I once again found myself waking up in a cold sweat on the morning of June 10th. This one, however… I guess I could say that it felt like a response to the overpowering dread of realizing that I'd somehow made a terrible mistake. Which obviously wasn't very comforting.

The slightest misstep on my part could be the beginning of the end. It really is a miracle that nobody's bitten it yet, what with how I've been going about this.

However, from a different perspective, there was the possibility that it was because of the impulsive, head-on method I'd been using that everything was going relatively fine (as fine as the current situation could be, at least). So I was left at a stalemate. Did I plan for all possible outcomes that I thought could reasonably occur and risk getting hit by a curveball? Or did I stay my course and make everything up as I went along, with only my instincts to tell me what to do if shit went south?

What frustrated me about that question was that there was really no right answer. And with my extremely precarious circumstances, that practically left me a mess of indecisiveness. Versatility is a wonderful thing, but if you don't have the ability to properly determine the best option at any given point in time, it starts becoming a large source of anxiety.

Bleh. Never treating Wisdom as a dump stat ever again. What good's having options if you can't pick the right one when you need to?

The feeling stuck with me for most of the rest of my morning, hanging over my head not unlike a portable raincloud that you'd see in a typical western cartoon. It actively refused any attempts to dispel it, stubbornly standing its ground against my efforts to distract myself from paranoia.

Getting fed up with its antics, figured a walk might be in order to take my mind off things. Go see the sights again. I mean, how often did you get a chance to enjoy being a tourist in an entirely different world? Or I guess in this case it was more "twenty minutes into the future" than an actual isekai, but the point still stands.

At least Urobutcher was smart enough not to go the Back to the Future route in terms of worldbuilding. I still kinda feel cheated that I didn't grow up in a world with commercially available hoverboards or flying cars.

Regardless, I was quickly out of the hotel and on my way, Jeff Williams' "When It Falls" blasting in my ears. Probably not the best choice for a morale boost given the looming feeling of imminent doom, but hey, riffs don't lie.

My route this time was randomized. I didn't have any particular destination in mind, so I ended up wandering all over. I hit up and lounged around the park, loitered next to the mall for a bit, and thought of taking the elevator to the observation deck, but decided against it.

Eventually, I found myself stepping up to the doors of the general hospital.

Heh. You'd never be able to tell this place was the stage of so many important events. There's the spot I woke up at, the bench I sat on… that's the pillar that Charlotte's Grief Seed was lodged in… sheesh. For a place that's supposed to heal people, canon sure likes to kill things right next to it.

I was broken out of my thoughts when the auto-doors slid open, revealing a boy close to my height with a head of grey-colored hair and matching eyes. His gait wasn't exactly normal - it was close to it, but it had a certain quality I couldn't put a finger on that made it give off the impression that the person was still recovering from something.

Wait a second, that guy looks familiar…

I figured I might as well go for it since nothing big would be happening in the immediate future. He stopped when he noticed I was approaching him. "Hey there, uh… would your name happen to be Kyosuke?"

His eyes darted away from me at being caught flat-footed at the sudden question for a second before they moved back. "Yes, it would. Who are you?"

"Audrey Erryn. I'm a friend of Sayaka's. Nice to meet you." I held out my hand for a moment, then remembered something. "Oh, right, you guys don't do handshakes for greetings, do you?" The hand came up to rub the back of my head in shame as I let out an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry, I'm not from around here, and I tend to fall back on old habits a lot."

"Ah, now I see," he nodded in understanding. "You're that traveling American that Sayaka told me about, aren't you?" A smile came to his face. "Well, it's fine if you forgot the proper procedures. It's just us here, so if you want to do a handshake, that's okay."

I blinked, then caught myself. "Uh- yeah, yeah, thanks." I held out my hand again, and he took it. His grip wasn't all that firm, but it also seemed like it could offer more, and was being held back. "Awful nice of you."

"Don't mention it. Any friend of Sayaka's is a friend of mine."

I once again checked out the building next to us before going back to Kyosuke. "So, ah, what exactly are you doing out of the hospital? From what Blue Bull told me, that injury of yours should have you bedridden for at least another few weeks. Did something happen?"

He lifted his left hand up to give it a once-over. "Yeah, actually. A few days ago, I woke up from a nap and it was completely healed. The doctors were totally blown away, especially since they'd already said that it was a lost cause. They've been calling it a miracle."

"A miracle, huh…" I adopted a thinking pose.

