Chapter 22- "What did she save us from?"

A/N: As you can notice I've changed the chapter number to normal. Before it was weird, and I've fixed it. Whatever.

A field.

A field that stretched out as far as the naked eye can see.

Long bright green grass swayed slowly along a faint breeze.

There were two white chairs in the middle of this field. With two girls sitting daintily on them.

One girl has raven hair tied back in plaits held with purple ribbons, she wore red rimmed glasses and a faint smile on her thin lips. The other had bright pink hair in two pigtails; she wore red ribbons and was smiling brightly, like she always had been.

The raven haired girl took the pink haired girl's hand softly. She wrapped her fingers around the small hand.

Suddenly the smiling girl started to dissolve, turning into grey dust right in front of the other. The friendly smile still planted onto her face.

Horrified, the raven haired girl reached out for her friend, but she couldn't reach and slumped against the now empty seat beside her. Her hair unravelled as the purple ribbons fell onto the ground and dissolved in a flash of light.

A purple gem appeared from her chest, rimmed with gold. It starts to glow profusely.

The bright blue sky turned darker, a light shade of purple filled it, and all the clouds disappeared. Black, perfect feathers fall from the sky along with a stronger wind.

The wind caused the girl's hair to be swept back, the red glasses slipped onto the ground and the glass shattered into glittering pieces.

Her eyes were revealed to be a dark purple, but as the sky settled into a dark black, a ghostly smile formed onto her lips and her now narrowed and tired looking eyes turned a shade of violet.

Black wings ripped from the girl's back.

Gasping, Homura awoke. She breathed heavily and sweat dripped down her forehead. Her eyes were widened and were the same shade of violet for a second before changing back to normal.

Homura started to panic mentally. Although she had her head rested against her arms, she came to and realised she wasn't in a field.

She lifted her head up, and nearly had a heart attack when she saw Saotome Kazuko's face right in front of hers, gaining an annoyed look.

"Sleeping in class Akemi-san?"

Regaining her composure, Homura smoothed out her hair and straightened the red ribbon. She bowed in her seat. "I'm very sorry Saotome-sensei."

Kazuko huffed. "Well, I'll forgive you this time since you look so tired, but if I catch you falling asleep in class again there'll be a detention!" Exhaling loudly, Kazuko stomped back to the front of the class.

Homura bent her back and hunched over. I do feel tired… She thought. But do I look tired?

The raven haired girl remembered that dream, and she frowned.

Since when did I look so… strange? With those violet eyes and the wings...

Homura tried not to focus too much on it during class as she worked.

"You see Sensei; we will be away for some time." Mami said to her teacher, smiling pleasantly.

Ayazawa-sensei raised an eyebrow. "You and Sakura-san?"

"Yes."

Kyoko stuffed her hands in her pockets to get away from the awkwardness of the situation.

I hope you can handle this Mami.

I will, don't worry.

"For how long?" Ayazawa-sensei asked, his suspicion getting to him.

Mami thought for a second. "We're not sure yet."

Kyoko bit her lip to stop herself from doing a face palm.

Not sure yet?!

Well it's true.

Their teacher narrowed their eyes at the two. "You're not just making an excuse to leave school are you?"

Mami smiled. "Of course not, school is important, and I need to be a role model for the younger students." Her smile disappeared. "But please let us go; this is important business."

Ayazawa-sensei sighed. "You need to speak the principle around this, not me."

This time Kyoko actually did a face palm.

Idiot Mami.

I didn't think about it.

Mami kept smiling. "Of course, I'm sorry for bothering you Sensei."

Ayazawa-sensei eyed the two as they walked out. "Damn teenagers."

Mami sighed as she leant against the wall outside the classroom. "I was so intent on getting out that I didn't think about that."

Kyoko chuckled. "What happened to 'good-role-model- girl'?"

Mami felt like glaring but didn't feel like it. "We should go to the principal's office."

"What. Now?"

"Yes." Mami straightened her back and walked around the corner, Kyoko followed her. "Wait a second Mami, why are you so intent on leaving? Do you want to have more thrill fighting outside Mitakihara?"

"The thrill faded a long time ago." Mami said, still walking. Her eye moved to Kyoko. "You should know that."

"You're right, it has but I'm just being in this shit to live, what are you in it for?"

Mami ignored Kyoko and walked faster.

Cursing, Kyoko grabbed Mami's arm. "Goddammit wait." The blonde paused and glanced back.

Kyoko looked Mami straight in the eyes. "You do realise that since we did accept this, we are going into a war against possibly the most powerful thing you've ever faced, you might die."

Mami narrowed her eyes. "I don't care."

Kyoko froze. "What?"

The blonde brushed the redhead's hand off. "I said, I don't care if I die."

"But why?"

"If I die, I'll be happy to get away from his hell. The only thing I have on this earth is you, Akemi-san and my own dignity. If that fails, hell will break loose for me and I don't care if I die or not." She paused. "I've wanted to be dead for a long time you know, but I covered it up with the single desire to save others. But finally being able to maybe even save this universe is something I want to fight for, even if it kills me."

And with that, Mami walked away, leaving Kyoko clenching her fist.

