Madoka Kaname felt terrible.

She sat at her desk, unable to concentrate on Saotome-sensei's lesson, if her going off about being stood up on a date could count as one. Her stomach was heavy, a sinking, negative feeling that wouldn't go away despite her best efforts. She looked over to Sayaka, stealing another glance as she had been all day, who was currently staring off into space. Her arms were crossed and she restlessly tapped her foot. She was clearly in deep thought about something. Madoka couldn't help but feel a little worried. Sayaka had been acting strange for the past couple of weeks, seeming more… excitable, she supposed was a good word for it. She paid less attention than she normally did and was very eager to leave school every day. While this wouldn't usually be cause for concern, the primary issue lay with Sayaka not walking home with Hitomi and her, instead opting to travel with Homura, who apparently lived in the opposite direction. Madoka glanced at Homura, who was not even trying to hide the fact that she was looking back at her. Her gaze is so intense… what does she even want with them!? Sayaka wasn't like this before Homura came here. Was Homura a bad influence on her? She was very adamant about Madoka not coming with them, and Sayaka even agreed with her! Why? Was it something she did? Did she offend her? Did Homura just not like her?

And then Madoka felt guilty. Sayaka was a naturally outgoing and cheerful person. She was trying her best to make Homura feel welcome. She's been with Kyosuke for so long, she clearly has a better understanding of someone who's been in the hospital for a prolonged period. And here she was feeling jealous. She needed to stop thinking such terrible things about Homura. She was probably nervous! That had to be the explanation! Homura seemed so very shy when she introduced herself to the class, a stoic expression utilized to mask how she actually felt. Or at least that's how Madoka interpreted her behavior. Despite Homura's academic and athletic achievements, she never really got close to anyone, so that made the most sense as far as she knew. Well, she didn't get close to anyone except Sayaka.

There she goes again. Since when did she start assuming the worst about people? Sayaka will come back to hang out with them and bring Homura with her. She just… has to be patient. Let Homura do things in her own time. She was shy and socially awkward, and only a kind, outgoing, positive person like Sayaka would be able to help her adjust. She needed to be understanding and patient.

Hitomi had her own thoughts on their newfound friendship. She joked that they became 'secret lovers', likening it to Sayaka being Homura's prince charming, or something to that effect before claiming that 'girls can't love girls' but that wouldn't matter since Sayaka is naturally 'boyish' anyway. She had told Hitomi that was really insulting and didn't make any sense since Sayaka was clearly interested in Kyosuke. She kept saying it regardless. Madoka didn't think any of that was actually true, despite Hitomi's repeated insistence. Maybe she was jealous too. It's also possible Hitomi truly believes that. She always had a tendency to jump to conclusions and had a very, very active imagination. Which was apparently rubbing off on her. Maybe Madoka owed Homura an apology. She didn't think she came off as rude, but you never know.

Madoka saw Sayaka jump a bit in her seat. Did she now just realize she wasn't paying attention? It's a good thing the Saotome-sensei didn't call on her yet.

Initially Sayaka didn't go home with them because Kyosuke had a major recovery. Of course she'd hurry over to be with him. That was understandable. Side note, he was apparently scheduled to come back to class this week. That was something good at least.

The bell rang, signifying the start of lunch.

"Hey," Sayaka said to Hitomi and her. "We'll be back in like, ten minutes."

"Please do not worry," Homura said. Like that wasn't ominous.

"Uh… okay," was all Madoka could muster. Before she or Hitomi said anything further, the two of them left the room.

"Really," Hitomi sighed. "They couldn't wait to do their… activities until after school? Sayaka-chan usually has much more decorum than that."

"Hitomi-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Please stop."

Madoka Kaname felt terrible.

