Silence covered the open wide arena, only to be occasionally broken by the cold wind. Contrary to any supposed weather or season, the cold wind merely brought icy chills towards «death» the duo, their legs slowly shivering.

Whether it was really the cold, or Pollon, they couldn't tell.

"Are you ready?"

"… I guess so."

Kazumi held on to her shaking, left hand, and slowly walked towards the manacing creature. The witch figure seemed to roar in response to this bold move, but made no attempt to attack.

"Wisheokwmed hakwokemew areh teesaf askwas razdkez es y ouve undo dodida owaslzsl iaq n guud!"

The magical girl figure shouted in an indescribable language. What happened to her? Did her language just warped in to become inexplicably encrypted? Was her humanity being warped again?

"Don't worry…"

Kazumi's voice, as she boldly walked closer and closer to Polon, was silenced by the cold skyscraper wind.

"…This time I'll save you for sure."

(Play Connect ~TV Size~)

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Episode 10
"I'll find my purpose."

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"…What a mess… It's those times I wonder if I did the right choice…"

Looking apart from the dense forest to the wide city of San Francisco, a girl watched from a distance. As the girl spotted Homura from such a distance, her expression changed to that from slight surprise to a slow delight.

"Homura… even I can't tell anymore what will happen next."

With an inexpressible mix of delight and excitement, she jumped from the cliff she was standing on. While it was a bit high (around 400 meters), it didn't matter, as the grass at her landing point grew to an impossibly enormous amount, as if to cushion her fall.

"My mistress, the stage is set for your return."

A shadow, not far from her, appeared around the right, covered by several brushes. However, it didn't took a second before the shadow dissipated from her sight.

"Thank you…"

The girl dashed towards the forsaken, yet populated city as crimson red roses quickly grew along her footsteps.

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Kazumi slowly walked towards the witch. As she carefully approached the dangerous witch, she breathed in and out, mostly due to the tense situation this has become.

"I'm…you're…" Kazumi's hand was shaking, only to stop after holding his staff very tightly. "I'm… going to save you…!"

A magical bullet grazed through Kazumi's cheeks, resounding a lightning-like echo throughout the open-air stadium.

"Did she…?"

"It seems so." Homura pointed her lightsaber towards the ground, just before breaking towards a run to the unsuspecting enemy. "Here's our chance."

Kazumi immediately spotted Homura at one of the unsuspecting familiars. Quickly waving her lightsaber at speeds no human eye can see, she quickly disposed of the one of the 5 remaining familiar which had been suspiciously frozen for so long.

"This is suspicious."

Homura's figure disappeared, only to show up to the next familiar. As suspected, it was also frozen. While it wouldn't take long for her to dispose of all of Pollon's familiar, it seems a little bit too suspicious for the witch not to move at all. There was no warning, nor a sign, of any action from the witch itself. She continued on disposing of the remaining familiars.

Just how fast has Homura gotten? Was it the effect of that special spell she recited? It was no joke that reciting that single spell by herself would have been dangerous, but, in the sight of someone inexperienced with such a kind of magic like Kazumi, it does have its advantages: she quickly glanced her heightened senses, and quickly dodged an incoming ice knife: Has Pollon made its move? Homura's eyes seemed to flicker in a strange purple light as she dashed towards the icy-white haired girl without any regard neither to her previous status nor to the witch in front of her. Wildly swinging her lightsaber, which seemed to be as light as a feather, Homura sliced Pollon's human form midway, only to stop at "her heart" – a black, round gem proven to be the witch's Grief Seed.

"Was there any effect?"

Kazumi was slowly panicking.
Not for Homura.
But for Pollon.

"No…" Homura deduced. "I just merely tried to weaken her. I'm very sure it didn't work, however."

The girl's scars, which look more like see-through-her-body cuts, slowly closed itself in ice as it slowly assimilated itself into the girl's body.

'Heeeheeeheee…' the girl's consciousness seemed to have returned. 'The preparations are… complete. I… want… more…!'

