Chapter 10: Innocence Lost
I do not own PMMM or Magia Record. PMMM is own by AniplexNA. Magia Record is owned by f4Samurai
Three months later
"And then mom showed me the tickets for Kyousuke's concert."
"Wow Sayaka, I'm so jealous!" Madoka exclaimed.
Hitomi sighed, "I wish I could attend, but I have other arrangements."
Sayaka smirked, "Ahh, rich girl problems. I totally get it."
"It's not like that…"
Madoka giggled. "Well I'm going home. Oh and did you get it?"
Sayaka glanced around anxiously. "Yeah. It took a while but I managed to get a copy."
Glancing around nervously, Sayaka opened up her bag and dug around a small package. "You have no idea how hard it was to get my hands on this."
Madoka's hands clasped on the small package tightly. "Is this the real thing?"
Sayaka's eyes darkened. "The complete and unabridged edition of Songbirds of Mizuna? Yes. This cost me a literal fortune to get."
Madoka reached into her bag and pulled out a plastic bag filled with wads of bills and coins. "I hope this covers it."
Sayaka sighed, "I think so, but it'll do. Plus…you're going to share it with me right?"
Madoka nodded, "Of course! You're my best friend Sayaka!"
Hitomi frowned, "I thought I was…"
As the three girls exchanged quips, a lone figure was watching them from above.
Homura shivered awkwardly. The discovery that Madoka had in fact seen the cringe of a movie was an uncomfortable realization that her early arrival had caused changes to happen, not just to Mami, but also to Madoka.
And in all of her timelines, never did she think that Madoka would like…*that* kind of material. That in of itself was uncomfortable. She shuddered at the thought of Madoka and Sayaka watching the infamous Chizuru vs Tsuyu duel and squealing like fan girls.
But as long as Madoka's potential remained dirt low, the incubators wouldn't go after her. And that was far worth any awkward feelings about Madoka's newfound interests. Returning the binoculars to her shield, the raven haired girl spun around and headed to her next appointment.
Mel ducked and rolled under a pair of scissor blades. She could see her reflection on the dark sheen of the familiar's blades before she jammed a revolver in the familiar's face and fired. The creature didn't make a noise as its head exploded. Mel shoved the creature's corpse off her and shook her gun wrist uncomfortably. "Tch, gotta do something about that recoil."
She looked around the labyrinth and observed the carnage.
Kyouko was engaged with several other familiars, dancing around their attacks and leaving illusions in her wake to stir up even more confusion.
Mami on the other hand, was engaged with a deadly dance with the witch. She weaved in and out of attacks, peppering the witch with a relentless barrage of musket fire, but the Witch only seemed to be enraged. Mel pulled a tarot card from her pouch and focused, transforming it into a silver revolver before frowning. Who should she go help?
"You're right. It's a tough decision."
Mel spun around to find a certain raven haired magical girl standing behind her. "Wh-where did you come from!"
Homura's expression didn't change. "Kyouko seems to be able to handle the familiars just fine. Mami is the one who is struggling. Naturally, one would want to help Mami. But helping Kyouko would accelerate her progress and allow both of you to aid Mami."
Mel frowned, "Well yeah. Also…I don't know how much help I'd be to Mami. It's been months and I still haven't grasped how to use my guns."
"You'll grasp it soon enough. Thankfully, I'll help you make your decision." Homura reached into her shield and pulled a long tube from inside. Mel watched with fascination as the raven magical girl hefted the tube over her shoulder and aimed. Mel heard a faint whirring noise and a moment later, time seemed to glitch as a moment later, four rockets slammed into the witch causing it to roar in rage. Mel stared flabbergasted as she tried to grasp what happened when a hand clasped her shoulder.
She turned to see the raven haired girl glare at her. "Your choice has been made for you."
Mel nodded awkwardly and rushed towards the redhead, her revolver taking aim at the nearest familiar.
Mami noticed the witch stumble backwards and immediately took advantage of the chaos. Leaping back, she summoned her biggest cannon she could and sent a ribbon out behind her. A moment later, the world greyed out and the witch froze. She didn't need to glance behind her to know her master was holding onto her ribbon. She leaped as high as she could and pointed the cannon at the witch's face. "Trio finale!"
