Author's note: Well, I managed to get this out a bit quicker than normal. It is a bit shorter than my longer chapters and as such, has a bit less content/plot. But, I hope that's make it a bit more palatable. Sorry that it still took me about a month and a half to get it out Things have been a bit hairy at times in my life. But hey, at least I managed to keep on going. Hope you enjoy this!

Soundtrack: Sword Art Online OST – The First Town

Sayaka yawned as she sat up in her bed and stretched. It was a school day, which did not make her want to get out of bed too much. She groaned slightly, but then sighed and got up and out of bed. She went through her normal routine and then hurried out the door, just barely saying goodbye to her parents. She would've liked to spend a bit more time with them, but she had to hurry to meet up with Madoka and the rest at Mami's apartment.

Soon enough, she'd gotten to Madoka's house and her best friend had come out to join her. They both were about halfway to Mami's apartment when Homura and Key met up with them.

"Hello!" Key's voice was eager and weirdly enough sounded a bit relieved. As though he'd just been in an awkward or uncomfortable situation and their coming was letting him out of it.

"Hello Key, hi Homura!" Madoka said brightly, smiling widely at both of them.

"Hey Key! How you doing Transfer Student?" Sayaka said, smirking slightly at Homura.

Homura's face had been clear of most emotion before Sayaka spoke. But at the bluenette's word, her lips thinned and she narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I'm doing well enough" she said simply, then she turned and began walking. The two girls and Key moved to follow.

There was about a minute of semi-awkward silence before Sayaka, casting about for a subject, spoke up.

"So, Key, what do you think my powers would've been if I had wished to heal Kyosuke's hand?"

Key looked up in contemplation, "ummmm, well. As your wish would've been to heal someone and building on that, to heal a physical problem. Well then your wish probably would've had some sort of healing effect for you."

Sayaka put a hand to her chin. "Huh. Yeah, that makes sense. I wonder what sort of weapon I would've had? I always liked swords so it would've been cool to have one of those!"

Madoka looked like she was thinking the idea over herself, "I don't know about me. I'd probably be too scared to fight anything one on one, so I hope I'd get something long range."

"It's hard to tell" Key commiserated, "Wish Magic can be unpredictable so actually trying to figure out what your weapon will be is hard to impossible. Heck, some Magical Girl's didn't even have physical weapons, their magical might in itself being their weapon."
Sayaka whistled, thinking about what it would be like to control the universe on such a fundamental level as those Magical Girls must've been able to do.

"One girl" continued Key, "was so powerful that she had to train hard, because she would overdo her energy attacks and dirty her Soul Gem too quickly in battle."

He glanced at Madoka as he said this, seeming to contemplate something. After a moment, Madoka noticed this.
"I . . . what is it Key?"

Key shook his head slightly, "sorry Madoka, just memories. You reminded me of someone, that's all."

Sayaka was looking at Madoka with some curiosity, "Say Madoka, you were always good at archery? You think your weapon would be a bow?"

Only Key noticed the slight misstep Homura gave at Sayaka's idea.

Madoka put a finger to her chin, "hmmm, that might be nice. That way I could make sure nothing ever snuck up on any of you!"

"Mrs. Tomoe and myself have that well in hand" Homura suddenly said. She hadn't turned around and was still striding forward determinedly. The others exchanged bewildered expressions.

"Anyway," Sayaka said, deciding to ignore Homura's words, "what if I wished for something big, like really big picture? Something like "I wish to save everyone, or I wish do control the energy that Witches make! What did you call it Key, sadness, despair, grief energy?"

Key looked a mite uncomfortable but answered, "yes, to all."

"Well, what if I wished to be able to control that?"

Key shook his head, "like I've said before, wishing can be a tricky proposition. Holes left in wishes can be problematic, or even downright deadly. For example, say you wished never be hurt again. Your wish might just make it so you can't feel pain anymore. Not, never receive damage, never feel pain. Or alternatively, depending on the pain you were specifying, like emotional pain, it might forcibly suppress a part of your personality to stop you from ever feeling pain. Such wishes are complicated and may or may not actually be beneficial or permanent."

A moment passed then Key did some sort of equivalence of a mental shrug, "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not like Kyubey goes our of his way to make sure your wish will turn out badly, but neither will he make a huge effort to make sure you get what you really want. I suppose the two more important things to consider are your intentions and your karmic potential."

"How does that work?"

Key seemed to mull it over for a moment before answering.

"Well, it's a bit hard to explain, but generally, the amount of power that a girl usually has is tied up to their Karmic Potential, which usually correlates to how much they'll effect the world. It's not a foolproof method and in general by any means. Sometimes people who didn't seem to be in any position to enact changes to the world or things like that were granted a large amount of potential. I think it's one of the things that Kyubey likes to study specifically because it doesn't always follow a logical pattern."

He seemed to stare intently at Sayaka and Madoka as he said this, as though he was contemplating something strange about them. Then he continued on.

"The other bit that really can affect your wish is your intentions."

"Yeah, Mami told us about that," Sayaka said, recalling the conversation they'd had with the older Magical Girl.

"She said that we should be careful not to wish for something when it wasn't what we really wanted" Madoka said in a subdued voiced. She stared ahead as she completed the sentence, "she said that if we weren't honest with ourselves that we could end up regretting our wishes."

Key nodded glumly, "indeed. Being a Magical Girl is not often a kind life and if you don't know what your getting into and frivolously use your wish, as most girls do, it's very easy to end up hating yourself and the world at large. Making a grandiose wish without being honest with yourself can can present a whole host of problems aside from benefits. Sometimes more specific Wishes are better. Like the one girl I was with before . . . "

Key broke off, seeming to grow melancholy. The girls recalled the one girl who'd been the catalyst for Key's transformation into his own person and her wish, which was to heal her own mental issues. The resultant power had allowed her to conjure up energy constructs with her mind. Sayaka wondered, wasn't there an American Superhero that did something like that? The Tangerine Candle or something similar? They supposed that that had been a good example of getting the most out of a wish. It had healed that girl of her problem and had given her some very good powers to go along with it. Though, they wondered, would the contract have healed her body anyway, no matter the wish that she made?

"If I made a wish" Sayaka began to ask, "what do you think it would be smart to wish fo-"

"You shouldn't talk about such things" Homura suddenly interjected.
Everyone looked forward. Homura had stopped walking and was looking back at them, her eyebrows clenched slightly.

"Why-" Madoka began, but Homura spoke again.

