Soundtrack: Puella Magi Madoka Magica – She is a Witch

Set to Loop until next Soundtrack

The dark figure was hard to make out. It seemed to have taken the form of a strange creature, perhaps one that could pass for a Witch. Most of its head was gone, as though it had been cut off, only the lower jaw and below remained. Flowers seemed to be sprouting out of the head. Its hands were chained in front of it, and it was clad in a long dress. It almost looked like a skeleton.

It was also clearly looking at her. Homura took a step back.

"Don't run" the figure said quietly. Its voice was distorted, but strangely familiar "don't run. I have come to help you."

Homura shook her head, but couldn't help but feel intrigued. What did it mean?

"I know all the desires of your heart Homura Akemi" the familiar distorted voice continued, "I know the things you whisper to yourself at night, the tears you hold back to be strong, the sacrifices you make for the greater good. All that you wish is possible . . . with my help."

As the Witch-like figure spoke, images appeared behind her, depicting moments from Homura's life that she had never shared with others.

Homura tried to back up again, but couldn't look away.

"I can offer you everything you've ever wanted" the thing said, "after all, it's all for Madoka, isn't it!?"

New scenes formed, ones that Homura had never seen before. Madoka was at home, going to school, hanging out with her friends, with Homura herself. She was happy! There were no Witches, no Familiars, no Kyubey to make her life unbearable! Madoka wasn't gone and remote. She wasn't far away anym-

Homura blinked. Where had that thought come from?

She was distracted by the scenes being showed her again. She saw Kyubey forced to take the despair that Magical Girls had. Saw him shivering on the ground, saw him brought low and forced to bear the burdens and sufferings he'd foisted on others. It was glorious.

Homura brought her hand up. She reached out, but just before she touched the strange creature, she stopped. The creature seemed surprised, and Homura herself stared at her outstretched hand. What was holding her back?

Key's tear-stained face came to her mind, and she shook her head. Why did that matter all of the sudden. Still she hesitated.

"What is it?" the creature seemed insistent, perhaps even somewhat indignant that Homura wasn't taking its deal immediately.

"What could possibly be more important than ensuring Madoka's safety and happiness?!"

Homura shook her head. Nothing, of course. Nothing was more important than Madoka's happiness.

But something in her seem to not be so sure. Much like the Witch creature had done, scenes suddenly seemed to appear. Mami training her in her first loops, the few times where Sayaka had accepted Homura into her social circle, the little moments with her fr- . . . acquaintances where she almost managed to forget her fate. And finally . . .

The Witch creature seemed to tense in an angry fashion as a final set of memories came up. Key looking up at her excitedly, Key seeming so eager to help out, Key's curing of a Witch and removing a huge source of stress from Homura's mind.

"The Incubator!" the creature sounded indignant. "You would not help Madoka because of the Kyubey Drone! It is inconsequential, and worse, responsible for all your suffering."

She couldn't quite tell, but it almost sounded to Homura like one (or was it two, she couldn't tell) voices were layering themselves on top of the original distorted voice. Oddly, they almost sounded more normal than the first voice, if angry.

"I-" Homura swallowed, "-I know he once was Kyubey, but he's proven . . ."

"Proven what? A distraction? A little weasel that causes problems by sticking it's nose into things and dragging you along!? The Incubators are evil, none deserve redemption! Why tolerate this one at all!?"

Suddenly, for a tiny space of time, the voice went deep and loud so that Homura had to resist covering her ears. Almost as if the second voice asserted itself for a moment, and it sounded angry.

"-LET ME, AND I WILL MAKE HIM PAY FOR All HE'S DONE!"

The Dark Figure stopped, seeming to be surprised at itself for the last sentence. Homura swallowed.

"I know all he's done-" she said, trying to sound confident. It was a bit difficult with this figure looming over her, "-and while I don't necessarily like him, he has proven useful."

The figure seemed gather itself. Then it shook its head.

"You really have no idea, do you?"

It loomed even taller, but then it seemed to stop and look around again. Something must have been seen or observed, because it turned back to her and resumed speaking.

"One day you'll see. After all," what was there of its head tilted slightly, if it had had eyes Homura would swear that they would've glinted, "you cannot deny yourself, not what you truly want. And I know what you want better than anyone in existence!"

Homura's eyes flickered open. She'd been dreaming. There had been some sort of strange creature that had . . . what had it done?

Offered her a deal, that was it. She tried to remember what the creature had looked like and suddenly fought the urge to shudder. Half-remembered as it was, trying to think of what the thing's appearance had been gave her the overwhelming feeling that someone was walking on her grave.

Shaking her head, she tried to put the dream out her mind as she got up.


Soundtrack: Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST – Collapse [Pitched + 1]

Sayaka heard Hitomi confessing that she loved Kyosuke. From behind the pillar she heard her best friend steal the boy she had loved. And the worse things was that she couldn't say that she deserved him more. She was a zombie, a flesh puppet, her soul was stolen.

Sayaka turned and saw Hitomi talking to Kyosuke, saw the beatific look on their faces as she stood to the side, shut out and unknown. Why had she ever thought that he could love her?! Time seemed to fly by, like a film on fast-forward. She managed to pick some scenes out of the blur.

