Ranger24: Almost didn't get this up in time. Damn you college finals!
Chapter 3: The Prince and the Witch
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or properties used in this story. They belong to their respective creators and companies, please support the official release.
"Alright that's all of them," Mami said lowering a musket.
Madoka wiped the sweat from her forehead before changing back into her school clothes, her Soul Gem reverting to its ring form. Homura returned a pistol to her shield and then reverted as well. Mami was the last to change back.
It was Madoka's second night of witch hunting with the pair and once more they had only found familiars. It was a smaller group than the previous night but it had still been a challenge. Homura hadn't been doing nearly as much fighting as she had the previous night.
At the same time Madoka was getting better at fighting and she knew it. Creating arrows had become almost instinctual now and she had been able to fire multiple arrows at once now. She still had no idea what her powers were but she was sure that would come with time and practice.
"You both did very well," Mami said approvingly as they began to collect the grief cubes that had fallen. "Especially you Madoka."
"Thanks," Madoka replied with a smile.
"I think we should call it a night though," Mami continued. "We all could use some sleep."
"Actually," Homura said suddenly joining the conversation. "I was hoping Madoka could come home with me?"
"Sure," Madoka replied with a shrug. "Is this going to be an all-night thing or just quick?"
"It will take some time," Homura answered. "You should probably call your parents."
"Having a little slumber party Miss Akemi?" Mami asked with a small smile.
"Of a sort," Homura replied.
Mami shrugged.
"Well don't let me keep you then," she said. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"Okay," Madoka said. "Have a good night."
"You too," Mami replied before walking off.
Madoka fished around for a minute in her back pack before she pulled out her phone. She hit the speed dial for home and waited a few moments, listening to the ringing.
"Hello?" Tomohisa asked.
"Dad," Madoka answered. "It's Madoka, is it okay if I spend the night at Homura's?"
"So long as you get to school on time tomorrow," he replied. "I can have Pol bring you some things if you'd like?"
"That would be great, thanks dad," Madoka said.
"You two have a good night okay?" He said. "I love you Madoka."
"I love you too dad," Madoka replied. "Bye."
"Bye."
She ended the call and put her phone away.
"Ready?" Homura asked.
"Yep," Madoka replied. "Let's go."
It took them about a half hour to walk to Homura's little town house. Homura lead her into the living room which was almost exactly a it had been in the previous timeline accept there were fewer newspaper clippings and copies of occult texts on the wall. Homura seemed to have only just gotten started with that project.
"Make yourself at home," Homura replied. "I'll get some dinner thrown together for us."
"Okay," Madoka replied setting her back pack down beside a chair. As she did the doorbell rang. "That'll be Pol."
She went back to the front door and sure enough there was Pol carrying a suit case.
"Door to door delivery service," Pol said with a smile. "Thirty minutes or less or your money back."
"Thanks Pol," Madoka said taking the suit case and giving the old elf a one armed hug.
"I got your clothes, a blanket, and your toiletries all in there," he said returning the hug. "You have a good night okay?"
"I will," Madoka replied. "Thanks again Pol."
She said good bye to Pol and then went back to the living room. Homura was still in the kitchen however and stayed there for several minutes. When she came back she was carrying two platters of rice, vegetables, and some chicken.
"I'm afraid its frozen entrees," Homura said setting down both platters at the coffee table. "I really haven't had time to do much shopping and because of my heart condition I never really kept a well-stocked pantry."
"Its fine," Madoka replied before digging into. "So what did you want to talk about?"
"Have you noticed that you can suddenly remember things that you didn't have any previous knowledge of before this timeline?" Homura asked.
"Yeah," Madoka replied. "Here and there, but it's mostly just a basic understanding. I don't know why it happens."
"That's because of how time travel works," Homura replied. "Like Kyubey said, our bodies are just hardware, what matters are our souls. Our souls are what travelled to this new world and timeline."
"How do you know that?" Madoka asked.
"Because every new timeline I still have braids, a heart problem, and glasses," Homura replied. "Every new timeline I have to fix my eyes and my heart with magic."
"What about the braids?" Madoka asked remembering the picture of Homura that had been on the news the other day.
"That's just a preference."
"I thought you looked cute with braids."
Homura blushed.
"So what about everyone else?" Madoka asked. "I mean are the people I'm living with the same people who raised me?"
"I have a personal theory about that," Homura replied. "Something once again extrapolating from Kyubey. You see every time I reset time the burden of karmic destiny on you increased. My actions in previous timelines thus had some carry over to a new timeline. It likely has always been not just the same people but the same Soul every time."
"I'm not sure I follow," Madoka said with a frown.
"It's not easy," Homura agreed. "I'm not even sure it's true myself."
Madoka crossed her arms and thought for a moment.
"Maybe you're right?"
"Hm?"
"Last time," Madoka said hesitantly. "Right before I woke up on the day I meet you I had this dream. You were there and so was Walpurgisnacht and Kyubey."
Homura watched her carefully.
"You were losing," Madoka continued. "It threw a building at you and you were in trouble. Kyubey offered to make a contract with me..."
"I remember that," Homura whispered.
"You do?" Madoka asked. "You mean that actually happened?"
"Yes," Homura said quietly. "It was one of the early timelines."
"Homura," Madoka started. "How many times have you tried to save me?"
"I lost count," Homura replied. "Somewhere around ninety or a hundred. If I hadn't kept rewinding time I should be in my twenties."
"I'm sorry," Madoka said staring down at her lap.
"It's okay," Homura replied. "I'm glad you shared this with me."
Madoka looked up and saw that Homura was smiling.
"You've confirmed my theory," she continued. "The people you live with are still your parents, the same people who raised you and have cared for you."
"And what about all of the changes?" Madoka asked. "What's with the elves? Or this Federation? Or Britannia?"
"I was getting to that," Homura assured her. "Remember how I told you before how there were small changes to events in previous timelines?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever heard of something called the butterfly effect?"
Madoka shook her head.
"It's a concept," Homura explained. "Small changes, can have noticeable results. Metaphorically speaking, imagine if the whole universe was a pond."
"Okay," Madoka said slowly.
"Imagine every time I went back to try and change your fate someone drops a small stone in that pond," Homura continued. "Those stones make ripples and displace some of the water as they enter the water. Now imagine if someone drops a big boulder into that same pond."
"It would displace a lot of water?"
