A/N: At long last, chapter 2 has arrived! Busy with schoolwork again (coming right down to the wire and the end of high school for me), so it took me longer than expected. Sorry about that! Hope the next chapter makes up for it, so here we go!

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own PMMM, Homura or Sayaka at all lol. I wouldn't be writing this if I did, because well…I'd be drowning in money and fan admiration like Shinbo and Gen, hehehehe.

Chapter 2: Revelation

"Oi, Transfer Student!"

"We should use your powers to cheat on that math test!"

"Why do you care so little for yourself? Don't you know that hurts Madoka more?"

"Damn it, Homura! Are you trying to kill me with those bombs flying in my face?"

"She's dangerous! Why would you want to work with her in the first place? She'll hurt you, and I'll never forgive myself if I let that happen."

"You were right, Homura. I was such an idiot. Forgive me for doubting you."

"Madoka, what are you going to do after you get there? [...] I don't know why Homura is fighting against those things. But there is no way you can help, Madoka. You'll just slow down Homura. That's why...I'll go help her!"

"I've caused you a lot of trouble, but I'll make up for all of it! I swear!"

"Why can't you smile at ME too?! I know I haven't always been that nice to you, but I'm your friend too! Madoka can't protect you, only I can!"

"Don't you fucking dare say that you're not worth anything without Madoka!"

"I hate you, Transfer Student."

"Please don't try to die for her anymore...please don't go back...stay with me."

"A world that causes people like Homura-chan to suffer like this...is not a world I want to save at all."

"Please try to be friends with Sayaka-chan, Homura-chan! I know you two don't get along right now, but she's not a bad person and neither are you. She's nice and kindhearted, even if she does make judgments from first impressions too quickly. She's willing to help anyone who she thinks truly needs help and will listen to anything you say to her. Please! I don't want you two to fight witches alone. Please protect Sayaka-chan for me, Homura-chan!"

Memories...born from a person that should have died long ago, but lived and died over and over when she tried to change fate repeatedly. The words and voice of a girl that Homura barely knew at all, yet knew everything about. In the end, she was the only one who recognized her suffering and tried to understand her…but it was always too late. Homura wondered if she was already dead...hearing the voices of a girl who should no longer even be alive, the same as her. She wasn't Madoka, but she was always on her mind. Homura truly wondered what it was about Sayaka Miki...that made it impossible to forget who she was and what she had said.

Sayaka always fell to despair when she confused duty and friendship with desire and love, the most fatal flaw of a magical girl who made a wish for someone else's sake. The one who would suffer before somebody put her out of her misery, sacrificing themselves in the process. That was Sayaka's fate. Homura knew that it couldn't be avoided. So why did it bother her so much?

She woke slowly as she looked around the room she was currently in. She remembered having only been here once for a sleepover with Madoka. Sayaka's room. There was a wooden floor and walls upon walls of pictures and frames, all of Sayaka with the three people most precious to her: Madoka, Hitomi Shizuki and Kyousuke Kamijou. Homura was lying on a bed covered with blue sheets. Her clothes were still on her, but she was back in her school uniform without her blouse. Her shirt was unbuttoned, opened to the side of her chest where her heart was. Homura gasped at this, blushing slightly when she noticed Sayaka walk into the room, looking straight at her.

"So you're awake."

Homura said nothing.

"Still not gonna talk to me, eh, Transfer Student?"

"Why am I in your bed, Miki Sayaka?"

"You passed out, Akemi Homura. Just as you were trying to kill me."

"I see. But why did you save me?"

"What do you mean, 'Why did I save you?' You looked like you were in pain and needed help! I'm not gonna let you die like that. Who the Hell do you think I am?"

"Not a member of Team Dai-Gurren, that's for damn sure," Homura retorted.

"Well, well, well, Akemi. It seems I'm learning more and more about you each minute. First you prove to me once and for all how insane you are by trying to kill me for Madoka's sake, next I find out that even as a magical girl your heart is still weak and now, you're also a closeted anime fan acting like a stereotypical otaku living in a fantasy world! What is this world coming to? Your 'tall, dark and bishoujo moe archetype' won't fool me though. This isn't anime, its real life. Just talking to you makes me feel like I'm in Evangelion!"

Sayaka took a deep breath after her loud outburst to see that Homura was just staring at her, not saying anything. She only now started to notice how Homura's eyes looked. They were sad and lost. It made Sayaka uncomfortable. But she wouldn't let it get to her. Sayaka was going mad as her Soul Gem was gradually growing darker before Homura collapsed in front of her, but somehow, she managed to snap out of it and see the girl in pain. She took the Grief Seed that she flung out of Homura's hands when she offered it to her moments ago and purified her gem. Then she picked up the incapacitated Homura like a baby and walked home, carrying her in her arms bridal style. The entire experience brought back some terrible memories. The cold and frail-looking girl's symptoms reminded her of her grandmother, who had arrhythmia when she was still alive. While not entirely deadly, it gives the person who has it severe limitations in life. Heart palpitations, the feeling where the heart is skips endlessly, a slow or irregular heartbeat, pauses between heartbeats. These are signs of a person whose heart does not function like others.

Usually, they aren't immediately observable unless the person has anxiety attacks, gets dizzy and light-headed, faints, sweats, experiences shortness of breath or chest pain.

Sayaka hadn't noticed any of that in Homura...until tonight.

"You could say thank you, ya know."

"Hmmph," Homura scoffed.

"Well…"

"Thank you, Miki-san," Homura muttered.

Sayaka wanted to say something about her delivery of those words but decided to leave it alone for now. She then responded with the next thought on her mind.

"I remember when Saotome-sensei said you had been in the hospital due to heart problems but I never would have known it was arrhythmia until I saw you experience all of those symptoms tonight. Madoka's the nurse's aide, but I guess she didn't notice or never mentioned anything about it to you. Oh well."

