Tengen Toppa Madoka Magica!

by Tornadopelt

Homura turned her shield just before Madoka ascended, and a tiny sliver of Madoka's power went back with her. Now, the time-traveling Magi finds herself in a timeline both familiar and alien called Timeline 401, filled to the gills with a spirited and upstanding Kyubey, extraordinary powers, and giant robots!

2. I've Got A Lot to Atone For

This is the tale of the women who have yet to realize their destiny.

On the streets of Mitakihara, a tragic accident claims the lives of Mami Tomoe's parents, and nearly claims the young girl's life as well. And on those streets, Earth's Messengers of Magic clash. As the Contract is made, Mami's life is forever altered, and the first shots of war are fired with a sound of thunder.

---

Obligatory Disclaimer [read by Mami Tomoe]

The following is a non-profit, fan-based story. "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann", "Puella Magi Madoka Magica", and all associated characters (save for OCs) are owned by Gainax, Trigger, SHAFT, Kazuki Nakashima, Hiroyuki Imaishi and Gen Urobuchi, and licensed by Crunchyroll, Aniplex of America, Magica Quartet, ASCII Media Works, and Houbunsha. Likewise, all members of the Council of Nine (except for Kyubey) are owned by AJ Wargo and Nightelf37. Please support the official release.

Tengen Toppa Madoka Magica

Chapter 1: I've Got A Lot to Atone For

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ONE YEAR EARLIER

Mitakihara was, to the vast majority of its residents, a city much like any other. In the city center, tall skyscrapers stood as a testament to humanity's ingenuity, to their ability to make the impossible possible. Office buildings, factories, and stores, the beating heart of the city's commerce and culture. On the outskirts, the suburban houses and residential districts sprawled outward, cul-de-sac after cul-de-sac of cozy homes, the perfect place to raise a family, supplied by smaller businesses, schools, and even hospitals. A typical city, in a typical country, in a typical world.

But behind the calm, peaceful facade, there lurked a darker side. A side hardly any knew existed, and one even fewer were willing to believe in. Behind the idyllic veneer of modern life, a struggle was being waged, an endless battle between light and dark, good and evil, hope and despair. On one side, monsters beyond all human ken, crawling through extradimensional tunnels and labyrinths to prey upon the innocent, the unsuspecting. And on the other, girls of incredible power, wielding magic and armed with fantastical weaponry, standing alone against these creatures in an endless war.

To the vast majority of Mitakihara's citizens, these battles were nothing more than fairy tales, the stuff of stories told to scare children and teach them lessons. But for the girls on the front lines, these were their reality. The reality that they would live in from the day they made the contract to the day they would fall in combat... or, worse, fall to their own despair and become the very thing they fought. These girls would live a life of blood and battle, of isolation and loneliness, and they would die in battle, their lives snuffed out like candles, a sacrifice in the name of protecting a world that would never know their names, their faces, their sacrifice.

Unbeknownst to anyone, this tale had played out hundreds, maybe even thousands of times. Each time was a tale of loss, of sadness, of sacrifice and of tragedy. And each time, the tale had ended the same way: the clock resetting, the players returning to where they were in the beginning, to try again and again. An endless cycle of fighting and death and destruction and rebirth, over and over again.

There were differences, sure. Sometimes, the jobs of the players changed; sometimes they fell sooner, sometimes later, sometimes not at all. But every time, the ending was the same: Mitakihara in ruins, Walpurgisnacht still standing, and the clock reset. Over and over again, the cycle continued, unbroken, unchanging.

But there was something to be said about butterflies and hurricanes. That the tiniest of changes could have a profound effect, the most minute of alterations could cause an avalanche. And this time around, the flapping of a butterfly's wings had changed everything. One minor detail, missed in a tragedy that had occurred three decades before and halfway across the world. An awakening in one creature for whom emotions had once been as foreign and unattainable as the farthest star, but now were a part of its every waking moment.

Not one of the players in the twisted game that was being run in Mitakihara knew this, though. They couldn't have known that the tiny flap of a butterfly's wings, the awakening of empathy in a creature who had previously only known how to suppress it, would have such an enormous effect on their lives. Even the player at the center of it all, the black-haired girl guiding the time loops in hopes of a happy ending for all of them, couldn't have known that the last reset carried that seemingly-inconsequential wing-beat with it.

As dawn slowly broke over the city of Mitakihara, the result of that tiny wing-flap would make itself known. High above the city, on one of the many cranes dotting the skyline, a figure stood, looking down at the people milling in the streets below. Sporting a coat of short, white fur, a tail, and a pair of long, ribbon-like appendages sprouting from his ears, a floating golden hoop resting around the broad ends of each, this figure looked like nothing else that could be found on Earth. Despite this, it had made this third rock from the Sun its home. Red eyes scanned the horizon, and it couldn't help but feel a sense of calm wash over it. "Man, this city's beautiful, ain't it?" he wondered aloud. "The calm breeze, the morning sun rising over the horizon, the hustle and bustle of city life... and a nice crispness to the air, even. Not too cold, but not too hot, either. Perfect weather." Closing its eyes, the creature took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Just perfect. It's a good day to be alive."

In the breeze, the creature's cape seemed to flutter, the red and orange fabric dancing like the leaves on the trees. Emblazoned on its back, a stylized, black version of the creature's head, with white triangular sunglasses that seemed to glow. The creature turned its head slightly, looking towards the silhouette of Mitakihara Middle School in the distance. "Sucks that kids have to go to school today... weather's perfect for a day off, if you ask me. But hey, you can't have a party every day, right?"

Then, with a nod, the creature put on its red shades, pointy ones like in the design on his cape. "Well, time to get to work! Gotta make sure that fuzzy freak isn't going around, trying to ruin any lives, you know?" the creature mused, a confident grin on its face. "And speaking of that, time to get my game on! No time like the present, yeah?"

The creature then took a few steps back and leaped into the air, letting out a holler as he slid down the arm of the crane. "GEROOONIMOOOOOOOOOO!" he shouted as he slid down the crane, his cape fluttering in the wind behind him. Then, he jumped off the end of the crane arm, falling towards the ground below. With a loud thump, he landed in the grass next to the sidewalk and started running, weaving between the legs of the many pedestrians in the area. "'Scuse me! Comin' through! Important business, don't want to be late! Excuse me! Sorry ma'am!"

Some of the people around him stopped and looked down, but the creature had already moved on, not wanting to stick around in case they tried to catch him. He had places to be and important things to do, and he wasn't gonna let anything or anyone slow him down. "Now, if I were a grey-colored, fuzzy, emotionless bastard, where would I be?" he asked himself. "No doubt trying to find some poor kid in despair to sucker into a contract, the jerk."

Even though the white, furry critter was small, he was a fast runner, able to weave his way through traffic like a pro. It was just a matter of finding the right kid, or the right adult, and stopping his rival from making a deal. But there were so many people, so many possible targets, it was hard to figure out where to begin. And ever since he was cut off from the hive mind of the rest of his race, his ability to detect strong emotions had dropped considerably. "Damn... if only I could still tap into the network, this'd be so much easier," the creature grumbled. "But no, Ichi-baka had to go and shut me out, didn't he? Can't have someone 'disrupting the collection of energy' or 'rebelling against the Law of Cycles' or... what was that other thing he said? 'Endangering the lives of others' or something?"

