Les Fleurs du Mal – The Wickedest of Them All
Disclaimer: In case you haven't figured it out yet, I don't own Puella Magi Madoka Magica. All Madoka-related characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of Studio SHAFT and Gen Urobuchi.
[-]
"Akemi-san, would you please read aloud the passage that begins on page three?"
"Happy to, Saotome-sensei," said Homura Akemi, her tone as polite and courteous as ever. She cleared her throat, and then began to recite in perfectly accented French.
Si le viol, le poison, le poignard, l'incendie,
N'ont pas encore brodé de leurs plaisants dessins
Le canevas banal de nos piteux destins,
C'est que notre âme, hélas! N'est pas assez hardie.
Her pronunciation was flawless, on a technical level. And while, as a reading of poetry, Homura's delivery might have left something to be desired – being somewhat devoid of any real passion or emotion – it was hard to judge her too harshly, when she looked so utterly gorgeous doing it. Homura's melodious voice could've made reading the phone book sound cool.
Those were…some of the thoughts that went through the mind of the transfer student seated three rows behind and two to the left, as she let Homura's voice wash over her.
"Oh, that was just excellent, Akemi-san! It's clear you studied for this," praised Kazuko Saotome, smiling with delight. "Or do you actually know French?"
"In my orphanage, we often read from French and Italian editions of the Bible," answered the raven-haired girl, her head bowed modestly. "Any ability I may demonstrate comes from that."
"Fascinating! I know I'm supposed to be teaching you all English, but I couldn't resist throwing in a bit of Baudelaire. His work loses something in the translation, honestly," said their teacher. "Still, does anyone want to try the English version on the opposite page?"
Kazuko waited a few seconds for volunteers, and when none presented themselves, swiftly added, "How about you, Kaname-san?"
Madoka Kaname all but jumped out of her seat, startled out of her reverie. "W…What was that? I'm so sorry…" she sputtered, resulting in a few snickers from across the room.
Their English teacher hung her head and shook it once.
"Kaname-san, I'm disappointed. You used to pay such good attention in class, but this is the tenth time in a week I've caught your mind wandering," she told the pink-haired girl. "The English passage at the top of page four, please."
She wasn't wrong, of course. What her teacher didn't know was that all of her recent distractions could be traced back to a single source…
And that said source was sitting just a few meters away.
"Sorry again, Saotome-sensei," said Madoka, taking a deep breath to steady herself. And to keep her eyes from drifting back to the same point they'd been dreamily staring at all period. "Okay, I'll try…"
If rape, poison, dagger and fire,
Have still not embroidered their pleasant designs
On the banal canvas of our pitiable destinies,
It's because our soul, alas, is not bold enough!
Her reading was the exact opposite of Homura's, in pretty much every respect. She tripped over the pronunciation of half the words, and had to outright skip "embroidered" (whatever that meant). And it was hard to tamp down the surge of embarrassment that came with reading the word "rape" out loud.
But tamp it down she did. Because truth be told, she didn't care that she'd just made a complete fool of herself in class. Maybe a week ago she would've, but now…
"I really felt your emotion there, Kaname-san!" her teacher declared, clapping heartily. "You need to work on your pronunciation a bit more, but you truly have the soul of a poet."
Now, she had something to carry her past all these little bumps and slip-ups. Something she still couldn't quite believe was the truth.
"How, who can tell me what they think Charles Baudelaire meant with this passage?" asked the English teacher, but Madoka found that she was barely listening.
Already she could feel her mind floating back to the cloud it'd been walking on for the past two days. The amazing secret that she could repeat a thousand times in her head, and still never get tired of.
She, Madoka Kaname, had a girlfriend. She was dating Homura-chan.
Even at this point, it didn't all quite feel real. Relationships had always just seemed like something that happened to other people. Compared to Sayaka-chan, who'd been in love with the same boy for the better part of a decade, and Hitomi-chan, who got a new love letter practically every week, the idea that someone in the world could find Madoka to be a desirable partner just seemed…alien. Maybe someday, when she was all grown up like her mama, but not while she still had the chest and baby fat of a grade-schooler.
Yet even someone as oblivious and self-deprecating as her couldn't deny this sort of evidence. As unbelievable as it might've seemed, Homura had reacted to her silly, stupid, impulsive kiss…
By taking hold of her hands, and confessing that she returned her feelings in full.
And so, the pair had spent the past couple of days as more-or-less official girlfriends. Gratefully, very little about their dynamic actually changed as a result of this. They still went out with the rest of their friends for ice cream, or shopping at the mall. They still got together to play video games, or listen to music, or watch her papa's collection of old mecha anime.
The only real difference was, when it was just the two of them, and the mood seemed right…
Sometimes Homura would lace her fingers through hers, and lean forward, chests pressing firmly against one another…
And their lips would meet once more.
Madoka wasn't sure when she'd stop feeling such an electric thrill whenever they kissed, but at this point their count stood at around fifty or so and it still hadn't happened. Homura's lips were like tiny pillows, surprisingly soft and yielding for someone with such a toned body, and simply being near them invariably had Madoka's toes curling and her knees buckling.
God, she was just so perfect. And she wanted her! No matter how little sense it made, Madoka would sooner jump off a cliff then jeopardize this incredible turn of fate.
That was part of why they hadn't told anyone yet. Not even her parents, or Sayaka-chan. Homura had requested that they keep their relationship a secret; to hold it special between them "just a little while longer." And Madoka had acceded readily. If Homura wasn't comfortable yet with shouting their status as a couple to the high heavens, the only decent thing to do was honor that.
No matter how much she sorta, kinda, really wanted to brag about her beautiful, athletic, super-genius girlfriend to anyone willing to listen.
Of course, she knew there was more at stake here than mere nerves. She'd gotten the ultimate proof of that two days ago, when that crazed girl with an eyepatch and claws had tried to murder her. When Sayaka had taken her blow, and survived only by the slimmest of miracles. When Homura had struck a deal with that other girl with the ability to manipulate people's memories, after beating her down utterly with what could only be described as superpowers.
In the face of everything that'd happened afterward, it was easy to forget that she'd witnessed concrete proof that magic and monsters actually existed. For all she knew, Homura's request to hide their relationship wasn't a product of simple shyness, but a desire to keep her safe from her double life. A life that was clearly far from short on enemies.
The sheer joy of being Homura's girlfriend had given her a convenient distraction from all that stuff, but she knew she'd have to confront it soon. She'd made a bit of small talk with Sayaka, just to make sure her best friend was recovering from her near-death experience, but otherwise they still hadn't addressed that glaring elephant in the room.