She saw herself make a wish for Kyosuke, saw herself save Madoka. At first it was nice, she was going to learn to fill Mami's shoes (she was dead, how did that happen?!) She saw darkness fall, saw the awful truth revealed and the downward spiral begin. She saw herself, unable to confess to Kyosuke, simply unable to go forward and say a few words to tell him how she felt. She saw herself growing more and more detached and depressed, saw Kyoko come to her help, saw Homura threaten her life, and saw finally, her ultimate fate as a Witch where Kyoko came and put her down.

The last sight she saw was Kyoko's spear piercing the Mermaid Knight that was her Witch and the world going dark.

Sayaka's eyes snapped open and she pitched forward, her arms outstretched. She breathed heavily and put her hands to her head as she tried to calm down. It was only a dream! But then . . . Kyoko had only been a dream too, up until it turned out she wasn't.

Sayaka put her face in her palms and groaned. This was starting to get stupid. It's not like she could really parse through all that she'd seen, it had gone by so fast. But still, there had been some rather interesting stuff to see.

Maybe she should . . . Sayaka shook her head and her eyes hardened. That self in the dream had just stood on the sidelines. Maybe she . . . maybe she shouldn't make the same mistake. But still . . .

Sayaka's face fell. If Hitomi loved Kyosuke too . . . did that give her any right to disrupt that? Then Sayaka shook her head vigorously. This was still a dream she was thinking of. It wouldn't be smart to not evaluate things and see if things matched reality before she made any choices based on the dream. Still, perhaps she should go see Kyosuke again today. Try and cheer him up. Who knew, maybe she could work something out with one of her friends or with another Magical Girl to fix his hand?

Glancing at the clock, she reasoned that if she hurried, she could make it for a short visit before going to breakfast at Mami's house. With that, she grabbed her schoolbag, wolfed some leftovers down, and took off towards the Hospital.


Consciousness returned slowly. Key's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't open them. There was a comfortable warmth surrounding him, and the soft sound and feeling of someone breathing. Key tried to regain sleep, the peaceful oblivion he'd been in before, but the more he tried to grasp it, the more it seemed to dance away.

There had been a dream. Some sort of dream. What had it been about? It had been scary, but then so nice! There had been a . . . a creature . . . no, two creatures! . . .Three? . . . They had . . . they had . . . spoken, no had they done something? He . . . he couldn't quite remember.

Finally, realizing that he couldn't get back to sleep at the moment, he blearily opened his eyes.

He was laying on top of Nagisa's stomach and chest, who was herself laying on Mami's couch. A blanket had been put over them and Nagisa was breathing softly and quietly, her eyes shut and her face peaceful.

"We must have fallen asleep on the couch" Key thought. He did vaguely remember what had happened after he'd been . . . attacked. But it was all a bit fogged, he'd been rather . . . distracted at the time. The thing he did remember was the pain. The physical pain was easily dealt with, he could heal and manipulate his body in amazing (and if he wished, rather disturbing) ways, but the rest . . .

Key shivered slightly. The content feeling he had when he woke up seemed to vanish and he felt a chill run down his back. Still, it wasn't as though he could complain that much. He probably should've been stronger last night. It wouldn't do for the girls to worry too much about him. After all, it wasn't like he deserved anything kind they'd done for him. He really shouldn't forget what he was. Homura seemed to have a good handle on it, so . .

A soft feeling of embarrassment went through him. Really, what would the girl's say after seeing him break down like that? He should've been stronger, better able to get a handle on things. He shouldn't have-

Nagisa shifted a bit underneath him and he froze. Gingerly, he shuffled out from underneath her arm and slipped off the couch. Mami was apparently still asleep, so no one stopped him as he quietly slipped out of the front door. They would likely be waking up soon, but Key just . . . he couldn't . . . he didn't want to be there when they did. The thought of how they might react to him made him uncomfortable. Whether it be Mami and Nagisa's attempts to absolve him of any sort of guilt (no doubt resulting from how hard Mami clung to her friends, he would know, it was something he'd tried to foment when he'd been Kyubey), or Homura's piercing silence that made him feel (rightly) like a piece of equipment that was a necessary evil at best, he just . . . didn't want to deal with it. At least not yet.

The roof of the apartment complex was deserted, for which Key was grateful. He hopped up onto one of the ledges and laid down, not unlike a cat. The sun was starting to crest the horizon. Well, no the planet was rotating so that the sun was coming into his view. Key looked out over the city, his head on his front paws, simply watching as light started to illuminate things. He didn't move much, but simply looked out. The solitude wasn't . . . well, he didn't quite know how to describe it but at least he wasn't bothering the others right now. Really, perhaps the way Homura had been treating him was a sign that he should consider dropping out of their lives sooner than planned.

Perhaps he should be a bit more insistent that they give up being Magical Girls? Then the chances that he would accidentally cause them more harm and inconvenience would b-

He felt a voice come over their mental link he had set up after they'd first come together as a group (so they could communicate telepathically without Kyubey being any the wiser). It was Nagisa.

"Key?" Nagisa's voice was alarmed. She'd apparently woken up and found that he wasn't in the apartment.

