Chapter 36: But the War Goes On
La Fin de Toute
(formerly Galactica Palace)
Communications Hub
Minutes before the Time Crash
"Master Joker? You wanted to see me?" Sayaka Miki gave a curt bow as she stepped through the sliding doors. She was preceded by a small white creature, something like a cat and something like a rabbit, with round, unblinking red eyes. Sayaka was familiar with these things; they used to be called Incubators. After what Joker did to them, it probably wasn't appropriate to call them that anymore. Its task complete, it sat on its haunches at Joker's feet and beamed proudly at her… not the usual eerie, frozen cat-smile, but an open leer with a mouthful of teeth, which was even worse. Sayaka tried her best to ignore it.
"Ah yes, Miki. Come in." The harlequin stood before the chaotic mishmash of technology and magic that was his way of communicating with the forces of Dead End acr

[Author's note: I'm reuploading this chapter with a minor edit to clarify an important plot point at the end. Your humble author screwed up and made things too ambiguous; my apologies. - BHS]

Chapter 35: The Battle is Won…
The Lighthouse
Vertex Point Five
"Homura-chan…? Homura-chan!"
There was no answer. Homura Akemi wore a small, satisfied smile as she lay limp in Madoka Kaname's arms. Her chest rose and fell gently as the jewel in the earring she sometimes wore faded back from white-hot to pale violet to amethyst.
"She'll be all right." The voice of Fantine, the Lighthouse keeper, was taut with strain, as if Homura being all right was more trouble than it was worth. The blue-winged spark that served as her avatar hovered close to Madoka's shoulder. "That was a ton of magic she burned at once to pull that stunt, but she… she has more than enough to spare. In any event…" Bitt

Chapter 34: Prisoners of War
The Lighthouse
Vertex Point Five
Homura Akemi watched and waited.
La Fin de Toute
(formerly Galactica Palace)
The Merry-Go-Round
"So congratulations to you all! Mission accomplished." Joker applauded, and the assembled forces of Dead End cheered, watching from the upper rings of the Merry-Go-Round's vast circular chamber. Among the clamor of their varied shrieks and howls and bellows, Alph caught fragments of speech: "Kill them!" "Tear them apart!" "Let us feast!"
Alph took stock: she and the rest of the team were all immobilized by Droid Jamanen's viscous gel and at Dead End's mercy, surrounded by an army that included some of the deadliest and most dangerous beings in all the worlds. That included one of their own, poor Cure Fortune, apparently brainwashed into Jamanen's puppet and converted into a gelatinous monster just like her. The p

SELECTED SUBJECT: SAKURA KINOMOTO AND ALLIES, VERTEX TWO
 
OVERVIEW: Vertex Two is an outlier among the five Vertices, as nearly all the distinctive elements common to the other four simply do not exist there. As of this writing, there is only one being of note in Vertex Two, Sakura Kinomoto herself, who even fits the definition of a “magical girl”. Even so, she does not transform, has never battled an openly hostile force seeking her destruction, and has never encountered a “monster” of the kind so prevalent in the other worlds, to my knowledge.
This is not to say that Kinomoto is not a threat to Dead End. Based on my observation, the exact opposite is the case: should she use her full powers against us, I am convinced that Dead End, with all our resources, would pose little threat to her. Sakura Kinomoto has the potential to be the most dangerous being in her universe, and it is only her personality and relative immaturity that res