Disclaimer: The works of Urobochi Gen (namely, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, among other things) belong to him. I do no claim any ownership over their characters, concept, or story, their franchise, etc. This is purely fan work.
Chapter 3: Being Sayaka is suffering, but so is being Jeremy. Even with miracles.
Ever since Miki Sayaka met Tome Mami, Sayaka admired her.
Sayaka thought her to be the perfect upperclassman. Smart, cool, strong, brave, and most of all, a defender of justice, she was the representation of everything she wanted to be.
It was no wonder that Sayaka wanted to be a Magical Girl like her, to be a hero of justice and fight to protect the innocent.
She had only hesitated because Tomoe Mami, the girl she admired and respected, had warned her to think carefully about it, and thus she did.
But recently, her thoughts took a new direction.
The other day, Tomoe Mami had nearly died in front of her.
Intellectually, she knew what a dangerous job being a Magical Girl was, and that Mami would have died if not for a stranger's intervention, but it didn't change the fact that Mami didn't die.
In fact, that scene only reinforced her admiration for heroes of justice, and that heroes of justice always won in the end.
She didn't know who the young man was, but he had shown up just in time, appearing out of no where to save Mami at her time of need, just like in all the anime she's watched, and she had admired even that. She wanted to become like him, to be able to become a hero that saved others.
And if she became a Magical Girl, together with Mami they would be an unstoppable force of justice.
Mami had told her to think carefully before making her decision, with much emphasis.
Well, that was fine. She did put a lot of thought to it. There was no reason to hesitate any longer.
As for her wish...
It had already been decided long ago.
It's a miracle.
Surely, that was a thought that passed through the minds of everyone present as they watched Kyousuke perform for them on the roof.
Sayaka, on the other hand, who had known just how such a miracle had occurred, was content to listen to him play his violin.
Listening to the prodigy play once more, she easily came to her conclusion:
There was no way that she made the wrong choice.
If only she realized just why she really had made such a wish...
Jeremy didn't know when, but at some point Sayaka had become a Magical Girl. Most likely, it happened while he had shut himself in his room, but he couldn't confirm it.
A pity. He kind of wanted to watch the process of becoming a Magical Girl so that he could figure out just how it worked.
Because, without a doubt...
The girl known as Miki Sayaka had gained immense power overnight. It was a feat that Jeremy felt was completely ridiculous. There would probably be a price for doing such a thing, but he had already suspected that weeks ago, and he still had no way of confirming it.
He watched as Tomoe Mami and Miki Sayaka team up and fight Witches and their familiars day in and day out, with Madoka still following them around.
Homura had approached them once, trying to convince them that Madoka no longer need to be a Magical Girl now that Mami had Sayaka.
She was quickly rebuffed, however.
That scene in itself told Jeremy something new.
Homura didn't just want to protect Madoka, but to even prevent her from being a Magical Girl.
Certainly, it was dangerous to fight all the time as a Magical Girl, but Jeremy felt that there was something else to it. Something that Homura felt wasn't worth having to become a Magical Girl.
He had confronted Homura about it later, but she refused to give him a concrete answer, despite them having come to an agreement earlier.
He didn't press her for more information. He himself had been hiding things from there, too, so he couldn't blame her. He could find out later if he really needed to.
It was yet another day of hunting Witches and their familiars for Mami.
This time however, as was with the past few days, the hunting was conducted with Miki Sayaka.
She wasn't sure why, but her intuition told her that Miki-san hadn't thought through it carefully enough.
On one hand, Mami was slightly disappointed that Miki-san had so quickly decided to become a Magical Girl despite her warning to think carefully about it.
On the other hand...
She finally had a companion now, someone who wouldn't disagree with her ideals! What else could she ask for? She no longer had to be lonely again.
It was actually quite soon after Miki-san had joined her on her hunts when that new transfer student, Akemi Homura, had approached them, trying to convince Mami that Madoka no longer needed to become a Magical Girl now that Mami had Sayaka.
Mami had always found that transfer student suspicious. Always appearing out of nowhere, trying to prevent Madoka from being a Magical Girl...
She was hiding something, that much Mami knew for sure.
Suddenly, a familiar sight caught her attention, dragging her thoughts towards the present.
Or rather, a familiar person, one that she had been wanting to talk to for some time.
"Hey, Miki-san, Kaname-san.. Can you two head on without me? There's something I need to do; Besides, Miki-san is a Magical Girl now so I'm sure you two should be fine. If you still need anything though, you can contact me through telepathy, okay?"
Sayaka looked at her in confusion.
"Eh? Mami-san, Wait a moment—" Sayaka said, before she stopped herself. "Oh ho, I see, I see. Have fun, Mami-san. But you better not take too long, or we'll defeat all the Witches and Familiars before you get back!"
With a grin, Miki-san dragged Madoka away.
Mami wasn't sure what Miki-san was implying at the end, but now wasn't the time to contemplate.
And so, she ran.
"Sayaka-chan, what was that all about?" Madoka asked as she was pulled along by Sayaka.
"Eh, you didn't see? The guy who saved Mami was right there." Sayaka replied with a grin on he face.
"Was he? I didn't notice. But if he was, why did Mami tell us to go on ahead? Couldn't we all just go say hello together?"
Apparently, Madoka didn't get it, but that was okay.
"I would have liked to join Mami too, actually," Kyuubey said, staring in the direction of the young man. "I for one would have liked to learn more about that irregularity..."
"Well, never mind that. Let's go save the unsuspecting innocent from those evil Witches!"
"E-excuse me!"
The voice that called out was certainly familiar. Jeremy sighed, and turned around to face the owner of the voice.
Just as he suspected, it was the blonde Magical Girl, Tomoe Mami.
He had only intended to buy some necessities before returning home, too. But it couldn't be helped.
Maybe he should have been even more aware of his surroundings. But extending his senses too far outwards was energy consuming, so he supposed it really was just bad luck.
"Did you need something?" Jeremy asked once Tomoe Mami was close enough to hear him.
The girl took a moment to catch her breath before replying. "A-ah, I've been meaning to say thank you for saving me the other day," she said. "So—"
"Let me clear some things up first," Jeremy interrupted. "I didn't save you."
"Eh?" Mami paused, looking up at him. "But I'm sure it was you. Did I mistake you for someone else?"
Jeremy sighed once again. "No, you did not. But maybe we should talk elsewhere. I have a feeling that this may take a while."
"Then, how about I invite you over to my place? It's not all that far from here."
Tomoe Mami had no idea what she was doing.
She was pretty sure her original intention was to simply thank the young man who had saved her, and then perhaps start a conversation where she could learn from him.
He did seem very experienced from the short time that she saw him fight, after all.
But instead, she found herself speechless at the young man's claim that he did no such thing as saving her, and then without thinking properly about it she had invited him to her own apartment!
Before she knew it, he was sitting in her apartment with a strange expression on his face, and she was serving him tea.
"Did you brew the tea?" the young man asked. "I find it much to my liking."
"Ah, yes, I did—wait, that's not the point! What did you mean earlier by claiming that you didn't save me?"
"I mean exactly what I said," the young man replied while calmly sipping his tea. "I didn't save you; you saved yourself. Granted, it was with a little help, but it doesn't change the facts."
"Facts...? What kind of facts are you basing that off of? I'm pretty sure that you came and attacked the Witch right before it would have killed me."
"Technically, that certainly did happen. But the way I see it, all I did was interrupt the fight, knocked some sense back into you, and then left the Witch for you to continue fighting."
"But—but...!"
