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Timeline 100. Sunday, 1 May 2011, 9:45 AM.
Akemi Homura sat on a tall (but not the tallest) concrete building still standing, overlooking the devastated town of Mitakihara. She sat on a relatively safe distance from the colossal witch – Walpurgisnacht – that was currently destroying the town. Homura had no intention of fighting this witch. Not in this timeline at least. She had neglected Madoka, neglected her friends, neglected this whole world, just to stock up as much supplies and arsenal as possible. She even got some weapons that are not available to the JSDF! Imagine her luck when she came across that premium arms dealer.And with that, Homura got up and spun her shield, activating the mechanism within it in order to reset the timeline once again.The last thing that Homura noticed before she made a reset of this yet another failed timeline was a large, shadowy bird-like creature lunging itself towards Walpurgisnacht. Homura – ironically – barely had the time to register the anomaly that she had witnessed in that split second before the mechanism within her shield pulled her back to the start of the timeline.Even during her previous attempts to save Madoka, she had never seen THAT sort of discrepancies. It’s usually either Walpurgisnacht kills Madoka, or vice versa. Even during the few timelines where Homura stuck around for a little while longer than usual, she had never seen that bird-like creature.
Timeline 101. Wednesday, 16 March 2011, 9:45 AM.
It’s no wonder that Homura woke up on her hospital bed with a bewildered look on her face.“...Huh…” was the only thing that Homura could utter.One of the first few things that Homura noticed was how thick her blanket was. Thicker than usual. Heavier. Oddly much more comfortable too.Then, as soon as her foot touched the hospital floor, she noticed just how cold the floor was. She was quick to retract her foot back up the bed, before slipping on the warm slippers that were provided by the hospital.For some reason, Homura felt suspicious that the bird-like creature that she briefly saw was not, and would not be, the only anomaly that has been, and will happen in this timeline. She briskly moved towards the window, and for the first time in a relatively long time, flinched when she saw that Mitakihara Town was somewhat covered in a bit of snow here and there.“...It’s supposed to be the middle of March, how is this possible?” Homura wandered out loud by herself. Was it an omen? A sign of something to come? She seldom admitted it, even to herself, but Homura was scared. She could no longer feel the strange comfort that regularities provided.
Timeline 101. Wednesday, 16 March 2011, 01:00 PM.
After she had settled in her usual home, Homura had found herself with nothing better to do at the moment. She had planned to check on the potential threat that was Mikuni Oriko, the oracle magical girl who could see threats from the future, in which one of those ‘threats’ just so happens to be Madoka. Usually Homura doesn’t need to do a thing towards the oracle, seeing that ‘Oriko as a threat’ is, in itself, an anomaly. It’s just that Kyubey, seemingly at random, tends to contract Oriko in some timelines, which forces Homura to…preemptively put a bullet in the oracle’s head from time to time.But checking on Oriko was not part of today’s schedule. No. She would normally start filling up her arsenal. But seeing as it was already filled, Homura decided to explore the snow-ridden town for any sign of further anomalies. Anomalies that could put this timeline in jeopardy. While she was at it, she might as well check on the oracle anyway……and maybe buy something warm to wear.
Timeline 101. Thursday, 24 March 2011, 10:00 PM.
Roughly a week has passed, and aside from the snow still sticking around in late March , nothing else of note really happened. Or, well, nothing threatening at least.The first time she scouted the Mikuni residence, the house was seemingly abandoned. More dilapidated than usual.Nobody’s home. The oracle probably moved to someplace warmer, like…The Kure residence.To Homura’s admittedly limited knowledge of the pair, Kure Kirika was Oriko’s best (and only) friend. There’s simply nowhere else the oracle would have been. And indeed, that place was exactly where she spotted the pair of girls, within the safety and comfort of Kirika’s house. Currently out of reach due to the simple fact that unlike Oriko, Kirika at least has a mother watching the house.So Homura moved on, bought some sweaters and earmuffs, and went back home.And now here she was, mindlessly mucking about. Laying on her bed. Maybe she shouldn’t have dedicated the entirety of the last timeline, shoplifting guns — because Homura was now left with nothing better to do.Homura sighed. Tomorrow will be when she will introduce herself to her classmates yet again – or in other words – when all hell breaks loose. As usual, she can only hope for the best, for it is the only thing driving her to keep on going.For the first time in a long time, despite everything, Homura slept peacefully that night. She had no idea why, and she couldn’t be bothered to ponder as she drifted asleep.
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Timeline 101. Thursday, 24 March 2011, 10:00 PM.
For the first time in a long time, Mikuni Oriko felt warmness within her heart. Despite being a disgraced daughter of a now-dead disgraced politician, her best friend’s mother did not hesitate to let her stick around the Kure residence. Oriko could not figure out why her best (and only) friend – Kure Kirika – was reluctant to bring her here.Oriko, on her lonesome, could not figure out how to keep her already-worn house warm throughout the winter. So Oriko had to swallow her already-meager pride for once and crash at Kirika’s house.Originally, she was only staying until winter was over, but she found herself reluctant to leave as the season gradually started to shift to spring. Oriko appreciated the company that Kirika has provided.Not having to cook her own food may have also been the reason as well.This warmth was soon replaced with dread. Oriko grimaced at the dreadful feeling that comes when she realizes that all of these simple amenities in life could be taken away if she were to not prepare for the threat that would soon plunge Mitakihara Town, and possibly the whole world, into destruction.Roughly a little over half a week ago, Oriko, desperate to find her purpose in life, made a contract with Kyubey , only to be soon assailed with visions from the future — visions of destruction. On that same day, she found Kirika, who happens to have formed a contract on the same day as well, and became fast friends.Yes, it has only been a little over half a week since they became friends, and they’re already having sleepovers.As for the details of this threat, Oriko at the time did not know much. After the first vision, she had been receiving uncontrolled, albeit relatively trivial visions that told her nothing of the threat that would destroy this town that they live in. The thought of Kirika on her side calmed her down somewhat. If she were to face this threat, then at least she would not be alone in this.Speaking of the other girl…Kirika entered her…no, their room with a couple of near-comically large glasses of water.“Hey, Oriko. Had another vision?” asked Kirika, Oriko shook her head. “No, just a little dreadful on what is to come.”“Whatever it is, just know that I’ll always be on your side!” said Kirika, as she put down the water on the bedside table.Oriko couldn’t help but smile at Kirika’s display of fidelity. “I know you will.”As Kirika sat down right next to Oriko, she asked. “Say, Oriko, do you…still get visions even in your dreams?”“I do, but thankfully it merely consumes a meager amount of my magic.”“How meager?” Kirika asked cautiously as she shuffled her pocket for something.“Almost negligible.”“If you say so.” said Kiriki as she pulled something out of her pocket and dropped a couple of grief seeds right next to the glasses of water, “Just don’t turn into a witch in my house, got it?” she then demanded half-jokingly.Oriko’s smile turned into a smirk. “Wouldn’t even dream of it.”Sharing a bed, both girls fell asleep rather quickly as soon as both of them got comfortable.For the first time in a long time, despite everything, Oriko slept peacefully that night. Dreaming of, or rather, seeing visions of a magical girl with pink hair, clad in white dress. A magical girl that would bring salvation.
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Timeline 101. Thursday, 24 March 2011, 10:00 PM.
For the first time in a long time, the cream-haired, 14-year-old Moeru Morinaga Artefact was allowed, by circumstances, to experience snowfall in Japan.Honestly, she wasn’t very thrilled by it. The cream-haired girl, despite being inside this supposedly warm apartment living room, was shivering .“Crikey…I can barely survive in here! How am I supposed to survive at school tomorrow wearing that? ” complained Moeru, referring to the standard-issue Mitakihara Middle School uniform that currently hangs on her wardrobe, barely out of sight.Her older adoptive sister, the bluish white-haired, 21-year-old Suzie Artefact, merely rolled her eyes as she put down a couple of bowls filled with chicken soup on the table between the two. Had she not known any better, she would have called her little sister crazy for thinking that this room – which is, by the way, only at a mere 20 degrees celsius – was too cold.But Suzie knew that her little sister was just that intolerant of the cold temperature.“You’re being a little overdramatic, don’t you think? Besides, I already asked your school to allow you to wear long skirts whenever you want, all year long.” assured Suzie, reminding Moeru that she gets to use something a little bit warmer for school tomorrow.But nonetheless, Moeru still had her doubts. “But what if it isn’t good enough?”“You’ll never know unless you try it.” Suzie merely said with the faintest hint of smile on her otherwise usually expressionless face.But Moeru knew better. Her older sister was hiding something. Something pleasant, she bet.So, after finishing her hot meal at a fast – but controlled – pace, Moeru decided to run back into her own room to try out her new school uniform. And whaddya know, not only was it comfortable, the uniform was – more importantly – warm! Swinging her long skirts around, Moeru admired her own look in the mirror.“Huh, not bad. I could even sleep in this!” Moeru beamed happily.“Let’s not do that, alright? Wouldn’t want to have wrinkles on your uniform on your first day at school.” Suzie chastised all the way from the other room.Moeru then crossed her bandaged hands in a playful manner. “Hmph! If you want me to freeze to death tonight, then fine!”“It’s only 20 degrees celsius in here. You’re not going to freeze to death tonight.” Suzie deadpanned.“More like minus 20 degrees celsius…” Moeru muttered under her breath as she changed back to her casual outfit anyway, which consisted of a single-striped t-shirt, a miniskirt, and long pants under said skirts.Moeru then walked back into the living room, her older sister already in the middle of washing the dishes.“So, from the sounds of it, you seem to really like the uniform.” said Suzie, without looking away from the dishwashing.“It’s…okay.” Moeru replied, trying to sound modest about how much she likes the uniform.“That’s nice and all, but don’t forget what we’re really here for.” Suzie reminded her, attention still mostly on the dishwashing.In her excitement for tomorrow, Moeru seems to have forgotten something important. “Uhh, what exactly are we supposed to do here in Mitakihara?”“Aside from you catching up with your studies, and me getting lots of money simply by being the new janitor at your school, mom sent us to deal with two things.”“Those two things being…?”“The first is an extradimensional entity known as Fm’latghor N’ghftyar.” Suzie replied, without stuttering.Moeru, however, was having a problem with that name. “Fm’lat...Fm’lath…how do you even pronounce that?!”So Suzie came up with a solution. “...We can just call it The Morningstar.”Moeru nodded slowly. “Alright…what’s the deal with this Morningstar?”“It’s ‘deal’ is that it will consume all the energy of this universe, condemning this entire universe to a heat death in just a year, at best.” Suzie replied, before she paused momentarily to put the last bowl on the dish drying cabinet. “That is, unless we can put a stop to it.”Moeru took a moment to take in all of that information. “...Huh, that sounds…pretty awful, actually. So what’s the second thing?”“The second thing that we will have to deal with would be the Super Witches.” Suzie replied, as she moved on to washing the utensils and glasses.“Super Witches…?”“I don’t need to remind you where witches come from, but these super witches, as their title implies, are leagues ahead of the run-of-the-mill witches.” Suzie continued.Moeru tilted her head. “How come?”“Well, for starters, these witches are ancient , and by themselves are already way more powerful than regular witches. Not only that, these super witches seemingly retained some sense of intelligence, and are objectively malevolent in nature.”“How did you even know that last part?”“...I saw them flaying cats alive, for fun.” Suzie replied, with only the barest hint of disgust.“...”Taking her little sister’s silence as a go-ahead, Suzie continued with her explanation. “As if that wasn’t enough, these super witches had pledged themselves to the Morningstar in exchange for more power . So you might want to gather as much help as possible from the local magical girls, or at least warn them of the dangers of super witches.”At this point, Moeru closed her eyes. Contemplating her next course of action. After a few seconds, she opened it back. “...I’ll think about it.”But Suzie already knew that her little sister would most certainly gather as many allies as possible, no matter how troublesome it would be.“Well, Suzie nee-san, is that all?”“One last thing. Since you are more suited for the job, you’ll be in charge of handling all the super witches. I’ll deal with the Morningstar.” Suzie said, before she finished washing all the dishes. “Other than that, you should go to sleep now, wouldn’t want you to walk into that classroom of yours looking like a revenant.”“Yeah, yeah. G’night, Suzie nee-san.” said Moeru as she walked back to her own room and waved off her big sister cordially.But before she entered her room, Moeru just remembered something that her big sister forgot to mention.“Wait, what about the time loop thing?”Suzie’s eyes widened. “Oh! Right! I completely forgot about that!” Suzie sputtered, before regaining her composure. “One more thing that we were tasked to do is to find whatever is causing the time loop in this timeline, and put a stop to it . Mom has counted that exactly 100 loops have happened, never earlier than 16th of March, never later than 1st of May.”“Which means we’re currently within the 101st timeline…?”Suzie nodded.Moeru sighed. “Ah piss, looks like we got our work cut out for us.”“Hey, no pressure. Just do what you usually do. I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end. Besides, I am absolutely certain that neither of us have ever been involved in this time loop before. With us involved, I’m sure we can solve whatever – or whoever – is causing this time loop easily!” Suzie tried to assure her little sister.Moeru, once again, had her doubts. “How can you be so sure?”“Mom said so.” Suzie simply replied.Moeru blinked, finding it quite easy to accept such a simple answer. “Huh, aight. I guess that’s everything?”“Pretty much, yes.”With that done, Moeru turned away from her big sister and once again made her way back to her room. This time at a breakneck pace. “Right, right. G’night for real this time, Suzie nee-san.”“Good night.” Suzie replied with the faintest of smiles.For the first time in a long time, despite everything, Moeru couldn’t sleep peacefully that night. How could she? She just knows that tomorrow would at least be a bit exciting for her.
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Timeline 101. Friday, 25 March 2011, 06:00 AM.
Two girls, one just a child and the other an adult, walked side-by-side on their way to school/workplace. Even now, little snowflakes fall from the sky as snow very slowly, but very surely covers Mitakihara. The girls barely paid any attention to them for different reasons.“So uhh, Suzie nee-san?”“What is it?”“Do you know just how many super witches that I’ll be facing?”“Who knows. A dozen? A couple dozen? A HUNDRED dozen?”Moeru visibly blanched at the thought.Despite her face being physically unable to express a normal range of emotion, Suzie took some schadenfreude at her little sister’s own mortified expression. “Heheh. I’m just kidding. But seriously though, we don’t know just how many super witches that you’ll be facing.”Moeru shook her head in an attempt to regain her composure. “Well, do you at least know why they all seem to be gathering in Mitakihara of all places?”“The only thing I know is that something, or someone, is attracting them to this town. May or may not have something to do with whatever is causing this time loop, which just so happens to be originating from this town as well.”“How convenient.” Moeru half-sarcastically commented.The walk continued in a comfortable silence.As they were finally nearing Mitakihara Middle School, Moeru started to sort through all her objectives out loud. “So my to-do list consists of super witches, time loops, and school...”“When you say it like that, it doesn’t seem like a lot, doesn’t it?” Suzie commented.“Yea, I guess you’re right.” Moeru muttered, again, out loud.Entering the large school building that would surely give some people severe megalophobia, the two girls were somewhat in awe of all the seemingly futuristic tech that adorns most of the school.Suzie was the first to recover, thus she was the first to move to her station. “Well, I guess this is where we part ways. Good luck.” said Suzie as she lightly pat Moeru’s shoulder and disappeared around the corner.“R-right…”
Timeline 101. Friday, 25 March 2011, Morning.
While Moeru took her time to wait until she got called inside her classroom, she observed the environment around her. Her first impression is that whoever designed this place must have been one cruel architect. Relinquishing all privacy – and possibly safety – for the sake of questionable aesthetics. Instead of being made of something more mundane, nearly all the walls of all the classrooms are made of glass.With the right frequency, all these glass could break.Architectural nightmare aside, Moeru finally entered her classroom after the old teacher dude with an obscenely long beard finished greeting the class.“You may come in now, Artefact-san.” the old teacher called out.“I haven’t been in school for more than half a year now, here goes…!”Her new classmates must be feeling bewildered by the long skirts that she got to wear, Moeru thought as she strode into the classroom. Normally, she would be feeling a tad bit embarrassed for standing out like this, but frankly, Moeru values the warmth that the long skirts provided more.She stopped in front of the futuristic whiteboard (blackboard?) and opened her mouth to introduce herself. “G’day, mates. The name’s Moeru Morinaga Artefact. But you all can call me Moeru.” Moeru said as she lifted one of her hands in a greeting gesture.To some, it may seem like she was only doing this to show off her bandaged forearms, which covers both of her arms. While this may be true, it was not the main reason why she did it. Moeru had deliberately made sure to show off her soul gem ring in case there were any other fellow magical girls in the room.At first, Moeru wanted to show it off even further by writing her name on the board, but it would seem that the teacher already wrote her name before she even entered. How nice.While her now new classmates sized up on her, she could already hear the rumor mills running. “Is she a gaijin?” “She’s so short!” “Oh great, another chuuni.” “Too tomboyish for me.” “I heard she’s an Australian!” and all sorts of strange and outlandish whispers filled the whole classroom, doing a horrible job keeping themselves subtle. Moeru could only sweatdrop at it all.Turning her head away from the board, Moeru asked. “Sooo, where do I get to sit?”The old man audibly harrumph- ed, possibly at Moeru’s somewhat brash manner. Moeru held back a mischievous snicker in return.“You’ll be sitting between Tomoe-san and Kure-san.” the old teacher told her, pointing at the only empty spot in the classroom.And so Moeru took her seat, and blankly listened to the subject of the day. While she was able to somewhat absorb most of the non-math-related subjects, Moeru found herself utterly lost when it came to math. Chemistry even more so. Her only thoughts on those subjects were “What the hell am I looking at…?” But before she knew it…
Timeline 101. Friday, 25 March 2011, High Noon.
…School for the day was over. Since it was Friday, not much was truly done except for the aforementioned lessons, nothing noteworthy. She certainly didn’t write any notes.Through it all, Moeru had a hard time trying to befriend her classmates, just because they were all a year older than her. Even one of the two other magical girls in class, Tomoe Mami, was older than her. Not saying that Moeru even had the chance to talk to Mami, since the blonde actually bolted out of the classroom as soon as she could. Probably out to deal with a nearby witch or something…That leaves Moeru with only Kure Kirika, the only other fellow 14-year-old in a class full of 15-year-olds.Before Kirika had the chance to also bolt out of the classroom, Moeru firmly grabbed Kirika’s arm. “Ey, what’s your name? Kirika, right?”“!” Kirika was surprised that this stranger was bold enough to grab her like this. “Yeah, what about it?”Meanwhile, the stranger in question had a serious look on her face. “Look, Kirika-mate, I got something important to tell you. But before that, I was wondering if you’re part of any magical girl group.”“...What did you just call me?” Kirika blinked, more thrown off by the usage of ‘mate’ as a suffix than the fact that this new student knows that she’s a magical girl.“Mate, focus! What I am about to tell you might just save your life, as well as your loved ones.”Moeru seemed serious, and she is, so Kirika decided to at least humor the newcomer. “...It’s just me and Oriko.”Moeru blinked, “Aye, good enough.” she said, merely shrugging at the circumstances that were handed to her. “Can you take me to her? I don’t really like repeating myself.”Kirika walked into this one by coming here to school today, she might as well play along. “Come with me.”
Timeline 101. Friday, 25 March 2011, 20 minutes later.
Moeru followed the other girl quietly as they walked to where Oriko was supposed to be, or rather, Kirika’s house. At this point, the snow already stopped falling from the heavens, but the deed was done — snow now covers all the trees and rooftops that they walked by. Again, Moeru barely paid attention to any of it as she, internally, was listing all the threats that she was supposed to warn to make sure she doesn’t unintentionally leave anything behind.“Are we there yet?” asked Moeru from behind.“Almost…” Kirika muttered.Honestly, the way Kirika had been not very talkative had put Moeru on edge. It was as though Kirika would jump at her at any second.Once they arrived at Kirika’s house, the girl just remembered something. “Oh, right. Oriko’s not home yet!”“Huh? How come?”Kirika scratched her head. “She…doesn’t go to the same school as I am.”“Oh?” Moeru raised an eyebrow.“The students at Shirome Middle School don't get to go home today until at least 1 PM.” Kirika explained.Moeru sighed. She was hoping to make this quick. Sure, her school uniform was comfortable indoors, but out here, the cold bothered her. So Moeru asked Kirika.“Can I wait inside your house?”“No!”“Hah? Why not?” Moeru asked again, surprised at Kirika’s reaction to the suggestion.“I don’t like it when people touch MY stuff.”Moeru crossed her arms. “...Oh, you’re that kind of girl.” she commented.Kirika only glared at the new girl wordlessly.“No, no. I understand.” Moeru said passively, before she was hit with a brilliant idea on how to get indoors. “Actually, how about a wager?”“What wager…?”Moeru grinned. “We’ll fight. If I win, I get to wait inside the house. If you win, I’ll wait outside.”Moeru took a fighting stance as she continued to try to convince the other girl to do this. “That friend of yours won’t be home for at least 30 minutes anyway, so I thought we’d pass the time by doing this.”Kirika was still not convinced.Moeru sighed again. “Whether you win or you lose, as long as you fight me, I’ll give ya…” she paused as she started rummaging through her magical hammerspace. It was… “...a couple of grief seeds. How about that?”Seeing Moeru dangle a couple of grief seeds so carefreely, Kirika did a full 180 degrees turn and accepted it. “Deal! So how do I win exactly?” Moeru smiled cheekily. “Whoever draws first blood.”Kirika took a fighting stance as she changed into her magical girl outfit…No, it’s less of ‘changed’ and more of ‘putting new clothes over her current ones’.It looked tacky.Moeru also did the same by materializing her magical girl outfit over her school uniform rather than replacing it outright.It also looked tacky.Moeru, now equipped with a cuirass, a fauld, and a red scarf, then materialized a blade tonfa in her right hand.For a moment, they stood silently, Heedless of the fact that they were doing this in broad daylight. Even Kirika’s mom briefly wondered what her kid was doing outside, before shrugging it off to do literally anything else. No doubt that the whole neighborhood might be watching.
Kirika launched the attack first. Moeru immediately noticed how Kirika briefly hesitated and started to wonder just how new Kirika is to this whole magical girl thing.Moeru easily parried the first strike.The cream-haired girl didn’t retaliate. She wanted to see what Kirika was capable of.As Moeru continued to parry, and Kirika increased her attack speed, Moeru concluded that while Kirika probably had some experience against witches, this might be her first time fighting against another magical girl.So when Kirika did a thrust, Moeru dematerialized her tonfa, caught Kirika’s arms and pinned the other girl on the ground.“Ow! OW!”“You’ve never fought another magical girl before, have ya?” Moeru asked a rhetorical question.“Yes- Now get off!”Moeru did not ease her grip as she pulled out a small, not-magical and very real knife out of nowhere. “After I draw first blood.”But before blood was able to be drawn, a voice suddenly cried out. “Kirika! I’ll save you!”“Huh?” Moeru turned around towards where the voice came from, only to get her winds knocked out of her lungs as magical balls made of…magic…punched against her chest plate at high velocity. “BLEGH!”Thanks to her armor, Moeru fell on the ground with a loud clunk. The cold ground stung her back, but she had a hard time trying to recover.“Kirika, are you alright?!” said a girl whose clothes looked like she just ran away from her own wedding.Kirika, still stuck on the ground, told Oriko to stop. “Oriko! Wait! She’s a guest!”“Huh?” Moeru, still in mild pain, tried to get a good look at the newcomer. “So that’s Oriko, huh? Now that I think about it, Kirika’s outfit kinda looks like a tuxedo to Oriko’s dress..” Moeru thought as she slowly got up, trembling the entire way.“Ori–” Moeru coughed. “Oriko-san, I presume?”“You presume correctly. What do you want?” Oriko asked, keeping a neutral expression on her face.“I just want to talk.”“Then why did you attack Kirika?”Finally getting up, Moeru brushed off all the ice that somehow got on her torso. “It was just something we agreed on to pass the time while we wait for your arrival. Anyway…!" she rummaged through her hammerspace again. "As promised, here’s your grief seeds.” she exclaimed as she threw them towards Kirika.Instead, it was Oriko who caught them. “What’s the catch?”“The catch is I want to talk, preferably inside?” Moeru suggested, pointing a thumb towards Kirika’s house.
Timeline 101. Friday, 25 March 2011, 01:00 PM.
The three girls sat around a table, filled with hot tea and cold cookies. Oriko was somewhat glad that, at the very least, she finally got a lead on what to expect in the near future. An extradimensional entity, super witches, and a time traveler. At least now she won’t be fighting these threats blindly. But the way Moeru told them…“Whatever you do, do NOT try your luck against a super witch. If you see one, you run away and let me know. I’ll handle it.”The somewhat displeased expression on Oriko’s face told Moeru everything. Might as well, she thought.“...Or perhaps you’d like to help me in hunting down these super witches?”Oriko’s expression instantly shifted. “I graciously accept your proposal.” She then turned her head towards Kirika. “What say you?”Kirika grinned in response. “You didn’t even need to ask,” “Huh, that was easy.” Moeru thought, before she clapped her hands. “Swell! Let’s exchange phone numbers now, just in case Kyubey’s not around to provide telepathy.” Moeru then looked around, as if she just remembered something important. “Actually, have any of you seen Kyubey recently?”Both girls in front of her shook their heads.Moeru rubbed her chin. “Weird, he’d usually be around to record this by now. I wonder what he’s up to…”
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Timeline 101. Friday, 25 March 2011, High Noon.