Dante knuckled the two grief seeds in his possession. Two witches taken down in the past hour, and that much closer to confirming his thoughts. He found out, beyond a reasonable doubt, that these seeds were the warped souls of humans. His gut is telling him Kyubey is making witches, however the hell he's doing that, and making magical girls to fight them. To what end, he didn't know. Usually a demon would eat souls for power or some shit, just like they eat every other part of a human. Unless they were killing them for fun, which is another thing demons tended to do. But here he was with two souls in his possession, and Kyubey hasn't even tried to collect. He thought he was making a big enough fuss to threaten his territory since Homura mentioned Kyubey was aware of him, but he's sending five-year-olds to do his job for him. Honestly, that was kinda insulting. Trying to have children kill the Legendary Devil Hunter? Nero would get a kick outta that. Vergil would never let him hear the end of it. Who the hell knows how Lady or Trish would react. Funny story either way. Except for Vergil. He'd say some nonsense like he's grown weak and then he'd have to meet the business end of the Yamato. Several times over.

Damn, he wanted a real fight.

Still, he wouldn't get any answers unless he got to Kyubey himself. Maybe make a devil arm outta him if he's interesting enough, then he can go fight Vergil with a clear mind and conscience. Hell, he'd fight Nero too. It's been ages since he crossed blades with his nephew. Shit, might as well have a go with Trish and Lady. It's been long enough, maybe they'd be up for it? It's the least they could do since they spend all his money. But no, the only person to fight at the moment was a child. What the hell has his life come to?

Ah, well. Wasn't like he needed to be here other than to resolve an inconvenience. Vergil would stop time resetting eventually, regardless if he did anything about it. But he didn't hate Homura enough to have Vergil deal with her. That's a fate he wouldn't wish on anyone. Except Nero. Maybe. So at the end of the day, it was up to him. At least he was gonna make it so these kids could have better lives afterwards. Getting back to what he was doing, Dante cleared his throat.

"Life is a load of shit!" He dramatically declared. "My life's a mess, my wife left me, my kids don't call, I'm knee deep in debt, and my brother tried to kill me! I'm at the end of the rope! I have nothing left to live for!" Dante forced his mind to go back to the past, to those years immediately following Temen-ni-Gru, thinking his brother, his only family was gone for good, only to learn he was enslaved by the guy that killed his folks. He wasn't in a good place then, and it only got worse when he thought he killed Vergil by his own hand. Twice. It hurt like hell for years. He hated himself for it. He honestly wouldn't have cared one way or another if he didn't wake up the next day.

Dante heard a faint whisper, cloying sentiments dripping like honey as it echoed in his mind, confirming everything he just thought.

you are worthless

you are nothing

you should just die

He allowed the words to bounce around in his head, trying to reorient his thoughts to their liking. Without another thought, Dante stepped off the building. Right before he hit the ground, the world around him shifted, and he was hurling right into a monstrosity.

Instantly, his expression shifted into a smirk. He nimbly turned in the air, Balrog out, and delivered a heavy kick to the gross monster that tried to grab him. Yup, the things here were just as weird looking as all the other ones. Some kind of Frankenstein'd mannequin? He's long given up trying to make sense out of any of this.

Now that he figured out the trick, it was almost too easy. Who knew all you had to do was be sad for two seconds? Go 'boo-hoo woe is me' and they let you in like you're old friends. He could only laugh at it. Though that did make him suppose those girls must be sad all the time, then. Either way, now he was doing things on his terms.

"Another one down," Sayaka said as the labyrinth dissipated around them. She turned to Homura as she picked up the grief seed. "How was that?" She asked.

"You are careless," Homura said. "And reckless. You focus heavily on attacking the witch and give little regard to anything that isn't directly in front of you."

"But that's what teammates are for, right? A ranged dps to take out those hard to hit familiars while I draw the aggro right?"

Homura narrowed her eyes. "...What exactly are you referring to?"

"You know… I'm the tank, you and Mami-san are ranged damage, and Kyoko is melee! I get their attention, you two use your AOE to clear adds and soften through boss, and Kyoko goes in for the kill. It's perfect."

Homura bit back the urge to sigh. "You have a very poor understanding of battle tactics," Homura said with a slight shake of her head. "We are done for today."

"Okay…"

"Your magic is not an infinite resource. You cannot allow yourself to be injured and think you will come out unscathed at the end. Only with time and effort can you become skilled enough to efficiently use your magic. Mami Tomoe is a good example, having long since maximized her battle efficiency. As it stands, you expend more that can be covered with an average grief seed."

"...That bad, huh?"

