Sorry for the wait, but Real Life took a toll (again) to the time I could work on this. Six months is way too much to wait for a new chapter, I hope that it is good enough to justify the wait.

Thanks as usual to my beta-readers, Firemagic AKA Karrin Blue and Desdendelle.

Chapter 5 - Off With Her Head... Or Is It?

"Time to start our second strategy meeting, I guess," Nanoha said while closing her bedroom's door.
Some days had passed since Nanoha's first Witch hunt alongside Mami, but nothing particularly interesting happened.
The mage walked over to her bed and sat between Homura and Fate. Homura's one was occupied by Raising Heart, who was projecting a holographic 3D map of Uminari City.
"Yes. I just finished giving Raising Heart all the data to complete the map," Homura started, "While nothing significant happened in the last days, I noticed that the distribution of Witches is different from that of previous timelines. Some, like Gertrud, appeared in the same spot and time..."
Homura pointed at the mall on the map. A little holographic window with the name of the Witch (written in runes, Mid-childan letters and Japanese kanji) and the date of her appearance, March 25th, was floating over it.
"... others, like Chaperon, didn't. In fact, I never met some of those who appeared in the last days, like Cenerentola."
Nanoha looked at Cenerentola's window.
"I'm pretty sure those strange symbols appeared before Mami and I fought her."
"That's her name written in runes, actually. Puella Magi's rings are engraved with their first name, too."
Homura showed them her ring. Six symbols were on it, spelling out "Homura" in runes.
"I think it is the Incubators' written alphabet, but I'm not sure about it. And I don't want to go ask Kyubey about it, either."
Nanoha nodded, and stared at the map intently. More windows appeared, depicting the locations of more Witches.
"Those are the ones Fate and I fought before meeting you in Chaperon' barrier."
Homura observed the map thoughtfully.
"Raising Heart, can you overlap the locations of this timeline's Witches with the previous timeline's up to today, please?"
[All right.]
"Thank you."
More windows appeared. Homura observed them for another while.
"As I thought. With three Magical Girls active in the area of Mitakihara instead of just one in the weeks preceding my arrival in this timeline, several Witches were killed earlier. Several Familiars must've been able to become full-blown Witches thanks to the reduced competition, and other Witches from outside closed in too. This means that I can't predict where and when-"
Homura was interrupted by Nanoha's phone ringing. The mage answered it.
"Hello?... Hi, Madoka!... What? Don't do anything, I'll be there right away!"
Nanoha closed the communication with a preoccupied look on her face.
"Madoka and Sayaka just found a Grief Seed at the hospital. They say that a Witch is going to spawn from it... Homura-chan?..."
Homura was no longer there. Upon hearing the word "hospital", she transformed and flash-stepped away thanks to her time stop.

Damn. Charlotte wasn't supposed to hatch until Monday. Looks like my theory was right.
Homura let time resume as she jumped to another rooftop. While a part of her wanted to keep time from flowing even a single second before she got there, it would darken her Soul Gem enough to need cleansing before even entering the barrier.
Homura jumped down from the last rooftop and landed in front of the hospital's bike parking just in time to see Mami, Sayaka and Madoka enter the barrier. The fact that they entered all at the same time meant that this time Madoka had Mami's phone number, too. Still, Homura was quite surprised by Mami's ability to beat a time-stop user in speed.
The black-haired Puella Magi took a deep breath and followed them. She had to do things right this time.

