Author's Note: Weeeeeellll. Heh heh. I truly did mean to get this out earlier. Really, I did. But anyway, I hope that you'll enjoy what I've managed to finally finish after 3 months. Enjoy!


Soundtrack: Saya No Uta OST – Song of Saya 1

The Hospital room was silent as the three people sat still. Dr. Ryoko stared at the girl in casual clothing who had a white-cat like creature with piercing blue eyes perched on the edge of her chair. The two sides stared each other down.

Key glanced back and forth between the woman and the girl and then spoke tentatively.

"So . . . uh . . . can you tell me about Fuminori?

Ryoko's eyes narrowed.

"That would violate Dr. and Patient confidentiality," she said stiffly. But then she seemed to slump a bit and sighed.

"But given the circumstances . . . I don't think I have much choice. Up until a bit ago, Fuminori was just a liar. I could tell he was faking being normal again. It was in his body language and other subtle hints. He flinched if someone walked up behind him and when he thought no one was looking, he would look like the world caused him physical pain. He seemed disgusted with any sort of food or drinks that we brought him too. On a suspicion I asked his friends what his favorite food was, and then gave it to him without telling him what it was instead of the normal hospital food he got everyday. Same thing happened, he looked disgusted with it and could barely force it down. I even asked him how he liked it, calling it a different kind of food and he hadn't noticed that it was his favorite"

"But?" Homura prompted, wishing the woman would get to the point.

"Another scientist from the hospital went missing awhile back. Dr. Ogai was a bit of a strange man, always talking on how we shouldn't be afraid to try new things to evolve the Human species. He was a major proponent and driver behind the experimental surgery for Agnosia that Fuminori got. But a few months ago he went missing. Strange enough on its own, but then a few weeks later, Fuminori started asking after him. He said that Dr. Ogai had visited him and he wondered where he'd went, but I could tell he was lying."

"So, you think the two incidents are related?" Key asked curiously.

Ryoko grimaced, "not conclusive evidence I'll admit. I'm not even sure if Ogai's disappearance is connected to Fuminori and that thing that's been haunting this wing of the Hospital. But it's a pretty big coincidence if it's not related. But anyway, the mental states of the patients in this wing started to get worse all of the sudden. They'd complain that there was a monster lurking in the halls but we never saw it. Staff did feel extremely uneasy at times, almost as if something was watching them. But we never caught it, it was too clever. Or perhaps it just naturally got people to avoid it by its very presence. I've been trying to catch a glimpse of it, to find out what it wants for awhile now. Do you know what it wants?"

Key blinked and looked over at the bed that Fuminori had been laying in.

"Not really. When we confronted her, she was talking to Fuminori normally, and it sounded like he was giving her directions somewhere. She seemed to be concerned that he was having trouble acting 'normal.'

Ryoko nodded, "and then she tried to eat you. I saw it on the camera." She shuddered once more, more violently than before. Something sprung up behind her eyes and Homura grimaced as she saw the selfsame fear that she had reflected in the Dr.'s eyes.

Key seemed to notice too because a look of pity came onto his face.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. She looked weird even to me."

"Weird nothing. There was something just . . . wrong about her. Like someone took something normal and . . . broke it." Her voice was quiet as she glanced out the window for a moment. Then her gaze snapped back to Key.

"So what's your alibi Kyube- . . . whatever you said your name was? To start with, last I recall your eyes weren't blue, they were red. Why are you different?"

Key shifted slightly uncomfortably, "uh . . . . I'm not a part of Kyubey's Hive Mind. I'm my own individual. The eyes just sort of happened when I broke away from it. I'm not sure on the particulars of it. But what matters is that I have emotions and the ability to think for myself and I've been trying to help out some of the local Magical Girls." Key gestured to Homura to give his story credence.

Ryoko tilted her head, "how? The System you things made was pretty airtight last I saw. Have you been redistributing Grief Seeds? And how did you just get your own intelligence? Forgive me for saying it but how do you go from being a drone to your own individual?"

Homura leaned forward, "perhaps you should tell us how you came to know so much of Magical Girls? In my experience, Kyubey is not free on handing out the sort of information you seem to know."

There was a silence as the two parties stared each other down, before Key sighed.

"Maybe we should just do the Memory viewer again. It would probably be faster."

"The what?" Ryoko asked with a cocked eyebrow. Key explained his ability to see memories and she glowered slightly.

"If its all the same to you, I'd rather stay out of doing any sort of mental gymnastics at this point. I feel like I'm giving you more than enough leeway by not complaining about the telepathy. Can't you just speak what your trying to say?"

Homura glanced down at Key in very mild curiosity as he shook his head.

"My body might look it, but its not laid out the way a normal living organism is, I was just made to look cute so I could . . ."
Key stopped talking and glanced to the ground. There was a bit of an awkward silence as he looked away, then he rallied and continued, "well, for example, I don't really have a digestive tract and don't have any vocal cords. Telepathy's more efficient to Kyubey, so, no vocal cords and no spoken words."

Ryoko nodded but still looked recalcitrant, "still if its all the same to you, I think I'm going to stick to just audibly explaining my backstory instead of whatever psychic stuff you wanted to do."

Key nodded. "Then please, speak. How did you find out so much about Kyubey and the Magical Girl System without contracting?"

Ryoko grimaced, seeming to think back a ways. Then she started to speak.

"When I was young, I knew a girl."

"Oh dear" Key thought privately.

"We were friends, best friends since before I remember. As you might imagine, we went to school together. Everything was fine up until we entered High School and then we wandered into an alleyway where reality seemed to distort and everything became horribly Eldritch."

She paused to take a breath before continuing, her voice flat, "we were nearly killed several times before the little white rat-" Key flinched noticeably, "-found us. He talked us up but I got caught by the Witch. My friend made a wish then and there and saved me. From then on, I'm sure you can guess how things went. Hunt Witches, give Kyubey the Grief Seeds, hunt some more Witch's give up some more Grief Seeds."

"Didn't Kyubey try and get you to contract?" Homura asked curiously.

Ryoko nodded, "oh yes, the little thing was very insistent on that point. We tolerated it for a bit, but after awhile my friend lost patience and told him to stop. She begged me not to contract just to help her and I promised I wouldn't. We never really could fully trust Kyubey, given that he basically extorted a wish out of my friend in that Labyrinth and didn't lift a finger to help."

"You were wiser than a lot of other girls then" Key said meekly. He seemed a bit nervous as he stared at the woman before him, who stared blankly at him.
"Kyubey didn't hang around that much after that. Only stopped by to pick up full Grief Seeds. Of course, being a Magical Girl can be competitive, but my friend was good enough that she got a surplus of Seeds. But then . . ."

Ryoko's eyes grew stormy as she almost glared at Key, who lifted a leg as though he wanted to take a step backwards. But then suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard as someone came walking down the hallway. Ryoko stood and in an instant, her taut face was replaced by a passive one. She smiled welcomingly at Homura and Key, and at the man in a Hospital Uniform who came walking up to the door.

"Tanbo-San?" the man asked questioningly as he looked past her at Homura, "who's this? You know we aren't allowed to bring people into this wing without written approval."

Ryoko smiled mildly at him, "it's alright Han-San, my young friend here simply got a little lost and I was telling her what we do here in this wing. I must've lost track of time, you know how I do and I'm sorry about that. Could you ever forgive me?"

Her tone was light, almost a bit flighty, as though she had been a bit overexcited about being able to tell someone the inner workings of her job. The man, Han, smiled indulgently down at her, it was apparent that he didn't suspect her of any lie.

"Of course Tanbo-San, just escort her out and try not to lose track of time again."

Ryoko bowed to him and then walked over to Homura with a hand outstretched. Getting the message, Homura allowed herself to be escorted out and walked beside Ryoko as they left the wing. Key followed at their other side.
"We'll continue in my office," Ryoko whispered, and Homura nodded.

"Where did you put the Shotgun?" came Key's voice, curiosity apparent.

Ryoko merely smirked.


Soundtrack: Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST – Serena Ira

Madoka shifted slightly as she stared out the window of Kyosuke's Hospital Room. The Sun was starting to get low in the sky and soon would be setting. The sky was growing orange as the light from the great orb reflected onto the wisps of cloud that dotted the sky.

In spite of the warm light, Madoka's face fell. The day had been interesting. Which was fitting considering what things had been like the day before, but now that she had a moment to herself, her thoughts returned to Kyubey and the mess that their lives had become.

Witches, those things that had so disgusted and horrified her, that she had so disliked for being so selfish and evil, were nothing more than the imprisoned and suffering souls of other girls. Madoka felt slightly sick for ever thinking that they were so evil, for not realizing just how much they had to be hurting. How little she had understood. How many of them had been like her?

If Key and Homura hadn't intervened, she was sure that she and Sayaka would've made wishes eventually. Kyubey would've had them hook line and sinker and then they would've gone on to become Witches and hurt other people. Madoka didn't want that! All she wanted was to help people, to do something useful for once!

Key and Homura. Madoka frowned slightly as she thought of the two. Homura seemed stoic, near emotionless, and seemed to not care about anything. And yet, she'd been trying to help them the whole time and had tried to warn her and her friends about the dangers of Witches and becoming a Magical Girl. But, Madoka wasn't even sure why, she felt like Homura was in pain, like she'd been suffering for a long time and really needed a friend or someone to look out for her. Madoka couldn't forget that dream she and Sayaka had had the night before they'd met Homura (they really needed to talk about that more, come to think of it). The dream too had given the feeling of someone at the end of their rope who was nevertheless fighting onwards. Madoka couldn't shake the feeling that Homura, as capable and powerful as she seemed, really needed some help, possibly even someone to look after her. At the very least, she needed a friend.

But even that seemed to lead to something strange about the girl. Madoka wasn't blind to the fact that Homura seemed somewhat dismissive to everyone on principle, as though she considered them a bit of a hindrance to whatever her goals were. Everyone that is, except for her. Somehow, for whatever reason, Homura seemed to care about and value what she said and did. Madoka didn't think that they'd met some time ago in the past (no matter what Hitomi said) but she could not shake, no matter how much she tried, an overwhelming feeling that they had met before somehow. She couldn't place the feeling and had little basis for it, but she could not make it go away.

And because of this, she found herself feeling concern for the black-haired girl. Whenever they were together, she noticed twitches and little tells that seemed to indicate that Homura was tense or uncomfortable. It was honestly a bit disconcerting to feel like she knew someone so well, even when she was sure that she'd never seen her before about a week ago. But still, she wasn't going to let that stop her from trying to help Homura where she could, no matter how little that was.

And then there was Key.

In the short time that Madoka had known him, she'd found that she liked Key. Especially when put into the context of comparing him to Kyubey. Kyubey had been polite and had seemed slightly interested in her. But looking back, it was easy to see that this had all been merely surface level and that he'd more been hoping to find a way to get her to make a contract. Key on the other hand had been working hard to try and help her avoid that fate. Given what she now knew about Kyubey and the contracts he gave out, this automatically gave Key a much better first impression than Kyubey ever had. Also, she hadn't been unaware of the fact of how Key had seemed to want to tell them as soon as possible, only held back by Homura. Madoka had wondered why Homura hadn't told them, but their conversation earlier that day about how she'd done the same thing and how horribly it had gone with some other Magical Girls had cleared that question up.

Overall, Madoka was very grateful to know Key and hoped to get to know him more. He seemed nice and like he really wanted to help them. Though she did feel a bit worried about him. She had noticed that after he'd saved Mami, he'd had a lot of trouble adjusting to whatever changes had been happening to him. Madoka didn't quite know what to do, but she didn't want him to agonize over what he'd done in his past, or rather what he hadn't done. As far as she could tell, he was about the same as a newborn child, sort of. He definitely had more raw knowledge and maybe even wisdom than a newborn child, but as far as she was concerned, anything he'd done before he got emotions wasn't his fault. He'd said it himself, he was part of Kyubey then, so if anyone was to be blamed, it was Kyubey. Honestly, she was more admiring of him for ever managing to grow beyond that Soulless thing that he'd been before. Still, she wondered worriedly if something might happen to him if he didn't let go of his grief over what had been done using his body before he was 'born'.

