"Say, Mama?"

Madoka remembered the conversation she had with Mami and Kyubey last night.

What wish would she make, if she were to become a Magical Girl?

What would be worth putting her life on the line for?

"Yeah?"

"What if... What if you could have a wish granted with magic? Like, any wish... What would you—"

"I'd get rid of a couple of those damn board members."

Her mother, Kaname Junko, answered in no uncertain terms.

Of course, this wouldn't be what my mother would trade her life for; Madoka reassured herself. She had hidden that small detail from her mother, for if she revealed it, Mom would certainly get suspicious.

Unexpectedly, the question induced a long-winded rant from her mother, something that Madoka did not see often. Her mother had always been her idol: she was strong, beautiful, and most importantly of all, confident. Madoka wished that she had some of that confidence from her mother; maybe with some of that, she would not have trouble making friends with Homura...

But her question remained unanswered. What would she wish for, if the price of that wish is her life?

What would be important enough that she would be willing to die to see accomplished?

She could not pitch the question to Hitomi. Even though Hitomi could not see Kyubey, the strange reactions from Sayaka this morning upon seeing Kyubey on Madoka's shoulder pushed her into a Sayaka-esque soliloquy that ended with "two girls shouldn't do such things! That's called 'forbidden love'" as she ran off without her schoolbag.

Even if she tossed that question to Hitomi, Madoka doubted that she would get any decent advice. A girl with the upbringing like Hitomi would have similar experiences with both Madoka and Sayaka, anyway, and that would cause her to have basically the same perspective as them.

"You sure it's okay to come to school with us like nothing's ever happened? I told you that the girl from yesterday transferred into this class, right?" Sayaka's telepathic questioning almost startled Madoka out of her thoughts. Hitomi was still pouting behind Sayaka; it looked like the duo would have to do some serious apologizing to Hitomi in terms of ice cream and snacks later. "Wasn't she trying to kill ya?"

"I think coming to school is actually safer. Mami's here, too." Kyubey answered without a worry in the world.

"Mami's a third year, though, so her class is kind of far from here." I wonder if distance would be an issue with a Magical Girl? Madoka thought.

"There's no problem. I can hear everything you're saying."

Wait, what the…

"We're still in range of telepathic communication with this kind of distance." Kyubey explained helpfully.

If Miss Mami can hear me, then I must…

"Uh, um, good morning!" Madoka blurted out loud, drawing a severe stare from Hitomi. There would be a lot more explaining to Hitomi after this, she thought to herself.

"I'm watching over all of you, so don't worry about it! Besides, I'm sure she wouldn't attack anyone in public."

Mami's words put Madoka a little bit at ease. If that's the case, she and Sayaka should stick to populated areas to avoid Homura attacking them.

"Well, then, that's good… damn, speak of the Devil…"

As the psychic conversation was going on, Homura had entered the classroom.

For reasons Madoka could not fathom, as soon as Homura entered the room and took a seat, the entire classroom's noise level died down by about fifty per cent. Sayaka tensed up visibly as Homura entered the room, her hands curling up into fists and rattled the top of the desk as Homura took her seat.

Madoka winced as Homura tilted her head back to stare at her. Why is she so hostile to me? What did I ever do to her?

"Don't worry about it, Madoka!" Sayaka shot a hostile look back at Homura while she comforted Madoka telepathically, "If she tries to do something, I'll punch her in the face for ya! Miss Mami's here for ya, too!"

"That's right! Even if Miss Miki can't be of use, I'll be here, so don't worry about it!"

"Don't say that I'm useless!"

Far Seer Kirahla finally opened her eyes at the end of her meditation.

Rather, she had finally severed her connection with Azrael, handing the job of reining him in to one of her warlocks.

The revelation from the mon-keigh Tomoe Mami was surprising, indeed. It appeared that the small white creature to which she referred as "Kyubey" was able to create objects similar to Waystones, through methods unknown even to her.

If the Craftworlds were able to utilize this technology, it would once again revitalize the supply of Waystones to the Eldar. The perilous trips to the Crone Worlds would never again be necessary, and the Craftworlds may even prosper with it.

However, the manner through which the so-called "Soul Gems" were created disturbed her deeply. The process resembled the loss of an Eldar spirit to the Great Devourer a little too much for her comfort.

But it was no time to speculate on that, Kirahla decided, for there were some more urgent matters to which she must attend.