Suddenly, Homura sprung up from the bed. "Impossible! How would you know about my heart condition? How would you be able to see what it looks like? How would I even feel such a thing as a Magical Girl? My Soul Gem prevents me from feeling any sort of weakness or pain within my own body! Corpses don't feel pain!"

"My Obaa-chan had it, that's how I know! And I don't know why you experienced it like you did; I thought that the Soul Gem did that too. I even tried blocking out the pain and I was unstoppable! I beat the crap out of that witch! You, Madoka and Kyouko saw it for yourself. Maybe it's one of Kyubey's tricks and lies. Don't ask me."

Homura sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised at something like that. I've just never experienced anything like this before, not during all the time I've been a magical girl, at least."

"How long have you been a magical girl, Akemi?"

Homura froze. Sayaka was asking her THAT question. The one she feared answering not because of the pain the truth brought herself, but the effect it ALWAYS had on everyone. If she were to tell her about her powers, she would have to tell her about the timelines, her true self, the wish she made and finally...the terrible fate all magical girls must face that she had fought so long and hard to prevent among the people who she had once called friends, especially the girl she was talking to right now. If she didn't take it well, it would be all over for her. That is what Homura had hoped to prevent by putting her out of her misery. Madoka would never forgive her for it, but if it meant that she could keep her from suffering at seeing Sayaka in pain, she would do it. She and Kyouko were going to fight Walpurgisnacht and this time, if everything went as planned they would succeed. Kyouko would have the city all to herself and Homura would probably leave Mitakihara forever. She did not really think about what she would do after that, but the future was irrelevant to her. That was why she was trying to change it, no matter what the cost.

Yet somehow, Sayaka Miki was still alive. Sayaka Miki had not yet turned into a witch. Her Soul Gem looked cleaner than it was before their confrontation.

Was it because Sayaka saved her life? All because she saw someone suffering and was able to regain some semblance of their humanity in order to help them? Is that what caused this? Was there hope for her in this timeline? Could Homura finally fulfill one of her innumerable failed promises to Madoka? Could she protect Sayaka Miki?

"Akemi, you in there? I asked you a question. Hey, Transfer Student, answer me!" Sayaka saw her thinking to herself and grew tired of waiting for her to answer.

"Almost a month," Homura finally replied, snapping out of her reverie of deep thought.

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are. Magical girl or not, someone who has arrhythmia and does the type of shit you do to your body every day for a full month and shows no symptoms could not be telling the truth. It's a miracle that you haven't died yet!"

Sayaka realizes another question on her mind.

"Wait, but I thought only older people have this condition? It doesn't show up for most people until they're like 60."

"I have Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia or PSVT, for short. Children like me can have it."

"You have a fast heart rate that begins and ends suddenly?"

"That's right."

"When were you diagnosed?"

"At age 12. I fainted suddenly when I was eating breakfast one morning."

"And your parents?"

"They died in a car crash when I was 10. I lived in a Catholic foster home in Tokyo until I was moved to the hospital where I stayed for the last two years."

"Two years? When did you have your operation?"

"Seven months ago. The foster home wouldn't take me back and I had no place else to go. My family had left me a small fortune and had an apartment here in Mitakihara, but I was not allowed to live there on my own until I was fourteen. So I stayed in the hospital for all that time. I was finally discharged last month."

"That's crazy! Why would the hospital keep you for that long? Didn't you have any relatives you could go to?"

"My aunt. But she hated my mother and I. So once she found out about it, she said it wasn't her problem. That was the end of it."

"Wow. I don't even know what to say. But I believe you."

Sayaka paused one more time to process everything Homura told her so far.

"However, I know you aren't telling the full truth. Nobody could be in your situation with a congenital heart defect that causes a severe case of juvenile arrhythmia or even coronary heart disease and be calm and relaxed about it like you are. I think you're actually older than you say you are. So tell me, Homura Akemi, why did you become a magical girl? Why are you so obsessed with Madoka? And why won't you let me help you? What do you have to hide? Who are you?"

This was it. No more running around in circles. It was now or never. She was finally going to tell Sayaka the truth.

"Sayaka Miki. I'll tell you everything now. The only thing I ask is that NOTHING I say leaves this room. Do not tell Madoka Kaname and Kyouko Sakura ANYTHING about this. Do you understand?"

"Yes I do. I won't say anything to them."

Homura sighs. "Good. Sit down on the bed and get comfortable, we're going to be here awhile."

"Hey, that's my bed, so of course I'll sit on it! And you aren't going anywhere the way you are right now. I won't allow it!" Sayaka shouted. She crossed her arms and pouted as she plopped down on her mattress beside Homura who was sitting propped up on her pillows. Her face was slightly red.

"Fair enough."

She transformed into her magical girl uniform and slowly lifted her arm with the buckler holding her time shield from her side.

"Sayaka Miki...the truth is...I'm not from this timeline."

Sayaka's mouth gaped as her eyes widened in realization. "W-What do you mean, not from this timeline? What are you trying to say?"

"Yes, Homura Akemi, what do you mean by that? Oh. So that's why I didn't remember contracting you in the first place. I wondered why you were so intent on preventing me from having any contact with Madoka Kaname, but now I understand. Though it's unfortunate you were desperate enough to divulge the truth about your powers to a Witch."

A/N: Goddess, I hate you so much Kyubey. Arrgh your existence just…lol. Yep, so he ruined everything (well almost). Being Homura and Sayaka is suffering. But this fic is not over, far from it. So don't fret! Next chapter will be out soon or I'll eat my hat! Please read and review, gushing over HomuSaya or just them individually if you so wish to do so. Next chapter will have KyouMado as well, so sit tight for that! See you soon!