Persecution

Running along with Revenant down the corridor, Lucky said, "It hasn't hit me yet that Madre died."

"We'll hafta mourn her death anothah time," the black woman replied, narrowing her gaze, "now we hafta deal with what's just ahead."

In the middle of the intersection of the corridors where the two staircases were, Matryoshka was standing, looking toward the ramp, which led to the exit, but which was now covered by a cloud of dust. When the Russian magical girl noticed the two sisters coming, she waved. "Ah, крольчи́ха, уголь! G'day! That's how you pronounce it, right?"

Revenant stopped in front of her, immediately asking, "Whatcha doin' heah?"

Matryoshka looked at her and Lucky, saying, "Well, I won't lie to you, this mission to Japan is making me anxious. So, I decided to take a walk around the base, but then I saw Madre climbing the ramp. She was wearing her magical girl's uniform, something very unusual."

"Ya saw her..." Lucky uttered with great sadness.

"Have ya seen Inquisitor?" Revenant inquired, "he must have come through heah."

"Yes, yes." Matryoshka nodded. "I even said hello to him, but he ignored me. You know how he is."

The black woman frowned. "Didn't ya find that strange? It's unusual for ya ta be standin' heah, 'nd he ignores ya."

Matryoshka put her hands in the pockets of her coat. "I didn't think much about it, especially now that I felt that explosion and the dust. What's going on? Are we being attacked?"

"Witches invaded the base!" Lucky exclaimed.

"Madre is dead." Revenant pushed Matryoshka. "And ya're comin' with us. Move!"

"Oh... yes, yes." The masked magical girl followed the two sisters, climbing up the spiral staircase in a hurry. "What are you two going to do?"

"We'll escape with the novices," Lucky replied, "we'll hafta build a way out."

"Aren't you girls going to stay and fight?"

"Orders from Generalíssima," Revenant said.

Matryoshka sensed a certain tone of resignation in the black woman's response. "And where is she?"

Revenant replied again, "Ya don't need ta know that."

"I see." The member of Motherland Union asked no further questions.

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

Kyouko undid her last wall of chains and faced a wall of rocks and rubble. "No way out..." She examined the massive cracks in the ceiling and walls of the tunnel. It could be called a miracle that that part of the tunnel did not collapse as well if it had not been Oriko's prediction.

"Cough! Cough!" Kazumi examined her blood-covered body. With the dust sticking to it, it was drying fast. "That... That was so horrible..."

Kaoru offered a towel to her friend. "Take this." Then she conjured up more towels in her hands. "Here, girls. I use it when I'm sweaty, but it should do for... this."

A purple light enveloped Homura and soon she was clean, both her dress and her skin and hair. She was imitated by Oriko and Kyouko.

Kaoru got crestfallen. "Yeah... maybe not."

The other girls also used magic to get rid of the blood, although Umika made sure to use the towel to clean the lenses of her glasses.

The last one to do so was Sayaka. She was completely clean, but that only made her feel more disgusted. She backed up, staggering, until her back met the wall. She then slowly fell, sitting on the floor. "We should have saved her."

"Hey!" Kyouko called her attention. "What part of 'there's nothing we can do' don't you understand?"

"We should have tried!" after exclaiming, Sayaka lowered her head and voice, "now the Sisterhood will think it was us..."

"Stand up."

Sayaka looked up and saw that a hand was being offered.

Oriko's hand. "We did not kill her, it is too soon to give up on justice. We have come a long way to prevent the start of a war, and we can still try that."

Sayaka nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly. She accepted her hand to stand.

"You still owe us explanations." Homura approached the blonde. "What did you say to that woman? What did she say to you?"

"Her name was Madre," Oriko said, "of course that was not her real name, like Matriarch. She was a member of Soul's Sisterhood, and in fact, they fear us. They see us only as witches."

"And they intend to attack Mitakihara," Homura concluded.

Oriko nodded. "But Madre told me that the Sisterhood would never destroy a city. I assume the target would be just us."

Homura added, to make it clear, "and Madoka."

"Of course." With raised eyebrows this time, Oriko nodded again.

"Hold on," Kyouko spoke up, "you told us that in your visions the whole city will explode."

"Correct," Oriko explained, "Madre is not the one leading this attack, she must have been misinformed. Actually, she opened the entrance and welcomed us on a quest for the truth..." The blonde lowered her gaze. "She told me she was risking her life for this. I thought she would be referring to us, but now I am not so sure."

"I knew it!" Sayaka pointed at Oriko. "She was innocent. There are innocent people here!"

Umika commented, "The magic that levitated Madre and made a hole in her body looks a lot like telekinesis."

Homura turned to her. "I noticed that, too."

"You all should see this." Umika opened the book, exposing the rune-filled pages. "That is the part of the spell that was absorbed."

"Well, we can figure out those symbols... hmm..." Kaoru scratched her head. "But this writing doesn't make any sense."

"What matters is that the color of each rune represents the magic of a different magical girl," Umika stated.

"Really?" Kyouko came closer to examine the pages. "Am I wrong or am I seeing dozens of different hues?"

Umika closed the book. "More than a hundred, at least..."

Kaoru raised her eyebrows and Kazumi was dumbfounded.

"Y-You..." The redhead blinked, unsure of what she was about to ask. "Are you telling me that in this hole there are over a hundred magical girls?"

"That's not the point!" Umika stated, "the fact is that this spell was made in a combined action of over a hundred magical girls. I have never seen anything like it. The coordination required for this... It's impossible."

