Draft 0: Episode 10A

Episode 10 Part A
Story returns to the past.  Recently transferred, Homura becomes acquainted with her new classmate Madoka.  Madoka rescues Homura from a Witch and reveals to her the world of magical girls.
Some time later, ''Walpurgisnacht'' arrives at the city.  As a magical girl, Madoka faces Walpurgisnacht but is defeated, dying in front of Homura.  In desperation, Homura contracts with Kyubey to return to the past.  She teams up with Madoka to fight Walpurgisnacht once more.
Homura matures as a magical girl, yet is unable to save Madoka from Walpugisnacht.  To save Madoka, Homura repeats this time again and again.  Unceasing failure, unceasing despair, but Homura refuses to give up.
"I'll relive the same time over and over, searching for the way out.  I'll find the one path that will save you from your fate of boundless despair... If it's for you, I don't mind being trapped in this endless maze for all of eternity!"
Homura becomes a time traveler.

===Morning - Classroom - Parallel World - Past===
Morning class of Homura's first day in her new school.  Homura stands before the blackboard, with the whole class's attention on her.  She wears a pair of glasses and twin braids.  A nervous, flinching, and frail girl.
Saotome:  Why don't you tell the class your name?
Homura:  Umm... I-I'm A-Akemi Homura...  I, uh... I-It's nice to meet all of you.
Saotome writes Homura's name on the blackboard.
Saotome:  Akemi-san's been in the hospital for some time due to a heart condition.  She hasn't been to school in quite a while, so I'm sure she'll run into a lot of difficulties.  Make sure you all help her out, okay?

Recess. Homura's seat is surrounded by girls.  They question her, full of curiosity.
Girl A:  Which school did you come from?
Girl B:  Were you in any clubs?  Like sports, or art?
Girl C:  Your hair's really long.  It must be tough braiding it every morning.
Homura:  I, uh...
The meak glasses-Homura turns even more timid.
During all this, Madoka interjects.
Madoka:  Akemi-san, you need to go to the nurse's office, right?  Do you know where it is?
Homura:  Huh?  No...
Madoka:  I'll take you there, then.  I'm the health officer for this class.  --Sorry, everyone, but Akemi-san has to go tot he nurse's office during recess to take her medicine.
Girl A:  Oh, really?  Sorry for keeping you.
Girl B:  Talk to you later, Akemi-san.
Due to Madoka's cheerful interruption, everyone leaves understandably.
Free from the attention, Homura feels more at ease.

===Hallway===
Madoka leads the way.  Glasses-Homura carefully follows behind.
Madoka:  Sorry about that.  They don't mean any harm... They're just excited because we don't get many transfer students.
Homura:  No, it's okay... Thank you very much.
Madoka's warm smile helps Homura to calm down.
Madoka:  My name is Kaname Madoka.  Call me Madoka.
Homura:  I...
Madoka:  It's fine, really.  Do you mind if I call you Homura-chan?
Homura:  ...
Having difficulty grasping her distance with madoka, glasses-Homura fidgets nervously.
Homura:  ... People don't call me by my first name very often...  It's a really weird name.
Madoka:  What?  That's not true.  It feels really exciting and cool.
Homura:  ... I guess I don't live up to my own name.
Madoka:  You shouldn't say that!  You already have such a wonderful name.  You should be cool to match it!
Homura:  ...
Madoka smiles innocently.  Glasses-Homura can't help but cringe and hung her head.

===Math Class===
Glasses-Homura stands in front of a problem on the blackboard.  Completely confounded, she sweats nervously.  The Math teacher wears a troubled expression.
Math Teacher:  Oh, you've been away from school, haven't you?  Why don't you ask a friend to let you copy their notes?

===PE===
Glasses-Homura sits at a corner of the field, her complexion pale, watching others competing in hurdle times vigorously.
The girls gossip noisily while peering over at Homura.
Girl C:  She got light-headed just from doing warm-ups?  That's pretty bad.
Girl B:  She's been bedridden for half a year.  It's no surprise.