But for the first time in her life, Madoka didn't feel fear or trepidation at the idea of facing such things. Because she no longer had to do it alone.
Saotome-sensei had been lecturing on for some time now, with Hitomi, Kyoko, Sayaka, and Kyosuke all offering their input on the poem in turn. Truthfully, Madoka had only caught maybe every third word. She was too preoccupied by the way the midday sun caught Homura's lustrous hair, making it almost seem to sparkle.
But she was jolted back to attention as her girlfriend started speaking again.
"The title contains an inherent contradiction. Flowers are beautiful treasures. The French mal can mean 'evil' in this context, but also suffering. And despair," she explained. "Baudelaire's point might've been that there is beauty even in the darkness. That a flower can bloom despite, or even because of, the wickedest of circumstances."
"Very astute, Akemi-s…" Kazuko started to say, only to be cut off as Homura continued to speak.
"And if I may opine…I believe Baudelaire may well have had a point," she went on, her tones increasing in both volume and tension. "Evil and beauty shouldn't be able to mix. And yet, it is an observable fact that the sinless among us may choose to embrace the most sinful. Despite that all logic and reason tells them otherwise. Perhaps we may call them fools to do so. But then…is not the greatest fool, the one who rejects the human heart?"
As Homura spoke these words, she chanced a brief glance backward. For a moment, their eyes met.
Madoka didn't understand everything that her girlfriend was saying. But she knew she was talking about them. Much as she wished she wouldn't, those were the types of words Homura used to disparage herself all the time.
Evil. Wicked. Sinful.
Yet she'd still seen fit to let Madoka into her heart all the same. And she was determined to use this chance to bring light and hope to that heart, until every last vestige of darkness was chased away.
It would be a long road ahead for them. But together, standing side by side, Madoka knew they'd be able to make their way through it.
For once, everything was finally going right.
[-]
Everything was completely and totally fucked.
That was the thought that ran through Homura Akemi's head as class let out for the day. As Madoka shyly approached her desk and, subtly as she could manage, offered her outstretched fingers.
As Homura, utterly powerless to resist, clasped onto those fingers like they were a lifeline to save her from drowning.
It'd been such a simple plan, in the abstract. Keeping Madoka at a distance had clearly been an unmitigated disaster, only succeeding in leaving her vulnerable.
From the time before the Law of Cycles, all she'd managed to change was making Madoka's nigh-infinite magic potential an irresistible lure for other Magical Girls, rather than the Incubators themselves.
So that left her with only one choice: keeping her close. And that meant indulging the girl's affections, manufactured as they might be.
It was a horrible, monstrous thing to do. To take advantage of the damage she'd inadvertently wrought upon Madoka's psyche, and use it to chain her to Homura's side. Where she'd have a perfectly innocuous excuse never to take an eye off the pink-haired girl again.
But then, was that not the Devil's bread and butter? What was one more unforgivable sin, in the face of so many others? And at least this crime would be a temporary one.
As soon as they reached the dawn of May 1, she'd be able to release Madoka from this dreadful geas. And then maybe…just maybe…
Tell her the truth. Or enough of it, at least, that Madoka would find it in her heart to hate her.
The way she should.
Of course, all this had been predicated on the notion that she could just…go along with pretend-dating Madoka Kaname, while maintaining the same cold, stoic mask she'd built up over a hundred repeated months. Which begged the question…
How in the hell could she have possibly thought that was going to work?
After all those countless hours spent fantasizing about a relationship with Madoka, the idea that she could be living those fantasies and not get swept up in it was utterly laughable. No matter how much she lectured her treacherous hindbrain that it wasn't real, whenever Madoka held her hand, or snuggled up against her while they slept, or…kissed her…
It was all but impossible to keep said hindbrain from melting.
Despite how much effort she put into faking it, Homura simply wasn't an assertive person by nature. She was far more comfortable, in her interpersonal dynamics, with letting someone else take charge. Mentally, emotionally…and yes, though she had very little experience with it, physically as well.
Of course, Madoka was even less inclined to assume the dominant role than she was; always putting others' needs before her own and seeking consensus on any big decision. Yet her new "relationship" seemed to have given her one hell of a confidence boost.
And so, when Madoka boldly declared that she wanted to go out for burgers, or see a fluffy romantic comedy, or just stay in and cuddle incessantly until she drifted off…
Well, it was all too easy for Homura to yield completely, and simply enjoy the ride.
It just felt…so good. To let go, and pretend that was all they were. Just two young queer girls, enjoying their first relationship to the fullest.
Still, no matter how much fun it was to indulge in the fantasy, Homura couldn't allow herself to forget that was all it was. A thick, pungent layer of guilt undergirded every sideways glance and sneaked kiss they shared. Like she was stealing these moments away from someone.
Someone who actually deserved them.
Because that was really the crux of it. Madoka was…a good girl. Uniquely so. How many other people could say they'd saved the universe, purely out of the strength of their own, selfless heart?
She wasn't sure if it was even possible for the Law of Cycles, in her true form, to love someone romantically. But hadn't that been the point of the whole thing? To give Madoka another chance at the simple pleasures of life, that being a goddess would forever deny her?
Every sin and wicked deed Homura had pinned to her rotten soul was worth it, if it meant correcting that fundamental injustice. That an ordinary girl, who'd sacrificed everything she was or would ever be for a billion souls she'd never even met, would never get to grow up. To find an education and career that spoke to her. To watch her little brother blossom into a man, and her friends into women.
And, yes…
To find that special person who'd make her as happy as Tomohisa Inoue had made her mother.
The longer Homura selfishly clung onto this facsimile of a relationship, the farther the chances of a real one would slip from Madoka's grasp.
As soon as Walpurgisnacht was no longer a threat – as soon as she'd wiped out all the enemies who would dare to prey upon the pink-haired girl – she knew what she needed to do. She needed to end this farce, and sever the ties that bound them, once and for all. That was the only way Madoka would ever have a chance at being happy.
Yet one question still remained. When the time finally came for Homura to rip that bandage away…
Would she even have the strength?
[-]
"Surprised yer joinin' us fer this arcade run," said Kyoko, skipping along the sidewalk with a mouthful of Rocky. "Feels like yer always runnin' off these days fer some…alone time."
The redhead waggled her eyebrows, causing Madoka to flush crimson. Homura didn't react perceptibly, aside from a slight narrowing of her eyes.
"Knock it off, Kyoko. We're all here to have fun, don't make it weird," Sayaka chastised her roommate, thwacking her lightly across the head. "But yeah, glad you could all make it! They've got some good cabinets here, but the coolest thing is they have one of those console network hubs. Can finally try out eight-player Smash! I've only got two controllers at home so this is gonna be tight."
