Mami had been the first one to arrive at the gate, but the others did not take much longer. Interestingly, Shizuki was with them again, walking by Kaname's side with the polite smile frozen on her face; it was enough to disguise her actual feelings and the pinkette managed to do that as well... partly. One could still see that she was upset. Homura on her part walked with a bit of distance to the other two; only one person was amiss.

"Um... if I may ask..."

"The teacher asked her to help with something."

So it would take a while until Yuri was with them again... somehow, Mami did not really believe this. Looking at the two regular girls, she got the feeling that their eldritch companion was trying to stay out of sight for a while. A reasonable decision, she found. Especially because the blonde needed some time to think about this herself as well.

"I see. I guess she wants us to go without her?"

The time traveler gave her a small nod and they got moving with the other girls following in silence.

. . .

"By any chance... did something happen?"

The reluctant question had her perk up and return the concerned gaze of the adult walking next to her. Lilly raised an eyebrow and quickly lowered it. Japanese customs... it would have been rude to measure someone of higher stand like that.

"What would make you think that, sensei?"

They were both carrying a big stack of papers through the school while the sky was beginning to turn orange. Only the clubs were still around, everyone else had already left.

"Well... how to put it..."

Saotome had a thoughtful gaze pass over the human-shaped Witch, which was categorised immediately. The woman was not sure whether she should tell her something... so they either found the corpse or she learned that one of her students had gone missing.

"I... got a call yesterday. They told me that Miki-chan is missing. You have been around her quite a bit for the last few weeks, so I wondered if you might have an idea."

The first part was true... and the last part a lie. Or at least not the whole truth. Now Lilly did raise an eyebrow after all and returned the teacher's look, who seemed surprised over the sudden action. "To be honest, I'm in a bad mood today... so I will be blunt. If you want to hear anything from me, I would like to hear your whole train of thought first. If you went by who was around Miki the most, you would have asked Kaname-san."

She was somewhat tired of all this indirectness and politeness, so she reduced it to the bare minimum and had the woman lower her head slightly. "You... You're really perceptive, Akemi-san."

She was not sure whether it was a compliment or just a statement. Whatever it was, the Witch smiled humourlessly and sighed. "Since this is about the only thing next to my fast memorisation I have going for me... yes, I am."

"Mhm... I noticed that you struggle with new material. You do manage, though?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you for worrying about that."

They both knew that Saotome was stalling time and once the teacher noticed that she knew that as well, she sighed and nodded. "I guess we're in for mean observations today... please forgive me for making assumptions like I did, but... well... I did noticed you brooding after lunchbreak and I did see how Shizuki and Kaname looked like when I took a look at them in the infirmary. They know something, I can tell that much. And I am rather sure that you're involved as well."

Adults were not stupid, especially not those concerned about their charges; she really should remember that in the future.

Lilly wondered. Should she tell this woman? Could she? Did she want to?

I'm a Witch. I can do whatever I want.

Nonetheless... why did she feel so responsible for what happened? She had every right to take the life she saved, especially when the alternative of not taking it would probably cost her own or worse.

On the other hand... what did she care about secrecy anymore?

"You're right, sensei. I am involved. Although I will deny to have ever said this, should you ask me about it again."

She closed her eyes while sensing the curiousity of the adult next to her. Fortunately, there was no one in close proximity, so at least the smell was bearable.

But what else to say? Now that Lilly admitted to knowing something, the woman would not let her off the hook... so...

"Miki Sayaka is dead. Lost the will to live, I guess. That's why those other two were so upset as well."

Her nonchalant tone had the teacher recoil a few steps and they stopped walking while cold purple met horrified brown. "W-What did you... you... you must be joking, Akemi-san..."

She was reluctant and confused for the conversation to take a turn like this. It only made Lilly sigh. "Just why are you humans so slow in understanding? I have no reason to lie about this and in all honesty, no good joke starts that way. The girl herself was one though, that I can admit."

No one would believe this woman even when she told others about her words. The Witch raised her eyebrow again as she noted the expression on Saotome's face. "I know what you think: that I might have some sort of mental problem and should go see a doctor... well, you're right. I am as broken a being as one could possibly be... but for other reasons than you think. Besides, I'm well aware of my condition. Complexes build character, sensei."