"Exactly," Homura said with a nod. "You were that big boulder and when you started this new timeline you displaced a lot of things. So much so that some of that water may have been lost for good and had to be replaced with new water. You changed the world simply by existing."
Homura pushed away her empty platter before continuing.
"Those changes start more than ten thousand years ago," Homura explained. "Have you ever read the works of JRR Tolkien?"
"No," Madoka admitted.
"Well somehow you wish made his works close to, if not completely, real," Homura explained. "Elves, dwarves, magic, they all exist in this world and are a part of our history. Tolkien himself in this universe did not write his novels, he merely translated and organized the historical accounts from their original format into an easier to read and translate format."
"So there are more elves in the world?"
"Yes," Homura replied. "Though it seems they have fallen a long way from what they were more than ten thousand years ago. They can be broken up into a series of sub-groups; the Asur, the Druchii, the Asrai, the Elvhen, the Kael'dorei, the Quel'dorei, and the Sin'dorei. Out of all of them however the only ones doing well in this modern age are the Sin'dorei."
"What do you mean?" Madoka asked.
"Well the Asur," Homura continued, "are the closest to what you would find in Tolkien's writings and are incredibly gifted with magic, but they shunned advanced technology for centuries. They only modernized when their primary enemies, the Druchii modernized their own forces. They also have a very low birth rate, zero to no population growth. The Druchii are notorious pirates and slavers so they have few friends or allies and are basically a third rate power. The Asrai have been shut-ins for thousands of years and fell behind everyone. The Elvhen were enslaved by humans thousands of years ago and lost much of their culture, history, and their immortality. The Kael'dorei are barely counted as elves by other elves, fell behind in technology, and have a low birth rate. The Quel'dorei are a minority even among elves and don't even have a nation of their own."
"And the Sin'dorei?"
"Became paranoid and joined a group of non-human races called the Horde. While most of the Horde races no longer have their own country the Sin'dorei do still control their homeland and have kept up with modern technology."
"What about Britannia?" Madoka asked.
"That doesn't go nearly as far back," Homura replied. "Apparently when Caesar attempted to invade Britain the locals united under a single super king named Eowyn. He drove Caesar out and established a single kingdom in Britain. Most of British history continues as normal from there on out until Queen Elizabeth the first who had an illegitimate son who she named her heir. Henry the ninth, her son continued the Tudor line until the Napoleonic Wars. The rule then passed to the House of Britannia who have ruled ever since."
"Okay..."
"House Britannia has kept the British Empire going," Homura explained. "In the timeline we remember the British Empire began to dissolve after the Second World War. While some former territories like India are now independent Britannia still controls Canada, New Zealand, and many other territories. Unlike the Britain from the original timeline they haven't lost their imperialism and other nasty traits the British Empire had."
"So what exactly happened between Britannia and Japan?"
"A lot," Homura replied. "Do to all of the new races Russia never unified into a single country, because of this the Second World War took far longer to bring to a close. In that time the Britannians invaded the southern islands of Japan, taking most of Kyushu and Shikoku. When the Americans used the atomic bomb and Japan surrendered, Japan was split in two. The United States controlled most of Honshu and all of Hokkaido but the Britannians ruled everything South of Kyoto with the exception of Okinawa."
"What happened then?" Madoka asked.
"While the Americans rebuilt and helped modernize their area of control much like in our original timeline, the Britannians exploited their territories," Homura explained. "They called it Area Eleven, and they did many terrible things."
"Sayaka said something about riots and protests the other day."
"The Sakura massacre," Homura said grimly. "A series of protests across southern Japan in the late eighties that turned bloody when the Britannians cracked down. Thousands of people were killed or injured and the resulting international pressure forced the Britannians to give up their holdings. That wasn't the end however. Do you remember something called the August war?"
Memories suddenly flashed into Madoka's mind. Her parents and Pol gathering emergency supplies. Soldiers patrolling the streets and sirens wailing endlessly.
"Kind of," she admitted. "Nothing concrete though."
"Japan has the largest deposits in the world of a rare mineral known as Sakuradite," Homura explained. "Sakuradite is most commonly found along the ring of fire and other areas of high tectonic activity. Its highly unstable in liquid form but when refined it produces one of the highest efficiency materials in the world. Britannia uses it to produce high efficiency super conductors which they have used to basically eliminate their dependency on coal and oil."
"What does that have to do with the August war?" Madoka asked.
"Everything," Homura replied. "Because of Britannia's dependency on Sakuradite maintaining a steady supply is critical to their economy. Many people in Japan still hold a grudge against Britannia for its actions during its rule over southern Japan. Back in 2004 the Government dramatically raised the price of Sakuradite sales to Britannia. The Britannians struck back in August and by the end of the month had Japan on its knees. However international pressure got the better of the Britannians once again and they had to back down. The price was set back to reasonable levels but Britannia never paid any reparations to Japan for all of the damages inflicted during the war."
Madoka stared at her empty platter for few minutes just processing everything. She thought back on what Sayaka had said before about how much her family had suffered and lost because of Britannia. She suddenly wondered if her wish had only made things worse.
"What about the Federation?" She asked.
"The Federation was formed after the second world war," Homura explained. "It's the military arm of United Nations, similar to NATO. You may have noticed technology is noticeably far more advanced than it was in the original timeline. Because of various factors technology advanced far more rapidly than it did before. We had simple powered flying machines back in the late 1500's, in 1903 the Wright brothers went to the moon rather than invented powered flight. Charles Lindbergh was the first man to achieve FTL speeds."
"Wait what?" Madoka said confused.
"What?" Homura asked.
"How?" Madoka asked. "How did we suddenly have flying machines almost five hundred years ago and then we go faster than the speed of light in the twenties?"
"You underestimate humans," Homura replied. "People had ideas for flying machines and other things we take for granted long before they were invented. The difference is that they lacked the technology or resources to produce such devices. Besides we had ideas from whole other races to work off of."
"Okay," Madoka said. "What then?"
"For the next two years there was a massive jump into space beyond our solar systems," Homura explained. "There had already been in system colony projects for mining and research and others out of system but they required magic to reach, portals and such but now there was a huge boom. Hundreds of colony ships were launched by pretty much every country on Earth seeking to carve up their own strip of space. The problem was that this growth came to fast and helped kick off the Great Depression. Colony projects dried up and millions of people were left stranded far from Earth. It wasn't until after the Second World War with new technology and the Federation that colonization resumed. Though not without incident."
"What happened?" Madoka asked. "Aliens?"
