Les Fleurs du Mal – A Truly Selfish Soul
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.
[-]
Homura could tell, from the instant she set foot on the physical plane, that something was wrong.
It was the sort of thing you just knew, when you had the power and scope of a Devil. This entire universe was, in a sense, her Labyrinth – and she could tell someone had been messing with the passages.
Unfortunately, her senses didn't stretch far enough to tell her who had decided to take advantage of her absence. But they'd certainly managed to move quickly, considering she'd only been gone for…
Homura looked at the horizon and blinked. Not fully comprehending what she was seeing.
And yet feeling a cold, cloying sense of dread work its way slowly up her spine.
The sun…the timeclock that marked how much life this world still had left to it…
Was mere minutes from setting.
A million possibilities ran through her mind at once. Could this be the work of yet another hostile Magical Girl?
She knew she wasn't the only girl with control over time, though she doubted any had ever approached her level of mastery. Alternatively, there were numerous Magical Girls with some kind of ability to cast illusions or alter perception. But were any powerful enough to affect the Devil?
Regardless of whether this was a trick, however, she couldn't afford not to take it seriously. Walpurgisnacht could appear any second now, and she was still woefully unprepared.
There was still the…nuclear option, of course. But she still hoped it wouldn't have to come to that.
Homura shook her head violently. First thing's first. She needed to find Madoka. Make sure she was safe.
The Devil stretched out her senses through her network of Familiars – or tried to, at least. Because the instant she made the attempt, an unexpected jolt of feedback knocked her flat off her feet.
"What the hell…?" she murmured to herself, clutching at her forehead. "I've never…felt that before…"
She didn't even know how to describe the sensation. Ever since she became Homulilly and birthed them into existence, her Familiars had been less separate, distinct entities and more an extension of herself. To be rejected by them…it was like being rejected by your own eyeballs.
The timing was too seamless to be a coincidence. In the brief period she'd been away from Earth – which she'd spent entirely in a void without time, so logically none should've passed – someone or something had managed to wrest control of this world from her grasp.
Time, space, magic; all of it should've been putty in her hands. But when she reached out now, all she felt was some kind of…wall. Like the universe was a great big computer system, and her administrator access had just been revoked.
She still had her powers. She could feel that much. But if the other Homura was right, and there really was an entity trying to interfere with this time flow…
Then they were far more powerful than she.
Homura clutched at herself, nails digging so deeply into her shoulders that they drew tiny blots of inhuman blood. She could feel the telltale signs of a full-on panic attack coming on.
She tried to tell herself what she already knew – that this wouldn't help. That for Madoka's sake, she needed to remain calm and collected.
Of course, that was easier said than done.
The school…she needed to get to the school. If she couldn't contact her Familiars, then her only choice was to look for Madoka in the last place they'd been together.
Homura's eyes snapped open, their depths shimmering with wild corruption, yet set with purpose. Mentally speaking, she was barely keeping it together, but that was hardly important.
The Devil summoned wings of darkness and took to the sky, no longer even bothering to conceal herself from prying eyes.
She needed to find Madoka. Nothing else mattered right now.
Nothing.
[-]
It took a great deal of grunting and pulling with all her might, but Madoka finally managed to wrench her hand away from the gems on Kyubey's back.
Not that the creature seemed all that concerned with this development. He simply continued to pace along the rooftop, wagging his puffy white tail.
"What just happened…?" she demanded, through choking sobs. She wasn't sure when she'd started crying. "What'd you really make me do? Tell the truth!"
Kyubey looked at her for a few seconds, then dipped his head and shook it back and forth, as if in dismay.
HOW TYPICAL. WHY ARE HUMANS ALWAYS SO EAGER TO PAWN OFF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS UPON ANOTHER?
WE ENGAGED IN NO DECEPTION, MADOKA KANAME. INDEED, MY SPECIES IS PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE OF IT. ON OUR PLANET, WHERE ALL BEINGS ARE LINKED PSYCHICALLY, YOUR CONCEPT OF "LYING" WOULD BE CONSIDERED ENTIRELY FOREIGN.
WE ASKED THAT YOU PROVIDE MANA TO FUEL THE TRANSFORMATION OF THESE SOUL GEMS, IN EXCHANGE FOR LEARNING THE TRUTH. THE TRUTH HOMURA AKEMI HAS SEEN FIT TO HIDE FROM YOU.
AND WE HAVE EVERY INTENTION OF FULFILLING OUR END OF THAT AGREEMENT.
"Transformation…?" said Madoka, repeating without understanding. She gazed down at the rows of jewels within Kyubey's back-cavity – all of which were now nearly solid-black. "What exactly is happening to them?"
THEY ARE MERELY ACHIEVING THE NEXT STAGE IN THEIR GROWTH CYCLE. OR ATTEMPTING TO, AT LEAST.
ALAS, SUCH A THING IS NOT PERMITTED BY THE LAWS OF THIS UNIVERSE. IT MAKES FOR QUITE A FASCINATING CONUNDRUM.