"Madoka," it was Key's voice and she started slightly before acknowledging that she'd heard him.

"The situation's a bit more complicated than we thought, but Homura and I are dealing with it. We'll be along shortly if all goes well."

"Okay, don't be too long Key! You too Homura, maybe you could meet Kyosuke!"

There was a short pause before Homura's reply came, quiet even in telepathic form.

"Maybe another time Madoka . . . but thank you."

The connection cut and she shifted slightly as she heard Sayaka ask what Musician she and Kyosuke were listening to. The Bluenette had once more pulled out a CD Player and she and Kyousuke were listing to a Classical Violinist. Madoka had been proud of Sayaka for putting so much work into looking up new Violinists and getting stuff that she hoped would cheer Kyosuke up. The Pinkette liked Kyosuke and considered him a friend, but she would agree in an instant that Sayaka was far closer to him than she was and that such a gesture meant more coming from her.

However, Madoka stiffened as she heard Kyosuke's next sentence, it sounded frustrated.
"Cut it out, it's like your trying to hurt me."

Sayaka froze and Madoka could see the hurt move across her best friend's face. She reached out a hand to put it onto Sayaka's shoulder, but Sayaka leaned forward, not seeing Madoka's gesture.

"What do you mean, I thought you liked this stuff Kyosuke-"

"I don't want to hear this crap anymore!" Kyosuke's voice ratcheted up, pain and frustration evident.

"What's the point if I can't play! I just . . . I just . . ."

And with a frustrated howl, Kyosuke brought his hurt hand smashing down on the CD player. The device splintered, the CD breaking into shards, a few of which cut into his palm and he lay there shaking. Instantly, Sayaka had reached over and grasped his hand, holding him from any more attempts to break the Player and injure himself more.

"Madoka" Sayaka looked back at her friend with wide eyes, "run and get the Nurse!"

Madoka nodded and sprinted out of the room. After a minute or so, she'd found the acting Nurse for the ward and appraised her of the situation. They both dashed back to the room and rushed in. At first, all Madoka took in was Sayaka still standing over Kyosuke, who was still sniffing deeply. But then she noticed that Sayaka was staring out of the window. She followed her gaze and almost felt as though her heart had skipped a beat. Out of the open window, perched on the railing, sat Kyubey. He was staring intently at Sayaka with his blood-red pupil eyes, that small smirk perched forevermore upon his face.


Ryoko's Office as it turned out was rather cluttered, mostly due to an abundance of filing cabinets (all of which had some measure of lock on them). As they entered, Ryoko locked her door and drew a curtain, as well as glancing up and down the hall to make sure no one was following them. Then she drew up two chairs to the front of her desk, speaking as she did so.

"I apologize for the lack of space, but I prefer to keep my patient's information close at hand." She strode around and sat in her chair, placing her elbows on her desk and her fingertips together.

"Now then, where were we?"

"You were explaining how you knew about Kyubey and Magical Girls" Homura said mildly as she smoothed out her skirt.

Soundtrack: Madoka Magica Portable OST – Cubiculum Coniecturae

"But first, what happened to the shotgun!" Key said curiously. Ryoko smirked yet again.
"Trust must be earned. But where were we in the story? . . . Ah yes. Well, one night after we'd noticed that some of our . . . shall we say competitor Magical Girls had gone missing, we noticed that there were a lot more Witches than usual. Eventually we found a nest of several that had somehow fused all their Labyrinths into one. The weirdest thing was, this Labyrinth was right over what we'd been sure was the base of a Magical Girl Gang that had been giving us trouble. Before we could decide to try to tackle it ourselves or to barter for some extra help, it started to move and we had to try and stop it. It was headed for a shopping Mall and we knew that it would start gobbling up people left and right if it ever got there."

Ryoko's face fell and her hand seemed to twitch, as though she wanted to grab something. She took a deep breath and then forged ahead.

"It was hard going, especially since it was just one Magical Girl and me against 5 Witches. About the only reason we managed to survive was because their minions got in each other's way half the time. But anyway, we killed off each Witch piecemeal-"

"How," Homura asked curiously, "how did she fight 5 Witch's at once?"

"It wasn't at once, each Witch was set up at different points in the Labyrinth. My friend, she kept getting more and more banged up, but she refused to stop. I even told her we needed to get out, but she wasn't willing to let the Witch's get to the shopping mall and start killing people there."

The woman looked slightly pained and sighed very deeply, "I should've seen the warning signs. She was starting to get irritable and even snapped at me. She never would've done that normally, but all that Grief building up in Soul Gem. . . . She even refused to use a Grief Seed to purify it, I should've made her . . . Anyway, we finally managed to get to the last Witch, but she could barely fight it. She . . ."

Ryoko lapsed into silence. With a shaking hand, she reached up and pulled her glasses off, covering her eyes with her other hand. They sat there for a few moments in an uncomfortable silence. Key, and even Homura felt some sympathy for her. They wondered how long it had been since she'd last talked about such traumatic events. Maybe she'd never talked about it.

Finally, the woman continued.

"She spiraled. It was too much. Her Soul Gem suddenly started changing and she fell over. The Labyrinths became even stranger as she changed and I think I barely avoided getting killed. Still, after it had calmed down, the one Witch was still there and she wasn't any less hungry. It grabbed me and was about to eat me when another Witch came out of nowhere and attacked it."

Homura blinked, tilting her head in confusion. Ryoko waved her hands in the air in response, "I don't know why. But the new Witch, my friend, fought the other Witch to protect me. I know it sounds nuts, Witch's are supposed to kill people, not protect them, but she did. And after she'd killed it, she ignored me. Well, not entirely, her little minions grabbed me and threw me out of the Labyrinth, but otherwise they didn't hurt me."

"I have an idea" Key said as he looked upwards with a contemplative expression.

"What was your friend's wish? Be specific, what was it?"

Ryoko had narrowed her eyes, but, after a few moment's contemplation, seemed to find no fault with answering the question.
"It was 'I wish I could protect Ryoko from harm.'"

Key nodded, "well, wishes don't stop when Magical Girl's become Witches. Especially if there for someone else. Say a Magical Girl wished to heal someone else, or to give someone else extraordinary abilities, or like your friend, to help them avoid harm. It's not foolproof, in my experience Wishes can't stop every conceivable form of hurt, but they often act like safeguards, especially if someone's in an especially dangerous situation. Sometimes a wish like your friend made will activate to save them from death, or at least to give them a fighting chance. But in your case, I'll wager that because your friend specifically wished that she could protect you, then that held true even as a Witch. If she'd met any other Magical Girl or Human, then she would've behaved like any other Witch. But because she made her wish for you, she protected you and then pushed you out of the labyrinths to protect you from possible further harm."

Ryoko sniffed slightly and put a hand to her chest. Her eyes looked slightly wet. Homura looked down, seeming to be thinking to herself.

"I'm so sorry" Key said sympathetically as Ryoko seemed to grasp at something against her chest.

After a moment, Ryoko dried her eyes and put her hand down. She looked at Key with a studying glance, as though trying to figure something out about him.

Eventually, she shrugged, "well, that's how I know so much about the system. Kyubey showed up a few more times, but stopped coming round once I became an adult. Guess he realized that I wasn't going to contract after that so he stopped trying to recruit me. I've spent the majority of my adult life getting well acquainted with as much Science, Psychology, and other stuff on how things work as I can. Plus investigations into anything . . . "not normal" to put it one way. Most things are dead ends, if they did exist it's like something drove them away or they're just fakes. But I've found enough weird stuff to make sure I never thought my younger days were just something I dreamed up. Stories that can't be explained, stuff most people take for local legends. Sometimes that's all it is, but sometimes not. Though the blob monster-"

"-her name was Saya." Key put in.

Ryoko looked mildly annoyed at the interruption, but nodded anyway, "Saya then. It was the first thing that came to me, rather than me going out to look into it. "

There was a small silence before Ryoko asked Key, "so just how did you get to be your own individual person?"

Key sighed and related an abridged version of his story.

"-and then I met Homura here and we've been helping each other ever since."

Homura nodded, drumming her fingers on her knee. Feeling a bit left out of the conversation, she spoke up.

"Now that we've exchanged stories, may we get to the point of this meeting? As far as I am concerned, the creature we encountered is gone and is unlikely to trouble us again. However, if I am correct, you are likely to be continuing investigations on your own?"

Ryoko nodded, "indeed, in addition to my investigations of my colleague Dr Ogai, finding and neutralizing this thing called Saya is one of my high priorities. Given that it tried to eat you, I doubt that it's going to simply vanish and not harm another human being again. But now the real question. Assuming I find her, what are you two going to do about it?"

Key and Homura glanced at each other.

"One moment" Key said to Ryoko. Then he spoke to Homura alone.

"I think we should help her if she finds Saya."

"As I said before, it's not our concern." Homura stated mildly.

"Saya's likely a threat to any and all humans. Plus, think about it like this. Kyubey's here to harvest a small part of Humanity and doesn't care about the rest. Do you think that something like Saya really is going to just sit around and not do anything? What if she wanders around and decides to start feeding in the suburbs where Madoka and Sayaka or even Mami and Nagisa live?"

Homura didn't react much, but Key did note the tiniest twitch in her eyes when he mentioned Madoka's name. Still, she was quiet for a moment as she considered things. But before she could respond, Madoka's telepathic voice cut through their conversation.

"Key! Homura! Kyubey's here and I think that he's trying to get Sayaka to make a contract!"


Soundtrack: Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Anima Mala

Madoka finished her message to Homura and Key as the nurse hurried over to Kyosuke, brushing past Sayaka. After a moment Kyubey hopped down from the railing and strolled into the room. He rounded the bed and padded towards Sayaka and Madoka, who both stared at him, transfixed.

"Hello" Kyubey said in his light voice. "I couldn't help but overhear what you said Sayaka, and my offer still stands. I can grant your wish if you want."

Madoka glanced quickly at Sayaka who had clenched her hands. Sayaka looked sharply at Kyosuke, who was still staring out of the window and crying lightly as the nurse looked over his damaged hand. With alarm, Madoka noticed the longing look on her best friend's face as she stared over at the suffering boy.

"Sayaka" Madoka said softly as she reached out a hand towards her. But with a small, frustrated sound, Sayaka's face morphed to anger. Muttering only a soft "see you later Kyosuke" she turned and strode out of the room as fast as she could. Madoka followed in her wake, worried, and Kyubey scuttled behind them.

"Sayaka," Madoka said as she caught up to the girl in question, "what did he mean by that?"

"Oh" Kyubey answered as he too caught up, "Sayaka was merely reassuring her friend that Miracles and Magic do in fact exist, which of course they do. I would've thought Sayaka that you would've been more than willing to make a wish to alleviate your friend's suffering. After all, is not that what friends do for each other?"

Sayaka stopped abruptly and stared down at Kyubey. Her eyes were hard as she looked at the small cat-like creature.

"Tell me something," she said quietly, "is all that stuff that Key said true?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question without further knowledge. How can I be expected to know what the defective drone has been telling you?"

Sayaka's gaze grew annoyed as she glared.
"Do Magical Girl's turn into Witches?"

There was a long, drawn out silence. Then Kyubey tossed his head and answered lightly, "it's true enough that I can't deny it. Why? Does that fact upset you?"