To summarize, things (as in, her first day at school) pretty much went the same way as with most other timelines for Homura. She enters, she introduces herself, she excels at math, she goes to the nurse office with Madoka, she warns Madoka, and school is over.Wait, that doesn’t seem right…Homura vividly remembered that there was supposed to be a sports lesson right after the part where she warns Madoka. A time when she gets to flaunt her superhuman strength for Madoka and others to see, and no one finding it odd that a girl that supposedly just recovered from a heart disease could manage to do all these awesome physical feats.She soon found out that school ends earlier on Friday, for some reason.Huh.
Timeline 101. Friday, 25 March 2011, 20 minutes later.
Already, she was nearing the mall of Mitakihara. A place where Madoka and her friends usually hang out after school.Normally, this is the part where she would start chasing Kyubey – who intends to trick Madoka into making a contract – away. But when Homura did arrive at the mall, she didn’t see any sign of the Incubator anywhere. With no immediate threat present, Homura decided that it would probably be for the best to kill the nearest witch that haunts an unfinished part of the mall before anyone else – for example, Mami – could interfere.Her next prey would be…Gertrud, The Rose Garden Witch.The trek towards where Gertrud’s labyrinth was supposed to be took a few minutes. The cold wind from outside howls within the building, making all sorts of eerie sounds that Homura hasn’t been accustomed to before. On her way there, she heard a little commotion from behind.Pulling a gun out at the unseen stalker, Homura exclaimed. “Show yourself. I know you’re following me.”“You are…Akemi Homura, right? Please put the gun down, I mean you no harm.”Pulling itself out of a collapsed pile of bricks reveals Kyubey, also known as the Incubator.“Kyubey…Why are you following me?”Not seeing Homura as a threat, Kyubey strode over with no caution whatsoever. “I’m here to investigate an anomaly that was detected around this area.”“!” Homura flinched at just how fast Kyubey intended to confront her regarding herself as an anomaly.“Calm down. You may be an anomaly yourself, but you’re not what I intend to investigate right now.” said Kyubey as he jumped towards Homura’s head and sat there.“Tch!” Homura made her displeasure towards Kyubey’s action known. Homura wasn’t sure if she should just shoot Kyubey, shoot herself, or to just let this go on. This certainly never happened before.Getting himself comfortable on (read: ruining) the top of Homura’s hair, he continued. “Besides, I’ll probably need your help for this one.”“Why would I help you?” Homura retorted.“Why the hostilities? I know you’re an anomaly, but I don’t even recall seeing you before.” Kyubey shot back, before pointing towards the general direction of where the witch currently was. “Now take us to the nearest witch labyrinth! Chop chop!”Homura stood there, comprehending the situation that she had just gotten herself into. Ultimately, she complied and started walking. “Is there something in this labyrinth that I don’t know about?”“Mmm…” Kyubey hummed, thinking on what to tell to Homura. “For the past few days, I’ve been detecting something or someone – an anomaly – that has been accelerating entropy at a dangerous and unnatural level.”Homura rolled her eyes. “As if your own goal isn’t also dangerous and unnatural…” “I have yet to find out who or what is causing this. Coincidentally, a witch just so happens to be at the same spot as this anomaly, so that’s where we’re going!”But seriously though, something that catches even Kyubey’s attention ought to be something that Homura should keep a lookout for. So Homura decided to play along with this unspoken truce. “Very well.”The walk was a quiet one. Kyubey didn’t even bother probing Homura for information, it seems like he was more concerned with this other anomaly.Soon, they came across the entrance into Gertrud’s witch labyrinth. So far it looks the same as usual. Without any further prompting, Homura entered the labyrinth.So far it looks the same as usual.She went further, and the familiars are still the scissor-wielding moustached cotton balls that Homura was familiar with.So far it looks the same as usual. Well, maybe the moustaches look a bit more manlier than usual somehow…She went further, killing familiars that stood directly in her way and ignoring those that didn't. Whether they stood in her way or not, none stood a chance against John Browning’s beautiful inventions, especially in the hands of someone like Homura.So far it looks the same as usual.Things started to look different when she was nearing the spot where Gertrud herself supposedly resides. The deeper she went, the more Homura started seeing claw marks, larger than even her arms combined. Neither Homura nor Kyubey made a comment about it as they delved deeper inside the labyrinth.By the time they arrived, it was already too late. Too late to kill Gertrud, and too late to run away. As soon as the unlikely duo walked in, they bore witness to another witch easily tearing apart Gertrud, seemingly with glee. With the death of Gertrud, the surrounding environment shifted into a new labyrinth, one that Homura had never seen before. Maybe if Homura backed away quietly, then perhaps…
“Oh, another lamb to the slaughter.”
…Nevermind.As if sensing her intention, the other witch turned itself towards Homura, and…It was the bird that Homura saw before she left the previous timeline! And it truly was the third-biggest witch she has ever seen, right behind Walpurgisnacht and Kriemhild Gretchen.The bird gazed intently at Homura’s eyes. Judging her. “Hmm…Perhaps you’ll be a bit more of a challenging morsel than this pathetic excuse of a witch.” The bird spoke- No, was it telepathy? Both? Homura couldn’t tell, and it was making her head hurt just thinking about it. “Wait, you’re…Yatagarasu!” exclaimed Kyubey, who recognized this ancient witch.
“Kyubey…You have the nerve to show yourself within my presence…!”
Somehow, Kyubey’s unnatural smile – just this once – felt natural. “I don’t have a nerve.” “You will once I’m done with you, but first…” Yatagarasu seemingly did the impossible and shifted its gaze towards Homura, and Homura only. “...You.” Homura froze, utterly unsure of what she was dealing with. “You have the look of someone who went through no small amount of strife.” Yatagarasu then probably grinned. “Perhaps it has something to do with that time-traveling power of yours…?” “!” Now Homura was truly feeling afraid. There was no doubt that the witch in front of her was the exact same one that she saw from last time.Kyubey, on the other hand, perked up when someone else just solved another mysterious anomaly for her. “Ahh, so that explains why I don’t recall ever contracting Homura before!”Yatagarasu was not amused. “Who gave YOU permission to speak?!” Yatagarasu then near-instantaneously swiped a talon towards Homura and Kyubey, intending to end the magical girl and the incubator in one fell swoop. Mainly towards Kyubey, Homura was just a collateral……Only to hit neither of them as Homura ducked even faster and left Kyubey in the air. The talon went through between Homura and Kyubey harmlessly. “I have GOT to get out of here…!” Homura’s panicked mind screamed, “You are fast, I’ll give you that. So what brings you two here exactly? I am not sorry to say that you are too late to call dibs on this witch.” Yatagarasu asked as she gently inspected the newly-acquired grief seed of Gertrud. The grief seed, with the power of magic, gently floats in front of the bird’s beak, and yet Homura was reluctant to simply swipe it and run away.Kyubey, however, was unfazed by the previous murder attempt. “We were investigating an anomaly. Something or someone has been devouring the energy of the universe and accelerating entropy, and my intel points in this direction.”Yatagarasu wanted to clap mockingly, but settled with something more verbal. “Is that so? Then congratulations, you’ve found your culprit!” Homura could feel Kyubey’s tail faltering behind her head. “...What do you mean?”Yatagarasu answered by snapping its beak shut at the recently-dropped grief seed of Gertrud.“What the-?! Homura stuttered, and trembled, now no longer bothering to mask how she truly felt about this situation.What was even stranger was that Homura could feel that Kyubey was also trembling. “Y-y-you’re the one-! You’re the one who is actively accelerating entropy! Homura! You have to defeat her right now!”The super witch howled in laughter. “You’re truly asking this failure to help you? The one magical girl who couldn’t achieve her goal how many times now. You may be one of the most persistent things I have ever met, but persistence alone will not help you!” This bird is a never-seen-before threat and is powerful enough to toy around with another witch. Homura was completely justified to run away at that moment, ignoring the super witch’s hurtful jeer at her time-traveling attempts to save Madoka.As if wanting to prove a point, the bird didn’t move an inch, even as Homura was reaching the exit of this strange, dark, and new labyrinth. The labyrinth itself was a quasi-claustrophobic mess that consisted of dark spikes, punji stakes, small but numerous dried rivers of blood, and the iron-scented miasma that comes with it. Oddly, not a single familiars in sight.While his initial distress recedes, Kyubey vehemently disagrees with Homura’s course of action. “H-Homura? What are you doing? We need to defeat that witch right here, right now!”“And risk getting myself killed for something that doesn’t concern me? No thank you.”“But it does concern you! The universe will die if that witch is left to its own device!”Before Homura could utter her rebuttal, the unlikely duo could already see the exit of this labyrinth. For a moment, a shred of hope sparked within Homura that she would get out of this encounter alive.That meager hope was dashed, shredded, stomped, shat, and spat on when the witch flew at a frightening speed that betrays its size. Blocking the exit. “I have always fancied myself some entertainment alongside my meal, so thank you.” Yatagarasu thanked genuinely.Homura begged to differ.She pulled out an FN P90 submachine gun and sprayed an entire magazine at the witch in front of her.The witch, utterly unfazed and unimpressed, merely lifted a wing to block all the small bullets that peppered it. It barely even felt the shots.She shot an old and rugged RPG-7 at the crow, and the crow merely swatted it away.She may just be imagining it, but Homura thought she saw disappointment in the super witch’s face.Before the witch could utter any more degrading words, a magical beam of light came directly from above, and the unprepared witch could do nothing but howl in pain as the light pinned it down.Homura looked above and, lo and behold, Tomoe Mami hung at the perceived ceiling of this labyrinth.“Mami!” Kyubey exclaimed.“Hey! You! Grab onto my ribbon! There’s one on your feet! I’ll get you two out of here!” Mami shouted. She was glad that her ambush worked on this strange witch that could talk.Homura then looked down, and there! She quickly clung onto hope, and onto Mami’s ribbon. She and Kyubey – who Homura briefly forgot were still on her head – were lifted above the witch and into the relative safety that distance offered.The whole way up, Homura feared that the witch would recover quickly and turning this into a fucked up sort of fishing between Mami and Yatagarasu, with Homura and Kyubey serving as bait.Homura was for once glad she managed to stand face to face with Mami, especially on this occasion.“Are you two alright?” the blonde asked.“Mami, you’re here! Now we can take down that witch below!” said Kyubey, who still wanted Yatagarasu dealt with.“No! Don’t! That witch is much more dangerous than you think!” Homura interjected, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible.To Homura’s surprise, Mami agreed with her assessment. “Don’t worry. I saw what it’s capable of.”Kyubey did not. “But- But-!”“Kyubey, I don’t know about our new friend here, but I’m running low on grief seed myself. There’s no guarantee that we could take that witch on, even if we outnumber it.”Homura chose to not mention that she had plenty of grief seeds on her.“Besides…look!” Mami pointed below.Homura looked down, and Yatagarasu had already recovered from one of Mami’s strongest attacks.And it just…stood there, looking at the three of them.Homura shivered. She then looked at Mami. “Do you know our way out?”Mami nodded, and surprised Homura when the blonde kicked the ceiling, which opens a way out.“This exit leads to the rooftop. Let’s go!”Akemi Homura nodded, and alongside Mami, left the labyrinth…“NOOOOOOOOoooooooooo𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈𝗈…..”…with a crestfallen Kyubey in tow.
Timeline 101. Friday, 25 March 2011, 01:00 PM.
Yatagarasu watched from below as the pair of magical girls and Kyubey left her labyrinth. The bird could have easily swooped up and ended them all, but she was forced to spare them. Her current master, The Morningstar, spoke directly to her mind to spare the girls for now, especially Homura.Yatagarasu hated it.Yatagarasu was secretly infuriated, letting them leave unscathed. But she could do nothing about it.Not yet, at least.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Timeline 101. Saturday, 26 March 2011, 09:19 AM.
Thanks to the effort of the new mayor of Mitakihara, Saturday schools had become a thing of the past……That, or some unwitting girl wished away Saturday schools.Either way, Moeru took this chance to get herself more familiar with the layouts of the snow-covered town.To keep herself warm, she wore a blood-red torn scarf in addition to her casual outfit. Not sure how a single scarf could keep her warm while she was outside, but it works, so Moeru had no reason to complain.Exploration aside, Moeru wondered what to do while she was out here. She already explored a good portion of the town by now and it’s only 9 AM. Her sister wasn’t home, so that leaves Kirika and Oriko on her visiting list.
Timeline 101. Saturday, 26 March 2011, 09:20 AM.
Meanwhile, somewhere quiet within Mitakihara’s urban park, not too far from where Moeru were, Oriko and Kirika stood against another new magical girl in town. A girl clad in an orange jester outfit, and that dangerous look on her face. Unlike Moeru from yesterday, who was relatively friendly and cooperative all things considered, this newcomer was…belligerent.All sides were already transformed, but stood their ground before one of them would escalate things.“If you know what’s good for you, you will hand over all your grief seeds and your territories.” said the newcomer.Oriko seriously – perhaps under some sort of influence – considered that. “Hmm, perhaps I should do just that…”Kirika shot a concerned look at Oriko. “Oriko! What are you saying?!”Just like that, Oriko snapped out of it. “Huh? You’re right, what am I saying?”Kirika then glared at this newcomer. “Hey, you! Were you trying to control Oriko’s mind just now?!”The newcomer grinned. “So what if I did?”“I’LL KILL YOU!”But before Kirika could even touch the newcomer, a new voice called out behind the jester magical girl.It was Moeru. Already donning her armor. “Ey, whatcha sheilas up to?”For a split second, Kirika noticed that Moeru was trembling.The newcomer (the jester, not Moeru) seemed to recognize the cream-haired girl. “You?!”“Oh, hey, I know you. You’re that silly girl that I met last year, back in North Kazamino.” said Moeru, who seemed pleasantly surprised.“I assume you two have a history?” Oriko asked cautiously, not sure where Moeru factors in all of this.“Not a lot to say there, Oriko-san. We hung out for 1 (one) day and then never saw each other again, until now.” Moeru shrugged, and then she…winked? “Didn’t even get to ask her name.”
For some reason, the jester twitched her eyes. She then pointed a thumb at herself. “The name’s Yuuki Sasa. Remember that name after I take over your territory!”“I don’t have a territory…” said Moeru, before she slowly noticed something amiss about Sasa. “...Wait, you’re a magical girl now?!”“That’s right! Problems?” Sasa smirked.Moeru was slightly perturbed, to say the least. “You fucking idiot! Don’t you remember what happens to magical girls when their soul gem gets too dark?! You literally saw one turning into a witch firsthand!”Sasa crossed her arms and closed her eyes in response. “Yeah, well, I’m not like other magical girls.” she said, showing off 3 grief seeds between her fingers.“Where the hell did you get those grief seeds?!” Moeru had a bad feeling about this.“The goon squads over at North Kazamino.”Moeru had to suppress a facepalm. “First of all, they are not ‘goon squads’, they are a magical girl clique. Secondly, they are going to lynch you for this!”“Hah! I’m pretty sure I managed to snag these while nobody was looking, and even if they did…They would be no match for me. Behold!”With a flick, Sasa threw one of the grief seeds into the ground, prompting it to hatch.,,on her command!The gust of wind that usually comes with the hatching of a grief seed made the three other girls cover their eyes. Once the wind died down, they all saw – in apprehension – Sasa standing on top of a witch. The witch itself was admittedly unremarkable, just a large lump of flesh with crystals all over its body. But…“Ah!”“No way!”“Holy shit!”The idea of a controlled witch itself was quite shocking for the three girls.For a moment, a witch labyrinth was about to form, but Sasa tapped her foot on top of the witch, signaling it to do otherwise. “Hey, no labyrinth.”At this point, Moeru already regrouped with Oriko and Kirika, trying to formulate the next course of action.“God damn. I certainly didn’t expect myself to be spending the day fighting a witch in broad daylight…So, Oriko-san, Kirika-mate, got any plans? ” Moeru whispered loudly. Just enough to be heard by her current teammates.“I am open to suggestions, but I’d say we defeat her and recruit her afterwards? Might do us good by being able to sic her witches against our enemies.”“Huh? Oriko, why? That girl tried to…” Kirika shuddered. “...Brainwash you!”Moeru glanced at the jester, who was currently ignoring her oppositions and contemplating if she should send out a second witch just for the heck of it. “Well, I don’t mind. The power to control witches seems quite useful to me.”Oriko deadpanned. “...Moeru-san, I have a feeling you have an ulterior motive for agreeing with my plan.”To her credit, Moeru denied nothing. “Yeah, I do. It’d be very nice too if it works.”“...What are you talking about- Woah!” The group was forced to jump back to dodge a somewhat-large laser beam from the witch before Kirika could finish her sentence. The jester couldn’t help but giggle in glee at the size of her firepower, especially after it shattered the frozen pond and trees nearby and scaring off the local flock of geese.Seeing Sasa being so self-absorbed with herself, Moeru took it upon herself to ask something that everyone was meaning to ask. “So, do we beat the witch first or do we go straight for the girl?”“We could just run away.” Kirika suggested……only to receive a couple of looks from her two other teammates.Kirika blinked. “What? It sounds like a good idea to me.”Moeru didn’t necessarily disagree. “Well, it does. But who knows what Sasa-tan would do if we do just that.”“Seriously? Sasa-tan? You’re on a given name basis already?” asked Kirika.Oriko giggled at the pun.Moeru ignored Kirika and continued. “She might leave us be, she might chase us to the end of the earth, she might even hurt us at a later date.” she paused dramatically. “So I’d say…we jump on her immediately.”Oriko looked at Kirika, before shrugging. “Yeah, alright.”“Great! Now scatter. When I jump on her, you two follow.” said Moeru, as she glanced at the still-giggling jester. “Quickly! While she’s still distracted!”“Wait, what are we gonna do if one of us gets mind-controlled again?”“Well shit, we’ll just have to be quick about this. Now go!”And so they scattered and placed themselves at a perfect 120 degrees between each other and around Sasa and the witch. By the time the jester pulled herself together, Moeru was already halfway there, up in the air, the morning sun making it hard to look at the girl.But before she could land, their eyes met, and Sasa cried out. “You! Protect me like you did last year, and maybe kick those two in the flank while you’re at it!”For a split second, her mind was clear and serene, and then Moeru felt more compelled to do just that. By the time she landed on top of the witch, she gently lifted Sasa in a bridal carry and jumped away, just as Oriko and Kirika landed.“What the-!”“Moeru-san!”Oriko somewhat expected this to happen, so she wasn’t really surprised. Well, she still sees them retreating as a win, assuming Moeru doesn’t get hurt too badly with the girl that she obviously had a crush on. Oriko had to stifle an evil laugh. It was subtle, but Oriko noticed very early on.Hearing Sasa complain about Moeru’s decision on how best to interpret ‘Protect me’ appeased Oriko’s worry. “What are you doing?! We could have taken them on!” said Sasa.Moeru didn’t really land too far away, and when she continued by running, it was in a pace that even a normal grown up adult can easily catch up with. “We can’t stay here, I’m not as strong as I used to be and Oriko-san can shred us with grapeshots if she wants to.” “But my witch…!”“I’ll give you a replacement after this!” Moeru reduced her pace slightly and panted. Having gotten easily winded by having to carry Sasa. “Also, you’re fat!”“Baaaw!”Meanwhile, back to Oriko and Kirika…“Moeru’s mind-controlled, and they’re getting away!”Oriko puts her hands on her hips. “Let them be for now. Don’t forget that we’re literally standing on top of a witch.”“Oh, right.” said Kirika, as both girls prepared a decisive strike.The witch was disoriented and never stood a chance.
Timeline 101. Saturday, 26 March 2011, 09:40 AM.
By this point, Moeru and Sasa were no longer running for their well-being. Having blended themselves within the surprisingly busy (and even more surprisingly clean) entertainment district of Mitakihara.“What do you mean you’re not as strong as you used to be? I personally saw you take on more than three magical girls at once back in North Kazamino.” Sasa asked with a normal speaking volume, not caring if anyone would eavesdrop them.“Well, after that whole kerfuffle at NK, I may or may not have been…” Moeru looked away in embarrassment. “...getting out of shape.”“Why would you even need that for? Can’t you just use your magic to enhance your physical ability?”Moeru shrugged. “My magic ain’t exactly the strongest to begin with, and the only reason Kyubey even agreed to form a contract with me is because I ran into him by complete accident,” she then glanced at Sasa. “I’d even go as far as to say that my magic is nothing more than a tiny pinprick compared to yours.”“O-oh.” Sasa found it flattering, which was easy to do considering that she doesn’t have any friend to admire her to begin with. But another thought reached her. “Wait, does that mean that I alone could have taken those two back then on my own?”Moeru shook her head. “Oh, don’t get me wrong. The magical girls of Mitakihara are, in terms of raw magical power, leagues ahead from anywhere else. Including those two back there.” To make her point across, Moeru elaborated. “There’s this one girl in my classroom. Her name’s Tomoe Mami, and she makes both of our magics pale in comparison to hers!”“Hmm…”And then, for a few minutes, they walked in silence. After making sure that no one was following them, Moeru asked something.“So…What brings you to Mitakihara?” Moeru then looked around again. “You seem pretty confident that your thievery went unnoticed.”Sasa shrugged. “Oh, there were a myriad of reasons, but the main one is that my old man got himself a high-paying job in this town.” It was as if there were cash symbols on her eyes. “The kind of which we instantly went from being middle class to being wealthy. ”Moeru raised her eyebrows in amusement. “Huh, really? Same thing happened to my sister. She’s working as a janitor at my school.”“Just a janitor?”“Hey! Don’t underestimate the importance of a janitor! They’re the ones who keep the world clean and tidy. Besides, she actually does get a lot of cash. It just so happens that she’s really stingy with them.” Moeru playfully sneered.After that, the conversation died down, and snowflakes fell from the sky. Both girls were just wandering aimlessly. Neither were comfortable enough to the point of asking each other where they were supposed to go, but comfortable enough to just walk alongside each other.“Ugh, it’s almost April. How is it still snowing?” said Sasa with that signature mean sneer of hers. Brushing off all the snow that gathered on top of her head and the long sleeves of her casual outfit.Seeing her chance, Moeru shot her shot. “Yeaaah, that’s what I want to talk to you about.”“What do you mean?”“This universe is dying, and will die in one year, at best.”The sudden shift in tone shook Sasa. “W-what? What are you saying?!”With a determined look, Moeru held Sasa’s hand. “I’m assembling a team in order to save the universe. Please join my team.”“H-hey, let go!”“No.”“What do you mean no?! I command you to let me go.”“Only if you join my team.”Sasa frowned and sighed. She started to clench her hands, clearly upset about something. “I hate it when my power just doesn’t work sometimes…”“Um, Sasa-tan…”“Even as a magical girl, I’m such a failure…”“Sasa-tan…!”“This is stupid, I shouldn’t have made that contract-”“SASA!”The jester was snapped out of her glum by the half-Australian. “I’m really not looking forward to seeing her witch out, especially in the middle of this busy street.” thought the aforementioned half-Australian. She then asked. Gently. “What exactly was your wish?”“Well, I couldn’t remember it word for word, but…” What was left of her sense of self-preservation made Sasa reluctant to say it, but she said it anyway. “...It was something along the lines of ‘being able to tell people who are better than me what to do’.”Moeru let her hand go with a deadpan. “...That’s pretty vague.”“I know…”“Like, better in what way? That’s pretty hard to determine, considering that most humans are born equal, it just so happens that we all grow differently.”“Grrr…” Gone was her gloom, now Sasa was just slightly pissed off. “Were you even mind-controlled back then?”“I…did, actually.” Moeru answered truthfully. “It’s just…what you want actually aligned with what I want, making it easier for you to actually control me.”“Oh yeah? And what exactly did you want with me?”“I was going to punch you in the face, but I really don’t want to ruin that pretty face of yours.” said Moeru, winking and grinning all the way.“Eh?” That caught Sasa completely off-guard.“MOERU-SAN! WHERE ARE YOU?!” A voice among the crowd suddenly called out. Sounds like Kirika.“They found us already?!”“Great! Time for you to meet your new teammates.” said Moeru enthusiastically as she grabbed onto Sasa’s hand again.“I never agreed to this!”“We’ll all be dead if we fail anyway. You might as well make yourself useful in final moments like these.”Sasa grunted as she reluctantly allowed Moeru to pull her around.
Timeline 101. Saturday, 26 March 2011, 09:55 AM.
“MOERU-SAN! WHERE ARE YOU?!”Following closely from behind, Oriko was looking at the other girl with an incredulous look. “Kirika, why are you shouting?”“I’m…calling for Moeru?” Said Kirika as if it was the most obvious thing ever.“But they’ll be alerted of our presence if you keep doing it loudly.”“That’s part of the plan, Oriko.” Kirika answered with her hands on her hips. “If I call her and they get scared off, we’ll definitely see a commotion.”Oriko could only hum in approval.The result was unexpectedly quick. But rather than seeing them stay still or run away, they were instead approached by the couple of girls they were looking for.“Eyy, Oriko-san, Kirika-mate, ya found us.”The two couples approached each other for a little bit, before stopping at a safe distance. Cold wind blows. Bystanders parted ways, being able to feel the tension in the air, as well as being able to subconsciously tell where said tension came from. Neither side said anything, for each girl was nervous for various reasons.“Are you alright, Moeru-san?” Oriko, being comparatively the most composed between the four, started.“Huh? Feeling fantastic, actually.” Moeru answered, doing a good job hiding her nervousness, and yet not good enough in the eyes of Oriko.Kirika crossed her arms. “You’re not mind-controlled, are you?”Sasa scoffed. “It only worked the first time,” she then seemed downcast. “And then it just doesn’t work afterwards.”“Chin up, Sasa-tan.”Oriko snickered.“You help us save the universe, and we’ll help you figure out how exactly your powers work. How about that? It’s a win-win.” Moeru offered.“...I’d like that.” Sasa sincerely smiled.And then they all had brunch together, because apparently none of them even had breakfast that morning.And Oriko’s paying for it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Timeline 101. Saturday, 26 March 2011, 10:00 AM.
