"I wish to erase all witches before they are born. All witches in all the universes, both past and future. With my own hands!"

For all those who fought against Witches, who believed in hope as Magical Girls. She would make it so that they could smile to their very end. That had been her wish.

And yet, there existed a universe that she could not interfere in. Where they were still forced to despair.

Why? Why couldn't she save them?

Why was it so fragile that it would break if she tried to intervene directly?

She needed to know. Needed to know why.

If she couldn't go there herself, then someone else would have to do it for her. And who better than a young girl ready to find her purpose in their world.

The Goddess awoke. No- not the goddess, Madoka Kaname opened her eyes.

Why was she someone or something else in her dream? It was so vivid, so real yet also so far away. If she could reach a bit further though, push herself a bit more…

"You're awake."

Madoka sat up in surprise and soon began to recall what had happened. She immediately turned toward the stranger that addressed her.

"Where's Sayaka!? Is she ok? Mami, Homura!?" She began to shout frantically.

Archer raised his hands. "They're fine, waiting in the house for you. Just have to do some last checks."

"Oh." Madoka breathed a sigh of relief. Sayaka was safe. Her friends were safe.

"You're quick to trust a stranger," the man commented.

Madoka looked back at the man and then quickly bowed her head. "S-sorry. I'm Madoka Kaname."

"Already greeting me?"

"You helped me."

"You just woke up. How could you know that?"

"I mean… didn't you? Why else would my friends bring me here and in the other room?"

The man stared at her carefully. "I did."

"Then you're not a stranger. You're a friend."

"You… really are also quick to assume things. Aren't you?"

"I mean you didn't do anything bad yet. And even if you did it's probably for a good reason? We could always just talk it out."

The man shook his head. "I am Archer," he introduced himself. "You were brought here so that I could heal you."

Madoka finally remembered the searing and unrelenting pain she had felt before she had blacked out. She looked at her arm and a very large and noticeable scar on it. "What happened?"

"Your body took in too much power. Too much for it to handle. It began to break apart from the strain," Archer replied. "Lucky for you it naturally suppressed itself after some time. Made it much easier to close the crack in your arm."

"I did this… to myself?" Madoka touched her scar gently. It didn't hurt anymore, though she would have to find some way to explain this to her parents.

"Yes. You should be careful. A God's power can be overwhelming to wield."

Madoke froze. Not because she was surprised, but rather a lack thereof. Why did that sound so natural to her?

"Since the end of the age of Gods, they should have been reduced to Divine Spirits. Whatever God you're connected to hasn't deteriorated at all. Likely because it exists in a completely different world altogether," Archer explained. "It's using you to connect to this world I believe."

Madoka held up her hands and looked at them carefully. "I'm using the power of a…"

Archer shrugged. "God. Goddess. Don't know which one. But I could recognize some form of Divinity struggling to break free from your mortal form."

"Goddess," Madoka replied.

"Do you know the God you're connected to?"

Madoka shook her head. "No. I just know that she's a girl." She then buried her face into her hands. "I… I thought I was just a normal girl," she moaned. "Now I've somehow become a Goddess."

"You hang around with a bunch of Magical Girls and received healing from a man who wields Magecraft. You are far from normal," Archer replied plainly. "Besides you're not actually a Goddess… but neither are you a complete vessel."

"What do you mean?"

"Divine Spirits are normally unable to take on a physical form in the modern world," Archer explained. "So, they are instead summoned or willingly manifest themselves by finding a compatible human body to act as a vessel. A Pseudo-Servant. That isn't the case for you. The fact that your human memories and past hasn't been sealed to protect you is proof of that. A connection has been formed and it allows you to draw on its power. However," He gestured to her arm. "Without the body of a Servant that power can easily overwhelm you if you're not careful."

"Why me though?" she had to ask.

"You could be one of its descendants when it existed in this world. Plenty of people descendant from the old Gods though it usually doesn't matter. You could also be compatible in personality and body. Either way you're likely the most suitable person available. As for why now though," Archer shrugged. "This world is weird. Magical Girls and Magi exist. I'd keep this a secret though."