"It hasn't hatched yet, but it's going to happen very soon."
Madoka and Sayaka listened carefully to Mami's explanations. The Barrier was currently very small, and no familiars were in it yet.
"So, Witches hatch from Grief Seeds, and then become Grief Seeds again when they're killed?" Sayaka asked.
"Yes. That's why Kyubey takes them after we use them to clean our Soul Gems. If left alone, they can..."
Mami stopped as she noticed something with the corner of her eye. The blonde girl turned around and stiffened when she recognized the black-haired girl who had followed them.
"I thought I had told you to stay away from me, Akemi."
Homura's expression didn't show any hint of reaction.
"I have no intention of attacking you or taking this Witch for myself. However, I wanted to warn you about the true danger of this Witch, as you dragged two innocents in this."
Madoka kept staring at them. While Homura was surely a strange girl, the pink-haired girl couldn't think of a reason why Mami was treating her so coldly. In fact, Madoka didn't even expect her to be capable of such a behaviour.
"And why should I trust you?" Mami asked.
"Because I am telling the truth. This Witch..."
Homura stepped forward. However, as this time she hadn't dispelled her Puella Magi outfit, Mami took it as an aggressive gesture.
Several golden ribbons appeared from nowhere, immobilizing Homura on the spot.
Not again! Homura thought, struggling against the binds.
"Mami?! Shouldn't we... shouldn't we listen to her?" Madoka asked. The pink-haired girl couldn't believe that her senior was attacking another magical girl. Especially since Homura was apparently trying to help them. However, as Madoka tried to make a step in Homura's direction, Mami raised an arm to stop her.
"Madoka, Sayaka, this girl isn't to be trusted. She tried to kill Kyubey."
Sayaka instinctively made a step back.
"I knew that there was something wrong with her, but..."
Homura tried to open her mouth and explain herself, but this time her mouth was wrapped in ribbons too.
"It's no use, Akemi. Be a good girl, and I'll free you when we get back. Let's go."
Mami led the other two girls down the barrier. The Grief Seed had hatched in the meantime, causing the barrier to expand enough to get them out of Homura's sight.
"I suggest undoing your transformation, too. You don't want to be attacked by Familiars now, do you?"
Homura gritted her teeth. While Mami's "advice" had some sense - a transformed Puella Magi attracted much more Familiars than a human - the blonde girl said it mockingly.
The black-haired Puella Magi tried to send her warning telepathically, but with no success.
"Nanoha! Fate! I need help here!"
No answer. Kyubey was clearly blocking telepathic communication inside the barrier. Homura struggled again with the binds, even as she knew that it was futile - the only way to get rid of them was through Mami herself.

"Wow! Mami is the best!" Sayaka cheered as the blonde Puella Magi summoned another array of muskets. This time, the blue-haired girl was holding a normal baseball bat even if it wasn't necessary - the Familiars of this Witch, odd creatures that looked like sweets brought to life, weren't aggressive. Mami kept shooting them nevertheless.
"Yes, but... Shouldn't we have waited for Nanoha-chan too?" Madoka asked while carrying Kyubey.
"Don't worry," Mami reassured her, "I can't lose in front of my juniors."
Madoka nodded. How could you not believe someone with such a smile?
It didn't take long before they reached the center of the barrier. Madoka and Sayaka looked in puzzlement at the Witch: it didn't look like a monster at all. In fact, it looked more like a pink plush doll, and she seemed content with sitting on an impossibly high chair. In front of her there was a similarly high table and another chair.
The peace didn't last long for the Witch, though. Mami jumped towards her chair, and swung one of her muskets at the chair's legs. The Witch fell from it, and Mami hit her with her musket's stock, sending the poor doll far enough to earn an homerun in any baseball pitch.
Mami summoned more muskets and shot the Witch several times as she landed on a wall.

Homura sighed in relief as she heard Nanoha and Fate calling her name. The black-haired girl had managed to get rid of the ribbon covering her mouth, but the others were too tight to allow her to do anything.
"Homura-chan! Are you alright?"
"Don't worry about me now! Mami is going to get herself killed!"
The two Mages exchanged a look, and Nanoha ran towards the inner part of the barrier as Fate slashed the ribbons in pieces. The blonde mage caught Homura in mid-air and helped her regain balance after the landing.
"Is everything alright, Homura?"
The Puella Magi nodded, and massaged her arms where the ribbons had been tight enough to constrain her circulation.