"Kyouko," Sayaka called her, "you'd better tell them."

Everyone in the group directed their attention to the red magical girl.

"Tch..." Kyouko turned her face and tugged her ponytail. "There was another woman."

Oriko frowned. "Another woman?"

"Heh, it seems only I could manage to see her." Kyouko closed her eyes to remember better. "Tall, long straight white hair... ehhh... dark skin, kinda golden, maybe tanned. Wore lots of jewelry, but little clothing, just a strip of white and blue fabric wrapped around her body. It's kind of... Arabic? She reminded me of a belly dancer." Suddenly, she widened her eyes. "Ah! And she wore a tiara with a big black gem. I don't know if it was the soul gem, I've never seen one of that color. Maybe it was corruption, but if it really was, she wouldn't be able to stand on her feet with the gem in that state."

"Did you see her make any suspicious movements?" Oriko inquired.

"When blood rained down on us, the first thing I did was look at her." Kyouko shook her head. "I didn't see any movement, not even a gesture, but then she disappeared."

Oriko frowned again. "Disappeared?"

"Yeah, out of the blue, in the blink of an eye. Just like Homura has the habit to do."

Homura's impassive countenance broke. She exchanged worried glances with Oriko.

The blonde gave a subtle nod.

Observing the reaction of the two, Kyouko narrowed her gaze. "Wait, both of you know something that we don't?"

"We know as much as you do, Sakura-san," Oriko replied, "the woman you describe never appeared in my visions."

"You know what I'm thinking now?" Kyouko approached the blonde, glaring at her. "That this 'diplomatic adventure' started because of you and your 'very convenient visions."

Oriko raised her voice in the face of the insinuations, "This is neither the time nor the place for your feud with me."

"Enough, Kyouko!" Sayaka pushed her away. "She's right! We have to stay united!"

"Yeah, yeah..." The redhead rolled her eyes. "That doesn't matter anymore, we're already here."

Umika interrupted the tension by making an observation, "No one else has seen this other woman. It could be that she put a spell on us, to affect our perception of her."

Homura commented, "You talk as if you have experience with it."

Kaoru was the one who replied, somewhat awkwardly, "Yeah, we had a BAD experience with that."

Kazumi lowered her gaze.

Umika continued, "But, somehow, Sakura-san resisted the magic. I doubt that woman would forget to bewitch her as well."

"Ah, shit..." Kyouko gritted her teeth. "I think I even know why."

Umika looked at her with curiosity.

With that, the redhead turned away. "It's a long story and I don't feel like talking about my past."

"Misaki-san," Homura asked, "can you remove this supposed spell?"

Umika straightened her glasses. "I believe so, but I have to do it with each one of you. That should take a while."

"We don't have time." Homura turned around, looking at the path they had to go. She muttered to herself, "no more..."

"That other woman is also a member of the Sisterhood, right?" Kazumi frowned, as confused as she was shaken. "Why would she kill a friend? And in that way?"

"The scenario is more complex than we imagined, that was what I feared," Oriko said, "however there is something good about it."

"Huh?" Sayaka grimaced. "Is there?"

The blonde nodded. "Now we know that the Sisterhood is not a cohesive group, its members have divergent opinions. Convincing some of them may not end the conflict, but it should be enough to prevent them from proceeding with their plan to attack Mitakihara."

"And we have a trump card," Umika said.

This time, it was Kazumi who grimaced. "We have?"

The magical girl with glasses nodded. "That suspicious woman shouldn't know that Kyouko-san was not affected by the spell. She shouldn't know that she was seen."

"Yes." Oriko followed up on the idea. "This woman may have committed this act alone, without other members of the Sisterhood knowing. When we meet with one of them, we can state that it was not us who killed Madre, but this woman. We have her description, they will recognize who she is."

"The dust is dissipating," Kaoru remarked.

"Yeah." Kyouko clenched her fists. "Y'all better get ready."

Noticing the redhead's reaction, Oriko stated, "No one will come to attack us."

"How do you know that? Another vision?"

"Common sense," Oriko replied to the red magical girl, "if they were going to attack us, they would have done it already."

Homura was the first one to descend the ramp. "Stay alert for ambushes."

The group followed her and they discovered that the ramp ended at an intersection of corridors. There were also two spiral staircases, one descending and one ascending.

Kazumi looked down one of the corridors. She could not see the end of it, as it made a turn, but it was definitely long. "Whooaa... This place is so big."

"But also pretty depressing, right?" Kaoru spoke up, "everything is so closed."

"Still, there are people living here," Umika pondered, "I wonder how long they've been in this hideout. Weeks? Months? Years?"

Oriko nodded. "It is not hard to imagine why some of them would think destroying a city would be worth it if it meant putting an end to their fears."

"That's right, they aren't the victims in this story as far as I know." Kyouko looked around. "Okay, there's no one here. Where do we go first?"

"Let me see..." Oriko moved a little away from the group and stood still.

"Huh?" Sayaka questioned, "what do you..." But then she realized, scratching the back of her head. "Oh yeah, I got it."

Kazumi questioned her, "Your friend is seeing the future, isn't it? How long does it take?"

"Well..." Sayaka scratched her head even more. "I have no idea."

Meanwhile, Homura noticed some security cameras. Unlike the other girls, that environment was familiar to her, yet no less worrisome.

It had military design.

Oriko had a mild convulsion.

"Wow." Kyouko raised a worrying hypothesis, "I wonder if she's not using too much magic. She might end up losing control."

