Everything became surprisingly normal again, despite the experience with the bombing. Although, Sayaka did continue with some independent internet research at home. She stumbled across all kinds of conspiracy theories related to the incident, and relaying her findings to her friends became part of her daily routine for a while.

Homura was still stuck at the front of the class most of the time, but would always join their group during lunch and after school, as well as during gym class. Of course, it was always about Madoka. Wherever Madoka went, Homura seemed to want to be there too, and vice versa.

Sayaka and Hitomi would sometimes joke about how close Madoka and Homura were becoming, and Sayaka figured Hitomi didn't realize how much truth there actually was to their gentle teasing.

Every day when Homura needed to take her daily trip to the nurse's office for her medication, Madoka would join her. Madoka didn't know what Homura's condition was, but it made her feel concerned.

"Don't worry about it." Homura said one day, when Madoka expressed her feelings.

"But… I don't know, the fact that you don't talk about it makes me worry…" Madoka confessed, "It's like you are trying to protect me from something that might upset me, but that just makes me worry more because I can't help but think it's much worse than you are letting on."

Homura sighed as she slowed her pace, and turned to Madoka with her gentle smile. "I use to have a heart condition." She explained, "It's all better now, and I honestly don't even need the medications anymore." Madoka didn't seem too convinced, and her frown deepened. "Really, at this point taking the medications is just for keeping up appearances, so they don't worry about letting me leave the hospital."

"But… It's really hard to believe that… I-I don't think you are lying to me… but…"

Homura's face fell into that deeper expression she would sometimes get. "Madoka… I don't want to lie to you. I've done that before, and…" Her eyes shifted, "I mean… this time I want to be more honest."

"This time?" Madoka asked, confused by Homura's words and her sudden change in expression. Homura's mouth opened, and closed again, like she wanted to say something but couldn't quite bring herself to. "Homura… if you want to tell me something…"

"Homura Akemi?" They both startled as someone interrupted their conversation. They hadn't noticed a girl had come around the corner, and she now approached Homura. She had yellow hair and, based off her uniform, she was a grade above them. Homura turned to her, and Madoka noticed the slight narrowing of Homura's eyes.

"Yes?" Homura asked.

The girl smiled softly, "I thought that was you."

Madoka looked back and forth between them. The blonde girl had a soft expression, but her eyes were intense. Homura didn't try to hide her own animosity towards this girl, as her sharp eyes and hard expression were in equal measure with each other. "Uh-um… Homura? Is this a friend of yours?"

"No. Not exactly." Homura said, flatly. "We just have a mutual acquaintance."

"I-I see… um…" She turned to the girl and bowed her head softly. "Well my names Madoka Kaname."

The girl smiled. "Sorry, I was being rude." She returned the bow and said, "I'm Mami Tomoe. It's nice to meet you."

"Did you want something?" Homura asked, cutting off the pleasantries. She typically wasn't very expressive, so there wasn't exactly hostility in her voice, there was just her characteristic lack of emotion which could often come off as harshness. Still, Madoka got the impression that Homura was troubled by this girl's presence.

"I did." Mami spoke calmly. "I was hoping for a chance to speak with you… it involves our mutual friend."

"Acquaintance is a better word, but fine. Now is not the best time, however."

"After school then?"

"Fine." Homura said, "We have to go now. We don't want to be late. Come on, Madoka." And with that Homura continued on her way, and put an end to the short exchange.

Madoka was left behind for a moment, trapped between two thoughts. Madoka thought this girl seemed pleasant enough, but It was clear Homura had some kind of issue with her. Whatever the problem was, Madoka figured it had to involve this 'mutual acquaintance' of theirs. "Um, well it was nice to meet you." Madoka said to Mami, her fidgeting hands showed she was anxious to catch up with Homura.

"Indeed, and we will probably be seeing each other again." Her smiled faded somewhat, into a more serious expression, and she said, "Be careful of that one. She isn't what she seems."

"Huh?" Madoka wanted to question what she meant by that, but the senior already started on her way down the hall again. Madoka delayed for a moment, glancing from Homura, and back to Mami who were each heading in opposite directions. Then, she started walking with quick steps and went after Homura.


"Mami Tomoe." Homura said, her hand still held tightly to her left shoulder. "I don't think I ever hated her… yet, her existence has been nothing but trouble for me."

"She's the one who killed your friends." The witch said, "Why don't we look at that memory? Few things of your life are ever clear to me, but certain intangible things do come through... Despair is what I can most easily decipher. The despair of that day was truly wonderful." Her hand waved out over the field of spider lilies, and their petals danced in response. "This garden rarely appeared brighter."

Rarely… if Homura thought about it she could easily pick out which days this garden was the brightest.

She and the witch sat at the top of the hill, and they stared down at the red valley together. The witch's servants, the claras, continued their march from the next hill over. When Homura looked over to them she felt a cold wind blow. They were getting closer. She could now clearly see the shape of the box that was to be her coffin.

"There's no need to look back on that memory." Homura said, calmly. "There hasn't been such an outcome with Mami in many timelines."

"Yet it proves my thesis quite well, doesn't it? The only end for Mami Tomoe is despair. You can hide the truth from her, but that's more false hope. It cannot last forever."

"I don't care much for Mami Tomoe's despair one way or another." Homura said, "I'd like to save her if I can, but her fate is inconsequential to my true goals."

"Madoka Kaname." The witch said, and hearing such a beautiful name spoken by such a wicked creature caused Homura's blood to boil, and her hand grasped her shoulder even tighter. "I've been your passenger for a long time, but I've never understood your dedication to her. Why you sacrifice so much for this one girl's well being."

"No… I suppose you would never understand that." Homura said, "I'm sure it's impossible for a creature like you to understand such feelings."

The witch's head turned, and the wooden jaw opened very slightly. Homura realized that must be the closest thing to a smile this creature could pull off. "Whether I understand it or not, I don't complain with the results. Her existence has caused you so much despair."

"No." Homura said flatly. "If that is what you think then you really understand nothing at all. Madoka is the only thing that brings me happiness. She is what keeps me from giving into those negative feelings." Homura looked back at the witch, refusing to falter under the unseeing gaze of her button eyes, which hung loosely by thin red threads stitched into the doll-like face. "I suppose, she is what gives me the strength to resist you."