"And if that wasn't enough," he continued, "the nurses also found that a bunch of minor injuries that happened because of the main one were gone. They ran tests, and found that all the usual side-effects that would normally pop up from the time I spent in rehab were nowhere to be found." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Almost as if someone just waved a magic wand and cast a catch-all healing spell..."

I made a conflicted noise. "Hm. Y'know, one part of me says that you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but I dunno… it does seem a little too good to be true, doesn't it?"

"My thoughts exactly," he sighed. "But if even the hospital's best staff and equipment were stumped on what happened, I doubt we'll ever be able to figure it out. But anyway, that's why I've been discharged early. As strange as it is, there's nothing wrong with me anymore, and they've already run every test they can think of to find an explanation, so there's no point in me staying."

I glanced around to confirm that there was no human in the immediate vicinity and raised an eyebrow. "So they just… let you walk out without an escort? Doesn't that seem, uh, kinda negligent?"

He raised his hands in reassurance. "Oh, there's no need to worry. I still had to do PT while they were running the tests to make sure nobody was dreaming. They confirmed that I would be able to make it home without any problems. Plus, I figured it would be a good way to get back into the rhythm of everything."

I folded my arms. "Mmm… mind if I tag along, then? This whole insta-cure business is kinda setting off a few alarm bells for me. I think I'd feel better if I could make sure everything's okay with my own eyes instead of just word of mouth." The fold came undone, morphing into a shrug. "And I don't really have anything better to do at the moment, so this should be a nice distraction from my boredom."

The boy nodded again with a smile. "Please, feel free. My family's house isn't that far from here, so it shouldn't take up too much of your time."

A chuckle escaped my lips. "You really are a nice guy. I guess Sayaka was right to speak so highly of you."

"Well," he laughed. "I'd hope she hasn't been making me out as some kind of saint. I try my best, but nobody's perfect."

I laughed right back. "Oh, don't worry, she's told us plenty about your flaws, too." 'Like your shonen protagonist levels of denseness' was left unsaid (primarily because it was excusable, since Sayaka didn't do a very good job broadcasting her feelings).

At any rate, we soon got a move on. Surprisingly enough, I found myself occasionally falling behind, as I had gotten used to slowing myself down in order to keep pace with my new group of shorter-legged buddies. Kyosuke, however, had a noticeably faster walking speed than the rest of the gang, owing to his larger height, allowing him to easily keep pace with my regular speed, even in his supposedly weakened state.

We kept going for about half an hour, and stopped at an intersection before he decided to point out something he'd noticed at some point.

"I have to say, that's a pretty ring you have there." He pointed to the object in question. "Do you remember where you got it, by any chance?"

I lifted my hand up and fixed my eyes on it. "Oh, this? Well, uh, not really. It was probably something I got at a corner store or whatever while it was on sale. I dunno. I've had it for a long time now." I slipped it off, and idly began tossing it up and down. "Honestly speaking, I think it's the only ring I'll ever wear."

Both of his eyebrows raised up a bit. "You're not planning on finding someone?"

"Nah," I shook my head. "The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like too much trouble. I mean, I have a hard time dealing with people as is. And asking me to find someone I'd actually be willing to do everything expected of a significant other with would be like asking me to find a needle in a haystack with over seven billion stalks." My free hand gave a one-armed shrug. "Just doesn't feel worth the effort, y'know?"

His eyes drifted towards the road. "Huh. I guess that's one way to look at it…"

The crosswalk indicator on the other side of the street turned white, and we began strolling along. I was still flipping the ring and catching it with my hand.

All of a sudden, silver flashed in front of my eyes.

The sound of a quickly-approaching horn was heard, and I turned my head to its source. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to react, and the runaway truck bulldozed right into me, sending me tumbling into the intersection. The ring in my hands was blasted off to the ground, and quickly crushed by a passing car, destroying the container for my soul and consequently ending my life.

I came back in reality just in time to catch the honk of the horn and quickly jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding being isekai'd a second time. I heard Kyosuke shout in surprise, scrambling in the opposite direction as well.

However… while I was able to avoid my foreseen fate, my ring-ified Soul Gem wasn't as lucky. It bounced off the hood and the windshield of the truck in quick succession, the vehicle's momentum sending it flying into the middle of the intersection - which was about to get swarmed with cars.

Oh, SHIT!