"Of course it does!" Madoka spoke up, her eyes wide and her voice slightly shrill. "You act like their . . . you acted like our friend and all that time you were trying to trick us into becoming . . . that! Can't you see how wrong that is?!"

"I don't really know what you mean by 'tricking' you?" Kyubey responded, his voice sounding eminently reasonable, despite the obviously unreasonable thing he was saying. "I provide you humans with a once in a lifetime opportunity. The granting of a single wish is something that no human is ever afforded in their whole lifetime. So why is it that you humans become so unsatisfied when you don't fully utilize the opportunity, or that there's a price to be paid? It's not as though I take away what your wish does, even after you become Witches."

There was a pause before Sayaka snorted, "your insane, aren't you."

Another pause, then Kyubey tilted his head, "that's not a very nice thing to say. From my perspective, you are the ones who're dangerously unhinged. And yet here I am devoting my time to giving you all the benefits of becoming Magical Girls."

"Yeah," Sayaka said as she leaned against the wall of hallway while glancing sardonically at Kyubey. Her earlier rage had seemingly given way to an annoyed, somewhat superior indifference.

"But there's something that's kinda a problem for your whole 'your insane to me' sorta thing. Key."

Kyubey tilted his head again, "what about it? I've gone over this with you before."

"Yeah, you have, but there's the thing that he's the same kind of thing that you are, and yet, he's not going around tricking girls out of their Souls anymore. He's nice and able to live fine with those pesky emotions that you seem so scared of. Is that why you don't feel? Are you scared of what it'll do to you?" Sayaka finished with a small smirk on her face.

"Emotions are contradictory and inefficient and a mark of insanity to my kind as I told Mami before. But we are getting nowhere with this. The question remains, are you willing to become a Magical Girl and alleviate what is likely to be a lifetime of suffering for your Violinist friend, or are you going to allow Homura, Mami, and the Rogue Drone to handle all of the dangerous missions while you sit safe behind?"

Sayaka froze, her face contorted slightly. After a moment, she glanced back towards Kyosuke's room and started. There, standing behind them, were Homura, Key. Homura was staring at Sayaka with piercing purple eyes, as though she were expecting something. Sayaka looked at both of them before turning back to Kyubey.


As soon as Madoka's message had come through, Key had only the time to register Homura changing into her Magical Girl clothes with a flash of light before he suddenly found himself in Homura's timestop. The girl was grabbing him by the scruff of his neck as she had apparently activated the ability and then grabbed him to bring him into it.

"We should go to them" she said simply.

Key nodded, then glanced at Ryoko.

"We should let her know we'll be gone for a bit. We might have to leave the timestop and she might trust us less if we suddenly vanish and then reappear after an unexplained time away."

Homura thought for a moment, then nodded. She place Key back on his chair and arranged him as he'd been sitting before. Then she let him go and took her own seat, doing the same pose herself. Time started again and both she and Key turned to Ryoko.

"Something has just come up, Kyubey is attempting to get two of our friends to contract," she said quickly. Ryoko'a eyes widened as Homura spoke again.

"We are going to prevent it and will likely be back shortly."

After a moment, Ryoko nodded and time stopped once more. Homura grabbed Key and plopped him onto her shoulder. She took off walking towards Kyosuke's room, her footsteps the only sound in the timestop. After a minute of walking, Key spoke up.

"Hey Homura? Do you want me to clean your Soul Gem?"

Homura considered the question, then acquiesced, lifting her palm so that her Soul Gem, a small amount of corruption visible in it, was in front of Key. He quickly cleansed it, a soft sigh escaping him as the corruption fled the jewel and entered him, though some of it seemed to simply dissipate into the air.

After a few minutes longer, they both had arrived at Kyosuke's room and had entered. Madoka and Sayaka were both frozen, both of them looking outside at Kyubey who was perched on the railing. A nurse was in the room as well and this gave Homura pause. She had originally thought that she might just shoot Kyubey, but the presence of the nurse (and, now that she thought about it, Kyosuke) made those rather uninviting options.

"You should probably start time while outside of the room," Key suggested. "If Kyubey doesn't know what your power is- . . . does he?"

"Most likely not," Homura supplied.

"Right. Well, if he doesn't know, then he might be looking for a way to study it and figure it out. So it would probably be prudent to avoid him seeing you use it as much as possible."

Homura nodded and backed up and out of the room. Once out of sight of Kyubey and anyone inside the room, she let time resume. Both of them hesitated to enter the room as Homura was still in her Magical Girl clothes and Key was obviously a bit nervous about seeing Kyubey.

Then they heard a Madoka say something softly, and then Sayaka make a frustrated noise and a few words of her own. Then Sayaka came walking out of the door and strode in the opposite direction as Homura and Key. She seemed so angry that she didn't even notice the two standing there as she walked away. Madoka, similarly, didn't appear to see them (though more likely due to stress than anger) and, a second later, Kyubey strolled out after them. Kyubey did glance at them, but continued after Sayaka, obviously continuing some dialogue with the two girls.

Key and Homura moved after them, listening to the conversation (Kyubey apparently wasn't coding his speech to only go to Madoka and Sayaka). Key looked like he was about to intervene, but then Homura gave him a look and he stopped.

"What!? Shouldn't we stop her?!"

Homura shook her head and turned back. She stared at Sayaka, her eyes narrowed and her posture tense. Confused, Key turned back himself and watched as the conversation continued. His heart did swell a bit with gratitude as Sayaka brought him up in favorable comparison to Kyubey. Finally, the talk reached the point where Kyubey had reiterated his offer and Sayaka had realized that the two were standing behind her.

Sayaka looked between Key and Homura, cycling between Key's wide eyes and Homura's inscrutable expression. Sayaka didn't look like she quite liked the almost accusing look that Homura was giving her. Then she glanced back towards Kyosuke's room and looked back at Kyubey.

"I don't have anything to say to you! Leave us alone and take your stupid deal with you!"

Homura's expression shifted back to a more neutral look, though Key could've sworn he saw a flash of . . . surprise? Sayaka turned on her heel and faced Key and Homura.

"You two ready to go?" she asked shortly. Madoka started a bit when she turned and saw the two as well.

"Um, well actually we were in a meeting with someone and kinda need to finish it." Key said quietly, noting that Kyubey still hadn't moved.

Sayaka huffed slightly, "fine, let's go finish it. I wanna get outta here."

After a moment, Homura nodded and turned to walk away. Sayaka followed as well as Madoka as they strode back to Ryoko's office. Kyubey did not follow them as far as they could see. The Doctor was leafing through a document that looked like a patient profile. She hastily stowed it away as they walked in and eyed Madoka and Sayaka closely.

"These the two girls?"

Homura nodded.

Ryoko tapped her fingers onto the desk before sighing slightly.

"Right, well no point in dragging this out any longer. I'm going to keep investigating the creature, Fuminori, and Dr. Ogai. Can I count on you for support and help if I need it? In return I can offer my services as a medical professional as well as my experiences with the Eldritch and any knowledge I come across."

She waited expectantly, glancing between Homura and Key. The two looked at each other. A moment passed as Key waited for some sign from Homura. The black-haired girl finally gave an imperceptible nod and Key turned back to Ryoko.

"For the time being, yes we can agree to this. Keep us informed about your findings and, in case you wind up stumbling into a Witch Labyrinth, mentally call for us and we can come help you and fix the Grief Seed.

Ryoko froze as she heard the last few words. She stared at Key for a full 5 seconds before responding.

"What do you mean by 'fix the Grief Seed?"

Key looked slightly nervous under her scrutiny, "uh, just what I said. I can free the soul of the girl who became a Witch."

"And what happens to the girl then?" Ryoko asked sharply.

Key squirmed even moreso, Madoka looked taken aback by the interrogative line the conversation was taking, Sayaka looked annoyed, and Homura simply looked pensive.

"Uh, they usually die. Release from pain you might say. But one girl did manage to come back to life so I think its more of a personal choice thing. I'm still kinda working it out."

Ryoko's eyes narrowed to slits before she pointed at Key and made a gesture towards the door.

"You, out. I want to talk to these ones alone."

There was a moment's shocked silence before Sayaka bristled.

"Hey, you can't just throw him out! He's our friend!"

"It does not speak well of you that you make such brash orders." Homura commented as she leveled a stern gaze at Ryoko.

Ryoko however, was not moved, "you're promising a lot and I want to verify something. I can assure you that it's just verbal, nothing will happen to anyone. But I want him outside before I do it. Do it and I'll gain some trust for you."

After a moment, Key got up and, looking a bit confused and maybe a bit hurt, hopped down from his perch and strode out of the door, shutting it behind him. Sayaka threw a mutinous look at Ryoko, but her angry comment was cut off as Ryoko asked Homura a question immediately.

"Is he lying?"

Homura gazed cooly at the Doctor, "he is not."

Ryoko's eyes widened and she seemed to clutch at something beneath her clothes on her chest before stopping herself.

"I'll want to see that in action, but more to the point. Do you trust him?"

Homura didn't respond immediately, something that got Madoka and Sayaka's attention. After a short pause, Sayaka couldn't take it and burst out.

"Oh come on! Of course we trust him. He's the reason I'm not running around as a Magical Girl right now! He's nothing like Kyubey!"

Madoka nodded fervently and Homura spoke up as well.

"He has proven himself to be very dedicated and useful when it comes to fighting Witches and Kyubey."

Ryoko was staring Homura straight in the face, as though scrutinizing something. Then she muttered something that only Homura managed to pick up.

"You have old eyes."

Then Ryoko sighed, "very well. It appears that I must trust Key for now. You can call him back in if you wa-"

The door opened before she was done speaking and Key scuttled in quickly, slamming the door behind him and breathing heavily. They heard the pitter patter of little feet outside of the door and then the soft tapping of a small paw knocking on it.

"Could you please let me in?" came Kyubey's voice.
Ryoko grew stiff as a board at that voice as she stared at the door. A moment of silence ensued before Kyubey spoke again.

"If you are discussing the creature that has been haunting the mental health ward of this Hospital for some time now, then I believe I have some knowledge that might be of aid to you."

The tension that had filled the room ratcheted up another degree. Finally, Homura stood up and strode over to the door and grasped the knob. She pulled the door open and stared down at the Incubator.

"You have 10 seconds to make it worth my time before I destroy this body."

"You are searching for facts about the creature known as 'Saya', correct?"

"How do you know about her?" Madoka asked curiously.

Kyubey looked over at her, "part of my duty as a caretaker of your race is to keep tabs on various anomalies and creatures to make sure they don't disrupt human life."

Ryoko snorted, her eyes so narrowed that they were like pinpricks as she stared down as the small creature, "fantastic job your doing of that you little rat."

Kyubey considered her, "hello Ryoko. It has been awhile since we last spoke hasn't it."

"That's putting it mildly. Why'd you stop by the way? You bothered me so much I thought you were never going to leave me alone."

Kyubey tossed his head slightly, "you weren't an economical investment anymore."

Key rolled his eyes, "just say what you mean. She'd grown up so she wasn't emotionally volatile enough to justify trying to turn her into a Magical Girl."

Kyubey ignored Key and stared at Ryoko.

"I assume you still have it. I am willing to take it off of your hands if you so desire."

Like so many other times that night, Ryoko's hand flew to her chest to clutch something beneath her clothes as she glared, almost hatefully at Kyubey.

Kyubey sighed, then turned back to Homura and Key.

"I have no qualms to helping you in this case, so here it is. Am I to assume that you had an encounter with Saya while the others were in the Labyrinth with Charlotte the Sweets Witch?"

Homura resisted the urge to shudder as she thought back to the maddening form of Saya that had nearly eaten her. With some difficulty, she nodded.

"I see, and am I to assume that she was very unpleasant to look upon?"

Another nod.

"Well creature you are hunting is not normally this eldritch or painful for beings like you to behold."

