This is going to be a doozy to read (at least I assume) because it was a real doozy to write. This is due to many reasons. One you already may know, and the other... Well let's just say I finished 12 episodes in 2 days of a series I've been meaning to watch. Which one? Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Yup, scarred for life. And expect shout outs to it as well. Have you been counting the shout outs for other series? Hope so, you'll get a prize if you do. Hope you enjoy the flashbacks!

If you have a will

You can have a wish granted

And if you have a wish

Then I'm sure you have a soul

Chapter 9: Crossroads

"By the vow of our pact, may my Contractor's fears be banished..."

Dr. Mihara examined the lines of code at his workstation, a frown evident on his features. Between his teeth was a half-chewed pen cap, and he kept tapping the equation scribbled on the sheet of paper before him.

Sure, the prototype bodies he had built were fully capable of duplications very realistic, human-like gait, not to mention other actions. But, he realized early-on that the problem all came down to memory, amongst many things. If the machines he intended to build were to ever become a reality, he had to find some way of not only have them walk and talk, but accept commands, think logically, reason, and on top of that act as a personal computer. And somehow he was supposed to create a CPU sophisticated enough that it would be capable of handling the enormous strain of all that.

Why did he even pitch the idea to his investors in the first place?

Preceding this next impossible task had been the Angels, which were quite easy to make considering their simplistic design. Yet his investors wanted the next big thing. The children loved when the Angels were first released, and quite a lot of them were still very devoted players, but the markets needed something more lasting than that.

Knock knock.

'Who's there?' thought Dr. Mihara.

"Come in."

He heard the slight creak of the old hinges, and glanced up briefly from the inevitable headache that the problem was bringing on.

In stepped a young lady in a lab coat, her dark hair braided into long pigtails, and she wore large round glasses with lenses the size of tea saucers.

"Glad to see you hard at work," said his colleague.

"Glad to see you're so observant, Hakase-san," he grumbled, turning his attention back to the maddening equations and C++.

"You sound overworked, Icchan."

"Whatever would give you that idea?" he said, rolling his eyes.

She had a feeling he was being sarcastic, but merely ignored his bitterness.

"I've been looking over the proposed specs you gave me," she began, folding her arms across her chest. "I may be able to help you with your problem."

All his thought processes froze. "Wait...what?"

"Well, there's something I have to tell you first," she admitted, blushing slightly as she did. "I've built something similar to what you intend to create."

Mihara simply looked at her for 5 seconds, adjusted his glasses for two seconds, and then exploded.

"What do you mean 'I've built one before', huh?" he shouted, jumping to his feet and flapping his arms like the madman he was.

Satomi had to be mocking him! Okay, he had to give her some credit, the girl had graduated from a very promising high school, and even went on to study at MIT in America, but this claim was ludicrous! He had heard some speculation about a very realistic robot attending school alongside her creator, but that had to be just hearsay, right?

'Icchan go BOOM!' indeed.

Dr. Hakase grinned, her eyes betraying nothing but sincerity. This was the day she'd been waiting for. Satomi gave silent thanks to a certain Martian and her vampire friend.

"It's a long story," she said, making light of his reaction. "Very complicated and dramatic."

"I don't believe you." Ichiro pouted and crossed his arms like a child, turning away from the woman and trying to ignore her presence.

Satomi sighed; obviously she expected such a reaction. What did Chitose see in him anyway? "Look Mihara-san, I know what you are."

His automatic response: "I've no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't pretend. I know your secret."

His secret? What secret? He couldn't possibly think of a single thing that she would reveal about him that could help with—

'Wait…oh that secret…'

He swiveled his seat back around to face her. Ichiro was about to deny any past involvement with magic, but Hakase cut him off before he could even begin the string of excuses.

"I also know that you're a total Squib, so you can't go about erasing my memory." She wagged a finger in his direction, as if scolding him for his incompetence. "You see, Icchan, I've been watching you a while. I knew how brilliant you were, so I bided my time. I knew your skill with robotics surpassed even mine, and so I sought to become partners with you, Dr. Hibiya, and Dr. Lee-Young for only one reason."

He gave her a measured look of disdain, and folded his arms again.

"Which is?" said Mihara, waiting for an answer. Obviously the girl was on a roll, and at this rate he couldn't really add to what she was saying.

"The project you just sold to our investors. I had to wait until you came up with the idea before I came to save the day."

In fact it was only yesterday that they'd come from that infamous meeting. How could she know what he was planning to say beforehand?

Mihara sighed. He could at least hear out the ideas she had in mind.

...