"Not when I do not need to see very far," Oriko replied and then announced, "they are running away."

"H-Have you seen the future already?" Sayaka was amazed.

Kazumi was also astonished, but for a different reason. "They are running away... from us?"

"Damn," Kaoru commented, "it's even looking like we're the bad ones."

Oriko pointed to one of the corridors. "There is a room nearby in that direction. There is no one there, but it has many screens, I believe it is for the surveillance cameras. The screens do not show anything, the cameras are broken, they were smart to do this so we cannot monitor their movements."

Kyouko pulled her ponytail, quite impatient. "Okay, cool, but are we going to cross paths with them? Where do we have to go?"

"I will describe the possibilities I saw," Oriko explained, "this place has three floors, we are on the middle floor. The staircase going down leads to a metal door, with an electronic lock, no problem for us. Past it, there is a long tunnel like this one. There are colored stripes on the wall to help in guiding, on them is written three places: reactor, purification room and silo."

"Purification room?" Sayaka blinked her eyes a few times as she tried to understand. "It must be soul gem purification. Do they need a room for that?"

"I don't care if they need it," Kyouko blurted out, "I care if we run into them or not.

"Hey! People!"

Oriko, Sayaka and Kyouko paid attention to Kazumi.

The girl was wide-eyed, pointing to a now empty space, "Homura-chan is gone."

"What?!" Sayaka shared the same visage.

Umika said, "I saw it when she created an hourglass in her hand and then she turned it."

Oriko closed her eyes, showing no surprise. "She went downstairs."

"Oh no..." Sayaka brought her hands to her head. "How foolish of me to believe that that transfer student would finally work as a member of a team!"

"Uhmm..." Kaoru scratched her head. "What's the problem? Can't we, like, follow her?"

"Useless," Oriko replied to her, "she will say we are slowing her down and then use the hourglass to disappear again."

"Heh." Kyouko nibbled her lip with her canine tooth. "Pretty typical of her."

Umika crossed her arms. "Unfortunately, we are not a cohesive group either."

"Do not worry," Oriko stated, "she still shares the same goal we have. Madoka Kaname-san is in Mitakihara, she will not let that attack happen. I trust her on that."

"Trust?" Kyouko raised an eyebrow. "For you to be so calm, it's looking more like you already knew she was going to do this."

Oriko raised both eyebrows as she looked at the redhead. "You still want to find the Sisterhood members, do you not?" she then pointed to the corridor that ran between the two staircases. "In that direction there is a data center and a storage room, from what I will read on the markings. We will find only one magical girl there, there is no one else on that floor. The others are on the top floor, of course, it is closer to the surface, there must be another way out."

"Since we now have someone who has decided to do whatever she wants..." Resigned, Sayaka pondered, "I don't think we should ignore the magical girl on this floor. She might be someone important in the organization." She looked at the Pleiades Witches. "Let's split up, you three from Asunaro and us from Mitakihara. How's that?"

Kyouko asserted, "I'm not from Mitakihara."

Sayaka glared at her redheaded companion.

"What?" Kyouko shrugged. "Did I lie?"

Umika nodded to Sayaka's proposal. "It sounds reasonable."

However, Oriko soon said, "That is not good. We should split up, yes, but it is better that the five of you find the girl who is on this floor, while I meet the rest of the Sisterhood on the upper floor."

"A-Alone?" Kazumi was confused, "Really? Do you think that's a good idea?"

Kaoru shared the same sentiment as her friend. "That's dangerous!"

"Heh, I wouldn't mind if she's trying to kill herself." Kyouko narrowed her gaze. "But there's something fishy in that."

"There is nothing weird, it is diplomacy, plain and simple," the blonde explained, "if the five of you approach the magical girl who is alone on this floor, she will think twice before taking a hostile attitude. Meanwhile, I alone will not be seen as an immediate threat to the group upstairs. I must have a moment to speak."

"I see." Umika straightened her glasses. "Difference in forces as a form of dissuasion."

"I don't get it," Kazumi said, "can't they decide to attack Oriko-chan just because she's being an easy target?"

"I appreciate your concern for me." Oriko smiled. "But I will know if they will try something against me. It is a 'pre-calculated' risk, so to speak."

"AAhhh..." Kazumi scratched her forehead. "Your magic is amazing, but it's kinda hard to get used to."

"Yes, it was hard for me at first." Oriko returned to a serious countenance. "My predictions will only remain accurate if we act now."

"I agree, we have no more time to waste." Sayaka nodded. "We have to convince the Sisterhood that we are innocent and come in peace, before a certain Homura commits something stupid."

The group of girls left Oriko, following the corridor indicated by the blonde. Kyouko was the most reluctant, looking back.

"Good luck," Oriko said to the redhead. With the group disappearing around the curve of the tunnel, she started to climb up the stairs.

I am sorry.

Even without witnesses, Oriko did not even dare to mutter her thoughts.

The magical girl you will meet will not hesitate to fight.

The climb was long. She was resolute and hurried on.

From the ways I have died in my visions, you five have little chance, but you should buy me enough time.

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

The sisters arrived at the bathroom, accompanied by all the novices and Matryoshka.

The novices were scared by the sudden news of the invasion and some missed a certain sister, "Where's Madre?"

"She's fightin' the witches," Revenant replied promptly, "don't worry, Generalíssima is with her. She asked ta get ya outta heah 'nd that's what we'll do."

Matryoshka looked at the ceiling and walls. "How do you intend to build an exit?"

"Lucky," Revenant called her.