"Mami Tomoe believes we all still have room to increase our power further. I am inclined to believe her." Homura tried to give a look she hoped was reassuring. Sayaka looked at her strangely. "...We will work on this."

Sayaka blinked and Homura was gone. "She still never explained how she can do that." Sayaka sighed. Homura was right. She needed to get better so she didn't hold everyone else back. She didn't want to be a liability- she wanted to help! Sayaka held out her soul gem. A little focus, just like she was told, and she was locked onto a nearby witch. "Practice makes perfect, right?" Following the trail, she was able to find a labyrinth in the next half hour. An abandoned building in the outskirts of the city, foreclosed for some reasons or another. The smell alone reeked of death. This was obviously the place. She resolved herself. She would put Homura's and Mami's lessons into practice. Pushing her magic into the atmosphere, she forced the labyrinth open.

A surreal landscape like the rest, a red hued landscape that was reminiscent of Van Gogh's Starry Night. And in stark white contrast, the witch stood, a cruel facsimile of the Arc de Triomphe. Every witch had a vastly different look to it that she never knew what to expect. That in itself was expected, in a way. But what set off her panic response was the red coated villain she's been training to fight against, going crazy on the multi-limbed mannequins she assumed were the familiars.

Dante leapt off the familiar that tried to grab him, flipped upside down and fired his guns in a spin, righted himself, took out a cowboy hat, threw it in a circle around him, caught it, and then the familiars he hit exploded. He landed, made a taunting gesture and said something she couldn't make out, and then a motorcycle came out of nowhere, and he drove it up the witch. He took out a huge rocket launcher and fired two rockets before pulling out a set of armored greaves, and shot toward the witch in a fiery blaze. He brought the motorcycle back and swung it with wild abandon at the witch.

"How!?" Was all she could muster. How the heck do you make a motorcycle an effective weapon? Nothing about this man made any sense to her! Homura calling him 'perplexing' was an understatement. He was insane!

She thought about leaving. She really didn't want to face him alone. But she couldn't move. She was transfixed at his style of fighting. She could make out a fire staff he was swinging, and then lightning struck around him. What the hell. And despite herself, she could help but think, "How freakin' cool." And this brought another question: why the hell didn't he fight Mami and her like that? She knew fighting a guy on a motorcycle was way harder than some ghost sword. Did he get that much stronger in the week they hadn't seen him!? This was bad. This was really bad.

Unfortunately this pondering was her downfall, as Dante teleported directly in front of her, making her stumble back.

"See something you like?" He asked with that shitty smirk he wore.

Sayaka immediately drew her sword. He brought out his. Why on Earth did she come to this labyrinth alone? Now she was face to face with the evilest guy on the planet with nothing but her wits. And her sword. She grimaced. And he's just standing there, menacingly. Seems like she didn't have a choice…! With a yell, she charged-

Dante quirked an eyebrow. He pulled out a three-headed set of nunchucks, thrust it into the ground and a pillar of ice hit Sayaka in the back, launching her up in the air. In a blink, he was up there with her, and he spun the weapon in an icy revolution. Sayaka felt the chill to her core, and with every hit, she was sure she couldn't be any colder. Suddenly, she felt him step on her, stopping their momentum in the air, and the nunchucks extended, hitting her in the chest and launching her to the ground, electric sparks coursing through her. She couldn't respond fast enough, and Dante's sword split the ground next to her head.

She heard him chuckle. "Damn, and I thought I was being subtle," Dante said as he eased himself. "But, maybe this is a good thing." To her surprise, Dante held out a hand. She looked at him skeptically. Was this some kind of joke? "Come on, don't leave me hanging." Based on his demeanor, she leaned toward yes.

Sayaka had to think quickly. Here was her fated enemy, offering a hand. As he displayed earlier, he could have easily killed her. But he didn't. Why? Clearly he wanted something, but what? She supposed, in a disadvantaged position, the best thing she could do was gain information. Yeah, that was the best plan. 'Know the enemy and know yourself, and you needn't fear the result of a hundred battles.' Gandhi said that, and of course she's gonna listen to him.

She grabbed his hand and was eased to her feet. "Why didn't you kill me?"

