Puella Magi Fuhai Magica

[TheBleachDoctor]

The main story is here on my FF.net account.

A/N: This story is MASSIVELY AU. Canon has been taken out behind the shed and shot with a 20mm cannon. Six 20mm cannons. Several times. Then carpet bombed with ICBMs. Five million ICBMs. You have been warned.

MadoHomu shipping. This is merely the prologue to set the stage. The shipping feels will come in the next chapter.

For everyone who is waiting for my other fanfics to update, hold your horses. I've got a bunch of WIP chapters that I'm currently dissatisfied with, and I'm not posting them until they're good and ready.

Special thanks to Grimgrendel for being my BETA reader. Before editing, this chapter was much worse.

You had no faith, you had no heart
You wanted war right from the start

We were not the same
You tried to find the demons inside of me
But little did you know I had set them free
We were not the same, you made me insane
We were not the same

There were never any fingerprints to hide
Because your death was a suicide
There was no evidence to find
Because it wasn't me who committed the crime

You took my voice, you took my pride
But now you're gone so both are mine

We were not the same
You made the wrong moves at the right times
Was it fate or was it just in your mind?
We were not the same, you made me insane
We were not the same

Go!

You tried to lock me down!
I found the key, liberate me!
You tried to lock me down!
I found the key!

I said, "You'll never take my freedom away"
And those were the words that made us separate

There were never any fingerprints to hide
Because your death was a suicide
There was no evidence to find
Because it wasn't me who committed the crime

-"Liberate Me", by Our Last Night

Prologue

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\ /人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\ /人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\ /人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\ /人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\ /人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\ /人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

"Now departing Asunaro City," the tinny automated announcer rang through the train car, "Next stop, Mitakihara City."

The gentle hum of the Mag-Lev engines filled the vehicle, as the world outside began to pass in a blur.

It had been about two years… two long years, but Homura Akemi was finally going home.

Turning to look across the empty train car, Homura saw her close friend and senior Mami Tomoe playing a guessing game with the younger Nagisa Momoe, affectionately nicknamed Charlotte.

It was a scene that was touching… almost normal… but Mami was a monster… a Demon. So was Homura. They were abominations.

She remembered how it all went so wrong, two long years ago.

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\ Contract? /人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

Resigned despair was perhaps the only way to describe the mental state of one Homura Akemi.

Quiet sobs racked her gaunt body. The sterile hospital room offered no comfort to the doomed girl. The doctors told her that the surgery… didn't have the intended effect. Simply and bluntly put, it failed.

Homura Akemi had one week to live.

It just wasn't fair. She hadn't done anything wrong. She was innocent, and yet her heart condition was going to snuff out her young life at the age of 14. It was far too soon, there was so much she wanted to do.

Not only was she going to die young, but she was going to die alone. Her parents had informed her, by way of impassionate emails, that their business would not allow them to visit her within the week.

In short, Homura's parents prioritized their career over their only daughter.

She was already two days into her allotted 7, and already she could feel her heart beginning to give out. It couldn't handle the despair she had fallen into. Homura had already given up on life.

That is, until a small white creature with beady red eyes landed on her windowsill.

"Hello, Homura Akemi," it spoke, "How would you like to become a Magical Girl?"

It was the year 2022, and Magical Girls around the world protected civilization from Witches, monsters born from curses.

A young blonde-haired girl with spiral braids leapt above the trees of folded paper. Whirling a ribbon in front of her, it transformed into a massive intricate cannon. She aimed it at her pursuer, which leapt out of the trees after her.

"Tiro Finale!"

The Witch, which resembled a wolf made out of origami, howled in defiant agony as the impressive magical cannon pierced it through, destroying the foul creature forever.

The Barrier dissolved like rice paper in water, the facsimile paper forest fading away to reveal an unassuming park in Mitakihara. Four girls stood in the middle.

"Wow, Mami-san, that was amazing!" an enthusiastic young pink-haired girl exclaimed, "Magical Girls are so cool!"

"It was nothing, Kaname-san," the golden-haired Mami Tomoe smiled humbly, "That was a fairly weak Witch."

"Even so," Madoka gushed, "I've never seen anything like it!" she turned to the black-haired bespectacled girl next to Mami, "You were impressive too, Homura-chan!"

"I… I didn't do much, Kaname-san!" Homura protested in embarrassment, "I can only really fight in a support role…"

"Both of you are still really, really amazing, though!" Sayaka shouted in astonishment, "You said that we could be like you?"

"Indeed!" the small creature known as Kyubey spoke up as he hopped onto Homura's head, "You could make a contract with me right now and become Magical Girls!"

"Now Kyubey," Mami admonished it, "We aren't trying to pressure these poor girls. They need to understand exactly what being a Magical Girl entails."
"What isn't there to understand?" Sayaka laughed with a broad grin, "You get sweet powers to kick monster's asses with!"

"Yes, but it is dangerous work," Mami gently replied, "and you should take time to consider what your wish will be."

With a shared glance and a sad smile, Mami added, "Unlike you two, Akemi-san and I didn't have any time to think about ours."

In the year 2023, the existence of Puella Magi was uncovered by the FBI in the US. They saw it as a threat.

"Doctor… what is she?" Through the one-way mirror, Dr. Harley and Agent "Delta" stared at the unconscious girl, no older than 13.

"I don't know, Delta," Dr. Harley shook her head in bewilderment, "but she definitely isn't a regular Human. There's still no indication of what gives her the alleged powers those eyewitnesses claimed… but if what she told us is true… she isn't the only one out there."

"I see," Agent Delta nodded in understanding, "I'll have to relay this to headquarters."

"What do you intend to do?" the doctor asked with no small amount of concern.

Agent Delta gave her an unreadable poker face, "Just continue studying her, doctor. Inform us of any further developments."

Dr. Harley turned back to the little girl through the mirror. While she was excited to study such a new and unexplored phenomenon… she couldn't help but wonder whether she was setting the stage for something horrible.

International sharing of this discovery led to an ironically labeled "Witch Hunt" across the world.

"This is a joke, right?" Sayaka growled as she, Homura, Madoka, and Mami stared at the news feed on Mami's wall.

"-and orders that all 'Magical Girls' turn themselves into the local authorities," the broadcaster calmly addressed the nation of Japan, "I repeat, all 'Magical Girls' both in Japan and worldwide are to turn themselves in to their local authorities or they will be arrested. You will not be harmed."

"They can't do this to you!" Madoka protested with teary eyes, "Mami-san and Homura-chan have done nothing but protect everyone in this city!"

"It's because they don't understand us," Mami sighed, "they're afraid of us."

"No… I don't want to go to prison!" Homura shook with fear, "I didn't know this would happen!"

"Please don't panic, Akemi-san," Mami attempted to reassure the junior Magical Girl, "As long as we are discreet, we should be able to avoid detection."

"It's too dangerous for you two to become Magical Girls," Homura suddenly interjected, looking from Sayaka to Madoka, "You probably shouldn't spend time with us anymore, you might get in trouble…"

"Homura-chan, you and Mami-san are our friends!" Madoka protested, "We'd never abandon you!"

Homura gave her friend an appreciative, but melancholy smile, "Thank you Kaname-san."

Eventually the world governments, through thorough investigation (and the lucky chance of capturing one of Kyubey), unveiled the true plans of the Incubators.

"I don't get it!" the Incubator in the glass cage exclaimed, "You're helping to fight entropy! You should be glad! Your relatively small sacrifices as a species are ensuring the continued existence of the universe!"

"We're not your damn batteries, you alien bastard!" Admiral Dunsworth swore at the white-furred rat, "We swear that we'll fight you and your accomplices, and drive you from our planet!"

He turned his back on the cage, "I've heard enough. Get rid of it."
"I don't get it!" the Incubator looked around as the pilot lights on the nozzles surrounding it lit, "You humans are so irrational!"

One of Kyubey's many, many bodies burned.

Admiral Dunsworth looked to Doctor Samantha Harley, "Doctor, your work was invaluable. These… Magical Girls…. They're enemies of the state. We must dispose of them."

"Sir!" she protested, "They're just children! We can't-"

"You have your orders!" Dunsworth growled at her, "Follow them, or I'll find someone who will."

Their hunt for Puella Magi turned deadly.

Casey Palmer, the first Puella Magi to be discovered by a world government, turned to see her cell door open, and a familiar face enter.

"Dr. Harley!" She greeted the friendly brunette woman cheerfully, "Did my parents come to see me today?"

Dr. Harley couldn't bring herself to meet the gaze of the innocent young girl… what she was about to allow was unforgivable.

"I'm sorry, Casey," she muttered softly as two soldiers moved to flank her.

"Doctor… what's going on?" Casey asked uncertainly as she looked at the two armed soldiers, both of whom wore expressions of regretful resolve.

"By order of the government, all Puella Magi are to be killed on sight as accessory to treason against humanity," the first soldier spoke as he raised his rifle, "Sorry about this, kid."

"Dr. Harley!" Casey screamed in fear and utter horror, "Don't let them do this! Save me-"

Dr. Samantha Harley averted her gaze, forcing her eyes shut as the staccato gunfire of the soldier's gunfire filled the small room. Warm blood splashed onto her coat and face.

After a few seconds, she forced herself to look at her indirect handiwork.

Stumbling out of the room, she promptly vomited onto the floor.

To think she was so excited to research these Puella Magi… these Magical Girls…

This was all her fault.

She began to sob, collapsing to the floor.

She had been ordered to assist in development of Anti-Puella Magi weaponry in a joint effort with the other major world powers.

What she was going to do would weigh heavy on her soul… but if she did nothing, her successor might not be as merciful as she.

Dr. Harley could only hope to put these girls out of their misery as painlessly as possible.

Over the course of a month, over a million Puella Magi were systematically tracked down and summarily executed worldwide.

At a train station, Mami and Homura waited for the train that would take them away from Mitakihara. Kyubey had put them in contact with a group of Magical Girls who would take them in.

"Mami-san! Homura-chan!" Madoka's voice cut through the constant drone of the station, alerting the two Magical Girls to the approach of their pink-haired friend.

"Kaname-san, what are you doing here?" Mami scolded her as they moved out of the crowd.

"I couldn't let you and Homura-chan leave without saying goodbye!" Madoka said through watery eyes, "I… I don't want you two to leave!"

Homura's face was filled with regret, "Kaname-san, we have to go. Hitomi-san reported Mami-san and I to the authorities. If we stay, we'll be killed."

"I… I know that…" Madoka grabbed Homura's hands, pulling her close, "Just, please, Homura-chan. Promise me that you'll come back one day!"

"Kaname-san," Homura flustered, "I'm… I'm not sure if…"

"Promise me," Madoka cut her off, "You're a dear friend to me."

After a moment's hesitation, Homura nodded, "Yes, Kaname-san… Madoka. I will come back one day," she glanced meaningfully at her companion, "And so will Mami-san."

"I'm glad," Madoka cried softly, "I don't think I could bear not seeing my friends again."

"Hey!" a gruff shout cut through the moment, "There they are!"

Ten military personnel armored in advanced black suits ran onto the train platform, pointing their guns in the direction of Homura, Madoka, and Mami.

"Targets sighted! Open fire!" the lead soldier ordered, raising his gun.

Click

The world froze to gray as Homura grabbed Mami and Madoka, freezing time for them both.

"I don't think they got a good look at you, Madoka," Homura shook in fear, her sense of security shattered, "Let's get out of here."

Grasping both Mami and Madoka's hands, Homura led them past the screaming civilians and stoic soldiers who were frozen like statues.
A safe distance away from the station, Homura resumed time.

With a tired sigh, Mami remarked, "I guess we will have to walk."

