Author Notes:
So well, I'm delayed. Damn. Here it is, more Kyubey theories, possible Timeline 4 events, and explanations on why Sayaka didn't turn witch. And oh, a Character Blender of *is shot*
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Plot:
Homura Akemi, the time traveler, has left a worldline in which Madoka becomes Kriemhild Gretchen, the greatest witch of all time, and Kyubey leaves Earth. With the help of nearly 1000 mahou shoujos, including Kyouko, Sayaka, Mami, Kazumi, and a different and more powerful Homura, can they defeat this witch and bring about hope again to an impending apocalypse?
Computer Edit: 05/19/11
(So many spelling errors. Y_Y Hey bonesxbreak, care to beta this story?)
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Disclaimer:
This message merely exists to (possibly) satisfy those copyrighters, so I say it anyway. I only own the idea to this fanfiction, the unofficial OCs, and ideas that are unsure or unconfirmed within Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Puella Magi Kazumi Magica.
By the way, it's best that you play Connect (TV version) when you reach the chapter title strip and Magia (TV version) when0p you reach the To Be Continued strip of the chapter.
It was a bleak situation for someone like Mami to survive such an attack...yet here she is, some how alive, albeit in a circumstance she herself cannot understand anymore. Here is a girl, in front of her, previously without a single trace of hesitation, mercy, and emotion, actually protecting her from a witch. It was Homura Akemi, in front of a situation she didn't imagine (or at least her time traveling counterpart did) would happen to her. Mami lay partially paralyzed on the ground, while this girl, with an unusually different aura than before, fighting something as tricky as this witch called Ein Prinzessin, all while surrounded by 10 large golem familiars with ice axes that will freeze your soul to death, all while in a -20°C temperature witch domain, fighting against a -273°C being. Can this day get any worse?
"Are you alright?" Homura asked, as if having emotion for once.
Mami herself didn't expect such words from Homura, hesitating as she nodded, using mahou shoujo magic to heat up her frozen wrist.
"Of all the magical girls in the world, you're the one I least expected." Mami said as she stood up while Homura, seeing the oppurtunity, struck all 10 ice golems with her lighting-fast light-saber.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Homura said as she flickers her hair in the wind. "This is for something bigger than any of this."
The silence continued on for a while.
"That's unusual..." Mami stared at Homura, looking at her eyes with utmost interest. "You seem to different from the Homura I knew. Are you sure you're really Homura?"
"Not exactly," Homura's response was coupled with additional slashes on the incoming familiars, while Mami, with her multiple flintlocks, took down some of the heads of the others, only leaving behind the Princess, drenched in anger at the new intruder.
With enough luck, Homura went directly for the witch, running towards Ein Prinzessin with a blue light-saber in her one hand, and a hyperspace arsenal / shield / 'surf' board on the other.
"What are you doing?" Mami shouted over to Homura.
"I'll finish this witch," Homura declared as she put back her light-saber in her hyperspace arsenal, exchanging it for a multi-rocket launcher, and proceeded to fire a couple of shots. Like what happened with Mami's bullets, it froze in front of her face, but Homura, anticipating the move, pulled out an AK47, hitting the rocket shells and burning the witch alive. (It was the explosion that killed the witch, not the heat.)
Mami simply stood there, stunned more than ever on Homura's new-found magical potential. As the surroundings starts bending and warping again as it returned to normal, Mami continued on to stare at Homura as she picked up a Grief Seed, especially noticing the purple aura flowing through Homura's body. Will she tell her the truth of the matter, or keep a farce that is too obvious to be recognized as such?
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Episode 3
"There's no time"
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Nothing was safe in this area anymore. Homura very well knows that, considering Kriemhild Gretchen's potential power as a witch was more than enough to destroy the world. She knows that, when Kriemhild finally awakens, it wouldn't take a few minutes before her barrier encompasses this city. She needs to act quickly, gathering the firepower for her plan.
"I'd 'like' to tell you everything right now," Homura turned around, looking at the entrance to the barrier. "But someone's in danger right now."
Mami nodded, running towards the barrier of Feuer Prinzessin. As Homura followed, the barrier again started to engulf its new intruders.
"So, I recall you need my help for something," Mami turned her her head around scouting for familiars who might try to stop them.
