April fourth. Today, Sayaka wanted to visit Kyousuke in the hospital and Madoka decided to accompany her, so Mami is off hunting witch on her own somewhere in the city. Kyuubey however accompanies Sayaka and Madoka, riding on Madoka's shoulder. However, for some reason, it seems that Kyousuke is not allowed visitors, so they leave the hospital after just a few minutes within. They're passing by the hospital bike racks when Sayaka suddenly spots it.
"H-hey, Madoka, isn't that…?"
Sayaka points at a grief seed embedded in the hospital wall, and Madoka gasps.
"Oh no! It's a grief seed!"
"It appears that this grief seed is about to hatch into a witch," Kyuubey says.
"Madoka, you go tell Miss Mami!" Sayaka says. "I'll watch over it! If worst comes to worst, I can just become a magical girl and beat it myself!"
Kyuubey hops from Madoka's shoulder onto Sayaka's.
"I will stay with her, to ensure that she can make a wish if necessary."
"O-okay!" Madoka says. "I'll bring Miss Mami over right away!"
However, as soon as she's out of sight, she stops and mutters to herself.
"Sorry, Sayaka-chan… I won't bring Miss Mami, but don't worry… Homura-chan will take care of it soon."
However, Mami shows up anyway a couple of minutes later.
"Miss Kaname! I heard a grief seed is hatching!"
Madoka blinks. "W-what? Miss Mami!? W-who told you…?"
Mami looks surprised. "Who, you ask…?"
Kyuubey steps out from behind her.
"Who else but me? Fighting witches is the job of magical girls like Mami, after all."
Madoka blinks at it.
"Y-you…"
"Miss Miki is waiting for us, right Miss Kaname?" Mami asks.
"Eh?"
After a moment's hesitation, Madoka nods.
"Then let's hurry!"
"Ah… wait for me!" Madoka says. Then she mutters to herself. "W-what do I do now…?"
Mami arrives at the place where the grief seed was, but it's no longer there – it must have hatched already. Sayaka is also nowhere to be seen.
"Oh no! The barrier has already appeared! Looks like Miss Miki was already swallowed up…"
"Oh no, Sayaka-chan…" Madoka gasps.
"Let's hurry!" Mami says.
She reveals the portal and hops inside with Madoka, but she doesn't transform, perhaps to avoid drawing as much attention to herself from the familiars. They haven't gone far when Homura is spotted ahead. Mami immediately shoots out some ribbons, intending to bind her in place, but Homura barely manages to dodge them by teleporting to the side as they coil around where she'd just been standing.
"You really didn't understand me," Mami says. "I made an exception to let you go last time, but I thought I said I didn't want to see you again."
Based on the changing expressions on Madoka's and Homura's faces, they are likely having a telepathic conversation. Of course, if that's true, it means Kyuubey is in on it too, because Madoka is not a magical girl, so she relies on it as a relay for her telepathy.
"Sorry, but we need to save Miss Miki," Mami continues. "So, can you stay still for now?"
Once more she attempts to bind Homura, but this time the other girl vanishes before she can be captured. However, contrary to my expectations, Homura doesn't reappear behind Mami. Instead, she appears a little off to the side, and a spray of bullets also appear in mid-flight, aiming at Mami's legs from behind. However, Homura has underestimated Mami's reflexes. She transforms and dodges the bullets with a backflip, aiming her musket at Homura.
"Unbelievable," Mami says. "Kyuubey warned me, but… it seems you really can freeze time…"
After firing her musket at Homura, Mami pulls out several at once and fires all of them at once. Homura doesn't just stand there waiting to be hit, of course. She vanishes once more, appearing behind Mami this time, but Mami almost instantly spins to face her and fires again. Moments later, they both disappear together, and then Mami reappears several feet up in the air, surrounded by shredded ribbons. Homura is nowhere to be seen.
"W-what happened?" Madoka asks.
Mami flips in midair so her feet point towards the ground and lands nimbly with a smile.
"Looks like she got away," Mami says. "Well, even if she saw through my plan to exploit the weaknesses of her time stop, at least she saw the sense to retreat. Miss Kaname, we'd better hurry."
"R-right…" Madoka says. "I guess we must…"
They continue onward, Mami looking around warily for any signs of Homura, but it seems she's still nowhere in sight.
"Um, Miss Mami… can't you and Homura-chan try to get along?" Madoka asks.
"Miss Kaname is so nice," Mami says. "Even after what happened today and the other day, you still believe in Miss Akemi."
"But… what if this witch is…?"
"Don't worry," Mami says. "I might not look like it, but I am quite powerful! No matter what kind of witch it is, I won't lose! Alright, let's go… let's hurry to where Miss Miki is!"
She steps through the door into the witch's chamber, where she finds Sayaka hiding behind a massive frosted donut.
"Sorry for the wait!" Mami says.
"Madoka! Miss Mami! You're finally here!" Sayaka says. "And Kyuubey… why'd you run off like that? Geez!"
"I was simply worried that Mami might not arrive in time," Kyuubey says.
"Well, you were worried for nothing," Sayaka says. "You're just in time. See?"
Mami nods, turning to face Charlotte. "Watch out – it's coming! You two stay back!"
