"Really, I mustn't stay..." Homura began.

"Nonsense!" Kyoko shouted. "You gotta have some tea. You saved our lives, so you deserve that much!"

Sayaka was off complaining to herself about how much it would cost to repair her window and door, without sensing any of the irony of the fact she caused immense property damage to the Kanames' fort over the years.

Madoka was sitting across from Homura, trying to give a smile, but it was a bit awkward when Homura was staring at her intently.

She knew a lot about Homura's past from the stories she had told her after the battle against Kiiko Kawakami was over. Homura had been trapped in an endless loop of time, unable to break out and change her fate until her universe's demon, Gyuhey, had granted her a second wish, one so powerful it completely changed her powers... and made her a ticking time bomb to eventually transform into a magnificent monster with the power of a hundred witches.

She also knew that that universe's Madoka was killed in battle before the two girls could live a happy life together. And that that death had propelled Homura's path for the rest of her life.

It was a lot sadder than any Madoka parody fan fiction had any right to be.

"So, uh, how'd you find us?" Madoka asked.

"I've been tracking multiversal anomalies recently," said Homura. She flicked her wrist and several images appeared, floating in the air as holograms. They showed all sorts of nostalgic figures from the past- Geno from Super Mario RPG, Saiyaman from Dragon Ball Z, Britney Spears... it was a smorgasbord of memories for a specific age range. "A huge flux of 'nostalgia zombies' arrived in Mexico the other day and had been taking over the minds of pretty much everyone around, whether or not they were actually fond of things like Mucha Lucha or Ozzy & Drix. It didn't matter because they were sucked into it anyway. I was only immune because I'm not from this universe."

"Do you know... why they were doing it?"

"Not yet. But I'm going to keep searching until I found out. I killed off most of the creatures but if there's any stragglers, they could be very dangerous. That's why I need to... go." Homura stood up and brushed off the magical girl uniform she still hadn't transformed out of. "Thank you, Kanames, for your hospitality."

"Really, you can stay," Madoka said. "I mean, long-term and everything. We have a guest room if you need, and if you're hurting for work, the Magical Girl Squad could always use an extra expert like yourself."

But Homura shook her head. "My place is on the road, on the streets. I'm sorry."

And just like that, she stepped out the door, summoned a holographic motorcycle, and sped off towards... somewhere.

Madoka wasn't sure she even believed her spiel about the nostalgia monsters. She seemed like she was just trying to get away... from her.

Kyoko returned with a pitcher of tea and gumbled. "Come on! I just fixed this, and she still left? What a jerk!"

終わり