"I've been keeping a lot of secrets recently," Madoka muttered to herself. Mostly to her parents. Sometimes she wished she could just tell them everything.

"It's the cross we bare, those who reside in this side of the World," Archer replied. "But I wouldn't even tell other Magi or Magical Girls about this. They likely wouldn't believe you and those that did… well neither groups are known to be morally upstanding."

"Are you saying they would hurt me?"

"Where I'm from a Divine Spirit's vessel would definitely be a valuable collectable or subject for research. And that's if you're lucky. Some would be perfectly happy to tear you apart and study the pieces."

Madoka shivered. That sounded terrible. "Maybe Mami and Homura would have some advice for me."

"You're going to tell them?"

"They're my friends. I trust them."

"Those you care for the most are also the ones most capable of hurting you."

Madoka tilted her head and stared at the man carefully. He tried to keep his voice neutral, and was doing a real good job at it, but she could detect some amount of regret behind it. Maybe something to do with being connected to a God?

"Did something like that happen to you?" she asked. "Did you… go through that?"

Archer looked at her in turn. "In a way," he eventually admitted.

"I'm sorry," Madoka replied without hesitation.

Archer raised an eye. "Why are you apologizing?"

"Because no one should go through that, it's not fair."

"The world isn't fair."

"I know but that doesn't mean it's right."

His expression changed slightly. Was that… interest?

"And why would you say that?" he asked.

"Just because the world is bad doesn't mean we can't change it for the better," Madoka replied.

"Most people fail."

"I can still try. I just… have to do what I can."

"Do you have any aspirations?" Archer asked.

"I guess I do," Madoka mulled. "I want to be more like my Mama. She's a cool and successful businesswoman. Though I guess it wouldn't so bad being a bride either. Papa seems happy staying home to take care of me and my brother, so raising my own family would also be nice."

"That's it?"

"Yea. Why?"

"Do you value your life?"

This, Madoka took the time to think about. It wasn't until several minutes had passed before she finally answered.

"Yes. I do. I wouldn't trade it for the world," she replied confidently.

Archer's mouth tilted slightly. Such a small smile yet it seemed to convey so much. Acceptance… and longing?

"That's good. I hope that you'll always feel that way."

Madoka smiled. "Thank you."

"We should talk more about your situation with your friends. Front entrance is right out that door and around the corner. I'll head there once I clean up."

"I bet they're really worried about me." Madoka stood up in a hurry and quickly made her way to the door. She turned around and bowed to Archer one last time before making her way to the house.

"Thank you for healing me."

Archer watched as a pink-haired figure quickly disappeared around the corner of his home. He then shut the door and made his way to clean up after himself. Supplies had been scattered all over the workshop and there were runes that needed to be wiped away now that they had served their purpose.

That girl was nothing like he had expected, in the few minutes he talked with her. Well, more of an interrogation than conversation but he had been curious. And that wasn't considering the effort he had to put to properly Trace and heal her body. What she was and the reason behind it was a whole other bag of worms he'd have to sort through.

No foolish dream of being a hero or aspirations to be great. Cheerful and idealistic yet also with tempered and realistic expectations. Not as naïve as initially assumed. A general awareness that her actions weren't entirely selfless, but no guilt for acting on them anyway. Someone who wanted to do something because she could, not because of some crippling Survivor's Guilt that reared its ugly head anytime she tried to enjoy herself.

A bit too willing to help people granted, would make her rather easy to manipulate if neccesary, but she was a fully healthy and functional person. Which was a very sharp contrast to Magi, Magical Girls, and well himself in general.

Madoka Kaname was a nice person. A rarity in any world.

Normally people like that would die off or become jaded with time. Probably would happen to Kaname too eventually, but he'd give her the benefit of doubt. People like her were hard to find, might as well not write her off so easily.

Plus, he kind of liked her. Kind of hard not to. She was a likeable person.

Still, the fact that she was connected to a God was a sign for trouble. Normally Pseudo-Servants weren't summoned or made unless there was a necessity for it. Said necessities tended to be World or Humanity destroying calamities that even Gaia's agents or the Counter Force were unable to handle on their own. He had hoped that wasn't the case but with his summoning and Kaname's existence…

Well, Human Order hadn't been incinerated yet and the survivors weren't being forced to jump into Singularities to restore the timeline. Safe to assume the world hadn't ended. Probably. So, they did have some time.