"We've already agreed to the obvious, that you shouldn't contract. Discussing these things will not decrease your desire to, especially for what seem like good reasons but are revealed to be foolish in hindsight."

"I was just thinking about it" Sayaka said, a bit heatedly. She really didn't appreciate Homura's implication. "It's not like I was going to contract! You think I'm that stupid!"

Homura simply gazed at Sayaka, whose glare only darkened.

"She never said you were stupid Sayaka" Madoka said in quiet alarm, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Yeah, well it sure sounded like it!" Sayaka said angrily.

Homura simply continued to stare at Sayaka blankly before Key spoke up.

"Girls, girls please calm down! Come on, we're all friends right?!" he said, though a part of it did sound like an actual question.

Homura turned her blank stare on him and Key squirmed. Then Madoka stepped between them all. Speaking as confidently as she could.

"Yes, we are all friends! We are!"

There was a moment's silence before Homura nodded and resumed walking.

"We should hurry so we are not late getting to school" Homura said to them telepathically "we will likely need to enchant some more weapons later on, so be ready for that."

Key seemed to gulp slightly.

"Ummm, do we have to do that today? I thought we already had a good store of magical weapons and stuff."

"It is prudent to have extras, just in case. Do you have any objections" Homura's tone suggested that any objections that Key could have were likely to be very petty.

"I . . . no, no of course not." Key said quickly.

Sayaka noticed that Homura had never once used Key's name in the whole exchange. As the rest of them followed Homura, the blue haired girl contemplated the strange reaction of Homura. Granted, the girl had never exactly been a social butterfly, but this felt out of place somehow. It was very disconcerting in a way. What had changed and why was it so jarring?

Suddenly it came home to Sayaka, this was how Homura had been acting when they had first met. She been rather cold and distant. Though to be fair, she hadn't really improved that much on those fronts in Sayaka's opinion. But even she hadn't been able to deny that after they'd all been able to get together and hash things out (albeit in a very very dramatic and unexpected way) Homura had started to get a bit more agreeable. She'd even started talking to them and spending time with them at meals. Granted, a lot of that talking time was about how to defeat the giant Witch that was coming (and, in Sayaka's opinion, repeatedly preaching on how horrible it was to be a Magical Girl, it got annoying after a bit no matter the truth), but she supposed it was progress.

But now as they walked along, Sayaka noted how Homura was walking slightly apart from them, deflecting conversation, not letting Key ride on her shoulder. She was . . . she was . . . she was cold, informal, unreachable perhaps. It made Sayaka suspicious. Had something happened between Key and her? Sayaka couldn't see Key doing anything bad enough to justify the coldness with with she responded to him whenever he bravely tried to get some conversation rolling with them. So what was her deal?

Breakfast at Mami's was pleasant enough, but that was mostly because the Transfer Student kept to herself and usually only responded when she was spoken to. Mami had been a good host, but Sayaka had caught her glancing at the Transfer Student a few times with a puzzled look on her face. The other slightly interesting thing was that Key, seemingly in some sort of effort to show how grateful he was to Mami for cooking for them, had wolfed down an enormous amount of food. Mami had actually had to step in with a small smile to tell him to leave some for the rest of them.

But soon enough, they'd had to go to school so that had put a damper on any more observations that Sayaka had wanted to try and make. School had been relatively normal (Mrs. Saotome had given a nice lecture on how it wasn't right to make assumptions about people based on first impressions, and managed to tie it to one of their projects instead of what they were sure were some pent up frustrations in her dating life) that Sayaka had only really half-listened to because she was still dwelling on the Transfer Student's behavior.

Hitomi was back in school, apparently none the worse for wear after her unknowing close encounter with death. From her description, she seemed to think that she'd fallen asleep somewhere and had had a very strange dream. She had asked Madoka and Sayaka if they could eat lunch together again since they hadn't in awhile. Both girls had felt bad, and, after a brief telepathic conversation with Homura and Mami, they'd agreed to let Hitomi join them. It had been nice, but it did make Sayaka feel a bit guilty. Hitomi had been Madoka and her's friend since they were really little, but now with all the weird stuff happening, it felt like a wall of sorts had come up between them. Still, it probably was better that Hitomi be kept out of it all. Given all the insane and dangerous stuff that was going on, and the fact that she didn't seem to have the potential to become a Magical Girl herself, Hitomi was probably safer off not knowing about it. Besides, it's not as if the Transfer Student would do anything to help her, not like Mami would!

Back the apartment, the day had progressed slowly. Key and Nagisa usually tried to find something to watch or play, or just do while the other Girl's were away at school. Mami and Dr. Ryoko had tentatively broached the subject of trying to get Nagisa back "in the system" as it were, but that would probably involve a lot of time and complicated paperwork and, if Ryoko couldn't get official custody, Nagisa would likely go to some sort of Orphanage or Foster Family. No matter how much Mami would've liked to take care of the girl, she was still a minor herself and their relationship was more of a strange mishmash between sibling and parental. It was generally agreed that such things would likely have to wait until Walpurgisnacht was dealt with and they had more time.

Nagisa had been sitting around for about an hour after Mami and the rest had left, feeling bored when Key had said that he just needed to take care of something out in a small alleyway outside of Mami's apartment and that he shouldn't be gone long. Nagisa however, had been very curious (as well as, once again, bored) and had followed after him. Soon, she was near the alley entrance.

Soundtrack: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince OST – Harry and Hermione

Nagisa peered around the corner and stared. Key was perched on the side of a large trash bin and was staring down into it, looking a bit nervous. His face tensed up, as though he was in some pain, and his body seemed to shudder. Then he seemed to convulse slightly and suddenly his mouth was open and stuff was coming out of it. He made a retching sound and what looked like a large amount of mush, as though someone had taken random food and thrown it in a blender (along with some black dye), came out of his mouth and flew into the bin. After a moment, the flow ceased and Key grimaced. He shuddered slightly, then seemed to steel himself. He retched again and more food chunks came out. This, however, seemed to be the end of the material and he wiped his mouth slightly as he shook slightly.

Key made to hop down from the bin, but he didn't appear to have fully regained control of his body and slipped. He landed hard on his back and lay there his face showing a distinct expression of pain.

"Owwww" he said. Then he turned his head and spat to the side, as though trying to get a disgusting taste out of his mouth. A small glob of blackish tarry substance came out and landed on the pavement.

