630/Doing Our Best

Doing Our Best
Date of Scene:	22 October 2023
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	Homura, Madoka, and Gretchen share a conversation, neither the first, nor the last. But this is the first time Madoka is able to start putting pieces together.
Cast of Characters:	Homura Akemi, Madoka Kaname

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Homura Akemi has posed:
    Life goes on and Homura still has plans to make and things that need doing. As a Puella Magi she has to hunt Witches and acquire Grief Seeds in order to replenish her magic. As a magical girl very few innate attack powers she has to find other methods to make up for that in order to acquire those Grief Seeds. It's a never ending cycle within never ending cycles.

    She'd been fighting enough that Grief Seeds weren't an immediate concern, but weapons were starting to become one. That's why she's now in the middle of an abandoned warehouse in the Mitakihara District. No doubt within a week it'll be in use by one industrial supplier, commercial chain or similar, but for now it's an open space with a lot of bare that can be used to sort things.

    The black-haired Puella is going through a mental checklist alone in the open space. Gretchen, who was often following her around, had gone off to meet Madoka and bring her over. For the moment though, she was alone. So she began.

    Fresh from a time frozen raid on a JSDF armory, she reached into her shield and started tossing things out of it into a large, heaping pile. Rocket launchers. Ammunition boxes. Mortar shells. Stacks worth of plastic explosive bricks. An entire pile unto itself of guns. Soon the girl was surrounded by piles of weapons and arms that many survivalists would sweat over.

    But that was the easy part. Now it was time for the hard part. She started with the C4, lifting a brick and programming in a custom arming and detonation sequence. It goes up on a shelf, and she picks up another.

    Someone once said war was 90% boredom and 10% terror. The ratio for magical girls is different, but Homura Akemi couldn't be the girl she was without spending serious amounts of time doing her due diligence.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka had been in a nearby abandoned construction site with Brai, practicing. Becoming a Chara Bearer meant that the way she could move and how agile she was has changed drastically, especially since her dream is essentially 'become a magical girl'. That required going to a place with interesting terrain that no one would see, and a Labyrinth wasn't a good place for Madoka to do controlled experiments with her powers. Brai, for her part, was setting up small target dummies that are little more than small bags of sand with Familiar-like faces drawn on them with permanent marker.

    Normally, Madoka wouldn't risk tearing up someone's stuff, but this whole site is scheduled to be demolished. The project they were working on has been canceled for one reason or another, and serving as Madoka's personal obstacle course is the most use that it's ever going to see in its life. A shame, considering how much work and how many hours had to go into laying the foundation and raising this skeleton of a structure.

    Chara can feel nearby Chara, much the way that Puella Magi can sense Witches, which meant that Gretchen and Brai could feel each other, which in turn means that Gretchen knows that Madoka is nearby. Feeling bad about what happened the other day, and wanting to stop her relationship with her Bearer from getting too bad, Gretchen wandered away from Homura to go find Madoka. Once Madoka saw Gretchen, and heard that Homura was nearby, it was only natural that the pinkette would abandon her training in order to pay her friend a visit.

    Thusly, Madoka now arrives at the warehouse with her Chara and her X-Chara, opening up a side door that Gretchen knew wasn't locked. As Madoka walks in, she quickly notices the huge pile of weapons and ammo that Homura is currently... sorting through, she assumes? There was a time when she might have been shocked by such a sight, but she's far past that now. This is just reality for a magical girl.

    "Homura-chan..." she calls out from a distance, to make sure that Homura isn't startled by her approach. "I was training nearby. Gretchen-chan told me you were in the area."

    Gretchen and Madoka exchange glances, before the X-Chara looks away. For now, Gretchen actually has her mask pushed up and off to the side, revealing her face. Madoka seems a little somber, but she pushes that aside. "How are things? Are you preparing for a fight?"