Is that really a Witch? Madoka thought as the plush doll fell to the ground. It looked too cute to be harmful, and it didn't try to attack them. Not to mention that the Barrier looked like it was made of chocolate, whipped cream and assorted candies.
Mami didn't seem to share her mindset, though, and shot the Witch in the head point-blank.
The blonde girl winced as she threw away the spent musket.
This feeling... Did Akemi manage to free herself?
Mami summoned six ribbons from the last bullet, and used them to hang the Witch several meters above the ground.
It doesn't matter now. I'm almost done here.
Mami summoned another musket, and transformed it into a Finale Cannon. This time, she decided to go all-out and summoned a version big enough to need a bipod in order to be wielded.
"Tiro... FINALE!"
The blast hit the Witch directly, and her head looked like it was going to pop. Mami released her ribbons, and turned towards Madoka and Sayaka with a smile.
The two girls had a panicked look in their faces.
"MAMI! BEHIND YOU!" Sayaka screamed.
The blonde girl turned towards the Witch again, and froze. A giant, caterpillar-like being had emerged from the mouth of the doll, and was going straight for her.

The Witch was thinking that she was going to get a tasty meal. The Puella Magi looked a lot like the cheese she loved, and it was enough for her to think that she was going to have the same taste.
So, the Witch opened her mouth to bite off the girl's head...
"DIVINE BUSTER!"
... Only to get a mouthful of pink beam of friendship and destruction instead. The Witch backed off, her mouth smoking. Nanoha took advantage of the situation and landed near Mami.
"Are you hurt, Mami?"
The blonde girl blinked a couple of times, trying to shake off the dread.
"I... I... Thank you. It it wasn't for you..."
Nanoha shook her head.
"Don't mention it! We're magical girls, right? We have to help each other for everyone's sake!"
Mami widened her eyes in surprise, then smiled.
"Right."
The Witch shook her head, and prepared herself for another charge. Unfortunately for her, the two Magical Girls were already preparing their attacks, and so Charlotte met her demise at the hands of a simultaneous casting of Tiro Finale and Divine Buster.

