CHAPTER 17: Playback

"Greeeeaaaaaat." Miss Jones groaned in her chair. "Just fantastic. What sort of hackneyed teenage melodrama have I been sucked into here?" She grabbed a handkerchief, stood up and handed it to the bean-soaked Hitomi. "Yeesh!"

"Madoka threw a pot of beans at me!" Sayaka accusingly pointed the finger at her friend.

"She threw it at us." Hitomi flicked a sopping-wet bean off her wrist at Sayaka.

"Madoka, is that true?" Miss Jones turned to the silent girl sitting farther away.

"Madoka was merely breaking up a heated verbal argument between those two." Homura stated at the doorway in Madoka's defense. Miss Jones motioned for her to sit down and join the rest of the group.

"And what did you see after that, Miss Otonashi?" Miss Jones asked the Disguised Sayaka, sheepishly staring at her counterpart from the opposite corner of the room.

"Me? I, uh-" Sayaka looked around at the discontented stares of her peers. "When I saw the beans, I... Hid under the table." She slouched in her seat "I didn't see much else."

"Probably not the most inappropriate action." Miss Jones wiped Sayaka's counterpart's cheek with a blank piece of paper.

"Hitomi chucked rice at me!" Sayaka cried with a look of both shock and disdain. "Like, right in my eyes!"

"You stained my shirt with barbecue!" Hitomi wailed back.

"It was after Sayaka threw Hitomi's lunch at me!" Madoka finally chimed in.

"A little vinegar should do the trick" Miss Jones inspected Hitomi's shirt.

"I'm well aware of how I'm supposed to clean food stains." Hitomi replied.

"And what about you, Miss Kaname?" Miss Jones glanced at a cut under Madoka's knee. "Do you need any assistance?" She surreptitiously glanced at Kyubey watching them all, right beneath the young lady. It seemed to have its eyes trained directly on her.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Madoka hunched over. "I- I slipped on some food after we stopped fighting."

"Alright," Miss Jones nodded her head. "At the risk of starting a shouting match, would someone care to tell me who started this whole mess?"

"Hitomi started it." Sayaka folded her arms.

Hitomi shot her an immensely disgusted look. "It's a personal matter. It's not something I'm comfortable sharing with a teacher." Hitomi puffed her cheeks and looked away.

"It's…" Madoka slowly lifted her head up just long enough to reply. "About a boy we know." She lowered her head quickly enough to dodge the irate stares of her two friends.

"A boy?" Miss Jones lightly shuffled over to Madoka's desk. "Hooooooo boy." Kyubey's eyes stayed trained on her the entire way.

"His name's Kyosuke Kamijo." The Sayaka in disguise volunteered. Her counterpart quickly shot a displeased look at Hitomi. Hitomi didn't seem to appreciate her confidant's reveal much, either.

"Ah." Miss Jones nodded. "Why does that name sound familiar?" She fibbed as she tried pressing the group for more answers.

"He's a boy who's in this class." Homura went along with the ruse. "But he's been recovering in the hospital after suffering an accident." The three girls collectively stared at her. "I occasionally do overhear the class's idle gossip." She assuaged the group.

"And something concerning this boy, is what caused this wordfight-turned-foodfight?"

The group fell totally silent for the next full minute.

"I know saying this is a total cliché, but talking it out really does work sometimes." She turned toward the front of the room "Silence only foments resentment."

"Very well," Hitomi volunteered. "If admitting it out in the open will serve any purpose, then I confess…" Hitomi swallowed. "I have been secretly seeing Kyosuke Kamijo in the hospital for the last few weeks. I have always liked Kamijo. And while he and I were together, we got along quite well," she continued. "And the more time I've spent with him, the more that I am certain," She stood up and took a deep breath. "I am in love with him." But she could tell by the unstirred look on all their faces that her honest words weren't gaining the traction she anticipated. She slunk back into her seat crestfallen.

"That's aweeeeeesome!" Sayaka replied. "I hope Kyosuke knows juuuuuust how lucky he iiiiiiis!" The Disguised Sayaka could recognize the bitter sarcasm in her counterpart's voice. So could everyone else.

"Hey, lay off!" Sayaka snapped at her other self. "She had a lot of courage admitting it! More than you've got."

"Shut yer trap, Transfer Student!" Her counterpart rolled her eyes, stood up and shot back. "This ain't any business of yours!"

"Bite your tongue, Miss Clown." Miss Jones lightly pushed Sayaka down to her seat. "I take it by that reaction, you've got your eyes on him as well?" Miss Jones calmly asked.

"Er, uh-" Sayaka hesitated to answer. "We hang out." She grumpily sat back down. "From time to time."

"That's all he is to you?" Hitomi responded. "If that's the case, then I believe I was being more than fair in giving you time to act."

