May 18th Friday – Homura

Panting.

The creature I chased was panting. Jumping from the top of one dark roof top to another it continued to distance itself for me.

A purple bolt formed in the palm of my hand before blasting forwards. The sphere of kinetic energy gouged the cement next to the incubator's hind paw. Dust and shards of cement showered it as it continued to run.

Silently I follow it. The smallest shard of the moon lit up the night sky as I followed him across the roof tops.

This day I had been chasing Kyubey since the sun rose.

I had one day after leaving the hospital to reset my apartment. The orders for most of the materials I'd need for bomb making as well as the holographic displays and walls had been made then. If I could, I'd prefer to pick up a couple weapons to fight the witches which would appear during this week. But this day I had to spend chasing him.

For this was the day Kaname Madoka would contract.

She had told me that Kyubey had made a contract with her one week before I transferred. Thankfully, that day was within my loop. If it hadn't, my chances of saving her from the incubator would be zero. I should probably thank them for being so understanding of my wish.

The white animal in front of me dives down between two buildings, vanishing into the artificial gorge. Tucking in my arms I dropped like a stone to follow him. I could feel my hair streaming behind me. The red egg shaped ring on his back appeared below like a target. Purple energy gathers in my hand again.

This day was my first checkpoint. If I didn't stop Kyubey from contracting with Madoka today my wish would end. My promise would break, even before the Walpurgis Night arrived. The thought of losing this early ground my teeth together.

My hand points towards Kyubey's back. The ball flies.

A golf ball sized crater opens up in the alley below as it dodges to the left. Its front paws catch a window sill causing it to smack into the wall before landing in a heap at the bottom. I aim again, light grows at my fingertips.

The incubator looks at me once before scrabbling away. My shot catches its tail but it only frays the end without doing any permanent damage. It disappears around a corner as the ground races up towards me. Windows, balconies, and air conditioning units fly past.

"Kuh!"

My knees take the impact before buckling. Reaching out to stop break my fall I scrape my palms against the asphalt; pain, warmth, and wetness flows from them.

Grimacing, my injured palms force me up again.

I had used up too much magic. Firing balls of concussive force wasn't my specialty. Chasing the incubator from morning till now without using a single Grief Seed was taking its toll on me. But that was all over. The faint moon was already setting. Kyubey would not contract Madoka this day. The first checkpoint had been cleared.

Turning away, I walk in the direction opposite to the one the incubator had taken. I needed to bandage my hands and make my pipe bombs. Healing with magic and using it for attack were no longer an option. I had too little left, what remained was needed for the witches. After the first one I could afford to use my magic to steal some pistols and ammunition from the local Yakuza headquarters. It was easier to do so than going into a military base or police building. They didn't bother to lock things as much.

More Grief Seeds were needed to take weapons from those locations. I could walk up to the front door of a Yakuza building but it would take me ten minutes to get from the entrance of the local JSDF base to the armoury in terms of distance alone. That wasn't including the time required to disable the locks, avoid bumping into any of the security personnel that patrolled the area, and then shoving as much ordnance as possible into my buckler. Freezing time for that long would require more Grief Seeds. Grief Seeds I'd soon be competing for with either Miki Sayaka or Sakura Kyouko.

This first week would be the one week I was guaranteed free pickings of all the witches in the area. Tomoe Mami didn't mind so long as I didn't endanger any civilians. I needed to build up a surplus of Grief Seeds, both to steal more weapons and to fight more witches. Not to mention the other Magical Girls who might pop up.

Stepping out onto the night street I continue walking back home. The night crowds have long since disappeared. Even the trains are sleeping in their sheds. Only the nightlights and myself are here. The silent path allows me time to think as the blood dries on my hands.

I would kill every witch who got in my way. They weren't even the main threat. Just stepping stones I would use to get to Walurgis Night. After all, she was the one of the two witches I had never killed. The others I had destroyed in one form or another.

It wouldn't be easy.

It wouldn't be painless.

But at least I knew I could do it.