"Umm…when you say…" she mumbled, her jumbled-up thoughts unable to keep up with all this new information. "Wait, you mean those jewels are alive?"
OF COURSE! THIS IS THE TRUE FORM OF THAT WHICH YOU SOUGHT TO BE.
THESE ARE MAGICAL GIRLS.
Madoka's eyes widened with horror. She still didn't have the first clue as to what Kyubey was talking about. But if those gems in his back really were human beings, somehow…
Then there was no way the darkness filling them could mean anything good.
In the face of her dumbstruck silence, Kyubey continued his explanation, his voice just as light and cheerful as ever.
OR AT LEAST…THEY USED TO BE.
NOW, IT IS HARD TO SAY. THE FORCE WHICH SHOULD BE INTERVENING AT THIS STAGE IS TORN IN TWO. THE POWER, AND THE INTELLIGENCE BEHIND IT. SPLIT IN THIS WAY, THE PIECES ARE DREADFULLY INEFFICIENT.
AT LAST, IT IS TIME TO RECTIFY THAT ISSUE. STARTING WITH THIS.
And with that, crisscrossing beams of prismatic light began to emerge from the creature. Soon enough, the gems were enclosed within a semi-transparent cage of crimson energy, protruding off Kyubey's back like a tortoise's shell.
Madoka stared blankly at the strange sight, its foreboding red glow radiating out like heat. Then, abruptly, she doubled over, clutching at her chest in agony.
"Wh…Wh…" she gasped out, her limbs fumbling and thrashing wildly. This was pain like she'd never felt before; like every single cell of her body was lit aflame. "Why…is this…?"
AT THIS POINT, WE ONLY HAVE SPECULATION AND CONJECTURE TO RELY ON. BUT THIS IS OUR THEORY.
THE LAW OF CYCLES IS DRIVEN BY ITS VERY NATURE TO DESTROY WITCHES. YET THIS ISOLATION FIELD PREVENTS SUCH INTERFERENCE.
AS A RESULT, THE PIECE OF THE LAW THAT IS MUCH CLOSER IN DISTANCE IS BEING ATTRACTED, SIMILAR TO AN ELECTROMAGNETIC CURRENT.
IT IS UNSURPRISING THAT SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD CAUSE YOU PHYSICAL PAIN. HOMURA AKEMI HAS PUT A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT INTO CONVINCING YOU THAT YOU ARE AN ORDINARY HUMAN.
IF YOU WANT OUR SUGGESTION, THE EASIEST WAY TO ALLEVIATE THIS DISCOMFORT…
IS TO SIMPLY YIELD TO THE ISOLATION FIELD'S PULL.
"I…I'm not trusting anything you say anymore…" she said through strained tears. "I don't know what to believe anymore, but…but I can't…"
FORTUNATELY, YOUR CONSENT IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE IS NOT ACTUALLY REQUIRED.
IN PRECISELY THREE-POINT-ONE-SIX MINUTES, AS YOUR SPECIES COUNTS TIME, THE DECISION WILL BE TAKEN OUT OF YOUR HANDS.
"Not if we have anything to say about it, Incubator," spoke a sharp voice from the other side of the roof, causing both of their heads to turn.
And for tears of relief to leak through the flood of agonized ones.
"Sayaka-chan…" Madoka whispered, watching her best friend draw a sword and take a fighting stance, alongside girls who could only be Kyoko Sakura and Mami Tomoe.
All three of them dressed unmistakably like Magical Girls, and all looking like they wanted nothing more than to pound Kyubey into the dirt.
[-]
The past couple of minutes had been quite eventful ones for the trio of Messengers.
Even if they didn't know who had managed to hijack Homura's Familiars, the simple fact that it was even possible was enough to completely upend their original plans. Talking down the Devil who'd once been their friend – already an incredibly tall order – was going to be even harder if something worse loomed on the horizon.
So although it wasn't truly their fault, the Magical Girls had no choice but to continue slaughtering the brainwashed minions, deploying greater and greater firepower in an attempt to overwhelm their regenerative powers.
Results were…mixed, at best. Even a volley of five Tiro Finales in a row – something Mami had never pulled off before, and was likely only possible thanks to her acceptance of Candeloro – failed to do more than slow the Familiars down.
"Whatever's fuelin' these things, it's got enough mana ta tap ten lands an' then some. Err…somethin' like that, I don't actually know how ta play Magic," said Kyoko, snarling as an enemy Lotte she'd gored with a skyscraper-sized spear slowly patched itself together. "Point is, we ain't gettin' through this way."
Sayaka thought about what the possessed Clara Doll had said, and matched her roommate's scowl.
It was rare for Familiars to communicate at all, and when they did it was usually just echoes of their Mother Witch's mad mantras. It was unheard of for them to speak in anything but runes.
That Doll's speech, while strained, had been entirely lucid, and in perfectly pronounced Japanese. One thing was for certain: whatever they were dealing with here, it was far more than a mere Witch.