She had brought in but one small expeditionary force, consisting of not more than a squad of Howling Banshees, two squads of Guardians, a choir of Bonesingers, a pair of Warp Spiders, and a small trio of Warlock bodyguards.

The forces of Craftworld Alaitoc were known for its wide use of Rangers, and this expeditionary force was no exception: Kirahla had called on the service of two dozen rangers, in addition to Pathfinder Azrael. Most of them were scattered around the war camp at the base of the ancient Webway gate outside Mitakihara, providing perimeter picket line against potential invaders.

Kirahla let out a small sigh as she stood up with a grunt. She had remained stationary like this for a little longer than two days, and both her body and her mind were exhausted.

Having Azrael on her force was hardly by choice. All of the Craftworld's most seasoned Pathfinders were either out on missions with larger warhosts, or too distant to be recalled within the timeframe. Furthermore, the Warp storm had somehow disrupted the mechanism of this ancient Webway gate, becoming disabled just as the Far Seer's forces passed through to this planet.

They were cut off from the rest of the galaxy. If Kirahla could have chosen a less racially discriminating Pathfinder, she would have, but fate had its own ideas. The only solution to that, at the moment, was to have herself or one of her warlocks keep a tight leash on Azrael, in order to prevent him from going on a shooting spree. He could kill everyone in the city of Mitakihara undetected within a month.

"Far Seer," her accompanying warlock passed her a small gem slate, "One of our Rangers reports sightings of mon-keigh Space Marines along our borders."

Yes, the Space Marines. They thought that their insertion was subtle, but the lights from their drop pods were visible to Kirahla even when her eyes were closed. That dog of their blasted Inquisition was certainly trying to make her time difficult.

Kirahla put her palm over a small gem on the slate and established a direct mental link with the reporting Ranger: "It is I, Kirahla."

"Far Seer," The Ranger reported with a small whisper, "I have contact with a squad of mon-keigh Space Marines moving through the forest."

"Have you ascertained their organization, numbers, and equipment?" Of course he had, but Kirahla had to ask, just to be certain.

"They appear to be of the Black Templar chapter. There were nine in total, in their standard configuration of one sergeant, four marines, with a neophyte attached to each marine. The Marines were armed with standard bolters and chainswords, and the neophytes were armed with bolters and combat knives."

In other words, this is a scouting force and a poorly equipped one at that, Kirahla concluded: "Have you been detected?"

"No, Far Seer. I am currently tailing them as they move through the forest."

"Good. Maintain sight upon them, but do not fire on them, unless you are receiving fire from them." It was unlikely that the Inquisitor had suspected of Eldar involvement on this planet at the moment. And given the size of human involvement here, it was then extremely unlikely that the humans were aware that the soul of their king had drifted to this world—for if it was known, the Imperium would surely bring all its military might to bear on it, this Maiden World that Kirahla was tasked to reclaim for the Craftworld. And that would certainly doom her efforts.

"Acknowledged."

Kirahla cut her psychic link with the Ranger, and left the task of broadcasting that order to the rest of the Rangers to her Warlock, before walking slowly to the area where the Bonesingers had been working.

"Far Seer," the Choir Lead bowed her head in reverence as Kirahla made her appearance, "we have begun assembly of defensive Shuriken platforms, as you commanded."

"Very well." Kirahla was pleased. "How goes the repair of the Webway gate?"

"The technology is ancient. We are making our best efforts, but as I have reported…"

"The restoration could take months or years." The Choir Lead bowed her head apologetically as Kirahla made the offhand comment.

The Far Seer immediately regretted these words; even though she was leading the expedition, she believed that she must pay due respect to each member of her force. Well, maybe not Azrael; that blockhead of a Pathfinder butted head with her way too often. "… You must pardon me for my impatience. I am… exhausted from my meditation."

"Far Seer," The Choir Lead continued to speak as Kirahla traced the curve of a Wraithguard's head. It was indeed a marvelous piece of creation; fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on perspective—no Waystones were available to animate them. "The Warp storm is interacting with the gate's mechanisms in ways unknown even to us. I fear that, if the storm does not subside, we would be trapped on this world forever."

"Fear not," Kirahla made a smile, "for I have seen the threads of fate, and we shall prevail despite the odds stacked against us."

She had seen nothing of the sort.

But, little white lies that keeps up morale have never hurt anyone, have they?

The Far Seer walked off with that small smile.

"Here you go!"