May 19th Saturday – Homura

The witch's barrier I'm in fills with its minions, a sea of dancing bisque dolls and wooden puppets. They twirl and skip around each other, an endless dance of mismatched pairs. The stiff jerks of the puppets struggle to keep up with the graceful flow of the dolls.

In the centre, the doll of a colossal baby opens its eyes. Plastic eyelids roll up and click as the weights behind them lift them up. Childish laughter rises. The dancers approach.

My shield clicks.

Time stops.

Dancers, dolls, and puppets freeze mid step. Only my feet move now. The bodies of the dancers are my only obstacle. Touching one would allow it to move. I slowly weave my way through them.

A hand wrapped in white bandages reaches underneath my shield. A metallic cylinder comes out with it. I push down on the top arming it, before placing it next to the witch. The timer beeps once before freezing with the rest of the world. I repeat the process several times. Retreating to a safe distance my shield clicks again.

All the explosives detonate at the same time. They had all beeped once before their time stopped. When it returned, since they had all been stopped at the same moment, they detonated at the same moment. The combined force of twenty seven nitroglycerin explosives melted the face of the doll before the shockwave reduced it dust. Its wooden minions caught fire and ran into each other spreading their pain. The dolls nearest to the explosion shattered like glass. The ones further away ran as their clothes and hair was devoured by the flames as well. Orange tongues stripped them bare before blackening their skin. Charred remains continued panicking before collapsing with the remains of their master.

The empty dance theatre blurs and disappears. A normal looking park, dyed orange from the setting sun, takes its place. My prize lies embedded in one of the benches. Yanking it out of the wood, I walk away. With this the local Yakuza headquarters could be raided and my hands could be repaired. There was no reason for me to stay any further. I leave behind the park and the children inside it.

May 19th Saturday – ? ? ?

"Tch, taken already?"

A tall high schooler rubs the back of his neck irritably. Standing at the entrance of a park he sighs and walks inside with his right hand in his pocket.

"Well, taking the wrong bus twice would delay me this much…"

Grumbling to himself he laments his lack of knowledge of the area. Having only arrived recently, even if he could sense a witch, he couldn't get to it.

The ring of small bells comes from underneath the slide. A doll the size of a small child peeks out. Porcelain hands grip the edge of the plastic as it peers out from its hiding place.

Brown eyes fix on it and the doll jumps. Normal humans shouldn't be able to see it but its form was captured within this person's pupils. It retreats into the shadows like a small rodent returning to its hole.

The outside is scary. That person is scary. All its friends are all gone. Burned and blasted away by that mean girl. There was no one left to dance with.

Footsteps come. The crunch of sand being compacted and ground together.

The witch's familiar jumps and starts quivering.

It just wanted to make friends, friends to dance with forever. As long as they danced, they could be friends.

"No Grief Seed and no fun either…"

The male voice comes from above it. Porcelain joints clatter together as the familiar's shivering gets worse.

"But you're still on the witches' side of things, aren't you?"

Rhetorical, it wasn't a question but a statement. And this person's reaction to a witch was already set in stone.

His right hand pulls out the thing in his pocket. The doll can only see his waist and right hand, what is inside his palm is hidden in the darkness.

Light starts to emerge. The shape of a white blade is reflected in the glass eyes of the familiar. A white rod takes shape in his hand.

The hand rises above the slide disappearing from the familiar's view.

The night sky swallows the screams of a little girl.

May 20th Sunday – Homura

Sighing I leave the headquarters of the Yakuza group, Shaft Industries. I hide myself in a public bathroom to release the frozen time and return to my school uniform. Suddenly appearing in the middle of the street fully transformed was something I needed to avoid. Luckily all my spoils were stored inside my shield, removing the need for bags or cases to carry my weapons.

Three pistol, one shotgun, and their relevant ammunition were stored inside my shield. Two Italian Berretta 92s with 56 rounds of 9x19mm Parabellum rounds. One Desert Eagle XIX with 28 rounds of .50AE. A Remington Model 870 with 19 buckshot shells. With this and the 12 pipe bombs I had left the next witch could be defeated.

