Welcome to the first chapter in a new story!

I've been a huge fan of Madoka Magica for a long time, and I've always wanted to write a story about it. I've written a few shorts, but nothing full length like this.

This story is a retelling of the series, thus the title Redux, and it will include an OC (the same OC from my previous short stories). This flic will also change some of the lore of the series, but for the better, I hope.

Now, to say it now rather than later, if you do not like the idea of your favourite characters getting together with a made up character (especially a male character) then please don't read this story. Also, if you are very adamant about these things, please don't leave any hateful comments. I have some of these on my other short stories about this series and I really don't like my work being hated simply because I'm letting my imagination fly. Thank you.

Now, without further ado, please enjoy!

Disclaimer - I don't own Puella Magi Madoka Magica or any of its characters, it all belongs to Studio Shaft. I only own my OC.

"I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love." Marilyn Monroe.

It happened so fast.

It happened under five seconds.

Why?

Why did she not foresee it?

The bullet was hot, she barely felt it enter her throat. The gun had a silencer, it made a whisper of the gunshot. A tiny pik and then numbness. There was red, her blood, gushing outwards like red rain. She didn't even feel the cold ground beneath her as she slammed into it, her hand fruitlessly going up to her throat. A human reaction. She wasn't human. It immediately went warm.

There was screaming. Kirika. Her howl of rage and despair was too wild to be considered human, and it cut through the ringing in her ears like razors. She turned as best she could and through the darkness creeping at the corners of her gaze she saw her friend and protector, eyes bulging and purple claws glowing with power. "I'LL KILL YOU!" The rage in her words was like fire and ice mixed, and she lunged at the shadowy figure. Her attacker. The person who had run their doorbell and shot her. She couldn't see his face, it's outside her gaze.

Then there's another sound, loud as cannon fire to her, and she hears a thump. Kirika screaming again, but now there was more pain in it. Another explosion of sound, and the screaming increased. One more, the screaming stopped.

Quiet now, she's afraid.

And the fear she felt grew when she heard the footfalls, growing closer. The assailant was coming. Coming to her. Coming to finish her. They stopped, and kneel before her. She saw his face. He was a foreigner, British she thinks, his impassive complexion fair and hair brown. His half-lidded eyes, she guessed, are also brown but her gaze was faltering so much that they instead looked like black pits. In his left hand was a gun, the weapon that took Kirika's life, but it was bigger than the one he used on her.

"You're going into shock." His voice was low and even, colder than winter's night. "And your heart is beating at three times its normal rate due to the blood loss." She was bleeding badly, wasn't she? The blood was making a fine pool around her head, staining her snow white clothing and her hair. Her head felt so deliciously light and empty. "In a few seconds, your body's going to shut down, and you'll suffocate on your own blood." His mouth, those thin lips, weren't moving as he spoke the words in a tone that held not a whit of guilt. But she heard his voice, it echoed in her head. There's only one way that was possible, but…it couldn't be…

She tried to speak but instead gurgled on copper tasting liquid. "W-who…are you?" She croaked, blood leaking out the corners of her lips.

His right hand, the empty one, reached out and grabbed the hand on her throat. It was warm against her clammy one. With the gentleness of a lover, he slid the bloody ring off her finger.

Panic gripped her heart but she was powerless to stop him, she was too weak.

Too weak…

So tired…

Her vision was almost completely gone, she could only see the eyes. Black pits, emotionless holes...

Wait.

What was that, flashing before her eyes?

Her life?

No.

A vision…

She saw a city, torn by destruction; skyscrapers suspended in the sky like puppets on strings. She heard laughter, joyful laughter as multicoloured fire rose, gleeful cackling at the death of thousands of people that was join by just as unnerving giggling. She saw a shadow, bigger than anything she had ever seen before, reaching to the heavens. The world, turning black and purple, before cracking like an egg.

Oh God, it was-

"I'm nobody." His voice destroyed the vision.

The last thing Oriko Mikuni heard was the sound of glass shattering, and she found soon after that oblivion's embrace was as gentle as it was quick.

Redux

Chapter One: Have we met somewhere before?

Monday, March 16th

Mitakihara Middle School was a complex building of glass and steel. Its many corridors and windows gave it a look as though it were the minotaur's labyrinth mixed with sci-fi. It truly was a place one could get lost in, but Madoka Kaname was more than familiar with the building's layout. It was March, the start of Spring, and the sun was beginning to cascaded down upon the earth to remove winter's cold grip. Within the school, though, heat was abundant due to the many generators that provided warmth. The classroom in particular, full of students discussing how the weekend had been and current gossip.

Madoka sat alone on her desk, head propped up on a fist. Her eyes were heavy, she was tired. She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep. A bad dream had taunted her slumber. Though, the more she thought about it, the dream bordered more in nightmare territory. She could just remember bits of the dream. She remembers that she was running, from what and for how long she couldn't tell, until she stopped in the centre of the city. The air was thick with soot, the buildings looking like broken teeth, and fires of orange and sapphire blue were raging.

She remembers a creature, a large monster floating in the sky, but she couldn't remember the features. She does, though, remember the shrill laughter that reverberated from it; rattling her to the core. Her eyelids fell and remained closed. She was tired, perhaps a little rest was in order. No one would notice. She remembers a creature, small and white like a marshmallow, standing beside her. It said things, things she can't remember. There were…two people-

"Mado-chan!" Said girl jerked back to the present, and the images dissolved away completely into her mind. She turned to look up at her friend, energetic sky blue eyes staring down at her with a touch of worry.

"You okay, Madoka? You seem pretty out of it today." Sayaka stated, an amused grin tugging at her lips.

The pink haired girl flushed, embarrassed. She should have known that Sayaka would notice her daydreaming, if more so than usual. "I'm fine." She responded, offering her friend a smile of her own. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all." She gave a small, sheepish chuckle.

This time, Sayaka's grin became large and vaguely cat-like. Madoka instantly felt dread. "Oh-hoh~? Weren't on some secret date, I trust?" She said in a sing-song voice, confirming Madoka's fears. Then, suddenly, Sayaka was on her; pulling her into a crushing hug. "Well, I won't let you go on another!" She proclaimed passionately, loud enough for anyone caring to hear. "You're my wife, and I won't let you go!"

