"Mami!" the jovial voice of her mentor called out to her. The crowds between them parted as if magically induced - it very well could have been - to free up the space between them.

Seated at Mami's favorite table at the cafe by her apartment was the woman who had found Mami and her gift when Mami was a child, Melony. She was a tall heavy-set woman, with chubby cheeks and a boyish grin. A winter motif was her calling card; she rarely ever took off her parka and furry boots, even in the hottest of days.

As normal, she watched Mami approach with a smirk on her face. "Didja get lost getting here from your apartment?"

Mami shook her head, giving her a small smile even through the worry in her gut. "I wasn't home. I was out taking care of some business."

"Ah yes. Business." Melony took a quick sip of what looked like a milkshake. She sighed happily as she licked her lips. "Delicious. You have good taste in where you eat."

"This is a very well-rated cafe," Mami said, getting slightly annoyed. Deciding to get to the point, she asked, "Why did you call me?"

"Hm?" Melony looked at Mami, surprised. "My, you're cutting straight to the chase, aren't you?" She clenched her hands together and put them in her lap. "Well…" One hand flashed as one of her jeweled pendants appeared in it. Her fingers tapped a tune on it as she said, "I can sense that you've been around other supers."

Mami blinked. "What?"

"Oh yes. And, from what I can feel, they aren't any from the Federation."

Mami frowned. "You've been spying on me?"

"Not exactly 'spying'. More 'casual surveillance." A sharp look was in Melony's eyes as she asked, "Mami, are you joining with some villains? Are you lost in the world?"

" No !" Mami exclaimed. Then, more calmly, she said, "No, I am not."

"Then who are you hanging out with? Who have you been around the last few days?" Melony pressed.

"I…" Mami paused. Should she tell Melony? Tell her about Homura and everyone? The Federation might be able to help with Kyubey...

"No!" Homura snapped. "You will not bring any Federation goons in here. This is their safe space, where they can live their lives free of that supers nonsense."

"...it must be coincidence," Mami said simply. "I've been frequenting a new cafe."

"Mami." Melony was strangely serious. "Don't mess with things you aren't equipped to handle."

"I think I can handle drinking some tea and eating cake," Mami joked, wishing that she had some tea to sip.

"...okay. If you aren't ready to tell me, I guess I'll have to deal." Melony stood from her seat. "You can talk to me any time, you know. I'll be there to help if you need it."

"With everyone from the Federation having your back," Mami said the unsaid words.

"There's nothing wrong with being part of a team."

"With the politics to match." Suddenly Mami knew what Homura had meant. The politics that had seemed like something all supers had to deal with...Madoka wouldn't have fared well at all. Or Sayaka. They were meant for softer things.

Melony said nothing. Instead, the gem vanished into her palm. Finally she said, "Goodbye, Mami. Good luck with whatever you're dealing with."

"To you as well."

Her mentor walked off into the crowd. Mami took a moment to calm down. A sigh escaped her lips as she thought on everything going on.

There was only one solution she had for the current moment.

She raised her hand, calling a waiter to her. "May I please order a tea?"

Mami stared. She stared deeply into the gem from her hat. The gem her mentor had given her, to help her focus her powers.

She was back in the safety and privacy of her apartment. She'd needed somewhere to sit and think on the mystery of her mentor. How had she known about Mami's encounter with other supers? What was with the comment on 'casual surveillance'? Melony had been purposely obtuse, but Mami at least had an idea.

Mami had never given too much thought on the gem. She'd had it as long as she could remember using her powers. To focus them, to guide them.

But…

But maybe, that was an excuse. Maybe it was a way to keep tabs on Mami without her knowing. Mami had never tried using her powers without the gem guiding her. What if? What if it was blocking her somehow? It was hard to believe that Melony would purposely limit Mami like that. At the same time, Mami had also never pictured Melony using it to spy on her.

Should she just throw it away? Get rid of it? The problem was that it had a homing spell put on it. It was to keep Mami from losing it, was the explanation. Now? That was hard to believe.

Melony's gems were powered by shards of her soul. She split them off to imbue sapphires, rubies, whatever she felt like making with a variety of abilities. That's what made her so dangerous.

Mami kept staring hard.

"What are you doing?"

The voice startled Mami into reflexively summoning ribbons and flinging them at the intruder. The intruder that suddenly wasn't there anymore. That got Mami to relax even as she realized they were behind her now.