"So, did you decide on your wish?" Mami asked to Madoka and Sayaka as the barrier started fading. The two girls didn't respond, and kept looking down.
"Mami, I don't think it is the right time to ask that." Nanoha reprimanded her.
"... Right. It was quite of a close call, wasn't it?"
Mami looked like she was going to keep talking, but the barrier finished fading revealing Homura and a blonde girl she didn't know just a few meters in front of them. The sight was enough to make Mami stiffen: the blonde girl was dressed in black and holding an axe of the same color, thus solving the enigma of Homura's escape from the ribbons.
"Hm, isn't that Fate?" Sayaka asked.
Mami turned towards her, visibly surprised.
"You know that girl?"
"Yes. She's one of our classmates too." Sayaka answered.
"I see. But if she's an ally of Homura Akemi, she's an enemy too."
"But..." Madoka started with a preoccupied look, "She is Nanoha-chan's best friend!"
The pink-haired girl remembered something else too.
"Wait... Isn't Homura-chan Nanoha-chan's cousin, too?"
Mami turned towards the brunette with an inquisitorial look.
"Is that true, Nanoha?"
Nanoha sighed. Things weren't going as she hoped.
"Yes."
"How could you...?"
"Because they aren't as evil as you think. What did Homura-chan do when you met her earlier?"
Mami tilted her head slightly, still staring at the mage.
"She tried to warn me about the 'true nature of the witch', or something like that."
"And you didn't listen to her, since you tied her and went to fight the Witch alone. And now tell me: what would have happened if I was just ten seconds late?"
Mami stepped back. She would have died. Rather messily, too. And that was because the Witch's shape-shift caught her off-guard.
"She tried to warn you about that, Mami."
"But she also tried to kill Kyubey!" Mami rebutted. The blonde girl was on the verge of breaking down - was her new ally trying to defend the one who attacked her only friend? And what was the truth?
"Kyubey isn't what he looks like, Mami. He is the one who you shouldn't trust."
The Incubator took that as a cue to walk in from the shadows.
"It was quite obvious that you would have said that, Nanoha Takamachi. Especially considering your status as an irregular."
Mami turned towards Kyubey.
"An... irregular?"
"Nanoha Takamachi, Fate Testarossa-Harlaown and Homura Akemi's contracts weren't stipulated by me, or anyone else of my kind. In fact, Nanoha Takamachi and Fate Testarossa-Harlaown cannot be classified as Puella Magi at all."
Mami stepped back again, and started shaking.
"You..." she said, staring at Nanoha, "you traitor! What are you? A Witch?"
"I cannot rule out that possibility, but we can take for fact that they are against us." Kyubey calmly answered.
Nanoha stepped towards Mami.
"We're mages! We work for the-"
"Why should I believe you? You already lied to me!"
Mami summoned another musket and aimed it towards Nanoha, her grip on the weapon hard enough to make her knuckles white. Homura froze as she realized that the older Puella Magi was only a hair's breadth away from having a disastrous breakdown like in the third timeline.
No one will ever know if she would have shot Nanoha on the spot, though. In a flash of yellow light, Mami found her musket sliced in half and a yellow energy scythe dangerously close to her throat.
"I don't want to harm you," Fate said in a whisper, "but if you try to attack Nanoha again..."
The mage's eyes narrowed.
"... I will not hold back."
The shock was apparently enough to make Mami's brain start working again: the blond Puella Magi regained a serious face and slowly walked back, dropping the remains of her musket in the meanwhile.
"... Fine. It means that our collaboration ends here, Takamachi." she said coldly.
Nanoha opened her mouth to say something, but Fate raised an arm to stop her.
"She isn't going to listen to us now, and we also need a new strategy to overcome this situation. I'm afraid we have to retreat."
Retreat. Nanoha never liked that word, but her best friend was right: the atmosphere was tense enough that a wrong word would lead to a battle as dangerous as unnecessary.

"Are... are you sure that Nanoha-chan and the others are enemies?" Madoka asked.
Mami was accompanying the two uncontracted girls home, and was doing her best to hide her worries. If the three irregulars ever decided to attack her, she was done for: Mami was sure to be more experienced than any of them, but it was nowhere enough to allow her to win against three other magical girls at the same time.
"Yes," Mami answered, "There are three things in the magical world: Magical Girls, Kyubey and Witches. The first two work together to kill the latter before they kill people. And since Kyubey is the one who contracts Magical Girls in the first place, anyone who is against him isn't a good person."
"Besides, did you see Fate's weapon?" Sayaka asked, "It's a scythe! Only bad guys use scythes! Right, Mami?"
Mami didn't answer, and kept walking.
"... Mami?"
"...Oh? Sorry, I spaced out."
Sayaka stared at her for a couple of seconds, then smiled.
"If you're worried about them, don't! Madoka and I will contract and fight at your side!"
Mami widened her eyes.
"Really?"
"Of course! It's our duty as your juniors! Besides, three against one just isn't fair! Right, Madoka!"
"Er... Yes, I suppose..."
The pink-haired girl wasn't very sure about it, though. Madoka couldn't still get over the idea that Nanoha and Fate were evil: they had been classmates since the previous year, and they seemed nice girls. Nanoha even helped Sayaka and her with mathematics a couple of times, too.
"Thank you, but you should still choose your wish wisely," Mami advised, "besides, there's someone who might help us if I ask her in the right way."

