Time Again

[Its_a_cauldron_plot!]

This was, admittedly, one of the better timelines. In fact, Homura might even call it one of the BEST timelines. She wasn't even quite sure what she did to cause it this time, what words she said to have Mami go from addressing her coldly as a rival magical girl who had fucked up to a…well, like how it had been before.



Mami was alive, Sayaka hadn't turned into a mermaid over the guilt of losing her senpai and her own inner turmoil, Kyoko had even come back and after talking with Mami behind closed doors managed to make some kind of uneasy peace with her old teacher. She did note the fact that they glanced at each other when they thought no one was watching, but Homura was.



She always was.



They had planned it out near perfectly. Homura would use her time stop ability when it was confirmed the witch had touched down on the ground and let them get into position. Mami would bind it with ribbons, allowing them all to, as Sayaka had so colorfully said, "wail on that thing until it went crying back to mama!"



Homura wondered, with a bit of self-admitted dark amusement, if she would say the same thing if she knew the truth of witches. Not that she would allow her to know. As long as she guided the "Knight of Justice!" to worthy targets, she was for the most part tolerable. Still annoying, still in a love triangle with Hitomi and the violin boy, but tolerable.




And of course, speaking of the green haired girl, Hitomi had the most important task of all. Keeping Madoka away from the action. It had taken…so much work. To make sure that Madoka Kanime, her first friend and lover didn't make a contract. Homura was fairly certain that Mami and Sayaka disagreed with her actions judging by the looks they gave her, turning bright red and looking away. Maybe shame? Or some repressed anger that they couldn't convince her. Kyoko gave her a smug grin whenever it happened… Homura made a mental note to have a talk with them about it again after the Witch was dead. It would be best to start their friendship without any potential murder routes.



The day came and the foul witch of witches touched down. It was going fairly smoothly, enough so to let a pang of hope bloom in her weak, magic assisted heart.



Then it all went wrong. Just as she was about to preform a time stop so that Mami could position her Trio finale right in the witches face Homura heard an all too familiar anguished cry, and turning her face to the pillar of light near blinded her.



She saw what had been Hitomi crushed underneath some rubble, though now she was moving and looking at her hands with wide eyes. Madoka clutching at her chest with a gasp of pain. A soul gem darkening at dizzying speed.



Homura Akemi was distracted. And that cost her all over again.



A lash from Walpergishnacht sent her crashing down to the ground, both arms fracturing and several fingers now flopping uselessly, her leg rebelling against her at the worst moment as one cracked backwards at the knee, the other having her ankle twist in a way that it was not meant to for any sane human being. Not the best state she could be in, but most certainly not the worst. But it was enough for the others to see and try and help, the plan losing cohesion under the weight of her friends fellows worry. They were slapped away by tendrils or swarmed with familairs, the witches mocking, sobbing laugh ringing through the air.



Wire swam through the sky and wrapped around one of Walpergishnacht's arms, pulling it off with a wet cracking sound. The laughing turned to cries of pain and Homura did her best to get up into a position where she could see what was going on, heart plummeting.



Madoka had contracted. Again. Probably to bring back Hitomi. Homura sighed and flopped her least broken arm over the edge of her shield, face twisting in a frustrated frown as the edges of her fingers landed over the edge of the shield. Not quite, however, the right angle to wind her shield back.



Laughter like jagged glass caught her attention as Homura twisted her neck just enough to see yet another sight that twisted her already ragged gay heart. Mami had collapsed to her knees with her hands against digging into her hair and was letting out laughs that reminded Homura uncomfortably of a horror movie they had all gone to see during one of the earlier timelines when she still had her pigtails, the memory of Madoka clutching against her doing nothing to help her here and now.



"So that's it, we're all just," Mami's eyes were wide and unfocused, her soul gem rapidly growing dark, "doomed to become that which we hunt? It, it can't be. Can it?" Mami finally looked at her gem and let out a soft "Oh." Then she turned and looked at Homura with a look of…pity? "Oh Homura."



Then Mami died and Candeloro was born, and it all went even further down hill from there.



Oktavia and Opehlia were born near exactly at the same time in the midst of Candeloro wrapping ribbons around the throat of Walpergishnacht and the lower parts of Gretchens wires,runes spinning around in a dizzying flurry. The mermaid started a discordant orchestra which had, surprisingly, no violin boy this time, but every single one of them instead. Pink Madoka silhouettes pirrouted on the ground while blood red Kyoko's danced like feral monsters, limbs twirling and flailing all about, the two of them coming close but never touching. Mami's forms could be seen all around playing different pianos, keeping the music in time to the sound of destruction. And the strangest part? Homura could even see herself, not dancing or playing or even singing, but carefully managing things in the back ground. Whenever a piece of rubble threatened to crush one of the mermaids familiars a oh too familiar violet girl would do something to pull them out of the way, making sure things kept running smoothly.



