DISCLAIMER: Puella Magi Madoka Magica belongs to the Magica Quartet. Scenario is mine. Hope you enjoy!

[Shadows Follow]

Immobile in a pool of her own blood, one large claw mark and a deep wound etched into her mid-section, Akemi Homura could only watch as the white-haired and red-eyed assailant proceeded to thoroughly tear through the other three magical girls present: Tomoe Mami, Sakura Kyoko, and Miki Sayaka. One by one, they each fell to the new magical girl's claws as she effortlessly dodged their strikes. And when she was done, she returned to Homura and easily picked her up by the neck.

How did it come to this? One minute, they were fighting a wraith with the power of Walpurgisnacht – an improbability to be sure, but within reason. But now a Magical Girl assassin? One who could suddenly appear without notice, without detection? One powerful to fight off the four of them at once, and easily take them down individually? One who reminded her so much of…

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Akemi Homura, I took you for an intelligent girl. You should know who I am," replied the girl in the loathsome monotone voice of the Incubators. "…and you should also know why. To show that no matter what you do, you cannot save her. Not as a human, not as a magical girl, and not as the Law of Cycles. Thank you for your service against entropy. Goodbye forever."

With that, the human-shaped incubator ran one of its claws through Homura's chest, ripping out her heart and destroying most of her lungs and ribcage. As she was let go, the ground opened beneath her and she descended into a dark pit. There, she could clearly see her beloved Madoka strung up while crucified and superimposed against a grinding gear. Then there was two. Then four. And on towards infinite suffering.

And each one spoke in an omnipresent chorus despite being clearly dead with an unmoving mouth: "YOU FAILED / YOU DIDN'T SAVE ME / YOU CAN'T WIN / JUST GIVE UP"

Her consciousness fading, Homura gave into despair, screaming in unceasing agony.

In an unconscious panic, Homura flung herself out of bed, transforming while in mid-air, and crawled towards her shield while hyperventilating. When she found it, she brought to her chest and clutched it tightly. The sensation of it in her hands relaxed her, even though its gears were immobile. Her breathing slowed, approaching a normal pace, and she lay down and cried.

She wasn't sure how long she laid there, but it wasn't like it mattered. In this world, she didn't have to be hypervigilant at all times. The Incubators were sealed away as was the knowledge and powers of magical girls to all but a few: the Incubators themselves, herself, and Miki Sayaka. There were no magical dangers. Only the plain, mundane life she had wanted. One with her.

Kaname Madoka…

Homura blinked. Wait, she was supposed to do something important today, right?

A deeper and colder voice piped up inside her head. "Yes, you fool, your date with Madoka!"

She sighed. "I see you're still there…"

"Naturally… You gave birth to me, the devil, after all." The other voice laughed at Homura as she weakly stood up, returning to her normal state. Homura walked over to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She was as close to skin and bones as ever, her black hair was disheveled and partially obscuring her face, and she had deep bags under her eyes.

Homura ignored all those things and searched for her medicine. Now that she wasn't using magic to reinforce her body, it had returned to the weak state it was in during the first timeline. She had gotten used to moving like a normal human again over time, but this meant her heart condition had also returned and she should take her medicine. At least she couldn't die from it anymore.

"Please tell me you're going to at least attempt to look nice. Even if not for yourself, do it for your precious Ma-do-ka, okay~? You worked so hard to get to this point; it'd be a real shame if all that effort went to waste…" And again with the laugh.

"I- I know that! I know… I… I'm trying, okay!?" she replied

Her inner devil manifested itself in a transparent and intangible body over her left shoulder as Homura washed her face. It flew towards a window and observed the outside world as Homura continued to get ready for the day.

Naturally, they both knew about Homura's struggles, as they were the same person.

Several months had passed since "The Incident", as she referred to it, and it was now summer break. After being a magical girl for so long, Homura had a rough time adjusting back to a normal life at a public school. Especially since normal for her was being a weakling, picked on and bullied, with a body that could give out under her at any minute.

Fortunately, the ex-goddess Kaname Madoka, with her ever-expanding kind heart, found and befriended her again. After that botched attempt at a first introduction, Homura decided that the best course of action would be to join Madoka (and everyone else) in the enforced normality. As such, she manifested her powers and harsher self in the "Devil" persona that rest within her while the original "Human" persona lived a daily life in the normal world. The devil would only act in the few occasions where they needed to check up on the Incubators and keep them at bay.

A klutzy, timid, weak human – that was her lot now.

And when she did that, it was like a switch had been flipped in Madoka's mind, as she reversed and became the same outgoing and friendly person she was when they first met for the first time. Even as a "transfer student", she had no problems befriending Miki Sayaka and the others.