Mami wasn't sure why she was so worked up about this. Why she was insisting that he saved her, and why this man was insisting that he didn't, she didn't understand. Was there a reason she wanted to convince him that what she believed was true? That, according to how she saw it, he had saved her?
"Tomoe Mami, I have reason to believe that you are stronger than that. The Witch you fought was surely not a Witch you should have lost to under normal circumstances. Perhaps that is why I meddled with your affairs that day."
"Under...normal circumstances? What do you mean?"
"When I saw you that day... you seemed to be distracted by your own happiness. It may sound strange, especially when I don't know what happened before the fight, but that's what it seemed like to me..."
Ah. She remembered what happened now, how Madoka had said that she would become a Magical Girl and accompany her. She had been so happy at the time, indeed...
It's true that Madoka still hadn't become a Magical Girl, but Mami couldn't blame her, not after seeing what nearly happened at the incident.
Mami suspected that it was that very same incident where she had nearly died that had made Madoka have second thoughts, while convincing Sayaka to become a Magical Girl. Who would have thought that such a thing could cause two very opposite reactions?
"Ah, yeah... about that, I think you might be right. I think I was distracted by my own happiness at that time... "
"Well, if you say so, then I guess my analysis as to what happened that day was correct."
"Analysis...? You seem rather experienced with this sort of thing. Can you tell me more? I wish to become even stronger, so that I won't ever make that kind of mistake again."
If Mami hadn't been staring at his face, she might have missed it, but the young man had smiled for a second when she had said that.
"Certainly. You see..."
Jeremy had mixed feelings about being invited to Tomoe Mami's apartment.
But that quickly went away as they started to get more engrossed in their conversation.
First, he changed Tomoe Mami's understanding of the situation. It wouldn't do if she believed that he saved her, not at all. And while one could technically say that he did, he didn't see it that way at all.
It really was a scenario that could have been interpreted both ways, and Tomoe Mami was better off believing that she had saved herself, for her own good.
Second, she had actually gone on ahead and asked him his own opinion on her fighting ability. He wasn't sure how exactly she came to conclude that he was experienced in fighting, but it certainly wasn't wrong, either.
Then again, it probably wasn't hard to come up with a conclusion like that about him, either.
He had gone on to explain his opinion of the strengths and weaknesses of her fighting style, and girl had actually started taking notes. At least she was certainly serious about improving herself, and if that was the case then he had no problems with helping her.
Furthermore, he got to learn some more about the magic Magical Girls used, thanks to their discussion.
They had been at it about an hour when suddenly, Mami paled.
"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked.
"It's... my friend is in trouble!"
Mami had spent the past hour talking with the young gentleman when Madoka suddenly contacted her through telepathy.
"Mami-san!"
"Kaname-san? Sorry for not noticing earlier, I was a bit preoccupied. What's the matter?"
"Sorry for calling on you so suddenly, but...um, there's a big problem! It's Sayaka-chan!"
Mami paled instantly when she heard that.
"What's wrong?" the young gentleman asked.
Although he was a bit rough here and there in his speech, Mami had decided that the young man in front of her was a gentleman. The strange way he spoke at times was easily explainable when the young gentleman had explained that Japanese was not his first language.
In fact, after learning that fact she was actually more amazed to find that for a language that wasn't his first, he was actually quite fluent in it, ignoring the quirks here and there.
"It's..." Mami paused for a moment. Did he even know who Miki Sayaka was? It may be possible, but it didn't seem as likely, so she settled with being a bit more vague."My friend is in trouble!"
"Then what are you waiting for? Go on, help her. Don't mind me, we can finish this conversation at another time." the young man replied in understanding as he got up.
"Are you coming with me?" Mami asked uncertainly as she made her way to the door.
"Actually, no, I was thinking of heading back. It's getting pretty late, and I'm sure you can easily handle this by yourself. I believe in your strength, after all."
"Ah, I see..." Mami replied. She kind of wanted him to accompany her and help Sayaka together, but at the same time...
It kind of felt good, hearing that he believed in her.
"Then, until we meet again, Tomoe Mami. Now, you better hurry and help your friend. "
"Right!"
It wasn't until after they had already departed from her apartment, going their separate ways, when Mami realized that she still didn't know the gentleman's name.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang through the air, as Sayaka blocked a spear from piercing her body.
"Hmmm. Not bad for a rookie. Did you learn that from that upperclassman you're so proud of?"
"Mami-san's not like that! It's because of Magical Girls like you that Mami..."
"Oh, shut it. That really pisses me off," the redheaded girl in front of Sayaka said as she spun her spear, before pointing it at Sayaka.
From the start, Sayaka felt that she would never get along with this girl. Someone like her, who was so cold and calculating, who didn't care about other people's lives and only cared about themselves... it was something Sayaka simply could not stand.
In fact, it really could be said to be the anti-thesis of what Sayaka and Mami-san believed in, who fought for justice.
"But seriously— What's with that mouth of yours? That's not how you're supposed to speak to your elders."
"Shut up!" Sayaka screamed, readying her saber as she rushed in, intent on killing the girl before her.
There was no way she could lose to Magical Girls like the girl in front of her; girls like her, were definitely no match for those who actually fought for justice—
That thought was interrupted as she was flung back again for the nth time in this fight.
"You just don't get it, do you?" the redhead said as she closed in. "Fighting for someone else's sake, that's ain't even worth a penny. In fact, that would be an insult to the penny! But it seems like when I try to explain it, you just don't get it. And when I try to beat it into you, you still don't get it," the girl said, a sadistic grin growing on her face. "If that's the case, I guess I have no choice but to kill an idiot like you!"
Click.
Both girls froze at the sound.
"Ah..." Sayaka involuntary let out, recognizing who had shown up.
"It's been a while. That girl is my precious underclassman. Could I get you to stop spreading your strange ideas, by any chance?"
The redheaded girl lowered her spear, but didn't move.
And why should she? For, behind the redheaded girl...
Mami-san stood, aiming one of her muskets at the girl.
Jeremy had lied when he said he said he was heading back. As soon as Mami was out of sight, he doubled back, concealing his presence as he followed Mami.
So when he and Mami finally got onto the scene, he was a little surprised to find Miki Sayaka fighting another Magical Girl, one that he hadn't seen before.
He was less surprised about the fact that they were fighting, than he was over the fact that there was a new Magical Girl here.
As far as he knew, she wasn't from around here, but it was also possible that he had missed her before.
And when it came to why Magical Girls, who should be teaming up to fight Witches, were fighting each other... It probably wasn't hard for a disagreement to arise between Magical Girls. After all, the relationship between Mami and Homura wasn't exactly all that great.
Okay, that relationship was actually quite bad.
"Sakura-san. Leaving your own territory... That's rather impolite, isn't it?"
So, the new girl's name was Sakura, and apparently Mami knew her. It also explained why he hadn't seen this 'Sakura' around before, as she had apparently left her own territory to come here.
"...What's this? I thought you'd have keeled over by now, Mami-senpai."
There was something else that Jeremy noticed. It seemed like Madoka and that thing known as Kyuubey was here, yes, but so was Homura, who was hiding as usual and keeping an eye on things, just like he was.
And then there was something else... Something else he didn't recognize, but at the same time, he did.
It didn't make sense. But certainly, something was around here.
He would have to investigate. Homura and Mami could probably take care of the situation here. And besides, this situation really wasn't his business in the first place.
In the end, he found nothing besides the trace of unfamiliar magic. By the time he came back, the back alley where the Magical Girls confronted each other had already left. There was nothing left for him to do here, so he headed back home.
