AN: Apologies for the delay. Muse went bye-bye, or at least, to other stuff. But here we are now! Hopefully I didn't lose anyone.

Homura Akemi frowned ever so slightly, as she ducked into an alley. She had the feeling for some time now, that someone was observing her. Who, she didn't know. But the question from Kriemhild Gretchen was still fresh in her mind. The potential of other Magical Girls...it worried her, more than she might otherwise like to admit. Homura had experience with the Mitakihara and Kazamino girls. She knew them, their powers, and their personalities quite well. She could ruthlessly take down Kyoko Sakura with little difficultly, just by applying a bit of strategy. She could ruin Mami Tomoe with a handful of words. Sayaka Miki was so easy to deal with it didn't bear mentioning.

But...

I lack experience with Magical Girls outside this area.

The time-traveler wasn't exactly happy admitting that. She despised things outside her control. Always had, always would. It was why she made a point of killing Oriko Mikuni every other timeline. But Homura's experience...having a gap in that worried her. Especially as she knew that there would be a Magical Girl out there who could counter her abilities. It made logical sense, if nothing else. Kyubey wouldn't know to bring such a girl to Mitakihara with how jealously Homura guarded her secrets, but that hardly mattered.

"Who is following me..."

For Homura was nothing if not paranoid.

Do I risk using my magic?

A flash of purple light had Homura in her Magical Girl uniform, as she jumped up the side of the alley, landing on a roof. Her sharp violet eyes scanned the area around her, even as she did the same with her magic. The teenager was looking for any sign of either Kyubey or another Magical Girl. Either one would be a problem, even as she kept a hand on her shield. Homura would far prefer to not need to use her trump card, but if it came down to it...

Well, cross that if needed.

"I know you are following me, whoever you are." Her dull voice rang out, as the Magical Girl continued to scan the area.

But nothing greeted her. Silence, save for the noise of traffic in the distance. Homura didn't lower her hand, but she did let her tense shoulders relax ever so slightly. If it were Kyubey, he would have come out. Were it another Magical Girl, she likely moved on when it became clear that the time-traveler knew she was there. If that was the case...well, Homura would need to track the girl down herself, some time soon. For now though, she could focus on hunting...Witches...

"Homura-chan!"

...or deal with the one Witch who hunted her.

"Gretchen."

For the familiar, painfully so, pink hair came into view. It was tainted, more lavender than pink, as Kriemhild was in her corrupted version of Madoka's uniform. The Witch did not have her twisted bow out, but there was...strangely enough...real worry in her eyes.

"Are you okay, Homura-chan?" Kriemhild asked.

"Quite." Homura replied curtly. "Why are you here?"

"I felt you transform. I was worried!"

An eyebrow quirked its way up, "Worried? For a Witch, you act remarkably unlike one."

"Homura-chan, you know I consider you my friend."

The eyebrow went higher, "Hm. Now, if you felt me transform, you likely know why I did. Have you seen another Magical Girl?"

Kriemhild frowned, "No, I haven't. Why?"

"I was being followed."

Now, Homura in ideal circumstances, would not be telling the Witch this much. But, in this situation, she could use the assistance. She loathed the idea of Madoka's body being put in harms way. But as she held no particular attachment to Kriemhild Gretchen, it was simple enough to make this choice. Homura knew very well that Madoka's Witch was determined to protect her, no matter the time-traveler's own feelings on that matter. As such, it was a simple matter to direct that energy towards whatever, or whomever, had been stalking her.

Let Kriemhild fight the new Magical Girl. It would both give Homura an idea of what to expect in a future timeline, and keep the Witch away from her. It never got easier to see Madoka's body possessed by that monster. Keeping her away, was only a good thing. It made it easier for Homura to focus on the more important issue at hand...figuring out how this had occurred in the first place, and ensuring it did not happen again.

"Who?" Kriemhild regained the Magical Girl's attention, her voice colder than ice.

"That, I do not know." Homura flipped her hair, the long black tresses fluttering in the wind. "I presume a Magical Girl, as Kyubey would have little to gain from hiding."

"You're sure it wasn't Kyoko-chan or Mami?"