Going redder than a tomato, Madoka stuttered incoherently. This was not the first time Sayaka teased her like this, and it wasn't even something that bothered Madoka really, but it was one of the few times she did in the classroom and that was embarrassing to no end. She could feel Hitomi's disapproving glare boring into her back and felt her dread rise tenfold.

But, before anything could happen, Kazuko Saotome came in and everybody rushed to his or her seats. Sayaka released Madoka and the pinkette shook the dizziness (and embarrassment) out of her.

Saotome-sensei had a hard look on her face, and she addressed the class in a voice matching her expression. "Everyone, I have something very important to tell you all today, so take it to heart." A collection of gulps and quiet groans filled the classroom, every student knew what was coming next. Stomping one foot down hard enough to rattle the front row desks, Saotome-sensei had a metal pointer in hand as she spoke in a very business-like voice. "The right way to fry an egg, sunny side up or down?! Come on Nakazawa, I don't have all day!"

Her pointer flew to point at a boy with dark green hair, Matsuoka Nakazawa. It was hard not to feel sympathy for the poor guy, as he was always picked on by Sensei whenever she went on a rant. Some believed he himself had feelings for her, some said it was pure and others said it might be somewhat masochistic, but it was mainly just rumours made by his friends when they teased him that had spread through the class. Stuttering briefly for being under the spotlight yet again, he gave the usual answer: "I guess you can fry it either way, can't you?"

"Yes, exactly, you can fry it either way!" Pleased with the answer, she resumed her rant. "Therefore you should never judge a woman's beauty by the way she FRIES HER EGGS!"

SNAP! Many of the boys in the class paled considerably when she broke the pointer when her anger reached the breaking point, bending it in half. Sayaka shook her head, bemused at her teacher's antics. "Looks like she hooked up with another loser, huh?" She whispered to Madoka, who nodded sheepishly.

There was a slight trail of sweat rolling down the pinkette's cheeks. "Guess so." A good teacher Kazuko Saotome was, but not even Madoka could deny that she was quite the oddball. And had really back luck with men.

"And you boys! Make sure you never grow up to be petty adults like that!" Saotome paused, took a deep breath, and then beamed at the class. "Well, now that that's out of the way, let's give a warm welcome to our new student!"

Yet again, a collection of groans rose from the students. Sayaka even slipped off the fist she was resting on and her head slammed into her desk; making Madoka jump. All the students shared one thought, unknowingly: "That should have come first!"

Seemingly not noticing her student's bafflement of her actions, the teacher turned to the door and called out to the new student. "Akemi-san, you can come in now!" The girl that walked in caught the eyes of most the boys, and even a few of the girls. She was quite tall for her age, lean, and pale. Long raven hair that really brought out her face fell behind her like an onslaught of darkness. She wore black stockings with her uniform, one of the things the boys' eyes zeroed in on. Her face, as Madoka couldn't help but see, was cold; her violet eyes staring straight ahead without any emotion in them what so ever. When she stopped before the middle of the whiteboard and turned, she made a show of running a hand through her locks.

Madoka blinked, a strange feeling hitting her like a slap. Why…did this girl give her a sense of…nostalgia?

"My name is Homura Akemi, it's nice to meet you." She spoke in a quiet voice, a monotone, but it somehow reached everyone in the class. She bowed shortly after she said this, and spoke no more.

Saotome, who was in the progress of writing her name, noticed. "Is something wrong?" She asked, to which Homura did not respond. She put her bag down to the ground and took the pen from the teacher's hand. With total silence, and the whole classroom watching her, she wrote her name on the digital whiteboard. Once that was done, she bowed once more and became as still as a statue yet again.

Quite taken aback by the new student's confidence and lack of fear, the spectacles-wearing teacher gave a smile that was just a little forced. The rest of the class applauded her as though she had recited a brilliant poem. And no one seemed to notice that she looked, very briefly, at Madoka Kaname. Her face never changed, yet her violent eyes bored into the pinkette; making her shiver as though she was in the arctic. The gaze seemed to stand for an eternity…

Until she broke it and moved to her desk without another word.

Madoka rubbed her arms, trying to remove the cold that wasn't really there. What had just happened? Why did the look she gave her, from somebody she hardly knew, chill her right to the marrow of her bones? What was the reason behind it?

And why?

Why did Madoka have the strongest feeling that she knew Homura Akemi?

Later, 12:30 PM

The first two lessons passed in a blur, and once the first break started Homura Akemi was swarmed by her new classmates. The new student had proven to be quite an academic prodigy, acing all the mathematical and scientific equations so well that if left both the students and teacher spellbound. In just under two short hours, Homura's popularity in the class skyrocketed into new heights and many of the students quickly liked her more than before. Madoka, along with Sayaka and Hitomi, watched from a distance as many of the female students of the class asked question after question.

"What school did you go to before coming here?"

"I was homeschooled due to my heart condition."

"Where you planning on joining any clubs? How about sports?"

"Not really."

"Your hair is just gorgeous! What shampoo do you use?"

For every answer she gave, Homura's voice didn't waver in the slightest.

"There's something awfully mysterious about that girl, don't you think?" Hitomi murmured, quietly as so not for Homura to hear. It wouldn't be very polite of her to talk badly about the new student, especially on her first day.

Sayaka turned to face Madoka, eyeing her with some concern. "Hey Madoka, do you know her from somewhere? I could have sworn she was shooting some major eye beams at you earlier."

Chuckling slightly at her friend's choice of words, Madoka tried her best to reply. She recognised the tone in Sayaka's voice, the one where if she found out that Madoka was even a little bit upset she'd make the person responsible pay. "Well, I'm not really sure." Sayaka didn't question the obvious poor response, she was listening to Homura.

The raven haired girl now had a hand on her brow. "I'm sorry, I think today has been a bit much for me. I'm not feeling very well." It was amazing how she didn't sound at all ill in her voice, in Madoka's opinion. "May I please go to the nurse's office?" The mob of girls pulled away immediately, their expression becoming sympathetic. Many of the girls offered to take her there, but she politely declined. She walked up to Madoka's desk, her eyes locked solely on her.

When she stopped at it, she spoke in that eerily quiet voice of hers. "Kaname-san, you are the health representative for this class, correct?" She didn't wait for her to confirm or deny the inquiry. "Would you please guide me, to the nurse's office?"