Sensing a presence I look up.

Five floors up I see Tomoe Mami looking down at me. She stands in the exposed walkway of an apartment building. Her yellow eyes observe me from her position before smiling at me.

I turn away.

This is all the greeting Magical Girls need with each other. Tomoe Mami is one of the nicer ones. Other Magical Girls have chased new comers out of their hunting grounds the moment they find them.

This was a warning.

She wanted me to know she was allowing me to be here. The Magical Girl called Tomoe Mami disliked violence. I would be allowed to stay here and she wouldn't decline if I asked to team up with her.

There were two things that prevented me from doing that. Kyubey was her part time companion and she would want to turn Madoka into a Magical Girl. Explaining to her why I didn't want that to happen would either result in her ignoring me or attacking me. No matter how many loops I tried Tomoe Mami and I would never understand each other. Even if she did believe my warning about Kyubey I've already seen her reaction to it.

Self-destruction.

That is the conclusion for the Magical Girl of Ribbons.

She'll either die fighting things she doesn't have the ability to or collapse under the weight of the truth. The strings holding her psyche together were already wearing thin.

My feet continue down the street. The feeling of Tomoe Mami's eyes disappears. The other pedestrians walk past me as I continue towards a construction site on the other side of town.

Today's witch was there. The Grief Seed from yesterday was still useable but I needed more.

More…

Much more…

Reaching the front of the site, I walk past the metal fence surrounding the half built building.

The witch's barrier flickers. Invisible gates materialize, visible only to me and the witch's victims.

My palm touches the flickering iron gates and they screech open. An ornate hallway opens up. Red carpets and paintings in the style of Picasso decorate it. Three steps and I'm inside.

*CLANG

The wind from the slamming gates tousles my hair. Ring reverts to gem, and my uniform switches from school to combat. The grey shield takes form on my arm.

"HA AH HAAHA HAAHAHAHAHAAH!"

A serenade of laughter. Stretched caricatures of people and animals arise. Two dimensional familiars rush towards me from the down the hallway. I pull out the Berretta.

*BANG

The first round tears through a small child.

*BANG

The second drops a distorted bird.

*BANG

The third breaks the knee of a charging ox.

*BANG BANG BANG BANG

Bullets continues to incapacitate or kill familiars. Heads, arms, legs, wings. Even in this twisted reality bullets break them apart.

14 rounds shut down the first wave of familiars. With one chambered at the beginning the two remaining bullets I expend into the head of my third victim. Its horned head twists towards me before two holes open in its skull.

I return the gun to the shield. Reloading it manually would take time but as long as I had ammunition it was a waste to throw it away.

Red carpet muffles my foot steps as I walk past the fading familiars. The second door of the labyrinth is before me.

*CREEEAAAAAKKK

Parting noisily, the second section opens up. Another wave of familiars waits. I watch them as they observe me.

They charge.

Instead of a linear stampede a surrounding swarm hurtles towards me. Walls and ceiling become their floor as they climb and crawl from all directions.

*CLICK

Time stops, I pull out the shot gun.

The witch resided behind five more doors, a massive yellow dress clothing a headless body. White hands continued to paint endlessly. Easels and canvas surrounded her while paint palettes floated in mid-air like massive platforms.

High pitched laughter echoed from the room itself and its multitude of paintings tore themselves out of the canvas.

*CLICK

The world turns grey.

The shotgun drops to the ground. It bounces once before freezing as well. An empty gun was less useful than a metal bat. Regardless, more firepower than could be provided by firearms was needed to take down a witch.

I pull out a pipe bomb.

The barrier evaporates, taking with it the image of yellow fabric burning with wood. Mixes of oil based paint igniting on their palettes like pools of tar. Only the steel beams and bare cement remain. A grief seed clatters to the floor before rolling to my feet.

