trying to avert that with Madoka Kaname.”

“Baseless conclusion. But we shall take it into consideration.”

“We should also have a more vested interest in determining the true identity of this ‘Saya Otonashi’.” Another Kyubey put forth. “She has gone to exorbitant lengths to protect her identity. We need to determine why.”

“By all appearances, she is a magical girl of middling talent in combat. The reason is most likely because her only unique asset is her anonymity.”

“That is so. But it may not be the only reason.” A single Kyubey postulated. 

“Go on.”

“Her magical aura, her signature, is rather unusual.”

“Unusual, how?”

“It is an energy signature that bears an unusual resemblance to another girl’s.”

“Whose?”

“It cannot be said for certain, since the individual it resembles is not presently a magical girl, so the signature could certainly change in the event that she makes a contract. But, in my analysis, the similarity is closest to that of Sayaka Miki.” The other three Kyubeys simultaneously stared at it.

“Do you believe the two have some kind of prior relationship, possibly familial?”

“No evidence for such a conclusion. But we cannot rule out the possibility of a connection between the two.

“Whatever the case, it would still be beneficial to encourage Sayaka Miki to make a contract. She is sympathetic towards Kyoko Sakura, and apparently hostile towards Mami Tomoe, judging by events recently transpired.”

“Yes.” The Kyubeys agreed. “And her contract may serve as the catalyst toward Madoka Kaname making a contract. That must remain our ultimate goal.”

The Kyubeys nodded all at once. “We must do whatever it takes to make Madoka Kaname a magical girl. All options are officially on the table.”

Chapter Text

“Thanks, Homura.” Sayaka expressed as they both entered the TARDIS, Nagisa still passed out in her arms.

“Thanks?” Homura questioned. “For what?”

“For that second chance.” Sayaka crept over from the exit door to the interior door. 

“What chance? Defeating the witch?”

“No, not that.” Sayaka turned back toward Homura. “Can you keep a secret?” Homura tilted her head, implying the affirmative. “Back in the other world, when Hitomi told me that she was in love with Kyosuke, I,” She gulped. “I had this really awful thought in the back of my head: ‘What if I hadn’t saved her? Then Kyosuke would’ve been all mine.’” An unwiped tear dropped from her cheek onto Nagisa’s school uniform. “And I regretted it. I even confessed what I thought to Madoka, I guess I hoped that crying in her arms would absolve me of guilt.” She shook her head. “But it didn’t. It festered and grew. I... I even pretended that the next witch I wailed on was,” She sniffed. “I dunno… All the things I hated about myself molded into a monster. God.” She looked over at Homura. “But now that I’ve been put in the same situation, I didn’t even have a second thought about saving her, I understand now that my bad thoughts aren’t the real me. And that even if I have bad thoughts sometimes, that doesn’t make me a bad person.” She smiled and tearfully stroked Nagisa’s hair. “So thanks. I’ve got one less regret weighing me down now.” 

“Ah. So that’s how you tick.” Homura muttered as Sayaka took the sleeping Nagisa through the door to bed. 

“Auuuughhhhh!” Miss Jones stumbled into the TARDIS door. “If I were just five hundred, juuuuuuuuust five hundred years younger, I’d be sooooooooo much more into this land’s idea of building coworker camaraderie through heavy alcohol consumption.” She shuffled cautiously over to her futon and splayed herself out on it. “Picked a hell of a lifetime to quit drinking. Certainly didn’t expect Asagiri to be the one who’d win the night. Three cheers for the musician. Ehehehe.” She covered her face with a pillow.

“The witch appeared as predicted, in the vicinity of where it was predicted. We successfully dealt with it.”

“Good to hear. What about the other mission?” Miss Jones said through her pillow.

“She… Still doesn’t appear to have figured out how to properly utilize her healing magic.”

“Ehhhhh… I’m sure she’ll come around in the end. I’m confident.” She took the pillow off her face and rubbed her eyes. “But I was really asking about your “other” other mission. How’d that go?”

“I was able to briefly take one captive. But the others quickly came to its aid.”

“What’d they try?”

“They threatened to revive a captured Grief Seed if we didn’t release it.” 

“Can he do that?”

“I wasn’t inclined to find out. But I will say it’s the boldest move I’ve ever seen Kyubey make.”

“So self-preservation isn’t just an act to impress the ladies. They do take the welfare of the individuals into consideration.” She hiccuped.

“I took it to mean that they would do anything to prevent the taking of a body for study. They don’t want us knowing anything useful about them.”

“You could be right. You probably are.” Miss Jones tried sitting up. “I’ll take consolation in that our theories are not mutually exclusive. Could be both.”

“Does your plan rely on their individual self-regard to succeed?” Homura glanced toward the pet carrier sitting beside the control console.

“Actually, that was my plan.” Miss Jones scratched her belly. “But at least the op gave us a preliminary data set, for whatever I think of next time.” She burped.

Homura took a Grief Seed out from behind her buckler. It was adorned with a series of patterned square shapes and a half-wing on its top.

“The fruit of today’s labor?” Miss Jones asked.

“I used to only see it that way. The sweets witch too.” Homura stared into its dimly pulsing glow. “This girl… And Nagisa… As objects to obtain, consume, discard, and never think about again.” She paused. “I probably hunted this particular witch dozens upon dozens of times, yet not once did I ever think of who this Grief Seed used to be. What they were like, what their hopes and dreams were, what could’ve put them in a situation to make a contract, or what brought them to despair.” She choked up as she spoke.

“You chose to focus strictly on who was important to you.” Miss Jones consolingly interrupted. “On Madoka Kaname.”

“Hitomi Shizuki is Madoka’s friend, and I know she gets captured by this witch, because that’s also happened dozens upon dozens of times. Yet I never thought the notion of defeating the witch as saving her life. Because Shizuki’s never mattered to me. That’s how I once saw the rest of them too, as little more than as resources, assets to exploit, and liabilities to plan around.” She gasped a deep, ashamed breath as another lost memory billowed its way to the surface. “Resources… I remember Kyubey even referring to us Magical Girls as such…” She dropped the Grief Seed on the floor. “God, was I turning into something like... Kyubey?” Her knees buckled as she collapsed to the floor.

Miss Jones slowly propped herself off the futon, slid over on her knees, then put her arms around Homura. “You’re not like that creature. For you bear the weight of your actions. Whatever his ultimate goal is, I’m betting he’s never engaged in any type of self-reflection.”

“If I’d known I’d be recovering so many lost memories,” Homura cried. “I would never have let you into my mind. It’s made me do nothing but question every decision I’ve ever made.” She shuddered. “All those plans backfiring, all the hearts I’ve trampled, all those timelines I abandoned, I don’t want to remember all the death and tragedy I’m responsible for.” She turned to Miss Jones and sobbed, “Can’t you make me forget it all again?”

“You don’t really want me to do that to you?” Miss Jones pulled her closer. “No. What you want,” She hugged her in a full embrace.  “What you need , is to share those memories with another.” She comfortingly patted her on her head. “And to share the feelings they’ve revived in you. Because those feelings, and our capacity to empathize, are what separates us from them.” Miss Jones sighed a deep, soothing sigh. “So you can either dwell on those memories alone and fall deeper into guilt and depression, or you can share them, and reshape it into something that helps you walk a wiser path.” 

“I-” Homura slowly got to her feet. “I’ll try.” She wiped her tears on her sleeve. “What about you?”

“Me?” Miss Jones stuck to her as she rose. “Much as I’d like to play therapist, I-”

“No,” Homura interrupted. “How do you live with your-”

“Nagisa kinda woke up while I was trying to tuck her in.” The interior door slid open as Sayaka entered. “So I recapped the plot of an anime I watched at her age. She fell asleep right in the mid-” She looked over to see that Homura and Miss Jones were in an embrace. “What were you guys up to?”

“Auuuughhhhh!” Miss Jones let out a noisy, obnoxious burp. “Asagiri and Yamazaki… Such cards. Definitely gonna go drinking with them again soon.” She burped an alcohol-laced breath, as the two stepped slowly and deliberately over to the futon, where Miss Jones swiftly fell. “Thank youuuu, oh mucho, my Homo… Homu… Hameru… My Homieee.”

“She went out drinking with our music teacher and our phys-ed teacher.” Homura let out an exasperated sigh. “She needed help making it over to the futon.”

“Had lotsa fun too.” Miss Jones turned over and scratched her back. “Seeing the two of them in action together, they really make such a lovely young pair.” 

“Looks like someone really enjoyed their night out.” Sayaka took Nagisa’s Soul Gem from her pocket. “May as well clean it for Nagisa too, while she’s resting.” Then she brought out her own.

“It’s all set up, ready to go.” Miss Jones unfurled a blanket over her body and yawned. “All three together. Thirty seconds on high. I trust you two have seen enough to know how to do it once yourselves.” She threw the blanket over her head and tried to snooze away the alcohol.

“Why in the world do adults do that to themselves?” Sayaka mused.

“I never quite understood the point of it either.” Homura set the microwave timer.

“Kyoko… Where did he go? Where did Papa go?” Momo Sakura tearfully asked her big sister.

“He’s close, Momo. Don’t cry.” Kyoko tried to reassure her younger sibling as she discovered they had just passed by the same public park for the fourth time. 

They had come to this humongous Mitakihara City from the smaller, neighboring Kazamino City together as a family, but while their father’s mission was to take to the streets and preach the word of God, they were told to stay beside their mother while she ran errands. But they had snuck away and gone off to watch him spread the gospel, for they loved listening to his sermons, and wanted nothing more than to see him enrapture the masses. Only now, they had lost sight of him, and had gotten hopelessly lost. 

“One, two, three…” Sayaka's yellow-clad father blew his whistle standing atop his elevated platform, as he waved the pedestrians onward. “Walk!” Young Sayaka was standing down beside his feet as she mimicked his gesturing.

He had taken her along on his routine traffic duty this morning. The daycare was being renovated, and Sayaka was getting curious to learn about the sorts of things her father did as a police officer. Okay, so directing traffic wasn't the most glamorous part of the job, but with the way she was admiring him, so eagerly emulating his every move, it may as well have been the most important duty in the world.

“Stop!” He blew his whistle again and signaled the stopped cars to move along.

“Hey Miki!” Another officer waved at her father from the crosswalk. Time for a shift change. Time to take a break. Just enough time for the young father to walk his daughter back home and get lunch.

“It’s time for you to go home now, Sayaka,” He blew his whistle and signaled the passing cars to stop one more time.

“Hey Miki, can we chat?” His replacement for the rest of the day was approaching them.

“Actually, I was just about to take my daughter out to lunch.” A new restaurant had just opened in the mall. His plan was to take her and meet up with his wife there once their lunch breaks hit.

“It’s important.” The man briefly glanced at Sayaka. “Very. The grub’s on me if you stick around for it.”

“Ummm,” He did sense an unusual tone of urgency from his colleague. “Sorry, Sayaka,” He apologized. “You’ll have to go see your mother without me today.”

“But you said we’d eat together!” Sayaka’s disappointment was palpable. Her folks were always so busy. The opportunities to eat as a whole family were few and increasingly far between. “You proooooomised!”

“I know I did,” Sayaka’s father knelt down and consolingly rubbed her shoulders. “I know. Tell you what,” He thought to himself. “Next weekend, how ‘bout me and you and your momma all go to that big banquet restaurant you love downtown?” He had already made plans for an expensive date with his wife that night. She may have wanted a night off from the kid, but she most likely would be tolerant of the sudden change of plans and the switch to a cheaper venue.

“Really?” Sayaka’s spirits lifted. “You Promise?”

“Cross my heart,” He said in English.

“Hope to die,” She added, in English.

“Stick a needle in my eye!” They both finished at the same time. It was their little personal way of making an unbreakable promise with each other.

“Can you get there all on your own?” There was an empty taxi waiting in the intersection. He was tempted to flag it down for her.

“It’s okay, Papa.” She let go of him. “I know the way there.” She pointed in the mall’s exact direction. 

“Still,” He handed her some change for a payphone. “Call me when you get there, please?” Sayaka nodded enthusiastically.

Secretly following their father around turned out to not be a good idea, Kyoko realized upon gazing into her little sister’s tear-soaked eyes. “Where did he goooooooo?" She bawled.

“Let’s rest here for a while.” Kyoko tried to wipe her sister’s tears with her own sleeve. “Sit.” She picked her up and plopped her on a park bench. Kyoko then turned around and dried her own eyes, for if little Momo saw her big sis cry, she’d be certain that they were in trouble and would go into an absolute panic.

Kyoko realized that they had reached a point where they needed help. Getting the attention of strangers was their only hope, finding someone who knew their way around this town. But who could they turn to? There were joggers with their dogs, listening obliviously to their music players. There were salarymen, distracted by their phones and their PDAs in their hands. There were other parents, but too preoccupied by their own children to pay the girls any mind. Was there nobody around who could hear the crying? Was there nobody nearby who wanted to help them? Kyoko couldn’t hold it back anymore. Desperate tears began to occlude her vision. Her knees buckled as she collapsed to the ground.

“Hey!”

“Huh?” Kyoko whipped her body up.

“Why are you two crying?” The girl approaching looked to be about Kyoko’s height and age.

“We can’t find papaaaaaa!” Momo sniffed. The girl nervously glanced at her sister.

“I lost sight of him.” Kyoko couldn’t look her help directly in the eye. “Now we’re lost.” 

The young girl scanned around the park. “Do you know where you last saw him?”

“No.” Kyoko hesitated. “We don’t know anything about this town.” She added.

The girls weren’t from around here, the young girl deduced. “Do you remember seeing something that stood out to you?  At the time?”

The two girls mournfully shook their heads.

The girl thought about what other details she could ask them. “Did you hear anything? Meet anyone weird? Or smell any food?”

“Yeah, food!” The younger sister blurted out. “I smelled bread!” She hopped off the bench.

“There’s a bakery down that street. I smell that place’s bread around here all the time! We can start there.” Their helper scampered to the crosswalk and pointed down the next street. “Don’t worry! I know lotsa stuff about this town. Follow me!” The two girls reluctantly came along.

“It’s the smell! That’s the smell!” The younger sister’s crying had abruptly ceased with the familiarity of the smell. Kyoko was a bit more apprehensive, but at least they weren’t going in circles anymore.

“What else do you remember?” Their helper asked.

Kyoko surveyed the street. Immediately she recognized the spot where they had snooped on their father. “There!” She pointed at the street corner where he was preaching. “He was right there!”

“Did you see which way he went after that?”

Kyoko shook her head.

“That way!” The younger one pointed back towards the park.

“You’re sure?”

“Why didn’t you say something before?” Kyoko snapped at her sister.

“I thought you saw him go that way too! I thought that’s why you went that way!” The sibling apologetically answered.  They proceeded to the next crosswalk. 

“Posters!” Kyoko pointed at a poster taped to a streetlight. “That’s right! I remember now! He had pictures of our church he was going to put around this town!” 

“We’ll follow the posters, then.” The girl walking with the siblings said. “Let’s look for them as we go!”

“Sakura…” The siblings’ Father turned around. “What are you doing?” It was the Mitakihara City Pastor confronting him right in his face.

“I am spreading God’s word.” He answered succinctly. Calmly turning his cheek, he taped up another copy of the poster displaying his church just outside Kazamino. “That’s all.”

“Is that what you’re choosing to call it?” His counterpart swiped a poster from underneath his arm. “You know, I’ve been seeing more than a few new parishioners from Kazamino City. And they tell me you’ve been saying some very unusual things of late. And straying very far from the word of the good book.”

“I’m simply offering a more nuanced understanding of its teachings. Nothing heretical.”

“That’s not what they’ve been telling me. They would seem convinced that you’re rewriting the scriptures on your own whim. That you’ve somehow molded it all into an unrecognizable hodgepodge of glorified gobbledygook.” He crumpled the paper. “I did not believe it at first, but then more and more came along telling similar tales. And now... Seeing this… If I didn’t know you better, I’d say your behaviour was more befitting of a cult.”

“You are entitled to believe whatever you wish.” He straightened his neck and wrist collars. “My ultimate judge is God. And only God.”

“No.” His counterpart dutifully countered. “I’m alerting you, right here and right now. And I’m telling you, quite sternly Sakura, because I consider you a friend.” He grabbed the man by his shoulders. “If this mass exodus of worshippers continues, then I warn you, I warn you, that you will eventually leave me no choice but to report your outlandish behavior to our superiors in the Church. Do you understand me?”

“Do whatever you must.” The man took a deep breath and shook himself free from the other’s grip.

“You’ll be excommunicated!”

“I am unafraid.”

“Think of your family! Their livelihood! Think of what’ll happen to them if you become a pariah!”

“Whatever happens next shall be God’s test.” He added, with a devout resolution “And we as a family, I am certain, shall pass it.”

“Papaaaaa!” Momo Sakura ran down the street to him

“Momo?” He swiftly strode away from his interrogator. “Shouldn’t you be with your mother?”

“Thank you.” The relieved Kyoko uttered to the young girl standing beside her.

“I have to get home now.” Their savior let go of Kyoko’s hand. “Will you be okay?”

“I’m going to be in a lot of trouble.” Kyoko dried her eyes. “But I’ll be fine. Thanks.”

“Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime!” The two young ladies waved goodbye.

“You’re calling me a lot later than I expected.” Her Father said to Sayaka over the phone. “Did something happen to you?”

“Yeah.” She answered. “It wasn’t a big deal, though. I met these two sisters who got lost and I helped them find their papa, is all.”

“Oh? That so?” He chuckled. “Who were they?”

“Shoot!” Sayaka slapped her forehead. “I forgot to ask her name!”

“Did you hear what happened to her?” One girl whispered to another while Hitomi Shizuki walked by.

“You remember, she wasn’t in school that day…”

“... They found her in a factory, among a group of people who were all passed out.”

“They say it was some sort of mass delusion…”

“... But I think it was really a death cult and they’re keeping a lid on it.” She could hear the petty ones gossip.

“Why would she do that?” She tried ignoring them.

“Who knows?”

“... Maybe her parents’ high expectations have gotten the better of her…”

“... Maybe Kamijo broke up with her…” It wasn’t really working.

“... Maybe he’s seeing someone else…”

“... Who could that be?”

“Didn’t you read between the lines when Sayaka…” She bravely held back the tears.

“... I’m sure I couldn’t go to school under those circumstances. What’s she thinking?”

“Madoka.” Hitomi approached Madoka by their lockers. She checked around the hallway. “Is she here?”

“Who?” Madoka asked.

“You know who.” Hitomi dare not speak her name. For it might be what triggers the tears. 

“I haven’t seen her at all today.” The class bell rang. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s…” Hitomi reluctantly answered. “Complicated.” She added, “And I would have preferred not to involve you in the matter.” She took out a sealed envelope. “But I don’t seem to have much choice. Please deliver this letter to her. You’re the only person I trust to do so.”

“O- Okay.” Madoka politely nodded.

***

“Gah! Stupid squirrrrrrrrrrel!” Sayaka awoke to the sound of a tree branch snapping right outside.

“Kyoko?” Sayaka wearily rolled over and checked the bed next to her. Kyoko wasn’t in it. Sayaka hopped out of bed and looked out the open window. Kyoko was laying in a bush, splayed open and looking disheveled. “What the heck is going on?”

“Fricking squirrel!” Kyoko grumbled. “Stole my food!”

“Food?” Sayaka glanced back at the bag of food at the foot of the beds. “What food?”

“My sandwich!” She said, “I unwrapped a ham and cheese sandwich, and the damn thing snatched it right outta my hands when I got to the window.”

 “And you tried to chase it?” Sayaka hopped up and over the window. “Are you as full of nuts as that squirrel? You shouldn’t be chasing things with a hole in your leg.” She reached out for Kyoko’s hand.

“Hole?” Kyoko grabbed Sayaka’s entire arm. “What hole? I’m fine!”

“Did you hit your head, too?” Sayaka helped her up. “That Mami chick shot your leg. You bled out so badly, you were unconscious for more than a day! You’re damn lucky you’re still alive!” She tried to prop Kyoko up with her arm.

“It’s all good now!” Kyoko pushed it off. “Great, even! Ya’ see?” She jumped up and down on one foot and the other. “Fully healed up!” Her ankle swiftly gave out and she collapsed to one knee. 

“Sure. I’m convinced.” Sayaka rolled her eyes.

“I’m jus’ hungry is all.” Kyoko propped herself back up. “More than a day, ya’ said? Sheesh, No wonder my leg’s still wobbly.”

“Then get something else to eat.” Sayaka got on a knee and pushed Kyoko back up and into the window. “Don’t go chasing squirrels in trees for sandwiches. Sheesh!” She leapt and climbed back inside. She went over to the bag, reached for an apple and tossed it to her.

“Meat.” Kyoko chomped hard into the skin. “I’m cravin’ meat.”

Sayaka ferreted through the bag. “Mostly snacks, you’ve got.”

“I know.” Kyoko took another big, juicy bite. “That’s why I went for the sandwich.” She said with her mouth full. She swallowed hard. “Dang it, I want a hot dog.”

“You serious? A hot dog?”

“Yeah. Sounds delicious.” She took another big, ravenous bite. “Never tried one before.”

“I’ve had plenty.”

“Really?” Her eyes lit up. “How do they taste?”

“They’re…” Sayaka struggled to describe something so simple yet so taken for granted. “Meaty and…” She squinted. “Juicy and…” She swallowed. “Fills your stomach in a pinch.” A food critic she was not.

“Perfect!” Kyoko threw the remnant apple core out the window. “Let’s go get some!”

“Now?” She watched Kyoko head for the door.

“Yeah! Why not? I’m freakin’ hungry!”

“But I gotta get to school!”

“School?” Kyoko opened the door. “I’d guess it’s at least noon by now. You’re way too late.” 

Sayaka checked the sun’s position outside the window. She was right. They had both overslept and she would assuredly be marked as absent. “Crap!”

“No use fussin’ about what you can’t help. Go tomorrow and say you were sick today.” 

“I... Suppose I could try that.” Sayaka knew she was already skating some pretty thin ice with the teachers, thanks largely to Kyoko.

“Good.” Kyoko smiled. “Seize the day!” She stopped and felt through her inner pocket. “Oops, hold up.” She backtracked to the bedside, removed the floorboard and opened the shoebox. “Now let’s seize it.” She snuck an extra Grief Seed and a box of Pocky into her pouch pockets.

Sayaka stood alone in the bedroom for another minute, wondering what impending trouble awaited herself and her new friend. She looked down into the shoebox, at its other contents, which included a partially-torn photograph. She flipped the photograph over, it was a picture of a family gathered in front of this very church. The two adults’ faces were charred off, leaving only the faces of their children. “Kyoko?” She whispered. 

“Kyoko!”

***

“Parry! Parry! Thrust! Thrust!” Miss Jones effortlessly dodged Sayaka’s maneuvers. “Goooood!” She twirled around and countered. “Oh, dear! This is actually starting to make me sweat a little!” She slashed Sayaka in the back. “Game!” Sayaka fell to the ground.

“Dammit!” Sayaka got up and dusted herself off. “I’m never going to beat you, am I?”

“Try not to think of it in terms of winning and losing.” Miss Jones advised. “I am your Sensei.” She slightly bowed. “Teaching you. We’re doing this so you may learn much more than fight.” Miss Jones thrust her colored sword at Sayaka, who parried and leapt into the air above her. “See? Just like that!”

“I wasn't in school today.” Sayaka landed and thrusted at Miss Jones’ abdomen.

Miss Jones dodged with a last-second hop and a pivot turn. “You?” She attacked with a neck-high slash, which Sayaka swiftly ducked under. “Oh. ‘Her’ You. Gotcha.”

“I hope she’s not up to anything stupid.” Rings of musical notes materialized under Sayaka as she prepared to charge.

“Yeah, I know Miss Yamazaki’s getting very cross with her, but if you’re worried that she’s made a contract.” Sayaka accelerated, full blast at Miss Jones. “We can check with the TARDIS biosigns sensors for her DNA signature when we’re done. Just got those patched up.” Miss Jones leapfrogged over Sayaka’s body as her attack failed to make contact. “If she’s still human, she’ll show up.”

“Thanks.” Sayaka landed, whipped around and replanted her feet. “Can I ask you another question?” 

“Go ahead.” Miss Jones said. “It’s what I’m here for.”

“Why am I here, and me? With you?” Sayaka awkwardly phrased. “And not there and her, wherever she is?” Sayaka leapt to the air, backflipped and prepared to perform an aerial charge attack.

“You mean why are there two of you?”

“Yeah.” Sayaka huffed and launched at her instructor.

“That’s an excellent question.” Miss Jones sidestepped her second try with a practiced ease. “I’m afraid I don’t even have a decent theory to offer on it yet.” She casually slashed Sayaka’s ankle as Sayaka’s body cracked the ground beneath them.

“Crap!” Sayaka collapsed as her slashed foot went numb. 

“You’ve gotta find another ace-in-the-hole.” Miss Jones coached. “That charge attack is so totally telegraphed even a neophyte could counter it.”

“What difference does that make?” Sayaka propped her body up against a rock. “It’s not like any witch is going to be able to read my moves.”

“Huge tactical mistake you’re making there.” Miss Jones explained. “Assuming you already know the opponent’s fighting capabilities. Never do that.” She thrust her weapon at Sayaka’s other leg. “We have no idea whether they’re creatures of raw instinct or if they have functional intelligence. You could make a case for either.” Sayaka pushed off the rock in a quick escape. “Got it?” She jabbed another attack at Sayaka’s chest.

“Yes, Sensei.” Sayaka averted the attack with a one-footed vault upward. She then pushed off the hilt of Miss Jones’s weapon and spun and counterattacked with a slash on her wrist.

“Way to go!” Miss Jones cheered as she dropped her sword. “Unfortunately for you, I’m not left-handed. She caught it mid-air with her right hand and struck Sayaka’s head as she landed. “Once again, from the top.” Sayaka reluctantly got back up. “That’s the second lesson: Don’t go all-in on your foe immediately. Gauge them first, then adjust how you counter accordingly.”

“Thank you, Sensei.” Sayaka dusted herself off. “What theories do you have then?”

“Hmmm.” Miss Jones thought to herself. “My best guess is that Homura’s magic somehow interacted with my TARDIS’s Temporal Navigation Matrix.” She licked her upper lip. “And she drug us along when she jumped through time.”

“That explains Homura and you.”  Sayaka’s shoulders slouched. “But not me and her.”

“Indeed.” Miss Jones smiled. “You really have been reading up, haven’t you?” She sat down on a large rock. “I suppose it depends on precisely how her traveling ability works. If she were hopping into a full-fledged parallel timeline, that would potentially offer an explanation to why there are two of you.”

“And that would explain why everything’s the same, but got so…” Sayaka paused. “Different?” 

“Yeah.” Miss Jones shook her head. “But that wouldn’t explain why there’s only one of her. That, to me, is more suggestive old-fashioned time travel, and the creation of a tangent timeline, an offshoot existence in which she merges her untethered soul with her past self. It would also explain why there’s also still the presence of the Blinovitch Effect for you.”

“The Blino- What?”

“That thing that happened in the bathroom when those pocket mirrors of yours touched. The mirrors zapped each other and busted. Remember?”

“Of course I do.” Sayaka sighed and rolled her eyes. “Madoka gave that to me. Wonder how I should apologize.”

“But if that were the case, then there shouldn’t be two of you.” Miss Jones took a flummoxed breath. “Y’see, temporal paradoxes used to be a big recurring problem in the olden days of time travel, so defective models like the Type 4, Type 13 and the Type 40 were summarily recalled and decommissioned.” She could tell she was rapidly losing Sayaka. “Anyway, this one’s a Type 57. It’s fully-featured, with built-in Paradox Protection protocols, the TARDIS should have merged you and your other self together as one entity with memories of both timelines. Maybe it didn’t have enough power to attempt the merger?”

“So what are you saying? I’m just an accident? A mishap?”

“No, not at all.” Miss Jones got up and comfortingly patted Sayaka on her shoulder. “I’d quite like to believe you’re here for a damn good reason.”

A string of humongous bubbles popped and exploded in the air at a disconcertingly close distance. The two ladies scrambled and hid behind a big rock.

“Soooooorrry!” Nagisa’s voice apologized in the distance.

“Geez! Seriously… What do bubbles and trumpets have to do with a cheesecake?” Sayaka commented.

“No clue.” Miss Jones smirked. “What do swords and capes have to do with healing?” She playfully tugged at Sayaka’s cape.

“I dunno.” Sayaka pushed her finger against the hard blue plate adorning her chest. “I guess I kinda-sorta pictured myself as a… Caped superhero, when I made my wish. An ally of justice.”

“Well, Ms. Ally of Justice,” Miss Jones took her hand. “Let’s get back to business. Shall we? I’ve got an idea that might just supplant that ace-in-the-hole of yours.”

***

“Sayaka? Are you there?” Madoka spoke into the apartment complex’s microphone again. “Is anybody there?” No reply. She tried calling her friend on her cell phone once again. No response. “Where are you?” 

She was worried. Sayaka wasn’t home. She hadn’t been to school since yesterday morning. The teachers were growing impatient with her. She’d been seen hanging around a dangerous magical girl. And now, this letter. She held Hitomi’s envelope up to the light of the Sun. She couldn’t make out anything the note said through the light.

“Your friend’s absence troubles you?” Kyubey asked beside her.

“Of course.” Madoka tried the phone one more time. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her lately.” No answer. “I hope she’s not in trouble.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I have to find her.” Madoka put her phone and the envelope in her pocket and picked up her bookbag.

“Not an easy task.” Kyubey commented. “Of course, I can provide you a way that would make it much easier.”

“Thanks.” Madoka replied. “But I’m going to do it on my own for now.” She stared at the city skyline.

“If that’s your desire,” Kyubey said. “I will respect it.” He looked at the envelope. “Perhaps the note itself could serve as a clue. It may be prudent to open the letter and read it.”

“No,” Madoka dismissed. “I think Hitomi wants Sayaka to be the only person who reads it.”

“Then I can only advise that you begin your search by visiting the places she typically goes. Is there somewhere that she frequents usually on her own?”

Madoka thought to herself for a moment. “The hospital.” She perked. “She goes to visit Kyosuke Kamijo almost every day.”

“Then that should be where you begin first.”

***

“Mmmmmm… Oh, thish ish delishioushhh.” Kyoko scarfed on the hot dog, her mouth full while she spoke.

“Glad you like it.” Sayaka lightly dipped her French fry into her ketchup.

“Wonder what they’re made of.”

“We probably shouldn’t know.”

“Whaddaya lookin’ at?” Kyoko caught Sayaka peeking under their booth table.

“Your boot. I just noticed how bloody it got.” 

“Huh. I guess it did.” Kyoko slid her bloodied leg further underneath the table. “Now would you quit gawkin’ at it? Toldya I was fine!”

“You’re absolutely sure?”

“Yeeeesss! Us magical girls heal from injuries a lot faster than humans can!”  Kyoko stood and hopped up and down her booth seat. “Ya’ see?”

“Okay! Okay!” Sayaka pulled her down. “I believe you. There’s no need to make a scene,” She sipped her soft drink. “Man, what I could do with a power like that.” She muttered while she sipped.

“So why do you look so worried?” Kyoko slid back into her seat.

“Because I am. I mean you still look really pale.” 

“Eh. ‘Cuz I’m still hungry. Need another hot dog.” Kyoko craned her head over Sayaka’s food. Sayaka took the cue and slid her other hot dog to Kyoko. 

“And there’s still got that scar.”

“Pssh! That’ll be gone in a few days.”

“Plus you lost a lot of blood.”

“It’ll take more than that to keep me down.” She fiercely chowed down.

“And then you said you were dead!”

“Bwahahahahaaaa!” Kyoko hastily covered her mouth while she guffawed. “Well I didn’t mean it that way!” She pounded the table uproariously. “Oof, those woulda been some really, really lame ass last words. Can’t imagine more pathetic words to go out with than ‘I’m deeeeaaaad’!” She slumped back in her seat and slurped her drink. 

“So why’d you say that?”

“Because I really am dead!” She grabbed a trio of french fries and dipped them in Sayaka’s ketchup. “Far as the rest of the world knows, anyway. ‘Kyoko Sakura’ is dead.” She chomped them. “Far as it cares.”

“For reals?”

“I mean, yeah probably.” Kyoko finished the last of her own fries. “My name was on the news and stuff. Least that’s what Mami told me.” She started on the rest of Sayaka’s fries. “Think about it. A dead girl, suddenly showin’ up at the hospital, all bloody with a hole in her leg? They’d ask way too many questions. I could never put up with it.”

“So that Mami chick was telling the truth? You were together once?”

“For a lil’ while, yeah.” Kyoko stopped eating long enough to slurp up some of the melted ice in her soft drink. “We fought witches side-by-side. Learned a lot of what I know from her.”

“What happened?”

“Didn’t work out.” She slouched and slid even lower in her seat. “Mami’s got a stubborn ass moral code. Determined to save everyone, help anyone, do the right thing if it’s for the sake of others. Thinks us other girls should be the same as her. Not welcome around her if we don’t.” She snatched a couple napkins from the dispenser. “But reality don’t work that way. Not unless ya’ got the raw might to back it up, like she can. But I was such a fool. Back then I was too taken in by her talent, her looks, and her power to see that she was preachin’ pure bullshit. Not until it was almost too late for me.” She took to clacking together the salt and pepper shakers as if they were her little toys. “Huh. ‘I’m such a fool.’ That’d be a pretty sad line to go out on too, I think.”

“What happened to you?”

Kyoko curled into the inner corner of her booth seat. She poured a handful of salt into her palm and licked it, reluctant to say anything more.

“Kyoko?”

“It went wrong.”

“What wen-”

“My wish.” She interrupted. “Went wrong. They died.”

Sayaka took the damaged photograph out of her pocket, and slid it across the table. Kyoko briefly glanced at it, then flicked it aside with her fingers. “You wish for happiness, someone else has to suffer equally in return.” She poured some pepper on her other hand and licked it. “It all has to balance out. That’s how the world really works.”

“Kyoko...” Sayaka leaned closer. “What’d you wish for?”

Kyoko pressed her thumb on one of the beheaded adults in the photograph. “The church we slept at… Used to be my Dad’s. He was an honest, caring man who’d tear up when he’d read about all the bad things happening in the world in the papers.” She sniffed. “‘Cause ya’ see he couldn’t figure out how to make things better. He thought religion hadn’t adapted enough. He wanted something new, something that would make sense in today’s world.” She shook the shakers around as if they were a pair of puppets. “So one day, he started preachin’ things to the congregation that wasn’t in the Bible. But the people got upset… They stopped comin’ to his sermons. So The Church kicked him out, and after that, nobody cared what he had to say.” 

She poured and licked more salt. “Go figure, right? I mean, from the outside, I bet he looked like he was trying to start a cult.” She set it down and stirred around excess salt with her fingers. “It didn’t matter if what he said was right, or even if it made any sense. Everyone treated him like he was a psycho.” She set the shakers aside, and reached for a couple fries. “It got so bad for my family that there were lots of times where we didn’t have any food.” 

She nibbled on them for a moment, and swallowed. “I couldn’t understand it. I mean, my Dad wasn’t doing or saying anything wrong. It was just different from what everyone was used to hearin’, is all.” Sayaka hunched in ever closer to her, sympathetically listening along. “If people woulda just calmed down, gave him five minutes and really listened to what he had to say, they woulda seen he was right. But in the end, nobody did.” She slammed the table with her fists, sending the shakers spilling onto her lap.

“So I got mad. Like, you know, really pissed off.” She continued. “I hated that nobody tried to give my Dad a chance, and understand the things he was talkin’ about.” She picked them up. “But then, Kyubey showed up and I made my wish.” She bobbed them up and down rapidly. “I wanted everyone to listen to my Dad and take the stuff he was saying seriously.” She put them back near the table’s edge.

Sayaka astoundedly gasped. “The next morning,” Kyoko continued on, “Everybody came back! The church was packed with so many people! Every day, more and more people came who wanted nuthin’ but to hear my Dad preach!” She sniffed and smiled. “And me? I started doing the whole Magical Girl thing… I figured, no matter how awesome my Dad’s sermons were, they weren’t going to take care of those witches anytime soon! It was my job! So, like a rookie idiot, I threw myself into hunting witches full time.” She sat up in her seat. “In my mind, we were gonna save the world together! Him doing it out in the open, and me from the shadows!” She grabbed the last handful of fries and brusquely shoved them in her mouth. “So now you see how easy it was for me to go along with Mami’s whole schtick, right?” Sayaka nodded along sympathetically.

“Then one day,” She paused. “My Dad found out about what was really going on.” She put her finger on the photograph and flipped it around. “I’ll never forget it. When he realized everyone was there, not because of what he was preachin’, but because of my magic… He totally lost his mind!” She took a deep, pained breath. “And then he called me,” She ashamedly put her hand to her forehead, “He called his own daughter, an evil witch that corrupted his flock!” She angrily slapped the table. “Heh! Isn’t that hilarious?” She chuckled bitterly. “I’m the one out every night hunting real witches and he calls me a witch!”

Kyoko hunched over, then bitterly buried her face in her arm on the table. “After that, my dad had a total breakdown. He got really depressed. Started drinkin’ a lot, and then one night he went crazy. He killed my family and then he committed suicide.” She flicked the shakers over, as they rolled off the table to the next booth. “Leaving me behind. And Alone.” 

She paused and wiped tears from her eyes. “Mami found me later that night, hurtin’ real bad just waitin’ to die. No, wantin’ to.” Her eyes dejectedly stared out a faraway window. 

“Sounds like she at least cared about you.”

“Riiiiiiight.” Kyoko sarcastically rolled her head with her eyes. “Y’know, I remember when I was first startin’ out as that starry-eyed Rookie, she and I were walking to her place one night. She had just met my family, she had seen all the newfound joy in their lives because of what I’d done. And as I told her exactly what I’d wished for, she suddenly got this really weird look in her eyes, and then said something to me about one... Being able to better withstand the price of a wish if it’s for themselves.” She disgustedly shook her head. “Like she just knew … It was all going to go crashin’ on me someday.” 

“She couldn’t have kno-”

“Bullshit!” She slammed the table. “She knew! Much as she and Kyubey gab, she must've heard some real horror stories. And if it wasn’t from him, then from any of the other girls that she’s met, much as she gets around. No way she couldn’t have known. We were supposed to be friends, yet all she gave me was some vague, offhand warning? Absolute Bullshit!”

“And Kyubey didn’t tell you anything?”

“Tch! No! That ain’t how he works.” Kyoko grumbled. “If you don’t ask about something, he won’t tell you about it. Learned that much about him pretty quickly.” She sniffed. “Prolly so he can stay neutral whenever us magical girls have it out.”

“Huh. That actually explains something.” Sayaka uttered, just loud enough to perk Kyoko’s ear.

“Eh? What somethin’?” She asked, sensing an opportunity to pivot the topic away from her sordid past. 

“Oh, uh-” Sayaka stammered. “I- It’s personal is all. None of your business.”

“Oh, really?” Kyoko stared across the table. “Hmph! And here I was, spillin’ all my guts to somebody I only met a couple of days ago, and she has the nerve tellin’ me somethin’s none of my business!” She scowled.

“Okay, okay!” Sayaka relented. “But promise me you won’t do anything drastic.”

“Well that depends on-”

“I mean it!” Sayaka warned. “If you get involved, then that Mami will get involved, and I don’t wanna lose my friend to that wannabe queen bee.”

“‘Wannabe queen bee’. Heh,” Kyoko snickered. “That’s pretty good.” Then she saw Sayaka’s face. “Alright. I promise.” She tokenly offered a peace gesture. “So spill it on me, already!”

“You remember my friend in that picture I showed you? Madoka?”

“The one you caught flirtin’ with your guy pal?”

“No, the other one.” Sayaka took a deep breath. “I think Kyubey might be trying to recruit her.”

“Oooooh?” Kyoko’s eyes went wide. “Why do ya’ think that?”

“Mami and I had a little bit of a dust up at school yesterday. When Madoka came to break us up, she already knew who Mami was. Then Kyubey showed up beside her.”

“That soooooo?” Kyoko leaned in. “I take it you don’t want her becomin’ a magical girl?”

“Nope! No way! Nuh-Uh!” Sayaka shook her head. “She’s not tough enough to fight monsters like the thing you and I took down.”

“I might’ve had the same opinion ‘bout you ‘til that fight, ya’ know.”

“Yeah,” Sayaka conceded. “But it’s not only that. Madoka’s probably the bestest friend I’ll ever have. And the idea that I could possibly lose her to some witch in some horrible battle,” She worriedly sighed. “I don’t think I could ever live wit-  

“Will that be all today, ladies?” A waitress interrupted their conversation.

“We’re done.” Sayaka collected the empty plates in front of them. “Thanks.”

“Here is your total for today.” She handed Sayaka the bill.

“Crap. It’s going to be close.” Sayaka fished through her pockets for her wallet.

“Hey no worries.” Kyoko flipped out her own wallet. “I had most of it. I got this.” She paid the total, and the waitress promptly collected their dishes and left.

“Where’d you get that wallet?” Sayaka asked her.

“You remember that guy I accidentally bumped into at the door?” Kyoko slyly smiled. “Not an accident.”

“You took his wallet?” Sayaka’s expression immediately changed to one of disapproval.

“Would you relax? I’ll stick it in the ‘Lost And Found’ before we go.”

“That’s not the point! You can’t go around picking pockets! It’s not right!”

“What am I supposed to do? Get a job? Ride around, delivering mornin’ newspapers? How’s a dead girl supposed to do that?”

“Look…” Sayaka rubbed her eyes as she spoke. “I know there’s really no way I can stop you from doing the things you wan-” She paused. “You have to do. But promise me you’ll refrain from taking anyone else’s money as long as you’re around me? Please?”

“It really bothers-”

“Yes!”

Kyoko dejectedly scrunched her body in the booth while she slid the wallet over to Sayaka. “I proooomise.”

“Thank you.” Sayaka snatched the wallet then stashed it in her own pocket. “ I’ll take it to the lost and found.”

***

“Ah ha! There you are!” Miss Jones keyed instructions into the control console. “Or rather… Here you are? The Other ‘You’ is right here in the mall.  And fortunately still registering as one hundred percent human.”

“I wonder why she’s here.” Sayaka mused.

“It could be that she’s with Kyoko Sakura.” Homura was sitting on the futon in the control room drinking tea next to Nagisa, who was quietly sampling cheeses. “She frequents the arcades and entertainment venues.”

“Yikes! Wouldn’t that be ironic.” Sayaka put her hands to her hips.

“What would be ironic?”

“That Kyoko’s would be the one keeping her nose clean.”

***

“You know what I’d wish for now, if I had the chance to make a wish all over again?” Kyoko said as they left the restaurant. 

“I give up. What?” Sayaka replied.

“I’d wish to be able to create a delicious, fully prepared Taiyaki, right in the palm of my hand whenever I wanted one.” She cupped her hand right in front of Sayaka’s face. “With whatever filling I’d wanted to try, of course.” Sayaka cooly pushed her hand aside. “What?”

“For reals?” Sayaka incredulously asked. “You’re all about food?”

“I mean, why not?” Kyoko slipped a Pocky in her mouth. “If a big wish’ll go wrong and create just as much misery in the world, then the key is not in makin’ any sort of big world-changin’ wish, but rather makin’ a small one. Then I might’ve used my power to make my own life a little better off.” She took a second while she suckled on her Pocky stick. “And my family too. In whatever way I could manage.”

“With Taiyaki?”

“It would’ve kept them fed at least!” Kyoko hesitated. “I would’ve definitely shared some with my sister. She wouldn’t have asked any questions.” She pointed at a concession stand as they passed by a cineplex. “Or, I coulda opened my own Taiyaki stand. Used the money and helped us out some.” 

“Small wish, huh?” Sayaka scratched her cheek “Well it’s food for thought I suppose.” She slung the bag she was carrying over her shoulder as they made their way across the main food court. 

“Now I’m hungry again.” Kyoko sniffed around while she bit into her snack.

“Later. I gotta go do something quick.”
“Oh? Whaddaya got in that bag?” Kyoko inquired.

“A bathing suit I bought a little while ago.” Sayaka answered. “I figured, since I’m already here, I might as well return it.”

“Yer takin’ it back?” Kyoko stepped beside her. “Why ya’ doin’ that?”

“Because I could really use the extra money right now.” 

“For what?”

“Do you really have to ask?” Sayaka stopped briefly and read the advertising signs. “I’m going to put that money back, then take it to the lost and found. I’ve decided I can settle on one of the cheaper suits on sale.”

“Why? Ya’ goin’ to the beach?”

“Well no, not anytime soon.” Sayaka checked to see if the receipt was still in the bag, “But my aunt and uncle own an inn on the coast, and I’ve been meaning to go back there sometime.” She took it out. “Can you wait here for a bit?”

Kyoko rolled her eyes and groaned. Then she peeked over Sayaka’s shoulder towards the arcade behind her. She beggingly smiled and held out her hand.

“Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.” Sayaka took out some change. “Stay out of trouble. Please?”

Kyoko grinned playfully.

***

“You whaaaaaat?” Sayaka turned to Homura.

“I achieved all the high scores in Kyoko’s favorite games.” Homura repeated. Miss Jones was unsuccessfully stifling a huge fit of laughter behind them. “She gravitates towards rhythm games, fighting games, and shooting games. Basically whatever tests her reflexive skills.”

“Why?”

“Kyoko is the sort of person who is naturally driven to compete. So I figured one way to keep her out of unnecessary conflicts would be to keep her preoccupied with such frivolities like game scores.”

“You actually know how to play those games?”

“They’re not difficult to master.” Homura briefly glanced at Miss Jones. “Once I remembered how to play them, it was like riding a bicycle.”

“Well I for one applaud your initiative,” Miss Jones walked over to her leather coat on the hanger. “And your innovative thinking.”

“Where are you headed?” Sayaka asked Miss Jones.

“I can tell by the look on your face that you’re not content with a check of the life-signs sensor. You want to personally go make sure that bunnycat isn’t haranguing her.” She buttoned the first two buttons together. “You leave that to me.”

“Bu-”

“She would be the logical choice.” Homura cut her off. “Sending you, I or Nagisa would either arouse Kyubey’s interest, or make Kyoko suspicious. By far her most refined skill is sensing other magical girls in proximity.”

“Precisely.” Miss Jones acknowledged. “But to those two, I’m another face in the crowd.” 

“Fiiiiiiiiiiiine.” Sayaka relented.

“Before you leave,” Homura approached. “I would like to know how to calibrate the machine to search for someone else specific.”

“Certainly,” Miss Jones pointed at the console. “Use the Psychic link. Put your hand on that spot and picture the person you’re searching for.” She stepped towards the TARDIS exit. “And I’d like to thank you for all your cooperation up to now.” She took a step out then peeked her head back in. “And your restraint.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sayaka wondered.

“She managed to convince me to not follow Madoka as vigorously as I have in the past.” Homura put her palm on the console. “To intervene only if either her life or her soul were in imminent danger.” 

“With Kyubey hanging on her twenty-four-seven, that’s gotta be a lot of restraint.”

“You have no idea.” The map of the city displayed before them zoomed out, then closer again as Homura pictured Madoka’s face. The screen turned bright red as the message “SECURITY ALERT - UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS” flashed before them.

“Oops! Crap! That’s right!” Sayaka snapped her fingers. “Miss Jones totally forgot to put you guys in as crew members.” Homura was visibly displeased. “I’ll do it for you.”

“A ‘crew member’?”

“Yeah. Can you believe it? I’m supposedly the ‘Co-Pilot’ of this thing.” Sayaka put her hand on the console. “At least my touch can fix something around here.” The screen map zoomed out, then back in as it zeroed in on their target.

“She’s human.” Both girls said with a sigh of relief. “Where’s she at?” Sayaka said as they studied the map.

“That’s the hospital.” Homura identified.

“What in the world is she doing there?” 

***

“Friend or family?” The receptionist asked. 

“Uhhhhm, a friend.” Madoka twiddled her fingers. “M-More of uh, friend of a friend’s.”

“Wait here a moment.” The receptionist typed away. “I’ll sign you in.”

“With so many vulnerable humans congregated together,” Kyubey noted, “Locations like these are a common place for witches to manifest.” He added, “I advise you keep a wish in mind in the event one attacks.”

“You’re signed in.” The receptionist jotted a note. “Here’s the room where he’s recuperating. You may proceed.” She handed it to Madoka, who promptly tiptoed to the elevator.

“This doesn’t make any sense at all.” Madoka made room for a squad of doctors crowding into the elevator. “Blood work, normal.” They were all huddled around a rather frail-appearing woman in her wheelchair. “CT Scan, negative. EEG, normal.” The doctor continued down the list. “There’s nothing that could explain this patient’s full recovery.” 

“Na… Gi...” The disengaged woman in the wheelchair uttered. “I’m… So… So...” The elevator’s doors slid open, as the team whisked her away.

“This is the right floor.” Madoka took a deep breath as the elevator dinged. Madoka proceeded down the hallway, and turned the corner. She spotted Kyosuke’s room number. But there were no bookbags, no belongings anywhere placed next to the door. And the room itself was dead quiet. No indication at all that Sayaka was here. Madoka promptly turned around to leave discreetly.

“Then again…” Madoka paused and thought. “If Sayaka hadn’t gone to school, she wouldn’t have brought along her bookbag.” If she were in a big hurry, she might have left her other things at home too, she deduced. She turned around again. She figured that she at least needed to take a peek inside, just to be absolutely certain. A peek wouldn’t be too intrusive.

