So, this is collaboration effort with Erebus Kioku, featuring his/her "50 Shades of Pink" story and my very own "When Humanity Dies" fiction in a crossover of sorts. Hopefully, it doesn't suck.
I should probably mention, as Erebus states in his/her original "50 Shades" story, that neither of us condone some of the types of relationships that will be shown here. Personally, I disapprove of most of them seen here, but hey. Solid ideas have value to me.
"Why are you writing it, then? That sounds hypocritical."
Because… I mean… Shut up, it's our story. We'll do as we please.
Hope you all enjoy it!
Walking through Mitakihara Central Park, Madoka took a deep breath of the fresh afternoon air and smiled. Staring into the cloudless cyan sky, she chuckled at how much had changed since that whole "Rebellion Incident". While that whole sordid affair was definitely a nuisance, she did have to be thankful for a things that it caused, such as having all her friends resurrected, her Goddess responsibilities diminished to a more manageable level, and allowing her to live normally for a little while longer.
"All thanks to my demon of a girlfriend, Homura Akemi," she mused, "Who knew she'd be such a crybaby, though?"
She smiled gently. Homura really was a dear soul to her. The life of the girl who formed a new reality just for her really was precious indeed. Surely, a life that travelled through time countless times all for her was something beyond special, even if she didn't bother to remember many of those timelines anyway. Her smile twisted cruelly. She absolutely reveled in the enjoyment of ruling that life completely.
"In fact," brushing off her white skirt and pink-plaid flannel shirt, she chuckled as she slung her backpack over her shoulder, "I might as well stop by her house on my way home. Let's see what I can wring out of her today. She did miss St. Patrick's Day after all, and she KNOWS how much I LOVE St. Patrick's Day!"
With that thought lingering in her mind's eye, she left the park and began her journey to her lover's home. As she walked, various ideas of what she should coerce Homura to do for her surfaced and swirled in her head. However, with her thoughts progressing as she walked, her smile slowly fell to a scowl as one nagging statement writhed throughout each idea:
"...This world is dull," she moaned, then crossed her arms and huffed, "I mean, nothing's ACTUALLY happened since the whole 'Manatee Incident', and then, before that, it was just the 'Rebellion' Fiasco!" She lifted an open hand and reached into sky-which began to fill with grey clouds-and stated apathetically, "It's all just… just… boring!"
Then, her smile appeared once again, "Maybe we could visit one of those timelines I forgot about. We're technically both concepts who exist outside of the mortal coil that is time and space, so who says we can't? I'm pretty sure she still has command over time, too," She shrugged, "Although... I did remember dying in most of them, but I'm sure we could work around that little detail," she smirked at her plan, "Yeah, that's what we'll do. It'll be fun!"
Enjoying the concept of her idea, she hadn't realized how soon she had arrived at Homura home until she stood at the bottom of her girlfriend's stairwell. Without delay, Madoka quickly hopped up the stairs and rhythmically rapped the door with her knuckles.
She then heard the demon growling from the inside, "Son of a… I swear if it's that MONGREL, Miki Sayaka…" The pinkette then overheard a loud thump, followed by a bouncing sound and Homura cursing, "PIECE OF… BLOODY CHAIR…!"
Madoka chuckled at her friend's pain, knowing she had once again kicked into the ever-stationery chair in her foyer.
Homura quickly opened the door, a scowl plastered on her lips. That scowl melted immediately when she discovered who stood at the door. She gasped, "...M-Madoka!"
Without even acknowledging her greeting, Madoka stepped into the home and commented, "You really should stop kicking into that chair, Homura-chan. You'll break a toe."
The raven-haired girl stuttered and grabbed the upper-arm of her white, long-sleeved shirt, face flushing with embarrassment, "W-Well, I-I… Um…
Madoka then frowned as she stared at the plain, white room, furnished only by small couches in the shape of a clock and a television set, "You should also get better furniture. It's too plain for me."
The demon muttered as she kept her gaze to the ground, "Well, you see… I'm still looking, and I'm having troubles deciding on whether is should be leather or fabric, or how much I wish to spend and-"
"Leather," Madoka interrupted, still scowling at the interior, "I like leather. And none of that cheap junk."
Homura gasped, "O-Oh, okay…"
"Anywho, not what I came here for," Madoka turned, crossed her arms around her back and smiled innocently. Batting her eyelashes, she requested, "You know, you missed St. Patrick's day."
Homura's eyes grew wide in fear as breathed in deeply and pursed her lips.
The pinkette continued, "As such, I want you to do something for me."
"A-Anything," the girl quickly nodded.
"I want to go back a revisit one of our forgotten timelines."
"W-What?!" The demon gasped, then shook her head and denied with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Impossible. I may control time and space, but I won't allow it."
With click of her tongue, the pinkette glowered and stepped toward her menacingly, "Are you denying me of what I want? Because I'm sure you remember what happened the last time you denied my request."
Homura gulped. She still had troubles acquiring a taste for anything since the last time, and her throat was still numb. So much hot sauce…
She stuttered, subtly trying to deter the idea, "W-While it's true that I do not recall a few of my timelines, one fact is that I always remember is that you died at the end of each... Until that last one that is…"
Madoka shrugged, "Yeah, I just kinda figured we'd come back before all that happened."