Madoka had prepared a larger lunch box than usual. Picking up a small ball of fried eggs, she fed it to Kyubey, who munched on it happily. Having lunch on the roof of the school on a sunny day was one of the activities to which Madoka actually looked forward: having the blue sky surround them, having the breeze brush through her hair, and generally getting a little piece of nature in a metropolis made her relax greatly.

"Um, Madoka?" Sayaka finished her lunch quickly that day. "Have you thought about what wish you want to make?"

Have I thought about it? Madoka asked herself. It was practically the only thing on her mind these days. She even drew pictures of herself in her Magical Girl costume in class today; she always loved puffy dresses.

"No… not really." She had thought about it a lot. But if she said "yes", then Sayaka would ask her what wishes she wanted to make, and Madoka had yet to have any idea of that. "What about you, Sayaka?"

"I haven't, either." Sayaka stretched her arms and let out a small comfortable moan as her muscles tensed. "I kinda thought a whole bunch of things would just come to me. Ya know, 'you'll know it when you know it' kind of thing?"

Sure, that really sounds like Sayaka; Madoka nodded in her mind as Sayaka stood up.

"There're a lotta things I wanna wish for, but because we'll have to risk our lives… it kinda make you rethink things a lot, doesn't it? You end up thinking that it probably isn't worth that much in the end."

"Yeah." Madoka sighed: it was the only reason she was agonizing over the choice of wishes. If she could do it risk-free, she would have wished for a giant teddy bear that she saw at the department store the other day; but potentially trading her life away for a teddy bear?

"That's surprising. Most girls answer almost immediately."

"I'm sure we're just dumb this way." Sayaka stood beside the fences around the edge of the building.

"Hmm? How so?" Sayaka… doesn't feel like Sayaka right now, Madoka thought.

"Yup. We're happy idiots." Sayaka nodded, "It really shouldn't be all that uncommon to have a wish you'd trade your life to see it realized. There're probably a lot of people in the world with wishes like that…"

The fence rattled in the wind. "If we can't think of anything, it just means that we really didn't have anything that bad happen to us. We've had too much given to us, and have become numb to suffering. Why us, I wonder?"

Sayaka quickly turned around, startling Madoka a little: "Don't you think it's unfair? I mean, there probably are a lot of other people who'd really want a chance like this."

Profound. It wasn't like her to say anything this profound, thought Madoka: "Sayaka…"

Homura's long hair fluttered in the wind as she emerged from the entrance to the rooftop, her small necklace dangling above her chest.

Sayaka quickly scurried in front of Madoka to shield her from Homura.

"Don't worry," Mami's voice rang in Homura's head. She intentionally broadcasted her message to make her presence known, Homura thought as she leered at the bell tower, where Mami was standing with her Soul Gem at the ready.

Troublesome interlopers, both of them; Homura came to a stop about ten steps away from Madoka and Sayaka, staring them both in the eye.

"You trying to pick up where you left off yesterday?"

Miki Sayaka, she tried to sound as threatening as she could, but there was nothing that would mark you as a threat for me; Homura shot her a glare.

"No, I'm not. I wanted to handle that thing before it made contact with Kaname Madoka, but it's too late for that now." It was truly a pity. If I had used my powers at that moment… "So, what have you decided?

"Are you going to become a Magical Girl, too?" Please, say no. I beg of you, Madoka, please say no!

"I…"

"How's this any of your business?" How is this any of my business, Miki Sayaka? You have the gall to ask that? You dare say that this isn't my business?

Homura's stare turned murderous, as Sayaka winced. Calm down, Homura; she doesn't know what you know.

Ignorance is bliss for her, but ignorance will kill her.

"Do you remember what I said to you yesterday?"

"Yeah." Good. At least she remembers.

"That's good, then. I pray that my warning doesn't fall on deaf ears." She couldn't do much more than that at this point. Madoka had already come into contact with that creature; the best she could do, then, was to watch over Madoka, and make sure she never makes a contract.

"H-Homura, wait!" Madoka finally mustered enough courage to call out to me… "Um, what wish did you make to become a magical girl?"

… My wish. She was thinking about becoming a Magical Girl, already.

I must not give her opportunity to contract.

I will not…

Because my wish is…

Homura paused as Madoka's question finished.

Did I anger her again, I wonder? Madoka thought as Homura turned around, her straight black hair fluttering in the wind.

Homura's purple-black eyes stared deep into Madoka's. They were like swords, piercing and stabbing at Madoka, causing her to wince and almost look away.