I motored for the ring's landing zone the instant I spotted it, paying no heed to Kyosuke's cry of "wait, Audrey, don't!" I jerked to the right, then to the left, and back again to avoid oncoming traffic, my enhanced body and reaction time working wonders at preventing me from becoming roadkill. I snatched the ring up as I slid past it, turning on my heel in the process and beginning to make my way back to the boy who was currently a step away from freaking out. I lost count of how many times I felt the wind from a passing vehicle buffet my dark clothes, and the constant beeping of horns was ignored in favor of the sound of my heart thudding away in my eardrums.

Miraculously, I somehow managed to make it back to the sidewalk free of injuries. At least on the surface; I was going to need a big breather after that harrowing experience. My ring was as far down on my finger as it could go, rubbing against the webbing connecting it to my middle and pinky fingers.

Kyosuke and I stared at each other for a second, until he broke the silence. "Audrey?"

"Yeah?"

"Please," he breathed out, "don't ever do that again. The last thing I want is to go back to the hospital the day of my discharge because of a heart attack."

"Yessir."

I was left to my own devices after we arrived at our destination with no further incident. Now that I was able to turn my thoughts towards other things, I found that they kept going back to the fiasco earlier, for good reason.

The vision hadn't been enough. It had warned me of the immediate danger, sure, but it hadn't automatically guaranteed that I would completely avoid what it had shown. It was up to me to stop the bad future, and I hadn't been up to code.

More importantly, this event was a great asset in the world's struggle to get a point through my thick skull: my power wasn't infallible. Like anything in the world used by humans, it was in no way perfect, and was dependent on its user to make the most of what it had to offer. As much as I wanted it to be, getting a glimpse of the future wasn't the same as pressing the insta-win button.

It had already happened once against Kyoko, and now it had happened again. The message was clear for me to see: I needed to stop treating future sight as an unbreakable crutch. However, even if the writing on the wall was big, bolded, and underlined, actually getting it to sink in was another matter entirely. As much as it pains me to admit, it would take a bit more than that to completely drive the point home.

My attention was redirected away from my self-reflection when I detected an unfamiliar magic signature. Now that I could recognize everyone else's pattern fairly quickly, finding a different one could only mean I'd picked up the trail of prey. Thus, I changed course, following the breadcrumbs while holding my Soul Gem as tight as I could manage without causing myself unnecessary pain by constricting my… 'heart,' as it was.

This particular witch or familiar apparently liked to move very erratically, leading me on a path that looped around itself, doubled back, and went in circles more times than I could count. Nightfall had already come by the time I finally managed to track it down.

And to add insult to injury, when I did finally manage to corner the location of the labyrinth, it was too late.

A burst of magic energy surged from inside the maze, and the witch's presence disappeared. Moments later, the labyrinth collapsed, and Kyoko landed back on the ground. In her hand was a newly-obtained Grief Seed, which she held up to inspect for a second before snorting.

"Heh. Too slow, yankee."

I groaned. "Man, you really are a killstealer. I could've let it slide if it was just a one-time thing, but twice? See if I ever party up with you again, ya damn griefer."

"Like I'd even want a newbie like ya in my squad," she fired back while she turned around to face me. "Ya'd only drag me down."

I looked away with a 'hmph.' "Yeah, right. And what happens when that attitude leaves you friendless, huh? Whaddaya gonna do if me n' the girls stick you in an endless stun-lock chain? Lemme guess: 'get out of it?'"

She barked out a mocking laugh. "Ya say that like it has a chance 'a happenin' in the first place!"

"Hey, I'm just saying," I responded with a helpless shrug. "You never know what might go down in reality."

As expected, she gave no fucks. "Sure, keep tellin' yerself that."

I glared at her for a bit before I remembered something else. "What are you even doing out here, hunting witches? Don't you still have a round in your side?"

"Pulled it out yesterday so my healin' factor could get it over with." She rubbed the previously-injured area a bit. "I was fed up with the slow-n'-steady act."

"I wouldn't diss the tortoise if I were you," I cautioned. "Confidence is nice, but the last thing you want is to get in over your head."

"Heard it all before, Audie. Never had it happen." She strolled right past me, rubbing her superiority in my face as much as she could. Suddenly, though, she stopped and held up a finger. "Oh, but speakin' 'a yesterday… I saw that Pinko girl all alone on my way back 'n figured we'd have a little chat. Find out what her deal was, hangin' around with idiots like ya 'n carryin' Kyubey like a damn plushie."

That caught my attention, and I found myself wanting to know more. "...and?"

However, the redhead seemed to have a change of heart. "Actually, y'know what? Ya don't need to hear it. It'd probably just confuse ya." She held up a hand in farewell, before leaping away with a "ciao!"