And as for Ophelia, she joined in the madness. Whenever it seemed like Candeloro was going to be overwhelmed she rode to her defense, valiantly dodging the dress up witches attempt to bind her in ribbons with a horses snort. Whenever Gretchen was having trouble with the Witch of all Witches might she would smack the dressed up thing with the flat side of her weapon, sending it away and giving Gretchen a moment to recuperate or get targeted by Candeloro. And when Walpergishnacht was her target? She charged at the witch viciously.



Homura watched this all play out while trying to get her useless fingers to hook on the edge of her buckler, dumb, useless fingers refusing to catch on the part of the shield she needed to travel back. She tried even harder when she noticed that ribbon and wire wrapped around her leg and waist, scooping her up off the ground. 'Oh shit oh shit oh shit.'



Candeloro let out a cry of victory as she finally managed to get her ribbons around them all, bright yellow ribbons tying themselves into a multitude of knots and dragging them closer. Ophelia let out wickers of distress as her legs were bound and dragged into the open sky, The mermaid letting out bubbles, Gretchen just laughing and wrapping her wires around Candeloro and the others in kind, with Homura being dragged into the center.



It was dangerous. Too dangerous. They drew closer, unnaturally shaped bodies crashing against one another.



Then, her fingers finally caught. And time reversed, sending a screaming Homura back to her bed.



She laid there for… a quick look at the clock revealed an hour.



It took her but a moment to pump magic back into her heart, unbroken arms that led to freshly rested hands which curled into fists. Fists that picked up one of the pillows she rested on (she had long learned punching the mirror meant having to pick out the fragments and healing those wounds, a waste of Madokas time and magic) and sent it flying against the furthest wall as she let out a scream of agony and heartbreak.



She nearly had it. It would have been perfect. And because she was too weak, she fucked it all up. Her friends, dead. Madoka, dead. For in truth, to her? Witching out was no different than death. Worse even, because their corpses were still running around making problems for her.



So Homura allowed herself time to grieve what could have been, and what would be oh so difficult to recreate.

==========================



Candeloro blinked as she stared up at the darkness of the room, unsure what to do.



One moment she had everyone wrapped in her ribbons, delighted to have her closest friends close and ready for the tea party, then the small human she know knew of as Gretchens girlfriend and her own crush clicked her shield and everything went blurry, and now…



She raised an all too human arm and let it flop down, a frown unwittingly carving itself on her face. This form felt, strange. One, two, three, four, five digits.



Candeloro sighed and banged her too human head against the beds headboard, marinating in the knowledge that had unwititngly been dumped into her head. Of Kyubey, of her friends. Visions of her pigtailed junor with a soft, fragile smile on her face slowly turning into the stone faced beauty. Of Mami Tomoe killing her friends with tears streaming down her face, Kyoko laying on her back with her shattered soul gem laying on the ground around her



She made a huffing noise and removed the blankets from her new form, plans already forming. A quick force of her will proved that indeed she could still reach for her labyrinth, though it felt a tad sluggish. Quickly restructuring the apartment to her liking and adding many, many doors as to keep out that lying white rat that Mami called friend she perused through the fridge to see what ingredients she had, ribbons and familiars already rifling through other nearby apartments steathily to add to her stock. She could make 100 cheese cakes, 18 smoked chickens, a gallon of green tea… she needed more.



After all, how could she host a party for her most beloved of friends if she didn't have proper refreshments?



Ophelia Kyoko , her student and then later equal, her first of friends, and if the world had been kind, maybe more.



Ocktavia Sayaka , the justice seeking kohai who would see the world broken on her knee if it meant a chance to set it right.



Gretchen Madoka , bright, determined, unfaathomably gay for her girlfriend maybe she would share .



And then Gretchens girlfriend Homura , the girl who suffered a thousand times over just to help and who had yet to even sprout properly like the rest of them had.



Candeloro giggles turned into full on deranged laughter. She would have them all, as witch or magical girl, and nothing would rip them away from her again.

=====================



Ocktavia was too busy prepping her bags to give a single iota of thought to her currently beeping phone, for she was on a mission!



Yes, she no longer had a mermaid tail which SUCKED, and yes she didn't have easy access to her orchestra right now since she needed to be on the move soon, but that didn't matter.



The things that did matter were such:



1: Gretchens girlfriend Homura was a time traveler and gods did that girl have a tough time.



2: Gretchen was in danger of being found by Kyubey, little devil that he was, and she had to go make sure she was ok! And not get found out by Gretchens totally not a girlfriend too. Fucking hot got girl stalker…



3: Once everyone was assembled and on the same page they needed to…well her thoughts on what they needed to do weren't quite safe to say outloud, but probably Gretchen or Candeloro probably had an idea of what to do. She would want to say Gretchens girlfriend Homura (and damn was she shy if even ocktavia didn't know her name) would have a clue but there was an equally high chance she would be too gay to think of a single thought in Gretchens presence.



4: Figure out how to get her gods damn mermaid tail back!