Letting out a heavy breath, Mami said as she pulled the ribbons back and turned, "I've become caught in a conundrum." Homura stood next to the table, looking down at the gem. Clearly looking for more information, Mami continued, "I seem to have some spyware installed in my equipment."

Homura's eyes narrowed. "Oh?"

"Oh yes. Nothing too serious. Just enough to make me take action. Your secrets are still safe with me." Mami reached down and picked up her gem. "This seems to have-"

Homura immediately grabbed the gem, tossed it into the air, and, pulling a gun out from absolutely nowhere, took a shot at it. A soft 'ting' echoed through the room as the bullet hit the gem and stopped abruptly. Both the gem and the now-flattened bullet fell to the table.

The dark-haired girl stared. Even through her stoicism Mami could feel the surprise.

"See? It's not so easy," Mami tsked.

"Hm." Homura stood, thinking. "What is it that is spying on you?"

"My mentor seems to be using the fragment of her soul inside the gem to feel what is going on around me," Mami explained. "I need some way to nullify it."

"What do you need the gem for?"

"It helps me focus my powers."

"...Could you force it out?" Homura asked.

"Hm?" Mami looked over to Homura, who now had a finger to her chin.

"The soul fragment. Could you force it out yourself? You use the gem already. You could purify it with your own powers maybe?" Homura said in thought, "I don't know exactly how your powers work, but those ribbons have to come from somewhere."

"My soul…" Mami said in wonder. "They manifest from my soul."

Homura was right. Homura was right . She could use her powers, force her soul into the gem so hard that Melony's soul was forced out.

It would be hard. Melony's soul made up the core of the gem. And Mami didn't know what would happen.

"Would you stay here with me?" Mami asked. Pausing, she hesitantly said, "I don't know-"

"I'll stay." Homura crossed her arms. "And I'll help if I can."

Mami smiled. "Thank you."

They both sat down at the table. Mami took the gem into her hand and prodded it with her powers. Now, feeling it out, she could feel the resistance - the foreignness - of Melony's presence in the gem. She'd gotten so used to it that she'd completely blanked it out.

Mami began pressing into the gem with her ribbons. Instead of flowing through it, they went into it. She willed them to swarm Melony's soul, try to bind it so she could figure out what to do next.

She nearly balked as Melony's soul flashed and began pressing hard against Mami, as if rebelling against her attempts. Mami focused harder, and harder, and harder …

At the same time it felt like something had popped in her head, Mami felt herself in the gem. Floating about aimlessly, Mami then realized that she'd had it all wrong. Mami wasn't surrounding Melony. Melony was surrounding her .

She was trapped. Had been trapped. For how long she didn't know. Since the beginning? At some point in-between? Was this to control Mami? Keep her in line?

Mami steeled herself, then flared her soul around her. Long silky ribbons billowed out, pressing against the prison around Mami's soul. She flooded the area with everything she had.

After a few moments of pressure, she felt Melony's soul losing its grip. The problem was that they had come to a slight stalemate. Mami didn't have the oomph needed to force the elder, stronger hero out of herself.

A red ribbon caught her attention. It twisted in front of her like a dancing leaf. A purple pulse emanated from it before something solid slammed into the gem. Something shifted; Melony's hold loosened. It was the opening Mami needed as she pressed hard -

Suddenly Mami was back in her apartment. But it was overwhelming.

Ribbons were everywhere . Many things were simply made from ribbons, while others flowed in and out of the room. It was like the world was breathing ribbons. Mami looked around in wonder, looking at everything existing in its strange pattern of twisting and living ribbons. She could see the gem on the table, a shining pile of torn ribbons.

"Mami. Are you okay now?"

Mami looked over to Homura. She wasn't made of ribbons. But ribbons flowed in and out of her. One, the red ribbon, came straight from Homura's heart. Mami followed it…

...to Mami's own heart. All other ribbons she saw were yellow.

What was Mami seeing? Was it everything's souls? Were they the connections to each other? Why would Melony suppress that?

Something caught Mami's eye. There was a ribbon on her table that looked...loose. It was out of place. It bothered her. So she pulled it out.

Mami and Homura both fell backwards from the table as it suddenly broke, its legs caving in and the top splintering down the middle.

That was when Mami realized...realized why Melony had hidden it from her. What, exactly, it all meant. "Oh."