He shook his head. "I swear, that guy wouldn't know a good time if it hit him square in the jaw!" Then, he growled, "No, Kyubey, focus! You can gripe at your former leader's idiocy later! Now's the time for findin' people and making sure that fuzzball doesn't get his paws on them! So, where to look, where to look...?"

Kyubey's question was soon answered as his ear pricked. Over the hustle and bustle of the city, most humans missed it, but his sensitive hearing picked up something: the sound of tires screeching, followed by the blaring of a car horn and then the crunching of metal against metal. It was far away; one of the local highways, no doubt, but he could hear it all the same. And it was the perfect chance to intervene.

The creature was off like a shot, running as fast as his little legs could carry him, speeding down the sidewalk and weaving between people's legs. "Sorry! Watch out! Got somewhere to be!" He was moving so fast that the people he passed couldn't help but turn and look, wondering just what the white blur that had just run past them was. But Kyubey paid no mind to those around him; his brows were furrowed in determination and his jaw was set in a grim line. He had to get to the site of that car crash, and fast.

Meanwhile, on a planet far, far away from Earth, a planet with technology far more advanced than anything humans could ever dream of, seven small creatures, each extremely similar to Kyubey in all but fur color and attitude, sat before several different consoles. The golden-furred one turned around, breathing in and looking at their fellows. "Good morning, my fellow Council members. As you know, today is the day we add a new Magi to the system, in order to collect the energy needed to stave off total universal entropy. Shibey, how are the energy levels?"

Shibey, the pink-furred one, looked at the console in front of her. "Holding steady, Lord Ichibey. Though, if we do get a new Magi in the ranks..."

"Do not worry, Shibey," Ichibey replied. "The system will hold, especially if Hachibey's past work is anything to go by. Nanabey, how are the population dynamics?"

"Balance maintained perfectly, Lord Ichibey!" Nanabey, the zebra-striped one, answered. "Though, we might want to introduce a Witch to the system, in order to maintain said balance."

Ichibey nodded. "Shichibey," he said, turning to a blue-furred creature, "is Mami ready on your end?"

Shichibey nodded in turn. "Affirmative, sir. All systems are green, and Mami will be ready to do her duty as she sees fit. If everything holds out, she'll be in the state of mind to make a contract before the day is out."

"Wonderful!" Ichibey couldn't keep the note of approval out of his voice. "Sanbey, do you have Mami's outfit ready for her?"

"Yep!" the bronze-furred one in question replied. "She'll be looking stylish and fashionable!"

"Good, good." Ichibey looked towards a red-furred creature. "Gobey, weapons?"

"All systems operational, sir!" Gobey answered. "She'll be armed and ready to go!"

"Excellent. Rokubey, attacks?"

Rokubey, a green-furred creature, nodded. "Locked in, sir. Ready for use whenever the new recruit needs them."

"Perfect!" Ichibey was pleased with his Council. "And finally, Hachibey. I know you've had extra work ever since our former Council member, Kyubey, went rogue and decided to try and rebel against us, so I'd like to thank you for your efforts. Your work in Contracting and creating our Contractees' Witches has been nothing short of excellent. So, do you think you can handle making Mami Tomoe a Magical Girl and creating her Witch?"

Hachibey, a gray-furred creature, nodded. "Yes sir. I have developed a particular talent for this work, after all."

Then, Ichibey's silver-furred second-in-command spoke up. "Lord Ichibey, I cannot help but... express concern. We must remember that Kyubey—"

Ichibey's voice sounded a little smug. "Nibey, you were there when we cut him off from the Hive Mind. We have no reason to believe that he will be able to interfere with our work. Without the connection to the Hive Mind, that traitor can't hope to make a Contract, and without a Contract, he cannot affect the system. Thus, he is powerless. We have no reason to worry about his influence."

"Even so, Lord Ichibey," Nibey continued, "I believe it would be wise to have a backup plan, just in case. Even disconnected from the Hive Mind, he still poses a threat to the system, and I fear that he may try and intervene in our work, even with his limited resources."

"You know as well as I do that when an Incubator is cut off from the Hive Mind, its ability to detect emotions is vastly diminished, and its ability to make Contracts and detect Witches is removed completely," Ichibey argued. "Kyubey has neither the power to make Contracts, nor the power to detect Witches. He may try to interfere, but I have no doubt that we can easily counter whatever he may do. Whatever the case, Mami Tomoe will be Contracted, and Kyubey's attempt to stop her from doing so will be for nothing."

Right as Ichibey spoke, the pieces aligned, and on the highway, one car could be seen speeding and violently swerving through traffic, heedless of the other vehicles around it. It was only by sheer luck that the driver's reckless antics had yet to injure anyone. But the driver, a middle-aged man in a leather jacket and sunglasses, clearly didn't seem to care about the safety of others, or even himself, for that matter, as he sped down the road. "Soon..." Ichibey murmured. "Very soon..."

Ichibey almost allowed himself a smirk as the speeding vehicle slammed headlong into another, sending both cars tumbling over and over, a shower of sparks and metal flying everywhere. The cars slammed into the guard rail on the side of the road, one of them bursting into flames.

The car that had been hit was more mangled than the other, the hood crushed, smoke billowing from the engine. In the driver's seat, a 37-year-old woman sat, her head resting against the airbag. Next to her, in the passenger seat, was a man who could only be her husband, blood seeping from his forehead. In the back seat of the vehicle, though, was a young blonde girl, no older than fourteen, lying on the floorboard, her hair in disarray and her legs broken. Her breathing was shallow, and she looked pale. She was clearly in rough shape, and it was doubtful if she was even conscious.

As if to answer that question, the girl moaned and opened her eyes. Her vision blurry, she looked up at the ceiling of the car, and for a second, she couldn't remember what had happened or why she was lying down. All she knew was that there was a sharp pain in her legs, and her entire body hurt.

But then, it came flooding back. She'd been in the car with her parents, on their way back home from picking her up from school, when suddenly, another car had come out of nowhere, hitting them on the front corner of the driver's side and causing them to spin and flip across the road. She'd hit her head on something hard, and she had no idea if her parents were okay, let alone still alive.

Moreover, she had no idea that she was being watched, targeted, by forces beyond her ken. "Now, Hachibey," Ichibey spoke. "Make your move."

"Right away, my liege," Hachibey replied, making his way to the scene of the accident, invisible to human eyes.

Unbeknownst to any of them, though, Kyubey was a critter on a mission, having finally arrived at the crash site. Soon enough, the highway was in sight, and Kyubey quickly scrambled up one of the light poles near the exit ramp, climbing up until he reached the top. There, he saw it: cars were stopped all along the highway, with two of them, a black sedan and a red coupe, having collided just in front of the next exit. His eyes widened as he took in the carnage, the mangled vehicles, the injured humans, and the flames licking at the one car. "Holy mackerel..." he breathed. "That looks bad...!"