"Mami-san, Homura-chan," Madoka watched as the two left, "Come back safe… please."

Barely hearing Madoka's plea, Homura muttered, "I will, Madoka."

In Japan, the Puella Magi resistance/refugee group named Hanran was created. It was 1,000 members strong nationwide, and had ties to the US's Libera group, Russia's справедливость (spravedlivost'), and China's Bàoyìng group, although China's group was a mixture of normal Humans and Magical Girls who were fighting against the corrupt government. It was a civil war long overdue, and was the opening act for the chaos that would soon engulf the world.

At the time, though, Hanran took no part in the growing hostilities.

"Welcome to Hanran!" a cheery, purple-haired older girl met Homura and Mami as they were led into camp. Homura and Mami looked around. It was a collection of prefabs, tents, and even some (magically-created) houses strewn about a large clearing out in the middle of the forest.

"My name is Ritsuko," the girl introduced herself, "and I'm the de facto leader of Hanran's Shikoku branch. We're by far the largest of the three."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ritsuko-san," Mami bowed slightly, "Thank you for taking us in."

"No problem," Ritsuko grinned cheerfully, "in dark times like these, we Magical Girls need to stick together. It's a nasty business, what's going on, but we can just sit here and wait it out. It'll pass, people are just scared."

"Won't they be able to see us from the air?" Homura worried aloud.

"Nope," Ritsuko wore a smug smirk, "We've got ten girls here who are very skilled at illusion magic. They keep the camp shielded."

"That's good," Mami said, relieved, "I would hate for us to have to fight any more than we already have."

"How long do you think you can hide, though?" Kyubey suddenly appeared, hopping on top of Mami's head, "The other Humans who want to kill you won't give up searching for you."

"Oh hush, Kyubey," Ritsuko waved dismissively at the furry white creature, "We'll manage."

Despite their desire to remain out of the fighting, Hanran and every other group worldwide was dragged into the war, one way or another.

"I don't like this…" Ritsuko muttered as she walked through downtown Tokyo, her pockets full of Grief Seeds, "I get the feeling that we're being watched…"

"You are," Kyubey helpfully informed the nine girls, "They want to kill you."

"Tch," Ritsuko was a bit angry. They came to the city to farm Witches; they needed the Grief Seeds. Yet what did this (relatively) selfless act get them? Hunted like rats.

"This is Ritsuko to all Hanran members in Tokyo," she broadcast telepathically, "We're pulling out; watch out for any… hostiles. We're being followed."

On a nearby rooftop, two members of the JSDF Anti-Puella Magi Task Force observed the group of girls making their way through town.

"Confirmed, they're Puella Magi," the first soldier said as he fiddled with the settings on his special binoculars, which served as magic detectors.

"Right," the second soldier nodded as she powered up her prototype Anti-Puella Magi exo-suit, "Hey, just a question. I'm not the only one with misgivings about killing girls, right?"

"You're not," the first soldier replied as he stowed his binoculars and activated the capacitors on his railgun rifle, "but just remember that they aren't Human anymore. The aliens changed them into their tools. Whatever they were, that's gone. Little Witches."

"If you say so," the second soldier activated the weapons systems on her exo-suit, "Let's test out our new Anti-"Little Witch" gear, then."

And with that, soldiers all across the city made their moves.

Mami leaped backwards over a parked car, firing musket after musket at the approaching soldier. Her assailant was wearing an armored power suit, and while the rounds made considerable dents in the armor, it failed to actually pierce it. All over the street, her fellow Magical Girls fought an entire squad of similarly-equipped soldiers. This was the JSDF's Anti-Puella Magi Task Force.

Any cries for help went unanswered, except for more calls for assistance. All across the city, the other groups of Magical Girls were being attacked in the same fashion. Mami had been separated from Homura, and that worried her. Was the junior Magical Girl doing alright? Was she dead?

Mami ended up with her back to a storefront. The soldier raised his rifle, and just as he was about to fire, the entire world went gray.

Feeling a solid grip on her arm, Mami turned to face her savior. Homura was standing there, holding her arm and looking awfully tired.

"Akemi-san!" Mami let out a relieved breath she had been holding, "Thank you for the save."

"You're welcome, Tomoe-san," Homura nodded, "Attach one of your ribbons to my arm… and help me set up the rest."

"The rest of what?" Mami asked. Homura gestured to the battlefield.

All over the street were various pieces of military hardware, set up so that they were aimed at the attacking soldiers.

"I set up the guns," Homura informed Mami, "You just need to help me… fire them."

"Of course, Akemi-san," Mami was honestly impressed, "You did all of this by yourself?"

"It took me at least half an hour," Homura panted, "I've only got ten minutes left on my time stop ability… Let's make the most of it."

They went around firing every single gun Homura had set up, Mami even adding two of her Tiro Finale shots to the mix.

Satisfied with their work, Homura resumed time.

The entire street exploded in ordinance, taking most of the attacking force by surprise.

The bullets through Homura's legs also took her by surprise.

"Akemi-san!" Mami cried out in horror as the junior Magical Girl collapsed with a scream.

"Full retreat!" Ritsuko cried out using telepathy, "Disengage and head straight back to camp! We need-"

As Mami and another Magical Girl helped carry Homura away from the battle, there was a massive explosion from the direction in which Ritsuko's group was fighting.

Mami supported a limping Homura as they trudged through the forest. All around them were similarly wounded Magical Girls. Out of the 20 Magical Girls that ventured into the city, only 6 managed to make it back.

In one fell swoop, the leader of the resistance group Hanran and her closest subordinates were killed.

Back at the camp, the wounded were tended to.

"What do we do now?" The question was left unanswered in the meeting room. Everyone was shell-shocked from the ambush which had removed Ritsuko, the solid foundation which Hanran had relied upon.

In the next few days, Homura Akemi, Kyoko Sakura, and Mami Tomoe were pressed into leadership of Hanran, because they were the most powerful Magical Girls left in the group.

They lost even more to despair, as many of them turned into Witches. Still, they did not understand their true nature until…

"I'm telling you, I saw it with my own eyes!" the image of a young blonde girl, Hanran's spy in the International Anti-Puella Magi Research Group, flickered on the screen.

"They… they managed to talk to a Soul Gem!" the girl sobbed, "That… that was Casey, the girl they captured first! She… She wasn't dead, the Soul Gem was her!... Then she turned into a Witch!"

"What do you mean, Maria?" Mami asked incredulously, "That can't be true!"

"It is!" Maria shouted back, "I had to step in and kill the Witch, they didn't know what to do… but they saw me! I'm hiding in one of the storage buildings!"

"But you're Dr. Harley's daughter," Homura spoke up, "Surely she won't let them kill you!"

"She's not my mother anymore!" Maria cried, "She's just a monster! I can't believe I ever loved her!"

"We, we can't be our Soul Gems!" the fourth-in command, Michiko protested, "That has to be a lie!"

"No," Maria retorted, "I confronted Kyubey! He all but told me so!"

In the background, they could hear a clang of metal on Maria's side.

"They found me…" Maria looked around in fright, "but I won't let them take me!"

Maria materialized her Soul Gem, and then leveled her stolen service pistol at it, "I refuse to become a Witch!"

With a single gunshot, the magically-created communication device faded away.

"I can't believe it," Mami shuddered as she stared incredulously at the Soul Gem in her hand, "This…. This is me?"

"She was joking, right?" Kyoko growled from her corner, fists clenched, "This has got be one big joke…"

"It is no joke," Kyubey confirmed, "Your inside source with the enemy was right. I don't know how they managed to communicate with a Soul Gem, but they are right. Soul Gems are the true forms of Magical Girls."

"Why?" another Magical Girl, Michiko snarled at the furry white abomination, "Why did you do this to us?!"

"So you could fight Witches, of course!" the Incubator replied simply, almost cheerfully, "You didn't think you could fight such dangerous creatures with your fragile Human bodies, did you? I helped facilitate your ability to fight them! Your body heals almost a hundred times as fast as a regular Human, your strength is increased, you barely feel pain… you don't even age!"

"I…. I sacrificed everything… only to become a monster?!" Michiko wailed in emotional agony, "My… My family is dead! My mother, my father… my little brother! The government killed them, all because of me! And now I find out that I'm not even Human anymore!"

She began laughing hysterically, "Heh… Haha, do you know what I wished for, everyone? I wanted money! Money… it seems so trivial now… so pathetic!"

Michiko grabbed Kyubey, trying to tear the little monster apart, "It wasn't worth it! None of this was worth it! I want my Humanity back, you little shit! Give it back!"

"That isn't possible," Kyubey replied calmly, "You will be a Magical Girl for the rest of your life."

With a cry of despair, Michiko threw Kyubey against the wall. She materialized her Soul Gem and glared at it. It rapidly darkened.

"I…" she sobbed as it began to crack.

"I hate this world!"

Click

Homura leveled her gun, a Smith & Wesson Model 500, at the Soul Gem of Michiko, who was frozen in time.

"I'm sorry, Michiko," Homura steeled herself for what she was about to do. She had done this dozens of times to girls in Hanran who gave into despair. The first time it happened, the girl turned into a Witch and killed ten others in camp. They had to kill anyone who was about to turn since then.

Homura had long since stopped crying when she did this.

"I'm so sorry, Michiko," she cocked hammer on her gun, "I… I hope you find peace in death."

Blam

Low on Grief Seeds and morale, Hanran lost the Magical Girls responsible for shielding their camp from the prying eyes of the JSDF. Once revealed, nothing was stopping the JSDF from attacking Hanran directly.

It was raining. The ground was muddy, and all around was utter hell.

"Mami-san, behind you!" Homura yelled out a warning as she dodged a blow from an Anti-Puella Magi Mech.

Mami Tomoe deftly dodged a strike from a similar Mech, and lashed out with a barrage from her muskets. The shots threw back the heavily-armored power suit, making it hit one of its brethren.

Overall, though, the battle was going badly.

The JSDF forces had landed right in the middle of their camp, tearing through their ranks with brutal efficiency. They had military experience, something the girls in Hanran lacked utterly. Three major battles with the JSDF were not enough to teach them what they needed to know.

The Anti-Puella Magi Task Force now had small piloted Mechs, armed with railguns and table-sized blades. More than enough to kill an ordinary Magical Girl.

One wondered what kind of soulless bastards they had to be. None of the girls here were older than 17.

One of their youngest recruits, Mai, screamed in terror as her head was crushed under the heavy foot of a mechanized Anti-Puella Magi Mech. She was 12.

One of Homura's friends, Akane, screamed in defiance as she leapt at one of the enemy soldiers, swinging her hammer. She was run through. Akane was 16.

Their fourth-most powerful Magical Girl, a brown-haired teen named Mizuki, coordinated her magically-created tanks against four JSDF Mechs.

She never noticed the fifth one, which snuck up from behind and removed her head from her shoulders.

Downing her own opponent with a pilfered Type-10 JSDF tank, Homura tackled Mami to the ground to save her from a similar fate. The blade of a Mech passed inches above their heads.

A follow-up kick from the Mech launched Homura away from Mami, and it began punching the prone blonde relentlessly. Intermittent screams and the crushing of bone could be heard.

Homura looked around at the battlefield helplessly. Mami was about to die. Kyoko had been rendered unconcious in the initial attack. All around, her friends and comrades were dying. She could do nothing to help, she could only stop time for a maximum of an hour (to her) each day, and she had used it all up on this battle alone. She could try rewinding time, but that only worked for up to 24 hours in the past, and what could she possibly do in that short amount of time? No amount of preparation could have prepared them for this, and without any illusion magic, they couldn't hide.