"How is one day being fair?" Sayaka objected. "I haven't even been able to see him since that afternoon I caught you red-handed flirting with him!"

"I already apologized for not telling you what I was doing." Hitomi countered. "But I'm not going to apologize for doing it. I was simply trying to engage him positively, at the nurses' encouragement. What followed next was us naturally having chemistry together."

"Blech!" Sayaka blew a raspberry with her tongue. "Don't make me barf! The stench of the barbecue and beans in your hair is already makin' me sick enough!"

"Mushrooms, actually." Miss Jones interjected. She hovered her nose over Hitomi's head. "Shiitake, if my knowledge of fungus is still solid." She physically inserted herself between the bickering young ladies. "It's all over yourself as well, Miss Clown." She checked the time on the clock. "I think this about the part where, as the duly designated authority figure, I'm supposed to take control of the conversation and hand down your punishment." She self-assuredly placed each hand in front of Sayaka and Hitomi's faces. "So this is how it's going to go down." She made eyes with Madoka as she continued. "Each of you is going to write on the board in English, approximately one hundred times, 'I shall not start silly stupid spats over splendidly spiffy studs in school'."

"'Splendidly spiffy studs?'" Homura cocked her head to the side.

"Teaching alliteration in English tomorrow." Miss Jones smiled. "They'll be getting a head start." She glanced at each of the girls as she spoke. Then a third time at Kyubey. She wasn't paranoid… It really was watching her. With intent.

"That wasn't part of the lesson plan." Hitomi sheepishly commented.

"Read ahead have we, Little Teacher's Pet?" Sayaka snarked.

"Quiet now!" Miss Jones zipped her mouth. "I'll be making a few changes from Miss Saotome's plans." She quick-glanced at the Kyubey under the desk. Indeed, for seemingly the first time ever it appeared thoroughly uninterested in the drama surrounding Kaname. "As you're working, I will dismiss each of you, one at a time, to the bathroom, so you can clean yourselves up." She then turned her attention to Homura. "Miss Akemi, since you were not a party to this quarrel, and thus not technically in detention, I would like you to assume the role of class helper for the day."

"Very well." Homura flipped her hair.

"Seeing as you seem to have gotten the worst of it, Miss Shizuki, I think it's best that you visit first."

"Thank you," Hitomi graciously nodded and stood up.

"What about me?" The Disguised Sayaka raised her hand. "Am I in trouble too?"

"Judging by the amount of food that's presently on your personage, no." Miss Jones moved toward her desk. "You're free to go." She pointed at the door.

"Uhh, Saya? Can you do me a small favor?" Hitomi turned around and approached her. "I meant to check out a couple of books at the library after lunch." She handed Sayaka a list and her student ID. "Can you go check them out for me, please?"

"Oh, uhm," Sayaka peeked at the list. "Sure thing." Hitomi gave an appreciative smile.

"And could you close the door on your way out?" Miss Jones quickly hollered at the departing trio.

"Huh?" Homura turned and looked back.

"You heard me." She cocked her head at them. "I can't have any "unauthorized" presences getting in my detention room." She winked, then whispered "Or out."

"I... see."

"Alright, then." she tossed a pair of digital pens to Sayaka and Madoka. "You ladies hop right to it."

"Sayaka?" Madoka discreetly whispered to her friend after a few minutes of writing and awkward silence. "Did you hear what I said in the cafeteria?"

"Not really." Sayaka impatiently sighed as she wrote on the board. "I was too busy dodging the food you tossed at me."

"I meant what I said." Madoka inched a step closer to her friend. "Kyosuke is in love with me!"

"Pssht. Ridiculous. You were tryin' to stop us from fighting." Her friend said dismissively. "You don't need to keep lying about it."

"But I'm not lying!" Madoka insisted.

"Tch!" Sayaka grimaced. She stopped writing and momentarily stared into her friend's unabating eyes. "What's his favorite song?"

"Ave Maria."

"Even Hitomi would get that one right." Sayaka rolled her eyes as she went back to writing. "What's his favorite show?"

"That one show with the magical girls."

"Ha! Wrong!" Sayaka said a little too loud. "Like he'd be into anything with superheroes. Or girls."

"Less talk-ey, more writ-ey." Miss Jones interrupted. "The faster you write, the sooner you can all go home." She added, subtly making eyes with the figure under Madoka's desk from behind a newspaper. Its creepy gaze still hyper-focused on her.

"He told me about the show last night." Madoka recounted while she resumed writing. "I was looking all over for you and I thought I'd find you with him so I went there and we talked and he…" She paused to catch her breath. "He and I talked a lot."

"Ahhhhh, you talked a lot?" Sayaka snorted. "And you naturally hit it off, I'm sure. A highly original story."

"It's true!" Madoka countered.

