This time, I'll save her. I just need to defeat Walpurgisnacht. Mami is strong; she can help. As long as she doesn't know the truth about witches...

Mami, overwhelmed by endless familiars, disappears under half a skyscraper.

"Please, Kyuubey, save Mami's life!"

Repeat.

This time, I'll save her. We were just outmatched last time. If there's three of us, we can certainly win. Sayaka would do anything for that boy in the hospital. She could even defeat something this powerful.

Even become a witch when he doesn't return her feelings.

Kyuubey comes oozing out of the shadows. "There was nothing I could do to save Miki Sayaka. But that doesn't mean you can't."

Repeat.

This time, I'll save her. We just need to support each other. I'll show them that Kyouko really isn't that bad.

But nine times out of ten, Kyouko doesn't arrive until Mami has died. By then, it's too late to do anything but repeat.

Over and over, in the blind hopes of reaching victory. It has to be possible, but it doesn't have to be easy.

Charts, maps, documents. Breaking it down into smaller and more elaborate plans, looking for the butterfly that starts the storm. The constants she can't prevent weigh down on her shoulders. Walpurgisnacht arrives on the same day, at the same time, of every month, but it seems that there are a million different ways for it to all fall apart before then.

Every now and then, there's an irregularity, and secretly, her heart leaps. But she soon learns to dread them. They're too unpredictable, and when they fail, she's brought crashing down harder than before.

She doesn't need wild cards, though. She can do this on her own. She'll save Madoka. She just needs to try one more time...

After a while, she feels like she can't keep track of the cycles anymore. The truth is that she doesn't. All that matters is what comes at the end.

Kyuubey watches her, watching the others, and tilts his head. If he could feel it, she'd confuse him. "We certainly have a knack for running into each other, don't we? And I still don't know what your purpose is. Akemi Homura...why do you fight?"

Homura is silent. Madoka is safe, for now.

At times, she swears she can hear the sand running, but that doesn't matter.

This time, I'll save her.