Homura wasn’t sure exactly why there was no school that day, but she certainly wasn’t complaining while she enjoyed her brunch that Mami provided, at Mami’s apartment.Perhaps some unwitting girl wished away Saturday schools.Inwardly shrugging, Homura pushed those trivial thoughts away from her head and instead focused on their encounter with that…super witch…from yesterday.While she sat and ate quietly, she listened to what Mami and Kyubey were discussing regarding yesterday’s event.“Time is of the essence! According to my calculations, this whole universe will only last for just one more year…at best!” Kyubey practically screamed in their head.Homura nearly choked, but nobody noticed.Mami remained skeptical, however. “That’s insane. How would you even know that anyway?”“Notice all the snow around town? This is no coincidence. This has been happening around the world!”To prove his point, Kyubey stepped on the TV remote and started scrolling to the news channel.
*click*
“This is unprecedented! Despite the fact that we are close to April, the snow only intensified!”
*click*
“A spokesperson representing the Japan Meteorological Agency has informed us that climates all around the world are indeed cooling.”
*click*
“If the current trend continues, then outside activities may have to be limited to only the barest essentials.”
*clock*
“Wow! This is just like Frostpunk!”
*click*
“Hah! I told you global warming ain’t real!”
*click*
“It’s supposed to be spring!”
Having had enough of it, Kyubey turned off the TV.“As you can see.” Kyubey then turned around. “ In fact, the entire universe is affected by it!”Mami frowned.Homura REALLY frowned, but once again, nobody noticed.Deciding that this is in fact REALLY detrimental to her own goal of saving Madoka, Homura cleared her throat and asked. “So, what do we do?”Mami perked up, feeling pretty giddy for some reason. “My suggestion? We’ll form a team! Perhaps a team of five…”Homura’s face remained neutral.Mami then turned towards Kyubey. “Hey Kyubey, do you have any magical girl candidates in mind?”“Well…Just one.”Both Mami and Homura froze, for very different reasons. “Only one? Would she be enough?” was Mami’s thought.In comparison, Homura’s thoughts were much more turbulent. “What do you mean just one?! Did Sayaka get herself killed already?! Or perhaps…no!” “Well…” Kyubey started. “There were supposed to be two, but…I decided that contracting one of them would turn out to be a great risk for our plan to save the universe…”And just like that, Homura’s anxiety dropped significantly, washed away by relief, followed by confusion.“Huh? What risk?” asked Mami.“I’ll get to that later. Anyway, our candidate would be…Miki Sayaka!” Kyubey exclaimed, and then turned towards the raven-haired magical girl in the room. “Your classmate, right?”Homura nodded.“Great! This should make contracting her easier! You just gotta walk up to her and convince her!” Kyubey exclaimed.Homura suddenly felt flustered and couldn’t help but look down. “W-well…I’m not…I’m not really good with conversations...”She then felt a hand on her shoulder. Mami’s hand. “Don’t worry, Homura-chan! I’ll be there to help you!”Any other time, Homura would find this scenario sickening, but considering the circumstances……She had to stifle a laugh, and fortunately she succeeded.“Thank you…”What’s the point of saving Madoka if the pinkette in question has no home to return to?Speaking of the pinkette…“So who’s this other girl that you don’t want to form a contract with?” Mami asked again.“Oh, that would be Kaname Madoka.” Kyubey answered so casually.Internally, Homura was jumping around in joy, doing backflips and shooting her imaginary guns in the air in a celebratory manner. Hearing that Madoka won’t be contracted anytime soon was like a well-deserved birthday present to her. She doesn’t even remember her own birthday anymore.The celebration didn’t last long as Kyubey turned his attention towards Homura. “Also your classmate, right?”Homura didn’t answer. She was too self-absorbed to her thoughts.Mami coughed, trying to snap the raven-haired girl out of it. “Um, Homura-chan, you seem…REALLY happy when Kyubey said her name.”It took her a moment for Homura herself to realize that she was smiling widely, outwardly.“Um…I’m…Uhh…” Homura stammered. “It’s just…” she paused, trying to find an excuse as to why she was smiling like that. And failing, as usual.Strangely, Mami seemed more understanding in this timeline. “If you have that sort of feeling for her, then I won’t judge.”Homura cringed internally. “...Thanks.”Homura then quietly finished Mami’s homemade kebab for brunch.It was delicious.
Timeline 101. Monday!, 28 March 2011, 09:59 AM.
Two days have passed, and Homura spent those two days hanging out with Mami. The company may have been admittedly nice, but Homura couldn’t help but be filled with anxiety as her previous experiences had been mostly thrown out the window with all this nonsense about these super witches and the early heat death of the universe.The ringing of the schoolbell that signals lunch break was the only thing that broke Homura out of those deep dark thoughts.For even Madoka’s tugging on her arm had no effect.“...mura-chan? Homura-chan? Hello?”When Homura regained her focus, she was greeted with Madoka’s face directly in front of her.Homura was very surprised at how bold Madoka is right now…Or perhaps she merely forgot that Madoka has always been like this. Either way, Homura’s surprise didn’t really translate well into an equally powerful expression, and all she uttered was…“Eh?”“I said, would you like to come to the roof with us for lunch?” Madoka then happily lifted her lunch box for many to see. “I brought extra and was thinking of sharing it with you!”“C’mon, hurry up, Madoka. I’m dying from hunger here…!” Sayaka, who already stood at the doorway, complained in the back.“In a sec!” Madoka cordially waved her best friend off. She then focused back towards the raven hair. “Well?”“I…I…I’d love to.”“Alright!”
Timeline 101. Monday!, 28 March 2011, 10:01 AM.
The hot food that was provided by Madoka was certainly a pleasant and very-much-needed distraction from the anxiety that was trying to build up in her mind, as well as the cold breeze that blows all over the roof.
“...Where are they?!”
Doing her best to be subtle, Homura looked around for any sign of Mami or Kyubey.And then she felt it. Nay, they ALL felt it. A magical presence so powerful coming from behind the door that leads to the roof.
*Knock Kno-kno Knock Knock, Knock SLAM!*
From the other side, Mami (with Kyubey on her shoulder) made quite the entrance, with Mami nearly breaking the door off its hinges.Homura shrugged. They didn’t really put too much of their time planning this recruitment thing, so she trusted Mami to handle everything here.Homura would soon come to regret that.Mami briskly walked towards the three other girls who were minding their own business and enjoying lunch.“Hey, you!”“Huh?” All three girls focused their attention towards the blonde newcomer, Homura playing her own part completely well.“Miki Sayaka, right?”The aforementioned Sayaka raised an eyebrow. “...Who’s asking?”“My name is Tomoe Mami, and I’d like you to join our magical girl team!”“Our…?” Madoka muttered.Frankly, Sayaka found this upper class blonde weird. Really, who walks up to strangers and asks them to partake in a chuuni behavior like this? “Ehh…Maybe some other time?”“Nope. Nuh uh. Unacceptable. Perhaps this will change your mind?”Literally with no regards for the few random students that were also having lunch on the roof, Mami transformed into her magical girl outfit. Surprising Madoka and Sayaka, as well as freaking Homura the hell out.“How about now?”“Woah!” Madoka complimented.Sayaka, surprisingly (to Homura), was not so convinced just yet. “Wait! What’s the catch?”“Well, this may seem like a very difficult and dangerous undertaking, but…the reason why we’re trying to recruit you is to help us save the universe.” Mami explained.“Yeah! And we’re recruiting you because your karmic potential is a powerful one!” Kyubey added, who had been sitting on Mami’s head the entire time, but was unnoticed before he said anything. “My name’s Kyubey, by the way.”“Karmic potential…?”“It means your magic is strong.” Kyubey added further.“I dunno…” Sayaka muttered. All of this felt so sudden. She just wanted to eat her smokin hot lunch and now just got herself wrapped up in this thing. She wouldn’t be surprised if this is just the work of technology, she heard one of the teachers in third grade is a literal techo-sorcerer. And what the heck is that white creature on top of Mami’s head anyway?The surprise and insanity doesn’t end there.“C’mon, back me up here, Homura-chan.” Mami turned to face Homura with that enthusiastic smile.“Eh? Me?”The two girls immediately turned their faces towards Homura. Shock evident on their faces.“You?” Sayaka asked.“Homura-chan? You’re a magical girl too?” Madoka asked as well.“...Yes.”“...Can we see it?” Madoka then asked again.“See what?” Homura stalled, clearly nervous and not expecting this at all.“Your magical girl transformation form thingy!” Sayaka pointed out accusingly without actually pointing a finger.Homura sighed. This timeline was already screwed anyway. Might as well fuck around.Flipping her hair to regain her composure, she then transformed in front of their very eyes.Once the transformation finishes, Sayaka’s only comment was “Nice hat.”.“Huh? What hat?” Homura asked, before she started probing the top of her head, and behold! A hat! A beret, even!Homura took it off her hat — which she finds to be a vaguely familiar hat — to inspect it, and she muttered. “Huh…Haven’t seen this hat for dozens of timelines now…”. Not in the mood to wear a hat, she magically stored it away.Madoka only stared at Homura quietly.“Well? What do you think? Your friend’s secretly already in my team for days now. You wouldn’t want to miss out on this, now would you?”“Ehh, Homura’s more of a friend’s friend right now…” Sayaka then smiled. “...But sure! Maybe tell us more about it after school? I won’t be busy later.”“Meet me at the school gate later, alright? I’ll tell you more about the details then.”“It’s a date!” Sayaka teased.“Haha…yeah…see ya’ll later everyone. Good luck, Homura-chan.” said Mami as she bid farewell.To further demonstrate her feat even on her way out, Mami jumped away — with Kyubey in tow — to the nearby school tower that just so happens to be near her own classroom, nearly slipped from the frozen balcony, powered down, held her hands on her face — and if one were to listen very closely, one would hear her scream “A date?! Why did she say that?! What did she mean by that?!” — and calmly walked away out of sight.“So, ‘secret magical girl-san’, anything else you’d like to spill?” Sayaka looked at Homura with a very inquisitive gaze.Homura was quiet for a few seconds there, before she powered down as well. “...No. I’ll just let Mami do all the talking.”“Hey, wait.” Madoka suddenly spoked, feeling left out throughout the whole thing.“What is it, Madoka?”“How come I’m not offered to join as well?”Homura had to keep herself composed. Rather than once again screaming at Madoka to tell her why becoming a magical girl was a bad idea, she opted to use Kyubey’s reasoning instead, which is……Uhh……Why was Kyubey reluctant to contract Madoka in this timeline? Internally facepalming. Homura just remembered that neither she nor Mami remembered to ask that part.So she answered truthfully. “I have no idea.”“Oh, you don’t…?” Madoka seemed…disappointed.Homura closed her eyes, just to prevent herself from seeing that disappointed look. “Kyubey knows why, but I forgot to ask him about it.”“...Oh.”
Timeline 101. It’s fucking Monday! God help me!, 28 March 2011, 16:00 PM.
Time flew fast. School’s over. And her classmates during gym never stood a chance. By doing her usual thing of acing every single sports course with none being the wiser about her previous heart disease.This time however, Homura did overhear a few rumors starting to blossom, saying that she faked her heart disease just so everyone else would go easy on her during sports. Homura didn’t really care. She definitely showed the bullies — she doesn’t even remember their faces — from the first few timelines who’s the boss.She walked up towards Mami, who was waiting at the front of the school…and kicking around the snow as if they were sand.“Ah! Homura-chan!” Mami greeted her first.Homura briefly paused on her track, still not used to Mami being the one to call her Homura -chan . She then pushed on.“Where’s your friends?” Mami asked.Homura huffed. “Surprise climatology test. I finished early.” she said, neglecting to mention that she was also taken by surprise by this climatology test. “Ah…”“They should be here soon enough though-”“Mami-san! Homura-chan!” Madoka’s voice called out. Sayaka followed closely behind.“Ah! Miki-san! Kaname-san! Homura-chan made it seem like you two would be in class longe-”“Mami-san! Whycan’tibeamagicalgirltoo?” Madoka nearly screamed.“Pardon?”Madoka calmed down, looking abashed. “Sorry. How come I’m not offered to join your magical girl team as well?“Well…That’s…” Mami tried to answer, only to realize that she ALSO didn't know as well. “Huh…WHY is that?” Mami looked around, trying to spot our lovable little critter. “Kyubey?”“I’m here.”They all trailed their eyes to where the voice seemingly came from, only to stop at — once again — Homura’s head. Kyubey seemed comfortable, nestled over Homura’s smooth and well-cared hair. Homura does not find this amusing at all.Homura restrained herself from lashing out.“So, Madoka, you might be wondering why you’re not — or rather, should not — be recruited.”“We’re all wondering about that, actually.” Mami commented.“Simply put, contracting you would be too risky for the state of the entire universe.”“...What?”Kyubey remained unmoving. “Even when combined, the magical potential of these three girls pales in comparison to yours alone.” He then, for some reason, looked up into the afternoon sky. “Under normal circumstances, contracting you would have put a stop to any future threat that witches possess.”“Witches?”“I’ll get to that later.” Kyubey waved off whoever asked that. “As it stands, a new kind of threat has risen, a group and a whole new category of witches known as ‘Super Witches’.”“Did you come up with that name yourself?”Kyubey ignored whoever said that. “If a super witch were to devour Madoka’s soul gem, then that super witch would be nothing less than a god.”The silence that came after he said those sentences was deafening. Not even the sound from the other nearby students could pierce through.Kyubey really stepped up his acting game by using the silence as a time to pause dramatically. “Which is why…Aside from fighting off these super witches, protecting Madoka should also be your priorities!”For once, Homura agreed with Kyubey.“Oh, and-” Kyubey suddenly paused. “Nevermind. Another group of magical girls called for me.”He then hopped off from Homura’s head (much to her relief). “Mami, if you’d please explain to them the rest, that'd be great.” He then skipped and jumped away to parts unknown. “See ya!”Once Kyubey was seemingly out of sight, Sayaka turned her head towards Mami. “There’s more magical girls out there?!”Mami frowned so slightly. “There are. But the territory that is this town is mine,” she then smiled when she looked at Homura. “Or should I say, our territory.”Homura just nodded silently.Sayaka raised an eyebrow. “What’s the territory for, anyway? Aren’t you all supposed to help each other?”Mami sighed. “I wish it was that easy. But alas, every girl is different.” Her smile then looked more serene. “Ah, Nevermind that. C’mon, I’ll explain more of this over dinner. I’ll pay for it!”
Timeline 101. Monday’s almost over…, 28 March 2011, 19:00 PM.
After learning about the basics regarding witches, magical girls, wishes, et cetera, and after enjoying themselves at the dinner that was treated by Mami, the two girls — Sayaka and Madoka — were already on their way home. Of course, neither girls were contracted, because Sayaka needed to first see how this whole magical girl business works, and because Madoka was simply not allowed to.On the way back, Sayaka couldn’t help but notice that Madoka seemed…discouraged. “Hey, Madoka. You seem…disappointed. Is it because I get to be a magical girl soon and you don’t?”“No, it’s not that…”Emphasis on seem .Madoka had been holding it for half the day, and thought this to be the perfect time to say it to somebody. “Sayaka, remember that time I told you how Homura appeared in my dream once?”“Yeah? You told me that like…three days ago.”Madoka hesitated for a moment. “...The Homura-chan that I saw in my dream…wore the exact same magical girl outfit as the one we just saw today.”“...You’re kidding.”Madoka shook her head. “No. I vividly remembered her outfit for some reason.”The rest of the walk through the snowy sidewalk was quiet. Only the sound of the wind was the only thing keeping the atmosphere from sounding downright eerie.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Timeline 101. It’s just Monday, 28 March 2011, 09:59 AM.
Moeru clenched her pencil. She looked to the left, Mami was looking away from her and seemingly ignored the whole lecture (and the whole class, for that matter).She looked to the right, and she saw Kirika also clenching her pencil. Unlike herself, Kirika’s pencil quietly snapped.She then looked to the front of the class, at the literal old techo-sorcerer that was explaining some unthinkable eldritch math spaghetti monster of an equation, or some esoteric general relativity theories, or some other nonsense like that.Seriously, is this a middle school? Or a research facility?She sighed just in time to the bell ringing, signaling salvation from this self-inflicted torture. ‘Self-inflicted’ because her sister Suzie made it clear that Suzie does not care if she just leaves in the middle of a lecture.And there Mami goes again, leaving the classroom immediately after the bell rang. Didn’t even bother to greet her neighbor-in-class, let alone regard her. Moeru concluded that Mami must’ve been either extremely busy, or extremely shy, or both.Looking at the only other student she could even remotely confide with, she saw Kirika seemingly frozen in place, her broken pencil still in her iron grip.“...irika-mate? Kirika-mate? Hello?”“Huh? Wha? Is it over?”Moeru crossed her arms and closed her eyes. “Fuckin hell, mate. For a second there,I thought you died where you sat.” She then opened one of her eyes. “Don’t actually die though, I won’t be brave enough to tell Oriko-san the grim news of your passing.”Kirika shook her head. “After that lecture…No promises.”“You actually paid attention to that lesson?”“Yes…It was honestly kinda cool, but I barely understood anything…” Kirika comically sobbed.“Kirika-mate…” Moeru then moved closer to console her only friend in class.“What are you, a couple of yuri?” A particularly scrawny boy in their class took notice of their antics and pointed out.“Wow! I never thought I’d see a yuri couple in real life!” A particularly short girl in their class commented.Gone was the previous comically downcast feeling that plagued Kirika, replaced with the need to retort back. “Grrr! Shut up! Shut up! I already have a girlfriend!”“Do you kiss your girlfriend with that mouth? HAHAHAHAHA!” Another boy asked.Kirika snarled. She snarled. Moeru would have also bursted out laughing if she wasn’t in the center of this conversation as well. She did put a palm on her mouth to hold back her laughter though.“If not Moeru-san here? Then where’s your actual girlfriend?” The girl from before asked.Kirika froze. “...She just goes to a different…” Kirika started to tremble and sweat bullets trying to finish her sentence.“Class?”“School.” Kirika finished. Fully aware how cringe that sounds.“Pfft, Yeah, yeah, that’s what they all say.” The aforementioned scrawny boy teased.Deciding enough is enough for poor Kirika, Moeru stepped in. Literally. “No, no. I can confirm that her girlfriend is very real,” She then finished with a very visible glint on her eyes. “And very rich.”“You’re lying.”Moeru simply shook her head. “Nope.” Moeru then proceeded to describe Oriko to the rest of the class without actually telling them who Oriko is. “She’s a little aloof at first, the exact opposite of a bleeding heart. But she’s actually quite nice once you get to know her. Very very prone to being misunderstood.” She paused, trying to think up more nice things to say about Oriko. “She bakes decent cakes and was willing enough to treat us to brunch.” A mischievous grin suddenly appeared on her face. “She’s a pretty tall girl. She could probably pick up Kirika like a basketball-”“Traitor!”Moeru snickered, even under onslaught from Kirika’s painful punches.“Moeru-san, is this girl really Kirika’s girlfriend? Or yours?” The same girl asked again, confused as to why it was Moeru who decided to say all those nice things about Kirika’s supposed girlfriend.Moeru smirked. “It’s not my fault I have the vocabulary of a bard sometimes.”
Timeline 101. Monday :(, 28 March 2011, 10:01 AM.
The two girls decided to eat on the roof that day. Sure, it was cold as hell up there, but the snows were currently shovelled away by Moeru’s janitor-sister, who was already almost finished with her work at that point.The aforementioned girls were talking about…something. Something about Kirika’s misgiving towards people who experience a crush rather than love at first sight.“Kirika-mate, you gotta…broaden your horizon a bit.” said Moeru with her mouth full. She then swallowed her spicy chicken nugget. “Not everyone falls in love at first sight like you do with Oriko-san. Some others require more time and effort.” She picked up another nugget. “Sometimes they need help.”“Huh…I never thought of it that way…” Kirika murmured.“It’s what Cupid and Wingmen are for, ya know?” said Moeru, once again with her mouth full.Abruptly cutting off their conversation, they suddenly felt a powerful magical presence approaching the roof.They saw their mutual classmate Tomoe Mami (and Kyubey, if he’s even worth mentioning) briskly approaching three girls. They couldn’t hear what they were talking about from this distance, but they got a good idea of what it was when they saw Mami brazenly changing into her magical girl uniform in plain sight. There were about a few dozen other students up on that roof as well.“She really just did that where everyone can see her…” Kirika stated.Moeru only shook her head. “I can’t believe this.”The irony was lost on them.And then one of the three girls that originally sat there — the raven-haired one — decided to transform as well . “Just what the hell is Mami-mate up to…?”“Maybe they’re trying to recruit those two girls?” Kirika theorised.“...” Moeru didn’t answer. Already thinking about the implications.And then they saw their blonde classmate jump away. Mostly concluding the encounter. From this distance, the remaining (transformed) magical girl on the roof doesn’t look too remarkable, so Moeru and Kirika went back to their lunch.“Hey Moeru-san?”“Yeah?”“Why aren’t we recruiting those two to our team?” Kirika asked, pointing a finger at Homura’s general direction.“Ehhh…” Moeru frowned. “I don’t think they know that magical girls turn into witches eventually.” she admitted.“How can you tell?” Kirika asked again.“IF they really knew about that terrible fate, then why did they just try to recruit another girl?”“Oh yeah…” Kirika mulled, before she straightened up after remembering some forgotten crucial detail regarding this logic. “Wait, you never asked me or Oriko if we knew where witches come from when we first met.”“Yeah…That was a mistake on my part.” Moeru would have rubbed her head nervously, but her hands had some grease on them. So she settled with a high-strung smile. “I forgot that the true origin of witches ain't exactly common knowledge, and just assumed that you two already knew about it.”Kirika huffed. “Consider yourself lucky, then.”“I am. I am. No worries.”
Timeline 101. I can’t believe it’s still Monday, 28 March 2011, 15:50 AM.
School was over slightly earlier than usual...for Moeru and her classmates at least. As usual, Mami bolted out the earliest, with no objection. Definitely off to meet those junior candidates again.Both Moeru and Kirika shook their heads and returned back to packing their things in their bags. They themselves had a meeting with their two other group members that afternoon. Their agenda is a quick practice of Sasa’s abilities, and then go home. Pretty straightforward.They wasted no time leaving school. Casually passing through Mami’s group and practically jogged to Mitakihara’s urban park. The very same spot where they first met Sasa.On their way there, Moeru telepathically and verbally beckoned Kyubey.“I call upon sunshine. Kyubey, Kyubey, Kyubey, Kyubey, Kyubey-”“Yes, hello, I’m here. Yes, do you need something?” said Kyubey, who suddenly jumped and perched on Kirika’s head.“Wha- Huh- Where did you come from-?” Kirika tilted her head down, steadily getting used to Kyubey’s admittedly light weight on her head.“I have need of you for the next couple of hours. Stick around, will ya?” Moeru inquired.“Moeru-san? Why is Kyubey here?” Kirika asked, hoping that she’d get an answer this time.Moeru did not disappoint and answered immediately. “I might need his counselling for when we help Sasa-tan figure out the scope of her mind control power.”Kirika only answered with a dismayed look on her face.“You still don’t trust Sasa-tan, do you?” Moeru asked. Carefully this time.“Of course not! She tried to control Oriko, and she MIGHT have succeeded if I wasn’t there to stop her!”“That’s fair.” said Moeru, who only shrugged and kept on walking.Kirika was flabbergasted. “Wha- You’re just going to leave it at that?”“Well, I’m not sure how to compromise…” said Moeru, her pace not slowing down in the slightest. She rubbed her chin, thinking of something that would appease Kirika, at least momentarily. “How about this? You seem pretty resistant to her power already. So if she ever steps out of line, you snap us out of it first, and then we kick her ass. How’s that sound?”“I would prefer beating you up as well for even bringing her close to Oriko.”Moeru simply nodded. “That’s reasonable. And speak of the devil…”Before they knew it, they had already arrived at the spot. Oriko and Sasa — both of whom were wearing the distinctive red Shirome Middle School uniform — were discussing something.“Ey. What were you two talking about?” Moeru greeted them first, or in this case, interrupted them.“Ah, Moeru-san, Kirika. We were just talking about how…” Oriko happily greeted, but trailed off when she saw Kyubey sitting on top of Kirika’s head, comfortably. “...Nevermind. I’ll tell you all about it later.”“It’s about how unstoppable I am among magical girls!” Sasa suddenly boasted, utterly oblivious to Oriko’s concern,“Yuuki-san!” Oriko yelped. “Kyubey’s here! And he might not like your methods!”But Sasa merely waved her concern off. “It’s fine. He already knows!”“Know what?” Kyubey asked, before apparently figuring out by himself what Sasa was referring to. “Ah yes. Was it…how you ‘cheated my system’ or something like that?”“Yeah!” Sasa turned to face Moeru and Kirika. “So you know how grief seeds don’t have unlimited use to us, right?”“Uh huh, they’d hatch if we overuse them.”“But that’s not a problem for me, since I can just tell them to go back inside after they hatch.” Sasa smirked. “And then I can keep using their grief seed to restore my magic while they keep feeding on my impurities.”Kyubey nodded…approvingly? “A symbiotic relationship. A surprisingly efficient system that rivals even the doppel system…” Kyubey looked away. “...If only we could replicate these two systems for all magical girls. The amount of energy it would gain…!”“The doppel system?” Moeru asked on the behalf of everyone. This being the first time she even heard of such a thing.“Oh, it’s just a rare phenomenon when a magical girl supposedly gains control of their despair, they can call forth a more stable, controllable, temporary form of their witch, called doppels.”Moeru momentarily twitched while listening to that explanation.Sasa’s eyes widened. Clearly interested in the prospect of more power. “We can do that? How do we do that?”Kyubey slumped down and sighed. “I wish I knew. It would have made energy acquisition much more appealing to girls…”Silence nearly pervaded among the girls, but Oriko changed the subject in a timely manner.“So…What is Kyubey doing here with us?”“I was hoping that Kyubey would be able to give us some insight on Sasa-tan’s power, considering that he…ya know…offered the contract.”Oriko tapped her chin. “Ah, yes. Yuuki-san’s power. Any idea on how we can figure out how her power works?”“Well…” Moeru mimicked Oriko’s gesture. Her gaze scanned over all the other people within the vicinity. Her eyes widened slightly as they landed upon just the right person for the test. “...Ah! Sasa-tan! I want you to use your power to rob that guy over there-” said Moeru, pointing a finger towards an old man, surrounded by a couple of bodyguards. “-of ALL of his money. He looks rich.”Of all the possible possibilities, Sasa was hoping that it wouldn’t be something as bold as this. “HUH?! HOW?!”Moeru smirked, considering that saying “huh” and “how” doesn’t mean a no. “I have an idea. First, try asking him nicely, and make sure to put some magic behind your words.”“And if that doesn’t work?”“Magically guilt trip him, of course. I know you’re pretty good at it even BEFORE you became a magical girl.” Moeru’s smirk turned into a toothy grin. “I would know. You literally convinced me to bring you to an ice cream date last year.” she said while blowing a tiny raspberry.“It wasn’t a date!” Sasa retorted, feeling abashed and outraged in equal measure.“Yeah yeah, whatever, now GO! GO AND MIND CONTROL TO THE EXTREME!” Moeru gently pushed the slightly bashful and slightly-desaturated-orange-haired girl away towards her destiny.“Okay! Okay! You didn’t have to push…!”And from there on out, Sasa took a step. Meanwhile, the three remaining girls quickly hid themselves behind a conveniently-placed bush nearby. Kyubey was hastily tossed into a nearby trash can.