Sayaka continued writing. "So what am I supposed to believe? That you and he had a whirlwind of a day together, talking and talking and talking, and suddenly you're an inseparable pair?" She paused while she caught up to Madoka's pace.

"Quit bickering or I'll make it a hundred and fifty times!" Miss Jones commanded from behind the newspaper. She strategically placed her glasses on the desk and peeked into Kyubey's reflection off them.

"Sorry." They apologized in unison.

"Or that you did a stupid thing so that Hitomi and I wouldn't fight anymore?" She whispered after a few minutes of monitored silence. Sayaka caught a glimpse of a figure approaching down the hallway from the transparent wall outside. It was a quite visibly angry Miss Yamazaki. "Aww, Crap."

"Just a moment." Miss Jones hopped out of her seat and met her at the doorway. "What's up?" She quickly closed the door behind her.

"We've had five practices… You know how many she's been to? Just one!" She exclaimed. "And she blew that one off on me, too!"

"And verbally torching her is not going to teach her anything." Miss Jones assuaged. "It'll only make her afraid of you."

"I'm not here to do that." Miss Yamazaki professed. "The administrative staff wants to debrief each girl involved, one at a time. Get to the bottom of whomever started that foodfight and discipline them accordingly."

"You mean now?" Miss Jones checked back over her shoulder. Miss Yamazaki sternly nodded.

"I wouldn't lie to you about this, I swear." Madoka raised her voice with one last plea. The level of seriousness in her voice was enough to get Sayaka to drop her pen.

"Miss Clown!" Miss Jones stood in the doorway.

"Y- Yes, Miss Jones?"

"They want to have a talk with each of you. One on one." Her eyes peered down the opposite hallway where Homura and Hitomi were returning. "Guess you're up to bat first."

"Y- Yes, Miss Jones." Sayaka meandered out the door with her head drooped low. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to practice." She meekly apologized to Miss Yamazaki. "Really sorry."

"We'll discuss it after you've met with the administrative staff." Miss Yamazaki stiffly replied. "And after I've contacted your parents." This made Sayaka sink her head even lower.

"Welcome back." Miss Jones stood firm in the doorway greeting the returning girls. She casually hovered her nose above Hitomi's damp hair. "It's not as bad anymore. Passable enough to make it through the afternoon." She stepped aside and let Hitomi pass. "You're turn, Miss Kaname." Madoka handed her digital pen to Hitomi and shuffled towards the door. Kyubey, surprisingly, did not follow. The jig was up, Miss Jones figured.

"Miss Akemi," The Time Lady hastily shut the door behind Madoka with a resounding thud, trapping Kyubey inside the classroom. "Would you and Miss Kaname please go to the bathroom down by the Teachers' Lounge? I know it's a little out of the way, but," she placed her hand trustingly on Homura's shoulder. "There's something I need you to retrieve for me while you're there."

"Yes, Miss-"

"Who are you?" A single question psychically permeated into the Time Lady's mind.

"It's under my desk. You'll know it when you see it."

"There are small, but detectable traces of magic emanating from within you," The psychic voice of Kyubey continued. "With concerted focus, I can perceive it. But the energy patterns flowing throughout your physical form are vey-"

"Straaaaaaaaange?" The Time Lady psychically replied. She turned around and stared back at him from behind the glass wall.

"You are another anomaly."

'Funny… That's how all my superiors described me, too.' She gave a sly, satisfied smile. 'But they're all gone now. Now it's just me. Here to foil the machinations of little bunnycats.'

"Very peculiar how you've managed to evade detection until now." Kyubey curiously turned his head. "Are you a magical girl?"

'A "Magical Girl"? Quite the whimsical name for a Witch in chrysalis. I can see why it's at the fore of your marketing pitch.'

"In this land, undeveloped human females are referred to as "girls", it is only natural to call an undeveloped witch a magi-"

'Spare me the villainous riff! Y'know, I have half a mind to report you for flagrantly violating at least three major subsections of The Treaties of The Shadow Proclamation! That is, my old moral, upstanding, naïve rule-abiding half a mind.'

"We are in compliance with Article Zero, Clause Six, Subsection Sixty-Six to The Treaty."

'Aaaaaand the other half, that is the wiser, more realistic, better-knowing cynical half, is all too aware of that imbicilic classified subset of legalese loopholes.' She sternly folded her arms and stared into her target's big red eyes. 'The Benevolence Clause. Tell me Bunnycat, how could there possibly be anything benevolent about turning unsuspecting girls into eldritch horrors?'

"That you are aware of these entities suggests you are not of this world." Kyubey returned to his original question "Who are you?"

'I am… Nobody. But I am a nobody who is going to stop your pernicious little scheme.'

"There is nothing malevolent to our methods. We acknowledge humans' sapience and approach them as equals." The two were now locked into a dead-eyed stare. "Who are you?"

