Chapter Three
Homura paced her living room, trying to determine what she needed to do to see Madoka again.
Sayaka, from what she had gathered in the few moments she had seen the girl before she had disappeared, had attracted Madoka nearby when she used up all of her power in a single stroke. It would be simple enough to do the same. Homura had thought about it the first time she encountered a barrier alone. Could it be as simple as that? Making herself sit on the border of being a witch? Use herself up on a single blast of power and wait for Madoka to come?
What if that simply left her with just a moment's vision of Madoka before she died? What if, somehow, because she was from the time before everything had changed, she wouldn't see her at all? That wouldn't be enough. After everything that she had fought, all that she had sacrificed, seeing Madoka again just for a minute or so was unacceptable. And Madoka wouldn't want her to do that. She wanted Homura to fight on. The only choice for now was to do so, living in this world, keeping herself alive (did Madoka do anything for those whose Soul Gems shattered?), and fight until she knew the answer.
The first step to survival was to know your environment.
She looked over the walls. The former Homura had covered them with pictures, analyses, and other assorted information about her friends—comrades—whatever they were to each other. There was considerable information about their combat technique, a topic that the timid girl she'd been before becoming a Puella Magi never would have been interested in. This Homura clearly had a different history.
Homura wondered what the point of divergence had been. Her parents had still died and she still lived alone. There was no evidence of a heart condition, but that didn't mean it hadn't happened. Like her, the former Homura did not need glasses, though whether she fixed her eyes with her Soul Gem or had never needed them at all would perhaps be a mystery. No one had seemed surprised by her carrying a bow around, so here she'd always had that…
And that was something important, because it was a reminder that her wish had been different.
Of course it had. In a world where Madoka had never existed, she could not have wished to be able to meet her again, to protect her.
She sighed. This wasn't getting her anywhere. She needed to decide what to do in the short term, for right now.
The next night would be Friday. She hadn't gone to school since everything happened, but it would probably attract too much attention if she stayed away too long. The authorities would want everything to line up nicely. It would probably be best to go back to school, even if she just slept through the day.
A selfish impulse clenched at Homura's chest. She was tired of being alone. She would go over to Mami's apartment for the evening. If she was careful, she would be able to draw information out of them without too much suspicion, and no matter what, she would get to eat Mami's cooking.
"Everything checks out, Kamijou-kun. I give you the all-clear for playing your violin as much as you like." The doctor smiled. "I must apologize for telling you to give up hope on playing the instrument. All I can say is that I've never seen anyone, even a young person, heal so completely from injuries as severe as yours were. It's practically a medical miracle."
Miracle… Sayaka had said something about miracles existing, hadn't she?
Kyousuke flexed his fingers a few times. "Thank you very much."
"As for your legs, the news isn't quite as good, but your physical therapy appears to be doing well. I'll talk it over with your parents, but I think you can begin participating in gym again. I would say starting at once per week and increasing as you feel up to it. If you do that, I strongly suggest that you don't push it, and bring your crutches with you in case you get weak. Do you understand?"
"Yes. Thank you." Kyousuke bowed. Thinking of Sayaka… why hadn't she been in school? She never took more than a day off, and even that was rare.
The doctor bowed in return. "Now I'd like to speak with your parents in private for a few minutes. You can wait in the hall."
One of the best things about not being hospitalized anymore was that instead of having to sit still and be talked about as if he wasn't there, Kyousuke could leave and not have to think about anything being wrong with him anymore. He stepped out into the hallway and sat in a chair in the lobby, a part of him marveling about how easy it was now.
He looked both ways around the lobby. While it was true that the hospital asked that you keep your cell phone off at all times, he was eager to play with his. It was a gift from his parents in celebration of his return to classes. When he was sure there was no one to see him, he turned it on and scrolled through the menu, looking for a game to play.
The cell phone buzzed in his hands. There was a new text message, from Hitomi. "Sayaka's mom just called asking where she is. Haven't heard from her. Do you know?"
Now frowning, he replied that he didn't. If Sayaka hadn't been sick, and if her mother didn't know where she was, and Hitomi didn't know where she was… that meant that she was really missing. Even the adults who were supposed to take care of anything couldn't find her.
Kyousuke turned his phone off and put it back in his pocket. When he had been in the hospital, he could count on her showing up every day to talk to him. They had always talked about his life and music, never anything about her life or her interests. It had never even occurred to him to think about what she did. Then, when he had left the hospital, Hitomi had confessed to him and they had started dating, and Sayaka had practically vanished from his world. He had stopped thinking about her. What had she been doing while he wasn't watching? Had she started doing drugs? Had she been doing favors for an older man? He knew some girls at school dated old men for pocket money. Sometimes that evolved into other things that kids in junior high were not supposed to be doing, and that could lead worse places.