The next few days, he locked himself up in his room again, analyzing the magic and organizing his thoughts again.
But one night...
His intuition told him that something big was going to happen. He could feel it in the air.
Walpurgisnacht? No, that didn't seem right, the problem felt... different. Not dangerous, just different.
If something like Walpurgisnacht or his enemy was soon to appear, he would probably start feeling apprehensive, but this was something different.
Jeremy set out to find out what was going on.
As soon as he stepped out the door, Jeremy quickly noticed an influx of chaotic energy somewhere in the city.
By the time Jeremy arrived it was just in time to see Sayaka Miki turn into a Witch.
Jeremy stopped short, confused as the scene of events in front of him told him something he hadn't known before.
Those magical girls... became the very Witches that they fought against?
...Huh. Now, that was interesting. Jeremy wondered just what Kyuubey's purpose was, turning girls into magical girls that fought against other magical girls that had turned into Witches. If Magical Girls weren't made in the first place, there would be no Magical Girls to turn into Witches in the first place.
He had been told that Witches were beings of negative emotion, of despair, anxiety, suspicion, wrath, and/or hatred.
...Actually, that also made sense. Magical Girls used to be young girls, and the emotions of young teenage girls were often known fluctuate the most between hope and despair, among other emotions. If a Magical girl was the embodiment of hope... then it would make sense that a Magical girl who fell into despair became a Witch.
I see, Jeremy thought. So that's how it is. Probably.
He watched as the redheaded girl, Sakura as Mami called her, tried her best to save Sayaka Miki, but failed and had to retreat.
As for why they were trying to help each other now...
Well, it's been a few days. It wasn't impossible for them to have gotten over their differences.
Regardless, right before his eyes, Sayaka had turned into a Witch. Jeremy simply watched the Witch from where he was, unnoticed by all.
Even if Kyoko had failed, someone else, another Magical Girl, would come take care of it.
It just didn't sit right with him to kill this Witch that used to be Sayaka Miki, not when the redheaded girl had escaped with Sayaka's body intact. It was clear from all of her actions that she intended to try and save her.
But... saving Sayaka, Jeremy didn't know if that was possible. His knowledge was woefully inadequate.
However, the girl known as Sakura was a Magical girl, the embodiment of hope, and the only one here who probably had the most experience, excluding Homura. Surely she'll think of something.
It was because there was hope that they could do it, that Jeremy left the Witch that used to be Sayaka alone.
Besides, he wasn't a Magical girl, and Magical girls were the ones who were supposed to take care of Witches.
In the end, the redheaded girl had failed to save Sayaka, even with Madoka. Mami and Homura had shown up too, but it turned out to be useless.
Jeremy wasn't sure what happened exactly, but that redheaded girl had even sacrificed herself to end the Witch that used to be Sayaka.
And with that, the only Magical Girls left in the town was Akemi Homura and Tomoe Mami.
The night Walpurgisnacht descended.
The two Magical Girls were nearly crushed and defeated, and he who had shown up wasn't able to make much of a difference.
Or rather, he was prevented from being able to make a difference, as 'HE' had shown up as expected.
Unable to assist the Magical Girls, they soon fell to the might that was Walpurgisnacht.
Left alone to face 'HIM' and Walpurgisnacht, he was without a doubt, doomed to fail.
But he didn't go down without a fight.
Single-handedly holding off both 'HIM' and Walpurgisnacht, he managed to stall for enough time until Homura was able to reset the loop—
Jeremy opened his eyes from where he lay. Time had successfully been reversed, it seemed.
Jeremy thought back to the final fight before Homura reversed time.
Walpurgisnacht was certainly powerful. But it wasn't so powerful that he couldn't defeat it.
On the same note, 'HE' was also ridiculously strong, but he already knew that. The only reason he had been able to hold them off together was because he only fought to survive and to protect Homura, not to win.
Winning was impossible... at least, by himself.
Dragging it out as long as possible, he had nearly succumbed and died when Homura turned back time, giving them all another chance.
With a sigh, Jeremy got up and set to find Homura. He had a few things he needed to clear up.
Homura shot up in her bed for the second time in a row.
What the hell was that? The enemy that Jeremy spoke about... he looked human, but his power was without a doubt on par with Walpurgisnacht, if not stronger.
Homura involuntarily shivered at the thought of having to face both of them at the same time. Walpurgisnacht was impossible enough as it was for her, and Jeremy had to fight someone just as strong, alone?
Homura wasn't sure, but she felt that the young man known as Jeremy had come alone to fight his enemy, while she had the chance of fighting Walpurgisnacht with other Magical Girls by her side.
Despite all that, Jeremy had kept his promise and had shown up to assist them.
At the beginning, they actually had a chance to win, before Jeremy's enemy had shown up.
Then it all went downhill from there.
But somehow... after Tomoe Mami and herself had been defeated and unable to move, Jeremy was actually somehow able to hold off both his enemy and Walpurgisnacht at the same time, long enough for her to turn back time.
It was true he wasn't as powerful as either of the two enemies; the amount of damage he could deal was miniscule compared to those two, but to have seen him stand before her, watching him hold them off with sheer skill and ability—
He was without a doubt, quite strong.
She couldn't get the scene out of her head, of how Jeremy had deflected and redirected so many attacks back at the two enemies, quickly and efficiently blocking attacks that came from all sides, preventing them all from getting hit...
And yet, despite all that, they had lost.
Fate really was cruel to her, it seems.
But she had another chance. She was given another chance, thanks to Jeremy.
This time, she would make sure that they would not fail.
Leaving her hospital room, Homura made her way outside, meticulously plotting the details of how she would do things this time around, when suddenly, someone called out to her.
"Ah, so that's where you are, Akemi Homura. I need to ask you something."
A very, very familiar voice, one she didn't expect to hear so soon.
"Don't surprise me like that, Jeremy." She replied, turning around. "So? What is it?"
"I have a request. Do you think you can take the time to listen to me?" he asked.
She felt no reason to refuse. After all, he as quite strong, and she would like to be able to keep him as an ally.
"Only if you agree to keep the alliance we made in the previous loop, and if you tell me just who the hell your enemy is."
"Actually, although that wasn't my original request, I would certainly like to keep that agreement we had as well. But as for my enemy... I can tell you another time. Now's not a good time, considering my request."
"If that's the case," Homura said, "What is it that you're requesting?"
"Could you do the exact same thing you did in the previous time loop, up until after Mami survives fighting the Witch? There's something I want to try out."
In the end, Homura agreed to his request. But he would only have one chance; if they failed in this time loop, Homura would go back to doing whatever she wanted to do in the next loop.
That was fine by him. He didn't want to have to reset time so many times. It just didn't feel right, to him. It made it feel like everything that happened previously was just a lie, as unpleasant as some parts were.
He knew that line of thinking made him a hypocrite, but he didn't care.
Regardless, it was time to repeat everything that had happened in the last time line.
With new knowledge in mind, after saving Tomoe Mami, Jeremy started following and watching Sayaka far more closely than before.
He learns of Kyousuke, the childhood friend of Miki Sayaka and a violinist prodigy, who Jeremy acknowledges as a better violinist than he was when he was their age.
He learns of how Kyousuke had ended up in an accident rendering him unable to play the violin anymore.
And he figures out Sayaka's obvious crush on Kyousuke.
It was as simple as putting the facts together. Sayaka would most likely make a contract with a wish involving Kyousuke.
Should he stop it? Try to convince Sayaka that she should think even more carefully about it? That she's clearly lying to herself, trying to say that she did it to be a hero of justice when it clearly was not the case?