"But…" she tried to protest, only to receive an unrelenting glare from the pinkette, "I… I suppose that's not too horrible of an idea…" the demon begrudgingly gave in as she idly tapped her single black, misshapen earing. Her shoulders slumped as she sighed in defeat, "...I'll go make a list of all the timelines that I don't remember well."
As Homura walked away to find paper and a pencil, Madoka clapped her hands together and smiled, "Good! I'm glad we got that worked out."
The two walked over to the nearest table and the raven-haired girl started scrawling out timeline numbers in a vertical column. After a few minutes of writing, she motioned for the pinkette to look, "Here."
Looking over the list, Madoka scowled the illiterate scribbles on the paper, "Your handwriting's trash, Homura-chan," she clicked her tongue and sighed, "That's gonna be a ten-point deductible…"
The pinkette smirked slightly as she noticed the demon grimace. Then, she pointed randomly to the middle of the list and stated confidently, "This one."
Homura leaned in to see what one she had chosen and commented, "Timeline 83, then?"
Madoka shrugged, "It's as good as any, I suppose," she furrowed her brow and mumbled, "Can't exactly read any of it, regardless…"
"Okay," the demon nodded. Then, a lustful grin stretched across her face. She stepped behind the pinkette and wrapped her arms around her waist.
Madoka scowled, "I didn't give you permission to touch me like that."
Homura frowned and stuttered plaintively, "B-But you said you wished to time-travel…"
"...Fine," The pinkette huffed, "But you'll have to be punished later."
"B-But…" The demon grimaced and moaned, "Yes, Mistress…"
Before starting her magic, she began cackling maniacally, "...hahahahAHAHAHAHAHAH! HAHAHAHAHAHAA-"
"Don't do that," Madoka commanded.
Homura immediately stopped and gulped, "Yes, ma'am," then focused her magic, and they exploded in a burst of blinding white light.
As Homura's vision returned, she doubled-over as a wave of nausea and vertigo smacked her like Madoka would've, only slightly less painful. She moaned, "I remember that feeling now… I've always hated it…"
Shaking away her time-traveling sickness, she realized that she stood in the backyard of a suburban home, under a treehouse specifically. She scowled as she noticed the overgrown grass, "Lazy mongrels… How dare they keep the world I created for them so unkempt?!"
Then, another realization struck her as she watched the sun starting to fade beyond the horizon. She stood alone in the suburban backyard. She gasped and called anxiously, "Madoka? Madoka?!" She moaned as she rubbed her temples, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "My punishment is going to be so severe…"
"Homura!" The pinkette in question called as she dashed out from the back door of the home.
"Madoka!" The demon exclaimed, quickly wiping away the oncoming tears before her friend could see them.
"Homura!" Madoka slowed as she approached, breathing a sigh of relief, "I'm so glad you're okay! I was really worried when we got separated…"
Homura furrowed her brow, slightly shocked, "You were… worried?"
Oh Madoka, you love me so much no matter how strictly you train me! she simpered to herself.
Furrowing her own brow, the pinkette nodded, "Of course," glancing around anxiously, she nodded, "Quick, in the treehouse. It's not safe to rest here."
The demon's spine tensed up, "Yes, ma'am."
She dashed to the ladder leading up to the fort and waited at the base, following her Mistress's orders that she was never allowed to go first anywhere. As she waited, she noticed that Madoka left hand was gone, replaced by a leather-metal cast mechanism. She gasped, "Madoka, what happened to your hand?!"
Standing and staring in mild shock, the pinkette questioned, "...Ma'am? What's gotten into you, Homura?" she shook her head and answered her question, holding up a bleeding right hand, "I sliced it while climbing up the chain fence as we were running from the Walkers… We got separated immediately after that, so I didn't get to tell you..."
Homura wanted to correct her and ask about her left hand, but she recalled what the consequences were for back talking. Thus, she refrained. Her thighs were still sore from the time Madoka had stretched her leg almost 180 degrees above her head in a ballet position for nearly an hour, arms held artistically outward, as was natural for the pose. She was just thankful that she hadn't popped a hamstring at the time.
Instead, she asked, "A-Are you okay?"
Stepping towards the tree, Madoka gazed at her grimy, bleeding hand and moaned slightly, "Not really, it hurts quite a bit…" she grimaced as she placed her the hand on the first rung of the ladder, "But it can't be helped. After we rest for a bit, I'll have it treated when we get back to the group."
Group? Homura furrowed her brow in confusion, She had time to meet up with Tomoe Mami, Sakura Kyoko and the mongrel before I even got here? She chuckled, Who am I kidding? I suppose it's only natural. My wonderful mistress is so powerful, there's scarcely anything in this universe beyond her abilities! That's just how my dear Madoka is!