I was left feeling irritated, cheated, and frustrated at the little shit's antics, before I sighed and continued on my way.

The way she'd phrased her supposed encounter with Madoka was… certainly strange and cause for suspicion. I didn't think it was too pressing of an issue, but the way Kyoko had gone about delivering it was raising all kinds of red 'foreshadowing' flags in my head, and that wasn't doing my stress levels any favors.

In the end, though, I decided to file those thoughts away until they became relevant again. Worrying about them no when I had so little to go off of would only lead to speculation and assumptions, and if there was one thing this anime had taught me in general, it's that you should never, ever assume when it comes to stuff like this.

I decided to start heading home after I was done poking around in my mindscape. Getting beaten to the punch by what could be considered my 'rival' at the moment had killed all the witch-hunting motivation I had for the day, not to mention it was starting to get cold. While my trusty hoodie never failed to do its duty on my upper body, my head (or face, to be more accurate) wasn't quite the same story. Particularly my ears and nose. I swear, some days, I would really want nothing more than a nice pair of earmuffs. But that's neither here nor there.

To my surprise, however, I wasn't done with my main cast check-up yet. The next person on the list I crossed paths with was taking the exact same route that I had just a little while earlier.

"Oi, Saya!" I called out. "Bit late for a stroll, isn't it?"

"Said the pot to the kettle," she returned with a flat expression. "What are you doing out at this time of day, Audrey?"

That was an easy block. "Going home. What about you?"

Her face soured as her subject change was nullified, and she averted her eyes. "...I'm just visiting a friend." An oh-so-faint blush adorned her cheeks at the admittance.

"A friend, huh?" My eyes narrowed, and I leaned forward with a smirk. "They wouldn't happen to play the violin, would they?"

The barb triggered an outrage - eyes squeezed shut, fists waving about, and completely red. "And what makes you think I'm going to see Kyosu-!" Her hands ceased their wild motions to instead slap themselves over her mouth in a vain attempt to stop herself from spilling the beans. Alas, she was too late, and I was able to effortlessly complete the name she had stopped herself from speaking.

My smirk widened into a shit-eating grin. "Aaaah! I never said a name, did I?"

The prodding sent her right back into rage mode. "What is it with you and your insistence about me and Kyosuke?! How many times do I need to tell everyone that he's just a good friend?!"

My hands came up in a surrendering gesture. "Hey, you can say it as many times as you want. But your actions so far tell a very different story." My expression went deadpan. "I mean, c'mon, do you expect us to ignore the fact that you literally made your wish because of him? Hell, even Madoka can see it, and she's supposed to be the unrealistically dense protagonist!"

However, in a spectacular display of character growth, Sayaka refused to take the bait this time. "Okay, you know what? No. I'm not gonna put up with any more of this." She started moving again, striding right past me. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

I couldn't resist a parting shot with an impish smile. "Make sure to take the necessary precautions, and don't get too loud!"

"I can't heeear youuuuu!"

I had to laugh as I turned around and kept walking.

Man, she's just way too easy sometimes.

I found myself comparing my interactions with her to my interactions with Kyoko. The difference was almost like night and day - with the redhead, it was either equal footing, or I was on the defensive trying to deal with her constant jabs. But with Sayaka, it was like I never stepped off the high ground and could snipe at her with impunity. Sure, she occasionally fired back with stuff that nailed me dead center, but those instances were rarities and sporadic in appearance.

It was during this introspection that I realized a crucial detail, though.

Wait a second… Sayaka's going to visit Kyosuke at nightfall, and Kyoko's on the prowl…

My eyes widened as I came to a conclusion.

...oh, fucking hell. The bridge scene's about to happen.

Shit.

Connecting the dots left me in a bit of a frazzled state as I frantically tried to process a course of action. It was definitely in my best interests to be there in order to ensure nothing went seriously wrong, so skipping it was out. And… as much as I hated to admit it, this was probably the best opportunity I had at revealing the true nature of Soul Gems to the rest of the cast. But it went without saying that I had to approach this event with the utmost care, as this was a very delicate subject matter. The slightest mistake could cause things to take a turn for the catastrophic.