"Leave ta me!" The magical bunny girl gave a wink to the novices, opening a big, encouraging smile. Then she drew her two furry revolvers. "Zing! Zing! ZING!" She banged the barrel of one gun against the other, until both were spinning with great speed, then she aimed against the wall and pulled the triggers.

The bullets fired with enormous frequency had an extra caliber, which Sortuda had prepared in advance. The wall quickly became riddled with holes and began to crumble, raising a cloud of dust.

Many novices covered their ears because of the sound of gunfire, while Matryoshka nonchalantly checked the buttons of her coat.

Suddenly, sparks and the sound of bullets hitting the wall changed. At the same time, the bathroom mirror broke due to shrapnels.

"AAAHHHH!" The novices ducked in fright.

"Whoah!" Lucky stopped shooting.

"What's that?!" Revenant looked at the novices. "Anyone hurt?"

They consulted each other and shook their heads as a negative answer.

Lucky was still quite surprised. "The bullets... they started ricochetin'. Theah must be somethin' pretty hard theah."

"We'll only know if we get rid of that dust." Revenant waved her hand.

"I can help!" A novice volunteered. She transformed and was now carrying a vacuum cleaner. She activated her magic device, finishing the job in a near instant.

Lucky and Revenant widened their eyes.

Behind the wall was another wall, black with a dull surface. The bullets seemed to have left no more than a few scratches.

"A... A wall of lead," Lucky uttered.

"Нет, that's not lead!" Matryoshka hurried to the wall and touched the surface with her glove. "Ahhh... Удивительно..."

"Sorry if I'm interruptin' yah Russian orgasm," Revenant said, "but then tell me what the fack this wall is made of!"

Matryoshka turned to the black woman. "I underestimated that child's talent. She built this whole place, didn't she? She must have copied it from some bunker design for nuclear attacks."

Revenant shook her head, very impatient. "I dunno 'n ya haven't answered my question."

"Boron carbide." Matryoshka put her hands in her pockets. "One of the hardest known materials and with excellent radiation shielding."

"So, it's hardah than lead?" Lucky nodded. "Hmmm, fine, I'll use bullets with a drill."

"Do you have enough magic for that?" Matryoshka asked, "we don't know how thick that wall is."

Lucky shrugged. "Or I can use explosive bullets."

"If the explosives are weak, you'll have wasted your magic, but if they are too strong, you'll destroy the room." Matryoshka looked up. "The ceiling will fall, followed by tons of rocks. In the best case, we will still be trapped here." She looked at the bunny magical girl again. "May I remind you that we don't know how thick that wall is?"

Revenant sneered, "I can see the 'genius' has a bettah idea."

"Oh yes, yes..." Matryoshka pulled her hand out of her pocket to point at a novice, "You."

One novice looked at the others in the group, to make sure it was her. "M-Me?"

"I saw that you are able to create and expand holes with your sword," Matryoshka explained.

The novice conjured her foil and examined its thin blade. "Yeah, but if that wall is as hard as ya said, I also won't have enough magic ta create a hole big enough ta-"

"It doesn't have to be big," Matryoshka interrupted her, "in fact, I'd like you to make small holes so I can put thermite in them. With that, I'll be able to raise the temperature of the material enough."

"Are ya gonna melt the wall?" Revenant asked.

Matryoshka advanced toward the black woman. "It's boron carbide, stupid!"

Revenant stared at her, getting even closer. "Stupid is ya for talkin' ta me like that."

Matryoshka took a step back. "Perhaps... Well, it's even possible to reach the melting point with thermite, but it's too dangerous. I just want to raise the temperature so that the material becomes more reactive to the mixture of acids I will prepare. When finished, the material will be so brittle, we can dig it with bare hands."

"Okay, okay, enough of this scientific drivel," Revenant said, "how much time dya need?"

"Twenty minutes if we start now."

"Twenty minutes... We don't have that," after muttering, Revenant looked at the novices and exchanged glances with Lucky.

The young freckled woman's vivid blue eyes began to widen.

Revenant announced, "I'll return ta the dormitory."

"I'll go with ya," Lucky said promptly.

"Nah," the black woman did the same.

Lucky slapped her in the face.

The novices were awestruck.

Matryoshka's visage was always an incognito, but her silence expressed enough.

Revenant's face was turned, showing no surprise, with the same determination.

To Lucky's dismay. "Ya won't do it! I won't let ya!" With watery eyes, she again raised her arm.

However, Revenant held the other's arm, easily.

"No... No!" Lucky punched Revenant's chest with the arm that was still free.

A blow so weak, the black woman did not even bother to stop it. "Listen, drongo! LISTEN!"

Lucky shook her head and closed her eyes tightly, making the tears fall.

Revenant held her closer. "We don't know if theah're any more threats waitin' for us on the surface. Yah magic has the most answers for anythin', ya hafta stay with the novices durin' the escape." [Remember, Matryoshka is not one of us.]

Lucky reopened her eyes and glanced at the masked magical girl.

"Ya're a sistah, it's yah duty." Revenant looked at the novices.

Many of them shared the same disheartened face and tears.

"Fuck! Stop cryin', I'm not plannin' ta die." Revenant released Lucky. "That goes especially for ya. Ya know what I'm capable of."

Crestfallen, the bunny magical girl nodded.

"And I'll have yah help."

"Huh?!" Lucky quickly raised her head.

Revenant sighed and rolled her eyes. "C'mon..."

Still surprised, Lucky opened her mouth even wider as she was seized by the epiphany. "Ahh..."