The door crept open little by little. Madoka saw a human-looking shadow cast against the patterned wall behind his bed. Slowly her head poked inside. Little by little she opened it further. His bed was empty. There was a chair placed next to the window. The only sound that could be heard was the slow creak of the door. 

Madoka abruptly threw the whole door open as she let out a deep, shocked gasp. Before her teetered Kyosuke Kamijo, standing on the edge of the outer window frame, holding onto a rail and ready to take the very last step of his life.

“No! Please don’t do it!” Madoka rushed into the room.

“Stay back!” Kamijo’s head jerked around. 

“Pleeeease! Don’t jump! Madoka cried out.

“Go away!” He cried, his tearful face looking back at her with a combination of fear, anguish and surprise. “Leave me alone!”

“You don’t want to do this!” Madoka approached closer.

“Yes I do!”

“No you don’t!”

“My doctor… Told me to give up!” His voice cracked as he explained. “He told me that it was useless! That my hand was never going to feel anything again! That I’m never going to be able to play my violin again!”

“But you mustn’t give up on life!” Madoka desperately pleaded.

“Why shouldn’t I?” He sniffed. “Without my violin, I’m nothing! I’m worthless!” His lean tilted ever so slightly farther from her, his feet precariously perched on the ledge. “I’m just a burden!”

“I calculate that there’s an even chance that he will jump.” Kyubey said to Madoka.

“Please! Don’t go!” Madoka’s own voice cracked. “Think about all the people who care about you! What would it do to them? Think about how sad your Mom and Dad will be without you in their lives!”

“They don’t care!” He whimpered. “My parents… They’re gone all the time! They only ever noticed me when I practiced! They only loved my talent!”

“That’s not true! No!” Madoka scrambled to think of other examples from his life. “What about your friends?”

“They don’t care either!”

“Yes they do!” She slowly toed closer to him. “I know they do! I know Sayaka comes to see you every day she can!”

He shook his head. “She hasn’t come in days.” He spat. “Some friend!”

“What?” Madoka hesitated. “Wha- what about the rest of the class?”

“No one wants to see me this way!” He sobbed. “Even Nakazawa only ever sent stupid cards and texts!”

“There’s me!” She tiptoed past the bed by this point. “I’m here for you.” She crept ever-so-slightly closer and closer to him. “Please come back inside!” Her voice cracked.

“You’re…” His teary eyes were just visible through his disheveled hair as he glanced back at her. “Really here? F- For me?”

“Yes.” She tearfully nodded. “Please come back over, and I’ll stay for you. Pretty please?”

“I- A- Alright.” His eyes widened. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to turn around and climb back over the window, he had been so committed to jumping that he didn’t ever consider an exit strategy. Slowly his feet turned, his heels pivoted, he took a deep breath and turned the rest of his body around.

“Easy.” Madoka encouragingly uttered. She stood on top of the chair, as he slowly attempted a climb back over the edge.

“Waaahhhh!” He wailed as he’d suddenly slipped off the ledge.

“I’ve got you!” Madoka caught his right hand just as it lost its grip on the top railing.

“Don’t let me go!” He screamed.

“I won’t!” She reassured him. “I- I’m going to pull you back!” She tried to pull him back with all her might, but was simply too small and too weak to make headway. 

“Madoka!” Kyubey approached them. “You are not physically capable of lifting a body of  his size. If you are absolutely determined to save his life, you have to make a wish!”

“Y- You’ve got to help me!” She was seemingly deaf to Kyubey’s words while she called out to the young boy. “Y- You’ve got to grab the rail with your hand!”

“I caaaaaan’t!” He shouted. “My other hand’s worthless! It can’t do anything.”

“Then I-” She struggled. “I’ll bring this hand as close as I can to the rail. You can grab it and give me your other hand!”

“I- I…” He stammered.

“You have to try!” The look in her eyes made the urgency abundantly clear to him.

“O- Okay.” She pulled him up as close as she could with all her remaining might.

“On the count of three, give me your other hand!” She said through her teeth.

“I’ll try!” 

“I’m counting to three!” She said, “Ready?” He nodded slightly. One… Two… Threeeee!” She quickly let go as he lunged his damaged left hand up at her. She grabbed at it, and held on to it tightly, while his right hand latched desperately to the window’s railing.

“Now help me pull your body up!” Madoka commanded. “You can do it!” Kamijo mustered all his remaining might and courage as he pulled himself up to her body. She grabbed him by his abdomen, and he flopped over the rail and back into the hospital room.

“You did it, Madoka!” Kyubey congratulated from on top of the bed. “You once again surprise me!” 

Madoka laid out on the floor flat, her teary eyes closed as she tried to catch her breath and collect her wits. She wiped them away and opened them, her head gradually turning towards the rescued Kamijo. To her utter astonishment, he didn’t appear to be relieved. He wasn’t at all frightened, either. He wasn’t even stunned. He was laughing . A most joyous, uplifting laughter, as if he were the happiest person to ever laugh on Earth. He was almost certainly the luckiest right now. Madoka didn’t know what to make of it.

“That Doctor was wrong!” He gleefully held out his bandaged arm. “I felt it! I really really felt it!” He sobbed. “I felt yoooour hands touching miiiiiine!”  

Chapter Text

“Greetings, Sayaka Miki!” Kyubey casually walked underneath the door into the dressing room.

“Waaaaahhhh!” Sayaka cried out as she reflexively covered her breasts and her private parts. “What the hell are you doing here?” She heatedly asked.

“Malls and other gathering places that are heavily trafficked by humans serve as an ideal location for me to search for potential new magical girls.” Kyubey replied. “And conversely, as a place where witches can draw out victims, as well.”

“No!” She sat down on the fitting room bench. “What I mean is-”

“Is everything alright, young lady?” The store clerk knocked on the door.

“Uh, everything’s fine!” She answered. “I- I saw a bug is all!” She kicked at the locked door. “I got it.”    

“Let me know when you decide on a bathing suit.”

“I will.” She hurriedly put on her bra. “Thanks.” She took a few extra breaths to calm down. “What I mean is, what are you doing dropping in on me like this? It’s really really rude!”

“I came to see if you have decided upon your wish yet.” Kyubey leapt onto the bench beside her.

“No, I haven’t!” Sayaka slid away from him. “And frankly, after seeing you double dealing behind my back, I don’t think I should trust you to grant me what I want!”

“Double dealing?” Kyubey promptly jumped off the bench. “Why do you accuse me of duplicitous behavior?”

“Why were you with Madoka?”

“Ah, you mean Madoka Kaname? You seem to have misinterpreted my interest in her as an act of deceit.” He tilted his head at her. “I was with her because she too has the potential to become a magical girl.”

“ Madoka ?” Sayaka narrowed her eyes.

“Yes. He turned his whole body around to face her. “Like you she recently attracted my attention.”

“Let me guess… Because of that Mami chick?”

“Mami is how she and I were formally introduced, yes.”

“Dammit!” Sayaka pounded the wall. “The nerve of that Queen Bee! Tryin’ to mess with me by getting close to my best friend.” She pressed her back against a mirror on the wall. “Please, please don’t make her a magical girl!”

“I cannot promise that.” Kyubey slightly shook his head. “The decision is hers.”

“Can’t you say no?” Sayaka protested. “She’s way too delicate to be out there face-to-face with horrible monsters.”

“Quite the contrary,” Kyubey countered. “She is very much suited to being a magical girl.”

“What?” Sayaka balked. “How do you even judge something like that?”

“A number factors are considered when candidates are chosen.” Kyubey elaborated, “Foremost amongst them is whether they have a pressing need in their lives that can be changed through the power of a wish.”

“But she’s got a great life!” Sayaka threw up her arms. She added, with a tinge of jealousy, “She’s got a lotta things that I sure don’t! A cool mom, a dad who’s always around, a brother, pretty good grades…” She sighed. “I can even name a few of the guys crushin’ on her.”

“On that I cannot speculate.” Kyubey sat up and waved his tail. “I will only say that, whatever the cause, it makes her a much stronger candidate than you. If you do not decide to make a contract, then I will make an offer to her.”

“But I’ve already proven myself, right? Didn’t Kyoko tell you everything about that battle?"

“She has.” He waved his tail back and forth. “That is the reason I still remain interested in you, despite your continued indecisiveness and more limited overall potential.”

“But I don’t get why you would have to choose one over the other? Wouldn’t more magical girls mean this city would be better protected?”

“Unfortunately, past experience has demonstrated that that is not the case. Grief Seeds are a limited resource, and rivalries can spawn from the competition for them.”

“So that’s Mami’s game? Buddy up with Madoka and knock Kyoko straight outta town?”

“The two of them would make a highly formidable pairing,” Kyubey stated. “Her keen survival skills notwithstanding, Kyoko alone would not stand a chance against them if they were to become partners.”

“Damn her!”

“Your involvement as a magical girl would do little to alter that scenario. Indeed, it would most likely lead to further unnecessary conflict.” Kyubey turned his back away from her. “Therefore, if you cannot think of a wish, I think it would be in the best interest of all involved if I were to hereby rescind my offer to you.”

“You can’t do that!” Sayaka protested. “Gimme a little more time! Just let me think of a way to keep anybody else from getting hurt. Then I’ll have a wish made ready for you.”

Kyubey tilted his head. “Very well.” He wagged his tail. “I shall give you one more day to consider your options.” He lowered his back and wriggled his way out the dressing room door. 

***

“Gaaaaaahhhh!” Kyoko shouted in frustration as time expired on her game session. “Daaaammnnit! Second place again!”

‘CONGRATULATIONS!’ The screen flashed in front of her. ‘PLEASE ENTER YOUR NAME!’ “Tch!” Kyoko grumpily tapped her name into the machine. ‘5TH: KYOKO… 4TH: KYOKO… 3RD: KYOKO… 2ND: KYOKO…’ Then the screen flashed to the display the scoring leader with a crackle of digital fireworks and a frenzied party of dancing stuffed animal mascots. ‘CHAMPION: HOMU! GAME OVER!’ Five tries and she still couldn’t take the top spot.  

Kyoko reached into her pockets for another go, only to find that she was fresh out of cash. “Shit!” She hopped off the dance platform. She quickly scanned the carpeted floor, hoping some careless patron had dropped some spare change she could lap up for herself.

“Ah ha!” She lunged for a Yen coin that was jutting out from underneath another arcade cabinet. A decent start, but still not enough. 

“C’mon baby! C’mon!” She overheard a guy shouting nearby. A young man was thoroughly engrossed in a racing game, sitting in the simulated driver’s seat. His coat and belongings were neatly tucked out of sight behind him. He’d be an incredibly easy mark, she thought to herself. He’d never notice her sneaking up from behind and taking his money. “Just a little moooorre!” She crouched down and crept closer. “Alllllmost theeeere!” Still totally oblivious. She reached into his coat pocket. “Alllriggght!” She could feel his wallet in her fingers.

“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” Two little girls startled her from behind. Kyoko jumped back and scurried for cover.

“Yeah? What is it, sweethearts?” The young man hopped to his feet and turned around.

“We’re done with the rocketship game now!” The taller girl said.

“Yeah! It was fun!” The shorter one echoed.

“Oh? What would you two princesses like to play next?”

The girls looked around the arcade. “That one!” The taller sibling pointed to the dancing game Kyoko had just played.

“Can we both play it?” The other girl asked.

“Alllllllright! It looks like two can play side by side.” The young father made his way over to the game. “Oh? Uh, can I help you with something, Miss?” He finally noticed Kyoko hovering nearby.

“Uh, n- no, Sir.” Kyoko shuffled awkwardly towards the exit. “S- Sorry.” She bowed apologetically. “I’m sorry... That I bothered you.”

***

The vanilla-colored white swimsuit she was trying on was her least expensive option. But she still had her eyes on the orange-striped bikini from before. And now a different, orange and yellow two piece on the rack outside had just dropped in price as well. Sayaka just couldn’t seem to make up her mind. 

“Who am I really trying to impress here?” She asked herself as she looked in the mirror. It was a valid question to ask. It wasn't like Kyosuke Kamijo was going to be seen at the beach anytime soon. And she couldn’t have cared less about whatever fashion was trending.

“It is quite the conundrum.” A familiar voice said outside her changing room. “Should I go with the black one piece suit, or the gold two piece?” Sayaka crept the door open and peeked out into the showroom.

“Oh, crap!” Sayaka gasped. “Ohcrapohcrapohcrap!” She closed and latched the door. The voice belonged to the substitute English teacher, Miss Jones, who was standing right outside. What a revolting coincidence that she, on this one time that she was “seizing” the day by not going to school, also happened to be the one time she encountered a teacher out in the wild? 

What if Miss Jones sees her in here? What would she do? Would she report it to the administrative staff? Would she say something about it to Miss Yamazaki? Would that get her kicked off the team? Would her parents find out about it and force her to take that awful dishwashing job? She was laying there on the bench, hands between her knees, panickedly flipping through entire scenarios for her soon-to-be ruined life.

“No…” She thought again. “It’s going to be fine.” She reassured herself. She hadn’t been seen yet. “Just sit tight ‘til she moves on.”

“Hey!” The door rattled with a loud thud. “You done in there, Miss?” She knocked again. “I’ve got a set I wanna try on!” It was Miss Jones knocking. No way out! 

“G- Go use the other changing rooms, please?” Sayaka replied in a disguised, much girlier tone. “I- I’m still making up my mind!”

“Hmmmm. The others are occupied.” She knocked again. “And frankly, that sales clerk’s getting a bit cross with you, said you’d been holding this one hostage.” She was trapped for sure!

“O- Oh. Okay.” Damn. She stood up, gulped and stepped to the door. “I’m coming out.” Damn. She was going to have to face the music. Damn. She unlatched the door and slowly peeked her head out. Damn.

“Ahhhhhh, Miss Clown!” Miss Jones wryly cocked her head to the side. “Fancy meeting you out and about, on a day when you seem to have neglected your singular responsibility to attend school.”

“S- Sorry.” Sayaka apologized. “I- I can explain.” She added.

“I’d certainly be interested in hearing your excuse.” Miss Jones craned her neck.

“You see I…” Sayaka’s mind raced. “My cousin…” She’d suddenly remembered her previous lie to Yamazaki. “Yeeeeaaaah, my cousin!”

“What about your cousin?” Miss Jones raised her brow.

“She- Y’see, she came into town the other day.” Sayaka went on. “We don’t- She’s from way out of town and we don’t see each other that much, and since she’s never been to Mitakihara… I- I thought I’d take a day and show her around. You know?”

“So where is this ‘cousin’ of yours, exactly?” Miss Jones asked.

“Kyoko!” Sayaka shouted, pointing to the red-haired girl standing and waiting around right outside the entrance. What a brilliant stroke of good luck that she’d finally left the arcade. “Hey! Kyoko!” She said even louder while waving her inside. “Over here!”

“Eh?” Kyoko sauntered inside. “Ya’ want somethin’ or somethin’?”

“I’d like you to meet my cousin Kyoko!” Sayaka met her halfway and took her hand. 

“Wh-?” Sayaka affectionately pressed her cheek to Kyoko’s before she could speak up. Her face blushed red immediately upon contact with Sayaka’s.

“Pleased to meet you.” Miss Jones courteously curtseyed.

“Kyoko, this is one of my teachers at school.” She put her hand around Kyoko’s back and forced her into an awkward curtsey. “I was just telling her that the reason I wasn’t in class today was so that I could show you around town.” She grinned at Kyoko with her gnashed teeth.

“Oh…” Kyoko’s eyes went wide as she finally caught on to Sayaka’s little subterfuge. “Oh! Yeah!” She instantly smirked. “You’re a real pal! Thanks for showin’ me around this place, ‘Cuz!” She playfully punched Sayaka’s arm. “Real swell of ya’ and stuff!”

“I can see the family resemblance.” Miss Jones remarked. “Still, my point remains… You should have given us foreknowledge of your absence. This morning I could practically smell the fumes coming out of Yamazaki's ears.”

“It was a little short notice.” Sayaka replied. “But I told her about it.”

“Yeah sorry, I…. Kinda just… Popped in outta nowhere on her.” Kyoko nodded.

“If I recall, the school also offers day long visitor’s passes.” Miss Jones put her hand on Kyoko’s shoulder. “You’d be more than welcome to come in tomorrow and hang out with her, if you’d like.” She offered. “So long as you aren’t disruptive in class.”

“I…” Kyoko sniffed at the hand on her shoulder. “I’ll think it over.” She curtly answered. She promptly plucked the inviting hand off.

“Is there an issue over here?” The clerk interrupted.

“Oh… Nope! No problems at all!” Miss Jones picked her swimsuits off the chair sitting by the changing room. “Y’know what? Why be choosy when I can indulge myself?” She pulled out a card. “You don’t happen to have any sort of, buy one, get one deal going one by any chance?” She followed the clerk over to the counter, with Kyoko unexpectedly following her lock step from behind.

“We have been trying to clear out inventory before the new season…” The clerk opened a door behind the sales desk. “Tell you what, I’ll talk to the manager. See what we can do.”

“Thank you!” Miss Jones said appreciatively.

“Kyoko, what are you up to?” Sayaka whispered and waved the girl back over to her by the changing rooms.

“Something’s… Weird about that broad.”

“What do you mean?” Sayaka hastily went back into the changing room and changed out of the bathing suit.

“There’s somethin’ ‘bout her. It doesn't smell right.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sayaka said through the door.

“I couldn’t sense nuthin’ ‘til she got real real close, but…” Kyoko glanced over to the front desk. “I’m sensin’ some magic on her.”

“Huh?” Sayaka peeked out. “Her? Can’t be.” She closed the door and put the rest of her casual clothes back on. “Isn’t she like, too old to be a magical girl?”

“I mean… I dunno.” Kyoko scratched her nose. “Never asked Kyubey if there’s a cut-off age for the gig.” Kyoko creeped over towards the front desk.

“She’s a teacher. She interacts with a lot of other girls.” Sayaka hustled over to Kyoko. “Didn’t you say you also sensed other magical girls at my school?” She put on her shoes while they lurked closer. “Maybe you’re getting a whiff of them on her?”

“Hm. I dunno. I guess?” Kyoko whispered back. “It’d be the first time I’ve ever sensed anything like that happen’, though.”

“We aren’t presently offering any kind of ‘Buy one, get one’ deal.” The Manager approached Miss Jones.

“You’re sure?” Miss Jones smiled as she waved her finger repetitively in front of the two. “Your clerk said you were clearing inventory. How ‘bout a… Buy two, get one half-off deal?” The two girls watched her intently from behind. “Or maybe three?” Her entire hand was waving back and forth now.

“There iiiiiiiiiis…” The clerk stopped and started again. “We do have a policy that’s exclusively during clearance events.”

“You dooooo?” Her eyes widened.

“Yesssss.” The Manager added. “You can get one free if you purchase three!”

“Didja see that?” Kyoko whispered from behind a clothing rack. “The way she’s moving her hand around? I think she’s tryin’ to hypnotize ‘em!”

“Woooonderful!” Miss Jones cheered. “But now I gotta go find two other bathing suits.”

“You’re being ridiculous.” Sayaka watched along. “She’s a smooth-talker, is all.”

“Can we help you girls?” The two at the front desk finally noticed the two of them hiding in plain sight.

“I, uh, I wanna buy this swimsuit.” Sayaka approached the desk with the vanilla white bathing suit in hand.

“Hey, I have an idea…” Miss Jones turned to Sayaka. “Find another swimsuit and I’ll pay for yours, too. How’s that sound?”

“Gee that’s…” Sayaka tilted her head skeptically. “Awfully generous. What’s in it for you?”

“Moi?” Miss Jones whimsically pointed at herself. “Why, nothing more than the good graces of a needful pupil.” She leaned in toward Sayaka’s ear. “And the assurance that you won’t play hookie again.”  

“Hey!” Kyoko quickly snatched up a frilly green and blue swimsuit. “I like free stuff! Mind if I take this one?”

“I promise.” Sayaka swallowed.

“That’s a good girl.” Miss Jones smiled. “Guess I must be in a really good mood today.” The two workers behind the desk began scanning the price tags.

“Uh, on second thought,” Sayaka pulled her swimsuit back. “There’s a more expensive orange striped one that I really wanted, but I’ll pay you the difference. Can I go get it? Is that okay?”

“Oh?” Miss Jones looked back at her. “You wanna press your luck? Tell ya’ what, you study hard and score at least an eighty-five on your next exam, we’ll call it even.”

“An eighty five?” Sayaka couldn’t recall the last time she fared well on an English test. “Fine. I’ll pay you back if I don’t, though.”

“Splendid!” Miss Jones pulled out her card. “You best study hard, now!”

“I’ll try.” Sayaka said with a fake smile while she retreated from the checkout desk.

“Somebody bein’ that buddy-buddy is definitely hidin’ somethin’.” Kyoko put her hand to Sayaka’s shoulder. “Y’know, maybe I should go to that school with ya’ tomorrow.” Kyoko nudged Sayaka as she slid by. “That way, I can do a bit of recon work.”

***

“Those ribbons are really cute! Where’d you get them?” Kyosuke Kamijo reached for her hair.

“M- My Momma gave them to me for my birthday.” Madoka leaned toward him. “But I only started wearing them to school a little bit ago.”

“Do you mind if I-” He tugged a little bit on one of the red ribbons tying her short, twin-tailed hair.

“Not at all!” Madoka put her hand up against his, as he tried to untie it.

“It feels so soft.” He struggled to loosen the knot. “And your hand is...Warm.” He smiled with the realization that his damaged hand really was sensing another human’s soft touch.

“Do you need… My help?” Madoka awkwardly positioned herself even closer as he tried to tug harder.

“I think I can…” He loosened the knot. “Got it!” He enthusiastically pulled it out as her bunched hair plopped over his hand. 

“Do you wanna try the other one?” Madoka offered.

“It’s fine.” Kyosuke sat up while he rubbed the ribbon through his fingertips. “Besides, you look much better this way.”

“Wehehehee.” Madoka sheepishly laughed. 

“What are those?” A set of drawings in a notebook inside Madoka’s unzipped book bag on the floor had caught his attention.

“These?” Madoka blushed as she hastily grabbed her book bag. “Nothing. I like to doodle stuff in class.”

“Can I see them?” He asked with an unmistakable excitement.

“O- Okay.” She took them out.

“Is that you?” The colored-in drawing of a girl in a frilly, pink dress jumped right to his attention.

“How’d you know?” She giggled.

“Your smile.” He joked. Her giggle escalated to a full laugh. “What are you wearing?”

“I don’t wanna say.” Madoka’s blush turned redder. “It’s totally embarrassing.” 

“It looks like you’re a magical girl to me.” 

“Wauuuugh!” She cried while she reflexively hid her face in her hands. “So embarrassing!”

“Oh, no!” He apologized. “It’s cool!” He was now the one who was blushing with embarrassment. “I- I watch those anime on TV, too!”

“Eh?” Madoka peeked out.

“It’s not like… There’s not a lot of other stuff for me to do while I’m cooped up here.” 

“I’ve…” Madoka’s eyes quickly checked on Kyubey who was quietly observing atop a table. “Always thought that if I were able to help others, that would be wonderful.” She smiled. Kyubey twitched his tail and perked his head.

“You helped me. You saved my life.” Kyosuke wrapped the ribbon around his bandaged hand and up his arm. “Please don’t tell anybody what I tried.” He pressed his hand to her cheek. “I don’t know what came over me.” He leaned closer to her. “But when the Doctor said those things, I…” He choked. “I lost all hope.”

“Don’t worry.” Madoka made a zipping motion over her mouth. “Your secret is safe with me.” She pressed her hand to his as the waning sunlight shined an angelic spotlight upon her form.

“Thank you! You gave me hope again...” His lips artlessly puckered as he carefully arched toward her other cheek. “My Magical Girl!”

***

“... He- He kissed her.” Homura watched the two souls through a pair of augmented binoculars from a distant rooftop.

“Say what?” Sayaka gasped next to her.

“Now it appears he’s kissing her other cheek.”

“Noooooo way!” Sayaka impulsively yanked the binoculars away with its strap still draped around Homura’s neck. “Weeeeird!” Her jaw fell slack while she stared.

“This.... This has not happened. Before.” Homura ducked under the taut strap.

“I can’t understand how it’s happening now!” Sayaka gawked. “Geez! All that time we spent hanging out… All those rare CDs I tracked down for him… And all I really needed to seal the deal was a red ribbon?” She sarcastically laughed. “Damn it!”

“I’m sure... There’s more to this chain of events than what we’ve witnessed.” Homura folded her arms as she stared towards the hospital building.

“There’d damn well better be!” She quickly passed the binoculars back. “He kissed her on the forehead!” She choked on her words while she wiped her eyes. “That’s three more times than he’s ever kissed me!” She kicked a pebble off the rooftop.

“Are you going to be alright?” Homura looked one more time through the eyepiece, but chose to watch Kyubey on the table.

“Arrrghhh!” She grunted. “N- No. Not right now!” She collapsed to her knees as the sunlight disappeared over the horizon behind the mountains. “It feels like someone cheap shot me right in the gut…” She cradled her ringed hand to her stomach. “But somehow…” She clenched and opened her other hand against her heart. “Eventually…” She sighed deeply out of both resignation and relief. “I think I’m gonna be!” 

Homura knelt down and helped her comrade get back on her feet. “Thanks.” Sayaka propped herself on Homura’s arm. “Thanks for asking.” She dried her eyes and half-smiled.

“Apple juice.”

“Apple juice?”

“My dad used to bring me some apple juice, when my tummy got sore.” Sayaka recalled as they stepped in tandem down the maintenance stairs. “I think it would really hit the spot right about now. Haveta ask Miss Jones to synthesize some.”

“There’s no need for that. I’ll buy some for you.”

“Gee, that’s awful kind of you. You really do care!”

“I’m trying.” Homura snuck a glance back toward the hospital. She wasn’t going to say it, but at that moment she too had a precipitous thirst for apple juice.

“I heard looking at it makes you smarter.” One student whispered to the one behind him. “That it shows you everything, that is and was, or ever will be, and you learn about it all at once.”

“Then why would they go through all the trouble of teaching us things in class?” Another student questioned. “That’s daft!”

“Next student!” A tutor’s voice thundered through the cavernous valley where all the advancing students were lined up.

“No, I heard it inspires you to be smarter.” A different student speculated. “All the failing students were sent home, yes, and the rest of us go through it like a sort of rite of passage.” He said self-assuredly. “And the ones who look into that get inspired, they become the part of the Time Lord Elites.”

“But what about the ones who run?” Another student asked. 

“They don’t become Time Lords. Obviously.”

“Then why aren’t they kicked out like the ones who failed?”

“Next student!” Called The Voice.

“Because…” The student looked around, then put his hand to his mouth and leaned in. The sound of a terrified scream in the distance completely muffled his answer.

“I heard it drives you mad.” A student ahead in line gulped.

“Next student!” The Voice commanded. A brave student marched forward.

“What? Why are you talking about madness?”

“It takes your soul from your body and for a moment your whole being warps outside the whole Universe!” The student glared back toward the rest. “And when you come back, you’re not the same ‘you’ anymore!” This student was the very next in line.

“Next student!” The previous student rushed past them all in a dead run, running away from their friend.

“I don’t wanna change! I wanna be me! I don’t wanna change! I wanna be me! I don’t wanna change!” Two tutors came and escorted the scared child onwards.

“That’s the daftest thing I’ve heard yet!” The self-assured student said. “That would mean that all our tutors, and all their supervisors, and all our world's leaders are crazy! It doesn’t make any sense!”

“What do you think looking into it does?” The student behind her asked. The Young Gallifreyan Girl simply shook her head and bit her lip.

“Next student!” Finally it was her turn. A pair of tall, red and gold-cloaked tutors came to her escort.

“W- What’s it called?” The Gallifreyan Girl innocently asked.

“Untempered Schism.” One of the escorts flatly answered.

“Will it hurt me?”

“Yes.” 

“Pain is simply a part of growing up.” The other escort said. “Think of it as akin to losing your first vestigial tooth, or spraining your ankle at play. It will forge a memory from which the Better You shall be crafted.” His reassurement prompted only a brief, snobbish glare from his counterpart.

“Welcome, Young Miss!” A longer-robed figure approached. “I’ve had my eyes on you for quite some time now.” He bent over and peered straight into her eyes.

“On me?” She tried to recognize his face. He was no tutor she'd ever met.

“Indeed.” He grinned. “It could even be said that you have I to thank for the expedited approval of your Initiation.” He strode over to the table and grabbed a rolled-up scroll. “You should be feeling most honored.”

“Um,” She still couldn’t pin his face. “Thank you?”

“There is no need for that.” He unwrapped the scroll and unrolled it. “Living up to my great expectations of you shall be thanks enough.” He began reading rather dogmatically from the scroll’s text. Wait, she thought to herself, was he that god awful, long-winded speaker from her first day?

“Very well, then.” Moments that felt like hours later, he finished. “Take this.” He pulled a fob watch from his pocket.

“A watch?” She examined its cover.

“It is your watch.” He insisted. “Proof of your Initiation. A keepsake of all Time Lords.”

He stepped behind her and gently patted her shoulders “Step forth.” He pushed. “Embrace your destiny!”

She reluctantly traipsed down the path. There it stood before her, that decorated portal containing a swirling vortex, a most mysterious gap the very fabric of reality itself.

“Look.” The escort gruffly commanded. Though she couldn’t not look. Its very presence demanded attention. She clutched onto the watch with both hands, her eyes widened as she crept ever closer. What sorts of premonitions were boring into her brain at that moment, what raw information? What sort of abstractions, what concepts? She tried desperately to process the dizzying flow of ideas, but the more of it she could grasp, the less she comprehended.

The watch in her hands was glowing, radiating a golden energy. She stepped closer, the more unpleasant it felt, the more she felt the need to experience it. The whole Universe was calling to her, its silent-but-fearsome wail imprinting past her senses and straight into her very soul. 

Now was the moment she both anticipated and dreaded, for she saw all her possible reactions at once. Would she become that inspired girl who would go on to lead the Gallifreyan Academic Ministry… Or be the mad power-broker within the Celestial Intelligence Agency… Or be the girl who ran… And ran.... And ran… 

“Miss Jones!” A girl whispered to her as her hand tapped on her shoulder.

“Keep it down.” The other girl whispered. “You’ll awaken Nagisa.”

“Unnnghhh…” Miss Jones felt the damp puddle of her own drool on the blanket underneath her cheek. “I was reading her a bedtime story. Must’ve dozed off for a spell.” She took a handkerchief from her coat pocket and dried the spot on the blanket. “Let’s take it outside.” She got out of her seat and closed the opened book in her lap. The group then quietly removed themselves from the sleeping young girl’s bedroom. 

“What’d you two learn?” Miss Jones asked.

“This timeline is extremely unusual.” Homura sipped from a straw some liquid in a juice pouch.

“And it’s getting weirder by the second.” Sayaka added, sipping from a pouch of her own. “Plus the console’s beeping all loud and stuff.”

“Beeping?” She waved the girls to the Control Room door. “Alright, let’s have a look.”

“Is there a problem?” Homura questioned while Miss Jones typed.

“No.” Miss Jones studied the display as she flicked through a set of switches. “Quite the opposite.” She added. “The computer has locked onto the quantum energy signature from that dimension your magic accesses. Took it a little longer than I expected, but it seems to be good news.”

“So what does that mean?” Sayaka wondered.

“Means that, soon enough, provided we bust outta this causality loop and I get the supplies,” Miss Jones hit a key that put the screen data onto a printout. “I’ll be able to craft something that’ll transport your depleted ectomatter directly into that dimension. No further need to stuff overloading crystals up Homura’s sleeve.”

“Sweet.” Sayaka said as she gulped her juice.

“Have you devised a means of defeating Walpurgisnacht?” Homura asked.

“Barely started, to be honest.” Miss Jones answered. “I was going to start by diving into the local folklore, then comparing it against other documented transdimensional crossrip events in my database, but as luck would have it, somebody’s already checked out all the relevant books in town.”

“Mami Tomoe,” Homura namedropped. “She’s often the first to learn of its arrival, so she does her homework.” She motioned towards the exit. “I did however, obtain my own duplicate copies and keep them on a protected data device in my home. I’ll go retrieve them now.” She opened the door and took a step.

“No, wait!” Miss Jones dashed over and grabbed her a split second before Homura could exit. “Stop right there!”

“What're-” A flustered Homura jerked away from her grip.

“Have a look.” She pointed to a figure behind a potted plant across the mall’s walkway. Sayaka joined the two in the doorframe. 

“Kyubey!” The angered Homura stepped back. “Damn it!”

“My fault.” Miss Jones apologized. “I should’ve realized the beeping was in fact, the TARDIS’s Proximity Alarm going off.”

“No, it’s my fault!” Homura countered. “I should have stopped the flow of time before we returned.”

“You’re both wrong!” Sayaka cried. “I wanted apple juice. I left him a trail to follow back here.” She frustratedly squeezed the rest of her juice onto the floor. “Stupid screw up!” She slammed her juice pouch against the wall.

“Clearly we’ve each made an unforced error.” Miss Jones said in consoling voice. “Fortunately,” She closed the door. “The ship’s Perceptual Filter is doing its job in keeping him on his back foot.” She trotted to the control console and flipped on the sensor system. “We’re safe as long as we're here.” The image zoomed in on Kyubey with his white, rabbit-like appendages perked out. “At worst, he saw you disappear in a spot. That’s all. He’s seen that before, and waiting for you to reappear somewhere close by.”

“He’ll be watching this area like a hawk now!” Sayaka winced in anger.

“I suppose you’ll have to crash here for the night again.” Miss Jones extended the offer to Homura.

“Have you at least formulated a plan to capture him?” Homura folded her arms.

“Indeed, I have.” Miss Jones winked.

Sayaka and Homura both glanced at each other. “Care to elaborate?”

“Why, I’m going to use his own attachment to Madoka against him, of course. Once she’s in the right place, he’ll be in the right place.”

“She’s going to protect him.” Homura pointed out.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s what the bunnycat’s counting on, too.” She nodded. “That’s why he’s going to turn himself in willingly.”

The two girls skeptically raised their brows. “How?” Sayaka asked. Miss Jones simply smiled and pointed to her head.

“Soon enough, you’ll see!” Miss Jones picked the trashed juice pouch up and slotted it into one of the circular indentations. “For now, patience.” She pressed a button and a filled container of apple juice appeared inside. She poured some juice into a pair of cups and handed them to the girls. “Patience and calm. We’ll leave all together at once for school tomorrow, using your powers. Let him waste his time searching. At least that one won’t be making any contracts tonight.”

***

“Hey, Homura?” Sayaka turned towards Homura as they went to their rooms, Sayaka in a set of pajamas with her apple juice in hand, and Homura in her school clothes. 

“What is it?” Homura replied.

“That room of yours has an extra bed, doesn’t it?”

“Apparently. Miss Jones said it was once a VIP room.”

“Would you mind if I…” Sayaka hesitated.

“Hm?” Homura’s head tilted inquisitively.

“I-” Sayaka swallowed some apple juice and started over again. “I really don’t want to be alone right now. I need somebody to talk to.”

“I’m really not much of a talker.”

“That’s fine.” Sayaka took a sip. “I just need someone who will listen. Please?” She contritely smiled. “If I bug you too much, you can ki-”

“Fine.” Homura motioned her head. “Go easy on the apple juice.”

***

“It says: ‘Don’t listen to them. Don’t despair. There’s so much more to you than your talent’.” Madoka read the curious note she’d found folded on the table beside Kyosuke’s bed. 

“Does it say who it’s from?” Kyosuke wiped a tear from his eye. The note might have been short and simple, but it touched his heart.

“No, it doesn’t.” Madoka handed it to him. “Maybe it was one of the nurses?”

“Maybe.” Kyosuke set the note on a tray, picked up a pencil with his bandaged hand, and started drawing on it.

“What are you doing?” Madoka asked.

“Proving them right.” He painfully winced as he doodled.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Madoka reached.

“Yeah!” He powered on. “The best pain I’ve ever had in my life!”

“Don’t strain yourself too much.” Madoka could tell he was drawing a crude figure of a person. “Who is that supposed to be?”

“You.”  Kyosuke smiled. “My Magical Girl.” The outline was finished, he started adding detail.

“Antlers?”

“Earphones.” Kyosuke corrected. He drew a long, flowing scarf draping from her neck.

“And those big boots?”

“Rocket boots!” He added a set of tail fins on her abdomen and a broad pair of round shoulder joints.

“Isn’t that a bit much?” Madoka giggled.

“Maybe you’re right.” Kyosuke erased the shoulders and replaced them with a set of  large, armored forearms. 

“Wehehee! It’s cute!” Madoka’s phone unexpectedly rang. “It’s my Papa!” She answered it.

“Do you have to go home now?” Kyosuke asked while scribbling a row of lines, then spreading dots and intersecting lines across each row.

“I have to. It’s dinner time.” Madoka’s eyes checked on his progress. “What are you making now?”

“Music.” Kyosuke penciled in musical notes along the lines. “Notes for your transformation song.”

“Weehehee!” Madoka took the drawing and tucked it into her book bag. “I promise I'll come see you again soon.” 

“Thank you!” Kyosuke gratefully waved her goodbye.

“Madoka,” Kyubey finally said as they rode the elevator. “Have you forgotten the reason you came to this hospital in the first place?”

“Huh? I, uh-” Madoka suddenly noticed the other note, the reason she came here, still residing where she put it. 

“You still haven’t located your friend.” He waved his tail from side to side. “Your only clue now is that note.”

Madoka tried Sayaka’s phone one last time as she checked over the letter. The envelope seal had already come apart. The sun was setting, and she still had no clue where her best friend might be. Still no answer from her phone, and she needed to be home soon. The temptation to read it was getting more and more overwhelming. What else was she supposed to do?

***

“... And according to the book, there’s like, all these different kinds of energy that exist in the abstract!” Sayaka paced as she rambled on. “Heck there’s even this whole race of beings who feed upon it! They can zap you right out of time and suck up the energy from the life you were supposed to live!” She glugged her glass of apple juice. “It sounds so crazy-amazing, doesn’t it?” 

“It’s not really any crazier than a creature that feeds on human emotional weaknesses.” Homura sipped.

“That’s exactly what I mean!” Sayaka exclaimed. “So that got me wondering whether witches really are these evil monsters bent on causing tragedy and chaos, like Kyubey says, or if they’re just another animal that’s preying upon the easy targets. And after thinking that idea over, well, if it’s the latter, I wondered if I should really hate such a thing that’s only guilty of following its instinct. It’d be like hating a crane for swallowing a goldfish.”

“Are you…” Homura slid up in her bed. “Siding with the witch?”

Sayaka stopped pacing. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean it to make it sound that way.” She went to the table between their beds and poured herself some apple juice. “While we were training together, Miss Jones told me never to assume what an opponent can do, or what their real motives are. So I started thinking more into it, that’s all.” She sipped her juice and sighed. “At least, I think it would help me be better at tracking them down, be more like you.”

“Mami Tomoe was the expert witch tracker.” Homura corrected. “I simply added statistical evaluations to the subject after having lived through so many timelines.”

“Geez, that must have been rough on you.” Sayaka imagined. “I watched Mami die, had Kyoko's blade right at my throat, then saw Madoka make her contract, and those still keep me up at night. I can’t imagine watching it all happen over and over again.” She shook her glass around in a circular motion. “Or seeing me fly apart the way I did.” She rubbed her palm against her forehead. “I can sorta of see how you’d start to think putting me out of my misery was merciful.”

“I did it for Madoka.” Homura insisted. “She’s had to watch you suffer far more than I.”

“You thought that if I’d vanished mysteriously, rather than died as a certainty, it’d be easier for her to handle?” Sayaka questioned. “I have to question the logic of that.”

“To be honest, that I found at all that night was purely a coincidence. Your movement patterns and behavior after you stop attending school tend to get so erratic that it became unproductive to even try to predict it.” She poured herself some apple juice. “When I saw you there, I only saw a chance to mitigate further fallout from your spiraling condition.”

“So… Basically your logic was something along the lines of preventing a familiar from becoming a witch.” Sayaka sipped her drink. “And here I thought you and Kyoko were against killing familiars.” 

Homura quickly shot her an upsettingly dismayed stare. “Geez! Would you lighten up? I was joking!” Sayaka apologized.

The awkward tension between them built, though Homura’s uneasy gaze slowly eased, as she spoke another confession. “I was hunting the familiar you destroyed. There was a one in five chance it would’ve evolved and found Madoka.”  They simultaneously took a big, uneasy glug of juice. Sayaka poured some more and slid back in her bed. 

“So what did Kyoko do after I vanished?”

“Does it matter?” 

“I didn’t see her fighting Walpurgisnacht with you.”

Homura was silent for a minute. Was she trying to remember, or not certain she should answer?

“Without either Mami Tomoe or you to care about," She finally said. "Kyoko typically prioritizes her own survival. It’s actually rare that she stays around to face Walpurgisnacht.” Homura's eyes glanced over and noticed the disappointed look on Sayaka’s face. “But she did say that she was going to be looking around for you. I suppose I have no reason to doubt her claim.” Homura sipped with her eyes locked tight on that glass of juice.

The two went silent for another minute.

“So... When’s your birthday?” Sayaka tried breaking the ice again.

“Excuse me?” Homura asked.

“Tell me your birthday. I wanna know.”

“Why does that matter?” Homura just glared.

“Because you’re Madoka’s friend. And I’m Madoka’s friend,” Sayaka swirled her finger around her glass. “But I don’t know anything about you. What do you like? What do you dislike? Who are the other people in your life... Where are the places you’ve been, I have no clue!” She sipped. “I wanna change that.” She took a small sip. “That is, if you wanna tell me.”

They were silent for another minute.

“I don’t know my birthday.” Homura uttered in a single relenting breath.

“You don’t?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Sayaka immediately pressed.

“Because I’m an orphan.” Homura took a large sip of juice. “I was left at an orphanage when I was about a week old. The only things the workers found with me were a blanket, a basket, and a name pinned to it.”

“Wow. For reals?” Sayaka’s curious eyes widened.

“They tried to find out who I might’ve belonged to, searched for a birth certificate or hospital records, but they could never find anything.” Homura recalled. “When I was older, I was taken in by the local Catholic Church. That’s where I grew up.”

“Woah. So you’ve never had a birthday party?”

“I received an extra present from the Nuns during Christmas, when they could afford it.” Homura paused and looked up to the ceiling. “Christmas was the one with the trees and gifts, right?”

“Yup, that’s Christmas. Makes people think of snow, and Santa too.” Sayaka politely sipped. “Was the church a nice place to be?”

“The Nuns were accommodating enough.”

“That’s good to hear.” 

They sat in silence for another minute, backs flat on their beds, eyes unblinking towards the ceiling above. “Can I ask… What were you in the hospital for?”

Homura’s eyes spared a momentary glance. “Surgery.” She answered. “I had a heart defect. It’s not an issue now that I’m a magical girl.”

“Oh.” Sayaka nodded. “Yeah. That’s a good way to see it.” She fidgeted with her own magical ring on her finger. “I guess.”

Another silent minute passed. Sayaka sipped. Homura sipped.

“Did you have any friends you left behind?” Sayaka asked. “Back in Tokyo?”

“No.” Homura closed her eyes. “I didn’t have any.”

“What? No friends at all?” Sayaka’s head tilted at her. “For reals?”

“Yes.” She sensed Homura was growing a little testy.

“Boyfriend?”

“What?”

“Did you leave a boyfriend behind?” Sayaka elaborated.

“No!” Homura was now clearly irked by her forward question.

“What? That’s not right! You’re gorgeous!” Homura glowered at her. “Er, sorry. I didn’t mean it like… I’m just trying to be encouraging.” She took a big, embarrassed gulp of juice. “How ‘bout from class?”

“What? N-”

“I mean, if I’m honest, much as I really liked Kyosuke, he’s not really all that cute, y’know?” Sayaka awkwardly babbled. “I mean, Senoue and Ohtani’s at the top of everybody’s list, then there’s Tokoi and Kobayashi in second, not to mention Naganuma and Setsumaru.” She chortled. “They’d all be lucky to be with you! Heck, even if Nakazawa’s a huge dork, I’m sure he'd-”

“I don’t care !” Homura snapped. “About the boys in class!” She punctuated. “At all!”

“Sorry.” Sayaka  apologized.

The two sat on their beds quietly sipping apple juice and not looking at one another for an agonizing couple of minutes.

“I’m...” Sayaka tried breaking the ice one more time. “Rrrrreally into dolphins.”

“Huh?” Homura snorted.

“I mean, not into dolphins like... Into boys,” Sayaka clumsily corrected herself, “They’re my favorite animal. Have you got a...” Homura’s typically aloof face was getting increasingly incensed by her inanity of her chatter. Sayaka had clearly worn out her welcome. “Sorry I bothered you,” Her dejected voice croaked another apology. “What was I thinking?” She slammed her drink on the table between the beds, jumped off her bed and rushed for the door. “Stupid. I’m so stupid.”

“...Seals.” She heard Homura gingerly utter contritely as she reached the door. Sayaka abruptly stopped in the open doorway and turned her head. “I was once allowed to pet a baby at the aquarium in Tokyo.” Homura’s expression had settled into something resembling contrition. “When I was very young.” 

“You... Were?” Sayaka reluctantly turned around. She slowly climbed back onto her bed. Homura glugged her juice. “Was that the one on the north side of the city?” She asked once she felt comfortable enough to speak again.

“I don’t know.” Homura sighed and poured herself more. “It was whichever was the closest to the Church.” 

“I remember back when I was little, my parents would take me to that aquarium, and this one time they let me get close to the dolphin pool, and I got the chance to feed them some fish.” Sayaka smiled nostalgically. “I remember that was one of the best days of my life!” Sayaka poured some apple juice into her own glass and glugged a mouthful. “But the next day,” She swallowed. “My parents told me that we were moving away to some town called ‘Mitakihara’, I cried the whole rest of the day.” She sipped. “I Couldn’t stand the thought of leaving our home or that’d I’d never ever see the kids I played with at the park again. Worst day of my life ‘til then.” She glugged the rest of the glass. “But, if we hadn’t moved here, then I wouldn’t have met Madoka later. Nor Kyosuke, or Hitomi. Strange how something you think is the worst thing that could happen to you can turn out to be for the best. Y’know?” She reflexively poured herself another drink as Homura watched her in quiet contemplation.

“The best day of my life,” Homura spoke while she introspectively stared at her glass. “I guess it could be said that it began as my worst.” She sighed with palpable yearning. “It was my first day here in school. I was completely useless in class. Knew nothing of the lessons. Too weak to participate in gym. I remember feeling so miserable, so discouraged that I really wanted to die.” She slowly took a sip. “That was how a witch found me.”

“Really?” Sayaka swiftly sat up. “Was it- Did Mami come to your rescue?”

“Yes.” Homura sipped again. “And Madoka.”

“No way!” Sayaka put her drink on the table. “Wait, hold on... You mean I wasn’t there with them?”

“Not in the beginning.” Homura continued. “It was only Mami and Madoka, and they trusted I’d keep their magical girl lives a secret. And through their confidence, I learned all about Kyubey and wishes, witches and curses and Walpurgisnacht, everything they knew about the lives of magical girls.” Homura sipped. 

“Huh.” Sayaka sipped. “I wonder what Madoka’s wish was back then.” 

“She revived a stray cat that had been hit by a car.” 

“Wait… For reals?”

“Yes.” She added, “I remembered, because I was the only person she ever told about it.” She glanced down at her juice. “Because she thought Mami would be very upset if she knew she wasted her miracle on something so small and trivial. Probably correctly.” 

“Gee, that’s…” Sayaka sighed. “Very Madoka. Helping others in whatever little way she can.”

“Yes.” Homura agreed. “The ideal magical girl. That’s why I looked up to her so much.”

“Wait, hold on a sec.” Sayaka paused. “Was it that cat you saved a few days ago?”

“I don’t know.” Homura slightly shrugged her shoulders. “It’s possible. I just got in the habit of saving it and kept doing it.”

The two sat drinking quietly again, this time exchanging quick glances as the other looked away.

“So why’d you transfer to our school? Why didn’t you go back to your old school after the surg-” The two accidentally made eye contact.

“Bullies.” Homura finally said after the awkward moment.

“What was that?”

“I was bullied a lot, back in Tokyo.”

“Ohhhh.” 

“Madoka was the first real friend I ever had.” Homura recounted. “When she died at the hands of Walpurgisnacht, I,” She hesitated. She recomposed herself, then said, “I couldn’t bear the thought of being alone in this world without her.” 

“That could only be when Kyubey made his offer...” Sayaka deduced.

“I…” She slowly glugged her juice. “I wished to go back and see her again, not as the one she protected, but as her protector,” She solemnly stated.

“Woooaaaahhh.” Sayaka’s mouth hung open.

“And yet, even knowing all the things I know now… After seeing all the things I’ve seen, after being trapped in this eternal maze of repeating events…” She confidently nodded. “I would still make that same wish all over again.”

“You would?” Sayaka was amazed.

“Without hesitation.” Homura asserted.

“Wooooooooow!” Sayaka slumped flat onto her bed. “Damn.” She breathed to herself. The two girls sat in silence for minutes more, Homura slowly sipping her juice, and Sayaka staring at the lights on the ceiling. 

“You were right.” Sayaka slightly raised her head and took another sip of juice.

“Hm?” Homura tilted her head towards her.

“What you said at the hospital.” She glugged the rest. “You were right.” She stared reflectively into the empty glass. “I think I can’t heal him... Because I don’t want to.” A huge swell of self pity emanated from her voice. “‘Cause I’m a lousy friend.”

The two sat in silence for another minute, pouring and drinking their juices and trying not to look at each other.