"What the…"

Homura heard the bell rang and picked up her school bag. She walked out of class quickly and pulled out her mobile phone. She flipped it open and pressed in a few numbers. Homura brought the phone to her ear.

"Homura."

"Kyoko, have you got anything happening yet?"

"I'm not sure, Mami asked the teacher but then she stormed off to ask the principle. And I'm not sure- Oh wait! She's here now."

"Put her on Kyoko."

"Sure."

Homura paused, she heard a couple of voices as she carefully crossed the road.

"Akemi-san?"

Homura jumped. "Sorry, did it go as plan?"

"Mission accomplished."

"How much time do we have?"

"5 months."

I hope that's enough. Homura thought. "Okay, tell Kyoko to start packing, we leave tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning?! To where?"

"Wherever the train takes us."

Homura heard Mami laugh over the phone. "Akemi-san, you're very desperate to go aren't you?"

"How can you tell?"

"You haven't planned anything out."

Homura could feel a faint smile pass over her lips. "You're right." She paused. "I will see you two tomorrow, goodbye."

And before Mami could answer, she hung up.

On the other end of the phone, Mami closed her phone with a sigh. She turned back to Kyoko and smiled. "Let's go Sakura-san."

Kyoko gaped. "What's with the sudden change of tone?"

"I was a little on edge, that's all." Her answer caused the redhead to scowl.

"A little, sure…"

In a dark world unknown the lands of humans, The Reaper sat in the middle of it. He was surrounded by black shrub like objects and his staff hovered in his right hand.

The land around him was dim, shadows twisting around slowly. Although he himself could be seen through the darkness, as his body provided light and substantial heat.

The Reaper lowered his head so that his hood was covering his face. He whispered to himself in a voice almost unlike his own.

"Have I been lying about everything this time?"

Eyes widening at the sound of his voice, he grasped the staff with both hands and let the blood flow within it. Once he calmed down, the Reaper lifted off his hood to once again reveal his young looking face.

"Not about everything, but a few things. I don't really know their fates. I have to use a restricted spell to see into the future. I'm not as powerful as..." He paused. "… My father."

The Reaper's mouth twisted into a ghostly smile, eyes narrowing and his glistening white beastly teeth showing. He had no shame.

"Of course. Father…"

The train stop the next morning was busy. Well, at least for a Wednesday. People were bustling around nonstop, carrying their heavy luggage. Hurried footsteps echoed through the girl's ears, off the unique silver pillars that held the building together.

Homura looked around at the futuristic building. Glancing up at the glass roof, her bangs fell past her face. While staring at the roof with sunlight leaking through, she thought for a second that the glass was going to smash.

Homura was shaken from her gaze by the loud sound of a train pulling out. The whistle sounded with compelling intensity. She felt a hand tap her shoulder and she turned.

"What's up?" Kyoko asked.

Homura shook her head. "Nothing, I was just distracted."

Mami walked up beside her. "Now that we're here Akemi-san, we need to book our rides soon, so would have any idea where we'll be going?"

"Tokyo." Homura answered immediately, pulling out her wallet.

Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Tokyo? That's pretty far away, and a damn big city at that."

"That's why we're going. We have more chance of finding magical girls if we go to the most populated place in Japan, for the time being."

Kyoko nodded. "I get where you're going here, but why can't we just go to a bigger country or continent?"

Homura took her eyes away from the wallet and glanced at Kyoko. "I thought you wouldn't like having to deal with the language barrier."

The redhead seemed to think about it and shrugged. "Whatever. Do what you want."

Mami frowned. "Akemi-san, are you sure about all this? I mean, I know you've been very intent on dealing with the Reaper for some time, and you explained everything but, what has it got to do with us?"

Homura glanced at the blonde. "Did you listen to any of our conversations Tomoe-san?" She said harshly. "You have awakened already, but there hasn't been any other sightings of it. We are now part of this because of you being awakened in the first place."

"But that's my problem, not yours."

Homura closed her eyes for a second and moved them away from Mami. "Of course, Miki Sayaka has been awakened too, and I am suspicious of what will happen next. Also-" Her eyes narrowed. "Why I am in this are for the protection of our saviour, personal matters only."

Mami's expression didn't falter. "Personal matters? What do you-"

Homura narrowed her eyes at Mami as they suddenly changed to a violet shade.

"She is mine."

Mami and Kyoko gasped. And as Homura's eyes changed back to normal, she pulled a yen note from her wallet. "I'll go pay for our tickets now, you two wait here."

As Homura walked off, red ribbon bobbing with her steps, Mami and Kyoko stood there, staring.

"A-Akemi-san?" Mami almost choked out.

Kyoko, who had calmed down, stuffed her hands into her jean pants. "What's with her?"

The blonde found herself squeezing the finger her Soul Gem was encased around. "I'm not sure. Did you see her eyes."

"Turned violet right?"

Mami sighed and lowered her head. "I'm overreacting, everything will turn out fine."

Kyoko stared off into the distance, watching the bustling people rush to their trains. And she realised something. "Mami."

The blonde turned to her. "What is it?"

"What about all these people? We're the only Magical Girls in Mitakihara, so wouldn't you be worried if we left these people on their own to fend for themselves against the wraiths?"