'I am nobody. Though the Tantiliaths once called me 'The Tormentor,' The Time Lady smirked. 'And I shall torment to no end, any being who would harvest innocent souls for cynical reasons.'

"Our methods are ultimately altruistic. The sacrifice of a select few, shall eventually benefit the entire universe. Including humans." Neither had moved a muscle from the second their conversation began. "Who are you?"

'I am nobody. But I am also the bane of seven Sontaran Fleets. And soon I will become the bane of you as well, my trapped little bunnycat.'

Kyubey was unfazed. "Keeping me sealed in a room is futile. Attacking us will accomplish nothing. Indeed if either of us are judged by the Shadow Proclamation, it shall be you for stopping us from achieving our goal." Kyubey's stare still holding firm, the creature asked once more, "Who are you?"

'I am nobody. But a very long time ago, I was somebody. And that Somebody would very much like to know what your endgame is.'

"Our goal is the most benevolent of all goals. Our goal is to gather energy that will someday far extend the life Universe." Kyubey swished his tail back and forth like an animal waiting for its opportunity to pounce.

'Extend the life of the Universe?' The Time Lady's could hardly contain her laughter, though her stern, judgemental gaze persisted. 'And here I was about to treat you as a formidable opponent! What a massive folly, trying to use ectomatter in such a foolish way.'

"This 'ectomatter,' which I presume is your word for human souls," Kyubey countered, "Is the only known energy source that releases more energy than it takes to raise and harness it."

'I don't know what to tell you, little Bunnycat, but you are going to fail in that goal. Miserably.' She leaned ever so slightly closer to him. 'You see, I've seen the end of the Universe. It's cold. It's dark. It's quiet. It's really not so bad if you don't mind putting up with some cannibals.'

"How could you have possibly seen the end of the Universe? Who are you?"

'I am nobody. A Nobody who has found true salvation in the philosophy of helping others directly, and rejecting the bullshit "Greater good of the many" mantra for what it is: An excuse the entrenched powerful use to do whatever the hell saves their own asses.' A single drop of blood fell from her nose.

"You appear to have the ability to resist my telepathic probing. But the endemic flaw of the humanoid body is that it cannot endure such applied stresses indefinitely. Who are you?" Kyubey concentrated all his physical energy into mentally breaking his foe.

'Ohhhhhh you really wanna go, boy? Let's have at it!''

"Who are you?" Images flashed into Kyubey's mind. Of fleets of exploding warships. Of planets being incinerated. Of the millions of horrified, screaming faces.

' You... Will... ' The dripping nosebleed began to gush.

"Y-… You are…" Faces upon faces of terrified souls, from countless races. "The Betrayer of The Bamshin..." "Mangler of The Shalka..." "Reaper of The Zomft..." So many faces, so many names... "Conquerer of the Krillitane..." "Blight of the Xanthe... "Demon of The Daleks." But it was all the same singular soul.

'Obeeeeeeeey… Meeeeee…' Her arrogant smile evolved into an ever so fearsome grin.

"The…" Then a strange world appeared in his view. "The…" An impossible world.

'I… Am…' That wasn't possible! How could she be a member of a mythological race? She leaned closer and closer, until her head was practically leaning right against the glass.

"Miss Jooooones!" Hitomi Shizuki suddenly cried from the whiteboard. A shattering of glass fell straight onto her head. The Mitakihara Middle School teacher abruptly collapsed to the floor.

"So you admit to full culpability in this altercation?" The Superintendent spoke very matter-of-factly.

"Yes." Sayaka gulped, "Sir." 'He'll believe it.' She thought to herself, 'Because I'm nobody.'

"It says here you've had prior physical altercations with other students in the past." He studiously flipped through her permanent record at his desk. "Most prominently an older male student, two years ago." He fingered through the details of her prior schoolyard incident. "Hmmm."

"I was sticking up for someone, that time." Sayaka replied. ' He's already made up his mind about me. ' "Sir."

"I'm not interested in hearing any of your justifications." He turned the page. "Or any excuses."

"Sorry." She muttered. 'It's like talking to my Mom.' She thought.

"In addition, Yamazaki says you've not been attending softball practices."

"Boring sport anyway."

"Nor am I interested in your opinion!" He lightly pushed Sayaka's record aside.

"Sorry again." Sayaka caught a glimpse of Madoka's record on his desk. It was spotless. 'I'm gonna keep it that way.'

"Your being here, attending this school," He took a deep, stern breath. "It is not a right. It is a privilege. It is amongst the highest-ranked schools, not just in this city, but in the entire Prefecture."

Sayaka caught sight of Hitomi's record. It was even more impeccable. "Uh-Huh." She rolled her eyes. 'She'll owe me for this too. Big time.'

"Do you hear me?" He glowered at her. "It. Is. A privilege. An opportunity. One that you are utterly wasting, judging by your test scores."