As Madoka slowly ascended the ladder, the demon caught a glimpse under her skirt and grinned lewdly. Unfortunately for her, hearing her girlfriend painfully grimace after each monotonous step up the ladder did not allow her any enjoyment of the sight. With a sigh, she charged her magic and leaped, grabbing the pinkette in her arms-who gasped in shock-and landed in the treehouse, ducking so as to not hit the ceiling of the fort most certainly built for a small child.
After being gently set on her feet, Madoka crossed her wounded hand across her stomach, slowly staggering and sitting down in the nearest corner. She frowned and chastised gently, "You shouldn't have wasted magic doing that. I was climbing just fine."
Homura grimaced as she sat across from her, waiting for the exclamation of some new form of punishment. But it never came.
Instead, a small smile appeared on Madoka's face as she supported her hand with her cast, "...I appreciate it though," she muttered as she stared forlornly into her lap, "We've all been through enough pain. There's no sense in forcing anymore on myself, I guess…"
What? the demon blinked, She's… not mad?
Breathing a sigh of relief, Homura recoiled; Madoka smelled absolutely putrid, like she hadn't bathed in in weeks. Then, she took in the smell with another deep breath and smiled pervertedly. Any scent Madoka produced was a sweet aroma to her senses.
However, as she examined the pinkette further-for more or less unwholesome purposes-she discovered a holster equipped with a Colt Python Revolver attached to her right thigh. She flinched as she thought about what manner of punishments the pinkette might carry out with a weapon such as that.
Then, something worse caught her attention. She noticed Madoka's pink, flannel shirt was riddled with holes and bloodstains right in the chest, revealing small patches of her undergarments. Admittedly, she might even had been aroused slightly, had the undergarments not also been crimson with gore.
Homura bit her lip. She wanted to ask, but also knew the consequences for speaking out of line. She decided to chance it, "M-Madoka, w-what happened to your chest?"
"Hmm?" The pinkette furrowed her brow, dropping her gaze to her torso. Seeing the ragged shirt, her eyes softened, "Oh, this. I forgot, you were out hunting at the campsite when it happened. I just assumed Dad had told you."
Huh? Homura's eyes narrowed in confusion once again, What's Mr. Kaname doing here? He's never around when the group's together…
Her thought process was cut short as the pinkette continued, donning a grim expression, "As I said, we were at the campsite in the woods, when a friend of Tomoya's stumbled on the clearing where we had set up,"
...Who's Tomoya? Homura sighed as she rubbed her temples, How long has she been here? More so, I remember nothing of this timeline... Of course, that's what Madoka wanted after all… I suppose I should just sit and listen.
"...And then, two men that Izumi was traveling with appeared from the forest. One of them seems to be a nice man so far, but the other one…" She gulped and hesitated, "I don't think I've seen so much hatred and malice in someone's eyes before…" she mumbled without taking her eyes off of her lap, "Then, he pulled a gun on us and shot me repeatedly…"
Homura gasped in burning ire, "WHAT?! WHERE IS HE?! I'll tear apart any mongrel who tries to hurt you!" She quickly shot to her feet, yet forgetting that the ceiling was so low, causing her to bash her skull against the roof. She grimaced and started rubbing the painful knot forming on her head, "Ow…"
Madoka couldn't help but giggle slightly, but seeing her friend rubbing her cranium rather pathetically, she quickly shook her head, "I-I'm sorry, that was rude of me…"
...W-What? the demon stood slack-jawed and dumbfounded, She's… apologizing?
However, the pinkette didn't notice Homura's dumb expression as shadows covered her eyes. She continued in a low voice, "...I killed him."
"...Oh," Homura blinked as she commented in a state of shock. Madoka had done some horrible things to her in their time together, but…
The pinkette continued without making eye contact, "He threatened the group and my Dad. I won't stand for anyone threatening my family… He didn't realize I was a Magical Girl and his bullets weren't doing anything, so I shot him in the head," she paused, then glared viciously at the demon, "...If anyone gets in the way of me and my family, they're going to lose," a small smile cracked her serious expression as she stated calmly, "We've talked about this; that goes for you too, Homura."
With eyes wide, back pressed against the wall and heart racing fearfully, the raven-haired girl stuttered as she sat down again, never taking her eyes off of the pinkette, "O-O-Oh… A-Alright…"
Madoka tilted her head, "What happened to your braids and glasses? I thought they were cute…"
Homura gasped slightly, She never told me that she liked my braids, and I haven't worn them in such a long time… she grimaced, And now she expects an answer... I'll have to come up with something…
She stuttered, trying not to make eye contact, "W-Well, w-when we were s-seperated, and… you know, we were r-running, of course… And… Um…"
"I think I understand…" Madoka's gaze fell to her lap as she interrupted, "They caught up and pulled out your braids, and you, trying to break free, lost your glasses in the process..."
A SCAPEGOAT! "...Y-Yes, that's exactly what happened!"
Madoka sighed disappointedly, "That's a shame…" she added, throwing on a smile, "I'm just glad that you're okay."
"I… I suppose so…" the demon muttered, followed by a long silence between the two.
Before too long, low moans could be heard from the world below.
The demon furrowed her brow, What on earth could be making those horrific sounds? she frowned, the smell of decomposition now ruining her pleasure of Madoka's body odor, I don't like it. They should be silenced.
