Chapter 17

Labor of Loathing

Homura missed her arsenal. When her shield returned to her, she was disappointed to find it empty. She had built up that arsenal over multiple timelines, a stockpile of weapons enough to outfit an entire army. And now it was gone. She couldn't even stop time either, her powers kept changing. There had been something so comforting and satisfying about the knowledge that she could simply pull all sorts of deadly weapons at a moments notice. It made so many problems so much simpler. A rocket launcher would have been so good right about now. Or a machine gun, or a string of grenades…

But that was enough of that. If nothing else, she could lose herself in the fight.

Hercules charged towards the lion and, with a solid punch, sent the Heartless flying across the quickly rose up from where it lay and charged, only to be barraged by a wave of flames from Sora's keyblade and arrows from Homura. Hercules then leaped towards the creature and lifted it up in a bear hug around the neck. The Heartless dispersed into wisps of darkness as he squeezed.

The image on the vase shifted, showing a man aiming a sling at a flock of birds. Almost immediately, the birds in the painting began to animate and tear the man to pieces. They then emerged, becoming a flock of vicious Heartless birds.

The creatures immediately flapped their wings, and a barrage of razor sharp feathers rained down. Homura ducked for cover behind a chunk of debris, hearing the metallic shounding shink! and the crack of stone as the feathers embedded themselves in the marble.

She quickly rose from her cover, skills gained from years of fighting enabling her to rapidly assess the situation. Goofy had increased the size of his shield, and he, Sora, and Donald were taking cover beneath it, avoiding the barrage of razor sharp feathers. Hercules wasn't too bothered, the feathers simply bouncing off of him. However he was unable to get at the birds. They were too fast, dodging out of the way of his punches. He tried to hurl some debris at them, but they likewise dodged.

Homura fired a shot from her bow which struck one of the Heartless and exploding. The others moved quickly out of the way, and returned fire, forcing Homura to take cover again, though not before receiving a cut on the forehead and arm.

Homura moved, staying behind cover and out of sight, while the birds continued to fire at her former position. From a small opening, Homura focused her magic, the gears of her time shield whirring.

"Slow." The spell took effect. She could see within her vision one of the bird be surrounded with the imagery of slowing clocks. The creatures movements became sluggish.

But only one. Dammit, there were too many, just slowing one wouldn't help much. She looked at her time shield. If her abilities were different, then now was as good a time as any to put them to the test.

She activated it, but instead when she saw the gears begin to spin, stopped them and had them spin in the opposite direction. The words came to her "Haste!"

The clock imagery surrounded herself, and the world around her slowed down. The sensation was similar to when she stopped time, though, here the world was clearly still in motion, she was still capable of interacting with it. An unbidden grin came over her. She could work with this.

Homura leaped over the collapsed pillar and opened fire on the Heartless, the creatures were too slow to react to the opening shot, though they resumed retaliating. Homura weaved in between the feather shots, letting loose a volley of arrows, picking off birds by the score.

As she did so, she heard Donald squawk "Aero!"

The heat had been taken off of the others, and they were putting their freedom to good use. Another miniature tornado formed, sucking all the birds in together.

Sora held out his Keyblade and shouted. "Fire!" at the same time as Homura fired a barrage her bow. The birds were destroyed in an explosion of red and violet fires.

Time around her began to resume it's normal speed, as the spell expired. She was about to try and catch her breath, only to hear a snort from behind her and a shout.

"Homura! Look out!"

She turned just in time to see a bull-shaped Heartless charging towards her. She barely managed to duck beneath it's horns, and though she avoided being gored she was still slammed to the ground by its body, whereupon one of its hooves came crashing down upon her, trampling her.

As she finished rolling, Donald rushed over, raised his staff and shouted "Cure!"

Green light surrounded Homura, and the pain and injuries vanished. She looked up to see Hercules take a low stance as the bull charged towards him. When it drew close he grabbed it by the horns, sliding back and cracking the pavement from the sheer force of the clash. The bull snorted and began to push forwards, pushing Hercules along with it, causing his feet to create troughs in the stone.

"Herc!" Sora was about to rush to his aid, when Homura (to even her own surprise) grabbed his arm.