She closed her suitcase with a snap and made her way downstairs, ignoring Sayaka Miki's parents stares. When they finally worked up the gumption (someone would else would have noted the bemused smile on their face) to ask where she was going, Ocktavia responded "On an adventure! The world needs JUSTICE!"



She then tried and failed to kick open the door. Damn these weak, spindly, HUMAN legs!



The mission and poly negotiations awaited!

===============




Ophelia moved from rooftop to rooftop, not caring one whiff for anyone below who might see. Her friends needed her.



It was weird, to learn just exactly what she had. That Kyubey was a monster all along, even if she suspected it, that Candeloro loved her in near every timeline, that Gretchens girlfriend Homura was a tougher bitch than she had expected.



But now she was back, her city undestroyed. Her. City. Because nay place that had Candeloro and the others? That was her place to be.




Opehlia transformed and slinked her way to the bench of the bus station, using a subtle application of her labyrinth to make her human form undesirable to look at. Now it was time to think of important things, like cuddling positions.



Oh yes, she remembered how Candeloro had looked at Gretchins Girlfriend Homura , the blushes on her face even as she grazed fingers with Ophelia. Honestly? She didn't mind, not when she herself looked at Ocktavia the same way.



And Homura too. Ophelia winced as she thought of the HUMAN name of Gretchens girlfriend. Not that she had anything else to work with really, Homura had never become a witch like they had and thus they had yet to meet the cutie. But knowing Candeloro's tastes she would be adorable like the rest of them.



As the bus pulled up the scent of smoke and flame followed Ophelia, a smile settling on her too human face as she sat down in the back.



She's coming.

=================



Gretchen hummed a happy tune as she had Hitomi helping her in the kitchen, the symbol of a pink flower sprouting on her neck. Sayaka wasn't the type to leave her phone unchecked, so she would be over soon and get the same treatment.



Already mother and father and her adorable baby brother had been kissed and were watching something in the living room while she got breakfast ready.



It was so hard to resist the urge to go out and conquer save her friends, especially her darling songbird. But she had to wait. Mami was strong and would need time to be worked on, to be properly pushed and prodded until she cracked and her dearest Candeloro could emerge, healthy and happy.



Ocktavia would also need time, though maybe she could use Hitomi? After all, Gretchen had always suspected that Sayaka was bisexual and with the memories, perhaps unwillingly but oh so helpfully supplied by her songbird, she now knew it as a certainty. Introduce her to Mami, play up her own wow factor and the "Oh my heavens magical girls are so cool!" and get her to contract.



Then Kyoko would need to be brought back. Maybe using Mami's transformation into Candeloro as an excuse? Even more so if Sayaka transformed into Ocktavia, then she could use the "I'm just a poor little magical girl who just watched her senpai get eaten by a big monster and need help angle."



Gretchen paused, the room flickering as she became lost in thought. Was she being perhaps, a tad too sadistic? Then she shook her head, hair more like flickering static than shaken hair. No, no she was being just the right amount of mean to get her friends out of their human meat bodies.



Oh, and Kyubey… Well, he could be Homura's wedding gift, right? She was always shooting and stabbing and killing him, so if she gathered all his bodies in one spot she could enjoy that right?



A sigh like a maiden in love slipped out past her lips and she held her hands against her cheeks, giggling and ignoring the way the knife poked against and through her waxy skin, or how blood didn't flow like liquid. Oh she was a bad girlfriend, not even knowing her beloveds true name, but that was her songbirds and her own fault. She held on for so long, working so hard to try and give her a happy ending. Well she needed to be rewarded in kind!



And she wasn't greedy either. She had seen how the others had looked at her darling songbird. Candeloro was not as subtle as she thought she was, neither was Ocktavia. And while she wasn't sure about Ophelia, well, were the yellow witch went, so did the red. That fit her just fine though.



She wanted all her friends in one spot for her to dote and love and consume and if they were all too busy snuggling in bed to worry about anything, ever again?



That fit the witch of salvation just fine.

================



Homura wept and witches schemed. And as for Kyubey?



==========



The white haired rat sat in confusion as several powerful witch forms sprung into existence, their runes promising him death. Not the world at large, but Kyubey in particular.



And that was if he saw them between the declarations of possessive love.



All in all, he had this to say.



"What the fuck is going on over there?"

 

[Its_a_cauldron_plot!]

Candeloro had a problem. She did not have nearly enough food for the likes of her hungry friends to eat. Especially Ophelia. The thought of her eating through what she currently had, with nothing else to sate her hunger, or for the others?



Well it sent a twitch through her currently human form. She didn't know how she was going to fix that either. While the form of flesh was, nice? It was certainly novel, but it felt like she was wearing clothes that she had grown out of, and while it was nice to be reminded of them, she wanted to exchange it quickly.



But still, it had its uses. For example, it allowed Candeloro to venture out into the human world, wallet in her handbag, unobtrusive and hiding her anxiety behind a porcelain smile.



