Homura had never seen snow before.

She stepped out of the safe house for the first time in four days, only to be met with the emptiest landscape she had ever laid eyes upon. There was nothing but the soft curves of snowbanks, so white they stung her eyes, and an eerie silence hanging in the air, the earth slowly suffocating under the snowfall. The sun was only just beginning to rise, a faint orange glow glancing off the trees far off into the distance, light slowly creeping towards the cabin. There was only the gentlest of breezes, laced with an almost sinister sense of anticipation.

She felt someone place something warm around her shoulders.

"It's cold, Homura. Be careful not to get sick."

Madoka walked over to Homura's side, her breath coming out in small, even puffs against the chill of early morning, slowly dissipating into the air.

"Thank you, Madoka," Homura said, pulling on the jacket. "This is the first time I've seen snow."

"Really? It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Homura nodded, running her hand across the top of her forehead to her jawline, where the beginnings of a scar were starting to form, a reminder of their struggled escape from Mitakihara. "I suppose, though it's rather hard to appreciate under circumstances like these."She tugged on her sleeves, pulling them around her pale, slender hands, and crossed her arms. "I don't want to believe what's happening back in the city when I see something so peaceful right here."

Madoka put her hand on Homura's shoulder. "We're going to fix this, Homura."

Homura nodded- fearing the words of comfort that ached to slip from her throat would come out far too hollow. "Are Kyouko and Mami ready to go?"

Madoka nodded, and turned back, gesturing for Homura to do the same."They're waiting by the entrance. Theres just a couple of more things we need to prepare before we leave. Shall we?"

The safehouse was a large, two room cabin a few miles away from Mitakihara city, just on the edge of a woodland. Kyouko's family had owned it and used it for the occasional retreat, and it was far enough removed that the four girls could safely stay there, recuperate, and figure out their plan of action while events unfolded in the city.

Mami and Kyouko had laid out a bedsheet in the main room, throwing anything that could be used as a weapon onto it. They all considered themselves veterans of combat- but fighting on asphalt, they learned, was a far cry from fighting in a Witch's labyrinth. Every wound was permanent, pain was terrifyingly inevitable, and they had nothing but their bodies to rely on. Gravity pulled them down, slowed them, and their lungs strained against the thick, city air. They had figured out soon enough that something was wrong with their soul gems- none of them were able to use magic in any way, shape, or form. Simply leaving the city had taken almost a full day- they had wanted to find Sayaka first, and leave together, yet nothing could be done in the state they were in. Kyouko's arm had almost been torn off, Mami could barely see through her concussion, and Homura's determination to protect Madoka was present in a sprained ankle, a gash that had almost split her face in two, and a peculiar, almost familiar pain in her chest that she avoided thinking about.

Mami absentmindedly shuffled through one of the wardrobes, looking for anything that could help them. She'd been the first to recover- her and Madoka tending to the other two, yet she still felt the occasional bout of nausea and dizziness. She would be the last person to drag them down, however- she was, after all, the oldest, and responsibility for them was laid upon her shoulders, whether they agreed to it or not.

"I managed to take out the pipes in the boiler room," Kyouko said to Mami, throwing a pair of them onto the spread, where they rolled next to a set of golf clubs. The only other things they had managed to find was an old, splintered hatchet, a baseball bat, and a shovel. Kyouko looked at them in disgust. "I can't believe I have to use these things. Do you have any idea why we can't use our magic anymore?"

"I might have one," Homura said, walking into the room, Madoka close behind. "I think it has something to do with the reason we're still...normal."

"Please go on, Homura." Mami said, closing the wardrobe door. "I've been thinking about it quite a bit as well. I wonder if we have come to similar conclusions."

Homura sat down, eyeing the spread in front of her carefully. "We know the incubators were going to try some kind of mass contracting scheme, correct?"

"Yes, Kyubey mentioned them trying something like that for a more efficient energy yield." Mami answered.

"The entire process of becoming a magical girl is basically our souls being ripped out, and put inside soul gems, no? I think something went wrong with the mass contracts. I think the incubators- most likely accidentally, pushed out the souls of everyone in Mitakihara. Maybe farther, but theres no way to tell. Remember that earthquake we felt? I wouldn't be surprised if it was the aftermath of so much energy being released."