And Homura as well, with time.

Done with washing up, Homura opened up her closet and stared at its contents for a few moments, wondering what to wear. She'd suffer in the heat as the few casual clothes she owned were in darker hues, but… she would deal. She found something she hoped Madoka would find cute.

The devil laughed again, returning to Homura's mind. "Good, good… This will do nicely…"

Homura looked at herself in the mirror again as she did up her hair in braids. Yes… it would.

Naturally, Madoka had offered to meet Homura at her apartment. She had refused, wanting to re-assure Madoka that she could at least handle this much (she hoped). Yes, she felt anxious about these new and unpredictable events, but she refused to let her fears and doubts stop her, not now when she had already achieved so much!

Her braids done and outfit complete, Homura was now on the bus heading towards the flower field, where the two of them shared that fateful moment within her barrier, her soul. Every time she remembered those events – how the Incubators had ensnared her, how she slowly pieced together that something was wrong, how she realized Madoka's regret and her own true feelings, how she rebelled against both the Incubators and the universal Law – chills rolled down her spine. She and Madoka were safe now in her desired world… but for how long?

How long until either the Incubators or the agents of the Law of Cycles moved against her?

She could tell that Sayaka had already regained her memories at some point, but had elected not to move. That was hardly a good sign; the brash girl would have already acted if she was left on her own. So, someone else must be commanding her. Perhaps even the goddess herself…

She must have figured it out then. That she means Madoka no harm. In fact, she wants…

Homura pulled the cord. Her stop was next.

She wants friendship. She wants romance. She wants love. She wants all of her precious Madoka, and she wants to give Madoka all of herself. That wasn't possible before.

And it's a difficulty now, but hopefully one she can overcome. She just had to break through her shell once more. So what if it was a tougher one to crack? These things only get easier, right?

She chuckled nervously under her breath as she left the bus behind and scouted for…

Oh, there she is!

Kaname Madoka had offered to meet Homura at her apartment and bus over together with her. It wouldn't have been a problem since she could easily bike over to Homura's apartment, but Homura insisted on meeting her there. She was a little disappointed at first, but then realized this meant that her friend Homura was feeling more confident, and so she went along with her will.

Sorry, her girlfriend Homura. That was going to take some getting used to, she thought.

When they first met, Madoka wasn't sure what to make of the girl. In fact, she still wasn't sure that the encounter they shortly after she had transferred in was truly their first encounter! She had the impression that something was wrong with this whole scenario but didn't know just what and that this girl – now so close to her – had something to do with it.

So the next day, she decided to investigate things in her own way – by befriending Akemi Homura and learning more about her. It wasn't easy given how shy and reclusive the girl became after that fateful day (or was she always that way and Madoka was remembering it wrong?) but she managed to do it. And in doing so, she learned so much about the dark girl.

Her heart condition. Her orphaned state. Her being bullied. Her near-total isolation.

(As she became more entwined with Homura, that suspicious impression gradually faded. She hardly noticed when it disappeared and she began to believe this scenario was normal and true.)

Madoka wished with her whole heart to break through Homura's barriers. And so, she did.

She started slowly... well, slow for her. With walking up to the braided girl during lunch (didn't she have straight hair before? and why is she suddenly wearing glasses?) and just sitting with her and talking to her. Well, mostly at her at first. Homura wasn't a terribly talkative person even on one of those rare good days. Eventually, each other's constant presence at lunch and at other places became normal and Homura opened up more and more to her.

That was when the bullies went after her as well… but she, Homura, and a reluctant-to-help Miki Sayaka (Madoka's other friend) managed to put an end to the whole thing. Just in time for break!

Madoka chuckled, lying in the vast field of white flowers, as she remembered Homura's awkward confession after that whole issue was resolved. She had a hard time imagining too many other people who would open their love confession with all the reasons someone should turn them down. Nevertheless, she had no plans to do such a thing. And so, here they were.

She looked up again, glancing at the nearby bus stop after having heard one come by. Her bike was still on the nearby rack, and coming off the bus was…

Oh my goodness, she looks so cute! I told her that outfit looked great on her!

In fact, Akemi Homura had stepped off of that bus wearing something comparable to her attire as the devil, not that Madoka knew about that form. She wore a strapless dress that ran in a gradient from pink at the top to purple at the bottom. All along the dress were motifs of descending black feathers, the quill end pointing towards the sky, with fewer at the top and more at the bottom, collecting into a black pool. The gradient was also applied to the sleeves, but not the feathers. She also wore a black straw hat. For her part, Madoka was wearing a plainer outfit of a white sundress with pink flower patterns. It looked like Homura noticed her and was waving to her. Madoka waved back, and Homura started running towards her… only to trip on something and land face first in the grass.