"What do you mean?" Homura asked with narrowed eyes, no doubt remembering Saya's form that seemed to defy reality.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. It would still be very uncomfortable for you to look upon her, but the reason for the further levels of discomfort she puts you through is due to this. She is not native to this reality. Or at least, not accustomed to it."

After a moment, Sayaka put her hand to her forehead and spoke an a would-be-calm voice.

"Okay, so when you say, 'not from our reality' what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Either she is not from this reality, or not accustomed to it. Magical Girls themselves sometimes as part of their powers create artificial pocket dimensions. It's all but an accepted fact that other Universes exist, and many of them likely have rules and physics that would be just slightly off from our own."

"Hold on," Ryoko held up a hand, "if that were true, then wouldn't it be highly dangerous for any Magical Girl to use pocket dimensions at all? Sticking your hand into a space with different laws of physics could severely damage it. But I never heard of anything like that when I was that age."

Kyubey nodded, "indeed. Given the safety of these techniques, I can only assume that normal usage of portals between dimensions and universes take into account these variances and adjust for them. Almost a 'translation software' if you will. However, Saya appears to have come through or manifested in a way that her baseline universe's rules are still applying to her. Because of this, she is disturbing to natives of this reality on a visceral level. It is even possible that she is doing this on purpose as a fear tactic to accomplish a larger goal."

He paused, as though to give a moment for his words to sink in.

"What do you think of her?" Madoka asked quietly.

"Don't misjudge me," Kyubey said in his usual light voice. "I don't dislike her at all or like her. If she posed a threat to the Quota or tried to wipe out Humanity before we harvest enough energy, then I will do something about her."

"Why?" Sayaka said suspiciously, "I thought you didn't care about humans?"

"You may dislike me, but I can assure you with complete honesty that I am far preferable to other creatures and things that could be, 'running the show' as you humans might put it. I make sure that humans as a whole are safe from the monsters in the dark while I harvest energy."

"But if you don't care bout humans as you say," Ryoko asked, "and Saya hasn't done anything yet to be a threat to your operation, why are you telling us this?"

"It costs me nothing to keep you informed of what I know, and if you take her out before she becomes a bigger threat, then I see no reason to keep information back from you." He turned and looked at Key, "I suggest that if you meet her again, you keep telepathically close. Given that you're made to handle Witches and make sure the Grief they generate doesn't simply dissipate, she likely looked strange but not painful to you. Therefore, you should probably try and give the others mental support if you see her again. Normal humans run high risk of going insane if they see her."

The mention of Witches and harvesting energy seemed to rub Key the wrong way and he scowled as Kyubey looked over at him. Something seemed to be bothering him as he stared at Kyubey. Then, as though he couldn't stop himself, the question burst out of him.

"Why haven't you come after me yet? Why are you so okay with me Curing Grief Seeds?! Why don't you seem to care?!"

"Why would I force you to come back?" Kyubey asked lightly as he stared at Key. "That would be wasteful, not to mention nonsensical. I have little doubt that eventually you'll come back to help me once again."

Everyone stared at Kyubey, Sayaka and Madoka rather incredulously. Homura's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked back and forth between Key and Kyubey. Key however, felt a shiver run down his spine as he stared into the crimson depths of Kyubey's pupils. What was he talking about?

"I won't help you Kyubey, I won't" he said stubbornly.

The Incubator stared at Key, tilting his head as though he were trying to figure something out about him.

"You are fascinating for a rogue drone. I wonder how long you'll last."

". . . huh?" Key said confusedly.

Kyubey however, turned with a swish of his tail and began striding away. After a few steps, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder back at them.

"We'll be seeing each other again. When you realize the futility of this rebellion, I'll be ready to take you back."

With that, he scampered off.

"There were a few moments silence before Sayaka chuffed, her narrowed eyes looking at the point where Kyubey had left.

"Don't listen to him Key. He's just trying to get under your skin."

Key looked troubled, but shook his head regardless, 'yeah . . . yeah, you're probably right."


The next few days were thankfully rather unexciting compared to the roller coaster that had they had been experiencing up to that point. They had all met at Mami's for breakfast the next day as well as to strategize and discuss how they were going to use the time before Walpurgisnacht's arrival in general. As school had started the next day as well, it had been agreed that, for the time being, it might be best if Nagisa stayed at Mami's apartment during the day until they thought of something else. Key would stay and watch over her and try and keep her entertained. This had come after a long discussion in which none of them could come up with a plan that didn't involve Nagisa getting taken away by social services.

It had worked better than some of them had thought it might've. It turned out that Key, along with gaining emotions and the like, had developed a bit of an interest in trying out Human entertainment. Mami, Sayaka, and Madoka had been broadly supportive and had even brought over books, movies and other things for them to use (though Mami had begged them not to go surfing the internet unsupervised). Still, they did manage to find some interesting things to watch.

"Hey Nagisa, what about this movie! I mean look at it, it has Rabbits on the front cover!"

Nagisa saw that Key was holding up a film who's box cover proudly proclaimed that the movie concerned the lives of rabbits and bunnies She nodded enthusiastically and they popped the movie in.

The opening narration began, "Long ago, the great Frith made the world."


Overall, things were quiet as they trained and began clearing out Witches and Familiars. For some reason, it almost seemed easier than normal, even for Homura and Mami. Almost as if Key's presence was giving them a new lease on their lives as Magical Girls. Even after Mami and (begrudgingly) Homura had turned over their Grief Seeds to Key for curing, they never had any problems with corruption in their Soul Gems due to Key. The empty Grief Seeds even made interesting baubles (as well as giving some of them ideas). Mami also proved to be a valuable member of the planning for Walpurgisnacht, to Homura's slight shock.


The Labyrinth dissolved and the empty grief seed dropped from Key's tentacles. He breathed heavily for a few moments before seeming to get ahold of himself. Mami meanwhile was asking Homura a few questions.

"Do you enchant your weapons?" she asked as she looked at the smoking sub-machine gun that Homura was holding.

Homura shook her head, "no, I have little need to. Regular bullets and explosives are more than sufficient in dealing with whatever Witch I happen to encounter."

"And as you don't have a close-quarters weapon, nor need one, I suppose it isn't a high priority." Mami nodded as she put a hand to her chin, looking contemplative.

"But if Walpurgisnacht is as powerful as you say, wouldn't it stand to reason that she'd have a higher resistance to normal weapons and that Magical Weapons would be more important?"

Homura thought back on all of her encounters with Walpurgisnacht and nodded slowly. It did make sense, the first few times through the loop when Mami and Madoka had been there helping her against Walpurgisnacht had been the major times that the enormous Witch had been defeated, and they had used nothing but Magical Weaponry. In contrast, she had a hard time remembering most of her mundane bombs and guns doing much damage to the colossal Witch. It wasn't as though she hadn't considered the idea before though, but she'd always run into the same problem.

"Perhaps," she responded to Mami, "but the fact remains that I would have to exert a massive amount of Magical Power to enchant the weapons I have that could do damage in the first place. Such expenditure would leave me dangerously full of Grief for the actual fight."

Mami nodded, but then looked at Key who was chatting with Nagisa, Madoka, and Sayaka. Homura understood in an instant and nearly cursed herself for not thinking of it sooner. Key made Grief buildup obsolete, and so they had a near endless supply of Magical Power that they could use to enchant weapons. Her eyes widened at the thought of what she could do with this. Then she realized that Mami was smiling indulgently at her and she hastily forced her face back into the normal blank look she usually put it at.

"I think it would be a good idea to enchant some weapons and see how it goes in the next Witch Hunt," Mami said with a smile and Homura nodded stiffly. Both of them turned and walked over towards Key, who turned to look at them.

"We require you for some enchantment work" Homura said bluntly. Key blinked as he looked between the two of them before Mami explained.

"We were thinking of trying to enchant most of Homura's arsenal so that we could use it against Walpurgisnacht. It makes much more sense than using conventional weapons. We need you to absorb the Grief generated in our Soul Gems as we do this, if that's alright with you?"

Key looked a bit queasy for a second, but rallied and put a smile on his face.

"Sure, yeah! That makes sense and of course I'll do it! You guys are my friends after all and friends help friends!"


This had lead to a long day after school where they had come over to Homura's apartment and she had pulled out a multitude of weapons and various other possibly useful items to have them enchanted. Key had helped them by periodically draining the corruption out of their Soul Gems and in this way, they had managed to get a large pool of enchanted weapons done by the time darkness had fallen. Key had been so tired and lethargic that he'd nearly passed out and Homura had had to carry him to her couch and set him down there. He hadn't seemed to have gotten much sleep in the morning, but soldiered on anyway.

The next relatively interesting thing that had happened had been when Ryoko had called them that morning (Key made it so she could 'ping' him when she wanted to be connected up to the small telepathic network that they had) and had asked them to come to the Hospital after School. They had done so and Ryoko had led them to her Office. As before, she had closed the door and drawn the curtains after making sure they were relatively alone. Then she'd sat down again and spoken.

"I think I'm close to finding a safehouse that Dr. Ogai used," she said, cutting right to the chase. "It hasn't been easy, but I've manged to track his movements over the past few months before his disappearance as well as inquire about properties he owned and I think I might've narrowed it down. I would like your" (she gestured at Key) "support in going to investigate."

Key nodded, "sounds prudent. If he was dabbling in things like Saya, as you suspect, then it would probably be smart to have me along."

Mami coughed slightly, "I think we would be more comfortable if at least one of us Magical Girls went with you. I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of Key being off on his own with you if this creature is as dangerous as you say."

She glanced around for a moment at the others. When an awkward silence greeted her, she smiled in a self-deprecating manner. "Of course, with me saying that, it would be in rather poor taste if I didn't live up to my own words. I'll volunteer to go."

Telepathically, she addressed Key and Homura, "if anything goes wrong, we'll contact you Homura, and you can freeze time and come and help us."

Homura nodded imperceptibly and Key smiled.

Ryoko steepled her fingers and looked at Key intently once again.

"I've also decided that I want to see your alleged ability to cure Grief Seeds in action."

Key shifted slightly under her gaze.

"How so? Usually I cure a Grief Seed right after we defeat the Witch or Familiar attached to it."

Ryoko shrugged, "well, couldn't you hold off on that and just bring it to me before you complete the process. From how you've described it it doesn't appear to be a time sensitive process."

Key looked down, seeming a bit uncomfortable. Noticing this, Nagisa reached over and began petting him. He gave her a grateful look, then responded in a hesitant voice.

"I suppose that I might be able to do that. But I don't like the idea of leaving any girl to suffer like that!"

Mami spoke up, "she isn't asking you to Key, she's simply asking to be there for the process. It's not as though she's asking you to leave a Grief Seed full forever."

Key nodded in assent, then looked up at Ryoko.

"Have you found anything else about Fuminori?"

Ryoko frowned, "it's hard to get information on him without seeming nosy. He's been legally discharged and he isn't another Doctor. So it looks more suspicious if I start nosing around about him. But I have managed to get a look at the outside his house and it looks filthy and overgrown. One of his neighbors complained about it in great detail, a Mr. Suzumi or something like that. He claimed that Fuminori still leaves the house and goes to college, but he seems very jumpy and keen to get back home whenever he's been talked to. At least, that's what his neighbor said anyway."

There was a moment's silence before Homura spoke up, "so it is possible that Saya is hiding away in his house?"

Ryoko nodded, "that would be my guess. I still want to try and find Dr. Ogai's hideout and hopefully, he can shed some light on all of this."

Key nodded, "that sounds like the smartest plan we have. In the meantime, I hope that the little that I could do for Fuminori is helping."

"Why, what did you do for him?" Ryoko asked sharply.

As Key explained that he'd been able to do one small thing for Fuminori when they'd first met, Ryoko's eyes widened slightly.