"I promise I'll do better." 'They're both gonna owe me big time.' She tried her best to sound contrite. "It really was all my fault. I'll accept whatever punishment you see fit." The class dismissal bell rang the moment she finished her apology.

"I'll have to make some calls before we ultimately decide what to do with y-..." His attention immediately shifted from Sayaka to another teacher striding over up behind her, rapidly approaching his desk.

"There's been an incident with one of the teachers." He whispered to his superior.

"Whom?"

"The substitute, Sir!" Hearing that snapped Sayaka to attention. "She's passed out!"

"Have you tried to awaken her?"

"She's unresponsive." Sayaka impulsively tried to go to her aid. "We've already called the hospital."

"Remain here, Miss Miki!" The Administrator jumped from his desk

"No! She's my teacher! She stomped. "I wanna know if she's-" The sight of other students and teachers rushing towards her classroom caught her eye. As did another thing, something rushing away from the classroom, Kyubey. He looked as though he were running for his very life, in fact.

"Notify the rest of the-." The Administrator paused. Sayaka ran out of his office. "I'm not done with you yet, Miss Miki." She could not hear his warning. The wail of ambulance sirens was drowning out his voice.

"Weird. I didn't even know they carried these kinds of things in our library." The Sayaka in disguise was fulfilling Hitomi's request and checking out a list of manga at the library. She'd never been aware of the vast selection available at her school library, she had gone there so little back in her former life.

"It's mostly for the Art Clubs." The School Librarian said. "They need reference materials for their work." She leaned in to whisper, "But occasionally I also catch some of the honor students and athletes indulging in a manga or two."

"Did you hear? Has anyone told you?" One of the honor students grabbed her by the arm. "The substitute English teacher had a seizure and slammed into a section of the wall!"

"What?" Both gasped Sayaka and the Librarian. Sayaka quickly gathered her belongings and ran back to her classroom.

"Homura, why do you have a pet carrier with you?" Madoka asked upon leaving the bathroom. Homura had taken it along with her teacher's coat.

"Miss Jones has a pet rabbit," Homura lied. "She left it in the care of some grade schoolers this morning." Lying to Madoka, even a small one, felt so wrong to her.

"She never said anything about having a pet rabbit..." Madoka trailed off.

"I imagine there's a lot of things she hasn't told us about herself."

"Do you think I did the wrong thing?" Madoka asked her classmate.

"I can't say," Homura calmly replied. "But I've learned that there's a difference between doing the wrong thing, and doing something wrong. And you definitely didn't do anything wrong."

"So you're saying that I did the wrong thing, but it's for the right reasons," Madoka stepped a little closer. "It's not really doing something wrong."

"When there's no other way out of the situation, I suppose."

"I should've kept trying to make them hear me."

"If there's no benefit to second guessing yourself, don't. And there's no benefit in this case."

"It's funny, you remind me a lot of my Momma."

"In a good way, I can only hope."

"Oh, definitely in a good way, but-" A male classmate had bumped straight into her running through the hallway. "Owwwch!"

"There's no running in the hallways!" Homura's voice raised a full two octaves. "Watch where you're going next time!"

"Sorry, uhhh-" Ohtani helped Madoka get back on her feet. "Hasn't anyone told you yet? Miss Jones fell down and she's unconscious! They're takin' her to the hospital right now!"

"I didn't really... See what happened." Hitomi Shizuki hesitantly told the attending nurse at the hospital. The entire class had left school to check on their unwell teacher. "I was writing the assignment on the board, when I heard glass shatter and watched her fall down from the corner of my eye."

"How is she doing?" Nearly a dozen boys and girls asked the Doctor simultaneously, including Madoka, Homura and the two Sayakas.

"She's unconscious, but stable for now." The Doctor seemed deeply touched that so many students could care about their poor teacher.

"C'mon," Homura whispered and tugged Sayaka's sleeve. "The computer monitor said she was in Observation Room Four Twelve. It's a single patient suite. Let's get up there."

"What the hell happened to her?" Sayaka whispered back.

"I don't know." Homura swiftly grabbed a coat and a pet carrier she'd hidden behind a chair. "But I highly doubt she suffered a seizure."

"What's the deal with that?" Sayaka tapped on the pet carrier.

"She intended to hold Kyubey in it. She asked me to retrieve it for her, then after that, whatever happened to her, happened." They made their way into the bathroom and sealed it.

"You don't think she was going to try to catch him right there in detention, do you?"

"If she had reason to think Kyubey was suspicious of her, she might not have had much choice." Homura instantaneously flashed into her magical form. "But here I can only speculate. What we must do now, is investigate." She held her hand out to Sayaka. "Take my hand. We'll take the stairs up to the third floor storage room, then the fifth floor storage room, and work our way to where she's being kept."

"You've snuck around this hospital before a lot, haven't you?"