In that moment, the labyrinth was filled with a brilliant light before time resumed. The massive explosion rocked the cavern, sending familiars and magical girls to the ground.
Mami landed with practiced ease and glanced around. The witch, or rather what was left of the witch, was splattered across a freshly formed crater, slowly turning to dust. The familiars too were dissipating across the dark labyrinth. She then saw Kyouko and Mel wobbly pulling themselves to their feet.
"Hey Mami, a little heads up before you go full tactical nuke ok?" Kyouko yelled.
"Why do I even try to help when you can do that?" Mel retorted.
Homura scooped up a grief seed from the dust. "She wouldn't have been able to pull that off unless you were dealing with the familiars." She handed the seed to Mel. "Take it, you earned it."
Mel stared at the dark seed in disbelief, "Me? But I didn't do anything."
Homura gestured to the green haired girl's soul gem. "You expended the most magic. You need it the most," She pressed the seed against Mel's gem. "I'm guessing that your problem isn't your recoil, but your magic efficiency. Turning cards into guns must be more costly for you than for Mami. I'd suggest you meet with Mitama to see if you can find a work around for that."
Taken aback by the sudden concern, Mel accepted the seed. "Oh, ummm… thanks."
Mami smiled softly as Kyouko walked up to her. "She doesn't look like it, but Homura really cares for us."
"Ehh?" Kyouko stared at the raven haired girl. "I guess. She's kinda rough if you ask me."
"She is standoffish at times and doesn't hesitate to do what's necessary, but she takes care of us." Mami explained, "It's why she's such a great Sensei!"
The quartet gathered together as the sun began to set. Mami turned to her teacher, "Sensei, would you join us for dinner?"
Mel grinned, "I'm making curry!"
Kyouko sighed, "I guess I can join you guys. Let me check with papa."
As Homura watched the trio head back into town, she couldn't help but feel a small smile cross her lips. Her plan was finally beginning to come to fruition.
After a year and a half in Kamihama, she had finally begun to draw up her plans for Walpurghistnaught. Over the past year, she had been receiving consistent adjustments and expanded her arsenal. Her magic potential had never been higher and the time she could spend freezing time had grown to almost twice her normal limit.
In addition, she realized she needed a powerful team of magical girls to fight the witch. In the past, she had only ever fought with Mami, Kyouko, Sayaka, and Madoka, two of whom were absolute rookies. Now she has access to the fighting monstrosities that were Yachiyo, Kanae, and Tsuruno. She was personally training Mami and her team to compensate their traditional weaknesses. Not to mention the unique abilities Mifuyu, Hanna, Rena, and Karin brought to the team. If things went as planned, she would have a monster of a fighting force by the time the demon witch arrived. They wouldn't even need Madoka's sheer might.
Homura personally had mixed feelings about her new "friends". She had sworn to become Yachiyo's friend, to support her amidst her quest to save Madoka. But now, those feelings were quickly spreading to the rest of the "team" she had formed. She had never really felt like this before. This warmth of friendship she had never really felt during her 6 week loops with Mami, Sayaka, and Kyouko. Like…she had actually fought, struggled, and earned her place amongst these girls. She hated to admit it, but…she liked being with them. She had…bonded with them in a way she never really had with anyone but Madoka. She could…maybe…just maybe…she could trust them.
That's when a shiver ran down her back. What was that about?
She felt a faint vibration in her pocket. She pulled out her buzzing phone silently to read the caller.
*Mifuyu Azusa*
She flipped open the phone. "Akemi."
"Homura, oh thank god. Do you have a grief seed on you?"
"Yes, why?"
"How quickly can you get to Kamihama? We have an emergency."
Homura didn't even respond as the world greyed out and time stopped.
"And so Yach-chan asked if we could head to Banbanzai to help her."
"Gotcha," the blonde hefted her guitar over her shoulder, "So it's, you, me, Karin, and Hanna?"
Mifuyu nodded, "That should be enough. Yach-Chan said she and Momoko would come as soon as they finished."