Homura frowned, "Of course. I am quite familiar with both, and neither would...hide like this. Most certainly not Kyoko Sakura."

Kyoko never was one, to see the value in stealth. That girl would jump right into anything, given half the chance.

"Well, I'll find them then." Kriemhild nodded sharply. "If they are here to hurt you, I'll kill them."

No, I never should get used to this...

Hearing the words 'kill them' come from Madoka's mouth, had Homura's chest hurting. She never would, or even should, get used to the bloodthirstiness of the Witch. But, then, at least she had succeeded in her goal of forcing Kriemhild's attention away from herself. That would have to be enough, in the long run.

"If you feel the need to search, feel free to do so. I will be doing the same."

Homura narrowed her violet eyes at the Witch.

"Alone. I have no need or desire for you to work with me."

Kriemhild sighed, "I know you feel that way Homura-chan. I wish you would let me help you."

"No."

The Witch merely shook her head, "I know."

With nothing else said, she jumped away, clearly going to look for the mystery Magical Girl. Part of Homura was surprised it had been that easy. She had fully expected it to be far more difficult to convince Kriemhild to leave her be. On the other hand, she was not about to complain about it either. She had no desire to be near the Witch, and this worked for her goals in the long run at any rate. With that in mind, she jumped from the roof herself, moving on a search pattern. Very few could hide from her when she wanted to find them, and that was doubly true in Mitakihara.

After so long, Homura knew her hometown like the back of her hand.

Even so, I have to be cautious.

She knew that better than anyone. Surprises were deadly, on every level. Mikuni had been one such surprise, and were it not for the fact that trailing her was neither the Seer nor her insane partner Kure's method, she would be going for them first. But this was far outside how they acted, and Homura knew that if Mikuni had contracted, she would have gone right for Kriemhild to end that threat. The fact that she hadn't, meant the Seer was not a current threat. Having already eliminated Kyoko and Mami as options- Sayaka had the stealth of a falling brick -that only left a new girl.

And while Homura was confident in her 'home field advantage' so to speak, she was far from foolish enough to not be cautious in her search.

"I have paid for not being careful. I will not do so again."

So many timelines had failed because she wasn't careful enough. Regardless of her intention to abandon this timeline, come Walpurgisnacht, Homura was not going to take undue risks. You did not survive as long as she had, by doing so.

"That was a stupid risk, Blueberry!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"What, or you're gonna kill me? Ya couldn't kill a mouse!"

"Why you...!"

Sayaka Miki grit her teeth, as her boots skidded along the gravel beneath her. Her arms ached, her legs were cut up and slowly healing, and her brow was covered in sweat. But still, she held her ground, sparks flying from her sword as it caught the shaft of Kyoko Sakura's spear. Grunting with the energy needed to do that, Sayaka let her arms fall, ducking underneath Kyoko. Spinning slightly, the bluenette came away, panting heavily as her foe landed some distance away. For all that the redhead had said she didn't want to do this, the idiot was getting really into it now. It was all Sayaka could do, just to keep up with her. Landing a blow? Ha, hell no.

Mami had said Sayaka wasn't ready to go hunting Witches yet, but the young girl had brushed that off as her mentor being overly cautious. How could it be that hard anyway? Mami made it look so easy! But, training with Kyoko had forced Sayaka to acknowledge her own weakness. She was decent enough on instinctively using her blades. But Kyoko was on a completely different level from her. Where Sayaka had to use her magic to heal her numerous cuts and bruises, Kyoko had nary a scratch on her. Where Sayaka was panting and could feel every ache and pain in her arms, Kyoko lazily held her spear over her shoulder, cocky grin not once leaving her face.

It pained the blue-haired teen to admit it, but Kyoko was out of her league.

"Now, do you want ta know why that was a stupid risk?" Kyoko continued, lazily spinning her spear now.

"You'll tell me anyway." Sayaka shot back with an annoyed tinge to her voice.

"Damn right I will. Ole' Mami's watching ya know." The redhead's smirk stayed firmly in place. "Now, that was a stupid risk for a lotta reasons. Most importantly, if I were aiming ta kill ya, I would have taken your head off."

Sayaka's mouth dropped open, "Say what?!"

