"I don't think so." Homura denied immediately. How much does she know?

Oriko tilted her head to the side. "Odd, I feel like I know you from somewhere." The train started moving again, Homura's eyes began darting in different directions, which Oriko noticed.

She's hiding something.

The white haired girl lowered her eyes to the black haired girl's hands, seeing the ring she had. So she's one of us then.

Oriko smiled sweetly. "Oh my, where are my manners. I suppose I should introduce myself." Oriko extended her hand for Homura to shake.

"I'm Oriko Mikuni. Nice to meet you."

Homura's mind was spinning at her current situation. Befriending Sayaka Miki seemed like a small thing in comparison to what was happening now. Here was a person that tried to kill her, and had successfully murdered Madoka in an irregular timeline, but now she was acting like she wanted to be friends.

Homura realised she was hesitating. She couldn't afford to do anything that looked suspicious. So Homura shook the white haired girl's hand, noticing her ring. She's a Mahou Shoujo in this world as well. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Homura Akemi."

"That's a nice name."

"Um, thanks, you too." Homura could feel a few pairs of eyes focused on the two of them. Kyoko, Mami and Aka were watching the scene with great interest. The blonde and redhead in particular. For the probability of someone walking up to Homura and actually being able to make conversation with her were about the same as Kyoko going on a diet.

Kirika stood back, watching the exchange as well. She would've interfered the first chance she had but Oriko had already told her through telepathy to not do anything.

After shaking, instead of pulling away, Oriko's fingers started caressing the ring on Homura's hand. She flinched at the sudden movement.

"Well Akemi-san, can I assume you're here for the same reason I am?"

"If you mean the Americans, then yes."

Oriko removed her hand from Homura's. "I hope we can resolve this problem with the foreigners soon then. It was nice meeting you." She then took a seat out of earshot from Homura's location with Kirika.

"Looks like Homura-chan has made a new friend." Mami said with a smile.

"Do you recognise her from somewhere Mami-san?" Kyoko asked after watching the brief conversation Homura and Oriko had.

The blonde shook her head. "I don't think so, why?"

"Really? Because I feel like I should know her."

Mami thought about it for a moment. "Actually now that you mention it, that other one, the one with black hair. She did seem familiar to me."

Both the blonde and the redhead were racking their brains to try and figure out where they knew the two girls, but came up with nothing.

"Just what was that about?" Kirika asked when Oriko sat down.

"I'm not sure." The white haired girl put a hand on her chin. "I just have this feeling about her." Oriko immediately regretted phasing it the way she did.

"Huh! Have you fallen for that other girl? And at first sight?!"

Oriko chuckled at her reaction. "No nothing like that, I just feel like I know her from somewhere."

"That compelled you to just go up talk to her?"

Oriko chuckled again. "To be honest, I'm still not sure what came over me."

Kirika proceeded to cling onto Oriko's arm, resting her head on the white haired girl's shoulder. "Well as long you don't leave me then I guess I'm okay with it."

As the train continued on its track, more and more Mahou Shoujo got on the train, even a few Incubators went with them. Seeing all the little aliens running around on the moving transport made Homura feel uneasy.

Wraiths, Americans, Incubators and now Oriko Mikuni. Anything could happen, I need to be ready.

Military Base Outside Tokyo

Lieutenant Reavys sat inside a tent alone, with notes and a large map of Tokyo sprawled out on the table in front of her. She was overlooking the plans for the entire operation. This was a delicate mission for them. They had one main objective: retrieve answers from the Incubators of Japan and their Magical Girls. The Secondary Objective was to discover the cause of the recent change in the Wraiths behaviour.

Truthfully, the lieutenant didn't want this mission at all. She never did like dealing with those she didn't know. So being stuck in a foreign country was scenario she wasn't particularly happy with. However, she was the only Magical Girl that was left available with a high enough rank to take on the mission.

Her superiors thought it would be best for a Magical Girl to lead this operation as they believed this might go more smoothly with a Magical Girl than if a normal human was leading.

The term "Magical Girl" would stick even if you were technically an adult. Some didn't like this, but the lieutenant herself didn't really mind it. As long as her subordinates obeyed her orders, she didn't care what they called her.

She picked up some documents near herself and started skimming through the profiles of all the Magical Girls that attended the mission.