"Unfortunately, yes," Homura said.
"Unfortunately? Seems like forced to me," Mami, summoning a flintlock equipped with a silencer.
"Yes," Homura nodded. "And we have less than 10 days to do it."
Ten days, Kyubey had said. Ten days to save the world from ruins. Ten days to stop this witch from encompassing the world in its domain and taking control of everyone in the world. Ten days to save Madoka from the fate of being the being who destroyed the very same world he wanted to protect. Ten days where everything should happen according to plan, or else this world's doomed.
Homura, impatient of the pains they had to go through just sneaking in to the witch's barrier, started to run for the main door, whom she readily identified to be one at the center, given the design of the previous witch is the same with Ein Prinzessin. While a few archer familiars spotted the two, Mami simply silenced them with her flintlock, summoning a second bullet inside her already summed flintlock to compensate for her one bullet per flintlock limitation.
It was no time to stay in their places.
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Sayaka stood over one of the red platforms beside one of the archer familiars she just defeated, disgusted at her current situation. She knows now all too well what this witch can do. Sayaka, heavily sweating most especially due to the extreme heat brought on by the witch, started charging towards the witch again, this time with the intention of bringing it down in one blow. Feuer Prinzessin, however, simply retreated, laughing maniacally as she used the extreme heat in her domain to bend light, resulting in a mirage. But it wasn't a mere mirage... with the extreme heat in her domain creeping in to Sayaka, Sayaka started experiencing headaches.
"Gah, I cant stay in here for long," Sayaka felt the pain reverberating through her body. It seems as though the pain is so strong it has exceeded the pain block threshold.
Mami-sempai, where are you now? Sayaka muttered as she started running for the door, only to trip and fall due to not being able to focus anymore in the heat .
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Homura opened the central door, with Mami behind her.
"Hmph, a monster room." Homura commented. Hundreds of archer familiars, all guarding a central door similar to a microwave door.
"Doesn't seem like we'll be going through there without picking a fight, huh?" Mami held her hat as she readied her mass flintlock summon.
"No need," Homura declared, holding Mami's hand, activating her time shield. With that hidden power of hers activated, everything stopped as if it was all a recorded tape. Mami, partially stunned at this, looked at Homura. Is she a ... time traveler? If so, from when? Why was she here? Then came Madoka - the one whom Homura refused to associate as a magical girl with, in spite having unbelievable magical potential. Did Homura know Madoka from an alternate future? Mami almost let go of Homura's hand, when suddenly, Homura firmed her grip pn Mami.
"If you let go, you'll be forever trapped in this time." Homura's words struck Mami by surprise.
"... so you're a time traveler?" Mami asked as she followed Homura to the microwave door, firing at as many archers as she can, just before Homura's time stop expired, instigating powerful qaves of explosions and giving the two of them enough time to force open the door.
"Yes, or let's say...was," Homura answered at Mami, looking directly at her.
Then looking at her front, she saw Sayaka Miki, who had just fainted over the fight and that unbearable heat that affects even the senses of the typical mahou shoujo.
"Sayaka-chan!" Mami laid down, looking at Sayaka's condition, who was a the point of convulsion. Using magou shoujo magic, Mami began pumping out the excess heat from Sayaka. She also took the time to reach for 2 Grief Seeds, using both of them to steadily replenish their power.
「Sayaka's Soul Gem: 55.02% Darkened」
「Mami's Soul Gem: 60.5% Darkened」
"Get her to safety, I'll defeat this witch before you know it," Homura commanded Mami.
"Oii," Homura's head met Mami's patting hand. "Don't go deciding things on yourself again, really. Here I thought you need my help."
"I do, but not now," Homura said, reaching for her light-saber in her hyperspace arsenal. "Besides, backup's coming in 3..2...1-"
"Akemi-sa-" suddenly and without warning, an unusual figure appeared, right, in front, of, her. Equipped, with a book, pen, and some pictures, and a cellphone, all in a dark brown mahou shoujo long-coated suit similar to a mage, she stared directly at the witch, further enraging it, extending her hand towards the new intruder and creating some sort of flamethrower effect.
Instantly, the girl's figure, disappeared, appearing just in front of the witch, writing words in Latin.