"Not yet," Homura replied. "You're about twenty years ahead."
"Seriously?"
"Yes," Homura answered. "But the real problems was that more than a few of those colonies that had been left behind when the Depression hit were still standing. Most were not eager to abandon their independence to join back with people who had abandoned them. The Federation developed the UNSC of United Nations Space Command to keep the peace in colonies. The UNSC ended up being rather underfunded in favor of local forces. The colonies began resisting attempts to bring them back into the fold leading to a series of conflicts known as the Insurrection."
"Not a very creative name," Madoka noted.
"Well the Federation mostly didn't care," Homura replied. "They were more concerned with local issues with the orbital colonies. In the seventies however one of the outer colonies, Harvest went dark."
"Aliens?" Madoka asked.
"Aliens," Homura confirmed. "A group of them known as the Covenant. Apparently our very existence offended them so they began a campaign of genocide against every human world they could find. Again however the Federation was busy fighting a war with a group of colonies called the principality of Zeon. The actual main war with Zeon lasted only a year but then there was a series of further conflicts over the next decade. By the time the Federation was willing to pay attention to the war with the Covenant in the late eighties most of the outer colonies had been lost or abandoned."
"What happened?"
"Well the war kept going until right around when we were all born," Homura explained. "We were starting to close the technology gap with the Covenant but the real thing that turned the tide was breaking the Covenant's religious unity. A soldier known as the Master Chief destroyed some ancient holy relic sacred to the Covenant called Halo. The fallout from the destruction of Halo caused a schism within the Covenant which resulted in a civil war. The Covenant leadership collapsed with most of their leaders assassinated. We are officially at peace with the Covenant, or what's left of it, but relations are still strained."
"What then?"
"We spent most of that time recovering from our losses," Homura continued. "There was continued fighting however with the colonies along with the August war. Some of the outer and middle colonies that were abandoned during the war are independent from the Federation and attempts to bring them back are having mixed success."
Madoka was silent for a few minutes processing it all, trying to comprehend just how much she had changed the world, nay the universe.
"Did I do the right thing?" She asked. "Changing everything the way I did? So many people have died because of me."
"I'm not sure," Homura admitted. "I'm not sure there is a right thing. All there is in life is what we want, what we need, and what we do."
"You still think I made a mistake," Madoka observed. "Making my wish?"
Homura looked away from her.
"It was my fault," Homura said. "I got careless and you paid the price."
"Homura," Madoka began.
"It's always my fault," Homura continued. "I made my wish to protect you and every time I've failed. Every time I only..."
Homura gasped as Madoka wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a hug.
"You need to stop being so hard on yourself," Madoka said gently. "It was my choice to make. I may have made a mistake but I don't regret trying to save you Homura. I would never regret that."
Madoka could feel Homura's tears falling onto her shoulder.
"Madoka," Homura whispered.
"I told you before," Madoka continued. "You are not alone this time, I'm right here with you this time."
After a moment Homura returned the hug, gently wrapping her own arms around Madoka.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Any time," Madoka said smiling. "So, you got any popcorn? Maybe we can watch a movie and just enjoy the rest of the night?"
"I'd like that," Homura said. "Thank you, Madoka."
-Fantasia-
"My prince."
His royal highness eleventh prince Lelouch vi Britannia, seventeenth in line of succession and Viscount Linley looked up from his tablet and the files he had been reviewing. The seventeen year old Prince was on his private jet accompanied only by a small escort of guards and his personal retainers. One in particular stood before him, his personal champion Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald.
The twenty eight year old towered over Lelouch, who was himself about five foot ten at about six foot four. His turquoise hair styled and worn short to give him the appearance of a dashing officer. Jeremiah was more of a family retainer in truth though he primarily served Lelouch. Jeremiah was a devoted and loyal servant, a rare find amongst the nobles of Britannia.
"Yes Jeremiah?" Lelouch asked.
"The pilot has informed me that we will be landing shortly at Yokota Air Base," Jeremiah answered.
"ETA?"
"Ten minutes."
Lelouch nodded.
"Have everyone prepare for landing," he ordered. "We may be coming to help protect Japan but that doesn't mean someone might not try to take a shot at us. We don't want a repeat of Arcadia."
"I have already made the preparations my prince," Jeremiah assured him. "If anything happens we will be ready."
Lelouch nodded. "Dismissed."
Jeremiah bowed to him and quickly left Lelouch to himself.
Lelouch had commanded men and women at war for the better part of a year, ever since his sixteenth birthday when he had been given his own fighting force and shipped off to war to prove himself. Said wars had been a series of bush wars and insurgencies in the colonies, trying to assist the UNSC in regaining control of humanities far flung colonies. A tiresome, labor intensive, and thankless chore.
Prior to the Covenant war, humanity had colonized nearly eight hundred star systems starting in the sixteen hundreds with portal based expansion in small leaps and bounds before the development of faster than light travel in the twenties. Even before that there had been some experiments with portals and a few odd cases of humans appearing on far flung worlds having lived there for centuries. After the colony boom and the end of Second World War there had been a little over one trillion humans in the galaxy with ten billion of that in the Sol system alone. Then the Zeon and Covenant wars came more than a third of that had been wiped out in a matter of decades. Three hundred billion dead at least.
The UNSC had been forced to abandon the outer colonies and many mid rim colonies to protect the more valuable inner colonies. Then they had pulled back to just the inner colonies. That had left about thirty billion people to die. The precise number of humans in the galaxy was now a matter of debate and conjecture as census data was confused and incomplete.
By luck or perhaps providence the Covenant had missed dozens of worlds in the middle and outer colonies. When the UNSC came back however many were not pleased to have been left behind. Left to their own devices some had seen uncontrolled population explosions, formed their own governments, and built their own fleets. Many had refused to return to fold under the protection of Earth, some violently.
So off Lelouch and many others had gone into the middle and outer colonies to put down rebellions and assert the authority of the Federation and the UNSC. He could barely call them proper wars however, most such world had either resisted with small or obsolete ships if they had ships at all and their ground forces were more of militias than proper armies. Most fell back on asymmetric warfare to try and bog down the better equipped and larger UNSC forces resulting in long slow counter insurgency operations.
Now he was back on earth, heading back to Japan for once more having visited sporadically since seven years ago when his life had been changed forever. This time he was coming on a mission of mercy, he could only hope that it wouldn't end with his body going home in a box.