"How ironic." The witch's head turned in it's odd unnatural way, and it went back to staring out over the flowers. The clara's were gradually making their way through the valley and Homura judged they were now halfway between their starting point and their destination. "That's just the nature of false hope. It can be rather annoying, but when all is said and done it makes the eventual despair all the sweeter."

"I don't know what you are talking about with false hope. What Madoka represents to me is nothing like that. It's so much simpler, yet so much more powerful." Homura held tighter to herself. With her arm crossed over her chest, she became more aware of her own heartbeat. "What Madoka is to me transcends things like hope and despair… for me… Madoka is-"


Homura held Madoka's hand as she led her up the stairs.

"Um… Homura. Can you tell me why we are here already?" Madoka asked, blushing lightly as she glanced back down the stairs. Homura always had a mysterious quality to her, but right now it was even more apparent than usual.

After school, Homura asked Madoka to accompany her for the day, only offering the explanation that there was something important she needed her for. They took the city bus without Madoka knowing where they were going, but before arriving at their destination Homura revealed that they were going to the hospital. This caused Madoka to start racking her brain for an answer to why Homura would want to bring her to a place like that, and it partly made her worry it had something to do with their conversation about Homura's health earlier.

When they got there, Homura didn't check in at the lobby, or head for a room to visit anyone. Instead, she told Madoka that they were going up to the roof.

Having still not received a straight answer as they neared the top flight of stairs, Madoka finally got frustrated and shouted, "Homura!" Homura stopped her progress, and turned to look back at Madoka who stood a few steps lower than her. "I said, can you tell me why we are here? It's… well, the way you are acting… is starting to worry me a little…"

"I'm sorry." Homura said, "I'm just not sure how to explain what's about to happen… or rather, I don't think I could explain it in a way that you would believe me, so I thought it would be best to just show you."

"That… really doesn't help."

"I know." Homura said simply, and Madoka couldn't help rolling her eyes. "Do you remember that girl we spoke to in the school hallway. Mami Tomoe?"

"Yes?"

"She is going to meet us on the roof. I came to speak with her… and… It's a conversation I thought you should hear."

"Oh… um, well what's it about?" Madoka asked.

"I think it'll be best to save explanations for when we get there."

Homura then continued to lead the way up the stairs, and Madoka felt like she had no choice but to just follow.

"Um… how exactly did you and Mami meet? The two of you kind of seem like you don't like each other."

"I don't know her feelings, but I don't think it's necessarily that we don't like each other. We just have very opposing views on certain things… and as for how we met… well..." Homura's eyes shifted to the side and that mildly humorous grin that only Madoka ever got to see appeared on her face, "You were there."

"I… was?" Madoka thought back, trying to figure it out, then her eyes widened. "You mean… in the school hallway today? But that doesn't make any sense at all!"

"Well, we were at least aware of each other, through the mutual acquaintance we spoke of. That moment is the first time we had ever actually exchanged words, however."

"Listen… I don't like all this mystery." Madoka said, "Can you please explain what's going on? And why it's so important for me to come meet with her? And on the roof of the hospital of all places!?"

"Like I said, it would be very difficult to explain. You are just going to have to see things first hand." She looked Madoka in the eyes with that loving expression that came more and more easily, and it made Madoka blush. "You may hear some negative things about me… but can I ask that you keep faith in me?"

"What?"

Homura held out her hand, asking Madoka to take it again. "I'm asking you to trust me."

"Um…" Madoka's hands folded together at her chest as she looked up at Homura who stood a few steps above her. She didn't understand what was going on here, but whatever it was, she knew Homura was being sincere. "Y-yes… of course I trust you… but…"

Madoka slowly reached out her hand, and Homura took it with a firm yet gentle touch. "Let's just get this over with." Homura said, trying to hold the smile but Madoka could see she was at least a little bit troubled. Before Madoka could say anything else, Homura led her the rest of the way up the last story, and stopped at the door at the very top. She glanced back to her with one more serious expression. "The mutual acquaintance we talked about may also be here. His name is Kyubey. If he does show up, don't believe a single word he says."

"What?" Madoka asked, but before she could question that last statement any further, Homura opened the door and led her outside.

Compared to the dark stairwell, the outdoor sunlight felt blinding, and it took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust. She shielded them with her free hand, her other still in Homura's embrace, and looked around. There was no one here. "I guess we are early." Madoka said.

"No. She's here." Homura answered, then glanced over her shoulder. "You can come out."

Madoka, separating her hand from Homura's, turned around just in time to see Mami landing in a crouch behind the two of them. She must have jumped down from the small structure just above the stairwell. Madoka flinched, and took a few steps back until Homura was between herself and Mami.

"I'm surprised you brought her here." Mami said, as she raised back to a stand. "Why is that?"

"Well for one…" Homura answered, brushing her hair back. "So you would be less likely to try to ambush me once I got here."

Mami gulped and she took a step back, "I was…" The directness seemed to have caught her off guard, but she quickly straightened her posture and regain her confident pose. "Well, you are the one who insisted on this secluded location! I only would have used my binding magic, to make sure you didn't try anything funny. I had no intentions of harming you."

"I know." Homura said, calmly. "However, it's hard to have a mutual discussion under those circumstances. I imagine it would turn more into you just listing your own demands… well, let's not get off on the wrong foot here. What do you say we call a truce for now?"

Mami relaxed, and let the hard expression fall off her face and become somewhat softer. "You're right."

"Besides, that isn't the real reason I brought Madoka here. It was a slight benefit to her presence, but she is here for the simple fact that what we have to talk about directly involves her, and I think she has a right to hear what we have to say."

"Alright then. How about you start by explaining why you set that bomb off in the mall?"

For what felt like a long moment, no one said a word. A cool wind blew across the rooftop of the mall, blowing each of their skirts and bringing with it the ambient sounds of traffic, mostly originating from the highway that could be seen far off in the distance over the west side of the hospital's roof.

Madoka shook her head and took a step forward, putting on one of her rare stern faces and confronting the blonde senior. "That's ridiculous!" Madoka shouted at her, "How could Homura possibly do something like that? It's clear the two of you have some kinds of differences, and I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt… but if you are just going to come up with wild accusations! Then-"

"Madoka." Homura held out a flat palm, signaling Madoka to stop. Her voice was slow and dark. "She is right. I did it."

Madoka, involuntarily took a few steps backwards. Was this some kind of joke?

"So… you're admitting it?" Mami asked, folding her arms.

"I have no reason not to." Homura said, "Besides, I wouldn't simply stand here and bold face lie about something you already know for a fact."