"She probably won't get here in time," Madoka mutters. "So it's up to me…"
"What are you muttering about, Madoka?" Sayaka asks.
"Ah… it's nothing," Madoka says.
The actual battle seems to go pretty well, as Charlotte's first form barely fights back much and is easily defeated. It's much like how it went in the anime.
"She did it!" Sayaka cheers. "She's got this!"
"Tiro Finale!" Mami shouts.
But Madoka clearly knows better. As Mami turns to do her victory bow, Madoka ventures out from the relative safety of the donut she's been hiding behind and breaks into a run.
"Huh? W-what are you…?"
Sayaka begins to question her but then trails off as Charlotte's second form emerges. Madoka throws herself at Mami, shoving her out of the way just in the nick of time.
"M-miss Kaname," Mami gasps.
Then Charlotte comes around for a second pass, and Mami scoops Madoka up in a princess carry to dodge.
"Be careful!" Madoka shouts.
"Thank you, Miss Kaname," Mami says. "You saved me."
"Miss Mami…"
"Madoka!" Sayaka says, running over. "Don't be so reckless!"
"Sayaka-chan… I'm sorry," she says.
"Miss Miki is right," Mami says. "You were too reckless… but even though I should be lecturing you, thank you, Miss Kaname. If it weren't for you, I would be dead right now. It's okay now! I will not be careless this time!"
The battle continues, and though Mami's not making a lot of progress, she isn't taken by surprise again either. The witch sheds several times, an identical copy emerging from her throat and leaving behind a husk that rapidly disintegrates – it almost seems like it's a method of regeneration. Eventually Mami gets the bright idea of firing her cannon directly down Charlotte's throat, using her ribbons to force the mouth wide open. It's just after that shot goes off that Homura barges into the room.
"Tomoe Mami!"
"Miss Akemi!? Why are you…?"
"Homura-chan, Miss Mami, the witch is still alive!" Madoka shouts.
But before anyone else can react, the tragedy that Madoka thought she had averted repeats. Mami, distracted by Homura's sudden appearance, is caught off guard and killed as Charlotte sheds once more and chomps down on her head. Madoka drops to her knees, dejected, and bursts into tears.
"W-why… I tried so hard… and yet, still… Miss Mami…"
That leaves Homura to finish off the witch on her own. As she's picking up the fallen grief seed, Sayaka steps up and confronts her.
"If you didn't come," she says. "If you didn't come, Miss Mami would still… give it back! That belongs to Miss Mami!"
Homura ignores her and just turns to walk past her. Sayaka half turns and shouts at her.
"I said, give it back!" she repeats. "Give that back to Miss Mami!"
"Homura-chan…" Madoka sobs.
"I see you understand," Homura says. "These are for magical girls… you have no right to touch them."
Then she simply vanishes.
April fifth. Homura marches into the factory where the Box Witch has holed up. In an instant, everyone including Hitomi falls unconscious, and the bucket of bleach is tipped over on the floor. Then she steps into the witch's labyrinth, but she seems to have trouble with the witch. It's likely the first time she's faced this witch, and even if it's not the first time, she probably wasn't alone the last time. Although she manages to destroy all the familiars and get close to the witch's real body, Sayaka leaps in at the last second to finish Elly off. That said, Homura's presence probably distracted the witch, otherwise Sayaka would've had trouble too. Perhaps that's the real tactic needed for the Box Witch – have one person distract it while the other one destroys it. Last time Sayaka was the distraction and Madoka the destroyer; this time Homura was the distraction and Sayaka was the destroyer. In the main anime timeline, Madoka would be the distraction and Sayaka would be the destroyer.
The labyrinth collapses, and Sayaka snatches up the grief seed, glaring at Homura as she summons a new sword and draws it from its sheath.
"Why did you help me?" Homura asks.
"Who's helping you?" Sayaka retorts. "I'm just here after an evil witch. Unlike you, I don't wait until someone weakens the witch in battle first."
"Even though that's what you just did…"
"Moreover! I'll never forgive you!"
Sayaka points her sword right at Homura's face, but then Madoka runs up and jumps in front.
"Stop, Sayaka-chan!" she shouts.
"M-madoka!?" Sayaka gasps.
"Sayaka-chan, that costume… so you're a magical girl now…"
"Madoka, why are you even here?" Sayaka asks. "Moreover… why… are you on her side?"
"Sayaka-chan… it's not like that… I just don't want…"
Sayaka sheathes her sword with a sigh.
"Since Madoka's here, I'll stand down for now," she says. "But don't think that I'll let you be the magical girl of Mitakihara! Let's go, Madoka!"
She powers down and turns to walk off. Madoka quickly runs after her.
"Wait, Sayaka-chan!"
When it came to saving Nagisa, I resolved not to interfere with anything within Homura's sights, but my resolve was tested almost immediately when I saw her entering a grief spiral. However, at that time, there was nothing I could do. This time, though… I've already seen Nagisa and Mami die in this timeline, and Sayaka will certainly be next if I don't do anything. Can I really sit back and just watch? I'm scared of what Homura might do, but surely if I'm careful enough, I can avoid having her suspect me, right? Perhaps Ashley's little rebellion earlier has influenced me, too. I have a feeling I'm acting too late to actually make a difference, but… I want to at least try. So the day after the Box Witch is defeated, I decide to speak with Madoka. I accompany Komachi after school to pick up her sister.