A huge magical circle engulfed the whole stadium, almost suddenly painting sky in an aqua blue tint. The girl raised her hands, and summoned innumerable numbers of ice shards aimed at the duo.

'Heeeaahahahahahahahaaaa!'

Lowering her hands, the ice shards, suspended in air, aimed at both Homura and Kazumi in a speed comparable to sniper bullets. As the bullets tried hitting them, only to hit the ground, its surrounding area froze in a diamond-esque ice.

Those bullets weren't aimed to kill. They were aimed to freeze.

"Homura-chan!"

Kazumi twisted her wrists and spun her staff to form a blindly fast spiral that deflected the ice bullets. This did not come with repercussions, however, as the staff became ever more increasingly cold to touch, come to a point where pain could be felt as she continued to deflect the bullets, something akin to frostbite. She couldn't simply stay like this forever.

Homura, however, was taking it the other way. In response to the girl's relentless attack, she merely exchanged positions, one after the other, as she traversed the icy rain as if it was a mirage. After exchanging glances with Kazumi, she threw a knife (of some sort) and threw it towards her. Kazumi, almost completely by instinct, caught it.

A click signified the start of Homura's time-stopping abiity. Almost instantly, everything was put to a stop. Except forHomura and Kazumi, a monotonous, gloomy grey dyed everything, along with their movements.

"Wha-?" Kazumi froze (no pun intended) at this suddenly underwhelming sight.

"I merely wanted to use this as a last resort," Homura sighed. She knew that this action was costly. There were no assurances. There were no guarantees. Only risk would overtake them if she ever used one of her other trump cards. However, she herself was determined. She reached onto the back of her shield…

A strange device appeared on it. It looked like a pipe bomb, but it looked vastly different. It took off an aura unbeknownst to anything she ever saw, as it seemed to spew off an aura of despair.

"When we first met the eccentric inventor named Zhao," Homura explained. "She made this dangerous bomb…"

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"Stand aside!"

A distinct voice tore through the countless voices murmuring, whispering, and talking over the small, crowded glass-covered building that turned out to be the Magical Medic Center. Within these busy hallways, several mahou shoujos went and go, within them a unpredictable mix of emotions, ranging from astonishment to the incoming mahou shoujos, to their zealous desires to avenge their fallen comrades. Within this confined space, a few several mahou shoujos scour around their bedridden patients, applying magic to their obviously wounded scars, as well as bringing an adequate amount of Grief Seeds enough to supply armies of magical girls for a month. Yet the patients never stop coming in and out. These medics understand one thing: most of these mahou shoujos were either mentally traumatized victims whose Soul Gems have gotten nearly dark, or magical girls who has returned from the endless expedition throughout the entire nation, saved from either being wiped out by the suddenly absurdly powerful witches, or rouge mahou shoujos, or were just performing a medical checkup.

"…What's with these people?" Kaoru wailed. "Don't they know that these Grief Seeds are limited?"

"Perhaps not." A girl came to assist the two newcomers... and her friend. "With the recent completion of Zhao's crazy invention, it seems that Grief Seeds are now recyclable."

"Eh?" Umika blinked. "… then Homura's plan?"

"We're almost there… allllmost."

The girl displayed a caring, heavenly smile unique to her, so unique it was almost infectious. However, there was a certain someone impervious this, probably the only one in the entire world.

"Geez, Angel." As usual, the hefty, partially angry, partially relieved Mica. "Don't get cocky with these ungrateful girls."