She gazed over at Madoka and took a breath to ask about what was making those ungodly moans, but the pinkette spoke up first as if reading her mind, staring anxiously out into the night that had swallowed up the sun's last rays, "Walkers."
"...Walkers?" Homura asked, completely lost.
"They must have smelled the blood from my hand…" The pinkette grimaced as she thought about the sanguine trail she must have left, "We don't have much time…" she slowly stood to her feet, turned to the demon and asked, "Do you still have the Walkie-Talkie?"
Wa...Walkie… Talkie? the demon fearfully gasped, S-She didn't tell me to bring a Walkie-Talkie… What I do?! She expects me to have it, but if I tell her that I didn't bring it…
Thinking quickly, the raven-haired girl averted her gaze to the ground, praying Madoka wouldn't call her on her impending bluff, "I… Um… I lost it…"
The pinkette's shoulders slumped as she gave another disappointed sigh.
Homura flinched, awaiting another onslaught of curses and other verbal abuse.
Instead, Madoka simply stated as she gazed forlornly out the entrance at the shambling shadows below, "I suppose it can't be helped," summoning a rose woven to look like a crossbow, she motioned for Homura to exit, "C'mon, we have to get out of here before it gets too bad on the ground."
"O-Okay," the demon quickly nodded and stood up. While she was slightly more afraid of her then normal, she smiled in adoration of seeing her girlfriend looking so heroic yet so ragged, a broken figure ready to face unknown danger without fear. Homura smiled twistedly. And she was all hers.
Madoka reeled with vertigo and nausea. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to vomit. After the sickness subsided, she commented, "So, THAT'S what time-travel feels like…" shaking away the whiteness in her eyes, she mumbled, "Girl's a wimp, but if she did THAT over a hundred times, I have to admit she's got my respect there," she paused, "...but ONLY there."
Glancing around, she discovered that she stood in the middle of a suburban street in the middle of the night. Moreover, her demon was nowhere to be seen. She placed her hands on her hips and started tapping her foot irritably, growling through clenched teeth, "...Why can't that girl do anything right?"
She complained, "Stupid demon, landing us right in the middle of the night! I wanted to go to the mall and get a souvenir from this timeline, and maybe even get a bite to eat, but NO! She just had to screw up AGAIN." She sighed and started walking down the street, "I guess I'll have to go look for her… I swear, when I find her, I'm going to punish her SO hard…"
Rubbing her chin as she walked, she thought what she could do to the demon, "This is the perfect opportunity to introduce her to the E.T. The Extraterrestrial 82' video game I 'bought' for her," she smirked, "A few hours of playing that garbage ought to make her behave herself. Yeah, I'll do that," then, she scowled, "Still have to find her though. That is still a problem."
Then, she saw figure in the darkness, but couldn't make out the details. She stopped walking and called, figuring that she and Homura would be the only ones out this late, "Homura-chan?" seeing the figure quickly turn towards her, she sighed in minor relief, "That was easier then I thought. Homura-chan! Come here!"
The figure began approaching, but seemed to be walking with a limp. The pinkette rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, tapping her fingers to her upper-arm irritably, "Can you walk any slower? I prefer not to waste my first night here waiting for you to shamble your sorry butt over to me."
As the figure drew closer, she thought she heard very distinct moaning. Realizing that Homura most likely arrived first and decided to play a little 'zombie' prank on her, Madoka huffed, "Very funny, Homura-chan, but it's time to cut it out. You know I don't like pranks."
But the figure didn't stop advancing, it's moans growing louder, now accompanied by wheezing, hissing and the smell of rotting flesh. This just made Madoka more irate. She glowered and growled, "If you don't knock this off, we're gonna have to go to a patent office, because I'm about to invent a WHOLE NEW kind of pain for you, Homura!"
This didn't phase the figure's advance. She noticed the figure reach for her as it limped closer. She rolled her eyes, "Yes, Homura-chan, I'm right here. Now, let's talk about how you won't be walking properly for-"
Her words were interrupted by another shadow flying from out of nowhere and tackling the first, the distinct sound of a blade piercing flesh, then silence. With the moans quieted, the second figure stood up, turned to the pinkette and asked with Homura's voice, "Madoka? Is that you?"
Well, that was… Odd… Madoka thought inquisitively. Shaking her head, she crossed her arms and replied irritably, "There you are, Homura-chan."
"Madoka! I'm glad you're alright," Homura stated with relief in her voice as her figure walked closer to the pinkette, "When we hopped the fence and got separated, I was quite worried."
As you should be, she inwardly growled. She paused, ...Hopped the fence? Is that some sort of Time Traveling term?
After a long round of silence, the time-traveler mused, "Hmm. Honorifics. An endearing sentiment, to be sure," she then added apathetically, "Shame that anyone who would care about them is dead."
Madoka frowned and crossed her arms again, unwilling to show the confusion that she felt, She's not making any sense. She KNOWS how much I HATE it when she doesn't make sense.