Forgetting that she had been hiding, Nagisa hurried out from the corner and over to Key. He didn't seem to notice her at first. But once she came up close, he did and scrambled to get up, schooling his face into a confused expression.

"N-Nagisa! Wh-what are you- How long have- . . . I mean, shouldn't you be inside?" he stammered out.

Nagisa shook her head, not quite sure what to say. She bit her lip and looked to the side. She and Key had mostly just done things for fun in these long hours when the others had been at school, or alternatively, Key had found something fun that she liked while he did some research. But here, she could clearly tell that there was something wrong but . . . what should she do? She didn't like the feeling It reminded her all too clearly of the time back in the hospital when her mother had bee- . . . had been- . . . had been . . . getting worse and nothing she had done could change it. She'd tried doing things to brighten her Mom's mood, making faces, drawing pictures, or even singing songs and they'd made her smile. But her mother would always go back to being sad right after Nagisa was done. The Hospital people hadn't helped, they'd told her to stop making a nuisance of herself and be quiet. Ultimately, Nagisa had met Kyubey and she'd . . . well . . . it had been a mistake.

Nagisa's felt tears spring to her eyes as she thought of her Mom's last days and quickly reached up a hand to wipe them away, trying to stop the loud sniff that erupted out of her. Her mom was de- . . . gone. The nice man . . . thing? . . . that nice person Marethil had told her that Mommy wanted her to help Mami and the others. Nagisa had believed him, she'd had to think on it for a bit, but she'd decided that he'd been right. Her mommy had always told her to be nice to everyone and to stand up for people. She also said that if you did something mean to someone without a good reason, then you needed to make it up to them and . . . well . . . she'd been really mean to Mami. She still remembered what it had been like to be a Witch and one of her most common nightmares was either to be back in that artificial candyland of a Labyrinth, or to awake in the apartment somehow having retransformed into Charlotte and not being able to stop herself from feasting on her new friends.

But she'd hurt Mami, she'd bitten her head o- . . . she'd hurt her and Nagisa had felt like, aside from any other reason, that she needed to help Mami with whatever she needed help with to make up for hurting her. She still hadn't really helped Mami all that much, aside from a few chores and Witch hunts, but Nagisa had enjoyed her time with the older girl. She'd never had an older sister, but this was probably something of how it felt like.

She felt something soft touch her hand and she started. She'd been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized that Key had come up and had placed a warm paw against one of her arms.

"Is everything alright Nagisa? Why are you crying?" his tone was soft and worried as he looked at the tears leaking out of her face.

Nagisa shook her head, banishing the tears that were falling and recalling why she'd walked up to him in the first place.

"No Key, I'm alright. But what about you? What's wrong with you?" she asked insistently.

Key blinked, then looked away with a slightly guilty look on his face.
"It's nothing. You don't have to worry about me Nagisa."

"Do you need some sweets?" Nagisa asked as she crouched down in front of the small creature. "My Mommy gave me sweets sometimes when I was feeling sick so I wouldn't feel so bad. Would that help?"

Key shook his head, "no Nagisa . . . thank you but no, I don't want any sweets."

"Then what is?" Nagisa asked pointedly. Key looked to the side, not seeming to want to look at her.

"I said it's nothing you need worry about Nagisa. Really!"

Nagisa wasn't having it.

"Key, it's not nice to lie! I saw what you did. You were throwing up! What's wrong? Did Mami cook something that's bad for you?!"

The two of them stood there in silence for a long while. Finally, just as Nagisa had been about to open her mouth again, Key spoke.

"I don't have a digestive tract" Key said quietly, looking away from Nagisa. "I don't have the ability to process food. When I eat, it just sits in my body, rotting. I needed to get rid of it."

There was silence for a few moments before Nagisa responded.

"So . . . you can't go to the bathroom?"

Key blinked, then sighed, "I . . . yes, I can't. Whenever I eat food I have to get rid of it through my mouth again."

"But why didn't you say anything before? Please tell me Key! I want to help!" Nagisa said, wringing her hands. She didn't get why Key would do something that obviously caused him pain.

Key still didn't look at her. Finally, he answered in an even quieter voice than before, "I didn't . . . I . . . I didn't want you guys to think I was being rude. I didn't want . . . want you to think I wasn't grateful to you. I didn't want you to think I was like Kyubey."

His mental voice dropped so low that Nagisa barely heard the last part, "I wanted you to still want me around."

Nagisa felt uncomfortable as well as at a loss. She . . . she didn't know what to say. Why would Key ever think that they would think he was like Kyubey? Nagisa hadn't forgotten what he'd done for her, how he'd saved her from the torture that being a Witch had been. Why didn't he get that she wanted him around?

"Key I-" she began, but trailed off.

"We-" she tried again, but couldn't think of what to say.

Nagisa pursed her lips, her eyes darting around as she grasped her dress tightly. She needed to do something, but she couldn't figure out what. After a few moments of silence, she did think of one thing.

Nagisa dropped to her knees and reached out her hands. Key looked a bit surprised, but after a moment, his eyes grew grateful and he moved forward. Nagisa put her arms around his back and pulled him into a hug. Key looped his forepaws around her neck and they both sat there. Nagisa could feel him shaking slightly and buried her face in his fur. He sniffed slightly and Nagisa felt liquid begin to splash on her back and tightened her hold, trying to hold back her own tears.

She didn't let go of Key until he had had a good long cry. Finally though, his shudders seemed to slack off and his tears ran dry. He stepped back and Nagisa stood up. In silence, both of them began to walk back to Mami's apartment.

Soundtrack: Stellaris OST – Spatial Lullaby

But then, they heard what sounded like a ripping sound from behind them and they whirled around.

It looked like there was a horizontal tear beginning to open up in midair. It had no anchor point, nothing seemingly to hold it up. It just hung there, unsupported and widening. Nagisa took a step back in alarm as the tear pulsed slightly. She glanced at Key and he was tense, his back arched like a cat and his eyes were narrowed as he stared at the slowly widening tear.

"Wha-, what is i-it Key?" Nagisa managed to gasp out as the tear widened once again and she took another step back.

"I-, I . . . don't know" Key said, sounding utterly mystified.

"What?" Nagisa said, somewhat incredulously. Key always seemed to be so well informed and knowledgeable about just about everything they'd encountered. So hearing him outright admit that he didn't know what was going on made Nagisa's nervousness ratchet up another level. She shifted from one foot to another.

"May- . . . maybe we should call Mami and the oth-."

"Shhh" Key hissed, his eyes narrowing, "I can see something!"