All too soon the plane touched down on the tarmac. Lelouch had to stay on the plane for a few extra minutes while Jeremiah and his body guard detail secured the tarmac. He took the time to check himself in bathroom mirror. Rather than the overly showy and sometimes gaudy outfits most of his siblings often sprang for, Lelouch had gone for his navy blue dress uniform.
"Are you ready to go?"
Lelouch turned to find Suzaku Kururugi, a longtime friend of his and the personal knight of his half-sister Euphemia waiting behind him. Suzaku was slightly shorter than Lelouch but had a much more defined and athletic build with brown hair and green eyes.
"Are you?" Lelouch asked.
Suzaku shrugged.
"I guess," he replied. "First time I've been back in a while."
Lelouch nodded understanding.
"You could always go back to London," he suggested.
"And let you get killed fighting a super witch?" Suzaku asked. "No thanks, Euphie would never forgive me."
"That is if Cornelia doesn't have your head first," Lelouch pointed out with a wry smile.
Suzaku grimaced.
"Don't remind me," he muttered.
Once the all clear was given the two stepped off the jet to find a small party waiting to greet them. Lelouch quickly picked out and recognized the key members of the group.
The first was Major General Tatekawi Katase of the JSDF. He was a large greying man with a lined face. He projected strength but Lelouch knew that Katase had gotten his rank via political favors. He was overall a mediocre commander; good for organizing troops, establishing fixed defenses, and handling politics but not much else.
The next however was a more suitable officer, Colonel Kyoshiro Todoh also of the JSDF. Todoh looked like a warrior who had stepped out of the past but rapidly adjusted to modern warfare. He was stoic and collected, a modern day samurai. Lelouch also knew him to be a skilled, aggressive, and creative commander, exactly the sort of officer he liked.
Then there was Captain Bright Noa, a soldier who Lelouch instantly knew he could count on. Noa was a veteran of almost forty years of conflict from the Zeon wars to the Covenant and beyond. His reputation preceded him for his abilities as a leader and at turning whiney teenagers into elite mobile suit pilots.
The last in line however made Lelouch uneasy, General Crozier of the United States Army. Crozier had a reputation for effectiveness and for leading from the front making him popular with his troops. On the other hand Crozier was known to be heavily involved with US Special Forces, the CIA, and all sorts Black Ops, intelligence, and counter intelligence ops. If he was here something was up.
As soon as he was on tarmac they all snapped to a salute.
"Prince Lelouch," General Katase said by way of greeting. "Welcome to Japan."
Lelouch returned the salute.
"It's a pleasure to be back," Lelouch replied. "I wish it was under better circumstances."
"Likewise," Katase agreed.
"I believe you are all familiar with my associates," Lelouch said motioning to Jeremiah and Suzaku. "In such case I suggest we cut straight to the chase?"
Katase nodded and lead them into a limousine. They all clambered in while the guards took positions as escort. As soon as they pulled away from the airport Lelouch resumed the conversation.
"Give me the situation report."
"The public is already responding to the announcement of the coming assault," Katase reported. "They're stocking up on emergency supplies, checking their passports, and other such activities."
"What about the rate of witch and familiar attacks?" Lelouch asked.
"That's more difficult to gauge," Katase said. "Plenty of such attacks go unreported simply because there are no survivors."
"I need a map of all major population centers classified by rates of witch and familiar attacks," Lelouch ordered. "I want it in thirty minutes or less."
"I'll see what I can do," Katase replied picking up the car phone.
"What about our own forces at the moment?" Lelouch asked.
"Officially we have access to all Federation member nation forces in the country," Captain Noa answered.
"And unofficially?"
"We have support in name only," Todoh replied. "Depending on where Walpurgisnacht strikes will dictate how much support the National Diet will be willing to commit."
"I have access to all US forces in East Asia," Crozier replied. "Primarily based in Okinawa, roughly fifty thousand troops with air and armor support."
"The full strength of the Londo Bell Taskforce is available," Noa added. "Three Clop-class Cruisers, the Ra Cailum, the Argama, and two Paris-class Heavy Frigates, along with complementing mobile suit forces."
Lelouch frowned at this.
"How many are Britannia sending?" Todoh asked.
"My personal forces," Lelouch answered.
"Army Group Vi Britannia," Crozier muttered.
"The very same," Lelouch replied. "Four hundred fifty thousand troops with air, mobile suit, armor, and artillery support."
"I doubt the National Diet will approve of such forces being present," Todoh commented.
"Then the National Diet can pick up some rifles and fight Walpurgisnacht itself," Lelouch said. "We'll need every soldier we can get on the line. I don't think I need to remind anyone what happened last time a conventional army took on a Walpurgisnacht, do I?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Now then," Lelouch continued, crossing his arms. "What about magical girls?"
"That's difficult to say," Katase said having gotten off the phone. "As it stands Japan has one hundred sixty nine publicly known magical girls spread out across the country though most densely located in the major cities Tokyo having the most at twelve."
"There are also the Pledias Saints," Crozier added. "However they aren't well suited to fighting a witch like Walpurgisnacht."
"Japan has an estimated one hundred and sixty thousand magical girls who remain anonymous," Katase finished.
"A moot point," Lelouch said. "Magical girls are naturally territorial, very few would up and move to wherever Walpurgisnacht is going to strike. Who is the Incubator that handles Japan?"
"It's name is reportedly Kyubey," Katase answered. "By all accounts it's very good at it's job."
"Try to find it," Lelouch ordered. "We are going to need its cooperation if we're going to stand a chance. Also get me a full list of known and suspected magical girls and their current locations, tell them to cross reference it with the map of witch and familiar activity."
"Understood," Katase replied.
The rest of the drive continued in near complete silent, nobody bothered with small talk. It wasn't long before they arrived at the Fuchu Communications Station, Lelouch's temporary headquarters. The party was hurriedly lead inside to a secure briefing room.
To Lelouch's satisfaction the maps and data he had requested were already prepared, on the main table waiting for him. He took his seat at the head of the conference table and pulled the tablet over to himself. His eyes went down the list quickly his brain rapidly processing all of the information presented to him sorting it into three categories; plausible, useful, and irrelevant.
When he was done he tapped an icon in the corner linking the tablet to the main view screen in the room. Then he extracted a stylus from the side of the tablet and stood up.
"Right then," he began. "The first step is to eliminate those areas of lowest activity and fewest known magical girls."
With that he crossed off the northern half of Honshu, most of the smaller islands, and parts of Kyushu.
