Donning a pair of red-rimmed glasses and her torn Puella Magi outfit, Akemi Homura was on her knees in the open rain. Surrounding her was the charred remains of what was once Mitakihara, pieces of brick and rubble where what was left of a part of the prestigious, large city. A layer of water slowly rising beneath her from the flood, the sky was of a dark brown as thick clouds of ash shrouded the skies and blotted out the sunlight.
Clenching a 50. Caliber pistol in both wet hands, the lifeless body of Kaname Madoka lied in front of her, scars and scratches adorning her body and soaked school uniform. Tears poured forth from Homura's eyes, rain drizzling on her body as Madoka's eyes remained shut. The girl's subsequent cries could be heard echoing through the ruins, a cry of sorrow deafened by the howling wind.
Homura dropped her heavy weapon and it clattered on the watery ground. The impact made a small wave which gently pushed the empty casing of a fired round not too far away from Homura, along with a dull, grey Soul Gem that had its egg-shape casing shattered into bits and pieces of glass shards.
"Madoka...!" Homura stifled her cries, her body trembling, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"
Thunder rumbled in the skies above, the wind gaining strength.
Despite the young girl now nothing more than a still body, a bright, hopeful smile still stayed on Madoka's face. It was as if she had not denied nor showed fear to the fate that befell upon her.
Homura wiped the tears off her cheeks and held back her cries completely. Her hand reached for the shield strapped onto her arm and clicked it open with a loud ring echoing through the area. It opened up to reveal a set of clockwork gears that begun to spin with a red orb, "Even if it costs me my life... I will... save you... I promise," standing up, Homura looked up at the sky and shut her eyes as time re-winded once more.
Homura's eyes shot open and she found herself lying in her own bedroom, covered in blood-stained sheets and medical wraps as the moon cast its light on her body through a nearby window. Panting for air, she turned her to the bed-side table beside her, a set of medical wrappings sitting next to a picture frame and a bowl of water mixed with blood. The water contained the fired 50. Caliber rounds that had struck Homura in the abdomen during her fight with Clyde..
Obviously, she had survived her fight with Clyde, but not without injury. Homura found it difficult to take in a deep breath without feeling sharp pain in her stomach, her legs were paralyzed and disobeyed all orders to move, her hearing was becoming clogged and her vision was getting blurrier with each second she took to look around her familiar surroundings. It took her a while to even realize she had been crying in her sleep. Homura could not remember when was the first time she cried.
"Another dream...?" Homura muttered weakly, managing to curl her fingers into a fist and turn her head around. Her back wasn't hurt that badly either.
Her head still hazy, Homura had remembered waking up much earlier than now, but she was unsure of how much time had passed since then. If she remembered correctly, Sanbey had treated her wounds and wrapped her in bandages. She was only half-conscious at that time, but whatever magic he had used, Homura remembered stifling her pained cries to keep her voice down during the painful operation to take the bullets out of her body. Pain. Something she had not felt in a long time either.
Bringing a hand to her head, she rubbed her eyes and blinked twice as more memories of what happened came back one-by-one.
Yes, after the extraction, Sanbey had explained everything to her: Why he withheld the information of the Warlocks, why he did not warn her about the Warlocks' existence, the concepts of Dycic, Recicio and Obscurum, why he had lied to her, and then thoroughly ended it with a sincere apology for not telling her sooner, and also deceiving her when they first met in this very room. Sincerity was something Homura did not expect from him; it was completely different from what she saw of him before. He was definitely not like Kyubey, who always kept information and never regretted doing so.
Hesitantly, Homura had forgiven him. Because underneath that cheerful, sarcastic exterior, she could tell he had been through a lot. Homura herself had been through Hell and suffering, constantly traveling back in time just to save Kaname Madoka from dying and/or becoming a Puella Magi. Before Homura fell back into sleep at that time, she had ordered Sanbey to tell everything he knew to the boys once Hideki regained conscious. It's important that they know about this as well.
Sitting up on her soft bed, Homura pulled herself up with both arms, promptly leaning on the headboard for comfort. She then raised her left hand and summoned her amethyst Soul Gem into her palm. A glimmer of light manifesting in her open hand, the Soul Gem promptly took shape.
Homura took in a sharp breath, her mouth quivering as she uttered in shock, "W-What is this?"
The small, egg-shaped gem, the very source of power that kept Homura alive no matter how badly her wounds ended being, was surrounded by a black, ebony aura that shrouded her Soul Gem like a black cloud of death and disease. The Gem's purple hue was slowly being swallowed by darkness as Homura's hand shivered in confusion and fear before dropping the Soul Gem on the bed. It wasn't anything like the corruption or grief she would see in her Soul Gem whenever she used her magic. This was completely different.