Kyouko sat down on the couch opposite of Homura, leaning forward. "But that doesn't explain why we weren't turned into...zombies, I suppose we can call them?"

Mami stepped forward. "I think it has something to do with the soul gems," She glanced at Homura, who nodded. "The fact that our souls are trapped in the soul gems already- they may have offered some protection. After all, whatever we felt when the earthquake happened wasn't physical. Soul gems might be easy to throw around and break, but I'm sure they have some kind of barrier to prevent things like, say, the reversal of a contract. Otherwise, how would the incubators reap any benefit?"

Madoka, who had been silent so far, finally spoke. "Then that could also explain why we can't use our magic anymore. Maybe our soul gems couldn't break, but could they have been weakened?"

"That would be the most logical conclusion, yes." Homura replied.

Kyouko looked up, thoughtfully. "I s'pose that does make sense. Still, it doesn't explain why they were so aggressive. I thought you just became an empty shell when you're separated from your soul, no?"

Homura looked at Mami, who shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know either," she admitted. "But the sooner we get back to the city, the sooner we can look for answers."

Kyouko stood up, and reached for the shovel, holding it as she would her spear. "The first thing we're going to do is look for Sayaka. I won't ever be able to live with myself knowing we left her behind there."

"We didn't leave her behind. We were all injured, and you especially were bleeding buckets." Homura gestured to Kyouko's left arm- which was almost entirely covered in bandages. "We needed to recuperate and form a solid plan."

Kyouko self consciously crossed her arms, then winced in pain."How would you feel if we all left you behind to fend for yourself?"

Homura glared at Kyouko. "We didn't leave her behind. We didn't even know where she was."

"We shouldn't fight about this. Let's just focus on getting to the city as soon as possible, okay?" Madoka said nervously, looking back and forth between Homura and Kyouko. Both of them immediately leaned back.

"Madoka's right," Mami said, reaching down to pick up one of the pipes. It was on the heavier side, a large bolt on the far end, where it curved ever so slightly. "We should take our bags, something to protect ourselves with, and leave before noon. I think I'll take this one," she spoke, as she swung the pipe back and forth, familiarizing herself with the weapon.

Looking at what remained, Homura managed to smile to herself. "I'll take one of the golf clubs." For sentiment's sake, she thought.

Madoka grabbed the hatchet, running her fingers across the dulled edge. "I hope we won't have too many chances to use these," she mused. "Are the bags all packed as well?"

Kyouko nodded, and grinned. "I packed all of them. We'll probably need food for-"

"Err, Kyouko? Why are these so heavy? I thought I told you we needed to pack light." Mami said. She opened one of the knapsacks to find it was filled to the brim with canned food from the pantry. "We need to get rid of at least half of what's in here, and pack some water and bandages as well. We can't afford to be slowed down."

"But-"

"No arguments."

Madoka smiled to herself. Despite the fact that their world had quite literally fallen apart around them in the span of a few days, the four of them were still very much together, and the same people as they were before. She could only hope they could stay this way, find Sayaka, and figure out what was going on. They had phased through the past few days without any problem, yet she knew once they entered Mitakihara again, the brunt of reality would befall them without warning, and the real fight would begin. Still, she had faith in her friends.

The four of them stepped outside, the sharp thud of the door closing behind them marking the end of their brief respite, and the beginning of a journey they knew not whether they would return alive from. Homura looked down at her hand- the skin across her knuckles were stretched thin and slowly losing color as she tightened her grip on the club in apprehension.

Madoka took Homura's other hand- more so to comfort herself than the other way around. To Homura's left, Mami put her arm around Kyouko's shoulder in quiet reassurance.

"Are we ready?" Mami asked, breaking the silence. It had started to rain- spatters of rain falling against them incessantly, almost as if the sky was urging them to leave.

Each of them nodded and separated themselves from each other. Homura frequently wondered if they truly did care for one another- or if they had been forced to, under the most suffocating of circumstances; they had nobody but each other to turn to. They began to walk forward, wondering how much they did not know about what lay before them- though wondering would do them no good.

All they could do now, was press forward, and prepare themselves for the struggle ahead.