Kao the Hedgehog sat on his swivel chair, carefully studying the contents of a large piece of parchment on the table. It was well past midnight, and with only a small lamp to light his workplace, he strained himself to stay awake. He was about to reach for another sip of his now cold honey-lemon tea when he heard knocking on the door to the room.

"Kao. It's Yuji. Can I talk with you for a bit?"

"Come in then," he replied. Yuji walked in and took a seat next to him.

"Unable to sleep, hedgehog?" boomed a voice from Yuji's ring: The Snake of the Festival.

"Eh, I'll be fine, Fu Xi," Kao answered as he reached for his cup of tea.

"Please do not refer to me with that dishonorable name," the Snake told him.

"Can it, dude. I'm trying to stay awake here," Kao shot back. Pencil in hand, he proceeded to make notes on the parchment.

"So…are you sure you can do this? Changing the fate of an entire world?" Yuji asked him. He and his other teammates were shocked at Kao's decision to directly intervene in and alter the events of the world of Madoka Magica. Although he had done the same thing with his Misaki City, Yuji knew that this was an entirely different world that he was tackling. Based on what he read from Kao's Codex, this Madoka Magica world possessed levels of magic on par with that from his universe. While this was certain to pose a problem for them, one burning question was his main concern:

"Is this really the right thing to do?"

Kao let out a small sigh. "Yuji, I know what you're thinking. But I really am going through with this. Homura may have had the right intentions at the time…" he then paused to finish his tea. "But if I want to save the Madoka universe from Darkness, I will need Goddess Madoka as well."

Yuji was about to speak, but Kao held up his left hand to cut him off, "Save your words. I don't wanna argue right now. Call me selfish, but I believe this is the right thing to do, and I will stick by it. Trust me."

"But-"
"Trust. Me."

Yuji then tried to come up with a counter-argument to Kao. Although he knew that all his actions during his one time as the leader of Bal Masque were ultimately for the best, he could not forgive himself for causing a lot of pain and suffering for the Flame Hazes he was fighting at the time, as well as any humans caught in the war.

He didn't agree with what Homura did either, but he felt that Kao's plan was highly uncalled for. Many other unnecessary lives would be involved and lost, he feared, but he was also afraid of Homura herself. A demoness was not to be underestimated, especially one that was able to pull a goddess down to normal and succeed in doing so.

As he was about to voice his concerns, the Snake decided to speak up. "I sense many things are troubling you, Yuji Sakai. It is understandable, but it is best if you trust in the hedgehog."

"I just…I just don't want a repeat of that time as the Supreme Commander of Bal Masque. You know how I feel about that, don't you?"

"Just trust me on this one," Kao told him again. "I know what I'm doing. Now go back to bed. I'm not in the mood for discussing this right now. Next time, okay?"

Yuji let out a sigh as he stood up to go back to his room. "I hope you're right," he said in a worried tone.

"Good night," Kao called out after him. He took a deep breath and exhaled. There was more to do that night. And the following nights.

Yuji walked slowly back to his room and climbed back into bed with a sleeping Shana. Shana felt him pull off the covers slightly and woke up.

"Mm, something wrong Yuji?" she asked sleepily.

"Ah, it's about what Kao told us this morning. About how he wants to change that world's fate," Yuji replied, his worry growing. "I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do." Shana then sat up and hugged him. Yuji then hugged her back.

"It's okay Yuji. I'm here for you whenever. I'll be there to help you," Shana reassured him, and followed up with a kiss on his lips.

"Thanks Shana," he said after the kiss. "I love you." The two cuddled together and went back to sleep.

- Months Later -

"Here you go, Kao. Your two custom Soul Gem recorders," Tails the Fox said as he handed them to Kao.

From the dining table where he and everyone else were eating breakfast, Kao almost spit out his honey-lemon tea upon hearing the news. Swallowing the tea in his mouth, he exclaimed, "Well that was fast!"

"So, whaddaya think?"

"Masterful work as always, Miles," Chaos complimented him as Kao held up the two Soul Gems to inspect them more closely.
"Dude, you really sweat the details on these things! Thanks so much!" Kao told Tails and gave him a hug.

Meanwhile, Yuji forked at the scrambled eggs on his plate.

"Yuji? Something wrong?" Suguha Kirigaya asked him while biting into her toast.

"Sort of. I'm pretty worried about this grand idea of his. Even though I've helped him plan everything for this, I'm worried about screwing up and not being able to fix it," Yuji told her.

"But don't you and Shana have your Power of Existence? If something gets damaged, you can easily fix it, right?"

"It can't bring back dead people. Or prevent a demoness's wrath." Yuji then let out a sigh. "I wonder if he knows about all of that…"

Kao led Tails to the front door and bade him goodbye. After walking back to his seat, he tapped his spoon on his cup of tea and announced, "Okay guys! This is it! Time to put all that planning and calculation to the test! Finish up your breakfast and get ready cause we're going to the Madoka world right now." He then glanced at Yuji and noticed his blank gaze off to the side of the room.

Returning his attention to the entire group, he then raised his cup and shouted, "Here's to success!" The others raised their drinks and clinked it with Kao's cup. Yuji did as well, though somewhat halfheartedly.

"Jeez, you can be so dramatic at times," Kina the Hedgehog called out from the kitchen.

"I try, honey," Kao called back.

After the group finished their breakfast, they gathered outside Kao's house. Kao then raised his trusty sword Blade of the Dragons high in the air. He, Kina, and Chaos began channelling Chaos Energy into the blade.

Yuji stood watching the blade glow green with energy. He still felt uneasy about the mission as a whole, but he also somehow felt assured that Kao knew what he was doing. Surely, Kao had taken his feelings into account and would try to make the mission painless for him, he thought. He then felt Shana holding his hand.

"Yuji. Look at me." He then turns to face her. "Whatever happens, I'll always be by your side," she told him with a small smile. In response, he clenched her hand tighter.

Kao, Kina, and Chaos stop channelling Chaos Energy into the sword, and Kao swings the sword downwards, creating a green rift in the space in front of them. The rift widens and a clear image of their destination appears: Mitakihara Middle School.

"After you guys," Kao sheathes his sword and motions everyone to walk into the portal. As the two Flame Hazes were about to walk in, he stopped them for a short question. "You guys gonna be fine? Yuji?"

"Y-yeah. We'll be fine," Yuji replied as they walked into the portal.

"Hmm?"

"Homura-chan? Is something wrong?

"I feel…a strange presence…"

"Homura-chan, are you okay?"
"Oh, uh, yes. I'm fine Madoka. You don't need to worry."
"O-Okay then. If you say so…"

"I have to protect Madoka…She might be in danger!"