Chii held Hideki's hand lightly, smiling at their little group as they walked down the hallway with their new neighbors. She had on one of her best dresses, one of the many outfits Mama gave her once she and Hideki learned (what he assumed to be the whole truth) about Chobits. It was a dark purple number with black spaghetti straps, and a hem that frayed out towards the edge of her knees in the shape of a fan. The top was layered, resembling several ribbons draping over one another rather loosely like freestanding wires. Her shoes, neon mauve stiletto-heeled pumps, clacked softly against the floor.

Hideki, meanwhile, was still in shock.

"You guys are unbelievable," he repeated.

Tonight he was dressed to the nines as well. His dark blue slacks matched quite nicely with the crisp orange collared shirt he wore. Coupling that with the dark brown Loafers and his new, more casually swept back hairstyle, he was definitely ready for a concert.

"Unbelievable? Really?" said Garrett, still surprised that the young man continued to praise and thank them for bringing him and Chii along.

"Well, things are going to get even more unbelievable, my friend," said Garrett, having more fun than usual. Tonight was the concert, so along with Meroko they'd confess the real reason for their presence, but he should have been more nervous than he was.

If he had, then maybe he'd have prevented something from happening.

The four youngsters stood on the sidewalk outside the apartments, one of them frozen from surprise.

"A limo?" said Hideki, looking at the long dark vehicle parked in the street before them.

"Chii!" said his girlfriend. She was really excited. Not only were they going to their very first concert together, but in a limousine! Chii had never seen one in person, and it looked much cooler than the ones even on TV.

"I must be dreaming," said Hideki, but his thoughts were interrupted by a sharp little pain on his right arm. "Ow!"

"No, it's not," said Chii, who, had for some odd reason pinched him to test if he was dreaming.

"That wasn't very nice," said Amber, a smile peeking through the windows of her soul, but not showing on her mouth.

"Amber-chan seems happier. Why is that?" said Chii, who acknowledged the twinkle in her eyes by tilting her head to the side. It wasn't out of place for her, but not only was Chii very observant, but she easily picked up on the emotions of others, and right now she definitely could tell how much happier the girl currently was, much better than the cold and somber feelings she noticed from before.

"Happy?" said Amber, looking ahead. Was she really happy? She considered it then decided that maybe, yes, she was. For today, at least.

Garrett interrupted by making a show of 'clearing his throat'. He balled his hand into a fist and brought it close to his mouth while making a slight but rough 'ahem' loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

"We have a few more people to pick up, before we get there," he announced once everyone was quiet.

After a couple more minutes they stopped moving, and the driver went to open the door for the new guest.

"Hello, everyone," said a familiar young voice.

Hideki took a double take and rubbed his eyes. "Kokubunji?" he said, shocked.

"Oh, Motosuwa, I wasn't expecting you here," said Minoru, the lie flowing off his tongue easily as he settled into the seat next to him. This way he could answer any questions without much direct eye contact. Lying wasn't a habit of his, so he'd have to at least make his half-truths believable.

"You're friends with Smith-san?" said Hideki, still reeling in his surprise. They could've been buddies for a long time. Both were rich, smart, and could afford Persocoms; the parallels were all there!

"You could say that," said Minoru, ignoring the teasing smile of Garrett in his peripherals.

"Yuzuki," said Chii, hugging the blue-haired 'com when she entered. "Chii is happy to see you." There was something slightly different about Yuzuki and Minoru, but neither Chii nor Hideki could place their finger on it. It was just the general feeling of being around them had changed—their aura of sorts.

Garrett knew what it was, though, and he chuckled silently. He figured that after what Minoru had witnessed, the boy would want in on the action as well.

…

Yuuko sat on the porch of her shop, sipping a small glass of vodka with two cherries floating in the mix. That dream last night was more than unsettling, it was downright disturbing. Her future was staring her back in more ways than one, and she suddenly realized how much she would miss this life. Her life. She'd lived so long. Yuuko thought back to the last time she celebrated her birthday. It's been a while since then. For one, there'd be a hell of a lot more candles. What was odd was that even before this one she could remember... Something at least. It was always very fleeting, yet never changed.

A pink-haired little girl with pigtails. A pair of red red ribbons. An hour glass.

All so mysterious, yet she knew in the recesses of her soul that they meant something. Parallel universes, time travel, and—

Mahou Shoujo.

Inwardly, she laughed despite the realization.

Damn, she felt old as hell.

Funny. All this time it had been her greatest fear to become what she was now. Maybe she'd grown up after all?

The puns just kept adding up, didn't they?

Before she became our heroine, before she assumed the name Yuuko Ichihara, she remembered faintly how much despair she had taken on. It was a time when she was still so innocent, and only wanted to live a happy life. She only wanted to save her friend, much like Clow only wanted to save her. But that was slightly different. Not by much but still...