Madoka barely managed to hold in both her laughter and her concern, as she watched her girlfriend pick herself up and this time walk towards her, apprehensively staring down the whole time. She didn't take her eyes off the ground until Madoka was right in front of her.

"G-good morning, Ma-madoka-chan," said Homura softly, shuffling awkwardly in place, looking away with a faint blush on her face, and hoping Madoka didn't actually see her faceplant.

"Good morning to you too, Homura-chan," replied Madoka with a bright smile on her face, making a point not to mention it.

Today felt like it was going to be a great day!

"This has been so boring… she's not doing anything… this is just a normal date… why am I even here!?"

Tucked a short distance away from the couple of Akemi Homura and Kaname Madoka was Miki Sayaka, keeping watch on the devil and making sure no harm had come to her friend. As she had been doing for several months with no incidents to be seen or heard of. Well, incidents against Madoka to be specific; there were plenty of incidents with Akemi Homura at the focus, mainly those involving her being bullied and either being rescued or saving herself without magic.

Seriously, she had the power to rewrite the universe at will, and she picks a scenario like this? Sayaka had to wonder what that devil's problem was. Granted, it made her job easier, but…

"Nothing unusual has happened at all? Not just with Akemi-san and my other half, but with anything else?" asked a familiar voice in Sayaka's head. Sayaka reassured the goddess that nothing had happened yet. Clouds were gathering when the forecast was supposed to be for sun all day, but forecasts have been wrong before. That was about the only thing she could think of.

Oh, they're moving again.

Sayaka kept still in the branches of the tree she was resting in as her friend and enemy walked out of the ice cream parlor with two scoops in waffle cones – the devil had pink lemonade while Madoka had black ash vanilla. They were walking back out towards the park, now heading towards a large lake. Sayaka let them pass a good distance in front of her before she dropped down, got her own ice cream (two scoops, black cherry, waffle cone), and then followed along.

Sayaka, of course, wanted nothing more than to give that devil a piece of her mind and end this whole charade herself. In fact, the only reason she wasn't doing so was because the goddess herself was commanding her to. After Akemi Homura sealed her memories, she still knew that the girl shouldn't be trusted and that something about this world was wrong. The devil changing her demeanor and appearance to a shy weakling didn't change that. It made the dissonance stronger and made it possible to eventually break through on her own while she was playing along with this whole scenario.

The awakening happened in a dream, where she found herself in the 'Realm of the Law of Cycles', surrounded by a host of ex-witches (minus the little girl Nagisa) and the goddess herself. At first, there was confusion. Then recognition. Then burning wrath against…

But the goddess demanded she keep playing along. And so, she was. All she had done so far against the devil was contact Nagisa (she also had regained her memories and was laying low) and watch the devil for any sudden moves. But it seemed she was content to merely be with Madoka as ordinary schoolgirls now in a relationship. Was this what she wanted all along…?

You dummy… she would've accepted you as the goddess as well! Why go through all this?

The devil and Madoka were sitting on a bench at a table under a pavilion. Sayaka didn't want to get too close, so she found a nearby bench and took the one facing away from the couple. It was still as hot as ever, but clouds were gathering still and the wind had started to pick up. Actually, now that she thought about it, the clouds were mostly gathering over this park where the three of them were; she couldn't see too many in the far distance in any direction.

"Sayaka-chan? Something feels wrong. …well, more wrong than usual. Is everything okay?"

Sayaka was about to answer, but was interrupted by heavy winds suddenly blowing everywhere all at once, and then a loud roar emanating from the sky. She looked up and saw…

"Those aren't Witches or Wraiths… What are those things!?"

Homura was convinced that today was one of the best days of her life. Granted, there was very little competition for a day to be among them, but that wasn't the point.

The point was, she and Madoka had spent the day doing the following: relaxing and chatting among the flowers; taking a paddleboat along the lake; walking around the rest of the park; window shopping in a nearby area; eating at one of the local restaurants and then getting ice cream; now, relaxing and chatting while eating said ice cream under cover.

It was just as hot as could be expected during summer break, but now it suddenly looked like it was going to rain. Homura found it so strange. After all, the forecast said there would be sun all day – that was why they had picked this day in particular, and she had been looking forward to it for a while now, and...

Homura was so thoroughly in her own head ruminating, thinking about the sudden change in the weather, she hardly noticed as Madoka slowly and methodically approached her from her right side, taking care not to make any sudden noise or movements, and then kissed her on the cheek with cold, ice cream covered lips.