===After School - Road Home===
Under the setting sun, glasses-Homura walks home alone dejected.  Her mind is filled with self-loathing and feelings of worthlessness.
Madoka's words flashes in her mind.
Madoka: (monologue) --You should be cool to match it!
Homura:  I can't do that.  I'm not good at anything.
Glasses-Homura keeps her eyes on her feet, completely oblivious to her surroundings.  Her mind loss in thought.
Homura:  All I ever do is make trouble for others and embarrass myself... Why?  Will I always be like this... forever?
From inside her dejected mind, an evil voice calls out faintly.
Witch:  (monologue) It'd be better if you just die right now, wouldn't it?
Homura:  (monologue)  Maybe it would.
Witch:  (monologue)  Yeah.  You should just die right now.
Homura:  (monologue)  I should just... die...
Glasses-Homura suddenly collect herself and realize her surroundings have changed completely.
She was a sunlit road home, yet she has somehow entered a Witch's Barrier.
Homura:  Wh-Where... am I?
The Witch's image approaches the frightened Homura from afar.
Homura:  What?  What is that?! NO!
Just before the Witch is about to attack glasses-Homura, a shining beam of light stops her.
A magic circle centers on Homura.  The Witch stops awkwardly.
Mami:  --That was a close one.
Madoka:  It's okay now, Homura-chan!
Mami and Madoka stands before glasses-Homura to protect her.
Homura:  Yo-You're...
Kyubey appears by the feet of confused glasses-Homura.
Kyubey:  They're magical girls.  They hunt witches.
Witch:   Ahhhhhh....
Promptly defeated, the Witch disappears.
The dazzling scene is mesmerizing to Homura.
Madoka:  <del>Our secret didn't last very long, huh? Don't tell anyone else in class, okay?</del>

===Mami Apartment===
Mami, Madoka, and Kyubey are having a tea party to celebrate the successful witch hunt.
The rescued Homura was invited as well.  Homura remains overwhelmed and timid in front of a slice of chiffon cake.
Homura:  Kaname-san... Do you always fight those things?
Mami:  Always...?  Well, Mami-san's the veteran here.  I actually just made my contract with Kyubey last week.
Mami:  But your performance today was a big improvement over before, Kaname-san.
Madoka smiles in embarrassment from Mami's compliment.
Homura remains confounded, glasses-Homura asks Madoka again.
Homura:  ...Isn't t dangerous?  You're not scared?
Madoka:  Well, it certainly is dangerous, and we do get scared.  But the more witches we defeat, the more people we can save.  So it's worth it, right?
Homura:  ....
Glasses-Homura watches Madoka in adoration.
Mami:  We need Kaname-san to become a full-fledged magical girl before the Walpurgisnacht gets here.

===A City Ablaze===
The City under the Walpurgisnacht's wrath.  A fire rages.
Madoka sits in front of Mami's body, who has fallen in battle.  Madoka prays silently with her hands clasped in front of her.  Glasses-Homura watches her in tears.
On the other side, the monsterous Walpurgisnacht continues to deliver destruction.
Madoka:  ... I'll be going, then.
Homura:  But... But Tomoe-san just died...
Madoka:  That's why I have to go.  I'm the only one left who can stop the Walpurgisnacht.
Homura:  But it's impossible!  Nobody can fight that thing alone!  You'll die too, Kaname-san!
Madoka:  I'm still a magical girl.  I have to protect everyone.
Homura:  Please... let's just run away.  There's nothing else we can do.  No one would ever blame you...
Madoka has already made up her mind.  She calmly tells Madoka.
Madoka:  Homura-chan, I'm really glad we became friends.  Even now, the fact that we made it in time to save you from that witch... is one of my proudest accomplishments.  So I'm glad I became a magical girl.  I don't regret it at all.
Homura:  ...Kaname-san...
Madoka:  Goodbye, Homura-chan.  Take care of yourself.
Madoka transforms.  She dashes towards the Walpurgisnacht.
Homura:  No!  Don't go, Kaname-san!

===The City Abandoned===
The city has been remade as concrete rubble by the Walpurgisnacht.  A rain pours.
Madoka's bloody corpse lies between the rubble.
Glasses-Homura kneels in front of her body, wailing amidst the rain.
Homura:  Why... You knew you were going to die.  I wish you could have lived... instead of saving someone like me...
Kyubey:  Do you truly mean those words, Akemi Homura?
Kyubey rests on top of a pile of rubble overlooking the crying glass-Homura.
Kyubey:  Would you be willing to trade your soul for that wish?  If there's something you want badly enough to commit yourself to a life of battle, then... I can be of help to you.
Glass-Homura turns her tear-soaked eyes towards Kyubey.
Homura:  ...If I make a contract with you, you can really grant any wish I want?
Homura:  I...
Homura removes her glasses to wipe her tears away.  She has made up her mind.  She stands with conviction.
Homura:  ... I want to redo my first encounter with Kaname-san.  But this time, instead of her protecting me, I want to become strong enough to protect her!
Immediately, an immense, paralyzing pain spreads throughout her body.
A Soul Gem floats out from Homura's chest, shining brilliantly.
Kyubey:  --The contract has been made.  You wish has prevailed over entropy.  Now, release your new power!
Homura:  ...
Homura grabs cautiously at the Soul Gem floating in front of her.
Then, time revert to the past.