Mami's expression turned troubled, her amber eyes became saddened and she closed them. "I thought about that. But I'd rather save a universe than just a city, then we can protect everyone."

Kyoko relaxed herself, realising she had gone tense. "Yeah, I guess."

"But why do you care?"

"I don't. I was just wondering."

Mami raised an eyebrow. But before she could say anything, Homura called out for them to go on the train.

The inside of the train was spacious. It wasn't particularly fancy, but it was comfortable. It was busy, filled with people trying to get seats. But the inside itself was quite ordinary. The walls were beige, with horrendous wallpaper. Homura, Mami and Kyoko sat in one of the carriages near the front of the train. The couches of the carriage were dark green, they were comfortable for the girls but Mami and Kyoko felt quite the opposite.

Kyoko stared out the window into the distance, watching the scenery pass by in a flash. Mami sat with her hands in her lap, and Homura had her hand on her chin, like she was thinking deeply.

"I have an idea." Homura said suddenly, making both girls turn.

Kyoko lifted her head off her hand. "What's that then leader?"

Homura didn't make a comment. "When we get to Tokyo, I think we should head straight to Tokyo Tower."

"We should put our luggage away first." Mami argued. "We don't want to get into a fight with a wraith and get our baggage stolen or damaged do we?"

Homura nodded. "I didn't think of that. I'll go and look for magical girls while you search for a place to stay."

Mami narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Akemi-san, I know that you are extremely intent on doing this. But there is absolutely no need to strain yourself over it. You are just being foolish now, if you think only of finding other comrades then you will hurt yourself and you'll lose magic."

Homura lowered her head. "I'm sorry, I was being foolish."

Mami smiled. "It's okay, just please don't be reckless over this, you still need to live."

The raven haired girl nodded. "Although, after we settle down we need to get moving soon, otherwise time will run out."

"What time?" Kyoko spoke up, eyeing Homura suspiciously.

"Until Warplugi-" .Homura stopped herself immediately, cursing inside. I'm such an idiot.

"Until what?"

"Nothing," Homura said bluntly. "Just something from the past, that's all."

Mami frowned. She decided not to speak of it; she had enough things on her mind without trying to find out the mysteries of Akemi Homura.

Kyoko seemed to think the same way Mami did, she let it flow. "I'll be asleep for a bit 'Kay?" She yawned then let her head fall onto Mami's shoulder. The blonde giggled. "Kyoko…"

Homura smiled and glanced out the window. Letting the scenery fly past was dizzying for her. But she learned through years of hell to not be shattered by something so trivial.

Although this time she couldn't. And as she slipped into the world of darkness, she heard a ghostly voice in her mind laughing at her cruelly.

The grey clouds drifted slowly past the pale sky, a faint wind wisped through the area, creating a whistling sound. A large dark figure was spread across the sky.

The land was now in ruins, collapsed towers were now crushed into the water that surrounded the earth. Even though this city was saved, the world was not, and no sense of accomplishment was felt.

On a large piece of a tower resting in the water, a girl was on her knees. She had raven coloured hair that waved along with the winds movements. Her purple eyes were dark and emotionless as she stared at the blackness of the building she was kneeling on.

At the edge of the tower sat a small white creature, it had a large and fluffy tail and dark pink beady eyes. It had a smile embedded onto its face that resembled to emotion whatsoever.

"Madoka really was amazing… when she transformed." It had a cheerful voice that brought no annoyance to the girl's ears, but its words hurt her. "I thought she'd become the strongest Magical Girl, but to defeat Warplurgisnaucht in just one hit…"

Homura spoke up, feeling the pain hidden in her soft voice as she questioned Kyubey. "And how will this end? If she's even stronger than you thought."

"Either way her end will be the same." Kyubey swished its tail carelessly at it spoke. "As the strongest Magical Girl, she defeated her greatest enemy. Now there's nothing left for her but to become to most evil witch in existence. As Madoka is now it won't take long before she's destroyed the planet."

Homura was silent, letting the Incubator's words sink in.

"But well, that's not my problem." Kyubey said, even more cheerful than before as Homura stood up. "I gathered a lot more energy than our energy quota."

Hair blowing around in the wind almost furiously, Homura took a sharp turn and started to walk.

Kyubey turned. "Aren't you going to fight her?"

"No." Homura answered simply in a cold voice. "This is not my battlefield."

Kyubey took a step forward. "Akemi Homura, you're-"

The Incubator was interrupted by the sound of something clicking, and time spun backwards as Homura took sturdy steps forward, her eyes blazing with a fiery determination.

"Repeat." As the words slipped from Homura's mouth, she awoke. Her head bumped against the glass with the vibrations of the train. Homura looked across from herself to see Mami observing her with gentle amber eyes.

"Pardon?"

Homura lifted herself up, pulling one of her bangs from her face. "Did I say something?"

Mami nodded, and her comrade sighed.

"I'm sorry, it must have slipped."

Homura noticed Kyoko was still resting her head on Mami's shoulder. Her eyes were closed and her face was pale. Her expression was innocent, carefree and peaceful.

Mami glanced at the redhead and smiled. "You know Akemi-san."

"Yes?"

