I'm back, and in record time too! In fact, an unforeseen effect of watching the third Madoka Magica movie was renewing my determination and inspiration about writing this fanfiction. Not only it took only about a month to write this chapter, it is also the longest yet. (And hopefully at least as good as the others.)

However... I'm still not fine with the movie. Most of it was good, but that ending is just stupid.

[SPOILERS AHOY!]

The plot twist at the end, Homura becoming Homurakuma, is just as bad as I thought it was going to be. I and my beta readers, Karrin Blue and Desdendelle, tried to wrap our heads around it... and ultimately agreed that Homura stealing a part of Madoka's powers and using it to rewrite and control the universe, including Madokami herself, is a plothole big enough to fit a Death Star in. (For those unfamiliar with Star Wars, it's the giant spaceship that originated the trope That's No Moon. Yes, it's that big.)

There's no explanation whatsoever about how she does it, aside from corrupting her soul gem with love or something like that (any Madoka Magica fan will agree that it isn't how Soul Gems work.)

And that's why the movie ends at the 1h40' mark for me. Madokami comes for Homura. End of story.

[END OF SPOILERS]

However, I realized that raging at it is useless. Gen Urobuchi and Akiyuki Shinbo are the ones who decide what is canon and what not, and I can't do anything about it.

But if my fanfiction ends up good enough that people like it better than the canon ending, they can't do anything about it. Achieving this would be my victory.

... And now I really sound like the disappointed fan claiming that his favourite series has been RUINED FOREVER!... which would become kinda true if they don't fix this mess in the next series or movie or whatever they are going to do. (Seriously, Shaft, hurry up and do an announcement.)

Don't worry, though - while I may have added a new goal, my main goal is still that to write a good fanfiction showing how the Lyrical Nanoha and Madoka Magica worlds would interact. I will not let the quality of IrregularS suffer for a petty rivalry. In fact, this is an incentive to start working even harder. I basically rerouted the energy of my rage into something calm, creative and constructive - a very zen feeling.

So, Shinbo, Urobuchi, show me that you didn't go badfic writer... because that would really mean that I became better than you. And that would be really crazy.

Anyways, enough of my useless bantering. Here's the new chapter as an early Christmas gift! Thanks to Desdendelle and Firemagic for betaing as usual.