As we draw near the school, I scry on Homura and find she's already left the school and is sitting in a café, meaning it's safe to approach. Then I scry on Madoka and find her chatting with Hitomi and Sayaka in the hallway, although Hitomi is doing most of the talking. Sayaka and Madoka are both brooding a little and keep spacing out, which seems to be getting on Hitomi's nerves, although she's being very patient about it. Perhaps they're even chatting telepathically behind her back.
"Oh hi, Ashley-chan," Hiyori says, spotting the two of us. "What's up? You don't normally come pick me up from school like this…"
"There was someone I wanted to talk to," I say. "You don't have to wait for me if you don't want to."
"No, it's fine," Hiyori says. "We may as well go together now that you're here, right? Besides, I was going to wait for Inui-chan anyway."
So the three of us stand around waiting for the trio to emerge, which they do a few minutes later, splitting up at the gate. Hitomi heads off to some lesson or other, Sayaka runs off probably to hunt witches, and Madoka…
"Excuse me, Miss Kaname!"
…turns to me in surprise.
"H-huh? Do I know you?"
"No, this is the first time you've met me in this timeline," I say.
Madoka gasps. "W-what!? Y-you're like… ah! C-could you be… Miss Taylor?"
Huh. I wonder where she heard… no, there's only one possibility that I can think of. Has she already met Oriko, then? I nod at her.
"Yes, my name is Ashley Taylor," I say. "Please keep this a secret from Miss Akemi and Kyuubey, but… I've been stowing away when she turns back time."
"Oh wow… that's… that's pretty amazing," Madoka says. "So… you remember everything that happened last time too?"
"Well… it's not that simple," I say. "The last time I remember, I lent you a magic item to protect yourself, but… you don't remember that, right?"
"R-right… I never met you before now," Madoka says.
"So I must've stowed away in an earlier timeline, one which you don't remember."
Madoka nod, then smiles at me.
"I see… but anyway… it's nice to meet you, Miss Taylor."
"It's a pleasure to meet you again too, Miss Kaname," I say. "Although I would prefer if you use my given name."
Madoka nods. "Ah! Miss Ashley, then!" she says. "So um… are you a magical girl too?" she asks.
"That's right," I say.
"I'm sorry… if only you knew the truth," Madoka says.
"It's alright," I say. "I made a contract even though I knew the truth, so I was prepared."
"Is that so… then you don't mind all that stuff about witches?"
"I can't say I'm entirely okay with it, but I can live with it," I reply. "Anyway, there was something I wanted to talk about. You remember what Kyuubey did when you faced Charlotte, right?"
"Huh? Who's Charlotte?"
"Um… sorry, I guess you don't know the names of the witches," I say. "That's the one that killed Miss Tomoe."
"H-how do you know about that?" Madoka asks.
"I can see things that are happening far away," I say. "It's one of my magic powers."
"Oh… that's pretty awesome…"
"So again… you saw what Kyuubey did, right?"
"Y-yeah… he called Mami over, even though she wasn't supposed to find out…"
I nod. "Well… I wanted to warn you that you should expect it to continue sabotaging your plans at every turn. For example… right now, I bet it's introducing Miss Miki and Miss Sakura to each other."
Madoka blinks, then gasps, covering her mouth with her hand.
"O-oh no! That… that could be… really bad…!"
"Relax… it's not gonna go quite the same way as you seem to remember," I say. "After all, they're meeting under different conditions, right?"
"Ah… you're right," Madoka says. "Last time Sayaka-chan was fighting a familiar… but if they just meet on the street… maybe they'll be able to get along…"
"You're probably going to meet with Miss Akemi now, right?"
Madoka nods. "Yeah… how'd you know?"
"Educated guess, since she's at a café," I say. "So you can suggest there's a possibility that Sayaka and Kyouko have already met, right? Basically, you can't rely too much on what you remember, not when Kyuubey's going around doing as it pleases."
Madoka nods. "Yeah… I understand," she says. "Thanks for the warning, Miss Ashley!"
As she runs off, Inui emerges from the gate and blinks in surprise.
"Huh? Ashley-nee? You came to pick me up?"
"Well, I had other reasons to be here too, but… yeah," I say.
"What even… I can't believe how happy this makes me…" Inui says. "What's wrong with me… it's not even a big deal…"
I think this is Ashley bubbling up within me a little, but I give her a hug.
"It's fine if you're happy, right?"
"Y-yeah… of… of course… I think…"
"What do you mean, you think? You're happy… how could it not be fine?"
"Well… no, it's nothing," Inui says.
"Don't tell me you were about to say something stupid about not deserving to be happy," I retort. "Everyone deserves to be happy, no matter who they are… well, unless the thing that makes them happy is hurting people…"
"You… you really think so, Ashley-nee?"
"Of course I do."
"Are you two finished your tearful reunion yet?" Komachi retorts. "Come on, let's go."
