History Fanfic / TheUnlikelyAlly

** Also with [[spoiler:Saya}} to a lesser extent. Internal monologue shows that she is definitely more on the Eldritch side of EldritchAbomination but that her exposure to the humans she cares about has affected her. Mostly it extends to her caring for those people, but she also has some encouraging thoughts about the value of humans overall. Also discussed as [[spoiler:Dr Ogai]] felt torn on how she cares about him, with a part of him feeling like he 'ruined' her.

* BigBad: Kyubey is in full form as the manipulative little weasel he was in canon.

* KillerRabbit: While Kyubey was deadly in how he made lopsided deals and psychologically tortured the main characters, Key is more traditionally powerful. He actually takes part in fighting Witches and seems to have a certain amount of ability to manipulate energy.

* MeaningfulName: Key's name as it turns out. [[spoiler:He wants to be the Key to Kyubey's defeat, and thus chose the appropriate name.]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Incubator Drone that would become Key gains emotions for the first time, he is overcome with horror and remorse when he finally understands the pain he had put girls through by turning them into Magical Girls and condemning them to become Witches. [[spoiler:This has led Key to turn the girl he drained the despair out of back into a normal girl so she won't have to turn into a Witch. This event, along with Marethil's encouragement, has led Key to become TheAtoner by seeking to save as many Magical Girls and Witches from their torment as possible, as well as refuse to make more Magical Girls.]]

** Ryoko Tanbo reveals that she can see Key as well, a revelation that shocks Key, though he quickly realizes that Ryoko must be a [[spoiler:Magical Girl Candidate]].

* CooldownHug: Downplayed. [[spoiler:Nagisa]] is saddened by the death of her mother and misses her very much. When Madoka notices that Nagisa is starting to cry and the latter tries to hide it, Madoka gives her a soft hug to comfort her.

* CooldownHug: Downplayed. Nagisa is saddened by the death of her mother and misses her very much. When Madoka notices that Nagisa is starting to cry and the latter tries to hide it, Madoka gives her a soft hug to comfort her.

** Ryoko Tanbo reveals that she can see Key as well, Key is shocked by this, but quickly realizes that Ryoko must be a [[spoiler:Magical Girl Candidate]].

* HeroesGoneFishing: When Key is asked to watch over Nagisa, the two of them usually watch movies together, partially because Key has also gained an interest in human entertainment.

* HumanityIsInfectious: A literal example ends up contributing to Key's origin. Key, back when he was an emotionless drone following Kyubey's will, drains the negativity out of a Magical Girl about to turn into a Witch just so he can convince her friends to make contracts with him. This ends up leading the drone to gain emotions and true individuality for the first time, and thus allowing the drone to become more human in personality.

* KillerRabbit: While Kyubey was deadly in how he made lopsided deals and Psychologically tortured the main characters, Key is more traditionally powerful. He actually takes part in fighting Witches and seems to have a certain amount of ability to manipulate energy.

* MadeOfIron: Key offhandedly mentions that he modified his body to be this so he doesn't get torn to shreds whenever he fights.

* MustMakeAmends: Key recognizes Mami as one of the girls he made a contract with back when he was an emotionless drone. This is one of the reasons he tries to warn Mami about Kyubey and the Magical Girl as he wants to make things right between himself and Mami, regretting how he took advantage of her back then.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When the Incubator Drone that would become Key gains emotions for the first time, he is overcome with horror and remorse when he finally understands the pain he had put girls through by turning them into Magical Girls and condemning them to become Witches. This has led Key to turn the girl he drained the despair out of back into a normal girl so she won't have to turn into a Witch. This event, along with Marethil's encouragement, has led Key to become TheAtoner by seeking to save as many Magical Girls and Witches from their torment as possible, as well as refuse to make more Magical Girls.

* NotInFrontOfTheKid: A RunningGag has Sayaka and Kyoko having to censor their words in front of Nagisa and Yuma respectively whenever they were about to swear. This is humorously lampshaded when Kyoko is horrified to realize she spent so much time with Yuma that she stopped swearing.

* YouCanSeeMe: The Incubator Drone that would become Key expresses shock when a seemingly homeless man actually starts talking to him and reveals that he's aware of his presence, since only Magical Girls, or girls with the potential to become one, can see him normally. This ends up tipping off Key that man standing before isn't actually human.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Key first hears Homura mutter Mami's name, he almost stumbles on his feet. He also bears a shocked look on his face to see Mami herself, goes out of his way to save her in the fight against Gertrude despite Homura's orders to stand back unless it's necessary, and tries to warn Mami about Kyubey as soon as possible, even when Homura tells him she's a lost cause. It turns out that Key was the Incubator Drone that made a contract with Mami after she got into a car crash, and even though his connection to Kyubey's HiveMind is severed, he still bears memories of what he personally experienced (including the girls he contracted with) and he wanted to help Mami to make amends for taking advantage of her and turning her into a Magical Girl.