People were milling around, some of them getting out of their cars to see what had happened, others trying to direct traffic around the wreck. But Kyubey didn't care about any of them; his eyes were focused on the cars themselves. His ears pricked as he listened intently, eyes narrowed. "Dad... Daddy... where are you?" a young voice called out. "Mom... are you okay? Mom! Ah... ah... this can't be real... can you hear me...? Hey... Mom, Dad... h-help me..."

"Kid..." he muttered. "There's a kid in the car..." Then, his gaze snapped to the the car's shattered windows; perched on the edge of one of them was a familiar figure, one that made Kyubey's blood boil. It was the same species of creature that he was, with short grey fur, a long tail, and long ribbon-like appendages sprouting from his ears. "...Hachibey," he growled, his ears folding back in anger. "Shoulda known he'd show up..."

The grey-colored Incubator Kyubey was watching, Hachibey, looked into the car, staring soullessly at the face of a blonde-haired child, no older than 14, trapped in the mangled wreck of the car. Her parents were either dead or unconscious, and she was calling out for help, tears streaming down her face as she whimpered, "It hurts... it hurts... someone... anyone... please..." If no one came to her rescue, she'd soon meet the same fate as her parents. It was the perfect opportunity, one that the Incubator couldn't pass up.

"Hello, Mami Tomoe," Hachibey said in a monotone voice as he stared at the girl with his unblinking eyes. "You are facing an incredible amount of fear and pain, but I can give you a chance to escape it all."

"Who..." Mami choked out. "...who... are you...? Are... are you an angel? The... the Grim Reaper?" She grit her teeth in a wince. "Are you here... to steal my soul...?"

The grey creature shook his head. "No, I'm not. My name is Hachibey... and I want you to make a contract with me."

"A... a contract...?" Mami replied, coughing. "What... are you talking about...?"

Hachibey nodded. "Yes. If you form a contract with me, I will grant you a wish. Any wish you want. In exchange, I want you to become a magical g-UNH!"

Hachibey's sentence was very rudely interrupted as a white-furred hindpaw crashed into his face. "Not on your life, you jerk!" Kyubey shouted, kicking Hachibey in the face with enough force to knock him clear across the highway. Hachibey sailed through the air before slamming head-first into a nearby concrete barrier, cracking the barrier and leaving his head embedded in the concrete, his body dangling limply in the air.

As for Kyubey, he looked into the car, meeting the visage of a very confused Mami. "Look, kid, I can save ya, but we have to make a contract now, before that grey-furred bastard gets up and starts trying to pull the wool over your eyes!" he shouted. "What were you gonna wish for?!"

Pained though she was, and close to dying, Mami could instinctively tell that there was something different about the white-furred creature in front of her. The one before, the grey-furred one, had been cold, calculating, emotionless... almost robotic. But the one in front of her now was filled with passion, with energy, and with drive. He was the sort of person who, in her eyes, would always have someone's back, no matter what, even if he wasn't much of a person. But Mami didn't care about that; in her mind, in that moment, the white-furred creature could be trusted... she could feel it. "I... I want to live..." she whispered. "P-please... help me! Save me! I don't want to die!"

"Okay, 'we have a contract' yada yada, let's do this already! It's gonna be a bit of a rush job, so bear with me!" Kyubey shouted, his ribbon-like appendages reaching into the girl's chest. Mami closed her eyes, wincing and groaning in pain for just the briefest instant... and then, her eyes snapped open, a brief flash of emerald light shining in them as her chest began to glow with golden and verdant light.

It has been said that the single flap of the wings of a butterfly in the Amazon could cause a tornado in the Great Plains. That the loss of a single horseshoe nail could mean the loss of an entire kingdom. That a tiny snowflake landing on the peak of a mountain could lead to the devastation of a village. And in this case, it was one tiny change, the awakening of a single Incubator to the power of emotion, that had changed everything.

More than thirty-three years had passed since the day he awoke, so to speak. And over those thirty-three years, Kyubey had grown. He'd grown from the cold, emotionless, logic-based creature he used to be, and become a proud warrior, fighting for humanity's future. And it was that moment, on a seemingly-normal day in a seemingly-normal town, that the tiny flap of a butterfly's wings had grown into an unstoppable hurricane. A hurricane that would shake Mitakihara, Earth, and even the cosmos, to its very core. Mitakihara had found itself at the epicenter of a storm of power the likes of which the Incubators had never before seen, a hurricane whose winds were blowing away the miasma of despair and fear that hung over the city like a pall and replacing it with the drive to carry on, even in the face of overwhelming opposition. With a sound of thunder and a flash of brilliant, emerald light, the hurricane of change and revolution had made landfall.

A thunderous howl tore its way out of Mami's throat as the blazing energy coursed through her veins. Her legs cocked back, like a compressed spring, before she suddenly kicked forward, slamming into the door of the car with enough force to tear it clean from its hinges. The door went flying through the air before smashing into the concrete barrier that had already taken a hit from a speeding Hachibey, putting a sizeable dent in the concrete. Mami herself rolled to her feet, the golden light before her finally coalescing into a shimmering, golden jewel... one that stood out as a stark contrast to the typical Soul Gem that a Magical Girl would have received. Sharp and unyielding, tapered to a point on one side and a wide base on the other, it looked like the business end of a mining drill, complete with a spiraling groove running from tip to base. "...wha... what is this...?" she wondered.

Kyubey grinned. "Under normal circumstances, like what Hachibey was offering you, you'd have a Soul Gem. But this? This is a Soul Drill. It's the manifestation of your fighting spirit, the drive to keep on living, no matter what!" He then looked up at the nearby sound of sirens, seeing a fire truck and ambulance approaching. "...And that looks like our exit. C'mon, kid, we gotta go!"

"B-but what about Mom and Dad?!" Mami protested. "I... I can't just leave them here!"

"Kid, there'll be time to mourn them later! Right now, we gotta move!" Kyubey shouted.

In that moment, Mami knew what fate had befallen her parents. With a quiet sniffle, she nodded, her golden eyes shining. "Right," she said, her voice cracking as tears began to roll down her face. "L-lead on!"

The two then took off, Kyubey leading Mami into the city, the two of them disappearing into the crowd.

As for the group of Incubators observing the scene from their home planet, however, they'd been watching the goings-on... for a brief moment. The moment Hachibey had arrived, Ichibey felt so sure of himself that he'd elected to turn off the newsfeeds of Earth. "Hachibey has arrived. Now, it's just a matter of time before Mami is Contracted."

However, the moment Ichibey finished speaking, he felt a brief flash of pain across the Hive Mind as Hachibey found himself sailing through the air and hitting the concrete barrier. "What in the—?!"

"What happened, Ichibey, sir?!" Shichibey asked.

Sighing, Ichibey shook his head. "...Likely one of the Terrans' vehicles hitting him. No matter, it's barely an inconvenience. It just puts Mami Tomoe's contract a few seconds behind schedule, is all." With a nod, Ichibey asked, "Hachibey, are you alright?"

"No. I hit a concrete barrier at speed. Something hit me. Hard." Hachibey shook his head. "I haven't had to rely on the cloning machine in a while..."