"I'm always willing to try out a new diversionary activity," spoke Hitomi with a small frown. "But I must confess, I've never actually engaged in this 'Smash' you speak of. Is it difficult to learn?"
"Easy to pick up, hard to master. Like any good instrument," replied Kyosuke. He flexed his left hand experimentally. "I've played a few games here and there, but not since the accident. It'll be interesting to see if the muscle memory still holds."
Kyoko's lip curled upward. "How 'bout you, Akemi?" she asked. "Always figured ya fer a gamer girl. Dunno why, but I feel like ya'd be righ' at home in BlazBlue."
"Oh, Homura-chan and I play games all the time!" exclaimed Madoka, before the other girl could answer. "Though I'm not really all that good at…you know. Fighting games and that sort of thing. I prefer playing co-op – that way, everyone wins!"
"I know I'll get smacked fer sayin' this…but geez, Kaname, are ya even real?" said Kyoko. It took all of half a second for her prediction to come to pass.
"Well, maybe we can do teams, then? Two on two on two," Sayaka suggested, as they approached the arcade's front doors. "That way, the players with experience can help cover the newbies."
"I'm playing with Madoka," Homura immediately declared, linking her arm around the pink-haired girl's to emphasize the point. Madoka flushed a bit, but did not object.
The arcade was fairly busy at this time of day, with most schools having let out. Its rows of cabinets, claw machines, and pachinko booths were filled to the brim with players ranging from toddlers to middle-aged salarymen.
Thankfully, Kyoko seemed to know the owner. "Yo, Kashiwazaki-san!" she shouted out, waving to a tall, busty blonde woman standing behind the counter. "Think we can score a round o' Smash before we're too wrinkly ta' hold a controller?"
"San?" Sayaka repeated with a raised eyebrow. "There's someone on this planet you actually use honorifics for?"
"Hey, don't be dissin' Kashiwazaki-san. She's cool! Like, she'll play eroges righ' out in the open like it's nothin'…even read the steamier scenes out loud if ya ask her!" said Kyoko. "Man, I wish I had her level o' girl-balls. Jus' gotta be careful she don't…"
But it was too late. The owner, who'd been in the middle of tossing her hair and proclaiming haughtily, "Now see here. You know I have a 'no cuts' policy. You'll have to wait your turn like all these other commoners, even if you are the queen of Dog Drug Reinforcem…"
…Stopped cold the moment she saw Madoka. At which point her entire demeanor changed on a dime, her eyes almost seeming to alight with sparkles.
"You. Are. Just. Too cuuuuuuuuute!" she squealed, leaping straight across the counter and pulling Madoka into a full-body hug. Her voice, which before had been deep and commanding, was now high-pitched and babyish. "Oh, it's like Kobato-chan had a twin and dyed her hair pink! Is this your first time here?"
Madoka, unfortunately, was finding it somewhat difficult to offer a reply. Indeed, she was finding it difficult to breathe at all, given the particular area where her face was being pressed.
She was saved by the intercedence of Homura, who deftly slid between the two women and broke Kashiwazaki-san's iron grip. Madoka backed away, gasping for air.
Throughout all this, Homura's expression hadn't changed much from its usual stoicism, but her eyes were a different story. The usually cold pools of indigo were now blazing with pure, concentrated fire.
"Ahem…apologies, my dear. I forgot myself for a moment," she said, snapping back to her earlier personality in an instant. "Well, Kyoko-chan, since you are such a good customer, and since you do have such…excellent taste in friends…"
She pulled up a schedule on her tablet and began rapidly tapping, moving appointments around.
"Alright, you can have the Wii U once this group is done. One match, three-minute time limit," she added swiftly, nodding to the redhead. "Don't say I never did anything for you, sweetie."
"I feel kinda bad," muttered Madoka, still breathing a little more heavily than usual following their…encounter. "Doesn't this mean we're taking a slot from someone else?"
Before anyone could speak to this burning ethical dilemma, they all overheard Kashiwazaki-san dive behind the counter, pull out her cell phone, and begin dialing in a panic.
"Oh god oh god I did it again!" she stammered, sounding like an addict who'd just relapsed with an entire pack of cigarettes. "I must be harder up than I realized! Yozora, please tell me you'll be back in town soon. Because I've been a bad, bad girl. I need you to step on me. I need you to step on me hard…"
"We really don't have to hear this," said Kyosuke with a sigh, calmly guiding his girlfriend away before her head could spontaneously combust.
Collectively, they all seemed to agree with that sentiment, allowing Kyoko to guide them to a series of networked consoles lined up toward the back of the arcade. There were dozens of players gathered around a handful of television screens, but by far the most popular featured a chaotic melee of colorful characters leaping and striking each other around a floating island.
Their group approached just in time to hear a triumphant blare from the arcade's top-tier speaker system.
"THE WINNER IS…BAYONETTA!"
All of the players but one threw their controllers down in frustration.
"Of fucking course."
"God I hope they nerf her in the next game."
"What next game? Nintendo's dead, man. Wii U's a piece of shit. They're gonna go third-party as soon as the 3DS dries up."
"You know you I'd like to see in the next Smash? Banjo and Kazooie!"
"Get out of here with that shit. Rare's owned by Microsoft, you asshole. They're not gonna just hand Banjo over to their fucking competition."
"Hey, I woulda said the same thing about Cloud a year ago. Ooh, ooh! Think they could add Sephiroth in the next one?"
"Doubt it. Square only gave them two goddamn music tracks, no fucking way we're getting…"
"Hey, nerds!" Kyoko called out, cutting their argument short. "Pretty sure it's our turn now."
The players, all of whom were young men of college age or older, looked somewhat miffed at being taunted by a middle school girl. But they all shuffled away nonetheless, leaving the console free.
Sayaka quickly took up the first-player controller and began customizing the settings to her preference.
"Okay, I've set up a three-minute team match on Pokémon Stadium, stage hazards off. With the Johto medley 'cuz Gen II or bust," she said after a little while. "Madoka-chan, I know you and Akemi wanted to play together. How're we gonna divide up the other two teams?"
In the end, Sayaka paired with Hitomi to provide the gaming neophyte with the slightest chance of survival. That left Kyoko stuck with Kyosuke.
As soon as they reached the character select screen, Sayaka's and Kyoko's cursors immediately snapped to their mains. Sayaka picked Link, switching him to the bright blue of his Zora Tunic, while Kyoko went with…
"Princess Peach?" hummed Homura, as the redhead cycled through the color options to pick her Fire Peach outfit. "Not exactly what I expected."
"Hey, you ain't seen nothin' yet," she said with a grin.