It was true, the crack had widened to such a degree that they could actually see inside of it somewhat. It almost looked as though there was liquid beyond it, held back by whatever forces were creating the crack. As the crack widened, they began to see what looked like landscape, almost as though they were looking into a panorama of a coral reef. But a reef unlike any to be seen on earth. There were glowing plants that cast the scene into sharp relief, their rainbow of lights causing a technicolor explosion of light. Off in the distance they could see what looked like strange fish flitting through the water, some with two back flippers, others looking larger than whales, large enough to have coral growing on them as well, almost like mobile bastions of the reef. Both Key and Nagisa stood transfixed by the scene.

Then something shifted within the portal, close to it, and Nagisa and Key jumped. It was a strange looking creature, being rather large, the size of a small car at least. It stood on several appendages almost like long spindly spider legs, connecting up to a narrow but long body. It had a head ending in what seemed to be a brown beak of sorts, as well as two pairs of appendages coming out in front of it, one of them ending in three fingered hands, the other in crab-like claws. All of it was covered with what seemed like a brown carapace.

The creature turned and while it didn't seem to have any visible eyes, they got the distinct impression that it was aware of them. Yet, they didn't sense any sort of malevolent intent in it. It seemed to simply be observing them with simple caution and curiosity, much like they themselves were doing to it.

The creature raised one of its crab-like appendages and tentatively pushed it forward through the tear in reality. As it passed the threshold however, something seemed to change about it. While it was hard to pinpoint any distinct change, the part that poked through the barrier suddenly seemed to shimmer and shift, fluctuating like it didn't belong. It was distinctly uncomfortable to look at it. The creature seemed to realize this as well for it withdrew the appendage and went back to observing them.

Key's breath caught in his throat. That effect, that . . . uncomfortableness, it had been similar to how Saya had looked. Was this . . . was this how she had come to be here in this universe? Had a tear opened up and she had stumbled through? But then, why was a tear in the fabric of the universe opening up at all?!

The creature was surveying them again, tilting its head. Then it made a sound, a low thrumming bass sound that reverberated towards them and seemed to make the air of the alleyway vibrate. Key tilted his head in response, but then Nagisa made a soft sound of realization.

"Maybe he's talking?"

Key looked at her curiously and she nodded, "lots of normal people here talk differently, so maybe he's trying to talk to us but we can't understand him!"

Key considered it for a moment, then nodded. It was a plausible idea, and Key certainly hadn't felt any sort of aggressive intent yet. Maybe . . . maybe he should try a response.

Key reached out with his mind, using the same method he used for his telepathy, and attempted to form a connecting with the creature. It tilted its head again and made another sound. Key scrunched up his face. He was definitely getting something, but it was almost. . . staticky, as though there was a lot of interference. Maybe if he was closer.

Key took a step forward and the creature seemed to give an encouraging sound. Slowly, cautious but overwhelmed with curiosity, Key moved forward. After a few moments, he was right up next the portal (which appeared to have stopped growing and was somewhat stable.) Hesitantly, Key raised a forepaw. The creature on the other side of the portal reciprocated with one of its a hand.

Deliberately, and alertly Key reached his paw forward. The being reciprocated. Their appendages inched towards each other, and just as they were about to touch, Key suddenly found his paw joined by one of Nagisa's hands.

"Nagisa! What are you-"

Soundtrack: Mass Effect OST – Love Theme

But then they're hands had connected right at the threshold of the tear. Key felt all three of their minds link. He blinked at the sensation. It wasn't direct contact, more like they were sitting in the same pool and casually sending images and feelings at will. But there was no evil to it, no anger or hatred. The being was just as curious as them about the tear in reality. It found them just as fascinating as they did it. On some prompting, the creature sent images of itself, moving around what seemed to be an ocean of purple, feasting on some sort of seaweed. Key and Nagisa responded with themselves eating one of Mami's cakes and the being seemed fascinated.

It continued on like this for a bit, with both of them sending images and feelings back and forth. Casually conversing in a way and showing each other bits and pieces of their lives, exploring their respective realities through each other's memories.

How long they sat there, they didn't know, it must've been hours. There was something special about it, something raw and new. Key was awed to see something beyond the bounds of the universe he'd trekked for so long (though he'd never been able to appreciate it until recently) and the creature seemed fascinated in its turn by their world and the bits of it they shared. Nagisa was the same, if not more, constantly asking what things were. The creature seemed to regard her with a sort of paternal fondness. It seemed, if not full grown, at least a bit along in its life-cycle.

There were few words, for the creature didn't seem to converse in such a way, or at least didn't know their language. Instead it seemed to hum and thrum, almost singing as it shared its thoughts and feelings. It's way of thinking was lyrical and almost was like an orchestra playing a tune that ebbed and flowed like currents in the ocean.

There were moments of sadness and horror, as the "subject" of their conversation lead to different things. The Creature showed them predators that lurked in deep trenches and abyss's, that would sometimes crawl forth to harry its people, and the friends and family it had lost to the monsters. The sacrifice shouldered by those who ventured down into the dark places to slay the monsters, some never to return to bright home. Nagisa showed her mother's death, crying as she did so, and her transformation into a Witch. Key in his turn showed his own "birth" and how he had gained intelligence. The creature had seemed horrified at these memories, but it remained sympathetic, empathizing with them. It seemed to pity them as it saw the horrors that they endured, and the enemy that they were faced with.

But then also, were moments of happiness, as when the creature showed itself with others of its own kind, obviously a family of sorts and how they had played together. How it was still fortunate, despite its wandering nature, to know many of its own kind yet living who loved it and how it could spend its days exploring the distant horizon and the wonders that waited there. Key showed the moments when he had saved Mami and she had agreed to be his first friend. How his heart had nearly burst with gratitude as he felt something warm within him as he met someone who he felt would love him. Nagisa showed the times she had spent with Mami, as well as some happier memories of herself and her mother. She also showed (and it seemed to bolster Key just as much as the creature) just how grateful she was to him for saving her, how much she loved him for it.

How long they would've sat there, given the chance, was anybodies guess. Until their friends had found them perhaps. But something else came to interrupt them first.

"Ah, so here's the new tear" came a voice, a voice that Key and Nagisa knew only too well.

For the first time since the conversation began, they wrenched their eyes away and looked back. Kyubey was striding up the alley. Key jerked, his paw almost leaving the portal, but he managed to keep it there.

"Interesting" Kyubey said as he strode up to the tear.

