A/N: This is the second chapter posted tonight. If you missed chapter 21, be sure to check that out before reading this one.
Chapter 22
It had begun to rain.
Flick ran, her steps causing splashes beneath her feet, as more rain poured down from above. If Sayaka wanted to, she could almost hide easily in this weather. Flick would have to rely on tracing Sayaka's magical signature, rather than normal human senses.
She would do so. Anything to keep Sayaka from turning into a Witch. After all she went through, Flick refused to let it end like this.
You deserve so much better, Sayaka. I'm sorry for not looking out for you properly. I should have protected you more. Please, let me save you now.
Where was Flick, even? In trying to keep up with Sayaka, she hadn't paid any attention to her directions. All that mattered was finding Sayaka.
Still, she took a moment to glance at her surroundings. She was on a grass field with a river nearby. Was this near the edge of the city?
This is getting me nowhere. I have to find Sayaka, before it's too late. Where—
She felt movement behind her. At the last instant, she jerked her head to the right, barely avoiding being skewered by a sword.
"Stop following me!" Sayaka yelled behind her, and Flick spun around to face her. How had she—no, that wasn't important right now.
Sayaka was in her Magical Girl attire, a cutlass in each hand. The rain had made her hair drape partly over her face, but even so, Flick could make out her glare.
"Sayaka," Flick raised her hands into the air, "I just came to talk. There's no one here but me."
"I know," Sayaka spat. "That's who you are, right? The girl who has to single handedly save us. Honestly, how arrogant are you?"
Flick recoiled like she had been struck. Was that really how Sayaka saw her? Even knowing she had taken on a heavy burden, Flick had accepted it for their sake. Was she overestimating her own abilities, telling everyone it would be okay?
No. If I was, then I wouldn't be lying each time I made the other believe I was confident.
"I'm sorry," Flick said. She clasped her hands in front of her, bowing slightly. "I know I failed you, Sayaka. Please, give me the chance to make things right."
"You can't!" Sayaka raised her weapon to meet Flick's chest. "You still don't get it, Flick. You're a Magical Girl, too. Plugging your ears and pretending our fates don't exist won't save you."
"I know!" Flick shook her head. "I just . . . I can't accept it, Sayaka. I can't even imagine doing so."
"Well, you should wake up while you can." Sayaka spread arm arms out. "Maybe then it will hurt less when you lose yourself."
"Is that what you're hoping for?" Flick asked. "To be okay with becoming a Witch? Because it won't happen, Sayaka. You'll only regret going out like this."
Sayaka's sword, which was still pointed at Flick, wavered.
"There's still a chance." Flick lowered her voice. "You can live without regrets."
Sayaka said nothing, and for a moment, Flick thought she had gotten through to her. Then, Sayaka repositioned her grip on her weapons, and dropped into a fighting stance.
"Shut up," she hissed. "I'm not going to let you change my mind."
"Sayaka—"
"I said shut up!" Sayaka screamed, throwing herself forward. Transforming into her Magical Girl state, Flick leaped back, raising her staff to block a follow-up swing from Sayaka.
"I don't want to fight you!" Flick shouted. Sayaka ignored her, swinging her sword even harder, which made Flick skid back as she blocked the hit.
Talking isn't an option anymore, Flick. You have to save Sayaka, no matter what!
Feeling the comforting weight of a grief seed in her pocket, she lowered herself into a fighting stance of her own. All she had to do was remove the taint in Sayaka's soul gem. If she had to force it to happen, then so be it.
You can do this, Flick.
Homura's foot repeatedly tapped the floor. Every moment since Flick had left, Homura wanted to follow her. There was a tension building in her shoulders, a nagging feeling that she couldn't place. After the other night, she wanted to trust Flick, but . . .
Why couldn't she shake the feeling something terrible was going to happen? After so long of being used to Sayaka turning into a Witch, she should have been prepared to accept the possibility. Was she that thrown off by this timeline?
No, that wasn't her concern. There was something else, something she couldn't pin down.
"Homura?" Mami asked. Homura turned her way. "Did you . . . know I would react to the truth the way I did?"
"Yes," Homura confirmed. "It wasn't hard to guess that you were hiding your true self from others." She wouldn't mention the time loop. Too many people knew already, with the additions of Pace and Kyoko. With Mami in this fragile state, revealing the truth would be catastrophic.
Mami choked out a laugh. "I must look pathetic to you all. You especially, Kyoko."
Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you care what I thought?"
