AN: Apparently, Rin is at first glance similar to a certain character named Yuma from PMOM, which I've never read. My characters are, as far as I'm concerned, 100% original. That being said, sorry if I do seem a bit brash in some regards. I take things way too seriously. It's an issue.

This will probably be my last PMMM story. As such, I'm curious if it will beat Optimal Outcome's stats. I'm guessing yes in regards to reviews (since this has more chapters), no in regards to everything else (since this is a sequel, and a bit less likable). Saying this is utterly irrelevant, but I always did like it when authors shared useless tid-bits of information with their readers. Nya~


Chapter 2: Shattered Dreams

"Is she just planning on sleeping through the entire day?"

Homura and Kyouko sat in the kitchen, minutes after a healthy breakfast. The time traveler noted with disfavor that in order to sustain her guests, she would have to carry twice as much food as she usually did. Hopefully, Rin didn't share her guardian's appetite.

"Give her a break, she's like...ten." The redhead muttered, toast in one hand and a bottle of orange juice in the other. "She's been through a lot."

"So have you, by the looks of it."

"Don't get me started. So, who'll go first?"

"You're the guest." Homura leaned back in her chair, hands behind her head.

"Let's see...how about the obvious question first: You and Madoka. What's happened?"

The sky outside the window was flawlessly azure, the featherlight breeze gently carrying chirping birds through the air. Despite the impeccable weather, the temperature was a few degrees below pleasant, and summer was at its last breath.

"Nothing." The time traveler had anticipated the question, and the impulsive emotions it caused met a wall of cold indifference. "Shortly after you had left, I confessed."

"No kidding?" The reply contained sincere surprise, and a smile lit up Kyouko's tired face. She had expected something along those lines, but it was another thing to have those expectations confirmed. "And how did that go?"

"It could've gone worse. That being said...abysmal." Homura's violet eyes glistened with the memories, and she found herself being able to recite the words as easily as if they been spoken to her hours earlier.

"Homura-chan...there was a time when I thought that I would never be able to forgive Mami-san. Her actions were despicable, and I desperately wanted to believe that she was better off in another life. But when I had the chance to save her, forgiving her was the easiest thing in the world to me. Perhaps acting like I did was idiotic, and illogical for sure. But even so, I realized that there was something that made me see past the things she had done to us. Something beyond explanation. If this 'something' is the same thing that now makes you see past what I've done to you, then I apologize. I...can't return those feelings. I'm sorry."

"...or something like that. I'd rather not discuss how that conversation ended. It became pretty awkward." Homura's voice was nonchalant, yet could not hide the bitter tone that lined the painful words.

"Wow. That's harsh." Kyouko said, actually looking shocked until a rough laugh broke the serious mask. "Never knew Madoka could be so articulate."

"Oh, didn't I mention the two minute silence? I think my IQ got knocked down a few notches due to lack of oxygen."

"What about now?"

"You saw it for yourself, didn't you? Madoka wasn't at Mami's on a visit, you know." She had known the topic would come up, but that didn't make it any less painful. Homura found that the age-old trick of ignoring her problem worked very well.

"They live together?"

"It's convenient. They do share a soul, after all."

Kyouko picked up on Homura's empty tone of voice, and dropped the subject. She briefly considered asking about Hitomi and Sayaka next, but decided not to bother. She would find out the answer to that question soon enough. Besides, she had told herself to lay off the emotional stuff.

"Next question."

"Okay. Let's go with something more practical. How is the whole 'five Puella Magi in one area' thing working out?"

"Oh, please. After we defeated the Walpurgisnacht, my next project became creating a system that could sustain all five of us. Preferably with less fighting as well."

"Sounds boring." Kyouko held the plastic bottle upside-down over her gaping mouth, trying to shake out another drop. No success.

"'Safe' is the word you're looking for. Madoka and Mami quickly pointed out to me that the priority should be helping others, not ourselves. I agreed with them, to an extent. Equalization could theoretically keep us going for a very long time without having us lift a finger. But that wouldn't help anyone."

"Killer on your fighting skills."

"That too. In the end, we simply decided to assume the hunting duty when it fit us, but also to hunt in teams of two is possible. That way, the amount of witches and familiars in our area would stay acceptably low, and there would be less risk for us as a group."

"All well and good, but I think I have an even better solution to that problem."

There was presumably more to this statement, but in a moment of dramatic silence, Kyouko's eyes seemed to go blank. The redhead blinked confusedly, and looked at her friend like one would at a complete stranger. Then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed in her chair, as lifeless as a marionette with its strings cut. The plastic bottle hit the floor with a hollow dunk.