Her voice did not crack! Not at all!

Kyoko snorted, "Blue, ya tried to hit me up close. I can split my spear and you know that. If I wanted ta kill ya, I would have done that. One second you'd be grinning at me like an idiot, the next you'd have no head."

"I use a sword, I have to get close!"

"Do ya?"

"Well what else should I do, genius? Throw my swords at you?!"

Needless to say, this training was as frustrating as anything else.

"Why no..." Kyoko began, only to lazily lean out of the way of a thrown sword. "Ooh, attackin while I'm talking. Ya might have some promise in ya after all!"

"Shut up!"

Sayaka hated to admit that Kyoko was right on anything. Granted, she hated to admit when she was wrong in the first place. Hitomi and Madoka could attest to that, and often would jokingly do so. But in this case, much as it annoyed her to admit it, the redhead was right. Sayaka was at a disadvantage up close. Kyoko had a lot more reach with her spear, could split said spear apart at will, and had enough experience to spare. Sayaka was a newbie, who barely knew how to fight. In any reasonable way of looking at things, she couldn't win. Spar or not.

But when did Sayaka Miki look at things rationally?

I can beat her. I know I can!

Squaring her shoulders, Sayaka healed the last of her wounds and jumped forward at Kyoko. The redhead smirked at her, bringing her spear up once again. Forcing her body to the side, the new Magical Girl dodged the first attack. Her sword came up, catching the spearhead, as Sayaka grit her teeth once more. Letting one hand go from her sword's hilt, she summoned a spare sword in that free hand. Kyoko's eyes lit up, a feral grin replacing her smirk. The redhead lashed out with a sharp kick, driving the air from Sayaka's lungs.

"Damn it!"

Grunting in pain, Sayaka drew in shaky breaths, even as she brought her swords up in an 'x' above her head. Kyoko's spear came to a halt between those crossed blades, as the redhead pushed down with all the strength in her deceptively lithe arms.

"Nice try Blue!"

"What?!"

Before Sayaka could do more than question what was happening, Kyoko's spear had split, the head leaving her blades as it came directly at her face. Blue eyes widening in shock and more than a little horror, the Magical Girl dropped her swords, backflipping away. Kyoko's spear embedded itself in the ground, leaving a decently large crater. Holding a shaking hand to her heart, Sayaka tried to get her breathing under control. That had been way too close.

"You could have killed me!"

"Nah. I woulda stopped."

"How?!"

Sayaka began to build up steam to rant at Kyoko, but she was stopped before getting far. Mami walked on to the field, sending a disapproving look at the unrepentant redhead.

"Sakura-san, I asked you to train Miki-san. Not attempt to kill her."

Kyoko didn't quite pout, but her lip did stick out more than usual, "Yeah yeah. I wouldn't have done permanent damage, 'specially with the way she heals."

The bluenette gaped at that, "Taking my head off isn't permanent damage?!"

"Ya know what I mean."

Mami sighed softly, holding up her hands to stop the upcoming argument, "Girls, please stop arguing. Sakura-san, I think that is enough for today. Miki-san, if you want to train more, I can help you with it."

"Fine by me. See ya later!" Kyoko didn't even hesitate, dropping out of her Magical Girl outfit, as she went to collect Yuma.

Mami watched the girl leave with a mixture of fondness and exasperation, before turning back to Sayaka. Who, for her part, was watching Kyoko go with an annoyed expression. The other girl got under her skin so damn much! She didn't even know why, but it bugged her. Kyoko was better than Akemi at least, but not by much. Still, the Magical Girl let her annoyed look fade when she turned to Mami. It was impossible to be annoyed with the busty blonde, really. Mami was just so...cool! And a hell of a lot nicer than Kyoko, even if she couldn't train swordplay.

Still, Sayaka would rather train with Mami any day, even if it wasn't as useful.

"So, what do you want to do, Miki-san?" Mami's kind smile was firmly in place.

Sayaka frowned, "Can you teach me a way to throw my swords better?"

"Swords aren't meant to be thrown..."

The bluenette scratched the back of her head, her face flushed slightly, "I know that. But...I kinda want the option, y'know?"