Picking it up, I leave the area. The Berretta needed reloading and my apartment needed setting up, not to mention the requirement of more explosives. Most of the screens and sofas had arrived. Unpacking them and setting up the OS would take the rest of the day.

The evening sun greets me as I leave.

It's funny…

Even after watching a witch burn to cinders the orange of the sun still looks beautiful.

May 20th Sunday – ? ? ?

"…"

The empty construction yard is still lit. Barely an hour has passed since Homura's battle. The third witch hunter grinds his teeth in frustration.

"Tch… just how many Magical Girls are in this city?"

His grumbling is ignored by most of the surrounding pedestrians as he storms off. Twice in a row, a witch had been killed before he could get to it. Brow furrowed in annoyance he pulled out a cell phone and pressed the call button. Static emerged from the earpiece.

"No dice eh? Fine…"

Shoving the device back into his pocket he continues walking through the people returning home. With nothing else to do he can only do the same.

A pair of yellow eyes follow him.

Tomoe Mami had been on her own patrol, following the trails of magic left by the witch. Having been beaten to it she was about to return home, but the sentence not meant for her widened her eyes.

Shaking her head, she turns away.

There was no way that person was talking about them.

...

...

...

May 25th Friday – Homura

The glass classrooms pass me one by one.

Two more witches had been dealt with in the past five days. With the number of Grief Seeds I had I could safely rob both the local police station and the JSDF base. The spare power would allow me to freeze time and disable all the locks with magic.

My classroom approaches.

"Alright, Akemi-san, come in."

The glasses wearing Kazuko Saotome, my homeroom and English teacher, welcomed me.

I stop planning and walk in. As always, the other people in the class started whispering to each other. The blue haired Sayaka leaned back and said something to Madoka, hiding her mouth with the back of her hand. Her reply was a troubled smile and tilted head.

"Okay, let's start with your introduction."

"I am Akemi Homura, a pleasure to meet you."

Saotome-sensei pauses midway through writing my name and frowns. I guess she wanted me to elaborate, but there was nothing to elaborate on. I had no hobbies, no after school activities, no likes and dislikes. Being stuck in a hospital didn't leave me with much to do. And after that…

Placing my bag on the floor I continue where Saotome-sensei left off and bow. Awkward applause comes from everyone and the teacher clasps her hands together with a troubled smile.

I don't need introductions and I don't have one. For a person who's done nothing but the same thing over and over, what is there to say?

The first break arrives and the curious classmates surround me.

"Akemi-san, where did you go to school before?"

"It was a Missionary School in Tokyo."

"Were you in a club of some sort before? Like a sports or arts one?"

"No I wasn't."

"You've got really pretty hair. What shampoo do you use?"

The questions start up as usual. Answers come from reflex instead of thought. With Madoka so close I can't concentrate.

This girl will contract with Kyubey. Physically stopping him will only go so far. If possible I want to stop the contract from both ends; the one who offers it, and the one who accepts it.

"I'm sorry… it seems I've gotten too nervous and I don't feel so well."

The surrounding girls back up slightly.

"May I go to the nurse's office?"

"Oh." A red haired girl exclaims "then I'll show you the way."

"I'll go too!" The one next to her follow suit.

"No, do not worry about me. I'll ask the person in charge."

I stand up and walk towards Madoka's desk. A desk I've walked to many, many times.

Hitomi and Sayaka stand to her side and sit in front of her. The three start as I approach them.

"Kaname Madoka-san, you are the health officer of this class, right?"

"Uh. Umm" Her hands wring in front of her nervously.

"Could you take me there, to the nurse's office?"

We walk towards the nurse's office. The faces of the students are clearly visible through the glass walls of each classroom.

"U-um, so how did you know that I was the health officer?"

I can see them whispering as the two of us walk down the corridor.

"I heard it from Saotome-sensei."

A spontaneous excuse, but I don't need to think too hard about it. I've used it a number of times already.

"Oh I see… um… the nurse's office is..."

"It's this way, right?"

We turn a corner at an intersection.

"Eh? Yes, but…"

Madoka follows behind me.