"From this we narrow it down to a few key regions," Lelouch explained. "Kyushu, Kansai, Chubu, and Kanto. Major population areas with high numbers witch and familiar activity along with multiple magical girls. Of these four however Kyushu and Chubu are the least likely though I suggest we keep an eye on them."
"That leaves Kanto and Kansai," Katase muttered.
"Given the data I believe Kanto is the more likely of the two," Lelouch stated. "I want boots on the ground however, we have seven of the largest prefectures in Japan to search. Focus on areas with high witch activity and with known magical girls present."
Katase frowned.
"That could take some time," he said. "Especially Tokyo."
"Which is why I intend to join the search personally," Lelouch said. "The sooner we get this done the better."
-Fantasia-
Two days later Madoka found herself as the first one to arrive at the usual meeting point where she Sayaka, Hitomi, and now Homura would walk to school. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. The previous night while Witch huntin with Homura and Mami they had found not one, but two witches. It had been a long and exhausting fight to bring them both down but the payoff had been worth it as Madoka now had her first grief seed.
Though it was a welcome boon Madoka couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty about the whole thing. She knew that odds were that the Witches they had fought had been a magical girls at some point. Now she was using what remained of the poor girl to keep herself in the fight. It made her feel sick thinking about it.
"For the third time no!"
Madoka whirled around to see Sayaka walking towards her followed by Kyubey.
'Stubborn of you,' Kyubey replied, 'and foolish.'
"Excuse me?" Madoka said getting their attention.
'We'll discuss this another time,' Kyubey said before jumping off the path into a bush and vanishing from sight.
Sayaka shook her head in annoyance.
"Thanks for that," she said. "Bunny-cat has been bugging me for days."
"What does Kyubey want?" Madoka asked.
"I'll give you a hint," Sayaka said rolling her eyes.
She then pursed her lips into a tight smile, mimicking Kyubey's perpetual expression.
"Make a contract with me," she said in a very apt immitation of Kyubey's voice. "Become a magical girl and make all of your dreams come true."
Madoka frowned. She remembered all to well the previous timeline and Sayaka's steady collapse. She suppressed a shudder at the memory of Sayaka's increased aggression, disregard for her own safety, and last but not least her terrifying witch.
"I don't think you should become a magical girl," she said warningly.
"What don't want the competition?" Sayaka asked playfully.
"Sayaka," Madoka chided.
"I'm kidding," Sayaka assured her. "I mean sure there are things I might want to wish for but I'm not that desperate."
'Yet,' Madoka thought silently.
"Good morning," Homura said approaching the pair from behind.
"Morning," Sayaka answered.
"Homura," Madoka said quickly. "Kyubey's been trying to get Sayaka to contract."
"Hey!" Sayaka exclaimed. "You don't have to tell the whole town."
"What have you told Kyubey?" Homura asked sharply.
Sayaka seemed caught off guard by Homura's tone.
"I told him to go bother someone else," Sayaka answered. "I get that this is serious but I can take care of myself."
"That's good," Homura said her tone softening slightly. "You'd make a poor magical girl."
"And what's that supposed to me?" Sayaka snapped.
"Sayaka, Homura," Madoka said. "Please don't."
"No I want to know," Sayaka said stepping up to Homura. "What makes you think I'd be a terrible magical girl transfer student?"
"You can't control your temper," Homura answered. "You're to foolhardy and stubborn, traits can spell death for a magical girl."
"How dare-!"
"STOP IT!" Madoka yelled, getting the attention of both of them. "Stop it right now!"
Slowly Sayaka stepped back still scowling.
"Sorry," she said. "I'm in a bad mood this morning is all."
"Why?" Madoka asked.
"Hey!" Hitomi shouted running up to them. "Sorry I'm late, but have you guys heard the news? That Britannian Prince, Lelouch is Mitakihara!"
"And there you have your answer," Sayaka growled. "Let's just get going."
Sayaka started off down the road towards the school. Hitomi frowned looking to Homura and Madoka.
"She's having a bit of a rough morning," Madoka explained before starting after Sayaka.
Once she had her back turned to Hitomi however she opened the mental link with Homura.
'We can't let Sayaka contract,' she said.
'We may not be able to prevent that,' Homura replied. 'You know how Sayaka is.'
'We could try healing Kyousuke?' Madoka suggested. 'That way Sayaka won't have to make a wish.'
'Unlikely,' Homura replied. 'Our healing powers are limited to ourselves. Even if they weren't it's debatable if we would even be allowed to see him and try to heal him do you even know what his problem is?'
'No,' Madoka admitted.
'Then it is out of our hands,' Homura replied. 'We can only hope that Sayaka isn't so foolish as to make the same mistakes as she has previously.'
'We can still try,' Madoka asserted as she caught up to Sayaka.
"Stupid pretty boy prince," Sayaka muttered.
"What?" Madoka asked.
"You know who I'm talking about," Sayaka said bitterly. "It's bad enough a Britannian is going to be handling the protection of Japan but worse yet it's one of their stupid princes. Now the whole towns probably going to be flooded with reporters trying to get a picture of him sneezing."
"Okay ease up Sayaka," Hitomi said tiredly.
"I can't help it," Sayaka muttered. "It just gets under my skin."
Madoka had a sudden suspicion that Sayaka's issues went a little nastier than personal and national issues. The idea of Sayaka possibly being racist made her uneasy.
She kept a close on Sayaka all day trying to make sure that she was never alone in a situation where she might be vulnerable to Kyubey. This proved most successful as she didn't see the little white creature all the rest of the school day. She volunteered to walk Sayaka home as well just to be sure.
"So how have things been in the whole witch hunting business?" Sayaka asked.
"Okay," Madoka answered. "Actually had some witches last night."
"Must have been tough," Sayaka observed.
"Kind of," Madoka admitted. "I'm more used to familiars."
"What's the difference?" Sayaka asked.
"Well you use different tactics for dealing with one enemy than when you are fighting lots of them," Madoka explained. "Also I think Homura might be having some problems."
"You mean aside from the attitude," Sayaka said. "Right?"
"Hey she's been through a lot," Madoka said defensively.
"Yeah but she doesn't need to be so harsh," Sayaka replied. "So what is her problem?"
"She wasn't doing as much actual fighting," Madoka explained. "I think she might be having ammunition problems."
"I'm surprised the cops aren't kicking down her door for having guns and explosives," Sayaka commented. "I guess they look the other way when it comes to magical girls."