Ein Prinzessin, FRAGOR iure.
Instantly, the witch titled to the left: an explosion suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making the unsuspecting witch roar in agony.
"Mai-chan," Mami declared her name.
"Yo," Mai's low pitched, yet feminine voice echoed throughout the bright surreal red room, only to disappear as Ein Prinzessin roared angrily in response.
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Mai Akane
Weapon: Pen
Speciality: Mental Teleportation
Nationality: Japanese
Description:
Being a 5"1' meganneko has its own glory, but can you say the same with Mai Akane? Mai Akane is mostly a silent book reader type, having dark hair with a little chubby face compared to Homura. Compared to moe Homura, she has thin, rounded glasses, and, consequently, in her mahou shoujo form, she represent, a more laid-back form: a book-obbessed, mage-like figure, bent on doing anything she wishes using pen and book and writing commands in Latin and Greek (or for extreme situations Hebrew, to the point of quoting Bible verses.)
Fellow mahou shoujos refer her as The Silencer, being one of the few veteran mahou shoujos before Mami. She has a knack for vague expressions only a few people would understand, or words that can fool anyone new to her style of communication. She is also one of the few mahou shoujo who has knowledge around its dark secrets, being the one who watched one of her comrades turn into a witch, without the slightest of emotions.
History serves she was recruited by Kyubey 3 years ago in a library while looking at famous places in the world, being a simple girl in a nearly silent family, she wished to be able go to anywhere she wants to, with whoever she wants to, resulting in her valuable mahou shoujo power: instant teleportation. Using her new power, she traveled around the world, bringing only a few things: pictures of her locations, some pocket money, and some luggage, all while defeating the witches in the area. This plan quickly backfired, as her constant running off to various places caused her parents' worry, of which, due to her very own childishness, caused one of her greatest regrets in life: when she left them for her desire to travel around the world. It wasn't long, however, when she realized her naive actions and resolved to return to her hometown, but it was too late. Her entire family was massacred by a witch, of whom Mai, traumatized by the event, nearly turned into a witch, that is if she didn't permanently shut off her emotions almost completely, resulting in her present state. Using her powers as a mahou shoujo, she was able to easily defeat this witch, but it was not enough to satisfy her emptiness. Spending a year watching over different mahou shoujos, she watched them all being consumed in their own power and turning into witches, something she disgusts, about, often desperate to gather Grief Seeds just so that she won't turn into one. She once had power to travel even inside non-fictional realms, but, for some unknown reason, refused to use it anymore. Either she found out the dear cost of using that power, or does not use it anymore for traumatizing reasons.
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Mai's cold, blank face made Mami shiver, "That girl, I can never underatand such a girl."
Mai started writing again, only to be nearly hit by the witch's 'hand'-y flamethrower, relying mostly on instinct to detect enemy attacks and teleporting with just enough distance to keep it distracted, something only a few veterans can do.
Yawn. Boring. Mai muttered to herself.
"Hmph, stop playing, we cant afford losing anymore time," Homura, with her lightning speed reflexes, turned to the witch's back: a not-so-formidable weak spot for such a hot witch such as Feuer Prinzessin. Using the opportunity, she repeatedly slashed the witch, finally destroying it to the ground, leaving behind a catapulted second Grief Seed, catching the attention of Mai and instantly catching it by teleporting to it.
"Keep it," Homura's hair slid through the wind rather smoothly as she falls back towards the ground.
"san kyu," Mai's voice caught her attention a while, but seeing the situation, Homura turned her back, looking at the recently recovered Mami and Sayaka.
"So you saved us, huh?" Sayaka asked as if to confirm the summary of the events. "When about 15 days ago, you couldn't care less at our company. So what happened in that Walpurgis that changed you so?"
"You can say I've changed, and yet I haven't changed." Homura explained.
"You sound like Mai-chan over there," Sayaka commented, pointing to the girl beside her.
The surrounding area starts flickering back to the place it's supposed to be: beside a Mini Stop store full of skyscrapers. It was still around 1:30 pm, and yet the streets and the sky are set in a grey tone, gloomier than funeral service, as if mourning for somebody. There were no people in sight, unusually, as if the whole city has turned into a ghost town. Unusual of any city, only silence prevailed, only to be broken by mere flickers of a fluorescent light.