After a few seconds of contemplation, Kyosuke selected Marth, keeping his default costume. He glanced toward his girlfriend, who looked thoroughly lost in the sea of options. Eventually, though, her green eyes perked up with a look of recognition.
"Oh! That's Pikachu!" she exclaimed, as if this was some kind of grand revelation. "I'll choose him."
Madoka, meanwhile, had initially been leaning toward Kirby. She hadn't played this version of the game before, but she'd tried out the Wii one a couple of times at Sayaka's house, and Kirby had always been her go-to character. His many jumps helped her recover even when she messed up (which was often), and she actually had a not-too-terrible track record of landing surprise KOs with his "Stone" ability. Plus, he was just so cute!
But somehow, another portrait caught her eye as she scrolled across the screen. Without really knowing why – without knowing who the character was, or even what game she was from – Madoka found herself picking Palutena.
"A…very interesting choice, Madoka," said Homura, her voice low and neutral. "I suppose I'll just have to match it, then."
She moved her cursor to Pit, but did not select him. Instead, after several seconds of hesitation, she made her final choice: Black Pit.
"Okay, enough customizin'! We're burnin' dayligh' here!" Kyoko drawled, as Homura changed her character into his purple-accented outfit. "Let's get this party started!"
Predictably, it took all of half a second for Peach to make a beeline for Link. Floating just slightly off the ground, she began spamming kicks incessantly, preventing Sayaka from counterattacking at all.
"Don't worry, Sayaka-chan! I will rescue you!" Hitomi cried out, despite the fact that she herself was flailing about helplessly, having no understanding of the controls.
She mashed a couple of buttons, and promptly used Light Speed to send herself flying off-screen.
"Oh dear," she said, letting go of her controller and placing her hands to her lips. "I'm really not very good at this, am I?"
"Just hit B over and over. Don't hold a direction," Sayaka told her, managing to break out of Kyoko's combo with a well-timed air dodge, only for her roommate to start up another one without missing a beat. "Electric Shock doesn't do much damage, but doing any should be enough to stop Kyoko from spamming this goddamn…"
"Ah ah, this is a family joint," Kyoko snickered, as her latest volley of kicks shot Link's damage percentage to 127%. Peach quickly floated over to the swordsman's other side, charged up a golf club, and sent him flying.
"Oh, there are no words for how much you're paying for this later," growled the blue-haired girl, as Link returned to the stage, pulled out a bomb, and immediately began prowling for payback.
Throughout all this, despite her incredibly simple instructions, Hitomi had somehow managed two more self-destructs.
Kyosuke, meanwhile, seemed to have realized his "partner" needed no help from him whatsoever, and so elected to engage with the other team instead.
This was something of a problem, because Madoka was only slightly better-equipped with the game than Hitomi was. Picking an unfamiliar character had clearly been a mistake; Palutena moved nothing like Kirby did, and her lack of extra jumps left Madoka without the safety net she usually relied on.
Worst of all, her Down-B – which with Kirby had been her bread and butter – didn't even seem to do anything! All Palutena did was glow white for a second.
And now she had a serious-faced Marth coming her way. Kyosuke might not have been frequent player, but Marth was Sayaka's second-favorite character and so she knew how deadly he could be in the right hands.
The dashing prince ran right up to her, charging a powerful stab, and Madoka resigned herself to losing a life…
Only for Black Pit to suddenly land between them and send out two small orbs on either side, shielding her from damage.
"Don't worry, Madoka," said Homura, sounding far more serious than a casual game of Smash Bros. probably warranted. "I will always protect you."
And protect her she did. Madoka wound up taking almost no damage for the entirety of the match, because whenever an attack came her way, Homura would invariably intercept it – either blocking it with those orbs or her shield, or else suffering the damage herself. At a certain point, she had to admit that it was almost worrying.
Mind, it probably also didn't hurt that Kyosuke's decidedly mediocre Marth was the only one actually attacking them. Link and Peach clearly had eyes for no one but each other, and Pikachu seemed determined to set a new record for how many self-inflicted deaths you could squeeze into three minutes.
Eventually, with just fifteen seconds left on the clock, the score stood at:
Palutena = 0; Black Pit = +3; Peach = +9; Marth = -1; Link = -3; Pikachu = -47
At that moment, however, a glowing orb appeared in the air above the stage.
"Thought ya turned off items!" protested Kyoko with a glare, clearly not appreciating the possibility of losing what was otherwise certain victory for her.
"Well, I left Smash Balls, of course!" said Sayaka in return. "They make it more fun!"
Kyoko looked like she wanted to continue arguing the point, but with less than ten seconds left in the match she instead concentrated on gunning for the floating ball. If she could break it herself, or interfere with the other players enough to run out the clock, she'd win easily.
But neither Sayaka nor Homura were going to make it that easy for her. They peppered the air with arrows and bombs, trying to inflict that last bit of damage on the ball. Until it suddenly swerved left, and drifted directly above…
"Madoka, press B," Homura instructed her teammate.
Without thinking, Madoka did as she was advised. "Auto Alignment!" Palutena cried out, as a green reticle appeared on the screen. Several blasts of light followed it, coursing straight through the Smash Ball…
And shattering it.
"Hit B again!" yelled Sayaka, who had absolutely no chance of winning herself given Hitomi's score, and so seemed eager for anything that would take Kyoko down a peg. "Do it now!"
"Black Hole!" the green-haired character chanted. "And…Surge Beam!"
With just three seconds on the clock, a dark vortex appeared in the center of the stage, sucking in all four of their opponents. Then, a massive pink laser shot across the battlefield, sending them all flying off the screen in a flurry of explosions. The small indicator next to Palutena's character icon ticked up to a +4.
The timer hit zero, and the announcer read out the results.
"THE WINNER IS…RED TEAM!"
A surge of triumph, of confidence, that felt nearly foreign to Madoka's heart swelled within it. She leapt up from her seat, pulling the other girl up with her.
"We did it!" she said jubilantly. "We actually did it, Homura-chan!"
And then, without thinking, she kissed her girlfriend full on the mouth.
[-]
As stupid as the idea would be, on every conceivable level, Homura couldn't help the part of herself that was tempted to reverse time once again, right then and there.
It'd been painful enough to fumble her way through this faux-relationship when she and Madoka were alone. To go through the motions of days like today; pretending that they were two ordinary girls who could play a video game alongside one another, rather than this world's Goddess and Devil.
It was the main reason she'd asked Madoka to keep it all a secret between the two of them. Because opening herself up to others' judgment added a whole new dimension to the pain. And not just anyone's judgment, either.