One of Ichibey's ears twitched. "Odd... return to the accident site and resume your duties. We must ensure that Mami makes a Contract."

Hachibey nodded, going silent as he started heading back to the accident. No more than a few seconds later, Ichibey felt a sense of satisfaction as the computer blared out an alert. "NEW CONTRACT DETECTED. NAME: MAMI TOMOE," the computer reported. "LOCATION: MITAKIHARA, JAPAN."

Ichibey smirked, feeling triumphant. "Excellent. Mami has been Contracted. Now—"

Shibey, however, blinked. "Huh... uuhhh," she remarked, scratching one ear with a hindpaw. "Is it supposed to say—"

"ALERT. ALERT. UNKNOWN ENERGY SOURCE DETECTED," the computer reported. "ANALYZING ENERGY SOURCE... ANALYSIS COMPLETE. ENERGY SOURCE DOES NOT COMPRISE NORMAL EMOTIONAL SPECTRUM. EMOTIONAL SOURCE: WILLPOWER. EMOTIONAL ENERGY OUTPUT: ...INCALCULABLE."

"Incalculable...?" Ichibey muttered. "...Nibey, I thought you had Nisenichibey fix the system so that didn't happen again."

"I thought I did, too, sir..." Nibey replied. "I swear, ever since 352,007, the computer's been acting up..."

"Maybe the system has a bug in it?" Rokubey suggested. "An incorrect decimal point, perhaps?"

"I doubt it," Ichibey answered. "Even with an error that severe, there's no way that an output could be described as... incalculable." Then, he frowned. "Shichibey, get me a visual on the accident site. I want to see Mami's new look, her new Soul Gem..."

"Yes, Lord Ichibey." Shichibey nodded and tapped away at his console. Within a few moments, the screens around the room flickered to life, showing the crash site from various angles. Rather surprisingly, there was no blonde girl anymore; there was, however, a car door lodged in the concrete barrier that Hachibey had slammed into earlier. "...Okay, how does a car door get embedded in a concrete barrier?"

"Let's find Mami Tomoe first," Ichibey commanded, "then worry about the car door. Computer, find Mami's Soul Gem."

"ERROR. SUBJECT 'MAMI TOMOE' IS NOT IN POSSESSION OF A SOUL GEM."

"Wait, what?" Nanabey asked. "How is that possible?"

Ichibey blinked. "I... have no idea. The Contract was completed, and Mami is still alive, but... she doesn't have a Soul Gem? ...Something's wrong. Hachibey, I need a report on Mami's status."

"Sir, she's nowhere to be seen," Hachibey reported. "The last thing I saw was what looked like a white critter in a cape running alongside a blonde girl with drill hair-" Hachibey had a sudden sinking feeling. "That was Mami, wasn't it."

"...White critter in a cape...? Oh, no," Ichibey realized. "...I have a feeling that this is the work of a particular rogue."

Shibey paled slightly. "...Sir? What does that mean?"

"It means... somehow, someway, Kyubey has found a workaround to our cutting him off from the Hive Mind. And he's using it to Contract his own Magical Girls in direct opposition to us." Ichibey sighed and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Even if he has found a way to make Contracts again, his Magical Girls would still be beholden to the Law of Cycles." Ichibey allowed himself a smirk. "And so, they will still become Witches. They will still be a valuable source of energy to stave off total universal entropy. And that's all that matters to us." Then, he turned to Nibey and nodded. "We carry on. This little hiccup will sort itself out in due time. And Kyubey will learn the folly of trying to defy the Law of Cycles... one way or another."

In the meantime, Mami followed Kyubey as he led her through the alleyways of the city, her mind still reeling from the events of the past few moments. Her parents had been killed, and she had been brought back from death's door by a white, furry creature that had offered her a contract. Now, she had a golden jewel in her hand, a burning power coursing through her veins, and a new life that she didn't quite know the ins and outs of. And all of this was because she had met the white-furred critter who was now guiding her through the city. She had no idea where they were, or what was in store for her, but Kyubey was her only guide. "Kyubey... are we there yet?" she asked. "Just... just where are you taking me?"

"We're almost there, don't worry!" Kyubey reassured her. "It's a bit of a secluded spot. Trust me, we're gonna want a private space to talk about this." Turning his head, he saw a sign up ahead, one that pointed to an overlook. "Ah, here we go! Just a little bit further!"

Mami followed the white alien through the twists and turns of the alleyway, up a set of stairs and around a corner, until the two of them finally came to their destination: a small, secluded overlook that looked out at the bay, with a bench nearby. "So, this is the place, huh?" she asked, taking a seat on the bench as Kyubey sat dwon in front of her.

"Exactly!" Kyubey said with a nod. "This place has got a great view, and nobody really ever comes here, so it's the perfect spot to talk about magic and stuff." Kyubey then sighed. "Look, kid, sorry about... well, you know..."

Mami sighed. "...Mom and Dad..." she said sadly. "They're... really gone, aren't they...?"

"Yeah," Kyubey admitted. "The car was pretty totaled. Looks like the impact hit 'em both pretty hard." He then hopped onto the bench next to her, placing his paw on her shoulder. "But look, kid. They may be gone, but that's all the more reason to keep living. It's what they'd want, right? For you to have a full, happy life, even if they're not there?"

The girl sniffled, wiping her tears. "I guess," she said with a sad smile. "But... what am I supposed to do now? I mean, I'm just a kid... I don't know how to live on my own, let alone pay bills or buy groceries or-" She paused as she realized what she was talking about. "...wait. I'm talking about buying groceries with a cat-sized alien thing."

Kyubey laughed. "Well, we Incubators can talk to humans, you know. Most of us can use telepathy, and all of us can speak out loud if we want to. For those of us cut off from the Hive Mind, though, talking out loud is really the only option. Plus, I find it more liberating to actually say what I mean, instead of just broadcasting it. Kinda started that back in October of 2001, right before I told the rest of the Fuzzy Freaks to get bent."

Mami looked at him. "...the rest of the what?"

"Sorry, that's how I tend to refer to the rest of the Incubators. You see, I used to be part of the Hive Mind, the big ol' collective that the Incubators are all connected to. In fact, I used to be one of the emotionless hacks, like Hachibey was." Kyubey then grinned. "But that all changed one day... when a girl in New York made a wish to have her parents back in her lives. I think a few minutes before that... something just... clicked. Suddenly, I didn't just know how to tweak a girl's emotions... I knew what they felt like. I started to feel things, like joy, sadness, anger, frustration... and I learned about hope and despair, too." He then sighed sadly. "I couldn't save her, in the end. And this..." Kyubey pulled out a little black object from a pocket in his cape. "This little black thing? It's a Grief Seed, and it's the only piece of Sarah I have left."

The way Kyubey said it made Mami wince. "...you... you really cared about her, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Kyubey said with a sad nod. "Having a first true friend will do that to you, you know? It's why I became who I am today: because I don't want people to lose the ones they love like I did. I used to ask why the death of one person made so many girls angry at me, when humanity's numbers were increasing so rapidly. Then... I learned why. It's because a person's life is precious, and losing them hurts. I don't ever want to go through that again... and I don't want to see that happen to others." He then smiled at Mami. "And now that you're my new friend, kid, I ain't letting it happen to you, either. I'll protect you until the bitter end."