Sasa’s steps were initially brisk and full of energy.
“Hey, Oriko? Isn’’t that guy your grandpa’s peer?” Kirika suddenly asked. Apparently she recognized the guy.Oriko had to squint her eyes at first, but she confirmed it. “Why yes, yes he is! That’s Yaegashi Kenzaburo!”Moeru heard of that guy before. “Oh, the old bloke’s a politician? Perfect!”
Sasa’s steps slowed down ever so slightly.
“So, Oriko-san. You and Sasa-tan go to the same school?” Moeru asked out of the blue.Kirika grumbled in disapproval.“Same class, actually. She just transferred today.” Oriko answered.Kirika now vocalized her disapproval. “What?!” she hissed.
Sasa’s quivering in her boots.
“So how is she? You two get along well?” Moeru asked again.Seeing that Sasa was taking her time with her pathetically slow steps, Oriko decided to engage in this small talk. “I had my reservation at first, but she’s quite pleasant to be around with.” she answered with a smile, but that smile slightly fell. “That, or she’s actually just a very exceptional actor.”“Yeah, Sasa-tan does give off those sorts of vibes, huh?” said Moeru, her eyes never away from the girl they literally just talked about.
Sasa’s sweating nervously.
And yet the small talk between the girls behind the bush continues.“She actually stood up to me when I got bullied, you know?” said Oriko, now with a somber smile on her face.“You were bullied?”“They still haven’t let go of the fact that I’m a daughter of my dead disgraced politician of a father.”Kirika tch’d. If only she was in the same class as Oriko, she would have (verbally) torn those bullies apart.“Damn, that sucks…” was all that Moeru could offer to Oriko.“Though, I feel like Yuuki-san was just doing it for her own gain somehow...” Oriko then shot a serious-looking (or was it pleading?) look towards Moeru “Don’t tell her I said that.”Moeru merely chuckled. “Some things are best left unsaid. My lips are sealed.”
Sasa turned her head back. Fear evident on her face.
She saw her three “teammates” observing her smugly from the safety and comfort of the bush.At least Moeru gave her an encouraging thumbs up.Stopping just close enough to Yaegashi Kenzaburo, the rich old man — and apparently a politician — barely even noticed her presence.Yuuki Sasa shook her head to calm her nerves and put on a proverbial mask on her face with surprising ease. She then cleared her throat to catch the man’s attention.“Umm, excuse me…!’The man — naturally — had a mask of his own, the politician-kind of facade as opposed to Sasa’s own jester-kind. When Kenzaburo addressed Sasa, the girl nearly broke her facade right then and there from the sheer force. “Yes. What do you need, girl?”“I was wondering if I could borrow all of your money on hand.” said Sasa, who already adapted a suitable persona for this situation. To add to the effect, she twiddled her fingers.The man howled in hilarity. “HAH hah hah hah hah! Surely you jest!”“Please! I need them to pay off a debt of mine…! I’m sure you’d be more than capable of sparing your money to help your own people?” Sasa pressed on, now utilizing the forbidden technique of puppy eyes.Back at the bush, Moeru couldn’t help but admire Sasa’s effort. “Wow…Sasa-tan is REALLY good at acting…” she said with admiration and a little bit of fear. Just a little bit.Something in the man’s mind unnoticeably shifted. “Well, I suppose I could spare everything in my wallet…” Kenzaburo muttered, pulling out a whopping 50,000 yen from his wallet.Sasa’s eyes were practically yen-shaped when she saw her prize. At that point, she already planned to mind control her “teammates” just so she can keep all the money to herself…assuming this goes off without a hitch.“It’s not much, but it’s all I have on hand at the moment. Perhaps it’ll suffice?” said the man, who readily handled the money with nary a hint of hesitation.“I believe it’s just the right amount,” Sasa inauthentically, almost mockingly, bowed in gratitude. “Many thanks!”But before she could turn around and run away, one of Kenzaburo’s bodyguards called out to her. “Hold it right there, little girl!”It turns out that the other man wasn’t as easily ensnared as his peer and superior.“Eep!”The bodyguard took a stance as if ready to pounce. “Yaegashi-san doesn’t usually give away his own money to beggars, much less at that amount. What did you do to him?!”Sasa shook her head frantically. “Nothing! I was just begging desperately for salvation against this crippling debt of mine!”But before the bodyguard could make his move, Kenzaburo raised a hand to stop him. “Stand down. I may feel strangely generous this fine afternoon, but that doesn’t excuse your belligerent behavior against this fourteen-”“Fifteen.” Sasa quickly corrected.“-Fifteen-year-old girl.”The effect may have been delayed, but the strangely resistant bodyguard finally folded to Sasa’s power. “Hmm, I suppose I have gone a little overboard…”Kenzaburo then gave Sasa a cold smile. “Run along now. Wouldn’t want to keep your creditor waiting now, would you?”Sasa stood there, stunned that everything actually worked out just fine til the very end, before blinking away her stupor and smiled at her accomplishment. “Thank you so much!” she exclaimed, and just to be safe, “And please, don’t bother remembering this event nor my face. I’m sure you all already have a lot on your mind.”“I’ll keep that in mind, or I suppose out of mind, in this case.” Kenzaburo chuckled, before bidding Sasa farewell. “Good bye, little girl.”The men left, and Sasa happily strode back to her group with fifty thousand yen firmly grasped in her hand.The group in question, even Kirika, couldn’t help but smile proudly at this success. “Good job, Sasa-tan! Finally got a hang of it now?” Moeru asked with a proud smirk on her face.“Yup!” Sasa nodded happily, before eyeing her prize money. “Now then. What do we do with this?”“Keep it.”“Well, I-” Sasa had to doubletake. It would seem that there was no need to mind control her own teammates after all. “Wait, really?”Moeru nodded, now with a more relaxed smile. “Yeah, you earned it!”While Sasa started to ruminate about something, Moeru turned towards the nearby trash can and gently kicked it. “Well, Kyubey. Anything you’d like to point out at this?”The white creature climbed out the trash can with a banana peel on his head. “Honestly, I’m not really sure if my presence was even needed here. The whole process has been quite straightforward for even you girls.”Moeru blinked and shrugged. A little unsure how to respond to that. “Oh well.”“Actually, while I’m here. Can you all help me with something?”Moeru crossed her arms. “No promises, but we’ll hear you out. What is it, Kyubey?“I need your help in dealing with a new threat. Beings that I have dubbed as ‘super witches’.”Moeru chuckled. “Oh, that? You’re in luck, then. We’re actually already working on it.” she then averted her gaze elsewhere. “Assuming we’re talking about the same super witches here.”“Really? Then why not team up with Mami’s group. She’s your classmate, right?”“Do they know that magical girls turn into witches?” Moeru countered.“At the moment, probably not.”“Then working with them would be more trouble than it is worth.” Moeru explained while shaking her head in disapproval. “The piss-poor communication, the inevitable misunderstanding, the lack of cohesions, IMAGINE!” Moeru exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation at the very idea of “poor teamwork”.Moeru exhaled, before turning around and shooting a confident grin at Kyubey, complemented with a thumbs up. “Don’t worry about the super witches. We’ll handle it!”“If you say so.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Timeline 101. Friday, 1 April 2011, 01:10 PM.
T’was an hour after school was over for the day. The Oriko Group — which consisted of Mikuni Oriko, Kure Kirika, Moeru Morinaga Artefact, and Yuuki Sasa — were visiting the dilapidated mansion that Oriko used to call her home.When they stepped into the front yard, their shoes (or boots, in Moeru’s case) were planted deep in snow.“Ah! Cold!” yelped Sasa, who lifted her feet first with lightning speed.“Gah! My foot's stuck!” Moeru complained. One of her boots was frozen in place. She then shot magical fire from her mouth to melt it off. FWOOOOO!!! “Hey! Careful! Oriko’s house already suffered enough. Don’t burn it down!” Kirika admonished, surprised by Moeru’s display of magic. Which is understandable considering that Moeru never really showed her magic other than the usual weapon and outfit summoning, and her absolutely-not-magical CQC (Close Quarter Combat) skill.“Relax. My fire’s magical. It’s not gonna hurt ya.” said Moeru, trying to put Kirika’s concerns at ease.Seeing the sorry state of Oriko’s mansion, Sasa couldn’t help but sneer. “Sheesh, you live like this?”Oriko took no offense in that and merely crossed her arms in agreement. “Taking care of a mansion as big as mine is — by no means — an easy endeavour. Especially when it’s just Kirika and I.” Moeru hummed mysteriously upon hearing that. What was this little scallywag planning…?The numerous graffiti and other sorts of vandalism was no pretty sight, to say the least. So they quickly went inside, Somehow, it was even worse.The doors were unlocked, at least a dozen windows broken in or outright missing, some furniture too. There was graffiti all over the wallpaper ,the few remaining paintings, and the mostly-untouched family picture frames.Going deeper into the house reveals abandoned bonfires and some…tents? But no sign of its inhabitants. There was even a bucket in the corner, filled with shit, piss, and much, much worse.If it was any consolation, most of the furniture there was too heavy to steal, and thus remained in place. And…“Thank goodness, the treasury remained untouched.” Oriko, who went straight to the secret family treasure vault behind the large bookcase in the living room, sighed in relief. While she was not happy at all with all these wanton and unfair vandalism, at least she wasn’t put into poverty.Kirika thought it wasn’t good enough. Kirika was pissed. “I knew we should’ve stayed here…”“But Kirika, we might’ve frozen to death here. And we weren’t even a magical girl before we moved to your home. And besides…” Oriko looked away from her beloved, clearly ashamed about something. “...I don’t know how to clean the chimney, and I haven’t got it cleaned in years. ”Moeru nodded in approval. “Good call, a dirty chimney could cause-”“Fire?”“I was gonna say poisoning, but yeah, that too.”Sasa crossed her hands, still with that same disgusted sneer from before. “So, Oriko-san, what do you plan to do with this place? It’d be a waste to just leave it like this? Maybe get someone to clean it?”“But who would clean this place? I don’t think even any money would be able to convince anyone to do it, considering my reputation…”Sasa’s sneer was slowly replaced with trepidation. “Don’t tell me the four of us would be cleaning all of these…!”“Hold that thought, I think I know someone who could help us right now. Let me just…make a call real quick.” Moeru quickly interjected, knowing damn well that the four of them would accomplish nothing with these. She then pulled out her phone and called her janitor-sister.“Ello? Ey, nee-san, you said you’re looking for other side gigs, right?”Oriko and Kirika looked at each other in confusion, while Sasa remembered what Moeru told her about Moeru’s sister.“So there’s this rich girl, with a mansion covered in shit. Smells like one too. You think you can handle it?”Oriko looked offended, but could do nothing because it was the truth. The painful truth.“Oh, the pay? Uhh…” Moeru turned away from her phone momentarily. “Hey, Oriko-san. How much would you be willing to pay a janitor per hour?”“A thousand yen.” Oriko answered immediately.Moeru nodded and resumed the call. “A thousand yen per hour…” Moeru suddenly frowned. “What? Too low? C’mon, nee-san. This one’s for a friend! And we're probably gonna be using the place as our base of operation against the super witches.”Moeru chuckled. Seems like she succeeded in securing a deal. “Yeah. Yea. Uh huh. Thanks. Ciao.”“Moeru-san, you…were you just trying to siphon my money?” Oriko asked with some skepticism. Honestly, she’s fine with staying at Kirika’s house. The only reason she didn’t try to stop Moeru was because the idea of no longer troubling Kirika’s mother has its appeal to her conscience.Is this her idea of an April Fools’?Apparently not.“Oriko-san, you wound me with your doubt. My sister is the best janitor I have ever seen. You will not regret hiring her, I swear it!”Oriko sighed. “Fine, I’ll trust your judgement for now. When will she be here?”“4 PM. She’s actually already a janitor someplace else, but she’s…always looking for more money.” Moeru shook her head. “Anyway, you know any good places nearby where we can get some lunch while we wait for her?”
Timeline 101. Friday, 1 April 2011, 04:10 PM.
By the time they got back from a ramen shop — where they bore witness to Moeru swallowing a boiled egg whole (Incredibly dangerous. Don't try this at home.) — they saw a stoic-looking girl with bluish white hair, standing still in front of Oriko’s lawn — like a statue. The girl was petite, being 10 centimeters shorter than Oriko despite being 6 years older. She looks European.The Oriko Group sans Moeru found this weird. They were under the impression that Europeans are much taller than Japanese. Then again, Moeru was half-Australian and she still got the short end of the straw. No pun intended.Is this Moeru’s adoptive sister?Yes, yes she is.“Hey, hey, Suzie nee-san. Kept you waiting huh?” Moeru greeted her beloved older sister in Australian-accented English.“No, I just got here.” Suzie replied coolly in Scandinavian-accented English.“I managed to assemble a team for our super witch hunt. Say hi!”“H-hello. Name’s Suzie Artefact. Sorry for bad Japanese.” Suzie introduced herself with broken Japanese, with a straight face. She then tossed the key to their apartment over to Moeru.Moeru easily caught it. “Eh? What’s this for?”Suzie ignored her sister’s query and asked a question of her own instead. “T-this is the mansion that I am s-supposed to take care of, right?”Oriko stepped forward. “Yes, yes it is.”“You must be the owner?”Oriko nodded. “I am.”Suzie just stood there, examining Oriko, perhaps even judging her. It went on for nearly a quarter of a minute until finally… “Come back here tomorrow…” Suzie finally told, before correcting herself. “Wait, no, come back here on Sunday.”Huh? “How about the payment?”Suzie shook her head. “For the sake of the universe, first three days are free of charge. I’ll handle it.” She then looked at Moeru. “Kid, you in charge of our apartment.”“M-me?”“Yeah. Good time to show off your culinary skills.”To the surprise of the rest of the Oriko Group, Moeru doesn’t look confident for once. “I don’t know about that…”“I taught you myself, you will not disappoint.” said Suzie, who smiled slightly, in an attempt to put some confidence back within Moeru’s heart.“If you say so…” Moeru uttered, still not entirely convinced.
Timeline 101. Friday, 1 April 2011, 07:45 PM.
The clanking of pots and pans could be heard throughout the relatively small but warm apartment. This doesn’t bother the guests though due to how rhythmic the commotion was.“I can’t believe her sister is also the new janitor back at school.” Kirika muttered, with a mug of hot sweet tea in hand.“She was?”Kirika nodded. “Yeah!”Oriko frowned with concern. “So she’ll be overworking herself?”“Nah.” Moeru suddenly spoke up, walking up to the rest of the seated groups with a large tray in hands.She gently put down the tray with shaky hands. It was quite heavy. “She used to work from the morning during the first few days, but nowadays she works from noon till 4 PM.”Oriko hummed. “So when will she be working at my home?”“She texted me earlier, said she’s available from 4 PM to midnight.”Suddenly, Oriko’s little politician brain had an idea. “Hum…Tell you what. If she actually manages to restore my mansion, how about you two move into my home? You haven’t paid this month’s rent yet, right?”Moeru — who was in the process of spreading her cooking around the table — shook her head. “I don’t think we have…I’ll tell my sister about your offer. But Oriko-san, you sure about this?”“Living in such a big house on my own can be overwhelming, as you can clearly tell.”Ah, she was lonely.“Right. A-anyway. I hope you all enjoy my cooking…” Moeru bowed her head after presenting to everyone her flatbreads, covered in slightly spicy chicken curry.And so they dug in.They all think it’s pretty good, but Kirika likes it the most.“What were you so worried about? This tastes great!” said Kirika with a mouthful of chicken.Moeru looked up, a surprised look on her face. “Really? I thought my sister was just sugarcoating it when she said they were good…” she then looked down again and muttered. “Then again, I never actually made others taste my cooking before, aside from my sister.”They have never seen this side of Moeru before. Usually, they could describe her as confident, assertive, and maybe a little overbearing, but now…Now she seems so meek, so…tentative.They all ate in comfortable silence that night. Moeru, strangely enough, was not in the mood for conversation.Maybe it was because of the cold night. She tends to complain about the cold more often than others.Brrr…
Timeline 101. Friday, 1 April 2011, 11:00 PM.
Everyone was asleep happily and each with a belly full of good food, and sweet tea. They didn’t even plan to have a sleepover, but a sudden freak blizzard storm forced them into this situation.Well, almost everyone.Moeru was silently typing on her phone, consulting with her sister about Oriko’s offer. xXX_RainbowDash_Xxx : Heyyy nee-san, I have good news :3 xXX_RainbowDash_Xxx : Well, two good news, actually Lucky13 : What is it? xXX_RainbowDash_Xxx : They say my cooking is good!!! Lucky13 : See? What did I tell ya. Now what’s the other good news? xXX_RainbowDash_Xxx : Oriko-san said we can live in her mansion if you succeed Lucky13 : …Do I get paid if I work in the morning? xXX_RainbowDash_Xxx : I forgor to ask her. Let me ask her rq >_< Moeru gently shook Oriko awake. “Hey, Oriko-san. Wake up! I have questions regarding business.”Oriko shot up from her futon, apparently Moeru just accidentally saved her from a silent nightmare. Thankfully, she’s already starting to forget. “Huh? Wha? What-” Oriko yawned. “What do you need?”“Suzie nee-san asked me if she’s getting paid in the morning.”“Sorry, I wouldn’t be able to afford it.” Oriko gave her answer, feeling guilty all the while. xXX_RainbowDash_Xxx : She said she can’t afford it Lucky13 : … Lucky13 : Fair enough. She’s just a child living off inheritance money, I can understand her monetary plight. Lucky13 : We don’t have to pay her any rent, do we? “Oriko-san, we don’t have to pay you any rent for living in your home, right?” Moeru asked again.“That won’t be necessary.” xXX_RainbowDash_Xxx : She said we can stay for free :D Lucky13 : Great, that means I can finally larp without impunity. xXX_RainbowDash_Xxx : Suzie? What did you mean by this? xXX_RainbowDash_Xxx : Suzie??? xXX_RainbowDash_Xxx : ?????? Moeru shook her head and sighed. That worrying final message aside, she’s happy with this. “Oriko-san, I’m happy to announce that Suzie nee-san accepted your offer, and she’s okay with you only paying her from 4 to midnight.”“Are you sure?”Moeru shrugged. “Hey, it’s free housing. Can’t really complain.”Sasa suddenly woke up, or rather, she was already woken up when these two miscreants started talking too loudly. “Grrr, keep it down!”“Oh, sorry Sasa-tan…” said Moeru, who frowned. You can just tell how sorry she was.Sasa was taken aback by Moeru’s unusual demeanor. But they only just reunited for less than a week, so who was she to judge? “Just…just keep it down, will you?”“Don’t worry about it. I think we’re already done for the night.”And then they all went to sleep, each with their own pleasant dreams.
Timeline 101. Sunday, 3 April 2011, 11:45 AM.
Days have passed, and Moeru did her best to accommodate her sleepovermates.She thinks she did pretty well.They were already on their way to Oriko’s mansion, and it looked so different from when they first saw it. So much better, even.All the snow that previously covered the front lawn was shoveled away, revealing the green grass underneath. Hot lanterns dotted the area in an orderly manner to melt any snow on the ground. Sure, this turns the lawn potentially muddy, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem when the lanterns were so hot that it visibly turned the moisture in the ground into steam.Looking at the mansion itself, the graffiti are all gone, like it was never there. All broken windows were replaced and covered with iron bars to prevent thrown rocks from shattering them again. Except for one of the windows, which was instead simply boarded with wooden planks.Sasa whistled. “Whew, not bad at all.”“H-how did she do all this in just 3 days?” Oriko asked, equally petrified and impressed.Moeru simply grinned. “I told you she’s the best!”“But what about the inside? Kirika asked. She knows the janitor is good, but not that good, right?Right?Wrong.They rang the doorbell, and what they saw shocked them all.“Suzie! What are you wearing?!”Suzie ignored her sister’s question and regarded Oriko. “Ah, welcome home, Hime-sama. You’re just in time for lunch. Please, come inside.”Gone was her broken Japanese language. In its place, a polite — if a bit accented and robotic, but otherwise perfected — Japanese language. Suzie herself was wearing a maid outfit (the modest kind).“Huh, nee-san, I could’ve sworn your Japanese was laughably broken not more than 3 days ago. What happened?” Moeru glared in a flippant manner. “And where did you even find that maid outfit? Is this what you meant when you said you can finally larp?”“I always knew how to speak Japanese, I was just rusty, that’s all. And I previously had no incentive to unrust it.” Suzie straightens up her clean white apron. “And to answer your second question, I found it within the depths of this house, covered in dust and smelling like mothballs. And yes, this is what I was talking about.”Suzie then beckoned the children to get inside for a second time. “Now please, come inside. Each new day is colder than the last.” When they got inside, it felt like an entirely different place. Or in Oriko’s case, it felt like how it was before things went downhill for her.Not a speck of dust or debris was left present. Everything that could shine, shone. Everything else that could not shine was nonetheless in pristine condition. Some furniture was still missing, but Oriko doesn’t really care about that in all honesty.Well, maybe it felt a little bit emptier than before, but that can be rectified later, Oriko thinks.“I can see why they pay you the big bucks.” Moeru commented, feeling secondhand pride from Suzie’s work.“Hey, since you’re referring to Oriko as Hime-sama, can you call me Kirika-sama? I AM her wife after all…!” requested a dumbly grinning Kirika who pointed at herself with her thumb. It was a good day for all of them, might as well make the most out of it.Suzie merely complied and gave a respectful bow. “Very good, Kirika-sama.”Oriko blushed. “Kirika! What are you talking about?!”Kirika replied, still with that dumb grin. “Aww, you know how much I love you a lot.”“Huh? I thought you two were just girlfriends. Did we miss a wedding?” said Moeru, who crossed her arms accusingly. Although her face showed an amused expression. Maybe even a bit of mischief.“Didn’t even have the decency to invite us, huh?” said Sasa, who sneered in a playful way for once.“I wasn’t even aware we were girlfriends!”This did not deter Kirika at all and she kept up the pace. “Well, what about now?”Oriko’s professional composure quickly returned, and she chuckled. “...Alright. I’m in your care, Kirika.”“Yes!” Kirika exclaimed and shot her arms up in the air in victory.“Just don’t go around telling people we’re wives though! That’s not true just yet…!”“Got it!” replied Kirika, who certainly did not mind this arrangement in the slightest. “Our wedding is gonna be the best one you’ll ever see! Just you wait!” “That’s if we all make it out of this alive.” Moeru somberly thought, before she smiled and shook her head with more positive thinking. “Ehh, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Timeline 101. Monday, 4 April 2011, 16:40 PM.
The Mami Group — which consisted of Tomoe Mami, Akemi Homura, Miki Sayaka, and Kaname Madoka — were walking around town, looking for witches to hunt. The novelty of a snow-covered town was nice at first, but now it was starting to feel miserable, especially for these girls. They’ve lost count on how many times Mami nearly slipped on the frozen ground.On the other hand, whether consciously or not, Madoka and Homura — who were walking behind Mami and Sayaka — gravitated towards each other for warmth and comfort. Not quite touching each other, but the sheer tension caused them to unknowingly feel all warm and fuzzy.Sayaka in particular was feeling especially gloomy that day, and Mami took notice of it.“Hey, Miki-san, what’s wrong? Had a bad day with a boy?”Sayaka only looked at her wordlessly.Ah, Mami guessed correctly, ouch.Mami then had the gall to ask Sayaka about it again. “Do you…want to talk about it?”It was getting awkward when she looked at Mami silently some more, but Sayaka ultimately relented and sighed. “There’s this boy in the hospital that I had a crush on, but…I don’t think he wants me visiting him ever again…”“Why is that?”“He is…was…a guitarist. Plays a mean electric guitar, custom made to suit his taste. But a little while ago, he got injured and now he can't play his guitar anymore…”Mami stayed respectfully silent and allowed Sayaka to continue.“Whenever I had the chance, I usually came to visit after school, bringing music CDs to try to cheer him up, but now I realized that it only made him upset the entire time…”Mami grimaced. “Oh, um, then maybe we should turn around…”“Why would we-? Oh.”They were walking blindly for so long that they ended up near the hospital.While the two girls at the front came to an abrupt stop, the two other girls behind them absentmindedly bumped their backs.“Oof!” Homura exclaimed, who bumped Sayaka relatively hard, much to the dismay of said bluenette.“Huh? Why are we stopping? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention..” Madoka asked, who prior to doing so merely bumped Mami lightly.“There’s no witch here, so we’re turning around and…” then Mami stopped talking when her soul gem detected a witch. “Nevermind, there is in fact a witch nearby, and it’s…at the hospital.” Mami had the decency to look sorry for Sayaka, at least. “Sorry, Miki-san.”Sayaka sighed. “Alright, let’s just get this over with.”
