I rubbed my eyes for the third time in the last minute, and let loose a quiet yawn. Adjusting myself on the uncomfortable wooden desk chair, I pulled out my phone, idly musing that a seat cushion might not be such a bad investment.

Six-thirty… bleh.

I sighed, switching to pinching the bridge of my nose.

It'll probably take at least another hour.

I set the device down on the neighboring desk, and resumed my previous pastime. Up and down Mami's Soul Gem went, repeatedly being tossed into the air only to fall back into my waiting palm.

Man… I can't believe I pulled an all-nighter for this. Makes me wonder if I could've avoided it if I'd been this paranoid the whole time.

Staying up for an extra seven hours probably wasn't the best idea considering what had happened last night, but I wasn't taking any chances on this. I had no idea what the girl currently out of commission on my bed would do when she finally opened her eyes, and I didn't want to risk having everything go south if she decided to continue where she left off when she was last awake.

Briefly stopping my solo game of catch, I inspected the jewel for any lingering impurities. Thankfully finding none, I turned my attention to my other hand, which removed a trio of Grief Seeds from one of my jacket pockets. Glancing over at the table, the other three seeds that I'd decided to, eh, "appropriate" from Mami still hadn't moved an inch from where I'd set them down hours prior.

...it'll be fine. You'll get through this. She'll get through this. You've done it once, and you can do it again.

Another sigh was expelled, and I once again covered my face after stuffing the seeds back into storage. "God damn it…"

Fuckin' Kyubey. Fuckin' entropy. Fuckin'… ugh.

Sliding the appendage off, I set the gem down on the table and picked up my phone again, busying myself by scrolling back and forth through my home screen. Clumps of apps flicked by, blurred by my increasing lack of focus and care. After about a minute of swiping, I hit the sleep button and rubbed my eyes yet again.

What the hell… Christ, am I really that worried about her?

I turned my attention to the bed and took a moment to sweep over the blonde, yet again finding nothing out of the ordinary. Exactly like the last… fifty-something times I'd done so (likely more) since I'd dropped her there. A defeated groan bubbled up from my throat.

...I don't believe this.

"Nnnh…"

Oh, shit-!

Mami's sudden indication of her imminent rousing briefly sent my brain spinning. I froze up as it did so, holding stock-still while she blearily opened her eyes and began to sit up. Thankfully, it managed to calm itself down before it could do anything too terrible.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake."

Okay, I lied.

Todd Howard, you magnificent bastard, you've done it again.

In retrospect, there were probably worse things out there that Mami could've woken up to, but in my sleep-deprived state, a cheap Skyrim reference might as well have been no different than the barrel of a gun. Thankfully, the generic nature of the statement itself resulted in it having no more impact than that of a standard 'oh, you're up' greeting.

When she registered that I was in the same room as her, and also holding her Soul Gem, she went silent. We stared at each other for a little bit, before her gaze fell and dropped down to her legs, noticeably lingering on the hole in my jacket for a bit.

Awkwardly glancing away, I decided to probe. "How, ah… how you doin'?"

She didn't answer.

"...right, stupid question." I scratched the back of my head in shame. "So, I, guess that means you don't need any refreshers on what happened?"

More silence.

I took that as a resounding yes. "Didn't think so." But with that cleared up, I decided that we might as well get on with it. "Anyway, I'm going to assume that you fully understand the position you're in. Much as I'm sure you would love to have me just step aside and let you drop off the face of the planet, we both know that I can't do that."

Standing up, I grabbed the chair and took it with me, setting it down next to the bed before plopping back in and lifting an informative pointer finger. "So, here's what's gonna happen. You and I are going to stay in this room, and we are going to talk. We will keep talking until you convince me that your first action upon leaving this room will not be anything remotely close to 'shattering every Soul Gem you know of.' If things go well, we might even get to address and deal with whatever you have that makes you believe that doing so would be a good idea. Do you think you can do that?"

I paused for a moment, rethinking that last bit. "Don't answer that, actually. We're going to do this regardless of whether or not you think you can. Now, with that out of the way…" I leaned in, staring into her soul (except not really, because her soul was on the table behind me). "What seems to be the issue, Mami?"

Her eyes flicked up for a moment, before going down again. "I…"

She left it there. I blinked, anticipating an elaboration, but got none. When she continued to remain quiet, I prodded. "You…?"

Unfortunately, I received no answer. And it didn't seem like she would be willing to provide one in the immediate future.

...I've been waiting for this moment for damn near half a day. I can deal with another hour or two.

With that, I slouched back in my seat with a sigh. "Alright. Take as much time as you need. Neither of us are going anywhere."

You know, it's funny. All my life, I had never not been a wired-up bundle of nerves. You'd never guess it just by looking at me, but staying in a single spot for any more than three minutes might as well have been impossible if I didn't occupy myself with anything. And yet… for whatever reason, my body was content with the idea of holding still, right there in that chair, for however long it needed to.