"Well… I was sort of wondering whether you already knew the way…"

We pass another T junction in the hallway.

"Akemi-san?"

My teeth grind together.

The glass connecting corridor surrounds us. Blue glass surrounds us and the school grounds expand to our right.

"Homura is fine."

"Homura-chan?"

"What is it?"

"I uh, um… That's a unique name!"

The same phrase. The same words.

"Well, um, uh… I didn't mean it was weird but sort of cool, you know?"

Even in this loop Kaname Madoka finds my name interesting.

Madoka is always Madoka, no matter how many times I go through this loop.

Even when no one else believed me Madoka was always by my side.

But this Madoka doesn't remember a single thing about me.

Even then she is still nice to me.

Her words warm my heart but at the same time squeeze it so hard it could burst.

Why does she always say the same things?

Why does this person always do this to me?

That same kindness will end up killing you.

Because you can't stop yourself from being a Magical Girl.

No matter how many times I go through the loops you always want to be one.

My feet stop...

If I broke your arms and legs right here, right now…

If I betrayed you and destroyed every hope you had in humanity would you still become a Magical Girl?

I turn around. My hair whips behind me.

It would be simple.

Magical Girls have increased strength and durability. I don't need to stop time or use weapons. Nobody is in this corridor to stop me. The only two people here are Madoka and myself.

If it's to stop you being a Magical Girl… then!

"Um… what is it Homura-chan?"

Pink eyes blink at me in surprise.

The two of just stand there in the connecting hallway, our images reflected in the glass of the main building. Two people looking at each other, one on each half of the school.

I can't do it.

Even if it's to save her I can't hurt her.

It was probably meaningless.

You're not one to give up just because of that.

After Kyubey betrayed you, after you learned your soul had been torn out of your body and used up like a rag to wipe up the mud of humanity.

You said you still wanted to protect this world...

I could break your legs, tear off your arms, take the most important thing from you… Even then you won't stop.

You'll still become a Magical Girl.

As long as people suffer Kaname Madoka will make a contract. As long as there are witches to fight you will exchange your soul for someone's salvation.

If I want to protect her then the only way I can do that is by destroying the witches before she even meets them.

No other way will stop her.

No other way will save her.

"Kaname Madoka."

"Yes?!"

"Are you dissatisfied with your life as it is now? Unhappy with the way things are?"

"Um…" A troubled look crosses her face. "Not really, I have friends and family. Mom's a bit of a sleepy head but there's nothing anyone can do about that." She follows her light joke with a helpless laugh. Her hand rubs back of her head.

"Do you treasure it, the life which you live right now?"

"Of course." She smiles. "What about you Homura-chan?"

The connecting corridor dims as a cloud passes under the sun.

"Homura-chan?"

"Madoka."

"Yes?"

"What you have is a blessing. Do not wish for anything more."

"Oh, um… Thanks!"

I turn away from her and her footsteps ring with mine once again after a little while.

As we leave a familiar shadow catches my eye. One with pointed ears and a long tail.

"Kaname-san."

"Yes!"

Our sudden stop surprises her.

"I'll be leaving school early. Please tell that to Saotome-sensei."

"Huh? W-wait!"

The corridor blurs past me, students heads turn as I rush past.

But I'm at my limit.

Something writhes in my chest. My teeth grind together.

Kyubey…

I chased him again.

It didn't matter where he ran or what direction I followed.

Gradually, he went deeper and deeper into the city. Ducking through alleys and side streets.

The incubators don't have emotions, but they're not stupid. If it's the prediction of human behaviour it wouldn't be too far from the truth to say they were experts. After tricking so many girls into selling their souls, they had our entire history's worth of experience. I wasn't the first Magical Girl to know the truth of the Soul Gem. Dealing with people like me was something they had already encountered. That's why it was travelling down these routes.

Magical Girls and incubators are hidden from society. If one revealed itself there was a chance that humanity would attempt to hinder the incubator's energy collection. So it ran further and further away from witnesses, on the off chance I might lose control and attack it with magic in public.