"That might indeed help him, if he isn't already gone too far. I suppose we'll just have to find out when we see him."

The rest of the conversation was short and soon the girls and Key stood up, accepted Ryoko's thanks for their time, and strode out of the Hospital.

It had been on their way home when the night had taken a different turn. Madoka had been looking around when she had spotted something strange.
"Wait, isn't that Hitomi?"

Everyone turned to see Madoka pointing across the road at someone walking slowly in the opposite direction.

"Hey yeah, it is her," Sayaka said, her voice sounding confused. "Weird, I thought she would've been at some event her parents made her attend, like learning traditional tea ceremony or something?"

Madoka called out to the girl, waving her hands, but Hitomi didn't seem to hear her, despite being well within hearing range. She simply continued to walk forward in an almost drunken manner.

Madoka and Sayaka both hurried across the road at the next intersection with the rest of the group following suit. While Hitomi had had a bit of a head start, her slow pace and aimless manner soon allowed them to catch up to her.

"Hitomi!" Madoka said loudly as she moved in front of her friend and grabbed her by the shoulder and shaking slightly.

"why didn't you answer us Hitomi!? What's wrong?!" she asked forcefully.

Soundtrack: Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST – Cor Destructum

Hitomi's head lolled around slightly as she gazed ahead with a sort of blank smile on her face. Then her eyes slowly seemed to, not exactly focus, but drift onto Madoka.

"Oh, Kaname-San. How nice to see you" she said in a faraway voice. "I was just going somewhere special."

Sayaka, also looking concerned, walked around and stared Hitomi straight in the eyes. Hitomi didn't even look at her and seemed to be attempting to start walking again. Sayaka snapped her fingers directly in front of Hitomi's face. The girl made no response.

"What's up with her, why's she acting so weird?" Sayaka asked with a concerned voice.

"I think I know why" came Key's voice as he nudged Homura's leg and she obligingly picked him up. She walked over and Key took a short cursory look over Hitomi before he spoke again.

"Yep, she's been hit by a Witch's Kiss."

Madoka's eyes widened and she shook Hitomi's shoulder even harder, as though doing so would snap her friend out of it. Hitomi simply continued her vague smile and attempts to move forward.

"Can't you do something about this?" Sayaka said, a bit forcefully to Homura and Key as Mami and Nagisa moved up to stand by Hitomi's side.

"Yes, of course. It should be a simple thing to remove the Witch's Kiss, I just have to-"

Key's voice was cut off as Homura raised a hand, "wait, perhaps she could lead us to the Witch in question."

Silence greeted this statement, before Sayaka exploded, "are you serious!" Her voice was angry as she growled at Homura, "you seriously want to leave her like this!"

Homura's gaze did not flicker as Sayaka said this. She answered after Sayaka was done talking, "I highly doubt that she is the only person being drawn to the Witch, especially as she is not currently inside a Labyrinth at this moment. If we allow her to lead us to the Witch in question, then we can save the other victims and defeat the Witch in one action."

Sayaka opened her mouth to argue, but Mami, who had been staring at the small mark on Hitomi's neck that was the mark of a Witch's kiss, interrupted her.

"Homura might be right. This mark looks like a television, and if the Witch marked people by having them watch an encoded message on a certain channel, then it is likely that others were watching and will all be drawn in."

Homura blinked, looking at Mami in some confusion before the older girl continued, "she'll be perfectly safe. I'll attach a ribbon to her and Homura can always stop time if the situation gets too dire. But it would take much more legwork to find said Witch without this opportunity. We may not even find it again if we pass this chance up."

Nagisa put her hand up as though she were in school and waiting to get called on by a teacher. After a moment in which she realized that she had everyone's attention, she spoke up.

"What if we just asked her where she was going?"

After another moment, Sayaka shrugged and then forced Hitomi to look at her.
"Hitomi, where are you going?"

The girl blinked owlishly before a wide grin broke onto her face. She clasped Sayaka's hands and said in a rather exuberant voice, "oh you simply must come with me, it will be just so wonderful if all of us are there for it."

And with that, she finally managed to push around her two friends and continued her merry jaunt towards . . . wherever it was that she was going. Homura gave Sayaka a raised eyebrow, which Sayaka mutinously crossed her arms over her chest and looked away in response. Madoka looked quickly back and forth between Hitomi and the others and then hurried to walk alongside Hitomi. Everyone else followed in her wake and formed a close group around the controlled girl. Mami walked beside Hitomi and surreptitiously laid her hand on the younger girl's shoulder. A golden ribbon snaked out from Mami's sleeve and fastened around Hitomi's upper arm.

Soon enough, the group had moved towards the more industrial part of Mitakihara, and indeed seemed to be making their way towards what looked like a deserted warehouse.
"What is this place Mami?" asked Nagisa as she moved close to Mami while glancing a bit nervously around. It was getting dark out and there were shadows everywhere.

"The old Industrial Sector." Mami replied as she eyed the building that Hitomi was leading them too.

"I thought Mitakihara wasn't an industrial city anymore?" Madoka asked, her voice sounding as though she were trying to distract herself.

Mami nodded, "if I recall correctly it was quite successful for some time before it became cheaper to manufacture elsewhere. After that, the local businesses went bust and this entire sector was nearly completely abandoned. Because of this, Witch's have a tendency to use it as a hiding spot."

They heard Sayaka gasp slightly, and looking around, they saw why. Several dozen people were materializing out of the falling darkness. All either had the look of vague happiness that Hitomi had, or else just looked blank. They all converged on the closest Warehouse's doors and pushed them open. The people filed in and, after a moment, the girls and Key joined the press.

The inside of the building was even darker than the outside, though somehow they could hear the people moving around in the dark and not bumping into anything. Mami felt Hitomi attempting to move forward and join the crowd and firmly grasped her shoulder, holding the younger girl back.

A light flared as Key conjured up one of the energy orbs that he sometimes threw at Witches. It's light illuminated the large room and they saw that the crowd was beginning to concentrate around a single man who was sitting in the middle of the room in front of a bucket and a large collection of what looked like bottles of cleaning fluid.

The man spoke in a vague, dead-to-the-world, sort of voice.

"I'm worthless, a waste of space. I couldn't even keep this factory open long enough to turn a profit. Someone like me is not fit to live in today's world. I'm just . . . obsolete."

Another person was dragging another bucket over to sit in front of the man. Overall, it had the strange feeling like they were intruding on some form of initiation to a cult.

They then noticed that Hitomi was starting to struggle more insistently. Madoka grabbed her friend's hands and tried to get her to calm down.

"Hitomi! Please, don't struggle, you don't know what your doing!"

Hitomi's up until now pleasant (if vacant) expression was rapidly beginning to sour as she was prevented from moving forward. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Let me go! This is a sacred ritual and it will send all of us to a whole new world! I was generous enough to bring you here and yet you have the gall to-"

"I think that's enough of that," came Key's voice as one of his tentacles snaked out and came to rest on Hitomi's forehead.

After a moment, Hitomi's eyes rolled back into her head and her knees buckled. At the same moment, the small mark on her neck vanished like smoke. Mami caught her, and with the help the other girls, gently laid her down on the floor of the building. Then a shuffling noise, many shuffling noises, caught their attention and they all looked up.

Every single person in the room who'd been drawn there by the Witch was moving towards them. It was clear that they did not appreciate one of their own being denied the "gift" that they had been about to impart and were going to do something about it. A soft groaning noise, amplified by the fact that it was coming from many throats, grew as the crowd moved forward, looking like nothing so much as a herd of zombies.

There were three flashes of light as Mami, Homura, and Nagisa all changed into their Magical Girl Outfits. As one they moved in front of Sayaka, Madoka, and the unconscious Hitomi. As the wave of people came close, Mami raised her arm and pointed it at the oncoming crowd with a look of concentration on her face. Homura had meanwhile drawn what looked like several taser guns, Key was still perched on her shoulder, and Nagisa had her trumpet out.

"Restraining and knocking unconscious so that I can remove the Witch's Kisses?" came Key's voice.

There was an affirmative from the three girls, then Mami added, "Nagisa, keep them off balance with your bubbles, and if you feel up to it, you can try out that new technique we've been working on."

Nagisa nodded and then they had no more time to talk, they all acted.

Ribbons sprang out of Mami's outstretched palm and wrapped around a large number of the people in front of them. Several others jerked and went stiff as boards as they were hit by tasers and the rest looked up in confusion as numerous small bubbles floated into place above them. The small bubbles then burst into flashes of light and noise, further distracting those of the crowd still standing, a number that was dwindling fast.

It was rather anticlimactic in the end. Not a single person even got close to touching them. All were incapacitated in some form or another within a few more seconds. As they all lay on the ground, some struggling to get out of Mami's ribbons, Key moved forward and began removing the Witches Kisses from them.

"Mami! Look, I did it!" came Nagisa's excited voice. They looked over and saw Nagisa bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet as she stood in front of a man who looked to be trapped in a large bubble. Obviously Nagisa had managed to conjure up the bubble through her horn as a form of imprisonment.

Mami smiled and walked over to pat the little girl on the head.

"Good job Nagisa. See, our practice times are paying off!"

Nagisa beamed.

The man inside the bubble was knocked out and cured of the kiss in short order. Then Key and the Magical Girls turned to look at a door that lead further into the warehouse.

"I can sense the Witch," Mami said. Then she looked at Nagisa, "can you sense it."

Nagisa closed her eyes and concentrated hard. After a moment, she responded.

"I kinda of feels . . . weird. It feels like a . . . like a piece of spoiled cheese."

"Does everything she thinks about involve cheese?!" Sayaka whispered quietly to Madoka who slapped a hand over her mouth.

Mami nodded, "that is the Witch. You can use that feeling to track it."

Key walked forward and everyone fell in behind him. Then Homura stopped and cleared her throat. Everyone turned to look at her and she laid a hand on her shield.

"We may as well save the Grief Seed we gain from this Witch and show it to Dr. Ryoko. She did say that she wanted to see you curing one in action so we as as well get that done."

Mami looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded "if we are able to get this done quickly enough, we might even be able to catch her before she leaves work."

Soundtrack: Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST – Gradus Prohibitus

They moved forward through a door and the world suddenly distorted. The Labyrinth opened up into what seemed to be a glass tunnel. Through the sides they could see nothing but a watery blue color, but directly in front of them was what looked like a bank of television screens. Each screen was playing what looked like a random tv show.

"Maybe these are the channels that it's broadcasting its Kisses on" Key said matter-of-factly.

There was a moment of silence. Sayaka gave Key a sardonic look, Homura raised an eyebrow, Madoka and Nagisa giggled, and Mami just smirked. Then Key put his head down and knocked it against the ground.

"And once again, that sounded much better in my head."

Homura, apparently not wanting to waste any more time, stepped forward and put her hand on her shield. With a short twist, she seemed to skip like she was an animation missing a few frames. The sounds of gunshots filled the passage, riddling the machines with holes as they were blown apart.

As the wall of tv screens broke and crumbled, they reveal what looked like a circular chamber. It almost looked like the walls were made of water, and images and movie film floated around in its. Old style televisions also circled, being hefted by strange puppet like creatures with wings. They moved like bad stop-motion, jerkily and seemingly out of sync with the world. Each television showed images and scenes. As Mami looked at it, she blanched as she caught sight of Kyoko. The TV showed the fight that had finalized their falling out. The image came closer and closer and after a moment, she shook herself and fired a shot.