"This is similar to what Kyoko looked like when she was soulless."

"Soulless?" As Homura said those words her eyes widened slightly.

"Do you know how much Tomoe-san and I were worried about you?! It was your fault your body disappeared! Stop putting so much trust and your own burden on yourself and stop causing trouble for the people around you!"

Homura shook her head. I remembered something like that? She thought. "You're right Tomoe-san."

Mami's smile disappeared but she didn't face the raven haired girl. "It bothers me. It's like whenever I see her sleep I get reminded about how her soul was stuck inside her Soul Gem. And I keep on thinking it's my fault." She said bitterly, placing a hand on Kyoko's red hair.

Homura's expression softened, taking in the blonde's words. She smiled slightly to comfort her. "It's not your fault Tomoe-san, and you know that."

"I know." Mami brushed back Kyoko's fringe from her face. "But then, whose was it?"

The faint smile fell from Homura's thin and pale lips. She leaned back onto the seat. "It's all in the past now, so please don't worry Tomoe-san." She frowned at her own words. I'm such a hypocrite.

Mami faced her and smiled warmly, the anxiety disappearing from her face. "Thank you, Akemi-san."

Homura's expression stayed the same. "It's alright."

Does it hurt to see them happy? Knowing that they are going to die eventually? In my past timelines I stayed away from them, mainly so I could protect Madoka, but also so I wouldn't get too attached to them as I would see them die over and again. But this time I don't have a choice. I have gotten closer to them but if they die then that's it. No turning back time, seeing them again, them becoming enemies of me, watching them die again along with Madoka, no more times where I had the little bit of trust in which I thought I lost. I relied too much on that power. I thought that their lives were meaningless, all except Madoka's. But now…

"Akemi-san?"

Homura realised that she had zoned out and was staring at her lap. She glanced up to see Mami's concerned expression. "What's wrong?"

The stoic girl shook her head. "Nothing, just thinking."

Mami frowned, narrowing her amber eyes slightly. "Akemi-san, this is getting serious."

Homura blinked. "What?"

"I'll talk to you about it when we get to Tokyo. Until then, think about what you should do with those memories of yours."

The raven haired girl was confused. What?

The three reached Tokyo in the middle of the night. The wide city was vibrant, colourful and bright. The colours flashed through the various buildings and skyscrapers covering the vast land. Although it was night time, the various colours of red, blue, yellow, gold and white lit up the city like a festival.

The three girls stepped out of the train station, the cold air hitting them hard. Mami marvelled, her eyes reflected with the lights. "It's beautiful!"

Kyoko had to admit, she thought it was pretty, yet busy. Her mother had told her and Momo all about it and how much she wanted to go and see the Tokyo Tower, so she took this trip as a chance to explore.

Homura gazed at the bright lights until her eyes ran up the large Tokyo Tower right in the middle of all its glory. She remembered faintly about a Christian school she went to in Tokyo before she came to Mitakihara*. But that was a long time ago…

Mami walked in front of the two and then faced them, a cheerful smile being seen through the dark landscape. "So Akemi-san, where are we staying?"

"In the hotel near the train station. I'll show you two okay?"

Kyoko nodded and sighed, stuffing her hands into her jean pockets. "Hey Mami. Next time I end up drooling on you in my sleep, wake me up will ya?"

Mami blinked. "Eh?"

The redhead pointed to Mami's shoulder and the blonde sighed, smiling. "Of course."

The three started walking through the streets. Kyoko eyed Mami warily and the blonde glanced at her. "What's wrong Kyoko? You're looking at me like I'm insane."

"You're acting so cheerful, it's creeping me out."

Mami laughed. "I love Tokyo! It's so beautiful and busy, yet it can be quiet at the same time."

"Tokyo is not quiet." Homura broke into the conversation, pulling at her violet scarf for a distraction.

"And you would know why?"

"I grew up in this place, it was never peaceful."

Kyoko threw her hands up to her mouth in mock shock. "Akemi Homura actually told us something!"

Homura frowned and closed her purple eyes as the cold breeze hit her eyelids. Her dark hair flew back gracefully as she walked forwards. She remembered multiple voices echoing in her mind.

"I can't trust you if I can't know what you're really thinking."

"Saviour?"

"Think about what you should do with those memories of yours."

Homura stopped walking, her hair brushed fully off her face and she opened her eyes again. They were dark and emotionless, yet calm and serene.

Should I tell them?

So that Mami and Kyoko wouldn't suspect her of anything, she kept on walking, bringing her arms around herself softly while doing so. One pale hand reached up to her red ribbon but did not pull it down.

With a rush of shivers, her hand shook and she pulled it down. "It's cold." She murmured.

Apparently, Kyoko had heard her. "No shit. We're doing a whole lot of walking, are we gonna get there anytime so-?"

"We're here."

Kyoko paused, and the three of them glanced up at the building. They couldn't see the features because of the darkness but it was large, and light was streaming from inside the windows. The light created shadows on the girl's faces, reflecting the tiredness in their eyes.

Kyoko pulled her luggage up the driveway to the reception centre. "Let's get going, we don't have all night." She said grumpily, as the other girls caught up to her.