If I'd taken the time to notice it, I probably would've realized something else a little sooner.

For a while, the only sounds to be heard were that of our breathing, and the faint ambience of the world beyond my window. I won't wax poetic and say that it was any more than it was, but nonetheless, it was… nice.

"...why…" my ears suddenly picked up. "Why did you have to…" Sniffling, Mami lifted her head, liquid collecting at the edges of her sclera. "Why did I have to hit you? Why did I have to cause you more pain? Why…?"

When I finished processing that, my mouth realized this was a golden opportunity.

"Mami," I spoke in a dead serious tone. "Allow me to enlighten you on the very essence of our job."

It was at this moment when my brain realized exactly what my mouth was going to do.

Wait… no! NO, YOU FOOL! You'll completely destroy the mood! DO! NOT! SAY IT!

Unfortunately, my mouth didn't listen.

"For you see, my dear veteran…"

It said it.

"Being meguca is suffering."

The sheer out-of-left-field nature of the statement combined with its intentionally poor grammar left Mami bamboozled, for lack of a better term. It looked like she couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of it all… so eventually, she simply settled on both.

A broken chuckle left her mouth as tears began dripping down her face. "That's… that is so you, Audrey…" She made a single attempt to wipe away the streams, giving up when it only stopped the flow for a brief moment.

"I'm here all week, everybody," I proclaimed, throwing my arms out. "Don't be shy! C'mon over and get your fix of the world's best medicine!" Even if it was at my expense, having a smile on her face was objectively better than having a frown, for obvious reasons.

But, even then, humor likely wasn't the best way to deal with this situation, so I deemed it necessary to shoo out the clowns. "In all seriousness, though… that's a loaded question." I hunched over, resting my head on my thumbs, and my elbows on my knees. "I'd say it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I didn't really have any time to think about it, and that's true. But there's also a bit more to it than that."

I tilted my head down a bit, and closed my eyes in contemplation. "How do I word this…?" One of my fingers idly tapped against my cheek as I hemmed and hawed over how I should go about explaining this.

Eventually, my eyes opened. "I suppose one way to put it is… because I value life." My hands left my head, dropping down to between my legs. "See, I was indoctrinated into Scouting at the youngest age possible, and ever since then, I've been conditioned to be a paragon of morality." A spiteful chuckle left my mouth. "Or, at least that's what I should be. But you and the others already know that I'm not exactly a knight in shining armor."

I puffed out a wad of air. "The unit leaders did get a few things to stick, though. A proper set of core values being one of them. Y'know, the classics, like the golden rule and what-have-you." My eyes slipped off to the side as I adopted a sneaky tone of voice. "Of course, most of those were actually hammered in via stories, but the public doesn't need to know something that trivial."

That was off-topic, though. "Anyway, point being, like I said, one of those values was to prioritize the preservation of life. So, when I got a quick glimpse of you breaking poor Kyoka-Cola's heart, well…" I inwardly snickered at the intentional phrasing. "I wasn't really much of a fan of letting it happen."

Mami… did not take this as well as she could've, going by how she hung her head. "...I really am worthless. No matter what I try, I always end up spreading pain. It happened with Sayaka, it happened with Kyoko, and now… even you." She once again unsuccessfully attempted to dry her tears. "I thought I could change. Because of you, I honestly believed I could do better. That I could be someone you all could rely on without having to hide behind a mask. But now… now I see that I was just trading one shortcoming for another."

A defeated sob was hiccuped out of her lungs. "I tried, Audrey. I really did. I thought I could end our suffering. I… I..." She resorted to covering her eyes with both hands. "God, I'm just so weak… I can't believe I ever convinced myself that I was worthy of being a teacher. Kyoko…" If I had to liken this to something, I'd say it looked quite similar to the collapse of a house of cards. "I-I'm so sorry… it's my fault…"

To this display, I offered a tired sigh and a muttering of "teenagers…" under my breath. Looking back at the table prompted me to get up and move over to it for the express purpose of grabbing a seed and using it to suck away the corruption on Mami's gem that hadn't been there five minutes prior. I then decided it would probably make things more convenient if I took them with me back to my seat, and did so.

Can't let her stay like this. I've got seeds, but not too many.

Sitting down, I shot an appraising look at my crumbling charge.

Guess it's time to bring out the ol' armor piercer.

"So that's it, then? You're giving up?"

The question caught her attention, causing her to lift her eyes up off her hands and turn them to me. "Huh?"

I leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. "It seems to me, Mami, that you've either conveniently forgotten or are intentionally blocking out the whole point of our last session."

Her expression blanked, displaying that she was in need of a refresher, and I obliged.

