Just a short notice for all those that got a notification for a new chapter: as of right now (4th of January), I fixed a few mistakes in the past chapters and split one of the larger ones in two separate chapters. That is what you got alerted for; the next actual chapter will come on Saturday, just as usual.
This was strange. There were others like her in her realm.
Why would that be? Each of them was separate... what did they want?
The coat started to itch again, but she ignored it. It was alright.
But... what was that? Why was her realm... burning?
. . .
"It's your fault, Lilly!"
"It's not!"
"Yes it is!"
This continued for quite a while, wherein two Witches ran through an endless meadow under a sky coloured in blue and with green clouds. Behind them was a horde of minions that had a striking resemblance to Kyubey -only with far bigger heads-; behind the minions, however, was a large wall of purple fire that expanded ever further. Everything behind them was burned out of existence.
"It's your fault for not attacking those things!"
"Why did you had to spit fire at them?! They are cute!"
Mortal World's Witch refrained from commenting on that. Nothing that looked like Kyubey was cute in any way... on the other hand though, this might be what those creatures were about to do with their own magic. Candel was still young and not yet well fed, so maybe she could not resist the minions' aura despite being a Witch.
Unfortunately though, there had been too many of them for her to dispose of by herself, especially because she was still low on energy. Fire was Lilly's only option aside from stopping time and running away... in retrospect, that might have been the better choice. Now that the flames were lit, they would not stop even if she paused the flow of time.
Should have thought about that before...
Now it was too late and her lungs were burning from running so much. The minions did not seem keen on slowing down and one of them spit a needle at her before, which was the reason her right sleeve had a little hole and was bloody.
Lilly sighed and got a hold of the doll that was jumping in rapid succession to keep up with her before stopping time at last. Everything but the fire became monochrome and she continued to run, all the while clutching the surprised Dress-Up Witch to her chest.
Time only remained in stasis for what felt like ten seconds, that was enough for the fire to reach the frozen minions and burn them to death. When Lilly let it resume, they were at least without followers on their heels. Nonetheless, this could not continue and she was tired by now.
"Can you... still... go?"
It came between heavier breaths, seeing that even with her supernatural physique and stamina, Homulilly could not run in a full sprint for that long without consequences.
Candeloro on her part seemed mostly unfazed, although her body might be less affected by what humans called tiredness, at least in that regard. The doll nodded and thereby confirmed the question while her carrier quickly put together something that almost resembled a plan. "Go ahead... kill Quitterie..."
Once the Witch of Needles died, her barrier would vanish and take the fire with it. Everything would be fine if this just happened fast enough, but that was as quick as she could go. Candel was faster than her, Lilly realised. What kept her ahead on most occasions was the time stop.
"B-But I can't just leave..."
"Go ahead!", she interrupted the younger one decisively. "I'm fine."
Then she used her Telekinesis to throw the doll forward and her surprised scream was soon replaced by the crackling of fire around the human-shaped Witch. Nonetheless, she saw her companion jump ahead a bit faster than she did before. At least that was as expected.
This was the last thing she noticed, however. The additional drain on her small reserves sent her stumbling; a moment, later she fell head-first into the ground and remained there. Her lungs were burning and her sides felt as if a dozen of those needles pierced them. Lilly's breath was a staccato and she only barely managed to turn around so she could lie on her back. The purple flames around her emanated a soothing warmth while the Witch felt her clothes everywhere, drenched in sweat and almost glued to her body. Her field of vision became black for a moment, but she remained concious.
No coherent thought managed to get through her brain right now. She was just there, she was safe. She would recover.
. . .
Looking back told her that the fire fell behind quite a bit despite of how fast it spread. There was no way she could sense Lilly now, the scent of the flames drowned out about everything else. Only the feeling of another Grief Seed right ahead of her remained. Candeloro could feel the surprise of Quitterie and understood it. One's barrier was home, so seeing it on fire must be harsh.
Once the doll realised what she was thinking, she quickly shook her head and compressed her legs further to make longer jumps. She would have preferred to fly... but unfortunately, this was only possible in her own barrier. At least the fabric of her legs was of a good quality and would not be strained too much by being used like that.
Her next jump sent the Dress-Up Witch right through a large door in green and white that stood amidst the endless meadow. The other eldritch being's presence was now right in front of her and when Candel stopped to look around, she saw it stand a few meters away... cast in a cloak and with Kyubey's head.