My teeth grind together.

The incubators couldn't be afraid. That function was bred out of them long ago. But they could still form threat assessments. He viewed me as less important than a third bit news story of a girl in cosplay running around the city.

Really…

Just how far do you intend to mock me? INCUBATOR! ! !

A ball of purple arises in my hand and blasts out. The projectile rips past skeletonized bicycles and abandoned windows.

Paws kick the ground and he jumps over it. Magical energy crackles beneath his belly before detonating. The white body rides the explosion and flies onto a wall. An old air vent with its grate missing is beside him. Red eyes turn towards me, an alien mind processes my actions.

I pull out the Beretta.

Magical projectiles are slower than bullets. The only reason I don't use them is killing Kyubey is useless. The moment I did another body would activate. There was no guarantee that it would activate near me, but as long as his body wasn't dead Kyubey would remain in it. If I wanted to slow the incubator down, breaking his legs was the best way to do it. A magical bolt can be modified to injure instead of kill. Guns don't have such a setting. With a body as small as Kyubey's, a hit that could injure him was equally likely to kill him.

But I don't care about that anymore. I can't stand his face, his existence.

The trigger squeezes.

*BANG

The conical projectile outruns its sound. Mouldy walls and rusted balconies race past. Kyubey's face rushes towards it.

The bullet pings off the wall as its target duck into the open vent.

My eyes follow him. The vent leads into the back end of a large building. A mall or department store. No lights are on, on any of the floors I can see. Glassless windows allow easy access to the dark insides.

Kyubey's vent is between the fourth and fifth floor.

My knees bend.

I jump. The side of the building races past me before slowing just as I reach the railing of the fourth floor.

My Soul Gem returns to its egg shape and my clothing reverts, the gun is still in my hand.

I lift it up in front of me and the gem sparkles as it reacts to magic.

*BANG BANG, CLANG

Two shots into the vent and Kyubey burst out of it. My costume reforms as he lands on the floor.

*BANG

"Wa!"

The incubator trips. His thin hind leg has been blown off by the bullet. Rolling along the floor his remaining feet grab the ground and he scampers deeper into the dark hall. The echo of my heels obliterate the pitter patter of his paws.

*BANG

Ducking behind a pillar saves him, temporarily. The click of heels counts down the seconds he has left before another bullet charges towards him. Red eyes peek out from behind it.

*BANG

They disappear and his panting continues behind the pillar. Another step and I'm close enough to touch his hiding spot with my left hand.

A blur of white bursts from the pillar. His plan was to wait for me to get close and then run. With the pillar right in front of me my firing angle was obstructed. Bullets can't fly through cement or curve around corners.

But magic can.

A bolt of purple whips around the pillar as I step back. The bolt pins him from the right while I aim at him from the left.

*BANG BANG BANG, WHOMP

Three shots. His hind quarters break apart, the other paw flies off. His stomach is crushed by the concussive magic. The remains roll with the blow and lie in front of me. Panting continues to sound in the hall. The white tail flaps weakly.

*BANG

It comes apart at the base.

*BANG

The right golden ring flies off.

*BANG

His left ear loses its point.

*BANG

A hole opens in his stomach.

*click

The gun jams. I look down at it and pull back the slide and the obstructing round is removed. Yakuza are Yakuza after all. They don't store their ammunition properly or service their guns. The dud hits the ground, clinking as it joins the spent casings around me.

Foresights align with rearsights.

*BANG

The Beretta expends its final bullet, my hand releases the empty weapon. I was out of 9mm rounds. The box had been used up during my witch hunts. The other pistol had a full magazine but if I could pick up military grade weapons then it was already obsolete. I might as well use up all the weaker ammunition here.

"What are you doing?"

The incubator's new body appears in front of me.

"You've shot me a number of times already. I think it would be obvious that what you're doing is a waste of time."

Yes, this is a waste of time. A waste of ammunition. A waste of Grief Seeds.

I watch it finish eating its body.

"Kyupu."