Her Soul Gem rolled to her side and instinctively, Homura called forth her powers, summoning her weapons and gear.
The Soul Gem only continued to become even more darker, not a hint of Homura's powers being available to her as Homura tried to call for her shield.
Homura called out to her powers once again, desperately forcing her powers to work when suddenly, she felt something coming up her throat. She gagged and Homura cupped her mouth as she spat something warm into her hands; her tongue tasted something bitter, almost like iron. Moving her hand into the moonlight around her abdomen, droplets of blood were in her hands, mixed with a black, sticky liquid.
'Obscurum poison', Homura remembered that from Clyde.
"It can't be..." Homura thought, "How is it still inside me?!"
Back at the hospital, Homura's fight with Clyde had ended with her defeat, forcing her to escape to the upper levels and order the boys to escape by themselves. She was unsure of her own chances of surviving, but it all went down when her powers had been shut down completely by the toxin. Did Sanbey's treatment not remove the poison from her body, or was there no chance at all for her to survive the moment it had entered her bloodstream? Was it already too late for her?
Sliding back down until her head lied on the pillow, Homura's fingers dug into her bed out of anger and frustration, "No. Not like this..." she lamented, her teeth clenching hard, "I've come too far... for it to end like this..."
This thought process repeated in her mind in an endless, sad loop. The thought of dying here and now felt like tall brick wall standing in her path to save Madoka. Homura had been through countless of encounters with the deaths of other people, ended the lives of many Puella Magi such as Oriko who stood in her path, but she did not even consider her own death to even happen. She did not consider being unable to rewind time and return to the point where she could start all over again.
From the very moment she attained this power to go back in time, she was on a mission that would be top priority over anything else. Help became more of a liability the more she saw the same old allies die countless of times in front of her, be it a sacrifice or a sudden death to a Witch. Even Sanbey, an unknown, new ally, felt more of a liability at first.
Homura released her grip on the bed sheets, closed her eyes and buried her face in her pillow. The thought of leaving Madoka alone was like a bullet to her heart. It was the last thing she would ever think about or let happen, with the second last thought being her abandoning her life-long goal and mission. She couldn't accept it, it was too much for her.
"Isn't there anything else could I do?" Homura thought, a tear slowly trailing down her cheek.
Her eyes then shot open and her mouth gaped in realization. It was a desperate effort to keep her mission alive, but it was still an idea that seemed reasonable.
What if she left this to the Puerum Magi?
To be frank, they were like a wild card Sanbey provided her; an unexpected hand in her deck that could either help or destroy her cause completely. She knew Hideki had made the contract, but would the others do the same? Would they give away their lives just to make a single wish? Witches were one thing, but the Warlocks were even worse. They were not just mere creatures hiding in barriers. They were alive, conscious and dangerously cunning. Not to mention that they would have to be facing Walpurgisnacht as well.
Homura looked out the window and her curly breath was visible in the cold, night air.
Honestly, she never cared about them when she first met them. Homura saw them more as would-be tools in her plans to save Madoka and help her cause. After her memories had returned, Homura still remembered how she was treated when she was under their care. Being pampered by Miss Narita, slowly creating a sort of bond with the boys, it now felt so strange to her. Everyone treated her kindly, like a small child that knew nothing. Once she got her memories back, she thought they had only acted kind to her because it was their responsibility to do so. But even when she went back to that cold, stoic and calculative persona, they still treated her like that close friend they made over a few days. That close friend that comforted them in their time of need. And that honestly surprised her.
As a matter of fact, by saving them from that Witch Barrier and Clyde, she had exchanged her own chance to live for theirs.
Maybe. Just maybe, she could leave it to them after all.
As Homura lied her head on her pillow, staring at the ceiling above her, there was a subtle knock on the door came and Sanbey's voice could be heard from the other side of the door. Homura's tried to focus her weakened hearing on his voice and listen in on what she could hear, "As she is right now, I do not know if she is in the condition to even speak to us."
"Please," she heard Takuya's pleading voice, "We want to see her."
"We need to see her," Hideki's voice emphasized, backing up his friend's plea.
Homura listened in as there was a small moment of silence, and then she heard Sanbey giving in as the door opened. Light flooded into the dark room and the Puella Magi shut her eyes to avoid the stinging light. The sounds of footsteps followed and the door was quietly shut, as if not to disturb her.
Her eyes readjusting to the darkness again, she could see all the boys gathered in her room: Tateyama leaned on the wall with crossed arms, Mamoru stood near her table with Sanbey, Hideki was by the window, blocking out some of the moonlight, and Takuya, who had his wounds and injuries completely regenerated, stood beside Homura's bed, whispering to Sanbey and Hideki about Homura's condition. Due to the dark, she could see the faint shimmers of light from their chests, each having a distinct glow of their own.