…
It wasn't his business to interfere, was it?
And thus, he ended up watching Sayaka Miki make the contract with clinical interest.
And thus, Jeremy learned something new once again.
Hope and despair, love and hate, kindness and wrath. Emotions, good and bad; that was what the whole spiel of magical girls and Witches were all about.
Emotions can become among the most powerful of weapons, Jeremy knew.
But they were all categorized under one thing.
Chaos.
Emotions were always born from chaos.
Jeremy was familiar with chaos and chaotic energy. 'HE' was of chaos, after all.
Jeremy himself did not fight as a knight of order against 'HIM', though. He was not of order, nor was he of chaos, for he had chosen to fight as both; all as one and one as all. A delicate balance between opposites.
That was why he was actually very, very familiar with how chaotic energy, including emotions, worked.
It was no wonder that Miki Sayaka was fated to become a Witch if she makes the contract with Kyuubey; it was simply cause and effect.
Jeremy, however, never was one for following the rules. Why should he, when the world itself has already denied him, denied his existence so many times?
Jeremy ended up running into Mami a couple days before the incident between Sayaka and the redheaded girl occurred. They ended up having the same conversation, but this time it was without interruption.
Days later, on the day where Sayaka and that redheaded girl had come to conflict, Jeremy had decided to investigate the area beforehand.
He walked into the alleyway...
And found himself under attack.
It was just a simple familiar, one belonging to a Witch. Jeremy wondered why he hadn't concealed himself earlier, but it was too late now.
Since the familiar probably thought that he wasn't a Magical Girl, he would have been an easy target.
Well, too bad for you, familiar, Jeremy thought, as he pushed the familiar and redirected its charge straight into the ground. I'm not an easy target.
Jeremy drew out a sword and went for the finishing blow, when his senses screamed at him.
Leaping aside, he slowed down time and avoided the strike of a modular spear, and a familiar one at that.
"Hey, hold on, now. What do you think you're doing?"
The familiar escaped as a certain redheaded girl appeared, the owner of the spear, holding a dessert Jeremy recalled seeing before, called taiyaki.
"Why, I was simply defending myself," Jeremy replied flippantly. "What else could I be doing?"
The girl in front of him blinked. "You're not a Magical Girl, are you? Who the hell are you?"
"Just a passerby," Jeremy responded casually. "But, wasn't that a familiar of a Witch? You're a Magical Girl, right? Why did you let it go?"
"You seem to know a lot, but it seems like you've got this whole thing wrong, so let me explain things to you. Ever heard of the food chain? Familiars and Witches eat weak humans such as yourself. Familiars that killed enough humans grow up to become big, strong Witches. And cute and sexy Magical Girls such as myself eat Witches, with a delicious Grief Seed for dessert. That's the basic rule of this world, you got that?" she said, taking a bite of her taiyaki. "Killing a Familiar before it grows up, that's a waste of time and effort."
"I see, I see. So that's how it is," Jeremy said, sighing as he tilted his head. "The weak give way to the strong, indeed. That certainly makes sense... although, I do have to disagree on one part."
"Hah?" The girl looked at him with a confused expression on her face.
"I'm pretty sure I don't count as a 'weak human'. After all, I'm quite sure the Familiar that attacked me was the one who was about to get killed instead, had you not interfered. Also, I don't find you sexy." he replied with a grin.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.
"Hey, don't take it personally; it's just a matter of taste, isn't it?" he replied.
The girl in front of him paused for a moment, staring at him before shaking her head.
"Never mind that, just who the hell are you?"
"Like I said before, I'm just a passerby. But, isn't it more polite for to introduce yourself first?"
"Hmph. I'm Kyoko. Sakura Kyoko. Now, tell me yours, or you might just find yourself attached onto this lovely spear of mine." The girl who identified herself as Sakura Kyoko bit into her taiyaki once again as she stared daggers into him.
"Ha ha, I'd like to see you try." Jeremy replied. The girl in front of him bristled for a moment before he interrupted her. "However, I don't really like fighting all that much, so I might as well tell you my name. You can just call me Jeremy."
Jeremy actually found it interesting that despite all the provocation being thrown around, not once did either side think about actually attacking. For all the seriousness that could be heard in their words, Jeremy could see it in her eyes.
Sakura Kyoko was not once serious the entire time. In fact, she was actually enjoying the banter between the two of them, if her facial expressions were anything to go by.
What was more surprising to Jeremy was that he couldn't help himself but to banter along with her. Not only that, he too somewhat enjoyed it.
"Jeremy, was it? I'll keep that in mind," Sakura Kyoko said. "So? What kind of passerby are you, to be able to fight off a familiar like that? You can't be an ordinary person, and clearly you're no Magical Girl."
"I'm just an unordinary passerby, Sakura Kyoko. On a side note, it looks like the familiar you prevented me from killing is under attack again. If you want to keep it alive, you better hurry."
"Whatever. I'll see you around, wiseguy."
The girl took off in the direction the familiar escaped in. Jeremy himself followed after her after she disappeared from sight, concealing his presence once more.
Jeremy arrived just in time to see Sakura Kyoko and Miki Sayaka face off, in a very familiar scene.
Mami wasn't there for some reason, though. In the last time line, she had stayed back because she started talking to him, but that clearly wasn't the case this time; he hadn't even seen Mami at all today.
Regardless, the scene where Sakura Kyoko and Miki Sayaka ended up fighting played out before his eyes, a scene he had missed last time but without a doubt would probably lead to what he saw in the last time line.
This time, however, the reason for conflict was obvious even to Jeremy. Miki Sayaka claimed to want to be a hero of justice, and Sakura Kyoko believed in the more practical approach, where only the strong survive.
Neither belief was inherently wrong, Jeremy thought. It's just that they were beliefs that could not coexist, and thus they clashed. It was something that really couldn't be helped.
The confrontation quickly degraded into a one-sided fight. Sakura Kyoko was by far more skilled and experienced than Miki Sayaka, and thus the outcome was obvious.
Jeremy didn't like it.
What should he do?
Isn't it obvious? Just like with Mami, what do you want to do?
Jeremy stepped forward, revealing his presence.
Sayaka was shocked when the spear that was headed towards her was suddenly grabbed by a third person.
Actually, she probably wasn't the only one shocked, the redheaded girl in front of her, Madoka, even Kyuubey, they were all shocked at the sudden appearance of that young man.
It was a familiar young man, the one who had saved Mami-san.
"Ah..." Sayaka involuntarily let out. What was he doing here? Was he here to help her just like when he did with Mami?
The redheaded Magical Girl, however, seemed to know who he was as she shouted at him. "Jeremy...! What are you doing here? Let go!"
The young man let go of the spear, but as he did so he stood in between herself and the redheaded girl.
"Sakura Kyoko... back off for a bit. Wanting to be a hero of justice is a beautiful dream, so let her dream for a bit. Maybe she'll even be able to turn that dream into reality."
The young man who was called Jeremy, and the girl who was called Sakura Kyoko... They even knew each other? Wasn't the young man, Jeremy, a hero of justice? Or were they in fact, enemies? That would make sense, if Jeremy was the hero of justice and Kyoko a villain. Besides, it sure looked like it...
"A dream, huh? That's all it's ever going to be. Turning such a dream into reality isn't possible!"
"Just let it be, Kyoko. It's because turning a dream into a reality is such a difficult task that she's likely to fail. If you want her to learn... It's better for her to find out for herself."
Sayaka stared at the young man, more confused than ever. Wasn't this man, Jeremy, supposed to be a hero of justice? Then what was with the words coming out of his mouth? It was almost as if...