"I always have," Mami said. "Every day since you left, I've been wishing you would come back."
Kyoko looked away, for once not having a remark to make.
"Everyone can work together now, right?" Madoka asked. Homura wished she could affirm her wants. "We're all here now, and once Flick gets Sayaka back, there will be seven of you. Working together, you'll be able to divide the grief seeds you collect and keep your soul gems clean. Shouldn't that be enough?"
"I wish." Mami closed her eyes. "Though only six of us require grief seeds, there won't be enough Witches in the city if we all hunt. Unless . . ."
"Unless we let Familiars eat a couple people," Kyoko said.
"I . . ."
"You don't have it in you, Mami." Kyoko sighed. "Don't bother trying. You'd sooner sacrifice yourself."
Sacrifice . . .
Homura realized what was bothering her.
"We need to go," Homura blurted. "Now."
"Homura?" Pace asked. "What do you mean? We need to wait for Flick."
"Flick won't be coming back," Homura said, "unless we get to her in time."
"In time?" Kyoko asked. "Ya think Sayaka's Witch will get her?"
"No," Homura said. "Flick Chambers would not let Sayaka transform, no matter what it takes."
That was what Homura had been missing. A connection that she had refused to make, because no one, not even Flick, was worthy to be compared to her.
Flick was like Madoka. She would do whatever it took to protect her friends. Even if it meant giving herself up.
It was easy for Flick to get the first hit in. With how wildly Sayaka was fighting, Flick had no problems digging the blade of her staff into the girl's shoulder.
What should have forced Sayaka back for a moment, did nothing. Her other arm, unimpeded by the staff, was close to Flick. Not even pausing after being stabbed, Sayaka sliced the side of Flick's stomach. Flick fell back from pain, while Sayaka was still moving.
"What—" Flick tried asking, only to throw her staff in the way of another attack.
Sayaka giggled. "It's true. I really can block out the pain!"
Block out . . . the pain?
Sayaka chucked her sword at Flick's head, forcing her to duck. The second thrown sword caught her leg, making her stumble.
Then, Sayaka transformed. Part wolf, still humanoid, with dangerous claws extended. There was no trace of the wound Flick had left.
As Sayaka sprung forward, Flick threw out the chain on her staff. Sayaka leaned away from the hook, but as Flick twirled the staff around, she tugged back. Both the blade and the hook were heading Sayaka's way.
She didn't dodge either. She let both connect with her, snarling as she swiped her claws at Flick. Though Flick was able to jump back, she couldn't stop Sayaka from pushing forward to attack her once more.
Given no other choice, Flick focused on dodging. Duck, spin, lean back, dive away. Over anything, look for an opening.
Flick found one, as Sayaka overextended on a swing. While Sayaka was improperly balanced, Flick slammed her staff into her, forcing her to stumble. It lasted long enough for her to extend her chain once more, wrapping it around Sayaka's legs to throw her to the ground.
More staffs appeared behind Flick, and she commanded them to dig into the ground around Sayaka, surrounding her.
They might as well have been twigs, with how Sayaka tore through them. She screamed, diving toward Flick.
Flick's final staff saved her. She swiped up, cutting deep into Sayaka's chest. Normally, she would have been able to dig in further, ending the fight with a major blow. Not this time, as Sayaka yanked the staff free, pulling it from Flick's grasp. The wound closed itself instantly.
Werewolf healing. Flick dropped and rolled to avoid a downward plunge from Sayaka. And her natural healing. Nothing I do will stick.
She remembered the Witch that had almost tore Sayaka's head off. After pulling the weapon free, Sayaka had merely walked off the wound. The only reason it had affected her was because of the pain. Pain which, apparently, she was no longer feeling.
Well, Flick was certainly feeling it. That was made clear when Sayaka nicked her arm, making it spasm and scream.
She said . . . it was true. As if someone had told her she could block out the pain.
Kyubey. It had to be him. From the beginning, Sayaka had been a pawn for him. Now, all his work was paying off.
Even so, anything he said to Sayaka applied to Flick. One difference, though, was the potential Flick held over Sayaka. Potential that fed into power, which she was beginning to understand.
Flick let magic flow through her body.
Sayaka's claws dug into the side of Flick's head. The pain nearly blinded her, until she focused on her magic in the area. What had been debilitating just a second ago vanished, letting Flick knock Sayaka over the head with her staff.
As Sayaka stumbled back from the force, Flick vanished from her sight. Pulling out the grief seed, she dove for Sayaka's soul gem.