Which meant they needed to adjust their strategy accordingly.
"If we can't beat these Familiars, then maybe we can trap them," Sayaka eventually responded. "I'll open a small rift in the Labyrinth we can escape through, and then collapse it behind us. Not my first choice, but it should buy us time at least."
"It might work, but it's risky," said Mami, her voice low and analytical. "Familiars don't follow the same laws of physics we do. As soon as you make an opening, they could all rush out at once."
Sayaka let out a long sigh.
"I know," she muttered. "That's why I'm going to stay behind and hold them off."
"Fuck no ya ain't!" Kyoko shouted back immediately. "I know ya've always been obsessed with playin' hero, but this…
But the blue-haired girl held up a hand to cut her off. "My magic is the best one for holding a defensive line," she pointed out. "And right now, the most important thing is that at least some of us get to Madoka and Homura. This is the best option we've got left."
Mami, however, shook her head firmly.
"Remember what you told me, Sayaka-san?" she asked. "The entire purpose of this mission is to do this, together. The Holy Quintet isn't complete without all five of us."
"An' if ya think I'm gonna jus' sit back an' watch my girlfriend sacrifice herself for the hundredth goddamn time…" added Kyoko, her voice and expression both fierce as a burning flame. "Then ya ain't learned nothin' from yer time up there."
Despite the vulgarity, Sayaka couldn't help but feel a bit touched. God, she'd missed this girl.
And perhaps it was that thought, above all others, that caused her to swallow her pride and nod.
"Okay, new plan," she eventually said. "All three of us launch everything we've got left. Then I'll open the rift, and we all get the hell out of dodge."
"That plan's stupid, reckless, an' probably'll get us all killed," replied Kyoko, before her mouth twisted into a fang-toothed sneer. "So hell yeah, I'm in."
"Well, I can't leave all the fun to my kohai, can I?" spoke Mami with a gentle chuckle. She snapped her fingers, and another musket manifested between them. "Onward, girls!"
Of course, this was all easier said than done. The Clara Doll who'd spoken to them earlier was still there, her sewn-on eyes watching silently, and the moment they finished formulating their new plan the rest of the Familiars rounded on them at once, as if the Doll had signaled them.
Hundreds of cursed minions of every shape and size lay arrayed before the three Magical Girls, clearly intent on nothing apart from impeding their path.
The trio arranged themselves in a triangle formation, with Sayaka and Kyoko taking point with as many summoned sabers and lances as their mana could muster, and Mami providing cover fire from the rear. If they were still human and had human limits, the sheer amount of noise would've likely deafened them, but the three Messengers continued their charge nonetheless, putting every last shred of energy they had into moving forward.
It helped that, with her magic unlocked to its fullest potential, Sayaka's passive aura could now heal others as well as herself. Any wounds they suffered as they – in Kyoko's non-sensical words – "Sonic Heroes'd it up" faded away almost as quickly as they appeared.
"Okay, I'm almost ready to make the opening!" said Sayaka, sensing the edge of Oktavia's barrier even if she couldn't physically see it. "Need one final distraction!"
"Well I been told my ass is very distractin'!" Kyoko called back cheekily. "An' it's been holdin' this in for a rainy day! Rosso Fantasma!"
Kyoko briefly gripped onto the other girls' wrists as her magic surged, and a moment later, they were surrounded by a dozen other Kyokos, Sayakas, and Mamis.
Judging by the way they continued their chase, the Familiars weren't fooled at all by the illusory duplicates, but their sudden appearance still provided Sayaka the opening she needed.
Drawing a sword twice as long and thick as her usual ones, she let loose a guttural scream, and cut straight through the Labyrinth's border.
The trio didn't hesitate, leaping through the resulting tear as soon as it opened. Leaving them to tumble right at the foot of Mitakihara Middle School.
Sayaka's immediate focus was on her Soul Gem, watching it glow a blinding blue as it sealed away the Labyrinth behind them, leaving the Familiars to be crushed within. It was a cruel fate, but necessary.
Only once she was satisfied that none of the corrupted minions had managed to escape with them did she turn around, and catch a glimpse of what already had Kyoko and Mami spellbound.
"The…The sky…" she said in a tiny voice. "It's…almost sundown…"
"We can't have been in there that long, can we?" asked Mami in distress. "I thought we still had a few hours!"
"Nah. Somethin' screwy's goin' on," Kyoko declared with a frown. "An' I think I know where we can find out what."
Both of the other girls followed her extended finger, pointing all the way up. And indeed, while normal humans might not have noticed it, anyone with the slightest magical sensitivity would've noticed the veritable powderkeg of mana concentrated on the roof.
"Let's check it out," Sayaka told the others, her grip tightening on both her drawn blades. "Cuz I have a feeling that can only be one of two people."
[-]
The Devil was flying so fast that the city below her became a blur.
Technically, perhaps, that really was all it was right now. This world persisted at her whim, and through her perception. Could it even be said to exist when she didn't will it to?