"Miki Sayaka!" the young man shouted, interrupting her thoughts. "Certainly, being a hero of justice is a beautiful thing. But it is naught but a dream! The only way to become one is to turn that dream into a reality! But let me warn you this, Miki Sayaka. Even if you really were completely serious about wanting to be an ally of justice, it is still likely that you will fail again and again, possibly to fall into despair and die miserably in the process instead. Despite all that, do you still want to be a hero of justice?"
"I... I don't want to be a hero of justice, I will become an ally of justice!" Sayaka declared, strengthening her resolve.
"I see," the young man replied. "She's made her decision, Sakura Kyoko. There's not much for either of us to do here... besides to watch and wait, to see if Miki Sayaka succeeds or fails in turning that dream into a reality."
"Hmph. I would rather still beat the truth into her, but I'll let her go for now."
And just like that, the girl called Sakura Kyoko left, jumping up onto the rooftops.
The young man himself watched her go before simply disappearing into the shadows himself.
Sayaka wondered idly how the young man managed to disappear into the shadows despite wearing white, before the sudden relief from all the tension caused her legs to be unable to support her for a moment.
As Madoka and Kyuubey approached her, she thought about the young man's words, his warning to her.
She would become an ally of justice, and prove that she could turn that dream into a reality.
Mami had arrived just in time to see Jeremy interfere with the fight. Although Madoka had contacted her earlier, it seemed that somehow, Jeremy managed to find his way onto the scene without anyone telling him, and had ended the fight in a rather strange manner, reminiscent of the way he had saved her.
No, not saved her, but knocked some sense into her as he would insist, Mami thought with a slight smile.
Not only that, but it would appear that he knew Sakura Kyoko as well. She wondered just what that was about...
Many days passed since that incident where Jeremy had warned her.
Sayaka stared down at her lap, thinking about what a rough ride it had been for both herself and Mami the past few days.
After they had found out that their Soul Gems were actually the result of Kyuubey ripping their souls out of their bodies, Mami had nearly freaked out when the young man, Jeremy, showed up and somehow managed to calm her down.
That guy really had to be a hero of justice, thought Sayaka. Always showing up and helping them when they needed it, guiding them along and giving them warnings...
It was almost as if he was trying to help them in a rather roundabout way.
Sayaka was somewhat glad, but at the same time extremely depressed. After all, her best friend Hitomi had confessed to have fallen in love with Kyousuke, and Sayaka herself stood no chance against her, not... not as the zombie she was.
She had even yelled at her friends to leave her alone. Mami and Madoka meant well for sure, but... but...!
She knew she had no reason to get angry at them. She had only lashed out at them because they happened to be there, a fact that she deeply regretted.
It really was a difficult road, being an ally of justice. It was just as the young man had said when he had warned her, tested her resolve.
She thought she was strong enough, but in the end...
"Found you at last!"
The voice of Sakura Kyoko.
Over the past few days, she had learned that Sakura Kyoko wasn't all that bad a person. They could actually get along somewhat, but their ideals still clashed.
Kyoko, who had wanted to be an ally of justice but had given up, and Sayaka, who still wanted to be an ally of justice...
Sayaka found it laughable at times, of how wrong she had been about Kyoko. Kyoko had even supported her at times these days, despite their clashing ideals.
Really though, deep down inside she was glad that Kyoko had actually managed to find her today.
"How long were you planning to go on being stubborn like this?" Kyoko asked, eating her snack as she sat down next to Sayaka.
"Sorry for making you look for me," Sayaka replied quietly. Kyoko could hear the grief laced within her words.
"What's this? That doesn't sound like you." Kyoko said, looking at Sayaka
"I... I wanted to be an ally of justice, but..."
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice interrupted her from behind them. "Do you still want to be an ally of justice?"
Kyoko leapt to her feet, spinning around as she turned to face the new person. Sayaka on the other hand, simply slouched down even lower in her depression.
"Who... Who are you?" Kyoko asked, looking at the figure standing directly behind Sayaka.
When had he gotten there? He hadn't been there earlier. Although it was dark out, there was a brightly lit sign behind Sayaka, so there was no way she could have missed him earlier.
The only real distinctive thing about the man, however, was his white, shoulder-length hair.
The figure ignored her, placing a hand on Sayaka's shoulder. "Sayaka, was it?" he said, looking down at her...
...with eyes that seemed to be filled with contempt. "Do you still want to become an ally of justice?"
Something was wrong, Kyoko felt. Who the hell was this guy?
"...Yeah, I still do." Sayaka finally replied to the stranger. "It's just that, to be a hero of justice, hope and despair have to balance out to zero. Saving people means to take their despair upon myself..."
"Is that so?" The man replied. "Then you're not giving up? You're still going to try to be a hero of justice, despite all despair and hatred that you've decided to take upon yourself?"
"...Of course not. I'll never give up. I just... want to take a short break for now."
Kyoko paused, wondering just what was going on. On one hand, this scene was extremely suspicious. Her instincts told her to get Sayaka and herself away from that man as far as possible, but at the same time his words didn't seem to drive Sayaka even further into despair.
In fact, he seemed to be confirming her resolve.
"Hmph. I see, so that's how it is. If that's the case..."
That was when Kyoko noticed. The hand that the man had placed on Sayaka...
...was pulsating with dark energy.
"Normally, I would have just let things run their course, but with Jeremy around it would be better to speed things up a bit. Since you refuse to give up your ideals, Miki Sayaka, then go drown in your ideals and die."
Then that dark energy around his hand exploded, consuming Sayaka as the man disappeared into the darkness.
Jeremy had noticed the influx of chaotic energy. He recognized it; it belonged to 'HIM'.
He rushed onto the scene, a sword in hand, and was just in time to watch Miki Sayaka fall into despair, her soul gem becoming corrupted to the point where it shattered and turned into a grief seed as Sayaka Miki herself turned into a Witch, with 'HIM' nowhere in sight.
He had watched very carefully.
Kyoko was there too, wildly looking around with a shocked expression on her face before she caught sight of him.
"Jeremy! What the hell is going on?"
Jeremy mentally cursed his bad luck. "Kyoko! Get Miki Sayaka out of here! We're falling back! I'll explain as much as I can later!"
"You better have a good explanation for this!"
Then Homura showed up, stopping time.
With the three of them working together, Kyoko was able to grab Miki Sayaka's body as they escaped.
Once they got out, Kyoko had nothing but questions for them.
"What the hell was that? Where did that Witch come from all of a sudden?" Kyoko asked.
"That is the Witch that used to be Miki Sayaka." Homura replied. Jeremy simply looked away.
"...Jeremy? Did you know this would happen?" Kyoko asked him.
"...I've only seen it happen once before. But I didn't expect to see it happen again." Jeremy replied.
"And I thought you would have done something about it." Homura said, almost accusingly. "Knowing you, I was sure that you would have done something, but it seems that the result was the same. What do you have to say, Jeremy?"
"The loop's not over yet. Don't go around assuming things, Homura," Jeremy replied.
Kyoko frantically looked back and forth between the two of them. "What are you guys talking about? Are you two plotting something? Hey! Tell me!"
"We're not plotting anything," Homura said, flicking her hair away. "It's just as you saw. Magical Girls are cursed to become the very Witches that they fight. When their Soul Gems become too corrupted, they turn into Grief Seeds. It is an undeniable fact, as much as I loathe to admit it."
"Regardless, it seems like Sayaka failed to make her dream come true." Jeremy said with a downcast look on his face. "If only I had paid more attention..."