The TV burst in pieces and she turned as she also heard a multitude of other shots and noises. Homura was blasting TV's left and right away with a rather fierce look on her face. Mami just managed to glimpse a few seconds of one of the machine's near her. It seemed to display Madoka in great pain, writhing in what looked like the burned out and flooded ruins of a city as a Homura who looked very different (why was she wearing glasses and had braided hair?) leveled a gun at what was unmistakably a Soul Gem. Then the TV was blown to smithereens and Homura moved on. Curiosity welled up inside of Mami as she turned. The TV on her end had shown her one of her worst memories (probably how the Witch tortured people), but if that was one of Homura's memories, then how did that work?

As Mami turned, she noticed that Key had been gazing at Homura as well, and wondered if he'd seen the same thing she had. Then she heard a soft cry and turned to look at Nagisa. The little girl was standing in front of Madoka and Sayaka, but she was looking stricken as she stared at the floating television in front of her. Mami blanched as she saw the image of Nagisa on the screen. She was sitting at the Hospital Bed of a woman who was thin as a rail, but in health would've looked like an older version of the little girl. Nagisa in the video was crying desperately as she grabbed her mother's hand, but her mother would not move. Then Nagisa suddenly started convulsing as she grabbed at her Soul Gem that was black.

The TV stopped playing as a bullet passed through it and Mami stepped forward, kneeling down in front of Nagisa. She put a hand out and patted the little girl on the shoulder.

"I'm here Nagisa, I'm here."

The smaller girl nodded, looking a slight bit better, though she was still shaking. Nevertheless, she put her horn to her lips and blew hard. Several loud notes, as well as a large amount of bubbles streamed out of the end of her instrument and the next second, they impacted the side of the labyrinth and began blasting large chunks out of it. Large piece of the walls fell, crushing most of the TV's as they went. Mami held out her hand and a platform of ribbons knitted itself together in an instant. She bowed, smiling slightly as everyone walked forward onto it (Homura frowned, seeming to disapprove of the flamboyancy of the action.)

As they situated themselves (Homura, Mami, and Key looking over the sides of the platform to ensure no enemy came up below them), they began to descend. Not many Familiars were left by this point and the few that tried to harass them were quickly blown apart. They touched down at the bottom of the Cylinder and turned as they felt a surge of energy. Rising up out of the floor as though it were water was a giant television. It had large angelic wings that kept it aloft and on its screen was what looked like some sort of loading bar. Everyone glanced between each other as they sized the situation up.

"Is it just me, or does this Witch seem a bit less . . . creepy and more . . . kooky," whispered Sayaka to Madoka. "I feel like if I had a sword I could take it out with just a few hits."

Madoka made to shush her, "that's only because we have them here to protect us!" She had gestured at the Magical Girls (and their Cat-like friend) as she spoke. But almost before she had finished speaking, several more holes erupted in the sides of the cylinder they were in. Out of it poured, like water escaping a hole the bottom of a well, swarms of little angel-like dolls. Though they moved stiffly like poorly made stage puppets.

They hit the ground and then came on towards them, making a chattering thumping sound of hundreds of wooden limbs slamming against the floor and each other. However, their progress was suddenly stymied as Homura withdrew what looked like a large machine gun (almost comically overlarge compared to her small frame) and unleashed a storm of bullets against the wave of wooden puppetry. At the same moment, Mami had conjured up near a dozen muskets and was firing them in rotation (the empty ones seemed to magically refill as they spun around her in a circle). Bubbles blown from Nagisa's trumpet blasted large chunks out of the wave of puppets, perhaps doing the most damage overall as it deprived the enemy of any momentum forward. Key meanwhile picked off any puppets that managed to get close despite all of this, his noodle like limbs lashing out with their ends magically sharpened like swords.

As suddenly as the wave of wooden warriors had come, it suddenly ceased and everyone stood still, somewhat taken aback by the lack of enemies. But then they heard what sounded like the sound and old tv made when it had no signal.

The large television seemed to have booted up fully, it's volume bar had reached 100 and, next second, what felt like a physical wall of noise came blasting towards them. The concussive force of what appeared to be a cartoon theme song caused everyone's feet to slide backwards slightly. The girls clapped their hands over their ears as they all felt as though they might go deaf from the sheer noise of it all.

Soundtrack: Teen Titans Go Theme Song

"WHY IS IT PLAYING THIS OF ALL THINGS!" Sayaka screamed mentally (she screamed because she wasn't sure that she'd be able to hear anyone even if it was telepathic.

"MAYBE ITS TRYING TO TORTURE US!" came Key's response.

But then, as though in response to the attack, Nagisa took the deepest breath she could and then put her horn to her lips. The song that came from it seemed to have more noises in it than just a trumpet (perhaps it was part of the magic of it that was only expressed because Nagisa didn't have time to think about it).

Soundtrack: Teen Titans Theme Song

The force that came from this retaliatory song forced the Witch's attack back and even slammed into the Witch itself. It slid backwards and the screen switched from showing sound bars to show a cartoonish face for disorientation, a vertical crack running down its front. But they wasted no time and the next second, the air was thick with flying bullets, bubbles, and orbs of energy.

They impacted and the Witch screeched in pain. It tried to move or to attack, but with four sources for its pain and with no familiars left, it could not find a second to recover and soon it was falling apart. They felt the labyrinth dissolving as the Witch finally gave up the ghost and died. As they all found themselves back in the warehouse, they heard the distinctive clink of the Grief Seed as it fell to the ground.

Mami walked forward, somewhat unsteadily, and picked up the Grief Seed. She examined it for a second before turning back to look at the others.

"That was . . . uncommonly easy, aside from the ending."

The others looked at her with confusion. After a second, Mami realized that she hadn't been able to hear her own voice, just a loud ringing in her ears. She held her hands up to her ears and they glowed for a moment. The ringing stopped and sound returned to her world. Key and Homura had done the same and Mami walked over to Nagisa, seemingly trying coach her on how to do it as well. Homura walked over to Madoka and Key to Sayaka and they in turn healed the ears of the two girls.

After that all was over with, they walked back out to the entry room where the crowd of unconscious people was sitting. A moment of silence ensued as they stood there. Then Madoka spoke up.

"What should we do about . . . this?" she gestured helplessly around the room at the bodies on the floor including Hitomi.

Mami made a contemplative noise, "they'll probably be alright, they'll be waking up soon and they'll only have scattered impressions of what happened. People usually are able to move past such things and ignore them so they'll likely just go home and forget about it eventually.

Sayaka however, moved towards Hitomi and began pulling her up. Madoka quickly joined her and as they lifted her up, Sayaka explained.

"I think Madoka and I better take Hitomi home. Her parents might freak out if she woke up in a place like this."

Mami nodded, and the two girls quickly hoisted the unconscious girl's arms over their shoulders and they began trudging out of the building. After they'd left, Key glanced up at Mami and the Soul Gem she was toting in her hand.

"So . . . can we get this over with. I really don't like the thought of leaver her to suffer any longer than I have to."


Ryoko hefted the Grief Seed slightly, seeming to examine it with a critical eye as she turned it over in her palms. As she beheld the small bauble, her eyes narrowed and her lips thinned.

"I never could figure out anything to do with these. The most I got out of them was that they seemed a bit darker when I went to places where great tragedies had occurred, but otherwise could never figure much out about them."

She handed the Seed back to Key and stood with her arms crossed.

"Connect us up" she said as Key took the object.

"Huh" Key asked as he blankly looked at her.

"I want to see this at all levels," Ryoko said as she looked at Key. "Unless there's some sort of horrible side effect like my brain melting, then I want to see this at the mental level too."

"Oh" Key said as he looked up at her, "I . . . guess that makes sense. It's just, I've never had anyone else along with me, mentally anyway, while I do it."

"I want to go in too," Mami suddenly said. Everyone else looked at her and she blushed slightly.

"Um, well, I want to see what happens too and I think it would be best if we all got more familiar with the process. After all, if we're in this for the long haul of saving Magical Girls, then it makes sense doesn't it?"

Key smiled widely, seeming happier to know that someone was going to be with him this time as he drained the despair out of the Grief Seed. Nagisa nodded in agreement and after a moment, Homura did as well.

"The door's locked, right?" Key asked. Homura tried the handle and nodded.

"Alright then," Key said as he set the Grief Seed on the ground and let his tentacles hover over it. His eyes began to glow lightly as he murmured "close your eyes."

Soundtrack: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince OST – Dumbledore's Speech

They obeyed and a moment later, they opened them up and found themselves floating in an empty space. A dark oppressive mist sat in front of them them and, but for a soft bluish-white light that seemed to emit from Key, they all had the feeling that they would've been unable to see anything through it at all. In fact, as Mami looked at it, she had a nasty feeling that, not just being unable to see, that the oppressive darkness might've smothered them entirely if they wandered in.

Then, Key moved and made a pulling motion with his long appendages. Darkness seemed to siphon out of the large cloud, coming away like a a stream of tar. For a moment, it hovered in front of Key in an ever-growing blob, although some of it sloughed off of the bottom and seemed to vanish. Then, with a grimace, it started feeding into into Key's chest. A hiss of what seemed to be pain issued from his as he grit his teeth and Mami moved forward in concern. But then her attention (as well as the others) was stolen away as she looked at the structure that was beginning to emerge out of the Grief that Key was absorbing.

It looked like some sort of dome and, as more of it became visible, it more and more reminded Mami of the structure that her own Soul Gem had taken during the short time she'd been aware of it's internal nature (only this was an outside perspective). As more and more blackness was pulled off of it, they moved forward and, as though the outside were intangible, they passed through it and found themselves inside. A soft blue glow was starting to suffuse the parts of the dome that were now clean because of Key's efforts. Something about it seemed familiar to Mami.

Key was striding forward and all of a sudden, they saw the apparent center of the Gem. Lying at the center was what looked like the form of a girl. She was black as midnight and curled up in a fetal position, rocking back and forth. She didn't seem to be aware of them, but as they drew closer, they realized that they could hear a soft noise of someone crying. Then, as the darkness in the place reached a point of being halfway gone, the girl suddenly started to gain color and it stopped rocking. Instead it looked up and, though its facial features were slightly blurry it seemed to be attempted to get a good look at them. As its face gained color, it seemed to squint at them in disbelief.

Soundtrack: The Host OST – Soul Inside

Mami suddenly gasped as the girl came more into focus.

"Kirsten?!" she said and moved forward. The figure jerked slightly as it beheld Mami, seeming to cock its head as though it was trying to figure something out. It's mouth fell open, but for a moment, only a soft rasping sound came out as its body started to finally begin to look more Girl than not.

"M . . . M. . . . M. . . . Ma . . . Maaaaaamii?" the words finally came. The figure finally took final form and revealed itself to be a girl of small stature. As she came into focus more (almost like she was being colored in) her features revealed that she seemed to have a slightly Western Ancestry to her, though she was still undoubtedly Japanese. She had Cyan colored hair that was made up in two very long pigtails (reaching all the way down to her waist) and was staring up into Mami's eyes with a look of disbelief.

"How . . . h-how . . . M-Mami h-how?"

Mami smiled sadly at the girl, "I had some help Kirsten, but that's not important right now. What is important is that you need to come back with us."

The girl looked down, her face agitated, "I . . . I . . . I d-don't know if I c-can M-Mami."

Mami looked utterly concerned as she tilted the girl's face to to look her square in the eyes.

"Kirsten, your family's been worried sick about you and they've been looking for you ever since you vanished. Don't you want to see them again?"

There was a moment's pensive silence. Then the girl, Kirsten, nodded just slightly.

"I . . . I do . . . but I don't want to be a M-Magical G-Girl anymore?! I never want to b-become a W-W-W-Witch!"

Key moved forward. Kirsten jumped and scrambled backwards away from him. Key halted, looking a bit hurt but maintaining a respectful distance. Mami looked between them and then walked over and put a hand on Kirsten's shoulder. Kirsten looked between them and Mami nodded.

"He can fix you Kirsten. I know, I know all about how we turn into Witches and he saved me from that. He's not Kyubey and I promise that he can fix you. You just have to let him."