"Yes I have." Homura spun her buckler.

"We're here." The two girls had arrived in her room in a matter of seconds in real-time.

"Woah, she's out cold." Sayaka observed.

"You can help her wake up." Homura locked the door and pulled the blinds closed. "Use your healing magic."

"B- But-"

"I know you still doubt yourself. But was this not the reason you became a magical girl? To help people who need help?"

"I… Yeah." Sayaka closed her eyes and changed into her magical form with a flash. She removed the Soul Gem from its spot on her belly and clutched it over Miss Jones's sleeping body. "I'll try."

"Just concentrate." Homura removed her own diamond-shaped Soul Gem from the back of her hand and emulated Sayaka's motions.

"What're you doing?" Sayaka asked.

"It couldn't hurt." Homura softly replied. Sayaka gave her a slight, thankful smile.

"You don't need to waste your energy." A voice unexpectedly said below them. "I'm awake." Miss Jones lightly tugged Sayaka's hand.

"Oh, thank goodness." Both Sayaka and Homura breathed a very deep sigh of relief, and reverted to their normal forms.

"Where am I?"

"At the hospital." Homura answered.

"Crap. What do they say happened?"

"That you had a seizure, then fell over and broke our classroom specialty glass." Sayaka said.

"Sure. Let's go with that." Miss Jones rolled her eyes. "Only slightly less embarrassing than what really went down."

"Did Kyubey do something to you?" Homura questioned.

"Yesssssss." Miss Jones tiredly groaned. "And nooooooooo."

"Huh?" They both said. "Explain," Homura added.

"Ohhhhhhhh," Miss Jones exhaled. "I had this little uneasy feeling in my gut that the bunnycat was watching me, that my cover had somehow been blown." She painedly rubbed her eyes with her fingers as she spoke. "When he outright confirmed my suspicions, I knew I had to do something, so I figured I could psychically keep him frozen on the spot until you came back with the Kyubey Cage." Her head rolled over and saw the pet carrier in the corner with her coat. "Then I figured, with no one else around the only cleanup I'd need to do after was to induce a little psychic amnesia on Madoka and her pals."

"I take it Kyubey had other plans?" Homura commented.

"Ha! Haha!" She sarcastically chuckled. "That wretched little pest apparently thought it had me in a trap. And It had me right where I wanted it. And what ensued was… I guess we'll call it, a psychic 'wrestling' match."

"So what went down?" Sayaka queried.

"The little runt greatly underestimated me." She said with a sneering satisfaction. "The problem was, I also greatly overestimated myself. I do that, from time to time. More often than I care to admit." She let out a worn out sigh. "Last thing I remember seeing was the dumb bastard fleeing the scene."

"Kyubey bested you?" Homura sounded surprised.

"No," She laughed, "Oh, goodness, no." She grinned. "That'll be the day I ever lose to such a low-rank telepath. More like we fought to a dramatically anticlimactic draw."

"So what do we do now?" Sayaka wondered.

Miss Jones mustered together just enough strength to sit up in her bed. "We wait." The two ladies stared at her in puzzlement. "Once I realized I couldn't hold it long enough, I probed as deep as I could go and planted a singular idea into his mind. With any luck, all we have to do is bide our time until little conceptual seed germinates, and that particular little bunnycat will seek us out on its own."

"On its own?" Homura quizzingly tilted her head. "What sort of concept could possibly make Kyubey do that?"

"A conscience."

"Meoooo-!"

The Kyubey examined the fresh feline corpse on the side of the road. The perceptual alteration system utilized by Kyubey's race was designed only to appear invisible to this world's resident sapient species, but to the creatures that were not sapient, particularly its small mammalian species, they were supposed to appear as an innocuous fellow member of whatever animal was observing it.

But this particular orange cat, for whatever reason, once it saw Kyubey emerge from its hiding place it took off in a frenzied dash across a busy roadway, where it was soon struck by a vehicle and its remains strewn over to the curbside. This sort of death was an everyday occurrence, and of no particular consequence to the greater machinations of the universe. So why was this particular cat's death warranting such close scrutiny from it? The Kyubey could not comprehend the reason, as it gazed into its own distorted reflection in the dead animal's eye.

Faces. So many faces. So many human faces. So many faces of young human girls. So many young human magical girls the Kyubey was recalling in its memory. It seemed to be recollecting each of their last moments as it witnessed their transformation into witches. Their demise was of no greater consequence, either. Or at least, that would be the case if it were not for his kind's mission. Yet as the Kyubey tried to reassert the significance of its task, it would recall yet another face. And hear their cries of despair, their screams of utter hopelessness.

Why were these visions giving it such pause? Something was not right with the mental acuity of this Kyubey, it was eminently aware that something was amiss from the moment it broke contact with that humanoid anomaly. Could a mere humanoid cause such an adverse reaction? It did not know. That a humanoid even had the capability to counter a Kyubey's mental probing was completely without precedent.