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura is partway through the stack of explosive bricks when she hears the door open. There not being an exclamation of surprise or fear tells her it's probably Gretchen returning, and Madoka's voice confirms that. She pauses what she's doing for a moment to turn and face Madoka. "Always," she replies, answering the second point first, "but nothing specific or imminent. I'm well enough; I'm having a hard time keeping track of everything going on, and I decided to resupply while I had the chance." She turns back towards the bricks, programs one more, sets it aside... and decides to do something potentially less disastrous should she get distracted.

    Not that she'd set them off on accident, but ensuring a full simultaneous detonation is important.

    "I probably don't have to say this, but try not to do anything that will cause a spark." She's looking at Madoka when she says this, but her eyes briefly flit to Gretchen and Brai afterwards. Chara are something of an unknown factor to her, so it's best to head off any issues at the pass. The last thing any of them needs is a Guardian Character deciding sledding down a pile of ammunition boxes is a good idea and setting something off.

    She instead starts doing something she knows she could almost do in her sleep. She picks up a rifle, ejects the magazine, checks to make sure it's full, slaps the magazine back and checks the bolt, cambering a round if one wasn't already. She then flicks the safety off and sets it on a rack. "Careful about these; they're live," she notes in an entirely too dismissive tone before looking up to Madoka while grabbing another nearly identical rifle, "How are you, Madoka? How's your training going?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Mischevious Chara might be an issue for other Bearers, but Gretchen is grim enough that she does not fool around, and Brai seems to be the type to take herself very seriously. Neither of them decide to mess with bombs or ammo, and Brai actually floats back a couple of inches when warned. Gretchen, let's be honest, has probably already heard such warnings. Either in this timeline or past ones.

    Madoka is the only one who most needs to be warned. Gun safety isn't really as big of a concern in Japan, and it's probably a testament to how much Madoka trusts Homura that she isn't more bothered by them. She nods, and heeds the warning, deciding that guns and bombs are best left to the clear expert.

    "It's going alright. Jumping while Chara Changed is a little strange now, but I'm getting the hang of it. I'm also trying to train with my bow a bit more, but it's hard to do that without moving targets," explains Madoka.

    Brai chimes in, "I was thinking I could try throwing snowballs at Madoka once Winter hits, but like... magic ones, so she could practice dodging. Inai-sensei's classes are always helpful, but... Madoka-chan wanted to do her own practice, too."

    Gretchen crosses her arms and frowns, looking away. Aside from dragging Madoka here, she hasn't said much to her Bearer. This isn't her usual cold distance. Madoka also seems to have something bothering her, which she finally does speak up about. "Homura-chan... Gretchen's been staying with you, as I understand it. Has she been well behaved? She hasn't started fooling around with magic she shouldn't, has she?"

    "I literally have Witch-like powers!" protests Gretchen, finally turning towards her Bearer.

    "But I mean like... dark energy, youma things. I don't really care if you have a pocket dimension filled with plushie monsters. I just want to make sure you aren't getting into real trouble." Madoka crosses her arms. This isn't like her. She's acting, in a way, like a mother.

    "How did you know about the... you know what, never mind!" Gretchen turns towards Homura and says, "Homura-chan, tell her I'm not draining people!"

Homura Akemi has posed:
    As Brai mentions throwing snowballs after Madoka talks about her training Homura stops what she's doing and pauses while looking up to her. "Is that so? If you'd like you could train with me. To be honest it isn't often I'm able to practice at my full potential either. I haven't trusted Inai-sensei with the extent of my powers, and I'm not generally willing to practice with others. You though, I will always trust." No, Homura isn't going to pull out a handgun and start shooting people during magical girl combat practice, even if that's exactly what she should be doing. And she's definitely not going to stop time to get cheap shots in where they don't recognize a danger is coming from. She wouldn't even do that to Madoka! She could, however, offer Madoka significant challenges if that's what she's after.

    She looks back down and continues checking guns. The next rifle she picks up has an empty magazine; this is exactly why she's going through this now. The last thing she wants to do is need to quick draw a gun in the middle of a fight and find out it's out of ammunition, or the safety is on. She looks towards the pile of ammo boxes and retrieves the right one, pulling out a single round and clambering it before going through the methodical steps of reloading the magazine and finally slapping the magazine into place, clicking the safety selector to full auto, and setting it on the track.