"You can't give up. Not now." I shook my head. "You lost that option the moment you saved all of us. Remember what I said the last time we did this little song and dance?" She didn't, going by her reaction. "If you go down now, we go down with you. Me, Madoka, Sayaka, hell, even Kyoko eventually, I'm sure. The moment you choose to lie down and fade away, you doom us to inevitably suffer the exact same fate."

The girl took a moment to process my words, then looked back at me . "But… what am I to do, then?"

I blew out another collection of air molecules. "...in the end, the only thing you can really do is keep going."

"Even if it hurts like nothing else?" She sniffed.

"Especially if it hurts." The chair creaked as I shifted my weight again, leaning back in. "You may think that we've all condemned ourselves to eternal torment or whatever other hell you've cooked up in that noggin of yours, but the thing is, you can't know that for sure." I held up a fist. "The future's not ironclad. My power's very existence proves that it's just as malleable as everything else in this world. And that means that as long as you still walk the earth, there's a chance that everything can change."

I reached out, resting the same hand on her shoulder. "But the moment you give up hope, that's it. You lose that chance. You'll die, and you'll never get to experience what it'll feel like when that change does come. It might even come the very next day, and you won't be around to see it." I stared harder into her sockets. "You only live once, Mami. Do you really want to let go of your only shot at real happiness?"

She averted her eyes for a moment as I let go of her, then moved them back. "...what happens if I break again? What if I end up just causing you more pain?"

"Bitch, I've been dealing with Common Core bullshit for about half my life," I retorted with a flat look. "Whatever you think you can dish out pales in comparison to what I've already gone through."

It looked like she really wanted to lightly chuckle there for a tiny moment, but her depressed expression wasn't having it. "And the others?"

I snorted. "I find your lack of faith disturbing, 'senpai.' Do you honestly think they'd stop caring about you after everything you've done for them? They won't care if you happen to slip up somewhere. If anything, they'd make it a priority to help you back up." My gaze drifted to the wall. "In fact, if I hadn't told them to head home and keep up appearances, I have a feeling they'd be right here with us."

Mami took some more time to absorb everything and let it sit for a while, distantly staring down at her lap while she attempted to sort herself out. The room quieted again while she did so, and I found myself doing a bit of reflecting.

You know, by all accounts, I really shouldn't have gotten this far.

I had no plan or strategy or anything going into just about everything I'd experienced so far. All of my decisions were made on the fly and based on nothing more than second-hand knowledge and what I remembered of the show.

How the fuck have I managed not to irreparably screw anything up yet?

Was it sheer luck? Divine favor? Some kind of weird fate or destiny? Were my visions hard-carrying me? Or did I just happen to blindly stumble my way into saying and doing exactly the right things at exactly the right times to ensure that nobody bit the dust?

Well, whatever it is, it's a lifesaver. Literally.

It would take me little longer to realize that this was not the first time I'd had this conversation with myself. Quite fitting, considering Mami's predicament. I guess we both needed a few things hammered in.

Speaking of which, the little blonde came to a decision around the time I wrapped up my own talk.

"...all right," she nodded. "It's clear that you won't change your stance on the matter. You haven't led me astray yet, and I doubt you ever will, so…" At last, she made an attempt at a real smile. The result was tiny, yes, but it was a smile nonetheless. "I'll trust that you're right. And either way, I have to repay you somehow for all the trouble you've gone through for my sake."

I reciprocated with a grin. "You can pay me back by getting out there and living. The more you do that, the more you stick it to that rat bastard incubator. And I've found that I very much love to ruin his day."

The smile fell at the mention of the white devil. "That's right… Kyubey." One of her hands came up to trace a drill. "I… still can't believe he was keeping all that from us. To think that the creature who ended up saving my life only did so to turn me into a monster…"

"Now you know why I make a point to kill it every time I see it," I sighed. "But there's nothing we can do about it now. Remind me - what was it you said about your wish a while ago?" I thought back to that moment, which actually wasn't that far back - only a week and a couple days. "Something about not regretting it because you're alive, and that's better than being dead?"

She let out a solitary laugh. "Yes, I suppose I did say something to that effect, didn't I?" Twisting her body to the side allowed her legs to drape off the edge of the bed. "I better keep surviving, then. It wouldn't reflect well on me if I were to not practice what I preach."

I reached out to give her shoulder a few good pats. "That's what I like to hear! Now, I believe these belong to you?" My other hand came up to reveal her Soul Gem and the three seeds I'd nicked from her earlier.

"Ah, thank you!" She gingerly scooped them up, returning them to their proper pockets while I leaned back in my seat again. "It certainly wouldn't do for me to collapse right after I left the building."

"Actually, uh…" I held up a finger as my stomach conveniently rumbled right then. "Care to stick around a little longer? Neither of us have had breakfast, and the all-nighter I spent looking after you has kept me painfully aware of the fact that I haven't eaten in about twelve hours…"

She blinked, before rising off the mattress. "Well, that won't do at all! It's never a good idea to skip the most important meal of the day. Where's the cafeteria?"