"No! He can handle himself. Get the vase!" She said, gesturing to the vase which, whatever it had depicted before, now bore a depiction of a gored and trampled man lying on the ground. "That's where they're all coming from!"

Homura opened fire on the vase with her arrows, the violet explosions leaving cracks in the surface. In response, the jar suddenly rocked, and top was opened. The head of a strange sad-looking cat-like creature emerged from inside. Around it's head was a golden laurel wreath decorated with the Heartless insignia. Homura immediately opened fire on the creatures head, only for it to duck back inside.

The image on the jar changed, becoming a depiction of two men fighting a multi headed serpent. The image moved, and the serpent dodged their swings, and then struck back, it's multiple heads ripping them to shreds and eating them.

From the top of vase a cloud of darkness formed. Out of that darkness emerged multiple snake heads, that immediately lashed out.

Homura quickly rolled to the side as a hydra head smashed into the ground where she had just been standing. She shot arrows at it as she rose to her feet, and the violet flames engulfed the snake head. It writhed as it was burned away to nothing but wisps of darkness.

Sora quickly picked up on what needed to be done. He wreathed his Keyblade in fire again and hurled it, slicing through several hydra heads, while Donald unleashed a gout of flame from his staff, burning through the rest. The heads writhed and disintegrated as a pair of spindly legs grew out from the bottom of the vase. The Heartless inside it was trying to flee.

"It can't leave the square! There are still people escaping!" Sora shouted.

As they gave chase, more hydra heads emerged, blocking Homura's attempts to hit the vase. She was forced to roll to the side, narrowly avoiding a bite from a head. She turned and shot, destroying it, only to her a thunk from behind her.

A hydra head had snuck up behind her, and would have devoured her had Goofy not jumped in the way, intercepting its bite with his shield. He grinned and gave her the thumbs up, but Homura barely noticed. It would have devoured her had-

"Heads up!"

She saw a shadow pass over her, and realized that it was the bull Heartless that Hercules had been wrestling with. He had hurled it directly at the vase, knocking aside the heads and smashing directly into it, creating several cracks and knocking it off balance.

Taking advantage, Homura and Sora opened fire, destroying the remaining hydra heads and setting fire to the dark cloud they were emerging from, while Donald and Goofy struck at the vase directly.

Eventually, the image changed again, this time depicting a man standing next to a three headed dog with a mane of serpents, while another man cowered in a vase. Again, the image came to life. Two heads tore into the man standing next to the dog, while the third then ripped the man out of the vase and ate him. The dog then leaped into the vase.

As it did so, the vase Heartless jumped into the air. The legs retreated inside, before the vase came crashing back to the ground. From that impact, the a shadow spread out from it, covering the entire town square.

"What now?!" Sora asked.

The shadows shifted beneath her, and Homura's instincts screamed at her to jump. She was glad she did, because just after she did, a massive black dog head emerged from the ground, with razor sharp teeth. She aimed her bow downwards, and fired. The head retreated back into the shadows before her arrow could hit it.

She looked over to see that Sora and Goofy had also both leaped into the air as well. Sora grabbed Goofy and hurled him at the vase shield first to score a direct and powerful hit.

As she landed, she saw the shadows gather once again, and she had to roll out of the way, barely avoiding some sort of geyser of dark energy. At the same time, one of the dog heads emerged from the ground and shot a fireball out of it's mouth.

One of Homura's arrows intercepted the fireball, another explosion of red and violet flames. While she did so, Hercules rushed forwards, grabbing the head and ripping it out of the ground, where it dispersed into shadows.

She then opened fire on the vase, creating more cracks in it's surface.

The head of the Heartless peeked out, before retreating back in. The vase then leaped into the air, before crashing down towards Homura.

"Haste!" With the spells help she quickly dove out of the way, thankfully avoiding being crushed, though a shockwave erupted from the Heartless, sending her flying.

With her augmented speed, she turned in the air, and opened fire as the Heartless' head popped out briefly. It was a direct hit, causing the Heartless to reel back, dazed, just in time for Hercules to come charging forwards. He struck the vase with a punch so hard that it shattered, sending the Heartless within flying, to get struck in the head by Sora's Keyblade.