What to do, what to do…

I thought it would be prudent to discreetly tail Sayaka and Kyoko just to make sure I didn't get the wrong bridge. However, I soon had the better idea of predicting their route and instead monitoring their most likely point of entry into the bridge area, then going from there to get the right bridge. I also decided that maybe giving Madoka advance warning instead of letting Kyubey notify her of the danger would be in order. Mami, though…

...she deserves to know. There's a very real chance that she'll take it about as well as she did in Timeline 3, but… argh, is this really the right thing to do? She's been on the mend, but it hasn't even been a week since Charlotte screwed her over. And now her old friend's back, and is trying to kill one of her new friends…

I soon realized this debate was pointless, though. Even if I didn't bring her along, she'd find out from either Sayaka or Madoka pretty soon anyway. There was no stopping the reveal. So in the end, I decided it was better to just rip the band-aid off and deal with it sooner rather than later.

With that in mind, I grabbed my phone and sent out a message.

'Head for the bridges at the spot I've marked. Something big's about to happen.'

It didn't take long to receive two affirmatives, and I was well on my way by that point. The bridges weren't that far, so all it took was a quick jog and I was able to arrive at my stakeout spot. After that, it was time to play the waiting game.

A while later, and two heads of red and blue emerged, heading for the central bridge. When they reached it, I decided it might be time to move out, and left my cover. An explanation for why I was there was easily concocted; bastard that it was, Kyubey was quite the convenient source for excuse material.

I made my entrance with an "and just what do you two clowns think you're doing?"

"Endin' this little farce" was Kyoko's fuming response. "I've had it up to here with this rookie's crap. Try n' stop me if ya wanna. I'll put ya in the dirt just as well."

She was acting much more aggressive than when I'd seen her just a good couple minutes ago. Going by her expression, it also seemed like she was a few wrong looks away from blowing her top.

I shot Sayaka a sideways glance. "She's not normally this pissed. What the hell did you do?"

"I, uh…" Her eyes briefly wandered all over the place. "I might've gotten worked up a bit and, ah, said some things I shouldn't have."

My fingers came up to rub the bridge of my nose. "Why am I not surprised…" A helpless sigh came next. "Well, it's not like I actually expected her to listen. Besides, this is you we're talking about."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't need me to tell you that."

Kyoko hit her breaking point. "Alright, fine! If ya won't make the first move, I'll do it for ya!"

She moved her spear back in preparation to attack, but instead found it blasted out of her hand by a bright yellow projectile. The booming report of a musket shot filled our ears next, heralding the dropping in of two more players.

"My apologies for not clarifying this earlier, Kyoko," Mami's voice sounded as she strode up the bridge, a smoking rifle barrel resting on her shoulder. "But these girls are under my protection. If you're planning on harming them in any way, you're going to have to go through me first."

Madoka was a few steps behind her, Kyubey hot on her heels. "Sayaka! Audrey! Are you okay?!"

"Madoka?! What are you doing here? Can't you see how dangerous this is?!" Blue Bull obviously wasn't very keen on the possibility of a non-combatant getting in the line of fire. I sympathized with her, but in this specific case, there wasn't really anything I could do to alleviate her concerns.

"Well, ain't that just a heartwarmin' reunion," Kyoko spat out, turning our attention back to her as she retrieved her lance and brandished it again. If I'd looked closer, I would've seen her gaze briefly focus on Kyubey. "Almost makes me feel sorry to break it up!"

Sayaka's eyebrows raised, and her eyelids fell to half-mast. "Wow. I knew you were bitter, but I didn't think you were jealous."

My palm met my face with a smack and a groan as steam started pouring out of the redhead's ears. "Time and place, Sayaka. For god's sake, do any of you know what tact even is?"

"I believe the answer is no," came a new voice from behind Kyoko, causing the veteran to whirl around. "Barring certain exceptions."

She wasn't too happy about being used as a curtain. "Christ, Homerun! Quit doin' that!"

The transfer student didn't give any notion that she cared. "Kyoko Sakura, did I not tell you to leave Sayaka Miki to me?"

"Well, excuuuuse me for tryin' to lighten the load!" The lack of respect she was getting likely wasn't doing her anger any favors.

"Your assistance is not necessary," Homura rebuffed. "I can handle her on my own."

"Uhh…" I raised a hand, holding it up in Mami's direction. "You do realize she's not the only one you're up against, right? We're standing right here."

The black-haired girl was unfazed. "I would much rather prefer that we didn't come to blows, but if you force my hand, I will not back down."

Neither of us noticed Madoka's gaze worriedly swapping between Homura and I.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Mami folded her arms. "I may owe you for saving my life, but that doesn't mean that I will keep you out of my sights. Do you really believe that you can win against all three of us?"