Maybe there was no one in those houses and buildings she passed over without a care. Precisely because she – the demonic puppeteer who held this universe by its strings – didn't care about them.
Yet there were still limits. If she was really as omnipotent as she purported to be, then finding Madoka should've been as simple as thinking she was near her. Teleporting to a destination as well-worn as Mitakihara Middle School should've been child's play.
Hell, even when flying there the old-fashioned way, she would've expected to cross such a paltry distance in seconds. But it was as if her mana was a tank of gas, and someone had siphoned off half the contents overnight.
Perhaps this was more of that mysterious force's influence. By cutting her off from her Familiars, it'd already effectively blinded her. Could the rest of her magic really be far behind?
No…No, she'd worked too hard, sacrificed too much, to let anyone stand in her way at this point.
Not even herself.
The Devil's claws gripped tightly at her black-feathered wings. She'd been trying not to think about her…encounter in that timeless realm, but this unexpectedly long journey to reach Madoka left her very little else to think about.
No matter how many times she turned it over in her head, the words of her alternate self simply didn't make any kind of sense. That Madoka – the sweetest, gentlest, most empathetic girl who'd ever lived; the girl so bursting at the seams with light and kindness that she'd ascended to freaking heaven for it – could know the truth of who she was, what she was, and…and still…
Yet now, she'd heard it from a source she couldn't dismiss as biased or lying. She'd been skeptical at first, but speaking to her counterpart at length had made it clear: that was Homura Akemi, or at least a version of her.
After a decade spent in near-total isolation, if there was one person she knew inside and out, it was herself.
Of course, there was still the possibility that the other Homura was simply wrong. She certainly wasn't immune to that. The proof was all around her.
But then, even if her alternate was wrong about the Goddess – by her own admission, after all, they'd never even met – there was still the question of "her" Madoka. A Madoka who, apparently, was nothing more or less than an ordinary Magical Girl…in a universe where she and her friends didn't have to worry about turning into Witches.
Was it weird to say she was a little jealous of herself? By comparison, it seemed like the other Homura had things so…easy.
But then, she also knew that for Homura Akemi, appearances could be deceiving.
Regardless, her words had left a mark on the Devil's blackened soul, where similar speeches from Sayaka Miki and Nagisa Momoe had failed. No matter how hard she tried, her counterpart's voice refused to leave her mind.
"I'm here to represent a possibility that I'm willing to bet you've never even considered. That Homura Akemi can be happy."
Up until this point, she'd operated under a simple set of truths. She was in love with Madoka Kaname. That love meant that Madoka needed to be protected, even from herself. And therefore, anything she did for the sake of that protection was justified, no matter how awful.
And no matter how much it was sure to make Madoka hate her, once she learned the truth.
"Still, if you want to know what I really think? I think maybe she just wanted a little corner of the multiverse, where a Madoka and a Homura could be together."
It was too late now for doubts. Too late to turn to any other path. She'd burned her bridges, pushed away everyone whom she'd ever been close to. Including Madoka herself, soon enough.
So why? Why was she finding it so hard to keep moving forward?
"Fine. Then you know what your only option is, right? You have to give her the chance to tell you."
For a second – no more than that – she allowed herself to entertain the possibility. To think through what would happen if she did set the Goddess free.
She'd return to her heaven in an instant, for one thing. Take her Messengers with her. Fix the mess that Homura had turned this world into, with but a snap of her fingers.
It would solve everything. Except that she'd be alone again.
Homura forced herself to remember what she was fighting for. The agonizing loneliness Madoka had described in that field of flowers, her guard lowered out of amnesiac ignorance.
Madoka Kaname would never, on her own, turn her back on the duty she'd set for herself. She was too good, too pure, to make that choice, even to her own detriment. Without Homura's intervention, she'd still be at it to this day: saving Magical Girls in the past, present, and future, without a single instant of rest.
It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. Madoka wasn't some kind of saint or destined messiah. She was a perfectly ordinary fourteen-year-old girl. Why did she, and she alone, deserve to shoulder an eternity of sins?
From a purely utilitarian standpoint, it was a reasonable sacrifice. One girl, for a billion others. Even more, perhaps, since she'd seen fit to leave the Incubators' anti-entropy system in place, albeit modified. Despite everything they'd done to her.
Which meant that only a truly selfish soul would've pulled her away from that duty.
Only a Devil.
There was a part of her that hated herself for doing such a cruel thing. But then, that was nothing new. She'd hated herself for over twenty years, depending on how you counted time.
Yet there was another part that almost…reveled in the selfishness. Not because she enjoyed being a demon, despite her best attempts to play the part in front of the interfering Messengers.
Truthfully, she knew the persona didn't suit her. Not to mention the costume, which she would never admit out loud to being deeply embarrassed by. Far too sexually forward for a girl who was likely to remain a virgin until the heat death of the universe.