Sayaka Miki, who despised her. Hitomi Shizuki, who was petrified by the very notion of love between two girls. Kyoko Sakura, who couldn't let a single opportunity for innuendo pass her by. And Kyosuke Kamijou, the oblivious idiot who…
"I knew it!" he exclaimed, cutting through her self-pitying reverie. "Congratulations, you two!"
"Wait what," said Sayaka flatly.
The violinist shrugged a shoulder. "I mean, it's pretty obvious, right?" he asked. "You girls have been pretty much inseparable the past few weeks. But lately it's been on a whole other level. I just kinda assumed you were already going out."
"Music boy's got a point. Don't think I haven't noticed all those cute wittle blushes," remarked Kyoko, her smirk widening. "Figured Kaname was jus' too shy ta actually do anythin' 'bout it. Guess ya proved me wrong, short-stack."
"W…Well, I…umm, that is…" squeaked a clearly uncomfortable Hitomi. "I'm s…s…so happy f…for you two! Yes! So, so, so happy!"
Throughout all this, Homura continued to stare at the group, dumbfounded. Madoka herself just looked horrendously embarrassed, determinedly looking anywhere but at her friends.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, out of the corner of her mouth. "I didn't mean to, I just…got caught up in the moment…"
"It's fine, Madoka. You don't have to apologize," said Homura, before turning back to the others. "Yes, Madoka and I are dating. I have nothing further to say on the matter. For her sake, I ask that you refrain from digging for more details until she's ready to share them."
There, that should do. It was pretty much all she could say at this point to minimize the damage.
"So…" Sayaka breathed out, her expression unreadable. "How long's this been going on, anyway? I know you told me you were…y'know…"
Madoka turned her eyes askance, again looking guilty.
Homura, meanwhile, was rapidly processing this new information. So Madoka had shared her manufactured feelings with her best friend, before the kiss? That certainly made sense, but it made things even more complicated.
Given their history of animosity – and perhaps even her repressed knowledge as a Messenger, that Homura was not to be trusted – there was no way Sayaka Miki would've given her any advice other than to stay the hell away from her. So the fact that Madoka couldn't meet her friend's gaze was really no surprise.
But right now, so close to that dreaded day, the last thing they could afford was a rift opening between Madoka and her friends. Homura had ample experience to know that nothing good ever came from Madoka feeling isolated and alone.
So she couldn't have the blue-haired girl blaming Madoka for all this. Which left only one target to direct her ire toward.
"It was two days ago that I claimed her for my own," Homura said darkly, pulling Madoka's body close to hers and grinning possessively. "And it's been pure bliss ever since. Jealous, Sayaka Miki?"
Sayaka's jaw fell open. "A…As if!" she stuttered, glaring hard at the other girl. "In fact…!"
Clearly fumbling for the right words, she seemed to give up, and instead pulled Kyoko over to her side. She pecked the redhead's lips with her own, sharply but firmly.
"I have a girlfriend too!" she added, as Kyoko's face went as red as the apple she'd been munching since the end of the game. It was quite the surprising look on her. "So there!"
Homura cocked an eyebrow, glancing toward the other girls for their reactions. Kyosuke Kamijou was smiling with a level of self-satisfaction that told her he was 2-0 in "calling" these things. Hitomi Shizuki, unsurprisingly, looked about two seconds away from fainting.
And Madoka…
"Oh, Sayaka-chan!" she cheered, leaping over and seizing her best friend into a tight hug. "I know you said there was something between you two…but this is such a big step! I'm so happy for you!"
"Umm…yeah! Madoka, you too," said Sayaka, though the smile she was wearing didn't entirely meet her eyes. Eyes that, behind her best friend's back, met Homura's with full force.
Homura glared back, satisfied that she'd achieved her goal. Sayaka Miki's hatred for her had been reinvigorated. When the time came for the "breakup," Madoka would have multiple sympathetic shoulders to cry on – and to curse the existence of the ex who'd broken her heart.
That was the important thing. Given a support structure, Madoka would be able to heal from this. She was too strong a person not to.
Meanwhile, it looked like Kyoko had finally managed to move past her uncharacteristic period of silence.
"Well, if I ain't gotta keep hidin' it…" she leered. Sayaka let out a little yelp as the redhead squeezed her butt. "Like, not that Kaname ain't cute in her own way. But I'm pretty sure I came out ahead on this one. Ya seen this gal's abs?"
Her competitive expression was interrupted by Sayaka yanking angrily on her ponytail.
"We've been out for two minutes and I already regret this decision," the blue-haired girl sighed. "Anyway, Akemi…just treat her right, and we won't have problems. Okay?"
"I have no intention of letting Madoka come to harm. You know that as well as I," Homura said sharply. "Now, I hate to be rude, but…Madoka, we really should be getting back. You have homework to do."
"Yeah!" shouted an unknown bystander. "You're holding up the line!"
It was at that point that the six middle school students realized they'd been having this heartfelt conversation while still crowded around the Smash Bros. station. The fact that they'd been giving onlookers a show of girl-on-girl kisses was probably the only reason no one had called them out before now.
"Probably best if we all head home. I've got violin practice, and she…" Kyosuke began as he gently pulled Hitomi to her feet. Ever since Sayaka and Kyoko had mashed lips, she'd gone practically catatonic. "…Needs to lie down, I think."
"Girls can love girls…" mumbled the green-haired girl, like a delirious mantra. "Girls can love giiiiirls…"
"Yeah, I've seen her like this before. Give her some water and put her feet up, she'll be fine," Sayaka told him, nodding knowingly.
"Alright, till nex' time!" said Kyoko as they exited the arcade, with a final wave to Kashiwazaki-san. Not that the blonde woman noticed, as she was too busy staring at…something on her phone, looking utterly enraptured. "Don't be doin' anythin' I wouldn't!"
"That must be an excessively short list," Homura replied under her breath, eliciting a brief giggle from the pink-haired girl next to her.
"Madoka, I'll shoot you an email once I'm done with today's assignment," Sayaka called out. "Otherwise, see you in class tomorrow!"
The pink-haired girl smiled broadly at all of her friends. It was one of those smiles that reminded Homura just why she was doing all this, even with the universe itself seemingly set against her.
"Yeah," Madoka muttered, her voice pure and earnest. "See you all later, too."
[-]
It was partway through the bus ride back to her aunts' place that Madoka felt enough courage to lean her head against her girlfriend's shoulder.
"So…that wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked quietly.
Homura sat there silently for a few moments, neither adjusting her body language to accommodate the other girl nor throwing her off.
Eventually, she said, "It certainly could have gone worse. Sayaka Miki doesn't care for me, but that's nothing new. If she's not going to bite my head off every time we encounter each other, that should at least be a marked improvement."