Soon enough, I found myself at the door to the hotel, waving goodbye to my patient. I'll admit, I was nowhere near certain that she wouldn't end up regressing, but for now, I'd gladly take what I could get.

Now that I think about it, I might actually be getting better at the whole therapy thing. No tears this time! From me, at least.

Saying that after only my second session ever was definitely me getting ahead of myself, and not crying was a bit of a gray area, but I liked to think I deserved the chance to boast to myself. It wasn't often that I was given the option to fan the tiny flames of my self-esteem (and ego), after all.

When I made to go back inside, I thought I felt something plink at my sixth sense. Stopping, I turned around and scanned the area outside the hotel again, looking for anything that might be out of place.

...nothing. Really? I could've sworn…

I shrugged and continued on, re-entering the hotel.

I didn't even make it past the reception desk before I about-faced and strode back towards the door.

Can't take any chances. It might actually be something.

Stepping out once again, I appraised the area for a third time. Nothing immediately jumped out at me, and I nearly convinced myself that it really was nothing before I registered a flash of red and light blue out of the corner of my eye.

Snapping my head in that direction, my vision sharpened to the point where I could clearly pick out the object. What I found made me start in its direction, slowly at first, then escalating into something between a walk and a light jog.

Kyoko stood alone, parked at the edge of an intersection, one hand in her pocket and the other carrying a brown paper bag, staring at what I believed to be a retreating Mami.

I slowed to a halt a little bit before the sidewalk ended, staring at the lone wolf on the opposite side of the street. All of a sudden, her head turned slightly towards me, and her pupils locked on mine.

'How much longer are ya gonna stare at me like that, huh?'

I held my hands up to declare my peaceful intentions. 'Sheesh. Touchy today, aren't we?' My eyes drifted off to the side. 'Not that I can really blame you, though.'

'Hmph.' Her gaze switched back to her former teacher, now just a tiny blip of barely-discernible yellow and beige. She stayed like that up to the point where Mami took a left turn and disappeared behind a building, whereupon she simply settled for staring at that spot.

'...wasn't expectin' to see her lookin' like that after what happened on the bridge,' I heard right as I was preparing to step back. She once again flipped back to giving me a sidelong look. 'How in the hell'd ya get her to go from losin' her damn mind to…' She paused, trying to find the most fitting descriptor. 'I dunno, a normal person?'

A smirk crept onto my face almost unnoticeable. 'Well, well… do my ears deceive me, or did I just detect a hint of concern there, Kyoka-Cola?'

The frown on her mug intensified by about two degrees. 'Answer the fuckin' question.'

I physically flinched and nearly took a step back at the biting retort. 'Whoa, okay. Someone's pissed.' I checked the spot she's been staring at just a moment ago for a while before I decided to give her what she wanted. '...I sat her down and set her straight. Said I wouldn't let her go until I was convinced she wouldn't try to kill all of us and then herself again the moment she left my room.' I shot Kyoko a glance. 'Turns out, talking things through isn't always a lost cause. You should try it sometime.'

I got another grunt in response before she went silent again.

I was about to make my second attempt at leaving when I heard her mental call. 'Hey. Get over here.'

A twinge of annoyance pinged in the back of my brain. 'What for?'

'I'll tell ya when ya do it.' Her free hand came up, almost taunting me as she beckoned with a pointer finger. 'Now move yer ass.'

My internal debate only lasted for about seven seconds before curiosity overtook it. Taking care to look both ways, I decided to simply ignore the crosswalk a few meters away and motor across the street from where I was. Thankfully, I did not become victim to any unseen speedsters and made it to Kyoko's side safely.

"Alright," I put out verbally after approaching her, noting that the bag she was carrying was full of red apples. "What gives?"

She took her time answering. "...that Kaname shortie tipped me off that yer also the one responsible fer Tomoe's…" She stopped, seemingly reconsidering something. "For Mami's recovery a week back. That right?"

"Yeah…?" I answered cautiously. "Why, where is this going?"

Kyoko didn't respond right away, appearing to further argue something in her head. Eventually, she came to a decision and walked away a few steps, before turning back to me and flicking her head in that direction. "C'mon. I want the world to start makin' sense again, and yer the only person I know that I can talk to without gettin' the urge to crack skulls."

I took a moment to process that before laughing almost involuntarily. "Umm, are you sure about that? 'Cause, uh…"

The glare came back. "Shut up n' follow me."

"Yes, ma'am."

The redhead started chowing down on her snacks as we set off, adding the sound of crunching fruit to the already-busy set of white noise the city constantly produced. Neither of us spoke until she offered me one once we entered the park. "Wanna bite?"