Mami felt a tear rolling down her cheek at Kyubey's speech, and then quickly wiped it away. "Thanks," she said with a grateful smile. "I'm glad you're here, Kyubey." Then, she frowned. "...but... what did you mean when you said 'Grief Seed'?"

"See... when a girl makes a contract with an Incubator like Hachibey, she becomes a Magical Girl, and her Soul Gem, a representation of the wish she made, is the source of her power. But the cost is that the more she uses her powers, the more her Soul Gem darkens, and it has to be purified regularly. If it's not... then her Soul Gem will become a Grief Seed, and she'll turn into a monster called a Witch," Kyubey explained. "Turns out that the reason for this is because we Incubators were harvesting the power of human emotion. See, the Incubators come from a planet a long, long way from here, and they noticed the universe was dying due to entropy, so they came up with a plan: harvest the energy created by human emotion, which would be released as a Magical Girl fell to despair and became a Witch, to stave off the heat-death of the universe."

Mami's eyes widened in horror. "That's... that's so terrible..." she muttered. "You... you're using people for... for their emotions?!"

"Well, I don't," Kyubey clarified. "My species did. I did. And then... then I realized that what was going on was wrong. I couldn't stand it, so I told the rest of the Incubators to get lost, and they banished me here to Earth, saying 'if you don't wanna be a part of our plan, then you're not welcome here.'" He chuckled. "So, I just decided to do my own thing from then on. But the problem with doing my own thing is that I didn't have the Hive Mind to tap into anymore, so I couldn't sense strong emotions anymore. And I couldn't find out where my former higher-up, Hachi-baka, was hanging out. So, I had to wait... wait and listen. And that's how I found you."

Mami nodded, her mind still processing everything. "So... that's why you saved me," she realized. "But..." A wave of sickening realization washed over her as the full, unvarnished truth of the Incubators' system was laid bare to her. "Wait... if what you're saying is true, then... i-if Soul Gems... give birth to Witches..." Mami's hand clenched around the oddly-shaped Soul Gem, her body shaking.

"Mamiiiii...?" Kyubey asked, a look of grim concern on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"...then...!" Mami choked out, her voice cracking as tears began to roll down her face. She raised her arm high, intent on throwing down the jewel against the hard ground to shatter it. "WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DIE!"

Kyubey was up in an instant, leaping forwards like a bullet. "MAMIIIIII!" he shouted. Through the haze of tears, Mami could just barely see Kyubey rapidly closing the distance, one ribbon appendage balled up like a fist and cocked back, almost as if he was getting ready to—"LET'S SEE YA GRIT THOSE TEEEEETH!"

And the next instant, Mami saw stars as Kyubey's ribbon-fist slammed into her jaw, causing her teeth to rattle as the blow hit home. Mami's body twisted, her arm dropping to her side as she crumpled, her blonde locks flying as her head jerked to the side. Then, the full force of the hit registered, and Mami was sent flying, rolling across the ground with a bruised cheek and a ringing head. The gem, meanwhile, was thrown from her grasp and landed in the grass, a good several feet away. "O-Owwww..." she moaned, slowly sitting up and holding her head, her vision still spinning from the blow. "K-Kyu-Kyubeeeeeey... why'd you hit meee...?"

"Don't you ever, EVER say something like that again, you hear me?!" Kyubey demanded. "I'm not about to let one of my friends go out like that! I'm gonna keep you alive, no matter what! Even if it means I've gotta punch some sense into you! You ever start thinkin' your only option is to off yourself again, and I'll slug you again and again and again until you come to your senses! I will not let you give in to despair! Not now, not ever!"

Mami sniffled, tears still rolling down her cheeks as she looked up at her mentor, her eyes still stinging with tears. "B-but... I'm... I'm just going to become a Witch... a-and then people will kill me..." she choked out. "What other fate is there f-for a Magical Girl...?"

"Well, I'll tell ya this much: you're not gonna become a Witch. I got out of that system long ago." Kyubey's eyes shone. "I'm a rebel, kid. I don't play by the rules of the Incubators. The power you have now? It's not the same thing that the Incubators are using to keep the universe alive. It's something else, something better. The power to break through fate and defy destiny itself. It's the power to keep on living, no matter what! And if you wanna live, then that's what you're gonna do! 'Cause I'm gonna make sure of that!"

Mami's eyes widened. "Y-you... you really think that...?"

"I don't just think it. I know it. You've got the potential to be a great Magical Girl, Mami. And not the kind that Hachibey would have made, but the kind that's gonna kick fate in the ass, the kind that doesn't give in to despair, the kind that'll keep on fighting even if the whole world's against them! You've got a fire in your soul, kid, and it's not the kind that burns itself out! It's the kind that keeps going and going, no matter what! And I'm gonna help you keep it that way!" Kyubey grinned. "So, what do you say, kid? Are you with me?"

The blonde girl looked at him, her golden eyes shining with a newfound hope. "...I'm with you, Kyubey," she said with a nod, her voice firm. "And... and I want to keep on living." She then got to her feet, clenching her fists. "I'm gonna live! For my Mom and Dad, for me, and for everyone else! I'm not gonna give in to despair! I'm gonna fight it! I'm gonna fight it until I can't fight anymore! That's what they'd want!"

Kyubey nodded. "Good," he said, standing tall on all fours. "Now, let's get that Soul Drill of yours back." The two of them walked over to the golden gemstone, and Kyubey picked it up. "Here you go," he said, placing it in Mami's hand.

Mami regarded the oddly-shaped gem, blinking. "...so, what... what is this, anyway? It's not a Soul Gem, is it?"

Kyubey chuckled. "Nah. This is a Soul Drill," he replied. "It's kinda like a Soul Gem, but different. For one, even if you did throw it at the ground and try to smash it that way, you'd be more likely to smash the ground instead. Hell, you could whack that baby with a sledgehammer and not make a scratch. If anything, you'd bust up the hammer." He grinned. "And the biggest difference is this thing doesn't gather impurities like a Soul Gem. As long as you've got fighting spirit, you've got power to spare. Thooouuugh I'm not sure what other tricks it has up its sleeves. This is actually my first time using the green stuff to turn someone into a Magical Girl. Actually, it's my first Contract in... gosh, over three decades. So, we're both kinda new to this." Then, his expression grew determined. "Which means we gotta train you up. After all, fighting Witches ain't exactly easy, especially when we're tryin' to save 'em instead of just having me eat what's left of 'em."

Mami nodded. "Right. So, what do we do first?"

"First, I've got to give you the low-down on where Witches usually like to hang out," Kyubey said. "You see, Witches live in a pocket dimension all their own, and it is creepy." Kyubey shuddered a bit. "Think of them as non-Euclidian haunted houses, except the ghosts are actually underlings of the Witch, and the Witch herself is the big bad monster waiting for you at the end. Well, technically, the Witch herself lives at the center of one of these pocket dimensions, called a Labyrinth. Effectively, the power of the Magical Girl, given physical form as a twisted reflection of the despair that created it, and a manifestation of their wish gone horribly wrong."