The creature was staring at Kyubey, and the sounds and feelings that were emanating from it now were definitely getting aggressive. It seemed to recognize Kyubey from the memories they'd shared and it was clear that it did not have any sort of fond feelings for the Incubator.

"I wonder why the creature is making such noises" Kyubey said lightly. He had stood behind Key and Nagisa and his tentacles were extending towards the sides of the tear. They could feel something like a static charge in the air. Key realized that Kyubey appeared to be preparing to use a lot of energy.

"What are you doing?" he asked sharply.

Kyubey tilted his head slightly, "its obvious isn't it, I'm closing up the tear. It's, what you might call a "public hazard." If creatures start coming in through this, Magical Girls could end up fighting them instead of Witches and we all know what a mess that would be."

"Bu-but-" Key spluttered, at a loss for what to do. "It's a whole other universe!" he said desperately. "Think of all you could learn from it!"

Kyubey nodded, "I certainly could learn a lot, but in a controlled environment. I have already recorded all the data and sensations I could from this encounter and it will be archived, to be used or studied later in a, as I said, controlled environment. This alleyway is not controlled and stands a chance of interference with the mission. If I was able to sense the portal, how long until Magical Girls and Witches find it? Besides, it appears that its not working properly anyway. You cannot cross through it and adjust to the other Universe's physical laws, can you?"

"But what about him?!" Nagisa said with panic, gesturing with her free hand towards the creature that was watching the proceedings with a cautious edge to it.
"What about him?" Kyubey asked in that maddeningly nonchalant tone he always used.

"He's our friend!" Nagisa said loudly, tears beginning to leak into her eyes.

"That is not pertinent" Kyubey said matter-of-factly. Key and Nagisa looked back despairingly at the creature. They could fight, but what would that accomplish? Kyubey would merely send another drone when they weren't around to close the portal, assuming that the power he was channeling at the moment wouldn't beat them outright. But they didn't want to lose their new friend!

The creature seemed to have understood what was going on and was looking at them. They felt it send some new thoughts and stiffened. It was telling them goodbye.

"Can we see you again?!" Nagisa said desperately. The creature turned its head away for a moment, then it turned back.

The next few moments contained an eternity as their minds met closer than they had during any point of that day. The creature sung of its wonder at the meeting, of how grateful it was to have seen them, to have a once in a lifetime experience like this. It held both Key and Nagisa in its mental embrace, singing words and sounds of comfort to them. As long as they would live, Key and Nagisa would never truly forget that moment, as the creature sung to them, telling them how happy it was to know them, how sorry it was that it could not help them, and how it would always think of them and hope for their lives to be full of joy.

Then, the tear snapped close, and it was gone. Key and Nagisa stumbled, caught by the sudden emptiness that engulfed them as the creature was cut off from them, almost certainly never to be seen again. Nagisa crumpled to her knees and began to shiver, holding herslef with her hands. Key sniffed trying to keep himself under control. In a flash, almost as though they had planned it, Nagisa opened her arms and Key leapt into them, the two taking whatever solace they could in each other's embrace.

"It will be interesting to use this data to add to our long term projects" Kyubey said as he stared at the spot where the portal had closed. And with that, he turned around and began walking away.

"Wait!" Key cried out. He didn't want to do anything at the moment except curl up with Nagisa and mourn their lost friend, but he needed to know something. Kyubey stopped and peered back at him.

"Yo- . . . you said that this was a new tear" Key choked out. Kyubey watched impassively, so he continued.

"S-so there have been more of these tears?" Key asked.

"Indeed, it's an inconvenience to have to close them. But if we allowed them to remain open, enemies other than Witches might appear and we would lose more Magical Girls than necessary."

Key blinked, struck by a sudden idea.

"Did . . . did Saya, the one eldritch monster from the hospital . . . did she come through one of these portals?"

Kyubey answered in his usual light, nonchalant manner, "it is possible, though without having seen her arrive I cannot make any statement on the matter."

Kyubey looked up towards the sky, "it is rather odd though. These tears started appearing at an abnormal frequency within the past few weeks. The same time as the whole business with you breaking down and the anomaly Homura Akemi appears. Odd. I wonder if the two incidents are related. Perhaps not, after all, correlation does not equal causation. Still, it is worth looking into."

With that he was off with a swish of his tail.

A few minutes later, after Key and Nagisa had had time to get a handle on themselves (and Key had cleansed Nagisa's Soul Gem) they had headed back up to the apartment. It was the afternoon and they both settled down on one of Mami's couches.

Nagisa sniffed, still shaking slightly. She glanced at Key, who looked back.

"Do-don't leave me K-Key" Nagisa said suddenly as she looked at the small white-furred creature. Key blinked.

"Your one of my only friends, and I . . . I . . . I don't want to lose you too!" Nagisa finished.

Key padded over to her and put a paw on her knee, smiling up at her.
"Nagisa, I made a promise to Mami and it stands for you too. I promised that I'd never let you become a Witch, or that I'd save you from being one. I stand by that promise."

Nagisa sniffed. That wasn't exactly what she'd asked, but she supposed that it might go hand in hand that Key would have to stick around to keep that promise. Still, she did feel a bit better and smiled down at Key.

"Thanks Key. You're really fun to have around and your one of my best friends."

Key smiled gratefully, looking at the table in front of them.

"I mean" Nagisa said, continuing with the praise, "you're like an Angel compared to Kyubey!"

Key froze, still as a statue, then he slowly looked at Nagisa with an uncomfortable look on his face.
"Nagisa . . . please don't call me that."

Nagisa was surprised by his look and tone.
"Call you what?"

"An Angel. Please don't call me that again."

Nagisa tilted her head, still confused.

"Why not?"

Key shifted uncomfortably, looking away from Nagisa. He sighed slightly, but then seemed to brighten up.
"Nagisa, how about I tell you a story to pass the time! A story of brave knights and evil villains! A true story."

Nagisa thought for a moment, then nodded eagerly. She needed something to distract her from the experiences she'd just had. She turned towards him, getting herself comfortable as Key began.

"Today her name has changed slightly. But back in her day, she was known . . . as Jeanne D'Arc. And she once called me an Angel . . . and her friend."

That evening's training session had been relatively standard as far as these things seemed to go. Just more training against oil drums and barrels as well as trying to figure out how to combine their powers in unique ways.