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

A drone flew through the tunnel, supervising the autonomous positioning of turrets. Like metal spiders, they had installed themselves on the walls, their weapons pointed in the probable direction from which the intruder would come.

No warning. No sign. No movement.

Each turret had been impaled by a large black pin. The drone fell, as if struck by a blunt blow.

The spherical pin heads emitted a strong lilac light and then exploded at the same time.

Out of the smoke of destruction, Homura emerged. In the palm of her hand was an hourglass, with the violet sand in the upper compartment dripping down and turning into black pins in the lower compartment.

The clink of pins was Homura's companion in her goal. When Oriko mentioned about the silo, there was no more time to waste. Oriko had said that the Sisterhood members would be on the run, but they might as well be preparing to launch their attack on Mitakihara early!

She must not allow a margin for that possibility, and the automatic defenses reinforced that idea, but the tunnel seemed to have no end. From the stripes on the wall, Homura was sure this was the direction, but the only thing she had found was an empty room with a reinforced door, and a safe, also empty.

Behind Homura, at a certain point in the tunnel, a shimmering blue image appeared out of nowhere. The image stabilized, revealing itself to be a ballerina, with long sleeves that almost touched the floor. Her icy light blue gaze watched the girl in the black dress walking away.

Homura turned her hourglass.

The colors of the world died in the frozen time. She turned around quickly.

The tunnel was empty.

Homura put her hourglass back in its upright position. As the time passed again, she frowned, there was something, she felt it.

A camera on the ceiling was pointing at her.

She looked at the lens, narrowing her gaze, and tossed her long black hair back as she turned, continuing her search.

The tunnel had a slight descent. How deep under the earth was it? Homura could not tell, but certainly deep enough to keep a rocket silo hidden.

Finally, the descent ended in a sharper curve. Homura approached with caution, she felt she was close. That was when she heard a familiar sound.

Too familiar.

She promptly turned the hourglass. Alone in a world frozen in time, Homura could not help but express her surprise. It was a sound of a launch, it was a sound of a gun. She turned the corner and confirmed her certainty.

In mid-air was a rocket-propelled grenade. It would have hit the wall at the curve and Homura would be caught in the blast. Whoever fired it knew she was approaching and wanted to make use of the element of surprise.

She followed the trail of the rocket, until she came to a room with a lot of scrap. In the middle of the room was the person with the launcher.

A child.

Homura examined her closely. She appeared to be younger than Nagisa, but dressed like a soldier, wearing green breastplate armor of unknown design, as seemingly thick as it was heavy, and a futuristic gauntlet in her left hand. She had a fierce look, while her eye was on the aim of the launcher.

...but there must also be a lot of innocent magical girls, maybe even children...

Homura closed her eyes and sighed as she remembered what Sayaka had said, she was right. There are literally children fighting against the Law of Cycles. Who is on the right side of this story?

Madoka.

She reopened her eyes, there was no room for doubt. She was going to do what needed to be done. Still, when Homura raised her arm to strike a blow, she looked away before doing so.

The punch hit the back of the child's head. For an instant, she regained her normal colors and was projected forward, before freezing in time again.

After doing so, Homura looked around. The room had no other exit, the tunnel ended there, that did not make sense, because there had to be a silo. Was Oriko wrong? Or was she lying? Why was that child there? Was she defending herself, or defending something?

She needed answers, in any way. Homura put the hourglass back in the upright position and heard the explosion of the rocket hitting the wall, as she watched the child fall face down against the floor.

The child remained motionless.

Her hand was aching, could she have struck too hard? Homura pushed the fallen magical girl with her foot, waiting for a reaction. It was then that she realized that the child's eyes were open.

Lifeless.

Gaping, Homura discarded her hourglass and crouched to turn the child. Soon after doing that, however, she noticed the child exchanging glances with her and the distinctive sound of the pin of a grenade being released.

The child was now embraced by several grenades, which multiplied out of nowhere. They rolled around the two girls, forming a bed of death.

Wide-eyed, Homura jumped backwards out of pure instinct. It was not enough to escape the force of the explosion, followed by others in sequence, throwing her against the wall.

Then, smoke and silence. Homura blocked out all the pain and made a quick examination of her body. She removed a shrapnel stuck in her abdomen, there was blood, but not much, of course, as it was fake, just enough to give a sense of humanity to her being. Still, it was an injury, her body was damaged.

What stunned her the most, however, was that the child was willing to commit suicide. Such despair... It should be a thing of the past.

As the smoke cleared, this conclusion proved to be hasty.

The child was standing, absolutely unscathed. She now carried an annihilating chaingun, stupidly large for her stature. As the barrels of the gun began to spin, the child maintained an expression of disturbing coldness, as if she were about to kill an insect.

Homura jumped and rolled across the floor, escaping the first burst of projectiles fired. Using magic on every limb of her body, she jumped again and ran along the wall, being followed by the destructive trail.

Despite its appearance, the child held the recoil of the gun effortlessly and there was no sign that its ammunition would run out soon.

Homura jumped from one wall to another, while conjuring black pins between her fingers. She hurled them at her opponent as if they were darts.

However, a metal cloud coalesced near the child, forming a floating shielding plate, which blocked all the pins. After it had done this job, the plate dissipated.

Homura did not even have time to curse the other girl's feat, as the trail of bullets was very close, piercing the skirt of her funeral dress. The space in the room was limited, requiring daring acrobatics to dodge the gunfire. In one of them, Homura threw more pins.