A soft smile crossed Mami's face, "I understand. Well, let's set up some targets then!"

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It would be another hour of hard training, before Sayaka was willing to call her day. Mami had put her through her paces, that was for damn sure. The blonde wasn't as harsh as Kyoko was, but when she got it in her head that you were going to train on something...well. You trained on that, until Mami was satisfied in your progress. It was easy to believe she had trained a lot of Magical Girls, after going through all of that. Of course, Sayaka wasn't going to complain. She didn't even really complain about Kyoko's, after the fact. The more training she had, the better she could fight after all.

And the entire reason, other than healing Kyosuke of course, that Sayaka became a Magical Girl was to help Mami fight.

After all, Witches were evil monsters. There were always more of them, and she hated the idea of Mami fighting them all alone. Kyoko was here, yeah, but the redhead was a loner. Even Sayaka could see that much. And the less said about Akemi, the better. So Mami would be fighting alone, and that didn't sit quite right with Sayaka, to say the least. Thus, she wanted to be the absolute best she could be.

"Great job today, Miki-san." And Mami agreed with her, the blonde upperclassman already out of her Magical Girl outfit.

Sayaka sighed softly herself, dropping back into her school uniform, "Thanks Mami-san!"

"No need to thank me. You did most of the work, I just observed." Mami's soft smile had yet to go away. "And you are learning quickly, Miki-san. Pretty soon, you can give Sakura-san a run for her money."

"I hope so. Girl needs to be taken down a notch." Sayaka grinned, pumping her arm for emphasis.

Mami just giggled softly, "Yes, that she does. Still, between the two of us, you can join on hunts soon."

"Great! It's about time I can go out and help you fight like a hero of justice!"

The soft giggles turned into full-blown laughter, the blonde wiping her eyes, "Yes, exactly. Well, I'll see you tomorrow Miki-san. Be careful when you head home, okay? If you find a Witch..."

"Call you or Kyoko, yeah, I know."

"Thank you. See you tomorrow!"

With that said, the two girls split up. Mami back to her apartment, and Sayaka back to her house. Or, at least, that had been the goal. As Sayaka moved away from Mami, she heard footsteps behind her. Assuming that it was the blonde, the teen looked back over her shoulder. Instead of Mami though, she saw a girl she didn't know. A girl in a short skirt and red blazer, rapidly approaching her. That girl could almost pass for Sayaka's sister, blue hair only a slightly darker shade than her own on her head. Her face though, had a different- sharper -structure. And there was a scowl that would fit more on Kyoko, than Sayaka, on her face.

Why was she glaring at her?

Slowing her own walk, Sayaka let the other girl catch up. Hey, she was a Magical Girl...if she needed to fight her way out of this, it wouldn't be hard! And Sayaka was a bit curious now, since the girl acted like they knew each other. When they didn't, or at least, the bluenette didn't know her taller counterpart. She acted like she knew her though, which was odd to say the least. Who was this girl?

"Hello?" Sayaka cocked her head curiously. "I know you?"

"No, but I know of you." The girl replied, her voice fairly harsh like her features. "Mimi is my name, for the record."

"Uh...huh. How do you know me?"

'Mimi' smirked, "Because I've been watching you."

"..."

"Not in that way!" Annnnddd the scowl was back. 'Mimi' glared at Sayaka, before talking again, "I'm a Magical Girl too, you dunce."

Before Sayaka could even think of questioning that claim, the girl held up her finger. A familiar silver ring, green gem in the center, glinted in the sunlight. Sayaka blinked slowly, before turning her attention on the girl.

"...aren't there enough Magical Girls here? Does Mami-san know you're here?"

The other bluenette snorted, "No. She doesn't. Do you want to know why?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, have you noticed anything different about your friend, Kaname?"

If Sayaka had been curious before, now her full attention was on the other Magical Girl, "What did you say?"

All Mimi did was grin at her...

AN: And, here is why Sayaka isn't the one Oriko saw being targeted.

I'd normally say more down here, but as I'm about to pass out...yeah. So no review replies this time, unfortunately. Sorry about that...

(in more positive news, I'm glad that Trope Rec got more readers here! Nice to see something like that)