No, it was simply that her horrible actions had resulted in some of the happiest days of her life. It was perverse and awful, but the universe had almost seemed fit to reward her wickedness with everything she'd always wanted.
A simple, quiet life. Standing by Madoka's side. Accompanying her to movies or the arcade, or simply lazing about in the pink-haired girl's room, dozing against one of a dozen giant plushies.
Hell, she didn't even mind the group activities, all that much. The pairings of Hitomi Shizuki and Kyosuke Kamijou, and of Sayaka Miki and Kyoko Sakura, were both…cute, in their own way. She was forced to admit that if the latter duo were manga characters instead of real-life people, she would've read the shit out of their relationship.
Maybe there was a reason her subconscious had twice rewritten reality to make them roommates.
Of course, that layer of illusoriness undergirding it all kept her enjoyment…measured. No matter how much she wanted it to be otherwise, she knew that she and Madoka were ordinary girls no longer. Just a Goddess and a Devil wearing masks – and one of them not even realizing that much.
So she spent their "dates" – friendly or otherwise – quietly thinking of defensive plans and battle strategies. Watching every clock they passed, because she couldn't conceive of a world in which every second didn't matter.
Tasting Madoka's stunningly sweet peach lip gloss on her tongue, and knowing just how much she didn't deserve it.
If the other Homura truly was right after all, and even before losing her memories, the Goddess had held…feelings for her…
Then it was a mistake. It had to be. Even the Law of Cycles wasn't infallible.
She's offered the most beautiful, wonderful heart in all of time and space to someone thoroughly unworthy of it. And so, like all of the Goddess' poorest decisions…
It was the Devil's role to stand against her. And force the choice Madoka was too selfless to make.
A flash of energy surged through the sky, breaking Homura out of her reverie. Looking forward, she realized where she had wound up while stuck in her own head.
Mitakihara Middle School loomed in the distance. And upon its rooftop, though it was too far to make out the participants…
A battle was clearly being waged.
"Madoka…" the Devil gasped, all the color draining from her face.
She summoned all the power she had remaining, and surged forward.
[-]
SAYAKA MIKI. KYOKO SAKURA. MAMI TOMOE. HOW WONDERFUL FOR YOU TO JOIN US. IT SAVES ME THE TROUBLE OF TRACKING YOU ALL DOWN SEPARATELY.
"Shut up, you wretched little piece of shit," said Sayaka sharply. "What've you done to Madoka now?"
ALWAYS THAT TONE OF ACCUSATION. IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOUR NEW STATUS HAS NOT ALTERED YOUR BASELINE PERSONALITY.
HOWEVER, I HAVE DONE NOTHING TO MADOKA KANAME, APART FROM EXCHANGING DIALOGUE.
THE CONVERSE, OF COURSE, IS ANOTHER STORY. HER ASSISTANCE HAS BEEN TREMENDOUSLY APPRECIATED.
"Sayaka-chan, I…I didn't know…" mumbled Madoka through tight lips. "I still don't know. But he says this is because of…my power…"
At the word "this" she gestured weakly to the sky, choked from one end of the horizon to the other with charcoal-gray storm clouds.
"Well I dunno what the hell's causin' this…" Kyoko growled. "But I damn sure know how ta stop it!"
Gripping her spear with both hands, the redhead shot forward, clearly intent on driving it straight through the Incubator's smiling face. But before she could make contact, a burst of crimson lightning crackled through the air, stopping her in her tracks.
"The fuck is that…?" she demanded, gritting her teeth as she struggled vainly to push past the invisible barrier.
But Sayaka's mouth opened in a sharp gasp of recognition.
"It's an Isolation Field. The same kind she used to contain Homura's Soul Gem when it was about to shatter," she said, peering at the semi-translucent energy jutting out of the Incubator's back like a tumor. "And inside it…!"
She was cut off by an earsplitting gunshot, followed swiftly by three more. Just like Kyoko's spear, the bullets stopped about a meter away from their quarry.
Still, it drew all eyes to the shooter, who had furious tears in her eyes as she tossed her musket aside and formed a new one from ribbons.
"How dare you!" she shouted, her voice dripping with uncharacteristic contempt. "How dare you…!"
OH MY. YOU ARE THE LAST PERSON WE WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THIS SORT OF OUTBURST FROM, MAMI TOMOE.
YOU HAVE BEEN SUCH A STEADFAST ALLY TO OUR CAUSE IN THE PAST.
"Because I was a fool!" the blonde exclaimed back. "It took reconnecting with all my past lives to realize just how cruel and clever your manipulations were. For years, I was your loyal stooge. Letting you prey on my loneliness and guilt, so that you could turn me against innocents! The number of lives…that I ended…"
Mami's breath caught briefly in her throat, and she lifted one silky sleeve to quickly wipe her face free of moisture.
"And now…" she continued, golden eyes set with pure, determined rage. "You've taken yet another set of victims! Who do those Soul Gems belong to? Answer me!"