The following morning, the atmosphere on the Asura was tense.
"Quiet backwater planet my ass." Lindy said in exasperation while re-reading the last report from the lab scientists. She was in the ship's conference room, waiting for the comlink to the headquarters to come online. It was the third time in five years that Unadministered Planet #97 became the focal point of a major incident.
"Ready to begin, ma'am." Amy announced. The Admiral sighed, and nodded in response.
Four holographic windows opened in front of her. The first one showed Nanoha, Homura and Fate sitting on the couch of the latter's house. The two mages were wearing their TSAB uniforms, while Homura was still dressed in the school's one.
The second window showed Admiral of the Navy Yaris, the head of the Dimensional Navy. He was a stout man with receding hair, and was nervously tapping a pencil on his desk.
In the third window there was Air Force General Miata who, on the other hand, was quite calm and collected. He was a tall man with gray hair and moustache, and patiently waited the beginning on the conference.
The last window showed Ground Forces General Mondeo. He was the youngest of the three officers, and was also quite slim.
After the initial greetings, Yaris began immediately the conference.
"We received a report about a possible crisis situation on Unadministered Planet #97. Is that right?"
"Yes, sir. I'm afraid that the surveillance on this planet was inadequate, as magical activity on vast scale has been missed by our scans." Lindy answered, "First Lieutenant Takamachi and Enforcer Testarossa-Harlaown made contact with a sentient race known as Incubators."
The Admiral pressed a button, starting the holographic equivalent of a slideshow. The first slide showed a photo of Kyubey, alongside with the data gathered by Raising Heart and Bardiche during their encounters.
"Native planet and technology level unknown. Combat data shows that they have no means of attack or defense, relying on complete body regeneration for survival.
A smaller window opened over the slideshow, showing the "battle" against Kyubey at the mall from Raising Heart's perspective.
"Their business on Earth is apparently that of recruiting prepubescent human girls as Puella Magi, their system equivalent of a mage, to fight monsters known as Witches. We managed to make contact with one of those Puella Magi, Homura Akemi. If you don't mind, can you explain how the Puella Magi system works?"
"Sure."
Homura began her explanation.