"I could use your help with something," he said. Sayaka narrowed her eyes. "Hey, I'm bein' serious here," he chuckled. "Look, extra incentive," Dante whipped out his pistols, and without looking back, killed the witch with that final shot and dissipated the labyrinth. "Take the grief seed."

Sayaka thought that was incredibly impressive. She tried her best not to show it. "...Why?"

"I'm trying to extend an olive branch here. If you don't want it, I'll just-"

"N-no, I can… I'll take it." Dante gestured to where the grief seed fell. Tentatively, Sayaka took a few steps toward it. He already could have killed her… he wasn't gonna stab her in the back. Right?

"So here's the deal," Dante said as Sayaka kept her stride. "You keep your life and go back to your little friends with the grief thing. In return, I come with you."

"What!?" Sayaka turned.

"Or you can bring them to me, it doesn't matter. Really I just need Kyubey. I know he hangs around you all."

"What do you need him for?"

"I got questions, he's got answers."

Sayaka felt colder. What the hell could he want with Kyubey? If he took the power of witches, was he trying to take Kyubey's power too? What for? Was he gonna start making magical girls to do his work for him? She wanted to yell. She couldn't agree to this!

Dante shrugged. "Alright, fine. Try to resolve something peacefully one time," he sighed dramatically. "You win this round, yadda yadda, next time you won't be so lucky and all that." He turned and began to walk off with a wave of his hand.

Sayaka watched him go. Can she really do that? She's seen how strong he got. There's no way they have a chance against him now! She had a chance to make this right! She couldn't let it pass up! Remember what Gandhi said! "Wait!"

Dante paused.

"...What are you gonna ask him?"

"Heh, nice try, Hero," he said with an amused smirk. "We got a deal or nah?"

Sayaka clenched her fists.

"You are a fucking idiot," Kyoko growled. "I've seen a lot of dumb shit from rookies, but this!?" Kyoko pushed her spear against Sayaka's neck; her eyes was downcast, trying her best to look anywhere other than Kyoko."I should kill you myself instead of wasting our time."

"Sakura-san, please!" Mami said, grabbing her wrist and forcing the spear away from Sayaka. "This is no time to be turning on each other!" Kyoko scoffed, but still dismissed her weapon. "Miki-san, while I don't share Sakura-san's… temperament, I'm afraid I must agree. This was… not the best course of action."

"You didn't see him!" Sayaka said. "He's… he's way stronger now. I don't know how many witches he got to, but…" she gulped. "I figured… if we find out what he's looking for, we'd be better prepared."

"How the hell does that make sense?" Kyoko yelled.

"I'm sure Miki-san's thoughts seemed logical to her at the time," Mami said with a sigh. "Since this concerns you, Kyubey, what do you think?"

"He certainly piqued my curiosity," Kyubey said. "Why he wishes to come for me is peculiar. I can only fathom what his intentions are, though considering your past experience with him, I'm sure he intends to harm you all in some way."

"I appreciate the thought, but shouldn't you be thinking more about yourself?" Mami asked.

Homura watched them impassively. She wondered what Sayaka wanted when she called for an 'emergency meeting.' She grew too complacent. Of course Sayaka would mess everything up the second she left her alone. But perhaps this wasn't as bad as it initially appeared? Dante wanted to speak with Kyubey. She had to admit, she was curious as to why- they offhandedly had a brief conversation about him once. But she could wonder later. This was a great opportunity and she couldn't afford to waste it.

She hated having to come up with ideas in the moment. She lived by meticulous planning and attention to detail, despite how often her plans go awry. Every time she needed to 'wing it', the timeline ended in disaster. More so than usual. Dante was keeping up his end of the deal to be sure, but he certainly wasn't making things easy for her. Still, she could make this work for her.

"I believe Sayaka Miki was in the right," Homura said.

"Hah?" Kyoko didn't hide her incredulity.

"In my experience, he never once sought to parley. If this is the case, he must be in quite the predicament, and I believe I know why: Walpurgisnacht."

"That witch…?" Mami questioned. "Are you sure?"

"How do you know Walpurgisnacht is coming here?" Kyubey questioned.