She shrugged off the topic and got moving again. Monologueing in front of a baffled human was a rather interesting experience, seeing that she could easily foresee the woman's responses and react to them.

It took a few seconds until quick steps brought the teacher back to her side. She did not run like one of the students would have, she did not shout at her or something like that... maybe the shock had yet to subside or maybe the cold from her voice reached the human's mind and had it enter a state of calm... the shock was more likely.

"Just... what happened? Please tell me..."

Saotome's voice was a few pecks duller than before and yet she inquired further. Lilly smirked and cast a sideway glance at the woman. "Are you sure you want to know? That might not be good for your sanity."

No response, just an expecting look. The Witch shook her head in amusement. "Really now, always curious about the realms beyond your understanding... I can understand this one, though. Curiousity is something I hold myself. Besides... you really should stop thinking that I have delusions. That's something I definitely don't have."

At least as far as she knew... maybe there were some, but that did not matter much. However, the older one flinched as she practically read her thoughts again -from Saotome's perspective, that was- and continued to stare at her; either because she had not idea what to say or because she hoped to get Lilly to talk. The eldritch being allowed herself a chuckle and returned her gaze to the path ahead. She kept quiet while another teacher passed them and bowed respectfully, getting a nod in return.

Once the man was definitely out of earshot, the Witch continued to speak: "You're not a bad person per se... so I think I will spare you from the truth, sensei."

As they reached their destination, she handed over the sheets to her teacher and continued to ponder what to do while the woman put them to where they belonged... whatever that was for. Saotome kept surprisingly quiet over this time.

Once the woman was done, Lilly showed her a small smile. "You should forget what I told you. Although I can already tell that you won't."

As the Witch turned around, she added one last thing: "A storm will come, sensei. It will hit the city at the last day of April. You don't believe me, I know. But once you hear that it's near, you will understand that my words are the truth."

A last glance was sent back at the confused teacher. "Don't try to look into the abyss. If you're unlucky, something from within might look back at you."

Those were the words she left the woman with.

.

. . .

.

Time went on and Homura wondered what exactly happened.

From that day onwards, Lilly would not go to school with her anymore. No one particularly bothered because the time traveler covered her Witch... although Madoka and Hitomi seemed to get better as time went on. However, the eldritch being was barely at home, either. Kyoko saw her occasionally when she roamed the streets and from what they could piece together, the Witch was hunting.

The body of Miki Sayaka was found on Monday morning already, but no one was told about it until Tuesday. Just as expected, the examination lead to believe that she died of natural reasons, although no one could understand how a perfectly healthy girl suddenly died over night.

The three veterans went to hunt Witches together, both to stock up on Grief Seeds and to maybe find out what Lilly was up to... her sister was rather unresponsive as of late and whenever Homura asked about why she isolated herself, the human-shaped Witch replied that she was planning.

Madoka occasionally accompanied them on the hunts, but stayed away most of the time while Hitomi did not even seem to care about all of this anymore. It was to be expected, seeing that the girl was not interested in forming a contract and blamed Miki Sayaka's death on this whole system. Which was true, after all.

A week had passed since that day and a mere four days remained until the arrival of Walpurgis. The other girls were tensing up noticeably and even Homura was less calm with every passing day. She did manage to cover her uneasiness, though. Once it was time to fight the Queen of Witches, she would definitely regain her cool. It had always been like this.

"Y'know... I really wonder why she's hunting all the Familiars..."

They were patrolling in search for Witches again, even Madoka joined them today. Kyoko referred to the fact that they did not manage to find even a single Familiar in the past few days; just traces of Lilly's aura.

"I guess that she goes after the prey that's useless for us", the time traveler replied to the redhead. Her Witch was maximizing the amount of Grief Seeds they could gain in the remaining time to ensure that neither of them ran out of magic in the final battle. Nonetheless, she was worried about Lilly's behaviour.

"Yuri-san has been awfully detached from us as of late... do you have really no idea why she acts like that?"

Mami's question was regarded with a shake of her head, just like any other time she asked about this particular topic. It came up at least once a day, but Homura still had no answer.

"Minimizing conflict, maximizing outcome."