"How's Kyousuke doing?" Madoka asked.
Sayaka was silent for a moment or two before she answered.
"He's been better," she admitted. "He went in for surgery yesterday. Hopefully they'll be able to restore his hand."
"I see," Madoka said quietly.
"It just sucks," Sayaka continued. "Kyousuke had serious talent, you remember how he played? He had half the music class in tears that one time remember?"
"Yeah," Madoka agreed, remembering all the music classes they had had back in elementary school. Kyousuke had brought in his violin one day and given them all a sample of his talents. Madoka had never heard anything so beautiful and sober in her life.
"He had scholarships coming his way and big time groups scouting him," Sayaka continued. "It's just..."
'Evening ladies.'
The two of turned to see Kyubey standing across the road watching them with it's big red eyes.
"What do you want Kyubey?" Madoka asked with a frown.
'I suggest you look to your right,' Kyubey replied.
Madoka turned to the right. She froze, her eyes going wide in alarm.
Sticking out of the wall was a spent grief seed. The wall it was sticking out of was part of a very familar bike shop.
"Madoka," Sayaka began.
Memories came rushing back of Mami standing transfixed as a massive witch with a clowns face and massive sharp teeth loomed over her. It fixed its jaws around her head and neck. Then Mami rose into the air, her clothes reverting to her school uniform as her body went limp...
"Sayaka," she said quickly. "Get Mami and Homura, right now!"
"What are you going to do?" Sayaka asked.
"Keep it contained at least," Madoka replied. "Go now!"
"Right," Sayaka said. "Becareful okay."
As Sayaka ran off Kyubey trotted up to Madoka.
'I think I'll tag along on this one,' it said. 'This might be interesting.'
"Fine," Madoka said grimly.
She transformed quickly before opening the barrier and stepping into the witches' realm. Kyubey trotted in behind her, it's tail wagging through the air. The inside of the barrier was the same as before, the creepy sugar coated scenery, the pastel lighting. It was as if Madoka had never left the place.
'Did you know witches who stay in their barriers are either very weak or very strong?' Kyubey asked. 'You could very well be walking into an ambush.'
"I know what I'm getting into," Madoka replied.
'Perhaps you should have had Sayaka Miki make a contract with me?' Kyubey suggested. 'It may be a while before Mami Tomoe and Homura Akemi arrive.'
"I can take care of myself," Madoka said. "And you leave Sayaka alone."
'It is my job to seek out those who have the potential to become magical girls,' Kyubey replied. 'It is Sayaka Miki's decision as to whether or not she should become a magical girl. Still I have only so much time to give to one possible magical girl before I need to move on to others. I am the only incubator in Japan after all.'
Then it got in front of her, bringing her to a stop.
'Which returns us to a very important question,' it said. 'Who did you make a contract with?'
"I don't remember," Madoka said brushing past it. She was beginning to regret allowing Kyubey to come with her.
'Interest,' Kyubey said. 'Well that leaves just three possible explanations.'
"Really?" Madoka asked.
'The first is that you are lying to me,' Kyubey said. 'The second is that you became a witch but recovered somehow.'
Madoka stopped in her tracks and turned to face Kyubey.
"That can happen?" Madoka asked.
'Rarely,' Kyubey admitted. 'To my knowledge it has only happened nine times in the whole of human history. The process is not well understood as most of those who recover suffer from side effects such as memory loss, some loss of power, dementia, multiple personality disorder, and or just becoming very stupid.'
"But magical girls can come back?" Madoka asked.
Kyubey gave it's tail a wag.
'As I said it is rare,' it said. 'I wouldn't risk trying it if you want to survive for a very long time.'
Madoka's thoughts turned toward the events of the previous timeline once more. She remembered the attempt she and Kyoko had made to try and bring Sayaka back. Kyoko had been so convinced at the time that they could do it. Madoka was sure that Sayaka had hesitated at least once during that battle but in the end it had failed.
Now though she wondered if they could succeed this time. Could she bring Sayaka back if she became a witch?
'Then there is option number three,' Kyubey continued. 'That none of this is real, this is your lullaby.'
"My what?" Madoka asked shaken from her thoughts.
'The witch's lullaby,' Kyubey stated. 'As a magical girl's soul gem become corrupted and reaches the critical point where the magical girl starts becoming a witch they begin to hallucinate. These hallucinations are extremely vivid, producing a final peace so to speak for the magical girl. Once the hallucinations run their course or are broken however then the suffering begins. That's when the demon claims their soul.'
Madoka froze at this. It seemed ridiculous but at the same time so was much of what she had seen in the last few days. Was all of this simply a dream? Her last joy before she became a witch? Had her wish failed?
'If you want to know if the latter is true and applies to you there is a test you can do,' Kyubey added.
"And that would be?" Madoka asked tentatively.
'Put your soul gem on the ground,' Kyubey answered. 'Then walk away one hundred feet. If anything happens then that is your real Soul Gem and everything is real. If nothing happens then you are a witch.'
Madoka turned away from the incubator and started forward again. At the same time the debates raged in her mind. Was she a witch? Was any of this real? Most importantly what was she going to do about it?
More than ever now she wished Homura was with her.
-Fantasia-
Sayaka tapped her foot impatiently as she rode the elevator up to Mami's apartment. For the umpteenth time she wished she had Mami or Homura's phone number. Every moment wasted she knew Madoka was in danger.
At last the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. She scrambled out and down the hall to Mami's door. She pounded on the door repeatedly and frantically until Mami opened the door. Homura was sitting at the coffee table.
"Sayaka?" Mami asked surprised. "What are-?"
"MadokaandIwerewalkinghomethenweranintoKyubeyandhetoldustolooktotherightandtherewasawitchbarrierandMadokawentinaloneandtoldmetogetyouguys!" Sayaka said in single breath. Mami stared at her utterly bewildered.
"What happened to Madoka?" Homura asked walking over to the door.
"I just said!" Sayaka exclaimed. "We ran into a witch barrier and she told me to get you guys!"
"What?" Mami exclaimed in alarm.
"Take us there right now," Homura ordered.
Sayaka nodded and lead them back to the elevator. Once inside Sayaka took a moment to catch her breath.
"That was actually rather impressive just now," Mami commented. "How do you have the lung capacity to do that?"
"Elementary school chorus," Sayaka said before taking a deep breath. "Lead alto."
"How far to the witch barrier?" Homura asked.
"A couple of blocks," Sayaka answered. "I'll show you."