However many times she tried before this point, she could never remember her true True Name. There had hardly been anything that she remembered before Clow had found her, wandering around in the desert.

"Hōmura, huh?" she whispered, only for the winds to swallow up her words.

Above it all, The Goddess sat and watched. The multiverse was strange in its wisdom. Even she couldn't figure out why it did what it did with souls, and she was a Goddess.

Did everyone have to "earn" their happy ending?

...

A white blur sped past several dark alleyways, with several girls right behind it. The creature, a fluffy foxlike animal with glowing red eyes, turned the corner and attempted to jump into the nearest window.

A bright purple flash stopped it in mid-air, halfway through its leap. Within moments, the creature was encased in a mostly transparent orb of energy, unable to leave.

"Checkmate, you rodent," said one of the girls, only to be hushed by the one in front holding a staff; she was the one who trapped him, despite their combined efforts.

Beside her was a honey-blonde girl. "Tell us, fake Kyūbey, what do you take us for?"

The creature who claimed to be Kyūbey blinked lazily.

'You Puella Magi—' he began to say.

"For the last time, we are NOT these 'Puella Magi' you keep bringing up," said the one with fire-red hair. She was taking up the rear, and giving the 'fake Kyūbey' a sharp-toothed frown. "But Kyūbey told us about you. In fact, Hōmura Told him about you first." The girl gestured to the one holding him captive.

'You girls, if you're not Puella Magi,' said the {fake}Kyūbey, 'then how are you using magic?'
If he really was in another universe, then why hadn't his other Instance already Contracted them? Surely his other self wasn't so incompetent in his thought processes that he'd failed to deceive them?

"We're Mages," said Sayaka, flipping her turquoise hair. "But since we are girls, you could call us Witches."

"And we're only in training," added Kyouko, the redhead. "Consider us 'Magical girls' if you will, but not your slaves, you deceiver."

'I see...so you haven't made contracts already?' said "Kyūbey," his eyes never leaving the girls. They were dressed in the usual schoolgirl fare, plaid skirts and collared shirts, the only strange thing about them were the wands and staffs they held.

"Why the hell would we do that? We don't need Assertor Famuli yet," said Sayaka.

"This isn't the time, Sayaka," said Hōmura as she looked askance, a redness forming on her cheeks. This new world Madoka had wished for certainly was strange.

'Forgive me,' said {fake} Kyūbey, 'if I don't understand what you are talking about.'

Hōmura and the others collectively smirked, if he didn't know, then they certainly had the upper hand.

...

Minoru held onto Yuzuki's hand while they weaved through the crowd, trying to find their seats. He glanced downwards at the ticket in his free hand. The shimmering sticker of a white rabbit on the front gave him a weird grin as he examined the pink stub closely. 'SA-5' was stamped on his in the upper right corner.

At the entrance he'd wondered why they only had four tickets distributed among the six of them, but Garret was quick to tell them that for all of Meroko's concerts Persocoms only paid 100¥ for entry-a price for which their hosts gladly covered. Though, they did have to be accompanied by their owner, and considering the ticket price, not many opted for that unless they really didn't care about money. The tickets Amber and Garrett had given them were actually very good seats, as he had Yuki look up before they were picked up. Later on, they'd even get to meet Meroko, as Amber had mentioned before.

A minute more of wandering in the crowd, the six of them found the seats—they were past the general admission rows—right next to the stage in the middle of the arena. The seating arrangements were as follows: Garrett on the end, to his right was Amber, after her were Chii, then Hideki, Minoru, and Yuzuki, in that order. Above them, the lights were beginning to dim, and in response, the crowd's noises diminished to a barely audible hum.

For about thirty seconds everything was completely dark.

A pin dropped somewhere in the audience, but no one noticed. All eyes were on the spotlights now illuminating the stage.

Chii looked quite surprised when she saw the pink-haired girl in the middle of the formation. She wanted to mention something about what she had seen few days ago, but Chii couldn't think of anything really other than a startled "It's Rooftop Lady". Hideki looked at her strangely before dismissing the off-beat comment as something she saw in a commercial.

Meroko was in her signature outfit tonight. Mostly black, the whole scanty ensemble was pulled out of some crazy fanservice-laden manga. The top was cut rather immodestly; the bottom of it stopped high enough so that her belly button and most of her midriff had the pleasure of greeting all her fans before she even opened her mouth. Her skirt was slightly higher than mid-thigh, and poking from the back of it was a fluffy white bunny tail. The unmistakable ears to match that tail protruded from the base of the dark red top hat on her head, twitching every few seconds.