In a dark room in the corner of the apartment, a faint light from the moon streamed into the room. Homura grabbed her white, thin sheets hard and tossed over again. Her breathing was rapid as her bangs fell over her face. Sweat fell down her forehead as her skin became paler than before.

She couldn't believe what was happening. She couldn't open her eyes for some reason, and was forced to sleep. Until a flash of violet light overtook her mind and a vision came into view.

This is...a witch.

My feelings are haunting me.

Radiance and regret are the only things I can remember anymore.

So...this is my despair.

Madoka...thank you for coming all the way here for me!

I'm sorry I won't be able to say goodbye to you at the end!

Homura opened her eyes immediately; the pupils were violet and small. As her body shook she glanced at her hands.

Her pale hands were now white and replaced with bones, a pale skeleton marked in stone. The bony fingers curled into a fist. Her 'hands' were bounded by stocks. And as Homura's pupils became smaller and her breathing hitched, words echoed through her mind and appeared in runes in her violet eyes.

ARROGANCE. SADSACK. LIAR. COLD-HEARTEDNESS. SELFISHNESS. BADMOUTHER. DUNCE. JEALOUSY. LAZYNESS. VANITY. COWARDICE. FOOL. BIAS. OBSTINANCE.

"This witch's last wish is her own execution. However, a mere decapitation will not clear away the witch's sins. This foolish witch will forever remain in this realm, repeating the procession to her execution." Homura whispered in a raspy voice.

She shut her eyes tight, tears springing from them instantly. She clutched her head and felt her bony fingers dig into her skull. She could hear the sounds of glass cracking with constant hits.

"You...are trying to control Madoka!"

Holding back a scream, Homura bit her lip as tears fell down her cheeks. She could picture something in her brain.

Cracking glass, girls with black dresses and creepy eyes, a purple gem floating in a violet barrier, a white alien, a pink haired girl, blood, red tears streaming from her now crimson eyes, grass, chairs, girls in red glasses, an army of familiar looking dolls, and finally a picture of herself corrupted her mind. A black dress and black wings, a puffy bow and stockings, a crown shaped gem floating in her hand with a sinister and ghostly smile on her face, her eyes were violet and filled with glee, insanity, arrogance, cold-heartedness, selfishness, jealousness, laziness, vanity, cowardice…

"Homura!"

Homura's eyes snapped open, changing from violet to purple once again. Her vision was blurry as her eyes brimmed with tears. An urgent and concerned voice called out to her from the terror corrupting her mind.

Scared, she glanced up at the person calling out to her, eyes still wide with fright.

"Homura!"

Homura's vision focused slightly. And through the blurriness, darkness and flashes she could see a faint red colour with concerned crimson eyes.

"K-Kyoko?" She whimpered out, afraid something was going to happen right that second.

Kyoko seemed to flinch at the tone of her comrade's voice. She took her by the shoulders and shook her gently. "You Kay?"

Homura's vision completely cleared and she could see Kyoko fully. "Kyoko..."

Kyoko didn't know what to do to comfort her. She remembered what she did to comfort her little sister when she had nightmares. But obviously singing a lullaby wouldn't help a girl almost the same age as her. So the redhead simply took Homura's hand and squeezed.

"Get my hands, out of the stocks…" Homura whispered softly. She lowered her head in shame to hide her eyes.

Kyoko was confused. "What? What stocks?"

"My arms are bounded, get them off me Kyoko, now..." Homura whimpered.

"But there aren't any on you. Homura, snap out of it."

"I'm serious. Get them off of me." Homura said desperately, her now normal hands were clenching and unclenching. "Kyoko, I can't move my arms."

Kyoko clenched her teeth. "Homura, you're having an illusion. Get out of it okay?"

Homura glanced up, revealing to Kyoko her dark and pupil-less eyes. Homura's vision contorted once again, and she heard voices. The illusion got worse as she started to see another girl in front of her, her pink hair held up in red ribbons.

Kyoko knelt at the edge of the bed and stared into Homura's dark eyes. "What's wrong?"

Homura didn't hear her, as a tear slipped down her cheek. The voices in her mind got louder and she leant closer to Kyoko.

"This is the pinnacle of human emotions. More passionate than hope. Deeper than despair. It's love!"

"Madoka..." Homura whispered out softly to her illusion.

Kyoko couldn't hear what she had said, but her breathing hitched when Homura placed a hand on her cheek and brushed away her fringe. "O-Oi. Homura..." A bead of sweat dripped down her face as she watched Homura's eyes light up slightly.

Homura leant closer to the nervous redhead; silver tears fell down her face. "Madoka…" She whispered. "…I love you."

Kyoko gasped as Homura's soft lips brushed up against hers, and her crimson eyes widened dangerously. Her cheeks became bright red and she was too shocked to pull away.

"H-Homura. W-what are you doing?"

Homura couldn't hear Kyoko's voice, only Madoka's sweet one. She took Kyoko's shoulders and ripped her arms free of the imaginary stocks. She pulled the stunned redhead closer and wrapped her arms around her in an embrace.

Kyoko was frozen in shock, her face was a brighter red than her hair and her eyes were widened dangerously. She had her lips imprisoned against Homura's and she couldn't protest against it.