Timeline 101. Monday, 4 April 2011, 16:43 PM.
When they found the entrance into the witch’s labyrinth, the place was vacant of any bystanders.How convenient.When they entered the witch’s labyrinth, it would seem like the place was just recently formed.Maybe too convenient.Within the labyrinth, the girls could see bits and pieces of all sorts of sweets dotting the landscape. Jovial mouse-like familiars carrying what seems to be jars of sugar, cookie doughs, and…black licorice…Being a newly formed labyrinth means that hazards are few and far in between. The few familiars that they encountered were quite passive and are honestly harmless. That doesn’t mean it would be the time to get careless.Homura was anxious. She knows that Mami could easily defeat Charlotte, the ever-so-tenacious Dessert Witch. But Homura thought it would be better safe than sorry if she could convince them that she alone could take on this one, and that the others should just turn away.So she walked up ahead of the group, startling the rest.“Homura-?”“Mami, perhaps you should let me handle this one. Please, escort the others to safety.” said Homura, who desperately doesn't want Madoka and Sayaka to see her kick ass.“Huh? Homura-chan, what are you saying?” Mami asked.“I’ve fought this witch before, and let’s just say I have a personal vendetta against it.”“...”“...”“Homura-chan, are you lying to me?” Mami accused, narrowing her eyes at this accidental violation of trust.“?!” Homura was taken off guard. She was so sure that Mami would be more receptive to her…request…this time around. It would seem she miscalculated. “I can tell that this labyrinth was only recently hatched. Am I right, Kyubey?”“You’d be correct, Mami.” Kyubey, who had been sitting on top of Homura’s head the entire time, answered.“Gah! Where did you come from?!” Homura yelped, because she could have sworn that Kyubey wasn’t there on her head before.“Homura-chan, do you think I wouldn’t be able to take on this witch?”“It’s not that, it’s just…I’m just worried for your wellbeing…”“...”“...”The tension was off the charts, and Homura was sure that she would be helplessly bound by Mami’s ribbon once again, but against her expectation…“Alright then.” Mami sagged her tense shoulders and deescalated first. She then walked past Homura, still feeling bitter all the while. “Homura-chan, just watch as I defeat this next witch. But if I do get myself into trouble, then feel free to step in.”Homura was not sure if she should feel angry or relieved. The only thing that was certain was how anxious she was about the whole thing. She just hoped that Mami wasn’t too upset at her blunder.The rest of the walk to the center of the labyrinth was awkward, to say the least. So awkward that Homura, Sayaka, and Madoka tried to keep a healthy distance away from Mami. Back there, they made sure to talk between each other silently, otherwise they might invoke the blonde’s untapped wrath.“Hey, transfer student, why did you do that?” Sayaka whispered, looking judgemental at her, as usual.“Do what?”“Lying to Mami-senpai like that.” Sayaka hissed.“I wasn’t lying! I DID fight this witch before…!” Homura hissed back.“But Kyubey said this witch was only recently hatched.” Sayaka recalled, regarding the incubator that was STILL sitting on Homura’s head.“I know, I- Look, it’s complicated…!” Homura stuttered, already losing her composure.“Homura’s a time-traveler.” Kyubey casually informed the rest of them, except for Mami, who already went way far ahead and out of earshot.Homura nearly screamed, but managed to stop herself just in time to let out a hiss. “KYUBEY!”“Wha-” Sayaka stood there, completely stunned, and…was she mesmerized?“Woah! Homura-chan, you’re really a time-traveler?!” Madoka asked, who had miraculously kept her cool from this revelation.Homura wanted to hiss loudly, but since this is Madoka who was asking, she forced herself to take a deep breath and calmly replied. “Yes, yes I am. I was meaning to keep it a secret…! Please don’t tell Mami about it! She doesn’t know and she probably already has a lot on her mind anyway.” Oh, and just to make sure, “That means you too, Kyubey.”“Fine.” said Kyubey.Sayaka snapped out of her stupor. “R-right, but you gotta tell us about yourself later!”“Yeah, like, what exactly are you doing here?” Madoka asked innocently.Homura only looked at the two of them and sighed fondly. Why are her friends always so unpredictable when it’s least convenient?She then started to walk away, deeper into the labyrinth. A tired but genuine smile plastered on her face.Both Madoka and Sayaka stood there momentarily, gazing at each other.“What was that all about?”Sayaka could only shrug in response, and then they ran to catch up to Homura.“What a weird girl.”………Far ahead from the rest of the girls, Mami slowed down. Now having just calmed herself down. In hindsight, she probably just overreacted needlessly. She most likely only made the rest of the girls worried by her abrupt departure.For a moment, she thought of stopping there to wait for the rest of her group to catch up to her, but discarded the idea, not wanting to risk it by allowing the witch any precious time to go active and kill everyone in the vicinity.Steeling her nerves, Mami moved forward.Even now, the familiars of this labyrinth remained passive, minding their own business bringing hot melting pots of caramel, undercooked cookie doughs, and…American chocolates…Ew…Mami shook her head. This was no time to feel sorry for the familiars’ poor taste in chocolate. She have a witch to utterly curbstomp.Speaking of the witch, Mami bore witness to the witch — a small, doll-like, harmless-looking thing — receiving said chocolate from one of its familiar, and spitting it away in disgust. Charlotte was upset.Charlotte spotted Mami.Charlotte intends to vent her frustration by devouring Mami’s soul Mami sprung into action.Her wall of guns were simply more than a match for the small legion of familiars. None even came close to the blonde, nor were they even threatening from a distance.………Her gunfire could be heard throughout the labyrinth, making the three girls that Mami left behind jolt in fright.“It has begun.” Homura muttered.“What has?”“Mami’s fighting the witch now.”Seeing the pointlessness of keeping her time power a secret from Madoka and Sayaka (and Kyubey as well), Homura decided to play it safe. “You two, grab on to me, now!”“Huh? Why?”“Just do it! Or else Mami might get hurt!”The bluenette and pinkette didn’t need any more convincing as they hastily grabbed onto Homura’s shoulder.Once they’ve done that, Homura rotated her shield and stopped time. Madoka and Sayaka stood in awe as everything and everyone else around them froze and turned grey. So awed were the two that they almost forgot to stay in contact with Homura. Thankfully, Homura reminded them.“Don’t let go, or else you’ll be frozen as well.”“Yeah, no more of that. I’m already freezing to death just outside with all the snow!” Sayaka guffawed at her own joke, but she gradually stopped when she saw that both Homura and Madoka only gave her a deadpan each. Regardless of that, with a hearty grin, Sayaka still can’t help but chuckle.………Back to Mami, the blonde had already decimated most of Charlotte’s familiars on her own. Honestly, she was starting to feel a bit cocky, to the point that she started spinning one of her musket pistols. While doing so, she accidentally pulled the trigger and, fortunately, only nailed one of the remaining familiars.Mami then blew the smoke from the gun barrel and discarded the pistol.Become ungovernable.With no more immediate threat on sight, Mami approached the witch itself, unopposed.Another day, another easy win, she thought.But when Mami got close enough, the witch suddenly twitched erratically, and this immediately put Mami on edge. The witch kept on twitching for an uncomfortable amount of time before stopping completely, as if nothing even happened.Just as Mami was about to let her guard down, the witch opened its mouth and out it came — a giant caterpillar…snake…worm thing. Rather than running away or allowing herself to be eaten, Mami — with narrowed and focused eyes — stood her ground and aimed to pummel the witch with the buttstock of her rifle.When Homura and others arrived at the scene, they were greeted with the frozen scene of Mami about to give the witch the nastiest of blunt injury.Homura (and apparently Madoka and Sayaka as well) exhaled a breath of relief that she wasn’t even aware she was holding in the first place. Mami seems to be holding her ground rather well this time. No need for Homura’s intervention.But she’ll stick around to watch, just in case.“We’re here. Now what?” Sayaka asked.“Mami seems to be okay on her own this time, let’s just watch her fight for now.” Homura replied as she was about to allow time to resume.Hiding behind a giant conveniently-placed donut, the girls quietly watched as Mami easily bashed Charlotte away continuously. It was violent. It would have been bloody if the witch could bleed.While they bore witness to Mami absolutely kicking ass and taking names, Madoka absentmindedly tore a piece of the donut that she was hiding behind, but was stopped by Homura with a gentle but firm hold on her wrist.“Don’t eat that.”“Why? Is it poisonous?” Madoka asked.Homura shook her head. “No, it just tastes awful.”Sayaka ignored her warning, tore a piece of the donut, ate it, and spat it out in disgust.“BLEHG!”“And that’s what happens when you don’t listen to me.”Sayaka spat out even more, just in case the awful American chocolate taste sticks around. “Eugh…lesson learned…”They continued watching Mami as she fought the rest of the fight silently. Even Homura was mesmerized by Mami’s fighting skills, reminded as to why Mami was their leader. Although…Mami seems a bit more…inclined when it comes to melee combat, having witnessed Mami shattering the stock of her rifles twice now after bashing it too hard at the witch.Eventually, Mami stood directly in front of the witch, casually loading a special round to the chamber of her rifle. She took aim.“Tiro…”Here it comes…!“...ESTREMO!”…That’s new, Homura thought. They bore witness to a single, overly-decorated bullet tearing through Charlotte like a knife through wet paper. It was beautiful.Thus, Charlotte died, taking her labyrinth with her.Before the witch even fully went down, Mami already landed on the awful donut that they were hiding behind.“You were saying, Homura-chan?” said Mami, who can’t help but be smug about it.Homura seldom admits it, but she was actually a somewhat prideful person. But just this once, she felt inclined to swallow her pride.So Homura bowed. “I’m sorry for doubting you, Mami.”Mami, having already vented her frustration on the poor witch, couldn’t stay mad at her teammate, especially when she was apologizing like this.Mami gave a reassuring smile and took Homura’s apology in stride. “Don’t mention it, Homura-chan.”“That was amazing, Mami-san!” Madoka praised. Any hint of tension from before was no longer present.“Yeah! I wanna do something like that too!” said Sayaka, looking starstruck by Mami’s performance.Homura droned out the sound of Madoka and Sayaka gushing over how cool Mami was, and kept an eye on the still-dying Charlotte in case things went wrong. What made her act like this? The Kyubey on her head shifting uncomfortably should be a great indicator.“...so tall, and graceful. I want to be just like you!” Sayaka finished.Mami, who rarely ever got any praise, took it quite well. “Haha, alright, alright. You’ll get your chance as soon as you figure out what you want to wish for.” she said to Sayaka.Mami then turned to Madoka. “As for you, Kaname-san. Once this whole thing with the super witches is over, then maybe you’ll get your chance as well.”
“That’s so sweet. Too bad that’s not going to happen. Ever.”
The girls froze. Their hearts suddenly filled with the most primal fright. “What was that?!”“I’m scared…!” said Sayaka, who hugged Madoka in fear.The two magical girls were the first to recover, and looked around in alert of the booming voice that echoed all over the dissolving labyrinth around them.
“I hope you don’t mind me taking this one.”
An extremely large witch — easily dwarfing Charlotte — suddenly burst out of the ground, and snapped its mouth on Charlotte’s grief seed midair. In a twist of turn, Charlotte — out of sheer self-preservation — hatched while still in the super witch’s mouth and tried to desperately escape its maw.But it was for naught as the super witch merely snapped its mouth shut again on the smaller witch, crushing Charlotte’s body with ease. As the smaller witch died for a second time that day, the labyrinth gradually got replaced by the super witch’s own. Rather than a landscape filled with candy and awful chocolates, everything was replaced with crates and boxes, and some normal-sized wooden tables here and there. The…skybox, for the lack of better terms…was akin to an underground cave, or maybe an underground fortification tunnel.Homura could feel Kyubey trembling on her head. “Oh dear, oh dear, a super witch!”“Huh? Are you sure?!” A somewhat-exhausted Mami asked. Her adrenaline from fighting Charlotte was already withering away. She was honestly not looking forward to another encounter.“Positive! Don’t let this one get away!”Now that Charlotte stopped struggling, they could get a clear view on what the super witch looked like. Unlike Charlotte, the girls could immediately tell that this super witch is, in fact, a snake. By the looks of it, a cobra. Mami sighed, but then she remembered that Homura is pretty much fresh and ready for battle. “Homura-chan! You take point! I need to recover a bit…!”Homura nodded. “Alright.” She then turned to Madoka. “Madoka, take care.”“Hey! What about me???” Sayaka wailed as Homura jumped away.Homura started to rummage through her shield and went straight to the big guns. Pulling out a grenade launcher, Homura leaped forward and started firing.Rather than hitting her target, the witch — despite her size — somehow dodged Homura’s shots. Ducking, rolling, and flipping through Homura’s barrage with ease.Homura, seeing this, retreated a bit and gained some distance to consult Kyubey on what sort of strategy she should be using. For once, thankfully, Kyubey had been on her head the entire time.“Tch! Kyubey, what can you tell me about this witch?”“Well, her name is King Kobra. She has poor eyesight, but great hearing.” Kyubey explained what he knew. “I’m not sure how durable she is compared to Yatagarasu, but if she’s dodging your attacks, that means she might not be invincible. Try breaking her!”As if to prove Kyubey correct, King Kobra replied. “Heh, I’d like to see you try!” Homura stood where she was trying to figure out how to deal with this. She listed her options.Grenade launchers? Too slow.Rocket launchers? Too loud.Recoilless Rifles? They’re practically the same as rocket launchers in practice, at least to Homura. But she was running out of options and running out of time, so she pulled out a Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle from her inventory. Before she fired, she made sure to sneak as close as possible to the stationary super witch. It would seem that the super witch herself was overly reliant on whatever noise her enemies would make.So Homura snuck closer, and almost managed to reach her ideal firing range until she tripped on a tripwire…connected to a claymore mine.“Nani?!”The super witch didn’t even spring into action, only grinning in satisfaction, knowing that one of her traps had sprung, if the explosion and Homura’s pained scream was of any indication. Kyubey died instantly from the shockwave alone.“Ah! Homu-!” before Madoka could scream, Mami closed the pinkette’s mouth with a firm hand.Sayaka didn’t even say anything, but received the same treatment nonetheless.“Stay quiet…! I’ll get Homura-chan and Kyubey out of there…” Mami whispered, while already working on her ribbons as they silently slithered towards Homura’s shredded and bloodied body. She was apparently unaware that the thing that continuously clung on top of Homura’s head was just Kyubey’s corpse.Homura couldn’t move. She was barely conscious. Her ears were ringing. She couldn’t feel her own legs. At least her hands were still firmly gripping her recoilless rifle, not that it would matter. Her mind was too scrambled to actually do anything other than lay there helplessly.Fortunately, her thoughts returned just in time as Mami’s ribbons gently and quietly wrapped around Homura’s wounded body.Unfortunately, King Kobra twitched, which startled Mami and made her ribbon pull Homura faster, which made loud noises, which — in turn — alerted the super witch for real.
“There you are!”
Mami pulled her ribbons as fast as she could, but the super witch was catching up frighteningly fast. “This feels familiar…” Homura thought as she stubbornly tried to line up her recoilless rifle for a shot, even while on the move.Getting her aim lined up was easy, but restraining herself from pulling the trigger prematurely was nerve-wrecking. As the witch finally reached only a dozen meters away from her…
BANG!
Timeline 101. Monday, 4 April 2011, 16:50 PM.
Somewhere within an abandoned construction site, the Oriko Group were there to see Sasa’s fighting capabilities. They do this by letting her spar with Moeru.On the sideline, Oriko, Kirika, and another Kyubey were watching as Moeru took a flurry of hits from Sasa’s lightning fast electric punches. The barrage itself had been going on for nearly a minute now, and they could all see Moeru’s armor receiving numerous dents and cracks.Moeru was effectively stunlocked. She couldn’t move her body while Sasa unknowingly (or perhaps knowingly, judging from that sinister look on her face) broke her ribs and probably caused several internal bleeding. Not to mention the electric sparks that must’ve already fried her nerves.While all of this is happening, Oriko asked Kyubey something. “So what’s the difference between what Yuuki-san is doing with her collection of witches and the thing that super witches do? From what I heard, the super witches were also feeding on the despair of others.”“The witches under Sasa’s control still radiate an acceptable amount of net worth of energy. The super witches — on the other hand — waste nothing, and thus a net loss of energy.” Kyubey replied.“And how exactly do they differentiate themselves from Yuuki-san’s method?”Kyubey shuddered. “They do this by devouring the grief seed directly. So keep any grief seeds in your hands safely tucked, alright?”Oriko, as well as Kirika, nodded. They then looked back towards Moeru, who was probably currently dying. “Did I make her mad at some point…?” Moeru’s stunned mind tried to work, but she received no answer since it was all in her head.Moeru then tried her hardest to analyze her could-be killer. “How is she punching my armor with her bare hands, and not getting hurt in the process? Ugh…I can’t…fucking get out of this…!” Moeru spat out some blood, but the punches just kept on coming. “She’s too bloody fast…! But what’s faster than lightning…? Oh! I know!” She tried her hardest like her life depends on it, which it does. And she did it.“Darkness…” Moeru uttered.Just like that, Moeru was gone without a trace.“Woah!”“What was that?!”Sasa paused her barrage in confusion. “Huh? Where’d she go?”Sasa tried shooting thunderbolts in all directions, in hopes of hitting Moeru’s hidden form, but…Nothing.“What kind of power is this…?!” Sasa asked no one in particular. She was somewhat unnerved seeing Moeru just suddenly disappearing like that.“From what she told me a while ago: a mix of invisibility and intangibility.” Kyubey answered.“Like a ghost?”“Almost exactly like a ghost. Moeru can see and hear things while in that state, but she can only touch things and be touched when she is visible.”Moeru suddenly appeared in front of Sasa while she was distracted by Kyubey, and threw a single decisive blow to her head, knocking Sasa out instantly. Moeru winced when the punch connected, her bandaged hands were more fragile than they looked.With labored breath, Moeru herself then collapsed on the ground, but was still conscious. Somehow.Oriko frowned. Feeling envious not just for Moeru and Sasa, but also for Kirika for being able to fight like this. Unfortunately, their close quarter fighting style simply didn’t suit her. Fortunately, she already got something to substitute that. But that’s for later. Or perhaps soon, seeing that Kyubey was suddenly alerted by something.“Ah! This is such bad timing for you two to be incapacitated…A super witch has been detected in the hospital! She’s currently going against a normal witch and Mami’s group.”Moeru groaned in pain and exasperation. “Ugh…Oriko-san, Kirika-mate, you two can go ahead, I need to…I need to catch my breath…Don’t worry about Sasa-tan, I’ll wait for her.” Still on the ground, Moeru waved them away. “Careful, you two…!”With a determined look and an ace up her sleeve, Oriko nodded and turned away. “Let’s get going, Kirika!”“Lead the way!”………The street was oddly empty, which made Oriko and Kirika more willing to use their magic to run faster and thus arrive faster. Whatever slippery frozen road that they encounter, they gracefully skate through. Whoops, almost forgot to mention that Kyubey was there, hanging onto dear life on top of Kirika’s head.“Kyubey, what do you know about this super witch?”“Her name’s King Kobra. She has poor eyesight, great hearing, and is really really agile.”“Perfect. If Kirika can land a hit, the super witch should be slowed down because of her power.”Kirika, brandishing her magical claws, shot Oriko a grin. “You’re a genius, Oriko.”Oriko shot back with a serene, appreciative smile. “I know.”It only took them a couple of minutes or four to reach the entrance of the super witch’s labyrinth. It was…unlike any witch entrance they had ever seen before. Rather than a portal-rune-on-the-wall thing, it looked like a normal-looking blast-resistant automatic door, with English writings of all things very clearly saying ENTRANCE in all caps.Just before they could enter however, Oriko stumbled…
まず
First, the Snake Eater lured the Oracle and her loyal Stalwart.
その後
Then, after a speedy recovery, the Snake Eater lured the Serpent and the two-faced Jester.
それで何が起こるのでしょうか？
The Snake Eater — true to her name — then proceeds to devour the Serpent.
Headfirst.
なんてこった！
But worry not. Everything will be just fine.
Right?
…Oriko just had another vision of the future.“Oriko?! Are you alright?!”Oriko gripped her head tightly. “Yes, I’m fine. I just had another vision, let us proceed.”“Are you sure you can keep up?” Kirika asked, clearly worried.“Yes. Now come, time is of the essence.”Kirika nodded, and followed Oriko into the entrance of the labyrinth. Before Kirika could take another step further, Oriko stopped her.“What’s up?”“This labyrinth…” Oriko clenched her head once again, less tightly and more firmly this time. “...It’s filled with traps. Follow my lead.”Kyubey, whose presence was briefly forgotten, was skeptical of Oriko's claim. "Really? I don't sense anything in there-"Before he could finish his sentence, while he walked into the labyrinth, Kyubey was covered in exactly half a dozen of steel arrows.That's at least two incubators dead now today.Oriko could only shake her head. "...As I was saying, follow my lead."Oriko skillfully weaved through all the tripwire mines, machine gun sensors, and all other sorts of traps, and Kirika took a lot of care to mirror not just Oriko’s path, but also her movement, just in case not doing so would trigger these traps that Oriko claimed to be around.In some sequence, suppose that one acts as a third-person observer, one could mistake their skillfully weaving to that of a dance between a bride and her groom.Eventually, they reached the center of the labyrinth to witness Akemi Homura and Tomoe Mami struggling against the super witch. Or, well, it’s more like Homura alone struggling against the super witch, seeing that Mami only stood behind while Homura tried to sneak closer to the super witch, only to be blown away by a tripwire mine.Both Oriko and Kirika couldn’t help but wince. Kyubey barely reacted when another one of his bodies got caught in the blast as well.Seeing as the Mami Group were in desperate need of help, the Oriko Group (or at least half of it) came to the rescue.Oriko was no fighter, always relying on Kirika (and now Sasa and Moeru) to do all the fighting. No more.Oriko pulled out the proverbial ace up her sleeve: A Mikuni Family Heirloom, a modestly-engraved Colt Anaconda revolver, chambered for the powerful .44 Magnum round.
BANG!
The super witch was distracted by Homura’s limping body and thus hit on the side by the powerful gun.
“OW!”
The super witch didn’t really show any sign of wound or damage, but she seemed like she was actually hurt by Oriko’s attack.King Kobra hissed and winced in pain. “Tch…Huh? How did you two get past all those traps?” The surprisingly soft-spoken super witch continued. “More importantly, why are there only two of you? I was told to expect more.” Oriko raised an eyebrow. “I was under the impression that you’re blind. How did you know there are only two of us?”
“I have poor eyesight, not blindness.”
Quietly, Oriko replied. “Very well…Kirika, do it.”Prompted, Kirika jumped into action. Her claws were covered in magic. “You’re going down!”King Kobra grinned. Looks like she was getting into this as well. “You think you can touch me? Go ahead! Give it your best shot!” Before they could clash, Charlotte — whose grief seed was still in King Kobra’s mouth the entire time — hatched again in a desperate final gambit to escape. It would seem like the super witch had some problem eating her lesser. “Dammit, I should have chewed my food before I swallowed!” said King Kobra, as Charlotte thrashed violently, using everything in her power to be free from the super witch’s maw. Miraculously, she succeeded and escaped the super witch’s labyrinth, activating all sorts of traps and tanking it all on her way out.King Kobra sighed. She was hoping to bring Charlotte’s grief seed intact to hand over to The Morningstar, her master, seeing as it was actually her secondary objective. Should the witch prove resilient, then the super witch would have just devoured the lesser witch. King Kobra, purely due to her hubris, achieved neither.But she’s not going to tell her enemies that!Regardless of the outcome, this — however — halted Kirika’s advance. Actually seeing a super witch almost eating a normal witch like that…It was a scary thought. A scary thought that she was forced to shake away on the spot. She still had an enemy to destroy in front of her.Kirika continued her assault…“HAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”
"No matter…Prepare to get your ass kicked!"
…And tried to clash with the super witch on her own, with Oriko providing occasional fire support and insights — of the prophetic variety.Poor Homura had a very unpleasant time trying to figure out what the fuck is going on. Why are Oriko and Kirika here?! Why are they being helpful this time?! And what did the super witch mean by ‘only two of them’? Are there more people aligned with Oriko?! Why are there more?!Homura’s frantic thoughts were halted when Mami suddenly strode forward, dozens of musket rifles surrounding her.She was still fatigued.“I think you should sit this one out, Homura-chan.”Homura begged to differ, obviously more reluctant with Mami getting hurt than it happening to Kirika and Oriko. “Huh? Mami? What are you doing?”Mami chuckled. It was a tired chuckle. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m joining the fight…!”Homura wanted to object, but she stopped herself, knowing that doubting Mami for the second time that day would be pointless and probably harmful to their relationship. So she saved her breath. With great reluctance.When nobody objected, Mami literally jumped into action, intent on aiding Kirika and Oriko.
Timeline 101. Monday, 4 April 2011, 16:53 PM.