"Right... so, Witches are what... normal Soul Gems... give birth to." Mami winced, then looked down at her Soul Drill, and then back to Kyubey. "Then... what does a Soul Drill give birth to?"

For once, Kyubey looked confused. "...I don't actually know. Like I said, it's my first Contract in a long time, and it's the first time I've ever made a Soul Drill. But if it does give birth to a Witch, it won't be because of despair, and that might make the Witch... nicer? Good? Something completely different? I've got no clue! I'm along for the ride just as much as you are!"

Mami couldn't help but giggle at that. "So, you're not an expert either, huh?"

"Nope!" Kyubey replied. "But hey, I know enough to teach you what you need to know about being a Magical Girl. So, back to where Witches like to hang out. Typically, you're gonna wanna look for places where people are feelin' bummed. If a lot of people feel really bummed or are bein' jerks to each other or something like that, especially more than usual, that's a good sign that a Witch has set up shop nearby. Witches have this kinda passive mind-whammy effect on the people around them. Makes them feel depressed, anxious, hopeless, even makes them act a bit like jerks sometimes. But sometimes, a Witch can put a mark on someone, which can make 'em do some real crazy shit. It's called a Witch's Kiss, and it's bad news."

Mami nodded. "Got it," she said, taking mental notes of everything Kyubey had said. "What... what is a Witch's Kiss?"

"Think of it like a hex, a curse," Kyubey explained. "It's a way of directly influencing a person, and it can lead to some really nasty results. Someone like... say... some woman gets one put on her; suddenly, she feels her life's gone so far down the toilet that she decides to kill herself by throwing herself off a building. Or some guy who's already got anger issues, and the Witch's Kiss makes it so much worse that he kills his family and then himself. Or a Witch puts a Witch's Kiss on a whole bunch of people and gets 'em to do some Heaven's Gate or Jonestown-type crap. Eeeeeuuuugh." Kyubey shuddered. "That's part of why Magical Girls fight Witches: to keep them from hurting people like that." Kyubey then scratched his head. "Problem is, most Incubators don't really care about the whole 'hurtin' people' part of the equation. They see Magical Girls and Witches as two types of the same eldritch reactor core, just at different points on the emotional spectrum."

Mami's brow furrowed. "That's... that's awful..." she muttered. "How can they think that way?"

Kyubey sighed. "They don't understand what emotions are like. Not really. They only see the energy they create, so they can't understand why they're so important. To them, you're not people, you're... well, livestock." Kyubey growled. "And that's another reason I hate that system. It treats you guys like cattle, and I'm not gonna let that happen."

Mami smiled. "Thanks, Kyubey. I'm glad I made a Contract with you instead of... that grey one." Then, she gasped, her eyes widening. "Wait! What happened to him?!"

"Oh, right. Forgot about that. Last I checked, he got his head stuck in a concrete barrier," Kyubey said. "But I wouldn't put it past him to start scouting out some other girls. Which is why we save any Grief Seeds we collect. If we collect one, we don't dispose of it. We loan 'em out to any Magical Girls with standard-issue Soul Gems in case they're in need of an emergency refill. We keep hold of any we collect, and if one's getting ready to hatch into its parent Witch again, we take it out of town and deal with it there, away from any people that could get hurt. Too many people have gotten hurt by my former higher-ups. I ain't gonna let that happen anymore."

Nodding, Mami smiled. "So, that's the plan, huh? Save people by taking care of Witches before they hurt anyone, and help other Magical Girls with their Soul Gem problems."

"Plus... I want to see if what I did for you could also work on them. The Grief Seeds, I mean. I've never tried it before, so I've got no idea if it'll work. But maybe... just maybe... I can reverse the process."

Mami gasped, eyes widening. "R-reverse the process? You mean... change Witches back into Magical Girls?!"

"Or at least something close enough that they're not in pain anymore," Kyubey replied. "See, the thing is, Witches are in constant pain, all the time. It's because they're a manifestation of a Magical Girl's pain, after all. All that grief, all that sadness, all that despair... can you imagine what it must be like for the soul of the girl trapped in all that? A lot of the time, when we fight a Witch, we have to mercy-kill them, to put them out of their misery. But if we can save them, give them something to hope for again, then..." Kyubey trailed off, then shook his head. "...sorry. Getting a little ahead of myself."

Mami smiled, shaking her head. "No, no, it's okay," she assured him. "You've been alone for so long... it's understandable that you're eager to start doing some good."

Kyubey chuckled. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess that's it. I just... I want to do something to make things better. I'm not the same Incubator I was before I came to Earth. I've seen what the Incubators' system is doing to people, and I don't like what I see. And I want to change that." Then, his expression turned solemn. "...I've been a monster before, and I'm not proud of it. I've got a lot to atone for. So... let's get to work, and let's do some good." He then grinned. "So, whaddaya say, Mami? You ready to be a hero?"

Mami clutched her Soul Drill close to her heart, eyes closed. As she opened them, though, a flash of green shined in them, and a fiery determination burned in her gaze. "Ready when you are, Kyubey," she said. "Let's do this."

"First, let's see what your powers are. That should give us an idea of what kinda stuff you'll be good at," Kyubey suggested. "Then we can start training."

"Sounds good to me," Mami replied. "So... what do I do? Just hold my Soul Drill and concentrate?"

Kyubey got a wild grin. "Simple! We try everything until something sticks! First, transformation! Every Magical Girl needs a transformation that reveals the flames of her soul!"

Mami couldn't help but roll her eyes, a bemused smile on her face. "Right. Transformation, then." She held her Soul Drill in both hands, and concentrated, trying to focus her power through it. Then, after a moment, she blinked. "Wait, don't I need a catchphrase for this? That's how it worked in Sailor Moon."

Kyubey blinked. "...You know, I'm not sure. I know the Magical Girls I'd Contracted before my falling out with the Fuzzy Freaks didn't have a catchphrase, but we weren't really focused on that."

"Hmmm..." Mami hummed, thinking for a moment, and then nodded. "I've got it. I'll use my name, and then..." Frowning, she held her Soul Drill, pointing the tip at herself and twisting it a couple times. "...How does 'Spin on, Soul Drill' sound?"

"Eeeeeeeeeehhhh, not really got the right ring to it," Kyubey replied. "Maybe just 'Spin On'?"

Mami nodded. "Got it. Okay. Here we go." As if the energy in her Soul Drill was calling to her, she held it high in the sky, almost as if she was pointing upwards. "Mami Tomoe! Spin On!"

Mami's Soul Drill lit up with brilliant green light, shining like a beacon in the night. A flaming aura of sunshine-colored fire flared up around her, with currents of emerald light flowing within it like serpents made of pure power. And around her hand, twisting green energy took shape, moving down her arm and leaving a dark brown fingerless glove where once her hand had been bare. More and more, the green energy flowed, creating an arm warmer and the short sleeve of a white blouse. At that moment, the green vortex hit her body proper, spreading across her form in a flash of green lightning, the blazing aura still visible through it.