Madoka had no choice but to comply, and she felt Sayaka's concerned gaze on her back as she left with Homura.

The heavy silence that covered the journey to the nurse's office was nearly deafening, broken only by the sounds from the other classes and the interested murmurs of other students as they gazed at Homura Akemi; who paid them no mind.

Madoka walked behind the new girl, a step behind, and saw that Homura was definitely taller than her; if only by a couple of inches. Unable to stand the silence, Madoka attempted to break it via starting a conversation. "I, ah…how did you know I was the nurse's aide for the class?" The transfer student didn't respond, her back still before Madoka, as though nothing had been said at all. The pinkette whimpered, looking to one side and deciding to refrain from saying anything else. Why was it so difficult to strike up a simple chat?

Why did Homura frighten her so much?

"Saotome-sensei told me that you were." Came the quiet answer.

"Oh right, of course!" Madoka chuckled at her foolishness. Of course, Sensei would have told a new student, especially one with a poor medical history, who to go to for help. She must have contacted her parents beforehand. Feeling slightly more at ease, she was about to say that the next step in the path of the nurse's office but Homura already turned into the next corridor.

"This way, right?" She didn't even turn around when asking.

Confirming the question, Madoka found herself feeling quite awkward yet again. She knew, to those who were watching, that it must have appeared that she was the one being guided. "U-um, Akemi-san?"

"Just call me Homura." The words were said so bluntly that they made the pinkette pause, and she jumped when the raven haired girl turned on her heel to face her. Her violet eyes pinned her with a hard, questioning look. "What is it?"

The stood in the middle of a hallway, one made with more glass and a brilliant view of the outside of the school. Sunlight filtered through the slightly tinted glass, making Homura's hair glitter like a sea of blackness.

"How do you know?" Was what Madoka wanted to ask, but she just couldn't bring herself to ask it. She felt like a policeman was interrogating her, that was the best way she could describe the feeling she was getting off of Homura. She waved her hands about, her mind racing, trying desperately to formulate a coherent question. Then, she said the first thing that popped into her head: "Homura-chan, have you and I ever met somewhere before, maybe?"

The transfer student's face changed for the first time. Her eyes widened, mouth parted slightly, and her countenance adopted a look of pure shock. She said nothing, just staring at Madoka like she was some kind of deity who had suddenly appeared before her.

Anyone else would have been proud to have broken the statue-like expression on Homura's face, but Madoka was more distressed that proud. She had said something even weirder than the question she was going to ask! Yet again she fumbled, trying to push aside the horrid awkwardness, trying to simply go back to performing her classroom duty.

"Madoka Kaname!" It was amazing how such a low voice could raise so suddenly and have such a commanding tone.

"YES, MA'AM?!" It snapped Madoka to attention. The interrogation feeling she felt earlier returned tenfold.

Homura stared at her with hard yet gleaming eyes, face once again void, and spoke in a low voice with a steely undertone. "Do you treasure the life you currently live and consider your friends and family precious?"

Madoka blinked, reeling back ever so slightly. To say this was unexpected would be an understatement. For a moment, she did not have a clue of how to respond.

"Answer me." There was a hard edge creeping into Homura's voice, despite her unchanging face.

"A-ah, yes…I do." Feeling loyalty and protectiveness for those close to her hum in her chest, she decided to add some convictions of her words. They flowed from her so naturally. From the heart. "I do! My friends and my family, I love them very much, and they're very precious to me!"

"Really?" There was nothing in Homura's tone, it was utterly lifeless.

"Of course!" Madoka exclaimed. She had little fear of being looked at oddly, for she and Homura were the only two within the hallway. The world seemed so small, with them the only two within it. "I couldn't lie about something like that!"

Homura was silent for a moment, her eyes never leaving Madoka. It reminded the pinkette of a computer processing a new program. "I see, then if what you say is true, let me give you a word of caution: Not matter what is to come in the foreseeable future, never consider changing yourself in any way." Homura's voice was like iron, strong and unyielding. Her violet eyes were glittering in the sun. She turned away from Madoka and begun walking away; presumably to the nurse's office. She continued over her shoulder. "If you do not heed this warning, all those that you hold dear will be lost." She disappeared through the door, the curtain of raven hair following behind her as the door closed shut.

Madoka continued staring at that door for a long while, not sure exactly of what to make of the situation. That uneasy feeling had returned, but for a different reason.

She felt as though she had stepped into something that had been better off left alone.

Her way back to class was slow, as she mulled over what had transpired with Homura. She knew that Sayaka and Hitomi would wait for her, so she knew she didn't need to rush. The transfer student's cryptic words repeated in her head many times over, like a broken record. "Change? Change what?" Madoka couldn't fathom what it was about her that would ever need changing.

She knew what she was not anything special, had no talents to speak of or any glowing qualities, but she wouldn't change or sacrifice anything to change that. She had a brilliant family, perfect friends, and a good if mundane life. Why on Earth would she change that?

"Madoka!" Her head snapped up, her thoughts destroyed on the shrill cry of Sayaka Miki. She was charging towards her, her eyes sparkling, looking quite excited for some reason. When she got close, she seemed to loom over Madoka. She grabbed her hands and pulled her along, "C'mon!"

"Eh?!" Despite her utter confusion, Madoka offered no resistance as Sayaka lead her away. She decided to see what all the fuss was about. "S-Sayaka-chan, what's going on?"

"A fight, that's what!" The tomboy responded, grinning savagely. "That asshole in Ninth Grade, Kamadeta, is apparently getting his ass handed to him!"

Madoka felt a chill crawl down her spine at the name. Tenco Kamadeta. One of the few banes of Mitakihara Middle School, a bully from one of the Ninth Grade classes who took an unhealthy delight in bullying both his fellow classmates and those in the lower years. With a small group of 'friends' by his side, he and they acted like a gang who would attack anyone unfortunate enough to cross them. Other students, brave male Ninth or Eighth Graders, had tried to put him down but they had been met with powerful blows and even put into hospital with broken limbs. Tenco Kamadeta was considered nigh unbeatable.

To put it simply, and bluntly, the creep was a thug.