"...You guys seem to know a lot." Kyoko accused them.
"Most of what I know is mostly in theory. I had no way of actually proving it," Jeremy defended himself.
"...Well, whatever. Do you think you can at least tell me just who the hell that guy was?" Kyoko asked
"There was someone else here?" asked Jeremy. Did Kyoko see 'HIM'...?
"Yeah, some weird guy with white hair. He was the one who messed around with Sayaka, telling her to drown in her ideals and die and all that crap."
Both of them stiffened up at her words, and glanced at each other.
"Did you just say... a white haired man?" Jeremy finally asked.
"Yeah, so? What was up with that guy?" Kyoko asked.
"That..." Homura hesitated, before looking at Jeremy.
"Probably, that guy was the enemy I was looking for." Jeremy said, a deadly serious look on his face. "That makes things all the more serious. Akemi Homura, Sakura Kyoko. Take Miki Sayaka's body away from here. I have to investigate something."
"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Homura asked him, concern on her face.
Ah, that's right. She knew how powerful 'HE' was.
"I'll be fine," he lied. "So, go on ahead."
After the girls left, he turned around to look at the entrance of the Labyrinth that the Witch that used to be Miki Sayaka had created.
He had lied when he said he as going to investigate. He didn't even intend to look for 'HIM' here, although he would have to be careful with 'HIM' around.
Jeremy had a theory, and it was time to test it.
When Jeremy stepped inside the Labyrinth, the first thing he noticed was the song.
A song for the Witch, a distorted song reminiscent of love.
A song...?
Suddenly, Jeremy recalled something. Yes, he could do that.
The corner of Jeremy's mouth turned downwards into a slight frown as he made his way to the center.
Although this may go a little easier then he thought, he wasn't exactly a fan of using this method.
Oktavia von Seckendorff.
That was the name of the witch at the center of the Labyrinth. It had taken him a while to figure it out, but having seen the runes so many times in different Labyrinths he figured out that it seemed to be some sort of runic language with some semblance to German.
More importantly, to his interest, there was actually an entire concert hall in here where an orchestra of minions continuously played for the Witch.
None noticed Jeremy yet, concealed as he was.
Pardon me, Jeremy thought as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small, silver rectangular object. I'm afraid that this orchestra needs a soloist. I'll apologize in advance that it was me instead of Kyousuke.
As he brought up the rectangular object, it glowed for a moment, before turning into a violin.
Arablest, Jeremy spoke quietly in his mind. It's been a while, but please, work together with me once more.
Arablest. Ironically, an instrument of the same chaos that 'HE' used. It was an artifact that could take the form of any number of instruments at once. It was also the one and true legendary artifact that actually belonged to Jeremy.
And, most importantly...
Of all the types of magic that Jeremy had learned...
Music was his strongest.
Jeremy did not expect to do poorly.
Oktavia was a being of despair.
A being whose nature was to fall in love but to never receive it, she would constantly look for the feeling that had moved her so long ago.
Constantly wallowing under the weight of memories, nothing will reach her any longer. She refuses to do anything but listen to the music of her minions...
...And to prevent anyone from disturbing the playing of her minions.
So when an aberration suddenly showed up, she prepared to strike it down.
That was when the aberration started playing along with her minions.
Oktavia was confused. What was this? Something strange had shown up, and suddenly had started playing music along with her minions.
A song of an impossible love, a sad yet beautiful yet ugly song.
Oktavia was conflicted about about what to do.
Jeremy continued playing Arablest in the form of a violin, caught in a musical duel with the orchestra.
The minions had ignored him, continuously playing for the Witch.
Jeremy had quickly caught on to the tune of the orchestra and played along, creating a song in which the orchestra and his song would compliment each other, support each other. A skill that he normally would never have, much less master, without Arablest and its previous owner.
He wove his song, reaching out with his magic, seeing, feeling, understanding this world, the Witch's sorrow.
After all, if a picture could be worth a thousand words, why not a song?
In fact, Jeremy believed a song without lyrics had even more potential to tell a story.
It wasn't the saddest of stories. Jeremy himself had experienced worse many times. The only real tragedy was how Sayaka's weakness, and her inability to be honest with herself, had led to such an event.
Slowly, carefully, cautiously, Jeremy wove his magic.
Oktavia had decided to leave the aberration be. If it decided to join her ranks of minions and play along with the music, then let it. As long as the music wasn't disrupted, she would let it be.
Then she felt a slight tug within her form. A tug here, a tug there.
Was something attacking her? Preventing her from listening to the music?
The only thing different from before was the aberration.
It must be his doing.
So she attacked.
Oh boy, Jeremy thought. Things have finally gotten tricky.
Jeremy leaned back and forth, spinning here and there like a dancer or a skater, still playing Arablest as he avoided the objects smashing into the ground around him.
Oktavia had finally decided to attack him, it seems.
It was time to start his own song, rather then playing with the orchestra. A battle where he had to survive Oktavia's onslaught while dueling the orchestra for control.
While he did that, he also had to concentrate on his magic.
What a pain, trying to do so much at once. But this wasn't the first time he had done that, so it wasn't too difficult.
He had actually found Oktavia's grief seed. Granted, he couldn't physically touch or see it, but he hadn't been weaving a web of magic with his earlier song for no reason.
When he had played along with the orchestra, his magic, intertwined with his music, had not only told him Oktavia's story, but the layout of the Labyrinth, of Oktavia herself.
He knew no words or emotions could reach Oktavia.
But that didn't mean he couldn't drag the remains of Sayaka out.
The Labyrinth, the representation of Sayaka's soul, and the grief seed, the fragmented remains of what was Sayaka's Soul Gem, her soul. He now knew where everything was, and had started weaving it all back together.
When he had seen Sayaka make a contract with Kyuubey, he hadn't just seen what happened, he learned and understand everything in detail, of how Kyuubey had ripped out Sayaka's soul and crystallized it into a Soul Gem.
What a crude yet efficient method.
What Jeremy was about to do was probably among the most difficult thing he had ever done in his life.
And he would not allow for even a single mistake.
Jeremy danced and played his song, weaving his magic, spinning around projectiles Oktavia launched against him.
The one magic Jeremy was attempting right now was one Jeremy had only learned in passing, but had actually never used.
Soulweaving.
A delicate and intricate magic, he had actually managed to figure it out after spending time with the banished soulweavers of Lehrail. However, Jeremy never really wanted to use such a magic that could alter a person's very own soul, and thus had never once practiced it.
Trying to piece back together Sayaka's fragmented soul and repair it should more or less be an impossible task for Jeremy as he was.
It sort of reminded Jeremy of that poem of how an anthropomorphic egg named Humpty Dumpty had fallen and broke, and all the king's horses and men were unable to put the pieces back together again.
There were some differences, though.
On one hand, Jeremy had a number of advantages.
First, with Time Alteration, he simply had a lot of time to keep trying until he got what he wanted.
Second, since he was playing and fighting with Arablest, his reserves of magic wasn't going to be a problem. Probably.
Hopefully.
And third, and perhaps most importantly of all:
He had seen Sayaka's Soul, and her soul gem, in its creation, and thus already knew how it already looked like. He had even seen it break and shatter at the end, when Miki Sayaka had turned into a Witch.
On the other hand, this was going to take a long time.
It was a puzzle that had over a million pieces, which required a skill he had never practiced once before, and mistakes were not acceptable.
Jeremy wondered if he had taken an impossible task upon himself.