For a moment, all she could hear was the wind whipping around them. Homura turned around again, with her back facing them.

And then, she started to sing.

"When can I see again here, the future that I have lost? In the world where just about everything is twisted, having that single place that I can believe in saved me…"

Homura's singing was heavenly; Madoka had never known that she could sing this well. It was wispy and smooth, almost like Mami's voice, but it was completely different from it: whereas Mami's voice was soothing and calming, Homura's song was...

"The time that ticked away ceaselessly now announces the beginning. Putting my unchanging feelings into it, I'll open the closed door…"

There was something in those words that truly struck a chord with her. Something she could not even find words to describe vibrated inside her, sending shivers throughout her body.

In the clock tower, Mami's Soul Gem started to glow with a soft yellow light, much to her surprise.

"I won't forget the promise we made. I'll close my eyes and reaffirm it once more. Even if I come to a standstill on a difficult road, I'll show you I'll overcome it, so I'll certainly believe in tomorrow and pray…"

With that last stanza, Homura disappeared into the dark hallway.

"Huh… what's this… what's happening to me…?"

Madoka touched her face with her palm in surprise. Tears flowed down from the corners of her eyes, forming streams of liquid that cooled in the wind.

She was crying, without even noticing it herself.

Why?

Why did she cry from listening to Homura's song?

Just what kind of wish did Homura make?

Sergeant Dividus was uneasy.

As a Space Marine—the chosen warrior of the Emperor—he had never known fear in battle. But the forest had a strange vibe to them, one that he could describe only as "foreboding".

It was as if someone was watching them as they advanced as stealthily as possible.

Dividus did not like psykers, much like the rest of his brothers. Even though Gideon Kane was an Inquisitor and it was their duty to support and protect him, Dividus did not hold a high opinion of him. He was brash, arrogant, impatient and—most importantly—an abominable psyker.

Maybe his unease and the neophytes' edginess were simply because they were operating on a psyker planet. How they became stuck inside the eye of a thrice-damned Warp storm is beyond him; how they came to orbit a backwards planet of nascent psykers could only be described as the machinations of the Ruinous Powers.

"Sergeant," Dividus recognized the voice in the vox channel as Brother Sullivus, "We are being watched. I can feel it."

"Yes, Brother." The Sergeant looked around in the trees. It was not the dense jungle of Catachan, but Dividus was not about to let down his guard. "It also means that we're getting close to the Xeno encampment."

"Indeed, Sergeant." Another battle brother—Brother Iohannes—spoke through his vox channel. Iohannes had served some decades within the Deathwatch, fighting Xenos such as these treacherous Eldar, so his words carried special weight in situations like this. "It is most likely that the Xenos are using their artifact's cloaking field to disguise themselves. We must be on our guard."

The Invicta had only marked the approximate position of the Xeno camp on his tactical map, and the sensors on his power armor did not have enough power to break through the Eldar cloaking field.

They were blind inside the forest, whether the Sergeant liked it or not. Give him an Ork Warboss, and he would gladly fight it one-on-one with his chainsword if it meant the rest of his brothers could mow down as many Xeno as possible.

The elusiveness of these Eldar only further proved these lithe alien's cowardice, and that fueled his rage at these Emperor-forsaken creatures.

"Sire," A neophyte—Dividus recognized him as Torvus, Sullivus' squire—spoke in the vox channel, "if the Xenos are watching us, why do they not attack? My blade itches for their blood."

"Torvus," Dividus could hear Iohannes' smile, "The Eldar are unpredictable creatures. When the situation requires it, they could be capable of great bravery, even willingly charge to their deaths."

"Then, there must be some logic behind their cowardice in this case." Dividus added, before the tactical map on his helmet display blinked. "We are close to their base camp. Torvus, set it up."

"Aye, sire." The squires started working on a portable sensor pack, as the marines spread out into a defensive picket around it. Even while inactive, the Webway gate obscured individual power signatures under its cloaking field. Both the senior sensorii priest of the Invicta and Captain Miroslav suspected that the psyker civilization on this planet did not have technology advanced enough to detect the gate, hence how they have never been detected.

The sensor pack that the team carried would boost the resolution of the Invicta's sensors, makign it possible for them to discern structures, defenses, and even people from each other, even while they were cloaked under the shadow of the Webway gate.

As soon as it is set up, the treachery of the Xeno filth will be revealed; Dividus thought.