Tore apart the theory that he was just being paranoid though. Something definitely was going to threaten the existence of Gaia or Alaya in this world. And whatever it was, it was going to involve that girl in some way.

At least that was what his intuition told him. And that rarely failed him.

"How did you let this happen?" Mami asked.

"Well Archer's good with a bow," Kyoko replied.

"Big surprise there," Blue commented. The chick was still giving Kyoko the stink eye, but it seemed she was holding herself back.

A shame. Kyoko would've liked a good punching bag just about now. And the chick could probably take it anyway.

"And why exactly was he shooting you with a bow?" Mami asked.

"Like I said, training. Can't exactly take it easy like you Magical Girls."

"Being a Magical Girl isn't easy," Mami argued. "We might be given some base instincts and combat ability, but the improvement of our current skillsets and the development of new ones requires much hard work and study. It's not exactly simple creating muskets from ribbons."

Fair enough. Not that Kyoko would ever say that Magical Girls had an easy time achieving strength. They just had a significant advantage.

That advantage wasn't worth it though. And neither was the wish before it. It never was.

"So Yuma," Blue turned to the green haired girl. "You learning magic too?"

Yuma nodded shyly.

"Cool. What spells do you know?"

Yuma glanced away. "I haven't been learning spells yet. Archer and Kyoko have been teaching me math."

"Math?" Blue turned to Kyoko in disbelief. "Seriously? You're teaching her math?"

"Magecraft needs a sufficient background in Magic, Science, and History," Kyoko lectured. "Math to create the formulas, Science to understand the neccesary concepts, and History to give it meaning and purpose."

"How long will it take for her to use actual Spells though?" Blue asked.

"Yea…" Yuma looked at Kyoko. "How long?"

Kyoko couldn't quite look Yuma in the face. She didn't want to lie to her, but blunt honesty wasn't exactly the way to go either.

"A long time then," Yuma concluded as her expression darkened.

Blue glanced between Kyoko and Yuma before suddenly standing up and clapping Yuma on the back. The little girl yelped in surprise.

"Cheer up," Blue encouraged her. "Time goes by quick. You'll get there before you know it!"

"Really?" Yuma asked.

"Yea! And that's time you can use to grow up nice and strong. Doesn't matter how good your Magic is if you don't have a tough body you know?"

Kyoko would've argued that Reinforcement would make up for any lack of physical fitness, but honestly whatever Blue was doing seemed to be cheering Yuma up.

"I should get strong then?" Yuma asked hopefully.

"Exactly. Eat a bunch, work out, and start running. Exercising is great when your brain shuts down from looking at dusty old books all day. By the time you learn Magic-"

"Magecraft!" Kyoko corrected.

"Magecraft," Sayaka amended. "You'll be an absolute powerhouse!"

"The Dojo has a lot of weapons. Maybe I could start using one?" Yuma asked as she looked at Kyoko with pleading eyes.

"You guys have a Dojo?" Blue asked.

Kyoko sighed. "Eyes only," she replied as she ignored Blue's question. "Decide what you want first and we'll figure it out from there."

"Why don't you help… Emiya," Mami seemed almost strained to say that name, "pick something out Miki?"

"Sure. Yuma here can show me around the house." Blue glared at Kyoko. "Unless someone has an issue with it."

Kyoko glared back but otherwise didn't refuse. She might not have liked Blue, but the chick would never hurt Yuma. It would go against her idealistic principles. Besides there were enough wards set up in the Dojo to stop them in case they decided to do something stupid.

Blue took that silence as a yes, and had Yuma lead her to the Dojo.

Soon the only company Kyoko had was Mami and Pigtails, the latter of whom who had spent most of the time sitting silently in the corner. It almost made her miss Blue. She was fun to annoy at the very least.

"Is the healing almost done?" Kyoko asked.

"I've just about finished," Mami replied as she moved away her glowing hands.