Homura finally pulled away and smiled. "I had a nightmare Madoka, but I'm okay now. Don't worry."

Kyoko finally reached her senses. She reached up to feel her lips, which had a tingly feeling to them.

"Homura." Kyoko said, her emotion sheathed. "My name is Sakura Kyoko, not Kaname Madoka."

And as Kyoko said those words; Homura's vision broke like the glass in her mind. Her smile disappeared once her vision of Madoka was replaced with Kyoko, her red cheeks and crimson eyes.

Homura's now normal and purple eyes widened dangerously. "Kyoko, you're not Madoka."

Kyoko nodded.

"Did… I just kiss you?"

Kyoko nodded.

Homura's face heated up furiously. She felt like her younger self when she pulled the sheets up to her chest and hung her head so Kyoko couldn't see her burning face. "I'm so sorry Kyoko, I thought you were someone else."

Calming down, Kyoko buried her face in her hands and sighed. "It's okay. You were obviously in a daze."

"I thought I saw Madoka."

"So you're in love with her?"

Homura froze. "I-I am?"

"There must be a reason why you kissed me/her I guess."

"I didn't know what went over me, I never realised the feelings I had for her were love."

"You must be.." Kyoko sighed. "…Really oblivious then."

Homura brought her knees up to her chest. "I'm sorry Kyoko, I stole your first kiss and-"

"I never cared much for romance." Kyoko said. "Stop making it awkward."

Homura nodded and her head fell on her knees.

The two fell into an awkward silence. Kyoko glanced at the raven haired girl, a redness still tinging her cheeks. She thought back to the events previously and spoke up.

"Hey Homura."

Homura didn't answer, so Kyoko took it as a sign to continue.

"I've never seen you so, well, how do you say it?"

"Arrogant? A sad sack? A liar? Cold-hearted? Selfish? A badmouther? A dunce? Jealous? Lazy? Prideful? A coward?" Homura said softly and bitterly.

Kyoko's expression softened at the amount of self-deprecation was littered into that sentence. "No, just with more.. Emotion I guess. You finally let out some emotion than your usual cold and seemingly emotionless self."

"Well of course I did, I kind of just kissed someone I thought was someone else." Homura deadpanned.

"No I mean, when you had that nightmare."

"I was crying wasn't I?"

Kyoko wordlessly nodded, and Homura scowled to herself. "I don't like it when I cry."

"Why not?"

"You should know why. When we cry we show weaker sides we don't want people to see, sides that we let go and cast aside in order to not get our emotion get to us."

Kyoko thought about it. "I guess." She paused. "Are you alright though? With the nightmare and everything, I thought you were losing it or something."

Homura lifted her head off her knees and looked at the redhead. "I'm fine, I was just a little shaken."

"It sounded like a terrible dream, what happened?"

"I heard voices, and words, I saw many things, and my hands were just bones, bound together with stocks. It was… terrifying."

"Yeah."

Homura lowered her eyelids slightly. "Hey Kyoko."

"What is it?"

"Don't tell anyone about this okay?"

Kyoko grinned. "Whatever you say, Homura."

Mami and Homura stood in an empty park on the outskirts of Tokyo. The night sky was lit up with an endless number of bright stars.

Even though it was around 1am, cars were still passing. The girls could not see them but they could hear the faint motor.

The two girls stood across from each other, the cold breeze brushed their hair to the side. The two wore warm outfits that included jackets and long pants.

Homura had now regained her casual emotionless demeanour and was staring back at Mami, who had her amber eyes narrowed in a state of accusation.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Homura asked, her eyes not leaving Mami's.

"About our commitment to this War you're planning." Mami answered immediately.

Homura's expression did not faze. "What about it?"

"Do you remember what I said back on the train?"

Homura searched her memories, and it came up with the conversation.

"Akemi-san, this is getting serious."

"What?"

"I'll talk to you about it when we get to Tokyo. Until then, think about what you should do with those memories of yours."

"Yes, I remember. What's getting serious?"

"The problems with your secrets, and your past. It's very mysterious, and without having knowledge we.."

Homura narrowed her eyes. "Where are you going here Tomoe-san?"

Mami closed her eyes, letting the breeze push her blonde curls to the side. "I mean…" She opened her eyes, staring Homura down. "We need to know everything about her past and Madoka, in order to continue."

Homura glared, and took a step back. "Why?"

"Without the information, we basically have to reason to fight as we don't really know the motive. You say we need to help or save our saviour, but we don't know who this saviour is, what these 'previous terrors' are and everything. So understand that we need to know."

Homura shook her head, and took another step back when Mami took a step forward. "I refuse."

Mami frowned. "Akemi-san. I know that telling us about your past is going to be hard for you, but if you don't tell us you're risking a chance of actually starting your own army, and that's arrogant so.."

Homura clenched her teeth as words ran through her mind again. Arrogance, sad sack, liar, cold-hearted-ness… She shook the thought away. "I will never tell you."

"You're being foolish."

Fool.

Homura frowned. "No I'm not."

"It's obvious that you dislike showing your past. But if you're proud enough just to keep it to yourself then you're being a coward not to tell us."

Bias, Vanity, Cowardice.