Having seen a similar reaction before, Homura instantly realized what had happened. She quickly got up and ran over to the other side of the table, taking Kyouko's hand the first thing she did. As she had suspected, it lacked any form of jewelry. Kyouko's Soul Gem was missing. Through some lightning-fast conclusions, Homura realized that the only way the gem could've been close enough just to get further away was-

"Rin!" The time traveler figuratively flew out of the kitchen, noticing that the strange child was nowhere to be found. The apartment door was wide open, framing a bright stream of sunlight.

"Rin!" Calling out once more, Homura rushed outside. There was no need to hurry. The bleak girl stood leaning her elbows on the wooden railing, holding up a scarlet gem to the sky, the sun making the object explode with reflected light. Upon hearing her name, Rin looked over her shoulder.

"Good morning, Ho-" The greeting phase got cut short as the time-manipulating Puella Magi snatched the Soul Gem from Rin's open palm. In the same motion, her other hand grabbed a thin wrist and twisted it back and downwards. A sudden yelp of pain escaped the child.

"What do you think you're doing!'?" Homura snapped, absolutely furious. She had to use a generous portion of her self-restraint not to break the young girl's arm. Homura Akemi was not a person known for her emotionality, but when your friend literally drops dead before your eyes, it's easy to get a bit ticked off.

"Let...agh, let go! I'm allowed to have it!" Homura had felt a little bad the second she grabbed Rin, as she had expected the girl to cry. It was a fairly baseless assumption, seeing as Rin had displayed a mix of shyness, hostility and curiosity thus far.

At any rate, Rin didn't do what was expected of her. Instead, she cried out in anger and sent her heel backwards with all the force she could muster. It hit Homura in the shin, and that was the end of any guilty feelings from the time traveler's side.

-I-

"For God's sake, I've told you to be careful. What if we had been alone, huh?" The reason for the "honorary title" played out in the apartment, with Rin in her most defensive state. She mimicked the crossed arms of her guardian, trying to look as indignant as possible. While doing a fair job, it came nowhere close to the older girl's display. Homura could easily imagine Kyouko being the older sister, more experienced and forced to always keep the younger sibling under close watch.

"It's safe here! You said so yourself!"

"That does not give you the right to practically kill me." Speaking in an eerily calm voice, Kyouko grabbed the collar of Rin's shirt. "You have to know the reach of the connection by now."

"I...I know! It can't have been more than few inches!" Though the indignant attitude melted away like ice cream in a furnace, Rin's voice was still as steady as before. The girl was not a pushover, and stubborn at that. It was easy seeing the two as siblings, except for the fact that they looking nothing alike.

Homura frowned slightly at Kyouko's violent action (conveniently disregarding her own), but a sharp pain in her leg reminded her not to be too kind towards this kid.

"Not an excuse. An inch or a mile, I'll be dead either way. I'll take this back for now." Kyouko held up her other hand, showing Rin the glittering silver ring that was her Soul Gem.

The black-haired girl's face turned pale, mostly from the anger. She realized her mistake, but didn't want to admit it. After a few seconds of the two staring at each other, Kyouko let go of Rin.

"Oh, and apologize to Homura."

"Wha'?" Rin rubbed her sore neck, avoiding using her sore arm, and tried to ignore her sore ego.

"You kicked her." After the pathetic attempt at fighting back, Homura had dragged Rin back inside and quickly revived the lifeless redhead. "So apologize."

"She almost broke my arm!"

"Really? I didn't hear you say anything about that, Hom." The time traveler cringed at the mentioning of the nickname. She had hoped that Kyouko would've forgotten about it. No such luck, apparently. "Rin. Apologize, then thank Homura for not breaking your arm completely."

Rin opened her mouth to make yet another protest, but decided it meaningless. She walked over to Homura and mumbled something akin to an apology, while shyly looking at the floorboards. The older girl sighed and gave Kyouko a hard shove before sitting down, ignoring Rin altogether.

"Don't be so mean to her. You're making me feel bad."

Kyouko just laughed and patted the ten-year-old on the shoulder.

"Don'tcha worry. Rin here is a strong girl. It'll take more than a few broken bones and a scolding to get her down. That being said, I guess there is no reason to humiliate you like that."

"It's fine." Came the reply, and one could almost see the child swelling from the praise. Kyouko really had been telling the truth the other night. Rin was withdrawn and defensive around everyone, unless with a person she trusted.

"Heh, I don't blame you for wanting out. It's been a while since we could just relax. What the hell, go outside, have a look around. Without me, for once." A hint of a smile touching Rin's lips, she thanked Kyouko and walked out of the apartment. Homura wasn't sure what to think. This was a side of the rude redhead that she hadn't seen before.

"So, where were we?"

"You were about to tell me about a solution of some kind."

"Right. Are you up for hearing it? It's on the lengthy side."