The strange cat-like creature hit the ground and lay still, it's body breaking apart much like the Wraith-Heartless had done so back in Mitakihara. From the mass of shadows, a gigantic glowing heart-shaped object emerged, floating off into the air and fading away, while the darkness covering the town square vanished.

"Finally, that's over." Donald said.

"Gotta say, it's good to have you guys back!" Hercules said. "Though is there a reason you guys are visiting? I'd guess it's not for the cheese and olives."

Sora immediately perked up. "Oh yeah!"

"Sounds like somebody forgot." Goofy observed.

"That's Sora!" Donald said.

"Hey, I didn't forget! I… just… took my time remembering." Sora insisted. He then turned to Hercules. "Herc? I came here so I could ask you something."

"Ask me?"

"Do you remember the last time we were together? You were feeling down and out. How'd you get your strength back? When you jumped in and saved Meg?"

"Hmm… that's a tough one. All I knew was that she was in trouble. Suddenly, I wanted to save her with all my heart, but… it's not like I could tell you how."

"Oh..." Sora said.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"All my strength's gone from me too! That's why I need you. Because I was hoping you could help. That you might have a solution or something."

"I'm sorry Sora."

The three of them looked disappointed, only to be interrupted by a sudden flash of lightning and booming thunder. Homura jumped, thinking Maleficent was nearby, but it wasn't the case, it was too far away. She looked towards Hercules, who was staring at something. She followed his gaze, to Mount Olympus in the distance, where she could see storm clouds gathering around it.

"Whats going on over there?" she asked.

"It's Hades!" Hercules said. "We have to go!"

Homura was reminded of the last part of her mission. The one she dreaded. But she would have to see this through to the end.

Letting the others go first was so worth it. Mami thought as she sank into the bath. She needed this. It had been an absolute madhouse of a day, and a shower wasn't going to cut it. She needed to soak. Some green tea would have been especially nice but she wasn't complaining.

They had originally planned to head to the train station after dinner, but the fatigue from the day was showing. They needed rest, and so they were directed to a hotel where they could stay the night. The place was definitely on the fancy side of things, but with the prize money, it was easily paid for.

And it was money well spent. Mami thought, as she sank lower into the bath, letting the heat and steam loosen her up. The bathtub was large, allowing her plenty of space to stretch out.

Unbidden, her thoughts turned to the events of the day. In less than 24 hours, everything had been turned on it's head. Their home world was in ruins, everyone having been taken away and now they had strange weapons and were fighting shadow monsters.

Mami tried to put the thoughts out of her head. She wanted to focus on the bath. To relax and unwind, and let go of all the stress. But that it was clear she was going to have to confront it if she wanted to rest.

Mami sighed and held out her hands. A silver musket appeared at her command. It was strange. Before today, she couldn't recall so much as ever touching a gun before, not even a toy. And now, here she was, making shots like a veteran markswoman.

The weapon felt intimately familiar to her, as if she had used it countless times. She sighted down the barrel while her hands automatically took the proper positions. All sorts of thoughts rushed through her mind. Take note of the wind. Be aware of her surroundings. Anticipate the enemy's movements. Don't shoot carelessly. Each musket had only a single shot.

The gun itself was very sturdy, enough to bash something with and still remain functional. And as she thought about that, a sequence of moves entered her mind. Strike at an enemy to knock them away, then open fire. Use recoil to step back and spin, drawing a second gun for a second shot to down them.

It was things like that. She'd never been in a fight, she couldn't recall having ever done anything more than a slap. And now here she was calling out tactical orders like destroying a bridge, or to retreat from battle, or to focus fire, with confidence, like she had done it all before.

They listened to her as well. Which gave her an uneasy sense of responsibility. True she was the oldest among them, it so was her responsibility to ensure their well being. But why did this feel so familiar? An odd sensation of Déjà Vu.

It also felt like there was more to this than what she had seen so far. Ramuh had explained where Crystal Clarity had come from. But what about everyone else's weapons? She lifted the gun again and ran her hands down it's length. She found that she knew every detail about the weapon, from the bullet to the powder, and the gears and hammer. But where had that knowledge come from?

