Betas: Tomoyo-chan284, rainzonyew (from tumblr/ao3)

Year 250 A.W.

District 8 & 6 of The Brotherhood City

They ran some more and before long, they finally stopped. They ended up in front of a house that Homura had nearly died in once before. She looked at the barely there walls of the misshapen house. She will never forget that night anytime soon. She remembered her blood on the floor and the men who seemed to take pleasure in her pain.

Madoka cleared her throat, snapping her out of her dark thoughts. "We'll have to go through District 6 to reach 4."

Homura bit her lip and then nodded. That was going to be a lot of time freezing. Could she hold out that long? She would need a Grief Seed by then.

But it was something she had to do. They had to find the Spider. And after, the Rebellion.

"We'll go through the west gate. Homura...are you alright?"

She felt her cheeks heat up. "Um yeah…I just...I haven't been out of this District before and I'm a little nervous and everything."

Madoka smiled reassuringly and patted her head. "Don't worry. I'm here and I know the Districts pretty well. It'll be a piece of cake. Promise."

"Okay." Homura looked down as if a particularly interesting spec of dirt was on her shoes. "Which gate? I really don't know anything." Homura laughed awkwardly. "Sorry about that."

"No it's fine. I know where we're going."

That was good because Homura was useless. The thought made her stomach twist into knots and she suddenly wished her mother had taught her more. Or whoever her other parent was.

"We can't rely on your power the whole way through. We'll have to sneak. We probably won't be able to go looking for Grief Seeds anytime soon."

Homura let out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness. I thought I was going to have to waste another Grief Seed. Do you mind if I-?" Homura directed her gaze at their interlaced hands.

"Oh no! I forgot that time was still frozen. Haha. Sorry about that."

The quiet streets turned noisy once more. Madoka headed towards the gate, head motioning towards a dark alleyway. As soon as they stepped foot into the shadows, Madoka grabbed Homura. "Stick to the ground and follow me."

"Okay."

And they were off. She followed at Madoka's heels, watching the back of her head, occasionally looking at the passing alleyways. They weaved in and out until before she knew it, they were a few steps from the gate into District 6. Madoka motioned for her hand. A couple seconds passed, and then what she was asking for hit her. Freeze time, right, got it. She almost shook her head at herself. She was so slow sometimes.

Homura nodded and then quickly grabbed her hand and stopped time. Unlike the other gates, this one had a door leading to, what she assumed, was the barracks and hopefully their way into the other District. But then again, Madoka was leading them straight towards it. It must lead to the other District. Guards were on top of the wall with intimidating sniper rifles, ready to blow off any heads that weren't where they were supposed to be.

She doesn't know what caused the change in mood. They stared at each other and then their neutral expressions turned to grins. Run.

With a bout of sudden energy, adrenaline surging in their veins, they ran towards the door, despite not needing to. Madoka laughed as if they were little kids doing something bad. Homura couldn't help but join her. The serious mood was still slightly present, but she supposed now was the best time to laugh. They might not be alive to do it in a few days.

They came to the entrance quickly, Madoka's hands twisted the knob and opened the door with more strength Homura thought Madoka possessed. The door was thankfully unlocked, which half surprised her.

A pause before Madoka turned around and gave her a reassuring smile. As if to say, "One more step down. See I told you." She squeezed Homura's hand before they ventured in.

The barracks passed in a blur, images going in and out of her mind as quickly as they were running. Finally reaching the door to the other District, Madoka threw it open before letting go of her hand accidentally.

Time resumed. So did the guards.

"Code 86!" one of the guards said before he reached for his gun. He was going to shoot. Kill. Madoka was going to die.

"Madoka!" Homura screamed out before tackling her to the ground. Time froze once again. A sigh of relief came from her chapped lips. "Thank goodness."

"Homura..."

She couldn't find words. She felt warmth; skin on skin contact where their legs and arms met, pink hair that tickled her nose; all were proof that she wasn't alone once again.

The silence and their position changed in an instant, breaking the spell. She felt pressure in her eyes. She pushed it back. Tears had no place on her face.

"Let's get moving."

They walked through District 6, with time still froze. Madoka didn't say anything about it.

Year 250 A.W.

District 4 of The Brotherhood City

They arrived at the gate for District 4, finally, after trekking through the significantly larger District 8. Her gaze moved towards the guards and the slipshod gate. It probably matched the inside. This time there was no door in the middle of the gate. They would have to wait until the guards opened them. That meant unfreezing time.