All that was left now was a battle of attrition. Would Jeremy tire out first, killing himself for overexerting himself or dashed to pieces in the Labyrinth, failing to prove his theory, or would he succeed?
The odds weren't very favorable at all for Jeremy.
But he had already started, so he wouldn't back down.
Hours passed, but to Jeremy, it felt like months.
Correction: It might as well have been months, since time was being altered and slowed here in the Labyrinth thanks to his magic.
Jeremy was already mentally and physically exhausted, the air in the Labyrinth already showing signs of frost as he had began to absorb energy from his surroundings and the emotional energy from the songs to sustain himself.
He had barely made any progress, too, since he couldn't even physically see the fragments, and had to weave them together in his mind.
The rate at which he was tiring was too high compared to the rate at which he maintained his soulweaving.
It really was an impossible task for him after all.
But he still refused to give up.
What am I doing? Jeremy thought.
Expending this much energy on simply attempting to prove a theory when 'HE' was nearby, it was suicidal.
Fortunately, 'HE' hadn't shown up at all in the Labyrinth. He would know, he was intertwined with the layout of the Labyrinth himself through the weaving of his song.
But it was still tantamount to suicide.
Why was he doing this?
Isn't it obvious? You're doing what you've always wanted to do ever since you learned that Magical Girls turned into Witches.
That's true, but...
Wouldn't it be pointless if he died right afterward?
Jeremy had been in there for what probably amounted up to a year's worth of time now. He had already lost his sight, having overexerted himself, but he had no need to see to dance and avoid the wheels that this Witch had sent flying at him.
He had already lost some of his memory, but a small part of him knew that he could recover those IF he survived. All he needed was to continue his task.
...
He had lost many things. He had even lost _ _ _. But somehow, _ _ was still able to keep _ _ _ _ and _ _ _, avoiding the _ _ that _ _ _ had sent _ _ _ at _ _.
Why was _ _ doing _ _ again?
Who?
What?
_ _?
Kyoko had spent the night maintaining Sayaka's body with her magic, and was already quite tired. Still, she refused to give up on her friend.
The next morning she sought out Madoka and Mami. Madoka was close friends with Sayaka after all, and if anyone could save Sayaka it would be her, who understood her the most. Mami came along too, because she too would do anything to help her underclassman.
It wasn't even all that hard to convince the two of them, and they quickly made their way over to where Sayaka had turned into a Witch.
They arrive just in time to see a flash of light, and the signal indicating the presence of a Witch suddenly died out.
Something hit the floor.
"What..." Madoka started, but Kyoko was already running.
When she arrived where the entrance of the Labyrinth should have been, it was gone.
The only thing that remained was a young man in a white longcoat of sorts, lying on the floor, unconscious.
And in his hand...
...was Sayaka's Soul Gem.
The three of them stared in amazement, to the point where Kyoko had nearly dropped the apple she had been holding and had to catch it before it hit the ground
Food shouldn't be wasted, after all.
Against all odds, Jeremy had gone ahead of them and managed to retrieve Sayaka's Soul Gem and he wasn't even a magical girl.
"Just who the hell is this guy, seriously?" Kyoko said, glaring at the body, before realizing that, well, Sayaka's Soul Gem was sitting right there.
Kyoko walked over and snatched it out of the man's hand.
There was no resistance.
Well, he was unconscious to the point that he was probably dead, after all. And knowing him, he probably would have given it up willingly in the first place.
"Wait..." Madoka slowly spoke up. "Isn't that the same guy who saved Mami-san the other day?"
"Eh? Did something like that happen?" Kyoko asked.
"Not saved, helped." Mami said. "There's a difference."
As Madoka and Mami told her the story of what happened that day, Kyoko grinned.
Now, this was quite interesting.
A couple hours ago.
After Homura had parted with Sakura Kyoko and Miki Sayaka's body, she made her way back to where Miki Sayaka had turned into a Witch.
She definitely wasn't worried about Jeremy. No, she just wanted to make sure that such a powerful ally would stay alive until the end, she told herself.
When she arrived, she ran into the last person she wanted to meet.
"Why, hello there." A man with white hair said as he appeared from the darkness. "Fancy meeting you here."
Homura bristled at the sight. She recognized him; it was Jeremy's enemy, the one who had showed up at the end of the previous time line.
"Seems like you recognize me. Could it be, that you retain the memories from the last time loop?"
He remembers what happened too? What was this?
"I see. So you're the one who could control time. I see, I see, that makes sense. No wonder Jeremy was able to escape twice in a row already. If only I had managed to corrupt you in time in the first time loop, then things would have gone by much more quickly. Ah well, it really couldn't be helped."
Homura regained control over herself. Jeremy had already surprised her too many times like this, and therefore she wouldn't let this man do the same.
"So, little girl. Will you get out of my way? I would like to speak with Jeremy."
"I refuse." Homura replied, before stopping time. Whipping out an Howa Type 89 assualt rifle, she fired a few warning shots at him before restoring time.
"Oh my, how scary," Jeremy's enemy said, waving his hands nonchalantly as the bullets flew past him. Clearly despite his words he wasn't scared at all. "You should be careful with those weapons, you could kill someone with those." he said laughingly.
"That's the whole point," Homura grounded out, glaring at the man.
"Seems like I'm not wanted here at all," The man replied. "As easy as it would be for me to crush you here and now, fighting one who can stop time is such a pain. See you later, little girl."
Just like that, the man disappeared, melting into the darkness.
Homura refused to relax, looking around until she felt that he really was gone.
Then she realized that Jeremy was no where to be found.
It took Homura a while to find out, but she eventually found Jeremy.
He was in the Labyrinth that the Witch that used to be Miki Sayaka had created...
...And he was playing the Witch a song, of all things.
What are you doing, Jeremy? Homura wondered.
As curious as she was, she decided that she wouldn't risk interrupting him. When he finally finished...
She would make him explain everything.
And thus, she decided to stand guard, watching over the entrance of the Labyrinth in case Jeremy's enemy came back.
She certainly didn't expect Jeremy to eventually reappear, exhausted and tired as he was (if not already dead), holding onto Miki Sayaka's Soul Gem.
To Homura, it was a miracle; a beautiful miracle.
If a miracle could happen...
Maybe Madoka could be saved, after all.
A/N: Being Sayaka is suffering.
Thanks for making it this far.
Okay, finally got this chapter down and dusted. This chapter was a bit difficult to write, and I'm a busy person, but at least it's over now.
You probably already noticed that the title of the story also more or less appeared in this chapter, too. Well, whatever.
Some thing you might want to know:
First, Arablest. That artifact is canon in Jeremy's original story, and he does get possession of it. It's a ridiculously powerful tool that nobody knows about since the people who wrote history decided not to include it. In fact, not including things in what was written in history was actually a minor plot point in my story.
I've already described Arablest somewhat in the story already, so no need to go into much detail here.
Also, the spelling is intentional as well. Those who DID write about Arablest, when people read their works they assumed it was a typo and believed the writers were talking about Arbalests, a type of crossbow.
After all, what kind of instrument can change the course of a war? Surely it must have been a crossbow.
Anyway, Arablest is ridiculously powerful. For now, you can think of it as an item that can amplify magic power, thus completely messing around with the laws of thermodynamics.
Then again, magic never did listen to science. xD
Another thing closely related to this: turning Ocktavia back into Sayaka.
Its already been declared that under normal means, turning a witch back into a Magical Girl is impossible, but even Kyuubey itself admitted that he wouldn't be surprised if it happened.
So I took a lot of liberties. If you don't like them... Well, whatever.
To be honest, the more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, so I decided to do it.