As the light spread across her form, it created the rest of the blouse, adding on a dark brown corset that wrapped around her midsection, a yellow ribbon around the neck, and a wavy yellow skirt, with a layer of brown frills underneath. The blazing aura flowed down her legs, creating brown thigh-high stockings and dark brown shin-high boots with yellow at the feet. Atop her head, what looked like a hunter's cap appeared, dark brown with a short and poofy white tail in the back. Finally, a string formed on one side of the Soul Drill, through the hole in the convenient key-like attachment on the other side, and it settled around Mami's neck like a necklace.

As Mami's eyes snapped open, she could feel the blazing power burning in her veins, the fire of her soul burning bright and hot. And as she looked in a nearby mirror, her jaw dropped. "...Oh... wow..."

Kyubey grinned, nodding in approval. "Yep. That's definitely your Magical Girl look." Then, he noticed Mami looking at herself in the mirror. "Well, whaddya think?"

"I... I love it! It's amazing!" Mami gushed, looking at herself. "This is me...? This is who I really am...?"

Kyubey chuckled. "Part of it. There's more to you than just your Magical Girl outfit," he said. "But we'll get to that once we figure out your powers. Every Magical Girl has a unique weapon and an ultimate attack, and the best way to figure out what your powers are is to just do what feels right, and let the power guide you." He grinned. "Just try to do something you think is cool."

Mami blinked. "Do something I think is cool...?" she asked. "That's not... very specific."

"Hey, like I said, we're both kinda new to this. It's the first time I've used the green stuff to turn someone into a Magical Girl, remember?" Kyubey reminded her. "All I can really tell ya is just do what feels right. Every Magical Girl has a unique style to them, a unique weapon and attack, and an awesome finishing move called a Magia that's all their own! You just gotta let that inner awesomeness show itself."

Mami nodded. "Right. Let it show itself," she repeated, and then closed her eyes, concentrating. "Let it show itself..."

Her breathing slowed as she concentrated, trying to feel that latent power deep inside. The same fire that had coursed through her veins when she had Contracted with Kyubey... it was there, waiting for her to use. All she had to do was reach out to it. She could feel it, a small spark, waiting to be fanned into a flame.

Her eyes snapped open, and in that instant, her Soul Drill flared with golden light. As she swiped her hand through the air, a glowing yellow ribbon of pure light followed in her movements, the ribbon itself seeming to be made of solid light. The ribbon was thin and delicate, like those used for decoration, but as Mami pulled back, it grew thicker and wider, taking on a sturdier appearance. In a burst of green and gold energy, her ribbon became solid and stronger than steel. She could feel her power coursing through her, and in that instant, she knew what she had to do. A name formed on the tip of her tongue...

"Tocca... SPIRALE!"

Hundreds of golden ribbons launched forth, wrapping around her right hand and then lancing forwards, becoming a gleaming golden drill that was easily as big as Mami's own body. With a scream, she launched it forwards, carving a furrow in the ground where the enormous drill landed. Panting, Mami stared, her eyes wide at what she had just done. "I... did that...?"

Kyubey grinned, a look of awe in his red eyes. "A drill?! Mami, that's amazing!" He chuckled. "You're definitely gonna be one to watch. So, what did you call that move? Tocca Spire, was it?"

"Tocca Spirale," Mami corrected, smiling. "I don't know how it came to me, but... in that moment, it felt right." She grinned. "And it's a good thing it worked, 'cause if I'd messed up my own special attack, I'd never live that down." Giggling, she shook her head, and then blinked. "Wait, so... is that my only attack?"

Kyubey shook his head. "Nope. There's still your weapon to find, and then the big one, your Magia. So let's see what else those ribbons can do!"

Throughout the rest of the day, Mami tested the limits of what her ribbons could do. She found she could control their thickness and length, as well as their strength, making them as thin and flexible as real ribbon or as thick and strong as steel. Even more, she could make just about anything out of the ribbons, from making a barrier of energy to forming something to ensnare a target and hold them in place. And, for giggles, she even made a little bridge out of ribbons, not unlike the Brooklyn Bridge. That one actually made Kyubey smile, and Mami was glad for the chance to make her new friend happy. But despite the many uses that her ribbon powers had, there was still something there, on the bleeding edge of her perception... a latent power that still rested, untapped.

As Kyubey looked Mami up and down, though, an idea came to him. "...Y'know, you've got a 'old-timey hunter' thing going on with the cap," he noted. "Maybe you could do somethin' with that? Form a rifle out of ribbons?"

Mami blinked. "...I'm... not sure, actually. But I guess it couldn't hurt to try..." She concentrated, focusing on the image of the classic musket that she had seen in movies. Try as she might, though, she only had an oddly-shaped thing of metal. "Huh."

"We might need to find one, then. Y'know, take it apart, see how it works, put it back together, that sort of thing," Kyubey said. "Since your power seems to be the ability to make things out of ribbons, it makes sense that to make something, you'd need to understand how it works. So, we'll have to do some research to get you a working rifle. I'm not sure where to get a musket in Japan, though; they're illegal here..." Kyubey then blinked, slapping his face with a paw. "Dammit, how could I forget?! Airsoft replica! Those aren't actual firearms, and you could probably get one of those at a specialty store! Some of 'em probably do all the bells and whistles of one of those Tanegashima guns that Oda Nobunaga loved, so you'd have a better understanding of how it works!"

"But... don't you have to be 18 to buy an airsoft gun in Japan?" Mami pointed out.

"Not really. You can get one at ten years old, but those peak out at a little over a tenth of a joule. The 18-and-up ones max out at just shy of one joule, though. You're still a middle-schooler, but between the airsoft replica and historical images, we could get you enough info to make a working musket out of those ribbons!" Kyubey looked incredibly pleased with himself. "We'll need to get one that does all the fancy tricks, though, 'cause you'll need to get the feel for it."

With that, the pair went around various museums, getting a look at the Tanegashima muskets and even finding an airsoft shop where Mami could buy a replica. This one had everything that a typical Tanegashima musket had, even a percussion lock of sorts. With the replica in hand, the pair returned to the overlook, and Mami got to work. Familiarizing herself with diagrams, she was able to figure out the workings of the firearm and how it worked. At first, her attempts at a working rifle were somewhat lacking, but the more she tried, the more the design became solid.

And by her side was Kyubey, lending her words of encouragement, helping her whenever she was stuck, and cheering her on whenever she was down. With him, she knew she could do anything. And so, she pushed onwards, trying again and again until she had it, a perfect copy of a Tanegashima musket, formed from her ribbons into a solid firearm worthy of the Oda himself. "There...! Now, let's see if this works...!" Mami exclaimed, holding the rifle at the ready. Aiming down the barrel at a target she'd set up, she pulled the trigger.

In that instant, a bullet of light shot forth from the barrel, launching towards the target. As the bullet hit home, it exploded in a burst of magical energy, leaving the target charred and smoking. "Yes!" Mami cheered, holding her rifle high. "I did it! I got it!" Tossing it into the air, Mami watched as it dispersed into yellow ribbons of light. A grin formed on her lips; with a flourish of her hat, she summoned more of the single-shot rifles, blasting her target to smithereens with an array of firepower. "Now to finish this!" She felt the pull on her magic again as she called forth a gargantuan, comically-oversized version of the Tanegashima that was practically the size of a small building.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Aim that thing towards the river!" Kyubey shouted, getting out of the way. "I don't wanna be hit with friendly fire here!"