Madoka bit her lip. "Well, you do antagonize her right back a lot of the time. Like just now, when you…umm…" she began, before her voice trailed off.
Mostly because Homura seizing her from behind so suddenly, just to make a point against Sayaka-chan, had also made her feel several…other things. Things she wasn't remotely prepared to deal with right now.
"I apologize if I…frightened you, Madoka," the raven-haired girl told her in a low voice. "This is my first relationship. I'm not really sure what I'm doing, to be perfectly honest."
"It is?" responded Madoka, just as quietly. Somehow she'd just assumed that a girl as gorgeous as Homura Akemi must've had other girlfriends in the past. "In a way, that's sort of a relief. It's mine, too. We can discover all this stuff together."
"Nothing would bring me greater happiness, Madoka," said Homura, her body language finally yielding and allowing her girlfriend's rose-shaded head to rest against her head.
Madoka glanced briefly around the bus, which was nearly empty, before letting herself lean in and enjoy the firm, taut muscles of Homura's body. As lithe as she was in terms of figure, it was immediately evident every time they embraced that her girlfriend kept in excellent shape.
Her girlfriend…her girlfriend…Madoka knew she was saying the words a little too much inside her head, but she didn't care. Every repetition was like a hit of some powerful drug, and only made her want to speak it more.
(At least, she assumed. Madoka had even less experience with narcotics than she did romance.)
Still, she wanted to be respectful of Homura's boundaries. Clearly, the other girl was a lot shyer than she let on. She hadn't relaxed until she too confirmed that there was virtually no one around to see them.
Madoka felt another surge of guilt for her stunt in the arcade. Even if she'd been caught up in the swirl of emotion, that was no excuse for disrespecting Homura's wishes and "outing" them before she was ready. While it was great their friends had been so supportive, that hardly erased the initial violation.
"I'm gonna ask something really needy, and kind of stupid," she said, in a very small voice. "What do you even like about me, Homura-chan? I just seem to…mess up. So much. You never do."
Homura was silent for some time. All the pink-haired girl heard was the gentle rumbling of the bus rolling down the road, and all she felt was Homura's fingers tensing up around her arm.
"Is that really what you think of me?" the other girl finally asked. "It couldn't be farther from the truth. Madoka, I fuck up all the time. I am fucked up all the time. You're the one I can't believe…wants me…"
"But you're so incredible!" Madoka tried to protest, still keeping her voice as low as possible. "You're smart, and talented, and athletic, and…and so beautiful. You have to see that."
"Maybe. But what does it matter?" Homura whispered back harshly. "Those things are just bits and pieces of the big picture. Put them all together and you get…nothing. Just rotten, putrid garbage."
Madoka pulled away, looking alarmed. Clearly, she'd stepped on a landmine without intending to. The suddenness, and sheer intensity, of these negative words had her genuinely frightened.
She knew Homura felt this way about herself, at least sometimes. But she'd seemed so happy the past couple of days.
Had Homura taken the events of that afternoon harder than she was letting on? She must've, to be backsliding this much.
Seized by an impulse to drive away the darkness grasping onto her girlfriend's heart, Madoka shifted positions until she was holding Homura tight around the shoulders.
"None of that's true, Homura-chan. None of it," she said. "That's something I'm gonna keep telling you, until you believe. No matter how many times it takes."
"Madoka…" choked out the black-haired girl, turning her head askance but not pulling out of Madoka's embrace. "You're…much too kind to me. More than I deserve…"
"No!" Madoka cut her off with a shout, spooking the handful of other passengers.
She flashed them an apologetic look before continuing in quieter tones, "I…I won't have more of that. You building me up as some kind of saint, and yourself as some…monster. You deserve love just as much as me. The thing that makes me happiest right now…is that I don't have to hide it anymore."
Madoka resolved that her own self-pitying would have to wait. Homura needed her right now.
Which is why it was such a surprise when the other girl suddenly pulled her closer, practically melting into her shoulder, and spoke the words…
"You want to know why I have these feelings for you? It's because of this. It's because of who you are, Madoka."
Homura Akemi hadn't planned on it, but that short conversation on the bus was the first one in a long time where she didn't tell a single lie.
[-]
"So how was school, Madoka-chan?" asked Akane Inoue, as she ladled another generous scoop of curry onto her niece's plate.
"It was alright, auntie," said Madoka. "Although I think Saotome-sensei's date last night didn't go any better than her last couple, given the homework she assigned."
She passed her phone across the table to Akane, who read aloud, "One thousand words in English describing why, on a first date, it's important to ask a woman about her hobbies and interests, rather than try to coopt her in a scheme to steal the relics of some Irish hero."
The policewoman handed back the phone and added coolly, "I've only met Kazuko-san a couple of times, but…yes, this sounds like her."
"I'm really not sure what we're going to do about this assignment, to be honest," Madoka admitted. "Do you have any idea what you'll write about, Homura-chan?"
Homura let out a noncommittal hum, too deep in thought to offer any more of an answer.
Kazuko Saotome hadn't assigned this homework in the previous timeline, which meant her actions over the past two days had achieved enough of a butterfly effect to send her homeroom teacher on an entirely new, and predictably disastrous, blind date.
In and of itself, that wasn't a problem. But the implications it represented were certainly…concerning.
The tricky thing about using knowledge from the future to affect the present was that if one affected it too much, the future would be completely altered and that knowledge would become useless. Homura had learned that lesson over and over again.
More to the point, however, it was clear all these little issues were adding up to something much more troublesome. She hadn't meant to…break down like that, back on the bus.
She knew it scared Madoka to see her like that. The mask was never supposed to fall. She was never supposed to show that side to the girl she loved.
Hadn't she already paid for that mistake, in the worst possible way? In her mind, she pictured the Madoka of one time flow ago, gazing upon her with such terror in her eyes. The sight had been enough to make her want to rip off her own skin.
Whatever else was going on, she needed to get a handle on herself. On her own, treacherous heart.
Otherwise, this would all be for nothing.
"Speaking of homework, we've got some paperwork we need to deal with after dinner, sweetie. In advance of us returning to active duty," said Nadeshiko Hoshino, pushing up on her glasses. "Homura-chan, would you mind passing the rice?"
That was another curiosity, the Devil thought idly, as she passed over the requested bowl. She wasn't sure whether it was a consequence of her time reversal or if it'd happened prior, but Madoka's actual aunt had returned, supplanting the fake her powers had inadvertently created.