"I have my suspicions," Homura said. "Surely you too have seen the signs. It is uncommon for one location to have such a high abundance of witches."

Kyubey did not respond to this.

"...I thought it was some myth," Kyoko said.

Homura shook her head. "I assure you, Walpurgisnacht is real. I have seen it."

"What's Wal…per… what is that?" Sayaka asked.

"The most powerful witch," Homura explained.

"Apparently it's powerful enough to not need a labyrinth and wanders the Earth, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake," Kyoko said, slightly trailing off.

"More akin to a natural disaster than a typical witch," Mami added. "Or so I have heard."

"The last time I encountered it, Walpurgisnacht had destroyed an entire city. I… could do nothing to stop it."

"Goodness," Mami said, covering her mouth in surprise.

"My ultimate goal is to defeat Walpurgisnacht. I came to this city, hoping to recruit other magical girls to that end… until I learned Dante was also here."

"Was he working with the witch!?" Sayaka asked in alarm.

"No… not to my knowledge."

"Then I am curious under which circumstances you encountered Dante," Kyubey said.

Homura leveled a momentary look at Kyubey. "I am not surprised you don't remember."

"Why would that be?" Kyubey asked.

"Oh, this is that obfuscation thing you mentioned," Kyoko said.

Homura nodded. "Part of Dante's abilities. You have forgotten him and the various times I encountered him. I was… in a foreign country. Dante committed an act that resulted in the death of my parents, as well as part of a city- or at least I assumed. I met you, and wished I could do something to avenge their deaths." Homura forced a grimace as she clenched her fists.

"Akemi-san…" Mami looked at her with concern. Homura noted this to her satisfaction. Playing to her past was fortunately easy.

"It was only later I learned most of the destruction was caused by Walpurgisnacht. Whether it was coincidence or by his design, I know not, but I made it my mission to stop both of them."

"This witch destroyed an entire city?" Sayaka said, her eyes widening. Homura nodded. "What the hell… how do you stop something like that?"

"It is still a witch like any other," Kyubey said. "A magical girl can stop it."

"And I am determined to do so," Homura said. For once, Kyubey's incitement may actually help her. With their combined effort, she should be able to defeat Walpurgisnacht without Madoka contracting. "I would meet with Dante for the reasons Sayaka Miki gave. If I can determine his goals… it would at the very least give me peace of mind."

"I need to verify what you say, Homura," Kyubey said. "I will speak with him."

"I can't in good conscience let you go alone," Mami said with a smile.

"I put us into this mess, so I can't really say no to that, huh?" Sayaka gave a wan grin. "I gotta at least own up when I make a mistake."

"If it goes well, this can work in our favor," Mami said. "What about you, Sakura-san?" She turned to Kyoko who had been uncharacteristically quiet.

"Walpurgisnacht…" she started. "How long has it been around?"

"Quite some time," Kyubey said.

"Hmm."

"Something on your mind, Sakura-san?" Mami asked.

"Yeah, just something my dad said before, about some foreign city that got destroyed when he was younger. Wondering if it was this witch the whole time. Not often you hear about whole cities being destroyed, you know?"

"Unless it's like a war or something," Sayaka said. "Like that Western city last year. Redgrave or something?"

Mami raised an eyebrow. "Are you… insinuating terrorist attacks are the work of this witch?"

"I don't know," Sayaka shrugged. "Maybe? I'm just saying stuff."

"And that's gone really well," Kyoko spat. "Anyways, we doing this or what?"

"There he is," Kyoko said. They made their way to Mitakihara's watchtower, a tall building that overlooked the whole city. As a popular hangout spot and tourist attraction, it hosted a number of binoculars, which Kyoko was using. Dante had told Sayaka where he'd be, and sure enough, that's where he was, standing in a large park with an ornate stone fountain.

"It seems he wanted to honor your agreement at least," Mami said.

"Or at least give the pretense of such," Homura said.

"He's taunting us," Kyoko said through grit teeth. "He's got four grief seeds."

"How can you tell?" Sayaka asked.

"Because he's juggling them."

"Really?" Mami asked in confusion.

"Yeah. That's more absurd than anything I could think up."

"Woah, he totally is!" Sayaka said, looking through her own binoculars.