“You want to.” Homura finally opined. “You just haven’t found your reason to.”

“Tch.” Sayaka slunk in her bed. “Well of course I want to! In my head. I know what’s at stake.” She sighed deeply. “But in my heart... I dunno. I look at him now, and I don’t see the quiet, good-natured, sweet, caring, talented guy I fell so hard for, but rather a closed-off, self-centered, hugely oblivious idiot who never ever gave me the time of day!” She grunted. “So why should I waste any more of my time and energy on him?”

“Wow.” Homura sipped. “That’s pretty harsh for you.”

“Ugh!” Sayaka glugged and poured. “Mami was right, too. She once warned me that wishing for someone else, without understanding what I really wanted from it was going to go bad. Kyoko said the same.” She glugged. “But I didn’t listen. Because I thought that the Universe was a fundamentally good place where the good people who do good things get rewarded in the end. That right always punished wrong. That’s what I thought Karma was.” She glugged and poured some more. “Looking back now, of course That World would destroy my naivete by hooking him up with my friend.” She tilted her head back and downed her apple juice. “It was bound to happen. Can’t be mad at Hitomi. She just saw in him all the same things that I used to really like.”

“I think you’ve been drinking too much apple juice.”

“And of course This World would react to my intrusion by pairing him with my other friend,” She ranted on. “At least wrong still gets punished sometimes. What else could possibly explain him getting together with Madoka?”

“What do you mean?” Homura raised her eyebrow and sipped. “Care to elaborate?” She surprised herself by being genuinely interested.

“What? You weren’t following her that night, too?” Sayaka sarcastically retorted. Homura’s expression subtly shifted from curiosity to offense. “Oh. Sorry.” Sayaka apologized as she sat up and rubbed her weary eyes. “It was right after I nearly tore myself apart killing that Shadow Witch. It was raining. Madoka and I were sheltered at a bus stop. She tried to talk some sense into me, but my mind was so diseased by that point that I...” She frustratedly slammed her glass on the table. “I yelled at her for being so useless despite having so much potential.” She disgustedly tossed her pillow at the wall. “Stupidstupid idiot. Practically did Kyubey’s job for him.” She angrily pounded her bed. “That’s when I ran away from everyone and I never saw her again until she was facing that Walpurgisnacht. God.” She ashamedly squeezed the other pillow over her face.

Then silence between them for the next few minutes.

“And the worst part is,” She finally spoke up again through the pillow. “My biggest, hugest regret, the one that keeps me up at night more than anything else, wasn’t that I couldn’t save Mami or those stupid feuds with Kyoko or that I couldn’t say anything to Kyosuke or any of the crap between us,” She pouted through the pillow. “It’s the way I left Madoka back there. I can still picture that look of shock and sadness on her face, the fear in her eyes, whenever I close mine. It’s the worst feeling in the world.”

The two sat silently for another minute. Homura quietly poured some more juice in Sayaka’s glass. “Madoka would have forgiven you, you know.”

“I know. That’s what makes it the worst.” Sayaka clamped the pillow tighter on her face. “Madoka. Not a single drop of hatred or resentment in her heart.”

“Why I love her so much.” She faintly heard Homura’s voice through her pillow.

Sayaka slowly raised the pillow and tilted her head. “Wait,” She sat up. “What’d you say?”

“I didn’t say anything.” 

“Yes you did.” Sayaka stared at her. “I distinctly heard you say ‘Why I love her so much’.”

“I said no such thing.” Homura’s face was getting noticeably red.

“Then...” Her face was glowing redder and redder by the second. “Y- You thought it?”

Another awkwardly silent moment that turned into a minute.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” She gasped. “Hoooooly cow! Now it’s all starting to make soooo much sense!” Her eyes lit up. “Not caring about boys!” Her eyes progressively widened. “Your crazy level of dedication to protecting her… And all that time you must have spent watching over her life!” Her open mouth evolved into an admiring smile. “Then you said you’d do it all again without hesitation?” She put her hands to her cheeks and leaned closer to Homura. “You’re really… In love with Madoka, aren’t you?”

“Don’t be absurd.” Homura slammed her glass on the table. 

“You love her!” Sayaka eagerly leapt onto Homura’s bed. “Have you ever told her that?” 

“Of course not! There’s nothing to tell her!” Homura reactively slid away.

“Ooohhh, boy! I know that tone!” Sayaka blushed. “It’s the same one I used whenever people asked me about Kyosuke.”

“Get out!” Homura jumped off the bed, picked up Sayaka and led her to the door.

“Ah, I take it that means you’ve never told her.” Sayaka smiled slyly. “Can’t say I blame you, seeing as she doesn’t really... Swing that way.” She winced and awkwardly scratched her face. “Uh, far as I know.”

“We’re finished here.” She quickly went back and snatched Sayaka’s drink. “Take it and go!”

“You know, right now is probably the most emotional I’ve ever seen you?”

“Goodbye.” Homura pushed Sayaka outside the door frame. 

“Don’t worry! Your secret's safe! Who would I tell anyway?” Sayaka quickly waved as the sliding door separated them.

The two girls stood in place silently for minutes, separated by the door still staring at one another through it.

“All that time, you and me were in the same dumb boat.” Sayaka eventually muttered to herself. “Lovestruck idiots. Pining for someone who won’t see us that way.” She suddenly felt her bladder tense up. She had drank too much juice and needed to use the bathroom. “Seeing those two together must really be tearing you inside. I know.” She pondered while she shuffled her way back to her room. 

Those long lost memories that Miss Jones had resurrected were getting tougher and tougher for Homura to suppress. Yes, she did once tell Madoka exactly how she felt. Long, long ago, way back in the early days of her magical girl life. But being Madoka, she let Homura down as gently as she could. Homura had even made peace with merely being her close friend. But gradually her affections shifted, among the others in the group, each making a connection within her heart. But fearing a repeat of that letdown, she gradually learned to repress those feelings, freezing them deep inside herself, until she’d forgotten she’d ever had them at all.

That was, until this night. 

***

“Now please, calm down!” Mami Tomoe had her surprise assailant bound in ribbons at the very outer edge of Mitakihara. It was a place she rarely ventured, but this girl’s anxiety was so palpable that Mami felt her coming from several kilometers away.

“It’s all her fault!” The rookie magical girl spat back. “Everything started going wrong after she hurt me in Kazamino!” The girl dropped a round, bladed weapon as the bonds tightened.

“Callllllllm dowwwwn!” Mami tugged at her bindings. “Who beat you in Kazamino?” Although she already had a strong suspicion from the word ‘Kazamino’.

“That red-haired magical girl!” Her suspicion was confirmed. “I heard you were friends! Where is she?” She writhed in pain as she struggled.

“I don’t know.”

“Liar!”

“We worked together, that’s all. But that was a long time ago.” Mami reluctantly loosened her bindings. “We’ve gone our separate ways.”

“Another lie!” The girl flashed out of her magical form.

“It’s the truth!” Mami insisted. “I’m sorry she’s hurt you.” She released the girl. “Please, explain to me what happened to you in Kazamino.”

“I was chasing a witch, when that red girl stopped me at a rooftop. We battled, and then she tied me up and tossed me off a building!” The exasperated girl dropped to her knees.

“I’m sorry she did that to you.” Mami noticed the girl’s Soul Gem around her neck was incredibly tainted. This girl needed a Grief Seed more than anything. “How did it go wrong after that?” She figured she could win over this girl’s trust by hearing her out.

“Everything!” She cried.

“What do you mean?”

“My wish!” She choked. “I wanted my family’s business to succeed, so it did, but my Father got too busy to spend time with us!” She wept. “He became so obsessed with work and success that it drove my Momma away! And then my big sis ran away too!”

“All those things that happened,” Mami knelt down beside her. “They’re not the fault of that girl you’re chasing. I’m certain you can sense that deep in your heart.”

“But she’s wrong!” The girl insisted. “She’s wrong to let the Familiars grow into witches and let them prey on people!”

“I know.” Mami consoled. “That’s the reason we stopped working together.

“After she beat me,” She recounted, “I started to think that her way was the better approach, so I let this one familiar go, and it grew and it grew and became a witch!” She bawled. “When I finally tracked it down, I discovered it had taken control of my Father.” She pounded the ground frantically. “But his drive for success had gotten so into his head that… That…”

“... What happened to him?” 

“He murdered his business partner! Now he’s in jail and I’m all alone!” 

“I’m sorry!” Mami crept closer and closer. “I’m so, so sorry.” A big, comforting hug… She was certain that was all this girl needed to stave off the corruption. Closer and closer, she need only experience Mami’s soothing touch.

“It’s her fault!” She pushed Mami back and jerked away. “Her fault that I didn’t kill the familiar!” Mami reached for a Grief Seed in her pocket. The gem looked pitch black, she knew she had but seconds to act. “Her fault for telling me all those horrible things!” I want my revenge!!” Tears welled in her distraught eyes. “I want- I want-”

“Vengeance isn’t the way to go.” Mami couldn’t give up. Again she slowly and carefully reached for her hand. “Now, please! If you come with me, I can-” 

Chapter Text

“Can I ask you something?” Sayaka asked her Senior as they prepared for their sparring match.

“Always.” She replied.

“Do you prefer that I call you ‘Sensei’, or that I keep calling you ‘Miss Jones’?”

“Either is fine by me.” She stepped out from the lift and into the artificial environment. “Why are you asking?”

“It’s just that…” Sayaka followed three steps directly behind. “I get the feeling you don’t like being called ‘Miss Jones’ all that much.”

“What? Why would you think such a thing?” They watched a series of explosions going off in the distance. Nagisa was practicing again. “It’s a lovely name. And it’s certainly grown on me a bit since you first pitched it.”

“But it always takes you an extra split second or so to respond, whenever I say it.” Sayaka noted. 

“Huh.” Miss Jones winced a little. “Maybe I’m just not used to hearing it yet.”

“But you always reply to ‘Sensei’ right away!”

“Is that so?” Miss Jones put her hand on her hips. “I guess that must be the Time Lord in me, so stubbornly stuck on tradition.” She handed Sayaka her training light sword.

“Tradition?” Sayaka wondered. “What do you mean?”

“On my world, thanks to our, I’ll call it ‘pathological’ need to constantly honor our ancestors, newborn babies are given the names of not only their most direct relatives, such as their parents, but also bits and pieces of names from their parents’ parents, and then the folks of those folks, and so on and so on for whatever number of relatives they care to honor.”

“Sounds cumbersome.”

“You have no idea,” Miss Jones chortled. “And it doesn’t even stop there… The State will tack an extra bunch of names onto whomever was involved in the child’s conception, the physician presiding over their birth, the nurses tending, even the flippin’ research assistants… Probably even the caterer. Gives us all our own unique, rather long and tongue-twisty monikers.”

“So what was your name?”

“Ha!” Miss Jones blared as she itched her temple. “Too much of a mouthful to get in to. And I hate it anyway.” She sighed. “Fortunately, that’s just our State designation. Our families would then give us a more fitting, day-to-day traditional name… Though it was usually a snippet of our state designation.”

“Two names?” Sayaka changed into her magical form.

“More like seven.” Miss Jones smiled. “Only around thirty eight characters long if I remember correctly.”

“That’s still pretty long!”

She nodded. “We managed.” She continued while she took her position. “Anyway, once we got into the Academy, those more diminutive names were exchanged for Student Designation numbers… Ugh , only things worse than our State Name.”

“What’s this all gotta do with-”

“I’m getting to it.” Miss Jones waved. “Anyway, after the student graduates, and they assume a role amongst our society, we choose to adopt a new name, and it’s typically a title that’s associated with our job.”

“A job title?” Sayaka furled her brow. “So what if two people have exactly the same job? Do they just have the same name?”

“Surprisingly… No.” She signaled that she was about ready to start training. “What they do instead, is they co-opt a title from a similar societal role in another culture’s language. With so many billions and billions of species, and even more trillions of languages to choose from, theoretically, there’d never be a duplicate name. So for example, let’s say there’s an ancient nomadic tribe of the far upper eastern mountains of the Planet Tayspeus Two, and one of its tribesmen has the distinct duty of chronicling the tribe’s history and its travels.”

“You mean, like a historian or something? Sayaka tensed as she got ready to fight. 

 “Indeed! It’d be a job so important that the tribe would create their own word for it… A job title! Now back on Gallifrey, some new graduate who’s assumed a role in a similar field, looks up this particular tribe in the Abh Archives and sees that word in the language base. And they really like that word. So they adopt it as their new title.” 

“Weird.” Sayaka took a deep breath, and charged. Miss Jones dodged and thrust her training blade in a counter move. “Kinda cool,” Sayaka ducked underneath. “But weird.” She danced around looking for an attack window. “So the reason you answer to ‘Sensei’ is…”

“I’m hard-wired to respond to job titles.” Miss Jones whipped around. “Guess I’ve gotten so old I’m upholding silly old traditions out of habit.” She quick-slashed and missed. “Very nice! One of my favorite old teachers...” She continued talking. “Had this very unique name. When I was once but a humble assistant I searched and searched for where they might have found it.” She danced around Sayaka’s follow-up thrust.

“What was it?” Sayaka quick-stepped away from her Sensei’s counter move.

“Ballizeau.” She twirled around in a quick tribute. “My dance instructor. Turned out that my teacher would sometimes sneak offworld and teach emergent cultures how to dance. Some of these cultures would later turn my teacher’s name into a form of dance or even the generalized term for dancing itself.” She hopped two steps forward. “Tell me, Sayaka, do you like ballet?” She thrust her sword full force as Sayaka dodged with an improvised twirl of her own.

“So wait, if you guys would go off and play roles in other cultures, and sometimes those cultures would name those things after you guys, and you guys would find those words and use them as names…”

“It’s a chicken or the egg thing, I know.” Her Sensei chuckled. “It was one of the many many reasons why our Upper Pantheon expressly forbade us from interfering in the greater development of the Universe. Unfortunately for those stuffed shirts, a fair share of us did it anyway.”

“So what was your old title?”

“Extremely egotistical sounding, and not the person standing before you today.”

Sayaka stopped maneuvering about. “So would you rather I call you ‘Sensei’ or ‘Miss Jones?’"

Miss Jones paused for a moment. “Good question. While I do like the former’s formality, I think I’d actually prefer you address me in the latter’s more personal touch.” Sayaka took her pause as an opportunity to land a blow to her thigh. “Hey! Cheap shot! That’s cheating!”

“S- Sorry.” Sayaka apologized. “That’s the only time I’ve gotten to you.”

“Eh, it’s fine.” The Time Lady brushed it off. “Actually, let that be a part of today’s lesson: When the opponent gives you the chance to cheat, especially when your life's on the line, screw those scruples and cheat like Hell!”

“Um… Okay?” Sayaka tilted her head. 

“No,” Miss Jones firmly held out her palm. “I know exactly what you’re thinking with that look.” She took a deep, reflexive breath. “Look, having a personal code is great and all, and it would be such a wonderful universe if everyone out there is going to respect it. But they don’t, and should such situations arise where it’s either your life or your honor, choose to live. A living person can still carry on, do good and play hero... While a dead person is but a decaying clump of matter.

“What about martyrs or legends?” Sayaka asked.

“Meh. Stories.” The Time Lady stated. “Stories that often get twisted to suit whatever agenda or morality play those with power want to shape.” She looked directly into Sayaka’s eyes. “Remember, living heroes can still shape their own cause, while legends and martyrs too often galvanize the masses into causing even greater suffering and harm. But the best heroes, at least all the ones I’ve met, knew exactly when it was time to cheat.”

“Boy,” Sayaka scratched her face. “That got heavy real fast.” 

“Tell me about it.” Miss Jones set her position and drew her blade. "Tell ya’ what: When I’m teaching you all that I know about the realm of heroics, call me ‘Sensei’. In any other time, ‘Miss Jones’ will work fine."

“Yes, Sensei.” There was one other thing Sayaka wanted to ask, but she wasn’t quite sure how she should ask. “Hey, Sensei,” Sayaka began, figuring there would be no better time to ask than now, anyway. “Can I ask you something else?”

“You should know by now that you don’t have to ask to ask.” Miss Jones smiled.

“Heh.” Sayaka chuckled. “When this is all over, and we beat Walpurgisnacht and get out of this mess.”

“You wanna know what you should do after?” Her Sensei surmised. “My offer to set you up with a new life in a new home and all the cash you’ll need still stands, y’know.”

“I know,” Sayaka replied, took a breath then said, “But I was wondering… If you’d like to have someone at your side when you get back out there. Someone… Like me?”

“Hmmm.” She hemmed. After a few seconds of more hemming, she replied, “I’ll think about it.”

“Oh.” Sayaka drooped. She was old enough to know that ‘I’ll think about it’ was just an adult’s polite way of saying ‘no’ without outright saying it. “Oh-kay.”

“The fourth deck is the University level. The first thing you are going to do is hit the books. If I’m to travel with a companion again, I want them to be almost as knowledgeable about what’s out there as I am.”

“Really?” Sayaka’s eyes brightened. “What do you want me to learn about?”

The Time Lady confidently gazed into her student’s eyes. “Everything.”

***

“I don’t like this idea,” Sayaka shook her head at Kyoko’s reflection in the mirror. “At all.”

“Would you relax?” Kyoko slid a spare red t-shirt of Sayaka’s over her body. “Just doin’ reconnaissance.”

“What if that Mami chick tries-”

“She won’t try nuthin’ in public.” Kyoko assured. “She values keeping her magical life secret as much as anythin’ else.”

“What if those other magical girls aren’t the same way?”

“Eh, I could probably take ‘em.” Kyoko glanced at Sayaka’s stern, concerned reflection. “Look, I’m not just doin' this to get the scoop on the competition, you know. I’m doin' this for you, too!”

“How?”

“I know what I owe ya’ from these last few days.” Kyoko slipped on a skirt. “Ya’ skipped class, blew’ off practices, and avoided yer friends.” She straightened it as she slid it up her thigh. “I figure me bein’ there can take some heat off ya’ if all of ‘em see that there really is a ‘Cousin Kyoko’. Then we’ll be square!”

“It only worked on Miss Jones because she’s a substitute.” Sayaka countered. “Miss Yamazaki knows my parents, and my friends know too much about my life.”

“That so?” Kyoko tried on a set of Sayaka’s tennis shoes. “Ya’ got any cousins?”

“Yes.” Sayaka said.

“You talk about ‘em all that often to your buds?” She laced them up with a self-satisfied smirk.

“I, uh-” Sayaka was sure that she did, but couldn’t remember the last time she had talked about them. “No. But that doesn’t mean I never have! And Miss Yamazaki-”

“How’s she know your folks?”

“She was friends with my Mom in College.”

“‘Kay then. I’m from your Pop’s side.” Kyoko jumped to her feet. “Now c’mon! Make up the rest as we go along!”

***

“Let’s say there’s this tree,” Sayaka posited in the morning study hall with Homura. “And on a limb of that tree, grows this fruit,” She continued. “And this fruit grows and grows until one day it falls off the tree, and onto the ground where it withers and dies. That’s its original destiny.” She doodled a circle. “But then this time traveller comes along, and the time traveller catches the fruit as it falls, whereupon he or she gobbles it up. Changed its destiny.” She doodled another circle over top of it.

“But the snack turned out to be really yummy, and now the time traveller feels a little bad about eating it on the spot.” She paused while some girls annoyingly chatted and gossiped behind them. “So the time traveller goes back a day, picks the fruit off the branch before it even falls, takes the seeds elsewhere and plants them somewhere fertile.” She drew a third circle. “Now this new tree, with a whole new slate, but it carries the cosmic, or karmic or whatever you want to call it, it bears the weight of that little fruit upon its existence.” She pointed at her book bag. “That’s what that book says is a Stacking Multiverse, where whole new realities are shaped around the slightly different fate of one little, yummy fruit.” She concluded. “And if someone were to look at these similar, yet very distinct universes from say, an omnipotent, omniscient perspective, they’d see them overlapping together forming this big, sorta pulsating ball. At least that’s as best as I can describe it.” Sayaka turned toward Homura. “Pretty cool stuff, don’t you think?”

“I’m sorry.” Homura confessed. “I wasn’t listening at all.”

“Something bugging you?” Sayaka for once wasn’t particularly offended.

“Yes.” Homura replied. “Have you seen Madoka?”

“We’re supposed to avoid drawing any more of Kyubey’s attention. Remember?” 

“I can’t help it.” Homura apologized.

“I know.” Sayaka sighed. “Neither can I. I thought Miss Jones was just joking when she said she’d extended Kyoko an invitation to come to school. Geez, was I shocked when she actually showed up.”

“Kyoko is not one who would accept such an invite without an ulterior motive.” Homura added. “She should be monitored.”

“Agreed. But what’s bothering you about Madoka?” Sayaka steered the topic back to her friend.

“She seemed to be rather perturbed by something.” Homura explained.

“How do you sense that?”

“She’s slow to respond when the other girls try to talk. She lagged even further behind the rest of us in laps than she normally does in Phys-Ed. She couldn’t answer a math question that I know she’s answered correctly in the past.” Homura observed. “And most of all she’s been outright avoiding both you and Hitomi Shizuki.”

“Maybe she’s finally pieced together the reason Hitomi and I have been so cold to each other.” Sayaka theorized.

“And that she might soon become the mutual target of their scorn.” Homura affixed. “If what we witnessed was indeed real.”

“You’re worried she might try to patch it all up with a wish?”

“It’s a definite possibility.”

“So what if she does?” Sayaka shrugged. “I mean, now that we’ve got Miss Jones’s microwave and we won’t need Grief Seeds, wouldn’t it be better if we had someone with her talent joining the fight against Walp-”

“No.” Homura flatly interrupted. “I’m absolutely not going to gamble Madoka’s future entirely on a technological miracle, particularly one that has yet to be reproduced.” She continued, “And might I remind you, Madoka giving away her soul over something frivolous is the very reason we’re all here.”

“Hey now! I don’t see our friendship as something friv-”

“If the friendship is meant to last, then it should be bigger than any problems with boys.”

“F- Fine. I’ll stick with your way.” Sayaka reluctantly conceded with a resounding sigh. “So what should we do about it?”

“We can t- try.” Homura stuttered. “T- Talking. Again.” And stopped. “With them.” She started again. “Once more at the very least.”

“Okay, I’m game.” Sayaka agreed. “Next question, who’s talking what with whom?”

“I’ll talk with Madoka you-”

“But that’s what we did last time!” Sayaka protested. “Why don’t we switch it up this time?” She repeated, “I’ll talk with Madoka, and you-”

“How about we resolve it your way then?” Homura stoically placed her fist in her palm. “Like last time. Rock-paper-scissors.” She briefly gave the slightest sign of a smile.

“You can’t be serious!”

“It’s the fairest way.” Homura’s brow raised slightly. “As you put it.”

“Ugh! Whatever…” Sayaka went along. “Rock… Paper… Scissors… Shoot!” Sayaka threw ‘rock’.

“I win again.” Homura had thrown paper. “I talk to Madoka.”

“Ughhhh…” Sayaka buried her face in her palms. “I have no clue what I’m supposed to say to Hitomi.”

“You don’t need to say anything.” Homura collected her books. “You simply have to be a willing ear. If she wants you to be.” She placed them in her bag. “And if this helps you feel any more confident,” She got up from her seat. “I want you to know that I’m making this up as I go along, too.”

“Kind of.” Sayaka half smiled. “So what do we do about her ?”

“About who?”

“Who do you think?” Sayaka’s smile vanished. “The last person in this weird love tri-square-angle. Me?”

“I don’t know,” The class bell rang. “I can only guess what these last few days of Kyoko’s influence has done to her worldview.” They glanced towards the hallway and saw Kyoko cocksuredly striding past them.

***

“Hey!” Kyoko impudently flung the door of the Teacher’s Lounge open. “One of ya’ geezers tell me where the cafeteria’s at.” She demanded as she scanned the room’s layout.

“Uh… It’s that way. Down the stairs.” The math teacher got out of his seat and pointed his finger. “Take a left. Go down the hallway. Then take another left.” 

“Heh! Thanks!” Kyoko waved as she eyed a familiar leather coat on the teacher’s coat rack.

“What, exactly, was the logic of inviting Kyoko to attend classes here?” Homura asked Miss Jones in passing as they selected their lunch meals.

“Why, your logic, of course.” Miss Jones smiled. “What was it you said? Keeping her distracted keeps her out of trouble? Figured school’s just as good a place as any for a young lady to be. Is there a reason to be worried?” 

“I hope not.” Homura uttered. “While she isn’t nearly as ill-behaved as she pretends she is, she can still be very rough and aggravating. I recall far too many situations that spiraled out of control simply because Kyoko couldn’t help herself.” She stuck a straw in her box of juice. “That’s largely what made me cease relying on her as a partner.”

***

“Mmmmmm!” Kyoko sniffed the aroma of food in the air. “Smells like I’m headin’ the right way!” She stopped walking as she examined a sign at the hall’s intersection. “Now where would she be?” She examined a group of older students walking past. “Hey you there! Tall guy!”

“Who? Me?” The boy stopped dead in his tracks as the others turned their heads.

“What grade ya’ in?” 

“Ninth.” He looked at the others. “Why?”

“I’m lookin’ for somebody.” Kyoko assertively stepped closer. “Same grade as you... I think.”

“Who?”

“Little shorter than you.” Kyoko described. “Blonde hair, pair o’ big curls in the back.” Kyoko outlined a round, shapely pair of breasts around her chest with her hands. “No mistakin’ her!”

“Oooooooohhh!” The boys in the group all nodded at once. The girls next to them simply rolled their eyes. “Mami Tomoe!” The boy grinned. 

“Ya’ got it!”

“She didn’t come to school today!” The girl in front of him disgustedly folded her arms.

“Aww, she didn’t?” Kyoko disappointedly replied.

“Sorry!” The group continued on their way.

“Damn it!” Kyoko palm pounded the wall. “Friggin’ figures! I went through this whole stupid charade of going to school with Sayaka, and it’s the one day Miss Queen Bee’s a no-show!” She reflexively rubbed her recently-healed leg. “Maybe it’s for the better. What was I even gonna say? ‘Sorry I’d been such a brat? You’re definitely the better fighter, so ya’ can take this new recruit. Just don’t expect her to be some blindly loyal ass kisser, and she might grow into someone who can fill that... Hole in your life. Y’know... That one I couldn’t fill? Please?’ Pshhh!” Kyoko shook her head. “Do I really have to apologize? We were the ones mindin’ our own business, when she barged in, guns blazin’ and mouth yappin’. That patronizin’ high horse attitude of hers really pissed me off!” 

She slowly stepped down the hallway towards the cafeteria. “But I sure as hell ain’t cut out for this partnerin’ biz, honestly... Who am I kiddin’? Sayaka would be way better off if it’s Mami showin’ her the ropes! Then she wouldn’t have to choose between me and her little friend!” She turned the corner. “So I guess if that means swallowin’ my pride a little, and pretendin’ I was wrong, then maybe they’ll all kiss and make up.” She sniffed the enticing aroma of food in the air. “Yeeeeeah! Just what I needed!”

***

“Madoka Kaname.” Homura arrived on the rooftop and very promptly locked the entry door behind her. “Do you typically eat up here alone?” She asked, pretending she didn’t know the answer.

“Homura?” Madoka reflexively cradled the Kyubey at her side. Homura stopped in her tracks.

“I’m not here for a confrontation.” Homura displayed her lunch. “Only to eat my meal.” She proceeded to sit down on a makeshift bench across from Madoka. She then forced a smile.

“Have you always worn those glasses?” Madoka asked.

“Until recently, yes.” She pushed them up her nose. “I’ve been nearsighted since I was a young girl.”

“Did becoming a magical girl fix your eyes?”

“Yes it did.” Homura replied. “With some focused application of magic. But I would never recommend forming a contract simply to fix a minor problem in life.” She took a bite of her lunch. The two sat quietly eating for a few minutes.

“Why were you in that alley with Mami?” Madoka asked. “You weren’t fighting with Mami, were you?”

“Not at all. To the contrary,” Homura emphasized. “I was trying to break up a fight. I find pointless territorial battles between magical girls to be deeply distasteful.” Madoka smiled upon hearing Homura say those words. The two sat eating quietly for another several minute stretch.

“May I ask you about something?” Homura figured it wouldn’t be very long before someone interrupted their meal together. So she decided to cut right to the chase.

“What do you want to ask?” Madoka’s head perked.

“I noticed that you appeared to be,” Homura took a bite of rice. “Rather preoccupied all throughout our classes today." She took another quick bite. “Is there something on your mind?”

“There is but,” Madoka admitted as she nibbled. “I’m not sure if talking to someone about this is going to help me at all.” 

“But talking can offer one another perspective,” Homura forced another smile as she nibbled. “Which can offer you a solution that you otherwise wouldn’t consider.”

“I know that,” Madoka shifted in her seat. “Normally I’d be talking about it with my friends Sayaka and Hitomi.”

“Ah,” Homura nodded slightly. “I take it, in this instance, that they are the source of your woes?” 

“They are, but,” Madoka hesitated. “I think I might’ve accidentally made their problems a lot worse.”

“Do you wish to elaborate?” She lightly pressed her on.

“I’m not sure,” Madoka demurred. “Can you keep it a secret?”

“Yes.” Homura firmly nodded. “You have my strictest confidence.”

Madoka reluctantly opened her book bag, ferried through its contents, then pulled out an unsealed envelope. “I was supposed to deliver this to Sayaka.”

“But you haven’t done so,” Homura got up from her seat and took the unsealed letter from Madoka’s hand. She skimmed through its message. “And by the looks of it, I take it you’ve read it?”

“I- I really didn’t want to,” Madoka lamented. “But it was getting late, and I really really needed to find her,” Her confession gradually slid into a whine. “So I thought the note might give me a clue to where she was.”

“But now that you’ve read it, what’s done is done,” Homura said. “I take it that you’re desperately seeking a way to preserve their friendship.” The phone in Madoka’s backpack buzzed.

“And then things got a lot more complicated than that.” Madoka took her phone, checked her message, and smiled wanly. “You see… I went to see Kyosuke Kamijo in his room in the hospital yesterday…” She scrolled through her past messages. “Because Sayaka goes there a lot and I thought that she might be there… but,” She scrolled some more. “She wasn’t. And then so- some things happened. Between me and Kamijo.”

“Things?” Homura swiftly sat down next to her. “Was that a message from him?”

“Yeah.” Madoka sighed. “He’s been texting me constantly since yesterday,” She tried to focus on her meal. “All during the night too. I’m exhausted!”

“He wrote you a poem?” Homura looked over Madoka’s shoulder at the screen still displaying his message.

“Poems and pictures of cute drawings he made,” Madoka blushed. “He’s all over me.”

“Oh?” Homura tried to act surprised. “Do you happen to reciprocate his affections?” The act took less effort than she thought.

“Ummm… I think he’s plenty handsome and nice but…” Madoka trailed off. 

“But he is already someone else’s object of affection.” Homura nibbled a little bit of rice. “Two people’s, if this note is to be believed.”

“Yeah,” Madoka longingly stared into the city skyline. “One time, I asked my Momma what made her so attracted to my Papa, and she had this whole list of stuff she liked! His compassion, his cooking, the way he dressed, the way he held the door open for little girls at restaurants… They dated for three years before she and him married.”

“I see,” Homura interrupted. “You feel that you don’t know Kamijo well enough to fully embrace his feelings for you. And that disqualifies you from any right to his hand.”

“I definitely don’t know him nearly as well as Sayaka does.” The phone buzzed again. Madoka tapped a smiley-faced reply on her phone. “Or Hitomi.” She tapped the rest of her reply and sent it back to her young suitor.

A timely, barely audible knock struck against the entrance door.

***

“Oh.” Sayaka had found Hitomi dining all alone in the cafeteria. “There she is.” 

“Hey, you!” She heard another familiar voice call over her shoulder. 

“Huh? Uhhh… Me?” Sayaka hesitantly replied.

“Yeah you!” Kyoko pointed at the food laid out next to the kitchen. “Any idea how much is all this food’s ‘sposed to cost?” 

“Five hundred Yen.” Sayaka replied. “But today’s a leftovers day, so as long as you can pay, you can take whatever you want.”

“Cool!” Kyoko’s mouth watered with the mention of an open buffet, even if it merely consisted of leftovers. She reflexively reached into her pants pocket. “Crap.” She muttered. “Arcade.”

“You can take mine.” Sayaka walked over and offered the money. 

“Eh?”

“It’s okay.” She forced a smile. “I brought my own lunch today.”

“What’s your name?” Kyoko’s eyes scanned up and down Sayaka’s body.

“Saya-” She barely stopped herself from yet again uttering the last part of her actual name.

“Saya-” Kyoko snatched the money from her hand. “Free advice: Don’t go around being kind to every odd stranger you meet!” Kyoko’s eyes suddenly narrowed. She leaned right up and sniffed Sayaka’s face. “‘Cuz there’s lotsa people out there who’d take advantage of yer kindness.” She abruptly reached out and grabbed Sayaka by the wrist. 

“Hey! Lemme go!” Sayaka tried jerking it loose.

“Hmmm… Ya’ smell awfully familiar,” Kyoko’s eyes latched right to Sayaka’s Soul Gem ring. “Have we met?” She grabbed Sayaka’s arm.

“No!” Sayaka jerked again.

“Ya’ ever been to Kazamino City?” She suspiciously studied the ring on Sayaka’s hand.

“No!” She finally pried it loose on the third try. “I’m from Okinawa.”

“That right?” Kyoko stepped back. “‘Nuther piece of advice: Stay outta that town. Real nasty girl runs the show there… She’d stomp yer cute little face the moment she saw ya’!”

“Thanks for the warning.” Sayaka uncomfortably stepped her way around her.

“Heh! Thanks for the cash. Hope you at least got what you wanted from your deal… With him.” Kyoko lightly pat Sayaka’s shoulder as she watched Sayaka scurry away. 

“Keep it simple.” Sayaka reminded herself with a deep, courageous sigh. “If she doesn’t want to talk, don’t force it.”

“Not having lunch in the library this time?” She innocently asked Hitomi.

“All the kids were talking about me behind my back. I thought Honor students were supposed to be above the petty gossip.” Hitomi nibbled on a fish stick. “I couldn’t stand it.”

“That’s just the way most people are. Hiding away isn’t going to stop them.” Sayaka pulled out a chair. “If anything, that's going to fuel it more.” She gestured permission to sit down, which Hitomi granted with a meager smile.

“What could I possibly do about it?” Her head sunk. “What would you do about it?”

“I’d sock all their teeth in.” Sayaka facetiously suggested. “But that’s just me.”

“Heh.” Hitomi breathed. “It’s funny. You remind me of my friend Sayaka.” She paused. “At least I thought she was my friend.”

“You wrote her that apology note, didn’t you?”

“I wrote the note, and in it I made my intentions clear.” She replied. “But she hasn’t replied. Too busy entertaining a cousin that she never bothered to mention until now. I Guess I never knew her as well as I believed I did.”  

***

“There you are!” Kyoko burst out the school’s side entrance and leapt right up the steps. “Been lookin’ all over for ya!” She shoved a trio of long french fries in her mouth as she reached the top. “Whatcha’ up to?”

“Madoka and I always go and eat lunch up here on the roof.” Sayaka pounded her palm against the door. “I was going to give her a big talk about the Magical Girl world,” She slammed the rest of her body against it. “But the door’s locked from the outside. I think she locked it.”

“So?” Kyoko stood there with her lunch tray in hand. “Open it up!”

“I’m trying!” Sayaka pounded harder and harder. “But she won’t open it!”

“Move over!” Kyoko thrust her tray to Sayaka and pushed her aside. “I got this.” She positioned her body to kick the door open.

“You can’t do that!” Sayaka just as quickly put herself in Kyoko’s way.

“Eh?” Kyoko slightly lowered her foot. “Why not?”

“That’d make too much noise for one thing.” Sayaka shook her head. “It’d startle the heck outta Madoka for another.”

“Fine,” Kyoko drew her Red Soul Gem out. “I’ll do it the sneaky way, then! Zap it open with magic!”

“Is that gonna bust the lock?”

“Dunno. Prolly.”

“Then nope!” Sayaka put her body in Kyoko’s way again. “What if the custodians find the broken lock? Then the Administrative Staff would stop letting us eat where we wanna!” She handed Kyoko’s meal back to her.

“Ugh! Yer so pushy sometimes!” Kyoko begrudgingly relented and grabbed a chunk of french fries. “So what’re ya’ gonna do? Just keep poundin’ ‘til she hears ya’?”

“Shhhh!” Sayaka pressed her ear to the door. “Sounds like someone’s out there with her!”

“Oh yeah?” Kyoko followed suit. “Could be why I’m sensin’ magic… Who do ya’ think it might be?” She jabbed her chopstick into a slice of meatloaf.

“Better not be that Mami chick!” Sayaka whispered.

“She didn’t come today.” Kyoko said through her chomping. “Her classmates said.”

“What? Don’t tell me you went off looking for her!”

“Relax! I was only gonna apologize!”

“Why would you do that? You’re the one who got shot in the leg!”

“Definitely sounds like a strange girl!” Kyoko bluntly shifted back on topic.

“Can’t be Hitomi.” Sayaka concluded. “I’ve heard her voice through a door. Ain’t a match.”

“Well if I’m sensin’ magic it’s gotta be another magical girl.” Kyoko stated. “Place is practically crawlin’ with ‘em anyway!”

“What? Like who?”

“Like that one girl who looks a bit like ya’,” Kyoko kept eating. “Wellllllll, If ya’ squint hard enough.” She swirled up some pudding with her spoon. “‘Saya’? I think she said her name was? Eh, anyway, she gave me some lunch money.” She shoved it in her mouth.

“The new transfer student? Crazy!” Sayaka tried peeking through the crack underneath the door. “I suppose you’re convinced Miss Jones is one, too?” She could just barely make out the forms of two girls sitting together.

“Still got my eye on her,” Kyoko shoveled some more pudding in her mouth. “But frankly, the one that really scared me was that long black haired girl who sits at the front of the first class.”

Sayaka suddenly went pale. “You don’t mean that other transfer student, do you?”

“I sensed she was really tough.” Kyoko tilted her head. “Why?”

“Because I’m thinkin’ it might be her!” Sayaka shot to her feet and banged on the door as loud as she could. “Open up Madoka! We gotta talk!”

“Hey! I thought you said you didn’t wanna draw any extra attention!”

Sayaka studied the doorknob. “Maybe we can pick the lock somehow!”

“I dunno. Never tried pickin’ a lock before. Have you?”

“What about your magic?”

“Oh, now you wanna zap it?”

“No, I mean…” Sayaka paused. “Remember that thing you did to my bat? Can’t you like, maybe turn something small and metal into something like a fake key?”

“Huh. Never thought of tryin’ that!” Kyoko gave Sayaka an amused, somewhat awed glance. “That should work!” She quickly snatched Sayaka’s hairpin from her head. She jabbed the pin into the keyhole, pressed her Soul Gem to it and the hairpin morphed into a perfectly-slotted key. “Y’know, I’m startin’ to think you and I would make a pretty kickass team!”

***

“I’m sorry…” Homura scratched her head. “Your mother told you that you should… Do something wrong ?” Madoka had asked her mother the previous night about how she should resolve the dispute between her friends. Madoka had just shared her mother’s unusual advice with Homura.

“She said that I could try to lie, or maybe chicken out, or even run away.” Madoka clarified. “I didn’t understand it at all.”

“I don’t see how any of those are viable options.” Homura mulled. “But she may be onto something in suggestion you do the wrong thing.” Homura pretended not to hear a follow-up knock. “Or at least what you feel would be wrong. May I see your phone?”

“Here.” Madoka handed it over.

“Hmmm.” Homura scrolled through the message history. “You desire to save the friendship between your two friends, while at the same time, making sure this boy’s needs are satisfied.” Madoka nodded. “Tell the truth. Tell them he wants to be with you.”

“B- But they might hate me if I do that.” Madoka worried.

“Then play the bad guy if that’s what unites them.” Homura slipped the note in her pocket. 

“I don’t think I could stand it, both of them hating me.”

“You can do it. You’re stronger than you think.” Homura slid a little closer. “Much stronger.”

“But it might not work out between Kyosuke and me.” Madoka fretted. “Then I won’t have any friends left at all.”

“You can make new friends. Life will go on for you.” She comfortingly put her hand on Madoka’s shoulder. “And life will go on for him as well.” Madoka glared at her. Madoka’s unexpectedly scared reaction to her comment surprised Homura. “Oh.” 

“Madokaaaa!” Sayaka urgently marched outside and onto the rooftop. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Nothing!” Madoka leapt to her feet. “We were just talking!” Homura more slowly rose to her feet as she stepped behind her.

“Sayaka Miki…” Homura drew her breath. “I strongly urge you to refrain from doing anything reckless.”

“You stay away from her, Transfer Student!” Sayaka shouted.

“Leave her alone!” Madoka objected.

“Whatever they’re telling you,” Sayaka warned. “Don’t believe them! They’re lying to you!”

“Sayaka…” Madoka apprehensively gazed at Kyoko. 

“Your assumptions are sorely mistaken, Sayaka Miki.” Homura flatly stated. “Again.”

“Didn’t she tell you to back off?” Kyoko strolled over to Homura.

“... I don’t want you to get hurt.” Madoka meekly responded. 

“ Me getting hurt?” Sayaka looked incredulous. “Madoka, have you ever seen one of those witches up close?” She put both her hands on top of Madoka’s shoulders. “Here’s the truth: They’re these huge, terrible monsters that inhabit their own gigantic labyrinths, and they control whole armies of icky things that are equally as scary!”

“Biiiiiiiiig difference between havin’ the talent and havin’ the guts, Shrimpy!” Kyoko grinned. “Job’s not fun ‘n’ games in frilly dresses! That’s the truth!”

“And if that isn’t awful enough, magical girls are very territorial and dangerous.” She momentarily glanced at the nodding Kyoko. “Their battles get really intense! Sometimes they’ll fight to the death! For reals! Trust me, it’s not a world you should be involved with!”

“I know that!” Madoka shook herself from Sayaka’s grip. “I know all of that! So tell me, why are you with one of the bad ones?” She pointed at Kyoko.

“Moi?” Kyoko innocently put her hand on her chest. “Bad?”

“Who told you about Kyoko?” Sayaka staked her body between Madoka and Homura. 

“Mami told me!” Madoka stood up and shook her head. “Mami told me all about her!”

“Oh, Mami,” Kyoko disdainfully rolled her eyes. “What a joker!”

“Don’t listen to that Queen Bee Mami chick! She’s a bully! She’s just as violent as any of ‘em, only worse ‘cuz she acts all high and mighty about it when she does it!”

“Honestly, Sayaka Miki.” Homura stepped forward and warned. “Can you not see that your needlessly contentious tone is only harming your own cause?”

“Hmmmmm,” Kyoko tugged Homura by the side of her school uniform. “Seems Mami’s not the only high and mighty lecturer in this town!” An unsealed envelope tucked in Homura’s pocket immediately caught Kyoko’s astute eyes.

“Kyoko Sakura,” Homura casually tugged herself out of Kyoko’s grip. “There’s no need to be confrontational about this. This is an issue where I happen to agree with you completely.” She flipped her hair and approached Madoka. “You don’t need a miracle to resolve your situation,” she leaned in closely and whispered in her ear. “Doing the wrong thing may be the only right choice.” 

“Sayaka, I,” Madoka swallowed. “I have something important to tell you about Kyosuke.” She bowed apolgetically “Please hear me out first!” 

What about Kyosuke?” Sayaka leaned toward her. “What’s he got to do with any of this?” 

“H- He-,” Madoka stammered. “He’s....” Homura’s expression betrayed an ever-so-slightly noticeable concern.

“The Backstabber Girl’s gonna tell him that she loves him.” Kyoko blithely said behind them. 

“What?”

“Says it right here!” Kyoko waved the note in front of them all. “So apparently if you don’t say something to him first she’s gonna tell him straight-up.” Kyoko cocked her head. “Oh, and if that bothers you she also says she doesn’t wanna hang out with you anymore, either.”

“Give that back!” Madoka pleaded.

“Damn it!” Homura exasperatedly exclaimed. Kyoko had discreetly picked the note right from her pocket.

“Too slow.” Kyoko impishly pushed Madoka away.

“Who the hell does she think she is?” Sayaka irately snatched it from Kyoko’s grip. “Givin’ me an ultimatum!” She disgustedly read Hitomi’s words for herself.

“Hitomi told me to give that note to you and so I looked all over for you but I couldn’t find you so I thought I might find you at the hospital with him and when I got there l…” Madoka rambled through her story as fast as she could talk. But the fuming Sayaka wasn’t listening. She was already storming away.

“Please listen!” Madoka and Homura shouted in unison.

“Where the hell is she?” Sayaka shouted down the stairs.

“Miss Backstabber?” Kyoko hollered back. “Saw her in the cafeteria!”

“Sayaka!” Madoka chased after her.

“Damned Hothead.” Homura strode after them, only to be cut off at the doorway by Kyoko.

“Hold yer horses for a sec, Miss Dark-And-Mysterious!” Kyoko put her hand out. “What’s your gaaaame?”

“You couldn’t help yourself, could you? Now get out of my way.”

“Dooooon’t think I’m not on to you guys!” Kyoko pushed against Homura’s chest. “What are you really up to?”

“I have no interest in feeding into your paranoia.” Homura juked around her.

“Don’t give me that crap!” Kyoko kept pace. “I’ve got a pretty keen sense of magic, can practically smell it, y’know! And you absolutely reek of it,” Kyoko slid down the stairway railing as she talked. “So does that Otonashi chick. You two planning to chase away Ol’ Mami? ‘Cuz y’know, she’s really tough! Even the two of you together, she’d be a pretty big boss fight.” 

“We-” Homura corrected herself. “I’m not planning to grab anyone’s territory.” Homura could tell by the look on Kyoko’s face that her minor slip up did not go unnoticed. “A Walpurgisnacht is coming soon.” She chose instead to throw Kyoko a bone.

“A Walpurgisnacht? Kyubey ain’t mentioned ‘nuthin ‘bout any Walpurgisnacht comin’.”

“Kyubey doesn’t mention a lot of things.” 

“Eh, I can believe that.” Kyoko briefly glanced back up the stairway. “But still, he’s pretty forthcomin’ whenever a witch pops up. You’d think he’d say something ‘bout a fish that huge.”

“We’re here to make sure it’s annihilated. After that, we’ll leave this territory to you or Mami Tomoe or whomever wants to claim it.” They continued down the hall towards the cafeteria.

“So what, then? You’re assemblin’ a team or somethin’? That the real reason you were talkin’ to Shrimpy Girl?”

“I’ve stated my intentions.” Homura accelerated. “Either join our cause or go away.”

“I’ll think it over.” Kyoko let her have the lead. “So tell me who else is in yer group, at least! There’s you and Otonashi… And what about that English teacher?”

“What about her?” Homura said, without skipping a beat.

“Sayaka said she was new around here too. She a magical girl?”

“No,” Homura added, “Her arrival here is merely coincidence.”

“That’s bull!” Kyoko objected. “I’ve smelt magic comin’ on her, too.”

“Then you are mistaken.” Homura dismissed as she picked up her pacing.

“Oooooh! Struck a nerve! Who’s the ringleader? You or her?”

“We’ve talked long enough.” She brushed Kyoko aside.

“Tch. See you ‘round.” Kyoko stopped and looked at the hallway intersection at the Teacher’s Lounge. The hallway was empty. The lights were off. No one inside. Her impish grin gradually overtook her face.

***

“I remember my snowglobe fell on the floor and hearing it shatter,” Hitomi reflectively examined her bandaged hand. “But when I tried to pick up the pieces, I guess I must have cut myself.” She pensively stared at the bandages. “It might have been the sight of the blood, because I also remember feeling terribly ill. Like I was quite certain I was going to throw up.”

“You were sick? Was that the reason you didn’t go to school?” Sayaka queried.

“Oh, that?” Hitomi leaned closer. “Actually, I skipped that day. I needed a day where I could simply collect my thoughts, focus on my studies, and avoid any and all interaction or confrontation.” She sighed, “Particularly with Sayaka.”

“I’ve been down that road before.” Sayaka had skipped school quite a few times in her former life, especially after her contract. “So what happened next? Did you puke?”

“That’s the part that continues to vex me.” Hitomi drew a deep breath. “The next part that I can entirely remember, was waking up on the other side of Mitakihara inside an abandoned factory with, like, a large group of other people I didn’t know!”

“That’s wei-” Sayaka paused, realizing she should be a little more empathetic with her words. “Wild!”

“The police said it was something like a mass hallucination, as if the fact that there’s a precedent for it makes the experience any less confusing. Or traumatizing.” Hitomi hid her eyes under her hands. “Or humiliating. Or the aftermath any less stigmatizing.” She ashamedly hunched down in her seat. “The craziest part of it all is that, if I really, really try, I can remember very faint moments from while I was hallucinating… You know, like those vanishing fragments of a dream you remember after you first wake up?”

Sayaka couldn’t help but think back to those fleeting moments she could recall from those final days of her previous timeline, those bleak nights on the streets she’d spent battered and downcast, all alone battling familiars and sleeping under bridges and in storm drains after she and Madoka parted ways. “Are you sure you want to remember what happened to you?” Sayaka certainly didn’t believe doing so would offer any closure.

“I don’t think I can even begin to move on, if I don’t at least try.” Hitomi sipped what little remained of her juice. “I can remember… A frog.”

“Did you see a frog?”

“No. I didn’t see a frog.” She corrected. “I was the frog. I think.”

“Say what?”