"You're not willing to give up your own past for the future of this universe, that's very idle of you Akemi-san."

Lazybones.

Homura clenched her fist and lowered her head. "Stop it.."

"Are you jealous of other people living up to our so called 'saviour'? Do you want her all to herself by not telling us your secrets? You're being selfish."

Jealousy, Selfishness.

"I said to stop.."

"You were willing to start a war with the Reaper for the knowledge you have, you expect us to follow your will without even knowing what we're fighting for. You didn't think before you planned it did you?"

Dunce.

Homura started to shake as Mami continued. "Shut up.." She whispered harshly.

"Do you think your love is strong enough to overcome the minds of those who don't even know what they're doing? Do you think that your desire to see this goddess has got you so hooked that you want to rage war on the Reaper to save her?"

Love has yet to come..

Homura finally stepped forward, eyes blazing. "Stop it! I'll never tell you! I don't care if I'm an idiot, in order to save our saviour I will do anything it takes! I will even defeat the Reaper in my own if I have to!"

Silence fell on the two girls, the wind picked up, brushing the girls fringes in front of their faces.

Mami brought her fringe out of the way and sighed, eyes closed. "I knew it would come to this wouldn't it?" She flexed her hand a brought it up, the yellow ring changed into her soul gem, shining bright against the darkness.

Realising what was happening, Homura transformed quickly, but she realised that it had some lag. She felt immediately weak once she transformed fully, and it took a while to form her ebony bow.

Mami transformed in the blink of an eye. She noticed the lag in Homura's magic, but her expression did not change.

Mami pulled out a ribbon and formed a single musket, she aimed it at Homura.

Homura narrowed her eyes. "You seem fairly unprepared."

"I don't need to be prepared for this battle."

Mami's finger hovered over the trigger, it did not waver but it stayed. Homura simply had to wait until she pulled it and the fight started.

BANG!

Homura dodged quickly. She opened her eyes to find that Mami had disappeared, and the bullet mark was a few meters away from her.

Her aim isn't off, is it?

She heard a rustling in the bushes and swiftly turned, ready to strike at any moment. Homura opened up her hand to form a glowing purple arrow. But…

Homura blinked. The arrow isn't forming. What?

Homura discarded the bow and arrow and tried to form guns, but they didn't work either.

What is this? It always seemed to happen before.

It all happened in a second. Something burst from the ground and entangled around Homura, wrapping her up tight and pulling her up into the air. The objects restrained her from moving, her arms were spread out but the rest of her body was held together, the restriction on her chest made it hard to breathe, her breathing was raspy and deep.

Homura grunted and glanced around, she frowned at what was holding her. Yellow ribbons.

"It seems you're being foolish today Akemi-san."

From the shadows walked out Mami, her serious expression staring Homura down.

"Do you know why I couldn't form my weapons?" Homura asked.

"Have you seen your Soul Gem recently?"

"I purified it a week ago, I purified it every day since then."

"Look at it now."

Homura did indeed glance, and her eyes widened when she saw the once purple diamond shaped gem on her hand was now a much darker shade. "It corrupted?" She turned back to face Mami. "How though?"

Mami crossed her arms. "It seems that nightmare you had brought the levels down quite a bit. And the fact that you had a hallucination and kissed Kyoko didn't help either."

Homura felt her face turn slightly red at the comment. "It wasn't my fault that happened."

Mami narrowed her eyes. "Stop being an idiot. You not only let your emotions take over, you also didn't notice your Soul gem after the nightmare and absolutely refuse to tell us about your past even for the most obvious reasons, and then you believe you can fight me with your Soul Gem 90% corrupted. You were lucky you were able to transform and form the bow."

Homura glared, but knew arguing was no use. She knew she had been a fool to go out there and face an extremely strong magical girl.

"Now." Mami walked closer to the helpless girl and observed her. "You have no choice now. You have to tell us, or you'll die."

"You don't have the guts to kill me." Homura said harshly.

"You're right." Mami said honestly. "But I can hurt you to the point of death. I can hurt you, and the magic will heal the wounds. But with that, you would have used up all your magic and died. So I wouldn't have killed you, your magic and your foolishness would have."

Homura hung her head. She knew there was no way out of it. If she told Mami, well she just couldn't. But if she refused, she would die. She chuckled slightly. It confuses me, I never thought my magic would one day kill me.

"So, tell me."

Homura took a long pause. "I will never tell you."

Mami raised an eyebrow. "So with all the information I just told you, about you being an idiot and selfish by not giving out your past, and by the fact that you die if you refuse, you are actually going to refuse?"

The dark haired girl nodded.

"So you don't care if you die?"

She shook her head.

Mami's expression turned slightly frustrated. "Don't you understand? By not telling us your past you are putting this world in danger. You cannot fight the Reaper on your own, no magical girl will trust you enough to become your ally if you search for them alone. Your endeavour to start this war will fail and this universe will fall into the hands of the Reaper."

"I don't need to tell you. You can survive without the knowledge of my past." Homura said.

The ribbons wrapped around Homura's body tighter, resembling Mami's frustration and anger. "I know you, you are not foolish enough to face all of this on your own. We need that knowledge in order to fuel our need. If we don't know, then we don't have any desire to save this goddess!"