Though he had never directly hurt Madoka or her small circle of friends, the three knew better than to go against someone who knew martial arts, Sayaka would always glare with white hot hatred at the boy. She hated bullies, with a passion. But Tenco held a special place of loathing in Sayaka's heart, and the reason related to a boy called Kyosuke Kamijo. Obviously, hearing that the despicable boy was finally getting his comeuppance was clearly something Sayaka didn't want to miss and felt that Madoka shouldn't miss either.

The spectacle had already gathered a loud crowd, consisting of mainly Ninth Graders who were cheering and chanting. Unperturbed, Sayaka forced her and Madoka's way through the crowd until they got to the centre, pointedly ignoring how it bothered some of the higher students. Madoka squeaked with surprise when Sayaka suddenly yanked her to one side, and she heard something heavy land beside her. Moving the arms that covered her face protectively, Madoka gaped at the sight that met her eyes.

There lied Tenco Kamadeta on the ground, being lifted up by some of his cronies. Blood was dripping out of his nose and the corner of his lips, his platinum green hair a mess, staining his cream coloured uniform and visibly smudged upon his tightly clenched teeth. Pushing away the assistance angrily and getting to his feet, he glowered at his enemy. Madoka followed his gaze.

He stood still and silent, back straight like a rod and his arms by his sides. His fingers were curled into his palms but were not clenched into fists. The first thing she saw what that he was foreign, she could tell by his face. His complexion was fair, boarding on pale, with short cut dark brown hair that almost looked black in the light. He didn't seem as angry as one would expect from someone in a fight, nor did he seem at all tired, but there were slight traces of it in his features. His eyes were dark slits, his mouth a taut line, and his brows were ever so slightly drawn in. Madoka blinked, once again she was stuck with an odd feeling; just like when she first saw Homura. "But it can't be…" She thought, for there was no way that she could know this person.

Tenco was panting like a predator, crimson droplets falling from his chin like he had made a kill. He was leering at the student. "You're good, gaijin!" He crowed, and Madoka grimaced at the word. Gaijin: A Japanese derogatory term for foreigners. A horrible word to call another just because they were different. The boy didn't react at all to the insult, face like a still photograph. The bully then clenched his fists, the muscles of his arms bulging slightly, "But not good enough to-"

What happened next seem to go so fast, and yet so slowly at the same time.

As Tenco took two steps forward to attack, the dark hair boy charged at him; ducking under the bully's violent right hook. The other's right fist slammed deeply into Tenco's stomach, and the Ninth Grader lurched forward slightly as spittle flew from his mouth. The foreigner didn't misuse a second, raising back to his full height and shooting his left fist into Tenco's cheek. And loud crunch filled the air. Being on the right side of the duo, Madoka got an eyeful of Tenco's face rippling from the blow.

Not wasting a beat, the foreigner took a step back and his right fist made contact with Tenco twice. A beauty to his solar plexus, and an uppercut to his jaw. The bully tried to strike with his left fist but it came slowly, weakly, and the other dodged it easily. He shot a few quick shots at Tenco's chest and stomach, before finishing with a powerful right hook to his ribs; bringing forth another crack. Madoka wouldn't have been surprised if he had cracked a rib.

Tenco offered no defence at all when the foreigner gave him two powerful blows in the face, one with his left fist and other with his right. Blood flew out of his mouth from both attacks. Tenco looked dazed, uncertain of his surroundings and thus still did nothing to defend himself when his opponent gave the finishing blows. The first came in the form of jarring left hook to the solar plexus, which made Tenco lurch forward fully, and a strong right fist uppercut that snapped his head skyward. Arms flailing and blood splattered over the chest of his uniform and face, the gathered students fell silent when Tenco Kamadeta fell to his knees before falling unconscious face first onto the ground; crimson splattering out of his mouth. His cronies gasped in horrification, and Madoka's jaw almost felt like it would detach itself.

Tenco Kamadeta, bully of Mitakihara Middle School, had been defeated.

The other had stepped out of the way of the falling bully, breathing coming out deeply calming heaves and fists bloodied and then did something that made Madoka's blood run cold. He turned his head and upper body only, and looked at her.

For the most part of the fight, he had completely disregarded everyone else and focused only on Tenco. But now, now he was regarding Madoka with what seemed to be a contemptible look; lips pitched downwards into a slight frown. His eyes were brown, full of a dark light and a slight glimmer of something indescribable, and narrowed ever so slightly that it appeared more like a muscle spasm. He was so…foreign, British she thinks, he truly stood out amongst everyone else. The world seemed to stand still for a moment, they frozen figures in time. Until he broke the gaze and took his leave. Tenco's cronies and fellow Ninth Graders stepped aside, giving the foreigner a wide berth and raising their hands in surrendering gestures but the boy paid no attention to any of them. All eyes went to his blood stain knuckles on his lax hands.

"What in God's name is going on here?!" The angered voice of a man, a Ninth Grader's sensei, boomed and Sayaka found that was their time to leave. So did many of the other students.

"Time to go, let's bounce Madoka!" Her voice was light and energetic as always, a smile on her lips as she took Madoka's hand and lead her away. But the smile seemed forced, and Madoka hadn't missed how (when he looked at her) Sayaka had clutched onto her so tightly to the point where it had almost hurt.

"Trouble?"

"Tenco."

"You made the first move?"

"Yes."

"…Is he in pain?"

"Fractured jaw, cracked ribs, traumatised solar plexus, and a shattered pride. He's insignificant in the grand scheme of thing, so I'll deal with him swiftly if he dares try again."

"Good. I'll see you at the usual place."

"Yes, my Lady."

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Homura yet again showcased her impressive skills, in class and PE, making her one of the most popular students in the class. Madoka, after what had happened before, decided to keep her distance from the transfer student and luckily found herself spared of any more awkward encounters. Though that didn't stop Homura from watching her with a gaze that reminded Madoka of a hawk eyeing its prey. She also did not see the Ninth Grader again but summed it up to him being told off by the teachers.

Once school ended, Madoka and her friends went to one of Mitakihara's many shopping centres. One they made it to their favourite restaurant, Madoka decided to tell her friends about what had happened in the corridor. That, and also how Madoka was sure that she had first seen Homura Akemi in a dream. Sayaka and Hitomi listened intently to the pinkette's tale and once it was done, Sayaka finally exploded with laughter. "Oh c'mon Madoka!" She said in between bouts of hysterics. Tears were in her eyes. "That's ridiculous!"