Clearly though, it was not without cost to Jeremy.
Third, if you're wondering, chapter 2.5 takes place somewhere near the beginning of this chapter. While Sayaka was becoming a Magical Girl, Jeremy was in his room. It was days after Sayaka became a Magical Girl that Jeremy met Homura, where they made an alliance or sorts.
Fourth, Jeremy's enemy. If you haven't noticed, 'HE' seems to have some power over chaos, and emotions are born from chaos. (haha, story title insert) It's not implausible that he could speed up the corruption of a Soul Gem, turning Magical Girls into Witches, especially when you realize that his power is apparently on par with Walpurgisnacht, if not even more so. That's why, although Miki Sayaka actually had a better chance of not turning into a Witch, the second 'HE' showed up she was doomed.
Well, to be honest even if 'HE' hadn't she probably would have turned into a Witch anyway.
Anyway, that's all I can think of for now.
Find out what happens next when I feel like writing the next chapter.
...
Then again, who's even reading this anyway?
Anyway, if you bothered to read through this entire A/N, kudos to you.
Also, Omakes!
OMAKE 1
Sayaka learned just what happened to her, and had spent the day running around looking for the man who had done the impossible feat and managed to save her even after she had become a witch.
To be honest, she didn't know what to say when she found him, but she knew she had to say something.
Oh well, she'll probably think of something when she actually found him.
She never did.
Lolololololol jk
OMAKE v1.1 (continued)
When Sayaka finally found Jeremy, he was on his way back from the grocery store.
"There you are!" she shouted, running at him.
The young man looked at her with a confused expression on his face.
"Who are you?"
Sayaka face-faulted.
lololol jk
OMAKE v1.2 (continued )
"Did you need something?" Jeremy said as the girl nearly ran him over.
"I need to talk to you. In private."
"I refuse."
Being Sayaka is suffering *is stabbed by Sayaka * Okay, okay, I'll stop trolling your Omake, Sayaka. I just couldn't help bullying you *is stabbed yet again *
OMAKE v1.3.
"I need to talk to you. In private."
"Is that so?" Jeremy asked. "At least let me put my groceries down, there are perishables in here. If you want, you can come along, my house isn't far from here.
Sayaka found herself standing in Jeremy's apartment while he put the groceries away.
It was very... plain.
There was literally nothing in the room but a single low table, the kind you had to kneel at to use.
The lack of furniture, design, of anything, in the room was discomforting. She didn't even know how he managed to live here.
She then found herself hoping that he at least had more furniture in the other rooms.
It didn't take very long for Jeremy to put the groceries away. He then prepared some tea for his guest, which he brought with him to living room where Sayaka was waiting.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Jeremy asked as he set the tea down on the only table in the room.
The girl stared at him for a moment, as if...
"Take your time, there's no rush." Jeremy said, recognizing the signs. She obviously felt that she had to say something, but didn't know what to say or how to put it into words. "Why don't you have some tea first?"
He poured out some tea into a cup, which he offered to Sayaka.
"A-ah, t-thank you." She accepted the tea cup and took a sip.
Then her eyes widened as she stared at the cup.
Because apparently he was that good at making tea.
-
Jeremy: Really, author? You're going to do this?
Author: Yep. XD
Jeremy: -_-
Author: Anyway, on with the omake.
The girl sat there for a some time, simply sipping the tea that he had provided for her.
Jeremy himself just sat there, slowly drinking from his own tea cup.
He had all the time in the world, afterall. There was no need to rush.
Mostly because he had slowed down his own time, so even though Sayaka didn't say anything for a full 10 minutes it felt like 10 or so seconds to him.
Yeah, Time Alteration really is convenient.
"What did... how did you save me?" Sayaka finally asked, fidgeting where she sat.
"What did you say?" Jeremy asked, caught off guard.
Time was running a lot faster, after all. How was he to know when she would suddenly start speaking?
"Oh...er, about that..." Jeremy replied, wishing he could avoid the subject. He ended up telling her the truth anyway.
About how he had to find and weave together the broken fragments of her soul, literally drag it out and piece each and every one of them together in the right place while trying not to get killed by Oktavia.
"So um, yeah, I kind of ended up knowing a bit more about you than I really needed to. Sorry about that." Jeremy said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
The girl looked extremely conflicted as she continued staring at her cup of tea, trying to comprehend what he had said.
And then she looked up at him, her face flushed with embarrassment (and why not, considering that the guy in front of her had just admitted to having read her soul and thus knew her inside and out?) glared at him with baleful eyes and pouted; it was an expression that could only be described in one word:
CUTE.
"Oi, what's wro-"
"SHUT UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
There could only be one response from Jeremy:
He exploded from sheer MOE-ness.
-
Jeremy: Really, author? Really?
Author: lololololol xDD
Author: also, Because Sayaka is apparently tsundere now.
Sayaka: Wait, when did I become tsundere? -_-
Author: When this omake started. Isn't it sad, Sayaka?
OMAKE 2
Kyoko decided to give Jeremy a visit after Sayaka told her where he lived.
"Yo." She said when Jeremy opened the door. "I'm coming in."
Without even waiting for a reply she walked right in.
Jeremy could only stare at her in disbelief as she walked in, eating some sort of snack he hadn't heard about.
"...Kyoko, was it? What do you want?"
"Hey, gotta say thanks to the one who saved my friend, right?"she said, handing over one of the snacks she had been holding."Want some?"
Jeremy hesitated for a moment, before he realized Kyoko's intention.
So he accepted the snack. "Thanks," he said absentmindedly. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting a guest. Please, give me a moment so that I can welcome you properly."
And like that, he fled to the kitchen.
Kyoko looked around the living room. "Sayaka wasn't kidding when she said this room was hella plain. Maybe I should do something about it..."
Normally, Jeremy would simply have made tea.
But knowing Kyoko, who was always eating, he decided it wasn't enough.
Time Alteration, he declared.
Now, he had more than enough time.
….
Why was he doing this again?
-
Author: For the lolz.
Jeremy: -_- really?
Kyoko was still contemplating on how to make the room less plain when Jeremy came back.
But when Jeremy walked through the door, much to her amazement he literally carted a cart with freshly made goods of various kinds.
There was the tea that she had been expecting, considering what Sayaka had told her earlier, but that almost seemed pushed off to the corner of the cart in favor of the mini baked goods and other sweets that included cookies, cakes, chocolate.
And furthermore, they were clearly freshly made.
Not only that, he had only been gone for less than a minute!
That was when Jeremy realized what he had done.
-
Jeremy: You mean, what you made me do. -_- OTL
Author: Trololololol
Kyoko could feel her mouth water as she nearly dropped her snack yet again thanks to the same guy doing the most ridiculous thing.
The most ridiculous but AWESOME things.
"I thought you liked food, considering I see you eating all the time, so I thought I'll offer some food to welcome you." Jeremy said as he tried to explain himself.
"...Did you just make all that?"
"Um... yes? Why?"
"Aren't you overdoing it a bit?"
"Well, I didn't know what you liked, so I just made it all... You can take whatever you want back home if you'd like, guess. But anyway, what did you come here for?"
It didn't take long for the conversation to degenerate after Kyoko took her first bite.
She froze.
She transformed into a magical girl, complete with her spear.
She pointed it at Jeremy.
"BECOME MY SLAVE AND COOK FOR ME FOREVER"
Hilarity ensues as Jeremy tries to refuse.
From that day forth, legends were passed down about how a certain red haired magical girl tried to capture a young man so that he would became her cook.
As for what really happened, the world may never know.