Chapter Seven - For Your Own Good

Sayaka summoned a batch of cutlasses and started throwing them at the Familiar she was chasing. The blue-haired girl ran into it almost involuntarily, as she had noticed her that her Soul Gem was blinking by pure chance while she was out for a walk.
However, the Familiar, who looked like a small child's drawing of a girl (and, in fact, was two-dimensional), wasn't in the mood for becoming a pincushion and so kept running along the alley's green-tinted wall in several similarly sketchy vehicles.
Sayaka smiled as one of her swords managed to pin one of the Familiar's braids. Time for the finishing move.
And then, a segmented spear knocked away the cutlasses, allowing the Familiar to escape.
"What...?"
"That's a familiar, you idiot! It's not going to drop a Grief Seed!"
Sayaka turned around and found Kyoko calmly eating a popsicle. Yes, eating. The red-haired Puella Magi was taking huge bites out of it.
"And so? Familiars kill people too! Aren't we Magical Girls supposed to protect people?"
Kyoko sighed. "Jeez, you're really going knight in shining armour, aren't you? Well, let me get your priorities straight."
The red-haired girl walked towards Sayaka. "This isn't a freaking anime. The only way we can clean our Soul Gems is to use Grief Seeds, you get that?"
Sayaka blinked a couple of times. "Yes, and?"
"We only get them from Witches, and killing a Familiar before grows into one is both a waste of your magic and a lost Grief Seed," Kyoko glanced at the Familiar, who was leaving the alley. In a few seconds' time the walls lost the green hue caused by the creature's Barrier. "Wait for it to kill a couple more people, and then it will be worth killing."
"Wait for it to kill more people? What's wrong with you?" Sayaka said, taking a step back and pointing her cutlass at Kyoko. The red-haired girl didn't show any sign of reaction.
"Listen, I know you've got that blue head of yours full of justice and love and all that crap. But it isn't how the world works. The Familiars prey on very weak humans, depressed wrecks that would go kill themselves anyways a few days later. It's like the food chain... although I don't expect you to have paid attention at school when they teached that, so I will explain it for you."
Kyoko smirked. "Weak humans are eaten by Familiars, who then become Witches. And Witches are eaten by Puella Magi. Simple, huh?"
"Simple but disgusting!" Sayaka rebutted, her sword shaking from the anger, "I'll keep doing things the right way. So... go away. Just... go away."
Kyoko's smile widened. "What if I don't? You'll try to skewer me with that toothpick of yours? Well, I was kinda getting bored today, so feel free to try."
Sayaka took it as a cue to charge the annoying redhead... only for Kyoko to parry her diagonal slash with her spear's handle. With only one hand, too, as she was still holding her popsicle with the other.
"You gotta try harder if you want to be a threat, rookie," Kyoko said as she calmly finished her popsicle. The redhead then threw the wooden stick away and took a battle stance. "Get ready!"
Kyoko pushed Sayaka back with a kick in the belly and started slashing at her with her spear. The blue-haired girl managed to parry every blow, but the redhead's strength was enough to force her to take a step backwards every time.
"C'mon, is this all you've got? You claim you're a knight of justice, but you fight like a dairy farmer!" Kyoko taunted as she managed to push Sayaka's sword back to just an inch from her face. This, obviously, just enraged the self-proclaimed Ally of Justice further.
"I'll shut you up!" Sayaka screamed as she put all of her strength into pushing Kyoko back. The redhead realized it and jumped back, causing her opponent to lose her balance due to the sudden lack of a counteracting force.
Sayaka stumbled past Kyoko, who turned around... and had to swat away a couple of swords that the blue-haired girl had managed to throw in the meanwhile.
She recovered fast, Kyoko thought, I thought that she was going to fall.
However, the redhead managed to keep her composure. "Swords aren't supposed to be thrown, you know?"
"SHUT UP!" Sayaka screamed as she charged again, only to trip and fall after just a few steps. "What...?"
Sayaka just had the time to realize that her ankle had been caught by Kyoko's spear, which had broken apart into several segments chained together, before being slammed into the nearest wall.
"Jeez, if charging headfirst recklessly doesn't work, you don't attempt that again," Kyoko said while shifting her weapon back to a normal spear.
The redhead raised an eyebrow when Sayaka managed to get up again.
"Uh? That should've put you out of commission for at least a couple hours. How...?"
Kyoko then noticed the magic circles that formed on Sayaka's wounds. "Oh, now I get it. Healing-based magic. Don't tell me... You wished to heal somebody, didn't you?"
"What if it was?" Sayaka asked, her voice a low growl.
Kyoko gritted her teeth. That kind of wish never ended well, and she had discovered it the hard way. "Then you're a bigger idiot than I thought."
Sayaka readied herself for another charge as an answer. She never managed to actually attack, though, as yellow ribbons ensnared both her and Kyoko. "Enough."
Kyoko looked up towards the source of the voice. Predictably, the yellow ribbons were Mami's.
The blonde Puella Magi jumped down from the roof and landed between the two opponents.
"Fighting between us isn't going to help us in any way."
"She provoked me!" Sayaka rebutted.
Mami sighed. "I was afraid of that. Kyoko?"
"Hey, I was curious about her skills," Kyoko said to excuse herself, "she's kinda lacking, though."
Mami ladykiller-smiled at her again. "I see. Can you train her, then? You're a melee fighter like her, you'd do a better job than me."
"That smile ain't gonna work on me, Mami," Kyoko answered with a deadpan tone.
"Should I remind you that I'm in control of the ribbons?" Mami said as she tightened the ones that were holding the redhead.
"... Damn."

