Foresight (Puella Magi Hunger Games Sequel)

Chapter 16

"Homura's missing," Kyubey's voice echoed in Madoka's mind, "I can't find her anywhere." Madoka looked up from her homework in surprise.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Kyubey appeared at the window, batting at it with a paw.

"Just let me in." Madoka climbed onto her bed, reaching over to unlatch the window. As she pulled it up, Kyubey hopped onto her bed, his body rigid.

"Homura has disappeared," Kyubey told Madoka, "I can't contact her or find her. I can't even summon her." Madoka looked around worriedly.

"Homura-chan didn't come to school today," She told the white incubator fearfully, "Has something happened to Homura-chan?" Kyubey just stared at Madoka.

"Walpurgisnacht comes the day after tomorrow. If Homura has really gone missing, then there will be no-one to protect Mitakihara City when Walpurgisnacht comes." Madoka was silent. Kyubey looked at her expectantly.

"You have to contract. If you don't, the whole city will be destroyed." Madoka looked nervous.

"Are you sure they're not all missing?" Madoka asked the incubator, "There could be another magical girl..." Kyubey shook his head.

"There are no other magical girls," He told her, "They've all disappeared." Madoka's face fell.

"I suppose, I'll have to contract." She admitted slowly. Kyubey nodded.

"It's the only way. Make your wish, Madoka Kaname." Madoka nodded.

"I wish-" Madoka hesitated, "I don't know what to wish for."

"Wish for anything," Kyubey told her, "Anything at all."

"Madoka?" Junko's head popped through the door, "Who are you talking to?" Madoka looked up nervously from where she had been sitting on her bed.

"I was just talking to myself." She lied hesitantly. Junko sighed, as she went to sit next to her daughter.

"I worry about you, Madoka," She told the pink-haired girl, "You're getting so unpredictable now, I don't know what to do." Madoka looked away, unsure what to say. She couldn't tell anyone. They wouldn't believe her, and she didn't want to be teased.

If she told everyone, she would have to tell them that Sayaka was dead. It would make people not trust magical girls. What could she do?

"Mum," Madoka began, "What do you value more? Your family, or the world?" Junko looked at Madoka keenly. The question worried her even more.

"I would say my family," She replied, "The whole world could explode and die, as long as we stay a family." Madoka was silent.

"I guess we are kinda different." She admitted finally. Junko looked at her in surprise.
"What do you mean by that?" The expression in her voice told Madoka that she had changed so much.
"Because, the world is also important to me," Madoka told her mum, "If I had the power to save it, then I would rather do that." Junko ruffled her daughter's hair affectionately.
"You were always a kind one," She remarked, "I suppose it's just as well, that we have at least one person willing to save the world."
"Good night." Junko stood up, with a final kiss on Madoka's forehead. She walked out of the room quietly, shutting the door with a click.

Madoka lay back on her bed, wondering whether her choice would be the right one. She wanted to save the city from the oncoming threat of Walpurgisnacht, but, she would be alone. Didn't Kyoko say that at least two magical girls would be needed to defeat Walpurgisnacht.
Kyubey had disappeared again. He seemed to have developed a strange habit of disappearing and reappearing.
Something came over Madoka. It was almost as though she had felt this feeling before, a strange mix of fear, but determination.
"But, Tomoe-san just died..." A girl with long black hair in plaits and red glasses, whispered, "You can't defeat it alone." She was on some sort of landing, in the open. She crouched next to a body on the ground. Mami. Mami was blood-stained and she lay there, in a peaceful form. She was dead. The sky was cloudy and stormy, and as Madoka looked around, she saw a figure in the sky, surrounded by glowing, colourful patterns.

"I have to," The voice came from a pink-haired girl on the other side of Mami, dressed in a pink frilly dress and armed with a bow, "It is my job as a magical girl." The other girl began to protest.
"You can't, you'll get killed!" The other Madoka just smiled reassuringly to the girl.
"It's okay, I'll do my best," She promised. The other girl looked ready to cry.
"You can't!"

Madoka sat up with a gasp. What had just happened. Why was she there? Was that even her?

"We have a problem," Jyuubey reported. Lyubey and Kyubey looked up from the other side of the room, "Homura's time magic is unravelling slightly." Kyubey padded over to Jyuubey's screen.
"What do you mean?"
"Homura is, in some essence, dead," Jyuubey began, "Her magic is what kept the many timelines she has created apart. If she is ideally dead, it is likely that the timelines will merge, or at least, link themselves in some way. Madoka has already had a vision of the first timeline." Kyubey blinked at the screen.
"You didn't tell me before." He said, emotionless. Jyuubey shook his head.
"I told you, when keeping magical girls in a coma, but still alive, their special abilities will try to rise out. Some, like Oriko's foresight, can be harnessed and we can use it. Others, like Homura's time magic are beyond our control." Kyubey nodded slowly.
"How long can we last, containing their magic, before any harm is caused?" Jyuubey stared back at his screen.
"A few days, 3 at the most. It's just as well Walpurgisnacht comes the day after tomorrow." Kyubey nodded.
"We only need to keep them so Madoka will contract. In fact, I don't even care if the other magical girls don't survive."