** [[spoiler:Key]] does the same to Mami later on in the Chapter when she [[spoiler:almost gives into despair after learning the source of Witches]].
* YouCanSeemMe: The Incubator Drone that would become Key expresses shock when a seemingly homeless man actually starts talking to him and reveals that he's aware of his presence, since only Magical Girls, or girls with the potential to become one, can see him normally. This ends up tipping off Key that man standing before isn't actually human.

* NotInFrontOfTheKid: While the girls are watching Madoka and Sayaka's first meeting with Kyubey from Key's memory, Madoka feels hurt at seeing herself get manipulated so easily by Kyubey, so Sayaka tries to cheer up with what comes next:
-->'''Sayaka''': Hey, this is the part where I kicked Homura's a-\\
''[Sayaka quickly stops herself when she glances down and remembers Nagisa is present]''\\
'''Sayaka''': Where I totally owned Homura!

** [[spoiler:Key]] does the same to Mami later on in the Chapter when she [[spoiler:almost gives into despair after learning the source of Witches]].

* BeingGoodSucks: Just because things are more hopeful in this story does not mean that it’s going to smooth sailing for the characters.

* TheAtoner: Key seeks to atone for his actions as an Incubator drone by preventing girls from turning into Witches and purifying the existing Witches and free them from their torment.

One of the aspects of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' that made it so bleak is that the characters were all on their own, and it becomes increasingly apparent that their sponsor for being Magical Girls actually cares very little for their well-being.

The Unlikely Ally is a fanfiction that asks: what if one of the Drones/bodies in Kyubey's HiveMind broke away and decided to actively help the main characters? Originally, it was as straightforward as that. However, as the story goes on, things start happening that hint at a greater mystery and scope to the conflict than originally thought.

** Also possibly with Homura as she likely has wanted for a awhile for some element to give her an advantage and break the time loop. Key is near perfectly suited for this given his abilities and knowledge of Kyubey and Magical Girls in general. The main thing is, he's still and Incubator, the same kind of creature that is the source of all the suffering that she's endured. It's a bit of a bitter pill to swallow.

* DramaticIrony: Kyubey spends his tenure when the girl's still trust him telling Mami, Madoka, and Sayaka that Key is mentally unstable and in need of treatment. As per Kyubey, he's not lying from his own perspective. He does succeed in coloring the girl's views of Homura and Key for awhile.

* TheMentor: Ryoko Tanbo, at times, gives some much needed comfort and advice to Mami. She seems to empathize a bit with how Mami feels pressured to always have a handle on things when they're dealing with Eldritch Abominations.

* PaintingTheMedium: When a character’s voice is supposed to sound alien and Eldritch, the author will often bold the words and change random letters to capitals to reflect this. [=SomEThInG liKE tHis=].

* CryCute: Used liberally in Chapter 4. Also, in Key's case, it is noted that he didn't physically have tear ducts before, so his ability to cry is an In-Universe mystery.

* RogueDrone: Played With. The Incubators are less Hive Mind in the sense of "many minds fused together" and more "one mind, many bodies." Key's flashback does note that there is some autonomy when Kyubey is more focused on directly piloting specific bodies over others, but it's likened more to robots with extremely detailed and sophisticated programming than actual living creatures. Key qualifies for this by default as he has managed to gain his own personality and sapience outside of Kyubey's control. On the whole, mostly due to gaining a conscience along with individuality, he VASTLY prefers life outside of Kyubey's control.

* LeonineContract: As it turns out, it was one of these turning out in an unexpected way that gave Key the ability to feel emotion.

* {{Crossover}}: [[spoiler:Saya and Fuminori]] from [[spoiler:VisualNovel/SayaNoUta]] briefly appear in Chapter 3.
* CryCute Used liberally in Chapter 4. Also, in Key's case, it is noted that he didn't physically have tear ducts before, so his ability to cry is an In-Universe mystery.

One of the aspects of ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica]]'' that made it so bleak is that the characters were all on their own, and it becomes increasingly apparent that their sponsor for being Magical Girls actually cares very little for their well-being.