She should be the only major magical girl active right now, what with Oktavia usually only contracting some time after her death and Gretchen's girlfriend doing her best to make sure the former witch of Salvation didn't contract at all.



The thought of Homura Gretchen's Girlfriend sent a blush rushing through the false humans face, causing her to shake her head and steady her hand lest she drop the eggs she was holding. A quick leaning over and peeking at the price had that blush quickly vanish under the paling of her skin, looking at the store's fridge.



They didn't have enough eggs. That simply wouldn't do. A quick command to her familiars had them stealthily rifling through humans baskets, inwardly cursing as there weren't nearly enough to account for the lack of eggs. Did they just have an early sale this timeline?



Bah, it would be fine. Her plan didn't need her to do much anyway. It was even perhaps devious in its simplicity.



First she would make sure to keep Kyubey away, something that was proving remarkably easy as other than staring at her from a distance the little white rat hadn't been doing much to try and get in her way. Really, what did Mami see in that thing?



Oh. Right. It was the only friend Mami had after her parents death.



…



Moving along!



She would just need to wait until Gretchin met her adorable little girlfriend at school and then invite them over. Candeloro knew that she would have to deal with Gretchings songbird being a prickly little thing not that it was undeserved, oh how time and the rest of them had been unkind to her , but she could work on it. Maybe shooting Kyubey in front of her would put her more at ease? Plus, it could give her a hobby in common with her crush, and her advice books always said it was a good thing to have a hobby in common.



She felt her human face blush a bright red again. Oh the sensation was a delicious, tingly one!



Now, where was the milk?

—------------------------------------------



Oktavia was not proud to admit, but…



Well, she didn't exactly remember what day Homura her friend's beloved got out of the hospital. Sure, she knew when she came to school, but she couldn't wait that long! After popping over and peeking through the window to see Madoka's family watching some TV, with Hitomi and Madoka working together to clean up dishes that was odd, when did Madoka let Hitomi help with dishes she started a beeline to the nearest hospital to fetch their weak hearted friend and carry her to Kyubey so that she could start the magicalification process and become a witch!



Now the fact that there was only one hospital equipped to deal with Homuras heart problem was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because she could rush right over. A curse, well…



The hospital was also the same place where Kyousuke was, and the staff had gotten fairly used to her human self coming in to see him instead, walking up to his room on spindly human legs, usually with a friend or Hitomi.



The receptionist looked up and smiled at the familiar blue haired girl, already getting a room pass and log into the system for approval. "Hello there Sayaka. Here to visit Kyousuke again?" A mere formality in any other universe, but this one was changed.



Meanwhile Oktavia silently bristled at the misnaming, yet could not correct her without tipping her hand! "Oh, not today. I actually came to see someone else!" Next came the difficult part. "What room is Homura Akemi in?" It felt vile using her old name like that when she hadn't even introduced herself yet, but it was all for peace and justice!



The receptionist gave a questioning hum. Oh, fuck. Too enthusiastic! Could you blame her though? Last Oktavia had seen the girl her limbs were broken looking and picked up in the air by Candeloro, ribbons wrapped tight. Not that she thought the dress up witch would hurt her on purpose, but she remembered from a previous life reading about first response stuff to help with her powers, and what if Homura Gretchins girl had a broken spine? She would have been in massive amounts of pain! She couldn't remember if the pain carried over or not, but if it did then surely a friendly face would help!



Oktavia did her level best to ignore all the times she had pointed a sword at the Transfer students face or tried to cut her down. Little details.



The receptionist, silently surprised yet professional as all staff, had quickly typed the name given to her and nodded. "I looked it up and records show that there is! Homura Akemi, age 14?" She said the last part as a question, wanting to make sure she was correct.



Oktavia smiled and gripped the counter top, holding on tight to the orchestra to make sure she didn't let go. It wouldn't do to let them loose here. "Yeah that's her! What room is she in?"



"Mmmm, I'm sorry Sayaka but her profile says no visitors allowed since she just got out of surgery and needs time to recover. By the way," she asked casually, "how do you know Ms. Akemi?"



"Oh." Oh. Quick, pivot! "I actually met her one or twice when we were younger. I um," she couldn't help the red blush that overtook her human face, hips moving side to side like she still had her tail at the thought of the strong, stoic Homura goth laying in bed in need of protection! " I lost contact with her, but when I heard she was here I thought I should, ya know. Check in an stuff." She trailed off towards the end, idly scuffing the tip of her shoe against the tiled floor.



The receptionist chuckled softly. " I understand. And I am sorry Sayaka, but I can't allow you to visit her today. But, rumors from the staff room say she should beheading to your school soon, so you can reconnect with your friend there."



Oktavia perked up and smiled. "Neat. Well, thanks." With that she turned around and head back out the door, planning to try and find Candeloro next.



Meanwhile the receptionists smile turned into a shit eating grin as she scribbled down the important details of the encounter. "Well," she muttered, "looks like I have a good shot at winning the rumor mill." Too bad for Kyousuke, but she had looked over the pigtailed girl before, and Sayaka would be good for her. Plus, the would make a cute couple if that blush was right.