Just as before, a cloud coalesced into a metal plate, shielding the child from attack.

But this time, Homura only needed a few more seconds.

The pin heads on the floor gave off a lilac glow.

The child only had time to look at them before the explosions.

The gun stopped firing, and that was the moment Homura needed. She conjured an hourglass and turned it. Only her heavy breathing could be heard after time stopped.

The feeling that something was wrong remained. Looking at the smoke generated by the new explosions, Homura was sure that the child had survived this. But how was this possible? After all those grenades, the child had not even gotten dirty.

Her behavior...

Homura cannot help but compare the child to the autonomous cannons she had destroyed earlier. However, the main issue was still the room. She looked around, again, now examining the outcome of the combat.

It was then that she noticed.

The trail of bullet marks on the wall. In one section, the trail was not quite aligned with the rest. Moreover, the bullet marks formed a perfectly identical pattern with another section of the trail, a blatant copy!

Guided by discovery and suspicion. Homura checked the upper corners of the room. There it was: a camera. Without hesitation, she conjured a pin and threw at it.

The pin froze in time, but as soon as it resumed to pass again, the mortal world witch's weapon pierced the lens of the device.

The smoke from the explosions cleared and a robot with the stature of a child appeared. With its eyes like crosses of light, aiming with its chaingun, the machine was searching for its target. There was no sign of it.

Not until, an instant later, the robot was impaled by a giant pin.

Homura stood in front of the killer robot, scrutinizing it, and then ignoring it, just as she had done with familiars and witches in a long past that repeated itself many times. Her goal was another, a new exit, once hidden by an illusion.

With the girl turning her back and leaving, the robot began to move. Following its directives, the machine struggled to aim its weapon. Despite the damage, it was a matter of time for it to achieve that, but it was a time it did not have, as the pin's head began to glow.

Homura heard the loud explosion behind her, almost at the same time as the skirt of her dress and hair were pushed up by the force of it. No jolts, her body was used to it, her ear much more so. So much so that the only thing she found strange was the silence that followed.

Indeed.

There was no clink of pins, the sand in the hourglass had completely drained into the lower compartment. She looked at the object, thoughtfully. Normally, it was only necessary to conjure up another hourglass, but this time she decided to turn the hourglass upside down.

After all, the fight was not over.

From the smoke and fire of the destroyed room, a metallic cloud coalesced and chased the girl down the tunnel.

Homura continued to stare at her hourglass, as the object vibrated. A tremendous force was building up, as the pins tried to follow the forbidden flow of time.

Silently, the cloud landed just behind the girl, solidifying into the same robot as before. In its hand now was a double-barreled shotgun.

Hearing the hourglass glass cracking, Homura threw it back. The object spun in the air, slower and slower, until it simply froze.

The robot aimed its weapon, but could not maintain its aim, as its arm was pulled by an invisible force.

It was being sucked in, everything was breaking and being sucked in. The floor, the walls, the ceiling, everything that was close enough to the hourglass, the nexus of a small tear in the fabric of space-time.

The robot tried to resist, but it was disintegrating, the nano-machines of which it was composed being dredged up, on a doomed route to the singularity.

In the end, there was only a wide crater in the tunnel, almost perfectly spherical, with a very small speck of light floating in its center. A momentary preamble before the destruction.

A flash, an explosion swept through the tunnel. The walls rattled but resisted, the same could not be said for the pipes and wires.

Amidst the smoke and ash, Homura emerged. Under the veil of darkness, her nature was exposed. Her skin was like wax, her eyes painted with green and red circles. Her teeth baring and sharp. The only source of light came from the sparks generated on the ground by the tip of a giant pin she was carrying.

The goal was getting closer and closer.

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

"Ahhh! She's a monster!" Nano put her hand to her head, as the circuits on her forehead stopped emitting glow.

The lights in the silo went out, at the same time as the floor quaked, followed by the switching on of the emergency lamps.

Invader embraced the child, saying, "Sorry, she found out. She's very strong."

"Strong?!" Nano looked at her, eyes bugged out. "She has control over time itself!"

The blue ballerina remained silent.

"Go, Invader. Escape." Nano gulped and nodded. "You can use your magic to hide inside a machine. Do that."

The Asian girl shook her head. "I didn't come here to do that."

"You must." Nano smiled, but betrayed by tears that descended freely. "I'm already dead. I died in a hospital after I fell out of a tree."

Invader shook her head again, more vigorously. "Don't say nonsense."

"My stay here in the Sisterhood, in this body, is a mockery of the evil I have done. I... thought I could build a redemption here, but this is not my place. I should no longer be existing."

"Do you think you're going to convince me to think like that? You are my friend," Invader stated, quite determined, "I will stay by your side, till the end."

"No..." Nano's face turned to one of complete weeping. "No, don't do that..."

"We do have a chance."

With this simple sentence, however, the ballerina made the child stop her tears, taken by surprise.

Invader asked, "Do you still have enough magic for one shot?"

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

After a long tunnel, Oriko arrived at a dormitory. The space was huge, with many beds.

Sitting on one of the beds was the only person in the room. A black woman, wearing a green metallic skirt and a large necklace of bones covering the front of her naked torso. She was feeling with her fingers the texture of the embossing of the javelin that was on her lap, when she then noticed the visitor. Without showing a change in her expression, she stood up, walked to the center of the dormitory, and held her sharp weapon firmly in a battle stance.