These girls had looked up to her to keep them safe, and she failed them.

As she began to despair, her anger grew. This was probably her fault… but whose fault was it really? It was the damn government and their fear of the unknown! They had called Magical Girls "Witches"… funny, when it was Magical Girls who actually fought Witches. They thought Magical Girls were evil, traitors against the Human race…

Homura began to laugh at the hilarity of it all. Her Soul Gem began to blacken and glimmer.

They wanted evil? They wanted Witches? They wanted demons to fight?... She'd show them Demons.

Her laughter grew in volume and intensity, until she was cackling hysterically at the top of her lungs. Slowly, everyone stopped fighting and turned to look at the lone Magical Girl, who had apparently snapped.

The government thought they were something they weren't… so Homura would… put on a play… yes, a play. A play to fit their expectations.

"This is just too good!" she laughed like a hyena, "All of this…. This fucked up world! It's hysterical!"

She materialized her Soul Gem and held it out in front of her. Mami's eyes widened in shock as she tried to drag her broken body closer to Homura, "No… Akemi-san… don't…"

"You want a real enemy to fight? I'll give you a real enemy!" Homura chuckled, "The show is about to start, ladies and gentlemen!"

She whirled around like a ballerina, eyes livid with fury, "And let me tell you," her grip tightened on her Soul Gem, "It's to die for."

In Homura's battered and broken psyche, a small voice cried out for her to stop. Once she turned, there was no going back… but Homura knew that unless she went through with this… unless she shattered her Soul Gem's casing, she wouldn't be able to protect those who put their faith in her. She didn't know how she knew… she just did. As long as she could protect her friends, she was fine with whatever she became.

So she crushed that last voice of protest in her mind, just like she crushed her Soul Gem.

Waves of sheer power washed out from Homura, knocking everyone and everything onto their backs. Her Magical Girl Outfit warped, becoming a twisted, blackened version of what it once was. Her Soul Gem reformed as a pitch-black earring, and massive black wings sprouted from her back. Her shield gained a partner, a sword in her right hand with a clockwork device as the pommel, and it lacked a cross-guard.

All around her, the environment warped. The Magical Girls recognized it for what it was. Homura Akemi now had a Witch Barrier. Scenes from various plays acted by dolls played out on the blurry extra-dimensional walls. The JSDF forces, having never experienced a Witch's Barrier before, were disoriented and confused.

The Magical Girls thought they were doomed.

Clara Dolls pranced around the combatants, chanting, "Gott is tot!" They drew swords… and began fighting the JSDF forces.

Startled by the rapid turn of events, the remaining Hanran forces decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and fought alongside the Witch Familiars.

Mami stared in horror at what her friend had become. What had Homura done to herself?!

The soldier that was attacking Tomoe turned his attention to Homura.

"What are you, Witch?" he spoke through his Mech's external speakers, before deploying both of his arm-blades and leaping at the girl, "Die, you monster!"

In a single seamless, graceful motion, Homura dodged the strikes, and struck the Mech once with her sword.
"Funny," she chuckled, "That's the first time you've used that term properly."

The Mech froze in place, and the man inside began screaming.

Mami's eyes widened in terror as she saw the Mech begin rusting. It broke apart and the man inside started to sound older and older… until he screamed no more.

The Anti-Puella Magi Mech crumbled to dust, as Homura slowly walked toward her fallen friend.

Kneeling next to the terrified Mami, Homura smiled sadly, "Look what's happened to you, Mami-san… you can't fight like this…"

"Ak… Akemi-san… what did you do to yourself?" Mami shook in pain and fright.

"I simply fulfilled our enemy's expectations," Homura replied, caressing Mami's Soul Gem, "Here, let me help you."
Mami gasped in shock as she felt a chilling sensation. Homura was… corrupting her Soul Gem somehow. She felt cold, like there were hooks digging into her body, threatening to tear her apart.

"No!" Mami cried out, trying to move away, but her broken body barely obeyed, "Akemi-san! Please, don't!"

"Hush," Homura crooned, "I know it's not pleasant… but you'll feel so much better when it's done."

Mami could only scream in panic and fear as she felt her Soul Gem… her very self, become saturated with what could only be described as… power. Unnatural, foreign, incomprehensible, terrible power. Dread consumed her. In her mind, she heard herself talking. Everything she had suppressed, her impulses and desires, began to drown out rational thought.

Her vision went white, and she felt her body and thoughts being reordered.

When it was done, she was standing. Her body, which had been mangled, was once again whole.

Looking down, she saw that her yellow outfit now enjoyed some jagged pitch-black elbow, knee, and chest armor. Her hands were covered in black semi-armored gauntlets.

It was strange… why did she fear this before? It felt wonderful. Unparalleled magic coursed through her veins like electricity through power lines.

Mami inexplicably found a cup with tea in her hands. She gave it a sip… it was perfect.

Setting the cup down on a table that appeared from nowhere, she turned to face the two JSDF soldiers who she had trapped in her newly created Barrier.

"Won't you come and sit?" she gestured to the table, "I prepared some tea just for you."

The first soldier responded by shooting the table with his arm-mounted railgun. His second shot was aimed at Mami, who reflected it with a black ribbon.

Mami gazed sadly at the remains of the table, and the shattered teapot.

"Now, this just won't do," she sighed, before grinning sadistically, "I have no use for unpleasant houseguests."

Her two Familiars, faceless dress-up dolls, suddenly popped into being and held the two Mechs in place.

Mami summoned up two muskets, but they looked different. Where once they were pristine white, now they were oil-black, laced with golden yellow.

"Honestly," she chuckled, "this would have been much more pleasant if you just sat down."

She fired.

Her muskets launched serrated explosive darts. There was nothing left of her enemies.

Inside Homura's Witch Barrier, Kyubey stared at the twisted former Magical Girl.

"What… what have you done?" it spoke, almost fearfully, "You didn't become a Witch… you aren't releasing energy, you're consuming it! You are increasing Entropy! Stop it, Homura Akemi!"

Homura sneered at Kyubey, "I don't think so, Incubator. For countless millennia, you've just been taking and taking from us… I think it's time that we got our fair share, don't you?"

"… Human emotions are too dangerous!" Kyubey turned to flee, "We can't use you anymore!"

"Now, hold on…" Homura grabbed Kyubey by the tail, "You didn't think we'd just let you go, did you? After all… I haven't forgotten what you did to us."

The Incubator was surrounded by former Magical Girls. Homura's Barrier had corrupted and turned them all.

"Yeah, Incubator," Kyoko smirked as she kicked the small creature, "We haven't forgiven you for the shit you put us through."

"It was very impolite," Mami delicately sipped her tea, "You have to make amends somehow."

"We don't care much for your people, they can go exploit another race," Homura held Kyubey up, her hand clenched around the Incubator's neck, "but you… you're all ours, Incubator. Kybuey."

That night, the remaining forces of Hanran became what would be known as "Demons". All 176 members proceeded to decimate their opposition. This transformation spread to other resistance groups worldwide.

"…What are you?" the leader of Libera, the US resistance group, asked hesitantly at her visitor. The courier from Hanran was here, and she looked rather terrifying. The courier, Yumi, was dressed in a black and white robe that appeared to be made of shining scales.

"Why, Katherine-san," Yumi grinned, "I'm… well, the media calls us Demons… but we are strong. We are strong enough that we are defeating all of our enemies. Our power is unmatched."

Yumi leaned closer to Katherine, whispering in her ear, "And you can have this power too."

Katherine thought for a minute in silence, before asking, "Will it allow us to win?"

"But of course," Yumi grinned broadly, "With this kind of power, no one will stand in the way of us, ever again."

"…Alright," Katherine nodded, "How do I get this power? How do I become a Demon?"

"That's easy," Yumi caressed Katherine's Soul Gem, which was set into a bracelet, "Just sit back… and relax."

The Earth was plunged into chaos. Public services ground to a halt and martial law was instituted around the globe. The media expounded the evils of the Demons.

In her room, Madoka read the latest news concerning the ongoing war. She hugged her knees closer to her chest, sadly going over a report about the latest attack by Hanran.

"Homura-chan," Madoka whispered, "…I miss you… I don't care what they say about you, I'm sure you're still good… right?"

The governments of the world took every precaution to safeguard their power from a relentless enemy.

High above the skies of Washington D.C., Katherine looked down. She was riding on top of a cloaked stealth bomber that she had created with her magic. Funny, when she was just a plain Puella Magi, she could only make one of these things.

She grinned sadistically as all around her over 100 such aircraft shimmered into existence.

As a Demon her power was beyond her wildest dreams.

"Bombs away," she sang to the wind as her deadly payload began its descent.

Not that it did anything to stem to rage of the former Puella Magi.

The Prime Minister of Japan was barricaded in the Kantei. His office doors were reinforced and his two bodyguards had their guns trained on it.

21st century technology failed before the might of magic as the heavily reinforced blast door imploded. His bodyguards opened fire but only got off two shots before they were killed. The first was impaled by a girl wearing black and red, wielding a jagged night-black spear. The second had his head blown into meaty chunks by an oversized musket.

Walking between her two subordinates, Homura Akemi approached the Prime Minister, a stoic frown carved on her face.

"Please, don't kill me!" the Prime Minister stuttered, "I'll give you anything you want! Is it money? I can give you power! Yes! I'll call off the attacks on the Puella Magi! Please, just don't kill me!"

Homura stared at the trembling man, before her frown turned into a snarl.

"You're pleading for your life?" she spoke barely above a whisper, "Don't make me laugh."

She drew her sword out from her shield, "Do you know how many girls begged for their lives? I watched children no more than 12 years old get slaughtered by the death squads you sent after us…"

She raised the sword above his head, "They suffered!" Homura shouted in rage, "They were innocent and you killed each and every one of them! They didn't deserve such a fate! Your death won't be enough to atone for your sins!"

She drove the blade through his leg, "but I'll settle for it."

The Prime Minister screamed in agony as he slowly dried into a husk, aging decades in seconds.

Before long, he was dust on the carpet. Homura wiped her sword off on an expensive coat hanging on a nearby rack.

Mami nodded as she received a telepathic communique. Their range was now global.

"Akemi-san, our American, Chinese, Indian, British, and Russian partners have just reported in. They have achieved their goals." Mami calmly informed her leader.

"Hm," Homura nodded, "Good. The other countries will fall in line soon enough after this."

"The Americans and Russians went way overboard, though," Kyoko chuckled in amusement, "Moscow and Washington D.C. are wiped off the face of the map. Overkill."

"It does not matter, so long as we got our message across," Homura removed her glasses and undid her braids. They no longer suited her.

"We are Demons, and we rule this world."

Nobody was spared.

Dr. Samantha Harley kept her gun trained on the door. It was a Glock, and probably wouldn't be able to do much, but it might buy her a few seconds of life.

With the sound of tearing metal, a sword impaled the reinforced titanium. The door rusted rapidly, crumbling to dust.

In the doorway stood the infamous Homura Akemi, leader of Hanran.

Samantha emptied her entire clip at Homura to no effect. The Demon simply used her time magic to sidestep the incoming bullets.

"Dr. Samantha Harley," Homura brushed her hair aside dramatically, "I find you guilty of crimes against the Magical Girls of the world. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"…I had no choice!" Dr. Harley replied through gritted teeth, "They were going to attack you either way! If I left, they would just replace me with someone who cared less about you girls! I was trying to be merciful!"

"There was nothing merciful about what you did!" Homura shouted, glaring at the scientist, "What about your daughter? I'm sure you cared very much for her! Still, you killed her."

"I… I loved Maria!" Dr. Harley protested, "How dare you say that I didn't!"