—-----------------------------



Homura would, if asked, say she had a fairly good memory all things considered. She managed to remember several life times worth of details after all, all without writing things down on paper and pen to keep track.



What she was not good at however, was social skills. Even in the first timeline it had been one of her weakest points, and her time since then had not lent itself towards changing that fact. Madoka was cute, Mami was graceful, and Homura could not socialize to save her or her friends life.



Indisputable, unchangeable facts of life.



Which makes the last timeline all the more odd, because somehow, some way, it CHANGED. Homura managed to change Mami's mind about her, to treat her more like an equal. She could never go back to being her student, and that was probably for the best considering what she knew of her yellow themed friend, but she could make do with not having her collapse at the worst moment.



Even better was she somehow managed to make a good impression on Sayaka. That was even more impressive to the long haired magical girl, enough to the point where she had requested and received a white board to draw on as she did her best to piece together the exact events that led to her not calling her a "Creepy vampire intent on sucking out all of Madokas blood through her neck."



She didn't get that one even now. Sure she was a little pale, and acted a bit cold out of necessity, but a vampire? She had no clue where that timelines Sayaka had gotten the idea.



(If she had the chance to ask, it would have been revealed that Sayaka had just come off a binge of Dracula, Twilight, and a smut novel where the vampire was a transfer student who preyed on the good-natured friend of the MC. She would also have blushed if pressed on what exactly the MC did to stop the vampire.)



Frustration built until she could no longer handle it, throwing the marker at the board and grumbling as she transformed into her magical girl form, shield coming into existence and even more quickly freezing time.



She didn't have time to waste any longer. She had already thrown herself off course by indulging in this, it was time to go make sure Madoka was safe. The purple, dead eyed girl jumped roofs and street lights, red and green and yellow all the same shade of washed out in her monochrome world. No one to disturb her, unable to distract or harm her.



It was…



Peaceful.



Soon she arrived just outside of Madoka's house and did her customary sweep, taking a moment to peek through her window and look at the pink haired girl resting in bed with a large bird plushie in hand, covered by her warm, comfy looking blanket and her mountain of other, soft looking plushies. She knew just how soft they were too, having been crushed under them in the second timeline when Madoka had invited Mami and her over for a sleep over. All it took was one wrong turn and all three had been pummeled awake by an avalanche of cute, murderous plushies.



The thought of those more innocent days had a soft smile spread on Homuras lips for just a moment. While she was still focused on Madoka MadokaMadokaMadoka maybe this time she could try to recreate the previous events? It would be…



It would be nice to have her friends back.

==================================



Gretchin smiled as she opened the door to Madokas home, having been a very productive witch today.



The pink witch trapped in her human body hummed as she counted the paper yen she had so gracefully been gifted by her new subjects, Yakuza that she had used her previous memories of following Homura (secretly of course, she hadn't wanted to let her beloved songbird know she was there) out on a restocking run by robbing the Yakuza blind of all their munitions.



The idea had come from Madokas mom actually. After all, if you wanted anything done properly, you needed a group of competent people, and delegation was important!



Well regardless, they belonged to her now. A simple kiss had been enough to get even the most hardened of the gangsters under her sway, and now all their resources, weapons, everything belonged to her. Oh yes, a fitting price for Salvation. Even more so since it would be put to the good cause of getting her Songbird back. And the others too of course.



A quick check up on Madokas parents proved that, yes, they were still fine and blissfully in their heads, and her baby brother was still fine. She tsk as she quickly changed his diaper and patted him on the head, not quite ready to fully pull out her labyrinth. If she did that she risked spooking Homura and then she would fling herself back in time, this time possibly to one where Gretchin wasn't! And there was no way she would have that, no ma'am. So she would just have to be patient.



The witch checked her phone again and a growl came from somewhere in her gut. Sayaka still hadn't replied! Bah, annoying.



Oh well, she could check up on the blue haired girl when it was school time tomorrow. Speaking of, she only had a few days until her Beloved transferred in, and she needed to make sure everything was perfect!



The witch moved to switch to pajamas, quickly clutching a raven plushie that she had purchased using the yakuzas money. It was a poor substitute for her actual Love, but it would just have to make do for now. Slowly the witch brought it close against her face and took a big whiff, having modified it to smell exactly like that of Homura, eyes closed. She didn't need sleep anymore, not really, but just resting was nice.



Then she felt it. Like wind brushing against her flesh, like a sound drifting into her ear, she felt HoMuRa's magic . Oh she was so close! Her eyes shot open and the off pink color of her pupil drifted towards the very edge of her socket, hoping for a glance. Opening her other senses she could feel that Homura was sitting just somewhere outside her window, the smell of gunpowder telling Gretchin she had one of her weapons in hand. A second later she smelled blood, incubator blood, and she knew that her Homura was once again on guard duty.