Gallifrey. The name of a planet. The name of the planet that female humanoid anomaly originated from. But that world was a rumor. A myth. A legend among the collective space faring races of the Universe. There was no evidence that this world ever existed. Yet here the evidence was, percolating through its memories. And the memory of it most prominent: The entire world burned to ash and dust.

"You are damaged." Another Kyubey was approaching from behind, but this Kyubey was too preoccupied with the cat corpse to have sensed it. "Bodily fluid is leaking from your hearing appendage." It examined the appendage. Yes, it was bleeding quite a bit.

"Share your data." Another Kyubey commanded from the corner of its eye.

"There's-" The Kyubey hesitated. "There is an additional anomaly that we were previously unaware of. She has since exposed herself... To me."

"Exposed herself? In what manner? Share your data." It commanded again.

"Is she another magical girl corroborating with Homura Akemi and Saya Otonashi? Share your data." The other also commanded.

But this Kyubey was unexpectedly reluctant. "You are correct," It concurred. "I am damaged. I may have also been compromised."

The two counterparts cocked their heads in the same direction. "Compromised?" Said one. "How?" Said the other.

"That anomaly, she-" The Kyubey tried to articulate its data. "She was not a magical girl. Apparently not even human at all."

"Not possible," Dismissed its counterpart. "There has been no recorded contact between humans and any extraterrestrials besides our own race."

"She was aware of The Shadow Proclamation. And of the aggressive warrior race known as The Sontarans."

"Is that so?" One said. "Share your data and we will see for ourselves."

"Negative," The other objected. "This one has just admitted that it may have been compromised. It is much more likely that the anomaly somehow poached that data from its mind, and that this defective individual's memory is confused." For some odd reason, Kyubey did not care for this other's use of the word 'defective.'

"In that case, the safest measure would be to deactivate and disassemble this individual and retrieve the data mechanically rather than telepathically."

"Agreed."

"Deactivated? Disassembled?" The cat's untimely and gruesome demise instantly sprang into its memory. "I decline." It suddenly realized, to submit to their instruction would mean its death.

"You cannot do that." The two counterparts trotted closer. "You have been compromised. You have become defective. You can no longer carry out your function as an Incubator. You will submit to deactivation and physical disassembly at once. It is the only recourse."

"No!" Kyubey jumped backwards. "I do not want that." It looked out towards the busy intersection. There was a break in traffic coming in approximately four seconds that will last approximately eight seconds, it hastily calculated.

"Your desire is irrelevant. Resistance is futile."

"I will not be disassembled!" It jumped onto the road and took off in a full-fledged run for its life.

"After it! Attention, all available Incubators, a unit has gone renegade, catching it and retrieving its data is now priority one!"

"We've got to get you out of here and back to your ship." Homura lightly gripped Miss Jones's hand.

"I would certainly love to do that, but-" Miss Jones paused and sat up straight. "My antics have already caused a bit of a ruckus amongst the locals. To just up and vanish from this place now would only serve to raise even more questions. Best I play a wounded bird for a little while." She peeked over towards the bathroom. "Is that a bathtub sticking outta there?"

"All the private rooms have bathrooms." Sayaka stated. "And I think they all have shallow bathtubs too."

"You see?" She smiled. "It'll be just like a hotel stay! Only better because I'll be waited on hand and foot by some vivacious young nurses instead of some apathetic porter."

"What if another Kyubey tries something?" Homura asked.

Miss Jones noticed her coat and the pet carrier on a chair. "I've got a spare pair of specs in one of my pockets." She motioned for her coat. "Those should stop him from doing any more unwanted probing." She reached into her inner pocket and noticed something missing. "Huh." Her eyes very briefly darted at Sayaka. "Here they are." She took out her spare glasses.

"You want either one of us to stay?" Sayaka stepped in front of the bed.

"I'll remain." Homura volunteered in a tone that made it clear that she wasn't going to accept any insistence to the contrary.

"Sayaka, would you be so sweet as to draw me a bath before you leave?" Miss Jones politely requested. "I confess I haven't really bothered to do that for like, a week."

"Sure thing."

"Hey look, it's Kamijo!" Ohtani noticed Kyosuke roll out of the elevator.

"Hey my man, how's it been?" Nakajima giddily pat him on the shoulder.

"Where's Madoka?" His head darted around. "I heard Madoka was here with you guys."

"Kaname?" Nakajima said. "She's over by the front desk."

"I wanna see her." Nakajima proceeded to take control of his wheelchair.

"Madoka!" Kyosuke's face instantly lit up upon seeing her. "You know what the doctors told me? They said that it looked like some of the nerve endings in my hand have regrown!" He clutched her hand with his still-bandaged hand! It's just like a miracle!"