"Sayaka Miki, keep your focus," Homura said. "Need I remind you it is your actions that led us here?" Sayaka at least had the decency to look admonished. "Be on your guard. Every action he takes is meant to confound you in some fashion."

"I'm trying to get information from him," Kyubey said. "If you all manage to keep calm, this can be beneficial to all of us."

"Are we ready, then?" Mami asked. A quick round of affirmation, and the group had a short, magically fueled jaunt to where Dante was standing, his back to them, uncaring. They were unsure if he even registered their arrival.

Mami nodded to Sayaka. She suppressed a gulp. No backing down now. "Dante," she said

"Looks like you made it, Hero," he said, turning around to face them. "And you brought the whole crew! Let's see, Goldilocks, Red, and Little Lady!" He directed a smirk at Homura. "Been a while, huh?" Homura's frown deepened.

"We've responded to your summons," Mami said. "What exactly do you want?"

"Right to business, eh? Fine. Where's the demon?"

"Demon?" Kyoko asked.

"Right here," Kyubey said, jumping from Sayaka's arms. "I'm willing to answer your questions if you answer mine." Dante looked down at the creature before him, but he showed no outer change in demeanor. "A question for a question, an answer for an answer. As an inquisitive human, based on this arrangement, that should be a fair agreement."

Dante continued to stare at the creature.

"Are you gonna get to it or what?" Kyoko snarled.

"They just don't make demons like they used to," Dante said as he looked to Homura.

"You wished to speak to Kyubey," she said. "So speak."

"I can't hear him," Dante said. "Hero," he said, glancing at Sayaka. "Translate for him."

"Huh? Me? Uh okay… um, he said giving a question for a question and an answer for an answer seemed fair?"

"He cannot perceive what I am saying," Kyubey said, closing his eyes in contemplation. "Able to perceive my physical form, but his mind does not work at the same level? A precaution, perhaps? No, the mental barriers are certainly not present. You are a curious human… I am more invested in this now. Ask your question."

Sayaka relayed that he needed to ask his question.

Dante asked, "You make these magical girls, right?"

Kyubey nodded.

"He wants to know why you're collecting grief seeds," Sayaka relayed.

"Was planning on learning how to use them. Then I figured out where they came from."

"They come from witches?" Kyoko said. "Figured you'd know that by now."

Dante gave a derisive chuckle. "Sure, if you're not looking at the big picture," he said. "Unfortunately for us, that's not the end of it."

Homura's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Dante's grin grew malicious. "We're getting there."

"What have you determined about their use?" Sayaka asked for Kyubey.

"Lot's of power tightly condensed. Good source of energy," he chuckled. "How do you make the girls magic?"

Sayaka glanced furtively between Dante and Kyubey. "He said… a lot of technical stuff that we wouldn't understand. Something about desires bringing forth a miracle?"

"You are beyond useless," Kyoko growled. "He explained how-" She was cut off as a hat whizzed by her, leaving a copy of itself on her head. "...The fuck?"

"The Hero speaks for the rat. Those are my terms. Any more mouth like that and you'll see just what this thing does."

"...It's a hat." Kyoko deadpanned.

"I remind you of what I said before," Homura cut in. Kyoko huffed and shook her head in exasperation.

"Appreciate it, Little Lady," Dante said, dismissing the copy of Dr. Faust. "Keep goin'."

Kyubey began to circle Dante. A brief silence passed before Sayaka let out a confused hum. "He… asked if you were truly human?"

Dante smirked. "We'll go with 'no' for that one," Dante answered with a shake of his head.

Kyubey paused his stride and stared at Dante.

"The hell does that mean?" Kyoko asked.

"Slow your roll there. Don't wanna rush to the main event," Dante said.

"Hey, if you're not human, are you some kind of robot?" Sayaka blurted. "I mean, it would make sense-"

"No." Kyoko looked like she was about to murder Sayaka. Dante gave a more natural laugh. "You need to lighten up, Red. Speaking of, why bother using kids?"

"Stronger desires," Sayaka answered.

"Sure," Dante shrugged.

"How are you using the power of grief seeds?"

"I'm eating them, same way you do."