"I see…" Mami's eyes narrowed, "Then why did you do it?"

The wind blew a few strand of hair across Homura's face. She raised a hand and brushed it back around the side of her head, all the while meeting Mami's intense gaze and not flinching an inch. "Why do you think?" Mami didn't seem to have an answer, and just continued to stare her down. Homura explained; "I needed a way to evacuate the mall, so no one would be harmed by the witch."

"That sounds like a little overkill to me."

"Perhaps, but it was effective. I was careful with my placement of the bomb, and the time it would go off. Not a single person was hurt and the damage was actually rather minimal."

Madoka had been listening to their conversation with a completely perplexed expression on her face. "Uh… um…" She wanted to get a word in, but she wasn't even sure what to say. The kinds of things they were saying were so bizarre and lacked any kind of context, it was like she was watching them rehearse a random scene from the middle of a play. She had no idea what was going on.

"Then what about you constantly attacking Kyubey?" Mami asked, "How do you explain that?"

"It's simple." Homura said, and glanced back to Madoka who still looked completely lost. "I want to prevent Madoka from becoming a Magical Girl."

Finally, Madoka had enough. "Is this some kind of joke?" She said, practically shouting. Then her tone lowered again as she addressed Homura. "Homura… i-if that's what this is, then you have really gone too far… a-and, I wish the two of you would stop it."

Mami gave the pinkette an amiable smile. "So then, I'm guessing Homura hasn't told you anything about it yet, has she?"

Madoka just stared back, still completely confused by the situation. They both seemed completely serious, and nothing about their tones suggested it was a joke, but the things they had been saying were just preposterous. What was a Magical Girl in the first place anyway?

Homura eventually answered for her, "I haven't told her a thing."

"I see…" Mami said. She turned and started walking to the other end of the roof, "Well then, I suppose there is a lot that needs to be explained." With her back turned, she started pulling at her finger, trying to remove the silver ring that she kept there. "I suppose it's best to just start with this…"

As she turned back toward Madoka, she held out the ring that was now in her palm, and it started to glow brightly. At first, Madoka thought she had taken out a flashlight, but then the light seemed to sink into her skin. It crawled up her forearm then spread across her chest, and soon her entire body was covered with it.

Madoka's mouth dropped wide open as she watched, unable to fully believe what she was seeing. The light took a physical form, and became yellow as it expanded outward and took on the shape of circular ribbons which surrounded her. Beneath those ribbons, Madoka could make out the outline of the senior's body, and her school uniform had completely disappeared. This only lasted a moment, before the ribbons snapped tight around her limbs and torso again, and new clothing started to appear.

Madoka gasped, and tripped when she tried to step back. She would have fallen right on her butt, but Homura quickly moved over to help steady her, placing one hand on the small of her back, and grabbing her forearm with the other. "Wah-wah-what!" Madoka shouted, apparently totally lost for words.

Mami bowed as the transformation complete. When she raised back up she looked at Madoka with a smile. "As I said, we are both Magical Girls."

"You should have eased her into it." Homura said, with a touch of coldness to her voice. "Rather than showing off so abruptly and scaring her."

Mami frowned slightly, "I am sorry if I've frightened you… I didn't think there any words we could use to make you believe us, so I figured we could just show you."

Madoka shook herself out of it, and took a step forward. Homura let go of her but remained within arms distance. "N-no, I'm not frightened… just a little shocked is all… um…" She looked Mami up and down, examining the seniors new clothing. Then she looked back over to Homura, with a touch of excitement in her eyes. "Homura, are you saying you can do something like that as well?"

Homura's gaze fell to the side, and her face had not a trace of humor or excitement to match Madoka's. "I can."

"You might as well show her." Mami said, folding her arms and grinning sheepishly.

"No." Her answer held a certain weight to it which stripped any casualness from the atmosphere. "I only transform when I intend to fight. Never for the purpose of showing off. Only fools with a death wish would partake in such a practice." She walked to the other end of the roof and leaned over the railing to look down below.

Mami didn't seem too gratified with Homura's attitude, and her own voice became somewhat harsher. "I still would like to know why exactly you wish to harm Kyubey, and why you want to prevent Madoka from becoming a Magical Girl herself."

"I do not care what happens to Kyubey. Bringing him harm is not my goal. All I want is to spare Madoka from having to share our fate."

"Or more like you don't want more competition inside your territory. Is that it?"

"Um… territory?" Madoka asked.

"Typically, Magical Girls don't tend to get along with each other." Mami explained, "Our mission is to fight witches, creatures who feed of human despair, and we all share that goal. However, defeating a witch offers certain rewards which allow us to keep our powers. There are a limited number of witches to fight, and therefore many Magical Girls become territorial and fight with each other." Mami pointed at Homura, who stared back with her typical unrevealing expression. "I'm guessing that's the kind of Magical Girl Homura is. Based on her actions, it's clear that she is trying to take over this territory for herself. Befriending you and Sayaka Miki was likely just a way to keep track of other competition."

Madoka clasped her hands at her chest and took a step towards Mami. "No! Homura wouldn't do that! She's not that kind of person at all, and you know nothing about our friendship, so you have no right to say something like that!"

Mami frowned apologetically, "Don't get me wrong, I'd actually like nothing more than for all of us to get along. Her actions have been very suspicious, however." Mami sighed, "Madoka, I don't know if you would understand this, but you actually have the potential to become one of the most powerful Magical Girls Kyubey has ever contracted. Just as someone like you appears, Homura then comes out of the woodwork and tries to prevent that contract from happening? It's too obvious what her real intentions are when it's looked at from that angle."

Madoka shook her head. Mami words felt like knives, and she just couldn't believe them. Surely this was all a misunderstanding. Homura wasn't very good at expressing herself, but Madoka was able to see through to the person she truly was on the inside and knew she wouldn't be so underhanded. Besides that, the way she felt when she was around Homura - that warm uplifting feeling - the mere suggestion that it all could be a lie made Madoka angry that this Mami Tomoe would jump to such a conclusion. "You… you're just wrong! Ok? You don't know anything about Homura at all!"

"Madoka, she bombed a populated shopping mall!" Mami said, "Who knows how many people could have gotten hurt? I'm trying to warn you, she is not what she appears to be."

"B-but… she did it for good reasons… and no one actually got hurt…" The resolve in her voice quavered somewhat, it being hard to justify such an action, but she looked over to Homura for reassurance. When their eyes met, that warm smile touched Homura's lips once again.