Sayaka had yawned, wishing that she could do something to help. Maybe she should ask for a Magical Weapon. Yeah, that might work! They could enchant things after all, so maybe she should try and get an enchanted sword or something. Then, as Sayaka turned to look around, her eyes fell on the transfer student. Homura was staring off into the distance at a skyscraper. Her head was turned away but it was an unblinking stare. What was so interesting about it?

Then, Homura seemed to suddenly shift slightly, as though she was an animation and had skipped a frame or two. It was subtle, but she had instantaneously shifted from one position to a similar but not quite the same position. Sayaka narrowed her eyes slightly.

"She just stopped time and then let it start again . . . but why? Why didn't she bring us into it? What's she got to hide?"

Homura glanced around and Sayaka reschooled her face and looked back at the lesson in progress. Internally however, she was pondering the meaning of what she'd just seen. Of course, it wasn't particularly that Homura had used her ability that made Sayaka suspicious, it was more the fact that the girl had used them at a time when there didn't seem to be much call or reason to do so, and had obviously been trying to avoid the rest of them noticing. Perhaps Sayaka was being paranoid, but she wanted to know what Homura was sneaking off to do. While she didn't think that the transfer student was someone to look out for anymore, at least not in the same way as before, Sayaka still found her remote, condescending, and extremely hard to get a read on.

That worried her. Sayaka wasn't sure if she trusted the transfer student. She could understand Madoka, that girl could be friends with anyone. Mami and Nagisa had the excuse of the whole "Magical Girl turn into Witches" reveal thing so that they probably felt like they owed the Transfer Student something. Key even moreso because the girl had taken him in (though the darker part of Sayaka suspected that the Transfer Student was just using him while he was, well, useful). But Sayaka wasn't buying it. The girl acted way too smug and comfortable in her opinion. Once they'd sat down and talked (aside from that one moment where she'd seemed completely flatfooted by Mami and Key) the Transfer Student had fallen into her role way too neatly.

It was a bit hard to explain, but Sayaka felt like the girl had just skipped any sort of "integrate into the group" stage and moved right on to giving orders about how they were going to fight Walpurgisnacht. It was valuable advice, sure, but who was she to just come in and start giving them orders. It really, really grated Sayaka to just sit around and give occasional comments. She wished she could be a real participant, do something useful. She wished she could grab a sword and save every single Magical Girl and Wi-.

There it was really, she supposed. For all that she'd revealed to them about how Magical Girls turned into Witches (or at least, supported Key when he did so), Sayaka had yet to see her truly treat it with the gravity it deserved. If she was honest, the knowledge of the true nature of the whole Magical Girl System was one of the main reasons that Sayaka had not contracted yet. That one visit with Kyosuke where he'd shouted had hurt . . . a lot. Her subsequent refusal of a wish hadn't helped. It had made her feel so . . . so . . . useless. But at least she felt something, not like that Transfer Student. She always just stood there with her blank eyes. Sure Sayaka had seen her get surprised a few times, but she always seemed to default to those blank eyes and that condescending tone (especially when talking to her it seemed.) She never seemed to feel sorry or sad about all the horrible stuff that went on with Magical Girls and Witches.

Sayaka didn't trust her, not fully anyway, and she didn't see the need to treat her like she was some hurt puppy, not up until she started treating things with the respect they deserved.

Homura had brusquely announced after the training session that something had come up that she needed to attend to. She'd also mentioned that she might be busy for the next few days after school and not to worry about it if they didn't see her too much. Upon being asked about what she was doing, she gave a vague answer about "investigating new leads and procuring new resources for fighting Walpurgisnacht" and left it at that. It had been a bit of a stiff moment but nobody had really known what to say to her. Not even Madoka or Key seemed to know.

That night, Key had noticed that Homura had started locking her door again (funny, he hadn't noticed that she'd stopped doing that). She'd also made no more mention of where she was going and what she was doing when she was off on her own.

However, he had other things to think about, because earlier that day, Dr. Tanbo had called them to say that she would be heading out to investigate a likely spot for one of Dr. Ogai's safehouses, and hopefully they would discover something to their advantage about Saya there. She had arranged to pick up Mami and Key after school the next day as they had volunteered to go with her. Hopefully what they found would shed some light on the creature and possible ways to deal with it.

Soundtrack: Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST – Puella in Somnio

Homura leaned back against the wall and finally let her body relax. It had been poker stiff for so long that she felt her muscles ache as she let them sag. She sucked in a gasp of air and continued to breath that way, each breath coming long and hard as she put her hands up to her face and cradled it. Slowly, she slid down the wall of the alleyway, coming to sit on the ground as the sun continued to set and night came on.

Why, why did this always happen. No matter what, no matter what small joy she managed to get, no matter what small progress she made, there was always something to counteract it, or she was being deluded. She'd woken that morning after those dreams, and had reminded herself that she'd been entirely too lax this time around. She'd become accustomed to Key, forgetting that he was still an Incubator, one of Kyubey's things, in spite of his friendly attitude and reformation. Who knows what went on in that alien mind of his. She'd trusted Kyubey once, and look where that had led her, she couldn't really afford to trust Key, or anyone else for that matter. They all had no idea what was truly going on and all only ended up disappointing her over and over again. Except Madoka that is and even then, Madoka seemed never to understand what Homura was trying to do. Why did she still contract so many times when Homura had promised her that she would save her from that horrible fate?

The reminder of her laxness had prompted her to be a bit more wary, and thus, she'd noticed the flash of something on a nearby skyscraper during one of their training sessions and had used her time stopping ability to investigate. She'd been slightly surprised, but not as much as she might've been to find Oriko there. She appeared off and on in her time-loops, though never as devastatingly as the first time. Homura usually made sure that she wasn't scheming anything against Madoka at the beginning of the time-loop. If she wasn't, then the odds of her being a threat were astronomically low.

Homura might've taken care of Oriko and Kirika right then and there, but the fact that Kyoko and Yuma were there held her back. It was a bit shocking, as anything new in the time loop was for her (this loop being full of shocks did not diminish this one). Kyoko was a regular fixture in her loops. Often she came back to Mitakihara for one reason or another. Whether to compete with Mami, to join her, or just for kicks, something always seemed to draw Kyoko back to the city. Of all the people Homura had to try and shepherd along, Kyoko was probably the one she had the most respect for, or at least regarded with the least amount of annoyance and disdain.