"Have you thought about the fact that you, Kyoko and other magical girls may not believe me?" Homura almost whispered, her speech becoming rasping and breathless.

"You do not lie or joke about such serious things. I know that if you were going to tell us your past you would tell the truth. To tell a lie would lead to unneeded conflict and distrust."

Homura frowned. "Don't you want to protect our saviour too? Without her, we would be dead, living in a vicious cycle in which you would all be dead right now."

Mami glared, silent fury filling her body as she spoke. "This is what I'm talking about. You don't tell us anything. You're saying she brought us hope, saved us from previous terrors, but we don't know any of that." She paused. "What did she save us from?"

Homura didn't answer, which only led to the tranquil rage of the blonde before her to well up.

One of the ribbons on Homura's arm loosened, and the raven haired girl felt some feeling some back into her arm. She was wondering whether Mami would let her go. That was until-

Slash!

Homura froze, pain filling her body like oil filling the sea. She felt something warm slide down her body and drip onto the ground. It was red and smelled dangerously familiar.

Homura's breathing hitched when she fall something fall onto the ground, a limp and lifeless arm with the skin ripped the cut had been. Homura's eyes drifted to the stump where her arm had been.

Holding back a scream of pain, Homura doubled over and bit her tongue hard, she felt blood fall down her chin. Through the haze she could see Mami, her eyes dark and demanding, narrowed, severe and strong.

"Tell me." She said darkly. The ribbons tightened even more, making Homura spurt out blood onto the grass.

Feeling her health levels lowering fast, Homura whispered harshly to Mami with determined eyes.

"Never."

Slash!

This time Homura let a scream of pain rip from her chest, the agony coursed through her body like water fell down a waterfall and crashed towards the sharp waiting rocks down at the bottom.

Mami eyed the second arm that had fallen onto the ground, and then at Homura. The blood stained her body and her body had become paler. Mami glanced at the soul gem on the ground, it had turned much more darker than before, a white light drifting inside.

"Akemi Homura. If you don't tell me then you will die."

Through the pulsing of pain, Homura could hear the blonde's voice through the haze.

"Do you really want to reunite with your saviour acknowledging the fact that you never even got started to saving her? You will live with that guilt forever. Even if the goddess doesn't care, you will care. You will be corrupted by guilt for forever and a day. And the saviour will be worried about you forever as well. Do you not want her to be happy? Do you want her to worry about you for the rest of her existence?"

Homura was guilt tripped now. She could feel her health plummeting, and tears sprung from her eyes.

"Do you want the one you live to be with you forever but then for her role to be handed over to the Reaper?! Who will rule the universe and get the goddess erased from all planes of existence! You will still live, living with the guilt and remorse that you never got to save the one you love because of something as trivial and as foolish as not letting a war start to protect her!"

"FINE!" Homura roared.

Silence befell the girls. Not even the blood splattering onto the ground or Homura's whimpers of pain that was heard over the heavy silence that befell the air.

Homura breathed deeply, head hung low. "Fine, I will tell you." She whispered quietly.

Silently, Mami snapped her fingers and the ribbons disappeared. Homura's limp body fell to the ground. Blood spilled onto the ground rapidly and stained.

Mami's expression softened once she saw that Homura eyes were closed. She walked over and kneeled down next to the arm with had her soul gem resting on the hand. She took out a stack of grief seeds and placed them on the gem. Mami became relieved when the gem was back to fully purple again, no corruption was shown.

The arms disappeared off the ground, and Homura's limbs started to slowly regenerate, purple light sowing the skin, bones and muscles together.

Mami kneeled down next to Homura. "I'm very sorry Akemi-san. But there just wasn't any other way to convince you." She said bitterly. "Even if you had utterly refused, I wouldn't have let you die."

Mami picked Homura up bridal style and jumped away from the park near the hotel. While swinging on the ribbons, Mami remembered the conversation she overheard between Kyoko and Homura a few hours earlier.

"I was crying wasn't I? I don't like it when I cry."

"Why not?"

"You should know why. When we cry we show weaker sides we don't want people to see, sides that we let go and cast aside in order to not get our emotion get to us."

Mami's expression softened. "You are absolutely correct Akemi-san, but I'm not going to let you know that."

*I am not lying. Remember in episode one where a student asks Homura what school she went to before she came to Mitakihara? Homura answered with 'a Christian school in Tokyo', so DAMN!

A/N: Longest chapter yet HAHA!

I need to make something clear. I DO NOT ship KyoHomu. Mainly cause I ship KyoSaya like hell and Kyoko doesn't deserve anyone else other than Sayaka… Any KyoHomu is one of my Brotp's, and always will be.

Oh and that's the first time I've written a kiss scene. EVER. I read them a lot cause I read Yuri and everything but I never imagined myself actually writing one, even if it was short. *shiver* New experience!

This chapter was actually super intense, and emotional (kind of). And it took me fucking AGES. I mean its 5:00am and I just finished it. *sigh*

I'm going to try to make the chapters a lot longer, I originally planned for this chapter to be 10,000 words long, but 8,000 seemed enough.

Hoped you like this chapter, and please review! :)