"So, Homura, I presume you have something to say," Mami looked at her with a serious face.
"Yes," Homura looked at Mitakihara City, or at the very least, tried to, only to be blocked in view by skyscrapers. "I need your help...to gather every mahou shoujo you can gather, if possible everyone in the world. There's no time; Kriemhild Gretchen's soon to be making her move in a few short moments."
"Ehhhh?" Sayaka exclaimed. "T-the world...? W-what for? And who's Kriemhild Gretchen?"
"I don't have much to explain." Homura glanced at Mai before continuing. "Actually, I DO have a lot of explaining to do, from Kyubey's true identity to why I came from an alternate future."
"Alternate future?" Sayaka widened her eyes, as if in disbelief. "Don't tell me Mami-"
"You said we don't have enough time, right?" Mami asked. "This Kriemhild Gretchen..."
"She's more than you think she is," Homura frowned.
"Oiii," Mai tapped her shoulder. "What about the witch that has the form of a mahou shoujo, you texted me earlier? That's why I came to help in the first place!"
"Yes, yes, but not now," Homura hurriedly confirmed. "Now, we should look for Kyouko."
"Kyouko? You know her?" Mami said, a bit surprised at Homura's words.
"Yes," Homura threw her shield upward, forming a large semi-transparent surf board, large enough to accompany everyone. "I'm grateful she didn't come in this timeline in this month though, or else, you'd be dead, Sayaka."
Sayaka couldn't help but stay dumbfounded in all these revelations. First, Homura's a time traveler, second, there's this witch called Kriemhild Gretchen that's so powerful Homura'll need the help of the world's entire army of mahou shoujo to defeat it, some girl named Kyouko, whom, in an alternate future, was the cause of her death, and now a witch in the form of a mahou shoujo? Why can't this life of being a lonely deserted mahou shoujo be a little bit simpler?
"AH! Why can't this life of being a mahou shoujo ever get any simpler!" Sayaka shouted it out.
"Well, it is what being a mahou shoujo is about," Mami sweat-dropped. "So, Homura, shall we go?"
With gang now all aboard the Homura Supersonic Surf Board Express,Homura finally telepathically started surfing away into the open highway. Destination: anywhere but Mitakihara City.
"H-Hey," Mami asked. "Where are we going?"
"Anywhere safe," Homura answered. "as long as it's away from Mitakihara City, we should find Kyouko before making a run for it to USA."
"W-wait," Sayaka asked. "We're leaving my mom and Madoka there? And what about... Kyousuke...and...Hitomi..."
An abrupt pain pierced Homura's chest.
"Mitakihara City is no more." Homura declared, the tone of her voice shivering. "In 24 hours, Japan will be no more."
"W-what do you mean 'no more'!" Sayaka's tears involuntarily burst out. "W-What happened to Madoka...? to Hitomi...? to Kyousuke?"
Homura felt silent, not wanting to tell the sensitive two the truth of the matter, but Mai's constant pulling of Homura's clothes convinced her to tell it anyway: the truth of everything - of Kyubey, and of mahou shoujos, and of who Kriemhild Gretchen really is. Can she handle that? With her heart ready for anything, Homura made her choice:
"Might as well tell you the truth," Homura said, pausing a few seconds before continuing. "Kriemhild Gretchen was born after Walpurgis was killed. Now the whole city's under her control."
Mami sympathetically held Sayaka's hand. Sayaka couldn't help but cry in front of Mami.
"I...I...I still love Kyousuke, Mami-sempai," Sayaka admitted, her voice wavering. "No matter how much you tell me to let her go, I STILL love him!"
"You, just, have..." Mami said, just like that last time. "To let him go. If you truely love him, you'd do it."
"...I understand," Mai said. Mai just couldn't help but sympathize with her, a girl who was betrayed by her own wish. Mai, being a girl of a few words, thought it was enough.
"They won't die," Homura explained. "There's still hope. Even for Madoka."
"C'mon, Sayaka, smile there," Mami requested. "I'm sure we'll be able to get them back. I'm sure of it."
"Mami-sempai, thanks," Sayaka hugged Mami, her regrets turned into hope, sniffing away her tears into oblivion. "You too, Akemi-san and Mai-chan. You're such nice persons after all."