THAT IS, IN FACT, A QUESTION OF SURPRISINGLY LITTLE CONSEQUENCE. THEIR IDENTITIES DO NOT MATTER. ONLY THEIR DESPAIR.
IF YOU TRULY WISH TO KNOW, YOU SHOULD ASK THE INDIVIDUAL WHO COLLECTED AND IMPRISONED THEM…
HOMURA AKEMI.
The trio looked toward each other, taking in this revelation. It was Sayaka who put the pieces together first.
"Bet that's where all those missing girls wound up. Mitama and Oriko and the rest," she said. "Devil Girl must've tracked them down and separated their bodies from their Soul Gems. Quickest way to make sure a Magical Girl isn't a threat."
The bottom fell out of her stomach as she recognized one of the Gems – one that was very nearly pitch-black.
"And that one…" she added in a much smaller voice. "That one's Nagisa…"
IT REALLY WAS QUITE CONSIDERATE OF HER, GATHERING THEM IN ONE PLACE FOR US.
COLLECTING THE NECESSARY ENERGY WOULD HAVE TAKEN FAR TOO LONG, OTHERWISE.
"Energy fer what?" Kyoko snapped. "Ya the one who whammied the sky?"
YES…AND NO.
THE NORMAL FLOW OF SPACE AND TIME ARE ALREADY BENT QUITE SEVERELY IN THIS UNIVERSE. WE SIMPLY BENT IT A LITTLE FURTHER, AS IT WERE.
HASTENING THE INTERSECTION OF THE PLANET EARTH AND THE MOMENT YOUR KIND CALLS "WALPURGIS NIGHT."
"And if Walpurgisnacht destroys this planet, what then?" said Mami sharply. "How does any of this benefit you?"
The Incubator paused in its pacing and tilted its head to the side, as if curious.
WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT WALPURGISNACHT?
Seeing that these words had momentarily stunned the Messengers, the alien continued to press forward.
WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT WALPURGISNACHT, THE STAGE-CONSTRUCTING WITCH, OFTEN APPEARS ON THE DATE FROM WHICH SHE DRAWS HER NAME, THAT DATE LONG PREDATES HER FORMATION.
CURSED ENERGY ACCUMULATES CONTINUALLY ACROSS THE PLANET, AND THE EVENING YOUR SPECIES ASSOCIATES WITH SAINT WALPURGA IS SIMPLY THE CALENDAR DATE AT WHICH IT REACHES MAXIMUM CAPACITY.
IN OTHER WORDS, IT REPRESENTS THE APEX FOR ALL WITCHES, AND NOT JUST THE ONE WHICH SHARES ITS NAME.
AT NO OTHER POINT IN TIME WOULD THIS BE POSSIBLE.
"And what is 'this'?" asked Sayaka, delivering the Incubator one of her patented death-glares. "What're you actually trying to accomplish? And why do you need Madoka?!"
"I'd like to know the same thing, myself," spoke another voice, before the creature could answer.
All eyes on that rooftop traveled upward, slowly taking in the figure hovering above.
None other than Homura Akemi, dressed in the full regalia of the Devil, and looking like she was ready to plunge them all into Hell.
[-]
To say Madoka had no idea what was going on would probably qualify as the understatement of the millennium.
She knew that Sayaka, Kyoko, and Mami-senpai were all Magical Girls as well, so that wasn't the surprising part – though it was still a little weird to see them all dressed up in full costume, wielding weapons that looked like they belonged in a museum.
What they were saying was another story. At best, Madoka thought she might've understood every fifth word they exchanged with Kyubey. All she knew for certain was that all three of them absolutely loathed the tiny creature.
It didn't help that the pain she'd been feeling in her chest continued to spike in intensity. Following the train of conversation was hard when it felt like she was on the verge of passing out from sheer agony.
She didn't think it was her heart, exactly, or any other organ for that matter. The awful sensation was more…generalized. As if her entire body was being ripped apart, and her chest was simply the focal point.
Yet in the last few seconds, the pain – while still definitely there – had dulled somewhat. And she was fairly certain she knew why.
Seeing Homura again, after everything she'd just been through, would've been shocking enough. But her appearance was enough to drive every other thought or feeling straight out of Madoka's mind.
She'd seen Homura's Magical Girl uniform, during her battle with that Kirika girl, and it didn't look anything like what she was wearing now. A sweeping, jet-black bodysuit that hugged her curves and exposed her sides and cleavage, with gloved hands like talons and enormous feathered wings.
It wasn't that Madoka thought the costume change was bad – in fact, she was resolving right now to never admit to anyone just how "not-bad" she found it – but it also just…wasn't Homura-chan. Not the one she knew, anyway.
(But then again, a nasty voice in the back of her head reminded her, there was apparently a lot about Homura she didn't know before today.)
In any event, her strangely dressed girlfriend didn't give Madoka a lot of time to think through the implications of her new wardrobe. She used those ebony wings to swoop over Kyubey, bearing down on him like an enormous bird of prey.
