A/N: Well, new story here. It might be good, might be bad. I apologize for any misplaced characterization, since writing the Doctor isn't the easiest thing. But, it should be fun regardless.

The sun peeked through white shades as birds chirped hello to the morning. It was a pleasant spring day with nary a cloud in the sky, and it bode well for the day. As far as Mitakihara was concerned, it was like the day before, and would stay that was for a while.

That was not so for the girl who awoke in one of the many hospital rooms of Mitakihara General Hospital. For her it was a slow curse, another start to a cyclical hell that she had thrown herself into without possibility of relief or an end in sight. This day meant that she had failed and had to begin again, all to save Madoka like she desired.

Violet orbs flickered open and Homura sat up in bed, first assessing that she was indeed in the hospital as usual. The next step was to take her Soul Gem off and inspect it to make sure that it was clean, which it was. She proceeded to heal herself of her physical defects, her heart condition and eyesight through the use of magic. By this point she didn't even have to look into a mirror to do it.

That done, she returned to the more pressing issue at hand. Specifically, the fact that she couldn't remember the previous cycle. Or rather, she could remember the last cycle, but it felt like there was something missing that she should be able to recall yet couldn't.

She hadn't had that happen to her before, and that was a concerning fact in and of itself. Then again, she didn't fully understand the extent of her powers as it stood. Yet for it to fail this one time? No, there had to be something that she was missing, she was sure of it.

So after a moment of deliberation, she banished that problem from her mind. She would give it further thought if it impacted the current timeline, but for now she had plenty of other things to worry about besides that. She had no time to give to things that she couldn't affect or alter by herself.

Leaving her glasses on the nightstand and undoing her braids, Homura shifted to magical girl form and then froze time, repeating actions that she had done numerous times before. She slipped out of her room, moving past frozen figures to the front desk. There, she took a few moments to surreptitiously sign her discharge papers, and then headed outside.

As time unfroze and the world resumed its motion, she considered what she had to do next. She needed to begin hunting, while avoiding Mami, to build up her stockpile of Grief Seeds. She also needed to prepare to go to school soon where she would meet Madoka, though it wasn't difficult for her anymore.

Most pressingly she had to save Amy, to prevent Madoka from contracting right off the bat. That didn't even take into account whatever variables might exist in this timeline that she would have to account for. All in all, it would not be easy.

Task set for herself, Homura moved to make it a reality. She began walking towards her house so that she could prepare for what she had to do, as she always did. Even with all the time in the world, she couldn't afford to waste a minute.

Such plans were rapidly thrown off kilter though, and for good reason. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Homura Akemi." The sound of her name initially provoked nothing as she assumed that it was some doctor searching for her, after noticing that she had vanished. Nothing unusual.

She glanced back over her shoulder to see how close he was before she stopped, eyes widening in surprise. He was...who was he? There was a man standing where she had expected, a foreigner, with brown hair and sunglasses, wearing a brown suit and striped tie. At the same time he was holding a sign with her kanji written on it, and perfectly at that. He most certainly was not a doctor, or any member of the hospital staff that she knew.

Now that was an occurrence too strange to be ignored, so it wouldn't be. Homura stopped her forward motion and instead swung about, walking up to the strange European who broke out into a grin at the sight of her.

"Oh, Homura, there you are," the man said, lowering the sign as he took a step closer to her. "I'm just going to make a guess and say that you're the you from after your temporal reversion?"

Homura looked him over, the odd attire, the way he carried himself, and in turn gave him a wary look. "Who are you," she asked succinctly, ignoring his previous question in favor of her own. Whomever he was, she wanted to know, now.

"Right..." The man looked away, like he had forgotten something, before answering. "I'm the Doctor, and you don't remember me because I wiped your memories."

Leaving aside the disturbing part of that answer, the critical look didn't lessen a single bit as she let another question follow that. "Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor," he reiterated, manner suggesting that it hadn't been the first time he had been asked that. But frankly she didn't care, not when he had made the claims that he did and apparently knew her as well.

Her gaze didn't lessen as she took it in, wondering what sort of person he was that made him only want to be known as 'The Doctor'. Was he from the Yakuza, the JSDF, Interpol? How did he knew about her, and more alarmingly, about her abilities and powers? "What do you want?"

"Well I haven't been to Japan in a while, so I was thinking of doing a bit of sight seeing, meet some old friends, stuff like that." His response died off when it became obvious that she wasn't going to accept such an answer, and he glanced around before his attention returned to her. "Okay, so actually I'm here to stop the big bad Witch and save the day."

Homura was taken aback upon hearing that, a reaction that she quickly clamped down on. How did he know about that as well? He wasn't even a magical girl, just an ordinary person. Well, it was quickly becoming apparent that there was nothing normal about him, but even if he did know there was nothing that he could do to help out. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said to him as she moved to leave.

The Doctor, upon seeing his guest attempting to make an exit, held the sign uselessly as his free hand rested in a pant pocket. "Oh don't give me that," he chided. "Your name is Homura Akemi, you are a 'magical girl', and you trapped yourself in a localized time loop so you could defeat a being named Walpurgisnacht and save one Madoka Kaname. Do I have that about right?"