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Nanoha asked. She and Madoka were sitting inside the local fast food restaurant, as the pink-haired girl wanted to speak to her alone.
Madoka put down her cheeseburger. "Well, it's about what Kyubey said during our last Witch hunt..."
"I'm not a Witch, and Fate-chan isn't one either, if it is what you wanted to ask," Nanoha said with a reassuring smile, "But Kyubey is right on one thing. We aren't Puella Magi... but we're still magical girls."
Madoka gave her a puzzled stare while drinking her cola.
"The term we use is 'mage', and we use a different kind of magic. In fact, if you've noticed, I never used any Grief Seed - mages don't need them."
"But... why you told us that you were a Puella Magi? If you said that you were a mage, Mami wouldn't-"
"Mami doesn't know about mages... in fact, very few people do. Our kind of magic is really rare - I wouldn't be surprised if Fate-chan and I were the only mages on Earth now, actually."
"And Homura-chan?" Madoka asked.
"Homura-chan is a Puella Magi like Mami. But don't worry about her, she may seem cold but she isn't a bad girl."
"I see..." Madoka said, "But... do you know why, on the first day at school, she gave that warning only to me?"
"I do, but I can't tell you that," Nanoha asked lowering her eyes, "It... wouldn't be right. It's something she will tell you when she feels ready. Any other question?"
"Yes. Please, don't fight with Sayaka-chan and Mami!"
"I don't want to, trust me. Neither do Fate-chan and Homura-chan. I'd really like to be able to talk things down, for once..."
Nanoha leaned back on her seat and looked at the ceiling, leaving Madoka wondering what kind of situations had the brunette gotten in in the past.
The pink-haired girl had just finished her cheeseburger when she saw Sayaka walking towards her with Kyoko in tow. "Madoka, what the hell are you doing?"
"Uh, 'sup?" Kyoko said, unsure about what was going on.
"Sayaka, I... Ah!" Madoka said as the blue-haired girl grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out, leaving Nanoha and Kyoko behind.
"Homura-chan? Don't shoot Sayaka, please."
"Sorry?" Homura asked. Her tone, thought, betrayed that she was upset by something.
"I know you're looking right now."
"... No promises."

"Why were you talking to her?" Sayaka asked as she kept dragging Madoka around, earning the stares of several people on the street.
"Sayaka, it hurts! Let go!"
The blue-haired girl released the grip and turned around. "Nanoha's an enemy! You should stay away from her!"
"But... She said that she doesn't want to fight!" Madoka rebutted. Making Sayaka change idea about something was almost impossible, but she had to try.
"You believe her?"
"Sayaka, the only ones I saw being aggressive are you and Mami." Madoka said quietly.
"I... uh..." Sayaka stuttered, "Mami said that the transfer student attacked Kyubey, right? And Nanoha and Fate are her allies, right? So they're evil! Right?"
Madoka didn't answer.
"C'mon, Madoka, it's as clear as the sky!"
"Today's cloudy, Sayaka."
Sayaka looked upwards. Dang it, she's right.
"And I think your perception of them is being cloudy too. They're not as bad as you think."
"So that's why you were avoiding me and Mami today?" Sayaka asked with an accusatory tone, "Because you're actually on their side?"
"I'm not on anyone's side! I just don't-"
Sayaka turned away from her. "Don't say anything else. If you're not with me... it means you're against me."
"Sayaka, don't talk like that!" Madoka screamed desperately.
"I don't want to speak to you anymore. Go away."
Madoka took a couple steps back while staring at her friend. Then turned around and ran away as fast as she could, tears running down her cheeks.

Nanoha and Kyoko stared at each other awkwardly for a full minute.
"So..." Kyoko started, "can I sit here while I wait for that idiot to come back?"
"Sure."
The two girls remained in silence for another while.
"She's not an idiot," Nanoha said.
"Uh?"
"She's a bit hot-headed, but she's not stupid. Or, at least, I hope so."
Kyoko laughed. "A 'bit' hot-headed? Understatement of the year, miss... Wait, we didn't introduce ourselves, did we? I'm Kyoko Sakura."
"Nanoha Takamachi, eighth grader. I'm one of Sayaka's classmates."
Kyoko stared at the brunette in front of her. "Say what? That Takamachi?"
"Uh, maybe?" Nanoha said in confusion.
"The Takamachi that Mami thinks is out to get her?"
"... I guess so. But it's just a big misunderstanding!"
Nanoha stared nervously at the redhead. Her mannerism basically screamed "delinquent", and her clothes fit the stereotype too. Was Kyoko going to attack her there?
"I believe it," Kyoko said while eating a couple of fries stolen from Madoka's tray.
"Really?" Nanoha asked, her eyes wide open in disbelief.
"Yeah. When Mami asked me to come here saying that there were people after her... well, what she said made no sense. She's a nice girl and all, her cooking is top notch, but she can be irrational sometimes," Kyoko explained, "and about Kyubey... let's just say that I have my own reasons to not trust the little guy on everything he says. So, I don't care if you have a feud with Mami, it's a problem between you and her, but since she asked me to help I'd kinda like to know both sides of the story before skewering people, OK?"
Nanoha nodded. She didn't quite expect her to be the most sensible one. "... Sure. But it's a bit of a long story..."