===Night - Hospital===
Homura suddenly wakes up on the hopistal bed.
Homura:  ...Where am I?...
The hospital room she once called home.  A marker circles her discharge date on a calendar.
A small file rests on the bedside table.  On it reads "For transferring student... <u>Misakihara Middle School</u>."
Homura:  I'm... still in the hospital?
Homura sleepily rubs her eyes and notices the Soul Gem glowing in her hand.  She stares in amazement.
Homura:  ...It wasn't a dream...!?

===Morning - Classroom - (Parallel World - Past)===
Once again, the day when Homura transfer in.
Saotome:  Why don't you tell the class your name?
Homura:  I'm Akemi Homura.  Nice to meet you all!
Saotome is about to write Homura's name on the blackboard.
Saotome:  Akemi-san's been in hospital for some...
Glasses-Homura can wait no longer.  She rushes to Madoka's seat.  Smiling eagerly, she holds Madoka's hands in hers.
Homura:  Kaname-san!  I became a magical girl too!  So let's do our best together from now on!
Madoka:  Uh...
Madoka looks frantically around in panic and confusion.
Saotome and the other students are simply stunned.

===Riverside - Underneath a Overpass===
Madoka, Mami, and glasses-Homura gather by an otherwise empty riverside.  They faces an old oil drum.  Glasses-Homura holds a golf club nervously.
Homura:  Uh.. Here I go!
Glasses-Homura transforms as a magical girl.  She stops time using the hourglass on her shield.
With time frozen, glasses-Homura swing the golf club at the oil drum with all her might.  Her movements are clumsy, swinging empty several times, even falling once.
Time begins moving once more.  Homura tries to catch her breath.  The oil drum rolls in front of her.
Madoka:  What do you think, Mami-san?
Mami answers "Em," but in her mind is both surprise and confusion.
Mami:  Time magic, huh...?  It's pretty amazing, but you're not using it right.
Homura:  O-Okay...
Mami:  <u>First, no matter how many times you can strike, they're pointless if ineffective.  Rather than this club, you need more powerful weapons.</u>
Homura looks down at the now-twisted golf-club, hangs her head in dejection.
Mami:  <u>Also, even though no one else touched it, why is the drum in a different position?</u>
Homura:  <u>It's because... time-stop cancels for anything I touches, so the oil drum moves whenever I hit it.</u>
Mami:  <u>This would give your opponent a chance to counterattack.  You need an attack method that doesn't require contact with the enemy during time-stop.</u>
Homura:  <u>I... I understand...</u>

===Homura Room===
A cozy bedroom for one.  It isn't a complete mess yet.
Various tools lay out on the desk.  Glasses-Homura stares attentively at her laptop.  With full focus, she diligently build a pipe bomb.  The webpage is ''[[wikipedia:Hara_Hara_Tokei|Hara Hara Tokei]]''.

===Witch Barrier===
Madoka, Mami, and glasses-Homura working together against a Witch.
First, Mami uses binding magic to constraint the Witch.
Madoka takes the opportunity to fire an arrow at the Witch.
Glasses-Homura stops time, then nervously place a bomb under the Witch's feet and runs.
A huge explosion after time resumes, the Witch disappears with a cry.
Homura:  I did it...? I did it!
Madoka:  That was amazing, Homura-chan!
Mami:  Well done.
The three magical girls cheer for their shared victory.  An abandoned factory reappears as the Barrier dissipates.  A Grief Seed rolls on the floor.

===Episode 10 Draft 0 Investigation===

---This episode is about Homura's past.  To prevent Madoka's death, Homura repeatedly gone back in time.  This episode compiles together the events of quite a few timelines.  Making that work must been difficult?
Gen:  I was only concerned with minimizing the number of timelines when it comes to script length, but that's not only it.  Content wise, I had a really hard time deciding which part can be cut.  "Ah, I finished!."  Then I thought, "Is this too hard to make?"  Yet, a script like this actually got accepted!  I am really impressed by the various staffs over at [[Shaft]].

---Exactly how many timelines has Homura gone though?  Has this been set?
Perhaps she lost count, perhaps not that many.  However, if she has went through a few thousand times and failed, wouldn't people think "she must be an idiot"?  So this number of times feels about right.

---Portions of Mami's special training for Homura were cut from Draft 0.
Gen:  That's right.  A long time since Mami lecture scene.  Even though I want to show everyone this scene, but this is no longer Mami's story.  A special training with a golf club, Mami is particularly Sparta.  If Homura knew this person can be that scary, Homura might have avoided Mami (laughs).  There have been many interesting theories about Mami.  Like "she wasn't fully inducing Madoka to become magical girls, how much did she know" and such.