The quartet walked through the Mizuna towards the station. Kanae and Mifuyu catching up on the day's events, Karin had her head stuck in a manga, and Hanna trudging along behind them. Hanna paused as she felt her phone vibrating. She knew who that was. And they could screw themselves to the depths of hell and she would laugh and giggle as she would dance upon their corpses and-
"Hanna are you ok?"
Hanna froze as she looked up to see Mifuyu's concerned frown in her face.
Hanna quickly put herself together and nodded, "Just fine."
She pulled out her phone and held down the power button. She didn't need that reminder right now. She was going to help that troublesome restaurant girl. And it wouldn't help if she let those thoughts affect her when she was there.
As the quartet rounded the bend, Hanna suddenly felt a jolt of magical energy. She realized that the other three had stopped as well.
Mifuyu and Kanae had frozen mid stride, their eyes alert. Karin was shoving her manga back into her bag.
Kanae brought out her soul gem and checked the location. "Looks like a witch."
Hanna nodded, turning her ring into its gem form and beginning her search magic.
The quartet rushed down the streets, heading further Eastward.
Kanae frowned, "If we go much further East, we'll be entering Chuo ward."
Mifuyu nodded, "I'll give Hinano a text. But let's keep pursuing."
Karin paused, "That's it!"
The group spun around. Karin transformed and summoned her scythe. "Hanna and I can go ahead and assess the situation. Then you can follow our magical signatures."
Mifuyu nodded, "If you're sure you'll be ok."
Hanna nodded, "We'll be fine. It's not like we're actually going to fight the witch."
Right?
Kanae agreed, "Right. Keep us updated."
Hanna straddled Karin's shaft and gripped it between her legs as Karin flew off into the sky.
The two flew towards the signal, the wind streaking against their faces. Hanna scanned the ground before pointing at an alleyway. "Let's land there."
The two girls hopped off the broom. Karin examined her soul gem.
"Looks like the witch is that way." She pointed in deeper into the alleyway. "By the way, what abilities do you have copied?"
"Piercing magic, Kanae's."
Karin nodded, "Alright then, let's find that witch."
Karin led the way as Hanna began flaring her magic, beaconing for their teammates to find them. Only mere minutes after searching, Karin froze.
"What?"
"The…witch's magic is gone. I can't detect it any longer."
Hanna nodded. That either meant the witch had left or had already been defeated. "So what are we going to do?"
Karin frowned, "Well if it's been defeated, the Chuo girls might need help fixing everything. Let's go anyways."
The duo rushed through the alleyways. After a minute, Karin paused.
"It was just here."
Hanna focused her own magic, expanding her senses outward. She gritted her teeth as she tried to filter out Karin and her own magic signatures until she thought she sensed something. But as quickly as she thought she found it, she stumbled as a weird sensation washed over her, trying to overwhelm her, whispering words into her mind.
'There is nothing here'
'You should move on'
'You did not find anything'
Hanna frowned in annoyance. Something or someone was trying to make her forget something. And that was dipshit annoying. No one had control over her life. She flared her own magic, focusing her copied magic from Kanae against the wave. Kanae's piercing magic normally was applied to physical force against armored or shielded targets, but Hanna had discovered she could use the same force in magic bursts. Could she do the same with her magic senses?
She channeled both magics against the wave of confusion and focused.
'There is nothing here'
'You should move on'
'You did not find anything'
She grit her teeth. "Shut up." She muttered.
Karin stared at her partner in concern. "Umm…Hanna?"
But the purple haired girl was ignored as Hanna scrunched her brow and forced her magic out.
'TheRe is SOM-nOtHinG hErE'
'YoU sHoUlD fIn-OvE Me'
'yOu pLeAsE HeLp Me-mOvE oN'
"PLEASE SAVE ME!"
Hanna jerked out of her trance. "I found her."
Karin nodded, "O-ok. Are you?
"I'm fine. We need to hurry."
"Hold up!"
The duo turned around to see two familiar girls coming up behind them.
Kanae leaped into the air and landed cleanly behind them. Mifuyu was close behind.