Homura blinked, holding her breath. And when she realized who the source of the coldness of pressure was, her face glowed with a luminescent blush.

"Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma…"

She was stuck in a loop, her mind engaged in a struggle with itself to form a coherent response. So many options! One: exact revenge and kiss Madoka back. Two: escalate and go for the lips. Three: faint, passing out in bliss. Four: smother her face in her own ice cream to cool off her poor overheating brain. Five: take Madoka's ice cream as payment. And so on…

…but the loop continued a few seconds longer, not ending until Madoka pulled away.

Madoka was looking at her with concern clear in her pastel pink eyes. "Homura-chan, are you OK? Do you need some water?"

Homura forced herself to answer through her attempts to get her breathing back to normal. "Y-y-yes! I'm fine… I'm fine, Madoka-chan… sorry, I was just thinking about the strange weather, and-"

"Don't worry about it!" responded Madoka with cheer, cutting her off. She then turned and looked up at the sky, taking note of the gathering clouds. "This weather is strange though. It's a shame… I was so looking forward to spending all day in the sun with you! But I didn't bring an umbrella, so unless you did, maybe we should- ah!"

While Madoka was talking, Homura had mustered up the courage to pay Madoka back with her own cold kiss. She was banking on the element of surprise when Madoka turned away. So naturally, Madoka turned back to face her while she was talking, leading Homura to flinch away and lose her balance, leading her to fall over onto Madoka while dropping her ice cream. Madoka was barely hanging onto hers while pinned under Homura. The duo stared into each other's eyes, blushes creeping on both their faces, hearts beating and blood pumping faster.

Homura spoke first. "S-sorry! I was-" And she stopped when Madoka started giggling. And the giggles turned to laughter. And Homura joined in with a softer voice, yet almost as warm.

Yes, this was one of her best days.

She rose, getting back into a sitting position, and helped Madoka up. Madoka took the opportunity to lean on Homura, offering up some of her own ice cream now that Homura no longer had any. A lightly blushing Homura reached out for it…

…just in time for sudden heavy winds to blow it out of Madoka's hands and away from the two of them. Homura's hat was also blown clear off her head. A shocked Madoka held on tightly to Homura's arm as the two braced themselves on the bolted-down table. Only Homura also sensed the menacing aura that accompanied the wind. There was a concentration of that presence in the sky, where the clouds had gathered above.

Homura looked up, and gasped.

There were three creatures levitating through the skies in the shape of large weasels, but their feet had been replaced with sickle blades, which they were using to generate the cutting harsh winds. The sickles were the color of gleaming steel, but their fur was the color of the midnight sky and their eyes were entirely consumed by a glowing eerie yellow light. They roared with their wind, bearing rows upon rows of fangs, coming down from the clouds with vicious intent.

The other people on the ground got the message and started fleeing while screaming in terror. Those who weren't bowled over by the winds in any case. Within the winds, they were assaulted by invisible blades that cut deep yet painlessly. Homura looked at Madoka's hand and noticed one that was starting to bleed.

She barely managed to tamp down an instinctual urge to freak out and drag Madoka out of harm's way with magical strength. Instead, she took a deep breath (after realizing she hadn't been breathing for a while) and caught her girlfriend's attention with concern and shouts.

"Madoka-chan! Your hand! We have to hurry and get out of here!"

Madoka opened her eyes glanced at the hand as well, as if she had just realized what had happened. "What? …Homura-chan! What's going on!? When did that happen!? I didn't even feel it…!" Her pink eyes were wide with fear, intensifying as she looked around and witnessed the evil wind's continued attack on everyone else. Slowly, she turned back to Homura, and nodded in agreement. "…Y-yes, let's hurry!"

Shakily, she stood up. Homura offered her support to Madoka, which the pinkette gratefully accepted. They walked out from under the pavilion and away from the lake, towards the flower field and out of the park. Homura's gaze was dead set and focused ahead while Madoka was glancing around and watching the devastation. This did not escape Homura's attention.

"Madoka-chan!"

"Hmmm…?"

"I- I know you want to help everyone else too… but you're already hurt! Please worry more about yourself! I… I would feel terrible if anything else happened to you. S-so… besides it's not as if… as if…"

She froze in place. Well, as much as she could with the evil winds still blowing around her.

"Homura-chan…?"

What Homura wanted to say was "it's not as if either of us ordinary schoolgirls could do anything to stop this"… but that was a lie. Neither of them was ordinary and one of them could help. And the other would want her to. Homura knew that to her core.

That's just who Madoka was – no matter what. It would never change.