Madoka could get hurt.

She had no choice though. They needed to make it to the other District. Her eyes flickered to a building closest to the gate. It was far but it could work.

Madoka spoke up before she could voice her thoughts, "We should wait until the gate opens before trying to get to the other side."

Homura didn't say she knew that already. She was slow but not that slow. She nodded instead before hurrying to the building and hiding in the shadows. Madoka's breathing filled her ears, the city's bustle was distant. Her eyes locked on the gate while her mind spaced out. She hoped this city lead them to answers. She couldn't imagine other magical girls. They were all faceless and when she tried to imagine their personalities, they came up flat and almost fake. It was to be expected though -

"Let's go," Madoka said, voice cutting through her thoughts.

Homura took her hand and they ran towards the gate, dodging the various men that were frozen in place. Her lungs burned, and her one palm sweated, as it held on to Madoka's. They kept running until they passed the gate and came to a spot where they wouldn't be easily spotted. They stopped and Homura took in a large breath, hoping to quell her burning lungs.

She didn't take in the district until she calmed her breathing. When she did, her eyes grew wide and her breath caught in her throat.

District 4 was larger than the last one, which she thought was ginormous. It spanned out in front of Homura like a seemingly impossible puzzle that could lead very well to her death. If her District was decaying, this District was decayed thoroughly. All around, buildings and old houses were either already lying on the ground, on another building, or about to fall at any moment. The houses were a mixture of cardboard and broken-down wood. The streets were a mixture of dirt and pot-hole ridden cement, unlike her last District which had semi-paved roads. Bad vibes all around and the instinct to go back burned brightly.

Ignoring that feeling, she said, "Now what?"

Despite her determination, she felt doubt.

"I guess we do recon?" The sound of uncertainty worried Homura. If neither of them had any idea what to do, then it surely would be an impossible task.

"Recon?"

"Yeah recon. You know listening to people's conversations, the works." Madoka paused before adding, "It's not going to be that hard. I'll give you the easy section of the District."

Even if Madoka said that it was going to be easy, Homura couldn't shake the foreboding feeling of wrongness. Then, the full meaning of the words dawned on her. "Wait - we're splitting up?"

Madoka could die. They both could die. They just couldn't split up.

"Yeah I know what you're thinking but we'd be a lot more noticeable if we're together."

"Still. It's a bad idea." Was that desperation leaking into her voice?

"It's the best idea." Their eyes clashed. "Trust me." And Homura guessed she had to. That foreboding feeling was still there but it subsided a bit. She still didn't want to part.

Homura gave a small smile, probably a little strained around the edges. "Okay." Madoka smiled back and grabbed Homura's hand and squeezed.

"We can do this."

Homura nodded. "How are we going to do this?"

"What do you mean?"

"We need a meeting time and place."

Madoka suddenly pulled her to the side of some random building, not yet fallen. She could see the sun clearly now.

"Meet me when the sun is," Madoka said as she pointed at a low-point in the smog-filled sky, "right there.

"And this will be our meeting place."

Homura nodded before she resumed time and Madoka's hand dropped. "I'll see you later then."

Homura gave a crooked smile before walking straight into the branching-off alleyway.

"Your side is the other way." Oh. Yeah. Not that she knew it, but a blush spread on her cheeks despite that. She probably looked like a fool. The urge to cringe crept its way into her mind.

"Y-yeah, thank you." She turned the other way, eyes downcast, hoping Madoka wouldn't notice her embarrassment. When Homura finally turned onto another alleyway, she leveled her gaze and scanned the area. An abundance of hiding places existed but there were no gangs to listen to. This was probably why Madoka sent her this way. It's for the better, she knew, but she's almost ashamed at how weak she was. Was Madoka so much better that she could take on the worst of the city? Would she really be so much better than her? Homura really wanted to see her fight –

"- Knaw man, I got the goods."

Crap.

Homura's eyes widened and looked around frantically for a good hiding spot. The remains of a steel building lay a few steps away and she hurried towards it with as much stealth she could muster. Her leg hit the side of the rubble when she hurriedly nestled in her hiding spot, making enough noise to echo through the alleyway. It set her teeth on edge, her body tensing in terror.

"What was that?" a different man said, his voice deeper than the last man.