Key felt like he should probably respond, but something held him back. The thought of explaining everything that had happened, of dealing with all of it . . . it was almost overwhelming. Why couldn't things go back to simpler ti-

He stopped himself. Simpler times had been back when he'd had no choice at all. Simpler times had been when he had . . . well he needed to stop thinking that way. But still, a part of him still felt exhausted. The thought of dealing with everything on his and the other's plates.

"Everyone, Key's gone!" Nagisa's words were broadcast to the whole group. He felt the others start responding, sounding alarmed. Immediately, they suspected kidnap or worse from the two Magical Girls.

Key sighed. Well, he had probably put a stop to such a train of thought before it moved to far.

"It's okay" he said quietly to them telepathically. They gave sounds of relief (well, Homura didn't) and then questions of were he was.

As he walked back to the apartment, Key explained that he'd simply wanted to watch the sunrise, that no he wasn't in any danger and that they shouldn't worry about him. He could feel some mild incredulity over the link at that statement. Was it because of the incident yesterday?

In any case, he got back to Mami's apartment within a minute or two and padded inside. He'd barely made it in through the door before he was grabbed by Nagisa and pulled in close. He tensed at the suddenness of it, but after a few moments of her hugging and petting him, he relaxed into the embrace.

He felt Mami walk over and pat him on the head. Unbidden, a question came up and out of him.

"Did . . . Homura ever ask about me?" Key asked quietly.

Mami bit her lip slightly. After a moment, she finally responded.

"Not . . . not in as many words. I asked and she said it was fine for you to sleep over here."

Key blinked, then moved his head to the side. Mami wondered if he was hiding tears. She was unsure what to do for a moment, but then fell back on one of her tried and true methods of dealing with guests.

"Let's make some food! The others should be over soon, then we can talk about things?"

She moved off and started to cook while Nagisa sat with Key on the couch.


Soundtrack: Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST – Vocalise Op. 34 No. 14

The room was the same as it always had been, more like a fancy suite than a hospital room. Sayaka stood outside the door, taking a moment to collect herself. She put a smile on her face and then turned to walk in. Much as she would like to stay a long time, she had to make this visit a short one, so it would be best to get as much out of it as possible.

Kyosuke was staring out of the window as a nurse placed a tray of food in front of him. He muttered a distracted thanks, his voice dull-sounding, and the nurse nodded and walked out of the room. The attendant smiled at Sayaka as she walked by, muttering a soft warning not to stay long, as Kyosuke had physical therapy after breakfast.

Kyosuke didn't look towards the door, he seemed utterly consumed by the window and the sky beyond. After a moment, Sayaka gave a soft cough, but he didn't seem to hear her. Sayaka felt a momentary twinge of annoyance, but banished it just as quickly. She cleared her throat louder and this time Kyosuke did look around.

"Fine, I'll start eating-" he began, a slightly annoyed edge coming to his voice. He stopped when he saw Sayaka.

"Oh, Sayaka," he said, his voice a bit sheepish, "sorry, I thought you were the nurse about to remind me to eat again."

Sayaka smiled and nodded, "it's fine Kyosuke."

There was a short silence between them, then Sayaka noted something.

"Um . . . why have they been reminding you to eat?"

Kyosuke shrugged as he began picking at the food on the tray, "they want me to not be late for Physical Therapy."

Sayaka blinked, "ummm" she wasn't quite sure what to say. "Well, aren't they right? I mean you've got to get better somehow."

This, apparently, was the wrong thing to say, Kyosuke's face when from a slightly sheepish smile to a tiny frown. It wasn't quite a full frown, few people would call it such, but Sayaka was well-versed enough in Kyosuke's habits that she could tell that he was annoyed and maybe even a bit angry at what she'd just said.

"S-sorry" she said quickly.

Kyosuke frowned for a second longer before nodding and pushing some food into his mouth.

"It's just" he said as he ate, "what's the point? My arm's never going to be good enough to play anymore."

"Well . . ." Sayaka tried to figure out what to say, ". . . I mean, there are other things you can get better at. Wouldn't it be nice to get out and about. You know, see the world again, maybe go to a concert a-"

"I'm never going to another concert" Kyosuke cut in.

Sayaka was stuck short for a second with her mouth open. That didn't track, Kyosuke had loved going to concerts to listen to musicians (Violinists obviously being his favorites). She had hoped that, even if he never could play as well as before again, then he could still appreciate music.

"Kyosuke," Sayaka said delicately, a bit nervous at his words. "Why do you say that?"

Kyosuke closed his eyes and blew air through his nose. He didn't answer, then turned and looked out the window.

"You probably have to get to school soon Sayaka. Thanks for visiting me, I really appreciate it. But you might be late if you stick around here."

His voice was flat.

Sayaka stood there, staring at him. She tried to suppress some wetness that seemed to want to come into her eyes. Then, as she stared at him longer, and as he stubbornly looked out the window, a new feeling erupted inside of her. A hot feeling in her gut, one that she rarely ever associated with Kyosuke, seemed to flicker into being. What right did he have to dismiss her when she'd gotten up early and come to see him? It reminded her of the dream, and of the feelings she'd had of anger as the Kyosuke of the dream had ignored her.

She almost opened her mouth to say something, but then she tamped down on those feelings. They weren't fair, Kyosuke was going through a tough time and this was hopefully just an off day for him. She glanced down, but in spite of her trying to control her feelings she couldn't help but make sure of one thing before she went.