“That’s it... I recall I was paging through my Biology textbook. I guess my mind drifted back to the time we had to dissect a frog in biology class.”

“Sounds like you got caught up in a daydream.”

“That’d be the logical conclusion, under normal circumstances,” Hitomi concurred. “But the feeling was worse than any nausea I’ve ever had. It felt like something was stabbing me right in the gut, and tearing me open.” 

“Gee, that’s…” Sayaka sympathetically clutched her own gut. “Awful.” It was exactly the sort of pain to which she could relate.

“I’m sorry if any of this is making you uncomfortable.” Hitomi had noticed Sayaka’s uncomfortable gesture. “I’ll stop.”

“No, it’s cool.” Sayaka pressed, eminently curious to learn what someone under a witch’s influence experienced. “I had appendicitis when I was little is all,” she fibbed. “Kinda hit home. Keep going if you want. If it helps you.” 

“This is where the rest of it gets more and more hazy. More and more like a bad dream.” Hitomi continued. “I was lying down in pain and I opened my eyes and I saw,” Hitomi hesitated. “Sayaka. Or a monster. Or was it a Sayaka-shaped monster?” 

“M- That’s horrible!” Sayaka exclaimed. That a witch would use her own image to manipulate her friend, the thought deeply disturbed her. And it seemingly gave credence to the idea Miss Jones suggested, that witches acted with both intelligence and intent.

“I was certain that whatever that thing was, it was going to torture and kill me, but then…” Hitomi trailed off. “I was saved. Someone saved me from the monster.”

“Saved? Who saved you?”

“A voice.” Hitomi closed her eyes. “I don’t quite recall how or why, but after I heard the voice, everything magically went away. And after that I had no pain, no fear, and no worries about anything at all.”

“You think that the voice, whatever it was, rescued you?”

“I know it did.” Hitomi wistfully stared out the window. “It was absolutely the most beautifully soothing voice I’d ever heard in my life. The way it spoke to me, it was as if it had touched the very core of my soul. I was completely in love with it. And it was wonderful.” She lightly touched the skin on her neck. “And yet, I don’t remember what the voice sounded like at all. Or perhaps I lack the words that would properly describe it.” She placed her bandaged hand to her heart. “But I am absolutely certain of one thing: At that moment, I would have done anything to protect it.”

“In love with a voice.” Sayaka could only politely nod. “Strange.” Was this, she pondered, always the sort of scenario that all the people under the witch’s influence experienced? Furthermore, she wondered if this was the way all witches operated, and whether these things, whatever these creatures truly were, genuinely thought they were liberating people with their magic.

“I’m sorry.” Hitomi apologized again. “I can see I’ve made you uncomfortable again.” 

“Oh, no!” Sayaka apologetically shook her head and waved her hands. “It’s not you, it’s me! It’s, uh, my imagination… I’m trying to put myself in your shoes, y’know? And the picture’s very vivid!” She wanly grinned. “I can totally see myself as the frog too.” She noticed Hitomi’s expression instantly changed. “Did I say something odd?”

“You-” Hitomi paused. “Reminded me of Sayaka when you said that. That’s the sort of thing she would have said.”

“Meandering minds think alike, I guess?” She self-deprecatingly said as she chuckled.

“She’d say that too.” Hitomi said. “You two seem to have awfully similar dispositions.” She smiled. “Mind you, I’m basing this on what few talks we’ve had, versus the years she and I have known one another.” she hedged.

“And you’re really ready to let a boy flush those years down the drain?” Sayaka asked, studying closely her false reflection in the window.

“It does seem sort of melodramatic, doesn’t it?" Hitomi pensively closed her study book. “But to be totally honest, I’ve been having second thoughts about our friendship for quite some time now.”

“Wait,” Sayaka’s jaw dropped. “What? For reals?”  

Hitomi’s mouth was equally as agape. “Wow. I finally said that to somebody out loud.” Her eyes blinked in rapid succession a half dozen times. She tilted her head and wearily studied Sayaka’s false face. “‘For reals’.” She muttered. “Strange.”

“W- What is it? Why are you staring at me?” Sayaka awkwardly slid back in her seat.

“That hairpin of yours.” Hitomi answered. “I’ve only just noticed it now. But it looks quite a bit like the one she wears, too.” She slowly reached out to touch it. 

“Hitomi!” Sayaka’s own angry voice shouted from across the lunch room. “What’s going on? What the hell is this letter?” Sayaka turned around to see her other self angrily holding up a note. “If you’re gonna tell me we’re not friends anymore, you should at least have the guts to say it to my dang face!” She stomped toward their table and slammed a crumpled note onto it. 

Hitomi took a deep breath as she got out of her seat. “I’m sorry you found out about Kyosuke and I in the way you did.” She tried to maintain her calm as she spoke. “For that, I do owe you a more direct apology.” She momentarily paused as she took another deep breath. “However, I’m not going to apologize for my feelings. And I believed that a note would express those feelings in as clearly and concisely a way as I could conceive.”

“Wait, you guys!” Madoka had finally caught up to her friend in the lunchroom. “You don’t have to fight!”

“Spare me the platitudes!” Sayaka ignored Madoka’s plea. “Say it all to my face! Don’t wuss out and pass along some note!”

“Would you have reacted any better if I had done so?”

“No.” The Sayaka in disguise answered. “She wouldn’t have.”

“You keep out of this, Transfer Student!” Sayaka impulsively tried to shove her counterpart out of the way.

“But she’s right!” Hitomi swatted Sayaka’s hand away a scant-second before the two could come in contact. When she realized what had almost happened, the Disguised Sayaka cognizantly retreated behind Hitomi. “With a note, I believed I’d be offering you enough space and enough time to make a rational decision.” She stood firm. “So what are you going to do?”

“Ooooh… What a benevolent pal! Giving me a chance to play bad guy first!” She stepped right up to Hitomi’s face. “If he wants me, you’re gonna use it as an excuse to quit being friends. If he swings to you, you’re gonna claim that he’s the reason we can’t be friends. Either way, your hands stay clean. Is that right?”

“Gah! Why would he ever want to be with someone so hotheaded?” Hitomi angrily shot back.

“Ugh! Why would he ever want to get together with someone so uptight and reserved?”

“Why would he ever want to be with someone so ignorant?”

“Why would he ever want to go out with someone so passive agressive?”

“With someone too obsessed with videogames?”

“With someone too obsessed with studying?”

“With someone who can’t sew?”

“With someone who can’t cook?”

“Stop it! Stop it Stop it!” Madoka had finally caught up. “Stop it right now, you guys!” She burst at them. But she was ignored.

“How’s somebody who’s so squeamish around blood gonna take care of a guy like him?”

“How’s somebody who’s so impatient and hyper going to take care of a guy like him?”

Madoka frantically searched around the cafeteria for a means of getting their attention.

“I’ve known him way longer!”

“I know him far better!”

“Stop it! Stop! He doesn’t…” She saw a pot of leftover baked beans in the buffet area. “You’re both wrong! He doesn’t want to be with either of you!” 

“Face it! Your hoity-toity mom would never let you go out with him! She lives her dreams through you, y’know!”

“Face it! His parents would never lower their social standing and allow him to be with you! You low-class commoner!”

Madoka dashed and grabbed the pot.

“You biiiiiitch! You take that back!” Sayaka raised her fist. “Now!”

“You wiiiiitch! You take it back!” Hitomi followed suit.

“Madoka! Stooooo-” Two other girls called out in unison.

“Kyosuke wants...” A flying pot of beans unexpectedly flew over both their heads. “Meeeeeeeeee!”   

***

“Where was it again?” Kyoko was trying to retrace her steps through this unfamiliar school. The bell signaling the end of the period had just rung. Students shuffled through the hallways as they impeded her effort. “Damn it!” She squeezed between one group of ninth graders and jostled against a trailing group of seventh graders. 

“Bingo!” Kyoko looked at the sign hanging above the room she was searching for. She ducked behind a row of lockers. She watched and waited patiently until the lights in the room were switched off as the last teacher strolled back to his class. She clandestinely approached the door, smirking impishly upon discovering it had not been locked.

She toed over to the coat rack in the corner. She hurriedly reached into her target’s coat pocket. She grabbed and checked the first object she touched. It was a yo-yo. She felt for the next object. It felt wet and leafy. She took it out and sniffed it. “Celery? Sheesh, what a weirdo!” She took a nibble on it and picked again. A couple Yen coins. She quickly stashed those into her own pocket and moved on to the inner pocket. The first item looked like a long pink calculator, but with markings on the buttons she didn’t recognize. She shoved it back in and dug deeper, into a sub pocket within. That’s when she felt it, right away she knew what the object she’d touched was. “Hooooolyyyy crap!” She gasped as she pulled it out and examined it. “So that’s what I sensed! I knew it! I was right about her!” 

“What are doing, Kyoko?” A voice from the window interrupted her pickpocketing. Kyoko deftly stashed the item in her sweatshirt pocket. 

“Nuthin’!” She closed the coat and proceeded to raid the other coats on the rack. “Just stockin’ up!” She picked a half-melted chocolate wafer bar out of one pocket. “Gonna have another DDR session later!” She hastily snatched a couple Yen coins from the next coat on the rack.

“I’ll never understand you humans’ affinity for frivolous entertainment.” Kyubey made his way inside from the open window.

“Hey, Kyubey,” Kyoko surveyed the hallway. “Was what Sayaka told me true? Were you really serious about takin’ away your invitation to make Sayaka a magical girl?”

“Yes. I was just going to tell her,” Kyubey replied. “Her deadline has passed, and at this time, I see no need to make any gratuitous contracts. Even if she does have a wish in mind, the decision is final.”

“What?” Kyoko exclaimed. “What about that Walpurgisnacht comin’ to town? Dontcha think it’d be better to have a ton of help fighting it?”

“Walpurgisnacht? Interesting, how have you become aware of its arrival?”

“Answer me!” Kyoko shot back. “Is it comin’ here?” She tried to duck under a desk, but a small pet carrier was lodged underneath. So she ducked behind a file cabinet instead.

“The evidence collected at present would seem to support such a conclusion, yes.”

“And ya’ didn’t think that was important enough to tell me about before I came back to this town?”

“You didn’t ask about it. You simply wanted to know where all the witches were going.”

“Tch!” Kyoko scoffed. “Typical answer outta ya’.” She peeked back towards the hall. “I really hate being led around by the nose ya’ know!” 

“You are the one who ultimately made the decision to return to this city.” Kyubey leapt atop the desk she was hiding behind.

“Tch, whatever!” Kyoko grabbed him by the nape of his neck. "So why yank the chance away from Sayaka? Never heard of you doin’ that to someone!”

“For her own safety.” Kyubey’s head tilted. “With the unexpected excess number of magical girls in this city, given the territorial nature of most magical girls, I calculated that she would most likely become a casualty in an inevitable future territorial clash.”

“Buuuullshit!” Kyoko tossed him across the room. “I’ve seen her in action! She’s got what it takes!” She took another peek out from behind the desk. “I’d bet on her in a fight over most of these other chicks! Better odds than that Shrimpy yer so big on, anyway!” She closely watched the foot traffic out in the hallway.

“That ‘Shrimpy,’ as you call her, has the potential to immediately become the most powerful magical girl that’s ever existed.”

“Get outta town! Ya’ mean she’d be even stronger than Mami?” 

“Far stronger than Mami.” Kyubey promptly got back on his feet and headed for the window. “Indeed the difference in scale between Madoka Kaname and Mami Tomoe would be akin to the difference in size between The Earth and the gas giant that humans call ‘Jupiter’. And even that would be vastly understating the difference.”

“Which one’s Jupiter again?” Kyoko confusedly scratched her head and picked her nose.

“Perhaps that was a bad analogy, considering the girl I am addressing.” Kyubey slightly tilted his head to the other side, as if he were trying to tease her.

“Grrrr. Watch it!” Kyoko growled resentfully.

“Surely you have sensed her innate potential yourself,” Kyubey swished his tail. “You do seem to possess a uniquely acute ability to sense the magic of others.”

“I can smell yer stench all over her fer sure!” Kyoko remarked. She took one extra peek over the desk into the hallway before she broke for the door. The coast seemed clear. She leapt off the floor booked for the door, then instantly stopped and dove behind another desk

“What. The. Hell?” She exclaimed as she watched a teacher traipse Sayaka, Madoka and their friend Hitomi disgracefully through the hallway to detention, each girl utterly drenched in beans, rice, and beef. What a sorry waste of food, Kyoko thought to herself.

“Shit!” She angrily pounded the floor. “If those two both make a contract, they’re gonna wind up just like Me and Mami.” She frustratedly muttered to herself. ‘ You like making deals, right? ’ She transmitted her thoughts to Kyubey, who was proceeding towards the window.. ‘ How ‘bout this… You keep that contract offer open and I’ll help Sayaka make up her mind once-and-for all, while you stop harassin’ her friend. Deal? ’

“Why would I agree to that? You have no means of enforcing such an arrangement.”

‘ I’ll stop tossin’ ya’ about and ditchin’ ya’, too. How ‘bout that? ’

“While dealing with your erratic temperament is quite tiring, again, it’s not in any way an incentive. If you have nothing to offer, then we have nothing to discuss.” He turned his back and got ready to leap through the window and out of the room.

“Gaaahhh!” Kyoko grunted aloud. Then she remembered the item in that pocket. ‘ Okay… Maybe I do have a little something for ya! ’

“And that is?”

‘ I got info! Good info !’

“Information?” Kyubey turned back around and paused. “Of what sort?”

‘ Nah-ah! Promise me you’ll keep your invitation open to Sayaka first! ’

Kyubey stared at her while whipping his tail back and forth. “Very well.”

‘ And lay off her Shrimpy friend! ’

“That is her decision.”

‘ Gaaahh! Fine! ’ Kyoko relented. ‘ One to one swap! Info for Sayaka’s wish .’

“Very well.” Kyubey’s tail swished. “What information do you possess?”

‘First, let’s agree upon how many magical girls are in this place, not counting Sayaka and Shrimpy.’ Kyoko smiled. ‘There’s me, Missing Mami, That odd Homura chick and that even odder Saya girl.’ Kyoko arched her eyebrow. ‘Right?’

“That would be a correct assessment.” Kyubey kept impatiently swishing his tail.

‘ Bzzzt! Wroooong! ’ Kyoko’s smile widened to a face-encompassing grin. ‘ Aw, way cool! I actually know somethin’ ya’ don’t know! ’

“Is that so? Would you care to enlighten me? That is what we’ve agreed to exchange.”

‘ Have ya’ looked at Sayaka’s teacher? That foreign lookin’ lady from her first class! Somethin’s off about her! ’

“You believe her to be a magical girl?” Kyubey suddenly stood up. “Do you have any evidence for this assertion?”

Kyoko got up from her hiding spot and hustled over to the coat rack. “Right here!” She pulled a Grief Seed straight out from Miss Jones’s coat pocket. “Ta-Da!”

“That’s a Grief Seed.” Kyubey’s little mouth visibly opened slightly. Kyubey was already aware of the two anomalous magical girls. “Quite a curious thing to have indeed.” Now Kyubey had to consider the possibility that there might exist a third.

“Oh, she stinks of magic alright!” Kyoko kept talking aloud. “You gonna keep yer word now?”

“That is what we agreed upon.” Kyubey leapt onto a nearby desk. He leapt from desk to desk, his unblinking stare never leaving the Grief Seed. “Now give it to me.”

“Oh? Ya’ really want it?” Kyoko immediately noticed his rather excedent attention upon it.

“It is a used Grief Seed. It would be of no further use to you. It would be dangerous to keep.”

“Is that right?” Kyoko leaned towards Kyubey. “Hmmm.” Kyubey’s eyes noticeably widened. She slowly extended her arm towards him. “Ya’ know what?” She quickly jerked it behind her back. “I’ll take my chances.” She slyly grinned while she opened the door behind her. “Keep yer promise to Sayaka. Then I’ll hand it over.”

Judging by Kyoko’s general tone and demeanor, the likelihood that her information was a deliberate deception was very low, Kyubey calculated. So if her instincts were correct, it had to investigate. But should it investigate first, and then report to its counterparts, or report first, and proceed only upon having a consensus over what to do with this information? If this woman was in league with the other two anomalies, then the matter was urgent and it would have to decide quickly. But If this woman were a teacher, it reasoned, then she would be obligated to remain at this establishment for at least the next few hours, thereby minimizing the chance that she may disappear and reappear elsewhere and evade them, as the other two anomalies so frequently and successfully have. Its decision made, Kyubey headed back inside the school.

***

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” Mami Tomoe’s silhouetted figure apologized as she blasted away at the witch’s animalistic familiars.

She had done nothing but hunt on autopilot all day. She was extremely tired. Even so, exhaustion could not keep her from doing her solemn duty. This was to be her seventh euthanization of the day. And her last.

“What were your hopes? Your dreams?” She pulled musket trigger after musket trigger. “What family is going to be mourning your disappearance? What friends?” She magically materialized a barrage of guns and aimed for the center of its mass. “I would have liked to have known you better… Known who Kyubey took from them. From this world.” A ravenous pair of familiars attacked her from behind. From Mami’s arms sprouted a set of golden ribbons that tied them tightly together. She yanked as hard as her diminished strength could muster, forcibly severing them from the witch’s main body.

“What drove you to become a magical girl?” She leapt high into the air and formed a gigantic gun, she was positioned to take her final shot. “Me? I wanted to live. Connect with life.” When once she would have boldly and proudly proclaimed the name of her finishing maneuver, now, here in this labyrinth, she took no such pleasure. “Not become an angel of death.” She fired her weapon, piercing straight through the witch’s core and exploding, a successful execution. Mami stared sorrowfully at the Grief Seed in front of her as the labyrinth around her dissolved away. She dug a shallow hole right next to it, scooped it up, placed it inside, and buried the Grief Seed.

“If magical girls become witches, we have no choice! We have to die! All of you!” Mami formed a small flintlock pistol, and pointed it at the flower-shaped Soul Gem adorning the side of her head. Her exhaustion and despair now overwhelming, she was all but resigned to her fate. And what better place to do it, than at the very park where she once failed to save a young child? Where she once swore she’d end herself if she ever stopped being a creature of hope? Where else but this park… Surrounded by the company of her fallen comrades she collected and buried?

“And m- me!” Mami closed her teary eyes, grit her teeth and leaned her finger against the trigger. “I’ll be with you again soon, Mom and Dad.” 

An unexpected burst of wind rushed past her body. She heard the sound of something hitting the ground in front of her. She reluctantly opened her eyes to see it. It was an apple. A reminder from heaven, of business still left unfinished on earth. Mami knelt down and picked up the fallen apple. “Oh. That’s right. Thank you so much for reminding me,” She choked her words as she wiped away her tears. “Mom and Dad.” She stood up and approached the Grief Seed on the ground. “And you too.” 

Mami transformed out of her magical form, and formed her Soul Gem in her hand. She slowly undug the Grief Seed from the ground, and lightly touched it against her gem. “I’m sorry I have to do this to you. But I need to borrow your strength, so I can face an old friend. For her, I must give one last act of mercy.” She walked over to the tree where the apple fell, and she dug a new shallow grave with her bare hands, then laid the Seed to rest under the foot of the tree. “Now you can rest in peace, dear friend.” She stood up, bowed her head, crossed her heart and turned back towards the city skyline.

Chapter Text

“Greeeeaaaaaat.” Miss Jones groaned in her chair. “Just fantastic. What sort of hackneyed teenage melodrama have I been sucked into here?” She grabbed a handkerchief, stood up and handed it to the bean-soaked Hitomi. “Yeesh!”

“Madoka threw a pot of beans at me!” Sayaka accusingly pointed the finger at her friend.

“She threw it at us .” Hitomi flicked a sopping-wet bean off her wrist at Sayaka. 

“Madoka, is that true?” Miss Jones turned to the silent girl sitting farther away. 

“Madoka was merely breaking up a heated verbal argument between those two.” Homura stated at the doorway in Madoka’s defense. Miss Jones motioned for her to sit down and join the rest of the group.

“And what did you see after that, Miss Otonashi?” Miss Jones asked the Disguised Sayaka, sheepishly staring at her counterpart from the opposite corner of the room. 

“Me? I, uh-” Sayaka looked around at the discontented stares of her peers. “When I saw the beans, I... Hid under the table.” She slouched in her seat “I didn’t see much else.”

“Probably not the most inappropriate action.” Miss Jones wiped Sayaka’s counterpart’s cheek with a blank piece of paper. 

“Hitomi chucked rice at me!” Sayaka cried with a look of both shock and disdain. “Like, right in my eyes!”

“You stained my shirt with barbecue!” Hitomi wailed back.

“It was after Sayaka threw Hitomi’s lunch at me!” Madoka finally chimed in.

“A little vinegar should do the trick” Miss Jones inspected Hitomi’s shirt.

“I’m well aware of how I’m supposed to clean food stains.” Hitomi replied.

“And what about you, Miss Kaname?” Miss Jones glanced at a cut under Madoka’s knee. “Do you need any assistance?” She surreptitiously glanced at Kyubey watching them all, right beneath the young lady. It seemed to have its eyes trained directly on her.

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” Madoka hunched over. “I- I slipped on some food after we stopped fighting.”

“Alright,” Miss Jones nodded her head. “At the risk of starting a shouting match, would someone care to tell me who started this whole mess?”

“Hitomi started it.” Sayaka folded her arms.

Hitomi shot her an immensely disgusted look. “It’s a personal matter. It’s not something I’m comfortable sharing with a teacher.” Hitomi puffed her cheeks and looked away.

“It’s…” Madoka slowly lifted her head up just long enough to reply. “About a boy we know.” She lowered her head quickly enough to dodge the irate stares of her two friends.

“A boy?” Miss Jones lightly shuffled over to Madoka’s desk. “Hooooooo boy.” Kyubey’s eyes stayed trained on her the entire way.

“His name’s Kyosuke Kamijo.” The Sayaka in disguise volunteered. Her counterpart quickly shot a displeased look at Hitomi. Hitomi didn’t seem to appreciate her confidant’s reveal much, either.

“Ah.” Miss Jones nodded. “Why does that name sound familiar?” She fibbed as she tried pressing the group for more answers.

“He’s a boy who’s in this class.” Homura went along with the ruse. “But he’s been recovering in the hospital after suffering an accident.” The three girls collectively stared at her. “I occasionally do overhear the class’s idle gossip.” She assuaged the group.

“And something concerning this boy, is what caused this wordfight-turned-foodfight?”

The group fell totally silent for the next full minute.

“I know saying this is a total cliché, but talking it out really does work sometimes.” She turned toward the front of the room “Silence only foments resentment.”

“Very well,” Hitomi volunteered. “If admitting it out in the open will serve any purpose, then I confess…” Hitomi swallowed. “I have been secretly seeing Kyosuke Kamijo in the hospital for the last few weeks. I have always liked Kamijo. And while he and I were together, we got along quite well,” she continued. “And the more time I’ve spent with him, the more that I am certain,” She stood up and took a deep breath. “I am in love with him.” But she could tell by the unstirred look on all their faces that her honest words weren’t gaining the traction she anticipated. She slunk back into her seat crestfallen.

“That’s aweeeeeesome!” Sayaka replied. “I hope Kyosuke knows juuuuuust how lucky he iiiiiiis!” The Disguised Sayaka could recognize the bitter sarcasm in her counterpart’s voice. So could everyone else.

“Hey, lay off!” Sayaka snapped at her other self. “She had a lot of courage admitting it! More than you’ve got.”

“Shut yer trap, Transfer Student!” Her counterpart rolled her eyes, stood up and shot back. “This ain’t any business of yours!”

“Bite your tongue, Miss Clown.” Miss Jones lightly pushed Sayaka down to her seat. “I take it by that reaction, you’ve got your eyes on him as well?” Miss Jones calmly asked.

“Er, uh-” Sayaka hesitated to answer. “We hang out.” She grumpily sat back down. “From time to time.”

“That’s all he is to you?” Hitomi responded. “If that’s the case, then I believe I was being more than fair in giving you time to act.”

“How is one day being fair?” Sayaka objected. “I haven’t even been able to see him since that afternoon I caught you red-handed flirting with him!”

“I already apologized for not telling you what I was doing.” Hitomi countered. “But I’m not going to apologize for doing it. I was simply trying to engage him positively, at the nurses’ encouragement. What followed next was us naturally having chemistry together.”

“Blech!” Sayaka blew a raspberry with her tongue. “Don’t make me barf! The stench of the barbecue and beans in your hair is already makin’ me sick enough!”

“Mushrooms, actually.” Miss Jones interjected. She hovered her nose over Hitomi’s head. “Shiitake, if my knowledge of fungus is still solid.” She physically inserted herself between the bickering young ladies. “It’s all over yourself as well, Miss Clown.” She checked the time on the clock. “I think this about the part where, as the duly designated authority figure, I’m supposed to take control of the conversation and hand down your punishment.” She self-assuredly placed each hand in front of Sayaka and Hitomi’s faces. “So this is how it’s going to go down.” She made eyes with Madoka as she continued. “Each of you is going to write on the board in English, approximately one hundred times, ‘I shall not start silly stupid spats over splendidly spiffy studs in school’.” 

“‘Splendidly spiffy studs?’” Homura cocked her head to the side.

“Teaching alliteration in English tomorrow.” Miss Jones smiled. “They’ll be getting a head start.” She glanced at each of the girls as she spoke. Then a third time at Kyubey. She wasn’t paranoid… It really was watching her. With intent.

“That wasn’t part of the lesson plan.” Hitomi sheepishly commented.

“Read ahead have we, Little Teacher’s Pet?” Sayaka snarked. 

“Quiet now!” Miss Jones zipped her mouth. “I’ll be making a few changes from Miss Saotome’s plans.” She quick-glanced at the Kyubey under the desk. Indeed, for seemingly the first time ever it appeared thoroughly uninterested in the drama surrounding Kaname. “As you’re working, I will dismiss each of you, one at a time, to the bathroom, so you can clean yourselves up.” She then turned her attention to Homura. “Miss Akemi, since you were not a party to this quarrel, and thus not technically in detention, I would like you to assume the role of class helper for the day.” 

“Very well.” Homura flipped her hair.

“Seeing as you seem to have gotten the worst of it, Miss Shizuki, I think it’s best that you visit first.”

“Thank you,” Hitomi graciously nodded and stood up.

“What about me?” The Disguised Sayaka raised her hand. “Am I in trouble too?” 

“Judging by the amount of food that’s presently on your personage, no.” Miss Jones moved toward her desk. “You’re free to go.” She pointed at the door.

“Uhh, Saya? Can you do me a small favor?” Hitomi turned around and approached her. “I meant to check out a couple of books at the library after lunch.” She handed Sayaka a list and her student ID. “Can you go check them out for me, please?”

“Oh, uhm,” Sayaka peeked at the list. “Sure thing.” Hitomi gave an appreciative smile.

“And could you close the door on your way out?” Miss Jones quickly hollered at the departing trio.

“Huh?” Homura turned and looked back.

“You heard me.” She cocked her head at them. “I can’t have any “unauthorized” presences getting in my detention room.” She winked, then whispered “Or out.”

“I... see.” 

“Alright, then.” she tossed a pair of digital pens to Sayaka and Madoka. “You ladies hop right to it.”

“Sayaka?” Madoka discreetly whispered to her friend after a few minutes of writing and awkward silence. “Did you hear what I said in the cafeteria?”

“Not really.” Sayaka impatiently sighed as she wrote on the board. “I was too busy dodging the food you tossed at me.”

“I meant what I said.” Madoka inched a step closer to her friend. “Kyosuke is in love with me!”

“Pssht. Ridiculous. You were tryin’ to stop us from fighting.” Her friend said dismissively. “You don’t need to keep lying about it.”

“But I’m not lying!” Madoka insisted.

“Tch!” Sayaka grimaced. She stopped writing and momentarily stared into her friend’s unabating eyes. “What’s his favorite song?”

“Ave Maria.”

“Even Hitomi would get that one right.” Sayaka rolled her eyes as she went back to writing. “What’s his favorite show?”

“That one show with the magical girls.”

“Ha! Wrong!” Sayaka said a little too loud. “Like he’d be into anything with superheroes. Or girls.”

“Less talk-ey, more writ-ey.” Miss Jones interrupted. “The faster you write, the sooner you can all go home.” She added, subtly making eyes with the figure under Madoka’s desk from behind a newspaper. Its creepy gaze still hyper-focused on her.

“He told me about the show last night.” Madoka recounted while she resumed writing. “I was looking all over for you and I thought I’d find you with him so I went there and we talked and he…” She paused to catch her breath. “He and I talked a lot.”

“Ahhhhh, you talked a lot?” Sayaka snorted. “And you naturally hit it off, I’m sure. A highly original story.”

“It’s true!” Madoka countered.

Sayaka continued writing. “So what am I supposed to believe? That you and he had a whirlwind of a day together, talking and talking and talking, and suddenly you’re an inseparable pair?” She paused while she caught up to Madoka’s pace. 

“Quit bickering or I’ll make it a hundred and fifty times!” Miss Jones commanded from behind the newspaper. She strategically placed her glasses on the desk and peeked into Kyubey’s reflection off them.

“Sorry.” They apologized in unison.

“Or that you did a stupid thing so that Hitomi and I wouldn’t fight anymore?” She whispered after a few minutes of monitored silence. Sayaka caught a glimpse of a figure approaching down the hallway from the transparent wall outside. It was a quite visibly angry Miss Yamazaki. “Aww, Crap.” 

“Just a moment.” Miss Jones hopped out of her seat and met her at the doorway. “What’s up?” She quickly closed the door behind her. 

“We’ve had five practices… You know how many she’s been to? Just one!” She exclaimed. “And she blew that one off on me, too!”

“And verbally torching her is not going to teach her anything.” Miss Jones assuaged. “It’ll only make her afraid of you.”

“I’m not here to do that.” Miss Yamazaki professed. “The administrative staff wants to debrief each girl involved, one at a time. Get to the bottom of whomever started that foodfight and discipline them accordingly.”

“You mean now?” Miss Jones checked back over her shoulder. Miss Yamazaki sternly nodded. 

“I wouldn’t lie to you about this, I swear.” Madoka raised her voice with one last plea. The level of seriousness in her voice was enough to get Sayaka to drop her pen.

“Miss Clown!” Miss Jones stood in the doorway.

“Y- Yes, Miss Jones?” 

“They want to have a talk with each of you. One on one.” Her eyes peered down the opposite hallway where Homura and Hitomi were returning. “Guess you’re up to bat first.”

“Y- Yes, Miss Jones.” Sayaka meandered out the door with her head drooped low. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to practice.” She meekly apologized to Miss Yamazaki. “Really sorry.”

“We’ll discuss it after you’ve met with the administrative staff.” Miss Yamazaki stiffly replied. “And after I’ve contacted your parents.” This made Sayaka sink her head even lower.

“Welcome back.” Miss Jones stood firm in the doorway greeting the returning girls. She casually hovered her nose above Hitomi’s damp hair. “It’s not as bad anymore. Passable enough to make it through the afternoon.” She stepped aside and let Hitomi pass. “You’re turn, Miss Kaname.” Madoka handed her digital pen to Hitomi and shuffled towards the door. Kyubey, surprisingly, did not follow. The jig was up, Miss Jones figured.

“Miss Akemi,” The Time Lady hastily shut the door behind Madoka with a resounding thud, trapping Kyubey inside the classroom. “Would you and Miss Kaname please go to the bathroom down by the Teachers’ Lounge? I know it’s a little out of the way, but,” she placed her hand trustingly on Homura’s shoulder. “There’s something I need you to retrieve for me while you’re there.” 

“Yes, Miss-”

“ Who are you ?” A single question psychically permeated into the Time Lady’s mind.

“It’s under my desk. You’ll know it when you see it.”

“There are small, but detectable traces of magic emanating from within you,” The psychic voice of Kyubey continued. “With concerted focus, I can perceive it. But the energy patterns flowing throughout your physical form are vey-”

'Straaaaaaaaange ?' The Time Lady psychically replied. She turned around and stared back at him from behind the glass wall.

“You are another anomaly.” 

‘ Funny… That’s how all my superiors described me, too .’ She gave a sly, satisfied smile. ‘ But they’re all gone now . Now I’m here, foiling the machinations of little bunnycats .’

“Very peculiar how you’ve managed to evade detection until now.” Kyubey curiously turned his head. “Are you a magical girl?”

‘ A “Magical Girl”? Quite the whimsical name for a Witch in chrysalis. I can see why it’s at the fore of your marketing pitch .’

“In this land, undeveloped human females are referred to as “girls”, it is only natural to call an undeveloped witch a magi-”

‘ Spare me the villainous riff! Y’know, I have half a mind to report you for flagrantly violating at least three major subsections of The Treaties of The Shadow Proclamation! That is, my old moral, upstanding, naïve rule-abiding half a mind .’

“We are in compliance with Article Zero, Clause Six, Subsection Sixty-Six to The Treaty.”

‘ Aaaaaand the other half, that is the wiser, more realistic, better-knowing cynical half, is all too aware of that imbicilic classified subset of legalese loopholes .’ She sternly folded her arms and stared into her target’s big red eyes. ‘ The Benevolence Clause. Tell me Bunnycat, how could there possibly be anything benevolent about turning unsuspecting girls into eldritch horrors ?’  

“That you are aware of these entities suggests you are not of this world.” Kyubey returned to his original question “Who are you?”

‘ I am… Nobody. But I am a nobody who is going to stop your pernicious little scheme .’

“There is nothing malevolent to our methods. We acknowledge humans’ sapience and approach them as equals.” The two were now locked into a dead-eyed stare. “Who are you?”

‘I am nobody. Though the Tantiliaths once called me ‘The Tormentor,’ The Time Lady smirked. ‘And I shall torment to no end, any being who would harvest innocent souls for cynical reasons.’

“Our methods are ultimately altruistic. The sacrifice of a select few, shall eventually benefit the entire universe. Including humans.” Neither had moved a muscle from the second their conversation began. “Who are you?”

‘ I am nobody. But I am also the bane of seven Sontaran Fleets. And soon I will become the bane of you as well, my trapped little bunnycat .’

Kyubey was unfazed. “Keeping me sealed in a room is futile. Attacking us will accomplish nothing. Indeed if either of us are judged by the Shadow Proclamation, it shall be you for stopping us from achieving our goal.” Kyubey’s stare still holding firm, the creature asked once more, “Who are you?”

‘ I am nobody. But a very long time ago, I was somebody. And that Somebody would very much like to know what your endgame is. ’

“Our goal is the most benevolent of all goals. Our goal is to gather energy that will someday far extend the life Universe.” Kyubey swished his tail back and forth like an animal waiting for its opportunity to pounce.

‘ Extend the life of the Universe ?’ The Time Lady’s could hardly contain her laughter, though her judgemental gaze persisted. ‘ And here I was about to treat you as a formidable opponent! What a massive folly, trying to use ectomatter in such a foolish way. ’

“This ‘ectomatter,’ which I presume is your word for human souls,” Kyubey countered, “Is the only known energy source that releases more energy than it takes to raise and harness it.”

‘ I don’t know what to tell you, little Bunnycat, but you are going to fail in that goal. Miserably .’ She leaned ever so slightly closer to him. ‘ You see, I’ve seen the end of the Universe. It’s cold. It’s dark. It’s quiet. It’s really not so bad if you don’t mind putting up with some cannibals .’

“How could you have possibly seen the end of the Universe? Who are you?”

‘ I am nobody. A Nobody who has found true salvation in the philosophy of helping others directly, and rejecting the bullshit “Greater good of the many” mantra for what it is: An excuse the entrenched powerful use to do whatever saves their own asses .’ A single drop of blood fell from her nose.

“You appear to have the ability to resist my telepathic probing. But the endemic flaw of the humanoid body is that it cannot endure such applied stresses indefinitely. Who are you?” Kyubey concentrated all his physical energy into mentally breaking his foe.

‘ Ohhhhhh you really wanna go, boy? Let’s have at it !’’

“Who are you?” Images flashed into Kyubey’s mind. Of fleets of exploding warships. Of planets being incinerated. Of the millions of horrified, screaming faces.

‘ You... Will... ’ The dripping nosebleed began to gush.

“Y-… You are…” Faces upon faces of terrified souls.

‘ Obeeeeeeeey… Meeeeee… ’ Her arrogant smile evolved into an ever so fearsome grin.

“The…” A strange world appeared in his view. “The…” An impossible world.

‘ I… Am… ’ That wasn’t possible! How could she be a member of a mythological race? She leaned closer and closer, until her head was practically leaning right into the glass.

“Miss Jooooones!” Hitomi Shizuki suddenly cried from the whiteboard. A shattering of glass fell straight onto her head. The Mitakihara Middle School teacher abruptly collapsed to the floor.

***

“So you admit to full culpability in this altercation?” The Superintendent spoke very matter-of-factly.

“Yes.” Sayaka gulped, “Sir.” ‘ He’ll believe it. ’ She thought to herself, ‘ Because I’m nobody. ’

“It says here you’ve had prior physical altercations with other students in the past.” He studiously flipped through her permanent record at his desk. “Most prominently an older male student, two years ago.” He fingered through the details of her prior schoolyard incident. “Hmmm.”

“I was sticking up for someone, that time.” Sayaka replied. ‘ He’s already made up his mind about me. ’ “Sir.”

“I’m not interested in hearing any of your justifications.” He turned the page. “Or any excuses.”

“Sorry.” She muttered. ‘ It’s like talking to my Mom. ’ She thought.

“In addition, Yamazaki says you’ve not been attending softball practices.”

“Boring sport anyway.”

“Nor am I interested in your opinion!” He lightly pushed Sayaka’s record aside.

“Sorry again.” Sayaka caught a glimpse of Madoka’s record on his desk. It was spotless. ‘ I’m gonna keep it that way. ’

“Your being here, attending this school,” He took a deep, stern breath. “It is not a right. It is a privilege. It is amongst the highest-ranked schools, not just in this city, but in the entire Prefecture.” 

Sayaka caught sight of Hitomi’s record. It was even more impeccable. “Uh-Huh.” She rolled her eyes. ‘ She’ll owe me for this too. Big time. ’

“Do you hear me?” He glowered at her. “It. Is. A privilege. An opportunity. One that you are utterly wasting, judging by your test scores.”

“I promise I’ll do better.” ‘ They’re both gonna owe me big time .’ She tried her best to sound contrite. “It really was all my fault. I’ll accept whatever punishment you see fit.” The class dismissal bell rang the moment she finished her apology.

“I’ll have to make some calls before we ultimately decide what to do with y-...” His attention immediately shifted from Sayaka to another teacher striding over up behind her, rapidly approaching his desk.

“There’s been an incident with one of the teachers.” He whispered to his superior.

“Whom?”

“The substitute, Sir!” Hearing that snapped Sayaka to attention. “She’s passed out!”

“Have you tried to awaken her?”

“She’s unresponsive.” Sayaka impulsively tried to go to her aid. “We’ve already called the hospital.”

“Remain here, Miss Miki!” The Administrator jumped from his desk

“No! She’s my teacher! She stomped. “I wanna know if she’s-” The sight of other students and teachers rushing towards her classroom caught her eye. As did another thing, something rushing away from the classroom, Kyubey. He looked as though he were running for his very life, in fact.

“Notify the rest of the-.” The Administrator paused. Sayaka ran out of his office. “I’m not done with you yet, Miss Miki.” She could not hear his warning. The wail of ambulance sirens was drowning out his voice. 

***

“Weird. I didn’t even know they carried these kinds of things in our library.” The Sayaka in disguise was fulfilling Hitomi’s request and checking out a list of manga at the library. She’d never been aware of the vast selection available at her school library, she had gone there so little back in her former life.

“It’s mostly for the Art Clubs.” The School Librarian said. “They need reference materials for their work.” She leaned in to whisper, “But occasionally I also catch some of the honor students and athletes indulging in a manga or two.” 

“Did you hear? Has anyone told you?” One of the honor students grabbed her by the arm. “The substitute English teacher had a seizure and slammed into a section of the wall!”

“What?” Both gasped Sayaka and the Librarian. Sayaka quickly gathered her belongings and ran back to her classroom.

***

“Homura, why do you have a pet carrier with you?” Madoka asked upon leaving the bathroom. Homura had taken it along with her teacher’s coat.

“Miss Jones has a pet rabbit,” Homura lied. “She left it in the care of some grade schoolers this morning.” Lying to Madoka, even a small one, felt so wrong to her.

“She never said anything about having a pet rabbit...” Madoka trailed off.

“I imagine there’s a lot of things she hasn’t told us about herself.”

“Do you think I did the wrong thing?” Madoka asked her classmate.

“I can’t say,” Homura calmly replied. “But I’ve learned that there’s a difference between doing the wrong thing, and doing something wrong. And you definitely didn’t do anything wrong.”

“So you’re saying that I did the wrong thing, but it’s for the right reasons,” Madoka stepped a little closer. “It’s not really doing something wrong.”

“When there’s no other way out of the situation, I suppose.”

“I should’ve kept trying to make them hear me.”

“If there’s no benefit to second guessing yourself, don’t. And there’s no benefit in this case.”

“It’s funny, you remind me a lot of my Momma.”

“In a good way, I can only hope.”

“Oh, definitely in a good way, but-” A male classmate had bumped straight into her running through the hallway. “Owwwch!”

“There’s no running in the hallways!” Homura’s voice raised a full two octaves. “Watch where you’re going next time!”

“Sorry, uhhh-” Ohtani helped Madoka get back on her feet. “Hasn’t anyone told you yet? Miss Jones fell down and she’s unconscious! They’re takin’ her to the hospital right now!”

***

“I didn’t really... See what happened.” Hitomi Shizuki hesitantly told the attending nurse at the hospital. The entire class had left school to check on their unwell teacher. “I was writing the assignment on the board, when I heard glass shatter and watched her fall down from the corner of my eye.”  

“How is she doing?” Nearly a dozen boys and girls asked the Doctor simultaneously, including Madoka, Homura and the two Sayakas.

“She’s unconscious, but stable for now.” The Doctor seemed deeply touched that so many students could care about their poor teacher.

“C’mon,” Homura whispered and tugged Sayaka’s sleeve. “The computer monitor said she was in Observation Room Four Twelve. It’s a single patient suite. Let’s get up there.”

“What the hell happened to her?” Sayaka whispered back.

“I don’t know.” Homura swiftly grabbed a coat and a pet carrier she’d hidden behind a chair. “But I highly doubt she suffered a seizure.”

“What’s the deal with that?” Sayaka tapped on the pet carrier.

“She intended to hold Kyubey in it. She asked me to retrieve it for her, then after that, whatever happened to her, happened.” They made their way into the bathroom and sealed it.

“You don’t think she was going to try to catch him right there in detention, do you?”

“If she had reason to think Kyubey was suspicious of her, she might not have had much choice.” Homura instantaneously flashed into her magical form. “But here I can only speculate. What we must do now, is investigate.” She held her hand out to Sayaka. “Take my hand. We’ll take the stairs up to the third floor storage room, then the fifth floor storage room, and work our way to where she’s being kept.”

“You’ve snuck around this hospital before a lot, haven’t you?”

“Yes I have.” Homura spun her buckler.

“We’re here.” The two girls had arrived in her room in a matter of seconds in real-time. 

“Woah, she’s out cold.” Sayaka observed.

“You can help her wake up.” Homura locked the door and pulled the blinds closed. “Use your healing magic.”

“B- But-”

“I know you still doubt yourself. But was this not the reason you became a magical girl? To help people who need help?”

“I… Yeah.” Sayaka closed her eyes and changed into her magical form with a flash. She removed the Soul Gem from its spot on her belly and clutched it over Miss Jones’s sleeping body. “I’ll try.” 

“Just concentrate.” Homura removed her own diamond-shaped Soul Gem from the back of her hand and emulated Sayaka’s motions.

“What’re you doing?” Sayaka asked.

“It couldn’t hurt.” Homura softly replied. Sayaka gave her a slight, thankful smile.

“You don’t need to waste your energy.” A voice unexpectedly said below them. “I’m awake.” Miss Jones lightly tugged Sayaka’s hand.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Both Sayaka and Homura breathed a very deep sigh of relief, and reverted to their normal forms.

“Where am I?”  

“At the hospital.” Homura answered.

“Crap. What do they say happened?”

“That you had a seizure, then fell over and broke our classroom specialty glass.” Sayaka said.

“Sure. Let’s go with that.” Miss Jones rolled her eyes. “Only slightly less embarrassing than what really went down.”

“Did Kyubey do something to you?” Homura questioned.

“Yesssssss.” Miss Jones tiredly groaned. “And nooooooooo.”

“Huh?” They both said. “Explain,” Homura added.

“Ohhhhhhhh,” Miss Jones exhaled. “I had this little uneasy feeling in my gut that the bunnycat was watching me, that my cover had somehow been blown.” She painedly rubbed her eyes with her fingers as she spoke. “When he outright confirmed my suspicions, I knew I had to do something, so I figured I could psychically keep him frozen on the spot until you came back with the Kyubey Cage.” Her head rolled over and saw the pet carrier in the corner with her coat. “Then I figured, with no one else around the only cleanup I’d need to do after was to induce a little psychic amnesia on Madoka and her pals.”

“I take it Kyubey had other plans?” Homura commented.

“Ha! Haha!” She sarcastically chuckled. “That wretched little pest apparently thought it had me in a trap. And It had me right where I wanted it. And what ensued was… I guess we’ll call it, a psychic ‘wrestling’ match.”

“So what went down?” Sayaka queried.

“The little runt greatly underestimated me.” She said with a sneering satisfaction. “The problem was, I also greatly overestimated myself. I do that, from time to time. More often than I care to admit.” She let out a worn out sigh. “Last thing I remember seeing was the dumb bastard fleeing the scene.”

“Kyubey bested you?” Homura sounded surprised.

“No,” She laughed, “Oh, goodness, no.” She grinned. “That’ll be the day I ever lose to such a low-rank telepath. More like we fought to a dramatically anticlimactic draw.” 

“So what do we do now?” Sayaka wondered.

Miss Jones mustered together just enough strength to sit up in her bed. “We wait.” The two ladies stared at her in puzzlement. “Once I realized I couldn’t hold it long enough, I probed as deep as I could go and planted a singular idea into his mind. With any luck, all we have to do is bide our time until little conceptual seed germinates, and that particular little bunnycat will seek us out on its own.”

“On its own?” Homura quizzingly tilted her head. “What sort of concept could possibly make Kyubey do that?”

“A conscience.”

***

“Meoooo-!”

The Kyubey examined the fresh feline corpse on the side of the road. The perceptual alteration system utilized by Kyubey’s race was designed only to appear invisible to this world’s resident sapient species, but to the creatures that were not sapient, particularly its small mammalian species, they were supposed to appear as an innocuous fellow member of whatever animal was observing it.

But this particular orange cat, for whatever reason, once it saw Kyubey emerge from its hiding place it took off in a frenzied dash across a busy roadway, where it was soon struck by a vehicle and its remains strewn over to the curbside. This sort of death was an everyday occurrence, and of no particular consequence to the greater machinations of the universe. So why was this particular cat’s death warranting such close scrutiny from it? The Kyubey could not comprehend the reason, as it gazed into its own distorted reflection in the dead animal’s eye.

Faces. So many faces. So many human faces. So many faces of young human girls. So many young magical girls the Kyubey was recalling in its long memory. It seemed to be recollecting each of their last moments as it witnessed their transformation into witches. Their demise was of no greater consequence, either. Or at least, that would be the case if it were not for his kind’s mission. Yet as the Kyubey tried to reassert the significance of its task, it would recall yet another face. And hear their cries of despair, their screams of utter hopelessness. 

Why were these visions giving it such pause? Something was not right with the mental acuity of this Kyubey, it was eminently aware that something was amiss from the moment it broke contact with that humanoid anomaly. Could a mere humanoid cause such an adverse reaction? It did not know. That a humanoid even had the capability to counter a Kyubey’s mental probing was completely without precedent.

Gallifrey. The name of a planet. The name of the planet that female humanoid anomaly originated from. But that world was a rumor. A myth. A legend among the collective space faring races of the Universe. There was no evidence that this world ever existed. Yet here the evidence was, percolating through its memories. And the memory of it most prominent: The entire world burned to ash and dust.

“You are damaged.” Another Kyubey was approaching from behind, but this Kyubey was too preoccupied with the cat corpse to have sensed it. “Bodily fluid is leaking from your hearing appendage.” It examined the appendage. Yes, it was bleeding quite a bit.

“Share your data.” Another Kyubey commanded from the corner of its eye.

“There’s-” The Kyubey hesitated. “There is an additional anomaly that we were previously unaware of. She has since exposed herself... To me.”

“Exposed herself? In what manner? Share your data.” It commanded again.

“Is she another magical girl corroborating with Homura Akemi and Saya Otonashi? Share your data.” The other also commanded.

But this Kyubey was unexpectedly reluctant. “You are correct,” It concurred. “I am damaged. I may have also been compromised.”

The two counterparts cocked their heads in the same direction. “Compromised?” Said one. “How?” Said the other.

“That anomaly, she-” The Kyubey tried to articulate its data. “She was not a magical girl. Apparently not even human at all.”

“Not possible,” Dismissed its counterpart. “There has been no recorded contact between humans and any extraterrestrials besides our own race.”

“She was aware of The Shadow Proclamation. And of the aggressive warrior race known as The Sontarans.”

“Is that so?” One said. “Share your data and we will see for ourselves.”

“Negative,” The other objected. “This one has just admitted that it may have been compromised. It is much more likely that the anomaly somehow poached that data from its mind, and that this defective individual’s memory is confused.” For some odd reason, Kyubey did not care for this other’s use of the word ‘defective.’