Sayaka caught on at the last moment, spinning away and leaving claw marks on Flick's stomach for her efforts. Flick let it happen, locking Sayaka into a hold.
It didn't last. Sayaka's werewolf strength was too great, letting her throw Flick off.
This was getting Flick nowhere. In a drawn out fight, perhaps she could have won. But right now, Sayaka just wouldn't be affected by anything she did. Flick had no silver, and Sayaka had too many layers of regeneration for any attack to stick. Trapping her, or hitting her in a way that made her stay still, would normally be how Flick won. By the time she could do either, Sayaka would surely finish turning into a Witch. It was a miracle she hadn't already.
There was only one choice. Flick dropped her weapon, wrapping both hands around her grief seed.
Just because Flick was defenseless, didn't mean Sayaka was holding back on her assault. She sliced into Flick, tearing off chunks of flesh. Flick's soul gem worked on blocking out the pain, and keeping an uncontrollable amount of blood from pouring out of her body. Meanwhile, Flick twisted, letting Sayaka tear into her for precious inches. Every bit of distance she gained, she took more life-threatening injuries. Knowing that didn't stop her from pushing on. She was so close.
Finally, she did it. The grief seed—the glorious treasure she had earned with Avalon's help—made contact with Sayaka's pitch black soul gem, and began to collect the despair inside.
She didn't turn. Was it because she was mostly using her wolf powers, on top of pushing her despair back for anger?
It wouldn't have worked for much longer. Knowing that, Flick didn't regret her decision. No matter what happened, she wouldn't.
Finally, a large black cloud transferred between the two objects, and Sayaka's soul gem was free of taint. Seeing that, Flick let herself drop the soul gem, her whole body following. Letting her body sting where she had been injured, she realized that there was hardly an unscathed patch of flesh. She couldn't even push herself up, her arms too broken. Had she really taken on that much? She hadn't even noticed, when saving Sayaka had been all that was on her mind.
Speaking of Sayaka, she had gone still, eyes wide. She was no longer in her battle form, instead looking like a normal Magical Girl once more. "Flick?" she stammered out. "You . . . saved me? I was . . . oh, God. Flick!"
As Sayaka fell to her knees, looking overwhelmed by the extent of Flick's wounds, Flick couldn't help but smile.
"I knew you were still in there," Flick gasped out. It was getting more and more difficult to block out the pain. "The despair was clouding your judgement, that's all."
"Flick!" There were tears in Sayaka's eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I was scared, I'm sorry!"
Seeing the anguish on Sayaka's face, Flick couldn't help but reach up with a shaking hand, despite it missing two fingers, and placing it on Sayaka's cheek. "It's okay." Oh, her voice was a rasp. "I'll be okay."
Sayaka shook her head, closing her eyes. "You're soul gem," she whispered.
My soul gem? Flick looked at it. It was black, she realized. The brown inside was quickly being subsumed, and it didn't seem like the process would slow down any time soon.
That made sense, Flick supposed. More than using magic, more than holding despair, their soul gems were all that kept their bodies alive. And Flick should have died dozens of times over, her body horribly disfigured from the onslaught it had taken. Her soul gem was trying desperately to save its vessel for interacting with the world. In the process, it was using up all its energy.
Realizing that, Flick began to feel the effect. The agony in all her wounds finally made themselves known, but they were nothing compared to the agony in her soul. It burned, froze, and tore apart all at the same time. Flick's very being was assaulted, and there were no natural defenses to make the process easier on her. She shrieked as darkness pooled out of her.
"FLICK!" Sayaka cried out. A harsh wind pushed her away. "NO!"
It was too late. Flick found herself wishing she had asked Homura for a spare grief seed. That was a minor thought, compared to her concern for her friends. She hoped Sayaka would manage to get away, and that everyone assembled together would be able to kill Flick without any casualties.
I'm sorry, Homura. It looks like I wasn't able to end it after all. I hope you'll trust me more in the next timeline.
"They don't know," a voice whispered inside Flick. It was seductive, drawing Flick toward it. "The ugly truth of the world. They'll never understand, not one of them. You always wanted to bring out the truth of this wretched society, yet the people will always turn away. Isn't that awful?"
It is, Flick agreed. It's so awful. I want to make them . . . understand.
"Then do so. Let them see the truth through despair."
Despair. Yes, Flick could feel it, coursing through her soul. It eradicated all other feelings, leaving itself as the sole emotion Flick could comprehend. She drank in as much of it as she could.
And it was wonderful.