Wait... what?
This thing had Kyubey's head... just what kind of Witch was that? Not even the doll liked this scheming feline, so why...
Somehow, she knew that Lilly would tell her to stop wondering and start shooting, so Candel sighed and hoped that this would not take long. Otherwise, she would have to continue running until the Witch of Needles burned out.
They continued to stare at each other while the doll wound her right arm around itself and had it change shape into the barrel of a musket; when that was done, she pointed it at the other Witch and shooted once to test the waters. The bullet flew in a straight path right at the other being's face... and she dodged mostly. It ripped off the right ear of the abomination's head, yet Quitterie did not seem to mind. The surprise changed into acceptance and the Witch came charging at her.
Candel compressed her legs and leaped a good fifteen meters into the sky while pointing her arm downwards; however, her opponent jumped as well, thus bridging over the four meters that separated them in height. The doll quickly had her left arm stretch out and slapped the other Witch in the face with as much force as she could muster, prompting her to sail backwards. Yet Quitterie's arm shout out from behind the cloak and a long needle pierced right through Candel's upper body.
The smaller being screeched in pain while the bigger one smashed into the ground. Something slowly bubbled out of the wound, but she quickly wound a few of her spare ribbons around it. That did not stop the burning sensation in this place, though.
It hurts. It hurts!
Lilly never told her how much it hurt and she never expected that...
But still, she had to carry on. Her friend trusted her.
So Candel tried her best to ignore the pain in her chest and had her left arm change shape into another barrel. She recalled how Mami could summon hundreds of them at once... which she could not.
However, her weapons were not limited to one shot each in exchange; a fact Quitterie came to realise when Candeloro rammed her legs into the ground and started to unleash a hail of bullets even the agile Witch could not get away from. She could barely take the heat in her arms from all the explosive propulsions, yet the doll continued to produce one projectile after the other and shoot them at her opponent. She was exhausted, but this could not end with her admitting defeat. She promised.
Glancing blows amassed while the Witch of Needles tried to get into a safe position, but there was none: the doll could easily turn around due to the length of her legs. There was nothing in this place that could be used for cover and so, the cloak and head were ripped apart; only for a slender body of black matter with needles for arms and legs to become visible. It was just a mask the Witch wore, Candel realised when she saw the oval-shaped, green head. Some of her bullets were deflected with the thin needles, but more kept coming and pierced right through the other eldritch being; others dented the arms and legs ever further upon impact. She could jump with those legs, yet she never tried after she was shot out of her second attempt... now she just got hit after hit until she collapsed.
If Quitterie tried to send her something at last, Candeloro did not notice. The heat of the sustained fire melted her arms for a good part; they were dangling around her body, hanging on little more than a few fibres of cloth. Her legs ached terribly from the pressure they had to hold against and her chest was throbbing. When the doll looked down, she saw something in a light orange stain the ribbon she put over the wound. Was that her blood?
Candel's body slowly went numb and in this very moment, she felt the heat increase ever more. Lilly's flames reached her and burned the little bit of energy she had left out of her limbs. The Dress-Up Witch fell with a pained sigh, unable to scream anymore.
Then everything faded to black.
. . .
When reality started to waver around her and the flames vanished from her field of vision, the human-shaped Witch knew that it was over. Quitterie was defeated, one way or another. She just hoped that... wait.
Since when do I rely on others? Since when am I attached to others that are not Madoka?
The thought drilled deep into her concious mind, seeing that she was still breathing heavily and could barely think straight. Why did she start to care for this little doll that was little more than a baby?
Maybe because we are alike... she is another Witch, a being of insanity and despair. Stranded within sanity and on a quest of hope...
The whole situation was paradoxical and yet, Lilly figured that this was exactly why the two of them got along more or less.
Thankfully, this Witch had been lurking within an abandoned building located in the outskirts of the construction site. She could just continue lying on the ground and recovering for a while without anyone noticing. The feeling of wet clothes all around her body was not a good one, but at least bearable. They would dry if given some time. The cold floor against her back calmed Mortal World's Witch and her breathing slowly returned to normal. Lilly's fluttering heart took a bit longer to regain a normal rhythm, but she managed.
Unfortunately though, she had no idea how much time passed until she actually got up and looked around. Where was Candeloro? The doll should have landed a few meters next to her, but she was nowhere in sight. There was the Grief Seed and... there was another one.