I hesitantly took the apple, then inspected it before looking back with a raised eyebrow. "So all you wanted was a scapegoat, huh?" My hands occupied themselves with tossing the treat while I continued. "Well, one, you could've just asked, and two, no. I'd rather not give myself a criminal record until after college, and even then, it's gotta be for something bigger than petty shoplifting." A slightly sinister grin grew on my face. "Gotta make it worth it, you understand?"

I held the fruit out to return it to its previous owner. "Besides, I get the feeling you need this more than I do."

She gave me an aggravated look before swiping it off my hand and taking an aggressive bite, grumbling almost inaudibly. Being me, I couldn't resist a parting shot.

"Make sure you eat all the red away, 'kay? I don't want any fingerprint evidence." I had to cover my bases, after all.

Her head snapped back to mine. "Didn't I tell ya to shut yer trap?"

"You did," I nodded. "But that wouldn't be very fun, now would it?"

She growled, the sound coming out slightly garbled thanks to the food in her mouth as her vision turned forwards again. "Lousy god damn stupid yankee…"

"Y'know, you could've just asked to chat with Madoka if you didn't wanna get ribbed." She had already proved to be a safe conversation partner for Kyoko. "Hell, she could probably do a better job at it than I ever could."

"Eh…" The redhead finally decided to swallow and clear her mouth of obstructions. "The lil' pinko's alright, but I doubt she'd really be able to help." She took a moment to kick at a tiny stray rock, sending it bouncing down the path. "Much as I hate to say it, yer the only one who really gets it around here. And…" She blew out a breath, like she couldn't believe she was going to say something. "When ya ain't pissin' me off, yer pretty legit."

I blinked. "Excuse me, what? Genuine praise from you, of all people?" I turned my eyes to the sky, glancing around. "Okay, where the hell are the flying pigs?"

"Nowhere." Another juicy crunch rang out. "Izzat really so hard to believe?"

My hand came up for some neck scratches. "Well, not really, but after last night, I didn't think you'd be in a talking mood. Seriously, it looked like you were just a half step away from straight-up bursting into flames outta sheer rage."

She elected not to respond to that for the time being, chewing a little slower.

Eventually, Kyoko stopped at a bench and dropped onto the wood, setting the bag next to her before hunching forward, contemplatively staring at the grass. I decided I might as well take a rest myself and plopped down on the other end, draping one arm on the back.

Once she'd ripped away most of the apple, she sighed. "Man, this crap… I knew the world was nuts, but I didn't think it was batshit insane." She slumped back, turning her gaze upward. "What the hell am I even supposed to do now?"

"Well, don't ask me." I moved my hands up and clasped them behind my head. "I'm not you."

"Yeah…" The street urchin reached up to pinch a stray strand of hair and rearrange it. "Gotta say, it… still doesn't feel real, y'know? Our Soul Gems're really our actual souls, 'n…" The part about witches was left unsaid.

"I know," I murmured. "I didn't want to believe it when I first found out, but… this was reality, not some cheap cartoon from the 90s. I knew there was a catch. That's why I pried so much at Coobs in the first place way back when. I just…" My legs suddenly became very interesting to look at. "Didn't expect that the price we had to pay would be so high."

She sighed, resting a rand on her forehead. "...lookin' back, it seems so obvious that it hurts. He's always goin' on about contracts 'n shit. 'Sign yer name here, give up yer soul, 'n get anythin' ya want in return.' A word-for-word copy 'a the classic deal with the god damn devil." A humorless laugh escaped her. "Ya were right about one thing. Dad really was dead on the money all along. Fucker might as well be Satan under a different name 'n face."

I let out a closed-mouth chuckle of my own. "Now you understand why I treat it like I do. Wrecking its bodies might not change anything, but hell if it doesn't feel cathartic. Makes for great stress relief." My smile died as quick as it had appeared. "Even so, though… I can't say I didn't get what I signed up for."

Her own grin died just as fast. "...wish I could say the same."

Right, that…

I took a good look at her clouded expression before shrugging slightly. "Suppose I can't really blame you for feeling cheated. You didn't exactly get a lot of mileage out of what you wanted, after all."

The only response I received was the tightening of her grip on the mutilated apple that she proceeded to take another angry bite out of. The resultant silence left the gears in my brain free to start turning.

We're not going to accomplish anything at this rate. What to do…

The obvious answer to that was to address the underlying issue that had caused her to actively request my help. Unfortunately, I had little to go off of on that subject, and the only reason she'd given me was that she 'wanted the world to start making sense again.'

Regardless, I had no choice but to work with what I had. I went over what she'd said so far, combing over everything with a magnifying glass and attempting to pick it apart to discern her motives. Coming to a tentative conclusion after a period of deliberation, whereupon Kyoko had almost completely obliterated her snack, I used it as a springboard to determine what to do next.

Finally, I turned to the redhead once she'd gulped down her latest mouthful. "Hey… mind if I ask you something?"

She briefly raised an eyebrow before shrugging. "Shoot."