Then, she noticed Homura wearing her glasses due the moonlight gently glinting off of them. She tilted her head, furrowed her brow and asked, "When did you start wearing glasses again? I don't recall telling you to."
There was a pause, then followed by Homura's slightly confused reply, "...You were the one who suggested it, though. You said, and I quote, "No one ever suspects the Moeblob," or something along those lines,"
"Uh-huh," Madoka scowled and rubbed her chin, That does sound like something I'd say, and I do forget unimportant details easily enough from time to time… You get a pass this time, Homura-chan. But ONLY this time.
The raven-haired girl sighed as she turned around, "However, with all that's happened lately, I can't say I blame you for forgetting something as insignificant as that. It's just a different way to survive, after all," she started walking down the street in the direction she faced, "Come, we must get back to the group quickly."
Group? So, she found Mami-san, Kyoko-chan, and Sayaka-chan before I even got here? She shrugged, I guess she's not useless after all.
Then, Madoka realized Homura was breaking the rule about never being anywhere first. She clenched her fists and they started shaking, her anger beginning to fester, Homura is disregarding everything I taught her since we became a couple. Is she already forgetting her place? Mongrel. I picked her off the streets, gave her tastes of MY power and this is how she repays me? I suppose I should reinstate what she should already know. In fact…
"Homura-chan, kneel," she commanded as if she were speaking to a dog.
Homura gasped and shot to the ground. The pinkette smirked and sauntered over to the girl's figure sitting on her knees. With a smug expression that no one could actually see under the lack of light, Madoka began her spiel to assert her will, "Good. Now, let's talk about-"
She squealed slightly as Homura grabbed her right hand and yanked her to the ground next to her. The latter asked as she glanced around worriedly, "What is it? Are we being targeted? Is something watching us?"
The pinkette did not answer, but trembled in overwhelming ire. She growled furiously through clenched teeth as she stood to her feet, "...How DARE you handle me like that, you worthless, ungrateful wench! Just for that, you won't be eating for two months!"
"Madoka?!" Homura exclaimed in confusion as she stood up herself. Summoning a purple light in her hand, she dimly illuminated the two and asked, "What in the world's gotten-"
Then, she froze mid sentence. With a combat knife still in her hand, a vicious scowl appeared under her glasses as she immediately pressed her blade to the pinkette's throat. She growled hotly, "Who are you and what have you done with Madoka?!"
Unphased, Madoka's glare was icy enough to combat Homura's burning one, threatening through gritted teeth, "...Homura-chan. I'll be the bigger person in this, regardless of how much I want to throttle your throat between my fingers. As such, I will give you one chance and one chance only to BACK OFF BEFORE I SKIN YOU ALIVE AND MAKE YOU WEAR IT BACKWARDS. AGAIN."
Ferociously grabbing the hair on top of Madoka's head, Homura hissed, pushing her knife further into the pinkette's neck, "Silence, Witch! The threats of an imposter mean nothing to me. Now," the time-traveler twisted her blade just enough to draw blood. Clenching her own teeth, she growled darkly, "you'll tell me where she is right this moment, or I'll bleed you where you stand."
Madoka wanted to be angry. She wanted to punish Homura for the incessant defiance she was currently displaying. And yet, a feeling of exhilaration washed over her, one that she hadn't felt in a long time. She licked her lips lustfully; she wanted to dominate her all over again. But then, she was hit by something Homura had said:
"...Imposter?" Madoka raised her eyebrows, slightly intrigued, yet also a still irritated at the chilled blade jabbing her trachea and the minor pain coursing through her scalp. Then, she noticed the light the other girl held was a Soul Gem, and not the Crown Jewel that belonged to her demon. The realization struck her and she exclaimed, "OOHH! I get it! You're the current timeline's Homura-chan!"
"...W-What? You… You know about the multiple timelines?" The raven-haired Magical Girl gasped in shock, easing the pressure on her blade slightly. Her glare resumed and she pushed her knife into the pinkette's throat even more forcefully than before, "What anomaly is this? It's impossible! Even if I were to bring someone with me, in theory, their conscience would merely replace the one in the next timeline," She demanded in a low voice and tightened the grip on her blade, "Explain yourself."
Despite her neck's now-profuse bleeding, Madoka remained calm and even chuckled, "It's not that difficult, really. Let's just say, something that I can't be bothered to explain happens down the road where my Homura and I get INCREDIBLY more powerful. With yours-and by that I mean 'her'-power over time and space, it was really just a matter of which time to go to. Given that, can't exactly say where your Madoka is. I just got here."
"...Is that so?" Homura paused. Then, with a swift spin and a lurch, the raven-haired girl grabbed the pinkette's left wrist and twisted it behind her back, pressing a handgun to her spine, "While I cannot accept all of your story as true, I firmly believe that there is a bit of truth within every lie. Because of this, I won't leave you out here to the Walkers; you're coming with me."
OOoohh!~ This one's feisty! Not at all like MY pathetic crybaby of a girlfriend, Madoka mused as the weapon to her back forced her to walk. She smirked, Completely breaking HER will be fun!
Then, she scowled at the pain now coursing through her shoulder. She didn't like being handled this way. She ordered, "Let me go."
