Prologue: Make A Wish

"Homura-chan! What on Earth is happening? What happened to you? Oh, you're hurt! Don't tell me you were fighting that witch all by yourself?" Homura Akemi stirred slightly, that faint flicker of hope in her heart relighting at the sound of her best friend's concerned voice. No. Not in this timeline. Not since any timeline in a long while.

Once again, Homura had watched Walpurgisnacht descend upon Mitakihara, this time feeling confident that her ability to stop time, combined with Kyoko Sakura's ferocious fighting skill, would be able to defeat the Dreadnaught Witch without the inevitable casualty of Madoka Kaname. However, the plan had gone entirely wrong. Upon the witch's arrival, Kyoko had decided to take matters into her own hands and begin the battle against Walpurgisnacht on her own. Homura hadn't been able to reach Kyoko until the scarlet magical girl had already been cornered by the Dreadnaught Witch's familiars. The witch had plucked up Homura before the raven-haired girl was able to activate her time powers, and hurled her into the river. Homura figured she must have washed up on its banks, and that Madoka had gone out looking for her. "Madoka! Please tell me...you came alone?" Her ribs were on fire, and she had gashed her shoulder in the initial fight while trying to reach Kyoko. But that wasn't important. Madoka hadn't learned the truth about magical girls in this universe. Homura couldn't afford to let Madoka make the contract blindly. Or, preferably, to make the contract at all.

"What do you mean?" Homura hated seeing the confusion and utter naivety in her friend's rose-colored eyes. Then again, it was better than the sorrow that always filled them every time Sayaka Miki became the very thing she had fought, or Mami Tomoe became careless fighting one witch and paid with her life.

"Madoka...don't become a magical girl just for my sake..." Her vision was darkening, and Madoka's face was beginning to blur. Her head was pounding. This was definitely the worst she had ever been hurt in one of her many battles against Walpurgisnacht. For the first time, the thought of what would happen if she died struck her. Would the hourglass on her shield activate on its own? Or would Homura finally lose the battle against her own wish? The panic that surged through her was enough to make her forget the pain momentarily.

"It's not just for your sake! I have to save Mitakihara now that Sayaka-chan and Mami-san have both been killed by witches! And you're in no condition to fight! I can't just stand by and watch you die!" Homura tried to sit up, and immediately regretted it. The simple action sent her into spasms, and she coughed up a startling amount of blood. If not for her Soul Gem's small amount of remaining magic, she would have certainly already died. She couldn't cry out as Kyubey appeared at Madoka's side.

"Are you ready, Madoka Kaname?" Madoka nodded. No! Homura wanted to scream. Don't fall into his trap now!

Turning to look at Homura, Madoka smiled and said, "I know about your real powers, Homura-chan. I figured them out the moment I saw you try to save Mami-san in that witch's labyrinth. You knew everything that would happen, like you'd lived it forever. I'm assuming you're going to rewind time again after this?" Homura forced herself to nod, tears threatening to spill over. She had come so close...

Madoka smiled that wonderful smile that had caused Homura to make her wish in the first place. "If that's the case, then I wish that when you rewind time next, the world you create will be like no other, and that more magical girls will help us fight! I'm sure that if we all come together, like Mami-san and Sayaka-chan wanted, there will be no witch we can't defeat!"

"If that's what you wish, then your contract is complete!" Kyubey blinked, and Madoka flinched as a brilliant pink Soul Gem erupted from her chest, where her heart beat. "Congratulations, Madoka Kaname! You are now a fully fledged magical girl!"

Homura could only watch, barely staying conscious, as Madoka summoned her golden bow, took aim, and shot a single pink arrow straight into the core of the Dreadnaught Witch. She didn't stay for the imminent explosion of energy that would result in her only friend's transformation into the most fearsome witch of all. But she did have to hear that horrible scream as Madoka realized her fate.