I experienced a brief moment of hesitation, before telling myself that I might as well start somewhere and pushing forward.

"If you could go back to that moment - right before you made your contract - would you change your wish?"

She blinked. "What kinda stupid question is that? Of course I'd change it."

"Okay," I nodded slowly. "What would you change it to, then?"

A smirk popped into existence on her face. "Easy. I'd…" It faltered as she begun the process of realization. "I'd…" Soon enough, it slid off completely. "Huh, I… don't actually know."

"Really?" I folded my arms. "And why's that?"

She put her free hand to her chin, staring at the apple. "I dunno, I just… guess I never really gave it much thought. I mean, I knew since the beginnin' that I couldn't take anythin' back, ever. So why waste time thinkin' about how shit coulda been different? There's no point."

I gestured towards her. "Well, there you have it, then."

"Hey," she cut in. "Just 'cause I never thought about it doesn't mean I ain't got an answer. I might not have one now, but I do know the wish I got granted was total trash."

"And you're probably right about that," I acquiesced. "But it's like you said - there's no take-backs with this kind of thing. You got screwed over, sure, but that wasn't the end for you, was it? You learned your lesson and kept going."

One more bite, and the apple would be done for. "I did, yeah. But I still got stiffed."

It was time for a different approach, then. "All right, say you had made a different wish. What do you think would've happened? What would change?"

She had to contemplate that for a bit before answering. "...fer one, I probably wouldn't be such a cripple now." A sigh left her before she rotated her head towards mine slightly. "This is just between us, 'kay? I find out that ya ran yer mouth off to somebody else, I stick ya up on a cross, got it?"

"I thought this was already like that, but okay," I acknowledged with a raised eyebrow. "Go ahead."

"Mami told ya 'bout how I stopped usin' illusions, right?" I nodded. "Well… that ain't the full picture. The truth behind why I stopped was… because I lost that power." She hung her head. "After my dad burned everythin' down, I started havin' issues with my magic. Things stopped workin' properly, and eventually, it just… shut down. It was only personal stuff, though. My spear and the barriers I figured out how to make on my own were all fine."

The apple once again became her focus. "I asked Kyubey about it, and he said it was 'cause I'd 'rejected' my wish. Somethin' about a subconscious wall that blocked me from usin' any kinda skill that my wish granted me or some other weird brain shit." Her hand brought the apple closer to her face, but she refrained from finishing it off. "I didn't really understand what he was goin' on about, so I just decided to accept that I was gonna hafta live without my illusions from then on."

I shot her a flat look. "So you decided to let go of the fact that you wouldn't be able to use what you got from your wish instead of letting go of the thing that was stopping you from using it in the first place. Did I hear that correctly?"

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Well, sor-ry fer not wantin' to come to terms with that yet. We can't all be 'mature adults' like you." Her hand began twisting the apple around. "Then again, though, I did get a few things outta the whole shitstorm. I had to learn real quick how to make the best 'a what I had left to survive, and I ended up gettin' pretty damn good at it." A smirk grew on her mug. "I'm the only person I know who can use a snake-spear properly. That ain't somethin' ya can say 'bout just anyone."

"You're the only person I know who even uses a snake-spear in the first place, Kyoko."

Her response to that was a middle finger from her free hand. "But anyway, yeah. If I hadn't made the stupid-ass wish that I did, I doubt I'd have such a hard time makin' ends meet nowadays." At last, she finished off the apple, tossing the remaining inedible bits into the nearest trash can with uncanny accuracy.

"You say that," I squinted at the redhead, "but from what I've seen, you already might as well be a real life SNK boss. The way you are now, having anything more in your skillset would just make you flat-out busted." Leaning in a little more, I squinted harder. "Something's not adding up there, Kyoka-Cola. What aren't you telling me?"

"Not all witches roll over 'n die as easy as the ones here do." She folded her own arms and looked away. "Some of 'em don't know when to give up, 'n they usually end up ruinin' my day one way or another. Kinda reminds me of a few people I know."

I grinned. "I think you'd be better-liked if you were more direct with your compliments, but thanks anyway." Pushing my luck there probably wouldn't end well, though, so I decided to quit while I was ahead. "Even so, I have to wonder if you really would be more powerful if you'd made a different wish."

The statement piqued her interest. "What makes ya say that?"

"Well…" There was probably a saying for this, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember what it was. "If you did still have whatever power your wish gave you, I doubt you would've worked on improving your skills as much as you have now." I leaned back and waved my hand around. "Something, something, something, crutch. Maybe. Possibly."

"Uhh…"

I threw my hands up in mild frustration. "Look, I don't know. There's, what, like a million different outcomes that could've happened depending on what you'd wished for? All I do is spoil myself on what happens a page or so ahead. I don't screw around with alternate timelines or the past or whatever the hell you wanna call that." The hands came back down to slap onto my legs accompanied with an equally frustrated sigh. "In the end, it's like you said. There's no way we can accurately guess what might've gone down if you'd done something different, and it couldn't happen now either way, so there's no point dwelling on it."