As we head back towards the Hayashi house, I check up on Homura again, just in time to see Madoka enter the café, order a drink, and join her.
"Homura-chan, I'm sorry," Madoka says. "Even though I knew she was going to contract, I didn't stop Sayaka-chan in time…"
"This isn't your fault, Madoka," Homura says firmly. "I also should've thought about it sooner."
"It's even worse than that though," Madoka says. "Sayaka-chan seems to refuse to trust you at all… even more so than last time…"
"Correct," Homura says.
"But why…" Madoka wonders. "Even though Homura-chan was obviously trying to save Miss Mami, Sayaka-chan won't listen…"
"It can't be helped," Homura says. "If I hadn't barged in when I did, Tomoe Mami might still be alive. But Madoka… you and I should keep our distance."
"Eh!?" Madoka gasps.
"If you keep working with me like this, your relationship with that girl will only deteriorate," she says.
"But… Homura-chan, are you really okay with this? Even though you try so hard for everyone, no-one understands you…"
Homura actually smiles at her. I don't think I've seen her smile since the second or third timeline, so perhaps this is a good sign. If she's happy, she's probably more likely to listen to reason… right? I hope?
"That was true once," Homura says. "But now… you know the truth."
"So… what should we do next?" Madoka asks. "Kyuubey's doing everything he can to get in our way, isn't he?"
"That's true," Homura admits. "If it wasn't for Kyuubey, Tomoe Mami might still be alive… and if she had survived, it might have been easier to deter Miki Sayaka from making a contract… so I can't deny that Kyuubey is the reason this isn't working out… if only we could just kill him and end it…"
"Y-yeah… that won't work, will it," Madoka says. "But he could be doing anything right now… like arranging a meeting between Sayaka-chan and Kyouko-chan…"
Homura blinks. "That's… a frightening idea you had there, Madoka…"
"Ah, it wasn't even my idea," Madoka says. "There was this girl with blonde… ah!" She claps her hands over her mouth for a moment. "It was supposed to be a secret…"
Homura blinks. "Blonde hair? Who on earth could that be…?"
Thankfully, it seems just my hair colour isn't enough for her to make the connection to me.
"But regardless of where the idea came from… I think you're right… it would be good to assume that those two already know each other," Homura says. "If we're wrong, there's no problem, but if we're right, we won't be caught off guard."
Madoka nods. "Yeah, exactly… "
"Anyway," Homura says, getting to her feet. "You need to go and follow Miki Sayaka like you did before. Keep an eye on her soul gem, and if something happens, I'll jump in to help."
"Hmm… perhaps I could ask a favour of the four of you," I say.
"Depends what it is," Komachi says. "But as long as it's not too outlandish…"
"Well… I'm expecting Miss Akemi, Miss Miki, and Miss Sakura to get into a fight, most likely tonight," I say. "Or failing that, tomorrow night. So… I was wondering if you could intervene? Even though Miss Akemi is pretty strong, it's not impossible that she could lose, and I can't allow that to happen."
"Hmm… the trouble would be finding them," Komachi says. "Although, I guess if they're using their magic, we should be able to track them by the resonance in our soul gems… so sure. I'll run it by Elise-chan too, but I bet she'll be open to it."
"Cool, thanks. And I could help with the finding them part."
"What about me?" Inui asks.
"Well… I think the quartet can probably handle it themselves," I say. "But do you want to join them? Miss Akemi is aware of at least half the quartet, but she doesn't know you exist at all, so I figured it was better to keep you out of it, but I'm not gonna stop you if you want to help."
Inui nods. "I see, I see… that makes sense," she says. "In that case, I guess I'll sit this one out!"
"The only thing is… Miss Sakura is pretty strong, right? And so is Miss Akemi?" Hiyori points out.
"That's true," I say. "But Miss Sakura is the one to worry about most. Of course, if Miss Akemi successfully uses time stop, she could defeat you and everyone else in an instant, but she needs to twist her shield in order to do that. It can be blocked by jamming the gears on her shield, if you move before she has the opportunity to twist it at all… and if you're in contact with her when she stops time, then you'll be in the time stop with her and can still move. Without the advantage given by her time stop, she's probably about average strength."
Komachi nods. "The weak points of her time stop power… that should be useful information. Thanks."
"Also, although she's certainly willing to kill," I say. "I think she'd at least try to figure out your motivations first. Without knowing why you're there, she can't very well work out a path to avoid the occurrence in the next timeline, and I think she'd also hesitate to kill in the presence of Miss Kaname. So try to make it clear that you're just breaking up a fight."
"Okay," Hiyori says.
"Got it," Komachi says.
Later the same night. Madoka meets Sayaka as she leaves her apartment complex. Sayaka is startled to see her.
"Ah… Madoka!?"
"Sayaka-chan… are you going on patrol? Could I come with you?"
"Madoka… but I… and the transfer student…"
"Um, Sayaka-chan… am I a bother?"
"No, no… thank you Madoka! It's pathetic, but I feel kinda helpless by myself, so having someone by my side will make me feel a lot better!"
"Thank you, Sayaka-chan!"
"I swear I'll protect you, so let's go get those witches! Just relax and follow me!"
After some searching, they come upon a labyrinth.