They didn't seem to be aware of Homura watching them until she spoke up in a surprised tone, devoid of strength and energy, "You all... made... the contract...?"
The boys quickly turned their heads to Homura as the Puella Magi forced herself to sit up again, struggling as it suddenly became harder for her to move. Her arms ached with pain and Homura felt Takuya grab her shoulders to bring her back down into a lying position, "Homura, hold still!" Takuya advised, pulling her blood-stained blanket over her again, "Your wounds are-"
"I'm afraid-" Homura panted, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead as her voice dragged, "-I do not have that luxury, T-Takuya," she lied on one side and began coughing violently into her hand, her other arm wrapped around her abdomen. Her stomach felt like it was on fire and once the coughing and pain had stopped, Homura looked into her hands and to the boys' shock, the moonlight shining through the window shone on her blood-stained hands. Homura stifled a pained cry as Takuya tried to hold her down.
Sanbey leapt onto the bed in a panic and brought a paw to Homura's neck. The stripe on that foreleg glowed and Sanbey gasped, "The Obscurum energy... it's still inside you...?" the Familiar's voice trembled as Sanbey reeled backwards. Hanging his head ruefully, Sanbey started to panic, "It's already enveloped your entire body. Since when...? I thought I had...?"
Mamoru rushed to her side and felt Homura's burning forehead with his hand. Narrowing his eyes, her temperature felt over 50 or 60 degrees as Mamoru turned to Sanbey and demanded an answer, "Isn't there anything we can do about this?!" his question was left hanging by a silent Familiar, "Is there?!"
Sanbey could barely reply without hesitation nor stammer in his shaky voice, "N-No, I'm afraid not. The Obscurum energy inside her had already spread throughout her body," Sanbey couldn't bring himself to say his next words, "It's too late for her."
Mamoru took a step back, unable to accept that answer. He felt Tateyama's hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him, but it did little as Mamoru grimaced and bit his lower lip. Homura coughed again, blood trailing down the corners of her mouth as Takuya desperately patted her on the back and held her down. Homura felt her muscles becoming weaker by the second, her face turning pale.
"What do you mean by that...?!" Hideki suddenly grabbed Sanbey by the neck and brought him to face level, "She's dying here! Can't we do anything to save her?!"
"It's too late!" Sanbey repeated with his voice at the brink of cracking, "Even with Recicio and Dycic energy, we'd only prolong her death by a few minutes! I-It's no use trying to cure her...! It would only extend her suffering!" Sanbey was showing emotions he himself never knew he had and Hideki didn't have the energy to shout at him in anymore.
The boy placed him down on the bed and slammed a fist into the wall of Homura's bedroom, cracking it with a loud crunch. Tateyama held onto his hand and squeezed it gently as Hideki fought the urge to curse out loud, clenching his teeth hard. As Homura lied back down again with Takuya's help, the brunette quivered from her worsening condition as Mamoru sat and slumped back against the wall. Tateyama did his best to ease Hideki, the white-haired boy closing his eyes as he felt his throat tighten. They had no way of helping Homura and the boys remained speechless as they slowly realized this.
Under the moonlight, Homura's eyes were slowly becoming bloodshot. The veins in her neck and hands blackened with ebony as her skin turned into a pale white color. Her breathing slowed and her tired eyes looked up to see Tateyama approaching her slowly, looking as if he had a question, "Homura," he began solemnly and bowed slightly. There was a look of despair in his eye, but he tried to retain his calm tone, "Do you... have anything to want us to do? You must have something you need completing... don't you?"
"Tateyama..." Homura's lips began to tremble. A grateful smile appearing on her face, a small tear trailed down her cheek as she nodded, her tone shaky and weak, "Of course..."
"Tell us," Takuya insisted, rubbing his teary eyes with his sleeve. He gave her a forced, bright smile as more tears formed again in his eyes, "W-We don't want you having any last regrets."
Walking up to him, Mamoru patted Takuya lightly on the back and slowly nodded in agreement. He looked at Homura and she could see his hands shivering as he spoke, grief seeping through the cracks of his calm façade, "Yes... Homura. We shall do anything in your stead. I-In return for what you have done for all of us, it is the least of what we can do for you. We owe you our life, after all."
Ever so slightly, Homura's eyes began to water with tears no matter how hard she tried to suppress them. Her left hand lifted from her side and grabbed the picture frame on her bedside drawer before presenting it to the boys. In it, there was a picture of Madoka, smiling under the bright sun, "Her..." Homura said, "I w-want you all to protect her and make sure she does not... become a Puella Magi. 'Kaname Madoka' is her name and she is... one of our schoolmates."