    Yes, this is going to take a while.

    "Gretchen is a good girl that makes her bed in the morning and eats all her vegetables without having to be told," Homura replies dryly. It's incredibly hard, maybe impossible to tell if this is a joke. Only Gretchen will probably know. "As far as I can honestly tell, Madoka, she's a part of you. She wouldn't do something completely foreign to your nature. So far as I know she hasn't done anything like that, but if she did I'd expect she'd think it was of dire importance." A little pause, "And she's definitely not draining people."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka was already told the nature of Homura's powers, and also told to keep it a secret, so that part of it makes sense to her. She's not sure how well she could really help Homura practice, but being the only available option...

    Madoka takes a step forward and nods, saying, "If there's anything I could do to help you, I'd be glad to. I know I'm just starting, but if there's things you want to try that you can't do in front of anyone else..." She fidgets with her hands while looking down and off to the side. "Also, any advice or training you could give me would be nice. If I could learn to fight at your level I wouldn't have much to worry about."

    Gretchen interjects. "Uh-uh. No. You'd still have a lot to worry about. Homura-chan is trustworthy and strong, but don't you dare ever take victory for granted!"

    Madoka... isn't sure how to respond to that. She gives Gretchen a sideways glance.

    When Homura attests to Gretchen's character, Madoka blinks, and looks over at Gretchen who is crossing her arms and looking smug. The X-Chara gloats, "That's right! I'm way better than that other mascot!"

    Madoka gives Gretchen a disappointed look. "Yet you defended him the other day. What were you even trying to do?"

    The X-Chara gnashes her teeth. "I was trying to stop Sayaka and Mami from fighting, but that little rat just made everything worse. I really don't care what people think of Kyubey one way or another, but Sayaka keeps getting into arguments with other Puella Magi, and that's not good for her."

    Madoka blinks, frowns, and looks away. "You were looking out for Sayaka-chan?" She considers this for a moment. "I guess... if you're a part of me, it'd make sense for you to want that, but when it comes to Kyubey I feel like people should be warned."

    Gretchen frowns at that, and looks away. "Warning doesn't always help," she responds mysteriously. Instead of elaborating, she starts hovering over one of the ammo bins, far enough up to stay out of Homura's way, but still close enough to check for significant flaws or signs of damage. This is her own way of helping.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "Becoming a stronger and more capable ally is helping me. Gretchen is right though, even if you were as strong as I am you'd still find obstacles you couldn't overcome. That's why making allies is so important." Lemons, meet lemonade. It might be a good thing that Homura is able to keep her gaze turned towards the weapons she's checking and reloading. Not having to look at someone when you talk to them without it appearing as a tell is kind of nice, even if you know how to keep a perfectly even expression.

    Something in the conversation causes Homura to pause what she's doing again, though this time she resumes her work. In fact, she even speeds up a little. "Miki-san and Tomoe-san were fighting?" Her head shakes from side to side. Some things never change-- until they do. "I don't like the sound of that. Is this because of Kyubey? I wouldn't say defending him is very palatable, but it's better than Miki-san getting on Tomoe-san's bad side." Were it the other way around... well, Mami can take care of herself. She'd probably be much better at diffusing Sayaka's irrational anger than Homura ever was, too.

    When the conversation continues Homura has to stop what she's doing. She finishes the gun she's checking, a pistol this time, and sets in on a shelf before taking a few steps closer to the Chara Bearer.