"Madoka, it's here! Let's go!"
They enter the labyrinth and descend a flight of stairs, Sayaka looking around a bit.
"This barrier was probably made by a familiar," she says.
"Yeah… you're right," Madoka says.
"Huh? How would you know?"
"Oh, well… I guess it just looks… less elaborate?" Madoka says.
At that moment, a sound can be heard, something like a whoosh of air.
"Did you hear that?" Sayaka asks.
"Sayaka-chan! Over there!"
Madoka points at the familiar, one of Albertine's familiars which seems to be jetting around wildly.
"Leave it to me!" Sayaka says.
She transforms and makes short work of the familiar by throwing sword after sword after sword until one of them strikes its mark. The barrier quickly comes down as the familiar dies.
"Got it!" Sayaka says.
"You did it, Sayaka-chan!"
There's a sound of rattling chains, and Madoka suddenly turns her head.
"I heard something!"
She runs in the direction of the sound, and Sayaka follows her. They find Kyouko and Homura in the middle of a stand-off.
"…ain't an easy person like Mami was," Kyouko says.
The two of them seem to have been talking together as they faced off, but then Homura hears the sound of Madoka's footsteps and turns to see her.
"Madoka!?" Homura gasps.
"Homura-chan, what's this all about?" Madoka asks.
"This has nothing to do with you," Homura retorts. "Leave this place, quickly."
But Sayaka has other ideas. She steps forward angrily.
"I thought I told you not to make a move, Kyouko! She's my opponent!"
"What? I found her first," Kyouko retorts.
"And I told you not to interfere!" Sayaka says.
"Whatever, I'm just here to see what this Akemi chick can do," Kyouko says.
"So you two do know each other!?" Madoka gasps. Then she sighs. "Come on, Sayaka-chan… Homura-chan… even Kyouko-chan… why do you have to fight each other!?"
Madoka looks around at the three magical girls glaring at each other, finally settling on the one she knows best, raising her voice.
"Sayaka-chan, please just stop this!" Madoka shouts. "This isn't good! This isn't how a magical girl should be!"
"No can do," Sayaka says firmly. "Not after what she did to Miss Mami!"
Madoka turns desperately to Homura.
"Homura-chan, please, just run away!" she pleads. "There's no need for you to fight either of them!"
"Don't worry, Madoka," Homura says. "I can easily take both of them… even if they know my weaknesses."
"Don't underestimate me!" Sayaka shouts.
She leaps forward and tries to attack Homura, but thanks to time stop, she can't even land a hit. After several attempts, Kyouko suddenly jumps in, and Homura dodges a spear thrust.
"I thought you weren't getting involved," Homura says.
"Change of plans," Kyouko says.
"Kyouko, back off!" Sayaka protests.
"Screw that, I never agreed to anything," Kyouko retorts. "Besides, she's too much for you. I couldn't keep watching. And you!" Kyouko points at Homura. "Just looking at you pisses me off! Treating rookie like that! Are you toying with her!?"
She attacks Homura, but after a few thrusts, Sayaka jumps in the way again.
"I said stay back!" she shouts. "Didn't you hear me!?"
With Madoka unable to do anything, it looks like it'll devolve into a messy three-way brawl… but that's when the quartet shows up. Claire speeds into the thick of things, smacking both Sayaka and Kyouko aside with her mace, causing both of them to lose their balance and fall, and she nearly gets Homura too before the other girl vanishes.
"Y-you!?" Homura gasps, having reappeared behind Claire. "What are you doing here?"
Claire spins to face Homura, pointing at her with her mace, electricity crackling across the weapon.
"Oh? So you've met me before? I'm honoured," she says, bowing a little while keeping her weapon trained on her target. "Well, I don't know what circumstances we met in before, but I want you to know that this time we're only here to help."
Even as she speaks, Komachi leaps in with her naginata to intercept Sayaka as she regains her feet, and Kyouko is surrounded by three katana-wielding tengu.
"The hell's this!?" Kyouko shouts. "That white bastard said we were the only magical girls around here, so where'd you lot come from?"
"I did not lie," Kyuubey says. "You three are the only magical girls around here, in central Mitakihara. Those four are the magical girls of west Mitakihara. I cannot explain why they would be here, though I can speculate that they have decided to invade this territory."
"Oh, so you didn't lie but you just let us assume, is that it?" Sayaka retorts. Glaring at Komachi, she adds, "And where you when Miss Mami died!?" she asks. "If you'd worked together, maybe she'd still be with us!"
Komachi blinks. "Eh? Did Miss Tomoe die? It's true I haven't sensed her magic recently… but I thought that was just a coincidence…"
"We're not as strong as Miss Tomoe," Claire says. "That's why we have to work as a team to be able to defeat witches. Even if we'd been there, I can't say it would've made a difference. I also can't say it wouldn't've, but… it's not like I have the power to predict the future or anything, either."
Sayaka makes a huffing noise and redoubles her attacks on Komachi. At that point, Hiyori appears behind Madoka with her harp.
"It'll be okay, Miss Kaname," she whispers. "You must remember me from earlier today, right? I'm Hayashi Hiyori. That girl you were speaking with… she asked us to come break up this brawl."