Her glare dropped even lower in temperature as she stopped and looked back at him, certainty crystallized in her being. "Yes," she confirmed with a snap in her tone. "How?"

"How do I know that," the Doctor asked in turn with a look that said he knew something that she didn't. Which, well, he did. "That's because you told me. Right before you asked me to wipe your memory so you wouldn't remember what had happened in that loop."

Homura stopped herself before she could ask why she had wanted him to do that to her. The answerwas so obvious that it didn't need to be said. Obviously something had gone wrong, again, and he had done it so that she wouldn't have to live with the scars of another failed cycle. But that in turn, raised more questions to be addressed. "You're a time traveler?"

"Something like that," the Doctor replied, wearing something of a smug grin as he shifted on his heels. "You want to see it?"

It was another question given due consideration, with Homura surmising that he either meant actual time travel, which she had experience with on a limited scale, or whatever he used for a time machine. At last she nodded, a sharp bow of the head to emphasize her desire.

That only made the Doctor's grin widen as she played along with what he wanted. "Excellent. Right this way." He turned then, coattails flapping as he strode away from the hospital at a determined pace. At the same time Homura followed at a safe distance, ready for whatever might happen.

He led her down the block at a brisk pace, no regard given for possible distractions. Homura watched him carefully, ready for any potential ambush or attack and also aware that if he knew she could time travel, he probably knew how her powers worked. However she would not be caught off guard if she could help it.

At some point he turned, leading her into an alleyway and away from the street. She followed along, coming to a stop as he neared a blue box resting in the middle of the alley, which she viewed suspiciously. That wasn't exactly a common occurrence in Mitakihara, so the box was definitely more than it appeared.

"Your time machine is a wooden box," she noted, folding her arms across her chest. This was the point where she was most wary of a trap, since it would be the ideal place to spring it. Even now she couldn't dismiss her paranoia.

"It just looks like a police box," the Doctor objected, striding up to the doors at the same time. Homura was not expecting what came next as he threw the doors open to reveal a strange interior waiting for the both of them. He stepped inside to the central dais and then spun about, allowing her to do so as well. "Welcome aboard the TARDIS. That's 'Time and Relative Dimensions in Space,' or so I like to call her."

The girl would admit that the room, with glowing yellow roundels on the walls, coral arches, and the console in the middle, was interesting after a fashion. "It's bigger on the inside," she noted calmly as she stepped further into the machine.

"Yes, yes it is," he affirmed as he walked around the console, with its eclectic controls and unknown functions. "Though that's not quite the sort of reaction from someone who goes around with a pocket dimension strapped to her arm that I was expecting."

Homura chose not to dignify that comment with an answer as she came to a stop inside the main area of the time machine, watching him as he worked. The Doctor, for his part, flipped some levers and switches before rotating one of the monitors to face him, and he proceeded to intently examine whatever information was on it.

"So," he began without a prompt as he glanced over at her. "We've got a little over a month to stop Walpurgisnacht, save the city, and end the time loop which is coincidentally keeping me from time traveling anywhere. I don't suppose you've got a plan to do this?"

Subjected to the Doctor's inquiring look, Homura didn't move or flinch. "I'll fight it and kill it. I just need more power, while keeping Mami Tomoe alive if possible and preventing Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki from contracting," she answered succinctly.

He shifted then, slipping over to the other side of the console as he took on a look that bordered in patronizing but wasn't quite there. "Oh come on. You've got a time machine that can go anywhere, and me, the Doctor, the master of making the impossible happen, and you're going to do the same old thing that you always do? Be a little original! Use your head, show some creativity!"

He stepped closer to her then, leaning against the console in the process. "What do we need to do to get your happy ending?"

The magical girl was taken aback by his rebuttal and declaration, having to mentally remind herself that she had probably told him as much in the forgotten timeline. Whatever had happened must have been really bad, to want to forget it like that.

Egged on like that, she moved to think on the situation at hand. "Mami Tomoe's life must be preserved. Alone she is at risk of falling into despair, but with company she becomes overconfident and pays for it. She must be kept alive to aid in fighting Walpurgisnacht.

Then there is Sayaka Miki. If she contracts, she will die. That must be prevented, and to do that we must do something about Kyosuke Kamijou, the person who is usually responsible due to her unrequited love for him. That will remove most reason for her to contract."

"I see, I see," the Doctor commented. "So love, is it? Well, at least this won't be too easy."

Homura nodded in turn. "His hand was injured in an accidental, rendering him incapable of playing the violin. She usually wishes to heal his hand, hoping that he will, eventually, return her affections. But more often than not it ends in a self destructive spiral that kills her."

An 'Oh' of understanding came from the Doctor, and Homura went on. "Kyouko Sakura will not be a factor if Mami survives, so she can be ignored for now.

Lastly, Madoka must be kept from contracting. This requires ensuring that nothing happens to her friends or the people she cares about. Kyubey must also be kept away to ensure that she cannot contract, even if she finds some reason to."