In one sense, that was a relief. It'd been endlessly awkward to deal with a walking, talking version of "the OC daughter of my Psycho-Pass OTP." The fact that her subconscious was able to create a fully autonomous, living being out of a piece of terrible fanart she'd drawn when she was twelve, and somehow hypnotize her own partner and niece into accepting her as a member of their family, all without even intending to…
There were no words for how disturbing that was.
But the fact that "Shion Kunizuka" had vanished just as suddenly as she appeared didn't entirely bode well. It underlined just how little control Homura actually had over her powers.
And when those powers could rewrite the very fabric of reality on a whim…that was a very dangerous thing indeed.
Of course, the ultimate example of that danger had been Walpurgisnacht. Short of erasing the Witch's existence from her own memory – technically possible, but so prone to unintended consequence that she was saving it as a last resort – there really didn't seem to be a way to make her brain stop dreading her arrival, and thus rob the Stage-Constructing Witch of her power.
She would just have to trust that the preparations she'd been up to the past couple of days would be enough. And if not…
Homura's fingers drifted along the sloping curve of her earring.
There was still one option she hadn't tried.
"Yes, I saw that stack of papers on the counter. We'll probably be up most of the night finishing it," Akane sighed. "You two'll be fine taking care of yourselves, right Madoka-chan? I know we discussed watching a movie tonight, but I want to make sure this is squared away before we turn in. Can't even begin to describe how much I'm itching to be back in the field."
"I really do feel almost naked without the badge," said her partner, nodding in agreement. "Not that I haven't enjoyed the forced vacation, but life here is just a bit too same-y for my blood."
"Cherish normality while you can," Homura found her lips muttering, before she could stop herself. "It never lasts for long."
"Hmm? Sorry Homura-chan, dear, I didn't catch that?" asked Akane.
"It's nothing," the raven-haired girl replied automatically. "Madoka, if it's alright with you, I think I'd like to skip the movie as well. I want to get an early night once we're done with homework."
"Oh! Uh…of course, Homura-chan," Madoka stated, looking perplexed. And maybe also a bit disappointed. They'd been planning to watch the Andes Chucky movie, after all, which had been a favorite of hers as a little girl.
Except…no, it hadn't. That anime didn't even exist; it was an in-universe show in Shirobako, which'd inspired its main heroine to pursue a career in animation. It was no more real than "Doctor Tenjou" or "Ryuko-chan" or "Kashiwazaki-san" were actual people.
Her unconscious mind was truly insidious. If she wasn't careful, it could even start to fool her. Weaving fiction and reality together into the same tapestry, retroactively adjusting thoughts and memories to match, until it was impossible to tell the two apart.
She had an awful feeling that if she ran into the house's media room right now, she'd find a JoyStation running games from Eagle Jump, and displaying to a CRT from that store in Steins;Gate. And an even worse feeling that simply by having that thought, she'd birthed all of the above into existence.
"Thank you for understanding, Madoka," she said, trying as hard as she could not to let any of the tumult in her mind show on her face. "Tomorrow is going to be…a busy day."
Hopefully, at least, there wouldn't be any more surprises in store.
[-]
At the same time, Sayaka and Kyoko were lounging around their shared bedroom, plopped down across the blue-haired girl's bed with their feet kicked up.
Sayaka's mother was back in town starting tonight, and had been planning to take them all out to Yukihira's for dinner – but a nail in the road had put a very literal hole in that plan. Ryoko Miki hadn't been deterred, however, rolling up her sleeves and getting to work on some hamburg steak. Sayaka had offered to help, and Kyoko had subsequently offered to provide good help, and Sayaka had subsequently smacked her, but Ryoko ultimately shooed them both out of the kitchen, wanting to make up for lost time from her hectic work schedule.
Which left the pair with little to do but lay about, and talk.
"Sooooooo…Akemi an' Kaname, huh?" Kyoko tossed out. "Didn't see that comin'."
"Neither did I," said Sayaka mutedly. "Makes things a lot more complicated. How was my reaction?"
"Eh, I think ya sold it. Plus, can't say I mind what ya distracted her with," responded her roommate, with an exaggerated wink. "If ya hadn't gotten at leas' a little pissed off, that woulda jus' seemed more suspicious. She knows ya didn't like her back then, even before she was…"
"Shhh," the blue-haired girl cut her off sharply, one finger pressed to her lips. "If you wanna talk about that more, we can't do it here. Think we have time?"
Kyoko sat up, and placed a hand against her ear to help guide the sounds coming from the kitchen.
"Based on that sizzle, we got about ten minutes till the steaks're ready. If she wants ta overcook 'em, which yer mom always does," the gourmand declared confidently. "Let's do it."
Sayaka nodded, and with a solemn look upon her face, pressed down on the ring around her middle finger. Simultaneously, Kyoko did the same.
Their Soul Gems sparked to life, and a moment later, two Magical Girls stood in their place.
They didn't stay that way for long, however. Sayaka pulled a cutlass from thin air, testing its weight in her hand. Before quickly twisting it around, and thrusting it through her gut.
Blood spurted over her bedroom floor, and in the reflection of the crimson liquid…
Oktavia von Seckendorff was born once more.
Meanwhile, Kyoko twirled her spear rapidly, as if she was a dancer with a baton. The spear's blunt end scraped against the floor, producing sparks that lit it aflame, like an oversized candle.
With no hesitation, she plunged her head into that fire. Letting it claim her face and hair, burning to the tips and flaring up to the ceiling. And from that plume of flame…
Ophelia rode forth, seated atop a horse of checkered plaid.
The Mermaid Witch and the Witch of Wǔdàn crossed their weapons, linking their natures. And from their combined essence sprung a twisted, chaotic space, to which there was no beginning and no end.
Sayaka and Kyoko stepped into the Labyrinth of their own making, disappearing entirely from the physical plane.
Since the Devil's Familiars could only see them as Witches, combining the powers of two different ones rendered them virtually untraceable. In this space, they could plan and plot without their foe being any the wiser.
Which was good, because they had a great number of plans to make.
"Nice o' ya ta gimme these Messenger powers after the clock wound back," said Kyoko, nodding appreciatively as they settled into this formless space. Under the guidance of Sayaka's orderly mind, it took the shape of a "war room," complete with desk and corkboard. "Didn't know anyone but the Law o' Cycles could do that."
"Nagisa and I have abilities other Messengers don't. It was necessary for our mission, since it depended on Madoka making herself helpless," the swordswoman explained. "One of them is to 'deputize' other Magical Girls. Once you were fully Awakened, it was easy. Speaking of which…any sign of her?"
The redhead shook her head slowly.
"Nah. I tried pokin' 'round her ol' school this mornin'. Didn't get nothin' but a restrainin' order," she replied, with what Sayaka sincerely hoped was a joke. "Guess that's another one fer the big board."