Her thoughts turned to Madoka. Besides the Keyblade, there was that glowing aura of pink energy that surrounded her, allowing her to perform amazing feats of acrobatics and combat. She also summoned Ramuh. In addition to her cutlasses, Sayaka could heal rapidly from even severe injuries.

Mami had the feeling that there was more to her own abilities than what she had seen. Like she hadn't even gotten to the core of what they could do. But how did she use them? Madoka's aura had come from nearly falling into a crowd of Heartless. Sayaka had almost burned to death. Ramuh had been summoned just as Homura was tearing the world apart.

She blanched at the thought of these things and the possible implications. It was looking to be a very dangerous journey, and they would need all the magical powers they could get. Was desperation, trauma, and near-death experiences the way to discover them though?

Mami sighed. She felt like the most well-off member of the group. The deaths of her parents had been so long ago that the pain had faded. She missed them, yes, but she supposed that she would move on after a while. Their deaths hadn't been as despair filled as Kyoko's family, and she hadn't been forced to watch them waste away both physically and mentally like Nagisa. Likewise, their deaths weren't as recent and violent as Madoka's and Sayaka's families.

And now, she had Kyoko and Nagisa with her. They had their arguments and disagreements of course, but it was obvious that they were better off together. Living with them, Mami had been the happiest she could ever remember in a long time.

Mami found herself yawning. She really did need her sleep. There were a lot of things she didn't know, but they were meeting with a wizard tomorrow. A wizard who was also a retired Keyblade Master. Yen Sid would definitely be able to explain things, and provide them with a clear course of action.

She had relaxed in the bath enough. She was clean. She emerged, dried herself off, and donned a robe before exiting the bathroom.

Outside, she looked at the others. Nagisa was in one bed, while Madoka was in the other. Kyoko was fast asleep on the couch.

Sayaka, however, was sitting in a chair, looking out the window. She looked wistful and pensive, which was unlike her.

"Sayaka?"

"This really is a completely different world, isn't it?"

"Well, yes. What do you mean?"

"They look the same as we do, act the same, yet, there it is, right there." Sayaka said, gesturing to the sky. Mami got what she meant. The entire time they had been here, the sun had not changed position in the sky. It was locked in a perpetual sunset.

"Giant monsters, explosions, car chases, ancient prophecies. It's like I went to sleep normally, but woke up in an action movie. You'd think all that would hammer the message, but it's the sun that makes it sink in. This is all real, isn't it?"

"Are you okay?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. Like, I know my parents are gone. I can get them back, but..." Sayaka paused, her hands suddenly gripping the chair hard. After a moment, she took a deep breath and began to relax. "I… just don't know what to feel."

"It's been an emotional roller coaster of a day." Mami said as she leaned forwards, placing her hand on Sayaka's shoulders. "Like I said with Kyoko, if you need to let it out, feel free to."

Sayaka embraced Mami. "Thanks, but I've got it."

"Sayaka? You don't need to hold it in. We've all been through a lot."

"I know, that's why. It's for her sake." Sayaka turned towards the sleeping Madoka.

"How so?"

"She's… really struggling to hold it together. If I give in… then she'll have it way worse. I don't want to do that to her. She's already has it hard enough."

Mami paused, remembering Madoka's scars, and how she had clearly been crying earlier. She understood, and smiled at Sayaka. "Alright. But if you ever need a moment, just know I'm here."

"Thank you."

"Now, we really should be getting to bed." Mami said. She climbed into the bed with Nagisa, who was fast asleep and muttering about looking for cheese.

Madoka had been facing away, but she had still overheard the conversation.

As Sayaka climbed into the bed next to her Madoka felt more lost. Everyone was doing so much for her, but she was still so afraid. They were all counting on her, but she wasn't so sure that she could live up to those expectations. Did she deserve it? Sayaka said she could do it but she was also putting on a brave face for her. She also remembered Kyoko's words. She really wasn't that good at anything, and now she almost literally had the weight of the world placed on her. Why? What made her so special that a Keyblade would choose her? She didn't feel exceptional. But would she even know if she was? Was it all the Keyblade? Was she still just a naive, useless, girl without it?

These thoughts troubled Madoka as she drifted off into a fitful sleep.

As always, thanks to The Name Of Love for beta-reading and idea sounding!

~Dragonexx