    "Madoka. This is a difficult thing to learn, but it's the burden of those with knowledge to protect people without it. You can't protect everyone from Kyubey's lies of omission and half-truths. Believe me; I've tried." She takes a moment to consider what she's about to say before continuing, "I've told you some of the burdens Puella Magi have to bear, but I haven't told you everything. There's more, but knowing it now would only hurt you. There's a limit to what most people can bear, but placing it on them all at once is always more dangerous. This goes for all knowledge of dark things and danger. You wouldn't go to kindergartners and tell them Witches want to Kiss them and devour their emotions and minds, and that evil people are trying to flood Tokyo with evil magic that will kill everyone, and also that countless magical girls have fought and died over humanities existence. It's obvious they can't handle it; they're little children."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    She stands firm and reaches back, flipping her hair. "We're all still girl, all of us. Teenagers. Some even younger than that. Our brains aren't fully formed and are hard wired to overvalue thrill and enjoyment more than we should, which makes us especially vulnerable to Kyubey's method of deception and recruitment since the positives seem to outweigh the negatives. We're supposed to have families, friends, and community members keeping the harsher realities of life away from us while we mature. But instead?"

    She casts a wan glance over her shoulder, towards the literal armory's worth of weapons on the floor and racks behind her, "Instead we're the one's protecting everyone else. I haven't told you everything because I'm trying to protect you until you're strong enough. It'd be better if you never had to learn. I had a meeting a while back with Inai-sensei and some other trusted fighters and Veterans, and it was my job then to say the Midnight Tokyo project was a possible apocalypse that could result in the complete destruction of Earth. It's just one of many possibilities I'm already aware of. If I'd learned about all of them at the same time I wouldn't be standing here now; I couldn't have borne it."

    She pauses again, and takes several steps closer to Madoka, lifting her right, shielded, hand and sets it on her shoulder. "You're also making a mistake that everybody does. You're judging other's capacity to endure hardship and turmoil by your own. You're strong, Madoka. Stronger than you realize. I wouldn't want to tell Sayaka Miki everything I've told you; I'm not sure how she'd take it. I can say almost for sure that if I told her part of what I know and she found out later there was more I didn't tell her, she would resent me for it for the rest of her life. Some people are like that. Talking down about Kyubey can make an enemy of Tomoe-san when she's one of the strongest allies you could wish to fight beside you; her tactical judgment is beyond reproach and she has the strongest mind for finding novel uses for magical powers of anyone I've ever met. So you don't talk about awful truths around her, and you don't try to tell her that Kyubey is tricking everyone."

    She lets the hand drop and looks down, "Knowledge is a heavy burden. Deciding who should be told what and how much is always a difficult choice, and if I wasn't absolutely sure you'd be better off as you are now than making a contract with Kyubey I wouldn't have told you as much as I have. Some people are very fragile, so do your best to stop and think about how they might react before you decide how much to tell them. If the worst happens it could cause a Puella Magi to fall to despair, and if she has friends..." Her head shakes again, "What once seemed like an invincible team can suddenly fall like a house of cards crashing down all around you."

    Somewhere along the way her voice had gotten quieter and more distant. She'd started speaking in an earnest, open tone, but ended by muttering with an almost complete lack of tone.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Becoming a stronger ally would help Homura? That's the kind of thing that makes perfect sense when you hear it, but it wouldn't occur to Madoka on her own. No, it's more than that. Homura couldn't say something like that unless she trusted Madoka a whole lot. After all, even if Madoka means only the best for others, there's still room for jealousy and fear. Her gaining strength isn't always going to be a reassuring thing for others, especially when they're the kind who looks down on those who are too optimistic. Having someone you can't respect suddenly outperform you is always a source of insecurity and, as Homura says, they're just teenagers.

    Madoka fidgets with her hands again, and looks off to the side. She has to be honest here. She usually is, but right now she has to set a good example. Or, at least, she thinks she does. "I think it might be my fault. Before Sayaka made a contract, I tried to warn her that Kyubey wasn't really all that trustworthy, and she started taking exception to him. Mami didn't like that very much, but... I still stand by what I said. There's something off about him. Every once in a while he just... ignores someone when they're hurting or says something so weirdly insensitive... I get the feeling that he doesn't really care about us. It doesn't help that he basically ghosted me the moment my Chara showed up, and the things he said during that time..."

    Madoka looks up at Gretchen with a frown. "It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the reason why Gretchen is an X-Chara is because of him. If he hadn't told me my potential was gone, I wouldn't have had the moment of weakness that led to her getting... corrupted, for lack of a better term."