"You didn't love her enough to stop," Homura stepped closer, "Rationalizations will not make up for your atrocities."

"Stay back!" Dr. Harley backed up against the wall, "Don't come near me!"

"I think you need to understand what we went through!" Homura reached her hand out towards the doctor, "You piece of inhuman trash!"

Samantha screamed as she felt like she was being torn apart. Like a puppet without strings, she collapsed.

A small gem, clouded with shadows clattered onto the floor next to her.

"No… no way…" she breathed, "is that?..."

"Yes, it's a Soul Gem. You are now one of us," Homura chuckled, "You're a bit too old to use magic, though… I wonder what will happen?"

In Samantha's mind, voices began to grow louder. They all spoke with her own voice. The voices screamed in anguish at the loss of her daughter. They cried over the guilt of causing the deaths of so many innocents. They swept aside her thin rationalizations, and confirmed what she knew all along.

She was the real monster here.

Samantha's Barrier reacted to her self-condemnation, forming around the grieving doctor. It slowly enclosed around her as she gave into her despair and self-loathing. Her screams were cut off as it sealed, then imploded upon itself.

Dr. Samantha Harley was no more.

"Well," Homura turned around and left, "that was interesting."

The year is 2025. The world has been conquered by Demons.

Homura and Mami walked among the burning remains of downtown Tokyo. The JSDF had executed their final stand here. The resulting battle had leveled most of the area. The civilian casualties had been… abominable.

"It's finally over," Homura breathed a sigh of relief, "Tomoe-san… we did it."

"Yes, Akemi-san," Mami surveyed their handiwork, "We made them pay for what they did."

Homura kicked a helmet near her feet into a nearby ditch, "What do we do now? Divide up the territory among the others?"

"Perhaps," Mami nodded, "We should secure Mitakihara for ourselves, at the least."

"Mitakihara," Homura turned to face the rising sun, "… home. That feels so odd to think about. Home."

The sound of crying attracted Mami's attention, who looked at the mountain of debris where the noise was coming from.

"Did you hear that?" Mami began walking in the direction of the crying, "That sounds… like a child."

Homura watched with a feeling of detachment as Mami began digging through the rubble. Honestly, there was so much death. What difference did one child make?

Before long, Mami pulled a small bruised and battered young girl from the wreckage.

"Shh, it's okay," the blonde comforted the younger girl, "You're safe now."

"Ma… Mama, she's…" the child sobbed, "Gone… she's gone…"

"It's alright," Mami held her close, "What's your name?"

"Na… Nagisa… Momoe…" Nagisa sobbed lightly.

Homura watched in amazement as Mami consoled the young Nagisa.

Mami was actually smiling... It was a genuine smile. Mami hadn't smiled like that since their first peaceful month at Hanran.

No matter… things would probably work out. Homura needed to focus on dealing with the aftermath of this atrocious war. After everything was taken care of, she could go home.

Home to Mitakihara… and Madoka. She had a promise to fulfill, after all.

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

The train hummed along the tracks at breakneck speed. Inside the first car, Homura tried to fondly remember what life was like before the war. However, those memories were fleeting and faint.

Homura and Mami had the whole train car to themselves. It had been a trying task, reorganizing the world's governments, but Homura was finally done. Hanran was disbanded, one of her trusted Lieutenants was in charge of Japan… and the former Puella Magi had nothing to fear anymore. She was finally returning to Mitakihara.

It had been fairly easy to reestablish Mitakihara as their territory. With the shortage of Puella Magi and Demons, there was no lack of cities to choose from. Being one of the smaller major cities, Mitakihara was not exactly the prime real estate a Demon dreamed of. However, in fighting still broke out over territory… that's what really tore Hanran apart. Without a common enemy, the worldwide alliance of Demons turned into something resembling feudal warlords. Overall, though, they were able to resolve things relatively peacefully, and the various Demons of the world still talked to each other. They had to, because not all of their enemies were entirely vanquished. They had to be on their toes.

Until something required her personal attention, though, Homura was content with going back to Mitakihara.

She allowed herself a small, genuine smile. She would be able to see Madoka again. Their friendship, Homura felt, had been growing into something more, before it was cut short by the global extermination attempt against the Puella Magi.

Homura was going to keep her promise; she was going to see Madoka again… but…

She frowned in discomfort… was Madoka still her friend? What would she say when she saw Homura? Homura wasn't even Human anymore… She really was a Demon. A monster. How could anyone be friends, let alone love someone like her? The media had said some rather nasty things about the former Puella Magi in the last weeks of the war. Did Madoka think she was some sort of heartless monster?

That little voice Homura thought she buried months ago resurfaced, and for the first time in a long time, she felt ashamed at what she had become.

…She could change. She could go back to what she was once before. All these rampant emotions, these destructive impulses, she could bury them. Yes, she could go back to being shy, likable Homura Akemi, transfer student…

Who was she kidding? Homura ground her teeth while she crushed a nearby armrest with her hand. She could never go back to being that girl. That girl was gone forever, burned away in the horrors of war.

"Akemi-san?" Mami cut through Homura's thoughts, "Are you alright?"

Homura turned to face her second-in-command…. Her friend. Mami was back in her normal clothes, gently holding Nagisa in her lap. Homura's gaze turned to the younger girl.

Nagisa preferred the nickname Charlotte, so that was what they usually called her. She was orphaned by the war; her mother killed by stray fire from the JSDF in the final battle at Tokyo. Mami had latched onto the younger child, and Charlotte seemed to help Mami reclaim some of her Humanity.

Humanity that Homura had stolen from her. Homura was… ashamed at what she had done. A part of her still reveled in her newfound power… but at what cost? Mami seemed not to care that Homura had essentially raped her soul, and when asked if the blonde resented Homura, Mami said that it didn't bother her.

Still, Homura couldn't help but think that Mami bore a grudge against her…

"Big sister Mami…" Charlotte mumbled groggily, "I'm hungry."

"Shh," Mami ran her hand through Charlotte's hair, a visible energy exchange happening between her hand and the child's hair, "Just a little longer, then we'll be home. I've got lots of cheese for you."

"Yaay…" Charlotte drifted off to sleep. Mami watched the smaller child nod off, and for a second an expression of pure self-loathing showed itself.

"What am I doing to this girl, Akemi-san?" Mami muttered, shaking her head sadly, "I know it doesn't hurt her… but I can't help but feel that I am feeding off her… like some sort of parasite."

"It's not your fault, Mami-san," Homura interjected, "If anything, it's mine. I made us like this."
Mami was surprised to hear Homura speak with any amount of regret, and just smiled at the younger black-haired girl, "You shouldn't regret anything, Akemi-san. If you hadn't done what you did, then we would all be dead."

She looked out the window at the fast-approaching Mitakihara city, "I admit… I was scared; absolutely terrified when you started to turn me… but I don't have any regrets about it. I'm so much more than what I used to be."

"Yes… that is true," Homura looked up at the sky, "We are so much more."

"I wonder how Kaname-san and Miki-san have been doing?" Mami mused, "I heard that their school was cancelled for most of the war… so we won't be too far behind."

"Why did we decide to go back to school anyways?" Homura asked Mami, "We are almost gods on Earth. We can do anything we want."

"Sakura-san chose that path," Mami pointed out, "We just want our old lives back."

"Yes," Homura nodded. That was right, "We just want things to go back to the way they were."
Mami sighed in contentment, eyes glazing over as she thought aloud "What do I want to do… I want to make so many friends! Friends that will stay with me forever! Friends that will never, ever leave me! I… I won't let them! They'll have to stay! If they try to leave then I'll… I'll…."

"Mami!" Homura shouted, jerking Mami out of her trance, "Focus."

"Ah... Akemi-san," Mami was visibly shaken, "…I thought that wouldn't happen anymore… thank you."

Mami went back to stroking Charlotte's hair as Homura resumed staring at Mitakihara in the distance. She couldn't help but think that regaining their old lives was impossible. After all, they weren't Puella Magi anymore, they weren't even Human! They were both Magical Girl and Witch… and the line they walked was a fine one. She had fallen into what could only be called corruption during the war, only regaining some of her sanity once Mami regained some of hers from her interactions with Charlotte.

Homura only hoped that she could control herself around Madoka. If her dear friend rejected her… she didn't know what she would do.

A world where Madoka rejected her… didn't deserve to exist at all.

Puella Magi Fuhai Magica

(Magical Girl Corruption Magica)

A/N: Please review! This is my first PMMM story, so I hope that I did well! If something is unclear, please tell me so that I can clarify.

Chapter 2: Chapter One: Dreams and Nightmares
A/N: I'm listening to the soundtrack for Rebellion as I write this. If I had to pick one of the tracks for this chapter… then it would be "Something, Everything is Wrong". Give it a listen.

Thanks for all the feedback. As always, tell me if you notice something is wrong, and I'll fix it as soon as I can.

Special thanks to my BETA reader, Grimgrendel, who once again leant their talent to help polish this chapter up! It wasn't half as good as it was before they took a look at it (and wasn't half as long).

I can't hold back
My hands won't let me
It's the touch of your skin
Is it lust or envy?
Is it lust or envy?

I can't hold back
My pride won't let me
I'm seeing red
This is all too deadly
This is all too deadly

Fallout!
One more taste
One last time
I just can't help it
Fallout!
I need it all
Hanging from the edge of heaven

Excerpt from "Edge of Heaven" by Breathe Carolina

Puella Magi Fuhai Magica

Chapter One: Dreams and Nightmares

It was a cool Spring day, and school was out. Homura had told Madoka to meet her out behind the school's equipment shed. She had something that she wanted to tell her pink-haired friend, and it could only be done in private.

Too anxious to do anything except fiddle with her braids and glasses, Homura nervously awaited the arrival of her good friend.

"Homura-chan!" Madoka's angelic voice startled Homura out of her self-imposed mental angst. The raven-haired transfer student turned to face her friend.

"Geez, Homura-chan, why did you want to meet back here?" Madoka teased Homura playfully, "Someone might spread rumors about us."

Homura flushed beet-red. Not just from the embarrassing prospect of becoming the subject of school gossip, but from the fact that what she was about to do would spawn such gossip anyways.

In other words, Madoka had guessed her intentions without even trying.

"Ah… well, Kaname-san," Homura stuttered, "there's… uh, something I've needed… wanted to tell you for a long time…"

"Huh?" Madoka tilted her head slightly, "What do you mean, Homura-chan?"

"Well, uh," Homura flushed deeply, before steeling herself, "For… For the longest time… I've… You…. Uh, you've been a good friend to me… and I understand if… what I'm about to say… I hope it doesn't ruin our friendship…. But I'll understand if you don't want to talk to me anymore after..."

"Nothing you could possibly say could ruin our friendship!" Madoka replied cheerfully, "Unless you were planning to insult me, Homura-chan."
"No!" Homura shook her head in denial, "No, that wasn't what I was going to do!"

She couldn't meet Madoka's gaze, so she just shut her eyes.

"I really, really like you, Kaname-san!" Homura blurted out, "Would… Would you consider going out with me?"

Several pregnant seconds passed, and Homura was afraid that she had just eviscerated their relationship beyond repair.

Eventually, Homura worked up the courage to open her eyes and see Madoka's reaction.

She was expecting something like disgust or shock, although she had been hoping that Madoka would respond enthusiastically.

What she was not expecting was an expression of stark terror on Madoka's face.

"Don't… don't come near me…" the pink-haired girl took a few shaky steps back.

Homura was confused, why was her friend reacting like this? Then she felt her hands wet with something, and she looked down.