The girl was, for the most part, a realist and was often open to partnership, provided she got something out of it. Even with her main powers not working, she was one of the most powerful Magical Girls there was (Homura would place her in the top brackets just below herself, Mami, and Madoka). Come the fight with Walpurgisnacht and Kyoko was always a welcome ally, surprisingly loyal too. Though, Homura did face some frustrations if the girl ever got involved with the others beyond a simple business deal. Mami and Kyoko had a complicated history and Kyoko nearly always hurt Mami's effectiveness by virtue of being a reminder of things that she'd lost. It was a trade off really, Mami's enormous skill and naivety against Kyoko's lesser skill but pragmatism. Though honestly, Homura had gained the impression that Kyoko's front of callousness was deliberate to keep anyone from getting close to her.

Then there was Yuma. Honestly, Homura didn't know much about her beyond the basics. Orphan, on and off Magical Girl (more off than on, considering how few times she appeared in her time loops), and apparently fodder for whatever scheme Oriko liked to pull. But when she did appear in Homura's path, it was almost always with Kyoko. Yuma was one of the things that broke Kyoko's image of devil-may-care selfishness. The young girl was typically meek and unassuming and wouldn't last long as a Magical Girl without Kyoko there to help her (though looking at her, Homura didn't see any Soul Gem, so it was possible that she wasn't a Magical Girl yet this time through).

But getting back to the matter hand Homura, no matter how much she was tempted, didn't feel she could do anything in front of Kyoko without potentially jeopardizing her as an ally. No, she needed to be more subtle until she had all the pieces. So she'd slipped away back through the door of the roof (forgetting to close the door behind her), and had investigated Oriko's mansion and usual haunts. There was no evidence that she was brewing up bombs or anything major, at least nothing written down or on computers, so she'd been forced to give up for the time and go back to her own group. She'd then stalked Oriko, thinking on whether or not she should simply take here out then and there. That idea had been delayed as Oriko had met with Komaki Asako and had made plans to meet the next day. If she had removed Oriko before the meeting, it might've looked suspicious. Komaki was not someone she had much contact with at all, but the girl was still a Magical Girl, and might look into the disappearance of Oriko. Thus, Homura had spied on the two, though she'd not been able to hear their conversation very much. After she'd left, Homura had decided that enough was enough and that it was time to remove Oriko from the equation. But not before she found out what her game was this time around.

Homura had known she had to do it. If left unchecked, Oriko would likely do something drastic that would've upended all the tentative progress that had been made thus far. Oriko was a danger and needed to either be brought under control or eliminated. It should've been easy to deal with her.

It should've been.

Homura had held herself together fairly well for the interrogation and the trip to get Kirika afterwards. But her insides had been icy and, at times, nauseous. Reminders of what Oriko had done to Madoka were a potent remedy, but they had made her angry, which was only slightly better, and it didn't last. She'd almost given away Madoka a few times, luckily Oriko had seemed to think she was referring to Key the Incubator. And now, as she lay up against a wall in the sanctuary of her time-stop she shuddered slightly. Now she had more on her plate, now she had to control Oriko, try and anticipate her and make sure she didn't go off the rails. She had to direct her to possibly contrive Kyoko meeting up with her and them agreeing to fight Walpurgisnacht together as well as Komaki Asako. She also now knew that the one that she had regained suspicions for, the one that had seemed a salvation for this loop, might now be a threat even greater than Walpurgisnacht.

Why oh why had she ever felt like she could trust them, trust any of them? Why did she keep doing this to herself? Why was she so so useless, so so weak, why did she ever feel that she was worthy to be protector for her only friend Mado-"

Homura felt a liquid on her hands and froze. She couldn't be crying! She shouldn't be crying, she was supposed to be strong! But even worse, if she was crying then-.

She held up her hand and blanched at the amount of corruption swirling within her gem. What felt like a cold bucket seemed to drench her and she swiftly reached into her shield and grabbed something. Her hand came away and clutched in it was a Grief Seed. Key had asked them to give up their Grief Seeds for him to cure. But Homura hadn't been willing yet to do so and had only surrendered a token amount, secretly keeping the rest for herself, (even if some part of her felt guilty for the deception).

She hastily put the Grief Seed to her Soul Gem and sighed in relief as the black corruption and despair streamed out. Despair and Grief of the sort that occurred within Soul Gems was in some ways a bit different from normal emotions. Oftentimes it was an amplifier, seizing on already present traumas and emotions and generating energy based off of those. Failing at that, it would simply bombard the victim with feelings of worthlessness and despair, whether it was appropriate or not. The feelings generated by the Despair/Grief energy dissipated when the energy was removed. Homura did idly wondered if the energy would dissipate or return to its base form if it wasn't housed in a Soul Gem or Grief Seed, after all, the Incubators were doing this to harvest emotions by turning them into energy, so it stood to reason that Despair might not be it's natural form. Unfortunately for her, she had multitudinous failings that were good fodder for despair.

Homura gritted her teeth as part of the strong emotions fled, though the majority of it remained even as her Soul Gem flared brightly. With practiced ease, she forced the feelings down and stood up, wiping her eyes. She had to be strong, she had to endure. No one else would understand, no one else would help her. She alone had to bear the burden. She alone would save Madoka. Madoka's happiness was all that mattered. Even if she had to become a monster to save her, she would.

It was her wish after all.

Soundtrack: Saya No Uta OST - Sabbath

Fuminori smiled and laughed. He felt better than he had in months. True the world around him still looked like a nightmare, but the fact that he was sitting at a table with his friends made him feel better. Even more so, the fact that his friends looked human was even more important.

He'd been apprehensive, worried that Yoh would've gone back to looking like a monster when he'd next saw her. But when he'd gone to meet her the next day, she'd still been there, smiling nervously, the one beautiful human face in a crowd of monsters. He hadn't been able to resist hugging her again and Yoh, though she'd seemed a bit uncomfortable had let him do so. They'd talked for awhile afterwards, about unimportant things as she led him to a meeting she'd apparently arranged with his two other friends, Koji and Omi. As they had come into what Funimori knew was a cafe, he'd been bracing himself for dissapointment, telling himself that there was no sense in expecting the fluke of Yoh's appearance to repeat. But then he'd heard his best friend's voice calling him and had turned. Koji had been waving and Fuminori hadn't been able to resist the grin that had threatened to split his face.

It had been a glorious evening. There hadn't even really been anything important talked about and Fuminori had had to refuse any sort of food or drink (he was still trying to find something that didn't make him sick at the sight of it, Saya was experimenting on that front). Fuminori had absorbed any and all details about how their lives were going like a glass of water in the desert. It almost felt for a bit like things were back to normal in spite of how his world looked. It had been so good to see his friends again that he'd lost track of time and had talked for hours and hours. Finally however, his friends had had to go home, and so had he. They'd made agreements to meet the next day and Fuminori hadn't been able to resist giving each of them a hug in turn.