Homura took a few steps forward. "I know my actions seem odd, but there is reason for everything I do. You think I only care about GriefSeeds, correct? Well… Have I actually impeded on your GriefSeed collection? In fact, the incident at the mall should have made things easier for you, since you didn't have to worry about any humans getting hurt in the process."

"That's true…" Mami said, "But how do I know that's not just trying to gain my trust? Don't take this the wrong way, but you do seem the manipulative type."

"Didn't you say yourself it seemed like overkill? Wouldn't that be even more so if the whole thing was for the sake of earning your trust? Furthermore, if falsely gaining your trust was my goal, surely those actions wouldn't accomplish that."

"To tell the truth, I'm really not sure what to make of you." Mami said.

"Then perhaps it would be best to reserve judgment for now." With that, Homura flicked her hair back and walked over to the railing of the hospital. "There is another reason I chose the hospital for our meeting." She looked over her shoulder and stared at Mami through the corner of one eye. "Can you feel it?"

Mami stared back with suspicion in her eyes, until she realized what Homura was talking about, then quickly ran over to where she was standing and look down from over the railing. "A labyrinth?" Mami gasped.

Homura nodded. "It opened soon after I arrived. We have around ten minutes before the witch manifests and begins to feed. Shall we go after it together?"

Mami gaped for a second, then her eyes narrowed. "You knew it was here. How?"

"I have my ways." Homura replied. "I didn't place it here, if that's what you're thinking. I merely realised an opportunity, and seized it."

"Seized it?"

Homura's lip twitched upwards. "You don't trust me, and words are never going to change that after the mall. So what better way for you to see what I truly am than in battle, fighting at your side?"

Mami stared at Homura for a long moment, as if trying to see through a pokerface and figure out if her opponent were bluffing or not. Finally, she agreed. "Alright fine, I suppose I don't have a choice. I'll be keeping my eye on you, though, and if I even think you are trying anything funny I'll have to act first."

"Fine." Homura said, and then clasped her palm around her ring on the opposite hand.

Beneath her palm there was a bright light, and rainbow colored rays shot out from between her fingers. Madoka watched with fascination as the light became more fluid and started to pour itself over Homura's body, and it stripped away her clothing. The light would flash between all colors of the rainbow until it gradually settled on a purple hue, then expanded away from her body and morphed into purple ribbons as it had done for Mami. Homura's slender form could be seen under the ribbons, then they snapped back around her body, and with sudden flashes of light her new Magical Girl clothing appeared.

Homura was less theatrical about the transformation, and simply brushed a few loose strands of hair around the side of her head once the process was complete.

"Wow!" Madoka said, "Homura, that's amazing!" She leaned left and right to try to get the full scope of Homura's costume, but once again, Homura didn't seem too amused.

Homura looked over to Mami, "If Kyubey wishes to pursue Madoka as a Magical Girl candidate, I think it's only fair that we show her what this job is really about. Don't you agree?"

"Of course," Mami said, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Homura held her hand out to the pinkette, who seemed to take a queue from Homura's serious tone of voice and stopped goofing around. "Homura?" Madoka asked, taking in her intense expression for a moment.

"We are going to go fight a witch now. I would like to bring you with us. With me and Mami there, you should be safe, but there is a level of danger. There is a possibility all three of us will die. I doubt that will happen this time, but you should be aware of the risks. You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Madoka's hands clasped at her chest, and her eyes shifted around as she took in the gravity of Homura's words.

Mami grinned as she stepped over to Homura's side. "She is being a bit overly dramatic. I've been doing the Magical Girl thing for two years myself, and it seems Homura is experienced as well, so everything will be fine."

Homura glanced over to Mami and gave the blonde her first positive expression since the conversation started. "So I take that to mean you trust me now?"

"Well, I decided to take your advice and just reserve judgement for now. I'm still keeping an eye on you, however."

"Fair enough." Homura said, then looked back to Madoka. "So, what's your answer?"

"Well… I don't really understand all of this, but if it's something you think I should see… then yes, I'll come." And with that, Madoka took Homura's hand, and they smiled at eachother.

"Alright, it's settled then." Mami said, and in one fluid motion her feet lifted off the ground and she jumped up onto the railing in a rather impressive show of acrobatics. "See you in the labyrinth." She said, and then she jumped down.

"MAMI!" Madoka screamed, and quickly rushed to the railing and looked down. It looked to her like the senior had just attempted suicide, but before hitting the ground she disappeared into a flash of light. The area she disappeared into rippled like heat waves, until gradually returning to normal again. Before Madoka could make any sense of this, she felt Homura scoop her up, wrapping one strong arm around her waist and lifting her off her feet. "Homura!?" Madoka gasped.

Homura jumped as well, but unlike Mami she cleared the railing without touching it at all. It would have been an impossible movement for a normal human, but Madoka had no time to take any note of that. She screamed and wrapped her arms around Homura's neck as the two of them descended downward. "HOMURA!"


The witch collapsed to the ground and a puff of smoke escaped it's grinning clowns face. It's snake-like body gave it's final death throws, before withering and disappearing along with the labyrinth. As the cake towers and icing covered walls grew transparent, Madoka lost the strength to stay on her feet and her body went completely limp. "H-Homura…" She squeaked out, with a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Y-you can't be…"

Mami had an equally horrified expression on her face, and her hand felt along her neck where she was quite nearly decapitated. At the last moment, Homura appeared and managed to push her out of the way, but ended up being eaten in her place. "And after I said all those horrible things about her." Mami cursed herself and tears started falling from her own eyes as well.

This only lasted for the time it took the labyrinth to disappear, however. Because once the labyrinth and the witch finish dissolving, they saw a black and gray clump kneeled down in the hospital's courtyard in it's place.

"Homura!" Madoka shouted, and she quickly ran over to her friend. Homura looked up, and before she had time to react, she was nearly knocked on her back by Madoka's embrace. Homura looked surprised for a moment, but then her face softened and she wrapped her arms around Madoka in return.

"I'm sorry to have worried you." She said, "I didn't intend for things to go that badly."

"I'm just glad your alright…" Madoka said through her tears. "I thought… I-I thought…"

Homura held onto her tighter and let her get some of her emotions out.

Mami herself still hadn't quite recovered from her near death experience, and her hand rubbed her neck as she walked over to the two of them. She kneeled down to pick up the GriefSeed and held it out to Homura. "Here. You are the one who defeated it, so this should belong to you."