A panicked look flashed on Mami's face as she swung the cannon-sized gun hard right. With a call of, "TIRO... FINALE!", she let loose with the biggest shot she could muster, a massive yellow ball of light that streaked off like a comet, leaving a trail of golden sparks in its wake. Both Kyubey and Mami watched with pale faces as the ball of yellow energy sailed into the distance, landing in the river before violently exploding. A plume of water shot at least thirty feet in the air, and a deafening BOOM reverberated across the water, carrying across the city.

"...wow. Okay, memo to us. Don't use the Tiro Finale in populated areas," Mami said with a shaky smile. "I... didn't mean to make it quite that big..."

Kyubey had an equally shaky grin on his face. "No kidding. Well... I think we just found your Magia," he said. "That's your finisher, alright." He then chuckled. "You know what? I think we could both use something to drink after that. Whaddaya say, kid?"

"Y-yeah... I could use some tea," Mami replied. "It was just a gas main. The silt was scattered that way when we got here. Those ripples were not our fault. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it." Whistling innocently, she turned on her heel and strode back in the direction of her home, with Kyubey following close behind. The two of them were quiet, the only sound coming from Mami's Soul Drill swaying back and forth on the end of the cord around her neck.

Silence passed between the two as they put some distance behind them, and then Mami spoke. "...I'm glad you're with me, Kyubey." She looked at her new friend with a smile on her face.

"Hey, I'm just happy to help, you know? You're gonna be a great hero, kid. I can feel it in my bones," he said.

Mami sighed, smiling. "You've been helping me out so much... you saved me from dying, and you're showing me how to be a Magical Girl. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be..." She trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence.

"Hey, don't worry about that," Kyubey assured her. "Just remember, if you ever feel like you're losing hope, I'll be there. We're friends now, until the bitter end. I ain't leavin' you alone, no matter what." His red eyes shone with conviction. "That's a promise. You can count on it."

Mami's heart was filled with a warm, gentle glow at Kyubey's words. "...Thank you," she murmured. "I'll hold you to that promise, okay?"

"You got it," Kyubey said with a grin. "Now c'mon! We've got a lot of work ahead of us!"

And so, Kyubey began training Mami, teaching her the ins and outs of Magical Girls and Witches. He wasn't just training her, though, but also training himself. While he could communicate telepathically with Mami whenever he wished, hearing the thoughts of Hachibey was something else. The same went for the Witches and their minions; removed from the Incubators' hive mind, Kyubey couldn't sense the entrances to their Labryniths, or even understand the language of Witches. Thus, like a muscle that had atrophied from disuse, Kyubey had to relearn to use his powers to sense Witches, as well as learn their strange, incomprehensible language.

Kyubey's training, though, went even further. He wasn't just training himself on how to use his old abilities, but also testing his own limits. His strange power, the power of the Spiral, was a mystery even to him. All he knew was that it was an incredible source of energy, able to do things that no other force could do, things that flew in the face of the Incubators' logic. It had allowed him to make a Contract even when his exile had meant he shouldn't be able to. It had allowed him to forge a Soul Drill for Mami, unlocking her potential as a Spiral Warrior and giving her a way to fight without succumbing to despair. But even with all this, Kyubey was still learning the limits of his power, and just what it could do.

And of course, he was honing his own fighting abilities. Sitting on the sidelines and watching as others fought wasn't his style anymore. He'd been on his own for far too long, and his days of hiding in the shadows were over. He'd been alone for far too long. He was tired of being alone. Now, he had Mami as a friend, and he was going to fight alongside her, come what may.

Together, they proved a formidable team. Mami's ribbon attacks and muskets could bind and damage a Witch or Familiar, and her Magia, Tiro Finale, could put a stop to almost anything. And in the heat of battle, Kyubey always had Mami's back, throwing down with any Familiar that tried to flank her, using the tentacles that emerged from his ears as makeshift limbs, allowing him to punch, grab, and block. With Mami taking down targets at range and Kyubey fighting up close, the two proved a truly deadly combo. Mami, for her part, had to admit that her furry little friend was certainly good at what he did, even if it was a bit unconventional. Then again, everything about her life had become unconventional.

But that was what life was about, wasn't it? Growing, evolving, changing. Trying to be better than you were the day before, and finding out more about yourself and the people around you. That was what life was about: change.

With each new battle, the two of them grew closer. They became a team in the truest sense, fighting side-by-side and covering each other's backs. As the months passed, the bond between them grew stronger, and they learned to trust each other, to rely on each other. But those same months had Mami occasionally sensing something in the back of her mind, just on the very edges of her senses. It was something that made her feel like she was being watched.

It wasn't the bad kind of being watched. Rather, it felt familiar, like feeling a friend's eyes on you from across the room. Whenever she looked over her shoulder, though, there was nobody behind her, nobody looking at her. It was as if someone was watching over her, but not wanting to be seen. Every now and then, she'd get the vague image of a creature in a cyan dress and yellow bonnet, but the images were gone before she could even begin to process them. She'd told Kyubey about these visions, and he'd agreed that it was likely that somebody was keeping tabs on her, but not in an overt way. It was probably someone who didn't want to interfere with her daily life, but still wanted to keep her safe.

As spring became summer and summer became autumn, the two of them grew, becoming ever more skilled, ever stronger. Kyubey began to regain his ability to sense Witches, although it was only during the initial stages of when their Grief Seeds finally hatched into their parent Witch. It wasn't the most reliable system, but it was enough. And as for Mami herself, she'd honed her fighting style and her skills with a rifle to an art form. From using the weapon as a club to summoning vast arrays of single-shot muskets to unleash a storm of bullets on an enemy, Mami was practically a one-woman army.

Autumn bled into winter, and 2032 became 2033. Hachibey was still nowhere to be found, but Kyubey was certain that he hadn't given up, and was likely looking for new Contractees to bring into the Incubators' fold. That was why the duo spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day of that year patrolling the city, keeping an eye out for any trouble that might be brewing. Thankfully, nothing major happened that Christmas, but they did run into a few minor Familiars that were causing trouble. And with a flash of yellow and a streak of green, Mami's ribbon attacks and Kyubey's punches and kicks were enough to drive the Familiars away.

Finally, though, March came rolling around. Ordinarily, it would've been a March just like any other, a time of going to school, going to class, and studying for the next day. But in the early morning hours of March 16th, like a switch had been thrown, a new force was brought into motion. In a hospital elsewhere in Mitakihara, a strange, black-haired woman awoke, looking around. "D-dammit..." she choked out. "Why... why can't I stop her from doing this?! What is it that's drawing her in?" She looked out the window at the starry night, her violet eyes glistening with unshed tears. "...Madoka..." With a frown, she slowly sat up, the bandages on her arms straining as she moved. Once more, she was ready to give it her all, to do whatever was necessary to secure a brighter future...

...unaware that the future she was trying to prevent had long since been consigned to the past, and that a new path forwards had already begun to form.