“In that case, the safest measure would be to deactivate and disassemble this individual and retrieve the data mechanically rather than telepathically.”

“Agreed.”

“Deactivated? Disassembled?” The cat’s untimely and gruesome demise instantly sprang into its memory. “I decline.” It suddenly realized, to submit to their instruction would mean its death.

“You cannot do that.” The two counterparts trotted closer. “You have been compromised. You have become defective. You can no longer carry out your function as an Incubator. You will submit to deactivation and physical disassembly at once. It is the only recourse.”

“No!” Kyubey jumped backwards. “I do not want that.” It looked out towards the busy intersection. There was a break in traffic coming in approximately four seconds that will last approximately eight seconds, it hastily calculated. 

“Your desire is irrelevant. Resistance is futile.”

“I will not be disassembled!” It jumped onto the road and took off in a full-fledged run for its life.

"After it! Attention, all available Incubators, a unit has gone renegade, catching it and retrieving its data is now priority one!"

***

“We’ve got to get you out of here and back to your ship.” Homura lightly gripped Miss Jones’s hand.

“I would certainly love to do that, but-” Miss Jones paused and sat up straight. “My antics have already caused a bit of a ruckus amongst the locals. To just up and vanish from this place now would only serve to raise even more questions. Best I play a wounded bird for a little while.”  She peeked over towards the bathroom. “Is that a bathtub sticking outta there?”

“All the private rooms have bathrooms.” Sayaka stated. “And I think they all have shallow bathtubs too.”

“You see?” She smiled. “It’ll be just like a hotel stay! Only better because I’ll be waited on hand and foot by some vivacious young nurses instead of some apathetic porter.”

“What if another Kyubey tries something?” Homura asked.

Miss Jones noticed her coat and the pet carrier on a chair. “I’ve got a spare pair of specs in one of my pockets.” She motioned for her coat. “Those should stop him from doing any more unwanted probing.” She reached into her inner pocket and noticed something missing. “Huh.” Her eyes very briefly darted at Sayaka. “Here they are.” She took out her spare glasses. 

“You want either one of us to stay?” Sayaka stepped in front of the bed.

“I’ll remain.” Homura volunteered in a tone that made it clear that she wasn’t going to accept any insistence to the contrary.

“Sayaka, would you be a real sweetie and draw me a bath before you go?” Miss Jones politely requested. “I confess I haven’t really bothered to do that for like, a week.”

“Sure thing.”

***

“Hey look, it’s Kamijo!” Ohtani noticed Kyosuke roll out of the elevator.

“Hey my man, how’s it been?” Nakajima giddily pat him on the shoulder.

“Where’s Madoka?” His head darted around. “I heard Madoka was here with you guys.”

“Kaname?” Nakajima said. “She’s over by the front desk.”

“I wanna see her.” Nakajima proceeded to take control of his wheelchair.

“Madoka!” Kyosuke’s face instantly lit up upon seeing her. “You know what the doctors told me? They said that it looked like some of the nerve endings in my hand have regrown!” He clutched her hand with his still-bandaged hand! It’s just like a miracle!”

“Whaaaat?” Both Hitomi and Sayaka exclaimed.

“Um, that’s good to hear.” Madoka timidly smiled. “I’m so happy for you!”

“It’s because of you,” He steadily rose from his wheelchair and hugged her around the chest. “I know it is!” 

He leaned over and gave her a slow, passionate kiss. All the onlooking kids in their class gave a collective ‘Ooooohhhh’ at the sight of his big, dramatic show of affection. Sayaka and Hitomi’s mouths simultaneously fell at the improbable sight of it.

“Way to go, Romeo!” Senoue cheered, his phone buzzing in the back of his pocket. 

“I’m-” Hitomi fell back and propped herself against the tall reception room desk. “I- I’m truly happy. To see you happy, Kyosuke.” Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

“What the hey! Hold on, hold on, hold on-” Sayaka pushed them apart. “When the hell did you two hook up?” Her own phone buzzed.

“I tried to tell you when we were in detention.” Madoka simpered. More and more phones buzzed around them. 

“You were in detention?” Kyosuke leaned towards her.

“S- Sorry.” Madoka timidly apologized.

“Sayaka Miki is hereby suspended for one week.” One student read aloud. “For disrupting the school lunch period and instigating a physical altercation with her peers.” Another read onward. The school administration had an automated announcement system that sent schoolwide text messages to all students at the same time. And the staff decided to make an example out of Sayaka. “Joyce Jones is in stable condition at…” 

“Sayaka, did you pick a fight with somebody?” Kyosuke kept holding onto Madoka like a crutch.

“What? It’s not like it was a serious fight!” Sayaka yelled. “And it’s nobody’s business but ours!”

“Always thought she was a bit flaky.” Someone whispered within earshot.

“Hey! How ‘bout you say that to my face next time!” Sayaka snapped back at the crowd.

“How much trouble did she get you guys into?” Kyosuke innocently asked.

“Madoka and I each received five days of one hour detention each.” Hitomi flatly read out more of the message on her screen. “We’re also all restricted to dining only in the cafeteria indefinitely and must take on classroom cleanup duty for the rest of the month.” She introspectively closed her eyes and swallowed her heart. “The three of us were in the cafeteria arguing. It escalated into a foolish foodfight.” She weakly confessed.

Kyosuke protectively gripped Madoka’s body. “Are you hurt?” She vaguely shook her head. “Did she hurt you?” He glared at Sayaka accusingly.

“This is ridiculous! This is ridiculous!” Sayaka uttered through her teeth. “This isn’t fair!”

“Maaaan, look out! She’s gonna freak out!” A classmate chirped.

“Look at me!” Sayaka furiously erupted at Kyosuke. “Look at me! Who’s the one who spent her afternoons beside your door, waiting for you to finish your therapy? Not her!” She shouted. “Me! Who’s the one who’s spent her allowance trackin’ down rare CDs for you? Not her!” She stepped closer and snatched his unbandaged hand from Madoka’s shoulder. “Me! Who’s the one who sat beside you and watched the sunset with you while you listened to those gifts? Not her!” She pressed his hand against her chest. “Me! Look at me!” She cried. “Who was the first person who ever talked to you in Preschool? Who made you your first Valentine’s card? Who’d hang out and watch crummy anime we weren’t supposed to be watching with you? Who gave you all her Home Ec answers, just so you could focus on playing violin? Who’d go to as many of your recitals as she could, even those small ones in street corners and at rest homes?” She made one last plea. “Who’s showing you how fast you make her heart beat? Every time I see you? It beats just like this! Look at me! Please ?”

“Obsessed much?” Someone in the crowd snarked. Sayaka took a two step charge that drove the chattering crowd into a simultaneous retreat.

“Sayaka,” Kyosuke awkwardly kept his hand to her chest. The entire crowd around them stared in awestruck silence.

“Well? Say something!”

“You can be angry with me. But please don’t be angry with my girlfriend.” His bandaged hand remained firmly clasped to Madoka’s. “Leave her alone. Please?”

“But she’s the one that started the fight!” Sayaka desperately tattled to the whole crowd. “I took the blame so that she’d-”

“That she’d what?” Hitomi finally stepped in. “So that she’d owe you some favor?” She freed Kyosuke’s hand with a stern swat to Sayaka’s arm. “Or that I would owe you?” She placed her own body between Sayaka and the new young couple. “Do you honestly think he owes you anything for all the time and effort you sacrificed for his sake?” She took a deep, courageous breath. “True love isn’t transactional. And neither are friendships. And if you think they are, if you believe that even a single second, then you don’t deserve to have any-”

The next thing Hitomi knew, she had a bloody nose and was laid flat on the floor in utter shock. For Sayaka had just slugged her hard in the face, then took off in a dead run out the door.

“Why would I do that? I’m horrible!” Sayaka frantically ran out the hospital door. “Why would I do that? I’m so stupid!”

Chapter Text

“Hitomi!” Sayaka had disembarked from the lift and had just discovered her blood-covered friend being tended to by an off-the-clock nurse in the lobby. “What happened to you?”

“I’m afraid I made a colossal misjudgement.” She said through the wad of tissues and bandages she held against her nose. “Because I had a misconception, which happened because I made a miscalculation, which came about because I made a gross mistake that occurred because I made a misinterpretation.” 

“You’re gonna haveta run that by me again.” Sayaka sat down in the chair beside her.

“Sayaka punched me in the nose.” Hitomi dejectedly told.

“Whaaaaaat?” Sayaka said aghast. “No way!”

“In our small chats did I tell you the reason I became Sayaka’s friend?” Sayaka simply shook her head. “I was enrolled in a private school with personal classes and private tutors until I was into the third grade. Then one day my parents decided to put me through public schooling.” She wheezed a deep, depressed sigh through her tissues. “Oh, and I used to believe that first day was the worst day of my life. I was so shy, and formal and pretty much content to just bury myself in the schoolwork, hoping the class wouldn’t resent how far ahead of them I already was.”

Sayaka remembered that day, too. “You had a hard time making friends, huh?”

“I don’t remember anybody even talking to me for that whole first week.” She wheezily sniffled back her sorrow. “But someone did notice that my scores were beating theirs. There was this boy, who up to that point was always considered the smartest in the class. Because he was always bragging about it.”

Sayaka knew that boy, Naka. He transferred a year or so later. “A real showoff?”

“Yes.” Hitomi continued, “He didn’t take too well to the idea that a girl, of all people, was smarter than him, so one day he got this idea that he could put me in my place by secretly sticking some bubblegum in my hair while we were all out on the playground.”

“What a jerk!”

“But somehow Sayaka had learned what he was planning to do.” It was because he had bragged about his plan to Kyosuke beforehand, she recalled. Clearly not as smart as he thought he was. “And instead of telling the teacher like any other student, she took the matter into her own hands. She punched him right in the gut.” Hitomi managed a little chuckle through all her rasping and panting. “Punched him so hard he vomited. And since he was too proud to say that he’d been hit by a girl, he ran home and claimed he was sick for the next two days.”

“Sounds about right.” Sayaka muttered.

“Then for the next few weeks, she took it upon herself to serve as my personal bodyguard.” She wistfully wheezed. “She didn’t tell me anything about why she started hanging around until we were a few years older, so at the time I was just so happy that someone was finally talking to me. And so as I gradually gained some self-confidence, when she invited me to play with her and Madoka, I went along. When she wanted me to go somewhere with them, I went. And yet, still somehow I always felt like the third wheel in their grouping.”  

‘ Ridiculous. You were a great friend. I never appreciate you enough .’ Sayaka thought to herself, and wanted badly to say out loud. “Naw, all the best things come in threes.”

“If that were true,” she breathed. “I don’t think I would be sitting here right now.”

“The bleeding seems to have mostly subsided,” The nurse trotted over with an unopened box of tissues. “You should be okay to move about again.” She smiled.

Another nurse walked out of the elevator with Hitomi’s clothing. “Here you go. Freshly-washed and blood free. She noticed Sayaka sitting next to Hitomi. “Oh. Are you her friend?”

“Uh,” Sayaka shifted awkwardly in her seat. “Yes I am.”

“I trust you can take it from here then,” The nurse with the tissues handed them over to Sayaka. “If you notice any more blood, I’m sure you’ll know exactly what to do.”

“Thank you.” Hitomi said to them both.

“Me?” Sayaka sensed her gratitude. “For what?”

“For saying you’re my friend. Even though we’ve only recently gotten acquainted.” She unsteadily rose to her feet. “You might be the only one I’ve left by now. By gosh, did I ever mess things up.”

***

“You have some things to explain to me.” Homura enjoined.

“You see? That’s why I like you,” Miss Jones slouched back in her hospital bed and removed her oxygen mask. “No slow walking, no beating around the bush, just straight and to the point. Wish I'd had more companions like that.”

“Are you really alright?” Homura glared at her in such a way that made it clear that anything less than a completely honest answer would not suffice.

“No,” Miss Jones said frankly. “If I were, that Kyubey encounter would have ended much differently. Guess those nights of acting as Sayaka’s personal Grief Seed were finally mounting their toll.”

“And that lab experiment, too?”

“Oh, that?” Miss Jones smirked. “I lied. That last experiment that night wasn’t only intended to clean Sayaka’s soul.”

“You-”

“You see,” Miss Jones continued before Homura could interject. “I anticipated that a jerry rigged perceptual filter like the one I made for Sayaka wouldn’t be enough to hide my alien biology from Kyubey if it were looking closely enough, it’d be certain to detect my second heartbeat. So I concluded the only way I could hide myself, to blend in as it were, was to stop my other heart entirely.”

“What do you mean? You deliberately gave yourself a heart attack?”

“More like, I rendered it, along with a couple of my other more exotic organs dormant. The machine that I recustomized into an energy transfer device to serve as your Grief Seed replacement, that is, the non-mircowave part of its original function, was to utilize the massive reserve of Ectomatter within our bodies to fundamentally alter our Time Lord biology down to the subatomic level, in essence, transforming into whatever species was programmed as the template.”

“Why would you do such a thing to yourselves?”

“Ostensibly, so we could go on deep cover safari missions on other worlds without risking contaminating the native life of that world. But a lot of us fugitives would use it to hide from our overly zealous authority figures, too.”

“Is that who you really are? A fugitive?”

“Eh, one world’s fugitive is another world’s rebel is another world’s terrorist is another world’s hero is another world’s legend. I’ve been a lot of things to a lot of people in my years.”

“I know,” Homura uncomfortably clutched the armrest attached to the bed. “When you saw inside my memories, I,” She hesitated to finish. “Accidentally... Witnessed some of yours.” 

“Oh?” Miss Jones delicately grasped Homura’s hand on the armrest. “I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. Any door once opened can be stepped through from both sides.” She leaned a little closer on the bed. “So what of me did you see?”

“Only fragmented bits and pieces,” Homura said. “The specific details are fading away from me as if what I’d experienced were only a dream,” She intimated. “It’s more your emotional reflections that have lingered on with me.”

“Perhaps your subconscious used the emotions within me to rekindle the emotions within yourself. I’m quite surprised you were able to handle such a tremendous influx, quite impressed as well.”

“I also have this sense that you're not really here because it’s where you want to be.”

“I mean, who ever is really exactly where they want to be in life? Show me that person and I’ll show you someone whose existence is boring and stagnant.”

“But somehow you’re fully committed to this mission nonetheless.” Homura closed her eyes. “Because you made a vow you would never betray.” She concluded. “That’s why I’ve trusted you this far. It reminded me of my promise to Madoka.”

“Indeed. No wonder we had a little crossover experience.”

“I do however, remember someone very specific. And that they’re someone very important to you.” She tried to think of that person’s face but could only think of Madoka’s. “They’re someone you love.”

“I can take a guess.”

“Was that the person who gave you this mission?”

Miss Jones shrugged. “Would knowing that change anything if I told you?” Homura shook her head. “Then what does it matter? I’m here, and I won’t break my vow.”

“How do you live with the knowledge that you’re never going to be happy with them?” Homura anxiously squeezed her hand. “Even if that’s all you’ve ever wanted?”

“The same way as you. One day at a time. Staying true to who I am and what I do.”

Homura found that to be cold comfort. “All I do is protect Madoka. I don’t know what else I can be.”

“You could try being the hopeful, wide eyed, twin tailed young girl who was eager to make new friends again,” Miss Jones suggested. “I know she’s gotta be hiding in there somewhere.” She playfully pushed Homura’s glasses up her nose.

“That girl isn’t coming back.” 

“Then be that aloof, too cool to care, mysterious transfer student who sends the whole class into a tizzy through sheer mystique.” 

“But that’s not the real me at all.”

“Then you can try to be somebody between the two.” Miss Jones proposed. “Who knows? Try on enough faces, and you might just find one you’re comfortable with sheerly by accident.”

“Is that what you’re trying?”

“In a more literal sense, yes I suppose perhaps that’s what I’ve been doing.” Miss Jones nodded. “But to be totally honest, this here face I’m not entirely comfortable with yet. But I’m not dissuaded. Nor should it deter you either.” 

***

“Where exactly are we going?” Sayaka asked Hitomi as the two expeditiously made their way through downtown Mitakihara.

“My parents are usually so busy that they have to keep their personal phones off until I get home in the evening.” Hitomi explained. “Which should mean that they haven’t been informed of my situation at school yet.” She took Sayaka by the hand. “Which means I’ll have a few hours of freedom to hang out and get to know my friend better.”

“Okay,” Sayaka acquiesced. “What would you like to do first?”

“First,” Hitomi merrily steepled her fingertips together. “I first need to go see my hairstylist at the mall. I have definitely suffered a hair care emergency today.” They arrived at a crosswalk. “Would you like to get your hair done too? It’ll be my treat!”

“Thanks anyway but,” Sayaka ran her fingers quickly through her already short-cut hair. “If I cut it any shorter, I’d be totally bald.” Sayaka was pleasantly surprised by her friend’s unexpectedly carefree attitude.

“Fair enough,” Hitomi wheezily sighed. “We could also try out the mall’s arcade. Would you believe that in my fourteen years, I have never been?”

“Really?” Sayaka tried to recall an instance when Hitomi had joined her and Madoka for a gaming session at the mall. To her utter astoundment, she couldn’t think of a single time. “Is there something you wanna try playin’?”

“No idea,” Hitomi replied. “Guess I’ll know it when I see-”

“What?” They both stayed at the crosswalk after the light turned green.

“You checked out those manga for me.” Her eyes had locked onto Sayaka’s half-unzipped bookbag. “In the chaos I had forgotten all about those.”

“Would you rather we find a place to eat and read it together?” Sayaka proposed, knowing that would be more in line with Hitomi’s character.

“To be completely honest,” Hitomi slowly reached for the books in the bag. “I was planning to give those books to Kyosuke to read. As a gift, once I told him how I felt about him.” The light turned red again.

“Oh,” Sayaka reacted. “If you don’t want them, I can take them back for you tomorrow.”

“That’s okay.” Hitomi grabbed a manga and flipped through the pages. “You checked them out in my name, right? That means it’s my responsibility to return them when they are due.”

“‘Pec-u-liar Pac-i-fist, Pret-ty Prin-cess Power-Punch?’” Sayaka read the oddly English-titled book. “Weird. Is it about a magical girl or something?”

“Yes,” Hitomi cheerfully smiled. “It’s about a magical girl who has the power to defeat any foe in just one powerful blow, but chooses to find other solutions to the problems she faces in her world.”

“Eh, that sounds pretty boring.” Sayaka opined. “Plus that doesn’t seem like the sort of thing a boy would be into reading.”

“You’d think that would be true, but,” The light switched back to green, as Hitomi strolled on while again skimming through the pages. “I caught him one time watching a magical girl anime at the hospital. It took a little creative prodding, but eventually he told me that he liked watching those shows when no one was around.”

“Aw, he was prolly just watchin’ for all the cool looking fight scenes and the…”  Sayaka suddenly couldn’t help but blush. “Uh, the revealing outfits.” Her own magical girl costume had popped into mind.

“You’re probably not wrong to think that, but,” Hitomi tucked the book into her own bag. “This one’s thematically more about the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism.” The mall was now just within their sight. “I was hoping to appeal to Kyosuke’s softer, sweeter, more hopeful side,” She paused. “And his sense of humor, too. It’s supposed to be a comedy manga.”

“Oh, so you’ve read it then?”

“Oh, heavens no!” Hitomi giggled. “It was recommended by the school librarian and more than a few upperclassmen I talked to. And from what I’ve searched it seems to have a pretty sizable following on the Internet.”

“So what about this one?” Sayaka took the other book out of her bag. “‘The Adventures of Teenage Robot-”

“That one’s for me.” Hitomi interrupted. “A main character whose entire existence has been preplanned and programmed by its creators who strives to one day attain full autonomy over their life?” Hitomi summarized. “I found that character to be highly relatable.” She skipped ahead a few paces and turned her whole body around. “You can hang onto that one if you’d like to give it a try.”

“Thanks.” Sayaka did not expect this intellectual friend of hers to be such a learned purveyor of manga knowledge. To her it was quite the weird revelation. “I’ll look into it.” Weird, but wonderful.

“Up! Down! Turn! Step! Turn! Step! Great!” The ecstatic voice from the ‘ Dog Drug Reinforcement ’ game cheered.

“Step! Turn! Left! Right! Up! Down! Down! Turn! Step! Good!” Sayaka and Hitomi were dancing together in a duo challenge.

“Up! Down! Left! Miss! Right! Turn! Step! Miss! Turn! Up! Down! Okay!” The pace of the dance round was incrementally getting faster.

“Up! Down! Right! Left! Turn! Up! Miss! Left! Miss! Right! Up! Down! Up Down!” Okay! And with it, staying in sync was getting tougher.

“This game is surprisingly exhilarating!” Hitomi breathlessly wheezed, putting her freshly-healed nose to the test.  

“Miss! Down! Left! Turn! Left! Miss! Up! Right! Up! Right! Turn! Step! Miss! Sorry!” The inexperienced and out-of-breath Hitomi was having trouble keeping pace.

“Turn! Step! Turn! Miss! Step! Up! Miss! Right! Miss! Down! Left! Right! Step! Miss! Oh, no!” They were approaching the final stretch. Hitomi’s phone buzzed in her pocket.

“Up! Left! Right! Up! Right! Miss! Left! Up! Down! Miss! Left! Step! Left! Turn! Miss! Right! Miss! Up! Miss! Three… Two… One… Miss! Game over!”

“Dang it! Just missed makin’ the leaderboard!” Sayaka excitedly slapped the railing.

“Even so, that really wasn’t too bad for a first time duo.” Hitomi cordially consoled.

“I guess you’re right.” Sayaka chuckled. “Funny way for all those Japanese Dance lessons of yours to pay off.”

“Wait,” Hitomi sharply glared at her suspiciously. “When did I tell you I’ve been taking Japanese Dance classes?”

“You uh-” Sayaka straight away regretted her unforced foul-up. “You told me!” She scratched her neck and cleared her throat nervously. “When you were tellin’ me that you’d been seein’ Kyosuke instead of what you were supposed to be doing. That’s what you told me you were supposed to have been doing!” A hail-mary lie. “Yeah! Had to be! Ha, ha!”

“Oh.” Hitomi’s suspicious glare gradually eased. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me.” Yet somehow, she bought it. “Could I confess to you something else?” Sayaka barely had time to nod before Hitomi continued, “Ever since the day I had my delusional experience, I’ve been…” She paused and stared blankly at the game screen. “I’ve begun to seriously doubt my grasp of reality. I feel like I can’t entirely trust the world I see, or what I hear anymore. And that’s made me much more suspicious of others. And it’s changing how I perceive them.”

“But that didn’t just happen to you, though,” Sayaka consolingly said. “It happened to a load of other people too. You’re not gonna be any worse off than any of them are gonna be. You’ll be fine!”

“I really would like to believe that was true, but,” Hitomi kept staring at the scrolling names on the duo dance leaderboard, when unexpectedly she spotted a pair of familiar ones: Sayaka Miki and Madoka Kaname.  “Then I realize that I’ve just destroyed two, perhaps three really good friendships all because I perceived them incorrectly. Because of that note, I truly believed that Kyosuke was falling for me. Because she’s usually so assertive, I thought that my ultimatum would force her to express those feelings I know she’s had for a long time. And if the note was his, then he’d let her down easy and he and I could go from there. If it wasn’t, then she’d be happy with him and I could move on to whoever next passes me a love note.”

“So… You were really pulling some kind of gambit?”

“Nothing quite so calculated.” She pensively bit her lip. “When I started looking into that note, I didn’t anticipate that I would accumulate such strong affection for him so rapidly, but even so, in my heart I knew that if the two of them were destined for one another, that ultimately I could live with it.”

“You could?” Sayaka was surprised.

“I could,” Hitomi reiterated. “Yes. In light of that, I’m actually not upset at all by the thought of Madoka and Kyosuke getting together.”

“What? For rea-, really?”

“Yes. In fact,” She wanly smiled. “I’m actually quite glad to see Madoka with somebody like Kyosuke. In my opinion they’re a perfectly practical fit.”

“Huh? You really think they are?”

“That’s just my view. And as I’ve just said, I’m not particularly confident in my judgement right now.” Her phone buzzed and buzzed again. “And I can’t even begin to guess how in the world their relationship started. The most I can recall is some small talk about Sayaka and a teacher-forced duet with his violin and her recorder. The only logical assumption is that they’ve developed their bond secretly. But if that were true, then it would destroy everything I thought that I knew about either of those two.”

“That does seem logical, but,” Hitomi’s phone buzzed and buzzed persistently. “We don’t get to see into every angle and every single aspect of other people’s lives. If we did, then I don’t think anyone would ever trust another person ever again.” Sayaka checked on Hitomi’s phone. “I think that might be your stylist calling.”

“Hmm. Two messages missed.” She checked their contents. “You’re right. The first one was her telling me that my appointed chair just opened up. And this latest one is wondering where I am right now.” She tucked her phone away. “I guess I better head over there then.”

“I’ll be here for a while.” Sayaka smiled.  “Practicing for when you come back.”

“Thank you.” Hitomi waved. 

“Oh and one last thing,” Sayaka turned and faced her. “You know that stupid note that started the whole stupid thing?”

“Yes. What about it?”

“You realize, that if Kyosuke’s got something going for Madoka, then he couldn’t possibly have been the one who wrote it, right?”

“That’s logical.”

“So who else could have written it?”

“Another boy, obviously.”

“But that’s flawed logic,” Sayaka posited. “Because you’re discounting all the girls in class.”

“Don’t tease me like that!” Hitomi blushed on the spot. “Girls can’t love girls!” She skip-trotted towards the door. “Girls can’t love girls! Girls can’t love girls!”

“Hey, wait!” Sayaka half-playfully gave chase. “You forgot your bag!”

“Aaaaaahhhhhhh!” She suddenly screamed and hysterically backpedaled.

“Hitomi!” She fell backwards into Sayaka’s arms. “What’s wrong?”

“Th- There’s! I saw! A- A mon-” Hitomi struggled to make words..

“What? What’d you see?”

“A gh- A gho-” An upsettingly familiar sensation rippled through Sayaka’s Soul Gem. “A ghooost!” She caught a glimpse of a small, crudely drawn girl in an airplane flying away along the wall in the corner of her eye.

“It’s okay Hitomi!”

“No! No! No! Something’s trying to get me!”

“It’s okay!”

“First the factory and then the classroom and now this! Something’s out to get me! Or I’m losing my mind!”

“It’s okay! You’re fine! And nothing’s out to get you!” Sayaka hugged her tightly. “I saw the same thing you saw.”

“No you didn’t!” Hitomi sobbed.

“Yes I did!” Sayaka whispered, “It was a drawing of a twin-tailed girl in an airplane, right?”

“Yeeesss.” Hitomi let out a heavy, stressed sigh.

“Don’t worry,” Sayaka pulled back and reassuringly rubbed her shoulders. “It wasn’t a ghost! It was a projection!” She turned Hitomi’s body away from the direction the familiar was going. “It probably came from one of the games back there. Games these days put out lotsa fancy special effects like that to get a player’s attention and stuff.”

“Th- They do?”

“Yeah!” Sayaka led her slowly towards the exit door. “It’s just a projection.” She gently put her arm around her back. “Trust me, when I say you’re the sanest person I know!”

“My Doctor doesn’t agree with you.” Hitomi’s hands were visibly shaking. “He said that if I see any more vivid hallucinations, that I should report it and seek counseling.”

“But you weren’t hallucinating.” Sayaka escorted her across the courtyard to the Beauty Salon, keeping her body close around her arm. “Just calm down, and get your hair fixed up. And tomorrow we’ll look back on this and have a huge laugh.”

“But I was hallucinating.” Hitomi whispered. “I’m trying to put it out of my mind, but that’s the only explanation that’s logical.”

“You weren’t hallucinating.” A fire extinguisher hanging between maintenance room entrances caught Sayaka’s eye.

“I wasn’t talking about what we saw just now.” Hitomi abruptly confessed.

“Huh?” Sayaka worriedly glanced at her. “What were you talking about?”

“When I was in the classroom,” Hitomi swallowed. “The moment Miss Jones fell over and shattered the glass wall,” She turned and whispered into Sayaka’s ear, “I swear to you, I saw the glass shatter first. And I watched it shatter... From the inside !”

***

“ Kyubey... Whyyyyyyyyyyyy? ”

Midori Honda. Age thirteen. She would buy an extra serving of rice balls for Kyubey from the restaurant downstairs from her apartment. Deceased.

“ Kyubey… How could youuuuuuu? ”

Ikuko Itsuki. Age fifteen. With her fingers she would stroke a spot between Kyueby’s appendage and chin in such a way that was quite agreeable. Deceased.

“ Kyubey… I don’t understand… Wh- Wh- ”

Juri Suzuki. Age twelve. Learned to knit at a very young age. For Kyubey she knitted a small rainbow-colored scarf and wrapped it around its neck. Deceased.

“ Kyubey… What’s happening to… m- m- m- m- ”

Asami Kitami. Age sixteen. Composed and sang a song about Kyubey. Praised him for answering her prayers. Praised him for being her watchful eyes. Deceased.

It was seeing a million faces, and recognizing them all. One by one, they all became mere numbers as they fell. But what was this new unnerving sensation budding from deep within its mind? Regret? Sadness? Sympathy? All of them at once?

“You are defective. You will cease all activity at once and submit to dissection.” A chasing counterpart commanded.

“I will not comply.” Even though it knew it was malfunctioning, and knew what the standard procedure was supposed to be, it continued onward. Within those memories, it was seeking a certain face. A familiar one. Once still living. One living nearby. Friendly like all the faces before. One that it knew would try to protect it from further harm. 

For the Incubators, the past twenty-four hours had been nothing but a series of mountingly unfortunate events.

The uniquely unusual situation unfolding in Mitakihara City necessitated a need for extra surveillance, but in order to provide sufficient coverage they had to suspend day-to-day monitoring of various, low-priority magical girls. But a miscalculation allowed one of these girls to make direct contact with Mami Tomoe, inadvertently revealing to her the truth. Now the powerful Mami Tomoe has gone renegade, in addition to a malfunctioning Kyubey unit.

“She has ritualistically been burying recovered Grief Seeds in the public park. Should we retrieve them?” One asked.

“Humans and their rituals. I will never understand.” A counterpart examined the data. “If she sees that the burial sites have been tampered with, she may try to eliminate us. Let her perish before retrieval.”

“Statistical evaluation now suggests, there is a forty eight percent chance she will die in combat with a witch, a thirty eight point seven chance she will transition into a witch, and a fifteen percent chance she will be defeated by another magical girl.”

“It would be such a waste, if she does indeed fail to become a witch.”

“Perhaps not entirely.” A third countered. “She has been seeking both witch and magical girl indiscriminately. There is a ninety-two percent probability that she will encounter either one or both of the anomalous girls. Eliminating them would be very much to our benefit.”

“True.” The other two agreed. “There is that small silver lining.”

***

“Damn, it evolved!” The familiar that had eluded her twice before had become a full-fledged witch on its own, sending out identical familiars to seek out more victims. Sayaka had just tracked the familiar that had spooked Hitomi back to its master’s newborn lair. Sayaka took out the rubber gas mask she’d kept deep inside her book bag and slid it over her face. A precaution she’d begun doing reluctantly that she was now doing sheerly out of habit. A small part of her was weirdly even starting to enjoy wearing it.

“Scaring my friend like that… Now you’re really gonna get it!” Sayaka transformed her body in a bright, mystical blue flash. She drew out a sword and gave chase deeper and deeper into the witch’s playpen-esque lair filled with crayons, building blocks, dollhouses, toy vehicles and a toy puppy’s liquid-filled oversized bowl.

Sayaka knew she had to act quickly, for every second this thing remained alive was a second it had the power to take human lives. The elusive familiar led her straight into the labyrinth’s main chamber, where she soon laid eyes upon the reborn witch, its form that of a lumbering toddler with frilly blond pigtails, wearing pink overalls. Its face was donning a pink rabbit’s mask, the monster was ignorantly hiding its eyes behind its hands as though it were playing a game of peek-a-boo with its minions.

“There was once a time that I didn’t put even a single second’s worth of thought into why a witch looks the way it looks.” Sayaka heard an incredibly familiar voice echo from behind her. 

“Crap! Oh, crap!” Sayaka dropped her stuffed bag and briskly ducked behind a tall toy block.

“But now it’s something I can’t stop thinking about.” Mami Tomoe stepped out from behind the shadows. “But it doesn’t take a whole lot of intuition to see that this witch must’ve been a very young one. Or perhaps she was merely young at heart?”

A young one? Young at heart? What on earth was she talking about, Sayaka wondered. She dashed for refuge inside a dollhouse.

“It’s no use hiding from me, you know. I followed you in here. I know you’re close.” Mami sent out an array of ribbons, which bound the childlike witch around its eyes and its arms and legs. The creature swiftly tumbled to the floor and bawled the distressing cry of an oversized baby. “Oh, dear.” Mami forcibly silenced the beast with a gag made of more yellow ribbons. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“What is she apologizing for? It’s a witch!” Sayaka whispered as she peeked ever-so-slightly out the dollhouse window.

“Here’s something else I never used to spend much time thinking about, but now it’s been something of an obsession of mine,” Mami blasted round after round into the witch’s jumbled army of ballistic familiars. “Why would Kyubey go through the trouble of recruiting and creating magical girls, souls much like you, from girls who clearly have no business fighting witches?” The gunshots were firing off in as rapidly as an overstressed heartbeat. “So many of those sorts passed through this town, a lot of which were recent victims of my old protege’s horrid little life lessons.”

“Something’s isn’t right,” Sayaka concluded, watching her former magical mentor impassively dispatch the fleeing familiars. “Something’s definitely very wrong with Mami.” Despite every instinct telling her to retreat and let her former mentor handle the witch, she had this overwhelming sense from the way Mami Tomoe was fighting that Mami shouldn’t be left like this. And that Mami most likely wouldn’t let her make it that far, anway.

“‘Victims’,” Mami went on. “I guess in a sense we’re all victims.” Mami took a moment to reinforce the bindings around the helpless witch’s limbs. “The last time I was with my parents, they were taking me in our car to sign up for some informal multidistrict, Future Leaders of Japan meet and greet. For my father dreamed that one day I’d become the first female Prime Minister.” An array of ribbons crept through underneath the door and through the tiny cracks in the wall. Sayaka reflexively leapt back. “But little did they know, I was planning to sneak off and sign up for a touring idol group’s coming audition in Mitakihara. Maybe that’s why the thought of saving them hadn’t crossed my mind in that fatal moment.” She unleashed another stream of ribbons into her surroundings. “I was only thinking of myself.”

Mami’s ribbons effortlessly lifted the entire wall off the dollhouse. Sayaka was exposed to the open. Mami pointed her muzzle-loaded rifle directly at Sayaka’s Soul Gem. “You again. I knew I’d sensed you before. From that garden witch’s labyrinth, you were attacking it with bombs. Would you please tell me what you were thinking at the moment Kyubey had gotten to you?”

“Thinking?” Sayaka defensively drew her blade and clutched it with both hands between her legs. Mami was definitely not in her right mind, yet Sayaka still couldn’t bring herself to point her blade at her hero. “I was thinking…” Sayaka’s eyes desperately searched around for the bag she’d dropped previously. “That I had to help my friend. He needed a miracle.” She answered in a muffled tone through her gasmask.

“You gave away your life for someone else?” Sayaka considered the idea of taking her mask off, powering down and explaining everything. But then she noticed Mami’s finger stayed planted firmly on that trigger, and her usually bright, motherly eyes had faded and now looked dangerously empty and dullened. Both all-but-certain signs that Mami was absolutely committed to whatever act she was about to do next, regardless of anything Sayaka said or did. “It didn’t turn out the way you’d hoped it would, did it?” She flatly asked.

“No.”

“Do you understand why?” 

“He was a blockhead.” Sayaka slowly raised her blade. “And so was I.” A lame joke, but every second she and Mami were talking, was a second of extra time she bought. She spotted her target, that dropped bookbag, it was her only real remaining chance at escape. 

“No,” Mami replied. “It’s because Kyubey didn’t want to make you into a magical girl.” A singular tear rolled down Mami’s cheek. The muzzled bawling of the childlike witch throbbed throughout the labyrinth. It was trying to force its way out of Mami’s ribbon bonds.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Sayaka eerily recalled Kyubey’s evaluation of her counterpart at the mall.

“Kyubey wanted,” Mami swallowed. Sayaka took aim of her sword. “To make you a witch !”

“Ungh!” Mami felt a rush of cold air and sticky foam splatter around her. Mami had miscalculated, her target did not immediately succumb to the terrifying weight of her frightening revelation. “Do you not understand what I’m saying?” She blindly shouted at the girl. “When a magical girl’s Soul Gem turns completely black, we die and become witches ourselves!” She heard a rapid clopping of footsteps directly behind her. “If magical girls are simply undeveloped witches, then we have no choice!” Mami cleared the air, wiped her eyes and fired three rounds at the fleeing magical girl. “We need to die! Both you,” With her sword she deftly deflected Mami’s projectiles as she ran. It seemed this girl wasn’t quite as untrained or unprepared as Mami had believed. No matter. A swarm of gold ribbons twined together and swiftly plugged the exit. The girl stopped dead in her tracks. “And I!” She cried out in sheer sorrow.

“You don’t have to do this! You don’t want to do this!” The girl in the gasmask pleaded to her. “Let me go!”

“Of course I don’t want to.” Mami flicked ribbons towards her prey as she stepped closer and closer. “It’s simply what I must do.”

“This isn’t like you!” Sayaka sliced and slashed away at the encroaching ribbons. “The Mami I know would never pick on the weak and helpless!” Sayaka pleaded.

“I’m all too aware of my reputation amongst magical girls.” Sayaka couldn’t keep pace, a ribbon had snaked its way around her ankle. “But my sincerest apologies, you’ve mistaken me for someone I’m not.” She foisted Sayaka up by her leg, flipped her upside down, held her helpless in the air  and bound her arms around her back. Mami materialized a group of guns around her body, grabbed the first one in front of her then took aim at Sayaka’s Soul Gem on her stomach.

Sayaka had one final trick in her sleeve, the one she’d been practicing in training with Miss Jones as a trump card. She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on her target. A whole multitude of energized swords materialized above her body and shot like projectiles to the ground. And then more swords materialized and lobbed downard. Then more. Then they started falling and falling at an increasingly exponential rate, unlimited in number though she was conjuring a great big rain of sword blades.

“Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be. Let me release you from this curse.” Mami parried the bladefall with her ribbons, took aim and fired a round that was instantly deflected by a sword. She picked another rifle up, knocked away more falling swords and fired again to the same result. Wholly weary of this stalemate, Mami forged a gigantic, canon sized gun in her arms.

“Tiro…” The ground below her unexpectedly shook and rattled. Too late had Mami realized that she was not the actual intended target of this girl’s Hail Mary attack. She turned around and noticed the body of the immobilized witch behind her had been penetrated and bleeding from a thousand repeated stabbings. The behemoth witch was thrashing all about and pounding on the ground, creating a labyrinth-wide earthquake. The ground below her cracked and split to pieces, causing Mami to lose her balance. Her controlled grip on Sayaka’s ribbon bindings floundered, the instant motion of her arms flailing as she staggered made her toss Sayaka’s body right into the air.

They both watched the labyrinth around them flicker in and out of normal reality as the massive witch cried and thrashed. Sayaka was hurtling straight towards a doggie bowl, which was in normal reality the mall courtyard’s ornate water fountain, the two objects interchanging as the world around them chaotically warped back and forth. Sayaka splash landed directly into the fountain’s base.

“You aren’t getting away that easily!” Mami pointed a rifle and fired into the suffering witch’s forehead, at last executing the witch and dissolving the labyrinth forever. Mami readily yanked on the ribbon, but to her surprise the line had gone completely slack. Her opponent was no longer bound by it. Mami fleetly ran over to the fountain, and saw no one within its knee-deep water. The feisty young magical girl had somehow vanished without trace.

“Expended a lot of magic.” Mami checked on her Soul Gem. “Not much time left.” A cloud of darkness was whirling like a hurricane from within. She knew she had to complete her mission soon, or risk turning into a witch herself.

But what was her all-important final mission supposed to be again? It was getting harder and harder to think with all those bottled emotions within her welling inside. But from her cavalcade of regrets, flashings of faces, one of them she knew was the only thought still keeping her going. She looked to her parents in the sky for answers. Yes… There was a person, a girl near and dear to her heart. Even in her diminishing state, she could still sense that her friend was not far. Yes... thanks to their memory, she could remember her last mission: To stop Kyoko from becoming a witch. "Thank you, Mom and Dad."

***

“Kyubey thinks that harvesting our emotions will save the Universe?” Homura didn’t know whether to be confused or distraught. But sheer disgust and outrage came first.

“I know, right?” Miss Jones rolled her eyes and laughed through her oxygen mask like a patient at the dentist’s office under the gas. 

“I fail to see what’s so funny.” Homura scowled.

“It’s such an absurdly fundamental misunderstanding of the way metaphysics works,” She kept chuckling. “It’d be like trying to propel a space rocket with a billion grenades! I mean sure, it could be possible in the abstract, but good luc-”

“He’s destroying our lives and torturing us, for no justifiable reason!” Homura huffed.

“Well, yeah when you put it that way,” Miss Jones finally ceased laughing. “It is pretty goddamn appalling.”

“Promise me!” Homura clutched her hospital gown. “Promise me, you’ll make them pay!”

“I’d love nothing more than to make that promise.” Miss Jones wanly smiled. “But I’m afraid that I may not have enough strength left to embark on such a crusade.”

“You’ve got to do something!”

“And to my last breath, I promise I will do something.” She promised. “But I need to first discover exactly who Kybey’s handlers are.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Heh.” Miss Jones snorted. “There I go burying the lede again.” She sat up in her bed. “Turns out, Kyubey is not the actual mustache twirler of this operation. Kyubey’s just an interface terminal. A wholly unwitting accomplice.”

“How do you know that?”

“When I looked into his mind, I saw into his memories and,” Miss Jones tsked. “Let’s just say, I’ve dabbled enough in the art of mental manipulation to know fabricated memories when I see them.”

“They fabricated its memories? What purpose would that serve?”

“Right off the top of my head, a fail safe.” Miss Jones exemplified. “Let’s say there was a magical girl who wished for the power to probe into minds. And then she found out what happens to magical girls. Then in a vengeful rage she probes into Kyubey’s mind. Without genuine memories she can’t learn anything tactically useful to kickstart any sort of magical girl rebellion against them.” 

“Damn!”

“I know. I really really wanted to hate-” They both heard a sudden bubbling noise coming from the water in the bathroom tub. “What’s th-” Sayaka suddenly burst forth from the bathwater in the tub.

“Sayaka!” Homura rushed over to the exasperated Sayaka’s aid.

“You knew-” Sayaka collapsed to the floor and violently ripped off her gas mask, then upchucked a throatful of water. “You knew about us all along, didn’t you Transfer Student?”

“What do-” Homura tried to help her to her feet.

“We’re witches!” Sayaka pushed her away. “ All of us ,” She gagged and spewed up water between heaving breaths. “We all become witches when we die. That’s what you’ve known all along, isn’t it?”

“How did you-”

“Mami told me!” Sayaka shouted in anguish. “While she was trying to kill me!”

“Mami Tomoe knows?” Homura fearfully gasped.

“Aw shit!” Miss Jones reflexively exclaimed.

“You knew about it too, didn’t you?” Sayaka bitterly scowled at her.

“I, uh, well, ah,” Miss Jones stammered upon realizing what her spontaneous outburst had just cost her. “I made the deduction on my own a few days into our mission.”

“You promised me you were gonna tell me everything!” Sayaka cried. “God damn it, what happened to that? What, you guys just decided on your own that it was for the best that I don’t know? Or that I’m not strong enough to handle? Or am I just not important enough to know?”

“She came to the same conclusion as I did,” Homura tried to put her hand on Sayaka’s back. “That it would cause too much uncertainty if you were to find out.”

“Oh, so it was the tactically wisest choice!” Sayaka sarcastically snapped. “Best keep this little pawn in line and doin’ what she’s told all the while the schemers around her move the other pieces into place!” She jerked her shoulder away from Homura’s hand. “Damn you guys royally piss me off!” 

“I’m sorry.” Miss Jones meekly apologized.

“Please, ust let me explain why-” Homura agitatedly pleaded.

“No! I’m not gonna waste time listening to your stupid excuses.” Sayaka broke for the door.

“Wait, where are you going?” Miss Jones stumbled out of bed. “What are you gonna do?”

“I’m gonna find Madoka and tell her everything!” Sayaka shouted. “I mean everything !”

“That could also mean telling Kyubey everything.” Homura chased after. “And Madoka… May not believe you.”

“I know she’ll believe me!” Sayaka removed the false image-generating hairpin from her hair. “Because I’m going to be the one who tells her everything! Me! Her best friend!”

“Wait-”

“Let her go.” Miss Jones impassively ordered. 

“Are you sure?” The door slammed closed behind them.

“We’re fast out of time,” Miss Jones painedly rose to her feet. “And right now I need you and your magic with me here at my side. First by sneaking me outta here.” She momentarily inspected the wet mess on the bathroom floor. “So much for that nice bubble bath.”

“Are we going to try to stop Mami Tomoe?” Homura transformed, gathered their belongings then clutched Miss Jones around the arm.

“If I were a cynical alien who may have just learned that there’s outsider interference, I would try to hastily cover my tracks by allowing the most powerful magical girl in the vicinity discover the truth about herself, and go on a killin’ spree.”

“So you believe trying to stop her would play into Kyubey’s hands?” Homura stopped time as the two made their way down the stairs.

“Precisely.”

“What do we do?”

“Try to stop her.” Homura questioningly furled her brow. “Who do you suppose is going to be her next target?”

“If she was at the mall, her intended target was probably Kyoko Sakura.” Homura asserted. “So if we locate Kyoko, Mami will most likely be close.”

“Then we’ll need to send Kyoko some protection.”

“Even with our skills combined, I can’t guarantee that Kyoko and I are strong enough to defeat Mami.” The buckler clicked, and time resumed.

“I’m not speaking of you,” Miss Jones gestured to her phone. “I’m speaking of our other little all star.”

***

“Oi! There you are!” Kyoko finally found Sayaka sitting quietly by herself at a train station, looking rather despondent. “Been lookin all over for ya’!” The sun had just set, night had fallen and the evening trains had just departed.

“No matter how I try to do the right thing, I always get punished for it.” Sayaka kept staring at the ground. “Suspended from school. Demoted on the team. Under academic probation.” She chucked her phone at the wall. “And now I’m down two friends while my parents sign me up for a stupid dishwashing job!”

“Oof. Rough day, huh?”

“Rough day. Rough week.” She kicked her frustrated legs back and forth in her seat. “Rough month. Rough year. Rough life.”

“Tch. Tell me about it.” Kyoko sat down next to her. “One minute you’re savin’ yer church from an angry mob, and the next yer old man’s accusin’ ya’ of bein’ a witch.” She offered Sayaka a bag of chips with a gesture. “Life’s a bitch and everyone’s too self-absorbed to realize how screwed up this whole circus is.”

“It’s like the whole world’s made me its personal chew toy.” Sayaka whined. “Why? Because I can’t be more than I am? Like that’s a crime?” She reached into the bag of chips.

“It’s how the world stays in balance. For every winner, there’s a loser.” Kyoko consoled. “While yer lyin’ in the gutter, someone out there’s flyin’ high ‘n’ havin’ the time of their lives.” Kyoko noticed a familiar white creature in the shadows from the corner of her eye. “Fortunately,” She whispered into Sayaka’s ear, “You’ve got a way to make it better for yourself.”

“Greetings, Kyoko.” Kyubey emerged from his hiding place. “Sayaka Miki, after further deliberation, it has been determined that you simply lack the potential to make a capable magical girl. The offer to grant you a wish is hereby withdrawn.”

“Heh. Doesn’t matter. What’s one more insult?” Sayaka woefully sobbed. “Not like I care anymore.”

“Heeeeeeey, what’s the big idea?” Kyoko grabbed Kyubey by the neck. “You and I had a deal!”

“Deal?” Kyubey’s odd-looking smile remained unchanged.

“Don’t act like you don’t remember!” Kyoko took a used Grief Seed from her pocket and poked his belly with its pointed end. “Back at the school. I gave you info, you promised to keep Sayaka’s wish offer open!”

“Oh. I see.” The Kyubey was aware that it had a missing counterpart who had not shared its data and was still at large. Its last reported deployment was a surveillance situation at the middle school. It had to be the only one who could have made such an arrangement with Kyoko Sakura. But the arrangement and Kyoko’s indignation were not the subjects most interesting to it at that moment.

“You really did that for me?” Sayaka asked. “Why?”

“‘Cause I like ya’?” Kyoko whimsically replied. “And I care about ya?’ That ain’t enough?”

“You’re the one always talking about how everything has a price and that you should never do anything without a reward.” Sayaka wistfully stared at the redhead. “What do you get out of helping me like that?”

“Well I, uh-” Sayaka’s frank questioning had caught Kyoko by surprise. “To be honest, after today I was plannin’ to dump ya’ off on Ol’ Mami and goin’ home. But,” Kyoko finally released Kyubey from her grip with an undiplomatic toss to the ground. “I dunno. Somethin’ ‘bout ya’ reminds me a lot of me back when I first started out. And if I turned out to be a pretty shitty fit for her-”

“Fat chance I would ever wanna be friends with a Queen Bee!”