"No…" Homura said, still holding tightly to Madoka. "You can have it. I would like for it to be considered a peace offering between us."

Mami seemed like she wanted to argue the point, but neither of them seemed to want to pay her much mind right now as the two held onto each other. Mami smiled, and turned her head up to the sky.

"That was so scary…" Madoka whispered. "I really thought something horrible happened to you."

"I'm alright… this time." Homura said, allowing her voice to become cold once more. She put her hands on Madoka's shoulder and pushed her back enough so that they could look each other in the eyes. "Madoka. I want you to engrain that moment into your mind. Neither of us died, but we easily could have. That is the reality of being a Magical Girl."

"B-but, if it's so dangerous, then why do you do it?"

"I'm afraid there is no choice. For either of us. When our contracts were made it sealed our fate."

"Still." Mami started, "We do get the opportunity to protect people. If that witch were left unchecked there is no telling how many people it could have ended up hurting."

"Regardless." Homura said, "The contract should only be made by those who have no other choice, and are out of options. Madoka, if you treasure the life you currently have, you should not make a contract." With that, Homura started to stand up but winced and her hands shot back to her side.

She tried to hide what was there, but Madoka forced her arm to the side just enough to see. She saw Homura's clothing under her right arm was torn and soaked with blood. "Homura! You're hurt!" Madoka said, and stood up. "We are at the hospital, I'm going to go ask for help!"

"That's not necessary." Homura said, with a slight grunt to block out the pain.

"Homura! That's really deep, you can't just!" Madoka stopped when Mami put a hand on her shoulder.

"Homura's right, getting a doctor really isn't necessary and it would cause far too many questions." Mami then kneeled down by Homura and held out her SoulGem.

"B-but-" Madoka continued to want to complain.

"Just trust us."

"You don't need to." Homura said to Mami, as Mami gently guided Homura's hand away from the wound. "I can take care of it myself just fine."

"Hey, you are letting me have the GriefSeed right? So I think this is the least you can allow me to do for you."

Madoka watched with fascination as the blood began to disappear, and strings of light pulsed through the wound as it started to close up and Homura's uniform stitched itself back together. When it was all done, they each disenchanted their costumes and reverted back to their school uniforms.

Though Madoka had calmed down somewhat, Homura could see she was still a bit shaken up. Homura stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. "If you don't want to go home right away, we could go back to my apartment." She said.

"Um… w-well, sure. I told my parents I'd be late coming home tonight anyway, so I guess it's alright."

Homura looked over to Mami with a not so inviting expression, and waited for her response. Mami grinned, "Actually, I have some schoolwork I need to catch up on. We should continue this some other time, however."

"Of course." Homura said, and with that they parted ways.


As Madoka and Homura walked together, Madoka slowly drifted closer and closer to Homura's side. When Homura finally noticed, she smiled and took Madoka's hand. At this point they didn't have anything to say, but their entwined fingers spoke much louder than any words. Being like this with Madoka… feels really nice.

It wasn't too late in the day, so they would have some time together. They could talk over the things Madoka had learned today about Magical Girls… and maybe, other things as well.

Madoka pulled herself in closer, and rested her head against the taller girl's arm as they continued to walk. This is perfect, Homura thought. Everything went even better than planned.

It seemed working her way into Madoka and Sayaka's circle before they had a chance to meet Mami was the right move. Keeping Sayaka out of the loop on the Magical Girl business helped with better results as well. Homura would have had a much harder time defending her position if the bluenette, who seemed predisposed to not trusting her, was there.

She would need a way to distract Sayaka from her, and Kyoko Sakura, the girl who was at complete odds with Sayaka's own ideals, would do the trick. Then, when Sayaka eventually spiraled into despair, that very same girl would be the best chance at pulling her out of it again.

In the labyrinth, all went as expected. Mami's ego got the better of her, as it always tended to do around potential Magical Girl candidates, and she let her guard down. That trick the sweets witch had of concealing it's more dangerous form until it really needed it seemed to have come in handy this time. Homura waited until the very last second before Mami would have been decapitated, and then made her move.

It would be clear to both Madoka and Mami that Homura easily could have allowed the witch to kill her. If there were any doubts in their minds (mainly Mami's) that Homura wished to eliminate her competition, that should put an end to it.

Then, before revealing herself again, Homura took a machete out of her shield space and stabbed herself in the side. It was the very wound Mami had just healed, and it seemed it had the desired effect on Madoka. Madoka nearly witnessed one girl lose her head, and then she actually did see Homura get what looked to her like a nearly fatal injury. These images were powerful, and would hold Madoka back from making the contract for at least another month.

Homura had tried this approach at least three times before, but this is the first time it worked out so well.

Even going as far back to the first day they met in this timeline. Homura easily could have strayed the cat from its normal path earlier in the day to prevent the accident. Instead, she chose the same approach she did when saving Mami, and made it as dramatic as possible. Now she had Madoka's full trust, and Madoka was becoming closer with her much earlier than usual.

She would eventually need to convince the girls that she was from the future, which was always difficult. Now wasn't the time, however. She needed to finish establishing the team before that happened.

"Homura?" Madoka suddenly asked, breaking her away from her thoughts.

"What is it, Madoka?" Homura asked softly.

"Why…" She thought for a moment, "Why are you doing so much for me?"

Homura stopped. Their hands stayed together, but she turned to face the smaller girl. "What do you mean?"

"Sorry… I didn't mean to put it that way. It's just… well, I don't really know how to put it. It's just… is there anything you still are not telling me?"

Homura was quiet for a long moment. It's true, she didn't tell Madoka everything yet. It would have to come eventually, but for now there was just no way she could make her believe everything. Even if she could make her believe it, how could she possibly go through with telling this sweet innocent girl the reality of what she could become? Nor could she put the burden of her own sacrifices on Madoka's conscious. It wasn't time for that yet, and she doubted Madoka would even understand.

There's something Madoka could understand, however. Maybe Homura couldn't explain her story, but she could at least show Madoka her feelings.

With their hands entwined, they looked deep into each other's eyes. Word's were unneeded. There was something Homura couldn't tell her, and whatever the reason was didn't matter. Because Homura didn't just care for her… she loved her, and whatever actions she took, and whatever secrets were kept, were meant to protect that love.

Homura moved her lips closer, until they could feel the warm air of each other's breathing. Their hands tightened together. Madoka closed her eyes, and moved forward just enough to invite Homura in the rest of the way.