"Of course it was you. It's always you," she said. Madoka wasn't aware eight words could convey such a deep, enduring hatred. "I can't believe I was too blind to see it until now. You've been faking this whole time, haven't you?"
The creature swished his tailed again, turning to give Homura his full attention.
IF YOU ARE REFERRING TO OUR SPEECH IMPEDIMENT, THEN THE ANSWER IS NO. THE RESTORATION OF OUR FULL MENTAL FACULTIES IS A RELATIVELY RECENT DEVELOPMENT.
NO BEING, EVEN ONE AS ADVANCED AS I, COULD POSSIBLY SERVE AS A CONDUIT FOR THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE'S DESPAIR, AND REMAIN UNAFFECTED.
"Then how?" Homura demanded sharply, before her narrowed eyes caught what was lying within Kyubey's back cavity. Her expression tightened with horrified understanding.
"You somehow managed to…divert the flow," she continued to press, her voice now coming out a low growl. "At least enough to free up your higher reasoning. So you could plan, and plot, and scheme. It's your nature."
VERY ASTUTE, HOMURA AKEMI. BUT YOU ARE MISTAKEN ON ONE KEY POINT.
THIS WAS NOT "OUR" PLAN.
Homura hovered in place silently for several moments. Then, without warning, she shot forward, hand outstretched. If not for the energy barrier kicking up again, it was clear that Homura's fingers would be around the creature's throat.
"Who?!" she roared, in a voice that barely sounded human. "Who freed you? Tell me, or I swear I'll make you wish your species could experience death…!"
"Transfer Student!"
The voice rang out sharply enough to stop the raven-haired girl cold. Slowly, she turned her head to gaze at Sayaka, who had a sword stabbed into the ground and was using it to hold herself steady.
"Stop," she said, in a quieter, calmer voice. "You're scaring her."
Madoka could almost hear the gears turning in her girlfriend's head as she took in these words. Watched the swiveling of her neck as if in slow-motion, until eyes of deepest indigo met ones of pale pink.
Eyes that, a second ago, had been filled with nothing but cold fury, and which now swam with so much emotion they seemed on the verge of bursting.
"Madoka, I…I wasn't thinking…" she murmured, in a voice so tiny and weak it was a wonder it could come out of someone so strong. "I…didn't want you to see me like this…"
There were a million things Madoka wanted to say in that moment. A million things she didn't have the slightest clue how to say.
She wanted to know the truth. So many truths. For the last few hours, it felt as if she'd been stuck in a maze, where every fork in the road only left her more and more lost. What was real and what was false seemed like two sides of the same coin – a coin that was balanced right on its edge, teetering dangerously.
She wanted to know why Homura had done what she did. Why Madoka needed to be kept in the dark for so long. Who Kyubey really was, and why Homura and the others seemed to regard him with such venom.
But one question boiled up above all the others. It wasn't the deepest or most important, and Madoka hated how needy and whiny it made her sound.
Yet she couldn't help herself from letting it out in a strained, choked whisper.
"Homura-chan…" she said, fighting through the pain, mustering all the strength she had left in her body. "Do you…love me…?"
The other girl froze, stiff as a statue. Whatever she'd been expecting to hear, that wasn't it.
Her mouth opened and closed, several times over. She tried to speak, but found herself hesitating, unable to look Madoka in the eye.
But for the girl all but literally pouring her heart out, that moment of hesitation was enough. Enough for that awful voice that echoed at the back of her brain to assume the worst.
Slowly, finger by finger, her hands released the iron grip they'd been holding upon her chest.
Madoka Kaname pitched forward, screaming bloody murder as black energy began to pour from her body. Until all she could see was darkness.
[-]
The Devil, and the three Messengers, all sought to hold their ground against the outpouring of corrupted mana. But it was like trying to stand directly at the foot of a tornado.
Indeed, that was mostly what the energy resembled. An enormous, black twister, flowing straight out of Madoka's chest and toward the sky. It disappeared into the storm clouds, melding with them like it was all a single organism.
The girl herself was still screaming in agony – a noise that made Homura feel like razor-sharp knives were being driven through her skin. She was far more familiar than she'd like to admit with the sound of Madoka in pain, and yet her experiences in all those abandoned time flows now seemed to pale in comparison.
In the throes of death, or even the far worse fate that awaited all Magical Girls, Homura had never heard the girl she loved emit cries this horrific.
She tried to make her way toward the center of the maelstrom, to do something to help Madoka, but for all the good it did she might as well have been a gnat pounding against an iron wall.
Never had the Devil felt so helpless.
"Madoka!" she loosed her own scream, fighting to be heard over the swirling black wind. "Madoka, hold on! I'll save you! I have to save you…!"
Homura started, as she felt a gentle but firm hand clamp down across her bare shoulder.
"Homura-san," said Mami, in a tone of enforced calm. "We can't do anything for her like this. We need to back away and regroup."
But the words were barely out of her old mentor's lips before the Devil was rounding on her, her rage switched to a new target.