"I won't allow that," came the Magical Girl's response.
"I said," the pinkette clenched her teeth, "Let me go."
"And I said I refuse to allow that," Homura apathetically replied.
Madoka gaped in shock for a moment, completely unused to not getting her own way when it came to Homura. She felt a surprising rush of exhilaration, It's going to be so much fun training this one, she thought, Time to break out the metaphorical stick.
A gleeful grin appeared on the pinkette's face as she threatened, "If you don't release me, I will strip you down to your underwear and cover you in surströmm-"
"Enough," Homura interrupted apathetically, "As I said, your petty threats mean nothing to me," Homura returned the threat, a tinge of irritation laced in her voice, "So be quiet, or I'll silence you myself and allow the Walkers to strip the flesh from your bones."
Hmm! pinkette grinned, This one's REALLY feisty!
Madoka then pouted, wanting to retort, but realized it was fruitless. She was starting from square one all over again, and methodically decided to wait until there wasn't a lethal weapon shoved into her spine. Rebreaking the Magical Girl would be so much simpler when she knew that she held the definitive upper hand.
Instead, she shook her head and genuinely asked, "What about your Madoka? You said you got separated, right?"
Homura remained silent for a moment. She sighed, "...If what you say is true and you are indeed another Madoka, then I can only pray she followed through with our plans for scenarios like this and that she's back safely with the group."
The girls fell silent again as they walked. Then, a small buckler shield appeared on Homura's gun wielding hand in a blaze of blue indigo flames. Reaching in with her free hand, she pulled out a small Walkie Talkie. She pressed the small transmitter button on the side and spoke into it, "Mr. Kaname, this is Homura Akemi, do you read me?"
"Dad's here too?" Madoka chuckled with amusement.
"Silence," Homura commanded. Worry began to build within her stomach when static was the radio's only response. She spoke again anxiously, "Mr. Kaname, are you there? I repeat: This is Homura Akemi. Please respond!"
"You seem worried," the pinkette jeered, "What's wrong? A Witch more powerful than Walpurgisnacht coming around here soon?"
"I told you to remain quiet," the Magical Girl hissed.
"Ooohh!" Madoka whistled, "Someone's salty."
She rolled her eyes and frowned, And I hate salty. Looks like that's the first kink I'm gonna have to work out of her.
"...Homura?" A worried male voice came through the Walkie Talkie, "Where are you? Is everything alright?"
Homura quickly replied, now slightly less anxious, "I am fine, but I got separated from Madoka. Is she with you all?"
Mr. Kaname paused for another long time, making the static twice as nerve racking this time around. He finally spoke hesitantly, "...Yes."
The Magical Girl breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to herself, smiling gently as she touched the radio to her forehead, "Good… I'm glad for that…" she pressed the transmission button and spoke through the device's speaker once again, "Okay, I'm making my way back now."
"Homura," Mr. Kaname replied, "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this, but stay safe."
She nodded, "Yes sir."
As the static resumed on the Walkie Talkie, she slipped it back under her buckler. The shield itself disappeared in a flame much in the same manner that it had appeared.
"So hey, I gotta know," Madoka asked as they walked, "how did you know that I wasn't this world's Madoka?"
Homura flipped her braided hair in response, "It was simple, really. First and foremost, our Madoka would never speak to anyone in the manner that you have spoken to me."
"Well then," the pinkette chuckled, "she must be a real submissive, huh?"
"Absolutely not; quite the opposite, in fact," the raven-haired girl furrowed her brow and denied, "This world's Madoka is one of the strongest people I know in this timeline, and was able to turn enemies into allies simply by who she is, a skill I find quite useful. Secondly, which is just as easy to see as the first, this Madoka doesn't have a left hand."
"Oh, jeez," Madoka commented, slightly astonished, "What's even going on in this timeline to have THAT happen?"
Homura paused. Shadows covered her eyes and she hesitated, "...In a horrible turn of events that makes this world seem to be the most hopeless one yet, the Undead have risen and have consumed the world."
The pinkette blinked, "Well, that's… new..." then, she chuckled, "Sucks to be you guys."
After pausing for a moment, her face twisted in disgust, "ECKK! You smell absolutely awful! What, did you go swimming around in a dumpster full of onions and baby diapers? My Homura would NEVER be allowed to smell this bad for any reason other then my amusement, or there'd be SERIOUS consequences."
"Unfortunately, the Zombie Apocalypse allows no respite for personal hygiene," Homura irritably growled through clenched teeth, roughly shoving the pinkette forward with the barrel of her gun, "So would you kindly just shut up and walk?"
...This MIGHT be harder than I thought, Madoka frowned. Then, her smirk reappeared menacingly, It's a good thing I like a challenge.
Tomohisa Kaname nervously nibbled the knuckle of his index finger as he anxiously paced around the musty wooden cabin.
Running his hands through his greasy, brown hair, he glanced at all the survivors waiting in the candle-lit room: the blue-haired Tomoya Okazaki sat on the cabin's only couch with his cocoa-haired comrade, Izumi Shinichi, conversing with the burly, bald-headed, black U.S. Marine, Stephen Locke, with the schoolgirls Mio Naganohara and Aioi Yuuko standing near a close by coffee table.