There was a voice that sounded so much like her own right to their side and when the four girls turned their heads, they saw a familiar figure sitting on a low wall. Lilly wore a pleased smirk and nodded at them. "I thought you needed some time to think for yourself instead of shoving your thoughts onto me. And don't deny it, each of you did that at least once. Besides", the Witch added while the Magical Girls looked at each other -Homura was especially surprised about Kyoko having a conversation like this with her sister-, "you're rather slow as a group and on top of that... I can't do much with you around. I cleaned up in Kazamino while I was at it, that's where I got the Grief Seeds I gave you yesterday."

Mortal World's Witch jumped to the ground and sighed while motioning for them to keep walking. "That's done, though."

"So... I take it you will join us again?"

Mami received a nod that visibly lightened her mood... and Homura wondered just what exactly happened there. She felt a bond forming as well; it took just another moment before a voice called out to her mentally for the first time in a week: 'Besides, I needed some time to think myself. About where we're headed and what we want to do.'

That was about what she suspected anyway. Her sister was not that unreadable after all.

"I see. Did you come to a conclusion?"

She decided not to add that she was interested in what the Witch thought about... she already felt Homura's curiousity just as the time traveler felt her fear a week ago.

"Um... Yuri-chan?"

Madoka turning towards the Witch did not stop the latter from replying to her while she cast a glance at the pinkette: 'I did... it's something I don't particularly like, though. We will have some trouble with getting out of the trap Kyubey threw us into. Do you trust me?'

"Yes?"

The question had her think. Did she trust her Witch? And what kind of trap was she talking about?

"P-Please tell me... what happened last week. I... I need to know!"

On the one hand, Lilly proved her trustworthiness more than once; she saved Mami from her own psyche and made her a reliable ally... Mortal World's Witch was just as devoted to their cause as Homura was herself and she was completely convinced of that. They were the same indeed.

"Are you sure you can take that?"

The time traveler did not really follow the discussion, she just noticed Kyoko's and Mami's interested expressions. She already knew what happened, so she could allow herself not to listen. Although Lilly's worry slightly pressed onto her mind.

"Y-Yes. Please tell me."

On the other hand... her Witch became more and more unstable as time went on. If she cracked before they were done, the situation might become far worse than it originally was. She went around on her own for a whole week and going by the aura she emanated, the eldritch being had eaten a lot.

"Let's see... I already got the feeling that she was doing something stupid, so I went after her. She already exhausted her magic to the maximum and her Soul Gem was completely black. Not much longer and she would have died anyway."

"But... I thought you can cleanse Soul Gems, Yuri-san?"

However, Homura was always on the edge herself. She held out until it was done so that she could finally let loose and die. Her hope kept her going with its intensity, but she knew that she could falter at any moment. That was why she opted to isolate herself to begin with, to not depend on anyone anymore. Lilly had a similar burden to carry by holding on to all those feelings the Magical Girl did not even admit to herself. They were the two sides of the same coin, cold and stoic Akemi Homura as well as burning, scheming Homulilly. Her ice was the counterpart of the fire burning within her Witch.

"Of course I can and I did. However, that included revealing myself as a Witch and you can guess how she took that... I really thought that the fact that I just saved her damned life would at least stop her from attacking me... which it did at that point. She got up, listened to reason and I walked her home. And for good measure, I kept an eye on her over the night. Everything was alright so far before she decides to take a stroll at three in the morning; I went with her just to make sure she really just wanted to take a walk... then I got careless for a moment and suddenly had her sword in my chest."

"That... that's awful..."

But did she trust Lilly?

Yes.

If there was any being out there she could place any trust on, it was herself and by extension, her Witch. Whatever she wanted to do, she thought it through in this week and therefore, Homura would trust her word.

"I trust you."

"Don't tell me, I know. However, I'm not done yet."

As her sister continued to speak, a mental 'Thank you' was sent Homura's way and the Magical Girl could feel the gratefulness radiating from Lilly for a moment. Then the bond closed and signaled that they would talk later.

"So my situation was as follows: a cutlass is stuck in my chest and a partly restored Sayaka right behind me. Running is impossible because I could hardly move... so my instinct kicked in and I did the safest thing possible, which was to crush her Soul Gem and heal up."