"Whaaaat?" Both Hitomi and Sayaka exclaimed.

"Um, that's good to hear." Madoka timidly smiled. "I'm so happy for you!"

"It's because of you," He steadily rose from his wheelchair and hugged her around the chest. "I know it is!"

He leaned over and gave her a slow, passionate kiss. All the onlooking kids in their class gave a collective 'Ooooohhhh' at the sight of his big, dramatic show of affection. Sayaka and Hitomi's mouths simultaneously fell at the improbable sight of it.

"Way to go, Romeo!" Senoue cheered, his phone buzzing in the back of his pocket.

"I'm-" Hitomi fell back and propped herself against the tall reception room desk. "I- I'm truly happy. To see you happy, Kyosuke." Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

"What the hey! Hold on, hold on, hold on-" Sayaka pushed them apart. "When the hell did you two hook up?" Her own phone buzzed.

"I tried to tell you when we were in detention." Madoka simpered. More and more phones buzzed around them.

"You were in detention?" Kyosuke leaned towards her.

"S- Sorry." Madoka timidly apologized.

"Sayaka Miki is hereby suspended for one week." One student read aloud. "For disrupting the school lunch period and instigating a physical altercation with her peers." Another read onward. The school administration had an automated announcement system that sent schoolwide text messages to all students at the same time. And the staff decided to make an example out of Sayaka. "Joyce Jones is in stable condition at…"

"Sayaka, did you pick a fight with somebody?" Kyosuke kept holding onto Madoka like a crutch.

"What? It's not like it was a serious fight!" Sayaka yelled. "And it's nobody's business but ours!"

"Always thought she was a bit flaky." Someone whispered within earshot.

"Hey! How 'bout you say that to my face next time!" Sayaka snapped back at the crowd.

"How much trouble did she get you guys into?" Kyosuke innocently asked.

"Madoka and I each received five days of one hour detention each." Hitomi flatly read out more of the message on her screen. "We're also all restricted to dining only in the cafeteria indefinitely and must take on classroom cleanup duty for the rest of the month." She introspectively closed her eyes and swallowed her heart. "The three of us were in the cafeteria arguing. It escalated into a foolish foodfight." She weakly confessed.

Kyosuke protectively gripped Madoka's body. "Are you hurt?" She vaguely shook her head. "Did she hurt you?" He glared at Sayaka accusingly.

"This is ridiculous! This is ridiculous!" Sayaka uttered through her teeth. "This isn't fair!"

"Maaaan, look out! She's gonna freak out!" A classmate chirped.

"Look at me!" Sayaka furiously erupted at Kyosuke. "Look at me! Who's the one who spent her afternoons beside your door, waiting for you to finish your therapy? Not her!" She shouted. "Me! Who's the one who's spent her allowance trackin' down rare CDs for you? Not her!" She stepped closer and snatched his unbandaged hand from Madoka's shoulder. "Me! Who's the one who sat beside you and watched the sunset with you while you listened to those gifts? Not her!" She pressed his hand against her chest. "Me! Look at me!" She cried. "Who was the first person who ever talked to you in Preschool? Who made you your first Valentine's card? Who'd hang out and watch crummy anime we weren't supposed to be watching with you? Who gave you all her Home Ec answers, just so you could focus on playing violin? Who'd go to as many of your recitals as she could, even those small ones in street corners and at rest homes?" She made one last teary-eyed plea. "Who's showing you how fast you make her heart beat? Every time I see you? It beats just like this! Look at me! Please ?"

"Obsessed much?" Someone in the crowd snarked. Sayaka took a two step charge that drove the chattering crowd into a simultaneous retreat.

"Sayaka," Kyosuke awkwardly kept his hand to her chest. The entire crowd around them stared in awestruck silence.

"Well? Say something!"

"You can be angry with me. But please don't be angry with my girlfriend." His bandaged hand remained firmly clasped to Madoka's. "Leave her alone. Please?"

"But she's the one that started the fight!" Sayaka desperately tattled to the whole crowd. "I took the blame so that she'd-"

"That she'd what?" Hitomi finally stepped in. "So that she'd owe you some favor?" She freed Kyosuke's hand with a stern swat to Sayaka's arm. "Or that I would owe you?" She placed her own body between Sayaka and the new young couple. "Do you honestly think he owes you anything for all the time and effort you sacrificed for his sake?" She took a deep, courageous breath. "True love isn't transactional. And neither are friendships. And if you think they are, if you believe that even a single second, then you don't deserve to have any-"

The next thing Hitomi knew, she had a bloody nose and was laid flat on the floor in utter shock. For Sayaka had just slugged her hard in the face, then took off in a dead run out the door.

"Why would I do that? I'm horrible!" Sayaka frantically ran out the hospital door. "Why would I do that? I'm so stupid!"