Their lips touched.

The kiss started off slow and sweet, each of them just delicately tasting the other. Homura gently pulled on Madoka's lower lip, and Madoka responded by letting her tongue come out, asking for just a little more. Their mouths slowly opened, until they were fully locked together, Homura leaning her head down into the smaller girl and bringing her free hand around to her back to hold her in her embrace. Madoka's free hand found itself on Homura's side, and they stayed like that for what felt like an eternity. Each of them responding to each other through the tension of their hands and the movements of their mouths, feeling at one with each others souls.

When it was over, and their lips parted again, they remained close and stared deep into eachother's eyes. Each of them were blushing, and their hands still held tightly together with their fingers intertwined. "That was my first kiss." Madoka said, and the expression that accompanied the words as the small pinkette looked up at her was cute enough to melt Homura's heart.

"Yeah…" Homura said, unable to contain her own blush. "Um… how… was it?"

Madoka once again couldn't help smiling at how awkwardly Homura managed to put things sometimes. "It was…" Madoka giggled, glancing away in embarrassment, but kept her one hand inside Homura's as she started walking again. "It was nice. And it also… it felt like…"

Homura gave her a questioning glance, asking her to continue.

"It's strange, but it almost feels like we've done it before… Like, I don't know… even though we've only actually known each other a little over a week, it feels a lot longer. Like I've always known you." Madoka laughed and looked back up at Homura. "I know, that sounds silly… doesn't it?"

"No… not really." Homura said with a smirk. She stared back into Madoka's eyes, and once again found herself getting lost in her expression. Right now, everything was perfect… but it wouldn't last.

Tonight, Kyubey would approach Madoka again. Homura would let it happen, because by now the rat would not be able to influence her.

Failing there, he would then turn to Sayaka as a way of applying pressure to Madoka's choice. This was unavoidable, and Homura could only delay Sayaka for a matter of days, but ultimately would have to allow the contract to happen.

Homura released Madoka's hand and instead put her arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close as they continued to walk down the street together.

Right now, this was like the calm before the storm. She had to make sure all the pieces were in place before the tempest arrived.


Kaiji watched from outside the room, looking through a two way mirror as a team of doctors continued with the operation.

"Damn it…" Kaiji muttered to himself, under his breath. "What happened to you?"

A few minutes after Homura disappeared from the elevator room, a team of soldiers filed into the lab and started sweeping through the entire facility, looking for any remaining threats. They didn't find anything.

Those creatures... familiars, as Homura called them, must have disappeared along with the death of the witch. Kaiji thought Homura would already be at least a dozen miles away… but then the soldiers found her in one of the test rooms.

When they found her, she was conscious but incoherent. She wildly thrashed her legs at anyone to come near her, all the while screaming in the manner of someone who was having night terrors. Luckily, Kaiji managed to make it to the room before the soldiers did anything stupid, like try to use their tasers, and instead called for some anesthetic.

These soldiers were not the typical guard staff, and therefore were not as quick to obey his orders. After the man who seemed to be the leader of their squad verified Kaiji's identity through his radio, Kaiji managed to get more control of the situation.

Homura wasn't very responsive to her surroundings, though she at least seemed somewhat aware. When she was no longer surrounded her head fell to the side, and it seemed she had fallen asleep. She didn't actually fall asleep, her eyelids still flickered and her breathing was quite heavy. The amount of blood loss was the most concerning thing, but Kaiji noticed that the wound on her arm already healed enough it no longer bled freely. Another aspect of her powers, he assumed. Normally without treatment, a wound like that wouldn't be able to heal itself, especially not in so short a time.

He had managed to move toward her and inject the anesthetic into her other arm while she seemed more calm. He wasn't sure if she realized who he was, or if she made a conscious decision to accept the anesthetic. Whatever the case, he managed to give it to her without any trouble. A moment later, her eyes stopped flickering and her breathing lessened, and Kaiji went to yelling at the soldiers for an explanation why a medical team hadn't been called here yet.

That was maybe thirty minutes ago. Now, he stood all alone in the dark observation room and kept an eye on things. His eyes felt heavy, he wasn't sure what time it was but it must have been well past midnight. He doubted he would be able to sleep though. The wrenching feeling in his gut wouldn't allow for that.

He had no idea what happened to Homura, but he at least understood if she was never taken to this lab in the first place, she wouldn't be in the condition she was in now. Was that his fault, though? No... With or without him, she would have been captured and taken here. He had nothing to do with that part of it. Even if he ever wanted to free her, he didn't have that power anyway. This wasn't his fault, he assured himself… but even thinking that, he couldn't help feeling like it was.

Then he heard the door behind him let out a few beeps before sliding open. Kaiji looked over, and squinted his eyes at the silhouette which appeared in the doorway.

"Kotaro?"

Kotaro walked over to him with quick steps. Well, he didn't walk over to Kaiji, he walked over to the window Kaiji was in front of, and looked out into the operation room. It was dark in the room, but somehow Kaiji could still easily imagine the expression on the young soldier's face as he stood there.

Originally, Kotaro and Furuhata were each taken into separate rooms for questioning, and also to be briefed on what they could say and to whom. The later pretty much amounted to: Nothing and no one.

Murakami hadn't yet regained consciousness, as far as Kaiji knew, and was taken to another medical room for treatment. Of course, the test subject would be getting priority over him. Kotaro himself must have been taken care of before they found Homura, because his broken nose was already patched up.

"So what the hell happened to her?" Kotaro asked.

"Who authorized you to come in here?" Kaiji asked back, with a distant tone to his voice. He didn't mind Kotaro's presence, but it was odd that he was here.

"You did. Or at least that's what I said." Kaiji turned to him, feeling like he should say something about that, but considering the night's events he decided to just let it go. "So… What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. No one does at this point. I suppose we really won't have any answers until Homura wakes up. That's if she will even tell us anything."

Right now Homura wasn't wearing her transformed clothing. She was simply wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, which the lab had provided for her. Usually when she would be taken for testing they would have her change into a hospital gown, but when she was left in her room she was provided with a wardrobe appropriate for a teenage girl.

The doctors seemed to have finished with patching up the wound from her severed arm. She had an IV connected to the vein under the opposite elbow, and a mask over her face providing oxygen. Then, one of the doctors took out a pair of scissors and brought it down to the bottom of her shirt and started cutting.