    Gretchen looks up from what she's doing and crosses her arms, turning towards Madoka. "No, more than likely I would have remained an unhatched egg, and I would have stayed that way until I was fully formed in your mind. The moment you needed me, I would've hatched, but there's no point crying over spilled yolk." Then, she places her tiny hands on her hips, leaning forward. "Still, I don't like the idea that I've been 'corrupted'. Just because there's darkness in me, that doesn't mean I'm using it."

    Madoka considers this for a moment, then nods. "Okay. I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I guess I'm still new to this."

    The rest of what Homura says starts to weigh heavily on Madoka's mind. Did she mess up, by saying too much? Is trying to share what she knows just causing more trouble? Her eyes widen a moment as she considers. This really is her fault, isn't it? Trying to protect people from Kyubey just ended up causing a fight.

    Gretchen seems to pick up on what Madoka's thinking, and responds accordingly. "Did you think that you were assured victory, just because you meant well? Because your heart was in the right place? The world isn't that kind. Not to us."

    Madoka shot back without hesitation, "Well maybe it should be."

    "If you wanna make it that way," starts Gretchen, extending her tiny hand, "you know where to look. All you have to do is pay the mental price. Because nothing short of a goddess can fix this. No, in fact, I would say that even that's not enough. We don't exactly have a monopoly on divinity."

    Madoka gives her X-Chara a wide-eyed stare, and then looks to Homura. She continues staring for a good few moments. Brai clears her throat, awkwardly reminding people that she's still here despite not having very much to say.

    After a moment, Madoka nods. "I see. In other words, I can't just go around saying bad things about Kyubey. I'm worried it might be too late to take back what I've said to Sayaka, but... I can at least understand why Gretchen would downplay what he does. At least in that situation."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    She stops and thinks about one word in particular. Fragile. Does that apply to her, too? Maybe it does. Gretchen showed her something the other day that made her sick up in the bathroom, after all. Even if she can't remember it, she still remembers the feeling that there are Things Mahou Were Not Meant To Know. She wraps her arms around herself, suddenly feeling somewhat cold.

    "I see. Is that why you don't tell me things, Gretchen-chan? You don't want to overwhelm me all at once?" she asks.

    "That's right," confirms the X-Chara. "You'll learn, in time. You, of all people, have to. You can't end up any other way."

    Madoka looks down at the ground, frowning, and then over to Homura. "I see. Well, I said before that I trusted you, Homura-chan. I still feel that way. Whatever your secrets are, whatever you aren't telling me, I know you care about me because you've always looked after me. You don't have to tell me everything, but I hope you'll warn me when it's important." To Gretchen, she adds, "... and if you're really a part of me, then I can understand why you wouldn't lean on darkness. It isn't good for you. If you really mean what you say... I'm willing to trust you, too. It wouldn't be fair for me to be suspicious just because of Kyubey turned out so bad."

    This wasn't really what Madoka expected to hear today, but this is also why Homura is a good source of insight. At least between Gretchen and Madoka, things are calm again.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura looks back up to Madoka, "It could be. Or it could have been something else, or something she learned after you talked to her. I can't blame you for wanting to warn your friend; after all, I warned you. I knew the risks, that you might tell someone. I don't think I was wrong to tell you what I have or to warn you about Kyubey, but now that there are complications they'll need dealing with, though I suspect with a light touch."

    As for Kyubey himself, Homura frowns, "The problem with Kyubey is that he's duplicitous without directly lying, but by his own code of ethics he isn't doing anything wrong. He doesn't think in the same way we do and his goals are noble enough; it's his methods that are the problem. I think I can safely say that almost everyone we'd consider friends or potential allies that knew the full truth about him would consider him an enemy of humanity, but we also need him. Witches aren't going to stop appearing, and I still trust Kyubey more than almost anyone else to dispose of their Grief Seeds after we've used them."