The Witch had put a hand on her chest where the blade pierced her last week and shook her head slightly; the other girls had rather thoughtful expressions as they tried to imagine the situation. Madoka scooted closer to her, Homura noticed; the pinkette frowned, which was something she very, very rarely did. Lilly had her eyes closed and sighed. "I won't say that my actions were justified... but I won't accept it if anyone blames the whole fault on me. I was perfectly fine with letting her live."

That was simply lip-service and they all knew. Lilly was arguing as if she was human and some people tended to forget that she was not because of her appearance. Mortal World's Witch needed no 'justified' reason to kill someone, at least none that she could not stand for herself. On top of that, her sister would have taken the blunette's life far earlier, had it not been for Homura stopping her or the Witch realising the danger she would face in that case herself.

"Yes... I know... but... it's just..."

Madoka could not take it, just as they expected. On the other hand, it was better this way. If they kept this a secret from the pinkette, Kyubey would use it against them. Maybe that was the trap Lilly spoke about; their love was now at least partly afraid of them.

"I know and I won't hold it against you to blame me."

The time traveler cast a glance at her sister's back and wondered whether she really knew what to do. Madoka kept quiet and the other Magical Girls did the same while they continued to walk. Until the Witch that accompanied them pointed in a certain direction. "This way."

.

. . .

.

While her mind was still a bit heavy from thinking about the situation so much, Mami found herself amazed by Yuri's capability in detecting Witches. It might also be because her own aura was messing up the signals their Soul Gems got, but she found the eldritch creatures with apparent ease. This was the first time the blonde actually experienced a hunt where they did not have to run after the trail for an hour or two, they just went to the place the Witch was hiding at directly.

So this is how she manages to get them so fast...

She wondered about that before: just how was it possible for one person -even when they were a Witch- to get around fast enough to kill so many of those creatures in such a short amount of time. Now she knew: Yuri skipped half of the time by not following trails and going for... maybe the respective Witch's aura directly.

"I have been wondering, Yuri-san...", she noted as the group was closing in on the barrier their companion sensed. Mami could feel it closeby as well and so must Kyoko and Homura. "How... do you kill a Witch? From what I saw, you do not seem like an active fighter."

Was that just her imagination or did Yuri flinch at the last part?

"She's right, actually. I was curious how you're doing it, too."

So they did not tell Kyoko, either. Kaname seemed to be curious as well... but the blonde had the feeling that this question would remain unanswered. This Witch was far too secretive to just tell them, she understood that much by now.

"Pray that you never find out."

That was everything she said, which was both disheartening and concerning. A questioning look in Homura's direction had the other veteran shake her head. "I'm aware of how she does it... but it's not my place to tell you."

They entered the barrier at this point... and found themselves in mid-air, balancing on clotheslines with a large shape hovering far above. Madoka's surprised scream had them look her way, only to see the pinkette holding tight onto Homura's arm while the time-traveler carefully balanced them out. Yuri stood as calmly as Mami and Kyoko did.

"Patricia... she's floating up there and those shapes falling and sliding our way are her minions... ignore them, I take care of that."

The Witch reached over and took a hold of Kaname's other arm while Homura slowly detached herself from the pinkette. Once the raven-haired Magical Girl was free to move again, they started to head upwards.

. . .

"Um... Yuri-chan?"

"Yes?"

She did not know how to phrase it. Technically, Yuri was Homura... but Madoka wondered whether it was really alright for the other girl to keep an arm around her waist like this.

Apparently, her thoughts were once again easily understandable to the Witch, seeing that she responded to them before the pinkette even said anything: "Do you prefer staying on those things all by yourself?"

A reluctant glance downwards, where a few clouds were floating, told her that she did not.

However, an amused giggle had her eyes return to the Witch next to her... only to see that she was doing something to the minions that went towards them. The Magical Girls already passed the group and it was... not far away anymore. Yuri had her free hand directed at them and moved her finger a bit... and every time she did that, one of the minions fell off the clothesline and down into the depths.

"I never thought this was so amusing."

The Witch seemed genuinely happy with what she was doing right now... and Madoka wondered once again just how different she might actually be. It was not that she could just forget about what happened to Sayaka... but the pinkette understood that it was really not Yuri's fault. She just defended herself... although that did not make it much better.

Nonetheless, she could at least get around with the Witch closeby... that was a good thing, right?

As of right now, she was curious about what happened there. Half of all the minions had been thrown down the clotheslines and a few more barely held onto them with the downsides of their...skates?