"'Eating'?" Homura said with a slight quirk of her brow. Was he actually eating the grief seeds? She truly had no idea what was going on with him.

At that Kyubey closed his eyes.

"It's unfortunate I won't actually get anything out of him," Kyubey said to them all.

What do you mean? Mami had psychically projected.

"His use of grief seeds to further his power has warped his mind. This is why he can perceive me but not hear me. The fact he managed to keep some semblance of sanity is truly impressive, but his perception of reality is irrevocably damaged. A shame, as his power is sufficiently changed from that of an average witch. That a human developed such a mechanism is a feat I thought was beyond the species considering the level of technological advancement."

"Last question:" Dante said, bringing their attention back. "You're the one making witches."

"What?" Sayaka asked.

"That's absurd!" Mami said.

"Where the hell do you get off with that?" Kyoko asked, raising her spear.

Dante frowned. He reached into his pocket and took out a grief seed. "He never told you witches were made from people huh?" Dante threw it at them, which Homura caught. "Harder to manipulate them if you tell the truth."

"...How did you learn this?" Homura asked.

"Pieced it all together."

"Don't fucking tell me you believe this shit!" Kyoko said.

"Homura… did-did you know this?" Sayaka asked. "Is what he's saying true?"

Homura paused before slowly nodding. "He is correct in that witches come from people."

"And you knew all along?" Kyoko yelled.

"Magical girls typically… do not take this knowledge well."

"All this time…" Mami choked out.

"Damn it," Kyoko winced.

"But he's wrong about the other thing, right?" Sayaka asked. "You don't make them, right!?"

"I am not the cause for a human to turn into a witch."

Homura narrowed her eyes. A technical truth depending on how you interpret it. Still, Dante continued to surprise her. Being able to accurately surmise Kyubey is the source of everything despite having no confirmation. Though he doesn't seem to have made the connection that they come from magical girls. Unless… he had? Then why would he not… Could he have also concluded how they would all react? They could all turn to witches right now, should he have done that. She really had to give him credit. He's playing them all so well.

"This just makes our work that much more important," Mami said. "If there was a way to save them, Kyubey would have told us. I don't like it, but Akemi-san is probably right. If I'd have known, it would have been much harder for me to fight. If there is truly no other way…"

"Then we're just putting them out of their misery," Kyoko finished.

"Then doesn't that mean we should be working together!?" Sayaka asked.

Dante grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that! If the little monster makes witches for me, my job would be a hell of a lot easier!"

"But he doesn't do that!" Sayaka defended.

"Impressive how you've got them all dancing to your tune," Dante said. "But they're a bunch of snot nosed brats, so really, I take it back. How about you ditch the kindergarten and come work with me, huh? This world will be ours in no time!"

"Like hell Kyubey's going with you!" Kyoko said.

"You really put up with this? Come on, join me and we can cut the bullshit! I'll kill whoever, no questions asked!"

"As if I'd allow an evil man like you around Kyubey," Mami said, conjuring her guns.

"We won't let you take him!" Sayaka said, drawing her sword.

Dante slumped his shoulders, giving an exaggerated sigh. "Couldn't do it the easy way. If that's where you wanna place your chips, fine. I'll tell ya though-"

A loud gunshot banged near them.

Before the four of them could process it, Dante had stopped in front of Kyubey, whose body was obliterated by a close range buckshot from Dante's shotgun. Power surged like a current through the air, as Dante in his Devil Trigger stood over Kyubey's corpse.

"You should have bet on red."

The color drained from Mami's face.

"Kyubey…" Sayaka choked out.

"You bastard!" Kyoko screamed, lashing out at Dante. Her spear was parried but his gun, and another shot knocked her backwards.

"He'll come around to me," he said with a demonic smile, the other worldly echo to his words coming off as all the more menacing; his visage made Sayaka shiver and convinced Mami he was the scum of the earth. "I just have to get rid of the cheerleaders first."

Dante immediately went on the offensive, a heavy slash from his blade made Mami and Sayaka sidestep but the arc formed a trail of red blades that surrounded him.

Sayaka charged forward, eager to strike but Dante met her sword with his, a parry that stunned her and allowed Dante to deliver a High Time, launching her upwards, her momentum increased from the spectral blades.