"I shouldn't have brought it up…" Madoka murmured miserably, her face falling. She was already regretting her decision. She should have known that Sayaka, being the kind of girl that she was, would find it funny.

"Sayaka-san, you're overreacting…" Hitomi stated, noticing self-consciously how the nearby people were staring at her blue hair friend as though she had sprouted a second head.

Calming down somewhat, Sayaka's eyes seemed to sparkle she begun to speak with a dramatic air like an announcer from an action anime. "Suddenly, the mysterious transfer student Homura Akemi, master of athletics and academics, appears before Madoka! But little do we know that they first met in a dream and that she behaves as though you've already met!" The large grin on her face turned slightly cat-like, perhaps even a little lecherous. Madoka could never tell when it came to Sayaka. "I guess you two were bound by fate, having met in a past life. A mystery of the universe!"

Now unable to get the mental image of both she and Homura joining hands over a starry plane, Madoka went as rosy as her hair. "Don't tease me like that, Sayaka-chan!" She squealed in mortification. Now she really regretted her decision!

The pinkette lost herself in thought as Hitomi politely excused herself to go to more lessons, unable to stop the disappointment rising within her. She knew she couldn't hold it against her friends for not believing her, she knew how unbelievable it sounded, but she wasn't ready to deny the fact that she knew Homura Akemi. Somewhere deep within her mind, something registered with familiarity. It was like recalling a memory from childhood, it was old and faded with time to the point of being forgotten but it was there. Still registering, still there.

But when, how and why, did she meet the girl?

The thought gnawed at her mind, so much so that time seemed to skip forward and she found herself and Sayaka were waving Hitomi goodbye. "Time flies when you're thinking." She thought to herself.

"Say Madoka, can we stop by the music store?" Sayaka's question, coloured with a smidge of hesitation, brought her back to the present. Turning to her friend, she saw her have that sheepish yet charming smile upon her face. Madoka instantly knew the reason for the hesitation, and again the reason related to a boy called Kyosuke Kamijo.

"Sure." She chirped. They started to make their way to the store. "Same place as usual?"

He ran, as fast as his form would allow him too. He had already lost one body, he'd prefer not to lose another.

It would be such a waste.

His attackers persisted, though, something he couldn't fathom. They must have known how pointless it would be to harm him, but yet they continued to hunt him. He would never understand humans. He just avoided the first two purple bolts of energy fired at him from one of them but failed to dodge the third. It didn't completely destroy his form, it just winded him and left him momentarily disabled.

As he heard the two of them stepped closer to him, he tried one last desperate bid. "Kyu…" He moaned pitifully as he laid on his back. He looked up and saw them glowering down at him without a whit of sympathy.

"You're out of places to run." The girl said, her voice like ice with a tiny note of glee. Her hands glowing with purple energy, eyes narrowed into slits that promised death, she muttered darkly. "Prepare yourself."

Realising the impending demise of his current form, he knew there was nothing for it. While he didn't want to put such an important subject of interest in danger, he needed to escape. So, he called out to her.

"Madoka, help me!" She had been listening to music, one of the latest tracks from a pop group, when she heard the voice. For a moment, Madoka thought she had just been hearing things, but the voice had resonated too clearly in her head to be that. She removed the headphones, looking around in confusion before she heard it yet again. "Help me!" The voice cried desperately.

Now certain that she was not going mad, Madoka turned and left the music store, something which was not lost on Sayaka. The pinkette wasn't exactly sure where the owner of this voice was, but as there was no one panicking about someone being publicly assaulted she assumed that they must have been in the construction part of the centre. With Mitakihara constantly growing, the demands of the public grew with it and thus those in charge of public places were left to either build more buildings or extend others. Despite the warning sign that was on the door, Madoka continued through. Someone was in trouble and need help, they had called out for her, and she couldn't let anything get in her way.

The area was hardly built up, with only steel beams to support an upper level. Piles of pile wood were scattered about, chains dangled from the ceiling, and other such constructions things were left around. If Madoka remembered correctly, this place was to be a new restaurant. The crew tasked with building the restaurant where either not in today or on a lunch break, for there was not a soul about. There was barely any light; only those red construction lights were present that gave the place an eerie red glow. Areas that were not lit were left in darkness. All in all, the construction site was like another world, a dark world.

A world that said: "You don't belong here."

While nervousness crept into her heart, she refused to succumb to her skittishness and continued on. Though now at a slower rate than before. "H-hello?" She ventured, her voice echoing around her. Silence, complete stillness, was her only response. She looked around, peering into the darkness and listening.

Finally, she heard it again: "Help me…" The voice was no longer in her head, now it was before her. A small figure, no bigger than a cat, fell out of shadows. Flinching in surprise, Madoka quickly regained herself and dashed to the creature's side. She scooped it up in her arms, exclaiming worriedly. "You're badly hurt! What happened?!" Her concern over the creature overshadowed the fact that it had been the thing that had spoken to her.

The creature in question did indeed have the structure of a feline, from its long bushy tail to the small ears upon the head. It had another set of ears, but these were more like that of a rabbit. At the end of them, they had rings that seemed to just hover. Its body was snow white, with the exceptions of the end of the rabbit ears that had three dark pink dots and were also a very light pink. There was also an odd, egg shape on its back. It's otherwise clean coat was blemished by bloody scrapes and marks. It cracked open one of its large eyes, a pool of red, and from its small mouth came Madoka's name. From the tone and pitch of its voice, she deduced that it must have been male.

"STAY AWAY FROM THAT THING!"

Nearly having a heart attack from the sudden shout, Madoka snapped her eyes upward to meet the cold ones of Homura Akemi who stood about twelve feet before her. But she wasn't alone, for by her side was the Ninth Grader who had decimated Tenco. A shard of ice went through Madoka when she finally noticed the gleaming blade of a Katana in his left hand, reflecting the red light. Both of them had expressions of pure indifference upon their faces.

"Give us that creature," Homura ordered in a frosty tone, one that left no room for arguments. She was dressed in an unusual outfit, like that of a gothic school uniform. Comprised of various shades of black, grey, and violet, it laid over a white, long-sleeved outer coat that partly covered a violet pleated skirt with a small frill. Her black tights were patterned with columns of violet diamonds. And there was something buckled to her left arm, a circular shield carved with intricate lines. Her feet were kept in black high heels. On the left hand was a purple glowing, diamond shaped gem.