Her Magical Girl outfit was twisted, black like a starless night. In her right hand she held her clockwork sword, which was dripping with blood. She was drenched in crimson, and all around her laid the mangled remains of her victims. They were no longer behind the equipment shed, and instead they stood in the middle of decimated downtown Tokyo.

"…Madoka," Homura dropped her weapon, slowly stepping towards her friend, "This… This isn't what it looks like…. Let me explain…"

"Stay away!" Madoka screamed at the stricken Homura, "You're not Homura-chan! You're just a monster!"

With that, Madoka Kaname turned her back on Homura Akemi, and ran away.

The Demon felt dead inside. She collapsed onto her knees, blood pooling around her.

That was right. How could Madoka possibly have any feelings for her whatsoever? She was just a Demon, a monster unworthy of affection or pity.

That… That was fine. Madoka didn't have to love her. As long as she could have Madoka, it wouldn't matter. Homura would knock her former friend out, tie her up…. Yes, she could see it now as she rose to her feet, stumbling after her fleeing friend. Madoka would be her pet. It would be rather degrading, sure, but Madoka would be all hers and nobody could-

"Akemi-san!"

Mami's shout woke her raven-haired friend out of her nightmarish dream. The train was slowing, that tinny voice announcing, "Now arriving at Mitakihara station." Outside the windows, they could see the nighttime skyline of Mitakihara up close and personal.

"We're here," Mami pointed out as she carried Charlotte.

"Ah, yes…. Of course," Homura blinked away her grogginess.

Homura tried to gather her thoughts. That was just a dream? Good… Madoka hadn't really rejected her, that was just the irrational fears of her subconscious. Just irrational fears. Still, what had she been thinking? Kidnapping Madoka? Keeping her tied up like a prisoner? Absurd, Madoka wasn't a thing to be owned, she was a living person, she was Homura's friend!

Still, a part of Homura actually liked that idea, and that scared her.

Grabbing her small duffel bag, Homura waited with Mami for the train doors to open. Stowing her thoughts away for later, she made a mental note to find herself an Anchor, and soon.

Anchors were to Demons like Grief Seeds were to Magical Girls. They were generally objects or people (usually people) that helped to emotionally ground and stabilize the mental state of a Demon. Most of the world's surviving Demons had Anchors at this point. The ones who didn't went insane, and either self-destructed or had to be put down. Mami had found Charlotte, and by pure dumb luck Charlotte was able to serve as Mami's Anchor. While an emotional bond or relationship certainly opened the possibility for a person to serve as an Anchor that was no guarantee that they could.

Homura wondered if Madoka could be her Anchor.

Regardless of who, or what it was, the raven-haired Demon knew that she had to find an Anchor soon. She was already starting to slip, and the last thing she wanted to do was lose her mind in front of her friends or something. Or even worse, go insane and do something horrible to Madoka.

Stepping onto the nearly empty platform, Homura let out a contented sigh. Mitakihara city, home at last. The deserted station was a bit disconcerting, but understandable. Once people heard that there was going to be a Demon onboard, they had avoided the train like the plague.

Homura was stuck carrying both of their bags, since Mami was carrying a sleeping Charlotte. Both Demons had wistful looks on their faces. Two years ago they stood on this platform, waiting for the train to take them away from this place. Granted, they never caught the train due to the JSDF, but they still considered this their departure point. It was where they had ceased to be girls and became fugitives.

Now that they were back, what were they? Certainly not girls anymore, they weren't even Human. They were a major departure from the senior Magical Girl and her shy protégé that left this place. They left as the hunted. Now, they returned the triumphant victors, the conquerors of the world.

"I sense an unusual amount of Witches," Homura remarked, "I wonder why?"

"This city has lacked a Magical Girl protector for nearly two years," Mami pointed out with a shrug, "That's plenty of time for Witches to feed and multiply."

"Then it looks like we need to do a little cleaning," Homura sighed, "Do you want to, or should I?"

"You go ahead," Mami shrugged noncommittally, "I don't really feel like it."

"Very well," Homura's Barrier began to spread outwards from her ground around her feet, "I'll take out the trash."

Within minutes, the entirety of Mitakihara city was engulfed in a massive Barrier. The inhabitants of the metropolis started in terror as their city seemed to shimmer in the air, then return to normal. They had all heard what a Demon's Barrier looked like… but as minutes passed and nothing happened, they warily returned to their business.

All throughout Mitakihara, Homura's Familiars did battle with Witches.

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

"You're not Homura-chan! You're just a monster!"

Madoka screamed at the twisted facsimile of her dear friend. The real Homura would never do something like this... could she?

The nightmarish caricature of Homura chuckled atop a mountain of dead bodies, "Of course I'm Homura, silly girl. Haven't you seen the news? I've killed, and killed, and I don't feel like stopping anytime soon! Why, when I come back, I'll kill Hitomi. I'll kill her slowly, let her bleed out. Then I'll dispose of Sayaka! After that, I'll kill your family, Madoka!"

The nightmare Homura giggled, "Everyone in Mitakihara is going to die! Even you! Do you think that just because we were friends two years ago, that I will spare you?"

"No… please, we're friends, Homura-chan!" Madoka backed up against a wall as Homura descended from her throne of corpses, "Please don't do this! This isn't you!"

"Don't you get it?" Homura cackled with a twisted grin, "This is exactly who I am!"

She drew a pistol and leveled it at the pinkette's face, "I'm Homura Akemi."

"The monster," She pulled the trigger.

Madoka awoke with a scream, shuddering in absolute horror.

She began to sob quietly. Surely Homura wasn't that evil, right? She was such a kind person when she left, it had to be impossible for her personality to change so drastically. It had to be the media. They were portraying her friend in an unfavorable light; everyone knew how much stories were twisted by reporters looking for a story.

But… she had seen the footage. The undeniable proof that Homura and her little army had turned Tokyo into a bloodbath of unfathomable proportions. That wasn't her friend. The Homura she knew would never do such a thing.

But she did.

Now she was coming back to Mitakihara. In fact, she should have already arrived. Would Madoka and her family end up as more names on the death toll? In her mind, she could still see Homura shoving the gun in her face. The muzzle flash that ends her life… it was horrible.

Madoka cried quietly into her pillow. She had wanted Homura to come back home… but not like this.

The world shimmered, briefly distorting into something she knew well from her experiences two years ago.

This was a Barrier.

Even though the world returned to normal, she wrapped herself up in her blankets, backed herself into the corner of her room, and trembled in fear.

Tomorrow, she might die.

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

Homura shook with barely constrained fury as she stood in front of her apartment.

Or, at least, what was left of her apartment.

The door had been bashed in, and the entire place had been vandalized. Sprayed on the walls were graffiti, with phrases like "Witch", "Freak", "Murderer", and "Fucking monster".

"It's not that bad," Mami tried to cheer her friend up, "With a little work, this place will be as good as new!"

Homura barely managed to keep herself under control. It took everything she had to not snap. Part of her wanted to cry in the ruins of her life, the other half wanted to take an axe to anyone and everyone who could have done this.

"My apologies, Tomoe-san…" Homura said through gritted teeth, "I'm… afraid that I have to ask to impose upon your hospitality."

"That's no problem," Mami smiled, "and we've known each other for long enough, why don't you just use my first name?"

"…. Thank you, Mami-san," Homura sighed reluctantly, "Can you help me salvage whatever is left? I'd rather not leave it to the looters."

There wasn't much left of Homura's meagre belongings. Not even the few family photos she had were spared. After nearly an hour of fruitless searching, she was forced to declare the apartment a total loss.

Somewhat despondent, Homura followed Mami back to her apartment.

Only to find that someone had tried very, very hard to break into it.

The front door was pretty dented, but due to enchantments Mami had placed onto it before she left, it was mostly intact. Nobody had been able to get in.

Opening the door, some rather stale air rushed out. After all, the house had been sealed for two years.

Setting a sleeping Charlotte down on the couch, Mami apologetically asked, "Akemi-san, would you mind using your magic on the kitchen?"

Homura nodded in understanding. No doubt the food that was once there did not keep.

Striding into the kitchen, she flashed into her Demon outfit. It bore a passing resemblance to her old Magical Girl outfit, but her new one practically exuded menace. Nearly all the white had been replaced with night-black and the edges and hem were frayed and torn.

Her shield used to only have two functions. The first was to pause time. The second was to rewind time 24 hours. She only used the second function once. Ever since her transformation into a Demon, though, she had gained a plethora of new functions for it.

What she was about to use was an advanced version of her Time Rewind ability, and it was certainly more useful.

Which the sound of screeching metal, her shield segmented, the casing opening up and extending to form an even bigger, more menacing asymmetrical clockwork machine. The shield and the kitchen glowed with purple light, and the gears in her shield began to turn. The sound was akin to grinding wheels caked with rust. It wasn't very pleasant.

The layers of dust and cobwebs in the room were magically whisked away, becoming just as clean as the day they left.

When the light faded, her shield snapped and screeched back into its former configuration, and Homura dropped to one knee, panting hard in physical and mental exhaustion. Doing this really took it out of her, and the greater the difference between the two temporal states, the greater the energy expenditure. If she had tried this on her trashed apartment, it likely would have killed her. As it stood, the voices in her head… her own voices, were just slightly louder. They called for the usual stuff, the destruction of the Human race, the burning of the world, kill Hitomi the Traitor, forcibly take Madoka…

The usual stuff. She could tune them out, for now.

She hadn't thought about it before, but she should really use this ability on select areas of her apartment to retrieve her most precious belongings… although it wouldn't return any objects physically removed from the rooms already. Too bad the ability only worked on inanimate and non-sentient organic material. She had tried to revive a deceased comrade in that fashion in the last months of the war.

The result had given her nightmares for days. Given that she had nightmares every night now, that was saying something.

Forcing herself to an unsteady standing position, Homura stumbled over to the newly restored fridge and pulled it open.

Just seconds ago (two years from now?) it had undoubtedly been filled with rancid masses of former food, rotted long ago (in the future?). Now, the food was fresh as the day they had left it (temporally, they hadn't left it at all). Mami's cakes, vegetables, and fruits were crisp and market-fresh. There was even a box of leftovers… Homura remembered the café it came from. She, Mami, Sayaka, and Madoka had eaten there together the day before they left. It felt like just yesterday… of course, from the perspective of the leftovers, it was just yesterday.

Homura scowled. Temporal mechanics were confusing.

It seemed like centuries ago.

"Oh," Mami was pleasantly surprised as she walked into the small kitchen, "You did a wonderful job, Akemi-san."

"It was nothing, Mami-san," Homura tried to casually flip her hair, and failed. She was trembling so badly from exhaustion. She vowed never to expend so much magic on something so trivial ever again.

Mami caught her before the exhausted raven-haired girl collapsed on the floor, "Take it easy…. Homura-chan. You deserve a rest. Let me cook dinner."

"Only Madoka-chan calls me by my first name," Homura mumbled, "When did you start?"

"I started right now," Mami half-dragged carried Homura to the living room, before plopping her down on an empty portion of the couch, "Now, relax, and I'll cook something for us to eat."

"Will there be cheese?" Charlotte groggily asked from her side of the couch.

"Of course," Mami smiled, "Just yell if you need anything."

As Mami left the two lying lethargically on the couch, Homura looked at the far wall. If she remembered correctly, there was a media system built into it.

With a spoken command, she activated the Holoscreen on Mami's wall. The picture slowly faded into view, slightly fuzzy due to two years of disuse.

"-ongoing civil war in the People's Republic of China has nearly come to a close, military analysts report," the anchorwoman announced as the screen resolved itself, "Bàoyìng has continued to refuse international aid, and continues to operate separately from the Earth Demon Coalition."