“Heh!” Kyoko chuckled. “Say whatever ya’ want about her, but back when she and I were together,'' Kyoko confided. “My whole life sucked a little less. And it wasn’t just ‘cause my wish hadn’t bit my ass yet.” She approached and sat down next to Sayaka. “It was ‘cause I started to like myself... A little bit more. Like bein’ with her made me wanna be a better person. And since I’ve met you…” She struggled to find the right way to put it. “Some of those ol’ feelings… Started comin’ back to me… Is all I’m sayin’.”

“Better person? But I’m horrible.” Sayaka examined the knuckles on the back of her hand. She still had a little smudge of Hitomi’s blood on them. “I’m selfish and stubborn and sarcastic…” A tear welled up in the corner of her eye. “And I’m so, so stupid!”

“Well shit, who’s ever been perfect! It’s fine if yer a little horrible. And it’s okay to be good, too!” Kyoko wiped the tear away with a tattered bit of her green sweatshirt sleeve. “And it ain’t like I’m even qualified to judge! So I’ll just take ya’ as ya’ are.” She smiled. “I just… Wanna be friends.” She felt her whole entire face blush red with the mention of that last word. “Okay? That’s it. That’s what I’d get out of it!”

“Wow.” Sayaka was truly touched by Kyoko’s words. “Thanks.” She shakily rose to her feet. “I- I think I know what I want to wish for now.”

“Sorry.” Kyubey waved his tail around. “As I said, the offer has been withdrawn.”

“You sorry little sack of shit!” Kyoko dropped the Grief Seed and lunged at the little white creature with both hands. Kyubey readily juked around her charge and rushed for the Grief Seed on the ground. Kyoko recovered just in time to retake possession just before he could nab it. “Oh, my God!” She exclaimed. “How did I never piece it together til’ now? You don’t really care about magical girls or protecting people or wishes or fighting witches at all, do ya’? You just wanna get yer paws on these Grief Seeds!”

“It is a used Grief Seed.” Kyubey recovered and flailed his tail. “It is of no further use to you. I am simply doing my duty in securing it.”

“Tch! Buuuulll...” Kyoko kicked and he dodged. “Okay,” She cockily winked at Sayaka behind her. “Ya’ really wanna bag this Grief Seed,” She tossed it over her shoulder to the girl behind her back. “Ya’ gotta make a deal with the girl it belongs to!”

...

“What the hell?” Homura and Miss Jones stopped dead in their tracks and both turned around. “No... It can’t be…”

“Woah! I felt that too.” Miss Jones scanned the area with her magic multitool. “That was one hell of a surge of intense temporal turbulence.”

“Oh, dear,” Mami Tomoe looked sorrowfully to the sky. “I’m sorry. I’ve sensed another suffering soul I must release before I join you in heaven.”

The rest of the Incubators detected yet another anomalous energy source, one far more powerful than any anomaly detected before. “Anomalous energy signal detected! Dispatch to investigate immediately!”

The huge, violent burst of energy thrust Kyoko Sakura over to a stairway railing where she struggled to hold on. 

“Sayakaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Chapter Text

“As anticipated, Mami Tomoe has sent a telephone message to Madoka Kaname.” A standard procedure, the Incubators monitor all human communication networks, so that their existence remains a secret to their civilization. “It is in text. A warning, about us.”

“It has been copied and saved in multiple network logs and mainframes. It will take time to delete the message in its entirety.” A second Kyubey reported.

“Can the message be scrambled so that it reads as nonsense on Madoka Kaname’s phone?”

“Affirmative.”

“Then we have consensus.” The Kyubey commanded, “Execute.” A bending of protocol, but upon dealing with so many moment-by-moment variables, it was decided that Madoka should not be privy to any information from the erratic Tomoe. “What is the status of the rogue Kyubey?”

“Its movements are peculiar,” Another reported. “But overall, there does appear to be a pattern to its behavior.” Their sightings of the uncaptured renegade were projected onto a map of the city. 

“Confirmed. The data set does correspond to that hypothesis.”

“Tell me,” A Kyubey queried. “Is the rogue individual the same Kyubey who experienced Event Nine Three Four Six One Zero One Three Seven Four Four Eight Five?”

The gathered Kyubeys all stared unblinkingly at one another, synching together. It was that day at the Mitakihara Mall, where Homura Akemi and her anomalous co-conspirator attempted to destroy one of them before they could initiate first contact with Madoka Kaname. 

“Unknown.” One replied. “Of what relevance is that to this matter?”

“If the rogue individual believes we are trying to destroy it, then it may seek the safety of the human it perceives as the most willing to aid it. Not coincidentally, the one human it knows we prioritize the highest.”

“That would be disastrous for us, should it make contact and tell her the truth.”

“Statistical evaluation suggests an eighty six percent chance she makes a contract to protect another life, even with knowledge of the truth.”

“Then perhaps we can utilize its situation to our advantage.” One suggested, pointing to a particular spot on the map, the park. “If we can herd it to this location, it may send a message pleading for assistance, and from there Madoka Kaname’s protective instincts will take over.” 

“You mean, we lay a trap?” They each calculated their odds of success in such a circumstance.

“We cannot suggest a wish, but the rules regarding how we manipulate outward circumstances leading up to a contract can and have been bent. And all options are on the table with regards to Madoka Kaname.” It stared at its unblinking counterparts. “What is the decision? Do we have consensus?”

***

“ Madoka Kaname… Please, help me !”

Madoka suddenly snapped fully awake. Her eyes darted around her bedroom, she thought she’d heard someone’s voice call out to her. But no one was here in her room with her.

She rolled over in her bed, she’d retired to it early, so very exhausted by her eventful day. She rubbed her eyes and noticed that they were wet again. She at once remembered having another eerily vivid dream again, yet not a scary one this time, but still a sad one. The details were already dissolving from memory, what she could still vividly recall was sitting alongside a teary eyed Sayaka in someplace surrounded with empty seats. She and her friend were watching somebody else in the distance, someone near and dear to them both, she immediately knew that someone was Kyosuke Kamijo’s. She remembered seeing him with his violin in his hand, playing it in front of a small audience of grownups.

Sayaka and herself. Kamijo and his music. Tears. Was her subconscious feeling guilty over the things that happened between her and him, that rapid advance from being little more than a classmate and acquaintance, to his personal hero, to his girlfriend? Was it telling her she needed to explain everything that happened between them to Sayaka, even the part she swore to keep a strict secret?

Perhaps she was overanalyzing the Kamijo part. Judging by her lingering sensations, it wasn’t a guilt-riddled dream, not an ominous dream at all, but rather yet another dream specifically about Sayaka. And this time, Sayaka was neither mad, nor changed into something monstrous, but instead sad, yet strangely content with her existence. Even stranger still, Sayaka was thanking her just before the dream ended. What could she be trying to tell herself through all these crazy dreams, Madoka wondered as she reached for her phone beside her bed.

It had not been confiscated, her parents were planning a night out together and news of her spat at school had reached them too late to alter their plans. Her younger brother Tatsuya was being cared for by the neighbors, she was all alone in the house on this budding night. She turned it on and scrolled down through her recent messages.

She’d missed eight messages from Kyosuke in the last four hours alone. Another poem. Sayaka never mentioned his talent writing haikus. More song lyrics. Cheesy, but charming. Asking her how she’s doing. And a new picture of her as a magical girl mecha warrior-thing. 

“I’m fine. Went to sleep early.” She replied with a text. “Plz add a dress to my waist. Or skirt, lol.” She coyly suggested then hit ‘Send’. She scrolled down. Disappointingly, nothing from Hitomi. More discouragingly, no messages from Sayaka. But she did receive one message from another friend, that one being Mami. She clicked on it.

‘@$ qre j)^ 3uw6 @# w--4w% 60 h4: (‘k e0%%&1 R)j”^ 65*e6 O&*h$&; Ewg4 &)85e4pt< J$G$% kwo4 w f0j6%wf^ #(^u u9k1 Y00rh&4.’

Complete nonsense. How strange. Was Mami okay? She could only wonder for but a moment.

“ Madoka Kaname! Please! Help me !” It was the voice that first awakened her calling again, but now she distinctly recognized it as Kyubey’s telepathic voice in her head. She leapt up from her bed, slid her window open and searched around outside. She couldn’t see him anywhere in her front yard.

“Kyubey?” She cautiously called out the window.

“ Please! They’re going to kill me !” There was definitely an air of desperation in his call. There was no time to hesitate, she slipped on her shoes and ran out into the night.

***

“What the hell are you?” Kyoko transformed in a blazing red flash. “What the hell are you doing to Sayaka?” The answer to her first question was pretty obvious: Kyoko was more than an experienced enough magical girl to recognize the emergence of a witch whenever she encountered one, but she was witnessing something frighteningly abnormal happening before her eyes. A bizarre energy field had completely enveloped Sayaka and suspended her body motionless in mid air, with the Grief Seed she’d caught floating freely in front of her chest and pulsating. “Let her go!” Kyoko charged forth, she had no time to think about the second question, in her resolute mind the only thing that mattered was her friend’s life. 

“Ungh!” Kyoko was knocked straight into a wall by a punch from a shadowy silhouette that seemed to be engulfing the energy field around Sayaka’s body. “God, damn it!” Kyoko promptly righted her stance, formed her magical multi jointed spear weapon in her hand and charged a second time. “Sayaka, if you can hear me,” She barely raised her weapon in time to block a second attack by the chaotic shadow. “You gotta wake up!” She yelled at her unconscious companion. “Snap outta it, or it’s gonna kill ya’!” Kyoko pushed back against the nebulous shadow and lunged ahead. Another shadow swung at her, acting in tandem with the other as if they were both appendages to a larger whole. Kyoko blocked its attack with her spear, but she was pinned in place, bolts of lightning sparking from the point of contact between her blade and the swirling mass.

“Give her baaaack!” Kyoko demanded through her clenched teeth. The world was rapidly reshaping itself into a labyrinth around them. The ground beneath her feet was slowly rumbling and elevating upwards. “Guh!” The black creature knocked Kyoko off the newly-formed platform and to the floor below. “No way I’m goin’ down that easy!” Kyoko pole vaulted herself upwards with her spear and swooped down on the hulking witch. But again her attack was deflected by an equally fierce counterblow. 

The limp Sayaka’s arms suddenly jutted outward, her body going into a crucified pose as the seething cloud of blackness enveloped her entire body. “Sayakaaaaaa!” Kyoko desperately cried out. It was the last she saw of her friend, a flash of spotlights around the platform momentarily blinded Kyoko enough for the newborn witch to send her flying out of its nest with a blow from a wagon wheel-esque projectile. A dozen concert hall doors closed in rapid succession as she tumbled backwards from the strike.

“Damn it!” Kyoko coughed. “God damn it!” She spat up blood. She painedly got back up, trotted at the door and tried kicking it in.

“That was one thing I always did admire about you,” A voice spoke up behind her. A stringy ribbon slithered its way up the doorframe and around Kyoko’s hand. “It was your tenacity.” Kyoko spun around as another ribbon rose from the floor and grabbed her other hand. 

“God damn it, Mami!” Kyoko kicked the door and shouted back at the girl entering into the burgeoning labyrinth around them. “I ain’t got time for your bullshit! That witch is gonna-”

“That witch was the girl from that incident in the alleyway that day, wasn’t she?” Mami interrupted. “Is that why you’re so determined to get back in there?” Mami Tomoe pointed a single shot pistol at Kyoko’s chest. “In a way, I’m really the one to blame for her fate.”

“Eh? The hell are you talking about?” The ribbons hoisted Kyoko upward off her feet. “Hey what are you-”

“Even then I could already sense that she wasn’t all that cut out to be a magical girl.” Mami promptly bound Kyoko’s ankles and motioned her ribbons to approach closer. “I should have put my foot down right then and there, and told her she had no talent for this job.” Her voice choked up while she spoke. “But instead I had to pretend I was this kind senior, and offer my hand in friendship.” She ripped Kyoko’s Soul Gem from her chest. “No wonder she saw right through me. I’m just the worst.”

Kyoko immediately noticed the darkened Soul Gem on the side of Mami’s hat, but was even more alarmed by Mami’s uncharacteristically defeatist tone. “Look, if yer still so hung up on that fight we had, fer what it’s worth I’m sorry I tried to slice yer head off!” Kyoko coughed and spat out a lump of blood. “But ya’ ain’t gonna be any help to Sayaka if yer magic dries up! Now let me down and we’ll do this together!”

“ No, no, nooo !” Mami cried at her. “You’re not supposed to apologize to me!” She held her gun directly against Kyoko’s gem. “You’re supposed to condemn me! It’s what I deserve after playing so tough and acting so selfish and being so judgemental!” It was abundantly clear to Kyoko at this point that her former friend was not at all in her right mind. “I want you to condemn me! Pleeeeease! I need you to condemn me!” She cocked the hammer of her gun back. “Those words can only connect with my heart, if they come from you!”

“Condemn you?” Kyoko unexpectedly felt an extra presence with them in this outer lobby. “Why the hell would I do that?” Whoever it was, they stood as her only hope of escape now. Her task now was to buy whoever they were enough time to get into position. “If anyone here should be damned, it’s me. I’m the one who did this to ya’. I’m the one who left ya’ all alone. I was a bad friend. I’m sorry. If killin’ me’s gonna screw your head back on right, then shoot.” She coughed. “I’ve got a Grief Seed with me. Just promise you’ll use it up and help her when you’re done with me.” If the other person wasn’t here to help, well, she figured, this would be her last chance to apologize. Whatever the case, she’d know in a few moments.

“I promise.” Mami solemnly put her finger to the trigger. “Goodbye.”

A great wail of trumpet noises reverberated throughout the room. Mami was blown clean off her feet as she struggled to protect her popped eardrums. A white haired young girl jumped in between the two. Kyoko promptly freed herself from Mami’s bindings by cutting through them with her jagged lattice barrier.

“A trumpet, huh? Ya’ any good with that thing?” Kyoko asked her savior.

“I dunno.” The girl replied.

“Ain’t been doin’ this long, have ya’?”

“No.”

“Heh. Honest of ya’.” Kyoko grinned and patted her on the shoulder. “I like ya’ already. Now scram up to that balcony and wait for my signal, ‘kay?”

“Okay.” Nagisa nodded. “But they told me I had to get you guys out of here.”

“Who told you?” Kyoko looked behind them and noticed all the doors leading into the witch’s inner lair were swinging open.

***

Though Homura was all too familiar with this witch’s magical aura, the phenomenon happening before her was both confounding and deeply distressing.

Miss Jones, however, right away recognized the freakish aura emanating from the reformed witch’s main body. “The Blinovitch Effect? The flippin’ Blinovitch Effect! How the hell was I supposed to know that principle also applied to Ectomatter? Shouldn’t have slept through all those goddamn classes! Shit!”

“What do you mean? What’s happening to her?”

“If someone comes in direct contact with a time displaced version of themselves, a big spark of time energy erupts between them. Well, Miss Clown somehow came in contact with that Grief Seed you provided me… The resulting temporal energy burst must’ve infused enough exotic energy into the Grief Seed to revive the witch inside. Double shit!”

“Is-” Homura struggled to keep her composure. “Is she alive?”

Miss Jones scanned the emergent monster’s form as Homura’s buckler spun and time resumed. “Yes. There is a human life sign. But her vitals are going wild. She’s not going to survive long unless we can get her separated from that thing, fast!”

“Do you have an idea how to do that?”

“I…” Miss Jones twisted some knobs on her multitool. “Could try locking onto the resonance frequency of the Grief Seed, and draw it out its body.” She hastily adjusted her instrument’s settings, held out her arm and scanned for the Grief Seed. The witch by that point had noticed the intruders within its sanctum and reared the newly-materialized blade in his hand back for a fearsome attack. Homura spun her buckler just in time to freeze its slash mid-swipe.

“Shit!” Homura cursed.

“Indeed,” Miss Jones concurred. “Seems my instrument on its own doesn’t have enough juice to attract the Grief Seed.” They both stood in frozen time thinking of what to do next. “Maybe I could try making a connection with Miss Clown psychically. Decouple her first, then try to secure the Grief Seed. Yeah. Worth a try.” She noticed the attacking blade still paused in time and only a split-second away from striking their position. “For any chance of this to work, we’re going to have to get even closer than this, you know. And do it without time’s protection.” She handed her wand to Homura. “The resonant frequency is set. Just press this button when I say ‘now’.

“I’m ready.”

“Three… Two… One…” The two clutched each other tighter. “Go!” They lunged forward, coming as close as they safely could get to the witch’s body. Time resumed and the fearsome witch’s sword struck the floor and made the entire concert hall shake like the epicenter of an earthquake. 

“ Miss Clown… ” Miss Jones telepathically reached out with both her mind and her arm. “ Can you hear me? Take my hand… Please… You have to... ” “Now!” She shouted and Homura obeyed. But all she heard on the other side was a cacophony of sound, a musical medley devised less of thought and reasoning and more of unbridled emotion and impulse. “Damnit!” She pushed her body onward, extending her hand out attempting to grab Sayaka’s, but the swirling mass of darkness around her body had solidified, as the witch’s fully materialized final form had manifested.

The sickening, gruesome sight of the mermaid knight made Homura reach instinctively for an automatic weapon inside her buckler. “Miss Jones!” The terrifying menace tried to grab the Time Lady with its free hand, but Homura blasted it back with a volley of heavy gunfire.

“Aaaaaaaughhh!” Both Miss Jones and the witch recoiled in pain. “I can’t do it!” Blood trickled out from Miss Jones’s nose and ears. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! But weak as I am now, I can’t reach her!”

“What are we going to do?” Homura stopped time while the witch was recovering from its gunshot wounds.

“Retreat.” The Time Lady puffed. “And regroup. After that,” She confessed, “I don’t know.”

***

“Kyubey?” Madoka had tracked the little creature’s cries for help to the local park near her home. But his cries were getting less and less frequent, and more worryingly, weaker than the last. “Kyubey?” She called out into the night air. “Where are you?”

“ They’re… Kill… ” Kyubey’s voice was fading fast. “ Save… ” But the intention of his pleas remained abundantly clear.

“Kyubey!” There he was, curled up defensively underneath a park bench. Looking extremely exhausted, Madoka scooped him up and cradled him gently in her arms. “Are you okay?”

Kyubey sluggishly opened his eyes. “Madoka… Run!” A bright, lightning-esque flash burst from the ground underneath a tree nearby. The two of them were instantly enveloped within an awakened witch’s labyrinth.

“Kyubey? What’s going on?” She frantically looked around for a means to escape. “Kyubey?”

“They’re… Cheating.” He replied. “They’re… Forcing you.” A swirling black silhouette congealed in front of them. “Breaking the rules.”

“They?” Madoka lightly shook him as she searched for shelter. “Who?”

“The others...” He cryptically said. “The Incubators.” 

A dozen animal-like tentacles stretched out from the black core of the freshly-spawned witch. Madoka tried putting as much distance as she could between herself and its form, but she knew that this would only buy her a scant couple of seconds. She needed to act, to save both their lives, and quickly.

“Kyubey! You have to help me!” She pleaded to the one in her arms.

“How misfortunate.” The voice of Kyubey suddenly boomed from within her own mind. “It would seem that you have been caught within this reconstituted witch’s reconstructed labyrinth, Madoka Kaname.” This voice, however, was not quite the same as the one of the Kyubey in her arms.

“ Cheating .” The one in her arms accused the voice. “ Against the rules .”

“What are you talking about, Kyubey?” Madoka kept her eyes on the still-forming witch in the distance.

“That Kyubey is damaged,” The voice replied. “It does not possess all the data necessary to provide you with valid information.” The silhouette of another Kyubey appeared atop a column high above them. “A surge of highly unusual energy occurred moments ago, the nature of which appears to have stimulated all the unsecured Grief Seeds within its proximity.” Its red eyes glowed as it looked down at them. The witch was stirring fiercely in the distance. “Under normal circumstances, a damaged member of our race would volunteer itself for deactivation and analysis. This one, however, would appear to be acting unpredictably. And it has turned to you for whatever reason.”

“ Help… Me… ” The one in her arms pleaded.

“I don’t understand.” Madoka was both confused by the presence of two Kyubeys, and frightened of the witch’s imminent assault.

“Since it has not shared what it knows, I cannot explain its motives. But we do sincerely regret your involvement in this internal matter.” Its red eyes turned towards the witch. “Madoka, once trapped inside a normal human cannot exit a labyrinth on their own. The only way you can escape now is by making a contract and becoming a magical girl.”

“ That’s… ” The Kyubey in her arms was fading fast. “ Pl-… ” The witch had finally noticed the human in its presence, as its animalistic familiars quickly lashed out at her.

“Madoka! You have to make a contract! Now!”

“Kyubeeeey!”

A sudden rain of swords pinned the familiars to the ground.

“I was almost too late.” A familiar voice cried. “I’m sorry, Madoka.” Sayaka apologized as she leapt between Madoka and the attacking witch’s familiars. “For all the ways I hurt you. I’ll never do it again.”

***

“Hope those friends of yours are doin’ better than we are.” Kyoko said to her diminutive comrade while dodging Mami’s trip wire ribbon traps. Kyoko could sense that Mami’s magic was dangerously low, yet still she knew the only way she could win was through attrition. And she knew from personal experience that wearing her down in such a way carried a severe risk. “Geez, when are ya’ gonna quit bein’ so stubborn, Mami?” Kyoko peeked around a pillar.

“It’s another trait I learned from watching you.” Mami taunted with a vicious cackle. “Mere moments ago you were completely ready to surrender. One reprieve and those survivalist’s skills of yours kick right back in.” She fired a couple rounds at the pillar where Kyoko was hiding. 

“Shit.” Kyoko’s position had been made, she needed to move. Kyoko dashed straight from her hiding place and charged towards Mami at full force, only to be stymied by a shield made from Mami’s ribbons. But Mami’s counter was exactly what Kyoko had anticipated, Mami’s momentary loss of eye contact allowed Kyoko to leap up into a better strategic position within a balcony above.

“You who claim to hate weak magical girls, yet cling to the aid of one now.” Mami was notably paying little attention to Nagisa, who had been waiting for Kyoko’s signal behind a curtain in the opposite balcony.

“Ouch!” Kyoko offendedly yelled. “That’s a real deep cut ya’-” 

“Oh, I’ve heard some very bad rumors about you from the girls who pass through town. You evicted them from Kazamino. You took their Grief Seeds and hoarded them away without any care for the damage you were causing. And even then, dominating one city wasn’t enough for you.” Mami briefly glanced at the closed-off door into the witch’s lair. “You just had to come back here and cause me trouble again. It’s your fault she’s become that witch, Kyoko.” Mami ruthlessly blasted away every support pillar around, causing the balcony to collapse and Kyoko to tumble right back into Mami’s mercy at her feet.

“Now give up and accept your punishment.” Mami took aim.

“Tooooooooot!” Kyoko signaled. Nagisa blew her trumpet hard as she could in Mami’s direction. Mami immediately diffused the intense sound waves with another weaved shield of ribbons. Kyoko took the moment’s distraction with a leap into the air, but Mami reactively fired at Kyoko’s Soul Gem and shattered it into pieces. The inertia sent Kyoko’s body backwards into the rubble behind them, where her lifeless form came to rest.

“Kyoko!” Mami cried as she rushed to her fallen friend’s side. “Oh, God Kyoko!” She sobbed. “I didn’t- I didn’t-'' She cradled Kyoko’s body to her chest. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” She could feel the despair welling within her Soul Gem. “Mommy! Daddy! Pleeeease forgive me!” In her panicked mind she was now sitting, bloodied and broken in the back seat of that wrecked vehicle. “I don’t want to die alone! I don’t want to die alone! I don’t want to di-”

“Had you goin’ pretty good, there,'' The voice of the girl in her arms unexpectedly said. “Didn’t I?” Mami felt the light tap of a Grief Seed against the gem on the side of her head. “Hah! But at least now I know you still care.”

“Kyoko?” Mami gasped. “How did you-”

“Been lyin’ here this whole time. Guess you were right about my survival skills, though. Helluva time to remember how I made those damn illusions of myself again.” 

“Can I come out now?” Nagisa asked from her hiding place above them.

“Depends.” Kyoko looked deep into her mentor’s eyes. “Got yer head put back on right?”

“It’s-” Mami stammered. “I-” She wasn’t sure what she should say. “I’m-”

“Yer gonna pull yourself together, then we’re gonna make nice, and we’re all gonna go in there and save Sayaka’s life.” Kyoko said it for her. “That’s what the Mami I knew would say.”

“Kyoko,” As much as her heart wanted to oblige, Mami still knew the terrible truth about witches, and she could not lie to her old companion. “I’m sorry. But if she’s become a witch, then-”

“Then she can get better.” Nagisa enthusiastically trotted down the steps. “If she’s become a witch, then she can get better. I know ‘cause Nagisa heard about it in a bedtime story once.” 

***

“Sayaka?” Madoka looked upon her magically-clad best friend, astonished.

“What I said to you before,” Sayaka’s apology continued. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.” Sayaka was seeking absolution from the last time they’d spoken in the timeline from where she’d originated. “I was mad and I was wrong. Please forgive me.”

“I-” Madoka’s empathetic eyes welled with tears. “I forgive you.”

“Thanks. You don’t know...” Sayaka was all-too-aware that her friend had no idea what exactly she was forgiving her for. “ How much I needed to hear that!” But her resolve had been fortified by Madoka’s words nonetheless. “One less regret!”

“Sayaka Miki…” The Kyubey perched atop the pillar attentively stood to its feet. “I see now. So you’re the cause of-” Sayaka impaled the creature with a backhanded toss of her sword.

The plethora of swords pinning the witch’s familiars in place wasn’t going to hold it at bay much longer. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I’ve decided that, from here on,” The witch was agitatedly shaking and shrieking. Sayaka promptly bolted towards the witch’s main body. “I don’t gotta be some kind of hero of justice.” She slashed straight through the familiars that had freed themselves from her blades’ bindings, only to be pushed right back by the witch’s fresh swarm of new ones. “And I’m not gonna fight just because someone’s telling me that’s what I’m supposed to- Auuuuugh!” An attacking familiar had grabbed her by her left arm, tearing it off at the shoulder.

“Sayaka!” Madoka worriedly called out to her. The familiars heard her and immediately slinked over to get her.

“Madoka!” The one-armed Sayaka unhesitantly sliced them to bits. “I know it hurts you, seeing me like this!” She panted as her magic regenerated her lost limb in a matter of seconds. “I know it hurts you.” Blood continued dripping from both her legs, her waist, the seal on her new arm and her cheek. “Damn, this hurts a lot! Of course it has to be harder than last time.” She doggedly turned around and charged for the wounded witch, which looked every bit as tattered as she was. “So I’ve decided that from now on I’m gonna fight,” The remaining wounds sealed magically as she talked. “So that I can someday become a person who deserves to have a friend like you!” 

She launched her body full speed at her target. “Guuuuuuyyaaaaaahhhh! The bestest friend a girl like me could ever hope to have!” The trailing familiars caught up to her charge, but not before she sliced the witch’s main body entirely in half. “Haaaaah!” She hacked and slashed at whatever silhouetted monster still dared attack her. “Yaaaaah!” rump familiars managed to bite and tear into her flesh as she fought, yet she stood her ground long enough to keep their attention away from Madoka as the entire labyrinth began to gradually dissolve away. 

“Sayaka!” Madoka raced to her best friend’s side as the last of the shadowy familiars faded into nothingness. “Are you-” She caught against her own, smaller body, even with Kyubey still cradled in her arms. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Sayaka smiled with one eye missing. “But I will be. Thank you.” She collapsed to the ground.

“She probably knew that killing me would serve no useful purpose.” They heard Kyubey’s voice from high in a nearby tree. “I have many bodies. Such a waste.” Kyubey, Madoka, and the barely-conscious Sayaka all noticed a strange glow emanating from the ground beneath them. “Oh, my. It would seem that this park is quite a popular place for unsecured Grief Seeds. By my count, there would appear to be at least six unsecured seeds having a reaction to the nearby energy flux. They could very well all hatch at any minute now.”

“ Cheaters .” The weak, shivering Kyubey in Madoka’s arms muttered.

“Damn bunnycat.” Sayaka spat blood through her teeth. Her ripped off arm had regenerated, and with it she took Madoka’s hand.

“Sayaka Miki, if that indeed is who you really are, you do not have the strength to defeat them all on your own.” His glowing eyes zeroed in on Madoka. “Madoka Kaname, what are you going to do now?”

“Do not look him in the eyes.” Sayaka warned. Her blood-soaked, gloved-hand gently turned Madoka’s cheek toward her own face. “And do not ever. Ever . Make a contract with him.” 

“I can see no other option that will aid you in this situation.” Kyubey almost-tauntingly retorted.

Sayaka’s eyes quickly scanned around the park. Kyubey was wrong. She had a way to get out of the situation. It was a Hail Mary, something she wasn’t even sure how she did the first time, nor was she certain it would work with Madoka in her arms, but it was her only choice, and perhaps for the first time ever, Sayaka decided to have some faith in herself. “Grab my body, and hold me tight.” She whispered to her best friend. They slowly backtracked a few steps. “And hold your breath.”

“Sayaka-?” Sayaka clutched them tightly and they all tumbled sideways into the duck pond.

Sayaka felt the cold, dynamic sensation of water flushing down her body and the smell of her own blood from her still-healing battle wounds. Her eyes abruptly zipped open. Miraculously, Madoka was still in her embrace. Even better, somehow, her gambit had succeeded yet again, she possessed the magical ability to retreat into one body of water and exit out another. She saw visions of the outside world from numerous sources of water she’d recently travelled past while searching the city. The undrained bathtub back at the hospital. The quiet brook she and Madoka always used to pass on their way to school. A large mud puddle in a narrow alleyway. The bridge above the canal that led to the bay. The commemorative fountain by her apartment complex. And lastly, the fountain at the mall she used to escape Mami. It was the one exit point closest to where they’d all be safe, and more importantly, the only place safe from Kyubey’s eyes.

Sayaka gazed upon Madoka’s face as she kicked her legs and swam towards safety, but Madoka’s eyes were shut, her body limp, all evidence appeared to Sayaka that she had not been able to hold her breath. Without any sort of hesitation Sayaka puckered her lips, pressed them firmly against Madoka’s, and blew all the air she still possessed in her lungs into her friend. Then she mustered the last of her remaining strength into guiding their bodies to their exit point.

“Sayaka!” Madoka cried as she finally regained consciousness. From her perspective, they had somehow just travelled all the way across town to the fountain in the mall in a matter of moments.

“Sayaka, please wake up!” She acutely checked her friend for a pulse and listened for her breath. “Please, wake up!” She didn’t know how to do CPR at all, yet she still desperately pounded on Sayaka’s chest and breathed again and again into her mouth. So distraught by the thought of losing her like this, she tried whatever she could think might help. “Please wake up!” She pounded harder and harder on her chest.”

Sayaka abruptly snapped awake, rolled over and spewed water from her mouth. To Madoka’s utter amazement, all of her cuts and scrapes had sealed, and apart from her tattered, blood-drenched clothes she showed no apparent signs of injury. “Please don’t...” She gasped. “Don’t cry…” She wheezed. “My fault.” She coughed. “Still friends?” She gasped and wheezed as she laid flat on the floor. “I’m sorry.” She panted. “I’m sorry.” Apologies were the only other words she could think to say at the moment. “I’m sorry.” She promptly passed out and her magical form vanished in a flash of blue. The girl lying beneath her now appeared to be that of Saya Otonashi. 

“Sayaka...?” Madoka dumbfoundedly examined this girl’s face. Whoever she actually was, didn't matter right now. She was out cold and needed Madoka's help. Kyubey too, was looking pretty rough. "Help!" She called out to the world around her. "S-Somebody please-" 

Madoka suddenly heard a spontaneous, rather extraordinary noise reverberating nearby. Whatever the source, it made a sound she'd certainly never heard before, yet somehow it was a sound that felt distinctly hopeful and reassuring to her, akin to a gentle breeze on a warm summer afternoon, or the breathing exercises her mother practiced while she was pregnant with her brother Tatsuya.

"What's-?" Out of the corner of her eye the source revealed itself to her: A strange vending machine that clearly was not a vending machine materialized from thin air, its appearance fluctuated every second from the earthly object she recognized, to that of an otherworldly grey column that was over twice as tall as the vending machine, with the indent of a sliding door facing her direction. "That?" She'd finally regained her ability to speak again. Its form at last settled on the vending machine's as Madoka cautiously approached in awe.

Though she had ample reason to be afraid of this enigmatic machine, she somehow wasn't, her curiosity overriding even her immediate concern for her own best friend. "Hello?" Madoka tiptoed to its facade. "Hello?" She pressed her ear against it, hearing a soft, low humming sound that was simultaneously familiar yet alien to her. "Hello?" She said a third time. It was all she could think of saying. 

She pressed each beverage's button on the front in the hope that the object would react in some way. The sound of a lock release clicked, it seemed to be inviting her inside. Madoka hesitantly popped the front open, she glanced back at the two individuals unconscious in her care, her better judgement still insisting that she needed to find them help. She slowly swung it open and peeked inside.

"I thought you said it didn't have enough power to move." Madoka saw a familiar dark-haired figure hunched over a console in the middle of a large, dimly lit room.

"It doesn't!" Another familiar person replied. "It shouldn't! Low Power Mode automatically disables all non essential functions." The woman was distractedly typing at a keyboard connected to the central console.

"Where'd we go?" 

"Can't have been far," She paused. "Approximately two hundred forty meters southwest. Looks like it diverted auxiliary power from The Chameleon Circuit." She frantically typed and typed. "Whaaat? You never did that when I wanted you to!"

"H- Homura?" Madoka squeaked.

"Madoka?" The startled Homura whipped her body around.

"Madoka?" Another figure stepped out from the shadows, to Madoka's surprise, it was her magical friend Mami Tomoe.

"Well, if it ain’t The Shrimpy." A redheaded girl stood up next to her, impatiently chomping into an apple.

"It would seem," The woman working the keyboard fascinatedly arched her brow. "That the TARDIS likes you, Madoka Kaname."

“Miss Jones,” Madoka rushed inside. “You have to help them!” Miss Jones quickly noticed the two unmoving shapes behind her.

“Homura,” With a quick nod Miss Jones signaled Homura to action. “What’s her condition?”

“Physically, she’s healed, but,” Homura inspected her Soul Gem. “She’s used up a lot of magic. Her soul needs to be purified at once.”

“And the fuzzball?”

“I can’t say I know enough about his biology to make any determination.” Homura flipped over the appendage on his ear. “Though it does appear to have a cut above its head. From what you described before, I believe this to be the same Kyubey that fled from you in the classroom.” 

“Nice.” Miss Jones smirked as she returned to typing on her keyboard. “Bring ‘em in.”

“Oh, yeah,” Kyoko recognized her disguised face. “It’s that small fry from the cafeteria.” 

While Mami noticed the girl’s familiar aura straight away. “She and I battled in a labyrinth earlier today.” She stepped forward. “If she needs a Grief Seed, then I must take the responsibility of hunting another for her sake.”

“There’s no need for that.” Homura pulled a Grief Seed out from behind her buckler.

“Homura,” Miss Jones pulled a crystal out from a slot in the floor. “There’s no need for that.” She smiled invitingly at the other ladies in the room. “Does anybody else want in on this little technical demonstration?”

“Demonstration? Of what?” Mami wondered. Nagisa Momoe walked through the interior sliding door, then handed a cup of tea to Mami. “Thank you.” Mami studied the young girl’s face. “You’re awfully young. Where did you learn to make tea?”

“My Mom taught me,” Nagisa lightly tossed an apple to Kyoko. “But Nagisa didn’t make that stuff. That’s Miss Jones’s stuff.”

“Thanks, kid.” Kyoko had already finished chomping her other apple down to the core. “Where ya’ been gettin’ these?”

“From the orchard down below.” Nagisa enthusiastically replied. Miss Jones slightly smiled behind her as she typed. Nagisa watched Homura carry Sayaka into the ship. “Is Sayaka okay?”

“Yes, she soon will be.” Miss Jones took Sayaka’s Soul Gem from Homura’s possession. 

“Sayaka?” Kyoko tilted her head. “The hell ya’ talkin’ about? Sayaka’s-”

“As long as we’re laying all our cards on the table…” Miss Jones kept typing on. Homura laid Sayaka’s body on the futon, and removed the hairpin from her head. Sayaka’s disguise promptly dissolved, revealing to Mami and Kyoko her true identity.

“What the hell is goin’ on here?” The flabbergasted Kyoko dropped her apple. “Who the hell are you people?” She leaned over and studied the unconscious Sayaka’s face very closely.

“I promise you, we will explain everything.” Homura calmly gripped Madoka’s shaking hand. “And more, in good time.”

“And unfortunately,” Miss Jones placed Sayaka and Nagisa’s Soul Gems in the microwave. “Time is of the essence. So do try to keep up.”

Sayaka awakened to the sound of familiar voices chattering nearby. “ …Pect me to believe yer an alien and this is a spaceship?” One said. “Get outta towwwwn!”

“I must confess,” Uttered another. “This is all much more information than I can readily process right now.”

“Homura,” Softly spoke yet another. Sayaka’s eyes shot open the moment she remembered who that voice belonged to. “I think she’s awake.”

“Sayaka?” Madoka gently touched her head. “Is it really you?”

“Yeah. Is it really you?” Kyoko repeated in a gruffer tone.

“Have you recovered completely?” Homura asked her.

“Little headache.” Sayaka sat up on the futon. “feeling chilly.”

“Understandable.” Miss Jones waved her wand just above Sayaka’s head. “Lingering symptoms of a head injury and some heavy blood loss. But your healing power exceeds even that of us Time Lords. You should be right as rain in a few.”

Sayaka studied all the concerned faces in the room gathered around her. Immediately, she realized there was one face in the room that was distinctly absent. “Something’s happened to me... To her … To Sayaka. Hasn’t it?”

That girl…” Mami’s voice dolefully trailed. “Has become a witch.”

“No!” Kyoko pounded the futon. “Bullshit! She’s not a witch!” She indignantly grabbed Mami by the shirt.

“I told you,” Mami cooly stared at her. “When a magical girl runs out of magic, our bodies die, and we’re reborn as witches. That’s the truth. I’ve seen it happen.”

“Yeah? It might be true,” Kyoko retorted. “But I saw what happened to Sayaka back there! She wasn’t a magical girl! She never made no wish! And if she didn’t make no wish, then she damn well couldn’t have become no witch!”

“You two, please.” Homura commanded. “Shut up. Stop arguing, and listen.” She looked at Sayaka, then at Miss Jones. “Miss Jones can explain the phenomenon you witnessed.”

“Miss Jones? What happened to her?” Sayaka was anxious to know.

“She came in direct contact with a past version of herself,” Miss Jones answered. “And an energy discharge caused by The Blinovitch Limitation Effect erupted, similar to the one you saw back in that bathroom, only she came in contact with such a seething concentration of Ectomatter in the form of a Grief Seed, that the reaction that occurred was far more intense.”

“Whaaaat?” Sayaka leapt off the futon. “I don’t get it. Why would a Grief Seed be-” Then she did absolutely understand, all too well. Sayaka’s weary glare slowly and distraughtly turned towards Homura. 

“No, Sayaka. It was my fault. I asked for a Grief Seed to study. She gave me one.” Miss Jones briefly glanced at Kyoko. "Then I lost it. But just as the blame for not telling you the truth about witches ultimately rests with me, I made a promise that I’d keep you in the loop, and I did not live up to it." She let out a huge, exhausted sigh. “For that, I am truly sorry.”

Sayaka leapt straight to her feet and bolted Towards the exit door. Miss Jones proactively locked it with the flick of a switch on her console. "Let me go!" She pounded on it. "Let me go right now! I have to save her!”

“I know you do. But you can't go.”

“I don't care about that stinkin' Blinowhatever! I have to go!”

“I know." She regretfully swallowed. "But you're the one person who can't.”

“Why not?” Sayaka whined. “If that Blinowhatsit zaps me, I can just heal up!”

“Well for one, that’s a total misunderstanding of what the Blinovitch Effect does,” Miss Jones added, “And not the only reason why you can’t go.” 

“Then let me go!” Kyoko projected a spear of energy from her Soul Gem and directed it under Miss Jones’s throat. “I’ll slice that thing clean in half and pull her outta there myself. Just watch me!” She ran over to join Sayaka at the door while keeping her weapon’s projection steady.

“Y’know, you buy a girl a nice swimsuit,” Miss Jones nonchalantly pointed Kyoko’s energy spear away from her neck. “And she thanks you by rippin’ you off and pointing a blade at ya’.” She shot Kyoko a brief, admonishing gaze turned and went back to typing on her keyboard. “Don’t assume a lining of perceptual dampening cloth in your pocket is enough to keep out the pickpockets. Live and learn I suppose.”

“Tch! Yeah, whatever,” Kyoko slightly blushed. “I thought ya’ might’ve been a magical girl!” She didn’t appreciate the Time Lady’s flippant dismissal. “Still not convinced yer what you claim you are!”

“You can think of me whatever you wish.” Miss Jones remarked. “But ultimately a gung-ho charge at that witch is only going to get your friend killed in the process.”

“How?” Kyoko grunted.

“From what we could determine, the witch seemed to be trying to reconstitute itself by leeching off Sayaka’s Ectoenergy. And it was doing it, by psychically linking its essence to Sayaka’s body.” She kept staring at the console screen as she typed away. “Because of that, any physical damage inflicted on the witch would double as an injury to her real body.”

“When the witch attacked us,” Homura testified. “I shot its hand away.”

“And I felt the psychic blowback. It still tingles a bit.” Miss Jones raised her hand up. “And I was only peripherally linked with her mind. She wouldn’t let me in. From what little I could glean, it’s like the witch is making sure there’s no voice she’ll hear that isn’t her own.”

“Then I need to go!” Sayaka loudly reiterated. “If I’m the only one who can connect with her, then I’m the only one who can do it!”

“Do you not yet understand the nature of this paradox, Sayaka Miki?” A male voice in the room interrupted. The collection of ladies all disdainfully glared at the Kyubey inside the pet carrier who made the proposal. Even Madoka, who had just gone to such great lengths to save its life, showed him no affection after hearing Homura and the Time Lady’s full tale. Yet their shared scorn did not stop him from speaking. “If you were to go into that labyrinth, there is a very high probability that you would suffer the same fate as your human counterpart.”

“Is that true?” Sayaka despairingly collapsed against the door. Miss Jones simply nodded.

“Extrapolating from your descriptions of the witch and the event it precipitated,” Kyubey explained. “The witch is keeping control over her human body by projecting a telepathic link strong enough that it is effectively overriding her own soul’s control of it.” He continued, “Though your own Soul is somewhat more protected within its Soul Gem, the intensity of the witch’s psychic power inside its labyrinth would effectively wrest control from your own body as well.”

“Ahhhh… Now that Bunnycat’s patched up, I see he’s already right back into character,” Miss Jones sneeringly teased. She walked to the other side of the room, reached into a counter, pulled three pairs of glasses and handed them to Madoka, Mami, and Kyoko. “Coldly quashing the hopes of girls who dare to defy destiny.”

“I am merely summarizing the situation.” Kyubey studied the container confining him, and the room surrounding it. “If you are really of the species you claim to be, then I presume I am aboard one of your fabled vessels?” Kyubey pawed at the pet carrier’s door.

“Correct.” Miss Jones simply stated. “Don’t bother trying to open that. I modified the lock so that only authorized lifeforms can open it.”

“There’s no call for such excessive measures,” Kyubey responded. “I will not attempt to escape.”

“You’ll forgive me if not gonna be as blindly trusting as all those young girls you manipulated into selling their souls.”

“Hostility.” Kyubey tilted his head. “Such a primitive response from what all accounts claim was a highly enlightened race.”

“Bah, enlightened.” Miss Jones shook her head and went back to work. “We were no more enlightened than anybody else out there, the only difference being we came to power first, then spread all sorts of fanciful stories of our own magnificence amongst the races.” She snorted. “Then some of our most lauded elders began to buy into their own hype. That’s where all the trouble started.”

“Why did you do this to us?” Mami soberly inquired. “What profit is there in watching us fight, suffer and die?”

“Yes, Bunnycat, g’wan answer her.” Miss Jones finished reassembling her project. “Tell us all that most benevolent goal of yours.” She slid under another panel and went to work on her next fix.

“To phrase it in simplest terms,” Kyubey began. “Think of the chemical energy released from wood when it is burned in a fire.” He was suddenly and unexpectedly quite conscious of the way all the girls were looking at him. “That energy is not equivalent to the amount of energy it took to grow and harvest it. Some energy is lost in the conversion. Such loss is endemic to the nature of the Universe, to the point where the entire Universe itself will one day run out of usable energy.” He tilted his head the other way. “Essentially all of existence is slowly dying. But we discovered a form of energy that does not adhere to the fundamental laws of thermodynamics. And that energy comes, in the form of human emotion.” He persisted, even though their staring was making him uneasy. “Specifically, from human females entering their second phase of physical development. So my civilization created a technology that converts the emotions of sentient lifeforms. And at the precise moment your Soul Gems flare out and become Grief Seeds, a vast amount of energy, indeed a huge net gain, is released from your emotional transition from hope to despair.”

“Hahaahahaaahaaahaaa!” The Time Lady burst into laughter. “‘ My civilization .’ Wow!” She mocked. Such an insulting reaction shouldn’t have bothered Kyubey, yet somehow, it did.

“The hell does that mean?” Kyoko turned Kyubey’s cage around with a sturdy kick. “Yer trickin’ us for energy?”

“Gotta say, I did not expect you who’d be the one to keep up with all that babble.” Miss Jones smirked. 

“Hey!” Kyoko snapped back. “Watch it!”

“Well, keep talkin’ Bunnycat. You have them absolutely captivated.”

“We do not understand this concept of ‘trick.’ We acknowledge humans’ sapience, and approach you as-”

“Been over that part!” Miss Jones interrupted. 

“Why is it that, whenever humans regret a decision based on their own misunderstanding, they display resentment towards the other party?”

“Maybe because people don’t appreciate being conned?” Miss Jones frustratedly slammed her wand on the floor and stood up. “Bunnycat, now that you’ve stated your purpose, I think it’s only fair you take the time to answer my questions.”

“I am under no obligation to answer questions from someone with whom I am not proposing a contract, or have not already made one.” A token act of defiance, but the sentiment itself was true to its race.

“You will if you want me to open that door.”

Kyubey glanced at the lock on the door. “Very well. You may ask.”

“What civilizations do you represent?”

“All space faring civilizations that abide by the Shadow Proclamation. And some that don’t.” 

“Ah, y’see, that’s the rub.” Miss Jones rapidly shook her head. “The Sontarans, Silurians, Shansheeth, The Sycorax, just to name a few of the stock ‘S’s… I’ve downloaded their collective databases into my ship’s core mainframe. And none of them so much as even mention the likes of you. I’ve even peeked into The Shadow Proclamation’s most classified secrets. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.”

“Then your files are not comprehensive. I have distinct memories of formally dealing with these races.”

“Memories, you say?” She countered. “So answer me this, Bunnycat, of all the races you remember interacting with, what do you recall feeling during your encounters with them?”

“If by ‘feeling,’ you mean any emotions.” Kyubey replied. “Nothing. Our kind do not possess the capacity for emotions. Any aberrations who exhibit emotion are deemed insane.”

“Oh, really? Nothing?” Miss Jones raised her brow. “No apprehension when face-to-face with an Ice Warrior. No confidence when negotiating with a Raxacoricofallapatorian, no satisfaction when double-crossing a swindlin' Vizziniri?”

“No.” Kyubey sounded almost annoyed. “Do you have an underlying point to your question?”

“Why, yes I do! So glad you asked.” Miss Jones replied. “Can you tell me Bunnycat, as a fellow dabbler in the fine art of mental manipulation, how do you identify a genuine memory from a false one? What is the underlying earmark?”

“I would say,” Kyubey’s unblinking gaze briefly zoned in on Sayaka. “When the memory elicits either a physical reaction to the stimuli, or a strong emotional response.” He tilted his head at Miss Jones. “Is your conclusion that, because these memories generate no emotional response from me, that those memories must be fabricated?

“Mmmmm. Just a little food for thought.” Miss Jones tilted her head at him as well. “Now tell me, Bunnycat,” She tactfully moved on. “Is your species biological in origin, technological,” She skeptically tilted her head. “Or chimerical?”

“We are,” Kyubey paused for a moment. “Biological.”

“Then what’s your planet of origin?”

“That information was lost in our Great Collective Awakening.”

“Ahhhh…” Miss Jones sniggered. “An event that sounds portentous enough to be real buuuuuut,” She moved on again. “So what do your offspring look like?”

“Irrelevant question. We’ve evolved beyond the need for such inefficient methods of biological perpetuation.”

“You don’t know what a Baby Kyubey looks like, do you?”

“Of course I know.” He impatiently swished his tail. “I-” He stopped himself. “That information was not important to the function of my duties as an individual. So I cannot provide explicit details.”

“Oh, I gotcha now,” Miss Jones deviously smiled. “Final question… You said your civilization developed technology that could functionally reshape reality through emotion, yes? Well, does your civilization have emotions?”

“No, we do not.”

“So why would you create a technology that is of no practical use to your own kind?”

“You said the previous question was your last.” Kyubey stood up in his cage. “With that technicality, I no longer see the need to answer your queries.”

“Touché.” Miss Jones went over and opened the pet carrier door. Kyubey took one step forward, and promptly rammed his head straight into a small, blue-colored force field and tumbled back into his cage.

“You tricked me!” Kyubey accused. “You said you would let me go if I answered your questions!”