Kyoko cut in with her two cents. "I don't give a shit about yer numbers. Right now, all I wanna do is shove my spear so far up her ass that it'll come outta that idiot head 'a hers!" She jabbed the weapon at Sayaka to emphasize her point.

My Soul Gem found its way into my open hand. "I dunno, Kyoka-Cola. Might be a bit hard to do that if your own head's already stuck on it."

Madoka flinched.

I heard a resigned breath escape the bull next to me. "This mess is my fault," Sayaka added, her own gem coming out. "And that means I have a duty to clean it up. If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get!"

Madoka hit her breaking point, and my ability triggered again, showing me the immediate future.

A Soul Gem was snatched out of the hands of its wielder, the thief running to the side of the bridge.

"I'm sorry!"

The vital jewel was thrown off the side, saved from shattering by the cloth covering of a passing transport truck.

When I came back to myself, I relaxed slightly. Once Sayaka went offline, no fights would be breaking out.

And those lowered defenses caused by my interpretation of the vision was exactly what Madoka needed to grab my Soul Gem right out of my hand.

"I'm sorry!"

My brain blue-screened, unable to process the impossible reality of the action that left me (and everyone else) in utter shock. Its frantic attempts to reboot itself deprived my body of the brainpower it needed to move, rooting my feet to the ground as the pinker raised her hands and dashed to the side before hurling the off-white egg over the railing.

Homura was already gone by the time I managed to find my voice again. "You-... you actually just did that."

Madoka's eyes met mine, conviction and unshed tears staring at floored disbelief. "Yes, I did. I don't want anyone to die. Not now."

I… wow, the irony stings. I was expecting souls to get thrown, but I wasn't expecting it to be my soul.

I took in the expressions of everyone else, now that their attention was locked on me.

"...ohhh, this is not gonna end well."

My connection was severed, and everything went black.

In all honesty, my first, and so far only out-of-body experience really wasn't all that bad. Having no method of moving on my own power was terrifying beyond belief, sure, but that wasn't the only thing there. Of course, there was also the fact that I was not only bodiless, but brainless as well, which opens the door for a fuck-ton of brand new avenues of psychological horror, but I'd rather not dwell on that.

Anyway, even though my little soul stone had no body to speak of, it could still 'feel' things, for lack of a better term. Like the cloth covering of the truck that had saved it from suffering a more destructive fate. From what I remember, it was actually rather pleasant. Like being cocooned in a heavy blanket after waking up on a cold winter morning. You know, the kind of comfort that just drains away any motivation you have of actually getting up and starting the day, forcing you to stay wrapped up in a warmth that you can't help but enjoy for as long as you can.

That wasn't the only thing the jewel brushed up against, though. There was also a period of time that had it reside in the security of Homura's grasp. This feeling was noticeably colder than the previous one, though I had no idea as to why. It almost reminded me of an early Spring day; chilly, but with warmer horizons not too far off.

Mind you, I wasn't actually able to process all of this as it happened, since, y'know… no brain. That being said, my vague recollections of these particular sequences should be taken with a grain of salt.

The first thing I felt when my rescuer returned my power core to my vessel was a deep chill that cut straight to the bone, heedless of the jacket I always wore. Thinking on it later, it made sense to say that the absence of heat was thanks to the fact that my heart had stopped when my gem left its maximum range of connection, preventing my blood from circulating and keeping my body in working order. Simply put, death had already started to shut off my personal thermostat before Homura pulled the restart lever on the generator, so to speak.

I was met with the stern expression of the time traveler when I opened my eyes, wordlessly asking if I was good. She got her answer when I sat up straight and scanned my surroundings.

The first thing that caught my eye was Kyoko's spear, forcefully stabbed into the now-cracked concrete ground. The girl herself was standing next to it, staring down at the point of impact with clenched fists. Close scrutiny would reveal that she was shaking slightly. If I had to guess, it seemed like she was even angrier than she'd been before Madoka threw souls.

Looking at what the spear itself was stuck in provided a reasonable guess as to why the redhead was so steamed. A Kyubey drone lay dead, impaled with extreme prejudice on the end of the weapon.

Huh, I don't remember her reaction being that violent… I'd tick up the Kyubey Owned Count, but something tells me that'd cause a severe case of Mood Whiplash.

The reason for Kyoko's extreme response took the scenic route before hitting me, giving me time to finish my sweep.

"Ah! Audrey!"

The next thing I spotted were Madoka and Sayaka rushing over, having noticed that I was now back in the land of the living. The blue bull skidded into a kneeling position next to me and leaned in. "You okay?"