The white creature in Madoka's arms gave an 'eek' of fear and he pressed himself into her chest. Homura's lips curled. "Using your dirty tricks as always." She murmured, and the disgust in her voice mirrored that in her face.

Madoka quickly put two and two together. "Did you do this, Homura-chan?!" She cried in horror. Her love for cute animals, her kind nature in general, hummed powerfully in her being. "That's horrible! Why?!"

Homura's cold glare was her answer. "Madoka Kaname…" She breathed in the same tone as before, the name rolling off her tongue. She said it as though it was alien to her. "This has nothing to do with you." She began to step forward, the sound of her heels meeting the ground echoing around them, the boy following a step behind her.

Her fear rising, disturbed greatly by the attitude of her unusual classmate, Madoka stated. "But he was calling me! He was calling out my name, calling for help!"

"Really?" Again, that tone of the dead. The two were now only five feet away from Madoka, both looking down at her with empty eyes. The world stilled. Wind from the entrance far back washed over them, making the chains that dangled from the ceiling rattled and break the silence. The lights hummed quietly.

The boy looked at Homura when she still did nothing but stare at Madoka, and then closed his eyes with an almost inaudible exhale through his nose. He walked past her and came to stand before Madoka. His fair face seemed almost white in the red light, his eyes were empty. His right hand opened before her face, callous palm facing upwards. "Give me the creature, Madoka Kaname." His voice was soft and even, almost identical to Homura's in that if left no room for argument. It could even be considered a male version of her voice.

When she refused to his demand, his sighed deeply. He lifted the Katana, the blade pointing down at her. Holding the leather black tsuka-maki handle in both hands above his head, the boy's eyes were like ice as he stared down at her. "I don't want to hurt you, Kaname-san, but if you get in the way of us and him I won't hesitate to run you both through." Despite the clear warning in his voice, he didn't sound at all bothered if he did kill her. Glancing behind him, Madoka saw that Homura didn't seem at all concerned herself.

Madoka closed her eyes, fear covering her heart like icy fingers. She prayed for anyone, anything, to help her. To her surprise, her pray was answered in the form of white mist. A huge cloud of white that engulfed Homura and the boy, Madoka just caught their expressions of surprise.

"Over here Madoka!" The pinkette was surprised to see that it was Sayaka who had saved her, holding a fire extinguisher in her hands. The girl had trailed behind Madoka once she left the music store, and had watched from a distance as the transfer student and the Ninth Grader approached Madoka. She just caught the words being said, but she didn't need to be a genius to see that they were threatening her. It was only when the boy got close to Madoka when she grabbed hold of the fire extinguisher, and she made her move once his put up his blade.

Crying her friend's name in relief, Madoka made her way to Sayaka. Just before she was by her side, though, something whistled through the air and there was the sound of something stabbing into metal. "Holy crap!" Both the Eighth Graders jumped out of their skin when the Katana impaled itself into the extinguisher, causing Sayaka to pause her attack. Looking back into the mist, she briefly saw a male face contorted with fury. Dropping her weapon onto the ground, she grabbed Madoka's hand and yanked her along.

They needed to escape, and fast.

The boy stepped out of the mist, face lined with anger that was barely contained. Grabbing his weapon, he pulled it free from the fire remover and pushed his anger asides. There was no point crying over spilt milk, his mind told him. (There was still time, still time to fix things, still time to stop him)

There was the sound of rushing air, and he turned to see his Master with her right arm raised. Her face, one usually composed like himself, was marred with unhidden anger. Just before he was about to enquire about her state, she hissed through her teeth. "I forgot." He regarded her silently, letting her fume. She pressed a hand to her face, eyes clenched tightly. "I always, always forget that she appears, that she's the one who ruins it all!" She spat the word 'she' like it was a curse.

"It's not too late." He said softly, in a bid to calm his Master's anger. Anger like this was not new to him, but it was concerning. "We can still get that rat without any more problems. If they try anything, I'll threaten them." Fear was an ally, one he used to its fullest extent. (And he would, within his black heart, relish their fear)

Just as she was about to say something, the world altered. It distorted with the sound of a joyful whistle, the steel beams melting away into a land that had no end. With bright colours that made his eyes sore, frills and scissors on chains and butterflies, it looked like a hallucination from someone on an acid trip. To him, anyway. His Master gnashed her teeth, her eyes glowing pits of amethyst fury. "Why is this happening now?!" She snarled.

He gritted his teeth behind his lips, his anger rekindled due to his Master's wishes being halted. It was also due to helplessness. He hated seeing her upset. (He would kill kill kill kill kill ANYONE who upsets her) "We have to hurry." He stated with a small note of urgency. "Those two will be in danger from both Familiars and Shadows."

She turned to face him, ready to agree with him he was sure before her eyes widen at something past him. "Josh, look out!" The Brit turned and, before he could react, his vision was filled with blackness. He felt the hand over his face. His senses were assaulted by a feeling akin to razor wire covered with tar. (Pain. It reminded him that, to some degree, that he was alive)

"What is with her?!" Sayaka roared as they ran, her anger and incredulity over the incidents that had just transpired obvious. She had let go of Madoka's hand and now the two ran side by side. "Now she's attacking you in broad daylight and in crossplay?!" Any other time that might have sounded funny, but now it only served Madoka to highlight the disturbing behaviour portrayed by her classmate.

"And what's that thing in your hands?" Madoka blinked at the sudden question, turning to see her friend staring curiously at the cat-like creature in her arms. "Is it a stuffed animal?"

"I don't know," Madoka said, and she could feel hysteria blossom in her chest. "I don't know why this is happening, I only know that he needs our help!" The construction site suddenly seemed endless, and it was morphing with garish colour.

The exit was not where it should have been, a fact the girls noticed immediately. "Where's the exit?!" Sayaka questioned loudly. "It should be right here! Where are we?!" That last question was the million dollar one.

It seemed as though the whole world around them had changed and altered, looking like someone's dream -or nightmare- made manifest. The landscape was wide and barren, with small mountains tipped with what looked like blood. The 'sky' was a dark blue, with house windows and gates that seemed to levitate in the air. There was barbed wire in odd places, steel trees with iron thorns and chains, and pillars topped with crowned butterflies. The world kept changing. There were eyes without faces, bodies without heads, oddly coloured flowers and windows leading into words with white trees. There was the sound of air distorting, party whistles and other noises that defied comprehension.