The elevator at last reached the bottom and they rushed out of the apartment building onto the streets. Sayaka lead them as fast as she could. Despite her athletic abilities she quickly realized she was out classed by the two magical girls. They weren't even breaking a sweat while she was pushing herself to her limits.
At last they reached the bike shop and Sayaka pointed to the spent grief seed.
"Right there," she said.
Mami nodded.
"Okay we can take it from here," she said. "You get yourself home Sayaka."
"What?" Sayaka demanded as Mami and Homura transformed. "No way! My best friend is in there!"
"You aren't a magical girl," Homura said simply pulling an old Howa Type 89 assault rifle from her shield. "You would only be putting yourself in danger."
"But!"
"You've done a good job Sayaka," Mami said appreciatively. "Let the professionals handle it from here."
Before she could object further Mami and Homura ran into the barrier and vanished. Sayaka was left alone standing on the side walk. For a moment she considered running in after them anyways. In the end however she simply turned and began walking towards home alone.
She had never felt so helpless in her life. Why did things like this happen around her all of the time, injustices that she recognized but could do nothing to prevent. Why didn't she have the power to change this?
'Because you're afraid,' a small voice in her mind said. 'Because you are a selfish little girl who claims to stand for what is right but when push comes to shove you walk away.'
She brushed that voice aside but another came to her mind unbidden.
'But if you ever feel like making a sacrifice for the fate of the universe call me, I'll be waiting.'
-Fantasia-
Lelouch waited until the blunette was out of sight before walking towards the barrier into which the two magical girls had vanished.
He had been in Mitakihara city for only a few hours having set a false trail for the press so he could walk the streets unmolested by the paparazzi. He wore a simple orange jacket and blue jeans along with a pair of sun glasses as a disguise. Seeing conditions on the ground personally was critical to his mission.
"What do you think?" He asked Suzaku who was shadowing him. "Worth investigating?"
"I'd advise against it without back up," Suzaku replied emerging from hiding to join him by the barrier. Suzaku was wearing a blue coat over a brown shirt and jeans.
"Not much choice I'm afraid," Lelouch said. "Back up won't arrive in time. The fight will be over before we could get reinforcements."
"I still don't like it," Suzaku said with a grimace.
"Since when has that mattered in our line of work?" Lelouch said pulling out his side arm, a UNSC M6C/SOCOM. Suzaku meanwhile withdrew a M7S Caseless Submachine Gun from his coat.
"These are barely going to be a safety net against a witch," Suzaku stated.
"Sadly I don't think we can squeeze a knightmare through here," Lelouch said. He then motioned for Suzaku to follow him. "Come on, nothing ventured nothing gained."
-Fantasia-
Madoka had forgotten just how strange it was to be inside of a witch barrier, particularly this one. There were cakes the size of cars and cupcakes the size of trash cans. Then there was the Witch.
Like before it was in the strange doll like form sitting on its own at a table piled high with sweets. The strange mouse like familiars were running around with no order or direction. They hadn't reacted to her presence yet so she assumed that they hadn't noticed her yet.
She knew from experience however just how deceptively dangerous this witch was. Its current form was merely a shell to hide its true danger. If she wasn't careful she would end up dead.
If she was even alive.
She shook her head. She couldn't think about that right now, she couldn't be distracted by what Kyubey had said.
'Well,' the Incubator said hoping up onto a cupcake. 'Here we are. Go get her.'
Madoka took a deep breath to steady herself before she created an arrow and set it to her bow string. She stepped out of cover and fired off the first shot right at the witch. She hit it dead center in the head knocking it from its high seat.
Before she could take another shot the familiars at last began to attack swarming her from all sides. She fired off arrow after arrow taking out as many as she could. The familiars charged her however several getting past her defensive fire. She rolled away from the first attack before snapping off a shot into the offending familiar. She jumped over a second using magic to propel herself up onto the table with a back flip.
From her new vantage point she began raining down arrows on the familiars. She took them out one after another as they began to charge the table. Several tried to scramble up the legs only for Madoka to put arrows into them from above.
Then she realized he had completely forgotten about the witch. She paused in her shooting searching for it frantically. She spotted it sitting on a massive donut below her, unmoving.
Suddenly the table shook violently and Madoka stumbled. She recovered and looked down to see the familiars ramming themselves into the table legs trying to knock it over. She put few arrows in them but there were so many that it was impossible to get them all. Each strike they landed against the table caused it to shake throwing off her aim. As their numbers increased the table legs actually began to lift off the ground.
Madoka jumped from the table onto the high chair the witch had been sitting on and got off a shot knocking the witch off the donut. Before he could get off another shot however the table fell over taking the high chair down with it. Madoka jumped off the high chair and landed on a massive funnel cake.
She resumed firing on the familiars trying to finish them off.
'Why am I not better at this?' She wondered frustrated with herself. Hadn't Kyubey said she would be the most powerful magical girl ever? Shouldn't this witch be a cake walk? She then mentally kicked herself for that pun.
Once more unbidden she thought of Kyubey's words before on their walk together. What if none of this was real? What if this was all in her head?
"Madoka!"
Madoka turned to see Homura and Mami running into the witch's layer. A wave of relief rushed over her, Sayaka had found them in time. Then she noticed the looks of alarm on their faces.
"Madoka behind you!" Homura screamed.
Madoka turned around just in time to see the serpentine form of the witch rising above her its clown face grinning at her with massive jagged teeth. Then it opened its jaws wide! She heard Homura scream before darkness swallowed her.
Madoka struggled, crying out in terror as she slipped deep inside the witch. She couldn't see anything and she could barely move, she couldn't breathe. Tears began falling from her eyes.
Was this the end? Was this it? Had she failed so soon?
Then she heard something, a sound from the darkness. She strained her ears to listen to it, someone was crying. She struggled to move forward trying to get closer to who or whatever was crying.
The space slowly became larger, soon she was on her hands and knees. Then she was in a space high enough for her to walk crouched. At last she was able to stand feeling her way along the passage still in pitch darkness. Then there was a light ahead of her. She made her way towards it in a walk that seemed to go on for hours.
There was a little girl no older than ten sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs which she had pulled up against her chest. She had long white hair with two small pigtails and was dressed in an outfit that mimicked the form the witch had disguised itself as. A black hat with long tassels, a pink-orange coat, long stockings, and poofy brown overall shorts. It was such an absurd costume that Madoka knew at once she was looking at a magical girl.