Lilly's eyes slowly went back and forth beneath the two hearts before a sigh escaped her. So it was the fire that finished the job.
But... which one is Candel?
A slender hand slowly reached out for the objects and got a hold of both of them. The first one she picked up had the faint sensation of a sleeping child run through her. This was most likely the Dress-Up Witch. Her suspicion was confirmed when she sensed lingering pride in the other Grief Seed.
So one of us still returns to her Grief Seed upon dieing. Candel will restore her body and emerge again if everything works out. Hm... restoring ones body... maybe...
Maybe if Lilly got herself killed, she would emerge with her real body? Although that was unlikely, the moment of hope had her heart skip a beat again. Then however, her realism kicked in and reminded her that she would not get herself killed for any reason.
Mortal World's Witch sighed and got to her feet before putting the heart of her newest companion into the bag she carried the doll around with before. Then the other Grief Seed went into her pocket and the eldritch being got going. She would not eat this one before she was absolutely sure that Candel was in the other one. The universe screwed her over often enough for her not to take her impressions as proof.
Neither Mami nor Homura will be happy about this...
Even when it meant that they learned something new, especially the blonde seemed to quickly grow fond of the cheerful doll... and who could hold it against her; they were the same person after all.
But how should she tell them?
.
. . .
.
Said Magical Girls were on their way back to Mami's flat not much later. Their patrol did not bring any Grief Seeds, although they killed off three Familiars as they went. The blonde would not stop hunting the smaller creatures even when Homura reminded her that Lilly could eat them anyway.
There might still be some work to do with her, the time traveler thought. This girl was steadied to a point where she could survive, though. Lilly did a marvelous job with that, even when the means she used were... unusual.
I would never have thought of something like that...
To be fair though, pulling someone else along through time was impossible to her alone.
When they returned to the flat, the Magical Girls found that Mortal World's Witch was already back. Mami noticed it because of the shoes that stood at the door to the balcony, whereas Homura found out because she heard the shower going.
Why is she showering at a time like this?
As a matter of fact, her Witch preferred to clean herself either in the morning or in the evening, not in the midst of day. What made her change that behaviour for once?
The time traveler guessed that she would find out rather soon, so she sat down at the table and put her Soul Gem on it. Mami took the seat opposite to her and both of them had their eyes cast onto each other while awkward silence engulfed the two. What should she say now?
To be honest, Homura did not want to talk. They spoke quite a bit on their way and at this point, there was nothing even remotely relevant to converse about anymore.
Normally, she would be out and stocking up on weapons as well as ingredients or maybe watching Madoka's house. As it was however, the first one would come in the evening and the last one was unnecessary because Kyubey would not approach her friend for as long as she was with her family.
The light tapping of feet on the ground pulled her back into reality and Homura turned her head slightly, as did Mami. They watched Lilly enter the room in one of the time traveler's spare uniforms and with a towel on her shoulders. She seemed somewhat out of it right now.
The Witch kept quiet and went to sit down between the Magical Girls with a sigh that alerted Homura. This regularly meant that something went wrong.
"What happened?"
Her sister returned the time traveler's gaze nonchalantly while their blond companion looked back and forth between them. Then Lilly put a Grief Seed onto the table that they eyed with curiousity. Why was she showing them that? Moreover, why had the Witch not yet eaten this one?
"Um... excuse me, Yuri-san, but what do you want to tell us with that?"
So the raven-haired girl was not the only one that had trouble piecing this together... on the other hand though... something was wrong with the situation. Homura just noticed; something was amiss.
"We had some trouble with a fellow Witch. I still don't know what to think about it... but you should use this one to cleanse your Soul Gems."
It was pushed over to the time traveler, who took it with a raised eyebrow. Now she knew what was not there that should be: Lilly was around and yet they saw no sign of Candeloro.
"What happened to her?"
She did not even worry that her sister could not follow Homura's train of though. She always could. Mami was not this fast, although she did not get the chance to ask because the eldritch being sighed again. "You're holding her in your hand. Don't ask me any questions, though. I need to experiment some more before I can say anything for certain."
So the Grief Seed she held on to... that meant that the doll died. But why did she die when Lilly was with her?
"W-Wait... what exactly happened, Yuri-san?"