Then Madoka heard the giggling.

She and Sayaka turning, they saw what appeared to be stick-figure with balls of cotton with moustaches for heads. They were chattering amongst themselves. They had no eyes, nor did they have mouths, but the girls knew the creatures were watching them. Some of them were speaking in a language that they couldn't begin to understand. The ground changed, becoming a spiral of colours with them at the centre. The cotton creatures, so many beyond count, were joined by another kind of creatures. They rose from the ground, black figures that were more human in shape. They lack any gender features and were constantly swaying and tilting at odd angles. There face consisted of white, empty eyes and equally white empty mouths; they gapped in ways that no human could. From those mouths, as they shuffled closer with the cotton creatures, came such horrible groaning that mixed with the giggling and the language to form a conglomeration of sound that would leave the girls sleepless.

Huddling together like penguins in winter, Madoka and Sayaka shivered as fear overtook the pair of them. At the sight of her friend's fear, Madoka instantly realised that there was no hope for them. "T-this is some kind of dream, right?" Sayaka questioned, but Madoka couldn't respond. She couldn't move her jaw. "I'm about to wake up, right? Right, Madoka?!"

Razor thin slits appeared on the cotton creature's heads, they then quickly expanded into black pits. They spawned big lips filled with buck teeth, and spiky chains with chomping scissors flowed from their backs. The creature moved slowly to the girls, predators savouring the feast to come, the sounds they created were deafening. But suddenly, chains fell from the sky and landed in a circle around Madoka and Sayaka. Golden energy exploded outwards, reducing the cotton things and the black creatures to nothing, leaving nothing but glowing gold.

The attack shocked the girls out of their fear. "W-what's going on?" Sayaka mumbled, some of the colour returning back to her face. Her trembling lessened slightly.

Madoka responded, having finally regained control of her jaw. "I don't know."

"That was close, wasn't it?"

Both turning in shock of the sudden voice, the sight that greeted them was quite unexpected. It was a girl, about two or so years older than them, with the Mitakihara School uniform. She had blonde hair, curled into large ringlets with a flower shaped hair ornament, and her eyes were like pits of molten gold. She had some kind of golden gem in her hand, holding it close to a loose piece of chain. With a kind smile on her face, she gave off an air of reassurance that Madoka and Sayaka greedily absorbed. They felt safe, around this stranger. "Thank goodness, you rescued Kyubey for me." She said with relief, and Madoka immediately knew that she was talking about the creature in her hands. "I'm grateful, he's a dear friend of mine that I've been searching for."

"H-he called out to me." Madoka stuttered, trying to put her nerves to rest. They were still rattled by her near-death experience. "I could hear his voice inside my head."

The blonde looked at the creature in Madoka's arms with surprise before she smiled again with some kind of knowing gleam in her eyes. "Ah, I see." She murmured, more to herself than to the girls before her. She looked back at the two before her, that gleam remaining. "I can tell by your uniforms that you go to Mitakihara Middle School, Eighth Graders right?"

"W-who are you?" Sayaka asked with a tiny stutter. While she was grateful for the blonde for saving them, she had to be sure that this person was a friend. If she was anything like Akemi and her friend-

Black arms tore through the ground, and the figure they were attached to slowly rose upward. "Oh that's right, I should introduce myself." The blonde said, seemingly not noticing the threat that was making the younger girls pale again. It was only when the black figures were at their full shuffling heights that she did turn, stating. "On second thought, that might have to wait."

She scraped the tip of her right shoe against the ground, sparking some kind of energy, moved her arms forward and placed her glowing gem before both her open palms. It seemed to just hover before them. "Please excuse me," She didn't take her eyes off the creatures before her, which were now hissing akin to snakes. "I have to take care of this." The gem exploded. There was no other word to describe how it burst with golden light and ribbons, making the black things shriek with pain. The light finally faded, Madoka and Sayaka saw that her uniform had changed. In place of the school uniform was a beige skirt with black tips, and a long sleeved white shirt with puffs that had a golden ribbon on the collar. Her hands were encased in black, fingerless gloves. In between her skirt and her top, she had a brown corset-like clothing garment. She also has a small brown hat with white fur coming out of it, her flower hair garment now sporting a golden gem in the centre.

She stood upon a small mountain made of brightly coloured objects, arms spread open like an invitation. The cotton monsters flowed around her like a white storm, while the black creature's hands turned into claws and they lunged at her. The blonde jumped back in a burst of agility and threw out her arms. A huge number of white and black muskets appeared, gleaming in the light. They fired bursts of gold that obliterated everything in their path. The cotton things were blown away, the black creatures splattered black blood onto the ground as the bullets tore through them, and the ground exploded in a blast of red. Landing back on the ground near them, the older girl was still the picture of calmness.

Madoka and Sayaka could only stare, amazed beyond belief. What they just saw was amazing, something they would only expect to see in an anime or something of the like.

The world distorted and shifted, for the final time, and the construction area came back into sight. "We're back!" Sayaka exclaimed. Madoka was about to say her gratitude to the blonde, but she paused with she saw her face. The Ninth Grader's mouth was pinched into a frown, her eyes steely as she scanned the area around them. It was as though she was expecting something. Then, she focused on something and the two followed her gaze.

On a pile of construction wood, Homura Akemi and the male Ninth Grader fell upon it with the soundlessness of cats. Homura was still in those unusual clothing from earlier, the boy was still in his school uniform but lacked his blade. They both had uncompromising expressions on their faces as they stared down at the trio.

The blonde smiled at them, but her eyes were devoid of warmth. "The Witch managed to escape, but if you hurry you'll catch it. I won't mind leaving it to you." Her voice was light, casual even, but there was something in it that sounded forced.

"We have business here," Homura responded, her violet eyes almost glowing in the dark, her quiet voice reaching them all.

The blonde's smile pressed into a tight smirk. "You don't understand, do you?" She said, her bright voice a touch colder. "I'm willing to overlook this."

Homura raised her head, eyes narrowing, looking down her nose at the blonde. Her lips were slightly curled.

A moment of tense silence endured.