"Now," Homura, spotting a nearby hill, redirected the direction of the surf board towards it.
"What are you doing, Akemi-san?", Mami asked.
"Just wait and see." Homura said, tearing through the forests to gain altitude and reach the top of the hill. It merely too a second.
There they all saw it: two cities, Mitakihara City, from the far horizon, and Furukawa City. Mitakihara City was covered in a black scribble-like barrier, which was quickly extending towards the near city of Furukawa City. A close look at the view shows hundreds, if not thousands of people, all walking towards the barrier in a trance, as if controlled by the witch.
"GASP! This is..." Mami's eyes widened, surprised to see a whole city endrenced in the barrier of a witch.
"And she's just getting started." Homura proclaimed.
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Kriemhild Gretchen (First Form)
Nature: Mercy
Description: Kriemhild Gretchen's first form is rather a rude one, being a mountain-like creature with a face that looks like the sun with intensely demonic eyes and smile. She also has scribbly hands that extend towards the enemy mahou shoujo, completely crushing the mahou shoujo if she allows it. Her, body is, by itself, made of scribbles, so simply attacking the witch won't help.
This witch almost never destroys or kills people or mahou shoujo, but rather, she uses most of her power to control them much like a master puppeteer. In her first stage, this powerful witch has enough power to fully control any mahou shoujo with Soul Gems that are 90 - 95% darkened, using that despair within the mahou shoujo to control her, and, consequently, never accumulates any more grief, as any grief it would have accumulated goes directly to Kriemhild Gretchen, thereby giving her more power. True to her name, she really is Goddess Madoka in witch form.
She also has familiars of her own: scribble star-like creatures that emit black mist. Kriemhild Getchen uses this mist to control normal people without consuming much power from controlling hundreds of humans.
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"If we stay here any longer, the barrier will soon overtake us," Homura said. "Shall we go find Kyouko?"
"Sure," Mami held on to Homura's shoulder.
"As much as I don't like leaving our hometown in retreat, we don't really have much of a choice now do we?" Sayaka turned her back on the two cities, now unable to watch the city, she swore to protect, being consumed by such a gruesome force.
"Just, go." Mai said.
But just before Homura hit the pedal, a strange creature caught the gang's attention. It looked like a black cat, but then has a face similar to Kyubey. It had long ears similar to Kyubey's, but, as it seems, it seems to have protruded from its black ears. Her eyes were dark red, unlike Kyubey's, which was bright red.
"You..." Homura's face turned sour, as if disgusted by something.
'Here I am making an entrance, and you aren't even saying hello?' the creature telepathically commented.
"Hmph," Homura responded with an ever cold tone. "I would have killed you right now, but, sadly, I don't have the time to do that right now."
"H-Hey..." Mami curiously looked at the being. "Is that...Kyubey?"
"No," Mai simply said.
"Hey, Mami," Sayaka commented. "I thought Kyubey was the only one of his kind?"
"I thought so too," Mami replied.
'Don't be that harsh on me. You know I'm the only Incubator left in this world.' the figure frowned. 'Your so-called Kyubey's gone anyway.'
"Wait," Mami asked the creature. "Kyubey's gone?"
"Yes, unfortunately," Homura confirmed. "I could have sworn I'd kill them all."
'That's not a nice thing to say, Akemi-san' the cat turned around Homura, further pissing her off.
"I'll never let your plans succeed," Homura declared. "Juubey."
'Hmph,' the cat jumped away from Kyubey. 'I'll be sure to get my hands on the Type-2 Mahou Shoujo before you, Akemi-san.'
"Not before me," Homura quickly grabbed a shotgun, proceeding to kill Juubey, but it was too late. Juubey jumped towards the cliff, dissappearing from the gang. It's always unusual how Kyubey and Juubey can be pretty sneaky when it comes to entrance and exits.
Kazumi. Homura muttered to herself, just before she turned her back on Mitakihara City. Until then.
『To Be Continued...』
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Preview:
"IF everyone works together, we can always withstand anything that comes in our way, whether it's the time, or the situation. Whatever everyone says, there's always hope in the world: hope in the future. Homura, let's do it."
Next episode: "We can make it."