"Oh… so that's why you're here," Madoka says. "Thank you… it's a real help. I couldn't even do anything myself… I feel so helpless…"
Hiyori steps past Madoka and plucks out a tune on her harp, building up her distraction skill and causing Homura to frown a little. Since it seems like she's met the quartet before, perhaps she recognizes the ability. I wonder when she met them though… it certainly wasn't in any of the timelines that I remember. Although she did meet Hiyori in the last one… but she shouldn't've realized she was a magical girl in that timeline, and definitely never got a chance to learn of her powers.
Homura turns to stare up at Elise, who is gazing down at the battle from atop the nearby building.
"So what's your deal, Elise Pierrot?" she calls. "Are you planning to sacrifice yourself for Miss Miki again this time?"
Elise blinks. "H-how do you know about that!? I haven't even told my friends about that power…"
Homura shrugs and turns to Claire, who still has an electrically-charged mace pointing at her.
"Claire Branch… you say you and your friends are here to help me?" Homura says.
"Well… you could say we saw a pointless fight going on and decided to break it up," Claire replies. "I'll say it right now, but we have no intention of killing anyone, so if you were thinking of it, stop. And I wouldn't try anything else if I were you, either… since you apparently already know me, you must know how fast I am. I can knock you out before you can even reach your shield."
Homura blinks. "How… do you know about my shield?"
"I see no reason why I should tell you that," Claire says.
"Then, you're not searching for Elise Pierrot's sister?"
Claire blinks. "F-for Liliane…? But she died… around the beginning of the year… wait, how do you even know about her?"
Homura blinks. "Last time we met, you told me she turned into a witch," Homura says. "And you were searching for that witch."
"I didn't even know Liliane was a magical girl," Claire says. "I wonder how I even could've found out…"
"Well, that has nothing to do with me," Homura mutters. "As long as you don't get in my way, it doesn't matter to me."
"That's kinda rude," Claire retorts.
Sayaka seems to be having trouble against Komachi, being consistently pressed back, but Kyouko is holding her own even against the three tengu, if only barely. Homura and Claire just stand in the middle of it all, facing each other as they chat, Homura's face still tinged with suspicion. Claire's mace remains on a hair-trigger, while Homura is tensed and ready to move at a moment's notice.
Everything changes when Hiyori lets loose her attack. Suddenly both Kyouko and Sakura find themselves unable to land a single hit; moments later, they're both on the ground with a blade to their throat.
"Dammit!" Kyouko gasps. "That was a dirty trick!"
Claire lowers her mace and turns to face her.
"Sometimes a dirty trick is the only way to win," she retorts. "Could I ask you to back down, Miss Sakura?"
"Ugh… are you planning to take over this territory?" Kyouko asks.
Claire shakes her head. "No, we have our own territory already," she says. "There's no point in expanding it. We just happened to pass by and noticed a fight going on, so we stepped in to stop it."
Elise lands on the ground next to her, looking at Homura.
"You there… Miss Akemi, was it?"
Homura nods. "I'm not sure where you heard the name from, Elise Pierrot, but yes, I am Akemi Homura."
"How did you know about my secret power?" Elise asks.
"How do you know about my powers?" Homura asks. "Did Kyuubey tell you?"
"Obviously," Elise retorts. "Did we meet before or something, in another time?"
"You used that power in front of me," Homura says. "Instead of the conductor witch, we faced down a dragon witch."
"So it's true, then," Elise says. "Whatever could've possessed me to use that cursed power…?"
Madoka tugs at Hiyori's sleeve, and she glances back.
"Um… have the four of you come back in time too?" she whispers.
"Ah, no we haven't," Hiyori replies, also in a whisper. "But that girl told us all about it…"
"Oh, I see…"
"Dammit!" Sayaka groans. "Where the hell did you lot even come from…"
"Like Claire-chan said, we were just passing by," Komachi says. "It's not good to get into fights like this, you know. You'll waste your magic, and if you run out of grief seeds… you won't like the outcome, I promise you. If you can't get along with Miss Sakura, then you should just avoid her."
"I don't care about Kyouko!" Sayaka snaps. "I just want to finish off that black-haired girl!"
Komachi glances at Homura.
"Well… if you really want to do that, attacking like this isn't gonna get you anywhere," she says. "You can't defeat that one head-on."
"How the hell would you know!?" Sayaka shouts.
"Well… you certainly weren't doing too well before we showed up," Komachi retorts. "And I'm not just trying to say you're weak or anything. I don't know of anyone who could defeat her head-on, myself included. Again, if you can't get along with her, then you should just avoid her."
"Everyone…" Madoka suddenly shouts. "Could you all just stop fighting!? There's no point! Sayaka-chan… let's just go home! All of this is pointless!"
"Madoka…" Sayaka glances at her and sighs. "Fine… I'll give up on the transfer student for now, but… Kyouko, you'd better not go behind my back again!"
"I said it's first come first served!" Kyouko snaps.
Sayaka powers down, and Madoka runs over and helps her up. As they head off, Madoka glances back at Homura.
"Homura-chan… will you be okay?"
"Don't worry about me," Homura says.