Oh gods this was too much! She was such a tease, sitting outside her home and protecting her like some kind of knight of old would their princess. It took everything in the witches power not to let her labyrinth free right then and there, to reach out with fake fingers and grapandeatherdearHomuraohhowshejustwantedherandtherestofthemtobesafeandinhergraspforeverandeverandeverandeverand



She bit down on the raven plushie with near enough force to rip off its head, fingers turning into claws for just a moment with a bit of static.



Oh Homurra was so unfair! She would have to punish her when they were all snuggling together in the end!

===========================



Ophelia grunted as she crawled through the hospitals maintenance ducts, putting all of her energy into the act of wiggling through the large, square tunnels.



It had taken her three hours to realize she had gotten on the wrong bus, and then another 6 hours to not only find the right one but travel.



It was, to put it lightly, a pain to travel like a human. It would have been so much faster to just summon her horse and ride into town like the triumphant hero she was, buttttttttt…



Well, she was trying for discrete at the moment as Candeloro's guns did hurt a lot, and while she was still wearing her human flesh, her former teacher wasn't stupid. Lonely and willing to ignore some things for the sake of friendship? Yes. Too trusting of that damn incubator? Absolutely.



Stupid? Never.



But it didn't matter cause project WITCH was ago finally! First was waiting until Homura Gretchins girl was out on her usual patrol/ "totally not stalking my girlfriend through her window." Shrrkk, yeah, right. At least be honest with yourself ya goth disaster.



But it helped her right now, as it allowed her to do what she needed to do without suspicion and worrying about the time stopping magical girl butting in her business.



Soon she came to the vent that she needed and kneed it, dropping down right after the grate stopped rattling on the floor. Flicking her ponytail with her hand (ha! She could do that too Homura !) and looking at the walls until she could find what she was here for.



It was with a grim grin that she found her prize and pulled open the wall just enough reach through and grab the grief seed, pulling it close against her chest with a soft sigh. Ophelia closed her human eyes and opened her witch ones, candle wick of a head looming over the seed. "Now, let's get this show started."



She pumped grief and rage into the seed, watching in glee as it cracked and a labyrinth spewed forth, a doll like form resting in her hands. It perked up and tilted its head to look up at the flaming headed witch. "Cheese?"



"No no, I got something better for you. You wanna help me make another witch, Charlotte?"

 

[Its_a_cauldron_plot!]

Kyubey was not having a good few days, by his standards or a regular human; a magical girl's experience being excluded since they usually had one of two extremes. Either absolutely epic, or mind-breakingly bad.



While his multitude of bodies kept watch of Mami from afar, he had sent another pair to investigate the strange witch signature in the Kaname house, as he was fairly certain he had never contracted Ms. Kaname. In fact, he was exactly sure, yet now there was a witch where before there had been a magical girl hopeful.



Just before he could get close enough to investigate, boom, one body was dead. The other only managed to find where the shot came from thanks to their hive mind status and tracking the projected path of the bullet up to a roof, hand suddenly around its throat as a magical girl he had never contracted squeezed the life out of it.



"Stay, away," a pubescent voice, low and dangerous, spoke, "from Madoka Kanime." Then its head popped from the sheer strength the mystery girl used to kill him.



He lacked data. And if he had emotions, he would say that he hated lacking data. One magical girl feeling like a witch could easily just be a wish interaction, nothing out of the ordinary there. But for four powerful witches to pop up at the same time without him having known of a polycule? For Mami, a loyal and dutiful magical girl, to suddenly start feeling like one while showing no signs of morphing into a witch herself? AND a magical girl he had no memory of recruiting acting in violence against him, seemingly defending one of these would-be witches?



To quote a human phrase, there was something fishy going on here. To compound and make matters worse, due to her desire to act as a model magical girl, Mama had not exactly given Kyubey a plethora of friends for him to contract and manipulate to find out what was going on.



So now he was trying to find another girl to grant a wish and make a Magical Girl so he could direct her towards the problem. One that, preferably, had no strong family attachments and was gullible enough to listen to him without too much effort on his part while being strong enough to not die to the first witch she saw and sociable enough to give him valuable insight.



Sadly Mami WAS the problem, otherwise she would have fit all those criteria quite neatly.



But it was no matter. There were pubescents everywhere that wanted to make a wish, to change SOMETHING about their life and sign their soul away for it without too many questions. He would find one.



He always did.



================================



(Candeloro)



Candeloro sighed as she carried four bags or so that were full of groceries, fingers intertwined with the plastic handles of the bags that were filled to near-bursting



Eggs. One of the bags was filled to the brim with cartons and cartons of eggs, with the rest containing tea, pasta, veggies of all stripes, and even enough cookies to feed Gretchins appetite for the dessert. And that was no small feat, based on how her human self put those things down.



Those bags meant she was just a tad distracted when an insectoid body emerged from behind a nearby lamp post, mantis claws hooking around the poke while the face of a bee was stuck to a frail-looking human body, something akin to a wasp's bottom half plastered onto the back.