Now there was also concern mixed into the blonde's confusion, although Homura could understand that. Had she not known her sister's competence in annihilating Witches, the time traveler might have done so as well. As it was however, she was mostly curious about the chain of events that led to this situation. Lilly on her part shrugged and leaned back. "We were in some trouble, so I sent Candel ahead. She's faster than me and strong enough... at least I thought she was. Maybe Quitterie was a bit too strong for a first opponent, though."
As she spoke, the time traveler already proceeded with holding the lifeless metal close to her Soul Gem. Lilly was most likely trying to revive the Dress-Up Witch by feeding her with the taint from the Magical Girls; although it would not work at once, seeing that they should be able to use the Grief Seed twice without it activating again. Nonetheless, it was as good an idea as any... although one had to wonder why her sister was so readily giving up on the meal she would have gotten herself otherwise.
"Um... let me get this straight: you had Candel... fight a Witch? When she is barely a day old?"
Mami seemed upset by the idea. The blonde took the heart of her counterpart when Homura held it out to her and used it, though. The swirling blackness from within the orb became a bit stronger, but not yet strong enough. Lilly tilted her head and eyed their partner curiously. "Yes. She is that strong, seeing whom she originates from."
The eldritch being held out her hand to retrieve the Grief Seed once it absorbed the second portion of taint, but Mami shook her head and pocketed the object herself. "No, I should have tried to keep an eye on what you were doing since the beginning. Candel will stay with me until she is back."
This time, the time traveler was as surprised as Lilly, although more about the fact that the blonde openly confronted her sister than that she seemed to care about her Witch already.
Once those beings were capable to express themselves, it was difficult for the respective girl not to grow fond of them... they were touching their own deepest desires after all.
"Tch. Very well, though I hope that you know what you just got yourself into. She could emerge at any moment, even in the middle of class. No one knows if she will still be sane when she does and on top of that, we have no idea about her mood at that point, either. Have fun... I guess I'm heading out again, then. Since I don't have that responsibility any more, I will get myself something to eat."
Mami had become a bit more thoughtful over the explanation she got, although the last part made her nod reluctantly. "But please do not stay out for too long. I wanted to start with dinner in about an hour or so."
"Sure..."
Mortal World's Witch did not say any more; she went back to the balcony, put on her shoes and jumped off. Homura's gaze followed her until she landed on another building closeby and went out of sight from there. The air around her had been a bit upset though, the time traveler could tell.
"I... made her mad, did I not?"
The reluctant question had her turn her head back to Mami, who was still looking at the door and seemed a bit more uneasy than usually. Homura wondered about that... was her Witch really angry?
"I doubt that. It's more likely that you surprised her... and besides, I guess Lilly wasn't in a good mood to begin with."
Although she was not entirely sure about the reason for that.
Mami nodded slightly and sighed quietly. "There is no helping it. Do you want some tea, Homura-san?"
Yellow eyes met purple lenses and for a moment, the time traveler was tempted to just turn her down... but then again, she could use something to drink and did not want to be rude.
"Sure. Nothing fancy though, green tea would be nice."
Her request prompted the blonde to smile at her and rise to her feet. She bowed slightly and went off, being the proper girl once again.
Once she was alone, Homura had to suppress a sigh. She was not sure whether this was really going in a way she liked. Of course, they had Mami on their side now... but would that be enough?
Considering that Lilly will bring in Kyoko in a few days... we should have a lot more time to prepare. But what to do with Miki Sayaka and Madoka...
It was troublesome. The chances of keeping both of them away from Kyubey until all of this was over were not really good. Fortunately though, she could now hunt the Incubator openly. Mami would not mind her doing that anymore.
Still, she had to be careful...
. . .
The chilly air helped cooling her head. Lilly was not sure why she was angry to begin with, but there was no denying the fact that she was.
It might not even be because of the other Witch in particular, but because of the situation in general. She knew that it was her fault, but still...
The eldritch being stopped dead in her tracks when another thought entered her mind. Am I angry that I don't get what I want?
That was a thing children did, not beings like her. She had since grown out of that phase, so what would it mean if this was the case? Was she moving backwards in her development, was there a connection to the amount of energy she had right now?
Or maybe...
Maybe she really was becoming more human.
Her feet started to move again and Mortal World's Witch quickly entered an alleyway where one of her kin was currently waiting for prey. She went into the barrier with but a casual thought and set it on fire with a single, long breath. There was not much more energy left to begin with, so the amount she used did not matter. Give it a few minutes until the owner of this place died to the flames, eat the Grief Seed and she should hopefully not starve on this very day.