I blinked. "Uhh, yeah. Well, discounting how I feel like I'm freezing, but I'll live."

The closeness allowed me to get a good look at her expression. There was no denying that it was haunted, which gave me the idea that she was using me as a distraction in order to put off dealing with what she'd undoubtedly just been told.

If my hunch was correct, I had a feeling the method was working when she gave a small nod. "Good enough for me." She moved to my other side, motioning to Madoka. "C'mon, help me get her back up."

I would have protested, but honestly, I doubt it would've changed anything as they took hold of my arms and hauled me to my feet in an admittedly well-executed joint effort.

"...could've done that on my own, but the gesture's appreciated." My vision flicked back between them, Homura, and Kyoko, before focusing back on the dead Incubator. "Did someone get the little bastard to spill the beans while I was out?"

"Kyoko did," Sayaka answered. "She grabbed him after you collapsed and we figured out that…" She took a moment to gulp. "That you were dead." Her head twisted to look at the lancer. "She told Kyubey to tell us everything. About Soul Gems, and Magical Girls, and… Witches…" Her voice became shakier and more strained. "And he did."

The reasoning behind Kyoko's reaction finally decided to get around to hitting me.

...oh, that's right. I told her to ask him about everything that I didn't reveal the next time she saw him, back at the arcade. Which means… he didn't leave anything out.

I understood then that everyone here now knew the full truth about Soul Gems, what they were, what they could do, and what they become. That alone was worthy of an "oh, shit." I also picked up on something else.

Wait… where's Mami?

Quickly swiveling my field of vision around, I was thankfully able to quickly discover the blonde standing a fair bit away. Unfortunately though, she wasn't in very good shape. She looked frozen, dead on her feet, with wide unfocused eyes and a tiny, teeth-displaying frown. If I had to pick a word to describe her in that moment, it would unquestionably be "shattered."

However, I wasn't able to prioritize observing her for much longer.

A rage-filled yell was the only warning we received before Kyoko kicked the deceased drone's head clean off, sending it flying away as a blur. After this act of beating a dead horse, she continued to breathe heavily, body visibly heaving up and down with each pair of inhales and exhales, before turning to us.

"The hell're y'all starin' at, huh?"

Nobody said a word as she ripped her lance out of the ground. "I thought we were here to fight, not gawk like a buncha dumbass tourists." She flicked the tip, sending the mangled carcass flying off the bridge and into the highway below, before pointing it at us once again. "Who cares if we're all gonna turn into witches?! That ain't gonna stop me from stompin' all 'a ya!"

The redhead was becoming progressively more unhinged as she carried on until Homura cut in. "Kyoko Sakura, ranting will help nothing, and your current state is clearly not fit for combat. I suggest that you calm down-"

"Calm down? Calm DOWN?" I could already tell that this wasn't going to be pretty - the eye twitch and mad smile said it all. "I just found out that the little shit that made my dad go nuts and burn everythin' I loved to ash also happened to turn me into a tickin' time bomb that's fit to blow at the drop of a hat, and ya want me to calm the fuck DOWN?!"

Alas, let it be known that Homura Akemi ranks among the single most tenacious and stubborn people in the history of literally the entire world. "You're acting very irrationally. If-"

Par for the course, though, the spearwoman wasn't having it. "Bullshit! YOU try actin' rationally when ya find out that the one thing ya gave up yer entire family for was nothin' but a fuckin' LIE the entire god damn time!" She jabbed the lance at us once more. "I'm sick 'n tired 'a bastards like you stringin' me along! I ain't nobody's puppet, damn it! Not yers," she directed the point at me, "not hers," she swiped in the direction of where she'd flung the dead Kyubey, "not the rat's…" Lasty, she shoved it at Mami. "And especially not yers, Tomoe!"

Point clearly emphasized, she went back to Homura. "I'm done with bein' told what to do! I made a vow a long time ago that I wasn't gonna live for anyone but myself, and if all you scum think ya can boss me around without me doin' anythin' about it, then ya've got another fuckin' thing comin'!"

The powers that be apparently decided that the conclusion of her rant was the signal for my ability to trigger itself again, briefly blinding me before auto-focusing on things to come.

There was no warning at all. The only thing that could have prepared us for the sound of a gunshot echoing across the night sky was a set of visual cues that we were too engrossed in the present conflict to notice.

