“Well, let me continue my story and you’ll see what I mean. This alternate world was strange, all of Guertena’s creations came to life, but most of them were monstrous, bent on seeing me dead. And in that world, our life was bound to a rose, if all the petals fell off, we would rot away to, like a soul gem would if it darkened all the way.

After travelling alone for who knows how long, with time freezing in that place, I met a man named Garry…” Ib’s tone grew sad at the mention of Garry, taking a bite of cheesecake before she continued. “After I got his rose back from one of the paintings, we continued on together and we grew close really quick.”

“There must have been powerful magic at work here. Strange that it wasn’t the work of a witch.”

“Well, if I’m going to tell you that, you need to hear my story first. You see, about four years ago now, shortly after my ninth birthday, my parents took me to an art gallery with the works from a man called Guertena. There was one piece in that place called the Fabricated World and when I looked at it…well, I ended up in what boils down to a witch’s barrier, but at the same time not.”

Ib paused for a moment, taking a sip of her tea as she waited to see if the other had any questions for her before she continued.

“I’m not familiar. What do you mean, ‘a witch’s barrier but not’?”

“…Well, for me it’s not so much better chosen, but…well it’s complicated.” Ib took a bit out of her cheesecake after listening to Bebe reply to her answer, finding it to be pretty good. She took another bite as she listened to the next question. “Death…no, I’ve seen people die, really close friends die right before my eyes…no, the pain isn’t what I’m afraid of…it’s what it means for my wish…”

“Do you mind letting me know what you wished for? I understand wishes are a personal matter for lots of us, so you don’t have to.” She held up her fork with a piece of cake on it. “For my part, I used to have a lot of food allergies. Lactose-intolerant, gluten-intolerant, all kinds of stuff. My diet was severely restricted. I spent my wish to be able to eat whatever I wanted - like cheesecake!”

Ib watched as Bebe boiled the tea and sat it down on the table, before taking a seat, letting the aroma fill her nostrils. She looked at the other a bit seriously, before sadness that came over her face. “…I’m glad I was able to make my wish, but if things had just been a bit different…I could have made a better wish…”

“That’s very common. Most Puella Magi realize too late how they could have better chosen their wishes. I never regretted mine, but circumstances still lead to terrible things happening,” she said, speaking between bites. “Are you afraid of death, Ib-sama? Every Puella Magi is bound to it sooner or later. It’s the real price of our wishes.”

Ib just nodded at the other’s explanation on how she ate so many cakes, before observing the soul gem the other had. So, she was a magical girl as well, curious. Though what would one so young would have wished for? “No I’m not allergic to anything and any tea is fine, I drink most flavors.”

“Alright, I’ll just go with green tea, then.”

When the water boiled, she poured it over the leaves in the cups and set them down on  glass table, similar to Mami’s but rounded instead of triangular. She placed two plates loaded with a slice of each cake on them beside the cups. She waited for Ib to be seated before she did the same.

“Was your wish worth the life you live now?” she asked.

Ib gave a small smile at the other, trying to figure out which she preferred. Both Nagisa and Bebe were unique, but one seemed to just stick in her head more. Following the young girl to an apartment, she assumed that her parents might have been out.

Her mouth gaped open at the sight of the cheesecakes however, letting her ring show off when she had been trying to hide it. “…Y-yeah…Bebe, how do you eat so many of those by yourself?”

“I have a big appetite,” she explained shortly.

She turned to Ib and held up her own ring finger with a proud smile. Her orange Soul Gem glowed for a moment to draw attention to it.

“Oh, you’re not allergic to anything, right?” she asked, continuing their conversation without missing a beat. “And do you have a preference for the tea?”

Ib just chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly at the other’s shock. “Sounds like fun…oh, I don’t think I ever got your name. I’m Ib, nice to meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ib-sama. My name is Nagisa Momoe, but some call me Bebe. Come on, I’ll show you the way.”

Nagisa took Ib along to her apartment, conveniently located right next to Mami’s own room. She let the girl in and went to the fridge to pull out three cheesecakes of different flavors. They were not, in fact, small. They were in standard pans. Even one would be way more than a 70-pound girl should be able to eat. She set the kettle to boil while she sliced the cakes into six pieces each.

“I like your ring,” she said. “You got it from a friend, right?”

“Anything’s fine, I’ve actually never had cheesecake before…” Truthfully, she hadn’t much of a sweet tooth for a couple of years now, but who knows, maybe the cheesecakes would be that good.

“You’ve never had cheesecake?” she exclaimed, shock apparent. “Ok, that settles it, you have to come to my apartment and try all of them! It’s the best dessert ever! I’ll put on tea, too!”

“That…is a lot of cheesecakes, how could you even eat that many at once?” ib blinked at the other, wondering if these were small or large. “I wouldn’t mind have one though…”

“Sure thing! Do you prefer turtle, strawberry, or chocolate?” She decided to just gloss over the question of how it was physically possible for her to eat fifteen cheesecakes.

“Well, I mean, she’s already abducted me and shot me. How much more can this possibly deteriorate, right?” She shrugged.

“I have Mami-san in on the plan, at least. Well, portions of it. As much as I was comfortable explaining to her. And you spoke to Homura-san, right? I’m going to try and get information from the Incubators regarding possible flaws in the system, ones we could exploit. As far as I know, they still regard me as merely an eccentric pet.”

Nagisa whined and gave Momo the bottle. On the label, it said... “Coca-Cola”. No, she was not drunk. This was not even remotely alcohol. She’s just very sleep-deprived and disoriented right now.