Karin smiled, "Thank goodness you're here. The witch is already defeated but-"
"-there's no time." Hanna interjected before leaping onto the rooftops. Hanna hit the ground running as she vaulted from ceiling to ceiling until she arrived at the scene, her teammates closely behind her.
A girl about her age was slouched against a rooftop. She had short light blue hair with two longer locks going down her chest. Hanna rushed over to her without a second thought. "Oi, you ok?"
The girl managed to pull her head up to meet her eyes. "Y-you…you found me."
Hanna didn't respond as she glanced over the girl's body. She wore a Daito academy uniform and clutched in her hands was an indigo soul gem. Well…it's what it would have been if it weren't nearly pitch black. Hanna jerked her head back to her teammates. "She needs a grief seed."
Kanae frowned and shook her head before turning to Mifuyu. She nodded as she pulled out her phone, "I'll call for help."
Hanna returned her gaze to the girl. To her surprise, Karin had joined her on the girl's other side, taking her hands. "Hey don't worry, everything is going to be ok." She reassured her.
The girl weakly twisted her head towards the purple haired girl, her indigo eyes meeting her own. "It's…too…late."
Karin shook her head, "It's never too late! We just gotta have hope!"
The girl's broke into a bittersweet smile, "Please…just leave me. You're…late…to handle…the truth…"
Hanna's eyes scanned the soul gem before pulsating her own magic. In an instant, she a basic understanding of the girl's magic and how it worked. But that could be saved for another day. She had a growing feeling she that this girl didn't have much time left. "I'm…Hanna Sarasa, what's yours?"
"Mikoto Sena."
Their conversation was interrupted as Mifuyu's voice called in. "I got a hold of Homura. She's on her way."
Kanae frowned. "I don't think she'll make it that long."
"Why?"
Kanae shook her head. "Just a feeling." She turned to Mikoto, "Is there anything we can do for you?"
Mikoto's eyes began to glass over as she smiled on last time. "Just…tell…Kanagi…I'm sorry."
With that, her blacked soul gem shattered, revealing a glistening grief seed. The air crackled as dark energy began to fill the rooftop. The grief seed rose into the air as the girls leaped back. Swirls of energy whirled into the seed until they found themselves inside the ever familiar dimension of a witch's labyrinth. And in the center of it, hovering above the unmoving corpse of a recently deceased Mikoto Sena, a giant witch roared in despair.
Hanna stared up at the witch in disbelief. But slowly, that disbelief became understanding. When a magical girl expended enough magic to make their soul gem turn dark, then they turn into witches. Which means that the small gem on her outfit…was actually a grief seed waiting to hatch.
Of course it was. Of course this cruel joke of a world would have magical girls murdering former magical girls. It…it was so cruel of a joke Hanna didn't know how to respond.
"Wh-what's going on?"
Hanna suddenly was reminded that she had her teammates there. Mifuyu was clinging onto Kanae, the blonde watching the calamity unfold silently. And Karin…the little…'witch', such a cruel turn now, was frozen, her body shaking uncontrollably.
Kanae spoke first. "So when our soul gems turn black, we turn into witches huh?"
"Kanae, what do we do?" Mifuyu whimpered.
Hanna was about to speak but another voice cut her off. "It appears I was too late."
Hanna didn't even turn around. Homura had arrived. And…from the sound of her voice, she knew.
Mifuyu turned to Homura. "What's going on Homura?"
The raven haired girl sighed, "It's exactly what it looks like. Magical girls who despair will turn into witches."
Kanae nodded understandingly. "Homura, our team isn't in a place to fight this witch. We need to retreat."
The raven haired girl nodded before reaching out her hand. Kanae took hold and gestured to Hanna.
Hanna understood and took the hand while grabbing Karin's. "Yo, we need to go."
Karin's eyes were still transfixed on the screaming witch but nodded slowly.
The world greyed out as the raven haired girl led the shaken quartet out of the labyrinth. As Hanna followed the group, all she could think about was how, in some twisted way, this was actually…quite hilarious.
Notes:
Good wholesome feelings don't last forever. We apologize for throwing Karin and Hanna into despair.