Homura unleashed a barrage of bullets, shattering the blades before they could continue attacking Sayaka.

Dante aimed Coyote-A behind him to blast the magical bullet Mami shot. He let loose another shot, but Mami sidestepped, and aimed a magical ribbon upward to Sayaka while readying another musket.

Sayaka righted herself, twisting back to face Dante, and using the ribbon Mami made, pushed herself back toward the ground at high speed.

Kyoko returned, lunging with her spear, poised to strike at the same time.

Dante's summoned swords sliced forward, stopping Kyoko's momentum as she swung against them. In the brief pause in her offensive, Dante reached up and grabbed Sayaka's blade. Sayaka reacted quickly enough to let go of the grip and roll to the side before Dante threw it behind him, nearly skewering Mami if not for a dodging twirl. Even still, Mami was caught off guard by the shotgun blast that hit her square in the chest, knocking her back.

Kyoko came in with her spear, blindingly swift strikes as she tried to regain momentum. Every strike blocked by Dante's monstrous hands, a red energy building as he countered.

"Weak!" He said, the energy he built up unleashed as Kyoko kept up her assault, the final strike exploding from Dante's Royal Release, slamming her into a wall.

A series of explosions boomed at Dante's feet, but they didn't phase him. Gunshots from Homura's assault rifle fired, but Dante somehow met each one with a bullet from his handguns.

Once Homura's magazine emptied, Dante pivoted and swatted away Mami's musket with his shotgun. Each of her swings matched and overpowered, every shot taken exploding on contact with a buckshot, failing to reach him. "Hurry up and bring out the big guns!" Dante taunted. He swept Mami's legs from under her, grabbed and tossed her into Homura, both of them crumbling into a pile.

Sayaka screamed a battlecry, charging forward. Dante brought up his sword, blocking Sayaka's attack. Despite all the force and magic she was pouring into her arms, he didn't budge.

A slight shift in his stance and Sayaka was thrown off balance. A powerful downward strike and Sayaka's blade was driven into the ground. Before she could maneuver away, he lifted her by her collar, bringer face to face with his demonic visage. She conjured another sword and stabbed it into his arm. He nonchalantly removed it. "More of a toothpick than a sword," he said, then promptly used as such before tossing it, embedding it into the wall, narrowly missing Kyoko as she collected herself. Sayaka struggled in vain to get Dante to release his grip. "End of the line." Sayaka shook as his arm began to glow.

In that moment, a pink streak of light blinded the magical girls, piercing Dante through his skull. Sayaka saw a grin form on his face. She looked behind him to where the light originated, and her eyes widened.

Homura was immediately alerted to the all too familiar power. She quickly got to her feet, panic clear on her face as she looked at where the light shot from.

Standing atop the wall stood Madoka Kaname, a large bow in her hands that surged with magical energy.

The sight made Homura tremble.

Dante dropped Sayaka and turned around. Madoka drew the bowstring, forming another arrow constructed of brilliant light, her eyes glowing with that same power.

The arrow was released, faster than they could perceive it was embedded in the ground where Dante had been standing.

"Now you're different," he said, having tricked backwards to avoid the attack.

Madoka said nothing as she gracefully landed from the wall. She aimed her bow and formed another light arrow.

Dante's grin widened.

The other magical girls looked up at the newcomer.

"Another one?" Kyoko choked out as she got to her feet.

"At this point, I'll take all the help I can get," Mami said, standing up herself.

But Homura's strength left her and collapsed back to the ground.

"Akemi-san?" Mami said, quickly moving to help her.

"I can't believe it…" Homura said. Her breathing was increasing and she began to hyperventilate. How could this have happened!? Of course Kyubey wouldn't leave Madoka alone. She'd been foolish to think he'd be preoccupied with the mystery that is Dante. She had failed, yet again.

Man, I wish I could pin or favorite the reviews I get. You all are adorable. Maybe I'll come visit you at the convent or library someday. So yeah, here's this again. Hope you get some enjoyment out of it. I know I sure did. I was gonna finish this sooner, but then I played Pizza Tower instead. Better decision tbh