"Wait...you're actually serious?"

Kyouko grinned like a wolf. Or if wolves did grin, it would at least have looked something like her current facial expression.

"Of course. In fact, it's kinda why I'm here."

Homura did some quick thinking, and decided to give her friend the benefit of a doubt.

"Mind saving it for tomorrow? If it's as great as you seem to believe it is, then it would be better if you told all of us. I'll arrange a meeting here, so we can all listen to what you have to say. I should at least pretend to care about being professional, or Mami will freak out again."

"Sounds good to me. And what, she doesn't like you being the leader?"

"Not one bit, Kyouko. Not one bit. Okay, my turn with the questions. Why on Earth would you give your Soul Gem to someone, knowing full well that she can run off with it at any time?"

At this, Kyouko's smile faded a little. She scratched the back of her head awkwardly, and remembered at the last second that there was nothing to lean against on the colored pad. Homura's place was in desperate need of a couch or some form of armchair.

"Think of it as a gage."

"For what?"

"I'd rather not say. Promises, ya know." The amount of suspicion in Homura's tone irritated Kyouko a little, even if she didn't show it. "What's it to you anyways? I trust Rin, Homura."

"That's what worries me. Before you met Sayaka, you thought that the only person you could trust was yourself. I know this about you. But now...I bet you hunt familiars nowadays."

"Don't mock me, Hom." Though still smiling wryly, Kyouko's tone was admonishing. In all honestly, the skepticism wasn't misplaced. But Homura was also frustrated with the redhead, how suddenly and recklessly she'd swooped into her life again. To add fuel to the fire, Rin hadn't made the best first impression.

"That's more like it. Can't have good ol' Kyou without the hostility. So." Standing up, Homura flicked her hair back with a nonchalant gesture and gave Kyouko a cool look. "We may be friends, but that doesn't mean I'm not extremely careful about who I trust. You may trust Rin, but I don't see a reason to. Sorry."

The apology at the end of the speech was there to ease the impact, a considerate measure for someone like Homura, but it still sounded demeaning to Kyouko. She knew that what Homura was saying was only the reasonable thing to say at this point, but it still annoyed her.

"In any case, I have to go. I'll be back some time in the afternoon. Food's in the fridge. Okay?"

Kyouko sighed. There was no point in arguing. She wasn't there to pick a fight, and especially not with Homura.

"Yes, ma'am." Kyouko spared herself the salute. She wasn't in the mood.

"Good." And with that, Homura left the apartment. The guest scratched her arm idly, not quite sure what to do. She would get to meet Sayaka tomorrow, so there was no point in paying a visit. It had been a long time since Kyouko last was left unoccupied, and the restless girl didn't care for it. Thankfully...

"Need some help? I'm always happy to assist, you know."

The voice that echoed through the redhead's mind was the one of an Incubator, smooth and chipper. Had to sound optimistic when you convinced girls to give their life for the sake of the universe.

"I'd thought you'd be with Rin. Especially now that I'm not around to protect her."

"I was with her long before you came along, let's not forget. Besides, I found your conversation with...Homura, was it?...intriguing."

"Christ...I'm starting to think of Kyubei as a pleasant character compared to you."

Something furry brushed past Kyouko's leg. She knew that if she looked down, she'd find nothing there.

"Ouch, that hurts. Really. But my question remains. I could act the perfect example for your endeavor, saving you some explaining and convincing. As I see it, accepting my help would improve your situation considerably. Don't tell me you're too proud to dismiss such an offer, hrmm?"

The sentence ended in something that could be referred to as a purr, but a mental one that reverberated through Kyouko's head and down her spine where it sent pleasant shivers throughout her body. She hated when he did that.

"I don't suppose that I am."

-I-

It was a stupid mistake. They both agreed on it after the battle and admitted to have underestimated their opponent. To be fair, the witch they had been fighting was an intelligent one who used tactics unusually well. After countless battles with raging creatures whose only strategies were mono-syllabic words (mostly "kill" or "crush" or perhaps "maim"), the duo were surprised to find themselves struggling.

The battle, though interesting in its own right, is irrelevant. But towards the end of the showdown, when the gravel pitch boiled like lava and when obsidian pyramids sprung out of the ground like diabolical rivets, Hitomi focused her energy and threw a thin dagger straight for the witch's heart.

As this particular one looked much like a human, save for the two crane-like objects protruding from its head, she simply aimed for the chest area. The witch was almost beaten, and the knife would easily end the fight. But it so happened that this girl's specialty had been her agility and speed, something that carried over in her witch form. So despite the fact that the projectile was a fraction slower than sound, the dancer twisted around, gripped the handle of the knife between its thin fingers, and used its existing momentum to fling it directly towards the only other Puella Magi in its vicinity.