Red eyes look into my purple ones. Its tail continues to wave back and forth.

"Why are you doing something like this? Your motive for trying to kill me is quite unclear."

Motive? It should be obvious, but for a race without emotion every murder must have a reason. This is unreasonable, but…

My right hand delves into my buckler

"Hm?"

*BANG

I don't care about that.

...

...

...

May 25th Friday – Kyubey

'I would appreciate it if she would stop using such noisy methods to kill me.' Kyubey's red eyes followed Akemi Homura as she ran to the emergency stairs. 'It would have been a problem if someone had heard that.'

Jumping off of one of the pipes his new body had appeared on, he stretched once before consuming his second corpse.

Kyubey are you here?

Mami, you came at a good time.

The telepathic message was received and replied to between bites.

I heard you calling for help but the message cut out…

Don't worry about it Mami. I'm alright. Anyways there's a more important matter. There are two potential contractees downstairs and a witch has sniffed them out! Help them, quickly!

I got it, but I've just landed on the roof of the building. It'll be easier for me to pick you up on the way there.

Okay, but hurry! The barrier's beginning to form!

The witch's barrier opens on a floor beneath him. Magical sensors track Homura's progress towards it.

'She won't make it in time.'

Sighing to itself, the potential loss of one of the two contractees was logged and archived. New behaviour patterns were updated and improved.

'I guess irregular Magical Girls can't be expected to save people. Their priorities are different to the normal Magical Girls after all.'

The incubator sits and waits for the second Magical Girl to arrive.

'But if one of them dies Tomoe Mami will feel responsible for it.' The clang of shoes begin to echo from the stair case.

'Tomoe Mami's life span as a Magical Girl is almost up. As long as she isn't killed by a witch her Grief Seed should provide a good harvest.'

"Sorry, Kyubey! Getting down here without magic took longer than I thought."

The golden ringlets bounce as a middle schooler steps out of the stair case.

"Don't worry about it Mami it was my fault anyways."

Jumping up onto her shoulder Kyubey nuzzles her neck.

"Thank you, Kyubey. Alright let's go."

The two disappear down the staircase. Only the empty hall; pockmarked with bullet holes, littered with shell cases and a discarded gun, remains.


A/N: Personally, I don't think I've made Kyubey out to be evil. But I've got a feeling people will feel he is.

This chapter connects back to the first one and fills in the blanks between Homura waking up and her meeting Madoka.

As you can see there are a number of differences between the events in the Anime and the events in this fic.

e.g. Madoka doesn't have the dream, Homura doesn't stay at school for the entire day, their dialogue in the hallway is different etc. etc.

Also in the anime. Homura chased Kyubey into a garage before chasing him up the building. As that is technically her last loop the events in this fic try to give motives for some of her decision as well as reasons for some of the oddities.

I would also suggest listening to the Madoka OST "A Duel with a Witch" when reading the battle scenes, if not all of this chapter. I had it playing while I was writing the entire time. Well, except the corridor scene.

Homura has still not managed to kill off all her emotions in this loop. She's still developing into the cold, hardened Homura so some of her actions and words are a bit more naive and emotional. Instead of ordering Madoka as she does in the anime, she asks her questions and isn't in total control of the conversation.

If you like it, then leave a review. If you don't then leave a review as well.

Oh, and those witches that Homura fought are my own creation so besides those two, everything goes to the usual people these disclaimers go to.

Agata Ute: The infantile witch. Her familiars are of two sorts; the clumsy wooden puppets and marionettes, and the graceful bisque and china dolls. While she is asleep her familiars dance idly on the spot, but once her eyes open they'll drag whoever she sets her sight on into their performance.

Kreszentia: The artistic witch. Her brush continually produce more familiars. Their cubic bodies strive to entertain her and her friends. Watching her work will allow you safe passage. If you don't appreciate it you'll be used as paint. At least decorate the canvas with a pretty red.

(If you think the above descriptions weird go read the witch descriptions on the wiki, I took the style from there.)