"You haven't finished eating. The nurse said you'd need to go to physical therapy soon, so you should finish up."

Kyosuke seemed to blink, and looked back at her, then down at his tray.

"I can finish eating alone Sayaka" he said shortly.

Sayaka felt her eyebrows contract into a small frown of her own. Kyosuke looked back up at her, and his own frown seemed to lessen a bit as he looked in her face.

"Eat, Kyosuke" Sayaka said firmly, the hot feeling in her stomach allowing her to hold Kyosuke's gaze. He seemed a bit surprised looking at her, and even a bit reticent after a second or two. He broke her gaze and did start eating. Sayaka made sure he ate everything, then stayed until the Nurses came to take him away to Physical Therapy. No more words were spoken between them during all this as Sayaka tried to categorize how she felt.

There was a moment when Kyosuke was being led out when he seemed to half turn to look towards her. He seemed almost on the cusp of saying something, maybe an apology, but after a moment, he had turned back and been led out of the room.

Sayaka had let out a long breath of air and looked up at the ceiling of the room. That had been . . . not what she expected.

Well, no. Now that she thought about it, it wasn't all that unexpected. She knew Kyosuke could be moody when it came to his current situation, and other things before she supposed. But . . . why did it bother her now?

Or perhaps, why did it bother her now, more?

"My offer is still on the table."

Sayaka resisted the urge to groan as she turned to see Kyubey perched on the windowsill, his tail lashing back and forth like a cat's.

"Seriously, do you just wait for stuff like this to happen because you think I might make a wish now?" Sayaka asked incredulously.

Kyubey said nothing.

Sayaka put a hand to her face, "who am I kidding, of course you do. Heck, you got a wish out of Mami right after she got in a car crash." She glared at the small white creature, "did you have some to do with that?"

"Mami's car crash and parent's death were not of my doing." Kyubey said as he hopped down to the floor and padded into the room.

"I merely take advantage of situations, many Magical Girls and humans profit from my interference. Mami Tomoe would've died if I had not given her a wish."

"Yeah," Sayaka sneered, resisting the urge to kick the small white thing, which was now sitting in front of her and licking one of its forepaws "you're a real saint, aren't you."

Perhaps the thing that was really annoying her at the moment was that a part of her, running off the lingering feelings for her encounter with Kyosuke, still did want to make a Wish for Kyosuke, or just in general to help the others. But . . . no, no matter how much she wanted to, she needed to think that through way more than she had. And the situation wasn't nearly so bad that she should make a wish.

"Your potential is fascinating, much like Madoka Kaname's."

Sayaka blinked, "what's that supposed to mean?"

Kyubey scratched himself with a leg, which was rather absurd considering how Key had made it clear that pain (and likely, by extension, other sensations like itching) meant little to him. Probably just a way to get her guard down.

"I didn't realize it at first, due to Madoka Kaname's incredible potential, but you're potential is far greater than what it should normally be."

Sayaka blinked, a bit confused "what do you mean? Key didn't mention anything like this."

Kyubey nodded, "understandable. An apt metaphor would be not registering a strong flashlight because a much much stronger light is illuminating the area. You're potential is far beyond what a normal Magical Girl, especially one of your overall life importance-"

"Gee, thanks" Sayaka thought internally.

"-should be sustaining. In fact, I believe yourself and Nagisa Momoe are both exhibiting this feature. Momoe's seems to have gone unnoticed for now, considering the simple wish she made, though I am curious to see if more training by Mami will let her bloom further."

"That's . . . wow" for a moment Sayaka wondered what she'd do with the sort of potential that Kyubey seemed to be hinting at. The sorts of wishes she'd make. Maybe she could wish something like fixing Kyosuke's whole body, or wishing that he could play again. Maybe she could try and get a wish that would allow her to play with him1

Her thought shifted though towards her friends. Perhaps it would be better to try and wish to help them. After all, with all she knew, it would be selfish of her to not wish something to help them out. Maybe she could wish to help Key save Magical Girls! What sort of effect would a wish like that have? Key had cautioned against broad-strokes wishes, but that had partly been because sometimes it ran ahead of Karmic Potential. But with what Kyubey was describing, it sounded like that wouldn't be an issue.

Thinking of Kyubey ground her thought process to a halt. She peered down at him suspiciously. Why was he telling her this? What did he want?

It was obvious after asking that question. What did Kyubey ever want? He was trying to get her to make a wish. Seeding information that would make her more inclined to put her soul into his system. She gritted her teeth. The worst of it was, it was working. She did want to make a wish, more than before. But . . . no. If she made a wish, it would be for the right reasons, and not because Kyubey had baited her in. Or at least, not unless she had no other choice.

With a deep breath, she turned on her heel and marched out of the room. If there was at least one nice thing about Kyubey's appearance, it was that the hot feeling in her gut, the one to do with Kyosuke had dimmed considerably. She had something else to be annoyed at now, and unlike Kyosuke, she was fairly sure that she could be angry at Kyubey without any danger of him not deserving it.

It was a weirdly comforting thought.