Kotaro let his eyes fall away as they cut her shirt away. "What the fuck are they doing that for?"

"To check for other injuries, they'll probably change her into a hospital gown. Also they are going to do an X-Ray next. They can't have that kind of clothing interfering."

Kotaro folded his arms and quickly turned away so his back was now facing the operating room. "What? And you're just going to watch this shit?"

"This is a pretty standard way of doing things in emergency situations. Even regular would handle it this way." Kaiji turned away from the mirror himself, and stood facing into the dark room along with Kotaro.

"I just want to know what the hell happened! She was free damn it! The way she was talking, it's like there was no doubts about it. So what the hell is she still doing here? A-and she missing a… and missing-" Kaiji then heard something he never thought he would from someone like Kotaro. The young soldier's voice cracked, and he stopped talking to try to conceal the fact he was crying. It was surprising coming from a tough guy like him, but on the other hand it wasn't too unexpected. Kotaro was clearly a very passionate person, after all.

"You should be careful about the kinds of things you say." Kaiji said, tonelessly. "You shouldn't actually want her to escape, you know."

"That girl saved my life. She saved yours too… all of us. Even Murakami just seconds before I would have had to kill him. She didn't have to do all of that."

"I know." Kaiji said, simply.

They were quiet for a while, there was something else that had been on Kaiji's mind ever since Homura was found, and he finally voiced it. "All of her weapons came from under that shield of hers. Right?"

Kotaro nodded.

Kaiji shook his head. "I don't know the cause, but I can take a guess at the results. I wonder, will her missing her arm will prevent her from using her powers?"

"Would you guys let her go if that were the case?"

Kaiji was quiet for a long time before he answered. When he did, his voice was solemn and full of regret. "It's not up to me. But no. The reality is, I don't think Homura will ever be allowed to leave this place… especially not now."

"Well why the hell not? Without her powers, what justification is there for tormenting a teenage girl? Do you assholes just get off on this shit or something?"

"Even if her teleportation skill, and her newly exposed ability to produce weapons are no longer accessible to her, there is still the fact that her body heals at an abnormal rate. Also, thanks to the events of tonight, it's clear there is much more we don't know about her and it could be dangerous to just leave her on the streets."

And, she isn't the only one. Kaiji thought, but kept that to himself.

Kotaro shifted somewhat, as if he wanted to get upset, but he understood Kaiji was only stating facts, and how it would be seen from the perspective of their superiors.

Then, the door started beeping. Both of their heads looked up as it slid open, and a large silhouette which filled the entire doorframe appeared. They had both held a relaxed posture as they conversed with each other, but now each of them straightened up. "Dr. Endou." Kaiji said.

"Kaiji." Endou said, returning the unenthused greeting. Endou stopped at the window and watched for a moment as they prepared Homura for the X-Rays. "What is Sakazaki doing here?"

"I asked for his company." Kaiji explained, "We do not know the nature of tonight's attack, or if it could happen again, so I wanted him close by. Right now, he is the only one with experience on this kind of thing." Of course, if he told the truth that Kotaro lied to gain access to this part of the lab, it would mean big problems for him, so he came up with this lie to protect the young soldier.

"Did you finish your report on tonight's events?"

Kaiji remained silent. He had very recently pushed for Endou's termination, but the lead researcher didn't even seem to be acknowledging this fact. Of course, after tonight events, Endou would have a much easier time arguing his methods were necessary. Power through fear and intimidation; that was just how this man operated, and unfortunately Homura provided him with all the ammo he would need.

"You should go home, Kaiji." Endou said. "No doubt you are exhausted. You can finish your report in the morning. You were suppose to have the night off in the first place."

"Thank you for the concern, but I would rather stay."

"That was an order, Kaiji. These next few days will be crucial, and we need to stagger out our resources. We are the two lead researchers in this project, which means if we both stay awake now we'll both need to sleep through the day tomorrow, and neither of us will be available when we are needed. So go home and get some rest."

His voice had been completely monotone as he explained all of that. His argument was weak, but it didn't really matter what the argument was. Endou simply didn't want Kaiji here, and that made Kaiji worry that he had something planned.

"You understand that Glazadrine, under ideal circumstances, has some level of risk." Kaiji said. "Right now Homura has had massive blood loss, and aside from that, we wouldn't want to mix it with the anesthetic. Right?"

Endou took a moment before answering. "Of course. That would be far too risky." He glanced back to Kaiji with his cool commanding gaze. "Homura will be unconscious for at least another twelve hours, and nothing will happen before she wakes up. Moving forward, however, I think the use of Galazadrine should strongly be considered."

"If you hadn't tricked her into taking it in the first place this may not have happened at all. You know." Kaiji said.

Endou paused for a moment, but again, his tone didn't seem to react to the attack. "If she had the ability to do this, she would have done it eventually. There is no doubting that. Whatever the case, it's something that can be discussed later. As I said, nothing will be happening tonight."

Kaiji glanced up at the clock mounted on the wall, and had to squint his eyes to see it in the dark room. 5:37. His wife would be awake in another couple of hours.

He disappeared yesterday without much explanation, nor any warning he might be late. If she woke up and he wasn't beside her in bed, she would worry that something happened to him.

There were no phones down here in the lab, so if he wanted to call her he would have to go back to his car and use his cellphone. He decided that's what he would do. He couldn't leave the lab and go home, because he didn't trust Dr. Endou, but he could at least send his wife a text message, so she would know where he was when she woke up.

"I'm sure I can find a place to take a nap right here at the lab if it's necessary." Kaiji said, "As you said, these next few days will be crucial. I think watering down our forces is actually the worst move we can make right now. I'm just going to go inform my wife that I will be away from home for a little while, then I'll be right back." With that, he started walking towards the front door, and Kotaro followed close behind them.

"Sakazaki." Endou said, stopping Kotaro in his tracks. Kotaro turned, and looked at the doctor. The normally upbeat soldier didn't seem to have any of his typical grins reserved for doctor Endou. Kaiji wasn't even sure if Kotaro knew much about the kind of person Endou is, but for whatever reason, it was clear Kotaro had some reservations towards him. "Why don't you stay here? From what I understand you were quite useful during the attack. I would feel more comfortable to keep you near the test subject incase anything else unexpected comes up."

Kotaro glanced back to Kaiji, and Kaiji nodded. He had claimed that was the very reason he asked Kotaro down here in the first place, after all. "I'll be back." Kaiji said, and continued on his way.