Kirsten still looked slightly queasy at Key's presence but did not back away further. Key moved forward in response.

"Do you want to come back with me?" Key asked, his eyes wide and full of pity and pain, "do you want to live again?"

Kirsten debated on it for a bit longer than most people might've expected. But those present felt they could understand. Knowing what they did about life, and know just how badly Kirsten had probably been suffering for so long, they honestly couldn't say that they might have second thoughts about not going on to whatever lay beyond death than coming back to deal with life.

Finally, after a few minutes debate with herself, Kirsten turned to Mami.
"I . . . my family still wants me . . they still want me back?"

Mami shook her head with a small smile and squeezed the smaller girl's shoulder, "Kirsten, they love you more than life itself. Of course they want you back."

Kirsten took a long and deep breath, then she turned to Key.

" . . . okay then. I want to come back. But I don't want to be a Magical Girl anymore!"

Key nodded, and the bright glow that had emanated from his eyes suddenly intensified so that everyone's vision was full of the cascading light. For a few moments they were blinded. But the it seemed to dim and they found themselves back in Ryoko's office. But now, laying on the office floor was a little girl's body, Kirsten's body. A small white light, seemingly held aloft gently in Key's tentacles, was about a foot above her.

Slowly and gingerly, Key let the light lower and it slowly seemed to phase through Kirsten's chest and into her body. Then there was a small pulse and the light seemed to spread throughout her whole body before vanishing. Then Kirsten, in one sudden action, opened her eyes wide and drew a long deep breath, as though she hadn't been able to breath for months.

The girl put her hand to her chest and seemed to be trying to grab something. Next she looked at her hand and then felt her hair. Then she said in a voice thick with emotion.

"It's gone. Is it really gone?"

Key shook his head slightly, as though chasing away a bad mood, then he looked down at the girl with bright eyes and a soft smile.

"It's gone. Your soul is your own again, and no one else's."

Kirsten sat up, put her head in her hands, and cried.


The house was modest and, like many others, seemed to be trying to conserve as much space as possible. Certainly there were no dark areas as the lights from it and its close neighboring houses lit up nearly all areas in the falling dusk. As the four of them got out of the car, Key noted that there was a slight flutter in his stomach. His drone might not have been the one that had given Kirsten her contract (he certainly didn't have any memories of the deed.), but he'd been a part of Kyubey so he felt that there could be some part of the blame assigned to him. Certainly, he felt what he felt was probably nervousness as they approached the entrance to Kirsten's family's house.

Kirsten had cried for a good long while in Ryoko's office. The good Doctor had gotten a blanket out of some cabinet and draped it over the young girl's shoulders. Mami had hugged the girl gingerly and given an explanation on how she knew her. Apparently Kirsten had been a local Magical Girl in Mitakihara that had had a mild friendship with Mami. They two had occasionally talked and helped each other out hunting Witches. But then, Kirsten had vanished almost a year ago, at least that was what Mami had thought had happened. Mami had done some investigating and even spied a bit on Kirsten's family (who'd gone hysterical with worry over their missing child), but eventually had had to give up due to a lack of evidence. Of course, what had happened was patently obvious now.

Eventually, Kirsten had managed to string enough words together to ask to go home. After some small conversation, Ryoko had agreed to drive them to the address Kirsten had given them, though Homura had had little interest in doing so and had said she was going home. Mami had asked Homura to take Nagisa to her apartment and to look after her until Mami got there (saying that, if worst came to worst, Homura was welcome to sleep in Mami's bed). The black-haired girl had reluctantly agreed (Nagisa hadn't been so eager, but her yawning had spoiled any protests that she'd had).

Mami and Ryoko were supporting Kirsten as she stumbled up the steps of her family's house and Key was walking beside them. Kirsten's family wouldn't be able to see him of course, but if things came down to an explanation, which they almost certainly would. It would be very likely that he'd be asked to reveal himself. He wasn't sure how the family would react to him, but he was pretty sure that they wouldn't be too fond of him.

They had reached the door and Mami reached out a hand and knocked on it. There was a sound of footsteps and after a few moments, the door opened. A large man had an annoyed look on his face as he looked at them. But then he noticed Kirsten and his face went slack, his eyes wide. Kirsten stared back with wide eyes.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, then the man suddenly reached out and grabbed the small girl and pulled her against his chest. He was soon joined by a woman who was obviously Kirsten's mother, and a small boy who was undoubtedly her brother. For the second time that night, Kirsten burst into tears.


They'd sat down around a table and most of the family had hot drinks in their hands. They had clustered around Kirsten as Mami had given an explanation for what had happened to the young girl. It had looked like the family had wanted to call her a liar a few times, but a few displays of Magic had convinced them of the truth. Mami had stumbled at points in the story, obviously still a bit uncomfortable discussing how Witches related to Magical Girls and Ryoko had stepped in at these points.

"If all of this is true, where is the creature known as Kyubey?" The father said in a low voice.

Mami and Ryoko glanced at each other, then back at the family.

"We don't know at the moment."

The man's eyes grew hard.

"I wish to see it. I want to see the thing that did all this to my daughter." Before they could answer, he spoke again. "Or if you won't bring it here, then show me this 'Key' creature you've talked about!"

Key took a long slow breath, then touched the forehead of each of the family in turn with his appendages. They all shook their heads and did a double take as they saw him. But then their expressions turned sour.

"So . . . you are the thing that destroyed my daughter's mind, body, and soul" the Father said in a dangerous voice.

Mami liked neither the direction of the conversation, nor the statement itself. She opened her mouth, "no he di-"
"Mami, it's alright," Key said, though he didn't sound particularly confident. The family had flinched slightly as his telepathic words had run in their heads, but they regained their footing rather quickly.

"Yes, Kyubey did do all that and I was Kyubey, or at least a part of him, or . . . well . . . I don't know but . . ." Key trailed off, looking rather nervous and sad.

The family was glaring at him again and Key shrank back. Kirsten was looking away from him. Ryoko was looking impassively between them all. Mami however, while she looked a slight bit awkward, also looked determined as she put a hand on Key's back in a silent show of support.

The Father stood and his thunderous expression looked like he was debating rushing forward and trying to strangle Key. For the first time, Kirsten looked taken aback and reached a hand out to her father.

"Papa . . . don't."

The man didn't look at her, instead focusing all of his anger onto the little white thing that was starting to wilt and back away from his glare. Mami, however, had had enough and stood up and moved in front of Key. Her eyes were calm but she did not quaver underneath the glare that the man had transferred onto her. The man's expression grew darker as Mami non-verbally challenged him, he didn't seem to take it well that Mami wasn't bending under his glare.

Ryoko however, coughed slightly and spoke up.

"Sir, I suggest that if you are not willing to thank Key for his work, then you should simply let us go."

"Thank him?" the man said, confusion overriding his anger for a moment.

Ryoko ignored his confusion and pressed on, "it is obvious that you're letting your emotion rule you for the moment, so I suggest that if you have nothing objective to say, that we all get a good night's sleep and think on the things we now know."

The man looked angry once again. He clenched his fists and opened them several times. But after a long moment, the aggression seemed to leak out of him. The anger however, remained as he looked back at Mami and Key.

"Get out" the man had said it quietly as he glared at Key. "Get out and do not dare to darken my doorstep ever again! Whatever insanity you creatures have put us through, this is where it ends!"

Key stood up instantly and scuttled off towards the door. Ryoko slid a card with her Hospital Contact Information on it and then shrugged and moved towards the door. Mami stood still for a moment and looked at the man and his family with disapproval in her eyes. Kirsten looked at the floor, some hint of shame playing on her face. The brother looked more confused by the events playing out. But the mother and father were united in glaring at the retreating form of Key. Mami did not shrink from their glares however as she moved away and the three of them were quickly out of the door.

Key strode heavily in front of them and, after Mami had opened the door, hopped into the car. The ride back to Mami's house was done in a subdued silence. Even as Key walked home with Homura, there was very little conversation. As Key curled up on Homura's couch, his eyes were distant and lost in the past. Soon, he had fallen asleep but for while Homura gazed at him quietly, seeming to have noticed his withdrawn attitude.

She saw his frame shiver slightly, whether from a dream or from the temperature she didn't know. With a soft sigh, she went to her closet and got a blanket out. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she draped it over the small creature and gave him a soft pet. Key seemed to calm at her touch and lapsed into a calmer state of sleep.

Soundtrack: Sis Puella (Vocals, Orchestra)

Homura laid herself down and was asleep almost instantly. But her mind refused to give her peace. The dream was not new to Homura, but that didn't mean that it was pleasant. She felt as though she were being drawn somewhere, somewhere she didn't want to go but could not fight the pull. Then, a dark figure appeared. It seemed not just to be obscured by darkness, but to almost bleed darkness like the void of space. Homura stepped backwards in shock (suddenly finding herself with the ability to do so) but the dark figure did not move forward or give any outward appearance of aggression. Instead, it simply waved its hand and the surroundings suddenly shifted.

Madoka, lying dead in the water. Wounds all over her body, her Soul Gem shattered. Homura was staring down at her, her eyes wet and puffy as she cried in a hoarse voice.

"Why?! You knew you were going to get killed all along! It wasn't worth saving me if your not alive! I want you back!"

"Is that really what you want, Homura Akemi?" came a voice.

She looked up and saw the monster, the thing that was her eternal tormentor.

"Would you trade your Soul to have a wish like that come true? If there's something you want, and you're willing to accept a destiny battling Witches, then I can help you get what you want."

She looked up, and felt herself speak.

"If I make a contract with you, would you really grant me any wish?"

"Absolutely! You have more than enough potential!"

She felt locked by Kyubey's gaze, unable to look away as the fatal question came.

"So tell me, what is the one wish you'd have that would make your Soul Gem Shine?"

Homura felt horror and fear rise inside of her as she stared into the glassy orbs of the monster. She felt her lips move as she finally made the wish. Then she cried out in pain, clutching her chest as it felt like a fundamental part of her was being pulled away. A light appeared and then Kyubey spoke for the final time. She swore she could almost see Key in Kyubey as the final words were said.

"The contract is complete. Your wish has overcome entropy. Go now. Go and unleash your new Magical Power!"

And her nightmare began anew.

Mitakihara was in ruins and Homura was hovering over Madoka. The pink-haired girl was writhing in pain as her Soul Gem turned black and cracked. Meanwhile Kyubey (though Homura could not help but think of Key when she looked at him) hovered over them with his impassive face.

Madoka gave a final shriek and then went still as the dark Witch sprang from her Soul Gem. Homura stared in mounting horror as the fate of Magical Girls truly came home to her. She turned to look at Key . . . Kyubey in terror. But then the riot of color and time had started again. Her last view of that world being Kyubey's blood-colored eyes.

The dark figure reemerged and motioned once more and Homura followed its directions to see yet another scene. It was a scene from one of the time loops where she had attempted to keep all the girls from the truth as well as leading them. At first she'd thought that it might work, Mami and Kyoko were working with her and Madoka had not contracted. For a brief shining moment, she'd hoped that this would be the final time loop. But then, Key . . . Kyubey had interfered. Whispering words in Sayaka's ear that made her think that Homura was brainwashing the other two Magical Girls, she had contracted. Mami and Kyoko's problems with each other had come bubbling back to the surface and the group had splintered as Kyubey whispered a different message to each person, causing them to think the worst of their rivals.

On and on it went as scene after scene of the Incubator foiling her plans and destroying those she held dear were presented to her. Every time it happened she was reminded just how much she hated the furry little thing. Then suddenly, new scenes started to intersect. She saw her first meeting with Key. Her appropriate wariness of him. But then she saw herself slowly grinding down. Slowly being more and more accepting, trusting of him. She saw herself letting him ride on her shoulder, something she'd never let Kyubey do. She saw herself sharing what her powers were. Each one of these scenes were followed by an instance of how Kyubey had destroyed her plans, or her friends (often both at the same time).