Sasa woke up from a nasty concussion. The last thing she remembered was Moeru’s bandaged fist coming straight to her face. Her face was still feeling the phantom pain left by the punch, that Sasa couldn’t help but wince. She looked around to see if anyone’s nearby, but only found Moeru drinking a bottle of energy drink. Where’s Oriko and Kirika? Sasa wondered.
Moeru took her time to finish the whole bottle in one go, before she greeted Sasa back to the world of the waking. “Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”Sasa held her head. It was still throbbing uncomfortably. “Hngghh…How long was I out for?”“3 minutes, give or take.” Moeru curtly answered, before handing another bottle to Sasa. “Here, drink this.”“Huh? What’s this?”“Just an energy drink. Drink it quickly and in one go.” said Moeru, practically shoving the bottle up Sasa’s face.Sasa found this annoying, but she was also curious as to why Moeru’s behaving like this. “H-hey! What’s the hurry?!”“There’s a super witch at the hospital. Oriko-san and Kirika-mate already went there first while I waited for you to wake up. Time is of the essence gogogogogo!"“Alright! Alright!” Sasa suddenly got swept by the feeling of urgency and took the bottle. “I was hoping that you’d go with them as well so I don’t have to.”“You kidding me? Sasa-tan, few people out there could crack my armor, let alone dent it.” Moeru gave Sasa an impressed smile. “Not having you around would be a waste!”Only then Sasa noticed the damage she had done to Moeru. Aside from the aforementioned crack and dent, there were also burnt and a bit of bloodstain on her mouth. When Moeru suddenly turned her back, Sasa nearly spat her drink. Her punches had been so powerful that it shattered the backside of Moeru’s armor as well somehow.The reason why Moeru turned back in the first place was because she was contemplating if she should ask if Sasa was mad at her for some reason, or if she should just ask Sasa to carry her to the hospital first.Moeru went with the latter.Moeru faced the other girl once again.“Um, Sasa-tan…” Moeru began to ask nervously.Sasa didn’t reply immediately. Taking her time to finish her own drink. It was honestly reinvigorating and it actually helped with her headache, who knew. “What is it?”“It may not seem like it, but I still can’t fuckin walk normally right now. Can ya give lil’ old me a lil’ lift?”“Sure.” Sasa sighed, before she got up from her sitting position and tapped her own shoulder. “Hop on my back, or something.”Moeru tried, she really did, she’d love to even, but… “Wow. She’s really limping.” Thought Sasa, watching Moeru move at such a pathetic pace.…Moeru suddenly collapsed with a loud thud, face first. Fortunately for her cute face, a faceplate appeared for a split second, softening her impact.“Ohmigosh!” Sasa jumped back in fright.Sasa walked closer to examine Moeru, more due to curiosity than concern, but backed away when Moeru started laughing hysterically.“...Moeru?”“AHAHAH-! Ohohoh-! Hihihi…Sorry, sorry, just had an adrenaline overload there.” said Moeru, still giggling uncontrollably.Sasa sweatdropped. “You are so weird.”Moeru, still a giggling mess, continued crawling onto the other girl. “I know.”………Finding out that Sasa can run really really fast has been a pleasant surprise. Finding out that Sasa was strong enough to carry Moeru in a bridal carry had been a very pleasant surprise. Moeru was shamelessly enjoying this ride.If only her anxiety wasn’t present at the time.Oh well, only one way to get rid of it. And to do it, Moeru had to be confrontational about it.No time like the present.“Um, Sasa-tan? Are you mad at me?”Without slowing down in the slightest, Sasa raised both her eyebrows questioningly. “Huh? What kind of question is that?”“I can’t help but ask you that after nearly murdering me just a few minutes ago.”“What are you talking about?”Moeru tapped the orange gem situated in the middle of her armored fauld. “Punch me just a little lower than you did, you would have shattered my soul gem.”“Ah…I didn’t even know that.” Sasa replied worriedly. More so due to a sudden sense of self-preservation than guilt. Fearing any sort of retribution that could’ve come from Moeru.But retribution would not come as Moeru is not the type of girl who holds grudges.“If I was just a normal bloke, I would have been a bloody pile of mess on the ground. Unrecognizable too!” Moeru continued talking.“...” Sasa listened silently, focusing more on the road.“A paste! A red smear of shit on the sidewalk!-” Moeru continued to be overly-dramatic.Sasa was already starting to get ticked off by Moeru’s antics. “Alright! Enough! I get it!”For once, Moeru did not retort.Not immediately, at least.“...”“...”“You still haven’t answered my question.” Moeru muttered. Looking a bit cheeky, a bit smug even, despite everything.Sasa gritted her teeth. “Yeah, I was angry! And I’ll shut you up again if you keep…pushing my buttons like this!”Despite the literal near-death experience, Moeru didn’t really feel that much regret. Her previous anxiety was replaced with amazement when she heard that the potential manslaughter turned out to be completely just that — a manslaughter. “Heh, worth it…”Sasa only grumbled in reply. “You’re insane…” she muttered under her breath.The rest of the trip was done in silence. The only sound coming from whatever store blasting out loud music and the conversation of many pedestrians that Sasa skillfully weaved through. These people were not blind, they definitely saw the predominantly-red-and-yellow blur moving between the crowd at high speed.On the way…“Look! There’s a Kyubey in front of us! Pick him up!” Moeru asked, her index finger pointed to the rapidly-nearing white dot in front of them.Sasa, with swift hand motions, managed to pick Kyubey up while bridal-carrying Moeru with both her hands.Kyubey landed safely on Moeru’s cuirass.“Hello there!” Kyubey exclaimed with the most convincing enthusiasm.“Why?” Sasa asked, who decided to ask after picking the white alien thing.“He might come in handy later.” Moeru cooed, pinching the alien’s cheek gently.“Using me as a meat shield is not environmentally-friendly.”Moeru let go of her hand and ^_^’d. “Aww, how’d ya know what I was gonna do to you?”“Statistics.” Kyubey calmly replied. “You’ve done it twice so far. And that's already more than anyone else has ever done."“Well, that depends on whether the situation needs you to be disposed of or not. Right?”Eventually, they approached the brightly-lit hospital. With the guidance of Moeru, who knows the layout of the area more than Sasa does, they arrived at the one entrance to the super witch’s labyrinth.But before they could even enter, they encountered yet another conundrum.Just outside the entrance to the super witch’s labyrinth, a doll-like witch was shivering in the cold. Wounded, and seemingly afraid.“A witch!”“This was the witch that Mami’s group was fighting before the super witch came here! She’s vulnerable! Go get her!” Kyubey exclaimed.Moeru shook her head. “Ehh, I got a better idea.” She then looked at Sasa. “Sasa-tan, think you can…recruit her?”As if to answer her question, Sasa tried to gently put down Moeru — who was already in good-enough condition — and walked delicately to the trembling witch. Sasa instinctively and without effort switched to her more-timid demeanor. Gotta make sure everything works to her liking."Hey…"The first impression wasn't too great, seeing as the terrified witch opened it's mouth and a worm-like thing came out of it in self defense. Even then, she still looked terrified on both faces."Hey now, calm down. We're not here to hurt you."The witch barely calmed down, but at least there was progress."How about you come with us instead, you…" Sasa trailed off. She looked at Kyubey for an answer. "Kyubey, do you know her name?""I believe the name of this witch would be…Charlotte."Satisfied, Sasa turned her attention towards the witch again. "How about you come with us instead, Charlotte? "Yeah. If you come with us, I'll give you…" Moeru started to rummage for something in her pocket, as a peace offering. "...this cheddar!"Moeru did not realize it, but cheese — no matter the type — was something that Charlotte had been looking for ever since she was born. The witch raised her arms, eager to accept this peace offering — to the surprise of the two magical girls.Then, to the surprise of just Moeru, the witch swallowed her arm, the arm holding the cheese, stopping just below the elbow."Wha- Hey! Get off!"Fortunately, Charlotte seemingly understood her complain and opened her mouth. The witch harmlessly plopped to the ground with the cheese in her mouth, while Moeru's arm looked unharmed as well, even if a bit disheveled.As they watched Charlotte wolf down on her morsel, Sasa asked her contemporary."Why do you have cheese just sitting in your pocket?"Even Moeru can see how kinda weird it was carrying cheese in one's pocket. "Oh, uh, my sister asked me to buy her some on my way back, and I ended up buying more than she asked for." Moeru replied, who then offered another block of cheese to Sasa as well. "Want one?"………Sasa, with Moeru and Kyubey (and Charlotte's grief seed) on tow, managed to pass through all the traps that covered the super witch's labyrinth.How? Sasa simply ran through them all at the speed of sound. Springing every single trap that she came across and being way too fast to actually be caught by any.When they arrived at the center of the labyrinth, they bore witness to the combined might of Oriko, Kirika, Mami, and Homura failing to land any hit on the massive-yet-agile super witch. How that even works is somewhat incomprehensible.
“MISSED ME!”
Sometimes the super witch merely sidesteps a blast from Mami's shot perfectly. Sometimes the super witch shrinks to the size of a normal snake to weave through Kirika's flurry of slashes.
“MISSED ME!”
Oriko had been useful in keeping everyone else alive, but her insight we're not able to be used to actually land a hit on the super witch. Their enemy was simply too agile, and her allies couldn't catch up. Micromanaging them between dodging the super witch and the traps that covered this labyrinth was starting to take a toll on her.
“MISSED ME!”
Homura…Actually, Homura was just standing there. Contemplating if she should just stop time and end it with a point blank shot. Unfortunately, Homura hesitated — unsure if she should reveal her power to the rest of her peers. She wasn’t even sure if her method would even work.Homura was rewarded with a kick to the gut when King Kobra, for a split second, took a humanoid form, before reverting back and away.Through keen observation, Moeru came up with an idea."Seems like they're having a hard time trying to hit this super witch."Sasa scoffed. "I bet I can do it. Still, do you have a plan?""Yeah. If they can't catch up to the witch, then we'll just have to lure the witch to us."Without waiting for Sasa's input, Moeru stepped forward and shouted. "HEY! YOU! YOU BEAUTIFUL THING! GET OVER HERE!"Moeru expected the witch to immediately come closer. Moeru, however, did NOT expect the speed that the witch was moving at. "That's right, you lil sheila…Come over here and OH SHI-"Before they knew it, Moeru lost her head. Swallowed in like a pill. Her petrified body — everything below her neck — remains standing.
“Gotcha!”
Everyone else froze. Well, almost everyone.Oriko had already foreseen this.With their de facto co-leader out of commission, Oriko shouted specifically to Sasa. "Yuuki-san! Grab onto Moeru-san's body and keep it safe! But stay close to the super witch!"Sasa regained her composure quickly and decided to ask questions later as she hoisted Moeru's headless body over her shoulder. Even as blood continued to spill from the headless stump, Sasa steeled her nerves.This is insane! What was Oriko planning? Moeru's dead!…Wait, no. Her soul gem was somewhere lower, based on what Moeru implied just a few minutes ago.
"Punch me just a little lower than you did, you would have shattered my soul gem.”
Moeru's probably alive.With her morale somewhat restored, Sasa made sure to avoid the super witch's bites. Making sure to be as close to the super witch as possible while also maintaining a safe distance.The super witch may be fast, but Sasa was faster.Whatever it is that Oriko was planning, it better work!For now, Sasa just had to keep on dodging.Running, dashing, spinning, jumping, air dashing, double jumping, spin jumping, double spin jumping, with the occasional potshots in the form of homing spins, punches, and kicks. Sasa did her best to survive and make sure her many passengers (Moeru's body, Kyubey, at least dozens of miscellaneous grief seeds, including Charlotte's) are safe.Eventually…
"BAH! Your persistence bores me. I'm leaving!"
"What?! No! Stay here!" Kyubey screamed right next to Sasa's left ear. The aforementioned girl winced in annoyance.
"You're not the boss of me, Kyubey! The Morningstar is!"
The super witch planned to leave through underground, but before she could dig an escape hole…She instead dug her own grave.………Inside the super witch’s body, Moeru was very much alive. She already stopped panicking just a few seconds ago, and was already thinking of a way to get out of this mess. Thankfully, the organic insides of the super witch didn’t really bother Moeru and were too dark to actually be seen with comfortable clarity, otherwise she would have been traumatized by it. It was spacious, at least. Leaving some room for air, not that she can actually breathe without her lungs, which were still outside — hopefully safe.Moeru thought for a moment. This was literally the single best place to cause as much damage as possible, and it was all thanks to her magical armor that her head wasn’t immediately crushed by any pressure on her way to where she was now. She knows just the thing that would get her out of here and hurt the witch badly at the same time. Without her lungs, she shouldn’t be able to speak, but with magic, she can do anything!And so she magically spat out a powerful magic scroll, and read.
Moeru cast flamethrower.Meanwhile, from an outside perspective, the super witch’s body gradually turned hot red. And then her body literally turned hot. So hot that Sasa can't help but take a few steps back.
"What is happening to me…? Ah! AHHHHHHHH!!!"
As the super witch screamed in agony, large plumes of fire suddenly shot out of her throat, burning it to crisp in the process.The super witch then forced herself to sneeze, and sneezed she did……She sneezed out Moeru's head, covered in saliva, spitting profanities and flames from her own mouth.It was all for naught."YOU SHOULD HAVE CHEWED YOUR FOOD BEFORE YOU SWALLOWED, YOU CUNT!"Moeru's head was very much alive, and very angry. And to be fair, trying to chew Moeru’s head at that time would be like trying to chew a rock-hard pill.Once again, everyone else except Oriko froze in shock.On the other side of the battlefield, Kirika was carrying Oriko in a bridal carry. Glad that her only friend in her classroom managed to survive being eaten like that. “Wow…She’s still alive…!”Oriko smirked. “All according to plan.”Nearby, Homura and Mami were still trying to process what just happened for the past few minutes.“...Who is that?” Homura wondered. Homura vaguely remembered encountering (and unceremoniously killing) Sasa at some point in one of the previous timelines. But she never met the other girl before. Not even once.To Homura’s surprise however, Mami recognizes the new face.“Is that…what’s her name…Moeru-san, I believe?”“You know her?”“She was a new transfer student in my class about a week ago. Though…I didn’t know she was a magical girl as well.”Homura shot the blonde a look. “How did you not notice her presence then?”“I’m…not sure. Maybe her magic is weak.”Homura glanced at the burning super witch, fires covering its entire body. Her death throes gradually silenced as any oxygen that would have been converted to screams were instead burned away by the flame. “But she did kill that super witch.”“Yeah, she did.” Mami agreed, before putting some efforts to look away from the morbid sight. “Let’s go and meet up with them.”Homura tore her gaze away more easily. “You go on ahead, Mami. I have to make sure Madoka and Sayaka are okay.”Back to the other side of the battleground, Sasa fortunately recovered just in time and caught Moeru’s flying head just before it reached the ground. It was heavier than expected.“Oh hi Sasa-tan, how you doin?”Sasa scowled, and subconsciously hugged Moeru’s head firmly. “Was getting eaten part of your plan?”“Nah.”Sasa rolled her eyes. She then placed Moeru’s still-petrified body upright, and placed the girl’s head back in its place. It looked fine for a few seconds, until her head slid off forward at the slightest movement. This time, Moeru’s headless body caught her own head.“Doh!”They didn’t dare do a second attempt, so Moeru simply cradled her own head comfortably.“Ya know, this is kinda nice.”The first to approach them were Oriko and Kirika.Before they could say anything, Moeru beat them to it by asking first. “You two okay? I hope we didn’t take too long to get here.”“No, you’re just in time.”Moeru chuckled. “What? Did you foresaw my head getting eaten?”Oriko nodded.“Is this sort of thing going to be happening more often?“Hopefully not.”The four then were approached by another group of four. It was Mami……And Homura, who effortlessly carried Madoka and Sayaka, who were wrapping their hands around her neck.Nobody said anything. Everyone was unsure on what to say.As soon as the super witch finally died in the background, the labyrinth dissolved, and the super witch’s grief seed rolled away from where she died and conveniently stopped exactly in the middle between the two groups.Somehow, they ended up at the top of the hospital roof.Moeru, being the natural self-proclaimed diplomat that she was, became the first to talk.“So, Mami-mate, Fancy seeing you here.”The girls over at Mami’s group had various reactions to that unusual suffix, but Mami put that aside. Honestly, Mami actually mistook Kirika and Moeru as a couple of chuuni with how weak their magical presence were, but it seemed she was wrong the entire time. Kyubey never actually mentioned them either, now that she thought about it. “Moeru-san, Kirika-san, you two are magical girls as well? Since when?”Mami was slightly put off that Moeru seemed okay with her head like that, but wasn’t really bothered since she already knows how durable a magical girl can be.“About a year ago now, give or take.” Moeru casually replied."A few weeks for me!" Kirika added.“Why didn’t you tell me?”“Why didn’t you notice?” Moeru countered.“I can’t! I didn’t feel even a thing ever since you first transferred. You could have just told me!”“No I couldn’t.” “Why not?!”Moeru nearly gave Mami a deadpan, but settled with a bemused smirk instead. “Because every time I try, you always leave the classroom immediately before I can even say a thing!”Oriko strode forward and stopped next to Moeru. “Is this true?”Moeru gave Oriko a glance. “Yes! Just ask Kirika-mate!” She then looked back at the girls in front of them. “What were you even doing mate?”Mami adopted a thousand yard stare, remembering her first witch hunt…and her first failure. “...Witches don’t rest. Recently, there has been an influx of witches, and I take any opportunity to get rid of them.”Moeru, noticing- nay, recognizing Mami’s expression, took on a somber expression herself. “...Fair enough.” Oriko took this as her que to take over the speaking role. “Now that you know two of your classmates are magical girls, what will you do now?”Mami can't help but be suspicious. “Who knows? Seems like you four already got a group going. What’s your goal?”Oriko couldn't be happier to tell them. "It is the most righteous of goals — we are saving the universe by stopping these super witches!” "Alright, so far so good…" Mami thought to herself. “Then perhaps we can join forces to deal with these super witches?”Her hopes were dashed when Moeru shook her head. “Sorry, no can do.”“Excuse me?”Oriko then gave Mami's group a judgemental look. “You lack something vital. Something that can determine your very fate.”Mami made her frown known. “And what would that be?”Oriko lifted a hand. “Patience, Tomoe-san,”Mami visibly flinched. She was certain she never told this girl her name. Maybe Moeru or Kyubey told her?Oriko then crossed her arms and smirked. “All will be revealed soon enough. Whether you’re up to it or not will entirely be up to you and those around you.”“Do you have to be so cryptic?” said Moeru, who shot her leader a deadpan stare, if not an annoyed look.“Yes, yes, I do.”Moeru sighed and shook her head. “Whatever. Sasa-tan, can you keep a hold on that grief seed?” Moeru asked, gesturing to the super witch's grief seed in front of…where is it?“What? You mean this grief seed?” Sasa asked, casually juggling the super witch's grief seed — which, upon closer look, was the size of an arm.“Wha- It was on the floor just a few seconds ago!”“Blink and you'll miss it." Sasa said with a cocky grin. She then stored the grief seed in her hammer space.Moeru rolled her eyes. It was approaching night time and Moeru tends to get antsy at these hours. "Right, okay. Sasa-tan, keep the grief seed." She then looked at Mami's group. "Mami-mate, if you'll excuse me, I have to go home. My sister's probably worried sick right now…""I have so many questions that I wanted to ask you, but…alright, I guess…" Mami was getting tired as well. It’s not like she was in any particular rush for some answers anyway, she knows they will meet again very very soon."See you at school tomorrow, Mami-mate!" Said Moeru, who mustered a smile, waved, and jumped off the building. The rest of the Oriko Group — including Kyubey — followed, leaving the Mami Group in peace.Once they were definitely gone, Mami dematerialized her magical girl outfit and sighed. Releasing some tensions that she didn't even know she held.Homura, who stood back and merely paid attention, soon followed and powered down as well.They just stood there in silence, until Sayaka broke it. "What is going on…?Mami and Homura looked at each other and then looked at their non-magical girl friends. They wish they had the energy to summarize things.
At the same time. On a nearby rooftop.
Two ominous humanoid figures watched from a safe distance as King Kobra was defeated by the two groups of magical girls.While both of them looked feminine, had glowing eyes, and shrouded in darkness, one of them sported a pair of corvid wings behind her back and was taller than the other.This was Yatagarasu.The other girl was less defined, seemingly having no unique feature.Who is this?"King Kobra failed…" Yatagarasu muttered.The other figure seemingly didn't react, which prompted the crow to continue."You said she was the best witch to take them all out, and she failed. Maybe you should have sent your strongest super witch to do it for you next time…" Yatagarasu mocked, to the point of borderline insubordination to… "...Morningstar."
The other figure, now revealed to be the Morningstar, clenched her fists.
"I have to wonder though…why did you send the Snake Eater alone? She looked like she ate more than she could swallow."
"Quiet." Morningstar — whose voice eerily resembles Homura's — uttered. And With that single word, Yatagarasu was silenced…against her will."I specifically ordered that fool to take out the Oracle’s group, and what did she do? She went after the Ranger’s group instead, making her susceptible to her own hubris. Whatever failure that she has done, she brought it upon herself.” Said the Morningstar.Yatagarasu would have retorted further…if she wasn't bound by this silencing magic that was casted by the Morningstar.
"Let us leave now. I still have plenty more under my command."
Yatagarasu clenched her teeth. She seemed to be in pain. "W-what…? I could literally take them all out at once, right now!"“No, Yatagarasu-san.” Morningstar rebutted as she watched the Oriko Group leave the area “The Oracle’s group…they’ve now piqued my interest, and I have decided that it would be a shame to wipe them out completely at this time. Do you get me?”
“No, no I don’t.”
The Morningstar gave a tired chuckle. “That’s fine. All will be revealed soon enough. For now, stick to the plan,” she then casted a glance at the Mami Group. “and tell the rest of the girls to not kill anyone that is part of the Ranger’s group.”
“...Yes, Morningstar.”
A portal opened behind the two, and then they walked into it.Before she was fully immersed within the portal, the Morningstar gave one last glance to a certain pink-haired girl in the distance.
“I’ll see you soon, Madoka…”
Timeline 101. Monday, 4 April 2011, 19:00 PM. The Mikuni Safehouse, dining room.
The Oriko Group were having a celebratory feast for their first win against the super witches. In the middle of the table was a whole roasted chicken, surrounded by plenty of fried tofu, and some fresh sliced cucumbers and cabbages as edible arrangements. Due to budget constraints, they could only afford hot sweet tea for drinks. All these services were provided by Suzie, Oriko’s new maid/butler/janitor/custodian.Sasa in particular was examining King Kobra’s super grief seed very closely, intrigued by its difference compared to ordinary grief seeds.As mentioned before, it was much larger than an ordinary grief seed, even if it weighs just about the same. It also felt cold to the touch, no doubt that prolonged holding would cause frostbite. It was pretty spiky too, at least visually. It was admittedly hard to get poked by it without being deliberate about it.Sasa wasn’t sure how useful it is compared to ordinary grief seeds, but for once, she wasn’t feeling particularly confident in using it to purify her own soul gem, let alone try to take control of the super witch……And so Sasa has decided…“Moeru.”Said girl looked up from her food when she heard her name spoken by Sasa. “Hm?”“Here, you can keep it.” said Sasa, who handed over the super grief seed away.“What’s wrong with it?” Oriko asked.“I…don’t know. Just holding it already feels…wrong…”“What are you talking about- Ah!” Kirika tried to hold it, but almost immediately let go of it moments after touching it. It was thankfully caught by Suzie, who had been standing behind Oriko and Kirika the entire time.“Worry not everyone, I’ll hold onto it.” said the underpaid worker, seemingly unaffected by whatever it is that affected Sasa and Kirika. Suzie then excused herself to store the damned thing…somewhere…Oriko swallowed her food and asked. “What’s wrong with it?”Kirika seemed fixated towards her hands. The hands seem fine from an outside perspective. “Trying to hold that grief seed felt like trying to hold a solid ball of ice…!”Moeru snickered with her mouth full. “Have you ever held a solid ball of ice before?”“Shut up…!” Kirika retorted in a way that felt uncharacteristic of her, but almost no one could exactly pin as to why, except Oriko, who noticed the slight voice crack.“And it looks like it’s making you feel all weird on the inside.” Oriko commented.“Maybe…” said Sasa with a heavy frown. “Kirika, you’re crying.”“What?” That snapped Kirika out of whatever that was. She then wiped her eyes, and was surprised that it was soaked in tears. “Weird…”“Well, hopefully that’s not gonna be a problem later on,” said Moeru as she wiped her mouth gently with a tissue. “Because we’re gonna be holding more of those sooner or later.”Sasa sighed, making a conscious effort to clear her head from these indescribable negative thoughts that had invaded her mind. “Yeah, yeah, just gotta keep it together…”Oriko suddenly stood up, with her own personalized personal cup of tea. “Well everyone, I’d say that — as far as sacrificing one’s life goes — we all did pretty well today. A few scrapes here, a few close calls there, but at the end of the day, we all made it home. So…” Oriko raised her cup. “...how about a toast?”“A toast without liquor? I heard that brings bad luck.” replied Moeru, who got up from her seat anyway.As soon as she finished saying that, her big sister popped her head back into the room, a disapproving frown on her face. Moeru suddenly felt a chill, and it’s not because of the snow outside.“No alcohol until you’re old enough.” said her sister, who left without bothering to wait for a reply.“Y-yes nee-san…” said Moeru with a woozy face.Kirika and Sasa then got up as well with their own respective cups.“You all know what you’re fighting for.”Oriko paused.“And for the first time in a long time, I feel like my life has a purpose to fulfill. Thanks to my power, I have only the vaguest idea on how all this would end, so please…”They clinked their cups silently.“...Don’t die. I would love to uncover the meaning behind it, together with you all…”………
Timeline 101. Monday, 4 April 2011, 19:00 PM. The Kaname Household, Madoka’s room.