"Honestly, don't you think it would be better if we didn't do this now?" The blonde Ninth Grader asked, her golden eyes brimming with some kind of self-confidence. She was completely relaxed, unafraid.

"Give us the creature, and we won't have to do anything…unpleasant." The boy said in an even tone.

The blonde looked at him, seemingly surprised that he had spoken before she smiled again. This one was slightly smug, knowing. "I see. I was wonder why a person of your kind would appear out of the blue, but now it makes sense. You're her companion, aren't you, Joshua Martin?"

"Your powers of observation are staggering." He said, in a voice as dry as a biscuit. The blonde's face twitched, and a flash of anger appeared in her eyes. Before she could retort, though, the boy raised his left hand. The tip of his index finger was pressed into his thumb, his other fingers curled into his palm. Madoka's eyes must have been playing on her, for she was certain she could see a toothy, malicious smile upon his face. A pale hand clasped his wrist. He looked at Homura, the owner of the hand, confused. "Master?" He murmured, so softly that his voice was almost inaudible.

Homura stared down at the trio, face unreadable. Sayaka stood before Madoka, face set and ready to defend her friend. The blonde's shoulders were tense, hands slightly curled, her earlier smug knowing replaced by a serious expression. Another moment of silence. The sound of Homura's heels, as she turned away, broke the silence. Without missing a beat, she jumped off the pile of wood and was gone.

The boy stood where he was for a moment, watching where the younger girl had left, before looking back at them. His eyes centred on the blonde, they were gleaming slightly. A small nearly missed scoff left him. He left in the same manner as Homura, and the tenseness in the air receded with their passing.

Madoka and Sayaka sighed, and the blonde gave them a reassuring smile. Not long after that, Kyubey was washed over by golden energy from the blonde's hands as he laid in her lap. All the wounds that covered his body disappeared quickly, and he opened his large red eyes. The pupils, Madoka noticed, were white. "Thank you Mami, you're a life saver!" He said, and the blonde flush lightly. The beaming face that was directed at her was just so adorable!

"You should be thanking these two, not me." She said, gesturing to Sayaka and Madoka. "If it weren't for them, it would have been too late."

"Right." Kyubey turned to the other two and waved one of his small arms, chirping. "Thanks, Madoka, Sayaka!"

"It knows are names?!" Sayaka exclaimed, more surprised by that than the fact that the cat-like creature could speak. After everything she had seen, little might surprise her anymore.

"I'm very glad you found him." The blonde, Mami, stated with a warm smile. "I would have been horrified if anything had happened to him, so thank you very much!" She punctuated her gratitude with a deep bow.

Ever modest, Madoka went a light pink. "Oh no, we should be thanking you!" She insisted. "If you hadn't come along, that thing would have gotten us!"

"About that..." Sayaka began, her voice soft before she suddenly started spewing out questioned rapidly. "What was that thing? Why were Akemi and that guy attacking Madoka? And, most of all, how are you?!" Clearly, she was still a bit rattled over the experience.

The blonde took all the questions in stride, nodding to herself as she rose to her feet. "I have put off my greeting a bit too long." She muttered, before beaming. "Well," In a flash of golden light, her unusual clothing disappeared and she was back in her school uniform. "I'm Mami Tomoe, I'm a Ninth Grader from Mitakihara Middle School. Pleased to meet you." She bowed and then gestured to the small creature beside her. "This little one is Kyubey. I made a contract with him and became a Puella Magi."

Kyubey stood on his hind legs, waving one of his small paws at the two bewildered Eight Graders. "Nice to meet you!" He chirped.

"Puella Magi?" Sayaka echoed, a look of wonder on her face. One shared by Madoka.

Instead of answer the question, Mami regarded her small companion. "I assume the reason you called out to these two was due to their potential, right, Kyubey?"

Kyubey nodded in confirmation. "Sharp as ever, Mami." He praised, making the blonde smile before he turned to address the girls before him. "The truth is, I have a request for you both, Sayaka, Madoka."

"A request?" Madoka repeated, taken back. They had just met and already the small creature was offering her something. When Kyubey spoke his request, full of eagerness and joy with a beaming expression, Madoka Kaname knew that her life would never be the same again.

"I want you to make a contract with me, and become a Puella Magi!"

Elsewhere

For some reason, her actions surprised him less than they should have. Especially considered how things had transpired. (But then again, he's honestly not surprised by how things have gone out the way they have)

They did not head home after making their leave, with her stating she had a task to do. It was one, he slowly learned, that he didn't have to assist her with. He watched her silently, like a hawk, as she acquired the necessary things. Two bowls, a bottle of water, and a pack of cookies. Helping her carry the items to her desired destination, he didn't question her motives at all. (He wouldn't dare, not ever)

Deeper into the city they went, as the sun set and bathed the buildings in orange. People didn't notice them, didn't pay them any mind, continuing on with their boring little lives. (They had no idea that their days were numbered)

Finally, they came to an alleyway near Mitakihara's central hospital and his Master found her. The small feline, black as midnight with bright yellows eyes, tensed at the sight of the two. She took the items from him and moved forward towards the cat. Both the bowls were filled, one with water and the other with cookies, and the stray quickly begun eating. It's happy mews brought a small, genuine smile to his Master's pale face.

He smiled too, slightly.

It was the first smile he had seen her produce this time, and he hoped it wouldn't be the last. (And prayed, prayed with all his might that they would succeed this time)

"This time, God please, let it be this time."

And done!

I have to say, I am really pleased with how this came out! I hope, that you who have read this, enjoyed it!

Now, just to clarify on some small details: This story will borrow and have elements from the manga of the series, as well as include certain things from the spin-off mangas (as the opening scene shows) and the audio stories. This, to those who know, explains some of Homura's actions/attitude.

To those who don't know (spoiler alert), Homura is much more openly angry in the manga. She makes no secret that Madoka's constant meddling bothers her, or that she has zero interest in the others. She goes so far as to threaten to hurt Madoka in the scene where she finds Kyubey and also suffers a disturbing breakdown when she trying to help Sayaka. I'm giving some of these characteristics to her in the story, for reason I shall explain later, and am also putting them into my OC. (Yes, he is named after me but that is where the similarities end.)

So, hope that clears things up, and until next time this is GodzillaFollower1998 signing off!

(Also, as said above, pleased don't leave any hateful comments if you disliked this story, I'll just delete it.)