    When Madoka looks towards her after Gretchen talks about goddesshood and divinity Homura shrugs a little. "Our problems are so deep and so numerous that I wouldn't be opposed to something like divine intervention. At least if I knew I could trust them. If it was you I'd trust the Goddess I know over the Devil I don't." Another slight shake of her head, mostly because she's actively trying to be more emotive rather than standing with a blank expression while talking to people, "Anyone else and I'm not so sure."

    She looks uneasy as Homura wraps her arms around herself. Her hand lifts a little, as if she's going to put it back on Madoka's shoulder, only to drop again. "There are some things even the strongest can't handle. Gretchen probably knows things I don't, and that I might not be ready for myself. But she is a part of you and she has an aspect of your power, so whatever it is I'm sure you'll be able to handle it eventually. If you couldn't I don't think Gretchen could either."

    She finally moves back to her guns and continues working on them, though she keeps a relatively slow pace. "I won't keep things from you if I think they're important. I'm telling you to be careful now even though it's an additional burden you didn't realize you had because it's the right time. You already knew to be somewhat careful with what I told you, but maybe it's partially my fault too. I could have warned you that knowing things can change how people react, and to be mindful. Though it isn't like you can control people into doing what you think is best for them; sometimes even the best plans can go awry."

    Because seriously: Mami Tomoe and Sayaka Miki are feuding over Kyubey? Homura never would have predicted that, and she's seen how that relationship has played out dozens of times at least.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka hears Homura's words, but she can't help but think about what's being left unsaid. Homura clearly has her own goals here, which she isn't sharing, but Madoka has never called her out on that because from the start she's been trustworthy. No, it's more than that. From the start, Madoka has known that Homura is important. Even if the memory of that dream faded almost the very moment that Gretchen was born, Madoka still remembers why she acted the way she did and why she said what she said. Maybe she's being unfair to her X-Chara.

    "I guess we're all doing our best," finally says Madoka. "I appreciate you telling me what you did, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I just... didn't expect things to take this kind of a turn. Sayaka-chan hasn't really gotten along well with the foreign Puella either, so I'm a bit worried about her. She defeated her first Witch all by herself, so she might not be receptive to those who tell her never to enter a Labyrinth alone. Especially if she already has a negative opinion of them."

    Madoka starts rubbing her left arm again. It hasn't bothered her in a while, but she's been pushing herself today. Homura's response to Gretchen's frankly blatant claim regarding Madoka's divinity makes her laugh a bit awkwardly. The X-Chara turned out to be right about one thing: The moment someone Madoka cared about was in trouble, she started to wish for that kind of power.

    "I mean... I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Not on purpose, Homura-chan. I just... maybe Gretchen's right. As I am now, I can't even comprehend that kind of existence. I'm not sure there's any religion which would sufficiently explain things to me, either." It's a strange thing to worry about, but something about it feels a bit more real, and a bit more heavy, after what Gretchen showed her the other day.

    The X-Chara interjects on one point in particular. "'Handle' is a strong word. I'm still mentally sorting things out. It's like what you said before. Learning things all at once is overwhelming. There may turn out to be a point where you simply have to dive into the cold water and hope you learn how to swim before you drown, but it's not my job as a Chara to make things unnecessarily difficult. Unlike some," whom she doesn't name directly, "I gain no benefit from anyone's despair."

    Madoka looks between Gretchen and Homura, and for a moment is... thoughtful. She clasps her hands behind her back and cants her head to the side. Her pink gaze swaps between her X-Chara and Homura. After a moment, she says, "I see. I think I'm starting to understand why Gretchen-chan chose to move in with you. You both carry secrets that others can't easily handle, don't you? Things that not everyone will respond well to. Because you share that, you understand each other."

    After a moment, she adds, "... but Gretchen is a part of me, and was born out of not only my power, but my dreams and maybe even my nature. So... does that mean there was always some part of me that understood you, Homura-chan?"

    A strange question to ask, now that she thinks about it, but... there's something there. She knows it.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "Something like that," Homura replies to Madoka's final question. "If I had to guess you care about me and what happens to me, and whatever that is is powerful enough to affect the way your magic as a Chara Bearer was formed." She blinks a little after she says the words, and her cheeks color slightly. A moment later she remembers to keep working on her guns. They're almost done! But there's still plenty of other supplies to go through.