"R-right…"
Once Sayaka and Madoka have disappeared around the corner, Komachi turns to bring her weapon to bear upon Kyouko.
"And what about you, Miss Sakura?" she says. "Are you going to play nice?"
"Ugh… this is one big pain, ain't it," Kyouko grumbles, powering down. "Fine, I'll back down… for now. Ain't no point wasting my magic on the five of ya."
Elise banishes her tengu, and Kyouko gets to her feet and runs off in the same direction Sayaka and Madoka disappeared in.
"Then that just leaves you, Miss Akemi," Claire says. "What do you plan to do now?"
"I'd like to ask the four of you to stay out of my way in the future," Homura says. "I have a goal that I must fulfill at all costs."
"Is that so…" Elise says. "Not even a word of thanks, huh? Well, I'm not gonna make any promises… but we don't have any plans to interfere with whatever you're up to here. Shall we call it a truce for now?"
"If you insist," Homura says.
"Then let's power down as a show of good faith," Komachi says.
She powers down, followed by Hiyori. Homura sighs and powers down too, and Elise and Claire follow suit.
"Then, we'll go our separate ways from here," Homura says.
"Right," Elise says. "Let's go, you guys."
The four of them turn to leave, and Homura watches them go until they're out of sight. Then she turns and walks off in the opposite direction.
"The hell was that?" Kyouko mutters. "Since when did west Mitakihara have girls like that, anyway?"
After running for a bit, she catches sight of Sayaka and Madoka ahead, as well as Kyuubey.
"Yo!"
Sayaka spins to face her with a glare, and Madoka turns as well.
"Kyouko-chan…" she says.
"Who said ya could call me by name!?" Kyouko shouts.
"S-sorry, um… Miss Sakura…? So um… what do you want?"
Kyouko turns to address Sayaka.
"Well, it seems she escaped, thanks to those four interfering, huh?" Kyouko says.
"Yeah…" Sayaka says.
"Dammit, what's up with her!" Kyouko grumbles. "Talking like she could get rid of us at will!"
"Did I not say she is a tough one?" Kyuubey asks. "What do you think of her time magic?"
"What! So you knew!?" Kyouko gasps.
"I thought it would be better for you to see for yourself," Kyuubey says. "So you can truly understand how tricky she is."
"Kyuubey… you…" Madoka says. "What are you trying to do here…?"
"Should you not know that already, Kaname Madoka?" Kyuubey says. "If you would ever like to make a contract with me to become a magical girl, I will be waiting."
"So how're we supposed to deal with someone like that!?" Kyouko asks.
"Is she too much even for you?" Kyuubey asks.
"I wonder…" Kyouko mutters.
"What about you, Sayaka?" Kyuubey asks.
"I will never give up!" Sayaka says. "I'll definitely make her pay for Miss Mami!"
"B-but that wasn't even…" Madoka starts to protest before trailing off.
"Well, right now, you do not stand a chance against her," Kyuubey says.
"What!?" Sayaka exclaims.
"But if you two work together, perhaps it may be possible," Kyuubey suggests.
"Well damn," Kyouko says. "It can't be helped. Between a person I can't stand and another I can't get along with… alright, let's give that girl a surprise! Until then, I'm in your care!"
Kyouko gives Sayaka a light thump to the chest, startling her, then steps back and offers her a box of pocky.
"Again… I'm Sakura Kyouko," she says. "Nice to meet ya."
Sayaka absently takes the box from Kyouko.
"But isn't fighting two-on-one unfair?" Sayaka asks.
"Hey, you took the whole box!" Kyouko protests. "You're only s'posed to take one!"
"Eh!?"
Sayaka blinks, looking at the box in confusion for a moment, then takes out a single stick and passes it back to Kyouko, who takes a stick and starts crunching on it. Sayaka however just holds hers.
"Look, fighting two-on-one isn't unfair at all," Kyouko says. "It's a strategy."
"An unfair strategy," Sayaka retorts.
"Only an idiot fights on equal footing," Kyouko retorts. "The whole point of a battle is to find every way to give yourself an advantage against the enemy."
"Please try to get along," Kyuubey says. "We need Sayaka to get stronger soon, because in about three weeks, Walpurgisnacht will reach this city."
"But wouldn't it be better if all three of you fought together?" Madoka asks. "Homura-chan really wants to beat that witch too!"
Kyouko shoots her a glare.
"Oh, it might be better to have the extra firepower, but I ain't gonna work with someone I can't even trust," she retorts. "Specially if she's the one who offed Mami."
"B-but that's not what happened!" Madoka protests. "Miss Mami was killed by a witch, not by Homura-chan…"
"But it was still the transfer student's fault!" Sayaka says. "She distracted Miss Mami and let the witch kill her!"
"B-but… it's not like Homura-chan wanted any of that…"
"Madoka… you should forget about that girl," Sayaka says firmly. "There's absolutely no way we can work with her!"
Madoka casts her eyes down at the ground.
"F-fine… I won't bring up Homura-chan again," she mutters. "Sorry, Sayaka-chan… I'm really worried about you, but if you can get along with Kyouko-chan, then you should be fine…"
"Oy! I said no first-name basis!" Kyouko snaps.