Finally, she woke the next morning and shook her head. The dream was foggy, like most dreams are, but she could not help the feeling of anger and rage that filled her. She shook her head and sat up, hoping to clear her mind. Surely the dream hadn't been that important, it wasn't as though she wasn't already aware that she hated Kyubey. And anyway, had she really lost the amount of wariness as she'd seemed to accuse herself of in the dream (that black figure she could vaguely remember was probably some manifestation of her subconscious)?

She looked up and froze. Her door was unlocked. In fact it was slightly ajar. She felt slightly icy as she realized that anything could've come in at night. Key could've come in at night and done something. Instantly the time stop fell and she leapt out of bed and hurried to the door. She slowly pried it open and looked out. She breathed a short sigh of relief to see that Key was still sleeping on the couch in the same position she'd left him in. Then she stopped herself and thought.

Now she remembered, she hadn't closed it last night. Still, her face hardened as she realized that she'd let herself grow complacent. Key may not be the same as Kyubey now, but she had to remind herself that he was still an Incubator. She'd let herself grow far too comfortable with him. True, they had accomplished some things, but she still had to direct them through the rest of the weeks remaining before Walpurgisnacht and no one but she really knew of the dangers that lay ahead, nor of the cunning of Kyubey.

She quickly got dressed properly, then let the time-stop end and moved towards Key.


He was different. And it felt good. Most of the time he was semi aware his form's slight impermanence. After all, he had been a drone, one of many, factory made as part of a package. If his body died, a new one took its place. Now, as he was an individual, there was always the creeping knowledge that if damage was done to his few vitals, then he would be gone. His body was modifiable and thus, somewhat irrelevant, much like himself in Kyubey's grand scheme of things.

But now, he felt invigorated, more alive. His body felt, more permanent. True there was the fact that he couldn't just make wholesale modifications to it on the fly, but the feeling of fitting in his own skin, of have a baseline structure that was just . . . him felt better. He wasn't fundamentally different though, he was still him inside, nor was this some arbitrary change made to try and belong. Rather, he felt as though he had rediscovered something that had long been lost. He could still be his old form if he wanted, but this . . . this felt good.

Soundtrack: Moana OST An Innocent Warrior

He stood still, just listening to the sounds of the forest. His ears twitched back and forth along with his eyes as he thought of how to proceed. He needed to move forward, there was somewhere he needed to get to. Then with a burst of unrestrained speed, he leapt forward. His heart raced as he sped through the undergrowth, rushing under logs and leaping over bushes.

Key felt the dampness of the forest floor beneath his feet as his sped on. The landscape was full of rolling hills and bluffs, all heavily forested and teeming with life. Had he the time, he would've loved to stop and see every inch of this place. But something drove him on, a feeling down in his gut that called out to the deepest part of his being. He felt as though all he had to do was get to wherever he was going (wherever that was) and he would have all the answers to his questions.

Undergrowth whipped past and he turned a corner and stopped short, his breath seeming to be stolen away. Towering in front of him was a gigantic tree, tall as a skyscraper. It's roots spread far and wide, burrowing deep within the earth as a blue white mist suffused the massive plant. It lay at what felt like the center of the forest. Instinctively, Key knew that this was what had called him here. Whatever he needed to do, it had something to do with this tree. He cast around, moving up in and around the massive roots. Then he heard a soft tinkling and sensed something behind him.

He turned quick as lightning and gasped slightly. It was a small floating point of light. With a shock, Key remembered, this was the point of light that had saved him from the Witches before. He looked at the small ball of light with curiosity. It floated in front of him, seeming to pulse slightly with the same kind of power that he could sense emanating from the tree.

Key walked slowly forward towards the point of light. The feeling called out to him stronger than ever. This . . . this would show him his place . . . it could show him what he was meant to be!

"What are you" Key finally spoke. His words echoed slightly off of the large empty space.

The orb shifted slightly. Words seemed to issue from it, but it was hard to make them out and Key only got a few.

". . . grief . . . let go . . . destroy . . ."

Key blinked, "I'm sorry, I can't understand you."

". . . orry . . . take the chance . . . to be riddle . . . home . . . ind us"

It was too garbled to make out on that alone. Key was about to ask it to repeat itself on the hopes that it might get more of the meaning across and he could piece it together from there, but then he felt a tugging and the world suddenly dissolved.

Key's eyes jerked open. He stared at Homura's table in the middle of her living room. After a moment he groaned as he realized that the dream had ended before he could accomplish . . . whatever it was he'd been doing. Still, it had been nice to have a body that didn't feel like a piece of expendable hardware. The dream began to slip away, though a few things stayed lodged in his head. Mostly impression and a few images.

As Key got up, he yawned and spoke to Homura, "is it time to go over to Mami's again?"

Homura nodded, which was slightly odd as she could've spoken. Key looked up at here and was slightly taken aback at the blank look that Homura was giving him. It wasn't the sort of blank where a person isn't feeling much at the moment, it's the blank where they're holding some emotion back. Come to think of it, it reminded Key of how she'd looked most of the time during their first few days working together.

He tried to smile a bit, hoping to break the strange tension, and waited for her to bend down so that he could leap on her shoulder.

She didn't bend down.

They waited for a few seconds in silence before she turned on her heels and began walking towards the door without waiting for him. Somewhat taken aback by this act, Key swiftly got up and followed behind her.
"So . . . did you a good night's sleep?" Key asked, trying once again to lighten the mood as he jogged to keep up with Homura's long strides.

Homura did not respond for a long time, nor did she look at Key. Finally, as Key was about to speak again, she spoke in a clipped tone.

"The quality of my sleep is unimportant."

Her tone made it clear that he should stop talking immediately.

As they made their way towards Mami's house, Key couldn't help the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Nor could he, no matter how much he told himself that this was just the result of a bad night's sleep, stop the hurt that coursed through him at the harsh tone.


Soundtrack: Saya no Uta OST – Silent Sorrow

Yoh glanced backwards in a worried fashion. She'd been hoping that Fuminori would sit by her for class, but he'd instead gone to the deserted back row and skulked there for the whole learning period. As the class wrapped up, she hesitated as she saw him practically bolt out of the door, walking just slow enough to avoid looking strange.

She bit her lip. She and Koji and Omi had all been worried about Fuminori. He'd tried to act normal around them, but they all could tell that something had been bothering him since the accident. At times, when he thought they weren't looking, he'd seemed in some sort of agony. Perhaps he just needed more time to adjust to life outside the Hospital?

She teetered for a moment, then her face grew resolved. No, she'd waited long enough. She was out the door and moving fast enough that people muttered about running in the halls as she flew past. It didn't matter to her, she needed to catch up. She dashed through the front doors of the campus and out onto the front lawn and spotted her target.

"Fuminori, wait!" she called out as she struggled to reach him.

Fuminori froze within an instant at the sound of her voice. He slowly turned around as Yoh ran up to him, he eyes wide, his expression approaching something like disbelief.

Yoh paused as she caught up to him to catch her breath. After a moment of heavy breathing, she straightened up and began speaking fast, afraid that Fuminori would leave before she said everything she wanted to.

"I just wanted to say that I'm glad you feel good enough to come back to school Fuminori! Omi and Koji are as well! But we were worried about you too! You seem like there's something on your mind and you don't really talk much anymore. I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do . . . to . . . help?"

Yoh's voice faltered as she noticed that Fuminori hadn't stopped intensely staring at her this whole time, as though he was mesmerized by something.

"Is . . . something wrong Fuminori?" she asked tentatively, a bit concerned by how intently he was looking at her.

"You . . . your . . . normal" Yoh barely heard him breath the words. She didn't understand them any better than she understood his stare.

"N-normal" she stuttered. "Wh-what are you talking about Fuminori? Why wouldn't I be nor- woah!"

She'd cried out slightly for Fuminori had suddenly moved forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into an extremely tight hug. His head nestled into her hair as he seemed to breath her presence in. Luckily for them both, the surrounding area was nearly deserted so few to no people were around to witness such a brazen act.

Yoh tensed for a moment. She was attracted to Fuminori, she wouldn't deny it. In fact it was one of the principal reasons she'd been so concerned about him. But even though Fuminori was hugging her tight like a lover might, she knew instinctively that this wasn't the reason he was doing so. It brought more to mind the actions of a drowning man who's found a steady thing to cling to.

Yoh felt a wetness through her hair and, with a shock, realized that Fuminori was crying. She, mildly hesitant but feeling pity, wrapped her own arms around him and tightened her grip as she heard him stifle a sob. They stood for several minutes like that. Yoh a few times tried to pull away, but Fuminori just held her tighter, like he was afraid she'd turn into some horrible monster if he let go.

Finally, Yoh gently but firmly began to push him back and Fuminori, reluctantly, acquiesced. He kept his arms on her shoulders as he seemed to drink in the sight of her face.

"What's wrong Fuminori?" Yoh asked timidly. "Please tell me so I can help you."

A spasm of fear flickered across Fuminori's face as he comprehended her words. He looked around them at the lawn and then back at her. His gaze fell to his feet.

"You're beautiful you know" he said without preamble. Yoh started slightly, her face glowing red, wondering where the compliment had come from. Fuminori looked up at her, a smile coming onto his face. It was more relaxed and more like . . . him . . . than she'd seen since before the car accident that had put him in the hospital. It felt so good to see him smile like that that she smiled in return.
"Somehow Yoh, I never really realized just how beautiful you are" Fuminori went on. Then his face clouded over with something as he looked around again.

"I . . . I need some time to think Yoh. Perhaps we could meet out here again tomorrow after class and you could bring Koji and Omi? I'd like to see them again. Maybe we can talk then?"

His voice was sincere and even a bit vulnerable. Far different from the hurried and stressed tones that she'd heard him use for so long. It made Yoh's heart lift considerably. She thought, for a moment of trying to get him to tell her what his problem was immediately. But, after a moment's thought, concluded that it would probably be good to let him think about how to talk about it, and also better to have their other two friends there as well.

She put a hand on Fuminori's shoulder and smiled kindly. Fuminori blushed and put his hand on hers.

"Of course Fuminori. I'd love to do that. Same time tomorrow then!" She turned and strode off, trying hard not to skip.

As she left, Fuminori watched her go. Watched the human form of one of his best friends Yoh go. He'd thought he'd been hallucinating at the sound of her voice. But as he'd stared at her, it had suddenly come home to him that Yoh, that someone other than Saya, looked normal to him. She had smelled and felt normal as well. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so bold, but he'd had to be sure. Though, he wasn't sure that this would last and desperately told himself not to get his hopes up.

Initially it had only been his eyesight that had made things look mad, but his other senses had soon followed suit. It was possible that Yoh would be back to looking like a monster tomorrow, which was why he'd asked for time to think. The part of him that couldn't help hoping, wondered if Koji and Omi would look normal too. If Yoh did, then it was certainly possible. Perhaps this had to do with that white thing that had appeared. Though he'd been rather angry at it for hurting Saya, she still had a burn scar on one of her arms because of it, he considered that perhaps its intentions hadn't been as malevolent as he'd first thought. He hadn't really seen what was going on after all and if it was responsible for this new development . . well, then . . . he didn't really know what to think.

All he could think was that if this was the result of what meeting to the white weasel thing was then he couldn't wait to see the little thing again


Author's Note: Like I said at the beginning, sorry this took so long. If you liked it or wanted to say something about it in general, please drop a review. Reviews help writers feel accomplished and gives them incentive to continue writing. It also helps us know what you enjoy and what you don't enjoy.
Thanks for reading it! Hope you enjoyed it!