Readjusting his square-rimmed glasses, he shifted his attention to the cabin's single window located next to the only entrance. Sayaka Miki anxiously gripped the sleeve of her cerulean sweater and sat with the wheelchair-bound rifleman, Kyosuke Kamijou, both looking out the window at an angle, so as to not be spotted by Walkers or any other unsavory forces.
Tomohisa called to the two, "Do you guys see them?"
"No, we got nothing…" Kyosuke moaned.
Tomohisa resumed his pacing and continued to bite his knuckle. He wondered if he had made the right call that morning for the group to split into teams and search for supplies. While everyone else had returned hours ago, he hadn't heard from Madoka and Homura's duo since they left, not even answering to his hailing over the Walkie-Talkie.
It didn't matter now. They were out there, and he had to live with it. Even with the Magical Girls, Mami Tomoe and Kyoko Sakura, searching for them, night had fallen, and they would soon have to barricade the door and window, regardless of whoever was still out there.
He grimaced. This thought made his stomach churn nauseously.
"...I-I see someone!" Sayaka exclaimed, "It's Kyoko and Mami!"
"What about the others?" Tomohisa inquired worriedly, "Do you see Madoka and Homura?"
The blunette strained her eyes as the two girl stepped up the porch to the cabin, "No… It's too dark…"
After the two girls entered, Tomohisa quickly asked, "Did you find them?"
Quickly closing the door behind them, both girls gave a dismal, negatory shake of their heads. Mami spoke dejectedly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaname. We found signs of struggle and even a blood trail, but nothing beyond that."
His eyes grew wide in horror, "...A-A b-blood trail?"
"Yeah," Kyoko nodded, "We followed it as far as we could, but then we came across this yard full o' Walkers. From where we could safely see, the trail led up a ladder into a treehouse, but it stopped a little under halfway up," she dropped her gaze to the ground and mumbled, "Whoever it was, poor soul probably tried to climb up for shelter, but got dragged back down and eaten…"
Tomohisa covered his mouth and gagged as images of his daughter's entrails being ripped from her still-screaming corpse and devoured by Walkers appeared in his mind's eye.
Noticing tears beginning to form in his eyes, the blonde tried to comfort him, "W-We still didn't find their bodies, Mr. Kaname, dead or otherwise. They could still be taking refuge somewhere out there."
Kyoko offered in consolation, "Those girls have balls, Mr. T. We know that. They'll be just fine, so don't go worryin' about it anymore, or I'll have to knock you one. I know they're still alive and kickin'; we'll find 'em tomorrow for sure, ain't no doubts about it."
Tomohisa paused for a moment to taking a deep, calming breath. Then, Mami frowned, "We do have another issue though. There was a small herd of Walkers where we were searching, those by the treehouse being only a small portion of them," she grimaced, "I fear they may be heading this way…"
"What about Madoka and Homura?" Sayaka worriedly called from the window, "We can't just ditch this place and leave them! What if they come back and we're not here?"
"We shouldn't have to leave," Mami grimly assured, "the herd wasn't so big that we would need to abandon our haven."
"Yeah," Kyoko nodded in agreement, "If we fortify our barricades just a little more and play it smart, we ain't got nothin' to worry about. We can defend this place just fine."
Tomohisa froze. He knew it was time to block off the entrance, but he hesitated. He wanted to vomit, knowing that he'll be trapping Madoka and Homura outside with the Walker herd for the night. He held back his bile but still grimaced; as the leader of the survivors, he knew his responsibility was keeping the group safe first and foremost. He had to trust Kyoko's words and pray that if his daughter and her friend were still alive, they could survive until morning.
With great hesitation, shadows covered his eyes as he dismally commanded, "...Tomoya, Izumi, Stephen, we need to seal the entrance before the herd gets here."
With all three standing to their feet, Tomoya furrowed his brow and asked, "Are you sure, Tomohisa? Maybe we could wait for them just a little longer…"
The father bit his lip apprehensively. Turning to Mami and Kyoko, he asked, "How far is the herd?"
With both girls avoiding his gaze, Kyoko dejectedly answered, "'Bout thirty minutes, at best… And that's bein' generous…"
Tomohisa's heart stopped. With heavy nausea burdening his stomach, he rubbed his face, greatly distressed. There was no window of time to wait. He turned to the men, standing in wait for his orders and answered, "Block the entrance…" dropping his gaze to the floor, he choked, tears threatening his eyes, "We don't know if they're still alive, and if they are, we don't know if they're ahead of the herd…"
With a sigh, Tomoya nodded, "I understand."
He and Izumi quickly moved towards a nearby bureau and started dragging it across the room. Stephen walked over to the father and placed a burly hand on his shoulder. He gave a gentle smile under his goatee, "I've seen what your little girl can do; she'll be just fine."
"...Thanks." Tomohisa hesitantly replied as he looked away, still slightly bitter towards the man whose comrade viciously shot Madoka just mere days earlier.