    "What I can tell you is that ever since I met you keeping you safe, from Kyubey and everything else that's been happening, has been my top priority. Not the only one by far, but the top one. I think your magic is manifesting the way it is through Gretchen because of that. I think she knows it too, even if you might not have realized it yourself before now." She slaps the magazine into the final gun, an automatic shotgun, and checks the chamber to make sure it's ready to fire, then sets it on the shelf.

    She looks over to the remaining pile and frowns a little. She planned on doing everything in order, but now she wants to shake things up a bit. To show Madoka and her Chara a bit of her method to this madness. In a complete change of the subject she notes about her shield, "I can put as much as I need in here, but it'll be a total mess if I throw everything in. I'm not going to memorize the serial number for every gun to make sure I get the exact one I'm after so I know what's loaded and ready. I don't keep an inventory, but I do my best to make sure everything I might need at a moments notice is ready for use as soon as I pull it out."

    As she talks she picks up the guns and starts shoving them one after another into her shield, confident that ever one of them is functioning and ready to use. "I only had to pull a gun once and find out the hard way it only had two shots left when I needed more to start making sure anything I put in here was either fully loaded or distinctive enough to avoid thinking about. That's why I'll throw guns down and pull another out if I don't have time to reload; I can always pick it up later, but if I put an unloaded pistol in I'll need to pull out an SMG or a rifle next. The tiny fraction of a chance I'll pull the same one back out isn't worth the risk, and I don't always have the luxury of thinking. 'Semiautomatic' or 'revolver' if I need a pistol right now."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    It's true. Madoka does care about Homura, but it's never really made sense to her. To have a random dream like that is one thing, but to assign importance to it is something else. It's actually kind of weird that she made the choices she did, to randomly cling to a stranger. It's not as if Homura was the only person being kind to her, or trying to protect her in some way. Yet she felt it so strongly.

    Madoka looks at Gretchen, the X-Chara who contained all of her karmic destiny. The memories of Madoka's prophetic dream vanished when Gretchen was born. Could that dream be tied into her potential? Well, of course it could. That's how karma works. It's about attachment. If Kyubey didn't mean to imply that, he would have used a different word.

    Things still aren't lining up. It doesn't make sense. How could Madoka care so much, and feel so strongly, about a girl she's never even met? It's not like Homura isn't the kind of person that Madoka would care about. Her time mage friend has always been sweet and kind in her own way, no matter how brutal her fighting style she has always made it clear in both actions and words that she cares. Yet it's not like Madoka had any way of knowing that back then, so why...?

    Her Puella Magi friend, who has to stop time in order to share the Deep Secrets because otherwise the wrong ears could hear and ruin everything.

    Her magical friend who can stop time.

    Her time mage friend.

    Time Magic.

    Madoka covers her mouth as she gasps.

    She imagines the face of a clock, ticking as a pendulum swings back and forth, back and forth. The clock slows, then stops, pendulum frozen near the peak of its swing. Then, the hands begin to move backwards, and every part of the clock moves the opposite way from how it should.

    There's a ringing in her ears. She squats down into a ball, hugging her knees. Gretchen and Brai look down at her, both concerned. The X-Chara, for once, actually floats closer to Madoka in order to check up on her, looking into her too wide pink eyes. Madoka's eyes turn towards Gretchen, and she stares for a second before muttering. "That was a memory."

    Gretchen floats backward for a moment, her frown deepening. Madoka looks at her, and silently considers.

    Finally she stands back up again, being very still. There's a slight tremble to her voice. "I'm not going to ask, Homura-chan. I'm not going to ask, because I think this is like the time you visited me in the hospital. I want to be careful in what I say. I..." Madoka pauses. What should she say? How could she even ask this question, without asking it? If she's right, she'd be spilling one of Homura's most vital secrets.

    Gretchen flatly responds, "You already know, so don't say a word."