When he'd hugged Koji, he'd whispered in Fuminori's ear, "hey man, I know something's bothering you. Just want you to know you can trust me to talk to about it. Okay?"

That had brought Fuminori up short. As he'd trekked home he'd thought it over. He knew that if he came clean with his condition he'd likely be put in a mental institution for the rest of his life. He didn't want that, he wasn't weak! But at the same time, it had felt so good talking to his friends again, seeing them as normal people again. Maybe this new development meant that more things would start looking normal? Maybe he could be cured without any outside help! Well, if that happened he couldn't wait to introduce Saya to them!

He had hummed happily and even skipped a bit as he'd come home, ignoring the gurgles of the monster that he thought must probably be his neighbor. After he'd gotten inside his home, he'd sighed contentedly. True, his problems weren't over and he knew it, but for the moment he wanted to bask in this feeling of contentedness.

He heard the sound of footsteps and saw Saya coming down the hallway. He smiled broadly at her and she smiled faintly back.

"How . . . how was your day Fuminori?" she asked quietly.

"It was great!" Fuminori said brightly. He launched into a recounting of his day as he and Saya sat down and he ate the food she prepared for him (it still tasted and looked awful, but he wasn't going to say that to Saya unless she asked).

Saya had seemed enraptured by his description, asking questions about his friends and the simple goings on of the outside world. She almost seemed like a child who'd been shut up for years in a dark room, and to whom any sort of information about life was precious.

As he thought of the analogy, something did make Fuminori feel a bit uncomfortable. He'd been drawn to Saya, some might even say, obsessed with her. A part of that had undoubtedly come from the fact that she was a girl, and everyone else had looked like a horrible monster. But now that he could see Omi and Yoh as normal (honestly he was more thinking about Yoh) it was brought home to him just how young Saya looked. She was not a full aged woman by any stretch of the word and it made him feel distinctly uncomfortable the way he . . . well the way he'd probably been looking at her before.

To be sure, he still loved Saya and she was still the main balm he had in this insane world. He really hoped that he could show her to his friends and they could become friends with each other. Or even perhaps he could find Dr. Ogai and he could help them all with some research. Surely he must've figured something out if he'd been gone for so long. Or even possibly that white creature. If he'd been the one to help Fuminori's friends look normal again, maybe he could help!

Fuminori just needed to find him.

Saya hummed softly to herself. Fuminori was asleep in bed, sleeping soundly for once, but she was up and about, pacing the house (or at least, that was what she would've seemed to be doing to Fuminori). She was happy to see Fuminori so happy, but it also made her feel conflicted. She hadn't been blind to how depressed he'd been when he wasn't spending time with her. Well, even during time with her, he'd still seemed miserable at the bottom of it all, clinging to her as though he'd go insane otherwise. She'd even a few times considered offering herself to him as she'd read that sexual activity could cause dopamine to be release and give feelings of wellbeing, but something had held her back, or else, she hadn't felt that they were far enough along in their relationship. She'd seen him slowly start to sink into a depression that she wasn't sure she could alleviate. Now however, it seemed that he was feeling better and she was happy for that. But she was also concerned because the cause of Fuminori's happiness seemed to be that he could see his friends as normal to him again. She worried that he'd lose interest in her and leave her alone and . . . she loved him.

But even then . . . was her love healthy for him? She knew that he'd had a very hard time of it ever since his accident and that she'd been a balm to him. But if the option was there for him to be cured, shouldn't she or that white thing cure him. If it was a choice between Fuminori finding happiness only in her, or him managing to find his happiness with his more long lasting friends and partners . . . could she do that?

And if this continued, what if he started seeing her differently as well?

Her eyes snapped shut and she slumped against a wall (or at least it would've looked like that to Fuminori). He would've seen her curl up and put her hands over her head and sniff loudly.

It scared her to be honest. She was scared of being alone, of not having Fuminori with her. She was scared of what she might become if she were left to her own devices, she'd changed so much since she'd met Fuminori. She was scared of going back to the place she'd been before, terrified. She was scared of Fuminori seeing her as a monster and of the love he felt turning to hatred and disgust. The thought of Fuminori's face that looked on her with kindness and love, twisting up in fear, horror, and hate chilled her to her core.

But somewhere deep inside her, lurking in her subconscious, there lived a different fear. A fear of what she was doing to Fuminori. She worried that her love for him was changing him, that it was twisting him. What would Fuminori do for her, and she for him? It wasn't as though she had some great concern for the rest of the creatures of this world. She only had regard for Fuminori and Dr. Ogai. But there again, something conflicted in her. If Fuminori valued his friends, didn't that mean that they might have some value too? And if other people could love each other like she did Fuminori, did that give her any right to treat them like . . . like . . . like how she had been?

Did she even love Fuminori? Of course she did, that was a stupid question. She'd read many romance novels and other such things while she was with Dr. Ogai and in fact, she'd started desiring love from that. But now, in her experience, there was something odd about this love. It had been far more about her simply being with Fuminori, of giving him reassurance that she was still with him, that she cared for him. How had it happened? There was no explosive acts pf passion yet, much more common were simple actions that nevertheless made her and Fuminori feel good and appreciated.

Did she even know what love was?

She wasn't sure, but as she paced further, trying to get her twisted mind to figure out the conundrum, she knew one thing for sure. If it came a choice between Fuminori's happiness and hers, between his health and staying with her, between . . . whatever. She would choose Fuminori.

She just hoped that her past was well and truly left behind her in that tear she'd stumbled out of. Hoped and prayed, because if it followed her . . . may that God Fuminori had once told her of have mercy on Fuminori and his kind.

Soundtrack: Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST - End Credits (Magia)

Author's Note: So yeah, all that happened. Some more setup in this chapter as well as a peak at how some of the characters are doing. I hope that the shorter length was to the chapter's benefit and not its detriment. If you feel like it wasn't a good thing, let me know. While the plot might not have moved very much in this chapter, a big part of Madoka was the emotional states of the characters and how that ended up affecting there actions (often in negative ways). So I feel that it is important, especially in a written format like this to get a good handle on the way these characters are feeling, because be sure that it's going to be important for how they act, view others and (possible most importantly) themselves.

Have a good day!