History Fanfic / TheUnlikelyAlly

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. Similarly, one of the things that made ''VisualNovel/SayaNoUta'' so depressing was the humans having seemingly no chance against a powerful entity from outer space.

'''Kyubey''': That's not a very nice thing to say. [[NoYou From my perspective, you are the ones who're dangerously unhinged.]] And yet here I am devoting my time to giving you all the benefits of becoming Magical Girls.

* NiceGuy: Key, as a result of becoming an individual who can feel emotions and empathize with others, proves himself to be kind-hearted and friendly when interacting with others. He wishes to atone for his actions as an Incubator drone, seeks to save every Magical Girl that has turned into a Witch, and actually goes out of his way to try and warn Mami, Madoka, and Sayaka about Kyubey as soon as possible, even when Homura is against it. In contrast to Kyubey's [[FauxAffablyEvil superficial politeness]], Key's cordial and kind personality is genuine because of his emotions making him act more 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. [[spoiler: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.]]

* BrownNote: [[spoiler:Just like in the source material, Saya's appearance inflicts this on people who see her, though it's less severe on Key and Magical Girls who have been mentally hardened by their experiences in the Witch's Labyrinth. Kyubey explains that this is because she isn't native to their reality and has entered it in a way her universe's laws of physics still apply to her. Key can provide mental support to people on his PsychicLink to keep them from going insane from this trope.]]

* CutenessOverload: [[spoiler:Lauren]] reacts this way when Key makes himself visible to her, leading Key to awkwardly thank her. Lauren regains her composure when she remembers she has company.

* HurtingHero: The Canon Examples apply here, but Key is shown to be deeply regretful and troubled by his past as an Incubator Drone. The girls, especially Madoka, Nagisa, and Mami, can tell that Key is holding a lot of emotional baggage and try to help him work through his issues and reassure him that he's nothing like Kyubey.

* 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 a while.

* EasilyCondemned: Because of Homura's cynicism, [[spoiler:she is quick to assume that Key, Mami, and Nagisa have abandoned her in the woods, not knowing that the three can't see her and Key's telepathy is being messed up by Slender Man's presence and he can't contact anyone unless their close by]].

* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler:When Key reveals to Mami that he was the Incubator Drone that turned her into a Magical Girl and that he wanted to make amends for taking advantage of her, Mami just hugs Key and thanks him for coming back and helping her. Madoka, Sayaka, and Nagisa all eagerly share the same sentiment with Key and don't hold his past actions against him. Justified, since as far as they're concerned, Key is an entirely different person from Kyubey after he gained emotions and his own individual personality, and his act of saving Mami and Nagisa are all the proof they need.]]
* FirstTimeFeeling: Key becomes overwhelmed when he gains emotions for the first time, which leads him to start noticing everything in his surroundings that Kyubey would have ignored due to it not being relevant to his mission. Key notes it felt like he was sleepwalking his entire life and he only just woke up.

* MoveInTheFrozenTime: In chapter 16 [[spoiler:Marethil]] [[NoSell no-sell's]] Homura's ability to stop time with seemingly no effort at all. [[spoiler: He]] explains it as him being in-tune and sensitive to fundamental forces of the universe. This unnerves Homura greatly, though [[spoiler: Marethil]] professes no ill will towards Homura, it's another in a long list of weird things weighing on the girl's mind.

* {{Protectorate}}: Aside from Madoka for Homura, Key appears to view those close to him as this.
* Shout-Out: In chapter 8 during a conversation, Kyoko has trouble remembering Kirika's name and mentally calls her [[Literature/SwordArtOnline 'Kirito.']]

* {{Protectorate}}: Aside from Madoka for Homura, Key appears to view those close to him as this.

* MoveInFrozenTime: In chapter 16 [[spoiler:Marethil]] [[NoSell no-sell's]] Homura's ability to stop time with seemingly no effort at all. [[spoiler: He]] explains it as him being in-tune and sensitive to fundamental forces of the universe. This unnerves Homura greatly, though [[spoiler: Marethil]] professes no ill will towards Homura, it's another in a long list of weird things weighing on the girl's mind.

* AwfulTruth: Discussed in-universe as Key wants to tell the other characters the fate of Magical Girls as soon as possible to better prepare them. Homura however, having tried this tactic already and having it fail, is less enthusiastic.

** Saya is a partial example as she definitely is rather otherworldly, but seems to have become more humanlike as time went on.

* DealWithTheDevil: Key refuses to make contracts anymore to avoid unintentionally doing this.

* FirstTimeFeeling: [[spoiler:Key becomes overwhelmed when he gains emotions for the first time, which leads him to start noticing everything in his surroundings that Kyubey would have ignored due to it not being relevant to his mission. Key notes it felt like he was sleepwalking his entire life and he only just woke up.]]

* FreakOut: Mami's canon one to finding out the truth behind Witches is a big motivator for Homura to keep the other girls in the dark, something she enforces on Key. She only agrees to tell them when it seems that there might be some mitigating factors to prevent it. Even then, she's shown to be ready at a moment's notice to stop Mami if she displays any sign of trying to Mercy Kill the others.

* HeelRealization: When Key gains emotions for the first time and becomes an individual capable of feeling empathy, Key can only react with horror and shame now that he finally understands the pain that humans go through because of the Incubators. It takes some encouragement from Marethil for Key to decide to work on atonement.

* HiveMind: The Incubators as confirmed by Canon WordOfGod are explicitly show to be a Hive-Minded race. Specifically, Kyubey is shown to be the only individual consciousness in their entire race.

* HurtingHero: The Canon Examples apply here, but Key is shown to be deeply regretful and troubled by his past as [[spoiler:an Incubator Drone.]]

* IntriguedByHumanity: After gaining emotions and individuality, Key starts see humans as amazing beings, which leads him to seek to help humanity to atone for his actions as an Incubator Drone. Key also shows a great interest in human entertainment, which leads him to watch movies with Nagisa during his free time.

* MustMakeAmends: [[spoiler: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.]]

* NotSoSimilar: [[spoiler:When Ryoko finally reunites with Yui following Key purifying her Grief Seed, Homura thought their relationship is similar to her relationship with Madoka, since they both worked so hard to save them from their fate. However, Homura is shocked when Ryoko explains that Yui has decided to pass on, calling her out on giving up on her best friend. Ryoko explains that she isn't giving up; she wanted to save Yui from her state, and she has with the girls and Key's help. She's not going to force her to stay in the Land of the Living because she wants her to, she's going to respect her choice as a friend since she's made peace with what happened to Yui years ago.]]

** A one-sided example between Key and Homura. Key is sincere about wanting to help Homura and also wants to be her friend, but Homura doesn't quite trust him because he's an Incubator, even if he has gained his own personality. When Homura starts keeping her distance from Key [[spoiler:after learning he may become a bigger threat than Walpurisnact]], Key can only feel upset and hurt about Homura giving him the cold shoulder for reasons he doesn't know.

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