The Earth Demon Coalition… frankly, Homura hadn't wanted the world to call them any given title, but for the sake of convenience she and Mami had thrown the media the first title off the top of their heads. Creativity and originality did not factor into the creation of the name. At least it was simple, though. Kyoko had managed to get the media to refer to her as the "Supreme Demon", Homura as the "High Demon", and Mami as the "Grand Demon".

Homura had almost strangled Kyoko that day, but the damage had been done. The three of them were stuck with cheesy, grandiose titles that followed them. Absolutely. Everywhere.

Bàoyìng was another issue. That revolutionary group of regular Humans and Magical Girls was the one faction that had refused Homura's offer to turn them into Demons. They had retorted via courier, "If we give up our Humanity to win, then what the fuck are we fighting for?!"

Homura kind of agreed a bit, but in the end, she was victorious, and Bàoyìng was still fighting. Ethics and morals can only take you so far before you have to choose between your goals and your integrity. As it turned out, Homura was more of a "the ends justify the means" kind of girl.

But hey, if they could win without turning themselves into borderline psychotic monsters with way too much power, good for them. She hoped they succeeded, but she also hoped that they didn't become her enemies. Homura had had enough fighting for one lifetime.

Still, if they got it into their heads to oppose her, she could just crush them, really. Cut off their limbs, shove her sword into their guts, twist it around while they crumbled to dust, screaming…

No! Homura shook her head vehemently. That line of thought ended right there! She needed to have her head on straight so that when she met Madoka tomorrow, she didn't scare away her friend.

Damn it. She really needed an Anchor. She needed one within the next few days, or else…

"…North Korea has formally surrendered to South Korea, ending the war which only began last week," the woman on the screen continued, adding, "No surprise there."

Homura chuckled. No surprise indeed. North Korea did something very stupid, and attacked the new Demon territory holders in South Korea. The motivations were mostly unknown, but people suspected it was just muscle flexing which got them more than they bargained for.

"Now, to the weather."

Tuning out the drone of the weatherman, Homura looked out the windows of Mami's apartment. Mitakihara's nighttime metropolis was sprawled out in front of her, airships puttering about high in the sky. The city seemed so… quiet. Almost eerily so. That was fine, though. The world hadn't been quite as lively ever since it came under new management.

"Akemi-san," Mami emerged from the kitchen with three plates, the third expertly balanced on her right forearm, "Here."

She gave Homura the plate in her left hand, and then used that free hand to give Charlotte the plate on her forearm.

Charlotte's plate had some rice, fried chicken, vegetables, and of course, cheese.

"Cheese!" the young girl brightened up, about to eat her favorite food.

"Charlotte," Mami scolded her lightly, "you need to eat your other food first."

Charlotte pouted, but obeyed. Mami smiled in contentment. The young girl was really quite cute. This was what was worth protecting in the world. That youthful innocence. Sure, Charlotte lost her mother, but the traumatic event seemed to have a minimal effect on her. Mami was glad that Charlotte was her Anchor. Without such a stabilizing element in her life, the blonde would have long ago judged the world as irredeemable and proceeded to cleanse it. That, or collapse into her own feelings of loneliness and isolation. Fortunately, such thoughts were far from her mind at that moment.

Homura regarded her own plate, which was nearly identical to Charlotte's, sans cheese. She gave Mami a questioning look.

"Sorry, I just used some leftovers," Mami seemed a bit embarrassed, "I am a bit tired, and it is a bit late."

True, Homura couldn't hold it against Mami. It was deep into the night, and she couldn't be expected to cook something extravagant at such a late hour.

With a sigh, the dark-haired Demon half-heartedly clapped her hands together, "Let's eat," before digging into the hastily-prepared meal.

As she chewed the heavily-processed meat, Homura contemplated abusing her power to secure her own personal chef. It wouldn't be too hard to do so. Most people were scared to death of her already. A little half-assed intimidation would have the world cowering at her feet. Demand that someone serve as her personal chef, and she'd have one within the month.

…Madoka's dad, Tomohisa, was quite the cook. Homura had been privileged enough to eat a few of his bentos back before… back before her world fell apart.

She wondered whether the kindly man would be willing to cook for her… She'd ask nicely. Best not to do anything to alienate Madoka.

"Akemi-san," Mami said, looking at the holoscreen, "do you mind if I change the channel?"

Homura gave her assent with a cursory nod, concentrating on her food. Yes, no more news. She didn't wish to think about the world's problems, or international politics. That was the entire reason she came back to Mitakihara. All she wanted to do was pick back up the pieces of her life she had been forced to drop and run away from. Yes… that was all that mattered, and with any luck, that would be all Homura would have to worry about for the rest of her life.

Fate would not be so kind.

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

Dawn came to Mitakihara city with the slow reveal of the rising sun. The fresh sunlight danced over the sprawling metropolis of glass and steel. Slowly, the city awakened from its slumber, the streets slowly rumbling to life with the sound of traffic and the dull roar of thousands of conversations.

One of those conversations involved a certain pink-haired girl and her blue-haired friend.

"I would've thought you'd be excited to see transfer student and Mami-san again, Madoka!" Sayaka looked at her friend with no small amount of concern, "but you look like you're expecting to get mugged any minute now! What's wrong?"

"I… I'm just… I don't know, Sayaka-chan. I should be happy that Homura-chan and Mami-san are back, right? Although…" Madoka shuddered, recalling her dream, "I… I think I'm afraid of them."

"Come on, they're our friends, they wouldn't hurt us!" Sayaka argued, then added, a bit uncertainly, "Right?"

The two walked onward in fearful silence. They had both seen the news during the war. Mami and Homura had done some really terrible things… but surely they wouldn't hurt their friends.

Right?

Madoka found that she had no faith in her old friend, and that scared her.

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

"-and that is why you should never date men who insist on only eating farm-grown organic eggs!"

Saotome-sensei was at it again, and Madoka found that the wind-down of her teacher's rant felt like the timer counting down towards her death.

Homura wasn't here, but there was an empty seat that Madoka was very sure was reserved for her old friend. Saotome-sensei was probably going to reintroduce Homura after her customary rant… and then Madoka's life was over. She was sure of it.

"Now, class…" Kazuko Saotome reverted from crazed-woman to calm and composed teacher, "Would you please welcome back someone you know very well…"

Well, as calm and composed as she could be, given the circumstances. Madoka saw that Saotome-sensei was positively shaking in her boots… shoes.

The click of heels drew Madoka's attention to a certain someone who strode into the room… those striking lavender eyes, that familiar raven-black flowing hair.

It was Homura Akemi.

She had let her hair down out of the twin braids, and no longer wore those familiar red-rimmed glasses… that was different.

Madoka reminded herself to breathe. If Homura really was going to kill her, she wouldn't do it front of the whole class, right? Of course, if the black-haired girl was going to kill the whole class, that wouldn't save Madoka.

"Hello, everyone," Homura gave everyone a thin smile, "It has been far too long."

Terror-filled silence greeted her.

Clearing her throat, Homura continued, "No doubt you are all wondering if what they say about me is true."

Madoka listened closely. This was where Homura would refute the horrible things the news was saying about her, right? But what her old friend said next made Madoka's blood run cold.

"It is, mostly," Homura smirked, "I did indeed take part in the Tokyo Massacre, and am personally responsible for the death of the old Prime Minister."

The class drew a collective breath. Sure, they really hadn't doubted the news, but to hear confirmation straight from the source… Sayaka gaped in disbelief. Madoka found that she couldn't move.

This… this wasn't Homura-chan. That wasn't the friend she used to know.

"However," Homura continued, "I bear no ill will towards any of you. I do not wish for you to treat me any differently than you used to, even though I know some of you will."

"My past is just that, the past," she flipped her hair nonchalantly, "Let us keep it out of the present, shall we?"

"Uh… So, welcome back, Akemi-san," Saotome-sensei spoke up suddenly as Homura made her way to her desk.

Madoka glanced at Homura, and froze. Her old friend was staring right back with an unreadable expression. Madoka gave her a tentative smile… which was returned.

Both girls quickly looked away. Maybe things would turn out better than they hoped? Even if they had changed, perhaps they could rediscover each other?

Homura sighed in relief at her desk. That went a little better than she expected. True, the class was now a bit scared, but at least she had lain down the guidelines for how she wanted… no, expected to be treated. She wouldn't have to deal with everyone around her acting like they were walking through a minefield.

Which they kind of were.

Madoka… Madoka looked slightly scared… Homura supposed that was to be expected. After all, the media hadn't been saying very positive things about her, and she had just confirmed most of it.

She'd have to straighten things out with Madoka and Sayaka later… let them know that she was still the old Homura they knew and loved.

Of course… she wasn't really the same person, was she? The old Homura they knew never had to live like a fugitive, never had to watch her friends and comrades die brutal, graphic deaths… never had to…

Homura noticed that she was holding the sides of her desk in a death grip. She slowly let go. No, that line of thought was no good. Madoka and Sayaka would understand. They had to.

She tried to focus on the lesson, but the more time passed, Homura found herself getting dragged deeper and deeper into her thoughts. The darkness that battered the edges of her mind began to creep in, and she furrowed her brow in mental discomfort. This wasn't good. She had gone for too long without an Anchor… Seeing Madoka again had helped a bit… but it really wasn't enough. She had to talk to her friend a bit more, catch up on the two years that she had missed… Two entire years that they could have spent together.

Homura rubbed her forehead in pain. She was really fighting herself, the side of her that she tried to hide from the world… the side that she had let run wild in Tokyo. The her that had killed and killed and killed and forever soaked her hands in the blood of others.

Homura had been trying to beat that ugly, cruel side of her back into the darkness, but she really couldn't. Not anymore. Just as Magical Girls couldn't ignore the despair that crept into their very souls, Demons couldn't just compartmentalize and shove away their fears, their anger, their desires…

Homura felt that other side of her trying to come to the surface, and she wasn't sure how long she could hold it back.

Still, she felt like she could… so come lunch time, she'd ask Madoka to take her to the nurse's office… have a nice little conversation with the pinkette. That should be enough. It would have to be enough.

Madoka had to be her Anchor. She was Homura's only salvation… but if she couldn't save the Demon…

Then the person who would end up suffering the most would be Madoka Kaname.

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

Homura had smiled at her. Madoka took that as a sign that her old friend was still that, a friend. Sure, she had changed more than a little bit, but as long as that connection was still there, things could be rebuilt. She was sure of it. After all, nothing was over as long as there was hope, and she hoped that Homura could be her friend again.

Just as lunch began, Madoka had every intention of asking Homura to eat lunch with her, to get to know her friend again.

So she was surprised to find Homura already standing next to her desk. Her raven-haired old friend was massaging her forehead, looking a bit pained.

"Ah, Kaname-san…" Homura groaned, "I… I don't suppose I could bother you to escort me to the nurse's office? I don't… feel well."

"Oh… of course, Homura-chan!" Madoka bolted upright, "Are you okay?"

"Mild headache," Homura shook her head as Madoka led her down a route she was unfamiliar with. The school had done some renovations in the past two years… there was so much glass.

"I think we have some medication for that," Madoka mused aloud, "So… Homura-chan… you're back."

"Yeah… I am," Homura smiled wistfully, "I… I kept my promise to you, Madoka-chan."

Remembering that fateful day so long ago, Madoka smiled back, "Yes, Homura-chan, you did…"

Then she realized, "Homura-chan, you actually said my name!"

Homura blinked in surprise, "Oh... Oh? I did?"

"Yes, you did!" She really was happy that Homura finally decided to use her first name, "It only took you two years, Homura-chan, even though I used to ask you to every day!"