"... And that's all."
Nanoha carefully left out of her explanation the fact that she was working for what was basically an alien military, but explained Kyubey's goals in full. Kyoko, rather surprisingly, had stopped eating after some of the shocking reveals.
"... Are you telling me a Halloween story out of season or something? 'Cause if you are, then you gotta give me candy too."
"You don't believe me?"
Kyoko shrugged. "Nothing personal, but I just don't trust anyone but myself. Don't feel offended if I don't believe the 'Witches are fallen Puellas' part of the story right away, but... Sorry, incoming call."
Kyoko tapped her temple slightly, meaning that someone was talking telepathically to her.
After a couple minutes, Kyoko spoke again. "Mami left a message for you. This evening, ten o'clock, abandoned construction site near the docks. You, Fate and Homura."
The redhead smirked. "I don't think she wants to talk."
"It would have been nice if she did," Nanoha said, "but I'll still keep trying reaching out to her."
Kyoko glanced at her in a 'you're wasting your time' sort of way before getting up. "Well, see you later. I gotta find Shining Blue Knight before she wastes all her magic on another Familiar."
Nanoha watched Kyoko as she exited the fast food restaurant. For once, someone actually bothered to listen to what she had to say. Without getting Divine Bustered first, that is.

Madoka kept looking at the ceiling of her unlit bedroom. It was almost ten in the evening, and the pink-haired girl was lying on her bed, clad in her pajama and with her hair down.
It was the first time she had quarrelled with Sayaka in such a way. There had been other times in which they didn't agree on something, but even in the rare case Sayaka lost her temper they always made up within minutes.
"Are you worried about Sayaka Miki?"
Madoka turned her head and saw Kyubey sitting on her desk.
"Yes. And also for all the others."
"You don't want them to fight between themselves, am I correct?"
"Yes... They shouldn't fight each other, they are all fighting for people's sake, right?"
"Unfortunately, conflict is in the nature of humans. In fact, their scheduled meeting is very likely to result in combat."
Madoka got in a sitting position and looked straight at him. "What? Where are they?"
"At the construction site near the docks. The meeting is scheduled for ten o'clock."
Madoka looked at the clock. She had just ten minutes, not enough to get there before them but hopefully before a fight broke out. The pink-haired girl jumped out of bed and took some clothes out of the wardrobe. "Uh, Kyubey, would you mind...?"
Kyubey tilted his head slightly. "I don't see why you are embarrassed about changing in front of me, as I don't have a gender and I'm from a different species."
"Kyubey, please!" Madoka said, blushing.
Kyubey jumped out of the window after glancing at her. "I just don't get it."