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Angelica Jeronimo

Weapon
Various, but often a Bow

Specialty
Heal and Revive

Nationality
Filipino

Description
Part of the Philippine Alliance of Magical Girls, and a close friend of Mica, Angelica, the gentle-headed long black haired archer, is the master of healing. You can summarize her existence in one sentence: "It is better to die and let her live, than to live and let her die." Her game-breaking ability allows her to, not just heal anyone even from the most cruel of wounds or even physical death, but also actually recover the Soul Gem basically anyone within 500 meters after it has been practically destroyed. However, this mechanic-defying ability had a two-fold disadvantage. First, she must do so within a minute after her Soul Gem was shattered, moreover Soul Gems converted to Grief Seeds are not counted. Second, it will consume approximately 50% of her magical capacity. (around 25% of it goes to the newly recovered gem, which is automatically used to recreate the body from scratch. Because of this rare ability, however, she was practically searched high and low by several mahou shoujos, intending to use this hefty power for themselves. Consequently, she moved from province to province until she made it to the capital city of Quezon City where she met Michelle. Since then, however, they have proven themselves to be a relentlessly vicious duo, with Michelle often taking the forward with her extremely fast spells and her taking the back, complete with healing and archer support.

Her past dates back a year ago, back when rebels abounded the countryside, she was but a farmer's daughter in the land surrounded by several dangerous forests. One day, her family was consumed by a witch barrier. Almost gotten eaten by a witch, it was Kyubey who saved her from dying and grant her wish: "to have the power to save everyone from death and despair". With these thoughts, the healing archer girl was born. Within a few days, everyone has been miraculous revived, even rebels in disguise. However, because of her father's dying wish, she did not revive her. Instead, it was when she started her long travel to Quezon City.

She wears a pure white coat, almost like Zhao, but a lot fluffier (to the point that it looks like a winter coat), which partially covers her 10-button white semi-transparent polo in which one of those buttons include her Soul Gem, coupled with a bright pink mini-skirt. While she has a rather flat chest and small height, her bright, hopeful brown eyes and natural smile counts as a miracle for many of her comrades, despite what had happened so far, both to her and the world. Her long, silky, black-dark brown hair reaches as far as her knee – the proof of her beauty.

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"Now, now," Angel waved her hands up and down. "Don't be such a worrywart, Mica."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh, " Michelle death stared at Angel. "You too?"

"Err…" Kaoru sweatdropped. "Less talking, more healing."

「Angel's Soul Gem: 100%」

"So…" Umika wondered, trying to find a chair to sit on. "What happened here?"

As both Umika and Kaoru searched for a seat, she quickly noticed the patients around Angel's "clinic." While it was every bit crowded, you could see who was slacking off – those who merely wanted to waste their time thinking if they would give up or just kill the day doing nothing.

"Well…" Angel paused for a bit. "It's kinda complicated."

"It's not complicated at all…" Michelle stared at the slackers near her right. "Mga walang awa…"

Umika seemed to tilt her head. What did it mean…?

"Anyway," Angel set aside Michelle's endless rant. "Stay here as much as you want."

"T-Thanks…"

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"It has to be done."

Homura settled.

"B-But…Mami and the others…?"

"Don't worry, the other Pleadies Saints WILL come."

Homura backed up her words with assurance.

"B-B-But…"

"There's no time to worry about it. I'm very sure that Pollon will survive the attack. You should at least distract her while I return Mami and the others back."

She reached for a second pipe bomb and activated it towards the time-frozen smouldering boulders.

Click!

As if echoing back the laws of time back, everything moved again in an instant. Within the next instant, every single bullet disappeared. What had happened? Kazumi thought of it for a millisecond, before continuing on to crush the boulders covering the exit with a Limiti Interni. She didn't have any time to spare, before Homura's experimental bomb explodes…

…and crushes this entire building to nothingness.

「Kazumi's Soul Gem: Unknown」

Within the forsaken skyscrapers, a familiar girl jumped from the next building to the other as she continued to observe. While the monochrome grey sky continued to shower its gloomy aura over the city of San Francisco, a certain pink light, not so far from her, tore this gloomy sky, and, instead, the original blue speck of the sky took its place. Within a few seconds, this speck of sky expanded itself, covering the entirety of the sky. And just within these few seconds, the sky itself dyed a tint blue.

"I guess it wouldn't be too rude if I helped out?"

She continued approaching the arena at a steady pace.

"My lady."

A voice put a stop to her tracks. Suddenly taking a break over a skyscraper, her companion joined her tracks.