Madoka felt her fears and misgivings begin to melt away. Sure, Homura had changed somewhat… but in the end she was still the same Homura she knew… and loved.

Homura stared at her friend. Madoka really had grown… It had been two entire years since she had seen that caring smile, that gaze that told you that you were the most important thing in the world, that wonderful voice that she could listen to all day…

And as the light from the corridor's windows played across Madoka's lovely pink hair, Homura found that she wanted this moment to last forever… and she could make that a reality.

With the clicking of well-oiled gears, the world turned muted and lifeless, except for a single raven-haired girl.

Madoka Kaname stood silently, her smile frozen like a visage carved in marble.

Light on her feet, Homura circled the pinkette, giggling to herself. This was perfection, there was nothing greater.

"Hey, Madoka," Homura leaned in, her hands cupping Madoka's face, but not actually touching, "You look lovely."

Her black wings surrounded them both as she breathed in the intoxicating scent of her dear friend.

"You know, I thought about you a lot," Homura crooned, running her hands up and down her friend's body, not touching but close as possible without unfreezing the pinkette.

"All those lonely nights away from home… when I thought I couldn't go on, when I wanted to give up, it was the thought of you that kept me going!"

She stepped back, twirling on the stop with joy, "I'm finally back, Madoka! Being here with you makes me so happy!"

Homura stepped behind Madoka, her hands barely brushing the pinkette's hair, "I'm so, so happy, Madoka!"

Kisses that never touched, caresses that never contacted. Homura didn't bother to keep track of time, but simply whirled around her friend, basking in the feelings of contentment and joy the proximity to the pinkette gave her.

She whirled back around to face her friend, "Now, I know you might not share these feelings, but I need you to know something! It's something that I wasn't able to say before I left." She flushed in embarrassment. She had waited for so long to tell Madoka this. Homura didn't want to screw up. She could only imagine her friend's reaction!

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Homura blurted out, "I love you, Madoka! I… I think we have something… a connection! Well, what do you think?"

This was it. She'd finally done it. Two years of waiting in agony, and she'd finally said it. Madoka would hate her, wouldn't she? Or… maybe she reciprocated? Maybe her love would be returned? The very thought made Homura nearly ecstatic. They had grown quite close as friends the year before she left. Maybe that connection endured? She really didn't know, the only thing she could do was wait for Madoka's response! The anxiety Homura was experiencing really couldn't be adequately described. What would Madoka say?

When only silence greeted her, she opened her eyes, frowning in confusion.

"Mado… Madoka? Please, say something…"

Why wasn't Madoka saying anything? Why wasn't she moving? Why?... no, nothing was moving… Madoka?

Homura fell to her knees. Of course Madoka wouldn't reply. She was frozen in time, just like everything else. Why would Homura think otherwise? She could have sworn… she could have sworn that Madoka was listening, that time hadn't stopped…. Why had she?...

The voices, they came back, louder this time. She hadn't really touched Madoka yet. She hadn't gone through with it entirely. If… If she took Madoka now, with time frozen… nobody could intervene. Even if her dear friend screamed, nobody would come to her aid. Madoka would be entirely helpless.

Do it, the voices said.

Do it now.

And the voices… they were all her.

Homura clutched the sides of her head in agony. No, no she couldn't do that to Madoka! Madoka was a dear and treasured friend! A person, not a possession… a… a person… she couldn't give in! She couldn't hurt her friend! She refused to be like all the others, the other Demons who snapped, ruining everything they held dear in the world!

She couldn't hurt Madoka, Homura thought as she warred with herself. Black slowly crept into her vision as she came closer and closer to her breaking point.

She lost concentration and focus, and time ground back into motion with the sound of rusty clockwork machines.

As time resumed its natural flow, Homura collapsed on the ground, eyes wide and unseeing.

"Homu… Homura-chan?" Madoka started in surprise, "Homura-chan!"

She quickly dropped to her knees, checking on her friend. What happened? Homura was walking and talking a second ago! What made her pass out like that? Madoka needed to get her to the nurse's office!

Groaning in exertion, she managed to pull Homura upright, the black-haired girl's arm looped around the pinkette's shoulder.

"You're… heavy, Homura-chan," Madoka gasped as she staggered onwards. She didn't think the nurse knew how to fix this. Maybe Mami would, after all, they were the same type of… thing, now.

"Madoka!" Sayaka's voice rang out as the blunette rounded the corner, "What's going on?"

"Homura-chan collapsed!" Madoka answered in distress as Sayaka approached, "Help me carry her!"

Sayaka took Homura by the other arm, grunting, "You need… to lose weight, transfer student!"

Homura's eyes slowly closed, seeing nothing.

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

The world slowly returned in pale light and murmured voices.

Lavender eyes slid open to see two girls talking over her, a blonde and blunette.

Homura knew them well.

"…Mami-san… Miki-san…." Homura groaned, "What… what happened?"

"Ah, you're awake, Homura-ch-…. Akemi-san," Mami began to respond enthusiastically, but then slipped back into her formal attitude, "You passed out on the way to the nurse's office."

"Yeah, transfer student," Sayaka scolded the raven-haired girl, "Madoka had to carry you the rest of the way!"

"Ah…" Homura looked away guiltily, "I am sorry… Where is Madoka?"

"She is outside," Mami informed her, "I believe that your…" she glanced at Sayaka, choosing her words carefully, "proximity to her that caused this."

Apparently, being vague was just as bad.

"What?" Sayaka looked taken aback, "Are you fainting at the sight of Madoka now, transfer student?"

Homura glared at her, "Just because we were friends two years ago, Miki Sayaka, do not presume to know me."

Fear passed through Sayaka's expression before she scoffed, "Yeah right. You may be all powerful and stuff now, but you're still 'transfer student' to me."

Homura scowled, but didn't force the issue.

"Anyways, I need to get to class," Sayaka sighed moving away, "whatever your problem is… get better soon."

With that, Sayaka Miki was gone.

"Homura-chan," Mami looked down at the girl lying on the bed, "What really happened?"

Homura looked away in shame, "I… I almost… I nearly did… something… to Madoka. I tried to fight it… and I passed out."

"… So Madoka is not your Anchor?" Mami asked in concern.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean…" Homura took a moment to compose herself, "Madoka… is my Anchor… but I think I might be…"

She let her sentence trail off, and the implicit understanding that Homura could possibly be too far gone passed between them.

"I see," Mami sighed, "You are not as far gone as you think, Homura-chan. At least, not yet. However, you must make Madoka your Anchor soon, find an alternate Anchor… or I will be forced to end you before you cause too much harm."

Homura closed her eyes in understanding resignation, "Of course, Mami-san."

"I will send Madoka in now," Mami turned to leaved, "Stay aware of your actions, and everything should be fine."
"Uh, Mami-san," Homura stopped Mami before she left, "I need to ask you something."

"Yes, Homura-chan?" Mami looked back.

"… Can you please call me by my last name?" Homura asked, "I'm… used to it, and anything else kind of sounds weird."

"Ah," Mami was disappointed, but not entirely surprised. Homura was never entirely comfortable with informality. That was reserved for Madoka, "May I call you Akemi-chan, then?"

Homura nodded, "Yes, that is fine."

Lying alone in her bed, Homura heard muffled voices from outside.

Stepping just inside the doorway, Madoka looked to her friend, "Hey, Homura-chan."

"Hey, Madoka," Homura turned to look at the pinkette, "Sorry… I just… things are complicated."

"It's no problem, Homura-chan!" Madoka exclaimed, "You're my friend! I don't have any problems helping you! No matter what it is, I'm sure that I'll understand!"

Homura smiled back, but inside she cringed. She didn't deserve Madoka… the pink-haired girl was too good for the black-haired Demon.

"Mami-san invited us all to her apartment after school," Madoka informed Homura with some excitement, "She said that she'll tell us everything there!"

"Ah… that's good," Homura replied uneasily. Really, that was good… but she was afraid of Madoka's reaction. How would she react to knowing what really happened to her friend?

"I have to get back to class, Homura-chan," Madoka said regretfully, "but I'll see you later."

"Oh, of course, Madoka," Homura nodded, "I wouldn't want you to miss your education for me."

That was slightly funny, since it was because of Hanran that Japan's public education system shut down for a year.

As Madoka turned to leave, she paused, and turned back to her friend.

"I'm glad that you're back, Homura-chan!" she gushed, "I thought you might have changed into a… a horrible person or something… but you're still the same old Homura-chan!"

Without a further word, Madoka was gone, and Homura stared stricken at the ceiling.

Oh, Madoka, she thought.

You don't want to know how much I've changed.

 

[TheBleachDoctor]

A/N: So this chapter was supposed to be twice as long, but I ran into writer's block for a year. So I capped it off and went "SCREW IT" and now you have Part One. Hopefully Part Two won't take as long. Sorry for the wait.

Well don't lean on me 'cause I am falling, please don't fall with me.
I really need you here, yeah I need you so don't leave.
And don't count on me 'cause I am drowning,
please don't drown with me.
Just hold me in your heart, let the ocean take me.
Let the ocean take me.​

Excerpt from "Don't Lean On Me" by the Amity Affliction

Puella Magi Fuhai Magica
Chapter Two: Gute Nacht, Schwester (Part One)
​

Mami Tomoe shifted her schoolbag, sighing in exasperation.

Homura said she was going to go pick up Nagisa from her school. Homura had looked up to the task, even with her earlier… lapse, and Mami trusted the ebony-haired girl, but still, sometimes she worried for her friend.

Homura didn't have a stabilizing element in her life, like Mami did with Nagisa. Cute, little Nagisa. Affectionately known as Charlotte. Without her, Mami was sure that she would have snapped long ago. she almost had in Tokyo. she remembered the anger, the uncontrollable rage that had overtook her mind as she shot, tore, and ripped apart the people who had dared to destroy her hard-won comfortable life in Mitakihara. It had all been perfect, she had a nice home, friends, she had a life. A life that she had built up from the ashes after the accident that had taken away everything that she had held dear. Just as Mami thought everything was well again, her life had been destroyed. Again. The rage, the sheer anger that had stemmed from that, once she became a Demon, it all had rushed back in force.

Mami tried to put on a smiling face, a strong front for her juniors. she had to be unwavering, untouchable. Big Sister Mami, that's what they called her. In Hanran, all of the younger Magical Girls had looked up to her as their protector, as their senior.

Big Sister Mami, Mami-senpai, Mami-sama... she had gained a sense of security, a sense of pride.

That had been utterly shattered when Hanran was ripped apart by the JSDF. Everyone who had trusted her to keep them safe, dead. She'd be dead too if it wasn't for Homura.

Trying to remember what life was like after that was like trying to peer through broken glass. You're pretty sure that you know what's on the other side, but the image is distorted, unclear, and imperfect.

All she knew was that her clarity had returned to her the moment she found Nagisa. There was no doubt in her mind now. Mami may have failed everyone in Hanran, but she would never fail Nagisa. She would protect that little girl with her life. Maybe then she could atone for her failures...
With the distinctive clicking of gears, Homura materialized right next to Mami, holding Nagisa's hand gently. The little girl looked downcast, and had clearly cried recently.

Mami was instantly by her side, "Charlotte, what's wrong?" the blonde whispered soothingly, pulling the small girl into a hug.

"The other kids m-made fun of me," Nagisa sniffled, eyes wet, "they said you were bad and evil! When I said you weren't, they made fun of me too!"

She burst into tears, pulling herself closer to Mami, even as the older girl bristled with anger.
The other children at Nagisa's school were bullying her?
UNACCEPTABLE.

"Charlotte, my sweet," Mami crooned, "Can you tell me the names of the children who insulted you?"

