A purple glow emanated from Homura's hand, specifically the gem placed atop it, as she moved around the room. As the light ran across the floor, it left behind a mark on the ground in its wake.

Homura had never attempted to use her magic in this way. Though up until a few days ago she wasn't even aware of this type of magic. Homura thought back to the girl she had saved from the Wraiths. The girl who had been so interested in the gem that lay atop the back of her hand. When made aware Homura would not sell it to her, her face became a pout, but still, she provided her with some very interesting information.

Homura's feet stopped as she came to the place where she began. Pulling out the parchment upon which the girl she saved had drawn, she could see that the circle was now complete. Next came the flesh.

Homura walked to the cabinet in the corner and opened it. Within it was a lifeless husk modeled to the likeness of her best friend, her only friend. She had been told that a body would be unnecessary, but given the situation of Magical Girls, Homura knew this might be a necessity, and thought she should best be prepared.

Homura carried the body over to the circle, and placed it near the center, its right hand proffered over the center of the circle. It had taken a lot of Grief Cubes to generate this body. While Magical Girls could generate flesh easily enough to heal themselves, to create a wholly original body from nothing would be an impossible task.

There was a simple solution for resources though: her own body. Cutting off one

part at a time, and then healing said part, she was able to get the necessary pieces she could mend together with magic. Then using her memory, she shaped the body in her love's likeness. Homura would take this secret to her grave, knowing that the one she loved would not approve of her mutilating herself, even if she couldn't feel the pain.

Much more painful to her personally was what was required of her next. Pulling on the pink ribbon in her hair, she undid it in a single motion. This was the only thing left of the one she loved. She had been willing to give it to Junko since she wasn't lucky enough to even have memories of Madoka, but parting with the only physical reminder would still hurt. Taking the pink ribbons, she began to tie the hair of the body in front of her with it. With that complete, she now needed to offer a sacrifice.

Homura drew a combat knife. It had been a long time since she had held a physical weapon, she had no need for them in this timeline. But, hearing there might be a way to see her again, she would gladly pick up any weapon to do so.

Homura placed the edge of the knife against her left palm. With a quick, light draw of the blade, a tear formed in her palm, and the blood began to let loose from her skin.

She was incapable of feeling the pain in her hand, but even then she knew it was inconsequential compared to the pain of being without her. Forming her left hand into a fist, the blood dropped at a steady rate onto the areas of the circles as she needed it to.

"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. Repeat 5 times. But destroy each when filled.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation

Let pink the color I pay tribute to

Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate.

"I hereby declare.

Your body shall serve under me.

My fate shall be your sword.

Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail

If you will submit to this will and this reason…Then answer!

"An oath shall be sworn here!

I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven.

I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!

"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,

Come forth from the ring of restraints,

Protector of the Holy Balance!"

A pink light shined bright from the circle. Homura's heart skipped a beat. By all accounts it appeared to be working as the girl had described. The light further expanded, reaching the second ring within the circle, and then the third. Soon the light became too bright to look at directly, but Homura just numbed the pain her eyes felt staring directly at it.

Finally, the light began to recede, and what stood in the center of the circle atop the husk she had created was what she had suspected, a Soul Gem.

The girl had told her that the Grail allowed them to summon Heroic Spirits, but they were not of flesh and blood, but rather given form by the mana of the mage who summoned them. However, the soul of a Magical Girl was tied directly to their Soul Gems, and needed a physical body to possess in order to interact with this world. Thus necessitating the creation of this body for the one she loved. She could only hope that she created it in her likeness enough for her to be able to possess it.

The lack of movement from the body in front of her concerned Homura. If she had failed, she would be leaving Madoka summoned in this world confined to her Soul Gem, with a slow death due to despair accumulating within her gem.

Homura looked at the palms of her hands.

"Will they do nothing for me but bring pain to the one I love?"

As Homura turned her hands over, she saw the solution she needed.

"By my first command seal, I command you Madoka Kaname to bind yourself to that body!"

The first seal glowed, and then began to fade from her hand.

Madoka had never been separated from her body, this experience might be frightening to her, as such she's unable to return to her body. If this was the case, a command seal would be the best way to rectify this. Looking more expectantly at the body, she was met again with disappointment.

"Should I use another command seal?"

To Homura it may as well have been a rhetorical question.

"By my second command seal, I-"

A gasp came from the body in front of Homura, her eyes returned to their full color, she could tell now that Madoka was here.

"Where, where am I?" Madoka asked.

To which she was answered by a hug from a crying Homura.

"Homura?"

"Yes Madoka, it's me," Homura replied quietly, before ending their embrace, "there's a lot to go over, so I hope you'll listen to me."

Far off in another location, Kyoko Sakura stood in front of a circle of her own, with something wrapped in a sheet.

"I hope this really works," she said as she unfurled the bat within.