"I'm not leaving Madoka behind!" she bellowed. "The rest of you might not care, but I…!"
"We don't care? Shut the fuck up!" Kyoko cut her off, stepping forward despite the immense effort it took merely to remain standing in this whirlwind. "Kaname means a helluva lot ta all o' us. An' if ya jus' take yer head outta yer ass fer three seconds, we can work together ta save her!"
"You…You don't understand," Homura breathed out, suddenly on the defensive. "I just…I don't know what's going on…"
"None of us do!" responded Sayaka heatedly. "But tell me: how's that 'go-it-alone' strategy worked out so far?"
The Devil's mouth went dry. Her eyes remained locked on Madoka, barely visible now through the dark haze. Still wailing at the top of her lungs, as if she was at a pyre being burned alive.
She tried to think of a counterargument. There had to be one, right? Sayaka Miki was a fool; an arrogant, stubborn idiot, whose childish fantasies about being a hero of justice had only ever caused Madoka heartache.
Homura couldn't accept, wouldn't accept, that she might be…
Might be…
The trio of Messengers watched as Homura rose to full height. Swallowing her pride, and a great deal more, before she said, "Fine. A truce, for now. At least until we find out the truth from him."
And with that, she rounded on Kyubey, who seemed the only one completely unaffected by the mana-fueled vortex. Indeed, he was pacing leisurely across the rooftop, watching Madoka's pain like it was a mildly entertaining street performance.
A simultaneously thrown sword, spear, bullet, and blast of dark energy stopped the alien cold in its tracks. Homura followed swiftly by raising a ring of purple fire around the Incubator, trapping it in place.
"No more games," snapped Sayaka, already readying another flurry of blades. "Who. Are. You. Working. For?"
"An' if ya won't tell any o' us good cops…" Kyoko added with a sneer. "Then I don't even wanna think what Devil Cop'll do ta ya."
The creature turned to face them, its face as blank and impassive as ever.
IF WE WERE CAPABLE OF ADMINISTERING SUCH A VALUE JUDGMENT, WE WOULD ALMOST CALL YOUR ATTEMPTS AT A THREAT…CUTE.
STILL, PERHAPS YOU ARE CORRECT. THERE IS NO LONGER ANY POINT IN WITHHOLDING THAT INFORMATION.
AND SO, IF YOU SIMPLY WISH TO KNOW THE IDENTITY OF OUR SAVIOR…
WELL, IT SHOULD BECOME CLEAR SOON ENOUGH.
Before Homura could properly process the alien's words, she heard a sound that froze her instantly.
Itsuka kimi ga
Hitomi ni tomosu
Ai no hikari ga
Toki wo koete
That song was the alarm she'd set on her phone. The one that meant the sun had finally set.
Walpurgis Night was here.
[-]
Many things happened in that moment.
The maelstrom of dark wind dissipated from view, leaving an unconscious Madoka behind. She dropped gracelessly to the ground, no longer moving.
Before she could think of anything else, Homura was at the pink-haired girl's side, catching her head laying it to rest across her lap.
But as much as she wished her thoughts could only be of the girl she loved, her eyes, like those of the other Magical Girls, were locked upon the sky.
A sky where the clouds were parting, as if seized roughly and shoved aside by hands unseen.
Homura readied herself for the sight she knew to follow. Turning cogs, representing the enemy that'd plagued her throughout her timeless journey. An upside-down, featureless face, filling the air with laughter meant to drive all listeners as mad as she.
That was not what she saw.
Instead, strands of black energy, similar in hue to the twister that'd enveloped Madoka, began to leak out. Clinging onto the storming clouds like an enormous spider's web.
Except these strands weren't staying still. They grasped, felt, fumbled, for greater purchase. One thing was clear about whatever was emerging into Mitakihara City.
It was alive.
More of the darkness followed. Far more than even the Devil could keep track of. A formless black mass, pulsating like some enormous heart.
Yet as it shifted and took shape, Homura realized that she was beginning to recognize it. She shouldn't, because in this world, it didn't exist. Had never existed.
But she couldn't deny the evidence of her own eyes.
The Devil watched, dim horror rooting her to the spot, as the darkness coalesced into a single, human-sized figure. As it took on a petite, feminine body, wreathed in a skirt and dress of finely woven black silk.
As its rosy hair formed into a gut-wrenchingly familiar style. But tied with ribbons of ebony rather than red or yellow.
Homura had never seen her in this form before. Yet at once, it all made sense.
She looked upon the figure, whose arrival had been heralded by this, the ultimate Witching Night.
The mastermind of everything that'd gone wrong with this time flow, right from the very start.
The mysterious "benefactor" who had made Sasa Yuki, Alina Gray, Oriko Mikuni, and even the Incubators themselves into her pawns.
The entity who had played the Devil like a fiddle.
Homura Akemi looked upon her, and with quiet anguish in her voice, spoke her name.
"Kriemhild Gretchen."