The sound of the tent the opening interrupted the lieutenant's work. The sergeant was carrying a cup of coffee for the lieutenant. Setting it down on the table, Talitha looked at the mess of papers spread out on the table.

"You know you need to rest, you were awake throughout most of your flight here." Talitha said worriedly.

Reavys sipped on the coffee. "I'll be fine, do have something to report?"

"Well I do need to ask something."

"Then shoot."

"I request permission to interrogate the Magical Girls of New York."

Reavys put the cup back down on the table. "Why would need to do that? Don't we have all the footage we need?"

Talitha shook her head. "No, I think we're missing something here. All reports say that the...thing came out of nowhere and attacked. I think there might be more to it."

Reavys narrowed her eyes. "Explain."

"When I asked Dranbey about it, he said something like it hasn't appeared ever in recorded history."

"Get to the point." The lieutenant was getting tired of the sergeant beating around the bush.

"I think the Magical Girls might know something, so I need permission to commence an interrogation."

Reavys continued to drink the coffee to keep herself awake. "So you think they're hiding something from us?"

"Yes sir."

It didn't take long for the lieutenant to decide. They had to be as thorough as possible when it came to an operation as important as this.

"Very well, permission granted."

Sutoraiki City

All the Mahou Shoujo left the train when they reached their destination. As they got out, a lot of Mahou Shoujo were giving each other looks of suspicion. Even when now they all still didn't trust each other. They had to work together because there was no other choice. Mami sighed at this.

I hope one day we stop being so territorial and start trusting each other.

As they exited the station, trying to separate themselves from the crowd of humans, watching a few Mahou Shoujo already heading towards the airport, Aka's phone went off.

"Oh, sorry, guys just give me a moment."

She sped off around a corner for a bit of privacy, leaving the Mitakihara trio to wait outside the exit of the station.

"Hello?" A familiar voice asked when Aka answered her phone.

"Yeah I'm here, you need something?" Aka said as she pressed her back against a wall while placing her other hand over the uncovered ear to drone out at least some of the sound of the bustling city.

"Have you reached Sutoraiki yet?"

"Indeed I have. I will be taking the plane to Tokyo in a few hours."

"Do you have anything significant to report?" The female voice on the line asked.

"I do actually." Aka smirked. "I met Homura Akemi."

The line was silent for awhile before the other person replied. "This is a surprise. How is she? Still weak and frail like the last time I saw her?"

"Oh she's fine." The purple haired girl laughed. "Well actually, it depends on your point of view because...she's a Mahou Shoujo now."

"Well...that is an interesting development. You're sure about this?"

"One hundred percent, she's also made a few friends as well. They seem nice so I wouldn't worry about her so much."

"Are they attending this meeting with the Americans too?"

Aka nodded, despite the fact that no one could see her doing so. "Yeah she is. Will this affect your plans?"

"...no, things will move along as planned."

"Speaking of, how is recruitment lately? Got anyone else on your side yet?"

"Only a few. Though I'm working on getting an Incubator to work with us as well."

"An Incubator?" That's a big task considering what we're doing. I wonder how she'll pull it off. "That's going be tough."

"Of course, but I believe an Incubator will be essential if we're going to have even a chance of victory.

"I suppose that makes sense. Oh one thing, have you found anything concerning the Wraiths by any chance? My soul gem isn't exactly in the best of shape you know."

Aka could hear the woman sighing. "Nothing that could help us. The only thing I found out is that this has happened all over Japan. My scouts in other countries have yet to report in about this. It's still unknown about whether or not Japan is the only one affected by this. This is very concerning."

"Yeah, we Mahou Shoujo already fight each other for Grief Stones. Now that the Wraiths seem to leave to god knows where, tension is only running higher than ever." Aka checked her watch, and realised that she should be getting back.

"Look I need to go, you haven't forgotten our deal right? I help you, you help my mother."

The purple haired girl heard chuckling from the phone. "Of course, I always keep my word."

Ending the call, Aka put the phone back in her pocket and sighed. Things sure have gotten complicated lately.

Homura's headache had returned but she didn't react and just tried to ignore it. Sutoraiki city was defiantly more noisy then Mitakihara, or perhaps it was because they were near a train station? Homura didn't really care and just wanted to find a quiet place to rest.