"So that's what happened" Key finished up. They had all gathered in Mami's house for a quick breakfast before going to school and they had eventually had to ask Key what had happened last evening. He had provided them with an explanation, though he'd spoken a rather dispassionate and monosyllabic tone.

"These girls sound weird" Sayaka stated bluntly after a moment's silence. "First they run away, then they attack and then heal you! What's their angle?"

Key shrugged, staring at the tabletop. Everyone was quiet for a moment as they ate, thinking on what had apparently happened. It was rather strange, Mami had had to agree. But calling it strange didn't give them much more info. They would probably have to be more careful about rogue Magical Girls from now on. In fact, her choice last night to send Key, Sayaka and Madoka back to her apartment with only Nagisa for protection felt a bit reckless in retrospect with these two Magical Girls still at large.

Their thoughts were interrupted as they heard Professor Ryoko's voice over the Telepathic link they all shared.

"Hello? Are you all awake?"

After receiving confirmation, Ryoko asked if Mami and Homura had informed the others of the situation involving Saya. Hearing Mami's negative response, she had given her own update to them quickly and concisely, aware that they would have to get to school soon.

"And that is the situation as it stands" Ryoko finished her explanation to the rest of the group who had not been telepathically present last night. Now, Mami stared at the rest of the group, observing their reactions.

Sayaka looked contemplative, and Madoka simply looked rather worried. Nagisa was looking thoughtful as she picked at her food. But Key responded after only a few moments of thought.

"Okay, let's get to it." Key said simply.

Mami stared at him, slightly disconcerted with his nonchalant response. His face was calm, but there was a certain lack of something in it that she found hard to pin down. Perhaps a lack of a soft smile, or a certain grimness that lurked in his features. Mami caught him glancing quickly at Homura and then away to try and not be obvious. She felt her heart sink.

"Key," she said, trying to be delicate. "Are . . . are you sure you're feeling up to it? After all you had a nasty experience yesterday."

Key blinked, then shrugged, "it's nothing I can't handle. I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you guys more and that you had to cut your night short because of me."

"That wasn't what I asked" Mami thought internally.

"Are you-" Mami paused, but couldn't stop herself "-are you sure we need to do this today? Couldn't we delay it a bit so we can prepare more."

Homura spoke next, "I fail to see any more preparations we can make for this creature, unless Doctor Tanbo had something special in mind."

"Nothing I am not intending to gather up today before we go" Ryoko responded. "And as for waiting, I'll say what I said before. Further delay only runs higher and higher risk that Saya will do or cause something that will make the situation worse. I would prefer not to risk that anymore than we have now."

"So let's do it" Key said simply. Mami as well as Madoka and Nagisa, and to a lesser extent, Sayaka, were still looking at him with slightly concerned looked on their faces. Seeming to catch sight of these, he sighed.

After looking down for a moment and seeming to try and gather his thoughts, he looked back up. There was a soft, slightly sad smile on his face as he spoke again.

"Look, I appreciate the concern, I really do. But the fact remains that you guys need me for this sort of thing. It needs to get done and . . . well, I'm good for doing it. I did tell Saya when I met her that if she ever did anything to hurt anyone, then I would find her. So, if she's really as dangerous as Doctor Tanbo says, then what else can I do but go and find her? I mean, maybe you need a mo-," he froze for a second before continuing on, "-a weird thing to stop another weird thing."

Everyone contemplated this for a second before he finished off, "plus, I am going to go and help Dr. Tanbo's friend still trapped in the Grief Seed, so we should probably just do it. After all, we did kinda think that this might happen soon, so we may as well get it over with."

"Thank you Key" came Ryoko's voice. "On that note I have some things to do. You should discuss any last minute plans you have amongst yourselves before you come to my office this afternoon. Have a good day."

Everyone said goodbye as well, then Homura turned to look at Madoka and Sayaka.

"Before we go on, I believe it would be better for you two to stay away from this."

Sayaka's face grew angry, "as if! I'm not going to chicken out just because you-" she stopped suddenly as Madoka grabbed her arm and squeezed it softly. After a moment, Sayaka's expression calmed a bit and she sighed. Madoka looked back over at Homura and spoke in a calm voice.

"Why don't you want us along Homura? We've seen Witches and things like that already."

Homura looked a bit pained as she explained.

"Saya is not necessarily like a Witch. Anyone who is not a Magical Girl, or being aided mentally by Key will likely . . ." she seemed to search for a description for a moment. "-it is not pleasant and as you two are not Magical Girls, it would not be wise to submit you to more than is necessary."

Sayaka seemed to resist rolling her eyes before speaking up, "but you just said it, Key can help us so we won't go nuts."

Mami chose that moment to speak, "I agree with Homura actually."

Everyone looked at her, Sayaka with some incredulity. Homura too looked mildly shocked as she stared at the blond haired girl.

"I do think that you three shouldn't come with us for this mission." She looked pointedly at Nagisa who's eyes grew wide.

"But Mami-San!" she protested "what if something happens to you and I'm not there!"

Mami chuckled slightly, patting Nagisa on the head. "I'm sure I'll be fine Nagisa, but call it a bit of selfishness on my part, I don't want you exposed to more bad things than you have to be. Especially if this thing is as horrible as the others have described. I do however, have a compromise for you all."

She looked around at their anticipating faces before plowing ahead.