"Probably a cat. You're tight today, something happen?" They came to a stop at her pile of debris and she slowly put her hand to her nose and mouth. Don't let them hear. Don't -

Her eyes widened further when one of them came closer to her pile. "Yeah, she's doing it big lately. I hear that it's K19 this time and not K50. Something big is gonna happen."

Wait she? Were they talking about the Spider? She wanted to jump out and ask them, but she doubted it would end in a positive.

Now that she could see them, one was older-looking, probably around forty and the other one was around thirty. They wore the clothes you would expect this district to have. Hand-me-downs that were on their last limb. But it wasn't like she could talk. Her clothes were just as drab, if not worse. She hadn't received new clothes since her mother had died. She supposed if she and Madoka survived this, clothes that actually fit would be nice.

She pinched herself. Homura needed to focus.

"- off today. You know how that's gonna go."

"Let's go then."

The deep-voiced man motioned to one of the five-way alleyways and the other man followed closely behind. She waited a whole five minutes before leaving her pile of rubble. She then quickly looked both ways before letting out a breath. Good. No one was around. So what was this meet-up? What was K19? She guessed it was important because they mentioned a she as a leader. That had to be the Spider, right? If not, who was this female? Was she some other girl leader as deadly as the Spider?

Dr. Jim Wolfe

Personal Research Log

Year 100 A.W.

It's almost ludicrous to say, but I believe there are other mutants in what I call the Spider's "death brigade." (I know, I made it up myself. I'm so witty.) Or formally known as her council.

Back onto the subject: I don't know the specifics but I want to. The government has always been stupid but they outdid themselves the other day. They almost captured a girl leader (mutant or not but probably mutant) and cost me a test subject. Or at least a source of information. But at least my shipment has come today and a mutant named Kyubey has come into my control. If only you could see my excitement. I'm practically bursting at the seams. I hope she will be a good dissection. I need to let off a little steam, you know? The government has been so frustrating lately...

End log

Homura went deeper and further from the meeting place. The alleyways and paths made from the remains of buildings seem to stretch forever and she doesn't remember where she started. She reckoned she will figure it out...eventually.

She doesn't know why she hasn't come across anyone since those men. This District was supposedly filled with people and now it just felt like an empty wasteland. Eventually though, she heard the sound of people talking and scurried towards it cautiously. Homura beamed. Jackpot.

Up ahead, light sprayed across the ground. She ducked down and made her way to the source of noise and light, back pressed against an old skyscraper. When she made her way to the edge of the building, she quickly craned her neck towards the other side of it and then promptly froze.

Wha-?

People were everywhere. She thought since the voices were not all that loud, that only 20 maybe 25 people were there, but there were at least a hundred, all squished in a warehouse that only had three sides closed and the fourth side, where she could see, partly open like someone just carved a big opening in the middle of the side. The quiet voices immediately hushed when a voice boomed.

"You know why you're all here." The man paused and shifted his eyes over the crowd. "A shipment -"

Suddenly, dust was everywhere. Her nerves tingled.

She jerked and then fell on her back. Five men circled her and she clenched her teeth. Her hands went up as she tried to freeze time. Nothing happened.

No, this couldn't be happening.

She stood up as quickly as she could and charged towards an opening before being pushed back in the circle and onto her back. She then quickly got up and crouched down in a stance her mother had drilled into her.

She could do it.

Homura let out a breath before kicking a man in his stomach and then punching another in his face. They hit but when she pulled her arm back, the man she punched in the face, grabbed her wrist and twisted.

She screamed. The men didn't care. One of them grabbed her and dragged her towards the warehouse.

No, no, no, no.

They were going to kill her, and she couldn't die like this; beheaded and suffering the same fate her mother had been cursed to.

"What do we have here?" the speaker from before purred. The others moved out of their way and she continued to struggle.

"This one was sneaking around," the man that was holding her said.

"Oh was she now? You know what to do then." That sounded ominous. She struggled even harder.

Another man that she had never seen before came at her with a needle filled with neon blue liquid.

What was she going to do? What could she do? If her hands were free, she'd grab her hair in frustration. She'd scream but she doesn't want to give them the satisfaction.

Closer and closer he came before his stale breath ghosted over her face. The needle was suddenly in her arm. Her vision grew blurry. She was immediately thrown on the ground, her head hitting the floor with a thud.

Familiar pink hair flashed in her vision. Madoka was here. Thank goodness. Safe, she thought, her thoughts becoming mush.

Homura smiled and then promptly blacked out.

Reviews are greatly appreciated. :)