"A nuisance," Oriko muttered. After a sigh, she stated aloud, "It does not seem like it will do any good, but I feel it would be rude not to talk about it anyway."

Revenant kept the same posture.

"We did not kill Madre."

But her face broke into a furrow of the eyebrows.

Oriko continued, "It was someone else. A tall woman, dark skin, long white hair... Perhaps you know who it is. She did this clearly so that you will continue to believe that we are your enemy."

Revenant relaxed her posture, while her face became more tense and her gaze more wide-eyed.

Oriko sighed again.

"Whatta bunch of crap." Revenant shook her head in disbelief. "Ya've gotta be kiddin' me, especially with that polite English. I prefeah the time when ya witches only uttered gibberish."

"I just speak the truth," Oriko said, "but it is not you who should hear it. I count on your friends who are on the run to be more understanding."

Revenant's eyes widened. "How didya..."

Oriko smiled.

Shit! She caught me. I shouldn't have reacted like that! Revenant raised her arm to throw the javelin. "For Madre 'n Valkyrie!"

Oriko prepared to dodge, but the javelin that flew toward her looked more like it had been fired from a cannon. She had not moved even an inch when it pierced her torso. Such was the force, her upper body burst and her guts and blood splattered all over the floor, wall, ceiling and bed sheets.

Oriko blinked her eyes.

Revenant raised her arm to throw the javelin. "For Madre 'n Valkyrie!"

This time Oriko dodged beforehand. The javelin passed close by, flying into the tunnel behind the girl. The blonde had no time to gauge how close, as she noticed that the black woman had already shortened the distance between the two. With a newly conjured javelin in her hands, the woman struck out, like a spear. Oriko could only widen her eyes before having her skull pierced.

Oriko blinked.

Revenant raised her arm to throw the javelin. "For Madre 'n Valkyrie!"

Oriko avoided the first javelin, keeping her attention on the woman. The woman came running, at superhuman speed, conjuring a javelin. Just as before, Oriko had to dodge beforehand, and she did so by rotating her body, narrowly avoiding the stab.

Then the black woman also did a twist with her body, to apply a kick.

At least it was not a sharp weapon. Oriko strengthened her arms with magic to block the blow.

Terrible mistake.

It was like being hit by a rock weighing ten of tons. Oriko's mangled body flew into a concrete wall and fell to the floor, staining both of them red. Staring at the ceiling, alive, conscious, but in shock, the blonde was trying to process what had happened until the triumphant ebony figure appeared above her.

"Noice dodges, trash," Revenant said.

Oriko's gaze focused on the tip of the javelin, until the weapon pierced it.

Then Oriko reopened her eyes.

Revenant raised her arm to throw the javelin. "For Madre 'n Valkyrie!" And she did, but saw the blonde get out of the line of throw just in time. Without a second thought, she advanced toward the witch at super speed, conjuring a new javelin in her hands. She struck out with the weapon, certain to cause an impalement, but her enemy spun her body in a precise avoidance. Inspired by the movement, Revenant did the same, to execute a kick, concentrating the force of her magic on her already strong leg muscles. She felt that her blow had connected on something, but when she noticed, it was only the mitre the witch was wearing!

Oriko had crouched to avoid the crushing blow.

"IIIAAAAHHHH!" With a warlike roar, Revenant whirled the javelin in hand.

Oriko jumped back, seeing a green metallic flash almost scrape her torso. She landed on one of the beds.

Revenant threw her weapon.

Oriko leaped to another bed just in time. The javelin only hit the wall, tearing a big chunk of concrete out.

Even more annoyed, Revenant conjured two javelins, one in each hand. She took a leap, the momentum giving her the speed of a torpedo.

Oriko again jumped onto another bed, landing with grace.

Meanwhile, Revenant smashed into the bed where her opponent was previously. She immediately jumped again, continuing the chase, but to her surprise, she saw the witch leaping towards her. Honey-colored eyes met with the olive-green gaze, belonging to a calm countenance.

Oriko bent her body in mid-air, a precise movement, avoiding the javelins and the black woman, letting them pass alongside, like a bull and its horns.

Revenant landed on the bed, destroying it.

Oriko put her feet back on the floor, and stopped. She knew that she would not have to move, for a moment.

Revenant left the bed, walking, with an expression that ranged from rage to disbelief. "How?! That can't be reflexes! It's more like ya're readin' my mind about what I'm gonna do."

Oriko lowered her gaze, smiling, "It is more than that."

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

###CAUTION###

Destruction of the data and this server should only occur in exceptional cases or with formal authorization from the Matriarch or a designated representative. Acts outside these occasions are liable to punishment, according to article 37 of the statute of the Sisterhood management.

#############

:This execution is irreversible. Continue? (Y/n)

:y

:Please, only (Y)es or (n)o

:This execution is irreversible. Continue? (Y/n)

:Y|

As soon as Leona pressed the confirmation button, the terminal screen went black. Soon she heard the sound of the server fans getting louder. According to what she knew about the protocol, the data would be scrambled and erased, and then the equipment itself would start to burn. The whole process was supposed to take a few minutes.

Time enough for another attempt.

[Estér, I'm at the data center, meet me there. I have a plan, we can launch the rocket. I ordered Revenant and Lucky to leave the base with the novices. Nano is still in the silo, Invader must be there too, but it shouldn't be a problem, it might even be useful. Invader told me that the rocket was not ready yet, but it should be only details. It looks ready to me, you can force them to build what's missing. You and I can fight these witches and... We will have seeds, right? We can try. We have no choice. Please! Answer! Answer me!]