"I propose, since I know that you all will probably worry and still want to come with us, that you can come with us most of the way, then stop a few blocks away from the house. Then, with Nagisa to look after you in case something goes wrong, or if those Magical Girls from yesterday come back, you'll be far enough away to be safe, but close enough to be able to help if things go wrong."

The three of them seemed to think about it for a bit. Madoka answered first.

"Okay. I'm fine with that, just don't get hurt."

Sayaka gave a barely audible sigh, "fine, I guess I can sit this one out."

Mami turned to Nagisa who looked conflicted. After a moment, Mami spoke again.

"Nagisa, I'm asking you to keep them safe just in case, can you do that?"

Nagisa bit her lip as she looked up at Mami. She opened her mouth.

"Will you promise to call me if you're in trouble? I need to be there to save you when you're in trouble Mami-San!"

Mami blushed lightly, but smiled too. "I promise I'll call you if we need help Nagisa."

Nagisa nodded after a moment, looking a bit more comfortable.

Everyone turned to look at Homura who gave a short nod, seemingly satisfied with the compromise.


Soundtrack: Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST - Incertus

Oriko sipped at her tea and gave a sigh. For such a stressful day yesterday, at least today had nice weather. There was something about a possible storm front moving in tomorrow or the day after, so she should probably enjoy this while it lasted.

Homura had contacted her not long ago, explaining what was going on with the "Saya" creature and their intents to destroy it. She'd ordered Oriko to be prepared to call together her group to provide support if needs be, though it probably wouldn't be necessary. She had dutifully informed her 'group' that she might need their help in the afternoon (both Kyoko and Komaki had snarked at her as per usual, but had agreed to be there if possible). Other than that, school had gone normally, though she had spent much of the day trying to come up with a way to address Kirika's . . . "strangeness," more directly. She hadn't had much success by the time she'd sat down with her best friend Sasa Yuuki for some after school snacks.

Sasa was a short girl with short brown hair that seemed to flare out at the bottom, almost like a jesters cap and blue eyes that reminded one of cold ice. She was dressed in a simple blouse and skirt combination.

"You would not believe the day I had yesterday Sasa" Oriko said with a smile as she sat on a bench. Sasa Yuuki, her best friend, was sitting beside her. Both were drinking tea and eating some snacks that normally Oriko wouldn't enjoy, but she would eat them for her best friend.

Sasa smiled back at Oriko.

"Oh, what sort of day was it?"

For a moment, Oriko didn't want to tell her, why was that? But then she remembered that Sasa was her best friend, so she began to talk about how she had encountered the rogue drone, how the fake meet-and-greet had gone, and even how Homura had reacted.

That was strange, wasn't she supposed to be keeping this under wraps? She could've sworn she'd felt like Key was supposed to have been kept secret from normal people along with just Magical Girls in gen-

But as she felt a frown and a questioning look come onto her face, she glanced at Sasa. The girl seemed to notice something and made a strange gesture with her hands. For a moment, Oriko felt a stab of pain in her head, then everything smoothed out. Of course, Sasa was an exception, she was her best friend, and Oriko was just lucky that such an amazing girl was talking to someone as unworthy as herself. Sasa could be trusted.

Oriko vaguely felt her mouth moving as she explained all about Key. Sasa seemed very interested in him . . . it? She wound up talking longer than she thought she would, and explaining more than she thought she would. Not everything, Saya didn't ask about Witches at all so she didn't talk about how Magical Girls turned into Witches, but way more than she thought she would. Sasa was attentive throughout it all like any good friend should be, absorbing all the info.

Once Oriko was done, Sasa smiled. Weirdly, it seemed a bit vindictive, why was that?
"Thanks so much for telling me Oriko" she said in a sugary voice. "Maybe that little Incubator would be interested in a little talk with me. Let's just you and me keep this conversation to ourselves now. After all, the others might get jealous if they knew you were friends with someone as good as me, now wouldn't they?"

Oriko nodded, a bit stiffly perhaps. Yes, that made sense, what a good friend Sasa was to think of such a thing. Though, perhaps she should repay Sasa.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to come study over at my house Sasa?" Oriko asked.

Sasa smiled, but her eyebrows drew together slightly. "Oh, your big fancy mansion you mean? The one you got because your father was rich and treated you oh so special?"

The slightest crease of annoyance went through Oriko. It vanished just as fast.

Sasa walked off after that and Oriko sat there for a few minutes before she almost started. It wasn't like she was waking up or something but she felt . . . more aware than she had a few minutes ago. How odd. She had the strangest feeling she was missing something. She hoped not. Her life was already stressful as it was. It was just lucky she had a good friend like Sasa to talk to. Though, wasn't she supposed to be keeping things like what she'd told her secr-

Oriko hissed as another spike of pain went into her head. What was causing those flashes?! She heard a clock bell toll and realized that she needed to go and collect Kyoko, Yuma, and Kirika, as well as maybe Komaki. No, not Komaki yet. Hopefully the situation wouldn't be serious enough that they'd need her as well. After all, all they were doing was secretly providing some backup in case something went wrong. Of course, Oriko wondered if she and Kirika were more going to just be a distraction in case Homura needed time to retreat.

Oriko shook her head and started off.