Then Lilly sat down with her legs crossed while the fire whirled around her and tuned out the crackling of the dying environment. She had to think. It was the only thing she could do right now because she was still not completely sure whether she actually gave Candel's Grief Seed to the Magical Girls. If the one she had on her was not Quitterie and she ate it... that would bring her in really deep trouble.
At least we know that at least one of us returns to her Grief Seed. Candeloro can not be killed permanently... but on the other hand, being killed to begin with is not nice at all.
She never experienced the pain that came with dying, even when Lilly was rather close to the sensation before. The burning pain in her chest and the feeling of her very life slowly dripping out of her body... if this was what accompanied a death, then she was not sure whether she could stay sane after experiencing that more than a few times.
I guess I should apologize to Candel when she is back.
And this time it would be an honest apology, not like those empty words she exchanged with most people in the last timeline. Lilly had to admit to that: she was at fault, so she had to accept this; even when she did not like it. At least the Witch was honest to herself about that.
On the other hand though, she should not keep thinking about this particular topic for much longer.
What to do... what's the plan...
Lilly had not given much thought to this up until now. Granted, they were only one and a half days into this loop, but she should decide on what to do this time around. Getting Kyoko into the mix was already planned, but what to do afterwards? Should they try to talk to Madoka or rather keep the Incubator away from her? Which option was more promising?
We failed at having that decision the moment we got into contact with her. She will try to learn more the moment Homura approaches... but can we guarantee that she won't get contracted when we leave her in the dark?
It was unlikely. The Incubator would find a moment and even with help from Mami, they could not keep up constant surveillance. It was just not possible and Homura almost tired herself to death with her attempts of doing that before. Besides, the problem with Walpurgis still remained anyway. How should they defeat the Queen of Witches while keeping the truth from Madoka at the same time?
It doesn't work, I guess...
Not that she liked this realisation, but there was no need to deny it.
For a moment, Lilly's madness-ridden mind came up with a completely different idea: what if they had Madoka contract and leaped back with her? Maybe it was possible to create Kriemhild Gretchen like this... but on the other hand, what did that mean for the pinkette? What did the process itself mean for Homura and Mami?
Would their Soul Gems simply shatter after being completely exhausted? Would another Witch emerge from them?
Lilly cast the idea aside. They knew far too less to try.
Somehow, this scene had something peaceful to her; everything was purple and no sounds were to be heard over the crackling of the fire. Warmth radiated from everywhere and filled her with content. She was actually relaxed. She was safe.
Small lips curled into a smile and Mortal World's Witch closed her eyes for a while. No being could live in this refuge of hers, no being could enter. Her feet still hurt a bit from all that running earlier, she noticed. Nonetheless, the slight stinging was acceptable even now. It reminded her of not losing herself in the temporary comfort.
Though... I can enjoy it for a while.
Her stomach demanded food, but the serenity of her surroundings made her able to ignore it for a while. The eldritch being took a few deep breaths and fell into a slight slumber.
.
. . .
.
Somewhere else entirely, a certain girl woke from a startling dream. No, it had not been a dream. It was a vision.
'So, what did you see, Oriko?'
The newly contracted girl lowered her head and exchanged a glance with the feline creature that sat in front of her. He seemed honestly curious about this... but she could not tell him. She could not tell anyone. Maybe Kirika... but no one else.
Nonetheless, the girl smiled reassuringly. "It seemed quite nice, actually. Though I have to think about one thing or another... could you leave me alone for a while?"
'Of course. See you later.'
And it was gone.
Once Kyubey left the room, Mikuni Oriko got to sit in one of the corners of the empty room she lived in, her legs pulled up to her chin and with heavy thoughts racing through her mind.
This can not be... this Witch...
Her mind never even finished that particular train of thought. Out of nothing, a bullet shattered her white Soul Gem into a thousand pieces.
. . .
This was another part of her routine; to eliminate all the potentially dangerous Magical Girls no matter if they actually contracted or not.
Of course she would not tell Mami about something like that, seeing that the blonde would never approve of it. Lilly seemed to think the same, seeing that she did not mention it, either.
The mental list contained thirteen names and Homura already took care of five of them by now. To see that Mikuni made the contract in this timeline was troublesome. This meant that Chitose Yuma might get involved as well. Not that this particular girl was a threat, but she used to complicate things.
Another one done, now for Kure.
Anyway, she was not done yet.