Kyoko never had a chance to respond, the light fading from her eyes as her body limply collapsed to the ground, ironically like a puppet with its strings cut. The jagged shards of her shattered Soul Gem hit the floor along with her, spilling across the bridge as if they were crystallized clumps of blood.

Mami found herself the center of attention, and turned to face the rest of us, summoning a fresh musket. We suddenly found ourselves bound in wraps of yellow, effectively rendering us helpless for what would come next.

"T-this… it's for the best, isn't it? Why suffer when we can end all of it right here and now?"

She lifted the loaded rifle up, paying no heed to our protests as she took unsteady aim with wild, tear-streaked eyes.

"Don't worry," she reassured between hiccuped sobs. "I'll make it all go away. The pain. The sadness. The loneliness."

Click!

"Everything."

BLAM!

The crack of thunder flung me back into my real self. Panicking, I looked back and forth between Kyoko and Mami - who was already raising one of her muskets.

Too far. I won't make it in time to tackle. Which means-

That was all my body needed to break away from Madoka and Sayaka, sprinting forward as fast as it could go. Before my brain could catch up, it was already diving, twisting itself sideways in order to provide as much coverage as possible.

The impact of the bullet was the first thing I felt, turning the momentum of my jump into some unholy abomination that caused me to hit the deck in a disorganized heap of limbs. My cry of pain was low-pitched and brief, but it sure as hell got the point across.

Homura and Kyoko's heads snapped to me, while Madoka and Sayaka's eyes widened in horror. Mami's expression actually lost a bit of the glazed quality it'd gained as she realized what had just happened.

"W-what-… Audrey…?"

Nobody dared even breathe for a moment, bringing about the closest thing you could get to silence at around 50 feet above a busy highway.

Said 'silence' was broken by the sound of a rifle clattering to the ground and Mami stumbling back a few steps. "N-no, that's… that's not-..." Her legs suddenly lost all their strength, and she crumpled to her knees, hands coming up to clutch the sides of her head. "I… I-I just… I wanted to… only…"

She cracked, raising her head and releasing a scream charged with a million different conflicting emotions for all the stars to hear.

A scream that was cut off when Homura delivered a merciless chop to the back of her neck, sending her off into what I predicted would be either a dreamless or nightmare-filled sleep.

That's when the pain came back in full force, and I groaned, applying pressure to the wound in an attempt to staunch the bleeding as much as I could. The removal of the immediate danger also galvanized Sayaka into action, causing her to transform and rush over before placing a hand over my newly red-painted one.

I muttered out a choked thank-you as a warm blue light began to stitch the injury back together, before looking back at the comatose blonde.

...ahh, damn it. And here we go again.

Mistakenly thinking it would be a good idea to do so, I let my head drop, giving me a minor headache when it hit the ground a little too hard.

Fuckin'-! Ugh. Well, at least nobody died. That's a good thing, right?

My eyes cracked open again, taking a peek at Blue Bull's harried expression. My free hand then came up to rest on my face with another groan.

I'm gonna need a shit-ton of compensation when this is over…

A/N: Thus ends chapter 14, a.k.a "The Part Where Pretty Much Everyone Fucks Up Somehow." I guess being meguca really is suffering, eh?

Yeah, turns out future vision isn't actually that broken if it's this inconsistent. And plot-dependent. Sucks to be Audrey, right?

Man, I keep talking about how Sayaka's the dedicated punching bag, but after what just happened, I think Mami might've stolen the title for herself. Then again, considering how much the internet loves to meme on you-know-what, maybe she always was.

Also, Kyosuke. I seriously doubt he will still be relevant after this chapter.

In the event that you're wondering why Madoka still decided to Throw Souls despite Sayaka being much more stable in this timeline, pay attention to Audrey's meeting with Kyoko before the fight (which has a very obscure Handsome Jack reference), and Madoka's responses to some of Audrey's dialogue. Sometimes, a threat made in jest can be taken far more seriously than intended.

Speaking of Kyoko, she gets to be very aNgErY here. Discovering that you've had the wool pulled over your eyes for so long about such a sensitive subject probably wouldn't leave you too happy, either. I wonder what I'll have happen to her in the future…

Anyway, uh, I might need to start coming up with more plot threads. We're technically at the halfway point of the anime, and most of the stuff past this point is entirely influenced by the rest of the canonical deaths in the series. Well, not counting the whole Hitomi debacle. But now that everyone's still here, I need to fill the remaining weeks prior to Walpy's arrival with new stuff that'll pass you guys' muster. No pressure, right? Ha ha… haaaa…

...well, I guess I'll see you next time.