Sayaka let out a weary sigh and twisted her arm. In the background, Oktavia's magic brought forth an image of Nagisa Momoe, which one of her cutlasses pinned to the cork board. Joining a large array of other faces.
Oriko Mikuni. Kirika Kure. Sasa Yuki. Suzune Amano. Alina Gray. Satomi Usagi. Umika Misaki. Matsuri and Kagari Hinata. Tsubaki Mikoto. Mitama Yakumo. And all five residents of Mikazuki Villa.
"S'a good thing she ain't figured out we kep' our memories after the reset. Or that her mashin' my half-Awakened brain inta my past self's skull wound up unlockin' the full thing instead," said Kyoko. "Otherwise she'd probably do the same thing ta us that she did ta them."
"That's not the reason. There's no way she could disappear us without Madoka getting suspicious," Sayaka corrected her. "Knowing that she's spent the past couple days going on secret dates with Madoka explains a lot. And anything to take her focus off Walpurgisnacht is probably a good thing. Still…there's one thing I don't get."
"What's that?" asked the redhead, cocking her head to the side.
Sayaka was silent for a few moments, chewing over her next words. Finally she stated, "Devil Girl was completely distraught over what she thought she did to Madoka. Why would she be compounding that by entering a relationship with her?"
"Maybe she finally figured out that's fuckin' bullshit?" suggested Kyoko. "That maybe she should stop her pity-party fer one secon', listen ta the people who actually knew Kaname when she was in full Goddess Mode, an' realize she has literally never stopped bein' over the goddamn moon fer her?"
The blue-haired girl sighed again, burying her face in her gloved hands.
"Man, I wish that was the case. But if Homura Akemi was able to accept things that don't conform to her preexisting worldview, we wouldn't be here, would we?" she pointed out. "Nah, pretty sure the only chance of her getting out of her own way for once…is if we push her. And for that…"
Both of them looked at the last picture pinned to the board. Her golden curls shining like the sun as she smiled down at the two girls who had once been her kohai, in times long forgotten.
"Yeah," said Kyoko, nodding once. "We need ta fin' Mami. An' fast."
[-]
Madoka stretched her arms before collapsing backward onto her futon, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"Finally done!" she exclaimed in satisfaction. "Well, we've got our homework out of the way, Tatsuya-kun's been put to bed, and my aunts'll be working in the study for hours. Do you, uh…maybe wanna…"
Her voice turned bashful and trailed off, and her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. In lieu of finishing her sentence, she scooted over, leaving just enough room on the futon for cuddling.
They traded off who was the "little spoon" from time to time, but right now it was clear Madoka intended to hold her close. Probably out of concern over her earlier meltdown.
It was a…very tempting proposition. And it felt a lot less violating than the kisses. She'd been embraced like this even by Madokas who hadn't been brainwashed into loving her.
Still, it would have to wait. She still had some business to take care of before the night was through.
"I actually need to use the restroom. And I, erm…might be a while. I'm not sure that curry entirely agreed with my stomach," she said, feigning a wince of pain. "You should go ahead to sleep. I'll join you once I'm done."
Madoka looked a bit saddened, but nodded her understanding. "I'm sorry to hear that. Feel better soon, Homura-chan!" she replied, before pulling the covers up to her chin.
The moment Homura entered the bathroom and locked the door behind her, however, she instead transported herself to her pocket dimension. Letting her fiendish wings unfurl as she tread among the fields of blooming spider lilies.
But her footsteps were purposeful. Despite that this plane of existence stretched on for all eternity – a byproduct of the largest Labyrinth any Witch had ever generated – she knew precisely what she was looking for.
Homura stopped before the only manmade structure that dwelt across the expanse. An enormous guillotine, standing at least ten stories tall.
The same one that the Nutcracker Witch was forever trudging toward, her procession of misery and impotence neverending.
The same one that would, someday, claim her own neck.
She knelt at the foot of the guillotine, using the sharp nails of her gloved hands to overturn the dirt beneath. It was dark and damp, like graveyard soil.
Soon enough, she unearthed a small, ornate chest. Its color and decoration matched the dark orb her Soul Gem had transformed into, after filling it with the unending warmth and fathomless depth of her love.
Homura transformed the salamander-like earring that hung from her left ear back into the orb, and pressed it against the chest, causing the lock to unlatch. And revealing the contents inside.
Row on row, a collection of shining, shimmering Soul Gems.
Her eyes, swimming with the chaos of her magic, drifted from one to the next. The dainty silver of Oriko Mikuni. The intense yellow of Kirika Kure. The sickening blue-gray of Sasa Yuki. The unstable green of Alina Gray.
So many Gems. So many Magical Girls. Removed, peacefully, to a place they could no longer cause trouble.
She was still missing a few she needed. No matter how much she searched, she couldn't locate Nagisa Momoe. Nor those two girls from Kamihama. They'd arrived from that other time flow before the point she turned time back to, so they were still a potential danger.
But she'd find them in time. And if they were choosing to stay away from her, and more importantly, from Madoka…
Well, as long as they stayed that way through the end of Saint Walpurga's Day, that pretty much amounted to the same thing.
"Don't worry, Madoka," she said, her expression half-glazed over with pure zeal. "I've figured it out. A way to save you…a way to save them all. Without shedding a single drop of blood. I hope someday, you'll understand."
Satisfied with her survey, the Devil relocked the chest and buried it back underground. She craned her neck up toward the guillotine.
"Soon," she whispered, almost wistfully. "Once there's only one Witch left. The wickedest of them all."
Enveloping herself in deepest shadow, Homura Akemi returned to the world above, donning her human disguise once more.
[-]
Several minutes passed.
This was not precisely true, since strictly speaking there was no time in the Devil's realm. But the fact remained that Homura was long gone by the time it happened.
A tiny white figure toddled through the field of crimson flowers. Stopping before the upturned earth at the foot of the guillotine.
It waved its bushy little tail, which took on an unearthly glow. Channeling power from an incalculable distance away. Channeling power without equal.
In the face of such magic, the Devil's paltry security measures were like a child's safety lock. The chest flew out of the ground, and popped open.
The Incubator slowly ran one, stubby paw along the Gems' shining surfaces. Watching as the color within each dimmed, just slightly.
It turned its despair-filled eyes at the stormy clouds above, and spoke to its benefactor.
ONE…MORE…CHARGE…
SHOULD…DO…IT…
WE…
ARE…
SO…
CLOSE…
[-]
COUNTDOWN TO WALPURGIS NIGHT
Twenty-Four Hours Remain