The sound of the fans was the only thing Leona heard. Feeling that her eyes were about to tear up, she closed them and took a deep breath. If there is anyone with the power to find Estér, it would be her.

Regaining her composure, Leona prepared to leave the room, but then she noticed something on the floor.

One of the polystyrene tiles was very badly fitted.

Leona knelt down and lifted the tile. Using the gem on her ring, she illuminated the dark space below.

It was a mess. The cables were scattered, they no longer formed tubes, the ties had been undone.

Leona felt an emptiness transfixing her heart. There was a revelation, but it came too late. She was a fool, they all were. "El ladrón... estuvo aquí."

／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼

With a few boxes, Invader and Nano had prepared a barricade. They were a good distance away from the heavy closed metal doors, the entrance to the silo, with the child pointing her huge Nano Force Gun at it.

Invader reaffirmed, "The witch is strong, but we know we can surprise her. I was able to watch her and I know she is able to open doors with magic, but she needs to touch them first. When I give the order, shoot."

Nano nodded, while holding the futuristic cannon attached to her arm in position.

There was a silence, the doors remained motionless, not even a trepidation.

The girls listened to their own breathing as they waited for the inevitable.

Then a faint lilac glow began to envelop the doors.

Nano looked at Invader.

The ballerina kept her attention on the door. "Wait for my order."

The glow grew stronger and, soon after, the beginning of the sliding sound of the doors opening could be heard.

"Now!" Invader shouted.

Nano fired the gun immediately. The cannon vibrated and hummed, followed by the flash of blinding green light and a bang.

It was a brief moment until Invader regained her sight and saw the result.

The solid, thick doors were gone, there were only a few remnants, melting into pools of green luminescence. A part of the tunnel just behind the doors, and whoever was there, had shared the same fate.

"Did... ah... did we make it?" Nano undid her cannon, with her gauntlet now beeping, warning about the depleted state of her gem.

Invader gulped.

A single moment later, the girl in funeral clothes, holding an hourglass, was already inside the silo area, looking at the two sisters behind the barricade.

Nano took longer to process what she was seeing than to understand what it meant. Her face paled. "Ah... ahnnn..."

Invader leaved the barricade.

Nano looked at her, surprised.

The ballerina stopped and looked at the child. "I didn't tell you before, but I've noticed and I suspect there is something very wrong going on. If my intuition is right, this could save our lives. This is our last chance."

Nano understood nothing about what she was saying, but she could feel the seriousness in her words, and a hint of desperation.

Struggling to hide the pain on her visage, Invader asked in a low tone, "Do you trust me?"

Even if shyly, Nano nodded.

Invader forced a smile, but there was indeed a certain relief. Seeing the child cowering, trembling with fear, gave her the assurance that Nano did not want to die.

Homura noticed that the sand in her hourglass had exhausted, she undid the magic artifact, but always keeping her purple eyes at the two threats.

Invader looked at the witch and started to approach.

Homura furrowed her brows and held her palm open, ready to conjure a new hourglass.

Invader stopped and raised her arms in a sign of surrender. Then she began to speak in Japanese, "I am Hellen Nakamura. You are Homura Akemi, aren't you?"

"You know my name..." Homura did not relax her posture, her gaze watchful for any trickery. "I'm not surprised, you must have been watching us for a long period while you were planning to destroy the city."

"Destroy... the city?" Hellen frowned.

"Don't play dumb." Homura gritted her teeth. "Not now that I'm looking at the weapon you'll use to blow up Mitakihara."

"Weapon?" Hellen noticed what the other girl was looking at. "That's not a weapon! It's a space rocket that will put a satellite into orbit."

"You still dare to lie?" Homura threatened, "Get out of my way or I will kill you."

"THAT'S NOT A LIE!"

Homura froze in the face of the ballerina's ferocity.

Nano could not understand the words, but she had never felt such emotion coming from her friend.

"I'm despicable, selfish, I know what I'm talking about," Hellen put emphasis on her statement, "I was ashamed when I joined Sisterhood, because there are many good people here. They not only defend the magical girls, they look after their families, they always take the human side into consideration, with responsibility, inspired by our leader, Matriarch. The one you killed at the entrance was one of those people."

"We didn't kill her," Homura said, "a white-haired woman did, someone of your group."

"What?" Hellen was confused.

"Last warning," Homura threatened again, "let me destroy that weapon, for your own good."

"That's not a weapon. The day the Sisterhood decides to destroy a city... That's the day we cease to exist." More certain that something was very wrong, Hellen narrowed her eyes. "Where did you get this information? How did you know we were here?"

The image of Oriko came into Homura's mind. She closed her eyes momentarily, as if she could erase it that way.

The subtle reaction was enough for Hellen to conclude, "Oh no... It was someone who told you that, wasn't it? Who?"

"Get out of my way..." Homura trembled. "Get out of my way! Don't make this harder-"

"I believe you," Hellen declared.

Homura was speechless.

"You didn't kill Madre, or you would have killed me already." Hellen put her hand, covered by the sleeve of her uniform, over her own chest. "Now you have to believe me, you... have... to..."

Homura saw the other girl's eyes widen in astonishment. From the direction she was looking, it was something on her back, and it was a reaction too genuine to be a trick. She turned around.

At the entrance to the silo was a man. White uniform, like a priest's cassock, with a red mantle on his shoulders. In his hand, a silver cross with sharp edges.

Homura hardened her countenance, certain that the fight was just getting started.

Next chapter: The sides of the conflict