With the passing year and the odd month, Sayaka had honed her defensive skills to perfection. Having sworn not to overuse the ability to dislocate the soul from the body, thus making one insusceptible to pain, the disk-like barriers were one of her most useful assets. She had even once claimed to be able to block Mami's Ultimo Tiro Finale, though the claim was difficult to validate.

However, raising a shield and strengthening it at the speed of sound was pushing it. Through greased-lightning reflexes, the circular barrier appeared in front of her. But there was no time to divert any energy to actually deflect anything. The tiny blade shattered the shield into a million pieces, and then continued on its merry way.

Well, the shield did serve a purpose. If not for having slowed down the projectile considerably, it would've made a pretty hole in Sayaka's head. With reduced speed, it only managed to lodge itself firmly in her left eye socket. Because of the length of the blade, it continued into Sayaka's brain. Of course, seeing as she was a Puella Magi, this injury was about as fatal as a papercut. It hurt a whole deal more, though.

Sayaka screamed as she fell to the ground. The fraction of a second before the real, nerve-twisting pain turned into a dull buzz made her mind go blank. But through instinct, our young heroine had learned to tone down actual pain. This technique was very similar to that of distancing yourself from pain entirely, but easier on the psyche.

"Sayaka!" Hitomi, mortified by what she'd done, quickly wrapped the silver pendant she always wore around her wrist around her next throwing knife. She then threw it, and put as much force behind it as the previous projectile. The dying witch reached out for the projectile once again, convinced that the green-haired girl had let anger get the better of her. It was wrong. Before the knife had even reached the witch, Hitomi was holding it in her hand, and was now right next to the creature. The witch didn't have much time to ponder how this could be before the knife sat deep in her chest and fizzled with green discharges. Two seconds later, it was nothing more than a black gem on the ground.

"Huh...frieheheh...friendly fire, is that the proper t-term?" With the two down on the ground, Sayaka leisurely declined Hitomi's help. Amusing, considering a knife was stuck in her left eye, and that she was giggling uncontrollably.

"I'm so sorry, Sayaka." Hitomi sounded fairly calm, even during these circumstances. For one, her voice had always been like that. Secondly, it was obvious that Sayaka would be fine. Well...relatively obvious.

"Nah...no worries! I've always wondered how pirates feel."

"Pirates?"

"They always have this really cool eyepatch. Oh! Can I get an eyepatch now?"

"Did you know that it's the healing process that makes you say things like that, because the magic must disable 'less important' systems in your brain to repair it? It affects all people differently." Hitomi rambled, the information fed into her mind by her personal wish.

"...is that a yes or a no?"

Sayaka fumbled around until her hand closed around the knife's handle, and then pulled it out. It made a horrifyingly squishy sound that made Hitomi queasy. The blunette smiled stupidly, which together with the veritable waterfall of blood flowing down her cheek made quite the frightening impression. It was nothing to worry about, the blood flow would stop eventually anyways, but Hitomi took extra care not to let her eyes wander too high. She was beginning to feel a bit faint.

"Never mind. Let's...let's get you home."

-I-

Heat. Unbearable warmth. Her entire field of vision was filled with flames, roaring and raging towards the corner when she sat huddled. The crumbling walls were painted red with fire, the ceiling a black, boiling sky of smoke. It wouldn't be long before she was dead.

Useless tears ran down the girl's terrified face, and she pressed her sweaty palms against her ears to shut out the crackling, devouring sound of the fire. There was another sound as well, one that she was scared to death of hearing again; the faint echo of dying screams. She shut her stinging eyes as well, isolating herself from the world that was threatening to destroy her.

She was beginning to feel lightheaded. Her mind drifted away, despairing over how fast everything had gone wrong. She found herself wishing that the last weeks had never happened. In that moment, something brushed against her leg. Compared to the rest of the room, the touch was freezing. The girl realized what it was, and immediately crushed the forbidden thought. She squinted through the hazy room. There was nothing at her feet.

It all became too much. The intense heat and the pressing feeling of suffocation, it sparked pure panic in the child's mind. So she screamed herself, a high-pitched shriek. And when all air in her lungs had been used, the poisonous air in the room gladly sought its way down her throat. It felt like inhaling the sun, the way it burned and stung. It was going to kill her. And it was going to hurt.

Then, in a bizarre sight of biblical connotations, the sea of fire parted. Since the black clouds had forced her eyelids together once again, she never witnessed the absurd display. However, despite her hands' attempts, she heard a loud clatter over the fire's booming voice. Something clicked and clacked frantically, and the heat seemed to diminish. Heart filled with hope and desperation, she opened her eyes one last time. But all she saw was a twisted mess of black, yellow and red.