Tiny moths grew out of the ground but were dispatched with quick kicks, Candeloros eyes narrowed. 4 bags of groceries blocked her hands. Legs? Available. Last resort was her ribbons, no need to waste too much effort on this miscreant.



She took a step forward, ready to brawl, when a familiar red spear sliced through the bug thing's neck, an even more familiar girl jumping down and driving a fist through its chest. It died with a screech before scattering into a hundred different pieces, each one melting into the concrete. A gently glowing grief seed sat there now, nearly forgotten as Candeloro stared at her former apprentice.



'Oh.' The yellow-haired witch thought to herself. 'She's beautiful.'



Red hair tied up in a ponytail settled down her back, powerful arm muscles relaxing as she spun the red and silver spear until she brought it up and rested the shaft against the back of her neck, taking several steps forward until the seed sat between them both. Slowly she turned around until familiar eyes met Candeloros, a weak smile on her face.



This was…It was strange. Usually, she never came back so early unless Homura interfered. Was that what happened here?



Wait, no, focus.



It felt like she was choking for a moment as she forced out the wrong name. Oh, Ophelia please forgive her, but you weren't here yet. "Kyoko. It's…" she toyed with her lip for a moment. "It's good to see you."



Kyoko's face twisted into an expression she couldn't quite recognize before it smoothed into an easy-going smile. "Hey there Mami. Been awhile, huh?"



Candeloro noted she didn't return her sentiment, and felt her heart crack just a little more. She knew they were estranged, but to be reminded of it by the girl herself hurt. "Yes. It has been." She looked around and set the grocery bags down, crossing her arms across her chest, human face narrowing her eyes and setting her lips in a frown, channeling what she thought Mami would do. "So, what brings you back home?"



Mmm, from the way Kyoko flinched she put more venom in that home word than she meant to.



The red-headed spear wielder kicked a foot against the ground and cleared her throat. "Welllll, I figured I had spent long enough away ya know. Needed to get back to my roots."



"Mmmm." Candeloro said nothing, instead looking at Kyoko for a moment.



Silence sat between the two, long and awkward. Then the red-haired magical girl spoke up again.



"And, well, um…" Her foot dug against the road for a moment. "I, uh," her next words would normally be hard to hear, whispered as they were, but Candeloro heard them clearly as if Kyoko had screamed them into the night sky. "I missed you."



Candeloro had to do her best not to squee right then and there, letting out a soft sigh as she stepped back to grab her groceries and the grief seed, tossing it to Kyoko. "Do you have a place to stay?" She really hoped she said yes. As much as she wanted to bring her over, as much as Mami would have wanted her over, she wasn't ready yet. One of the bags handles, sadly, had ripped and Candeloro let out a small task sound as she held it up against her chest.



"Yeah, I got an apartment set up. Not the best, but eh." Kyoko eyed the bags and hummed. "You, uh, expecting some company?"



"Oh, these? Well, I heard that there are supposed to be some magical girl hopefuls at school soon, and I thought of inviting them over to talk. Explain our world, let them ask questions." She let a small smile quirk onto her human face "If you would like, I'm sure they wouldn't mind another perspective. Or I can even set up a meeting later if you want somewhere more neutral."



"Don't you think it'll be crowded with the rat there?" Kyoko's voice had a sharp, biting edge to it when she mentioned Kyubey, and Candeloro was silent for a moment as she thought of what to say next.



"Kyubey, and I, are no longer…" she bit her bottom lip, contemplating, "we are not on speaking terms. In fact, I would greatly appreciate not bringing him up unless absolutely needed."



Kyoko froze for a moment, staring at her with an expression of mild shock. "Huh. Alright then." She cleared her throat and looked away. "Would you, um. Want me to walk you home?"



Once again, tempting. But best not to let her in yet and risk ruining everything. "No, I think I have things well in hand. Thank you though," she strained to get the word out, "Kyoko. Will I be seeing you around?"



The red-headed spear wielder looked slightly crestfallen, but not for any reason Candeloro could think of. "Yeah, see you around Mami." She paused for a moment. "Actually, you happen to have any cheese?"

—------------



Ophelia nearly let out a whoop as she jumped off the roof, following the scent of a fellow witch. If she was going to get her new cheese-loving friend up to snuff to help her against not just Candeloro's human form, but also likely Oktavias and Gretchins little song bird? Well, she was going to need to get strong, and fast.



Hence, Witch-hunting. Did she feel a little bad for the other witches she hunted? A little, yeah, but not bad enough to stop what she was doing.



There! A weird conglomerate of bugs forced into a vaguely human shape stood up and wrapped around a pole. She smelled fresh, so she couldn't have been a witch for too long. Plus, with her gone? One less witch for Mami to hunt, making her one step closer to getting to see the beautiful Candeloro.



She jumped down, spear at the ready to jab through its neck, when she saw HER.