Now that Madoka took a closer look, she saw that what came towards them was a horde of lower bodies with black skirts. The point where the belly should start was just a black stump... and in difference to their black clothes and socks, the legs were of a pale white. A shiver ran through the pinkette while the creatures skated closer towards them and she felt the hand on her waist squeeze lightly.

"Relax. The most terrifying being in this barrier is right next to you."

It sounded like a joke, but could very well have been in earnest. Madoka was not sure whether she liked what Yuri just said in any way... and on top of that, she still felt uncomfortable with someone else being so close to her. On the other hand, she was used to be teased by Sayaka, so she could bear with it... and this was also an exceptional situation.

The girl sighed inaudibly and looked towards the minions, curiousity winning at last. "What are you doing with them?"

"Hm? Oh, exactly what it looks like; I'm flicking them off the clotheslines. Telekinesis is a great power to have."

That... already answered her question on how the Witch did that... had she known that this one would have come next? On the other hand, Telekinesis...

"No, I couldn't have used it to stop Miki."

"Huh? But... why?"

The pinkette did not even question that her current protector was practically reading her mind. She was confused about the fact that while Yuri had the ability, she seemed not to use it at that time...

. . .

Which was something Lilly did not like to admit. It might have worked... but only for a short time. Her grasp on the Telekinesis became better over the past week, so that she could finally use it in battle, even if it was just for a short amount of time. The burst of strength she used to get the blunette away from her was the only thing she could do in this night.

However, her fear also prevented her from doing any less than neutralising the danger. That was second nature to her; if there was something that threatened her wellbeing, Homulilly either snuck around it, ran away or killed it. Whichever was easier, although she refrained from killing up until that point for Madoka's sake.

Unfortunately, there were no other options left at this point... so she did what she could. On top of that, Miki Sayaka would have come after her even if she stopped the girl in any less final way.

But how should she convey all that to this gentle being?

How about not at all?

Lilly sighed and contemplated about what kind of Monday she had here once again. She was just a bit more than five weeks old and yet... this was a lot longer than many other Witches came to live after all. However, five weeks were not enough for her. She wanted months, years, decades. Maybe even centuries.

The remaining minions of the first group reached them and interestingly, even her malicious aura did not have them slow down. Even the most loyal of servants would at least hesitate to attack another Witch... except when they had no will of their own.

Whatever the reason, Lilly stopped time a moment before they hit her and gently pulled Madoka forward. "Come, I have to move."

The human girl was eyeing their discoloured surroundings with a slightly surprised expression as she followed. "You stopped time, right?"

So she knew that... it was to be expected, now that the eldritch being thought about it. Homura brought her along a week ago, so the pinkette already saw their powers in effect.

"Yes. Since I took responsibility for watching over you, I have to make sure that nothing gets past me while I eat."

They reached the first minion of the five and Lilly touched the creature to pull it into this realm. Upon regaining its colours however, it went limp and just hang in her hand. "As I thought, controlled by the Witch..."

"Um... while you... eat?"

As the raven-haired girl turned her head, her hand emanated the impulse she found was one of her very basics, although it took some experimenting and guesswork on her part to figure it out. "Yes."

The body of the minion became black and turned into a small orb.

Actually, the original process was the extraction of a human soul. Seeing that minions were practically beings whose soul manifested in matter, she could easily transform them as a whole. Something similar went to Kyubey, seeing that it seemed to create its bodies from the same substance.

The Witch felt the sudden disgust coming from Madoka when she put the small orb into her mouth. It was not much energy in it, either... but she had to make do.

"You... you actually eat something like that?"

From the sound of it though, the pinkette was more alienated by the fact that anyone would eat minions and not by her doing it right now. Lilly raised an eyebrow and eyed the girl. "I need to eat as well, you know? Human food has so little energy that I would need lots of it to stay healthy... and I doubt that you would want me to prey on people instead."

The thought of a human's taste sent shivers down her spine. It did not matter for how long she lived, Homulilly would definitely remember this awful taste for the rest of her life, even if it spanned a small eternity.

"Yuri-chan? Are you alright?"

So her discomfort was noticed. Madoka could make of that whatever she wanted, though; Lilly just nodded and pulled her forward again. "Yes... just a bad memory."