"Wh-Why?" Nagisa looked up at Mami, "What are you going to d-do?"

"I'm going to... teach them a lesson," Mami pat Nagisa's head, "They won't bother you anymore, okay?"

"No!" Nagisa suddenly shouted, tearing up even more, "Don't kill them, Big Sister! Killing is bad!"

"I... I wasn't going to kill them," Mami half-heartedly objected, but she knew what she was going to do, and Nagisa knew as well.
She really did intend to kill them. After all, she had to protect Nagisa.

"No killing!" Nagisa hugged Mami closer, "Promise!"

Promise not to kill? That was a rather tall order. True, Mami didn't start her day putting "Kill Someone" on her schedule, but there were just so much scum in this world and sometimes she couldn't resist that urge to rid the world of some rotten piece of filth.

But... she had to get better for Nagisa. Not just because the little girl was her Anchor... but because Nagisa relied on Mami as her protector, her Big Sister...
Nagisa deserved better... so Mami would try to become better.

"All right," Mami sighed, "I promise."

"Promise what?" Nagisa stared at Mami with expectant eyes.

"I promise that I won't kill anyone, Charlotte," Mami smiled, "All right?"

"Yay!" Nagisa hugged Mami tightly.

Homura raised an eyebrow at Mami, giving the blonde a questioning look. Mami met the raven-haired girl's gaze, sent her a quick telepathic response to the unspoken question. Satisfied, Homura leaned against the school wall, waiting for Madoka to leave the building.

Mami gave Nagisa a small cheese snack she had been saving for the little girl, smiling genuinely at the exclamation of surprise and joy that the treat prompted.

Mami would try her best to keep her promise, but like she told Homura, there would most likely come a time where she would have to kill again, and if she did, well...
Nagisa didn't have to know.

"Homura-chan! Mami-san!" A familiar pinkette waved from the school gates. Homura returned the wave hesitantly. Mami gave the approaching pink and blue-haired girls a nod.

"You're feeling better, Homura-chan?" Madoka asked her friend in concern.

"I'm... I'm fine now, Madoka," Homura replied softly, a bit unsure of herself, "Thank you for asking."

"You don't have a fever or anything, do you?" Madoka put her hand to Homura's forehead, causing the older girl to flush with embarrasment and a bit of excitement.

Mami knew that Homura had quite a crush on Madoka, and the effects of the pinkette's innocent touch on the dark-haired girl were fairly obvious to the blonde.

Deciding to rescue her comrade, Mami spoke up, "Kaname-san, perhaps you could give Akemi-chan some space?"

"Ah!" Madoka stepped back, "Sorry, Homura-chan!"

"I-It's fine, Madoka," Homura stuttered, mind roiling. Dear god, she'd jump Madoka right here and now if they weren't in public and she was a bit more unstable. As it was, she had just enough self-control not to do that.

"Well, shall we get going?" Mami asked the three, eager to begin what was sure to be an enjoyable night… hopefully.

"Yeah, about that," Sayaka rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, "I had something I needed to do with my parents… so I can't-"
Mami's eye twitched. Was Sayaka turning down her request? No, that would not do.
That would not do at all.

"Call your parents and explain that I invited you," Mami cut Sayaka off with a smile that did not reach her eyes, "They will likely excuse you. If they do not, I will personally convince them."

Sayaka recoiled as if struck. This was not the Mami she knew. Madoka was likewise startled.

"Big Sister Mami, stop!" Nagisa pleaded, "No means no! Don't threaten people!"

Mami blinked in surprise. Did she just?.... yes, she did. She was far too used to having to threaten people to get what she wanted, and was not used to people rejecting her.
In fact, it made her feel lonely… but she had to remember that that sort of approach would only isolate her further.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Miki-san," Mami sighed, "You do not have to come with us if you do not want to."

"No, no," Sayaka stepped closer to Madoka protectively, "I'll come, and deal with my parents later." There was no way Sayaka was going to leave Madoka alone with those two anymore, not after what they said.

/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人\

Madoka apprehensively took a bite of the offered cheesecake. It was just as good as she remembered it; in fact it hadn't changed at all.

The person who made it, however, had definitely changed.

Homura, Mami, the two of them had been through so much. Homura hadn't changed too much, as far as Madoka could tell. Homura-chan was Homura-chan, even though she was a little bit scarier now… Still, Madoka knew that Homura would never harm her.

Sayaka sat frozen like a statue, her posture tense and gaze accusing. She didn't trust Mami, and wasn't too sure about Homura. They had both changed, very much so. The two girls who left… and the two monsters that came back were entirely different. She didn't understand why Madoka felt so comfortable around the black-haired Demon. Sure, Sayaka had put on a brave face earlier, but Homura had been right. Just because they knew Homura and Mami two years ago, that didn't mean that they knew them now. The blonde and black-haired girls were mass-murderers, and here Madoka and Sayaka were, eating cake and drinking tea with them! It was ridiculous!

"Now," Mami broke the silence, "I am sure that you two understand that this is not a mere social call."

"I kind of figured that," Sayaka replied before Madoka could, "especially when you threatened me over it."

"Miki-san," Mami sighed regretfully, "I am truly sorry for that. Sometimes I am… not quite myself."

"I don't understand, Mami-san," Madoka cut in, "Is there something wrong? Can we help?"

Mami smiled sadly, "Maybe, but not for me… however, you can help Akemi-chan."

"E-Eh?" Madoka turned to Homura, who couldn't return the gaze, "What's wrong with Homura-chan?"

"…Perhaps we should start at the beginning, Mami-san," Homura looked away, "Would you please?..."

Mami sighed. This was still a rather touchy subject for both of them. Anchors. It was hard explaining the concept to others without making it sound… unpleasant.

"Do you remember how we needed Grief Seeds to purify our Soul Gems, Miki-san?" Mami started the sure-to-be-lengthy explanation.

"Yes, you explained that to us two years ago," Sayaka replied, "I don't think we can help you with that. We aren't Magical Girls."

"We aren't Magical Girls any longer, Miki-san," Mami pointed out, "but we still need something… like a Grief Seed. Similar in function."

"What is it?" Madoka cut in, eager to hear how she could help Homura.

"We need what we call, Anchors," Mami set down her cup of tea, "They can be an object, concept, person, or place that keep us emotionally grounded. Without one, we can… lose touch with reality."

"Do you have an Anchor, Mami-san?" Madoka asked curiously.

Mami just smiled and ruffled Nagisa's hair, "Charlotte here is my Anchor. I would be much worse off if I didn't find her."

"What about transfer student?" Sayaka inquired, looking to Homura, "Do she have an Anchor?"

"… No," Homura shook her head slowly, "I don't."

"That is the reason we asked you here today," Mami cut in, turning to Madoka, "Kaname-san, we have reason to believe that you could serve as Akemi-chan's Anchor."

"Wh-What?" Madoka started in surprise, "Me? Why?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Madoka," Homura muttered, a bit crestfallen as she took Madoka's reaction to be one of reluctance.

"No, it's not that," Madoka quickly clarified, "I just… why me?"

"Yeah," Sayaka cut in, "Why her? Can't Homura just pick anybody she's friends with, like you, Mami-san?"

"Well," Mami tried to explain in a way that didn't sound awkward, "In order for a person to act as an Anchor for one of us, there needs to exist a relationship. The stronger the relationship, the more potent the effects. While I suppose that I could serve as Akemi-chan's Anchor, I would not be a very effective one. We are just friends."

"And Madoka isn't just Homura's friend?" Sayaka asked, moving protectively in front of her childhood friend.

"Well," Mami looked expectantly to Homura, who blushed while looking away.

"Um…" Homura mumbled softly, "I… well…."

"It's fine, Sayaka-chan," Madoka gently pushed Sayaka out of the way, "I want to help Homura-chan in any way I can… I'll do it."

"Just like that?" the blunette protested, leaning in to whisper to the pinkette, "Can we really trust them?"

Completely blowing Sayaka's attempt at subtlety out of the water, Madoka loudly and indignantly replied, "Sayaka-chan, even if you don't, I trust Homura-chan."

Sayaka cringed. Well, so much for whispering. Madoka could be so blunt sometimes.

If Homura heard that Sayaka didn't trust her, the raven-haired Demon certainly didn't show it. She was awash with ecstatic relief, a genuine smile gracing her face.

"Th-Thank you, Madoka," Homura let out a breath that she had been holding, "I… You don't know how much this means to me…"

Mami was pleased. Homura hadn't looked this happy in a while, and hopefully now that Madoka would be her Anchor, things would only get better.

After a few moment's silence, Madoka spoke up uncertainly, "Eh… Mami-san, Homura-chan, how exactly do I be an 'Anchor'?"

"Oh, leave that to me!" Homura scooted closer to the pinkette, "Just relax and if you feel a bit tired, that's normal."

"Uh…" Madoka tried to relax as Homura gently took her hand, "Alright."

"Remember, Akemi-chan," Mami gently instructed Homura, "Slowly. Don't go too fast."

Homura nodded in affirmation, before starting.
It felt like… there really was no way to accurately describe it to a person who's never actually done it. If Homura had to, she would say that it would be like laying on your bed, trying to find a really soft blanket, and once you find it, you drag it closer to yourself, as close as you can, not letting go.

Madoka gasped softly as she felt her hand begin to tingle. If she looked closely, she could see some sort of faint light emanating from where her hand met Homura's. The overall sensation was not quite unpleasant, but it was certainly unsettling. It felt as though she were being held in a tight embrace, coupled with a sort of prickling feeling around her heart.
As the seconds passed, Madoka could see Homura visibly relax. The pinkette didn't notice quite how pale Homura was, but it was now evident by the color returning to the girl's cheeks that whatever she was doing was making her well again.

Madoka yawned involuntarily, strange. Why was she so tired?

Homura, on the other hand, felt great. In fact, this was the best she had felt in months. It was as if all her fears, her insecurities, all those random horrible impulses were being drained… no, not quite, being shoved back into a little corner in her mind, right where they belonged. She felt herself relaxing, something she hadn't truly done ever since she left Mitakihara. She wanted more of this secure, warm, relaxing feeling…

"Akemi-chan," Mami gently warned Homura, "That's enough."

Homura suddenly jerked her hands away from Madoka's. That… That was dangerous. Mami gave her comrade a disapproving glare.

'I know that it can be difficult to regulate feeding off of your Anchor,' Mami telepathically admonished Homura, 'but do try to keep from killing Madoka.'

'I wasn't going to!' Homura shot a glare at Mami, 'Madoka is my friend!'

"Madoka, are you alright?!" Sayaka moved to steady the pinkette, who was waving like a sapling in the wind.

"I'm tired, Sayaka-chan…" Madoka mumbled, "I kind of want to take a nap…"

"What did you do to her?!" Sayaka shouted at Homura as Mami gestured for her to quiet down.

"Miki-san, Kaname-san is fine!" Mami hissed under her breath, "This is perfectly normal!"

Nagisa, who had been sitting silently on the couch, suddenly hopped off, chiming in, "Big Sister Madoka is tired! I'll get her some warm milk like you do for me, Big Sister Mami!"

With that, the cute girl ran off into the kitchen, leaving an awkward silence.

"Miki-san," Mami ended the uneasy silence, calm and collected as if nothing had happened, "Do you still have a wish?"

"What?" Sayaka blinked in surprise. What did that have to do with anything?

"We know what happened with Kyousuke Kamijou," Homura stated simply, "You do not understand what we are, what we have to do… but perhaps there's a way we can show you."

"Wait," Sayaka paused, were they asking her?...

"Yes," Mami answered with a smile that did not reach her eyes, "Miki-san…"

"How would you like to become a Magical Girl?"