The Doctor nodded, his face sharpening a little in displeasure at the mention of the bunny-cat. "You leave that to me," he told her confidently. "I've got some tricks that should stop him." Homura didn't know what it would be, but hopefully it would be effective.

Then she went on to her last item for consideration. "That is without considering the issue of defeating Walpurgisnacht itself. It will be a difficult task, but if if Mami Tomoe survives then I am confident in our chances of success." She left off some bits, because even knowing what she knew she wasn't prepared to tell him the entire story. This would suffice for now.

"I see. You've set no easy task for yourself," the Doctor noted, to which Homura didn't react.

"I have no choice," the girl replied simply, that much testament and gospel in her mind. She could do no less with what had been done for her in the past.

The Doctor clapped then, spinning on his heels as he returned to the console. "Well it's a good thing you called me then. I have a bit of experience in this sort of thing." That wasn't quite a surprise to Homura, though it made her wonder about what sorts of things he had seen while time traveling.

"Do you have a plan then," Homura asked as she moved to join him, flipping her hair over her shoulder. This Doctor was certainly an interesting variable in the grand scheme of things. But with his display of technology, knowledge, and the very room that she was in, she was willing to give him a chance to propose his own ideas. Things might just be looking up.

"I'm working on it," the Doctor replied without looking at her for the moment, cutting a distinguished figure with the regular glasses that he had exchanged his sunglasses for. She saw no sign that he actually needed them, but if he was trying to leave the impression of being a contemplative figure, it wasn't a total failure.

Inquisitive though she might be, she refrained from saying anything or asking questions. She needed more information, but now was not the time to get it. She would not be tricked like she had been with Kyubey, for all his apparent intentions. Yet she also wouldn't ruin this chance, as fleeting as it might be. She would merely show proper caution when it came to the unknown.

Aware of the time, she stayed only for a few minutes or so before going for the door at last. "Apologies, I have to leave," she told him along the way. She had a cat to save, among other things, and that couldn't wait. If he had a time traveler, they would meet sooner or later.

"Alright then," the Doctor replied as he moved from the console towards the door as she opened it and stepped back out onto the street, slightly surprised that she got nary an odd glance for doing so. "You do what you need to do, and I'll be in touch."

She nodded and stepped away, the door swinging shut behind her. Homura gave a last look to the police box, not sure if she should be expecting something to happen, but nothing occurred. With a casual dismissal she walked off, having no more time to spare for the Doctor in a blue box.

One cat rescued and delivered to an animal shelter later, and Homura was back at her home. Rote repetition took her through setting everything up and cleaning up the place so it would be presentable. Weapons collection would keep for now, so she merely planned it out for later. But eventually she would go about acquiring all the hardware that she needed.

Instead she turned to a more important matter. Specifically, investigating the Doctor. He wasn't invisible like Kyubey, so there had to be something about him somewhere, even if he was a time traveler. And really, it was the only way she had to learn about him, given that he might not be around in a successive loop. Best to find out all she could now.

Utilizing skills that she had learned over time and the computer that she had acquired before returning home, her search began. Further and deeper she went into the internet, going over false leads, empty pages, and tantalizingly enigmatic bits of information as she tried to decipher just who the Doctor was. Frustrated, she tapped away at her computer, determined to find an answer.

Then, success. Conspiracy theories, urban legend websites, information that she was nonetheless forced to take with a grain of salt. Pictures, anecdotes, relics of his passing, tales. A time traveler named 'The Doctor', appearing with different faces throughout history, saving Earth and people again and again before vanishing. Usually with a companion of some sort, though she did note that she hadn't seen anyone with him.

That led her on to her next lead, the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, also known as UNIT. If these tales were to be believed, they had worked with the Doctor before to thwart alien invasions. They would have reliable information for her to view.

Her objective defined, she switched to UNIT's website and got to work. Naturally, such information wouldn't be readily accessible for the public, which meant that she would just have to take it. Fortunately she was very good at hacking by now, and was confident in her chances of success.

To her credit she got pretty far in, enough to confirm a connection and even some low level information about the Doctor, such as his other nine faces and the time machine called the TARDIS. UNIT had good security, but magic was helpful in a situation like this.

Then her computer had begun to act on its own, and her brow furrowed as she reacted swiftly to the forceful intrusion into her own machine. It seemed that they had caught on to what she was doing, and were trying to hack her back. Needless to say, getting caught would be bad, especially given the group involved.

In a snap she froze time and unplugged the computer before things could progress further. That done, she removed the hard drive and stored it in her buckler for later disposal. Getting a new one would be easy, and she'd take no chances. Not with the kind of organization that UNIT was. She would need to be more careful in the future.

In spite of that she now knew more than she had before, and she now was more confident that the Doctor was someone who could do as he claimed, though she still didn't fully trust him. For now she would have to believe him and hope for the best, while doing what she could to ensure her own success. She wouldn't place all her faith in one person, and so would work alone to ensure that this time was the last.

Investigation complete for the moment, Homura prepared to leave and get on with her day. She had no time to waste after all.