Kyoko rotated her arms and stretched her body. No pain. In fact she felt really good, just a bit tired. A nap would be nice.

"Yuma has Potential," Mami commented.

And there went any chance of Kyoko relaxing.

"Yea. So?"

"If she wants to be a Magus that's fine," Mami replied. "But if you're forcing your ways onto her-"

"She doesn't want to be a Magical Girl," Kyoko bit back.

"Are you sure, or is it because of your views on them?"

"I ain't brainwashing her!" Kyoko shouted. "I gave her my opinion and she accepted it. Why do you want her to become a Magical Girl? She's a kid!"

"I agree. She is too young. But in the future, she'll have to make her own choice. If she chooses to follow the path of a Magus that's fine. I just don't want her to miss out on any opportunities due to any… personal bias we might have on the matter."

Kyoko grit her teeth. "You're just trying to take my little sister from me again. Take her along into your merry little band."

Mami flinched at her words. "Kyoko… you know I never wanted that for Momo."

"Doesn't matter what you wanted. Your little friend Kyubey still got his way."

"It was her choice in the end Kyoko. Kyubey had no obligation to stop her from making her Wish."

A wish done for Kyoko's sake, was what was left unsaid.

"And look what happened."

That also didn't need to be said.

Mami remained silent.

Kyoko shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore. Yuma's never going to become a Magical Girl."

…

"How did you meet Yuma?" Pigtails asked, interrupting the awkward silence.

"Saved her from a Witch," Kyoko replied.

"Is she also an orphan like you?"

Kyoko stared at Pigtails suspiciously. "You seem to know a lot about me, don't you? I don't I've ever met you though."

Pigtails looked away. She was clearly hiding something. "You have a reputation… and I did some research on you."

Kyoko squinted her eyes. There was some information of her out there, mostly from the Incubator, so it wasn't impossible that Pigtails would know something. However, the people that usually looked her up were the ones that were trying to take her territory.

"N-not to fight you," Pigtails quickly amended. "I was just… curious."

Kyoko didn't believe her. Not a single bit. But she couldn't call her out in front of Mami. The Senior Magical Girl tended to be pretty protective, if not possessive, of her Juniors. Root only knows how long it had taken before Kyoko had finally pushed Mami away.

"Yuma's parents are dead," Kyoko replied. She was going to have to find a better time to confront Pigtails about her information. Preferably alone where she could easily dispose of the corpse if neccesary.

"Oh… that's bad," Pigtails replied.

"Nah. Trust me, they're better off dead."

Blue and Yuma took that moment to finally return to the living room.

"This is an awesome house," Blue commented.

"What being smart can get you," Kyoko replied as Yuma bounded her way to her. "Which do one do you want to try out?"

"The hammer," Yuma replied.

"The hammer?" Kyoko asked, confused.

"The big one."

That wasn't even a proper weapon. That was just for when Kyoko and Archer just needed to do some quick demolition work on the house.

"Are you sure?" Kyoko asked. "It's pretty heavy."

"I have to be strong to use it right? And that's what Sayaka said. I should get strong and use a strong weapon."

Well, it wasn't like Warhammers didn't exist. Still the thought of Mo- Yuma just swinging it around with her tiny frame made for a very strange image. "Sure. But let's start with a knife first while you're busy getting… strong."

Yuma nodded. "Okay."

Kyoko was busy figuring out the basic design for a hammer that Yuma could use when Ribbons finally entered the house. The lightshow on her arm had finally stopped, though there was a pretty nasty scar there.

"Madoka," Pigtails was the first one to jump and practically glomped Ribbons where she stood. They ended falling into the floor in a bundle.

"Madoka!" Blue shouted and immediately jumped into the dogpile.

Mami on the other hand simply watched with a smile. "I'm glad to see that you've recovered Kaname."

"Thanks guys," Ribbons replied cheerfully as she quickly reciprocated the embrace.

The lot of them fawned over Ribbons until Archer finally stepped into the house, much to Kyoko's relief. They were starting to be a bad influence on Yuma.

Can we kick them out now? Kyoko asked.

"We need to have a talk first," Archer replied.