Dr Ryoko Tanbo pulled the Grief Seed, that she'd put onto a necklace of sorts, up and over her head. She held it gingerly, as though afraid it would break as she looked at Key. School was over and they had gathered at Mami's apartment as usual.

"Now, you're sure it will work?" Dr Tanbo asked, a faint undercurrent of nervousness detected in her voice.

Key nodded along with the rest.

"We've all seen Key do this before, trust us Doctor" Mami said reassuringly. Ryoko nodded as she sat down.

Key seemed to steel himself, taking a very deep breath before exhaling.

"Alright . . . let's get started."

He closed his eyes, his tentacles reaching out to either side of the Grief Seed. Darkness seemed to fall around them all and, much as before, they found themselves floating in space in front of a dome. It looked much as it had the first time Key had showed them what it was like at the level of the Soul when he cleansed a Soul Gem.

As before, Key extracted the Grief, hissing a bit as it entered into him. Ryoko was stared fixedly at the center of the structure as they moved closer and closer in. As soon as they could see a figure, she moved forward.

The figure was laying on it's side, silent tears running down its face as it stared, almost vacantly, forward. It didn't even seem to notice them up until Ryoko touched it's shoulder. It glanced up at her, looked down, then did a double-take as it looked back up.

"R-r-r-r-ryo-k-k-k-ko?!"

Ryoko smiled, tears starting to leak out of her face as well. She kept her hand on her friend's shoulder until the last drop of black Grief was gone. Then there sat a girl about the same age as Sayaka, Madoka, and Homura.

There was silence for a bit as the two girls stared at each other. Then, the girl blanched.

"You idiot!" she yelled, catching them all by surprise, even Ryoko as the girl gave her a slap upside the head.
"I told you not to make a wish!" the girl yelled again as she made to slap Ryoko again.

"I didn't make a wish Yui!" Ryoko said, trying to disguise her laughter as tears ran down her face.

Yui froze, "wha-? Th-then h-how?!"

She turned to look around, she took in the other Magical Girls, then her eyes fell on Key. She gave a soft sort of yell and backed up, trying to put distance between them. Key twitched and turned away. He seemed to be trying to get a handle on his emotions as Ryoko grabbed Yui's shoulders.

"Yui! YUI! It's alright! I didn't bring you back, he did." She gestured to Key.

Tears were starting to fill Yui's eyes as she stared up at Ryoko.

"How did you get so old Ryoko Cocoa?"

Madoka, Sayaka, and Nagisa turned their heads to try and cover their giggles Yui calling Ryoko some weird word. Was that English?

Ryoko sighed, "it's been . . . it's been years Yui."

Yui looked a bit surprised, but not very. The others wondered how time seemed to pass for Witches and Familiars.

"M-mom and d-dad? A-are they still-?"

Ryoko shook her head, looking sad, "no, I'm sorry but they passed a few years ago."

Yui looked away from Ryoko, drawing herself into a sitting position that let her wrap her arms around her legs. Ryoko looked concerned.

"Yui, what's wrong, I mean aside from the obvious?"

Yui looked over at Key again, and Ryoko turned.

"Can you all give me some space please, so we can talk?"

The other moved off. Ryoko and Yui began talking to each other in low voices, low enough that the others couldn't hear them. The girls meanwhile looked at each other uncomfortably as they waited. Homura seemed to be unable to avoid continuously glancing back at the Doctor and Yui. Something about the two, or perhaps the situation, seemed fascinating to her.

The two of them talked for quite awhile, it might've been hours. Sometimes the waiters caught a few words and sometimes the two spoke in raised voices. Eventually though, The two of them hugged. Hugged very long and hard. Then, Ryoko stood up and walked back to the group.

"We can go," she said as she reached them, a strange timbre in her voice.

They stared at her.

"Umm," Key said confusedly, "but what about Yui?"

"She's not coming back with us," Ryoko said, her voice a bit choked.

Everyone stared again. Homura's mouth was open slightly as she kept looking back and forth between Ryoko and Yui, as though she couldn't believe what she was Ryoko sniffed, her eyes wet.

"Look, can we just . . . she's made her choice so can we just do it? Please?"

"You're giving up?" Homura apparently hadn't been able to stop herself from speaking. She was staring at Ryoko with as close to an incredulous expression as they had ever seen on her face.

Ryoko sniffed, "no . . . I'm not."

Homura's brows contracted, "but she's right there! Haven't you been working towards this for years?! And now that you have a chance to be together again, you're just wasting it!"

Ryoko's eyes hardened for a moment before she took a very long and deep breath and sighed.

"No, I'm letting her make her own decisions. I'm respecting her choice in the matter and not forcing her to come back just because I want it. I'll . . . I'll . . . I'll miss her but this was all about trying to save her, and I have with your help. So now I'm letting her . . . make her own decision."

She seemed unable to continue on after that short speech. Homura still looked a bit dumbfounded. After a moment, the others disconnected from the Soul Gem, as they had no objections to what had been chosen. Homura watched for a moment longer before she too vanished, shaking her head. Key moved over towards Yui along with Ryoko.

On the outside, the girls stared at the Grief Seed, which now shone like a Soul Gem. Homura especially was staring at it intensely.