"Let me tell you this, Mami," Kyoko said while taking huge bites off a taiyaki, "I don't think today's couple hours of training were enough to make Shining Blue Knight here capable of facing anything stronger than another wide-eyed rookie."
The redhead was sitting on some abandoned piping inside the incomplete warehouse. Sayaka and Mami were with her, the latter looking at the entrance silently while the blue-haired girl, already transformed, was repeatedly throwing the same sword at a wood board in impatience.
While her fencing had improved from "waving your sword at the enemy's general direction", Sayaka was still unable to land an appreciable number of hits on Kyoko.
"It may be true, but if my plan works it isn't going to be a problem," Mami said, "besides, it's not three against one anymore. They might decide to give up."
"Don't worry, I'll be able to handle it!" Sayaka tried to persuade them.
"... Remember me, why am I even here?" Kyoko asked with a deadpan tone. Mami's plan heavily relied on at least one between Mami and Kyoko defeating one of the girls on Nanoha's team quickly, and Sayaka mostly evading until she could receive help.
Obviously, Kyoko didn't like that plan. It didn't take a genius to find out that it was inherently flawed: what if both Mami and Kyoko didn't have the superiority the blonde girl thought they had? What if Sayaka, being... well, Sayaka, decided to disregard the plan and go on full stab-them-for-justice mode?
The redhead didn't have time to voice her concerns, though, as Nanoha, Fate and Homura walked into the warehouse. All three of them were still wearing normal clothing, probably to avoid putting the other girls on edge.
"You're early," Mami said, her face showing no emotion.
Nanoha tried a reassuring smile. "We didn't want to risk being late. It's rude."
Mami just raised an eyebrow.
"We aren't here to fight," Fate added, "and we have no ill will towards any of you."
Mami didn't seem reassured by it. "I find hard to believe it. What are you after?... Or, what are you in the first place?"
Two ID holograms appeared next to Nanoha and Fate. "We're First Lieutenant Nanoha Takamachi and Enforcer Fate Testarossa-Harlaown of the Time-Space Administration Bureau," Nanoha introduced, "and we're in pursuit of a criminal known as Kyubey."
Mami couldn't find an appropriate response for that. Not only Kyubey was recruiting Magical Girls to fight Witches, but if he didn't come at the site of the car crash that had killed her family, she probably would've died from her injuries too. How could he be a criminal?
Kyoko was quite surprised too, but for a different reason. Wait, are they cops?
"Your Bureau is still misunderstanding, I see. My kind has the best for the whole universe in mind," Kyubey said as he calmly walked between them, making Homura grit her teeth. It was clearly in his interest to make a fight break out. "And remember, I can't lie."
"I don't know why your Bureau wants him, but I am pretty sure that Kyubey isn't a criminal," Mami said as soon as she regained confidence, "If you don't stop chasing him..."
The blonde Puella Magi transformed and aimed one of her muskets straight at Nanoha. "Then I'll have no choice but to kill you."
"I'm afraid we can't comply with that," Nanoha said, "if you let me explain things further-"
"ENOUGH!" Mami screamed as she pulled the trigger. Luckily for Nanoha, Raising Heart's Auto Guard function managed to bring up the Protection spell in time.
Both Fate and Homura took that as a cue to transform, quickly followed by Kyoko.
"I didn't want to fight," Nanoha said as she started to transform, "but if I don't have any other choice..."
Nanoha finished transforming and aimed Raising Heart towards Mami. "I will make you listen!"

Mami jumped through an incomplete section of the warehouse roof while firing another couple of muskets at Nanoha. The blonde girl's intention was to lure Nanoha out as per her plan: the TSAB girls were probably used to working together, so breaking the fight down to three one-on-one battles was the best option for Mami's team.
It worked: Nanoha flew out of the opening just as Mami landed on a nearby building.
The mage stopped in midair and stared at the blonde Puella Magi: Mami had quickly summoned a wall of muskets... all aimed at her.
Mami's intent was clear: since Nanoha could easily evade shots by flying, she was going to fill the air with the magical equivalent of anti-aircraft fire.
"Time to try out that new spell, Raising Heart!"
[All right.]
A magic circle formed under Nanoha's feet as she started preparing her spell.
"Axel Shooter..."
Several smaller circles, perpendicular to the main one, formed at Nanoha's side as Mami pulled her musket's trigger and caused all the others to fire.
"... Multifire!"
The circles began firing Axel Shooters, most of them hitting Mami's bullets. Pink explosions and dense smoke started filling the area between the two girls.
When the air cleared, both girls were still standing, albeit with some slight bruises and small rips on their outfits.
Nanoha and Mami stared at each other for less than a second before they resumed the fight. Or, rather, they tried, as Mami suddenly found herself immobilized by pink rings that appeared at her wrists and ankles.
Nanoha shifted Raising Heart into Buster form and aimed at Mami. "I'm sorry, but you'll understand in a bit..."
A pink sphere of mana started growing in front of Raising Heart's "head".
"Divine... Buster!"
The pink beam hit Mami, who dissolved into several ribbons. She made a fake out of them? Nanoha thought.
The mage turned around looking for her opponent, and found herself staring down the barrel of a Finale Cannon.
"Tiro... FINALE!"
Nanoha brought up a Round Shield just in time to absorb the brunt of the shot, which was still enough to shatter her protection spell and send her crashing into a nearby roof.
"I'm impressed," Mami said as she noticed that Nanoha was getting up to her feet again, "it's the first time that someone takes a direct hit from my Tiro Finale and still stands."
"It's powerful, but I've had worse," Nanoha simply said before getting up in the air again.
She isn't going to give up yet, Mami thought before jumping towards the mage while firing two more muskets. Nanoha retaliated with more Axel Shooters, the fight quickly becoming a chase with Mami jumping between rooftops and Nanoha following her in the air.
After a while, though, the blonde Puella Magi started having doubts about her chances of success. Nanoha could fly without any apparent effort, allowing her to keep up with the Mami easily, and she could also shoot homing projectiles. The blonde girl was also getting tired and running low on magic.
Then, Mami noticed a freight train leaving the docks. Time for a change of plans.