Aka soon rejoined the group. Homura noticed something different about her. She seemed a bit less cherry, like she had seen something but tried to hide it. Homura knew that kind of face because it was the face she herself would see when ever she looked in a mirror.

I wonder who called...

Kyoko walked forward ahead of the girls before tilting her head back to the others. "We got a few hours before the flight to Tokyo right? Come on, lets go find a place to eat because I'm starving here."

Aka expression changed into one of confusion. "Wait, didn't you eat a meal's worth of snacks on the ride here?"

"Your point?"

Mami giggled at their new friend. "Don't worry, we don't understand how she can eat so much either, but you get used to it after a while."

The blonde then walked ahead of the redhead and lead the group around the city. Mami had always considered herself the leader, the one that any of the girls could turn to when needed. When Homura had her sudden personality change, it almost seemed like she had taken that role of leader. It was one of the things Mami was unsure how she felt about the new Homura.

The raven haired girl stayed more silent than usual. The whole time she would have an almost pained expression on her face, Homura's headache was getting worse.

Damnit, I'm a Mahou Shoujo, I shouldn't have any illnesses.

The group found themselves eating at a restaurant. Kyoko took the opportunity to shamelessly order anything and everything she could. Homura had to smack Kyoko over the head to stop the redhead from overdoing it.

"We still have a plane to catch you know." Homura scolded.

"Jezz, I know you don't like to have fun very much, but that doesn't mean you need to rain on my parade too."

The rest of lunch went along smoothly, Homura's headache even stared getting better by the end of it. The raven haired girl was still confused by it though. A Mahou Shoujo wasn't supposed to fall ill from anything because the soul gem would use magic to destroy the bacteria.

I need to ask Kyubey about this.

After Mami paid the ridiculous amount of yen because of Kyoko, the group left for the airport. The city was huge, much bigger than Mitakihara, but even so they managed to find the it with plenty of time to spare.

"Hmm, looks like I'm not on the same plane as you guys." Aka said, looking at the tickets.

"Well that's a shame." Mami said. "I guess we'll see each other at Tokyo Tower then?"

The purple haired girl nodded. "Yeah, I still don't know if I'll be of much help, but I'll do what I can."

"Lets just hope shit doesn't hit the fan when we all meet up." Kyoko commented. Which resulted with a smack over the head by Mami.

"You know you shouldn't swear in public."

"Oh come on, I bet most kids these days probably know more swear words than I do."

"I find that hard to believe." Homura said.

Aka waved goodbye to the Mitakihara group as they entered the gate to the their plane. There were a few Mahou Shoujo already on the transport trying to ignore each other, along with a certain white haired girl sitting next to one of the windows.

The humans felt uneasy on the transport. Like a fight could break out at any moment. Homura felt the tension the moment she stepped on board, Kyoko and Mami too.

"You know, I think Homura-chan's place is more cherry than this." Kyoko remarked as they took their seats.

Kyoko and Mami sat together, with Mami having the seat closest to the window. Homura sat in the row in front of them, alone. The dark haired girl examined her soul gem. It had a dark cloud obscuring the violet light.

I haven't purified myself in awhile.

She clutched the gem tightly in her palm, angry at herself that she let her soul reach this state. She knew that if it didn't get purified soon, then it wouldn't be long before she could start having suicidal thoughts.

I've grown careless.

The engines started up, and soon the plane was in flight. Homura noticed Kyubey sitting on top of one of the seats, watching her.

May as well ask him now.

She turned her entire head to the side to face the Incubator.

Kyubey, is it possible for a Mahou Shoujo to fall sick from anything?

The little alien moved his ears to indicate that it heard her.

It shouldn't be. The soul gem is meant to prevent any disease from affecting the body.

She glared at the Incubator. Then why am I having these headaches?

Kyubey tilted its head to the side. That I do not have an accurate answer for. Why not consult your fellow Mahou Shoujo? They might be able to help you.

They don't need to know. Homura snapped back mentally.

Homura mentally growled and turned back to face the window, ending the conversation. Little did she know, Mami just heard the whole thing. The blonde established a link and was about to ask Kyubey some questions about the Americans when she overheard the conversation the dark haired girl had with it.

Homura-chan...why don't you trust us anymore?

The blonde didn't realise that she was clenching her fists at her side. Mami desperately wanted Homura to open up to them again, but it seemed like she would continue to keep secrets.