"Then what the fuck was all that shit about 'what d'ya think woulda happened' for?!"

Back up one hand went to pinch the bridge of my nose. "No god damn idea. I was probably thinking I could somehow lead it into one of those 'it's better that things happened this way' bits, but looking at it now, it probably wouldn't be very convincing."

"Fer Chrissakes, Audie…" One of Kyoko's hand's was lifted up to her forehead. "How in the hell'd ya even manage to get Mami back on her feet with this kinda bullshit?"

"You'll be the first to know when I figure that out for myself," I replied.

She scoffed. "I'm really startin' to wonder why I ever thought comin' to you was a good idea."

"Beats me," I shrugged. "Maybe because I happened to be the best person suited to diverting your attention away from how you had your world shattered into billions of pieces from the millions it already was last night?"

The look she gave me most likely translated to 'are you actually fucking serious right now?'

"What, am I wrong?"

She kept it up for a bit longer, then dropped it. "Nah, not really…"

The situation brought a sense of deja vu, of which the reason why came quickly. "Aaaaand we're right back where we started."

"You suck at this, ya know that?" A semblance of a mocking smile crept into her countenance.

"I know, I know," I grumbled. "Rub it in, why don't ya."

We went silent after that. I was left to stew in my feelings of failure, while Kyoko appeared to be heavily contemplating something. What, I couldn't discern, but luckily, the need to do so was soon rendered unneeded.

"Actually, ya know what?" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Now that I think about it… this crap about Soul Gems 'n Grief Seeds 'n shit doesn't really change anything 'bout the bigger picture."

My eyebrows shot up at that. "Oh, yeah?"

"Well, I mean," she paused for a moment, getting her points in order. "This life's already crazy dangerous, right? We've got somethin' around a thousand 'n one assorted ways to die horribly. What's one more on that mile-long list?" Her eyes deadened a tiny bit for a brief moment. "Honestly, turnin' into a witch's probably downright peaceful compared to how a few other gals somewhere in the world went out."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Despite the context, I felt a smile coming on. "From what Kyubey tells me, the process itself hurts like nothing else."

"So? Who gives a shit about what that rat bastard says?" The sense of devil-may-care humor in the air was infectious. "How I wanna die ain't his business so long as he gets what he wants, right?"

"That's the thing, though," I lifted a finger. "If your gem shatters before it turns into a seed, he doesn't get what he wants. So, what you wanna do is make sure you break it before it goes totally black, you understand?"

She nodded slowly. "Alright… how d'ya think yer gonna pull it off?"

I rubbed my chin in thought. "Hm. Ideally, I'd want it to be one of those 'out with a bang' deals. Do not go gently into that good night and all that jazz." The redhead's own death in canon sprung to mind then. "I hear that there's a way to overcharge a move to the point of suicide. That's what I'd go for."

"Classic kamikaze, eh?" She mulled over that for a moment, then smirked. "That sounds badass, actually. I'd take that over layin' down 'n dyin' like a total bitch any day."

At that point, I couldn't help it and started chuckling. Soon enough, it turned into full-blown laughter, causing a domino effect and giving Kyoko her own fit of snickering-turned-guffaws. It didn't last all that long, but felt therapeutic nonetheless.

"Whoooo…" It was almost like she was airing out some stress along with that breath. "Hah… ah, man, that felt good."

"Having yourself a giggle usually gets that dope flowing," I agreed.

The redhead glanced down at her bag, then fished out another apple, staring at it with an unreadable expression on her face before raising it up to her mouth.

"Ya don't make any god damn sense, ya know that?" Another crunch sounded out. "Ya act all tough slingin' out death threats like nobody's business, then a second later yer just jokin' around 'n laughin' at anythin' 'n everythin', 'n after that yer takin' a fuckin' bullet fer the girl that tried to kill ya. Twice." She appraised me closely, trying to discern my deepest secrets. "I don't getcha at all. Just what the hell's yer deal, anyway?"

I leaned on my knees, gazing out at the grass and collecting my thoughts. Once everything seemed in order, I went forward.

"I've only ever seen one person actually die right before my eyes because of all… this." It may have been a lie, but it didn't make my next line any less real. "Frankly, that was more than enough for me. If anyone else I knew bit it, especially now that I have this power, I… I don't know what would happen, but I do know that it wouldn't be pretty."

It took her a few moments to come up with a response to that. "...well, ya don't hafta worry 'bout me. I ain't goin' down just yet. Not to you, or a witch, or anythin' else that makes the mistake 'a tryin' me."

"See, I'd love to really believe that, but…" The memory of the vision came back. "What I saw last night, that made me jump, and some stuff before that… it gave me a bit of a reality check." I pulled out my little egg. "All it takes is one good hit. One lucky shot to this thing, even from something like a trash mob familiar, and… that's it. Game over."