Then, the light seemed to dim, going softer and softer until finally, it went out altogether. Key and Dr. Tanbo blinked as they came back to themselves. Ryoko put a hand to her face and slumped over her desk, her chest heaving a bit.

There was an awkward silence as the Doctor seemed to try and not quite succeed in holding in a few sobs. She managed a few words after a few seconds.

"J-just . . . give m-me a mo-moment."

"We should probably wait outside" Mami said quietly. She had an oddly understanding look on her face as she glanced at the Doctor. The others nodded, leaving the room rather quickly. Mami stood there, struggling with herself awkwardly for a moment. She felt like she should do something as the oldest of the girls but . . . she felt sheepish. After a moment of fighting with herself, she reached over and quickly patted Ryoko on the shoulder. The Doctor gave a quick nod and Mami turned and walked out the door.

"Take all the time you need" Mami heard herself mutter quietly as she shut the door behind her.

After the door was shut, Ryoko burst into tears. It was over . . it was finally over . . . the thing she'd spent so long obsessing over was done. Yui was g- . . . gone. But she was free. A strange mixed feeling came over Ryoko which only made her sob harder.

She cried for a good long while.


Author's Note: As usual, sorry it took so long, yada yada yada. However, I am paying you all back by releasing three chapters at once. A fear (one among many) for me is, with the plot I've currently hashed out, that I am simply shuffling the characters from plot point A to plot point B without considering their characters. Perhaps its a fear that I might lose sight how they'd act with what I've given them. I try my best, but who knows. So if it seems so, please forgive me.

If you are wondering why Ryoko let go of her friend seemingly so easily, do keep in mind that she's literally lived years now with the knowledge that her friend is, for all intents and purposes, dead. She's had to contend with that and move on as best she can. So it's still rather traumatic, but in a way she's probably a bit better prepared to deal with it. I tried to get the feeling that she was closing a chapter on her life that had haunted her for quite awhile, but that she was ready to make peace with, no matter how it ended. She also never made a wish to respect her friend's intentions and what she'd wanted, so she respected Yui's desire not to come back.

I also wanted to play with Sayaka and Kyosuke's relationship a bit, at least as it stands right now. I don't think Kyosuke's a bad person, just maybe a bit dense, insensitive and wrapped up in the hardship he's going through.

Hope you enjoyed! Remember to leave a comment if you did!

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Glasses Writer

Unbelievable. I just binged this fic in 1 day man.
Hella good. I give you follow and favorite. Ape Neurons are activated for sure.

Honestly it's so enjoyable to read Key's interaction with Homura. They are probably my favorite part of this story. It brings me joy to see an actual mascot and magical girl duo for real (instead of you know, the egg and the incubator duo).

So it was realsy disappointing for me to see that dream of Homura pushed her back to being an introvert again. Heres hoping the situation get resolved and they sit down to talk or something.

Btw, Key is now favorite character. Please giv more Mascot Goodness.

Lol, thanks for the praise. I'm surprised it engaged you enough to read it all in one day! That says a lot!

Yeah, I've tried to make Key into his own character. So it's nice to hear that you liked him. Having someone who knows (at least most) of the ropes of the system that actually likes them is a big thing for the girls.

A big part of the show was showcasing how their flaws, if not properly dealt with, wind up severely handicapping, and even possibly killing the main cast. This story is a bit lighter so far, but I am going to try and in-keep with that theme. Homura is the most visible person showing this to the reader, but she's hardly the only one. Homura's one of the trickiest ones because she's so entrenched into her hole of "I'm the only person who can really understand the situation and have to herd suicide-prone sheep" that it's hard for her to intuit that she's actually doing something wrong.

Ghost Man

Homura being a Walter White type is scary.
Save Saya...restore her friend...well what could happen I wonder.

Junko is best mom.

Uh oh...something is tinkering with his emotions.
Let the grief out...don't hold it in. I see I see.

Well...that was strange.

Hah, never seen Breaking Bad, but I think I know what you mean.

We'll see. That story arc is coming to a head now.

Something is, but as Grief usually seems to give Magical Girl's a form of artificial deppression and Key's been absorbing it . . . wellll.

Indeed it was, so I suppose it feels right at home in one of the trippiest shows I've ever seen, lol.

Pentalithia

So um… I recognize Ui, Nemu, and Touka, but you're kinda giving mixed messages with the girl who became Ui's mentor… the trident implies it's Rena, but the way she behaves is totally unlike Rena and a better fit for Yachiyo, who wields a spear or halberd, not a trident.

Of course I guess you might not have intended to imply either of them, but, well, it comes with the territory when you bring Ui into the picture.

Anyway, the story itself is fairly interesting but the numerous grammar and punctuation errors detract from it quite a bit. I almost didn't continue past chapter 1 because of that.

Responded to you in PM. But sorry again about the grammar and punctuation errors. I tried to get them on the reread for these coming 3 chapters, but of course some may have slipped past. Hope you enjoy!

That last line tho… if you've only seen the anime you could be forgiven for thinking it's a sort of hope, but for someone like me who's read all 7 Oriko Magica volumes, it's instead an ominous cliffhanger…

Hehehehe. And the girl herself makes her debut in this chapter. Nothing bad yet, but who knows what will happen with Sasa in the picture!