As she drew closer the girl noticed her and recoils trying push herself away from Madoka.
"It's okay," Madoka assured her quickly kneeling down. "I'm not going to hurt you."
The magical girl gave a small whimper as a response. Madoka sat down on the edge of the pool of light.
"My name is Madoka Kaname," she said gently. "Who are you?"
"Nagisa," the other girl said slowly, still keeping her distance from Madoka. "Nagisa Momoe."
"What are you doing here?" Madoka asked. "Did the witch eat you?"
Nagisa's eyes began to water again and before Madoka stop her she started crying again. Madoka stood up and then moved to sit down beside Nagisa. She pulled a tissue out of her dress and offered it to Nagisa. Nagisa took it and wiped her eyes with it before blowing her nose.
"You are the witch aren't you?"
Nagisa closed her eyes and nodded.
"I'm so sorry," Madoka said. "How did it happen?"
Nagisa pulled her legs up against her chest again and began to rock back and forth.
"You don't have to tell if it's too painful," Madoka assured her. "I'm just lost."
"Nagisa's momma was sick," Nagisa said referring to herself in the third person. "Momma was so sick she couldn't eat. So Nagisa made a wish so they could eat cheese cake together. But but..."
Nagisa buried her face in her knees.
"Momma died the next day," Nagisa sobbed. "And Nagisa realized she could have saved Momma, but Nagisa wasted it on cheese cake."
"I'm sorry," Madoka said. "I don't know what to say."
"I do."
Madoka looked up while Nagisa gave a squeak of fright.
Advancing out of the darkness was a purple and pink creature. If it was supposed to be alluring it was more of disturbing. The creature had multiple bare breasts and massive crab claw like arms. Its lower half was entirely serpentine with phallic tentacles flailing about. Its hear had large golden eyes, horns, long flowing hair of a rainbow of colors descending down its back, and its mouth was filled with jagged teeth.
"I would say it is time to pay up," the creature said. "You made a deal little Nagisa. I've come to collect your debt for lord Slaanesh."
It slithered forwards eagerly, Nagisa started crying again.
"Don't fret now," the creature said. "You will experience such," at this it licked its lips with a long snake like tongue, "pleasures."
"No!"
Madoka was surprised to find herself on her feet. She stepped between Nagisa and the creature summoning her bow once again. The creature seemed to have only just noticed her.
"What's this now?" It asked.
"You won't take her," Madoka said firmly. "She's suffered enough."
The creature laughed, a high cold cackle.
"You clearly don't know how this works little lady," it said. "Nagisa's soul is mine now."
"No it isn't," Madoka said without budging. All her doubts from before were gone, shoved aside in the face of what was before her. Nagisa needed her help, and she was going to do whatever she could to save her.
"Very well then," the creature said raising its claws. "I thought I would only be claiming one soul for the prince of pleasure, but if you're volunteering I guess I can take two."
Madoka summoned an arrow and set it to her bow string. The creature sprang towards her and Madoka released the string!
-Fantasia-
Homura's entire world came crashing down as the witch Charlotte swallowed Madoka whole. With a raw scream of rage and grief she stopped time and sprang forwards. She moved passed the familars until she reached Charlotte and began firing at the witch full auto. When the magazine was empty she tossed aside the Howa and drew out an RPG. Just as she fired it time resumed and the bullets struck the witch before the warhead hit home.
Charlotte reeled back and Homura jumped onto its face drawing out both of her pistols. She fired repeatedly into Charlotte's eyes with round after round still screaming with rage. The witch flailed about trying to throw her off but Homura refused to be thrown.
When her pistols were empty she let them fall and drew out the old golf club. She began furiously whacking Charlotte with the golf club repeatedly, tears flowing down her face.
She could hear Mami crying out for her and the retort of her muskets. She could hear and feel Charlotte's howls of rage and pain. She didn't care about any of it, she couldn't think straight. All she wanted was for this witch to give Madoka back.
The head of the golf club broke off and Homura shove the shaft up Charlotte's nose. The witch howled in pain and opened its jaws wide. Homura grabbed a hold of its lips trying to keep its mouth open.
"Madoka!" She cried out. "Madoka!"
She could feel the witch trying to force its jaws shut. She put all of her strength into keeping its jaws open. She already wasn't very strong but this witch seemed to have the jaws of a gator.
"Madoka!" She cried out again. "Madoka!"
'Pity.'
She looked up to see Kyubey sitting on the remains of golf club watching her with its crimson eyes.
'I guess I won't be able to find out your secrets,' the incubator said. 'Oh well it's not a serious loss.'
Homura wanted to strangle the incubator, to tear its head off with her bare hands. Charlotte began to apply more force however and Homura struggled to maintain her hold. Her arms ached and shook with the effort of holding Charlotte's jaws open.
"Madoka!" She cried out desperately.
Then suddenly Charlotte shuddered. It thrashed about wildly throwing Homura up into the air. As she rose into the air the witch convulsed and twisted about randomly. It opened its jaws wide again as if to scream.
Then Charlotte exploded into a shower of pink and golden sparks. The familiars likewise began to explode into showers of golden and pink sparks. Kyubey tumbled to the ground as Homura fell towards the sparks.
Then she saw Madoka in the midst of the sparks, her arms wrapped around a little girl no older than ten. Homura froze time and landed beneath them before resuming time. She caught Madoka in her and the other girl in her arms and fell over from the sudden imbalance.
"Madoka," she gasped.
Madoka opened her eyes.
"Nagisa," she started. "Is she?"
She then noticed the girl who she was holding. The girl was breathing slowly, a small orange soul gem clasped in hands. Madoka breathed a sigh of relief.
Don't ever do that to me again," Homura said hugging Madoka.
"Sorry," Madoka said offering her a small smile.
'Unbelievable,' Kyubey said. 'This is unbelievable. How did you bring her back?'
"I was about to ask that myself."
Everyone looked up to see two young men in their late teens emerge from hiding. The taller of the two removed his sunglasses and Homura instantly recognized the Britannian Prince from the news, Lelouch. The other she didn't recognize but she kept an eye on the submachine gun in his hands.
"Allow me to introduce myself," Lelouch said. "My name is Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, seventeenth in line of succession and Viscount Linley."
He gave them a small bow.
"I would be honored if you would all kindly join me for dinner."
Ranger24: Okay so I'm taking the next two weeks off due to thanksgiving and finals. Next chapter should be ready by December 5th. Until then ladies and gentlemen read and review.