Nanoha hesitated when she saw Mami land on the last carriage of a train. Despite it being a freight train, fighting near to it was still too dangerous - a misplaced Divine Buster or Tiro Finale could make it derail, and Nanoha was still getting part of her pay docked due to the Cranagan Grand Hotel disaster.
Then, the carriage started glowing, and transformed into a railway gun.
"Tiro Esplosione!" Mami screamed as her new weapon fired. The shell, though, was rather slow and wasn't aimed at Nanoha, who wondered what was Mami's true intention.
Raising Heart, though, wasn't fooled.
[Airburst shell. Master, please initiate evasion.]
Nanoha shot up as fast as she could, barely managing to get out of the shell's blast radius before it exploded, its fireball oddly looking like fireworks. When the mage started looking down again, Mami was nowhere to be seen.

"I thought you didn't share Mami's views about us," Fate said to Kyoko. The redhead had attacked her right away, quickly pushing her out of the warehouse.
"And I don't," Kyoko reassured her while sliding a pocky in her mouth, "but I want to keep Goldilocks and Shining Blue Knight thinking that I do for now, or else they aren't gonna listen to me anymore. And believe me, they're pretty bad listeners already. Besides, no more cakes if I fall on their bad side."
Fate relaxed a bit, but Kyoko noticed it immediately. "Wait, I'm not against you but I wouldn't mind a bit of sparring."
Fate blinked. "What?"
"You know, to spice life up a bit," Kyoko explained with an huge grin, "besides, I tried trading blows with the bluehead today, but she was really hopeless. Kinda left me unsatisfied. So, do you fancy the challenge?"
Fate smiled and shifted Bardiche in Haken form. Despite the deeply different personality, there was... something about Kyoko that reminded her of Signum. "I won't lose."
"Then... Here I come!" Kyoko said as she launched herself towards Fate, spear out for a stabbing lounge. The blonde mage Sonic Moved away from the attack and behind her, retaliating with an Haken Slash.
Kyoko managed to parry the blow despite being pushed several feet backwards. Mami was right, she thought, Barbie Reaper here is damn fast.
"Yeah, that's more like it!" Kyoko said out loud as she charged again. The two girls kept slashing at each other, sparks flying everywhere as energy blade met magical steel.
The redhead had to admit it: despite the fact that scythes made fairly impractical weapons, Fate was really good at using hers, as she managed to parry every blow no matter the angle or speed.
Kyoko tried another jump-and-stab combo, only to stab a shipping container. The readhead discarded the stuck spear and summoned another one just in time to lock blades with Fate again.
"You're a tough cookie, aren't you? It's the first time someone lasts this long against me without losing even a single drop of blood," Kyoko complimented her. Indeed, apart from a couple rips in her cape, Fate was still unscathed.
"You're very skilled too," Fate said, "I didn't manage to land a blow on you even once."
Kyoko shifted her spear into the chained form. "Time to up the stakes a bit?"
The new shape of the redhead's weapon managed to surprise Fate. She had dismissed the earlier feeling of similarity with Signum as an artifact of her mind, but the new form of Kyoko's spear now had more than a passing resemblance to Laevatein's Schlangeform.
The mage didn't let herself be distracted by that, though, and shifted Bardiche into Zanber form. "As I already said, I won't lose."
Fate charged in, using her Sonic Move to avoid getting caught in her opponent's weapon. The mage readied herself to strike, but Kyoko took advantage of that split second and jumped back, ensnaring Bardiche's blade with her chained spear at the same time.
"That's the problem with big freaking swords: they get caught up in things!" Kyoko said as she pulled on the handle to launch herself at Fate, only for her flying punch to met a Round Shield.
Fate dispelled Bardiche's blade for a split second, freeing it from the chained spear, and Sonic Moved behind Kyoko. The redhead turned around, but it was too late: the blow sent her against a nearby container.
Fate readied herself for a possible counterattack as Kyoko got on her feet. She looked fine, despite the impact being strong enough to cave in the side wall of the container.
"Now that's what I call a good fight!" Kyoko said as she turned her weapon back into spear form and leaned it against her shoulder, "haven't had this fun in a while."
"Yes, it was a very good duel. I enjoyed it too," Fate agreed.
Kyoko smiled at her. "Well, I gotta go now, Have to get a couple Seeds to restore the magic I spent but, damn, it was worth it. See ya!"
Kyoko jumped away without leaving Fate any time to say goodbye, using her spear to get leverage on walls and containers and quickly disappearing from view.