Soft yellow hair springing down in curling rings, delicate hands with fingers she had seen rip through familiars like paper now with knuckles white from how tight they were around plastic bags. Long legs with heels on the end that could have her stepping on you and leaving you being the one to thank her for it.



The spear slashed instead of puncturing, a quick fist through its chest sealing the deal. Slowly she spun her spear and walked forward as she raced to gather her thoughts, trying to think of what to say. She hadn't expected to run into her so soon after all.



'Fuck It, push through!' Slowly the red-haired witch turned around and offered a smile, trying to imitate the old her.



Mami stared for a moment at her before speaking slowly, almost like she was unsure what she was going to say next. "Kyoko." Oh, that burned to hear. "Its," she bit down on her lip and worked at ir for a moment, "good to see you."



Oh fuck her voice was just as beautiful as she remembered. Now remember, cool, be cool. Mami loved that shit. Or was that Madoka ? "Hey there Mami. Been awhile, huh?"



Mami's face seemed to curl a little at her words, setting down the bags and crossing her arms across her chest. Oh fuck. "Yes, it has been. So, what brings you home?"



It felt like a slap across her face with the emphasis placed on the word home, reminding Ophelia that while she loved and cherished the yellow-haired girl, Kyoko was a coward who ran away and had left this gulf between the two.



She needed to give her a reason, Ophelia wasn't sure that Mami would let her go without one. Kicking a foot against the ground she said in a drawl "Welllll, I figured I had spent long enough awa, ya know? Needed to get back to my roots."



"Mmm." Then nothing. Just. Empty, horrible silence with Mami's disappointed stare. Her gut fouled up something fierce, her labyrinth twisting underneath her skin.



"And, well. Um…" she spoke quietly, voice struggling to get out, all her instincts telling her to run away, to flee, to not be vulnerable in this moment, " I missed you."



Mami looked at her for a moment as if she were trying to pick the truth out of the girls words before sighing and picking up the grocery bags she had left on the ground, Ophelia catching the grief seed that the yellow-haired girl tossed to her. Now that the moment wasn't quite so awkward she took a moment to look at the bags she had. That was… a lot of groceries for just one person. Like, beyond excessive even. She knew just how much food she usually had thanks to Homura's meddling, and she shouldn't have run out yet. A small squinting of her eyes and damn did the bag look good pressed against Mami's chest revealed quite the number of eggs, veggies, pastas, and other such things.



"Do you have a place to stay?"



"Yeah, I got an apartment set up. Not the best, but eh." And she wasn't even lying. She had moved the cheese witch to an abandoned set of apartments and made sure she stayed put in the best looking one with promises of cheese. Oh shit she actually had to get some now? Fuck.



Focus.



Point was, Mami wouldn't need that much food unless she was expecting people over, and for awhile too. And when Madoka should not have met Kyubey? The only change she could think of was Homura. Had she already met Mami and changed something? Maybe made an early alliance, or even told her something vitally important! "You, uh, expecting company?"



Mami looked down at the grocery bags for a moment. "Oh, these? Well, I heard that there are supposed to be some magical girl hopefuls at school soon, and I thought of inviting them over to talk. Explain our world, let them ask questions." A small smile crept its way onto Mami's face, moving her head so that her face was mostly cast in shadow. "If you would like, I'm sure they wouldn't mind another perspective. Or i can even set up a meeting later if you want somewhere more neutral."



Ophelia strangled the scoff that threatened to make its way out of her throat. "Don't you think it'll be crowded with the rat there?"



Mami looked back at her with a frown on her face. For anyone else that would have been a bitter, twisted scowl with just how polite she prided herself on being. "Kyubey, and I, are no longer…" A pause that seemed an eternity, one which Opehlia waited happily to hear more of her loves voice. "We are not on speaking terms. In fact I would greatly appreciate not bringing him up unless absolutely needed."



Ho-ly shit. Homura . It had to be her. She had to have, done, or told Mami something that changed her drastically. And if Gretchens little songbird was making these kinds of moves this early in the timeline, who knew what else she was gonna be doing later on?



Mmm, she could half strangle the time traveler and half give her the second sloppiest kiss she could think of, (she was saving the first one for Candeloro) cause fuck. This changed so much. Maybe for the better. "Would you, um. Want me to walk you home?"



No, I think I have things well in hand. Thank you though," Mami's voice became tense for a moment, "Kyoko." Fuck, human self really had fucked up if she had trouble saying her name like that. "Will I be seeing you around?"



Yeah, see you around Mami." Ophelia paused for a moment. Well, she had promised her newest companion some cheese, and Mami had so much groceries. Maybe she could solve another problem? "Actually, you happen to have any cheese?"



(Alright, that's all what I have wrote up some far, feel free to enjoy. Also, If you come away with the idea that the convo between Candeloro and Ophelia has major "Ex girlfriends" energy, then I did it right. Originally I was going to go for a "2 chat bots speaking at each other" sort of thing, but as I wrote it, the ex energy came out.)