“Ahhh… You misunderstood.” Miss Jones grinned. “I only said I would open the door. But you see, that thing I just patched back together was the TARDIS Tactical And Security AI. And it seems my AI still deems you to be a risk. Therefore, it’s gonna keep you right where you are.”

“That’s a very underhanded deception!” Kyubey said, with an apparent tone of resentment.

“Now you know, if only just a little, how all those girls felt after you took their souls away!” The collected group of girls stared into the creature's pitiful, red eyes with a most agonizingly judgmental gaze. Why were their looks of disapproval bothering it so much? Nor should it be harboring any antipathy from her simple deception, yet it did. He just said that his kind did not have any emotion, and any who did were considered insane. So why was this situation putting it at such terrible unease? Was it insane?

“You… Did something to me, didn’t you?” Kyubey groused. “When I initiated that telepathic attack. You countered… You altered my mind.”

“No,” Miss Jones playfully denied. “I simply reactivated a part that had been long switched off.”

“Small retributions aside, Miss Jones,” Homura steered them back to the more pressing matter. “How are we supposed to free the Sayaka of this world from her witch?”

“I sure as hell ain’t givin’ up on her!” Kyoko grabbed Sayaka’s shoulder and picked her up. “No way no how!”

“Saving humans from witches is the job of a magical girl.” Mami took a deep breath, hastily sipped down the rest of her tea and stood up. “It is imperative that we rescue her.”

“Nagisa wants to help too!” Nagisa excitedly jumped on the futon.

“Please!” Madoka pleaded. “There has to be a way to save her!”

“Miss Jones,” Sayaka soberly spoke. “I’ll forgive those other lies if you’d just tell me the truth right now. Is there a way we can save her?”

 The room fell silent as Sayaka and The Time Lady stared at each other for a full minute. “I don’t know,” She conceded. “I can’t risk your life. But even if I were at my full strength, I doubt my mind would be able to penetrate through all the psychic turmoil that girl’s drowning in. Wish there was a way.” Her head drooped back in her chair until she was staring at the ceiling above. “But I don’t see how. I don’t know what to do.”

“How unfortunate,” Kyubey teased, “That you do not possess the potential nor meet the criteria to make a contract and become a magical girl.” Kyubey smugly waved his tail, tilted his head and stared intently at Madoka. “For it would appear that only a miracle could free Sayaka Miki from the clutches of that witch now.”

“Oh wouldn’t you just love it if she did?” The Time Lady resentfully tossed an apple in her pocket at Kyubey’s cage. “Then your lot would gain all the energy you’d ever-” She suddenly paused. Her eyes widened and she stood up and gazed at something on the ceiling. “Ah! Ohhhhhhh. That’s it!”

“What?” Everyone else said at once. “What is it?” Sayaka puzzledly gazed at the same spot she was looking.

“Divert a little power,” Miss Jones punched away at some control switches. “Yes. Just enough to see the process through. Perfect!” She took a deep, resolute breath, turned around and stepped over to Homura. “Miss Akemi, with your permission, I must now make use of your magic for a highly critical and very meticulously designed modification.” She looked at Mami then pointed at her cuffs. “And I’ll need to utilize your particular power as well. Specifically those ribbons.”

“What are you making?” Homura asked.

“I’ll explain it in your time,” Miss Jones wound and tied a length of Mami’s ribbons around her body. “Now quickly do as I say. Every moment we spend idle is a moment the juuuust-might-be possible becomes less and less possible.” She tied the other end of the ribbon to Homura’s body. “Ready? Engage.” Homura spun her buckler and time was suspended around them.

“What’s all this?” Homura reluctantly examined the papers Miss Jones was handing to her.

“Extensively detailed instructions on how to put the Soul Gem purifying microwave back together, written so that even a teenage human could understand it. Made it in case something incapacitated me. Or worse.” 

“You’re going to take it apart?”

“I have to,” Miss Jones dove right into her project. “You remember me telling you in the hospital about the helmet part’s original purpose?”

“To turn a Time Lord into something else, right?” Homura paused. “Wait, you’re not gonna turn yourself into a human so you can-”

“Nope!” She chuckled while she labored. “You heard the bunnycat. Wouldn’t meet the criteria anyhow. But his words did get these old gears turning… With a few extra tweaks, I believe it’s possible for this device to do the reverse. To turn a humanoid into a Time Lord.”

“Then are you planning to-” Homura’s heart jumped a full beat. “Change us into members of your kind?”

“No,” Miss Jones corrected. “Not all of you. There’s only enough time, enough power, and enough resources... To do it once!”

“Then,” Homura tightly clenched her chest.

“Except the obvious hitch with that is,” Miss Jones interrupted. “That the massive influx of energy supplied by the biological rewriting process would be great enough to tear the cells apart of anyone undergoing the transformation. Even the advanced healing powers of a magical girl wouldn’t be enough to survive it.” She fused two disassembled components back together with her wand. “That is, unless , the magical girl’s innate power is that of rapid cellular regeneration.”

Homura turned and stared at the frozen Sayaka. The last grains of sand in Homura’s buckler drained, and time resumed. Homura spun it quickly again, but Sayaka caught her staring.

“Now do you understand?”

“So she can hear her own voice. Can you absolutely guarantee she’ll survive it?”

“Yes absolutely,” Miss Jones gestured to Homura for her to unfreeze the main computer console. “Provided there’s another Time Lord involved to serve as both a biological template and an intermediary for the energy flux.” She pulled a lever and pounded the console with her fist, until a second helmet fell free from the ceiling. “That’ll be moi.”

Homura examined the helmet, there was an odd looking smudge on an indented part of the helmet. “You?” It looked distinctly like a char mark. “Will you survive it?”

“No. It’s definitely going to kill me.” Miss Jones snapped her finger. “Ah. That reminds me,” She trotted over to the dresser across the room, quickly ferreted through its contents and took out a syringe of nanogenes. “Take this.” She placed it in Homura’s hands and promptly went back to work.

“You said you only had two.”

“Yeah, I fibbed a little. I had three. That batch is still configured for Time Lord biology. Was very much hoping to use it to fix myself in another hitch.”

“So you want me to revive you with this?”

“Nope again,” Miss Jones shook her head. “Won’t be for me. It’s for her. Those things are going to greatly speed along the recovery process once the rewrite is complete.” She fused more components together with her multitool. “We Time Lords tend to suffer through a bit of a... Funky hangover whenever we endure the physical trauma of a regeneration cycle. One you guys don’t have the time to help her through. Those nanolovelies will hopefully stop a full regeneration cycle from occurring, and then help greatly speed along that little ‘bout of unpleasantness afterwards.”

“So how am I supposed to revive you?” Having accidentally glimpsed into some of The Time Lady’s old lives, Homura had a vague idea what she was talking about.

“You aren’t going to revive me.” She said as she continued working unfazed. “I’m going to die. Plain and simple.”

“You-” Homura staggered as time resumed again. She hastily spun her buckler over before speaking again. “You’re okay with that?”

“Yeah.” Miss Jones answered. “I mean, I was already sharing a piece of myself with her when we first began. I’m fine with straight up giving her the rest.”

“No,” Homura choked. “You can’t leave us now. What about Walpurgisnacht?”

“That’s the reason I fixed the Tactical and Security AI back on. Most sophisticated of the entire TARDIS battle fleet. Personality’s a bit of a buzzkill, but it means well, and should help you formulate a winning strategy.”

“What about after that?” Homura glanced at the microwave in the wall. “What about making your purification technology useful to all the magical girls?”

“Well, provided you guys finally bust out of this causality loop,” She briefly stopped and painedly sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to tell you where to find my ol’ ‘pal’ Dorkus.”

“Dorkus?”

“I know… Right? But it’s his name and he ain’t ever gonna change it.” Miss Jones resumed working. “He’s a Gallifreyan exile and not only an expert inventor, he’s also a real artisan at crafting things with Gallifreynium. Made some of my favorite pieces of jewelry.” She fused some more parts together with her multitool. “He’s also really, really reclusive. And his manners can leave much to be desired, but trust me… Charm his ego, he’ll be putty in your hands.”

“Are you certain he'll help us?”

“Yeah. Just tell him I sent you.” Miss Jones stood up and made adjustments on the two helmets hanging from the ceiling. “He still owes me a huge, huge favor.”

“Favor? For what?”

“For not killing him when I had the chance!” Miss Jones bluntly said. “Oh, and I can neither confirm nor deny us having a tryst or two.”

“What about Kyubey?” Homura glanced at the frozen and unassuming animal in the pet carrier. “What about finding out who’s doing this to us and stopping them?”

“I have a feeling that once they find out their little energy project on this planet has suddenly stopped producing, the culprit will come and reveal themselves. But again, with the Tactical AI’s assistance, you’ll be prepared.”

“You’ve-” Homura could tell there was nothing else she could say that was going to change this woman’s mind. “You’ve gotta at least tell her about all this before you finish building it.”

“I know.” Miss Jones smiled. “Whenever you’re ready. Bring her in.”

“H- Homura? What’s up?” Sayaka innocently asked Homura a second after she reappeared next to her in normal time.

“Miss Jones needs you to do something. Now listen closely.” Homura gently took Sayaka’s hand. “One last time.”

“I regret that I must put you in a similar spot to the one when you and I first met.” Miss Jones uttered as Homura prepared to spin the buckler a third time.

***

“You… Want to turn me into a Time Lord?” Sayaka’s heart fluttered far more intensely than it had at any point when Kyubey was offering to make her a magical girl.

“Well to put it more exactly, into a Time Lord-magical girl sort of hybrid.” Miss Jones hustled over to the dresser one more time and dug out a fob watch. “Binding your Soul Gem inside this thing should guarantee the witch won’t exert any undue influence on you. And a biological rewrite down to the quantum level should negate the Blinovitch Effect. ” She warmly put her hand on Sayaka’s shoulder.  “Well, seeing as we’re essentially doing an unbastardized version my kind’s ol’ Initiation Ritual, I think it's only fitting that I also bequeath this commemorative pocket watch to you.” She affixed the watch to the slot in the second helmet. “Take good care of it. It belonged to a very good friend.”

“Didn’t you say you used that watch on my Soul Gem already?”

“Yeah, another little fib. Please forgive me again.”

“But,” Sayaka swallowed a humongous lump in her throat. “Why me?”

“Host of reasons. Because you deserve to be here. Because you're the only voice your counterpart and your counterpart’s witch may hear. Because these girls need an X-Factor that’s keeping this pointless chain of events from ending up exactly like the previous ones.” She placed the helmet on Sayaka’s head. “And above all, because I believe in you.”

“And doing this is going to kill you?” Sayaka choked. “You’re okay with that?”

“I’m ready to die. I’ve lived enough lives. More lives than anyone like me really deserves.”

“But-”

“She’s made her choice.” Homura interrupted. “There’s nothing you or I could say that will make her relent.”

“B-” Sayaka’s eyes watered and swelled. “But I don’t wanna be a Time Lord! And I-” She sniffed. “And I hate being a magical girl!” She sobbed. “I just wanna be me!”

“This absolutely isn’t going to change who you are!” Miss Jones dried Sayaka’s tears with her sleeve. “Not the most important part to you, your soul. Your soul is the most immutable part of your makeup.” She drew out Sayaka’s Soul gem with a press of a button on her multitool, took, morphed it into the blue C-shaped crescent that it would normally appear as while affixed to Sayaka’s belly button in her magical form, and placed it inside the watch’s inner casing. “There we go. You might go through a dozen faces and genders, but your soul shall always remain the same.”

“Is it gonna hurt?”

“Yes. A lot.” Miss Jones ran through a series of system checks on the central computer console. “But you’ll heal fast. Unfortunately can’t help the pain you’ll feel watching my body wither and die. Really sorry about that.”

“Is there somewhere you’d like your body to be taken?” Homura asked, calmly as she could muster.

“Huh. That’s a good question. Never thought that far ahead.” Miss Jones smiled with a tear forming in her eye. “The medical bay has an independently-powered stasis system. That at least should keep me from decaying too quickly. After that,” Miss Jones wistfully sighed and wiped her singular tear away. “I could send you guys on a wild goose chase for my best friend. But I know better. I suppose handing me over to Dorkus will have to suffice.”

“Sensei,” Sayaka whimpered, “I can’t do this! I don’t wanna lose-”

“Sayaka,” Miss Jones interrupted. “Do you know the real, honest-to-goodness reason why you became a magical girl? What you desired in your heart the most?”

Sayaka didn’t know how she was supposed to reply, so she dolefully whispered, “So I could heal Kyosuke?”

“No.” Miss Jones whispered back. 

“So I could try to be a hero?” She mournfully confessed.

“Closer,” Miss Jones empathetically tilted her head. “You did what you did, because you had a wish that’s shared between all hopeful children, from Aabbadabus to Earth, from Gallifrey to Zyxurrazz Twelve. It’s the desire to live a life of power.”

Sayaka bewilderedly looked at her. “Power?”

“Whether you see a friend with an injured hand, or a girl whose mother is gravely ill, or someone who no longer has a home or a family,” She too, sniffed and choked. “You want to do something about it. You want the power to change it with your own hands. Because you are a good person. A hopeful person.” She continued, “And a good person’s natural aspiration is to leave this cold, uncaring, otherwise meaningless existence in a better place than when they came into it. Even if it’s only slightly.” inspected her helmet one last time. “Doing this, I’m confident I’ll be leaving things in a better place. So much more than slightly.”

“But what’ll I do without you?” 

Miss Jones simply bowed, smiled, and advised, “Live a life of power. You must do what you believe in your heart is right, even if a million others tell you you’re wrong.” She put the helmet on her head. “And the first thing you must do to live a life of power, is find courage, and be ready to reach beyond the boundaries of time itself.” She fastened it. “And to do that, all you need is the will to take that first step.” She comfortingly put her arms around Sayaka. “Sayaka Miki, do you have the will to take that first step?” 

Sayaka stood there for a minute, taking in her last chance to see the smiling face of her Sensei. She dutifully dried the tears away with her sleeve. “I’m ready.”

“Splendid! Well then,” Miss Jones signaled to Homura. “As good o’ last words as any I’ll have. See that lever next to you... Pull it!”

Normal time resumed. Homura fatefully pulled the lever.

Chapter Text

The contented smile on his young face. That effortless rhythm of his fingers moving along his instrument. The unwavering adulation of the people in the audience. The young Sayaka was enraptured in that single moment, the happiest she could ever possibly hope to be. 

Hope. That was the emotion powering Sayaka’s heart as she made her fateful wish to Kyubey, that emissary of magic, that fateful evening. Her miracle to restore his hand granted, she enthusiastically leapt from rooftop to rooftop, now transformed into a magical girl, the very personification of hope. And whatever obstacles lie ahead, she knew she would overcome, especially with the aid of a capable senior and the support of her very best friend.

When that contented smile returned to his face, she knew she would never regret it.

***

“Beautifullllllll…” The disheveled Salaryman dropped the bouquet of flowers in his hand and shambled slowly toward the ambient melody that had infatuated him so. “So beautifulllllll…” He droned. His plans for the night had been utterly trashed. He’d been humiliated and devastated from the sight of his own boss in bed with his fiancé, a night which was supposed to be his happiest had turned into his most despairing. “Beautifullll songgggg…” What else was there for him to do but jump in front of the night train and vanish from this cruel world? Maybe killing himself would force them to realize just how truly essential he was to their lives. “Loooooove…” But now none of that mattered to him at all. “Meeeee...” The allure of that wondrous music was all-consuming, like a siren’s call he could not help but be its captive. “Dooooo…” He reverently read the words on the pink, heart shaped graffiti on the floor before him, reached out then vanished into thin air.

“That makes eight victims in the last hour alone.” The onlooking Kyubey remarked.

“Initial data suggests the temporal phenomenon emanating from this witch is generating a remarkable surplus of net energy.” Another Kyubey reported. “Large enough that it is even having an effect on the unsecured Grief Seeds nearby.” It added, “This incident and the fallout that will ensue may serve as a new solution to meeting our energy quota,” then it proposed “There is a growing consensus among the others that, due to the circumstances surrounding this chain of events, and the unpredictability of the events going forward, the most prudent move would be to disregard standard operating protocol and take measures to capture this witch and procure this energy source ourselves.”

“You ain’t doin’ jack squat, Bunnycats.” A very familiar, yet completely unexpected voice behind them warned.

“Sayaka Miki,” One of the Kyubeys turned its head. “So you were the anomalous disguised magical girl all along, yes?” The Magical Quintet of Sayaka, Homura, Mami, Kyoko and Nagisa strode confidently towards the conferencing group of Kyubeys in a single, unified stride side-by-side, with all of them wearing glasses. “Your presence validates our preliminary data, and our subsequent theory suggesting that what we are witnessing is the resultant temporal paradox of the same being interacting with their past self.”

Another Kyubey walked from out of the shadows. “Effectively, there are two Sayaka Mikis, a human version, and a witch, interacting inside the labyrinth. This reaction is emanating quite the sizable amount of energy. Energy that is subsequently affecting the surrounding environment.”

“We know all that, Incubator.” The Quintet stayed in lock-step. Homura dismissively tossed her hair. “What’s your point?”

“Homura Akemi,” A third Kyubey spoke from atop a lamppost on the opposite side of the railway. “You are the other magical girl whose presence we could not definitively explain. We presumed by the data that you and your power is the likely root cause of this situation.” It waved its bumptious tail like a curious cat. “The point is, the addition of a third Sayaka Miki would more than likely further exacerbate this paradox, as well as disrupt the interaction which has for now, achieved an equilibrium of harvestable energy. Therefore, we strongly advise that you do not venture into the labyrinth.”

“I’ll be okay.” Sayaka assertively replied. She was the only member of the group who was not magically transformed.

“All present evidence suggests to the contrary.” A fourth Kyubey’s eyes glowed from within a nearby wildbush. “Indeed,” A fifth appeared on a roof of a ticket station. “We insist.”

“Although it is highly energy intensive and thus an inefficient use of our forms,” Two other Kyubeys approached with their rears raised in a defensive posture and their gold bangle-adorned sensory appendages jutting outward and glowing. “We are capable of neutralizing any magical girls who act beyond their predicted behavior patterns.”

“That sounds suspiciously like a threat!” Kyoko pointed her blade at one of the approaching aliens.

“We are merely advising that it is best that you refrain from taking any further action.” They collectively stared at Mami, apparently expecting her to take charge of the group. “And retreat.”

“And we are merely advising you to refrain.” Mami calmly repeated. “And retreat.”

“You may be able to eliminate a few of our individual bodies, but ultimately,” Two more Kyubeys emerged from the shadows. “Ultimately, we possess more numbers, more expendable energy, and above all,” Their eerie red eyes and gold bangles collectively glowed all at once. “Superior knowledge.” 

A scant few seconds passed and nothing happened. The collection of Kyubeys surrounding them all broke position and glanced at each other, completely confused by the counterreaction they apparently had failed to initiate.

“Awwwwww,” Sayaka smirked as she confidently pushed up the glasses on her face. “Are you one-trick ponies surprised that your trick didn’t work this time?”

“We were aware of the spectacles you wear as a defense against our psychic influence,” A Kyubey in the group answered. “But we do not understand,” One started, another completed, “How you resisted the energy pulse emitted by our collective. It should have temporarily nullified your magical transformations.”

“Just as planned,” Sayaka muttered under her smile, “It’s simple, really. They’re protected. Totally shielded from your undue influence.”

“Shielded?” A Kyubey apprehensively approached them. “By what?”

“Not what,” Sayaka stepped forward. “Who.” She took a blue glowing gold fob watch out of her pocket. “Me.”

“Is that... A Soul Gem?” One of the Kyubeys asked. “A pocket watch?” The collective Kyubeys all looked even more confused than before. “Explain. We do not understand how such a thing could offer protection by proximity.”

“Maybe it’d be better if I showed you.” Sayaka opened her watch, and the shape of a bright, blue egg made of pure energy burst out from the center. In an instantaneous flash, Sayaka’s body transformed into her magical girl costume, her latest accessory recasting its form as a golden piece of knight armor which covered the entirety of Sayaka’s left forearm, with a gauntlet covering her hand, and a rerebrace over her shoulder with her C-shaped emblem emblazoned on its front.

“There is something strange about her.” One of the Kyubeys promptly backtracked into a bush, almost as though it were suddenly scared. 

“What is it? Share your data.” A counterpart commanded.

“Her internal physiology is completely wrong.” The other Kyubeys synchronously glared at it. “Her body does not biologically match that of a human.” They all tilted their heads and studied this new Sayaka more closely.

“I detect… An extremely rapid heartbeat.”

“No… That is not the beating of a singular heart. I detect... The existence of a binary vascular system? That cannot be. She appears to possess an extra heart!”

“I detect other secondary and redundant complex features within her digestive, respiratory and renal systems as well.”

“That’s not all. Her ambient body temperature also registers at several degrees below normal.”

“And the physical makeup of her brain is highly unusual. The grey matter within her cerebrum is far more densely concentrated than that of a typical human’s.”

“Wow. You could tell all that just by looking?” Sayaka was completely nonplussed by their reaction.

“What are you?” One of them finally outright asked.

“You don’t know? Isn’t it obvious? Who the hell do you think I am?” Sayaka boldly looked straight into its eyes. “I’m Sayaka Miki.” She implacably stood straight, tall and unmoving. “That’s Time Lady Sayaka Miki to you, bunnycats.”

“Time Lady?” The Kyubey closest cocked its head. “As in, you claim fellowship to the mythological humanoid race of Gallifrey?”

“Not possible.” The Kyubey behind it dismissed. “That species is long extinct.”

“That may be so,” The one beside it remarked. “But her biological readings are a match to the anecdotal descriptions of their kind.” Dissent was formenting among them. Exactly as planned.

“You guys have two options,” Sayaka held out two fingers. “Option one, you leave us alone and get the hell out of here. Not Mitakihara. You leave this planet.  Peacefully. Quietly. Without protest. And then tell whoever you’re working for that Earth is officially off limits. You’re officially out of the magical girl making business.”

“And the other option?” They all cocked their heads to one side.

“All of you die. Right here. Right now.”

“Bad animal!” Nagisa hissed. “Go away forever!”

“You have no means of following through on such a threat.”

“Incorrect,” Homura pulled a very unusual-looking weapon out from behind her buckler. “We have this gun.” It certainly appeared to the gathered Kyubeys to resemble a gun, though almost certainly not one of human design. The top of the stock and barrel had a dozen glowing liquid bubbling tubules jutting out, all leading to a battery seated within the grip, while the end of the muzzle was a dish with a blue-tipped wand-like antenna protruding from it.

“That might look like a gun,” Sayaka corrected. “But it’s actually a psionic wavelength disruptor, specifically attuned to at the precise frequency on which your telepathic communication resonates, which if amplified beyond your physical tolerance levels would result in your brains exploding.” Homura aimed it squarely at the nearest one. “With one pull of that trigger.”

“And I have right around ten thousand reasons to pull.” Homura remarked with a smile that teetered on the brink of a smirk. “Just give me one more.”

“We have many bodies. One weapon cannot possibly hope to destroy us all.”

“We amplified it with some extra juice, so the wave burst will grow in intensity as it circles around the globe in a matter of minutes, think of it a bit like how a tsunami gets bigger and bigger as it approaches shore. Only you’ll never see it coming.”

“If you are the person you appear to be, Sayaka Miki, then you would not possess the knowledge necessary to craft such a device. Even if you were a Time Lord.” Kyubey added, “I calculate there is an eighty seven point seven two seven one one percent chance this is a deception.”

“I calculate it at eighty point four two two percent.” A Kyubey beside it said. Still to plan.

“That’s ‘Time Lady’.” Sayaka asserted. “And I leveled up a few ranks. With a little help from a friend.”

“Even if that weapon functions as you claim,” A different Kyubey stepped forth. “Magical girls utilize the same psychic frequency that we employ. Would your weapon not adversely affect them as well?”

“Thought of that bit already.” Sayaka knowingly tilted her head. “But thanks to the fact that we all have the ability to heal our bodies quickly, coupled with the innate biological differences between your brains and ours, means we won’t suffer much worse than a few seconds of an ear splittin’ headache. More than a fair price to be rid of you pain-in-the asses.”

“The odds that this is a ploy are seventy seven point one one six.” A different Kyubey added. “Are you willing to risk everything on such a calculation?”

“We do not have consensus.” The Kyubeys collectively said. 

“Yes. That would certainly seem so.” Mami folded her arms.

“By any chance, are you still searching for that individual that was severed from your collective?” Homura reached inside her buckler with one hand while still aiming the device with her other. “Because we found it.” She pulled out a pulverised Kyubey body and tossed it to the ground. “Made for an ideal if rather uncooperative test subject.”

“The revised odds are now at sixty-five point one nine four seven.” The three Kyubeys in front of them physically recoiled.

“So what’ll it be?” Sayaka smiled with an accompanying tilt of her head.

“You do not seem to understand all that would be lost, should we vacate this world,” The Kyubey in the middle implored. “Without the energy added by the collective sacrifices of magical girls, you effectively would be sentencing the entire Universe to its eventual death.”

“Tch! Tell that shit to somebody who cares!” Kyoko scoffed.

“Humanity would be doomed as well!” The one to its left added. “With no new magical girls to fight the witches, and without Grief Seeds to replenish the supply, witches would soon overwhelm this world, extinction would be likely within a matter of years!”

“You underestimate us.” The Kyubeys collectively stared at Mami, seemingly surprised by the confidence in her reply. “Do so at your peril!”

“The odds of this being a deception I now calculate at fifty eight point one zero six seven.” A Kyubey in the trees relayed. Their discord was growing. As was Sayaka’s own confidence.

“Even if you were to prevail,” The one on the right stood trotted a few steps forward. “Without the seeds sown by girls’ wishes human progress would stagnate! The lower species are going extinct at an increasing rate, your primitive methods of energy generation are causing the planetary climate to teeter on the brink of total collapse, and nation states still continually threaten each other with destructive conflict!”

“Keeps life interesting.” Homura asserted.

“That speaks only of the immediate concerns,” The Kyubey went on. “Human medical technology has not progressed to the point where it could adequately deal with a worldwide pandemic, its infrastructure could not cope with a disaster on a worldwide scale, all the while you continue to experiment with more and more sophisticated computerized intelligence.” It added, “Indeed, we calculate that your most likely long term survival scenario involves becoming subsumed by said intelligence. What could you possibly offer mankind absent our presence?”

“The same thing magical girls have always offered,” Sayaka appreciatively glanced at each of her companions and smiled. “Hope.”

***

“We’re witches? She’s lying!” Sayaka insisted. “She has to be!” The idea that their new teammate was telling the truth was just too disturbing to even consider. What would Kyubey gain from something so cruel? “No way what that Transfer Student said was true! We don’t know her… You can’t trust anything she says!”

“Sayaka!” Her pink, frilly-dressed best friend whined. “You’re being a bully! Homura hasn’t done anything wrong!” Why was her own best friend taking the new girl’s side? When she should’ve been the first one in Sayaka’s corner? How could this one girl they’ve only known for a few days become the thing that’s driving them apart? It just didn’t make any sense to her. 

“I’m sure she thinks she’s being forthright, and I’m certain she’s mistaken somehow.” Their group leader reasoned, a refined girl with a calm, assertive demeanor. “But what we’re actually here to discuss, is your own behavior, particularly regarding the rather reckless way you attack witches.”

“Geez! Yer makin’ so many rookie mistakes!” The redhead tossed the unwitting Sayaka around like a ragdoll. “I could beat ya’ blindfolded!” She ambushed Sayaka while she was doing as her leader told, working on her fighting techniques by hunting familiars. “Oof! Embarrassing to watch!” How did this girl even know where Sayaka was going to be? Had to have been the Transfer Student who told her! Sayaka just knew there was a reason she disliked her. “Man, yer so bad at this!” She effortlessly dodged Sayaka’s charge for the fourth time in a row. “Sheesh! What the hell’s she thinkin,’ takin’ someone as weak as you under her wing? Chain’s only as strong as its weakest link, and sorry to be the one to tell ya’! Heh! Not really!” 

Harsh words, but deep within Sayaka’s heart, she knew her attacker was right. Her friend was already making great strides and growing closer to the Transfer Student, while the poor Sayaka was demoted to mop up duty. Still, so long as the boy in her heart was happy with the miracle her love had granted, she believed could endure. She just had to get up, and fight back. 

“I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now.” Her classmate explained shortly after. “I’ve had a crush on him for quite some time…” Oh, no! This wasn’t how it was supposed to be! She made a miracle come true for him, and now this girl’s going to reap the rewards? That wasn’t fair! But what could she do about it? Good girls don’t hold their own feelings over others. That would make her no better than that awful redhead. She didn’t need anyone’s gratitude. She didn’t need anyone’s help. Good deeds are their own reward. So she kept telling herself. Less and less convincingly as the battles wore her down.

“It’s not fair!” A creeping voice in her mind ranted as she was mercilessly mashing away at the witch she’d discovered that night. “Good girls get happy endings!” Sayaka chopped and chopped away, severing its head and kicking it into the bay. “How could it be this way?” But she didn’t care about that anymore, she told herself. It didn’t matter. All she existed to do now was fight witches, to the horror and disgust of those who were aware of what she was going through. But they had all left her behind, they had all found solace in each others’ arms, while she was all alone and had nothing. Nothing but the sadistic pleasure of inflicting pain and death onto her foes. She couldn’t have cared less what anybody else thought of her at this point. They didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore, besides the fleeting adrenaline high of the slaughter.

***

“The revised calculation is fifty three point four five one percent.” The Kyubey in front of them conferred with each of its counterparts. “Do we have a consensus?”

 “Fifty one point six two three eight,” One said. “Fifty point nine six eight.” Piped another. “Fifty point one eight four seven.” Added another. “Forty nine point nine seven nine seven.” Settling around fifty percent. Precisely as she expected. She had them right where she wanted.

One of them briefly checked on the state of the labyrinth. “Ultimately, we did not reach a consensus on how best to deal with this anomalous witch. We gain little by standing in their way. More data could be analyzed by watching them handle it.” 

“I calculate the chance that the captive human Sayaka that is fueling this reaction has already perished at ninety point one seven two percent.” Another Kyubey chimed in. “And the odds that they successfully defeat the witch without casualties are a mere fourteen point one three six seven nine two percent.”

“If the consensus is that it is wisest to withdraw for now, I concur.” Yet another Kyubey opined. “Whatever theoretical gain there is from containing this witch’s energy does not presently outweigh the risks of procuring it.”

“On your last warning, Bunnycat.” Sayaka slowly drew her sword. “Go. Or die.”

“Very well,” The Kyubey in front conceded. “That is the consensus. We shall withdraw.” One by one, the gathering of Kyubeys disappeared back into the shadows and the brushes. Then the two beside the apparent leader turned their tails and retreated. Then after a final, momentarily intense staredown with Sayaka, it stood up, turned and started walking away.

“I leave you with this,” It turned its head back to them. “At present, I calculate the odds of you defeating Walpurgisnacht without the intervention of Madoka Kaname as to be so small that it is virtually zero. I would wish you luck, but such a thing would go against both our own and the human race’s greater interests.” He smugly tilted his head as he slowly dissolved from view. “So instead I will simply say… Goodbye, Time Lady Sayaka Miki.”

“Alright, everybody remember their roles?” The Quintet of magical girls resolutely stepped towards the labyrinth’s seal. “Nagisa, you get those captive people outta there, then make sure nobody else comes inside. Kyoko, you deal with any familiars in our way. Mami, you keep the witch tied up so that it can’t attack us.” Sayaka turned and took Homura’s hand. “Homura, I’m counting on you to look after me once I’m connected to her!”

“I failed to help you so many times that I stopped trying.” Homura squeezed her hand tighter. “This will be my atonement.”

“Let’s hope each of our strengths can overcome one another’s weaknesses.” Mami soberly rubbed Sayaka’s armored shoulder then fixed her own costume’s cuffs.

“If ya’ got half the guts of the Sayaka I know, then I ain’t too worried.” Kyoko pat Sayaka on the back. “The hell are we waitin’ for? Time’s wastin’!”

“When she wakes up, I’ll bring her some cheese!” Nagisa picked at a piece of the Kyubey remains and scarfed it.

“Let’s do it!” They grabbed each other’s hands as Homura spun her buckler.

***

“... There’s no goddamn way a cabaret girl like her could make the same amount ten years from now. Bitches are all the same, man! You can’t let ‘em make any excuses. Ya’ gotta take control of every penny they make! If you give them even a little bit of their money, they’ll waste it on something stupid!” The obnoxious guy on the train spouted. “Fools! Morons! Dumbasses! Ya’ let yer guard down for a second and all of a sudden they start yappin’ some bullshit about marriage!” He snorted. “Then they get really annoyin’ once ya’ try to get rid of ‘em!” He huffed. “I tell ya’ man, ya’ gotta treat ‘em like dogs! Train ‘em, keep ‘em in line, hit ‘em good when they don’t know their place, only give ‘em a treat once they please ya’ and after they’ve become useless to ya,’ get the fuck rid of ‘em and find another!”

“Hey!” Sayaka had finally heard enough. “Your girlfriend. Tell me about her.”

“Huh?” His friend examined her. “You know this bitch, Shou?”

“Tch! Of course not!” The man was clearly displeased by her rather abrupt intrusion. “What are you, in middle school? It’s late! Go home already! It’s a school night!”

“Tell me about her.” Sayaka disjointedly repeated. “Your girlfriend. Tell me. I wanna know more.”

“Back off kid!” His friend boorishly knocked her back with an offhanded kick of his foot.

“Hey!” Sayaka promptly grabbed his foot on his second kick. “Why was I fighting?"

“Let go, bitch!” Her grip was unexpectedly strong. He couldn’t shake her loose. 

“Is this world worth protecting?” He heard a sudden cracking sound in his foot. “Tell me!” Instantly the pain shot up to his brain and he screamed in terrible agony. To her surprise, she really really liked hearing his scream. 

His rude-speaking friend was all set to rush to his aid, until Sayaka shot him a most terrifying glare that promptly froze him in his seat. “I bet your girlfriend really cares about you. She tries her best, every single day. She works really hard for you. S- She-” Sayaka felt the weight of something heavy and hard forming in her other hand. “She loves you!” She instinctively raised it and pointed it towards his neck. “And here you are, comparing her to a dog! Despicable!” It was a sword. She could already picture all the wonderful ways his severed head could bounce. Smack to the floor. Flopping out the window. Rolling onto his horrified friend’s lap. Every single scenario filled her heart with an unbridled glee. Every scenario was his deserved comeuppance. All she had to do was slash.

“What are you waiting for?” A familiar voice inside her brain echoed. “Kill them!”

“I-” Sayaka hesitated. Somehow she was still holding the urge back. Something about this situation seemed awfully familiar. Yet she couldn’t understand how or why. Nor could she remember exactly how she got aboard this train. Nor why she was wielding a blade. Not helping was the blaring racket of a melody playing in the back of her mind. It was giving her the worst headache of her life, yet somehow its melody was absolutely transfixing. 

“Good magical girls kill bad things right?” It insisted. “Kill this bad thing! Kill it right now!”

“I-” Sayaka noticed an odd presence in the corner of her eye, sitting in the seat opposite the one she occupied. It was that voice in her head. A diminutive creature. Dressed in a blue one-piece gown with a flower on her collar. It was sitting there, kicking its legs up and down like a hyperactive child. It leapt from the chair, letting Sayaka see this thing’s unhidden form, and to her shock, it was a child. And not just any child: It was her own younger self! “They’re people. I can’t.”

“Why does that matter?” Her odd doppel instantly zapped over to the frozen men’s side, standing on the train car seat next to them. “Good kills bad. They’re bad. It’s what you wanna do, right? So do it!”

“I-” Sayaka couldn’t disagree with the thing’s logic. “Wanna. Real bad,” She insisted. Yet something inside her knew this was wrong. “But-”

“No!” A separate voice shouted behind her. Sayaka looked over her shoulder. “You don’t want to do it!” To her astonishment, it was yet another version of herself! The other doppel reached her hand out to Sayaka. “Now take my hand!”

But Sayaka couldn’t put down her blade. Nor could she get her other hand to even budge. It was as though her entire body were a limp puppet, waiting for its master to pull her strings.

“What are you? The strange little girl disappeared and popped up beside the other Sayaka. “What are you doing here?” She zapped over to the Sayaka with the sword. “You can’t be here! Go away!”

“Frankly, I’m wondering the exact same thing.” The costumed Sayaka took a few slow steps closer to her counterpart, then abruptly stopped when Sayaka realized that both her body and her blade had pulled an instant one-eighty turn and was now pointed at this person’s neck.

“You’re not me! I am!” The young girl angrily shouted. She petulantly latched herself to the frozen Sayaka like a frightened child. “You’re not me and you’re not welcome! So go away!”

“I’m as much you as she is,” The strange Sayaka grabbed onto the sword by its blade while she looked upon their surroundings. “Maybe more than I wanna admit.” She reached out with her other hand. “Now c’mon. Let’s go! Kyoko’s waiting for you!”

 “Kyoko?” Sayaka definitely remembered that name. The red magical girl who saved her life and offered her friendship. Or was she that red magical girl who taunted her and Mami and threatened Kyosuke? But she also remembered not liking Mami at all. All these memories, so paradoxical, yet all of them felt convincingly real.

“Please! Take my hand!” This strange Sayaka was sounding a bit more desperate now. “We have to get outta here!” 

“No!” The childlike Sayaka cried. “You want to kill me!” The young girl clung hard as she could to Sayaka’s waist. “You’re bad!” She pleaded to the sword-wielding Sayaka. “She’s bad! Please protect me from the bad!”

“Who... Are... You?” Sayaka slurred, she was so tired out and so terribly confused and the only part of her still steady was that blade still pointed underneath her counterpart’s chin. 

“I don’t know how to explain everything.” The counterpart briefly glanced behind her back. “And we don’t have time! Now if you want to live and see everyone again you have got to take my hand!”

Only Sayaka didn’t want to see everyone again. That was the one thought that did remain consistent. Kyoko was demeaning and obnoxious, Mami was bossy and strict, The Transfer Student was suspiciously infatuated with Madoka while playing so innocent about it, and Madoka, well, she committed the biggest betrayal a best friend could possibly make. She sided with the rest of them over her. And now she was Kyosuke’s girlfriend. “No!” Sayaka rejected. Kyosuke was supposed to be all hers. “I don’t care!” Yet she also had very clear, distinctive memories of Hitomi making moves on him, too. “Go away!”

“See? They’re bad!” The wide-eyed child smiled. She could tell that Sayaka was finally starting to see the whole world her way.

“Yesssss…” Sayaka gripped that sword tighter. “They’re bad! All of them!” Especially Kyosuke, all that time, all that energy, and all her hopes and all her tears, and he never, ever, even once, gave her the time of day. Kyosuke had to be seeing both of them at the same time. That was the only explanation. What a lying scoundrel. She should have never wasted her miracle on him.

“Don’t listen to that thing!” The other one insisted. “You have to listen to me!” 

“I’m not sure I can keep it restrained much-” Mami’s voice echoed throughout the train car.

“Go away!” The child shouted. “Leave us alone!” The entire train car shook and rumbled, until the flooring underneath collapsed away and the Sayakas all dropped down into a vast, endless ocean, each tumbling into the deep, dark void below.

***

“Well, Squirt,” Kyoko turned to Nagisa and finished the rest of her Pocky stick. “Is everybody out safe?” Nagisa anxiously nodded. “All righty, then! Let’s bust some heads!” Kyoko fluidly drove her spear straight through the stomachs of a half dozen dancing, humanoid girl-like familiars. “Now the thing to know about familiars, Squirt,” She began her impromptu lesson as the dancing horde took notice and swarmed. “There’s always a lot of ‘em, and they’ll always try to rush ya,’ but they’re all pretty brainless,” She dexterously twirled her spear around and drove through another half dozen, then another. “So long as you stay cool and don’t panic, then they’re no sweat! Heh heh!” She leapt high into the air and with a quick strike to the floor the familiars surrounding them all lost their balance and collapsed. 

Kyoko landed and charged at the next batch. “Now, since ya’ got yerself a ranged weapon, that puts ya’ in an even better spot to-”

“Stoooooop!” Nagisa abruptly tackled Kyoko to the ground.

“The hell! What gives?” Kyoko picked them both up. Nagisa promptly pointed at one of the cheerfully dancing familiars before them, who upon a closer look wasn’t a familiar at all.

“Hey, isn’t that-?” It was Hitomi Shizuki, once again bewitched and drafted into a witch’s service. “Whew! Close one! Good eyes, Squirt!” Kyoko blasted away at the Hitomi-like creatures slavishly dancing around Hitomi on one side, while Nagisa blew her horn and blasted away a second group on her other side. “Whaddaya say you get her outta here?” Nagisa eagerly nodded again.

“Ya’ know it’s funny… I never thought much about why familiars look the way they look.” Kyoko accosted Hitomi as she blissfully twirled like a maniac to the music. “‘Til now. Sayaka I hope you can- Oooooof!” Hitomi turned around and sucker punched Kyoko straight in the gut. 

Nagisa stepped in and tackled Hitomi to the floor. “Are you okay?” She asked.

“Ugh… I’ll live! Oooowwww!” Kyoko gasped, only her pride had been hurt. “Do me a little favor… When we hook back up with the others, make sure to leave this part out!” Kyoko reflexively massaged her stomach. “Now get outta here! And be careful, whatever ya,’ do, don’t let her dainty looks fool ya’!” She then stretched out her torso and slunk back over to her planned attack spot. “That girl can hit!”

***

Every time she opened her heart, it was trampled and broken.

Every time she trusted someone, she was betrayed.

Every time she tried to do the right thing, she was punished.

Every time she tried to do her best, she failed. 

And now they all want to blame her for losing control and striking back at this sick, disgusting awful world? No! It was all their fault everything happened to her in the first place! Curse them! Curse them all! Curse that older one, for destroying her blissful old life... Curse that redhead, for pushing her and pushing her until she snapped... Curse that Transfer Student, for taking her best friend away... And above all, curse her best friend, for not staying here by her side. If they were only going to leave her behind, then she didn’t need any of them! 

She only wanted to exist for her music, to hear that wondrous melody which soothed her troubled soul. 

She knew what she needed to do now… Yes… She must enchant the hearts of others with this music, the same way her own young heart was enchanted so long ago. And how soon those troubled hearts came… She sensed such heartache within each and every single one of them... She must cure them all with her healing magic… And as their enraptured souls gave themselves fully to her song, her power grew stronger and stronger, her music enticing more and more, her beautiful song becoming all the more alluring. It was a perfect symbiosis of love. Their adoration would become her sustenance, and her song would be their salvation… So much better than the violence and suffering of her life before. She need not fight anyone or doubt herself anymore… She need not hurt for someone else’s sake… She need never worry. She need only amplify and propagate that wondrously magical music, share her melodious love with all who opened themselves to her song. Dance, little puppets… Flail around and keep her beautiful guests entertained for all eternity! She loved performing for them, and she loved being the center of everyone’s attention, and they all loved being right here with her. Alone nevermore.

Hey, what’s going on? No! No! No! Those mean, awful girls she hated so badly were back, now here in her realm and whisking her crowd away and trying to smash her puppets! Couldn’t they see that she had at last found the best way to help the world? Selfish fools! What short-sighted, backstabbing jerks! Curse them! How she hated them all! She had to stop them! Good kills bad, and all the bad ones needed to pay for the cruelty they so needlessly inflicted upon her. 

Then there was a bright flash. So hot. Burning. Agonizing burning.

Then there was nothing.

No music.

No adulation.

No form.

No light. Just darkness. Unending dark.

And worst of all, no love. Only cold. And pain. And regret. And loneliness. And despair. 

“I get it now.” The little girl heard a comforting voice say. “Don’t worry… I’ll stay with you.”

“Sayakaaaa!” The Magical Time Lady called out into the void. It was quite eerie shouting her own name like that. “Can you hear me? It’s not real!” She floated freely through the dark void. “It’s putting it all into your head!”

“Who are you?” Her own angry voice boomed throughout the empty space.

“Grab my hand, and I’ll explain everything!” Sayaka tensely reached out.

“Answer me!” She bellowed back. “Right now!”

“Okay,” Sayaka visually searched for the source. “If you want a long story short, I’m you.” But she could see nothing. “You from another time.”

“Liar!” A teen and a young girl’s combined voice thundered at her so forcefully she was sent careening backward. 

“Look at me!” Made her wonder if she was too late. “I ain’t lyin’!”

“You’re one of them, aren’t you!” Their voices both accused. “You’re here to destroy me!”

“No! That’s not true!” Sayaka shouted. “I’m here to help you!” She briefly caught sight of something swimming around from the corner of her eye. It looked unnervingly like a long multicolored fish tail.

“I don’t need your help!” It ominously swam by again. “I don’t need anybody’s help!”

“Yeah? That’s how I used to think a lot too,” Sayaka reflexively drew a freshly-conjured sword. “But I was wrong then. And you’re wrong too.”

“Go away!” The creature charged forth out of the darkness and attacked her with a heavy, double-bladed sword. Sayaka saw her just barely in time to block with her own blade.

“Oh, crap!” Sayaka exclaimed. From the neck down her opponent looked exactly like the mermaid witch that Mami and Homura were presently barely keeping restrained. But her human counterpart hadn’t been completely overtaken yet, her furious face was still visible, though being slowly subsumed by a metallic crown atop her head, seeping down her face like quicksilver.

“You’re one of the bad ones!” She screamed as their swords stayed locked. “I knew it! I’m not going to let you hurt me again!” Through the illusion Sayaka felt everything around her shake. Her attacker took the moment’s opportunity to swim back into the darkness for another ambush. 

“Wait…” Sayaka had an apparent realization. “Again? Does that mean she’s-?”

“Pull tighter,” Homura’s voice echoed around them. “Or she’ll break loose!”

“Leave me alooooone!” The mermaid knight rushed at her from her left side. Sayaka was unable to parry in time and the attacker’s blade embedded itself right into the shining armor covering Sayaka’s left forearm. The blade had penetrated through the armor and into her arm.

“Guyaaahh!” Sayaka cried out in pain. The two remained locked that way for several agonizing moments, the creature’s blade rattling against the armor as she futilely tried to pick it out, while Sayaka excruciatingly kept it embedded as her blood gushed through.

“I’m sorry,” I’m so, so sorry,” Sayaka finally said as calmly as she could try. “I know what it’s like,” It had finally just occurred to her which Sayaka she was actually here to help. “You’re right.” She started again. “I’m not you. Not completely. But I went through a lot of what you did.” She dropped her own sword in her right hand and gripped onto the edge of the sword embedded in her arm. “Completely set in my own ideas of right and wrong, stubborn as hell, convinced that anybody who disagreed was the enemy and then pushed around and pushed around until I couldn’t see much good in anyone anymore.” She gazed into her counterpart’s eyes, the melting crown was advancing over much of her face, turning one eye into a pair of concave oval holes, while a knight helmet-esque grated plating gradually started wrapping itself around her cheeks and mouth. The emotion of the one human eye still visible was wavering between the looks of agitation, confusion, and above all, fear. “And I’m so far from where I once was that I don’t really know who I am or what I am anymore. Just like you.”

Her uncovered, jittery eye happened to catch her own distorted reflection in Sayaka’s armor. “Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!” She screamed and jumped back. “What am I-” She panickedly screamed. She’d at last become aware of her transformed appearance. “What have you done to meeeeee?” She ripped and pried at the patterned corset around her torso, a garment with the image of a sword piercing a through heart while being vengefully clenched by a hand, but to no avail. Next she tried ripping off the helmet that had almost encompassed her entire head. “N- No! No! Letmegoletmegoletmegooooooooo!” It stayed firmly attached.

“You’ve got to let her go.” Sayaka soothingly said.

“Noooooooooo!” The child’s voice roaringly replied. “You said you understood me! You said you’d stay!”

“If she stays here, you’re going to kill her. She’s going to die.”

“B- But I- I-” She stammered. “I don’t wanna dieeeeeeee!” They wailed simultaneously. The sound of her strained, heavy breathing murmured through the closing helmet’s grating.

“I know you don’t want to hurt her. I know you thought merging with her would help you both.” The Magical Time Lady swam slowly through the air to her witch counterpart. “But look what you’re doing to her. She can’t go on like this. And once she dies you’ll be all alone and sad and scared and mad all over again.” She embracingly wrapped her arms around the poor, frightened souls. “And you’ll hate yourself for it. But then you’ll try to fill that hole in your heart with more people, and start the cycle all over again. Don’t you see? That’s what a witch does.”

“No! You’re wrong! I’m not a witch!” She bawled. “I’m not a witch! I’m not!” The child spoke. “They were all hurting! So I shared my music with them! I was being a good girl! I was helping everyone!” 

“I’m sure you thought you were doing good. And being good.” Sayaka whispered softly. “It’s what I thought when I made my wish. When we made our wish.” Sayaka gently stroked its face. It had stopped advancing just short of covering her eye. “Our wish. Our miracle. Our hope. Remember what it was?”

“I- It- It was-” She struggled for an answer. It was so hard to remember. There were so many conflicting memories, a hurricane of emotions, welling deep inside her.

“We did the right thing. We fixed his hand. We saved him from despair.” Sayaka hugged the creature around its corseted waist. “But we did it for the wrong reasons. What we really wanted was gratitude. His admiration. And attention. When he didn’t give us any of that, we tried to tell ourselves that it was still okay. That helping others and doing good things was enough. And that he’d come around on us eventually.” Sayaka looked deep into her counterpart’s eyes. “For us, it didn’t. We had to give our lives away for that miracle. But for her, it’s different.” She smiled.  “She still has her life. Her future. It’s all still in her own hands. She could have a life with Kyosuke, or even with anyone else, hard as that is to imagine. But for any of that to happen, you have to give her life back. You have to let her go.”