Sayaka stared at Homura. The black-haired girl was incredibly calm for someone mere feet away from assorted acts of gunnery and slicing, and in fact she wasn't holding any weapon aside from a small buckler strapped to her left arm.
However, she was an enemy, so Sayaka predictably charged straight at her. The Ally of Justice raised her sword for a decapitating swing, screaming at the top of her lungs, but the blade met only air.
Sayaka looked around, confused. She was pretty sure her swords didn't have the ability to disintegrate people on contact.
"I'm here," Homura said from behind her. Sayaka turned around and thrusted her sword in a stabbing motion, only for the black-haired girl to disappear again. "... What?"
Then something cold and hard, likely Homura's buckler, hit her on the back of her neck. Sayaka stumbled forward for the blow and started throwing sword after sword in rage.
It wasn't more successful, though - Homura kept disappearing and reappearing elsewhere before the swords could hit her.
"STOP CHEATING!" Sayaka screamed, earning a glare from Homura.
And then the Ally of Justice only felt pain. Lots of it.

Homura walked towards Sayaka in the safety of her time stop. She had promised Nanoha to not shoot or bomb the blue-haired idiot, but since Sayaka was the one who started attacking it was fine to use her as stress relief, right?
Homura punched her in the gut repeatedly, following every fist with the reason why she deserved it. Being an idiot, letting herself be blinded by "justice", being an idiot, making Madoka worry needlessly, being an idiot, letting herself be overcome by despair every single time, being an idiot... the list was long.
Homura stopped for a breather as she considered adding a final offense. Probably punishing her in the way the black-haired girl had in mind was a bit too much... but then again, it was a terrible offense.
Yes, she deserved it. Homura kicked Sayaka right under the skirt. Despite her not being a male, a kick there was still bound to hurt. "And this is for tickling and groping Madoka."
Homura let time resume. She felt much better.