Hideki, who had turned back to Homura, was the one who took the picture into his hands. He answered her request with teary eyes as he delcared, "We'll do it, Homura. We promise."
"T-Thank you... very much," Homura's extended hand swayed, slowly losing control of her own body. Her hand then pointed to a set of drawers at her work table in the corner of her room, " And l-lastly, Mamoru, as the leader of your group, I-I give you full access to the files in my drawer. You are... the only one allowed to read it, but when used carefully, it will h-help you with what is to come in... the following weeks."
Walking over to the designated area, Mamoru turned a small lamp and saw the golden key to the drawers hiding beneath a file. He took the key and held it tight to his chest.
Takuya continued to smile, despite the tears that poured down his cheeks, "Was there... anything else you wanted?" his smile was starting to break and he was already beginning to cry, but he still forced himself to stay smiling in front of her. It was one of the things he did best in times like this and he wouldn't want Homura to see the him crying in her last moments.
"Yes, I do," Homura brushed the tears off Takuya's cheek with her swaying hand and smiled sincerely. She could not remember the last time she had smiled like this, "I w-want you all to stay strong... D-Do not give in to fear nor grief. Do what you must to survive and protect the town with all your might. Steel your hearts, s-steady your minds... and watch out for anything that could be a t-threat," Homura's breathing began to slow, her words dragging out as she clutched her aching chest, "In this world, the enemy will not wait for your tears to dry."
"Of course," Takuya nodded, his shoulders dropping as he held onto her hand, "Of course," he repeated, feeling her hand slowly becoming cold.
"We will do whatever it takes," Hideki swore, bringing a fist to his shoulder as his lip quivered and his voice shook, "A-As Puerum Magi."
Tateyama slowly nodded in agreement, turning away to hide his expression and prevent Homura from seeing his tears. Mamoru covered his contorting face with his hand and cupped his mouth as his hand gripped the drawer key tightly, his entire body trembling and his legs shaking.
"San... bey," Homura's voice weakening further, "Take care... of them... make sure they succeed... will you?"
The white familiar looked back at her and nodded, "I will... Homura. Y-You can count on me this time. I... I won't let you down. I promise."
With one last smile forming on her lips, Homura's petted the Familiar on the head before her swaying hand dropped to the bed.
Her lips letting out one last exhale of air, Homura's eyes slowly closed as everything went dark and blank. She felt nothing anymore. No more pain, no more suffering. Just, nothing. This was how death felt like. Homura had finally reached the end of the line. It was like entering a permanent, eternal state of rest. A endless dream where she could be without worry and regrets. As everything began to fade, Homura felt her body lighten as she could hear familiar voices calling out to her.
"It's time for you to rest, Homura. You already have done so much just for me."
"M-Mado... ka...?"
"Take a break, Homura. You've done nothing but tire yourself out."
"Akemi, it's time to let everything go."
"Come on, I'll treat ya' to a meal. Just don't push yourself anymore, will ya'?"
"Sayaka...? Tomoe...? Kyoko...? Everyone... Thank you."
Homura's gentle, peaceful expression and tender smile was illuminated by the eerie moonlight coming from the window. In death, there was a sort of beauty to it that one had to see, and even in night, her smile was plain as day. Her eyes were now forever shut, her heart had stopped and her soul was now gone. The Soul Gem sitting next to her had dulled and became completely grey as its shine faded away.
Lacking the ability to even cry, Sanbey lowered his head ruefully and closed his eyes out of respect.
Takuya blinked, tears falling down his cheeks as he no longer held them back, "Homura..."
Mamoru placed his hand on Homura's desk and ran his hand through his hair. He bit his on his lip until it bled and the boy began to shiver, "Farewell... Homura..."
Tateyama leaned against the wall and sat down on the floor. He buried his face in his hands and felt his wet tears seeping through his fingers. He then held one hand over to his chest and felt his now-cured heart beating steadily, thanks to the wish Sanbey offered and Homura, who had saved their lives at the hospital, "Thank you... For everything..."
Hideki slammed his fist against the wall again and again, as he continued breaking it with his new-found strength in an outburst of rage and sadness. He couldn't hold back the water falling down his cheeks and doing so only made him choke back on tears. Cracking the wall with one last punch, he looked back at Homura's body and grimaced when he saw that smile of hers. He dropped to his knees, unable to believe it. Homura was gone and his new powers couldn't even save her.
"It was nice to be with you, Homura... Even if that wasn't the real you before, I'm glad... you left... as your true self..."