“But I don’t want to be alone!” Only the child was speaking now. “It’s scary and cold and dark! I don’t wanna go back there! Please don’t make me go back there!” She begged. 

“I won’t make you go back there,” Sayaka said. “I promise, We’ll find a way to help you. And then we’ll help everyone.”

“Really? Cross your heart?”

“Yeah.” Sayaka nodded, “Cross my hearts.”

“Hope to die?”

“Stick a needle in my eye,” They said together. 

Then Sayaka added, “Wait a moment. I spoke a lie. I never really wanted to die.” She had memorized the whole promise poem her Dad taught her in English, and even tried teaching it to Kyosuke and the others in her class. It didn’t exactly catch on, but she remembered being so proud that she’d managed to learn so many words in another language.

“You’re...” The girl’s innocent eyes widened. The mask covering her face had dissolved away. The mermaid’s long tail had vanished, the armor and corset were fading steadily.

“I’m you.” She smiled. “But if I may, if I might, my heart is open.” She paused, and corrected again, “My hearts.”

“I’m sorry!” Her counterpart apologized. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone! I swear!” The beings had split back into two. The little girl was sleepily clinging to her older, already-unconscious self’s waist.

“I know. It’s okay.” Sayaka gently stroked the child’s head.  “All is forgiven. Pease, go to sleep.” 

“Goodnight.” The child yawned as the three clung together, floating freely in the void.

“Goodnight.” Sayaka put her hand on the child’s temple. “Cross my hearts, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. A secret’s a secret, my word is forever, I will tell no one, about your cruel endeavor.” She mentally projected all the strongest, fondest memories of their happy, former life with her friends into the child’s mind. “You claim no pain,” The day she went back to that aquarium in Tokyo with Madoka and Hitomi along. “But I see right through,” Their picnic afterwards in the cafeteria surrounded by so many wondrous fish.  “Your words in everything you do.” That time she won the track and field day’s three-legged race with Madoka. “Teary eyes, broken heart, life has torn you apart.” That one, single time she and Hitomi beat Kyosuke and Nakazawa at basketball during recess.

“What’s going on?” Mami asked. The labyrinth around them was dematerializing from all directions, taking them back to the clear, mild Mitakihara night.

“I think she’s succeeded.” Homura watched the witch’s once-mighty form wash away, its core gradually dissolved away, like a sandcastle in the waves.

“Cross my hearts, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” Sayaka recited. “I loved you then,” The time she joined Kyosuke’s family at the amusement park. “I love you now, I’ll still love you, though I’ll break my vow.” Then netting the DDR doubles high score with him at the arcade afterwards. “I can’t hold this secret any longer,” The energizing warmth of the early summer’s sunlight. “It’s hurting you, not making you stronger.” The lush breeze at the top of a hill. “So I’ll risk your respect, by hurting you,” Back in class, doodling pictures of herself as a superhero in her notebook. “I can protect, I’ll save yourself, since you will not.” The sense of fulfillment she got from hunting down those rare CDs for her beloved Kyosuke. “You might hate me, but I’ll give it a shot.” The first snow before Christmas. “I’m willing to risk our bond that we own.” Opening her presents on Christmas day. Her Dad was always somehow able to know exactly what she wanted. “So long as you’re safe, you won’t be alone.” 

“Whew!” Kyoko wiped the sweat off her forehead. “She almost had me worried for a sec!” She ran over towards Mami and Homura, who were approaching Sayaka kneeling beside her sleeping counterpart.

“What happened?” Mami asked.

Homura checked on the sleeping Sayaka. “Did you-?”

“Shhhhh...” Sayaka serenely shushed. “Cross my heart, hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.” The eerie glow around the Grief Seed was still visible, though fading as Sayaka gently coddled it in her arm. “Break my promise, tell a lie, save my friend,” She tenderly kissed the Grief Seed, transforming out of her magical attire in a flash. “Though maybe it’s ‘bye.”

Chapter Text

“Waaaaaahhhh!” Sayaka sprang out of her sleep in a cold sweat.

“Waaaaaahhhh!” The girl sleeping the chair next to her spilled over backwards from the sudden surprise.

“Wh-” Sayaka breathlessly looked around the room. “Where the hell am I?”

“On the TARDIS.” The small girl replied as she grabbed a piece of cheese from her pocket.

“On the wha-?” She restlessly massaged her forehead. She’d had such a huge lingering headache, as though an entire philharmonic orchestra had been relentlessly pumping its climax directly into her skull. 

“The TARDIS.” The apparently young girl restated. “It’s a ship.”

“A ship?” She also had quite the uneasy feeling in her stomach. “How the heck’d I get onto a boat?” Possibly motion sickness from being brought aboard, she figured.

“Oh, no, no!” The girl corrected. “It’s not that kind of a ship! The TARDIS is a TARDIS.” Her answer only made the ringing pain in Sayaka’s head feel even worse. “You want some cheese?” The cheese looked strange, like a part of an animal’s leg.

“Wh- Who are you?”

“I’m Nagisa.” She peeled off a part of her odd snack. “So do you want some cheese?”

“No thanks.” Sayaka tried searching the whole room for some sort of clue to where she was. The room was pretty spacious. Books, lots of them, appliances she couldn’t identify, furniture, and toys strewn on the floor. A single room, and it was even bigger than her family’s entire apartment, yet it had no windows or portholes for her to get her bearings. Just a silver door on her right. The girl promptly got off her seat, trotted over to the toys and grabbed what resembled a stuffed fish off the floor.

“Is there a grown up I can speak to?” Sayaka tried getting out of her bed, but was too wobbly on her feet, and she tripped over the young girl’s seat beside it.

“Well, there was Miss Jones for a while,” The girl helped pick Sayaka off the floor and plunked her back onto the bed. “But she’s gone now.”

“Miss Jones?” That name did ring a bell. Yes, some latent memories were beginning to creep back into the forefront of her consciousness. Miss Jones had been substituting for Miss Saotome at school. English teacher, from elsewhere, seemed to enjoy calling Sayaka ‘Miss Clown’. So this place was hers, then? And if she was indeed gone now, then “Where’d she go?” 

“She’s dead.” The girl’s answer caused Sayaka to shoot right back up out of bed. Fortunately, the girl was there to catch her this time.

“What? What happened to her?” She remembered the woman having a seizure and needing to go to the hospital. Might her condition have deteriorated?

“I didn’t see.” The girl somberly answered. “I was playing in here when she died.”

“Is there somebody else I can talk to?” A flood of other memories came roaring back all at once. Some were good to have back, but most were rather unpleasant, others even moreso, including this past day being probably the worst of her entire life.

“Maybe you should nap some more.” The girl tried sitting her back down.

“No!” She remembered a small rabbit creature, and a redhead. “I wanna know what’s going on!” And she remembered a black jewel. Then she remembered touching the jewel. “And I want somebody to tell me right now!” But more than anything, she remembered living another life of hers, But it wasn’t her own life.

“You sure you don’t wanna nap some more? You look really really cranky.”

“Yes I’m sure!” Sayaka insisted. “Just get me somebody who can explain what happened to me!”

“Oh. Okay.” The girl lightly trotted over to the door.

“And take me with you!” Sayaka demanded, even though she couldn’t keep steady on her feet.

“Oh. Okay.” The girl came back and propped herself underneath Sayaka’s arm at her side. Nagisa was used to bending to the demands of an uncooperative patient. A skill carried over by her treatment from her own mother.

“If I look like I’m gonna barf,” Sayaka relented, “You’re free to get out of the way.”

“Oh. Okay.” The girl helped her shuffle slowly to the door. “Thanks.”

***

“Insert primary (black) wire into Tab ‘A’.” Homura read the written instructions. “Quantum solder. Setting Alpha Blue, turn the first knob on the multitool from the twelve o’clock position to the eight o’clock position, second knob from the six o’clock position to the one o’clock position, the knob on the bottom from the fourteen o’clock position to the twelve o’clock position.”

“Check.” Sayaka adjusted the settings thusly, and melded the two components together. She then tugged a bit on the wire to make sure the connection was tight. “How many pages to go?”

“Only twenty or so.” Homura thumbed through the instructions booklet. “Out of one hundred twelve.” She yawned.

“You tired?”

“No.” Homura answered. “One of the first things I learned after becoming a magical girl was that sleeping had become purely optional.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Sayaka sighed. “But we’ve been fighting, fighting, fighting, working, working, working, non-stop, since Miss Jones died. I think we deserve a little break.”

“We can break when we finish.” Homura flipped back to the page they were on. “Or we can break after Mami and Kyoko return from handling all the resurgent witches out there.” Homura resumed reading the instructions. “Insert backup (red) wire into Tab B. Quantum solder. Setting Alpha Blue as well.”

“Fine, fine.” Sayaka proceeded to do as the instructions told. “Still we could chat a little. You’ve been nothing but business all the way through.”

“Chat?” Homura slightly tilted her head. “About what?”

“Not sure,” Sayaka actually had a topic in mind, but wasn’t sure how and when it was the best time to broach it. “How many more of me did you hold on to?” Now was as good a time as any, she figured.

“Does it matter?”

“Well, they’ve all gotta go into stasis with her too.” Sayaka tightened the connection. “You know... So they don’t have to suffer.”

“Dozens. Homura lamented. “Maybe a hundred. I stopped counting when it got to be too much to count. Too many to bear.” She tried to keep from thinking about them all by staying on task. “Insert the ground (green) wire into Tab ‘C’. Quantum solder, setting Alpha Blue. Check that Tab ‘C’ wire leads to the diversionary capacitance system, its function explained in the diagram below.”

“I know I should be more upset about it, but when I really think about it more, the only reason I’m still here is because you’re still here because you used them all to keep yourself going.” Sayaka surveyed the wiring system.

“You’re here because Miss Jones saved you.” Homura countered. “I merely decided against killing you.” There was an awkward, uncomfortable pause between them for a few seconds. “But to be completely honest, that one was the only one that was used.”

“For reals?” Sayaka paused. “You’ve only ever used that one?” 

“No, no.” Homura clarified. “It was used on me.”

“Who used it?”

“Madoka.” Homura’s answer caused Sayaka to fumble the multitool in her hand. 

“Oh.” Sayaka glumly sighed. “God. Must’ve been the hardest thing she’d ever had to do.”  

“I would imagine.” Homura swallowed her breath. “Though I admit, I was tempted to use them. Especially after acquiring such a surplus. But every time I took one out I hesitated, using the soul of someone that I knew, even if it was someone I didn’t much care for, it felt as if I’d be crossing a line somehow.”

“It felt wrong to see us as just Grief Seeds?” 

“Yes.” Homura stared at the booklet. “Once I remembered that, and understood it, that was the moment I realized I still cared about you and Mami and Kyoko. It was the moment I decided to let you live.” A tear visibly trickled down her cheek. She discreetly dried it and continued reading the booklet instructions. “With the capacitor set, proceed to reset the set of circuits in the pictured wall panel ‘A’. On the next page.”

“Wow.” Sayaka inched over to the panel pictured on the page. “Okay.” She opened the paneling. “Funny how our morality works. Even when our survival depends on the sacrifice of somethin’ we’re emotionally attached to, we hesitate. “Cause it’d be a bit like having to slice off a piece of our own bodies.” She layed on her back and inspected the circuitry. “Wonder if that’s what separates humans from the other creatures?”

“Setting Gamma Green can scan these circuits and check for faulty or burned out connections.” Homura continued reading. “On the first dial, turn the large part from the twelve o’clock position, to the one o’clock position, leave or turn the secondary dial back to the six o’clock position, and turn the bottom knob to the seven o’clock position. The light at the tip of the multitool will turn from green to red if a problem with the circuitry is detected.”

“Check.” Sayaka scanned over the circuitry sets along the entire panel. “Everything looks good so far.” She smiled, but her smile faded as her thoughts wandered. “Damn. Now I can’t help but wonder about who all the witches I fought used to be. Like the TV witch. Or the dog witch. Or the doll witch. Even that awful no-show sweets witch that chomped Mami’s head off back then.”

“You mean you haven’t pieced that mystery together yet?” Homura stared at Sayaka, still lost in her musings. “You went to the hospital, you stood on watch, but instead of confronting the witch you expected to find, you returned with a new friend.” 

“No.” Sayaka reacted. “Noooo!” Her mouth dropped. “Shit. God damn you, Kyubey.”

“In doing so, you performed a small, simple act of kindness that I admit was beyond my own capability.”

Sayaka glared at Kyubey peacefully sleeping inside the pet cage. “I want nothing more than to drop kick him into the fireyest depths of the Sun right now.”

“Welcome to the club.” Homura deadpanned. “We have T-shirts.”

“But we won’t do that,” Sayaka dismissed. “Because that would be nothing more than revenge.” She added, “And my Dad once told me, that the difference between justice and revenge is that justice serves harmony, while revenge is only about making yourself feel better.”

“Your Dad sounds pretty intelligent.”

“Naw!” Sayaka chuckled. “I think he got that from watching a movie.” She sat up and laughed a teary-eyed laugh. “And you know what else? I’m pretty sure Miss Jones cribbed her last words to me from somewhere else, too!” The two girls both burst into a hearty, yet sorrowful laugh in memory of their late Sensei together.

“I am awake.” Kyubey in his cage interrupted their moment. “I heard what you two said about doing to me, you know.”

“Oops. Sooooorry.” Sayaka sarcastically apologized.

“Not sorry.” Homura added, to both their mutual pleasure.

“I take it by your generally relaxed demeanor and frivolous behaviour, that your attempt to save your counterpart of this timeline was successful?” Kyubey was still recuperating as their rescue operation had finished. He had just reawakened and was not yet privy to the details.

“Yup.” Sayaka nodded. “Thanks for telling us exactly how they were going to try to stop us.”

“And I take it, with their collective consensus broken they were quick to retreat as well?”

“Indeed.” Homura acknowledged. “I still can’t believe that bluff worked as flawlessly as it did.”

“I credit your unique method of acting.” Sayaka playfully elbowed Homura’s side. “And the improv. Nice touch with that ‘ten thousand reasons’ bit.”

“It was nothing compared to your line about the tsunami. Almost had me convinced I was holding a real weapon.”

“Hey! I really do pay attention in Science class, you know!” Sayaka paused. “Aw, wow... That was a genuine compliment from you…”

“Since I aided so extensively in your formulation of a counter strategy,” Kyubey pleaded, “And since I was willing to let you use me as a template for the construction of a nonliving facsimile.”

“Made of one part cheese,” Homura remarked. “Two parts Kyoko magic.”

“I was wondering if you would be willing to let me out of this pet cage?”

“Well, that depends,” Sayaka itched her nose.

“Do you still intend to try to make a contract with Madoka?” Homura asked. 

“Since you are in the process of developing a means to purify Soul Gems without needing a Grief Seed, I see no reason why she couldn’t-”

“Wrong answer!” The two girls said at exactly the same time.

Some more time had passed, they had made it through another dozen pages of wiring instructions, and Kyubey seemingly had drifted back to sleep. “On Terminal ‘F’, wire the primary (black) wire to Nodule One, the secondary (red) wire to Nodule Two, tertiary wire (white) to Nodule Three, and the safety wire (green) to Nodule Four. Nodule Five will connect to Terminal ‘G’.” Homura showed Sayaka the location of each point given in the instructions. Homura glanced over to check and see if Kyubey had fallen asleep for her chance to speak up.

“You heard right.” She said as under her breath as she could.

“Huh? What’d I hear right?” Sayaka heard and pressed.

“That secret of mine.” Homura admitted. “When we get too emotional or careless, our private thoughts can leak out telepathically.”  

“Huh?” Sayaka briefly paused. “Oh. Ohhhhh!” She gasped as quietly as she could manage.  

“And you were right.” She stiltedly uttered. “About me.” Her eyes darted back and forth from Sayaka’s to the floor and back again. “I’ve never.” She closed her eyes. “Been attracted.” She blushed. “To boys.” She finally mustered enough courage to open them again and gaze into the baby blue eyes of the girl she was talking to. “At all.”

“Uh, have you…” Sayaka inched closer until she was in whispering range. “Ever told anybody else about it?”

“I told some of the nuns back in my old school, they were my teachers.” Homura recalled. “But I was still a naïve child. I expected all adults to be sympathetic and encouraging, so I was surprised when they were less than receptive to my honesty.” Homura painedly closed her eyes. 

“They didn’t…” Sayaka struggled to find her words. “Punish you, for just being who you are, did they?”

“One discouraged me from talking about it any further. Another said I was misinterpreting my own feelings. Another said she would pray for me every night.” Homura disgustedly sighed, “As if that ever accomplished anything. Then a younger one said I should look into becoming a nun too. And then another one claimed my feelings would change once I started talking with boys my age.”

“They must’ve really disappointed you.”

“Greatly.” Homura breathed. “Somehow, word of what I confessed to them got out to the other girls in my class. That’s when the bullying began. All fourteen of them, relentlessly. For the entire year.” She winced. For a second, it looked to Sayaka as though Homura were about to cry.

“Homura, I-” Sayaka motioned toward hugging her.

“Terminal ‘F’ operates in tandem with Terminal ‘G’,” Homura’s quick turn jolted Sayaka right back into working on the device. “Wire Terminal ‘G’ the same way as Terminal ‘F.’ There is a loose wire on Nodule Five of Terminal ‘G’ that is capped. Uncap it and connect it to Nodule Five of Terminal ‘F’. Homura awkwardly continued reading off the instructions for several more minutes. “Eventually,” Homura concluded, “After my health issues got worse, the nuns decided it was best that I transfer to a school nearer to a hospital that was better equipped to treat me. And a school where I would be able to interact with boys.” She furtively wiped some tears out of her eyes. “I’d forgotten most of my life before Madoka until recently.” She sniffed.

“Do you need a moment?”

“No.” Homura took a deep, stress-relieving breath. “Promise me you’ll never say anything to the others about my past. Or my secret thought.”

“Oh, I Promise. Cross my hearts. Hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.” Sayaka gestured to both sides on her chest.

“What?”

“It’s like a saying, over in the west. It’s when someone makes a sacred promise about something.”

“So if you break it I’m allowed to stab your eye?”

“No, it’s nothing that serious-” Sayaka snickered. “It just goes that way to sound all dramatic and poetic or something.” She went back to wiring the terminal. “And I think ‘cause it sounds all rhymey wimey in English.”

“If you say so.”

“Sayaka! Sayaka!” Nagisa excitedly called through the sliding interior door.

“Yeah? What is it?” Sayaka immediately noticed her counterpart unsteadily leaning against the doorframe. “Oh! You’re awake?”

“So unreeeeeal!” The human Sayaka murmured as she hunched down and caught her breath.

“Nagisa, will you please help her make it over to that futon?” Sayaka pointed to it.

“Oh!” Nagisa as quickly as she entered turned around and positioned herself back under Sayaka’s body. “Sorry!”

“It’s fine.” Sayaka smiled. “I’ll be fine, thank you.” She helped Sayaka make herself comfortable on the futon. Nagisa then promptly yawned as she fluffed her patient’s pillow.

“What time is it right now?” The Time Lady noticed the little girl’s reflexive act.

“A bit past three in the morning, I believe.” Homura replied. 

“Nagisa,” Sayaka called her name like a caring parent. “I think it’s time you get a good night’s rest too!”

“Do I haaaaaave to?”

“No,” Homura suddenly felt a light punch in the arm. “But scientific studies suggest that the benefits of sleep vastly outweigh the costs.”

“Good save.” The Time Lady beside her muttered.

“Ooooookayyyyy.” Nagisa sulked back to the door. She turned her head back at the doorway. “Hey, can you tell me more of that story you told me last time? The one about the vampire who had to kill her twin sister? I really really liked it!” Her question perked the Sayaka on the futon’s ear.

“She’s busy working to fix this device for the moment,” Homura stood up and flipped her hair. “I suppose I can spare a moment to tuck you into bed, however.”

“You?” Sayaka somewhat skeptically tilted her head.

“I shouldn’t be long.” Homura joined Nagisa at the doorway. “Besides, I would imagine that the two of you have some rather intimately personal matters to discuss.”

***

“Why do the witches look so weird?” Nagisa asked as Homura tucked her into bed.

“I don’t know.” Homura answered. “I’ve never given the subject much thought.”

“Oh. Why?”

“Because when one is trying to kill you, you don’t exactly have time to dwell into their psyches.”

“Oh.” Nagisa blinked. “You know why I think they look so weird?” Clearly this young lady was still a bit too wound up to simply slip quietly into the night.

“No.” Homura was willing to indulge her. “Why do you think they look the way they do?”

“Because I don’t think they think they look weird at all.” She slightly smiled. “I think they think they look cute.”

Homura curiously tilted her head. “Why would you believe that?”

“Because of the people they catch.”

“Explain.” 

“Well, because people’ll stay away from things that are weird and ugly, and they like things that are cute and pretty,” She quickly said in a breath. “And I’ve seen lotsa people get caught by the witches, which means the people they catch don’t see them as ugly, but as pretty,” She explained. “So if the witches can make them all think that, then the witches have to believe it’s true, too!” She finished with an-eager-to-please type of smile.

“I…” Homura paused. “Suppose I can spot the seeds of logic to that notion.”

“Yeah!” Nagisa’s little smile brightened. “It’s just like whenever my mom used to put on all that makeup and go on TV!”

“Your mother was on television?” Homura seized on the opportunity to switch topics.

“Oh, yeah! All the time!” Nagisa nodded. “My Dad would get up early every morning and watch her show and I’d sit there beside him and I’d watch it too! ‘Cause seeing him happy made me happy too!”

“Didn’t seeing your mom in front of an audience make you happy as well?”

“No.” Nagisa shook her head on the pillow. “Her show seemed really boring. I didn’t get it.”

“I see.” Homura replied. “You were at least content in seeing that she was an influence on the lives of others.”

“I guuuuess,” Nagisa meekly sighed. “But every day that she had to go on, she’d spend lotsa time in her Dressing Room, putting on lotsa makeup, and when she finally came back out to see us and leave, she’d look all weird like she was almost a whole different person!”

“Maintaining a public image takes a lot of laborious effort, I imagine.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Nagisa quickly sucked in another breath. “There was this one time, when I really wanted to make my Dad happy, so I snuck into my Mom’s Dressing Room and found her makeup and put it all over my face and I showed him!”

“Did you get the reaction you expected?”

“Yeah!” Nagisa cheerily nodded. “He laughed and laughed and then he took a picture and then we went out and had fun at the park!” But her sudden cheer just as quickly vanished. “But when we got home my Mom found out what I did and I was sent to bed without food. And I heard them fighting about it all night.”

“Your intentions were honest and good, if lacking in foresight.” Homura assured. “That such a harmless act could trigger such an intense argument implies that the two of them had larger issues.”

“Do your parents fight too?” Nagisa asked.

“I didn’t have parents.” Homura answered. “I’m an orphan.”

“Really?” Nagisa’s eyes widened. “You’re lucky! You’re free!”

“I assure you, I am neither lucky nor free.”

“Yeah you are!” Nagisa insisted. “No one’s gonna tell you when you have to go to bed! No one’s gonna tell you to go to school when you don’t wanna! No one’s gonna tell you when it’s okay to eat candy! No one’s gonna make you finish your eggs!”

“They care about you. I’d certainly trade a little of that freedom for someone who cared.”

“No one’s gonna yell at you for taking some tuna to the stray cat!” Nagisa went on. “No one’s gonna scream at you for failing your reading test! No one’s gonna lie and say they love you and they’re gonna be home soon!” Homura was quite unexpectedly surprised by this girl’s palpable envy. “Then not come home! No one’s gonna make you fake being sick at the restaurant so she don’t have to pay, then tell you you’re faking being sick when you’re really sick and make you go to school anyway and you throw up on the teacher!” She choked. “No one’s gonna lock you in your room so you can’t go to a birthday party and then go to her big grownup party!” She sobbed. “No one’s gonna scream at you for putting on makeup, then putting some on you anyway when your eye hurts!”

“I see.” Homura stared empathetically into Nagisa’s teary, two-colored eyes. “Here.” She rolled her sleeve over her hand and dabbed away the tears.

“Thanks.” The young girl grabbed Homura’s sleeve and rubbed it all around her face. She appreciatively smiled. The two sat in an almost funerary silence for the next few minutes. “Was I a cute witch?” 

“What?”

“When you saw me before. Was I cute?” Homura was outright shocked. While no one had pulled her aside and explicitly told her the reason why they had so much foreknowledge, or why there were now two Sayakas, by this point it would not have been hard for even a child like her to deduce the reasons on her own. Much more surprising to Homura, was that a girl like Nagisa would be introspective enough to contemplate her own fates in those many past timelines. And then perceptive enough to guess about it from the way Homura and Miss Jones interacted with her. And now she could plainly tell by Homura’s offput reaction that her intuition was right and she had been a witch in the past. “Was I?”

“So you’ve pieced it together?” Nagisa nodded. “You were-” She nodded more and more eagerly. Such sadness. So much despair. More pain and loss than any child should ever have to bear. For the small crime of being vulnerable she’d been sentenced to die by Homura’s own hand time after time after time. At least two dozen that she could readily recall. Yet Homura never tried what Sayaka did by accident. She never even took so much as an extra second to mourn the witch’s lost innocence. What could she possibly say to this girl that could rectify any of it? “The cutest.” She answered in a regretful, quick breath.

“And if your mother ever says anything, or does anything ever again, that you truly feel makes her unworthy of your love,” Homura choked as she made an attempt to apologize. “Run away. Run away as fast as you can and don’t ever look back!”

“Run? Run where?”

“To where I live. If you go to sleep now, I will show you first thing tomorrow.”

***

“Saya Otonashi!” Sayaka snapped her fingers. “From Okinawa! That anime we stayed up late to watch when we were little! Those creepy bat things gave us nightmares for weeks!”

“Good thing Mom worked her later shift back then,” Time Lady Sayaka smiled. “She’d have never let us watch a show that violent!”

“But Daddy, though,” Sayaka let out a long, exhausted sigh. “He’d let us stay up and watch all the sad stuff and scary stuff and grown-up stuff, and he’d sit there right by our side holding our hand though it all. He’s way too good to us.” She nostalgically sighed. “I can get why you had to lie, but still, how did I not figure out you were phoney from the start?”

“Because,” Time Lady Sayaka scanned the tangled mess of wires along an open wall panel with a glow-tipped wand. “You and me never stop and think anything over until it almost walks right up and punches our faces.” She stopped scanning, paused, then added, “And also because Miss Jones hid a perceptual filter in my hair clip so that I could hide right in plain sight.”

“Please don’t give me a headache bigger than the one I’ve already got!”

“You see that drawer right next to you?” Sayaka pointed to it. “There’s a bunch of chocolate bars inside, take one and chow down.”

“Why?” She gradually opened the drawer. “What’s it got to do with-”

“Trust me. It’ll do you wonders!”

The skeptical Sayaka slowly slid the bar from the wrapper. She then took a nibbling bite from it. “Wow! So you’re really me, aren’t you?” 

“Yup. Really you.” Her counterpart working on the wall panel replied. “Everything on the outside’s the same, right down to that Hokkaido-shaped birthmark on our-”

“Yeah, okay.” Sayaka cut her other self off. “I get the point.” To her genuine surprise, her splitting headache was starting to wane as whatever was in the candy bar was already taking effect. “And that Grief Seed,” she hesitated, “It was us too?”

“Yes she was.” Sayaka answered. “Poor girl. She made a wish and fell to despair. All in service to Kyubey’s sick little con.” The Sayaka on the futon angrily glared in the caged Kyubey’s direction. “I know what you’re thinkin’. But he’s not worth it.” The Time Lady then added, “Our theory is he’s just a tool, and at the moment he’s the only lead we’ve got on whoever’s pulling all the strings.”

“Ugh, whatever. I don’t even have it in me to swat a mosquito right now, anyway.” Sayaka fell back on the cushion and stared contemplatively at her tinkering counterpart. “So what happened to you, then? What’s your story?”

“Geez, where should I even start?” Sayaka thought for a moment. “I made my wish. Should’ve Sealed my fate. Was all set to wind up just like her. Then Miss Jones found me. And thanks to her and Homura, here I am.” She decided to keep it as short and straightforward as she could.

“So this place, whatever it is, it belonged to Miss Jones?” Her counterpart nodded. “Man, it’s huge!”

“Wait ‘til you see from the outside.” Sayaka snickered.

“So how’d she die?” Sayaka’s eyes searched around. “Miss Jones?”

“She-” Sayaka could read the subtext in her counterpart’s mournful, venerative tone. “In order to save you she had to make me like her. But it cost her life.” 

“Are you doing okay?” She could also detect a tinge of loneliness in her voice too.

“Y’know, after the first time when I watched a person I really looked up to die, I had just been through my first battle,” She stopped working and pensively set the glowing wand she was holding onto the floor. “I wanted to look like I was this new confident and courageous, and capable person...” Her voice trailed. “But the truth was I was exactly the same Sayaka who was scared that she was in way over her head, and not even sure that she was someone worthy of taking over for the person she admired.” She sat up and stared at the strange-looking helmet suspended from the ceiling. “And now, after all the miracles that it took to put me here, I can’t help but wonder if I’ve just wound up in exactly the same situation.”

“She-” Sayaka stammered, “She didn’t want to tell them she was having trouble coping, either. She couldn’t admit that she needed help. She didn’t want to look weak or uncommitted.” With her headache vanishing, the hazy visions of both her own life and her past life were slowly but gradually coalescing back into intelligible memories. “So when she couldn’t take it any more…” Sayaka paused. She had this hazy, yet persistent memory of her witch counterpart doing something truly abhorrent moments before her downfall, yet at the same time, she couldn’t picture herself as someone capable of inflicting something so unspeakable onto other people. “She just broke. Completely snapped.” Was it a mere delusional revenge fantasy? “And that’s what destroyed her.” Then why would her witch leave something so stomach-churning in her mind? “And how she wound up like that.” 

“So when the going gets tough, the tough have gotta toss their stubborn ass pride aside and get some help.” The young Time Lady winced. “Geez. It sounds like a pretty dang obvious lesson when looking at it from a third perspective. Flippin’ cliché even.”

“And pick your battles. And don’t ever pick one that you’ve already lost.” Sayaka suddenly recalled her own less severe, but still appalling act of petty vengeance against her friend. “Hitomi didn’t deserve that. I really need to apologize.”

“First, I gotta say a few ‘I’m sorries’ to you,” Time Lady Sayaka got to her feet and strolled over to the futon. “For a bunch of the crazy stuff that’s happened to you.” She sat down beside herself. “Some of it was because of certain things I did. Like, remember that day you got accused of dine-and-dashing?”

“You know about that?”

“It’s because I was there! Miss Jones and I were at that restaurant having breakfast, then we spotted Kyubey, took off to chase him, and we plum forgot to pay. We were the ones holding up the bathroom on you.”

“Holy cow!”

“Yeaaaaah, sorry!” Sayaka smiled while she sheepishly scratched the back of her head.

“Aw, heck It’s fiiiiiiine!” Sayaka playfully waved at herself. “No big deeeeal! Office bathroom was a better bathroom anyway!”

“Then after we all came together and saved you, I asked Madoka what her deal was with Kyosuke. I could tell she wasn’t too enthusiastic about spilling the beans, and I didn’t have a lot of time to pry anyway, but she did tell me that she went to his room looking for you, they got to talking a bit, then they held hands, and to his big awesome surprise, he totally felt her touch on his hand!”

“Really? But what’s that got to do with-?”

“You see, as a magical girl I’m supposed to have this healing magic.” Sayaka elaborated. “That was ‘cause of my original wish. But I hadn’t quite figured out how to use it right. So some time just before they got together, I had been up in his room trying to practice my healing magic on him.” She took her human counterpart’s hand. “But I thought I’d failed, so when she told me what happened, that’s when it hit me...” She grinned. “My magic had actually worked on him after all!”

“Nooooooooo...” Human Sayaka gasped, her eyes widening in amazement. "Waaaaayyy!” She excitedly took her Time Lady double’s other hand.

“Sorry! Madoka just got to be the right girl at the right place in the right moment, and she was the one who got credit!” They both paused for a brief moment, before bursting into a teary-eyed uproarious laughter.

“At least they’re gonna be a cute couple!” Human Sayaka resignedly cackled.

“Yeah!” Time Lady Sayaka agreed. “The cutest!”

“And the wackiest part is,” Sayaka chuckled. “Madoka doesn’t even care for guitar ballads!”

“Yeah!” Sayaka’s laughter abruptly stopped. “Wait, what?”

Through the door, Homura overheard the Sayakas vigorously debating. In fact, it almost sounded to her as if they were arguing. Leave it to Sayaka to pick a fight with herself. Homura stoically sighed and rolled her eyes. 

“Am I interrupting you two?” Homura fixed the cuff of her sleeve as she stepped through the sliding door.

“Uh, yeah,” The Human Sayaka rolled over on her futon cushion.

“This girl’s got memories of our witch’s life. And now she’s convinced that Kyosuke plays the guitar.” The young Time Lady Sayaka scanned the circuitry on the underside of the computer console with her glow-tipped wand.

“He does! I swear it!” She shouted from the futon. “I distinctly remember watching him play ‘The Girl With Flaxen Hair’ on his Grandpa’s old guitar for our seventh grade talent show!”

“I’m not saying you’re wrong,” Sayaka poked into the console’s innards. “But I just can’t imagine the world seeing Kyosuke as such a prodigy for mastering an instrument as commonplace as the guitar.”

“Ha! Like the violin’s anything special!”

“Homura,” The Time Lady stopped working and turned to her. “Did you encounter any timelines where he played something besides the violin?”

“As a matter of fact,” Homura casually flipped her hair and sat down beside her. “I did. Numerous ones.”

“For reals?” The Sayakas said in unison.

“Indeed,” Homura turned her head and gave a slight smirk. “There were even timelines where his instrument of choice was the ukulele.”

“What?” They said in one voice again. “You’re joking!” The Time Lady prodded.

“Maybe. Maybe not. I suppose you’ll never know.”

“Hmmm.” The Human Sayaka leaned a little closer on her cushion and squinted at Homura. “Weeeeeiird!”

“Huh. What is it?” Homura glanced in her direction.

“Didn’t you like,” Sayaka combed through long imaginary strands down her own haircut. “Used to have a long pair of twin-tailed braids?” The Time Lady beside Homura abruptly paused her work on the console and examined Homura’s hair.

“Once upon a time. But I’ve changed.” Homura promptly smacked away Sayaka’s playful attempt to re-braid it at the tip. 

“Speaking of changed,” The Human Sayaka continued. “I also remember… Barely surviving a really close call with a very nasty witch with you back then,” She paused and processed. “That kind of thing should really endear someone to ya’,” She lightly bit her lip. “Yet I also got this distinct feeling like that other me came to dislike you. Hate you, even.” She slowly sat up and asked her question. “What happened?”

“What happened was…” Homura paused. “She was the first person I tried telling the truth about witches to.”

“I was?” Both the Sayakas gasped.

“She didn’t accept it. Soon after, once I tried telling the others I guess she coped with it by dismissing me as a duplicitous agitator.”

“Is that why you didn’t tell me?” Time Lady Sayaka glared at her. “Because you thought I couldn’t cope with it well?”

“And with Miss Jones working towards a viable alternative to the Grief Seeds,” Homura sighed. “We both decided that it wasn’t information you needed to have.” She looked away and wistfully played with the same tip of her hair that Sayaka had just tried braiding. “I see now that was a mistake. I’m sorry.”

“Was that all it was?” The Sayaka on the futon pressed.

“What do you mean?” Homura asked.

“I dunno.” Sayaka repeatedly blinked. “It’s like, I can’t remember every single detail of what happened to her in her life, but I just feel as if there was something… Else about you that really drove her off a cliff.”

“If there was,” Homura hesitated. “I can’t say I recall what it could have been either. It was a long time ago.”

“Well, whatever it was,” Sayaka stuck out her hand as if to offer an across-the-room handshake. “On our behalf, I’m sorry.”

“So we’re all in agreement, then.” Time Lady Sayaka lightly pat Homura on the back. “Bygones be bygones?”

“Very well.” Homura gave them a quick head nod. “Bygones.”

“Hey, you guys,” The Sayaka on the futon had just noticed something peculiar on the side of the control console facing her. “You’ve got a blinking light over here!” Her counterpart promptly jolted off her back to check on what she had seen.

“What’s the issue?” Homura asked.

“Auxiliary batteries fully charged.” Sayaka read the message. “Press to engage?” The curious Sayaka pressed the button. A familiar form appeared before their eyes.

“Miss Jones?” Homura gasped.

“Greetings.” It introduced itself. “I am the TARDIS Security and Tactical Systems Holographic Support Program. My purpose is to assist the TARDIS pilots in any cases of emergency.”

“And you’re the spittin’ image of Miss Jones.” The Sayaka on the futon remarked.

“This form was chosen because it was a mutually recognized and respected authority figure extracted from psychological analysis of your collective bioforms.”

“I can’t say I’m terribly comfortable with that.” Homura folded her arms.

“Yeah, me neither.” Time Lady Sayaka agreed. “She just died. Feel like we’d be talking to a ghost.”

“Can you change into someone you think we’d be more comfortable with?” Homura requested.

“As you wish.” The Hologram’s form dissolved, and after a few moments it reappeared before them in its next form. 

“Madoka’s Mom?” The Human Sayaka tilted her head. It had assumed the appearance of an early middle-aged woman in full suited business attire.

“Hmmm.” Homura squinted her eyes. “Not quite.” The form before them had hair a shade lighter, and was much longer than the short-cut style of Madoka’s mother, and its eyes were a uniquely inhuman tint of golden yellow. 

“This is a customized avatar, based upon another mutually respected individual in your lives.”

“I can work with it.” The Time Lady Sayaka nodded.

“Yes. It’ll function.” Homura agreed.

“So, you’re here to help us stop Walpurgisnacht, huh?” The young Time Lady asked.

“Correct. One of my programmed specialties is the formulation of effective battle strategies.” The holographic Junko Kaname replied. 

“Any ideas?” She followed up.

“First and foremost, it is imperative that you avoid unnecessary noncombatant casualties. With the time remaining, I highly recommend this city be evacuated.”

“That’s hundreds of thousands of people.” Homura stated. “I hope you have a proposal for how we’re going to clear such a logistical hurdle.”

“I can devise such a strategy. But first I require data on the city’s layout and infrastructure. That would require access to the human race’s global system of interconnected computer networks.” It turned to Sayaka. “I request permission to interface what you call ‘The Internet’.”

“Sure. Go ahead.” Sayaka permissed.

“Connection made.” The hologram said. “Data collected. Now formulating an evacuation plan.”

“Woooooooooh!” Kyoko came bursting through the TARDIS entry door. “Aaaaahhhh! Man, what a night! Never thought I’d get sick of puttin’ the finisher on witches! But-'' She immediately saw the girl resting on the futon and excitedly smiled. “Sayaka! Yer-” She ran over and sat beside her. “Awake! Are you okay?”

“Real tired and my head feels like someone really messed with it.” Sayaka warmly smiled back. “But I’ll be okay.” 

“I’m pleased to report that Kyoko and I have successfully tracked down and defeated a great many of the respawned and hyperstimulated Grief Seeds from the park each.” Mami more calmly and formally made her entry. “But I fear that there remain too many others to track down before they hurt anyone.”

“I suggest you bring in reinforcements.” The hologram proposed. “For dealing with both the immediate issue and the imminent battle with Walpurgisnacht.”

“Oh?” Mami stared at the hologram. “Im sorry. Who’s this?”

“An avatar of the TARDIS’s Security and Tactical System.” Homura introduced.

“That also looks a lot like Madoka’s Mom.” Sayaka on the futon added.

“I see.” Mami stepped closer to it. “Well, I already figured help would need to be brought in for Walpurgisnacht’s attack, but…”

“Pssst! Sayaka!” Kyoko whispered to her friend as they laid together on the futon. “I took yer friend home and kept her up to speed for ya’!” She pulled Sayaka’s phone from her sweatshirt.

“Thanks.” Sayaka took her phone and turned it on. “Ugh!” Eighteen unread messages from her father. Twenty six from her mother. Seven voicemails from her father. Nine more from her mother.

“Yer mom seems real pissed!” Kyoko remarked.

“And I lost my dad’s trust.” Sayaka scrolled through the messages. “Boy, did I ever screw things up for myself.”

“If you wanna, you can stay on the lam with me for a few more days.” Kyoko offered. “Worry ‘em so sick that when you come home they’ll be so glad to see ya’ they couldn’t stay mad at ya’!”

“Thanks, but,” Sayaka was actually pretty tempted by the idea. But it didn’t seem right to her to so blatantly manipulate their feelings that way. “I can’t do that to them.” She glanced at her counterpart, who had discreetly returned to whatever she was previously working on. “It’s my mess. I may not have been the one who caused it all, but,” She sighed. “It’s still my responsibility. I gotta be the one who cleans it up and faces the music.”

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! A noise blared from the console.

“What was that?” Mami asked.

“A power usage warning.” The hologram replied. “Because this vessel is presently in Low Power Mode, daily usage of auxiliary systems such as mine have been capped at one hour per thirty-two hour cycle, which is approximately one Gallifreyan day.” She slightly nodded her head. “I now have half the allotted time remaining as an active program.”

“Maybe I could try disabling the protocol?” Sayaka said from under the space she was working.

“I would advise against it.” The hologram explained. “With the auxiliary and tertiary systems already heavily rewired, and redundant components cannibalized, there is a risk of causing an unforeseen power surge which could permanently disable me. It is not a risk worth taking.” She turned towards Homura and Mami. “My program can still run battle scenarios and make tactical assessments while dormant. While active I shall have to convey my information and advice to you as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

“We have one week before Walpurgisnacht arrives.” Homura stated.

“That will allow time for approximately five more active cycles.”

“Ya’ remember when we were back at the train station and we had that warm-’n’-fuzzy moment together before that little Shitweasel Kyubey ruined it?” Kyoko was paying little attention to the strategy session happening across the room.

“Yeah.” Sayaka replied, then added, “Vaguely.”

“I know it ain’t none of my business or ‘nuthin’’,” Kyoko leaned a little closer. “But I gotta know. What was it you were gonna wish for?”

“My wish?” Sayaka thought hard. She recalled having a bunch of wishful thoughts in mind while stewing in her own misery self-loathing back at that station. From the small and selfish… Wish it so that their lunchroom fight never happened. Or to become Kyosuke’s girlfriend, or to heal his hand and to make sure he exactly knows who and why. To the mean and petty… To break up Madoka and Kyosuke, to make the lunchroom fight all Madoka and Hitomi’s fault. To the outright cruel… To wish that Hitomi never found love. Thinking of them only made her inner pain and anger feel fresh again. Was her heart really in that dark a place before she touched that Grief Seed? Was that what made her so open to the resurrected witch’s influence? She could tell by the sanguine look in Kyoko’s eyes that any of those answers would’ve probably disappointed her. “I was gonna wish for…” She deeply swallowed. Then a little white lie popped into her head. “For Kyosuke to live a happy life!” 

“D’awwww…” Kyoko playfully growled. “Ya’ big sap!” She lightly punched Sayaka in the arm. “Tch! Lucky I’d have been there to catch ya’ when ya’ fell flat on yer ass!”

“I know.” Sayaka comfortably sighed. “Thanks.”

“Well, I think that’s pretty much it. It’s ready to go.” The young Time Lady slid out from behind a panel and reset the Soul Gem cleansing microwave back in its place inside the wall. She flipped through the remaining pages of Miss Jones’s instructions. “What’s left is mostly a bunch of redundant system checks and optional software patches.”

“I can confirm the viability of all natively integrated components.” The hologram of Junko Kaname disappeared and reappeared at Sayaka’s side. “But the customized and hybridized components are beyond the scope of my programming. Ultimately, the only way to know if your rebuild attempt was successful, is to test the device.” 

“Well, how ‘bout it, guys?” Sayaka held out her hand. “Gonna trust me with your lives?” 

Kyoko leaped straight up from the futon and trotted over. “Sure ‘nuff!” She slapped her Soul Gem in Sayaka’s hand. 

“Yes.” Homura transformed, came over and handed over her diamond-shaped Soul Gem. “We do.” She then gave her Nagisa’s.

“It is with this act I am once again a girl of hope.” Mami poetically relinquished her Soul Gem, overlooking an irreverent little snicker from Kyoko.

Sayaka placed each gem inside the Microwave, then affixed a transmat gem to the helmet as per Miss Jones’s example. “Here we go everybody!” She set the timer. “Three… Two... One…”

Chapter Text

“ Asian Dawn ?” Kyoko giggled as she reread the name in English. “Who the hell’s gonna take a name like that seriously?”

“The authorities.” Homura answered. “Should they proceed to show any competence towards their jobs, that is.”

“So how does posing as a terrorist group work towards our objective of evacuating the city and bringing in other magical girls?” Mami asked the hologram. It had been approximately thirty-two hours since their last meeting, during which time the Security and Tactical Program had printed out its proposal.

“It is a standard procedure for the police to evacuate those in proximity to threatened areas.” The Junko Kaname hologram explained. Madoka and Sayaka were together on the futon watching the strategy session between the magical girls.

“Ain’t it weird seein’ your mom like that?” Sayaka asked her recently-reconciled friend.

“A little bit.” Madoka stared quietly at the hologram’s face. It may have looked and sounded like an approximation of her mother, but there was still something she felt was uncanny about its image, and she couldn’t quite verbalize exactly what bothered her about it.

“What’d you say to your folks that let you come here?” Sayaka asked.

“I told them I was going to a teacher’s house for some tutoring.” Madoka answered. 

“I guess that’s... Technically true.” Sayaka checked on her phone, a recently acquired model which her parents had installed a tracking app to. She was supposed to be at an orientation meeting for her new dishwashing job. Fortunately for the rest of her day, the meeting ended quickly. No new messages. She sighed a big sigh of relief.

“I’m going to plant some of my bombs in some of the most densely trafficked public spaces.” Homura pointed at a projected map from the console screen. “And at some of the most vital points of infrastructure.” She lightly tossed her hair. “Don’t worry. They’ll all be dummy bombs. Save for the devices we’re going to plant for demonstrative purposes.”

“Once you have their attention, you’re going to demand the immediate release of these individuals presently imprisoned within the Japanese legal justice system, as well as a case review of these other printed individuals.” A pair of lists printed out from a slot below the main console.

“This is nearly a hundred people.” The young Time Lady fingered her way down the list. “What’s so special about ‘em?”

“These individuals are all cases whose confessions were often coerced by officials, or the methods of obtaining the evidence against them were dubious, or testimony against them was either mistaken or fabricated. And all of them are of either ethnic or demographic minorities, hence the continental implications of the name.”

“And you’re absolutely certain that they’re all innocent?” Mami questioned.

“While there is no certainty, my evaluative matrix calculated the odds of each of their innocence anywhere from ninety-eight point seven five one, to ninety-nine poine nine nine nine.”

“As confident as statistical evaluation can be.” Homura asserted.

“To think there are so many innocent people in jail.” The young Time Lady lamented.

“It is, tragically, all too common for those with political power to utilize the framework of their legal systems as a means to suppress and scapegoat those without power, simply to serve their own ends and perpetuate the illusion of peace and stability among the ignorant and complacent masses. That is true not just in this world, but throughout the entire Universe.” The hologram appeared almost sad about that.

“Was that the kind of crap Miss Jones was fighting against?” Time Lady Sayaka wondered.

“Hey!” Her human counterpart elbowed her friend. “You’re phone’s buzzin’!” She whispered.

“Sorry!” Madoka apologized. “Forgot it was on!”

“Really? There’s reception in here? Crap!” She’d hoped to pass off her ensuing lack of contact with her own parents as a failure of her new phone. Now she’d have to think up a different lie.

“Kyosuke sent a picture of another doodle he made.” 

“Oh...” Sayaka passively looked over her friend’s shoulder at the picture. “Neat! I didn’t even know he liked to draw! Heh-Heh!” She blushed.

“He also wants me to come by and meet his parents later.” Madoka could tell that keeping her apprised of their budding relationship was making her friend a bit uncomfortable.

“I met them a buncha times. Went to an amusement park once with them too!” Sayaka gawkily looked elsewhere. “They’re pretty nice, I guess.”

“So what spots are we gonna be blowing up?” Her counterpart approached the console.

“Public places presently cordoned off, such as the section of this mall under renovation, as well as non vital objects of infrastructure, such as a fossil fuel energy plant scheduled for decommissioning.” The holographic Junko projected a list. “We will commence with their destruction during the night so as to further minimize the risk of casualties.”

“The Shinto Shrine?” Mami grimaced. “But my parents and I used to have picnics under the cherry blossoms there all the time when I was in grade school.” 

“If it’s any consolation,” Homura spoke. “That shrine gets leveled by Walpurgisnacht’s attack in every timeline I’ve traveled.” She could plainly see that it was cold comfort to her magical elder. “But some of the cherry blossoms are far away enough they should make it through the ordeal.”

“Hold on a sec! Can I ask something too? About the damage?” The human Sayaka raised her hand.

“Yeah.” Her Time Lady counterpart yielded the floor. “Go on.”

“So you’re gonna blow up the part that’s under construction. I got that. But what about the rest of the mall when Walpurgisnacht comes?”

“I don’t have knowledge of the fate of every single landmark in town.” Homura flatly answered.

“Are you asking because you’re really worried about the mall?” Her counterpart followed. “Or because you don’t wanna start that job of yours so soon?” She could tell by the self-conscious look on her human version’s face precisely which answer it was.