Elsewhere, the Mami Group were having their own feast. To keep their privacy as they talked about what had transpired today, Madoka successfully convinced her parents to allow her and her friends to have dinner in her own room.“Do you think we’ll be meeting them again?” said Madoka, who then swallowed the homemade fried chicken fillet. “When we go hunting for witches again, I mean. Not at school.” she elaborated with her mouth full.Mami was enjoying herself with the heavenly food provided by Madoka’s father, and nearly missed Madoka’s question. “What? You mean Moeru-san and her friends?”Madoka nodded.“I have a feeling that we will.”On the other side of the table (that Madoka took out of her closet just for this occasion), Sayaka and Homura were playing with their food and absolutely NOT talking about what had transpired today.“Here comes the Pterodactyl! Open up your mouth and say aaaa!” Sayaka exclaimed, slowly moving the pterodactyl-shaped chicken nugget onto Homura’s face.Homura was annoyed in a bemused sort of way. “Miki-san, I can eat on my own. Thank you very much.”Sayaka stopped her hand just in front of the raven-haired girl’s face. “Oh yeah? Then I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself if you start calling me just Sayaka.”Homura didn’t realize it, but she actually smiled as she snatched the nugget from the bluenette’s hand. “Whatever you say, just Sayaka.”Before Homura could eat it, Mami coughed into her hand to catch their attention. “Ahem.”“Yeah, Mami-senpai?”“How are you two holding? Doing just fine?”“Why wouldn’t we?” Sayaka nonchalantly replied.“Well…you did see what happened to Homura earlier.” Mami replied, making an exploding hand gesture, referring to Homura. “And then there’s the whole…swish.” She continued, this time making a slicing gesture over her neck, obviously referring to Moeru.Sayaka shrugged. “It would have bothered me so much if they didn’t walk away from it just fine.” Instead, it only made Sayaka more hyped up. “Ohh, now I really want to be a magical girl!”“Remember, Miki-san, no need to rush. You have to make sure that your wish won’t be something that you’ll regret.”“Right!” said Sayaka with stars in her eyes. She then looked at the pinkette sitting right in front of her. “How about you, Madoka? Still up for this magical girl biz?”“Ah- I think I’ll pass…”Homura paused from eating her spaghetti. Did she hear that right?Madoka gave a nervous laugh. “Just watching all those horrible things happen to someone else already spooked me, I don’t think I can even stomach the thought…” Madoka bowed her head. “Sorry everyone…”Homura wanted to come over and tell Madoka that her decision was completely okay, but Mami beat her to it. “Don’t worry about it, Kaname-san. Even now you still continue to support us.”“Really?”Mami nodded. “I once heard that, in a war, the homefront is equally as important as the frontline. Without the homefront, then what are we even fighting for? The ones back in the homefront feed us, they bring us and remind us of normalcy in this dangerous world.”Mami gave Madoka a glance. “In a way, we’re all fighting for your sake, and I think that’s something worth fighting for.”That seemed to have lifted Madoka’s spirit. “...Thank you, everyone. I’ll do my best to support you all however I can!”
Sayaka sighed, but still smiled. “Welp, guess we’ll never know what Madoka’s special power would be. And I was so curious too…”“Worry about what your power would be first.” Homura retorted with her mouth full of spaghetti.“Hey, a girl can worry about multiple things at the same time!”………………
「Snake Eater: King Kobra 」
Nature: Opportunistic
Bio:
The Snake Eater often preys on those significantly weaker in strength and in spirit.However, this tendency has made her prone to hubris — she forgot that out of all the super witches, she was the weakest.
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And so, our three dashing protagonists managed to save the day yet again from yet another extradimensional threat.
Recently, my writing motivation had been pretty down. However, my drawing motivation had been quite high, so I decided to draw our three dashing protagonists of Puella Magi Kiwami.Well, to be exact, the drawing above is actually a 2-year timeskip after the plot of Puella Magi Kiwami, which means Homura and Moeru are 16, while Mami is 17. I won't spoil anything else.Speaking of which, since neither Homura nor Mami had an official birthday (that I know of), I decided to set their birthday based on the date when I first drew them myself, so that makes Mami's birthday (and Moeru's too, apparently) 26 June, and Homura's birthday......6 October, which is today!Wish Homura a happy birthday!.........Anyway, about the next chapters...Both Act 7 and Act 8 are in the works right now. The works done had been quite substantial, but nowhere near being done.In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the little bonus material that I had provided above :]
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Timeline 101. Tuesday, 5 April 2011, 15:59 PM. Class 2-A.
One must imagine Homura happy.After the incredibly-disastrous 96th time loop, Homura stopped fussing about how “This time it will be different” or “Better luck next time” or “If only I didn’t mess this one up”. To do so means she would surrender to pure delusion that her relatively-conventional methods could save Madoka.Not saying that she should give up, though. Just saying that her current method is painfully, obviously insufficient. Homura needed something more…over the top.Still, if things were to keep going the way it was going, she might as well enjoy it. Homura already knows that Madoka tends to have small recollection of her time in different timelines, and who knows, if she does this for a long time, Madoka might remember just enough to actively not form a contract on her own volition.The struggle itself to reach her goal was enough to fill her weak, diseased heart. Someday, there will be a day when her heart would be overfilled with struggles, but that day seems so distant now.All that changed with the arrival of these super witches, and suddenly her expected monotony was quickly shattered, replaced with a new sort of worry. A worry that this timeline might just be her last chance to save Madoka.It's not even something that she can just retreat from by turning back to an earlier point in time, seeing as that super witch — Yatagarasu — seemingly followed her from the 100th timeline.It’s a wonder that Homura hasn’t broken down yet.The bell rang, and class was over, but Homura was just sitting there, too absorbed in her ruminations to really pay attention to her surroundings."...mura-chan? Homura-chan? HOMURA!"Homura jolted from her seat when Madoka screamed her name right into her ear. Sayaka was also about to scream her name in her other ear, but Homura put a hand on her mouth."Ah! Madoka! Sorry for not paying attention, I just had a lot on my mind…"Madoka crossed her arms and made a :/ face. "Oh, then…maybe we should ask you about the thingy later?""The…thingy?"Madoka made a circular, clockwise hand motion.Homura caught on quite early."Uhm…I'm not sure if I should even tell you both, or if you'll even believe me.""Kyubey did vouch for you, didn't he?""Yeah, unless he just made that up for some reason.” Sayaka added.Homura shook her head. "Well, Kyubey never lies," she then sweatdropped after hearing what she herself just said. "Or maybe Kyubey lied about never lying?" "But first, how about we find somewhere more private than this class to talk about…the thingy?""What do you have in mind?" Madoka asked."My home, mayhaps?This excited Sayaka for some reason. "Ohh! Never been to your place before!"
Timeline 101. Tuesday, 5 April 2011, 16:20 PM. Homura’s apartment.
Madoka and Sayaka were walking silently while Homura led them to her fortress- I mean home. The snow actually got thicker all over town, but thankfully they took a well-maintained route. It was a cloudy day with a chance of blizzard, putting a little damper in everyone’s mood.At first, they thought that Homura lived in a small apartment or something, but this? Homura’s home felt like (and it probably is) a part of a grand, yet cramped, housing area. Similar large houses surround Homura’s own in all directions, and yet there doesn’t seem to be anyone living in it, at least at first glance.Madoka and Sayaka’s first impression is that this is quite a quiet neighborhood.“Welcome to my-” and Homura suddenly paused.Oh no! She forgot to finish modifying the interior of her home!Without warning, Homura stopped time, left her frozen friends outside, and briskly went inside to start sweeping the broom and whatnot.From the other two’s perspective, it would seem like Homura ditched them, before Homura herself opened the door from the inside and greeted them. “Welcome to my home.”She seemed to be covered in dust and soot.“Oi transfer student, what did you just do?” Sayaka asked, not in an accusing sort of way, just curious. Homura, of course, nearly misinterpreted her though.“I thought that allowing you two into my messy home would be rude, so I…took initiative.”“Wow, Homura-chan. Now you’re the messy-looking one here.” said Madoka completely honestly.“I know.” Homura said with mirth and a smile. “Let’s go inside, it’s warmer.”And then they went inside.Nothing could have prepared the two guests on what they were about to see.They first walked through a long dark corridor, before ending up in a white, brightly-lit room. One of the few eye-catching things (other than the white wall) was the giant pendulum hanging and swinging on the ceiling.“Woah, what is this? It’s like an endless white void…” said Sayaka as she started walking in a random direction, before bumping into the screen wall. “Ack!”“Be careful! These monitors are expensive!”“Where did you even get all this stuff?”“I'll tell you about it later." Homura waved whoever asked off. "So, where do I begin?""How about-"Suddenly, the electricity was out. Plunging the room into pitch black.Before anyone could panic, Homura was quick to lit up a flare.Only after the flare was lit, was when the panic started.Madoka was gone!"Sayaka, where's Madoka?!"Before Sayaka could answer, they heard the front door opening, and the sound of shoes tapping against the frozen walkway quickly fading away into the distance."That must be her!" Sayaka exclaimed.Homura and Sayaka quickly exited the building and looked around, trying to figure out which way Madoka went."Which way do we go?""Grab onto me first!"Sayaka wasted no time and grabbed onto Homura's shoulder, about just in time for Homura to stop time."Ooh…I'm never going to get used to that." said Sayaka, who briefly felt disoriented. "So which way might she be?"Homura concentrated for a second, trying to pinpoint Madoka's unmistakable potential, and ended up pointing her finger to the east. "...That way."The two girls took their time walking, not eager enough to slip on their way to Madoka. They eventually found the pinkette not too far away from Homura's home, but still unexpectedly far enough to be unexpected."I wonder why she decided to ditch us…" Sayaka wondered as they carefully approached their friend."Looks like we're about to find out soon enough."And so time continued, and Madoka staggered past her friends, barely noticing them.“Madoka…?”“Hey! Madoka!”Madoka ignored them.It felt like something stabbed their heart.Madoka didn’t seem to care though, as she continued to walk away to god knows where.Something was very wrong, and both Homura and Sayaka knew it. So Sayaka ran up and stood in front of Madoka, only for the pinkette to merely bypass her. Sayaka didn’t stop there though as she called out. “Hey! Madoka! What’s gotten into you?”That seemed to catch her attention, even if only briefly. When she turned to them, her face looked so worn down."Mami-san said that I'm still useful like this, but does she actually think so?"“What are you…? Oh!” Sayaka seemed to remember something about Madoka in this particular weather.Homura was clueless to Sayaka’s realization. “What? What is it?”“Well, the snow reminded me of something, Madoka actually suffers from- Wait! Madoka’s getting away!”Homura turned her head frantically after Sayaka didn’t get to finish her answer, only to find Madoka already a considerable distance away from them once again.“Madoka!”Madoka didn’t even stop or turn back this time, managing to utter a barely audible whisper. “Homura-chan…I’m literally useless.”It was one of her many lapse of judgement, influenced by her poor social skills and how she hated that miserable-looking face on what is otherwise a face that would fill her with fondness, but Homura frowned, stopped time, stood in front of the pinkette, resumed time, and slapped Madoka.Surprisingly, Madoka retaliated.Not in a million years did Homura ever expect herself to be punched in the gut by Madoka, of all people. But here she was now, writhing on the ground, clutching her gut in pain.“W-why…?” Homura asked painfully, only to have her question answered when she saw a witch’s kiss. She was even more alerted when multiple sparking cables started to seemingly crawl out of Madoka’s back. Homura was quite certain the human body isn't supposed to do that.Homura wasted no further time and phased away from where she was and appeared right next to Sayaka.“Homura-”“Sayaka, no time to explain!”“What’s going on?!”She just said she had no time to explain, but Madoka was now just standing there, so Homura decided to explain the situation to Sayaka anyway. “Madoka is under the control of a witch! I’ll stay and try to rescue her! You go find a safe place and call for help!” Homura was not taking any chances when it came to Madoka.“Are you-”“Go!”Sayaka scrambled awayOnce Sayaka was out of earsight, Homura exhaled. “I hope I didn’t make the wrong decision again…”Homura focused her sight towards Madoka, trying to think of a plan to get them out of there. Somehow, a witch (or at least a familiar) got inside and gave Madoka lil smooch while they weren’t looking, and now here they are, possibly wasting everyone’s time.She’ll try to make this quick.Homura stopped time, and calmly walked towards Madoka, with her gun unholstered.Homura was in for another surprise when it turns out that Madoka was only pretending to look frozen. Startled doesn’t even begin to describe how Homura felt when Madoka suddenly hugged her very tightly. It was so tight that Homura’s heart could barely take it.“What the?!”Her concentration was broken, and she did not notice quickly enough when Madoka’s hand spun her shield and made time to continue flowing once again.“How are you moving?!” Homura asked, only noticing way too late that a cable had wrapped itself around her leg the entire time, establishing a physical connection between herself, Madoka, and the witch somewhere.She wanted to break out, but Madoka was surprisingly quite powerful, even as a normal girl. Homura could only watch as another cable struck her neck.At that moment, Homura was also kissed by a witch.“No…NO! It can’t end like this!” was Homura’s final thought as the effect of the witch’s kiss started to take hold on her. From that point on, everything was a blur.
Meanwhile…
Sayaka decided that hiding back at the front of Homura’s house and watching the confrontation from there might be the best course of action. So far, her two friends were just standing there, so she took this opportunity to pull out her phone and call for help.She called Mami.“C’mon, c’mon, pick it up…!” she muttered, nervously gripping her phone, hoping it was not too late. It has only been 5 seconds, and Sayaka was already getting impatient. “She’s not picking up! What am I gonna do…?” she said, nervously tapping her foot “Oh! Right! Kyubey, where are you?!” she called out.Out of nowhere, Kyubey jumped onto Sayaka’s shoulder. “You called?”“Ah, good, you’re here. I need to get in touch with Mami-senpai, right now!”“I’m afraid Mami is busy right now.”Sayaka’s relieved face turned into a frown so fast. “What do you mean?!”“She’s currently in trouble herself.”“Ahhh!” Sayaka cried out, clutching her eyes shut in frustration.Kyubey remained calm though, already coming up with a myriad of plans on how they should proceed. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll let you know when Mami is available again.” Kyubey reassured the bluenette. “For now, I suggest we follow those two, just in case.”“Follow them? Why?”Kyubey pointed one of his weird ears towards the other girls, and Sayaka saw an unconscious Homura being dragged away by Madoka.“!”Before Sayaka does anything drastic like running towards her friends, Kyubey stops her. Sensing her intention before even she subconsciously realises it. “Exercise subtlety now, it would be bad if we were dragged away as well.”“Right, right, we’ll do this ninja style!” Sayaka exclaimed, seemingly undeterred by this method of approach.If Kyubey was capable of it, he would have sweatdropped. “Yeah, ninja style, sure…”Sayaka, alongside Kyubey, followed her ensnared friends with subtlety. Moving from cover to cover while Madoka single mindedly dragged Homura away with barely any attention to her surroundings. Once again, Madoka was proving to be surprisingly powerful, being able to drag away Homura with ease.Eventually, they arrived at Mitakihara’s old industrial complex. Sayaka saw Madoka dragging Homura inside one of the warehouses. After making sure there was no one else around, Sayaka ran sneakily towards the entrance of the warehouse.Sayaka slowly opened the door……only for a hand to shoot out of the darkness and grab her own arm, forcefully pulling her inside. Kyubey already braced for it.“Oof!” Sayaka was thrown on the ground. Hard.When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see that the one who pulled her was Madoka, at least at first glance.Upon further inspection, Madoka was completely unconscious and subtly wrapped in cables, controlling her movement, like a strung puppet. Madoka was completely at the whim of the witch. Sayaka then looked around, and she saw at least two dozen unknown people, and Homura, hanging on the ceiling, suspended by cables. They seem to be arranged in a circular manner, with an ominous-looking TV placed in the middle of the circle of hanged people.Every single one of them were unconscious.“Sayaka-chan…” the witch, using Madoka’s vocal chord, spoke in a near–raspy manner.Sayaka was instantly in a state of fight or flight response due to the sheer creepiness of it all, and she choses flight. Destination: that broom closet over there.She ran, faster than she ever thought she could do, into the closet. After slamming shut the door and locking it for good measure, Sayaka leaned on the door and slumped down, fearing for her life. She was filled with so much fear that she nearly forgot that she was not alone in that room.“Looks like we walked into somewhere we weren’t supposed to be.” Kyubey commented.“Is Mami-senpai still unavailable?!”“Yup.”Sayaka sighed in exasperation. “What are we gonna do now…?”“Well, the obvious answer to that question is to form a contract with me and become a magical girl to save your friends.”Sayaka was about to wish for something poorly thought out, but was once again stopped by Kyubey who reassured her. “Please, do take your time though, it would seem this room has quite a formidable protection against the supernatural.” He said, referring to the dreamcatcher hanging just above the door.“So that witch out there…” She assumed that TV or PC monitor was the witch. “...couldn’t break in?”“She shouldn’t…” Kyubey himself looked a little unsure. “...at least for a little while”Sayaka inhaled, trying to calm herself down, and began thinking of a flawless plan to save them all and get them out of there. She was distracted when someone on the other side started banging the door violently.“!” Sayaka backed away from the door, stood up, and started jamming the door with whatever’s in that room. “Who’s knocking on the door?!”“I’ll go have a look.” Kyubey offered, who then jumped into the nearest vent to have a peek on who was trying to break in. He returned in less than a minute.“Well?!” Sayaka asked, anxious to hear Kyubey’s report.“Bad news. The witch started controlling everyone out there, sending them all to try to break into this room.” Kyubey then ducked. “I suggest you lay low, Homura might use her gun to break in.”“Homura too?!”Sayaka didn’t get the chance to ask further, because she just heard the sound of a rifle reloading. Sayaka quickly went prone, just in time as numerous bullet holes started appearing at the wall just above her head.“Sayaka, no pressure, but I suggest you hurry…!” said Kyubey with a hint of urgency.“Right!” Sayaka nodded, slowly calming down for this moment. “I wish…” the sound of bullets ramming the door prompted her to be more urgent in her wish. “I wish I can save myself as well as others that need my help!”
“Your wish is…GRANTED!” Kyubey proclaimed in a near-booming voice, gently tapping his ear to her forehead. “And luckily for us, your potential is actually quite powerful!”Sayaka stood up, heedless to the bullets that now merely grazes her skin nigh-harmlessly. She inspected her new outfit, color-coded to fit her blue hair. Her snow white cape flowing violently against the turbulent air caused by the whizzing bullet, complimented by a pair of steel blue and gold pauldrons covering her shoulder, parrying all harms away as if it was a shield.She then inspected her sword, which she can shape into all sorts of blades that she could ever think of, every single one of them as light as a feather.“Showtime!”Eventually, the gunfire stopped, and the thralls of people managed to break into the room with ease.Only to find that the room was vacant.They stood there, dumbfounded, only to be alerted when Sayaka emerged from the vent outside the room and rushed towards what she assumed to be the witch.Unfortunately, Madoka was the closest to the TV and shielded it with her own body.This did not deter Sayaka however, as she simply severed the cables over Madoka, freeing her.Sayaka then caught Madoka’s slumped body. “Got ya!”Seeing what Sayaka can do, “Ah! So scary!” the witch in the TV screamed, who then proceeded to float away and retreat, alongside her dozens of remaining thralls, including Homura, to the warehouse just next door.Madoka woke up immediately when there were no immediate dangers present, but…“Sayaka-chan…?“Madoka, are you okay?”“I’m not…” Madoka whispered.Sayaka couldn’t make out what Madoka was trying to say at first. “What was that?”“I’m not okay! I’m useless…!”“Madoka!” She knows how Madoka tends to behave in this climate, but something still feels off about her. Thankfully, Kyubey was still there to guide her.“You should probably get rid of that witch’s kiss.”“What kiss?”“That symbol on her neck. It’s the thing that has been messing up her head this entire time.” he pointed out.There Sayaka saw it, the strange, small symbol on Madoka’s neck. “Okay…how do I get rid of it?”“Give it a little kiss of your own.” Kyubey replied. He seemed a little too gleeful.Sayaka briefly hesitated, but ultimately shrugged. “Well, I guess I can do that…”Sayaka settled with a quick peck.“Just kidding.”Sayaka quickly retracted as soon as she heard that. She was utterly flustered. “What?!”“A simple wipe with your hand is enough, actually.”“Then what was that kiss for?!”Kyubey shrugged with his ears. “Well, you seemed tense.”“Of course I’m tense! Homura is still in danger!”“I’m sure she’ll be fine.”“We’ll see. C’mon Madoka, stick close to me!”Madoka was somewhat disoriented at first, but eventually noticed that Sayaka was now a magical girl. “Oh, Sayaka-chan, you’re a magical girl as well…”“Well, I don’t really have much of a choice...” Sayaka muttered. She then hugged Madoka very closely and spoke gently. “Look, I know how you tend to be in this climate, but please stick close to me. We’re gonna go and save Homura, okay?”Madoka was lucid enough to at least nod, to Sayaka’s relief.So they exited the warehouse they were currently in, only to be blown by a violent blizzard. Sayaka, using her new cape, completely deflected it, covering both herself and Madoka from the elements.As soon as they entered the next warehouse however, they also immediately entered the witch’s recently set up labyrinth. They were first met with twisted dark corridors, lit-up monitors on the walls that provided no true illumination, and the distinct scent of burned computers.They also saw a person hanging on the ceiling nearby.Through random chance, they recognized this person.“Hey, isn’t this the mayor’s son?” Sayaka questioned.“Mikuni Shounin?” Madoka seems to know his name.“What’s he doing here?”“I suppose even someone of higher standing is still susceptible to the influence of a witch.” Kyubey commented.With a katana in hand, she prepared herself. “Alright, time to cut him loose…!”Before she could do that, the monitors around them started to light up, and played various third-person footage of…his childhood? One footage showed a very recent memory of an injured Mitakihara Middle School third-grader Shounin getting his injuries treated by Madoka.This surprised Sayaka. “Woah…!”“Hey…This footage was us from about a month ago!” Madoka looked amazed…and relieved?“We probably shouldn’t pry further. Cut him loose already, Sayaka!”Sayaka didn’t waste time any further and went to work, wiping the witch’s kiss away and dropping the boy back onto the ground.Turns out, the boy was awake the entire time, and struggled to stay upright.Shounin still had enough mental faculties to ask questions. “Hey, you two, what’s going on here?”“Ah! He’s awake!”“Don’t worry, I got it!” Kyubey exclaimed as he ran up to him, jumped up to his face, and lightly slapped him in the face, making him fall unconscious.After making sure the boy was really unconscious this time, Kyubey beckoned them to proceed deeper into the labyrinth. “Let’s get a move on now.”“Do we just leave him here?”“He’ll be okay, as long as you get the witch in the end.”So they continued their journey. As they delved deeper, they encountered many more people hanging on the ceiling like a puppet, their memories laid bare for the three of them to see, and maybe to the odd few conscious people as well, but they were most likely still under the effect of the witch’s kiss, so they didn’t count.Sayaka wanted to free them all, but Kyubey reasoned that they should prioritize saving Homura first, before taking on the witch in a decisive assault.Eventually, they found the raven-haired girl, surrounded by monitors the most. Sayaka and Madoka quickly ran up to her and the latter wiped the kiss away with a single stroke.“Oi, transfer student, are you alright?”Homura didn’t respond. She seemed to still be stuck in a trance of some sort, until Madoka slapped her out of it.Homura blinked a few times before she fully came back to her senses. “...What happened?”“The witch got a jump on us, but don’t worry, I got this!”Sayaka struck the cables that held Homura in the air, but quickly recoiled when she got shocked by electricity instead.“What’s wrong?” Madoka asked, not liking the fact that Homura was still suspended in the air.“It would seem the witch finally took notice of our plan and made sure Homura stays where she is.” Kyubey replied.Before they could figure out a way to free her, the monitors around them turned on one by one. They started playing Homura’s memory in sequences.Homura gasped. She was quick to deduce what exactly was going to happen. “No! Don’t look!” she cried out, but it was for naught. The monitors surrounded them, and even if they closed their eyes, the footage had sounds. The witch really spared no expense when it comes to ruining someone else’s day.The first four monitors highlighted and showed the first timeline, showing an unfamiliar and frankly dorky-looking Homura, nervously introducing herself in front of the class. They saw her struggling in class, utterly contrasting the Homura they know. The present Madoka and Sayaka, as well as Kyubey, get to see a witch attacking past Homura, and her subsequently being saved by past Mami and…Madoka?Strangely, Madoka’s magical girl outfit design resembles the one on her sketchbook.Things started to blossom from there as past Homura started to become closer to past Madoka, who helped her with her lack of self-worth, and various other obstacles and problems. Ironically, past Madoka’s confidence contrasted with present Madoka’s own.The first footage ended with a devastated MItakihara Town, and past Homura forming a contract in front of the dead bodies of past Madoka and Mami.The present Madoka and Sayaka gasped at the bloody sight, and they now understood why Homura became a time traveler. Although Sayaka was confused as to why she herself wasn’t a magical girl in the first timeline. Past Homura then traveled back to the past for the first time as a magical girl,The first four monitors shut off, and the next four monitors lit up. The events that played went mostly the same, except now there’s past Homura throwing pipe bombs all over the place and swinging around a sharpened golf club. Past Madoka, Mami, and Homura make for a formidable magical girl trio, with no past magical girl Sayaka in sight.Ultimately, and perhaps predictably, it all didn’t end well for any of them. Mitakihara was still devastated, past Mami was dead, and past Madoka was writhing in pain while a clueless past Homura could only watch.Present Homura clutched her eyes shut for what was about to come.To the horror of those watching in the past and present, past Madoka’s soul gem deformed into a grief seed, and from it, a new witch was born.“Woah! HEY! PAUSE!” Sayaka screamed.Somehow, the footage actually paused.This concerned Kyubey. “The witch is listening.”But Sayaka wasn’t as concerned with the fact that the witch was listening. “I don’t care about that! I’m more concerned about what happened at the end there.”“It would seem the Madoka of the past went past the impurity threshold at some point and turned into a witch herself.”“What?! Why?! Do all witches come from magical girls?!” she asked, terrified at the idea that all witches were girls just like them at some point, Sayaka then felt concerned for her own wellbeing. “Am I gonna turn into a witch too at some point…? But when? Does Mami-senpai know about any of this?!”Kyubey definitely noticed Sayaka’s distress, but was happy to answer. “First of all, not quite, some witches come from a matured familiar.”Kyubey then circled Sayaka in a predatory manner (unintentionally). “Secondly, you will. When? That’s up to you.”Kyubey then (unintentionally) dramatically stopped in front of Sayaka. “And third…no, Mami doesn’t know.”Gritting her teeth, Sayaka lifted Kyubey by the throat. “What the hell?! Why didn’t you tell me this before I signed up for this?”“...Doesn’t seem that important.”Sayaka’s grip hardened. “It WAS important to me!”Kyubey briefly squirmed in response. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, it’s either this or getting yourself killed by a couple of Homura’s homemade seven-six-two to your cranium.”“What was he talking about?” Homura leaned forward, concerned with what Kyubey implied.Kyubey, generously, clarified what he meant. “Under the thrall of the witch, you resorted to using one of your firearms in your attempt to get Sayaka.”“Oh…” Homura’s body slackened. “...Sorry.”Sayaka gripped her fist, she looked mad. “Sorry?! The only one who needs to say sorry is Kyubey!” She said, shooting a glare towards the white creature. “We wouldn’t even be in this situation at all if Kyubey never turned girls into magical girls in the first place! How long have you been doing this, anyway?!”Kyubey curled in a quasi-defensive pose. “First of all, humanity wouldn’t have achieved this much advancement without the use of magical girls. Secondly, I have been doing this since...a little after the dawn of man, I believe.”Sayaka retorted back. “First of all, that’s bullshit and I don’t believe it. Secondly, how old are you?!”“Sayaka!” Homura cut through their dialogue. Apparently tired of this pointless drivel. “Get me down already, the sooner we defeat this witch, the better.”“How? These wires are electric!”Homura furred her brows, almost equally stumped by this obstacle. “Have you tried throwing your sword at them?”Sayaka looked at the wires suspending Homura, and then gazed at her own sword. “Alright, but don’t blame me if it hits you…” she said hesitantly.“Sayaka!”While Sayaka was busy trying to get Homura down, Madoka was captivated by the footage (which started to play when Madoka willed it) of all the struggles that past Homura was forced to endure. It doesn’t take long before the time loop became a routine of sort. Past Homura becomes colder and loaded with more firepower, girls that she recognized and those that she did not recognize either dying or becoming a witch, and Walpurgisnacht becoming more and more powerful with each time loop.Some timelines do stand out though, such as one where Homura was allowed (or rather, allowed herself) to live within the Kaname Household; Homura going all the way to China to use their nuclear arsenal to defeat Walpurgisnacht (and fail, as well as causing World War III); Blowing up a different-looking past Yuuki Sasa with a C4, not that Madoka knows who that is just yet, only recognizing her as part of Oriko’s group in the current timeline; and speaking of Mikuni Oriko, the past rendition of that oracle seemingly only appeared in at least two or three timelines, causing Homura no small amount of troubles, even managing to kill past Madoka at some point.Despite having witnessed at least 95 timelines worth of memory within a span of a few minutes, Madoka noticed some consistency:
Walpurgisnacht becomes slightly stronger in each timeline.