Did losing Sayaka really change her this much? Or perhaps it's something she hasn't told us yet?

Mami couldn't help but think that this was connected to this "Madoka" person. It was clear Madoka was an important person to Homura considering she called out to her. It was strange however, from the day she met her, up until the day Sayaka Miki passed away, there was no mention of "Madoka" at all.

Mami was fairly sure that Homura never met with anyone else beside her group of friends. The blonde knew there were pieces missing from the puzzle that was Homura Akemi.

Pull yourself together. Stay focused on the task at hand. We need to deal with the foreigners first. The blonde took in slow and deep breaths to help clear her mind.

Homura's eyelids felt heavy. She was starting to feel sleepy, which was strange because it was the middle of the day. It was soon futile to resist and the dark haired girl succumbed to her body's wishes.

This place again.

The same black space, just last time. Getting up, she realised something was different this time. It was hard to see, but she thought there was a something surrounding her. Shaking it off, she went in the direction of the voices.

"Why? I don't need her helping me. We can handle the Wraiths on our own." Sayaka's voice sounded frustrated.

"Please Sayaka-chan. Kyoko-chan isn't that bad. You don't have to be friends with her, just don't try to kill her every time you meet."

"Have you forgotten she almost killed you?"

"She said it was an accident. Kyoko-chan already apologised."

"Come on, we don't need her, it's not like I'm going to die anytime soon."

"But there's still a chance you could..."

Sayaka sighed. "Look, I'll tolerate her, but only because you asked. Oh, while we're on the subject, why the hell are you two on a first name basis?"

"H-huh? T-T-That's because...umm, she err..."

"Actually you what, I won't even ask. It's probably better that I don't know."

Are all these really related to Sayaka Miki? Is this my subconscious? Could these be memories from myself in this world?

This was starting to frustrate the dark haired girl. Everything in this place wherever it was, seemed so confusing.

Reaching the location of the box, she watched her body inside it. It was laying down, seeming to be sleeping. The face on the other Homura seemed rather peaceful, her lips curved into a slight smile.

As watched though, she noticed something on the cube. It was a crack, in the same place she had struck it with her arrow.

So I did do something...

Summoning her bow again, she pulled back the string. She made the arrow as strong as she could before firing.

The sound of electricity filled the place again. Homura had forgotten about this and tried to block out the sound, it was too late to dodge as her attack came back and struck her.

When she woke up, she saw that the plane was still in flight, they still had about an hour before reaching the capital.

I won't make the same mistake a third time. Homura thought angrily.

Touching down in the Tokyo airport, the Mahou Shoujo began to leave. They still had about a week before they were supposed to go to Tokyo Tower. It was evening, the Wraiths would be coming out very soon.

After setting into the hotel the Mitakihara trio booked, the sun had almost completely disappeared, considering the amount of Mahou Shoujo residing in the city, they needed to be fast and ruthless in the hunt for Grief Stones.

"Hey Homura-chan, can I ask you something?" Kyoko asked.

Mami had just gone off in another direction and Homura was about to fly off too. They knew they would get more Grief Stones by splitting up than sticking together.

"What is it?"

"Do you plan on fighting the Mahou Shoujo here?"

"If it comes to it, yes."

"Then I'm sticking with you." Kyoko said, walking up next to the dark haired girl.

Homura turned her head to the redhead. "So you trust Tomoe-san to take care of herself but not me? I'm offended."

"The fact that you collapsed in front of me doesn't exactly inspire confidence." Kyoko suddenly felt a chill down her spine. "Hey is it me, or did it just get colder?"

Homura felt the chill as well. "Hmm, your right, it does seem colder now. The last couple of nights have been a bit warm strangely enough."

Wait...this feeling...could it be...

"Look out!"

Homura felt herself being pushed to side by Kyoko. Her entire body made contact with the hard concrete, the side of her head smacked the ground quite hard as well. One of the moments she was glad that her soul was in a gem and not the body as that would have hurt tremendously, instead the pain was only mildly irritating.

Homura gasped in horror at what she saw when she looked at Kyoko. The redhead's body had be pierced by beams of red light. Kyoko fell to the ground after the attack faded away, she lost consciousness as she did.

The raven haired girl turned to where the attack had come from, she thought it was from a Mahou Shoujo, but no. It was from a Wraith.