"O-Oriko-sama," Kirika muttered. "Isn't this a bit dangerous…"

"What are you talking about?" Oriko's eyebrows widened. "Aren't I to know the future…?"

"B-But… your predictions are…"

Oriko knew all too well. 3 days ago, she saw the end of everything. Homura and a few others, herself included, battled the great witch Kremhild Gretchen.

And failed.

Since recently, however, something has been off. Instead of seeing the future, she merely saw the past. She saw how Homura was reborn with the power of … maybe a thousand timelines. No, probably tens of thousands of timelines. Even she wasn't so sure.

"'I wish to find the purpose of life.'" Oriko echoed her wish that she made to Kyubey. "When I first received that wish from Kyubey, I did not just acquire the memories of my other me's. I also received the future. I knew I couldn't stop Homura anymore… I also knew how you, Kirika, killed several mahou shoujos for me without even asking me why, to which I was grateful. I also knew how I fell before Homura. But… now…"

Oriko paused before continuing.

"I think there is a purpose in this." Oriko responded. "I always wonder, 'Who gave me this vision?'"

Kirika scratched her head. "I presume it was your powers?"

Oriko shook hers.

"If this was due to my powers, I should have already known what my visions meant."

"Then…"

"It couldn't be Kyubey either." Oriko sounded as if she knew what Kirika knew what to say. "if it was Kyubey, surely he should have had known these visions and tried to stop them... or would he?"

"Surely…" Kirika looked around. "This has already been deviated from Kyubey's plan, doesn't it?"

"No…" Oriko muttered. "One of my visions, around the second day… it indicated Kyubey talking to … Madoka and… me."

"Eh?"

"That was when I found out Kyubey's intentions… Entropy." Oriko dragged Kirika's hand and made her way towards the stadium as soon as she saw a blinding light, smashing one part of the arena.

"You mean…"

"Kyubey's… entire plan… is the prevention of entropy."

"What do you mean, entropy…?"

"Entropy refers to the heat of the universe." Oriko stopped, approaching the front door to the final skyscraper. "If Entropy reaches maximum, what would happen is the heat death of the universe. Normally space has temperatures reaching 10 Celsius or less… unless you're very near the sun. Whenever people consume heat, a good portion of this heat escapes into the atmosphere and becomes wasted energy. As energy stores up into the atmosphere, only to be bounced back by Greenhouse Effect, some of these energies escape into the universe and becomes part of its universal temperature. Under these normal conditions, this thing called 'Heat Death of the Universe' is most likely going to occur… in around 4 billion years, at max. Within 50% of that event, we will most likely be extinct, because of the endless tidal waves or supernovas that will eventually tear through the Sol System."

"Then, it would mean that Entropy would be impossible now, right? I mean…" Kirika stuttered. "…Kyubey left because he already reached his quota right?"

Oriko's voice shook.

"He only managed around 2% of the job for this entire universe, which is actually pretty amazing, really, and WAS trying to prevent the exponential acceleration of entropy, which, according to Zhao, is still going to occur...

Kirika silent gasped.

"Next year… or more accurately, in December, 2012."

『To Be Continued...』

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Author Notes:

Whew… Finally! I've been so busy with so many things only recently I have been able to actually finish it. Plus the fact that my only copy of this was wiped out and had to do it again… XD

Anyway, good afternoon/morning/evening/whatever-time-it-is, everyone. To those who have stayed so long to see this through, I'm very sorry. It's a bit annoying to see my work being delayed for so long due to RL stuff.

Anyway, kudos to Homura for acquiring the power to dodge rain. I knew it was possible! I just knew it! Just for your information, she DID NOT use time-stop to dodge it. More rather, she acquired something like accelerated senses.

As for Oriko… well… err… sayonara! ^.^"

*hides*

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Preview:

"…We're not humans. We're not allowed to live. We're not allowed to control ourselves. We shouldn't have sentience. Yet, why? Why do I feel this aching loneliness that strives to give me hope? Is it because I've… really reversed my fate? Or is It because I was just too naïve…?"

Next episode: "It's my own decision."