If Walpurgisnacht was defeated by Madoka, then Madoka will turn into a witch. This witch also gets stronger in each timeline.
If Homura was fast enough, she usually kills Madoka before she could turn into a witch.
If anyone else other than Madoka defeats Walpurgisnacht, they wouldn’t leave the fight unscathed. Someone will die, and it wouldn’t be a satisfying conclusion. Enough to prompt Homura to rewind time once again.
Unlike Mikuni Oriko, Kure Kirika, Yuuki Sasa, and the occasional small green-haired girl that she never seen before, who tends to occasionally appear in a few timelines, Moeru Morinaga Artefact (that’s the name of Mami’s classmate, right?) was completely absent, as if only starting to appear in the current timeline.
Being Homura is suffering.
“Homura-chan, why are you doing all this?” Madoka asked. Just in time too, as Homura strode to Madoka as soon as she was free.“…”Madoka didn’t need to turn her head, she already knows the raven-haired girl was standing next to her silently. “Please tell me.”“I did it all for you.”Homura felt terrible admitting it, but Madoka’s feeling of guilt utterly washed away Homura's own.Sayaka then approached them, who was previously standing from a distance to be able to throw her swords more safely. “What did I miss?”“I’ll...tell you all about it later…”“Ah, alright…” said Sayaka, noticing the somber mood. “I wonder if there are more…”As if willed by Sayaka herself, the footage of Homura’s memory continued despite the fact that Homura herself was already freed.Homura recognized this timeline with great clarity.“This is…the 96th timeline!”Sayaka shot Homura with a dumbfounded glance. “Wait, what do you mean 96th?”Homura did not elaborate on that, as her mind was occupied with memory regarding this particular timeline, which was still fresh in her mind, and for good reason.The timeline started with Homura waking up from her hospital bed, to saving a cat before Madoka even noticed, to stealing weapon cache and other valuables from both the Borei Clan Yakuza as well as the JSDF. All within the first week.As the memory progressed, Homura was unfortunately antagonized by the people she was supposed to save, all because of some misunderstanding. The relationship between past Mami and Homura in this timeline was one of the biggest contrast here, and as a result, past Mami died to past Charlotte, a far cry to how the current Mami actually played around against the current Charlotte and could have easily won if that super witch yesterday didn’t interrupted their battle.The next scene was about how past Sayaka took the mantle as the sole protector of Mitakihara Town in the late Mami’s stead, saving past Madoka as well as several other people in this very same warehouse, defeating the witch here in haphazard manner.Haphazard because past Sayaka had no one to look for as a mentor, and Homura wasn’t willing to take on that role, for obvious reason.Past Sayaka then encountered an unfamiliar red-haired magical girl, stronger and clearly more experienced in this magical girl biz, easily beating up the past bluenette before Homura intervened and deescalated the situation.At some point, something happened, the scene shows Madoka throwing off Sayaka’s soul gem, revealing that, to her present self’s horror, her literal soul was in fact at the soul gem itself, no longer within her body. After that, past Sayaka slowly descended into madness and reckless abandon. Homura and the red-haired girl could only watch.The next scene shows past Sayaka turning into the mermaid witch, and the sacrifice that the red-haired girl did to defeat the mad mermaid. Homura herself wasn’t too privy with what happened to prompt Kyoko to do that, but she was disappointed all the same.The present Sayaka was strangely silent when she saw what she would look like as a witch. Honestly, it was all too much to take in. Magical girls turning into witches? the body being a mere vessel for the soul gem? She’ll think about the implication of this later, at home, under the comfort of her blanket. Not now, where it’s dangerous.Eventually, the footage reached the crescendo of this timeline. The battle against Walpurgisnacht.
Flashback. Timeline 96 (assuming the anime takes place in this timeline). Sunday, 1 May 2011, 9:45 AM. Greater Mitakihara, devastated.
All their friends-in-arms are dead.And all that was left were Madoka and Homura.A bloodied Homura watched helplessly as Madoka adamantly strode towards Kyubey, with a wish in mind. A wish that could very well change the entire multiverse.Homura couldn’t even cry out anymore, as her throat had already dried from begging for Madoka to stop what she was planning.Madoka stopped to think for a moment, trying her best to come up with something that will surely not backfire.After all, Madoka only had once chance.She inhaled, since this will be quite a long wish.“I want to erase all witches before they are even born. I will erase every single witch in every universe, past and future with my own hands…”Madoka wasn’t done uttering her wish just yet, and yet, power already started to emit from her very soul, her pink hair as well as the small pebbles nearby started to defy gravity.“Kaname Madoka, that wish…” Kyubey muttered, starting to form a second opinion regarding this whole idea. “If a wish like that were granted, then…” His mind took a few second to calculate everything. “...then you’ll become a god!”“I don’t care what you call it. All those magical girls who held onto their hopes and fought against witches...I don’t want to see them cry...I want them to stay smiling until the very end...”Madoka’s body started to glow a white light, while Kyubey and Homura could only watch in amazement.“If any rule or law stands in my way I will destroy it. I will rewrite it. That is my prayer. That is my wish. Now grant it, Incubator!”Kyubey perked up from this wish, this wish of astronomical proportion. “I must congratulate you, Kaname Madoka! For you have surpassed entropy!”Homura was about to rewind back time once again from this epic failure, but was stopped when a blinding light erupted from Madoka, making it difficult to do anything anyway. So, she decided to at least see what Madoka has in store now.Homura first saw the familiar pink dress that she simultaneously love and hate, before Madoka herself was once again engulfed in another blinding light.Once the light subsided, Homura was shocked to see that Madoka now dons a beautiful white dress, backed by a large angel wing, and surrounded by a glow that Homura could only describe as divine.At first, Madoka was overwhelmed by the sudden spike of power that was now a part of her very being, but she quickly shook that aside, instead focusing on the current threat that is Walpurgisnacht.Back then, Madoka was already quite decent with a bow, but now…Now she knows exactly what to do.She lifted her weapon once again, and with but a thought, materializes a single bow of light.Taking aim at the sky, she fired a single arrow, an arrow that made the cloud themselves part away, revealing a clear blue morning sky. A pink magical rune of some sort then etched itself on the very sky, and from it, millions, if not billions of arrows rained down upon the Earth with great precision.Each arrow struck every single soul gems and grief seeds on Earth, including Homura’s own.They didn’t even notice that Walpurgisnacht had already fallen.Eventually, the rate of fire lessened until only a dozen arrow was fired at a time. The very last arrow to rain down was the one that struck Madoka’s own soul gem.And that’s when all hell broke loose.As soon as that arrow struck Madoka’s soul gem, something dark and sinister slithered out before it reformed herself into something Homura feared even more than Walpurgisnacht.Kriemhild Gretchen, being a witch, was vehemently opposed to Madoka’s wish, and she just so happens to be the best (and only) candidate to stop Madoka. After all, Kriemhild Gretchen was merely a different side of the same Madoka coin, no matter how much she would like to deny it.Kriemhild Gretchen grew, and grew, and to Homura’s horror, going as far as to significantly surpass her previous forms in previous timelines.Homura wasn’t sure if the witch had already stopped growing or not, but at that point, Kriemhild Gretchen was large enough to eclipse the entire Earth.It was the most horrifying moment in Homura’s entire existence...so far.Madoka herself was undeterred, however, and she, too, seemingly grew in size to eclipse the Earth, but still not as large as Kriemhild Gretchen.As usual, Homura could only watch.The battle between Madoka and her own witch will be quick and decisive.Madoka pulled another arrow on her bowstring, and fired it directly towards her very own witch, followed by billions more arrows from the rune that was behind Madoka the entire time.Madoka was sure to win!But...Somehow, one of the arrow was reflected back towards Madoka, and it struck her directly where her soul gem was.And thus, a god was killed that day. After all, what’s better at killing a god than the power of that god itself?Kriemhild Gretchen herself was in a grievous state after the barrage, but unlike Madoka, she’ll live, and with a ripe universe to bring salvation towards.Homura was once again shocked, and a daunting feeling started to form within her heart. Madoka, even as a god, could not escape her death. If even a god couldn’t save herself from death, then...what could Homura possibly do?Even Kyubey was flabbergasted, for even he could not foresee this conclusion.The entire universe was doomed to a very fast heat death, and ironically, he, the very being whose purpose was to halt such apocalyptic event, was partially responsible for it.“Akemi Homura.”“What?”“You better get out of here. This universe is doomed.”Homura sighed and muttered spitefully. “No need to tell me twice...but…” but she was already considering suicide to end this seemingly Sisyphean struggle.“Say no more. You’re most likely at a lost on what you could possibly do.”Homura nodded silently.Kyubey, using the last few of his calculation capabilities, decided to use it up to help Homura. “Here are my recommendations: in the next timeline, guide Madoka to make a wish that would help you in the next timelines.”That actually caught Homura’s undivided attention. She never thought about doing it that way, always fixated on solving her own problem all by herself. At this point, she’s open to any ideas...“Do this multiple times, accumulate all the resulting buffs, and you might even surpass Madoka eventually.”“What if this backfires and I become the one to destroy the universe?”At this point, Kyubey’s central processing was already near complete collapse, and all he could afford now was a pathetic. “We’ll figure that out eventually.”……...
Flashback ends. Back to the present day.
As the footage end, they all stood there in silence, absorbing what they had learned from Homura’s memory.Kyubey was the first to break the silence. “Well, it looks like it was wise of us to postpone Madoka’s contract, and I suppose we should postpone it...indefinitely.”Homura would have been thrilled hearing that, but she was too sad when she was reminded of that timeline. Even now, she was still daunted, at least for a little bit.Homura then shook the feeling away, preparing herself for the imminent questions that her friends and loved ones were about to ask.“So, Homura-chan...what did you get from me?”Without hesitation, Homura replied.“Power.”The monitor played a snippet of the 97th timeline, showing a past Madoka, taking refuge alongside Homura in a shelter with many others. “I wish...Homura has the power to win. Homura-chan, I entrust all this power to you…!”Homura then left the timeline without ever wondering what happened afterwards.“In the 97th timeline, Madoka gave me more power. It was a no-brainer to ask for that sort of thing first.”“Luck.”Another snippet, now showcasing another bloodied Madoka, not even a magical girl yet, and already laying on her own pool of blood while Walpurgisnacht rampages in the background. “I wish...for the best of luck to us all, no matter in what timeline we are in!” The wish was granted, but unfortunately for Madoka, the pain was too much of a burden to bear, and she died shortly after.“In the 98th timeline, Madoka was initially struggling to offer me something other than power, but in the very end, she finally settled in what we all seem to be sorely lacking the entire time...”“And…”The last clip shows a footage of...Sayaka? “I wish Kyubey would stop being so creepy for no reason…”“In the 99th timeline, Madoka died before I even got the chance to ask for her wish. Sayaka was there though, and she decided to make a wish in Madoka’s stead. But instead of something certain, she slipped and wasted her wish on something so unspecific.”Sayaka scratched her chin in response to her past self’s dubiously helpful wish. “Well, Kyubey does seem different from the ones shown in the previous footage…”“Really?”Madoka tilted her head, clearly intrigued. “Kyubey, do you feel different from before?”Kyubey gave a chuckle. It was just an act, but it was still a chuckle nonetheless. “Whatever do you mean?”Madoka, now familiar with how Kyubey acted in all those previous timelines, jumped in surprise by the significant contrast. “He does!”“Wait, what about the 100th timeline?”“The both of you died. In fact, there was almost no one left in Mitakihara…” Homura answered a matter of factly. She felt like the giant crow that attacked Walpurgisnacht in that timeline shortly before she left was not yet worth mentioning.………Homura walked with a purpose in mind: neutralization of this witch.Sayaka and Madoka (both armed with Sayaka’s blade, just in case) were following closely behind. Doing their best to ignore whoever is still under the thrall of the witch.Kyubey, for the sake of what’s left of everyone’s mental well being, was kicked out of the group for the time being, except for the fact that…“Homura...he’s still following us…” Sayaka whispered.“I know.”“Do we just let him be?”“Yeah, just ignore him.”“Alright...”While they carefully traversed through the labyrinth, Homura distracted herself and looked back in time. Before she moved to Mitakihara. Even before she was put into that Catholic school back in Tokyo. She remembered her mother. A memory which remains unexposed by this witch.Sheesh, when was the last time she thought of her late mom?She was a good mother.Unlike Homura, she never got the chance to cure her own heart disease.Homura briefly wondered how her mom would have felt if she was to bear witness to her daughter’s struggles.Her rumination abruptly ended when Sayaka stopped walking. (When did Sayaka got ahead of Homura?)In front of them was the witch of this labyrinth, Kirsten. Her appearance is that of one of those old-fashioned box monitor, showing a live footage of a vaguely feminine dark figure. The only defining feature that can be discerned about the witch’s figure were the long pair of twintails. Surrounding the box monitor and themselves were floating screens showing a live feed of the witch, presumably a mere projection and not the witch's herself.Something about the witch doesn't seem right though…“Hatsune Miku?! Is that you?!” Sayaka blurted out.Sensing some arrival to the center of her labyrinth, Kirsten replied back.“I’m honestly flattered that you thought of that, but unfortunately...I am not Hatsune Miku, I am…”Kirsten introduced herself (and corrected Sayaka), with a visual cue, in latin.
「 Multi-Monitor: Kirsten 」Were the words that everyone saw, and if it was intelligent enough to do that and talk, then…“A super witch!” Kyubey, out of nowhere, shouted.“!”“Is that what I am now? No wonder I feel more powerful!”In truth, Kyubey was nervous, but he did his best to play it cool. “Fascinating, I know you were an ordinary witch when you first evolved, but somehow you evolved even further. How did you do it?”“I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t care.” said Kirsten, flexing her wires as if they were muscles. “I do remember a giant bird in the sky, but that’s about it.”Kirsten seemingly bit into the air, and Kyubey twitched uncomfortably.“The lifespan of the universe just got reduced for about an hour…”“What?” Homura asked, not feeling any changes whatsoever.Kirsten chomped again, and Kyubey nearly whimpered.“...And that’s another hour gone into oblivion...”Seeing as her current opponent was someone who can actually talk, Homura decided to ask first. “Hey! Stop that!”“Mmm...Nah, I think I’ll play around with my newfound power some more.”Madoka, now with a clearer mind, commented on the matter. “...She seems harmless.” she concluded, seeing that, aside from accelerating the end of the universe and putting numerous people under its thrall, the super witch wasn’t really doing anything else.Sayaka begged to differ. “Harmless?! She tried to kill me!”“Oh yeah...”The figure inside the monitor waved her hands frantically and visibly sweatdropped. “It was an accident! I didn’t know this one…” Kirsten pointed at Homura. “...carries a machine gun with her!”“It’s an assault rifle.” Homura corrected.“I don’t care! Also, you…” Kirsten then pointed at Sayaka. “...had the karmic potential to become a strong magical girl, and you were the same room as Kyubey. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you would eventually come after me if I don’t kick you out first.”“Why would I go? You took my friends as hostages!” Sayaka retorted, starting to get heated herself.“I would have released them after I’m done with them!”Sayaka wasn’t done yet. “There was no way we would know that! And what were you even doing? Snooping around people’s memory like that.”Kirsten’s tone notably shifted, sounding like someone who intentionally feigns innocence. “Oh, I’m just...a little curious, that’s all.”“Sayaka! Watch out!” Kyubey warned, just in time as a massive cable struck where Sayaka (and only Sayaka) used to be.Homura was already on full alert long before they entered the labyrinth, but what Kirsten offered to them did caught her off guard.It would seem that Kirsten was more fixated with Miki Sayaka.“You girls are free to leave, I have already seen everything that you had to offer.” Kirsten then slowly turned her gaze towards Sayaka. “As for you…”“Eeek!” Sayaka jumped back in a feral fright. The dozens of giant cables that pulled up threateningly certainly helped trigger her fight or flight response.And her mind, body, and soul screamed flight.Sayaka jumped away, and Kirsten lunged in pursuit.“Homura! Help!”But Homura was just standing there, nobody really knows what she was thinking about.“Homura-chan! You have to help her!” Madoka urged, not wanting Sayaka to have the privacy of her memory violated as well.“Hmm…” Homura was...contemplating it?“Homura!” Sayaka screamed in the distance.“Hold on, I’m thinking.”As Sayaka dodged the barrage of cables coming her way, she also sliced them apart desperately. It must have been terrifying for Sayaka.It went on for what felt like a minute until one of the cable managed to slip past her defenses, but thankfully, a bullet fairly ripped and tore it down.And with that, the pursuit came to a complete halt, but Sayaka continued to make some more distance, just in case.Kirsten turned her face towards whoever interrupted her, only to have her screen shot by another bullet, courtesy to Homura holding with a considerably large sniper rifle. Probably an AWP.“Oww…”“Take that!”Before Kirsten could recover, Homura fired another shot, but this time Kirsten semi-accidentally dodged it.“Tch!”“You know, I was kind enough to let you girls go, but…”“Homura-chan!” Madoka screamed as she was once again under wrap by a Kirsten sneak attack. Kyubey was also there, squeezed between Madoka and the cable.Before Homura could do anything, Sayaka was already there to cut loose Madoka once again. Whatever that Kirsten was planning there clearly didn’t work.“Ugh, this is already getting annoying.” The figure within Kirsten’s chasis tapped her forehead. She seemed unwilling to pick a fight even further. “How about this, I let you all go right now, no strings attached.”“What about all those people that you caught?”“What about them? I’ll let them all go sooner or later, eventually.”Kyubey protested, bringing up a good point. “But we can’t let her go, she’s still accelerating entropy!”“I can always stop, you know?”“Then stop!”“No.” Kirsten replied, completely out of spite for Kyubey. After all, it was because of him that she became like this.“What?!”Before Kirsten could utter another dumbass remark, another large bullet hit her on the screen, this time cracking it in the process. “OW!”Homura was getting tired of this ridiculousness.“I am not letting you terrorize another person by violating their privacy like this!” announced Homura vindictively, knowing just how it feels to have her secrets laid bare just like that, to her friends, to Madoka, no less.Sayaka was astonished with how heroic-sounding Homura was with that sentence. “Homura-kun...I knew you had it in you...”“In that case…” Nearly a hundred cable started to frantically move around the labyrinth, until they all start to gather around Kirsten, along with all the people she captured. Every single one of them fully conscious and screaming in terror.Kirsten intended to use all these people as human shield!“Come and get me then!”They were at a standstill. There was no way they could touch the super witch without hurting the hostages. Though at the same time, Kirsten couldn’t counterattack or leave either, at least not immediately.“Homura-kun, what do we do?”“…”“...Homura?”“There’s nothing we can do.”“Excuse me?”“We’re gonna have to let her go, and perhaps we could hunt her down later, when no one is under her control.” Homura spoke with uncertainty. Homura then decided to try the luck that the previous Madoka had bestowed upon her. “Hey! You!”“Yes?”“We’ll leave you be...”“Finally-”“IF you let go of your current hostages.”Kyubey knew it was useless at this point to protest, so he begrudgingly allowed Homura to do her thing.………Homura’s luck check succeeded.“Mmm...fine. I guess I’ll have fun some other time…You girls are no fun...” Said Kirsten, letting go all of her hostages, dropping them onto the ground gently, but not before she put them to sleep first, making sure they don’t put up too much of a ruckus.Suddenly, with the speed of electricity, Kirsten stood behind the group of girls (and Kyubey), standing just in front of the barely real exit door, tendrils on the doorknob. She opened the door, and promptly fucked off into the very real cold blizzard air outside. Witches can fly even outside of their labyrinth, who knew.“Sayonara!” Kirsten proclaimed in a semi-serious manner, but then she noticed someone in the distance, someone she recognizes. “...Wait, is that Tomoe-san-”The super witch’s escape was cut short when a shot pierced through her chassis from above. Her super grief seed dropped onto the soft pile of snow below.Seemingly unaffected by the blizzard, there Tomoe Mami stood, covered in silhouette, arms crossed, looking down at them from over the telephone line, another Kyubey on her shoulder, flanked by Moeru Morinaga Artefact and Kure Kirika, looking cool as hell.……...“So, how are you going to explain your failure here this time?”Unbeknownst to everyone else, somewhere even further away, The Morningstar and Yatagarasu were once again observing Kirsten, Yatagarasu’s little experiment.It was a bit disappointing.The Morningstar shot Yatagarasu an ugly frown. “Why must I be the one having to explain anything to you? And what do you mean MY failure? YOU were the one who promoted this weak witch into a super witch. Are you stupid?”Yatagarasu ignored the jab. “Isn’t that what you’ve been doing to us all? Promoting us weak witches? Aren’t you supposed to be responsible for all our acts and shenanigans?”“You are not weak, you were all exceptional, unlike that weakling that you just promoted on a whim. Empowering the weak will not make her a sudden natural killer.” The Morningstar then narrowed her eyes. “Also, how are you even able to do that? I thought only I was capable of granting promotions.” She then grabbed Yatagarasu by the collar. Hard. Not that it’d do anything considering that Yatagarasu was currently much taller. “Are you…planning to usurp me?”Yatagarasu, not looking fazed in the slightest, gave her begrudged master a sly smile. “You couldn’t be much further from the truth, Morningstar. All I did was make myself powerful in preparation for Walpurgisnacht, the incoming storm. And in the process, gained enough power to promote my very own super witches.” With her free arms, Yatagarasu gave a shrug. “Is that so wrong?”The Morningstar didn’t bother to answer her question, loosened her grip, and left without a word. Probably fuming and embarrassed.When The Morningstar was truly out of earshot, Yatagarasu muttered. “If you keep on acting like that, then maybe I should actually usurp you...”………………「 Multi-Monitor: Kirsten 」
Nature: Nosy
Bio:
As an ordinary witch, she was already quite nosy. As a super witch, she was powerful enough to easily overtake the mental barrier of even the most mentally-fortified magical girl with her kiss.With this newfound power, she will use it to satiate her unreasonable curiosity towards everyone and everything. All things, to her, is nothing more than an immersive story, to be enjoyed, like a movie.