Sayaka fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
"Give up," Homura said coldly as the blue-haired girl struggled to get up, "you lack both the skill and experience to face a stronger opponent."
"Like hell I would do that," Sayaka rebutted, "I fight for justice. It's my duty to fight Witches and witch-helping villains like you."
"Justice? I fight Witches just like you do. And yet, you're trying to kill me."
Sayaka pointed her sword at her. "Then, why you fight Kyubey too?"
"Because I know the truth," Homura said while flicking her hair, "but I don't think you're going to listen to it."
"Yeah, you can save up your lies for someone else. Or maybe not, since I'm stopping you here!"
Sayaka charged again, only for Homura to disappear again before tripping her. Sayaka fell again, her sword clanging on the ground.
"Do you think you can really trust Kyubey?" Homura asked as Sayaka got on her feet again.
"Shut up! You only want to kill us!"
Homura pulled out a Beretta M9 from her shield and aimed it at Sayaka. "Kill you? If I wanted to, I would've done it already. All I need to do is to shoot your Soul Gem... and you can imagine the rest."
Sayaka gritted her teeth. Homura, with her ability to teleport around, could indeed shoot her without leaving her any way to defend herself. But then again, she didn't. Maybe the gun was just a toy.
"Don't try to bluff your way with me!" Sayaka said as she charged again.
"SAYAKA, NO!"
Sayaka's eyes widened as she recognized Madoka's voice. The blue-haired girl stopped and turned towards her.
Sayaka didn't know how Madoka found them, but stabbed people were something the Ally of Justice didn't want her to see. Yeah, that was the reason. Not the fact that she was getting owned.
"Go away, Madoka! This is between me and her!"
"For once, I agree with her," Homura said, "it's too dangerous here."
"It doesn't have to!" Madoka tried to persuade them, "please, Sayaka-chan, listen to what they have to say!"
Sayaka ignored her and attacked Homura again, who predictably "teleported" again and retaliated with another blow on the neck.
"Stop!" Madoka screamed desperately as Sayaka threw a whole batch of swords at Homura, only to have them deflected by bullets coming apparently from nowhere.
"This... this isn't right... they shouldn't be fighting..."
"Unfortunately, they're not going to stop," Kyubey calmly said as he walked next to Madoka, "in fact, it is very likely that one of them will die. But you have a way to stop them."
"I... can?" Madoka asked with an uncertain tone of voice.
"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!" Homura screamed before dodging another of Sayaka's charges.
"Yes. You can stop all of this."
"Then... I wish-"
Madoka didn't manage to end her wish as Kyubey got promptly impaled by one of Sayaka's swords. The pink-haired girl squeaked and took a couple steps back from the carcass.
"It... It wasn't me!" Sayaka said, "It must've been the transfer student!"
"I won't allow Madoka to contract," Homura said with almost no emotion on her voice. The black-haired girl bit her lips - she wanted to prevent Sayaka from contracting too, but the blue-haired girl acted way faster than in the previous timelines.
"So... you're not denying it?" Sayaka asked, her words dripping with anger, "You... You just killed Kyubey! And you're completely cool about it! Are you even human?"
Homura was tempted to say that neither of them was, but she still remembered Fate's words.
It doesn't matter if your soul is in an artificial body or a little jewel: as long as you have it, you're human!
"If killing him would solve the problem, I would've done it already," Homura said instead, "but it doesn't work. Right... Incubator?"
"Incubator...?" Sayaka asked as Kyubey walked out of the shadows and stopped near his dead body.
"I killed him countless times already, but he always keeps coming back." Homura continued.
"Frankly, I'm surprised you still didn't give up. This body is only a vessel, I can make as many new ones as I want."
Kyubey pondered Homura's words. The black-haired Puella Magi said "countless" with a weary tone, but in fact it was only about a dozen times.
"This doesn't mean I can forgive you!" Sayaka stated as she readied for another charge.
"NO!" Madoka screamed as she ran between the two opponents to force them to stop the fight.
It was too late: Sayaka has already started running, and didn't have enough space to stop. Both girls' eyes widened in terror as they realized what was inevitably going to happen.
Then, Madoka disappeared just like Homura did several times. Sayaka managed to stop, and saw at her side Homura kneeling next to a very scared Madoka.
"Are you alright?" Homura asked with an almost unbelievably tender note in her voice. Madoka nodded as she was still too shaken to talk.
The black-haired girl then turned towards Sayaka. "You call yourself an ally of justice, but I've only seen a fool who nearly stabbed her best friend."
Sayaka took some steps back. Homura was right. In fact, if it wasn't for her intervention, Madoka would've probably been dead.
The Ally of Justice ran away. How could she face Madoka again after this?
Kyubey kept watching as Homura offered Madoka to walk her home. That short battle gave him an important piece of information.
So, this is your power, Homura Akemi.

A little note about the new move I came up with for Mami, Tiro Esplosione. Those of you versed in Italian will realize that it's wrong - it should be called Tiro Esplosivo. Why I, an Italian, got it wrong? Because I didn't. Mami did.

Mami isn't Italian, but named most of her moves in that language despite knowing very little of it (probably because it sounded cool). The result is that some of the names are actually wrong on a grammatical level.

For example, in the drama CDs Mami uses "regale" as a name for her binding move. However, the word she was looking for is another - "legare", meaning "to tie up". The one she actually used means "royal". It's probably an artifact of the l/r confusion Japanese people have, but those kind of errors (something that sounds cool but is actually stilted) fit Mami perfectly - she looks refined, dependable and wise, but inside she's just as broken as any other of the main PMMM girls.