Trembling over what she was about to do, she drew Madoka into a hug, surprising the pink-haired girl. But Homura spoke first before Madoka could get anything more out than a surprised squeaking noise.

"I… I'm sorry. I've… been hiding something from you."

She drew away, allowing Madoka to stand on her own and see her fully, and then began to transform, being surrounding by writhing shadows as the process went on. They unwove her braids, straightening out her hair, and transformed her date outfit to the attire matching her new existence – the strapless black feather dress, short in the front and flaring long in the back, with a black choker, black arm stockings, and purple leg stockings. The symbol of the Black Trident was prominent on the exposed flesh on her chest just below her neck, and the remaining shadows congealed behind her into feathered wings – white on top, black on the bottom. For now, she left her glasses on.

Her (now) red eyes gazed into Madoka's, expecting either fear or recognition. Thankfully, neither were present. Instead – confusion, concern, care. The familiar. But also something…?

"Homura-chan! You're… you're… beautiful! Are you an angel?"

Madoka blurted that out, and then a few seconds later realized she actually said that out loud. She chuckled, blushing faintly. Homura on the other hand, was frozen in shock, her face glowing more and more red with time. Both the human and devil felt the same. Only when the winds roared loudly again did Homura remember there was no time to clam up like usual. So, the human side of her stammered out a response.

"Tha-tha-tha-tha-thank you!" she said, hands clasped in front of her chest, blushing face turned away from Madoka's own. She turned to face her girlfriend. "…But no, I'm no angel…" She walked up to Madoka, and gestured towards the red ribbon in the pinkette's hair, and then towards her own. When Madoka assented to letting her have it, she kept going. "…I'm just me. Always have and always will be."

Madoka didn't get it, but nodded along anyway.

Homura finished tying up the red ribbon in her hair, and then picked up Madoka and flew her away from the lake, towards the area where Sayaka was hiding. She told Madoka to stay here and take cover, noting out of the corner of her eye that Sayaka was running towards them, and then flew immediately towards the three wind-riding creatures to halt their attacks.

The fight itself was over in a flash. When the devil reached the three creatures, they approached her in what would be their final mistake. Using the powers of darkness, she swallowed them all up in a cloud or shadiws, from which only she emerged moments later. And with that the clouds dispersed and the winds ended. Homura promptly flew off before any attention could be drawn to her, flying away from Madoka and Sayaka, much to their confusion.

As Sayaka had been pretending to be a normal person as well, she didn't heal Madoka, but did bring her towards several medics who had appeared on the scene shortly after the "storm" began, treating everyone that they could. Thankfully, no one was fatally injured, and these wounds, though deep, were of the sort that would heal over time with minimal intervention beyond basic care for most. Only a few needed intensive care, and were already being sent out.

"Isn't it great that everyone will be fine?" asked Madoka cheerfully to Sayaka, looking over her own bandaged hand.

Sayaka nodded in affirmation, then noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to it, and Madoka followed. It was the devil, now in the form of a normal person, and she had apparently also found her hat. Madoka cheerfully waved to her while Sayaka frowned and turned away. Madoka noticed this, frowned at Sayaka, and jabbed her with her elbow, asking Sayaka to be nicer to Homura in a whisper. Sayaka sighed, put on a neutral expression, and waved half-heartedly at the devil, who was now much closer. Homura half-heartedly waved back to Sayaka, and then proceeded to ignore her and went over to Madoka to see if she was okay.

I guess… that's a start, thought Madoka to herself. She was never quite sure why the two didn't get along, and hoped to change that someday. But now there was something more important to think about.

"Are you ready?" asked Madoka to Homura.

Homura blinked. "Um… ready for…?"

"To finish our date! We need to get more ice cream!"

Homura blinked again. Then a small smile grew on her face, and she broke into giggles. Yes, Madoka was the same as ever. "O-of course… let's go."

Madoka reached over and took Homura by the arm, and the two walked off. But not before Homura whispered to Sayaka that they needed to talk later. Sayaka shivered at that, not knowing what could be next. Meanwhile, Madoka was talking to Homura as they went along back to the ice cream shop. "So… what was all that about? The creatures, and your transformation?"

Homura didn't want to answer the second part, but knew she eventually would have no choice. And it's not like she knew anything about those creatures either, but she knew who might. Or 'what' might. "…Can… can we talk about that later? I just want to enjoy the rest of my day with you…" She needed time to come up with a convincing story.

Madoka smiled, and leaned into Homura, not knowing any of that. "Of course!"

And the (still open!) ice cream parlor was just up ahead.

The two finished the rest of their date with no further interruptions.