    Madoka stares at Homura, seeing her in a new light. Her eyelids drop halfway, she grabs her left arm to fidget with it, then looks away. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, still a lot of things she doesn't understand, but now...

    But now...

    "You knew about it too, Gretchen-chan?" asks the Bearer.

    "From before I even hatched."

    Madoka glances at Gretchen, and then at Homura, and then raises an eyebrow at Brai. The tiny braided minidoka holds up her hands and shakes her head, "I have no idea what uncuddly nonsense you two are talking about!"

    Madoka's stare lingers on Brai for a second or two, and then she closes her eyes. She breathes in deep, and then lets it out. Turning on her heel, she looks away. She has many conflicted feelings about this. If she had to pick one thing that's really bothering her right now, it's the fact that she's forgotten such an important friend. Well, not completely at least.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Pieces are falling into place. Parts of the puzzle are fitting together. It's something for Madoka to think about, but not something she can really talk about. No, even something like her body language might give something away.

    "Nevermind," she eventually says. Maybe it's time for a subject change. She walks closer to Homura, meekly approaching her. She glances at the guns that Homura is sorting and tries to focus on that instead. "So, do you ever lose a gun? I know sometimes a dead body will vanish with a Labyrinth, or at least that's what I was told. Would something like that happen to one of your weapons if you tossed it aside?" She imagines she knows the answer, but that's not going to stop her from making small talk.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura might have said to much. Here she was lecturing Madoka on how careful you have to be to keep from telling someone more than they should know, and there she goes not following her own advice and letting a few pieces drop early. Not that early, but still early. She knew Madoka was smart but she clearly wasn't giving the girl enough credit.

    She opens a box of grenades and begins checking them to make sure the springs are working and the fuses seem ready to arm as soon as the pins are pulled. These don't get a nicer treatment, and get stuffed into the shield one at a time.

    She changes the subject again, but only halfway. "Kyubey would tell you he'd certainly made a Contract with me, but he couldn't remember doing it. The fact he'd never even consider saying that much without you directly asking him is why he can be so insufferable to work with. Anyone would consider it very pertinent and valuable information to have but it wouldn't even occur to him to be worth saying." She gives a small shrug and tosses another grenade into the shield.

    As for losing guns? "All the time. I have to go back and get them if I'm fighting a Youma when I throw one down, but if it's a Labyrinth it's generally not worth my time since they'll disappear when it does. Leaving guns laying around the city isn't acceptable, on the other hand." She makes a motion to the collected weapons, "I can get replacements easy enough."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Giving a curious girl several months to figure things out while dropping scarce hints here and there is naturally going to lead to this. Madoka will need time to really process this information and really consider the full implications of it, but already her opinion of Homura is changing. This isn't a new friend, but an old one. One she forgot, but still a friend.

    Gretchen, too, is going to have to adapt to this. It's just like she said. Madoka's destination is inevitable. The only question is the journey.

    All of this goes unsaid, as it should, as the pink-haired girl watches her black-haired friend check her grenades. Such dangerous things, but Madoka doesn't feel unsafe with Homura handling them.

    "He hasn't told me that much about other Puella Magi either. In a way that might be an asset if all he was doing was respecting privacy, but you can't really depend on that." She frowns as she watches Homura do her inspection, quietly thinking there's something admirable about how meticulous and careful she is. "I never really asked him about you, and at this point I think I'm not going to. If you want me to know, you can tell me yourself."

    Gretchen feels self-conscious about the lack of sharing critical information, and then chooses now to speak up about something that might be relevant, "I have telepathy too, kinda. It doesn't work as easily as Kyubey's, but I can emulate the effects of a Witch's Kiss. If you really need a private channel, we can use that. You'll both just have to wear a sticker. I don't use tattoos. Too hard to remove."

    Madoka considers that for a moment, and then glances towards Homura before answering Gretchen. "Maybe, but you don't always need magic to know what's on someone's mind."

    After a moment of silent reflection, Madoka asks, "Have you ever taught a friend how to do these inspections, or have you only ever done them yourself?"