The bass drum pounded out a heavy beat, a steady bump, bump, bump-bump-bump that vibrated the entire arena. All the soft-drinks in the audience's cup holders shook to the beat. Onstage, Meroko counted the bars off, waiting for the cue.

One bar, the crowd stares agape.

Two bars, the guitar joins in, a whiny ba-na-na naaa, followed by a more subdued da-na-na naaa, and then ended by a za-za-za zaaa. It repeated two more times, the waves of electrifying notes energizing the audience.

Da na na na, whined the guitar, going into lower tones.

This first song was a composition of her own originality. It was called 'Over There'.

Hey you, standing there
I know you got something to say
Well, what is it? 'cause you're taking too long
I don't have all day

You say that you want to be close,
Something more than friends?
But I'm afraid that you're too late,
This is where it ends!

I'm addicted to the fame and fortune,
Living without a care.
I'm married to my music baby,
And traveling everywhere.
You can say I'm already taken, boy.
So you and your love, stay "over there"

Her voice was a Spinto-Soprano, and drifted over the crowd like a flood of pure electricity that incited a lot of headbanging, stomping, and other usual concert fare. The six VIPs were no exception to the rule, other than Chii, who had no idea what to do but clap her hands and try to do a little wiggling dance.

After the song finished, our group of protagonists were quite impressed. Garrett and Amber were quite proud of her, and the latter decided this was her cue to leave. Besides, all this excitement was making her thirsty. Of course, she would have to lie at the concessions stand and say it was for her master, but right now a Roca-Cola would hit the spot.

"I'll be back with refreshments," she said, squeezing past Garrett. The others nodded, and told them their orders. Minoru wanted some gummy bears, and Hideki asked for some licorice. Yuzuki, Garrett and Chii clearly didn't eat so they said nothing. Hideki suggested Chii go with her, but she declined. Garrett knew that after the first song she was bound to disappear, so he wasn't concerned. He did point to the pocket of her all-white outfit to remind her to keep her cellphone on, though.

Somehow, through much pushing and apologizing, she made her way out of the arena.

Tonight was pivotal. Everything that they'd been hiding up until this point was about to be revealed, one way or another, and unfortunately the stress was affecting our heroine.

Amber leaned against the wall once she got to the food court, trying to sort out her thoughts. It was going to be hard to convince them they were in serious danger, and considering how protective Hideki was, he would probably take it as a threat. She sighed. Maybe things would work out alright for once?

The two massive hands that grabbed her answered that question before she could even react.

...

Chitose held the halves of the pink little sphere in her hand, trying to put them back together. The pieces were as translucent as crystal, yet as hard as diamond. But what had cut them so perfectly in half, now that was a mystery.

Dr. Hibiya frowned, pondering over the latest test results. Mihara and Hakase were busy at work building the processors and CPUs. If her findings about this gem were correct, then all they would have to do was duplicate the properties found within the object resting on the able before her.

Only two days ago, her colleagues had begun working so feverishly. And it just so happened that two days ago she had found this pink gem while walking around outside in the rain. She couldn't fathom why she had to pick it up, but it was glowing so brightly at the time that it seemed hard not to notice it. Promptly after she carried it to the lab, and the results were spectacular.

Why this little sphere was like a tiny little motherboard, tightly compressed and folded upon itself several times. When Hakase had taken some scans and produced some digital slices of the stone, she went to work at modeling something similar out of silicon. If she could do that, then building the components around it could possibly work at solving the problem she, Hibiya and Mihara had been discussing before.

Hakase had built something similar to the blueprints they were now drawing, and upon comparing the diagrams, her design had one fatal flaw: the power source. She would not disclose the exact nature of it, but insisted that it could not be duplicated by the masses. (Though, Hibiya did noticed the uncomfortable look in Mihara's eyes as she said so, leaving her to believe that it was only she that was in the dark about this 'power source' of Hakase's.)

This gem, however, made up for that, somehow, in the calculations they had come up with regarding power consumption and distribution.

Applied Phlebotinum, check and check.

In about two more days they were going to finish the prototypes by adding the silicon replicas of the stones, and hopefully they could have their contract renewed with the investors just in time for Christmas.

At the gate stood The Angel,
Unable to enter, unable to leave
Just waiting and guarding the threshold
Tethered to the mortal world through her sister,
And helpless yet capable all at once

In the Garden she protects sits a girl
Who could destroy the universe
And twist the physical laws like putty
But instead she saves those who
Have undoubtedly fallen into despair

Both are wholesome yet terrible in their own right.

If you have questions, just ask! (Don't expect spoilers, though...) I'll PM you back as soon as I can...er...eventually. I promise.