None of that sounded like Sayaka, but how would he know? Really, in the end, he didn't know anything about her, except that she probably liked music or she would never have been able to talk so much about it.
"Kyousuke-kun! It's time to go home!"
He got up from his seat and went to join his parents. He thought about asking if they knew where she was, but... would they have any idea?
In the car on the way home, guilt won out. "Mom, Dad… Do you know what happened to Sayaka-chan? No one's heard from her…"
Homura-chan. Can you hear me?
Try to be happy… do your best to be happy.
I'm with you, and I'll find a way to bring you back with me. I promise.
It was time again. Madoka withdrew her attention from Homura and fluttered back to the place she thought of as her Paradise for Puella Magi.
I have to go and kill Gretchen again. If you would like to come with me, then I would appreciate the help.
It was a regular affair. Defeating Gretchen only staved her off for a while. It wasn't permanent. There was always a balance between hope and despair, and part of that meant that Gretchen would never really die. Every time that she did it, she knew that she would only return stronger the next. Already, Gretchen had developed the ability to warp time, though she didn't seem to understand the potential for destruction that held. All the sacrifices that all the Puella Magi through time had made would be worthless if she didn't win every time.
A few of them answered her mental call.
Madoka was surprised to realize that Sayaka was among them.
She gripped all of them in her mind and pulled them out to the moments just before Gretchen would appear, then made herself tangible to prepare herself for the battle. It was much harder now that she had given her bow to Homura.
"All right… for those of you who have never come before, let me explain." She glanced over the group. As usual, the green-haired girl who had been her first rescue smiled at her. A girl in a bear costume settled into place. A pair of twins with identical black braids looked up at her with deep respect in their eyes. The youngest Puella Magi she had ever encountered, only about four years old, sucked her thumb in a gesture that would have had Madoka sending her packing back home had she not known exactly what she was capable of. Sayaka was actually the only new one there. She had a blank expression.
"I'm the only one who can actually harm her," she explained. "What you can do is knock her back and warn me if something strange happens. Position yourselves around her. Your first priority is to keep her within that space, to limit the amount of damage she can do. If you shout, we'll all hear you. Don't worry. All of you are safe."
Something screeched.
"I have to go. Thank you all for your help."
This fight only got more difficult. Madoka almost wished that she hadn't given Homura her bow, but she banished the thought. This felt more appropriate, at any rate… using her own hands. She made sure her gloves were securely in place and simply tore into the form of the beast.
Gretchen had no blood, no innards. She just… was. At first it felt like there was mere smoke under her hands. Madoka shoved further, hands back-to-back in a wedge, as she pushed forward. Her hands hit something that, curiously, felt like Jello. She pulled it apart and dug further, part of her noting that it didn't even dirty her gloves.
"She's coming up behind you!"
Madoka turned, and dodged the—tentacle, perhaps—that was coming for her, but Gretchen caught her with the cut in her side, squeezing her in. She clutched her hands over her Soul Gem to keep it from being crushed and kicked out, leaving as much destruction behind her as she could. Apparently, Gretchen was getting smarter. She tried not to think of it as her witch self getting stronger at times like this.
Vicious swipes with a sword pushed Gretchen back a few meters from where Madoka stood trying to compose herself. She risked a glance to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was. Sayaka gave her a fierce nod.
Madoka swallowed and pressed on. Just this plain clawing and tearing wouldn't do this time, not as Gretchen grew more intelligent. She closed her eyes for just a moment and drew a breath. This was going to be dangerous, and if it worked, which it might not, it would only work once. Still, for the moment, it was all she could think of.
"Keep her still as you can!" she shouted. She smiled bravely, shuddered, and jumped.
As she pressed herself onward, she thought that her gym teacher would have been proud of that dive. Then she was completely immersed in fog so thick it might have been solid. She had to adopt a strong kick as she delved deeper and momentum faded.
Madoka wasn't sure how deep in she was, but as Gretchen writhed around her and tried to crush her flat, she decided that no matter where she was in the mess, she would have to do it now.
She pulled herself into a tight ball, then shoved.
Pushing not only with the strength of her entire body but also with that of her mind, Madoka let the energy expand until the first hint of the nothingness of space drew against her power. She reined herself in. While Gretchen could not harm the other Puella Magi anymore, it was possible that she could.
Exhausted, she looked around. Small remnants of Gretchen faded from sight. The other girls were clustered together, looking tired as well. It had probably been difficult to keep Gretchen in one place long enough for the attack to work, rather than result in Madoka simply running through and out the other side, or only blowing up a small portion of her.
Herself.
Sayaka reached out and plucked the Grief Seed from the air. It only took her a moments' examination. She looked at Madoka.
Madoka nodded.
Then she closed her eyes, faded, and brought the girls back.
Her attention shifted to Homura. I'm with you. Please hear me. I'm with you.