"... And that is all I know on the system."
"Thank you, Homura," Lindy said, "The Incubators are clearly violating several of our laws, most prominently those on the safety of magical systems."
"We have to admit that their goal is commendable, though." Mondeo interrupted her.
"There is no goal worth the sacrifice of unwitting innocent lives," Miata rebutted, "if we let them continue there will be millions of deaths, if not even more."
"Actually, this planet risks complete annihilation by May 1st." Homura corrected him. The statement was enough to shock the officers into silence.
The Puella Magi inhaled, and continued.
"On May 1st, a powerful conglomeration Witch known as Walpurgisnacht is going to appear in Uminari City. If she isn't killed fast enough, thousands of people will die. In order to defeat her, Kyubey, the local representative of the Incubator race, is pressuring Madoka Kaname into making a contract... that would ultimately cause her to become an even more powerful one,"
Lindy opened another holographic window, showing a dossier on Madoka, and continued for her.
"Madoka Kaname is a 14 years old girl living in Uminari City. For some reasons, her magical potential for the Puella Magi system is unnaturally high."
"How high?" Miata asked.
"Our magic ranking systems are unable to measure the kind of potential used by the Puella Magi system. However, by admission of the Incubators themselves, her Witch form would be able to completely engulf this planet in her barrier, and eventually destroy it." Lindy explained. "We're talking about a dimensional dislocation on the level of the Book of Darkness."
"And what if we destroy this Walpurgisnacht before miss Kaname contracts?" Yaris asked. The Admiral of the Navy was getting even more nervous.
"It is one of our priorities, but this would only slow down the Incubators at best. Their ultimate goal is to gather energy from the girls' transformation, so they aren't going to give up on her." Lindy answered.
"I see," Yaris said, relaxing slightly, "this means that our best course of action is to negotiate with the Incubators. The girl in exchange for them leaving the planet."
Lindy, Nanoha and Fate widened their eyes, shocked. Homura clenched her fists. How dares he...
"There are several uninhabited planets, some even in Unadministered Planet #97's solar system too. If we manage to convince the Incubators to make miss Kaname become a Witch there, they get their energy, we save Unadministered Planet #97, and no life is harmed. It's a win for everybody, especially considering that without anything to prey on miss Kaname's Witch is going to die by starvation."
"It seems reasonable," Mondeo agreed, "but in case the Incubators refuse our offer, we will have to deal with the girl ourselves."
For Homura, it was the last drop. The Puella Magi got up from the couch, and stared right into Yaris' window.
"Yurusenai!"
Homura spat out the word so fast that the Asura's automated translator didn't manage to translate it. As Yaris and Mondeo's expression showed that they didn't understand what she said, Nanoha decided to provide a translation herself.
"It means 'this is unforgivable'. I beg you to excuse her, Madoka-chan is a very dear person for Homura-chan."
The mage then glanced at her cousin.
"Homura-chan, calm down!"
"Do you have the faintest idea about who are you talking to?" Yaris asked. Miata raised a hand to stop him.
"She has a point, Admiral. While your suggestion is probably the safest course of action, I can't get over the idea that we have to sacrifice a girl who could be my granddaughter for it. First Lieutenant Takamachi, I assume you are the leader of the forward team?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then, my orders are to protect miss Kaname from any threat to her life, whatever the source is. You are authorized to use any means necessary. Is that clear?"
Nanoha smiled and saluted.
"Yes, sir! I promise that we will not fail! We'll protect Madoka-chan with our lives, if necessary!"
Homura and Fate nodded in agreement.
"I wasn't expecting any less from the Ace of Aces."
General Miata pronounced the last three words slowly, as if to give a warning to his colleagues. The other General and the Admiral of the Navy closed their communication links, a gesture which didn't suggest anything good.
"That was a dangerous decision, General," Lindy commented.
"I know," he answered with a sigh, "but if we managed to resolve the Book of Darkness incident without sacrificing the life of Special Investigator Yagami, I don't see why we should let this girl die. Now, you mentioned in your report that the Asura's scientists were working on the Dark Seeds. Did they discover anything useful to understand what are the magic mechanics of the Puella Magi system? Since we're probably going to fight the Incubators, knowing their system in instrumental in making our strategies."
"Not much, unfortunately." Lindy answered. "However, the data we gathered shows that the base mechanics aren't as different from traditional magic systems as we thought."
The Admiral re-opened the holographic slideshow and skipped to the slide with the Grief Seed's data.
"Analysis of Grief Seeds, the artifacts formerly known as Dark Seeds, showed that they contain the remains of a Linker Core melded together with what looks like a rudimentary Device. As the Grief Seed is what remains of a Puella Magi's Soul Gem when she transforms into a Witch, this suggest that the 'soul' miss Akemi talked about is in fact the contracting girl's Linker Core, forcibly extracted from their body and encapsulated into the Soul Gem, which acts as a Device of sorts."
Homura removed her ring, and transformed it back into her Soul Gem. The Puella Magi studied its glow for a bit, wondering if there was a limit about the amount of truths it housed.
"There are still some obscure points, though, like the reason why a Puella Magi instantly flatlines if the Soul Gem is destroyed or separated by more than thirty meters from its owner, and how exactly they are transformed into Witches." Lindy continued.
"That's better than nothing, I guess," Miata commented, "I suppose we cannot analyze any Soul Gem for now, right?"
"That's correct, unfortunately," Lindy answered with a sigh, "the only Puella Magi collaborating with us is miss Akemi, who is currently needed on the field, and the other one we made contact with was manipulated by Kyubey, the Incubator active in our area of operations, into believing that our forward team is helping the Witches."
Nanoha lowered her eyes. Homura had been right about Kyubey's ability to manipulate people: he deliberately helped Nanoha pose herself as a Puella Magi in order to make the revelation even more shocking to Mami.
The mage didn't listen much to the rest of the conversation. Her mind was busy doing the calculations for new spells, imagining battle scenarios, and preparing battle plans.

When, about an hour after the conference had ended, Nanoha started smiling, Fate realized that soon people was going to get befriended.