The Marine nodded and removed his grasp from the father's shoulder, quickly joining the other two men in moving the bureau to cover the window.
As the three men walked over and picked up the couch they were sitting on, time seemed to slow for Tomohisa. He glanced around at each survivor. A dismal air hung above everyone, with grim expressions of lost hope plastered on each person's face to match. He choked as he rubbed his face again. The last time they were in a situation similar to this, they lost a valuable member of their group, and he begged the Fates to not allow that to happen to his daughter.
Then, the sound of the knob of the front door turning and creaking open snapped him out of his fit of despair and time returned to normal. Everyone froze as the girls in question stood at the doorpost.
"...M-Madoka?" Tomohisa croaked.
With smile, Madoka dashed into the cabin and embraced her father, "Dad!"
Pulling away slightly, the father furrowed his brow and knelt to meet her on eye level, "Are two you okay?"
"More or less," the pinkette frowned slightly as she showed him the nasty cut across her wounded hand, "I sliced my hand pretty bad running from Walkers…"
Tomohisa grimaced, "That's not good. We need to patch that up."
He quickly stood up, walked to where they kept their medical supplies and retrieved some medical gauze and a few painkillers. He returned to his daughter and started wrapping her hand with the gauze. With Homura closing the door behind her, Tomohisa glanced at both girls and asked, "What happened?"
"We were looking for supplies when we got ambushed by a small herd of Walkers," Madoka stated as she swallowed the meds, grimacing as her father wrapped her hand tightly, "they separated us, and we found each other just as the sun started to set. We rested for a bit in a treehouse, then made our way here."
"Indeed," Homura nodded as she walked over, "the situation was quite frightening."
"...I see," Tomohisa stated. He sighed and smiled in relief, "I'm just happy you two are alive and safe," then, he stared at Homura and furrowed his brow, "What happened to your glasses and braids?"
As if caught off guard, the raven-haired girl gasped and stuttered, keeping her eyes away from his, "O-Oh, w-well… I… Um… We were… Uh… We were…"
"When we were being chased by Walkers, they caught up and pulled out her braids, then she lost glasses because of it," Madoka offered and finished for her. She glanced back at the girl and raised her eyebrows, "That's what you said, right?"
"Oh, um, yes. I said that," Homura quickly nodded.
Tomohisa gasped, "That's terrible!" Throwing his smile back on his face, "Again, I'm just grateful that you two are okay."
With the other men resuming their fortification of the barricade, the father noticed a small, twisted, black earring hanging from Homura's left ear. He raised his raised his eyebrows and asked her with slight intrigue, "That earring's new. Where'd you get it?"
With a slight gasp, the girl avoided his gaze and stuttered, "I, um… I found it…"
"Hmm…" he furrowed his brow, "I feel it looks just a little bit too gaudy for you," he shrugged and chuckled as he stood to his feet, just finishing up patching his daughter's hand, "but who am I to judge a girl's fashion sense?"
With the girls back in the cabin, the dismal air that hung over the survivors dissipated to a degree, all relieved that their comrades were alive and safe. Tomohisa smiled at his daughter-who returned the smile and nodded-then quickly went to aid Tomoya and the others in blocking off the entrance with the couch and coffee table.
Carrying the table with Stephen, Tomohisa noticed Homura staring at Madoka with a twisted grin out of the corner of his eye as he passed. The expression made him uneasy and he frowned, I don't like her staring at Madoka like that. She told me Madoka was a dear friend to her, but could've she meant something else entirely…? He shook his head, disgusted with the thought, I would've never taken her for someone like that. I'll have to keep my eyes on-
Then, static interference resounded from the Walkie Talkie in his pack across the room, followed by someone's voice hailing from it.
Shocked, Tomohisa gently set the table down and briskly walked over to the group's baggage, retrieving the radio from his duffle bag.
A familiar female voice hailed again through the static, "Mr. Kaname, are you there? I repeat: This is Homura Akemi. Please respond!"
Everyone gasped in shock. Immediately, all the survivors turned their attention to raven-haired girl standing with Madoka, confusion drowning out her own expression.
Without taking his eyes off the girl next to his daugher, Tomohisa pressed the transmission button and hesitantly replied, "...Homura? Where are you? Is everything alright?"
"I am fine," the voice responded, "but I got separated from Madoka. Is she with you all?"
Tomohisa paused, still reeling in confusion as he stared at the girl and his daughter, "...Yes."
"Good," the voice stated, relief evident even through the static, "I'm making my way back now."
"Homura…" Tomohisa hesitated, "...I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this, but stay safe."
"Yes, sir," she quickly replied, then was replaced by static interference once more.
Everyone froze as their staring eyes became silent glares, bearing down on the imposter in their midst, the only sounds being that of the idle radio.
Madoka immediately drew her Python revolver from her thigh and aimed it at the brunette's head.
'Homura's' eyes grew wide in terror as she gasped and stuttered, "M-Madoka, w-what are you do-"
The pinkette interrupted with a glare and growled darkly, "I'm going to ask this once: Who. Are. You?"