The hallways were a bit more populated than normal. Mostly, Kaiji crossed path with soldiers as well as the more typical labs guard staff. He also passed by a couple doctors who were heading for the operation room. They were probably the X-ray technicians.

The metal doors behaved as they normally did now. All Kaiji needed to do when he reached one is look up at the camera for a moment, and it would open. If it didn't open, he would just state his name and request passage through whatever door number. They must have gotten replacements in the control room already.

He made it back to the elevator room where there were even more unfamiliar faces. The squad of soldiers were using this room as their base of operations for now, and they continued to send their teams patrolling through the facility. Security was probably going to be pretty tight around here for a while now.

At the elevator, Kaiji had to present his ID, and explain where he was going before being allowed on. These soldiers must have at least been briefed on the main members of the staff who were allowed free access of the facility, because "I'm just going back to my car for a moment." Is the only explanation he need to offer once his identity was verified.

Something about the vertigo of the elevator moving upward reminded Kaiji of how tired he was, and his eyelids suddenly felt just a tad heavier. He decided once he got back into the lab he would go right for the break room, and make a cup of coffee for himself. Once that was done, he would go back to observing Homura.

He didn't know what would become of her yet. It depended on how she answered their questions once she woke up. She couldn't try the method of denying she is the one who caused the… labyrinth… to appear, thanks to the announcement of an attack just minutes before everything happened. Everything she said and did was recorded. Her only hope now was the fact that she clearly tried to give warning, and she didn't actually want anyone to get hurt.

Once they started questioning her, if she refused to give any answers at all, Glazadrine would be the solution. That was likely in her future one way or another, actually, but Kaiji would try his best to fight against it. With Endou around, it wouldn't be easy, especially since he could claim an attack like this is exactly what the Glazadrine could have prevented, if they just started using it from the very beginning.

Kaiji walked through the upper level of the building. Absolutely none of the usual staff members were seen here, but there were plenty of soldiers. Outside the front entrance, there were two military vehicles parked right in front of the curb. Kaiji walked past these and walked out into the otherwise mostly empty parking lot.

Night was at the very beginning stages of giving way to dawn. The sun couldn't yet be seen, but it's soft orange glow painted the horizon. The air held that cool wet smell spring mornings tended to have. Being outside, and inhaling the open again after being trapped down there in that deathtrap felt like a huge relief. Part of him just wanted to do as Endou asked and go home. He really wouldn't mind having breakfast with his family, and then just sleeping through the afternoon and coming back to the lab later. He couldn't do that, though.

Despite the attack, and the lives that were lost because of it, he supposed he couldn't blame Homura for at least trying. Right now she needed help, and Kaiji was the only one with the power and the will to help her. He might not be able to give her freedom, but he could at least try to protect her from Endou. She seemed sincere about trying to prevent anyone from dying in the process. Things just went horribly wrong for her, somehow. Kaiji didn't have any explanation for exactly what happened.

Then, he remembered what she said about a third party who was trying to prevent her escape. It seemed like guess work, and she didn't exactly come to a definite conclusion, but seeing as her escape was thwarted in such a gruesome manner Kaiji supposed it would be a good idea to keep the idea of a third party in mind. Once again, until Homura actually woke up they wouldn't have any answers. That is, if she was even going to be cooperative. Knowing her track record, it was unlikely.

Kaiji unlocked his car, and climbed into the driver's seat. He flipped open his glove box and turned on his phone, then scrolled down to his wife's name in the contacts. She would still be sleeping, so he decided not to call her, but instead left a text message. "Sorry I didn't make it home last night, something unexpected came up at work. I may not make it back tonight either, I'm just going to sleep at the lab." Then he paused and thought it over for a moment before adding, "Don't worry, everythings fine. Love you both." Then hit send.

Kaiji sighed as he dropped the phone back down on the passenger seat and leaned back. He closed his eyes for a moment, and felt the exhaustion brushing over him. Coffee. He just needed some coffee to charge his batteries a bit, then he would be fine for at least another couple of hours. He could even get a nap sometime in the afternoon, and maybe give a request to be woken up if anything changed with Homura's condition.

Then his eyes shot open. He suddenly sat upright in his seat and his hand darted at the glove box. It was empty.

He reached down under the passenger seat and felt around. The video tape of Kyoko Sakura, or Kay Sakura as he now knew her, was missing. He had taken it from the convenience store, and left it in his glove box with his phone, but it wasn't there anymore! It was gone!

He got out of his car and walked around to the passenger side. He opened the door and kneeled down enough to see under the seat. No, it definitely wasn't there either, and he was pretty sure he had put it into the glovebox. Or maybe it was the back seat? Maybe he just tossed it back there without thinking about it and…

"Dr. Kaiji." Said a voice, as a long shadow casts itself over him. He looked over his shoulder, up at the person who had approached him. The sun had finally decided to peek over the horizon, and it's orange glow was just bright enough to hide this person's face.

Then, Kaiji couldn't see anything. Something struck him on the head and caused his entire field of vision to swim with stars. It didn't help that the blow landed right where he had hit his head on the desk when Homura's attack first started.

Kaiji fell into his car, and tried to kick his feet back, but the attacker caught the blow and pulled him out of the car the rest of the way, causing him to scrape his elbow on the asphalt of the parking lot as he fell.

He heard several sets of rush footsteps, and screeching tires as a van pulled up. Before he had time to yell for help, something was forced into his mouth and a bag was pulled over his head.

Several sets of hands grabbed onto him. Despite now being blinded, he tried his best to resist and pull away from them. This struggling ceased when one of his attackers delivered a powerful blow to his stomach, which forced all the air out of his lungs and caused his knees to buckle out. Next thing he knew, he was thrown onto the floor of the van, and it's door was slammed shut behind him. He could hear the screech of the tires and the roar of the engine as it took off.


I decided to stagger out the flashbacks, rather than doing them all in one shot like I originally planned. I don't have a real solid plan for how many more, or how often, I'll just say I'll throw the flashbacks in where I feel they fit. Either the next chapter, or the one after that will probably spend more time in the present than in the past.

Also I'm working on Perfect Crime a little on the side, but I've decided to keep my main focus here on TSO rather than trying to do both at once. I figured out that it would do both of these stories more justice to have my undivided attention when I'm working on them. I'm hoping to finish TSO within a year (hopefully less), and then I'll move back to PC full time.

As always, thanks for reading!

-Atomyst