Realizing where I was going with this, all she could do was let out a subdued "yeah…"

"I prefer not to think about it, 'cause, y'know, it's unimaginably horrifying, but…" I sighed. "Whenever it reminds you that it's still there, and always will be in the back of your mind for the rest of your days, it… it hits hard."

Trying to rub away the anxiety did nothing. "I can try to comfort myself by saying that the chances of something actually hitting the gem are next to none, but even then, a one percent chance is still infinitely more terrifying than a zero percent chance, simply because it can happen in the first place."

The redhead brought out her own Soul Gem with her free hand, staring at it with hardened eyes. "...just watch me, then. I ain't lettin anythin' even come close to this thing. It'll be as clean on the outside as I keep it on the inside."

I shot her my own 'are you serious' look before letting out a small chuckle. "Figures you'd take that as a challenge."

She turned to me with a competitive glint in her gaze. "That goes fer you too, y'know. I better not see any cracks or nothin' the next time we see each other."

"Oh, yeah?" I raised an eyebrow. "Or what?"

"Or..." She stopped, floundering as she realized that a conventional motivational threat wouldn't really work here. However, she adapted quickly. "Or I'll drag yer ass back from hell just to send ya there myself."

I leaned backwards. "Whoa-ho, okay. Going that far, huh? Alright, I can dig it." I looked off to the side before going back to her. "Just… really, be careful, got it? I know you're good, and you're not an idiot, but still…"

"Yeah, I know." Her tone had shifted to a more resigned inflection as she took another bite of her apple. "Like I said, same goes fer you."

We quietly sat there for a little longer before Kyoko piped up again.

"Hey…" I looked up, at her… surprisingly vulnerable expression? "Thanks. Fer puttin' up with me, I mean. I kinda just dragged ya here 'n didn't really give ya a choice, 'n ya didn't gimme that much grief fer it. Hell, ya actually played along. So…" She briefly looked at me, then away again. "Yeah."

If she'd been any less serious about that, I probably would've sniped at her about it. "Well, it's what I'm here for." I unconsciously started scratching the back of my neck. "Ah… you ever need an ear to bend, or something like that… call me, 'kay?"

That got a fish-eyed stare out of the redhead for a moment, before she hung her head and face-palmed. "Ugh, what am I doin'... gettin' attached never ends well."

"Hey, if you wanna wallow in trauma for the rest of your excruciatingly lonely days, then go ahead," I shot back. "It'll make it that much sweeter when you inevitably find yourself unable to live with your own failure, and it leads you back to me."

Her grin was devoid of malice. "Fuck you."

Neither was mine. "Still not my type."

A/N: Leave it to me to fit all these shitty memes into a chapter focused on nothing but therapy.

Also, new cover art. Made it myself through hours of Adobe Illustrator. Trash, ain't it?

I'm honestly still in disbelief over how I was able to fit in 'being meguca is suffering' as an actual piece of dialogue in a serious (ha, right) conversation. I'm actually kinda starting to think that this was always a crackfic hiding under a Team Rocket disguise, and I'm only now starting to see the truth.

Now that I look at this chapter… I think I stiffed Mami again. Kyoko ended up getting the bigger end of the stick in terms of chapter focus, but damn it, her dynamic with Audrey practically writes itself! Partially because it's built almost entirely off snark-to-snark combat, which I absolutely live for. Even still, I can't help but feel kinda bad for the blonde. Poor girl's got it rough.

Speaking of which, this was the thing I was referring to last chapter, in case you were wondering. The idea of Kyoko going to Audrey in order to get some help sorting things out came to me one day between the releases of chapters 14 and 15, I brought it up to my partner in crime for this story (once again, shoutouts to DestructionDragon360 - this wouldn't be where it is without you), and we came up with some preliminary dialogue. Fast forward to now, and… well, here's the results. I doubt this'll be her last session with the neighborhood temp-therapist, since some issues that were brought up were left unresolved, but nothing's set in stone.

Also, uh… I forgot a tiny little detail about Kyoko's past when I wrote chapter 13, concerning how she lost her illusions. The explanation provided in this chapter was my way of retroactively fixing the mistake I made when I had Mami tell the group that Kyoko not using Rosso Phantasma anymore was her own choice, and not one forced upon her via the rejection of her wish. So, there ya go.

Anyway, up next… I think it's high time I put our resident classical music enthusiast up on center stage. At the moment, she's basically the only member of the main cast who hasn't had a one-on-one conversation with Audrey yet (which is kinda sad - hell, even Homura got one before her!), and with you-know-what coming up, I bet she'll have plenty of reasons to schedule an appointment.

Well, see you in… I dunno, a month? Month and a half? Two months?

Eh, whatever, it'll happen when it happens. Peace!