"R-right! Um, Miss Sakura!" Madoka says.
Kyouko sighs.
"Ahh, what the hell, I don't care anymore," she says. "Just call me whatever you like."
"Th-then… then Kyouko-chan…!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Kyouko grumbles. "So what about you? You gonna make a wish or what?"
Kyouko holds out the pocky box, and Madoka accepts a stick.
"I'm… I'm not sure," Madoka says. "I haven't decided yet…"
"Well, maybe you oughta get thinking on it real fast," Kyouko says. "Cause Walpurgisnacht is one nasty witch… even the two of us might run into some trouble, y'know?"
Madoka blinks. "Are you… inviting me to join your team?"
"That ain't what I said at all," Kyouko retorts. "But it can't hurt to have extra firepower, ya know?"
"W-well… I'll think about it," Madoka mutters. "Um… I should really be getting home now… see you later…"
"Seeya," Kyouko says.
"Yeah…" Sayaka mutters.
When Madoka gets home, Homura is waiting in front of the gate.
"Ah, Homura-chan…"
"It's strange," Homura says without preamble. "Those four… I've only run into them once before, so… why did they show up again now?"
Madoka blinks. "Huh? You've really only met them once? Like… in one timeline?"
Homura nods. "Yes. Although, that's not quite true… I met those sisters, the harp girl and the naginata girl, in one other early timeline, but I didn't notice they were magical girls back then…"
"So you've only seen them twice before," Madoka says.
Homura nods, then suddenly gasps.
"Wait… now that I think of it… they're connected to her!?"
Madoka blinks. "Huh? Who?"
"What was her name…" Homura mutters. "From what I recall… Miss Tomoe said that girl was staying at the Hayashi house, so she's connected to those four… no way… did she sic them on me!?"
"Um… w-who are you… talking about?" Madoka asks.
"It's been so long that I can't quite remember her name," Homura says. "Um… it wasn't a Japanese name…" Homura trails off for a minute. "I've got it… Ashley Taylor!"
Madoka gasps. "W-what!?"
Homura gasps too. "A-and come to think of it… she had blonde hair!"
Homura blinks, then suddenly grabs Madoka by the shoulders.
"It was her, wasn't it?" she says. "She talked to you before, didn't she? She must be the one who suggested those two might team up! Did she say anything else?"
"E-ehhhh!?" Madoka gasps. "Um, Homura-chan, you're scaring me a bit now…"
"Did she say anything else!?" Homura insists urgently.
"Uhh… n-no, not really… that was pretty much everything… although she also knew what happened to Miss Mami…"
"You've got to be careful who you trust, Madoka!" Homura says urgently. "That girl… she could be dangerous! Promise me not to speak with her again!"
"Eh… she was the one who spoke to me," Madoka protests. "And she seemed nice enough…"
"Looks can be deceiving," Homura says. "Last time we met she attacked me with a weird ability… and I couldn't move for a few seconds."
"But that also means she had no intention of hurting or killing you or anything," Madoka points out. "Otherwise she would've finished you off while you couldn't move, right?"
"Just… just stay away from her, okay?" Homura says.
"W-well… I can try," Madoka says. "But if she comes looking for me again… there's not much I can do about that…"
"Just run away," Homura says.
"That's kinda rude…"
Madoka lets out a long sigh and changes the topic.
"So um, anyway… Kyouko-chan and Sayaka-chan have officially decided to team up."
Homura blinks. "Huh… that was outside of my expectations," she says. "Sakura Kyouko, who last time I assumed was Miki Sayaka's rival, is now working with her… maybe we never really knew her…"
"What if them teaming up was Kyuubey's plan?" Madoka asks. "He certainly seemed to be encouraging it…"
"W-what!? Right… the incubator is clearly scheming something… and I wish I knew what went on inside that thing's mind… but in any case, this might work in our favour."
"Eh!?"
"Sakura Kyouko is a capable magical girl. With her around, perhaps I won't have to worry about Miki Sayaka."
"But… won't they try to attack you again?" Madoka asks.
"Even if that's Kyuubey's goal, I'm not afraid," Homura says. "If they teamed up because they saw me as their common enemy… then it's too late to convince them otherwise. Even so, their chances of survival until Walpurgisnacht will be better."
Madoka nods. "Alright… then I guess we just let it go for now, huh? Good night, Homura-chan."
"Good night, Madoka."
Madoka heads inside, but Homura continues to stand outside for a bit longer, pondering.
"Hmm… when I went to deal with Ashley Taylor this time, she wasn't there," Homura muses. "I didn't think she'd be able to remember… after all, even if she somehow remembered that one time, those memories should have been erased the next time I turned back time… and she definitely didn't sneak along again after that time. Although, if memory serves, she said she'd be waiting… almost as if she knew she would remember? Does her magic power have something to do with it? Seems like she's even more dangerous than I first thought. Perhaps I should pay her another visit tomorrow…"
With that ominous thought, she finally heads off towards her home.
Since the Yukuni backstory has recently been released in the Magia Record game, I updated Ashley's chapter 43 encounter with Suzune to allude to it just a little. However, the (entirely original) inclusion of Suzune in the Yukuni incident is not being changed.